PrairieMan Half Ironman

Two Finish Strong Athletes Tom Schwarzkopf and Michael Lechtenberg finished a grueling Half Ironman in Grand Prairie, TX on September 13.

According to Tom, the weather was nasty with constant rain, cold temperatures, flooded roads. The surf was so high and the wind so fierce that several swimmers had to be rescued. The slick roads led to treacherous conditions for the bike. Blown down course signs on the final run lead many to run extra mileage.

Despite these brutal conditions, Tom and Mike managed to finish the race. Tom in 4:51:49 and and Mike in 4:57:45.

Tom's final analysis,"Overall, I'm happy that I finished the entire race without stopping…or quitting."

IronKids Alpharetta Race

Submitted by Carolyn BarronHannah and Lane Barron competed in the IronKids Alpharetta (Atlanta, GA) race on Sunday, September 13. This was the largest kids’ race we’ve ever seen much less participated in. Almost 900 kids ages 6-15 were registered.

Hannah competed in the 11-year old female category which had a total of 38 girls. She had a solid 150 meter swim, a super 4 mile bike on a course with some long hills (2nd fastest bike split in her age group) and a good run (3rd fastest run) to claim the 2nd place in her age group!

Lane also raced well in the 10 year old male category and completed his swim easily, rode hard on the bike (fastest bike split of all 66 ten-year old males) and finished strong with the fastest run split of all his 10-year old male competitors as well! He placed 1st in his age group.

This race qualified both to race at IronKids nationals in Tucson, Arizona in October. Watch out …here we come!

Clear Lake International Triathlon - Olympic & Sprint

Five Finish Strong coached athletes (L to R) Tim Monk, Kyle Mays, Tommy Sustala, Rodrigo Abascal and Mike Bard (not pictured) have award winning performances at the recent Clear Lake International Triathlon held on August 22.

Tim Monk was the overall winner of the Clear Lake Triathlon Olympic distance open race. Tim finished the 1.5k/40k/10k race in 2:05:33. He finished the swim in 21:10, the bike in 59:55 and the final run in 42:06 at a brisk 6:47 pace.

Kyle Mays placed second in his 45 to 49 age group in the Olympic distance. Kyle had the second fastest run and completed the race in 2:25:45.

Mike Bard placed second in the Clydesdale group in the Olympic distance. Mike finished in 2:27:49. He had a strong swim at 24:04 and bike at just 1:01:15.

Tommy Sustala came in third in the enormous 40 to 44 age group in the Olympic distance. He finished in 2:16:38 with the fastest swim in his age group of just 21:40.

In the Sprint distance race, Rodrigo Abascal won his 15 to 19 year old age group and placed 10th overall! Rodrigo had the fastest run and bike in his age group and the second fastest swim. He swam the .75K distance in 11:50, completed the 30K bike in a blistering 47:37 at a 23.4 mph pace, and finished strong with a 21:12 5K run at a 6:50 pace.

Special thanks to Irasema (Rodrigo's mom) for snapping these photos at Clear Lake.

Tuesday Night Track Group!

The Tuesday Night Track program continues to grow. We recently did a 1,600 and 3,000 time trial. Based on the time trial, we each learned our VDOT that helps us with our training intensities for different paces and distances.

Darnd'st Duathlon San Marcos

Here we are at the start of the Darnd'st Duathlon in San Marcos on August 16, 2009.

I'm running near the outlet mall. My daughters told me they came along to watch me, but I think they really wanted to shop!

Biking and more running!

I was 4th overall and 3rd in my age group. Congrats to Rodrigo who was 1st in his age group!

Tri-Arkansas Triathlon

By Tom Schwartzkopf

I just finished the Tri-Arkansas Triathlon Festival in Arkadelphia Arkansas. It was fun but very tough due to the hills.

This is me coming in on the 1500 meter swim. I'm all alone. The pack is back behind me

about 100 meters. I'm in second place here. The kid who beat me did so by over a minute. Fast little critter.

I could have sworn there were people at my feet. I was surprised by the lonely welcome I got coming out of the water.

Alright, time to go to work. The girl at the top asked me if I wanted a drink of water. I told her I swallowed enough lake water to last me the entire day.

This is what it looks like at the start of the bike. I'm not in the picture. This was one of the easier hills on the 28 mile course.

This is me on the run heading up the hill. Yea, I'm tired but I'm ready for the 6.5 miles ahead of me.

Here I am at the end of the run. Coming down the hill was a lot easier than going up. My age group was tough. I came in fourth but I was pleased with my performance.

Austin Triathlon

Kudos to Finish Strong coached athletes Jim Harrington and Richard Lewellen who competed in the Austin Triathlon on Labor Day, September 7.

Jim Harrington, 45, competed in the Olympic distance 1500 meter swim/40K bike/10K run event. He placed 6th in his mammoth age group 62 deep of (45 to 49 year olds) and 69th overall in a field of nearly 650 age groupers. Jim had a particularly strong bike leg covering the 40K distance in just over 1:05.

Richard Lewellen, 65, competed in the Sprint distance 700 meter swim/27k bike/5K run event.
He placed 5th in his age group of die-hard 60 to 64 year olds. Richard had an excellent swim of just over 17:37 for the 700 meter.

Way to go!