end of the road

Wow...this season has flown by.  It is hard to believe that it is already over! Since I last blogged I have raced quite a bit, so I will try to catch you up quickly.  And with Pictures.


Dallas Lifetime:  A great swim, decent run and I finished 10th.  It was cold.  Again.

After the Dallas race it was time to head to Oceanside California for 2 races in back to back weekends.  The first was the finale of the Lifetime Fitness series race.  It was a stacked field competing for over $150,000 series prizes.  I has a great swim, and ended up biking and running with BoomBoom Matty Reed.  I lost the sprint finish to him and finished 12th....only about 20 seconds out of 10th and a paycheck. 


After the Lifetime race was the Fearless Supersprint in sunny San Diego.  I stayed in Carlsbad during the week between the 2 races with a great homestay in Lori Westbay and Alan Sakal.  They made Lauren and I feel like family and we had a great time!  Meeting great people along the way is one of the best parts of racing.



The super sprint was fast really fast and included 2x through 300m swim / 8kbike / and 2500m run on done on a tight multi-loop course.  It was definitely a shock to the system! 

I had a great time and ended up walking away with 8th place prize money.  Need to be a bit sharper to be on the pointy end of these races, that's for sure.

After the SuperSprint, it was time to head to what definitely was the season highlight: The UWC Bahamas Triathlon.  Barbara Ann Bernard of Team We Win had the vision several years ago to create a race that raises money for Bahamians to receive scholarships to UWC universities.  She is a pretty incredible person, and it is hard to describe how much effort she puts into making this race a world class and truly one-of-a-kind event.

While we were there we were also taken on a 2 day trip to the private island Highbourne Cay for an open water swim race and an unbelievable experience.  Mark Holowesko was generous enough to let us invade his island and show us an amazing time! 

I led the swim race for 98% of it, but made a ill-timed and poorly navigated sprint and got out-sprinted by 3 people!  Good thing 2 were women (one was my wife), so I "finished" 2nd.  And yes, Sara McLarty and Lauren spanked all the guys!

 

Highbourne Cay

 Post Race

The triathlon race went pretty well for me too.   I actually led out of the water (for the imaginary swim prime), rode well, and race into 5th place.  It was a great way to end the season, and a great group of athletes to end it with.  I can't thank BA, Mark, and Chris Farnum enough for their hospitality and generosity towards the pro's. It was a great way to experience the Bahamas and the island culture, and I cant wait to go back next year.

High stepping like a champ, but still waaay behind the Aussie!

 

Still too many people on my feet.... 

 

 little jog along the beach.

 

What is a post-race party without limbo!?!?

*All these fine pics from the Bahamas belong to Paul Philips.

 

Well, that is a season wrap for 2013. It has been fun and interesting.  Had some great experiences.  I am looking forward to next year and starting the planning process with LB, but that will be put on hold for a few weeks....now it is time to let the body and mind rest before the next big push!

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Cheers,

B