Five-peat

I can now count on one whole hand how many times I've completed the Glenview Sprint Triathlon. I've got to say, that's five races each with fantastic stories. Here's last year's story.

Fortunately I don't have a lot to report, other than how fantastic the race was and I still can't believe it's already over. This is one of the two races I plan my summer schedule around and yesterday's race again solidified my passion for the sport. I see this race as my biggest social event of the year. I know so many of the athletes, they expect me to be there and I know I'll see so many of them throughout the course cheering me on.

As you can see, I managed to snag a stellar transition spot, and there was even room next to me for my friend Robin! I arrived at 5:15am, set up, did a quick warm up and headed to the starting line. I always say, if I don't have to bring my wetsuit, the race is going to be a piece of cake.

Transition

I got in line with Robin, and we slowly made our way to the front of the line. This is a pool swim with athletes starting every 10 seconds so we got to hang and chat.

The swim begins, and right away I knew I hadn't started my watch. D'OH! I turned the sucker on and started timing. (Now that's a first.) It's a 300 yd swim in an s-pattern, so every lap we must go under the lane dividers. This causes many "tea parties" while the swim volunteers tell us to let others pass. Regardless, my swim pace was right on target.

Green cap (by request, so my pit crew can find me)

I felt great transitioning from the swim to bike, and the tips I learned from our coach this year really shaved time off. I can't believe it. It flew by! Took me a minute to get my bearings and to get on the bike, but I was off! The two five-mile loops were mine!

I didn't feel too bad and tried to keep my cadence between 80-90, but I couldn't maintain that pace. I averaged about 75-77, but I'll take it! I kept visualizing my next steps through transition and WHAM, I made it out alive, pretty speedy too! All I had to do was get through the next three miles and the five-peat would be complete. Easier said than done, but I actually felt pretty darn good. I was properly hydrated, I had enough nutrition and I was ready. I was off to a speedy start so I had to remind myself to sloooow down. My right calf irritation started up and I eventually found a tune that carried me throughout the 5k. It wasn't fast by any means, but I did what I could. The second half was surprisingly easier. I finished strong and wasn't struggling to catch my breath after. I was hot, but not hot enough to feel the need to pass out. (Phew.)

FIVE-PEAT

And there you have it, another Glenview Sprint Triathlon in the books. My results are also pretty decent. I am not a fast racer, but I've managed to demolish my previous times, nearly year after year. I guess it pays off to start with higher times, right? Last year I shaved 6 minutes off my 2009 time, and this year I'm proud to say I knocked nearly 2.5 minutes off my 2010 finishing time, meaning I'm damn close to my PR. I give credit to our new coach who gave amazing tips on decreasing transition time.

(Racing made me loopy, so I forgot to upload the course, but that'll change tonight.)

Congrats to my fellow athletes who I train with and see every year, some with amazing finishing times. Thanks to my family for supporting me and for being the best pit crew out there. Love you all.

I'm No Ironman, But I Still Tri

Course Details

Race Weekend is Upon Me

Phew, been quite a long time. Back to it.

This weekend marks the first triathlon of the season for me. It's a bit earlier than normal, and the run is a bit longer than normal. This wouldn't be such an issue had I not had a minor setback recently. A few weeks ago group training began with Together We Tri. This is my fourth season training with the group, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. We like to call it Summer Camp!

On Tuesday, June 7 we began the workout with run drills and even a one-mile time trial. Okay, fine no big deal! I haven't done hardly any speed work the past 6 months, but I've been running every week. The one-mile time trial was awesome. I felt tired while running, but overall not too bad. My final time was somewhere around 9:27 (which is about 90 seconds faster than normal, holy cow). After the time trial we hit the pavement again for a moderately paced 2-3 mi run. Well, as timing goes for me, around mile 1.5 my right inner ankle cringed and I had to stop almost immediately. Walking wasn't an issue but when I tried to shuffle again, right back to where I was. Long story short, we originally thought it was Achilles, but later a friendly physical therapist completely ruled that out. Thank gosh. After over a full week off running I went for a jog and miraculously there was no ankle pain! I only ran 2 miles, but still, I was so thankful.

Fast forward to today. This week I've gotten in a group ride followed by a 7-minute run, spin class, swimming and I'm attempting to run again today. There was debate by our fabulous coach Anne if I should hold off on racing, but in the end it's decided that I'm going to go to the race on Sunday, but treat it as a workout. I'm 100% okay with this. I had the opportunity to send in a doctor's note and receive 50% back of what I paid, but knowing that recent activity doesn't bother me, I might as well try. (I'd also be beating myself up about it Saturday night, and that's not good for anyone in my vicinity.)

I can't believe after nearly 9 months I'm hitting the water and pavement once again and it's the official start of my 2011 season. Here's my schedule:

• June 26 - Twin Lakes Sprint Triathlon (Palatine, IL)
• July 10 - Women's Trek Sprint Triathlon (Pleasant Prairie, WI - more from me here)
• July 23 - Alexian Brothers 10k (Hoffman Estates, IL) with Lori!!!
• July 31 - Glenview Sprint Triathlon (Glenview, IL - one of my all time favorites, more from me here)
• August 28 - Chicago Sprint Triathlon (Chicago, IL - more from me here)

Bottom line, I'm stoked for this weekend. I absolutely love racing and being in that atmosphere. Keep your fingers crossed that this "workout" I'm participating in on Sunday (with 400 of my close friends of course) doesn't involve ankle pain and I can just enjoy the day.

Thanks for your support!

I'm no Ironman, but I Still Tri.