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As I was riding my bike to work one day, back in September, I saw a sign for this race and couldn't wait to check it out. I had a big race coming up in October and I thought it would be fun to use this as a training run. The race took place on a beautiful September afternoon through the waterside neighborhoods of Darien. My goal was to try and break 40 minutes, which for a big guy is pretty hard. I tried to stay with the front pack of pre-teen sensations and a handful of salty men, but could only manage for the first mile. Despite the unexpected hills, it was a great event and although I wasn't able to break 40 minutes, I was happy with my time of 42:27. I can't wait for next year!

Be sure to look for the Pink Whale at the Toyota US Open Triathlon in Dallas, Texas on October 5th!

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Once again on the morning of a race I awoke to the sound of rain outside my window. Only this time the race was the Tour De Greenwich, which I was pretty excited about as there are a lot of really good cyclists in the area and it's always a fun event to participate in. The best part is riding in tight groups called pelotons. You've probably seen them in televised races such as the Tour De France. The feeling of 15-20 riders inches away from you is exhilarating and every one is on the same team pushing each other to ride faster. The purpose of the peloton is to conserve energy and reduce drag.

As I arrived at Greenwich High School for the start of race, I was glad to see other cyclists warming up for the wet race ahead. I did my stretching and road up and back on the street several times to get my legs warmed up. Around 7:30 we moved to the starting line and soon after the 20 mile race through back country Greenwich began.

Look for me (and the pink whale) at the Darien Road Race, Sunday September 21st!

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The minute I woke up-to rain and thunder at 5:00am on Sunday morning-I knew something was going to be different about this race. I decided to make the best of the situation and head down to Greenwich anyway to see what was going to happen to the race.

Due to extreme weather conditions, the race director announced the race was changing from triathlon format (swim-bike-run) to duathlon format (run-bike-run). Because of the rain and lightning, the officials were worried about the safety of the athletes during the swim. I was really disappointed since the swim is my strongest leg.

Though it continued to rain during the first part of the run, I had a good run, but was a little tired. As I turned the corner and entered into the transition I was really pumped for the bike because I knew I could make up the time, but due to the saturated roads, knew I would also have to take it nice and easy. I was about half-way through the bike, going about 18-20 mph, accelerating uphill when both wheels lost traction and I was soon sliding across the asphalt on my side.

The first thing I did was to make sure my bike was ok (which it was) and I then assessed the damage to my body. I had a pretty nasty gash on my forearm and elbow and a nice strawberry on my left hip area. I was quite shocked at what had just happened so I just sat on the side of the road for a few minutes trying to decide whether or not to continue. I decided to take myself out of the race instead of risking more injuries.

After watching my fellow competitors (and co-worker, Alex Melzer) finish the race, I headed over to the EMTs so they could wash out my gashes and noticed that several other people were waiting to be treated due to bike accidents. Ironically seeing this provided me with some comfort, knowing that I was not the only one who had been injured during the race.

On to the next race: look for me at the 24th Tour De Greenwich on September14th

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The big apple: the host with the most. The morning started off with an early morning wake-up call at 4am followed by a short walk up the Avenue of the Americas to catch the shuttle to the transition area. After getting my gear lined up for the bike and the run, I started the mile long walk to the swim start at 99th street.

I knew the swim was going to be relatively faster than any other 1500 meter race due to the rivers' notorious current. My strategy was to start out fast in the swim so I could establish and maintain a lead which would carry over into the bike and run. My plan definitely worked, because I finished with the 2nd best time in the swim, in my age group!

Again, the bike was great!!!! Within the first mile of the 40k, I passed a guy who was in front of me in the swim. As I headed down the Westside Highway, back to the transition area, I had a lot of mental momentum and was pumped for the run. And then….the one thing I forgot about the beginning of the run: the first mile. Completely up hill all the way to Central Park, ouch! Though, once in the Park I comfortably found my stride and started to really pound the pavement. At this point in the race, the heat was an unbearable 85 degrees with a very heavy humidity hanging over our heads. Unfortunately, these conditions didn't help my final run split, but I continued to push through to the end.

One of the neat (and not so neat) things about triathlons is that at the start of the race, officials write your age on your left calf in permanent marker. When you pass a fellow competitor, you are able to tell if they are in your age group and judge yourself according to how many 20-somethings you've passed or are racing next to. You can see who "that guy" is that you need to race to the finish. This also allows for the opposite reaction, when you are the one getting passed by the competitors. At about mile 4, a man came flying around the corner past me and I noticed he was 52 years old -that was not the best morale booster.

With about 500 yards left, the finish line was finally in sight and I decided to give it all I had. This was not the best idea and once I crossed the line I headed straight to the biggest 55 gallon trash can in sight, and… well… you know I'll leave it up to you to figure out what happened. I ended up finishing my second Olympic distance triathlon in 2:16:23, coming in 1st place in my age group (male 25-29) and 96thoverall. I couldn't have been happier and to top it all off, I automatically qualified for the Age-Group Championships at the Toyota U.S. Open in Dallas,Texas on Oct. 5th 2008.

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The Stamford KIC It Olympic distance triathlon was in its inaugural year and despite the challenge of not one, but two transitions areas and mass confusion at the beginning of the bike course, my race went smoothly. I was very excited to get in the water and start off the tri-season on the right stroke. The water was crisp but perfectly calm for an early morning start. Starting in the 1st wave, I lead most of the 1.5k swim and ended up the 3rd swimmer out of the water!

The race director decided to have two transition areas which gave us triathletes some added stress. The bike portion was mostly an uphill battle with a nice relaxing downhill leg-saver towards the end. In and out of the second transition and onto the 10k run, I still had my lead. The run was a nice flat course through scenic downtown Stamford with the finish in Columbus Park.

I had a great race for my first Olympic distance triathlon, finishing first in my age group (male 25-29) and 14th overall with a time of 2:16:45. The course was great and I really enjoyed the race. I look forward to next year's event!

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This was my first race of the season with vineyard vines® as my sponsor and my first race with my new bike!!! The Fairfield "You Can DU it Duathlon" is only in its 2nd year of so some hiccups were expected, like avoiding slick corners from the morning dew and making sure you followed the correct cones. Luckily, I stayed on course and finished 15th overall, with a time of 58 minutes and 14 seconds. Overall it was a great race to start the summer season. I look forward to competing again next year.

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