Blog Dump Part 2

I've been off the blog kick for a while now. I'm not sure why really. Perhaps it's because the tri season is all but over and I'm out of triathlete mode. Looking back over my posts from the year, I can't believe how heavy the triathlon content is. I intended this to be a multisport blog, covering all kinds of endurance and multisport events, but that didn't happen.

Without realizing it, 90% of my racing has been triathlons the past three years. And that's a problem. I'm not feeling burned out, but I don't have the drive anymore. The races all feel the same. For the past three years, I've done the same 12 or so races, and they all blur together. I need some variety.

My plan for next year was to scrap sprint tris altogether and do a half iron in May, and a full iron in November. And I still may stick to that plan. But last Saturday, fate intervened. A craigslist post for a brand new Raleigh Supercourse road bike. Check it:














I've always wanted to get into the road racing scene, and now is my chance. I'm not sure how hard I'll hit it next year, but at least I know I'll have more variety in my racing experience.

3rd Annual Savannah Sprint Triathlon
I'm headed down to Savannah this weekend to do the Savannah triathlon. You can click the link to check out the race profile I wrote last May. It will be fun. I'm taking my oldest son Jake with me and staying with my brother. I'm hoping to get top 10 overall and/or beat my time from last year. We shall see. My training last year didn't include as many late nights playing Rock Band. I think my form is slipping some, but that's the price to pay when you're the lead singer of a band.

2008 Hawaii Ironman
Here is a pretty good video from this year's Ironman Hawaii World Championship. Not crazy about the choice in music, but cool nontheless.

In terms of good songs to set your tri videos to, I'm going to with Welcome to the Jungle or Lunatic Fringe. But really, anything that kicks in right when the horn sounds for the swim, it's going to be strong.

Race Profile: Savannah Sprint Triathlon

The 2nd Savannah Sprint Triathlon (500 yds, 16, 5k) is tomorrow morning (Sunday June 1). The race starts at 7:30 a.m. at L. Scott Stell Community Park, which is about two miles off I-95, just south of Savannah.

As of today, there are 200 pre-registered individual participants and 7 relay teams. Online registration is closed, but you can still register race morning for $60, and $90 for a relay team.

The water Temperature is currently 76 degrees, so take your wetsuit, just in case the water temp stays below 78 degrees.

Radek Parnica is the race director, and if you don’t recognize his name, you probably should. He’s easily one of the top 5 triathletes in the state. The first Savannah Sprint was last October, which was also Radek’s first time directing a race. I raced the event last year and think he did a great job, plus he’s filling a huge void in the Savannah area since this is the only Savannah triathlon.

Hilton Head has a pretty active tri community with several races, most of which are sponsored by Go Tri Sports – a really good Hilton Head-based tri shop. Savannah itself has a strong community of triathletes, and an active tri club. But until Radek stepped in, they had no triathlons. Radek also provides endurance coaching and can work with athletes in all disciplines. You can get all the details at Radek’s website.

If you decide to do this event, you’ll probably need to leave around 4:30 if you live in Charleston. That’s doable.

Race Details
The swim is in a small pond at the park. It has the same vibe as the James Island County Park swim. It’s a little funky on the bottom, and there are mutant duck/geese things swimming around, but it’s a pond, so what do you expect?

The transition area is first come, first served as far as rack placement. The 16-mile bike is typical back roads with little traffic, but do watch for cars since it’s an open course. The surface conditions are decent with no real rough spots. Police are there to man the intersections and there really isn’t any chance of getting lost. The run is a two loop affair inside the park, basically around the pond. Short and sweet.

Radek did a nice job with the post race food and award ceremony. There was a massage tent set up, music, professional photography and timing, and even a buddy of his riding around filming the race, which was later posted on YouTube. Pretty cool.

I won’t be racing tomorrow, but if he does it again in the fall, I’ll certainly be there. Highly recommended.