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Dawn, Emily and I headed over to Galveston on Saturday afternoon. Got checked into our room and headed over to Moody Gardens for packet pickup and the prerace meeting. The meeting got very boring, very fast, so we walked over to look at the swim start area. Emily got to play in the sand, which made her very happy.<br><br>
On the walk back, we ran into HeatherH and her hubby. We talked for a while and took some pics. Emily was pouring the sand out of her shoes and while Dawn was helping her, a gull decided to bomb Dawn. Splat! Right on her glasses and in her eye! Yuck. We had nothing to wipe it off with, so I grabbed the Lonestar Triathlon shirt out of my race packet. Dawn was cussing at every gull for the rest of the weekend.<br><br>
We drove the bike course, then headed back to the room, eating some leftovers that we brought from home and got to bed early. I actually slept very well, which I usually don't do the night before a race.<br><br>
The next morning, all the prerace stuff went well and was baiscally uneventful. Got the bike racked, all my gear set up and went for a run. Meet Kathleen in transition and talked with her for a while.<br><br>
We had almost and hour to kill between the start of the Half Iron and the Quarter Iron waves. For some reason, I wasn't feeling pumped about the race. You know those butterflies that you get before a race? I wasn't getting them. I'm not sure what was going on. This is the first tri of the season and I feel like I'm about to just go for a training session. It was kinda weird. But, when I got my wetsuit on and went for a warm-up swim it all changed. Just getting in the water, swimming around with all the other people, and it was suddenly, "All right, I'm ready now. Let's get this thing going!"<br><br>
I was the first guy from my wave to make it down the dock and one of the first to jump in the water. I got right on the front line, just on the outside and was ready to go. They did the count down and we were off!<br><br>
Triathlon season has officially started!!<br><br>
When we started swimming, I was right there with the fast guys, bumping into each other, kicking, banging, one guy swam over my legs, I was loving it! Hehe, I knew I couldn't hold that fast pace for long, so I eased to the outside in some cleaner water. Whew! that was fun! Ok, now, just calm it down, get into your rythm and do your thing.<br><br>
The rest of the swim went ok. I was hoping for around 20 minutes. I came out of the water at 21:09. Which really didn't surprise me, considering how little I've actually been able to get to the pool recently. Right, Sheldon.<br><br>
T1 went well, waved to Dawn and Emily and I was on the bike and down the road. Getting out of Moody Gardens, past the flight muesum, and to the seawall took a little time, what with all the turns and no passing areas. But once we were on the seawall road, it was hammer time! This is where the race always gets fun.<br><br>
The wind was straight from the south. So there was no tail or head wind to speak off, it was all crosswind. Which didn't bother me at all. I got into my bike raceing mode of "each rider ahead of me is another target to pass". Which I did, over and over and over. Two guys had passed me comming out of Moody Gardens, each of them on P3C's. I eventually passed both of them back up and no one ever passed me again.<br><br>
Around mile 10, I took my shot of Infinit. I had water from the aero bottle the rest of the time, except one bottle hand up of Gatorade around mile 20.<br><br>
I just kept on hammering and hammering, watching my Avg speed climb with each passing mile. My goal was at least 22 mph. I came into T2 at with a bike split of 1:13:51. That's a 22.7 mph avg. And I was feeling good!<br><br>
I was in and out of T2 and onto the run. I took a gel at the first station and got into a pace of around 7:30, which I knew I could hold for the 6.5 miles of the run.<br><br>
Dawn and Emily were waiting for me at about 1/2 mile. I stopped right quick to give them both a kiss and I was on my way again with cheers of "Go, Daddy, Go!"<br><br>
I was staying on pace, right around 7:30ish. But, I was waiting for something. Something that may or may not happen. Something that has been a bit of a problem on some training runs recently. I had been to my doctor about 5 weeks ago about a pain in my upper right leg. He had ruled out a hernia at the time and said it may be a hip flexor issue. But, it has been a nagging pain that comes and goes. And when it comes during a run, it usually happens around 30 minutes and the run goes south after that.<br><br>
So, I was waiting, hopeing that this would be a run that it didn't show up and I could stay on pace and finish strong. But, right around 30 minutes, it started. And I knew that I'd just have to settle for an ok swim, an outstanding bike, a good first run and a slow second run. My 7:30 pace dropped to 9:30-10:00. Guys in my age group were passing me, guys that I had passed on the bike, and there was nothing I could do about. And I ended with a 56:44 run split.<br><br>
Anyways, I finished the race. Pleased, but not really surprised at the results.<br><br>
Final stats<br>
2:35:26 finish time<br><br>
137/718 overall<br>
19/61 AG<br><br>
But I what I really liked was my bike placement:<br>
37/718 overall<br>
7/61 AG<br><br>
I highly recommend this event. It is very well organized. Very spectator friendly. Moody Gardens has something for everyone. Anyone of you guys from the northern states that are looking for a early season tri in a warm weather with family entertainment, consider doing the Lonestar Triathlon<br><br>
Maggie, sorry that we never got to meet up. Was good to chat with you on the phone afterwards.<br><br>
Also, I went back to the doc today. His reaction, "Hmm, that's gotten worse since you were here. You didn't have that bulge before. Yep, hernia. Ok, I'm sending you to a specialist"<br><br><br>
A few pics of the weekend<br><br><br><br>
Heather and I on Saturday afternoon, about the time that the gull bombed Dawn.<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1896.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Emily and I, right after the finish. Notice who has my medal <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1897.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Met up with Kathleen later in the day<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1898.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Michael and Amanda Lovato are very, very nice. Got to talk with them a bit.<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1899.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
The giant sand hill with Dora the Explorer, Boots and Swiper<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1900.jpg" style="border:0px solid;">
On the walk back, we ran into HeatherH and her hubby. We talked for a while and took some pics. Emily was pouring the sand out of her shoes and while Dawn was helping her, a gull decided to bomb Dawn. Splat! Right on her glasses and in her eye! Yuck. We had nothing to wipe it off with, so I grabbed the Lonestar Triathlon shirt out of my race packet. Dawn was cussing at every gull for the rest of the weekend.<br><br>
We drove the bike course, then headed back to the room, eating some leftovers that we brought from home and got to bed early. I actually slept very well, which I usually don't do the night before a race.<br><br>
The next morning, all the prerace stuff went well and was baiscally uneventful. Got the bike racked, all my gear set up and went for a run. Meet Kathleen in transition and talked with her for a while.<br><br>
We had almost and hour to kill between the start of the Half Iron and the Quarter Iron waves. For some reason, I wasn't feeling pumped about the race. You know those butterflies that you get before a race? I wasn't getting them. I'm not sure what was going on. This is the first tri of the season and I feel like I'm about to just go for a training session. It was kinda weird. But, when I got my wetsuit on and went for a warm-up swim it all changed. Just getting in the water, swimming around with all the other people, and it was suddenly, "All right, I'm ready now. Let's get this thing going!"<br><br>
I was the first guy from my wave to make it down the dock and one of the first to jump in the water. I got right on the front line, just on the outside and was ready to go. They did the count down and we were off!<br><br>
Triathlon season has officially started!!<br><br>
When we started swimming, I was right there with the fast guys, bumping into each other, kicking, banging, one guy swam over my legs, I was loving it! Hehe, I knew I couldn't hold that fast pace for long, so I eased to the outside in some cleaner water. Whew! that was fun! Ok, now, just calm it down, get into your rythm and do your thing.<br><br>
The rest of the swim went ok. I was hoping for around 20 minutes. I came out of the water at 21:09. Which really didn't surprise me, considering how little I've actually been able to get to the pool recently. Right, Sheldon.<br><br>
T1 went well, waved to Dawn and Emily and I was on the bike and down the road. Getting out of Moody Gardens, past the flight muesum, and to the seawall took a little time, what with all the turns and no passing areas. But once we were on the seawall road, it was hammer time! This is where the race always gets fun.<br><br>
The wind was straight from the south. So there was no tail or head wind to speak off, it was all crosswind. Which didn't bother me at all. I got into my bike raceing mode of "each rider ahead of me is another target to pass". Which I did, over and over and over. Two guys had passed me comming out of Moody Gardens, each of them on P3C's. I eventually passed both of them back up and no one ever passed me again.<br><br>
Around mile 10, I took my shot of Infinit. I had water from the aero bottle the rest of the time, except one bottle hand up of Gatorade around mile 20.<br><br>
I just kept on hammering and hammering, watching my Avg speed climb with each passing mile. My goal was at least 22 mph. I came into T2 at with a bike split of 1:13:51. That's a 22.7 mph avg. And I was feeling good!<br><br>
I was in and out of T2 and onto the run. I took a gel at the first station and got into a pace of around 7:30, which I knew I could hold for the 6.5 miles of the run.<br><br>
Dawn and Emily were waiting for me at about 1/2 mile. I stopped right quick to give them both a kiss and I was on my way again with cheers of "Go, Daddy, Go!"<br><br>
I was staying on pace, right around 7:30ish. But, I was waiting for something. Something that may or may not happen. Something that has been a bit of a problem on some training runs recently. I had been to my doctor about 5 weeks ago about a pain in my upper right leg. He had ruled out a hernia at the time and said it may be a hip flexor issue. But, it has been a nagging pain that comes and goes. And when it comes during a run, it usually happens around 30 minutes and the run goes south after that.<br><br>
So, I was waiting, hopeing that this would be a run that it didn't show up and I could stay on pace and finish strong. But, right around 30 minutes, it started. And I knew that I'd just have to settle for an ok swim, an outstanding bike, a good first run and a slow second run. My 7:30 pace dropped to 9:30-10:00. Guys in my age group were passing me, guys that I had passed on the bike, and there was nothing I could do about. And I ended with a 56:44 run split.<br><br>
Anyways, I finished the race. Pleased, but not really surprised at the results.<br><br>
Final stats<br>
2:35:26 finish time<br><br>
137/718 overall<br>
19/61 AG<br><br>
But I what I really liked was my bike placement:<br>
37/718 overall<br>
7/61 AG<br><br>
I highly recommend this event. It is very well organized. Very spectator friendly. Moody Gardens has something for everyone. Anyone of you guys from the northern states that are looking for a early season tri in a warm weather with family entertainment, consider doing the Lonestar Triathlon<br><br>
Maggie, sorry that we never got to meet up. Was good to chat with you on the phone afterwards.<br><br>
Also, I went back to the doc today. His reaction, "Hmm, that's gotten worse since you were here. You didn't have that bulge before. Yep, hernia. Ok, I'm sending you to a specialist"<br><br><br>
A few pics of the weekend<br><br><br><br>
Heather and I on Saturday afternoon, about the time that the gull bombed Dawn.<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1896.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Emily and I, right after the finish. Notice who has my medal <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1897.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Met up with Kathleen later in the day<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1898.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
Michael and Amanda Lovato are very, very nice. Got to talk with them a bit.<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1899.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br>
The giant sand hill with Dora the Explorer, Boots and Swiper<br><br><img alt="" src="http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/kylemcmi/100_1900.jpg" style="border:0px solid;">
