Next Up.....Miami Man Triathlon (Olympic)

Yes, that is an Elephant.

Sometime during the summer of 2009 I received an e-mail suggesting I sign up for the Miami Man Triathlon. While I had never heard of the race before, I didn't waste anytime clicking on the link that would ultimately suck me in and have me pulling out the credit card. It always works this way. If a race presents itself during a moment where I am feeling confident, then who knows what I will sign up for.  What also drew me to this race is the fact that I lived in South FL for 10 years and I quickly envisioned a vacation, race and reunion with friends. What I didn't plan on was gall bladder surgery which would ultimately take me out of the race. I still went to FL  and was able to transfer my race slot to this year. I also dodged a bullet as a storm moved in close to race day and the racers experienced 30-40 mph winds while on the bike. Yikes!

So here I am again and as off now all systems are go. I have my flight, hotel, car rental all set up, I purchased a bike case ( I will be using it again.) and watched while my lbs (local bike store) took apart my bike and packed it up tight for shipping. As some of you know, I became the proud owner of a tri bike this past spring.  And as some of you can imagine, seeing my bike packed up in a case, knowing it is going to be shipped to FL without me being able to keep an eye it makes me a bit nervous. I mean, I don't know this guy who is handling the bike transport/assembly for the race.  Shouldn't I be doing some type of background check before I send my new ride to a complete stranger? :)

New ride. (no it doesn't have a name. Any suggestions?)

While not my bike, it pretty much looks like this at the moment.

So, back to the race. It is at the Miami Zoo and a good part of the run has you visiting with many of the zoo's inhabitants. The swim is supposed to be wonderful as it is in a crystal clear lake within the zoo. While this sounds nice, when swimming in unknown waters I ofter prefer not knowing who's home I am invading.

Racing in FL in the heat and humidity is going to be a challenge. Hydration will be critical and as some of you know, getting the hydration/nutrition piece dialed in has proven to be a struggle. Interestingly, the problem with this aspect of racing has only presented itself during stand alone runs. Let's hope it stays that way! So that is what is up with me these days.

In other news, I wanted to give a very brief review of my Adamo saddle as I know some of you were interested in hearing what I thought of it.

I think this saddle is one of the best purchases I have made since I started on my triathlon journey.  I don't know if it is for everybody but for me it works.  I have three saddles in my basement which speaks to the challenge I have had finding one that works for me. Just my two cents.

Have a great week everybody!