Sunday, June 15, 2008

Shelbyville Chiropractic Tri/Du

Yesterday was the Shelbyville Chiropractic Triathlon and Duathlon and after a dismal forcast the weather turned out to be great. Lake Shelby is a beautiful place to hold an event. We had 131 athletes finish the race.

The swim started in 3 waves. There were only a few problems during the swim. Cramping and anxiety from inexperienced open water swimmers. Thanks to Shelby County Fire and Rescue's water patrol for their handling of these situations and for their help in general.

The bike course was new this year. Burk's Branch Road was closed for construction and forced us to go in a different direction. The new course was less brutal and more scenic. There was one turn on the course which created some confusion because of markings from another event. A few people took this detour. I hate to see an athlete who has given their all and made an honest mistake penalized, so we decided to make a new division for these people. Sometimes I am too nice. Comments on the new course were positive. Big thanks to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department who bailed us out of a big issue on the bike course by helping with traffic control.

The run was contained almost entirely in the park. I made up for the bike course being easier, with one hill on the run. I wouldn't really want anyone to think I was nice. There were some impressive times on the run considering the course and everything athletes did to get to the run.

Thanks to everyone who made this race possible. Shelbyville Chiropractic was the title sponsor and is always great to work with. We had some volunteers who were unable to show at the last minute, so those that did a great job often pulling double duty. The Headfirst Crew is to be commended. Half of them were sent to Taylorsville Lake to score a 5K, when our volunteer shortage arose they finished their duties and got back to help with the run.

If you want to see my ranting and venting about other aspects of the race check out my other blog by entering the do not enter portion on the website. Remember it says do not enter for a reason. It is not politically correct nor is it designed for any other reason than what I want to write with no concern for what you want to read or how you may feel about reading it.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Been a while

I have not posted to this blog in a bit, been kind if busy lately. We have been producing events, timing races, and planning for others. I thought I would get started back, by giving a few updates.

Max Performance Triathlon Series- Everything went very well with the series this year. The weather cooperated much better than it did last year. The biggest difference this year was from the closing of a road that had always been part of the bike course. It ended up being a fortunate event, because all the athletes seemed to like the new course much better.

Heart & Sole- The sprint triathlon that takes place in Versailles each April is one of the most beautiful courses we have. Falling Springs Recreation Center was as always a pleasure to deal with.

One Bad Week- We had an open water swim planned at Taylorsville Lake that was to be a training event for the triathlon. We had to cancel the the event due to rain and 40mph winds. We had the first Time Trial planned for the following Wed. Once again rain became an issue. We had a break in the weather and we went ahead with the event for the people that showed. Not a good week for business.

Fort Knox Red Cross Run For The Red- This is the first year we have been involved with this 5 and 10K run. There were about 600 participants and everything went great. The Red Cross and soldiers who helped worked hard and made everything wonderful.

Taylorsville Lake- This race never fails to amaze me. 4 years ago we did this event just for fun with 24 local athletes. The next year we had 47, then 102, and 147 this year. Even though this race keeps growing it has kept a very laid back atmosphere.

That is a few of the things we have had going on. I will try to make entries on a more regular basis in the future.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Louisville's Lovin The Hills

This years Louisville's Lovin' The Hills was an amazing thing. We had tornados a week and a half before the race that littered the course with trees. The staff at Jefferson Memorial Forest did an outstanding job of getting all the trails cleared and ready for us. When we marked the trails a week before the race everything was already passable. The night after the trails we finished being marked we had a snow and ice storm that tore down many of the markings and several trees that had markers on them. Once again everybody involved worked and got everything ready for the race.

At this point I would like to give special thanks to Ed Kirk. Ed ran the race, but is also works on the trails at Jefferson Memorial and lives along the course. He helped with marking the course keeping us updated on conditions and started his own blog for all the participants.

On the morning of the race ice and snow still covered most of the trail as the runners headed out. Latter in the day the ice had all melted and was replaced by mud. I am very happy to report that there were no serious injuries. Lots of scrapes and bruises, but nothing major.

Ryan New won the 15 miler with a time of 2:10:15.38. Jared Bierbaum and Chad Waggoner were second and third. In the womens race Andrea Doogs won in 2:31:11.63. Suzan Ribenboim was second and Emilie Pradera third.

The 50K was won by Russ Goodman in 5:06:12.82. Second was Tim Barnes and third was Troy Shellhamer.

In the women's 50K Ellen Erhardt finished in 5:18:04.96. A time that made her not only the first female, but the third finisher overall. Kara Shellhamer was second with Tanya Cady third.

Obviously if we had a team competition the Team Shellhamer would have won.

Amazingly we had only 2 DNFs. That is increidible considering the difficulty of the course and the sloppy conditions.

Thanks to Cherokee Road Runners for letting us put on this event for them.

The Trail store was the main sponsor and provided the Buffs for everyone. They also provided the really cool framed topographical maps for the winners.

Hammer Nutrition supplied the Heed and Hammer Gel at all the aid stations.

Remember the sponsors make these events possible. Support them so these events will continue.

Cynthia was the brains behind this entire adventure and spent months preparing for it. She did everything right down to making all the soups with her own two little hands. She deserves a lot of credit for bringing it all together with the all the conditions of the last few weeks.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Max Performance Race #1

Well the 2008 triathlon season in Kentucky is underway. We had a geat race yesterday. The weather was outstanding as were the participants and competition. I hope everyone had a great time. We had 40 more participants this year than last.

I will be posting photos in the next day. Hopefully I can get a video together in the next few days also.

Thanks to Max Performance Physical Therapy for sponsoring the race and making it possible. Thanks to Shelby County Parks for allowing us to use their facilities.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Headfirst Performance Services.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is ready to get back to training and racing. We look forward to seeing everyone at the races this year.

We have several things going on this year as well as some exciting changes to our current events. I will be updating information on these items as details become available.

One thing I am working on is getting some videos online. These will include such things as course tours and race videos. Other things may include rules and helpful information. The first ones may be a bit rough, as I have no idea what I am doing an am a slow learner. If anyone has any ideas for topics let me know.

Headfirst is always looking for ways to improve our events and are always open to suggestions. The main way we have to add improvements to our events is to increase sponsorship. If any one is interested in learning more about available opportunities of have any suggestions please contact us.

See you at the races.