Ever wonder what the athletes wear when they are racing and training? Here’s the equipment that they proudly wear.
 New Bodylink System |
 New Men’s 50 Lap Sleek watch |
 Men’s OVA |
 Data Recorder II |
New Bodylink System |
 Women’s 50 Lap Sleek |
 Women’s OVA |
Data Recorder II |
Name of Race: Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon
Date: 6/25/06
Location: Lubbock, TX
Website: www.BuffaloSpringsLakeTriathlon.com
Race type: Triathlon
Distance: Sprint (1.2m swim/56 mile bike/13.1 mile run)
# of Participants:1000
# of Spectators: about 500-800
Overall place: 9
Age Group place: 1
Amateur Place: 1
Overall Race Report:
Lubbock has to be one of my favorite triathlons. This was my 6th year in a row racing here and I enjoyed the whole weekend. Unfortunately, Nikki couldn’t come so I went with some friends from Colorado Springs. Both of my friends were going in hopes of getting an Ironman slot to Kona so we did our best and enjoyed the day.
It was a quick trip for us. We left Colorado Springs at 7:30 AM Saturday and got into Lubbock at around 4:30 PM. We checked in and made a quick trip to the grocery store…my favorite place, United Supermarkets! We then got settled into our hotel and turned in early. The next morning was a lot cooler than in years past. We saw a great amount of lightning off over Ransom Canyon, but in a way I was a little relieved that there was supposed to be a little cooler weather in the forecast. I was just simply hoping to have a good race and get home safely, as my wife and I are taking a trip to Europe later in the week!
I got down to transition in plenty of time, did a little warm up and headed for the beach. The Professional wave, which went off 1st, was packed full of bigger names such as Luke Bell and Simon Lessing. Perhaps even bigger names like TIMEX’s very own Viktor Zyemtsev and Andrey Yastrebov were there as well. It was great to see some fellow Team Timex teammates there! Personally, my goals were simply to be the top amateur as I was last year and most importantly to feel good…especially on the run! Before I knew it, my wave time had arrived, the gun went off, and I was on my way!
Swimming is usually my strongest discipline and I look forward to it in every race. I usually take the lead right away, but there was one other person that led the entire 1.2 mile swim. I managed to stay on his feet toward the beginning, but then dropped back to about 5 seconds behind him. I could still see him fairly close so it challenged me to push myself that much harder and hopefully catch him. I exited the water just behind him, however, I did see my swim time at 21:04, a new personal best for me at this distance. I have to say thanks to my new QR Superfull Wetsuit! It worked like a dream!
I then headed into T1 and felt very confident that my new bike, (Full-Carbon QR Seduza) would treat me well. I got a few sips of water, and headed out onto the course. As I looked around, I did not see any other competitors in my wave, so I must have passed the lead swimmer in transition. I also looked into the sky and did not see the sun anywhere! I guess that was a good thing, since I knew it would come out during the run….it usually does!
I was feeling really good on the bike and I know the course very well, so I knew exactly where the hills were and when to turn up the “heat” and push myself. I was getting a few time checks on the course as there are several out & backs where you can see who is behind you and how far back they are. At each one I was seeing I had a pretty big lead, which made me go even faster. I did see at the last turnaround that there was one competitor from a wave behind me that was gaining on me pretty steadily.
I just kept to my plan and tried to keep the power on. Then, I soon noticed a little noise coming from my front wheel. I did not know what it was, so I ignored it until I realized that my tire was slowly going flat! “Well,” I thought, “At least I got this far in my racing with this being the 2nd flat tire in my career!” I then got off my bike and as quickly and efficiently as I could, changed it. It took me roughly 3-4 minutes to change it. I only saw a few pro women and one age grouper pass me, but no one from my age group to my surprise. It then occurred to me that I had generated quite a big lead on my competitors!
Feeling confident, but still worried that I might get another flat, I motored back to transition as fast as I could. I didn’t catch anyone else, but was excited to run as I usually catch people running. I felt great leaving transition and was ready to go! The 1st ½ of the run went pretty smooth. I did see a dead Armadillo on the ground though which kind of spooked me out. I caught the only other age grouper that passed me when I had the flat. That boosted my confidence even more and I ran as hard as I could to the finish. I saw Viktor and Andrey coming back from the run as well and we gave each other a quick high-five. I PR’d my run there by running just over 1:21 at a 6:12 pace. I was so happy to be done! Overall, I was just behind Andrey by placing 9th place and 1st amateur and 1st in males 30-24 in 4:13. Thanks Timex for all the support and help for making this one of my more memorable races!
Professional Final Results
Tamara Kozulina - 9th
Kim Loeffler - 11th
Jess Petersson - 4th
Linsey Pickell - 7th
Age Group Results
Lisa Butler - 11th in Age Group
Melanie Valerio - 17th in Age Group
JR Rosania - N/A
