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.

What I think about hours before I have hours to think

I'm pretty sure that my first Olympic distance triathlon this Sunday will take me about 3 hours. That's 3 hours of me pushing myself to keep moving forward. What do I think about for those 3 hours? I dunno...I'll probably be singing to myself the whole time. I find music in my head helps me zone out from the little lazy complaints and uncomfortabilitiesthat happen in a race. You know, those little things like: It's hot. My right shoe is tighter than my left shoe. My race jersey feels like it's pulling on one side. Sweat just dripped down my sunglasses and I can't see. Where's that smell coming from?

But that's just 3 hours. I have 48 hours to think until then. Sorry, but my mental playlist isn't that long. Here's what's running through my mind for the next 2 days:

• Did I pack all my gear? I'm trying to visualize each segment and do a full body scan of the things I'll need: swim, transition, bike, transition, run, finish, eat, sleep.


• Am I lost? I need to print out directions from my house to the hotel, the hotel to the expo, and the hotel to the race start.


• What am I eating? Pre-race/in-race/post-race...there's a lot of eating involved. Do I have enough?


• Was my last workout too hard that my race will suffer? I did a short ocean swim this morning. My legs are a little tired from yesterday's bike ride. Should I jog or let them rest?


• Am I doing anything new for the race that I haven't done in training? I've used my equipment, I'm eating the same stuff. I think I'm good...I think.


• What stupid newbie thing will I do to embarrass myself? It's my first time, please be gentle.


• How do I set up a transition area? I've talked to someone about it, but haven't actually laid one out yet. Hmm. Looks like I just hit the previous 2 bullet points square on the head. Guess I'll just cheat off the guy next to me.


• Are there hills that I don't know about? I should probably check the elevation charts or even better, see if I can still drive the course.


• How awesome is finishing my first race going to feel? Pretty frickin awesome.

I'm typically not much of a worrier. Things happen and you deal with it. Maybe having these thoughts just means I'm really excited. Yeah, I can already tell this is going to be fun.

Strawberry Fields Olympic Distance

This weekend I'm heading up to Oxnard, CA for the Strawberry Fields Olympic Distance triathlon. It will be my first time doing this race (a 1 mile swim in a sometimes wild Pacific Ocean, a less than leisurely 24 mile bike ride through strawberry fields, and a 6 mile run along the beach) and from the looks of it, no surprising monster hills await.


From what I've heard, sometimes the surf can get out of hand, but overall it's designed for some PR fun! With 6 days until the race I'm tapering and emptying out the carb reserves. Refueling starts Thursday.