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TS Update: May-July 2011


It has been a while hasn't it. Well let me tell you, the guilt has been building. But the longer we wait the harder it is to find something substantive to say about the last few months without lingering on all the lame excuses we have for not writing. So let me just say.

Loyal followers, we are SORRY we have been out of touch.

A lot has happened since we last spoke. And here's a snyopsis:

May Highlights:
-Brett takes 1st place at Rev3 Knoxville in the Amateur field, qualifying for his pro license!
-Gered takes 1st place at the Pinebarrens Triathlon, with a resounding victory of over 9 minutes! (it was a really small race)

June Highlights:
-Brett and I raced the Olympic Rev3 at Quassy. Brett won. And I won. But then it turns out I lost because some ding dong gave me the wrong swim cap and I started in the wrong wave. So I was stripped of first and relegated to 5th. Even though I shouldn't have counted at all and been placed in the one man pro wave (Brett).  Another epic birthday race for this guy! Not as bad as Mooseman '10 though!
-TS was again spotted in the Mid-Atlantic to make their annual pilgrimage to the Philadelphia Triathlon. The dirty dirty old Philly Tri. Brett dominated the swim field in his first ever PRO race, while Gered was severely man (and women) handled and played catch up all day. An ill-placed hypodermic needle brought Brett's bike to an abrupt end, while Gered took in the scenery while passing many but not all female PROs. Rebecca Wassner, YOUR TIME WILL COME! A solid last place PRO finish for me...

July Highlights:
-TS took a dominate 2nd and 3rd place in the PRO field at the Marlborough Sprint Tri, while being severely dominated by the 1st place finisher. Skinny little bastard. Brett smoked Olympic Triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker in the swim, but sadly Jarrod didn't want to give the other Gered the chance to do the same on the bike. Relays are for sissies. Oh, I should also mention that I finally caught that gilly bastard Brett on foot, running him down in the last 1/4 mile and pulling away at the finish, despite his attempts to send me off course (and follow me too!).
-I raced to a 1st place finish at our local event, the Fairlee Triathlon, posting top bike and run splits and suffering mightily in a slightly over measured swim course (3-400 yards or so!). A horrible Indian burn from my women's swim skin (lady suit) also made for tough recovery, and the scars may last a lifetime.
-Brett headed out to Ohio to visit the in-laws, break a few wild ponies, mentally arm-wrestle his pony-tailed brother in law Marvin, and race the Giant Eagle Triathlon. With solid swim and bike splits, Brett suffered a little on the run to finish within a respectable margin of the winning PRO.

August Highlights:

-I just got back from the NYC Triathlon, where I put down a PR swim time (17:30!), decent bike time given the conditions, and solid run considering I had the worse case of run cramps of my entire life. Stupid ridiculous amounts of ethnic food the night before! My finish was 5 out from the last place PRO, one second behind the top finishing Elite Amateur, and one slot ahead of my arch-nemesis from Philly! So, no chicking, or sorry last placing. And I got caught up in a nice sprint finish of my own design. Never forget about the guy you passed 400 yards before the finish. NEVER. (Watch the finish video here).

Lots of room to grow. But the racing this summer has been great, and we've demonstrated real progress. Faster splits, less stupid mistakes, no races run off course (YET). And we've met a lot of great athletes, both professional and aspiring professional (James Duff, Jon Fecik, Jon Babcock, Lukas Siska, Matt Russell, and more). I think the state of the US Triathlon Union is looking good. We're, the founding fathers, are sure to be relegated to the dusty old public record books someday very soon.