Hammer Head Olympic - August 2006

I didn't think I would make this race, but my training partner, Robert, was a great encourager. I wasn't worried about finishing, but I didn't want to finish last and face the personal humiliation. I had only run once since my feet injuries in June and knew the run would be the most difficult of the three and with summer vacation and my wild wild west motorcycle trip, I missed three valuable weeks of training, but I really wanted to do this race.

The water was nice, about 88 and fairly clear and diffinitely calmer than my last two ocean swims. At .9 of a mile, it was three times longer than I've competed in, but with swimming three days a week with a coached group, I was ready. Came out in 38:21, not what I hoped for, but onward.

I took my time in transition for the bike, just wanted to have fun and not hurt my feet. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought Camp Blanding was flat, not, it was like being in the north side of Tallahassee, mostly hills. I wasn't passed by too many people, and actually did a lot of passing. My average time was just off of my training average on an alright day.

And the run. I was right, the lack of run training had an effect, no endurance, but the feet felt great. I walked and ran and just set out to do the best I could under the circumstances. I ran about five minutes slower than my worst 10k, but hey, I finished.

My overall time was 3:21 for .9 mile swim, 25.2 mike bike and 6.2 mile run.

The folks at Hammer Head put on a top notch race, wonderful support staff and lots of encouragement along the way and plenty of aid stations.

Just prior to Hammer Head, my friend and training partner, Robert Palmer, encouraged me to race the Florida Ironman in November 2007. And get this, Robyn didn't throw me in the dog house.

So, 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a little 26.2 mile run, with a cut off time of 17 hours. And of course it'll be held in the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico,(at least that's what I'm hoping for).

Taylar and I have one more race in Clermont Florida, September 9th and then I'll cut back and start healing up the ole feet, no running for the rest of the year.

Once I start up training in Janurary for race season, Red Hills in March 2007, I'll begin posting my journey towards Ironman, so stayed tuned.