Pflugerville Tri Race Report

As the internal alarm of 4:30am went off, the morning's weather was first on my mind.  Sure, I knew it would be warm and humid but now an added ingredient.  Wind! 
We arrived in plenty of time for me to set my place up in the transition and as I was doing so, I noticed the transition area was divided into two sections with a fence running right through the middle.  H'm, I said.  I've never seen that before.  Little did I know this layout would get the best of me later.
I proceeded to the lake to do a short warmup.  The waves were really choppy from the wind and reminded me of ocean swims I'd done in the past.  Thankfully, it was only a 500 meter swim.  I was in wave 5...the one with the pink caps.  Anyhow, the swim went fairly well for me, although the constant waves from the wind made it challenging to establish any kind of rythem. Some were even hanging on to the buoys to catch their breath!  I came into T1 feeling good to be back on land but now it was time to tackle the wind on the bike.  I had just put new tires on the day before and was anxious to see how they handled the road.  The 14 mile bike course was mostly flat with some rolling hills.  Most of the wind was on the first half of the course but to my surprise, wasn't too much of a problem for me. Most of the last 7 miles was with a tailwind and super fast.  The computer read 20mph for the course as I came into T2.  Not bad, I thought.
Now remember the divided transition area?  Well, wouldn't you know it, I came into the wrong section!  There I was, looking for my gear, dazed and confused and with a fence separating me from where I needed to be!  Thankfully one of the race officials pointed me in the right direction and so I had to swing around to the other section. The damage had been done.  Despite the frustration of losing a bunch of time, I quickly racked my bike, put my shoes on, grabbed my hat and shades, thanked the volunteer, and blasted my way to the run course!  The run has always been my forte and today was no different.  I quickly settled into 6:20 pacing and caught several runners on the first mile.  The 3 mile run looped around the lake on compact dirt trail which has always been my favorite surface to run on.  As I was about a 100 meters from the finish line, a race official asked for my name so that my arrival could be announced over the loud speaker.  I guess with my number flapping around so much in the wind, no one could tell who I was!  My finish was strong and I ran right through the line and almost knocking a volunteer over in the process.
So, my overall time was 1:18:54.  I figured I had lost about 3 minutes in the transition mishap and upon checking the final results, it looks like it only cost me 2 places in the standings.  Another learning experience. 
All in all, a fun day with minimal soreness.  Next one up is the Couples Triathlon in 3 weeks and then it's on to Marble Falls the week after.

Pflugerville Tri on tap for this Sunday!

The second Tri of the year is this Sunday in Pflugerville. This one, like the last, will be a sprint distance so it'll be short and sweet!  Training has gone well lately with the only snag being that of my left achilles tendon.  I've rested it most of the week from running but the inflammation still lingers.  We'll have to see how it reacts coming off the bike this Sunday.  Needless to say, I'm running 6's....pain or no pain!

Austin is indeed....Weird.

As I was finishing an easy 5 miler this morning on the north side of Townlake, an guy slowly passes me on his bike wearing nothing but a thong!  For about a quarter mile, this was in front of me and as I watched the disturbed facial expressions of others, I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head.   "Keep Austin Weird", they say!

Today's training:  0845am Run 5 miles, easy pace on townlake trail
                          1800pm Swim 1700meters open water in Quarry Lake.

A preview of what's to come...

The event: IRONMAN COZUMEL,  a 2.4 mile ocean swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.
The date: November 27th, 2011.

On June 27th, I will begin a 5 1/2 month journey to accomplish my goal of becoming an Ironman! My base training thus far has gone smoothly as I feel stronger now then I've ever felt before. I know I will be tested mentally and physically beyond my previous thresholds, but still, I remain excited and confident in myself. All I need now is put in the work!

Hotel reservations: CHECK!
Flight reservations: CHECK!
Support crew: CHECK!

Three more weeks and it's all systems go!