I Aced the A Race

I have two "A" races this year.  Augusta 70.3, because all this training is part of my "Road to Augusta 70.3" and my first half ironman. And Pinappleman.  Pinappleman Triathlon is the only race this year that I've done before and since sprints vary so greatly, this would be the only race this season that I could directly compare to last year to judge improvement (this goes back to competing with myself).

This year, as both my parents are also training for Augusta, they decided to also register for this triathlon.  It is so cool do these kinds of events with them.  They are beasts!  Prior to the race, we were able to capture this great photo of the three of us.

And your standard pre-race, dorky smile, hiding nerves photo that I always take.

I did better in the water than I expected.  Compared to the race the previous year, I had improved by over 4 minutes in the water.  As I ran to the transition area, I was all smiles and very excited to see this accomplishment in action.  And of course, that dang beard is back!

Bike time.  Check out those fancy clip-less shoes.  I just put these on my bike days before and only had 2 opportunities to try them out prior to the race.  Regardless of that, I clipped in with ease and was off on the bike.  I knew the course was nearly flat, but expected there to be a lot of wind.

 Just as I got going on the bike, a mini-storm came through.  The winds picked up, the rain poured down, and the fun of riding through puddles and playing in the rain began. (You can't see it in this picture but I promise you...it was storming.)

Although we had a mini-storm on the bike, the sky cleared up and the sun came out for the run.  So not to disappoint, it was incredible hot for the run.  I told myself..."run till it hurts, then run through the hurt till you finish, or till you pass out."  And that is what I did.  I ran...and it hurt.  I didn't even have any push left for me to give a little gusto cross the finish line but it felt nice to definitely be cruising along faster than the previous year.

Look at that intensity...or is that the look of, "I might kill over and die."  Either way, a finish for the records.  I had accomplished over a 15 minute PR from previous year.  No matter where I finished in my age group, I couldn't help but celebrate that as a win.  The biggest win was in the swim...no the bike...no run.  Okay, lets be honest, for someone that shows up to 'Complete' races, I sure did an awesome job 'Competing' against myself in this race.






Pineappleman is the race I signed up for in 2012 and didn't have the water confidence to even start, then in 2013 it was my third race of the season and this year, I finally had the confidence up and the training consistent.  I took 4:01 off my swim, :23 off T1, 3:38 off my bike, and 7:18 off my run.  Aced that race!

The Triathlon of Horrible Photos

Not everyone can be "ridiculously photogenic guy," but lots of people are taking great tri photos.  At the Tomoka Triathlon this year, that wasn't the case for me. In fact, these photos were so bad, they were hilarious.  And when something is that hilarious, you just cannot not share.  Enjoy and be reminded, life is too short not to laugh at yourself every once in awhile.

I was really excited for this race as I knew I was ready to redeem my water time from the previous race. So bright and early we drove to Ormond Beach.  Josh was gracious enough to join me, listen to my freak outs (I had more than one this race), cheer me on, and snap chat all my friends each leg of the race before any of them were even out of bed that morning.  And this is where the laughter begins...

Have you ever seen a more graceful, pretty, water exit?  Probably.  This is just horrible.  I look like a drunk guy with a five o'clock shadow that wanted to wear very bright lipstick (I swear I didn't have lipstick on).  Some may call it the "Josh" look (sans the lipstick). And even though you can't tell, I am very pleased here with my efforts in the water and ready to knock out the causeway crossings for both the bike and the run.

Why do I never see the camera?  I could at least smile if I did.  Instead, I look miserable. I look like I hate this sport, and I look like I am ready to be done.  Again, you can't tell, but I rocked my way through that transition and hopped on my bike proudly, ready again to have "strong mind, strong legs."  The causeway crossings were tough, but I made it up and finished the bike stronger than any race previous to this one.

See I was happy...yeah, a decent photo...but, what's that?

At closer look, I hadn't known I had a beard.  So yes, I was gabbing on the bike course with many people all while my drunken 5 o'clock shadow still existed on my face.  Why don't people tell you these things? But yes, you can tell that at least I am having fun.  A reminder of why I do this.  And I love the run.  It is my favorite part.

Some point during the run, I wiped sweat from my face and managed to finish the race without my beard. Happy with my overall effort and time.  Tomoka Sprint Triathlon will be a definite race for next year.

Ice Blocks

The start of the race, Ocala Hits Triathlon, was delayed to wait for the sun to rise; not sure if they wanted the sun for the light it would provide or for the potential heat it would provide.  Waiting on the shore that morning, the air was 52 degrees and the water was 64, I noted that doing a triathlon in March may be too early in the season...even in Florida.  This was the first race of the season and the kick off for my official "Road to Augusta 70.3."  I was, as usual, nervous.  Super nervous in fact.  I always doubt myself when it comes to the swim. And even with a few open water swims for the season (at Lucky's Lake), I was still nervous about the 750 meter swim.  Most sprints are only 400 meters.

Pre-race nerves setting in. Trying not to freeze, cry, or quit.

Coach Tammy giving me a prep talk.  Still dying inside here.

And we are off!  Yes, I am one of the people still running at that point.  I am always confused to when the right time to start swimming is, when the water is barely waist deep.  But eventually I had to start swimming.  And that I did.  When it comes to open water, I am hesitant to just "swim." I know that sounds strange, but I constantly check my watch, stop to breath "extra," and worry about people around me.  So my goal was to worry little about time and focus on only looking up to site.  I did stop a few times, but my swim felt good...

But when I saw my time, I was mad...I was really mad.  This is me stomping and pouting my way out of the water cause I was 3 minutes slower than what I wanted.  For a brief moment, I was questioning why I even wanted to do a tri. I spend several hours a week in the gym, I give up some social time, I give up sleep, I give up my weekends...for what?  To get up at 4am on a Saturday, drive to another city, freeze my booty off, stand among people thought to be crazy by their friends, and swim a crappy time after all that hard work...EEERRRRRR.

But, I would at least finish.  Let's be honest, the race shirt was pretty cool; and you can't wear it unless you finish.  So get it together; run through transition, strip the wet suit, grab the helmet, and hop on the bike is exactly what I did. I wasn't much happier on the bike for the first mile or two.  I was wet and cold and pissed...really pissed.  But then, that anger turned into something glorious, strength.  I reminded myself, that just because my swim was weak, didn't mean that my bike or run had to be weak; strong mind = strong legs.  I repeated that mantra in my head over and over and over.  All of a sudden, I was having fun again.  Hauling butt out there and taking names.  Before I knew it, I was back at transition and ready to rock the run.

The combination of wet feet and then the cool breeze created on the bike, made for an interesting run.  I hadn't noticed on the bike, but once I hopped off, I realized my feet were ice blocks. And every s-i-n-g-l-e step HURT.  Or maybe it burned.  Either way, I didn't like it.  But since my attitude had changed so dramatically, I didn't care.  I just thought, "the faster I run, the faster my feet thaw." So I went hard and fast and tried to make up those 3 minutes from the water.

Doing work and pushing hard AKA huffing and puffing my way to the finish line.

What could have easily halted my training for triathlons turned into an amazing race with great lessons and hunger for more.  I say all the time that there are completors and competors that show up to these races. I've always considered myself to be the completor.  There for the race, but more importantly the experience.  But this race help me to realize that even though I am not winning these things, I am winning against myself (I know corny...but true). And every time I wake up earlier, go further, push harder; I get stronger both mentally and phsically.  That is winning in my book.



And by some strange happening, I place that day too.  I took second place in my age group. Tammy totally rocked in the OLY taking second in her age group as well.  Here is us celebrating the win for the day and the kick off to an amazing season ahead and the Road to Augusta 70.3.

Not so Savage

This was the calm before the storm.  Literally, a super crazy storm. We took our pre-race photo and lined up to start the race.  It began to sprinkle and a mile in, the sky just opened up.  It down poured like crazy, followed by thunder and lightning.  The closed the obstacles, closed the course, and we could finish.  Luckily they were willing to accommodate us with free race entries to the October race...so we will be back to dominate.

I forgot the best part...

They crowned us and gave us booze.
That's the perfect end to an awesome race!
Excalibur 10 Miler

Run, Fun, and Finish

What could be more fun than waking up at 4am on Sunday morning to go run 10 miles?  How about waking up at 4am to run 10 miles with a theme!  That's right, the Excalibur 10 miler was in full renaissance mode last Sunday morning.  And I was in full running mode.  This was actually my first 10 miler race, so my expectations were low.  Just finish, have fun, and run.  Well, and if I broke 1 hour 30 minutes...that wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Starting the day with Tammy and a few new friends.

Great start to the morning.  First 3 miles flew by.  I was in my running/music zone and didn't notice how fast they flew by.

 I might have been having too much fun out there.  I ruined this poor ladies picture.  But yeah, I kinda love races like this.

Speaking of having fun.  Tammy was having more fun than anyone.  She was taking photos, facebooking, and meeting new friends.  She always makes this look way too easy.  But she kept me motivated to keep a solid pace.  We scored this sweet goofball photo along the way.

Somewhere around mile 7 and I was still having a good time, jamming to my music, dancing, and of course smiling.  This was probably around the time that I realized I could actually run a sub 1:30. Maybe all the effort, time, and of course intervals were paying off.

With a strong sprint, I managed to finish 1:28:51.  8/83 for my age group.  Definitely can't complain about that.

Lucky's Lake

So maybe I can swim...in a pool.  But open water is a different story.  I pretend to not being dying inside...but I usually am.  Simply at the fear of really dying.  I've been avoiding Lucky's Lake for some time now, but with Augusta just 7 months away...it was time to sink or swim.  I mean swim, definitely swim.

It was a cold morning and the water was just about 64 degrees.  So not only did I have to conquer to idea of drowning or being eaten by a gator, I also had to worry about not freezing to death.  This is the look of fear covered with a fake smile.  But heck, there were tons of people and Tammy was there to hold my hand (she literally same the first length right next to me).

And that's what a real smile looks like.  I completed a Lucky Lake's crossing and went back for more ("Coach" Tammy kicked in and decided one crossing wasn't enough).

Signing the wall.  Let's do it again!!