# 211 Great Clermont Triathlon Sprint Duathlon

Great race today at Sommer Sports in Clermont, Florida. I decided to compete in the Sprint Duathlon rather than the Tri as the water temp was 67’f. I met friends Bill Black, Jeff Cuddeback and Dawn Lane in the Daylight-Savings-Time darkness before the races began. At the start I took it easy for the one-mile run, getting ready for the bike leg. Had a great bike ride and caught 2nd place coming into T2. I passed him about 5 minutes into the run and never looked back, finishing at 1:19:19.19 in First, 28th of 39 OA. My friend Teresa Tinsley won her age group in the Tri and picked up the Series Champion Award for 2024. Great day!

38th Real Florida 5k10k at Wekiwa Springs

Great time at the Real Florida 5k10k this morning. Getting there early, I set up my HAMMER NUTRITION table for giveaways in the crisp 50' morning air. I approached this, my 15th time at this race, cautiously, after last year's setbacks. Shot some photos at the start and began my run at the back of the group. I began pushing my pace at the 1 mile mark and began passing people every few minutes. At mile 4, I began to catch people that had been far ahead and then surged through mile 5. I beat last year's time by 16 seconds, finishing at 1:16:31; second place out of four in 10-74. Very happy with my effort! Post-race breakfast at the Vergauwen's home was fabulous and featured Hammer Gels!

# 210 Super Bowl Duathlon at Lake Louisa State Park

The first race of the year is always an unknown and never more so for me after the problems of 2024. Well, I braved a very foggy morning today to head out to Clermont and the Super Bowl Duathlon at Lake Louisa State Park. Got set up early and prepared for the first 2-mile run. The sun had burned off the fog by the start and the run course was flat and fast, but I paced my effort for endurance; 10:32 splits. I returned to transition and grabbed my bike, ready for the 12-mile course of rolling hills. I always enjoy chasing people, so this was fun and resulted in a 15.9 mph average speed: 25.8 mph max speed. Jumping into the second run, the sun was hot, reaching the mid 80s, and I pushed as hard as I could; 10:17 splits. Finished up with a 1:28:44, which is 4 minutes slower than 2024. 71st out of 93 finishers; first in my Age Group. Very happy with my efforts; now it’s time to buckle down!

2025 begins

Just received my Hammer Nutrition Legacy Athlete poster for 2025. Looking forward to a great year!

# 209 Riverbend Sprint Tri in Cocoa

Great race today at the Riverfront Tri @ Cocoa; # 209. I’ve been off for eight weeks with medical issues and the last two triathlons were cancelled by hurricane. I've done the International distance at this race four times in the past (3 wins, 1 third) but felt that was too much today. The swim portion of this race was cancelled due to the yacht harbor having sunken boats in it; a 40’ sailboat was up against the seawall right by transition. To start, there was a short run and then we took off on the breezy, rolling bike course along the river. After that was the 5k run on a flat and hot riverside course. I finished second by one minute as Paul Bier had a slightly faster bike ride. Felt great to be back!

# 208 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in August

Triathlon #208 today was a tough one. I felt great before the start and did my stretches and warmups with plenty of time. Took it easy on the swim but the heat and wind made the bike hard as my average speed was only 17.1 mph. Run time was ok but my final time of 1:21:08 was poor; ended up 5th out of 6 in Male 70-74 with an overall finish of 134 out of 216. This was a bit discouraging as my July triathlon here was so strong but I still enjoyed the race. When I start finishing 216th out of 216, maybe I’ll retire. Lots of friends racing today; Teresa Tinsley won Female Masters at 63 and Bill Black won Male Clydesdale over 49.

# 207 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in July

Today was triathlon #207, much improved over last month’s race on the same course in Clermont. I took it easy on the swim (almost the same time) but my shoulders were fine. Bike ride was 2+ minutes faster with an average of 17.8 mph; 29.2 max downhill. My run was 3 minutes faster, so my total finish time jumped to 1:16:33 from June’s 1:21:05. Ranked 4th out of 7 in Male 70-74; 117th out of 223 overall. Many friends competed too; Bill Black, Debbie Rosa, Madeleine Vergauwen, Dawn Lane, Teresa Tinsley; Ken Junkins was spectating today. Let’s see what next month will bring!