I don't think the hard stuff's gonna come down for awhile.

Last weekend my brother and I went up to Lake Placid, NY to volunteer for IRONMAN Lake Placid and sign up for next year. We had some friends from the DC Tri Club who were competing so it made a great weekend for training, racing and shooting...a great weekend except for the RAIN. Our friend Joe who ran the race in a little under 13:30 (hrs.) had a hell of a day. The forecast called for rain around 3pm and with a 7am start, it shouldn't be too bad. WRONG! The came early...7:15am early. Ergo, Joe and 2,400 racers had wet feet from the beginning of the race to the very end. It rained for nearly 14 hours straight. Not drizzle, not spitting...RAINING. There's one picture below of a woman running that will show you the severity of the weather. All in all though, it was a great weekend. Congrats to Joe and the rest of the DC Tri Club. (Oh, Kevin and I got a slot for next year and Joe signed up again too---IMLP 2009 here we come.)

5:30am - Setting up in Transition

A Pro Triathlete's Bike (with strategically place nutrition).

Transition bustling with activity.

2,400 plus triathlete entering the water for a 2.4 mile swim

Anticipation Mounts

Mass Swim Start: The Fight of your Life.

Overall Female leader after the bike.

Refueling coming out of transition.

Just a little bit of rain.

Michigan State University Triathlon Club

Solo City

Tickets to the Gun Show!

So, we've all seen the fitness competitions on ESPN and probably all thought that, "Wow, these women are crazy!" Well, now I know one of these women---and she's not crazy. In fact, she's wonderful.

I've known Sharon for some time now and when she told me she was going to do a fitness competition I was excited for her, but I had no idea how amazing she was going to look by the end. It had been 6 months or more since I last saw Sharon when she called me out of the blue and asked if I could take some pictures of her. Her thought: "I don't know if I'll ever be in this good of shape again, so I might as well document it." And boy is she in good shape.

Now, the fitness competition was the weekend before this shoot and though she didn't win (she didn't completely lose either--she was 2nd from last) she was by far the most attractive and sexually appealing woman on the stage. So, in my mind, she did win. Congrats Sharon on all the hard work. You made my job as a photographer quite easy.

Home Sweet Home!

"Looking good Lewis. Feeling good Billy Ray"

Four Score and Seven Miles To Go!