Hey everyone!

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you out on the race course this coming year! As I write I’m enjoying some family time in Oregon but wanted to update you all on what’s been going on.

Last weekend I decided to race all weekend so I swam in the Ohio Master’s swim meet in Wooster on Saturday. This was my second meet ever (if I didn’t email something out I had done some relays and the 50 and 100 freestyle in the first meet). This meet I decided to challenge myself a bit so I signed up for five events. When I told my Kent Master’s swim buddies they told me I was nuts, I told them I was a triathlete and they mostly replied, “oh yeah, you are all crazy”. So I bested my previous time for the 50 free, finishing in 30.89, swam the butterfly for the first time with a 37.60 and the 100 free with around 1:14. The 100 free was a little disappointing but I also figured I could conserve my energy a bit. Then came the 200 free which I also could have gone a little quicker on at 2:54:09. Then came the 1000 meter swim, I was pretty pooped but chugged out a 16 min 50 sec effort. Then I was ready for a nap. Cool thing about the meet is the people and that I noticed many elite triathletes there (so that’s what they do in the winter).

The next day after some rest I ran the Shamrock 15k. I had not run this race last year but wanted to hit the decent hills on the course. We had decent weather for the race and missed the snow that had been forecast. I felt my pace was good most of the race and I was really enjoying being out there racing again. My ankle rehab seems to be a continual process and I did push it a bit this time around with an average pace a shade over 7. I was hoping to best my time on this challenging course from 2 years ago but ended up coming in a little over a minute slower at 1:05:32. I was pleased with the overall effort though and will keep working hard. I saw Henry post race and Mark Gorman on the race course which was awesome and inspiring.

I hope to see you all soon.

 Take care and be well,

Pete