Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim a HIM PR by 1:00. Previous PR was in a calm lake but with no wetsuit. This race I had farmer john wetsuit but some serious chop and some current. Did well navigation wise. Had the beginning of a hamstring cramp but it went away. Watch band came undone from the strep catch twice…I’ll duct tape it next time. Could have probably gone faster by a minute or maybe two, but I was just trying to conserve energy and stay aerobic and comfortable. Overall, hard to have any problem with the swim. Had some calf and hammy cramping when the wetsuit strippers tried to get my suit off. Stretched it out and then I was good from then on.

Waybe warm up hammys and calves a bit more and stretch them to prevent cramping. Keep legs more relaxed to prevent cramping. Duct Tape watch band.

#1 T1 time was 1:46, AG winner was at 2:32. Would have been a lot faster if I had not stopped to work out my cramping. Found bike easily, and once I got to my bike I was smooth and fast. Still moved up 7 spots during transition.

Forgot the body glide ont he inside/ankles of wetsuit to help strippers get it off me. This caused some cramping issues because I had to point my toes so strong and hard to get the wet suit off. Cost me some time in transition.

I had two flats within the first 5 miles of the bike (costing me over 31 minutes), the second a direct result of not properly removing the offending glass the first time. Once you factor both flats out, my actual time on bike was 2:55:39 and pace was 19.1 mph, better than my 3hr/18.6 mph goal. That time would have ranked me 123/255 AG and I would have been in 107th place (only dropping 38 spots). Tried to keep heart rate at 147-150 most once tire was fixed for good. Felt strong, no cramping or burning at all.

Learn how to change my tires faster.

#1 T2 time was 1:03. Lost about 10 seconds because I had to run back to my spot to drop off my Gu bottle I use during the bike leg that was in the back of my jersey. Otherwise smooth; got on dry socks that some people might forego, but I like then in anything longer than a 5K run leg.

Make sure I chekced my pockets before leaving bike.

Best HIM run off bike ever by more than 21 minutes. Splits were: 1) 7:06/mi, 2) 7:55/mi, 3) 7:58/mi, 4) 7:43/mi. Started out fast, quads above knees started cramping at first rest stop/walk. Drank flask of pickle juice and started hydrating with Gatorade and saltstick caps. Using iced sponges helped bring core temp and HR down. Heart rate was in 160s to 170s (up to 179 during final kick). Finished with a strong kick over last mile or so being paced by someone else. Passed her and a number of age groupers right before the finish, although one passed me back in final sprint as I misjudged the distance to the finish (first time ever!).

Nothing.

Walked around. Recoverite. Pizza. Banana. Water. Massage. Stretch.


2 bike flats.


Remember to think about what to do before race while waiting for wave to start. Warmup/bathroom, etc.

Overall, my greatest athletic performance and a HIM PR by 23 minutes once the bike flats are accounted for. PR swim and PR run. Held back a bit from my previous HIM bike pace to save something for the run, so although my bike was 8 minutes slower than my HIM bike PR (once flats were accounted for) my run was 33 minutes faster than that same race (a net 25 minute improvement!). Need to work on tire changing skills, especially with ZIPPS.