Are We Having Fun Yet?

Eugene Half Marathon
Eugene, OR

The Short
Overall Time: 1:51:42 (8:32 m/m), A 1:22 PR!!!
Placing: 752/3882 OA, 266/2572 F, 32/364 AG (F35-39)

Fashion Report: Black RaceReady Long Distance skirt, SS Red Lizard tech T, Rev3 visor, black arm warmers, red fleece Nike gloves, uber-fashionable red KT tape job on my left post-tib and across both my arches
Breakfast Report: Two carrot spelt muffins, coffee, water
Race Nutrition: Vanilla Gu ~15 minutes before starting, three Margarita Clif Bloks between miles 5 & 6, water or Gatorade at all the aid stations (approximately every 2 miles)
Post Race Libation: Golden Valley Brew Grain Alley Bock with a burger and tasting flights from Lange & Penner-Ash wineries

Splits:
Mile 1: 8:38
Mile 2: 8:13/16:51
Mile 3: 8:18/25:09
Mile 4: 8:29/33:38
Mile 5: 8:21/41:59
Mile 6: 8:21/50:20
Mile 7: 8:22/58:42
Mile 8: 8:30/1:07:12
Mile 9: 8:37/1:15:49
Mile 10: 8:41/1:24:30
Mile 11: 8:43/1:33:13
Mile 12: 8:58/1:42:11
Mile 13: 8:51/1:51:02
Finish: 0:40/1:51:42

The Long

To say I’ve been remiss in writing my race reports in the last six months is kind of an understatement. In fact, the last one I wrote was back in November for Seattle, where I got up one morning and just decided to run 13.1 just for grins and giggles and even then, I felt like I phoned in that report. I could say that I was busy with travel, home renovation, work, kid activities, blah, blah, blah but truth is, I kind of lost my race mojo, even though I did run a 15K and then a 10K race as tune-ups and ran them well (I refer you to Athlinks if you really want to stalk my race results). That should have been my first clue. The first inkling that things were not quite as they seemed. As far as I can tell, my mojo went missing the day I said I was going to run another marathon. I’m not going to rehash the reasons (or non-reasons) why I made that decision but I did and I carried the weight of that decision until I imploded and basically told 26.2 to go f- itself. But that’s all under the bridge and now it’s time for me to get back to the FUN and part of that was to pick myself up after my mental crisis and refocus my efforts on blowing my HM PR out of the water.

Race morning dawned, cold, clear, and calm; a stark contrast to the rainy, snowy, haily, windy, and generally disgusting weather of training. Mother Nature finally found it in herself to smile down at me and 8000 of my closest friends who were toeing the line outside of Hayward Field in Track Town, USA. My race plan was simple. Hang with the 3:40 Clif pacer until the HM/Full split around mile 10.5 and then hold on until the end. Chad did remind me to keep my pace in check just in case the pacer was off in either direction.

Miles 1-4:
We finally got off after a ten minute delay where a few frontrunners false started and triggered the timing system by accident. Really, how the heck do you false start a half marathon, let alone a marathon? I figure even the elites have time to make up ten feet over 13.1 or 26.2 miles. A bit of a slow first mile due to the jostling and congestion of the start and a faster second mile due to the downhill out of campus. I saw Chad and Nathan, with cowbell, at mile two and peeled off to give them some high fives before rejoining the pace group. The false flat south starts midway through mile three and culminates at a steeper but short incline around the fourth mile where we turn around and start heading back north. I figured with the initial downhill over, the pace should settle around 8:25 and stay steady from there. Imagine my surprise when I glanced down to my Garmin to see we were clipping along at sub-8:10 pace going uphill. This was not in the plan. If I carried on at this pace, I was certain of a full blow-up in the last 5K so I dropped back from the front of the pace group but still kept the balloons in sight. It was also a great excuse to get away from “That Guy”. The one who tucked in behind the pace leader (the one in green in the photo below) and said at mile one, “Only 25.2 miles to go!” Same at mile two, “Only 24.2 miles to go!” And at mile three…I never did check to see if anyone pushed him into the Willamette.


Miles 5-8:
After the turnaround, we were rewarded with a couple of miles of false flat downhill and I comfortably strung together some sub-8:25 miles despite a little voice in my head telling me it probably wasn’t the best idea. I told it to be quiet. I took my Clif bloks on schedule between miles five and six, actually had to swallow the third one with very little chewing since the aid station came up a lot sooner than I expected and ran on still keeping the front of the pace group in sight but they continued to pull away slightly. I’m running along at 8:20-8:22 and the pace group is pulling away. Yep, those poor marathoners. Some of them would likely be run to the ground and left at the side of the road before all was said and done. Even though I did gain some ground on the pace group and kept the balloons in sight up until the half/full split, this was where I decided to just let them go and run my own race. I had gotten into a groove and I knew I was on PR pace. I peeled off my gloves and arm warmers and tossed them to Chad and Nathan as I passed them again at mile 8. It was getting warm and I was definitely glad I decided to go with a skirt and short sleeves.


Miles 9-Finish:
We turned back towards campus to crest the only sizeable hill on the course and I saw my friend, K, midway up cheering. We ran down Agate and past Hayward Field again and we started seeing the frontrunners for the half coming back to the stadium to finish. Miles 10-12 are probably the toughest on the course. They are flat since they follow the river paths but they are lonely with very little crowd support until you reach Autzen Stadium. Up until this point, the crowds were awesome, lining the street, and cheering for all they were worth. Nothing to do but buckle down, dig deep to find that happy place amid the tiredness, and press on. I could feel myself slowing as I reached Autzen. I was tired and starting to really feel the pounding on my arches. One more mile to go and I admit I started doing the math of how much I could slow and still PR. Once I hit the crowds again, that feeling receded. I focused on putting together a solid last push and entered Hayward Field. Once my feet touched that track and I heard the roar in the stadium, it was surreal. I was already running all out but all of a sudden I got an extra bounce and I picked it up a little more. This may very well be the fastest 200 m I’ve ever run at the end of a half marathon. I had my PR in the bag and ran a race that I am proud of. And most importantly I had a damn good time doing it.

Crazy? I Was Crazy Once...

Seattle Half Marathon
Seattle, WA

Overall Time: 2:00:47 (9:14 m/m)
Placing: 877/4380 F OA, 128/686 AG 35-39

Fashion Report: Black Adidas capris, burgundy New Balance LS Tech Shirt, black running vest, Grand Columbian Triathlon hat, black gloves
Breakfast Report: Steel-cut oatmeal w/ cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon & milk, coffee, water
Race Nutrition: Vanilla Gu at mile 5.5, water or Gatorade at all the aid stations (approximately every 2 miles)
Post Race Libation: Deschutes Summer's Over Saison

I know what you're thinking. And yes I realize it was borderline crazy batsh!t insane to wake up one morning and decide to sign up for a half marathon on a whim, one that was taking place the very.next.day. But I have always wanted to be in the position to be able to do stuff like this on a whim and after years of hard work, I can say that I can, within reason of course.

OK, so where does the *reason* bit come in? I can say I would not have done this if the following were not true:

1. I've consistently been running 5-6 times a week for the last couple of months and for the last three weeks, my mileage has been over 30 mpw.
2. I'm basebuilding for a Spring marathon.
3. I already had to log 13 miles over the weekend. Granted, those miles were split into 5 and 8 on separate days but 13 all at once works too.
4. If #3 didn't make sense, see #1 and #2.
5. We were already going to be in Seattle since Chad was running the full and they still had registration open at the Expo
6. Thanks to the fabulous Chief SnugWow and Tammy, we had childcare lined up.
7. Forget racing the thing. I was going to stay disciplined and run at/close to marathon pace for the entire 13.1 miles.
8. I was not going to let the race atmosphere get to my head so that I would have a chance to be successful accomplishing #7.
9. #8 was a lot harder to do than I thought but the hills helped
10. It was raining on Saturday morning and the thought of going out to run 8 miles in the cold, dark, wet was not appealing, not to mention carving out time to do 5 on Sunday.

That said, I'm pretty sure there are much easier ways to score another nice long-sleeve tech shirt but I'd definitely sign up for another race again on a whim. Maybe next time I'll choose a 5K instead.

Bad A$$ Chicks!

Girlfriends Half Marathon
Vancouver, WA

Overall Time: 1:53:04 (8:38 m/m)
Placing: 123/1393 OA, 37/338 AG 35-39

Fashion Report: Black Brooks capris, Dark Blue RVM New Balance LS Tech Shirt, Grand Columbian Triathlon hat, black “throwaway” gloves
Breakfast Report: Steel-cut oatmeal w/ brown sugar & milk, coffee, water
Race Nutrition: Vanilla Hammer Gel ~15 minutes before starting and at mile 8, water or Gatorade at all the aid stations (approximately every 2 miles)
Post Race Libation: Chicken spaghetti and pumpkin roulade chez Bannon with Hawk Crest and Wy’East wines

Mile 1: 8:31
We’re finally off and running. It was getting cold standing around. I’m glad I played wardrobe shuffle this morning. OK, so I’m not wearing any of the things I showed on Facebook yesterday but I’m much more comfortable especially since Jack Frost decided to visit. Ooh! We’re running through the farmer’s market! They’re already pulling espresso and it SMELLS.SO.GOOD but I have to keep going.

Mile 2: 8:31/17:02
We finish the gentle downhill out of City Center and we’re now running on the Columbia River. It’s pretty with the sun rising and the fog on the surface. I grabbed a water at the first aid station as the course went inland to follow a road by the train tracks.

Mile 3: 8:30/25:32
A bit of industrial (not)scenery as we make out way towards Marine Park. Kind of ugly really but more spectators than I was expecting lined the street. The way the course is laid out, it seemed pretty easy for them to get around to different parts of the course. Nice planning by the RD!

Mile 4: 8:33/34:05
I entered Marine Park and grabbed some Gatorade from the next aid station. Like attracted like as I settled in a pack of bad a$$ tri chicks, one of whom had just done IM MOO and we spent a few minutes discussing bike p0rn.

Mile 5: 8:28/42:33
My hands started to get sweaty so I ditched the gloves on the nearest park bench. We left Marine Park to run by some neat looking riverfront condos. First glimpse of the lead runners and the front runner did not even look like she was breaking a sweat. Saw another woman with the most incredible lion’s mane of hair and chuckled to myself as I overheard other runners mention that she’d probably drop another few seconds per mile if she cut it.

Mile 6: 8:33/51:06
I hit the turnaround and ran back the same way. I grabbed another Gatorade, made my way out of the park, and I heard my name. Hey, there’s Rachel. Hi Rachel!

Mile 7: 8:29/59:35
Most of the bad a$$ tri chick group dropped back at the last aid station and I tucked behind a couple of women wearing matching Hood to Coast shirts as I wound back through the industrial park. Almost time for my next sugar hit so I grabbed a vanilla Hammer from my back pocket.

Mile 8: 8:33/1:08:08
Gelled up with water at the next aid station and I was still drafting behind the same Hood to Coast runners until I almost got taken out by their children who were watching for them and started running back and forth across the race course. I danced and scooted around them and resisted the urge to dispense some Mommy Drive-By snark.

Mile 9: 8:39/1:16:47
The course turned off the river path and went through the tunnel to the ramp over WA-14 leading into Fort Vancouver. The run through the park reminds me of the Prairie Grove Battlefield 5K except that it’s paved, and not hilly, and still cool and crisp. But other than that, it was exactly like that race. I got out to the main road just in time to see the lead runners on their way home. Same leader but she definitely looks more focused now.

Mile 10: 8:45/1:25:32
The course started to get more rolling just past the next aid station. We popped out on to the frontage road just by the Fred Meyer and I see other runners dodging the same Hood to Coast kids at the next corner. *sigh* I turn corner and see the hill. Ack! WTF?

Mile 11: 9:02/1:34:34
This hill sucks. It’s short and steep and most unwelcome at this point in a half marathon. Who was the evil person that decided to do this? Definitely lost some time there. I pick up the pace a bit and go to grab a Gatorade at the final aid station. Hmm…all I see are water cups. Are they out of electrolytes? That can’t be good. Oh…there they are. I start wondering why the woman handing out Gatorade isn’t standing remotely close to the runners. Oh well! I just recovered from the first hill just in time to see…

Mile 12: 9:15/1:43:49
…another hill longer than the one before. It’s not as steep but I swear this one sucks more. Head down, shorten stride, take my mind off the pain. And they couldn’t put these hills at the beginning because?

Mile 13: 9:04/1:52:53
I’m finally finished with the stoopid hills and I turn down Officer’s Row for the home stretch. The path is chip seal. Ugh! Chip seal sucks to bike on but it wasn’t until now that I realize that it sucks to run on as well. I can feel EVERY.SINGLE.BUMP under my feet. The horrible path is finally finished and the course is back on the street as I run over I-5. Two more turns and I’m done!

Finish: 0:11/1:53:04
I saw Chad, Nathan, & Rachel just before I turned the corner to the final uphill. Check the watch and saw how close I was to a PR so on went the afterburners and I kicked it in. Now I really want to puke! I wandered around the finish chute not really knowing where I was and a volunteer actually held me up so they could get my chip off. Oy! I grabbed the post-race swag and went off to find my family and friends. It was a perfect Fall morning with a visit from the PR Fairy. I can’t ask for better than that.

Holy Hills!

Race Report #1
Battlefield 5K
Prairie Grove, AR

Overall Time: 27:14-8:44 m/m (2/4 35-39 AG)
Breakfast Report: Steel cut oatmeal, coffee, water
Fashion Report: Black Skirtsports Marathon Girl Skirt, Red Lizard Tech T, LIT visor
Post Race Libation: Shiner Bock


Eep! No one told me this was a cross country race. (In for a penny, in for a pound I guess)
Through the apple orchard over freshly mown grass. (Hey, this isn’t so bad)
Down a large hill. (Hmm, that hill was kind of big)
Through a large meadow over more freshly mown grass (Careful not to trip over the ruts)
First mile – 7:55 (Not bad)
Back up the hill the long way (OK. This is getting hard)
Back through the apple orchard (Wait, we’re still going uphill)
Back down that really large hill (!%$@% sadistic RD!)
Second mile – 9:21 (Ugh!)
Winding through the lower wooded area and back up the large hill the short way (This hurts!)
Back again through the apple orchard the uphill way (Where did those roots come from? I swear they’re jumping up at me!)
Are we there yet? (No but almost but no….)
Third mile – 9:18 (I see the finish!)
Kick it in at 8:47 for the last 0.1

Race Report #2
Lincoln City Sprint Triathlon
Lincoln City, OR
750 m Swim/10 mile Bike/5K Run

Overall Time: 1:25:56 ( 71/146 OA, 16/54 F, 4/13 AG)
Breakfast Report: 2 packets Cinnamon roll oatmeal, coffee, water
Fashion Report: Black Orca tri shorts, red Sugoi shimmel, LIT visor
Race Nutrition Report: 1 vanilla bean Gu pre-swim, Water, Gatorade
Post Race Libation: Pelican La Guillotine

Swim+T1: 19:25 (17: xx for the actual swim)


The only flat part of the race and the best open water swim I’ve had all season despite the lack of speed due to too many missed swim workouts. I settled into a comfortable stroke pretty quickly and actually sighted pretty well. The lake was a bit cold and murky but a pretty good body of water in which to swim.

Bike: 35:27 (~17 mph)

First race on the new wheels and it was the absolute wrong course to let them rip. The hills were relentless starting with a tough climb out of the parking lot and ending with another tough climb as we turned off 101 at the end towards the park, 1000 ft of climbing over 10 miles. The road was winding and either uphill or downhill the entire way so there was very little time in aero for me. The last time I rode such a technical course was Alcatraz! I took a few chances early, the last of which was a really wide turn which almost made me cross the center divider so I throttled it back a bit for the rest of the ride. The course was well-marked, smooth, and gorgeous!


Run+T2: 31:02 (29:xx for the actual run)

Meh! Off the bike, on the run, and some issues with my race belt. The hills (346 ft of climbing!) began immediately starting with the gravel wall. I had to stop and walk near the top of the first wall since both my calves seized. They finally loosened up and I was able to kick it into a somewhat higher gear. It was at this point I was thinking that the hills are absolutely evil but I just put my head down and got to work. I kept my place on the run, actually gained a place since once my legs loosened I could start attacking some of the hills with gusto and managed to pass a female on the return trip, which in itself is a small victory since I admit my bike is my strength and I tend to lose places on the run. Back down the gravel wall praying I don’t faceplant and I was able to open it up a bit and kick it into the finish.


Given the challenges I’ve had since ChelanMan with real life interfering with training, I’m very happy with my performance today. A solid race to cap off the 2010 tri season. Now it’s time to run!

Lazy Race Reporting

ChelanMan Olympic Triathlon
Chelan, WA
1500 m Swim/40K Bike/10K Run


In which I talk about the race.....

Overall Time: 2:53:38 (202/448 OA, 9/43 35-39 AG)
Swim: 34:31 - Windy, wavy, choppy slug fest among 1-1.5 ft swells. The buoy line was nice.
T1: 2:18 - My fastest T1 this year!
Bike: 1:16:11 (19.5 mph) - Course PR! I wanted 20 mph but I'll take 19.5.
T2: 1:30 - My fastest T2 this year!
Run: 59:05 (9:32 m/m) - Hot run. Not as hot as last year but it still felt like the surface of the sun!

Breakfast Report: 2 packets Cinnamon roll oatmeal, coffee, Gatorade
Fashion Report: Black Skirtsports tri shorts, blue Sugoi shimmel, LIT visor
Race Nutrition Report: 2 vanilla bean Gus on the bike, Water, Heed
Post Race Libation: Bridgeport Hop Czar

In which I just show you pictures of all the fun we had this weekend....

Click HERE!!!

Drowned Rat

Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon
Fairview, OR
1500 m Swim/40K Bike/10K Run

The Short Version

Worst Swim Ever but the only time today that being wet felt natural
A soggy, muddy "cup of coffee"
Sexy Wheels, Baby!
Another soggy, muddy "cup of coffee"
Imagine that. This run sucked more than the last time where I *only* had to run a 5K after riding hard.

Overall Time: 2:51:35 (289/404 OA, 12/18 AG 35-39)
Swim: 33:39 - BLECH!
T1: 3:45
Bike: 1:12:56 (20.4 mph) - Mama's getting a new set of wheels!
T2: 3:19
Run: 57:55 - This one REALLY hurt!

Breakfast Report: Oatmeal w/ dried cherries & brown sugar, coffee, Gatorade
Fashion Report: Black tri shorts, blue Sugoi shimmel, black Transition Girl skirt for the run, LIT visor
Race Nutrition Report: Vanilla Gu & water before the swim and on the bike, Heed on the run
Post Race Libation: Deschutes Fat Cap Cream Ale

The Long Version

Race morning and it's raining...again! It feels like Groundhog Day....or the Pacific Northwest. One of those days where you wish you had just looked out the window and then gone back to bed. But no, I was up at 5 AM eating oatmeal, drinking coffee, and studying the radar on Weather Underground wishing against hope that the orange and yellow blob wasn't right over the Portland Metro area and wasn't moving so damn slowly towards the north. Maybe Weather.com had a better image. Nope, that one looked worse. In short, it was pouring....hard. This was going to be fun. Well, like I told myself when I signed up for the race two weeks ago, mostly against my better judgment, "Go big or go home!" Time to HTFU and deal. In any case, there was no way I could ask Chad & Nathan to come out and spectate in this mess so after Chad helped me get my bike on the car, he returned to the warm, cozy house and I hit the road to play with the fast kids.

Blue Lake is probably the flattest and fastest course you'll ever get in Oregon and this particular race was the TriNW Championship. Eep! I probably should have checked that before I hit submit. The one saving grace about the raging downpour in June was that the fabled Marine Drive cross/head winds were pretty much non-existent and the rain was relatively warm. Let's just forget the fact that the sky grew darker as I drove over the West Hills heading east. Because of the recent torrential rains, the park closed the usual grass parking field in favor of the paved lot 1.5 miles away. I dropped off my bike with security and then went to park the car and catch the shuttle back to transition. The extra logistics left me with about 15 minutes less than what I would have liked before the race so I was a bit rushed. I yanked on the bottom half of my wetsuit, sucked down some Gu & water, and then squelched my way through the mud down to the beach. I saw a coworker, T, on the way whose son, J, was doing his first tri ever today. T was a trooper and came out to cheer him on. After a quick greeting, it was already time for me to head to the starting corral.

I headed down the beach and got help zipping my suit up the rest of the way up my back. I zipped up my left ankle zip and then yanked on the right ankle zip. Wardrobe malfunction! The zipper came off the teeth. Crap! Now I'm going to have all this flapping about my right ankle. Nothing I can do about it now since my wave was about to head off. Then I yanked on my swim cap and essentially tore a huge chunk off one side. Oy! Another wardrobe malfunction. I stuffed it on my head the best I could and got my goggles on as I waded into the lake feeling completely rattled and off my game as the horn sounded to send my wave off. And so began the worst swim of my triathlon life. With my brain dwelling on my flappy right leg and my destroyed cap, my usual MO of settling smoothly into my swim did not happen until the second to the last buoy, approximately 1200 m into the swim. My usual mantra of stroke, stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, sight instead became a self-talk to calm myself, forget what happened, and get back in the moment. There was a point where I wanted to flip on to my back and just chill. And I would have if it were not for the coming onslaught of 35-39 males in their green caps so I soldiered on. The next wave started passing me sooner than usual but it was still gratifying to see that I did chick several guys in the wave before mine. After what seemed to be an eternity, my hand finally touched bottom and I stumbled out of that god-forsaken lake, ecstatic to be done with the swim.

I ran as fast as I could without slipping through transition and decided that I would just grab my bike shoes and put them on at the mount line given how transition was now resembling the world's biggest pig pen. Good thing too. As I was mincing my way over to the mount line, a guy carrying his Cervelo and wearing his cleats slipped, twisted too hard trying to recover and pretty much threw his bike five feet in front of him while falling on his a$$. Oops. I got my shoes on, clipped in and it was time to ride. My original plan to ride as if I didn't have to run afterward was up in the air now given the weather conditions but the road conditions were good despite the downpour so I decided to go for it. Today's mantra was to keep the rubber side down and pray I don't flat. I settled in, pushing my big girl gear and worked on passing all the fish in my wave. I played leap frog with a woman for a few miles before I finally dropped her around the airport. Dodge a puddle here, dodge a puddle there, watch the flat carnage, collect road-kills and before I knew it I was turning back into the park into a huge puddle that almost made me come to a grinding halt. It was that deep! I glanced at my watch when I left T1 and saw 38:xx and when I crossed the T2 mat, it read 1:50:xx. Woohoo! Sexy wheels, here I come. Now there's this little run that I have to deal with.

Oh the run, the run, the run. Do you really want to know how much it sucked?

T H I S M U C H!!!!!!

I wrestled some socks on since I already knew I was going to chafe badly in spots due to the rain. Who needed blisters on top of the chafing? Then I went slip-sliding through the mud and muck before getting to the multi-use path on Marine Drive. The path that was so potholed in places that some of the puddles were 2-3 inches deep. And it hurt. Oh how it hurt. Lead jello legs, cement block feet, I had it all and squishy, wet shoes to boot. Not that I didn't expect it after the ride I just had but I squished along as solidly as I could because the actual criteria for sexy wheels was a 20+ mph split followed by a sub-1 hour 10K and I want to go shopping this summer! I saw S1, who was doing the Du relay with her husband, coming back in as I was heading out around the 2 mile marker. Then S2, another fellow Lizard, passed me at the turnaround. I figured she'd run me down eventually in any case. I splashed back to the park, took care not to fall down the steep, muddy embankment, and feebly kicked it in to the finish. Needless to say, I didn't stick around long after finishing. I talked to T & his son for a bit before I packed up my stuff and got out of the elements. J put in a 2:24:19 performance and would have been faster had he not flatted on the bike. Oh to be young again....

Another race down and despite my sucky swim and painful run, I'm extremely happy with it. After all, I rocked the bike!

Modest Expectations

MAC Sprint Triathlon
McMinnville, OR
500 yd/13.1 mile Bike/3.1 mile Run

The Short Version

Best 500 yd swim evah
A "cup of coffee"
Smokin' bike split
Another "cup of coffee"
The first BRICK of the year

Overall Time: 1:17:41 ( 35/140 OA, 6/??? F, 4/??? AG) - 2:27 PR!! (Previous: Hawthorne Farms 2009 1:20:18)
Swim: 8:29 (Previous Best-8:42 (2008)) - PR!
T1: 2:18
Bike: 39:03 (20.13 mph!) - PR!
Run+T2: 27:51 (T2 was 2-3-ish minutes, 5K Run was 24-25-ish minutes)

Breakfast Report: Oatmeal w/ dried cranberries & brown sugar, coffee, water
Fashion Report: Black tri shorts, blue Sugoi shimmel, funky Terry arm warmers, black Transition Girl skirt for the run, LIT visor
Race Nutrition Report: Raspberry Hammer gel & water before the swim, Gatorade Endurance on the bike
Post Race Libation: Golden Valley Brewing Company French Prairie Blanche

The Long Version

OK. So I'm a sandbagger. *shrug* Regardless of this result, I'm still not making goals or taking this season terribly seriously. I'm still training, more to be able to race what and when I please and to keep the muffin top somewhat under control. I'm fond of saying that your best race results often come when you least expect them and I'm thinking my relaxed approach to training coupled with getting much more rest than in the past coalesced to produce a crushing sprint PR. And to think, the PR would likely have been larger had I not floated through transition without a care in the world.

This was a pretty low-key inaugural sprint in the heart of Oregon Wine Country. Since the Hawthorne Farms triathlon folded, John, the RD, did not think there were enough races in the Willamette Valley so decided to put this race on as a fundraiser for McMinnville Parks & Rec and it attracted everyone, from newbies to Ironheads. Judging from the volume and frequency of emails in the past month, I had the feeling that John was quickly developing a hernia only because he wanted the race to go off without a hitch. And he succeeded. It was well run, well-signed, with plenty of awesome volunteers. I would definitely do it again.

Race morning dawned with really crappy weather. Light to heavy mist, cells moving through the valley, and a balmy 40 degrees. I tossed a bike shell and my knee warmers into my transition bag just in case, ate breakfast, and then woke the family right before we had to make the 50 minute drive to McMinnville. I picked up my packet, set up my transition spot, and headed into the warmth of the aquatic center to watch wave 1 and the start of wave 2 before I headed down to the smaller pool for an easy 200 yd warmup. As my lane mates gathered before our wave started, we exchanged small talk, seed times, lane positions, and griped about how farking cold it was outside. Upon hearing that I seeded myself with an 8:45 swim time, one of my lane mates worried that her lane position would have her overtaking me sooner than later since she seeded herself at 8:00. No biggie. I've been swimming consistently but I won't be breaking any records. So I get passed. *shrug* Uh, huh…I neglected to consider my highly competitive nature. I was the first to start and settled quickly into a solid stroke a little faster than LT effort, breathing every 4th stroke. I can bilateral breathe but I find that it takes me off my rhythm in race situations so I go with what is most comfortable for me, switching to bilateral in cases of extreme chop. Going into the swim, I really had no plan save for just putting in a solid effort before I can hammer on the bike and run. But no plan quickly morphed into keeping my lane position and not getting passed and I succeeded. Chad said that 8:00 chick would close the gap on the outbound 25 but lose me again on the turn. Not quite sure how that happened but maybe the pool was sloped. The swim was over in no time and I salmon-flopped my way on to the deck and left the warm, warm building for the cold, cold outdoors.

I decided on arm warmers but left everything else as I lollygagged through T1. The first 400 m of the bike course was a no passing zone due to an uber-steep wall coming out of T1 followed by a quick turn out of the park to the main road. I navigated that section with no issues, kicked Bella into the big gear and started to hammer, chicking one guy and passing what I think was the only woman in my wave to beat me out of T1. My plan for the bike? Ride like I didn't have to run after it. The run will be what it will. The course was smooth, with some gentle rollers, and a false flat up to to the turnaround at Baker Hill Road. It was a very fast ride save for the few minutes of "Caution" where we had to yield for an ambulance. One guy passed me as we turned into the country and I quickly passed him back going up the next roller. This is going to be fun! Bunny hopping! Alas, I never saw him again until after the race when he mentioned that he tried so hard to catch me but lost it soon after the turnaround. The turnaround where I went so wide that I'm surprised that I didn't end up in the gravel. I hammered back to T2 and downshifted as I hit the wall, popping out of my saddle to the cheers of most of the volunteers and the yells of one to slow down. Um, if I were going any slower, I'd fall over and be one of *those* athletes at the dismount line. I floated into T2 and got my socks, shoes, skirt, & visor on chatting with Chad as he commented that I just put together a smoking bike split.

I left T2 to embark on my first BRICK of the year. Yep, my first BRICK was in a race and it sucked, just like all BRICKS do. I passed the aide station just out of T2 and the guys manning it were cheering and yelling, "You're almost there." It cracked me up so much that I turned and told them that I was just getting started. The first part of the run course wound through the park, over curbs, over bark chips, through grass, up a hill before finally popping out on the same road as the bike course which we shared for 1.5 miles. I settled into a solid pace with a steady cadence and was passed in quick succession by three women, all of whom were obviously much stronger runners than I. The elastic broke pretty quickly and there was no way I'd be catching them. It was a pretty uneventful run, albeit a false flat until the run turnaround where my legs finally shook free of the lead jello feeling and I was able to pick it up on the return trip and then kick it in to the finish.

I grabbed a banana, talked to some guys who commented that I looked really strong on the bike before packing my stuff up and heading home. I'm pretty pleased with this race. I came in with no expectations, yet absolutely crushed my old PR. It was also the first race where I'm officially in the 35-39 AG and holy cow! My peers are all fastholes. I almost choked when I saw that I had placed 35th OA but only 4th in my AG. This season's going to be one fun ride! I can already feel it.