Another BIG Weekend!!!

The Hawaii Ironman has come and gone. What a great race at the front end of both the women and men’s fields! But that wasn’t the only racing going on. Nick was racing, fresh off his recent M18-24 age group win at the 70.3 World Championships. We were looking towards having him climb atop of his second WC podium. He did a ton of work heading into this race, was fitter than he’s ever been and was able to overcome some harsh conditions to go faster than last year, which not many people did.

Last year Nick was 118th overall, a fabulous result for any age grouper at IM Hawaii. This year he crushed it. Nick crossed the line 40th overall, finishing 2nd in the M18-24 age group and as the 11th amateur on the day. He turned in a marathon that was 9 minutes faster than he’s run before. An awesome performance from an athlete with lots of room for improvement.

Nick on the run

Several time zones away Chad was racing at the Rev 3 Anderson Half. he grabbed 5th in his age group on a very hilly, hard half Ironman. This was his first long course attempt this season and it was a good hit out. I suspect he’ll have a few more cracks at this distance next season.

Chad rolling along

In Tucson, Billy finished 2nd in his age group and wrapped up second overall in the Tucson Triathlon series. He was three minutes down after the first race, cut that in half after the second race, but couldn’t quite cut the gap in the third race. This is his best overall series finish in nearly a decade of racing this series. Once again Billy proves getting older doesn’t have to slow you down.

Huge Win, Shattered Streak

Dusty has been on a roll. Three weekends in a row of racing and three top finishes. At the Nautica Malibu Triathlon he won his age group and did his longest run of the year. The next weekend saw him mosey over to Bend, OR for the Leadman 125. After leading the race out of the water, he finished 11th overall, won his age group while doing his longest run of the year.

Dusty heading into T2

This weekend was the LA Triathlon. Dusty turned in the 2nd fastest swim and bike to hold onto 2nd place in his age group. Three races, 2 age group wins and a second place. Not a bad three weeks of racing. His swim and bike times have been 5-8 minutes faster then previous years over the same courses. He’s looking forward to big things next season, his competition…not so much.

Dusty grabbing hardware…again.

The Augusta 70.3 race just wrapped up. For the second time this year, Jenny topped the entire age group woman’s field at a 70.3 race. First at the Muncie 70.3 and now at the Augusta 70.3. Of course this means she also won the F30-34 age group, again.

Augusta F30-34 Age group Winner

This is the first time she’s been able to win in this manner in a long course race. In years past she’d come off the bike near the top of the age group race only to drop down the results sheet on the run. But times are a changing! She not only ran herself up the results sheet, she ran almost 5 minutes faster in a half then she’s ever run before. When pressed from behind she held until the other girl broke. Now maybe those emails worrying about her running will stop.

Trophy says it all!

A New Deal 5 for 3!

Five athletes racing this weekend at five different races. Surely it’s not possible that all five would finish in the top three overall is it? Is it? It is!

Kerry kicked off the weekend by grabbing a win at the Fort Desoto Sprint triathlon. She not only won the women’s race, but she also came in third overall. Quite a few dudes got chicked in this race. This may also be the highest a female Accelerate 3 athlete has ever placed overall in the men’s field. There have been a few fourth overall finishes but this may be the first top three overall.

Kerry laying claim to the top spot!

James continued his winning ways, grabbing his third W of the season at the Lake Norman Triathlon. He came into T2 in a dead heat for first place. James blasted out of T2 gaping the competition for the win. This should increase his lead on top of the Inside Out Sport Triathlon Series standings.

James running towards his 3rd Win this season

Chad grabbed third overall at the Rocketman Triathlon using his strong bike to move up towards the top three. He then unleashed his run to grab the final spot on the overall podium. In a few weeks I’ll be looking forward to Chad and James racing each other.

Chad running into the top 3.

Rich snagged second overall at the Red Top Mountain Triathlon. He led out of the water, dropped to second during the bike then used the second fastest run split to hold his position over the field.

Rich locking down 2nd place on the bike

On the opposite coast of the country, Dusty ripped it up at the Santa Barbara Aquabike grabbing third overall. Dusty knocked off just over 8 minutes from this race last year over the swim and bike legs. last year he knocked off 10 minutes from the year before. 18 minutes over two years. That’s a huge amount of time and a testament to what happens when you go out and do the work.

Dusty in TT mode

A great weekend of racing by this group of athletes. 5 races, 5 states and 5 overall podiums. Not a shabby weekend of racing at all.

IM NYC – BOOM

IM NYC, one of the high profile IM races of the year. There was a lot of hype surrounding this race. It’s held in one of the highest profile cities in the world. 2500 of your closest friends all getting onto a ferry at 3am. To do an Ironman.

Doug boards the ferry for his first IM. The finish is only eight blocks from his house. This is his home course. His family was there, his friends were there, even his neighbors were there cheering for him.

The gun goes off and it’s soon obvious that the current is helping 2500 triathletes set a PB in the swim. After boarding his bike Doug follows the power plan perfectly, riding within 2 watts of his targeted wattage. This deposits him at T2 in 417th place. But never fear, Doug can run. Only 9 people in the entire race out ran him, pro’s included. He moved up 342 overall places on the run to finish 75th overall. He passed one person on average every 150 meters of the run. He can run faster then you can drive if you’re trying to flee to the Hampton’s on a Friday. From 89th in the M35-39 to 15th at the end of the race with a 9:59:06 while posting the fastest run in his age group by over 7 minutes. Breaking 10 hours, setting a top 10 overall run split and running faster then anyone else in your age group isn’t too shabby for your first crack at the distance. Nicely done Doug.

Doug starting the run

Chad continued his winning ways. He turned on the heat during the bike leg posting the fastest bike split of the day on his way to grabbing 5th overall and winning the M25-29 AG at the Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Al.

Chad Beginning the Run

Across the state line in GA, Rich, in his first race back since IMTX grabbed 4th overall and 1st in the M35-39 AG in the fourth race of the Tri in the Parks Race Series. Not a bad way to start the second half of your season.

It’s good to be KING!

Chad Williamson threw a chain, had to stop to put it back on and he still destroyed the rest of the Cat 5 men at the Men’s Cat 5 Alabama State TT Championships. Five minutes. That’s not even close over 40k. Too bad he isn’t a Cat 4 since he would have won that as well. Chad brings home a championship in a 3rd state and this is the 14th or 15th time an Accelerate 3 Athlete has won a state Championship.

Chad Williamson claiming his title

But that’s not the only Accelerate 3 athlete producing good results this past weekend. In Tucson Billy grabbed 9th overall and 2nd in his age group at the Holualoa Tinfoil Triathlon.

Billy Oliver working hard

Heading back east, Doug Tsao used the fastest run split of the day to vault himself from 42nd position leaving T2 into 7th overall and 2nd in his age group at the first ever Mighty Moss Half Iron Triathlon. Doug proved once again that you can never run too fast in a triathlon but you can run too slow.

Doug on the Podium!

Two for One Special

It’s been a couple of good weekends of racing for Accelerate 3 athletes. Last weekend Tom smashed his half Ironman PB by 11 minutes. Chad woke up after a wedding reception and grabbed 2nd overall in a local 5k and set a new 5k PB.

This weekend Chad crossed the line second overall, smashing the field on the bike at the Buster Britton Triathlon. While he was out in front of the entire field on the bike he received a 2 minute penalty which dropped him off the podium and into winning his age group. Not exactly what you want to find out after you’ve crossed the finish line. It was a solid performance for him but that penalty cost him 8 spots.

Further east James and Jenny picked up a pair of wins at the Tri Latta Triathlon. Jenny currently sits in 7th position with one to two less races then those ranked above her in the IOSNCTS. This win will help James move up the standings where he is now positioned 6th overall. Did I mention this is the second race this week that James won? On Wednesday James set a new AG record at the Lowes TT series.

Dusty had a chilly time over in the Boise 70.3 – some factor for weather, shorter then half Half Ironman. This was his first race back, other then bike races where he has garnered quite a few top 5’s in the cat 5’s, since tearing tendons in his foot.

Rocking at the Races

It was another busy weekend of racing for Accelerate 3 athletes across the country. That also means it’s a busy weekend of me blogging about their successes at the races.

In California, Jeff destroyed his Wildflower course personal best by 45 minutes. Yeah, you read that correctly, 45 minutes. That’s almost 6 miles ahead of his old self. Talk about kicking your ass. He kicked his and was quite proud of it. He is all systems go for setting a new IM PB this summer.

Elsewhere in CA especially since I don’t know where Wildflower and Piru are in relation to one another, Dusty grabbed 2nd in his category and 4th overall at the Piru TT series race. When not training for triathlons he is turning into quite the bike racer…with a CTL to back it up.

In Knoxville TN, Rev 3 came to town. Chad grabbed 1st in his age group on the back of his 5th fastest overall age group bike split and ended up as the 14th overall age grouper. Not a bad way to kick off the triathlon season.

In NC, Jenny, James and a friend teamed up to smoke the White Lake half race. They went sub 4hr and every member of the team turned in the fastest team split. Notable was James 2:08:58 bike split. It looks like he is showing some of his bike fitness. James turned around and raced the White Lake sprint on Sunday. He earned some valuable IOSNCTS points by finishing 2nd overall. He also earned some good karma points by plucking a cat off the road so it didn’t get run over. He “may” have left some watts out on the road from Saturday’s bike but all in all it was another solid weekend of racing for him.

5 Races, 3 Wins.

It’s been a busy week of racing for two Accelerate 3 athletes. James and Jenny kicked off this weeks racing on Wednesday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series. It was a evening of firsts for Jenny. First time trial, first time riding with an aero helmet, first time riding a disc wheel, and first time winning her category at this race. She also turned in the 3rd fastest female time on the evening.

James is no stranger to this race series. In fact he is the course record holder for M25-29, still, and won this category again while turning in the 8th fastest men’s time on the evening.

Fast forward to Saturday and the next race was Belews Lake International Triathlon. Jenny lead this race from the starting gun to finishing line to record her second win this week. Her margin of victory was just over 2:10. She racked up some valuable points in her quest to repeat as Inside Out Sports NC Triathlon Series champion.

Jenny Leiser's Champion BobbleHead trophy

In the men’s race, James was facing some stiff early season competition. He got out of the water just outside of the top 10 overall. Using the 5th fastest bike split of the day, he motored his way up to fourth place starting the run. He then used the second fastest run split of the top 10 men to move onto the overall podium grabbing 3rd OV and gaining points towards the IOSNCTS.

On Sunday James turned around and traded in his TT bike for his road bike. He raced a Cat 3/4 crit where it looks like he grabbed a spot just inside of the top 10. He had to expend quite a bit of energy to bridge up to the main breakaway. In the final sprint all the racing miles in his legs showed up.

James in the break

Just Another PB

One week after grabbing 2nd overall in the Double Oak Duathlon, Chad rips off a HUGE 5k PB. He cracked 18:00 for the first time by running a 17:53 this morning at the Rumpshaker 5k. (no I can’t just make up names like Rumpshaker 5k, that’s totally awesome)

What this really says is that if you build your running up to a sustainable level, in his case just over 40 miles per week on average since January, faster running times will follow. It also says that his competitors should be looking over their shoulder if they are ahead of him starting the run.

Triple Three

Three athletes, three different races and three people grabbing hardware. Good things do come in three’s especially when you add the fastest bike split in the mix.

If it’s late March, it’s Powerman Alabama time. This year saw two Accelerate 3 athletes racing, Rich in the long course event and Chad raced the Double Oak Mountain Duathlon aka the short course event.

Rich grabbed third in his age group, by posting the third fastest run and bike followed by the fourth fastest second run. Even a 4 minute penalty for riding too far left couldn’t drop him out of the top three.

Rich nearing T1

Chad was second overall in the short course duathlon. He ran solidly posting the third fastest runs of the day then laid down the fastest bike split in the race. You can read his race report here.

Chad, 2nd row in the middle, with an A for Awesome on his kit!

Across the country Billy was placing 8th overall and 2nd in his age group in the Tucson TinFoilman Triathlon. His time of 1:01:06 is one of his better times on this course in the last five years. As he gets older he gets faster.