2023 West Point Lake Olympic Tri: Running from the Pterodactyl

This adventure began with a drive to West Point Lake in Georgia where I had registered for a campsite to sleep the night before the race. The drive was uneventful and I loved the setting of my campsite where I set up my eno and settled in for an early nights rest. You can watch and listen to my first hand report I recorded immediately after finishing up camp set up.

The next morning, I:

• Rose from sleep
• Ate breakfast
• Donned my
• Vulcan Triathlete Club kit
• Cycling shoes
• Cycling helmet
• Put on a headlamp and realized I should have remembered to bring the lights that mount to the bike
• Grabbed my transition backpack
• Rode to transition
• Set up transition
• Put on my wetsuit and discovered a tick in the space between my big toe and its neighbor.

I was the first competitor to show up on this beautiful morning. I was stoked, chilled, and prepared. The race started.

The race was well managed. We ran across a dam with rumble strips across the whole lane to encourage folks to slow down. I feigned sounds as if I was a car, but I didn't get a single reaction from bystanders or other triathletes. I thought, "come on people, that was funny!". Oh well. Truly, the people were gracious. A good part of the run was on paved trails through the trees. At one point, I noticed a shadow of bird wings on the pavement just a few feet in front of me and they were moving forward at the same pace as I. My mind drifting to a scene as if I was running in the forest in the jurassic period and the wings belonged to a pterodactyl. Then, the hawk got bored sped up and let me see him in his full glory, albeit, a bit less daunting than the imagined pterodactyl.

I podiumed, but only because my age group competitors keep reducing in count. Lucky me, but a podium is a podium!

Results

May 7, 2023: West Point Lake, GA West Point Lake Olympic Triathlon
		Distance: 1.5k I measured 1.7k Time: 47:34 Pace: 2:33/yd
	Transition 1	Time: 3:42
		Distance: 40k I measured 40.6k Time: 1:30:04 Rate: 16.8 mph
	Transition 2	Time: 2"08
		Distance: 10k I measured 10.2k Time: 1:17:01 Rate: 12:10/mile
	Weather	Fair 62° 84% Humidity

2023 Statue-2-Statue: Not Chatty Kathy, Babbling Bobby

I was the overall winner of the race!

April fools!!!! Now, for the truth.

The morning began a bit rough as it was pouring rain. So, I showed up and packet pick-up was in wait mode as the registration tent and tables are shutdown waiting for the downpour to end. Upon ending, I joined into help set them up and got my packet. I hopped on the first bus as this is a point-to-point race from the Vulcan statue to the Liberty statue. Registration and the finish line are at Liberty and the starting line is at Vulcan. The race started a little late thanks to the impact of the delayed start and the weather. But once the race started, the weather was fine; it was comfortable actually.

I was caught trying to get my watch to get a good GPS signal, and was the last person over the starting line. From there, I first got next to Travis Self and was shortly joined by Sophia Lal, both friends and fellow triathletes. I talked their ears off for awhile until Travis shooed me forward. I knew he had noticed something about my running form and was going to confer with Sophia accordingly. I, of course, accused him jokingly that he was checking out my behind. He shared his observations with me later in the day and I took them to heart. Let's say I'm doing things like working abductors.

Shortly after that, I starting chatting with another a friend, Cara, that was running with yet another friend, Mary. I talked Cara's ear off for awhile until she begged off as we had drifted forward from Mary. Meanwhile, a new acquaintance that heard Cara's name and shared that she too was named Cara. So, I ran with the new Cara and her friend and, well you know it is coming, I talked their ear off for a while until they too, shooed me forward. The last victim was another new acquaintance, Kawitta.

This new social way of running was very enjoyable for me, but I fear I may have bordered on talking too much.

This remains one of my favorite running races and I enjoyed it again this year.

April 1, 2023: Birmingham, AL Statue 2 Statue 15K, 9.3 Miles
	Distance:	9.3 Miles
	Time:	1:40:02
	Heart Rate:	159
	Pace:	10:43
	Weather:	Light Rain 51° 86% Humidity

Some pictures from the event from the race site (free pictures, love it):

Registered and carrying my rain cover, a towel

Whew, this is done!

2023 Village-to-Village: Better Than Last Year: Well Sort of...

 Last year, my results for this race were:

• Elapsed Time: 1:07:33
• Pace: 10:54

 And, my best time at 10K last year was at the Vulcan Run 10K:

• Elapsed Time: 59:49
• Pace: 9:38

As you can see below, for the V2V this year:

• Elapsed Time: 1:03:39
  I would have podiumed if I was as fast as I was at the Vulcan Run last year
• Pace: 10:16
  

Face Facts and Fix My Fitness

Thus, I did better at this race that I did at the race last year, but compared to the Vulcan Run which was in November last year (not that long ago!), I did worse. I know why and I'm working on it. I enjoyed the winter a bit too much. I ate too much and worked out to little. Or, as I heard a physician talk about the state of health in the United States on a podcast, I have been running an energy deficit. You know, eating more than I burn. I need 2 fixes: eat less crap to include just eating less, and burn more by exercising more (more often and more consistently). Mission accepted.

Prep from the Night Before: A Bass Extreme Concert with My Son, John Evans

The night before the race I attended a Bass Extreme Concert at the Alys Stephens Center with my bass playing son, John Evans. He came up from Auburn for the day and was at the Alys Stephens Center all day attending sessions at Muse: A Free Musicians Conference featuring Meshell Ndegeocello and Victor Wooten. Note, Victor is a member of the Bass Extreme with Steve Bailey and Derico Watson. Victor was one John's earliest influences. We both had a few other friends in attendance as well. It was a great show, and it was clear they expected musicians to be in the audience, especially bass players. Both Victor and Steve Bailey play bass, the latter played a 6-string, fretless bass which both Victor and Steve emphasized to the extent of playing it up so much it was amusing. The performance was awesome and they even dealt with a technical issue with Victor's pedal board that required 2 techs to come on stage and spend some dozen or more minutes resolving while remaining calm as did the audience.

Yeah, I'm a proud father, but there's some awesome talent on displayed below, join me and help make John Evans famous! Check him out on Spotify:

• Bruh Collective: From middle school to present day (You should start with giving Hand of Hodges a listen. They were recently highlighted in a publication 5 local Auburn bands you should know about, + details on AubFest DIY music festival in The Bama Buzz. They will be playing at the festival too!
• Brunch with Rosie: 
• Solo as Pondylus

Results

March 11, 2023: Birmingham, AL Village 2 Village 10K, 6.2 Miles
	Distance:	6.2 Miles
	Time:	1:03:39
	Heart Rate:	158
	Pace:	10:16
	Weather:	Mostly Cloudy 61° 93% Humidity

Next up: Statue 2 Statue, 15K on April 1st

2023 Mercedes 1/2 Marathon: It Wasn't Fast, But It Was Faster Than I Expected

My longest run getting ready for this race was 11 miles at 2 hours and 30 minutes. So, my goal was simple; I wanted to finish 13.1 miles in less than 3 hours. Well, at 2 hours, 31 minutes and 53 seconds, I basically matched my 11 hour training run and I will call that a great accomplishment for my first event of 2023. I saw a few friends at the beginning of the race, I saw more evidence after the race on social media that many more friends were in the race. I should be more social and connected so that I might know who's going, where they are hanging out, and simply more in touch. The weather was perfect and the race was well orchestrated.

When I ran by the Alys Stevens Center, I saw that the an announcement that Victor Wooten would be performing on March 10th. My son, John Evans, is a bass player like Victor and has idolized him for years. So, while still running I called John and announced that I would be buying us tickets. And, I did; we're going.

Results

February 12, 2023: Birmingham, AL Mercedes 1/2 Marathon 13.1 Miles
	Distance:	13.1 Miles
	Time:	2:31:53
	Heart Rate:	159
	Pace:	11:36
	Weather:	Cloudy 39° 89% Humidity

I finished in these percentiles:

Overall: 33%

All Males: 23 %

Age Group (65-69 Males): 46 % (I've always been a mid-packer