Dr. Lucky invited everyone to his home for an Easter sunrise service, lake swim, and pancake breakfast. An amazing 172 people showed up for the 7:00 AM service! Everyone packed away pancakes after a 1 or 2 kilometer swim and my wife Sandy made dozens of omlets for all. Great time!
Beautiful Daytona Beach was the venue for my 105th triathlon. The Frogman Triathlon is an Olympic distance race that benefits the Naval Special Warfare Foundation, supporting Navy SEALS and their families. Rob Wallace, the race director, has 2 sons in the SEALS.
Since this was a longer race, the start was right at sunrise, 7:00 AM. The .9 mile swim was a bit choppy and it took a while for me to get into a rhythm. I exited the water at 29:51 and headed out on my bike. The only unusual feature of the 25 mile bike was going over the intracoastal bridge, which came at mile 4. It was a slow 10mph climb to the top, rewarded by a 32mph downhill on the other side. After about 8 miles on the mainland, I hit the bridge again for the return. I was blasting along at 21+mph south along the river when I realized that the wind had picked up and I was going downwind. After several turns, I was back on Atlantic Ave. which turned into A1A and a headwind. My speed was consistent at that point and I finished with an average of 19.6mph. Coming out of transition for the run, I headed north on A1A, which had the right lane closed for us. At the 1.5 mile mark, we turned right down a beach ramp for a 3 mile run on Daytona Beach, followed by a final 1.5 back on A1A. I passed 1 person on the run for a 3rd place finish out of 5. The 6.2 miles took me 1:03 for a 10:09 mile split. 
My final time was 2:50:01.
The swim was great, with a well marked course (of water-ski buoys) in calm, spring fed Little Lake Howell. You could tell when you swam over a spring because the water got colder instantly. We were treated to a nice buffet on Terry's lanai as we watched the sun set over the lake.
Most of the SCT people were doing the 13.1. We started out pretty fast and I stayed quick despite my efforts to slow down. I was feeling good and figured just go for it. Jennifer from WVR was already at the water stop/turnaround at the Jones Trailhead at Long Pond Road and started after me. She kept pushing me and I stayed with her, doing 8:30 mile pace. We caught Rebecca with about 3 miles to go and she stayed with us and surged ahead, forcing me to keep up. My PR in the half is 1:54:52 (2005 OUC Half/Orlando) and the time was pretty close.
The first event of the New Year! Orlando Xtreme Half-Marathon is an annual event, an off-road 13.1 mile run at the Orlando Wetlands Park, on the very eastern edge of the city. (If you click on the picture above, you can see runners across the lake.) My friend Bernadette signed up early and convinced me to join her and another runner from West Volusia Runners, Rick Paine. There is also a 5K and 10K at the same event. The trails are really dirt roads that twist and wind through the park. The half-marathon course was a 2 and 1/2 lap run for the total distance.
At the start of the Half, Rick took off like a bullet and Bernandette and I ran together for the first mile. Then her ITB problem acted up, forcing her to walk, so she sent me on. I began a methodical climb through the field, averaging 8 to 9 minute miles. The weather was perfect after the sun came up and it was great running in the early Saturday morning. Very scenic course through the wetlands. I decided to carry my Hammer Nutrition bottle filled with a 240 calorie mix of Perpetuem rather than use a belt carrier. The next day my biceps were aching from the hundreds of bicep curls I performed during the event; back to the belt next time! I supplemented the liquid with Hammer Gel, Endurolytes, and Anti-Fatigue Caps and felt strong throughout the entire race. I really cranked it up for the last mile as my GPS showed me doing 7:30 pace near the end, with a final time of 2:07:24. The result was an average time of 9:17 per mile over a 13.70 mile distance, so the course was a little longer than a half-marathon. My PR in the half (on asphalt) is 1:54:52 at the OUC Half in 2005.
Big 4 day Thanksgiving weekend! I did a 10.2 mile run in the park Thanksgiving morning on some new trails. Encountered 4 wild turkeys who were enjoying the turkey day morning up by the youth camp. Biked 25 miles on Friday morning and then did a 6 mile run in the park on Saturday. Finished up with a 65 mile bike on Sunday morning, which ended up tougher as fatigue did set in at mile 45. I'm seeing a new physical therapist on Wednesday to address the nagging running issue. Hope she has the solution.
Some might call it dumb, some might call it chancy. But I didn't want the season to end on my middling performance in my first Half-iron distance triathlon last Sunday. So after much week long discussion and second guessing, I awoke at 4:00 AM this morning, gathered my thoughts, my bike, and my tri-gear and headed out to the Masters Championship Triathlon at Moss Park in Orlando. I like longer events so I chose the Olympic distance (.9 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 5.5 mile run) rather than the sprint. It was 66' at the start with water (wetsuit legal!) at 76'. I had a solid swim followed by a great bike (average speed 20.0 mph) and a very good (no problems) run with 8:35 mile splits, finishing at 2:30:11, which was good enough for 1st place. My old friend (and former/future competitor) Bill Floyd won the 60-64 age group ahead of me. (Pictured above on right with me). Bill is a USAT Certified Coach and you can visit his website at http://trifloyd.com/ . This was the perfect end to a perfect season of triathlons.
