COMbat Triathlon was another success!

Well, I have to say that racing two weekends in a row is something that my body was not used to... but it was able to put up with my demands!  

This was my first debut out there at the 14th annual COMbat triathlon down in Texas City, Texas hosted at the College of the Mainland.  The field was comprised of about 300 athletes and the distances were: 300 m (pool swim), 15 mile bike, and 3 mile run.  

I was not able to make it down to the race course prior to race day to familiarize myself with the course... it was just far enough away from Houston (about 1 hour drive) to make it tough to venture down for a day trip.  This race is always held on a Saturday as well so that knocked that day to travel down there as well.  With this said, the course map in the packet had to do!  After looking over the course, the bike course was easy to follow as it took us down the I-45 feeder roads and the run was a nice box run in and out of a near by neighborhood.  As for the swim folks... a pool is a pool and that is it!  

RACE DAY:

As we arrived at the transition area, we were greeted by a nice breeze to say the least.  The wind was blowing out of the gulf at about 10-15 mph; which to this neck of the woods is a normal weather condition.  The weather temperature was I have to say... HOT!  It was the hottest race conditions that I have met this year. Sam reminded me to make sure that I was drinking plenty on the bike to allow me to run well.  

I headed over to transition to rack the bike and to set-up to find some bikes swaying quite vigorously on the racks trying to resist the wind.  With "me little 650 guru crono'" I was forced to rack using the handles bars (which is not a tradition for me) just so the little guy could have a wheel down on the ground to support from the wind gusts.  Transition was nicely numbered with opposite ends of bike/out bike in vs. run out. I was positioned near the run out area which meant the run with bike would be a longer bit for me in T1 and T2. 

As I looked around and began to see some familiar faces, especially those fellow triPsyclones, it was nice being at a local race and the nervous jitters set in.  

We went into the aquatic center to prepare for the swim start and we all lined up according to our number.  I was lucky number 8, so I was near the front of the pack.  This is a good thing in relation to not having to worry about swimming over people which is the number one compliant that I have going into pool swims.  However, pool swims don't allow you to truly judge your placement as you race due to the staggered  start times.  I was a little nervous for the swim because this was my first time racing in a two piece uniform.  I was able to race in a wet suit last week so this did not carry as a concern until now.  

Well, I hit the water and came out in the fastest female time of 4:25 so I got to say the Zoot Gu Uniform was smokin' fast!  

I headed out onto the bike with Sam in background yelling and filling me in on my normal race report (as well as our Little Lucy cheering me on!)  With one female in front by 22 seconds and only 6 other athletes in front of me at that time, I found my groove and I was off. I ended up passing 4 of the six athletes as we were all met by an initial tail wind.  For about 4 miles, I was able to average about 28 - 29 mph making sure that I was taking this time to drink and get my GU in so my glucose would last me through these hot, humid conditions.  About this time, my timing chip decided that it was too good to stay on the ankle!  I was able to make a quick grab and throw it into my race top trying not to miss a pedal stroke.  This would have to do for now, no way was I stopping!  

We made a nice U-turn over I-45 and headed south where we were then greeted by a head wind. For the next 8 miles or so, I was able to just stay down the the aero position and be as efficient as possible before the next u-turn that would take us back into transition.  Overall, the bike went well with an average of 23 mph.  

I came in and out of T2 fast and furious with the help of the awesome zoot ultra race shoes! As I begin to hit the first mile, I was having a hard time falling into my normal rhythm.  I was drenched in sweat and I knew that it was going to be long run when I hit my first mile time quite a bit off from what I expected.  I remained focused and kept going making sure that I was keeping my mind on my form and my eyes set on the finish line!  The run course was nice and flat with minimal sharp turns which made my "slow run" day a little bit more bearable.  

As I crossed the finish line, I was forced to hold my timing chip down along my side, as I did when I came in for the bike, to make sure that it hit the sensors. After waiting around for the preliminary race results to be posted as other athletes came across the finish line, my time was not posted.  My hand held chip technique was not so successful for the final chip time.  I was able to go up to the great guys of " Run Wild Timing" and contest my case.  My watched showed a finish of 1:07:10.. but with the computer input and data calculations... I finished the day at final time of 1:07:30 to take the my third title of the year as 1st overall female.  It was a great time and was almost 4 minutes ahead of the next female finisher so my small bag of complaints gets thrown to the side.  But hey, all triathletes need something to play on their violin no matter what the end result is...

Check out the article from the Galveston Gazette!