Great Clermont Triathlon

It was a great day for MBE athletes at one of the first triathlons of the season. 5 athletes competed, 4 in the olympic distance and one in the 1500m swim.

Many collegiate athletes from around the country came down to Clermont to prep for the Collegiate National Championship on April 17th, so it made for some great competition. Maybe that's why they call it the Great Clermont.

Big Nic Tautiva who was in 2nd most of the race, put together his best olympic distance performance to date, and placed a close 3rd only 2.5 minutes down from the first place finisher, a USAT 2016 Team member.

Kevin Anderson placed 4th in his age group with a strong performance and is soon on his way to St. Croix for a big half IM event.

Tim Palyukh who was limited by a cramp in his calf and upper leg after only 10 min into the swim, perservered through the bike and run. Disappointed on the day, however not worried, Tim knows his fitness and what he is capable of and will seek to demonstrate that at St. Anthony's in a few weeks.

Ciara Hopkins conquered the chaotic two loop swim, doing the 1500m event. Results are not posted.

And finally new to the triathlon scene and the olympic distance, Natalie Kirchoff, surprised her coach with a 3rd overall finish among the woman. She posted a swim time that competed with the top male times, and on the run she beat her stand alone 10K run time by 3 minutes.

Both Nic and Natalie qualified for the Best of the US Competition in October out in Mission Viejo, California. They will represent Florida.

It was an exciting day for me, and only a taste of what is to come in the season ahead.

Another Computrainer Arriving Today!!

I'm so excited for Computrainer number 2...who is on it's last delivery leg to my house today. Maybe my athletes aren't that thrilled, due to the nature of pain that a computrainer interval workout can bring, but I sure am!

I used to spend 80% of my cycling workouts on a Computrainer. I was a glutton for punishment, I guess.

Now that I have two, I look forward to setting them up side by side for some battle royale workouts amongst my athletes.

Kaachoww!

Nic Tautiva is AG Champ in Track Shack Grand Prix Series!

Nic Tautiva ran all 7 races of the Track Shack Grand Prix Series and emerged on top of his AG with the most points in a competitive age group. The 7th and final race was a 10K in Winter Park worth double points. He PR'd in the event and looks to use the strong performance to run well off the bike this tri season.
Tim Palyukh ran his first open 10K and placed 6th in his age group. The strong run will set him up well for the first triathlon of the season, an olympic distance in 2 weeks out in Clermont. Tim has been putting in a solid base for a big season of tri racing in 2010. Look for Tim to step up onto the national stage.
Ciara Hopkins raced the 1600m later that same Saturday (the 13th) at the Lake Highland Track Meet. She ran amongst a strong group of high schoolers and squeaked into 8th place with a time of 5:42. She is only in 7th grade. Ciara has also been racing in many cycling criteriums and circuit races the past 2 months, placing 1st frequently in her junior category amongst females.
She will be racing cat 4 in the Sugarloaf Road Race this Saturday, a race that climbs the notorious hill 3 times!
Look for many Team MBE athletes to race at the local Great Clermont Festival on March 28th.