100 Triathlons
Go to the early blogs to read how I got into triathlons. Click on any picture to enlarge it. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." Theodore Roosevelt 1910


Sunday, June 20, 2010

# 99 Tigershark Daytona Sprint Tri #1

Big day today with #99! My wife & number one fan Sandy rose at 4:00 AM to accompany me to the first of the Tigershark Series of Sprint Triathlons. The races increase in distance over the series of three. I spent a bit of time checking out my four competitors online (which became three when one decided to compete as a Clydesdale) since I had never raced against any of them before.
Jack with Jan Thompson





Howard Montgomery & Jack


The weather was crystal clear, 74 degrees, no wind, with a calm Atlantic Ocean at the start. As low tide was 60 minutes after the start, it was a 100 yard dash off the beach to water deep enough to swim in; it was also 72 degrees! I had a good swim (after another 100 yard dash out of the water) and headed north on Rt. A1A on the bike. I warmed up after several miles and got up to 21mph for a while, pushing my average to 20.4 for the bike. The rough pavement on A1A kept my speed down and I felt I could go faster.

Since I had not seen any of my fellow 55-59 racers, I took off immediately on the run down the hard-packed sand of Daytona Beach. I was running strong and felt great the whole 5K, finishing it in 26:17, with an overall time of 1:02:14. When the results were posted, I was stunned to see I had won by a margin of 7:01! So much for my pre-race concerns. As usual in sprint tris, the rule is just hammer the entire event.
I did run into Joe Evans again after another great 4th place in only his 2nd triathlon! Also saw Jan Thompson (Maddog #27) win her 65-69 age group; her son Andrew picked up a second in Clydesdale. Also met a great ex-marine and current fireman, Howard Montgomery; he'll be in my age group next year (uh-oh!).
Jan, Ashley, & Andrew Thompson

1 comment:

  1. Congrats on 100 Jack. I had the pleasure of meeting you and lining up next to you for the my very first tri at Daytona.

    Dave Johnson

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