California International Marathon: Race Analysis

   

Exactly a year ago this time I wondered if I'd every be able to return to running and what exactly that would look like. I was struggling with a nerve injury that was rooted in my back and sending pain signals down my leg. Just walking around was painful, and the months of inactivity from running were adding up. I lost around 5 months of training. So by the time May rolled around and I had made some progress on the injury I considered it a victory that I was able to run for an hour straight finally without pain. 

    

So in August, after having a pain free triathlon season, I decided I wanted to run a marathon and signed up for my first ever marathon (California International Marathon) to be raced in December. My coach Justin Trolle biked beside me during some of my first long runs with his signature Fatigue Resistance sets, which would end up being the building blocks of my training. No long run was completed without this speed element implemented, and it worked. The focus of the training wasn't on volume like traditional marathon programs, but on speed work during training. I averaged around 40 miles to 50 miles per week of running on my biggest weeks. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about getting in as long of runs as possible. I had to just trust in my coach that the training we were doing would pay off, and get me to my goal time of a 3 hour marathon.  

 Race day in Sacramento, California was a cold one. The temperature at the start of the race was around 27 degrees and it only warmed up to 34. The cold temperatures would prove to be treacherous at aid stations; adding to the difficulty of getting water. Any water that was spilled from the dixie cups was freezing quickly on the roads...creating a slip and slide. I lined up with the 3:00:00 pace group, as did about 30 of my best friends. The power of a group of runners pacing and running in a pack together can give huge benefits. It helped keep me on target pace, although a bit fast..we averaged a 6:46 pace for the first 13.1 miles, which comes out to a 2:57 marathon. The goal was to positive split the race and anticipate a bit of a fade in the last portion of the marathon. After reaching mile 13 I decided to go to the back of the group. There had been a lot of jostling amongst the group and I'm not a soccer player. Also a pack of 30 people all trying to get a dixie cup of water was probably a good spectator sport, but I needed hydration. I finished the back half of the race with a 1:37:04. Definitely more of a positive split than I had anticipated, but I also had only gotten 2 gu gels down the entire race and that became a contributor to the slow down I experienced. Lessons learned, I'm ready to take on Boston in 2015!

Some stats on my Race:

Longest run completed: 19.5 miles with Fatigue Resistance Sets

Average mileage/week 40-50 miles

Half marathon split: 1:28:42 (avg pace of 6:46) 

Final time: 3:05:46

    

Close to Mile 13

Rev 3 Knoxville 2013

    Apparently it wouldn't be a race for me unless it was pouring rain. My season ended last year with a rainy Chicago Triathlon...the race where I got injured. So I know I promised to pull out of a race if it ever did that again, but come on..I'm healed. Plus my physical therapist promised before I left that she could fix ANY damage I did during the course of race day. So I jumped into the 58 degree water and swam my hardest, gutted it out on a wet course with rain pelting me, and ran on icicle legs and frozen feet. I could have sworn up and down the whole run that there were rocks in my shoes but it was just the pain of frozen feet pounding the pavement.  

    I'm very pleased with my run time at Knoxville. I'm definitely capable of running minutes faster over the course of a 10k, but I had only put in one week of speed work before the race. All other miles had just been endurance miles as I fight back after a nerve/back injury to my left side. It was also very difficult to run hard off of the bike when everything is frozen and on the verge of cramping. I find it incredibly interesting that I only ran 30 seconds slower than the time I posted last year at this same race. Comparing facts: last year at this time I had completed about five months of speed work on the run. This year: I started running in February for ten minutes at a time and built my way up to being able to run for 1.5 hours and completed my first speed session by race day. Two very different courses in training, and proof of how ineffective my last training program was. Glad to be racing with Vanguard Triathlon now this season!

 Check out some more photos from the race and this last weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Broken, but not for forever

How many people does it take to fix a "broken" triathlete?

A new head coach, one massage therapist, two physical therapists (one from Boulder sports med, and one local), a sports med doctor, two different chiropractors, two different ART therapists, and a nutrition coach. THAT was the team that brought me back to life after a long and mentally difficult five to six months of being injured. Some asked if I would just retire. Retire?! I just started, so no I'm going to finish this the proper way even if it takes the whole next season to get back in shape and rehab my injury. Some thought I would never run again, well I've been told that before and I've battled back before. This time is no different...it just took longer.

Things escalated at the Chicago triathlon last year in August. I had already been battling a baffling problem on the bike all year. Every time I would race my left adductor would seize up and cramp (or so I thought it was a cramp) and I couldn't push as hard on the bike as I would like to. This resulted in disappointing bike times all season. Chicago turned cold (50s) with rain the entire race, and to complicate things I woke up with a stinger in my neck. Meaning; I could not turn my head to the right at all without stinging pain down my neck and shoulder. This only happens about twice a year and was was one of my worst nightmares. It had a very negative effect on my swim since I couldn't move my head to the side to breathe and the run was painful with zinging pain every stride. I battled on, and that was my first mistake. The next morning I woke up and couldn't even sit up in bed because of the pain that radiated from my hip joint and nerve pain down the back of my leg to my knee. I thought it was just a pain that would pass with rest from activity...

I ended up canceling on the LA triathlon and the rest of the season. It was a difficult pill to swallow, and not a decision I made over night. Every day I woke up and kept trying to work on my leg, and kept trying to "test"out my leg to see if the physical therapy had worked yet. Most days it just left me with my head in my hands sitting on the curb. I had injured a nerve in my back and it was going to take months for it to calm down and the right hands to work on it. In the meantime I needed to take it easy and let it heal, which was easier said than done. Everything was painful, even walking. The end tally was over six months off from running.

I missed a lot of planned races last year and into this year, but I feel it made necessary changes to my approach to training.  Strength training is important!!! My glutes, hamstrings, and core were not strong enough in relation to the strength I had gained from cycling and everything was off balance. I have devoted much more time to important exercices to keep my body running. Without these changes I would have no hope of reaching my potential as an athlete. I will be releasing an article on the crucial strength training exercises that all triathletes should be doing to keep themselves from a six month hiatus.

Happy training!!!

So you think you're a Big Shot? Meet Dandy...

Welcome to the fleet "Big Shot." I think I'll call you Dandy, a term a coworker and I coined for a "demanding customer." I first saw the brand at Teva Mountain Games in Vail last June and it was love. Well, any bike I meet gets my heart rate jumping, but these were some pretty sweet steel single speeds. The best part is they are built here in Fort Collins, Colorado. I'm about to learn what all the fuss is about with single speeds and I think it will add some strength to my triathlon plan. I've been looking for the perfect commuter bike for awhile now, and having sold my Schwinn hybrid to a friend this summer, I was looking to fill its place quickly. That bike had been functioning as my commuter bike since I moved to Colorado (6.5 years ago!) and had lost its lust. I can't wait to take my first coffee run on it! 

Even Triathletes Need a Labor Day

Lets start this off by saying I love hiking 14'ers. I've done a total of ten different peaks before this mountain and have summited 14 times (some of them multiple times). But with triathlon training I don't get much time or lead way to partake in these adventures. That's because they can be very strenuous and leave me pretty sore afterwards, mostly from the downhill hiking and the toll it takes on the legs. So I was ecstatic to be able to do Mt. Huron this year on Labor day. I've been having some running injuries and couldn't even run on Sunday, but I could hike! I headed up the night before and slept in the back of my new Toyota. Getting to the trailhead was interesting and nerve racking. I have a new vehicle and this was the first time I took it on a 4-wheel drive road and over creek crossings. Here's some pictures from my excursion. 

My "camping" spot

Views from the camping spot

More views 

The trail up, right before tree line

Almost to the top, about 30 more minutes of hiking

Views from the top of Mt. Huron

Looking to the East from Mt. Huron

My 11th summit

The craziness of Chicago

   For once I'd really like a triathlon to be boring. No surprises, just race hard and go home with a tan. Oh well, this is triathlon after all and things will probably never go on 100 percent the way you expected. This is my first race back after having a foot injury that took five weeks to heal. I've also switched coaches mid season and am now working with Justin Trolle (Vanguard Endurance) and its been going well. We have changed my biking position and I have a good feeling it will help with my bike split and having less pain on the bike. I've had this annoying adductor cramp/pain every time I race and haven't been able to push it as hard as I feel I can on the bike all year. So I have high hopes for this race. The pro start time was 11:30, so a little later in the day and after all of the age groupers. 

   Race day morning I wake up and have a horrible crink in my neck, a stinger. This is basically one of my worst nightmares come true. I have problems with this off and on, but usually only get it once or twice a year. It's an impingement of a nerve between the clavicle and you can't move your head at all to one side (my left this time) or to look up. Interestingly this is a common football injury, they get it from the impact of a linebacker charging into their shoulder/neck. Usually when I get this injury I don't go near the water because it's far too painful. Not an option today, I'm racing whether its painful or not. I accepted the fact that the swim is most likely going to be slower than I want, but no reason to be distressed. There are two other elements to triathlon and I can race those as hard as I can and compare my times to the rest of the athletes. 

   I head down to the race start and set up and start doing my warmups. My neck was even incredibly painful  just on my warmup run, this was a bit stressful to me but surely it will loosen up a little bit...It's time to start heading down to the swim start and getting a good 10 min warmup swim in today is incredibly important. The race organizers have warned us that its going to rain but will only last about 30 minutes and pass through. During my warmup swim I had a really hard time trying to turn my head to breathe which prompted a lot of panic. It's not a calming effect to have your head face down in water and no good way to get air. So again I accepted the fact that this is going to hurt like hell and you just gotta do it. No excuses. Gun goes off and I swim as hard as I can, but am already behind a bit before the first buoy. I'm trying hard to not let them get too far ahead of me, thankfully there are two other girls still behind me. 

     

Coming out of the water, it is raining. I had a pretty good bike even though it was down pouring the entire time. I didn't have ANY adductor pain and was very excited about that. I guess alot of people were crashing on the corners because they were very adament about slowing down and being safe. No crashes for me today. Don't need to add that to my list of injuries.





Onto the run, I caught one girl but suffered through the rest of the run. I'm not feeling the strongest on this element since I haven't gotten much run training due to my foot injury but still had a competitive time in relation the the rest of the pros and was right in the mix. I finished 14th today, but I'm confident that one of these days all elements will come together on race day.

Boulder Peak, Pro Town Showdown

   
     This race was such a good race for me last year that I had a lot of positive feelings coming into it. Last year I won the Elite Amateur division with a strong run to pass a competitor that I have a lot of respect for. As usual, I was nervous about the swim and not excited that the water temp was too warm for my Blueseventy Helix wetsuit, which means I'd be in my skinsuit. There was only nine of us at the start so I knew I'd have to attack the swim extra hard to stay in contact with all of these super fast pros. I started off very aggressive, usually I'm the one that is getting shoved and punched, but this time I think I was the person to avoid. I wasn't going to give up those feet for anything. I stayed in contact with the main group for the first 500 meters than found my self swimming with two others that caught up to me. I excited the water with the two other women, one ended up being Amanda Lovato, and was feeling pretty good about being in contact with others to start the bike.  
     I biked as hard as I could and pushed it, keeping close watch on my cadence to make sure that I didn't slack off. Unfortunately, this wasn't good enough. My bike time was actually slower than last years time by one minute and 45 seconds. This may not sound like a lot, but when you expected to be at least two or three minutes faster than last years time it hurts. I started the year off with higher power numbers on the bike than last years numbers. This was a very disappointing fact that I would examine later after the race, but I never fixate on this during a race. I consider each component to be separate on race day and once I have switched from one discipline to the next it is history and time to focus on the present.  
   I could definitely feel the fatigue on the run from the hard biking. I was at present nursing an injured foot from an aquaman race I had done during the week which caused a bone in my foot to shift and become painful. I honestly didn't even think I'd be able to run in time for the race so you could say this was a good little workout. I ended up 8th Pro for the day and overall was content knowing that I had given it my all and wasn't "complacent" on the swim or bike portion. 

    
RESULT: 8th PRO

Rev 3 Knoxville

    Knoxville Olympic distance was my second race this year with Rev 3, and I love their organization and attention to detail. You can always be assured a practice swim the day before, which I especially appreciate. Although one of my downfalls and biggest stresses is racing urban triathlons. It also seems that every time I do an urban triathlon I am without my "pitcrew."  When you have no family or support at a race it makes it a bit weird to finish and not really have anyone to high five or hang out with.  Fortunately I was rooming with another pair of pros and got to know them on this trip, which added a fun element to this triathlon.
    The swim was in a river, we swam up current and than back down and had to pull ourselves up and out onto the dock. I had a much better swim here than I have had in the last couple of races this year. It was a wetsuit legal swim for the first time this year and I go to wear my new Blueseventy Helix wetsuit and I think it made all the difference. I came out of the swim in 14th place out of 26 pro females, so I was feeling pretty good about the race so far. Anytime your not last as a first year pro you're doing well!
    The bike was actually pretty hilly and a more technical course, which is usually more of my style. Usually. I managed to lose contact with other riders in the event and found myself out on the bike course unable to see anyone, which sometimes makes it hard to push the pace and see where all of the turns are coming up at.
    Onto the run I pushed hard trying to catch other athletes and my perseverance paid off! I caught three girls by the end of the run. A new thing that Rev 3 is trying this year are tubes of water on the run, and they are amazing! Its like being given a superlight bottle of water to hang onto and drink during the race.  I wish every race had this as an option. I finished the run in 39:57, not a bad time for an early triathlon, thank you to Alaina Case for pushing me all the way to the finish line. My overall place was 18th out of 26 Pro Athletes.  Overall the bike course was really pretty and the run was on a peaceful bike path, I would definitely go back next year!

The transition area featured banners of every Pro in the race, super cool!

ITU Draft Legal Clermont Triathlon

This was my very first ITU style race and I was really excited and probably the most nervous I've ever been to do a triathlon. This was also my very first Pro race and my Aunt, Uncle, Mother, and 88 yr old Grandmother were coming along for the trip! Unfortunately, the lake was extremely dry this year and that will forever be the talk of THAT triathlon. They lined us all up and than had us walk about 250 meters out to the start line in knee deep water to ensure that we "swam" the full 750 meters of this sprint triathlon race. This made it pretty interesting when it came time to exit the water! Anyways, the gun went off, and me being all the way on the right side of the line immediately fell into last place, after all the dolphin diving ended and we began our actual swim. It was fast, furious, and all I could think was oh my God, I'm in last place and it's only 15 second into the race. 

The starting line, pretty much all of this water that you see was higher than knee deep!

It was an interesting swim, everyone swam in one straight line as you can tell by how we came out of the water. I ended up gaining two positions and didn't come out of the water last, but came out too far back to make the first bike pack or the second. I ended up chasing for the whole race with two other girls. 

A picture of me exiting the water at Clermont. 

After getting organized with two other girls we attempted to chase down the bike pack, but only had about 12.5 miles to do it. We were definitely gaining on them, but frustratingly never quite caught up. I also ended up working alot harder on the bike than other girls that were in larger bike groups and able to save more energy for the run.  Never the less, I loved doing this race. The tactics involved during an ITU draft legal race is definitely exhilarating and makes for a more fun race. 

Onto the run, which is my strength, I was able to pick up at least five positions and finish the 5K feeling strong. 

I definitely encourage every athlete to run with their tongue out!! (really it was just great timing)

My Uncle, no doubt, sharing his wisdom and perspective on how the race went, lol (it was his first triathlon spectating). Also my Grandmother and other members of my family hanging out post race. 

Rev 3 Costa Rica

     I remember the first time I clipped my shoes onto my bike for T1 during a triathlon and declared; "this is either going to be great, or its going to be a disaster." It was GREAT, I saved a lot of time in transition and mounted my bike much faster. I wish I could say the same of my recent exploit in saving time in my transitions. I've been skipping socks for the run in order to save time in transition and during this race, which included a beach run and a course that resembled something of an obstacle course and car dodging mayhem, it seemed to be a disaster.
    This is my first year as a pro and has definitely been more of a challenge, but also great at the same time. The practice swim on friday was alot of fun. I practiced in my new Blueseventy Swimskin (PZ3Tx) and my new Blueseventy siren goggles. I have to say that out of all the goggles I've used to race in; these are definitely the best, no fogging and no sunglare! The water was very rough and choppy making it hard to spot buoys. I actually prefer it to be a bit choppy and was hoping that race conditions would be the same. Unfortunately race day the winds had calmed down for the mornings swim of two laps in Playa Conchal in Costa Rica. I exited the water having to chase down the girls in front of me. The swim is a bit of a weak point and I'm working on my swimming and getting used to drafting off others and staying with the group.
    The bike course was a bit brutal, it starts off on a short section of gravel leaving transition and climbs and grinds up a long steep hill. The total elevation gain on this course is around 2300 ft. The bike was going pretty well until the final two miles. I lost my chain and had to stop to fix it, costing me probably around 30-45 seconds. Next I hit the gravel section and it jarred me and the bike so bad that I lost my chain again and it jammed into the gearing and couldn't be undone. I ended up running my bike about 150 meters into transition!
     Onto the run, it started on the beach and at times was a bit hard to tell where I was supposed to be running. I ended up developing huge silver dollar blisters somewhere around mile 2 and just suffered to get to the end of the race. Lessons learned on a difficult course! I ended up Tenth overall and on a tough course against stiff competition, I'll take it.

Doing an interview at swim practice on Friday

Post Race, icing my poor feet after getting silver dollar blisters and running  unnaturally for four miles

Rev 3 website for race
http://rev3tri.com/costa-rica/costa-rica-news/
Link to a video for the Pro Race Recap.
http://vimeo.com/38892119

New Year, New Gear

This being my first year as a Pro Triathlete I decided that I should take it up a notch and get a G.P.S. to train with, maybe even a heart rate monitor. I might even go crazy and get a power tap for the bike.  Training with all these devices has never really appealed to me. I've always prided myself on not needing all the latest gadgets and just walking out the door and using what I have and going off of feel and not worrying about numbers all the time.  That being said, most people that I talked to were a bit surprised to learn that I trained with nothing. We have a great running trail in Colorado Springs that has mile markers, so at least I've gotten some feedback on my run pacing in the past and that was always good enough for me. But now I will have a complete log of the run, elevation, and heart rate data with my new Garmin Forerunner 110.
    I'm also excited to be swimming in Blueseventy this year! I'm hoping to have all the gear before my very first ITU race in Clermont, Florida on March 3. I'm super nervous and excited to be racing ITU, it seems like I've waited five years to experience this racing style. Actually, I have waited five years to get a shot at ITU.  I love the head to head competition and knowing exactly where the leaders in the race are and being pushed hard to compete.

Hy-Vee Triathlon, 5150 Championships

This is number two of my championship races that are back to back. I competed in the Elite Age group wave in the Championship 5150 race. I'm excited to get another opportunity to race some of the same girls from the National Championships. Oh yeah, there's also a huge prize purse for amateurs, one of the largest ever of its kind! 

First place gets a Mini Cooper plus $5000 and prizes go 5 deep. 

Second place- $4000 in prizes

Third place- $3000 in prizes

Fourth place- $2000 in prizes

Fifth place- $1000 in prizes

So, there is a lot on the line and people are extra anxious and stressed. Coming into the race all the pre-race briefings kept stating this would NOT be a wetsuit legal swim. The water was above 83 degrees, but what do ya know, it ended up coming down to a legal temperature of 78. There was definitely a lot of chaos in transition and I have to say a lot of upset Male Elite age group athletes. Apparently most of the females had prepared for the unexpected and brought the wetsuit with them anyway, mine just required a trip back to the vehicle; Thanks Mom! 

The swim had six turns on the course, and I was a bit concerned, especially after what happened at Nationals. So I made sure to get a good look at the buoys and angles and all that before the start. The swim went well and its always nice to not have to swim through bodies of past waves. I started working together with another swimmer half way through the swim and she helped keep me on track once we hit the section heading into the sun.

Heading out on the bike I tried to settle into a pace, but it was a hard thing to do with more than 25 corners on the course. We were also constantly being watched by officials on motorcycles and at one point I was almost certain I had received a penalty for blocking. I was riding in the same lane as the girl in front of me but it was a bit left of the gutter. I didn't have the greatest day on the bike, and on the last corner into the park I came in a bit hot and crashed. HARD. My disc caught some wind and started fish tailing and swung completely around. I ended up facing the other direction and in bike traffic leaving the park. I knew for a fact that I had bounced my head off the pavement and my hip was pretty injured at the moment. After sitting there for what I think was a few moments I saw a chic come around the corner and that's what got me up and back on the bike. 

I started the run with a bleeding shoulder, torn shorts, and a huge contusion on my butt/hip. I was in 7th place. NOT GOOD. I started out running as hard as I could but it took over three miles to get within site of the females in front of me, but I got there. I started passing girls with less than 2 miles to go in the race and passed my last girl on the hill right in front of the finish line to take 4th place overall and a personal record on the run of 39:07.  Sadly I was only five seconds behind 3rd and barely missed the podium. But I did get a pair of Zipp 404's as my prize!!

Overall Place: 4th, 2:14:27 

Hy-Vee Swag Bag

USAT AG Nationals

USAT Nationals has really been the focus of the whole year. I've wanted to do well at this race ever since I started racing six years ago. My very first experience with AG Nationals was in Kansas City, MO in 2005. This particular race was completely rained out, and I have to say I was almost relieved on that particular day. I was in no way prepared for the level of competition that year and honestly I think it might have really discouraged me. Just looking around at all the other racers I felt I was in way over my head. My next National race experience was Portland, Oregon in 2007 and 2008. I fared well placing 13th in 2007 and than 11th the following year, but it definitely wasn't satisfying enough for me. I wanted to place and bring back a medal.

    Race day morning I was excited and a bit nervous, but felt well prepared and ready to kick some butt. I was one of the last groups to go off, so that meant waiting and watching everyone else start their swim. It also meant we would be out there a full hour later in the heat of the day. The swim was a bit different with four turns to make and it made it crucial to swim a straight course in order to have a fast time. Unfortunately at the first corner it turned straight into the sun and I couldn't find the next corner buoy, and neither could the hundreds of people in front of me. Almost the whole field swam out way too far left and swam extra. This was a costly mistake that would later cost me.  SWIM TIME: 24:08
   On to the bike I was looking for revenge to make up lost ground. I paid close attention to how many in my age group I was catching. I believe I caught four girls and I assumed there were still a few ahead and maybe some gaining, so I kept the pace at a leg burning speed. I caught my friend Beth, who was in a prior wave, before the turn around and gave her a shout out of encouragement. After the turnaround two girls in my ag did catch me and it was a battle back and forth to keep them in sight and also put some time on them. I was able to drop the one in all black and put some time on her, but the girl with green socks stayed slightly ahead. BIKE TIME : 1:05:38

  Next up the run headed straight up a steep hill right out of transition and it was there that I passed the girl in green socks and didn't see her again. This was a steep and surprisingly long hill and it definitely took a minute or two to recover from afterwards. Around mile 3 I was surprised to see a girl from my age group catch up. I ran with her for a minute or two to try and challenge, but I couldn't hold on. Frustrated I tried to accept the fact that I was now definitely in second place and needed to keep on the pace if I had any chance at passing her back if she started to falter. The finish line was definitely a welcome sight today, but overall I felt pretty strong with the effort I put out.
RUN TIME: 39:51

OVERALL TIME: 2:11:56
AGE GROUP PLACE: 3rd

Beth and I the night before the race being silly.

Boulder Peak Triathlon Race Recap

   Me and Boulder Peak have had quite a journey to say the least. It's been five years now, and I have just completed my fifth Boulder Peak race. I remember the first time I was preparing to do this race my coach had me come up to Boulder, probably a month prior and ride the course. I made it up Old Stage Hill swearing at him and on the verge of puking. I wanted to get off my bike and walk, but he wouldn't let me. Don't you people know there are no hills in Iowa where I am from? Ok, so it's not so bad now, I can ride up it swiftly.
   Coming into this race I was pretty nervous. I had alot of expectations for myself and to be honest, I wanted to win- BAD. Just some history of me and Boulder Peak- in 2007 I placed 73 overall Females in a time of 2:42:27. In 2008 I was 25th overall females in a time of 2:31:28. In 2009 I was 24th overall in a time of 2:35:00 (long swim). 2010- I was 12th overall in a time of 2:25:47 and not far off of a top finish.
   Before the race I was warming up and spotted one of my rivals, a girl on Team Timex. A girl that had recently beaten me at 70.3 Kansas.  Last year she won pretty much every race she entered and beats most of the pros. So she's pretty good....So I do my best to shake it off and pump myself up and mentally tell myself that she is about to have a very bad day. I gather my wetsuit and head down to the swim start to shake off some nerves and get ready to battle for the day. There is a lot of joking around in the water as the Elite Amateur wave is treading water getting ready to start. The swim went by with not much event. I had a hard time seeing anything, including any other swimmers with the sun at its worst glare of any start I've been in. I couldn't even see the shadow of the buoys. Finally I was out of the water and my Mom was yelling minute and a half down from first female. I thought ok, I can handle that.
    On the bike I work hard getting to Old Stage and sure enough, I caught some girls before the hill and passed them on the way up. Once at the top I pass yet another female, the last one that is ahead of me. Now approaching the descent and the speed limit of 35 mph, a girl flys by me going definitely around 50 mph. Frustrated, I watch her pull away until she is just a speck in the distance. With no one around me to motivate me it was hard to push hard on the bike. Soon enough a guy passed me wearing the CTS kit and yelled some encouragement!!
    Finally into transition the announcer is yelling second female in and she has some catching up to do. He gives the spectators a play by play of me pulling on my socks and taking my helmet off-which I found a bit bizarre but also motivating.  Off on the run, I can sorta see first female in front of me with the lead bike escort. I keep trying to pump myself up and tell myself that I can catch her but things are looking down. Slowly but surely I keep getting closer, until at mile 3 at the turn around I pass her out of necessity because she was about to get her first glimpse of me chasing her. For the next mile she stays on my heels and keeps trying to challenge me for the lead, but slowly drops off a bit. By mile 5 I had built a gap of about 15-20 seconds on her. But I'm starting to not feel so awesome, I'm getting sluggish and can feel a bonk coming on.  My legs are getting heavy and I'm getting sleepy. I keep thinking get to the pavement and the crowd will pull you in. It worked, into the chute and breaking the tape for my first time ever!!!! While I won the Elite Amateur wave, two age group amateurs edged me out of first. I lost second overall by a mere six seconds. While disappointing I have to be ecstatic by the performance. One of my toughest races yet.


Results: 1st place Elite Amateur, 3rd Overall Boulder Peak
Overall Time: 2:22:13
swim: 23:55
bike: 1:14:51
run: 41:10

Loveland Lake 2 Lake Race Review

Loveland Lake 2 Lake, on June 25, 20ll~  The week coming into this race it didn't seem as though we were doing much of a taper for this event. With all the swimming workouts and track repeats on the Thursday before the Saturday race I was a bit concerned, to say the least. Which is always a bit scary, because you don't know how fresh your legs will end up being for the race, but always good training. The night before the race I arrived in Loveland. This was my first time doing this race and visiting the area. While driving the bike course I was surprised with how beautiful the town and surrounding countryside were. The bike was definitely one of the hilliest courses I had ever done and proved to be a challenge that I was excited to tackle.
     Race morning I was relieved to be able to park so close to the venue, especially with no race support or spectators there to help me. The swim went well compared to my last two triathlons. I apparently have gotten into a rhythm of sweeping wide off the buoys and overshooting the course. Which translates into swimming more yardage than necessary. Good training, but not kind on the race splits. I exited the swim feeling good that there were maybe only 3 women to track down. The run from the water to the beach was so long I thought maybe we were trying to recreate the Alcatraz Triathlon. Either way I got to transition and headed out on the bike, apparently passing a few of my competitors in the process.
     Out on the bike I was passing a lot of people from previous swim waves at pretty quick pace. This was my first time wearing an aero helmet, Lazer Tardiz, and heeding my coaches advice I was careful not to turn my head too often, which is a hard thing for me to do. So much scenery and not able to enjoy it!! I had passed all of the women in my swim wave (34 & under) and started to settle in on a pace and got comfortable. Too comfortable. Soon enough a woman from my group caught up to me and passed me at mile 20. I adjusted my pace and the race was back on! We took turns passing each other back and forth. I would beat her on the uphills and she would beat me down. Within about 3-4 miles of the transition a group of five or six men that were blatantly drafting passed me going at record speeds. Oh well they are not my competition, let them sort it out-wait that was a woman tucked onto the back end. This just burns me from the inside out. Nothing pisses me off more and gets me going than cheaters. I vowed to chase her down on the run.
     On to the run. Cheater, Cheater, Liar, Liar pants on fire. Where are you? Approaching mile one I find her and pass her without a side long look. At the turn around I get a good glimpse at who is chasing me. I'm surprised to see the second woman too close for comfort, so I adjust the pace and try and run harder. Approaching the finish it was really starting to burn and I took a look behind me and was relieved to see that no one was close. Realizing that someone else from another wave could still beat me I keep the pace strong.
     After I finished I found a group of fellow Carmichael Training Systems athletes. Chatted for awhile, but wanting to get on to my cool down run. After the run I took a look at the results and was surprised and thrilled to learn that I had won!!
RESULTS:  1st Place Overall Female!

Overall time: 2:31:47
Swim: 24:20
Bike: 1:25:28
Run: 40:27

Some local papers that I did an interview with afterwards:
 The Reporter Herald:  http://www.reporterherald.com/sports/local/ci_18361766
The Coloradoan:  http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20110626/LOVELAND04/110625011