It's Not Always About the Podium....

3Sports Richmond TriClub Sprint Triathlon
Saturday April 27, 2013
Richmond, Virginia
400 meter swim
20K bike
5K run

This weekend I raced in Richmond,Virginia, home of one of the largest triathlon communities in the nation! What was really cool about this race was the special needs kids being pulled in boats, pulled by bikes, and pushed on the run! There were also paralympic triathletes racing! How inspiring! United Athletics was there, a group out of Midlothian, VA, which assists athletes to swim, bike, and run! The kids were really adorable and their assistors really smoked that course and even beat my swim time when they had to pull a boat! The race started with the amazing athletes from United Athletics! What a PERFECT way to start the race!

Before race start, I'm actually standing there on the left towards the front of the boats!

And the race is on!

You guys SMOKED the swim! Nice!

Jenna getting out ready for the bike!

I love that everybody had their name on their buggy so we could cheer you all along the way!!

What a finish!

Amazing!

Awesome!

Jenna ready for the podium!

You all are AMAZING!

So this was my highlight of the race! Watching people come together to make magic happen! You all are amazing! 

Richmond has so many coaches and training clubs and it is an amazing and a wonderful place to be! It is really a neat city because the people there always seem so happy and friendly! I had to laugh on the bike portion because as most of the guys would pass by (no girls passed me!) they would make some positive comment like "looking good!, dig deep!". Ofcourse with a bigger race you also had your crazies who don't like it when a girl passes by them and they make a many mile game out of passing you again and blocking you and you go around them and leave them in the dust and they find you again and block you. Seriously, this went on a large portion of the race! The guy finally passed me the last time coming in to dismount! He was really determined he was going to get to that dismount line before me! Well, at least it was entertaining but the part of slowing me down and blocking me was not THAT cool. 

All the athletes lined up in their corral! Almost 600 of us on the pool deck!

This race was offered at a new venue and was quite a unique pool swim. It was held in the Greater Richmond Aquatic partnership, a 50m, 7'7" deep pool, and home of the 2008 Olympic trials. It was set up to be an indoor "open water" swim. We were put in groups of 10 and sent out every 30 seconds and we went up and down 8 50m lanes around buoys. It was a unique experience and set up to be a race with an elite group in the first wave. The race started at 8 and I was placed in the 8:02:30 wave. Now, I am not the fastest in the water so I spent most of my swim being clobbered. Nothing like a great preparation for next weekend's race which is actually an open water swim! Now, speaking of clobbered, Dear Triathlon Dudes, there is no reason to beat the crap out of me continually in the water. You can pass by me without dragging my body down attempting to drown me and without beating me with your arms and kicking me in the face continually. Is there no sense of politeness in the water?? I do expect a degree of clobbering and I don't mind it at all but if the same person continually drags you down, hits you really hard, kicks you with so much force, and just doesn't go around you - that just is NOT necessary! Swim on "no manners" dude! 

Time in the car as we were heading down the road!

We left at 3 AM and got up at 2:30 AM in order to drive three hours to the race site. This was a new venue for everyone and I felt a bit uneasy having not had time to see the course before I rode and ran on it! While we arrived at 6AM, time flew by so fast that I just didn't have time to take many pictures and the next thing I knew I was just putting on my trisuit at the time when I was supposed to be in my corral on the deck at 7:40AM. I was a bit frazzled and didn't get a chance to warm up!

You would never guess that pink set up is mine :) 

You can't tell but the transition area was HUGE and L-shaped
The elites and earliest starters were on the end where I was and
it was a VERY long run with the bike to go in and out of the transition area!

Now coming into this race I knew the competition would be fierce! There were three other girls I needed to worry about in my age group and only three slots at the podium. We were only seconds apart in a race at the beginning of April and I managed to take a second place on the podium at that race. However I really only beat one girl on the run (just by a bit) and on the transitions. I also knew that all of these girls swam faster than me so it would be a very slim chance to get to the podium this time around because the swim was longer! 

Hugging the kids before I get started

My swim time was not so super. I was clobbered and drug down ALOT. The bike was painful but my average speed was 21.05mph. I knew I would have to pull a 23 minute or 7:30 pace run out of a hat if I expected to podium. The course was pretty flat, but running and I seem to have a love-hate-unknown-inconsistent relationship. My first mile was 7:29. Yay. I'm on schedule. Hang in there and get this done Kimbo! 2nd mile 7:40. Holy Smokes Kimberly, make up that 10 seconds! Uugh. Couldn't hold it. Dropped my pace to 8 in the third mile. This was a mental thing. It was a double loop. I hate loops. How many times did I have to see that finish line? I had thought I was closer to the finish in that third mile and still had so far to go it seemed. In the last quarter I took it from 7:27 to 6:52 at the end! I finished! I knew the run wasn't going to cut it or make up for the swim! My run time was 24:08. Not what I was shooting for but I did what I could do! The girl who took first in my Age Group had a run of 24:13, the second had a run of 24.19, and the third a run of 23.07. I came in at fourth with about a minute difference between me and third. I knew I had to pull that 23 minutes but just couldn't make it happen! 

Yes, I'm looking at my watch ALOT. What did I ever do before that awesome pink Garmin??

Swim Start!

My swim was pretty atrocious. Really, it is better than it would have ever been last year though! First place in my AG had a swim of 5:44, second at 6:50, third at 7:15, and me at a whopping 8:18. That is alot of time to have to make up in a sprint! I also have to realize that I just put my head in the water in 2010 (bobbing and didn't get across the lane until that May) and did some races through September that year, and then I didn't get back in the water until June of 2011. Really I only spent a couple of months in 2010 doing any swimming, biking, and running, and only worked on swimming towards the end of 2011 (from Nov-March) and this winter (from September - present). I never even ran except on race day until I got a coach in May of last year! So what I'm saying is that this is a technical sport and it takes time for improvement to happen. Yes, you see people all the time who have their first triathlon and they win overall. That happened at this crazy competitive race this weekend! But guess what, if they can swim that fast and run that fast - they clearly already were doing those things competitively before they dipped their hands in triathlon! 

So, pulling a podium win isn't everything. It was very competitive and I did the best I could do! I took 4th in my very competitive age group and 13th overall out of 161 females. That is still the top 8 % and what is even cooler is the people in my swim wave were way on down the list even though they smoked me on the swim! But my favorite part of the race was watching the athletes with United Athletics! They are the ones who work hard to make magic and happiness happen for many! They put a smile on TONS of faces!

I also had a great time seeing so many friends at the race! 

Angel Moyer

Connie Glueck

Kate Fisher

Liz Futrell

Trisha Holland

After the race we had tons of post race family fun! We headed to the Children's Museum in Richmond, to one of their malls for a yummy vegetable pasta at the California Pizza Kitchen, and to see a lululemon store in person for the first time! I totally walked away with two ruffled running skirts! Can't wait to wear them and run in them this summer! Ah, my very first lulus! So, it was a really fun weekend. While I had moments in the middle of racing wondering why in the world I do it (due to the pain!), I sure do love this thing called triathlon. I love watching magic happen and I'm going to keep chipping away always working on becoming a better triathlete. It takes time and I'm loving the journey!

Childrens Museum of Richmond:
http://www.c-mor.org/

Childrens Museum Cave

Eva

Eva - face painting at the museum!

Arie

Arie on the carousel at the museum

Arie

Thijs made a friend on the carousel!

Thijs having fun at the museum!

Thijs

Coping With the Boston Marathon Massacre and How it Will Change the Face of Racing

As we have all heard, two bomb explosions occurred close to the Boston Marathon finish line yesterday where runner's families and spectators stood around about four hours into the race when many runners were still expected in. That morning I woke up to watch the marathon live because my friend Cortney Martin from Blacksburg, VA was there. I was hoping to spot her among the thousands and thousands of participants. I worried about her all day long wondering how her run was going. I took my 7 year old daughter to Girls on the Run and ran some errands and had just gone to the feed store to buy horse feed when I spoke on the phone with a friend who told me what happened. 

The first thing I thought of ofcourse, was "How is Cortney? Where is Cortney? Is she ok?". I tried to call her with no luck of reaching her. I called our coach to see if he had heard from her. I cried in the car and waited to pick up Eva in the school parking lot where she has her program. I knew Cortney had finished her race and had an amazing race but I had no idea if she was hanging out at the finish line and if she was ok. I did finally learn that Cortney was ok and back at her hotel - AND - she had finished with a smoking time of 3:33:53 which is an 8:10 pace!! It is truly amazing and such a wonderful thing!

I'm having a really hard time digesting this and coping with it. I'm angry and extremely saddened. My chest and heart are heavy with grief. Not only do I feel for the victims but I feel for the runners who probably don't feel like they can enjoy their marathon finish, their marathon PR, and the several thousand who did not get to pass over the finish line. So many people had trained for so long and so many people were there to do so much good! Many people were running for charities and had raised so much money. There were also people running for the 26 children who lost their lives in the Connecticut school shooting. At the 26 mile mark a banner had been placed especially for them and those running for the children had planned on running as hard as possible from that mark to the finish to represent the children running from the school. 

This tragedy will change the face of racing as we know it. Security will increase at our triathlons, particularly at the National and International events. There will probably be bag checks, long lines at check-in, and possibly no spectators allowed at the finish. People will be on guard. Families may no longer feel safe at the finish line if they are allowed to be there. An 8 year old little boy named Martin Richard is one of the victims who lost his life yesterday.  He was waiting for his dad to finish. Here he is with a simple statement that would make all the difference in this world of ours:

Martin Richard, 8

The reality is, is that we humans have always lived in a state and flux of violence. It seems to be who we are. It is our culture that helps us decide if we will resist carnage upon others or culture that will teach people to kill. And then there are the cases where culture teaches others to not hurt but they are too mentally unstable to control themselves. But, we as humans always rise above disaster and death and come together to help. Because that is what we as humans have inside of all of us as well. To help cope consider running to clear your mind with "Runners United to Remember" found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/318199378309189/?ref=14. 

This is a virtual run event, which means you can run (or walk) any distance, anywhere and at anytime. It is intended to both honor the victims as well as display an act of unity and solidarity in the running community. This was an event dreamed up by fellow Runners and you are welcome to invite anyone to join. THIS IS NOT A FUND RAISER. PLEASE be careful of scams (already) of people claiming to be raising money. A special thanks to TJ from VO2 the MAX for creating the "race" bib. Once you've completed your unity run you are welcome to post a picture to the RunJunkEes facebook page (please do not email pictures). Other runners are suggesting to wear a race shirt as well, so if you have one and you'd like to do so that would be great.

Hold your kids tight. Tell the people you love that you love them. Enjoy today while we have it. Hold on to happiness and the beauty of this world in the presence of tragedy. Remember that change starts with us and happens in our immediate lives and you can only change one heart at a time. 

A Different Kind of Race: Who Are You Racing For? "No Joke" and Lessons Learned

Angels Race Sprint Triathlon April 13, 2013
300m swim, 25k bike, 5k run

This race is special to the Virginia Triathlon Series. It was started to honor a teenage girl, Brittany Groover, from Lynchburg, VA who died in November of 2002 in a freak car accident at school when a school bus hit her when she was driving and leaving the parking lot of the school. This was the race's 11th year and while a range of highly talented triathletes to first timers come race, everyone honors their angel in this race by marking their arm with someone they have lost. When you jump in the pool before the start of the race, the race crew asks you "Who is your angel?". Mine was my husband Rob's mother who passed away when I was pregnant with our second child, Arie. He has a very large Dutch name and was named after Rob's mother Johanna and Rob's dad Jan from the Netherlands. We named him Arie-Jan Johannes (Johannes being the male version of Johanna) and Rob's dad's name is Jan and Rob's name is Robert-Jan. Rob's mom hated the name Johanna! She went by her nickname Joke, pronounced "Yo-ka". So I can only imagine what people thought with the name "Joke" down my arm but I have to tell you it was no joke!

I always say I always learn something at every race. This race was definitely a lesson in fueling. I came into this race with a goal time of 1:19-1:20 but ended up with a time of 1:21 after a rough and longer than expected run. I did however loose an unbelievable 13 1/2 minutes off of my time from last year! Last year I was sick and the weather was rainy and freezing cold but that is still a gigantic gain! I did take 1st in my age group and 5th overall but had I not fizzled out on the run I would have had a better outcome. 

Bike in Transition Area

Transition Area

The evening before the race I did something quite different and to commemorate the Angels race I had Angel Hair pasta and Angel food cake. Yes, I am aware I am a goofball!

Angel Hair Pasta

Angel Food Cake - YUMMMM

I wasn't really hungry that morning so I didn't eat much. I did have my normal cup of coffee because you REALLY don't want to see me without coffee (I don't want to see me either ha ha). I mixed up some Accelerade in water but I just wasn't thirsty and couldn't drink it. I figured it was a sprint and I would be fine. The swim was fine and during the bike I realized how tired my legs were still from racing the previous weekend. 

Running out of T1 to mount

Coming into T2 after dismount

The bike was pretty tough for me and I spent alot of it in pain and just not feeling like I was moving forward. It had rolling hills with long and shorter steep sections. Although I had tested my iphone to make sure it would read my cadence, speed, and distance prior to the race, it was not working during the race so I had no idea what my speed, cadence, or mileage was. This was the first time racing without data before my nose and I was worried my cadence might be too low or I wasn't pushing hard enough. After seeing the results I saw I was third on the bike for women with an average speed of 19.6 mph. I was pretty happy with that considering how hilly and tough I thought the course was. I was 8 minutes faster on the bike than last year! 

Running shortly after T2

I felt great coming out on the run! My legs felt awesome! I clocked 7:32 in my first mile but I really fizzled out and had a feeling like I just couldn't do it! I didn't even care anymore. I just wanted to walk. I kept stopping to walk and just didn't have the mental toughness or "umph" to carry through. I realized I should have had a gel after pushing myself that hard on the bike. Each mile just got slower due to the walking and I had quite a disastrous 5K time. At about 2 1/2 miles in there is a really steep and long hill and I ran through the first half of the hill having thought I took a left and that was it - but NO - there was still another block of steep climbing to do. I was really ready to just fall apart. I was a mess. I had a hard time pulling it together in the last half mile to make it to the finish. I did it, but two minutes slower than expected and planned. I was pretty bummed about my performance but learned an important lesson in fueling.

It was at this race last year that I started to see the pattern in people at the podium and the connection between really talented age group triathletes. I started to connect the dots and realize the number of amazing female triathletes who all had the same coach Jim McGehee with One-on-One Endurance. This race is the one that really pushed me to finally contact Jim McGehee and I started with him in May last year. Look at the improvement from last year to this year with such a talented coach showing me the way! 

It took a LONG time for the awards ceremony to begin. At this race they wait for the LAST person to come in. Now the last person may not be the slowest because we all started at different times but at this race the last person is always awarded the first prize, which just happened to be 2 entries into next year's race. The woman who won had lost 100 pounds since last year!

Last one in is a winner here!

Well, somebody kind-of forgot to put the award medals in their car that morning so awards ended up being a calling out of names instead of people coming to a podium. I was the only goober who ran to the announcer for a quick pic! 1st place age group!

What a goober! Anything for a blog photo!!

Roanoke, Virginia really represented at the race and walked away with overall wins for the men and women and many age group awards! Scott Moir won third overall for the men. Here he is at his big moment when they announced his name:

Scott Moir before the race

Ellen Sortore took 2nd overall for the women:

Ellen pre-race

And check out this motley looking crew from Roanoke post-race:

Ellen Sortore, Scott Moir, Me, Mark Taylor, Mark Long, Tripp Godsey

Scott Moir, Mark Taylor, Me, Ellen Sortore, Mark Long, Steve Burtis

Mark Taylor and Andres Marte-Grau won their age group while Mark Long and Steve Burtis took 2nd in their age group. Tripp Godsey was just a couple of seconds  away from taking third in his age group! There is always a reminder that seconds count in a sprint triathlon!

Andres Marte-Grau who won his age group!

Me and Andre's wife Jasmin

I saw tons of friends as well!

Me with Sandra Kuehn - Love this girl!!!!! She took 4th as an Athena! Nice job Sandra!

Scott Vail showed up as a surprise to do the run portion of a relay!

Me with Scott's sister Ann Dalton

Me with Philip Settle - He is one FAST runner and had had a TOUGH race the day before!
He is amazing to come out and race this after what he had done the day before!!

Me with Tripp Godsey - we share the same totally awesome coach!

After the race I had lunch with my family in Lynchburg and we went to the Apocalypse Ale House, a craft brewery in Forest, VA, on the way home. What fun and a great way to end the day!