The 25th edition of the St. Anthony’s triathlon was this past weekend in St. Petersburg, FL – this is about as close as a major triathlon event comes to my hometown of Orlando, FL. St. Anthony’s was my first race as a professional two years ago in 2006 and I have come back each year since. It’s hands-down my favorite race of the year.
I usually feel pretty motivated to have a good race at St. Anthony’s for various reasons – the professional field is always very competitive, a lot of my friends also do the race, my coach is always there either doing the race herself or rolling around the course on her mountain bike yelling timing splits at me, and my sponsor bike shop (Florida Bicycle Sports) is also always there as they are located in downtown St. Pete. What’s more, my parents usually drive down to watch the race.
And I must admit I had a pretty good race this past weekend – 6th place!