100Triathlons: # 138 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in June

Sunday, June 5, 2016

# 138 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in June

Crossing the finish line!

I was looking forward to Saturday's triathlon in Clermont for 2 reasons; first it was the first real test of the new Moulton SST bicycle and I against a course I had completed 4 times last year on the AM SPEED and secondly, it was the Seminole County Triathlete's goal race for the Couch2SprintTri program. Leaving the house at 4:30 AM, I got there plenty early and was one of the first up to registration. Racking my bike, I met a new competitor in my Age Group, Robert Broeckett, AKA Brockett the Rocket. Running into Ken Junkins a few minutes later, I shocked him by mentioning that Brockett was here. He said that the Clermont Series are by far the most competitive races he competes in. With the usual Ken Junkins/James Mayer/James Best/Will Hathaway quartet to battle with, I was now looking at another very fast 60+ Male. Last year I was 4th out of 20 for the first race and I wondered what the day would bring. Kevin Casey arrived to spectate and I was fortunate to have him get some good pix of me.

The bright morning had me starting in the 3rd wave and I had a great swim. Transition went quickly and I surged out on the Moulton. The bike performed beautifully and I hit an average speed of 19.2 before the big climbs started. Reaching the crest of the big hill at mile 5.5, I sped down reaching a top speed of 38 mph. That's followed by a sharp climb where I dropped to 8! With a final average speed of 18.6 (course PR), I took off on the run. I felt great and began reeling people in. I managed to pass 2 men in my age group and really pushed into the finish. Good thing, as another guy was 7 seconds behind me. I hit the line with a time of 1:12:11, achieving a new PR by over 2 minutes.

My finish was good for 7th place out of 15. Ken Junkins beat Brockett by 1 minute and 11 seconds with a 1:03:21 for the win. James Mayer was 19 seconds back for third. I was amused that despite my previous 4th place, my 2+ minute faster time only garnered me 7th place today. The new SST performed extremely well and I'm very happy with the bike (Thank you Diane Blake!)
Heading over the the Seminole County Triathletes tents, we all gathered to cheer on our friends and especially all the first timers that were out on the course. Small groups began running in with members, cheering them along into the finish. The coaches passed out prizes to all the newbies (no more) and the newbies presented the coaches with some gifts. Under Billy Price's leadership, this club gets stronger every year.