Skip to main content

2022 Brick House Triathlon

Brick House Triathlon - Sam Luna
Photo by Aaron Palaian

As usual Ben Proko puts on a really great race event at Magnolia Hill Ranch. This is my 3rd year to do a race here, and my second year to do the triathlon. This years course had a few changes from later year. A bit longer swim at around 500m, a 9 mile "gravel" bike course and then around a 3 mile run.

I didn't have the chance to check out the course prior to race morning so I was sure to get there earlier and pre ride a few of the new sections. Transition was setup "open rack". You get to pick your spot, so I grabbed and end spot to make it easy in and out.

First I headed out on the bike and noticed the sandy course, I got just comfortable enough to feel mentally prepped. Then I pre-rode the new 1st mile of the run course and was immediately bogged down with sticky sand that was DEEP. I turned around and headed over to the lake to give the bike a bath and clear off the caked on sand.

Back in transition I double checked my set up, grabbed my swim gear and then head down to the lake. I decided to go with the wetsuit over a swim skin since the water felt cold. A quick out and back to the first buoy helped to loosen up. 


Photo by David Reynolds


Swim - A little bit cooler this year at a water temp around 74, so a lot more wetsuits used this year. Myself included, who am I to pass up free flotation? I felt like I needed a bit more navigation than usual so I had a pretty good amount of heads up swimming to be sure I was on course.


Brick House Triathlon - Sam Luna Bike

Bike - This years course cut out most of the technical single track, and added in a lot more wide open fire road that was pretty sandy from the dry season this year. By far this is my weak link in the race, but slowly getting better, but getting time to have Shama Cycles upgrade my ride.

Photo by David Reynolds

Run - There was an added mile at the front of the course that took us out on some technical hilly tight turns which led to pretty slow times. the second half of the course was part of the old course from prior years. The run felt great to me. The first mile reminded me alot of the wooded section of the Ant Hills in West Houston, so I felt pretty much at home. Mile 2 is a long grinder uphill. Mile 3 has a short steep section and then a hard finish uphill as well. I had done a few hill repeat sessions so they all felt pretty strong race day.


Overall I was happy to finish 4th OA and 1st ol'man aka "Masters".



Great Photos provided by Digital Knight Productions

Labels:
Location: Navasota, TX 77868, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2025 USATF Southwest Region Masters Indoor Championships - Masters Mile at UH - A New PR!

  I’ve really enjoyed Masters racing over the past couple of years, so I was excited to hit the track again for the mile at the Yeoman Fieldhouse at UH. Coming into the race, I felt strong —training had been solid and consistent, and I was ready to see what I could do. I had a good warm-up : a couple of miles of jogging, some strides , dynamic stretches, and 4 x 150m ramp-ups to 4:50 pace to get the legs firing. Race Plan & Execution They ran the mile in two heats , and I was in the second. My goal was to go out at 4:58 pace , hold that through 1009m , and then kick it up a notch . Once I started hearing my splits, I knew I was just a touch off pace —but I didn’t panic. At 809m , I still felt in control and started gradually picking it up. Navigating Traffic & The Final Push I was getting back on track when I hit lapped traffic , which forced me to run most of the penultimate lap in Lane 2 —this ended up being my slowest lap . Despite that, I closed strong , crossing t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Part 2: World Masters Indoor Championships – Gainesville

  Race day at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida , was electric. There’s something special about lining up with the best Masters runners in the world—athletes with grit, experience, and no shortage of speed. The 1500m – Strategy & Execution Going in, I knew most of the field had seed times faster than mine . But that didn’t intimidate me—it motivated me. My plan was simple: Go out with the pack. Hold on. Respect the calf. Once the gun went off, I settled in at the back of the lead group . Right away, we were rolling— sub-5 minute mile pace from the jump. I recognized a few of the names around me, and after a couple of laps, a gap started to form between the front group and the rest of us. Another runner and I worked together to bridge the gap—we traded positions briefly, and I managed to hang on for a few more laps. Eventually, I found myself in that familiar place: no man’s land . Now it was just about survival . Don’t get caught. Stay composed. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2025 Aramco Half Marathon - A Family Affair!

This year marked Sarah’s twelfth Aramco Half Marathon, and it was a special one—it was Chloe’s first half marathon! Since Chloe qualified for Corral A , we all got to start together, which made the whole experience even better. We had a blast the night before, laying out all our race gear and making sure we were ready for the big day.  With an incoming Enzo cold front , we knew race day would be chilly —temps feeling like the 20s and plenty of wind to keep things interesting. Race Morning – The Early Grind Alarms went off at 4 AM , and we were up and fueling for the long run ahead. Once we took care of the essentials (yes, emptying the bladders is a must), we headed downtown, following our usual race-day routine. A quick walk from the Toyota Center garage to the GRB Convention Center landed us in the middle of thousands of nervous and excited runners. This was the moment it hit Chloe—this was a BIG deal. The night before, over our traditional pre-race dinner at Ciro’s , we came ...
Post a Comment
Read more