500 MILES!

Thursday evening I went  for a 6 mile run in Wekiwa Springs in the dark with no moon, just my headlight.  Sandy doesn't like me to do that and it is a bit scary but exhilarating.  Friday morning I did a 12 mile ride on the trails as we were going to the Albin Polasek Museum & Home in Winter Park early.  I was going for a long bike ride this morning but the Litespeed had a flat and I didn't feel like riding the Trek so I took out on the Salsa and went into the Park.  Stopped about mile 12 to watch 2 buck deer chasing 3 does in the big open area on the north end.  As I started out again, I checked my bike computer and discovered I had just passed 500 miles on the bike!  That's all trail riding since I got the Salsa in May.  Still love it; every ride is an adventure.

Magic Full Moon Run

With the end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday morning, darkness now begins around 6:00. I rushed home Wednesday evening to do a long run under the full moon.  I planned on running 6.2 miles in Wekiwa Springs State Park as early as possible.  I grabbed my headlamp, a new 200 lumen mini-flashlight, my reflective belt, the Garmin GPS, and my park pass and headed out at 5:55.  As I entered the park, the canopy of oak trees made the road even darker and I was grateful for the pool of light from my headlamp on the road ahead of me. 

By the time I reached the base of the big hill at mile 1.3, it was quite dark.  Off to my right, a owl hooted to it's mate with no response.  As I approached the campground entrance, my light picked up tiny glittering green lights in the grass by the road's edge.  At first I thought it was dewsparkle but upon crouching in the gravel, I realized what I was seeing were the eyes of small ground spiders.  I soon reached the open area by the Sand Lake parking lot, which was bathed in the full moon's light.  I turned off my headlight and ran a short distance in the moonlight.  I turned it back on as I rounded the lot at 2.7 miles for the run back.  Glancing into the woods to my left, I was surprised by a pair of glowing eyes watching me, about 4 feet from the ground.  I flicked on my new flashlight and realized it was a deer watching me about 20 yards off the road.  Running back past the campground brought me the smell of woodsmoke and campfires visible through the trees. 

Leaving the park, I did a little additional mileage to finish my run at 6.23 miles with a time of 1:05 under the shining moon.  I grabbed my camera and took the photo above.  This was a lot of fun and I'll definitely do it again.

# 111 Masters Championship Olympic Tri @ Moss Park

Today was my last race of the year, the 5th Annual Masters Championship Olympic Tri.  I've kept my training level up after my July injury and even ran 12.2 miles with Bernadette last Sunday.  I've won this race twice before but was unsure what to expect having done only 1 race since July.

What was not expected was a cold snap, pushing temperatures 10-15' below normal, almost January conditions.  Saturday morning was in the high 40s so the air temp of 52' at Sunday's race start combined with a 70' water temp brought out the wetsuits.  The sun was just peeking up over Lake MaryJane when we hit the water for the 2 lap swim.  The field spread out well and I exited the water at 26:55, my 2nd quickest time at Moss Park.  Transition was a bit slow as I still struggle with removing the wetsuit no matter how much Astro Glide and Suit Juice lubricant I use.  I took off on the bike and after covering the 23 mile bike course, I finished with a 1:11:23, averaging 19.1, making this one of my slowest bike time at these races (20.5 was my fastest).  I headed out on the run feeling better and pushed harder.  My mile splits for the 5.6 mile run were 8:36 giving me a run finishing time of 48:14.  My final time was 2:33:59, good enough for 1st place out of 3.  My friend Bill Floyd from Tampa won his 60-64 age group and a new friend, Chuck Callahan, from College Park won 50-54.  Chuck "ages up" next year into my age group so I better watch out.  A great finish to a great year.  Number 112 will be in 2012!

# 110 Clermont Sprint Triathlon

This is my first tri after my injury at the Scenic 17 Tri seven weeks ago.  I bruised tendons on my right foot stepping off the road on the run leg.  I didn't do any activity (did RICE) for a week after and my right foot turned purple.  I resumed swimming and cycling cautiously as it healed and did a few 1-2 mile runs in the last 2 weeks.  I thought the Clermont Sprint would be a good first race back.

I've done Clermont Sprints for years starting in June of 1994, five months after we moved to Florida.  The big surprise today was that the old, cramped Highland Hut had vanished, replaced by a huge new pavilion and building; very nice!  Another surprise was that there were over 600 competitors.

I was in Wave 4 which was surprisingly crowded including 1 guy who decided to do the backstroke in the middle of the 400 yard swim.  The bike was nice and hilly and I averaged 20 mph for the 10.6 mile course with a max speed of 40.2 on a downhill.  My main concern was the run because of my foot so I started slow with the idea of taking it easy.  Well, that went out the window after about 100'.  At the first quarter mile one of the many collegiate team members passed me and I hung with her.  Her name is Allison, a Junior from USF, and this was her first triathlon.  She was complaining of cramping so to get her mind off of it, we started chatting.  The miles rolled away and I finished at 1:08:12; my mile splits were 8:40 which is a pace I was happy with.  I finished 5th out of 13 with Ken Junkins winning and Jim Mayer taking second in Male 55-59.  These guys are really fast!  Allison finished 4th out of 6 in Collegiate Female, a great first race.

# 109 Scenic 17 Triathlon - Babson Park

 This tri is a favorite of mine since I first did it in 2009.  It's held on the campus of Webber Intl. University in Babson Park, near Cypress Gardens.  The 600 yard lake swim is fine and the 5K run has a few hills but what makes it great is the 15 mile hilly bike ride on the Scenic 17 highway.  My average speed on the bike was only 18.9 but my max was 39.8!  Several long climbs are balanced by very fast downhills after great views at the top. 

There were 9 total in my 55-59 age group so I had plenty of competition. I was 4th on the swim and 4th on the bike.  There was a little problem on the run though.  Leaving transition, I was passed for fourth by Charles Best after we dueled for the entire bike ride.  After the turnaround at 1.55 miles, as I was climbing a hill with a right hand turn at the top, I put my foot into a hole at the pavement's edge.  My foot rolled to the right and as I went down, I jammed my left big toe on the pavement.  My right foot was really hurting so I walked about 500 yards and got passed again, moving me to sixth.  I soon discovered it didn't hurt any worse running than walking so I hobbled all the way to the finish.  The guys at the medical tent diagnosed it as a bruised tendon and iced it there. Even with my slow run, I finished 6th out of 9.

#108 Tigershark Daytona Mid-sprint Tri

Great race today! This was the Mid-distance sprint at Tigershark's venue in Daytona Beach Shores. The Seminole County Triathletes came out in force as Tracey, Becky, and I raced and Billy, Deanna, Walter, Cathy, and Leigh cheered us on. Walter got some great photos!

My 600 yard swim was quick at 11:52, much better than last year's 18:27 with 5' waves. I managed to beat my friend and fellow Maddog, Randy Brown, out of the water, but he started nibbling away at my lead, passing me on the bike. I upped my bike pace from last year's 20.8 AVS to 21 for this leg.

Randy's strong run ended with me 2:02 behind him for second place. My final time was 1:18:06. Jan Thompson (Maddog #27) won her age group again, finishing just behind Tracey.

First 200 Miles

This morning I passed the 220 mile mark with my new 'snow' bike, a Salsa Mukluk. The majority of my rides, ranging from 5 to 18 miles, have been in Wekiwa Springs State Park, across from my house. I travelled locally to other venues and after I sampled the Seminole State Forest, the Upper Wekiva Preserve, and Rock Springs Run State Preserve, I found that Wekiwa Springs had the widest variety of trails, hills, lakes, ponds, and fire roads anywhere nearby. The best part is that it's so close and very big. I've seen deer, black bears, fox squirrels, a bobcat, owls, rabbits, a gopher, tortoises, a bee tree, and an alligator gar in the river. One thing I almost never see is people. I often ride before or after work on the weekdays but nobodies around. Here are a selection of photos from my rides; click on any to enlarge it.