I’ve done an average-at-best job about keeping you, the people of the Internet, up to date on my triathlon lifestyle.  Case in point, I’m signed up for the CapTexTri this coming Monday!  Less than a month ago I decided it would be worthwhile to get a sort of training “status report” by doing an early-season race.  Now that race is here and I’m actually really excited about it!

Two years ago I took on the CapTexTri sprint distance with moderate success.  Now I’m signed up for the Olympic Distance.  The swim, which is 1500 meters, loops around Lady Bird Lake.  The latest report is the water temperature is 69*.  That makes it wetsuit legal, which at the risk of overheating, means I’ll be wearing a wetsuit.  The bike course is a six-mile loop around downtown, completed twice for the Sprint and four times for the Olympic totaling about 24 miles.  It’s a rather technical course (90-degree turns, hairpins, laps), so I’m not sure how I’ll fare.  Last up is the run, which is two laps of the 5k course (6.2 miles total).  I had a great run when I did the Sprint.  Hopefully I can repeat that this time around.  As for the weather, well, it’ll be warm, but that’s no surprise.

So what am I expecting time-wise?  For the swim, if I could be out of the water in 30 minutes, that would be huge. The bike is going to take well over an hour.  Let’s say an hour and twenty minutes.  And the run will hopefully finish up in less than forty-five minutes.  Tack on seven minutes for transitions and we’re looking at a potential total time of two hours forty-two minutes.  Can’t wait for the first tri of the season!

Game on!

The Capital of Texas Triathlon took downtown Austin by storm on Memorial Day.  I registered just two weeks before for the Sprint distance, figuring the Olympic distance would be too much for my second-ever tri.  Compared to the Rookie Tri this race felt like the big leagues.  There was serious prize money ($12,500 to the winner), pro athletes, and plenty sponsors and vendors.  It also had more than its share of breakdowns and issues, but I won’t get into that here.  Here’s how everything went for me as I’m still trying to find my way in this whole triathlon jungle.

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Well it’s already race week for the Cap Tex Tri!  That came around pretty quick, but I suppose that’ll happen when you register 17 days before the race.  First I need to remind you (and myself) that the race is on Monday, Memorial Day, and not Sunday.  So don’t go sending me all those “good luck” texts, tweets, facebook messages, voicemails, candygrams, Tiff’s Treats*, or anything of that nature a day early.  So race week means take it easy, right?

get your game face on

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