Greg Diamond @ Blackland Tri Sprint

Green Member: Diamond #2 (we all know who #1 is) Event: Blackland Location: Plano Class (yours): Almost old guys (35-39) Results: 6th age group Local Knowledge and Conditions: Raced Blackland 2008. Different and more difficult bike course this yr. Some off road running towards the end of the course. Well managed course. Slight wind. Perfect temps. Pre-Race Strategy & Warm Up: Here in lies the funny aspect of my race morning. Night before race, rear tubular on my Blackwell 100 goes flat. No time to reglue and dry and still race safely. Opt to run my Blackwell 50 clinchers instead. Get to race site and start pumping up the tires. Heather's bike - ready. My bike - not so much. Front clincher valve snaps. Spare? Of course not. Who the heck carries a spare to a sprint race? Send Heather on her way to transition and with a little more than 45 min to race time, I cruise back to Frisco. No cops, no cops as I got the Yukon pushing 90 down Bush. Grab the 100 front, pit stop at the home throne and floor it back to the race. Get there with no time to spare. They had shut down transition, but my smiling face got me in anyway. Quickly set up, ran to the pool to get in line and saw my wife waiting. The veteran racer she is, she noticed I did not get my timing chip. In my haste to get to the pool, I flew right by the chip table. Back out to the table. Chip now in place and my warm up would end up being my 300 yd swim split. All in a day's work, I guess:-) Psychology: Same as it's always been - have fun, enjoy the experience and run my race. The splits will take care of themselves. Lessons Learned (Or Re-Learned): If I trained more, I might be fast:-) Future Goals (include skills executed well and skills needing improvement): Keep on keepin' on. Fitness (endurance, nutrition, hydration): Felt great, but can always find that next level in my fitness. Final note: Very proud of my wife, Heather. She continues to push herself in training and it is evident it has paid off. She podiums in pretty much every race she enters and it gives me goose bumps and a lump in my throat to see her succeed in a sport she loves. I'm her 2nd biggest fan (Abigail takes top fan honors). People often ask me if Heather will ever take me down in a race. I tell them it's not a question of will, but when. I can't wait for the day as I will be the first one to high five her and give her a smooch of congrats...as long as she pats me on my tight bottom as she hammers by me. A cold beer at the finish would be nice too! Keep racing fast, honey. I love you!! Glad To Be Here!