# 107 Tigershark Daytona Sprint Triathlon

Rob Wallace's Tigershark Triathlon Series at Daytona Beach Shores is always a well run group of races and this year's first one was no exception. The races increase in length each month so it adds to the challenge, plus changing surf conditions always add some spice to the swim. Sandy rose at 4:00 AM with me to greet the sunrise on Daytona Beach. We met some old friends in transition and I readied myself for the 7:00 AM start.

There was some overcast skies at the gun but the waves were calm with a very low tide so there was little north/south current.

The bike leg on A1A was fast and flat with a small breeze from the south. The tailwind on the return allowed me to crank my max speed to 25.6 with a final average of 20.4. I shot out of transition for the new run course with the continuing overcast keeping temps down. The new beach run now has two turnarounds so I was keeping an eye out for my competition. My mile splits for the run were 7:34 with a final finish time of 1:00:34. My tri-run times are always faster than my running races alone. This was good enough for first out of three in my age group.

Fellow Mad Dog Jan Thompson also won her age group with her son picking up second as a Clydesdale. Another great race!

# 106 Orlando Triathlon at Baldwin Park

Today was the perfect day for a race; 70s, no wind, calm water, flat course, lots of people, at a local venue. Baldwin Park is a new urban community about 3 miles east of my office in downtown Orlando on the site of the old Navy Base. Epic Marketing was putting on this race for the seventh year. It features an unusual multiple lap bike leg which is 5 times around the lake, followed by a 1 lap run.
I started out strong on the 750 meter swim and then charged out on the bike. With all the people on the course at once, it adds to the challenge but it feels great to be passing people constantly. I finished with an average speed of 21.7 and followed with a fast run at a 7:37 mile pace. My final time was 1:14:05, good for 2nd out of 6 in the 55-59 age group.

New Salsa Mukluk - First Ride!

A few years back, I was at Orange Cycle when Orlando bike doyen Diane Blake, arrived with an amazing new bicycle, a Surly Pugsley. It's a snow bike from Minnesota that does equally well in sand. I thought, "What a perfect bike for Wekiwa Springs State Park's sandy trails". So for about 2 years, I have been saving for my own snow/sand bike. After gathering small work bonuses and ebay sales, it finally added up and on Monday, May 2nd, a new Salsa Mukluk arrived. I put it together the next evening and was riding around neighbors' lawns at 10:15 that night. I was really looking forward to Sunday in the Park!

Mother's Day morning at 7:00 AM I entered the park, filled with nervous anticipation. My last foray in there with a Gary Fisher mountain bike (1999) resulted in many spills and the sale of the Fisher at the following month's Orange Cycle Garage Sale. I hit the first trail 1 mile from my house and immediately started a sharp uphill climb, scattering 9 deer on my way up. About 5 minutes later, I was hooked; the Mukluk was perfect for the sandy trails! About 3 miles later I decided to turn off the fireroads and try a singletrack trail. The bike excelled at the technical stuff too, bouncing over roots and obstacles with ease. I rode up toward Otter Camp, the furthest camp in the park, at the 6 mile point. I passed Big Buck Camp which was occupied with a family (Happy Mother's Day!) and waved as I continued on. Otter Camp was empty so I stretched my legs and took some photos. Both of these camps are on Rock Springs Run, which funnels into the Wekiva River.

After a break, I backtracked and explored a trail I had never run down before. I was surprised when it dead-ended at a fence on the border of Kelly Park, the very north end of Wekiwa. I turned south and stopped again 2 miles later at a trail crossing. I was then surprised by 3 mountain bikers, William, Paul, and Tony. We chatted briefly and I let them lead out and followed behind. We separated after a bit and I saw them in the distance on another cross trail later. I went through the dreaded "sugar sand" 5 times but only had to walk through it twice. I'm sure that will improve. The best part of the ride was never falling once. I returned home with a total of 15.6 miles and the conclusion that this bike is amazing!

SCT Lake Monroe Bike & Run

Saturday started with a 10 person Seminole County Triathletes Meetup at D2 Cycling in Sanford at 7:00 AM. We took off for a 33 mile bike around Lake Monroe. A little extension of the course took us down some empty country roads.

Everyone laughed when we passed a "Lost Pig" sign by a mailbox. Upon our return, 6 of us ran the D2 2.7 mile loops, some twice, some 3 times; Deanna and I did 7.25 miles. It got quite hot near the end in the bright sunshine. Good workout: it's nice to have D2 as a place to meet.

Easter Sunday @ Lucky's Lake!

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!
Read more about Lucky's Lake at my July 2010 blog or go to the link on my home page.

# 105 Frogman Olympic-distance Triathlon

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.

Several retired SEALS spoke at the awards cermony which was a special treat.

SCT/D2 Half-ironman Training Weekend

Tremendous weekend! The Seminole County Triathletes presented a Half-ironman Training weekend starting with a 1.2 mile swim on Friday evening in Little Lake Howell (thanks, Terry), followed by a 56 mile bike from David Houle's D2 Cycling Center in Sanford, concluding with a 13.1 run on the Seminole-Wekiva Trail on Sunday morning. About 15 people signed up with about 10 doing all 3 legs (including me).
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.

Saturday's 56 mile was due to start at 7:30, so I arrived at 7:00 and got my gear all ready. David Houle hosted the event at his shop, the D2 Cycling Center in Sanford, just north of Route 46.

We took off promptly and headed south being led by 3 very fast members of the Seminole Cyclists club, including David's wife Shannon. I dropped back a few times but would catch the group again at stoplights. Around mile 25, the 3 leaders took off and I caught the second group at the 1st SAG stop, right on Lake Monroe in downtown Sanford. We all finished together after the lap around Lake Monroe. My average speed was 18.8 mph for the entire ride; that's close to race pace for the 56 miles.

Sunday morning we all met at the Markham Road station of the Seminole-Wekiva Trail. West Volusia Runners helped coordinate this and brought a sizeable contigent with also.

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.
A big push at the end got me in at 1:57:14 so that was a great finish. Thank you ladies for pushing me so hard. After a rest/stretch at the trailhead, most of us headed over to D2 Cycling for the BBQ. David & Shannon outdid theirselves with the food and we enjoyed watching the pictures from the weekend on the video screens. All together a great training weekend.