HOWDY y’all! (That’s me getting the hang of the local vernacular here in Texas).

I flew to Houston on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston. It’s a race I truly love – fast, flat, hot and humid. I won it in 2013 and was second here last year, so I obviously have some great memories.

The locals really get behind the race and there’s so much crowd support that it’s impossible not to love it, no matter how much you’re hurting.

Galveston is a small island off the Texas Gulf Coast, about 45 miles south of Houston. It’s a parochial little place, where the locals are extremely warm and welcoming, and yes, their accents still make me chuckle, despite having come to this race for the past three years.

The Texan drawl – to me, at least – sounds like something you’d hear on the movie set of a country and Western. Life is very laidback.

The pace seems almost lackadaisical compared to the Californian cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, to which I’ve grown accustomed.

The professional athletes are typically looked after by local homestay families and each year I’ve done this race, the hospitality, kindness and warmth of my homestay have been remarkable.

This year is no exception and come race day, although my family is several thousand miles away in Swindon, I know I’ll have plenty of local friends and fans all rooting for me.

It’s definitely a fun race. The 1.2 mile swim takes place in a protected saltwater bay, which could well be warm enough for no wetsuit on Sunday. Above a certain water temperature, wetsuits aren’t allowed and we wear swimskins, made solely from textile rather than neoprene, instead.

The 56-mile bike ride is fast and flat, and is an out-and-back course that runs along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The weather can be a little quirky – I remember last year, we had four seasons in one ride, with rain and fog to begin with, then the standard Texas heat and humidity.

The half marathon run is three loops around the hotel complex at which the race is staged. Like the bike course, it’s fast and flat and should be a lot of fun on Sunday.

I’m ready for a hot one and feeling good Thank you to my sponsors, including Swindon’s Morris Owen Chartered Accountants and Virtua UK, for their continued help and support.

I’ll update my Twitter and Instagram (@eklidbury) with my latest news and post a blog at www.eklidbury.co.uk soon after the race.