My second race of the season has come on gone with the
completion of a sprint distance at Capital of Texas Triathlon on May 28th
in Austin, Texas.
Why Austin? My father left the cold of Almonte twenty-five
years back to a new life in the very hot climate of Austin.
With the exception of a couple of years I travel to Texas at least once a year to visit Dad and
my Step-mom. Recently my Step-sister and
her two cute kiddies have moved back thus allowing me to get to know them. It was just natural to have my first
triathlon outside of Ontario
in my second home.
Barry (my husband) and I arrived Tuesday May 21 to be
greeted by 90 degree plus weather and sun.
Instead of taking my bike Coach Paul suggested I check out the
possibility of renting. The bike shop only
minutes away from Dad’s has rentals and to my luck had the same make and size
of bike I ride. We picked it up late Wednesday
and the fellows at the bike shop took the time to fit me correctly, recommend a
cycling route and chat. I was concerned
about the pedals and the tightness of the clips but they were just right for
easily clipping out. Thursday morning
saw me on a Parmer Avenue
for an hour cycling the rolling hills around Austin.
Although this is a very large four lane road the shoulder was
exceptionally wide, paved and a bike line was provided at the lights. If only we had the same set up in and around
Durham Region. During this ride I chased
a fellow, caught up with him and then pulled away. Eventually he caught up, passed me and we
road together for a good fifteen minutes.
It was bliss. I was on the road
fairly early but the ride did provide an idea of how it hot the race would be. A big thank you to Bicycle Sport Shop for a
great rental experience.
Friday saw me in the pool at the local Y for a light
swim. This afternoon we headed off to
Round Rock to see the round rock. Yes, the City is named after a round rock
that is located in Bushy Creek. This
section of Bushy Creek is part of the Chisholm Trail
and there are ruts in the stone from all the wagon drives. After Dad and I measured the ruts we headed up
the river to see the new park. We saw some youngsters wading in the river or
what was left of it and saw my Dad wading in it too. So you might ask why are you measuring the
ruts? “
Saturday was a rest day.
Dad, Barry and I headed to San Marco’s to the new car museum Dick’s
Classic Car Garage. The museum did a
bang up job explaining each car and the history of ownership. I found this much more interesting than the
cars. We saw a Dusenburg which was owned
by a Chicago
mobster – supposedly Capone had this guy killed for not testifying in his
defense. Another Dusenburg owned by the Queen of Diamonds and finally a Chrysler
Imperial parade car which was used by President Roosevelt and saw King
George IV and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mum) toured in it. For any car buff they have a
Tucker number 50 which was the last to roll of the assembly line. We followed this up with some good Texas BBQ.
Sunday was a rest day too however it was race packet pick
up and bike drop off day. Barry and I
headed down to the Palmer
Center for 11:30, found
my lucky number 2060 and headed off to register. It was a breeze. We all stood in a quick moving line which
divided then into our distance. After looking
at the passport they gave me my packet and then off to T-Shirt pickup (isn’t
this reason we do it?) and chip confirmation.
Then we scouted out the transition area back to the 2:30 athlete
meeting, dropped the bike in transition, waited for the fire department to clear
us to enter the building and then back home for a dinner with family and
friends. All along I’m fretting as the
water temperature was hovering 80 degrees which equals no wetsuits.
Monday morning I received a surprise when I opened up facebook to
see a notice transition was closing an hour before our race versus the previous
commitment of fifteen minutes. We rushed
out the door and grabbed a coffee and bagel at Einstein’s and off we went. It ended up being a hurry up and wait
situation. I e-mailed Coach Paul the
night before about the wetsuit issue and he pointed out the obvious – you
practice without a wetsuit so why do you need it a race? Barry told me the same
thing. As the water registered 80
degrees it was a wet suit illegal situation at least if you wanted a medal. As I was talking with my neighbours in
transition some decided to wear one some not.
I walked out of transition without it and from then on fretted about
going back to get it but did not. Swim
start was different as we jumped in the lake from the dock, swam to the start,
treaded water and then started when the gun went off. I explained how I was nervous about treading
water and they were fine with me sitting on the dock until start time. I sat there until 30 seconds before the gun
and then headed to the start only to have the gun got when I go there. No wasting energy on treading water and no
nerves because of it. I surprised myself
as I was somewhat calm and enjoyed looking at the skyline as I went along. As the nerves set it I remember Coach Paul
telling me to take in the sites and calm down and it helped. By the time I was on the way back to shore I
was in my groove and it felt great. I
still can’t believe it.
Next the bike. My
transition area was only two stands from the Bike Out and In which made it very
easy to find the bike in transition. The
route was fast with hills but not like we have in Ontario.
It was a two 10K loop and I was consistently passing people on the
ride. I did loose a few minutes as I
missed the second loop but lesson learned for the next race. By the middle of the second lap the heat was
setting in and I was feeling a little off.
I downed a salt pill, started the electrolyte drink and nutrition. Finished the bike to hear go Liz way to make
up time. Barry was there cheering me on.
The run was a challenge.
I was finding the heat very hard to handle and started walking. The race
did a bang up job providing lots of water and every aid stop I had some. Eventually the salt pill, electrolytes kicked
in and I was running. More lessons
learned about nutrition.
I crossed the finish line very happy with a no wet suit
swim, a great bike, a completed run and lots of lessons to apply for next time
around nutrition. I felt awesome
physically. I even caught the
electrolyte issue soon enough that I did not have any wooziness after the
race. My total time was 1:49:27 versus
1:46:22 in my last year of 2011. A
little longer in transition and the nutrition did take its toll on the bike and
run but I was pleased with my swim as it was 2 minutes
better time without a wet suit. I can’t believe it !! Barry kept telling me I would be faster without the wet suit.
This was our last full night in Austin.
We spent the evening celebrating my parents’ 24th wedding
anniversary with family and friends. It
was a great surprise party and a great way to finish off the week in Texas.
Next race an Olympic distance on Father’s Day.
Pictures to come.
Liz
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