Desert Classic Duathlon

I spent my weekend in sunny and warm Phoenix, AZ to participate in the Desert Classic Duathlon, consisting of a 3.5mi run/ 21mi ride/ 2.7mi run. Obviously shorter than what I usually do, but I thought it would be a good way to get a hard effort in early on in the season and also to make my debut with the big girls. The starting list originally had about 9 girls on it but 4 more were added last minute, including some rather big players of the sport. I swallowed hard at the thought of competing in the same race as them, but realized that if I don't try now, I might as well go back to being an age grouper. I chose to take this chance and I would be ready to take defeat because racing with the big girls is no piece of cake.

I flew into Phoenix on Friday and was picked up by my home stay Denise, who took me in for the weekend and helped me get to various places I had to get to in prep for the race and the race itself on Sunday morning (she got up at 5 a.m. with me!) Thanks Denise! Friday night after taking care of race logistics we met up with some of her friends for a tasty Pizza dinner, and then went home where I fell asleep in minutes. Saturday was a quick run and spin on the bike to make sure everything was dialed in; my seat post has been acting funny lately and likes to slide down ever so gradually on a ride, that when I finish I find myself a good few inches lower than when I started. With new bolts and a bit of grease, I think I tricked it into staying put and it did not cause any issues on the ride in the race. I spent the rest of the day hanging around the house with Denise's two dogs.

Sunday morning arrived early! I got to see part of the IM AZ bike course as we drove to the race site. Hm, thoughts ran through my head of doing this race at some point... Denise dropped me off at the parking area, which was a good mile away from the transition area. I walked myself and my bike in pitch black on a dark road, where besides my white jacket, I could not see a thing. It was just before 6 a.m. and I felt like I was walking in the middle of the night into complete darkness. Finally I saw some lights in the distance and music coming from the transition area. At last I arrived! Funny thing was, it was too dark to even attempt to set up my transition, so I scurried over to the tables that had our timing chips and picked that up. Finally I saw some orange in the sky, and at last the sun started to come up. Time was almost 7 a.m., and I made my way out on some roads for a warm-up. After dropping trou a good 3x in the bushes (surrounded by thorn bushes and cacti, which little did I know, would accompany us on our runs) I was headed back to transition to finally find it filled up with bikes! I was the first pro there, besides Amanda who got there even before I did. The strange thing was that I wasn't really nervous now that I was minutes away from my first race as a pro. I had some minor doubts the days leading up to the race, wondering whether or not I "belonged" there, and whether or not I had enough training in me. Having run a marathon as my last big race, I knew this one would hurt as it would require alot more fast twitch than slow twitch muscles.

The race went off on time and all 13 women and 12 men sprinted off like deer being chased by a coyote or something. The first half mile or so was on a road, but the the course veered off into the trails, very narrow trails, very technical trails with lots of cactus and thorns and rocks and uneven terrain. Fun! I found myself running right behind A. and another girl, and although I felt comfortable I wanted to go faster, but couldn't make a pass. Every time I was ready to, the trail would wind one of its many turns and I would have to be careful not to throw myself out of the turns and fall into some thorny bushes. If anything, I told myself, this would just save me some more energy for later. I finally made a pass with about a quarter mile to go, and although at this point I had lost sight of the top three women, I believe I was in 5th position coming into T1.

The bike course was described as "never flat" and lots of ups and downs. Jax had told me to make sure to work the downhills as well, so with that in mind I set off on my ride. The bike had me a little worried because it's been winter here in CO and although it's been nice outside for most of it, it's also been windy and I haven't been able to go fast, at least as fast as I would need to go to hold on to these girls. The ride started uphill gradually for about 3 miles, and I felt the burn! The a slight decent to the gates of the park, where we exited for another stretch to the turnaround at 10.5 miles. I started getting passed by a few more girls at this point but not one to accept defeat, and also knowing that if I let them get too far ahead, I'd never catch them on the short second run, I put my head down and let my quads burn. Two girls and I played catch up all the way back to T2, including the long climb back into the park. The roads were a bit rough so I had to make sure to hold onto my bars tightly, otherwise I would probably have landed myself on top of one of the cacti lining the roads.

The second run is where the race really starts I think. I was probably in 8th or 9th place at this point and I had 2.7 miles to make up as much time as I could. I passed two girls within a quarter mile after exiting T2 and kept telling myself to just play catch-up. The second run also included a hill that everyone had talked about prior to the race. It presented itself right after I maneuvered through more cacti on a trail and picked a few thorns out of my hands (ouch). It wasn't as steep as everyone had said, but it had lots of loose rocks, and that can make things very interesting when you are full on racing. I had to brace myself on the decent as not to trip and fly down the side of it. I saw a few casualties in front of me and didn't want to be one of them. The finish came up rather quick and all of a sudden, for the first time since the first run, I found myself behind familiar feet, just seconds ahead. I tried hard to give it all I had, but it felt like I was running in slow motion (the fact that it was a slight uphill didn't help) and fell just one second short of finishing in fifth place. I am happy with my time and how I placed, especially considering the depth of the field we had this year. Last year my time would have gotten me second place!

We stuck around for the awards and some fun raffle shindigs, and then made our way back to start my packing process. The race was something I had never done before, and I felt very one with nature! It was literally sticking out of me. At the finish many racers had scratches all over their bodies (see pics of mine here) and some were picking thorns out of their sides. It was like we had been in battle, maybe they should rename the race to 'Battle in the desert' :-) I am happy I got the chance to compete against a stellar field in such a unique setting. The race seemed a full on success and will be sure to attract many more in the future. I met alot of cool new people, who may not know it, but helped make my transition to this whole new ball game a lot less stressful and worrisome.


The ouchies to arm and legs, much more drastic in real life! ;-)

My flight back home was pretty eventless except for a kid who threw up his dinner two rows in front of me. I had to cover up my nose because I was getting the gag reflex smelling it. Poor thing was hurling all the way to the gate. I didn't think the ride had been THAT turbulent... The way out was a different story though. I really.do.not.like.flying. I seriously thought we wouldn't make it a few times during out bumpy take-off from Denver, it was bad! My fear of flying is thus increased tenfold and I think I might have a problem. I seriously can't even focus on anything because all I can think about is when the next lil turbulence will shake the plane. Silly, I know, but since all these planes have been crashing lately, I guess I am just becoming a huge worry wart. Meanwhile, no one else on the plane seemed to mind, while I was clutching my arm rests and holding on for dear life...

Today I woke up surprisingly not that sore at all, which is probably due thanks to the off-road running and less pounding, although now is a different story -delayed onset soreness-... Maybe I should look into Xterra races after all! (joking, I'd break my neck trying to navigate a bike on a trail)

Anyways, it is good to be back home, and although the warm temps (around 80 each day) were nice, it did feel a bit off in February! Glad to be back in the 50s for now. One race down, many more to come :-)


A nice shot of the pro awards, I stole it off of slowtwitch :-)

Results are here

The Secret to a Champion and a random and painful 5k

I think I am finally coming down with something. It is February after all and that is when I usually get sick. I can feel it in my throat, and I don't think it's from the 5k I ran this morning, even though that might have helped speed up the process. I am going to do everything I can to stop it in its tracks, because I hate being sick and it's happening at a rather inconvenient time. I have my first race as an official pro in 2 weeks and I would like to be as ready as I can be!

Thursday night B and I went to the Boulder Book Store to see what Mark Allen's new book is all about. Well, actually more to see Mark Allen. He is pretty much the only "legend" that hasn't crossed paths with us in Boulder yet. The crowd was big and the talk was interesting... "Fit Soul, Fit Body" is the title of the book, and although a good amount of time was spent on talking about that, what I remember most is the nutrition education Mark gave. According to him, back in the day (80s and 90s), supposedly, an arch rival of his (who was winning Kona at the time) whose name rhymes with Rave Plott used to measure out and drain/rinse his cottage cheese to make it as healthy and pure as possible to eat. Ew!!! Cottage cheese and I will never get along, the texture, the taste, the name... but I digress, to each his own.

Mark on the other hand had handfuls of cookies from Mrs. Fields after long rides. Ata boy! I like him! Until he said that he realized that he wasn't fueling his body properly (point taken) and that cookies, despite being calories, were empty calories for the most part (yes true) and were doing nothing to repair and refuel his body after a hard workout. So he -gasp- cut all sweets out of his diet! While I agree that alot of sugar and sweets as an only fuel after a workout are wrong, I can't believe he would torture himself and not touch sweets anymore for good! I know I can't go a day without chocolate, I have tried! I get VERY moody and I can tell my brain is imbalanced. Anyways, he goes on to tell that after he started eating "right", he started winning Kona. Hm. Is that what it takes to be a champion? Do I really need to cut all treats out of my diet? Don't I work out so I can eat sweets? I am not sure if I could pull this off, but perhaps that is what it takes to be great. I am hoping there is another way, and I am hoping to prove it :-)

Someone is quite excited for their first race

Today was a special day as B is now the proud finisher of his first 5k road race! His goal going into it was to maybe break 20 minutes. Mind you he started running on and off about 4 months ago, after getting inspired to do triathlons in Kona. After about a week he was already keeping up with me on hour-long runs. We both realized that he could probably go faster in the race but wanted to be safe, and not set too lofty a goal. On top of it he had some kind of food poisoning two nights ago where he yacked up his dinner for half the night. On a whim I signed up for the race as well, if only to pace Brandon, since my legs were not 100% recovered from AZ yet. Not sure what to expect of the course, we warmed up on it as it was being mile-marked in the morning. Lotsa turns and slight ups is what we noticed. (The 5k to benefit the CU triathlon teams looped in and around the CU campus with tons of sharp turns and lots of hard sidewalk running) As we were readying to start, I gave B one last tip "Just have fun" (how cliche, I know) and off we were.

Looking cool in my Tifosi shades pre-race

I immediately got tangled up in a group of overzealous guys, most of whom dropped around the 1/4mi marker. And then I couldn't believe my eyes! B was running right in front of me! And he was moving and not letting up! I had several thought going through my head at this point: "Wow, I am really sucking today, I am getting paced by B instead of the other way around", "Man, all that cycling really pays off for him, he is like the lil engine that could", and "I think I might want to drop out, I am getting beat by a first-timer". I quickly switched to positive thoughts and had a proud moment, while nearly dying to get to the first mile marker. I kid you not, I believe we were doing 5:30-5:45 pace and I could feel it. I had penny taste. The first mile marker took forever and I didn't even look at my watch. It was slow. I ran the rest of the race, staring at B's butt and running next to an annoying "I don't wanna get chicked" character, who would not let me pass him. Grrr. I settled in behind him after realizing that if I passed him. I'd probably be pulling him home. And knowing from riding my bike that leading a draft wastes more energy than drafting, I let him have his 4 second lead. I was hanging by a thread and feeling miserable. It also didn't help that my legs magically got sore overnight last night after taking most of the day off from exercise! (I mentioned this before, but the notion of tapering and I don't match)

Around the last corner I got really close to B, who could hear me breathe down his neck. He opened up a tiny gap and we came across the line about a millisecond apart. How is that for getting your ass whipped by a novice?! ;-) Just kidding. I managed a first place overall, despite being almost a minute off my CO PR from just 4 months ago, but I won't argue. Most people I have talked to said the course was a wee bit long. I know one thing. Three weeks ago I split a faster 5k coming through in my marathon. So I know I am not THAT out of shape. I'm excited to see what B can do in his next 5k. My bet is that he will come awfully close to breaking 18 mins, and then world, watch out! Pair that with his evil bike speed and some more swim improvement, and a speed demon will emerge on the race courses this summer!Happy face post-race

Those who train together, finish races together.(for now)

Cold/ Wind was/is back

I am happy to report that my soreness has finally pretty much subsided. It's only been about a week and a half now! Jeeze. Well, not that this would make my runs any easier. We have gone from 70 to 7 and back to 30 degrees in the course of a week, including snow,a nd now to complete the circle, wind! Just yesterday I was thinking of how much I'd rather freeze my face off running in 5 degrees, than battling the winds. And then later in the day, the winds returned, much to my dismay. I am counting the days until summer...

Monday was one of the coldest days this winter and not only did B and I brave the weather for a 90 min run, we also were hard ass enough to go to masters at FAC for the 6 p.m. workout in the OUTDOOR pool. Even Wolfgang admitted that it was a tad bit chilly. Haha, yeah 5 degrees or less kinda chilly. It made for an interesting swim, everything was foggy from our bodies in the water, but surprisingly I actually got really hot during the main set, told W about it, to which he replied "Go make a snow angel and see how hot you will be." Ah, the German sense of humor never fails. lol. I was pretty proud of us for going, even if we had to warm up in the sauna and hottub before venturing outside. Everything pretty much froze right away. Boards, pull buoys and paddles all had ice on them. My hair turned into icicles upon leaving the club after swim. Again, I cannot wait until summer and the days where I look forward to jumping in that pool to cool off, not to warm up!

LOST is back on TV, and I am probably the only person excited about that! I'll admit that the show has grown increasingly difficult to follow, some of the story lines are borderline silly, but the show is like crack, I can't stop watching, not now, after having sat through 4 season in 2 weeks last year when I was sick and had nothing better to do. And best of all, I have gotten B addicted, although he is only up to date on season one. Long way to go, B!

I am kind of toying with the idea of another spring marathon, but closer to home. That pretty much narrows it down to Ft. Collins in May. It's a slight downhill the entire way and supposedly pretty fast. The Course Record is 2.46, which is quite speedy for the altitude here, but it gives me a goal to shoot for! I could do it and still get ready for tri season at the same time I think, actually it's the constant cross training that has helped me stay injury free during my training leading up to AZ, so perhaps I can pull it off again.