2013 Bridgeland Triathlon Results ~ Back to "Tri"ing!

August was a time to finally start getting back into the groove of racing.  I had finally started to get back to training after a long time off because of my foot injury. I knew that if I was going to get ready for Ironman Florida, I knew that I had to start training regardless of the pain.

Jackson Wyers, Shawn, Matthew, & Karrie Bellard

My first attempt at racing is where all of it started three years ago: the Bridgeland Triathlon in Cypress, TX.  This arguably is the best sprint triathlon in the south mainly because the course is fast and the attention to detail by the promoter OnUrMark Productions.  I give a lot of credit to me continuing in triathlon because this was my first ever triathlon 3 years ago.  The atmosphere is just electric.

I was fortunate to be joined with two of the Team Shawn's Anomaly iDO! 5: Karrie B
ellard and Jackson Wyers.  I as also joined by our honorary team member Brittany Breaux whom was fundraising for the medical research goal at Texas Children's Hospital. I am proud to say that she raised $150.00 for the cause.  She actually passed me on the run and looked in top shape.  Thank Brittany for your generous heart and choosing Shawn's Anomaly as your Reason2Race.  To check our her fundraising page, CLICK HERE!

After Swim

I arrived to the swim start feeling a lot of butterflies.  It had been over a year since I lined up "between the buoy's to start a race, and I was just not sure how my body would react. I had dedicated my race to little Patrick whom was born with Gastroschisis.  I knew just thinking of him would get me through the tough times.  The horn sounded and took off swimming.  Even though the swim was 500 meters, the water was hot from the Houston summer, so I was focusing on saving my energy for the bike and swim. Sadly, I can't say that I ever got into a good groove while swimming.  I felt like I was struggling a lot, but every time I spotted the swim exit, I could see my great friend, Shauna Hall, waiting and pulling out some of the swimmers.  It was great to see her after the swim.

Not Actually Me, but very similar!

The transition (T1) seem to go pretty smoothly.  I do remember thinking before the race, "Should I put clip my shoes onto the bike, or should I wear them to the bike mount line?" I decided to lock them into the bike since the transition was on grass and I did not dirt and grass get into my cleats.  This ended up being a bad idea, and I made what w
as pretty much a "rookie mistake".

There are several ways that triathletes will mount their bikes.  Some will stop at the mount line and get on to the bike while others will have a little more flashier and faster mount by running next to the bike and jumping over the top bar and landing on the saddle.  The "Flying Mount" has always worked for me pretty well, but this day, well, not so much.  As I swung my leg over my bike, it got caught on my water bottle cage and I lost my balance.  It all resulted in me crashing. Fortunately, I the only thing that was broken was my pride, and I kept going.  Fortunately the remainder of the bike and my dismount was much better.

As I entered the run, the outside temperature had elevated over 90 degrees.  It was going to be a hot run on a mostly open to the sun run course.  It was tough to get my legs to start working, but finally after about a mile, I started to get into rhythm.  Shortly after, the finish line was in sight.

One of the best parts of OUM events is that Aaron wants them to be a family friendly environment. In the past, I have grabbed Shawn and crossed with him across the finish line.  Now that Shawn has gotten older, he has become a pretty good runner, so I initially grabbed him, but right before the finish line, I decided to set him down and let him run across the finish with me.  This became a very special moment for both of us that was captured by a friend of mine.  Thank you, Donna Ahrendt, for capturing this special moment.

Photo by Donna Ahrendt

Results:

Swim: 12:51.4 2:09/M
T1: 2:06.1
Bike: 39:00.0 19.7MPH
T2: 2:11.8
Run: 31:55.7 10:18/M

Total: 1:28:05.3

Finally I was back to racing, and next up was the Houston Triathlon...