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

My wife is also trying out tri's with TNT. This is her with our honored teammate Luca.

You can follow her progress at http://www.dailymile.com/people/LisaC31 and donate to her page at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/lavatri12/lcaughran

Halloween 2011

Halloween just past and for someone that has given up candy, it is a difficult holiday. I gave up candy for Lent in 2010 and I have only had candy twice since then. Once for a church social that we had a competition that included m&m's and if you know me, you know my competitive side over takes me at times. So I had forgotten about my ban of candy until after the competition. The second slip was also in competition. At mile 22 of the Disney Marathon they were giving out herseys and I was starting to struggle and that sugar was just what I needed. I also gave up Soda but will drink a coke in the late stages of a race as it is considered magic fuel in marathons and Ironmans. I haven't done this but I wont rule it out if I feel I need it.

Yes that is a Guinness in Nolan's hands (unopened) He really impressed that first house and the dad gave him his "candy" from the Fridge.

We had a very nice Halloween this year. We had a super hero theme. Little Colin was Spider-man. Nolan was Wolverine, Lisa was the Flash (I think she mixed up what flash meant when she bent over to pick something up at one point) and I was also Spider-man.

I mean we both go by Colin why not both be Spider-man.

Colin really embraced Trick-or-Treating this year and we went with a group of friends. He was all about getting the candy. Since I am not a big fan of Sugar, we picked out a few of his favorites and I took the remainder of the Candy to work to share with co-workers. He did not like this idea. He was like "What are you doing with my Candy? Those are my chocolates!" So we had to put the bag back in his trick-or-treating bucket until after he went to bed. I also took out 5-6 pieces for Lisa.




I was forced to pull an empty wagon all night since the little ones jumped in the other wagon and the older kids decided they would get more candy if they walked.
What a cute Wolverine and lady bug/butterfly. Next year Nolan is going to be a Honey Badger.

Horses

A good friend of ours had a birthday party at the Police horse barn. Although it was a billion degrees out, the kids had a great time seeing and feeding the horses. Nolan loved them and Colin liked to look at them but was not a fan of touching them.

Here are some pics.

Here is Colin petting the first horse.

Here is Nolan petting a horse.

Nolan is in love.

After more aggressive horses, Colin isn't as happy to pet them.

Nolan getting some love from Clyde.

Run in with the LAW!

Fall Creek has a nice little park that hosts a concert every Friday night in May. This year we really made an effort to go to each one since the boys love it so much (The boys missed one though). Well i can't say the music was the best, but the atmosphere was great. The kids run freely, dance, play etc. People would bring glow sticks/rings and the kids loved them.

Here are a few pics of the boys at the park.


Well one night at the concert, Lisa asked me to get something from the car. When I got back, a Police officer was at our spot in the grass with Colin. It turns out, Colin wandered off, got lost and went to the police officer to help him find his mommy. We were proud of him for knowing to go to the cop. The cop even gave him a sticker.


Later Colin made a new friend and they played like crazy. They would run through the woods and bushes like animals. We ran into his friend again at Chick-fil-a and they got their faces painted.

After this photo, they went to the playground and played "Spider-man" which basically entailed them beating the $$$$ out of each other up for 20 minutes. I have a video of it on Lisa's phone that I will try to post. (not sure if I can). Amazingly they were laughing the whole time.

The pool is also now open. Colin and Nolan love it and Nolan likes to attack Colin in the water (with Mommy's help).

Bhardwaj Wedding

This past weekend Lisa and I headed off to Norfolk Va to attend my Friends Jason and Shweta's wedding. We left the kiddos in the hands of my mother in law (Thanks MEEEmmmm).

The weekend started a little rocky when I realized that I had booked the flight out of Hobby and back to IAH. Luckily Jackie took the day off and was able to take us to the Airport and pick us up afterward. whew (thanks meeeemmm).

We arrived, got our rental and headed to the Hotel. Along the way we took a long tunnel and I thought Lisa was going to lose it from the flashing lights and she was driving. Luckily she held it together.

We met up with all the Duke friends for dinner then off to get drinks (on the grooms tab). They had "Virginia is for Lovers" Trucker hats for everyone. So we sported them all night.

Lisa pumped me full of water so I would feel good the next day since I had planned to run with the Groom in the morning. Her plan kind of worked. I wasn't hung over, but I was up every hour going the bathroom.

The next day we hung out and almost got chlorine poisoning from the Hotel hot tub. Then it was time for the wedding. Here are some pics. This was my first Indian wedding and it was quite enjoyable.

This is the Groom wedding procession.

The Wedding Party

The last few minutes of Jason being single.

The bride and Groom

Our trip back was pretty non eventful. It was a good trip, and Lisa and I were glad to be back home with our boys. Lisa was all about every one's little babies. On the plane, in the airport, at restaurants, everywhere. She really missed Nolan and was trying to get her baby fix.

Colin's 3rd Birthday party

Well Colin turns 3 on Thursday the 19th. (I am almost 10 times older than him). This past Saturday we had his birthday party. It was a Spiderman themed party. Not sure where he heard of Spiderman but he is his favorite character now and we have found some Spiderman cartoons on Netflix for him to watch.

He had a Spiderman jump house, a Spiderman pinata, Spiderman cupcakes and cookies, and all the other Spiderman themed items from Party-City (plates etc). Lisa set up the night before and each time he saw something with Spiderman he got excited. e.g. "Wow a Spiderman table!"

All and all it was a great party. Great friends, great weather and I didn't have to be Spiderman (Thanks to Nick). Of course he snuck up on Colin and scared him.

Here is a link to the pics my mom took at the party.

Now you might ask what did he get for his Birthday. Well tons of the normal stuff like presents, toys, clothes, a power wheels jeep, but Daddy got him the best present of all. After the party Daddy smashed Colin's finger in the car door. Luckily it didn't cut it off (like his mom's finger) and hopefully it will be alright. I did kiss his a$$ the rest of the day. Hand fed him an Ice Cream sandwich, got him a new toy car and let him stay up late watching Spiderman on the iPad in our bed. Well I still feel terrible about it.

Spring

Well although Spring is in full swing, it feels like summer here. Here are just some tidbits from the spring.

Took the boys to get pics at the Bluebonnets in Kingwood.




I did a couple Triathlons. An Olympic distance is Austin (1500m swim, 26mi bike, 10k run) and a 70.3 Ironman in Galveston (1.2mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run). Here are some pics.
Got second place in my age group. Although days later with the official results I was no longer 2nd, but I got the 2nd place pennant.
This is me coming out of the water during the half Ironman.


Colin and I also went Kayaking at the G-Parent's in Kemah.