Lonestar 70.3 Race Report

I know it’s now the Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas, but to me it will always be Lonestar. I’m also really sad they retired the armadillo logo I love so much (so I just used the one from last year here).

My original goal for Lonestar was a PR and possibly a sub 7 hour half, pretty big goals for the first race of the season, but it’s a flat course and with strong training I figured I had a good chance. Then miserable March hit, I got sick twice, I tried to train through the first illness, but it didn’t work all that well, after 2 weeks of feeling tired and sluggish, I got really sick again and missed the Champions Tri relay Ingrid, Kim and I had planned, and then Coach Jen strongly advised me to take it easy and make sure I recovered well so I wouldn’t get sick again and miss Lonestar entirely. By Lonestar time I was feeling recovered but a little undertrained after missing quite a bit of training. My new goal was just to have fun and enjoy the race, although I still hoped to PR if conditions were perfect, of course you never know what the conditions might be at Galveston.

Moody Gardens, transition, and the team tailgating area

Jeff drove Red and I to Moody Gardens early and I got my transition area set up with no issues.

I borrowed some sunscreen from Red, I don’t usually worry about sunscreen for races, but since it was a long race and early season I figured I should (unfortunately it did me no good after the saltwater swim).

Julie and Sandra trying to keep me warm before the swim, my teammates huddling together to keep me warm is becoming a pre-race staple.

I was one of the last swim waves to start so I had about 3 hours to hang out. I saw pretty much everyone pre-race and wished them luck. We watched the pro waves start and then all the men, the water looked a little choppy but not terrible.

Cassie and I hanging out pre-race

my swim wave getting in the water

I felt good at the start, but about 2 or 3 minutes in the left side of my goggles started to leak and that stings in saltwater! I figured it was from the sunscreen I put on my face and if I tried to adjust them it would probably just get worse, so I started breathing only to my right side since that kept the water mostly out of my left eye. I am definitely a bilateral breather so breathing only to one side was a little annoying for me. I noticed the chop but it didn’t seem bad. Then we turned into the headwind for the long leg of the swim and I definitely felt the chop then! A lot of times when I’d turn to breathe I’d get saltwater instead of air- YUCK! I had to stop and cough up saltwater a few times. Sometimes when I’d look ahead to sight I’d get hit by a wave. Red said it felt like whiplash- yeah that’s a good description. I even started to chafe on my underarm which has never happened before- ugh! I still felt like I was having a fairly decent swim, I looked at my watch a few times and knew it wasn’t fast but it didn’t feel terrible until I hit 40 minutes and hadn’t even made it to the last turn buoy yet! Yikes! That’s pretty bad, I was hoping for 40-43 minutes for the swim. I ended up at 52 minutes and I was not at all happy about it. Through transition I tried to relax and forget about the tough swim, I figured if I had a really good bike I could maybe even still PR.

Coming into T1

I got out on the bike course and had a head/cross wind which I completely expected. No big deal I had planned to keep the average speed as close to 15 as I could and then go fast after the turn around when I got a tail wind. I know a lot of people think it’s boring to ride in Galveston, but I enjoyed seeing the ocean and the beach houses and seeing the pros, then the fast age group men, then the fast age group women, etc. coming back on the out and back course. I played with my gears on the way out- faster cadence easier gear for 5-10 minutes, lots of resistance for 5-10 minutes, just changing it up. And I stuck to my nutrition plan well. I was really looking forward to riding over the San Luis Pass, but when we got there the cross wind was pretty fierce and I couldn’t really look out over the water too much in the wind. Volunteers along the course were all telling me how many mile to the turnaround and “you get a tailwind after that” I hit the turnaround feeling pretty good, but as I got going I realized I definitely did not feel a tailwind. I know from experience that sometimes in Galveston you get a headwind heading out and nothing but crosswind coming back- YUCK! Some people say crosswinds feel like headwind, maybe I agree. I was disappointed to see my speed only slightly faster going back and I knew my chances for a PR were quickly diminishing. Photo by Tom Marek

Around mile 40 or so my legs started to feel a little tired. I knew I was a little undertrained from being sick so I wasn’t surprised, just a little disappointed. With about 10 miles to go I did finally feel a little tailwind which was really nice, and I tried to take advantage of it even though my legs were tired and I was way off of any goals. Coming into transition I was just happy to be finished with the bike. I finished in 3:50 and I was hoping for 3:30-3:40. I was disappointed in my race so far, bad swim, bad bike, but I decided there was no need to be negative I could still try for a half ironman run PR.

At the last minute I decided not to wear my compression socks on the run (I know I know “nothing new on race day” and trust me NEVER AGAIN) As I started the run, I felt really thirsty, that seemed weird since I did a good job with nutrition (Infinit) on the bike but I didn’t realize how dry the air was. Galveston is usually very humid, but it was dry on Sunday. My first loop felt pretty good, I stopped at all the aid stations for water and drank my Infinit, but it felt hot and I felt like I was already fading a little after just 3 miles.

I may have been fading, but I still looked happy to see Tom! Photo by Tom Marek

85 isn’t really hot but in April after a very cold winter when you’re used to running in 60-70 degrees 85 feels pretty darn hot, heat doesn’t usually bother me much so I really hate to think about the people who are more heat sensitive than me. Last week I read an article in the Jan. issue of Inside Triathlon called “Heat Shield” it said that holding ice in your hands was more effective at cooling your body than putting ice in your hat or shirt, so I tried it and held ice in my hands until it melted or they were numb and it seemed to work pretty well.

I saw Nicki on my first loop and she said she had a terrible swim and never felt like she got a tailwind on the bike, it made me feel SO much better to know I wasn’t the only one having a tough day! The run course was 4 loops which I know most people hate, but I love it, I can look forward to seeing friends and spectators more than once on the course and this course was great for that. I saw pretty much everyone I know racing and there was lots of spectator support all over the course- good thing since I really needed it! By loop 2 I started to feel blisters forming from my socks and my knees felt a little sore- man I wished I had worn my compression socks! That chaffed spot on my armpit was really killing me by loop 2 of the run, my underarms have never chaffed before so that was a whole new pain for me. You can’t imagine how happy I was to see a volunteer with a big jar of Vaseline, I grabbed a huge handful and gloped it in my armpit- problem solved! Photo by Tom Marek

By loop 3 I could feel the tops of my shoulders burning and I could see they were getting red, so much for pre-race sunscreen. I even have my race number left on my arms from the sun not getting through the marker- that's a first too! My pace pretty much spiraled downward on loops 2, 3, and 4 but I didn’t feel that bad about it, it was hot and everyone around me seemed just as or more miserable than me. I encouraged other racers and thanked lots of volunteers and spectators. I told lots of volunteers things like “if you spray me with that hose, I will love you forever” and “you have ICE in your water! You’re the best volunteer EVER!”

Very happy to be almost finished! Photo by Tom Marek

I tried to pick up the pace as I came in to the finish and Adam Reiser said “Austin’s own Heather Herrick out of
Tri Zones Training” what a great finish announcement! But I didn't really give my signature "Heather Herrick smiley celebration finish pose" this time.

My run time was 2:51 and I was hoping for 2:40 or less. I was 10 minutes off of my goals in all 3 sports and I finished in 7:43, almost 30 mintues from a PR, but most people I know were way off their goal times too, many 30 minutes or more, considering my training didn't really go as planned and it was a tough day...wait a minute didn't I say my only goal was to have fun and enjoy the race?!?!

After the finish I hugged Jeff and said hi but didn’t hug Tom and Judy (Jeff’s parents) which they seemed perfectly ok with since I was disgustingly sweaty! Ingrid and Del both agreed that it was a tough day. Even Coach Jen said tough day. I can't tell you how many times I heard the words "tough day". At least it wasn’t just me! At the Tuesday workout when Coach Tracy asked who PRed at Lonestar, Coach Jen replied "it wasn't a PR kind of day" well said Coach Jen.

At our post race celebration Drew asked how my race went and I said “I had a tough day, missed all my goals, well except to have fun” and Nicki replied “are you kidding? You actually had fun out there??” and I said “well yeah, even though I was pretty miserable it’s still really cool to be out there doing it and see people cheering and everything, so yeah, even when it’s miserable it’s still a lot of fun at the same time” Nicki said “yeah, I know exactly what you mean”

Lonestar Quarter Iron Triathlon

Lonestar is one of my favorite triathlons. This was my third year in a row to do Lonestar, in 2007, I did the sprint, in 2008 I did the quarter iron and this year I did the quarter iron again.

I got to Galveston around noon on Saturday and checked into my hotel, Inn at the Waterpark, it was really nice. I assume they completely renovated after Hurricane Ike, because it looked brand new. The staff was really nice and they even started their continental breakfast at 4:30 am this weekend for the triathletes. Since I decided to come in on Saturday instead of Friday, I knew I would miss Cassie and Steph doing the sprint, but I talked to Cassie and she had a good race. Steph never said much about the sprint, she was too busy getting ready for the quarter.

I went to Moody Gardens for the pre-race meeting and Ingrid and Kim met me there and brought me lunch. Thanks! We did packet pick-up then Del and I decided to do a practice swim. Cassie had told me the water was 65 degrees, so I was prepared to freeze. I hadn’t swum in the ocean or in my wetsuit since the Battle of San Jacinto Triathlon last April. But I decided I wasn’t going to wear my wetsuit to practice because it might not be dry by morning and I really didn’t want to stand around on race morning in a cold damp wetsuit.

Del getting into his wetsuit

Del and I started to get in and both screamed! The water was freezing! But once we got in and started swimming it wasn’t so bad, we both had a good swim and I knew if I could handle it without the wetsuit, I’d be fine in the morning. After the swim, I did a short run and then got ready for dinner. Del and I after swimming
Pre-race dinner was at Mario’s with Kathleen and lots of other HRTCers. As always, it was a lot of fun. I went to bed pretty early and slept really well; maybe it was the glass of wine that Kim and Gillian talked me into at dinner. Kim and Del at dinner

Steph, Loanna, and Augie at dinner

Race morning I went to the lobby for breakfast and started chatting with a couple in race crew shirts, they turned out to be Keith Jordan’s (the race director) in-laws! So I told them how much I love Endorfun races and that Keith is my favorite race director. After breakfast I got everything ready and went over to the transition area. I got everything set up and then had 2 hours to wait until my start. Luckily I ran into Jane, Marla, Kim and a few other people I knew, so the time passed quickly. Jane with her bike in transition

me with my bike in transition

I got in the water and started shivering, I was having a little trouble breathing as I swam out to the start buoy. When we started, I still had a little trouble breathing for the first 100 or so meters, but once I got going and got a little warmed up I felt much better. I tried to focus on my technique and all the things Coach Lisa taught me at the Trizones swim clinic a few weeks ago. I had a hard time keeping my head tucked down in a good position since I was breathing higher than normal to avoid inhaling salt water- YUCK! My goal for the swim was to swim equal to or faster than last year’s time. Last year’s time was 25:23, this year’s time was 24:54. Pretty cool since I really didn’t start swimming this year until after the Trizones clinic 3 weeks ago!

Getting out of the water

Transition 1 felt really slow to me, I walked out of the water while I got the top of my wetsuit off, got stripped, then ran over to my bike and started getting ready. Right across the rack from me was a girl in a Trizones jersey! I thought I was the only Trizoner doing Lonestar! I asked if she trained with Trizones, yes, she asked me North or South team? North, me too. How do we not know eachother? I was almost ready to go at that point and I think I said something dumb like “I’ll have to meet you better sometime” she said she’d look for me after the race as I was leaving transition. As I was leaving Moody Gardens on my bike, I realized I had no clue what she looked like, I was too busy getting ready to even look at her, I just noticed the Trizones jersey. I can’t believe my transition was actually 12 seconds faster than last year at 4:35!

My biggest goal at the race this year was to improve my bike time over last year. I was a little slow on all the turns getting out to the seawall, but I knew I would be. I was pretty sure I’d have a headwind going out on the seawall and I did, but it wasn’t super strong. I was trying to keep my speed at 15 mph or higher and it was pretty tough. I was working pretty hard and getting concerned that maybe I was using too much energy for the first half of the bike. I was really hoping for a tailwind on the way back, but you never know in Galveston, sometimes you get a headwind out and nothing but cross wind on the way back. I turned the U turn and it was easy to go 16, 17 even 18 mph! Woohoo a tailwind! I tried to stay at 17 mph and even got over 20+ when I was passing people, I was having fun and felt really good! I told everyone I passed and who passed me to have a great race. I did a good job of drinking my Infinit from my aerobottle on the ride, with about 5 miles to go, I went to get a drink and heard “slurp slurp” from the straw, cool finished my Infinit with 5 miles to go. Unfortunately after the race I realized that I had pulled the straw up some and I still had about ¼ of my Infinit left, oops. Last year’s bike time was 1:49:47 for 15.3 mph, this year was 1:47:33 for 15.6 mph. T2 was 3:27 (last year’s was 3:12, not sure what I did slower this year).

I got out on the run and felt good, the sun was out and it was starting to get pretty warm. I decided to go without the fuel belt since it was only a 6.5 mile run. If I drank properly on the bike, I shouldn’t need anything except maybe a little water on the run. After mile 1 I started to feel a little hungry, that’s usually a bad sign for me and I started to think it was a mistake to not carry the fuel belt. Endorfun always has tons of food and drinks at the run aid stations and I never use any of it. They always have defizzed Coke, and I have always thought that was pretty disgusting. I don’t drink Coke anyway and couldn’t imagine drinking it while running, but for some reason while I was running and getting hungrier, I thought Coke sounded good. At the next aid station I took a little cup of Coke, it tasted good, I wondered if it would upset my stomach, most things do, but I felt fine. I ended up drinking 3 little cups of Coke on the course. On the run I saw Kim, Steph, and Marla racing and Penny volunteering. The last 2 or so miles I was getting pretty hot and my legs were feeling tired, but I knew I could beat last year’s time and I didn’t have much further to go. I ended up running in 1:16:08 at 11:43 per mile, last year was 1:18:48 at 12:07 per mile. I was really happy as I came in to the finish. I knew I had beaten last year’s time and not just by a minute or two but by over five minutes! (3:36:39 compared to 3:41:59). I got my post-race swag and a couple Icee pops (I think that’s the best immediate post-race food I’ve ever eaten!), then found Kim, Steph, Del, and Jane they all had awesome races too.

Kim and Steph post-race

Kim’s mom brought us cupcakes! Thanks! I went back to the hotel for a quick shower before coming back to the race site just in time to see David finish in under 4:30 and take 14th place overall in his very first half ironman! Wow! He’s amazing! This was Ingrid's reaction when she found out how well David did!

Then we figured out where Ingrid was on the course and found a spot to watch for her, Merry, Ross, and Maggie on the run. Steph, Kim, David, and Gillian spectating

Everyone did awesome! Ingird took over 30 minutes off her Ironstar time, Maggie PRed the course, and Ross was under 6:00 for his very first half ironman!Ingrid high-fiving spectators on her last run lap

post-race cupcake! YUM!