Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I enjoyed this swim more than I thought. I went to watch the pros come in and hung around away from the swim start for awhile. I realized I saw no orange caps and looked again and saw them on the pier about to jump in the water so I hustled over just in time to jump in before the gun. I feel that helped my anxiety by not standing around before the start. Didn't mean to do it though. It was croweded until I made the turn at the first buoy. Then I got comfortable and calm and focused on my pace. It wasn't long before the men 45-49 came up behind me and then it got crowded again but I didn't let it get to me. The only time I came up to somewhat doggie paddle was when I came up on someone or someone crossed in front of me. That was a big deal for me because in the past I would come up a lot and doggie paddle to relax myself. Once I made the last turn I was so excited. I came out of the water on a high and was smiling ear to ear. Not the fastest swim I have had in open water but definitely the best I felt.

Swim closer to the bouys...get faster

I was happy to see strippers because the day before they said there weren't any. They were quick and I ran the whole way to my bike. I took a little longer in transistion but this was my first and I knew I was about to be on the bike for 3+ hours so I didn't care. I saw my support group and ran over to them to say hello. Then out I went. I remembered last year there were volunteers putting sunscreen on people when they went out on the bike and there weren't any this year. I had sprayed sunscreen earlier before the swim so I definitely needed more.

Not take my time and have sunscreen there as well

I enjoy riding this distance but man this seemed forever because there were no more turns once you hit the seawall. The wind wasn't bad I thought going out and I feel I could have gone faster but this was my first HIM and I did not want to ruin my run. I needed to use the bathroom as soon as I turned onto the seawall. I knew there would be a few cans at one of the aide stations so I obviously waited. I had an aerobottle full of Perform, a 24oz bottle of Perform, a 24oz bottle of water, an EFS shot and a Stinger Waffle. I had used all this in training and it worked for me so I was hoping I wouldn't have to grab anything from the volunteers at the aide stations. Especially because I have heard about people getting pulled down trying to grab a bottle. I ended up throwing a bottle to a volunteer at the second aide station and successfully grabbing an extra water bottle. I saw the cans at that station but there were a few people waiting so I decided there might be a few more later and kept going. Was hoping to see my friends at the entrance of Pirates Beach, but I am sure they were sleeping because they had partaken in a bachelorette party the night before. It was nice to see people on the course cheering though. I thought surely when I hit the toll booth we were turning around soon after, but no way. Kept going and I thought I am going to Freeport but then I saw the turnaround. Not far after the turnaround I saw a can off by itself and I took full advantage. Number 1, not number 2. This helped me so much plus I had the wind at my back and I was off again. I wish I would have gone harder on the way in but again I was nervous to mess up the run. Really was a fun course and actually drove back to Houston on the course out to show my mom. Even in a car it seemed forever!

Work on my strength and push harder

Again, came in smiling from ear to ear because I just couldn't believe I was doing it. I was so happy to have not had a flat because I saw many people changing their tubes. Ran with bike to the rack. Took my time again. Ran over to my group and hugged them. I was told my ass was white from all the salt. Happy to see them and very excited to start my favorite leg of the race.

Not taken so long

This is my favorite part of tris. Of course I hadn't done a brick longer than 6 miles after a long bike. I knew I could handle it. I was worried that my legs were going burn up but when my hams started burning I would slow a little and lift up my heels. I walked every aide station which is something I have never done before. I thought my pace was good pretty much the entire time until about mile 8. I made up for it though. I drank water and Perform at every station and took an EFS shot every 45 minutes. This was fun and there were so many spectators. I enjoyed seeing my group 3 times and them cheering me on.

Try not to walk the aide stations

Water and beer


I truly enjoyed this race and am amazed that I did this distance. I had done all the distances in the past just not all together. Two friends already had 2 or 3 HIM under their belt and I only planned on doing all sprints or Olys. When I did my first Oly and realized the swim was not much further, then I decided to sign up. I did this tri last year but the sprint so I was somewhat familiar with the course. I will absolutely be doing more HIM and hopefully this year. I will definitely plan on doing this one every year and just try to better my time. Great race and I had fun doing it the whole time which is really what matters to me.