Now I’m not usually one to jump at a car upgrade but when Matt and I arrived in Austin and layed eyes on the filthy white Dodge Challenger in the rental car lot the decision was made.  For a mere $15 a day we had the once in a lifetime opportunity to drive the bad larry that lay before us.  Driving it made us feel dirty and sleazy but in a comedic pork chop sideburns kind of way.

We hit up the expected sights of Austin.  Much time at the flagship Whole Foods, next to the company’s headquarters, where a bird stole Matt’s last piece of cookie right from his raised hand.  The Austin Whole Foods is loaded with options, even a gelato bar and Texas BBQ area.  Gotta shout out to our sponsors Mix1 and Justin’s Nut Butter which are sold there.  Next onto Mellow Johhny’s bike shop where we gawked at the Radio Shack team bikes that were prominently on display:

Look closely, you can see the 2010 Radio Shack team bikes towards the back

Upon return home I have traded my Specialized bikes straight up with the girl down the block for her bike.  It’s looks just like the one Lance will be riding.  There has to be a secret to my new ride that will make me faster.

Friday turned to Saturday and Amy arrived.  She was dismayed when I picked her up at passenger pickup with the Challenger’s windows down and Toby Keith blarin’.  Similar to Friday, I ran 30 minutes easy in the morning and swam at Barton Springs.  The water is 68 degrees year round which isn’t extremely cold but enough to have me freezing after a few minutes without a wetsuit.  I was pumped to have brought my Rocket Science wetsuit so I could get in some real swimming.

Swimming in my Rocket Science wetsuit at Barton Springs

Race day arrived and we were warmed up and about to start when suddenly, a delay.  It was so blustery that apparently the traffic barricades were getting blown over and the police couldn’t seal the course.  This didn’t seem like a big deal but then the time dragged on and it was nearly 45 minutes past the scheduled start time.  I was impressed with how the faster runners towards the front of the start were handling things.  None seemed fazed by it, it really wasn’t going to make a diference.  I saw Ewen North and Peter Vail who has run a 1:06 at this race.  Peter gave wise advice to not be afraid of the downhill sections and take advantage of them while the opportunity was there to run fast.  We were getting cold and Matt, Amy and I hid away in the start tower for protection from the wind.  I wanted to do some extra running to stay loose but we had already done that once and Matt smartly convinced me to save my energy.  I felt bad for the poor race director and was starting to wonder if this thing was going to happen.

At about an hour after the supposed start it was announced that we were going to go.  They started the wheelchairs promptly and we were off a couple minutes later.  The first bit of the race was uphill which worked well to get me warmed up again although it was slow.  I was aiming for a 1:10 which would be 5:20 pace.  The first two miles were in 11:07.  Slow, but I didn’t care, I was about to start getting in it.  Once I got past the two mile mark my body warmed up and I set off to start moving up.  I hit 5:11, 5:08 and then 4:45 (this was the big downhill mile Peter was speaking of).  Now I was getting excited.  There were many miles ahead but I was extremely comfortable.  I was steadily moving up, running smoothly on my own.

Next was 5:22, 5:19, and 5:16 to bring me to mile 8.  At this point I started to feel a little niggle in my right hamstring which I started worrying about.  It wasn’t horrible, maybe altering my stride slightly, but it felt like it was something that could explode into a major problem with a mile to go.  I backed off a tad, which was tough since I wanted to really start pushing hard at this point.

5:13, 5:17, and 5:20 brought me to 2 miles to go.  I realized that a sub 1:09 was within reach but I still had to manage my hamstring.  Also, my legs were starting to feel odd like the muscles could seize up.  They didn’t feel tight, there were just odd steps where they felt got that odd seizing feeling.  This was kind of strange.  Usually at this point I’m dealing with pure fatigue and aching for the finish.  I didn’t have that, the miles were still cruising by, but my muscle tremors were of worry.

Next was 5:18, 5:16, and another 0.1 miles brought me to the finish in 1:09:08, good for 11th place (there were 4256 finishers).  I was a bit bummed not to get the dip but I’ve learned with age that you gotta be happy with a good race, there’s always little things you could have done and you can’t dwell on them.  I had gone in shooting for a 1:10 and had gone under that without the conditions seeming exceptionally good.

Matt came in with a 1:13, not a great race for him but one that will motivate him.  Our friend Ashley ran a solid 1:21:02, and Amy came in with a huge race - 1:24:36.  She’s been training for a 1:25 and thought that she would need everything to go perfectly to run that.  I was pumped that she stepped it up big time on race day and executed well.

With this I’ve got my run confidence fully back and am looking forward to what I can do off the bike this season.  I’m impressed with the results from the run training I’ve been doing.  I’ve been primarily focused on my swim the past few months but have been running consistently, getting in about 48 miles a week.  That’s really not much running but the swimming is awesome run training, especially with the near daily hard sets.  Most importantly I’ve been doing relatively slow treadmill workouts, 6 miles straight at a time at 5:50 pace.  I thought I could run 5:20 pace in Austin ( ended up at 5:16) but it was hard to believe sometimes since my workout pace was so far off that.  The 6000 ft altitude in Golden, 1% treadmill incline, and just being on a treadmill combined to keep the workouts slow.  But I didn’t miss any and there were always good albeit not great.

I think this race illustrates something I’ve learned since college.  Race performance isn’t so much a result of a handful of great workouts but more from getting in tons of good workouts.  I’ve been doing two tempos a week, never missing one.  I didn’t have a single workout since I started fully running again in November that was notably better than average.  The key is consistency and getting in hours and hours right around threshold.

Amy and I post race

Matt and I, lookin' sleazy

Amy talking trash to Matt after her victory.

Amy and I continued our dedication to the “Winter” Distance Series this weekend at the Frosty Frozen Five race.  I say “Winter” because in true Colorado form it was a 60 degree day, kind of like the last race.

The race was a minute from starting.  Everyone’s on the line sizing each other up, judging their shot at the win.  My teammate Josh Merrick was there and fortunately, nasty runner that he is, he was running the 10 mile option.  Also there was my friend Matt Kempton, Ryan Borger (Riptide’s new soon to be pro triathlete), and the always competitive triathlete Tim Hola.  Just when everyone thought they had a chance to win and the gun was seconds from firing, a Kenyan athlete comes sauntering out of nowhere to the start.  “This guy will shake things up,” I thought.

Now I usually run a race strategy that I’ve crafted since my college running days of going out in a controlled manner and either holding pace or dropping it down slightly.  I decided recently that, although that may be the ideal way for me to race, I should really be prepared to race with a variety of tactics.  If I get off the bike down 30 seconds from a pack I want to be comfortable bridging up hard in the first two miles.

With this in mind I hit the mile in 5:08, tied for the lead with said Kenyan.  He looked mighty comfy and I asked him what race he was doing.  “Ten.”  “Phew, nice, Josh would have to deal with him,” I thought.  Now there was no way I was going to hold 5:08 pace but having this guy was a great opportunity for me to push early without blowing my chances of winning since I wasn’t even competing with him.  Getting towards the 2 mile I had to let him go, I wasn’t going to blow up but the pace was getting tough.  5:12 for that one and he pulled away, running even faster.

Nicely, by holding onto him, I had carved out a nice lead by this point and I held right around 5:20 for the rest of the race to run 26:33.  Matt finished up around a minute back in second.  He’s usually stronger at longer distances.  We’re going down to Austin this coming weekend for the Austin 3M Half Marathon and he should be strong over the 13.1.

A few minutes later Amy came cruising in for the win in the women’s 5 mile race.  Later came the triumphant Kenyan, Sammy Nyomungo, making me look like a chump by running 5 seconds faster per mile over twice the distance.  Impressive.  Josh took 2nd.

I’m very happy with my run fitness at this point.  I’ve focused so much on the swim the last few years that I’ve been a bit sloppy on my feet.  The last few weeks I’ve been getting in consistent tempo runs at just slower than theshold, just under 6:00 pace.  At that pace I can get some run strength while not tiring myself out for swims which are still the focus.  I’m feeling strong on the run though and hopefully next weekend I can run under 1:10:30 and get a PR at the half marathon.

Gulliver warming down with us post-race. Shockingly, he was disallowed from racing by event organizers. He'll be suing for damages, the free pair of shoes he surely would have won.

Celebrating with a coffee. Amy ponders life while Matt calculates what his 5 mile race pace would have been over 5.236 miles. Such a runner.

Every triathlete seems to have a strength, a discipline that they can rely on.  Mine is normally the run but after getting hurt early this summer I’m having to work to get it back.  I didn’t run at all for 12 weeks and then very little for another 8 weeks bringing me up to a hurtin’ for certain’ 1:22 half marathon run at the Longhorn 70.3.

Finally in the past few weeks I’ve gotten my normal stride back and feel strong running instead of running with a constant ache throughout my body from being out of shape.  Surprisingly it was some faster paced running that finally cleared the last phases of my summer injury.  Since my knee area was hurt for so long it became second nature for me to protect it by never extending my knee and engaging my quad and IT band constantly.  All this caused my leg to move and foot to land awkwardly.  I was at the point where I was starting to think I’d never run normally again.

With all this I was cautious to tackle my first harder workout.  My buddy Matt Kempton and I went out to Waterton Canyon on a Saturday morning for 6×5min hard with 2 minute breaks.   I felt incredibly out of shape and my right leg usually didn’t move normally but there were glimpses of hope.  When I was running hard and really focused on the running there were 10 second spurts where all the sudden I felt normal.

Tuesday I hit up a tempo on Highline on my own.  6 miles at 6min pace.  Much improvement.  This time the 10 seconds spurts were of the awkward form and I generally felt normal.

Thursday was a 5k Turkey Trot.  It turned out to be a strong field with Michael Aish who has competed in the IAAF T&F Championships in the 10k, along with my teammates Josh and Dan.  I had to run cautiously on the opening fast downhill but then was able to lay it on and run hard.  It felt fantastic to run fast and fluidly again.  Picture not eating chocolate for a year and then getting some.  All those great feelings come back, even the ones you somehow forgot about.  I didn’t have to think about what part of my foot I was landing on, I just did it.  I was 15:39 (the course was actually 3 miles but 5:13 pace is still good).

Now I’m into some good run training with about 3 runs a week between 1:15 and 1:30 plus some short maintenance runs.  I’d do more but I’ve got to keep the focus on the swim to improve that.  This time of year I’m trying to get in some good training, but what I would describe as 90% training.  I’m ok with skipping those extra workouts or that extra bit of effort that are the key of hard training.

With the snow lately I’ve been forced onto the ol’ treadmill.  I don’t normally run on the treadmill and will run in some very adverse conditions like our run up Waterton during last weeks snowstorm.  But bad footing kills quality, measurably workouts and for those the treadmill is excellent.  So I’ve been hitting it for some 6 mile tempos to get in some decent but not killer quality.  I learned during college running that I need quantity but can never completely ignore quality.  I made the mistake of spending two summers just shooting to run 100 miles a week without any quality.  My race performances were lacking and it took me months of workouts to get my race ability back.

Some bits of treadmill advice.  Bring a water bottle, it’s a great way to get used to drinking while running and you don’t have to put up with actually running with it.  Headbands make you look like a hipster but they do serve a purpose on the mill’.  To account for the lack of wind resistance at faster paces: set to incline to .5% between 6-7min mile pace and 1% between 5-6min mile pace.  Sometimes sacrifice accuracy for leg speed by keeping the incline at 0%.  Warm up and warm down outside to maintain sanity.  Weight yourself (with your water bottle) before and after to get an idea of your sweat rate.

With this I’ll be running to Austin 3M Half Marathon on January 24th.  I’m looking for a good but not great performance there, I want to be in shape but have to keep it in check as it is early.  Looking for something in the 1:10 to 1:13 range.

I don’t claim to be an expert on nutrition nor am I a culinary extraodinaire, but after four years of evening track practices and a year of late-nite swims, I’m fairly adept at whipping up a quick meal for two.  There’s no hunger like a post-practice hunger, and the longer my stomach is in the red zone, the worse it is for everyone!

That being said, I introduce to you a new series of blog posts that I’ll be writing all about fast, easy, and delicious meals that are perfect for triathletes and other, more sane folk, who just happen to be really busy.  I won’t make any promises on the projected frequency of the posts, but I’m hoping some of my teammates will hop on board and get some activity going on the blog.

Today’s recipe is a winner because it only requires 3 ingredients, and they don’t spoil easily.

Total Time: 15 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
- Polenta (in a tube)
- Sausage (You can load up on some Adele’s or the good stuff from Whole Foods and freeze it)
- Pasta sauce

I hadn't heard of polenta until my sophomore year of college, so if you haven't yet discovered it, this is what to look for in the pasta aisle. Safeway doesn't carry it, so I usually stock up at Whole Foods.

Optional ingredients:
- spices (i.e. paprika)
- peppers and onions (ideal if the sausage is bland)
- cheese to shred for topping

Preparation:
1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan
2. Slice polenta into 1/4-1/2″ slices and place into pan
3. Slice sausage and fry in a different pan with a little olive oil.  If you’re adding peppers and onion, sautè the onion first, then cook the sausage in the same pan, and then add the peppers last.
4. When polenta becomes a darker yellow or begins to brown you can remove from heat.

Polenta and paprika. Most of these are done and ready to eat, but I threw some extra in at the last minute because Jordan was looking especially ravenous.

5. When the sausage is almost done, heat some sauce in a small pot
6.  Once the sausage is done, and the sauce is hot, you’re all set.
7.  Normally, I put some polenta slices onto a plate, add the sauce and sausages, and top with cheese.

1 step closer to happiness.

That’s all for today!  If anyone has any recipes to share, please leave a comment.  And let me know if you gave this one a try!  I promise, it’s really good!  …if you like sausage, polenta, and pasta sauce.  =)

This weekend I started training again with an old friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time.  A few years ago, we were inseparable, but when I started traveling a lot for work our relationship fizzled, and when I moved to Denver, we lost touch completely.  At the end of my race season, I decided it was time to rekindle the relationship, and we’ve now been together on two rides and one run.  I’m speaking, of course, of my heart rate monitor.

A heart rate monitor can be a great training tool, particularly if you spend a lot of time training alone or if, like me, you are easily distracted by birds or shiny objects.   I found out what my aerobic and lactate threshold heart rate zones were from a VO2 max test, so now all I need to do is keep my heart rate within the required zone (usually aerobic) for the duration of the workout.  It’s a lot harder to slack off or push yourself too hard when you have a constant concrete reminder of your effort level on your wrist.  After only two days training with the heart rate monitor again, I can definitely see the results.  I did the same 9 mile run two days in a row, the first day without the heart rate monitor and the second day with it, and on the second day, I was 20 seconds per mile faster.  Right from the start, I settled into a faster pace than I usually do, but it was still a pace I could have held for another 5 or 6 miles.  The heart rate monitor kept me focused and prevented me from drifting.

The one downside of heart rate monitors is that they can be a bit balky about displaying your heart rate correctly, particularly the cheapest ones.  I once bought a Timex heart rate monitor because it was the cheapest, and it was absolutely terrible.  It would give me an accurate heart rate reading maybe 10% of the time, and the other 90%, it would give me a completely absurd number.  Fortunately, my new Polar seems to be behaving well so far, and I’ve had good luck with Polar in the past.  Anyway, I’m glad I decided to get back into heart rate training, and hopefully my heart rate monitor and I will be best friends forever.

The US Open in Dallas was not a perfect race (or anywhere in the vicinity), but…that’s okay. It was fun to be in the same tent & on the same bus with the best of the best!
The most painful part of the day was running through a very long T1 on bumpy pavement (and the rest of the race didn’t get much better). Apparently, the other pros didn’t think it was all that bad since they could sprint through T1. (?) Hopefully, my feet will toughen up sooner than later. Maybe my winter training should consist of barefoot cyclocross racing…

It’s obvious that I have a level(+) to jump up to compete with the top ranked women in the world. I’ve only been competing for a year and a half now, so…I have come a long way to get here, but I have a lot to improve on still.

It was fun to see everyone at the Mix1 tent! They even gave me a box of Mix1 on the spot! Mmm.

If a not-so-swift time is the biggest tragedy of the weekend, I think I have a lot to be thankful for…besides, it’s always good to be humbled!
Happy winter training… :o)

Pacific Grove
Highs:
Matt, Cyrus, and I all had good races. It’s always fun to race well!
One great thing about the race was the fact that it was a loop course. I love knowing what’s going on in the race. Sometimes it feels like a 40K bike course can take you to the next state before you end up in T2. Racing against myself doesn’t always produce the best results for me. (I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Don’t over-analyze it por favor.)
I have never been cheered for by so many people I’ve never met - it was a very uplifting atmosphere and had such encouraging volunteers and spectators.
Cyrus and I flew into San Jose and felt beyond suave driving around in the bright blue metallic PT Cruiser. Thank goodness both our bike boxes squeezed in there, because we hadn’t formed a Plan B if they didn’t.

(Transition)…Before I start with the “Lows”, let me just mention that at every triathlon I’ve ever been to, there has always been at least one moment during the race weekend before the gun goes off when I catch myself wondering how I decided that this was a good idea!! Obviously, the “Lows” of triathlons are arguably what is also uniquely attractive about triathlons.

Lows:
Swimming in mid 50ish degree water temps with kelp tangled on my chip and around my neck is not ideal…perhaps partly because I haven’t yet found a wetsuit that fits me. One that I have lets a constant flow of water down my body through the neck, so it probably keeps my body cooler than if I didn’t wear a wetsuit. After almost freezing in a warm-up swim the day before the race, I decided to rent a wetsuit. It was a lot warmer, but my neck was completely chafed to the point that about 1/3 of my neck scabbed over for the next week. (Needless to say), it was interesting explaining that to my class of international students since it looked like either A.) my husband got a little too frisky or B.) I had a “very strange rash” or C.) _________ (fill in the blank - some people didn’t say anything but took a double glance at my neck.)

Best of the US
Highs:
I won! Mission Viejo is absolutely gorgeous - the course was beautiful and the roads were smooth. (If you live in OK, you might appreciate the smooth roads even more!) My parents and my aunt (who lives in LA) were there, so it was fun to have a little fan club.  BOUS is a one-of-a-kind race that was fun to be a part of. Fortunately, I had developed some authentic Soonerland pride for the state of OK. (Rocky Top will always be the best fight song ever, though!) It was the first time in any race that I thought the bike leg went by fast - usually, I am dying to get off and start running. In addition to being healthy & training hard, Zipp wheels and a TT bike really do help. I’ve heard some people sort of discount them, but I’m a fan! Thanks to Schlegel’s (local OKC bike shop) for giving me loaners! :o)

Lows:
The swim was easy (in a lake), and I was excited to exit right behind Alice, who swam on Natalie Coughlin’s NCAA relay team. After the swim, the course got tough with hills. For an OK girl, this was challenging…But the good part was that at the end of every brutal hill, there was an amazing view. There was a cross country feel to the course since part of it was on a mulch trail. A great poster/sign was on the last and most brutal hill. It read: “Keep going - you’re almost there! Your times will be posted on the internet FOREVER!!!”
Haha.

After reading so many great and exciting posts from all my teammates here, I have avoided casting a shadow on our successes with a painful story of injuries and disappointment. Or maybe that’s just a cover for the fact that I am still struggling to see the outcome of a convergence of struggles that threatens my future as a professional triathlete. Either way, if you are reading this, I know that you care enough that I feel that you can be and should be entrusted with this story. And please forgive me for disappearing for the last 3 months.

As one of the first members of the elite Riptide triathlon team, I have been pursuing this dream of being an extraordinary professional triathlete for nearly 4 years. Like all careers, it is filled with incredible ups and downs - fantastic trips, painful injuries, confident wins and crushing losses. Its hard to put into words and, unless you’re a triathlete, hard to understand how complicated and powerful a relationship with this sport can be.

This spring I was on the verge of that big breakthrough but yet on the brink of despair. Strange how those two can come on simultaneously sometimes - and how fast it becomes completely irrelevant so quickly.

In June, I got slammed by a drunk driver and a Chevy 3500HD while on a training ride. After being shot 120 feet up the should of Lefthand Canyon, I slid to a halt - in shock and gasping for air. I looked up in time to see a large, heavy-duty truck with dually wheels go sliding off the road and slam into the embankment. I looked down assessing my own physical damage. Toes move - check: hands move - check. All things considered, I had just seriously lucked out with ‘only’ some major gashes in my legs and a compression fracture in my T9 vertebrae (which requires 3 months in a brace).

But all that’s behind me now - sort of. Months of no training, pain, frustration, disappointment, depression, are slowly fading. The memory of the unexpected impact is not quite as vivid. The subsequent fear of loss by my girlfriend and family members still lingers but is abiding. The bike is not quite as friendly place as it used to be. I’ve found comfort in the mountain bike but a crash last week cut my knee down to the bone again and further delays a comeback. Swimming feels like I’ve just started. And running is still not allowed.

And now, to make life more complicated, I’ve replaced a 10:00 - 4:30 job with the rigorous MBA program at CU.

So not to burden all of you but now what?

80s weather…in Tuscaloosa…in late August…practically calls for a scarf and mittens for the locals. This was the venue of last weekend’s nationals, where I qualified to be a pro triathlete!

The swim was nothing short of brutal. Sighting into the sun while searching for a yellow buoy in a river of bright glare while weaving through a thick blanket of others up a strong current was perhaps to my advantage, believe it or not. Not that I enjoyed the swim (it was the longest & most taxing yet), but it was probably even worse for those who don’t have a swimming background.

On to the bike…there were some (literal) ups and downs, but encouraging since it was my fastest 40K split. Yay for improvement. :o)

And, the run: Although the 80s is quite a gift (all things considered), it still got prrrretty toasty - especially when you throw 3 monster hills in the mix.

I think the hardest thing about amateur racing is that you often don’t reeeally know where you are place-wise since age groups are sent off at different times. Nemo has really good advice for us all: Keep on swimming…
During the race, sometimes I say a little chant of “Keep on swimming, swimming, swimming…swim-swim-swim”…even after the swim leg is finished. For me, that advice seems to also apply to life, in general! :o)

It’s so exciting to qualify as a pro! I’m very thankful.
Go Riptide!

I continued my foray into the Cat 4 cycling world this past weekend.  It was the Salida Omnium.  Apparently an Omnium is a time trial, road race, and criterium.  Not only that but this was the Colorado State Games championship!

Friday - packed in a quick 3,000y swim, hit up a very short workday, jumped in the car and Amy and I were Salida bound.  Arrived, found a campsite, watched Amy roast to a 3rd place in her TT, warmed up and I was ready to go.  Now I’m most used to 25 mile time trials, the distance for Olympic distance triathlons.  This was an 8 miler, the shortest I’ve ever done and I was ready for some serious intensity.  They sent a rider out every 30 seconds.  I headed out of the gate, got up to speed and pressed pressed pressed focused focused focused.  The most important thing to effectinve TT’ing in my mind is maintaining focus.

Caught the 2 fellas ahead of me by the turn around and I had about 8 minutes to go.  Caught 1 more and finished in 16:53 which turned out good enough for 1st.  28.4 MPH average.

Salida Omnium Time Trial

Celebrated with a salad and burger from McDonalds along with a Mix1 and prepared for the road race.

Saturday - my race started at noon so after a relaxed morning I was on the road amidst the neutral rollout to the race start.  The race starts and all is good until we start the climb and KABOOM!!!!!  It was a steep climb, I have a compact crankset and I was in the granny gear (granny gear - the easiest gear combination on a bicycle, a gear befitting a grandmother).  The race is mainly on a private road so pretty much no one exactly knew when this climb would end aside from the stated vertical of 1300′.  At one point I could see that the road would climb yet further.  Luckily when I got to as far as I could see it swung left and evened out.

That first climb broke us down to about 20 riders out of the 75 or so that started.  The 12 mile loop took 33 minutes and after the next climb it was down to 12 and one more lap left us with 8.  Once we got to that number we all figured that going nuts on the climb wouldn’t do us any good.  We were best off sticking with the 8 so we could paceline the flats and have a strong group to stay ahead of chase groups.

On the 2nd to last time up Mt. Everest a few guys were off the back, two guys had trouble on the descent and I was suddenly with only 2 other guys.  One of them seemed fresh all day so he was dangerous, the other I thought I had a shot at but I was hurtinnnn!  I didn’t feel terrible but I could have used a half hour to rest and freshen up before the last trip into the Himalayas.  We hit the flat and started pacelining and rah roh, my inner thighs started to cramp.  I tried to fight it but I had to take it easy for a bit and they rode off.  Well I still hard third I figured…until a guy from the Primal team soloed past me.  Still working out the cramp and 2 more went past on the flat stretch.

Finally worked it out, smooth, non paceline riding helped and I was rolling smooth on the uphill.  All the guys ahead of me were tough and had my number.  I was quite tired and they were holding it together very admirably.  Got through the uphill, across the false flat and finished up in 6th.  It would have been fun to be in the hunt right at the end but I was still happy.  60 miles, 7500′ of climbing, 3+ hours and I held it together for a solid placing.

A few sodas later I had it in me to roll back into town, soak the legs in the Arkansas River, eat some pizza with Amy and Bethany and call it a night.  I went to bed tied for 1st in the GC at 41 points, the winner of the crit would get 30 points and it would roll down from there.

Sunday - criterium day.  After all my maladies this summer I certainly didn’t want to crash in some crit so I started off in dead last and I highly recommend this for lower Cat crits.  This is how I used to run 5k’s on the track.  Once the guy ahead starts to drop bridge up and after doing this a bit you’re up with the pack that’s in it for the long haul.  This crit taught me that I’m better suited for TT’ing and climbing.  In the road race I hit the top of the climb and thought “Where’d everyone go?”  In the crit it was the opposite.  “How are all these guys staying up here.”

With 2 laps to go there were about 20 guys in it.  I made a big push up the very slight uphill stretch figuring that I didn’t have a great shot at winning but maybe I could split the group.  I took the lead briefly but it didn’t work.  Onto the final lap and all I could muster up was 13th.  With this lackluster placing I dropped to 4th in the GC, just 2 points behind third.  Now I gotta go back next year for redemption.

This is a must do race.  The road race is unreal- intense climbing, closed roads, amazing views, ripping downhills.

Note my bike race inexperience - upside down number

I found out today that I’ll be able to start running in 2 weeks.  I can start with a whopping 8 minutes and be up to 30 after 3 weeks if all goes well.  As long as that holds I plan on going to Augusta 70.3 to try to qualify for 70.3 World Champs in Clearwater.  If I can start running then I’ll be ready for a fall season.  The tough part is balancing this with work.  Yes pro triathletes work.  I own an online ski business, Powder7.com,  so the fall is very hectic!  If you’re looking for a great sale on skis then check it out.