XTERRA Muleshoe Bend Off Road Triathlon : Official Thread

I'll be doing this race as well though I've never been there before.  AustinBike.com has some info on the trails at Muleshoe bend with photos and a shaky video:

http://www.austinbike.com/west-of-austin/115-muleshoe-bend

My advice is to make sure you get out there at least the day before and pre-ride the course.  I don't know how comfortable you are on the mountain bike but while pre-riding keep an eye out for good spots to pass, technical sections where once you bobble it may be faster to run, and simply how fast you can go while still keeping the rubber side down.

For the race itself the swim should be just like any other swim.  I'd say that many of the folks doing XTERRAs are strongest on the mountain bike so depending on when you come out of the water and how good your mountain bike skills are you may find yourself getting passed or trying to pass people.  I'm pretty slow on the swim and spend most of the bike trying to catch people to pass.  Passing is pretty easy you simply let the person in front know you want to pass and wait for a spot that you can squeeze by "on the left" or possibly "on the right".  If someone wants to pass you just make a little room and hold your line.  I wouldn't say I'm a fast runner but judging by my splits it seems to be my strongest leg.  I think people burn most of their energy on the bike and forget to save some for the run.  It is quite common to see folks walking up the hills, and on some courses you may find yourself doing more "scrambling" than running.  My strategy is usually just to keep a slow "jog" up hills and let my legs carry me on the downhills.  Watch your footing and keep moving and you'll do great on the run providing you still have some in the tank.

I've never done any road triathlons but XTERRAs are pretty laid back.  I'd get there the day before pre-ride, camp out and meet some people.  After the race hang around and share some stories about how much fun you just had.