Salina Road Race (Bicycle) Race Report

Or "How not to ride a road race" or "Don't write checks your butt can't cash" or any number of funny slogans.  Well, I decided to venture once again into the world of bike racin', since last time I straight up raced was about 3-4 years ago in a criterium (think NASCAR / F1 racing, on bikes, with folks that CAN crash you), which ended, ironically, with me getting crashed, but I got up, sucked it up and raced the last crit and ended up in 3rd overall, so, meh.

But this was going to be my first road race, sort of like a nice group ride, but with everyone thinking "STRAVA SECTION!!!!" all the time.  But as this was my first RR, I of course had a half baked plan going in, but with luck, I knew one of the riders in my Category, Alex Ardussi, who drove a long way to race.  We said that we would work together since bike racing is not only an individual sport, but team tactics really plays out in these as one team in the CAT5 swept the podium (out of 4 riders on their team) so smarts plays into it and being a one man band isn't that cool.

I'm sooo roooonry!

Things started out nice, got there, warmed up on the first stretch of road and headed back to get ready and lined up for the CAT5 race, of which 11 brave souls signed up for.  As we all looked each other up and down, I noticed a few things about my competitors; A: They are all taller and leaner than me, B: They have nicer bikes and better wheels, and C: They all know each other, making me the odd man out.

Well as we started to roll out the first half mile was "neutral", meaning, the race was not on, but after we crossed the finish line area, it was on and our pace went from 18 to 22 mph, so a nice start to this hilly, windy, 30 mile race.  We stayed in a nice double pace line for the first 5 miles or so, with me tearing ass up a hill to see who could climb (answer: all of them), so I settled back in to the pace line, feeling a little dumb.  But about another mile later, one guy launches out on a break, and he gets about 30 secs up the road, I think to myself, "Hey self, we should chase him down" which was the WRONG answer!  Sure I caught him, but as the rest of the peloton absorbs me, chews me up and spits me out.  Being "off the back", "dropped" or "loosing a wheel" is the worst feeling in the world.  It seems no matter how hard you try to latch back on, you are toast.

So at the 10 mile mark, that was me, off the back.  It sucked.  No, it more than sucked!  It was lonely (as you can see from the picture up there, courtesy of Lanterne Rouge!).  It took me a while to get back any semblance of speed going and by then, I was out of sight, especially on the hills.  So, that was how I "raced" the last 20 miles.  Ugggh!

If you look hard enough, that was they guy I was chasing, waaaaay down there!

Well, to make matters worse, I had to contend with a bit of a head wind on the way back, so I just kept plugging.  I will fast forward to the end, because, no matter what I did, that speck on the road never got closer.  I did sprint the last 2 miles to the end, to get some good intervals in, but I ended up about 10 minutes down to the winners and 2-3 from Alex.  Overall, I was 10th of 11.  And the guy I "beat" was in his 60s, whoohoo!  Uggh, well my lessons learned are here:

1.  Stay patient for as long as you can.

2.  Stay with the peloton.  It saves energy.

3.  You will always overestimate your own fitness.

4.  The wind is not your friend when you are alone.

Could I have done better?  Yup, but I got all antsy in my pantsy, and before I knew it, BAM!  Done and gone!  But at least I learned a little more from this, now if I remember those lessons come next time!  And this catches me up on my race reports and all, but I have a busy next few months up ahead.

Next race up: Victory Week 10 Miler, tomorrow (Wednesday 12 June), to try to qualify for the Ft Riley Army Ten Miler Team, which last year was stacked.  I am looking to break my 10 mile PR tomorrow, so I have an "A" goal of 1:08 and quicker, "B" goal of 1:12 or quicker, and the "breakeven" goal of 1:25.  It is a pretty rolling course, nothing too major out and back, but we will see how this turns out.

I'll be back tomorrow with another RR!

* All photos for this post is courtesy of The Lanterne Rouge (Roger Harrison) (Thanks Roger!)

White Lake Sprint I Race Report

Well, I guess you could say that my glass was 2/3 of the way full for this race. The weather forecast was calling for a 40% chance of rain, and I'm glad that didn't come so, I had that going in my favor. And I did complete most of my goals for the race, so overall, it was a good, not a great race, and it left me with a "to do" list of things to work on (which I'll cover towards the end).


Got up early again for the second weekend in a row, not a good habit to get into, but hey, it is good to know what my limits are! But after a quick shower and getting my bag into the car, Jen and I were ready to roll out to White Lake, about 1 hour or so away. I chowed on two bananas while I drove and Jen tried to get back to sleep and sipped my diet rootbeer (getting to be a pre-race ritual) and listened to some tunes on the way there. We arrived a little after 0630, so we drove past the main gate, and turned around and headed back to the roadside parking that was free (and a half mile away), so I got my gear, aired up the tires on Elenor, and we headed down to the race area.

This was the first transition area that was grass this year for me, so I couldn't mark my chalk scribbles, but that was ok, since they were the numbered spots that I really like, so I had my own little area to my self. I set up my transition and headed over to check in, got my numbers (#323) and got my chip, body marked (HUGE numbers this time!) and headed back to transition to finalized my set up and visualize how T1 and T2 were going to happen. After that little mental warm up, I got my wetsuit bottoms on and headed out to the lake to warm up in the "cold" lake. I got the top on at the edge of the lake and walked in, and realized that this was the first time I was in water with my wetsuit, so much for practice! I swam about 200 or so to get use to it and everything seemed good, loved how I floated in the wetsuit, so I came back to shore and ate my GU (more on that later), and headed down to the start line to get ready to swim (I was in the 2nd wave, right after the elites).

Well the count down to start was on and I was getting really amped up, and the horn went off and away we went! I started wide left to avoid the thrashing that I knew would happen, but about 100 meters in, my heart rate went thru the roof and I guzzled lake water, which broke my rhythm and I was in hurt city for the rest of the swim. I knew I had the strength to swim the 750meters, but I couldn't get my breathing and HR back to a manageable level, so face in the water wasn't going to happen, so I kept my head up and swam, which helped my sighting very well. But sighting was the only thing that worked well for the swim. I feel that the GU (with caffeine) had pumped me up too much to relax in the water, and thus I fought the water the entire way, instead of gliding thru it. So my goal time of 15:00 was out the window, and I eventually pulled my butt up the ladder and ran to the mat in 18:49 (YIKES!), which was "good" for 156th "Best" men's time and 23rd of 35 in my AG. Oh boy, guess I'd better make up some time!

And time is what I made up on the bike! Wow, this ride made me completely forget all about the swim, and the "meh" T1, which took me 2:22 to complete, with a stuck wetsuit and all, but at least I didn't stop to have tea or anything! But the bike started out great, a great flying mount and clicked in and rolling like a boss! The course was a nice flat (it had a few "rises") and relativly smooth and a very minor headwind, but nothing to write home to mom about. But I do have a minor gripe (WARNING!!! RANT TO FOLLOW!!! WARNING!!!) and that is about drafting in a USAT race.

How do I put this nicely? Ok, I can't! I passed no less than 7 different pacelines of folks on the two lap, 14.2 mile course. I mean, really? It is only 14 freakin' miles! But there they were, sometimes packs of 2 and even up to 6 folks, and before you say, "well, they were probably rookies to the sport and didn't know any better", I say this, how many rookies have aero helmets, solid rear wheels and TT bikes? Yeah, there were folks gaming the system, but it gave me a big boost to pass them all solo, unaided, NOT CHEATING, and it felt great! Even passed an paceline of 4 and the #2 rider didn't see what the lead man avoided and hit it, flatting his front tire! Man, karma is a biotch! At least they did have moto-officials out there, but with almost half the racers cheating, that was mission impossible. When I was passed (temporarily, of course!), I even came out of aero to drop back out of the draft zone, because I refuse to cheat myself. Ok, I think that is about it on that topic (END OF RANT!).


But the bike was great, I cat and moused with one guy that was about my build, and I would pass him and then he'd pass me back after a mile, I almost lost him when we caught a large group, but I downshifted and put my head down and blasted on by them. Later in the run he high-fived me, telling me he cramped up, I never did get his name, but he seemed like a cool guy! But I came roaring in to T2 with an elapsed time of 37:37, good for a 22.6 MPH average! Nice! Ended the bike with the 35th best bike and 4th in my AG. That's the way to answer back to a poor swim!

After a quick 1:07 in a very large T2 area, I was back on the road again! I really haven't had any stellar runs off the bike, but still my runs are nothing to sneeze at. Right out of the T2 I was passed by a young kid with a "16" on his calf, and I knew the chase was on! So what if I am twice his age, I got the wheels to hunt him down. I just ran my pace for the first half mile, and then started to bear down once we hit the lake side subdivision. Nice roads helped me catch him and another guy, so I rolled with the momentum and took off. I wound my way thru the subdivision and hit the turn around in 11:00, so I knew I need to negative split the 2nd half to hit my goal of sub-21:00. I worked hard those last mile and a half, but got passed for the first time in forever on the run in the last 200-300 meters, luckily he was not in my AG, or I would have lit it up and chased him down, even if I puked at the end. But my mental game was over, and I cruised in for a ok 21:46, good for 48th fast run and 6th best in my AG, so not too shabby, but not where I want to be. The guy that beat me at the line wrote in his race report that he had to pass "a guy with legs like tree trunks." I guess I will take that compliment!

Overall, a good race, beat a bunch of my goals, and learned that my swim still sucks. I think it was a combination of never swimming in a wetsuit (10%), not swimming enough without training aids (40%) and the effects from the caffinated GU (50%). So a lot of lessons learned that I will carry forward to my next race, the Three Little Pigs in Smithfield in about 40 days. That will give me more training time to build on. Let's recap the goals

Sub 1:20 - Failed
Sub 1:25 - Got it!
Around 15:00 Swim - Failed
Sub 40:00 Bike - Oh yeah!
Average over 21mph - Like a boss!
Sub 21:00 run - Almost there
Had fun - Of course!

So, there you have it, now I just have to get my photos posted, for all to see. Take care and remember, the legs feed the wolf!

Hectic Weeks!

Well, since my last post, seems that half of North Carolina (and many other states) were nearly wiped off the face of the earth by tornados, including Fayetteville, which is still cleaning up. So my plans have been very weather dependant the last week and a half.

I did finally get a new seat for my tri-bike, and it makes the world of difference! Rode it 40 miles with Keith, and only minor discomfort, unlike the "who put a lit flamethrower in my chamois" feeling from the stock seat that came with the bike. But gearing up to my next two races, Riverwood this weekend and White Lake Sprint next weekend! This is going to be fun, just need to get into my wetsuit and swim with it once or twice. I am not worried about the open water aspect, just the feeling of swimming in a wetsuit.

And I took my semiannual Army Physical Fitness Test, which I did fine on, just need to work the situps, which I HATE with a passion, but the run was a nice time trial, clocking a 13:24 two-mile run, so not too bad. Felt good to do it and get it over with, just hate doing them is all.

I need to get some photos up, because I know I suck as an author, so I need funny pictures to distract everyone from my prose! But looking forward to IRL meetups with other folks I have met on the internet from facebook, beginner triathlete, daily mile or athlinks, since I know I will probably never win Kona, but I love to meet new folks, especially who like to tri like I do. So if you see a race that you are doing that is on my list, look for the short tri dude and say "Hi" to me, I love to chat with fellow athletes!

Take care and hope the weather holds for a bit more so I can sneak another run in today!

USO Run for the Troops 5k Race Report

Well, this is my last 5k for a while, which means I can sleep in a little on Saturdays, but I am a sucker for running for a cause, so go figure! Luckily this was a local race also, so that would help!

Saturday turning into a busy day with a race in the morning, then went to the Gun Show (not the "Gun Show", a real one), took the wife to the range to fire her new pistol and then dinner and a movie at night (She went to a play with a friend and I went to a movie with the friends son!), so that was a fun day. Well, on to the race report.

We got to the race somewhat early, since it was 15 minutes from my door, so we got there so I could pick up my packet, stretch and all that good stuff. The temps were a bit on the chilly side, right around 39-42*, so a bit cool, so I opted to wear the long sleeve shirt to race in, but it was nice and sunny.

The race was to benefit the USO of North Carolina, which was the first USO ever, and since they do not accept federal funds, they have to take donations, which is an awesome cause, because they do so much for the troops, both home and deployed. But the turnout was really good, with 320 runners and probably twice that walking, so a rather large race for the area. Nice!

Well I wasn't in my comfort zone since I forgot my heart rate strap and sunglasses, so I wasn't all warm and fuzzy, but I would get by. Glad I took my Claritin, because the azaleas, dogwoods and pine were a polinatin' and with out it I would have been a big, snotty mess. But I warmed up and headed to the start / finish line.

Well the line up was interesting, I was sandwiched between a bunch of bunnies (sorry guys, not Playmate bunnies, dudes with bunny ears) and a lady with no pants (she was old and wearing the "Speedo" style bottoms). Well the gun went off and I bolted out with the lead pack of about 20-30 and we cruised thru Fayetteville Tech's campus until we got to the first turn, which the leaders (about 15-18) went straight and I was in third (briefly!) until the lead pack figured it out. The lack of direction and course marking was going to be a reoccuring theme, so get ready for it!

I was feeling not bad and keeping within eyesight of the leaders on the winding roads near the campus and hung tough when someone passed me, I would get back with them immediately. I was moving well and not feeling too bad. I saw the leaders pass the waterpoint / turn around point (it was briefed at the pre-race) but I guess the volunteers didn't know to tell folks to turn around, and the two leaders blazed by them and most everyone turned at the waterpoint as the leaders came running back. Well, at least we know that there were no more surprises on the way back!
At around mile 2 1/2, I was getting a bit tired and lost my focus for a bit, but quickly regained it and kept motoring on. I figured that I was going to make my final push at the last turn (about 1/2 mile to the finish) until I passed the 3 mile mark. I really got confused then. So I went a bit early, and figured that the course was mismarked a bit, so I eased up to save that last match for the kick at the end.

I slowly rolled on the steam after the corner and passed a few more folks, but couldn't catch that last guy in front of me (he ended up being the 1st place in my age group), but I hit stop on my watch and looked at the time, 23:22, and thought, "Wow, I thought I was faster than that!", then looked at the distance, which was 3.54 miles. Whoops, just a little long there! A bunch of the guys that finished in front of me were bitching and complaining, but I looked at the map before the race and knew the turns, and even knew the turnaround point (race briefing), so even though the race was longer than advertised, they had all the information about the race, if they had paid attention. But oh well, I ran my race.

I jogged over to the port-o-lets and then back by the vendors, MuscleMax and the Spa, who was giving massages (which of course I took!) and then waited for the results (20th overall, and 2nd in my AG, by 5 seconds) and collected my medal and thanked the volunteers (USO, Purolator Employees, and the Red Cross) and headed out.

So not too bad of a race, just a little long, but like they say, everyone had to run the same distance. Guess I am not going to race until the end of the month at the Riverwood Sprint Triathlon in Clayton, so I can work on training and getting my ride and swim up to par now. But all is well! Take care everyone and I'll post a weekly workout list later today!

Raleigh Run the Ridge 5k Race Report

Well not sure what happened to the heat, but this weekend was REALLY cold, but that didn't stop me from racing this weekend. I ran the Run the Ridge 5K with a friend of mine, Kindra Arthur and it was for a great cause, the Pretty in Pink foundation, which supports cancer patients by paying their hospital bills if they can't afford it with insurance. I love good causes and I think this one ranks right up there. Well I got up early (for a weekend) and drove over to Kindra's house, forgetting my breakfast on the counter, and got there at about 0630, so we could drive up to Raleigh together. Got to meet her pups (which were hyper) and her friend, Wendy, who was on the mend and didn't race. Well we loaded up and got on the road. It didn't take us too long to get up there, but we started to have problems with the GPS and took a few extra turns to get to the race site.

Of course, since I didn't get my breakfast, I had a breakfast burrito and a Slim Jim for my meal, yum! We got there and got out, noting that it was colder here than in Fayetteville, and got our race numbers and chips, I ended up with #13 (not too forbodding or anything!), so we stretched, warmed up and went to the big blue church to worship, and we were ready. One of the locals told us that this course was hilly, beginning with a 1/2 mile up hill stretch and that you were either running up hill or downhill, no flat spots, awesome! Well, that turned out to be true, as I started the race about in 10th or so, and hit the first of many hills, and wow, it too the wind out of a bunch of folks sails. But I powered up the hill and noticed a tiny female ahead of me, so I had my eyes set on her to pick off and she was hanging tough until about the 1 mile mark, where my strength up hill and my body weight downhill overcame her youth, but she was tough to catch and pass. After passing her, I had just two guys ahead of me, so I wanted to keep them in sight and hope to make up some ground on them. But with all the up and down hills, I couldn't close the gap fast enough, even when the guy in second kept looking back for me, I knew he was hurting, but I couldn't quite get there. The best part was the end of the race, with a nice half mile downhill, which was very welcome. I ended up setting a new PR again, with a 20:54 despite all the hills, so I can't wait until I hit some flat roads again, and best yet, got a podium finish (3rd, but they didn't have a podium, sad face). But again, finished 2nd in my age group, so 3rd overall and 2nd in age group, oh well. It was a fun race, and Kindra ended up winning her age group, despite everyone after 6th place took a wrong turn. But the tiny girl that I passed, she was age 12! And the guy behind her was 13! Man, makes you feel old, since their combined ages still don't equal my age! Yikes!

But I talked to her father (who was originnaly from Michigan) and she is getting ready for high school cross country. Me thinks she will do just fine if she runs like that. But the even better part was post-race breakfast at O'Malley's Pub. Some of the best pancakes that I have tasted in a while, yum! And like always, I didn't hurl at the finish line! Yea me! Well guess I have to keep training to keep dropping that time down, but I hate the cold wet weather of spring!

The ABC Game

Well, since most of the other blogs I read have done these, and I'm a bit bored right now, so here we go...

Age: 37 (feels much, much older)

Bed size: Just upgraded to a King, and still have no room thanks to Harley

Chore you dislike: The stuff I don’t like / am motivated to do.

Dogs: Harley (aka Bed Hog Supreme)

Essential start to your day: Letting Harley out for her morning “business”

Favorite color: Red

Gold or silver: Gold

Height: 5'4 and change

Instruments you play: French Horn (long time ago)

Job title: Staff Dude

Kids: Just the ones I drop off at the pool

Live: Fort Bragg, NC

Mom's name: Mary Ann

Nickname: Drew

Overnight hospital stay: When I was born, but numerous visits

Pet peeves: Wow, where to start… Mainly involve other peoples driving habits

Quote from a movie: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” Jaws

Righty or lefty: Righty

Siblings: 1 brother, Ryan

Time you wake up: 7:30am

Underwear: Underarmor

Vegetables you don't like: Spinach and Asparagus.

What makes you run late: I’m in the Army, running late is a BAD thing

Xrays you had: Tibia, ankle

Yummy food you make: Hmmm, Hot pockets

Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys, except the poo flinging kind!

Well there is your TMI for the day, and looks like I will be racing tomorrow in Raleigh at the Run the Ridge 5K, IN THE RAIN, but oh well, it will be fun, then Hockey with the Fireantz! Fun stuff! We will see how that works out!

Azalea Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Well, I have been lazy with my posts, but not my workouts, and now I have my first tri of the season under my belt, and whooo baby, it was a good start!

I ended up registering for the Azalea Tri down in Wilmington, NC on Sunday the 13th of March, as I was chomping at the bit to race with Elenor the wonder cycle. Well the wife and I rode the 2 hours south to Wilmington, which we used to do almost every weekend when my bro-and-sister-in-law lived down there on Carolina Beach, and I LOVED being a beach bum! It was the best.

Ok back on course, we got to the hotel right at 2pm and went to check in and was told, "Umm Check in is after 3pm" Huh? WTF? I was told that it was 2, but oh well, gotta kill some time and rode over to UNC-Wilmington, where the race was held. Pretty much the same set up as three years ago, when I "raced" with very little training, but now, I was back to break the 1 hour mark!

Well we got settled in at the hotel after a little time, got the dog out of the car and she proceeded to smell EVERYTHING for the next half hour! But after that was done, headed to dinner with friends and then packet pick up and prerace meeting. Wow, should have wore pants, the wind was a little chilly in the early evening. After an informative meeting (for the earlier race, 4 people were DQ'd for various infractions, OUCH! Mostly helmet violations, plus a bunch of 2 and 4 minute penalties for drafting, abandonement, etc), so that was good to know.

After a "restfull" night and the begining of Daylight's Savings Time (bad timing right there), the wife and I loaded up and headed over to the race, and she took a nap while I went to set up my TA.

I love how SetUp Events has the TA, total of 6 people per rack, 3 each side, so ample room to get your stuff laid out and ready. I chitchatted with folks there and we all talked about our swim ranking and I let the lady ahead of me I might be faster than my predicted time (mainly because I had preedicted early and that was before they closed our pool on post, so I didn't swim for about 2-3 weeks), but I figured I was about 10-15 seconds faster than my time. She said no problem, she was just recovering from an injury and didn't want to hold me up. But I did have one guy in my AG racked right next to me, and we chatted about everything. Christian Cole was his name, and a real cool guy, he started 30 seconds after me in the pool.

Well I was ready and set up, headed to go pick up the wife and to the pool to warm up and get ready. Took my first GU at the 15 minutes to go mark and swam a few laps in the diving well. I was all ready to roll, headed over to the start end (it was a time trial start, at every 15 seconds based off of your predicted time) and watched some others snake their way thru the pool for 300 meters. I hopped in the cold "74 degree" water, and got acclimated and moved up until it was my time to go. Brrr!



At 08:57:30 I was off and all the pool time was paying off! I ended up catching and passing about 7-10 people in the pool, and unlike other forays in the aqua world, I didn't feel winded or have to switch strokes, which is a major plus for me right now. I clambered out of the pool at a fast-for-me 5:10 and slid my way down the steps towards the TA. Note that the pool was on the 2nd floor and you had to run down a narrow stairwell, and run down the sidewalk for about 200-300 meters to the TA. Ouch, that is why my feet are still sore after 2 days!

I raced into the TA, and hit my rack, dried my feet, rolled my socks on and slid into my shoes. I had a little trouble with my new Desoto Tri top, I tried to roll it on, but ended up getting stuck mid-chest and after some pulling, I gave up on it. Helmet and glasses on, bike off the rack and Andrew running in cycling shoes towards the mount line. That could be another reason my feet hurt, running in cycling shoes, hmmmm. Managed to do a flying mount after the line and passed two folks gingerly getting on their bikes and I was aero and gone!

The only bad part was the amount of speed humps, which were gradual but still were bad enough. I did manage to stay aero almost he entire way (cornering I did pop up to brake) but other than that, I was rolling. I started at a good pace and kept it up the entire route. I was actually wearing myself out saying "On your left", which most folks thanked me for the heads up (I guess most others were too "in the zone" to let others know they were passing, booo), but I was doing my part! I was passing folks like crazy, and my bike mount that I fashioned was working out well, so I had to just dip my eyes a little to see my Garmin, so good set up. I managed to pass about 15-20 folks on the bike, was passed once as I took in my 2nd GU, so after I swallowed the GU, I re-passed him and turned it on. I came flying into the TA area, and hopped off at the dismount line and boogied in to rack my bike. Bike ended up being 25:30, so again, I was happy with that split too!



Now on to the run, took off my cycling shoes, slid into my runners, helmet off, and out the TA. I was really expecting my legs to be rubber after a good bike effort, but they were surprisingly fresh feeling and had some jump to them. I managed a good pace on the way out and wanted to turn a negative split in for the run back (it was an out-and-back loop on the campus sidewalk system and relativly flat), so hit the water stations on the way out and flew on the way back in. I felt great and passed another 10-12 people (with a TT start, it is easier IMHO to pass folks since all AG and abilities are out there), so that was good, I loved passing the younger guys in their 20s because this short, old dude can still motor! As I passed the 3 mile mark, I felt some pressure from behind, and cranked it up and let my feet do their stuff, because I wasn't going to be passed at the line! I ended up coming across the line, and wait for it, wait for it... I didn't puke! NIIIICE! So finished in a surprising 21:39. Nice, very nice!



After a little walking around, I walked over and got a nice deep tissue massage on my calves which was awesome! But afterwords, went to get my stuff from the TA to load up the car, check the pre-lims and my times, and headed out. I ended up breaking 1 hour with a 56:18, good for 54th overall (9th in AG), so I was pleased. My T1 and T2 times were ok, but I know I can save a few minutes in there, as they say "Free Time", so I can get faster, plus my swim will only get stronger, so that are some of the bright sides. But I love how the 35-39 men's AG is always the largest AG in most races that I see, I have dubbed it the "Middle-Life Crisis AG", which I guess I fall under. But each and every goal I set before this race was met, except for the T1 time of 2 minutes (it was 2:57, which included the Bataan Death Run from the pool), but al things considered, I was happy.

Luckily I let Jen drive home, and after we unpacked the car, we all took much needed naps! Yeah, happy ending!

But I am going to upload some photos tonight that Jen took, and make sure I post at least twice a week from now on, since I am pissed at Beginner Tri (BT) for not saving any of my lengthy RR, so I will make these my main effort for posting

To quote Ice Cube...

It was a good day. Ran up north in Sanford, NC today (race report in a day or so) and went to a hockey game at night. The bonus was that the FireAntz (yes, spelled with a "Z") won, and got to hang out with a great friend and his family. Greggy and I, when we get together, crack each other up! I actually watched some of the game when he got up for food for his kids, we were that busy doing our own "play-by-play" and might have missed a goal because I was laughing so hard.

But ran well today and set another MDPR (modern day personal record), so yeah I was channeling my inner Ice Cube. But all I have to say for the kid who won the race (it was his third time in a row), youth is wasted on the young! Just kidding, congrats. But I do believe that quote, yeah I'm hatin'! Ah, well another fun day for tomorrow, pick up the new bed (king sized, baby!) and hoping to slide in a 25+ mile ride along with a 6 mile run when the weather here in NC is expected to be in the 70s, and as a bonus, Monday is off too! Life is sweeeet!