RACE REPORT
Florida's Great Escape Triathlon
March 5th, 2006

This was the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, but in Clermont instead of San Francisco. There were many serious competitors at this race, qualifying for the real deal. The race was swim 1.5 mi, bike 18 mi, and run 8 mi, so your time is evenly spaced across the three legs. I was 173 out of maybe 300 people overall, and 13th out of 17 in my age group. My final time was 2:51:45, excellent considering minimal training this semester. This race was AWESOME. The course and day were BEAUTIFUL. I was fortunate and happy to race with my family and friends there. It was so nice!

The only bad part was getting minimal sleep before (3 hours) AND after the race, because of school. As a result, I ended up suffering from serious exhaustion on Monday. On top of that, I had a major project to submit AND a midterm exam. I still pulled it all off. It's only too bad the race (which I signed up for months ago) fell on what turned out to be the busiest weekend of the semester so far.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned, which came from Aikido nonetheless, is to live with strength, intellect, and heart. It's that easy, and that hard. Just as my academics are a pursuit towards greater understanding and ability to effect change, doing stuff like triathlon to stay and become stronger is as equally important and essential in my view. And as for heart, let these pictures speak for themselves!

-DTB