Champions Triathlon

Last Saturday I did my first Triathlon of 2010 by completing the Olympic distance at the Champions Triathlon in Austin. This also marked my 25th triathlon since becoming a triathlete in 2005. I am very proud of this milestone and I look forward to many more races. Now for the race report:Saturday morning I woke up around 6 am to get ready and eat some breakfast in the hotel. I had a waffle and some orange juice that did not settle well with me and would prove troublesome during the race. As we drove to the race my stomach was upset and I thought it was just nerves but the feeling wouldn't go away. I was determined to race anyway. After body marking, bike racking and transition set-up it was down to the swim start.As I waited for the race to start I felt like throwing up and I tried to hold it in. Unfortunately as soon as I entered the water for the start I started to hurl. I felt awful but I started the race anyway. The water was not too cold but it was very choppy. This was not helping my stomach and I had to keep stopping to let my stomach settle. After one of my longest Olympic swim times ever I made it to T1 and set off for a slightly longer than normal bike course. A typical Olympic distance triathlon is a little under 25 miles. This event had the bike at a little over 26 miles.
As I started the bike I was happy to have a tailwind to give me a little time to get settled. The tailwind didn't last long and it was hills and headwind for a little over half the loop. The bike course was two 13.1 mile loops so I knew I would have to deal with all the challenges twice. It took about 11 miles but I started to feel a little better. My legs were hurting but I pressed on. The bike kicked my butt however I was able to average 18.4 mph on the bike. Not too bad considering my lack of training time leading up to the race. After a challenging ride I headed to transition to prepare for the 10k run.
The run started off OK but my energy was fading. The run consisted of 2 loops around Lake Pflugerville. It was flat but not as fast I would have liked. After my 1st loop I was starting to get sick to my stomach again and I had to walk for the first time at a race of this distance. I was disappointed but I had to walk or bad things were going to happen. After all was said and done I finished in 3:05:29. This was my slowest Olympic but I was just happy to finish.
One other race note. Several members of my Lone Star team did the event as well. Lori, Jessica and Norma competed in the Sprint race and Mindi competed in the Olympic. Norma and Jessica finished top 6 in their age groups and Lori earned a podium spot finishing 2nd in her age group. Mindi in her first ever triathlon finished 6th in her age group. They all did a great job and I am proud of them all.
For my next races I am competing in the Gateway to the Bay Triathlon in Kemah on April 10th and 11th. I am racing the Sprint and the Olympic distances and I suspect I will have a much better outing. I have never done back to back races before so I am not sure how it will go but I am excited about the challenge.

Lastly, I received some great news last week. I gained a sponsorship from PowerBar and I am now a member of PowerBar Team Elite. I am very excited and honored to be a member of this team. I will have more details to come on this sponsorship in the weeks to come.

Bye for now!