TriWaco

On July 26th I participated in the 1st annual TriWaco. This was my 20th triathlon and my 5th of 2009. This is a race that featured both an Olympic and a Sprint distance. I signed up for the Olympic as I was needing the longer distance work. As I traveled to Waco on Saturday the 25th I was still feeling a little tired from my century ride from the weekend before but I felt like I was going to have a good race. The event location and hotel were great. We stayed at the host hotel which was the Waco Hilton. This worked out great as the transition area was right outside the hotel lobby doors. After packet pick-up which was also at the hotel I got a look at the swim course along with locating my spot in transition. Later in the evening we ate Deep Dish Pizza at a local Italian restaurant. It was really good although I wouldn't say it was good as that place in Chicago that I have eaten at a few times.

Race day was a little different than usual. I didn't need to wake up quite as early as I normally do for a race due to the fact that the race was so close. This was good because I had a difficult time falling asleep. The air conditioner in the room was noisy and it kept the room very cold. I couldn't seem to get the temperature right. When I woke up I had an upset stomach. I think it was the nerves and the food from the night before causing it. After changing and gathering my things I headed down to the transition area to get set up. As I walking through transition I located Geoff and Sarah who were also doing the race. (Geoff the Olympic and Sarah the Sprint) After chatting for a minute I went to set up my area. As I arrived to my rack I noticed that the one spot left was next to a guy who looked like he was moving in. He had so much stuff. I can not believe an Official didn't make him fix it. As I getting my bike into place he asked me if I needed him to move his stuff over. I said YES!!! Unfortunately, he didn't move anything. I think this might have been his first race. After I set up my transition area I try to eat a little and then I headed down to the swim start for the longest pre-race meeting ever.

After the meeting the race director shuffled the first wave (my wave) into the water for the start. I was still a little nervous but it goes away as soon as we get started. After the gun went off I started swimming and I felt good. As I went through the water I knew I wasn't going fast but I felt good. As I finishing up my swim I merged with a group of the Sprinters. It wasn't too bad but it did get crowded. As exited the water I was very disappointed to see my swim time was 43 minutes. This was my slowest Olympic swim yet. I have documented my swim troubles this year on every race update I have done but this very disappointing. I have spent so much time working on my swimming and I felt so good during this swim so I'm not sure what I did wrong. I really need to make time for Emmitt's class.

Once I got into transition I knew I had a lot of time to make up. As I got the bike course I still felt good. The first part of the bike I was averaging 22 or 23 mph. After a few miles however, the wind shifted and the hills kicked in. There was a point on the bike that I was probably averaging 17 mph and I was getting frustrated. As we made the turnaround I got a little tailwind and the hills were behind us and I was moving well again. I started averaging 24 to 25 mph and I was making up time. As I headed back into transition I still felt good but I knew I had a tough run ahead. My bike time was pretty good at 1:11:28 for an average of 21.2 mph. I think this might be my best bike time for an Olympic.

Now for the run. It started off pretty flat and fast and I still felt good. Early in the run I saw a 59 year old man pass me like I was standing still but I didn't care. The first couple miles of the run was relatively flat but the worst still to come. The hills at the middle of the run reminded me of the Longhorn Triathlon. I tried to run the hills fast but I couldn't. As I rounded mile 5 of the run I could hear Alex, Jessica and Norma yelling go LUKE! I think they could be heard back in Houston. As headed up the path that lead to finish line I tired but I knew I had decent race. My run time was OK with a time of 54:02.

My overall time was 2:53:59. It wasn't my fastest time but I think it is my second fastest for this distance. Geoff and Sarah both did great. They each placed second in their age group. Congrats to each of them. Overall it was a good race. Jack Weiss always puts on a good event. I would recommend this race to anyone.

The day after the race I got a head cold. I think the air conditioner in the hotel room might have caused this. I took Monday and Tuesday off as I recovered and as we traveled to Dallas and I got a short run in on Wednesday. I plan to get a long run and short ride in this weekend. Things are coming together.

Next up is the Clearlake International Triathlon in August. I'm looking forward to this event. It will be Tri #6 for the season.

Later Dudes!