Iron Star Half Ironman TriathlonThis past weekend I completed my first Half-Ironman. I raced in the Ironstar Triathlon in Conroe, TX. The course distances were 1.2 mile swim, 59 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.
Brief Race story:
The swim was non-wetsuit and foggy. I caught an elbow in the first 20 meters that knocked my goggles off. I tried not to panic and I swam steady and got my goggles back into place. I didn't find a rhythm until about halfway through the swim. I had hoped to get out of the water in 35-36 mins. I surprised my self with a 29:20! Definitely an improvement than can be attributed to the swim work that I have been doing with Patrick at TriVantage, plus the TYR "Spiderman suit" kept me a bit more buoyant in the water, another definite advantage. I dashed through the first transition and headed out for the bike ride. I now understand how people have life changing feelings after completing a race this long. Out on the bike I had some ups and downs and every time I thought about having to still run 13.1 miles I thought it was crazy. So I just focused on eating my gels and fig newtons every 30 mins and getting all my fluids in me. Jason and I had talked about nutrition and how important it was going to be over a long race, especially if the weather got hot. For the first 20 miles or so I had a group of people who were always around me. At about mile 34 I caught and passed a guy in my age group from Austin. This was a turning point in the race for me. I was definitely in a rhythm and was having a solid bike ride. I kept my heart rate under control and just focused on keeping my pedal stroke efficient like Johnny had told me. Coming back into transition I saw some of the guys I was racing in there first mile of the run. I new they were close and the run was long, maybe I would have a shot at running them down. I got through the second transition very fast and was out on the run. I got very excited and ran too hard the first mile and had some incredible cramps in the second mile. I had to stop, sit, stretch, and really focus on moving forward. I began to jog and then run again. I had passed a few people in the first mile and they again went past me while I was stopped. I slowly caught some people in my age group. I would see the lead bike with the lead runners from the earlier wave, but I couldn't even think about figuring out the time splits. I just focused ahead and kept running as efficient as possible. With about 6 miles to go I saw Matt, who had been in front of me all day. I ran him down with 5 miles to go and by this point my legs were shot. I just pushed ahead and tried to open up a big gap between Matt and I. I entered the resort with 2 miles to go and glanced back to see nobody. I ran hard to the finish and pretty much collapsed at the end. The fastest time of the day until I had finished was 4:48. My finish time was 4:44! I had won the race! I had no idea until I was sitting down eating and drinking, and it still has not set in yet. This has been a really incredible break-through year for me. It could not have ended any better. I look forward to many more years of racing.
Thanks to all my family and friends who came out and cheered me along the way. Although I was kinda out of it during the race I could hear you all and it kept me motivated. I will now focus on training for the St. Croix Half Ironman in May 2005, a qualifier for the Hawaii Ironman. Thanks also to those who have helped support me in my training and racing, Andy Stewart at Finish Line Sports, everybody at TriVantage, Rudy Project, and Frances from TYR.
Age Group Results Overall Results Photos will be posted by Oct. 28
Brief Race story:
The swim was non-wetsuit and foggy. I caught an elbow in the first 20 meters that knocked my goggles off. I tried not to panic and I swam steady and got my goggles back into place. I didn't find a rhythm until about halfway through the swim. I had hoped to get out of the water in 35-36 mins. I surprised my self with a 29:20! Definitely an improvement than can be attributed to the swim work that I have been doing with Patrick at TriVantage, plus the TYR "Spiderman suit" kept me a bit more buoyant in the water, another definite advantage. I dashed through the first transition and headed out for the bike ride. I now understand how people have life changing feelings after completing a race this long. Out on the bike I had some ups and downs and every time I thought about having to still run 13.1 miles I thought it was crazy. So I just focused on eating my gels and fig newtons every 30 mins and getting all my fluids in me. Jason and I had talked about nutrition and how important it was going to be over a long race, especially if the weather got hot. For the first 20 miles or so I had a group of people who were always around me. At about mile 34 I caught and passed a guy in my age group from Austin. This was a turning point in the race for me. I was definitely in a rhythm and was having a solid bike ride. I kept my heart rate under control and just focused on keeping my pedal stroke efficient like Johnny had told me. Coming back into transition I saw some of the guys I was racing in there first mile of the run. I new they were close and the run was long, maybe I would have a shot at running them down. I got through the second transition very fast and was out on the run. I got very excited and ran too hard the first mile and had some incredible cramps in the second mile. I had to stop, sit, stretch, and really focus on moving forward. I began to jog and then run again. I had passed a few people in the first mile and they again went past me while I was stopped. I slowly caught some people in my age group. I would see the lead bike with the lead runners from the earlier wave, but I couldn't even think about figuring out the time splits. I just focused ahead and kept running as efficient as possible. With about 6 miles to go I saw Matt, who had been in front of me all day. I ran him down with 5 miles to go and by this point my legs were shot. I just pushed ahead and tried to open up a big gap between Matt and I. I entered the resort with 2 miles to go and glanced back to see nobody. I ran hard to the finish and pretty much collapsed at the end. The fastest time of the day until I had finished was 4:48. My finish time was 4:44! I had won the race! I had no idea until I was sitting down eating and drinking, and it still has not set in yet. This has been a really incredible break-through year for me. It could not have ended any better. I look forward to many more years of racing.
Thanks to all my family and friends who came out and cheered me along the way. Although I was kinda out of it during the race I could hear you all and it kept me motivated. I will now focus on training for the St. Croix Half Ironman in May 2005, a qualifier for the Hawaii Ironman. Thanks also to those who have helped support me in my training and racing, Andy Stewart at Finish Line Sports, everybody at TriVantage, Rudy Project, and Frances from TYR.
Age Group Results Overall Results Photos will be posted by Oct. 28
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