Recap of the 2015 Race Season

2015 was a good year for me. It was also a challenging year. I learned a lot about myself and my capabilities. I hope to take some of that wisdom with me this year and hopefully have an even stronger season. 

The year started off with Run for Regis in late January. I opted to run the trail half marathon. It was below zero degrees at the start, which made for a slow and frigid race for me. While its referred to as a "fun run" I still tried to push myself as hard as I could.  I ended up 5th in the race and 4th in my AG with a not so fantastic time. Steve finished 2nd male. After the race we rewarded ourselves with Winking Lizard food and brews with a group of friends. This was the "fun" part of the race!

A week later (early February) I ran a cross country half marathon in Lakeland, FL called the Holloway Half Marathon. It was maybe 55 degrees at the start so naturally Steve and I raced in shorts and tank. The locals were in tights and long sleeves. This was also a tough race. I started fast and led the race for the first 7 or 8 mile before a couple of women passed me. The last miles I was overheating and fading and I slipped to 4th female but managed 1st in AG. Steve ended up finishing 2nd overall and 1st in his AG. After the race we drove back to Clearwater Beach where we were staying and flew home the next day.

Next up was the Green Jewel 50K in early March. It was my first ultra distance race and it is a road race that starts in Rocky River and travels along the Emerald Necklace finishing in the Brecksville Reservation. It ended up being a snowy, cold and very icy day which made for a slower race than I expected. My friend Jillian ended up winning and my time was good enough for 2nd place female. Steve finished 7th male, 1st in Masters. After the race we headed to Fatheads for some hard earned food and hoppy beer! This was one of my favorite races of the season! 

Then it was the Fools 25K trail race just before April Fools, which was painful. The ground was not snow covered or muddy this year but rather frozen and jagged and icy in spots, which really got into my ankles after 16 miles of running. I was a little faster than the previous year and finished 6th female, 1st in my AG. Naturally we headed to the Winking Lizard after this race with it being in Peninsula.

Then I decided to run the 10 Mile Drop in mid April since I had done the 20 the year before as my last preperation for the Toledo Marathon. This was 2 weeks out or so. I had a decent race finishing 4th female and 1st in AG. My friend Jillian won the race and we headed to the Winking Lizard in Mentor for post race food and beers.

The Toledo Marathon in late April was the first of 4 consecutive marathons I ran last year to qualify for Boston. I had high hopes for Toledo and ended up PR'ing by 5 minutes but still had a ways to go to BQ. My friend Jillian ended up getting her first BQ so that was exciting but I knew I had work to do. Overall I loved this course and would definitely run it again!

A few weeks later it was time to run the Cleveland Marathon. I was lucky enough to be an ambassador for the race last year, which was a lot of fun. I am happy to be on board again this year! It ended up being rainy, hot and humid so I did not have the race I had hoped for here but still managed a decent time for the conditions that day. Steve ended up getting his BQ again for 2016 here. Afterwards a group of us met at the Winking Lizard downtown for post race food and beer. Typical M.O.

A week later for Memorial Day weekend it was time for the Blossomtime Run in Chagrin Falls. We met up at my friend Ginny's house with a group of Cleve Tri Club folks before the race. This is a tough 5.25 mile road race and my legs were pretty trashed but I had an okay day and placed 3rd in my AG. Steve placed 3rd in his AG as well. 

Then it was on to the first multisport race of the season, the Twinsburg duathlon. I did the first run and the dropped out of the race because Steve had flatted and I thought he said he was out. After a miscommunication and learning that he changed his wheel and jumped back in I had lost too much tine and opted to get in a longer run while they finished up the race.

My first triathlon of the season was in June at the Great Western Reserve Olympic tri at West Branch. I would say I was definitely not in tip-top tri shape yet here with the big focus on running and also training for another marathon later in the month so I was pretty excited to finish 6th female and 1st in my AG despite a tough day.

Rev3 Williamsburg, also in June which was Challenge Williamsburg has been one of my favorite races the last few years. This year I got a sinus infection a week before the race so it ended up being a last minute call to even race or not. Needless to say it was not my best day. Racing with a sinus infection in 90+ degrees and high humidity was a pretty icky experience. I did not even place in my AG here but just racing was a win that day. And of course seeing my teammates was fun.

The Charlevoix Marathon in late June was a great race. I fell in love with Northwest Michigan. It is gorgeous and the race was perfect. I fell just a little short of my BQ but PR'd by about 4 minutes. Steve raced the half and won his AG so it was a successful race for both of us and we made a fun long weekend out of it.

July was a month full of ironman training and short races. First up we ran the Johnycake Jog 5 Miler where I finally won my AG. The next weekend we ran the Painesville Sunrise 5 miler, which was a hot and hilly race. I ended up placing 3rd female there as well as the Mayfield Wildcat 5K the next weekend. This was all part of my plan to not let the IM training make me slow this season in preparation for Erie!

The month of August started off with my first multisport win at the Greater Cleveland Olympic Triathlon. It actually turned out to be a duathlon with the swim being cancelled but this worked out for me since running and biking are my two strongest events. This was fun and afterwards we headed out for food and drinks with some Cleve Tri Club folks. Next up was the Miller Marut 5K in Concord Township on my birthday which was hot and hilly and I placed 3rd female there. The last race of the month was the inaugural Rock Hall Half Marathon, which I used as my final speedwork leading into Erie. I ended placing 4th in my AG here with some tough competition. 

September was an intense month. First I ran the Erie Marathon and finally got that almighty BQ with a PR time of 3:35:15 - knocking about 7 minutes off my PR time in Charlevoix! Needless to say there was a celebration for Steve and I at Willoughby Brewing afterwards! Two weeks later it was time to race the 70.3 triathlon at the Deer Creek Fall Challenge. This was a tough race in terms of winds on the bike and it was a hot run. I started having some bladder pain about halfway through the run which caused me to slow down and even walk a couple times but I managed a PR time of 5:34 and ended up 2nd female so it was a great day and we celebrated afterwards at Matt the Millers by Polaris in Columbus on our drive home.

October was a tough month as I fought some health issues with my bladder and trying to balance out the final training days for Beach 2 Battleship 140.6 Tri. I was not sure if I would be able to race and/or complete the race so when I got the go ahead from my urologist I was a happy girl. He told me to just go out there and race and we would figure things out after. Steve and I made a vacation out of the race in Wilmington, NC. It was a lot of fun as it is a great town, we had a terrific place on the water and lots of friends there. Despite having to stop a lot to pee and some discomfort I was able to finish in 12:17 a nice PR and just a little short of my 12 hour goal. I was totally smashed for a couple days following the race so it was a tough recovery. I guess that's what I get for racing while sick.

A few weeks of recovery led into some shorter races in November and December to close out the year because it is too boring to sit around! First Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 miler, which did not go great for me due to some allergy/breathng issues and also probably some lingering fatigue. Still I placed 2nd in my AG and Steve placed overall. Then we both raced the Painesville Turkey Trot 5K to win our AGs again. Then we ran the NERC relay at Westwoods with our Snakebite Racing teammate Mark Erzen and placed 2nd co-ed team after losing by less than a minute to some high school XC kids! Next up a 4th place finish/1st in AG at the Jingle Bell Run 5K at Legacy Village, a 2nd in AG at the Frosty 5 Miler in Hudson on Xmas eve and finally a 5th place female/1st AG place at the Great New Years Eve 5K in Stow. 

That was a busy season and 2016 looks to be the same with maybe a marathon less and no 140.6. Plus I am spacing my big races out more to allow some extra recovery time. I hate resting but I need to work on that because maybe I will race even better if I can learn the art of recovery! 

2016 starts up this weekend with Run for Regis half marathon again. Forecast says 17 degrees, Brrr. Should be painful I am sure!

Rev3 Cedar Point Training Update & Powerbar Contest Winner

This past week was the first of three big build weeks leading into a recovery and taper week for Rev3 Cedar Point 140.6. I'm happy to say that I got through it pretty well with just minor aches and pains. The week consisted of three bike rides: 2 hrs, 1 hr and 5 hrs; 3 runs: 90 minutes, 45 minutes and 2 hrs & 15 mins; two swims: 90 mins and 60 mins and about 60 minutes of stretching and lots of eating of course. 

I feel pretty good with the only minor issue being a little pain in my left foot around the navicular bone. It did not hurt while running but was achy after. I am taking advil and icing it and stretching, rolling it out as it likely a little tendinitis. I plan to tape it up with the KT tape before running my 90 minutes on Wednesday am. Aside from that a minor amount of low back pain towards the end of yesterday's run, which feels okay now. At this point I have to expect some discomfort for the next couple of weeks and then hope the recovery/taper will have me back to 100% for race day.

During this build I have designated Mondays as an off day although I did get up to stretch for 20-30 minutes, which felt very good. I will repeat this for the next couple of weeks as well as taking a gentle yoga class. I am avoiding the power yoga that I love so much right now as my body really does not need the added stress. This week I have about 18 hours on the schedule with about 10 of that on the bike, 4.5-5 on the run and the rest on the swim and yoga. Saturday I will be participating in the Cleveland Tri Club's Cedar Point Preview Day and will be riding about 100 miles of the course, which will be a great prep workout for the race. If you're planning to do Cedar Point or a different race please feel to join us just visit the CTC event page on facebook to sign up!

I am happy that so many people have been supportive of my fundraiser for the American Brain Tumor Association. Right now I have raised about $1200 towards my $2500 goal with 4 weeks left to go. If you have given thank you. If not, please consider even a small donation of $5-10 helps. To donate just click on this link and you'll be taken to a secure webpage. Last week I did a contest for a package of Powerbar goodies. The winner of that contest is Marianne Zappella. Marianne if you're reading this, thank you and congrats! Please contact me so that I can get your shipping address and send out your goodies!

Stay tuned this week for a sweet Cleveland Indians giveaway package!

Challenge New Albany 70.3 Race Report - Edited!

I'm feeling good about my performance at Challenge New Albany last weekend. It could have went better if I had not made some silly mistakes and suffered from some significant GI issues during the run. Staying focused on my goal of going for a PR helped me push through on a tough day. I was able to walk away knowing that I did my best for that day, I am improving even when I get in my own way and I was able to enjoy the experience of the race. This was my 5th half iron distance race and I really am starting to enjoy racing the 70.3 distance. While this will be my last 70.3 this season I will definitely be excited to take on some more next season!

Prerace:

Steve and I had packed up a lot of our stuff already and just had a couple things left to do including taking our bikes out for a little 30-minute test ride followed by a short transition run and then pack up our cooler, put on the bike rack, etc. We were packed up and ready to head out for the race expo by 10 after a quick stop at Pulp to get some road trip smoothies.

At the expo with Rev3 teammate Maggs

We hit a little traffic heading into Columbus but were on schedule to meet my teammate Maggs at the expo at 1:00. After picking up our race bags we took advantage of the complimentary chiropractic services. I had tore up my shoulders last week from the combo of higher swim mileage and attending yoga class after not doing it for a while. The Dr. really helped stretch things out and I felt some instant relief.

After that we headed over to Alum Creek where the swim start would be to check in our bikes. The wind was getting pretty intense and it was clear a storm was rolling in. Fortunately we were checked into our hotel at the Courtyard Marriott New Albany before things got nasty.

Steve and I after racking our bikes at T1

We headed out for a relaxing prerace dinner at The Rusty Bucket and it was perfect as the restaurant was literally right by the race finish! We enjoyed a tasty dinner then headed over to the finish to check it out. After that it was back to the hotel for a little reading, snacking and bedtime around 10. Unfortunately I tossed and turned for a couple of hours so didn't have the greatest night of sleep but I slept well the week leading up to the race.

Race Morning:

It was an early start to the morning with the wake up call at 3:45am. Our plan was to be on the way to New Albany High School where T2 and the shuttles would be by 4:30. We were on schedule and arrived at the High School around 4:40 to drop off our T2 stuff. The only downside here was it was still dark, which made it difficult to find our spots in the TA. We ran into Maggs and took a quick team pic and then off to the shuttle it was. The shuttles were actually school buses, which made for a bumpy 30-minute ride to Alum Creek.

Prerace Rev3 girls!

We arrived to Alum Creek around 5:40 and had ample time to setup our T1 stuff, use the restroom and get a swim warmup in.

The Swim - 1.2 Miles - 

The water was very calm on race morning, which was nice. The swim was a run in from the beach and it was shallow for a minute or two so I did a long run in and a couple dolphin dives and waited for the crowd to thin out a little before settling into a freestyle. We had to swim out to the right for a short distance before turning around a couple of square buoys and then it was pretty much a straight shot down with the buoys on our left until we reached the square buoys at the opposite end and then after turning around the remaining buoys were on the right. I enjoyed the swim for the most part except the section where the sun was blinding us. I was able to stay calm even when I ran into someone's feet with my head. I think I could have been at least a few minutes faster here but I am not very aggressive with my swim. I tend to move out of the way when people are passing or bump me as I like to position myself away from others. I know this is inefficient so as I build my swim confidence I need to get more comfortable with swimming in a pack. My time of 42:29 was not a PR but a decent time for me. My goal for next season is to get that number down to
somewhere in the high 30s.

T1 -

I had an unncessarily long T1. I don't know how but I went to the wrong spot in transition and then was just confused until a friend saw me and said hey aren't you close to me on the rack. Between that and being slow to get the wetsuit off, etc I lost a minute or two. I can do better than a 4:26 T1!

The Bike: 56 Miles - 

The bike course was nice overall but more challenging than I expected. According to the race elevation map there was only supposed to be about 1,000 ft of gain so I thought it would be a pretty flat course. According to Garmin data the gain was actually 1545 although it still felt like more to me. The beginning 10 miles or so were flat and fast but from mile 12-48 or so there were a good amount of rollers including a couple good climbs. I was definitely in my small ring more than I anticipated.  I was not super happy with my time of 3:00 flat, which is slower than my average 2:55 or so. This brought my average pace down to 18.67 versus my normal 19.1 or 19.2 for a half distance. There was also a fair amount of wind during some of the hilly sections so the resistance was a bit intense in some sections. Up and into the wind is not fun. Overall I enjoyed the bike but was ready to get on with the run! My goal for next season for the bike will be to get faster. I'd like to average 19.5-20+ mph for this distance.

T2 - 

T2 went pretty smooth but still a little long at 1:51.

The Run: 13.1 Miles - 

I felt strong starting the run. My first few miles were between 8:15-8:25, which is a nice pace for me in this event. Unfortunately around mile 4 I started to feel some GI troubles as well as some hot spots on my feet. I had done two stupid things here (forgot my personal stash of salt tabs and so had to take in Gatorade at the aid stations for the electrolytes and wore a new pair of socks). Needless to say I paid for these mistakes. By Mile 6 I had to stop and relieve myself in the porta potty. I lost a good 2-3 minutes here at least but it made the rest of my run more tolerable. I then stopped about a mile later to remove my socks and just ran sockless. By then I had a couple of blisters but it actually felt better without the socks.

I almost threw up a couple of times from the Gatorade but was able to slow down a little and continue on. The run was actually at least .4-.5 mile long as the oly course was actually 6.75 versus 6.2. My split time of 1:58:56 was okay but I had hoped for lower 1:50s. If I deduct the time I lost from the potty break and sock issue I may have been around 1:54 or 1:55 which would have been better. I think my actual split would be better if the course was accurate I would have been at 1:54 or 1:55 and with the adjustments I should have been close to my goal pace of 1:50-1:52. The last couple of miles I felt strong and I was pumped for the finish. My teammate Maggs was able to get a nice finisher shot of me bringing it home. My goal for next season will be to get that run time down. I'll be shooting to break 1:50.

Finish & Post Race - 

Sprinting to the finish!

I finished in 5:47:41, about 2.5 minutes faster than Rev3 Williamsburg so I managed a little PR despite a tough day. I finished 3rd in the 35-39 AG and 11th female. I'm not unhappy with my progress I just should have done better. I think based on my fitness now I should have been closer to a 5:40. My goal for next season will be along those lines somewhere between 5:30-5:40.

Maggs and Steve were waiting for me at the Finish and it was nice to be able to enjoy a post race IPA with them. After we got our gear we headed out for a post race meal at a place in New Albany called The Goat. After that it was time to hit the road and head back to Cleveland.

Post race with Maggs!

Overall I think that Challenge and HFP Racing, who managed the race did a nice job with the inaugural race. There are a few things that need to be improved for next year but it sounds like from their post race email that they are already addressing those things. I would definitely consider doing this one again based on how close it is to home and how well it fit into my training schedule. It was nice to see so many Cleveland Tri Club folks representing at the race as well!

Thanks to my sponsors: Rev3 Triathlon, Powerbar, Pearl Izumi, SBR Sports and Blue Seventy for helping me succeed in another 70.3 race!

Celebrating another 70.3 with a hoppy beer! Mmm!

Rev3 Cedar Point Contest Winner

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the American Brain Tumor Association on my behalf. I am grateful for your generosity and support. I am also thankful to Rev3 Triathlon for being generous and donating a free race entry for Rev3 Cedar Point. They are a very supportive and caring organization and I am very fortunate to be a member of their age group team.

I am pleased to announce that Tracy Cromp is the winner of my Rev3 Cedar Point contest! I do not know Tracy personally. Tracy please reach out to me so I can get your information and the details for redeeming your free entry. Thank you for your support!

Race Rev3 Cedar Point For Free & Help Fight Cancer!

Okay folks here's the deal. If you follow my blog already or just see my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc then you already know that I am signed up to complete my first 140.6 full iron-distance triathlon at Rev3 Cedar Point this year on Sunday, September 7. You might also know that one of my inspirations for doing this race is to raise money for the American Brain Tumor Association in my cousin Danielle Lynn's honor. Last May Danielle lost her battle with brain cancer at 27 years old... after 7 years of heroic fighting.

I HATE cancer and will do anything that I can for the rest of my life to help fight this disease including completing a full iron distance race. For those who don't know what an iron-distance race entails, it consists of 2.5 miles of swimming, 112 miles windy biking and 26.2 miles of painful running after all of that.

You can help me fight cancer by donating to the American Brain Tumor Association. Just click HERE to donate. If you are planning to race Rev3 Cedar Point this year or next you will be entered to win a free entry to the race! Rev3 was kind enough to donate this entry to help me. For every $20 that you donate your name will go into a shoebox. So for example if you donate $100 you will get 5 entries. Please be sure to include your name with your donation. The contest winner will be randomly selected sometime next weekend and announced on my blog as well as Facebook and Twitter. You can race whichever distance you choose and it can be used for this year's race or 2015.  You'll just need to get me the details of the race you wish to participate in. After that I will provide you with a discount code good for 100% off of your entry.

If you don't win the contest but still want to sign up to race with me simply comment or message me and I can get you a Team Rev3 discount code to sign up. Thank you for your support and goodluck with the contest.

Also as a courtesy if you share this post online and tag me in it I will automatically enter you into an upcoming Powerbar contest that I'll be having in a couple of weeks! So please share!

Never a Dull Moment at the 2013 Rev3 Cedar Point Race

I am happy to say that another Rev3 Cedar Point 70.3 is in the books! It was a tough day out there this year due to rough winds and a moved swim but I was able to come out with a PR anyways! As always there was never a dull moment for this race!

Prerace:

Teammate Kate McDowell & Me

Steve and I had pretty much wrapped up our packing Friday night after work and we headed out Saturday morning around 11 to Sandusky. It was a short 1.5 hour drive. We stopped for a quick lunch and headed over to Cedar Point for the Rev3 race expo. When we got there I ran into my sweet teammate Kate who was working timing. It was great to see her and then we quickly started running into other Rev3 folks including Laura Mount, Race MC Sean English and the Rev3 man himself Charlie Patten. 

Steve and I visited the Bike Authority tent to have Sean Gilbert check out our bikes and we got all setup. We headed over to the Hotel Breakers and got checked in then headed out around 5 to meet my teammate Jaime Dix and her husband Andrews for a delicious, carb-heavy dinner at Wezey's Italian Eatery. The food was excellent and it was fun catching up with Jaime and Andrew before their race. They were both doing the full rev. 

After dinner we stopped for a couple snacks and headed back to our room. Much to my happiness there was a Harry Potter movie on so we vegged out and watched the movie and I proceeded to eat leftover pizza until I could no longer move. Think we were out around 10:30 for the night. Woke up around 3:30 and fell back asleep until 5. 

Race morning:

Waking up I was bummed to hear that the swim had been moved to the bay due to a weather advisory with high winds. I had never done the bay swim before and wasn't sure what to expect. We got up, had coffee and breakfast and headed out to transition around 6:30. We were setup before 7 and had plenty of time to snack, use the restroom a few times, get our wetsuits on and head over to the swim start. 

Swim: 1.2 miles in Lake Erie, Cedar Point Bay

I am almost always nervous before the swim. It is the thing I like and practice the least and doing a "new" swim was even more nervewracking for me. After talking with some friends it was time to line up by waves. My wave (women under 40) was the last wave. I lined up with teammate Heather Oravec and went in with her on the timetrial start. The swim felt long to me. We had to swim out and around an island through a shallow channel with rocks on the left side (which I hit a couple times) and boats to the right. I actually did not mind that part. After coming around the island it was much tougher for me and it seemed to take forever. I am sure I was off course with the buoys to the left. My goal for the swim time was 45 minutes but I came in a little slower at 52. One of the slowpokes in my wave placing 35/42. Fortunately I don't bank on my swim time but looking at my time from 2 years ago I see I was better then.

T1

We had a long T1 with about a 1/3-1/2 mile run from the swim start back to transition. I had brought my flip flops to run in. Maybe not the best shoe selection but I did not want my running shoes to be wet for the 13.1 miles. My T1 was 8:59. Wow! Compared to my 3:36 for T1 last year. Big difference but again we were all slowed down this year and I did stop for a potty break after the swim too which may have added a couple extra minutes.

Bike: 56 miles along Hellaciously Windy Lake and Country Roads

On the bike. Can u see the wind?

I was excited to start the bike; however, heading out of the park along the lake it was clear this was going to be a tough day for biking. The winds were brutal especially the stretch along the lake. Starting out I felt wobbly in my aerobars and with my race wheels so I alternated between aero and road position. My energy level was definitely better for the first bike split and I averaged just under 20mph at 19.86. The second split was brutal with wind and my slow split of 16.94 shows that. The final split was 19.52 with a final bike time of 2:55:12 (average speed of 19.18). This was very comparable to my bike time last year of 2:56. I had hoped to do better than 20mph this year but with the winds I am happy that I was even able to be a tad faster than last year. I was 6/42 in my division.

T2

Leaving T2 Checking the watch!

I was very happy to get off my bike and out of those killer winds. My back and neck were hurting so I sprayed on some topical spray, changed into my running shoes and visor and headed out. T2 was 1:54, which included a super fast potty break.

Run: 13.1 Mile Half Marathon

Starting the run I was unsure I would PR. My watch said 4 hours. I thought I will have to push it to break 6. Fortunately I was able to do that! My first 5-6 miles I was running okay at an average 8:30-8:40 pace but didn't feel too great. Then around mile 7 or 8 I had a burst of energy and felt terrific so I was able to average 6:55-7:55 pace. This was my fastest run of the past couple of years where I had sustained foot injuries. In looking at the results I was 4/42 in my division. I felt steady and strong on the run and the finish.

The Finish: 

I had a little kick left at the end and finished in 5:52:55. I was excited to hear Steve cheering for me and Rev3 MC Sean announce my name and he played the Ramones for my finish, which was awesome! My results were good for 9/42 in my division and 56/246 females. It felt great to PR although my goal had been 5:45. I think I will get there soon. I may have even been there this year with normal T1 and less wind. 

Post race celebrating with the hubby :)

Postrace Steve had ice cold IPAs at the finish. What an awesome hubby! Steve also had a good race. Not a PR but a comparable time to last year.

It is great being able to train together day in and day out and then to share the ups and downs of racing together! 

This was a great race for me and my last triathlon this season. I am looking forward to making some forward progress for next season!

Greater Cleveland Triathlon Race Report

The Greater Cleveland Triathlon is a great race put on each year in Mentor by Northcoast Multi Sports. The race director is a good guy and does a lot for the local triathlon community in Northeast Ohio. I did not race this year but was a cheerleader for the kids who raced Saturday at the kids race and for my husband Steve who raced the olympic tri on Sunday. While it's fun to race it is also nice to be on the sidelines sometimes too!

Saturday - Kids Triathlon:

Gracie in her Rev3 visor and braids so cute!

Both of my stepkids raced this year and were both really excited to participate. It's so cute to see the younger kids getting involved in our sport!

Gracie's Race:

There were waves setup by age so my stepdaughter Gracie was up first in the kids age 9-10 group. With the water being too rough that morning they cancelled the swim and instead had a duathlon. Gracie had to run 1/2 mile, bike 3 miles and run another 1/2 mile. This was her first race and she did awesome! I am so proud of her for leaving it all out there. And didn't she look adorable in her little Rev3 visor and braids and tri shorts? She even asked us to give her quicklaces.

Evan's Race:

Evan coming into T2 from the bike!

Evan was in the next wave of kids 11-12. He had to run 1 mile, bike 6 miles and run 1 mile. This was his second year competing and he did great too. He looked like a little pro in a Powerbar Team Elite kit! He said he was a little disappointed not having the swim but he was a good sport.

Race day with the family

It was a fun morning as the whole family including our new greyhound Mack came out to the race. We made signs and had fun cheering on the kids. The kids both had fun and said they want to do the race again next year so it was a success! They both got nice finisher's medals too! If you're kids are interested in triathlon having them sign up for a kid's race is a great way to get them involved!






Steve's Race:

The next morning it was time to get up to cheer for my husband on his birthday. We all made signs and hung out while he raced. The water was again rough and so the adult race was turned into a duathlon as well. This actually played to Steve's strengths since he is strong on the bike and run.

Steve with his AG award!

The race started with a 1 mile run followed by a 23 mile olympic bike and a 10K run. Steve had a good day out there. He had the fastest bike split in the race and placed 2nd in his age group, 9th overall. He was almost 1st in his AG but had a hammie issue the last few minutes that forced him to slow down.

I also got to cheer for my teammate Jaime who raced the olympic as

Teammate Jaime ready to race!

well. She had a great race too placing 1st in her AG and 4th overall of the females! Some of our other friends raced that day as well in the sprint and olympic races and all in all it was a good day of racing for most!

Adventure Runs, Long Rides and Things to Come

An Adventurous Run:

It's been a fun season so far and the training continues! Steve and I had signed up to race an adventure trail run in Ashtabula last weekend but were unable to race. We ended up having our own "adventure" trail run at Girlded Rd Reservation!

Friday late night and Saturday morning we had gotten bad storms and rain in Lake County. That translated to a mess Saturday morning. Luckily our house had not flooded but the pool was a different story. It was a freaky deaky green color! We decided to leave the pool that morning and headed to Girdled to run the trails.

The trails were very torn up as the river had flooded - carving out whole areas of the trail and replacing crushed stone with a muddy, mucky mess. Trees and branches were down and it was mud puddles galore. Needless to say it made for an interesting and challenging hour and a half run Saturday. Later that afternoon we bought a bunch of chemicals for the pool, which is never fun.

Sunday Riding and Pool Time:

Sunday we headed out for a 50-mile training ride. Some of the roads were strewn with debris from the storm and the entrance to Headlands Beach was closed due to flooding so there was some rerouting that had to take place. The ride went pretty well but the heat and humidity were getting to me in the afternoon. I was quite happy to get home to have a cold IPA post ride! A few minutes of relaxing by the pool and it was time to get to work. Steve vacumed the pool and I skimmed for what felt like hours but was probably an hour. Does that count as an arms workout? Finally a little time to float around on our rafts. Ahhh, I wish that I could say this was all we did for the rest of the day but we were soon back to reality of more chores. Yuck!

Things to Come:

This week we have some more mild temperatures than 90s, which is okay by me. Lots of swim, bike, run training to get in and a fun weekend ahead including a beer tasting Friday night and we're racing the Fairport Harbor Sprint Tri Sunday. This race is 10 minutes from home at most so I will get to sleep in a little...maybe! Next weekend Steve is racing the Greater Cleveland Triathlon Oly and I get to relax and cheer with the kiddos! Then the weekend after that we are running The Perfect 10 Miler, our anniversary race! And of course Rev3 Cedar Point is just around the corner...can't wait! I am hoping to PR the half course again this year!

An Epic Race at the Inaugural Rev3 Williamsburg

I have to admit I had a lot of race nerves leading up to Rev3 Williamsburg! Of course I was excited to race and see my awesome Rev3 teammates and staff but I was also nervous about my first open water swim since the whole Knoxville fail. I guess it was just one of those psychological things I needed to work through. Fortunately I was able to get through a mental battle with myself and have a fun and successful race!

Prerace:

Gracie and me checking in my bike 

Steve and I had the kids with us since we drove in Saturday and went straight to the Rev3 expo. We ran into quite a few of my teammates and Rev3 staff.

We picked up our packets, timing chips and Rev3 swag and headed down the road a few miles to check in our bikes at Jamestown Beach. The kids enjoyed helping us to get setup. As you can see from the picture here my stepdaughter Gracie was a terrific little helper!

After setting up our bikes we checked into our awesome condo and went to pick up some groceries to make ourselves a delicious pasta dinner and get some stuff for breakfast before the race. After a day of travelling and excitement we were ready for bed early and turned in around 10pm.
T2

Race Morning:

Prerace picture with the hubby

Steve and I were up at 4:30 to shower, get dressed, eat our tasty waffles with PB & J and head out to T2 first to setup our run stuff. We took a shuttle over to T1 to setup our bike stuff and had our swim stuff with us for the start. We were a little nervous but super excited to be racing in such a beautiful town!

We setup our T1 stuff and headed down for the walk to the swim start, which was about a 1/4 mile from T1. One more potty break prerace and it was time to get on the wetsuit, swim cap and hit the water to warm up a little. The water was warm at 76-77 degrees but happily for me still wetsuit legal!

The Swim:

I am always most nervous about the swim before every race and the swim at this race was even  more nerve wracking for me than usual with my last swim in Knoxville not going well. So as I warmed up and it was time for my wave females under 40 to start, I was very nervous and just tried to relax my breathing.

Happy to exit the swim to T1!

It was a long run in as the water was very shallow. I took my time and ran as long as possible, finally diving into the water for a few moments. I've been swimming in the pool sans noseplugs now with no issue but in the open water with the current I was not able to and was glad to have brought the trusty old noseplugs with me. It took a good 5-10 minutes for me to calm myself enough to begin a consistent freestyle. Finally I settled in. It still wasn't an easy swim for me. It seemed like I would never get to the buoys but once I did I just focused on the next one and I got through it okay. My time of 40:59 was much slower than usual but that is to be expected given my slow, shaky start. It was still a success to me as I got through it slowly but surely.

T1:

T1 was about a quarter mile run to the bike so it was pretty slow going and took 4:23 for the run, getting ready to start the bike. I took in a Powerbar double latte gel here and that really helped get me going!

The Bike:

Enjoying the ride!

What can I say about the bike? I absolutely LOVED this bike course! It was beautiful, relatively flat with an elevation gain of just 374 feet and a fast, fun course. I was able to settle into the bike right away and soon caught up with my teammate Brittany who was racing the half. We had a couple of minutes to chat and then she was off to the half course and I was focused on the oly course. Most of the course was straight forward and easy with a little climb and technical area thrown in. With the roads being wet there from the morning rain I was a little more conservative than perhaps I should have been. Still I was happy with my effort, finishing the 24 mile bike in 1:11:50 for an average of 20.05 mph. Not too shabby.

T2:

T2 was straight forward, rack the bike, get the running stuff on, down a Powerbar energy blends gel - yum and go. T1 time was 1:05.

The Run:

Focused and relaxed on the run

I equally enjoyed the 10K run on this course. It was a little hillier than I expected at only 197 feet of gain, but I was strong on the hills having run a very hilly half marathon a week before this race. I felt decent on the first split running an 8:19 pace warming up for the first 2.7 miles. I am happy to have had a negative split, running the balance of the race at a 7:32-7:34 pace. I am very happy with that effort as that is a good running off the bike time for me. I finished the run in 50:22 for the 10K. A decent effort for me and I can tell those transition runs payed off!

The Finish:

Sprinting the finish!

By far the best part of this race for me was the finish. I had enjoyed passing everyone I could at the end of the run and apparently when I passed one woman from Team Z she really wanted to catch me badly at the end. She passed me...but much to her surprise I sprinted past her again to finish ahead! It was such a rush to finish strong like that. I had hoped to finish a little faster than my final time of 2:48:39 but I was very happy overall with the race and my performance given the rocky swim.

Anthony, Maggie, Chloe, Andy, Me and Michael of Team Rev3

After the race it was great to be able to spend time with a number of my Rev3 teammates and their families and friends. I got to cheer for some of them finishing the half and we helped sort swim to bike bags for the athletes.

It was a great day and Steve and I both LOVED this course and this race! I highly recommend it and hope to race it again next year. Williamsburg has so much to offer including Busch Gardens, an adorable historic downtown area with shopping and pubs. We loved it and the kids loved it too and said it was their best vacation ever...I call that a successful racecation!

The Race That Didn't Happen For Me

There comes a first time for everything I suppose. Not finishing a race has never happened to me and I hoped it never would. Certainly I have considered not finishing a race at times but I've always fought through those thoughts and been able to will myself to stay in it. That was not the case at Rev3 Knoxville last weekend. I do not regret my decision to race or to quit the race. It was a decision that I made based on circumstances at the time. I also think it was a valuable learning experience for me.

The weekend itself was awesome! It was wonderful to see my Rev3 family - staff and teammates! As always the Rev3 crew took good care of us as athletes and of course as team members. My teammates were as fun as ever as well as understanding and supportive. I really don't think I would have gotten  through the situation as well without them and of course my biggest cheerleader and husband Steve. I'd like to say thank you to all of them for the support.

Happy to see Carole Sharpless aka Mama Bear

The rain was falling Saturday afternoon as we arrived at the expo and it never stopped through the weekend. Steve and I headed into the Rev3 expo to pick up our race packets, my new team kit and my new team kit, which is sweet! We bumped into a number of the Rev3 staff including race director Eric, team manager extraordinnaire Carole aka mama bear, The man Charlie himself, Laura, Ashley, etc. In timing we were greeted by Tim, Jordan and we bumped into Holly and Lauren all from Team Rev3. It was great to see so many friendly faces! After attending the athlete meeting we headed to the transition area to check in our bikes and check out the swim start.

The 2013 Team Rev3 Kit

Following that we were starved and headed to get a bite to eat at Calhoun's on the River for some tasty barbecue and a pint of beer. After this late lunch Steve and I checked in at the Holiday Inn, which was the host hotel. We got our transition bags packed up and ready and drove the bike course. I tried on my new team kit and it fit great. We ordered a pizza, had a beer and snuggled up to watch a movie and turned in early for some quality prerace zzz's.

Race Morning:

Prerace:

Some of the Rev3 Girls prerace

We woke up to rainy, cold conditions. The temperature of the river was somewhere between 58-59 degrees and the air 52 degrees (brrr) were not ideal conditions to race in. Steve and I got up around 6am and started getting ready, ate breakfast and headed out for the walk in the rain to transition at 7:15. We cut it a little bit close as we had to be out of transition by 7:45 for the oly but we wanted to stay warm as long as possible. In transition we setup and my rack was shared by teammates Chloe and Heather. A number of other teammates including Kristin and Jill were around too.

Walking over to the swim start was a little bit of a stroll. I had decided to wear my never used new Full wetsuit since it was so cold along with some ear warmers. My feet were freezing as we walked on the paved trail toward the start in front of Calhoun's. Once we got down there time seemed to fly by. Before I knew it I was kissing Steve and telling him goodluck and his wave was off. We were next!

Swim Start:

When I jumped in I really didn't have time to warm up and acclimate to the cold water. I just cannon balled in and we were off as it was a deep water start. Those deep water starts are not my favorite to begin with. I positioned myself in the middle, which I don't normally do. I usually head to one side. We started and after maybe 100 or 200 m I gulped in some water and pulled my head up to see what was going on. I lost my noseplugs!  I am a terrible swimmer sans noseplugs. Shit I thought to myself this is not good! I tried to freestyle a little longer but panicked a little and came up only to be hit in the shoulder pretty hard. This stunned me a little so I backtracked a little to one of the kayaks to hang on for a minute. I tried to swim a little but without the plugs it was not going to happen. The nice lady kayaker tracked down some noseplugs for me and I was off or so I thought. I swam another few hundred meters only to find out I went around the wrong buoy. It just wasn't my day. When I learned I would have to swim back up against the current in that freezing water I just didn't have it in me to do it. I pulled out. It was a tough decision to make. I felt like I just had too much working against me that day. I was pretty upset getting out of the water and was very thankful to see my sweet teammate Holly there. She gave me the biggest hug and I knew it would be alright.

Post Swim:

I walked back to transition and ran into some others who had quit the race including one of my teammates. I was glad to have her company for a while as we both tried to warm up from the cold sitting in her car with the seat warmers on. Once we got out I saw another teammate who had done part of the bike course but did not finish due to the cold. I waited in transition until Steve came in. It took him far longer than usual and I was worried so I was relieved to see he was okay. He looked rough though. His teeth were chattering and he was disoriented. I think he had mild hypothermia. I had him put on a jacket to warm up his body and he asked me to run with him. I ran the 10K with him until just before the finish. It was a soggy, wet run but was nice to be there for him.

Post Race Festivities:

Post race food & beverages with Team Rev3

After showering and getting warmed up we headed out later to meet some teammates at Soccer Taco in Downtown Knoxville for Mexican food and drinks to celebrate Cinco de Maya. It was a blast. I have the best teammates ever. Leaving the restaurant we actually had a short window with no rain so we decided to walk. We found a cute little Craft beer market and stopped in for a few minutes.

Heading back to the hotel we ran into Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae - one of my favorite female triathletes. She was super nice to talk to and she really lifted my spirits. Later that night we headed out again for a little while to enjoy another beverage with the team. It was really hard to leave because I knew I wouldn't see them again until Williamsburg in late June. Despite the day's challenges and disappointments it was still a good day. I learned that it's okay to fail as long as you try but to never try is not an option. I may have failed the race but there are many more opportunities to race this year and after all I am not getting paid to be an athlete. This is a hobby that I love. I need to keep it in perspective. 

I had to get a picture with Rinny!

Have you ever not finished a race? If so, why and how did it make you feel?

Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Race Report

I am so glad that the hubby and I were able to participate in the inaugural Rev3 Wisconsin Dells race! We had an absolute blast - from the road trip to meeting some amazing Rev3 teammates and staff to the race itself to post race. We had a wonderful experience and highly recommend the race to any triathletes that care to venture to the Cheese state.

Prerace:

Driving through Chicago!

We pretty much had all of our stuff ready to go by Thursday evening since we had to work Friday and get on the road afterwards. Steve and I met up at home, loaded the car up with gear and our beloved bikes, dropped my daughter off at her friends and hit the open road. Neither of us had ever been to Wisconsin so this was a new experience. We drove from about 7PM that night to just before South Bend, Indiana and stopped there around 11:30 for the night. We got back on the road Saturday morning bright and early and made our way through Chicago, which I had only seen once before via airplane. Definitely a city I must check out soon! 

Listening to Rev3 Pros talk about the race

We arrived in Wisconsin Dells, which is a huge midwest tourist area. If you're into water parks you will love this place because apparently it is the largest area of waterparks around. We're not really into that but enjoyed some of the other Wisconsin Dells things, namely food and beer! We headed to the Rev3 Expo to pick up our packets and saw some of the Rev3 team including Laura, Holly, Tim, Ryan and some others who were working hard to get the race setup. We listened to the pros talk about their race strategy for the next day and attended the mandatory prerace athlete meeting and listened to Eric, Rev3's race director talk along with the local race director and USAT official.

in transition area setting up bikes

Once we finished up with the expo it was time to check our bikes into the transition area. Rev3 requires its athletes to do this the day before and it really helps make race morning easier since you're not tinkering with your bike, which we all know is the main thing we worry about on race morning! Steve and I changed out my wheels, took a few test spins and headed into the bike check area. 

Sharpie and me

Maybe the best part of setup was running into the one and only Carol Sharpless aka Sharpie aka Mama Bear. She is the team leader and an all-around good person not to mention that her blog is hysterical! I highly recommend you read it. She is one of the many reasons that I love being on the Rev3 age group team! Upon meeting her we walked down to Lake Delton to check out the swim setup and transition. The transition included a rather steep run (sans shoes) up the ashpalt road into the transition area. Around 1/4 mile hike maybe. Anyways Steve and I practiced running up without shoes to see how we would feel. Following this we drove the bike course to get a sense for the terrain. Boy was I glad we were doing the olympic! Hills galore!

After that we checked into our room and then headed out to meet some of the Rev3 teammates at Pizza Pub for a pre-race dinner. There we stuffed ourselves with Hawaian style pizza as we chatted with Rachelle, her friend, Jeff and Andy. They unfortunately did not have a great beer selection so the hubby and I hit up the Moose Pizza & Brewery for a prerace IPA for me, Coffee stout for him and a huge piece of peanut butter cup pie. Total carbfest and in fact I fell asleep with a full belly immediately when we got back to our room.

Race Morning:

I am always a nervous wreck on race morning and Rev3 Wisconsin was no different. My stomach was a mess and I could hardly eat. In hindsight maybe greek yogurt is not best before a longer race. We showered, got dressed, put our race tattoos on, grabbed our transition bags and headed out around 5:45am. Transition would be closing at 6:30. We got done in transition around 6:15 and had a while to wait until our waves since the half rev started first around 7.

Swim:

The olympic swim is almost as long as the half ironman swim at just under a mile. Lake Delton is a pretty calm recreational lake so I wasn't too concerned with the conditions plus I had brought my sleeveless wetsuit, which I thought would help. Steve's wave started a little before mine as usual and then it was my turn. Due to the narrow entrance off the dock into the water Rev3 had a time trial start where two athletes entered the water in a seated position every three seconds. This was a little nicer than the typical cluster at the swim start. I felt okay until I rounded the second red buoy and then I felt a little tired and a little unsure of the course since the Oly and Half courses were a little different. My time was just over 37 minutes, which seems slow. I feel like I swam longer than need be since I usually do 1.25 miles in 40 or low 40s. At any rate it was okay and I was anxious to exit the water and get onto the fun stuff!

T1:

As I mentioned earlier in the post, T1 was a challenge due to having to run up a steep ashphalt hill and path up to the transition area. Running and trying to get my wetsuit off is never easy for me either. I finally got it off in transition, dried off a bit, threw on my socks and bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses, grabbed my bike and ran out of transition. All in all it took over 3 minutes for this.

Bike:

The bike in Wisconsin was hilly. I was glad we opted for the Olympic distance as we only had abut 600 ft to climb versus the 2000 in the half! I didn't have a very good ride. I never really found my groove as I am so used to riding in my big gear set and I ended up riding in my small gear set due to some of the hills. This is something I'll need to work on for hillier courses. I did enjoy the scenery and watching the pros zip by but I was not happy with my mediocre performance. Was lucky to average 18 versus my normal 20+ this season. I blame some of this as I said on the change in gearing but also neglecting the bike some the weeks leading up to the race as I was mostly nervous about the run.

T2:

T2 was pretty straight-forward. Dismount bike, run it in, rack it and change into running gear. Think my T1 was around a minute and a half. I felt okay.

Run:

I was a little nervous about the run since I had just had my first six mile run maybe a week or 10 days before the race. I didn't really have time to focus on speed so my goal was just to finish it okay without hurting the foot. This I did accomplish. I felt pretty decent the first mile or two and even saw the hubby making his way back. That was pretty awesome as he gave me a nice kiss, which really helped me stay motivated. That was around a mile or mile and a half in. Around mile 2  I developed some pretty awful stomach cramps. I slowed my pace significantly until around 4 or so when I was cramp free. This was around the time that Rev3 pro Richie Cunningham passed me and shouted "good job Team Rev3, keep it up!" Awesome I thought...Richie was talking to me during the race. That gave me a lift and I felt pretty strong through the end.

The Finish & Closing Thoughts:

Steve and I after the race with our hard-earned medals

I was trying my best to break three hours but ended up coming up in 3:02. The best part of the finish was hearing my hubby cheer me on. I also really enjoyed seeing my teammates after too and hearing how everyone did. My teammates did great as many of them were on the podium and so was my hubby. I was a little sad to not have placed but accept that I was not in optimum condition for an olympic distance race. This was my first longer race of the season and really a step toward training for my upcoming half ironman at Rev3 Cedar Point. If anything I had a great time, met some amazing people and got in a terrific workout!

Twinsburg Duathlon Relay Race Report

After not racing since April I was pretty excited to have some action this weekend! When my husband asked me if I'd like to do the Twinsburg Duathlon relay I couldn't resist saying yes. He would run and I would bike. It sounded good to me.

Pre-race:

Twinsburg would be my new bike's maiden voyage along with my new wheels! Have I mentioned how much I love my Kestrel and Gray wheels? It would also be the first time I raced in my new Team Rev3 kit and my new aero helmet. This was a race with a lot of firsts! Steve and I headed up to the Twinsburg expo and had my coach and bike mechanic Sean put my race wheels on and tune up the bikes a little to get race ready.

We went home and rode 22 miles to see how the bike and wheels would handle for race day. I had only used the wheels once maybe 6 weeks back. We rode one of our usual routes. I was quite speedy on the first half. Unfortunately we had some bad winds heading back so it slowed us down a little. I was in a silly easygoing mood on Saturday night. Steve and I cooked a nice pre-race dinner of gourmet pizza and salad and craft beer and took it easy.

Race Day:

We got up Sunday morning and ate a quick breakfast, got dressed, loaded up the bike and our other stuff and headed out around 6am. We arrived at the Twinsburg Rec center where the race starts around 6:45 to get setup. We were both really excited. Here's a picture of me rocking my awesome new Rev3 kit and posing with my new bike.





The Start:

Finally around 7:40 I watched Steve and the others lineup. The race director Mickey made some announcements along with the local USAT official covering some of the race rules. And then they were off to run the first 2 mile leg.  A quick run to the ladies room for me and then I headed over to the relay area to get my bike shoes, helmet, shades and jacket on. It was starting to drizzle so I grew a little nervous about the weather. I hoped it would stop. Not so much luck!

T1, Bike

 Steve met me in the transition area 12:24 later and we switched the timing chip as per the rules. I grabbed the bike to run it out of transition and mounted pretty easily and we were off. I was a little nervous starting up with the rain since I don't have a lot of experience riding in the rain and had never raced this bike or wheelset before.  I knew I was close to the front of the pack so I just wanted to get on it. The start of the course is hilly for about the first 2 miles so I was probably just averaging 17-18mph and had to watch the turns with the rain. 

Once we hit a flatter section I opened it up more averaging between 22-26mph for much of the flat and slowing down for some turns. The rain unfortunately was coming down pretty good in parts of the race including some downhill parts with traffic as the roads are not closed. I just tried to be cautious. There's one section of the course with a longer climb and I slowed down there to 12-14mph as it was a tougher climb. Once we hit the descent I was back quickly to over 20mph hitting some downhill in the 30s. That's always a good feeling. The whole ride was good. There were a couple of other guys that I stayed with pretty much most of the race as I passed them and they passed me. I kept them as my markers. I wanted to finish in 30 minutes or less for the 10 miles. I ended up at 32:43 including our two transitions. This means I likely averaged about 20mph. Not bad for racing in the wind and rain and being a little conservative on the push. In fact I learned from my coach later that I had the fastest bike split of all the women in the race! And I think I ranked like top 15 or 20 overall with the men so that made me feel pretty good about all those miles I've been putting in!

T2 & The Finish:

I raced into the transition area and met Steve where we again switched the timing chip and he was off. I racked my bike and then got myself dried off a bit and headed over to watch the finish. It's always fun watching people finish! Steve made it back in 12:24 again for the second 2 mile run. Talk about even splits! Not as fast as he had hoped but still pretty good at a 6:12 average. For not doing a whole lot of running lately and no speedwork I think that's solid. They held the tape out for him since we were the first co-ed relay team with a time of 57:52!

Our first relay was a success! In fact we would have been third in the men's relay in terms of our time)! Not bad. Needless to say we were happy with the results. We stuck around to hang out with friends, get a bite to eat and collect our awesome award plaques. It was a great race again this year. Mickey does a fantastic job with the event. It draws a lot of strong local competition and it's just a fun atmosphere. We'll definitely be back again next year. Either for the relay or individually. TBD.

Special thanks to Rev3 Triathlon for the awesome new kit! And also to Swiftwick, who makes the world's best socks, Pearl Izumi who made our Rev3 kits and supplied the awesome Pro Aero jacket I wore, which  kept me dry through the race as well as the comfy and light tri bike shoes. Finally thanks to PowerBar for the pre and post race hat and race fuel. I used the PowerBar Perform for the race and use it for much of my training. It tastes good and keeps me going without any GI issues, which we all know is important!!!