In the Southwest Series Challenge there are plenty of great sprint triathlons to enter. I will have to say that this year the Eagle in the Sun Triathlon was the most well organized out of all the events with the best goodies bag! This a probably one of the easiest sprint triathlons to do in the series. It is fast, fun and plenty of competition to push you to your red line. I will definitely be back next year, if God is willing. If you plan on doing this event sign up early because if I am not mistaken this years event sold out in about three weeks!
This event is held at the Tigua Recreation and Wellness Center. It is a great facility that has an Olympic size swimming pool. The triathlon starts with the swim which I am not crazy about because it is time consuming having to wait for each athlete to start the race one at a time. While you are on the coarse you really don't know where you are in relation to your competitors (It is like a time trail event). Personally I like either a mass start or a wave start. I will have to say though that the swim in the pool was not crowded due to the spacing and also the wide lanes of the pool. I finished the swim in 8:55 which was over a minute fast from last years time.
I really like the bike portion of this event because it is flat and fast and you can really hammer on the pedals. Going out there was a bit of a head wind but it did not bother me much. Right when I turned onto Socorro Rd. I passed Felix Hinojosa who is a great cyclist. I was really happy to pass him and then he burst my bubble by passing me shortly after. I chased him up to the turn around point and was able to pass him again. Shortly he passed me for a second time and he maintained his lead over me but I was glad that I had someone to chase because it pushed me all the harder. I finished the bike portion of the event in 32:12 with and average speed of 22.4 mph, a great time for me.
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| Rob and I checking our results! |
Entering T2 I had a little trouble getting on my knee brace and when I finally got it on I realized it was up side down. I had already spent to much time with it so I decided just to run with it that way. Leaving T2 it took me about two minutes to find my pace which was not bad, I guess. My legs felt heavy but shortly the feeling left me and I was able to find a decent pace. This is the best run that I have had since I injured my knee back in June, running at about an 8:50 pace. At about the half way mark I spotted my buddy Rob Lovett who is also in my division and it made me pick up my pace. Rob is such a great runner I could only hope to be able to catch him. He completed his run in 25:19 and I finished my run in 27:30. Rob would place 2nd in the division ahead of me by two minutes. I have to be faster on the run to be able to hang with him, which is a problem right now with the condition of my knee (even with a healthy knee I can't keep up with Rob). The overall winner of the Clydesdale division was David Fairbanks who is absolutely in a class of his own. Even though he has the weight of a Clydesdale he could certainly beat those racing in his age group. I know that David finished in the top ten and just shy of 9 minutes over Rob Lovett, blowing the rest of the Clydesdale's away. Even though I placed fourth in this triathlon I cannot complain about my performance. I gave it my best and am just thankful to God that I can even compete.
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| Finish Line |
At the finish line all athletes were given a finishers metal that was definitely worthy of a medal just for those who placed. Also a really nice post race lunch was provided for all the athletes. It consisted of chips and a ham sandwich which really hit the spot. The athletes that placed also received top notice gifts such as a Race El Paso tote bag, a Eagle in the sun glass and a gift certificate for those finishing first in their division. Each athlete that registered received a bag from Tri Sports and a really nice technical t-shirt. This may be one of the more expensive sprint triathlons but it is worth every penny! If I had to complain about anything it would be about the cramped space in the transition area, however, with over 575 athletes it is hard to pack them all in. Gabriela Gallegos the race director really out did herself and I would really like to thank her and all the volunteers who put on one of the best races of the Southwest series. Most importantly I would like to thank God for blessing me with the ability to race.
