Age Group Nationals – Haag Lake – Portland, OR – 9.20.08
1.5K swim – 40K bike – 10K run

The Portland, Oregon area is absolutely beautiful.  After having raced nationals here last June and experiencing a challenging, scenic course, I knew it would be a great opportunity to come back this year.  USAT did not disappoint with putting on a top-notch race, including the amateur age group nationals as well as the professionals national championship race.

Weather on race day was perfect.  Some might have considered it cold, but 50s* and cloudy was a great start to the day.  I got in a good swim warm-up in beautiful Haag Lake and was ready to go.  We lined up along a long dock and when the horn sounded we pushed off, all 53 of us in my age group (30-34) and started thrashing for position.  Almost immediately I was in clear water (this never happens!) withCathy (the eventual victor of my AG) right beside me.  I found some familiar feet of the lead girl andfell into position.  On the back stretch, feeling like I could push the pace, I pulled out around the lead but didn’t seem to be swimming any faster so I fell back in line, finishing up the swim with our lead pack of 3 girls.  A long run UP hill brought us to transition and it was time for the bike.

I felt pretty good on the bike, being motivated and energized by the hills, descents, views of the lake, giant trees, and some friendly competition.  Two loops of the bike course around the lake and I came off the bike in 2^nd.  What this meant was that I knew Cathy would be way ahead and I didn’t know what the situation was behind me.  Time to run scared.

I exited transition, trying to build into the run.  However, the first ¼ mile is UP hill out of the park and will put you in the red zone pretty quick.  The run course is just like the bike, all up and down.  It is an out and back route and encouraging seeing other participants running the opposite direction.  I pushed through the miles with my legs feeling fatigued and continually reminding myself that slow is not an option.  There is a whole group of girls behind you that would love to take over your position in the race, so with a ‘suck it up Bannink’ to myself, I pushed through the hills.  After the turnaround I found that I was being heavily pursued and was eventually passed by the girl that would end up 2^nd in our age group.  ‘Ok, Cindi, how bad do you want this, push, push, push.’  I raced in through the finish (are my legs going to fall off?) and was greeted by several guys from my Timex team.  It felt awesome to be done.

After reviewing the results, my time was pretty close to last year with a slightly faster bike and slower run (pretty much par for the course this season).  I came in 3^rd in my age group and the 13^th woman overall.  I’ll take it.  The timex team was well represented with Bruce breaking into the top 10 overall, and Roger, Chris and Ian all claiming an age group podium spot.

After the race, I spent an additional 3 days in Portland to attend USA Triathlon’s Art and Science of Triathlon coaches’ symposium.  This seminar was packed with speakers who are ‘experts’ in their field, many of whom work with our Olympic team and top athletes in the world.  I definitely learned new concepts and ideas that I will implement into my coaching and my own training.  Thanks to USAT for an excellent race and education seminar.

Additionally, I’d like to say a special thanks to my Timex teammates for all their support throughout the weekend, my childhood friend, Ryan, who came out to watch, athletes Ed and Ben for being part of the event with me, and my family (Jeff, Marcia & Kids) for a fun vacation (and I can’t wait for my next visit so we can finish our Lincoln-Log Ranch).

Someone figure out how to post the “Anything but Amateur” article in Triathlete Magazine! It features both Rachel Ross and Tim Hola…..

Can you believe they actually say, “The race for the overall amateur crown may come down to Ross and contrywoman Lear-Kaul…”

I know the bets I’m placing… did I tell you Michael and Autumn are going to Las Vegas that weekend? Seriously.

Should I go to Oregon…
1. Yes because I’ve never been there
Last month, I traveled to Vermont with my dad. While there, we made the short list of states to which we have not traveled. His list was just one, “Alaska”… well, he and his buddies have been taking a motorcycle trip every summer since 1980, so he has seen the contiguous states. I’ve traveled quite a bit, but missed Oregon (But I’ve been to Alaska. As a side note, you may not have recognized me there… back in my party-girl stage in 1992 with remnants of 80’s hair.)
2. Yes because I like building self-esteem
It’s true. Esteem goes up when someone or something you feel connected to does well. Which is why Brett Favre’s team’s status matters so much in my household. Lots of speedy-fast teammates were signed up to be there — Cindy, Ian, Chris, Rachel, Bruce, Roger – so when they do well, I can feel good about myself, too.
3. Yes because I want to see if I can run
If it were possible to have an ankle transplant prior to October 11, I would be lined up, ready to go. Every time I sprain my ankle, it takes longer to heal. Apparently I have either severed the ligaments or the ligaments pulled off some bone. Either way, with adrenaline is usually better than without. An IM build without running has been interesting. No, I don’t want an MRI now. Thanks for asking.
4. Well, maybe not because it’s an Olympic-distance event
Dang, those people can swim, bike, and run really fast. And it’s over quickly.

The result?
Given my analytical U of Chicago graduate school experience, I just did the math and showed up at Hagg Lake to race USAT Nationals. I hope one of the speedy people writes a more detailed report for you, but I’ll sum up the experience quickly. Who really wants to hear about my pokey race? I went slower than I ever have in an Olympic distance race. Oh well.
Bruce started 4 minutes behind me. He caught me in the swim before the halfway mark. I had a plan to hold on to him, but he was too quick. I stopped and cheered for him. He claims to not have heard me. Hmmmmm
I thought I’d throw down close to 1 hour on the bike. I’m supposed to be fast on the bike. I was reminded that it is relative to the distance. Didn’t even have close to the fastest time of the day (off by over a minute). Hmmmmmm
I ran! My backup plan was to blend in and work at a water stop. I think I ran at Rachel’s recovery pace, but hey, I was running. Celebrate!

So what?
It is what it is. Please send all spare healing thoughts to my ankle.

Photos?
I would have taken pics of the following things….
- my bike in the convertable I rented, popping out of the back seat
- my fast TIMEX friends

I can’t believe how fast this season has went.  Yesterday I raced the Harvest Moon ½ Ironman and now only Ironman Hawaii remains for me for 2008.  Harvest Moon is one of the few triathlons where they offer prize money for anyone who signs up for the elite division, so myself and a few other elite male athletes gave it a go. 

 It was cloudy and about mid 40’s at the start, but no rain.  The race was held in Aurora, CO and was a short drive from our house. I got to see many of my friends in the triathlon community here in Denver.  Our wave went off at 7:30AM and I got into a good rhythm right away and was soon leading the group.  I exited the water 1^st in 24:47 and got onto my Trek TTX. At mile 4 of the bike I was soon passed my one other pro, but just stuck with my plan.  It was a modified loop bike course in the farmlands of Eastern Colorado and was very scenic.  However, it was very lonely as I rode all by myself until I was just about to transition.  Local pro Billy Edwards caught up to me and we both entered transition together in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively.  As we headed out onto the run, which was an out & back course around the reservoir, I fell back about 15 seconds, but then at mile 5 found a little more energy and pulled ahead of him.  The race course was only a few miles from Buckley Air Force Base so during the run I’d occasionally see a few squadrons of F-16’s and F-18’s flying low over us.  I love seeing that as Top Gun is one of my favorite movies!  I kept pushing hard until the end and finished placing 2^nd overall.  I was happy with my race, as it gave me a good indication for my fitness before Hawaii which is under 4 weeks away.  Thanks for reading and be safe!

 Tim

With Hurricane Ike fast approaching the area, I figured that NOW is a perfect time to update things on our Team Timex Blog. I mean, what else is there to do except sit and wait for the inevitable to happen…

Brief Racing Update: My last race was mid-August in DeGray Lake, Arkansas. I decided to make the trip to race the Half Iron Distance because I heard the course was a tough, rolling bike course (nobody seemed to mention to me that there were a couple of small hills on the run as well!) and I needed to redeem myself from my awful swim at Lifetime Fitness. We had ideal race day conditions for August and lucked out with partly cloudy conditions and cooler weather (which only means it didn’t hit 95 degrees and 90% humidity). I think the most astonishing part of this race was the fact that I FINALLY had a decent swim. I actually made a wise decision as far as where to position myself at the start and it paid off…Sharpie would have been left speechless (has she ever been speechless?…oh, yeah…that’s right…when that one certain male cyclist stopped to help her)…I was actually the first female from the Half Iron distance out of the water. Miracles do happen.

Brief Training Update: With Clearwater 70.3 Championships and Ironman Arizona approaching, training had been going quite well. Physically I was doing pretty good and was excited for the upcoming races…when…I was rear-ended by an SUV! OH, and did I mention…I was on MY BIKE! Amazing how in a split second you go from being able to handle those long rides and runs to struggling with your daily errands. Instead of spending hours training and hanging out with my kiddos, I’m spending hours at the doctors office and PT. Sorry…if you sense a tone of anger…there is…I’m just a bit frustrated.

But there is never a dull moment down here in Texas…no time to throw much of a pity-party because we have bigger issues to deal with as Hurricane Ike is about to make landfall. Since I have gone almost a week without training, I have been missing my endorphins and grumpiness has set in. Poor hubby and kids…to think that we might be hunkered down in small quarters for several hours must frighten them. Good thing I purchased a camping stove (to make hot water) and a french press so I can keep my Starbucks caffeine intake regular just in case we lose power.