Game On! Ponte Vedra Triathlon Sunday May 21, 2023

 Ponte Vedra Triathlon 

I called my cousins in Jacksonville, FL, and asked if they were open to my visiting them and doing this triathlon Sunday morning.  I suggested I arrive either Friday or Saturday, and they said Saturday would be more convenient with their schedule.  So I packed up Scooter, and we headed to Jacksonville with an arrival planned for 3:30 PM.  They live about 15 minutes north of Ponte Vedra, so driving to the race would be very quick and easy.  

I went through Micklers Landing, thinking that packet pick-up was there because the race website had a link that said directions on the packet pick-up page.  However, this set of directions did not send me to packet pickup but to the race site itself.  It turned out the packet pick up was 9 miles north at a Trek shop.  That wasn't a big deal because it was on the way to my cousins' house so I stopped and got my bib, stickers, and t-shirt.  I had to use my own swim cap because they did not have non-latex caps.  I was supposed to have a red cap but had left that one back in Winter Haven.  As it turned out, I had also left a critical piece of tri gear there as well, but more on that later.  

I arrived at 3:10 at my cousins' house and had a great visit with them and pizza for dinner with a salad.  They have a wonderful home with a boat dock on the water, so it's always a pleasant place to visit.  

The next morning I got up at 5 AM, got my coffee and some oatmeal, and after chatting with my cousins, who decided to get up with me and feeding Scooter, I headed out.  I told them I should be back between 10 and 11 AM.  

I arrived at the race site.  There were 200-300 competitors in this race.  The transition area was small, and I did a tour noting bike in and out and run in and out and walking the swim in and out.  Susan Haag had posted about this race, and I might have missed it had she not made that post.  I had checked out tri-find  but this race hadn't come up, probably because of the filter I put on it for my search.  Anyway, I was able to sign up on Friday afternoon.  

I parked and started collecting my gear.  Normally I leave my helmet and bike shoes in the car.  But after Clermont, my bike shoes had gotten muddy and I had removed them to clean them and not replaced them in the car, and I did not realize this until I started collecting my gear from the car to head to transition.  Oh Well.  I knew I could ride with my tennis shoes but likely I'd be somewhat slower on the ride because of this.  I shrugged, filled up my tires with air, collected everything else and headed to transition.  I got my body marked and asked where the chips were.  This group puts your chip on your bike spot so you collect your chip with the number on it at your marked bike slot.  That was pretty nice.  I set up my transition and started doing reconnaissance of the area.  I hung out and saw Susan as she arrived. We took a couple of photos and she introduced me to several of her friends that she'd raced with over the years.  Several of them were men over 70.  

I was in the Over 60 wave with these guys, so we stood about and chatted for nearly an hour as we waited for the Olympic race (only 88 competitors) to begin.  Our waves began at 7:40, and I think we didn't actually get in until 7:50 because it was a two by two entry.  

The swim entry was, ahem, interesting.  The waves were crashing pretty hard for about 50 feet so you had to forge through that to get to smooth water for the swim.  One particular wave during my entry was about 10 feet tall and pounded me so long that I wondered if I'd get through it.  DAMN! I said after that one.  Then I was through and able to start my swim.  I started easy, and it felt pretty good.  I love swimming in salt water.  It was too warm for wetsuit legal, so no one had a wetsuit.  Fine by me!  

I really enjoyed the swim.  I passed quite a few folks.  Got kicked in the face by a breaststroker...sort of pulled up short on that one, then managed to get around her and continue.  I was pretty happy with my time when I got out, something like 13 minutes which I felt was reasonable with the long walk dodging waves on the entry.  I had left my flip-flops at the edge of the sand again because the asphalt was rough, and this neuropathy makes my feet very tender.  I was glad I had them.  I got my tennis shoes on, my helmet and headed out.  

The bike course is an out-and-back, 12.5 miles ride.  It's on an open course with some crossovers, but it's on the A1A, so the traffic is mostly beach traffic, and early on, this is fairly light.  I had one time when a pedestrian was crossing in front of me, and I hollered, and he let me pass.  I was doing 22 MPH at that point, so didn't want to lose my speed.  My ride was 45 minutes, not my best, but still not terrible for me.  I was doing 15-16 Mph through most of the ride.  There were several long slow hills on the ride, but they were nice to ride back down.  There was some shade.  I passed a few folks and had a few pass me.  But remember, the Olympic folks went out first, so it wasn't clear who was doing what race, and passing someone wasn't terribly meaningful.  

The old folks wave was last, so I figured I'd end up on the course completely alone, but it didn't work out that way.  With all the Olympic competitors, the bike and run course had a lot of folks on them, so I was middle of the pack a lot.  

Since I rode in my tennis shoes, my bike-to-run transition was very short.  I racked my bike, grabbed my hat, race belt, and water bottle, and headed out.  That was nice.  I had to walk nearly the whole first mile.  I was a bit frustrated by this, but with my HR at 156-188 just walking, I was unable to do anything else.  Finally after mile one and some Gatorade diluted with water, my HR started to slow to the 144 range.  I managed to run a bit on mile 2.  Not a lot but more.  By mile 3, I was running even more and did a negative split.  Mile 1 was like 16 minutes.  Mile 2 was 15, and mile 3 was 14.  I managed a nice run up the finisher chute and got my medal.  I was pretty pleased with my finish.  

Waiting for the awards (I had figured out I might podium) I chatted with Crown and his wife Corey from Kenya.  He was a duathlon-er who had just tried doing this race on a whim.  He's interested in training for a triathlon and I offered my coaching services to him.  He has my number if he wants to follow up.  

The whole race was nearly 2 hours, 1:59 but even so I felt like I had accomplished a lot.  

Medals earned April 15-May 22, 2023

It turned out that I was one of 2 competitors in my age group so I also picked up a 2nd place podium slot.  I commented to the 1st place finisher that "we outlived them all!" and we had a good laugh.  

Next race is probably the Fort De Soto triathlon in June.  I think that may be all the racing I do down here this summer. 

GIRLZ on Fire Race Report Saturday, May 13, 2023

 Girlz on Fire

A few years ago, I signed up for this race while I was here in FL at my house, but I signed up on Saturday afternoon, and the race had actually already been done at that time!  I sent a note to the director asking if there was anything we could do, like a refund or something, and she suggested they give me credit for a future race.  Then the pandemic happened.  Then cancer happened.  

So 4 years later, I sent a note to the race director asking if they still had a record of this offer, and she responded with an offer of a 50% discount for this year's race.  I decided that was very generous given the time that had passed, and I signed up for the sprint.  

This is a women-only triathlon and has 200-300 competitors.  It's a nice race with a swim in Lake Minneola, a ride around the lake, and a run through the Clermont trail area.  The transition is small and easily navigable, and the water is usually pretty warm.  (I've done races in Clermont at this location in the past so I was very familiar with the course and the location.)  

On race day, I got up at 5 AM and drove the hour 10 minutes to the course, checked in, got my chip, shirt, bib, and stickers, got body marked, and put my things into transition.  There was a large contingent of women over 65 there from The Villages.  They have a triathlon group and do this race every year.  We chatted while we waited for the race to begin.  The start was uneventful, but I left a pair of flip-flops at the beach's edge because we had to run across very rough asphalt.  The 400 yd swim was a very nice U shape from right to left with a long beach and asphalt run to transition after.  I think I finished in about 10 minutes or less, and one of the ladies I had chatted with came out with me.  I was, as usual, one of the first ones out of the water.  

I took my time getting ready for the bike and several minutes later was on the course.  This bike ride is only 8 miles, so it is shorter than the standard sprint distance.  It is partially shaded on the ride, and since it's fairly early, there is little traffic on the course, but it is open for most of the ride.  There are short steep hills at the end of the ride, so it's good to be prepared for this last push.  The final ride into transition is downhill, so that's a nice way to prepare for the run.  

This time of year, it's getting hot and humid quite early.  Temps are about 80+, and 80% humidity is normal.  That day was no different.  I am still dealing with HR spikes on runs, so I had to do quite a bit of walking.  I aimed for 14 min pace for the walk when I could.  That keeps my HR up about 155 or more; running short distances at that temp spikes my HR up to 188.  (Normal Max HR for someone my age is about 150).  I was happy to finish and enjoyed the race very much.  

I chatted with a woman who was a Base member and a vendor at the expo afterward.  She sells skirts and headbands with a sort of Hawaiian theme.  I liked them but decided against spending money at that point.  I got some race food.  

As races go, the buffet for this race is tremendous.  They had sandwich roll-ups (3 varieties), chips (6 varieties), fruit (grapes, strawberries, bananas), pastries, yogurt and sodas, and mimosas with champagne.  We all received medals and a tiara at the finish line.  

I didn't podium, there were some pretty fast ladies there (runners), and my bike shoes needed to be clipped in completely, so I wasn't getting a full spin cycle on the bike.  I wasn't too worried.  Just doing the race was fun and good for my psyche.  

I recommend this race to anyone in the Clermont area. 

 If you want to rent my house, you need to be 55+ and do a background check, but it's available most summers and within an hour or so drive of several triathlon sites.  Clermont, Fort DeSoto, and Vero Beach triathlons are all within driving distance without a hotel if you get up between 4-5 AM.