Being new to the sport of triathlons this year, I set out a goal to compete in three sprint triathlons by the end of the year. Having previously completed the Sunfish Triathlon and the Cotton States Triathlon, this was my third and final installment. I thought I’d try my hand at saltwater for a change so I made the long trip over to Panama City Beach, FL for the Emerald Coast Triathlon Series – Race #3. There are four races annually in this series held at a local bar and grill known as Spinnakers. Spinnakers is located on the beach and has a big parking lot, perfect for a transition area. This race was well organized and well supported with course monitors.

To set the stage for this race, as many of you may know, I suffer from chronic inflammation of soft tissue surrounding the lower tibia as a result of running. I have been sidelined for the last week with this injury, unable to run at all. So I was a little anxious heading into this race, but if anything well rested and more relaxed. I decided on this race to relax more and have some fun, being my last triathlon for the year.

For any of you who read my previous race report from the Cotton States Triathlon, the lesson I learned in that race and will forever take with me is that the key to triathlons (so far anyway) is to just keep moving forward, despite any obstacle or circumstance. It would be a lesson I took with me into the swim. I briefly surveyed the course, which had 2 buoys and therefore 2 right hand turns. As we lined up for start at the Gulf of Mexico, I surveyed the water one last time and lightning streaked across the sky off in the distance followed by thunder and the call to start. I heard someone mumble something about Jellyfish just as the announcer yelled "Go!". My previous attempts at the swim segment have been a little awkward, as I have somehow always end up disoriented and out of breathe shortly into the event. My goal this time was to stay focused and swim like I’ve trained, maintaining decent form. I’ll have to admit, I was more than a little stunned at how absolutely clear the water is in Gulf. You could see everything perfectly underwater with goggles on, including other swimmers, fish, and oh yeah…JELLYFISH! After I swam just over top about my 20^th jellyfish, I was more than a bit worried. Also, I learned that as you swim away from the beach, the wave action really pulls you back. I swam hard but felt like I wasn’t going anywhere until I finally got to that first buoy and turned right to parallel the beach. Somehow, I managed to stay calm and just kept moving forward. Right before I reached the shore, I got hit by something on my left side and down the back of my left leg that left a burning sensation that stayed with me for several minutes. I’m not sure what it was, but I just kept going. I came out of the water somewhere near the top of the bottom third of racers.

The distance from the beach to the transition area is probably about 300 meters, a pretty good haul for a transition. The bike segment was advertised as 15 miles out and back. The bike segment went pretty smooth besides losing my sunglasses along the way (RIP Sunglasses!). However, two miles into the bike segment I was a little surprised to see the first rider pass coming the other way. I tried doing the math in my head and it just didn’t add up. I know I’m a slow swimmer, but to be 11 miles behind? I kept pushing forward, I think I passed about 30 bikes in the first 5 miles (one advantage about being a slow swimmer!). Around 5 miles was the turn around point, I was a little confused. Somehow the course got shortened without notification. The return on the bike was into a stiff headwind but other than that fairly uneventful. I think the bike ended up just a little over 10 miles.

The run was an out and back course traveling the opposite direction as the bike. The run turned out okay for me. My legs held together without pain, I maintained a respectful pace out to the turn around point. Then something strange happened that hasn’t happened to me in quite some time, I got a second wind. I suddenly felt refreshed and energized. I began to push the run a little more each step, and I actually began to pass people. I think I passed about 15 people on the run. It was a good feeling to cross that finish line, as I think by that point I had used up all the gas in the tank! © Keith Hilpp

Jake Elwood and a rare for me award