Ironman 70.3 Austin - Triathlon

My wave started at 8:20 and got to see the pros exit the water. VERY COOL!!! I decided to start off towards the back of my wave, since I really stuggle with the swim. A week before the event, I took a 1hr crash session with a TI coach. I tried to apply what I was shown, but I naturally went back to my original stroke. I felt good for the first 200m. After that I had to go back and forth between freestyle and breast stroke...SLOW!!! About half way I got a horrible cramp in my right calf. It took about 2 min for the cramp to release. I was able to keep going, but wondered how this was going to affect the rest of the race. Finally made it out of the water and had my wetsuit rip off by the strippers..Awesome by the way!!

Swim...Swim...Swim...I really struggle with breathing and maintaining the freestyle stroke. I'm going to take the full Total Immersion this winter. Hopefully that will help along with practice. I'm open to any advice as well!!!

I really took my time at T1. I didn't feel like 8min, but I can drastically improve my transition time.

Move faster!

It felt good to get on the bike and take off. There was a pile up right after turning out onto the first major road. Looked like there was about 8-12 bikes involved. It was a little cold at first, but my arm warmers really helped. I felt good for the first 20 miles or so, but my lower back started to hurt around 25 miles. I stopped at the next aid station and used the restroom, streched my back. Once I got back on the road, I felt great!! I got a big burst of energy that lasted through the next 20 miles. It seemed like I passed a ton of people, while not getting passed by very many. The course did not seem as flat as some of the previous years's race reports indicated? I dropped my chain at about mile 55, but recovered quick. My chain came of again as I entered the transition chute, so I pushed off to the dismount line. I heard someone in the crowd say " Man, that sucks"...thought it was pretty funny.

I thing I held back a litte, but with this being my first 70.3 I really didn't know how my body would react after the bike. Nutrition was great on the bike and everything went well, besided dropping my chain twice.

A little faster than T1.

Move faster

I felt good after getting of the bike. I hit up the first port-o-potty and pressed on. I ate a few gu's and took in fluid at almost every aid station. The first lap was good, I just tried to listen to my body. As I finished my 2nd lap I finally spotted my wife, kids and friends. That was such a comfort and inspired me to push harder! I had used my heart rate monitor for the bike and first 2 laps of the run. I tried to stay under 160 bpm for the first 2 laps, but switched over to time. My goal was to complete the event around 6 - 6 1/2 hrs. When I realized I could actually finsih under 6hrs, I pushed. The last lap was tough, but I had that sub 6hr finish in my head and it was on. As I entered the chute and made the turn towards the convention center, I was soooo excited. My daughter ran along with me on the other side of the chute and I gave high fives to my family and friends. I actually got kind of emotional as I entered the convention center, I was having trouble trying to breathe?? Kind of a cool feeling....

Not much.

I waited for my wife to find me. I kinda stood there and let everything sink in. Tried to wait for a massage, but the line was really long. Ate some post race food and headed out.


This was a great event and look forward to next year.