Tony the "Caveman" Triathlete

Tony competed in his first triathlon on April 26th called the Cave Man Triathlon. It was hosted at the new Flower Mound Community Center which was within 5 minutes from our house. The race consisted of a 275 yard (11 lap) Swim, 11 mile Bike ride and 3.1 mile Run.

The day started out very early. We got up around 5:00 am so we could be at the community center for check in and set up at 6:00 am. The race started at 7:00 am. The picture below is evidence of how early we got there. It was still dark outside when he was setting up his bike and gear in the transition area.

The first portion of the race was the swim. Here's Tony swimming his heart out. He actually made great time. He mentioned that swimming in salt water seemed to be a little easier then the swimming in chlorine (that's what he trained in). His time was 6:00.5 which was a great improvement from his practice run which was around 8 minutes. His next goal is to learn how to do a "flip turn" so he can quickly kick off from wall to wall.

After the swim, he moved to the transition area and changed for his bike ride. The course was a bit challenging as it was super windy. It rained earlier that morning but luckily it stopped for the race. We were just left with high winds afterwards though.

Waving good bye as he crossed over the time blocks for his bike ride.

And he was off! Now all I could do was wait for him to return. I wish I could have seen more of the course in this portion of the race.

And he made it back. He said it was tougher for him since he was on a mountain bike and others were on road bikes. Apparently, the road bikes move quicker because of their sleek and slender tires. He did have a little bit of an advantage with his mountain bike since it was so windy it made the hill climbs tougher for the road bikes. He said that his gears and bigger tires really worked for him. His time was 53:25.2.

Now he's moving back the transition area to change for his run. Go Tony!

He ended up getting a slight cramp in his legs during the bike ride. Time to stretch them out!

You can't forget the energy boosters! Tony said they tasted HORRIBLE...but they helped.

And he's off again for the last leg of the race. 3.1 miles to go! He looked great!

Here's a shot of him running. He said he passed up a lot of people that passed him during the bike ride. He was definitely excited about that.

On the home stretch! #290 is about to cross the FINISH LINE!

And he's FINISH! His run time was 27:59.9.

WAY TO GO TONY!
They gave out Cave Man Triathlon medals for finishing the race. Here's Tony with his. I am so proud of him!

Tony and his pregnant, picture-taking wife. I was the proudest wife there! Great Job, Babe...You did it!