LongHorn Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Festival - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim start was brutal. Since this was my first open water tri (and my first half IM) I was taken aback by the brutal contact. I couldn't get more than 4 or 5 clean strokes in without someone climbing on me. I was basically dog paddling trying to fight through the crowd. I was getting very tired and out of breath.

Finally, after about 300 yards I cut out to the right to get some space and made it to the first turn. After that things went much better. I expected to complete the swim in 35 minutes (anticipating some navigation issues). Considering I finished in 38 I feel good about the swim with all the problems at the start.

Find a starting spot far outside of the crowd and stay clear of the crowd. I'd rather have to swim farther and not fight the group than a shorter distance with a crowd around me.

I took my time to make sure I didn't forget anything and to get my focus back. I was disappointed that it took so long.

Focus on moving with a purpose throughout transition.

The bike went really well for me. I expected to keep about an 18mph pace and ended up slightly faster without a lot of extra exertion. I thought the course would have some larger hills. Turned out my training area was actually a great prep for this race.

Finishing under 3 hours was 10 minutes ahead of my goal.

Work on my bike speed. I did the best I could with where I'm at now. Just need to get faster.

I got a little rash from my trisuit, so I took some time to get that taken care of. Other than that I was pretty happy with T2.

Not much.

I knew I would have to hold myself back at the run start, but I got excited when I saw my bike time...STUPID! I ran the first mile in 7:20. When I saw that I knew I had made a mistake and tried to compensate.

The first lap went pretty well, but I paid the price for the fast start. I had some stomach issues that I was able to fight off with salt pills, but they definitely had me holding back.

On the second lap I was just focusing on running the whole way. I was pretty disappointed with my run time. I wanted to be under 2 hours, but my early mistakes caught up with me.

Focus on my race plan at the run start!

A little food to settle my stomach and stretching to keep my legs from cramping up afterwards.


Not executing my race plan and the fact that I'm still a newbie. I have a much better feel of what to watch out for now and feel like I can improve substantially next time.


I thought the race was well put together and a lot of fun. The volunteers were great, especially on the