So I was in my hometown race over the weekend. The weather was alot better than I thought it was going to be at the start. Even with the good weather though, the lake was very rough. The swim took me about 3 minutes longer than anticapted which forced me to alter my goals and pace through the remainder of the race. My bike split was somewhere between 19 and 20mph (based on the time it took me recorded by my parents). I was happy with that for the bike course. The run is where I had problems. Little did I know that morning I ate a food that does not agree with me, and within a half mile of the run I was experiencing muscle and stomach cramps. This forced me to slow my pace on the final mile of the run. The overall result was a minute faster than last year and a final postion of 14 out of 200. Not bad, but I was not happy with the overall finish. I could have had top 10 if I would have had a better race.

Now it's time to make the final prep for my first half Ironman. I will be in Morgantown WV on the 28th and 29th of June finishing my first race at the half-iron distance. I'll post a full report within a few days after the race.

Matt

So this weekend I competed in the Black Bear Spring tri in the Pocono Mountains. First off, if you can ever do an event that is hosted by CGI racing, do it. Their set up was by far the most professional looking thing I have ever seen. These people really know how to put a race on (and it shows...the race doubled in size). The lake out in Beltzville State Park has to be the best I have ever swam in so far. It was a little choppy, but the water was 68 and very very clear. The bike course was a harder one, but what can you expect when your in the mountains. I still mananged to average around 19mph. The run was great. It was all on trails around the lake and damn. It got hot in the sun and had its challanges, but was worth the effort. In the end, I finished first in my age group and 42 out of 500 triathlete. This was by far the hardest course I have done to date, but it was truly worth all the effort.

Pictures will be uploaded to my website when they are avaliable. Results are also being posted to my website and my sponsorhouse page.

www.matthewappleton.com

Matt