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CLICK ON THE TRISPORTS LOGO BELOW TO GO TO THEIR WEBSITE. USE THE COUPON CODE PJANSEN IN THE PROMO FIELD TO RECEIVE 15% OFF EVERY DAY! For more info on the team, click on the SPONSORSHIP TRISPORTS logo.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Tri #3: Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon, June 26, 2011

Andy Potts has nothin' on us!
It's hard to believe that 3 triathlons are already in the books for this season!  The Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (olympic distance) on June 26th, was definitely one to remember.  It's always great racing on your "home turf," with plenty of friends racing alongside and cheering along the course.  This year I raced in the "Elite Amateur" category for the first time ever, which was both challenging and humbling!

Chris & Pol before the swim start
The race began with a .9-mile swim in the always unpredictable Schuylkill River (yes, I had my shots!).  With the water temp at just above 78 degrees, it was a no wetsuit day, but the current helped (a little!) to carry us through.  Eager to get out of the water, I nearly missed 2 of the turn buoys (oops!), but I have to say the murky river wasn't that bad (as long as you manage to NOT swallow water!).

Tri friends Christian, Sharon, Chris & Pol enjoying the post-race revelry!
The 40k bike course was 2 loops around the river drives with some hills thrown in just for fun.  Being amongst the elite amateurs ("amongst" being a relative term!) was particularly challenging for me at this point because there were no other bikers in my sites starting out!  This was a little unsettling at first, but by the second loop, there was plenty of "company!"  Having ridden these roads numerous times, this part of the race proved to be truly enjoyable.

Celebrating with fellow racing friends Noah & Judy
Onto the run...YES!  The 10k course was a double out-and-back that could be considered a little boring, but hearing so many cheering friends really helped the miles tick by.  The sun was bright, but the humidity was low, so I was happily able to pull out a 6:31 pace, enough to break 2:30.  I was actually able to cheer Chris in to the finish line for once, but could not believe my eyes when I looked at the timing clock.  Once again, our finishing times were less than a minute apart, this time putting me ahead by 18 seconds!  Are you kiddin' me?!!  Yes, we "tri verry hard" for togetherness in all aspects of life! 

The post-race tailgate party with Philly Tri friends was definitely the icing on the cake to an overall great day!  Here's the breakdown of our results:

Polly:
Swim: 26:38; T1: 2:16; Bike: 1:17:18; T2: 1:49; Run: 40:27; Total time: 2:28:31
Overall: 295/1595; Gender: 61/538; Division: 18/21

Chris:
Swim: 27:48; T1: 2:38; Bike: 1:11:25; T2: 2:02; Run: 44:55; Total time: 2:28:49
Overall: 300/1595; Gender: 237/1057; Division: 39/144
For more photos, go to this link:http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=226518830711878&set=a.226518707378557.59031.100000612870969&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.226518707378557.59031.100000612870969

Monday, June 20, 2011

A Father's Day to Remember

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend Father’s Day weekend 2011 than by doing a race called “Run Daddy Run.”  This was a 5k sponsored by HCM Foundation which was held in beautiful Kingwood Park in Frenchtown, NJ.  It goes without saying that I wanted to enter this race and give it my VERY BEST effort to remember and honor my dad for Father’s Day.  What made it even more special was that it became a family affair, as Chris and his dad Wayne, who came up from southern AL raced the event as well.  Wayne even sported a “Papa” t-shirt that his kids had given him in 1984 to appropriately mark the occasion!     
It was a hot, but beautiful sunny day for the race which traversed both park trails and road.  Chris hauled and led the race for the first mile!  I was not far behind, charging my hardest toward my goal of breaking 20 minutes.  After circling the turn-around cone (which we were all extremely grateful to reach!), we were able to see each other and exchange some non-verbal encouragement to keep pressing onward! 
Chris was able to pull out a strong 5th place finish in to earn 1st in his age group.  I was right behind in 6th place with a (goal destroyed!) and 1st female.  Chris and I circled back to meet Wayne at about half a mile to go and ran him in to the finish line.  He finished in 28:47 earning 3rd in his age group, so all three of us went home with pint-glass awards, a great sense of accomplishment (and relief!) and smiles on our faces for having shared this event together. 
What a great day to honor the dads who were there to participate in this special event, as well as the dads who were with us in spirit and in our memories.  Thank you Chris, Wayne and Dad!  For more info, pics and videos of the race, go to:  http://www.hcmfoundation.org/rundaddynewjersey.html
 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

HCM Team Challenge Update


Check out this link for info on what the HCM Team has been up to, including fundraising and services updates, charity partner races and other events!:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/HCM-Team-Challenge-Update--.html?soid=1102775044314&aid=jDSuiikw-Rg

Thursday, June 2, 2011

May's Training (Let the Tri Season Begin!)

May's "flowers" were the beginning of the tri season, starting with an emotion-filled Half-Iron distance and moving on to a challenging Olympic distance.  Here is how I spent these lovely, late spring days:

Sunday May 1-Saturday May 7
Race: Bassman Half-Iron Distance Triathlon (swim: 32:52; bike: 3:03:05; run: 1:32:41; TOTAL: 5:11:37)
Run: 1:10:55, 9.1 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 28 mi.

Sunday May 8-Saturday May 14
Swim: 2000 yds.; Bike: 3:21, 52.5 mi.; Run: 1:12, 9.3 mi.; Climbing: 2 days; Bike Commuting: 66 mi.

Sunday May 15-Saturday May 21
Swim: 1500 yds.; Bike: 4:10, 55 mi.; Run: 1:01, 7.3 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 21 mi.

Sunday May 22-Saturday May 28
Race: Columbia Olympic-Distance Triathlon (swim: 25:43; bike: 1:17:55; run: 42:38; TOTAL: 2:29:36)
Bike: 2:31, 41 mi.; Run: 1:08, 8.4 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Kayaking: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 52 mi.