St. Tony
4508
Member
1646 days
kylie posted 1 year ago.
congrats on all the PRs! :)
And as a side note, whenever I see that Gatorade commercial out right now about how gatorade was created for the Gator's football team, I think it's a great story and it makes me think of you ;)
10
Member
1130 days
DiDomenico33 posted 1 year ago.
This was my first time doing St. Anthony's, and first time ever doing a triathlon!!
The entire atmosphere and exprience was amazing. I can say that I am addicted to the sport. I had a great time meeting new people, and just taking it all in.
The swim was decent, the water was calm and warm. It was the second time I have ever done an open water swim. I was a little concerned about that going into the race; however, I swam a 19:42, and was second in my age group. I definately need some practice on spotting, and getting into a better pace early on. I am just thankful I didn't take a foot to the face.
T1 was a rush...I was pumped to be out of the water, and be on my way to the bike. Looking back, there are definately some tricks to make the transition faster.
The weather was perfect for the race. There was a slight breeze. The course was flat, and fast. I passed a lot of people in the first 10 minutes with flat tires, and I got a little nerveous that was going to be me soon. Instead of a flat, i went down on one of the first hairpin turns. Luckily, I bounced right back up and was good to go. After that mishap, I finished the bike strong. I finished the bike in a little over 1:01 at 24.3mph. It was my first time ever racing on a full fledged bike course. It was so much fun. I finished 5th in my AG for the bike.
T2 was good as well...I am definately looking to get some lock laces to speed up the process. I took in a gel, and some water on was on my way.
Running was by far my weakest part of the race. I knew the first mile was going to be rough, but didn't find my pace til the 3rd mile. Since this was my first triathlon, I told myself to just complete the run. I finished the run in 46 minutes, and 27th for my AG
My goals going into St. Anthony's were to place in the top 10 in my AG, and finish in 2:10...both of which I did. I ended up 128th overall, and 9th in my AG. I am just happy to get the first triathlon out of the way. I learned a ton, and found out where my training focus needs to be in the future. Can't wait for the next race!!
2455
Member
1333 days
Triguy98 posted 1 year ago.
Go Gators! Great job representing Gator Nation!
Its a nicely run race and the atmosphere is fantastic. Good place to spend the weekend. I just dont like the course. Nice and fast. but yuck.
No more races till Natls?
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
1127
Member
987 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
DiDomenico33;67286 wrote:
This was my first time doing St. Anthony's, and first time ever doing a triathlon!!My goals going into St. Anthony's were to place in the top 10 in my AG, and finish in 2:10...both of which I did.
That's gotta be the fastest first-ever tri I've ever heard of someone doing. Great race, man! Are you scraped up badly from wrecking? More importantly, though....how's the bike? If you want to take a gel before running, take it in the last mile or two of the bike...saves you 20 sec in transition. Oh, and God bless elastic shoe laces.
Triguy98;67288 wrote:
No more races till Natls?
I'll do a couple Sprints as warm-up races. I heard that Madeira Beach was over 500 people with no prize money? (I could easily be thinking of another race, though...it was some sprint in either Orlando or Tampa that started with "M"). If it is, I'll do that one and hopefully get a pro qual out of the way at the same time (not going pro anytime soon, just planning ahead in case I get fast enough next season to get dead last place at some ITU Pan-Am cups).
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
10
Member
1130 days
DiDomenico33 posted 1 year ago.
Hey UFTriGator...thanks man! The bike is ok, just a few scratches on the pedal, and I made it out with a few minor cuts. I gotta tell you this though...as I was going out on the run, I remember a guy in a Florida Gator jersey passing me...as he did I heard some cheers from the spectators...."Go Gators!!" So I am figuring that was you (fellow Trifueler). Congrats on the race. Next time we will have to catch a beer afterwards...probably a stout beer.
1127
Member
987 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
DiDomenico33;67301 wrote:
probably a stout beer.
brilliant!
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
2455
Member
1333 days
Triguy98 posted 1 year ago.
Mad Beach is big- last year was about 700 people- and I do not believe that there is prize money. I'll be there- its the best non-mega-big tri in the area. It's actually my favorite race.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
612
Member
1450 days
qb ant posted 1 year ago.
I did St. A's as well - my first Olympic - and I had a BLAST. Raced with a bunch a friends from my tri club and just thought the whole experience was awesome. I had a good race (nowhere near the times you guys had:p but I was happy, happy!) My goal was to beat 3:30 and I finished in 3:14. My wave didn't go off til 8:30 (W45-49), so the day was already heating up. I had a good swim 32:38 - I love the ocean and the water was beautiful. T1 was horrible - did the wetsuit dance for a while and took way to much time. Had a good bike 1:24, but looking back, I probably could have gone harder. T2 was easy, then off to the run. The first 3 miles went by fine, but then the heat got me (I think it was somewhere in the upper 80's). My biggest lesson learned was that I did not drink enough on the bike and that's a lesson I won't forget! Anyway, the run hurt and took me 1:08 - certainly not my best, but that's okay, just crossing the finish line - seeing my friends and teammates was probably the best feeling you could ask for. I'm already planning for next year :D
Ant
"90% of the game is half mental" Yogi Berra
1127
Member
987 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
Triguy98;67316 wrote:
Mad Beach is big- last year was about 700 people- and I do not believe that there is prize money. I'll be there- its the best non-mega-big tri in the area. It's actually my favorite race.
Cool...I'll be there...along with a bunch of Florida kids. Looks like going under 1:10 in the top 8 will be a pro qual (about a 1:05 winning time)? There will be a few of us going for that (hopefully:D). Is that bridge at the beginning of the bike course steep?
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
2455
Member
1333 days
Triguy98 posted 1 year ago.
Bridge? Oh, that tiny little roller. I dont hink I even shift down a gear for it.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
1127
Member
987 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
Good news about the bridge. I had a girl tell me today that the last half of the run is on the sand. Is she just messing with my head, or is it really like that? If it is, is it hard-pack?
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
2455
Member
1333 days
Triguy98 posted 1 year ago.
She wasnt playing. You run out down Gulf Blvd on the asphalt, take a right through a public beach access and turn back up the beach for the last half and finish. The sand isnt too bad down by water's edge, but depending on the tide... The last 200 is up through sugar sand. The sadistic SOBs put the chute at a shallow angle about halfway up the beach. Its a bitch to get your kick going in.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
3354
Member
1414 days
RV posted 1 year ago.
Nice races everyone!
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
1012
Member
1205 days
PJT posted 1 year ago.
Congrats to all of you--sounds like it was a great race.
This was my first time doing St. Anthony's, and it's the biggest race I've done with about 3500 people. I fixed my bike from last week (got stuck in the small chainring for the last 8 miles at Collegiate Nat'ls...oops), so I was hoping to drop a couple minutes there. Also hoping to not get stuck in my wetsuit again this week and drop 30 sec there, too. So, anyway....the race:
The swim last year was apparently really choppy, but Sunday morning was pretty calm, luckily. The USAT officials had to take the water temp 3 or 4 times before they got it to come out as 77.5degrees for a wetsuit-legal race. I felt comfortable through the swim, making sure not to swallow too much salt water. I came out in a tad over 20 min (I guess it's time to start swimming more than one hour a week), but the bike and run got better.
T1 was pretty good...only got hung up on the ankles with the wetsuit for a couple seconds! The bike was pancake flat with moderate wind...definitely a PR course. There were lots of sharp turns, which made me glad I had done those early season crits and felt comfortable going through them hard. Finished at 1:03:25 @ 23.5 mph...new PR...hooray.
T2 was great...the only guy who beat me was Greg Bennett (take that, Chris McCormack! he did end up beating me by a little bit overall, though :D )The run was a flat out-and-back, about half shade...also pretty fast. I went through the first 5K at 6:30 pace then this old, short guy came up behind me who apparently had tons of friends b/c everyone coming the other way kept cheering for him. A lot of people kept saying, "Go Gators," too, which is always fun. I just ran on his shoulder for the rest. We came back at a 6:20 pace, putting me at a little under 40 for the run, which was pretty exciting since I've had ITBS and haven't run over 10 miles/wk in 8 weeks. The bike fitness carried over more than I had expected.
Finished in 2:05:39 (which was also a new PR!) for 83rd place. Then drank Mich Ultra (all they had....I'd put a gagging smiley here if there was one...I think Guiness should start sponsoring tris) with a couple drunk, old guys from Alabama after my roommate and his D-cup coach left (totally fake:eek: ). I won a cool, new backpack, which was just in time b/c people were making fun of my old tri bag (don't understand why....it's only falling apart a little bit!). Fun weekend...good time for a recovery week (finals....ewww) before going back to base for a couple weeks to peak again at the end of June for AG Nat'ls.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.