28 #&@!!#^ degrees.....

Sorry about the blogging delay, but with my first big event of the season coming up (not to mention taxes and family) I have been a bit preoccupied. So what does the title of this months entry mean? Well that was the temperature at start time of my first race of the season, the Central Park Duathlon (March 30th). Yeah it was that cold! Luckily (if you can call it that) I had brought clothes to change into after the race and I was able to use those to stay warm in the race itself! I had hoped to better my time from last October when I did this same race. The weather, however, had other plans. In addition, I found out one of my tri buddies, Eric, was injured and would have to miss both this race and the St Anthony's tri in April. I felt bad for Eric knowing how hard he was training. At least he can defer the St. Anthony's race until next year. I did however, have his sister Melissa for company and she soldiered on with me in the brutal conditions. What amazed me more than anything about the race was the insane racers in SHORTS! Yes, people we racing as if the temperature was in the 60's not the 20's! I managed to finish in a respectable 1:19 for the 2m run, 12m bike, 2m run. My bike time was almost identical from last year, but my runs were substantially slower (it was really hard to get and stay warm). Anyway I tried out my reconfigured Kestrel (replaced the drop bars with cowhorns and aero bars) and the new setup worked OK. I say only OK because, the bars were slipping just a bit and I still think I am a bit too stretched out. I may go to a shorter stem for a bit more comfort.

Other than the trials and tribulations of racing, training seems to be rolling along well. I took 5 days and jetted off to St. John with the wife for a relaxing vacation. Nothing like splashing around the Carribean to take the edge off. This was a recovery week in a big way. I came back feeling refreshed and rested and my first time back on the bike the legs felt great. I am looking forward to renewed vigor for the remaining weeks of training. Hope to see you all in Tampa.

Peace

Rob