The season got off to a good start this year for me with the first race, the Coulee Du, a 3 mile run, 17 mile bike, 3mile run. This is my second time doing this race. Last year I took second place. Being a duathlon, the advantage obviously goes to the runners, not exactly my strong suit, but I knew I had worked on my running this season, so I expected a little faster run splits this year.

 The course at the coulee du is tough for a sprint race. The run course is a 3 mile out and back loop with the first half being all uphill and the second half all downhill. The bike course is a 17 mile loop with rolling hills and one tough climb.

There always tends to be a lot of good previous collegiate track and xc runners turned triathletes that race this race from UW- La Crosse and the twin cities areas, and this year was no different.

Coming into the race I had figured some time splits based on the previous year, I knew I would lose about a minute+ to the top runners on the first run, so I would need to gain back that minute on the bike, plus another to have a cushion on the second run. Well it started out pretty much as I expected, as I was 1:15 down after the first run (came into T1 in 4th). It took me until mile 8 to catch the leader on the bike, a little longer than I had hoped. After taking the lead I took a glance back at a few corners and saw I only had 20-30 seconds, not enough I told myself. I went back and forth with the lead with another racer for a while but knew he wasn’t one of the faster runners so I wasn’t too worried. The guy I was worried about was still dangling back at 20 seconds. He must have faded the last 2 miles because I ended up 45 seconds up on him at T2. From that point on it was just pray that my legs would turn over fast enough. Last year I got run down at about the 2 mile mark, and I was determined not to let that happen again. Let me just say that it is hard to “sprint” for 3 miles when you are training for 13!!! But anyway, we got to the turnaround and I figured I had about 30 seconds on 2nd place at that point, and someone I figured to be a much better runner than myself. But my legs held on for a 41 second edge and to grab Victory #1 of the season. A good start considering last year I didn’t have any wins. Also a confidence booster was the fact that although my bike time was 25sec slower than last year, I ran 15sec and 1min20sec faster on both of my runs, pretty good progress I think.

Here are the splits:

Overall Time-1:17:09, Run 1- 16:45, T1-0:25, Bike- 43:06, T2-0:23, Run 2- 16:32.

Ok.  I have just figured out my favorite way to spend a Friday at work: instant messaging with Kyle Marcotte. !   The guy is a crack up and will keep you entertained with a range of topics from training/racing discussions to off-season drinking fests to eating whole cakes in one sitting.   Ask to see his work photo ID, too.   “THE FLY” is back!  :)

You rock, Kyle!  The coolest dude EVER.

Its always strange when your first race of the season is a race in which you really want to do well. That was the case last weekend as I headed down to Tuscaloosa, AL with 7 others from the University of Virginia for USAT’s Collegiate National Championship.

The few days prior to the race were rather uneventful and the morning of I was feeling pretty good. After waking up at 4AM for the 7AM start time, I had my usual peanut butter and banana bagel with honey and had some coffee. We made our way to the race site without incident and warmup was rather uneventful. Pretty soon, I was in the water awaiting the start, ready to rock and roll.

The start was strange as no one in the pack really heard the gun go off but all of the sudden a couple people on kayaks shouted, “GO” and we were off. As you can imagine, starting with 140 other testosterone laden college aged males is not the most serene thing in the world. Luckily though I had spent a winter working on my swimming so I was only in the washing machine for a few minutes. Once I broke free of the whirlpool, I was right on someone’s feet, feeling good. Its hard to tell where you are in the swim, but about halfway through I realized I was in the first group which I was stoked about since a number of the competitors race ITU and are therefore fast swimmers. A little later I noticed someone moving to my right and I jumped on his feet, still keeping it under control. Pretty soon, I was coming out of the water in 17:11 and was informed I was in 5th place which was awesome. This was my first swim in my new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit and I have to say I was very impressed. It felt awesome to have a second skin as opposed to having to pull some rubber around in the water. It was definitely a “breakthrough” swim and at this point I was feeling great about the race, as I was right up front and in position to contend for the victory.

After a mediocre transition, it was off on the bike. At the start of the bike though, my fortunes changed as I just didn’t have it. I knew the guys I was coming out of the water with and I thought I should’ve been able to stay with them but for whatever reason it just wasn’t happening. A couple other people came by me who I also thought I should’ve been able to stay with but once again, no dice. Finally I settled in a bit and stopped the bleeding, letting only one other guy pass me. Note to self: spend more than a week and a half on a new bike before using it in an ‘A’ race. Coming into the finish of the bike I was a bit disappointed but happy to be off the bike and onto the run.
Starting the run, I was informed I was in 11th at which point I decided I should still be able to pass enough people to finish in the top 5 and earn an award (they were given 5 deep). I felt fine except for the fact that I couldn’t feel my feet! The air temperature wasn’t that bad but the cold water combined with biking led to the numbness. Regardless of that, I got into a good rhythm, running around 5:18s, and started picking people off. Even with a couple of big hills I maintained a good grove and finished up with a 5:09 last mile which brought me to the line at 1:53:26, good enough for 5th place.

Overall it was bittersweet. It was my highest finish at Collegiate Nationals and I had a great swim and run. However, I was only 1 min 20 sec off first place and I really felt that I could’ve had a better bike. Oh well, that’s racing.

Who cares about the race though when the awards banquet and after party are tons of fun. In fact, I even wore a bowtie for the occasion as a tribute the undergraduates here at UVa who feel the need to dress inappropriately for football games.

At the Timex training camp I had the pleasure of meeting Anne from Spenco®, who introduced me to the Spenco® Ironman™ cycling gloves, which are designed to help reduce numbness in the hands while riding, with the Shock-Tek™ patented grove in the padding.

I work as a physical therapist, and one of my co-workers asked for advice on reducing the numbness in her hands while riding her bike, specifically for the median nerve or “carpal-tunnel” type pain. My co-worker is also a physical therapist and knows about proper bike positioning and keeping the weight off her hands while riding, but that didn’t seem to reduce the numbness completely. So, I lent her my Spenco® Ironman™ cycling gloves. She returned back from riding this weekend and asked where she could buy a pair. The gloves had alleviated her numbness completely for her one-hour rides and reduced it by ~75% for her longer rides. 

Also, last week I had the pleasure of taking a ride in my brand-new Cold-Snap™ MTB series cycling gloves, also produced by Spenco®. I was very excited about riding in the gloves because of the silicone grip dots that allow for maximum control and their fleece lining for the added warmth. My first ride in the gloves was on a cold and rainy training day. Although, my last pair of gloves kept my hands warm and dry in the rain, I always felt like my hands could slide right off the handle bars if I hit the unsuspecting pothole in the road. The Cold-Snap™ gloves took all those fears away with those silicone dots and kept my hands warm during the entire ride. These gloves also have Shock-Tek™ patented grove in the padding to help prevent numbness in the hands. What a great bonus!

Thanks Anne!!

Miyakojima, one of the southern-most islands of Okinawa and self-proclaimed “Triathlon Island” hosted a lovely race this past weekend. Miyakojima has ocean like a postcard from Bora Bora, the kindest people I have met anywhere, and some great, empty roads for riding! The race is not quite a full-distance tri – the swim is 3K, the bike 155K and the run 42K. Each year about 5000 people, mostly residents of Japan, apply for 1500 bibs. The population of Miyakojima is only 56,000 and I have no doubt every single resident was out on Sunday, whether it be racing, volunteering or just cheering us all on with “Waido!” & “Gumbate!” – loosely translated Waido is “you can do it” and Gumbate is “go giant blonde girl” or something like that.

This was my second go at a long distance triathlon, and apparently I still have a lot to learn. See race rundown for details:

The swim was a mass start, wetsuit legal in 23 degree C water. It was brutal! I was scared for my life. But I came out alive in 47 minutes, in 5th place among the women, with a bloody mouth and my first wetsuit swim accomplished.

The bike course took us around the island 1.5 times, and across two bridges onto nearby islands. The headwinds and rolling hills made it challenging in places, but the scenery was gorgeous. With 140K down and only 15K to go, I got dizzy and my vision started tunnelling and I suddenly knew the meaning of the word ‘bonk.’ I stumbled (literally) into T2 and ate everything I could get my hands on. I had bumped up two places into third while out on my speedy red Trek, but was unsure that I was going to be able to run in my dizzy state. I vaguely remember being unable to focus on the RD’s face and wondering aloud to him if he was going to find my body on the side of the road somewhere out there.

The out & back marathon took us through the center of the island – downhill on our way out and then on back up. I spent the first 10K jogging, eating, getting my vision back and trying to stay cool in the extreme heat/humidity. Somehow I recovered enough to see straight, but I was still focused on my health and not feeling at all competitive. At the turn around I checked my watch and realized I had managed to maintain the 4 min deficit I had on the leaders at T2. My roommate, German superstar Silvi Czaika, informed me at 25K that I was only 2 min back and that the leaders, Japanese pros Emi Shiono & Naomi Iwaizumi, were running side by side and ‘struggling’ and to GO GET THEM! At the top of a long hill near the 30K marker I caught a glimpse of the press car lights – just the motivation I needed to pick up the pace. At 35K I rounded a corner to find them less than 800m up. I passed with 5K to go as fast as I could and then just held on for dear life. Naomi, an incredible athlete and IM Korea champ, chased me for 2K before falling back, and then Emi, the defending Strongman champ, made a go as well. By now we were climbing towards the stadium where the race finished and I was playing every mind game I could come up with to hold the pace.. all the while cursing myself for passing too early and being stuck with this ungodly pace for an entire 5K.

In the end it paid off and I won, eeking out a 3:23 marathon, a little better than the 6-hour deathmarch I was envisioning when I left T2! Total race time was 8:44 and change, with Emi coming in 1:10 back and Naomi another minute behind her for third.

The Miyakojimans know how to celebrate. The party was awesome and I made many new friends. I was given a return trip as a prize, among other great gifts, and will certainly go back to do it again next year. If any of you are considering a long race that’s off the beaten path, I can’t recommend Strongman Japan enough. I met wonderful athletes from Germany, Austria and Australia, and look forward to seeing Emi & Naomi in Kona this year – they were so much fun.

I have also decided that earthquakes are lucky – we had a rocking 6.0 centered in Miyakojima two days prior to the race while sitting in the mayor’s office on the 5th floor of a building of questionable engineering. Very exciting!

~rr