Memorial Herman Houston Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Ranked 16/84. faster than all but one of the top 5 Age group finishers. Started out well, finsihed strong with a consistent pace after the initial burst at the start. Had some trouble with navigation because the course was kind of an odd shape, but overall I think I did pretty well navigating. Was kind of hard to draft because so many others seemed to have problems navigating, and I didn't want to follow somebody who would jsut take me off course. Overall, I'm really please with how my swim has progressed over the season as compared to last year.

Right after I got in the water for my warm up, I felt a twinge in my left lower back. Maybe due to the relatively cold water compared to what I had been swimming in? Maybe some runnign warm up and stretching before hand would have kept that from happening. first time that's ever happened, though.

Ranked 10/84. It was a VERY long run from swim exit to transition (estimates have it as a 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile), plus I was at the far end of the transition area. I passed a number of others during this distance, though. My time was consistent with the top 5 finishers in the age group, who ranked 20, 7,8, 14, and 15, respectively). Smooth and efficient.

Nothing.

Ranked 23/84. Satisfied with the ride. Everyone who finished ahead of me in the age group had a faster bike time, which makes me feel as though i didn't over exert myself and managed the ride properly. The wind made it tricky, and several age groupers passed me riding into the wind. I let them go, figuring if they were strong enough to do it, then they derved to beat me, but if they weren't and they blew themselves up, I would catch them on the run (which ended up happening!) I felt comfortable and my legs never burned, but were engaged and working well. What I was most pelased about was my fluid intake. I figured it would take me 70 minutes to do the ride and that i would drink someas soon as I got on the bike after the swim. So I figured 5-6 oz every 10 minutes, so I filled my Aerobottle and bottle in the cage up with just that amount, so I wouldn't be tempted to drink more than that. Sure enough, the last time my timer went off, I drank the last of my HEED/Nuun mix and still had about 5 minutes to go so I wouldn't be sloshy on the run. Perfect timing!

Nothing really. Maybe just try to get legs stronger so I can handle the wind a little better.

Ranked 20/84. I have had problems the last two races with one of my bike shoes coming undone on my dismount or while running with the bike to the rack. So this time I took the dismount deliberately and carefully, and actually lifted the back wheel up off the ground while running with the bike to keep the shoes from catching onthe ground and coming undone. since they stayed on, I consider this a good decision.

I decided to put socks on for the run, since it was a 10k. I'm glad I did, as my feet felt fine. Again, my time was consistent with the top 5 finishers in the age group, who ranked 17, 10, 9, 16, and 18, respectively, with the overal winner only 2 seconds faster). i would imagine they also put socks on. Smooth and efficient.

Nothing.

7:35/mi pace. Eased into the run. Got passed right away by 20 yr old girl, but I wasn't ready to try and keep up. Started out with my lower back hurting a bit, whihc I hadn't felt since the swim warm up. Went away by mile 1. Drank a cup of HEED at every aid station except last one. Had 3 salt stick caps at first aid station, 2 at second (at 3 mi mark). Passed one age grouper just before mile 1. Paced off a 40 yr old woman for next mile. Got passed by a 40 yr old who had fastest run in his age group by 3:30. Then got passed by another age grouper (we'll call him "Maroon") right at the 2 mi mark. I thought maybe I should try and keep up, but then I thought otherwise and decided to stick with the race plan. But I felt comfortable now, so decided to pick up the pace a bit, but not enough to stick with Maroon. Said good luck to 40-yr old lady, and quickly passed another age grouper. Just after 2 mi mark. Kept pluggin away, feeling good, but below 160 HR. Got to about 3.5 mi mark, and decided to pick up the pace to 166 HR. Passed a number of 30-34 yr olds, but not another 35-39 age grouper for awhile. Got into the stadium at teh 4.5 mi mark and saw an age grouper in front of me. I felt stronger than he looked, so I dediced I was gong to go as hard as I could maintain until the end. I passed him on the down ramp, and he couldn't keep up. Then I passed another just before the gravel, along with another guy in all white that I had seen coming towards me when I was at the 1.5 mi mark and he was almost at mi 3. So I felt great now and knew that I was really making up a lot of ground on people. Then I see a crowd of people up ahead on the gravel path around the lake, and I see at least 3 of them are in my age group and recognized them as the ones who passed me on the bike into the wind. So I just blow by them. And sure enough, who do I see up ahead? Mr. Maroon! So I wonder should I just pace off of him and pass him right before the finish, or should I just blow by him right now? Choosing the latter, I caught up to him. He heard me coming and moved to the side to let me by. as I passed him, I heard him groan a bit after he saw my age group on my leg. From that point on I went as hard as I could maintain, and passed a few more people near the end as I sprinted hard to the finish.

Not much, really. I think I nailed the run. Improved my previous Olympic distance run time by almost a minute (and probably more since that course was short in both the swim and bike portions).

2 Muscle Milks, pizza, bagels with peanut butter, water. Stretch. Massage. Eat. Drink.


A few sightin issues onthe swim, but nothing major. Wind on the bike? A back tweak at the beginning of the run, but not big deal.


Excellent race. The most varied run course I can think of. Flat and fast bike course with plenty of police and cones. Swim to bike transition distance was a little long, but I think that just added to the unique nature of this race.