Clear Lake International Triathlon and Other Training Notes

Saturday August 22nd I did my 2nd Olympic Triathlon of 2009. This was a pretty flat and fast race and I had a good day.

Norms and I just got to the race site right before transition closed. It was tough to get parked and we had to rush to get set up. As I made my way to the swim start I was still nervous but I knew I would be OK. When I was entering the water I kicked a rock with my left foot which put a small cut on my big toe but it didn't hurt too bad. A few minutes later I hit my left elbow on a rock which did hurt. As the swim started another racer grabbed my left leg and pulled my timing chip off. I put it back on but it fell off again which pissed me off. It was not the start that I was looking for. I ultimately swam with chip in my left hand which didn't help my already slow swimming. Despite swimming with the chip in my hand I had an OK swim time of 34:43. I'm sure I would have done much better if I had not had the chip in my hand.

As I got on my bike I felt pretty good. I got on the bike course only to find my computer not working. I didn't let it bother me but I would like to have had it. There was one big hill at the beginning of the ride but it was primarily flat. The ride was good until the Olympic riders merged with the Sprint group and then it got a little crowded. All in all it was a good bike course and I had great time of1:07:28 which was 22.1 mph average.

As I left transition on the run I was feeling good but I didn't know how I would finish. The temperature was starting to rise and as I reached mile 2 I was fading. I kept pressing and as I made the turnaround at mile 3 I saw Audree and I thought it was just a matter of time until she caught me. I kept going and and as I hit mile 4 I realized I was going to have a decent time. I knew that if I could pick up the pace I might actually set a PR. I was running the last 2 miles as fast as I could. I had nothing left but I pressed on. As I came down the home stretch I knew it was going to be close. My run time was 52:40 and I left it all on the course.

The final tally was 2:38:57 which was 43 seconds slower than my PR. That was tough to swallow but I'm still very happy with my time. I was looking to PR so it all worked out well.

Overall, my training is going well. I had a long run on Saturday and long ride on Sunday. I do have a couple of nagging injuries. I have a very sore calf and I have sore back but it has not stopped me from training. I feel like I'm on track for Cozumel.

My next race is the Prairieman Half Ironman in Dallas on September 13th. I may have an announcement on another race I might do in September. I will let you all know soon.

Sorry for the brief update but I have been super busy at work and I have not had much time to update this Blog. As a matter of fact I have to hurry because I have to go back to work. Later!

Training is still going well. I had a good weekend of training last weekend and I plan on getting in a long brick in this weekend. I am a little concerned about the next couple of weeks. I have a very tough work schedule that starts with a trip to Austin on Sunday and 2 weeks of meetings. In addition I have an Olympic Triathlon on the 22nd in Houston and a Half-Marathon in Dallas on the 23rd. I know it will be tough but I think I should be able to make it. Unfortunately this is real life when training for an Ironman.