For the last six months I have been training for the C'oeur d'Alene Ironman in Idaho on June 24, 2012. I decided I would try a half-ironman when I was about half through my training program so I signed up for the Memorial Herman Ironman 70.3 (half the distance of an Ironman) in Galveston.
I am here in Galveston now and have registered and checked out the course for Sunday's race. In theory this is a fast course: saltwater swim in a Bayou, and a flat bike ride that is just a straight shot out Galveston Island and back. The run is three loops, which helps in pacing. I am hopeful of doing much better than on my last 70.3 race at Steelhead in 2010. However, it is a windy course – most likely it will be a crosswind, but wind never helps. And there is that saltwater. I'm not excited about that, but I'll try not to drink too much of it.
Here are my predictions / goal for this race.
| Swim | /100 | T1 | Bike | MPH | T2 | Run | Min/Mile | Total | |
| Steelhead 2010 | 39:21 | 2:03 | 4:42 | 2:59:26 | 18.7 | 4:14 | 2:21:46 | 10:50 | 6:09:29 |
| Galveston 2012 - Goal | 40:00 | 2:04 | 4:30 | 2:48:00 | 20.0 | 4:30 | 2:04:30 | 9:30 | 5:41:30 |
I actually believe I should do a lot better than this, but I've never beaten any of my predictions, so I'm trying to be more conservative this time. I have trained hard this winter, especially on the bike. I know I am in good shape for this race. We'll see.
