A strong HEAT contingent competed or otherwise gave their warm support at the 9th Annual Hammerfest. The race began about fifteen minutes late due to a long, slow moving registration line, which allowed more time for the ambient air to warm up enough to make the bike leg comfortable.
The swim went out in four waves. All the swimmers had to hammer through some challenging waves
, giving strong swimmers a bit of an edge. I felt several jelly fish, but they did not bother me. The bike was two lopes, flat and fast, with a cross wind near the ocean that moved me around and got me out of my areo position. The second loop was a bit congested. The race organizers should have swept the first sharp right turn, a busy T intersection where there was sand and where, I believe, at least one biker went down. 
The run was the best part of the race, along breathtaking scenes of the ocean and beach homes. The run route should've had mile markers, and was shorter than 4 miles. The post race spread and music was excellent, as was the setting at the Owenego grounds. HEATsters could not wait to 
and rumor has it that Raphael put some in his water bottle at T1. 
The race is for an important cause, and it was truly moving having Brian Kelley there on race day.
Bill Schuman again led the HEAT team, with an impressive second place finish, making him the likely MVP winner for the season.
Gabe, Anthony Pace, Kathy, Kim Geogides, and myself placed in our age groups. Forgive if I forgot to mention anybody else. The most competitive age group seemed to be "middle aged" (50-55), making it tough for our leader Dean to notch a place in the top three. Even though there was no club championship, HEAT hammered on this Sunday down in Branford, concluding for many of us the first race season for HEAT, with high hopes for many more to come. 
The swim went out in four waves. All the swimmers had to hammer through some challenging waves
, giving strong swimmers a bit of an edge. I felt several jelly fish, but they did not bother me. The bike was two lopes, flat and fast, with a cross wind near the ocean that moved me around and got me out of my areo position. The second loop was a bit congested. The race organizers should have swept the first sharp right turn, a busy T intersection where there was sand and where, I believe, at least one biker went down. The run was the best part of the race, along breathtaking scenes of the ocean and beach homes. The run route should've had mile markers, and was shorter than 4 miles. The post race spread and music was excellent, as was the setting at the Owenego grounds. HEATsters could not wait to and rumor has it that Raphael put some in his water bottle at T1. The race is for an important cause, and it was truly moving having Brian Kelley there on race day.
Bill Schuman again led the HEAT team, with an impressive second place finish, making him the likely MVP winner for the season.
Gabe, Anthony Pace, Kathy, Kim Geogides, and myself placed in our age groups. Forgive if I forgot to mention anybody else. The most competitive age group seemed to be "middle aged" (50-55), making it tough for our leader Dean to notch a place in the top three. Even though there was no club championship, HEAT hammered on this Sunday down in Branford, concluding for many of us the first race season for HEAT, with high hopes for many more to come.
as he once again he wins the post race raffle and walked away with cash.
Today, I went out for a ride at lunch and got dropped by the group at mile 2. I felt like I was dragging sandbags the whole way. When I got to the finish I tried to wheel my bike into the building and discovered the brake had been on for the whole ride. I will admit it was a hell of a workout, but I wouldn't recommend this approach to training. Anyway, swim and spin and the legs will feel better and looser.
This affected several age group awards, e.g. Women 40-44 & 45-49. Everyone moved up one place. The race director contacted my friend, Amy Rice, who won the race and asked her if she completed 2 loops because he couldn't believe she could 'be as fast as Donna Kay-Ness.' 
Those of you who know Amy know that she is pretty darn quick (12 overall at Hammerfest, 8th overall at FirmMan). Complaints were registered because of drafting. I don't know about what was happening for the men but by time my wave was on the bike course, there was no one to draft, unfortunately. We were alone the entire bike. When you have 400 triathletes on a 7 mile loop, there is bound to be drafting.
I thought the swim was the most fun portion of the race but many people didn't like it
, Scott, Ron and Margit all did a nice job.
