Sunshine State Again

No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to escape the Sunshine State and all it's warmth! I keep thinking my address is in Colorado, at least that's what all my address labels say...but then I spend all January in Florida, I spend Feb-April in Australia's Sunshine State, and now it's the beginning of May and I'm waking up in my childhood bedroom in Delightful DeLand, Florida!
Unlike the bursts of snow in Colorado that make it hard to determine what season it is...the bright sun and long days of summer are very obvious here. Fortunately, on Sunday morning in St. Petersburg, there was a constant breeze along the water that kept most of the St. Anthony's race course cool and comfortable.
The professional (or should I say 'elite') men and women were the first two waves into the water at 7am. This year the water was nice and calm...no sea-sickness to report. I had a nice lead out of the water but quickly lost it and about 11 other places during the bike (only my own lack of preparation to blame for the 1 hour and 10 minute bike split). I got off the bike and used my freshness to my advantage to have a super fast run split and almost catch my brother!!
At the 5 mile mark, I recognized him in front of me so I put in a surge to catch up. Right when I ran up behind him at the 5.5 mile mark, he recognized my breathing, glanced behind, and took off sprinting to the finish line! I had nothing left to respond to his attack so I just eased up and let him finish a few seconds ahead (of course he had already beat me by 3 minutes).
My parent's mixed gender relay team won their division, I finished 11th in the elite division, and Dustin broke the top-20 in the elite-age-group with a 19th place.
Before the race, I spent a few days hanging out with Beth and Robert in St. Pete and I can't thank them enough for their hospitality and letting me devour the contents of their fridge:). After the race, I packed out of the condo and loaded into my family's truck to spend a few days at home. I'm about to head out on a cool morning jog with my mother (she's on her bike) before the sun gets too intense!