Cinco Ranch Triathlon - Triathlon

The swim was my typical slow average and nothing to brag about. Had two age groups in our wave, so there were about 130 guys in the water, but the traffic or bumping around wasn't too bad as the wave thinned out pretty quick and I was towards the middle and back.

About 2/3rds across the lake, the water was shallow and the mud and weeds had been churned up pretty good, so it was a mess going through there. Seaweed hanging on your arms and body as you swam. No biggie, just a nuisance.

Improve general swimming and OWS skills. Sighting needs to get better.

The racks for my age group were near the very end of a long transition area. That made for a long, slow run in road-bike shoes to get to the bike mount area. Except for this "run", the actual transition went pretty quick.

I have eliminated the socks and glasses, so it's just a matter of putting on the shoes and helmet, and grabbing the bike.

Master the "Run-in-bare-feet-&-have-the-shoes-clipped-on-bike-mount" routine is about the only thing that can be done now.

The bike ride was a blast. The SMOOTH, flat roads are pure pleasure compared to what I regularly ride on. Got into a good pace and kept it going. Was able to maintain a 23mph average in the open straights, and as usual, the corners and traffic bought the ride average down.

Being in a late swim wave meant there were lots of bike traffic, but it didn't impact the ride that much, just had to be careful and work your way through while passing. The traffic control and volunteers did a good job keeping the route safe, but you still had to watch for cars here and there.

Ate 2 Shot Bloks and drank 20oz of Gatorade Endurance from the aerobottle.

Not much. Rode my race and executed my plan.

T2 same as T1 with the long "run" in the bike shoes. Other than that, a smooth transition and good enough to be 12th fastest in my AG.

Not much other than the running barefoot dismount.

Another typical run performance and nothing extraordinary. Found a pace and kept it steady. It was warm and very humid, but not too bad, so weather wasn't a factor. Drank a little at the water stations.

Picked it up a little at the final half-mile and put on an all-out sprint for the last 50 yards that knocked off 6 runners right at the finish.

Train more, get faster. Running without socks worked out just fine.

Walked around, drank some tea and ate some pizza. Tried to find the other BTers. Strangely enough, BTers look like triathletes and pretty much blend in with the other 1000 or so sweaty triathletes hanging around after such a big race and therefore hard to find. Saw Joe & Bonnie, but that was it.

Packed my stuff and left.


Lack of sleep, mediocre OWS skills, and lousy athletic genes from my parents. ;-)

This sport is all about bringing everything together on race day and overcoming the 1000 little things that would hinder your performance. The sleep issue and getting the pre-race "energy buzz" to peak right before the start was my challenge today.

Too bad it didn't go perfectly, but that's the sport. I did the best could with what I had to work with and I'm pleased with that.


Everything was well organized and with plenty to eat and drink afterwards. Could have had more fruit. All they had was hot, over-ripe bananas.

Also, a pretty lame race packet IMHO. Just a shirt and advertising inserts.