# 179 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in September.

 Triathlon # 179 is in the books! Last of the four Sommer Sports Sprint Series races in Clermont today. Big crowd for the tri and the theme was Never Forget for 9/11. Lots of red, white and blue displayed and a really great finishers medal.  

My nemesis, James Mayer, did his last race in Florida as he’s moving north and he finished in grand style, with a solid win and first for the Series. My swim was a bit slow and T1 was too so my final time of 1:21:02 was disappointing. I dropped to sixth place on the bike but pushed hard (average speed 17.3 mph) and caught the 2 guys that passed me early on. A 28:42 run in the 5k kept me ahead and I crossed the line in fourth. My performance in all 4 races earned me a third place in the Series Championship (I won a visor!).  

Kerry Libroda Girona took Female overall again (and the Series first)! Kenyon Congdon won his age group too. Very happy to be feeling good as the season draws to a close.

Getting my chip from Rob Marens

Waiting for swim start with Bill Black behind me

John-Paul Russo's bike shop

with Kenyon Congdon

with Kerry Librada Girona

with perennial winner James Mayer

with Bill Black

with Enrique Mercado

3rd place Series Prize!

# 178 Riverfront International Triathlon in Cocoa

My 178th triathlon was yesterday and it was a special event for several reasons. This Thursday (9/9) will be the one year anniversary of my bike crash/broken collarbone and the culmination of my efforts to recapture my fitness. It has been a tough journey and I couldn't have done it without the support of my wife of 42 years, Sandy Finucan. 

While I have done four sprint-distance triathlons this year, I did the Riverfront Triathlon in Cocoa and chose the Olympic-distance (.5 mile swim; 26 mile bike; 6.2 mile run). I had not done any tris longer than a sprint due to COVID and storm-related cancellations since 2018. I got up at 3:00 AM to leave at 4:00 and arrive at 5:15 to be first in the packet pickup line. I racked my Moulton bicycle and discovered to my surprise that Mike Moulton was on the same rack. He was amazed to see a bike with his name on it. 

As the dawn rose, we headed over the the boat docks on the Banana River for the swim start. Because of COVID, instead of the normal in-water wave start (no beach there), we lined on on the long dock and jumped off the pier a few seconds apart. The swim took me 22:18 to complete and I headed out on the bike down the river road. When I first did this race in 2019, I expected the bike course to be flat but it was quite hilly as the road climbed and descended the bluffs along the river. At some points on the 26 miles you were down along the water and then had a high vista across the river. I was happy to have averaged 17.1 mph on the bike. Getting out on the 10k run course was fun as it headed south along the river with some shade and a light breeze. Since the sprint tri was on the same course, it was difficult to see who my competitors were among all the people. I was surprised to finish in first place in my age group with a total time of 3:00:50; my 2019 time was 2:56:26 (won that day too). I felt very good after the event and my new friend Mike Moulton finished second overall. On to the next triathlon! 

Also, Fox News Orlando was there and interviewed me but I didn't make the cut.

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/major-triathlon-in-cocoa-ongoing-with-covid-19-protocols-in-place

Great shot during the race!

with Mike Moulton

Mike Moulton meets Moulton SST

Hammermobile in background

Sliver moon!