Tri-Benbrook Sprint - TriathlonSprint

Race strategy was my choice today so I was going to push the swim a bit. Jumped in the pool started flailing around wildly. Somehow this generated enough momentum to get me to the other end of the lane. The water was absurdly hot. Felt like swimming in a hot tub. My guesstimate was between 80-85 degrees.

Got through the first 125yds when I caught the guy ahead of me and he let me pass at the next wall. Not too long after that I passed another swimmer who was hanging onto the wall. He was the same one who started well ahead of me and was struggling right from the start.

Caught one more guy with 50yds to go. Hit his feet but he didn't let me go ahead at the wall. Jerk. Stayed on him and drafted as I slapped his feet with each stroke. Had to wait at the ladder for him to get out before I was on my way.

Would have gone around and passed the last guy at the final wall. He probably cost me 10sec or so.

Ran outside and passed the jerk in the first few steps. Pulled my cap and goggles off. There were a few guys on my rack but I had plenty of space to work.

It was overcast so I skipped the sunglasses. Helmet on, grab bike, run. Passed two guys between my rack and the mount line.

1st in AG by 17sec and 7th overall. Good enough for me.

Got on my bike and quickly up to speed. Started to get into my shoes and struggled a bit. This pair of shoes is still fairly new and they aren't broken in yet. The left rubberband was a bit stubborn and I had to yank it to get it to snap.

Rounded the baseball field and went to work. Goal here was high training pace until the turn around and race pace on the way back. Right turn onto the main road and I started to really pick up the pace.

Ran down my first cyclist and coasted as I neared, drafted and passed within the legal 15sec and went right back to where I was a second ago. Rode through the creek and the water wasn't nearlly as annoying after getting out of the pool.

Picked off another 2 as we turned towards the lake. Stayed in the middle of the road because I knew about the ripples in the road on the right side. It's nice to race on a course that you ride on a regular basis.

Hammmered it on the small hill before we crossed the park entry gate. The road got a lot rougher here and I did my best to stay in the thin smooth spot on the side.

Picked off a person here and there and did my normal coasting/drafting technique but for the most part people were few and far between. Made it almost to Nice Hill before I finally saw the race leader headed the opposite direction.

Dropped a gear or two for the false flat before getting into my small ring and spinning up Nice Hill. Passed 4 people on the way up; 1 walking and 3 out of the seat and fighting their way up. I just smiled as I stayed in the saddle and spun right past them.

Hammered it on the downhill and moved ahead of another dozen or so people before the turn around. Picked an easier gear, slowed, turned as sharply as I could without falling over and stood up to get back up to speed as quick as possible.

Okay, race pace. Doesn't matter what my HR does, just go hard. Had a bit of trouble picking the right gear to start the back side of Nice Hill but soon enough I was in my easiest gear. Hit the super steep downhill and was easily doing 37 as I headed back.

Started to see the middle of the pack making it onto the course and I knew I was pretty well up in the pack by now. It was going to be interesting to see how many bikes are in transition when I get there. I had lost count of people going the other way, but there weren't many.

Caught the only other Playtri client racing today. His bib # was 31 spots ahead of mine so I was in a great position now. Now we were down to the real racers and all the swimmers were well behind us.

Slowed to turn off the main road and let myself go into one gear easier than I needed. Climbed out of my shoes after the baseball field and saw the rider ahead of me go right. Right was a small pedestrian path that went around the athletic fields. The race went left. Have fun with that buddy.

Stood on one shoe and dismounted running just before the sharp turn before the dismount line. I've seen A LOT of people wipeout trying to turn and then dismount and it's not worth the risk.

Hit my targets perfectly. High training pace to low race pace. Drafted legally when I could. 23+ and 4th fastest overall.

Looked up to make sure there weren't any people coming out of the pool and going in the opposite direction. Saw Jacob(tribullbutter) who yelled something about how much he hates me and to run fast. I wasn't really paying attention.

Unfortunately I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going either. I was the only bike back on my rack, and the rack ahead of me, and the first rack only had 7 bikes. I ran a few steps too far forward and had to stop and back track a bit.

Rack bike, helmet off, number to the front, visor on, shoes on, sunglasses on, grab flag. Walked as I put the two pieces together and went to work.

First time I've raced with the flag in a while so I knew this wasn't going to be very good. 4th in my age group isn't horrible, but it isn't good either.

Sprinted through the parking lot and focused on getting my legs under me. Goal was to hold high race pace but not necessarily above LTHR. Up onto the street and I was feeling good. HR check: top of race pace. Perfect.

Down the hill and turned to the first out-and-back. Finally I could see the people up ahead of me. Out and back and I caught my first runner. Okay, new goal: no one passes me.

Out and back #2 and I knew I could catch the next two runners. Up ahead the two lead guys were already on their way back in. Mile marker #1 was at 6:09... way to fast! Consciously slowed down a bit but not much.

Long flat stretch and I could see everyone on the road. Guy #3 looked like he could be in my age group, but he also started 45 spots ahead of me. The math to figure out how far ahead he actually was was too much at this point.

Out and back #3 and it was starting to hurt. And not just the running hard type of hurt; my shoulder was killing me. I forgot how much different it is to run with a flag.

Headed back in and I could gauge the pack behind me. Two people were gaining ground and one guy looked like he was in my age group. 21 starting places behind... gotta hold him off. The AG win is mine and I'm not just giving it up.

Small downhill before a turn and the final out and back which was the same one as the first. Back up the hill and I was really hurting. Just tried to breath deep and remind myself that it's almost over.

Left turn on the main road and I could see the finish. Sprinted with whatever I had left, crossed the line and doubled over as I tried to get as much oxygen as I could.

Racing without the flag I could have broken 20min. 21min is just 2sec behind my stand-alone 5K PR (without flag) so it shows what I've done in the last year.

1st in my AG was only 63sec ahead so I could have been fighting for fastest run split as wel as bike in my AG.

Jacob was waiting for me and I gave him the gory details as we walked to transition. Threw my gear down and headed towards the Jeep to see how much weight I lost.

That's when we spotted a handcycle and race wheelchair. PC triathletes are pretty few and far between so I was sticing around to see this guy. There were probably 20 people left to get out of the pool so it wouldn't take too long.

Cheered on the back of the pack as they headed out and was amazed at how many dismount line penalties they were handing out. Weighed in: 0.0 pounds lost! I nailed it today!

Headed back to check the results and I was sitting 4th overall and won my AG by 19 seconds. Before the end of the day I'd get bumped for a guy who signed up late and had to start at the very end and 2nd in my AG was bumped down further for a penalty.

Spent a lot of time sitting around and doing a lot of nothing. This race always seems to take a really long time. Plus they only have oranges and bananas for post-race food. Weak, and not at all like what Jack normally does.


A jerk who wouldn't let me pass at the wall after I tapped his feet. Thinking about T2 and the run instead of watching my wattage the last few minutes of the bike. Running with a big ass flag.

Might have been able to get this down to 1:01, but it would have been tough.


Love this race. It was my first tri 4 years ago and now I've raced it 5 times (twice last year). Only thing not to like is the post-race, but other than that it's fantastic.