100 Triathlons
Go to the early blogs to read how I got into triathlons. Click on any picture to enlarge it. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." Theodore Roosevelt 1910


Saturday, July 14, 2012

# 115 Moss Park July 14 Olympic Triathlon

Today was the 2nd Olympic tri of the season at Moss Park in Orlando.  Upon arriving in transition, I met 2 fellow St. Pete Maddogs, Bobbie & Glen Gullickson.  She was doing her first Olympic distance and he was doing the Aquabike. (Bobbie eventually won her age group and Glen got a 3rd OA) 
A few minutes later, I ran into my co-worker at Ernst & Young, Chris Louthan and his girlfriend Amy.  Both had done the June tri here but Amy "touched the floor' on her bike last weekend, so she was sitting this one out.  I gave her my camera and she took some great photos.
The sun in front of us rose in a crystal blue sky and we were off on the swim.  I had a great swim, taking 4+ minutes off my previous time last month.  Heading out on the bike, a surprise was waiting for us.  A large dark cloud was looming up in the east, and around mile 8, the sky opened and it poured.  It actually felt good and I negotiated the corners slowly in the wet.  I passed 1st and 2nd place on the bike and increased my lead as the race continued.  I was cheered on when a tremendous rainbow arched over the road near the end of the first lap.  The showers moved away by mile 15 and I concentrated on putting on some speed, finishing with an average of 20.2 mph.
I had a quick transition and headed out on the run course, passing a yoga-in-the-park class in session near the west boat ramp.  The shaded trails are nice in spite of the heat and I averaged 8.17 mile splits over the 5.8 mile course.  I finished 1st out of 4 with a time of 2:24:15, much better than my 2:30:23 in June.  Chris also had a great 12th overall finish, taking 1st in his age group, with a 2:07:38, nearly 9 minutes faster than his June time.  Afterwards, I headed home to my wife Sandy to celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary.

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