15th Annual Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Tri

Finish Strong's Shannon Crowe won Masters at Memorial Hermann Sprint tri on June 24 in Sugar Land.  Shannon finished with an overall time of  53:32.   The race was a 300-meter pool swim, 10-mile bike, and 3-mile two-loop run through the shaded Sugar Land neighborhoods.   Shannon's splits were amazing -  6:13 swim, 25:53 bike (23.5 mph pace), and 20:22 run (6:47/mi pace).  Great race, Shannon!

Muleshoe Xterra

Finish Strong's Mike Bard took on the Muleshoe Xterra Tri race in Spicewood, Texas on June 17.  Mike reports, "I was 4th in my age group for the swim.  It was tough running to T1 without shoes.  It was a very technical rocky bike course. I had to get off the bike a lot to walk up limestone. I lost my Garmin on the bike course. I just hung on and finished the run.  I need lots of work on rocky terrain before doing this again."  Mike finished in 2:47:42.  Well done!

Lake Pflugerville Tri

Finish Strong's Will Blackbird competed in the family-friendly Lake Pflugerville Tri on June 17.

This sprint tri featured a 500 meter lake swim, 14 mile bike through the countryside, and 3 mile trail run around the lake.  You gotta love a race that gives pizza and ice cream to finishers!

Will had a great race and placed 7th in his 50-54 AG finishing in 1:14:40.  Will's splits were 10:02 swim, 37:50 bike (22.2 mph pace), and 24:05 run (8:05/mi pace).  Way to go, Will!

Fun Fest Run by the Bay

Finish Strong Coaches Kim Schlutz-Hager and Richard Mac Namee took home wins from the Fun Fest Run by the Bay 10K held on June 9 in Texas City.  Kim won the women's race in 40:00 (6:27/m pace).  Richard came in first in his 45-49 AG in 38:51 (6:16/m pace) and was 6th overall.  Congrats to both!

Escape from Alcatraz

Four brave Finish Strong athletes journeyed to San Francisco to participate in the Escape from Alcatraz race this past weekend - June 10.  Rodrigo Abascal, Steve Hardy, Kent Morris, and Mike Novelli took on the ridiculously challenging course.

Here are their overall results:
Rodrigo Abascal - 3:06:30 - 4th in his 17-19 AG!
Steve Hardy - 3:45:38 in 45-49 AG
Kent Morris - 3:03:36 - 17th in 50-54 AG
Mike Novelli - 2:57:31 - 5th in his AG!

Many thanks to Irasema De Aquino (Rodrigo's mom) for capturing these Finish Strong men in action!

Rodrigo on the bike with Alcatraz looming in the background.

Rodrigo is all smiles at the end of the race - Wow! 4th in AG!

Steve Hardy leaving transition to tackle the run course.

Mike Novelli blazing to the finish line.

  Kent Morris on the run!

Sylvan Beach Tri and Du

Finish Strong athletes abounded at the Sylvan Tri/Duathlon on June 9.  Competing in the triathlon were Tommy Sustala, Michael Collins, Kirk Langford, and Charlie Schuber.  Tommy won the master's tri race in a time of 1:36:57!   Both Michael and Charlie took 2nd in their respective AGs in the triathlon.  Michael (photo below) in 1:45:07 in his 40-44 AG. Charlie finished in 2:06:14 in his 55-59 AG.  Kirk finished in 2:22:58 with 4th fastest swim in his 50-54 AG.

In the duathlon, Ronnie Delzer came in 2nd overall and won his 30-34 age group finishing in 1:32:55.  Rip Reynolds came in 4th overall and won his 40-44 age group in 1:35:23.  Wow!  Nicely done.

Woodlands Running Club - Sunday long run locations

Many Finish Strong athletes live in The Woodlands and are members of The Woodlands Running Club.  TWRC gets together for long group runs at 7am sharp from various locations.  Here's the schedule for the rest of June.  Want to join or find out more, go to www.thewoodlandsrunningclub.org.

Upcoming locations/mileage for Sunday morning runs:

June 10

Place: Villa Sport ***
Time: 6:45 am
Mileage: 6 & 11 maps on TWRC website

June 17

Place: Hubble & Hudson (Research Forest)
Time: 6:45am
Mileage: 7 & 11

June 24

Place: Starbucks/Sterling Ridge
Time: 6:45am
Mileage: we will have a new route a Special K Route!….will blast the map stay tuned

FSR Jane Foley Featured in Lonestar Multisport Newsletter

Finish Strong Racing's Jane Foley was featured in the Lonestar Multisport Newsletter' Member Spotlight this week.  Congrats again, Jane, for accomplishing your first Ironman!  Here's the article:

(Chantal Requier, Jane Archer Foley, Josh Scott with smiles at the end of IM TX.)

Jane Archer Foley, USAT race age 37 ES: How did you get started in triathlon? JA: I started triathlon in the UK 7 yrs ago. I first started running at university, 2-3 miles, 2-3x a week and got faster. When we moved to Scotland I joined a running club and ran with triathletes and they made me signing up for a triathlon. ES: What was your first one like? JA: My first one was a sprint. I showed up with my heavy mountain bike and everyone had really expensive road bikes and it was a pool swim...I loved it! After that I was competing couple times a month. Then I did Houston, got 4th out of 41, and Oilman half IM and completed it, to my surprise, in under 6 hours, and just recently the ironman [TX] in 11.36. ES: IMTX was your first one, how did it go for you? JA: The swim was frightening, the ride was slow and steady, the run was great. I had a plan before I started and I was training with Dana. Between the Houston Sprint and Oilman I didn't have a coach so I wasn't sure what level I was at. Having a coach took it to the next level... I followed his training plan to the letter and didn't miss a workout apart from the last week when I had a knee injury. I was worried that I may not do the IM... ES: It certainly didn't stop you from killing it on the IM... JA: I saw Chrissy Wellington at the book signing (during expo) and I told her about my knee injury and she said, look Jane, I [Chrissy Wellington] have not done a single IM without an injury and I have won every IM I have ever entered...you know your limits, she said, just set new ones. ES: Wow. JA: It was an incredible day [for IM] and the support was wonderful. I had a plan and stuck with the plan, and it worked. I was so focused on what I was doing, I didn't even notice the heat...I had all these mantras going, and that helped. ES: What was one of them? JA: "Everybody is hurting right now, but you know you can hurt more"...during the last 4 miles I was the same pace with this guy and at the last mile I was shouting at him the whole time, you can hurt more! You can hurt more!... It was just a perfect day. Only the swim was horrible... ES: How's that? JA: It was an absolute mosh pit...all these fists flying, feet flailing in front of me, and I was getting kicked and punched. Next time, I will place myself somewhere different.... ES: There will be a next time? JA: Nothing will be as bad as North Shore Park (laughs) ES: You have experience the worst so you can appreciate whatever comes next... so what is your race plan for the rest of the year? JA: I am going to do some short course races, Olympic in Sept, half in Austin, Woodlands/Houston Marathon. I wouldn't mind reducing my bike time some more, I love the bike. The bike takes you back to being a teenager, riding around in the neighborhood with your friends...I would really like looking into some time trialing... ES: You looked very strong on all three disciplines, Jane... JA: I am actually not very strong on any of the three...I am however very strong in transition... very strong at getting dressed, changing my footwear, fastening my race belt, etc...(laughs) ES: Sounded like you had a great first IM experience. Is there anything you would not have/would have changed about it? JA: Overall, I felt great mentally and physically; I was so well rested. The week before the race I didn't do any workouts because of my knee injury but my coach said that he would rather I be over-rested than under on the starting line. And I stuck with my plan and it worked. I really know my nutrition; I have practiced it so many time, the only thing I would change is the addition of salt tablets and perhaps some Imodium. I didn't take any this time. The race passed so quickly...one minute I was in the water and the next minute I was running... ES: You seem to me to have a really good positive attitude for the sport. Many on the course would not have said [IMTX] passed quickly for them. JA: I just really enjoy it. I am thinking of Cozumel or Arizona for my next IM.

Long Course Duathlon National Championship

USAT Long Course Duathlon National Championship was held on Sunday, June 3 in Cambridge, Maryland.  Finish Strong Coaching's Dana Lyons took 2nd in his 50-54 AG and 21st overall at this event.  Dana completed the 10K run, 70K bike, 10K run in 3:13:26.  His splits were 39:07 (6:19/m pace), 1:51:15 (23.4 mph) bike, and 41:01 (6:37/m) final run.  Dana qualified for for Team USA for the 2012 ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships, which will take place Sept. 2 in Zofingen, Switzerland. Team USA is comprised of the nation’s top multisport amateur athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU World Championships event.

ITU Pan American Cup Dallas USAT F1 and EDR Tri

Finish Strong Coaching athletes Lane Barron and Ian Richardson competed in th ITU Pan American Cup Dallas USAT F1 and EDR Triathlon on June 2 in Irving, Texas.  This draft legal race was a qualifier for the National Championships.

Lane aged up at this race and competed in the F1 race finishing in 38:41.  He swam 7:14 for the 375 meters, biked 17:34 for the 10K course (21.2mph pace), and ran 11:57 for the final 1.5 miles.  Ian competed in the EDR race and had an overall time of 1:06:07.  Ian clocked a 12:29 for the 750 meter swim, 32:53 for the 20K bike (averaging 22.6mph), and finishing strong with a 19:04 for the final 3 mile run (6:21/m pace).

Congratuations to both for qualifying for nationals!!

Tejas Sprint Tri

Finish Strong made a splash at Tejas Sprint Tri held on June 3 with three podium finishes. Richard Mac Namee won the master's in a time of 56:49. Shannon Crowe won her 40-44 age group in and had the fastest bike split. Brian Waldrop took 2nd in 40+ Clydesdales in 1:09. And Mike Flake also had a fine race in his competitive AG 35-39 AG finishing in 1:10.

Shannon (pictured above) had the 2nd fastest run in her AG by .04 seconds. Her overall time was 1:04:43 -- nearly 9 minutes off her overall 2011 time!  Great racing, team!