Katy Triathlon at Firethorne - Triathlon

Swim start was frantic with people going off in all directions and I mean all directions. Had one person swim over me then promptly kick me the face once he was clear. This caused a slight panic as i had to fix my goggles. Once this issue was sorted it was simply a push to each buoy then back to the swim exit. Felt like i was pushing harder than i have been.

Need to work on my stroke and use my legs to kick. Leg propulsion is almost non existent.

Good run from water into T1. Race number belt was twisted up so was not the easiest to put on. Run with bike to mount line felt quick. People had stopped at the mount line and made it difficult to pass them.

Flying mount. Practice makes perfect.

Pushing hard all the way, was passed by a relay in mile 2 but then passed him around a mile later and didn't see him again. Was then passed by a rider on a QR but again passed him and held him off until mile 12 when he passed me. Caught up with and passed him again just at the last turn into North Firethorne. Heart rate was high throughout, tried to bring it down by breathing but made no difference.

Spin at a higher cadence, try to manage heart rate better.

Off bike and into T2 was not too bad, went to rack bike and found another bike in place of my own. Had to fight to get my bike into position, slowed me down. Pity there's no penalty for the person who racked incorrectly. Started to run out of T2 with my bike hat on, luckily only had made 2 or 3 paces before i remembered.

Flying dismount, take off helmet immediately after racking.

Started off around 7 min/mile but couldn't maintain it after pushing hard on the bike. Tried to average 7:15 and got a 7:20 which i'm happy with. Passed a couple of people in my age group and many others. Was passed by only one runner, unfortunately he was in my age group. It was not possible to catch him as he must have been at a 6:30. Hopes started to sink about getting on the podium.

On the lap around the lake, caught up with a girl who was walking, encouraged her to run with me which she did, she dropped off after around 0.5 miles. The last 200 meters resulted in a hard fight with another competitor as we raced to the finish line. He wasn't in my age group so the result didn't matter. Good fun though.

RUN FASTER, TRAIN HARDER!

Bottle of water and a couple of beers, walked around the after race party and caught up with friends.


The swim, if i could improve the swim it would give more of a competitive edge. Bike and run feel solid just now


Overall a well organized race, i have never seen so many volunteers on a race with the exception of an OnUrMark race. Excellent encouragement for everyone which raises spirits.

There were a couple of issues with the race that can be easily improved.

1. Swim caps! There were around 3 or 4 waves with yellow caps which caused confusion for many. Normally you expect to see one or two waves repeated with the same caps but not nearly them all.

2. Free racking!? You set up your area and give yourself just enough room to be considerate of others but sadly others don't return the same consideration. Individual racking spots by race number works well and prevents people taking up more space than is needed.

In all though, a good race and good fun.