Y Freedom Tri 2010

2010 Pre-Race Photo

This was the first triathlon I have done a second time, so I was looking forward to seeing how I have improved over the last year. My 2009 time was 1:33:08 and I was hoping for a good day where I would break 1:20:00.

I woke up early for the hour or so drive to Pearland for the race. Often, I might spend the money for a hotel room for a tri of this distance away from home, but seeing as how I just spent $600+ on Ironman Texas, I figured I could afford to save a few dollars and cut out the hotel stay. After an uneventful drive, I arrived around 5:30 to park at the nearby Pearland High School and walked my bike a gear over to the park. I racked my bike in almost the same place, but one rack farther south.

The swim was a 300m pool swim and I came out right on my seeding estimate--for the first time in a tri pool swim I neither passed, nor was passed by anyone. The swim was out and back for 6 50meter pool lengths. A couple times the guy in front of me slowed down enough to catch his breath for a moment, but since he would pick right up again I figured it would be a waste of energy to try to pass him. The bike ride was through a neighborhood with several out and back portions. Unfortunately, my cycle meter battery died sometime overnight (and I did check it last night!) so I did not know my mileage or speed while out on the bike. I did however turn in my fastest bike speed for any triathlon, as I went on perceived exertion and heart rate. It was feeleing hot with the sun beating down, but there was enough shade to keep from feeling too hot. Again I felt fairly strong and only walked at aid stations, probably less than a minute of total walking (something I have never done before on a tri) and turned in a strong run. I finished in 1:18:06 with a strong sprint to the finish, and a 15:02 improvement over last year.

Last year this race provided a cold wet towel at the finish line and a finisher's medal. This year we still got the cold wet towel, but got a special Polar water bottle instead of the finisher's medal--probably a more practical choice, but I am still sucker for a good finisher's medal.

I improved in every timed aspect of the race, including the transitions, compared to last year, most notably on the bike and run. Also, for the first time in a tri, I finished better than the bottom 1/3 of the field (15th out of 24).

My comparisons to the previous race are as follows:

.........2009.....2010
Swim....7:25......6:43.....(swim times include a run to transition)
T1........3:23........2:15
Bike...42:32.....36:14
T2........1:21........1:19
Run....38:27.....31:35
Total.1:33:08..1:18:06

Time Back from the age group winner: in 2009 34:58; in 2010 16:52.
Finishing position: in 2009 19th of 22 finishers (with 1 DNF way behind); in 2010 15th of 24.


Clearly my hope to use this race as a marker of my improvement over the last year was a success. Furthermore, I am even more hopeful of additional progress in the future as my fitness continues to improve and my weight continues to drop over the long run.


2009 Post Race Photo