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Ironman Louisville 2017 Race Report

Created: Sunday, 15 October 2017

Ironman Louisville was all about redemption for me. Although I finished my first Ironman in Chattanooga last year, I wasn’t pleased with my performance when I succumbed to the extreme heat that day. I want a strong Ironman race, and was determined to make it happen this year.

Then, life happens. My job assigned me to work in the desert in California (I live in Atlanta). Since January, I’ve been trying to find ways to train while traveling 1 - 2 times a month while living in an unfamiliar area. Not to mention, it stays hot as hell in the desert! So training was very tough. I increased my swim skills by joining a local Masters swim class. I purchased the Zwift membership to ride on my trainer in my hotel room since the roads were unfamiliar and dangerous. Runs were all short, since it was just... too hot. Add in vacations, and it was clear that I was under-trained this year. The weekend before the race, I was actually in South Africa!! Through it all, I continued to train hard and I felt ready for the race despite not having biked a single century (100 mi) or long run (over 14 mi).

Lake Tahoe Half Triathlon 2017 Race Report

Created: Saturday, 26 August 2017

This 70.3 mile swim-bike-run was beautiful, and tough! Lake Tahoe has to be the most beautiful race sites possible in the world. The lake is breathtaking. But that altitude, at over 6,000 ft, makes receiving enough oxygen while racing very challenging. The quick summary, is that I performed beyond my expectations, 7/14 in my AG, 45/83 overall. My goal was to not be the slowest swimmer, as I used to be. I was 7th, at a 2:04/100yd pace. Very fast for me in a lake. I shined at T1, with the second fastest time! I was the 4th fastest on the bike. I know I would've been faster if I could switch to my road bike on on the climbs. My TT bike was blazing the flats and downhills. T2 was awesome again, 2nd fastest time. I was hurting on the run. But so was everyone else. I was 9th fastest (slowest). When I look back, I'm extremely pleased. I competed against other beasts and represented well.

LA Championship Tri Series #3 San Dimas 2017 Race Report

Created: Saturday, 27 May 2017

I had a rare free weekend in California, so I signed up this race. My 3rd this season. Just before the race I learned this Olympic distance race is part of a championship series. Now the title of the race made sense. It also means that the race will be highly competitive. My training is not even close to where it should be due to work away from home, living in a hotel, frequent traveling, and recent injuries. Despite the situation, I was determined to have a fun race day and have a strong performance. I did both while experiencing a few surprises!!

Rage Triathlon 2017 Race Report

Created: Saturday, 22 April 2017

The main goal leading up to any race is to arrive strong and healthy. Unfortunately, I had pulled my hamstring 2 weeks earlier, and it had not healed yet. I felt I was able to race the first 2 legs (swim and bike), then take it easy on the run. I ignored all the advice for me to drop out the race, and showed up ready to race and have fun. There were multiple races going on simultaneously. I signed up for the Olympic distance: 0.93 mi swim, 25 mi bike, 6.2 mi run. Despite jogging the run, I finished 90/183 among all the men and 12/22 in my age group.

High Desert Triathlon 2017 Race Report

Created: Saturday, 15 April 2017

Ca Edwards Air Force Base, CA 4/1/17

Pre-Race – How I got to Cali

I know it may seem odd that I am racing a pool Sprint triathlon in California, when my previous race was an Ironman (Chattanooga). To make a long story short, I basically decided to start working outside of Los Angeles, and hadn’t signed up for any races. I hadn’t even been triathlon training. After I decided where I would be working, I signed up for the next race that wasn’t sold out. I arrived on a Monday, and raced on Saturday. So here I am. This race had a very disappointing conclusion though.

Ironman Chattanooga 2016 Race Report

Created: Sunday, 25 September 2016

My journey to become an Ironman has arrived!! IM Chattanooga was chosen to be my first Ironman race due to the downriver swim, and it's proximity to my home in Atlanta. It turned out to be one of the hardest Ironman events ever! 2600+ started the race, over 600 didn't finish. That's a 26% DNF rate!! The second highest ever for an Ironman. To make it more challenging, the race is 4 miles longer than a standard IM, and the cutoff time was reduced to 16 hours 15 minutes from the standard 17 hours. The race consisted of a 2.4 mile swim down the Tennessee River, 116 mile bike ride through TN & North GA with 4800 ft of climbing, followed by a 26.2 mile run with 14oo feet of climbing through Chattanooga. The extreme late September weather made it a brutal race: Temp: 97°, Heat Index: 107°, Humidity: 80%. My goal for the race: "Don't Suck!" I learned a lot in this race. I hope my readers can learn from experience as well.

Lake Logan Half Iron 2016 Race Report

Created: Sunday, 14 August 2016

My third 1/2 Iron distance race was at the Lake Logan Half Triathlon, just outside of Asheville, NC. The swim was wetsuit legal with 72 deg temps, in a very shallow lake. 1.2 mi in 45:21. I try to make up time in transition, had the 14th fastest. The bike had lots of challenging hills. 3,000 ft of climbing over 56 mi. I averaged 18.1 mph, max speed of 40 mph. Finished with the 23rd fastest time, 3:05:22. I blazed through T2 with 4th fastest time!!! Half of the 1/2 marathon run was uphill! I finished 32nd with a time of 2:24:09. Overall, I finished in 28th place, at 6:20:01. Keep reading for the more interesting details.

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