Since we have the day off with hurricane Ike approaching I finally have some time to write my race report :)

The Austin Triathlon -> Sept 1, 2008

Some background... One year ago I completed my 1st Olympic distance tri (same course) with a time of 2:34:18. As we were driving home from the race I told my girlfriend that next year I'm going 2:15. She thought I was crazy and I'm sure she doubted me although she won't admit it :) The next year was focused on training for this race...

Race week: I was extremely nervous which is uncommon for me since my swimming background has taught me how to calm my nerves before races. This was the first triathlon I did a full taper for and I mimicked what we used to do in college and I was unsure if it would work or not. The couple weeks before the race my training felt like I was doing nothing but I kept to my schedule and held back my urge to do more.

Race day AM: By now I realized there's no point in being nervous what is done is done and there is nothing I can change now. I had my normal pre-race bagel, V8 and a quart of gatorade :) Walked over to the transition area from the host hotel and setup my area and then off to a quick warmup swim. Realized my goggles were too dark for this early in the morning and was hoping for the sun to rise soon, I was 2nd wave only 5mins from gun start.

Swim: Unlike most, I enjoy the swim and more dread how I'm going to feel the 1st mile of the run. The swim was over and done with before I knew it. My goal swim was 20:00, looked at my watch, 19:05 great I'm on pace...

T1: This race had a long T1, with a good size run to my bike and to the mount line. This was my 1st race with a wetsuit and I'm pretty sure I wasted the 30s taking it off that I saved in the water. Once that was off, helmet, socks, shoes, gone...

Bike: As I mount the bike I kicked off my water bottle behind my seat into the bushes, crap!! From training I knew that I use both water bottles completely for the 40k ride. Again, reminded myself nothing I can do now just ease back a bit and re-hydrate at the beginning of the run. Finished the 1st loop of the course, 22.8mph... next loop 23.4mph... last loop 23.8mph. Split was 1:03:53, 2mins faster than my goal.

T2: Nothing exciting, at this point I was convincing myself to hold back for the 1st 5K and just focus on re-hydrating.

Run: The 1st 5K I decided not to push at all for fear of cramping up. Instead I drank 2-3 cups of water at the 3 water stops on the loop and just ran a controlled pace ended up at 22:40 for the 1st loop. I was feeling better hydrated and my legs weren't hurting so I figured it was time to pick it up. Started to over heat (it was approaching 90 out), thankfully the course had ice sponges so I started cramming those into my hat and they felt great! Take the final turn to the finishing chute and complete the last 5K in 21:07, run split 43:47.

Final time 2:10:44 which was well below my 2:15 goal and nearly 25min drop from last year! I was on such a high after the race and didn't want the day to end. Of course it did and now it's time to set a new goal for next year :)