Racing with Awesomeness! USAT Age Group Nationals, Burlington, VT, Aug. 18-19, 2012!

After my race and before Chris'.  He has one more day of tapering!

What's the quickest way to cure the post-Ironman blues?  Do another race of epic proportion!  The USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship certainly was that.  I was able to qualify for this olympic-distance race at the Pocono Mountains 70.3 last October and was excited to hear that is was within driving distance for 2012.  Chris signed up for the sprint-distance race for the next day, so just 3 weeks after IMLP...Burlington, here we come!

Wow...that's some choppy water!

Glad that swim's over...time to ride!

My race was Saturday and started out with a .9 swim in Lake Champlain.  To say the water was "choppy," is a slight underestimate!  Having done ocean swims, I can truthfully say this swim was one of the most difficult I've ever experienced!  Whitecaps, drifting buoys, swallowed water, flailing limbs...it had it all.  Thankfully after 27 roller-coastering minutes, I was outta there!

Away we go!

Hill?  What hill?

The 40k bike had a little bit of everything...city streets, country roads, views of farms and mountains...Interstate Highway?  Yes, and it was fast and awesome!  We definitely had some strong winds to contend with, but the rolling hills kept things interesting.

Finish line...here I come!

Thanks, TriSports.com!

Finally it was on to the 10k run - one of my favorite distances!  The one hill on the course was right at the beginning, so after powering up that, it was GO time!  After a long stretch of road, the course eventually meandered onto a paved bike path where it was a little challenging weaving in and out amongst the many runners.  Got a lot of shout-outs for TriSports.com along the way, as they were a strong presence sponsoring the race this weekend!  Hearing the support and crowd noise build, I was happy to reach the all-American finish lined with flags waving and cheering spectators.  Happy that the race was done and thankful to Chris for the support, it was now my turn to relax and cheer Chris on!

We even had the same wave # and cap color...though racing on different days!

What exactly was your complaint about the water conditions?!

 As luck would have it, Chris' swim start on Sunday was in calm, serene waters!  Really?!  Though he got frog-kicked in the neck, Chris quickly recovered and flew through his .5-mile with the greatest of ease.  The sprint-distance bike was a little different, but also got to go on a closed highway.  Something you don't get to do every day! 

Finally...a picture of Chris in action on the bike!  Of course, it had to be on top of a hill!

Powering up that hill!

Chris powered through his 5k run, which also hit the one big hill and the crowded bike path.  Before I knew it, he was flying down to the finish, but not before overtaking one more guy in his age group!  An awesome weekend for both of us racing with the fastest in our age groups in the nation!  It was especially neat to have the rare opportunity of supporting each other on back-to-back race days!  Here is the breakdown of our results:

Polly:

Age Group Place: 39 out of 142; Overall Place: 860 out of 1988

Swim: 27:57; T1: 2:21; Bike: 1:14:27; T2: 1:24; Run: 41:36; Total time: 2:27:46

Last guy to pass...here I go!

Great finish!

Chris:

Age Group Place: 28/48; Overall Place: 321/1025

Swim: 14:08; T1: 1:59; Bike: 34:39; T2: 1:23; Run: 20:09; Total time: 1:12:20

A Little Spontaneity Never Hurts: Half-Wit Half Marathon, August 13, 2012!

You know that favorite pair of shoes that you can't bear to part with?  Or that favorite movie that you never get tired of watching?  Well, that's the feeling we get from our ol' favorite trail race, the Half-Wit Half Marathon in French Creek State Park, Reading, PA.  Perhaps it's because this is the first half marathon Chris and I ever did, or because it never ceases to challenge the body and mind.  Most likely, though it's the camaraderie of our friends, fellow trail fanatics and Ron and Helene Horn who really know how to put on a great race and turn it into an even greater party!

This race is no joke: hills from hell, rocky, ankle-wrenching terrain and the 100 "steps" of death, aka some stone slabs thrown helter-skelter into a hillside.  The most unique aspect, however is the "alternative beverage" stop at miles 10 and 12 famous for the King and Queen of the Half-Wits Beer Challenge!  As you might have guessed, this involves the male and female who can drink the most beers (9 oz. cups of Yuengling Lager) and still finish the race under three hours.  Four years ago, Chris took down the reigning champion and earned this honor with a dazzling 29 beers!  He still gets name and face recognition at various venues for this amazing feat.

Upon hearing that the reigning queen was not present this year and that the record for women was around 7 beers, my competitive spirit emerged.  I could definitely take this down.  Arriving at mile 10, I was in a solid 4th female place, but cast that aside in exchange for the beer challenge.  Three beers down and I tackled the technical, brier-strewn loop between miles 10 and 12, then arrived back at the beer stop to finish the job.  Surprising to me, I had some stiff competition from two other contenders, but my strategy was to stay at least two beers ahead.  At #13 I was actually leading the men and women, so started heckling the men that they might just be embarrassed today!  One of my rivals gave up the fight, but the other stayed the course.  Though she was much younger than me, I was determined not to go down.  Never give up...never surrender!

Finally, at her #19 and my #21, she conceded and uttered a drunken, "You got me!" and started back on the trail home.  Then it was my turn to make the mile back.  Chris had finished the race and came back to coach me through this challenge and he so graciously ran ahead of me to encourage me along the way.  I only hit the dirt once, and luckily it was in a soft section of the trail!  At 2:58 I crossed the line and was crowned "Half-Wit Queen," an honor which I will treasure for many years to come.  Thanks to our Wissahickon Wanderers and Pagoda Pacers friends for a fantastically memorable day!!