Pigman Race Report

Great weather yesterday resulted in some course records and lots of PR's. David Thompson lowered his course record by 4 minutes and Derek and I also PR'd. I was looking forward to this race the whole year - it was definitely my A race.
We headed down to Des Moines Iowa to spend the week with Derek's family on Sunday afternoon after I raced the YWCA Women's Triathlon. This was a great race and so well organized. I wasn't sure I was going to race this until about a week before. I have only done two sprints before the YWCA race and I go about the same speed for an Olympic as I do a Sprint!!! Sprint races are not for me but it was tons of fun though and I had a blast just racing with women. I hope I am able to do this race next year and it fits into my schedule because I would love to support it.
It was great being in Des Moines because the kids love their grandparents and we get time to see friends from college and I got to go shopping by myself. Wow, the damage you can do when you shop without kids is amazing! I went to Adventureland with Owen one day too and remembered what it felt like to have your stomach do somersaults! The only bad thing about being there was that Keaton had to go to Urgent Care on Friday. We were at the park and he touched a metal slide. It wasn't even that hot that day but his poor little hands got burnt very badly. He has second degree burns on both of the palms of his hands. He is a trooper though and adjusting really well to having his hands all bandaged up. I felt so horrible for him and didn't want to leave him when we left for Cedar Rapids for the race on Saturday.

It was really nice not having the kids to worry about while I was racing on Sunday. I decided to race age group because there were not any girls signed up for the elite wave when I looked on Friday night. Then Sunday morning I noticed two girls racking their bikes in the elite area.... darn it! My wave started about 16 minutes after the elite wave so I was trying to figure out what position I was out on the course. I had a great swim for me and I actually liked doing the time trial start. I didn't get pushed and shoved around as much as I do starting with the men! The bike went great too - I pushed it hard the whole time but had some issues with my gels and water that I need to get figured out before the next 70.3. My run is still not where I want it to be. I was hoping to go just under 7 min miles but took the first 5k out too hard. I was checking my splits at every mile and kept telling myself to slow down and I did slow down - almost to a 8:30 min mile from mile 10-11....the killer hill! I will come back to this race next year to defeat that thing! I thought about walking at one moment but told myself NO - you are racing against the clock!

After finishing I chatted with Ruth Brennan Morrey - she passed me on the run around mile 7, and she was flying. She ran like a 6:30 per minute mile - wow! I thought she had finished before me but since I started behind her I had actually beat her a little under a minute. She is a rookie this year but you wouldn't know it - she is good! I finished second female overall and happy with my time of 4:36:54 but wish I would have kept a better eye on where the elites were on the run because I was beaten by 37 seconds. In a race this long there are things you can do to make up 37 seconds. I feel like I am still learning this distance as I hadn't raced a half for two years and this is my third one. I think I am going to sign up for Austin 70.3 in October so if any of you have done Austin let me know what you think.

The picture below is of the Gear West Triathlon Team - we won the team award and poor Suzie got bombarded from David right after finishing the race to take this picture. No idea why him and Thad still had on their race belts because they seriously had been done for about an hour when we took this picture!

Twin Cities Triathlon - History in the Making

Since I was injured at the beginning of the season I wasn't able to race in two of Optum Health's stellar races - Manitou and Minneman.
I was very excited about Twin Cities Triathlon because not only was the race venue gorgeous, the course challenging, but because a number of my athletes were also competing.
The swim was in the Mississippi and even with having my fastest swim due to the current, it was the fastest swim ever for others too! I came out of the water more than 2 minutes behind the other elite women. I knew the bike was going to be challenging and hilly so I was looking forward to it. Since I have had bad luck on the bike this season (chain dropping on the past two races) I wanted to see how hard I could bike. I pushed myself and had a great bike split, finally working my way into second place. I knew I had to put some time on Becky on the bike because she is a stellar runner but I didn't catch her until about mile 20. I figured I had about 1 minute on her going into the run.
I had no idea how hard the run course was going to be. My legs just were not feeling it. I saw the lead men on their way back from the turnaround point and I was saying good job to all of them. If I am able to speak - that means I'm not running hard enough! Becky caught me close to mile 3 and she was movin! I ended up 3rd female overall and happy with my bike splits but not my run at all. I also learned that I got a penalty for placement of equipment. I was so confused about this but lots of other people received the same penalty. Not sure what I did - I am wondering if I racked my bike in the wrong spot. I wish they would tell you so you know what you need to correct.


There was a first place finisher in our family though. My father in law came from Iowa to race the sprint course and he got first in his age group - so proud of him! Here is a picture of him and Owen finishing the race together!


I can't wait to see how many people sign up next year - it is definintely a must do race. I am taking the next couple of weeks to prepare for Pigman Long Course. Derek is gone this weekend so I am a single mom - we will see how much training I can get done :)

HOLT Race Report: Bad Voodoo continues

I love this race and was looking forward to it all week long. I knew the weather was going to be warm but I thrive in the warm weather. I would much rather it be 90 degrees than 75. I also knew this was going to be good training for Pigman Long Course in August which is known to be steamy.
My swim is still not where it needs to be - especially since I didn't swim for six weeks and then I fell down the stairs a couple of weeks ago and I might have a slight crack in my rib or a rib out of place. Swimming hurts as well as taking in deep breaths. I was hoping that with the rain the lake would cool down....it did but not enough, so no wetsuits. So again I struggled in the open water and had to do some catching up on the bike. The bike was going great until I got my chain caught again earth rear derailer. This happened last week at Lifetime and again I had to get off my bike to put the chain back on. It was pretty scary going 24 mph when your wheel is jammed and also sucky when you loose time because of it. I am really frustrated because this has happened the last two races so I have no idea of where my biking fitness is at. I came off the bike in 5th and knew I had some work to do on the run. It was really hot at this time and some people were walking on the course. It was hard to run by them because you kind of say to yourself "if their walking....I can walk too!" I wasn't sure how fast I was running because my watch wasn't working and I like to know my splits. At every water stop I considered taking my gel but the thought of warm gel in my mouth did not sound appealing.
At that point you play mind games with yourself...if only I didn't drop my chain...if only I took my gel....should I take my gel?


I finally caught Suzie with about a mile left and just wanted the race to be over with. So much that I thought the end of the race was about 20 yards short of the finish line!


I ended up third female overall so it's a long road to recovery but it's coming :)

Lifetime Fitness Race Report - Can't a girl catch a break!

5 days ago running with a cast on

Photo courtesy of Paul Phillips (Competitive Image)

Yesterday crossing the finish line at Lifetime Fitness

(much better!)

Photo courtsey of Kerry Yndestad (Yndecam)

When I went to get my cast off on July 5th. There were two questions I asked my doctor:

1. Can I swim today?

2. Can I swim in the open water and race a triathlon in 4 days?

The answer was a resounding, Yes! I was super excited to race Lifetime because I love the atmosphere and it's so fun to see the professional triathletes on the course at the same time! With no swimming for six weeks I knew the swim was going to be brutal, but I talked with Coach Dan beforehand and went into the race just to have fun and push myself.

I knew the water was going to warm at Lake Nokomis, but I was crossing my fingers it would be wetsuit legal, unfortunately that wasn't the case. The temp was somewhere around 81 degrees! I forgot how brutal the swim start is - I tried hanging on to people's feet with no success. I found myself out in the open water pretty much by myself. My sighting was good ...probably because I was going so slow! I came out of the water 28 mins and 30 secs later. That is a lot of time to make up on people when they get out 7-8 mins before you!

The bike was going great until I went over a pothole and I dropped my chain - I was going about 23 mph when that happened, so there went all my momentum. I was able to stop, jump off and put it back on. I have no idea how much time I lost, but it had to be around 3-4 mins.

I was looking forward to the run because the course is pretty flat and there are always great crowds cheering you on. During my warmup I ran what I thought was part of the run course - needless to say that wasn't part of the course. I took the same route during the race and realized I was off track after about 30 seconds. I turned around and someone I had passed about a minute ago was heading in a different direction. I was so mad at myself because that cost me another minute. In a race this competitive you can't make mistakes and I was just ready to have the race over with.

I finished strong with a little kick at the end to catch a woman in front of me. Derek and the boys were there to cheer me on and cheer me up afterwards. Even though I had my issues, it was so fun to be back to racing and seeing all of the friends and other triathletes I have come to know and love. We really have a great community of athletes here, but also just really amazing and wonderful people as well. Up next is Heart of the Lakes where I am sure it will be non wetsuit as well. I am going to be swimming everyday this week!!!

Listen to your body...or your husband!

At about 2:30 on Monday afternoon there was almost a huge sale on Ebay of triathlon merchandise. That is about the time I found out that I had a broken bone in my hand.
Kind of a long story to tell so I am going to keep it simple since I am kind of typing with one hand. Basically injured myself at the Gear West Duathlon and thought I was ready to race. I was questioning myself all week with the injury but also my fitness and wanted to see where I was at. I should have just stuck with the training plan but I raced and wasn't able to finish. Let's just say Derek had to carry me over his shoulder to the van after I was at the medical tent. Then on Sunday I deicded to join some friends for a recovey ride. Derek told me to just take the day off but I didn't listen and told him "I can still bike even if I can't run!" Well no sooner than about 15 minutes into the bike did I catch someone's wheel and went down I went pretty hard. My good friend Marta drove me back to the house where I tried to recoup. My hand was still bothering me and pretty black and blue this morning so off to Urgent Care I went to find out I broke my pisiform bone. Pretty much sucks but life will go on and I will be back!

Mud, Sweat, and Falls

At this time last year I was 36 weeks pregnant and had so much fun volunteering at the GearWest Du, but really missed being out there racing. This year I knew it was going to be a muddy mess out on the run with all the rain we've had, but that is what makes this event so much fun. Kris Swarthout was announcing today and said if it would've been dry out there then that wouldn't have made for such an exciting day...agreed!

At GearWest in 2009, I was chatting with a friend and missed the start so I had to basically run through people to make my way to the lead women and didn't have a lot in the tank on those trails. I didn't want to make that mistake again, so I made sure I didn't go out too hard the first mile, but then second guessed my strategy about 1 mile in. I should have tried to get a little distance from people on the dry asphalt surface before the uneven trails. I came into T1 4th, but had the hardest time getting my helmet on - I was in there for over a minute....doh. Now I know what I will be doing before Buffalo - practicing T1 transitions! I saw Derek and Suzie come into T1 while I was still fumbling with my helmet. Derek got out of there before me and I know exactly what he was saying under his breath as he ran by me with his bike...Kort, get outta here!
The bike went OK - but Suzie caught me on the way up to County Road 24. I caught up to her, but there was another biker with us as we were making a right turn and I wanted to make sure we weren't drafting, so I dropped back 4 or 5 bike lengths, but then she took off like her pants were on fire and I didn't see her until we were back in T2. Julie Hull caught me on the bike too - both girls are mad crazy bikers!
After really pushing it, I caught up to Julie and Suzie on the run, but was having some trouble getting the right footing on the trails and pulled a glute muscle coming up a hill and Suzie blasted past me. As we were going into the woods I knew it was going to be a mess in there. I came up to a big mud pit and saw a lot of people taking pictures. (now I know why) As I planted my shoe into the ground, my foot came out, but my shoe decided it would prefer to stay in the mud! I said a few choice words under my breath and turned around to retrieve it.

Paul Phillips from Competitve Image snapped some great play-by-play pictures (above)...I guess I wasn't the only one out there that lost a shoe in the mudbowl! I stopped to put my shoe back on and started running, but then I slipped and fell. I was trying to catch Suzie, but at that point I knew it was a lost cause. I gutted my way up the monster hill to the finish line in fourth place. It was pretty funny to see everyone all muddy and laughing about the situation out there.

Photo taken by Steve Stenzel

I wish the day would have gone a little better, but it is always great to come home to the boys. They help me take my mind off of the racing when I see them smile and give me big kisses when I come home. Keaton is now walking like a drunken sailor all over the house and is so proud of himself.

Owen is obsessed with McDonalds and there are Batman toys in Happy Meals right now. That means I got to play Batman and Robin for about 20 minutes before I could take a shower and get the mud off me! Thanks to my brother and sister in law for watching the boys for us, so Derek and I could race. I don't know what I would do without family. Congratulations to all the racers out there today!!!

Get in Gear 1/2 Marthon - In Rain or Shine

It is suppose to be spring here in Minnesota but old man winter wants to stick around and let his presence be known! Saturday was the Get in Gear 1/2 marathon and waking up to pouring rain just wasn't my cup of tea. I like running in the heat and would prefer it to be like 80 degrees outside. Some would think I am insane but I actually race better in the heat.
I had a mental breakdown this last week and was hoping my head was in the game to run 13.1 miles in the rain. Last weekend we were in Des Moines and hoping we could ride in 60 degree weather but alas that wasn't going to happen. We pounded out a 3 hour windy ride and Derek pretty much had to pull me the whole way home. I don't know how he didn't yell at me to suck it up because I pretty much complained the whole ride and at one point threatened to turn around and just ride on the trainer! Then on Sunday I had a tough run to prepare me for the half marathon and just didn't have the desire to do it. My legs were kickin but my mind just said stop - I didn't want to be on that trail anymore pounding out 3x12 mins at half marathon pace - I wanted to go home and drink hot chocolate! After talking with my coach I needed a little downtime. I hadn't had a day off for a long time and I finally took it - no yoga, no strength training, no easy swim or bike - NOTHING. As athletes it is hard to let our bodies rest because we think we need to be pushing all the time - judging where our fitness is at but that is where injuries and burnout rear their ugly head. I think for me I feel like I am constantly on my feet with 2 small kids at home and when I do get to relax I sometimes can't. I feel like I should do laundry or clean the bathroom or make dinner. I think as moms who are also competitive athletes this will always be a struggle for us.
Anyway.... back to the race. Derek and I were both racing, he was doing the 10K and me the half. We didn't get to warm up at all and were way back in the starting chute. Since there were so many people racing it took us a full 1:30 to get to the start line. It was hard to get into a groove for a pace for the first miles because you had to weave around so many people since we started way back. Finally at about mile 4 I felt like I was cruising and ran with a friend of mine for almost the whole race. I never really felt like I got into a good groove because at one point I had a side cramp and then I was wearing a rain jacket that chaffed me right below my neck and it was killing me! I crossed the finish line at 1:33:40 so about a 7:09 minute pace, not the best time for me but considering the conditions I will take it. I learn something every race and know it is preparing me for the races ahead.
Owen and Keaton are starting to enjoy eachothers company more but that also means Owen is starting to beat up on him more and boss Keaton around. I guess that will just prepare me for what is going to happen in the future. I pretty much know that I can't buy any new furniture for the next 6 years!

Fred Kurtz 10 Mile Race

What a great race. Derek and I both were able to race because my great sister volunteered to watch the boys for us in the morning. The weather was perfect and it was a fast out and back course. The other cool thing about the race was that it had a handicapped start based on past races, so everyone would finish the race at about the same time. Derek and some of my other friends started about 3-4 minutes ahead of me and my friend Heidi. I was excited to start with Heidi but but her hamstring was bothering her so she wasn't able to finish.

I knew I wanted to beat my Twin Cities 10 mile time and to do that I would have to run about 6:45's. I started out too hard - was doing about 6:30's the first mile and a half and then I toned it down. I always seem to go out too hard and need to learn to pace better and get stronger towards the end. As I was approaching mile 5 I saw Derek and Suzie ahead of me - but then noticed that my shoe was untied. I didn't double-knot them because I just plain forgot, but need to remember the little things because that probably cost me about 20 seconds! I was feeling really good and knew I needed to push the pace a little harder because I wasn't breathing that heavy and as I passed Derek we exchanged a couple of words so I knew I could go a little harder.
I had a good feeling I was in first place for women but I didn't want anyone behind me (men or women) to pass me at the end. As we turned the corner off of the trail I knew the finish line was close but it still seemed so far away. I kept looking at my watch pushing myself to run harder so I could beat my goal. I crossed the line at 1:07:22 (6:45 pace) which I am happy about. Next up is the Get in Gear Half Marathon and I have a new goal in mind for that too. Derek had a great race as well, setting a new PR for him. My friends Suzie and Ann won their age group and I believe had PR's as well - great job everyone!


Owen is running a kids race next weekend - the Mudball. He is hoping he gets dirty and muddy. I am sure we can find a way for him to do both! Keaton will turn 10 months this weekend as well - he isn't walking yet but very close. I am ready for him to walk so he will stop eating the dirt outside and food off the floor inside!

Mistaken Identity

I was mistaken for a man yesterday. Not the most flattering thing but when you register for a race and accidentally put yourself as male I guess that is what happens. I did pretty well amoung the men though - placing 8th overall and second female. I am sure when I registered I was also doing some other type of activity like changing a diaper, folding laundry or making dinner! The race was fun and the weather was great! Spring is finally here and I wanted to see where I was at with my running. I have been doing a lot of aerobic base work so throwing myself into some speedwork was good for me. I am not sore at all today so I know I could and should have pushed harder. Next week I am doing a 10mile run and since I would like to focus on half ironmans this year those longer distance running races will help. It was a tough course and I averaged 6:37 per mile so I am happy with that. I paced myself well the first mile and not sure if I went out too slow that first mile since I was talking to my competition for most of the mile! We started out together and I could tell she was a runner - she was bouncing around in the starting shoot like an Engergizer Bunny while I was chatting it up with some fellow triathletes that I knew. I guess I just don't have the competitive drive when it comes to running races like I do in triathlons. She asked me if she could pace with me and I was like sure I would like to hit somewhere between 40 and 41 minutes. At about mile 2.5 she dropped behind me and I was like where did you go? Here is a picture of us on the second lap. You can see she is still kind of bouncing around!!!


I knew she was behind me most of the race but I wasn't out to get first I was wanting a certain pace and time. There was some ice on the path and everytime I made a move to the other side of the trail she would do the same. Finally she stopped drafting off of me and asked if I was the defending champion - I told her no and off she went. I was like you can have it chica - but now I look back and I am mad I didn't push myself to hang with her and try for a sprint finish at the end - that would have been cool. Not sure if I would have won that sprint finish as she was only 19 years old and has more fast twitch fibers in there! However.... you live and learn and now I know next week just go for it! Lastly here is a picture of my cheering squad. Owen is use to the races but Keaton needs to get use to it or he will have a long summer :)

Busy, Busy Busy

I can't believe that my last post was back in December but I do have excuses - Owen and Keaton. Plus, I am now coaching 10 athletes, training myself for the 2011 season and just trying to get some sleep. Keaton has been better with the sleeping. I finally called the Dr. on his 8 month birthday just to confirm that he did not need to nurse in the middle of the night and he would be fine. I know I nursed Owen once in the middle of the night until he was about 10 months old and then we had to stop cold turkey because I broke my collarbone on a bike accident. So, yes the Dr. confirmed that he is not starving, he just wants his mommy. So I stopped that night and so far so good. He still wakes up a couple times at night and I need to put his pacfier in his mouth (next thing we need to get rid of) but it is much better - I am at least getting 5 hours of continuous sleep.

Keaton is trying to climb stairs now... here is a picture of him doing just that.

I am afraid he is going to be walking in about a month - I would actually welcome that because he likes to eat anything on the floor right now.

Owen is still a Star Wars lover - we went shopping this afternoon and he saw a Star wars shirt and I refused to buy him anymore since we have about five so I broke down and got a Batman shirt.

I have finally narrowed down my race schedule this year. I went back and forth about going to Age Group National Championships this year or focusing more on long course. I decided that long course is more of my race. I love the Olympic distance and will be doing lots of them but Age Groups was also the same weekend as Pigman Long Course in Cedar Rapids and I won that race in 2009 in some extreme conditions and would like to see how I would do this year in hopefully some nicer weather.

Owen is also going to be racing this year - he has a 1 mile race in April and will be doing the Twin Cities Marathon 1 mile race as well. Derek is also doing the marathon this year and we talked his father into racing it as well. Looking forward to watching him cross the finish line! Well Happy Training everyone - time to play with the kiddos!