# 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

# 98 Clermont Sprint Triathlon #1

June 12 was the start of the Clermont Sprint Tri series, put on by Fred Sommer of Sommer Sports. Fred pretty much started triathlon in Central Florida (and the Tri-America series across the USA). He also puts on a 1/2 Iron-distance tri in September and a full Iron-distance in October. These 4 sprint tris are held several weeks apart on the same course, which is great if you are tracking your splits and looking for improvements. I did my first tri in Florida at one of the Clermont sprint events in 1994. Interestingly enough, I drove my first auto race in Clermont, Indiana. The waterfront park in downtown Clermont is a great venue and Lake Minneola is rated "pristine waters". The area around these events is quite hilly with some really big hills, Sugarloaf, Grassy Lake, Buckhill Rd., nearby.

This race had an entry list of over 400 with 11 in my age group, 55-59. My old nemesis, Ken Junkins, was there (we first competed in 2005) and blew the field away as usual, finishing in 1:01:33. You can read about Ken at the Facebook page his daughter created: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Incredible-Ken-Junkins/332767313666

John Holloway and I battled back and forth on the bike leg with me in third exiting T2. But he passed me about 1/2 mile into it with a blistering run and finished 1:20 minutes ahead of me. I came in 4th out of 11 with a 1:10:03. My top downhill speed was 38.4 followed by a long climb at 9 mph! Another great race!

# 97 Ocean Deck Triathlon - Daytona Beach

Great race today! This is a low key race, utilizing an all beach format. Held at the Ocean Deck bar right on Daytona Beach, you must have a mountain bike or beach bike to compete. My old Softride hybrid has 1.5" tires, so it worked well. The transition area is set up on the beach too so you don't have far to go to complete each leg. I did decide to bike in my running shoes, so I switched the Shimano cleats for regular pedals with toeholds.

The ocean was much calmer than last weekend and I had a great swim followed by a fast downwind ride north reversing course into a headwind going south for a total distance just over 8 miles. It's interesting weaving around the soft spots in the sand (you can drive your car on Daytona Beach) and the early morning tourists. The run was a quick out & back 5K down the beach. My finishing time was 1:08:27, nearly 3 1/2 minutes faster than last year's 1:11:59, good enough for first in 55-59! My training seems to have paid off as my times keep dropping.

I met some nice people doing there first tri's, Joe Evans and Dave Johnson. Joe got a 3rd in his age group, which always entices people to keep competing. I think I'll see him at future races.



Joe Evans readies himself for the ocean swim.