CapTex Taper Week

Monday Rest Day
Tuesday 1:05 hour tempo bike
Wednesday Travel to Dallas
Thursday 38 minute tempo run (18 min. at threshold); meetings; flight back home
Friday Rest Day
Saturday 20 minute spin on bike trainer; cleaned bike chain in prep for Monday; had a cookout with neighbors
Sunday CapTex Expo. Picked up packet and dropped bike off in transition. This year, the race is using TriTats. Pretty cool!

I'll be waking up tomorrow at 4am for my steel cut oats and honey breakfast. Transition opens at 5:30am and my race wave (40-44, M-Z) hits the water at 7:38am. Water temp is currently under 78 degrees and thus wetsuit legal. I plan to use it. Air temperature will be in the 80's at race start and the high is predicted to hit 97 degrees F. Winds are forecast at 20mph from the SSE. Pretty tough conditions. The lake had white caps when we walked by it this afternoon! The heat will require I pay close to attention to staying hydrated and keeping my electrolytes high. I also spoke to the owner of BEXRunner and he's bringing me a special cooler to keep my BEXRunner cold for use on the run. Keeping my core temperature as cool as possible is key to a successful run. In 2009 at this race, I was slowed to a crawl during the run because of the heat. I lost everything I gained from a decent swim and a 21mph average bike.

I swam a total of three times in preparation for this race, so I'm not expecting a personal best in the water. My plan is to use the swim as a warm up and just smooth it out. With any luck, all the miles I've put on the bike will lead me to a good bike time, and then it's just hoping the heat doesn't drain me too badly on the run. I'll be happy with anything under 2:45 and think it's about the best I can expect under the circumstances.

After the race, we are joining friends who are also racing at one of their homes for a cookout. Can't think of a more appropriate "recovery" session on Memorial Day.

Wish all of you a wonderful week! Kia Kaha!