# 198 St. Augustine Triathlon

Had a great race today at St. Augustine, Florida, the USA’s oldest city. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in what is now the contiguous United States. This was triathlon #198 so I’m getting closer to my 2023 goal of passing 200. This was a new venue along the Atlantic shoreline in a nice public park. I left home at 2:30 AM as I knew parking would be an issue and obtained a spot right in front of the transition area. After racking the Moulton, I checked out the ocean which was calm with a sand bar break about 100 yards off the beach. While low clouds blocked the sunrise, the sun broke through just before my start, so the buoys were visible in the water. It was easier to run through the shallows and then dive into the waves. I heard the tide was running south so I made sure my course compensated for that. Exiting the water, I hurried into transition and mounted up. After two quick turns, the bike course headed down the famous oceanside A1A highway. At mile 4, one of my competitors caught me. I hung with him for two miles, but he steadily pulled away. There was a stiff breeze from the west as I rode along the shoreline, and this translated to a headwind at several places. I stayed strong and averaged 18.6 mph for the 11 miles. Zipping into transition, I took off running and was surprised when I caught the guy that passed me on the bike in a half mile. We stayed together for a bit, but he was struggling, and I built up my lead. It was quite hot, and I passed several walkers who were suffering in the sun. I crossed the line with a 5k time of 30:27 for 9:49 mile splits. This garnered me a Second out of four in 70-74. Very happy! I did meet Susan Haag, the record holder for most Ironman races completed.

 # 197 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in July

Today was my 197th triathlon...sort of. Getting out to Clermont early for the second in the four race Sprint Tri Series, the sky was clear and the sunrise was nice. As I finished my swim warmup, I was standing in knee deep water, chatting with others, when rumblings began and dark clouds loomed on the western horizon. The race director delayed the start for 15 minutes and then asked everyone to exit the water. It began raining heavily a few minutes later as everyone took shelter in the pavilions.

The rain gradually ended and after another 15 minutes, it was announced that for safety reasons, the swim and the bike legs were cancelled. He said they were opening transition, so collect your run gear and the 5k leg would start in five minutes. I hurriedly ran to my bike rack, poured the water out of my running shoes, and got to the start just as the gun sounded. Running out with 220+ people is a bit unusual in a tri but everyone settled into a pace in the cool, damp air. I encountered several friends on the run and got into a good stride.

Crossing the finish line in 29:30 (9:31 splits), I collected my finisher's medal and grabbed a snack. I was scored First out of two in 70-74 Male, 80th out of 180 overall in Sprint Triathlon. My friend Heather Schulz won Female Overall with a 20:41. Other friends, Dawn Lane, Teresa Tinsley and Enrique Mercado all did well too. Got a photo with RD Fred Sommer too.

Always first!

Teresa Tinsley

Rain go away!

Rainbows give us hope

Fred Sommer

Dawn Lane

Heather Schulz