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


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Galveston, Texas
United States
EndorFUN SPORTS
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 33m 20s
Overall Rank = 999999/
Age Group = male 40-45
Age Group Rank = 100000/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up turned on TV to look for ESPN,, found a station showing pro bowling at 5am and knew I found the world wide leader in sports,, didn't see anything about Avery Johnson getting fired, so I had a bagel and a half [apx 400 cal] a low carb monster and talked with Jacob some about the lady looking for matches for her lucky candle.
Event warmup:

Was at the site in plenty of time, with the 1/2 iron going first I didnt' want to get into the wetsuit too early,,mostly just set up transition spot, did a small job for about 3-5 min just to get moving then walked around checking out bikes, talked with Roger a bit. Found beth and tri-chick [i know her names starts with a K just can't remember it now] after all the HIM's were in the water I got a quick swim in. I just know that for me to warm up then sit around for a bit my back will stiffen up so it's better to get something in closer to the start time
Swim
  • 19m 59s
  • 966 meters
  • 02m 04s / 100 meters
Comments:

I knew this wasn't my day when I went for the big cannonball jumping off the dock,, my foot slipped and I just looked like the rest of the people jumping in. I checked where the buoy was before we started and saw the antenna s on the other side to site off of. since the breeze was right to left there was a slight current right to left also,, I started on the right side up front-ish thinking I would be drifting left.. Some how I ended up like a bad golfer's slice shot and veered way right, since I breathe on the right side I never saw anyone and didnt' realize how far off I'd gone.
after the first buoy I did much better, saw someone that was going the same speed as me so i got behind him and drafted until he started breast stroking. since I knew that my run was going to suck I should have really pushed it on the swim but I didn't for some reason I just went at an easy pace.
The one thing I thought i did really good on is when we got close to shore and I could see the bottom was to stand up and dive forward instead of keeping swmimming, that gets my legs awake and I it seems quicker than swimming that last bit to me
Almost at the last buoy I hear someone yelling my name, so I actually start looking around then realize that no one out here is going to recognize me and start yelling.. Later I talked with Jacob and he was asking if I heard him yelling my name as he went by. too funny
What would you do differently?:

I don't have enough experience with drafting. I know that once I'm behind someone that my effort level is going to be much less. but I always get worried that I'm going too slow behind someone, thinking that they must have slowed down when it's just the effects of the draft. I need to grab the faster feet as they are going by me. I also need to start breathing on my left side for a course like this it would have been better..i was all over the place zig-zagging
Transition 1
  • 03m 11s
Comments:

i could have been a lot faster once I got out of the water over the mat and up the ramp, i stopped thinking I missed the wetsuit strippers. plus I wasn't really ready for them once I got there, I should have had my suit down more and sat down quicker. after that I just fast walked to my bike, baby powdered the feet and hands. socks on, helmet on and just hug my sunglasses on my shirt. I was worried that it would be too humid at first and they would fog up.
What would you do differently?:

I really need to start the bike ride with no socks on or take even more time to really dry off my feet better.. ten minutes into the ride my socks are soak and stay that way the whole ride, and it sucks starting a run with wet socks/feet
Bike
  • 1h 53m
  • 28 miles
  • 14.87 mile/hr
Comments:

This was a great course at first i just couldn't seem to find the right gear, so I was changing a lot. I really need to figure out how many calories I need though.. I took a gel flask so that was 500 calories a full gatorade [240} and a little of another gatoraid [100] so I had apx 800 calories which seems like a lot for what should be a 90 min ride.. I was riding really good for me, since I was in the 3rd swim wave i knew I'd be passed by others in our race and some of the people doing the HIM. I stayed in their draft zone as long as possible while the passed me and pulled away. things were going well then I looked down and noticed my tire was much lower than when I started,, I've had a rash of flats lately most likely do to old rim tape[which I found out after the bike] so I just keep going until it was basically flat. I jumped off filled it up with my last co2 cartridges hoping that if it's a slow leak I might be able to finish. well I got about another ten minutes and just as Roger passed me pfffttsss.. I'm flat again.. I've used up everything I had in the last couple of days. [2 flats on sat also] so I just start walking. In my mind I was done for the day.. frustrated and I knew that i wasn't prepared for the run. so I was just going to wait for a ride, put my stuff up and have a beer.. I caught up to a couple of others guys walking and convinced them that if we wait as a group it will be quicker once the SAG vechile gets to us. Two of the guys said they were done anyway since they wanted to place higher up, and we started talking about getting back skipping the run and just relaxing.. so the SAG trucks gets to us, I was the 2nd guy to get worked on, the guy says something about my rim tape and hopefully this will hold up to the end. So i take off and figure that's it for the day. But once I started riding i was having fun again,, for once I got to pass alot of people, since it took a little over 20 min for the truck to get to us.{i'm glad they were out there though} then i seemed to find the right gear. Plus I really thought at some point i was going to hit a headwind. I took it a bit easy going out thinking i'd save something for the wind.. anyway once I got back close to the end I was able to get out of my shoes really well and do a nice dismount and head in transition.
my actual ride time was 1:30 nearly a 19 mph avg which is great, but then again I had a nice break about 2/3rds of the way though.
What would you do differently?:

not flat, lose 30 lbs
Transition 2
  • 01m 36s
Comments:

I had a pretty good dismount for not practing it at all, i was thinking of doing a front wheelie and grabbing the bike out of mid air but chickened out, so as I'm going at a nice little run to my rack I totally forgot that I was planning on skipping the run, got my shoe's on.. but my socks/feet are still soaking wet from the swim.. I need to go sockless for the bike
What would you do differently?:

not much, don't worry about taking my gel flask,, I knew there would be plenty of food on the course but i took it for a just in case
Run
  • 1h 15m 30s
  • 6.5 miles
  • 11m 37s  min/mile
Comments:

Ok my run volume was 3 miles for the month of febuary, 8 miles in march with no runs longer than 3 miles.. what's even more amazing is that is more than I thought it was.. So I knew this run would suck, I was calling it a mini-aquabike with a nice stroll. Then I forgot I was planning on just handing in my chip to go drink beer. so I'm out on the course and i figure just run the first 5 min. to say that you at least attempted it. so at 5 min I take a little walk break, and I'm way too hot, I feel like I'm overheated big time,, I'm beating myself up for gaining so much weight since last year. thinking how stupid it was of me to even come down here without any run volume.. so I start to run again thinking I'll work on my form to get the crap thoughts out of my head, then all of a sudden the 1st mile marker is there??? I look at my watch and if everything is correct I just did a sub 9 first mile with a minute walk break.. no way.. So I decide I just do a 5 min jog/1min walk since it obviously worked so well for that 1st mile. once I got to the 2nd mile I decided since this it didn't matter if I did something stupid and couldn't finished I'd give the coke a try, with some pretzals, dried fruit and what ever else was there.. Let me tell you that coke is like liquid gold baby!!! I took a couple more shots and started off on my shuffle, when I'd get to the time to walk, I kept making deals with my self and kept going,, I figured as long as I'm going slower and stopping for food why not.. I was amazed that I didn't really need any more walk breaks to this weird figure 8 thing and that was only because I just downed too much coke at the last stop.

What would you do differently?:

actually train for the run. not have surgery where they take my insides out of me 6wks prior to the race, so I can't train..
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Ok if I don't lose at least 30lbs by IMKY I'm toast thats all there is to it. last year when I started training for tri's I weighed 215 know I weight 235. I've got to get off this carb crab [and milky ways] I used to eat so well, lots of veggies and chicken. but hardly any pasta's. I can't use the excuse that since I'm working out more i can eat whatever I want !!

Event comments:

This ended up being a great race for me.
My swim was so so ... ok it was actually kinda crappy since it was in salt water with a wetsuit and I didn't even attempt to push it to see what I could do. But mentally I was pretty proud of myself for dealing with the flats and not psyching myself out about the run..




Last updated: 2007-12-07 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:19:59 | 966 meters | 02m 04s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 244/
Performance: Below average
Suit: no sleeve wet suit
Course: Basically a rectangle without one side,, up a short ways to the 1st buoy, hard left and long straight away, then a hard left and a short hop into shore
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 03:11
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
01:53:00 | 28 miles | 14.87 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 955555/
Performance: Average
Wind: Cross-winds
Course: this was a great course.. lots of wind but it turned out to be all cross- wind.. I loved riding by the seawall and seeing the surf
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:36
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:15:30 | 06.5 miles | 11m 37s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 999988/
Performance:
Course: a somewhat twisty course with 2 turnaround.. very nice though
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2008-03-31 6:20 PM

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Champion
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the colony texas
Subject: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron


2008-03-31 7:53 PM
in reply to: #1306170

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Champion
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the colony texas
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron
2008-03-31 8:01 PM
in reply to: #1306170

Regular
213
100100
Fort Worth, Texas
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron

Well, you definitely earned your beer after this race!  Mind games work everytime for me too!  Great Job...so glad you finished!  Maybe it's time to invest in a new tire rim before your next race???

2008-03-31 8:50 PM
in reply to: #1306170

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Elite
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Fishers, Indiana
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron
Wow, tough with the tires--but way to keep on keeping on and having a great race despite the set backs! Awesome job sticking it out and still really well!! Glad I got to meet you!
2008-03-31 8:56 PM
in reply to: #1306170

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Extreme Veteran
378
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Dallas, TX
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron
Sounds like this one was more of a mental game than anything.  You finished, and given the lack of running you've been able to get in lately, I think that's an accomplishment enough for this time.  It should give you a huge confidence boost that even with a lack of training, you're still able to finish.  So now when you add on some more training time, it'll be like icing on the cake!  Great job out there with all the obstacles you had!!!
2008-03-31 9:20 PM
in reply to: #1306170

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Veteran
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Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron

It sounds like you overcame lots of obstacles!  Good job with continuing with the race after the flat and winning at all the mind games.  Congrats.



2008-03-31 10:06 PM
in reply to: #1306170

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Master
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Keller Tx
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron

Good job Gary.  You did the most important thing...you had fun!

Great race.  Glad you stuck with it and still ran faster than me

2008-04-01 8:47 AM
in reply to: #1306170

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Expert
853
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Fort Worth, Texas
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron
Nice race.... looks like you won over the destructive mental games that were going on in your head! I hate it when my head won't stop talking down to me!
2008-04-01 8:54 AM
in reply to: #1306170

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Expert
739
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Flower Mound, TX
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron

Sorry about the flat, Gary.  Way to handle it mentally though.  That is so important.

Also, I bet your extra weight will come off soon as you begin to ramp into higher bike and run mileage.   Like you said, just try to eat reasonably and it should come off with the increase in volume!

Great race! 

2008-04-01 8:58 AM
in reply to: #1306170

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Veteran
172
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Mansfield, TX
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron
Gaarryy,

Looked for you the whole run, now I understand why I didn't see you (I wanted to say hi to the slow biker )


Great job sticking with it after thinking you were done for the day. It would have been real easy to quit even after the flat was fixed. Maybe this race will serve as good mental training for IMKY.

It was good to catch up with you and also to meet the other great BTers.

Sounds like we are going to have a great group for IMKY.



2008-04-01 9:09 PM
in reply to: #1306170

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Expert
1103
1000100
Plano, TX
Subject: RE: Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Half Iron

It was great seeing you this weekend, Gary!  Glad you still had fun; sorry about the tire issues. 

You tried lots of stuff on the run; I did the opposite and tried nothing new.  Glad it worked out better for you than it did when I tried stuff an Longhorn last fall!

If you still want socks on the bike, consider the super-thin running socks.  There's no padding, so they dry very quickly, but it (helps) protect against blisters.  My running shoes are padded enough that I don't need extra in the socks too.



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