“At TriSports.com, we believe in supporting athletes, clubs and races that have made a commitment to actively improve the sport of triathlon. We are a global company and we feel it is our responsibility to support the ‘local’ triathlon communities that support us. We sponsor over 60 events around the world and donate to several charities, including the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Our goal is not to simply sell the products people need in order to compete in the sport, but to actually help the sport grow. By supporting the clubs, teams, individuals, races and charities, we are able to see the fruit of our efforts in this goal.”
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.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Home Turf: the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon, June 24, 2012!

Pre-race! Pol, Chris & PTC friends Lacey & Vinny
The Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon weekend is definitely a big favorite.  You can’t go wrong when the venue is literally less than 4 miles from your house!  Needless to say, the car pretty much sat in its parking spot the entire weekend, which is a good thing!
The weekend started out with Chris and I volunteering at the Sprint tri on Saturday at one of the most action-packed stations: swim exit.  Making sure that 2000+ triathletes got out of the water safely on to the uphill climb to T1 was quite a task.  One can experience anything from a simple hand-up to a full-body grab while cheering on and encouraging the athletes.  A very rewarding assignment, especially knowing we would be experiencing this as competitors the next day!
On to Sunday…race day for the Olympic tri.  What better place to race than in your own “backyard?”  Knowing the course definitely has its benefits, but knowing so many of the people around you is the absolute BEST part!  From fellow racers, to volunteers to crowd support, it was great to see so many familiar faces and hear, “Go Polly!” all along the way. 
The .9-mile Schuylkill River swim was actually a pleasant 80-degrees, which was perfect for trying out the new speed suit (thanks, TriSports.com!).  Escaping any potential debris or mutant river creatures, it was on to the 40k bike which has just the right mixture of hills, fast flats and great scenery around the river drives (believe it or not, I actually saw a deer on the course…in Philly…and yes, I have corroboration!). 
 Note to self: check bike rack # prior to exiting transition in the morning (I wasted a bit of T1/T2 time looking for where #1242 was in the mix…oops!).  On to the run, the first half of which is shaded…the second half, not so much.  I was out-sprinted by this guy at the finish line that I was attempting to “chick,” (he was having none of that!) and then learned that Chris was in some sort of “elbow” battle with some guy at the line!  A little “friendly” competition doesn’t hurt…usually!  
Post-race with Team TriSports teammate Craig Sheckler
 A big “shout-out” goes to Team TriSports teammate Allison Stewart for taking 1st elite female (4th OA) and Craig and Erica Sheckler for once again providing amazing encouragement and support!  Also, to Philadelphia Triathlon Club and all of our friends from so many area running and tri clubs who were tearing it up on the course or cheering like crazy out there!  Thanks for making this weekend so special and always a favorite.
Here’s the breakdown of Chris’ and my results:     

Polly:
Overall:  232 out of 1547 finishers
Age Group: (35-39F):  2nd
Swim: 26:47; T1: 2:33; Bike: 1:14:32; T2: 1:50; Run: 43:36; Total time: 2:29:21

Chris:
Overall:  190 out of 1547 finishers
Age Group (35-39M):  20 out of 171
Swim: 29:31; T1: 2:16; Bike: 1:08:47; T2: 1:44; Run: 43:43; Total time: 2:26:04

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

25% off at TriSports.com June 13-14!!

Today and tomorrow, June 13-14, my promo code: POLLY-S is good for 25% off at TriSports.com!  Use the code any other time for 10% off.  Get your gear on!!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Tri #2 - Black Bear Olympic Triathlon, Lehighton, PA - June 3, 2012!


Hard to believe the second tri of the year has come and gone (one more till the big dance)!  This was the Black Bear Olympic Triathlon in beautiful Beltzville State Park, Lehighton, PA on June 3, 2012.  What a great event to share with friends from Philly Tri Club and Team TriSports!
Setting up transition with Renee
Our day started out sunny, but a little chilly (the 68-degree water temp. was warmer than the air!).  My wave of orange caps was last to go, but the Beltzville Lake 1500-meter swim was beautiful and serene (no kicks to the face this time!). 
Jim, Pol, Chris, Sara, Frank & Renee ready to rock!
After a bit of an uphill run out of transition (I thought the run was third!), it was on to the 24-mile bike.  Though this course is familiar, the hills are always a killer (and watch out for the potholes!)!  Zod maneuvered through fine, despite a dropped chain on a downhill and Chris and The Captain managed to survive nearly getting “plowed” over by some oncoming farm equipment!  That would’ve made an interesting “Area Man…” story!!
Headed for T2!
As I was coming in to T2, one of the volunteers shouted, “One leg to go . . . this is your strongest one!”  How did he know?!  The 6.2-mile run was awesome—everything but paved with a combination of gravel, dirt and grass surfaces (a dream to run on!).  It was great being able to see and cheer on all of our friends on the two-loop course. 
Chris gunning for the finish!
Finish line in sight!
Then, on to the finish line where fellow PTCer Bob Mina announced all of our names with the utmost enthusiasm!  We were all fortunate enough to have raced in beautiful, sunny weather, but had to dodge a rain storm after the awards ceremony on the long, arduous journey back to the car!  Thanks to all of our friends, the race organizers and volunteers for making this an overall spectacular day!    
Team TriSports in the house!  Erica, Craig, Chris & Pol 
Results for me and Chris:
Polly:
Overall: 37th out of 269 (4th overall female)
Age Group (35-39F): 1st place
Swim: 21:50; T1: 1:35; Bike: 1:20:49; T2: :47; Run: 43:59; Total time: 2:29:00
1st in AG award
Chris:
Overall: 24th out of 266
Age Group (35-39M): 6th place
Swim: 24:10; T1: 1:40; Bike: 1:13:45; T2: :57; Run: 42:33; Total time: 2:23:05
Pol & Frank - 1st in AG!
Sara & Chris celebrating the finish!

Friday, June 1, 2012

May's Training...Tri Season Begins!

May ushered in the return of racing!  Here's the breakdown for the month:

Tuesday May 1 - Friday June 1 
DateWorkoutPlannedActual
WorkoutActivityTimeDistancePaceTimeDistancePace
Tue, May 1Track WorkoutRepeats00:01:39400 Meters00:01:39400 Meters  
Repeats00:02:26600 Meters00:02:26600 Meters  
Repeats00:03:20800 Meters00:03:20800 Meters  
Repeats00:04:161000 Meters00:04:161000 Meters  
Repeats00:03:23800 Meters00:03:23800 Meters  
Repeats00:02:31600 Meters00:02:31600 Meters  
Repeats00:01:34400 Meters00:01:34400 Meters  
Wed, May 2CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Thu, May 3CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
RunningSteady Run00:47:004.7 Miles00:10:0000:47:004.7 Miles  00:10:00
Fri, May 4
Sat, May 5CyclingCycling02:50:0048 Miles00:03:3302:50:0048 Miles  00:03:33
Sun, May 6RunningRace Pace01:05:1410 Miles00:06:3101:05:1410 Miles  00:06:31
Mon, May 7CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Tue, May 8CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Wed, May 9SwimmingMain Set3000 Meters3000 Meters  
Thu, May 10CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
RunningSteady Run00:45:005 Miles00:09:0000:45:005 Miles  00:09:00
Fri, May 11RunningSteady Run01:32:0011.6 Miles00:07:5601:32:0011.6 Miles  00:07:56
Sat, May 12SwimmingMain Set1 Miles1 Miles  
CyclingCycling02:30:0043 Miles00:03:2902:30:0043 Miles  00:03:29
Sun, May 13CyclingCycling05:09:0086 Miles00:03:3605:09:0086 Miles  00:03:36
Mon, May 14CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Tue, May 15
Wed, May 16CyclingCycling01:00:0015.5 Miles00:03:5201:00:0015.5 Miles  00:03:52
SwimmingMain Set3000 Meters3000 Meters  
Thu, May 17CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
RunningConversation Pace00:16:002 Miles00:08:0000:16:002 Miles  00:08:00
Fri, May 18CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Sat, May 19RunningSteady Run01:52:0014 Miles00:08:0001:52:0014 Miles  00:08:00
Sun, May 20CyclingCycling06:20:00100 Miles00:03:4806:20:00100 Miles  00:03:48
Mon, May 21RunningConversation Pace00:29:003.4 Miles00:08:3200:29:003.4 Miles  00:08:32
Tue, May 22CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Wed, May 23CyclingCycling01:00:0015.5 Miles00:03:5201:00:0015.5 Miles  00:03:52
SwimmingMain Set3000 Meters3000 Meters  
Thu, May 24CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
RunningSteady Run00:37:004.3 Miles00:08:3600:37:004.3 Miles  00:08:36
Fri, May 25
Sat, May 26BrickSwim00:06:540.25 Miles00:27:3600:06:540.25 Miles  00:27:36
Bike00:35:0212 Miles00:02:5500:35:0212 Miles  00:02:55
Run00:19:443 Miles00:06:3500:19:443 Miles  00:06:35
Sun, May 27RunningConversation Pace01:48:0012 Miles00:09:0001:48:0012 Miles  00:09:00
Mon, May 28CyclingCycling05:57:0097 Miles00:03:4105:57:0097 Miles  00:03:41
Tue, May 29CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
Wed, May 30CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
SwimmingMain Set3300 Meters3300 Meters  
Thu, May 31CyclingCycling00:55:0014 Miles00:03:5600:55:0014 Miles  00:03:56
RunningConversation Pace00:48:005 Miles00:09:3600:48:005 Miles  00:09:36
Totals:48:01:03685.75 Miles48:01:03685.75 Miles