Pre-Race: I set my alarm for 4:45am but I woke up around 4:30am. After a shower, it was time to get my stuff together and get to the race. I tried to pack as much as possible the night before. Some stuff can't be packed until it's time to leave. I decided to wear my warmer bike jacket as an option in case the sun didn't warm things up enough and some dry clothes for after the race. Breakfast consisted of a Honey Stinger protein bar and a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast. I mixed up a bottle of Endurox for after the race and took a potassium pill and Enduroshark Salt tab. By the time everything was loaded up and ready to go it was about 5:35am. The transition area opened at 5:45am and there is limited parking next to the transition area. If your late, you have to park in a warehouse district about 10 minutes away. The bad thing about parking close is you are locked in until the last bike rider has exited the course. Parking close is better so off I went. It is a 10-15 ride to the race from Coppell. The parking lot was almost full when I arrived and I was one of the last one to get a parking spot. After unloading everything and airing my tires, it was time to get body marked and set up transition. The line was already pretty long. There were 616 people in this race and the transition area was huge. This is my third time to do this race and this was the biggest field. Once I set up my transition area at my rack, I realized my glasses were still on and had to go back to the truck and put them in the center console. I can't afford to have them broken. Next, I needed my timing chip and a bathroom stop. Once in the bathroom, I realized my swim cap and goggles were in my transition bag in the transition area. It was now about 6:45 and transition was supposed to be closing. I had no time to warm up. Couldn't ride my bike, run and the pool was closed for warm up. They lined everyone up in the gym this year. There was a single line for every 50 people and we were to go into the pool area in order. Much better from last year. You could go later but you could not jump ahead. Beautiful! This had to go better. Last year was wheels off and no one paid attention to number order. The way they lined us up, we had to stand outside in the cold before jumping in the pool. I had two women ahead of me in line that ended up first and third overall in the women's division. I knew they would be good swimmer's so this was a good sign. The guy that won my age group in Denton last month was right in front of them. I felt like I was in the right place.
Swim: Once we stepped foot in the door, I was literally about 5 people away from starting. Instead of jumping in the water, I decided to go straight down and push off the wall. I don't know if this is better or not but it was different. Big shout out to the 101-150 group, we were all close to the same swim speed. I had clean water for at least the first 200 meters. I had one guy pass me right after 200 meters and I tried to stay with him but he was too fast. It would have been nice to have someone to draft off of. In the last 50, my timing chip started to come loose and I had to stop kicking. I managed to pass at least 4 people on my way to the ladder. I jumped out and went over the timing mat at 4:57. I had hoped for 4:40 but that would have to be perfect. I was happy with the outcome.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/301103436
T1: When I got to transition, I looked down at me timing chip and it was barely hanging on. I fixed that and then tried to get into my bike shoes. I had trouble getting my feet in for some reason. It took a little longer than expected. I forgot to put my race belt on which will be another discussion later. It was cold but I decided not to wear my bike jacket. It was time to toughen up and work through the cold weather. My T1 time was 1:33. Seemed a little long to me but the bike shoe problem probably cost me 10-15 seconds.
Bike: I mounted the bike started out hard. Immediately saw the wisdom of putting my bike shoes on in transition. I passed at least 3 people struggling to get their feet into their bikes shoes out on the course. I was up to speed fast and you go downhill immediately. It was cold and I was wet. It was very uncomfortable for the first 10-15 minutes. The course was two loops and the first loop was really fast because the people on the course were fast. I was passed a few times but those guys were really fast and I wasn't getting blown away by anyone. I took this as a very good sign. At four or five mile in, I decided to take in a Honey Stinger gel and that slowed me down a little. Some woman (#138) came around me. Once I got back into my aero position and started hammering again, I went around her. She came back around me again and slowed down so I went back around her. She proceeded to verbally assault me on the way by. Something about how I couldn't stand getting passed by a chick and several other colorful expletives to describe me. I have no idea where this was coming from. I was just trying to get around the course as fast as possible. I really don't care who you are. I decided the best way to handle the situation was to say nothing. I couldn't be taken off my game by getting into a verbal sparring match with some idiot. After about mile 7 or 8, there were a few pretty good hills and I never saw her again. Thank god. Once we made the turn for the second loop, there were alot of people on the course and it was pretty jammed up in spots. You have to wonder if it was wise to have a two loop course with that many competitors. It only slowed me a few times and everyone was very good about moving to the right when you asked. I glanced at my watch a few time and I remember thinking my time was pretty good. I was hoping for sub 1:10:00 but that was before the course changes. With the extra distance, I didn't really know what a good time would be but I wanted to bust 20+mph on my bike so I sold out all the way. My running has been excellent so I figured to live with whatever happened. As the bike finish got closer and closer, I thought my time was really good. I definitely felt fast and my legs were hanging in there. Barely, but hanging in there. I hit the dismount line but didn't look at my watch. In fact, I forgot to hit the lap button to put myself in T2 for about 30 seconds. My bike time was 41:58 and translated to 20.3mph average. I was very happy with the result.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/301103515
T2: I racked my bike and tried to slide my feet into my new running shoes. Unfortunately, they wouldn't get in there easily. Another shoe melt down, what the heck. I put my helmet on my aero bars and put my visor on and headed out. What is missing here, my race belt. It was under my bike jacket that I never put on. I had run about 10 seconds or so through transition and had to turn around. Bummer. The whole thing cost me about 20 seconds in transition. Very frustrating to say the least. My time in T2 was 1:29. I should have been out in a minute.
Run: When my run started, I think the time was around 50 minutes. My legs were really wobbly for a tenth of a mile or so. They recovered pretty quickly. Most of the first mile was downhill and I was really going pretty good. Not full out but fast. The first mile was 7:35. The second mile was uphill for the first half and then back down the hill. 7:45 for the second mile. For some reason, I never saw the 2 mile marker and was pretty confused on how far it was to the finish. The big hill we came down to start the run had to be climbed. I was a little slower for the third mile. It was time to kick it in gear to the finish but I didn't know when to go. Once I realized it was a quarter mile to the finish, I really started to run hard but I had more in the tank at the finish than I intended to have. I could have run faster. The third mile was right at 8:00. The last two tenths were at 6:59 pace but I could have sustained that for a longer distance. Oh well, live and learn. I like the new run course through the park. It would have been really crowded if the course was two loops. My run time was 24:36. By my watch, it was 3.2 miles and my pace was 7:45. Not too bad but I could have been a little faster. I'm not sure but my time may have been a PR for that distance in a Sprint.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/301103557
Post Race: My overall time was 1:14:36. My original goal after the course change was to finish in the top 10 of my age group. When the times were posted, I was number 9 of 43 and overall 89 of 616. Not too bad considering I have been in the back half of races for awhile. Things are coming together a little bit. Also, finishing in the top 10 qualifies me for a race in November, if I choose to do it. The Matrix and Joe showed up at the finish line to see me. It was cool they took the time to come by and see me as it's always good to see a friendly face. I hung around until they let us get out of the parking lot and headed home. I left a little time on the course but overall I did about as well as I could. My goal was achieved and I was only about 5 minutes off the guy who won my age group. I have registered for the Texas Tri Series. It's six races in the Austin area and they keep cummulative time for a series winner by age group. Should be interesting. The first race is May 5 and they have one a month. I need to get signed up for Ironman Buffalo Springs in Lubbock this week too.
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