Lake Royale Triathlon

I felt really good this morning and had a great race, finishing first overall. The bike and run courses were both hilly. The first and last section of the bike go through the Lake Royale subdivision which is all twisting, turning, up, down, very technical. The middle section was a nice straight(ish) out and back and flat. The run was like the first part of the bike - not a flat spot in there.

I jumped to a lead on the swim and held it from there. This is the way I need to compete in order to win, since my strategy (if feeling good and in shape) is to get far ahead on the swim and bike, then limit damage on the run.

Night and day between how I felt at the Wilmington YMCA and today. Funny how a couple adjustments can make such a difference.

Here are a couple pictures of me from this morning. Notice the good running form. Working out with the The Athlete's Foot track group on Tuesday nights has helped me quite a bit lately.





Earlier this week I gave a presentation at Lenovo on "Improving your 5k Training" - a lecture for intermediate runners looking to drop their 5k running times. Here's the presentation if that's you. It's a Powerpoint.

In a couple hours we are off to totally kick some more ass at the Durham Beer Festival. I am so psyched for this once a year event. I rested and tapered for it and everything.

Lake Royale Triathlon

I am looking forward to the Lake Royale sprint triathlon this Saturday. It is the final race in the Triangle Orthopaedic / FS Series. I basically missed a taper at Wilmington so adjusted things this week in order to feel fresher on race day. My cycling has become weaker here in the late season but the run is better on paper, so we'll see how that plays out. There is potential to ride home from the race site with a training buddy. And then...



WORLD BEER FEST!! Our annual pilgrimage to the Durham Athletic Park for 4 hours of unadulterated frothy beer consumption. We have recruited a strong group of fellow beer consumers to join us and we're all looking forward to it.

That will wrap up the tri season. We will most likely keep riding a couple times a week easy thru January, then get back into a more serious routine. I'm looking forward to focusing on just improving the run for a handful of months.

upcoming races and events

We're hosting an open water swim clinic this Sunday morning down at Johnny Mercer Pier in Wrightsville Beach 8-11AM.

Our next Powerstroke clinic is on November 14 in Cary, NC.

My final two triathlons of the year:
September 19 - Wilmington YMCA Triathlon
October 3 - Lake Royale Triathlon

Fall and winter running races:
October 25 - March of Dimes 5k in RTP
November 26 - Turkey Trot 8k in Cary
December 12 - Jolly Elf Trail 5k, Bond Park, Cary
January 9 (2010) - Run for Young 5k, Raleigh
February 7 - Run for the Roses 5k, Raleigh
March 6 - Cary Distance Festival 5k, Cary

Notice a theme? They're all 5ks. :) I might jump in a half marathon somewhere but the goal is to drop the 5k time down to mid 17s by March 2010.