This was my second race and it followed my very first race by one month. Since swimming was definitely my weakness, I opted for the shortened swim distance race. Even at the shorter 300m distance, it was twice the distance of my first race and it was an open water swim. While I had completed a 40k time trial on a bike prior to this race, I'd never ran 6 miles before and had no idea what that would feel like after swimming and riding a bike 40k. Needless to say, I was pretty much terrified of this race and I distinctly remember being as nervous in the days leading up it as I've ever been for anything in my life!
About the race:
The main areas of the race (transition, finish line, vendor booths, etc.) were set up around the campus of Lone Star College. While the campus has a fairly large parking area surrounding it, the race footprint consumes quite a bit of it. The first thing I remember noticing the morning of the race was how packed the parking lots were. Fortunately, I got to the race very early so I was able to park immediately with no waiting. However, I saw lots of people running into transition minutes before it closed complaining about the long lines of cars trying to find a parking spot. I noticed that in 2011, the race organizers moved all parking to several larger lots on the south side of the school, across the street. That should help quite a bit with the time it takes to park, but everyone will have a long walk to the transition area.
The swim course was in Towne Lake, which is about .3 miles north of the College, and the water's edge is about 200-300 yards off the road that runs between them. This portion of the lake was still being developed in 2010, so there was no concrete between the road and the lake. That meant the spectators had to trudge through a muddy field to get to the swim entry/exit area. Now, that's not a big deal to the athletes who were about to swim in muddy water anyway, but to spectators it was quite a mess and very frustrating for them to deal with, as my wife informed me after the race. Of course, her opinion could be shaped by the fact that she also had two toddlers with her that were covered in mud!
It wasn't all that great for the athletes either. Because of the distance between the lake and the transition area, it made for a very long walk to the race start. I remember the race actually started several minutes late...I assume because so many were late getting to the race and then it took a while to get everyone to the start area. Then there was the very long .3 mile run into T1 after the swim. If you're looking to PR your overall time at an Olympic distance race, those extra couple of minutes in T1 won't help you.
One very nice thing the race organizers provided was a carpeted run lane all the way from the lake to the transition area for the athletes to use! I know that must have cost a fortune (did I mention it was 1/3 of a mile), and I thought it was a very nice touch.
The swim course was a two lap course for those doing the full Olympic distance (2 laps @ 750m each) where you exit the water after your 1st lap, then run a short distance and re-enter the water for your 2nd lap. The normal wave groupings applied, grouped by age/sex. But, those athletes that opted to participate in the shortened 300m swim were all lumped together in one wave, regardless of age or sex. It ended up being a wave of well over 100 people! Now, that's not such a big deal except that we were among the last waves to start. That meant that we were starting our swim as lots of people who went out earlier were starting their second lap. As you can imagine, the swim start area was a mine field of people flailing about in the water desperately looking for a piece of clear real estate. Again, that's not so different from most open water races, except that the majority of the people in the 300m swim wave were there because of issues with the swim in the first place! It was my first open water experience, and I definitely got a taste of the classic open water panic. My swim time was terrible, both because I kinda suck at swimming and because there was so much traffic I could hardly get a stroke in without being pummeled. I ended up breast stroking the majority of the 300 m swim.
The bike course was very well marked and the roads were in excellent condition, as I recall. However, the course layout was very strange. After leaving the Towne Lake development and heading south on Barker Cypress Rd. for a few miles, you turned east on Logenbaugh Rd. to Fry Rd. where you headed north. After a turnaround on Fry Rd., you had to come back to Logenbaugh where there was another turnaround sending you back to Fry Rd. to do a second loop. Only after the second loop on Fry Rd., were you directed back to Towne Lake and T2. Sound a bit confusing? It was, and I heard there were several people who got confused about where they were on the bike course. It's always the athletes responsibility to understand the course before the start of the race, but this did seem excessively complex.
I finished the race in 2:17:55, 3rd place among all males in the shortened swim wave. I was very happy with that result, especially considering that was only my second race.
Overall, the Houston Triathlon was very well organized and supported. As I mentioned, there were a few issues, but this was also an inaugural event. I know Onurmark Productions puts on quality races, and I suspect a lot of the kinks will be ironed out in 2011. At $110, the registration fee is a bit pricey. But, I thought the race offered a lot of perks, had a nice mini-expo area and definitely had a "big event" feel, so it's really not a bad value.
Venue: 7 out of 10
Value: 8 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment