Tejas Sprint Race Report

So below is my race report for the Tejas Sprint Triathlon that I did on June 2.  It's a bit short on detail, but I'll make sure the future reports are a bit more entertaining.  This one was just an info dump for my coach.  Overall it was a pretty average race at best, but it was a good wake up call.

Tejas Sprint Triathlon (600yds, 12mi, 3mi)

2 June, 2013

509 finishers

Preparation:  Training leading up to this race was sporadic, but starting to become more consistent.  I only had about 3 weeks of swim training under my belt, and very limited time on the bike.  Run training had been pretty solid.

Pre-Race:  I woke up at 330 to finish the final packing and get some calories in.  I don't like to be rushed on race morning, so the early morning wakeup is critical.  Unfortunately our son is sick and hadn't slept much during the night, so I was pretty tired.  We got on the road by 4:15 and drove the 1hr to the race site.  It was a 1 mile walk from the parking to transition, but we found it and got everything set up.  All normal pre-race routines (gear and body) went well.  I did notice some lightning in the distance but didn't know if it were headed our way.

 

Pre-race with some cool characters

Warm Up:  40 minutes before race start I headed out for a 2 mile run.  In the middle I did some pickups to race pace and scouted out the course.  I put my shoes in transition and grabbed my swim gear.  I headed out for a swim warmup and did about 300 yards, getting a feel for the buoys and sight lines.  Overall I felt nice and loose. 

Swim (10:29; 5th AG, 76th OA):  Our wave was the largest, but fortunately we were the third wave, so the course wasn't too congested.  I started off fast with the lead group, but apparently I veered off course about 150 yards in, and then over corrected.  After this I found myself near the front/middle pack.  I started to fatigue about 400yds in and didn't have the strongest finish.  I still had to swim through a lot of people from the first two waves, and managed to finish with the 5th best swim time in my age group.







T1(1:19; 61st OA):  I slipped up here when my swim skin got caught on my timing chip.  Lost about 10 seconds getting it off, but still gained 8 places OA. 

Bike(32:29; 5th AG, 36th OA):  I started off feeling really strong on the bike and the first half was strong.  We had a slight tailwind and I was passing a lot of people from the first two waves. I averaged 25mph and 259W for the first 5 miles.  At the turnaround, the storm front hit and hit hard.  The rest of the bike was a ride for survival.  Visibility was limited to about 10yds and winds were up to about 40mph.  Riding aero was extremely difficult and a lot of people just pulled over to the side.  I kept going but at a much more conservative pace as water was 1-2" deep.  The storm let up a bit for the last couple of miles, but my overall pace was already slow.  Some waves got the storm as a tailwind, but ours took the worst of it.  At the end of the day, it was even playing field for my Age Group.  Normally my strongest event, my bike was really poor today.  I gained 36 spots during the bike, but it should have been more.  I was several minutes faster on this same course 2 years ago.

 

It started off nice...

 

...but the storm hit right before the turn around.

This picture does not do the rain & wind justice.

T2 (0:53; 93rd OA):  Okay transition.  Could work on this more.

Run (18:49; 4th AG, 15th OA):  Not a fast run by any stretch, but it was a decent finish to an otherwise mediocre day.  I kept the pace consistent and averaged 6:22.  I didn't have a single person pass me, but I didn't pass anyone in my AG either.  I knew my day hadn't been great, but I was happy to finish with a good effort on the run.  Most importantly, I felt like this was a pace I could have held for double the distance, even if I didn't have much extra speed.  I gained 11 spots during the run.

 

At least I had a decent run!

Overall (1:04:10, 4th AG, 22nd OA):  This was a good benchmark and wakeup call.  I finished 23rd overall out of 396.  That's not good enough, but it fits the level of commitment I've shown to my training recently.  I have a few opportunities to redeem myself over the next couple of months and I plan on making good.  I'm disappointed by the 4th place AG finish, and should have been faster than 22nd out of over 500 people.

 

Smiles all the way around!

 

And thanks for my race crew for the support!!!