Memorial Herman Sugarland Triathlon
June 28, 2009

   It's been a couple years since I have done a triathlon at the Aquatics Center in Sugarland. I'm always impressed with the excellent condition that this olympic size pool is maintained. Water clarity is great, hardly any dirt or trash in the bottom of the pool. Unlike the YMCA pool where I swim - seems like they never vacuum the pool floor. Andy, from Finish Line Sports puts on an excellent triathlon year after year. The bike course is well marked and well patrolled by the Sugarland police department. The run is also well marked and water provided at every mile. The water sprinklers along the course are seem to really help in keeping body temperature down on a very, very hot day.

 I always seem to do well on pool swim triathlons. Mostly because of the shorter swim distance which has less  impact on my overall time. My swim is not stellar so the shorter distance really helps.

My bike leg was decent. Could have done better. Should have shifted down to a smaller gear to get more speed. Made two mistakes on the bike. One was at the transition area. I didn't look at the bike in and out beforehand so I went out the wrong direction with my bike. The volunteers quickly directed me to the correct bike out area and I was on my way. The second mistake came at the 1st turn around (U-turn). I overshot the turn around due to not paying attention (looking down). At the risk of taking a fall, I opted to pass the turnaround by a couple yards, turn around and come back and continue on the bike course. Averaged 24.0 mph on the bike.

Bike to run transition was quick and efficient. I don't bother with unstrapping or removing my bike shoes before getting to the transition area. I'm not a pro, it takes lots of practice and frankly I think it's unsafe. I don't risk taking a fall on the bike while taking my shoes off.

 The run is always my best leg. Even though I've been struggling with a right calf injury, I did pretty well and had very little pain in my calf. The heat was the biggest concern - so a cup of water at the water station did the trick to cool me off. A gulp of water in my mouth and the other half on my head really did the trick. I ran about a 6:30 pace according to my watch.

 Overall, excellent triathlon. Awards were great, plenty of door prizes, plenty of pizza and refreshments at the end. Only thing missing is keg of St Arnold's Beer.