I can’t believe how fast this season has went.  Yesterday I raced the Harvest Moon ½ Ironman and now only Ironman Hawaii remains for me for 2008.  Harvest Moon is one of the few triathlons where they offer prize money for anyone who signs up for the elite division, so myself and a few other elite male athletes gave it a go. 

 It was cloudy and about mid 40’s at the start, but no rain.  The race was held in Aurora, CO and was a short drive from our house. I got to see many of my friends in the triathlon community here in Denver.  Our wave went off at 7:30AM and I got into a good rhythm right away and was soon leading the group.  I exited the water 1^st in 24:47 and got onto my Trek TTX. At mile 4 of the bike I was soon passed my one other pro, but just stuck with my plan.  It was a modified loop bike course in the farmlands of Eastern Colorado and was very scenic.  However, it was very lonely as I rode all by myself until I was just about to transition.  Local pro Billy Edwards caught up to me and we both entered transition together in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively.  As we headed out onto the run, which was an out & back course around the reservoir, I fell back about 15 seconds, but then at mile 5 found a little more energy and pulled ahead of him.  The race course was only a few miles from Buckley Air Force Base so during the run I’d occasionally see a few squadrons of F-16’s and F-18’s flying low over us.  I love seeing that as Top Gun is one of my favorite movies!  I kept pushing hard until the end and finished placing 2^nd overall.  I was happy with my race, as it gave me a good indication for my fitness before Hawaii which is under 4 weeks away.  Thanks for reading and be safe!

 Tim