I went into Kona this year optimistic. Of course there’s always something going on, this year I had two major issues;

1) Busted foot; I’ve been able to control the swelling through physical therapy with Bob Cranny, ART with Richard Hansen, ice and aqua jogging. Allowing me to make it through long runs in training

2) Nutrition; after last year’s GI issues I tried numerous nutrition plans and found the most optimal for my body which consists of powerbar gels, carbo pro and fig newtons.

I arrived in Kona on Wednesday pre-race which I’ve learned now does not allow adequate time to acclimate to the heat. We immediately dove into the Kona Ironman “circus show” activities. This included the underpants run, swimming to the floating coffee bar, multiple trips to Lava Java and the Kona Brewing company, welcome dinner, training rides and runs.

Race morning had finally arrived, I was pretty nervous since I hadn’t competed at the ironman distance since Kona 2010. After checking over my bike and transition bags for the final time I headed to find some friends. Keith and Tristan recorded a brief pre-race interview, next I found Jackie in the bathroom. We gossiped to calm our nerves before bidding farewell and wishing each other luck. After another 20 minutes of waiting and building up energy it was time to enter the water. Once the drums start playing reality sets in, unfortunately I don’t have the naive mindset like last year. I now knew exactly what I was in for and how many obstacles this day would bring. I entered the water with the masses and went to the same starting position as last year, just to the right of the car about 4 people deep. Once positioned I still had 10 minutes before the start, I flipped on my back to relax controlling my breathing and giving myself some mental encouragement.

Soon enough the cannon shot and we were off. The start was much more physical for me this year. In retrospect I should have gone up to the front row, because I was battling for the first 800 meters. I got stuck behind some slower swimmers but was caged in, I made multiple attempts to break free which resulted in getting punched in the face every time. My goggles were knocked off filling with water on one side which I had to leave for fear of getting trampled should I pause to empty them. The sun was shining so bright I was forced to breath only to the right swimming out. I finally gave up and settled into swimming on slower feet. As we neared the turn around boat everyone merged together again forcing me to slow down to avoid a kick to the face. After this the swimmers finally thinned out. I was still not in a great draft, but at least I could get a swim rhythm down. As we approached the last few buoys I finally broke free from my “slow feet” and swam in my own water, picking up the pace significantly. I knew swimming in my time would be a disappointment. It was a choppy swim this year and my positioning was just not ideal. As I exited the ocean I saw my time of 1:00.10, even after mentally preparing for this slower time it was still disappointing to see it. One thing I’ve learned racing Ironman is it’s necessary to plan for the unplanned. Multiple aspects of the race will go wrong and you cannot dwell on them, so this was my first obstacle to overcome. Losing 4 minutes due to a poor swim start is not going to break my race, I can make it up.

After a quick and more crowded transition than I’m used to I hopped on my bike. My coach and I decided on specific wattage to hold throughout the race. This is most important during the first 40K because everyone feels strong and wants to ride fast; I resisted riding hard with them and stuck to the plan. I did so and rode with teammate Susanne Davis, passing each other back and forth multiple times throughout the first 30 miles. At mile 20 my coach and ex-Timex teammate, Curt Chesney, passed me. He offered words of encouragement, confirming I’m sticking with our plan holding back to save energy for the run. Shortly afterwards ex-teammate Mike Lavery rode by. This excited me because if they were both that far behind everyone must have had slow swims.

At mile 30 a referee rides up holding up a red card. I have a lot of experience in drafting penalties and this was the first time I honestly have no idea why it was given. I sat up and looked around, I was riding completely solo. At this point I know it’s too late and arguing is simply a waste of energy, so I thanked the referee for the break and rode on to the penalty tent. There were so many racers in the penalty tent I had to wait 1 minute just to start a watch which then I had to share. Time ticked by slowly as bikers zoomed past, my 2^nd obstacle of the day I had to overcome. I wasn’t going to let this ruin my race. After possibly fulfilling my watch partners triathlon fantasy (don’t ask) the 4 minutes had finally passed and I was back out on the course.

Now I was riding with the masses, I was getting sucked into small pelotons. Determined not to get another drafting penalty I attempted to ride off the front but was unsuccessful as any climb we approached the group would catch and engulf me. I finally sat up to let them pass, taking down some nutrition in preparation for the winds of Hawi where I would surely be unable to take anything down. Riding out to Hawi there were no cross winds like last year but insanely strong headwinds. I was pushing 270 watts and moving 9 miles per hour. The turnaround couldn’t come soon enough, it finally did and weeeeeeeeee riding with the tail wind felt amazing. No pedaling and flying at 40 miles per hour, what a relief. The tail wind was exactly what I needed to recharge and get back in the game.

Mile 80 was where my plan was to turn on the juice and pick up the pace. My legs weren’t feeling as fresh as I would have hoped, but I attempted to increase wattage. The last 25 miles riding were brutal. My lower back was aching, my legs were sore but I still had a slight tailwind which I was very thankful for. I finally arrived back to transition feeling deflated but determined to continue on to run the marathon.

While changing my shorts in transition I sat for just a moment giving myself a mental pep talk. As I ran out I saw so many friends cheering me on, I couldn’t help but smile. (even if I was faking it)

Only 1 mile into the run I had nothing in my legs, yes my foot hurt and my stomach was slightly sloshing but the issue was just no fire in my legs. They felt weak; it was a struggle just putting 1 foot in front of the other. This was when my greatest fear entered my mind, I need to drop out, the dreaded DNF. So I made the conscious decision to run the first 5 miles at which point I could re-evaluate my body. At the turn around I wasn’t feeling better but also no worse so I decided to jog to mile 10 and reassess then. I’ve never walked in a race before but planned to walk up Palani drive. Ugh, starting up running after taking a walk break ruins the break. My quads were on fire, I pushed the negative thoughts out and decided I had come this far and would finish what I started. I pressed on down the Queen K seeing Curt run by looking strong then Lavery. This gave me joy to see friends having successful races. A few miles down the road I saw Susanne who seemed to be having an awesome day. Next I saw Jackie who shared my pain, she was having a rough day, we gave each other an understanding look and exchanged encouraging words. I knew by now my Bambi legs were in full effect.

Entering the energy lab I was battling to just keep running. I grabbed my special needs bag thinking to myself how impossible it would be to force more calories down my throat. I allowed myself to walk up the hill exiting the energy lab. As I reached the top of the hill that was it, now I was angry for letting myself go this slow. I stripped down to a sports bra, ditched my calories and just started running. I had 8 miles to go, calories weren’t going to help my upset stomach and walking wasn’t resulting in anything but more pain. So I ran, I ran through the pain with nothing in my mind but the finish line. The last miles seemed to take an eternity. When I finally hit Palani I was so ecstatic; I ran through the cheering crowds, all time goals out the window just happy to complete this very difficult race.

As I passed college friend Mike Lorenzen just before the final stretch I announced I would never compete in this race again. I said this last year, and I know I will eventually be back to prove myself. I have so much respect for anyone that can race in Kona successfully; I hope to someday be a member of this elite club.  The ironman distance is difficult but IronmanHawaii is in a league of it’s own.

I was very lucky to have wonderful friends in Kona supporting me. Post race we headed for dinner and drinks followed by the midnight finish line celebration which is never to be missed. After which we brought my bike to the bar and continued the celebrations.

We fully enjoyed the remainder of our time on the island which consisted of scuba diving, luau’s, off road Jeeping in Waipio Valley, snorkeling, outrigger canoe trips, ziplining, swimming with dolphins, birthday celebrations and lots of eating!

HyVee triathlon, the blog write-up I’ve been procrastinating. Most of my teammates and friends know the HyVee was set as my “A” Olympic race of the year. After injuring my foot in December, 2010 the decision was made to race amateur for the 2011 season. One of the benefits of staying amateur was to compete in HyVee again defending my 2010 title.  In an effort to attract more talent to the new 5150 series championship they increased the prize for the HyVee triathlon in 2011 to a mini-cooper for elite amateur men and women. This made the race by far the most challenging Olympic of the year for amateur’s bringing in the steepest competition. 

My weekend inDes Moines,IAbegan with the expo and mandatory race briefing. During which the water temperature was announced as 82 degrees. We were told by the race director that no matter what the water temperature on race morning NO wetsuits were to be allowed. They didn’t expect the temperature to come down 6 degrees overnight and he said, “you guys all qualified to get here, there is no need for wetsuits at this race”. I was thrilled, being a swimmer this is a huge advantage. They already moved the swim from the Des Moines River to a much calmer Gray’sLakedue to predictions for high winds on race day.  

While walking to transition on race morning I start receiving texts from friends racing and even hear the announcement that wet suits will be legal for all age group waves including the elite amateur wave. Needless to say I was pretty bummed, I spoke to a USAT official who informed me the race director was wrong telling us no wetsuits would be legal yesterday, it is always up to USAT and their water temperature measurements showed 75.5 degrees. (conveniently under the 76 degree cutoff). This caused quite the stir

with my wave as many didn’t even bring wetsuits based on the announcement yesterday. Luckily I always pack it because these types of calls seem to happen more and more. As I warmed up in the water with teammate Cindi Bannink we realized the water had not decreased to 75.5 degrees, it was still well over 80.

The elite amateur men’s wave took off, and 2 minutes later we followed. With only 20+ women in the elite wave it was a smooth start for me. I shot out in front with two other swimmers, at some point Natalie Kirchoff took off ahead of me. As I approached the 2^nd turn buoy my other swimming buddy did not make the turn. I really wanted to grab her, but the sun was right in our eyes and she must not have been able to sight well. I did turn and stayed on course, hoping she would quickly follow. I swam the remainder of the course in my own water keeping it steady but strong. It was definitely a hot swim, by the half way point I wanted to rip off my wetsuit to let my skin breath. I swam it in still not realizing Natalie was 30 seconds up. I had a long run through the mud to my bike in transition, literally peeling the wetsuit off my skin. I made a minor mistake in heading down the men’s transition aisle, quickly realizing it but losing precious seconds I would later need in the run.

Swim: 21:28

As I headed out on the bike I caught Natalie within the first few miles. I was surprised to see another girl but knew she was a fast runner (as were all the other females in the field) so I needed to nail this bike to gain a huge lead. The course was very technical, every time I got going hard in my aero bars we approached another turn. The wind also played a huge factor, with all the changes in direction we were getting head winds, tail winds and cross winds. I started catching some of the men at the half way point. One in particular gave me a hard time; every time I passed him he would increase wattage and pass me back. Finally I asked him nicely not to mess up the women’s race, he quickly stopped and I never saw him again. Unfortunately I may have destroyed his ego, but this is a common issue I deal with and have gotten penalties for in the past.

Bike: 1:05.22

At the 180 degree turn around I got to see where my competition was. I had a few minute lead but the girls were right there and again I knew most of them and was fully aware of their ability to pass me on the run. So I turned it on harder through the 2^nd half of the bike hoping to put more time between us.

Coming back into transition it was fun to hear the roar of cheers from the spectators. I ran into difficulty getting to my spot because the age groupers were exiting the bike out which happened to also be the bike in. I had to dodge outbound bikers, but after a few seconds they let me by. I took off on my feet attempting to get into my stride. To my surprise my legs weren’t too destroyed from the bike. Now I was in the middle of the men’s race, of course they’re all cheering me on saying I’d already won the car. Something I hate about run courses is 180 degree turn arounds. I do not like my competition to see me, but this course had 2, the first being within 2 miles. As I came face to face with the chase girls I knew I was in trouble. They weren’t that far back, and they’re all small runners gunning for me. I picked up my pace. My strategy is to stay ahead  at all costs discouraging the chase pack from catching me. To my surprise I was successful as I saw friends along the course they told me I was actually pulling away. The weather was sunny but cool, since I don’t have my top end speed this year, I’ve learned to excel in the heat (this didn’t help here). As I approached mile 5 I knew they were closing in on me but I tried to keep up my pace. Running through downtown Des MoinesI heard quick footsteps behind me, looking back in a race is a sign of weakness. It took much willpower not to look back, and finally the footsteps caught me.  It was a guy, I told him how happy I was. This is when he informed me that Kim was literally right behind me. At this point I knew she was just waiting for her chance. So I again gave it everything I had to pull away from her. As we went around the 2^nd turn around I saw how close she was. I can honestly say that is when I gave it everything I had in the tank. I hammered with every ounce within me. We approached the final climb which is when she surged. At this point I had nothing left in the tank, it wasn’t by choice but I had to watch her pass me and she crossed the finish 15 seconds ahead.

Run: 41:04

Triathlon: 2:11.43

Of course I congratulated her, she informed me that we raced at wildflower Olympic this spring where I had won by over 2 minutes. She made it a goal to beat me here. I can honestly say she outraced me. Yes they took away some advantages on the swim and bike but she out ran me and I know even if I ran faster she would have too. She played the race perfectly and turned it on at the ideal point. I left it all on the course and 2^nd was where I finished. Talking to the top girls post race I found we’re all racing pro in 2012 so I’ll get more opportunities to race them again and prove I can run faster, this was just all I had this year.

A big thank you goes out to Orbea/Orca for donating an amazing 2nd place price of $5K gift card.

Mad props go to teammate Cindi Bannink placing 5th elite amateur woman and Bo Parish for winning his age group.

http://www.hy-veetriathlon.com/news/webber-pancoast-take-5150-crowns.aspx

The Chicago Triathlon was my first tri ever. I did it at age 10 and then it was my first adult race in 2005  improving my time every year in the Olympic distance. 2010 was my first year taking the elite amateur win only to have it taken away due to penalties. The 6 minutes of penalties awarded bumped me down to 2^nd place, therefore I had to come back to redeem myself this year. It was definitely worth the trip. (It also worked out that I had another race and a wedding the following weekends in Chicago)

They reduced the men’s elite wave qualifying time to 2:10 this year which was huge. It limited the elite amateur field to 1 co-ed wave and I was hoping it would prevent some blocking and drafting on the bike course.

 We awoke to record winds on race day this year. The Chicago tri is notorious for a windy bike course on Lakeshore Drive. I have never experienced such a wavy challenging swim here though. I took some advice from former teammate Brian Fort starting closer to the sea wall in an attempt to avoid the battle zone towards the center at the start. I did just that and swam out ahead of the pack with a few men. We were swimming with the current ¼ mile out until the 180 degree turn around. Once we made that turn, BAM there’s the head wind. I used this to my advantage trying not to battle the water but to swim through it and breathe between high waves. The wind was pushing me out away from the sea wall which I later found was much calmer. I ended up as far out as the lifeboats, I had to play defense to avoid getting slapped by oars from the lifeguards trying to control the swimmers going off course.

Another girl swam next to me the 2^nd half of the swim, she was not staying in her space and knocking me with every stroke. I assumed this was my friend Chris Wickard, I made a mental note to have a word with her post race as this behavior was unacceptable. As I finally exited the water I realized it was not Chris swimming with me, good thing :) I glanced at my watch and was shocked at how slow my split was.

Swim : 25.20

As I ran the ½ mile into transition I realized I had still made up a lot of time on other racers. I continued running through the super huge transition housing 8K bikes. 

Heading out on the bike we rode North on Lakeshore Drive into direct headwinds. I struggled through some men carefully making each and every pass to avoid repeat penalties from last year. Riding with the motorcycle next to me the entire time made it easy to remember I was out on close watch.

As we made the turn heading south I took advantage of the tail winds. You can never make up the time lost riding into headwinds but you can utilize them and even give your legs a break while moving forward at record pace.

Entering into the 1^st loop turn around they did not have the cones arranged for riders to make the 2nd loop turn yet. (all waves before mine were sprint distances and only 1 loop on the bike) Luckily I knew the course and had to make my turn riding over a cone or two.

They close off the inside lanes of Lakeshore Drive, therefore you must ride on the left and pass on the right. Every year this confuses racers who end up riding on the right. I wasn’t about to take the risk of another penalty so during my 2^nd and much more crowded loop I continued passing on the right forcing me to ride into the outside lane with traffic. I came in off the bike with a slower bike split than expected but was still riding away from my competition.

Bike: 1:03.57

Entering back into transition I found my bike right away but dropped my visor while exiting. I decided to leave it and continue on. I ran through the crowds of old friends who made it down to cheer. I ran a steady pace the first few miles but when my lead bicycle rider told me I was up over 5 minutes from the 2^nd woman I slowed down my pace. I decided to save my legs for HyVee which was the following weekend. I ran the back half of the course fairly easy. My bum foot bothered my stride but no more than any other races this season.  

Run: 41:48

Triathlon: 2:14.02

This was not a PR for this race although I was content with my performance factoring in the strong winds and I did get my race revenge from 2010. I also had a great time celebrating and visiting with old Chicago friends.

Bo Parish and I at the finish line. He took his age group win…although he’s kind of a sandbagger and should have raced elite :)

This was my first time racing the Boulder 70.3 Triathlon. After moving toBoulderlast winter I’ve swam in the reservoir, biked on the course and ran around the rez countless times. I went in feeling confident on the course knowing exactly what to expect. (Usually I just keep new race courses a surprise) Once again I enjoyed the opportunity to ride from home to the start line.

After my unfortunate swim start at the Boulder Peak Triathlon I made a conscious decision to hold back when the gun fired. I’ve realized when swimming at altitude I need to go avoid going out too hard. When my wave began one girl swam ahead of the pack with me, in sticking with my plan I let her go and stuck to my steady pace. My first 400 meters went much smoother than last time. I was able to remain calm swimming at an appropriate pace. I never saw the other swimmer who took off ahead of me but I must have passed her at some point while catching other waves because I came out of the water ahead of all other female swimmers.

Swim Time 27.16

Heading out on my bike I was mixed in with many riders due to being one of the final waves of the race. I rode through the first loop feeling very strong. The temperatures soared to the high nineties therefore I took down an additional bottle than usual. I was also practicing my new liquid carbo pro nutrition plan preparing for my upcoming ironman. As Tim Hola and Steve Johnson blew by me (they started in the very last wave) I caught back up to mess with Tim a bit, and then let them move on with their race. My second loop of the bike I felt the extra bottle I’d consumed and had to get ride of the liquid while riding J. I came in with a pretty solid bike split, although it can definitely use some improvement going into next year.

BikeSplit: 2:29.54

The transition from bike to run has been a constant struggle getting my shoe over my swollen left foot. This race was no exception; I took a few extra seconds and then was off on the run course. As I exited transition it was great to see familiar faces cheering me on. My first few miles of the run I held back due to rising temperatures and lack of shade throughout the course. In retrospect I think I held back a little too much. My first few miles were moderate. As I neared the first 180 degree turn I saw another female approaching, and she was coming in fast. As she caught me I realized it was Amanda Lovato racing pro and on her 2^nd loop. I gave her some words of encouragement assuming she’d breeze right by. As she did I held on for a few minutes asking if she minded me pacing with her. No response. I wasn’t sure the etiquette in this situation, so I just continued on racing my own race. When we approached a small climb I surged passed and continued loop 1 about 15 feet in front of Amanda. This gave me a lot of confidence in preparing to race professionally next year. I thought to myself, If I can run with the top pro’s with my foot injury I’ll definitely be able to hang on with another year of recovery. As Amanda headed to the finish line I took the left turn to my 2^nd loop.

I tried to pick up my pace and again enjoyed all the cheering from family and friends. The aid stations on the run course were amazing; during the 2^nd loop the course was crowded with people. Volunteers were shouting out “really fast girl coming through” and would run towards me with water and ice, so unexpected but greatly appreciated. My legs felt solid until the final mile of the run, could have used one more gel. I was able to get into the finish line with only a small increase in pace.

RunSplit: 1:37.02 

Total Time: 4:36.57 

I’m still not content with my running pace this year but with the injury to my foot and screws that remain I have to be happy with this split for now. I look forward to training on a healthy foot for next year to see what time I’m able to drop from my run and bike splits.

After the race Amanda Lovato found me and apologized for not responding as she was struggling through her 2^nd loop of the run. It was an honor to run with her and completely boosted my confidence for the remainder of my race.

I’m now a huge fan of theBoulder70.3 race course and it’s always encouraging to have so many friends cheering you on from the sidelines. It was awesome to share the overall amateur title with my coach Curt Chesney who was also only 21 seconds behind my brother Gavin.

Photo of teammate Brian and I post race

The West End 3K took place in downtown Boulder. It’s one of three events making up the Boulder Run Series which is new to Boulder this summer. The Boulder Run Series race director is Jessica Gammey, close and personal friend of the Timex Multisport Team. Therefore the Timex Team “Boulder Chapter” was invited to lead the kid’s stretches.

I invited my youngest niece Corrie to race the kids 1500 meter run. This was her first chip timed race, and i think her bib was larger than her shirt.

Barry, Erin and I showed the kiddies some stretches to warm up their legs  pre-race.

Corrie enjoyed the stretches her Aunt lead.

The mascots demonstrated the run first. Soon after the kids were off.

Corrie ran the entire mile. We ran hand in hand and passed many other runners along the way.

We crossed the finish line in 8:15, not bad for 5 year old :)