tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61625263073165558902024-03-13T11:26:28.311-07:00MALAIKA HOMO, PRO TRIATHLETEMalaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-70536025558223966312014-06-08T16:26:00.003-07:002014-06-08T18:32:23.577-07:00Two Birds With One StoneLast week I made my annual "killing two birds with one stone" trek back east to race the REV3 Quassy Half and visit family & friends in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The trip actually started inauspiciously at the SLC airport when we boarded the plane and taxied to the end of the runway only to turn around and head back to the gate to deplane because of bad weather in Denver (where we were headed for a stopover). Eventually we got off the ground, but what was already going to be a late night arrival in Hartford turned into a VERY late night (actually early the next morning) landing. Luckily my great homestay Kim DuBord was willing to sacrifice some of her sleep and pick me up at the airport!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhefa86yELg/U5TqS6myIHI/AAAAAAAABio/R72nQMoV1Uk/s1600/IMG_0101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhefa86yELg/U5TqS6myIHI/AAAAAAAABio/R72nQMoV1Uk/s400/IMG_0101.jpg" /></a></div><b><i>Post-race with the other half of my homestay, Sheri, who kept me fed and cheered like I was a rockstar.</i></b><br />
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Saturday was a BUSY day that included building the bike, driving 45 minutes the race site, packet pick-up, leading a <a href="http://blueseventy.com">Blueseventy</a> swim clinic, sneaking in a practice swim and ride, then volunteering at the <a href="http://powerbar.com">Powerbar</a> booth for three hours. On the drive back to the house I had the opportunity to repay Kim for the late-night airport run as her car had a flat tire 5 miles from the race site and she needed a ride back home. Then it was dinner, organize the gear, and time to hit the sack!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lGTIDFuZgao/U5TpQfnJzdI/AAAAAAAABiQ/c22sEVmcOT8/s1600/P1100333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lGTIDFuZgao/U5TpQfnJzdI/AAAAAAAABiQ/c22sEVmcOT8/s400/P1100333.JPG" /></a></div><b><i>Giving back in the Powerbar booth.</i></b><br />
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Race morning greeted us with absolutely gorgeous weather, the best I have seen in the four years that I've raced at this venue. The vibe was a little different than in previous years because for the first time in the history of the race there was no professional field. I have to admit I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere---it was nice to tackle one of my all-time favorite courses without any sort of pressure or the usual pre-race jitters that abound when you've got a field of thoroughbred pro triathletes assembled. I started like all the other "regular folks" in my assigned age/gender category, which meant a start time 30 minutes after the first wave. My approach to the day was to "go fishing"---reel in as many people as possible---while teasing the best out of myself and having fun doing it. Mission accomplished! The race dynamic was definitely different but thoroughly enjoyable, and I was able to try a few new things that I might not have been willing to attempt in the heat of a pro race. I ended up slightly shy of my best time on that course but I felt great all day and took away some valuable nuggets from the experience. I landed on top of the podium which is always fun, though a bit less satisfying than if it had been against the world-class field of elites this race has drawn in the past!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-86v1NFoQgYY/U5Tp6ohRHKI/AAAAAAAABiY/_6KpWNQAG04/s1600/IMG951494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-86v1NFoQgYY/U5Tp6ohRHKI/AAAAAAAABiY/_6KpWNQAG04/s400/IMG951494.jpg" /></a></div><b><i>Shaking hands on the podium.</i></b><br />
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A nice video recap of the event was put together by local reporter Joe Palladino of the Republican-American in Middlebury, CT. You can watch it <a href="http://www.rep-am.com/sports/local_sports/808026.txt">here</a>.<br />
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A HUGE thanks to my awesome homestay family Kim & Sheri (and their girls Molly, Kona, and Greta) for going above and beyond in making my weekend run smoothly! I'm pretty sure I would have gone hungry without their help. Congrats to Kim on her finish in the half, and thanks to her dad "Sparky" for capturing some nice photos of the event. Thank you to Charlie Patten for giving me the opportunity to compete, and to the entire REV3 staff for putting on great events and just being awesome people. I will miss seeing you all and doing your races! Thanks to my Aunt Candy for making the trip up to Quassy despite a bad back and for whooping it up like nobody's business. Finally, thanks to the companies whose support helps get me to every start line: <a href="http://redreckbrewing.com/">Red Rock Brewery</a>, <a href="http://powerbar.com">Powerbar</a>, <a href="http://www.coeursports.com">Coeur Sports</a>, <a href="http://blueseventy.com">Blueseventy</a>, <a href="http://www.e-rudy.com">Rudy Project</a>, <a href="http://www.maxxis.com/tires/bicycle">Maxxis</a>, <a href="http://www.powertap.com">Powertap</a>, <a href="http://thebikeshoppe.com">The Bike Shoppe</a>, <a href="http://www.fezzari.com">Fezzari</a>, and <a href="http://www.ismseat.com/">ISM</a>. <br />
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The second part of this trip was all about family and soaking in my heritage. The following photographs give a little taste of what we did:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Um5M6LavktE/U5TrYCa6gTI/AAAAAAAABi0/GhNRrl68LKQ/s1600/sc0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Um5M6LavktE/U5TrYCa6gTI/AAAAAAAABi0/GhNRrl68LKQ/s400/sc0001.jpg" /></a></div><b><i>A visit with my Pop-pop, who was awarded four Gold Stars for Bravery during WWII.</i></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fU8WHWoejwU/U5TtlVVyHZI/AAAAAAAABjo/35RepMj_2qY/s1600/sc0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fU8WHWoejwU/U5TtlVVyHZI/AAAAAAAABjo/35RepMj_2qY/s400/sc0000.jpg" /></a></div><b><i>I spent time with my Grandma Jane and toured the Oley Valley with my new friend Ginny.</i></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tn8YT5ntP2o/U5TuAE95x6I/AAAAAAAABjw/2enF5E-NDSE/s1600/P1100398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tn8YT5ntP2o/U5TuAE95x6I/AAAAAAAABjw/2enF5E-NDSE/s400/P1100398.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ojRN0j5roOU/U5TuEo6qGyI/AAAAAAAABj4/Ef4KtPGdpXY/s1600/P1100405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ojRN0j5roOU/U5TuEo6qGyI/AAAAAAAABj4/Ef4KtPGdpXY/s400/P1100405.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NLanuV1wVJw/U5TuJdPFl3I/AAAAAAAABkA/z1UqbHneyX0/s1600/P1100401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NLanuV1wVJw/U5TuJdPFl3I/AAAAAAAABkA/z1UqbHneyX0/s400/P1100401.JPG" /></a></div><b><i>We visited an old Revolutionary War graveyard which is only a couple of miles from the house where my mother grew up.</i></b><br />
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Other highlights included "re-meeting" my Uncle John and having ice-cream with fresh strawberries from my grandmother's garden. All in all, it was a well-rounded trip!<br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-9023021726267889872014-05-19T19:05:00.001-07:002014-05-20T06:26:24.378-07:00BittersweetThey say that all good things must end someday, and the 2014 edition of REV3 Knoxville certainly marks the end of an era in professional triathlon racing. A few weeks ago REV3 announced that they would no longer be hosting professional fields at their races, making the 2013-14 Series Championship race in Knoxville the final REV3 pro race. I understand the decision, and I know that Charlie Patten and his crew at REV3 must have hated making it, but that doesn't make it any easier for anybody to swallow. It's a huge loss of potential income for professional triathletes, particularly the second-and-third tier pros trying hard to make something of a living in the sport...but for me personally the loss extends beyond the monetary aspect. When I first hopped on the REV3 bandwagon in 2011 they offered an alternative vision that reignited my competitive fire at a point when I was foundering in the sport, and REV3 essentially helped to rebuild my confidence and resurrect my career through the racing and media opportunities they provided. It sounds cheesy but over the past few seasons the staff has become something of an extended "triathlon family" to me. They have worked very hard to provide a race experience where the age-groupers feel like pros and the pros feel like rock stars; it's a wonderful feeling to go to a well-organized, professionally run event where most of the staff know you by name and they always greet you with a smile and a hug. I will really miss that. I sincerely hope that through their current restructuring efforts REV3 is able to build an even stronger brand that continues to be a major player in the sport of triathlon, and that someday they are able to bring back an even bigger and better pro series which offers the same sort of opportunities they provided to athletes like me over the years.<br />
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Now onto the race experience! It's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for me this off-season and I entered the event with somewhat shaky confidence in my fitness. I love Knoxville though, and the rolling hills and technical descents on the bike course really suit me so I was looking forward to getting out and testing my legs. I was also looking forward to reuniting with my Knoxville homestay family: Bradley and Kellie Toon, their boys Kaleb and Evan, and the Toon's friend Trish from North Carolina. Usually Kellie and Trish would be racing too but this year they've both had other things going on so they planned to spend the entire weekend being my super sherpas instead. I couldn't ask for a better support crew!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7t7F81pnEaY/U3p7ehvIJUI/AAAAAAAABfs/UHlY4VT1NM4/s1600/P1100200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7t7F81pnEaY/U3p7ehvIJUI/AAAAAAAABfs/UHlY4VT1NM4/s640/P1100200.JPG" /></a></div><i>Super sherpas Trish, Kellie, and Bradley.</i><br />
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Race morning dawned overcast and cool, but not cold and rainy as some had predicted. The water temperature had dropped a surprising three degrees overnight to sixty-eight, which made it just barely wetsuit legal for the pros. Luckily I came prepared with both my blueseventy swimskin and Helix wetsuit just in case. I opted for the sleeveless wetsuit because I tend to run hot in the water, a decision that Trish and the Toons were thankful for because it made me easy for them to spot during the swim leg.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-325IKrw-PHU/U3p72bPo8VI/AAAAAAAABf0/vVd4EfNdNVs/s1600/P1100174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-325IKrw-PHU/U3p72bPo8VI/AAAAAAAABf0/vVd4EfNdNVs/s640/P1100174.JPG" /></a></div><i>And we're off!</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-spc5EcZTL3s/U3p8F2_ZlII/AAAAAAAABf8/4WCnqSHDczc/s1600/P1100176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-spc5EcZTL3s/U3p8F2_ZlII/AAAAAAAABf8/4WCnqSHDczc/s640/P1100176.JPG" /></a></div><i>Naked arm---that's me!</i><br />
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The pro men started at 6:50am with the ladies following three minutes later. I knew there were some STRONG swimmers in the field and my goal was to catch their feet at the start and hang on for dear life. This strategy worked for about the first 2-300 meters before I got left in their wake. From there on out it was a lonely swim with nobody else around. I exited the water about 2.5 minutes down from super-swimmer Haley Chura and about a minute back of the pack of main contenders. This is an improvement compared to my abysmal swims from last year but there's obviously still work to do!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IskLs8f1878/U3p8RVmgKXI/AAAAAAAABgE/1LND2wOU4iU/s1600/P1100180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IskLs8f1878/U3p8RVmgKXI/AAAAAAAABgE/1LND2wOU4iU/s640/P1100180.JPG" /></a></div><i>Running up the ramp in my Blueseventy Helix and Coeur Sports Chinese New Year kit.</i><br />
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T1 was a little rusty with a slight hair-snag problem when putting on my brand-spanking new black Rudy Project Wingspan helmet, but once I hit the mount line things went smoothly. I LOVE this bike ride and felt surprisingly strong despite a relative lack of bike training so far this year. I spotted Bec Wassner up the road early in the ride and set my sights on catching her. About the time I rode up to her Mandy McLane zoomed past me, so I had a new target to stick with. At some point we passed Haley Chura and also saw Jen Spieldenner on the side of the road wrestling with a flat. Bec and I spent some time trading back and forth on the hills---due to our relative sizes gravity was on her side going uphill then became my friend coming down. At the out-and-back section I was pleasantly surprised to see that we were only 45 seconds back of the leaders, and that motivated me to ride harder. I also had in mind making a move to try to get away from Bec and Mandy on the last major climb because I knew there was a technical descent coming down the backside and I wanted a clear road in front of me for that part. I was pleased to successfully execute the move and to not only create a gap over the last 10 miles of the course, but to also catch the next rider up the road, Anna Cleaver, as we rolled up to the dismount line. I learned after the fact that I had actually posted the fastest bike split of the day for the ladies---a bit of a puzzle considering my lack of bike training but I'll take it!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JoP3q6tzz60/U3p8rrH-2uI/AAAAAAAABgM/FcjAjwCf2lE/s1600/P1100184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JoP3q6tzz60/U3p8rrH-2uI/AAAAAAAABgM/FcjAjwCf2lE/s640/P1100184.JPG" /></a></div><i>Ready to tackle the hills.</i><br />
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T2 also proved to be a little rusty (note to self: practice transitions) as I struggled with getting one of my shoes on, but once I finally completed that maneuver I was off and running ahead of Anna in 4th place. My mantra during the run was to "keep your hips open, keep the tempo up". I felt pretty strong (not to mention super comfortable in my awesome Coeur Sports race kit!) and was holding a good pace, but Anna and Mandy were running a wee bit faster and both overtook me by mile 2. I worked to keep them in my sights and maintain my pace. Bec came by about mile 3 then disappeared as we began to hit the hills. I did okay keeping things together on the climbs, but I had to change my normal stride slightly because I was wearing a new pair of shoes and had embarrassingly failed to tighten the elastic laces enough and it felt like they might slip off my heels if I pushed off too hard going up the inclines. DOH! What do they say about never trying anything new on race day...?! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kycHTC8WMfo/U3p9UzV4FDI/AAAAAAAABgc/00HNtrQcA1U/s1600/P1100193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kycHTC8WMfo/U3p9UzV4FDI/AAAAAAAABgc/00HNtrQcA1U/s640/P1100193.JPG" /></a></div><i>Gotta clean up those transitions...</i><br />
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Coming up to the turnaround I was able to get a good look at where the other ladies were---if I worked hard and someone struggled in the second half I MIGHT be able to move back up a place or two. What really surprised me was how far back the rest of the field was; the bike ride must have really tested the legs of some of the girls and barring a complete blow-up on my part it didn't look like anyone had a real chance of catching up. Woohoo! It was a nice spot to be, but I tried to avoid becoming complacent and focused on keeping my pace up and getting the best out of myself. My watch told me I slowed down some in the last mile and a half, but I was able to still maintain a decent pace through the finish line. It was really great to be greeted with high-fives from my super-sherpas in the finishing chute and to hear the familiar voice of announcer Sean English calling me in across the line. I landed in 7th place on the day---still plenty of work to do but a solid showing that indicates things are moving in the right direction. The best part is that I had FUN! That's something that I lost a little last year so it was nice to be back racing in a happier place. I also managed to sneak into the top 5 in the overall series which meant it was a double payday. Bonus!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zqRU4Y0jP8k/U3p9EmhUyNI/AAAAAAAABgU/FSKAlItOkbI/s1600/P1100225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zqRU4Y0jP8k/U3p9EmhUyNI/AAAAAAAABgU/FSKAlItOkbI/s640/P1100225.JPG" /></a></div><i>A big smile and high fives at the finish.</i><br />
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I have so many things to be thankful for, and people to thank who have helped me along the way. Thanks first to Charlie, Eric, Ashley, Alex, and all the other current and past staff at REV3 who not only provided the opportunity to race in top-notch events across the country, but have also been so friendly to me over the years and each contributed to the joy that I find within the sport. Thanks to the Toons and Trish for their hospitality and support this past weekend, and on other weekends in other years at this race and in South Carolina. Thanks to my friends, family, clients and co-workers for the cheers and belief from near and afar. Thanks to Albert for supporting me in my career for the past 9 years, and for holding down the fort on numerous occasions while I'm away racing. Thanks finally to my sponsors and supporters for helping me get to the starting line and performing my best on the day: Red Rock Brewing Company, Powerbar, Coeur Sports, Rudy Project, BlueSeventy, Maxxis, Powertap, The Bike Shoppe, Fezzari Bicycles, and ISM Saddles.<br />
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I'll leave you with a couple of bonus shots from the weekend....this is what it's all about!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e80-KGV-0gY/U3qx8iAApsI/AAAAAAAABgs/XMW4fhCbiLg/s1600/P1100234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e80-KGV-0gY/U3qx8iAApsI/AAAAAAAABgs/XMW4fhCbiLg/s640/P1100234.JPG" /></a></div><i>My rock star athlete Katy who took 2nd in her age group in her second-ever Olympic distance race!</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9VovBoIpu4Q/U3qyz7mFM-I/AAAAAAAABg8/EvOymyKwTUQ/s1600/P1100244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9VovBoIpu4Q/U3qyz7mFM-I/AAAAAAAABg8/EvOymyKwTUQ/s640/P1100244.JPG" /></a></div><i>We went straight from awards to watch these two yahoos do their thing as pitcher and catcher of their baseball team. They won, and we celebrated by showing off our muscles and unicorn horns!</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LnLuHGBWU84/U3qz9ILgzYI/AAAAAAAABhI/v95iQ7n8_pg/s1600/Bear+hug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LnLuHGBWU84/U3qz9ILgzYI/AAAAAAAABhI/v95iQ7n8_pg/s640/Bear+hug.jpg" /></a></div><i>Thanks Charlie & Co. for the memories. Photo by David Laskey</i><br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-27463678332657121692014-04-13T14:29:00.002-07:002014-04-13T14:29:42.986-07:00Heart and Courage: Coeur SportsIf you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may have noticed that I've been expressing a lot of enthusiasm lately for a company called Coeur Sports. I'm very pleased to be on board with this women's endurance sports apparel company this year for a number of reasons. First of all, they make darn good performance wear---designed by lady triathletes FOR lady triathletes---that is comfortable, functional, and (GASP) stylish! No more running around being mistaken for a man while out on the race course! I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. Founder Kebby Holden and her partner in crime, Hailey Manning, have come up with a unique "wing-shaped" seam-free chamois design for their triathlon shorts that eliminates chafing on both the bike and run. So comfy, and SO important in long course racing! The tri shorts have a nice wide "yoga-style" waistband which is both comfortable and flattering, with discreet yet easily accessible pockets for stashing gels etc. The tri tops are also super comfortable with support in all the right places and a stylishly flared cut that is a little longer than most tri tops---both flattering and great for keeping your skin covered while in the aero position. Like the tri bottoms, the tops feature rear pockets in addition to a mesh panel on the back which makes the top extra breathable. There are a nice variety of colors and fun patterns to choose from so you can find something that suits your personality, either going with a complete set or doing a little mixing and matching. And they don't just make tri suits! Coeur also offers swimming, running, and cycling gear as well as a developing line of cute casual wear. You can visit their website at http://www.coeursports.com to learn more about the company, check out their products, and read the Coeur Sports blog to keep tabs on what the Coeur ladies are up to.<br />
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Speaking of what the Coeur ladies are up to...what a team! I am honored to be in the company of such an accomplished and motivated group of women. Although my own racing won't kick off for another month or so, the triathlon season is in full swing and the Coeur Sports girls are already tearing it up. It's inspiring to hear about my teammates notching up great performances each weekend, and Coeur Sports does an AWESOME job of highlighting their athletes' performances on Facebook, Twitter, and the company's blog. The support has been phenomenal, and I'm not even racing yet! It's a wonderful feeling to know that you're not just another number but that your sponsor sincerely cares how you're doing and is rooting for you the whole way. If you read my previous post you'll know that I was at a pretty low point at the end of last season, and one of the things that has helped dig me out of that hole and given me new energy is the enthusiasm of the Coeur team. I can't wait to get out there and represent them with a healthy display of Heart and Courage on the race course this year! <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-45905997045698220582014-03-30T17:19:00.001-07:002014-03-30T17:19:22.231-07:00RechargingYes, it has been almost 4 months since I've blogged! Whoops. Sometimes you need a little break though, and after a long and in many ways trying 2013 triathlon season I definitely needed some time to step back, think some things through, and recharge.<br />
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After Ironman Cozumel in early December I found myself at a very low point mentally. It had been a tough year with an early season hip imbalance followed by a mid-season ankle sprain which kept me from running on all cylinders in training. Things started turning around just before Ironman Wisconsin in early September but without sufficient run training under my belt I wasn't quite able to pull off a miracle on race day. After a couple of outings at REV3 events and a decent block of training I felt ready to put together a solid effort in Cozumel. The setting was gorgeous, the vibe was good, and who doesn't enjoy capping off the season with a tropical race-cation?! Unfortunately while the trip was a lot of fun, the race itself proved to be a bitter disappointment which left me questioning whether or not I still wanted to be involved in the sport. In retrospect, I didn't fully do my homework prior to the race and failed to realize how a completely flat, looped course would create a hotbed for drafting which drastically affected the race dynamic. It was discouraging to work so hard to get into a good position during the bike only to be swallowed up by a veritable peloton in the latter section of the ride, and even worse to realize that try as I might to stay in a legal position the only true way to do that would be to sit up and let the entire field ride past---or attempt to re-pass everyone at once and power away from the field off the front, which I tried multiple times unsuccessfully before figuring out I was burning up all of my matches. The rest of my day was pretty sour; I was mad at the apparent lack of integrity amongst my fellow competitors, mad at the complacency of the draft marshals (although I'm not sure how they would have enforced the rules with that many riders), and mad at myself for getting stuck in a position where my race was being so strongly impacted by other athletes. <i>If only</i> I had swum a little stronger or <i>if only</i> I had pushed the pace earlier in the bike ride...then maybe I wouldn't have gotten caught up in the drafting mess, and I would have had a clean race that I could have been proud of. Instead I finished off the day disheartened, ashamed, and ready to throw in the towel. It was a pretty terrible way to end an already lackluster season. Unfortunately there weren't any convenient races left on the calendar to jump into and try to redeem myself, and frankly I didn't have the energy to do that anyway.<br />
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So I took some time off. I stepped away from swim-bike-run and became a Bikram yogi for a month. I lifted weights five days a week. I drove my car to work everyday. I baked my first turkey and had such a great experience that I baked two more. I explored downtown Ogden and visited all the shops on Historic 25th Street. I took a trip to Indiana to see friends and family. All the while I mulled over my feelings about triathlon and my place in the sport. I asked myself some tough questions and thought about how my life would change if I were not involved in triathlon in the same way anymore, and whether I was ready to make that transition. And the answer is yes---but not quite yet. After easing back into some training I have found that the fire is still there, I'm enjoying the process of rebuilding my fitness, I've got some fresh goals driving me, and I'm looking forward to toeing some starting lines and achieving a new level of competitiveness this season. Most importantly, I'm excited to get back to "racing happy" and regaining a sense of joy and playfulness that got a little lost in the shuffle last year.<br />
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So where can you find me this year? I'm currently doing some local running races to ramp up for my tri-season kick-off, which will be on May 17th at REV3 Knoxville. I've committed to doing most of the REV3 races this year, with a few 70.3 and Ironman races sprinkled in. I'd like to revisit Madison in September and put together the type of race I know I'm capable of on that course. I've decided that I'm not interested in running myself ragged trying to chase points to qualify for Kona. The last two years I over-raced and never really peaked; this year I'm planning to race less often but with an eye for much higher quality at my target events. It's going to take some patience and self-control, especially with the season already in full swing and impressive performances happening every weekend---but with a little faith in my training, added to the support of a good team around me, I should be able to put together something special this year.<br />
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See you at the races!<br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-89471104390069737282013-12-06T16:47:00.001-08:002013-12-06T16:47:49.303-08:00Cozumel Picture BookI took A LOT of photographs while in Cozumel; here is just a sampling of my favorites. Enjoy!<br />
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Look for underwater pictures soon!Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-33094369547290633712013-11-16T12:10:00.001-08:002013-11-16T12:10:07.484-08:00REV3 FloridaWhile I'm sitting here looking at this today...<br />
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...I thought it might be nice to reminisce about this:<br />
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<i>Photo by Eric Wynn/REV3.</i><br />
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Florida! It was a fun trip jam-packed with all sorts of action. I headed down to the Sunshine State early in the week for a quick visit to my old stomping grounds in Clermont first, then a jaunt up to Gainesville to see my dear friend Ali who is teaching at the University of Florida this semester. The trip down memory lane in Clermont was short but sweet; it was interesting to see how little has changed in the 9+ years since I trained there with this crew:<br />
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<i>With Ric Rosenkranz and the boys at the National Training Center, 2003.</i><br />
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The visit with Ali was a refreshing change of pace; we sat and talked, looked and listened, which is something I'm desperately out of practice with. There's something about the sunlight and the lazy sway of the Spanish moss in the trees that slows things down in Florida and lulls my sense of urgency. I have no desire to live there again but I can see why the tropical climates are appealing to so many people. I prefer the mountains though, and knowing that I don't have to worry about running across any of these guys during my swims:<br />
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<i>One of MANY gators basking in the sun at Payne's Prairie outside of Gainesville.</i><br />
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After a relaxing couple of days in central Florida I headed down to Venice on the gulf coast for the final REV3 triathlon event of the season. I know I've said it before but it bears repeating: REV3 is a <b>fantastic</b> company that not only produces top-notch races but is comprised of the most friendly, helpful, and genuinely caring staff in the triathlon production business. Seriously, how many other races will you go to and get a greeting like this one below from the owner and mastermind of the entire company?!<br />
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<i>A great big bear hug from REV3 owner Charlie Patten, captured by photographer David Laskey.</i><br />
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It was a lovely reunion with the entire REV3 family, as well as my real family! Both my mom and my Aunt Candy made the trip down to Venice to soak in some sun and cheer me on. It's become something of a tradition the past three years for them to travel to a November race---ITU Long Distance Worlds in Vegas in 2011, Ironman Arizona in 2012, and now Florida in 2013. Aunt Candy comes to REV3 Quassy every year as well, and my mom was on hand for my magical day at REV3 Cedar Point in 2011 and again in 2012. They've become real groupies, and I'm lucky to have them on my side! Unfortunately I don't have any photos with them to prove it happened, but they were there---I promise! I also got to reconnect with my friend Brittany (with whom there is never a dull moment), meet some Facebook Friends in person for the first time (Alex, Jaime, Nina---nice to meet you all for real!), and make some brand new friends along the way:<br />
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<i>Friends, old and new.</i><br />
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As for the race itself, I got out of it what I came for: a solid race effort, a promising fitness check, and experience on a flat/hot/humid/windy course going into Ironman Cozumel in a few weeks. For the second race in a row my swim was the most disappointing leg of the race; I'm not sure exactly what is going on but it's obvious that my swimming strength is not where it needs to be right now to compete with the top girls. I lost contact with the leaders within the first 200 meters of the swim and it ended up defining my race: another day in No Man's Land. I exited the water several minutes down from the leaders and then struggled to make up any of that ground on the bike. The ride was a series of out-and-backs which I enjoyed but at the same time it was frustrating to see exactly how little headway I was making. Once I hit T2 I was pleased to feel my running legs had shown up and I was able to find a good rhythm within the first mile. Last year on this course I completely bombed on the run and I was determined to have a better performance this time around. I felt AWESOME though about 9 miles, then felt my hips and legs tightening up a bit. I tried to keep my stride open and relaxed but I definitely slowed down in the last four miles and *almost* ended up in yet another sprint finish. Flashback to St. George and Williamsburg earlier this year! It wasn't the most impressive run split but it was certainly respectable on the day and I was pleased to successfully apply some techniques I've been practicing in training. Even better, I steadily moved up throughout the race, going from 8th out of the water to 7th off the bike to 6th place by the end of the run! I often find myself going the other direction through the ranks so this was an encouraging experience. Now I just have to get my swimming skills back then I'll be in a pretty good spot!<br />
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<i>Exiting the swim way to far behind the leaders. Photo by David Laskey.</i><br />
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<i>Ticking off the run miles. Photo by David Laskey.</i><br />
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<i>Happy to cross another finish line. Photo courtesy of REV3.</i><br />
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I have so many people to thank and things to be grateful for that there is no possible way to cover them all, but I'd like to mention a few:<br />
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<b>THANK YOU</b> to REV3 Triathlon for being such a great company with a great staff who put on great races!<br />
<b>THANK YOU</b> to the City of Venice for being so welcoming and to the <b>fabulous</b> volunteers who made this event possible!<br />
<b>THANK YOU</b> to Mom & Aunt Candy for making the trip and cheering your hearts out!<br />
<b>THANK YOU</b> to Brittany for being my roommate.<br />
<b>THANK YOU</b> to Ali for reminding me to slow down and soak things in.<br />
<b>THANK YOU</b> to all my friends and family, near and far, for the continued cheers and support.<br />
<b>THANK YOU</b> to my sponsors for sticking with me through thick and thin.<br />
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A parting shot:<br />
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<i>Giving back to the sport that has given me so much: showing athletes the ropes at the Blueseventy Swim Clinic with fellow pro and native Hoosier Eric Limkemann.</i>Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-38952844423968872062013-09-23T09:00:00.003-07:002013-09-23T09:00:49.354-07:00REV3 BransonWell, another race is in the books! It did not end up being a great day for me but I enjoyed racing anyway, reuniting with the REV3 crew after a few months away, and getting to spend some time in an area I would not otherwise visit. Branson, Missouri, is smack-dab in the middle of the Ozarks and is all about "God and Country" and a "Thousand Hills". It's known as the "live music show capitol of the world" and the main drag through town is lined with all sorts of glitzy theaters for miles and miles. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but since everyone drives at least 5 miles per hour UNDER the speed limit (probably because they're gawking at all the tourist attractions) it SEEMS like HWY 76 through town is endless. It's an odd place but one that I've become fond of over the past several days.<br />
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<i>A sampling of wonders along HWY 76.</i><br />
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The newer retail area on the waterfront at Branson Landing is absolutely gorgeous, and this was the setting for the REV3 expo, run course, and finish line area. With the run meandering through the heart of the shopping center on the Promenade, along the river, through a couple of parks and back along the boardwalk it offered a varied and engaging course. The bike route was the crown jewel of the race, featuring a closed-course looped section along a scenic four-lane highway with challenging climbs and sweeping descents. The swim presented its own challenge, namely the morning fog lifting off the 80-degree water into the chilly autumn air which made navigating around the buoys something of a trick. Overall it was a great course that will go down in my memory as one of the toughest yet fun bike rides I've ever tackled.<br />
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<i>This is where we got to ride. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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My day began with falling asleep during the swim. I'm not sure if it was the warm water that lulled me to sleep or what, but I certainly was not out there racing anybody in the water. I had a little difficulty seeing the far red turn buoys in the fog so I may have swum a little further than I needed to, but I think everyone had some trouble with it so hearing that I was three-and-a-half minutes down from the leaders coming out of the water was an unpleasant shock. I knew there were some fast swimmers in the field and I expected to be a little behind after the swim but not THAT far back!<br />
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<i>Warm water, cool air = gorgeous morning fog. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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Time to buckle down and get to work on the bike then. I kept telling myself that I thrive in adverse conditions and this presented a perfect opportunity to make some magic happen. Except there was one problem: my legs didn't show up for work today! I simply felt BAD and hurt all over as soon as I started turning the pedals. My power numbers weren't horrible but I was just not going anywhere and it felt like I was riding through mud. Jessica Meyers and Rachel McBride came rolling up early in the ride and I tried to stay with them but once we got onto the Ozark Mountain Highroad where the loops began they eventually pulled away and I ended up riding in no-man's land for the majority of the bike. It was really frustrating because with the wide-open views I could see the action up the road but was never able to make any headway at closing down the gap. I rolled into T2 in a discouraging 7th place well out of touch with the leaders. But ever the optimist I told myself that it's not over 'til it's over and maybe the girls up front rode a little too hard and would blow up and start coming back to me during the run.<br />
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<i>I ended up riding about as well as this guy during the race.</i><br />
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I hit the run course and my legs FINALLY decided to cooperate. It's been a very challenging year for me in the running department, with a couple of injuries inhibiting my ability to train effectively. While my run volume and speed training have been laughable this season, I've had a couple of "aha" moments with regards to running technique and have focused on improving my form instead. While I'm still well shy of my best running form, and even further from where I aspire to be, it has helped me hold things together enough to post respectable enough run splits. My goal on the day was to keep driving my hips forward and turning my legs over quickly, and to see if I could track down any of the girls in front of me. In the end I got close, but was also passed by two other girls, so landed in 9th place when it was all said and done. Not a great performance by any means but one I can be proud of from the standpoint that I never gave up and kept pushing all the way through the finish line. It sounds cliche but it's really true: you often learn more from the bad races than the good ones, and sometimes the races you end up being most pleased with are not those that look the best on paper.<br />
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<i>Pushing hard on the run. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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What a finish line it was! Thanks REV3 Triathlon for yet another stellar event. It's a real shame that more people didn't turn out to experience the epic course, but for those of you who did, PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, TRAINING PARTNERS, and anyone else who will listen just how awesome this event was! I know I'm not the only one who would love to see REV3 back in Branson for many years to come. <br />
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<i>A unique and memorable finish line.</i><br />
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Thanks as always to my friends and family for the support and cheers, and to my sponsors for seeing me through thick and thin: Powerbar, REV3, Recovery Pump, Reynolds, Fezzari, Powertap, Maxxis, Rudy Project, Blueseventy, and The Bike Shoppe.<br />
Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-31390286853163484292013-09-10T20:00:00.000-07:002013-09-10T20:00:18.991-07:00IMMOOThis was my first trip to Ironman Wisconsin and hopefully it won't be my last! What a great town, great venue, and great people. Spending time in the Midwest certainly makes me miss the Midwest. Corn, cows, cicadas...and really laid-back-yet-football-crazy folks. I love living in Utah but I can't escape the fact that I'm a Midwestern girl at heart.<br />
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Enough with the nostalgia.<br />
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After a longer-than-planned mid-season break, I made a few changes to my race schedule and decided to take a crack at earning some early qualifying points for Kona 2014. IM Wisconsin made sense for several reasons: the timing was good, it was close to "home" so friends & family could be there, and I really had a hankering to tackle the legendary hills. My run fitness was questionable but swimming and biking were great, and I thought with a little luck I might be able to pull off something special on race day.<br />
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The trip did not start off especially luckily. My flight had just boarded and five minutes before we were due to depart the captain came on the loudspeaker to tell us that the Denver airport (where the plane was flying to make connections) had just been closed due to bad weather and that we would be sitting there for probably an hour and a half before taking off. At first I thought it was a joke, but then I realized he was serious! At least he gave us the option of deplaning but warned passengers to stay close to the gate because we would take off ASAP after Denver reopened. Since I had a window seat near the back of the place I opted for staying put. True to the captain's word, we took off about 90 minutes late---blah. On the bright side, I got some good reading done (<i>City of Thieves</i>, read it if you haven't!) and since the whole Denver Airport was closed I figured everything would be backed up and I'd still make my connection to Madison. I did, and eventually arrived my homestay family's house around 11pm. Thanks Jen for staying up to wait for me!<br />
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My first order of business the next day was to get some FOOD. Jen pointed me in the direction of Willy St. in downtown Madison, and I found a cute little place called the Daisy Cafe where I had an awesome salmon omelette, potatoes, fruit, toast, and coffee. Did I mention I was hungry?! Then I made my way down to John Nolen Drive and Monona Terrace to check in and pick up my Fezzari T5 bike and gear bag from TriBike Transport. Talk about hassle-free travel! I'm used to lugging my bike + all the other equipment around myself but these guys really make it easy. You just drop off your bike (plus optional gear + wheels bags) at a local partner shop about a week before your race, then they load it on trucks and it's waiting for you at the event when you arrive! Then after the race you drop your stuff off---sweat, urine, sticky sports drink and all---and they transport it back home for you. Check them out at www.tribiketransport.com.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gSP-vmWNF7c/Ui_ULaz25nI/AAAAAAAABT8/PCNsO4fy0OQ/s1600/P1070735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gSP-vmWNF7c/Ui_ULaz25nI/AAAAAAAABT8/PCNsO4fy0OQ/s400/P1070735.JPG" /></a></div><i>Picking up the T5 and Reynolds Wheels from TriBike Transport</i><br />
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Next on the agenda was course reconnaissance. At this point I owe another huge THANK YOU to my homestay "mom" Jen Savino for providing me with the BEST MAP EVER of downtown Madison from a booklet called the <i>Annual Manual</i>. I would have been lost without it! The majority of the run course was through the downtown area and the University of Wisconsin campus, and this valuable map gave me a good grasp of the visual layout of the area around the Capitol---not to mention it had all the one-way streets marked! Imperative for an out-of-towner operating a car. I only made one goof-up, when I was so focused on the "Bus, Bikes, and Right Turn Only" sign that I somehow failed to also notice the "Do Not Enter" signs on State Street. Oops! I wondered why that street was so empty of cars!<br />
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After driving most sections of the run course, including the famed Observatory Hill (yes, it is a serious hill even by Utah standards!), I headed out to have a look at the bike course. OH MY GOSH. Beautiful! Rolling hills, cornfields, and cows everywhere. It was definitely my kind of course; fair and engaging, lots of turns, with never a dull moment. I couldn't wait to get out and ride it!<br />
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The next couple of days were spent doing the usual pre-race routine: some training, fueling, resting, Recovery Pumping, race meetings, more course recon, then gear organizing and check-in. I met up with my client Sharon to go over last-minute details with her---this was her first Ironman!!!---then it was time to put my feet up and hang out with my friends Betsy and Zak (who drove up from Indianapolis) and Liz, who lives in Madison. We had some wonderful Thai food on Willy Street then later created home-made pizzas for dinner. There's nothing like a nice low-key evening with family/friends pre-race! To top things off Betsy surprised me by baking an early birthday cake, then we played a roaring game of Chutes and Ladders before they sent me off to get my beauty sleep. I wonder how many other athletes had pizza and chocolate cake for dinner the night before?!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-38JTg8sJ3Zo/Ui_UusXkPLI/AAAAAAAABUM/sSKVWvDsEgs/s1600/P1070760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-38JTg8sJ3Zo/Ui_UusXkPLI/AAAAAAAABUM/sSKVWvDsEgs/s400/P1070760.JPG" /></a></div><i>Dinner of champions.</i><br />
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The 3am alarm came WAY too early but I was surprisingly alert and ready to go. I'm not sure if it was the way the transition was organized or if I just did a better job of budgeting my time than in the past, but it was definitely one of the most seamless race mornings from a logistics standpoint. It helped that I found parking close by---my legs were happy about that afterwards!---and also that someone pulled some strings so that the pros had their VERY OWN PORTA-POTTIES in transition. It's amazing how much stress is lifted when you don't have to stand in ridiculously long bathroom lines on race morning! I believe thanks go to Tom Ziebart for that.<br />
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Onto the actual race. It was an overcast and blustery day which meant a choppy swim...which meant a very happy me! A rougher swim generally is an advantage to the stronger swimmers. I had tested the waters out a couple days prior and decided it was really way too warm for wetsuits, but according to the WTC rules the 74 degree water temps were in the legal range for everyone. So I made the call to wear my new Blueseventy Helix Sleeveless wetsuit, and it ended up being a great decision! Full sleeves would have been too hot. It was also a mixed start with pro men and women going off at the same time, which again makes me happy. More faster swimmers to swim with! My goal was to stay with super-swimmer Hillary Biscay, which didn't happen, but I still came out in a good spot about a minute down in 2nd place. The long backstretch into the wind was tough but I loved it!<br />
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There are so many memorable moments from this particular race that I'd have to write a book to recount them all, but it would be shameful not to mention to run up the Helix. It was INSANE! The Monona Terrace is a convention center and parking structure (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) that essentially ties the downtown Capitol square to the shores of Lake Monona. One of the cool architectural features of the building is the spiral entrance/exit from the parking structure called the Helix. The athletes got to run up one Helix from the swim to T1, then bike down & up the other Helix on the other end of the building to start and finish the bike. Spectators lined the entire Helix coming out of the swim and they were CRAZY!!!! The next stop was a quick turn into the ballrooms to grab gear bags and change, and I had my one silly blip of the day when I slipped on a plastic bag and totally wiped out on the carpet. Can we say RUG BURN?!!! It wasn't the best start to the day but carpet burn is better than road rash, and it didn't cost me any time. In fact, it became a good lesson for the day---if you fall down, pick yourself right back up!<br />
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My mantra for the bike ride was "go hard now, pay for it later"---I really wanted to ride conservatively and give myself a chance to have a good run. The first stretch out to the Verona Loop felt easy because of a nice tailwind, and I was able to overtake Hillary and grab the lead of the women's race within the first few miles. I told myself to not get too excited, which would have been easy to do since this course is so much fun! I usually like looped courses because they seem to go by quicker and this was no exception---it really flew by. It was the most enjoyable iron-distance ride I've ever done, and a huge part of that was the crazy fans lining the roads up the climbs and through Verona. What a rush!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Egazv-xq3zA/Ui_U7Z4qjjI/AAAAAAAABUU/3apqsOilvD8/s1600/Bike+Shot+Dave+Erickson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Egazv-xq3zA/Ui_U7Z4qjjI/AAAAAAAABUU/3apqsOilvD8/s400/Bike+Shot+Dave+Erickson.jpg" /></a></div><i>On the bike. Photo by Dave Erickson</i><br />
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I held the lead throughout the bike and had a smooth T2 to start the run. My plan was to take it out at ~7:30-45 pace then see if I could build from there. Running around the Wisconsin state capitol to start the run was a lot of fun, and again the crowd support was incredible! I felt great for the first 11 miles and really enjoyed the twists and turns of the course. About halfway through I could feel my body tightening up and I went through a loooong gray patch. I focused on managing my nutrition, driving my hips forward, and keeping my feet moving. The spectators were awesome but they can only take you so far! Jackie Arendt passed me around mile 14 and Beth Shutt came by a couple miles later. With 6-7 miles to go I began to feel a little better and was able to pick the pace up a bit. At the last out-and-back section I saw fleet-footed Beth Walsh storming up behind me and I knew it would be a battle to hold her off. NO MORE SPRINT FINISHES, remember?! In the end I was able to hang on for 3rd place and snag some valuable points towards qualifying for Kona next year. Mission accomplished! I'd be lying to say I didn't want to win the whole shebang, but I did what I could on the day and had a really wonderful (dare I say fun?!) experience. AND I got to share it with friends! Thanks again Betsy, Zak, Liz, Jen, Cam x 2, Egan, and Kelly for the cheers and signs!<br />
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The day after the race involved dropping off my bike & gear with TriBike Transport for the return trip, going to the awards ceremony, and having lunch with my client Sharon and some of her friends from Colorado---all done while moving in a sore and stiff manner. Here's a big shout-out to Sharon for accomplishing HER mission of "just finishing" in style: 13:34 and 22nd in her age group at her very first Ironman! Yes, I'm a proud coach. :) <br />
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Congratulations to all the finishers, and thanks to: the city of Madison for being so welcoming & supportive of this event; to Ironman for the great production; to TriBike Transport for making my travel so easy; to my sponsors---REV3, Powerbar, Recovery Pump, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, Powertap, Reynolds, Powertap, Maxxis, and The Bike Shoppe; to my homestay Jen Savino for making me feel right at home; and to all the friends and family cheering from near and afar!<br />
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Now legs up and time to get ready for the next one.<br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-48467719874148248602013-08-08T21:25:00.002-07:002013-08-08T21:25:47.124-07:00Back to BoulderI took a little solo road trip to Boulder last weekend to test out my fitness at the Ironman 70.3 event in the so-called "Mecca of Triathlon". It had been a LONG time since I visited Boulder (seven, maybe eight years?) but it was much the way I remembered it, and in a strange way even more familiar despite the long absence. I think this is because geographically it reminds me so much of Salt Lake, except of course that the mountains are on the "wrong" side, and now that I've lived in Utah for over eight years that type of mountain terrain seems normal to me. Once upon a time I actually considered living and going to school in Boulder and this trip reaffirmed my suspicion that I could be quite happy there. Salt Lake is a pretty outdoorsy place but Boulder puts it to shame; there are bike lanes EVERYWHERE and a real sense of community fitness. I was astonished by how many people were out riding their bikes and even more so by the number of organized running groups out training on Saturday morning---complete with coaches holding stopwatches and calling out splits. It was really pretty awesome to witness!<br />
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The race was an important fitness check for me as I've been plagued by a very unhappy ankle since mid-June and was forced to take a little time off from running. Despite the importance of the race and the inevitably strong field that it drew because of it being a "hometown" race for so many pros, I went into it without feeling any pressure and was pleasantly surprised by the low key atmosphere. It also helped that I had people other than myself to focus on! My dear friends and "adoptive" Utah parents Betsy and Victor Pollak were there as Vic was attempting his first half-ironman race and we had a really lovely pre-race dinner together. Vic is in his mid-sixties and is a "slow and steady" type of athlete, so his main goal was to finish the race before the cut-off time. I definitely felt more anxiety over Vic's race than my own because I really <i>really</i> <b><i>really</i></b> wanted him to have a good experience and be successful---which he was! It was great fun hanging around the finish line area when my race was done, bopping around to the music with Betsy and awaiting Vic's arrival. I definitely love racing but spectating can be a lot of fun too! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X639h80yyhQ/UgRsZ9TroFI/AAAAAAAABTM/Nf39N6LiQWw/s1600/P1070314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X639h80yyhQ/UgRsZ9TroFI/AAAAAAAABTM/Nf39N6LiQWw/s400/P1070314.JPG" /></a></div><i>With Betsy, waiting for Vic to come in.</i><br />
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I also had the opportunity to check out the Ironkids race on Saturday morning. It's kind of a complicated story, but basically a good friend of mine used to do health coaching over the phone for a large insurance company, and one of his former clients is a triathlete who was racing at Boulder. Over the course of their consultations my friend mentioned me and the triathlete---his name is Rob Robinson---looked me up online and found my blog. Rob has a ten-year-old daughter named Mabry who also started reading my blog and she was somehow inspired to do a school project about me! How flattering! The entire Robinson family was racing in Boulder including Rob, his wife Lauren, Mabry, and her younger brother Blake. They came to the race with their friends the Cosgroves (Linda and Greg and their kids Riley and Hannah) who were also racing, and we discovered that without having planned it we were all staying at the same hotel. Small world! So I spent some quality becoming friends with them and promised that I would be at the Ironkids race to cheer them on. The kids race was really something else to watch! The event was super well organized and the kids were pretty darn cute. Some of them were obviously very well-coached and had REAL bikes, fancy race kits, and did some pretty impressive things in transition including flying mounts. I suspect some of those kids may have had last names like Alexander, Legh, and Reed! Mabry, Blake, Riley and Hannah had quite the cheering squad as two sets of grandparents as well as an uncle and a few other friends also turned out to spectate. I had an absolute blast cheering for the kids, and couldn't help but be impressed by the way the entire family was involved in the sport. How cool is that?! I didn't even know what triathlon was until I was in college and here are these kids being raised smack-dab in the middle of the multi-sport lifestyle. I would say that the future of the sport is definitely bright!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gFP2gf4E_8g/UgRsmvBFd9I/AAAAAAAABTU/efUyKaHBZ2w/s1600/P1070305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gFP2gf4E_8g/UgRsmvBFd9I/AAAAAAAABTU/efUyKaHBZ2w/s400/P1070305.JPG" /></a></div><i>With Ironkids Riley, Mabry, Blake and Hannah. They are all studs!</i><br />
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As for my own race, it was a solid effort that left me sore in all the right places. I knew that my swim and biking strength was coming around but the big question mark was if my ankle would hold up on the run and whether or not I had the fitness to maintain a race effort for 13.1 miles. My fastest mile split was actually my last mile so I think the answer to that is a resounding YES! Despite being well down the list in the results I am pretty pleased with the performance and it's a good indication that things are heading the right direction for some strong races in the next few months. My swim was good but not great. I don't quite have the speed to match the best swimmers in the sport (some of whom were there of course!) and I ended up swimming alone the whole way. Two things about the swim surprised me: first, how warm the water was for a "mountain" reservoir and secondly, how I actually felt the altitude! It wasn't horrible but breathing was noticeably more difficult, even at just 1000 feet higher than what I'm used to. Going against my own advice, I hadn't gotten in to swim the day before because the Boulder Res has some very odd ideas about water safety and swimming was severely restricted. If I HAD tested the waters the day before I definitely would have known to wear my new blueseventy Helix Sleeveless wetsuit rather than the full suit! Ah well, hindsight is 20/20. <br />
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I exited the water in 5th place, then was almost immediately passed on the bike as eventual-winner Melissa Hauschildt motored by. I returned the favor by overtaking Christine Anderson, but roughly halfway through the bike Christine reappeared and then took off after we traded back and forth a few times. I knew it was a fast course and that I was riding well, but there were some really strong ladies out there! The bike course was one big loop on fantastic road surfaces with minimal traffic. It began with a steady false flat climb then turned into rollers for the rest of the course. There was one short out-and-back section near the end of the ride where I was pleased to see I was within a few minutes of Leanda Cave and Amy Marsh, but once I made the 180 turn I was dismayed to see that there were also two girls right on my tail! Darn. They---Uli Bromme and Jeanni Seymour---caught me just before we turned onto the road leading back to the Reservoir. I transitioned quickly behind them and hit the run in 8th place.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nX99ZGQO_cs/UgRQORFEQCI/AAAAAAAABS0/8fl_ghfoquw/s1600/2013+Boulder+70.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nX99ZGQO_cs/UgRQORFEQCI/AAAAAAAABS0/8fl_ghfoquw/s400/2013+Boulder+70.3.jpg" /></a></div><i>Photo by Louis Bednar. Check out that Reynolds Element disc wheel!</i><br />
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I LOVED this run course, which is pretty funny because I remember having a healthy dislike for it many eons ago when I did the Boulder Peak Triathlon. The 70.3 run course is two loops on mostly hard-packed dirt roads and gravel trails around the Reservoir. There are rolling hills at the beginning of each loop and not a speck of shade to be found. If the temperature had been what it was the day before I think I wouldn't have enjoyed the run half as much, but a well-timed storm had rolled through and cooled things off which made the run not nearly as oven-like as it could have been. The course has distinct sections which helps with getting a good mental grasp of it and staying focused. With the exception of a slight lapse between miles 8-9.5 I held things together and was absolutely thrilled that my ankle didn't bother me. I think the packed dirt was a nice forgiving surface that was about the best thing that could have happened for it! I didn't catch any of my competitors on the run and in fact was overtaken by one other girl, so I ended the day in 9th place---not awesome, but pleased to be back on track.<br />
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I spent the rest of the afternoon being a cheerleader for Vic, Rob, Lauren, Linda, and Greg and hanging out with the entire Pollak/Robinson/Cosgrove clans. What a blast! I left Boulder that evening with a good feeling in my heart---of a job well done, new friends made, and sharing in the successes of old ones. Friends, that is. Ah, Boulder! You have been good to me.<br />
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Thank you: to the Robinsons and Cosgroves for letting me tag along; to Betsy and Vic for dinner and your wonderful company; to Albert for holding down the fort in my absence; and to my sponsors for their unfailing support---Powerbar, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, REV3, Powertap, Maxxis, Recovery Pump, Reynolds, Fezzari, and The Bike Shoppe. I couldn't do it without you!<br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-9185206343804759112013-07-22T20:53:00.000-07:002013-07-22T21:00:32.133-07:00Would I Do It Again?The answer is YES! Despite the fact that it's taken me a month to blog about it, REV3 Williamsburg was a fantastic venue and I had a really great time visiting and racing in the area. True, there were some hiccups that kept the event from running as smoothly as has come to be expected from a REV3 production, but overall I left with a good feeling about the race and am very hopeful that the kinks will be smoothed out and that REV3 will be back again next year. My personal experience is as follows:<br />
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<b>PRE-RACE</b><br />
I had the fantastic good fortune to be placed with a really wonderful host family for the weekend, Daniel and Michelle Ballin and their little daughter Alivia. Thank you Ashley Q. & Eric O. for organizing the homestay and to the Ballins for being not only generous hosts but just really great people! One of the great perks of racing and traveling is meeting new people, and I definitely feel that I made some new friends in Williamsburg.<br />
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I arrived a few days before the event which gave me a good opportunity to check out the course as well as visit some of the surrounding historical sites. My family took a "Revolutionary & Civil Wars" trip when I was 5 years old so I'd been to the Historical Triangle before, but I was so young that it didn't really mean that much to me at the time. It was fun to poke around Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg a good 30 years later when the historical importance actually made some sense. It was like walking on hallowed ground! <br />
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The day before the race I had the chance to lead a swim clinic Q&A at the Jamestown Park Beach swim venue. It was held in conjunction with the open water swim practice and the Blueseventy Worst Wetsuit Contest so we had a great turnout. I really love doing this sort of thing---can't help it if I have a little bit of diva in me!---and always enjoy the interaction with the age-group athletes. Everyone has their own unique story and it's interesting to hear what draws different people to the sport. After the swim clinic I had a chance to swim a bit of the course myself, then it was off to the pro meeting and one last preview of the bike course before getting the legs up and relaxing for the rest of the day.<br />
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<b>RACE MORNING</b> <br />
My alarm was set for the usual 3 hours before race start to give me plenty of time to eat, drop off my run gear at T2 then head to T1 for a warm-up. As I was applying my race tattoos I heard a noise that sounded like pouring rain...but no, it couldn't be! Must have been the air-conditioning kicking in. A few minutes later I stuck my nose outside and realized it was in fact rain! A torrential downpour really. I'd originally planned to ride my bike to T1 for a good warm-up but luckily Daniel came to the rescue and offered to drop me off instead. It was soggy setting up gear but the rain soon cleared and the morning turned quite pleasant.<br />
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<b>THE SWIM</b><br />
This race helped reinforce what little I knew about the nature of tidal rivers. At the practice swim the day before, the water had been relatively calm and while it was shallow close to shore you weren't hitting the bottom with every stroke. Different story on race day! I'm not sure if it was the rain or the tide, but the water was choppy and much more shallow than it had been the day before. In fact, you could have run in and done dolphin dives for a good long way towards the first buoy. It helped to watch the pro men go off first to know a little better what to expect, but I have to admit I was still caught a little off guard and didn't have a good plan of how to attack the swim start. The swim definitely blew the race apart as the strong swimmers were separated from the weaker ones. I was one of the stronger ones on the day but I actually had a pretty horrible swim. My goggles fogged up within minutes so I was blindly following other feet to the first turn before I had enough of that and stopped to clear them out. On the second leg it was tricky to see the far red buoy and once I did eventually spot it I swear it kept moving further away! Once I FINALLY rounded the second turn I was battling for space with Margie Shapiro, then suddenly she disappeared and somehow got to shore about 20 seconds before me. I'm not sure if I fell asleep there, if I picked a bad line or if there was some magical current that I missed, but I came out of the water 5th place in No Man's Land in probably the slowest time I've ever done for that distance.<br />
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<b>THE BIKE</b> <br />
I really enjoyed this bike course. My homestay family kept telling me that REV3 picked the hilliest course possible in the area and it certainly ended up being more challenging than it appeared from inside a car. The course was broken up well with a couple of out-and-back segments and a really fun tricky section towards the end on Jolly Pond Road. The only drawback I could see was that there was heavy traffic in some areas which made me a little nervous, and the cars got backed up. It must have been pretty frustrating for the drivers to have to sit there so long while the bikes came through; I hope this issue is addressed for next year so that the community embraces the event and welcomes REV3 back in the future! I spent the entire bike in 5th place, holding my spot in No Man's Land and not really making any headway. Margie was ripping through the course like it was nobody's business while Tenille Hoogland, Lauren Goss, and Kelly Williamson were riding strong in front of me.<br />
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<b>THE RUN</b> <br />
Once my shoes hit the pavement I was pleased to discover that my running legs had shown up! The run course featured two circuits of a long out-and-back through the William and Mary campus, followed by buzzing past the transition/finish line area and doing another mini out-and-back before repeating the whole thing. There was a good hill at each of the far ends of the course which made for a special challenge. I felt GREAT during the first lap and got a good look at where everyone was, both up the road and behind. The gap to the leaders was huge, but I also had a pretty solid lead over the girls behind me. Once again I was in No Man's Land and comfortably holding 5th place...until the very end that is! At the final turnaround I saw that Jess Jones Meyers had made up some serious ground and was barreling towards me. Crap! I tried to find another gear and almost managed to hold her off, but unfortunately I experienced being out-kicked in yet another sprint finish at a half-ironman this year. Obviously I need to work on my closing speed---or better yet, on my overall speed so that it doesn't ever come down to a sprint! I HATED losing out on 5th place at the very end, but overall it was a solid effort and considering the minor setbacks I've had this season I was happy with progress.<br />
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<b>THE AFTERMATH</b><br />
My flight back to Salt Lake wasn't until later the following day, so I had some more time to enjoy the local sights. I kicked off the day by doing a swim workout with Daniel and some of the other local triathletes, followed by a HUGE revitalizing breakfast with my friend Brittany from Georgia. Brittany had had a tough race day that ended with a trip to the med tent & ER, so it was nice to see that she was feeling better. Once we demolished enough food for 5 people we moseyed around Colonial Williamsburg and soaked in some history. We ended our tour in the stocks---I seem to remember doing that when I was a 5-year-old too!<br />
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REV3 Williamsburg capped a race-glutted month for me, which included 3 half-iron races in a span of four weeks. While each course was starkly different and it's hard to compare race-to-race, I feel that I made some good progress throughout the month. Now that the June race-fest is over (followed by a nice mid-season break when my brother and his family visited Utah), I'm immersed in a nice long stretch of uninterrupted training; this is when I typically get into a really good groove and lay the groundwork for a strong back half of the season. Because of a couple of niggling injuries this year my race schedule is slightly altered, so that I'm dropping Ironman Mont-Tremblant in favor of racing Ironman Wisconsin three weeks later instead. I'm still heading to Boulder next weekend for a fitness check at the 70.3 race there before putting in one more big block before Wisconsin.<br />
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<b>THANK YOU</b><br />
To the Ballins for the good times and hospitality; to REV3 for the vision and making the show go on; to my sponsors for the support through thick and thin (Powerbar, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, Recovery Pump, REV3, Reynolds, Maxxis, Powertap, Fezzari, and The Bike Shoppe); and to my family and friends for putting up with my shenanigans for so long.Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-56665854129906033612013-06-12T19:00:00.001-07:002013-06-12T19:00:44.952-07:00The Dirty DoubleLucky Readers---you get a two-for-one race report! It's been a busy June so far and we're not even halfway through yet. I raced the past two weekends in my first official "dirty double", which is what I'm calling doing half-iron races on back-to-back weekends. Six days apart, to be precise. Trust me, that extra day makes a difference! First up was a trip to Connecticut for REV3 Quassy followed by a jaunt up to Idaho for Boise 70.3. In between I got to spend some quality time with my East Coast relatives in New Jersey and Pennsylvania---always a pleasure. This is the second year in a row that I've attempted the Dirty Double but last year the experiment was foiled by nasty weather in Boise which led to a drastically shortened bike ride. This time around I completed the entire 70.3 miles at each race, so mission accomplished in that regard; however neither performance was particularly stunning so there's definitely some work to do!<br />
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<b>PART I: REV3 QUASSY</b><br />
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This is one of my all-time favorite races because in addition to being a gorgeous venue the course is honest and challenging; part of the allure is trying to crack the code of the course so that it doesn't completely chew you up and spit you out. Even though my overall time was the slowest of my three attempts at this race, I feel that I raced smarter than in previous years and figured out a good strategy for handling the course. It was decidedly hotter than the past two years which made the nutrition and hydration aspects more of an issue and I did a pretty good job of managing that part of the race. I felt strong on the swim and was able to build throughout the 1.2 miles---I got caught up in a little traffic in the first leg, was able to pull away from the traffic in the second leg (partly thanks to a few of the slower male pro swimmers), then pushed hard on the third leg coming into shore. Once on the bike I employed the same strategy of building my effort throughout the 56 miles. In past years I've been so excited to ride the course that I've started off a little too hot and then paid for it in the last 10-15 miles. This year I felt better as I went along and was able to finish up strong in the latter miles of the ride. I continued with my "building" theme on the run---it's easy to start this run off too hard because the first couple of miles are downhill so I found a rhythm that would help me be more conservative in the opening miles. The middle section of this run course is where it gets REALLY tough; miles 4-8 have a lot of uphill so you have to keep pushing and stay mentally strong. I had some gray patches out there but overall I think I handled the hills better than I have in past years. The last 4 miles of this run course are really fun and I was looking forward to using whatever I had left in the tank to push through that final loop. There's one final long climb in the last mile, a real doozy of a place to have a hill, but once you get to the top you only have about 400 meters to the finish line. I wound up in the top-10 for the third consecutive year, grabbing 9th place in probably the most stacked field ever assembled at this race (I would say the top six ladies all had a legitimate shot at winning). It was a good effort and I can't wait to come back again next year!<br />
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<b>The Highlights</b> <br />
This trip had a lot of non-race highlights which made it really fun, including:<br />
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Reconnecting with my old swimming buddy & high school classmate Joe McDowell, now a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy who is training for his first triathlon(s) this year!<br />
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Staying with my AWESOME homestay girls, Kim & Sheri, for the third year in a row---and being allowed to drive Sheri's Porsche for a day!<br />
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Giving a pre-race swim clinic, supported by REV3 and blueseventy, focusing on open water swimming strategies and race-day safety. Thanks blueseventy for donating really cool Brick Bags for a trivia contest! <br />
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Having my #1 Philly Fan (aka Aunt Candy) using her impressive vocal skills to whoop it up cheering for me!<br />
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Spending time with my relatives for a couple of days post-race...it's always too short but a very sweet visit.<br />
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<b>PART II: IRONMAN 70.3 BOISE</b><br />
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After two days back in Utah, Albert and I loaded up the car (doggies included!) and made the short trip up to Boise for the next weekend of racing. The weather forecast called for a HOT day---highs in the upper 80s on race day, about 30 degrees warmer than what it topped out at last year for this event. You just never know what you're going to get in Boise! I'm used to the dry heat though, so it didn't feel as hot to me as the sticky humid heat in Connecticut the previous weekend. Boise is an odd event because it has a noon start time, which is nice because it allows for a nice relaxed race morning...but last year I remember hating it because I ended up spending the entire morning watching the weather get worse and dreading having to race in it! No such problem this year. Race day set-up went smoothly and I was ready to go when the cannon boomed at 12:04 to send the pro ladies off. It was a small field this year---I think Boise's reputation for unpredictable weather scared a lot of people away---and I was able to get off to a fast start and find clean water right from the beginning. Lucky Peak Reservoir makes for a real swimmer's course; the water is relatively cold (60 degrees this year) and choppy, so it helps to be strong and comfortable in the water. The last two times I've done this race I've come out of the water in 2nd place; the third time proved to be a charm as I was able to build a 2+ minute lead and exit the water in first place! That was a pretty cool feeling, especially at a "local" race (out west anything within a 5-hour drive is local)---thanks to my blueseventy Helix and the friendly crowd for boosting me to the top swim! I had a smooth transition, bombed my way down the hill from the reservoir, then settled down to work on the bike. I felt solid throughout the ride---not spectacular but not bad---and focused on staying hydrated. Heather Jackson came storming up past me just before the climb at Mile 18, then it was a lot of lonely miles until Liz Lyles came by around Mile 45. At this point I made a tactical error; Liz passed me just before a descent (which I'm good at) and I should have gotten around her and tried to create a gap on the downhill, but then a media motorcycle pulled up and I found myself boxed in and unable to pass. I literally had to sit up and brake on the downhill in order to stay legal. Immediately after the downhill there was a tricky little "no-pass" zone on a bike path, followed by a left-handed aid station. I grabbed a bottle of Powerbar Perform at the aid station with the intention of taking a couple of sips then tossing it, but to my dismay the cap had been loosened and the drink was just leaking out from around the bottom of the cap rather than coming out the nipple. I slowed way down trying to figure this out then eventually just tossed the bottle, and by that point Liz had zoomed off up the road and I wasn't able to regain contact throughout the ride. Damn! So I started the run in 3rd place about 5 minutes from Heather and maybe 1-2 minutes behind Liz. I felt a little awkward running when my feet first hit the pavement, but started feeling a little better throughout the first mile. Then something BAD happened and I ran the next 8 miles very slowly. I'm not sure how much of it was the effects of having completed a very challenging half ironman only 6 days before, but I know for sure that my mind was NOT in a very good place. I'm really disappointed in the way I ran these miles and mad that I didn't have a better grip on what was going on between my ears---in addition to my running fitness I also need to improve my mental fitness! With four miles to go something snapped inside me and I suddenly started running like I knew how again and it felt really good. Three girls had passed me by that point and I thought if I really pushed hard I might have a chance to catch at least one of them. My mantra those last miles---"Get your head out of your ass"---really seemed to work and it just may become my refrain whenever I'm racing! I didn't end up catching anyone but I was glad to have at least turned the run around and finished strong.<br />
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I don't have any particular highlights from Boise, but I'll leave you with some favorite parting shots from the Dirty Double:<br />
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As always, THANK YOU to my amazing sponsors for seeing me through this endeavor! Blueseventy for the race kit & speedy wetsuit; Powerbar for keeping me fueled; Rudy Project for protecting my eyes & noggin; REV3 for believing in me; CycleOps/Powertap for keeping my effort on track; Reynolds for keeping me rolling on great wheels; Fezzari for the first-class ride; Maxxis for the rubber; Recovery Pump for helping my legs tackle the Dirty Double; and The Bike Shoppe for getting my bike ship-shape for racing. <br />
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You'll find me racing again two more times this month on June 23rd at REV3 Williamsburg and then at the Utah Spartan Beast event on June 29th!Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-43689197800687310442013-05-26T12:45:00.000-07:002013-05-26T12:45:38.445-07:00Iron Fail<i>You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,<br />
Know when to walk away, know when to run...</i><br />
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Okay, admit it, now you've got the song in your head...and I've got your attention! <br />
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Those lyrics are surprisingly apt when applied to my experience at Ironman Texas last weekend. It was my 5th iron-length triathlon and my first DNF at the distance. I am not proud of this and I don't plan to make it a habit---I've always been one of those "old-school" athletes who looks somewhat scornfully at other athletes who drop out and "save it for another day" when they're not having a great race. I always thought I had too much respect for the sport to treat it so flippantly; besides, an Ironman is such a long day with so many ups and downs that you never know what might happen so you might as well keep going and see it through to the end. However, I realized last weekend that sometimes the body simply doesn't cooperate and as a professional you have to decide whether it's worth carrying on and potentially doing more damage, or if it's better to take the long view, fold your cards, and wait for the next round. I knew by Mile 60 of the bike that running probably wasn't going to be a great idea, which meant I had a good 50+ miles to make peace with that decision. I HATED dropping out but I know it was the right thing for me to do. By the time I rolled into T2 and handed off my bike it was surprisingly easy to step off the course. Figuratively, that is----literally it was actually quite difficult! The pavement was burning hot, my back was in spasms, and once I sat down in the change tent I discovered I couldn't stand back up on my own. Luckily the volunteers were great and the sponsoring hospital Memorial Hermann had wonderful massage/PT personnel on hand to help straighten me out and get me walking relatively normally again.<br />
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Despite not putting it all together on race day, I really enjoyed the trip to Texas. The Woodlands is a unique setting for an Ironman including swimming in a canal, riding in the HOT lonely rolling Texas countryside, and running along the Waterway. In a way I had the best of all worlds: I was in the thick of things as a participant, put in a good swim-bike training day, then I had a lot of fun cheering at the finish line and being a spectator---with the added bonus that I wasn't sore and hobbling around the next day! Plus my rental car was a lot of fun to drive! It's the small things in life...right?? My homestay, Katie White Reynolds and her family, were really great down-to-earth hosts with a "no muss no fuss" attitude. Thank you for adopting me, trying to teach me how to use a GPS (unfortunately a fail), and showing me how to set my phone so the alarm sounds but everything else is silent---priceless! I made some new friends in Texas and spent some time with old ones. Thank you to Ashley for passing the hours spectating with me, to April for the Gatsby movie date, and to BJ & Chrystel for the VIP banquet seating. Thanks also to my fellow athletes for the overwhelming support in the wake of a disappointing race. Congrats to all who finished on a steaming hot day in Texas, particularly Kim & Ian for their breakthrough performances, BJ for punching his ticket to Kona, and to Todd for persevering and putting one foot in front of the other to get 'er done. And of course, thank you to my sponsors and supporters for sticking with me through thick and thin: Powerbar, Rudy Project, Blueseventy, Reynolds, Fezzari, Recovery Pump, REV3, Maxxis, CycleOps, and The Bike Shoppe. <br />
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So what's next for me? I'm not exactly injured, I just have some "issues"---and I have every intention of maintaining my planned race schedule while working through things. I have some underlying structural imbalances that I suspect were exacerbated by trying to do too much too quickly in preparation for an early season Ironman. Lesson acknowledged, and hopefully lesson learned. With the help of my massage therapist and some work with a PT to re-train my body how to move correctly I should be good to go...and it's off to Connecticut next week for REV3 Quassy!<br />
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Since I didn't have much of a race to report on, here are some pictures to illustrate the experience:<br />
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<i>Swimming here made me feel like a real swimmer again!</i><br />
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<i>Setting up the day before.</i><br />
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<i>Banners along the Waterway.</i><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kMka8kESKJQ/UaJdK_L2P-I/AAAAAAAABNk/f6-fsKSfHCo/s1600/P1050144.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kMka8kESKJQ/UaJdK_L2P-I/AAAAAAAABNk/f6-fsKSfHCo/s320/P1050144.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Cows on course!</i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYyEEe_Jf40/UaJdbfK_q2I/AAAAAAAABNs/kD73ptEHiXM/s1600/P1050153.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYyEEe_Jf40/UaJdbfK_q2I/AAAAAAAABNs/kD73ptEHiXM/s320/P1050153.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Ghost town.</i><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wGmu0IN0QUg/UaJZR8D29_I/AAAAAAAABM8/1jVOYlCCc7k/s1600/P1050222.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wGmu0IN0QUg/UaJZR8D29_I/AAAAAAAABM8/1jVOYlCCc7k/s320/P1050222.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Great for spectators & for runners alike.</i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgLQ1-EN3Xw/UaJZ4R0dUdI/AAAAAAAABNE/wQSVra94kzU/s1600/P1050250.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgLQ1-EN3Xw/UaJZ4R0dUdI/AAAAAAAABNE/wQSVra94kzU/s320/P1050250.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>So close...just a downhill followed by an uphill to the finish line!</i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CMkjIvlvrM/UaJaIZhq0aI/AAAAAAAABNM/vBBlrLnda6I/s1600/P1050279.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CMkjIvlvrM/UaJaIZhq0aI/AAAAAAAABNM/vBBlrLnda6I/s320/P1050279.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Water features at night.</i><br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-27681376964710093772013-05-16T19:35:00.000-07:002013-05-16T19:35:37.380-07:00Just Driving Through...Photos From The IM Texas Bike CourseThis is the scenery I get to ride my bike through this Saturday!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCk9rcUem24/UZWTmCmtohI/AAAAAAAABLg/Z-Slg-DuN54/s1600/P1050137.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCk9rcUem24/UZWTmCmtohI/AAAAAAAABLg/Z-Slg-DuN54/s320/P1050137.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VSGl7deWiUg/UZWUFLP77ZI/AAAAAAAABLo/nSB6a1Zq9mU/s1600/P1050138.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VSGl7deWiUg/UZWUFLP77ZI/AAAAAAAABLo/nSB6a1Zq9mU/s320/P1050138.JPG" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kr1z-wKjDc8/UZWUjU5AidI/AAAAAAAABLw/JidR3Ihj7gc/s1600/P1050141.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kr1z-wKjDc8/UZWUjU5AidI/AAAAAAAABLw/JidR3Ihj7gc/s320/P1050141.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNEO2d-uyRg/UZWVAqBpqCI/AAAAAAAABL4/PZTopnZJ1GA/s1600/P1050149.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNEO2d-uyRg/UZWVAqBpqCI/AAAAAAAABL4/PZTopnZJ1GA/s320/P1050149.JPG" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zq83NbuNn34/UZWVeBa_aWI/AAAAAAAABMA/JSjEwihLtcU/s1600/P1050162.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zq83NbuNn34/UZWVeBa_aWI/AAAAAAAABMA/JSjEwihLtcU/s320/P1050162.JPG" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GDj214cIXZs/UZWV90VkkBI/AAAAAAAABMM/n05vWQ6guzc/s1600/P1050167.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GDj214cIXZs/UZWV90VkkBI/AAAAAAAABMM/n05vWQ6guzc/s320/P1050167.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IdZ2Y4FJEqU/UZWWfF_26EI/AAAAAAAABMU/s3hgwlE-e44/s1600/P1050151.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IdZ2Y4FJEqU/UZWWfF_26EI/AAAAAAAABMU/s3hgwlE-e44/s320/P1050151.JPG" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FMzfnFlLY4U/UZWW8JkM_AI/AAAAAAAABMc/n1sORuOA-uU/s1600/P1050146.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FMzfnFlLY4U/UZWW8JkM_AI/AAAAAAAABMc/n1sORuOA-uU/s320/P1050146.JPG" /></a>Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-39037356350224905112013-05-05T18:44:00.000-07:002013-05-05T18:44:44.413-07:00Busy Bee: IM 70.3 St. George, Striders 30K, SLC 1/2 Marathon & MoreYesterday marked my third weekend in a row of racing in one form or another---and that's only the beginning! My schedule includes five more races in the next eight weeks, including one full Ironman, three half-iron distance events, and the Utah Spartan Beast 10-12 mile running/obstacle challenge (just to keep things interesting). Two weeks ago I ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon, partly because I love that race so much, and mostly as a display of solidarity for the running community in the wake of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. It was a cold and wet day for running which somehow seemed fitting, and I found myself in a real head-to-head battle with a girl named Emily who as it turns out is friends/training partners with my fellow local pro triathlete Ali Black. Small world! It was fun to engage in a real game of cat-and-mouse over the course of a half-marathon, and despite ending up on the losing side of the sprint finish I'm still happy with the effort and the tactical practice. Thanks Emily for pushing me! I followed the SLC Half up with the Striders Winter Running Circuit 30K---that's 18.64 miles for those of you who want to know---the next weekend; I highly recommend this series (which includes a 5K, 10K, 10-miler, half-marathon, and 30K) as a great training progression for people doing the Ogden Marathon or anyone looking to get some early-season running races under their belt. My goal was to run a controlled negative split which I managed to do, and surprisingly I walked away with the win as well! That's a rare occurrence for me in a running event so it's always a nice feeling no matter how low key the event may be. <br />
<br />
My string of three-in-a-row continued yesterday when I had the honor of rubbing shoulders with some of the very best in the sport of triathlon at the US Pro Championships Ironman 70.3 race in St. George, Utah. For the past three years this race has been a full Ironman but because of the time of year and toughness of the course it never really caught on, so the WTC decided to shorten it to a half...and voila! It sold out! I read somewhere that the participation of Utahns shot from 300 registrants last year to over 1000 this year which is really exciting to see---having an accessible showcase event like this will do wonders to help the sport grow in our state, and it certainly generated a supportive crowd for a "local" girl like me. Naming it a championship event for the professionals helped draw in a larger, more competitive field as well, and the fact that it's a post-Olympic year made for an interesting mix of short-course ITU speedsters and long-course specialists. In fact, this was hands-down the deepest, most competitive pro field I've ever been a part of, and paired with the toughest 70.3 course I've ever encountered it promised to be an epic day!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wt34tVBWcsA/UYcJFHWatbI/AAAAAAAABK0/VoL7CKcXeUI/s1600/P1040942.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wt34tVBWcsA/UYcJFHWatbI/AAAAAAAABK0/VoL7CKcXeUI/s320/P1040942.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>St. George Town Square: a great place for families.</i><br />
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<b>THE SWIM: ONE-ARMED WONDER</b><br />
If anything, the past three years at St. George have proven that you never know what the weather is going to throw your way the first weekend of May in southern Utah. Heat, cold, whipping winds, frigid water, 10-foot waves...not to mention the challenge of the terrain itself...any and all of these elements could be a factor on race day. However, the weather gods were smiling down on St. George this year and race day dawned to clear skies, calm winds, and relatively mild temperatures. At 60 degrees the water was cool but not frigid, and the stunning backdrop of desert red rock and mountains around Sand Hollow Reservoir made for one of the most scenic swim venues I've ever seen. The pro men were off at the boom of the cannon at 6:55am, followed by the pro women five minutes later. It was a deep water start so we lined up between two small buoys; with a larger-than-normal ladies field, not to mention a faster-swimming-than-normal field, I knew it was going to be a furious pace right from the gun. I really dislike the "contact sport" part of the swim so I chose a starting position to the outside but in this case it was to no avail---there were about 15 of us trying to swim in the exact same spot and the washing machine effect was in full spin mode. A couple kicks to the face, a few tugs on the ankles, and several arm locks later things began to thin out a bit. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to extricate myself from the turmoil and I didn't catch any of the faster feet I was aiming for, so the swim was a bit of a frustration. For some reason I also had a problem controlling my left arm and struggled to find a rhythm---I've experienced this a few times before but am just now starting to piece together a theory as to why it happens and what I can do to prevent it. In any case, I felt pretty lopsided swimming and was more than happy to get out of the water and onto the bike. <br />
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Swim split: 26:48 (~15th place, in a pack of 8)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--alzyXeKLmw/UYcJopQRuoI/AAAAAAAABK8/dPXmclOrxgA/s1600/P1040858.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--alzyXeKLmw/UYcJopQRuoI/AAAAAAAABK8/dPXmclOrxgA/s320/P1040858.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Sand Hollow Reservoir</i><br />
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<b>THE BIKE: STRAP FUMBLE!</b><br />
One remnant of my ITU racing stint is that I'm pretty good at transitions (thank you Ric Rosenkranz!) and despite coming out of the water with several other girls I was able to zip through quickly and get to the mount line before a traffic jam built up. I did my classic flying mount (again, thank you Ric), put my feet on my shoes and started pedaling---but when I went to put my feet into my shoes I noticed that the left strap had come completely of the buckle and was flapping in the breeze. Irritating! Once the strap has slipped out it's tricky to work it back through on the fly, and I fiddled with it a few times to see if I could slide it through but no luck. So I rode the entire 56 miles with one shoe unstrapped. I don't think it really affected my performance, it was more of an annoyance than anything, but from now on I'm going to put a safety pin or two through the end of my shoe straps to keep that from happening again! Aside from the strap fumble the ride was super fun and engaging. There were grinding climbs, bombing descents, a fair number of sweeping and hairpin turns, and a large enough women's field that there was always someone in sight to try to track down. I caught some girls, was dropped by a few and passed by others. I never felt great but didn't feel horrible either---just sort of flat, which is not surprising considering where my training currently is---but I really enjoyed the course and couldn't believe how quickly it flew by! <br />
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Bike split: 2:32:48 (~12th place with an Olympian and a 2x XTerra World Champ right on my tail) <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bIVRGq9w0_Q/UYcJ7itSOQI/AAAAAAAABLE/I-6J53Lnocc/s1600/P1040881.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bIVRGq9w0_Q/UYcJ7itSOQI/AAAAAAAABLE/I-6J53Lnocc/s320/P1040881.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>A view in Snow Canyon---we rode up it!</i><br />
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<b>THE RUN: UP AND OVER AND BACK AGAIN</b> <br />
One benefit of living in Utah is that I have done races in St. George before and had the opportunity to do some training on the course leading up to the race, so I pretty much knew what to expect. A simple description often used for the run is that you go up for 6.5 miles then turn around and come back down, but it's really more "up and over" and then back again---with a few other undulations along the way. It's by far the hardest run course I've ever done and I can't imagine doing it twice like they did the first two years of the full Ironman! As with the bike, my running legs were a little flat but I never felt horrible, just steady. The uphills were definitely challenging, but oddly enough it was the last two miles downhill that hurt the most! The grade wasn't quite steep enough to just let gravity take over, and I knew there were some girls breathing down my neck so I was pushing hard to try and fend them off---but despite my best efforts I got nipped right before the line by my friend Charisa Wernick. Darn! It's actually kind of hilarious to end up in a sprint finish at the end of a half-ironman if you think about, especially on a course like St. George. Kudos to Charisa for charging hard right to the end! <br />
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Run split: 1:38:03 (sprint finish and no hamburger feet---my personal victory!) <br />
Race time: 4:40:30 (19th place)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMJboh5IC6E/UYcIp0kf5UI/AAAAAAAABKs/IaOV1RQOkc4/s1600/P1040994.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMJboh5IC6E/UYcIp0kf5UI/AAAAAAAABKs/IaOV1RQOkc4/s320/P1040994.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>One foot in front of the other.</i><br />
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<b>"HAPPY BUT NOT SATISFIED"</b> <br />
This was an epic race and it was thrilling to be a part of such a competitive field, and even more thrilling to be one of the thousand-plus Utahns representing our state on race day. It's really wonderful to see how the St. George community has embraced this event. On paper my performance might not look very impressive---the course and the competition pretty much handed it to me---but overall I left feeling mostly good about it. Andy Potts summed up my feelings pretty well in his post-race interview: "Happy but not satisfied." I was happy to be racing, happy with the course, happy to see so many familiar faces and feel the support of the crowd, happy to give the best effort I had on the day, happy knowing that despite a low placing it was amongst a stellar field and there's no shame in that...but I'm definitely not satisfied. I'm aiming higher than where I landed yesterday; I know the potential is there, it's a matter of fine-tuning the art of drawing it out and then putting all the pieces together on race day when it really matters. <br />
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<b>THANKS</b> <br />
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who cheered for me out there, whether you were racing, spectating, or volunteering---your good will gave me wings! Particular thanks to Albert (& dogs), Mallory, K-Rob ("it's just a little hill!"), Todd & Matt, BJ & Amanda, "Lead Bike" Leslie, Romney, and the girls on Bluff St. with the sign that said "Go Random Stranger". Thanks to all who sent me kind pre- and post-race messages---the encouragement means a great deal to me. Also thanks to my sponsors and supporters: Powerbar, Recovery Pump, REV3, Rudy Project, BlueSeventy, Reynolds, Fezzari, Maxxis, CycleOps, and The Bike Shoppe. Finally, congratulations to everyone who competed and conquered the course. It was a doozy but we did it! <br />
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Next up:<br />
IM Texas (May 18th)<br />
REV3 Quassy (June 2nd)<br />
IM 70.3 Boise (June 8th)<br />
REV3 Williamsburg (June 23rd)<br />
Utah Spartan Beast (June 29th)<br />
July----OFF!!!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1EVKHMmJvuE/UYcKLG-3jfI/AAAAAAAABLM/vbYzrQBg1_g/s1600/P1040646.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1EVKHMmJvuE/UYcKLG-3jfI/AAAAAAAABLM/vbYzrQBg1_g/s320/P1040646.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Funny faces.</i><br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-46646661938586960172013-04-11T16:54:00.003-07:002013-04-11T16:58:35.992-07:00Hamburger FeetLast weekend I headed down to Texas to kick off my triathlon season at the Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 event in Galveston. This race was originally not on my calendar, but I was feeling antsy and ready to test out my fitness so I decided to get things rolling about a month earlier than planned. I had a couple of other reasons for doing this race as well: I'm using some new gear this year and wanted to have a slightly lower key event than the US Pro Championships in St. George to try things out and blow out the cobwebs, plus I'm slated to do Ironman Texas in May and I was looking to get a hot & humid race under my belt to simulate likely race conditions in the Woodlands next month. The weather was a little cooler than I would have liked for that purpose (did I just say that?!) but overall the mission was accomplished on those fronts.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LlM1OY_9RQ0/UWcuQZcZtVI/AAAAAAAABJI/quTfayfE_9M/s1600/P1040389.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LlM1OY_9RQ0/UWcuQZcZtVI/AAAAAAAABJI/quTfayfE_9M/s320/P1040389.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>Among other things, I was testing out my new Reynolds Element disc wheel in a race for the first time.</i><br />
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The biggest surprise of the weekend was the announcement at the pro meeting on Friday that the water temperature was only 63 degrees, which meant that barring an unnatural rise in temps overnight it would be a wetsuit-legal swim. Last year at this race the water was a balmy 80 degrees and I believe that in the four-year history of the race it's always been a non-wetsuit swim for the pros, so I was expecting more of the same this year. Luckily I've learned from experience to ALWAYS bring both a wetsuit and speedsuit to races just in case, so I had my trusty BlueSeventy Helix on hand. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wJwjueRiCNk/UWc4TU-n5sI/AAAAAAAABJg/AMIWCwpglEI/s1600/Blueseventy+Helix.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wJwjueRiCNk/UWc4TU-n5sI/AAAAAAAABJg/AMIWCwpglEI/s320/Blueseventy+Helix.jpg" /></a> <br />
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<i>My Helix wetsuit got an unexpected maiden voyage of the season!</i><br />
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I've been putting in a little more time at the pool this year and it was pretty awesome to see the swim reflect that. I chose a starting spot to the far right with the idea of finding clean water and avoiding tangling up in the "washing machine" of other swimmers at the beginning of the swim. More time in the pool has translated into better speed + swim endurance and I was able to start strong with high turnover (for me at least) and a good kick then hold it pretty well for the entire 1.2 miles. I settled into the first chase pack of four girls and swam comfortably at the back of the group the whole way. This was a nice change from last season, when time after time I found myself missing the first pack and then hauling the second pack around the swim course. The other thing I'm really pleased about is that we got out of the water only about a minute down from super-swimmer (and former NCAA Div. I stud) Haley Chura, who swam 5 minutes faster than me at Ironman Arizona in November. Bonus!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p4D98fwMLQ8/UWc_Yg-YGiI/AAAAAAAABJw/r_WYX-PHtp8/s1600/Galveston+70.3+2010+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p4D98fwMLQ8/UWc_Yg-YGiI/AAAAAAAABJw/r_WYX-PHtp8/s320/Galveston+70.3+2010+020.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>The swim exit was just on the other side of the Colonel.</i><br />
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With the help of a quick transition (thanks to Ric Rosenkranz and my ITU training) I was able to start the bike ride in 2nd place. That was short-lived though, as the eventual winner Emma-Kate Lidbury came steaming by within the first few miles. She's a taller girl like me and at the pace she was going I honestly wasn't sure if I had just been passed by a girl or a guy. I decided it would be suicide for me to try and re-pass her to find out, so I let her go and kept my eye on the next rider up the road.<br />
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The bike course is a completely flat out-and-back affair that allows you one chance at the far turnaround to see where you are in comparison to the rest of the field. Flat may sound like it should be easy, but mentally it's a challenge to stay focused and keep the pedal to the metal, and the winds in Galveston are legendary. The weather on this day was actually relatively tame, with partly cloudy skies and winds hovering around 15mph. I liked what I saw at the turnaround---I was about 1:40 out of first, :35 behind 2nd, and had built a cushion of around 1:40 over the 4th place rider. Over the second half of the ride I was able to whittle down the space between me and the next rider up the road so we ended up entering T2 in a virtual tie; however, there were some big moves made behind us and we were passed by one other girl with just a few miles to go, and she managed to pull a large group of riders much closer than I would have liked by the start of the run.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LLuPLO1keAQ/UWc_6bYwjLI/AAAAAAAABJ4/1Izi8oSwKx0/s1600/Galveston+70.3+2010+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LLuPLO1keAQ/UWc_6bYwjLI/AAAAAAAABJ4/1Izi8oSwKx0/s320/Galveston+70.3+2010+034.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>The famous Teapot House. You can spot it along the bike course---if you're looking!</i><br />
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Now, if the race had just been a swim-bike I would have been in pretty good shape; however, there was still the run to tackle and (as I found out at the first turnaround about a mile into the course) there was a pack of hungry wolves right on my tail! I ended up having one of the more spectacularly dismal runs of my career. I'm annoyed with myself because I made a series of poor choices that added up to a bigger problem which I let get to me, and I mentally checked out of the race about 2 miles in. It's disappointing because the mistakes I made were elementary---neglecting to apply bodyglide to my feet, wearing a newer pair of shoes without socks for the first time in a race, trying a new sunscreen that apparently wasn't waterproof---and although the run fitness isn't superb at this point it's still better than what I displayed on Sunday. Slipping from 3rd place to 15th is not a result I'm proud of, but the good news is that it was a lower key early-season race and (hopefully!) I've gotten all the rookie mistakes out of my system! I also finished the race, and despite hobbling through the run and ending up with "hamburger feet", racing is always good training and you can learn a lot from the things that don't go smoothly. I'm actually pretty heartened by this spring fitness check and am looking forward to what the rest of the season holds. Back to the drawing board for a few more weeks of solid training, and then St. George here we come! <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lXpoKPm7YKo/UWdJek-KbnI/AAAAAAAABKY/5kPxKMuR0SA/s1600/Galveston+70.3+2010+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lXpoKPm7YKo/UWdJek-KbnI/AAAAAAAABKY/5kPxKMuR0SA/s320/Galveston+70.3+2010+022.JPG" /></a><br />
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<i>The run course made three circuits of Moody Gardens and its pyramids.</i><br />
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I would be remiss if I failed to thank the following sponsors for their support: Powerbar, Rudy Project, Reynolds, Recovery Pump, CycleOps, Fezzari, BlueSeventy, Maxxis, The Bike Shoppe, and Revolution3 Triathlon. Also, thanks to Coach KT, Hud Hopkins, and Brandon Marsh for the cheers out on course...it was great to see you all and I'm sure our paths will cross again next month at the Woodlands! <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-83842563297640770402013-01-24T15:42:00.002-08:002013-01-24T15:50:17.010-08:00Short & Sweet, Or The Most Expensive Half Marathon EverLast weekend I made a very quick little trip down the the Phoenix/Tempe area for the Arizona Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. At least, I originally intended to do the full marathon, but a case of the sickies during the week leading up to the event made me change my mind (and entry) to doing the half instead. I still wasn't feeling great on race morning---in fact, even now I'm battling some lingering effects of the illness---so I decided to take it out conservatively then try to push around Mile 8 if I was feeling up to it and see if I could pull off a negative split effort. The weather was great, the sunshine was divine, it was wonderful to escape the nasty cold & dirty air of the Wasatch Front for 29 hours---and I accomplished the negative split! So even though it wasn't a particularly blazing fast time I'm still pleased with the effort and feel like it was worth the trip.<br />
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In other news, REV3 Florida was recently broadcast on TV. If you missed it, you can view the whole thing below. So grab your popcorn, sit back, relax & enjoy!<br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-81978076609385418972013-01-16T17:31:00.000-08:002013-01-16T17:31:31.034-08:00Out From Under The RockIt's been a while since I've posted anything, but that doesn't mean I haven't been a busy little bee the past couple of months! The holidays and off-season always present a bit of a challenge for a routine-driven animal like me and I tend to get a bit grumpy when I'm out of my groove, but this year I've made some changes that have helped me manage that issue more effectively. One change is that I've stayed more actively focused this winter and taken less down-time than in past winters. The result is, shall we say, a "less soft" me than usual in January. Another change is that I'm taking a giant leap into the 21st century and---gasp!---learning how to use power on the bike and making friends with the heart rate monitor again...and really enjoying it! I've also been logging some good running miles and the plan actually calls for doing the Arizona Rock 'n' Roll Marathon this Sunday (although that might go out the window considering a poorly-timed illness that has me sidelined). In any case, it feels great to be logging some good base work and I'm excited to see how these changes impact my performance come race season!<br />
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I'm not really one for making formal New Year's resolutions per se, but there's no denying that a new year provides a nice marker to reinvent your routine. Since my life doesn't revolve solely around triathlon (what?!!), here are a few non-triathlon related things that I want to include more of in my life this year, in no particular order:<br />
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<b>Art: creating, viewing, enjoying, discussing</b><br />
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<b>Plants: not just outdoors, but indoors too!</b><br />
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<b>BBQs: we have a backyard, we have a grill, we have friends...we have NO excuses!</b><br />
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<b>Neighbors: get to know them better, and do what neighbors do</b><br />
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<i>“Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.”<br />
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird <br />
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<b>Community: volunteering & becoming more active in civic events</b><br />
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And on that merry note...let's get out and do this! <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-56342985269682880582012-11-23T20:14:00.001-08:002012-11-24T08:18:23.678-08:00Mixed Moss---Or Should I Say Sagebrush?Welcome to the off-season and to my last race report of 2012! Last weekend was my first trip to Ironman Arizona, affectionately dubbed "Kona 2.0" because of its proximity to the Hawaii Ironman and the all-star field that it typically draws. I'd been thinking about this race for over a year and had high hopes to put together the breakthrough performance that has alluded me all season. Don't get me wrong, it's been a good year---probably the most consistent season I've ever assembled---but I haven't really had that race where everything just flows and you come away thinking, "WOW, did I just do that?!". Unfortunately I'll have to wait for next year to continue the pursuit of that "perfect" race. While Sunday's effort fell a little short of my goals, I still managed a respectable 8th place finish and another sub-9:30 finishing time. I'm beginning to think that maybe Consistency is my real middle name! Since my initial foray into the Ironman distance when I went a 10:07 at IM Coeur d'Alene (and had absolutely NO CLUE what I was doing!), I've clocked times of 9:19, 9:22, and 9:28. I don't especially like the direction that those times are trending, but considering that it's a 9+ hour event I have to admit that a 9-minute span is a pretty good batting average. The next step is figuring out what changes to make in training to develop consistency at the next level...say, in a range that is closer to the 9-hour mark!<br />
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<i>All smiles after the practice swim. I like cold water!</i><br />
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The weekend was destined to be a great one whether or not I performed well because I had a lot of people at this race rooting for me and the energy was really something special. The IMAZ course is extremely spectator-friendly and I think my "official" cheering squad (Mom, Aunt Candy, Kira, Albert, & Shay) managed to catch me sixteen times throughout the day. There were so many other people cheering for me along the course as well----for fear of leaving anyone out I'll not mention any specific names but instead offer a big THANK YOU to everyone who gave me a holler; you know who you are and I appreciate every single one of you!<br />
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<i>One of the more flashy aid stations. Thanks for the support!</i><br />
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Here is a recap of my impressions from the day:<br />
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The swim start is the coolest race start I've ever done, with all the spectators looking down from the Mill Avenue Bridge and lining the sides of Tempe Town Lake. I was even able to spot my cheering squad as I did some warm-up laps, thanks to my aunt's ability to project her voice! Memorable to say the least!<br />
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<i>Spectators perched on the Mill Ave. Bridge.</i><br />
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Once the cannon went off the swim felt like it lasted FOREVER. I think this must have been because it was the first single-loop Ironman swim I've ever done. 2.4 miles is a long way and it's amazing what a little break in the middle can do for you both physically and mentally! I was surprised that it only took 55 minutes---not an especially great time, but probably a fair reflection of where my swim training has been and good enough to get me out of the water in the top five.<br />
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<i>And we're off!</i><br />
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The first half of the first bike loop felt EASY and I was pleased to be able to stay within striking distance of reigning World Champ Leanda Cave and still feel like I was holding back. Once we made the first 180-degree turnaround though I felt like CRAP and the string broke. It wasn't a particular pain or GI issue or anything along those lines, I simply felt like I had no power. This was a new experience for me on the bike (in a race, that is) and it lasted through the remainder of Lap 1 and all of Lap 2. Once I hit the third lap I started to get my legs back under me and was able work back up into 5th place by the time I hit T2. It was a healthy reminder that it's a loooong day and anything can happen, so it's good to stay positive and pack some patience & perseverance in ye olde bag 'o tricks on race day. Bike time: 5:03---again, not my best and not what I was aiming for, but still a solid ride.<br />
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<i>A smile for my cheering squad.</i><br />
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Similar to the bike, I felt AWESOME starting the run---nice and light on my feet, like I was jogging. I was really trying to control the pace the first loop and not repeat my mistake from Cedar Point of going out way too fast. My splits show I did a decent job with that. The problem is that despite still feeling pretty good, I wasn't able to increase my pace as planned (sound familiar?). I started tightening up a bit around Mile 18, but I hung on gamely and even finished with a pretty good kick in a last-ditch effort to catch 7th place. My run split was not spectacular---3:25---but overall it seems to have been a slower day across the board for whatever reason so I'll take it. <br />
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<i>Digging deep.</i><br />
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Despite falling shy of what I was aiming for, finishing an Ironman is still a big deal and I'm proud to have another one under my belt. I'm very lucky to be able to do this sport at all and it's a tremendous honor to toe the line with such an accomplished field of athletes. Now it's time to kick back, relax, and soak up the season!<br />
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<i>High fives down the finishing chute.</i><br />
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Wrapping it up, I'd like to thank my sponsors: REV3, Powerbar, Recovery Pump, Pearl Izumi, Rudy Project, Blueseventy, Fezzari, Maxxis, and The Bike Shoppe for their awesome support throughout the year. Thanks of course to my family & friends for their support and for becoming real groupies over the past year! It's always great to have you along for the ride. Thanks to those who have offered me advice, wisdom, and motivation along the way. And of course, a special thanks to Albert for understanding, accepting, and supporting the lifestyle that is required when you're immersed in the "relentless pursuit of excellence". <br />
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<i>In good company.</i><br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-22938037480941064072012-10-31T18:16:00.001-07:002012-10-31T18:16:10.729-07:00REV3 Finale: Venice BeachI made my third quick trip of the month to a REV3 event, this time to Sarasota, Florida for the final installment in the 2013 REV3 Triathlon Series. This was a big race with a large prize purse and double points on the line to decide the final standings in the REV3 Pro Series. It drew a strong field with an interesting mixture of athletes which made for an unpredictable and exciting day. Added to that were the unusually high winds from Hurricane Sandy's steady march northeast, presenting a good challenge on what might otherwise have been a more mundane course. In fact, the winds were so bad that riptide warnings were issued and the Coast Guard informed REV3 that they absolutely could not stage a swim. It's a good thing the staff are so nimble on their toes and readily adapt to the challenges that are thrown their way. The solution was to cancel the swim for everyone and do a run/bike/run for the pros and a time-trial started bike/run for the age groupers. This was the third race I've done within the past 12 months that was altered due to weather-related issues so I wasn't really fazed and simply reorganized my gear to fit what the day called for. <br />
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<i>Sunrise and wind. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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It was really fun starting off with a quick little run first---with the exception of short-course ITU racing you don't often find yourself in that large of a pack on the run in a triathlon. It felt like a real horse-race! I think the purpose of doing a 1.5 mile run first for the pros was to attempt to break up the field somewhat but most of the ladies ended up coming into T1 together anyway. It was a bit frantic with everyone trying to kick off their shoes and grab their bikes at the same time, not to mention that it was a really narrow space to begin with, but I had a good spot and was able to get through without any issues.<br />
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<i>The 1.5 mile horse-race. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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My strategy on the bike was to ride conservatively for the first half and let the tailwind do a lot of the work for me before pushing the pace and trying to make a move once we made the turn into the wind. Alicia Kaye and Becky Lavelle took it out REALLY hard and established a gap right away, but I hung back in a group that included Nicole Kelleher and Lauren Goss. I felt that I could afford to let Alicia go because she was not competing for the overall series, and while Becky was in the running for the series it was a tighter battle points-wise going into the race between Nicole, Lauren, and myself so I wanted to mark them for a while instead of risking a major blow-up by pushing too hard too early. This plan unfolded exactly the way I envisioned and I was able to bridge up to the leaders while building a gap on Nicole and Lauren in the second half of the ride. There was a short out-and-back section with about 10 miles to go where you could get a good look at everyone---and I liked what I saw! Rolling into T2 in 2nd place just steps behind Becky, I knew I was positioned about as perfectly as I could hope for going into the half-marathon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sz-SeAsmOKw/UJHHl5_1GWI/AAAAAAAAA-I/uXEXG_vCKs8/s1600/T2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sz-SeAsmOKw/UJHHl5_1GWI/AAAAAAAAA-I/uXEXG_vCKs8/s400/T2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<i>Changing shoes...yet again. Photo by Elaine Kratz.</i><br />
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I made quick work of T2 and actually got out onto the run course in first place. My lead was short-lived, however, as Becky came storming by within the first half-mile. I didn't panic because I had done the math and knew that I still had some wiggle room in the overall series in relation to Becky. I've been guilty of taking the run out too fast on more than one occasion this season and my plan was to start off more conservatively and then build the pace. However, when I tried to tighten the screws down a bit there was nothing there. My legs felt really heavy, I could tell my form was not pretty and no matter how I tried I could not seem to get my feet to turn over any faster. Nicole passed me somewhere late in the first lap, then I began a steady slide backwards through the field. The second lap of the run was something of a death march and I'm pretty sure that Mile 9 was the longest mile of my life. By the time I crossed the finish line I had slipped to 8th place, which was exactly where I did NOT want to be: in a position that did absolutely nothing to improve my overall series score and would in fact drop me down to 5th place in the final series standings.<br />
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<i>Who looks better in this picture? Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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To say I am bummed is a major understatement. I was in a perfect position going into the run and I let it slip away from me. I'm not really sure what the root of the implosion was---nutrition, hydration, over-exertion on the bike, or if it was simply all in my head. Whatever the case, it provides me with some good food for thought in the off-season and a project to work on so that I will come back stronger next year. I can't really dwell on it now though because I've got an Ironman coming up in less than three weeks and a reunion with my fan club in Arizona to look forward to!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qWnCcG3se3c/UJHJLZuhbeI/AAAAAAAAA-g/LbCYF_6e2WY/s1600/Post%2BRace%2BTrish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="399" width="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qWnCcG3se3c/UJHJLZuhbeI/AAAAAAAAA-g/LbCYF_6e2WY/s400/Post%2BRace%2BTrish.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<i>Post-race with Trish, my high school swim coach's wife. She's a stud! Photo by Matt Rydson.</i><br />
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I'd like to express my gratitude to the following for their support over the weekend: to Ray & Lynn for their <i>incredible</i> hospitality; to Brittany for the good company and introducing me to Ray & Lynn in the first place; to Chris Jarc for the much-need post-race piggyback ride; to Charlie, Eric, Sean, Stu, Ashley, Alex...oh gosh, there are too many to name! To the <b>entire</b> REV3 staff for being the most wonderful, friendly, fun, supportive, and professional event staff around; to the media crew for the great work (can't wait to see the TV coverage!); to the city of Venice Beach for the venue and to all the volunteers who donated their time to make this event a success; and of course to my sponsors who help make it possible for me to get to the starting line in the first place (REV3, Recovery Pump, Powerbar, Pearl Izumi, Rudy Project, Blueseventy, Fezzari, Maxxis, and The Bike Shoppe). <br />
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Special congratulations to Brittany Banker for capping off a stellar season and celebrating 8 years of kicking cancer in the butt, to Trish Rydson on her age group win (great to see you Trish & Matt!), to Becky Lavelle & Jesse Thomas on their impressive victories, to Nicole Kelleher and Richie Cunningham for their spectacular seasons and the well-deserved series titles, and to my teammate Jessica Meyers for a great performance and clawing her way up to third place on the day. One day I will be tough as nails like that! <br />
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<i>Any excuse to play dress-up! Any guesses as to what I am? Photo by Ray Pecharich.</i> <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-73946967652504830192012-10-16T17:20:00.000-07:002012-10-16T17:20:47.838-07:00REV3 South CarolinaWhew! Another whirlwind of a trip. I'm sitting in the the Atlanta airport (someone please remind me NEVER to fly in/out of Atlanta again!) after a quick weekend trip to Anderson, South Carolina, for yet another REV3 event. It was the next-to-last stop for the 2012 REV3 Pro Series and promised to be a real humdinger of a race. Current series leader Nicole Kelleher was on the start list, as was last year's 2nd place finisher Tenille Hoogland of Canada and a handful of wild-card ITU ladies. I knew going into the event that it was vital for me to have a strong performance to have any chance at moving up in the overall series standings.<br />
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I arrived in Anderson on Friday night and was reunited with my friends Todd Lucas, Trish Graham, and Carin VanderKlok at the lake house that we rented for the weekend. It was a really cool house with an outdoor TV and fireplace (never seen that before!) and was located just across the water from the swim venue. Saturday was the usual pre-race business, starting with an interview at 9am with Simply Stu and Dennis and followed by a little bike & swim, the pro meeting at 12:30 and the pro panel soon afterwards. I always like to drive the bike course even if I've done the race before to remind myself of any tricky spots, so I did that in the afternoon before heading back to the house to organize gear and squeeze in a little pre-race Recovery Pump time before winding down for the night. Of course, I got caught up in watching the excitement of the Kona race coverage online so I didn't actually get to sleep as early as I would have liked to---but it was worth it to see the women battle it out on the run! <br />
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Race morning was dark and a bit overcast, but I was surprised by the relatively balmy air temperature and lack of wind. The day before had been pretty windy and there was a bite to the air; in contrast race day was perfectly calm. I would have been happy with rougher weather but knew that the course itself was tough and would present a good challenge even in mild conditions. The water was measured at just below 68 degrees so it was wetsuit legal for everyone. After some good A.R.T. bodywork with Dr. Kevin Maggs the day before my arms felt nice and loose for the swim. I positioned myself to the outside for the beach start and had a fast run-in despite a slight stumble when I hit the water, then was able to throw in some quick dolphin dives before settling into freestyle. <br />
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<i>The swim start. I'm on the far right in the yellow swim cap with my arm up in the air (it was the stumble). Photo by Nils Nilsen.</i><br />
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The stretch to the first buoy was a bit frantic with jockeying for position, but we mostly got ourselves sorted out soon after the first turn. I found a much better rhythm than last week in Maryland, but unfortunately I wasn't able to hold onto the feet of Tenille or speedy ITU swimmers Jennifer Spieldenner and Anna Cleaver, and I ended up swimming solo for most of the course. I hit T1 between 45-60 seconds down from the leaders, a HUGE improvement over last year on this course so I was happy with that. <br />
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<i>Looking like a seal exiting the swim. Photo by Nils Nilsen.</i><br />
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There is a notable uphill within the first mile on the bike and I could see a clump of riders up ahead. Some of them were pro men but I knew the ladies had to be up there in the mix and I settled down to work to catch them. The hills and the rhythm of this course really suit me and I was able to overtake the lead by Mile 10 and held it through the end of the bike. I knew Nicole would be strong on the run, and Tenille and I had run similar splits on this course last year, so my strategy was to build a lead on the bike and try to hold it on the run. By the end of the ride I had a 45 seconds gap over Tenille and about a 4 minute cushion over Nicole. More than I expected, but definitely not enough to breathe easy!<br />
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<i>Birds-eye view of the bike. Photo by Nils Nilsen.</i><br />
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The run course this year was a little different, consisting of two constantly up-and-down loops. I enjoyed the run but boy was it tough! I was able to maintain the lead through the first six miles, then Tenille came up on my shoulder right at the end of the first lap. We started the second lap virtually together, then Tenille powered ahead at the top of the first hill up from the parking lot. It wasn't long before Nicole came zipping by and I found myself running in 3rd place. I tried to keep within striking distance of these ladies, knowing that this type of run course can get the best of anyone and that it wasn't over until the finish line, but I wasn't able to make any sort of comeback in the latter stages of the run and had to settle for the bronze.<br />
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<i>Tackling the hills on the run. Photo by Nils Nilsen.</i><br />
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Overall it was a great effort, though it fell a little short of what I needed to do to make a big jump in the overall REV3 Pro Series. After this race I'm sitting in 3rd place, less than 200 points out of 2nd and only 45 points ahead of 4th. Talk about not having any breathing room! The grande finale at Venice Beach, FL, in two weeks is shaping up to be a real showdown. The course in Florida is pancake flat which should make for a completely different dynamic from the other REV3 events. Should be interesting---wish me luck!<br />
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<i>Running with Charlie, a.k.a. The Ultimate Photo Bomber. Photo courtesy of Charlie Patten.</i><br />
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After the race I got to hang out with my friend Brittany Banker, who I'll be staying with in Florida, and to catch up with some of the other pro ladies including my REV3 teammate Jacqui Gordon. Unfortunately Trish and Carin had to go back to North Carolina, but Todd stuck around and we went to a BBQ at Tenille's homestay and met some really lovely people from the local triathlon scene. I love southern hospitality! It was a really nice way to cap another great weekend.<br />
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<i>Post-race funky hairdo with Brittany Banker. Photo by Stu Fitch.</i><br />
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Congrats to Nicole on another stellar REV3 win, to Andrew Starykowicz for a dramatic comeback to the racing scene, and to all the finishers for their achievement on the day. If you haven't tried a REV3 event yet---you are seriously missing out! You won't find a more friendly, helpful, accommodating staff anywhere else, and the organization runs like a well-oiled machine. Thank you REV3 staff, volunteers, spectators, and other athletes for the incredible support along the course; to my sponsors REV3, Powerbar, Recovery Pump, Pearl Izumi, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, Fezzari, Maxxis, and The Bike Shoppe for supporting me in my athletic dreams; to the Sequined Thongs for the AWESOME whoops and hollers; to Brittany for the cheers & pics; to the other ladies in the pro field for a fair and honest race; and of course to Albert for flying solo with the dogs again for the second weekend in a row. Paybacks are on the horizon, I promise! <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-68845801956009761622012-10-10T21:08:00.000-07:002012-10-10T21:08:04.322-07:00Are You Half Full?This past weekend was such a great one that I hardly know where to begin! After not doing as well points-wise for the REV3 Pro Series at Cedar Point as I'd hoped, and subsequently learning that the Half Full Triathlon was actually part of the series, I made a relatively last-minute decision to throw my hat in the ring and book a trip to Maryland. It ended up being a wonderful weekend for a variety of reasons---four days chock-full of good memories with great people!<br />
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I flew in and out of Philadelphia because a) it was cheaper and b) it would put me closer to my east coast relatives and give me an opportunity to visit them while in the area. My Aunt Candy (a.k.a. my #1 Philly Fan) and Uncle Brian were kind enough to let me use their house as home base despite having a wedding and a high school reunion (we won't say which year!) going on that same weekend. I arrived in Philly on Friday afternoon, then on Saturday morning I made the drive down to Maryland and was greeted at Centennial Park by the familiar REV3 logos, along with the Ulman Cancer Fund banners flapping in the breeze. It was a beautiful location and I was excited to tackle the course on Sunday. <br />
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<i>Race morning skies---photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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The Half Full Triathlon truly is a special event with an atmosphere unlike any other triathlon I have done. The main purpose of the race is to raise awareness and funds for the Ulman Cancer Fund, an organization dedicated to providing support for young adults battling cancer. The name "Half Full" comes not from the distance of the race but from the Ulman Cancer Fund's philosophy of fighting cancer with hope and a positive attitude. Ninety-two percent of the people participating in the event were racing in honor or memory of someone with cancer, and there was a special Survivors Wave which consisted of 30 people who have successfully beaten cancer--including bib #1, a certain Mr. Lance Armstrong. The energy of the event was unbelievable and I am so glad I got to experience it.<br />
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<i>Keeping a "half full" attitude---a smile despite the rain. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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Race morning dawned with temperatures close to 30 degrees cooler than the previous day and with a forecast of rain beginning at 7am. Like clockwork, the rain started spitting from the sky just as I was heading out of the transition area down to the swim start. It was cold, but in comparison to the Boise 70.3 race in June it felt relatively balmy so I wasn't overly concerned with the forecast and knew that I'd likely be okay in my usual race kit and just toe-covers on my bike shoes for a little extra warmth. The swim was uneventful---a nice smooth start and clean water the whole way. It wasn't a bad swim but it wasn't a great swim either. There was a lengthy run-up to the transition area that was good for building a little warmth before hopping on the bike. I got out of the water in 4th but was able to transition smoothly and start the bike in 3rd place.<br />
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<i>Contemplating the swim and the meaning of the day. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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Columbia MD and the surrounding area is absolutely gorgeous and I knew it was going to be a fun ride. The addition of rain on the roads made me a little cautious for the first half of the bike: in Utah we've had maybe 3 days of rain total since about May and I was a little out of practice riding in slick conditions. Midway through the ride I bridged up to the leaders and on one of the hills was able to ride through the group into the lead. It was at this point that I started to notice that my fingers were getting cold and that shifting was really clumsy. It was a good time to remind myself of the "Half Full" philosophy and keep a positive outlook. The remainder of the ride was actually quite enjoyable for me---I liked having open space in front of me and not having to worry about positioning off of the other ladies. <br />
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<i>Another "half full" grin. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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I expected at least one of the girls to stick with me on the bike so I was surprised to roll into T2 with a bit of a gap over the next rider. The funniest part of the whole race was my second transition; my fingers were so cold that I could not for the life of me get the chinstrap unbuckled! I tried and failed, decided to put my shoes on (successfully, albeit with numb toes), then struggled again with the chinstrap. An image of me running with my bright green Wingspan helmet on flashed through my mind but luckily my fingers started somewhat working again and I was able to finally get the helmet off. That would have been hilarious though---almost as funny as the guys who wore their wetsuits on the bike at Boise this year! <br />
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Once on the run I tried to keep as much distance between me and the other ladies as possible. I knew from studying the course that it would be hilly and winding through the first half, then more open and downhill in the second part. My goal was to be "out of sight, out of mind". The plan worked pretty well and I held the lead for about 3.5 miles before Nicole Kelleher came up on my shoulder. I was pretty pleased to have held her off so long, she is a stellar runner! Unfortunately I was not able to match her pace but still kept her in my sights for the remainder of the run. It was a good hard effort and I was absolutely thrilled to land in second place; the only better scenario would have been the W-I-N but I gave it my best shot and am pleased with that.<br />
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<i>Happy to see the finish line. Photo by Eric Wynn.</i><br />
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I was greeted at the finish line by my dear friend Monica Bailey whom I've known since 5th grade and who lives just outside of Baltimore. It had been years since we've seen each other so when I realized I would be racing in her backyard I had to track her down. It was so awesome of her to come out and cheer me on in the less-than-ideal conditions, and we had a GREAT visit over a nice hot post-race brunch. Thank you Monica for your part in making my weekend a memorable one!<br />
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I headed back up towards Philadelphia in the afternoon and had a very nice dinner with my aunt at Steak 38 in Pennsauken NJ where they served us the biggest steaks I have ever seen. Aunt Candy also baked a scrumptious chocolate cake with an icing that rivaled my all-time favorite cream cheese frosting. Thank you for treating me like royalty Aunt Candy!<br />
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Monday was another great day, as we drove over to Pottstown PA to have brunch in a diner along the historic main drag with my Grandma Jane and Uncle Rich. After brunch we had time before I had to catch my flight to visit my Pop-pop who is in an assisted living facility in Pottstown. My last visit with Pop-pop was memorable because he recognized me without any prompting; this one was special because we got to serenade him with singing and guitar music. It was a really wonderful day and a memory that I will always hold close to my heart.<br />
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This list of people to thank for this great weekend goes on a on, so I just want to mention a few to whom I am particularly grateful: to Candy & Brian for opening their doors to me; to the Zaccagnini family for hosting me in Columbia; to Brian Satola and the Ulman Cancer Fund for creating a wonderful event and welcoming atmosphere; to Charlie and the REV3 team for doing what you do best; to Kevin and Betsy for being my inspiration to keep fighting on race day; to the AWESOME volunteers, spectators, military personnel, and survivors who lined the course on Sunday; to Drew & Monica for treating me to brunch; and to Albert for holding down the fort while I was gone. Also, a quick shout-out to my sponsors REV3, Powerbar, Pearl Izumi, Recovery Pump, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, Fezzari, Maxxis, and The Bike Shoppe for your support.<br />
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Next up: REV3 South Carolina---this weekend!!! <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-79881311593406647222012-09-23T16:47:00.000-07:002012-09-23T16:48:40.741-07:00XTERRA USA & US Trail ChampsIt has been a great weekend here in Ogden, UT! The fall colors are out in more brilliant colors than I've ever seen and we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy them at Snowbasin this weekend during the XTERRA USA off-road triathlon and US Trail Running championship events. We kicked things off Friday with an evening hike at Snowbasin followed by a birthday dinner at Slackwater Pizza & Pub in Ogden (yay for live music!), then continued on Saturday by having a great time spectating and then helping out at the Powerbar booth at the XTERRA triathlon at Snowbasin. Sunday was the Trail Running Championships on one of my all-time favorite loops, the Sardine Peak Trail. Albert did not have a great run (he had a problem ~4 miles in and took an 8 minute break before picking it back up and finishing), while I was able to keep my Top 10 streak alive for the season by taking 8th overall in the ladies event. Here is a sampling of my favorite photos from the weekend:<br />
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Hope you enjoyed! Until next time.Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-48576678690038217892012-09-13T17:58:00.001-07:002012-09-13T18:12:56.464-07:00REV3 Cedar Point FullHello friends, family, and all the other random people who follow my blog! I'm checking in after racing this past weekend in Sandusky, OH, at REV3 Cedar Point. This was an important race on a variety of levels: 1) Sandusky is a few hours from where I grew up which meant I had a big family/friends contingent in attendance and I always feel that I owe them a good performance when they've made the effort to stand out all day to cheer me on; 2) it was a high points race for the overall REV3 Pro Series and a good opportunity to move up in the standings; and 3) I was coming in as the defending champion of this race and was looking for a repeat. It had been exactly one year since I'd done a full distance triathlon, so there was definitely an element of the unknown going into this race. A full distance triathlon is not something to be taken lightly: it's such a long day with so many factors involved, and it can humble even the most experienced athletes. My training has been strong this year and I felt well prepared going into the event, but I won't lie---I was freaking out a little in the days leading up to Sunday! A lot of this feeling was pressure that I put on myself to perform on the day, but there was certainly external pressure as well. I tried to ignore the external pressure as much as possible but it wasn't until afterwards that I realized how much weight the expectation of a repeat performance can carry. Whew! Glad to have that one over! <br />
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And just because I like to live on the edge, I decided a couple of weeks beforehand to send a box of race gear via snail mail so that it would lighten the literal load that I had to carry on my travel day. The box had not arrived by the time I rolled into the Midwest on Wednesday...and when there was still no box by 4pm on Thursday I was getting really worried. It had my helmet, Powergels, glasses, fuel belts, racing flats, and a few other odds & ends essential for racing. I was due to drive from Indiana to Sandusky on Friday morning and I REALLY wanted to have that box with me. There was a safety net because my mom wasn't heading over to Cedar Point until Saturday so if all else failed she could bring it with her (assuming it arrived!), but it made me extremely nervous to think of traveling to a race site without all my gear. Luckily, at 5pm on Thursday the mail truck pulled up into the driveway and my box was delivered! Woohoo! Now I could breathe a little easier. <br />
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The second pre-race incident that got me sweating a little bit was that I had a Dells Redux moment: while building up my bike on Thursday morning I noticed yet another crack forming in the newly replaced seatpost clamp when I was tightening the seatpost down. <i>No! Are you kidding me?!</i> Luckily I had a spare with me this time and was able to immediately replace the clamp---and tightened it down very gingerly by hand, no torque wrench allowed! Disaster averted. Sigh of relief.<br />
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<i>This is what a cracked seatpost clamp looks like.</i><br />
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Since last year ended up being such a success for me, I tried to keep the same routine this time around in the days leading up to the race. I headed over to Sandusky on Friday morning with the idea of spending the afternoon scoping out the course and fulfilling media obligations. I had the same AWESOME host family (thanks Hope, Roger, Hayden & Hunter!) whose house is conveniently located a few miles from the park along the bike course. My friend Courtney and her daughter Lucy rolled into the area later on Friday and we headed into downtown Sandusky for dinner and happened to walk into the middle of a classic car show. I love classic cars! It was a nice distraction from all the race thoughts that were dashing around in my head.<br />
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<i>Pre-race b-day celebration. Photo Betsy Evers</i><br />
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Friday night and Saturday morning ended up being horrendous from a weather standpoint, with huge thunder & lightening storms that brought torrential downpours and even some hail. I felt bad for the REV3 staff because a lot of their hard set-up work was undone in the storms. Both the kids race and the sprint triathlon on Saturday were modified to just runs because the conditions were too dangerous for swimming & cycling. This was a bit of a solace to Lucy, who had been signed up for the kids race but fell and broke her arm earlier in the week while riding her bike to swim practice. She was a real trooper and volunteered instead!<br />
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The weather cleared up by Saturday afternoon and looked like we were going to have a pretty nice day on Sunday. I did some light training in the morning, then went to the pro meeting and pro panel in the early afternoon. After that it was time to do final gear organizing, then off to spend the evening with my family and friends. They really surprised me this year by having birthday brownies (including candles!), hats, and party favors when I walked in the door! It's not my birthday for a couple more weeks but they figured we may as well celebrate it while we were all together. It was so sweet! The evening passed with many good belly laughs in good company...a perfect way to wind down before the big day.<br />
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<i>Guess who got to wear #1?!</i><br />
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RACE DAY:<br />
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It's funny, for such a long race I don't really feel that I have too much to write about it. I woke up, ate breakfast, cooked my potatoes, put on my tattoos, then loaded up my gear in the car and drove down the street to Cedar Point. I got everything organized in the transition area, did a walk-through to make sure I knew the flow and where the mount/dismount line was, then headed out for a little jogging warm-up. I was feeling fine, just a little full from a large breakfast, then all of a sudden my stomach jumped and I doubled over and puked part of that breakfast back up. Twice. Hmm. I tried not to worry about it, but of course I did---<i>Did I just lose all my pre-race calories? Am I coming down with strep throat after hanging out with my sick niece the other day? Is it just really bad nerves?</i> I actually felt much better after "revisiting" some of my breakfast, so I chalked it up to eating too many calories too quickly, jogged back to transition and put the incident out of my mind. I was greeted by my cheering squad, complete with glow-in-the-dark masks and wands, and that put a smile on my face. Then it was down to the swim start to test out and christen the water before go time!<br />
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Aside from having to do more dolphin dives than in any other race (Jesse Thomas, you would have LOVED it!) and a little bit of jostling with one of the other girls in the stretch to the first turn buoy, the swim was pretty uneventful. The water was choppier and warmer than last year (hence no wetsuits), so my time was a couple minutes slower even though the effort was good. I exited in first place with the second girl a few steps behind. T1 went smoothly as all I had to do was pull off my Blueseventy swimskin, buckle on my bright green Rudy Project Wingspan helmet, grab my Fezzari speed machine and go. I led the bike through the first loop, keying off of some of the slower professional men. On the second loop Carrie Lester pulled up beside me and we rode together essentially for the rest of the ride. I felt strong and controlled, never riding outside of myself, and was really pleased afterwards to see how evenly I had split the ride. I hit T2 just a few seconds ahead of Carrie in a new PR bike split of just under 5 hours. Woohoo! I took the time in transition to sit down, pee, put on Bodyglide and socks before sliding into my shoes and heading out onto the run. I told myself it was a long day and a few extra seconds lost in transition were not going to lose the race. <br />
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<i>Enjoying the ride. Photo Nils Nilsen</i><br />
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I should have listened more carefully to myself, because once I started running I got caught up in racing Carrie and took off like a bat out of hell! My first two miles were in the 6:30-range which is WAY TOO FAST. I have no idea what I was thinking. Obviously, I wasn't! I tried backing off but my next two miles were still sub-7:00. Around Mile 5 Carrie caught back up and took the lead again. The first half marathon stayed pretty close, hovering between 30 seconds to 2 minutes gap between us. I was still feeling decent, although I knew that I would probably pay for those fast early miles later in the run. It was around Mile 18 that I really started feeling that mistake come back to haunt me. By this point I began to worry about who was behind me and whether I would be able to hold them off. I got my answer in the last two out-and-back sections of the run, when Jess Meyers went from being there but not too threatening to suddenly being way too close for comfort. She caught me with about 4 miles to go, running like it was a 5K! If it weren't me being passed it would have been a beautiful thing to watch---she was absolutely FLYING. And in her first full distance race and first marathon EVER! Wow.<br />
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<i>The battle on the run. Photo Nils Nilsen</i><br />
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Overall, I can't complain with my day. I swam strong, biked very well, ran a decent (if not very smart) marathon and landed on the podium with an overall time within minutes of last year's near-perfect race. I'm a little disappointed to have not defended my title, but it was great to be involved in a hot battle all day long and to try out some different strategies. If I had paced a little smarter on the run I think I could have accomplished the repeat, but of course hindsight is 20-20. Hopefully I can learn from this and nail it in the next go round. Carrie and Jess had strong AND smart races, and that's what it took to win last Sunday. Congratulations to them, and to everyone who competed!<br />
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Thanks go to: my AWESOME cheering squad in attendance (Mom, Betsy, Zak, Courtney & Lucy) and to everyone else who cheered and sent words of encouragement in the days before and after the race; Hope & Roger Franklin for opening their home to me again this year; the entire REV3 staff for their tireless efforts to put on another world-class event; the Cedar Point staff and town of Sandusky for allowing this event to take place; to the volunteers without whom a race like this could not exist; to my clients/athletes in Utah for forgiving me an extended absence to do this race; to Albert for his unwavering support; and of course to my sponsors REV3, Powerbar, Pearl Izumi, Recovery Pump, BlueSeventy, Fezzari, Rudy Project, and The Bike Shoppe for the everyday contributions you make to help get me to the starting line ready to race. I couldn't do it without you! <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-1408429893372114082012-08-14T21:21:00.002-07:002012-08-14T21:31:25.439-07:00Bike Drama In The DellsI'm writing this somewhere over the Rockies between Denver and Salt Lake on my way home from competing in the REV3 Wisconsin Dells triathlon. Overall it was a fun weekend, filled with making new friends and catching up with old ones. The goal of the race was to get a good fitness check going into REV3 Cedar Point while hopefully picking up some good points for the overall series. That mission was mostly accomplished, although it was not without its mishaps. <br />
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The drama began when I was building up my bike and heard a really bad sound while I was tightening down the seatpost. Unfortunately, what it sounded like---breaking metal---is in fact exactly what it was: my seatpost clamp had cracked! I may have said a few choice words at this point, then took a deep breath and tried to think it through. This is not the first time I've had issues with a seatpost clamp. Back in the day (2006?) when I first got my Orbea Orca Albert and I road tripped from Utah to Indiana, stopping in Iowa along the way to race. In those days we had to remove my seatpost in order to fit the bike into the car, and after a training ride somewhere in the middle of nowhere (Nebraska maybe?) I discovered that the threads in the hole where the bolt goes to tighten the clamp were stripped, rendering it impossible to fully tighten down the seatpost. Luckily a local bike shop at the Iowa race site carried Orbeas and let me borrow a clamp for the event and I was able to avoid the unpleasant gradual "sinking feeling" that inevitably goes along with a loose seatpost clamp.<br />
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This time around I was not so lucky. Nobody had a spare clamp that would fit my bike, and visions of having my seatpost crashing down mid-race and damaging my frame from the inside out was enough to convince me that heeding the advice of the bike mechanic---"I wouldn't ride on that!"---was the way to go. So we moved on to Plan B, which was to have one of the rental bikes built up and fitted as close as possible to my set-up. At this point I have to give a huge shout out and THANK YOU to Charlie for giving the go-ahead on this plan and to Alex in the REV3 merchandise tent for making it happen. He spent the better part of his Saturday afternoon building up the borrowed bike for me and I am deeply grateful to him for it. I took the bike for a test spin late in the afternoon and noticed that the shifting was a bit off, so I took it back to the mechanics at the expo and had them straighten it out. We got it working smoothly (or so it seemed) and I went back to the hotel to finish organizing all my race gear, eat dinner, and wind down for the day.<br />
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Race morning came early, although I realized quickly that despite being a bit of an el creepo place to stay the Mayflower Motel & Suites had its advantages: namely the proximity to the race site meant that I could go back to sleep for another hour after eating breakfast, and also that I could swing back to the motel during my warm-up and thus avoid the port-a-potty lines. Score! After a nice warm-up and transition set-up and I headed down to the lake to christen the water. I noticed that the swim course buoys were not quite the same as they had been during the practice swim the previous day, so I asked the swim course director if we were still supposed to keep all the buoys to our left with the exception of the very last one. The answer was yes so that's what I did, but apparently not everyone in the field got the memo because I clearly saw at least a handful of girls to my left cutting a direct line inside of the buoys to get to far turnaround. My conscience, as well as the knowledge that there had been a smattering of DQs for this very sort of thing at other races this year, kept me from following suit. It was irritating but I took the high road and dutifully swam the designated course, stopping 3 times to clear my goggles along the way (silly me for grabbing an older pair). Needless to say, I was not very pleased with my position coming out of the water, but I knew it was a long day and there would be time to make up for the sloth-like swim time.<br />
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Once I hopped onto the bike I set to work at whittling down the gap to the leader. I soon overtook second place and had worked my way to within 20 seconds of the lead when disaster struck. Apparently all was not as well as I had thought with the shifting on the borrowed bike because the chain came off and got stuck in between the frame and the chainring. In some cases you can shift back over to the big ring while continuing to pedal and the chain will right itself, but in this case it was firmly wedged and I couldn't even move the cranks. So I had to stop and fix the chain by hand. Two girls zoomed by as I was stuck on the road. Damn. Actually, I think I said some other choice words but I'll let you use your imagination to guess what they were. It didn't take long to fix the chain and get back on the bike, but I felt like I was back to square one. I kept telling myself it was still early and that there was a lot of course left to catch people on, including three good climbs.<br />
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<i>That's me fixing the dropped chain. Photo Nils Nilsen</i><br />
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Those climbs ended up haunting me when all was said and done. I'm not sure if it was a stretched chain, added torque on the gears when I hit the hills, or simply bad bike karma, but darn it all if the shifting didn't start skipping in the gears that would have been most useful on those climbs! Normally I like to really tackle hills, but in this case I had to ease gingerly into them to test out the gears and see what was going to work. It was not an ideal situation and certainly made the biking leg less enjoyable than usual. However, I held my position and even moved up into second place again late in the ride and came into T2 together with my teammate Jessica Meyers. <br />
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<i>How 'bout that new green Rudy Project helmet?! Photo Nils Nilsen</i><br />
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Jess and I bolted out of T2 and ran together for the first two miles which was really fun. Then I realized that I was probably going to blow up if I tried to match her speed the whole way, so I drifted back a bit. I focused on keeping a good rhythm going and moving my feet quickly in an effort to not let the gap grow too large. The course was challenging with lots of ups and downs, but the hills were the type of grade that really suits me and I was able to hold a good pace throughout the run. Around Mile 5 I was overtaken by the fourth place girl and couldn't match her speed, but I held onto that position for the rest of the day. Despite the troubles on the swim and bike, I feel like it was a solid performance and a good indication that my fitness is in the right place going into Cedar Point. I also learned yet another lesson in keeping calm and just dealing with whatever gets thrown your way. Weather, mechanical issues, you name it---I'm learning to deal with it!<br />
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As always, a big thanks goes to my family, friends, and sponsors for their support (REV3, Powerbar, Pearl Izumi, Recovery Pump, Blueseventy, Rudy Project, Maxxis, The Bike Shoppe). Thanks again to Charlie and Alex for arranging a bike for me to ride---a bike with slight mechanical malfunctions is better than no bike at all! Also, thanks to Rich for the good training weekends the past month, and to Albert for continuing to pick up the slack around the house while I'm out training. You are greatly appreciated!<br />
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And now the countdown to Cedar Point begins... <br />
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Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162526307316555890.post-34182089585273706032012-07-10T21:12:00.001-07:002012-07-10T21:18:39.623-07:00REV3 Portland 2012: The Most Epic Bike Course Ever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xcbWYYMA1z8/T_zqpPh5NSI/AAAAAAAAAx0/77fqEnxxjh8/s1600/Swim%2BExit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="267" width="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xcbWYYMA1z8/T_zqpPh5NSI/AAAAAAAAAx0/77fqEnxxjh8/s400/Swim%2BExit.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Warning: for those of you who have been following my blog for the past year+ this is going to sound like a broken record. I know I'm guilty of raving about REV3 races, and yes, I freely admit to being a member of the REV3 Racing Team. However, I wasn't on the team last year and I still raved about their events, even way back then over a whole year ago! And with good reason. It's not just because REV3 puts up a good prize purse and takes extremely good care of the professional athletes who come to their races (although of course that helps). They take care of ALL their athletes, pro and amateur, first place and last place and everyone in between, as well as choosing venues that offer fun diversions for the friends and families who come out to cheer. The same friendly REV3 staff is at all the events and they really take the time to talk to you and listen to your feedback---and then respond to it by making improvements the next time around. They are professional, well-organized, and extremely approachable (even towards someone like me who is really shy at heart). And of course, there are the courses themselves...which is what I really want to focus on right now in my reflections on REV3 Portland 2012. <br />
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The buzz going into the race was all about the bike course. Last year, due to a last-minute course change beyond the race director's control, the bike was a completely flat out-and-back (and out-and-back again) ride along Marine Drive between the Portland Airport and the Columbia River. It was certainly scenic and challenging in its own relentless pedal-to-the-metal way but was a far cry from the standard of hills hills plus more hills that REV3 has established in its perennial favorites Quassy and Knoxville. This year the REV3 crew was able to assemble a bike course that completely blew the doors off the barn. It was STUNNING, both in beauty and in difficulty. I had watched the course preview video prior to arriving in Portland, but the video honestly does not capture the epic quality of this course. My thoughts when driving it a few days before the race mostly consisted of "Holy crap!" and "Wow". Flats, climbs, descents, switchbacks, cliffs, rivers, bridges, you name it---it was all in there, in glorious green Pacific Northwest fashion. The course intimidated me enough that I felt compelled to study it a little more closely and actually ride the most technical sections before the race to get a handle on it. The funny thing was that it was actually much less scary on a bike than in a car! I'm really glad I previewed it on my own two wheels though, from a mental aspect if for nothing else. I went into race day feeling well prepared and excited to get onto that bike! <br />
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Overall, I have mixed feelings about how my day went---solid swim, strong and fun-as-all-get-out bike, disappointing run but held on for 6th place---but I can honestly say that the bike ride stands alone as my absolute favorite of any triathlon I have ever done, and I've been doing them for thirteen years now. If you're going for a PR this isn't the course to do it on, but if you like an honest bike ride through gorgeous scenery with challenging climbs and technical descents, then this is hands-down the course for you. I would encourage each and every one of you triathletes out there to seriously consider giving REV3 a try! <br />
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Thanks first and foremost to REV3 for producing yet another stellar event; to Albert for making the long drive from Ogden to pick me up at the Portland Airport; to Valentina and Edward for their support, hospitality, and cheers; to Kira, John, Val, Gemma, Rachel, Nathan, Marie, Daniel, Sue, Zody, and everyone else who rooted for me on the day; and to my sponsors REV3, Powerbar, Recovery Pump, Pearl Izumi, Rudy Project, Blue Seventy, Fezzari, The Bicycle Shoppe, and Maxxis for their part in getting me to the starting line fine-tuned and ready to go.<br />
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It's been quite a string of races for me the past month or so, and I'm ready to take a step back and focus on simply training for a bit. Time to hunker down for the next month, get the work done, and be raring to go for REV3 Wisconsin Dells!Malaikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972034921499035198noreply@blogger.com0