by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
A court of law can be an intimidating place to prove oneself, but after some lawyers finish with the workplace they get right back to work in another venue. Instead of sweating in the courtroom, they take to swimming, biking and running in a racing competition called triathlon.
Members of the local legal community travel across both the state and the world to compete in the sport and one recent race was held at and around Mickler’s Landing in Ponte Vedra.
The race included a succession of quarter-mile swim, 13-mile bike and three-mile run, which started at 7 a.m. July 11.
The swim included racers running into the ocean and swimming out to a buoy, following the shoreline and back into shore to transition to the bike section of the race.
“The surf was also rougher than I would have liked but I took five minutes off my swim time so it was much better,” said Melissa Nelson, of Holland & Knight. “I have not been training as much as I did for the May one, so the bike and run went about the same but no better.”
Nelson’s goal is similar to that of other racers: to finish.
“(Finishing) was a challenge at my first one, which was the BFAST(Beaches Fine Arts Series Triathlon) at Mickler’s Landing in May,” said Nelson. “The surf was really rough and I got knocked down many times just trying to reach the first buoy. I think I doggy-paddled more than I actually swam because I just could not get past the breakers. After the swim I was thinking to myself that I am never doing this again.
“But the bike and run actually went pretty well and although I was exhausted at the end, it was a big sense of accomplishment,” she added. “A year ago I didn’t’ even belong to a gym and now I’m doing triathlons!”
Nelson was one of many racers who practice at Holland & Knight. Attorneys Erin Allen, Peter Hargitai, Patrick Patangan and Josh Roberts also completed the race at Mickler’s Landing, but it was completing it with peers that added to the sense of accomplishment.
“(Competing together) is great,” said Roberts. “It builds camaraderie and provides a shared interest in something other than law.”
After training with the group from Holland & Knight, Roberts is getting a little more comfortable with the idea of triathlon than when he first started.
“(After the first triathlon) I felt like my heart was going to explode and my lungs were going to collapse,” he said.
He had some good company to train with, as Allen was part of the triathlon club at the University of Florida, where she attended law school.
“I did races for about two years, including my first year of law school at UF where I competed on the Tri Gator club team,” said Allen, who would eventually marry the president of the club team Josh Allen. “Then I sort of focused on running until I recently got tendonitis and had to start cross training again. (July 11) was my first race back in three years and it felt great!”
Allen’s finish supported her enthusiasm, as she finished first in the women’s 30-34 age group with a time of one hour, 15 minutes and 52 seconds.
The racers could also draw similarities between the competitions and the practice of law.
“Training takes a lot of discipline – a lot like law,” said Allen. “You have to really stay focused which can be difficult when getting pulled in different directions or training for three disciplines at once.”
Carrie Saunders of Fisher, Tousey, Leas & Ball ran her first Ironman Triathlon, 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a marathon (26.2 miles), in Panama City in Nov. 2008 and noticed parallels between the two.
“I needed my mentors,” said Saunders. “I couldn’t have just gone out and done it. You need direction and advice.”
Another fan of the Ironman Triathlon series is Susan Haag of the Attorney General’s Office. Haag is closing in on her 30th Ironman Triathlon, but still isn’t used to other competitors touching her in the water.
“I almost walk on water if someone brushes up against me during the swim because there shouldn’t be anything touching you when you are in the water,” said Haag. “But in an Ironman 2,200 people can be in the water at the same time, so water is flying everywhere.”
Traveling to places like Austria and Brazil to compete in the sport, Haag isn’t always focused on scoring the best time.
“The races are a great way to see the countryside,” said Haag. “Sometimes I’ll just see a notice for a race somewhere I haven’t been before and I’ll just decide to go. Most people involved in triathlons are great and I get to go somewhere I haven’t been before.”
One place Marks Gray attorney Giselle Carson is getting familiar with is the top of the podium.
She finished first in all three BFAST races in the 40-44 age group with her best finish in the last race, 1:16.09. The success didn’t happen overnight for Carson, as she had to get used to the multi-sport event.
“At the first triathlon I felt inexperienced and overwhelmed by the logistics of swimming, biking and running one after the other with minimal transition time and the same clothes!,” said Carson. “But at the end, I was looking forward to it and signed up for the next one.”
Other participants from the legal community included attorney Bruce Humphrey of Birchfield and Humphrey, attorney Laura Cauley of Florida Coastal School of Law, paralegal Zeba Hosseini of Gray Robinson and office manager Kristiana Pye of Gray Robinson.
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