I won my age group by 27 seconds in a crowded pool swim. I passed 2 other swimmers who seeded themselves too high and then came up on a group of three in the last 150m that I just couldn't get around. So, I just sat back and drafted off the last swimmer to the finish.

Pass the 3 people that slowed down the last 150m instead of sitting back and drafting off them.

I made good time from the pool exit to the transition area, running the whole way. I was to my bike quickly and threw my goggles on my transition bag, put on my sunglasses, put on helmet and took-off with my bike to the mount area with my shoes attached to the peddles. As soon as I ran out of transition area with my bike, I noticed my glasses fogging up. The flying mount was more of a cautious leg lift. I couldn't see my shoes once on the bike. In fact, I couldn't see anything so I moved my glasses to the end of my nose and did the best I could to get my feet into my shoes. Nobody passed me during this fiasco so I guess it didn't hurt too much.

Not sure how to prevent fog in sunglasses on humid days.

This was the first time to be on this course and it was not as marked as I would have liked. A couple of corners came up on me quickly and one corner didn't even have someone directly traffic to turn. In fact, I saw one racer coming back from a wrong turn to get back on course. I resisted the urge to hammer on this flat course and just tried to maintain a decent pace while not stressing my back. The roads were rough and I bounced around alot in the saddle and it jostled my hips a bit but then I started to use my legs to buffer the bumps and just got into a groove. It was really hard to let people pass me and to not chase down other riders but this race was just to see if I was getting any better from the injuries. RiverCities will be a bigger test and much harder so I'll see if I can push yet at that point. I want to get out and go hard soon.

Better mount and dismount practice and drive the course before racing.

I did a modified flying dismount (slowed down almost to a stop and dropped foot to the ground). Not exactly "flying" but not a complete stop either. I moved through transition to my area quickly and got bike on the rack and helmet off very quickly. It seemed to take too long to get my running shoes on but it was only 5 seconds or so since I was standing and pushing my feet into the shoes. I picked-up my race belt and hat and started running to the run exit. Hat and race belt on right as I left transition and I was off on the run.

Quick ties for shoes instead of my normal pre-tied shoes. I don't think I run with my shoes tied tight enough.

I had no idea how I would feel coming off the bike and onto the run after so long between workouts but my legs felt great at the beginning and my back didn't hurt at all! So, the first mile, I opened up and ran a easy 9:50 mile, then slowed down the second mile after I started to feel the effects of not running (or doing much of anything) the past 2 weeks. So, I dropped into a nice pace and even walked some to lower my heart rate and settle down. The last mile was slow as well until the last quarter mile where I decided to build to the finish and see if I could end with a sprint without pain. I finished strong and experienced no pain at all except in my lungs from being a sloth lately.

Nothing, my treatment and recovery was a priority to training before this race.

Lots of back, hip and leg stretching. 1 piece of pizza and a couple glassed of water. I couldn't get into the free beer that people were drinking at 8:30am. Plus, I had to drive back to Austin later so beer this early was not a good idea.


Hip and back issues that are healing nicely.


This is a nice little race and worth doing. It's a great race for kids wanting to move from kid's races to adult races. The course is very flat and very easy. In fact, this was the perfect race for me in the middle of my recovery from back and hip issues. I didn't have to push at all and the lack of climbing saved my back. One minor complaint I have is not really about the race but the timing company. Atomic Racing Systems didn't post preliminary results until just before transition opened to get your stuff. It was too crowded to wait to see if I placed high enough to warrant staying any later. For out of town people, this is an issue. Also, race results were not posted online until 1pm the next day. In today's world of technology, this is just too long. Otherwise, the race is worth the effort. I would love to come back with my 11 year old and see her do this one as her first "adult" triathlon.