Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

First 500 was the most contact I have been through in a triathlon. After I let the field go, I did just fine. It's much easier to swim when everyone is in front of you. Many thank to Jackhole who swam much faster than me but couldn't sight to save his life. He T-boned me at least 5 times.

After I got past the initial mess, the swim was actually pretty decent and really good sighting. Nearly every time I sighted the buoy was in front of me.

Stick with my typical approach of lining up to the opposite side of the shortest distance to the first buoy. This has allowed me time at the beginning to get my act together. Swim more and get better.

Well it started early. Wet suit stripper pulling the suit off created a mother of a cramp in my right calf. I had to wait for that one before I could WALK to my bike. Nothing fancy since the hill was straight out of T1 and transition was chip seal. Shoes on feet, not on bike. Quad cramped a bit before I got the bike off the rack - it was gonna be a long day. Downed the PJ I picked up at the expo and prayed I would make it through the bike.

Not cramp - doesn't help at all.

Managed to get up the first hill without cramping so I figured the PJ must have helped. Downhills caused me to apply some brake and I wished I had more gears going up. I caught Justin at mile 18 which didn't tell me much since I knew he had a much better swim time than I and likely a much better T1. It was good to see someone I knew though. Somehow I made it the entire bike course with no cramps. I allowed myself more watts than I did in Galveston not thinking it would really matter. I felt like the cramps were caused by my early run pace not the bike.

Not do this race again

Nothing fancy since I was in no hurry to get on the run course. The chip seal in transition convinced me to stay in my shoes. Took my time and didn't even have speed laces on the shoes. Made dang sure the Garmin found sats before I even started moving - no chance I was going to go too fast this time.

Ran 10'/mile for almost 3 miles. I decided to walk the first significant hill. I got some hits on the legs but nothing major yet. Got going and walked the second hill. Tried to run to the energy labII section and was fairly successful but once I hit that section the cramps were pretty steady and I was done running for much distance. I drank my "get out jail free" bottle of pickle juice I brought from Houston - didn't help this time. Met Trey Stone at the first aid station and knew he was struggling a bit if I caught him with my terrible pace. After the turn the folks from PJ were giving out PJ at the aid station and I said maybe 3 of these will work? HAHAHA I was puking PJ for a while before that stopped. Saw Justin Wood about 1 mile behind me after I made the turn. I knew it wouldn't be long before he ran me down but he was certainly having a rough day if it took this long. Not too much longer I saw Rachel it was good to see Rachel because I was sweating for her because I left on the bike and she wasn't out of the water yet (6 min in front of me with the wave start). Rainbows and butterflies were flying out of Rachel as she sprung towards me. She looked SO HAPPY which confused me in the middle of the energy lab section but ya gotta love her spirit. She told me to move or she would catch me. I told her I would see her soon. Rachel didn't catch me until 1.5 or so from the end and she was flying. No shot at that point of running with her although I would have loved to. I was shocked still no Justin and was finally able to get my act together and run the last .7 in. I passed a guy before we got to the chute and he turned out to be in my AG - not that it matters.

Not do this race again - once is enough

Walked a bit and downed a Muscle Milk because it was handed to me. After a bit of cool down with Rachel we heard Justin's name get called and went back to celebrate all 4 of us being off the dang course. We all finished within about 10 minutes of each other chip time and 14 minutes clock time. Honestly, the people I was able to hang with made this weekend great. Take out the 3 hours on the run course and I would do it again with these same folks. It was weird not having my crew at the race but having friends in the race helped a bunch.

I got an IV for the first time because I was cramping hard and getting dizzy after the race. Justin and Trey were already down a bag or two on the IVs so I figured what the heck. That crap is amazing! I felt SO MUCH better after the IV.

I lost 10 pounds from the scale they weighed me on a packet pick up. Not sure how to stop that since I drank quite a bit on the bike and every aid station on the run. I needed to hit the bathroom right after teh race which was a good sign. 10 pounds on the same scale scared the crap out of me.


The list is too long

Cramps, heat, fatigue, puking pickle juice, my dog ate ... never mind no more excuses.... I just SUCK in the heat.


The deal is people get crushed on this course, train harder and try to come back and win. Some amazing athletes can have a great race here but not me. They did a great job with the aid stations. Volunteers are amazing considering the sun and heat. Plenty of water and ice and you need it to get through this mother. Ice down the shorts, in the hat, in my mouth and in both hands most of the run(who am I kidding - walk). Good luck to you if you want this challenge. I've been there, got the shirt and the medal.