Iron Star Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Beach start. The line itself was ~5 yards from the waters edge but we were probably 10 rows deep so it was fun! I forgot a gel but it was all good. I was in the 5th or 6th row and went left as soon as I hit the water. The first few hundred yards was a bar fight but after that it spread out quick. I was really surprised at the first turn, out into the main lake, to find it not crowded at all.

It was a really cool course. We started in a lagoon near a marina in protected water then swam around a peninsula into the open lake. Every once in while I could feel a little wave push me but for the most part it was just little chop. And the wind was at our back once you made the first right turn in the lake so that helped.

One of my goals was to be observant and find some feet. I've just never been able to figure out how this works. "Go swim behind somebody about a foot from their feet" isn't so easy. First you have to find them, then you have to stay there and not piss them off.

Well I did it and man was it cool. The guy I found was swimming at my pace so when I fell in behind him it felt so easy. I was able to stay with him for at least 500 yards. What was very cool was at a turn buoy he dropped me. I looked up and he was ~10 yards out. I hit the gas and was on him in no time. All I kept thinking was man I gotta find this guy later and buy him a beer.

Finally he started going way off course so I let him go. The rest was all me. I thought I had a crappy time, for me, but when I got out and saw 43, I was pumped.

This was the first race I didn't feel dizzy when I stood up.

I would have liked the strippers to be farther out in order to get my suit around my waist. They were right at the exit, in fact I ran by them then came back. I should have just kept going.


draft more and draft off a faster person.

Well it was cool to get to the rack and most of the bikes were still there.

But overall really not too good. First race with the 305. Need to mount it on the bike.

This is free time, I NEED TO GET MOVING. I spent more time visualizing and planning transitions for this race than any of the others.

305 on the the bike not wrist.

shoes clipped in.

tri top under suit. more of a suit feel issue than transition issue.

Nice course. A loop with an out and back on the far side of the loop. A bunch of miles were through a national forest. I'm not used to riding around large trees so that was kinda cool.

My goal was to take it as easy as I could in order to save as much as possible for the run. I felt good most of the ride and was able to keep it low Z3 everywhere but going uphill.

Speaking of going uphill, I actually passed someone going uphill. That's new.

By far my best ride of the year. I really had some fun out there.

Nutrition: Water only for the first half hour. Then I decided to start the gels at 30 minutes instead of 40 because I forgot one before the swim. I think this worked out ok until about mile 36 when I started feeling a little sick. So I backed off the Gatorade and gels and hit water for a few miles. One last gel at mile 45 and then nothing for the remainder. I think the grand total was 6 gels, 2 bottles of Gatorade and 2.5 bottles of water.



still gotta ride more.

Well, like T1, when I got to the rack most of the bikes were there. Unlike T1, not a good feeling. ah-well.

4th in my AG here which is good. I would have been faster but the racks were low. Went I went to rack my bike I couldn't get it back under the rack so I had to flip it around.

For some reason I was off balance when dismounted and almost ran right into the crowd. Some people cheered for me when I got it together but I know they were hoping I went yard sale.

stay in control more.

I liked this course. Mostly undulating with a few smaller hills.

I'm just now seeing the results for the first time and must admit I'm a little bummed. I thought I could go faster than this.

I came out of T2 feeling good at just under a 10 minute pace. Then at mile three my legs started going. I'm not sure what was going on. My HR was Z2 for most of the run but my legs just had nothing and were really hurting my mile 7. I'd have a few good moments but ended up walking a couple of hills. Still faster than Lubbock so I'm happy with that.

I did catch Craig but couldn't go by him until mile 10 or so. And really only becasue he developed an issue with his leg. I also knew that he started 15 minutes or so behind me so even though I passed him there was not much of a chance of beating him. Its cool to see someone out there that you know rolling along at a similar pace.

I had 1 and 1/2 gels and a few Enduralytes. No Gatorade just water. Past mile 5, every time i drank water I felt sick. But dumping water down my shorts felt great.

One of the highlights of the day was the last few hundred yards. Lots of folks still there and I was alone for a while so tons of support. As I'm coming around the final turn I hear someone yell pick your head up and kick hard. So I started to kick harder. Then I heard pick your head up in a more stern voice. I looked over and it was triritter. That was cool. I needed the kick in the ass there. Come to find out he was the overall winner. Shows a lot about the guy that he'll go out there cheering for slow fools like me after winning the race.

run more

My entire family was there, Jacy's first race..awesome!

Rachel was volunteering at the finish line which was cool. I knew she was going to be there until two which meant I needed to get in under 7. That was some good motivation!

Talked to Smilford, sucks about his day, and a few others but I knew something wasn't right. I was seeing spots and feeling dizzy so I stopped by medical. Not sure what was up but it went away after 15 minutes or so. Thanks Merry and Pat for grabbing me some grub! KeriKadi you are an awesome sherpa! Thank you!!!

The ride home was terrible. My legs hurt so much and my but was killing me. Thankfully Jarrett's sister here to drive me home. No way I could drive.

Crushed some jelly belly's (cinnamon), 2 dozen wings, and one or ten beers.




Just need to train more. I took almost an hour off my time from the 70.3 in June. I'll get there.. . Look the heck out at Lone Star! I'll be handing out beatdown's on the half course!


Great way to end my first season. Thanks to all the AWESOME volunteers. Especially you guys at the finish line. Not sure why they were short handed there as everywhere else seemed to have more than enough people. I will race here again. The only suggestion would be to move the strippers back closer to the transition.

So now I've finished an IM 70.3 and a small local HIM. Both are very cool in their own right but at the same time they are very different animals. I don't know if I prefer one over the other. But I do know I like this distance more than any of the others that I've raced. Its incredibly rewarding, you suffer a lot, and its manageable while still trying to live your life.