LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I'm such a bad swimmer. I've tried to swim more but there's just something wrong with my technique. Not having a wetsuit was a shame, because I'd used one in all my previous races specifically to train for this one! Ha!
Without it my legs dragged more than normal and I was slow. After the first turn was pretty much by myself, which was nice. Just relaxed and thought about the day ahead and focussed on putting in the strokes. The bouys were a long way apart and went by very slowly and because of the sun I thought the last turn was never going to come. The helpers lifting you out of the water were great! Never had that before..

Learn to swim properly.

In what would turn out to be the theme of the day.. even the swim course had a hill in it. The run up to T1 was a great chance to get the blood flowing in the legs! I was a bit slow here because I stopped to put sun-screen on. Not a bad investment of time, as it happens

Nothing.

The course was really well planned. There were plenty of aid stations and tons of volunteers. You couldn't possibly have got lost. Putting the two biggest hills in the final two miles was a little cruel perhaps, but it did give us a taste of the run to come.


I went into the event thinking I should have put in more TITS so I'm really pleased with the result. I will definitely do some rides over 2 hours before my next HIM though.

The transition area was brilliantly laid out, had no problem finding my slot, racking up, grabbing shoes and visor and heading out..

Nothing.

Wow. What a suffer-fest. Hill after crest after rise after hill. You could not have left a marble on the ground anywhere on the whole two-loop course. Up and down like a fiddler's elbow. Not a stick of shade either. The live music was great, the volunteers were fabulous. Loved the Elvis and Jim Morrison impersonators! Ice, water, hoses, GUs, colas, snacks everything you could want, other than a finish line! I was in tremendous pain from some displaced vertebrae and ended up running between aid stations and walking through them, pouring ice down the back of my shirt to dull the pain. An effective strategy, albeit not a very quick one. The last long hill on each lap was savage. I saw pros walking up it. Keith took me to the limit..


My longest brick in training was 2 hours-1 hour so 3 hours-2 hours was a new experience. Definitely need to train more. Oh, and pick a HIM in Florida or Holland or somewhere else that bans hills!

Staggered over the line, got my medal, ice towel (blessed relief!) and then collapsed into a rehab tent for some work on the vertebrae. Those docs are miracle workers! 20 minutes later I was ready for burritos, Amy's Ice and photos with a LongHorn!


Training. The heat, obviously, but mostly training. Someone after the race said I should get an aero-helmet, but let's face it - it's the engine not the helmet that's holding me back.
Still - I beat my goal by almost 30 minutes and I came very close to 5h30 in my first HIM so I shouldn't complain too much.


Keith put on an unbelievable event. When you read about what can happen at other events (ahem, Chicago) you realise how hard it is to do these things right. We had lots of volunteers, plenty of drinks & food. Well-marked course. Great entertainment on the course and at the end. Just an all-round brilliant experience.. thank you guys!