The swim course was divided into three 225 meter segments. It was a nice inverted "U" that required nice 90 degree changes... to assist in losing those drafters when making the turns!
The bike course headed directly out of the park for a course that was an out-and-back flat 13 mile route. It took us along the dam that separated Lake Wright Patman from the city of Texarkana. This 5 mile section was the only piece that did not offer the shade, however this was not much of an issue since the Texas sun was not an issue on race day.
The 3 mile run course was nice and shaded that consisted of multiple sharp turns. The run was a nice up-hill climb on the way out. But remember, what goes up, must come back down! The course was a good T- shaped run that allowed you to keep an eye on the competition as you were making your turns finishing up the race.
Saturday came and we once again headed out to the course for packet pick up. We then drove the bike and run courses from start to finish to ingrain the details into the mind! We finished up the day and evening with good food, good company, and as always, Sam's "prepping" of the bike.
RACE DAY:
The weather was ideal: upper 50's for race start, and did not exceed upper 60's for the entire race. Sun was out and slight wind out of the north east.
Transition was first come, first serve, and I was able to obtain a nice spot as close to the bike in / bike out location. It was set up as an equal transition with run out/ finish at one end and bike out/ bike in on the opposite side. With this race being an out of town venue, it was fun being able to eye all the new competition. Everyone with new faces which made me even more excited to race!
I headed on down to the swim start and the adrenaline was flowing! It was race day and I was ready! There were only 3 waves and the women were all grouped together to comprise the last and third wave. This was a good thing in my mind secondary to the fact that both Sam and I could always know where I stood amongst the female competition. The gun went off and the race began. The swim was once again in my favor as as I exited the lake in 2ND just 4 seconds behind the first place female. As we headed into transition, I stripped the wet suit and headed out onto the bike.
As I mounted the bike, I passed the first female and began the quest to hold the lead. Mentally, I was completely focused and knew that my bike was strong enough to hold off some of the more experienced riders out there. As we headed over the Wright Patman dam, we were met with a nice head wind. However, as we made it to the end, we made the U-turn where we were then greeted with a beautiful tail wind that led us back into the shaded park where one more slow U-turn awaited. I made it back into transition with holding onto the first female position with an average of 22 mph (pretty good considering the two u-turns!).
Transition was quick and I headed out onto the run. This was something that I was finally looking forward to. You would have not caught me mentioning those words a year ago! This past off season, the run was my main focus with trying to improve technique, speed, and efficiency. As I set off into the run, I felt strong and the legs felt loose. As mentioned earlier, the run course was up hill on the way out (first 1 1/2 mile) and met us with multiple sharp turns. Sam reminded me as I headed out to hug the turns as tight as possible to gain the speed and distance that I needed. As I completed the first mile and the course turned us around, I was able to finally see the 2ND place female and realized that she was about 1 minute back. I made the last and final turn to head back to the finish line with about a mile ago where I spotted number 2 again. I had put about another 30 seconds on her and I was feeling great. Remember, what goes up must come down and that is what I did. The nice down hill trek led me back to the race finish.
As I made my way into the park about 100 m from the finish, Sam was there with a huge smile and a high five that led me across the finish line. I finished in 1:07 ; almost 2 minutes ahead of 2ND place! It was a great feeling. I was able to finally run negative splits and still feel strong as I made it across the finish line. A ran an average 6:37 pace that was openly welcomed as the off seasons hard work paid off! I was officially crowned:
2008 South Midwest Region Sprint Champion!
I have to say one of the best parts of this race came at the awards ceremony... not the hardware folks, but the cash money baby! First, Second, and Third place overall walked away with a little green in their pockets and it was a nice gift. It was the first of that for me and I have to say, I will never get tired of that!
Overall, it was a great race weekend! I was able to meet and greet with some new faces and Sam caught up with some old racing buddies as well. The training once again, paid off (Literally!)
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