LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Wow did I get lucky on this one. So my sister was supposed to do the Olympic distance race on Saturday, but has battled numerous injuries so was planning on just doing the swim and bailing. Well, after her 3am arrival into Austin, Saturday morning wasn't happening. After talking with one of the race officials, she managed to enter exhibition into the Aquabike since she didn't want to have come all the way from ATL for nothing. Interestingly enough, neither of us realized until we were about to get in the water that we could totally use eachother. Hello - both collegiate swimmers? Duh! Quickly, we talked about taking turns pulling eachother to ease spotting and effort (she sweetly offered to pull me the entire way since she didn't care what her time was). Excellent!!! And it was a darn good thing - by the time we hit the first buoy, there were no pink caps hanging with us. Disappointing, since typically there's at least one person hanging with me.

The weeds were nuts at the wading start. But whatever, it's a part of the lake swim. My sister and I swam side by side until 25 yds before the second buoy (first right turn) when we caught the green caps. She took the lead and did a pretty good job spotting openings to wiggle through. Overall, a good effort, although she took off a couple times (I think to prove that she could still give me a good whooping). But man am I ever thankful to have had her there with me.

Absolutely nothing.

I was kind of winded out of the water, and with the long uphill run to transition, I tried to collect my thoughts and focus on the ride ahead. I also ran through the laundry list of items to remember. Interestingly enough, I forgot to put my sunglasses on. Good thing they weren't really necessary, and in the end, I was glad I didn't have them.

I guess go faster, but I was pretty winded as is.

Holy crap. I looked down at mile 10, and saw that I was at 28:30. Honestly, I was too focused to worry about the math, so I just figured, "well, I think that's faster than I loop the lake, so that's good." Then, I saw Aaron fly by, so I had to give a shout-out. I passed a good amount of people, and some folks passed me, so no ego boost or deflate there. I was simply goin with the flow. Little did I know that the flow was going freaking fast.

I saw the mile 20 marker, and looked down... 57:30. My thoughts: "Ok, how fast is that... umm.... carry the one... wait... WTF - that's over 20mph!!!!!" I actually panicked because I had never even imagined I could or would go that fast. I tried to pull back a little for fear that I'd blow it all out too quickly. But my legs said hell no. So I was just along for the ride, I guess.

I had to fiddle constantly with my stupid gu flask and aero bottle, but at least no disasters to report. I made a point of keeping things fun by chatting with a lot of people I passed/passed me. I saw (and cheered for) #404 - hello, my old ATL area code!!! Made sure to cheer for the clean up man - #409. Pretty much cheered for all the cheesy numbers I saw.

Coolest thing EVER. My buddies (Jana, her husband Layton, and BK - my old training buddy who lived in Dallas) drove the course and cheered for me at random points along the way. They first drove past me, windows down, hooting and hollering on 290 and I must say it was THE COOLEST feeling ever. I waved and gave a thumbs up - screw aero, I had fans!!! I kept a lookout, and waved whenever I saw them so they could tell it was me coming - I didn't want them driving all over the course just to see me whiz by and realize they missed me. Plus, I loved the encouragement - totally soaked it up! It fueled me through the course.

I can't remember what mile it was, but it was over half way into the course, I came upon a water handup and after completing my successful grab, heard someone yell at me. It was Clint! Oh wait, Clint had blood all over him - ahhh! He caught me by surprise, so it took a while for what he said to sink in. He said he took a spill, but after confirming he was ok, he sped off. Hell yeah, Clint!

I kept looking down at my computer to estimate my finish time. Thomas and I had talked earlier about how he'd start looking for me around 2:45, but that 2:30 would be wicked fast. All I could think about was proving him wrong. But I didn't want to blow it all out on the bike and have nothing left, so I just kept a steady pace. Then... THE HILL. Woohoo - I knew it was coming, and it was going to be my bitch. I passed 6 people up this hill. That's right! Uh oh... Ashley became a cyclist!

I cruised into transition, and I could tell Thomas was impressed with my fast time. My mom (with all her crazy creative posters - God love her), my sister, my sister's boyfriend, and Thomas were all smiles and cheers as I went from bike to run. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive family. As embarrassing as they can be sometimes, their cheers carried me through the day.

I don't really think I could have done anything better. I killed the hills and rocked it way harder than I thought I could.

Tried to stretch out my legs as I got my gear for the run. Made sure to remember my socks (never used socks for the run leg on sprints/oly's before). Heard Thomas' cheers, grabbed some shot blocks, and headed out on the run. I was so pumped that my legs actually felt good. I forgot my sunglasses again, but I got my hat, so it was fine.

Not much.

This run will be incredibly memorable for me. I headed out of transition, and literally took off. I don't know what got into me. I was running well below my intended pace. My watch was reading 8:30 miles.... insane! I knew I needed to slow down or I'd be a dead girl. But again, like on the bike, my legs would have nothing of it.

I loved the aid stations. It has never felt so good to pour water on my head than this race. I stuffed some ice under my hat and (yes) in my top - all while running. Talk about refreshing. Took some water at all aid stations. As I headed out to the Expo Center, I saw John coming back toward the park area, and cheered for him.

I ran clear through the first 6 miles at around 8:00 mile pace. Then, I saw Clint!!! I hooted and hollered about how I was coming to get him... but man, he was hard to catch. It took me a good mile and a half to finally catch up to him. We both caved and walked up the hill from hell a bit. That hill SUCKED. Then the sun started to poke through. Yikes did it get hot and stagnant back in that wooded area.

I caught up to John taking a walk break, and I was in the mood for one, too, so we walked and talked. He was having some knee pain, but was doing ok. Then Clint joined the party. We all walked and talked for a bit, and then Clint and I started to run again. Just then, I saw and heard Jana - bless her heart. She ran with me along the fence up to the entrance to the park. She was asking me how I felt, telling me how strong I looked, and reminiscing with me about how much work we had done to get us here. It almost made me choke up. I felt myself start to run harder. As I went through the 2nd loop chute, it was hard to not "accidentally" head to the finish line ;)

I loved the sponges and squirt guns! How fun! My mom was there with yet another wacky poster, shouting words of encouragement. I almost couldn't fathom running another loop. Oh well... half way to go!

I started taking more frequent walk breaks. What's weird is it wasn't because my heart rate was spiking - it was mainly because my legs were pissed off. My friend who's done a few HIMs before advised me to take the flat coke if I start to feel like my legs are done. So, that's what I started doing. At about mile 7, I took coke at every aid station, along with a water and ice (quite a handful!). I came across Marcy, and we chatted a bit and exchanged words of encouragement. Then, a little further, I saw a purple top bouncing (aka, RUNNING!) along in the distance. No... that can't be... KAREN!! I obnoxiously hooted and hollered at her, and I was so glad to see how happy she looked - running! (Don't lie, Karen, Thomas caught you on film... I have proof of you running!) ;) We exchanged outfit compliments (duh, we're girls!) and went along our merry ways.

The sun kept poking through and the heat started to become a real issue. I took ice and water to cool myself off, but it was brutal. I finally wound my way back into the park, and there was Jana, running with me and checking in to see how I was doing. What a great friend. I saw my mom (with yet another poster! ha!) and my sister, both cheering and jumping up and down for me. I was really getting tired at this point. I knew I only had about 3 miles to go, but my legs were so done. I made it through the misters and aid station just past the transition headed into the woods, and I could see Thomas in the distance. I was so tired, that when he asked me how I was doing, I started crying. I know it was all mental, but I was almost at the wall. It hurt so bad. He gave me a quick pep-talk, and I was on my way again.

After running down the levy hill for the last time (whew!), I turned the corner to face my last trek up the hill from hell. When, there's Gary!! Thank goodness, a familiar face - I really needed someone to pick up my spirits. Gary and I walked most of the way up the hill. I tried to run up a bit, but I ended up walking to the top. I started running again, and made it about another 1/2 mile before I needed another walk break. No matter what, I was going to need to kick it in for the last 1/2 mile, so I walked a bit more than I would have liked the last 1.5 miles.

Finally, I turned the corner and could see the entry to the chute. Thank God. I don't think I could have run a single mile further. I saw Thomas, cheering and taking pictures as I turned for the finish line. I looked up at the clock and saw "6:00.34" I smiled - even though I couldn't do the quick math, I knew I had achieved my reach goal. It was an awesome feeling.

I did it!!!!

I really wish I could have run more. I think I probably could have if I had set a more reasonable pace. And I think cooler weather would definitely have helped, but oh well. I'm still very pleased.

I bent down to undo my timing chip, and I almost fell over. My legs were shaking and I could barely walk. I remember a blur of handing my chip to a volunteer and telling another volunteer that I didn't need a medic. I saw my sister first, and got a big hug. Thomas was next, and he didn't even seem to care that I was drenched in sweat and water - he hugged me and told me what a great job I did. I headed straight for the mister tent, where sitting down has never felt so good. My mom came up, beaming with pride, and gave me a water bottle and helped me take off my shoes (which were soaked). Thomas got me my flip flops, and a fellow competitor graciously gave me some ice - my right IT band was killing me. I sat there for a while, and then hobbled over to get some tea and sit in one of the recliner folding chairs my mom had brought. My legs were straight up uncomfortable.

I had no desire for a burrito or any food. I drank some tea (I LOVE Sweet Leaf tea), and agreed to split a beer with my mom. I didn't really want it, but since she wanted it, I figured she deserved it after so much cheering and poster-making, so I'd get it for her.

I found a bunch of BT'ers - Aaron, Clint, Craig (I never saw him out on the course!), John, and David. We all chatted and exchanged war stories - I think Clint wins... again. Geeze, Clint... it's not fair that you keep coming out with random injuries - none of us can match that! :)

Then it was off to the hotel/airport to shower and take Thomas to the airport to catch his flight to Lousiana for job training this week. Ironically enough, as I crossed the course to get into transition and get my bike, poof - there's Karen again! I cheer some more since I know I can't stay, so I tried to get my final cheers in. Still smiling, I watch Karen continue on. I can't describe what an amazingly positive atmosphere it was out there. It was awesome!


I would have to say lack of running, but not really a lack of running, but more like not enough of a running base. I think had I done more long runs and had more of a running background, I would have been able to run for longer at a constant pace without as many walk breaks.


What a fabulous race. I can't imagine a better race to have be my first HIM. I still can't really believe I did a half Ironman. That's crazy. I ran a half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike. I'm officially insane.

The race support was unbelievable. TONS of really spirited, enthusiastic volunteers, a highly organized atmosphere, and great post-race festivities. I can't say enough good things about this race.