Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was a solid swim for me overall. I started out well and found some good feet to draft. Unfortunately, I lost them rounding the first bouy. I never found another really good pair after that, just some intermittent ones that either ended up being too fast or too slow. I really felt like my navigation was dead on, but on the back leg, it seemed a lot of people were way off to my right.

I definitely got a bit off course after rounding the last bouy. I wasn't exactly sure where the exit was and my goggles were a little fogged, so I was sighting off the remaining bouys, which didn't really lead straight to the exit. I had one of the kayakers guiding me back to the right.

Came out of the water feeling great. I don't think I ever got anaerobic and I felt relaxed the whole way. On all of my Olys and the one half I've done, there's been a point when I've really felt like crap and had to struggle through the rest of the swim, wondering when the hell it was going to be over. Not this time. That bodes well for doing twice the distance next month.

Get there the day before to check out the course layout. The large bouys were great and easy to spot. Also, I don't know if it was intentional, but the bouys mostly seemed to line up with an easily viewable landmark up on the shore. That last turn was the only place where not scouting the course was an issue.

Another solid transition. I've said before that it may seem like I obsess over transitions, but it's so easy to gain a minute or more during them. I really doubt I'll ever be near the podium for my AG, but for those of you that are, they're one of your tickets to getting there.

Saw Bill in T1 and was amazed at how quickly he had gone through the swim. He yelled out "That's some fast water!" He needs to work on transitions, though!

Tough bike course! As soon as you get on the bike, you hit a 7.5% uphill, then a 8.9% downhill, followed by a 6.7% uphill again. I lost all my momentum from the downhill because I lost a bottle that I had to stop and pick up. Then you're in to 10 miles of flats before hitting another 5% downhill/uphill combo. A few more miles, turn around and it's back through the 5% again. Back to the flats (and wind) for about 10 miles before a long 2.9% downhill right into a triple play: 6.1% up, 6.1% down, 6.0% up. You get the idea. The hard part is the 8.9% downhill you enjoyed right at the beginning that you have to go back up at the 55.7-mile mark!

On one section, a fairly long and windy 6% downhill, a guy went down about 30 seconds in front of me. There were two racers stopped already, so there wasn't much I could do. He ended being okay other than some SERIOUS road rash. It turns out he was a friend of Aaron's. I can't believe he didn't break anything.

My bike split was slower than I expected or wanted. On the other hand, my average power was a strong 191 watts. It was actually 197 if you discard the 0's from when I was coasting downhill. I forgot to check my top speed, but it had to be damn near 50. I was really cruising on some of those downhills. I felt strong the whole way and kept right to plan on nutrition: 8 ounces of Gatorade Endurance every 10 minutes.

I also managed to pee on the bike for the first time ever. It's definitely not easy. I had to stand up and coast in order to do it, but it still beat stopping. Rinsing off after that was the only reason I had a water bottle with me!

Not much really. I rode within myself on the hills, despite the people that rode past me on them. I kept a nice strong power output on the flats and kept the pace the whole way. The wind and hills are what slowed me down.

More goodness in T2. I got jammed up a bit at the dismount line since two people in front of me both stopped to unclip and were slightly blocking the way. I got around them without too much trouble.



Maybe put on dry socks. My feet got pretty sore by the end of the run from the slightly gritty/wet combo of my socks.

About 1/10 mile out of transition, the BT jockstrap station was set up. Haley, Jess, and Carey had a wading pool with ice cold towels they were handing out and they all had inflatable floatie tubes around their waists. It was a great way to start the run. Thanks ladies! I also cracked up when I saw the sidewalk chalk another 1/10 mile on with "Have you hugged your jockstrap today?" in big letters.

This run course is just mean. After dealing with the hills and wind on the bike, you start the run with a very pleasant through the campground right on the edge of the lake. After about 3 miles, though, you go around a corner and then have to climb out of the canyon on a hill that's probably 7% or more. You hit a flat section for a bit and then head back into the canyon. You climb out of the canyon yet again and head out to the far end of the course. Since it's an out and back, you know that you need to make that climb one more time before it's done. There's a long two mile straight to the straight and I caught sight of Aaron's flag up ahead of me. He hit the turn around before me and we waved to each other and I knew I'd see him soon when I caught him.

I did that about mile 8. He looked good and I know that flag is a drag on him, especially the way the wind was on that course. He did get his own mention on ironmanlive, though. There was actually an update that mentioned him crossing the line.

I got Gatorade at each aid station and walked them so I could drink it all without dumping it. I used the sponges or water to dump over my head as well.

My pace was a little bit slower than I thought I could pull off, but still pretty good. I got to see the jockstraps one more time right before the finish. Haley offered me a beer, of course, but I passed.

After I crossed the line, I immediately headed back to the lake. I dove in to cool down and rinse myself off. I wouldn't have a chance to shower, so this was my only opportunity to clean myself before I got in the car for the drive home.

I met up with Jamie and some of the other Texas Iron folks and talked over the race. My only disappointment with this race was the post race food. There were bananas, watermelon, bagels, and a few donuts. That was about it. I passed on pretty much everything.

I grabbed my gear and headed back to the jockstraps to cheer some more people in. After a while, it was time to hit the road for the 6+ hour ride back to Austin.

I think the cruelest part of this race is that after you've finished and cooled down and are starting to stiffen up, you've got to climb that first 7.5% hill to get back to the parking lot and into your car. I got to follow that with the 6+ hour ride back to Austin. That wasn't fun.


Not having years and years of base training under my belt.


This really is a great race. Everything started right on time, the swim course was very well marked, aid stations and volunteers were everywhere and the course itself, while challenging, is very well laid out. Racers got both a race shirt and a finisher's shirt along with a medal. Again, my only disappointment was the post race food.

I can see coming back to this next year.