Always hot, sunny and windy.

I have not done the event since it was relocated from Buffalo Springs Lake to downtown.

Until 1/2 Galveston came along this was my favorite event. I have completed it perhaps 15 times.


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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

The bike and run courses have just been released.

Looks like the bike has some elevation (593') but a trivial amount compared to the prior course. It's mainly an east/west course so I wouldn't be surprised to have a strong crosswind.

The run course loops around the Texas Tech campus. It looks like it's basically the same course I ran when I was a student 15 years ago. It will be absurdly flat. The map says 71' total. Drainage is a huge problem in the area because there isn't enough elevation change to move the water.

Expect the weather to be hot and windy.

You can expect to do the shell of what was once a great race/course. It was a very hard and honest course that I absolutely hated but could not stop doing. Now, it's a stock standard boring cookie-cutter Ironman course. The only plus is that the run course gets within 2 blocks of my house - that I lived in 25+ years ago.

Always a tough race due to the conditions. Hot, windy is a given. Wetsuit legal will be a coin flip.

The new bike course took out the large climbs in and out of the canyon, but they always at least gave you a break from the wind (there are wind turbines everywhere in the area). With an east/west route it could be pretty tough all things considered. I just hope it won’t be 110 degrees and 25mph like in 2018.

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

This was the first ever tri that I signed up for. I picked it because of the t-shirt.
Dissapointed to hear about the new course. Sounds like they took all the character out of it.
I remember the first time I drove by and looked toward where the race was. Man, it looked flat. I didn't realize there were valleys so it was deceiving.

When is the wetsuit determination made?

Race morning.

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

Was my first 70.3 though it was on a hillier course than this year

Hot hot Hot. Not just heat but sun exposure and no escape from it which after the bike leg really just drains you. wetsuit was a coin flip on race morning

wind wasnt too bad year I did it

Don't assume that a summer lake swim in Texas will be wetsuit illegal. I believe the canyon lakes are spring fed so cooler water temps than what you would expect for June. Bring both a swim skin and wetsuit if you got them. A friend of mine didn't bring his when we did the race and he was unusually behind after the swim.

Looking like race conditions are favoring 70s and overcast. Possibility of some moisture. Winds will be from the east which should make for a fast ride back to town.

Fingers crossed!

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

As of now, the weather looks favorable. It will be my first race since compound fracture of ankle and then the CV19 lockdowns. Will be great to just get out there and race.

At this point, the weather gives me two concerns:
1. How do they handle lightning in the area given the race is spread across 30 miles?
2. Hopefully the roads don't get too slick in the rain. In West Texas, I don't bother with biking in the rain. Just not worth the risk when I have a KICKR. Only matters a day or two a year.

I loved the old course, never tried the new course. As the others have said, hot and windy. It reminds me of the Robin Williams . One race in the early 2000's had a heat index of 115° by the end of the race.

Video doesn't seem to be playing.

Anyone know what the lightning policy is for races?

For all the nasty forecast, that weather couldn’t have been better.

How did the race go for everyone?

PR for me, felt great all day. it was almost like we had a tailwind the whole bike course!

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

Agreed, the weather ended up being perfect! Although everything I own is covered in mud.
I had a pretty good race, considering! First, my excuses: I haven't done any serious swimming since the pandemic started, and just started getting in the pool recently. I'm ~192 pounds, and when I raced well, I was between 160 and 167. So needless to say, not in the shape I'd like to be.
But like I said, it ended up going well. The swim was rough, as I expected. Since a PR wasn't in the cards, my goal for the bike and run was to pace well, as I usually go out too hard. Based on recent workouts, I felt like I should stay below 200 watts average and try and avoid too many surges. I averaged 200, normalized power of 207. For the run, I was thinking to start at 8:15 and speed up as the race went on. I found myself around 8:04, and felt good, and then sped up a little through the end for 8:00/mile average. Went 5:06, my PR on the old Buffalo Springs course was 4:40. Lastly, there were 23 slots, and I nabbed one at roll down, so now it's time to get back to work, particularly in the pool!

Congrats!

This was only my second HIM and my first was Buffalo Springs 2018 and I was woefully unprepared. My time that day was ~7:45. I came into this one hoping for a 5:40 if all went just right but otherwise, would have been happy with break 6:00. I forgot my cycling computer, so I was going off my watch on the bike. I was using separate activities instead of triathlon mode and my primary watch display wasn't showing total time, so I didn't bother monitoring my actual overall time while racing.

Swim: I knew this would be slow. Despite growing up on the water and being comfortable in it, my form sucks and I have no nearby place to swim. I finished at 2:04/. Was hoping for 2:00/, but I'll take it. In my prior swims with my wetsuit, It's felt a little long for me so I got sloppy with putting it on and realized I hadn't pulled the arms up quite far enough. Just some extra tug on the shoulder throughout.

Bike: I didn't really know what to expect for speed. I knew it would be a fast course. My long local rides were roughly 20mph so I was expecting something near that. I didn't have prior race power rides to go off of since I just got power meters a few weeks ago. I was hoping for 170W with theoretically knowing 190W should be possible. I finished with 189W avg/195W NP for 21.93mph. I had brief windows where my legs started feeling fatigue and I was able to back off. Couldn't be happier with the time. Just a few more upgrades and I'll be over 22mph:).

Run: I knew starting the run I would need to get my pace and HR in check. My long runs are normally in the low 9s so I was hoping to just stay below 10'/mile. Getting off the bike, I was over 160 and I was planning to target 150-155 for the few few miles. At two miles in, and my HR still staying over 160, I basically said "screw it" and decided to see how long I could go. My legs were feeling good so I just kept cruising. By the last lap, I knew I was well ahead of my PR and well ahead of my target pace, so I went for broke. With mile 4 being my slowest, for each of my last five miles, I got faster.

I finished at 5:20:04. Well ahead of the best I was expecting so I couldn't be happier. I clearly need more speedwork on the run, but I beat my open half marathon time by three minutes, so I'm very happy with the days results.

Great job with the the negative split run, Alex ;-) Sounds like I’ll need to run the titanium a little further off the front to get you below 5:00 next year. Already workin’ on it!

I swam as slow as I could.... (or maybe I should say "as fast")

Given this was my first HIM in which I was actually suitably trained, the experience gain on this will be hugely beneficial.

Congrats, that is an awesome improvement!

For the watch thing, just give the triathlon setting a chance. I was reluctant at first, because I knew how to do individual workouts, and I was worried about accidentally hitting the lap button...but it is SO much easier!

Anyone here race today? The 20-25 mph winds on the bike were no joke. Impossible to make up the lost speed on the return leg.

I was surprised how many went without wetsuits given it was an optional wetsuit swim at 77 degrees.

The new run course was wack. I much preferred the three loops of the TT campus than running 6 miles to it from transition. Having to go back to the lake to get the bike after finishing was not ideal either but honestly never took to long.

It was great to see Marti Greer. As I was resting on the lawn near the finish line I looked up, and there she was with a garbage bag picking up bottles and trash people had just left around (sigh). I didn’t really know what to say to her, but went up to her and said it was great to see her and I hoped she was doing alright. She gave me a big hug and actually thanked me for coming out to the event. Gave me a lot to reflect on as I walked back to the car.

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning