More Florida-St Anthony's Triathlon 4/24/2010

It's May already and we are so glad we are here in sunny, very warm Florida...it's been in the 90's the last couple of days and will continue on for the week.  We finally gave in and closed up the condo and turned on the air conditioning.  Ah, but this is nothing to complain about especially when we get reports from home that it's unseasonably rainy and cold. 

After much anticipation, I did the St Anthony's Triathlon, Olympic distance: 1,000 meter swim (short swim, explanation to follow)  24 mile bike, 6.2 mile run which took me 2:58 and placed me 8th out of 17 in my age group in a competitive field of 4500 athletes total.  I was pleased and even got an award for being in the top 10 of my age group.

The transition area before the race started...lots and lots of bikes.  I had to practice finding my bike several times. It's like a giant parking lot.I got my shoulder taped up beforehand.  Thank goodness for this guy...my massage therapist..he works only on triathletes.  

        

A familiar sight...me struggling to get on the wetsuit...long sleeves are a killer in these warm waters!Getting ready for a warm up swim.  The swim ended up delayed because of increasing winds and waves.  So, to be safe, the organizer shortened the swim course.  I heard of some people who freaked out and decided to swim on their backs.  After a couple of swallows of salty water, I adjusted my stroke and was fine.  I was amazed, however, that I won my age group given the fact I hadn't practiced swimming for months due to my shoulder injury!Look at these guys..they are pros (professionals) ..they are so fast.  St A's is the first triathlon of the season so brings out the swiftest.  You'll see many of these people on TV doing the Hawaiian Ironman come October.His feet are not touching the ground!

Then there's little old me moving right along at the start of the bikeI'm done!!  I am so happy the run is OVER..it was darn hot by the time I got in around noon.