The Caughran Family: Sprint to the Finish

This past weekend marked the end my first Triathlon season. It was a very successful season where my training really paid dividends as the season progressed. I did two events with TNT (Lonestar 70.3 in Galveston and Nation's Tri in DC) and raised over $7,500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I did my first race on Oct 2010 with the Katy Triathlon at Firethorne. This race was just to try out triathlons since I had signed up for the 70.3 with TNT. In April I did my first Half Ironman (70.3) in 5:45 minutes. It was a fun and difficult race. I did a bunch of Sprints/Olympics over the summer. I promised the wife I would limit my racing to 1 race/month. I really enjoy racing and basically drank the Triathlon Kool-Aid.

In June 2011, I bit the bullet and invested in a triathlon bike. It wasn't cheap, but in hindsight I wish I had done it sooner. It was totally worth the money.

"The Mistress" - According to the wife because I spend all my spare time riding it.

I had some success over the summer with a few podiums and a 1st in AG at the Clear Lake Int'l Triathlon on what was the hottest day of the year. I had a few races that I was just outside of the podium but they were still good races.

After the 2011 Nation's Duathlon (The swim was cancelled)

My final race of the year and my "A" after my other "A" races earlier in the year (Lonestar 70.3, Nation's etc) was Oilman Texas 70.3. The weekend leading up to the race was the Katy Triathlon at Firethorne. I didn't really want to race the weekend before a 70.3 but it was the 1 year anniversary of my first triathlon and so I had to race. The race went really well. Last year I finished 21st in AG, this year 2nd. But second wasn't easy. There was a literal sprint to the finish with another guy for 2nd place.

I was ahead and started my kick to the finish, but he immediately started sprinting and pulled ahead.

This is us battling to the finish.

Here is where I barely pulled ahead at the finish.

After Firethorne, was Oilman 70.3. In just over 6 months I could see how much I improved in my racing at the 70.3 distance. In Apr 2011 I did lonestar in 5:45 and in Nov2011 I did Oilman in 4:59:08. Just about a 46 minute improvement. I finished outside the podium, 4th in AG and 15th overall. But I was very close to 5th in AG. This race was also a sprint to the finish. albeit not really a sprint as neither I nor the 5th place guy had much left in the tank to sprint.

This is me going to the finish with 5th in AG a few yards behind. I had just passed him.

Note: My wave started 4 minutes after the overall start, so for my time it was 4:59.

All in all it was a great season. I really enjoyed the training and racing and feel I might be in the best shape of my life. I highly recommend doing a triathlon if you have any interest. The mix of swimming biking and running really helps with injuries since you are always cross training. I am a better runner now with less running mileage so less wear and tear on my knees. I hope next season goes just as well.

Whats in store for 2012?

Jan12: Houston Marathon
Apr12: Lonestar 70.3
May12: Ironman Texas
Summer: Sprints/Olympics
Sept12: Maybe Nations
Nov12: Ironman Arizona

You can check out my race reports and training log at http://www.dailymile.com/people/DukeofTexas