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

Splash and Dash July 6, 2011: a great way to spend a Wednesday night!

Polly, Chris & Sharon walking to the swim start

The Splash and Dash (1/4 mile swim; 5k run) was definitely a Wednesday night well-spent.  This event was held in Marlton Lakes, NJ at 7pm on July 6th.  Having done this race two years ago and after our friend Sharon expressed interest, Chris and I decided, "Why not?!"  It proved to be a great evening and a great time!

Sharon powers her way to 1st female!

The transition area was on a sandy beach area near a playground where everyone was able to claim their little spot with their towels and running shoes.  A total of 113 finished the event including a kid as young as 10!  She may have been the one who asked her mom if she could go on the swings after setting up her transition area.  We all thought that was a great idea!

Chris keeping a strong running pace

After a walk around the "lake," (bog, actually!) we were ready to start the point-to-point swim.  There was a men's wave and a women's wave 3 minutes apart.  Some notes of interest about the swim: the water was 85 degrees (uugh!) and very shallow (it was a former cranberry bog...for real!).  I had the misfortune of "beaching" myself on a sandbar in the middle and had to struggle around it in the murky muck!  Our hands were hitting the bottom of the bog well before we reached the shore, so I found it best to keep swimming for as long as possible!

Polly keeping an identical running pace!

Following a half-dazed, but quick transition into the running shoes, it was off on the 5k.  After coming out of that hot bath water, it took a while for my heart rate to settle!  The run was a windy, out-and-back jaunt through an adjacent neighborhood, which was flat and fast.  It was great seeing Chris and Sharon pounding the pace out there as I chased down female #2 at the turn-around cone!  

Picking up my coffee mug award

The three of us finished in great time with Chris and I recording identical 5k times (no joke!)  We all got to take home ceramic mugs as awards and all agreed that this event was a lot more fun than doing training sessions on our own would've been!  Here's a breakdown of our results:
Polly: Swim: 8:08; T1: 0:32; Run: 20:04; Total: 28:43 (2nd Female; 4th Overall)

Chris: Swim: 8:21; T1: 0:25; Run: 20:04; Total: 28:49 (1st in AG; 6th Overall)

Sharon: Swim: 6:34; T1: 0:30; Run: 19:34; Total: 26:37 (1st Female; 2nd Overall)


It's true...she is!!



Dad's Tandem Hits the Streets of Philadelphia

You may recognize this bike from the photo of my dad and me.  Thanks to my dad's wife Beth (who wanted to keep the bike in the family), her kids Jimmy & Melissa (for transporting the bike to my dad's old shop in Holland, MI), Lakeshore Cyclery & Fitness (for packaging the bike), my sister Liz (for transporting the package to the Greyhound Station) and Greyhound XPress (for getting the bike to me & Chris safely from Holland, MI to Philadelphia, PA)!  As you can see, it was quite a process!! 

Chris & I put the bike together ourselves under the watchful eyes of the neighbor kids (we even put some old racing saddles on it!), then shakily rode it down the hills of Manayunk (yikes!) to our shop, Human Zoom for a tune-up.  That voyage was more than a little scary (for Chris because I was trying to steer from the back and for me because I had no control!), so we decided to ride on the flat Schuylkill River path to get in sync.  Riding "in sync" is no easy task, especially when one person typically rides in a harder gear (Chris!), our leaning into turns timing is slightly divergent and we have opposite plant feet!  Needless to say, it was an exercise in trust and a true test of our relationship!  I think we passed, though thanks to Chris' awesome driving skills!  I will attempt to take the helm once we position the seats a little differently.

Highlights of our maiden voyage were seeing some of our triathlete friends riding on the path.  Sharon's comment was the best: "I knew it was you two because no one else would be going that fast on a tandem!"  So the new addition to the family joins the other 4 bikes making their home in our livingroom!  I think my dad would be happy knowing that we have the bike and we were definitely thinking of him on our ride.  Looking forward to many adventures ahead (stay tuned for the "Donut Derby" on Labor Day)!

 

June's Training (Full-On Summer!!)

Welcome summer!  June's training heated up with a bike tour, 5k and another olympic tri, with some kayaking thrown in there just for fun!  Here's the play-by-play:

Sunday May 29th-Saturday June 4th
Bike: 1:50, 27.5 mi.; Run: 2:49:03, 17.6 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Kayaking: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 59.3 mi.

Sunday June 5th-Saturday June 11th
Swim: 1800 yds.; Bike: 30 min., 7.5 mi.; Run: 2:00:05, 14.8 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 68 mi.

Sunday June 12th-Saturday June 18th
Race: Run Daddy Run 5k (19:24)
Swim: 1 mi., Bike: 6:10, 84 mi.; Run: 1:18:15, 9.5 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 56 mi.

Sunday June 19th-Saturday June 25th
Swim: 1 mi.; Bike: 1:11, 18.5 mi.; Run: 1:18:25, 8.6 mi.; Bike Commuting: 70 mi.

Sunday June 26th-Saturday July 2nd
Race: Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (swim: 26:38; bike: 1:17:18; run: 40:27; Total: 2:28:31)
Swim: 1 mi; Run: 1:20:33, 9.9 mi.; Climbing: 1 day; Kayaking: 1 day; Bike Commuting: 49 mi.

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

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 5^th place finish in 18:46 to earn 1^st in his age group.  I was right behind in 6^th place with a 19:24 (goal destroyed!) and 1^st 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 3^rd 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

 

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