The Nation's Triathlon 2011 Race Report

This year The Nation's Triathlon fell on 9/11 - giving everyone the opportunity to race through the Nation's capital on the 10th anniversary alongside veteran's, cadets, active duty, and first responders.  I was fortunate enough to have family and friends around all weekend.  My mom and our family friend Christie came into town on Friday and Ryan came in on Friday evening.  My brother and Ryan also raced while Mom, Christie, and brother's friend Kara were super fans all weekend long.

SATURDAY - PACKET PICK UP

Despite the horrible weather all week leading up to race weekend Saturday turned out to be gorgeous.  We ventured up to Woodley Park to the host hotel for the Race Expo.  As we exited the metro you could see large groups of triathletes heading to and from the expo.  We had to play a little frogger with a massive group of Team In Training athletes all boarding buses to go to the transition area as they were flowing strong out of every door to the hotel.  Once inside it was organized chaos.  People were everywhere - athletes, fans, volunteers, vendors, kids.  For some reason I love and thrive in this environment.  My brother and Ryan and I set about signing our waivers, picking up our race #'s, and getting our mug shots taken while my mom and Christie started exploring the expo floor.  After finishing the business we set about trying free samples of Cliff products, Muscle Milk, cheese, and some other goodies.  I was even lucky enough to win The Evolution of Running DVD from the DC Tri Club tent.  My brother learned a lesson the hard way last year but my biggest pet peeve with the setup is the fact that you have to venture to the back corner of the expo to pick up you race shirt and swag.  I understand they want you to venture through all the vendors and spend money and what not but as I'm sure many did this year, my brother easily missed this last year.  Once you've finished with getting your packet and and get sucked into all the vendors of the expo it's easy to forget that you still have more to pick up.  Maybe the entire packet should just be in the back if they want you to see all the vendors.

SATURDAY - BIKE RACKING
After taking a break for lunch and stopping at my brother's house for some R&R we headed down to transition to rack our bikes.  It was muddy but not horrible.  Due to the weather leading up to the race the racks were not specifically marked for numbers so it was first come first serve withing the rows designated for your start wave.  I was lucky enough to grab a spot on the end of the rack near the main aisle - prime transition location achieved.  Transition was one very long rectangle with 1 entrance (swim in and bike in) and 1 exit (bike out and run out).  Ideally we were going to rack our bikes and meet mom and Christie along the other side of transition.  As we headed out towards the bike out and run out exit we opted to get body marked on race morning and continued toward the exit.  When we got to bike out/run out we were told my the security personnel manning the exit that you couldn't get out that way because they were trying to discourage people from jumping fences.  This reasoning made no sense to me, I said were leaving this way tomorrow right so there's an exit up there, to which he told us they had just blocked it off.  Why in the world would the race organizer's do this?  You've completely just encourage me to jump a fence instead of walking all the way back across transition just to turn around and walk all the way across transition again but on the other side of the fence.  Stupid if you ask me, you've already employed security to be there, let the people use the exit!

We checked out the MLK memorial and the Vietnam wall before grabbing a cab back to Mom and Christie's hotel and resting up before dinner.  I filled a hotel recycle bin with ice water and had a nice ice soak for my legs.  Felt awesome!  After a bit a recuperation we went to Bucca di Beppo for dinner with Kara.  Awesome dinner with awesome company and card loading success!  Ryan and I returned home after a post dinner walk and made final race preparations - transition bag packed, numbers on helmet and race belt, etc.

SUNDAY - RACE MORNING

I started off the morning right with Red Berries and Almond milk - like I've said before the breakfast of champions!  Slightly cool and great weather allowed us to walk down to transition.  We arrived with plenty of time to set up our transition areas, get body marked, pick up our timing chips, find the port-o john's and relax.   As Ryan and I both compete in the 24 and under division we were in the last 2 start waves.  The race got off to a great start with a member of DC Tri singing the National Anthem and the start waves heading off in small groups every 8-12 seconds.  Ryan and I were able to find my brother's start wave and admire is pre-race haircut and wish him well before he was ushered to the starting pen.  We then waited and waited and waited for what seemed like ever, at least for me to start our races.  My group started about an hour and twenty minutes after the initial start of the race and Ryan's group only shortly before that.

Do you have any tips to stay occupied and warm when you have to wait for the race start?

THE SWIM - 1500m - 0:00
My fastest swim yet. Actually it was cancelled due to the currents and debris in the Potomac from the constant rain we had leading up to race weekend.

T1 - 1:31
This was the start of the race.  We ran into transition got our bikes and off we went.  I chose to start the race in helmet, sunglasses and barefoot.  I put on socks and cycling shoes, grabbed my bike and headed out of transition   Due to a large mud pit shortly before the mount line a bottle neck occurred, slightly irritating but not a game changer.  I noticed others ran into transition in cycling shoes and just grabbed their bikes.  I was attempting to keep my nice white shoes nice and white and they pretty much still are after a little cleaning.

THE BIKE - 25 miles -1:07:55
I felt great on the bike.  I was passing people pretty much the entire ride - I guess that's what happens when you are in the very last start wave.  The course was narrow and a bit congested a some points but other than that I loved it.  The bike course is one of the reasons I came back to the race after last year, it's one of the fastest and flatest courses in the area.  I stayed well hydrated on the ride with my aerodrink and was able to easily take my 2 gels since I put a small aero pack on my top tube.  I also took a bit of Heed with me.  I think staying hydrated on the bike helped me out a lot, in previous races I would opt to drink less so I wouldn't have to slow down.

T2 - 1:36
Not a bad transition time.  I ran in with the bike, re-racked, changed shoes, grabbed race belt and 2 Powergels and off I went.  This race was my first time wearing my new DC Tri Club tri top.  I thought I would utilize the 2 pockets on each side and store 1 gel in each.

THE RUN - 10k - 45:35
Another 10k PR - cha ching.  Though the course distance may have been about .15 miles short of a real 10k. Shortly into the run the nice pockets on each side of the tri top failed me - I lost both gels.  Lucky for me I hadn't even made it to mile 1 yet - where I knew they would be handing out cliff gels.  I gladly took 2 as I passed and put them away for safe keeping my sports bra.  I focused and reeling one person at a time in and passing them.  I was in a zone after about mile one and pushing it and I felt great.  It helps to have the run course be one you pretty much run at least weekly!  There were supporters along almost the entire route and water/gatorade stops every mile.  The crowd really grew as I approached the finish chute and it felt great running in hard know my mom, Christie, brother, and Kara were watching.

TOTAL TIME - 1:56:36

POST-RACE

I received my medal and wandered down the finish chute area in search of my family.  Alas, I found them and soon after we were able to cheer for Ryan as he approached the finish line to his first Nation's Triathlon.  I was able to stop by and catch up with some DC Tri folk at the club tent.  Rory, Ryan and I loaded up with Muscle Milk, Gatorade and Water before heading over to get our timing print out.  I was unsure at this point what place I exactly was in.  I knew someone had passed me on the bike but I had no clue if I passed her on the run or if anyone else passed me on the run, though I did try to pay attention to the calf of anyone passing me.  We got the print out and I was elated to find out that I podiumed.  It had been somewhat of an unspoken goal for me, I knew a lot of pieces would have to come together for me to finish top 3 and I couldn't control some of them - such as a competitor's pace.  I nailed the bike and the run, PRing in both and transitioned well enough to earn 2nd in Females 18-24.

My brother and I got some athlete food, Qdoba, and joined the others at a shaded table near the stage.  A cover band entertained us and we all chatted about different aspects of the race experience.  We again waited for what seemed like ever for my award as they went in the same order we started, so my age group was last, again!  This was the first "big" (82 people in my AG) race I've finished well at.  I went from 28th in my AG last year to 2nd this year cutting off more than 12 minutes from my bike time and 8 minutes from my run time.  I am excited for what the future holds as I am pushed to higher standards as I age up to the 25-29 AG come January.

What is your ideal post race food?

OVERALL EXPERIENCE
I love this race.  Despite the swim being cancelled it was still great.  The atmosphere and the size are unmatched.  The man who does the course briefings and awards is also very entertaining.  I recommend this race to anyone.  How many chances do you get to bike and run the streets of Washington, DC without any cars or traffic signals?  I will be back, but not next year, as I have committed to the Tawas Triathlon Festival which is held the same weekend.  This year the Tawas Triathlon Festival honored my father who volunteered there last year and probably would have raced it next year with us.

What is your most favorite race?
Anyone know how/when to go about getting a sponsor or 2?


PS: I couldn't be more excited for Augusta 70.3 on 9/25!!!

Your Race Resultsview all results

T1	Bike	T2	Run
1:31	1:07:55	1:36	45:35

Age Group	Gender	Overall
2/82 top 2.4%	45/1457 top 3.1%	636/3884 top 16.4%

The Italian Stallion

There is new member of the race team in town!  In previous posts I had mentioned how I was beginning to look at tri bikes and comparing the costs and specs of the bikes that might work for me.  My dad was my go to man for bike advice and compared the bikes I was considering and always put in his 2 cents - I'm not going to lie he seemed quite excited about the addition of a Tri Bike.

I had been considering a tri bike for a few months.  I wanted to seem improvements in my swimming and running before making the big purchase.  With my PR 10k at Stumpy Creek and my PR Swim at Rockett's Landing I felt good about getting a tri bike.  My intentions all along with the tri bike were to win more races, qualify for bigger races, and all in all improve.  Coming off the win in Luray I knew it was time for the tri bike.  The Trek 1000 had been good to me - even got me many top 2 bike splits and top 3 finishes this year, but with The Nation's Triathlon around the corner I felt ready to commit to a tri bike - yes it is a commitment, especially when you make $0.

Do you ride a tri bike or road bike?  If you have both how much time do you spend on each?

I have seen and heard such statements that a tri bike will help decrease your run time due to the different geometry and position of your legs, it's more aero, it's lighter, faster, better, etc.  I never realized how different they were than when I started test riding them.  I felt fast and efficient, I loved it.  I had also heard buying a tri bike is worse than buying a car - I'm still not sure if this is true but all of a sudden I loved 2 bikes and I couldn't decide which one to get.

After going out to Bonzai Sports with my brother after the infamous DC earthquake I settled on a bike.  The staff at Bonzai was great, super helpful, 0 pressure, and flexible.  In a previous blogpost I had mentioned that I had my eyes on the Women's Quintano Roo CD0.1 - I tried it out and even the small was a bit big for me.  I tried a few other bikes and it came down to the Felt B16 and the Cervelo P2.  The Cervelo P2 and the QR were both highly recommended by my dad - the Cervelo taking the top spot and QR up there because of the women's specific design.

INTROCUDING...

THE ITALIAN STALLION

And for those of you who know me make sure to pronounce it "I"talian because we all know I do, whether it's right or wrong.

I absolutely love this bike.  The staff at Bonzai were awesome and spent a little over 2 hours working with me during the fitting and adding accessories and such.  This bike is fast and awesome.  I love riding the Hains Point loop for hours on this bike, it really doesn't ever feel hard.

Where do you like to get in a good hard ride at?

My biggest concern for my bike right now is getting it to Augusta for the Augusta 70.3 in just over a week.  Currently my plan is to send it down with a DC Tri Club member who is planning on driving while I fly, but if anything changes I will be having to ship my bike which I am not to fond of or pack it up and take it on the plane with me.

How do you travel to races with your bike when you don't drive?  Any advice on packing/shipping?


Do you have anymore races coming up this year?  What are you training for?

The Strongest Finishing Kick I've Ever Seen

Amid the heartache and tough days there are still wonderful blessings.  This morning my family was honored to find out the 3Discipline's would be dedicating this year's Tawas Triathlon Festival to my Father.  A triathlon was on my dad's radar - not too far off.  He had completed 2 duathlons and was an avid kayaker.  He had found a triathlon in Michigan that was a kayak, bike, run event instead of the traditional swim, bike, run and was putting on the race calendar for the end of summer.  He loved the multisport scene - everything from volunteering at races to helping me pick a tri bike, to coming out to cheer his kids on in Washington, DC.  This weekend September, 11 would have been my dad's first chance to see me race - he'll still see me race just not in the same way.


My dad's first experience with multisport was watching my brother complete a sprint distance triathlon in 2008.  After that I began dabbling in multisport and challenging my dad to "Finneren Du's" on the weekends over the summers (him and I were usually the only competitors).  Before getting into the multisport scene my dad became a runner.  We made a family tradition of running in the Detroit Turkey Trot and Clawson Freedom Run 5k.  My dad also competed in events around our hometown such as the Dragon Dash and Lake Orion New Year's Resolution Run.  Prior to becoming a runner my dad was an avid cyclist ever since I can remember.  Some of my earliest memories with my dad were on the back of his bike in a child seat.  When the Lake Orion Rotary Club announced they would be hosting a Duathlon in 2010 my dad was up for the challenge.  He would run and bike and even did a few short brick workouts to prepare for the race.  My brother and I were blessed to be able to come home the weekend of his race and give him some multisport tips and cheer him on.  Since that race and since my brother and I became increasingly involved in the multisport scene ourselves my dad grew to love it.  He again raced the Lake Orion Rotary Club Duathlon in 2011 - improving his time by 12 minutes and finishing 4th in his age group. 

He started a Kayak company and was very fond of the idea of a triathlon that allowed kayaking instead of swimming - and he scoped out such races, planning to complete on this summer.  He didn't write-off the swim though, he practiced, and I even got him out to the lap pool a few times with me to do some training.  He was a great fan and supporter, following my brother and I in a kayak when we wanted to do open water swims.  He volunteered for the 3D Tawas Triathlon festival last year with my mom and loved it.  Since he had recently retired from GM he kept his eyes open for positions to work part time with 3D.  This year it was a tough decision but since my brother and I live in Washington, DC him and my mom had made plans to watch us compete in The Nation's Triathlon on September 11 - the first time he'd see me race.  When we discovered the Tawas Triathlon Festival in Spring of 2010 we knew it was a race we needed to do in  the next few years, so you can bet we will be there next year (with as many people as I can recruit to join me).   Below are his race results from the past years.   We are very honored and grateful for this gesture.  


I am so thankful I got to see my dad race and even train with him.  He could give me a run for my money this past summer is I wasn't on my game.  He never gave anything less than his best.  He committed himself to training and encouraged those around him to train.  I couldn't get away with skipping out on training when I went home on breaks from school because I knew when my dad got home he'd ask me what I did to train that day - not to pressure me but just to know and to share in something he knew I loved.  When him and I would compete in the hotly contested "Finneren Duathlon" he would push himself each and every time, always improving his time and pushing me to be better, because I didn't like seeing his time creep down towards mine.  My dad had the strongest finishing kick I've ever seen :)

If you've been thinking about 'Tri-ing" or "Du-ing" get to it and put Tawas Triathlon Festival on your calendar for 2012!  There is a race for everyone.  Check it out at http://www.3disciplines.com/events/september/tawas-triathlon-festival ! 


If you are in DC come on out to Nation's Tri on September 11th!  Greater things are yet to come.


Dad's Results

2011

Lake Orion Rotary Duathlon: Link broken unable to obtain right now

Clawson Freedom Run 5k: 27:27

Lake Orion Dragon Dash 8k: 46:26 (2nd place AG)

Lake Orion New Year's Resolution Run 5k: 28:18

2010

Detroit Turkey Trot 10k 58:46

Lake Orion Rotary Duathlon:

2009

Detroit Turkey Trot 10k: 1:01:05

Clawson Freedom Run: 29:06

2008

Detroit Turkey Trot 5k: 39:05

Clawson Freedom Run 5k: 28:39