Iron Star Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I haven't seen the ranking yet as I write this but I think this was probably my strongest leg of the race. I kept an even pace throughout and sighting was good. I liked the beach start as it was something different and I started near the front of the group and swam on the left side of the group, which gave me a straighter shot out of the marina area. The water was smooth the first few hundred yards in the marina and the waves started to pick up after the first 1/4 mile. Never done much swimming in the ocean but I have to imagine that's another ball game when it comes to open water swimming. I came out of the water not feeling too bad though I expected to finish b/t 33-34 minutes, especially with the wetsuit. Either course was a little long or I wasn't swimming very straight, who knows which. Glad I had the wetsuit to speed up the swim though the water was warm enough to swim with out it. Even though I came out of the water pretty early in my group, I finished with a number of people from the earlier swim wave and the small area for wet suit stripping was congested. As soon as the wetsuit strippers pulled off the suit, I checked my HR and saw that it was 163 (87% of MHR).

Nothing on the swim, though the left eyepiece on my goggle started to leak. My goal time was a little quicker but overall I can't be unhappy with that.

Went well. I walked out of the water until I got my wetsuit off and got my bearings and jogged into transition. Took it easy as I knew I had a long way to go on the bike.

Nothing.

The bike is usually my weakest leg of the race and on this day it would be my downfall. First, I'll start out by writing that I live in Houston so I don't train on hills. Second, I have only ridden longer than 60 miles or 3+ hours maybe five or six times in the seven months I've been doing been triathlons. So, lack of riding hills, failure to complete long, challenging rides and, most importantly, failing to practice and get right adequate hydration/nutrition spelled a relatively difficult day for me. Chalk this one up to inexperience.

All-in-all, the effort was good and the first half of the course I felt great. The uphills were good, the downhills were better and the flats weren't too bad. The last half of the course I felt like I was battling the hills, battling the wind and focusing too much on getting to the end. During the ride, I drank probably 60 oz of Gatoradea and Endurox R4, had two sleeves of Clif shot blox, took some endurolytes. Most of this was probably in the first 2/3 of the ride. I started feeling the quads cramping a little bit in the last 15 miles. I knew I was in for a not-so-easy run.

Drink/eat a little bit more. Spend some more time on the bike. I did a training ride a month prior to the race and finished 15 minutes quicker so hard to say that I'm not disappointed a little bit.

Everything went as planned.

My initial goal was 8:00 to 8:20 pace for most of race. As I started the run, I felt the cramps in my legs, but figured I'd run through it. Drank a mixture of water and 2 gels before leaving transition. The first four miles felt good. I took water/gatorade at every water station and talked with a couple of runners that passed me and one or two that I managed to pass (and who later passed me). The wind on the tail end of the bike was no where to be found. At this point in the run, I conceded that I wasn't going to make my goal time.

My goal then changed to "let's not walk" and "keep the pace at 9:00/mile," which I thought was do-able. By the time I hit mile 8, I realized that my tank was nearing empty, the pistons weren't firing on all cylinders and the engine needed a rest. Mentally, I knew I could and would finish and that became the goal. I walked through the water station at mile 8, jogged to station 9 and at that point convinced myself that I'd run for 5 minutes and walk for one. I was able to do that for most of the rest of the run, though 3 minutes run and walk one minute was par for the course the last 2 miles.

Drink more on the bike, practice more with hydration/nutrition, walk through the earlier water stations to down more fluids, get the legs better prepared for longer rides.

Ate some pizza, drank some water and soda. Sat on the ground and contemplated laying on the ground but feared people might think I was dead or dying. Started to stretch a little bit but muscles just started cramping. Thought about how I would drive home with charley horses in both legs....however I had a birthday party to go to that night so I quickly got my stuff together and headed out. Walked back to the car, which helped ease my sad, sore and tired legs.

On Monday morning (18 hours after finishing the race) my calves were still twitching. I expect my thighs to be sore for most of this week. Don't be surprised if my training log is blank for at least the next week. The only time I've been this sore was when my wife and I climbed Mt. Kiliminjaro, on the last day climbing up 1000 feet in elevation and then coming down (practically running down) about 11,000 ft in elevation in about 14 hours time. By the next morning, I felt like I had a thousand nails in each of my quads and each time I took a step that someone was pushing those nails a little bit deeper. I won't forget that feeling and I won't forget this race. I'm glad I finished both.


Pretty sure it was hydration/nutrition problems.


Good small race. Well organized and good number of volunteers and local police support/presence.