It was a mass start with no waves, so there was just one big group. I got to the start corral a little late and just went to the front of the pack.

At the gun we were off and I went out fast. No sense messing around, just go pretty hard and let each leg take care of itself; this was a sprint afterall. Several really fast guys and one woman took off and there was no way I could match their pace.

The cold morning was perfect for running and I settled into my familiar breathing and run cadence. The heavy legs from earlier in the week were gone and I felt really good; felt like I could run forever, well, 5K at least.

I passed no one and no one passed me; us FOP folks had pretty much established our positions and it stayed that way. Had to dodge some mud puddles and wet sections from the recent rains, but it was easy running on a flat course.

The way the run course looped around the lake shore and with a utility company bucket truck fully extended into the air; you could see the start/finish area at the half-way turnaround point. You could see just exactly how far it was to the finish and how to gauge your effort.

Kept a steady pace to the end, came into T1 sweating and ready to ride.

Nothing. Felt really good once I got into full run cadence.

Went out at about the right pace. Could've gone faster but this wasn't a stand-alone 5K; still had a bike and another run to do.

Not much to do except put on helmet and change shoes. Made sure the speed laces were pulled open so I could get back into the running shoes later.

5th in AG (fastest was 39 seconds).

No reason I should not have been faster here, but it was my first transition in 5 months and I guess I was just a little rusty.

Mounted the bike cleanly and was getting up to speed when I realized I had not zipped up my jersey. Dang it!

I tried several times to zip it while pedaling, but this zipper takes 2 hands no matter what I did and I CANNOT ride this bike with no hands.

With a turn onto the main road and a hill looming, I had no choice but to stop to zip it up. I couldn't ride 12 miles dragging a parachute and plus; I'd freeze. It took 2 seconds to zip up, but the damage was done. It's hard to estimate the lost time and it wasn't much, but in a sprint, every second is precious.

Two riders passed me while I was stopped and I quickly caught them once I was back up to speed. I've ridden portions of this course before so I knew what to expect. Lots of rolling hills and nice country scenery, especially in the springtime.

Pushed hard and no one passed me. Much like the run; the FOP racers were pretty much in their respective places. Once the course made its turn to repeat a part of the same loop, we got mixed up into the trailing riders. I was riding at 22-23 on the flats and 15-16 on the hills, and again, feeling good.

I came up on a younger guy at about mile 8 and passed him on a hill. I just assumed he was on his first loop and figured he'd turn off at the loop 1 turn. I glanced back and noticed that he did not turn off and was coming up on me. I picked up the pace a little and managed to put some distance between us.

Got within a 1/2 mile of the finish and it was time to get out of the shoes. Fumbled around some with the right and got out OK, but not smooth. The left one was even worse. I had not practiced this since November and it showed. I was slowing down as I messed with the strap and even managed to get my left hand clipped by the front wheel spokes. It would be very embarrasing to crash right in front all these spectators.

I finally got the foot out and on top of the shoe about 30 feet before the dismount line. I was going so slow, there wasn't much of a running dismount. Just hopped off and ran into T2.

Not forget to zip up the jersey in T1 and dismount cleanly. Together, both of these mistakes cost me a minute or so. Not a lot, but it adds up.

Everyone knows I've been doing a lot of running these last 3 months and the bike training has taken a backseat. Despite that and the slow course, I did very well compared to the field.

Other than the errors in execution, I rode hard and had a very enjoyable ride. This is a "slow" course due to the hills and rough roads; the fastest bike split was ~21mph. If I had come in with a 19-20mph split, I would've been in the top 5 or so on the bike.

Once I actually got off the bike, next was getting through the muddy ditch beside the road and into T2. They had carpeting across it and a volunteer there warning you to be careful, but as soon as you hit it, the bike just sank in and quit rolling. Nearly flipped the bike and stepped into more mud as I wrestled through it.

Racked the bike, threw off helmet, put on run shoes.

Just be a little smoother. Once I got past the ditch, I was OK.

3rd in AG (fastest was 32 seconds).

It took a couple of minutes to get the legs adjusted to running, but they came around quickly. With the heart rate already up, it didn't take long to get into my breathing cadence.

Got about 1/2 mile down the course and a guy came up beside me. He said, "Good ride, I had hell keeping up with you." It was the young guy I passed at mile 8. Pretty cool compliment; I'll take it.

He ran beside me a few steps and then left me in the dust. He would go on to place 2nd in the collegiate division with a 6:45 run pace.

Was starting to get really warm now and I unzipped the jersey and pulled off the gloves. A few minutes later I pulled off the arm warmers and stashed all this gear in the jersey pockets.

I bypassed all the drink stations; the race is too short to worry about hydration and I had drunk ~10 ounces of G-ade on the bike.

Like I mentioned before, you could see the finish line area, so you knew how much farther it was to go. There was no one to pass, so I just started picking up the pace a little.

I knew I was doing well and I was really confident there were no old guys in front of me. It was only then I started thinking about winning the AG.

About 1/2 mile from the finish I started hearing footsteps behind me as a guy was catching me. I decided he wasn't going to pass and I sped up and kept speeding up.

300, 200, 100 yards from the finish I kept kicking until I had nothing left. I know he was trying, but he never caught me. He was a young guy in a different AG, so in the big scheme of things, it was nothing, but I like competing and it is a race.

Crossed the finish line completely spent.

Nothing; ran as hard as I could. Really solid kick at the end.

Walked around, ate some snacks and drink.

It was still chilly, so I pulled the warm-ups back on once the sweating stopped.

Once I saw the preliminary results and saw I had won the AG, I hung around for the awards and received my 1st place plaque. I have to admit it's a pretty nice one. Over the years, I've seen some really cheesy awards.

It's not often I get to be near the podium, so I had a guy snap a picture. Cool.


Limited bike training the last 3 months.

I'm not decieved; I had a pretty good day when the fast guys stayed home; so I won the AG and placed high overall. My times were OK, but really they're just my typical average.


This is a small-time race with modest sized field and the RD does a good job with what he has to work with.

If you're looking for lots of swag in your packet; don't come here.

If you're needing a fancy race shirt; don't come here.

If you want a party with a big spread of food; don't come here.

If you want to hear a good cover band; don't come here.

If you want a low-cost, smallish, well-run race with an awesome bike course; come here.

It was a fine day!