St Anthony Triathlon

Just like 4 of the last 5 years, we were in St Petersburg the last weekend in April for the St Anthony Triathlon. This has become an annual event and a fun weekend to meet up with family. Michael, his brother Kevin and his sister Megan all participated in the Olympic-distance race.

SWIM
This year, due to high winds and rough surf, the swim course was moved to a calmer area of the bay. This made the swim shorter (1000m instead of 1500m) but the first transition much longer (a half-mile run from swim exit!). For spectators, though, this was an ideal setup since there was ample room along the shore and the kiddos could run and play in the sand.

 

BIKE
Because of the modified course and three racers we were trying to follow, we didn't make it to the bike exit to see our bikers go out or come back. With the spread out start times of our racers we opted to stay on the swim exit side of transition, which is also where the Run Out was. Adam and I did, however, run (literally) over to the opposite of transition just to see a great family friend Elizabeth leave on the bike. This was her first Olympic triathlon and she was racing with Team in Training out of Atlanta. I knew she only had 1 spectator friend with her, so I wanted to give her all the encouragement I could. Way to go, Ebo!

RUN
The last leg is a 6.2 mile run, and while the weather was perfect for spectators (breezy and no clouds), it was HOT HOT HOT for the racers. From our position along the water we saw our three head out on the run, who stopped to greet us on their way by.

 

FINISH!
At the end of the race, what is more appreciated than the finisher's medal arei the free food and beer. Adam quite enjoyed the post-race fare better than any snacks I had packed for him:

 

 

 CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR RACERS!