Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This swim had a rough start as I kept getting hit during the first 200m. I tried to stay close to people to draft but it was just too crowded. I was hit a few times but nothing hard. It seems like it took a while to get to the first turn buoy and I think I went off course somewhere there. The long 2nd portion went fine and I was sighting well and didn't feel like I needed to even switch to breast stroke for a break.

Get more swim practice in. I was more consistent but I need to swim around 15000 yds per month on a regular basis (which shouldn't be hard). I also need to work on bilateral breathing.

Got out of the water but I just can't get myself to move too quickly after the swim. The wetsuit strippers did an awesome job though (this girl just get mine off without a hitch - chip did NOT get caught this time). I also was very deliberate in getting my race belt, shades, and helmet on.

I think I can shave 30 sec off this time by having a better sense of urgency. I really didn't need to rinse off my feet and I could've jogged with my bike instead of walking.

Either my HR monitor was acting funny but I just couldn't get my HR down the first part of the bike. My race plan was to hold around 135-138 bpm but that went down the drain because I probably stayed around 140-144 bpm most of the time. My legs weren't as lively for some reason. I had a Zipp 1080 deep rim in front and a Zipp 900 disc at the rear - first time riding both. There were no issues until a short section going back when the gusts would definitely unsettle the bike but that was only a couple of miles. I think I will find an 808 Firecrest for next year to pair with the disc.

I did see Lance Armstrong leading the bike when I was around mile 13! I shouted 'GO LANCE!' but I'm sure he didn't hear me ;) I spent some time playing leap-frog with a couple of people, primarily a very strong woman. I just can't remember her number to see how she did overall. Since I was in an earlier swim wave, I did get more than the usual number of people passing me - the fast cyclists from the later waves. I decided to keep with my own race and not try and chase anyone. My only close call was some bozo who decided to pass me on the right as I had completed a pass and was moving towards the right to let someone else pass me.

I did avoid the water stations and had my hands on the horns every time I was near one.

I did notice some cracks starting to get big near San Luis pass so they should patch that up for next year.

I spent a lot more time 'base building' earlier this year and I think that I now have a good base for the rest of the season. However, I little bit more anaerobic training as I approached the race would have been good. I was about 2 minutes slower than last year, but it seemed windier, and also at higher heart rate.

A few days after I wrote this, I realized that my rear wheel was completely flat. I then investigated further and it looked like a had a slow leak on my rear tire! Given that I pumped up the tire when I checked the bike in on Saturday afternoon, it leaked air for about 15 hrs before I raced which explains the 14-percentile drop in bike performance. In all my races, my run and bike performance were pretty close to each other as a percentile of overall and AG, but for this race, the bike was way lower than my run (and given a higher HR effort than my last race, that was very strange). I learned my lesson now and unfortunately, this had to happen on my longest race. I think that I was definitely capable of at least 4-5 minutes faster time.

I didn't do a cyclocross dismount because there were too many people coming in and it wasn't worth the extra seconds. I jogged to my rack (and I got a decent rack this time - midway down the rows. Got my socks and shoes on, but needed a porta-john stop which added probably 30 seconds to the time.

I will need to experiment running longer without socks. I run without socks for sprints/oly distances but just haven't tried a half-marathon without them.

My plan was to run right around 8:00/mile pace, starting out at 8:15 or so. I was pretty successful in executing the first half of the race as I got in right at 25:00 for the first 5K, then at 50:00 at the 10K mark. That would've put my right on pace for somewhere around 1:42 but after about 7 miles, I couldn't keep my HR under 160bpm unless I dropped the speed and walked the water stations. Nutrition wise, I took a gel around 5.5 miles in, and was taking 2 endurolytes every 30 min. I didn't really feel cramping so that was good.

I did start slowing down around mile 8-11 running closer to 8:30 or even slower at some points (especially when I walked the water stop). My original plan was to 'go' at Mile 10 but I just didn't have much 'go' left! I looked at my watch and was trying pretty hard to make sure I finish the run under 1:50. At Mile 12 a tried to speed it up and managed to get close to 8:00 pace again as I knew it was going to be close beating my 5:30 stretch goal.

Try to keep cool better-perhaps I should experiment and wear a race belt next time with some hydration to fill in gaps when I was thirsty and could've used a drink or a water splash.

I came in and had to catch my breath at the finish line chute. Drank 2-3 small bottles of cold water to rehydrate then walked over to transition and waited about 10 minutes before they let us in. Took a recovery shake, packed up and cleaned up for the 5 1/2 hr drive home. Made sure to wear my Zoot recovery tights.

I didn't find the food area nor did I get a massage this time.


Limited training time but I felt that I executed on this race very well. Also, a few days later, I noticed that my rear wheel was completely flat. It apparently had a slow leak and likely raced with pressures well below optimal (which explains why I was so slow on the bike compared to previous races). I think I should have been at least 5 minutes faster on the bike. I guess I'll have to make sure to check that before the next race (and pump my tires the mornign of the race next time...so in case I did have a slow leak, the bike wouldn't have sat overnight and lost more air before I raced).


Always a good race. It was nice getting to see the pros, especially Lance Armstrong. Too bad he didn't do well on this one as his run was slow compared to his first 70.3 race in Panama.