Ironman Cozumel

OutRival Racing had five athletes competing at Ironman Cozumel on Sunday, November 28th, 2010.

Jesse Robinson finished his first Olympic triathlon last year, his first half-ironman in June of this year, and Cozumel was his first Ironman.  Jesse competed in Ironman Cozumel with strong splits in all three disciplines.  He swam an incredible 55:51 for the 2.4 mile ocean swim, biked 6:01:02 (18.6mph) for the 112-mile windy bike, and ran approximately 4:16 (or ~9:45 min/mile) for the 26.2 mile run (his splits were jumbled).  Jesse finished his first Ironman in 11:22:44!

Raul Luzardo finished his fifth career Ironman on Sunday. Raul has done Ironmans Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, and Coeur d'Alene prior to Cozumel.  Raul swam 1:13:53, biked 5:50, and ran a 4:11:06 (9:35 min/mile) marathon.  This was over a thirty minute personal best for Raul, with a finishing time of 11:25:01!

Ana Lemus had an absolutely incredible race.  She raced smart, paced herself throughout the day, and finished with an impressive 13:08:43!  Ana swam 1:16:54, biked 6:09:15 (18.2 mph) and ran 5:24:45 (12:23 min/mile).  Ana has been doing triathlons for only two years, and this was her first Ironman.  Ana has put her heart and soul into training for this race, and it showed on race day! Ana, you are an Ironman!

Coach Karen Maldonado raced her second Ironman in 2010 and fourth for her career in Cozumel.  Karen came out of the water in third place in her AG and finished in fifth place.  She swam a speedy 1:00:13, biked 5:35:32 (or 20 mph), and ran a 4:09 (9:30 min/mile) marathon.  Karen finished in an overall time of 10:53:45.  Karen races for the Mark Allen Online Elite Team.

Coach Sheri O'Keefe would probably tell you she had a very frustrating day.  Sheri's training leading up to Cozumel (her fifth Ironman) was going very well and Sheri felt extremely prepared and excited about this race.  But, it IS an Ironman and as the saying goes "anything can happen on race day."  Sheri's lower back unexpectedly tightened up on the bike and the pain was debilitating on the run.  I'm sure Sheri thought about dropping out of the race since her day was not going as planned and she was in a lot of pain.  But Sheri chose to finish the race with a slower time than she had hoped for rather than not finishing at all.  That takes courage, Sheri!  The good news is she has Ironman Texas in May, where she WILL knock it out of the park!!

Congrats also to TJ Fry and Jennifer Zambrano for their incredible racing at Cozumel.  TJ Fry had the 7th fastest swim of the day (including the pro triathletes!) and finished with an overall time of 10 hours and 12 minutes.  Jennifer had a strong race with a speedy marathon at the end.  TJ owns Swim Shops of the Southwest (an ORR Team Sponsor!) and has also been a pro triathlete and coach who espouses building aerobic fitness to improve your Ironman racing.  OutRival Racing will definitely have a swim clinic or two with TJ Fry in the Spring!  Jennifer is the president of the triathlon club in the area, Lonestar Multisport.

Congrats athletes!

Numerous photos below courtesy of professional photographer, Tracy Robinson.  You can check out her website at: {doe•ee•bird} photography for little peeps.