Finally!

Hey there, sports fans!

Yes, it's been a horribly long time since posting anything here. Part of it is my fault (got busy, sorry), but part was due to changing Web servers and never getting around to setting up the Blog password stuff. So, again, sorry 'bout that. On to business.

Tri season is well under way for me. I raced Gulfman way back in April to lackluster results (cramped on the bike). However, the race was intended to use as a benchmark for what happened with my fitness over the winter. In spite of the cramp, fitness level was good and has continued to be such. Finish time for Gulfman was 5:22:13, ranking me 63rd out of 140-something competitors.

Next up was Capital of Texas this past Monday (Memorial Day), in Austin. An Olympic-distance race, things went almost as expected...except that I didn't bring my wetsuit, and the water was @#%* freezing (73°, technically, but still pretty damn cold). After struggling to get warmed up for ten minutes and change, I managed to be #119 out of 147 in my AG out of the water. Twenty-five miles of cycling later, I was #13 -- and that was without use of the 404s (I elected to not use them, given the technical layout of the course and my limited cornering experience on deep-dish rims -- and A---'s story of wiping out on the course on similar rims still rang in my ear). I faded a bit on the run, but still managed a 45th place ranking in my AG and 229th OA. With 1116 athletes crossing the line, I'd say that's not too shabby for a B-level race.

Another Half IM looms on the horizon, though, and I am again behind on my training. Buffalo Springs is in less than three weeks and I am in some serious need of swim time. If I can drag my arse out of bed in the morn for a trip to the gym, I'll work on some drills for an hour or so. In any event, I plan to make it out to Boerne Lake a few times before heading to Lubbock. K---- had mentioned something about swimming in Austin this weekend, too, so we'll see what happens.

Much has also been happening outside of my little tri-verse, too, but that's another topic for another time. For tonight, I just wanted to get something posted. Don't mention it.

As always, thanks for reading. I'll try to do better about getting content up here on a more timely basis.//d