John Tanner Sprint- April 27, 2013

This was my first triathlon since the Double Iron.  I really had NO idea what to expect.  I am lacking in the fast twitch muscles right now.  I always love the Tri the Park Series!  The races are well put on and the environment is always a blast.  When I showed up I expected rain and cold but the day turned out great.  It stayed dry the entire time!  The swim was pretty normal for me.  I was a little slower than expected but after training for longer distance swims, I was not surprised.  T1 was pretty terrible.  I could not get my wetsuit off and then it was a slow process of getting my NON TRI shoes on.  I felt like I was hanging out in T1 forever watching people run out.  Onto the bike finally.  My legs were shot!!!  After a long training week and 50K race, I felt like I was peddling squares.  I finally got into a groove about the time it was time to run!  My T2 went a lot smoother.  I was in and out.  This was the part I was clueless about.  I cannot remember the last 5K I ran.  I jumped on the heels of a guy who looked stronger than me.  When we hit the first hill, I cruised by.  I pushed hard to get him out of mind and to try in keep him from hanging with me.  By the time I hit the turn around, I felt great but needed to keep my foot-speed up.  I had a guy on my tail and he passed with about a mile left.  I quickly re-passed and pushed hard to the finish.  I had a lot of fun out there!  I could definitely tell that I have had zero speed work in the last two years.  It was a great day hanging out with all the All3Sports athletes and I managed a 2nd in my age group.

SWEET H2O 50K

I came into the race just hoping to enjoy the day and not take it too seriously.  I wanted a good training run to prepare for the upcoming Cruel Jewel 100.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous!  I met my brother and friend Ryan down there and so it began.  We started out quick and I had told my brother that I just planned on hanging with him.  We were going faster than I wanted but I just hung in there with my brother.  The course started pretty flat with some short ups and downs.  By mile 10 it started to spread out and we were able to get into a rhythm.  We began passing a good amount of people and I felt great.  We hit the gas lines(really the only major climbs) and had a good couple miles of walk/run.  We hit the TOP OF THE WORLD and headed down to the river crossing.  The river was high and cold but felt great.  After a short loop, we made our way back across the river and back out for the final loop.  Again, we made great time in the lower sections and hit the gas lines.  We made our way back to the top and then pushed our way back to the finish line.  Ended up breaking 6hrs(5:52) and coming in 21st out of 197.  I was happy.  Most importantly, I felt fresh.  This helped to show me that I have a good base for the upcoming Cruel Jewel!  Great Race with amazing volunteers!