I can still Tri.

I can still Tri....well I can almost. Today I participated in the Show-Me-State Games triathlon. Today's event was a 1/2 mile swim, 21 mile bike and a 5 k run on the KATY. I did this race about 3 years ago. Heck, that might have been the last triathlon I did....I had only swam twice this year leading up to the event. My group was the second wave of the day - Over 40 Male and Female racers.

After getting kicked in the head and having several other swimmers swim over me, I was ready to get the heck out of Twin Lake. My plan was to start off slowly, but this ended up being a bad idea because it put me back with swimmers who could not swim straight. By the turn around buoy, the pack had thinned out enough to allow me to concentrate solely on my swim. The last 1/4 mile I concentrated on my swim- head straight, pressing the T, steady kick and a good strong finish to my arm stroke followed by gliding.

After the swim it was onto my favorite leg - the bike. Today's course was 21 miles long with some rather steep climbs. Lucky for me the weather was a bit cool which allowed me to keep a good pace. I steadily worked my way up from my poor swim to bridge up toward the leaders. I rode with the eventual winner of my division for about 5 miles until the last 2 miles of the bike. On every climb I would surge trying to drop him, but he always came back on the flatter sections. For what ever reason, I decided to take it easy to rest my legs for the run. This turned out to be a mistake as I lost about 1 min, which is how much I lost 3rd place my. I ended up finished the bike in about 57 min.

The final leg was the 5K run. I really like this run because part of it is on the Katy Trail. I was motivated to run hard and thought I was until the 1/2 point. My time at the turnaround was a little over 11 min, which would make my 5K run about 22 min. A time which is not going to win at this level of competition. My final time was 1:38:35 - good enough for 4th place.

Lunatic Fringe MTB Race

The Lunatic Fringe Mountain Bike race was held this past weekend at the beautiful Smithville Lake. I was needing a good race to get me out of this rut I have been in lately and that is what I got. After a crazy start in which I ended up getting stuffed by some Sunflower guy then having to stop and fix my rear wheel, I slowly bridged up to the front runners. On the final lap I actually put in a faster lap despite the heat and was able to work my way up to 2nd place. Thank you CarbBOOM!

Christopher had a another good day in the saddle. He won his 9th race in a row and locked up the Junior 12 and under title for 07'. Quote of the day by Christopher as he was talking to a competitor in his class "Since I am not going to be at the final 3 rounds, you have a really good chance of winning them"

Carolynn also had a good day. She ended up getting 2nd in the Beginner Female class after a race long battle. She was very excited at the end because she actually was passing other riders very easily. It may have been this was her home track and knew the trails, but she rode well and deserves to be leading the series. Hopefully she can hold on and take the title.

Tall Oaks Challenge

This past weekend we headed over to Jefferson City for the round #8 of the Midwest Fat Tire Series - The Tall Oak Challenge. Jessica and Nick put on a fine event and had the course all trimmed up for us.









Carolynn and Christopher prior to the start. Both are leading their class with Christopher having a shot at raping up the series title if he could win today.










Carolynn got off to a quick start and lead the Beginner women for about 20 minutes then started dying from the heat. She ended up fading to 6th place, but still stayed ahead of some the the series women to help her gain points for the series.










Christopher made it 8 Hole shots in a row. There was a good turnout of kids and I told him to try hard to get into the woods first.










Christopher getting ready to attack the course.









Start of the Expert 35 and over class. I settled into 3rd, but was soon passed by Todd and Dan. Not a good day for me at all. I have been having real troubles with the heat this year. I can't wait until this summer is over. Yes I know summer has just started, but I need to have something to look forward to :-)










Christopher made it 8 wins in a row and locked up another MTB Title.