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Race Report: The Rookie Tri

Sorry this is as late as it is.

Prep: Got packed the evening before hand, and finished removing a toenail that had started to fall off the week before. Left for the race around 5:30a. After arriving on site, used the restroom, got body marked, racked the bike & setup the transition area, and wondered about. During this time I picked up a number belt for running from the concierge service that was there… free! I also got into the water to test the temp.

Swim: I was under prepared for this. I hadn’t been in the pool until about a week prior, and even then I just made sure I could survive the distance. I did well for the first 100m, then backstroked a bit, walked a bit, and then swam for about another 50m. All and all it was a very poor showing.

Total: 7:53, pace 2:38/M

Transition 1: Beatup from the swim, and gimping from my funny toe (Where did my band-aid go?), I limp jogged into T1. I found my bike, struggled with my socks, and fought pain to get to the shoes. Threw my helmet on, and hop/jogged to the bike mount line, and took off.

Total: 2:24

Bike: After the first few pedal strokes I got into a rythm, that not only felt good, but didn’t hurt. Overall the course was about as hilly as I remembered, but a bit more windy than I’d have liked. Still, I managed to pass my father-in-law who had started in the open group, as well as a bunch of others that were also competing open. I did slow a bit more than I’d have liked going into turns, but think I still averaged a good pace.

Total: 34:48 @ 19.1Mph

Transition 2: Foot feeling almost better, I ran and racked up the bike, threw on the shoes, took a swig of water and was off.

Total: 1:34

Run: Here is where the wheels fell off. Just outside T2, the toe, now lacking a band-aid, was starting to rub all kinds of wrong in my shoe. This cleared up once we were off the rough ground of the Texas Ski Ranch, and I was on my merry way. I grabbed a water and walked for a few hundred yards at the 1/2 way point, only to be cheered on by the marching band playing there. I then ran/walked the rest of the way in, and… Sprinted the finish!

Total: 19:31 @ 9:46/M

Overall: I felt I could have pushed harder at the end, even tho the swim was disappointing. I will be doing “Jack’s Generic” on the same course in August, and should be much more prepared at that point.

Total overall: 1h 6m 13s
Place: 204
Age Group Rank: 18

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