Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon - International Distance - TriathlonOlympic

One of my better open water swims. I started about 3rd row on the left side to keep the group to my right since I breathe right. It was great as I didn't need to sight as much and since I also have a tendency to drift right, I would feel someone that is swimming straighter than me and make a quick correction. I felt that I was breathing properly most of the swim and didn't have to resort to breast stroke except perhaps 4-5 times and only for about 1-2 strokes. I kept reminding myself that I was actually near the middle of my wave so if I slow down, people will run over me. It would've been an awesome swim except for the very deep mud in the last 100m. I was struggling to get through there and would get stuck and was putting a lot of strain on my front shin muscles - to the point that my left shin (yes - that's so weird) completely cramped up as I got out of the water! I've never really cramped up in a race (except for some side stitches in the run) so I was very concerned that I may have an early finish for the day as I was hobbling and can barely walk to transition. I walked/hobbled up that hill to the transition area. To make matters worse, I seem to have too much liquid in me again and decided to hit the porta-potty. Maybe I also drink a lot of water in the swim...as I had already made a trip right before my swim start.

2010 swim split: 39:02
2011 swim split: 32:54
delta: 6:08 (over 15%!)

I think that if I can swim consistently over the next 12 months, I should be able to get this under 30 minutes next year!

Not a whole lot - perhaps figure out how to get through that shallow water and mud better so I don't cramp up coming out of the water. That really was a strange one with my shin cramping up.

My problems with my shin cramps and the porta-john stop probably cost me at least a minute (if not a little more) and I gave up at least 2 AG spots right here. A lot of people in my AG were right around 3 minutes flat (which was my time last year)!

I did manage to shake of the cramps after a brief stretching stint and was able to bike up the hill with my feet on top of my shoes and I didn't put them in until probably a mile down the course when I finally hit a downhill.

2010 T1 split: 3:01
2011 T1 split: 4:45
delta: -1:44 (-58%)

not cramp up and not waste time visiting the porta-john in T1

I thinked I missed an opportunity on the bike as I made a major mistake with my hydration - I didn't bring enough. I should've remembered this since I ran out of water during the practice and it was a shorter and easier pace and I was bone dry with at least 8 miles to go. I was very parched with about 5 miles left and I can feel myself starting to get dehydrated. Let's just say that I was beginning to get evil thoughts about swiping someone's water from their rear carrier as I pass them (*evil grin*) and then I was desperate enough that I considered stopping after the bumpy railroad tracks where some people had ejected their water bottles.

Since I was in Wave #8 (of 9) and I was also a below-average swimmer, the bike course was full of racers when I got on. Unlike last year, I didn't put my shoes on in T1 and since the course was uphill for the first mile, I had to wait for a downhill/flat before I put my feet in and tightened my shoes. I did a lot of passing on the course - in fact, I think I got passed once but repassed the guy later. I have to say that the bike course wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be after that practice day. The City of Rockwall did a good job finishing up their repaving except for a very small section which the race organizers carpeted! The biggest issue were the rather uneducated racers who would do things like hang out on the left side of the lane, or ride side-by-side for a bit too long. I also had one incident where there was a big pick-up truck on course and it didn't have enough space to pass some slower cyclists up ahead and I couldn't safely pass it either so I had to wait until it turned off.

It was a slightly below average effort- I think I probably left about 1-2 minutes on the table with my hydration issues and some bad luck with on-course vehicles.

2010 bike split: 1:13:35 (20.2 mph)
2011 bike split: 1:11:51 (20.7 mph)
delta: 2:44(4%)

Make sure to have enough hydration. This was the first time I used my Speedfil for an Olympic race. I used it for a half-ironman but I had 2 extra water bottles in my rear carrier (plus they had water hand-ups in Galveston). Note to self - put in the rear carrier for the next race that has more than 17 miles. In addition, I don't think I filled it up to the max since it should've contained 40 oz...but I think I only got 30oz in there.

I also need to spend a little more time on my time trial bike. I know it was a slightly different course, but considering that I did last year with a road bike and road helmet and this year I had the TT bike and aero helmet, you'd think I'd have been more than 1:30 faster...

My T2 was much better than my T1. I was able to do a smooth cyclocross dismount with no issues. The only thing that probably cost me about 5 seconds was having to take a drink at T2 since I was absolutely parched. I probably could've waited until the drink station at the exit but I wasn't thinking clearly at this point.

Run a little faster. People in my AG were able to do this under 1:30 so I gave away about 20 seconds here. In fact, I was at 1:31 last year so I've somehow gotten slower! It also didn't help that I was racked at the far end of my rack but that's probably only worth 5-8 seconds of delay.

2010 T2 split: 1:31
2011 T2 split: 1:48
delta: -0:17 (-19%)

As I was feeling very thirsty and dehydrated, I didn't feel all that great at the start of the run. I didn't change my drinking strategy because I knew that if I drank too much on course, I probably would have cramping issues (I took more than the usual gulp at one water station and paid the price with a little bit of stomach discomfort that went away after a few minutes). I also spent a lot of time passing as we shared half of the course with the people doing the sprint. I got passed once on the run and didn't really have anyone to race with so I would sometimes get tempted to run on someone's shoulder until I would convince myself to just get the pass done and pick up the pace. However, I have to say that given the conditions, I was pretty happy with this part of my race. Last year, I was fighting a strained calf so I couldn't really push the pace (which is probably why I don't remember it being as hilly as it was even though it was the exact same course as last year). The only hitch was that around 4 miles or so, I started developing a slight blister on my right foot (right on my forefoot where I land). It didn't affect me too much but it stung a bit on the downhills.

2010 run split: 51:41 (8:25/mile pace)
2011 run split: 45:11 (7:17/mile pace)
delta: 6:30(13%)

This was a major improvement for me this year! My swim and my run were definitely more of a focus since I ran this race last year and those two areas improved almost 15% in one year and I would consider that an awesome result.

Hydrate better on the bike and run farther in training without socks to build up my feet for sockless running during the race.

Not much, just caught my breathe and got a wet towel and some gatorades. Even forgot to get my recovery drink from transition.


strange cramps at the end of the swim and running out of water on the bike

Overall though, I dropped about 12 minutes from my time last year and that was a major improvement. My training was more consistent leading up to this race and given the demands of balancing training with the rest of my life - I think that my results for this race were absolutely great!


This continues to be my favorite DFW area race. It's just a different level of event with the international pros being part of it. I'd do this again next year even though the International distance is not my strong point because of the relatively long swim compared to the bike/run.