Ga. State Mountain Bike Race #3 - Winder, Ga.

Well it doesn't seem as though I get much sleep as it is pretty warm inside the tent all night, but I do get to sleep in. I finally get up around 8:00am head to the showers. I plan on eating on the way over to the mountain bike races. I am not in a rush, so I just take my time. After my shower I take down the tent and put everything up for the trip. I leave camp around 9:00am.

Fort Yargo State Park is the venue for the mountain bike race. I have never been or raced here before yesterday. The course is very hilly and technical with a long winding hill towards the end of the course.

I get to the park in time to see Nikki and wish her good luck. She is racing in the pro women category which does 3 laps around the course or 30 miles! I can barely complete 1 lap or 10 miles. I guess you just have to pace yourself and have plenty of food and drinks available. I talked to Jose Mendez recently and he says that he has a small cooler set-up at the start finish line with his food and drinks in it. When he goes by, he stops long enough to slam a sandwich and a cold beverage and hits the trail again.

So now I have to wait about 2 hours before we can start the race. They won't start us until all of the pro's have started their last lap. For some reason the race is running a little behind so we have to sit around a wait longer than expected.



Well the time is here and we are ready to start. 3, 2, 1 and we are off! I start on the front row like always trying to get into a good position early. Well for some reason I can't get my left foot into the pedal and am getting passed by everyone. By the time I get going, I am almost in last place. So I now have to kick it in passing gear early on and get back to where I belong.

The first part of the course is relatively flat some rolling hills, but pretty technical. The field has spread out a good bit, so I follow a small group that is ahead of me. I don't get a chance to pass until we get to the first big hill. Since I am pretty string on the hills, I take full advantage of this. I pass several guys on the way up and even a couple on the way back down the other side.

We are now coming to another flat but open area towards the back side of the lake. The guy in front of me has asked me if I wanted to pass and he would pull aside, so I tell him that I am going to go for it now. I see a group of guys ahead and hope to catch them before they go back into the woods. I put the hammer down and am able to catch them and pass about 6 guys in the process! YAY

I hit the woods full steam ahead, but it quickly starts climbing up another incline. Small but long and winding. I feel my heart rate climbing too and soon my heart rate monitor starts beeping meaning that my heart rate is over 180 beats per minute. I slow down a little to try to get it under control, but can't slow down too much. This section of the course is heavily wooded and has several power line crossings.

As we head deeper into the woods the course has some pretty deep revenes. They are pretty close to each other and about 8 feet deep. You really have to be very careful as you can get thrown off of your bike. These a very steep too. You could fly over the handle bars too if you lean to far forward. I hit them almost prefect every time and come out unscathed.



Coming out of this area is another long winding hill to climb. I actually am really close to the guy in front of me and my front tire bumps his back tire. No one is hurt and I don't even think that he felt it. I do eventually pass this guy and continue on to the next area.

I soon catch up to another guy and notice that he riding a single speed bike. I make a comment to him about it and he quickly announces that his bike is also a hard tail and hard nose! Meaning no shocks at all!!! I am quite amazed and tell him that he is crazy. He just shouts back that he loves it and starts to pull away from me! WOW I better keep my mouth shut next time. LOL

We now come to a road crossing. There are several volunteers there to control the traffic. We fly down a small hill dropping down to the road catching a little air for the audience and quickly heading off into the woods again. This section is pretty flat and not so technical. I am still with the single speed guy and we are flying through the trees.

This section comes out at the bottom of the hill and we have to cross a wooden bridge over a creek that feeds the lake. On the other side of the creek is the first of the big hills! It is pretty steep and several switch-backs. We have caught a couple of other riders and have to pass them going up the hill. It is pretty touch, but we make it up with no issues. We are out of the woods now and it is really bright and hot. The top of the hill comes out right next to the main entrance of the park and follows the main road for about a mile or so it seems.

We come to a small section that I call the rock garden. It is probably the area that actually has a large gathering of exposed rocks. These can be very technical to cross as some of them are pretty large. Don't want to fall around them! This section comes out and parallels the road again. We soon go over another bridge and have a 90 degree left turn heading back towards the main part of the lake and the BIG hills.

We are now back into the woods and are taking a long flat and pretty straight trail. But I know that the hills are rapidly approaching. This trail leads right to the bottom of THE hill. This is the hill that I had to get off of the bike and walk it up yesterday. The single speed bike guy is still right in front of me but I think that I can pass him on the hill. As I suspected, we get all of the towards the top and he has to get off of the bike because he doesn't have any gears!!! I quickly go around and take off again.

This section quickly ends and I cross the main road and head into what is the last section of the race. This section is pretty flat but very technical. Only one more small hill towards the end and I am home free. I can't remember if I pass anyone in this section or not as my mind is pretty blurred by now. The start/finish line is right by the main camp ground parking lot and pavilion. There is probably 100 people gathered around watching the finish line. I come flying out of the woods and here all of the cheers. Are they yelling for me? I don't know, but it does bring a smile to my face.

I finish the race in 59:27 with an 8th place out of 20. Not too shabby if I say so myself. The race was pretty grueling and I have an average heart rate of 164.

Official raceResults

Another weekend of back-to-back races - cycling

Well about 2 years ago I was fortunate enough to go watch the Athen's Twilight Crit road bike races in Athen's, Ga. I was so impressed with the racing and how fast they went that I said that I would like to try it one day. Well that one day came last Saturday. I have been training for the past 2 years and I felt that my time had come. Although I didn't really feel as though I had a chance of placing, I was up for the challenge, or so I though.

I also noticed that there was a mountain bike race the same weekend, but on Sunday, in Winder, Ga. at Fort Yargo State Park. This is only about 30 miles from Athens, so I might as well give it try while I am up there. I have the bike and the experience (1 race).

So I planned out my schedule as it would be a long weekend. I would leave right after work on Friday. I would be camping so I needed to go there first so I could get my tent set up before it got too late (no noise after 10pm). Butch was supposed to go with me but backed out at the last minute. So I am once again going alone!

Well I am now in Athen's Friday night after setting up my camp site. This is a real party town and everyone is out and about in downtown. There are vendors set-up and the pro's are having a stationary bike race to set the starting positions for their race on Saturday night. Everything related to the race is starting to close up for the night, and I am tired so I head back to the camp ground to get some sleep. My race is at 9:30am.

I have signed up for the Cat 5 race but it looks as though they are combining the Cat 4 and 5 together. I don't understand this as I am not a Cat 4 cyclist, but all I can do is hope that we still race in our own Cat. Well I guess I am wrong as I find out early Saturday morning at Jittery Joes when I pick up my race pack and bib number. Cat 4-5 combined and top 10 go to the finals. The finals are to be at 5:45 on the crit course downtown. We are racing this morning off site around the Greenway Loop. It is a 1.3 mile loop around a stretch of the Oconee River just north of the downtown area. It is mostly flat with one slight up hill and downhill.

So I set up my trainer and ride it for about 15 minutes to get the legs warmed up before I have to go to the start line. There are several other guys and girls doing the same thing in the parking lot. So I am now warmed up and getting ready for the race. I have about 15 minutes before the start time so I head up to the start line.

There are other races going on before us, so we have to wait around until they are finished before we can start. While I am waiting, I see Jose Solis and his son and say hello and wish them luck on their races. Jose Sr. races in the 40+ Masters age group and Jose Jr. races in the Cat 4-5 Under 35 age group.

So we are now set to go at the starting line. The count down starts and we are off. I am staged about 3/4 towards the front of the pack. I have trouble getting my left shoe locked into the pedal and loose alot of positions. I am now heading down the first hill and we hit the first turn at about 30 miles per hour. The second corner comes up real fast and a guy cuts me off and I have to hit the brakes real hard. My back tire locks up and skids out a little before I let off and regain control. By this time I am getting passed by everyone! I try to look for a break so that I can get back into the pack, but there is none. I go straight to the back! This sucks and was my worst nightmare. I struggle to keep up and am dropped on the back straight away.

So now I am all alone and sucking wind fast. Although my first lap was a whopping 27 miles per hour, I am now struggling to maintain 22. This race is a 30 minute race plus 3 laps, and I am only on lap number 2. Oh well, that is the breaks. I am not going to quit, so I keep telling myself to keep going and do the best that I can. I am actually not in last place either. So I keep pushing along and even get some cheers from the crowd watching. This is quite inspiring. I even start talking to a couple of cute girls on the back stretch as I go by every lap.

Well the agony is short lived and the race is now officially over. I finished 28th out of 30 riders. Time was 43.5 minutes. Averaged 21.5 miles per hour with a heart rate of 172. I go back to see the girls that cheered me and give the a well deserved thank you and hi-five. I head back to the truck a little disappointed but glad that I gave it try.

I am now on my way over to Fort Yargo State Park to go check out the mountain bike course. It is only a 30 minute drive and it will give me a little time to rest the legs for a short while. I want to ride to course to see what it is all about. There is an Exterra (off road triathlon) race there this morning and was hoping to see some of it.

So I get here a little too late and they are giving out the awards for the Exterra race. I look around to see if there is anyone that I might know, but I don't see anyone. I might like to give this race a try next year too. There isn't many people here, so I watch the awards and go get my bike out to hit the trails. I have to get back to Athens by 5:45 to watch the start of the finals. I plan on taking it slow around the course, so it will probably take me over an hour to do it all.

The course is 10.8 miles and is pretty hilly. It goes all of the way around the lake. Towards the end of the course is a series of large hills. My legs are starting to cramp on me so I have to get off of the bike and walk it up them. I really hope that I don't have this problem tomorrow!

So after my ride I decide that I am going to do the race and sign up. I now have to take a shower and head back to the camp ground. So I grab a bite to eat and talk to a couple of people there. Head to the showers and head back to the camp ground.

I have a little time before the finals start so I decide that I am going to take a nap. I try to lay down in the tent but it is just too hot in there. So I set up one of my chairs and sit outside in the breeze for a while, but don't get that nap that I wanted. I decide to make a few phone calls and let everyone know what is going on.

It is now 5:30 and I head back over to Athens to watch the finals. There is all kind of races and festivities going on all day. Kids races, a 1 mile sprint for $1000 cash, a chariot race, recumbent bike race, etc...

So after all of that is over, I finally get to see the Cat 4 finals. Jose made it so I am looking for him. I never find him or his son so I have no idea how he did. I did see a couple other guys from the Columbus Bike racing team and said hey to them. I don't think that they knew who I was either! LOL

So I hang around waiting for the big finally race, the pro men. It isn't supposed to start until 8:45, but actually starts around 9:30pm. I watch it for several laps, but have to leave before the finish as I am just too tired to stay up late. I have to be over at the mountain bike race by 11am, plus I have to take down my tent and pack everything up.

So I head back to camp and hit the sack. After I get my McDonald's ice cream cone that is! Yummy...

View the Athen's Twilight Crit Results

The Noob

Georgia State Mountain Bike Race #2

This week I decided that I wanted to try a mountain bike race. The Columbus Cycle Club plays host every year to the Georgia State Mountain Bike Championships Race #2 of an 8 race series. It is held at Flat Rock Park, which has a pretty technical and challenging 10 miles course. I thought about doing it last year, but I didn't have a bike at the time. So this year I have been looking for a bike to buy, but with not much luck as the monetary funds are rather low. So I decided to ask brother Kent if I could borrow his bike. To my surprise he obliged and let me take it out for a spin.

I picked up the bike on Tuesday and took it over to the park to see what happens. It was my first time ever on the bike or the course. I had no idea what I was doing nor did I know where I was going. So I just tooled around and found my way around without getting too lost. It had rained a couple of days before so the course was pretty wet in some spots, but not too bad. Kent told me that he had never taken the bike off road before, so here was my chance to show the bike how dirty it can get. Not only did the bike get dirty, but I had quite a bit on me too. My first ride went good and I survived the course. But I really needed to get some more time on it and hopefully with someone that knew what they were doing. I talk to some friends at skate practice on Wednesday and they tell that some guys are going out there on Thursday to ride the course, so I decided that I will try to meet them out there then.

Well Thursday comes around and I head out to find out who is riding. I meet up with Gabe Jr and he tells me that some guys are already out on the course. So he calls them and they tell him that they are headed to the bridge and we should try to meet them there. So we hop on the bikes and head out. Gabe doesn't tell me who we are going to meet, so I don't think much of it. So we see them coming off of the trail onto the road right at the bridge so we hop in line right after them. I am here just to try to figure out the trail and maybe get a few pointers while I am here.

So we head up the trail and are going at a pretty pace. There is a girl leading us up, but I have no idea who she is. She soon starts pulling away from us and has a pretty good lead. Now I am really wondering who the hell this girl is. She is strong. Well about that time, the guy ahead of Gabe starts pulling a gap and before I know it he is gone. So I am now all by myself again! :( Oh well, all is good I guess. Well it was good until my chain comes off. So I put it back on and start riding again.

I am now in one the most technical and hilly parts of the course. I am going up some steep hills when the chain comes off again. Now I am starting to get really pissed. So I put it back on and start again. Now the gears start to shift/hop around on their own. I am really pissed and decide to head back to the car. As long as I am not getting on it really hard, the bike/gears do fine.

Well I get back the car and find Gabe and tell him of my problems. He tells me that he can fix it for me if I could bring the bike to the shop on Friday. So I agree and ask him who those 2 people were that we riding with. He tells me that it was Jose and Nikki. Jose and Nikki?!?! They are the top male and female riders in the state! No wonder they left me in the dirt!

So Friday comes and I take the bike over the The Bike Shop of Columbus and get Gabe to check it out. He tunes it up in about 10 minutes and I am on my way. He assures me that it is not going to give me any problems during the race on Sunday. So to check it out, I go the park on Saturday, just in case. He was right and I have a good, slow paced ride just to hit the high points of the course.

Well Sunday is now here and it is time for the races. I get up around 7:30am and head over to the park. The pro bikers are to start at 8:30 or so I though. There is a 50% chance of rain, so I bring all of my rain gear and my Georgia canopy just in case. I set up camp and go over the start line to see what is going on and to see if I know anyone that is there.

I do see alot of the CCC members and so I talk to a few of them before the racing starts. The first races of the day are the kids. They are just too cool! I didn't even know that they made mountain bikes that small. They are only going to 1 or 2 laps around the green 1 mile loop of the course depending on their age group.

The next groups up are the pro men and women. They are going to do 3 laps around the 10 mile course. The last groups to go are the beginners, which I am in the 40-49 age group. We hit the trails at 11:30am.

So here we go. We line up at the start and I get on the front row. The whistle blows and we are off. I hit the trail in about 5th place out of 14 guys. The trail starts out with a slight down hill and then back up hill. My legs are already burning as I start up the hill. I know that they will be fine after a while so I just try to keep up with the leaders. The first area of the course is relatively flat with about half open area and half wooded.

We come out of the first area and go through the finish line gate and have to turn a sharp 135 degree right and head down the hill to the chicane. The chicane is a twisting snake-like path going from side to side down what looks like a drainage ditch. It is very fast as we are flying from side to side. Alot of on-lookers are there to see all of the action too. It is not a hard section, but it is somewhat technical as you really have to pay attention to what you are doing.

The next section is a long couple of switch-back going up the side of a hill. It is not that hard, but it does have a lot of loose rocks all over it. There are also a couple of gullies that you have watch out for. At the top of the hill is a fallen tree that has been cut for the bike path to go through it. It is only about 3 feet wide so you have to be careful here too as it is on a slight left hand corner. You don't want to catch your pedal on the tree.

Over the top of the hill is the dreaded rock garden! I had a lot of problems with this area the test rides I had over here, so I was not looking forward to it at all. I told myself it is better to walk the bike through it than to get hurt. So I hit it flying just like the leaders right in front of me. My adrenaline is pumping so hard I don't even slow down. I have absolutely no problems going down through the rocks. A guy right in front of does though. He hits the bottom of the garden which is a steep drop-off over a series of large roots. You have to basically jump it with all of your weight on the back of the bike. Well I don't know what he did wrong, but all I see is him going head over heels flipping into the woods. It is a huge reality check as to the dangers of the race, but I keep on riding ahead. I don't want the loose the leaders.

I am now at the hardest section of the rock garden, climbing up the hill. I have only seen a couple of the pros do it earlier in the race. It is very steep and technical, not to mention the loose rocks and leaves covering the path. So I immediately jump off of the bike and run it up the hill. There is a large crowd watching us on top a large boulder near the top of the hill. My friends Butch and Kathy are there to cheer me on too!!! YAY

So I fly up the hill and I am gasping for every breath that I can get. The top of the hill is flat and drops off slightly into the next section.

The next section is again pretty technical with some rolling hills and a sand pit. So I have to maintain a good pace going into it as I don't want to bog down in the sand. The sand is all chewed up from the earlier racers and is a total mess mixed with some mud too. I hit it fast and don't bog down too much. I just keep my legs moving and power my way through it. It is a relatively short section with a few tight turns and a couple steeps narrow hills on the other side. I blast through the hills and hit the switch back a little too fast. I get a little bit off of the course but am quickly back on it and heading back up the hill again and to the next section.

This section is pretty flat with a slight down hill most of the way. It too can be fast, but you have to watch out for the roots and rocks. It goes down and back with 3switch backs. The hardest one is at the end where you have a hard left hand turn as you are going up the last part of the hill back to the top. This section doesn't give me any problems and I blast right through it.

The next section is pretty easy with several switch backs through some dense under brush and trees. At the bottom is a drainage creek with some rocks piled into it for us to ride across. This could be another problem area, but isn't. I am still right behind the leaders and hanging tough. My legs are feeling a little washed out by now, but I am able to get a little rest going down the previous 2 sections. The next sections are open but long and hilly.

The first part goes through a small group of small pine trees as we hit the first of many hills. We quickly come out of the trees and hit the open area. It has several rolling hills. Some of the down hills are very fast but the up hills are rocky and pretty steep and long. I am actually able to pass a guy going up the first big hill! YAY. I have always been strong on the hills.

We entry the next section and I have a good lead on the guy that I passed. This section is pretty technical and has several steep dips criss-crossing through a drainage ditch. This is where my chain came off the other day, so I have to be careful here. So far so good and I blast through another section with no problems.

Next comes the flat rock section. It only has one technical spot and it is a rock that you have to jump up on over a 16" vertical rise. I have never been able to complete this and have chickened out many times. But I have to do it if I am going to keep up with he other guys. They are starting to pull a good lead on me by now. So I hit the rock full speed ahead. I make it over the vert, but as soon as I try to pedal up the tires spin out and I go down. No problem as only the bike hits the rock and not me. I quickly hop back on and take off. Right around the corner is a pretty steep climb over some small loose rocks and then a steep decent down the other side back on to the flat rocks again.

The guy that I passed has now caught up to me again and is right on my tail. He follows me for most of the way through the large open area as we head back towards the main area. We go down a steep hill and he passes me right after the bottom. But wait, it is not him after all. It is someone else from the group that started behind us. WOW, he must be really fast.

So at the end of the open area is a very technical and tight section of heavy woods. You have to be really careful here as a tree will just out and grab you handle bars before you can blink your eye. I am about halfway through the section and another guy comes up behind me and wants to pass. So I pull off wide going around a switchback and he passes. Well I keep going and then another guy comes up behind me and wants to pass. So I do the same thing and guess who it is. The guy that I passed earlier. He has finally caught me and is ready to go. So I get through this section again with no problems, but I do pass a guy and one of the steep hills and I see a guy sitting on the ground fixing a flat. What a bummer that would be!

So we come out of this section and head back over the creek and up the right side of the hill and to the long flat straight-away. I am thinking ahead and hoping that I might be able to catch some of the leaders here. Well by the time I get to the top of the hill to the flat area, my legs are about waisted! I have almost no energy left in them except to just maintain a forward motion. Luckily there isn't any of my competitors right behind me to pass, but I have the feeling that I am now not going to be able to catch anyone ahead of me either. They have a large lead on me by now.


I have my tent and chairs set up near the end of the long straight-away and am hoping that Butch and Kathy are there by now to cheer me on. Yep, there they are. It is so nice to have friends to come out to support you when you are trying to kill yourself!~! LOL Well in the blink of your eye I am gone and into the next section. Only 3 more miles some one yells! YAY, the home stretch. Hopefully I don't completely run out of steam in here.

This section is the last new section before we hit the first section of the race again right before the finish. It is real flat but very technical with a lot of switch backs. It can be very fast if you are willing to take the risk of a tree grabbing you. I am almost all out of energy, so I decide that I have a good lead on my next competitor and am going to take it somewhat easy through here. Well as soon as I get that out of my head and guy catches me and wants to pass. I look back and see that he is not in my age group and let him go. Another guy soon catches me and again he is not in my age group and I let him go. Well I have had about enough of this passing and I am ready for the race to be over, so I hit the gas again.

I hit the last (first) section and there is only one guy in front of me that I can see. Now I have new challenge, catch that guy and try to beat him to the finish line. The race is on and I am catching up to him. We hit the last down hill and am flying to the finish line. I am right on his heals and we go through the last dip in the trail but he gets me at the line. After we cross the line I realize that he is not in my age group and all that effort at the end was for nil, but it was fun.

The race is now over and I think that I finished in about 5th place. I am looking for my friends and wanting somewhere to sit down and rest. It is really amazing that I can exert so much energy for an hour and still be able to stand up and talk~! LOL

I think that I had a really good race and will probably do more of it in the future. The final results are in and I come in 6th place in my age group(40-49). Not too bad for a first timer I think. My official time was 57:33. My heart rate monitor averaged 172 for the race.

Click here for the Results

Celebrity Classic 5K Run

As a tradition between Kent and I, we run again in this race. This is the race that I ran my first 5K in 3 years ago. I have placed 3rd twice, so I am looking for a higher placement this year.

The course is a pretty flat run with 2 small hills on it. We start at the Bulldog Bait shop off of Victory Dr. The run goes out half way and turns around and comes back to the starting line for the finish.

It is typically a small race, but there are usually more people entered into the 10K run than the 5K run.

SO the 10K runners go first and then we go. I always tend to have a fast start out of the gate. So when the cannon goes off, I am ready to go strong. I really would like to beat Kent for once. He is a strong runner, but has a slow start.

So I get a good jump on him at the start, but I don't how far back he is. Last year he caught me at the 1 mile marker and I wasn't able to keep his pace. So I get to the first mile marker and he isn't there. My time is 7:22, which is very fast for me. But I have planty of energy and keep on my pace.

I hit the turn-around and see Kent. He is about 100 feet or so behind me, but I know he will try to catch me if he can. I hae to maintain my pace and try to stay that distance ahead of him. I hit mile 2 at 14:20. I am actually faster than my first mile. Alright, this is great!!! Kent is going to have to bust his balls to catch me now! LOL

Well I am heading down the last hill towards the finish line when I hear foot steps coming up behind me. Yep, you guessed it, it is Kent and he has that look of determination on his face. I take a quick look back and kick in the afterburners! Whatever I have, I am giving it my all. Kent has the same idea and we are fighting head-to-head to the finish line.

We are hitting the pavement stride-for-stride and cross the finish line together and record the same exact time, 23:28. I can't believe it. It is my second fastest 5K time ever, and my fastest on a non-down hill course. I am guite amazed that I was able to maintain that pace and almost beat Kent for the first time.

I actually had a lot of fun racing Kent and I will (hope) to get him next time. Kent and I both record our first 1st places in a 5K run in our age groups! YAY

Tampa Classic Inline Speed Skating Races

The 2009 Tampa Classic is a 3 day event consisting of indoor and outdoor short and long distance speed skating races. Indoors I race the Elite Veteran Men (45-49 age group) and the Novice Master Men (35+ age group). Outdoors I race the 45+ age group. Indoor races consist of 2 races in each division, a 500 meter race and a 1000 meter race on a 100 meter oval track. Outdoor races consist of 2 races on a closed 500 meter asphalt road course, a 1500 meter race and a 10,000 meter race.

Indoor races started Thursday evening with the 3-person relays. Friday morning (6am) starts the Elite division individual races. My first race is the 500 meter Veteran men race. I start the race off of the line in 2nd place. After about 3 laps, I pass up to 1st place. I have so much momentum going into the corner that I have to go out wide. When I do this 3 guys pass me back and I am now in 4th place. After a couple of guys get together on the last lap, I am back in 2nd place and going for the lead. We hit the last corner and I try to pass him and he hawks me at the line for the win by inches. I finish in 2nd place.

My second race is the 1000 meter race. I start off of the line in 5th place. I hold my position until about 5 laps when I start to move up. I pass every guy one by one until I get back into 2nd position. I can't quite get him and finish in 2nd place again. So I finish with 2nd place overall in the Veteran Men division.

Saturday morning starts the Novice division races. I start my 500 meter race in 4th place and am catching the 3rd place position when I slip and fall down with only one lap to go. So I get a DNF for that race, which really pissed me off. I know that I can beat these guys, so I have to really go for it in the 1000 meter race.

The 1000 meter race starts and I am in last place off of the line because I slip on the start. I slowly start to pass up during the race and am in 3rd place with 3 laps to go. I am getting set-up to pass up to 2nd place when I slip again and fall. I jump up and take off to try to finish the race, but am too far back and finish in last place. So I do not place at all in the Novice division.

Sunday concludes with the outdoor races. I have a 1500 meter (3 laps) race and a 10,000 meter (20 laps) race. The first race is the 1500 meter race. I come off of the line in 3rd place. I decide to stay there and draft behind them until the last lap. The 4th place guy passes me on the last lap and we hit skates as he goes around me. I thought that we were going to fall down, but we didn't. I am in last place when we come around the last corner. As I am setting up the turn, I am crossing over as hard as I can. I am right behind the guys as I hit the corner with a lot of momentum and sprint to the finish line passing all by the leader for 2nd place.

So now it is time for the last race of the weekend for me. They are going to run all age groups 17 years old and up together because the race is too long to run each age group separately. So we are off and I am somewhere towards the middle of the pack. I goal is to try to stay close to the other guys in my age group. I am right behind the 2nd place guy and stay with him for about 5 or 6 laps. The lead pack to going way too fast for me and I have to back off if I am going to finish the race. My heart rate monitor is reading 183 after only a half lap.

So I back off some and get dropped in the process, but I am maintaining my pace. I know that I can finish the race as long as I don't do anything stupid. I am skating a fast pace for me, but don't know how fast it actually is. Slowly people start to drop off their pace and I start passing them. I am skating the rest of the race all by myself now. After about 17 laps, the leaders finally cath me and pass me. I try to just in behind them but just can't keep up with their pace. I never see the guys in my age group again.

I finish the race in 18:01 at an average speed of 20.66 miles per hour and a heart rate average of 182. I get 3rd place in my age group and 3rd place overall for the outdoor races.

So this brings the end to another long weekend of tough inline speed skating races. I accomplished some goals and am disappointed in some others. Overall I had a great time and came home with 4 medals, a t-shirt, bike jersey and an insulated water bottle. Congratulations to all of the other skaters and thanks to the good folks at United Skates of America and the Stardust Speed team for hosting and sponsoring the Tampa Classic.

The Red Hills Triathlon

1/3 Mile Swim 16 Mile Bike 5K Run

Well with much anticipation and lack of sleep, the day has finally arrived. My first triathlon of the season and with great competitive spirit against by friend Rob, head-to-head for the first time. This has been the much touted best friend rivalry for quite a while and now we are to actually go at it together, and in the same wave no doubt. The wave is the 40+ men and women. While I give Rob alot of credit for being and awesome runner, he is actually NOT 40 yet, but due to USAT rules he has to race in the age group of the year of his birthday. HA! An official "cheater"...LOL

So, there is much of a bragging right to be won here today. Rob with his 20 something 5K time and me with my 21+ mile per hour bike speed, it will all come down to the swim and transition times, or so we think anyway.

The Red Hills triathlon gets it's name from nothing else but the hills from around the Tallahassee area. They are not monster in nature, but they are hills none the less. For some good reason, I LOVE hills and Rob hates them. So I plan to take this to my advantage, if I can that is. I know that Rob can blow me away in the run, so this is my only advantage and I will have to capitalize on it.

Well it is Friday, April 3rd and I am heading down to Tallahassee early to get there before 6 so that I can get my race pack and possibly go over to the race site and check things out. I get there around 5:30 and pick up my race pack and head over to MaClay Gardens State Park where the race will be held. Luckily the park rangers are leaving as I pull in to the gate and I don't to pay the $4 entry fee. I am only going to be there a few minutes anyway so why should I have to pay, right? So I scoot on in and follow the signs to Lake Hall where the race will start. As I pull into the parking lot, I see quite a few people there and some of them are actually swimming in the lake. The water temp is supposedly around 70 degrees, so that is pretty cold to me. So of course I have to go down to the lake to check it out and feel the water for myself. It is actually not as bad as I thought it would be.

So I am standing around admiring all of the people and the beauty of the park when I guy comes up putting his wetsuit on. Aha, what a great idea! I will go get mine and hit the water for a quick swim. Couldn't hurt to get a little head start on the competition, right? So I head back to the car and get my stuff and go change. I hit the water running with the intent to just swim out a few 100 yards or so and come back. The water is actually perfect for me and I cruise out like a battleship, armed and dangerous. This being the first time I have actually swam with the wet suit on, I am totally amazed at how buoyant I am. This is awesome!!! I am going to tear up the swim so I think. As I am swimming back to the boat ramp, a small group of 20 somethings have arrived to check things out and are now watching me. Me? Why me? I am nobody. They are curious on how the water is, so I tell them that it is wonderful. The only problem that I had was my goggles fogged up a little.

So I am now off to change back into my street clothes and call Rob to see if he brought any anti-fog stuff for our goggles. He does have it! YAY. No problems. Well I am starving now and I really need to go check in to the motel. So I head over to it and check in. I ask the clerk where a good seafood restaurant was. My traditional pre-race meal is grilled fish, rice, and steamed veggies. So I have to find it somewhere in town. The clerk highly recommends that I check out Barnacle Bills. It is about 2 miles right down the road.

So off I go to find the local treasure. He is right and it is packed. It is Friday evening so it is normal. I go in and it just like I though. A hole in the wall with great food. Just like I like it. So I head right over to the bar where I am going to eat. It looks as though there specialty is raw oysters, but I don't know if that is a good choice for a pre-race meal so I ignore the temptation. I really need carbs and protein, a complete meal in other words. I choose the grilled Salmon with some kind of Greek sauce cooked on it. It is very good as I expected and so was the sweet tea, rice and veggies. I am stuffed, especially after 4 glasses of tea!

So I now head back to the motel to check out my emails and the latest news online, which usually takes all night. I do need to try to get to bed a little earlier than normal though. Rob and Lisa are leaving late and won't arrive until around 1:00am. So I check out my online necessities and head to the room. It is now 11:00pm and I decide to try to go to sleep. Well after much brain activity, I am unable to fall asleep and before I know it Rob and Lisa arrive. It is now 1am and we have to get up at 5:45 to get ready and get to the race and set up.

So we chit-chat a while finally go to bed. I think that I got about an hour to sleep before the alarm goes off. So I hop up and hit the shower.
My nerves are starting to get cranked up, but I don't feel nervous. This is supposed to fun! Rob says that he is getting a little nervous too. It is going to be a great head-to-head race between us. I am really stoked to finally see how it goes too.

So now we are at the race looking for a place to park. We finally end up about a mile from the starting line and we have no lights to see what we are doing! GREAT!!! Well everything is OK because we have plenty of time. We gather everything up and ride our bikes to the transition area. It is already packed, but the excitement is filling the air. Not to mention that there are lots of pretty girls to look at! LOL Tallahassee being the home of Florida State University has plenty of them. I figured that some of them would be in the race too.

So I set up my transition area and put on my wetsuit halfway.
The race director comes on over the megaphone and says the they are going to play the American flag song. So we listen with anticipation with our hands over our hearts. We now head over to the lake and get ready for the start. There are 5 waves and we are in the last one. Which is good for me because that means there is less people behind me to run me over!

Well the gun finally goes off and we are running in the water. I dive in and start churning it up. I think that I am going at a good pace, but I can feel my heart rate starting to climb rapidly. I am not in MY pace so I start to back it down a little. Well I immediately start to get run over, bumped, and everything else that can be thrown at me. If I was only a little faster this all would go away. I wish!!! So I have to deal with it for a while until they all pass me. LOL I am now not feeling good and I feel as though I can't breathe. I am starting to panic and am trying to decide what to do. I can't stop, so I look over at the safety crew that is all around to assist us. A girl spots me and asks if I am OK. Of course not! Can't you tell that I am about to drown? I refuse her help and flip over on my back to try to take a break and catch my breath. I do this for probably 100 yards and start to feel alot better. I am now at the back of the pack and the water is not as rough and crowded. I am at the second turn so I flip back over and am going to try to make all of the way back without stopping again.

This works great and I am back to full steam ahead.
Maybe I need to start in the back next time?!? So I finally arrive at the boat ramp and walk out of the grueling water. I finish the swim in 12:31, 9th in my age group. Lisa is standing right there and is taking my picture. She tells me that Rob is just in front of me and of course I don't believe her. But she is right and he has just entered the transition area. So now I am pumped and run to get on the bike. Rob is only about 10 seconds ahead of me and I know that I have the advantage on the bike. It is now my time to shine.

I head off up the hill and start looking for Rob. There he is and I catch him around mile 2. He knows that I am coming and is dreading it too. I pass him going up the first hill, but he gets me going down the next one. The battle is on now!!! The next hill is mine and I am not going to let up. I smash the hill and never look back. So now that I got rid of my nemesis, I have to concentrate on passing as many people as I can. I loose count at around 30 as this 59 year old man passes me like he is on a mission! Damn it! Who does this old man think that he is? He can't do that to me. So now I have another mission, To keep up with this guy and not let me beat me.
Well that is all fine and dandy until a 60 year old guy passes me! What the hell? They must have taken a double dose of Geritol this morning. I am in dead trouble now. Push, push, push I keep telling myself. These guys really know what they are doing, which is kicking my ass! I hang with them for quite a while but they eventually drop me. Oh well. What is a young pup like me to do in this kind of situation? Take it like a man and just hope that I am still alive and able to compete when I am their age. LOL

So on we go. I am maintaining a good pace and averaging 21 miles per hour. I just wonder how much of a lead I have on Rob? Where is he? Do I have enough lead so that he can't catch me in the run? I hope so because here it is. I finish the bike in 45:35, which is 21.1 miles per hour. 4th in my age group too! I have not finished the bike section of any tri lower than 5th in my age, ever; and I am proud of it too.

So I fly into the transition area and throw on my running shoes and take off. I see Rob coming in as I am leaving out and know that he is going to be about 2 minutes behind me. I know that he will catch me somewhere on the run, but don't know where. I am still stoked that I am leading him at this point and give it my all. I have been wearing my heart rate monitor the entire race and it gone off a couple times during the bike. It sounds an alarm when my heart rate gets over 180. I look down at it and it is reading around 176. I am running a good pace for me as I don't want to burn myself out trying to stay ahead of Rob.
If he passes me it will be OK. So I am about half way into the run and I turn a 90 degrees corner to the left which gives the chance to look back for Rob. SHIT, there he is about 100 yards behind me and he is coming strong! Oh well, I will just have to eat it and mess with him as much as I can.

I hear him running up behind me so I holler back at him to slow down. There are a couple of other guys close by and start laughing at us. We start yelling at each other in a friendly way and I try to block him. LOL My heart rate monitor is now freaking out as I am talking while running and also trying to mess with Rob. I look down it is says 196~! SHIT, I am going to die...I have to slow down. So I say good by to Rob and he is gone. I keep going and now my heart rate is saying 201...OMG!!! I have never seen it that high before. What the hell is going on? The beeping is loud and it never stops until I finish the race! I finish the run in 27:01, 2:21 behind Rob.

Well he got me this time! So I am heading back to the pool and with the wetsuit this time. LOL Although I won't be using it again until August, I still need to get used to it. Maybe I can go to the lake and swim there before the water gets too warm. Only time will tell.


So in conclusion, Rob ran a 1:25:29 and I ran a 1:27:50. Here is the breakdown:

Swim Adv T1 Adv Bike Adv T2 Adv Run Adv
Rob 11:54 +:37 2:03 +:10 47:08 2:00 22:26 +2:23
Scott 12:31 1:36 45:35 +1:23 1:10 +2:13 27:01

For the official results go to Results