Ironman Texas 70.3 -- Galveston

So, Chris' experience at the Ironman Texas 70.3 (half triathlon) was pretty incredible!!

We woke up around 4:00 a.m. and left the hotel right after 5:00. It was a short drive to Moody Garden, the main hub for the race. We were able to find a decent parking spot, and Chris went to set up his bag of items in the transition area -- helmet, bike shoes, run shoes, sunglasses, drinks, quick snacks, etc. Once that was ready, we headed back to the car to stay warm and rest a bit. The transition area closed by 6:45, and Chris' wave didn't start until 8:08. So, we had a little time.

It was quite chilly, gray, and misty...not at all the expected weather. This was actually a good thing, because it is super humid in Galveston, so this helped quite a bit!

Chris started to get antsy, so he put on his wetsuit and listened to some pumped up music to get jazzed up. Then we made our way over to the start line for the swim leg. We parted ways, and he went over to the pier. When it was time for his wave, all of the blue swim caps jumped into the gulf and bobbed there until the race leader yelled for them to start.

I wasn't able to see any of the swim since it was out in the ocean...but, I was there to see him come out of the water. He had help removing his wetsuit (those volunteers are called "strippers" because they strip off the suits!), then he made his way to the transition area. I was able to watch him from the fence, and got some good photos of him walking the bike up to the mount line. Then he got on the bike and took off, for 2 hours and 42 minutes.

During that time, I napped and read in the car for a bit, trying to stay warm!

Chris says the bike leg went really well, that he felt strong and had no issues. His new Scott bike and aero helmet helped him have a great ride! I snapped some photos as he rode back into transition. Then I made my way over to the spot I decided on for the run leg, where I would be able to see him multiple times on each of the three loops.

His run leg was fantastic! He felt super strong, like a diesel truck! Every time I saw him, he was powering along, passing tons of people and looking determined! Once I saw him at the last spot, I hurried over to the finish line to see him coming through there. He finished strong!

The amazing thing is to see how he moved up in ranks throughout the entire race.

Coming out of the water after the first leg, he was in 817th place overall in the swim.

After the bike leg, he had moved up to 504th place overall on the bike.

And finally, after the run leg, he ended at 115th overall in the run.

All of that brought him to these details:

34th Place out of 287 in his age group of Male 40-44

255th Place out of 1602 Males, all ages

302nd Place out of 2223 Overall

What a day! And what an accomplishment!! This was Chris' second half Ironman, and he shaved 15 minutes off of his first time. 15 minutes is A LOT of time in a race!!! He was so, so thrilled with his results.

I have more exciting news, too! To come, in the next post!