Pardeeville Sprint Tri: Sparkle Skirt PR

I took my last penicillin pill Friday night and woke up Saturday morning ready to race! The Pardeeville Sprint Triathlon is the second of three sprint races in the Wisconsin Triathlon Series. Pardeeville is my favorite because the bike course is fast, with great roads and low traffic.

Unfortunately, my last time at Pardeeville (2008) didn't go well. I got an inner-ear infection that led to my first case of Vertigo in the days and weeks post race. And my younger sister Sue and I raced together knowing something was not right with her health. She was diagnosed with Crohn's disease months later. This year Sue's active playing soccer and chasing their kids around, but I hope to see her out on the tri race course again in the future.

This year, I was coming off an extended cough and cold. I'd lost ten days of training, my husband tested positive for Strep and two of our three kids were on antibiotics.

Even so I was excited to be back at Pardeeville! I'd give it my best, focus on technique cues and try to hold on to each second of each segment. I'd also debut my Team Sparkle skirt & my incredible GOTRIbal visor!

left: I think the guy is checking out my Sparkle skirt! I loved wearing it!

right: GOTRIbal is an organization created to empower and connect women through the journey of endurance sport. Three-time World Ironman Champion Chrissie Wellington is GOTRIbal's Chief Ambassador. Learn more about GOTRIbal and GOTRIbal Fest Oct. 15 in San Diego. I'm excited to attend GOTRIbal Fest this year!

It was a beautiful morning for racing, a little hot, but a glorious morning overall. I got in the lake to warmup and was surprised how good it felt! My wave was last. I'd be racing with the other Athenas and the 30-34 women. The morning went well, with a PR swim, PR bike and overall PR! I missed third place in my division by three seconds!

2008 times

swim: 8:52, T1: 6:46, bike: 2:02:04 (14.4mph), T2: 2:16, run: 42:29 overall: 2:02

2010 times

swim: 8:44 (PR), T1: 2:22, bike: 50:54 (PR) (17.7mph), T2: 1:16, run: 31:07, overall: 1:34:21 (PR).

I missed third place in Athena by three seconds! Looking at her results, I was:

- 1:14 faster on the swim

- 23 seconds faster T1

- 37 seconds slower bike

- 16 seconds faster T2

- 1:20 slower on the run

Questions for You:

- What's your favorite course to race and why?

- What's the closest amount of time you've missed placing by?

- If you could PR in one segment next race, what would you pick swim, bike or run?

photos by my husband