Longhorn 70.3

Sunday marked my 7th and final triathlon of 2008. This season has been very productive for me. During the season I set several PR's and I have really surprised myself on how I have performed. My first race was the CBI Sprint in May where I did not PR due to a flat and some mechanical problems. A few weeks later I did the Silverlake Sprint where I beat my previous race time by 3 minutes. I finished off May with the Capital of Texas Triathlon where I beat my previous Olympic PR by 4 minutes on a hot and humid day. I didn't race again until August where I competed in the Clear Lake International Triathlon. This was the first year for the race and I finished in 2:07. Two weeks later I did my first Half Iron of the season competing in the PrairieMan Half Ironman. I had a cold and fever and I was still able to cut 27 minutes off my previous best. Last week I had my final tune up for Longhorn racing in the Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon and setting another PR with a time of 2:38:14 and taking almost 17 minutes off the PR I set at Cap Tex in May.

Now for my "A" race of the season the Longhorn 70.3. This was the first time racing in an official "M-Dot" event and I have to say it was a little exciting. When I arrived at packet pick up at the Sheraton Michellie Jones and Simon Lessing were in the lobby chatting. It was neat to see the pro athletes at the event. There was really cool swag in the packet pick up bag including a cool running hat and shirt. After I bought a couple things at the expo it was off to race site to check my bike in and then to the hotel to rest. One of the great things about the weekend was having the opportunity to race with Terry and Coach Liz. Both are tremendous athletes and as we were eating dinner I was thinking to myself I was just hope I can keep up with them.

My race morning started the same as usual. I woke up a little after 4 am and ate my pre-race meal of Capn' Crunch. For whatever reason it really works for me. I left for the race a little after 5 and when I arrived to the race site there were thousands of participants waiting to get on a bus to get over the transition area. There were so many people they delayed the start of the race to allow everyone to make it to the transition area. I was in the 5th wave and I was feeling a little nervous but I knew I was ready. I had an awesome swim shattering my previous swim times at this distance and coming in with a time of 36:52. I couldn't believe my time when I got out of the water. The bike course was little different than last year. Somehow they found a way to make it tougher by adding some extra hills. On top of the hills there was a horrible head and crosswind but I finished the 56 miles in 2:50:27 which matched my PrairieMan time. This was great considering the conditions. Then I was off to the run. The run course was same as last year. I wish it wasn't because there were some tough hills to run up. One hill, a very long hill, has the dubious honor of being labeled Quadzilla. Sounds fun doesn't it? The one difference from last year is that it wasn't quite as hot during the run due to a few clouds and wind. I ended up finishing the run in 2:08:22 and again I matched my PrairieMan time on a much tougher run course. The damage at the end was a time of 5:41:25 and another PR. I am still in disbelief. I expected to do well but not to beat my time from PrairieMan. To shave another 14 minutes of my PR is so sweet. On top of that I beat my time from last years race by 41 minutes. That is just insane. Needless to say I am really excited about my time at Longhorn and all my races in 2008.

Now for next season. I have tough work ahead of me with at least one but probably two full Ironman races in 2009 and a handful of other triathlons, marathons and bike rides. I need a little rest but I very excited about what I have coming up.