BUFFMAN AND SQUEAKY, PART DEAUX

Three years after completing my first-ever triathlon, the 2008 Buffman and Squeaky Olympic triathlon at Buffalo Springs Lake, I completed my 12th triathlon at the same location and the same event.

My first experience was pretty awful: no wetsuit, slow bike, side cramps on the run, etc.

This experience would have been much better had the water not been 58 degrees which was WARMER than the air outside the lake. It was freezing.

My theory is that the cold water had something to do with my calves cramping up about halfway through the swim. If I concentrated on powering my kick from my hip joint and not my ankles, the cramping would go away. A twinge here...a twinge there.

When I reached the swim finish and set my feet on the bottom of the lake to stand, both calves and both groins cramped. That's never happened to me before. I had to sit there for a few seconds while the cramps subsided, then slowly walk up transition to my bike where I had to actually sit down to take my wetsuit off - calves and groin cramping all the while.

Frustrating.

I went to mount my bike and off they went again. The announcer said, "Here's Mark Rogers off on the bike...and, no, now he's OFF the bike." I had to get off the bike and let my legs stop cramping.

I didn't think I was going to get up the first big hill, which is about 100 yards from the bike mount. And keep in mind, a strong, cold wind was blowing and I'm wearing a wet, skin-tight triathlon "outfit" and no socks.

I made it up the hill without incident and had to keep it just under redline the rest of the bike as to not upset my abnormally crampish legs.

The wind was in our faces on the way out, but we had the luxury of a tail wind the last half of the bike.

I dismounted, changed into my run gear and had to run about 2 miles before I could actually feel my feet. Ended up with a decent run time of 45 minutes, considering all that was going on - and I had to stop and pee (it was so cold that none of the water I was drinking was going anywhere...I wasn't sweating).

Sprinted the last 20o meters to finish just under 2:40, 5 minutes faster than my first ever triathlon. My PR Olympic is about 2:24 but not at this venue. Any distance on that course is a killer because of the potential for wind and the enormous hills.

I'm looking forward to the Capital of Texas Triathlon in a couple of weeks (Memorial Day in Austin) where there will be little to no wind and very few hills. Maybe this race won't be unseasonably freezing.