spin / second sole multisport team

First up, our resident CX racer, Bruce MacDonald went out fast at NEOCX Brooklyn:

Another weekend of Cross….another weekend finishing behind the lake effect team….went out fast with the hole shot to try and make them work a little early, and my plan back fired, as I blew up a little. Finished in 5th.

And as reports are still trickling in from our Iron women and men, we’ll be posting some late entries.  Here is Mark Murphy’s experience from Ironman Moo (aka Wisconsin):

Well better late than never. After two weeks and having read my teammates accounts of the race I am not sure there is much I can add. The weather was great, windy but mid-70s considering the temps the day before and after we all got lucky and as Tim said it was a real blessing. This was my sixth Iron distance race (4 IMs and two non-IM races) and by far my favorite for several reasons, the city and citizens are fantastic, but the best part was getting to share it with Jen and so many teammates and close friends. There was so many folks from around Cleveland it felt like a local race. I cannot thank everyone enough for the great support and camaraderie out on the course. But, to get to the race. The swim was rough. With the wind and choppy water it was tough going, my goal of 1:10 to 1:15 seemed like a tall order in these conditions, so I was a little surprised when I got out of the water at 1:19 and some change. One of my slower IM swims but not bad considering the conditions. All those “BIG” swims from Columbia to Bradstreet paid off I think. On to the bike… which went smashingly well for me overall. It was great to see Walsh, Kostura and Katie on the bike course. I remembered what I read and the advice I got from Jim (LaMastra) “ride the first loop easier than you think you should, then go after it on the second loop” and I kept repeating another thing that I picked up along the way “the race starts at mile 80”. That strategy worked well considering I crushed my previous time on the IM Moo bike course by over an hour. But some other knowledge that Jim dropped on me a day early at the expo lingered in the bad of my mind and that there would be a stiff headwind coming back into town in the stick of the lollipop. Darn it if he wasn’t right. Yet another thing I picked up,,, listen to the pro he usually (always) knows what he’s talking about. Into transition 2 and onto the run. I got a chill and a little emotional as I thought of our teammate and his family who are fighting cancer. I wanted to dedicate this race to them. This made me bolt up the hill and down the road, then I thought “whoa” this is a long race slow down! Which I did. The run went well for the most part but I have to admit I struggled in parts of the race. But it was amazing to see so many friendly faces out there on course both racing and cheering us all on. It was great seeing Jen, my girlfriend and training partner out there on the course. I kept expecting her to pass me on the bike (didn’t happen) and on the run (which happened at mile 14 or so, right before we went into Camp Randall Stadium). Jen, tried to coax into going with her but I was going into one of my several but brief visits to the “pain cave”. I was really happy though with how the day was unfolding for me and for everyone else. All that hard work we all put in over the summer was paying off. It was really incredible to see and be part of. As I made my way down State St again, I saw Jen. As we passed over the mat at mile 19 I gave her a little tap on the butt and asked how she was doing, not sure I heard her as I was feeling really good at that point until mile 22 when I began to walk a little and by mile 23.5 Jen was patting me on the butt on her way to the finish. In hindsight I should have gone with her. But, I was still having a great day and if she beat me so be it, she worked hard too. As I came closer to the finish I could hear Mike Riley’s voice and the crowd and the thrill came back just like in my first Ironman in 2008, where else but Madison. As I made the turn I saw Tim’s wife Kim and their daughter, Morgan. Then I saw Jen’s dad, Will and for the fourth time I was proclaimed an “Ironman”! Yep, that never gets old.

Great jobs guys!

Filed under: 2013 |