Sunday, May 30, 2010

Fast friends and cool finds




I am grateful for my friends and teammates during my journey. Here are links to some of my teammates that are all faster than I am;

David Warden - PowerTri.com owner and sprint triathlon specialist. He also does an amazing podcast for all you Tri junkies out there. David is one of the most intelligent triathletes I know.... no question about it!

Coach Keena - Keena is an absolute inspiration and has one of the biggest hearts in the industry. She has already qualified for the Olympic distance world championship in Budapest and the Ironman world championships in Kona Hawaii. She is trying to qualify for Clearwater at the 70.3 race in Lubbock Texas later in June. WHEN she qualifies that means that she will be going to ALL three world championships as an athlete - WHAT??? Now that's EPIC!

Spencer Woolston - Best new comer in the United States. He has come on to the scene so strong it makes me nauseous. Spencer has the most talent of anyone I have ever met and the dicipline to pull it off. In his second Ironman attempt he qualified for Kona and will be headed down this fall. His bike speed scares me..... look out tri world, here comes Spencer!

Other fast friends and team mates-




One of the best things I have found this week was the pandora radio app on my iPhone. Unlimited free music in whatever style you like.... it is off the hook!






"You aren't going to make it"

This week was a bigger than normal workout week for me having no races this weekend..... but I have been scolded by more than one person for trying to do too much. These are some of the things I have been hearing lately

"You aren't going to make it!"
"What's the point, you're hardly raising any money"
"You're going to get hurt, then what?"
"You can't afford to do this"

Pshhhh. Quit? What? There is a way! I don't know how, but I know there is a way. The cause is great! We have so much and I know this is how I am suppose to help out and leave my little mark here on earth. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.... who's ready to be epic?



Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Uncle Sam



This was a great burger because it was one we all know and love! Garen T. Winn (Gaurantee Win, get it? That's his real name!!) did an awesome job again and everyone had a blast! We had many athletes and burger fans in the crowd this week. 70.3 Florida was a great race! To check out the burgers we will be making this year go to www.cheeseandburger.com and if you would would like to see my project for 2010 please visit www.TriandGiveaDam.com If you feel the urge.... donate a few bucks... if not just enjoy the fun! Thanks for all the support to date! Here are also a few pictures of the kids we are affecting in Africa. These are actual picture of the kids....







DonateNow

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Run.... ok I did a lot of walking too.... so what...



Run - 1:58:41

Still feeling awesome from the bike, I stormed through T2 and headed out on the run. My first mile was a 7:10 and a smile came to my face. I KNEW I was going to have a personal best day and have an outside chance of a World Championship slot. That feeling lasted 2 more miles before my body started to shut down...again. The feelings from St Croix started to creep in. My legs started to get really heavy and everything started to go into slow motion. By the half-way mark of the run, the hearing in my left ear started to go again and the ringing was back. I slowed right down as the day heated up. During my second lap, I watched as a guy collapsed from the heat of the day. Other athletes quickly went to help him. His day was done and it felt much the same for me. I kept
thinking to myself, "How can I feel so good one minute and so awful the next?" I kept doing the math and my high hopes of achieving a personal best were long gone and the realization soon set in that I wasn't even going to break 5 hours. Dang....

The photo guys seemed to have caught me every time I was walking... nice! I did, however, muster up a smile after completing the 5th half-ironman of the year. Only 15 more to go....

Personal Best and Drafting Cheaters!


Bike - 2:26:47

HOOORAH! Finally had a great bike split. After a poor swim I threw caution to the wind and started out on the bike ride. My legs felt good and I just got into a rhythm. Being the last wave I had most of the field in front of me. I started blowing by packs of people. And when I say packs, I mean packs. Their was drafting going on everywhere. I just kept thinking, "Well, if that's how they want to do the half-ironman experience then more power to them." At one point, I past a large group of riders and thought nothing of it. After about 5 minutes of me minding my own business, I looked back and saw that entire group attached to my wheel drafting off of me! Feeling good, I stood up out of my saddle and said enough is enough! I dropped that group of cheaters at my expense! A few miles down the road, I had another single rider enjoying the draft off my back wheel. I yelled at him and he completely ignored me fully content to just sit there. I swerved left so he would get the hint and get off of me. He picked up his pace and passed me up. Moments later his chain blew off his bike - karma is a bitch! I felt strong the entire ride and was incredibly happy with my performance here. I had my friend Jess Brereton's PR bike time in sight from our first half-ironman years before. I fell just a bit short but am still very happy at this point. The friendship record is still yours Jess.... for now!

Warm, Calm and slow.


Swim- 38:42

I had a hard time sleeping cause I was pumped for another 70.3.... and this is the best I have felt.

I used the coffee maker to heat up some water for this mornings dose of Rokitfuel. I grabbed my gear and headed to the Magic Kingdom for a fast day out on the race course. It was an uneventful check in with no issues. The winds were down the the skies were clear. It looked like it was going to be a perfect day.

I was in wave number 22 (last wave of the day) so I was able to watch all 2250
athletes take off for their day on the course. At 7:24 it was finally our time to get in the water and get going on our day. I jumped in and the water was super warm. I can see why they did not allow wetsuits. I am finally comfortable enough in the water so the "no wetsuit" issue didn't bother me. What bothers me is that I forgot my BlueSeventy skin suit again. I pounded through the swim with strength and confidence. I was super disappointed when I found out my time. When I spoke to my wife Sunny after the race
she said "When I saw your swim time I worried something was wrong." Nothing wrong.... just slow dear!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010



Saturday May 15, 2010

I slept in without any worries of missing any deadlines. My hotel was really close to the race site and I had 'til 6pm to get all checked in. I walked back to Shoney's for a yummy omelet before returning to assemble my bike. I am getting pretty good at it and nailed it on the first try. With the use of my trusted iPhone I drove right to check-in, which was located at the Magic Kingdom Theme Park (Disney-world).

I breezed through check-in and decided to spend some extra time at the expo learning more about compression technology, both active and recovery. I'm sold! I have been using compression pants from Skins bought at Powertri.com for pre and post race recovery. I was given a pair of Zoot calf sleeves in Texas and in Florida got a pair of "active" 2XU compression sleeves. So far... I'm a fan. At the expo there was a booth where they were advertising a brand new 70.3 event, I guess I am just going to have to do it too- Puerto Rico. The race site looks awesome and the guys were super nice. They make me look like a midget in the picture though.

After seeing all I could see at the expo I made my way back to the hotel to get off my feet. I grabbed "Chi Running" (a book I am reading to try and improve my running) and headed down to the pool for some relaxation. Down at the pool I had a moment where I really missed my kids and wished they were here with me. The whole area is geared towards kids (duh, it's Mickey Mouse Land!) and my girls all love the princesses. Subway and Vitamin Water was on the menu for lunch and it was super tasty.

Once again I ate at Golden Corral. Feasting on my own is getting old. I would like invite anyone to dine with me at any events I go to. However, I had a good conversation with my sister from Canada where I invited her to do an Ironman with me in 2012. She has turned down the idea and that is ok with me. Ironman is not for everyone......

Florida 70.3 Race 5 of 20


I have been waiting to write this post as it was an interesting race for me. I had many emotions and experiences this time around and I wanted to process them all before I wrote them down. So this may be a longer post but should still be a good worth while read as I continue on my journey to a world record and my humble attempt to make a difference on the people on the other side of the world. I am experiencing this journey in a way that I didn't think I would when I started. Every time I race the 70.3 distance I gain respect for it. I also get some perspective on what life could possibly be like in Africa. I am hot, thirsty and tired for 5 hours.... the African people are hot, thirsty and tired all day, every day.

Friday May 14, 2010

I packed up the Ellsworth prototype and all of my gear for a race that I was super excited to go and do, and actually race. I have had a two-week break and some good training sessions with Coach Keena. I have done some good bike rides and did a quality track workout to work on my speed for the run. I was excited for this race because I felt that I could "race" this event instead of doing the event. The conditions were ideal for my style of racing. Lake swim, flat bike course with no winds in the forecast and a flat run!

My flight was direct and I had no issues... well except that I get angry every time I check my bike cause I feel that they take advantage of cyclists. I thought I would try a new approach this time and check my bike curb side and see if I could sneak through without paying the absurd amounts that they charge. The guy was about to ring me up for 100 bucks when at the last second he decided to go inside and check.... 190 was the final verdict, DANG IT!

I landed safely, shuttled to my car rental and set out to find my hotel. How did people travel prior to the iPhone?! This device has saved my butt so many times. I located my hotel with no problem and was instantly excited when I pulled into the parking lot and saw a sign that said, "The Worlds Largest Python Water Slide". I couldn't wait to see this! Well as you can see by the picture, I think the hotel staff may be delusional or suck at research cause there is no way that this is the largest. I checked in, went to Shoney's for all you can eat ribs and mashed potatoes and called it a night.


In the middle picture is the "PYTHON SLIDE" and the one on the right is my view from my room!

Monday, May 17, 2010

The RHINELANDER - post St Croix Burger.......


For those of you new to my blog, after each race I choose a burger from the website www.cheeseandburger.com and make it with my friends. Here is a picture and a video for your enjoyment. This is the video after my 4th 70.3 event of 20. I am working on the race reviews, experience and the newest burger party.


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

DUB Nutrition..... new video.

I am good friends with the owners of DUB nutrition and they help me out with my supplements and energy shots. So thanks guys!!! I just wanted to share with you some information about the owners and the company. I am very excited to announce to release of their new corporate video (well maybe it's because there are a few pictures of me in it) The video highlights the fantastic stories and testimonials of product users, and gives great insight into who dub nutrition is. Take a few minutes to watch the video and learn more about dub nutrition’s mission both at home and abroad.

DUB VIDEO

James Lawrence
An athlete with a purpose

Swim Tips and Article from Heath Thurston (Uber Swimmer)

The Great Misunderstood and Complicated World of Water

Water is and forever will be my element and freedom. Every time I jump or dive into the water to swim it gives me chills and a great sense of thrill. Not just because of the temperature of the water, but because of the amazing quietness and calm feeling I have in that liquid submerged world. I feel empowered as the weight of the world feels lifted from my body and my shoulders and it’s the best feeling ever. The weightlessness is just amazing and I have never felt a sensation equally liberating anywhere else. When I was a young swimmer growing up, one of my favorite things to do was just dive down under the water and swim around looking from one end of the pool to the other. I think that is how it would feel if I could actually fly. The fluid feeling of being able to move any part of my body in any direction and have it impact the rest of my body is unmatched in any other form of motion on earth. It’s fascinating how things can move through the water. Ever since my first experiences submerged in my world of water I have always calculated movement through my eyes under the water. Our body reacts so differently in water. This is why it is such a complicated world for most people. They don’t know how to look at it, understand it, feel it or use it to their advantage.

Swimming and being in water has been a part of my life since I was about three years old. I was unable to go under water until I was five because of having tubes in my ears. But boy, when I got my tubes out and could go under water that was the beginning of the end for me. My mom tells me that the first thing I did when I jumped into the water was the butterfly stoke, which is one of the hardest strokes to learn. I had spent so much time just watching my siblings and other swimmers that I had inadvertently studied the way their bodies moved in the water. How they placed their hands in the water, how their hips moved, how their legs thrusted up and down for propulsion. My brain and body just understood it. I wish other things in my life came as easy as swimming did for me. I just took to swimming like I was made to do it, and I guess I was.

I was always very competitive and fast for my young age. From the very beginning, skipping over swim lessons all together, I went right into racing older kids because there wasn’t an age group to race in. I competed with the high school kids for fun because my mom was the coach and though it would motivate them by trying to swim down the littlest kid on the starting blocks. All through high school I competed for state championship titles and even contemplated a college team but I was so burned out of competing and being in the pool about 4-6 hours a day most of my life, I needed a break. This is were triathlons came into my life. As I started to compete and come out of the water almost always in the lead people wanted to know how I did it. They would ask, “How can you travel through the water so fast and so effortlessly?” So that’s what got me into coaching and trying to take what my body and mind did naturally so I could help others learn to do it as well. So others could be indulged with having there own amazing world and experience water like I have grown so accustomed to and love.

People always talk about having a runner’s high but most will never talk about having a swimmer’s high. Perhaps there isn’t one, but if you ever experience what I describe and what I feel, it can trump and surpass the best of a runner’s high. When you have it and feel it, it is the greatest feeling in the world. It’s not just a sensation or a happy feeling in your head like a runner’s high can be, it’s a high that encompasses your whole body and mind. In the water you only have two main senses that are at work, eyesight and touch. Your body has to heighten those senses for better control. You feel one hundred-fold the power of drag on your body than you do just running through air. Because you are “weightless”, in the sport of swimming all you really have to rely on is how well you float and create momentum. You don’t need to be super ripped or super lean because it doesn’t matter. If you can run a sub 5 minute mile or bike a 40k TT in under an hour it has very little relevance to how one can move effortlessly through the water. Most of the best swimmers around do not appear physically like the best runners or cyclists at all. Swimming is simple, it’s all about floating. In all the swim lessons I do the first thing I do for people is teach them how to float, I mean truly float. Most people think they know how to float but they really don’t. To truly float you need to let yourself go, don’t think about staying right on top of the water. Let your arms sink or float where they may and let your legs do what they do which is sink –come on they’re pure muscle– that’s what they will do! Feel your body in the water and then let your senses be heightened, it’s quiet, it’s peaceful and you are floating, you won’t drown. As long as you let yourself relax and float you will not sink to the bottom. You will not drown!

Once you get floating down, then all you need to do at this point is add some propulsion with a kick then bring the arms into the mix. Kicking is a huge part of better swimming even though your kick is only about 15% of your propulsion through the water. Your kick has to be efficient; otherwise it works against your momentum. Most of the people I work with tend to have a kick that does not work in sync with their arms. Look at it this way, when you run or walk on land your legs do all the work while your arms follow them but they do it naturally. In water it is the exact opposite. Your arms are the primary source of movement and generate the most propulsion. Your legs are there to follow the arms. But if you don’t have a good shallow efficient kick this working together cannot happen.

This is why there are people whose legs sink or who kick too much and it causes their arms to have inefficient power in the pull. The body can only put the power emphasis into one major body group and if the legs take over then the arms become the secondary, not the primary. So get in the pool and learn how to float first then start to do lots and lots of kicking. I don’t mean kicking with fins either. Fins just delay the learning curve of proper kicking efficiency. Get a good long kickboard and kick length after length in the pool. Soon your kick will become better and better. When your kick becomes better and more efficient then your swimming form will gain leaps and bounds. Your speed and endurance will triple. I could spend hours and hours going over proper technique and how to do this and how to do that, but honestly I hate typing and I don’t think Triathlon Edge wants this to be a super long and boring article. The most important thing I want to get across today, in this article, is how great and wonderful swimming can be. Make it your own world. Take the quietness to heart and listen to your body and your breath underwater. If you truly listen and feel yourself in the water you to will be able to feel yourself getting faster with less effort than ever before. Think about your stroke and how your body feels as it travels through the resistant water. Soon you too will feel that swimmer’s high. I don’t ever understand why people say that swimming is so boring. To me it will never be boring because I am in my own underwater world and the only thing I am thinking about is my stroke and my body moving through this great world of my OWN!!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

A weekend off!!

I have been feeling much better since leaving St Croix. I had this weekend off of racing but still managed to get in a few long rides with friends. Today was Mothers day and lucky for me I was here - whew! Sundays are great, I try to stay off my feet, relax and evaluate the coming week of training. This coming weekends race is in Orlando Florida. Thanks to Janice Harrington I have a place to stay. She was awesome and book me my hotel off of her frequent travel points. So thank you!!

I found some pictures from the St Croix race and will post them here today.....as you can see I was in pain on the run and I wasn't lying about the hills on the bike.....and yup I'm the only one wearing a wet suit :)













Unique Food, The Beast (again) and Travel

Monday May 3rd.

Today was a lax day where I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible. Ernie and my buddy Peter took off first thing leaving me with a room to myself. After a nice breakfast, prepared by Jennifer, I met up with Bryan and Ryan, the two Xtreme tourist film guys. We headed down to the beach, which was less that 2 min away. They mic-ed me up and interviewed me about In Our Own Quiet Way and the Tri and Give a Dam project. It took about 25 minutes to complete! I drove the two guys to Olympic car rental (which was named this because the owner was in the 1970 something Olympics for shooting... and now he is almost blind)and picked up a car for me as I was going to be on the Island a few more days. I debated whether or not to get a car as funds are tight, but felt that I had better. I picked up a few things from the store to eat throughout the day and literally stayed off my feet the rest of the day. My body must have been tired with how it reacted yesterday, so I thought this would be a good idea.

Tuesday May 4th.

I woke up late (yes) and headed down to breakfast. Lionel was in what seemed to be an important meeting, regarding politics, so I minded my own business and quietly got some food. Jennifer came in wearing some big dark sunglasses and ask Lionel if he could take her to the doctor because there was something wrong with the eye. She had recently had eye surgery. I spoke up and said that I could take her so that Lionel could finish with his meeting. Jennifer was very grateful and this may have been the reason I needed to get that car. I took Jennifer to town and the doc took good care of her. Jennifer was so grateful she helped me gather a few gifts for the kids, bought a hand made pottery plate for Sunny and took me to lunch.

She wanted me to go somewhere “the locals” went so she took me to Tim Duncan’s uncle’s restaurant. I guess good old Tim is from the Islands. It was a small place but she said that this is where the locals eat. So not wanting to disappoint, I said I would give it a try. This is what I ate.....

The drink was made from a plant called Sorrel. It was dark red in color and taste like cinnamon.

goat stew meat, plantain, seasoned potatoes, rice, peas, and macaroni. It was all pretty good... but not delicious. Then I had what is called a delicacy there.... Conch (pronounced konk) meat from a conch shell eaten with Fungi (corn mill and okre) This dish I thought I was going to hate as it smelled very fishy. But it was actually very mild and was fine.

In the evening I was suppose to go for a ocean kayak trip but the winds shifted and it had to be canceled, dang! Instead I went for a nice 6 mile run up and around. The sights at the top were awesome and the pictures simply do not do it justice.

Wednesday May 5th,

Woke up a little earlier today, as I had to get everything packed, return the car and find my way over to the airport. Coach Keena suggested I go for a nice easy ride so indeed I did. I took the Ellsworth out for a quick spin and found myself at the bottom of the beast. “I’m here and I may never be back, so why not climb it one more time for old time sake!” It took me 10 minutes to climb it and only a few minutes less to get down. It is such a steep hill that I needed to really clamp down on the brakes and take it slow. Right as I pulled up to the Arawalk my back tire went flat.... whew! With no cell service on this side of St Croix it would have been a long walk back rushing to get everything done. I packed up my bike and gear, said goodbye to Jennifer and Lionel and was off to the airport. No problems through customs and the only charged me $25 to check my bike. NOW HOW HARD WAS THAT - WHY CAN’T THEY JUST DO THAT EVERY TIME (yes that is me yelling)!!! The flight was delayed for about an hour because they could not get the baggage door to open... maybe I should have paid more to check my bag. :)

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

WINNER WINNER WINNER

Congrats and way to go!!!
Just wanted to throw out a HUGE congrats to my wife Sunny who destroyed the competition in the Gold's Gym transformation contest. She is very happy and has now moved on to the National finals in Las Vegas later this month. She was super strict and worked extremely hard.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Ernie, Flying Nuns and 80 year old animals




I just chilled around the finish area and watched the rest of the athletes come in....literally all of them. The host of the show Extreme Tourist, Ernie, wanted to have a great experience at his first half-Ironman. He posted a time of 7:59:26. Erni

e managed to just edge out Madonna Buder, the 80 year old flying nun. Unfortunately he was bested by the other 80 year old in the race, Lew Hollander, who beat Ernie by 13 minutes. I would have bet on the guy on the left every time. Another lesson in NOT judging a book by it's cover.


After the race we wanted to get some good bike footage for the episode and some promo footage for my quest. So we headed back to the beast to do some filming. Shockingly I felt great, now that my stomach wasn’t busy being my enemy. The evening finished with eating at the Fort Christian Brew Pub. The service was horrible and the burger was mediocre; but the deep fried pickles and onion rings were off the hook!! It felt good just to go back to the hotel and crash watching the Patriot on TV.



Second lap, throw up and IV's

I had planned to take several extra minutes in transition to gather my wits before what I knew was going to be a long run in the heat and humidity. I headed out on the run course and felt somewhat good, maybe this won’t be too bad after all. About one mile into the run a guy in my age group ran up behind me and asked, “How many more guys in our age were ahead of me?”.... “A ton,” I replied. “Maybe all of them." He continues to say “No way! The guy who qualified for Kona last year is right behind us.” In my head I’m thinking this guy is drunk and the humidity is really kicking his butt. With him about 10 paces ahead of me the light went on.... I shouted out, “Are you on your first or second lap of the run?” He laughs and says, “Sorry, this is my second.” I never saw him again as he ran into the distance. I guess the good news was at this point I must have still looked like an athlete.


I buzzed through the first 2.5 miles under a 7:30 pace, nice and easy! Then things started to go south again. The stomach started to turn and the cramping was back with a vengeance. I arrived at the aid station at mile 3.5 and stopped to take in some Pepsi to see if that would help. At the end of the last table there was little cups of salt that could be chased with water. At this point I figured that it is what my body needed, salt. Down it went and within about 20 steps, I was bent over in the ditch. My body clearly didn’t want any part of that salt. Little did I know, that was that start of a 5 minute episode where my body let me know that it hadn’t been processing ANY of the liquid or nutrition that I had been putting in it for the past 4 hours. I threw up EVERYTHING. A few minutes of throwing up followed by a few more minutes of dry heaving. All the athletes were very nice telling me to hang in there. I stood up and started to walk hoping to keep a straight line. This was the most scenic part of the course situated at the tip of the golf course overlooking the ocean. So, the fact that I was walking gave me time to enjoy that! I started to feel a bit better giving the current situation and managed to start running again. This fourth mile took me 14:03, oops! I managed a few sub 10 min miles with my tank on empty. Mile 7 was a speedy 12:34!


There was a girl running on her first lap that I would pass running, then when I was forced to a walk she would pass me back. This happened several times before I came up with the brilliant idea that it may be easier to finish this thing with a friend. Laura and I are now friends. We mustered a good walk-run together. She got me through miles 9-12 before I said goodbye and maned up for the last mile. I knew the camera crew would be there at the finish so i couldn’t very well be walking. With my guts turning inside out, I did the last half mile close to a 7 min mile.


As I crossed the finish line, the camera man asked me how it was. I said, “It was the hardest race I have ever done, physically and mentally.” At that moment, he said I turned white and my legs went from under me. I made my way over to the medical tent. The instant I tried to lay down my leg started to cramp due to dehydration. It took several of then medical staff to hold my leg down and get pressure on it. Once my leg let go, they hooked me up to an IV and pumped liquids into my body. After about 15 minutes I really started to feel better.

Swim 34:09 Bike 3:09:51 Run 2:20:53 Total 6:04:53


THE BEAST... my stomach or the hill...



I was very happy to rip off my wetsuit and was really looking forward to the bike ride. I took a few extra seconds in transition and made sure to drink a few shots of my water that had my prolytes in it, knowing the water at the aid stations would not have the needed electrolytes in it. Feeling pretty good I set out to conquer the ‘beast’. I looked down at my watched and noticed that my HR was 185 despite not feeling that bad. I realized that I needed to slow down as my body had not recovered from the heat of the swim yet. It took me a few mile but managed to get the HR back down to my normal range. I felt pretty good and took it pretty easy on the bike, wanting to go up the ‘beast’ and achieve my main goal for the race - no walking on the bike course. I pounded up the hill and felt awesome doing it. I didn’t get passed by anyone. The hill was so steep at points that it required us cyclist to ‘zig zag’ or ‘switchback’ to get up it. There was a welcome aid station at the top with a large group of encouraging locals, it was just awesome! The first half of this ride was up, up, up, and on very bendy and mostly rough roads. The entire course was beautiful. When the roads weren’t tree lined, there was an incredible view of the ocean. I tried to drink half of bottle of supplied Gatorade and grab a cold water bottle to dump on my head to keep my body temperature down each time I went through one of the four aid stations. 40 miles into the bike ride, I knew something was wrong. I started to get a wicked side stick and I never get those on the bike. The next sign was when the woman age groupers started going by..... not that these woman weren’t athletes because holy crap they were. At mile 52 there was a long swooping hill with a sharp left hand turn close to the bottom. I am not a great bike handler and slowed down to ensure a safe exit at the bottom. One of those speedy age group woman didn’t have the same fortune. I came around the hard left to see this pour girl sitting in the ditch with blood everywhere. I slowed even more to see that a race official happened to be right there and radioed for help right away. The idea of that nightmare haunts ever cyclist during a race, and this girl happened to be in second place at the time, ouch. The second-half of the bike course took us to the other side of the island, which was a bit more open, and the winds were still brutal. I limped into transition extremely glad for it to be over with a blazing time of 3:09:51.


May 2nd St Croix US Virgin Islands



Sunday May 2nd - RACE DAY ST CROIX US VIRGIN ISLANDS - 70.3 #4


Up at 4:30 and excited! I have been looking forward to this race and the challenge of the beast. I took in my normal breakfast of Rokitfuel and our host/owner of the Arawalk Bay woke up early and put out some extra breakfast for the athletes that were staying here. The owners, Jennifer and her husband Lionel, really have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome here in St Croix. They say that their guest are like family and should be treated as such.


After a smooth transition set up, the announcer of the race announces that wetsuits are optional; however, if you had any intention of competing for age group awards or world champion slots you could not wear them. That didn’t include me so I grabbed my suit and headed to the water. The swim start was 200 meters away on a little island across from transition. I threw on my wetsuit not really paying attention to what others were doing, jumped in the water and swam across to the race start. Once I reached the other side, I notice that there were only about 4 or so athletes wearing a wetsuit. I wonder if that was an indication that I had either made the wrong decision, due to the water temperature, or that there was only 4 of us that thought we were not going to be fast enough to compete. I soon found out that it was the temp of the water - it was hot! I stood water side with my wetsuit on waiting for the pros to go, anxiously waiting for the gun to fire so I could get going. I wanted to get this swim over with and get my already overheating body out of this wetsuit. The water was indeed warm and I could tell instantly that it was going to be a hot swim and I needed to be careful to not go too hard. So I took it easy and enjoyed the swim...turns out to be a decent strategy as I posted a decent personal swim time of 34:09.