Cotton States Triathlon Race Report

I competed in the Cotton States Triathlon on Saturday, August 12, 2006. This was a sprint triathlon with a 1/4 mile swim, 18 mile bike, and 5K run. This was my second triathlon, having completed my first (the Sunfish Triathlon in Meridian) just over a month ago. One hundred and three athletes and three teams turned out this year for the event organized by the Ladies Junior Auxillary of Lake Providence. In all, it was a well organized race with excellent race support, course marking, and a scenic course. For those who are unfamiliar with Lake Providence, LA it is a very rural farming community in the northeast corner of Louisiana just a short distance from the Mississippi River. It was a very flat course, both the bike and run, and the swim occurred in Lake Providence just a few miles out of town.

The race began at 7:00 AM with heavy clouds and an overcast sky. The 30-44 year old males where in the first wave, the other men in the second wave started 5 minutes later, and finally the women started 5 minutes after that. As with the Sunfish Triathlon, despite months of swimming and training in the pool, I continue to struggle in the open water. For some reason once I get into the swim for a few minutes, I lose my breathe and am unable to get it back. The most important thing I've learned about triathlons is that just keep moving forward. Despite poor form I just kept swimming and somehow managed to finish the swim near my personal best for a 1/4 mile in the pool (9:48).

My transitions were much improved this time around. My biggest set back came on the bike, as the road was a little rough going out. I ended up bouncing both my water bottles out their cages and loosing both of them in the first three miles without ever getting a drink from them. Once again, I just kept moving. I would later suffer through some cramping in my back and sides over the last part of the bike and all of the run. After about 6 miles out, you could see lightning off to the north and heavy rain clouds. The clouds kept the race cool for the most part, with temperatures only in the mid 70's. I basically maintained my position on the bike other than getting blown away by 2 rocket ships from the second wave that must have been going 26-28 mph. Despite the flat course, headwinds over about 1/3rd of the course made the bike a struggle at times. With about three miles left on the bike and just short of town, the clouds let loose a fury of stinging rain. Without the transition time included in the bike, I managed to complete the bike with an average speed of 20.3 mph.

I pushed on to the transition area despite the rain, dumped out about a 1/2 inch of rainwater sitting in my running shoes, and took off for the 5K run in the rain. If anything I think the rain was a benefit to me, as I was able to stay more cool than I would have probably been. I began to get severe cramps in my feet, back, and side. I got to an aid station, guzzle a cup of water and pressed on. The second half of the run improved and I was able to pick it up some. I finished the run with an average pace of 7:34/mile, much improved my run in the Sunfish Triathlon. I think maybe I'm starting to get used to that rubber-legs feeling you get when you try to run after the bike. After the race, I found my bike with a flat rear tire! I'm thankful that it held together long enough for me to finish the bike!

I finished the race in a time of 1:29:59, 42nd overall and 5th in my age class. I was thrilled with the results and hope I can continue to make more progress. The overall winner of the race, John Noblin, is sort of a local Lance Armstrong as this was his 7th consecutive victory. Congrats to him and the rest of the age class winners! See Results

Transition from Swim to Bike

A Rainy Finish

One Tired Daddy and his Cheering Section