Team Bonding in the City of Brotherly Love

Contrary to my review of the race on Travelete, I had a great time at this race!  The difference between this and that review is this one is about me and that one is about the race.  Any race, all races are always amazing when you are with a group of people that you love being with on a daily basis at the butt ass crack of dawn!  TriRocks Philadelphia was this past weekend and the first Team Lipstick race of the season - there is simply nothing better than racing with a team or training with a team.  If you aren't on a team, I advise you find one and get on it.  My goal for this race was to "Do Well" - I usually want to have fun and finish but I really wanted to push it and see how fast I could finish.  My goal was a 2:00 finish.

Race morning I showed up to a sea of orange - the team had a few first timers which is awesome.  I'm almost jealous of them as you never have your first race again and it's so fun, you'll always remember it - the nerves, the excitement - it was great to be apart of and enjoy their experience with them (see my first race here).  The swim was spectacular, calm, warm - at the end I was a little too warm which has never happened to me.  It is amazing how every time in the swim I think to myself, "I need to get in the pool more, I need to do more swim training - I swear I'll do more before the next race".  Does that happened to everyone or does everyone else actually train?

The bike was a little harder than I expected but still nice - it was a little boring but was way more exciting by looking for other teammates.  I found Roni but of course she was on her 2nd lap and then she sped right past me - seeing her speed is simply inspiring.  I love that she's older than I am as that gives me great hope that I can work hard to become her!  Kevin gave me a bike goal to maintain 17 MPH for the race - my watch read 16.9 average at the end, so damn close!

I've been working on my run for awhile - trying harder and harder to get faster, it's certainly not easy but when I started with a 12:00/mile pace there is really no choice but to get faster.  I can't possibly get slower.  I was hoping for a 30:00 5k but off the bike I knew that wouldn't be easy.  Since the run was out and back I was able to see every single teammate either going or coming with each hand slap it gives you a little extra pep in your step.  A little ice would have also given me a little more pep as hot water on a hot day doesn't make me all that happy.

The night before we decided Kevin would stay at his brother's house with the kids - the parking and walking to the race is such a hassle with the kids, they complain the whole time, it was hot, yadda, yadda, yadda.  I figured since the entire team was there this would be the race for the kids to stay home.  As I ran through the finish shoot (which was awesome!) I heard Charlotte screaming for me and I turned to see my whole family!  They are so damn cute (5 minutes after I finished they were whining to leave, they were hungry and then complained the entire walk back to the car...but as I finished it was cute for a whole 2 minutes!) and I have a picture to prove it:

As for my goals: finish under 2:00, actual finish time 1:55!  Goal run time was 30:00, actual was 31:38 - you win some, you lose some!  I was really happy with my overall time and can finally see that work in training it starting to show - finally.  

Can't wait for New Jersey State Triathlon in 4 weeks - time to get in the pool and do those training swims I promised myself!

Faster? Easier? Funner? Ever?

Do other people ask these questions about triathlon:

• will I ever get faster:
• will it ever get easier;
• will it ever be fun so I don't mentally quit the sport every step of the way?

I feel like I train pretty hard but I guess I really don't and I just think I do.  I'm soooo sick of being so damn slow but in today's race there was no way I could have gone any faster - just wasn't possible.  I left everything out there. So back to the question, "will I ever get faster?".  Saturday was the day of one of my favorite races Rev3 Quassy - it was an Olympic distance (.9mile swim, 25 mile bike, 10k run) and this distance is not my favorite - it's sadly too far for me.  I figured by this time in my triathlon "career" I'd love an Olympic distance - I thought this was going to be "my distance" but no such luck.  I'm going back to Sprints and once I master that distance I'll reconsider coming back up to the big boy table.  

My attitude should, in no way, take away from this race - Rev3 only does things top notch.  No detail is overlooked from check in, to transition right down to the course signs and the course itself.  The volunteers are like no other and the logistics are awesome.  The swim was spectacular, the bike and run extremely hilly.  It's just me that needs work.

Beautiful Lake Quassapaug Race Morning

I've ridden this course 3 times before yet each time I seem to be shocked by the climbing involved.  Last year this race was held during a monsoon which made the ride extremely difficult and dangerous.  This year the weather was perfect and the scenery is beautiful in Middlebury CT.  It was just hard - if it were easy everyone would do it - right??  I suppose but I'm always so hopeful it will be a little easier at some point.  I was able to take off 10:00 from last year and add 1.31 average mph but I was expecting more, aren't I always?  I was excited to see my max speed hit 40.2 - so far that's my personal high and I'm always trying to beat that, of course without trying to kill myself.

2013

1:50:07

1:50:07

13.99 mph

2012

2:01:32

2:01:32

12.68 mph

THE END of the bike!!

This run course I've never done before - in year's past I've done a relay with my sister-in-law who this year decided closing on her new house was more important than racing with me.  I figured I was ready for this 10k as I ran a 13.1 about a month ago, I did massive hill repeats with Matt his past week - how hard could it be?  Famous last words - it was beyond hard.  The only saving grace was that EVERYONE in front of me and behind me were walking and walking quite slowly.  Finally past mile 4 it was downhill so I was able to move but it was such a steep downhill that it wasn't as easy as I'd have liked it.  Of course at mile 5 we were going back up again but then I heard the announcer - the finish line was near.  After hitting mile 6 I saw my sweet Dylan and Kevin waiting for me.  They ran to the finish line with me to cross and the damn race was over!  I finished it.  They gave me the largest, heaviest finisher medal ever, a long sleeve tshirt and an ice cold, soaking wet towel.  Ahhhh I did it!  

Dylan finishing up with me

Past the finish shoot I went right to the NormaTec booth to sit in the boots for some recovery - I really need to get a pair of those.  To top off the race, the post meal is fab - hamburgers (my favorite meal of all time), hot dogs, mac and cheese, salad bar and a Pepsi machine!  

Love!

While the tempature was quite warm, the entire course was shaded so the heat wasn't a terrible issue.  The ice water and ice at the aid stations were awesome - just the landscape and the athlete that need some work.

Very large finisher medal!

Bring on Wyckoff - thankfully we're doing a relay and I"m only running but then the following week is Philadelphia Tri where I'm doing the whole thing.  But it's a Sprint - since now I'm a Sprint Kind of Girl.