Belgium and The Netherlands

I took a trip to Belgium and the Netherlands with my parents and aunt in March. I don't know why I haven't brought myself to write a post about it yet. It's not like it wasn't a great trip, or I haven't had any time. I guess I just couldn't find an angle to it that would make it so it wasn't completely boring to write, let alone read. And now it's been two months, and it almost seems like it's too late. So I'll slapdash something together, first the basic itinerary, then some thoughts on various topics.

American Lung Association Fight For Air Climb

Today I did the Fight For Air Climb, a big fundraiser for the Austin chapter of the American Lung Association, and a race up the Frost Bank Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Austin. I've wanted to do one of these for a while, but this is the first time I actually did. I did very little training specifically for this event, so fifth overall in a time of 4:01 is a pretty good result in my book.

Shiner GASP / The Rookie Tri

This weekend, like last year at this time, I overdosed on sports and sacrificed sleep by cycling 100 miles on Saturday and volunteering for a triathlon on Sunday. The ride was the Shiner GASP, and the race was the Rookie Tri. Both were great events, but some day I'm going to have to learn how to have a relaxing weekend.

Republic of Texas Triathlon

The Ides of April. Other than normally being tax day, it doesn't have quite the portent as the Ides of March. While I would hardly call this April 15 doomed, it certainly didn't go as originally planned. The plan was for a half distance (70.3) triathlon at the inaugural Republic of Texas Triathlon Festival, which is something of an outgrowth of the Corpus Christi Triathlon I did last year. However, due to dangerously high winds, the swim had to be cancelled (as it was Saturday for the sprint distance race), and a 6-mile section of the bike course over the harbor bridge had to cut out. Also, for reasons that weren't explained, the bike turnaround was moved, cutting out five mile from each of two loops, making the course a total of 40 miles. The run course was unaffected, and remained two ~6.5 mile loops. I was kind of disappointed about not having the swim, I was hoping to show off the work I've done in the pool since Longhorn 70.3 in October, but as my time still wouldn't have been all that competitive, I wasn't devastated. Plus, it would have been my first time really swimming in salt water, which I was a bit nervous about, and didn't have a chance to attempt on Saturday afternoon when I got into Corpus due to high winds (making very rough seas). So, while I didn't have the day I might have had with calmer weather, I was pleased to at least average over 20 mph on the bike (which I so narrowly missed at Longhorn), and had my best half marathon time so far in 2012 (but far from my PR) of 2:34:11, for a total time of 4:34:57. Beyond my personal performance and a couple of minor gripes, it was a very good, well run event, as all High Five Events I've done have been.

Blue Norther Duathlon

Once again, I did a race I probably would have been better off skipping. If I hadn't registered back in January, there's no way I would have. Still recovering from the knee injury, suffering from a stiff neck the past few days, plus rain and daylight savings time, it would have been easy to stay in bed this morning. But I got up and did this race, and I actually felt pretty good about it. I'm a little disappointed I didn't beat my time from last year, and even worse I don't think I beat my bike split (I don't have clear data) despite a year with the bike and race wheels. I am pleased, however, that I was able to run more than I have cumulatively since 3M, with little complaint from my knee. I'll blame my 1:38:36 being 1:35 slower than last year on the light rain during the first run and half of the bike.