The Rookie Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint

I was REALLY frustrated with my swim. It was about 52 degrees outside when we got in the water. I expected the water to feel really good when we got in. Wrong. The surface temps according to other lakes in the area were around 66 degrees. I have a serious problem with cold temperatures. I just can't get my breathing right. The cold water gives me hyperventilation issues and I start swallowing water. To make matters worse, the wind was blowing from the North so the waves on the second 100 were crashing into me when I was trying to breathe. I started most of the first 100 yards pretty well. I was with the top guys in my group. I started swallowing some water and the wheels came off. I ended up breast stroking half the swim to get my head right. From the looks of the times, there were alot of people in the same situation. I was hoping for about 5 minutes in the water and ended up 6:44. I thought any chance of placing just went right out the window. The wet suit strippers had some issues getting my wet suit off so this was going badly all the way around. I have never encountered this problem before on the swim and I was really angry at myself about the situation.

I don't really know. They didn't allow any swimming before the waves went into the water. As soon as I entered the water, I knew this was going to be rough, the water coming into my wet suit was uncomfortable. I tried to keep my face in the water as much as possible to acclimate but there just wasn't enough time. Don't do open water swims when it's cold.

I was really upset after the swim, so I was going as fast as I could at this point. My feet went into my shoes easily. Helmet was good and I carried the bike to the road. I don't think this could have gone any better actually with one exception. With all of the adrenaline, I did not wipe the bottoms of my feet off in transition. I had rocks and a few stickers on the bottom of my feet but I didn't realize this until later and my nerves calmed down.

Make sure feet are clean.

I was hoping to break 20mph and I finished with a 19.2mph average. Considering the conditions, I am very happy with this result. I was going all out on the bike. Still pissed about the swim, I figured to be significantly behind within the group. I passed alot of people in the 40 year groups, the 30 year groups, and even some in the 20 year groups. What I didn't see was alot of people in my group. I did see one in my group pass me. I think he finished second in the group. I passed at least 3 but figured I needed to catch many more. What I didn't know is the swim was equally hard for everyone and I wasn't that far back out of transition. Since the race was so short, I only ate one honey stinger gel and maybe half of my bottle of Accelerade. It was balls out on the ride. I was a little worried my run may suffer but I didn't think that was an option. The hills were rolling. I gave up some time at the finish. There is a little hill before the dismount line. That would have been nice to know before I got there. I was trying to pull my feet out of my shoes and crawled up the hill to the dismount line. At this point, my day was not going great. I remember looking at my watch and thinking I am way behind schedule. I wanted to finish around 55-57 minutes and I was already around 44 minutes.

My bike is improving as time goes along. I think I am making progress and getting stronger and faster. I am not too far off of the top guys in my group. Keep working.

Getting to the dismount line was not great. Once I was off the bike, it went really smooth. I was extremely happy to get out of my rock and sticker laden shoes. I ran the bike to the rack, got my shoes on and took off. Couldn't have too much better with the exception of the dismount line issues.

Keep working on it. There isn't much improvement to be made here.

Well, running has been my strong suit for the races I have done so far this year and it was time to lay it on the line and go. I was hoping for paved trails and I did not get that. The footing was not great and I couldn't generate the speed I wanted but it was the same for everyone. I kept reeling people in but it wasn't anyone in my age group. I did come up on one guy about halfway into the run and passed him. I could hear him behind me for at least a quarter mile. I knew he didn't want me to get away. He had passed me on the bike at the very end of the bike. I did not know he was in third when I passed him. I finally pulled away and didn't hear him for the last part of the run. He found me after the race and we had a nice conversation. He had a bad swim for the same reasons. He told me he did all he could to stay with me but couldn't get any closer than about 50 yards back. Good guy. It's what makes this sport fun. I hope to see everyone back in a month in Pflugerville for Race 2 of the series. My run was really good. I averaged 7:22 miles and I felt really good about the run but had no idea where I was in comparison to everyone else.

Nothing. Run harder but I didn't have alot more to give.

Had some watermelon, bananas, and an ice cream. Changed into some dry clothes and checked results. They had laptops set up so you could check your times. I met another guy on my way to check the results that looked at my number on my leg and said he was just behind me too. I was actually shocked to see I was in third place. I'm a little less than 5 minutes behind the guy who won my age group and he won the series last year for my group. I definitely gave away a few minutes but in the end, it is what it is and you can't change it. Time to get ready for the June race and Buffalo Springs at the end of June.


A horrible swim.


They had tacos, fruit, drinks and stuff at the finish area. My wife wanted a coffee on a cool morning and there was none to be had. They probably should have had something like that for the spectators. When we waited for awards, they tossed stuff to the crowd. There was much moaning and complaining around me about this. I did end up getting a T-Shirt but it was wheels off. This was my first Jack and Adams race in Austin and they do a good job.