The Couple That Tris Together, Flies Together

Team Barrett celebrates after the Couples Sprint Triathlon!

Using a format that is unique in the sport of triathlon, teams of two, whether they be friends, spouses, or family members combine their ages and sign up in the appropriate category. Each person on the team does the entire triathlon, and then their times are combined for the overall results. One may also participate as an individual.

Combining our ages placed "Team Barrett" in the MARRIED AGE 70 AND UP category.  This is such a fun format because it gets you out of the typical 'age group' mentality and lets you start and compete in the race with your partner.

The big story of the day:  Shawn busting through with an 8:00min PR from last year for  a 1:28 finishing time!!!  At press time, TEAM BARRETT placed 6th in our "age group" and I was #1 out of 18 in my convoluted age group of W35-39 who were in the Married 70+ category with a 1:23:06 race! (confused yet?!)

The race itself was a blast from start to finish. Austin has such a wonderful triathlon community and race day is more of a party and celebration than anything else. Friends are everywhere...

 

Shawn and Richard before the race

Me with super-stud and Race Volunteer Coordinator Michelle

I'm flanked by two Category Winners, Monica and Katy! Monica (left) was our first ever running and triathlon coach back in 2001 when we trained for our first marathon and triathlon. She remains an inspiration to this day and is still out there winning hardware!

Beer is Flowing afterwards...

And T3 was out in full force! Our teammates swept one of the "Mixed" 

categories and stood proudly on the podium.

Shawn and I are both incredibly happy with our races. Word on the street is that the swim was longer than the reported 800m. People's usual times were off by 3-4 minutes. I was having what felt like a fantastic swim and totally expected to see 16-17 minutes when I looked at my watch. Needless to say, I was disappointed at first glance, but felt consoled afterward by people who had the same frustration. What the hell?! What can you do! We all swam the same course, so it's not like I got screwed or anything.

SWIM 800m

Carrie:  20:39

Shawn: 22:54

The bike ride consists of several rolling hills and a couple of steep climbs. I know this course like the back of my hand so I knew exactly what to expect. I was definitely feeling some leg fatigue on the climbs. No doubt, it's a combination of my long run the day before and just general fatigue I'm still feeling from the training and racing I've been doing this year. However, I was still pleased to see that I did about the same as last year.

BIKE  11.2 miles

Carrie: 35:48 

Shawn: 37:16

This 5k is all on grass so you have to be pretty conscious of every step. However, when your heart is beating out of your mouth, it's hard to be conscious and not throw up!  I screwed up my watch, so the first mile split was a bit of a mystery to me. I just knew I was passing a slew of people and that was good enough for me. I pushed it as hard as I could until the final hill that got the best of me. I was reduced to a shuffle to the top of the hill. Thankfully, it's also at that point that the Finish Line comes into view and the rest of the run is flat on pavement. I looked for another gear and got my ass across the Finish Line as quickly as I could...hearing plenty of T3 teammates cheering in the chute.

RUN 3.1 miles

Carrie: 22:56 (7:24 pace)

Shawn: 25:10 (8:07 pace)

I was hanging out for just a few minutes with some friends and just as I said, "I'm going to go wait for Shawn,"  I look up and he's standing right next to us with his signature post-race smile! He had such a great race that I didn't even have time to make it back to the fence to cheer him across the line! I was still waiting for my own heart rate to regulate!

TOTAL TIME

Carrie: 1:23:06  (#1 in W35-39 Married 70+ group)

Shawn: 1:28:16 (#8 in M 40-44 Married 70+ group)

After the race, we headed over to T3 Scott's lakehouse for a little relaxation!

It was a great day to be a part of TEAM BARRETT