Cooper Summer Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I have to say that this race would be great if they can fix 2 things - fairness of transition spots, and getting people to line up according to number. It's almost silly putting in your swim time as you can pretty much line up everywhere. I got in the water at 7:38am - 38 minutes after the first person went in. Considering I was seeded 181 out of almost 600 people, that just doesn't seem right. It got bad enough where the para-triathlete who doggy-paddled and backstroked slowly (since he was blind and had to use the lane lines to guide him) decided to get in before me! It was great seeing him out there but just curious on why he decides to get in the water when he knew he was going to be doing a pretty slow swim (not his fault but probably his guide).
I did my first 100m pretty good because I decided to create a big gap between myself and the person in front by just waiting almost 10 seconds after the starter told me to go. This resulted in a very nice first 100m (pace was 1:48). After that, I caught up with people and got slowed down quite a bit and pace was over 2:00 for next 100m. I was having to pass folks (including the blind dude) and some folks who decided to make it harder and not let me go at the wall. Fortunately, the lanes are wide enough where there was room to pass but I still ended up going slower. I think I left about 20 seconds or so on the table for the swim which isn't bad at all considering I already improved from last year.

Also, my first swim where I passed about 8 people and didn't get passed at all!

I would definitely start in the first 100 swimmers next year so at least I can use a draft. I didn't get to draft anyone much as the speed differences weren't bad. I think that swimming consistently, even though it's only 2-3 times a week at 30-35 minutes each is still helping me improve so I won't spend too much more time than that. Next year, I think I can drop at least another 30 seconds from my swim time.

Comparing results over the first 3 years (since the swim course was the same):

2010: 9:28
2011: 7:34
2012: 7:08
Delta from last year: 26 sec faster!

In the last 2 years, I've improved this 2:20!

Just like last year, my transition rack required me to do an extra 100m of running (counting T1 and T2). Next year, I just need to put 50minutes on my swim so I can get a better rack space and move up as they don't care to put everybody in order anyway at the swim start. Even better, I can sign up really late and get the best rack assignment of all!

Nice thing is that the transition area is paved very smooth so not a problem running. I think I get through T1 decent, though I probably could've gone just a little bit faster (run vs jog).

Get a better spot where I don't need to run an extra 100m (probably 30-40 seconds time loss there overall), and a little more urgency on the run.

Comparing the last 3 years (since I was racked about the same):

2010: 0:54
2011: 1:04
2012: 1:08
Delta: 4 sec slower! (my rack this year was one row worse than last year)

This was my first race with my powermeter and I decided to use it to help me pace a bit better. I think it worked but I was just a little bit on the conservative side (about 20W more effort would've been optimal). Didn't get passed at all, but I had some very slow cyclists end up with me when I was about to enter a turn so I had to slow down and be careful. I think there was about 10-20 seconds lost due to the traffic, which is what I get for getting on the course so late.

Race a little harder and I have to admit that I haven't been focused on my bike this year and it's showing. Need to really train the bike for next year but at least my swim and run are better. Best of all, I'm still faster overall!

Bike course was different in 2010 so I'll just compare last year:

2011: 31:28
2012: 31:41
Delta: 13 seconds slower!

Again, I had to make that extra run in transition and I got my shoes on fairly quick. My big mistake was thinking that the dismount line was 50m closer than it was. I kept thinking I was near and already was on one pedal on the bike coasting before I realized it was still pretty far ahead. I remembered to unclip my helmet as I was running so that was good and got my shoes on fairly quickly. Grabbed my hat and race belt and was off and running. No fiddling around with belt either so I was pretty happy with how this went

Not too much different. This went smooth!

Comparing the last 3 years:

2010: 0:45
2011: 0:50
2012: 0:56
Delta: 6 sec slower!

As my swim seeding got better, I got a worse and worse transition spot!

I think that by pacing my bike a little bit easier, I was able to get a good run in. I was able to beat my open PR and I was definitely happy with my performance here. Did not get passed at all and I'm starting to have the run as my strength - which is where I want to be strongest anyway. I think still have more potential to get faster as I want to be able to run under 20:00 in triathlon 5K's pretty regularly. I'm almost there!

Not much. Perhaps take an electrolyte pill (I didn't take one at all during the race) as I was starting to get side stitches in the last mile.

Run course was the same the last 3 years:

2010: 24:01
2011: 21:48
2012: 20:41
Delta: 1:07 sec faster! Made the most improvement here from last year!

Not much. Didn't even get a massage (which I should have). Just walked around and chatted with friends and cheered people at the finish.


Given the limited time I have to train, I'm pretty happy to continue to improve. My swim and run are still improving and I'm looking forward to getting even faster on the run over the next year, but also getting stronger on the bike again. The plan for this year was to focus on run and try to hold on to bike fitness. I think that's exactly what's happening and it's resulting in faster overall times.


This is still the best venue of any sprint triathlon in the DFW metro area. That's probably why all the fast guys show up! I was 41 out of 583 people overall yet was only 11th in my AG! Talk about fast people! Next year, I would really like to try and break 1 hr on this race. That still won't allow me to podium but it will definitely be the goal!

Same course as last year:

2011: 1:02:46
2012: 1:01:36
Delta: 1:10 sec faster!

Given my slower T1, Bike, and T2 segments, my faster swim and run still resulted in a faster overall time! Pretty happy with the results!