Michele Lopez has a great Austin Tri Race

Austin Triathlon Race Report-

Sunday: Gathered the kids and the husband and drove downtown to check in my bike and pickup packet. This task usually takes up most of the day but to my surprise everything was very organized and was easy to get in and out of the Hyatt Regency and down to transition. Found a few friends that would also be participating in the race and joined them for lunch at Wahoo’s (which for me a great before race meal)

Monday-Labor Day- Race Morning

The alarm went off at 4am… I hit the snooze until 5:30 because my wave didn’t start until 9:15 so I was able to get a little more sleep…had my normal oatmeal and coffee breakfast. Arrived downtown for the race, unloaded the kids into the wagon, went to the set up my transition area and then off to relax on a blanket under a tree with kids for an hour until my race started. Was not able to get in the water for a warm up which I really could have used since the water was cold and I chose to go without a wetsuit this race.

Swim: off to a slow start, took about 300meters to warm up. Cold water!! As I rounded the 2^nd buoy I finally started swimming hard. The support coming out of the water was excellent.. They were calling out what place you were in as you came out of the water..(true or not it gave me a boost of adrenaline to catch the person in front on me. Overall I think I had a swim that could be improved.

Into transition.

Bike: Felt strong starting on the bike, the course was flat and fast. Initially I was concerned about the water from the earlier shower but as it turned out, there was not much water remaining on the street to make a difference on the course. I completed the two laps, there were lots of people on the course cheering… very encouraging. Loved when I Passed my husband and kids with their sign “GO MOM”!

Into Transition, no socks into wet shoes… blisters again.

Run: started off a little slow but I loved seeing the lovely Lindsay H. at the first water station misting the runners with water as we ran through. its always good to see a familiar face and a burst of encouragement …… as I ran I felt good…no pain in my leg which I was extremely excited about… I think my run was decent ... still taking it easy after an injury.

THE END_ I finished 2^nd in age group and 4^th place overall…

Great food, friends, beer, and company makes for a good race experience.