LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The hydrilla at the start didn't bother me as much as my fellow swimmers. It seemed to take longer than normal for the group to spread out, and I was pretty much swimming in traffic all the way to the first buoy which seemed to take a while. In fact the whole swim seemed to take a long time. I never really felt tired or anything, but the 41 minutes seemed more like 60. My thoughts often drifted to my Mom, but that didn't seem to help pass the time. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my swim as I haven't really been trying to improve here.

The bike was a blast. The course was really fast in my opinion. The hills were not steep and most of the roads were smooth. I was above 22 mph a lot, and I sustained 25-26 mph for certain stretches. It is just plain fun to go fast on the bike.

This was my 2nd HIM in 2 month using my "feed bottle" of "Gillen-ade". It's a home-made mix of maltodextrin, sugar, sodium, potassium, and some flavoring. It's worked well both times, so I'm really happy about that and I'll continue to use it to reduce my nutrition costs.

The was also the first time, in a race or otherwise, that I actually passed a car on my bike. There was this long stretch where some timid drivers did not want to pass some slower riders thereby slowing me down. After tail gating for a bit, I made sure the driver saw me and I decided to try to pass on the right. He gave me just a bit of room and I passed him doing about 25 mph. A little scary but fun at the same time. I did this to 2 other cars, and one time even on the left of this bigger van that was giving no room on the right. It was a real rush going into the opposite lane to pass the big van on the left.

In the end, I felt like I'd have an average over 21, but there were the hills were a little tougher in the last 10 miles or so and that slowed me down a little. I'm still pretty happy with my bike performance.

The first mile felt fine at about 8:30 pace, but I quickly realized the heat and hills would be a huge factor. The second mile was close to 10 pace! I was really glad I decided to carry a water bottle b/c I kept spraying my head with it to stay cool. This worked pretty well, and I drank from it frequently. I could tell I was right on the brink of bloating. My stomach felt full and I knew that I wasn't absorbing very quickly b/c my HR was high (~170). Thus, I knew I couldn't speed up or I'd cramp severely. I just keep plugging along around 9:30-10 pace. I'd walked some here and there, but a lot less than I did a year ago at the CATS HIM in Arkansas where it was also hot, humid, and hilly. Therefore, I'm actually proud that I've learned to control my pace, nutrition, and hydration to prevent the cramping and bloating I experienced at CATS.

It was fun seeing all the BTers. I was surprised that John (jcagg90) knew me as I wasn't sure I'd met him before. It made me happy to see Clint (jcbolton) close behind me b/c I then knew he was having a much better race than his Praireman. At one point, I saw Craig and Reagan running together and they both looked strong. David B was always head of me. I didn't really have hopes of catching him, but I was happy that he didn't seem to be pulling away much when I saw him after each turn around. If he was running about 9:30s, then it must be a tough day!

Not much socializing unfortunately, as I wanted to get back to the hospital to be with my Mom.


Keith and EndorFun really lived up to high expectations after I did Timberman and I had high hopes for this race. Their attentions to all the small details really make a difference. I especially enjoyed the well marked rough spots on the bike course, well-stocked and numerous aid stations on the run, and the Freebird burritos at the finish.