Wanna party?

Come check out the Powertri Kona Party on Saturday!!  

All day coverage on a big screen of the Ironman World Championships from 10am-11pm (when our athletes finish). 
Food to sample and purchase
Kids races for kids under 12 with free T-shirts while they last
TONS to give away!  Bigger stuff at 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm, smaller stuff in between on the hour

It'll be fun, I promise!  Just come stop by for a few minutes and soak up the yummy spirit that is Ironman at it's best!  I'll be there too from 5pm on if that's any greater incentive, I'd love to say hi!

18? Say Whaaaaat?

Some of my friends from the Desert Sharks Triathlon Club (great club by the way, I encourage new athletes to find a club, you can learn a lot from others) put on the innagual SOJO Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5k.  I went out to help them with MCing, and of course had to get a little race action in myself.

I toyed with the idea of the marathon, since I haven't done an open maraton since Ogden last spring, but alas I haven't been doing long runs over 13 miles except 2 back in late June/early July.  I was curious to see what would happen when I got to 18-20, if my body would just plain revolt or if I still had enough endurance from Ironman and the rest of my season.  But I don't love running in pain for almost 4 hours, just isn't my idea of fun  :)  So I chose the 5k which also left me more time to help out, which is what I was really there for

Anyway, a couple hundred 5k runners I believe, a flat course, nice sunshine and semi cool temperatures.  Long story short (since 5k's don't have a ton of details), I won the women's race and finished 5th among the men.  My friend Charity finished 2nd only about 2 minutes behind me......pushing her year old son in their Chariot - debates are still out about whether he beat mom or not  :)   I wanted to break 20:00 (haven't run an open 5k since last year although my triathlon 5k's usually feel better than open because I'm good and warmed up), but ended up doing a little better than that!  The course was unfortunately short, only 2.82 miles, but I ran that in 17:06.5, and after some figuring in the head of my husband, I was on track to run an 18:50 something!!!   SO excited about that!  I've only officially broken 20:00 once, so to break 19:00 and be in the 18's?  So cool!!  I'm glad I was able to be excited about it as sometimes I don't give results the excitement I should.

The next 4 hours were spent welcoming finishers of the half and full marathon in, including my good friend Jonathan who just finished his 78th marathon in 3:50 I believe.  It was fun to watch people cheer their family in, fun to watch people smile and be excited to be finishing - or just being done, that was probably it  :)  I also announced awards, and have to say it was a little strange to announce my own...  The race directors faced a few challenges, but what race doesn't?  They did a great job and should do even better next year.  Check them out (think they're moving to October) for some Saturday morning fun!

More fun...

...and maybe I'll actually end my season now.....maybe....probably  :)

Only posting briefly as my husband and I actually are making a real little trip out of this, sans kids and actually staying in a hotel - gasp!

The race was great though.  Lots of friends which is always great.  Very warm temps nearing 100 which is a little tough, but sure made the warm and super clear water even better.  First out of the water, felt good to push it a bit, loved the sleeveless Xterra suit I got to try for this one (more on that later).  Haven't seen splits yet, but I finished 1st overall, 5 minutes ahead of 2nd place.  Sounds good to me  :)  1:14 I believe, hopefully the course was long today as that's about 3-4 minutes slower than my favorite personal Chrissy Wellington  :)  but I did probably only push 85% today. 

My husband raced and did great, his 3rd tri, 2nd overall.  It was awesome to get to watch him start and come out of the water.  I also saw him on the bike and run.  He was 5th in his age group which is great for a big sprint field like this one!  Great job babe!

We're having a great time so I better get off the computer now, but hopefully I can add some race pics and details later.  Chao!

The Fabulous Alta Peruvian Lodge 8-K

And fabulous it was!!  I've raced A LOT and man, this one impressed me big time!  No there weren't screaming crowds everywhere and thousands of athletes (just under 100 to be exact), but this race has its mystique.  My wedding anniversary is today, 8 years for us, and this was our little date.  We dropped the kids off at Grandpa's about 2:45 and headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon for the 4:00 race.  Check in was fast and easy and then we walked up about 1/2 mile to the start.  Good chance to warm up on a great day.  Seriously so beautiful up there.  Sunny skies, slight breeze coming up the canyon, nice green mountains around us.  Anyway, money was tight and my husband Jeremy paced a friend of ours 9 miles of the Wasatch 100 the night before, so he went for a trail run of his own up there while I ran the race.  Great compromise since we wouldn't run side by side anyway.  Forgive the lovey-dovey pics, but we were kid-less and it is our anniversary weekend  :)This wasn't a triathlon so the pressure wasn't on like usual.  I always want to go fast because it's fun, but all I wanted today was top 3 overall or an age group place or win since they have some awesome prizes!  I saw two ladies whom I know are very fast road racers, and talking to one of them there was another fast lady there who took second last year.  So now I had 3-4 to contend with, but that was it, so it eased any pressure some.  I just wanted to go out there, have fun, and hopefully earn a sweet prize.Ok, so this is a 5 mile downhill race, and when I mean downhill I mean downhill!  I heard something like 2000 ft drop in those 5 miles - yeah, wow.  Can't say I've ever done anything like this.  We started just above the Lodge and ran on the road down.  I can only recall about 30 seconds of the race where I could really think about my form and moving the legs forward, the remainder of the race was was applying the brakes, just a matter of how hard depending on the pitch of the road.
So the race starts and I settle into 3rd woman overall.  Didn't even worry about the 2 ladies ahead of me.  My optimistic goal was 30:00.  We roll past mile 1: 5:33.  Yeehaw!!!!  Hit the 5k just under 17:00 - yeah definitely a PR, but I'm not really going to count it as my official 5k PR.  This course is way faster than any other.  Aid station with water at 2.5 miles, took a little just to sip, didn't really need it.  I wasn't really out of breath during the race (not breathing easy either though), but I did deal with side aches.  I think just the fact that I was going so fast and landing a bit harder than usual.  Not too bad, but a little annoying.  I loved that there were a few spectators here and there down along the road, how awesome!  Anyway, the last mile was the steepest down and my legs were feeling it by then.  I never looked behind me for the 4th place woman, don't like to do that, just want to run my race.  I was only passed twice and each time they were coming up on me I thought "please be a man because I don't want to have to run down a woman".  Yeah the last guy that passed me about 1/2 mile from the finish?  Some 60 something year old......nice.  You can't see the finish till you're 200 yards from it and it was nice to see.  Came through happily in 3rd in 29:45!  Just a second under 6min mile pace!!  Whohoo!!! So we hang out down at the finish for about half an hour then jump onto shuttles and head back up to the lodge where a raffle was waiting.  You drew a number and came away with a prize.  I came out with a Utah Natural History t shirt, but they were giving out gear and such as well.  Very nice for everyone to leave with something.  Then onto the post race food.  Probably the best part of the night eating on the grass listening to the live chill music band playing out there.  And would you check out this food.....I mean DINNER and DESSERT!  Such good food!And a great atmosphere with all the racers out there eating (there were tables, just full), listening to music, and eventually listening to the humorous announcer doing awards.  Speaking of awards, I have to tell you how stinkin excited I am about my prize, definitely one of the best ever, if not THE best.
An overnight stay for 2 at the Lodge anytime during the next year which includes dinner and breakfast for two as well as a $50 cash prize!!  Thank you Alta for paying for our anniversary trip to St George this next weekend!  No we don't stay high class, just a chance to get away and be together is great.  Don't think we're wealthy because of all the racing I do and my pretty bike, quite the contrary actually, we're a young family, it's called a very helpful sponsor, Powertri, (but no, my bike was not free).

Overall winners, L-R, Danny 3rd, Patrick 1st, Devra 1st, Mary Ann, 2nd, and myself 3rd

After awards and dinner and dessert, lets not forget the chocolate cream cheese cake!, Jer and I hopped in the hot tub and enjoyed the nice water, views of the mountain, and talking with a few other runners.  What an evening!  So much fun.  We both got to do our running thing, came away with a great and super useful prize and were able to spend time together on a very nice evening.  I highly highly recommend this race.  Started on time, mile markers with people on them calling out splits every mile, shuttle back up, everyone leaves with a prize, awesome OV and AG prizes, excellent food, and use of the facilities, all for $28-$35 - SCORE!

It's so great to be able to get out and be active with my husband.   I love that he's active and fit now...and hot  ;)  Thanks for coming love, what a fun way to spend time for our anniversary.  I hope I can earn us an even better trip for our 10th  :)   Happy 8th Anniversary!

And the lucky lady is!.......

Jamie!!




Congrats Jamie! She is a great friend of mine, runner, and mother of 3 who just had most of her left lung removed this summer due to cancer. She's got a great attitude about it, and everything for that matter, and Jamie, I expect to see that great attitude come into play now with your Handful Bra. We're talking sporting that awesome almost full body scar baby!! :)

That was fun, thank you guys for entering, and THANK YOU HANDFUL for the generous giveaway! Can I just say that as much fun as this is, choosing a winner (well I didn't exactly choose, it was a totally random draw by my 6 year old) is SO NOT EASY! I'm rooting for all of you and wish I 'had enough for the whole class'. Powertri is placing their order today, so we should have stock by the end of next week, and you can use my 15% off code, so if you get the chance to buy one, take it! Husband's usually like lingerie purchases right? Well believe me, there's no lace or anything here, but you'll look gooooood in it nonetheless ;)

Favorite Things Friday - A girl's best friend

No, not diamonds, at least not for this girl. This bra, the Handful (yes that's it's name, isn't it awesome?!) is I dare say, my very favorite piece of workout clothing. Nothing makes me feel cuter than this bra, and yes, vanity is everything sometimes. I mean honestly, in my head, thinking I look good makes a huge difference in my confidence level come race day. It really does. I just think you race better when you feel confident about yourself. And I'm not prancing around shirtless all the time, I feel cute with it under my tech shirts and jerseys too. You can see it in almost all of my photos this year. Let me tell you more about it.
I've had this bra 6 months now. My first thoughts upon seeing it were three things. It's way cute, but is it a yoga bra or will it really support me, and as a triathlete, will it dry quickly? Let me address those 3 points.
Cute - SO cute! I love the colors (black, white, pink, nude, cocoa), and the pink matches my Powertri kit perfectly. Again, I'm back to the vanity, yes :) I love the thin straps, so flattering, and the back? LOVE it! The bra comes with removable pads that looked kind of bulky before I put it on, but they so totally work with this bra. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about here when I say I have grown, fed, and loved my 3 children, and as a result, the girls definitely do not look like they used to. Lets just say push up/padded bras are my friends (gentlemen if you're still reading, sorry to burst your bubble, but those beautiful babies you like to help create really do take a toll on all of us women). So I was so so so super excited upon donning this lovely creation, and just loving what it did for me. I had shape all of the sudden! And it looked natural too! Oh and those pads? Very good at concealing the whole 'headlight' effect too, definitely no worries there.
Support - does it support? Yes it does. Do I realize I'm not exactly the best girl to talk about needing a lot of support? Yes, I do. I've gotten smaller as my dear children have grown, but I've run through pregnancy and nursing and know how stinkin hard it was to deal with bras then, and I still know I never want any bounce even now. And this bra does its job. I've worn it during all types of training, and at every race but 1 this year I believe, including Ironman St George which includes a marathon of course. I've never felt like I was bouncing. That said, yes, the Handful is probably not the best high impact bra for those larger than a C. But that doesn't mean it can't be a great weight room, yoga, spinning, etc bra at the gym where let's be serious, it's a meat market anyway, so you might as well look good :)
Fabric - I was concerned as soon as I held the bra that it wouldn't dry quickly. I was worried these lovely shaped and gently lifting removable pads would just be sponges and leave me wet my whole race, but......NOT SO! I was pleasantly surprised to have no issues at all with it drying. I haven't paid enough attention (because it hasn't demanded it), but it's for sure dry within 30 minutes or so of being on the bike WITH the pads in. *I did hear of a lady soaking and then freezing the removable pads though and then putting them back in the morning of a hot bike race, interesting!*  No chaffing issues with this bra either. The fabric is very comfortable and seems to breath really well too, and I've never seen my pink one with sweat stains. The bra is easy to get on and off, which is always important. Sizing is great, and if you're falling between two sizes, I say size down. Oh and it comes in it's own little wash bag, so machine washing is a breeze.
Cost - $39.95.  No, not your Target $10 clearance special, but so worth it.  You get a bra that you'll really like the way you look in, a bra that does it's job, and it'll last a lot longer than a cheaper sports bra.  Look around at other online athletic retailers, really well made bra's typically go for $30-$50 .  This bra is worthy of it's cost.

So there you go, I love this bra. As there slogan states, "It flatters, not flattens". It feels good, does what it should, and looks great. So I thought how much I'd love one of you to have one so I contacted the good people at Handful Inc. And, drum roll please..........they're giving me a code to give to one of you for a FREE bra of your choice off their website (you only pay shipping). That's a $40 value ladies!! I'm so excited! So here's the deal. I'm super impressed that Handful was willing to give away a free bra, so I want to help them out. If you will become a fan of Handful Inc on Facebook (they send promos to fans by the way), you can have a chance at your own FREE Handful bra. Just post some brief little schpele here on my blog about why you'd like a Handful too, and let me know that you became a fan, and poof, I'll enter you in the random drawing. You have until next Thursday, Sept 9th at 11:59pm to post a comment below, and then I'll announce a winner on Friday Sept 10th. Cool? Awesome!

Your favorite tri shop Powertri carries these wonderful bras now, and I seem to recall a 15% off code on my blog somewhere to help you out  :)  Go in and try one out or order online, you won't be dissapointed.

Utah Half

I was so excited going into this race. One last race, a good long one, a good challenge, and one I'd done before. I knew I could do better this time than 3 years ago and unknowingly pregnant, but was excited to see how much better. I have more experience and know how to push myself even more now, a great base from IMSG, and am just stronger. I've worked hard on improving my bike strength and skills in the last year or two, and it's showing, so this was going to be fun to see.

I got on the road late Friday, got the kids to Grandma's, checked in at the Marriot (which was very cool, felt so official), and headed to my hubby's cousins house in Orem to sleep. Slept well and rose bright and early at 4am to eat and head out. Got to Utah Lake a little later than I'd like, and was concerned about getting a good spot so I jumped out of the car grabbed my bike and rode right over without bringing anything else. Turns out I didn't really need to go that fast, but oh well.
Now starts my being too casual in transition before the race and hustle to the start while forgetting a few things. After placing my bag in the car quite a distance from transition, and getting ready to grab the wetsuit and walk down, I realize I left my cap and goggle in the car. Ran back over barefoot to get them, and luckily remembered to get my timing chip too. I realized on the way over though, that I do really like getting to a race more than 90 minutes before the start. I forgot to put my wedding ring away (slips off my finger swimming), so I ran it over to my friend Grant who was volunteering to hold onto. Then I realize I didn't put on any Chamois Butt'r, a very nice and pretty essential butt cream basically. Helps to reduce friction in the saddle. Figured I could do without it though, just wouldn't be as comfortable (and it wasn't). Then the last thing I realize I forgot was to put my Garmin I took special attention to charging the night before, on my bike so it's alerts can tell me when to take my nutrition. VERY important to me. I can't just take it when I feel like it, it needs to be every 15 minutes, that's what works for me. I did happen to have my sweet cheap Powertri stopwatch style watch in transition though, so that'd have to do. Onto the race.

That's me in the pink cap. Thanks for the cool swim pics Craig!

1.2 mile Swim- 36:16, 5th woman. A good swim! The water felt great, and a sleeveless wetsuit was for sure the way to go for me. It is SO very murky though, hard to get used to seeing grey as soon as you put your eyes in the water. I had mostly open water, not too much contact or passing to deal with, and it was lovely to have the clouds covering the rising son. LOVED not having to deal with glare. My time is about 5 minutes slower than I predicted, so I'm sure it was long some, but not sure how much. My arms felt good, it was a nice swim. I have some shoulder/tricep thing starting to flare up in the right arm, so it's good I'll have some time to give it off. Getting out was tricky with a super slippery boat ramp, but they had 4 guys lined up in the water to help pull you out.
T1- 1:12, 1st woman. Easy peasy, not much to write about. Got the wetsuit off easy and remembered to grab the Powertri watch. Mounted well.

Thank you Chris for the great as always bike pics!

56 mile Bike - 2:42.44, 20.6mph avg, 6th woman. Rode comfortably hard. Never huffing and puffing like I am sometimes with sprints or olympics, but riding at a good pace. Nutrition went down well, I was pleased I was able to watch the time on the watch for when I'd need nutrition, but not be staring at it the whole time. The legs were tired at times, but cooperated. The winds were pretty good to me, but were pretty hard to deal with heading south back from the turn around. That was a tough 3 mile or so stretch. After that it was a manageable crosswind or a tail wind. Oh and the rest of the weather was great except for a 2 minute or so long microburst that left us all soaked and primed for all the dirt on the road. Thankfully it stopped. I was sure my running shoes and socks would be soaked, but thankfully were only a little damp. Oh but hey, the good thing about wet roads? Shows you where every pothole is! Which is especially helpful for any of you that have ridden near West Mountain.

Now for my issues on the bike. Man I hate having to learn during important times like races. I am not using these as crutches for my overall time or place at all, just telling you about my day. I wasn't too upset about these at the time, or now.
#1 About mile 15 we went over a bump that didn't seem that big to me, but my bike thought otherwise and my flask went flying off the holder on my frame onto the road. Dang it! Besides the fact that it's littering, I couldn't just leave those 300 necessary calories behind. I thought for 2 seconds about taking the HEED on the course, but it wouldn't be concentrated enough like the EFS Liquid Shot, and I'd be drinking a gallon to get the same calories. So I turned around and tried not to get run over while I grabbed it. Probably cost me 30 seconds.
#2 Construction surprised the race director with 2 weeks to go before the race, so we had to use a different way over the freeway....a bigger overpass that we couldn't close. That meant if you come to a stoplight, you have to stop. And there were volunteers there to make sure you did. I mean I guess they'd stop you, or at least write your number down. Anyway, guess who had to stop at 3? That would be me. Stopped at one on the way out, and 2 on the way back. Can I just say how un-natural it feels to stop during a race and just stand there?? It's so weird and so very frustrating. Lights probably cost me 3 minutes total.
#3 At the last light it stopped a girl ahead of me who I really needed to keep up with - sweet!!! Yeah, until I put my foot up to get ready to push the pedal down on the green light and my chain fell off - CRAP! No time to fix it before the light turned red again, so I had to run across the 3 lane street in my bike shoes while everyone rode on to fix the chain. Probably cost me 90 seconds.
#4 Coming into T2 one of my shoes fell off my bike - DOH! I asked someone to throw it, but the volunteer told everyone not to touch it (could be perceived as outside assistance, I didn't think so though since I didn't need it for the run, I just didn't want to lose it). I started to go after it, but realized I would mess my timing up if I went over the mats again so just said "screw it", literally, out loud. Not the best sportsmanship, I know. Someone did end up brining it in though. Which they didn't have to, I just wanted it at least on the grass, I'd find it later.
#5 I really missed that Chamois Butt'r......

....nevertheless! I was having a good time throughout the swim and bike, see that smile? PROOF!

T2 - 1:08, 1st woman. Not bad for taking 10 or so seconds deciding what to do about my shoe. Chose to wear socks today, it's kind of an obvious decision in such a long run. Not a big deal, but not something I'd typically take the time to do. Racetri put out lots of bike racks today, and it was really nice not to be crowded in.

13.1 mile Run- 1:42.23, 7:49 avg, 3rd woman (1st OV ran a 1:39, a gal around 10th OV ran a 1:30....really?? Props to her!) Oh man, those first 5 miles, I hated it. My legs were still tired from Hobblecreek, and I was just not in the mood to run. It seemed hot and hard and I was sure I'd walk. I was also sure the miles would go so slowly. Fortunately after about mile 6 things perked up a bit. My right foot hurt again (not where the fracture was last year, near the ball of my foot was and has been achy), but other that that I was ok. Thank goodness my stomach hung in there, nothing worse than running with an angry stomach. I took both flasks with me, had Liquid Shot in one, and would fill the other with water to use as spare in between aid stations. So glad I did because there were points where they were spaced a little far, or my mouth was dry, or I had to take the LS away from a station. I realized about mile 5 that I may have been grumpy because I was running 7 min miles. Didn't mean to, really wanted to keep it at 8, but that's hard without mile markers every mile and without a Garmin. I think that's my body's go-to race pace. I was pleased to have that much time in the bank and to be able to slow down a little though. The last 6 miles went better. I was building a lead on the women behind me who had me a little worried early on, and was creeping up a little on the woman in front of me. The running wasn't exactly easy, but was at least steady now.
* Funny thought about this course. There are 2 out and back sections, and one loop and you repeat all of that twice. I love out and back's so you can see your competition, and it was fun seeing so many people I knew on the out and backs, but kind of hard too because I get into my zone when things get tough and it was hard to feel like I had to say hi and wave to everyone I knew everytime we passed. I loved seeing them and giving a thumbs up, it was just distracting occasionally. THANK YOU to all my friend and fellow racers for saying anything to me and cheering though, I don't want to sound ungrateful AT ALL! I really do appreciate it!*
So I was running happy the last 4 or so miles now because I realized I was for sure safe in 3rd and would be able to end my season having placed overall in every triathlon I did (save IMSG that's a little different). Imagine my surprise when I approached the finish line and heard "Congratulations to the 4th place woman".........Wait, what??

Yeah. 4th. My first thought was that they were wrong and one was a relay or something. I NEVER saw another woman and had plenty of opportunities, or I wouldn't have thought I was in 3rd. But nope, there really were 3 ahead of me. I guess I may have missed the lady who finished in second because she went the wrong way on the course the first time around leaving off the first out and back. She ran it twice in a row on the 2nd time to make up for it I guess. I hope she covered all the ground to get from the first out and back to the second. I'm not going to play mental games thinking she didn't though. The race ended as it did. And yes, I was super disappointed (still am just a little). I really let it ruin my otherwise basically spot on race.

5:03.45

I was under the bike and run times I wanted by 3 minutes each. Those 3 minutes I was over the 5 hours I could have made up not having to stop at lights. Oh and I dropped 45 or so minutes off 3 years ago. But still, not getting to place overall in my last race for a while was really hard. I'm not ungrateful for an age group spot, I realize so very many people want and strive for that, but that's not what's important to me right now. I hope people will understand that. I'm challenging and expecting of myself something different. I think I'm capable of overall, have achieved it in every race except this one, and don't really want to hear that "well maybe you're just meant for shorter stuff", or "it's good to still have things/people to work toward" or what not. I could have placed overall, I'm capable of it, there were just 3 other women there today that were too. At least we were all within 5 minutes of each other. I don't think I'm all that, that I should be winning every race. You betcha there are some great talented women out there to compete with! That's good. I wouldn't want to win every race because there wasn't competition there for overall. All that said, yes, I'm still bumed, but I think mostly because I thought I was in 3rd the whole time. Several people told me that, and that's what I saw. No one told me I was in 4th. It was just hard to be surprised like that. Thank you to those friends that let me whine about it after the race. It was hard not having my family there, so thanks for being a shoulder for me.

I'm tired of not letting myself be happy for the great things I've been able to do racing wise this year. I have raced more than I ever have, and have raced among and gained friendships with some really great ladies (and guys), and I've done really great! It is so exciting, really it is! But I manage to find some reason not to get excited or to find something to be disappointed in. That can't happen. I should be over the moon with how I've done this year. So I think it's time for a break.
Thank you thank you thank you to all the great friends and fans (meaning you haven't come talked to me yet - do it!) that I have out there who are so kind and supportive, and to my family. I'm so fortunate to have all of you! Thank you to Powertri too, whom without, I could not have raced as much as I have.Their sponsorship has also helped me make so many new friends, being more visible in the Triathlon community. I really am grateful for this life. I'm grateful for a strong healthy body, for all the training and racing experiences I've had this year, and for the many more I look forward to in the future!

Hobblecreek

This is a race my husband's family own, and we've been around it since we got married 8 years ago. This year was my 4th time I believe running it, and the 1st for my hubby Jer. I'm so proud of him. I never pushed him into the 2 tri's that he did this year, nor this running thing. He is part of an amazing new shoe company, Altra, who are making shoes that will revolutionize running, and well, I guess it's rubbing off on him. He started about a year ago and is already here, to his first half marathon. Way to go babe!
So with family that owns the race, we help with the race. Our 'race day' starts Friday about noon and ends Saturday about 3:00. It's a long day, but a good one. I've learned much from volunteering, setting up, doing packet pickup, and being around race directors. The #1 thing I've learned (aside from always bring your ID to packet pickup), is I don't want to be a race director. Ever. Fast forward to race morning. We sleep in a tent at the finish line, and after helping with packet pickup at 4:45am that morning I finally got to the top about 7am. Unfortunately not enough people got on the first load of buses so the start was delayed about 30 minutes to get the rest of the runners up the canyon. At the top I heard someone sound completely shocked it was late, she said she'd never heard of a race starting late. Really?? Maybe it's just because I race so much, but I've definitely seen it before. And yes, it's been late in the past. Sometimes the buses fault, sometimes the race directors, sometimes the athletes. The deal this time was that not enough people showed up early enough to get the first load of buses out on time. It takes 30 minutes to get up there, 30 minutes to get back, so when the first load of buses leave at 5:30 and not closer to 5:00, that means the last set of buses don't get athletes to the top till 7:15am or so, then they have a 1/2 mile walk to the top. I know they sent an email out to the later registrants asking that they be there at 5am to load the first buses, I guess not enough of them did. It stinks, I know.
It was kind of funny. They sent Jer to the top before 5am to set up a water table, so he had an orange volunteer vest on. He took it off about 7:10 because he didn't want to deal with questions anymore. Poor guy, I can't blame him. I totally don't mean to sound like I don't hate race delays and problems and that I don't get mad at race directors sometimes, I do. I hate that is messes peoples nutrition and potty timing out and that they have to wait around forever. I just try to be understanding since I see the back end of it and would NEVER want to take their place as race directors. Man that's not a job I aspire to! They do a heck of a lot of work for very little money (about $4/hr at this race in particular), to put on a good time for us athletes.Anyway, onto my race. The race started without me hearing anything, and I was close to the front. Not sure what happened, but we were off. I ran with a friend for the first 3 miles or so and it was fun to chat, but then I let her go ahead. I kind of wanted to run by myself, it seemed like too much work today to make myself keep up with someone faster :) Took me till about mile 5 or 6 as usual to feel good but I never felt super good, it never felt effortless (which once in a while fast racing does). Fortunately my stomach was fine and my body didn't complain too much and the miles seemed to pass quickly. I wanted to be running 6:30's the first 6 miles to build up a cushion for the last half, and the first 4 or so miles it wasn't happening, but then all of the sudden by mile 7 I had a 3 minute cushion. By mile 11 that had dwindled (and it didn't feel like it, but by my watch I did now have to run 7:00min/miles to make my goal. Felt achievable, just close. I ran pretty strong the last 2 miles, and came in just under my goal time of 1:30, in 1:29.43. Whew!

It was so nice to not care in the least who was around me and who might be passing or in front of me. I was only there to get my goal time and watch the clock. I ran with my cheapie Powertri stopwatch function watch, no Garmin. It was nice not to have to factor in a swim and a bike, and figuring out how those would play into my overall time, I just had to make my splits. I'm very happy with my time, it was a PR for goodness sake by 4 or 5 minutes, and under the goal time I wanted. I did exactly what I wanted! I just wish I got more "excited" about it. I think it may just be that I'm tired and have raced a lot. I'm ready for a break after next week's Utah Half.

Good friends Heidi and Crystal who also ran Hobblecreek. Great job ladies!!
We'll see you next year Jamie!

And I'm so proud of my Jer. His first half marathon, he started running about a year and a half ago, hasn't been the best with his training, but he pulled off a 1:49! I was totally surprised and almost missed getting over to the corner to watch him. My goal for him was to break 2:00, but I just had no idea what to expect from him. I ran a 5 mile trail race pacing him last month, and he did a lot of complaining and lagging, so when I saw him running the time he did and looking strong I was so excited! I finally showed some bigger emotion, and it's fine that it was for him, at least I know I can still get excited.

And excited I am.....for the UTAH HALF on Saturday!!!

Blackridge

What a fun race! Great venues for beginners. I had great friends and family there, there were great spectators, and I really liked the course. It's just.....fun! Not so challenging you question why you paid to do this, but not just plain flat. Great swim venue too. Even though it doesn't allow for a much longer swim than 500 yards, it's clearer water than a lot of places, and the temp is warm enough you could do without a wetsuit if needed, and I think the fact that it is so small and clear makes it more comfortable for less confident swimmers. Here's your report

Photo courtesy of the great Chris Black

500 yard Swim: 7:52, 3rd overall out of the water, 1st in women. Clean, reasonably clear water (reasonable meaning you can see past your hand when your arm is extended, but it's not ocean clear by any means). A fair amount of people were swimming without wetsuits and I considered it, but in the end went with the wetsuit as I get cold really easily. Awesome run in beach entry which was cool, don't think I'd done one before. Upon exiting we ran down the long beach to T1 which was placed completely in the sand. Interesting. Not too annoying, but I did ride with a decent amount of sand in my shoes and on my body.
14 mile Bike: 41.44, 1st in women. I really like this course, just enough challenge to keep it interesting, but not enough to question "why am I doing this??". Very fast first 2 miles out of T1, then a gradual incline toward Kennecot Mine, then some rollers completed by a short but steep standing climb, maybe a minute long? After that it's smooth sailing going down some good hills. I was a bit disappointed to have to pedal the whole time because of a slight (or maybe not so slight, didn't feel heavy though) headwind, but I did stay aero the whole time.
On the way back with a few miles to go I passed a guy and he tried to keep up for a second. I noticed just a minute later that he tried to pass me on the inside on a tight left turn, not so wise. I stood up and hammered for a few seconds just to be sure I was in front for some breathing room. Then another minute later I thought to look back and he was right there on my wheel. I asked "You're not drafting are you?" him, "Yeah I am", but in a tone like I was wanting him there, like we were teammates. I said "well that's illegal". He said he didn't know and I didn't see him from there. Maybe he really didn't know, and if that's the case I apologize for what might have seemed like a rude tone. There was a fair amount of pack riding and floating into the middle of the lane, but I never had too much trouble passing as I worried I would starting in the last of 4 waves.
5k run: 20:53, 4th overall men and women, 1st in women. Decent time, I have to wonder if the course was maybe slightly long looking at some of the overall winning men's times, but it could be something else. My teammate Ian was leading the race until he missed a turn and went off course. He thought to look back maybe 1/4 mile later and several leading men were standing there waving him back. They waited there for him and then they all took off racing again. How cool is that?!?
Anyway, the course first went down 3 flights of stairs which was interesting and I liked the uniqueness of it, but the quads were a little unsure how to handle that coming right off the bike. Then it was basically all pavement, more sidewalk than I like (you know how I feel about sidewalk...right? At least it was only a 5k run), but it did allow us to watch the bikes heading back to T2 for a while, kind of fun. There was also a little bit of paved trail and some road. A couple uphills and a longer downhill. I was a little unsure of the course, hoping it didn't finish UP the stairs, and fortunately not. I passed two ladies out on my run, Michelle was one who looked particularly good. Nice run Michelle! Thanks for saying hi! Sometimes I get too into my zone, it was fun to chat for a minute.
Speaking of in my zone too much sometimes, these guys took me out of it. My mother in law lives about a mile from the race so we spent the night over there. Jer and the kids were supposed to meet me up at the pond to watch the swim. Well they slept in, which consequently meant I had to leave my phone in my dry bag in T1 which consequently ended up getting soaked by my wetsuit, so now I'm pretty much out of a phone again........ANYWAY ;)
I was around mile 2 on the run and heard these guys pull up on the bike and trailer on the other side of the road. It was fun to wave and yell to the kids, and fun to watch my littlest one Kaity basically stand up in the trailer to peek her little head over the side to wave. Not the safest, but definitely the cutest! Glad to have them (and my mother in law who made it but I failed to see and acknowledge, sorry!) there, late or not :)
So 1st woman overall, 7th among the men. 1:10.30. Fun way to draw an end to my short course season. Loved the huge pavilion everything was under, such a great space to keep everyone cool and comfortable. Timely awards ceremony that had us done by 11am - nice. I got a framed certificate thing and a pineapple. My boy said "Hey Mom! That's a nice pineapple you got there!" LOL, funny guy. Congrats to my many friends there including Chuck, Steve, Dianna, Te Koi, Kelli and Jared (REAL triathletes now!), Sarah, Rory (Happy Birthday!), Ammie and many others whom I'm sure I'm forgetting and I just met!!

Great job to you too Racetri! See you at the Utah Half!

BAM!

What a race! Gorgeous venues and scenery, amazing attention to detail by the race directors, great competition, great challenging course. And the best of all? No broken bones! Haha, so I joke about it, but I really was not at all superstitious about this year after last year's accident. I don't think I ever thought about it during the race at all. So grateful to be healthy and racing hard. The accident was hard of course, but I sure met some great people during that time.

So onto the race. The night before my husband Jer and I helped at packet pickup, always fun helping and answering questions. We spent the night at the lovely home of the sister of a friend of mine Karie - thank you Karie! Race morning goes smooth despite having to drag the hubby out of bed at what probably seemed an unreasonable hour to him, but I have my habits (early early to transition on race morning). Things went smooth at least until he came up to me with an hour to go to go time with a tshirt in his hand saying we needed to find a first aid kit. Bless his heart, he stabbed his hand good with a knife of some kind trying to get a zip tie off his bike. So now we're running around looking for supplies for a badly bleeding hand. Held pressure on it for 45 minutes, put the butterfly closure and tight knuckle bandage and tape on we thought would hold while I tried to pull his wetsuit on him not knowing if he was really going to race or not, only to find 5 minutes later blood all over his hand. Crap. 15 minutes to go time, what are we supposed to do now?? He can't swim with an openly bleeding hand! Anyway, the EMT's finally show up to the race and fortunately they do a great job with is hand and we seem good to go. I walked over to the swim corral with him with oh, maybe 3 minutes to go till my wave. So no warm up for me, but oh well, I was there on time and he wasn't bleeding everywhere :)

1500yd Swim: 22:32. Happy with this! I swam pretty hard, still not hard enough, but pretty good. I've had a hard time really pushing the swim lately. I swam in a sleeveless wetsuit rental from Powertri this race as I heard the water was warm (and it was) and mine has been holding water in the bicep of the suit. Good choice, I was a great temperature, and loved the extra rotation without pulling water with me. Now don't go thinking a full sleeve suit isn't best, it usually is, mine is just not working great right now with my apparently tiny arms...... Anyway, had a hard time sighting the first time around (sun in the eyes bad), not quite as bad the second time. Wasn't sure where I was coming out of the water, but didn't like seeing so many pink caps around me.

22 mile Bike: 1:01.26. Yes! Like that! Transitions were very smooth and fast and I wish I could see times, but they got lumped into the bike. This bike course is perfect. Just enough climbing to keep things fun, but it's short, steep at times, but short. So a little bit of standing, a fair amount of turns, but that mixes things up for me, I like it some, and a lot of time in aero going pretty fast. Such a pretty course traveling through the Swiss inspired city of Midway. So anyway, I had to push the bike hard, and knew that, and I did. Was short of breath/breathing heavy for much of it, but not all. It didn't really scare me to push that hard worrying I'd be out of energy for the run, I just knew it's what I had to do and it kind of came naturally or instinctively. So push I did. I also pissed a few people off :) See this photo above? Well the guy to the left of me in the black helmet, red jersey is exchanging some angry words with me. He was riding in the middle of the lane forcing me to ride the yellow line to pass him. I called out "on your left!", and "ride to the right", and he grumbled something at me about how he "can't run into the other girl" (behind him in orange). Yeah, she really wasn't anywhere close enough that he needed to be in the middle of the lane, and besides, he'd been there way longer than the 15-20 seconds we have to pass. I said something like "there's no one there!", and he didn't like it :) He yelled something else up at me, but I passed him and couldn't hear it, so oh well. I really didn't mean to be rude or make him mad, but dude, I have a husband and family, and don't feel like being mowed down by traffic still flowing head on.
Oh and to the guy behind me in the yellow jersey - Yeah Joey, that's called drafting! Get off my tail next time! I don't care if you're a guy, not worried about overall contention or what not, it's not fair, don't draft.

6 mile Run: 46:00. I'll take it. No, I'm happy with it, just wish it was a little closer to the leading time. Actually, there were some impressive ladies running times that day, 5 ladies running between 45:30 and 46:00. Nice running ladies! Anyway the run course is half asphalt, half dirt, maybe a little more dirt. Good stuff. No single track really, but fun varied (ie: HILLY) terrain and just a wee bit of shade. I went out quick paced and cadenced from the start and just held it there. There were a couple times I got close to walking (just in pace really, not mentally, but there were some steep little stretches), but didn't. I was worried going into the race that I'd dread starting the second loop, but I actually didn't really think about it. I was trying to close the gap on my own little Chrissie Wellington (Sarah Jarvis), and stay ahead of excellent runner Erin Collins. I saw her husband and T2 and figured I still had a lead on her, but had no idea how much until about 2 miles to go, and although I found out she didn't have a great day, I didn't know that, and I still ran hard hoping to stay ahead. I really had no idea what place I was in (guessed 3-5th) until the last half mile when I guessed it was 2nd, and I was right! A great gal, Beth, who passed me on the bike, had to back out of the run due to a calf injury, and I managed to pass 2 girls I believe, on the run. I'm happy with the run. No easy course, but I felt like I ran strong and consistent and not quite all out. So 2nd overall, 2:09.58. 3 minutes ahead of 3rd place. I'm happy with that. I was hoping to give 'Chrissie' a better run for her money, but that German is just phenomenal. She is so strong and fast and I love her to pieces. Wish she wasn't moving to Arizona next week :( This race, the Battle at Midway, is a military themed race since apparently there was a real Battle at Midway, so what else did I get to take home as a trophy? That's right, you guessed it, a 2 foot tall heavy as snot WWII replica missile shell casing. Just what I've always wanted!! All sarcasm aside, I am really excited about it, I'll put flowers in it or something. I remember seeing those last year (while on crutches, foot on ice) and knew I wanted one. I'm thrilled to have been able to podium and take one home!
This race was great, so many good friends there. Below is a photo of my fellow Desert Sharks, a local tri club I train with sometimes. Check them out if you're from Utah, great group!
And of course my Powertri ladies!!! What a day we had with Sarah winning the full distance, myself in 2nd, and Keena winning the lite race. Whoohoo!!!
And how could I leave out the hubby. This stud finished the race, his first open water tri, in impressive fashion. I remember yelling to Sarah's husband to "make sure Jer makes it out of the water!" as I left on the bike unsure of where he was since he was doing the lite race and isn't a great swimmer. To my delight I passed him about 5 miles into the ride. I say my delight not because I passed him, but because I saw him and that meant he survived the swim!! He actually swam better than we thought, and rode strong, and ran strong, and even came away with 3rd in his age group - again! Only his second tri, and he's gotten 3rd AG each time. All that with a heavily bleeding hand the hour before the race. Way to go babe! Thanks for being there and being there for me!!

Oh and here's a little video Rory Duckworth made of this year's BAM. Nice job Rory! Enjoy all :)