Panama City Half-Ironman week has arrived, and war hero/world duathlon U.S. team member John Pendergrass has essentially completed his training for this Saturday’s grueling event on the “Redneck Riviera”.  With news that Tony Mozingo is not competing this year, Pendergrass ramped up his training and included interval transition training in the yard of Mozingo’s home last week, hoping to place highly in his age group.

            Mozingo was awakened at five-thirty last Thursday morning by his five-year old daughter, who was inquiring about why a man was “putting on a black, shiny monster suit” in the back yard at daybreak.  Not sure whether the early visitor was a burglar or not, Mozingo used caution and withheld bashing the uninvited culprit in the head with a four iron before confirming that it was Pendergrass donning his wetsuit for an open water swim in Lake Serene. 

            “Outa my way, kid,” the half-naked eye surgeon huffed at the innocent child.

            “Don’t you know I’m in training?”

            With that rude gesture, Pendergrass then began dog paddling across the lake in a wide circle, (with two figure eights added), and emerged from the water to begin his transition-area practice.  A notoriously poor swimmer, Pendergrass is hoping to slice several minutes off his past times in the event by blocking other swimmers and following the wake draft of Iron Mike Barnes and Mike Villilonga.

            Readers may recall the controversy surrounding Pendergrass’ 2002 performance wherein he skipped part of the swim course and emerged from the water ahead of the elite competitors in the open field.  Knowing that he will be watched closely this year, he is spending much of his training attempting to get the wetsuit off in less than his normal ten to twelve minutes he usually takes.

            Mozingo’s daughter’s only comment was a question; 

            “Pop, do all old men peal their skin off while laying on the pier when they finish swimming?” 

            After the swim, Pendergrass raced across the lawn and jumped into his SUV, then drove to the Wellness Center where he scampered in and dove into the whirlpool.

            When asked about how such training would help him defeat his main rival, Steve Phillips this weekend, Pendergrass exclaimed;

            “Look man, it’s what Coach Villilonga at Ultimate Sports Training Institute advised…”

            Villilonga, who is nursing a hamstring injury, reportedly plans to skip the running portion of this weekend’s event and spend his time with several students of the institute that he is coaching.  He, along with Barnes, is planning to compete in the Ironman Wisconsin later in the year.

            As for Pendergrass, he was last seen stretching in the weight room at the Wellness Center and trying on new outfits for the awards ceremony.  (See last week’s edition of the health insert to The Independent newspaper for his latest fashion statement.)

            Phillips, confident of burying Pendergrass in Saturday’s event, has decided to don his usual racing suit.

            As for Mozingo’s daughter, she is still asking why weird men still run around her yard half-dressed in the morning.

See the 5/15 report on the Ironman