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.