I recently had surgery on my right shoulder as a consequence of injury from both a bicycle accident and repetitive use including lots of swimming. The healing and rehabilitative process is going very well. So well, in fact, that I am giving serious thought to competing in an Half Ironman event in six months. In any event, I look forward to a great triathlon season this coming summer.

Last year was fantastic. I had a great experience at the Half Ironman in England with a fourth place finish in my age group and an overall time of 5:57. More about that in an earlier posting. I did five races in the Pacific Northwest. I placed well in all of those events and as a consequence was ranked number 1 in my age group for the 2004 season. That was exciting. I think the toughest race last year was the Whiskey Dick Triathlon in my hometown, Ellensburg. That race includes a one mile swim in the Columbia River, followed by a brutal 25 mile bike over Saddle Mountain which starts with a 12 mile climb into a strong headwind. There is a 9 mile run into the consistent Ellensburg wind off the bike. Then, to make matters move complex I was stung my a bee on my right thigh 3 miles into the run. I will do that event again.