# 124 Moss Park Olympic Triathlon

Today was the 4th Annual BelieveStrong Moss Park Olympic-distance Triathlon in Orlando.  The field was small today and from now on all the Epic races will have the Sprint and Olympic on the same day.  One cool incident at the start was the announcer couldn't get the Star Spangled Banner to play so one of the competitors sang it acapella; she was great! 

My longtime rival, Bill Floyd from Tampa, was there and he beat me by 4 + minutes as my finishing time was 2:35:13.  We were the only men in 60-64, so I got second.  I had a great race, feeling strong throughout.


Jack and Bill Floyd

At the same time in Winter Park was the Celebration of Running 5 K and my friend Kevin Casey (see photo from last race) had his whole family run with him including 5 year old Kyle.  The picture below shows Kyle with his mother Linda and sister Rachael in the background.  He finished the race and had a great time!

Kyle and Linda race to the finish!

# 123 Clermont Sprint Triathlon

Thursday, August 8th, was the 20th Anniversary of my first triathlon, way back in Chicago.  This Saturday was the 3rd in the new expanded Clermont Sprint Tri Series.  Kevin Casey, a co-worker I've been guiding through the world of triathlon, made this his 2nd race ever, as well as his first hilly event.  I surprised him by showing up too.  His wife, Linda, and their 3 children came out to.  Longtime competitor and friend Ken Junkins was there too, albeit at 59, he was 1 year and 1 age group behind me.


All dressed up and ready to go!

Kevin Casey and Jack

The weather was warm and clear at the start, with quite a big field (347!) participating.
Kevin was in the 3rd wave and I was in the 5th.  Lake Minneola was flat and warm and we both exited the water together.  I lost sight of him after that and began the hilly bicycle portion.  The hills did not disapoint as I crawled up some and hit 38mph on the biggest going down.  The run leg through town has some nice hills too and I kept feeling better and the last mile felt like I was flying.  I never saw anyone else in my age group so I was surprised to find that I placed 1st out of 7, my 21st win, with a time of 1:19:11.
I wore my Central Florida Tri Club kit so I posed for pictures with the other members who placed,  Kelly, Karen, and Luis.


Jack, Kelly, Karen, and Luis

# 122 Inaugural Sylvan Lake Triathlon in Sanford

Pushing hard on the bike!

This morning was the first ever triathlon in Seminole County at Sylvan Lake Park on the south edge of Sanford.  About 150 people competed as the first race in a 4 race series.  The few glitches didn't dampen anyone's spirits and everyone looked like they were having a great time.  I met up with Cerena and Valerie from the Central Florida Triathlon Club and was very pleased when Cerena won her age group...by 2 seconds no less!  Billy Price and the Seminole County Tri Club was much in evidence too and I did get to chat with an old friend, Deanna.  My race was OK, with a 4th place finish after I thought I was getting a 2nd to my old nemesis, Randall Brown.  Better luck next time!

Valerie flying along!

Cerena, Jack, and Valerie

60th Birthday today!

Today is my 60th birthday!  When I was 40, I couldn't run a mile without stopping! 

Last Friday, I rode my trail bike in the woods for 17 miles, Saturday morning I ran 16.6 miles on those same trails, Sunday morning I rode my tri bike 66 miles from my house around Lake Monroe, and then went to Lucky's Lake on Memorial Day and swam 2 kilometers.  I'm not ready for the rocking chair yet!  I could not have done any of this without the support and love of my wife of 34 years, Sandy!  Thanks to all my swimming, biking, and running friends and my friends and co-workers at Ernst & Young!

Sandy & Jack at Garden Gate in Mount Dora

Memorial Day 2k swim at Lucky's Lake on May 27

# 121 Orlando Triathlon at Baldwin Park

Today was my 9th time competing in the Orlando Triathlon at Baldwin Park.  The location is a new urban center located on the old Orlando Navy base, just east of downtown.  Located around the town center, this venue is unusual for 2 things: the weedy lake swim and the 4 lap bicycle course.  Over the years, the schedule has been modified to let the Elites start 20 minutes ahead of everyone else.  This cuts down on passing issues on the crowded. multi-lap bike ride.  I met 2 ladies,  Kim Fitzgerald & Leslie Adams, in transition before the race as Leslie had a flat tire and I helped her with it.

I had a great swim (19:54) but was surprised when Bob Weller, who I've met before, passed me on the long swim exit to transition area run.  Bob then exited transition 20 seconds ahead of me.  I caught him on the bike inside the first mile and pushed hard, averaging 20.5 for the 12 miles.  I finished my 4th lap over 3 minutes ahead of him and added a bit more through a fast transition.  While his run time was a little faster than me, I finished 1:23 ahead of him with a final time of 1:15:16 for 1st place.  After two 2nds in my first two races, I was ready for my first win of 2013, which was also my first for the 60-64 age group.  Mike Johnson finished 3rd and we all posed for a picture at the awards

Bob Weller 2nd, Jack 1st, Mike Johnson 3rd

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# 120 Cape Coral Sprint Triathlon

Whenever we travel, I try to find a race to do but usually discover the event is the week before or the week after we're there.  This year, however, the Cape Coral Sprint Triathlon was on a Saturday morning after our Friday arrival.  I arose early as it was an hour drive plus I wasn't too sure of it's location.  It was not a USA Triathlon sanctioned event so everything was more casual than usual.

I wore my new Central Florida Tri Club top which really stands out in a crowd; see the swim start pic.  The organizers did a mass start so the swim (which took me 6:30) was a bit wild.  The 12 mile bike course was 2 loops through local neighborhoods with lots of traffic control (and drafting); I averaged 21mph.  Conditions were still pleasant for the 5K run  which had a surprise twist at the end onto the beach.  My run time of 26:54 resulted in a 1:06:54 finish time, good for 2nd place out of 6. 

I was aiming at the 60-64 course record of 1:07:34 (which I beat) except that 1st Place finished in 1:02:02!  The overall trophies were cool LED blocks of Lucite which changed colors.

# 119 Florida Challenge Half-iron Triathlon

For 19 years, I have been doing triathlons out in Clermont, run by Fred Sommers.  However, I have never done any of his long races, The Florida Challenge Half-iron or the Great Floridian Full-iron Triathlons.  Two years ago, Fred moved the Florida Challenge to cool April from hot September and I signed up for today's race last Halloween (it was on sale!).  Well, today I discovered the race is as tough as it's reputation!  This would be my first triathlon in the 60-64 age group too.

I awoke at 4:00 AM to leave by 5:00 as registration opened at 6.  It poured rain all the way there and I thought, "this should be interesting".  However, by 6:30 it had stopped so transition filled very quickly.  The day dawned with an overcast and a light breeze so Lake Minneola didn't look particularly inviting.  The water temps were around 76'F so I made the decision to use my wetsuit.  As we all stood by the water for the National Anthem, the flag began to fill and stand out in the breeze.  I took off at the gun and settled down to a nice easy rhythm.  It took me 38:40 to finish the 1.2 mile swim and I stripped off the wetsuit and put on my bike clothes.  This time was faster than my 41:33 swim in the Atlantic for the Atlantic Coast Tri in October 2010.

I promised myself to take it easy the first few miles so I was warmed up when the first hills loomed up at mile 5.  Riding uphill into a stiff headwind was countered after a turn by very quiet downhill with a strong tailwind.  Thus began the day of hills and wind.  I was ready for Sugarloaf at mile 26 (having ridden the course in January; see previous post) and was very happy to climb all the way without putting a foot down.  At mile 30, my right hamstring cramped and I stopped to stretch it out.  The rest of the 56 miles were hills and wind with some blistering 35-40mph downhills.  On-course support was excellent with the odd omission of any porta-pottis.  I rolled into transition with a time of 3:39; AVS 15.3mph.  On the very flat and windless  Atlantic Coast bike, I finished with a 2:55:55; AVS 19.3mph.

I felt a bit fatigued as I began the half-marathon so I ran/walked the first mile.  My left hamstring started to get sore early and stayed sore all through the run.  I began passing and getting passed by Jamie Myers from Sarasota so we began running together until one or the other walked a bit.  The Minneola bike trail  out-and-back course worked well  and had a bit of shade.  The field was a bit thin when I finally headed into the finishing chute for a final time of 7:16:22.  The 13.1 mile run took me 2:43, for mile splits of 12:27.

I placed 2nd out of 4 in the 60-64 age group so I was pleased with the result.  The skies finally opened and it poured about an hour after the finish.  It was a good day.