Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Triathlon - Triathlon

First off, I am not a swimmer. I have been training hard though. The pool start was seeded by expected pace and I had initially put in 10 minutes (the longest they wanted you in the pool). On the last day you could update your time I went and swam a 300 meter set and did it in 9:30 so I reset my time to that. On the Friday prior to the event I swam 3 300 meter sets and did the last one in 8 minutes so I was feeling good about that.

The swim was in a 50 meter pool which I have never been in before. Since it is my weakest event I did a 200 meter warm up. During the warm up I just wasn't feeling all that comfortable which didn't help my confidence.

My 9:30 seed time put me toward the back of the pack getting in the pool so I probably waited 40 minutes after the race start before I started. That doesn't help pre-race confidence much.

I started out ok (maybe a little too fast) but on the 250 meter segment I did a little breast stroke and back stroke to catch my breath. I did pass 2 people hanging on the wall and wasn't passed by anybody.

I guess I am ok with the 9 minute time but am disappointed with getting out of breath and not being able to maintain my stroke the whole time.

I am planning my next event in 3 weeks which will be a 500 meter open water swim (small man made lake) so I need to get my breathing and pace under control

Need more pool time to work on breathing.

I was kind of gassed after the swim. It was a short distance from the pool to the bike and I just walked it. I would have walked faster but there were 2 volunteers walking very slowly right in front of me (it was a narrow gate and stairs from the pool to the bike racks). I should have asked them to step aside but frankly I was in no hurry.

I did sit down to put socks on and slipped by shoes on (I am not good enough to leave them on the bike). I also put a shirt on.

The only hiccup was that I had placed my water bottle on the ground next to the bike. I had a gu-brew in it and it was gassing out and leaking down around my gear. I started to walk away with the bike and realized I didn't have it so I went back to get it. Probably 30 seconds wasted.

Since this was my first tri I really wasn't concerned with fast transitions. I just wanted to make sure I was comfortable. I am sure in the future I could more with a little more urgency. Not sit down, etc.

I used to be an avid cyclist but haven't ridden in a while. About a year ago I bought a new mountain bike and started riding it. My initial plan was to ride it for this race but about 3 weeks ago DW decided she wanted a new bike so we decided to both get road bike since we plan on doing more of these. I got a Fuji Altimira 2.5 for myself. I put about 100 miles on it prior to the race.

I didn't really know what to expect on race day but I wanted to make sure I could finish the run strong. I think I had a reasonable pace and know with more work I can get faster. I have a cadence sensor and averaged around 85. I think that is low but that always seems to be the pace that is most comfortable for me. I have never used a power meter but have used a heart rate monitor in the past. I think I at least need a heart rate monitor to help with my training. I love gadgets and don't mind spending the money if it can help with my training.

Nothing really. Just train more to get faster. Eventually put aero bars on the bike.

Found my spot easily. Slipped bike on rack. Kicked off bike shoes and slid on running shoes. Took helmet off and layed on transition bag. Put on running had and took off.



Nothing except maybe running with the bike.

I am not a great runner but I like to run. At 225lbs I just can't go fast but I can go a long way. Using my training times I figured I would be thrilled if I could go sub 33 minutes on the run. After getting off the bike I thought it would never happen. I had my stopwatch ready on the swim but in the excitement I had forgotten to start it. Since it was in stopwatch mode I also didn't know when I actually started the race. I glanced at the time when I did start running though and after 1 the first loop I thought I might actually make my goal but wasn't sure. I was pleasantly surprised with the run time considering I don't run much faster when that is all I am doing.

If I am going to keep doing 5k's I need some speed work. Right now I just go out and run.

Just walked around, drank a little and ate a little. DW got a massage while I watched the awards ceremony.


Need more training time in all events.


First ever triathlon and first post on BT (I guess I put the "B" in BT). This was also first race for DW so she was along for the ride.

I did 2 marathons in the past (15 years ago) and started back up doing 5k's this year. DW is an avid swimmer and finally joined a masters team. The team consists of a lot of triathletes so DW got interested in it. I had wanted to do a triathlon back when doing the marathons but it just never happened so when she got interested I thought it would something we could do together.

I know how to swim but I have never swam for distance or speed and the learning curve has been steep. I started 3 months ago as the typical "can't swim 25 yards without being gassed" guy. I can swim the distances now but still have breathing issues. I spend a lot of time (too much probably) on BT reading the swimming threads.

Overall we both had a great time. My quote when asked how it went was "It almost killed me...when can I do another one?".