Texas Man Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I started as close to the front as I could for the first time. Definitely got my fair share of kicks and slaps for the first 300 meters. Kind of threw my rhythm off but I didn't panic and still had a good swim. Sighting was good despite my severly scratched goggles (no idea when that happened). Took the turns a little wide but I was happy to in order to avoid the scrum.

New goggles. Some how mine got scratched up pretty bad since Friday.

Long run from the water to my bike, but plenty of other people were walking after the swim. I love passing people as soon as we're back on dry land! A little slow getting my socks on but the rest went smoothly.

Learn to clip my shoes on to my pedals and get into my shoes once I'm on the bike.

Left my fuilds at home so I knew I would be dying of thrist on the bike. I didn't count on the fact that I'd have to pee so bad either. What a horrible combination to suffer from. I had a little trouble getting my shoes clipped in at first so I just pedaled and got everything squared away once I was moving. Once I was set, hunting season was open! Passed a dozen people within the first mile and flew past people going up the "hill". I was doing 28MPH on the first stretch after the access road and felt great. There was very little wind today (unlike PrairieMan last weekend) so this was the first really good test of my racing tires. Kept passing people at a rate of three or four a minute. I was in the next to last swim wave so there were plenty of people ahead for me to hunt down. Made the u-turn and the way back was just as good. Started the second and final lap and saw Ahmed coming in from his last lap (Dave Scott must have been right behind me at the turn 'cause I knew Ahmed would be in second). Less people for me to chase the second time around and I REALLY had to pee by this time. Made it to the last road before the u-turn when I feel something rubbing against my brake. Uh-oh. I've seen this before. I pull off to the right and start to hit my brakes immediately. Not more than two or three rotations later....BANG!!!! MOTHER F#CKER!!!! My front tube just blew! My only goal for today was first in my age group on the bike, so now that one is out the window. F#CK!!! I thought about just ending my day right there, but they gave me a t-shirt and I have to cross the finish to be able to wear it, so I'll keep going. Luckily that decision took all of three seconds. I got my bike off the road and onto the grass. I looked at my tire for a second and wondered, "How the hell am I going to change this?" It took me a second to remember to take the wheel off my bike first. Got a spare tube and CO2 and changed my flat as fast as I could (which isn't very fast). Decided that since my time was shot I'd at least relieve myself while I was stopped. Finally got back on my carbon fiber horse and back up to speed. Lost a good 4-5 minutes with that interuption. (If you take 5 minutes off my bike time I would have been around 50th rather than 155th overall in the bike standings.) I tried to make up what I could in the 1/2 lap I had left and re-passed quite a few people who had been looking at my backside the entire day thus far. Apparenly Gina passed me while I was stopped 'cause I caught her on our last trip down the access road. Got out of my shoes before the last turn and coasted in on one pedal. Hopped off running into transition.

I'm pretty sure that the tape on my rim has shifted and that kept my tire from getting a good hook on the rim. That's why the pressure in the tube forced the tire off the wheel and the tube pinched itself in the gap and burst. Solution: retape my wheels.

Had to run all the way around the first colum of racks to get to mine. I was dying of thirst by this time and chugged the last 1/4 liter of my Gatorade. Put my shoes on and....guess where my gels were? Yup, down at the bottom. They did me no good now so I dug them out and tossed them on my bag. Smooth transition otherwise.

Don't put my gels in my shoe when I'm packing my transition bag from now on.

Came out running faster than I wanted to....just like always. The run was pretty crowded since they changed it to 3 one mile loops instead of one out and back run. I passed Gina (she must have had a great transition) less than a 1/4 mile into the run. I hadn't seen a single guy in my age group while I was on the bike today. I figured that they had all passed me (or I never caught them on the bike in the first place) and were out of reach by now. Suddenly I passed a 20 year old guy on my first lap. Okay, I'm not last in my AG anymore. I HAVE TO BEAT THIS ONE GUY! So I kept my pace where it was to put some distance between us. Got my first drink of water at the aid station just before the turn around. Still felt good so I kept up my pace. I could tell the guy I passed was hurting, so I made sure that I had good posture and a long stride as we passed each other in order to hurt him even more. I WILL NOT BE LAST IN MY AGE GROUP! Started the second lap and basked in the cheers of the crowd. I think I'm starting to like this run format better. Still felt good and kept my pace. The girl at the aid station fumbled the cup just as I was about to grab it so no water on the second lap. No matter, I've got adrenaline. I turned to look back at people's calves and find the other guys in my age group. No luck. They MUST be done by now. 3rd lap felt just as strong as the first. Got water this time but it was almost empty when it was handed to me. Only half a lap left; I don't need it. Pushed as I came around the final turn for home and used everything I had left on the final sprint to the finish. Even with a mediocre swim and a disappointing bike, I could be proud of my run time. Sub-8:00 miles is new territory for me.

This was exactly the run I've been trying to get out of myself all season. This one I'm proud of.

Was handed a finisher towel (these things were huge!) and a cup of Accelerade as they cut my chip off. Found Trey and we talked about the course as I caught my breath. Gina joined us a minute later. I put my flag, bib #, HRM, etc. with my stuff in transition and looked for the results. Not posted anywhere. That's weird. I stretched for a minute and walked back along the course where I found Gina and we cheered on Kristen as she finished her last lap. The three of us talked about our races until we decided that we needed real results to go off of and then some food. Finally they were posted. I scanned down the list to find my name. Aaron Patel....125 overall....1:26.40 (I was shooting for 1:20).....M20-24....1ST!!!! OMG!!! I FINALLY WON MY AGE GROUP!!! I had a horrible day and still won my age group by a full minute! That would have been 6 minutes without my flat. I was on cloud nine and wasn't coming down all day now! Gina and Kristen placed in their respective divisions as well. Great showing today for the BTers. Got myself some chicken cesar salad, had Dave Scott and Karen Smyers sign my bib #, stretched again and waited with the girls to collect our awards.


Tube bursting on my second loop. Totally my fault. Forgot my fluids for the bike. Also my fault.


Fantastic day and a great race. Dave and Karen are really friendly and were genuinely excited to be there racing. I had a blast meeting Kristen and Gina. Congrats to both of you on your hardware! This was an easy course but also a fun one. Excellent turn out. I love races with big crowds. I'll definitely be back next year. I missed my goal of 1st in my AG on the bike (got 2nd at least, and only missed 1st my 37 seconds) but winning my AG is like nothing else! Especially when I didn't expect it.