Key West Sprint: I Won One /Thank you to all

So I made a pretty last minute decision to do one final Triathlon in 2013. Having been well into my off season I had no expectations other than to have a blast and party with friends post race. Luckily I I was able to do both those things and actually win the race. I will give you a quick recap of the race but Im writing this post mostly to give everyone that has made this year as successful and fun as it was the proper recognition. 

Key West Sprint Triathlon 2013

Swim: The swim was long but It was surprisingly quick. There were some fast guys for me to stick with. I came out of the water in 7th.

T1: I paseed 3 guys in transition and got on the bike in 4th. 

Bike: The bike was a two loop course. I was leading by the time I was half way through the first loop. I turned off course by mistake and had to repass one person once i was back on course.

T2: One guy who was flying on the bike caught me into transition but I lead out.

Run: I was running a nice aerobic pace and was putting time on everyone. I brought it home in around 19:40. Not fast by any means but its okay. Fast wasn't the goal today and I still had the W.

First overall felt really good and was a super positive way to end the 2013 season.

It was a beautiful race morning.

Really pumped to finish First.

But totally exhausted.

First time I've been interviewed post race.

Thank you Alaina for coming and supporting me.

Thank you all!(mentioned in no specific order)

There are several people that made major influences on my triathlon career and my life outside of triathlon this year. This post can't convey the credit they deserve but I will do my best here.

My Wolfpack: At the beginning of this year I made a lot of decisions about how I was gonna approach this season to have the best chance at being successful and achieving the goals I set out for myself. The main objective and always will be is to love sport and have fun. All i had to do to achieve my most important goal this year was simply be part of a team made up of my best friends and be stoked to workout with them day in and day out. So this is thank you to My Wolfpack, Eli, Oriana, Caryn, Cynthia, Julie, Mickey, Gene, Ola, Brenda and our new(er) members Jess, Cristina, Rob, Andy and Tom for making not only sport a blast this year, also social gatherings, post race parties and those miserable moments before you start a workout not so miserable. A special thank you to Joey for not only me guiding me in training to many PRs at the beginning of the year but lending important advice on life decisions I've made this year, pushing me to never give up on anything and always give my 110%.

My Sunday Riders: These are the people that taught me what it means to "go long". The people that would hammer at the front till my legs fell off, then hammer some more. Thank you Roy, Joyto, Isabel, Chris and Seth, I can honestly say I wouldn't be the cyclist I am right now if it were for you guys pushing but mostly pulling me on a weekly basis. Thank you Steve and Frank, because after those tough weekends you guys showed me it was about getting in the pool the next day and being consistent. Though I didn't make many super early weekday rides. You guys showed me what it took to stick the week out on those Tuesday night track sets when we were still tired from our run off the bike on Sunday. To all the people I'm failing to mention that are part of this group just know you had a hand in my success this year. 

My Watties: I was fortunate enough this year to be picked to be part part of a team of select athletes. There are so many of you so far spread that I probably only met about 10% of the awesome people on this team. I will name a few of you who really made major impacts on me this year but Thank you to each and everyone of you, you are all super rad and I'm lucky to have you all as my teammates. Thank you Adam for being there to talk about who we wanted to race, who we could beat, and who could beat us. Probably one of the most hilarious people I know. I think I definitely made a life long friend in you and I look forward to racing together in the future good sir. Thank you Denise and Amanda, in my opinion you both really embody what this team is about. I was lucky enough to meet both of you at races this year and I'm so glad I did. Thank you Chris, we only got to meet briefly but after that you were always someone I was able to go to for advice on races, equipment, training, and future plans in the sport. I look forward to seeing your plans for the sport unfold. People take notes on this next guy. Thank you Blain, we only got the chance to meet one time this year but just from that one ride I could tell what a class act and great ambassador you are to this sport. I am proud to be your friend and congratulations on an amazing season. (see sponsor section for thank you to Sean)

My Family: To the two people that have been in my corner for as long as I can remember. My sister and I may not always see eye to eye on things, on very few thing to be completely honest but no matter what for as long as I live I can count on her and I know for a fact she'll always have my back. Thank you Catherine for caring about me as much as you do. My mother is hands down, with out a doubt the hardest working person I know. She would stop at nothing to support me in my athletic endeavors. She is the thought I go to in my head when I have nothing left during a race and need to draw strength from somewhere mentally. She is the person I race for, not me. I'm proud to dedicate every race I've done this season and every race I will do in the future to my mother. Thank you mom.

My Coach: Halfway through 2013 I made a big decision to move to Clermont Florida to work majorly on the swim portion of my racing. That came with the decision to start with a new coach who I knew could help make drastic improvements in my swim. After coming off a mid season race and swimming over 4 minutes faster for an Olympic distance race I knew I had made the right decision. not to mention setting overall PRs for all aspects of my racing. Thank you Sara, you motivated me, kicked my ass, pushed me, kept my eyes on the prize and pointed me in the right direction. I look forward to continue working with you for seasons to come. Lets see where this road takes us and continue to achieve goals together.

My Sponsors: When competing at a high level in triathlon you need the equipment and support from companies and products you believe in. Having confidence in what your wearing, swimming, running, and riding in/on is just as important as having confidence in yourself and ability. Thank you Andreas and UltraBikeX, you were able to put me on the right bike and give me the proper tools this year to take me to my fastest bike splits my body could put out. Thank you Roy and Trivillage.com for providing superior service to get me all the gear I needed to train and race with to the best of my ability. Thank you Micky and SeeMeInTheDark for keeping me safe on the early morning and late night work outs by helping me be seen with you ultra reflective apparel. Last but certainly not least thank you Sean and Wattie Ink for selecting me to be on such an amazing team of people and in turn  providing a phenomenal sponsors like PowerBar, BlueSeventy, Reynolds and ISM that helped me get through a tough year of training and racing. 

Final Thoughts: To anyone that has ever seen a triathlon. It may look like Its just one person out there doing all three sports on their own but the truth is that no one can do it alone. As the saying goes "It takes a village". I got tons of support from a lot of amazing people and without them all, none of this is possible.