Here I am prepping for the race. This picture doesn't do the cold temperature and the wind much justice (except for some bangs in the face). Also note my race number... 26. Inevitably, I had to swim over a handful of folks.
The swim was a single-file start (jumping, no diving), and we snaked up and down the lanes (6 lengths/300 meters/long course). My swim split was 4:27.5, which wasn't very stellar. But I passed some folks and tried to chill out a bit. My first transition (2:23) was considerably slower than others in comparison, but I put a long-sleeve shirt and socks on, and the wardrobe change was well worth the extra time.
A lot of people complained about the wind on the bike, but I had done a lot of my training rides at the Texas Motor Speedway, aka the "wind tunnel." So I felt pretty strong given the circumstances. The only odd thing that happened was I had to brake at an intersection because there was a dog hanging out next to the traffic cop. I averaged 17.6 mph, and my bike split was 40:59 (the fastest in my age group). My second transition was faster (1:17), even though I had to tie my running shoes.
Looking like a (green) cyclist:
I was hoping to run sub-8-minute miles on the 5K. My red tomato face was indicative of my effort. I ended up running 8:11/mile pace for a 25:21 5K. I'm pretty sure that was my fastest 5K split in a triathlon. My total time was 1:14:28. I figured I might have won an award, but I assumed I didn't win. So I skipped the awards ceremony and went to breakfast with my friends. Oh, well... a friend picked up the award for me.
Me, Kendra, and Melissa (I tried to be spirited with the green clothes):
Melissa (and her shamrocks!) and Me
The token "bling" photo (and a cute, sleepy bulldog)
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