LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Everyone agrees the swim was short, probably 200-300m. Too bad, because I was feeling pretty good. My navigation was off just a bit on the first wave, and I found myself to the right of the main line of swimmers. However, I joined back up to take advantage of the 'current' they were creating. Had a few OK draft, but often I was just going faster than most of the people I came up on, so I ended up passing them.

Started fairly moderately - it was crowded, so I swam a pretty defensive catch-up style right at the start - but I tried to keep building throughout. Not all the way to an all-out pace, but a strong effort by the last leg. I'm pretty happy with my swim, especially considering I wasn't in a wetsuit and many were.

I couldl probably push the swim a little harder. (But there's a lot of race left afterwards, though.) Need to figure out how to identify better draft targets *while swimming*.

40th in AG; 318 overall.

This felt like a pretty good T1 (considering I put on socks). Had goggles and cap off before I even made it out of the water. Jogged up the transition ramp at a decent pace, nearly hurdling people who were stopping to take off their wetsuits *in the chute* (grrr.) Someone cut me off heading to my rack, but fortunately, someone near the end had already headed out on the bike, so I ducked *under* the empty spot on the rack. :)

I did take a few seconds to rinse my feet before putting on socks. It was dirt we were running across, so it was caked on and I didn't want my socks/shoes full of it. Had to grab the second bottle from my transition bag to finish. Helmet and glasses went on very smoothly. Grabbed bike and ran out of transition, passing some folks on the way.

Not much. My rack spot left me with a long run in/out with my bike. I plan to work on thte shoes-on-bike thing for next year, though I'm not sure I would have done it for this race, given the dirt in transition.

With that many people on the course, you were never alone. However, after about the first 10 miles, it was the same group of 10-15 people passing/being passed by each other.

This was a pretty solid ride. I was focused on keeping the pace above the IM pace I've been training for so much of the year. I pushed enough that I could feel it in the legs, but not enough that I thought I was going to be hurting going into the run. Never stood out of the saddle, and just spun up the hills

Originally thought I'd try doing extra nutrition on the bike, and then nothing but water for the run. However, I ended up experimenting with less nutrition instead. Only did about 1/2 of the 3-hour Perpetuem bottle, plus 300 cal of Clif Blocks. Only 3 SaltStick tablet total, too. Stayed hydrated though, and felt pretty good throughout. (Though Saltstick may be too concentrated. They still made me burp.)

Continue working on power/weight for next year. Need some more time on the new H3 front wheel; it's more twitchy/responsive to the road. I felt better as the race went on, but there were definitely times I had to counter the drift from the cross-breeze.

1st in AG; 30th overall!

Because there is a final uphill into the dismount area, I didn't get my feet out very early. However, I did get them out in time, and my dismount was excellent. Some people were slowing to go over the log from the road to the transition area, but I just hopped and kept running. Was able to get helmet off with one hand while still running with bike.

Fastest T2 in age group by 2 seconds.

Wished I didn't have a race spot so far from bike in/out.

Felt good starting the run; my bike pacing had been solid. Mentally broke it up into 'loops around the Nautatorim' (a 5k loop I often run). Found my pace effort and tried to hold it steady; focused on picking off people especially ones in my age group. (Although I found it rewarding even passing those in 30-34, too.) I really managed to stay focused this race, and not let myself be distracted.

Nutritionally, my plan was to take only water from the aid stations. I wasn't going to touch Gatorade, but I did leave tranistion with a small Ozarka bottle I'd filled w/ Accelerade. Approaching an aid station, I'd take a sip of the Accelerade, then take some water to wash it down. That worked great. I finally finished the Accelerade ditched the bottle at the mile 12 aid station.

Never even touched the sponges or towels. The overcast skies kept it cool enough, and I didn't have to worry about water in my shoes. The wind was enough that you noticed in coming back from the 'energy lab' on Decker Ln., so I picked up the pace a smidge when someone passed me and drafted behind him for a ways.

Noticed a blister in the middle of my foot during the first run up Quadzilla. Decided just to ignore it. Really most noticable on that uphill b/c of the uneven footing (and slower pace).

The second loop, it was a little harder to maintain the focus on 'loops around the Nautatorium', but I continued picking people off. I realized at some point that many might still be on their first loop, so it wasn't gaining me any places, but it still helped me stay focused. I managed to keep jogging even the second Quadzilla loop. It wasn't a fast run, but I kept running and never stopped to walk, which was a mental boost once I hit the top.

Not much, this was a great run! Some extra strength workouts might have been useful for Quadzilla. I think the recent added frequency (even of only a couple 5k runs each week) really helped.

Sat down for just a minute right after the finish, but then felt OK. Headed straightaway to the massage tent, where they took great care of me. Really worked out some IT band and adductor tightness that would almost certainly have given me cramps. After that, headed over to Amy's Ice Cream to get some free recovery dairy/protein. :)

Cheered on Melissa and Brittany at their finish before heading over to the BT tent. Fantastic setup there; tons of food and drinks. Great talking with all the BTers.


As always Endorfun put on an excellent event. They handled the size/scale of the race fantastically. (grown from 900 people last year to 2000 this year). Volunteer and course support was awesome, including all the comstumed/themed aid stations. Lots of little details were covered that just made the race great for the athletes -- extra sand for swim start, very well marked bike routes and hazards, traffic control, sponges and wet towels, fully stocked aid stations, the tailgating along the course, ...

(Swag note: long-sleeve technical shirt and a running hat)

They did an amazing job making the race spectator-friendly, too. Vendors selling food, covered tents with tables to keep people out of the sun, bounce house and video game stations for kids. The tailgating area along the run course was awesome; there were probably 15-20 tents set up with different groups cheering for their teammates/friends.

The BT tent was awesome, with more food and drink than we could consume (who would have thought *that* was possible.) Kudos to Mike for the BBQ!