Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Curtis L.
Fresno, CA

  (12-12-2011)

"This was my first race at the half iron distance. The organization was excellent. The course was well marked, the swim in Decker Lake or rather Decker Pond as I would call it was perfect. A little reedy and grassy at the end but what are the organizers supposed to do control the drought in Texas?? No worries about whitecaps, swells or shark attacks here.

The bike course was on chip seal County roads and was a little rough, the drought caused parts of the road heaved and cracked a lot of the pavement but the organizers were great and did their best to mark the larger ones and the County Road Department did a lot of work the week before to fill a lot of them. They did a great job under difficult circumstances. The bike course itself was rolling hills and a little windy at times.

The running course was up and down and the three loop modification made it more difficult than it would've otherwise been. Can't blame the organizers for the drought.

Finally, flying in and out of Austin was a real treat. The airport was great, plenty of good hotels and if you can't have a great time in downtown Austin, there is something wrong with you."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2011

Karl M.
Gilbert, AZ

  (11-15-2011)

"This is an account of the 2011 race. I am going to give you a detailed account of my experience in hopes that it may assist you in deciding if you want to choose this race and being successful if you do. I awoke at 3:30, stretched and headed over to the race. I parked with ease and dropped off my run bag at T2 and boarded a bus to T1 and the lake. It was a stress free morning. I felt pretty good despite being sick. My lungs weren’t congested, I just felt a bit tired. I am never yawing pre-race.

Swim
My swim heat did not leave until 8:40 a.m. The first pro wave left at 7:30. Somehow despite all the time I had, I ended up misjudging time and had to run over to the swim corral pulling my suit on as I went. I am never one of those people. If there wasn’t an age 40-44 A-L heat before my heat, I might have missed my start. It may have worked out for me, because when I started my heart rate was already up and I had a good swim. It was a well marked triangle. Although there were a lot of people doing this race I encountered very little congestion in the swim. The water temperature was nice for a wetsuit swim and the visibility wasn’t bad. Since my wave did not leave until 8:40 a.m., the sun was up and hitting the water at an angle making for good visibility. I ended up with my fastest time ever for the swim.

Bike
I am slow so I worked hard to achieve a 20 mph average. I did not feel hot on the bike and did not feel the need to grab more than one bottle of water at the aid stations. In retrospect, my elevated effort, and the dry windy conditions may have significantly dehydrated me without my noticing. The challenges of this course for me were two. Although there were some short hills, there was nothing major which I was happy for. The challenges came in other forms.

The first challenge was the condition of the roads. Approximately half the course was on what I would consider rough roads. This obviously affects speed. When we would transition from rough to smooth road I would see as much as a 3 mph difference without changing effort output. Texas apparently is in the middle of the worst drought in recorded history and the roads are shrinking and cracking. The condition of the road made for tense riding. I discussed this with other athletes afterwards and was not alone its effects. My shoulders are still sore as I write this. I also encountered significant back ache which made riding in the aero position painful. The rough road would come back to haunt me in the run as well as other athletes that I spoke with after the race was over. I found myself as well as other athletes riding white line and searching for smooth surfaces.

The second challenge was wind. Mostly cross wind. This slows everyone, but my weight (230 lbs.) actually keeps my on the road and from being blown around. I was determined to get my 20 mph average despite the wind. The wind was only a factor for about the last hour of the race. It wasn’t the horrible wind that makes evokes cursing, just the kind that slows your average. Despite the road surface and wind I managed to turn in my fastest 56 miles ever. In fact I beat my best previous performance by 23 minutes! My goal for this race was to break the 6 hour mark and I was on my way to smashing that. When I completed the bike I calculated in my head that if I could just run a 2 hour half marathon, I would come in at about 5 hours and 30 minutes. I had just run a 1:50 half marathon in Long Beach two weeks prior and I have been running faster off the bike lately than just running fresh. I felt confident that I was on my way to a 5:30. Fate had other plans however.

Run
This was the most grueling punishing run for me ever! I transitioned fast and could not wait to get out on the run course and get my 5:30. I felt great. I ran out of transition full of confidence and optimism. This was my third 70.3 and the best I have felt by far in a 70.3 going into the run. I was even smiling at the volunteers. I cruised the first mile effortlessly. All my bricks were paying off. My legs know they have to run after getting off the bike now. I was shocked when I looked down at my watch. I felt like I had taken the first mile pretty easy and I ran it in about 8:00. (that is good for me) I was feeling great. I was running the same pace as Long Beach without even trying. I was definitely going to smash 6 hours and on my way to a sub 5:30.

With in a minute things changed. The course headed uphill and I felt the vastus medialis (I looked it up) above my left knee threatening to cramp. It began to feel like someone had stabbed me in the leg. That is the muscle just above the knee on the inside of the leg. It alarmed me. I have never felt anything there before. As I pushed up the hill I gave into fear. If the muscle seized I didn’t know how to stretch it. I started to walk to see if I could relax it and get it under control. After a minute or so I started to run again. As I hit the first aid station and drank a cup of cold water I realized I was very thirsty. I drank another cup. I couldn’t stop and drank a third. After the aid station the course headed down hill. The combination of downhill running and the sloshing water in my stomach caused a severe side cramp. I couldn’t breathe and once again gave in and walked. This time I gave into pain. I was troubled. I was walking again and I hadn’t even reached mile 2. I looked at my watch and decided I could make up the time and get on track for 9 minute miles which would put the 13.1 miles under 2 hours. My thoughts were that there was no need to panic. I just needed to deal with these cramping issues and get back to business. Things got worse not better however.

I don’t think most people would consider the course a tough one, but it was tough a tough one for me. It was mostly up or down. There were few flat steps. The hills weren’t super steep, but enough to make you work on the way up and cause a bit of shock damage on the way down. I am from Arizona and there isn’t a hill anywhere near my house. I train on flat land. And speaking of flat steps, the running surface was often a bit rough also. I am a pansy when it comes to running and like my running surface flat and even. That is probably due to my weight. Landing 230 pounds on uneven surfaces can make the ankles tire.

Once you walk, it is far too easy to walk again. I wasn’t alone however. I have never seen so many people walking in a triathlon. For me, this contributed to the “it’s ok to walk” voice in my head even more. I never walk.

To make things worse I was also overheating. I rhetrospect, had gotten behind on my hydration on the bike without realizing it and now I couldn’t make it up. They ran out of sponges on my second loop. In 2011 the run was a 3 loop course. I was drinking too much and suffering side cramps, especially running down hill. I would stop drinking for a while to eliminate the side cramps, but then the leg cramps would start again. I had to choose my poison. It was so hot that I couldn’t drink the Infinit on my Fuel Belt. I finished 1 out of 4 bottles. I neglected my gels because of my internal heat. I could not stomach them in the condition I was in. I stuffed ice everywhere I could but couldn’t stop the heat. Unlike Hawaii where I stayed ahead of it and was able to control it, here in Texas I had allowed myself to get dehydrated and there was no coming back from that once I hit the run. I learned that I have got to stay on top of that. Dehydration is not curable for me once the run begins given my sweat rate. I must have walked 8 or 9 times. It was brutal. Ice began to get scarce on my third loop. At one point some volunteer set a full bag of ice down on a table and left it there. I along with several other athletes attacked it. (Picture piranhas attacking a side of beef) Within seconds there was nothing left but a shredded plastic bag. My only criticism of this race is that I need my sponges and ice on a hot day like this. The bike was not hot for me (at least that I perceived) But the run was very hot. They did have these mister tents you could run through which I have not encountered before, but they are no replacement for ice and sponges.

I encountered any others who were suffering and I spoke to some of them as I walked or ran next to them. Here is my analysis of what happened to me. The bike taxed my muscles in a way I had not trained for. The static tension due to the rough roads for nearly 3 hours put a strain on muscles that I was not accustomed to. Lots of athletes suffered back issues because of this. While personally, my back did suffer on the bike, it did not bother me once I hit the run like many other athletes I encountered. I do think that this static stress contributed to my leg cramping. This coupled with the fact that I allowed myself to dehydrate worked as a double punch setting my muscles up for cramping issues. Then on top of that, psychologically I let the group mentality influence my decision making process. Since so many others were walking I convinced myself that it was ok and I was just adopting a strategy to finish. My run ended up being 2:30:46. That is 40 minutes longer than the last half marathon I did. My time total time was 6:02:36. I could have easily made up that 2:36 and finished under 6 hours.

Summary
I think this is a good race. I want to do it again. It had a few challenges that I let beat me instead of the other way around. The road surface is what it is. I actually liked the bike course a lot and I just need to deal with the road surface. Anyone doing this race should definitely pay attention to hydration. Just because you may not be sweating in profusely in the dry Texas wind doesn’t mean aren’t losing a significant amount of water. I will definitely find some hills to train for the run next time. I wouldn’t pass on this race because of hills. They are mild easy grades. For most of you they may not even be a factor. But if you train completely flat like I do you may need to find some hills to run in preparation of for this race. I love the fall, and this is a great fall race.


"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2011

sONJA C.
EL SEGUNDO, CA

  (10-30-2011)

"This was my first 70.3 and I REALLY ENJOYED it. Swim was perfectly lined by bouys every 100 ft - easy to sight. Incredibly well run. Bike was a little windy but as far as the course it was not to difficult. Run was a 3 loop course due to drought. Aid support on amazing on the run. Volunteers were very quick and encouraging. I cant wait to do this again next year. Arena finish was the event topper !!!! BEER & Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Cant ask for more than that. I highly recommend this race !"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2011

Brock A.
Houston, TX

  (11-06-2009)

"brutal course.
swim was fine
bike is rough and windy. hills are only moderate. rough roads on about 50% of course
run is brutal. up down up down"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Laura H.
Austin, TX

  (11-05-2009)

"I loved this race! It was my first half-iron, so I don\'t have much to base it on, but I did have an awesome time.
The swim was in Decker Lake. It was calm and the water temp was perfect. The transition got a bit gross because it\'s on dirt mostly, but nothing terrible. The bike is my favorite- scenic, beautiful, fairly flat for Austin, pretty fast, 4 aid stations. Great!
The run this year was on road only because of the drought. There was plenty of food, drink, and music on the course. The only thing that sucked were the hills. Those hills really kick your ass when you\'re tired.
Overall it was awesome, especially the run into the arena. I felt like a super star! I just wish the race morning went smoother-- too many people trying to park at once, not too good."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Alison N.
Bedford, TX

  (07-31-2009)

"For someone expecting to see the scenic part of Austin, don't be surprised when you get to the race site. It's not scenic. We came from DFW and were hoping for a change of scenery but it's on the east side of town and the east side is not what people are talking about when they say they love Austin. There was a massive traffic issue getting to the parking lots because someone didn't unlock an entrance and then a wait for buses to transition. Heard people say they waited for an hour and a half. Hopefully they will have that more organized next year. I believe the swim was short, but the water was calm. The transition was dirt that quickly became mud. Definitely the nastiest transition I've ever seen for a race where it wasn't raining. Everything I brought was covered in dirt and mud after the race. The bike was ok-some hills but nothing exceptional. The run was two loops around the park area so part was on the road, part was on dusty trails. The "signature" hill is the Quadzilla. Tough hills are fine, but I would be shocked if multiple athletes didn't sprain an ankle on that hill. It was rutted and uneven and fairly hazardous. There was a small section with shade-maybe 1/2 mile long-on the run. The best part was that there was a tailgating section on the run course near the finish so there was a good cheering section since they were all drinking beer under their tents. Food was good afterward-big burritos. Don't forget the long walk back to parking lots with all your gear-one more trip up a few big hills! Race was well run though, as you would expect for a 70.3. Good volunteers.

Alison
Team EnduroShark"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2008