A Few Race Pics

Powerman Alabama- Elite Du National Championship

The past few days have been a whirlwind to put it mildly. It all started about midweek last week when word got out of the biggest snowstorm of the season to hit the metro area by Friday. And we aren't talking a dusting, or even a few inches of snow. No, the forecast called for snow measured in feet. Panic struck around Thursday as the skies grew increasingly cloudy and rain was pouring out of buckets it seemed. My flight out to Birmingham was scheduled for Saturday morning. The forecast predicted the heaviest snow from Friday afternoon through Saturday so that I frantically rescheduled it to get out before the worst hit. I managed a free change of flight and got on a flight a day early. Matt and I had the same flight so we met up once at the airport and headed over to our gate with plenty of time. I had checked my bags curbside and avoided a nice bike case fee I would have otherwise encountered. Once at the gate, we heard that Houston, which was our stop over to Birmingham, was having rather unlucky weather as well and flights would thus be delayed coming and going there. 1 hour turned into 2, and into 3, and finally I went back to the counter to see if we could get on another flight, especially since we had a connecting flight to catch. We got on a flight to Chicago instead, and after being warned that our bags might get separated and arrive later, I didn't think much of it and off we were, finally on our way, after spending a good 4 hours at DIA.

Once in Chicago, our transfer plane was already waiting for us so within ten minutes we were on another plane, which made for about the shortest layover ever. After an empty and rather low flying plane ride to Alabama, we touched down at around 9.30 p.m. local time and were greeted by none of our bags arriving! We were told to check back in the morning as they had most likely not been transferred in Chicago, due to our short layover. GREAT! Since I am a girl, I had packed a suitcase with all my racing stuff for all weather conditions (you never know) as well as some normal clothes. I had tried to stuff everything into a bag, but it just wasn't enough room. So I would have nothing except the clothes on my back and my purse that contained my computer and phone, and some gummi bears.

Luckily I was paired with a great home stay who offered to drive me back to the airport the following day (it ended up being around 3x!) and also took care of me in every other aspect of my trip for the following three days. After arriving at my home stay, I plopped into bed and woke up to head back to the airport to try my luck at getting my bags. My bike had arrived, along with Matt's, but my suitcase with all my stuff was still MIA and no one could tell me where it was. I had a slight panic attack at this point, but remained calm as all hope had not yet passed. It was only Saturday morning, and I still had all day to get my things. After some quick thinking, my home stay mom suggested we try the local bike and run shops to see if they had any replacement items for what I might be missing come race day. Well, this would have included pretty much everything except for my bike. After trying on some shoes and getting hooked up with a spare helmet and cycling shoes, we headed back to the airport to check back once more. Luckily my bag arrived later that afternoon. It had gone to Houston after all. A huge weight lifted from my shoulders, and the joy of being able to race in my own things, I got a quick run in before we headed over to pick up my race packet and get briefed on the rules for the next day.
my home stay mom and I pre-race

This was my first official professional athlete meeting and it sure did leave a mark. The head ref was not to be taken lightly, when he got done explaining all the different rules on the bike to us, and asked if anyone had questions, no one raised their hand, even though I could see question marks in everyone's eyes. With about 60 turns on the bike course and rough pavement in some spots, I think most of us didn't know what to worry about more, the crazy strict rules, or the fact that we might get lost. I went to bed later that night with some knots in my stomach, hoping I would remember everything for race day and not get DQ'd for anything. Oh, and just to make things a bit more fun, the forecast was calling for a.m. thunderstorms and rain all day.
Race Start

Sunday came early at 5 a.m. and had me waking up to some showers. Not bad, I thought, as long as they didn't get worse. Turns out we would get lucky and outrace the predicted thunderstorms, which would not show up until later in the day, along with some tornado warnings, just to add some spice to this already exciting trip! :-) After my regular warm up and bike racking and getting marked and getting helmet checked for a third time, we finally lined up to start the race. 6 guys and 7 girls I believe made up the "Elite" field. I had no idea what to expect, as I had no idea what these other ladies were capable of, having raced only about 2 or three of them before at Desert Classic. We went off like a rocket, and as is usually the case when men and women start together, held a suicide pace for much of the first run. The official distances of the race were 8k run/ 55k bike/ 8k run, but it ended up being a little longer on everything. I averaged 5.50 pace for the first run, coming in second about 8 seconds down from the leader, a local. She set a suicide pace on the run and continued to hold it on the bike. After a few miles I lost sight of her and after a few more miles I never even saw her at the many turnarounds either. At some point, someone yelled she had 4 minutes on me. After three loops through the city of Birmingham, which had extremely smooth portions, as well as extremely sketchy portions where I actually landed on a median at one point, I was off the bike in second place still, unsure of how far ahead of third I was.
Bike on the third loop

My second run started off slow. I could not get the turnover I usually get when getting off the bike. It could have been the constant accelerating and slowing at turns, and the fast pace we set out on on the first run, but I felt like I was mostly standing in place, instead of running. As was the case on the first run, we had 2 loops to do again on the second run and I was about ready to be finished after one. It was a tease every time, as we passed the finish just meters away. I actually ended up taking some salt on my first loop because I could feel my foot starting to cramp, and luckily that helped ward it off, as I was able to keep going. I ended up slowing down by almost 30sec per mile, but only a few secs behind the leader's second run, which would not however be enough time to catch her. Coming through in 2.35 and in second place, I was happy to be done, and tired, sweaty and salty at the same time. I knew I left it all out there on the course, and even though I averaged over 23mph on my 22+lb bike, it wasn't enough to catch the leader. Runner- Up National Champion is not quite National Champion, but the competition was there and so I believe I got a hard-earned second place. And without breaking a single rule on the bike, woohoo!
Pushing towards a second place finish

My home stay mom also competed in the race and ended up taking third in her AG, which was a real treat since the whole family showed up to watch and take photos. Thanks again Pewitt Family, you were awesome! A big thank you to the race directors and all the volunteers as well for taking care of us and making sure the course was safe to race on. It's tricky to hold a bikerace on city streets!After receiving our respective awards

Today, I am still sore, but back home and enjoying the warmer temps that have finally made spring seem real. No snow here anymore! Again, I realized how tough duathlons are, it's redlining the whole way for me, but they make you so much stronger for tris, which by the way, are just around the corner! To be able to travel to races is turning out to be pretty fun, especially when you meet great people along the way! If only I can get over my little fear of flying...

Working It Hard (with some intensity)

I think last week brought 3 or 4 days of snow or at least some sort of precipitation. Which is great for our drought situation, but kinda sucks for those of us who want and need to get training in, or just playtime outside in general. B and I did manage to get out to the track one day before the snow started for some fun flat running in circles. I am being very cautious about my return to the oval, because in the past that's where I have gotten injuries. But it is a good way to measure your fitness on a measured course, especially if you don't own a tri geek Garmin. We did some quarters and half miles, all at controlled goal pace, and I was surprised to feel pretty good. B was right there with me the whole time, pretty amazing for someone who started running about 6 months ago.

The weekend had called for another one of those blizzards we had a few weeks ago, but "sadly" that never materialized. Still, it snowed a good amount and got pretty chilly out with temps hovering in the 20s and low 30s all weekend so that a ride outside was scratched off the schedule and the trainer was brought out in full force to fill out most of the walking space in my living room.

I managed what everyone else seemed to have done, and did a 3hr trainer ride sweat fest with some intervals thrown in here and there to mix things up, since a ride in place for three hours can get pretty stale, pretty quick. After I got off the trainer, soaked in sweat and dripping out of every pore, I made the choice to head over to FAC to run on the tready instead of risking running outside with hair wet from sweat in 20 degrees.

After about a 1hr transition (ha) I was on treadmill, complete with i-pod and a gel (! how tri geeky of me, the gel was never consumed however) and some water. It didn't take long before I was dripping again, and probably pissing off the guy running next to me because my ponytail would fling sweat left and right, but I kept a somewhat steady tempo pace, although hard to judge because the treadmill pace never seems to equal the pace I would run outside, it always seems harder. I floated off it after an hour and went for an easy swim before calling it a day.

Sunday was a longish run (originally I had planned for the Platte River Half but let that one fly out the window when I heard about the forecast, which actually didn't end up being that bad, oh well) but for some weird reason my hips were sore,which they never are, I am thinking it was the treadmill's fault... In the afternoon B and I ventured back to FAC for a swim in a blizzard which wasn't even registered by the weather stations. It actually went really well, we both got a good workout in, Wolfgang would be proud, I managed 10x100 all under 1.30 pace, which for me is quite something! Ofcourse I felt like I was having a heart attack during each with my lungs squeezing out my ears but that's altitude for ya...

Today the skies finally cleared and I was able to apply sunscreen and head out for a ride on the roads. I swear it seems like it only snows in Boulder, I didn't see anything out on my ride... B and I pushed through some tough efforts, which will hopefully help make me a little stronger on the bike. Funny how a few short 5 min intervals can leave you more drained than a 5hr ride. Next week I leave for Powerman AL- Elite Du Nats, and I am hoping things will go smoothly. The bike course looks a little tricky to say the least. 3 loops of 11 miles each with tons of turns in each.. I better starting practicing navigating... Here's to spring finally making a comeback, no more hats and gloves and tights!