Ironman 70.3 Austin - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

First wetsuit swim and it was nice. Had no idea it would float me so well, and gliding was smooth. Will make it a point to wear one whenever I can. It got a little congested at times, with a moderate degree of contact. A lot of that was people who weren't spotting. I saw several of them swimming sideways across the course. Got more congested at the turns. Once again, a ton of people started off too fast and I had no problem passing them. Finished with a much better time than anticipated.

Just arrive earlier, take my time. The actual swim was nice. Very enjoyable with the wetsuit.

Better than expected. Foot hurt trying to run barefooted so I just walked. There weren't mats in the transition area so it got real dirty. Glad I had a squirt bottle to clean my feet. Good idea to wrap jersey around handle bars. Probably shouldve taken more sunscreen as I exited.

Nothing comes to mind. Did better than I expected.

The big decision before this race was tri-bike vs road bike, and I was glad to have the road bike. This course was very rough. Bumpy with lots of chip seal (probably ~ 50% of the course). The smoother portions features cracks and fissures that I had to dodge. There were some steep climbs but nothing very long. Easily tackled with my roadie, may have been a problem on the tri. I passed a lot of people on this course, more than expected, and I really had a good pace going without much effort. I breezed through the first 25 miles and it may have been because of a tailwind because once we turned around and headed back in things got tough. The headwind was brutal and just beat the crap out of me. I rode on the drops for a while and it helped but not much. That's when I was wishing for my tribike, but still overall glad to have the roadie. I really put forth more effort than I wanted on the way in and I think it took more out of me than it should have. Hammies and back were tight when I got off and I paid dearly on the run. I was very glad to be done with it.

Glad I had the roadie, but some clip-ons would be a good addition for the next race. Turned in a good time overall, better than I expected.

Walked most of the way. I was clearly hurt on the last half of the bike leg.

This was brutal. Not since my first marathon have I had such a mental challenge, nor come so close to quitting. One week prior I injured my left foot on a training run and it was still stiff enough to force a mild limp on race morning. I made a huge lacing mistake with my left shoe, hoping to make my foot more comfortable and this cause a massive blister on my instep that was throbbing by mile 2. From mile 2-4 I could only walk and that's when I came dangerously close to quitting. Halfway to mile 5 I stopped and relaced my left shoe and it was a vast improvement. I was able to run a decent pace past mile 6. But the off-road portions of the course hurt. I walked the vast majority of those. I also realized that I hadn't drank enough on the bike and tried to make up for that. The heat really started to kick in past the half-way mark. The sun was beating down on all of us.

Several runners were cramping, stopped and bent over on the verge of puking. There wasn't much shade. The sun was brutal. After the second loop, by mile 9, my blister was on fire. I couldn't jog more than 10 seconds. It felt like a hot coal in my shoe. I also began feeling some nausea and the last 3 miles I was just trying not to puke myself. I made a huge tactical error by not eating anything beyond mile 6 and I paid for it.

But I finished strong, the adrenaline blocking out the pain. Hugged my wife at the finish. It was an emotional finish for me.

Never lace my shoes like that again, keep it tight. Don't stray from my nutritional plan, no matter how hot and crappy I feel. Be mentally tougher, I came close to losing that battle and quitting.

A big hug from my wife, she had the chocolate milk ready. I went back to the hotel and showered and napped for about 20 minutes before enjoying beer and a burger at Red Robin.


Of course the foot problem, but more than that my mistake of lacing my shoe too loose. Without that blister I could have gotten close to a 10 minute run pact and maybe even sub-6 hours overall. Also, I stuck with the Q30 min eating plan for the most part until the final half of the run and that may have hurt me. Make sure I have sunscreen on at all times. Drink more on the bike leg, somehow. I was glad to have my roadie but need clipons. No problems at all on the swim. Made some mistakes here but the purpose of this race was to gain experience. It will pay off next year.


Overall a tough course. The swim portion was great and I was glad to have a wetsuit. Bike course was rugged. Lots of chip seal, cracks and fissures in the road. Lots of turns. More gravel than anticipated. Glad I brought my road bike and not the tri-bike. Although, I should've added some clip-on aerobars because the headwind on the last 20 miles was brutal. The heat took its toll on the run, lots of people were hurting. Could've done without the off-road portion of the run but that's mainly because of an injured foot. This was a fun race, very challenging, and very rewarding. I have a time to beat.