Katy Triathlon Race Report

This past weekend I made the trek up to Houston again to do my first sprint triathlon in longer than I can remember. I went to packet pickup on saturday and I heard some of the volunteers talking to someone about whether or not it would be wetsuit legal. I was shocked. I was standing there sweating my ass off in a summer dress and thought there was no way the water would be cold enough. After living in Hawaii and before that racing all of my races in Houston in the summer, I had never worn a wetsuit for a swim. I had just the week before received my first wetsuit - a zoot fuzion - and I wasnt expecting to try it on until I got back to Mexico. I quickly fired off an email to my coach to tell her that I was going to try it in the race instead if the water was cold enough. After that it was off to stuff myself with some Texas BBQ - ahh the pre-race meal of champions. We were laughing that I would be burping/barfing BBQ the whole race the next day.
I got to the race and set up my transition area (we had a great spot for the bike in and out which made it that we had about 4 steps before the mount/dismount line). This is always helpful for those of us who are not coordinated enough to put on or take off the bike shoes while riding. We got the word that the water was 72, so I put on my wetsuit for the first time ever. Yes, this dummy forgot to try it on the day before. Thankfully it fit! I will post pictures in a few days of the race.

The swim - it was a water start and I have to say, I LOVE WETSUITS! I was just floating around with no treading until the gun went off. I was at the front in a realy good position, and by the time I got to the first buoy I couldnt see anyone else around. I came out of the water in 1st and ended up having the 3rd fastest swim time of the day - thanks coach! After the race when I washed out my suit and wetsuit I realized how nasty the water was. I am now convinced I am going to get some sort of nasty disease.

T1 - going into T1 there were strippers and when they were pulling off my wetsuit my bottoms started coming off as they pulled me across the grass. The guys got a lovely view Im sure.

The Bike - I was fully expecting to hear on your left right away into the bike because I didnt think I had that much of a lead. Shockingly it never came. I was fairly conservative on the bike because we were on the shoulder of the highway and there were no lanes blocked off. This meant that if you wanted to pass you had to head into a lane of highway traffic. I have never seen this before, but I didnt want to risk getting hit by a car. Plus the shoulder had tons of gravel in it, and I kept feeling my bike slip. As we got to about mile 7 I saw to ambulances for two different people. Both were awake and on stretchers with lots of blood, but they appeared to be ok. This was another reminder to stay safe. Bike was 18.4 MPH and was third AG. I wasnt as fast as last race, but given the conditions, I am happy with it and happy I came out of it without an injury.

T2 - I didnt remember getting passed on the bike, but I figured it was becuase I was in lala land the whole time. I was sure it was a mistake. I have NEVER come into T2 first. But when I got there, mine was the only bike racked. Sweet! Time to run

The Run - all I can say is holy hotness. There was no shade or even a hint of that wind I felt on the bike. It was hot as hell and all I could think was that it better cool off by the half ironman in november or I will have some major issues. I tried to keep a quick turnover and just keep going. At the turnaround I could see the second place girl and she was moving. I picked up the pace a little bit, but she was faster. At the last mile she caught me and blew by. I tried to keep up with her but just didnt have it in me.

I crossed the line in 2nd, and with a lot more confidence going into the Half IM in a couple of weeks. Chris will make the trip to Houston this time and be my support sherpa since my mom is going to be in NYC watching my little brother run the marathon. I cant wait to have him there - he is
not as excited because he has been asking what kinds of restaurants and stores there are in the Woodlands. I guess he is preparing for while I am out on the bike. I will send him on an excursion to scout out the local area and report back for those of you that are coming out for the Ironman in May.