LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Austin, Texas
United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 19m 5s
Overall Rank = 1179/1929
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 115/157
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at around 5:00 and showered to relax. Ate a peanut butter sandwich and headed over to the race site to wait in traffic. Eventually got parked and then walked to race site since waiting for the bus would have taken too long.
Event warmup:

The walk to the site was a decent warmuup. So was running through transition trying to get set up in time.
Swim
  • 34m 28s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 38s / 100 yards
Comments:

I started out a bit too fast. Probably from all the excitement. Eventually found my groove and fell into a nice speed. I kept on drifting off course and got lost a couple of times. I need to figure out how to not swim crooked. I think I might have actually done the full 1.2 once you consider how off course I got. I also had to stop a couple of times because I kept on getting water in my goggles. That hasn't happened before.
What would you do differently?:

Not swim crooked.
Transition 1
  • 04m 36s
Comments:

Had a fairly long run back to transition from the lake. My feet got really, really muddy. Good thing I brought a towel to wipe them clean. I walked through transition instead of running to save energy.
What would you do differently?:

Learn to hover so that my feet don't get muddy.
Bike
  • 3h 08m 39s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.81 mile/hr
Comments:

This was a fun course. It was really hard not to draft though with all the people out there. I really didn't look at a map beforehand because I didn't want to know where I was on the course. If I knew all the turns before, I would have been psyched-out. The hills were not was bad as I was expecting, however, because of that (and excitement) I ended up taking the entire course way too hard. The headwind for half the course did not help the situation either. Towards mile 45, my knee was starting to act up, and my legs were losing it. I tried to stand up and stretch, but my legs were really shaky and on the verge of cramping bad. I knew I went way too hard and I was about to pay for it... My nutrition plan worked out great though. Same with my water plan. I had to use aid-station water though, because like pretty much everyone else, I lost a bottle on the Bridge Bump.
What would you do differently?:

Slow down and spin up the hills.
Transition 2
  • 06m 49s
Comments:

I got off the bike at the mount line, and the second I put my feet on the ground, both my legs instantly cramped and seized up. I almost fell over because I couldn't move. I tried to hobble into transition, but the pain was way too bad. A volunteer saw me and was trying to get me to stop and rest. I listened to him, and just stood there next to a rack for a good 2 minutes or so. He asked if I needed a doctor, but I refused. Eventually, my legs came back and I was able to walk again. I got to my spot, changed into my running shoes, put band-aids on my nipples (they were already hurting bad), and took off walking toward the exit.
What would you do differently?:

Figure out how to protect my nipples better. I wasted soooo much time trying to get the stupid band-aid packets open.
Run
  • 2h 24m 31s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

Ugh... As I exited transition, I was able to start off at a good run pace and I was pretty comfortable. I immediately took a gel at the first aid station and was going to stick to my nutrition plan. I was able to run the first 3-4 miles pretty well. I took a gel every 3 miles (~30 minutes) as planned and didn't feel hungry or weak. I also grabbed a cold sponge at every opportunity I got. That kept me cool. The course was very motivating. As the run went on, I felt my quads trying to start cramping again on uphills. I started having to walk/jog up most hills. When I got to Quadzilla, I ran up 3/4 of it before I felt more leg cramps coming on. The second loop was worse. By this time, I was having to walk up all the hills as well as stop and stretch at all the aid stations. Now, my hamstrings were starting to cramp. I took it easy and just run/walked as I could handle it. I kept on telling myself to just keep moving and don't stop. It was almost over. I ran down the finish chute strong and let out a yell of victory as I crossed the line. My legs then cramped up and I couldn't walk again....
What would you do differently?:

Not go so hard on the bike and save my legs.
Post race
Warm down:

I hobbled around the finish area almost falling over, and collected my towel, medal and water bottle. As I stood in line for the finishing picture, my legs came back to me again, and I was able to walk around the post-race activities fine.

Unfortunately, the spectators drank the last of the beer, so I was out of luck in that department. But, there were plenty of burritos left!! It was so good to eat real food again. And of course, the BT tailgate was awesome!! Those ribs were goooooood....

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Going too hard on the bike and blowing up on the run. Probably not doing enough long bricks during training.

Event comments:

The aid-stations/buffet tables were awesome!!!!




Last updated: 2008-03-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:34:28 | 2112 yards | 01m 38s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/157
Overall: 0/1929
Performance: Good
Suit:
Course: Triangular course through the lake.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:36
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:08:39 | 56 miles | 17.81 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/157
Overall: 0/1929
Performance: Below average
Wind: Strong
Course: Big loop around Texas hill country.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 06:49
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:24:31 | 13.1 miles | 11m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/157
Overall: 0/1929
Performance: Below average
Course: Dual loop course through the park and event center. Half paved, half unpaved.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5