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!