Sunday Morning at 4am Cathy arrives at my house and we load her gear in the van, mine was already in from the previous night. Drive to the race site, where we were some of the first ones in transition. Got marked and bikes checked and setup in transition and then waited for over an hour for the race to start, this gave us time to meet up with Jack, Tamara, and Jenn and get in a nice short swim. Jack and Gene are in the second wave of the swim with about 125 other men 30-39, the water was nice and cool. I didn't get to nervous before getting in the water, the nerves set it once I started swimming though, I just moved out to the left of the pack and let as many pass me as wanted to. A kayak did get in my way once I got to the first buoy, I guess he though I needed help but I just let him pass and kept moving to the second buoy using what ever strokes would get me there and not get me to tired. I just kept moving through the water while seeing others rest on the buoys and kayaks. I made it out of the water without issues and I felt I was ready for the ride, so I ran up to transition and made sure I clipped my helmet before I grabbed my bike. As I left transition I saw Jenn leaving at the same time, this would be the last time I would see her till the finish line!
The ride was for sure in the Texas
hill country and was very breezy, As I made the turn around Cathy passed me! I was ready for the climbs back up the hills we had just come down, they all went well and I managed to get back to transition faster then I had the week before. It was starting to get hot out and I still had the run to complete! My transition from bike to run went very well and I was out of the gate running at a nice pace that I hoped to keep up the whole 3 miles. That did not happen I did find myself walking a few times but I knew I was going to finish the race and become a Triathlete! The turns seemed to never end on the run but as I approached the finish I could see it through the trees and this gave me the extra push to run faster, as I came out of the trees to the finish line I started to sprint and almost tripped but kept upright and crossed at 2:11:51!
I did have a good time at the race and look forward to the next one, as well as making improvements and bettering my times. I know I still need lots of work in all the areas but I know I can finish!
