Today was the last and longest of the 3 Tigershark Daytona Beach Triathlons. I signed up at the last minute due to an erratic tropical storm in the eastern Carribean Sea that appeared to be heading towards Daytona a week ago. But it changed course and dissipated so the stage was set for a great race. Rob Wallace of Tigershark stages 3 tri's a month apart during the summer, each one longer than the previous. Today's was the final, with an 800 yard swim, 15 mile bike, and a 4 mile run on the beach. The announcement that the swim would be wetsuit legal at 77'f was greeted with cheers and groans in transition early Sunday morning. Since the temp was 81'F yesterday, most people left their wetsuits at home. However, when we hit the water at the start, the water felt more like 70' ! Surf was OK with waves about 2 feet high and I finished the first leg in 19:57. By then the sun was up and the bike ride on A1A was fast, covering the 15 miles in 44:00, for an average of 21.0 mph. After a quick transition, I headed down the ramp to the beach for the 4 mile run. Heading south, the course was a simple 2 miles out and 2 miles back along the shoreline. Passing morning strollers (coffee in hand) and the early sunbathers dozing in their chairs, I pushed hard for a finish time of 35:05, averaging 8:46 per mile. Total time was 1:42:05, which gave me a 1st out of the 5 in my age group.
Also at the race today was the founder of Seminole County Triathletes, Billy Price (photo above), along with members Deanna Abdin (photo right) and Tim Rowand. Everyone had a great time battling the cold water and hot sand today.
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