CapTexTri.

Racing in the Capital of Texas Triathlon (CapTex) was quite an experience. I love races that can shut down cities and allow us to compete. The swim in Town Lake involved a fun water start. The water was brisk as we jumped in, but the nerves took over and when the water would trickle down my back it felt refreshing, not uncomfortable. The swim was great. As the sun came up, it lit the city of Austin. So breathing on one side we had the gorgeous sunrise and breathing on the other side, the pale colors illuminated the buildings, trees, and roads.

Onto the bike and I should have rode the course ahead of time to really understand that not all of Texas is flat. Immediately, my legs realized that the first part of the bike is uphill. It was gradual, but definitely uphill. The thought that kept me going was that it would all be downhill at the turnaround. We rode our bikes uphill toward the capitol building. It is a magnificent monument that seems to always loom in the distance. The was my chance to get close to it. We rode our bikes as close possible and then urned and rode beside it for a few blocks. There were a few more up and down hills before turning around and beginning the descent back down towards Town Lake. The bike course followed the lake for a bit then repeated it all over again. 4 laps done and I was ready for the run.

It was 2 laps of 5km each. The first lap I tried to hang on with a 51 yr old guy from Dallas. We talked (mostly me) and I learned that this was his goal race. We pushed each other and when times got tough we really helped each other along. I was hurting about 8km into the run, but he pulled up beside me and made me forget how tired my legs were. There were more than enough aid stations with lots of great volunteers. As always, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone volunteering on race day. Everyone involved put on a great race. I would recommend this race to anyone who wants to have fun on Memorial Day in Texas!