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 
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.
ReplyDeleteDave Johnson