Lone Star Triathlon Festival - Sprint - TriathlonSprint

I felt great on this swim. Form felt really solid, breathing was good, and never really felt tired or disoriented. I faded slightly off my line and had to pause to regain my line, but never went off course. Passed tons of people, since I'd seeded myself about mid-pack. Even caught and passed a few people in previous waves. Got into a couple of good draft packs, and did a good job of jumping ahead to faster groups when needed.
By far my best tri swim yet. My wife said she only saw 8 or 9 people in my wave come out of the water before me. I was giving it as much as I could, since I had no idea whether I'd be able to run.



I could definitely stand to get faster. 1:56/100 isn't exactly setting the world on fire, but it's a big improvement over last year when I did the same swim in 11:00+. I think a 1:20 improvement on such a short swim is pretty good.

My transitions suck. There's no reason why this couldn't have been faster. Esp with a wetsuit stripper. One funny moment: I saw Aaron (JeepFleeb) at the Bike start and yelled hello, and he said, basically, "Never mind! Go!" Which I did.

It was at this point (running to bike out with my bike) when I realized, "...hey....I kinda think I'm running here, and it doesn't hurt. Hmmmm...."

I need to practice transitions. This was a mess. Should have been at least a minute faster.

I went at it as hard as I could, because, as with the swim, I really didn't know what I'd have for the run. Was in the 22-23mph for most of the outbound leg, then turned into the headwind and hammered as hard as I could to stay in the 18.5-19 range. Stayed in my tuck the entire way, even though my helmet was too tight and it hurt. Pedalstroke and cadence were both good. I passed about as many people as passed me.

Ride more. Get a faster bike. In that order. Kinda bummed that I didn't break 20mph for the whole ride, but not gonna quibble over .4 mph.

I chickened out on the "jumping off the bike" thing. Hadn't practiced in a while, and the dismount area was crowded.
This transition also sucked. I was wearing insoles in my shoes to support my arch, and they kept sliding around and bunching up when I put my foot in. I had put bodyglide on them, but I guess I didn't put enough.

Practice transitions more.

The good news is, it didn't hurt. I took a really slow pace, and really focused on my form, making sure I landed on my midfoot, and keeping my strides short. I resisted the urge to go faster, even though I imagine I could have. Didn't pass many people, and got passed by quite a few, though only one or two in my AG.
Had plenty left for a sliiiightly faster kick to the finish, for the benefit of my family. Heard the announcer call my name, which was cool.

Not get hurt. This is only the second time I've run outside in almost 2 months, so although it's 1:00/mi slower than last year, considering that, only a few weeks ago, I was wondering if I'd be able to do the race at all, I'm pretty happy about it.

I wasn't hungry at all, so I went and got a massage. We had plans for lunch elsewhere, so I had to go and get my stuff out of transition and couldn't hang around.


I wish I hadn't gotten hurt. I think the 1:15 that I had set for myself was in reach, if it hadn't been for the injury. The other thing that stands out is transitions. I think I easily wasted 2 minutes or more, which I have to find a way to get back. Practice, practice.


I think the race was even better this year than last. Keith and his team do an amazing job on every level. Great for participants, great for families, great for spectators. I loved the deep-water start for the swim, loved the revised run course, and all the amenities. I would never hesistate to do an endorfun race in the future.