Sunday, May 31, 2026

A Cold Sprint - A Frigid Bike Ride

 


Texas Sprint

 

April 13, 2008,

Aquarena Springs, San Marcos, Texas

 

500 Yard Swim-14 Mile Bike-3 Mile Run

 

I wrote an article on this one: A Good Day, which more fully explains the setting and events.  But the endgame is that it was 40 degrees with a north wind at the start.  The constant water temperature of Aquarena Springs of seventy-two seemed like it would be cold as I thought about it the day before.  Now, in the cold wind, it sounded pretty good just to get in the water.  I was right. Seventy-two degrees felt like hot tub water.  The swim was amazing.  The water was more than gin clear.  As I looked down into the deep water during the swim, it seemed as if I were suspended in air rather than water, that I might fall from whatever was holding me up there. 

 

It was a muddy swim exit and a long run on bare feet, over a rock-strewn driveway and parking lot.

 

The bike course headed into the cold north wind going out on the bike. Being wet from the swim I, as well as other participants,  became very cold, very quickly. 

 

The run was a curb jumping, limb dodging affair on an unspectacular course. The people putting it on were students in the local triathlon club and I think there were doing the best they could at the moment.  It was a relatively small event and I won second in my age group.  (see A Good Day)

 

           

 

 


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