T-Gator Triathlon #2 - 5/15/11

The T-Gator Triathlon #2 was held in Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, LA on Sunday, May 15th, 2011.  This was the 2nd race in the 3 race T-Gator Triathlon series put on by the Lake Charles Triathletes every year.  The race was a super-sprint distance triathlon consisting of a 500 meter swim, 13mi. bike and 2mi. run.  Coming off a successful first attempt at a complete Half-Ironman distance race a month prior, I went in to this race feeling very confident.  My primary goal was just to have some fun and focus on speed.

About the race:

The entire race was held inside Sam Houston Jones State Park.  It's a nice park with a fair amount of parking, cheap park entry fees, and lots of campsites for those inclined to stay close to the race site.  Personally, I love making a weekend of races like this.  I like to take my RV and load up the family and spend a little time outdoors.  It's super convenient to wake up and walk out of my RV to the transition area, too!

No question, this is a no frills, value-oriented race experience.  Taken straight from the Lake Charles Triathlete's website:  "The T-Gator Series was created to provide area triathletes with low-cost, no-frills USAT-sanctioned races. For $35 you get a well-managed, fun event in the beautiful setting of Sam Houston Jones State Park in north Lake Charles...The series provides an excellent opportunity for beginner triathletes to improve their fitness and slowly build up strength and endurance. It also enables experienced triathletes to work on their speed while collecting valuable race credits that apply toward regional and national rankings.  Since this is a bare bones operation, we don't do goodie bags or awards."

Even though the race was in mid-May, the weather was actually quite cold race weekend.  An unexpected late season cold front passed through the area that weekend.  The night before the race the weather was in the upper 40's.  As expected, this made the swim wetsuit legal (barely).  The 500 meter point-to-point swim started at the boat ramp in the park and finished downriver near the park pavilion.  The swim was with the current and sighting was really straightforward.  Since you swim parallel to the river bank the entire time, this swim course is ideal for beginners or anyone looking for their first open water race.

The 13 mile out-and-back bike course took competitors from the transition area near the park pavilion, out of the park and almost due north on Paul White Rd.  The bike course is superb.  It is a lightly traveled highway (at least early on a Sunday morning) with smooth as glass asphalt and a few slight hills.  Honestly, once I was out on the bike course I was really disappointed that it was only 13 miles....I wanted to keep riding.

The 2 mile out-and-back run started out at the same transition area near the park pavilion and headed west inside the park up a hill to the one mile mark and then back.  I really like this run course.  Heading up the first hill is a bit of a challenge, but running down it heading to the finish comes at the perfect time and really allows you to pick up the pace for a strong kick to the finish.  For me, this run course was perfect.  It's mostly flat, mostly shady, and a great opportunity to truly push the pace. 

This is as much award ceremony
as you can expect at this event.

I felt really good at this race. The combination of cool weather, confidence from a strong race a month earlier and, honestly, the fact that the New Orleans 5150 race was the same day (I have to assume that some of the really fast guys went to NOLA), resulted in my best race finish thus far.  I finished the race 1st place in my age group, and 8th place overall.  Obviously, I was thrilled with that result.  This was both my first age group win and my first top 10 overall!  As odd as it sounds, my finish even qualified me for the USAT Age Group Nationals in 2011.  Don't roll your eyes; I didn't go.  I might be a little crazy, but I'm not stupid!  I still don't understand the USAT qualification guidelines.  Do they really think a strong finish at a super-sprint race with less than 100 people means that I'll somehow be competitive against the best age group athletes in the country in an Olympic distance race?  But, I digress.

Overall, the T-Gator Triathlon in Lake Charles, LA was a great race.  With a race entry fee of $35, a well volunteered course, fantastic roads, and a small field of competitors you can't argue with the value that this race represents.  There is no awards ceremony, no medals, no goodie bag, etc.  But, if you're a beginner triathlete or even an experienced triathlete looking to work on your speed, consider competing in at least one of the three annual T-Gator Triathlons.

Venue: 8 out of 10

Value:  10 out of 10