Gateway to the Bay Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Waves were breaking against the shore as the wind was coming across the bay East to West. Course goes east, then north, then west back to the shore. Much more choppy than it was for the clinic on the same shortened (300M) course two weeks ago. Swim felt good as I could feel the buoyancy of the wet suit making it easier to stay in good swim position. It was difficult sighting the buoys due to the waves, especially the smaller red buoys which marked the course. We were supposed to stay to the right of these for the entire course, but I know I swam just inside one on the way into shore. At least the larger yellow buoys marking the corners were easier to see, but not by much.

I am pleased with the swim overall and that I was right in the middle of the pack for the age group. It was my best event today. I did not feel tired or winded when leaving the water like I did on my last tri.

It was a new thing for me to swim into people AHEAD of me meaning I was actually going faster than them. But, I could not get positioned to get around some of them and I kept running into them. That had an impact on my overall time.

For the swim itself, nothing except maybe being more aggressive in the pack. I was focused on swimming my pace and siting and did not give much thought to positioning in the pack and working that.

When I saw the course for the first time this morning, I was nervous. Swimming 500M via 25M laps in a pool is very different than seeing that distance laid out on a single course. I told myself that I have swam this distance and longer many times over and this will be no different. Confidence comes with experience and I felt much more confident on this swim than the first tri.

The carpet from the bay for 3 blocks to the transition area was nice.

This transition was slow for me partly because I had to make a stop at the port-a-can, but that only added 30secs at most.

Taking the wetsuit off took some time, but was easier than I expected. Getting all my stuff on for the bike could have gone better with some better planning and practice. I did not think this one through very much.

I was undecided about wearing a jacket for the bike and finally did not wear one. It was a good decision after all.

Be more aggressive in the transitions. Cutting this time in half to the norm of my age group would have helped my position overall.

Drink more water....to get the salty taste out of my mouth from the swim. It stayed with me the entire bike ride and I was glad to get that drink in T2.

After the bridge, it was flat and straight out and back. Head winds coming from the left front was strong at times, but manageable. My guess I was going about 14/15mph average going out. Returning with the wind at my back was about 18/19mph average.

This was first race with my new bike. Bike handled nicely. I was getting some numbness in the seat and in the right foot.

Going up the bridge the second time I felt the gear slipping and not sure why. I did not see this at any other time on the course.

Legs felt good on the ride and kept at a 90 or so cadence. I passed some bikers and know I was not passed nearly as much as in my first tri. I felt good about that. But the results speak for themselves as I was on the low end of my age group. I have lots of room for improvement here.

Drink water before getting on the bike to get the salt taste out of my mouth.

Though I kept my cadence in the 85 to 95 range for most of the course no matter the gear, I probably need to think more about what gears to use to help save the legs for the run.

Work more on the bike with the nice weather here to stay. Get longer rides in and add more bike/run bricks.

Transition was fine I guess. Drank some Powerade and ate one Hammer Gel.

Bike racking and getting into running shoes was ok, but guess it could have gone faster with more planning and practice.

Same as for T1...plan and practice more.

I had hoped to see an improvement in my run time over the last tri as I felt I could do a 10 to 11 minute pace, which would be fast for me. The tight hamstrings coming off the bike along with the right knee hurting (likely due to the IT band tightening up). When I tried to lengthen my stride or speed up, the hamstrings kept pulling me back like snapping rubber bands.



Looking back on the past 7 days, I had not kept my normal stretching routine daily, especially with my IT band via rolling. I would give this a higher priority as part of race preparation.

Doing more bike/run bricks to get used to the changes in the legs going from one event to the other.

Walked around and did some light stretching. Drank a full bottle of water handed to me at the finish line. Also had a couple of slices of pizza and a half a banana. It was a good 30 minutes before the transition area was open so we could get our bikes and gear out.

The storm clouds were gathering and I knew a storm was on the way. I got my gear and bike loaded and ready to take out just as the thunder was rumbling and the first big lightening bolt appeared. Just in time....then it started raining hard.


Lack of planning and practice for transition. Proper stretching. Little training for bike to run transition.




This was the first time this tri was held so it appeared to go well given that consideration. It was fairly well organized though the opening of the transition area could be been faster once it was opened, especially with the looming storm clouds coming from the west....

This event and the pre-race clinic held two weeks before the race were good experiences for me and I am glad I did them. The swim in Galveston Bay was a new thing for me and was a highlight. The bike and run presented new planned and unplanned challenges that helped me grow and learn from the experience. It was a good first race for the season to build on and improve.