LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim went really well. The wetsuit was a huge confidence booster. I've struggled with the OWS portion of races all summer long. I felt really calm and relaxed during the swim. Since I knew the 35-39 year old guys were in the next wave I stayed to the outside of the course.

My goal was to survive the swim. Once I got out of the water everything else was icing on the cake! I just learned how to swim in May of 2007. Completing an OWS of this distance was a huge achievement for me!!!

Nothing! I am very happy my swim.

I sat down to pull part of the wetsuit off. Took time to stuff the wetsuit into a bag so it wouldn't drip on my gear. My family was right there by transition waiting for me. Stopped for a few photo's and went off for the ride.

I took extra time to put on gloves. I probably shouldn't have put them on but I'm glad I did. My nose was running a lot during the bike so the gloves were nice to have as a tissue!

Once I got on the bike life was great! This is an excellent bike course. I was happy riding my pace and passing a lot of people on the bike. I took in my Infinit drink every 15 minutes as planned. Things were going great on the bike until I got a penalty for drafting. Actually I still don't really understand what happened.
There were so many people riding in huge groups (within 1 bike length of each other) that should have gotten penalities in my opinion. I was passing 3 groups of people climbing up a hill that were riding 3 abreast and within 1 bike length of each other. I guess I got a penalty because it took me more than 20 seconds to pass someone on the climb. I was passing the group because I can't climb that slow.
Mentally getting the penalty really set me off for a while. Instead of focusing on my race I got distracted with what had happened. And it really pissed me off when I saw blatant drafting on the ride. One girl was drafting me so close I could hear her coasting behind me. I really toned down my ride after the penalty. I didn't want to get another one and get DQed. There were a lot of people who were drafting on the bike. I saw 2 girls riding side by side and chatting! I guess they thought we were doing the Danskin? Where were the race officials when all of this was going on?




Not get as distracted with the penalty. Not altered my riding pace because of the penalty.

4 minutes of T2 were spent in the penalty tent. Since I had to stand there for 4 minutes I took the time to take in hydration, take off my gloves, helmet, grab gu, and reset my watch.
Ran away from the tent and saw my family in transition. They thought it was really funny that I had gotten a penalty for drafting.

Nothing. I made the most of my time in the penalty tent!

I ran the flats and downhills and walked the hills. I felt pretty good running. I was really glad I had my Infinit run mix in a gel flask. At every .75 mile, I would take a swig of the super concentrate mix. At the mile water stops I took in 2 sips of water just as planned. I'm not a fuel belt fan but it really worked for the HIM. I only felt bad at mile 8 for a few minutes. Took in a few pretzels and a sip of coke. I think I just needed something solid in my stomach. My nutrition was right on for this race, weather and the course.
I chatted with people on the run. It was interesting to see so many people walking. Normally walking would bother me. Today I just wanted to enjoy the race and finish.
Saw Marci and Steve and a few friends from Houston. My right calf started to cramp up 1 mile away from the finish. Rounded the corner and a girl yells "125 til the finish". I asked her what she meant-1.25 miles? She laughed and said no- 125 feet. I've been fooled before so I wanted to make sure we were at the end. Ran into the finsh with a smile!


Nothing. Move to Austin and train on hills.

The athlete line was really long. I asked a volunteer at the exit if I could just have a coke and he said no, I had to wait in line. I ended up buying a coke since I wanted on ASAP. Chatted with family and friends and gathered my gear.
We had a really LONG walk to the car. I'm counting that as a warmdown.


Noting. I'm happy with my race. I completed my first HIM. Physically and mentally I feel great. I completed my goal- To cross the finish line with a smile on my face.
Today at work several people asked me if I had "won" my race! Yeah- I'm a professional triathlete. That is why I'm at work with you!
Actually I did "WIN" my race. Just depends on how you define winning!


Excellent race! Everything was perfect. The extra buoys on the swim course were wonderful. Very well organized and great athlete support.