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LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Austin, Texas
United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
88F / 31C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 27m 31s
Overall Rank = 79/695
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 9/49
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 445, loaded up, and ate a ClifBar on the way to the race site. Ate a bagel and a half once I got there, while setting up transition and washed it down some Gatorade and water.
Event warmup:

Considered doing some light jogging and maybe even a warmup swim, but decided against it given the overall distance involved in this race. Instead, did jogged from transition to the swim start, did some light stretching, and cheered for the waves starting before me (Man, the leaders were FAST in the water!)
Swim
  • 43m 59s
  • 1931 meters
  • 02m 17s / 100 meters
Comments:

So despite this being my fourth triathlon, I had never really felt like a real triathlete before, as I was always forced to do breast-stroke at some point (or more frequently, most of it). However, this was the first one I did freestyle the whole way, non-stop - Whoo hoo!

I was in the third wave. We waded in neck-deep water, which was really quite warm (85 degrees they said). I sorta sprinted to my chosen starting point and treaded water a bit to try to get a make-shift warmup in. Then the big countdown they did for each wave: "10..9.......2..1!", and off we went! I purposely forced myself to go easy for the first buoy length so as to set a better pace than previous races.

My navigation sucked, but it wasn't entirely my fault as there a general lack of buoys to navigate by. I tried to follow those around me, but there didn't seem to be a consensus on where exactly to go. Other than that, it was just one stroke after another, trying to keep good form the whole way. I picked it up at the end, and got a little woozy as I got out of the water. I remember thinking to myself "Whoa! I'm already kind of exhausted and this race has only started!"
What would you do differently?:

Spend more time doing open water swims to work on navigation.
Transition 1
  • 02m 15s
Comments:

I'm pretty happy with my T1. It was a long jog from the water exit to the transition area and I tried to make a run (and not a stroll) but hold back a little bit, remembering this is a 5-6 hour race! Everything else went pretty smoothly.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really.
Bike
  • 2h 42m 50s
  • 56.7 miles
  • 20.89 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was a lot of fun. Lots of hills, which meant 30-35mph downhills, but also the occasional painful climbs, which I totally suck at. Probably took in too much fluids during the race - I was anticipating it to be really hot, given the previous day's weather, but for the majority of the bike it was still pretty overcast. I took in 4 Gu's too, one every 30 minutes. By the end of the bike, I was bloated and felt like crap.
What would you do differently?:

What I'd said I was going to do during my training but never really did - PRACTICE NUTRITION ON TRAINING WORKOUTS!
Transition 2
  • 01m 18s
Comments:

Getting off the bike, I briefly considered becoming a DNF. I was bloated, my legs were heavy, and my big toes were KILLING me (I think I need a new pair of shoes). Everything just hurt, and I still had a half marathon ahead of me! But then I decided, worst case, I'd just have to walk the whole run portion - I'd come too far to just give up! So I sort of hobbled, bow-legged to my rack space, swapped out shoes and off I went!
What would you do differently?:

Better fitting shoes!
Run
  • 1h 57m 8s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

So despite all that pain and bloatedness, I managed to crank out a 7:30 mile for the first mile, briefly flirting with the idea of doing this thing under 5:10. However, pretty soon after the stomach cramping and pain became too unbearable and I had to walk a little bit. I tried to walk no more than 15 seconds at a time, but pretty soon my sub-8 minute miles dissolved into 8:45 to 9:30's. It's probably better this way, because I think I would've killed myself trying to hold on to finishing in under 5:10 - I don't think I had the proper base for my body to handle that yet. I was finally able to digest all the Gu and Gatorade by about mile 6, and the rest was just about holding pace and resisting the urge to walk.

Volunteer support for the run was amazing! Water/Gatorade stations every mile, sponges and squirt guns, mist tents, and several bands. Definitely made things more interesting while you're out there suffering in the heat.
What would you do differently?:

See bike comments.
Post race
Warm down:

My sister was there to cheer for me on the run, and she was waiting for me right as I crossed the finish line - she's so awesome! She drove all the way out by herself, walked the mile or so from the expo, and stood around for 2 hours just to see me at the finish. She kicks ass.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training (isn't that always the limiter?)

Event comments:

Excellent race. Well organized, great volunteer support, challenging course. And this is all in the inaugural year! Keith Jordan and all the Endorfun Sports people did a great job with this race!




Last updated: 2007-08-03 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:43:59 | 1931 meters | 02m 17s / 100meters
Age Group: 27/49
Overall: 337/695
Performance: Good
Suit: TYR Tri-shorts
Course: Clockwise trapezoid in Decker Lake.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:15
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:42:50 | 56.7 miles | 20.89 mile/hr
Age Group: 13/49
Overall: 84/695
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: Windy loop course, mostly North and West of Decker Lake. Fair amount of hills (~800 ft total climbing according to Google Maps), especially for someone living on an island with no hills to speak of.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Too much
T2
Time: 01:18
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Below average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:57:08 | 13.1 miles | 08m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/49
Overall: 72/695
Performance: Average
Course: Two loops, West and then East of the Start/Finish area. A few decent hills near the of the loop
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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

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2007-10-14 9:51 PM

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Member
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Spring, Texas
Subject: LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron


2007-10-15 8:26 AM
in reply to: #1007908

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Veteran
209
100100
Austin TX
Subject: RE: LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron
Great job out there! You were very solid in all 3 sports...you can't ask for more than that! And this was only your 4th triathlon??? Doing this well in a HIM with only 3 previous triathlons is VERY, VERY impressive!!!!
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