I picked up my new race sneakers, the Asics Piranha SP, today from Hit the Trails. Let me tell you, they are probably the lightest non-track shoes I have ever felt and they fit like a sock. I think I may have finally solved my dilemma of running without socks and getting blisters. I can't wait to try these out at a race! Their fist official use will most likely be at the Brandon Half Marathon on December 2nd. I can't wait.

I am happy to announce that Giant Bicyles has decided to sponsor me for 2008. I will be racing and training on their new 2008 Trinity Alliance. I am very excited about this opportunity and can't wait to set some records on their bike. I will post a full review once I get some time on this fine looking machine.

I competed in my first solo mountain bike race and pulled out a 5th place finish. The course was very muddy and it was a lot harder than I expected, but I had a blast and will probably do a couple more this winter.

Check out some of the photos from the race on the photos section of the site.

Training has finally begun for the 2008 season! It has already been an adjustment trying to manage my time between training, work and my family. However, I am very excited to get the ball rolling again and actually look forward to the hectic lifestyle of a full time working, married, elite athlete. If you are curious about my training schedule, I will lay it out for you briefly:
Monday - Lift
Tuesday - Swim and Bike
Wednesday - Lift and Run
Thursday - Swim and Bike
Friday - Lift and Run
Saturday - Off (Thank God)
Sunday - Run


How is that for a good time?


I have 2 cool events coming up in the future weeks, the Horrible 100 century ride in central Florida and also the Brandon Half Marathon. I did the half last year and ended up tweaking my knee a bit, so I am hoping for a less painful race this year. The Horrible is going to be my first century in years, so I am looking forward to the challenge. If you are attending either of these events drop me a note so I can say, 'Hello.'

Well, they announced the site of the 2008 National Championships and it is in Portland, Oregon. I have nothing personally against the state of Oregon, but could it have been any farther away from my home base in Florida? I have added it to my list of races for 2008. Another one I plan on adding is the new XTERRA CALOOSAHATCHEE race in Ft. Meyers, FL which will take place on May 18th. I am actually really excited for that considering even before I got into Tri's I wanted to do an XTERRA.

I have been checking out the POLAR RS800 this week with GPS sensor so look for a review to go up very soon.

Lastly I received my new 2008 Giant Trinity Frameset today and let me tell you, it is one of the sexist bikes I have ever seen. I am so excited to ride it, I will be going nuts waiting for the rest of my parts to arrive. It even looks fast standing still, check it out.

Tomorrow, November 18, I will be riding in my first century in I can't tell you how long. It is the Florida Horrible Hundred, here is a quote from their website

This is the 28th Anniversary of the fabulous Horrible Hundred. The Florida Freewheelers invite you to participate in one of the oldest continuous rides in Florida, encompassing the "mountains" of Central Florida with names like "Buckhill," "The Wall," "Citrus Tower Hill," "Hospital Hill," and of course, "Sugarloaf Mountain."

Needless to say, it is going to be interesting. I'm doing the 102 mile option and my younger, sometimes saner brother, is doing the 37 mile option. Unfortunately, I won't have anybody there taking pictures, but I promise to give a full write up of the event.

Another piece of exciting news is my tri bike should be fully built by the end of next week, perfect gift for Thanksgiving. It is going to be a combination of FSA ceramic goodies, SRAM drivetrain, and a carbon Profile cockpit. Race wheels are still up in the air for next year, but I promise to keep everyone posted.

Hope everyone has a good Turkey Day, stay away from those deserts!

I participated in the 28th annual Horrible Hundred on November 18, 2007. It was the first organized century ride I have done in probably 10 years. Honestly, I don't know why I stayed away so long. I had so much fun!

The adventure began around 6:00 AM when my brother and I left our house in search of a new challenging event, but first things first, we had to eat. The plan was to stop at a Panera Bread which was on the way to the interstate; unfortunately it didn't open until 7:00. So after a short debate and a couple of u-turns, we settled for Sonic. I know, this wasn't a healthy or ideal choice, but it was open. My brother and I proceeded to order everything on the breakfast menu, from French toast sticks to breakfast burritos, we made sure we weren't going to bonk on the ride. The drive to Clermont wasn't too eventful, even though I was stuffing large amounts of fast food breakfast items into my mouth while driving. If you are from Florida, or have lived here for a while, driving into Clermont is like going to another state. You go from dead pan flat Florida to these mini mountains and lakes everywhere. It is quite a site and easily the prettiest part of Florida I have seen. The ride began at a lakefront park that was packed to the max which meant we had to do a little off-road driving to find a parking spot which is always interesting in a 2 door Acura. thank God it is a lease. My brother and I scrambled to get our riding clothes on, which was hilarious because I lent my brother a pair of my bib shorts and he had fun trying to figure them out. My brother, R-J, even went as far to shave his initials into his leg hair to get psyched for the challenge at hand. He is a little crazy. I don't know the exact number of riders at the start, but I would say it was at least 1000. Fortunately, I ran into a few of my AJ's teammates and we started the ride near the back. This was not where we really wanted to start, so I put on my game face and dragged Dave and Henry up to the front group. For me, it was awesome because it brought back memories of road racing, finding holes in the pack and using other riders to get you to the front. Once safely in the front group of around a 100 riders, it was very easy to stay comfortable even though we were cruising around 25 MPH. There were a few crashes here and there and a couple unhappy motorists, but for the most part, the first 70 miles were pretty uneventful. Dave and I were running low on fluids so we parted ways with the big group, which was probably down to 50 riders by then, and stopped at a rest stop. We filled our bottles, munched on some food and generally took our time. This is where the fun was really going to begin, the last 30 miles of the Horrible are where the majority of the major climbs are and Dave and I were stuck by ourselves. Like the masochists that we are, we tried to keep the pace in the mid 20's but that failed once we started to climb. I only had a 39X21 so I really had to muscle it up most of them, especially Sugarloaf Mountain at mile 84 which is the highest point of the ride. One word, OUCH! We survived and even stopped to lend my phone to a junior rider who was stopped on the side of the road. The classic line was when he told his ride to look for the "Red headed step child on the side of the road." That kept Dave and I laughing for a while until we hit another climb. Now, you may be wondering what happened to my brother in all of this. Well, he had originally planned to do the 37 mile option, then in the morning, he changed his mind to the 72 mile approach, lo and behold when I was about 4 miles from the finish my phone rang and he said he was going to do the 100. I was shocked, but very proud and told him to go for it. The last 3-4 miles of the Horrible are pretty evil, you go up a climb from 2 different sides just when you think you are done, and the total ride is really 102 miles. Somehow Dave and I survived and averaged 21 MPH and had such a good time doing it that I am already looking forward to next year. They had a live band and some good food after the ride which is always a plus. I downed 3 cans of Mountain Dew which surely woke me up and helped replace some of the 3900 calories I burned in the course of the 102 mile adventure. As for R-J, he finished the whole ride and I for one will always be amazed by the grit and determination he showed that day to suffer like that. We ended the day with a quick trip to Disney for an early dinner. What an adventure!

This past Sunday, December 2, I competed in the Brandon Half Marathon for the second time. My first experience last year was painful and this year wasn't much different except the pain was in a different part of my body and I managed to go much faster. The course is a very simple out and back with a climb of an overpass within the first and last mile to break things up. I arrived early this year and was pretty relaxed before the start. I had my Polar RS800 heart rate monitor on with GPS and my IPod so I was set! Having cool toys are very helpful when setting out to do a long run. Look for a future review of the Polar unit. I planned on doing something different for this race, namely start slow. I opted to pace off Steve Dunn from Hit the Trails and my planned worked as we kept a 6:45-7:00 minute mile pace early on. Around mile 7, I had to let my pacer go as he sped up and I started to see my heart rate go into the red zone. I ran the rest of the way by myself while hitting the next button on my IPod frantically to find music to motivate and speed me up. I did get passed by one other runner within the last 3 miles and I made sure I told him, "Good Job!", but I also passed 3 so that made up for it in my head at least. The good news is my knees didn't hurt at all which was my problem last year, however the bad news was I was testing my new uber light Asics flats and they tore up my feet. Sadly for them, they will become 5K shoes only. I was very happy with my race as I finished 3rd in my age group and 21st overall. This was a big improvement from last year. I still don't think my body is built for endurance running, but I like to try every once in a while. Check out the times below:

2006 Results
Ken Vida 30 Lithia FL 1:39:55 7:38

2007 Results
Ken Vida 31 Lithia 1:31:09 6:57

I just want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and to share some pictures of my early Christmas gift from my sponsors, my new Giant Trinity. I recently did an interview with the Osprey Observer about the recent growth of triathlon and how AJ's Bike and Boards is meeting the growth head on by offering products that triathletes both need and want, check it out in the next issue of the paper. Finally, I have updated my schedule with races through May so let me know if we are going to run into each other as I would love to say, "Hi!"

Check out the recent article written in the Osprey Observer

Florida's Frozen Great Escape

I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be starting out my season with a race that will forever be known as the frozen triathlon. My day started at 4:30 AM on the morning of daylight savings time, yes ladies and gentlemen I was up that early. Fortunately I had chauffeur service from my coach, Freddie who was also racing, and I was able to relax all the way to Clermont even though it was only 37 degrees when we left the house. Getting out of the nice warm car in Clermont was a complete shock to the system. I felt like we had landed in the Artic, and yes this race was in Florida. Not only was this my first race of the year, but I was using a new bike, borrowed wheels, a new helmet, a new wetsuit and new sneakers. This added a little anxiety to an already icy situation. I was actually excited to get into my wetsuit for the first time just to get warm. The water temperature was a tropical 57 degrees and I was ready for my tan with a start time temperature of 43 degrees. Obviously because of the temperature, the water conditions were less than ideal and add to that some serious chop and strong current, it was a humbling swim. As soon as my face hit the water, I went into shock. It literally took my breath away and spent the rest of the swim trying to get a steady rhythm going. This is not how I wanted to start off my year. Somehow I didn't drown and jogged my way out of the water trying to regain feeling in my feet. T1 was a little frustrating as I didn't know what to wear because of the freezing conditions. I ended up going with a long sleeve jersey and some light gloves after much internal debate. Once I was on the bike, the cold really took over and I had trouble getting my feet into my shoes. I was feeling a little frustrated with my swim, but after eating up a lot of my competition on the challenging bike course I started to really turn it on. My new Giant flew over that course and thanks to my buddy Roy, I was able to race with a very nice set of Zipps and reached a top speed of 41 MPH. My confidence had improved after I knew I beat my time from last year and I started the run with an extra spring in my step. I was racing my new Zoot Ultra Race shoes and they worked as advertised, fast transition and awesome foot strike. I knew things were going well when I checked my watch and my split for the first mile was 5:47. I did have to scale it back a little towards the end when my calf started to cramp but I finished strong and feeling finally started to return to my feet. Results were posted quickly and I learned I had finished 4th which I was satisfied with, it wasn't my goal, but considering the quality of the competition at this race, I was pretty happy.

All in all, it was a great start of the season, but if I have a choice I never want to do a frozen race again like that.

Here is the run down of the comparison between last years result and this years:

Year	Swim Time	Bike Time	Run Time	Overall Time
2007	23:21	43:09	21:07	1:29:43
2008	19:37	42:46	19:45	1:25:49

It has been a while since I posted some news so I thought I would post up some random thoughts, racing news, and updates on my training. It is 7:45 PM on Friday March 28 and I just got home from a 52 minute run. Don't ask me how many miles I ran or what my heart rate was because I went totally free, no GPS, no Heart Rate. Sometimes is feels good just to run and not be so concerned what my heart rate is or if I am running to fast or to slow. Those "free" workouts become rarer and rarer especially with some of my goals for the season quickly approaching.

I can't believe April is only a few days away and I have the South East Regional Championships during the first weekend in Clermont. I have to admit I am a little nervous about it because I do have high expectations for myself. I didn't fare as well as I hoped with my first 2 races, 4th place in both, of the season no doubt in part to horrible swims. The good news is I learned a lot from both races and feel much more confident for my next. I also got some of my mojo back by winning a 5K race recently that turned out to be around 3.6 miles. After a little math, I would have done a PR if the distance was correct.

Believe it or not, this past week was supposed to be a training recovery week for me. So I figured I would go up to Georgia for some easy mountain bike riding and white water rafting. Ok, let me set the record straight. There is no such thing as easy mountain bike riding in Georgia. You literally ride up the side of a mountain. I got some of my best climbing workouts ever there and it humbled even me by forcing me into the granny gear on my mountain bike. For those of you unfamiliar with the lingo, the granny gear is the easier gear on the bike. We climbed Tray Mountain which was 8 miles long and I ended up doing it one and a half times thanks to a flat tire by my brother who was half way down the mountain when it happened. If the ride up wasn't hard enough, the descent was littered with boulders that would send you off the mountain in pieces if you stopped paying attention for a second. All in all it was good training and great views, plus I needed the getaway, but I am not so sure it qualified as a recovery week.

Onto some triathlon tech news, I recently listened to a podcast that reviewed some wind tunnel data on aero bar angles and the conclusion was that the most aerodynamic position was with the bar 15 degrees up using narrow armrests. Now the caveat is this is a very aggressive position and most people may lose power in it because of lack of flexibility and discomfort. However, I have always had an extreme position and my hip flexor flexibility numbers are off the chart so of course I had to try it. Being the geek I am, I wanted to test it scientifically and thanks to my iBike Power Computer I could. For those of you not familiar with the product, by doing a series of coast downs and a 4 mile out and back ride it will give you a CdA number or frontal drag coefficient. This is extremely useful when testing out new aero equipment or changing positions. The good news is the change in position on my bike yielded impressive results.

Here are my numbers in case you are interested.

Orbea Road Bike with standard 28 spoke wheels: CdA = 0.357

Giant Tri Bike, Hed Jet C2 Wheels, Old Aero Position: CdA = 0.29

Giant Tri Bike, Hed Jet C2 Wheels, New Position: CdA = 0.241

The fun test will be when my new ceramic equipped tubulars arrive on Monday and I get to test them out!

Finally I want to plug a website I found thanks to the Fredcast podcast which is an entertaining and also very informative podcast primarily about cycling. The site is http://www.yehudamoon.com/ and it is a cycling comic strip, I highly suggest checking it out as I laughed out loud at some of the artwork. That is all for now, see you at the races!

It has been a few weeks since I posted some news so we have a bit of catching up to do.  Since my last news segment, I have raced to a 5th place at the South Eastern Regional Championship, set a PR in a 5K race, won an urban mountain bike race, and competed at the circus of a triathlon known as St. Anthony’s.  Unfortunately, the reason I actually have some time to report on all these events is I came down with a nasty throat infection that will keep me from training today, but will hopefully be gone in time for me to be a 100% for the first Publix race this weekend in St. Augustine.  I am as fierce about killing a cold as I am about competition.

Let’s start with the South Eastern Regional Championships which were held on April 6th in Clermont, FL.   Now if you think all of Florida is dead pan flat, you have never been to Clermont.  It is like entering another world where there are no flat roads.  The only thing flat about this race was the lake we were swimming in.  It was a perfect morning for a race, slightly overcast with only a little breeze.  The water temperature was 75 which was still wet suit legal so everyone was toeing the line with their expensive neoprene body suits on.  I actually considered forgoing the wetsuit but at the last minute forced my body into the confines of the super buoyant material.  Unfortunately for me, this was a big mistake.  Within the first 200 meters of the swim, I was already overheating and felt like my arms were on fire.  After suffering for another 1300 meters, I stumbled out of the water violently pulling my wetsuit off my steaming body so I could actually breathe.  At least that part was over and now it was time to jump on my bike and make up some time.  This is where the fun with hills came into play, right out of transition we had to climb a little wall to get away from the lake which is always a nice little shock to the system.  I tried to hammer on the bike, but it was very hard to get into a rhythm with the constant ups and downs.  To make matters worse, the bike portion was a little long which really threw off my concentration.  When I finally made it back the park, I knew I had to make up some ground on the run if I wanted to place.  Fortunately my legs still had something in them and I was able to keep a nice high cadence on the run.  The run course was on a path and had 2 hills on it, but it was probably one of my favorite run courses I have ever done.  It was just a standard out and back but it went under bridges, through tree lined areas and by some pretty extravagant houses.  Within the last ½ mile of the run, I was caught by someone in my age group and there was no way I was going to lose a place now.  I slowed down to make him take the lead and paced behind him until about 100 meters, then unleashed a fierce sprint that I didn’t even know I had in me.  It was all congratulations at the finish with no hard feelings.  Like I mentioned above, I placed 5th in my age group which was enough to qualify me for nationals.  I really enjoyed this race and plan on coming back next year.

Next up was the Race for Sight 5K held in Tampa on April 12th.  I do a lot of 5K’s throughout the year to supplement my training and because I know I can always push myself that much harder in a race situation.  The race was held on some of the downtown streets in eclectic Ybor City.  It was a pretty small field, but I saw a lot of familiar faces so I knew there was still some good competition there.  I started out in the front and fell into pace behind some faster runners.  I tried not to push to hard, but when we crossed the 1 mile marker I looked down and saw 4:56 on my watch I knew I was having a good day.  I ran with 2 other guys until about mile 2 when I had to back off a little and my paced slowed until another runner started to overtake me.  I latched onto his heels and paced him all the way to the finish passing him in the last 2 corners before the line.  The course seemed a little long to me which was also mumbled at the finish by some of my competitors but I still managed a PR of 18:59 which placed me 1st in my age group and 3rd overall.  This was a great way to start off a day that I was competing in 2 races.

On that Saturday night, I raced in an urban mountain bike race in Lakeland, FL.  This was the first time I have ever competed in an event like this.  It was very similar to a road criterium in the fact that it was a lapped course, but totally unlike a road race it included riding on sidewalks, dropping down 5 flights of stairs, slaloming through a bank drive through, and climbing up and descending down a 6 story parking garage.  My race didn’t begin until around 8:00 PM which added another technical element, darkness.  I entered the beginner category considering I had never done something like this before which of course brought protests of riders who knew me.  As I nervously awaited the start, I had flashbacks of my days of racing bikes with dangerous, technical courses and it put me in a calm zen like state that I needed.  When the horn went off I jammed the pedals down as hard as I could and nailed the hole shot.  I was the first one through the first corner and I never looked back.  I led the race from start to finish lapping almost everyone in the 2.1 mile course and fell in love with bike racing all over again.  It was definitely the best feeling I have experienced competing in a very long time.  I will be marking my calendar next year for this race and next time, I promise to do the expert class.

Next stop as I hop around the state is the 3 ring circus known as St. Anthony’s triathlon.  This race is so popular that all 4400 slots fill up on December first within the first 3 hours that registration opens.  It is madness!  Most out of staters use it as their start of the season, but it was actually my 4th triathlon of the year and I had high hopes.  I had a relatively stress free lead up to the race, I was happy, wasn’t fatigued and thought I did everything right.  However reality has a nasty way of slapping you in the face when you least expect it.  My swim wave was early, which was a bonus, meaning I didn’t have to fight through hoards of other athletes on the bike and run.  I was very relaxed at the start and expected a very good race.  The cannon fired and we were off, arms flailing, legs kicking and otherwise complete madness trying to get to the first buoy.  What we couldn’t tell from beach was that the water was very rough and we were swimming right into a strong current.  I muscled through it and stayed fairly relaxed even after drinking what felt like was half the bay.  I started to catch some of the wave in front of me and my confidence was soaring, but it was short lived because in a couple of minutes I started to get passed by some of the wave that started behind us.  Exiting the water I still felt like I had a pretty good swim until I looked at my watch and was somewhat demoralized.  My time was actually slower than last year.  This definitely put me in a little funk before I even got on my bike.  Fortunately the bike course suits me well as it is very flat and I am able to use my strength to push through the wind.  I held back a little on the bike hoping that I could erase some more of my deficit on the run but that plan didn’t help much once I started the run and my legs didn’t feel 100% and my left knee was aching.  I passed a bunch of other athletes on the run, but I also got passed by at least 5 people on the run myself so it is all relative.  At the end I placed 22nd in my age group which was a step down from last year, but my time was actually more than 3 minutes faster this year, go figure.  I am not sure what it was that kept me from performing up to what I expected, the only way I can describe it is if I normally run on 8 cylinders, on this day I was only running on 6. Check out a few photos from the race on my photos page.

It is a long season and I will continue to train hard and hone my skills.  Saturday’s race is big as it is an essential ingredient of my goal to win the Publix series championships this year.  Let’s hope a little RNR will get me screaming down the track like a Ferrari again. 

Talk to you all soon!

This past Saturday I competed at the first Publix Family Fitness Triathlon of the 2008 season in beautiful St. Augustine Florida. If you read my last news item, you knew I had gotten sick this week and unfortunately I went into this race with a full blown cold. I had been hoping and praying that the stars would align and I would kick the virus before the race, but the cards weren't in my favor and I arrived at the event sounding like I should have stayed in bed. The Publix series is one of my main goals for the year, so I wasn't about to let some sickness keep me from competing. For once I was actually excited about the swim in a triathlon since it was in the Atlantic Ocean and I enjoy being able to body surf the waves on the way back to the beach. It took the life guards a while to get the buoys situated out in the surf as there was a rip roaring current and 4-5 foot swells rolling in. I thought to myself as I shivered on the beach, "This is going to be interesting." Boy was I right, my wave was elites and males under 39 and before we even got to the first buoy, swimmers were spread out all over the place. There wasn't much chance to draft in this swim as bodies were getting rolled and pounded by the surf. I was actually having problems and I grew up swimming in conditions like this, so I knew most of the other competitors were suffering as well. I have never seen more people being assisted by life guards than in this race, it was quite crazy. I was a little dazed exiting the water and it didn't help that we had to climb up and down a series of wooden stairs to get over the sand dunes into transition. I stumbled a little getting on my bike, but now I was quickly in my element and needed to make up some time. This is where being sick really caught up with me as I was suffering like a dog trying to breath and still push a hard pace. The course was a dead flat out and back, but slightly windy, and I used every inch of it as I tried to stay in a straight line. I did pass quite a few people on the bike, but I still had no idea how many people in my age group were in front of me. This is the part that I don't like very much about triathlons. You really never know exactly how you did until results get posted. I decided before the start that I would forgo running shoes as the run was on the beach for all but the last 50 yards. Because of this fact I probably had my fastest T2 transition ever. I continued to suffer on the run, but at least I knew that the race would be over soon. I counted 9 athletes in front of me at the turn around so I tried as best as I could to close the gap in the second half of the run. Somehow my plan worked and I caught a bunch of people but more importantly someone from my age group in the last 200 yards of the race. Sick or not, I still sprinted for the line. I really enjoyed this race and Publix does an awesome job of catering to the athletes. Somehow despite being sick I pulled off a second place in my age group, only losing to last year's series champion. We will see how things go for St. Leo, the next Publix race, hopefully I will be healthy and I can maybe change the positions of the results a little.

Next on the schedule is the Sarasota Sharks Olympic Distance Classic which is in beautiful Siesta Key. I am actually undefeated there so I am really hoping for my first tri win of the season and also my first Olympic distance win ever. I am still not 100% so everyone keep your fingers crossed for me that I finally kick this cold and can go into the race with all cylinders firing. Hopefully I will get to see a lot of you this weekend.

See you at the races!

What a race! I participated in my first Xterra race this past Sunday in Ft.Myers, FL and I had a blast! I can honestly say that it was the first race that I did all season that I had my A game going. I had a great swim, bike and run and the only negative thing that happened was I broke my carbon saddle on my mountain bike coming out of T1.

Here is how it went down: After a very long solo drive from my house, I arrived at the Caloosahatchee Regional Park and noticed immediately that this race was going to be a lot more relaxed than a typical triathlon. This is not to say that the race was disorganized, in fact local race promoter Thierry Rouillard did an outstanding job getting the course setup and nailing down all the details with the help of some of the Xterra staff. I quickly got all my gear together and setup shop in transition. I heard the bike course was pretty fast so I put a little extra air in my tires to lower rolling resistance, but found out shortly after starting the bike that it was probably a bad plan. The swim was in a river which was a new concept for me, plus it was about a .25 mile run from transition over gravel, sand, and crushed shells. Luckily the race promoter suggested we bring shoes down to the swim exit as not to slice our feet to oblivion on the run to T1. This became quite the novel concept as most people including myself setup a small makeshift transition area at the swim exit to put our mountain bike shoes on. Another new feature of the swim for me was a mass start with everyone treading water. I was a little unnerved by this and it took me until the first buoy to really get comfortable. Once we rounded that first orange beacon in the murky water, I started to hit a rhythm and actually began passing people. That is truly a new concept for me and gave me extra confidence going into the later portions of the race. Exiting the water, I quickly threw on my shoes and started the mad sprint to grab my bike and make up a little lost time. As I jumped onto my saddle I heard a loud crack and knew immediately I snapped one of my carbon saddle rails. I started wishing and praying that I wouldn’t have to do the whole race out of the saddle. Fortunately my seat stayed on but I got jabbed a number of times in the leg with a ragged carbon fiber rail. The only way I can accurately describe the bike course is as follows: pedal hard, turn, pedal hard, turn… There were very few straight sections and I was cursing my mountain bike for having such a low bottom bracket because I couldn’t pedal through the turns as much as I would have liked to. I passed quite a few people on the bike even coming close to taking someone out as he moved over to let me pass and then shut the door suddenly as I was overtaking him. Rubbing is racing as they say. The only challenging parts of the course were a few climbs towards the end that reminded me of climbing sand tunes because they were so soft. I jumped off my bike and ran up these mini mountains as it was much faster than spinning wheels in the soft sand. The last mile of the bike course was on the road so I locked out my fork and put my head down and went like a banshee. I entered transition just ahead of some racers I recognized and I knew I had to put in a good run to not lose my position. The run was a 2 loop format with each loop consisting of 2 miles of roots, wood bridges and a little sand for good measure. I personally love running in stuff like that as it lets me use my leg strength rather than technique to accelerate away from my competitors. I ran my heart out just concentrating on each step and getting to the finish. I passed 2 more racers on the run and ended up finishing 6th overall and 1st in my age group. It was an amazing race and I was ecstatic. I ended up winning another coconut carved into a pirate’s head which is becoming a staple at some of Thierry’s races. The Xterra people had contests during the awards such as best bloody wound pageant and a push-up sit-up contest that really added to the atmosphere. There is another Xterra in Florida at the end of July and I will definitely be making the trek out there to race again.

Thanks again to all the participants, volunteers, and organizers for making such a great race!

Check out my contact page as I added a couple of new links to check out.

Go figure I would have my best race of the year when I decided to do the event less than a week before it took place. The event was the 5th Annual Dunedin Triathlon and I won my age group, but even more exciting was the fact that I took 2nd overall and was only 9 seconds away from 1st which was won by an Elite athlete. The race was held at Honeymoon Island, a beautiful state park that I will have to spend some time at for some RNR. It was the usual circus before the race, getting setup in transition, marked up, and waiting in lines. To my surprise, the 30-39 males were one of the last waves to start the swim which is rare because at most races our group is one of the first. I was kicking myself for not registering as an Elite because it would have saved me some grief fighting traffic on the bike since they started first. The swim was only a quarter mile which was by far my shortest swim of the season and as an added bonus was aided by a fast current. I did something I had never done before and I actually swam the course before the start. This actually gave me a bunch of confidence and got me very excited for the start. I had some familiar faces in my group and hoped I wouldn’t inadvertently kick or slap anyone during the gladiator fest known as a triathlon swim. I was very relaxed waiting on the beach waiting for the start, but my heart went from zero to 100 MPH when the horn sounded and I was diving through the water like Flipper. I easily had the best swim of my life staying near the front and coming out of the water 3rd in my age group. It was a great feeling to finally nail a part of the sport that has plagued me since I began. Next was the bike and it was very windy. It was a 2 lap course for a total of 12 miles which included climbing 2 bridges so I really held things back. I kept having an internal struggle with myself knowing I could go faster but wanting to hold back so I would have a good run. There was a lot of traffic on the bike as feared and I did become frustrated a couple of times with riders not staying to the right but I kept my feelings to myself and only lost my rhythm a couple of times. Coming into T2, I felt great and started the run with a shot of Enervitene Cheerpack and I knew it was going to be good. For only the second time in a race this year, my legs felt light and I was able to keep a very nice cadence. The run course included a lot of sand, both soft and packed, and occasionally tripped me up but I felt good throughout. There were no mile markers on the course, but a few very nice volunteers gave us an idea of how much longer the run was. Despite the sand I enjoyed the run course and finished it up strong sprinting under the banner to finish with a total time of 58:26. I really love racing and finishing under an hour!

The Dunedin Triathlon was a great race and I give hats of to the promoters for using such a beautiful course and keeping things so organized. There was good food afterwards and even free massages which I happily accepted. I spoke to a lot of first timers at this event and I hope they also had a great experience and will continue to pursue the sport I am beginning to enjoy more and more.

Triathlon is not a hobby, it is a lifestyle.

Check out some new reviews of Enervitene Cheerpack and the Zoot Ultra Sprint Suit which I used in this race in my reviews section.

Most triathletes are just beginning their season at this time of year but I have been racing since early March and I have experienced a period of burning out and also a little resentment towards the sport. OK, before I start getting hate mail, let me explain myself a little. I really love and respect the sport of triathlon and I think it is the perfect atmosphere for people getting into an organized sport for health and self accomplishment. However, I think there needs to be some changes to prevent elite athletes who aren’t pros or planning on becoming pros from getting burnt out both physically and financially. I have only been doing this sport for 2 years and I love how fast it is growing and generally how friendly and helpful everyone is, but I believe it is more geared to the weekend warrior or first timer athlete than elite amateurs. At any given race, excluding huge events like St. Anthony’s, there are only a handful of individuals out there to win. The majority of competitors are there to just finish or beat there own goal time. This is a dramatic difference from any other sport I have participated in and I believe it is actually what makes triathlons so successful. But, once again it is not the most beneficial atmosphere for an elite athlete because it prevents consistent and quality competition. I think the fact that is most disheartening for myself is the lack of prize money or even merchandise for elites at the vast majority of local races. I have personally been blessed this year with a number of sponsors, but this sport is ridiculously expensive and once you get a roomful of plaques and trophies, where do you go from there? I don’t understand why a percentage of our entry fees can’t go back to the athletes in some form. When a race is $100+ and I get a T-shirt covered in sponsors who donated money or product to the race and I have no chance of recouping my money back, it doesn’t actually entice me to want to participate at that race again. I know some of the pros purses are quite large and guys can make a living at this sport, but I wish things can be a little closer to bike racing where there are different categories and everyone that places gets some form of prize, be it cash for the more advanced categories or merchandise for the beginners. It may not make you quit your day job but it is always satisfying to at least get your entry fee back as prize money. Bicycle racing is far from perfect, but I think Triathlon could learn a little from the basic setup of the sport in this country. I also believe it would increase the quality of competition and encourage more elite level athletes to not only get into the sport, but also stay in it.

Because of these recent feelings and general exhaustion from training for 3 sports, I have modified my schedule for the rest of the year to concentrate more on bike racing with a few running races thrown in. I don’t know for certain what next year will bring, but I do know I will always have a passion for Triathlon and I hope that things will evolve to allow both first timers and elites to compete and enjoy this magical combination of 3 sports.

I will keep the site updated as I journey back into the very crazy world of bike racing both on the road and off.

Check out some new reviews of Enervitene Cheerpack and the Zoot Ultra Sprint Suit which I used in this race in my reviews section.