Texas 70.3 Race Report

A tad better than my spandex and race face.

Yesterday marked the first triathlon of the calendar year. I placed second in my age group at the Texas 70.3 Half-Ironman in Galveston, Texas. Overall my time was 5:12:16, with a 44:19 swim, 2:28:28 bike and a 1:52:25 run. I lost to first place by 14 minutes, which was quite frustrating given I had expected a much (much) better swim. 

So, as we always must, I will start with the swim.

As my time shows, the swim was pretty rough. Some very strong swells and currents threw me around. My goals through the swim went from "finish in 35 minutes" to "finish mid pack" to "finish" to "live." After swallowing a lot of sea water and the occasional back stroke, I did survive and was incredibly grateful to get out of that water. Things I need to work on include not drowning so much, and not to panic when it feels like I lost a tooth due to a kick in the face. 

So bad start, but hooray for the bike leg!

The discerning observer can see exactly where I turned into the wind

While it was raining for the first 90 minutes, it was a light drizzle more than a downpour and other than low visibility it didn't affect the ride too much. The wind from the north however... great for the first half, not so much for the second. However I was incredibly happy with a sub 2:30 bike ride. I used the ride to test out my Ironman pacing and an pretty happy with the result. Good thing the guys at Flo Wheels helped me get my wheels set up and the bike finally got assembled, just in time!

As far as things I want to change for Ironman, I need to hydrate more. I only drank 2 full bottles in Galveston and last year I went through 9-10 at Ironman, so I need to start training for that. 

And the start of the run signals the home stretch!

Champion Systems, keeping BSR clothed
(Much to everyone's relief and/or dismay)

My run is largely based on heart rate. First few miles I pick a pace and stick with it, that way I don't go out to hard, so I tried to stick with an 830 pace, give or take. After that I just kept my heart rate below a 180. As planned, I stopped to walk at mile 6 and grabbed a Bonk Breaker to keep fueled up. Then every two miles I would walk through a water stop to keep goals that were smaller and much more attainable feeling. This was my first time trying a method like this and I am definitely going to bring it back at Ironman Texas. 


Also! Transitions! I should be better at those. I think this might just be something I have to learn through practice. Maybe after my rides from now on I will get into my run gear like I would at a tri and see if this improves it. 



I have 6 weeks until Ironman! A few more long rides and runs, another super brick workout then it's taper time! I'll check in with everyone when I do my next super brick, then I will see you all at Ironman.

Luckily we all got to have a Schlitterific day

Food of the Week: Roasted Grapefruit

Naked grapefruit!

It's grapefruit season here in Texas! I will be the first person to admit that I have a sweet tooth worse than that kid from Willy Wonka who got stuck in a tube. Luckily I also really enjoy grapefruit and my neighbor gave me a bunch of it!

Good news about this- roasting the grapefruit sweetens it up a bit and you can top it with almost anything. Things I have tried include honey, brown sugar, walnuts and combinations of the three! 



This is an easy peasy one, just roast in the open at 375degF and cook for 15 minutes. I prefer to de-seed after it has cooked but some people do before. This is passable as both a dessert and breakfast so it's like a treat in the mornings after my run when I eat it alongside eggs and toast.