# 184 Crystal River Sprint Triathlon

Triathlon #184 is done on October 15. Got up at 2:00 AM to drive to Crystal River on the Gulf of Mexico. Fourth place out of eight in Male 65-69; ten entered. Too many fast old guys in Florida! 

Ok swim with a strong tide, fast 15 mile bike averaging 18.5 mph and solid 5k run. 15 mph headwind out on the bike course but I was rolling at 22+ on the way back. The run is a bit odd as the road is heavily slanted on the curves. Very happy results!

Ready to go!

Dawn over the marshes

Hammermobile

Great day!

# 183 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in September

Great triathlon today, for my 183rd!

Also, yesterday was the two year anniversary of my bike crash and broken collarbone.

Out at Clermont, Florida, for the Sommer Sports Sprint #4. OK swim, great bike (17.4 mph average with the hills, hit 38.9 on the big downhill) and fast run (28:32 for 9:12 splits) gave me a time of 1:20:09 which resulted in 2nd place. Lester Rilea won 65-69 (again).

Lots of friends there and all had a great time. Got to meet Chris Nicik, first Downs Syndrome Ironman Finisher. The last photo is of two amazing guys!

Lining up for body marking

Moulton SST in the racks

Full Harvest Moon over transition

Sunrise

Brad and Bill Black (Clydesdales)

With Mike, a Hammer fan

with Chris Nikic, Downs Syndrome Ironman, and guide

After party

with Dawn Lane

with Ricardo MiroFlecha and wife

Me and my Moulton

Two amazing guys!

with 65-69 winner Lester Rilea

# 182 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in August

Fabulous race Saturday at Sommer Sports Triathlon #3 of the 4 race series. This was my 182nd triathlon and I am definitely back after my May bike accident.  My finish last month of 1:28:02 for 5/7 was surpassed with my time of 1:19:24 for a 3rd place out of seven.  My fastest time since July 2019!  All six others in my age group are 65 and 66 year old so I'll leave them behind when I move up to 70-74 in January 2023. The slight overcast and cooler temps helped today too.  Friends Ricardo MiraFlecha and Bill Black both finished second in their categories and Kerry Librada Girona demolished the women's field with a time of 54:54 giving her a third overall/First Female, over 6 minutes ahead of the second-place woman.  Other friends Rob Marens, Enrique Mercado, and Dawn Lane (1st Female, 55-59) were there also. 

Small wheels among the large.

Moon over transition.

Rob Marens and Ricardo MiraFlecha

with Kerry Librada Girona (3rd OA, First Female).

in Wave 6 start.

Running out of T2.

Swim course.

Bike entry, transition, and run course.

Me and my Moulton SST

On the podium!

with Enrique Mercado.

with Dawn Lane.

# 181 Clermont Sprint Triathlon in July

 I had a great race today for my 181st triathlon!

After my crash 7 weeks ago, I was able to restart my training 3 weeks ago with PT and easy exercise. Going into the race today, I was cautious and took it easy but all three disciplines went better than expected. At the start, I swam slowly as my shoulder hurt but the pain diminished as I warmed up (water was 82’f). My swim time was 2-3 minutes slower than normal but I was happy. Heading out on the bike, I favored my shoulder again and there was some discomfort in the aero position but it also subsided. My overall time/speed on the SST was only slightly slower than normal at 16.6 mph. I was at 20.7 AVS until I hit the hills! Peaked at 35.8 mph descending the big hill. 5k Run was brutally hot, 92’ in full sun and I confess to walking briefly on two of the climbs. Ended up with 5th out of 7 and my overall time (1:28:02) was 5-6 minutes slower than normal. I was very deliberate in Transition 1 and Transition 2 and could easily take 1-2 minutes off there.

Great results and I look forward to continued improvement in the weeks to come. Ready for my next race!

Venus over transition

Mike Mason, overall winner today!

Gabrielle Suver, fellow Hammer triathlete

Carrie Campbell Robinson

Longtime friend Dawn Lane

Ken and Tiger Lassus

Race Director Michelle Craske

Bill Black, perennial Clydesdale winner

Another setback

 After my September 9, 2020 bike crash where I broke my left collarbone, I took another spill on a training ride on May 22, 2022.  I landed on my right shoulder, hip and knee and struck my (helmeted) head on the concrete up on Route 46.  Nothing broke, but I lost a minute as I have no memory of the crash, just standing next to the bike afterwards.  At mile 18, I had to ride 10 miles back to the van and then drive home.  I went to the Advent Health ER on the 24th and they did a lot of tests which showed nothing.  Then I saw Dr. Awan, the DO at Advent RDV, and he ordered PT for me with David Garcia, a hip X-ray (nothing broken), and an MRI of my shoulder.  It's been 3 weeks now and I'm still hurting.  The week before my crash, I had a solid week of training on Sanibel/Captiva, riding 100 miles, running 12, and swimming in the Gulf everyday.  And this past weekend, I missed the first Sommer Sports Sprint Tri out in Clermont.  As this is a path I've traveled before, I'll just be patient and climb back up.

at Redfish Pass on Captiva

Running on the beach

On the cover of the Moultoneer!

 During my Olympic distance victory at the 2021 Cocoa Triathlon, photographer Cory Knowlton shot a great photo of me on the bike leg along the river.  After I wrote another article for the Moulton Bicycle Club magazine, The Moultoneer, Cory gave us permission to use the photo.  Editor Tom Esslemont thought the photo looked so good, it would be the cover for the spring issue.  As I was on the red SST, with the red Hammer kit, he added red graphics on the cover.  I'm very happy with the way it came out; thanks to Cory and Tom for making it happen.