Post race before the rain storm
Less than a week before the most important race of the year, Armed Forces Triathlon National Championships, I decided I needed to squeeze in one more race: Lifetime Tri CapTex. I like this race because it is Austin on Memorial Day. So I get to race in my home town and honor the servicemen and women who have died for our country. I have done CapTex twice before, once as part of a relay and the other before the race was part of the Lifetime Series. I knew the race was going to be a wet one because it had been raining all weekend and Monday was no exception. In fact, Monday had some crazy down pours. Lucky for me, the rain stopped about an hour before my race. So I only had to deal with slick roads. The rain started up again after I finished, so everyone else had to race in the monsoon.
T1/T2 located in downtown Austin next to the Long Center
The race plan was to go hardest on the swim, hard on the bike and finish the run off in tempo fashion. For some reason the race did not feel as easy as I planned. There were some really good athletes and the pace went out fast. I found myself on my own after the first 200 meters. However, I did start behind everyone which did not help; nonetheless, my swim wasn’t feeling top notch from the beginning. Eventually I became more concerned with not getting passed by any Pro females who started 2 minutes behind us. It was a close call, too. I ended up swimming a 20 min 1.5 k, which is not bad for a “bad” swim. Quality pools and Vasa Ergometer workouts have played a big part in my swimming improvements.
Austin American-Statesman press coverage
On the bike course I felt like I was at a disadvantage because I chose to ride a road bike while everyone else was on a time trial bike. I made that decision because I wanted to get another race in on my Scott Foil before Armed Forces next weekend. The “disadvantage” did not prevent me from going hard and I still had a pretty good split: 63 minutes. I had a similar strategy on the bike as I did in the water – not to get passed by any of the Pro females. I was not as successful this time as I was passed by 2 of them near the end of the last of the four laps.
KEYE news interview before the race
Going out of T2 I was behind Sarah Haskins and Alicia Kaye. I thought I could pass them quickly but the first mile of the run just hurt. It felt like I was cramping in all my abdominals and my legs were jello. I prayed that I would feel better soon since this race wasn’t supposed to take much out of me. I did not push it and just waited. Finally after the first 5k, I started to feel much better, which progressed over the rest of the 10k. I got into a good rhythm and just cruised to the finish. I finished 11th Pro male. I had to put my pride aside and accept that this race was just a stepping stone to the more important race the following weekend. I had to hold back the entire race, especially on the run, in order to ensure proper recovery time leading up to the next race. Nevertheless, I know I helped honor our fallen troops and celebrate their sacrifice. As for this coming weekend, Go Army, Beat everyone else!
I'm special
I am fortunate and honored to represent the US Army and race for the US Military Elite Triathlon Team, part of US Military Endurance Sports. Racing and training is effortless and made possible by the following USMES sponsors: Boeing, Snapple, Scott, SRAM, Primal, American Classic, Osmo Nutrition, Honey Stinger, Headsweats, Rudy Projects, Xterra Wetsuits , Orange Seal Cycling and Schwalbe. I’m thankful to be serviced by and involved with my local bike shop, Jack and Adams Bikes. Team Sterghos also includes Vasa, Sable Water Optics, and Total Immersion. I’m coached and trained by Tim Crowley of TC2 coaching. Finally and most importantly, at the end of the day my heart belongs to Heather.
Brad Guide, I and Aaron Scheidies
Finish
