# 209 Riverbend Sprint Tri in Cocoa

Great race today at the Riverfront Tri @ Cocoa; # 209. I’ve been off for eight weeks with medical issues and the last two triathlons were cancelled by hurricane. I've done the International distance at this race four times in the past (3 wins, 1 third) but felt that was too much today. The swim portion of this race was cancelled due to the yacht harbor having sunken boats in it; a 40’ sailboat was up against the seawall right by transition. To start, there was a short run and then we took off on the breezy, rolling bike course along the river. After that was the 5k run on a flat and hot riverside course. I finished second by one minute as Paul Bier had a slightly faster bike ride. Felt great to be back!

# 208 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in August

Triathlon #208 today was a tough one. I felt great before the start and did my stretches and warmups with plenty of time. Took it easy on the swim but the heat and wind made the bike hard as my average speed was only 17.1 mph. Run time was ok but my final time of 1:21:08 was poor; ended up 5th out of 6 in Male 70-74 with an overall finish of 134 out of 216. This was a bit discouraging as my July triathlon here was so strong but I still enjoyed the race. When I start finishing 216th out of 216, maybe I’ll retire. Lots of friends racing today; Teresa Tinsley won Female Masters at 63 and Bill Black won Male Clydesdale over 49.

# 207 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in July

Today was triathlon #207, much improved over last month’s race on the same course in Clermont. I took it easy on the swim (almost the same time) but my shoulders were fine. Bike ride was 2+ minutes faster with an average of 17.8 mph; 29.2 max downhill. My run was 3 minutes faster, so my total finish time jumped to 1:16:33 from June’s 1:21:05. Ranked 4th out of 7 in Male 70-74; 117th out of 223 overall. Many friends competed too; Bill Black, Debbie Rosa, Madeleine Vergauwen, Dawn Lane, Teresa Tinsley; Ken Junkins was spectating today. Let’s see what next month will bring!

# 206 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in June

Never was a person happier finishing 5th out of 6 in a triathlon then me today (my #206). After three months of health issues and 8 weeks of no training, I approached this race cautiously and was ecstatic over the results! Hot weather was a factor as it was 75’f at 5:30 AM when I arrived and 94’f in the sun for the run leg. I did this same race in October and today my swim was 3 minutes slower (shoulder issue), bike was .3 mph faster and run was very hot with my overall time of 1:21:05 six minutes behind last year. Lots of friends there; Kerry Simmons was 1st Female overall (at 58) with Teresa Tinsley in third. Kevin Simmons won the Aquabike. Dawn Lane won Female 60-64 with Tiger Lassa in second by 13 seconds. My dentist, Dr. Sarah Day got second in International Distance Female 50-54 and Bill Black finished third in Clydesdale 40+.

Great photo!

During the Great Clermont Triathlon, Robert Badalucco (BBaction Photos) got a great low-angle photo of me on the New Series with Lake Minneola in the background. He used two strobes to illuminate the riders, otherwise you'd be a silhouette against the sky. Click to enlarge the image.

# 205 Great Clermont Triathlon

Great time at the first Sommer Sports race of the year, The Great Clermont Triathlon. With my shoulder problem (plus the water was cold!), I switched to the Sprint Duathlon instead; 1 mile run, 9-mile hilly bike, and then a 3-mile run. Woke up at 3:15 AM with the time change and thought I could sleep a little more, then realized my alarm was set at 3:30. Got to the park at 5:00 with light rain and wind and prepared for the 7:45 sunrise start. Even though it was 70’f, the wind off the lake was chilling and I wore a shell for the first run. Felt warmer getting on the bike and had a great ride averaging 16.2mph with the hills/wind. 5k run was fast but still cool and I finished 10th out of 27 with a 1:18:06; at 71, I was the oldest by far. My friend Ricardo MiroFlecha was coaching some young people and got some photos of me on the bike. Sommer Sports had the Sprint races go first followed by the Olympic an hour later which really kept the course open; two transition areas worked well too.