Howdy. Howdy from Texas.

Some folks emailed to ask me why I didn't race 5430. It was not the result of an injury, but for personal reasons. Those who knew me before triathlon know that Camp Longhorn was a huge part of my life and every year they host a weekend of 'Alumni Camp.' When you combine the number of weeks I spent there as a camper and counselor I believe it adds up to 52 weeks/one year. May not seem like too big of deal when you consider the amount of time I've probably spent watching Jeopardy in my lifetime, but it was/is. My sincerest friendships originated when I was a kid in Houston and at Camp Longhorn. They are the best kind of friends. The friends that allow you to fault.

So my stay in Boulder ended once again. It wasn't really the summer I was looking for, but I did manage to walk away with some good memories and a little fitness. I originally intented to leave at the end of August, but I was only willing to drive to Texas once.

My setup in Texas is much different from Boulder or even Clermont. Those places offer a triathlon culture. Melissa, Texas does not appear to be the next frontier for triathlon. The training is good (it was better two years ago before so many roads were worked on), but its solo. I swim with a squad in Plano, but that's the limit of training partners here in Collin County.

Its hot here. 105 in the middle of the day. That's manly weather and I should probably mention that to balance this emotionally frontend-loaded blog. North Texas (and the hill country) are in a pretty severe drought and everything is brown. Fortuntely my aunt and uncle live far enough from the heart of the DFW metroplex to avoid the heat trapping of the city. I would imagine it gets 5-10 degrees cooler at night out here with the lack of concrete.

Speaking of which, I need to get out the door before the oppression begins.

Keep it real,