Ken and I began the spring outdoor season with a challenging, bitter cold & wet ride up in Minnesota in April. Read the full story "Wet, Windy & COLD - the MN Ironman Bike Ride."
Last weekend, it appeared we'd finish our outdoor season with another WET and freezing event participating in our village's triathlon. And while it was chilly, the rain held, only misting us briefly. The cooler temps worked for both of us. Ken ran his fastest sprint triathlon at 1:16:40 (top overall male finisher). I ran my best sprint too finishing in 1:37:37 (3rd AG).
Also racing were several Village Bootcampers: Jennie, Nancy & Jessie! Well done ladies! It was also fun seeing Stephanie & Melissa along the run course! Thanks for your encouragement!
Ken volunteered Friday afternoon at the youth triathlon. It was a bitter day for kids under 12. Fortunately the rain held until the last finisher came in. Youth triathlons are the best!
We tried new things:
- Ken biked and ran sockless. Biking was fine, the run was OK for a sprint, but not longer.
- I wore one of my SkirtSports bike skirts. Over the last year I've purchased several types. I loved racing in it, the underskirt grippers stayed put. It was cute, comfortable and feminine.
- Post race I tried my first sample of POM Wonderful 100% juice. I learned there are dozens of different pomegranate varieties and their juices are not all the same, similar to grape juices. I love the name, logo & bottle design.
Photos by my sister. L- me. LC- Ken. RC- me. R- Me, Ken & my brother-in-law Doug.
The Triathlon is intentionally kept small: no bike racks, no timing chips, no signage.
Instead:
- Athletes pick a bike spot along the service path, lean it against a fence or on the ground.Instead:
- Stopwatches are set as each wave begins the swim. Race director Katie Heisier encourages athletes to also time themselves.
- Sharks swim team parents and athletes stand along the bike and run course helping athletes know when and where to turn. And local police/highway patrol helped man major intersections.
The event awarded overall male, female and relay. And gave medals to first place in each category. They also held a raffle with at least 50 prizes (fitness classes, baseball hats, goggles, and certificates to local vendors). Both my husband and my brother-in-law won raffle prizes (Spartan hat and free yoga/pilates class).
Ken volunteered Friday afternoon at the youth triathlon. It was a bitter day for kids under 12. Fortunately the rain held until the last finisher came in. Youth triathlons are the best!
Photos by me. Bikes at the Youth Triathlon. I love the helmet in the basket.
Questions for you:
- In what weather conditions have you PRd?
- In what weather conditions have you PRd?
- What size event (running, tri, other) do you prefer?
- What triathlon event do you see growing quickest: youth, women's, sprint general.
1 comment:
Hey Sara, Congrats to you and the DH!! Fun races are often the small and local ones, but I tend to PR in the big ones.
Today was the perfect Sunny Day for running: 57F, clear, and about 7000 women only entrants in the Tufts 10Km for women. I PR'd with a sub-8 min/mile for 6.2 miles...amazed even myself with that one!
As for which races are poised to grow the most: women's races. There are events with sell-out capacity like danskin, SheROX, and the list grows each year. Seems like women are really coming into their own with endurance racing, so hooray for us!
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