LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Austin, Texas
United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
Total Time = 6h 10m 29s
Overall Rank = 1061/1929
Age Group = M20-24
Age Group Rank = 36/53
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:45, started sipping on some water and ate a power bar and some gel to get some carbs in my body. When we got to the race site, I ate a little bit more, given that we still had almost 2 hours before the start of the race. I also started drinking some mix with caffeine in it to give myself a little jolt going into the day.
Swim
  • 35m 2s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first wetsuit legal swim . . well, the first one that I actually had a wetsuit on. What an awesome feeling. Sighting was a TON easier, and I had bought new goggles the week prior, so they really helped alot. I felt pretty confident in the water, not fast, but I wasn't pushing to be fast, I just wanted to get out of the water with plenty of energy. As you can see from my place on the swim, I obviously wasn't too worried about my swim time. I knew if I'd get out of the water around 45 minutes, I'd be plenty happy.
What would you do differently?:

Try to find someone to draft off of. Although with my pace it's difficult, mostly everyone else is faster than me on the swim. Other than that, I was pleased.
Transition 1
  • 03m 6s
Comments:

T1 had a rather long run getting up to transition after getting out of the water. It was slightly uphill, but I was able to jog the entire way and not exert too much energy. I have a short, sleeveless wetsuit so it came off extremely easy.
Bike
  • 2h 57m 15s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.96 mile/hr
Comments:

What an awesome route. I loved it, actually. The hills were definitely challenging, but a lot of fun and a definite change of scenery from what we ride around here. It caused some pain and some questioning of my abilities at some points, but I surprised myself by averaging 19 mph. I had really wanted to average just a bit over 18 and finish comfortable. But 19 felt comfortable, so I just kept pedaling and it turned out great. The 56 miles went by in a flash. I'd say the first 20 to 30 miles went by really fast and the second half was a bit more challenging, but the last 5-8 were extremely fast and smooth.
What would you do differently?:

I might have pushed just a BIT harder, not much, but just a little bit. I think I could've eeked out another 0.5 mph without hurting too much. I missed a bottle on the last handup, which really put me not drinking anything for the last 6 miles. I really was thirsty when I got off due to that. But I had drank 3 full bottles of my AeroDrink and a bottle of carb-mix.
Transition 2
  • 02m 57s
Comments:

I rolled my socks to make it easier to get my feet into them, which helped. I really focused on controlling myself and not letting myself get into a frenzy. I took my bike shoes and helmet off, threw on the socks and slipped on my running shoes. I grabbed my hat, slipped that on, and took my Garmin and slapped that one while I was running out of T2. I think it went well. I took my time and didn't get too flustered.
Run
  • 2h 32m 6s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

OOHH MMMYYY GGOOOOD. That hurt. That's about all you can say about the run. I finished the run. I started running after T2 and felt awesome. I had so much confidence. The first 3 miles flew by at or a little faster than the pace I wanted to try to maintain. I felt like I could really do the entire run at about 10-10:30/mile and feel okay. How wrong was I? Well, around mile 7, I started walking/running because my body would have none of the constant running. At mile 11, I think I walked the entire mile. Mile twelve I told myself I was going to run the rest of the way. . . NOPE. I think I ran the last 4/10 of a mile, but wow. So disappointing that my overall time was ten minutes over my goal, and I know I could've done 10-minutes better on the run. But I'm still happy. I finished my first HIM!
What would you do differently?:

Train more bricks. More long bricks. I felt fine through the distance I had trained for. It was the unknown that killed me. I felt confident knowing I could run 5-6 miles at the pace I wanted after the bike, I guess my body just wasn't prepared for the final 6 or 7 miles.
Post race
Event comments:

I only put the "Events on Time?" as No, because the race started about 20 minutes later than slated due to the delayed shuttling of people from the parking lots to the Transition site. I loved this race, the run was BRUTAL for me and alot of people I spoke with, but what's a triathlon without the pain? I'm looking forward to my next HIM . . . which hopefully will be flat.




Last updated: 2008-09-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:02 | 2112 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/53
Overall: 1425/1929
Performance: Average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 78F / 26C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:06
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:57:15 | 56 miles | 18.96 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/53
Overall: 842/1929
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course:
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:57
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:32:06 | 13.1 miles | 11m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/53
Overall: 0/1929
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5