Respect the Van!

Well we did it - we bought a minivan and I couldn't be happier. The purchase happened on Wednesday night. We spent about three hours at the car dealership and I think Owen was so hopped up on candy (I kept feeding it to him to be quiet as we were signing all the paperwork) that he didn't even get to say goodbye to the Nissan Altima. I was a little sad about saying goodbye to the Nissan, it was my first car that I bought after college without my parents help, and it was a good car to me. However, after having the van for a couple of days I can officially say good riddance! Owen really likes the new wheels - he keeps saying it is HIS car. It is so functional and will be so great when we can go to races and not have to take apart our bikes and put them in the trunk and then our wheels in the back with Owen trying to kick them the whole way to the race!

Apple Duathlon - High Caliber Competition

Saturday was the Apple Duathlon, which many say is one of the most competitive duathlon in America. I definintely think it was! The event was also a Worlds Qualifier, and the top three earn Team USA berths. I decided to go ahead and race elite just to see how I would do against the top.

It was a beautiful day and I felt good going into the race. The first 5K was brutal - I knew that the girls I was running with could run fast. There were 5 that did sub 6:00 miles. I would have liked to run a faster first 5K but I didn't know if I should conserve a little, but now I know what that feels like and to push harder. Coming into the first transition, my coach had told me that there was a hill at the beginning of the bike and I practiced getting into my shoes and felt comfortable with having them clipped into my bike, however, that didn't work out that well. I tried getting into my shoes too soon and I actually had to stop on the middle of the hill put my bike down, clip off my shoes, put my shoes on and then get back on my bike. I am thinking this cost me like a minute - AHHHHHH!



The picture above is me coming out of transition without my feet in the pedals. I was right there with a couple of girls and this mistake really cost me.

I made up a little time on the bike and passed three girls so I knew going into T2 that I most likely wasn't in contention to have a spot on the podium but still wanted to finish strong. The run was the same as the first 5k so I knew where I needed to push it into gear. I passed one girl on the run and just could see another runner in front of me but just didn't have enough at the end to catch her. I finished 7th overall so I am not overjoyous about that placing but know that I did well and should be proud. With being new to the sport I know I am going to make mistakes, I just need to learn from them and go on. Next race is Buffalo Triathlon and really looking forward to this race as I know the course pretty well.

Move legs move

Yesterday was the first big race of the season - the Gear West Duathlon. It is a great race but a tough one. I haven't felt the best for the last two weeks, I have been battling this cold that just won't go away and haven't felt like running has been the strongest for me. However, it was going to be a great day - hardly any wind and lots of great competition. The race didn't start out as I would have liked though..... I was at the start line ready to go talking with some other girls when I heard some cheering and look out the corner of my eye and the elites have started the race! Needless to say I pretty much bolted my way through the crowd and probably gave up a lot of energy because I didn't know I was the first female for a while until I got passed and then got passed and passed some more. The run was a cross country style with running on the grass, trails and hills - I pretty much hated it. I was so glad to get on my bike and have been working on my transitions and was excited that I was able to mount on my bike and have my shoes clipped into their pedals and bike away. I caught up to a couple of girls on the bike but mega bikers Julie Hull and Jan Guenther caught up to me at about mile 10. I tried hanging with them because I knew that the run was only a 4K and I wouldn't have much time to try and catch them. Coming off of the bike I knew I wasn't far behind three of the women and that I was in fifth place. In the end my legs just didn't have it and finished fourth overall for female. Next weekend is the Apple Duathlon which is a qualifying event for the 2009 ITU Duathlon Short Course World Championship and they are some stellar duathletes coming from all over the United States to try and qualify for the event . I have been going back and forth about if I should race elite or age group. Since I am not planning on going to the World Championships I decided that I should just race elite and see how well I do against some of the best duathletes out there - Wish me luck!!