The Nation's Triathlon--Finishing Strong!

What a difference a week makes! I went into this race with zero expectations, I even went out the night before. It was kind of cool, did a dinner cruise with the Secretary of the Navy, and nearly every Navy Admiral in DC. So, I was "on the Potomac" Friday night, and "in the Potomac" Saturday morning! This was the first time since 1971 anyone's been legally allowed to swim in the Potomac!

And what a fantastically fabulous fall day it was. Not a cloud in the sky; cool, clear, crisp air and a definite electric charge all around! I rode my bike from the house down to the transition area in Georgetown--even met a fellow DC-Tri gal named Carmen who lives near me, so we rode together.

I arrived in transition pretty late, around 7:30 (my swim wave wasn't until 8:44), got all set up, and helped a number of newbies as well. Met the girl right next to me, Jennifer, who just got back from Iraq and is now out of the Army. After helping her set up, we both headed down to the swim start.

There were tons of DC-Tri folks all around, either racing or volunteering. The volunteer support was fantastic! The Georgetown waterfront was beautiful, clear blue skies--a perfect "San Diego morning".

THE SWIM (29:53)
Age group 10/31
The Potomac isn't the nastiest water I've ever been in. It was actually quite nice. Didn't smell bad, didn't taste bad, and it was actually better visibility UNDER-water than above. We jumped off the floating dock into the water, swam down to the Key Bridge, and then turned around for the down-stream, slightly longer leg back. Problem was that the sun was right in our face. It was a total white-out. The entire river seemed on fire with light. I couldn't see anything. I had to stop 3 or 4 times to try to hear others around me, and look backwards at the bouys to know where to swim forwards. Needless to say, it was a brutal swim!

T1 (3:12)
Age group 4/31
It was a fairly long run from the swim to the transition area--about the same as last week at General Smallwood.

THE BIKE (1:07:58)
Age group 3/31
I took off flying past the Kennedy Center, checked my computer and it said 24mph! WOW, I thought, this is going to be a good race! I was flying all the way until the tip of Hain's Point, and as I rode around "The Awakening" statue, I "awokened" to the fact that my 24mph was a result of a heady tailwind, which was now a full-on brutal headwind. It was all I could do to keep it in the 15-18mph range. Two loops, where 3/4 of each loop had the headwind or a nasty cross-wind. I was passing folks left and right, and really enjoyed the ride through all the Monuments. What a gorgeous course!

T2 (:56)
Age group 1/31 (Yeah!)
No cramping, no need for water, in and out, lickety-split!

THE RUN (46:42)
Age group 3/31
I had no idea where I was time-wise, but after last week's fiasco and my 5-second loss for 3rd place, I knew I needed to just run. Run, Forest, Run! The course took us up Whitehurst Fwy, then over a makeshift staircase to the other side of Whitehurst and back down again. The motorcycle camera caught up to me and I had a brief conversation with them, but then I was off! It was great seeing so many DC-Tri folks running, and we were all giving each other the "thumbs-up" as we passed; volunteers were shouting and encouraging, and the energy was unbelievable! Next thing I knew I was at mile 3. Completely afraid to look at my watch, I just kept on plowing, telling myself that I didn't have to do another run this year, so you better run your heart out and leave nothing in the bank! And then I saw the "Mile 5" marker. And I felt great! I picked up the speed again. Then some guy behind me actually asked me where the Smithsonian was; having told him there were numerous ones, but the Natural History Museum was right in front of us; he then asked which one was best!? Really. We had a total conversation while I was running a sub-8 minute pace.

THE FINISH (2:28:40)*Personal Best*
Age group 3/31
Overall 29/230 women (845 total participants)

As I turned onto 12th street from Constitution, I noticed that there were runners running in both directions. How long was Mile 5 anyway?!? Then I turned right onto Pennsylvania Avenue, running straight at the United States Capitol. WOW, what a sight! And then, at the foot of the Capitol, we did a U-turn around a red-hot new Porche, and it was a 4 block straight-shot to victory! I picked up the pace, saw a few folks ahead of me and kicked it in. There wasn't a chance that I was going to give up this week. This week I was going to FINISH STRONG!

It wasn't until I saw the finisher's clock (which was ~45 minutes ahead of my time) when I realized I might actually have run a sub 2:30 race. And then I looked down at my watch. I couldn't believe it! My watch said 2:29:17, and I started my watch about :40 seconds early before the swim (so I'm always a bit suprised by my "official" time). Not only did I finish strong, but I had CRUSHED my all-time-best, and finally made the "sub-2:30 club". I also managed to requalify for USAT Age Group Nationals again next year!

For all the nay-sayers, and folks who never thought it'd happen, the Nation's Tri is one of the all-time best triathlon experiences I've ever had! I can't wait till next year!

NBC News Coverage
Race Results

General Smallwood--Attitude Adjustment!

The morning arrived hot, humid, and horrible! How it could be 40 degrees last weekend and 80 degrees at 5 am this race morning are beyond me! I didn't get much sleep or tapering rest before this race, as I'd landed at DCA around 8:30 Friday night, had to stop at Conte's to get my bike, and didn't make it to bed until after 11pm.

I agreed to take a fellow DC Tri'er down to the race with me, a newbie named Jason who decided on a whim that he'd like his first triathlon experience to be an Olympic distance! Crazy boy!

Jason and I drove through the misty rain in the darkness down to General Smallwood park, all the while wondering what the weather was going to bring once the sun rose. It just got hotter and muggier as the morning went on!

My friend Jean and her boyfriend Ken (both Coppi riders) came to volunteer, and it was great to actually have people who knew me cheering me on at a race for once! Ken was on the bullhorn for the swim start....

THE SWIM (29:30)
Age Group 9/23
Overall 29/77 women


This course, same as last year, was very grassy--tons of hydrilla in the water made for a swampy swim. It's two loops out and back, easy enough. It was really hot in the wetsuit, but I had a pretty straight swim, only veered off course once!

T1 (3:46)
Age Group 5/23
Overall 18/77
Again, same as last year, a long, over .25mile run up to the transition. I stashed my flip-flops and they helped with the concrete/gravel to transition.


THE BIKE (1:15:40)
Age Group 2/23
Overall 7/77
I used rented race wheels from Conte's, and they were great! I had a great time on the course. It seemed flatter than I remembered it--guess that's what happens when you ride the Pyrenees a few weeks earlier! I had a smoking bike, and even got kudos on the course from a number of the women I passed.

T2 (:56)
Age Group 2/23
Overall 5/77

THE RUN (52:58)
Age Group 3/23
Overall 17/77


I thought I was mentally prepared for the out-and-back hilly run from last year. But, the race director, David Glover, had a trick up his sleeve! The final mile of the race was a trail/cross country route instead of back down the road through the park entrance.

THE FINISH (2:42:48)
Age Group 4th place
Overall 16th place

At about 400m to the finish line, a lady caught up to me, shouted "We're almost there, come on" and took off ahead of me. Well, she looked to be in an older age group (no number on her calf) and the course wound down a narrow path where it then went uphill over a wooden bridge. At this point, I was just not mentally tough enough, and I let the lady pass me. Turns out she was in my age group, and beat me by 5 seconds and ended up taking 3rd.

I learned a hard lesson today; never, EVER give up a strong finish. I don't care if it's a 90 year old man next time, I'm racing strong to the end.

Race Results

Humbled by the best

Two days before heading out to California, I received a call stating that the 4th member of the Navy Women's team had been injured and was unable to race. I had suddenly been elevated to "The Team"!! I was sad for the girl who broke her back, as she was considerably faster than me, but I was ecstatic to be part of the official team to represent the United States Navy!

I arrived at LAX on Wednesday afternoon, and spent the better part of the afternoon at the Bob Hope USO reading Harry Potter and waiting for the rest of the Navy team to arrive. We finally made it out to the waterfront Point Mugu Beach Motel around 8:30pm, too late for dinner (UGH!), and too dark for an ocean swim. The men's and women's teams introduced each other in the lobby, and I suddenly found myself shaking the hand of Andy Baldwin "The Bachelor"!
Yikes! He's as hot and hard-bodied as he was on TV, and a very nice guy, and actually a pretty good triathlete to boot! I can neither confirm nor deny any involvement in his recent breakup with Tessa.....

Thursday was full of check-in, bike-building, and course-checking. It was busy! We went for a swim, laid out on the beach, rode the course a few times, and talked "strategy". That was interesting. The gals on my team were of varied ages, experience, and ability! Only two girls were returning to the race, veteran Amy Cocanour and young-un Rachel Beckmann (both Coasties). Kristen Jungbluth and I were the other senior gals, but we both had road racing (aka drafting) experience, and Kelly Vandenberg and Lindsay Raborn had youth on their side! But all of us got along fabulously!

Friday dawned, and after another fantastic swim (sans wetsuit) in the Pacific Ocean, we headed to get our uniforms issued. Oh the Schwag we got! Race kit, extra bib shorts, running shoes, polo shirts that were WAY TOO BIG, backpacks, arm-warmers, socks, on and on and on! It finally hit me, that this was the big time!


Saturday dawned and I was filled with more angst than I've ever had pre-race! there were only 75 racers; only 23 women. How the hell was I going to save face!?! I decided I only had three goals for the race: not be last, Beat Army!, and revel in the fact that I was racing with Elite athletes! While it wasn't my best performance, I can happily report that I met all three goals (but just barely!).

THE SWIM (31:01)
The thing about ITU/draft-legal racing is that it basically negates the bike leg of the race; if you aren't out of the water with the rest of the pack, you are screwed. I had a great first loop, and when I jumped back into the water for loop #2, I was right in the middle of the pack, well on my way to a PR. Unfortunately, I somehow failed to make the turn around the last bouy to shore, and I continued down the coast heading to San Diego....by the time I realized my mistake (no thanks to the dumb/mute lifeguards who didn't say a word to me) I was a good 300m off the back. Pathetically, I was 72/75 on the swim.

T1 (1:38)
Fortunately, teammate Kristen was still in transition when I stumbled to my bike, and we were able to work together to close the gap. Horay for Kristen!

THE BIKE (1:07:05)
As I said before, the importance of the bike is significantly reduced in a draft-legal race; unless that is, you need to crush the bike to catch up to the pack. Kristen and I hammered like I've never hammered before. We had a headwind coming off the ocean for half the course, and it was a 4 loop course! We did two loops ourselves, then caught a USMC gal who tagged along in our pace line, and on the back end we picked up fellow Navy teammate Lindsay. Unfortuately, neither the Marine nor Lindsay were experienced riders and they tapped wheels. Luckily, noone went down, but Kristen and I decided it was time to make a break. So, on the final lap we charged ahead and ended up passing 3 or 4 other riders right before coming into T2. I moved up significantly in ranking to 59th place in the bike (14th Female).

T2 (1:00)I got off the bike to run to my rack and nearly fell to the ground. My legs were toast. No, they were jelly. I knew I had absolutely nothing left, and this was going to be the worst run/race of my life!!

THE RUN (do I have to tell you? 58:34)
The Run. Th--long, straight, into the headwind, up the sanddunes, down the sanddunes, back around the sanddunes, and up the sanddunes over and over again--Run. Thank God I had my friend Catherine there to cheer me on, and make me smile 5 times as I slowly turtled my way back and forth, back and forth, back and forth across that course. It was brutal.

THE END 2:39:18
I was being passed left and right, and there was nothing I could do about it. The brain wasn't computing with the muscles. It just wasn't happening. All I had going for me was that there was one Army chick behind me. And that's where she stayed!
I finished second to last, within one minute of my teammate Lindsay and 3 other girls, but a good 6 minutes ahead of the Army girl. And, technically, it was a PR. However, considering it was draft-legal and pancake flat, I should have been in the 2:25 range.

Overall, the Navy Men's team took the Gold, with Elite triathlete Tim O'Donnell taking first overall (1:49:32), followed by Tommy Brown in second place (1:56:12). The fastest female was former Navy-turned Marine Justine Whipple (2:05:45). The Bachelor beat that with a 2:05:05, so he is definitely legit! The Navy Women's team was last, but we did get Rachel Beckmann on the podium with a 4th place finish (2:15:55) and a spot at the CISM World Championships in India in October!




I had a fantastic time, raced with some very elite athletes--look for Tim O'Donnell and Justine Whipple to be in the Olympics in Bejing next year!

Racing for the US NAVY 28 JULY!!!!

Months ago I applied to be considered for the Navy's official triathlon team. Over the 4th of July weekend I received official word that I was not selected as part of the very elite, 15 member team.

HOWEVER, I was invited to participate as an "alternate" at the Armed Forces National Triathlon at Pt. Mugu California!

So, on 25 July I will pack my bike (again) and head out west! The race is on Saturday 28 July, but there are 3 days of official military events we have to do. You gotta love the military....

The unique, and scary thing about this race is that it is "draft-legal". No, that doesn't mean winners get selected to go to war (ha ha) or that we can carry draft beer in our water bottles. It means we will ride road bikes, and race in a group, like the Tour de France peleton. What this really means, is that last one out of the water is really screwed!!! And since I'm such a poor swimmer, I have no idea how this race will turn out for me!

The military considers 35 years old to be "masters" aka "old folks" and since I'm 34, that means I have to compete against the 18 year olds! So, stay tuned, check the official Department of Defense Sportslink for more details, and think of me on the 28th as I get my ass handed to me by all the Academy kids!

The top 8 overall men and top 4 overall women (across services) will head to India to race in the World Military Triathlon championship, against military teams from all over the world! Pretty exciting!

GO NAVY!! BEAT ARMY!!!

Age Group Nationals Race Report

I know, I know, it's been nearly a week, and I'm behind on my race report! Well, wait no more, here it is:

UPDATED: Check out the race on VIDEO!


I arrived in Portland, OR on Monday, with a full week of visits and vacations to get in, as well as some taper workouts. I drove to the course on Tuesday and took a slow, easy one-loop ride around the bike course.
It was unbelievably scenic! The excitement of making the Age-Group Nationals was coarsing through my veins, and I was inspired to see other triathletes riding as well.

Thursday brought two more Bellas to the venue, and the three of us--me, Raja (San Diego) and Ashley (SLO) did another easy single loop of the course in the Oregon drizzle with a smoking-fast guy named Kevin (who ended up taking 4th place Clydesdale). We were definitely ready to race by this point! The girls then headed to McMenamins Grand Lodge for the biggest carb-loading dinner ever! We couldn't even come close to finishing all that we ordered: smoked salmon, freshly fried calamari, huge garden salads, and 3 heaping bowls of pasta!!


Finally, Friday dawned, again rainy (it is Oregon) and we went to packet-pick up and bike check in. After protecting our bikes from the Oregon weather, we headed off to Hagg lake to get in one final swim. I went sans wetsuit, and everyone thought I was crazy. The water was crystal clear, no silt, no marshy grass, and unbelievably clean and refreshing! After the swim, Raja and Ashley headed back to their families, and I went with my friend Scott, also from the DC area, to the Macaroni Grill for one final pre-race meal.

One of the things I miss most about Oregon is with it being above the 45th Parallel, the summer days are long! The sun was peeking up at 4:30, and twilight didn't fade until nearly 10 pm! I had a horrible night's sleep, even though I went to bed early, I never fell asleep until about 3:30, and with the alarm set for 4:30, it was quite the restless night. I met Scott at his hotel and we carpooled to the Lake, arriving just before 6am. The caliber of athletes was unbelievable, everyone seemed to be picture-perfect and in top physical racing condition! It was very intimidating! Of course the usual "I'm undertrained, not worthy to be here, should have run more hills, should have ridden more hills" thoughts were running through my head, but at this point, all I can do is hope to have a great race and enjoy the moment that I had actually qualified for this race, and deserved to be here, with the best amateur athletes in the United States!

SWIM (~0:27:00 exact time unkown thanks to incompetent USAT timing)My wave started 1:15 minutes after the official race start, there were 65 women in my wave.
It was a chest-deep water start. I stayed to the inside of the bouys (all left-hand turns) and we swam directly into the rising sun. I fell off the front pack before we reached the first turn, and by the second turn I was being passed by the 40-44 men who started 4 minutes after us. It was a long, slow, swim for me. Not sure what happened, but I was really struggling on the swim, and while I'll never know for sure, I was definitely towards the back of the pack.

T1 (~0:3:00 exact time again unknown)
It was a long run from swim out to get around transition to my bike. I struggled getting into my bike shoes. Next year's goal is definitely to learn how to get into shoes on the bike.

BIKE (1:16:47)My plan was to go all out on the bike, ride as hard as I could, embrace the suffering, and just keep going until it hurt so bad I simply couldn't go any more. This course had two options: UP and DOWN. There was only one section that was flat, and it was about 1/4 mile long. Everything else was up or down! It was a really fun course, and while it did hurt, I enjoyed it. Apparently there was over 1500ft of climbing all told.

T2 (0:1:20)I was close to bike in, so racked my bike quickly, grabbed my Velo Bella "flair", hat and racebelt and was off.

RUN (0:52:01)As with the bike, the run had two options: UP or DOWN. And there seemed to be a helluva lot of UP! Seven hills in all, I believe. I did my best to push my legs up the hill out of transition to gain speed heading down the first long hill. But by the third hill on the out-and-back course, my hip flexors were screaming. I was getting passed left and right by the 40-44 Women, and really cursing that I hadn't run more hills back in DC. At one point I remember commenting to myself on the lovely wild roses growing alongside the road...my concentration was waning and it took everything to hit the turnaround and head back. I was upset that there was only water on the whole 10K course. I was dying for gatorade.

FINISH (2:40:02)
I believe I lost about 3 spots on the return portion of the run, but somehow I (as usual) found my final kick at the last little hill coming into the finish line, I finally felt good and stretched out my legs and had a strong finish. Turns out I actually had a Personal Best. It was only by 35 seconds, but considering I took a full 5 minutes off my time at the not-quite-as-hilly Columbia last month, I know that I've improved and will smoke this time on a flatter course!

It was absolutely wonderful to have my college friend Amy, her husband and son Vic and Carson, as well as Amy's sister and kids Gayle, Jacob and Morgan there to cheer me on! I never have spectators, and I heard them and saw them cheering me on at all the right times! Thanks so much for being there for me!

All in all, the race was a wonderful experience, I finished 43rd out of 65 women in my age group, and am definitely going to do my best to qualify for Nationals again next year!

Overall Stats:
Overall 760/1061 finishers (1300 started race)
Female 279/475
F 35-39 43/65 (winners time 2:12:41)


USAT Age Group Results

Official Photos

VBtrigirl photos

The Loss of a Friend

Yesterday I was saddened to learn that a friend was suddenly and unexpectedly taken from this world. Jim McCann, the President of the Triathlon Club of San Diego, passed away unexpectedly. He has touched so many lives, and so many parts of the triathlon world. To get a tiny glimpse of who Jim was, please see these articles:

Triathlete Magazine
Competitor Magazine
SD Union Tribune




JIM McCANN, March 2, 1961 - June 20, 2007
He was a wonderful person, friend, and embodied the spirit of the multi-sport lifestyle. Without Jim, I certainly would not have had the life-changing experiences that triathlon has brought me. And my life has definitely been forever enriched with all the wonderful friends I've made, either directly or indirectly as a result of the existence of TCSD and the friendship of Jim McCann. When I moved to DC, the only thing I knew was that there was a triathlon club. And I knew if it was half of what TCSD was, I'd find a place where genuine, wonderful, like-minded friends could be found. I thank Jim for that. He will be missed.


"The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive - perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine." ~Mignon McLaughlin

Heading to Nationals

On June 30th, I will be heading to my old stomping grounds, Portland Oregon, for the USA Triathlon Age-group National Championship Olympic distance race.

My wave, F 35-39 begins at 8:28 am (PDT).

Make sure you stay tuned, and check back for my blog update!

Here are some pics of the course.

Columbia Triathlon

Columbia Triathlon is the unofficial start of the triathlon season here in the Mid-Atlantic. With over 1900 paid entrants, it's by far the largest race in the region! Only 1300 or so actually started the race, but that's still quite the field for a non-Ironman event.


Five close training-mates and numerous DC Tri-Clubbers made the trek to Columbia, MD for this race. Myself, Michelle, Jason, Jean, and Mayor Fenty (yes, I consider Mayor Fenty to be my training-mate--he may not immediately agree, however!) all awoke to a beautiful sunrise Sunday morning. Unfortunately, the clouds soon covered the sky, and a dreary steady, slow rain descended upon us as we set up in transition. I, once again, was not "in the game" at morning's start--I forgot my visor and my favorite running socks! Alas, a quick trip back to the car revealed that I had secret stashes of both, so I ran back to transition for a final switch in gear set-up and was ready to go!

The pros started at 6:45 am, and right as they were about to exit the water, the National Anthem was being sung over the loudspeaker--Jean and I still have over an hour before our "old lady" wave started.

SWIM: 26:59 (3rd out of water)
Finally, at 8:03, we entered the quite comfortable water (~62 degrees), and took care of "pre-race jitters" and waited for the horn. I suddenly found myself at the front of the massive wave of over 150 women and had to swim for my life! I decided to tuck in and just find some feet to draft behind. Turns out that plan worked out fairly well. This was a PR swim for me.


T1: 2:45 (4th out of T1)
I had some issues with my shoes, I remember staring at my toes willing them to get into my socks, but it was not easy!

BIKE: 1:21:34 (2nd on the bike!)
The rain had caused the roads to be very very slippery, and I hadn't even gone 2 miles into the course when I saw some poor guy covered from shoulder to ankle in road rash. Little did I know my own training friend Jason would suffer the same fate at the end of his ride (and crack his carbon Kuota, boo hoo!). I felt very good on the bike, but never saw any other women in my age group. I kept worrying whether I was first (highly unlikely) or last!! I felt strong, and I pushed the bike hard. I don't think I can improve much on the bike. I had an 18.8mph average here.

T2: 1:21 (1st, hello!!)
Again, fastest in T2.....

RUN: 52:45 (5th--can you say need to do more brick?!)
OH MY GOD! Enough with the hills. This was absolutely THE WORST 10K course I've ever been on. It may have been scenic, apparently it went around the lake we swam in, lots of lush, green trees, and through some pretty affluent neighborhoods, but I pretty much missed all that...on account of being MISERABLE running UP hills, and then DOWN steep hills. There wasn't a single flat portion to this race! OK, at the end, running over the causeway/dam at the very very end of the race--that so doesn't count!!!

FINISH: 2:45:23
What can I say, goal was 2:45 or less. I probably had :23 in me, but it's so hard to race when you have noone to pace off! You can break it down any number of ways:

474/1440 Overall
72/472 Female overall
14/105 in my age-group (F 35-39)
2nd Place Female Military

Unfortunately, this race only awards the #1 Female Military (LAME!!!). Next time, I will do better!!!!

Kinetic Sprint Triathlon 22 Apr 07

First Race of the Season!!

I actually hadn't planned on doing this race, but when my friend Michelle told me a group was getting together to rent a cabin on the lake, and as luck would have it, I happened into a free entry, I thought "what the heck!?"

So, Friday afternoon Michelle and I road-tripped about 1.5 hours south of DC into Spotsylvania County (read "the backcountry of Virginia") to get to the cabin first. It was spectacular, right on the water! What a great excape from the city, work, and all the stress of late!


Friday night it was just us girls, myself, Michelle, and Jean. We checked in Michelle and Jean, took a quick ride around part of the bike course, and headed off into Spotsylvania County for dinner. Not exactly the best pre-race meal, but we found some protein, carbs, and headed back to get a good night's sleep.

Well, I did anyway, but Michelle swears that the walls were paper-thin and that "someone" was snoring...whatever!! We woke bright and early to a freezing cold morning, and off went the girls to transition. I met them there before the race; it was very strange being the spectator for the day!

We met up with Jason, the lone guy friend who was racing the Half-ironman with the girls, and Jean's man Ken, who was spectating with me. Ken and I spent the day running all around trying to cheer everyone on at the transitions and turn-around points. Reminded me of watching my sister run X-country when we were in High School!

In the end Jean had a fantastic race, and both she and Michelle finished 4th in their age groups! Jason also had a very strong race. And we got to cheer on DC Mayor Adrien Fenty! All in all a great first day.


Saturday night Jean was replaced with Dave, and we decided not to venture out into the restaurant world for dinner. We stayed in, enjoyed the cabin, and had a wonderful BBQ meal of chicken, asparagus, and rice. Good fuel!

We prepped our bikes, and headed off for bed again. The sprint race didn't start until 10am, so we got a full night in the bag.




Race morning arrived, Dave and I headed into transition. There were twice as many racers for the sprint as there had been for the half the day before, and I was not pleased to discover that the F 35-39 was the biggest, and most challenging, field of the day.

SWIM (750m): 14:25 (14th)

BRRRRR. The water temp was a balmy 56 degrees. Nothing I hadn't swam in before, but it definitely got the juices flowing! I finished right smack in the middle; guess all that coaching and Master's swim was for naught!

T1: 1:50 (4th)


BIKE (18mi): 52:42 (5th)

The bike was crazy. I hit it hard, uphill for the first jaunt out of transition, but then flat for a few miles out of the park. Only about 2 miles into it I was passed by a lady who looked fast. I was determined to keep with her. We jockied for position the entire race, keeping just far enough off each other to avoid a drafting penatly. She kept pushing me up the hills and I kept screaming past her on the descent. Finally at the end she yelled at me that she didn't want to have to pass me again and encouraged me to kick it in. I was very pleased with my bike split!


T2: 0:56 (1st)
I always have the fasted T2 split. Nothing else to say here!



RUN (5K): 25:53 (7th)




SHOCKER--the fact that I haven't run a brick yet this season really showed here, and it really hurt! My heartrate was redlined the entire bike, so I had nothing left to give to the run. It was all I could do to finish it without puking. The week before Michelle, Jason and I had decided our new triathlon motto was "Embrace the Suffering". Well, there was suffering all around me, and I had no choice but to embrace it! Nuff said on this one too!

FINAL: 1:35:44 (5th/33 age-group, 27th overall)
Fifth place sucks; not good enough to podium, but close enough to know that I should have podiumed! Oh well, it was the first race of the season, it was a much bigger field than anticipated, and it will hopefully serve as motivation to train harder!!

Personal Best at Grueling Ironman 70.3 World Championships

Thank you EVERYONE for your support and words of encouragement in the race of my lifetime! I was undertained, overworried, and really concerned about my performance, but in the words of the oldest woman who raced last weekend (78 years old and finished strong) my goal was to "show, go, and finish". And I did!

The whole experience began Thursday evening at the opening ceremonies/pre-race dinner. Members of the local JROTC paraded in flags of every country represented, nearly 100 countries. It felt like my own mini olympics! The most athletes were from the US, followed by Brazil, England, and then Mexico I think, coincidently the country in which I qualified to race in the championships! There were racers from each of the 50 states, and the District of Columbia (wait, that's me!!!). Then they gave us a preview of the FULL Ironman race completed on 21 Oct in Kona, HI and to be aired on NBC on 9 Dec. Why did I pay nearly $1000 to do this? That would only be the first time I would ask myself that very question . . .

Friday came, and I went to check in my bike. On my quick spin around town ensuring I'd reassembled my bike correctly after disassembling it to fly on the plane, I was flagged down by a group of "goth" looking high-schoolers who asked me "What is your purpose?" as they flew by in their gas-guzzling SUV. I really had no answer for her. A minute later I caught her at a red light, and she again said "no, really, why are you riding bikes all around town?" I explained to her the race in the space that a red light allows. She replied "Oh, so you're training or something?" Not really. . . .but Saturday the question of my purpose came up a few too many times!

After a fantastic pre-race meal, I hit my bed around 8:30, ready for a full night's sleep. I awoke many many times in the night, wondering when 5 am would arrive. When it did, I was so not ready for it. Alas, the alarm went off, I got up and readied myself for the day ahead. The dawn was warm, wet and humid. My bike was doused in dew, and the eastern sky was red with the rising sun--what's that saying "red sky in the morning, Sailor take warning?" Fortunately, the winds were dead, and the sea was the calmest I've ever seen. There was no surf, it was like wading into a pool. Absolutely perfect race conditions all day long prevailed!

I watched and waited as the men's pro, women's pro and 4 age-group men waves hit the beach. Finally, it was time for all 400 women competitors to start our race. Not being an especially fast swimmer, I chose to be in the middle of the pack, near the bouys. Apparently that was a good strategy. I had my "fastest" swim ever, finishing in just over 38 minutes. Mind you, pros finish in 20 minutes or so, so I'm not ever going to win the swim! But I was very happy with that, and ran as fast as I could to the eager volunteers who expertly stripped my wetsuit and I was off to the transition tent.

I quickly reached my bike, grabbed the helmet and was off. I was forewarned that the bike course was fast and flat, and that the greatest error would be to push big gears. So I made a strategic decision to stay in the small chainring the whole time. Big mistake. I had probably the worst bike ride ever. Okay, maybe not the worst, as I passed 3 folks who had far worse rides than I; the first guy had a demolished disk wheel at mile 5 (about $2000 down the drain), and then at mile 20 there was an older man bleeding from his head and the paramedics were checking his neck for injuries, and finally I saw a poor lady laying on the asphalt with her arm bandaged up and she had just given up. No idea how a straight, wide, course could be so dangerous! For the first time in my race career I was being passed on the bike. But I maintained that I was going for the steady pace, ensuring I had legs left for the run. I finally crossed the "bike in" at a deflating 2:57 or so. The men pro's were only miles from the finish line as I transitioned to my running shoes.

The run. What can I say. My legs didn't want to move. Period. I quickly realized that it was going to be 13.1 miles of sheer willpower, because I had wasted my legs with the high cadence I'd forced myself into on the bike in the small gear. For those of you who think that Florida is flat, let me tell you otherwise. The race director managed to find the steepest bridge in the greater Tampa area. And he managed to make us cross it not once, not twice, but FOUR different times. My nephew has a motto, "try harder" and I grabbed hold of that motto and went with "tri harder" as I ran the slowest mile splits of my running career. Ford, the corporate sponsor of the race, had an 11-mile marker text messaging motivational station for the racers. I took the liberty of sending myself a message the day before, so as I crossed mile 11 I saw my signature motto "Suck it up princess!" which made me smile for exactly 10 seconds. Then the pain in my IT bands returned.

But, mind over matter, sheer will over physical pain, and I rounded the final corner, and heard the voice of Ironman, Mike Rielly, call my name as I came down the final gauntlet. I had done it, I finished the 70.3 World Championships and I was a HALF Ironman!

I once again reaffirmed that those people who do the full Ironman are just plain crazy!!!

I stumbled through the finish line with my finisher's medal, shell lei, and rice and beans, only wanting to get to the hotel and shower. Once that mission was accomplished, the adrenaline rush that had been so lacking during the race finally kicked in, and I went out and celebrated with my former San Diego teammates until the sun came up the next morning--yes, 24 hours of Ironman fun! Amazing things our bodies can do when we push to see just what we're capable of!

As for what's next? Right now I'm looking forward to the gluttony of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We'll talk more come New Year's!

See me on the course