Got up at 4:30, got dressed, put on suncreen, drank Instant Breakfast, and headed out. Picked up Teri and got to the race site somewhere around 5:40. I ate my slice of bread in the car and saved the banana for closer to the start time.

We parked in a garage near by and tried to pump up my tires. The valve stem on my rear tire broke off inside the pump and caused my tire to go flat, so we headed to the Richardson Bike Mart tent to get the tire changed. It is sooo nice to have those services so I don't have to worry about getting it done right on a race day.

10 minute run with Teri followed by a 8 minute or so bike. The swim warmup didn't happen because the entry site didn't have a way to get back up!

Had a slow start. The girls in front of me just didn't seem to go after the horn blew. It was very rough bumping for the first 100 meters. I had my goggles bumped off for the first time. It took me two tries to get them adjusted back. I think I lost a good 30 seconds there. I seemed to be more out of breath than I had hoped for. Probably because of the week off. I seemed to need to breathe on every 2nd stroke instead of the 3rd I had planned. I felt like I made good progress and had good control of the water, though.

start more to the side to avoid more jostling.

Long, long run from the swim. I got my watch registering the HR fairly well, but it seemed like more button pushes than I was expecting. Found bike well and got gear on quicky. Almost mis-latched helmet but got it fixed quickly.

nothing

Had a little trouble getting into my pedals, and the mount line was crowded! I had a terrific bike, though. I pushed the whole way and averaged over 18mph, which exceeded my 17mph goal. I raced at 16mph on the course a couple months ago, so I was very happy with that.

I stayed in the aero bars well and really used those gears. I used the big gear in the front quite a bit too. I passed on turns, the u-turn, uphills and down. I also ended up trading places with one girl multiple times. I am not sure who was changing pace more to cause that, but it became amusing. I also got passed by an impressive 46 year old in bright lime coloring, and I kept her in sight for the rest of the race.

Watch pace to save more for the run, but if was fun to excel at one of the sports, nonetheless.

Just a normal T2. Almost ran the wrong way as the transition area had running on the opposite side of the racks from the bike in. Only a couple steps in the wrong direction though. Ran while putting on hat and race belt.

Run the right way.

I loved having my new watch this time, but I couldn't seem to pick up the pace to match my goals. The first mile was off my desired pace but felt ok. That part of the course had some shade. The second mile was more in the sun and had some hills starting around 1.5 miles. At about 1.8, I was really feeling the heat and was fatigued. The next aid station seemed far down there, but I was so pleased to dump the cold water on my head and get a cold towell. I put the wet towell around my neck and ran with it there. My knee starting hurting close to 3 miles and on to the finish. It was very noticable. I watch some girls in my age group pass, but there was nothing left to give. A pack did pass me right at the finish, so I finally sprinted the last 5 yards and held one off and passed one back!!! At least one in my age group beat me at the line, though.

My HR was high the whole way. I need to find a way to be a better runner or I will not be able to be competitive or achive my lowly goal of 31 minutes for the run. Long courses don't help either. Maybe I need a running coach. I just don't seem to be improving.

Walked around trying to find a bush in case I got sick. Found my family and friends and got some much-needed water. Knee was really hurting.

Heat, humidity, and natural ability.

Well organized, started on time. I liked the specific bike racking. You don't have to arrive as early, and everyone has enough room. All the courses were well-marked and thought out. People seemed to be having a good time, and there were some roving spectators cheering us on. I found it intersting there was a water hand-up on the bike. It was so short that it didn't seem worth the stop to me, but some may have found it wonderful. It was nice they offered it. One of the most enjoyable I have done all year. I also like the finisher's medals and technical T's.

They had ample food for the athletes, but it wasn't well placed. We didn't find it at first, but they had bagels, bananas, lots of drink varieties, and cinnamon rolls.

The awards were moved up and moved outside this year. That was nice. And it was great to see Teri win our age group!!

Race Reports Modeled with Permission from
Endurancecoach's Triathlon Post Race Analysis Sheet.