Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Other than still looking back to see if I could spot my wife after jumping in the water I felt fine. I started out nice and easy and just got my pace down.

I have a calcium build up on my shoulder that is causing pain when I move certain ways so I have been taking it easy on the swim, but this didn't bother me on this swim.

I did pretty good staying with the pack the first 500 meters or so then I ran into a bouy and started doing a bit of a back and forth across the path. Still I stayed fairly well on course.

About half way through the swim though my stomach started to feel queazy. I fought through it and kept trying to go forward and made it to the last turn when I had to stop and try to calm down a bit.

I think it was on this first stop that I actually started to wretch. I didn't actually throw up at that point. I kept going and stopped a few more times. The next time a guy in a kayak asked me if I was ok. I said I was, swam 4 strokes then stopped and thanked him for asking. He followed me in most of the rest of the way. I didn't want the day to end in the water so I kept myself under control till I got in close enough to stand up.

I threw up at that point, just liquids so I'm assuming I swallowed some salt water along the way?

1) Not get sick
2) More sighting
3) Get my shoulder fixed.

I was pretty nervous after having been sick in the water so I proceeded slowly to the wetsuit strippers. I had trouble getting the wetsuit down off of my arms, but the strippers got it for me and then I slowly laid down for them to get them off of my legs.

I went and got my tools and the rest of the schmorgesborg I brought for the bike in my pockets and got my helmet, shoes, halo, and glasses on and started to head to the bike.

1) Probably carry less food on the bike
2) More practice getting the wetsuit down.

I haven't practiced flying mounts for a while, and this was a HIM and I figured the extra minute or 2 wouldn't have any impact. So I started out with a normal bike mount.

I got up to speed and up on the seawall. The headwind wasn't horrible and I did about 15 on the way out. I was really nervous about my nutrition after the swim. I could still taste the bile and I was nervous about getting sick on the bike.

I decided to start with some shot blocks and see how I did. I followed that with a peanut butter cracker, but it was really dry and I had trouble getting it down. I swapped on and off with solids (cliff and another cracker and chomps, and gels. My stomach was never settled all day (or still a day later) but I didn't have any acute stomach issues.

This was my first HIM and my first race with bottle handups. I hadn't practiced them but found it easy to point and ask for what I wanted. Got a gatorade on the first pass, and then water on each other. Asked for a bar at one but was given chomps. I dropped one water bottle but was able to get a second one, and at the last aid station I was all out of liquids and got two bottles.


I kept a good cadence and did a pretty good job thorughout the ride with one exception...

I was fiddling with my polar that I had loosely around the handlebars and I looked up in time to see I was about to go off the road. A few months ago I went off the road riding Galveston and went down, this was smoother area, and I was better prepared so I just went over the edge straight and unclipped first one then both shoes. I took a small hit in the groin from the bumps, but I didn't go down, and it only cost me a few minutes.

The only other time I unclipped was on the u turn. It is a uturn on a 2 lane road with very little shoulder, there wasn't a lot of room and the course was pretty crowded so for safety I unclipped the inside leg.

About mile 30 I was riding with my left leg locked down, and then it cramped and locked in place. I thought i was going to loose it for a second and then I pushed the pedal around with the other leg. Within 15 or 20 minutes the other leg did the same thing. Both legs were cramping just above the knee on the inside of the leg.. This area is still sore to the touch a day later.

I also needed to pee, when I started getting nauseous on the swim I gave up on taking care of that in the water. I didn't see the port a poties near the aid stations, and the urge wasn't so strong that I felt I had to stop so I kept going.

I continued to be worried about my wife and if she started or not on the bike. 4.5 hours is a long time to go without knowing what happened. I was worried that she didn't start the swim because a) she didn't have the suit, or b) she was worried about what happened to me.

Coming back into transition I was worried about my legs not working when I unclipped. I dismounted early and was able to dismount in time without issue.


Honestly I think i executed this pretty well. I should have been in the aero bars a bit more, and I wished I hadn't cramped up, but for my training, bike, etc I think I did this about as well as could be.

You can argue that I should have gone easier so I could have run more/faster.... but I think that has more to do with general run fitness and pacing on the run.

This time is vastly inflated for 2 reasons.
1) I had to hit the port-a-potty
2) This was my first time to check on my wife.

I came in and went down the wrong isle, partly because I ran too far, partly because I was looking for my wives bike. I was looking for her race number but I had it wrong, but didn't see her bike.

Don't tell the WTC but I had my cell phone on me on the bike and run. When I was in the bathroom I went to ironman live and looked her up, she was past the turn around on the bike so I was relieved and headed out for the run.

I unloaded my rear pocket from my jersey as I've been known to run with tools in my back pocket before.

Not have the prior mishaps.

When I started running my legs cramped up pretty bad in the same spot as the bike. I walked it off, although walking hurt worse than running. Then ran again till it locked up again. This took about 2 or 3 miles to work out.

Still, I wasn't able to run more than about a quarter of a mile at a time. I walked all the aid stations and had water and a mix of nutrition at all the aid stations. Including a Banana, orange slices, gu, and a bonk breaker.

On my second loop I saw my wife one one of the out and backs about 1.5 miles behind me and she was unfazed by the wetsuit incident that made me feel better.

The sun was beating down on me and I was burning. I had put on sunscreen in the morning, and in T1 and T2. I also had volunteers apply more coming out of T2 and after the second loop. I was wearing a headsweats visor and turned it around to cover my neck when the sun was on it. Still I ended up pretty burned.

Once I got past the cramps I really didn't have any problems other than pacing. When I was on the last loop I realized that I was almost on pace to hit 8 hours. If I picked up the pace I could break it. I still alternated running and walking, but I made it in jsut under 8.

When I did run I was doing 9.x and 10.x then walked 15.x-17.x. What I should have been doing was running in the 12s and kept moving at the faster pace.

More sun screen, more coverage of it, in fact I'll quite insist the volunteer smother me in the stuff.

The run course had a mile loop that ended near the finish shoot. I went to the door and watched for my wife to come through the loop or the finish. She came in about 25 minutes after me.

The sunburn, or the day as a whole really beat me down. After I got the stuff from transtion and got back to the room I started getting shaky, hot and cold. I really wasn't capable of doing anything productive.

My wife ordered dinner, and gave me a pickle that really seemed to help... probably the salt. I ate the steak, but the carbs were not appealing.

Today I feel a lot better, just sore.


Run Fitness, training, and sickness.


This was one of the better organized races I've done. Granted it was twice the size of the others and twice the length. But it was better than the 5150 also put on by the WTC.