Houston Oaks Triathlon

Hockley, TX - September 9, 2012

500M Swim, 21 Mi Bike, 8k Run.

10:57 Swim (2:11 / 100 M)

0:44 T1

55:58 Bike (22.31 MPH)

0:55 T2

38:06 (7:40 min/Mi)

Total 1:46:42

1st in Clydesdales (would have been 5th in AG)

The Inaugural Houston Oaks Tru Tri Sprint Triathlon was awesome. What an awesome race. Very well done, for a first time race. Amazing venue. Fantastic course.

It was a mild day, breezy early. The lake was surprisingly warm. The swim was nice. It was pretty spaced out, even though i was in the 4th wave, i never had any traffic in front of me. I felt good, got into a nice groove and there i went. Unfortunately, due to non-existent training, my swim was extremely slow. T1 was nice and fast. I got on the bike and felt good. There were a couple rollers in the first couple miles, which i didnt force, but shortly after, it got flat and i pushed harder. I wanted to stay strong, around Zone 4 for the whole distance (which was closer to an Olympic than a Sprint), and then see what happened in the run. I stayed strong without going to Zone 5. Probably could have pushed a bit more, but after my run result, i wouldnt change a thing !!!

T2 once again was nice and fast. And then there was the run... As i started, i felt good, fresh. I was somewhat surprised, as this was probably the best i ever felt beginning a run. I was running pretty well, around 8 min/Mi and under. Not sure how (going into the race, i was hoping to stay at around 9 min/Mi) but i just kept going... I am sure the cool weather helped a lot. As i was rounding the first loop, a girl who was starting her run got behind me said she was having me pace her. That was quite a feat for myself, as this has never happened before. I was keeping around 7:45-8 min/Mi pace. As we got to the turn around (about mile 3.75 of 5), i started to really get tired. The girl went ahead of me. I told her i was now dead, but was going to try to stay with her.

At that point, i noticed that she was actually going a bit faster, about 7:30 min/Mi. Didnt matter. I fought hard within, and stayed with her. There were a couple moments where she got away from me by a few meters, but again, i fought back and got behind her. She got me through to the second loop, and turned for her last loop, while i turned to the finish. I thanked her, and pushed hard to the line. I couldnt believe i was able to run that fast for that long. It was the first time i have ever done that in a race. And i really needed every second, as it turned out. I won the Clydesdale division by only 8 seconds !!!