So I made my way back down to Memphis in May for the third year in a row to get the legs ready for some hard racing coming up in the next month. Oh, and the BBQ also, for sure!!
In the past, we have been pretty lucky with the weather for this event. Instead of the low 80s we had in 2008 and 2009, the temperature was 97 when I got off the bike to start the run this year. It was a bit of a shock for the racers from the rocky mountain region .Up until the week before I headed down to Memphis we were still in leg and arm warmers in Boulder. I made this year’s trip with my Timex teammate Laura Tingle and some other training partners from Boulder.
For some of you that don’t know about this race it is done as a “time trial” start.
So the younger you are the earlier you go. They start with bib number 1 (the youngest racer) and send each racer off in 3 second intervals. Being bib number 885 I had some waiting on my hands. So I kept myself in the shade and stayed out of the wetsuit until the very last moment.
Swim went ok. Check! Bike was right on track. Check! Off the bike onto the run, Check!

About 5k into the 10k run, I felt like I was running on the Queen K.  “Ok, hang in there!” I kept telling myself, “it’s just a 10k, you will be just fine”… NOT! I was grabbing fluids at the aid stations like I was a fish out of water. I kept telling myself to just think of all the BBQ you can eat when you get done.  Well I made it to the finish line a bit slower than years past, but had a blast doing so.

As for my Teammate Tingle, she rocked out a forth place finish in the pro women’s field.

After the race we made our way over to thank one of our team sponsors, Shimano, for all the support they have given the team.

So I had one more race before the day was over.  And that was the buffet line.

I would have to say that I won that race!  See you next year Memphis in May!

Denny

After a killer breakfast by Shelby, we woke up to great weather, a sweet view of the Flex’s and ready to get our swim on! It’s never easy swimming at 9000ft but we all made it.

After playing in the pool, everyone was ready for lunch and naps…it’s not like we’ve been training a lot or anything!

After the much needed relaxation, we headed out to some of the best running trail I have ever been on! Tristan, Jackie and I ran a solid 80min (with a mini pit stop) which marks my longest run to date since December 2008! Talk about a total runner’s high…it was pretty epic!

After the run, we met up with the Bingham’s for some running photos which should be really neat. Then it was off to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant and an early bedtime for all. Sunday will be another big day of riding as we venture back to Boulder from Winter Park!

The mission was to ride from Boulder, CO just past the Winter Park Resort to Fraser, CO!

It all began at Amante in North Boulder – a classic meeting place for group rides. Bryce’s parents were there with lights set up and snapping away some great candid shots.

We then headed up Left Hand Canyon…in style of course!

At the top of Ward, we made our first pit stop. Tristan had been following us in the Ford Flex that was loaded with Powerbar, water and other goodies! We then set off on the Peak to Peak Highway where we met up once more with Bryce’s parents for a few group shots with an amazing background view. Can’t wait to see how those turned out!

At the end of the highway and about 4.5hrs of ride time, we reached Central City. This is a huge gambling place on an Indian Reserve in the middle of nowhere! Of course Will and I had to go in and waste a dollar or two…in our lycra :)

After hitting the road for another few hours, we reached a small town called Empire. This was our final stop before the BIG climb of the day! Over the next 14 miles we were headed to well over 11,000ft! It was getting super hot so we all loaded up on ice, coke, iced animal cookies, you name it.

The climb was tough, but we all made it…well kind of. Will may have had to lay down in the back of the Flex for a moment or so to regain consciousness! At any rate, the views were unbelievable and how Pro do we all look with the Flex?!?! THANKS FORD!

A proud group of Timex Multisport Athletes!

Big thanks to Tristan as he followed us the entire way with everything and anything we may have needed. There’s no better support than that! We love you T :)

Finally, we couldn’t have logged our killer ride without the Timex Global Trainer and I most certainly couldn’t have generated this sweet graph without Training Peaks.We were in the saddle for 8hrs 14min, traveled 109 miles and ascended 13,143ft. Congrats to everyone for making it through day 1. Stay tuned for moe!

This is what my suitcase is composed of for the next couple days of training in the Rockie mountains! Stay tuned for all of the madness of what Will Kelsay has deemed to be the most EPIC adventure yet :)

My 1st Triathlon of the season turned out to be a blast. What’s usually a very cold May day in Northern Illinois became warm and sunny.  After warming up in the 59F murky water of Apple Canyon Lake, the race director announced the start would be delayed 20 minutes due to fog and may be canceled if visibility didn’t improve.  I was crushed, from my experience once they talk about canceling a swim it’s as good as done. But sure enough 20 minutes later the fog cleared and we were ready to start the race.  After another brief warm up in the water and some encouraging words from my coach Sharone Aharon I was lining up on the beach in wave 10.

With the sound of a horn I ran into the water to begin my sprint (660 yard) swim. After running into the water I left the other women from my wave behind me and swam the majority of the swim course alone. I caught a few men from previous waves, but wasn’t able to find anyone to get a solid draft. I struggled around the last turn buoy, had to redirect myself but headed into the finish fairly straight. During the last 100 yards a man in front of me stopped dead in his tracks and I nailed into him with my right hand and face, I went around him and then out onto the beach.

Swim Time: 8:18

Transition was in  gravel so with every step came pain to my feet. I struggled a bit with my wetsuit around my ankles as usual but was off quickly and hopped on my bike. Bike out went strait up a steep hill so I opted not to leave my shoes clipped in but to run out in them. Following this race I’ve decided I need to improve my bike mounting skills by learning the flying mount cyclocross riders use. More to come on this…

Transition: 1:07

I was off on the bike of 16.8 miles through the hills of Galena.

I started in the first wave of women, so I was racing against the clock at this point, chasing down the slower men in front of me. I felt good climbing; usually this is my weakness, living in Chicago I don’t have many opportunities to train on hills.  Riding my new Orbea Ordu with Di2 helped a lot enabling me to shift from my base bars as well as my aero bars. Also makes a gnarly sound (nicknamed Megatron). At mile 8 I looked down my aerobar to notice my hand was covered in blood. I had no idea what happened. Later I realized I must have cut it when ramming into the guy at swim’s end. The remainder of the ride was uneventful, climbed up killer hill and flew down some fun descents.

I made it to T2 as the first women and ended up with the fastest women’s bike split which is a first for me.

Bike: 47:15

Transition 2: 0:49

The run was the discipline I was worried about in this race. I’m usually a strong runner although have been struggling with shin splits. In an effort to allow my leg to heal I haven’t run consistently for 3 weeks. To my surprise my shin didn’t bother me in the least during the 4.3 mile run. They changed the run course this year to be much hillier than in year’s past. The first mile was going straight down hill; I took it easy trying not to pound on my shin. At mile 1 I saw my friend Erin Kersten coming in on the bike, at this point she was the 2nd female.  After mile 1 I started to push my pace and remained consistent through the end of the race, enjoying the cheers from friends and Timex fans. 

Run: 29:40

Time: 1:27:07, Overall Women: 1st, Overall Co-ed: 18th

Galena has one of the best after parties complete with food, music, moon walk and obstacle course.  After watching everyone from my local triathlon team Well-Fit  finish, we celebrated our performance and collected a lot of hardware. 

and yes a few beers were consumed as well :)