Tugaloo Olympic Triathlon Race Recap - Part 2

 

1.5K Swim
Marni: 24:38 
Karel: 25:14

With the time trial start and small participant list, the water never felt crowded. I was able to swim through a small group of athletes who started ahead of me and soon after the first buoy, I found myself swimming alone. I was passed by a few speedy swimmers and tried to stay on their feet but wasn't able to swim at their speed. I'd call this more of a half ironman effort as I felt like I was swimming strong but the effort was very familiar to me as it's what I know from endurance racing. Karel passed me in the first few hundred yards but I was able to pass him back as I always build my swims on race day. I felt myself getting stronger as the swim went on but couldn't find another gear to pick up the speed. 
The water temp was warm but since it was raining, it never felt hot but instead, just perfect. There were a few buoys on the course but as I was swimming back to the shore, I couldn't sight the finishing arch. I kept looking and looking and couldn't see it. I finally decided to stop and look to see if I could sight exactly where I needed to swim. Well, turned out the arch deflated so I had to do my best to sight where the volunteers were signaling the athletes to get out of the water. 
Seeing that Karel and I are only swimming three days a week (primarily because we don't need this time of the year to feel like full-on race prep where we would swim 5-6 times per week), Karel is really happy with his swim and how he felt in the water. Karel still struggles with his swimming - he mostly feels off in the water and sometimes feels great. It's a constant mind game and physical battle for him as an adult-onset swimmer. 

T1
Marni: 2:20
Karel: 1:34

Well this wasn't as rusty as I thought it would be. I ran up the walking path and unzipped my swim skin and removed my cap and goggles. I made my way into the transition area and quickly found my bike on the rack. My helmet was filled with water so I first dumped it out before putting it on my head. I had my visor on the helmet as I knew I didn't want it down to start the ride in the rain. I decided to put socks on for the bike (instead of only for the run) so that did take me a few extra seconds. I also put on my shoes in the transition area since the bike exit was right by my rack and there was a hill to climb right after the mount line. I felt like my transition was fast but I guess it wasn't as fast as it felt. Karel made his way quickly out of the transition area and he rolled his bike to the mount line just in front of me. 

26 Mile Bike
Marni: 1:09.20 (Garmin had 1:08.45, 26.2 miles, 22.8 mph)
Karel: 1:07.09 (Garmin had 1:06.55, 26.1 miles, 23.4 mph)

This was fun! I really enjoyed this course. Although there were a few cars on the course, I felt like the course was safe and well marked. The course was primarily rolling hills with no major climbs (nothing steep). It had a really nice flow to it with the rollers. It rained on and off throughout the bike but it never felt dangerous or unsafe. I kept my visor on the helmet (instead of over my eyes) as it was cloudy and a little bit rainy and I didn't feel I needed the visor. I had my ventum hydration system filled with 200 calories of fruit punch INFINIT (Trimarni endurance base formula), topped with water. I also had a bottle between the aero bars with only water (just a few ounces if I wanted to sip it - which I didn't). I sipped my drink ~8-10 minutes (2-3 big chugs) and sometimes every 5 minutes depending on the course. The bike course was primarily country roads which is something we are familiar with in Greenville but unlike in Greenville, the pavement was super smooth. This was so nice! There were a few police helping to navigate traffic throughout the course and a few volunteers helping us to stay on course. Since I was near the front of the race after the swim, I passed a handful of athletes in the first few miles of the bike and rode the rest of the bike solo. I had Karel in my eye sight waaaay ahead of me for most of the bike until around 10 miles to go. At this point, my mind started to wander and I found myself easing up. Thankfully, the Spinners time trial events that I did this past summer really helped me understand what a "hard" effort should feel like. I had no power goals or metrics to abide to during this race (I never race according to metrics) so I just focused on going hard and strong. My legs were burning but I was able to recover on the downhills (while taking advantage of the free speed). It turns out the overall female accidentally made a wrong turn out of the transition area so she added 1.5 miles to her bike. When she passed me on the bike, she was flying and although I tried to stay close to her, there was no chance. I was already seeing high power numbers and there was no way that I could push any harder. She was super strong so I just focused on my own effort. The sprint triathletes were merging on our course for the last few miles (we all shared the same course in and out of the transition area) so I was passing carefully and needed to be a bit more alert with more people on the course. 
I was really happy with my ride and I felt like this showcased my current bike fitness which has improved a lot over past two years. I think the biggest improvement is just feeling more confident on my bike (I LOVE my Ventum - I have been riding it since 2018) and I am more confident being uncomfortable with my efforts (trusting my fitness that I can still run well after a hard bike). 
Karel was really happy with his bike. He has been very frustrated with his bike fitness and back issues over the past few years but he felt like this performance was well executed, he had no back pain and he was happy with his effort. Sure, he wishes he could be faster but any ride without back pain on the bike is a great ride for him. 

T2
Marni: 1:36
Karel: 1:18

Well this was rusty! I dismounted my bike with my shoes still on the bike and rolled my bike to the rack. I put on my run shoes (which stayed dry because I put a bag over my shoes before the race) and then slide on my Naked Run belt. I tried to put the bottles in the belt but I couldn't find the pockets. So I put my race belt and grabbed my visor and sunglasses. I put on my visor and sunglasses and then started to jog as I put my bottles into my belt. I missed one of the pockets and bottle dropped to the ground. I stopped to pick it up. I felt like I was a hot mess in T2 and I was happy when I finally exited the transition area with all my gear on. 

10K Run
Marni: 46:09 (7:40 min/mile, 6.02 miles)
Karel: 37:31 (6:13 min/mile, 6.02 miles)

As much as I would love to be a faster runner, I am really happy with this run. This is actually a "fast" run for me as I've done no speed work or anything tempo this summer. I've just been running happy and enjoying staying injury free with my running. I loved this run course. Aside from the camber in the road, the course was a lot of fun. It was up and down, twisty and curvy and nothing flat. My type of run! Whereas Karel would prefer a run where he can settle into a rhythm, I love the runs where there is a lot going on within each mile. It was so great to see Yannick leading the race and Karel and Alvaro not too far behind. As the race went on, I was able to see more familiar faces which made me so happy. Since I had two flasks with me (one with NBS Carbo-hydration and one with water), I didn't need anything from the aid stations. There was one aid station with an energy drink (which I passed on) and a few tables with water bottles for us to grab. The course was a little tricky to navigate through as there were signs for the 10K run (Olympic distance) and 5K (sprint distance) - with so many turns, it was sometimes easy to doubt yourself - am I going the right way? But thankfully I always had an athlete in front of me to keep me on course. Around half way I was passed by another girl and I cheered her on. I was giving my best effort on the day (which felt more like half Ironman effort as I am just not a speedy runner) and I wasn't going to let myself be disappointed with my effort (especially when I am injury free). I loved getting cheers from a few spectators on the course (thanks Thomas and Laura) and it felt great to know that I was almost close to crossing a finish line - for the first time in 11 months. 

After I crossed the finish line, I felt really accomplished. I was happy, joyful, grateful and had all the feels that I missed. I was greeted by Karel (who cheered me on in the last 1/4 mile) and met up with Alvi, Yannick and eventually Josh. We waited for more of our athletes to finish before we grabbed some food in the pavillion. We all kept on our masks throughout the post-race experience (there were masks on the table right at the finish line).  

Total: 
Marni: 2:24.02 (3rd overall female, 15th overall)
Karel: 2:12.42 (2nd overall) 

This race was just what we needed. More than the experience to allow us to put our season of training to good use, it gave us something to look forward to, it gave us purpose for the day and it allowed us to connect with the triathlon community - which we have missed so much. Even though I love long distance racing, it was nice to finish a race before 11am and be home by 2pm. And I loved seeing our athletes on and off the course. 

I am calling 2020 the year of the unfamiliar. I am embracing new opportunities, welcoming new experiences and exploring new events. And I'm happy to say, we actually have four more events planned for 2020! 

Tugaloo Olympic Triathlon Race Recap - Part 1

 

Pre-Race
I had all the normal nerves going into the event. It was a welcomed experience to feel these emotions as I hadn't felt them since last October at the 2019 Ironman World Championship. Eleven months without racing felt like an eternity but one thing felt familiar.....I was super excited to race. 

Since Karel and I registered for this event around two weeks ago, we didn't have any expectations for this event. There was no Olympic specific training. As endurance athletes, our strength is being great at not slowing down. Fast is relative but we certainly didn't feel "fast" going into this event. Not having expectations helped to eliminate any pressure that we needed to prove something at this event. 

The day before the event was a normal day. We both went out for a pre-race workout (~45 min interval bike followed by a ~20-minute run) and then went straight into work mode. Since the event was only ~1:15 away, we opted to stay at home and head to the race venue early on race morning. In typical fashion, I packed for the event several day before the event and Karel packed on Friday. It was a weird feeling to pack our transition bags as it wasn't as cumbersome as an Ironman but we felt a bit rusty planning our gear for a short course triathlon race. Karel tuned up our Ventum bikes and got them race ready on Thursday. 

Nutrition was pretty standard (except no pre-race pizza as I normally do - instead we had pasta with a veggie packed marinara sauce with tofu on Thurs) on the day before the race. We went to bed earlier than normal and fell asleep around 8:30pm. Campy was not complaining about this early bedtime - although the cats were a bit confused. 

Since this was a new race course for us, we reviewed the course map for the bike by looking at Google Earth. Karel went through the entire course so it was nice to see the actual course. We also looked at the running file from an athlete of ours who did the race a few years ago. 

As usual, I found myself sleeping a bit light on Friday. A mix of excitement and nerves and wonder of the unknown kept my brain a bit awake as I tried to keep myself asleep throughout the night. Campy slept like a rock. 

Race morning
The alarm was set for 4am but we both woke up around 3:45am. Madison and Ella (the cats/girls) were super excited about an early breakfast and Campy was a bit frustrated about his early wake-up call. After feeding the furry crew, Karel and I got everything ready and around 5:15am we left for the race. Karel ate his pre-race oatmeal at the house and I ate my typical waffles + PB + Syrup + Granola + Banana in the car. Karel also enjoyed a small guava pastry on the way to the race. 

Of course - fitting with the theme of 2020 - it rained as soon as we left the house. It rained for about 15 minutes and then it stopped. And then it rained again. And then it stopped. Spoiler alert: This was the theme for the rest of the morning. 

I felt a bit nervous as we made our way to Tugaloo State Park but it was a different type of nerves. The nerves were from a place of unknown and excitement. It had been a few years since we raced in an Olympic distance triathlon event. But once we arrived to the race venue, the nerves went away and all I felt was excitement. Karel felt some nerves earlier in the week but on Friday, he felt super calm and relaxed. 

As far as the race changes due to COVID, we picked up our packet at the entrance to the park. We payed $5 to enter the park and then drove to a tent to get our packets. We turned in our signed handout (for COVID reasons) before getting our packets. The two volunteers had on masks and Karel (who was driving) also wore a mask when he got our packets. It was a very smooth process. There were volunteers directing us to a gravel parking lot which is where we parked (about 1/4 mile from the race venue/lake). Once we parked, we got our gear ready with the contents inside of the race packet (helmet sticker, bike sticker, disposable chip, bib number) and then made our way to the race venue. At this point, we saw many familiar faces including several of our athletes (we had 9 other Trimarnis racing). It was such a great feeling to be in the race environment. So far, everything felt normal - except that we wore a mask for the entire morning until we entered the water. 

After walking our bikes to the transition area, we waited in line to enter the transition area. Another change due to COVID was only allowing 50 athletes in the transition area at once. The transition area also had bike racks where only 3 bikes were on each rack to ensure distancing. I know that many people are wishing for things to return to normal but this is a new normal that I would love to stay! It was great to have so much space in the transition area. There were no volunteers for body marking but they had markers available if we wanted to mark ourselves. The race officials and staff all had masks and every athlete (and spectator - although spectators were not encouraged to attend) had on a mask. It was great to see everyone following guidelines. 

After laying out our transition area, it started to rain. Karel and I made our way to the pavilion area where we went to the bathroom (public restrooms) and got ready for a warm-up jog. I did a bit of dynamic stretching and then jogged around the finish line parking lot (away from people) for around 10 minutes before getting ready for a warm-up swim. I wore my mask for my warm-up jog as I was running by people at times. It was raining on and off all morning before the race. It was great to see more and more familiar faces and despite wearing masks, everything felt familiar and normal. 

After putting on my swimskin, I made my way to the water which had a light layer of fog on it. The water temp was mid 80's so not wetsuits were allowed. Since it was raining, it wasn't hard getting into the water for a warm-up. I swam out to give a closer look at all the buoys on the course. Some of which were hard to see with the rain and light fog. My total warm-up was around 25 minutes (run and swim) and by the time I was finished, I was ready to get the race started. 

We lined up 6-feet apart in rows for the time trial start. Masks were required until you started the event. There was a trash can to dispose of your mask at the start. Karel and I positioned ourselves near the front, a few rows back from the very front. The race director started two people at a time, around every 5 seconds. As soon as you reached the race director (who had on a mask) you could remove your mask before entering the water. 

After this point, everything else felt normal. We swam, we biked and we ran and we crossed the finish line feeling accomplished and proud. In my next blog, I'll go into details about the race itself. 

If I could offer a bit of hope to all the athletes reading this race report, don't give up. Although your training may look a bit different and you may feel lost with your self-identity and purpose as an athlete when there are no races on your schedule, the moment you step onto a race course you will remember why you never gave up on your training. If you have the opportunity to race in a safe environment, I encourage you to be smart but take advantage of the opportunity. 

The best opportunities are the ones that come at the most unexpected times. We don't immediately see opportunities as they are often viewed as something inconvenient, unrealistic, impractical or too difficult. Karel and I could have easily passed on this race because we would have much preferred a long distance event and we know Olympic distance racing is not our specialty (or what we are training for). But right now, a race is a race. We are calling this the season of new opportunities. If you are constantly hoping for something better or living in the past, you may not be taking advantage of the  opportunities that are presented to you at this point in your life.

Opportunities allow us to experience something new, something different, something exciting, something scary or something unknown. Unfortunately, opportunities don't last forever. Seize the moment when it happens. Don't just wait for the "right" time.

This year is teaching us so much. Resilience, patience, flexibility, compassion, empathy. But it's also forcing us to take a chance at an opportunity.

It's Race Week!!

 

This picture was from our last triathlon - waaaay back in October at the Ironman World Championship. 

After all of our registered events were cancelled, I didn't have much confidence that we would be racing in 2020. Not too long ago in mid-summer, we heard that a USAT sanctioned race was happening just 63 miles away. We kept it on our radar as a possible race option. We waited until 2 weeks before the event before we made the decision to register (which we did last week) and now we can finally say that it is race week! 

Karel and I will be participating in the Tugaloo Olympic distance triathlon on Saturday - September 12th, 2020 along with eight of our athletes. I guess we could call this a team race - yippee! Knowing that we are still in a pandemic and the race experience is a bit different, here are a few of my thoughts going into this race: 

• I have extreme gratitude for the local community, race director and event staff for putting on this race. 
• We are taking this race as serious as we would any other race. We will take advantage of this opportunity to race as it may be our only triathlon this season. 
• With extra safety protocols in place, it is our responsibility to know the course and be extra prepared and self-sufficient before and during the event. 
• I am grateful for my health that I am able to participate in this event. I will continue to follow all protocols to stay safe before and during the event.
• I will race with joy. Although I'm doing my best to stay optimistic and positive during this stressful and unpredictable time, it has been difficult to lose the race day experiences that have become part of my self-identity throughout each summer for the past 14 years. Racing is something that brings me great joy and adds purpose and value to my life. It feels incredibly wonderful to have something on my schedule to look forward to. While I've been training all spring and summer, I feel like my training now has a clear purpose. 
• Recognizing that the race experience will feel a bit difference, I will focus on what I can control. I will focus on the process and let the outcome take care of itself.  
• I have no expectations for this race. As with any "first race" of the season, I am excited to dust off the rust, explore my capabilities, put myself into uncomfortable situations and embrace the unknown. 

Yay - it's race week!! 

Great Clermont Olympic Triathlon - race recap

With a job title of "triathlon coach", Karel and I have the big responsibility of help our team of athletes, physically prepare for races while keeping them in good health. 

Coaching is much more than writing workouts as it requires understanding the athlete as an individual and stepping inside the athlete's life to provide the most appropriate training plan for consistent athletic development. 

Karel and I take our coaching job very seriously and part of our job is putting on training camps. We absolutely love the camp experience as a way to interact with athletes in a group training environment. 

Seeing that Karel and I are not only coaches but we are also athletes, it's important to stress that we understand exactly what our athletes feel and experience with training and we are very aware of the fact that training for triathlons, in a busy life, is not easy.

But, on race day, we are reminded of the why in our triathlon hobby. Race day is what we all live for as we can put all that hard work to good use and share the suffering with teammates. The energy, nerves and excitement is alive on race day and only on race day do you truly feel like a real athlete. 

I can't fully express it in words but I can tell you that racing with our athletes is one of the coolest and most rewarding parts of our job as coaches. Being on the same course as our athletes, experiencing the same conditions and going through the same highs and lows, nerves and uncertainties is what racing is all about. 

The Great Clermont Olympic triathlon holds a special place in my heart as it was the very first triathlon venue that Karel watched me race in, back in 2006 after a few months of dating. Now, 11 years later, after racing this event at least a half dozen times, I did something that I never thought I would do with my body - win the race as overall female. 

This race win is dedicated to all my Trimarni athletes and campers as they are the reason why I love this sport so much and why I continue to push my body in training and on race day. For Karel, the sport of triathlon has given him a new outlet to be competitive and to explore his physical limits and we both love sharing our race experiences with our athletes.

For your reading entertainment, here's the recap of the race.  

RACE DETAILS: 

Marni: 

Swim: 23:34

T1: 2:11

Bike: 1:07.48 (21.9 mph)

T2: 1:28

Run: 46:38

Total: 2:21.37

First overall female

Karel: 

Swim: 23:11 (Karel finally beat me in the swim!)

T1: 1:53

Bike: 1:03.15

T2: 1:29 (I beat Karel in T2!)

Run: 38:30

Total: 2:08.16

PRE RACE:

Nutrition: 

1/2 cup oatmeal + syrup + peanut butter + dates 

Hardboiled egg

8 ounce coffee w/ milk

8 ounce water

Transition area: 8 ounce water with Clif hydration (1 scoop)

Karel and I woke up at 4:45am and after eating our pre-race meals (Karel had a croissant w/ jam and INFINIT Mud in his second cup of coffee), we headed down to the transition area (via bike) which just a few minutes down the road. I left before Karel at 6am to set up my transition area.

After body marking and setting up my transition, I saw all my Trimarni campers start to roll in. They all looked SO good in their new kits. Karel and I sported our new kits as well, but Karel surprised me with our own brightly colored custom Canari kits (Pink and Green).

After 3 days and 8 workouts at camp, they were all excited to race but a bit nervous as to how the morning would turn out. We assured them that this race was all about dusting off the rust as the first race of the season and taking smart risks and applying the information learned at camp.

I spent a good 20 minutes getting myself warmed up on dry land before putting on my wetsuit. Karel spent at least 30 minutes jogging around to get his blood flowing.

After putting on our wetsuits, we made our way down to the water to get into the chilly lake for a warm-up (it was around 68 degrees). After warming up, adjusting the wetsuit and goggles and getting myself comfortable in the open water, I exited the water to line up with the first wave of women to start at 7:30am.

Not knowing what to expect as this was my first triathlon race since August, my focus was to just stay present and to go through the motions of racing so that I could shake out my nerves and get myself more comfortable in the race environment for my upcoming more important races. 

I have to say that it was a great feeling to be surrounded by so many of my athletes/campers and also to see so many familiar faces out on the course. My most favorite part about racing is being around the other athletes as I have made so many friendships thanks to the sport of triathlon. 

Swim: 

Goggles: TYR Pink 2.0 special ops 

Wetsuit: Xterra Vengeance
Gadget - Garmin 920

The water was dark and a little choppy. The course was a large counter clockwise rectangle and with the sun slowly rising, we didn't have to worry about swimming into the sun. There were plenty of buoys to keep us on course but I found myself zig zagging a few times due to the chop. My athlete Stephanie is an excellent swimmer so we both found ourselves swimming next to each other (and sometimes hitting each other - let's say love taps) for almost all of the swim. There was one lady swimming right in front of us for the entire swim and I couldn't get myself to catch her or stay on her feet. To be honest, I didn't feel too good in the water. I didn't feel speedy or slow, just so-so. I guess I needed this swim to just go through the motions. Regardless of how I felt, Karel beat me out of the water! He has been working really hard with his swimming and we swim a lot together so I am glad to see that he is feeling more confident and comfortable in the open water. I guess I need to really step up my swimming game!

I exited the water in 2nd (women were first wave at 7:30am) and just in front of Stephanie. I had the wetsuit stripper help me take off my wetsuit and I ran into the transition area. 

I did a quick transition and ran with my bike to the mount line and then started up the hill to star the bike portion. I was actually most excited for the bike portion of the race as 1) I have improved my power and skills a lot on the bike 2) My bike is much more "aero" thanks to Kare, so I wanted to test it out for the first time 3) I love riding my bike. 

Bike: 

Bike: Trek Speed Concept 7 series custom (pink rocket) w/ Shimano ultegra Di2 shifting 

Wheels: Alto cycling. Front: cc56. Rear: cc86 

Helmet: Lazer Wasp Air w/ shield

Fuel: Infinit Trimarni base blend (220 calories) 

Socks: Swiftwick 

Shoes: Bontager XKL hilo

As I started the bike, I yelled behind to Stephanie "Great swim!" and I was off. It was only about a mile down the road that I caught the first place female and I found myself riding behind the police car, who was leading the race. I received no draft from the police car as he was way in front of me but it was a really neat feeling to have that escort for the entire bike.

Since I know this course really well, I had a lot of confidence on the course. I knew every turn, hill and descend, which made it much easier to execute on this course. My race strategy was to go hard on the bike and see what happens to my legs on the run. Karel wanted me to ride hard and he believed that I could still run well off the bike, even after a very hard effort for 40K.

For the entire bike, I pushed hard. My quads were burning and my glutes were working but I felt strong. Since Greenville gives us such challenging riding, Clermont is such a different riding terrain for me and I really wanted to take advantage of the gentle rollers and smooth pavement.

The highlight of the bike course was seeing Karel after I made the first turn around. Whereas I usually get a smile out of Karel, he actually lifted his head up and gave me a loud yell. I am not sure what he said but I could tell that he was so proud of me to be in the lead, behind the police car. Let's just say that marrying a cat 1 cyclist meant that one day I would be a strong cyclist. Well, that day has finally come and I owe it all to Karel. 

I saw my competition, which included my friend and superstar athlete Elyse, as well as several of my Trimarni athletes/campers, which gave me a lot of energy.

I gave myself one littler breather to loosen up my legs after the 2nd turn around but besides that, I pushed hard for the entire ride and wowzer, did it hurt!

I made sure to stay fueled and hydrated since I was going into this race after 4 days of leading our training camp (8 workouts) so I sipped on my 220 calorie bottle of INFINIT throughout the race - always making sure to take several gulps when I drank. I now have my bottle cage between my aero bars as Karel recently moved it from my frame (to be more "aero") and I have to say, I really like it as I find myself drinking more often and it's very easy to grab.

I stayed in the lead of the race until about 1/2 mile before T2, when I was passed by the first place male.

Throughout the entire bike, I found myself thinking "I won't be able to run after this.....stay present, don't think about the run!" I was thinking this over and over and I tried to stay as present as possible on the bike. When the time came to get off the bike, my legs didn't feel too wobbly, which was surprising! 

Run: 

Shoes: New Balance Zante

Hat: Boco gear performance trucker
Sunglasses: Oakley women radar lock with vents

Hydration belt: Nathan mercury 2

Fuel: water and Clif hydration cran razz  

I tried to get as much of a lead on the bike as I could, along with any extra "free speed" in transition, as I worried about any fast runners behind me. While I would love to call myself a fast runner, I feel my strength is in endurance racing and as a resilient athlete, I feel I am great at not slowing down.
I put on my running shoes and fuel belt and jogged out of transition while putting on my race belt. I had my sunglasses sitting on my trucker hat so I was able to grab the hat (with sunglasses on it) and put on my hat and then sunglasses as I began to run.

The first mile of the run felt ok but certainly not great. The best part was having an amazing female lead escort on the bike, leading me on the course. Not only was she super supportive to me, cheering me on but she was encouraging everyone around to give me a cheer. She really made the run a lot more exciting for me. It felt a big windy in my face heading out to the first turn around, around 1.5 miles on the trail. Around mile 1, I hit a very low spot and I felt extremely uncomfortable running. I was having trouble breathing with a pain in my ribs, my heart rate monitor was uncomfortable and I just felt blah. I kept trying to focus on good form and to help me out, I would count "1, 2, 3, 4" with every foot strike to find a good rhythm. Oddly enough, all my pains went away when I hit the turn around and I suddenly felt good again! I saw Elyse and she gave me a huge smile and I cheered her on. The first place male was way ahead and when I saw Karel, as the 2nd male, he gave me a cheer and told me to stay steady as I had a big lead.
To be honest, it sure didn't feel like a big lead as I felt like Elyse was coming for me so for the next few miles, I didn't look back as I just stayed focused on what I needed to do to keep my lead for however long that I could. 

It was so great to get back to the crowds at the race venue and to see my athletes on the course. With another 3.5 miles to go, I started to find my rhythm. Like I said earlier, I didn't feel fast and didn't expect this to be a "fast" run but I really wanted to see how my legs would perform after such a hard bike. Although I wore my Garmin throughout the race, I never once looked at it on the run. I had it autolap each mile so that I could review it after the race (I used multisport function for the race).

Although I never felt tired during the run, I experienced a few moments where I felt like I was running low on energy. Thank goodness that I had my fuel belt as I needed that extra energy between the aid stations. I didn't grab anything from the aid stations but instead, grabbed my sport drink flask or water flask as needed throughout the race. I also used my water to cool myself as I found myself getting a little warm near the middle of the run.

After the final turn around, which seemed to take forever to get to after seeing mile 4, I saw Karel and he said "damage control." Not sure what he meant by that at the time but when he passed me again, he just told me to enjoy the rest of the race. Karel passed me around mile 5 and he was quickly out of my sight. It was great to see him so much on the course and to have him pass me, which never happens.

The last mile was pretty special as my bike escort was cheering me on and I was getting some high fives from the spectators. With so many familiar faces on and off the course, this really felt like a home town race for me. It was really special to cross the line as the first overall female and to make the moment even more special, I was the next finisher behind Karel. 

My run splits were super consistent and once I found my rhythm around mile 4, I felt like I could have kept going - not any faster but certainly further. I went 100% by feel. A big confident boost for Haines City 70.3 in a few weeks. 

Karel, on the other hand, didn't even wear a watch on the run as he always goes by feel and decided to just forgo the watch in this race. 

My run splits:

7:29

7:35

7:34

7:34

7:37

7:21

7:02 (for the last .2)

After Karel and I chatted about the race and I did an interview with a camera guy, we headed back out on the course to cheer for the rest of our Trimarni athletes. 

It was really great to see our athletes finish and then immediately head back out to cheer for their teammates. 

After all of our athletes finished, we took a team picture with all of our campers/athletes and then it was time for awards. All of our athletes stayed for awards to cheer on everyone. 

Not only did we have several of our campers on the podium, but Trimarni placed first in the division 1 USAT Florida Region North Club Championship! We had 21 athletes race and all of our campers started and finished the race! What a great group of inspiring athletes who did something amazingly incredible with the human body! 

What a GREAT group of athletes!

Thanks for reading! 

We hope that our campers inspired you to not be afraid to stretch your comfort zone. You never know what you are capable of doing, unless you try. 

Thank you to our 2017 Trimarni sponsors!

-Run In
-New Wave Swim Buoy
-Mg12
-Clif
-Cheribundi
-Veronica's Health Crunch
-Infinit
-Levelen
-Hot Shot
-Boco Gear
-Canari

-Xterra
-Alto cycling
-Swamp Rabbit Inn and Lodge
-Salem Anesthesia

2016 Clermont camp - race day

On the first day of camp, at our evening meeting, Karel talked to the campers about the purpose of camp. Our campers knew they were training with an intentional overload of stress and that they would be "racing" an Olympic distance triathlon on the last day of camp. But we emphasized that the race is not why they are at camp. We could not have them worried or overly focused about the race and we certainly did not want them to save their energy for Sunday.
With every camp workout having a specific purpose and placement, we knew with the right mindset, our campers would be impressive on race day - even after 3 days and over 12 hours of training.

At our team meeting on Saturday we all had a good laugh that on Sunday, we would have our shortest workout which was the Olympic distance race. With this, we also told our athletes to make sure they thank their body for being strong enough to tolerate so much training volume and intensity in 4 days.

Of course, we told them they had the excuse of "I just did a training camp" but we knew our campers would not use it. Even though our campers did not taper for the race, we still took the race seriously - we asked every camper to "race it" but with the understanding that they are going into the race tired.

Because it's very easy to put too many expectations and thoughts into the first race of the season, we love our Clermont camp for that reason - our athletes can wake up in the morning and not be stressed about goal times, overall place, watts, speeds or anything else that triathletes like to control on race day. Sure, it's great to have goals for race day but when we tell our athletes to have fun on race day and to practice everything that they learned in camp, this gives them a lot more freedom to not get stuck on the end result but to focus on great execution. 

-------------------------------
Karel and I woke up at 5am to leave at 6am for the race (just a block away). Karel made his coffee from his french press and we also had a coffee pot ready for the other Trimarni athletes staying in our townhome. After a pre-race meal and water, it was time to head to the race.

While riding our bikes to the race, I could  feel a little drizzle - I had checked the forecast and the rain wasn't suppose to start until 9am. 

Well, after we arrived to the race, the drizzle turned into a light rain shower.
I had made the decision to keep my run shoes covered in a bag (learned my lesson from Challenge Knoxville last year) but other than that, my transition area was laid out as normal and I stayed dry with our team under our team tent. 

We love our Xterra Wetsuits!
I absolutely love the fit and feel of my new Vengeance fullsuit. It was extremely comfortable, especially around the arms. 
After a few team pictures, we instructed our athletes to get in a good warm-up due to the previous three days of training so several of them got in the water whereas others stayed on dry land with old running shoes (we asked them to bring two pairs) and performed a serious of dynamic warm-ups and some jogging w/ pick ups.

The race started at 7:30am with the collegiate waves and I was up next (with several other Trimarni teammates) at 7:45am. 

It's always a different feeling being in open water (versus the pool), especially at the first race of the season. I swam aggressively to the first buoy to try to position myself near the front before settling into a good rhythm.
The sky was dark and the water was dark but there were plenty of buoys on the course to keep us going in the right direction.

Another great benefit of this race was dusting off some rust and practicing transitions. I rehearsed what I was going to do in T1 in my head as I was exiting the water (after getting my wetsuit stripped off by the volunteers) and I jogged to my bike, powered on my Garmin and then put on my socks (calf sleeves were on under my wetsuit), cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses (well, I put on my Oakley's but then realized I didn't need them so I hung them on my tri suit top for a mile and then put them on).

Seeing that we had spent two workouts on the race course, I knew our athletes would feel really confident on the course, even with the rain (which had stopped by the time we got on the bike). We had a lot of discussions with our athletes on smart execution on hilly courses and with a few hills on this Olympic course, we knew our athletes would ride confidently.

With no expectations, I just rode strong. I had no power, speed or time goals but instead, I just focused on riding hard.

My legs felt strong, not fast, but strong and I had a lot of fun on the course. One of my favorite things about this race is seeing all of our campers and teammates out on the course. With 18 Trimarni athletes racing, we couldn't ask for a better environment to push hard and to support one another.





It's rare for me to finish the bike ahead of Karel so I welcomed the opportunity to be the first Sumbal out on the race course. 

I saw Karel twice and gave him a smile. He is always in race mode but he gave me a nod back. As for the other Trimarni athletes, there was a lot of cheering for one another which was awesome. 

Once again, with no expectations, I just ran. I was so excited to wear my new Brooks Pure Flow 5 in a race and wow, they felt amazing. I felt like I was running on my treadmill (which I love) as each step was light and springy.

I knew my legs wouldn't have much in a kick in them for two reasons - 1) no speed work in training yet this season due to building strength over the past 5 months 2) 3 days of leading a training camp takes a toll on the body.

I suppose that the word to describe my run was resilience. I didn't feel fast but I felt strong and steady. I know my body wished this was a half IM as I was just starting to feel like I was getting into a good rhythm by mile 5 but then again, I know my body was struggling to find that extra gear in this short distance race.
Mile 1: 7:10
Mile 2: 7:12
Mile 3: 7:15 (10 sec walk break to reset form)
Mile 4: 7:12
Mile 5: 7:17 (10 sec walk break to reset form)
Mile 6: 7:16
Mile .2: 7:07

I carried a hydration flask with 80 calories (1 scoop) Clif Hydration mixed with 8 ounce water and finished the flask by the end of the race. I had a sip every mile for a nice boost of sugar with sodium. I didn't grab any water at the aid stations.

It was fun to see all the other Trimarni athletes out on the  course and Karel and I could not have been more proud of our campers/athletes. Everyone was in race mode and no one was using their "I just did a training camp" excuse card. 

After I crossed the finish line, I went back out to cheer for Karel who was nearing the finish line. Once again, it was a nice change to be on the sidelines cheering for Karel as he is always finished way before me.

After Karel and I finished, we went out and cheered until every Trimarni athlete crossed the finish line. I will be sharing some race pictures of our campers in my next blog (Thank you Taylor for the great pics!). 

There was so much support among the Trimarni team and we loved having everyone out on the course, cheering for each other. 

You can just call us a pack of highlighters - we love our bold and bright kits. 

I absolutely love my bike - the fit, my new saddle, my super stiff and fast Alto Cycling Wheels. I'm so excited to race the Rev3 half Ironman in Knoxville in 7 weeks! 


A big congrats to Karel for winning the Male Master's division.
(Karel is coming to terms with getting older but he is still getting faster. This is his first race in his new 40-44 age group - he will turn 40 in September). 

I had fun racing with these fast ladies in the 30-34 age group!

We are so proud of our athletes/campers!

3-day training camp - check!
Olympic distance race - check!
Great attitudes - check!
Motivation to last the rest of the season  - check!

GREAT CLERMONT TRIATHLON RACE RESULTS:

Gary – 1st AG (65-69) - sprint distance

Maggie – 2:19 (Aquabike)

Lisa – 2:32:42 (1st AG 40-44)

Justine – 2:31:13

Stephanie – 2:43:21

Erin: 3:00:06

Heather – 3:26:45

JoAnn – 3:34:43 (despite having some back issues when starting the run, she pulled through and finished strong!)

Joe- 2:17.02 (3rd AG 30-34)

Wlad – 2:25:50 

Adam: 2:27.02

Carsten: 2:28.20

Rob: 2:38.44

James W: 2:47.36

Chris A: 2:53.24 (PR)

Jim N: 2:58.04

Ryan – Mechanical on the bike but excellent swim!

Keri – despite a little open water swim anxiety, she still swam strong!

Marni: 2:23.20 (3rd AG 30-34)

Karel: 2:10:32 (1st Male Masters, 7th overall)

Trimarni Clermont camp - day 4: RACE DAY!

Throughout the entire camp, our athletes knew that they would be racing a USAT-sanctioned Olympic distance triathlon on the last day of camp. Little did they know that they would all do amazingly well on race day despite over 12 hours of training accomplished in 3 days. 

How was this possible?

If the mind is in a good place and you remove the outside pressure and internal expectations, you'd be surprised what the body can accomplish. 

Although we do not recommend going into your races exhausted, it's extremely valuable to put priority on your races in your season plan and to not chase times/places with each race but to instead, use the race to gain experience, knowledge and skills for down the season road of racing. 

We knew our athletes would be able to pull out the "I just did a training camp" card at any point during the race and take it easy but that's not how our athletes approach races. 

We encouraged every one of our athletes to race smart and to give their absolute best effort. This advice was not only for our athletes but also for me and Karel. We have carefully designed the training plans for our athletes based on their season goals and this is also true for me and Karel. I did not expect anyone of our athletes (including me and Karel) to have stellar performances at this point in the season, even without a training camp 3 days before the race. It's just too early for any one of our athletes to "peak" or to have the speed that will come further down in their training plan. But giving your best effort is a way to put all the past training (over the past 4-5 months) to good use and to show what a strong and healthy body is capable of achieving. 

We did not feel that abiding by our gadgets was useful as this was the first triathlon for all of our athletes at camp this year and it was important to gain valuable information from this race...after the race was finished. So we encouraged our athletes to make sure they had their gadgets working for the race but to not be a slave to their gadgets (GPS, HR, Power). This race was all by feel and it had to feel "right". We gave our athletes specific pacing strategies for each leg of the triathlon and also instructed our athletes to do a good warm-up as a tired body needs extra time to wake-up tissues, tendons and muscles and to get the blood flowing. 

Most athletes avoid racing on a tired body and abide by some type of taper to go into race day a bit rested and fresh. This is good advice when you have a key race on your schedule. But, this was far from the case for our athletes. Therefore, it was necessary that our athletes accepted that they were not in peak shape at this point in the season and their bodies were tired. It would be very hard to find that extra gear, especially on the run. Bottom line, there was no pressure on the outcome of their race performance and I think this mentally, helped most of our athletes. Without time, pace or power goals, our athletes ended up racing better than they expected due to putting less pressure on themselves. 

But with many of our athletes racing their first key race in the next 4-6 weeks, having a race on the last day of camp was a fantastic opportunity to practice transitions, to associate RPE to pacing (and to review data files after the race) and to shake out the emotional cobwebs that affect the mind on race day morning. 

Karel and I got up at 4:50am and had our pre-race meal/snack around 5:30am after a cup of coffee.

Our athletes Kelsey and Danielle met us at our condo around 6am and we all biked down to the race venue (about 1/2 mile away) with our transition bags on our back. 

After our athletes set-up their transition areas, everyone did their own pre-race warm-up and rituals. Sommesports provided the Trimarni Team with a tent which was great for us to gather at before and after the race. 

My mom showed her support bright and early as Campy was still sleeping. Campy has never seen me in a triathlon race before so it was a great treat to have Campy cheering with my mom when we were on the run portion of the triathlon. 

SWIM: 23:53 (4th female)

The swim was wet-suit legal although some athletes chose not to wear wet-suits. I wore my Xterra Vector Pro full sleeve wetsuit and dark-lense Vanquisher Speedo Goggles.

I really enjoyed starting the race with my athletes (and my friend Lauren on the Stellar Triathlon Team) but nevertheless I did get the nervous tingles in my belly as we were standing on the sand before our swim wave. I felt surprisingly good after my morning dynamic warm-up session and quick swim and I was really excited to race.

I managed to get a good start/entry in the water and settled into a nice rhythm with a few other girls until the first turn buoy. I felt really strong throughout the swim and all that pool work with our toys (ex. ankle strap) was paying off in the open water.

I exited the water feeling good and ready to bike. 

BIKE:  1:08:27 (21.7mph average, 4th female)

I took Karel's advice to our team and took it rather easy for the first 8 miles or so in the race (until the first climb on Jalarmy). Since moving to Greenville in May (after 10 years of living in FL), I certainly have a new perspective on "hills" when I race for there is no easy or flat riding in Greenville. I felt good on the hills but made sure to not power up the hills too hard as I wanted a steady ride for the middle and end section of the race.

I spotted my friend Lauren D. when I made the first turn around and I knew she was getting close to me. I really wanted her to pass me as I need some work getting out of my comfort zone on race day and I knew she would be the one to help me. When Lauren passed me I legally drafted behind her and she really made me push hard. I was so grateful for this opportunity because not only is she a friend of mine from Jax but a super strong athlete who is performing awesome right now. She pushed me when we use to do track work when I lived in Jax and I loved the uncomfortable push to try to keep her in my view throughout the bike.

I made the mistake of easing up a bit too much in the last 1.5 miles so I will learn from this and trust myself that I don't have to slow down that much in order to still have a strong run.

I consumed 1 bottle of 250 calories of sport drink on the bike and I planned 1 flask of 1 scoop Clif Hydration in my hand held flask for the run. 

RUN: 46:09 (7:27 average pace, 9th female)

There's not much to over-analyze about this run as I felt good and that's all I can ask for. I'm so excited to see what I'm capable of this season with the help of Chris Johnson, PT. My biggest mistake for the first 6 years of endurance racing was trying to get fast too early in my season. I was able to get fast but it came with an unwanted side-effect: injuries. Finally, I am nearing almost 2 years (in May) of absolutely NO injuries. My hips, back and glutes are healthy and strong and I am one happy runner!

What I can say is I felt strong during this run and it was steady. I wanted to have a strong back-half of the race so pacing was really important to me. I was not looking at my Garmin for pacing feedback as I ran but instead, I just ran. I took two stop breaks to take a breather for about 5 seconds or so throughout the race. Karel passed me in the first mile of the run and it was great to have a short chat with him before he ran away from me as he was chasing down his competition.

Mile 1: 7:15 (142 HR)

Mile 2: 7:24 (146 HR)

Mile 3: 7:23 (149 HR)

Mile 4: 7:23 (152 HR)

Mile 5: 7:23 (155 HR)

Mile 6: 7:09 (159 HR)

.31: 7:00 (161 HR)

I chose to wear my Brooks Launch with a 9 mm drop rather than my Brooks Pure Flow 4 that have a 4mm drop. I wanted the little extra heel to toe drop to help my legs which were already tired going into this race. 

Karel had a great race and just like me, we both felt like we have so much more fitness to gain this season and we are really happy with where we are right now with our athletic development.

Karel placed 2nd age group and 6th overall male.

Swim: 25:31, Bike: 1:03:14 (23.5mph), Run: 40.01 (6:28 average)

Total time: 2:11:55

Lauren had an AMAZING race and placed 2nd overall female and I shocked myself with a 3rd place overall female result. As great as I felt on race day after 3 days of camp, I look forward to a taper before Challenge Knoxville half ironman distance triathlon!

Total time: 2:21:48 (25th overall athlete)

Two podium finishes made for a great start to the racing season but racing with so many of our athletes was the best part of it all!

Enough about me and Karel....it's time to show off our AWESOME athletes! 

Kelsey raced the aquabike and placed 2nd overall female! She's AWESOME!

Taryn looking strong!

Keep it up Josh!

Karel and our friend Daniel K on the Stellar Triathlon Team. 

Jim Nitz having fun and looking healthy and strong!

Karel headed out on the run course to cheer on our athlete Mike B. 

Looking good in the kits Josh and Karel!

Colleen is smiling big because she is healthy,  injury free and enjoying her season training for her first Ironman!

There goes Karel again pushing our athlete JoAnn!

There goes JoAnn's hubby Rob!

Great race Joe! Every day you are getting stronger!

Nice work Mike M - looking great!

Karel giving Jeff B a pep talk to keep up the great work!

Looking great Ryan!

Love the smile Tricia!

What a great group! Keep having fun Maggie, Tricia and Ryan!

Heather - you look amazing! Photo credit to Heather's friend on Facebook who took this great pic!

Nice work guys! Way to go Wlad - keep making those fantastic improvements! 

Great job Taryn, Kelsey, Elizabeth and Danielle! 

Our Trimarni camp couple - JoAnn and Rob sharing the race-day love!

Thanks Lauren for the push! You rock! 

Elizabeth spoiling Campy with kisses and butt massages. 

Great job Danielle on the podium!!

Way to go Kevin!! Nice work!!

Great job Kelsey!

We love our Jax friends! They will always be our training buddies!

Smiles post race. 

Results from our athletes:

Joe N - 2:22:33, 2nd age group (25-29)

Wlad -2:25:44, 3rd age group (40-44)

Nick G - 2:30:23 

Kevin D -2:30:41, 3rd age group (55-59) \

Josh G - 2:32:49

Danielle - 2:45:17, 3rd age group (35-39)

Rob J - 2:46:35

Mike M. - 2:48:38

James W - 2:50:55 

Colleen L - 2:47:32 

Jeff B - 2:56:24

Mike B - 3:01:36 

Taryn F - 3:02:29 

Jim N - 3:05:20 

Elizabeth - 3:05:22

Heather A - 3:10:34 

JoAnn J - 3:18:04 

Maggie - 3:31:30 

Ryan -3:39:33 

Tricia - 3:44:41

Kelsey A - 1:50:51 (aquabike), 2nd overall female

Karel - 2:11:55, 6th overall

Marni - 2:21:48, 3rd overall female

Thank also to the Trimarni sponsors! 

Clif Bar

Canari Cyclewear

Run In

Oakley and Oakley Women 

Veronica's Health Crunch

First Bourn

TrainingPeaks

SOLESTAR

Challenge Family

TriBike Transport

Salem Professional Anesthesia Services

XTERRA Wetsuits

And thanks Sommer Sports for welcoming the Trimarni team!

Thank you for reading about our 4-day Clermont Training camp. Stay tuned for our advanced athlete, Ironman-focused Greenville camp this June! 

A first for Karel (literally): HOT race report

I love to dream big. It is exciting when the hard work pays off and dreaming big can be life-changing. For the 7th time in my life, I get to dream big as I take my body on a 140.6 mile journey to cross the most talked about finishing lines on the Ironman race calendar.

For many, dreaming big means accepting disappointment. It may even mean facing failure. A goal typically has an end point but a dream doesn't always come with a specific time-line. And that can be frustrating.

But if dream smart, you will find yourself discovering amazing things about yourself. Perhaps things that you never thought were possible because you stopped expecting failure and disappointment and instead, welcomed change, hard work and commitment to reach goals that you never once thought were possible.

Like many athletes, the body doesn't always respond when you want it to.  The mind is overloaded, the body feels tired and the goal that has driven you to wake up every morning wanting to work hard for your dreams, is now second-guessed based on life happenings. 

Karel decided last minute (about a week ago), to race in the HOT - Hammerhead Olympic. Karel was itching to race before Miami 70.3 at the end of October and with the race being local (about 45 minutes away at Camp Blanding), Karel was looking forward to changing up his weekend routine. 

As for his race day goals, he told me early last week that he wanted to win it. Of course, not knowing the competition that would be at the race, I still supported his goal 100%. As a coach, I never stop my athletes from dreaming big and as you know from my previous blogs, I am very open with my goals and I am not afraid to work hard for them. I always say - dream big and work hard for what you want and then on race day, race with your current level of fitness with a race strategy that allows you to execute for a strong performance. 

For Karel and myself, we don't chase PR's. Sure, they are great when they come but we don't worry about a time on paper but instead, what happens within the race. The harder the race and more challenging of conditions, bring it! We love training our bodies to prepare for race day and then being able to execute with our current level of fitness with a smart race day strategy. 

As age group triathletes, we have a lot on our plates with life and training is our lifestyle. Like many age group athletes, Karel was feeling off the day before the race with a lot on his mind and a body that was not feeling race ready on Saturday. 

Rather than scratching the race or forgetting about his race day goals, I did my best to continue to support Karel's goal of "go big or go home". 

I'm a firm believer that you have no idea what you are capable of until you try. Don't ever give up before you give things a try. 

I can't tell you how many times I have prepped myself for a workout and doubted myself until the workout happened. So much negativity in my mind that I didn't have "it" for the day but there's no way to know if "it" can happen unless I try. Thankfully, I never once let my fear of failure over-ride my ability to succeed with my Kona training and I felt in my heart that Karel was going to have a great race. 

With a 4am wake-up call, we were out the door at 4:45am and Campy was sad he couldn't come to the pet-unfriendly Camp Blanding. But with a long early morning walk, I told Campy we wouldn't be gone long. 

After picking up Karel's packet and doing the normal pre-race routine (set up transition, bathroom stops, putting on the wetsuit for the first-time wet-suit legal swim at this race, swim warm-up), Karel was standing knee high in the water waiting for the first wave of the race to start at 7:30am. 

When it comes to working on athletic weaknesses, Karel knows that doing more doesn't make you a better, stronger or faster athlete. For Karel, he has been working with Coach Mel at UNF on his swimming and instead of swimming more, he is working really hard with his swim drills and form in the water. With less than 1500 yards for a main set each practice three days per week, Karel has found himself swimming faster thanks to working on the little things. A reminder for us all that to be better,you can not rush the journey. 

I couldn't believe that the first swimmer in the 40 and under male age group exited the water in less than 20 minutes! With not a single other swimmer in sight, the first male was out on the bike before any other swimmer even exited the water. Karel finished the swim in 4th place, nearly 8 minutes behind the leader but I was confident that Karel swam strong so that he could also bike strong. 

Karel didn't lose anytime wearing a wetsuit and made a quick transition before getting on his bike. 

Although I know that Karel's legs can bike around 56-57 min for a 40K bike, today's conditions were on the windy side and this two loop course would present obstacles for the athletes who were not racing smart. 

Karel didn't focus on his power on the bike but instead, he only focused on his cadence and went by RPE. He had one opportunity to see the other athletes on the course and by the time he was nearing the end of the first loop, Karel was within 4 minutes of the leader and sitting in 2nd place. 

Guessing the time of the first place male in his wave, I tried to communicate with Karel the best I could to give him the heads up on his competition at the moment. 

Karel was calm and in his zone and I could tell he was really enjoying is day. 

I walked about 1/2 mile or so down the road to catch Karel and before I knew it, Karel was sitting just about a minute behind the leader as they entered transition. 

I wasn't sure if Karel was first or second because I missed the first place male but Karel quickly told me that he was second....although less than 1 minute behind the leader as they started the run. 

Karel made up mega time on the bike which is a good reminder that if you are an athlete in a race - never ever count yourself out. Even if you are not shooting for a podium spot, every athlete is going to have  a low or an off moment in the race. Sometimes it happens at the beginning of a race, sometimes in the middle. But the great part about  racing is knowing that if you keep going, a high will happen. You just have to keep moving forward to experience the highs for if you count yourself out at a low, you will find yourself stuck in a low place. Move forward and you never know what will happen. 

I really had the best time at this race because not only did I receive a major boost of endorphins from watching Karel race but I also got to cheer for a bunch of local triathletes who are inspiring in their own special way. Mom's and dad's, kids, newbies and the experienced....I just love watching people put hard work to the test. I know there were a lot of dreamers out there and I was inspired by so many people and I can't wait to take that positive energy with me to Kona in 7 days. 

Nearing 35 minutes, I guesstimated that Karel would be coming soon. Despite the wind on this semi-comfortable weather day (relative to Florida weather in the summer), this run course had it's challenges with a few hills. Turns out, Karel's Garmin 910XT got turned off in the swim  so he was just running off RPE, not even knowing his time.

Getting close to 36 minutes for the run, I spotted the awesome-looking Trimarni Tri kit on Karel and with no other male in his race in sight, I knew this would be a first for Karel.....

I can't tell you how incredibly happy and proud I am for Karel. He said he felt great the entire race and never red-lined it.

 Just learning how to swim last May (2012) and doing his first triathlon last summer, don't you love it when hard work pays off? No excuses but instead, enjoyment for what the body is capable of doing and not being afraid to test the limits. The desire was always there to be fast, strong and good at triathlons but Karel new it would take a lot of hard work to get to where he wanted to be. Still with dreams on the horizon (like racing in Kona together), I can't wait to share this journey of life together and enjoying it with so many amazing people who also love using their bodies and crossing finishing lines. 

(Karel and our friend, 2nd place finisher Eric)

Race Results

1st overall
2:09:15 finishing time
1.5K Swim: 27:57 (12th place male)
T1: 53 seconds
40K Bike: 1:02:13 (23.9 mph average, 1st place male)
T2: 38 seconds
10K Run: 38:10 (6:09 min/mile average, 1st place male)