Kirkland Triathlon Report/Tri Team Update

On September 21, 2008 seven of CycleUniversity's athletes braved the elements at the Kirkland Triathlon. The race started just after 7am with cloudy skies, wet roads, and temperatures somewhere in the low 50's. All the CycleU tri members were in good spirits, with one common goal, not to crash on the bike leg. I am happy to report that none of us crashed, however not everyone competing was as lucky. One by one, every member of the team crossed the finish line. The day would not have been the same without the support of Nick, Chris, and Roger who came out to support us. Chris's chocolate cupcakes were a great way to finish the day.

Team Times

Triathlon

Coach Stacy 1:23:52 AG 4^th/49

Coach Michelle 1:33:24 AG 15^th/74

Tina 1:34:22 AG 12^th/36

Mandy 1:33:39 17^th/74

Nick 1:27:10 15^th/49

Mark 1:25:42 33^rd/84

Duathlon

Marta 1:08:27 2^nd/6

The Kirkland Triathlon marked the end of the tri season for the tri team. Of course that only means that the tri team is off to a different form of race. The team is continuing to train together throughout the year, with the focus changing from triathlons to running. Many of the athletes are going to be training for 5K's, half marathons, full marathons and anything in between.

Post by: Michelle Ohlson, USAT coach & Cycle U Triathlon Team manager

Cycle U Austin race report: Austin Relay Marathon

Howdy y'all!

Last Sunday I finally got off my lazy, grad student behind and participated in a race. It wasn't entirely my idea, I was roped into it by one of the guys in my lab group at UT. It was the Austin Relay Marathon! I've never done a relay marathon before, and it was a total blast and I highly recommend them.

"Now how do these chips go on?"

After 3 weeks of very little training, one week of the "cold from hell", I got in two moderate runs as my "training" for this event. My team, Longhorns & Yellow Jackets, consisted of Mike (from my lab group), and 4 women who had never met each other. Apparently Mike has "a way with the ladies".

I was relieved to be assigned the 1st leg for a couple of reasons, but mostly because it was the earliest leg, hence the coolest possible time. Temps were in the '90's by the time the last 2 legs went out, and those gals really did an amazing job!

The legs were as follows:
1st leg - 10k = Tammy - 1:00:30.4 (9:44-min/mi)
2nd leg - 11.1 k = Mike - 56:42.6 (8:13-min/mi)
3rd leg - 11.1k = Julee - 55:58.6 (8:07-min/mi)
4th leg - 5k = Emily - 31:19.5 ( 10:05-min/mi)
5th leg - 5k = Liz 26:08.4 (8:25-min/mi)

As a team we ended up placing 131 out of 243 teams that completed the race, and 356 teams total. Plus, now we all can say we did a sub-4 hour marathon... right? ;)

I wasn't very sore after this event, but I felt like I was pushing threshold at the central level. The heat was probably more of a limiter than my legs. Luckily, fall is on the way, and I've lived through the worst of it. It should be easy sailin' here in Tejas through next spring.

The bus for the mexican place that provided breakfast tacos at the finish line. Mmmmm!

Team tents lined Riverside

Kirkland Triathlon

Tina waits for her wave to start

Stacy pre-swim

Michelle hits the bike course

Team support staff, Nick M. and Sasha

Mandy intimidates the competition with her Cycle U embossed guns

Finishers Mandy, Mark, Michelle, Tina, Marta

Congratulations to all of the Cycle U Tri Team members who came out in the dark, cold, wet weather this morning for the Kirkland Triathlon. Representing Cycle U were Stacy, Nick D., Mandy, Tina, Marta, Mark and Michelle.

I am a Tri Geek, Part 2!

Now I don't want this to be a brag session, but if you are reading I am assuming that you are fine with some pointers on how to ride a good TT since I really can't help myself. At one time I was the 2nd or 3rd best TT rider in the state and it was the discipline I won my first stage race with, practiced every other week my first year of racing and loved for the simple fact that it was a pure measure of how you compared with other riders...once you factor in the "Geek Bike" savings.

OK, here we go with the play by play... I shuffled out of the water, and luckily had placed my bike at the far side so I know how to find it. Peeled off the wetsuit and got the shoes on and struggled getting a dry jersey over a wet body and finally was on the road and riding. I had visualized a good race. I knew I wanted to work hard and steady on the bike so I immediatly took it up to a hard level on the first little hill and on the first downhill got a Clif Shot down my throat with a few gulps of water. Now I settled in to reel in some fish that got away.

The way I approach the bike is to ride the entire bike leg with similar speeds in similar sections, go hard on the uphills hold that over the tops until rest portions of the course. We were doing 4 laps so the first lap I was not exactly railing the corners, just getting to know what the lines where and how hard I could push it when I got cooking on the last 3 laps. I was looking for pavement quality, gravel, potholes and other hazards to work around, besides the obvious like course marshals, turns and traffic. I clocked a steady first lap passing folks pretty regularly, swallowed another Shot with a few gulps of water and put my head down for lap 2.

I knew to get the best time that I had to average similar times each lap, and I purposely held back a bit on the first lap, planning to ratchet it up each lap until the last one was a full sprint to hold the speed, taking risks in the corners and really maxing out on the uphill parts. That is what came to me as I was riding, the places I made the most time was on the uphills where lots of people settle in, I was jamming them hard knowing I could rest on the downhills.

The other key is not resting UNTIL you are up to speed on the downhill. If you let up when you hit the summit you are wasting kinetic energy, keep pushing until you are going at a fast speed downhill, only then can you get a breather!

I have to admit, I enjoyed passing all those fast swimmers. I enjoyed giving "atta boys" to everyone as I passed and encouraging everyone. I know cycling can be hard, but after the swim I was like "born again!" I was just so happy to be back in my element. The other thing I did that I didn't see anyone else really do was stand up on the climbs. This course was really fun, rollers with each climb less than 20 seconds so standing up to jam them was perfect. It was a joy to find the right gear to stand on, then throw the bike side to side to use the last of my upper body energy before the run.

I reloaded Shot and water for my last lap and really poured it on. I tried not to think of other riders as I passed them, but it is very helpful mentally to have a target. I THANK all those who were in front of me as I was rabbit hunting and there was a steady stream where I was pursuing people all the way until the transition. I didn't intentionally hammer by anyone, I just maintained my speed and sometimes it took me half a lap to catch someone.

I was just on my regular road bike so I had to ride the "fake aero" position (above). I just put my elbows on the tops of the handlebars (thankyou FSA bars with the flat tops and Coach Adrian for wrapping my bars last year!). was yelling at me that I was doing great when I came in. I must say that I am salvating for a "real" Tri Geek machine...with "real" wheels and positioning. Here is a little hint for Santa : )

I don't know how much I moved up on the bike leg but Carla from our Team (she was course marshalling, how cool!) was telling me to go for it cause I was rocking my age group or something.

I rolled into the transition and got onto the run, wow, did I have to pee. I was doing the 90 year old man shuffle powered mostly by willpower and Tom's words from Triumph Multisport "just keep running, it gets better". He was kinda right, it did, but not until the finish...next time...why run when you can fly or Are those really my legs running underneath me?

Thanks for reading, now go enjoy the summer!

Coach Craig

Chris' Race Report: Federal Escape 2008

Let me just state up front that I wasn't meant to be an athlete. I'm not built for speed, I'm not competitive, I'm not even especially strong. Up until about four years ago, the only sport I participated in was racing to the fridge.

The Federal Escape was offered in sprint and Olympic distances (plus an adorable kids' triathlon, which we watched afterward). My husband, Nick, and I did the Olympic distance race, a .9 mile swim, 28 mile bike and a 6.2 mile run. It's not an overwhelming event - it's only half of what we'll race for the Grand Columbian in September. The last time I completed in an Olympic distance triathlon was three years ago and my finish time was around 3:26. I hyperventilated and swam without putting my face in the water for two, painfully slow laps, after which my neck ached for days. My goal for the Federal Escape was to finish in under three hours.

The men started five minutes before the women. Nick ran into the water completely unencumbered by any fears or anxieties. His swim time was around 29 measly minutes.

I decided to start in the middle of the pack, but quickly realized that my fragile psyche couldn't handle the unseen, seemingly detached, flailing limbs in that thickly dark lake. I treaded water until everyone else was out of reach. If it's not already obvious, I have some serious issues with open water swimming. My deep-seeded fear probably stems from my first-ever swim experience at the age of four, when I witnessed the drowning of a small boy in a public pool. Additionally unhelpful on Saturday was a comment made by another athlete stating that, "Many people die in this lake every year and are never found. The water is too dark to see their bodies."

I panicked slightly for a few minutes, and then began my slow crawl from one buoy to the next. Eventually, I caught my breath and was able to relax into my stroke rhythm. I was so thankful for my corrective lens goggles, which proved to be the best $15 ever spent for buoy sighting given my pathetically weak peepers. I must have been lapped by almost every other participant, but I was only aware of a few people swimming past me.

When I finished the swim and got out of the water, I looked down at my watch and saw that almost 42 minutes had elapsed. My only goal for the swim was to complete it by swimming (in a normal, face-in-the-water position) and to avoid a major, psychiatric breakdown. This having been accomplished, I was happy. As an added bonus, I felt surprisingly steady and strong running up to the transition area. Fortunately, there were still a few bikes left to be claimed (very few, but more than just mine), so I knew that I wasn't the last person out of the water. In the back of my mind, this had been another goal for my swim.

I peeled out of my wetsuit, which mercifully came off in less than five minutes. I decided to forgo the extra sunscreen, downed a few gulps of Gatorade, popped into my bike shoes and helmet and hit the road.

The bike course was four loops which included a few rolling hills. The loops were counted on the honor system. My heart rate seemed unusually high for the first several miles, but I finally relaxed a bit, however self-conscious I was about having the absolute crummiest bike on the course, plus my old-school Camelbak (I can only fit one bottle on my elfin bike frame). I was surprised by how few people I encountered on the route. Stacy passed me going about 28 miles per hour up a hill and on my third loop, I passed my sweet boy, Nick, running in his bright blue tri gear. He looked fantastic. The sight of him gave me a good boost and a chance to employ my highly developed harassment techniques.

The four laps passed quickly. According to my Timex, I took about 80 minutes to complete the ride. It struck me that I essentially have one speed. I can maintain about 17 - 18 miles per hour easily for a long time, but I can't really increase my speed much and I'm completely unable to "turn on the power" for sprints, unless I know that they are ridiculously short (like 30 seconds in a spin class).

I hit the run feeling strong, but my heart rate jumped up again and I found myself breathing really hard despite the fact that I wasn't running fast or consciously pushing myself. The run consisted of two loops, which also passed quickly. At the end of my first loop, I saw Nick and my best friend Byron, waving their arms, yelling for me. Seeing that Byron had come out to support me despite his complete lack of interest in triathlon was the best birthday present ever. I promised myself a negative split on my second loop (which I needed in order to make my goal time, anyway).

Somehow, my age was mismarked as 22 instead of 40 (someone obviously wasn't looking very closely). As a result, I won third place in my age group! The 40 - 44 age group is a LOT more competitive than my new, preferred age of 22, which is just one of the reasons for which I have decided to maintain this new age.

For such a short event, I felt surprisingly tired afterward. My face was covered in patches of salt and my right shoulder was sore from the swim, but my legs felt fine. Nick and I spent the day eating and relaxing with Sasha.

The next morning, I decided to subject myself to Ed's "Cycle Extreme" class at the gym with my friend, Jackie. It was 90 minutes of intervals. It somehow seemed to help my shoulder, and still having traces of my race number on the back of my leg didn't exactly hurt my reputation.

I am a Tri Geek, Part One

I accept it, I am now a Tri Geek. I am suprised by this realization, and proud to have survived my first Olympic Tri, especially the damn swim. Here is my story of the swim (that is me in the middle with fellow Cycle U Teamates, ignorantly blissful).

Swimming in a Triathlon is like doing a Mountain bike race at night without lights. Thank goodness for Triumph Multisport for saving my life with a wetsuit rental!

Who ever heard of going as hard as you can with 100 other guys in pitch black darkness, not able to breath when you want, getting kicked, bumped into, going the wrong direction, barely able to see even when you lift your head out of the water, and despite giving it 110% still moving the pace of a slug. That is swimming in my first Olympic Triathlon...and that was the good part.

Let me tell you about after the adrenaline wore off and I was about 1 minute into it...I had relegated myself to breathing every stroke, and still it wasn't enough to get into any kind of grove. I was fighting the water, trying to keep my head and chest down as our awesome Tri Goddess Ironwoman Coach Tammy had instructed me, looking at the bouey that seemed to be getting farther away rather than closer. I was starting to look up so much to keep my "line" (I am a pure bike racer after all and 20 years of racing and working on line and angle and trajectory through courses taught me it was key to not go any farther out of my way than necessary) that I was essentially doing the dog paddle with my head out of the water.

I was spazzing. My breathing was frantic and I had nothing going for me other than determination. I looked into the black water, not able to see a thing and tried again...the thought that I wouldn't make it appeared. I tried to ignore it...it came back. I didn't look for a rescue boat since at the start the organizer told us that the ambulance and medic crew was late but he was going to start the race anyway. I was looking to escape the Federal Escape. Then an interesting thought occured to me. It wasn't the physical effort to swim, I could do that, it was really that my vision had been taken away from me. I had done a couple 30 minutes in open water at Magnuson Park, but I knew the lake and it was in a roped off swiming area and there weren't any other people swimming around me. In the blackness of 5 mile lake I couldn't tell if I was going to ram into someone ahead of me, and I was certainly getting run into from guys going sideways, or me going sideways. It was like riding a mountain bike race at night, you could kinda see but you really needed to use *the force*, not worry about hitting the tree or rock and just keep going smooth and feeling your way.

Then I was finally coming to the bouy and brushed it and felt the rope hit my legs, and another guy came swiming into me...I looked up for the next one and tried again to find my rhythm...and just keeped hammering away with the arms. Damn this was hard.

Then I remembered what my 5 year old son told me the other week when he tried his first swim team workout, with eyes big as we went to the showeres early "WOW Dad! That was REALLY hard swimming across the whole pool!" I smiled and drank some black lake brew and spit it out and kept truckin...gotta do it for the little man. He is brave every day taking on the world, I gotta suck it up and keep going.

I flailed miserably to the next bouy and headed on the homestretch of lap 1. Eventually I could see a dock with people yelling but my earplugs blocked all sound. I knew people were watching me so I tried to get long and smooth again, tried to focus on the game and doing it well. It was embarassing, ego not happy. Pretty soon I was past the dock and at the end of lap one, half way, and it actually started to feel do-able. I settled into a slow and steady stroke, kept my head down more, there were only 1-2 guys around me now which helped. I broke through at that point. I was happy being slow and steady, breathing every stroke if I needed it, and soon I didn't, I was hitting the breath on both sides and making steady progress. Hey, this is alright afterall. Hope is alive!!!

Pretty soon (felt like an eternity) I was back on the homestretch and remembered what Cameron had told me at the pool, start to kick your legs at the end of the swim to get them warmed up for the bike.

The best feeling in the world was feeling the sand of the beach hit my hands as I swam it in hard and came out of the water like a monster. I HAD MADE IT!
Got on the bike and was back home, loving the challenge of tring to catch the 100 guys and gals in front of me now : ) rabbits watch out! Here I come!

I started to see Cycle U teammates and exchange "atta boys" with the rest of the natives! It was like heaven, free and back in control! Next stop is our Triathlon Team open water swimming clinic to keep improving on this very challenging sport.(next, the bike and how I made back all that time).

Craig out.

Federal Escape Triathlon - Sprint & Olympic - Team Results

Here's the results from Saturday's Federal Escape Triathlon. Way to go team!!!!

Olympic-distance -

Coach Craig - 2:17:33.0 Finish / 4th Age Group / 21st Overall
(Swim 29:56.5 - T1 01:31 - Bike 01:02:05.6 - T2 01:04 - Run 42:55.6)

Coach Michelle - 02:43:35.7 Finish / 4th Age Group / 35th Overall
(Swim 26:42.8 - T1 02:02.2 - Bike 01:21:56.7 - T2 01:01.1 - Run 51:52.9)

Coach Stacy -2:34:17.5 Finish / 7th Age Group / 22nd Overall
(Swim 28:06.6 - T1 01:48 - Bike 01:10:48 - T2 01:05 - Run 52:28.0)

Brenna - 3:05:22.5 Finish (First Olympic-distance!!) / 10th Age Group / 1st Athena
(Swim 29:22.2 - T1 1:58.6 - Bike 01:23:53.1 - T2 01:39.3 - Run 01:08:29.4)

Roger - 3:13:23.3 Finish
(Swim 45:44 - T1 02:19 - Bike 01:23:47 - T2 01:15.6 - Run 01:00:15)

Nick - 2:35:04.7 Finish / 17th Age Group
(Swim 00:29:48.2 - T1 02:55.6 - Bike 01:10:56 - T2 01:24.6 - Run 49:59)

Chris - 2:56:31.7 Finish
(Swim 41:33.6 -T1 02:38.7 -Bike 01:19:27.6 -T2 01:27.5 -Run 51:24.3 )

Sprint-distance:

Eric - 1:15:03.1 Finish / 3rd Clydesdale
(Swim 09:29.6 - T1 02:05.7 - Bike ?? - T2 ?? - Run 01:05:33)

Tina - 1:17:02.4 Finish / 4th Age Group / 28th Overall
(Swim 09:29.4 - T1 01:06 - Bike ?? - T2 ?? - Run 01:07:33)

Marta - 1:13:28.9 Finish / 3rd Age Group / 14th Overall
(Swim 10:10 - T1 02:43 - Bike ?? - T2 ?? - Run 01:03:18.4)

Mark - 1:10:27.9 Finish / 4th Age Group / 21st Overall
(Swim 08:31 -T1 3:10- Bike ?? - T2 ?? - Run 01:01:56)

Special Thanks to team members Carla & Mandy for being race volunteers!

Well done team!

We're Official!

CLICK HERE and scroll down to Washington.

1-Day STP Report - Eric Buckmaster

Shamelessly lifted from Eric's personal blog....

After checking the weather all week and making sure I had a good plan the ride was on for Saturday. This year we rented a mini-van for Charlene to drive, since my truck seems to be a little large for her and the van allowed for some comfort while waiting for me at stops. I programmed my GPS for her for all the stops so we didn't repeat last year's problems. After last years dehydration cramps I decided to go with Gatorade Endurance. More for the simplicity of it already being made and the high sodium and potassium content. Lot's of nutritional food for the first half and a lot of feel good food for the second half. I had Greggs due a quick tune up on the R3 and adjust the derailleur for the Zipp wheels. By Friday night at 8 everything was ready to go. Tomorrow's start time 4:45 to 5:15.

Mornings suck! Getting up at 4 on a Saturday is just wrong! So I didn't I think it was closer to 4:20 or 4:30. Hahaha. Nothing like running behind. I got to the start line at 5:25, same as last year, at least I consistent.

Off I go, First stop 35 miles just outside Pacific. Starting at 5:25 put me out with all the 2 day riders. A little slower, so a lot of "On your Left", that will teach me to sleep in! "Single File is safer" is not a slogan that has been enacted yet. First 35 went well. As I rolled out of Pacific there was Charlene and the Mini-Van. We are already doing better than last year. Had a little breakfast some more fluids and back on the road. Next stop 70 miles, Yelm. Sun was getting warmer and I was drinking more fluids, would have to make a ministop before Yelm to refill the bottles. I think South Hill took a bottle in itself. So far pace and cadence were very good. Legs felt OK. At 70 miles had some PB&J, water, Gatorade and a Redbull. Next stop 1/2 way point, Centralia. By this time I have realized that there is a great tailwind. Really warm but the wind sure helps. Average pace was 20 mph. So far a great ride. Back is a little stiff and I could tell I was locking my arms because I could start to feel it in my shoulders and the palms of my hands. In this segment they had repaved some roads with chip seal. I usually don't feel to much road vibration, but holy shit, that was awful. Maybe the numbness will go away someday. At hundred miles I could start to feel the onset of some aches and pains. Good time for lunch. I met Charlene at a park on Pearl Street. I had some sandwiches, pasta salads, chips, red vines and lots of fluids. It is getting really hot. The ice cold Gatorade at the stops was delicious but the the 80 degree juice in the bottle along the way sucked. By this time I've consumed over 2 gallons in fluids, and no bathroom breaks. Crazy! Because of this C and I changed plans. I was going to do the same stops, 35 and 35 then the finish. Because of hydration we would meet in Vador instead of trying to go all the way to Lexington. I changed jerseys, one that wasn't all white from salt crystals. Off for the second half.

I believe miles 101 to 150 are the hardest mentally and physically. It is all rolling hills, and there are some steep one's! Your out in the sun and for me there's not the excitement of the start, or the finish. All the aches and pains are starting to kick in. For this 25 it was just put my head down and focus on form and try to make sure I don't make any of the aches worse. By now it is in the 90's and every hill I went up there was a steady stream of sweat coming off me. I would drink as much as I could as often as I could but by this time I think I was sweating quicker than my body could process all the new fluids. I figured I should try to lessen my exertion to try to keep my hydration up. I even had aches in my kidneys from drinking so much. At Vador refilled the bottles and drank some more. Did some stretching exercises. At this time my left pinky and ring finger are numb. Damn locked elbows! Next stop Lexington. OK, so I have been asking for the end of winter and some sunshine but 95 degrees is hot! Son of a Bitch is it hot! About mile 130 is when I started getting the cramp in my hamstring. Just like last year, same muscle, same distance into the ride. At least I have experience on how to work through it and finish. I just kept drinking fluids.
I started with 24, 20 oz bottles of G. Endurance and the rate I was going I would of consumed it all by mile 175. That's 3.75 gallons of Gatorade, plus water. In Lexington I had the idea of laying down in the back of the van with the AC on while I ate some food and had more to drink. Charlene stopped off at the mini mart and picked up some regular Gatorade so I wouldn't run out. As I was laying down in the comfort of the van I got the worse cramp ever! F#$%! I was stuck in the van! I couldn't bend my leg to get out of the van or would cramp again. This sucked!! C had to remove everything so I could scoot out the back door. Lesson Learned! Won't do that again. Off to cross the bridge into Oregon.

Some of the tricks I learned to work through the cramps were obviously keep hydrating, and then keep pedaling. I found that when the cramp was coming on usually on a incline if I kept pedaling no matter how much it hurt the cramp would subside. Another trouble spot would be if I had to stop and put my leg down. So at stops I would do a messenger stop and keep clipped in. Seem to work, except on the bridge. Same problem as last year. Climbing is usually the start of a cramp and because the bridge is single file your speed is controlled by the person ahead of you there is not a lot you can do. I'm really beginning to hate that bridge! After the bridge is some of what seems like the longest hills. Just kept trucking through to Goble, 46 miles from the finish. The stops were to refill the bottles, drink a cold bottle and get moving again. This is usually where I start to get cranky and swear I'll never do this again so it's best that I kept moving. With 46 miles to go I decided I wanted to make two more stops before the final stretch into Portland. There were a lot of people quitting and on the side of the road, better to give up some time and finish strong than to wash out. So my distance between stops would be about 15 miles apart. My last stop was Scappoose. I had my best burst of energy on the final stretch. 20 mph passing some pretty exhausted faces. It was the opposite of last year, I was pretty cranky going through this area last year. Must of been the adrenaline or something no cramps and attacking the final hills, a strong finish. 202 miles complete!

Aside from the cramping a great day. A little hot and a few new burn lines but I felt I did as well as last year. As I downloaded my bike computer I was almost exactly the same as last year. 14:03 hrs overall 11:59 pedal time. Icluding post race beverages I consumed almost 5 gallons of fluids. I have One Day'd STP twice and this time I did it the same week as I did my first 1/2 Ironman. Now the Seafair Tri.

Lake Stevens 70.3 - Eric Buckmaster's Race Report

What a day, almost 7 hours of racing. I finished at 6:52:35.56, Not bad for my first time but leaves plenty of room for improvement. There were some things that went well and and some things that can be improved on.

Pre-Race I felt like I did a good job preparing. I went to the riders meeting in the afternoon which was a little scary listening about the drafting and penalties and the draft zone is 4 bike lengths and 20 seconds to get through it. I had plenty of hydration, good nutrition, everything ready to go for the morning, and a good nights sleep. Morning of nutrition could probably be better but I'm just not hungry in the am. Had a can of slimfast, a protein shake and a doughnut. Got to the race in plenty of time to get my transition area set up. On the way to the water I felt like I should use the restroom one more time before starting but the line was huge and I would probably miss my start.

Swim, Went pretty well. My plan was to start on the outside and just maintain a steady pace. I maintained pretty good form, my tracking needs some improvement, I tend to go off to the right I probably swam an extra tenth of mile just being off course. Overall I was pleased with the swim although 1.2 miles was pretty exhausting and I got passed a lot.

T1, Went OK. My transition area was well set up and I had plenty of room. Seems as if most the bikes were already gone. The only thing that went kinda of wrong was when unracking my bike the straw from my aero bottle fell out. Luckily a spectator pointed it out and I was on my way.

Bike, Within the first mile I realized I should of waited in that line for the Porto-potty. I had to go! I contemplated peeing on the bike, but I wasn't quite ready for that, thought of pulling off and peeing in the bushes but figured that would come with some penalty for littering. So I continued on for 16 miles. I couldn't get into the aero position and all I could think about is how uncomfortable this is. Finally, a Porto-potty at the penalty station. Ahhh! So much better. So continued on with what is a really hilly course, just over 4000' in the 56 miles. My hydration on the bike was good. Plenty of fluids, I was using 3 scoops of Heed to 24oz bottle of water and I went through three of those, one bottle of regular water and 3 hammer gels. My pacing was a little off. The pre-race briefing on drafting and penalties took me out of my game a bit. There were times during a normal race I would of attacked more but the rules kept getting in my head. Next time I'll risk the penalty. The ride ended up being 3 1/2 hours. 30 minutes longer than anticipated.

T2- A little slower than normal. I decided to wear socks for the run so I had to sit down for a second to get them on. But it was a good choice a blister for 13 miles could of really sucked. It was interesting listening to the female winner's interview while I was still getting ready to go start my run.

Run- At this point I was already tired and those good thoughts were already gone from my head. I was making deals with myself, playing telephone pole relay. That's were you pick an object and run to it, and then the next. A succession of very short goals working towards the final goal. I looked forward to the water stops at each mile. Mile 2 was a restroom stop where I ran into coach Tammy. I knew she would be on my heels for the next 11 miles. Mile 3 I crossed through town and I think I swore to Charlene I would never do one of these again. As I went out on the lake out and back, I walked up the big hill. Then was able to run down it turn around and run back up it. I was pleased with that effort. I crossed through town again for my second lap, 6 miles to go.

Usually adrenalin kind of kicks in at this point but I think I had used it all up. It was a slow and grueling 3 miles to get back to cross through town for the final leg of the out and back along the lake. At this point I was exhausted I remember telling myself it's only 3 more miles, I can run 3 miles in my sleep. I walked up the hill again and ran down the hill to the turn around. Half way back up the hill I started walking when Coach Tammy was coming from the other way giving me some motivation to run it home. From there for the last 1.5 miles I ran as hard as I could and finished in 6 hours 52 minutes 35 seconds.

I didn't do as well as I hoped but still a good finish. Lots of room for improvement. I am going to frame that metal with my bib for this accomplishment. So now I have decided to do STP this Saturday in one day.

Lake Stevens 70.3 - Tammy's Race Report

First, the numbers...

Overall Finish time: 6:41:18
(HR Avg 157 / Max 179)

Swim time: 44:49 (HR 147 / 158)
T1: 2:23
Bike Time: 3:23:02 (HR 148 / 170)
T2: 2:46
Run Time: 2:28:18 (HR 161 / 179)


While I did not PR the overall, or the bike from last year... I did PR the swim by 7 whole seconds! And I PR'd the run by 5 minutes and 41 seconds... so I'm happy with that.


What went wrong?

Maybe I should have trained for this event... ? Nah, I was "le tired" from IMSA! And I had to do this race again before moving away.

Did not arrive as early as I had planned, and had to park further away than last year... THEN, when I was halfway to the transition area, I realized my helmet was back in the car. I did a good job of remaining calm, but almost forgot to pump my tires. Since I was running latex tubes, that would be very bad... but I guess "almost" doesn't count, right?

Ended up way off course on the home stretch of the swim. I just got into the rhythm of my stroke and breath, "1, 2, 3, breathe. 1, 2, 3, breathe..." and must have zoned out for a few minutes. I'm sure that cost me dearly, as I was feeling strong on the swim up to that point. I also stopped to pee... gotta learn how to swim and pee at the same time. LOL! Had I arrived as early as planned, I would have gotten a swim warm-up and taken care of that little issue before the race started (you can see on the chart below where my HR drops off during that time). And if you think that's too much information, you obviously don't visit Amanda Lovato's blog.

My wetsuit would NOT come off. I could not get my hands out. I have no idea what the drama was. I lubed up the arm and leg holes with spray oil as I always do. So I'm in transition, cursing under my breath (at least I hope it was under my breath), just hoping no one is witnessing this ridiculous scene, and what do I hear? "Go Tammy! Go Tammy!" Haha.

Got the bright idea from watching "Transitions" DVD to put vaseline on the sides of my saddle. My enormously muscular thighs do rub a bit at times, and it seemed brilliant. But when you grab your bike to head out, where do you grab it? Aahhhh, by the saddle. So it was fun to do the bike with vaseline all over my hands. Really tough to keep a grip on the bars and shift. sigh. This definitely slowed me down at times. Nothing new on race day. Do as I say, not as I do. That's all I'm sayin'.

My bike saddle came loose about 10 miles into the bike. There are two "clamps" on this seatpost, and whomever designed it... well, let's just say I haven't been amused since day one. The rear clamp came loose, but the front one felt ok so I opt'd to keep riding versus stopping and loosing a bunch of time messing with it. It stayed attached (barely), but every time I would roll onto the nose, the saddle would fall forward... good times. Can't say for sure if it really cost me any time, but it was definitely a concern/distraction.

Run went good after the first mile or so. I stopped at the first port-a-potty and was 2nd in line. I think I lost a good 5 minutes there, but it had to be done. Onward.

What went right?

Having last year's race report to refer to.

Nutrition - 4am: 4 blueberry pancakes (made night prior) and one big cup o' joe. 6am: 1 powerbar. 6:40 am: 1 powergel & water. 7am: SWIM! On the bike: 2 bottles w/1 nuun tablet, 2 powergels, and one scoop CarboPro each, about 1/2 bottle water, and 1/2 bag Clif Bloks. On the Run: 5 powergels, lots of water, and about one whole orange (Mmmmm, those oranges were heavenly!). Immediately post-race: 1 slice cheese pizza, 1 bunch green grapes. Then tummy upset... hmm, why would that be? I wonder. Ha. Good nutrition plan overall. Was not hungry until near end of run. But still feeling a little pukey right now... 7pm. Blek.

No injuries or biomechanical issues! Let's hear it for strength training!!

Carrying a little tube of sunscreen on the run. Let's hear it for NO SUNBURN! YAY!!

Cheering for and helping others pace the run had a hugely positive impact on my mental state, and helped me PR the run. It actually wasn't until I embraced the fact that I was NOT going to PR anything, that I found the juice to have a solid run. Funny how that works. If anyone knows Chris from Portland, give her a shout out! She helped me find my run mojo.

Friends cheering from the sidelines! Thanks you guys... It really makes such a huge difference! Stacy, David, Mac, Susan, Jen.... and all the volunteers & random spectators... YOU ROCK! And thanks Monique for tracking me online and calling to congratulate me on a "solid day".

Friends who were also racing and cheering! Eric (Congrats on your first HIM finish!!! Yes, next time you need to go 70.3 miles you can take your car), Mandy (Congrats on your first HIM finish!!), Carla (congrats on your first HIM finish!!), BrIronman (Congrats on kicking my ass! Rematch in Austin, then again in N'awlins!), Paul (Congrats on your first HIM finish!!).... Bill... Jason... Larry.... Chuck... the list goes on.

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So overall a decent day. As is always the case with these types of events, I learned a ton! Not just about long-course triathlon, but about myself. I'm not always happy about what I learn, but that's part of the journey, and what keeps me coming back.

Congrats to all! Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll pass out for a while. :)

Lake Stevens Group Brick

This past Saturday we had our first (ok, technically second) group workout. A few of us are doing the upcoming Lake Stevens 70.3, so we headed up to preview the course. Tammy (me), Eric, Mandy (new member), and Carla (new member crossing over from the road team) are doing the 70.3 on July 6th. Heather is training for an Olympic-distance, so came out for one loop on the bike with a transition run. Tim stood us up. He'll pay later (insert evil laugh here).

The goal for myself, Eric, & Mandy was to do two loops (56 miles of HILLLLLLS) on the bike, and one loop of the run (6 miles). Unfortunately, we all apparently need to have GPS units installed on your bikes because we spent almost as much time lost and off-course as we did on. Several other athletes were doing their pre-ride that day, and every one of them that I talked to ended up lost at one point or another. It's great riding out there, but a little confusing getting into and out of the town of Lake Stevens.

When all was said & done we had ridden for 2.5 hours of leg-screaming hills, and ran for an hour (or a little more). Eric & Mandy dropped me like yesterday's news on the run, and around mile 4 I got stung by a bee just above my right eye. I'm not allergic, but it felt like someone was drilling into my head! I decided to turn back before the official turn-around, and beat Eric & Mandy back by about 10 minutes. They did the full 6 miles, I think I did 4.5-5.

All in all a successful day. I only got a handful of pictures... need to buy a more portable camera!

Eric, Heather, Mandy - coming in from lap 1 after taking an unplanned tour of Lake Stevens

Eric & Heather

Eric & Mandy