Tempe, Arizona
Red Rock always does a great job with their races, and this race was no exception. Also I thought the visor they gave out was the best I have ever received. Swimming into the sun in Tempe Town Lake is always difficult for me. I can’t see in the water, and I can’t see in the air. We had some cloud cover for the bike. Other than losing my gel flask and having no nutrition on the bike it went well. It is a good course for me I didn’t feel very strong on the run, but lucky for me I found a running buddy about two miles into the first loop who kept me at a good pace. (Thanks Jeff and good luck with Ironman Arizona!). The run was hot and keeping that pace apparently caused me to seriously overheat which I did not fully realize until I finished. Sorry Red Rock for stealing all that ice from the fruit trays but it was a medical emergency as far as I was concerned. Red Rock always has a good breakfast with scrambled eggs etc. My heat situation prevented me from feeling like eating, but Red Rock deserves accolades for the good job they do. I like doing races at Tempe Town Lake. It feels like home. Thanks Red Rock for another great race.

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Nautica Malibu Classic Distance Triathlon

Malibu, California
This is race sold out in under 3 hours, so I was glad to get a chance to do it. This race has a celebrity division. Hollywood celebrities have their own division and awards. Jay Leno hosted the awards this year. racing 2 days in a row does take a toll. I gave this race my all. The bike hurt, but I fell just shy of a 20 MPH average. The run was shorter than the day before, but much more difficult for me. I was still able to pull off a sub 9 minute pace however and complete the 4 miles with a 08:55 average. Even though my speed suffered a bit, I hit the podium again with 3rd. For these Races I competed in a rare category. These races have a 225+ Clydesdale division. I weighed in a 233 for these races, more than qualifying me. I don’t ever sign up for the Clydesdale division even if it is available, but I wanted to drive a point home to myself. I have long known that I am handicapped by my weight. This was solidified for me by the fact that when I compete with athletes with the same handicap as I bear, I can take the podium in back to back races. I have got to find the discipline to lose the weight. People at races always assume I am a beginner because of my weight. On loop courses they always assume that I am on my first loop as opposed to my second or third because of my weight. I am getting tired of hearing “way to go BIG guy!” or “Let’s hear for the big guys” I appreciate that fact people are just being nice, but I feel like an embarrassment to this sport. This sport is a sport of Extreme discipline and I need to find the discipline to eat better. I can get up at 4:30 every morning and bike and run for miles, but so far I have failed in the discipline to eat right. Being able to compete with others who are 225+ helped me confirm that I am still a good athlete underneath this self imposed handicap. I am competing in these races wearing a fat suit and it makes me slower. I spend money to be aero, when losing weight would make me far faster than any aero equipment.

Nautica Malibu International Distance Triathlon

Malibu, California
I like this race a lot. It was an over-all well put together experience that I would do again. I experimented with this race. I decided to give the bike an all out effort and stop worrying about the run. I have lived the fear of not being able to finish the run for long enough. I hammered the bike and decided to just give it my all and worry about the run when I got there. If I blew up, I blew up. I averaged over 20 MPH despite some hills. That is good for me. I have gone slightly faster for an Olympic bike split, but that was a flat course. The weird part is that, not only did I not blow up on the run, I had my fastest 10K ever. I held an 8:26 pace for 6.2 miles. I have never run that fast even doing a 10K all by itself.