Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Galveston, Texas
United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 51m 26s
Overall Rank = 66/609
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 6/61
Pre-race routine:

Got up around 6:30. Had a couple of chocolate chip muffins and a Diet Coke. Got organized and checked out, then rode over to transition.
Event warmup:

Got a little leg work riding over. No swim warm up.
Swim
  • 38m 25s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

Based on recent history of disappointing swims during races, I decided to complete forget about drafting. I had come to the conclusion that I was worrying so much about drafting, that my form would go to shit and my navigation would suffer dramatically.

Well, the swim felt better, and my time was much better, but I was worse off in my placement among my AG and overall.
Transition 1
  • 02m 22s
Comments:

One second slower than yesterday.
Bike
  • 2h 27m
  • 54.8 miles
  • 22.37 mile/hr
Comments:

The 5 guys that finished ahead of me in the AG were all ahead of me after the swim. The only people that passed me were the elites coming by me on the mini-loop. I passed at least 4 or 5 guys in my AG on the bike.

Wind was blowing almost directly across the course. It was off-axis just enough to be a very light headwind going out and a slight tailwind coming back.

Funny event. I'm coming up on one of the later aid stations and there are two ladies there. One is holding water, the other GE. I call for the GE. The lady holding the GE turns around and heads back over to the boxes and is calling to one of the other volunteers for it. I've stopped and unclipped one foot at this point and call to her, "It's in your hand." She does a double take and starts apologizing profusely as she hands me the bottle. She thought she had water in her hand.
What would you do differently?:

It was a good bike. It wasn't as fast as it seems, even with the super-flat course and fairly favorable wind, but still good. There's no reason that my power shouldn't be 10-15 watts higher, though. I've done it before, including at Longhorn last year.
Transition 2
  • 01m 11s
Comments:

Had some problems getting the bike racked, so it slowed me up a few seconds.
Run
  • 1h 42m 25s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

Wow. I actually placed higher in my AG and overall on the run than on the bike. That's very unsual. Then again, 7:49 is a pretty decent 1/2 mary pace.

Coming off the bike, I was taking it easy. My hamstrings were really tight, as were my tibialis. Just looked that up, by the way. Those are the muscles on the outside of your shins. Anyway, I was really tight and not sure how I was going to hold up. I drank Gatorade and water at the first few aid stations, and then switched to Pepsi. I held 8:00 miles and felt okay.

Things gradually started to loosen up. By mile 6 I was feeling pretty strong so I upped the pace a bit. I upped a bit more as I started the last lap and just held on through the finish. The wind for the last lap was brutal. I feel bad for the folks that were only on their first couple of laps at that point.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I don't think I could have run this any better. I held off until I got my legs under me, ran hard, and about 1/2 mile from the finish, I felt like the wheels were about to come off completely. If I had to go another mile, my pace would have dropped off considerably.
Post race
Warm down:

Went to the massage tent immediately.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of swim training and lack of power on the bike.

It was funny....out on the bike and as I started the run, I thought that there might be a very outside chance I was in podium position for my AG. I based that on the fact that not a single AGer got by me and I picked off quite a few of them. Turns out that 3rd place was 18 minutes ahead! That's huge.

Event comments:

There's a reason I've done 7 of Keith's races in the last 1 1/2 years. If you can get to one, do it. They're some of the best races in the country.




Last updated: 2009-03-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:25 | 2112 yards | 01m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 24/61
Overall: 236/609
Performance: Average
Suit: Xterra ProX2
Course: Rectangular
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 67F / 19C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:22
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
02:27:00 | 54.8 miles | 22.37 mile/hr
Age Group: 7/61
Overall: 77/609
Performance: Average
NP: 186. AP: 183
Wind: Cross-winds
Course: Basically out and back with a little mini loop thrown in at the far end. Google maps is showing it being closer to 54 miles than 56. I'd be curious what some with a Garmin recorded.
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 87
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:11
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:42:25 | 13.1 miles | 07m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/61
Overall: 70/609
Performance: Good
Course: Four laps winding through Moody Gardens.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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