LongHorn Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Festival - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim is one of my three achilles heals (the bike and run are my other two). Have only been to the pool once since Sept 4th so I didn't expect to swim well, however, I didn't expect to side stroke for 90% of course. I really couldn't put more than 15 strokes together before needing to rest. The muddy exit wasn't as bad as it looked. Have never swam longer that Olympic distance..

Learn to swim. Not hyperventilate whenever the word "swim" is used in a sentence.

The wetsuit strippers were great.. I walked halfway up the hill until I caught my breath and then jogged into transition. Did not have my shoes clipped into the shoes, so ran out of T-1 with shoes already on. I will clip them in pedals next race. Took my time and it was smooth and uneventfull. I rate that as pretty good.

Jog all the way in.

I just concentrated on riding smooth and relaxed. My guess is that I may have riden no more than 15 times this year. Have only ridden 30 miles once ever and usually only rode 18 miles, sometimes 24...With that being said, I was very happy with my time. Think I may have pushed just a little too hard the last 1/3rd of course to keep my pacing steady. I hydrated well thanks to my new front mounted aero bottle... Used the bike as a riding restaurant, eating and drinking the whole time. Had to stop at the mile 36 aid station to relieve myself in the portapotty. Only wasted about 1 minute- not bad. Felt discomfort in my lower abs. Am not sure if I was straining my abs 'cause I wasn't relaxed enought in aerobars, or if I was having lower GI distress.

Ride three to four days per week instead of once or twice per month.

Did not unstap my feet, so I had to walk to bike rack. Next time I will unstrap and run in my socks. Other than that it was OK. Lubed up with some sundscreen on my way out of T-1. Taking the time to do that was well worthwhile for a pale guy like my. I'll give you those 45 seconds so that I don't have to go through a week of sunburn.

Run barefoot.

Running through the arena to start the run was pretty cool. I haven't run in over three months so I wasn't expecting much, but I was expecting to be able to run 9:30/mile, no slower than 10:00/mile. When I stopped running and starting walking I wasn't sure if I was being humbled or humiliated. I was embarassed. Thank goodness I wasn't the only one walking. It was pretty hot at times. The aid stations were great and frequent. I couldn't find my special needs bag, and could really have used it, but didn't let that bother me. I kept asking those running around me if this half IM thing was their idea, because the pain in my leg muscles kept telling me how stupid an idea this was and I didn't want to take the blame. Finishing the run in the arena was WAY cool. Would do this event next year despite the poor road conditions on the bike course just to finish in the arena again. The arena was small enough so that I could hear my fan club but large enough to make it feel like you are one of the Dallas Cowboys coming out of the tunnel for the Superbowl!

Train. I hadn't run in over 12 weeks and I had only run 10 miles twice, ever.

Walked around arena a few times until I got my heart rate under control. Went up to the stands and found Mila and my nephew then got outta there. Took an icebath back at the hotel for as long as I could take it.


I would've helped if I trained. Anyone who says you can't do a 1/2IM without training is full of BS. However, if you want to finish in a decent time, not be ashamed at walking the "run" and not be in pain for four days afterward, train, train, train...


Great race. The great things overwhelmingly outweighed the poor things. Big THANKS to Keith and his team...