Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon

On Sunday I competed in my 6th triathlon of 2008 with one more to go. I traveled to McKinney to compete in the Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon. This was my final tune-up for the Longhorn 70.3 on October 5th. I had a great a day out in McKinney that always starts with those pre-race nerves. Here are the details:

When I arrived to transition it was actually a little chilly outside. I got my bike racked and my transition area set up and then it was off to the swim start. The swim was 1500 meters and was two loops around this man made lake. The nice thing about the lake was that it was cool enough to make it wetsuit legal and the bad thing was the water tasted awful. As I started the swim I just wasn't feeling it but I motored on. I'm a slow swimmer and I like to take my time as to not use too much energy but I still had an O.K. time of 37 minutes. The run from the water to transition was down a hill and over a bridge. When I got on the bike I felt pretty good. The ride was tough. There here some tough hills that you couldn't get any speed on and I was also riding part of the race with Sprint Race people and at times it did get a little frustrating. After all was said and done I finished the bike in 1:06:48 which was a 21.6 mph pace. Pretty good considering the hills. I got back into transition and I began to realize that I was on a PR pace if I had a good run. The run was hilly as well. I had to run down hills through different tunnels and then back up another hill to the street. As I was running I began to get a little pinch in my right side and I had to slow down for a little bit to get my breathing in check. After the pinch went away I was able to pick up my speed and finished the run portion in 48:24 which was a 7:48 mph pace. That was awesome for me. As for the overall results I set a PR for an Olympic distance triathlon with a time of 2:38:13 which was 8th in my age group. I did not set out to do that. I just wanted get some training in for the Longhorn 70.3 next week. I am very happy with this time which is almost 17 minutes faster than my previous PR that I set in May.

Now one thing about me. I am a very competitive person. When it comes to triathlon I am competitive but it has always been against myself. I have always tried to improve and get better race to race. I know I am not the fastest so I just try to race well each time I go out. With this race I really did set out to just get some training in but when I realized that I was going to have a chance to PR it was opportunity to prove something to those people that don't take this sport seriously or who think they are better than everybody or who don't value me. There a few people out there that I just wanted to prove to that I can hold my own. Now I know that I really don't have anything to prove but it was nice beating some other peoples PR's who think they are better than everyone else.

I'm pretty anxious about Longhorn but I know I am ready. I am also ready to put an end to this tri season. I haven't been doing my job as a Dad and I need to get my act together. I'm looking forward to quality time with my kids.