Rockin' R Toobin Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Last year I went off with the speedy people and this year I decided to wait for my AG wave. They lined up 2 swimmers at a time and sent them off, then 2 more every 10 seconds or so. I was one of the last ones in the water and had to pass tons of people. I felt like my swim time was slowed because I had to keep raising my head to see how to swim around them all. Water felt great, perfect temps. and loved my new tri suit. Hard to get out of the water, there were some good sized rocks you couldn't see underwater, but thankfully there were volunteers to help get us out. Long run up to transition on pavement with some carpets thrown down.

Maybe go off with the faster wave first? Not much, overall not a bad swim.

11th Female overall.

Being almost last in the swim, I had NO trouble finding my bike since most people were out on the bike course. Went to put on my socks and the bottoms of my feet had dirt and grass, just rolled the socks on anyway. One bike shoe had the heel roll down inside and I couldn't get it out, even though it hurt, so I left it and later on was able to grab the loop and yank it out. Lost a little time there.

Get shoes on right the first time!

Nicest bike course I've ridden. Some challenging rollers, great pavement, and about half is along the Guadalupe River, under tree cover, seeing campgrounds along the way. Last year the route was wet and I rode pretty conservatively, this time I pushed it! I started passing people right away and continued until I was back at T2... I actually was getting annoyed at having to say, "On your left", over and over and over! Had a few guys pass me and I passed a few back, but I loved this leg, it was AWESOME!

Nothing!

6th female overall!

Good transition. Got my stuff and got out of there.

Nothing.

Um, yeah, this is where it sucks. Legs felt pretty good off the bike, but amost immediately there is a short, STEEP hill. Ran about 1/3 of the way up it, my HR was sky rocketing, and I decided there was no sense in bonking this early in the run, so walked to the top and then started running again. I had no idea what my pace was, but I felt pretty good. It was still overcast, but at about 1 mile, the sun came out and it started to get hot. At the midway water point, I grabbed a cup of water, drank a few sips and poured the rest over my head. Not long after I started getting some abdominal stitches and huge knots in my shoulders. I actually stopped and walked several times to try and massage them out, but it wasn't happening. Finally close to mile 2 I just sucked it up and ran the rest, but I was having some pain. Finally got to go DOWN the awful hill, and people were flying by me, but I was afraid of losing my balance or having too much momentum send me face down into the road, so I ran down it pretty conservatively, but had enough oomph left to run it in pretty hard, although it must not have looked that way since my cheering squad kept yelling for me to, "Sprint!", I had to yell back, "This IS my sprint!"

Keep working on bricks and bike fitness, I know I have some good running in me, I just gotta tap into it during a race!

None, drank the bottle of water they handed me and waited for Tammy to come in. She wasn't far behind me.


The damn run... swim and bike are doing well, and the run wasn't as horrible as some I've done, but man, I KNOW I can do better!


I really love this race! The bike course is just gorgeous and I love that they feed the athletes AND the spectators.... polish kielbassa wraps, mmm! I wish there had been some other ladies in my AG, hard to swallow getting first place when you are the only one. They did not post any results at the race site, and they didn't announce my time, so I had no idea how I had done until official results were posted online... I felt much better when I discovered that not only did I win MY AG, I also could have won the 50-54, 45-49, 40-44, and the 20-24 age groups!! I took about 3.5 minutes off my time from last year too! The medal is awesome see pics below! Always fun to have some friendly competition... so proud of my friend Tammy Tucker for attacking her swim demons!! Baby steps, but there is improvement... if she ever masters that, she will beat me! And how fun to see Connie experience her first one, so proud to have been a part of her journey. And as always, so happy to have some Mommy/Daughter time with Kati!