Bella In The News

DISCLAIMER: I have never been ashore in Iraq. I was last stationed off the Northern Arabian Gulf in 2004, but have never been stationed ashore, and am not currently there. That is a very sensitive distinction, as I'm sure all can appreciate. There are thousands of Navy personnel currently serving ashore in Iraq and Afganistan, in very dangerous, important positions helping out the other services, but I have always served aboard a ship when deployed, and am currently serving in Washington, DC.

Also, I was actually training for a half-ironman, not a full ironman distance race.

Cyclingnews.com wanted to showcase the Velo Bella-Kona cyclists who were also serving in the military. While there are 5 of us, they chose to write mostly about me! Check out the full article below.

Velo Bella-When Duty Calls

Race Pace CX

Today was my second cyclo-cross race. Had to leave DC at 7am to head up to Sykesville, MD for my 9am race.

Marisa was the only other Bella there, but Jean and Lindsey from Coppi were also racing, and a few other gals I know from the road scene were there too. It was actually a pretty good-sized field--16 starters, 13 finishers. The course was VERY hilly, and had alot of off-camber turns, and some serious technical turns. One girl even did a double front flip off her bike into a chain link fence! So, I pre-rode the course twice, everything was good, there was one hill I was going to run up, and one tree barrier that I would have to dismount to hop over, but otherwise it was all rideable. So I thought....

Half way around the first lap, I got to the really technical double 180 degree turns, managed to maneuver the first one well, but did a very slow, uphill fall on the second turn. I got all muddy, which only exicted me, because now I was finally doing cross! I dismounted going over the tree, but all the other girls were bunny-hopping over it. So, I made some changes for the rest of the laps (how many I did in all I don't remember). When I got to the double technical turn, I rode the first, dismounted and ran the second--that was much faster, and I ended up passing a few girls at that point. Then, when I got to the tree, I saw a photographer there, so I made the bold decision to try to bunny-hop. It worked! And I want that picture!! I really gained alot of confidence on this course, dismounts were flashy and fast, and really got aggressive on the downhills and turns. Only bad thing was that I had absolutely no front brakes! Not entirely sure how, but my headset came loose, and I discovered during the first lap that every time I used the front brakes the front wheel chattered and wobbled and felt like it was going to fall off! So, I had to use the back brakes only, but that just forced me to be more aggressive, and it was an awesome feeling!

Ended up finishing 8th, happy with that--moving up two spots from DCCX. I've got 3, maybe 4 more races this year. I LOVE CROSS!!!! MORE COWBELL!

Detailed results can be found: Race Pace Cyclocross

DC Cyclocross--More Cowbell!

Today I attempted my very first cyclocross race! What is Cyclocross you ask? Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Cyclo-cross (Cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or 'cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races take place in the autumn and winter, and consists of many laps of a short (1.5–2 mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike whilst navigating the obstruction and remount in one graceful motion. Races are generally between 40 minutes to an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium (and Flanders in particular), The Netherlands and the Czech Republic .

Cyclo-cross bicycles are similar to racing bicycles: lightweight, with narrow tires and drop handlebars. However, they also share characteristics with mountain bicycles in that they utilize knobby tread tires for traction, and cantilever style brakes for clearance needed due to muddy conditions. They have to be lightweight because competitors need to carry their bicycle to overcome barriers or slopes too steep to climb in the saddle. The sight of competitors struggling up a muddy slope with bicycles on their shoulders is the classic image of the sport, although unridable sections are generally a very small fraction of the race distance.

Compared with other forms of cycle racing, tactics are fairly straightforward, and the emphasis is on the rider's aerobic endurance and bike-handling skills.

A cyclo-cross rider is allowed to change bicycles and receive mechanical assistance during a race. While the rider is on the course gumming up one bicycle with mud, his or her pit crew can work quickly to clean, repair and oil the spares. Having a mechanic in the "pits" is more common for professional cyclo-cross racers. The average cyclo-cross racer might have a family member or friend holding their spare bike.

One final cross-unique aspect is cowbells. Cowbells are used to cheer on the racers as they race up the hills, over barriers, and around the turns. So, if you've ever seen the SNL skit with Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken, you understand the sentiment for "More Cowbell!"

Okay, now onto my race report. It was awesome to sleep in until 8am and simply get on my bike to ride to a race! What a different concept! It was about 3 miles across town to get to the Armed Forces Retirement Center in NE DC, where the first ever cross race in the District took place. It was hosted by the DC City Bikes Mountain Bike team, and a review of the course is on their DCMTB blog.


I arrived really early, met up with Marisa Peacock and Kimberlee Wendell, fellow Bellas, and we headed off to pre-ride the course. Oh, perhaps I get ahead of myself. First let me tell you that prior to riding the bike around the 2-mile loop, I'd been on the bike for a total of 40 minutes since picking it up at Conte's after they built it. Yup, have never raced this bike, have never even taken it for a group ride! It has completely different tires, pedal clips, shoes, shifters, brakes than any of my other bikes! So much for "nothing new on race day!"

But, I seemed to be doing okay on the 3 practice loops, except getting clipped back into the pedals was slowing me down a bit. Anyway, the three Bella's started the race together, all middle of the pack, dueling it out as to who was leading, but after two laps it became pretty clear that Kimberlee was going to be strongest, followed by me, with Marisa shortly behind. It was a great cris-crossy course, so we could pass and encourage each other often. I had a total blast! I was dying, my average heartrate was at 176, and I felt like puking at the end of the race, but you could not get the grin off my face! What fun!

So, Kimberlee finished in 9th, me 10th, and Marisa 11th place. Here are the rest of the race results. It was great to have so many Bellas together racing!



Anyway, after the race, I decided to take my new bike for a proper ride, and went downtown to the finish of the Marine Corps Marathon, but unfortunately just missed my boss (the Admiral) finish his first marathon in about 5:20! Way to go!

Time to go start practicing.....

My Shiny New Bike!

The frame has been sitting around my house for almost a year, but this week I finally got all the various parts and pieces together, thanks to sponsors Kona, Easton, Giro, Crank Brothers, Bikeman, and my favorite bike shop, Conte's , who built up my bike.



She's soooo pretty! I'm thinking that I need a pink saddle too. Maybe Santa's watching!


I'll be doing my very first Cyclocross race on the bike tomorrow, DCCX, the first and only cross race inside the District! I rode the bike today for about an hour since the rain has finally stopped. I'm not very good at clipping into the "eggbeater" pedals, so tomorrow shall be entertaining.

Life...After Tri

With Ironman Kona World Championships being held Saturday, triathlon season is officially over. And while I've been on a workout hiatus (mostly to let my plantar fasciitis heal in my feet), I've been enjoying the other things life has to offer!

So, on Saturday, I went to "Renn Fest" overwise known as the Maryland Rennaisance Festival. It's been a very long time since I've been to one, but it seems they haven't changed at all. I had a blast eating every kind of meat on a stick you can think of: steak on a stake, pork on a stick, chicken kabobs, turkey legs...you name it!


We also had grilled corn on the cob that had been "stripped and dipped" in sinful amounts of butter, apple dumplings, soup in bread bowls, and fried macaroni and cheese on a stick!!!! Okay, I confess, I couldn't eat the mac n' cheese or the deep fried twinkie on a stick. No wonder the people in the Tudor period were so fat!










The boys tried to drench a wench, we all tried our hands at shooting arrows (some were much worse than others...) and we took a turn at throwing the Battle Axes. I was the only person, male or female, who was able to get my axe to stick in the tree


We ate and drank all day, and I nearly had to be rolled out to the parking lot by the end of the day. Next time, I'm dressing up like all the other folks though....



On Sunday, Michelle, Liz and I decided we needed to walk off all that meat on a stick, and we drove out to the Shenandoah Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains to climb Old Rag Mountain. We couldn't have asked for a better day; crystal clear blue skies, and temps expected to top at 70.

We stopped in Sperryvillefor some deli sandwiches, and then headed up the mountain.

The first mile was fireroad, then a good mile or so uphill trail hike traversing the mountain, and then you finally come out of the forest and can see the bald, boulder summit. There's a pretty good, just-technical-enough-to-be-fun, 1 mile boulder scramble to the top of Old Rag. The total vertical is 2500ft climb, and the elevation of the summit is 3,291 feet.

We stopped at the top for lunch, and enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, due to the severe drought in Virginia, there was no fall foliage or "leaf peeping" to be had--most of the trees are still green, and those that are turning are simply going brown and dying.




But that definitely didn't take away from the beautiful views at the top.

I'm very glad I did the hike, although by the time we finished the 7.2 mile loop, I was done with the hiking boots! Definitely need new ones....

RennFest/Old Rag photos

Seagull Century Ride

On a whim, I decided to do the Seagull Century charity ride (100 miles) with my friend Jean. Now, I hadn't done a single workout since finishing Nation's Tri a week ago. Even more, I've not ridden more than 60 miles at a stretch this entire season. And moreover, I've never ridden 100 miles before in my life! But, what the heck, the weather was predicted to be nice, and I had nothing better to do....

So, Jean and I did a "slumber party" Friday night, with another girlfriend Lisa. We made homemade pesto, drank wine, and just caught up on each other's lives (Lisa is a crazy Doctor doing her resident training, and Jean also works on the Hill).

We woke up at 4 am!! Got picked up at 4:45, hit 7-11 for coffee and headed out to Salisbury, MD. Got there around 7:15, got all checked in and we're rolling at 8am sharp.
The two guys we rode with (fellow Coppi teammates of Jean's) took off right at the start because we ended up riding with the DC Velo club--and the boys got all testosteroni. So, after about 5 miles Jean and I fell off and did our own thing.




We then met up with a group of riders from Annapolis, and ended up riding with them the rest of the day. The sun finally came out once we were at Assateague, but I would have preferred it stay foggy all day!



We finished the ride in just under 5 hours, averaging right around 20mph, and the last 18 miles we really hammered, Jean and I left our Annapolis buddies and just teared it up, passing folks left and right like it was a race, it was fun!





Some interesting facts from the ride:

--5300 riders

--70% of the riders were male

--30% of the riders were female

--The youngest rider was 8 years old and the oldest was 80

--Temperature ranged from 63 (and humid and foggy) to 83 (and humid and sunny!)

--$6,300 was donated to Habitat for Humanity

--$1,200 was donated to League of American Bicyclists

--$2,200 was donated to SGC Scholarship at Salisbury University

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

The Inagural Annapolis Triathlon

I drove to Annapolis Saturday afternoon with the top down, checked into the race, had pasta dinner with friends, watched some 80's "The Cory's" movies with friends, and was in bed at 10:30pm.

Race morning was very early, left Jenna and Sam's house at 4:45am to go deal with the two transition setups. And then I had to wait until 7:30 to start my race! Oh the agony!

THE SWIM (29:33)
Age Group: 16/53
Overall: 43/377

I felt like crap entering the water, didn't even get to check to see if I had a good seal on my goggles--which were scratched to high heaven! The water was really warm, and very murky brown. Was very very slow at the beginning, but stayed on track until the turnaround, and on the return I went astray, and by the time I got back on track the first dark blue cap got me!

T1 (2:09)
I felt fine running out of the water, but when I got to my bike, I panicked as almost all the bikes were gone!!--or so it seemed, since I was 16 out of 53 out of the water, it wasn't quite that bad, guess all the fast swimmers were racked by me! Then my suit got stuck on my left ankle, so I flexed my toe to remove it and my calf seized up with a Charlie Horse. Nearly took me to the ground in excruciating pain! Had to stop and massage the calf for a good minute because I figured better once in T1 than have it cramp again on the bike.

THE BIKE (1:08:07)
Age Group: 10/53
Overall: 26/377

The course was very crowded, single-file many portions and hard to pass, and had to use brakes to keep from drafting where there was no room to pass. Way too crowded! My calf was still very tight, but never seized on my. Had a good chase with the USNA and USMA girls--between me and the Middy we pushed really hard and in the end we pulled the USMA girl out of her comfort zone and she bonked on the run. Go Navy! Beat Army! The last few kilometers, a guy in a Mid-Maryland kit commented on my pink, and we battled each other all the way to the transition, it was fun, but if you're reading, you still got beat by the older chick in Pink! While this was my fastest split ever, since the course was 2K short, no idea if this would have been a PR for me or not.

T2 (1:40)
It was a 2 transition area race, so T2 was over at the Stadium parking lot. It was an uphill dismount and people were stopped all over the place way before the dismount and I nearly crashed. Once I got off the bike and tried to run with the bike my calf seized again, so I limped my way all the way to the back of T2 to my rack and had to re-massage my calf. Took 4 more thermalites and 2 excedrine and limped out of T2.

THE RUN (53:39)
Age Group: 13/53
Overall: 98/377

I started out very slow, small steps, and rolling my full foot to stretch my calf muscle as I ran. Mid-Maryland guy was right behind me, and I kept expecting him to pass me but he never did--took till mile 2 before my calf finally loosened up and I didn't feel it at all. By mile 3 I glanced down at my watch and saw that I was at 2:09 overall. Quick calculation said that I could probably get under 2:39 so I picked up the pace. Finally passed my friend Michelle as we headed towards the bridge, and saw a few other DC tri folks too. At the top of the bridge my hip flexors were hurting, but I knew I had more in me so I took big strides coming down the bridge and picked up the pace.

THE FINISH (2:35:05--a Personal Best!)

At 400m to go I smiled to myself and thought of the last 400m on the Port de Bales climb and knew this was gonna be a piece of cake; then a chick with a "36" on her calf ran passed me, I kept pace, she picked it up, and at 200m we were in a full sprint, everyone cheering us both on, and as I saw the opening to the Stadium I bounded ahead, leaving her in the dust!

Overall, I was really frustrated that it wasn't a standard 1.5k/40k/10k race as originally advertised, but the finish line was pretty cool!

And I got to see fellow Navy teammate Tommy Brown (what a cutie!) take the overall Professional Win too!


Complete Results
Overall Rank = 50/377
Age Group Rank = 8/53

Velo Bella's Together At Last!

The Velo Bella's managed to get together for the last road race of the season, the Carlisle PA championship!

The sun was still sleeping as we headed out of town, but by 7am, it was dawning to be a fantastic, and uncharacteristically chilly August day! Zina and I drove up into the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, and were the first Bellas to arrive.

When the Styer's gang arrived, Hillary and I decided to pre-ride the course; which would have been great had we actually pre-ridden the course! But, I took a wrong turn and we ended up riding in the wrong direction! Oh well....

There were 14 Cat 4 racers, 2 of us Bellas. Now, I hadn't even been on my bike since the Armed Forces Triathlon, so it was going to be a suffer-fest for me, but I thought it'd be fun to get out and just ride with the Bellas, and as long as I wasn't last, all would be well!

It was a short neutral roll to the start and then we were off. The course was 5 times around a 5.4 mile loop in the Pennsylvania farmland. There were a few very gentle undulating hills, with 3 or 4 very technical 90 degree turns, and one very steep 300m hill on the back side.

The first loop was definitely a warm-up, we were going very very slow. I felt relaxed but a bit edgy wondering when the break away would come. As we started lap 2 we kept the same casual pace, and I wondered briefly if this whas how the whole race was going to go!? But no, half way into lap 2 the local PA team made an attack for the hill. I and 3 other gals sped off to catch her. I made it about 250m up the hill and then fell off. Crap. That always happens! So, there were 3 girls off the front, and a middle pack of about 8, and 3 or 4 girls who had fallen off the back end. Around lap 3 I got dropped again, and fell inline with one of the last 4 girls. We managed 2 laps together, but as we started lap 5 the other girl lost steam. I found Katie, an unattached rider at the back side of lap 4 and we climbed the monster hill together and worked together to try to make up ground again. But my lack of saddle time in the last month finally won out, and as we headed into the climb for the final time, Katie dropped me and I never saw her again.

As I rounded the final corner heading into the long steady uphill to the finish, I got passed by two girls who I'd outridden all morning, and they beat me by about 10 seconds. How frustrating! I've got to work on my stamina!

In the end, it was a great race, and I had a great time! Hillary finally did her first race, I'm very proud of her, and Melanie worked hard to get Barb a second place finish for the 1/2/3 race! GO BELLAS!

Race Results

Photos

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