Longhorn 70.3

Longhorn 70.3 Half Ironman- 5:46:20. I will take it!

I'm too tired to write out a coherent report, so I will again display my newfound love of lists:

-What I'm most proud of? Biking 19.9mph at a comfortable pace. I never went out of my comfort zone, meaning I definitely could have pushed harder had I wanted to. I kept it as calm as I could for being in a half ironman!

-What I'm least proud of? My run. 2:23 for 13.1 miles, or a 10:55 pace. I walked at least 25% of the course, probably much more. If it hadn't been for Rhonda, who stuck by me for about 5 miles, I would have walked much more than that.

-What happened!? Something about my nutrition didn't work, and I didn't have a backup. My body was not enjoying PureSport and the Gatorade bar at all, but I had little else to fall back on. I was sick by mile 10 on the bike. Without going into detail, I'll say that I was sick at least 4 times that I remember... and my nutrition suffered big time. Additionally, I didn't take enough electrolytes, which cost me my run.

-What saved me? The people, of course. Seeing Richard, Mike, Kevin, Phil, Chris, Chris, Shorey, the Austin Duathletes Superhero Waterstop and T3 was so inspiring. I didn't want to let anyone down, so I kept moving forward. Rhonda stuck by me when I wanted to stop running. Then... Meredith, my angel, worked up an emergency nutrition plan which had me back on my feet in no time. (Unfortunately, I only had 3 miles to go at this point.)

-Best line of the day? Kevin, via email: "I really admire your attitude Erin!" Erin, on the run: "ROAR! I want to die!!!!!" Kevin, post race: "I didn't really know what to say to that."

-Best shirt of the day? "I don't do triathlons. I do triathletes."

-Favorite moments? Smelling like Pina Coladas at the Sunscreen Spot with Elizabeth. Getting out of the lake and seeing 29:39 on my watch, and never considering that of course the swim was short. Seeing Chris, who I had no clue was coming out, at mile 2 on the bike. Catching Blythe on the bike... and then getting dropped. Getting nutrition from Mike & Meredith on the run. Seeing Mo during my second loop and hearing "way to turn things around Erin!" Dancing the Super Mario Brothers Dance with Kenny at the water stop. Hearing Richard say, "wow - you really CAN bike!" Laura telling me she placed third at Aquabike.

-Best secret weapon? Richard! Thank you for taking care of me, otherwise I would have been a mess. (Tips from a pro aren't so bad either!)

Longhorn was giant fun! Granted, for about 1.25 hours... I wouldn't have said that... but I reframed, got my head back in the game, and broke my 6:00 goal by almost 15 minutes. A very good day indeed. :)

Thanks for all the well wishes, by the way. I was most appreciative.