Tri #4: Anthracite Triathlon (Campsite 90 Rocks!), July 17, 2011

David, Sharon, Chris & Pol race ready!

The Anthracite (Olympic Distance) Triathlon in Jim Thorpe, PA is truly a favorite as this is the 4th year that Chris and I have done this race!  This year we had a terrific group with fellow racers David and Sharon & a fabulous support crew consisting of Deanne, Christian and David's parents Bill and Sue.  This great local race starts at Mauch Chunk Lake Park which just happens to have a convenient campground attached to it.  Six of us made campsite #90 our home for the weekend, thus we were dubbed Team Campsite 90!

Sharon and Polly making our way down to the start

The race had an early 7am start, but fortunately transition was only a short walk away.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning with the day's high temps reaching the 80's.  Lake temp was 77 degrees, so barely wetsuit legal.  It was a great .9 mile swim start for all of us, despite some extreme sun glare after the first turn buoy and me losing my timing chip in the water (fyi, it was the size of a laptop computer!).  Luckily, I was able to flag the race director down as I exited the water and a kind volunteer had a new chip waiting for me in transition.  Lovely!

Chris out of the water & heading to T1!

The 40k bike ride was a tough one (in the Poconos!) with a grueling mile-long climb just a couple miles in and a steep, winding punch-in-the-gut climb somewhere in the middle.  The rest consisted of some bombing downhills, false-flats and rolling hills.  Exhilarating, while quad-shredding!  The best part was hearing our cheerleader support crew as I passed by the park entrance (such a tease that you had to pass the park on an out-and-back section toward the end!).  They provided a huge boost for pounding through those last few miles!

Pol going out on the bike (thanks for the new chip!)

On to the 10k run (out-and-back), which was mostly on a gravel, old gravity railroad trail.  Shady!  Unfortunately, the way out was slightly downhill, making the way back...yep!  Speaking of hills, oh my!  Before the turn-around we got to run up this mile-long road jaunt which was not shaded and happened to be grueling!  David, who was the lead runner had the odd experience of having to stop to let a black bear cross the road (yes, we are in the mountains!)!  Wow!  O.k., maybe my run wasn't so bad!  Upon seeing Sharon coming the other way at the water stop, she infomed me that female #2 wasn't far away.  The chase ensued!  After slapping Chris "5," I was able to catch her on the trail back, thus becoming female #2! 

Pol, Chris, David & Sharon...a rainbow of triathletes!

It was great to finish to the cheering voices of friends (and Chris coaxing me to overtake a guy at the line!).  Campsite 90 truly cleaned house!  David and Sharon took 1st overall male and female honors, I bagged 2nd female and Chris earned 2nd in his age group!  Awesome!  Is it news that Chris and I were again within a minute of each other?  We also both had PR's for this race, making for an overall great race day.  Here's the breakdown of our results:

Pol and Sharon pick up some coal...and checks!

Polly:
Overall: 2nd Female; 17th out of 113 finishers
Swim: 27:08; T1: 2:02; Bike: 1:15:12; Run: 46:12; Total: 2:31:46

Campsite 90 Rocks!  And earns rocks!

Chris:
Overall: 2nd in AG (M35-39); 16th out of 113 finishers
Swim: 28:32; T1: 2:02; Bike: 1:14:35; Run: 46:02; Total: 2:31:13