spin / second sole multisport team

It’s the biggest little race on the calendar, and about as close to a home game as SSSMST gets. As such, you always see a lot of blue and green jerseys both on course, and volunteering. The atmosphere is fun, light, and at times scantily clad.

For the second year in a row, SSSMST took the overall win (Jim Lamastra) as well as several age-group wins (Marty Mason, Joe Bush, Jen Petkovsek).

Jim, the unlikely hero, has been recovering from a nasty bike accident a few months ago and wasn’t able to even swim properly as he toed the line on Sunday morning. It mattered not though as he side-stroked, kicked, and doggy paddled his way to T1. Once there he opened up a killer bike/run combo to dethrone defending champ (and fellow SSSMST teammate) Brian Stern (3rd OA).

Others were not as lucky with Leah Halloran and Rob Thompson flatting on course, while Andy Cornwell continued to showcase his excellent recent bike handling skills and crashed (but walked it off to finish respectably).  Still, SSSMST took 10 of the top 17 places.

Marty Mason did it old school in his speedo, along with another Spin Bike Shop sponsored triathlete AJ Baucco. It was….well….it was definitely something seeing that pair out on course. We’ll leave it up to the spectators to  decide what, exactly, it was.

Check out our Huntington Triathlon pictures on Flickr, and click through for the race reports!

Jim “One Armed Bandit” Lamastra-

I am very excited to have won the race.  It was a lot of fun to be back out with everyone.  I don’t think I stopped smiling once I got up Sunday morning.  I missed the pre-race jitters more than I thought I did.

Marty “the body” Mason –

Nacho had some really nice “body art” on display at this rainy race venue. Moreover, the there were two weirdos I spotted wearing only Speedos the entire race. I believe it is against the rules, but it sure prompted some interesting remarks from the unsuspecting spectators. I don’t think anyone got any photos. I heard those two goofballs were moving pretty fast.

The comaraderie after the race is priceless. There’s just something about standing under the SSSMT tent in the pouring rain with alot of great friends. Another great day at the races. Maybe I’m just weird.

Patrick “short course hurts” Kolozvary-

Great to see the sea of blue represented at Huntington this weekend.  Lots of great performances & its good to see one-armed Jim can still kick everyone’s butt.

I was lucky to finish before the rains came in.  Felt pretty good, but I think my racing mindset was still focused on long course racing, instead of red-line sprint racing.  Live & learn.

Great to be out racing with so many people we train with.

Andy “Crash” Cornwell –

My morning started with my oatmeal boiling over in the microwave– always a bad sign.

Swim:  The worst possible way to start– single file abreast, with 100m to reach a single buoy… makes for some violent combat.

Bike:  Left T1 still wearing my speedsuit.  Stripped it off and left it for later pickup.  Then, I crashed in a turn… total rookie move.  I shook that off but never really regained mojo.

Run:  Couldn’t find my shoes in T2– I feel like it took me 2 minutes.  The run went ok…  just great to see everyone from the team out there.

Overall, a tough day.  It was all rectified by seeing the whole team there, and having a great time cheering and helping out after.

Joe Bush –

This race is always fun as alot of SSSMST members participate.  Swim started out rough, which was fine for me until I got passed by a one armed swimmer.  Kind of demoralizing, but I forged on.  Bike felt great as I held my position through transition.  The run was nerve wracking as alot of teammates and other competitors were on my heels, but I was able finish strong.  Good showing by SSSMST as usual.

Brandy “wetsuits are for wusses” Smith –

I really wanted to swim this without a wetsuit, to prove to myself that I don’t *NEED* the wetsuit to complete a triathlon.  And wouldn’t you know it, the weather was totally crappy and the lake was wavy and crazy!  But, I did NOT put on a wetsuit and I DID finish the swim!!  No breaks at the kayaks, either.
Super pumped to end up with 3rd in my age group, and totally didn’t expect it knowing what a large crowd shows up for this race!!  AND, looking at the bike splits, it seems I was the 4th fastest woman (although, Jen P and I were virtually the same)!!  Swim was almost three minutes slower than last year, run was just a hair faster, but still managed to finish a minute faster overall.
Overall, a fun day with lots of team members showing up with their game faces on.  Sorry to see some battle wounds, and especially sad to hear about Laura Jones’ accident during the race.  Lots of positive thoughts go out to her.

Timmy Smiles –

The day didn’t start out too promising. Standing on the beach waiting for the whistle i looked to my left and saw Mark Durno and Brian Stern, so I looked to my right and saw Eric Gibb and Bruce MacDonald; it dawned on me i was in fifth place and the race hadn’t even started…i gotta either age up or weight up stat. Well in fact the day turned out to be just fine, even great, because of the fun race, a ton of participants, and an awesome fan base. I topped it off with a few post race gatherings and the Irish Festival. Maybe best day of the year.

Aussie Rob –

Not running or swimming this year had me checking my expectations at the door, but i always look forward to Huntington. Everyone shows up, there’s a healthy amount of smack talk, and even mountain bikers give it a fang. Preparation included drinking with AJ, LaMastra, and Nacho the night before. A sure winner.

Took it easy in the swim, and felt really good on the bike despite riding it Merckx style (sans aero crap)…..surely on track for a new course record….no really….well maybe….but sure….until i flatted that is….you’ll never know   😉

Spent the next 45mins on the side of the road cheering people on, and declining help from fellow racers because i didn’t want to affect their race (this had NOTHING to do with me not wanting to suffer anymore).

Disappointing to record the first DNF of my career, but it’s still such a fun race i enjoyed it regardless. Congrats to everyone who beat me (that’s literally everyone i think) and especially to Jim Lamastra who proved that with the right genetics….you can still win a triathlon while doing the doggy paddle.

Leah “once a year” Halloran –

I came…….I tried…….I flatted……There’s always next year!

Filed under: 2010 | Tagged: huntington, lamastra, results rehash, triathlon, we win! |