Tejas Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Sugar Land, Texas
United States
Out Loud Productions
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 08m 58s
Overall Rank = 171/629
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 17/47
Pre-race routine:

Got a decent night's sleep, woke at 4:15 for the 57 mile drive. Ate my standard pre-race meal of oatmeal, Clif Builder's bar, and coffee while driving and rocking out to "The Doors" greatest hits.

Got to the site in time to snag a good spot on the rack. Very crowded racks and the late folks had some problems with the cramped quarters.

Picked up my chip. The ankle strap was stretched out and the velcro was very worn. Good thing I always secure it with safety pins, that sucker wouldn't have made it through the warm-up.

Did the standard recon of the TA ins & outs and got everything set up. All systems were good for go.

Perfect weather today; no wind or rain. Plenty warm & humid, but hey, it's June in Houston, not exactly shocking news.
Event warmup:

Virtually none. Got a little out of my routine due to chatting with my rack mates.

By the time I got into the water and stroked out ~50 yards, I remembered that I had not eaten a gel. Since I wasn't taking anything during the race, this was pretty important.

So I get out of the water and run back into TA just before they close it. Fished one out of the pack and shot it down with some water.

Get back in the water and stroke another 50 yards before they start telling everybody to get out of the water. So much for my warm-up.

That's a rookie mistake and I know better than that.
Swim
  • 17m 4s
  • 600 yards
  • 02m 50s / 100 yards
Comments:

We had 117 guys in our wave; can you say crowded.

As usual I hang towards the back to start, but there was a bunch of us slow guys and we're all bumping and grinding to the same tune. The most contact I've had in a long time. Nothing really bad, just distracting.

Never got into a good rythym, so that, combined with my slow speed made for a long swim. I got off course about mid-way when the course took the dog-leg turn. A life guard in a canoe pointed out my error, and after getting back on track, I had guys all around me almost the entire time. Navigated pretty well after that.

The second half went a little smoother, but the damage had been done; I knew I was turning in a poor swim, even by my standards. Had to tell myself not to stress over it, stay calm, and just take care of business.

Finally, the exit appears and I'm done! I didn't even look at my watch, but I knew I had my work cut out for me to get back in the race.
What would you do differently?:

How 'bout the concept of swim faster?

Missed my goal time by 4 minutes.
Transition 1
  • 01m 25s
Comments:

A bit of a run both ways, but it was all sidewalk and grass. It continues to fasinate me why people walk in transition. Don't they realize the clock is ticking?


What would you do differently?:

Not too much, I always do pretty well in transitions; today was no different.

10th in AG, the fastest was 1:09.
Bike
  • 27m 14s
  • 11 miles
  • 24.24 mile/hr
Comments:

I knew I had a chance to put out a good ride and I did just that. I needed to in order to make up for my lousy swim. I had already psych'd myself up the day before on a tune-up ride to just push and when I was temped to let up, just push harder.

This was the same course as last year and I was determined to bomb through the turns. I can go fast on the straights, but always slowed down for the turns and it would bring the average down. Today I took the turns as fast as I could.

Since I was in the second wave, the congestion on the course wasn't bad, and had no problems working with the other riders. The flat, smooth concrete roads were just heavenly.

Saw Luke (lukeTX04) on my second lap and was able to holler out to him as I went by.

I didn't want it to stop, but all too quickly it was over with, and it was time to run.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing; rode as fast as I could.

The next step is full aero wheels. I'm considering renting some for BSLT.
Transition 2
  • 01m 10s
Comments:

For some reason, my chip didn't register when crossing the mat [maybe I was too fast? ;-)] and I had no T2 time on the official results. So I extrapolated the time from the bike and run, and averaged with my typical T2, I came up with something to put in here.

I was smooth and I knew I hadn't made any mistakes.

Additional comment about getting out of the shoes while on the bike: Some folks just don't do it well enough to matter and it actually hurts them.

I passed 2 guys on the bike who slowed down during the last half mile while they fumbled with their shoes. I passed a third guy at the dismount line jacking with his shoes.

I run well in bike shoes and it only takes me 2-3 seconds to take 'em off after I've racked the bike.

I don't feel like I'm missing too much by not beating this race aspect to death. IF I ever start contending for the podium, AND I become a great swimmer, AND I need to cut 3-4 seconds off my time, THEN I'll become an expert at this. Until "then", I ain't worrying about it.

Just my observation.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.

My theoretical time was good for 9th in AG, the fastest was 54s.
Run
  • 22m 3s
  • 3 miles
  • 07m 21s  min/mile
Comments:

I looked at my watch for the first time and saw that making my overall time goal was still going to be tough even though I'd had a good bike segment.

I hit the run pretty hard coming out of T2 and both of my inner thigh groin muscles started feeling "crampy" and I was worried that something bad was fixin' to happen.

But the legs settled down after a half mile, and everything was cool. It had me a little nervous after coming off such a fast bike. Got into my breathing/striding rythym and everything was feeling good.

Had a close call with a car pulling into a driveway to the sports club. At first they stopped as if to let me pass, then sped up to beat me to the spot. I had to break stride and almost stop to let them pass. Felt like banging their trunk as I just missed the rear fender.

Started to fade just a little at about the 1-3/4 mile mark and had to concentrate on keeping the pace up. Two guys in my AG passed me with a mile to go. I had passed them on the bike, but I couldn't hang onto their their 6:26 & 6:48 paces. One beat me by a minute; the other by 20 seconds.

Pounded out the rest of the run and brought the Tejas to a close. Glanced at my watch after I crossed the finish line and they had snapped my pic, and I knew I was close to my overall time goal of 1:08.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing; ran as fast as I could.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around, drank some water, ate some fruit, 2 slices of pizza, and 2 cokes.

My wife was out of town, so I was alone. Looked for the BT'ers, but there were so many folks there, I just didn't find them. Bumped into a couple of other racers I know, so that was cool.

Found the race announcer who'd mentioned prior to the race about his son serving in Iraq, and so I told him about my son. We talked for a while and by then it was time to pack up and leave.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Swimming, and that's about all I've got to say about that.

I had a goal of 1:08, and really my time is actually closer to 1:09, but I'll consider this a successful race nonetheless.

Event comments:

This RD (he also does the IronStar) always put on a good race and everything is well organized. Plenty of food and drink, and a great venue, but it lacked the post-race music that creates the party atmosphere. But that's just me being a little picky.




Last updated: 2007-06-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:17:04 | 600 yards | 02m 50s / 100yards
Age Group: 35/47
Overall: 0/629
Performance: Below average
Suit: De Soto tri shorts
Course: Out and back in kind of a dog-leg layout.
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 79F / 26C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:25
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:27:14 | 11 miles | 24.24 mile/hr
Age Group: 9/47
Overall: 0/629
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Out and back with 2 laps, well marked and controlled. Excellent conditions!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:10
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:22:03 | 03 miles | 07m 21s  min/mile
Age Group: 20/47
Overall: 0/629
Performance: Good
Course: Big loop on sidewalks through the local neighborhood.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4