Oil Man Texas Triathlon - Formerly Iron Star Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Since I'm such a poor swimmer, I count this as a good swim for me! I felt nice and relaxed just about the whole way, and sighting was pretty good. I've finished in the bottom 10% of AG on a lot of swims, so I'm counting this one as pretty decent.

I watched the first wave take off. The announcer talked about the "Gate" set up at the start before the wave took off. The lead swimmers went through the gate, then one of the kayaks or boats in the water made them turn around and go back around the far side of the gate. I'm sure it cost them several minutes to back-track like that. I'm not sure about Wave #2, but I think they also went around the far side of the gate. The rest of the waves went through the gate as initially instructed. I'm sure those people that had to back-track were pretty ticked off!

Long run from the water to transition. Wet Suit strippers did great! I took a little time to put on socks, figuring that I'd be putting them on in T2 anyway.

I have not ridden much this fall, so I'm pleased with this ride. I was hoping to go under 3-hours, and just barely made it. I figure the heavy chip seal probably cost me a few minutes. I've got H3 race wheels, so they might have helped the ride feel extra rough. When I was in the aero bars, I was shaking so hard I couldn't read thedisplay on the Garmin. I did get hit in the cheek with a loose rock in the first chip seal section. I didn't see where it came from, but figure it must have been kicked up by a bike, as it stung but didn't cut me. Winds started to get heavier as the morning progressed, and did slow down the pace on the return to Montgomery. Three bottle hand-ups, and I thought the volunteers did a great job!

Good ride!

Good T2. No issues!

I think the bike left me a little baked, as my run felt very slow and labored. Since I've not been on the bike much this fall, I'm okay with that. I did see a couple weird things during this run. I saw two different guys fiddling with their smart phones. They had the speakers on and were either playing the radio or music with them and adjusting the song or volum or something. I don't think I've every seen this before in a triathlon. The other unusual thing that happened was the lady running in front of me around the mile 7 point quick as a wink pulled her shorts down and ran into someone's drive-way to use the bathroom beside their truck. I'm not sure if the homeowners were watching from their living room windows, but, if they were, I can imagine how impressed they were by this. I think there were potra-potties every 10-minutes or so along the course. must have been a real emergency!

Been doing a fair amount of running, but very little swimming or biking. I think the lack of bike training was the biggest impact for me and slowed both my bike and run splits!


Overall, this is a good race. It's smaller than the Texas WTC 70.3 races and doesn't have the hype, but is well run and the course is great. It'd be a great race for first timers or those looking for a half to end the season with. This bike course has a lot in common with the IM-Woodlands bike course, so anyone wanting a race on those roads as IM prep should consider it!