We were then treated to a very cool military paratrooper flying out of the sky with a huge Texas style American flag while the National Anthem played.
Time to get ready.
Well the swim went well, thanks to my awesome Xterra Wetsuit I was able to post the fastest overall amateur swim time of 24:15 over the 1.2 miles swim and only beat in the water by one pro. Although it was not an easy task swimming through 300+ people from the previous waves.
The bike was a scenic trip through the rolling farmlands of Texas, reminding me of riding back home in Indiana. I passed all of the amateurs by mile 10 of the bike and then spent the next 46 miles riding solo. Although it was kind of nice riding with just me and the open road. Here I am coming into T2 after the 56 mile cycling jaunt.
I am surprised I was able find my run shoes in the mass chaos known as a triathlon transition. Check out the clip below of all the bikes in T2 after the race.
The run was a two lap course with some more rolling terrain. Thanks to my off-road Xterra training it came much easier to me then I think the others there. Unfortunately, the fall weather in Colorado leading up to the race was only in the 50-60's. That being said the 86+ degree weather combined with the beaming sun led me to a very hot second lap of the run.
Even though the second half of the run got the best of me I was able to hold on to 2nd in my 18-24 age group and 29th overall including pros and amateurs in the race. I also posted my fastest time in the 70.3 distance which was pleasing considering this course was hillier and tougher than some of the races I have done in the past.
After the race it was time to celebrate Texas style. Liz and I stopped my the famous Salt Lick restaurant to get some real BBQ. Below Liz is indulging in her awesome brisket sandwich.
Of course the meal wouldn't be the same without getting some dessert. We then headed over to the famous Round Rock Donuts. I of course could not resist from getting the Texas size large donut they had to offer. It was delicious and I can't believe I ate it all. We also could not decide on what flavors of donuts to get so we of course got 4 kinds to take back to the hotel for breakfast the next morning.
To shake off the week's worth of calories we decided to head to the downtown Lance Armstrong owned bike shop knows as Mellow Johnny's. What a cool place, it was like a bicycle museum, famous bikes from the past including Lance's winning tour bikes. There was plenty of team RadioShack, Livestrong, and Mellow Johnny's bike products to go around. We snapped a couple pictures of Lance's cancer awareness Team Unity Trek bikes that he raced in the Tour de France this year. Don't worry Liz was happy too being at the bike shop because there is a built in coffee shop know as Juan Pelota Cafe.
Well after all of the fun it was time to head back home to Colorado. We snapped this cool picture of the downtown Austin skyline on our way to the airport.
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