Old School Aquathon in the books

The Old School Aquathon series is in the books.  We had pretty good turnout for each event and a lot of positive feedback from the racers.  I hope we can host these again next year.  Big thanks to FS Series and Inside Out Sports for supporting the races.  As well as all the volunteer help from our Masters swim team and athlete base.  Much appreciated!

I snuck into the race unofficially and enjoyed participating, I have been jealous of everyone racing. 

I would write a blog post about our New England vacation but Bri has pretty much taken care of that one.  Just read her blog.

I am off to Atlantic City next weekend for some guy-time with my Dad and brother-in-law.  Found out that the 40th annual Yates Swim is on Saturday evening so I will jump in that.  It is a mile race that has been around longer than me, I swam it several times when I lived in NJ during the summers.  I won't be as fast as back then but I am way smarter and better looking now.

Old School #2

Old School Aquathon #2 went well despite storms on the horizon and some wind chop on the first swim.  It had been storming on and off in the Triangle area throughout Wednesday, and the "what's going to happen" emails started coming in from participants.  I sent an email blast to everyone explaining that we planned to host the race and only cancel if absolutely necessary.  Scattered thunderstorms = bad in some places and fine in others.

There was a dark cloud on the horizon rumbling at us, but it held off and we were able to start the race just a few minutes behind schedule.  We had about 80% of the field there which is good, considering 10-15% are no shows no matter what is going on.  (That is why Ironman overbooks its races).

The format was something I thought people would enjoy, and the location (Vista Point sailboat launch area) was perfect for it - a short swim with a good beach to dash in and dash out on, and quickly onto a quiet road for the out and back run.  3 x 300 meter swim and 1 mile run. 

The buoys both launched when a strong sustained gust came in, and pushed one of the buoys into a shallow area, allowing people to dive/walk for an extra 50 yards.  Just to keep it interesting.

All in all it looked like everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves.  We all then gorged on PBJ sandwiches and generic soda.

I would post pictures but have none this time, was in the water for most of the race.  We need to hire a staff event photographer.

It has been a busy week / month / year so far.  It looks like I won't be doing any triathlon racing in July or August, we are traveling a bit and the weekends I am around there is nothing local and I'm not interested in driving 2+ hours those days.   Will just get some good group rides in.   Will look for a 5k to do.

Next up are the Little Uno and Big Deuce 1 and 2 mile swims, also at Vista Point!

Kure Beach 2011

We had another fun weekend of racing and training at Kure Beach.  The sprint triathlon is a funny format 375m swim - 1.5m run - 12 mile bike - 1.5m run - 375m swim. I really enjoy the race although am always in a great deal of discomfort during the race itself. 

The day before Bri and I put on an open water clinic and that was well received.  We get to teach people to dive through the waves and body surf, which is hellacool.

After the clinic I ran into Wilmington to invest in a new stand up paddleboard (SUP).  This is money well spent as we will use this for additional water patrol/safety during our swims and aquathons.  But it will also be fun.

During the race I felt good went hard and ran pretty fast on both splits. 5th overall and 1st Masters.  Here are a couple pictures.

I false started a bit

This cop was making fun of my haircut

Combined age = 130

Hard to believe I am in the old guy race now, but I still feel good!  The recovery after a hard race like this does take longer than 10 years ago, that is for sure.

Next up is the Old School Aquathon #2 at Vista Point, check it out.  The race is a 300 meter swim then 1 mile run, done 3 times.

Old School Aquathon Series

I was sitting around a couple of months ago with some free time on my hands, and had an idea to keep myself gainfully employed: Mid-week training races.  There are a few of these around in different areas of the country, but none here.

Thus the Old School Aquathon Series was born.  This will consist of three swim-run races on the first Wednesday of each month in June, July, and August.

We're still determining the location of one #2 but they all take place in the Triangle area.

These will be low key and low cost - meant to be fun training/racing events to break up the week with something different.

Read all the details here: www.oldschoolaquathon.com.

Let me know if you'd like to be a part of it as a sponsor or volunteer.