Preview: Kemah Triathlon - International distance

I'm heading down to Kemah, TX for an international distance triathlon this weekend. Like a lot of Texas cities, I didn't know Kemah existed until I signed up for this event. Here's what I know: 1) It's just southwest of Houston, and with the Final Four in town, I'm sure it will make for some fun traffic. That's all.

The main reason I signed up for this event was that the international distance race, also called an olympic distance, is a qualifier for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco this summer. I had heard of the Alcatraz tri when I was younger living and living in Orange County, but always thought those people were crazy. I mean who'd want to do that? Turns out, I do.

I'm racing in the Clydesdale division for what I hope is the last time. I'm sitting right now at 204lbs and have been dropping about 1-2 pounds per week with all the training I've been doing since the end of January.

The swim course is kind of interesting. Instead of a beach start or rectangle course, the race organizers herd all of us onto a paddleboat, cruise a mile out into Galveston Bay, drop anchor, and then we jump off. From there, it's a straight line into shore. Kind of boring without any turns, but hey...free boat ride!

The bike course is pretty flat 25 miles and consists of 3 out and backs with turns, so there's plenty of opportunities to see your competition. I hear it gets windy because of how close it is to the water, and with the bike being my weakest discipline, I'm not really looking forward to it. We'll see.

The 6.2 mile run winds through a Kemah neighborhood before sending us past the roller coaster and games on the boardwalk, and finally over and back on a 10% grade bridge. With the bridge sitting at miles 4-6, this could be mentally challenging.

I've raced the International distance once before, so at least I have something to compare it to.  My goal is to beat 2 hrs 45 mins with a 30 min swim, 1 hr 20 min bike, and 50 min run. I'm a little concerned with the heat and humidity. It's supposed to be 80F and 85% humidity at the race start. Yuck.

Also of note, is the fact that there are several pro triathletes competing with me. There's no better way to measure your abilities than seeing how you stack up with Ironman winners and world champions. They'll probably be starting their run by the time I finish my swim, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys, if only in transition before the race starts.