Last month at the Texas State Triathlon Championship I was interviewed by a writer from Runner Triathlete News. We talked about my background as a kid growing up with Lance Armstrong (a common interview theme for me!) running in college, and as he was asking about what goes on at Team Timex, we started talking about the Timex Performance Center that is opening in the “new” New York Giants Stadium this fall.

You are going to see many cool things from Timex involving the New York Giants. An advisory fitness counsel will be formed bringing both football and endurance athletes, coaches, and trainers together to achieve high performance levels. Timex equipment will also be used by players in training to monitor activity and fitness levels. But the coolest thing will be the TIMEX COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF clock in the stadium helping to get the crowd riled up for the games. Very cool things are ahead for Timex this year!
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As for my day, I was 2nd overall, clinched 2nd overall male for the South Mid West Region, but as always, when you turn the page in the magazine, what shows up? A picture of Tim Hola winning the Halfmax Triathlon Championships! Congratulations to Tim on another amazing season!
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I cannot shake this guy!

href=”http://teamtimex.timexblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/hunter-kemper1.jpg”>Things never cease to amaze me in this All-American city known as Plano, Texas. Not only did it produce US cycling legends like Lance Armstrong and Chann McRae (I say that tongue-n-cheek because this is the flattest, ugliest place to be an endurance athlete) but it keeps drawing them back!
3 weeks ago Lance came blowing through town, visiting his old cycling haunts (the Tour De Plano was captured on his Twitter page) and today, while driving down the road, I see this guy! Actually Hunter Kemper is in town for the Lifetime Fitness triathlon and is staying in East Plano with some friends. If he wasn’t injured, the East Plano mojo would have certainly propelled him to a win!

Also, good luck to ALL the TIMEX athletes in Kona. Make us proud. Oh, and Mike, we are jealous that you are riding this!

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If you want a good read about Lance Armstrong, I suggest you pick up the latest book by John Wilcockson, Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion.

This book is more of an inside look at Lance growing up, rising through the ranks of professional cycling, and his latest comeback. John Wilcockson has been a cycling journalist for 40 years, so you get true sporting stories.

And of course, yours truly has about 100 quotes in the book, and even made the back cover above the likes of Johan Bruyneel and Chris Carmichael! Yikes!

Now if I could only get in GQ for sexiest athletic men like Tim Hola……..

I have been lucky enough in my life to obtain some decent results in the sporting arena. But National cycling championships and numerous triathlon wins do not compare to what happened this weekend!

As I was doing my race schedule for the year, I happened upon a race that really perked my interest. Right by my house was a adult/children’s triathlon. This was now going to be my “A” race for the year, because I can barely wait for my little girl Eva grow up so we can race together!

Little background on my 8 year old daughter Eva. In 3 years of kids tri’s she has yet to lose her age group and usually wins the upper age group also, and trust me, there is a huge difference between a 7 and 10 year old girl!

I told Eva our goal was to both win! She was ready!

Race day comes, Eva goes off at 7:30, and proceeds to swim 2:00-100m pace, ride at 14 mph, and then run 7:06 mile pace! She easily holds up her part of the job!

So now I am waiting for my race to start, more nervous than I have ever been, and wanting to do my part! Swam fast, rode even faster( pretty much rode scared!) and ran in for the win. The scary thing is rode so hard I was only able to avg 6:50 mile pace, barely faster than my 8 year old!

One of the coolest things about Team Timex is we have an incredible group of athletes that are also parents. Between Bruce, Kim, Julie, Rachael, Tim and myself, we have enough child athletes to fill out the Timex 2108 roster.

What it really shows is the lifestyle we are into, how you can make time to train, race and of course parent, and do well in all of them!

Again, it was the coolest day!

Wanted to throw in a little story  about my little ( not so little anymore ) girl Eva. She entered a kids triathlon this weekend, and with the pressure of dad reminding her that she has never lost a triathlon (she had the fastest Ironkids time in the nation last year for 7 year olds) for 2 years straight, she was ready to tow the line and race! 

Following in the footsteps of Sharpless and Kim Hager’s daughter, Eva swims competitively for C.O.P.S. and puts in 6 days a week training, at 7, so the swim was a breeze and she past about 7 people in the pool with a 2:00/100m avg. 

She them mounted her bike, after a loooooong transition (hasn’t learned how to put shoes on with wet feet yet) and put in a conservative 14.5 mph on the bike. 

After a very quick transition, and unlike her father who can’t run to save his life, she ran the mile in 7:05! Not only did she blow by every competitor out there, but it also humbled me who barely ran 7’s in an Olympic tri a week earlier! 

She won the 7-8 girls and boys division, and finished 6th overall and 1st overall female! 

It was great to see her and all the other kids out there learning the sport we all on Timex love so much! 

Check the blog in 2016 and I am sure you will have plenty to read from Eva.