TriWaco Olympic Distance Triathlon Results

Going into the TriWaco Olympic distance triathlon I was really excited for several reasons.  First of all, the first triathlon ever in Texas was held in Waco in 1980.  The original triathlon hosted by the Waco Striders was considered the best in Texas and was famous for having Lance Armstrong set the record at 1:58:17 when he was only 15 years old. Today, know as TriWaco, the event has become a huge success that attracts people from all over the US to compete.  One of the most beautiful settings lets you swim in the Brazos river under several bridges, bike the country scenery of the heart of Texas, and run a difficult hill course through Cameron Park.  It was kinda of exciting to know that I would be racing in a place where Texas Triathlon first started. 

Second, I had really been training hard, and I knew that I was set up to possibly have one of the best races of my life.  The most important thing that excited me the most was the fact that Shawn had been spending time with his "YaYa" over the summer learning how to swim and we were about to see him for the first time in two weeks.  I am pretty sure that he is part fish, because he has picked it up really good in the past two weeks swimming.  I don't know if Shawn will ever be able to be a triathlete, but now that he has his swimming down, plus he runs like lighting (KaChow), all we have to do is teach him how to bike.  I am almost positive he will be beating me in no time.

We arrived in Waco on Friday afternoon and I can't tell you how hot it felt outside.  All I knew is that this was a lot hotter than in Houston, and it was dry.  According to my iPhone the temperature was 102 with a heat index of 110.  I knew that we were in for a very hot race on Sunday, and I needed to start hydrating now.  I also received a call from Allison Ignacio from Channel 10 news.  She had heard that we were in town, and wanted to put a piece together for the 10 o'clock news.  We set up a time to meet during packet pickup on Saturday, and the piece was on the news that evening.  It is always interesting to see our story from someone else's point of view, because all I normally see is what we put out there.  The story came out great.  Check it out:



I woke early Sunday morning hoping that it would be nice and cool, but my wish was not granted.  It was in the 80s with a forcast of temperatures over 100 by the time the race was going to be finishing.  I got into transition and set everything up.  During the athlete meeting the race director explained that the water temperature was about 89 degrees.  You could hear all of the athletes grumble, because we all knew that the hot water would really take a lot out of us.  We got into the water and the horn sounded.  Since being kicked in the head during the Kemah race, I am somewhat gun shy about being in a large crowd of swimmers and this swim was really tight.  I tried to make my way to the outside where I could establish a good rhythm, but it took about 400 yards before I ever felt comfortable.  Of course by that time, I was sweating in the water, and yes you can sweat in the water.  It was exausting, but I still had a great swim.

I made it T1 and took off my new Champion Systems speed suit and headed out to the bike course.  I immediately started drinking water, popping a gel, and drinking my Advocare Rehydrate.  All of that quickly kicked in and I started flying on the bike.  I was passing a lot of people.  That kept motivating me to go faster and faster, but at the same time I was watching my heart rate to make sure that I had something left for that brutal run I knew was coming. 

T2 went really well, and I was off to the run course.  The first two miles were so miserable for me, because I was trying to keep my body temperature down out in the open, and now blazing, sun.  I finally arrived to the first aid station and grabbed all the ice I could and dumped it down my Champions System kit to cool my body down.  All of sudden I received a bolt of energy and just in time because I was coming up on the steepest hills that I had ever ran up.  It was very tough, and I was really afraid that I was not going to be able to finish the run in my goal of less than an hour.  At every aid station, I would dump more ice, and started to realize why Chris McCormack raced with those crazy frozen sponges in his kit during the Ironman World Championship.  For me it was a necessity to have that ice, and I was definatlely going faster because of it.  I watched my average pace time go from a 10:27 min/mile to 10:10, 10:09, 10:08, etc.  I knew I was close to finishing in my goal time.

I was close to my goal time, and I knew that I would not be able to sweep up Shawn like I had down so many times in previous races, but how happy I was to see him right at the finish line clapping.  His face lit up as soon as we saw me and he let out a big scream as I crossed the finish line.  I was done:

Swim: 34:31 at a 1:47 pace  (fastest ever)
T1: 2:56
Bike: 1:14:42 with average of 20.1mph (fastest ever)
T2: 2:40
Run:  1:01:43 with 9:56 pace  (fastest ever)

Total: 2:56:35 (Personal Record)

107 Overall out of 232
20th Place in Age Group (First Top 20)

I could not believe the results.  I had actually finished a race in the top 20.  I was so excited by this, and know that I have to give a lot of credit to my coach, Dayna Lyons, for getting me to perform so well.  Thanks Coach.

Next up is a race that means a lot to me, because it is so close to where I grew up at Lake Tawakoni just outside of Wills Point.  The Spring Fall Classic is a 1/2 mile open water swim, a 23.8 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run.  There is also a team competition, so I am hoping that some of Team Shawn members might consider being a part of the race so we can have a shot at the team title.   We have a place to stay for free if your are interested.  It should be a great event, and I am sure I will give more than usual to get a good finish considering it is for me like having "home field advantage".  We will just have to wait and see...