Clermont Tri Series surprise!

A surprise package arrived in the mail last week from Sommer Sports in Clermont.  A nice beach towel accompanied by a note stating that I placed Third in the 4-race Clermont Sprint Series.  My finishes were 4th, 6th, 8th, and 7th but I gathered enough points by doing all the races for a 3rd.  Looking forward to next year!

# 136 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in September

Saturday, September 12, was the final triathlon of the 4 race series put on by Sommer Sports.  My training was slightly compromised by my taking 3 different prescription medications so I approached the race with a bit of trepidation.  I'm always happy getting to Clermont early and get set up so with registration opening at 5:45, I left the house at 4:45.  Sommer Sports was organized as usual and everything was effortless.  I set up my bike in transition and then met my friend Kevin Casey who was also competing.  The eastern sky began to brighten and we headed over to Lake Mineola for the start.  There was a big crowd as usual but the start went off on time, with me being in the third wave.  My swim went well, taking 10:29 before the long run to the bike.  I again rode my Moulton SPEED, enjoying zipping along the lakeshore and then hitting the hills.  Averaging 17.40 mph over the course, I returned to transition to start my run.  At the beginning, I was following a guy who's leg/age was either 53 or 63.  He was pulling ahead of me and I didn't want to blow up in the first mile, so I ran my own pace.  I gathered speed after the turnaround but didn't see anyone ahead or behind that I was concerned about.  However, just before the finish, Mike Pettis passed me and I surged hard down the chute, beating him by one second.  My 1:16:46 was good for a 7th place out of 13 but I know if I was feeling better, I would have gotten 6th.

Quietly waiting

Jack and Kevin

Big field!

Kevin at the finish!

The Moulton and I.

# 135 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in August

Good but not great triathlon yesterday in Clermont.  All the usual fast guys showed up with a few additions.  Dr. Randall Brown, who I've raced against many times was there, so I knew I'd have some serious competition.  A bit breezy to start so there was a little chop on the water, adding a bit to my swim time, and the breeze made the bike harder, resulting in my slowest average speed, 17.6 mph, this year. The breeze even slowed my speed off the big hill to 37.4.

I felt good coming off the bike and Randy was 2:06 ahead of me.  I pushed hard and saw him at the turnaround on the run, giving me the eye.  With him in my sights, I really pushed it and at the bend in the course, I saw him turn and he spotted me closing.  We then battled the last half mile and I got to within 9 seconds when we hit the finish line; I finished 8th out of 16 with a 1:16:43, my slowest time for the 3 races.  Time to ramp up the training for the final September race!

The Ken Junkins/James Mayer battle continued for 1st with Ken beating James this time. Race #4 should be quite a battle.

I'm right in the center of the photo.

The AM SPEED performed perfectly!

# 134 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in July

Today was # 2 in the 4 race series in Clemont.  This always presents an interesting training review as all 4 races are the same distance and the same course.  All four of my nemesis' (nemesi?) were there, Ken Junkins, James Mayer, Will Hathaway, and Charles Best.  I finished 4th last month to them (Will had a flat) so I was able to approach this event with a goal of improving my time.  Kevin Casey was there too.  The race went according to plan, with me taking a little time off each of the three legs and even both transitions.  My final time was 1:14:14 which was more than 2 minutes faster than last month.  I rode the Moulton SPEED again, going from an average of 17.7 mph to 18.3 over the same course.  I maxed out at 39 mph coming down the big hill!  Oddly enough, I ended up with 6th out of 19; last month I was 4th out of 17.  The fast guys finished 1-2-3-4 and a guy from Sebring was 5th.  I would have caught him if the run was longer so I'll be watching for him next month.

Big crowd

A guy actually recognized the Moulton!

Kevin on a slant

Race is done!

# 133 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in June

This was the first Clermont Sprint Tri of 2015.  Big turnout, with 469 finishers, on a beautiful day.  I brought the Moulton AM SPEED for it's second test for this year.  All my tough competitors, Ken Junkins, James Mayer, and Will Hathaway were here; James won the Tomoka Tri three weeks previous to my third place and Ken has been beating me for years.  Lots of friends from Seminole County Triathletes raced also.
Men 50+ were in the last wave, number 8.  Quite a lot of people on the swim but I finished in 10:05 and headed out on the bike.  This is a very hilly course with several long, steep climbs and I averaged 17.7 mph with a max speed of 38.6!  Passing people elicited a lot of comments about the Moulton too!  New bike finish had us turn before the old finish with a bit of a longer run in.  And the run is a new course with no hills and a straight out and back on the bike trail.  Ran the 5k leg in 26:00 (8:22 splits) and  finished with a 1:16:23.  This placed me in fourth place out of 17 in my age group.  Ken and James finished over 10 minutes ahead of me, 2 seconds apart.  Will Hathaway DNF'd and Charles Best got the third with 1:09:05.  Really had a great time!

Racked and ready!

Running in after the swim.

Heading out on the bike.

Back from the hilly ride!

Strong finish!

Susie from Seminole County Triathletes.

Thank you Dr. Moulton!

# 132 Tomaka Triathlon in Ormond Beach

The race today was a target race for the club I belong to, Seminole County Triathletes.  For several months, the club has been running a Couch to Sprint Tri program for first time triathletes.  This race, located in downtown Ormond Beach (just north of Daytona), was a great venue for our beginners.  Lots of regular members participated also and I joined in.  The Baldwin Park Tri was cancelled for this year (same weekend) and so I had never done this race over the years.

Ready to go!

Early light in transition.

First time group of Seminole County Triathletes

 I got there early to check everything out and found a great parking space and a great rack spot in transition.  SCT had a big club tent set up which made it very nice.  The swim start was at the boat ramp in the Indian River (salt water) and I was in the fourth wave.  My swim went well with a time of 9:02.  T1 went well and the bike leg starts off with a long climb over the Intracoastal bridge.  Heading out, riding the Moulton SPEED, I had a nice tailwind and my speeds were 22-24 MPH.  Heading back into the wind dropped them to 19 so my average for the 16 miles ended at 19.6 MPH after going back over the bridge.  T2 was quick and the 5K run was flat and fast.  I did have a shoelace come untied 1/2 mile into the course but everything went well after a stop, completing the run in 26 minutes flat; 8:23 mile splits.  This netted me a time of 1:26:54 for the finish, resulting in a 3rd place out of 7 in my age group.

Swim Start of Wave 4; close to the front!

Good swim!

Not sure what the guy on the grass was doing leaving transition.

Run out with the bridge behind me.

At the finish!

On the podium with Matt Mahoney and  James Mayer.

The little Moulton again amazed a lot of people on the bike course and after the race.

It was wonderful competing with so many friends around me so I'll be back at this race next year.

Seminole County Triathletes had a BIG turnout and won biggest team!

Lake Minneola Half Marathon in Clermont

Saturday, April 25 was the Lake Minneola Half Marathon.  Organized by Sommer Sports, this event took place at the Waterfront Park in Clermont, home of tons of triathlons.  I've never done this race but signed up after a group of co-workers at EY enticed me to join them.  Oddly enough, a huge project popped up at work and none of them were able to make it.  I was curious to see what my time would be after my PR of 1:53:31 with splits of 8:40 per mile at last year's Swamphouse Half Marathon.  Except for the Corporate 5K a week earlier, all my training has been on trail.  My 5K time was 23:45 so it was one of my fastest ever.

Over 525 people started the Half and the temps were in the 70s and humid from the gun.  The sun was just coming up on a clear day so it promised to warm up fast.  I was running well, keeping my splits around 8:30 but as the hills appeared I saw my times slipping,  The course was nice and open and we came on and off the Lake County bike trail several times.  The run back after mile 8 had us running directly into the morning sun and it began to heat up.  Through a wooded area gave a bit of a respite and I was gratified to pass a few people who were fading.  I arrived at the finish line with a time of 2:00:49 which gave me 8:53 miles.  My Garmin did show the course was long at 13.61; this was a subject of much discussion online during the following days.  My time for 13.1 miles was 1:56:59, so I was off my record pace. This was good for 4th place out of 9 in my age group, 95th overall of 524.   However I enjoyed the whole experience and my new Hoka 11 Clifton running shoes performed well by providing extra cushioning and my legs did not hurt like they used too.

Real Florida 10K Trail Run

Saturday was the 28th Annual Real Florida 5k 10k in Wekiwa Springs State Park.  Since I'm on the board of the Wekiva Wilderness Trust and it's a big fund-raiser for us, it was important for me to do well.  The morning was overcast and 55' when I arrived to help with registration at 6:30.  However the Friday crew had everything laid out very well so there was little to do but relax.

Kevin and me

My friend, Kevin Casey, was doing the race for the first time and he arrived about 7:15 as parking gets a bit tight later on.  About 8:15, we headed over to the 10K start, a little further than the 5k, which started 5 minutes later.  The gun went off at 8:30 and I took off immediately.  After about a mile I was 10th overall and the runners began to get strung out.  In the next mile as I settled down to my race pace, 4 people passed me.  The new course cut over on the Blue trail and over the little bridge which I saw had been carpeted for the event.  I passed 2 people by the time we got to Marker 15 on the White trail and really pushed my pace.  As I topped the hill at 13, I looked back and saw 1 runner about 200 yards back.  I became aware he was closing about mile 5 and he passed me with about a mile to go.  I stayed on his tail and my Garmin reported I was running at an 8:00 minute mile pace.  As we turned uphill onto the service road near the finish, I was still right behind him.  About 100 yards from the line, I cranked it up and surged past him to the finish.  He was 44 so not in my age group but I really enjoyed the chase.  I won my age group 60-64 and my time, 56:02, was good enough for 12th overall out of 79.  The 5k race had 173 participants.  My finish time of 56:02 resulted in mile splits of 8:50 with the Garmin showing 6.34 miles covered; last year I had a time of 53:22 but the course was shorter at 6 miles even.  Kevin came in soon after me and really enjoyed racing the trails we usually train on.  Our charity made a good bit of money and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Race to the finish

Kevin after the race

Hammer sponsorship

I am now sponsored by Hammer Nutrition!  I have been using their great products for over 18 years and I attribute my successes to them.  The sponsorship only allows me to buy products at a discount so I won't be quitting my day job.  One of their major advantages is that all their products work together to provide outstanding results.  Go to www.hammernutrition.com to shop; locally, Orange Cycle, David's World Cycle, and Track Shack all stock some Hammer items.

Hammer display at Orange Cycle, Orlando, FL

Celebration Marathon

This was the 2nd Annual Celebration Marathon, located in the "Disney" town of Celebration, just south of the Walt Disney World.  I did the first race last year and enjoyed it very much, setting a new marathon PR of 4:29:56.  This was negated somewhat by 4 bathroom breaks during the race.  The 2 loop course winds through the town and many residents come out to watch the runners.  2014's full to half ratio was 506 to 1575 and this year's was close, 500 to 1817.  Half marathons have gotten even more popular.  One thing that makes this race great is the accessibility; I parked 100 feet from the Start line.  Besides the t-shirt swag, they included a Headsweats hat and a Tyvek windbreaker this year.  This was my 6th marathon since 2004.


The morning was clear and 43' for the 7:00 AM start.  I crossed the start line 11 seconds after the gun and hit the button on my (borrowed from Kevin Casey) Garmin.  I started out too fast as usual and slowed myself down immediately.  I wore less than my personal clothing guide mandated so I was cool but actually felt great.  The miles clicked away and I drank Hammer Perpeteum every half hour, took a Hammer Gel every 6 miles, and followed my pace band plan.  Stopped at a bathroom for 3 minutes at mile 10 and continued on.  At mile 12.2, the course splits and I found myself running alone as I started the second lap. I began chasing people down and passed 38 people in the next 14 miles; no one passed me at all.  Sun came out and it warmed up a little but the cool temps really helped.  However, after mile 15, it really became an effort to keep the quick pace up.  I stayed with it though and soon downtown Celebration was visible across the lake.  Near the finish, Paula Yeomans from EY and friends cheered me on and I crossed the finish line at 4:26:56.  That time was 2 minutes and 25 seconds faster than 2014, establishing a new marathon PR for me.  My overall splits were 10:12 per mile.  My total GPS distance was 26.34 miles as the 26.2 mile course is certified at it's tightest layout.  Last year's Garmin distance was 26.46 so I made sure I was tight on the corners this time.  I ended up 10th out of 22 in 60-64 Male; in 2014, I was 10th out of 19.  Very sore after the race and the next day despite a lot of stretching.