All in Race Reports

Many people have asked me how SJ did in the Ironman. And the people that followed SJ's results want to know how this self proclaimed "non-triathlete" managed to go so fast and qualify for the Kona World Championships. This was his first Ironman and he finished 3rd in his age-group and 27th overall (not including pros) out of 2100+ competitors.
This year's St. Anthony's Triathlon was just a swim & bike workout for me due to my broken toe. Since I was making the trip to Florida either way, to attend my aunt & uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party, I decided to test my fitness (and my foot) in St. Pete.
I have always been the kind of person who can't sit still and who, for better or for worse, likes to do things a bit differently.  In fact, when O magazine asked me to describe myself in one word, that is exactly what I said: unconventional.  I would say that opting to race in Nevis exemplifies just that.  Instead of racing in Miami as I have the past two years, I decided to try something new.
As you can see from the photos, we were lucky enough to spend the weekend in Barbados.  We talked our sister Sarah and Megan N into coming with us for a girls weekend and off we went with our bikes and backpacks to the deep eastern Caribbean for the ITU Barbados Sprint race.  All it took was a five hour flight to get us from fridgid to hot and sticky - just the way I like it!  We arrived, got a tour of the island- saw where Tiger Woods got married, where George Washington slept, and even some green monkeys on the Green Monkey (golf course).  We also saw the race course: 750m in the crystal blue sea, 5 lap 10 180deg turn bike, and a flat 3 lap run.  
The last time I ran a 3k indoor track race was in my Mt. St. Mary’s uniform at the 1997 Northeast Conference Championships. It was the first day of a three day meet where I ran the mile (trials & finals), 3k, 5k and distance medley relay.  Our team won the meet with the most points any team had ever scored in the Conference history, a record that still stands. We collected every just about every award given.  I remember that meet well. 
Since wrapping up my tri season on October 2 at the Dallas U.S. Open, I've gone back to being a one sport athlete.  My coach, Cliff English, and I decided that it would be a good time to focus only on running, in order to get back some of the speed I lost due to injuries the last 2 years