Lonestar 1/4 Iron Triathlon - 2009 - Galveston, TX

Another great time in Galveston this past weekend for the Lonestar 1/4 Iron distance Triathlon on April 5, 2009.

Here's the quick stats:

965M (.6 mile) swim = 21:15
T1 time = 3:11
28 Mile bike = 1:18:54 (21.3 mph)
T2 time = 1:30
6.5 Mile run = 52:45 (8:07/mile)

Overall time = 2:37:38

Division place (Men 40-44) = 14/78
Overall Place 132/784

This is the third year I've done the race I've been lucky with good weather conditions each time.

Got down on Saturday, spent some time at the beach (got sunburned...oops), visiting with some friends and getting my first look at the Island since Ike hit my hometown last year.

I was saddened to see so much damage still, but humbled to see the work that people are doing to rebuild the Island and their lives there. I enjoy doing this race, but I also know that this one event probably pumped at least $500,000+ into the economy with its 2800 participants (hotels, meals, etc). Even the race organization benefits local groups by donating money to charities that supply volunteers to help with the event. Hopefully we helped some!

I went for a warmup swim on Saturday evening, and found the water a brisk 65 degrees. A little chilly, but OK in my wetsuit. My favorite part is when the water first seeps into the suit down the back....yow! The problem is, my training pool is kept way too warm at 83 degrees, so a 20 degree difference in temp is definitely noticiable!

Sunday morning started early about 4:50am...down to the car to get the bike and head over to the parking lot to set up in transition. For anyone who isn't familiar with a triathlon...here's the drill to setting up:

- Show up at transition early to get bodymarked and set up your transition area. Volunteers use a marker to write your race number on your arm, hand, leg, etc. Your transition area is a spot on a bike rack where you will come to transition between swimming, biking, then running.

- Make sure all your gear is lined up to access as fast as possible going from swim to bike, then bike to run.....the clock never stops ticking!

- Stretch, warmup run, fluids/electrolytes, calories (bagel, banana, gel)

- Put on the wetsuit, cap and goggles and head over to the swim start

Swim Start

Swim start is next to the 'Palm Beach' area. I was in the 3rd wave to start (organized by age group...about 70-100 people per wave). Climb down the ladder to get in (the pier we jumped from last year was swept away by the hurricane) and swim about 30 yards over to the start line. A few minutes of treading water and the start horn goes off. A washing-machine of arms and legs, and you're off swimming for the first turn buoy. In the video, I'm the one in the blue swim cap. ;-)

I was able to find someone to draft on, and worked on a nice smooth stroke. It always seems that the turn buoy in the distance takes forever to get to (kinda like that scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail where the knight running across the field never seems to get there!).

I exited the water and ran down the swim exit lane where they have high school kids volunteering to pull your wetsuit off. You get the top part down to your waist, then sit on the ground while they yank the rest of it off. Hold onto your shorts though, I think some of them have a contest to see who can rip *everything* off with the wetsuit!

T1

T1 is the first transition where you strip off your cap and goggles, put on your helmet and cycling shoes, then unrack your bike and run it out of the transition area (you can't ride it in the transition area for safety reasons), get on and start the ride.

Bike

The bike heads out to the seawall, then west along 3005 for 14 miles, then a turnaround to head back. I passed a lot of people on the bike, but had to remind myself to keep the effort level in check to save some legs for the run. I also did a better job of taking in more calories and keeping myself hydrated while on the bike, which, I think turned into a better performance on the run. There were a number of packs of riders (which is against the rules....you can't ride closer than about 3 bike lengths from the rider in front of you) that I had to get past, as well as a number of people riding on the left. I made a couple of technically illegal passes on the right (once in front of the referee) since I couldn't get by on the left....but fortunately, no penalties assessed.

I was actually 14 seconds slower on the the bike this year, but still a decent effort. Save...something....for...the...RUN!

T2

T2 is the 2nd transition where you re-rack your bike, take off the helmet/cycling shoes and put on the running shoes and head out to the run course. Make sure you know where your bike is supposed to go!!!

Run

Its always tough starting the run after the bike. The legs feel wierd starting to run after pedaling for over an hour, and it usually takes me about a half mile or so to start getting into a groove. My watch clicked 8 minutes as I passed the first mile marker, so I was on track for the pace I hoped to run. I planned to pick up the pace over the next few miles, but instead, I started fading a little. This year was a 2 loop run course since part of the previous year's course was still under repair from the hurricane. Took water and gatorade at each aid station to stay hydrated and I did have enough for a sprint on the last 500 meters. Managed to keep about an 8:07/mile average which really helped my placing.

Afterword

Here's the bike and transition area after the race. A jumble of wet, messy stuff!

Overall

I came out of the water in 43rd place in my group (really need to get a faster swim!), but with a decent bike and good run, clawed my way up to 14th.

Again a great event, with outstanding organization and logistics and a really nice venue. I had fun, and the family had fun too!