Crow Lake Sprint Triathlon - 2nd overall

Sunday July 17th I competed in the Tri to Remember Crow Lake Sprint Triathlon in Jefferson, GA.    This was a short sprint:   400m swim, 15mile bike, 5k trail run.   This one was a lot of fun.  For the swim, we crossed a small lake to the transition area where I was 3rd out of the water.

Exiting the water. 

From there the bike course was a rolling hills out-and-back, where I clocked in my fastest bike split of the season.  Maybe I'm finally beginning to make some progress there!  I was able to catch the two women in front of me from the swim fairly easily but was passed by two women on the course and came into transition in third place, feeling good.

Hurt face on the bike, mile 14.

The trail run reminded me of running cross country in high school.  The trail was a mess with sections of tall grass, mud, wooden planks, and many dips and holes in the ground along the way.  I almost fell on my face a few times!  My run time wasn't anything special considering the terrain, but I turned in the fastest run time for all women competitors, something like 21 mins.  (Finally starting to feel better in the run after my calf injury in May).  My run was enough to catch one of the women who passed me on the bike and capture second overall, first place age group.

Running into the finish - the one part of the trail that was decently kept.

The woman who beat me is a seasoned triathlete who won her age group at Nationals last year, as well as First Place in her age group at the Kona Ironman World Championships - Laura Sophiea.  However, she is in the 55-59 age group, so I really need to close that gap!!!  

Awards:  with overall winner, Laura Sopheia (Ironman AG World Champion 55-59)

One year of triathlon training

A year ago this month I started working with my coach, Steve Pyle, of Boulder, Colorado.  Since then I have completely changed as an athlete, both mentally and physically, to how I approach my training and racing.

My body transformation:
This time last year I weighed 122 lbs and had 20% body fat.  Today, I weigh 113 lbs and have 13% body fat.  That's the same body composition I had when I was an 18 year old running Division I Cross Country and Track for the University of Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns.

This year, last year (sorry I don't have an action shot from last year!)

In the course of the past year, Steve has built me up from 7 hours of training a week to 12-14.  Before starting with Steve, I had never clipped into the pedals on a bike before, or ridden more than 20 miles.  I had never done a sprint workout in the pool or had any kind of coaching in swimming at all.   Now a 50+ mile bike ride is an every weekend activity, and it's rare to swim less than 3000yds every time I'm in the water.  My run workouts are mostly tempo builds, since my run is already very strong.  But these workouts are more than enough to have dropped my 5k back to my peak performance times in college.

With respect to the weight loss - I have met with nutritionist, Dr. Dan Benardot, from Georgia State University, but have made very little changes to my diet.  I've always eaten fairly healthy.  The biggest changes I've made are drinking sports drinks instead of water in workouts, and eating more often, and in smaller portions during the day.  But in general, the weight and fat came off slowly and naturally as my body adjusted to the training schedule.  Not to say I was in bad shape last year, but being lean makes running fast, and riding a bike uphill, a lot easier.

Indian Springs Park Aquabike and Lake Placid Sprint Triathlon

Sorry to everyone for not posting in so long!!  I know I owe you!!  So let's get you all caught up!   My race season hasn't been exactly what I was hoping because of pulling my calf back in May.  But I have gotten in two more races to tell you about, with another coming up this weekend.

Indian Springs Park Aquabike:
This was my first time competing in an Aquabike event, where all you do is the swim and bike, as the name suggests.  It was a short 600m swim and 15 mile bike.  I was the overall female finisher, but there was no competition.  I felt like I was cheating after getting off the bike and crossing the finish line without doing the run.  It was my first time experiencing the sun rise glare on the water.  I turned the last buoy and realized, I couldn't see anything, not the next buoy, not even the shore, so siting was out of the question.  I had to follow the swimmers in front of me and we all went about 50 yards off course!    Sorry, no pictures from this race either.

Lake Placid Sprint:
So beautiful to swim in Mirror Lake, same location as the Lake Placid Ironman, just two weeks away!  This race had an exceptionally short swim, 400m swim, 20k bike, 5k run.

Lining up for the start

Dad watching the swim

Best part was it was the first time several of my family members got to see me race and were there cheering for me.  Thanks Mom, Dad, Nick, Monique, and Liam!!  

Exiting the water after the Lake Placid Sprint Swim

This was a great race, I took first in my age group and 2nd overall, and had my fastest bike split yet.  My run is still suffering a little from the injury and time off, but coming back quickly.  I was only a minute behind the 1st place overall finisher, but my run was a slow 20:50, nothing like my 18:48 at the Irongirl.  I'm being patient but ready to be running fast off the bike again. 

Coming into the finish in 2nd overall, passing the women on relay teams, and one close overall contender