Milkman Race Report

 

I had never been to the Milkman Triathlon before and wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a well run race with plenty of ice cream and Honey Milk for everyone. As you might recall my last race lasted all of five minutes at the Buffman and Squeaky in Lubbock. A cramp 100 meters into the swim ended the race for me and left a bad taste in my mouth in regards to future open water swimming. I was determined to just relax and let the swim happen and not press to hard. The water was a little chilly at 68 degrees, but I decided to not wear a wetsuit and just tough it out. I had a very relaxed swim and didn’t tighten up at all. I thought I swam faster than my time of 10:02, but I guess all racers say that :)

After the swim came a 20k bike ride that was very rough. The course was pretty straight forward, but lots of bumps and very uneven pavement. Going out on the ride was fast because of a tailwind, but the return trip made us pay with a head wind of probably 10-20 mph. The later the wave you started in the harder the wind was for you. Rob, Gretchen, and Bobby all had major wind to deal with. The bike ride for me was uneventful and I felt pretty strong going into the run and I finished the bike in 36:22.

This was my first race of the season that had the run last and I wasn’t sure if I had done enough bricks to train for it, but everything went smooth. It began to heat up at the end, but I managed a respectable 22:15. I ended up second in my age group and fifteenth overall for males and seventeenth overall male and female with a time of 1:11.

Bobby and Gretchen both placed first in their age groups and second overall in the male and female categories respectively. The individuals that beat them were absolutely flying! The male champ completed the course in under an hour at 59:20!! Rob also had a strong race and finished fourth in his category and improved over last year’s race by over 6 minutes. John Gardea won the Clydesdale division with a 1:17 and had a very strong bike performance.

What really made this race enjoyable though was spending time with Rob, Bobby, and Gretchen. Those three are not stop laughs and I feel like a sponge soaking up all the triathlon knowledge I can from them. It was also great to see childhood friends Casey Vander Dussen and his mother Jane. The Vandivorts and Vander Dussens practically lived with each other growing up and some of my fondest memories are hanging out with them and enjoying each others company. Hope to see them again soon.