Lifetime Fitness Race Report

You’d think I'd be sick of this race after all these years, but the Lifetime Fitness triathlon becomes more and more enjoyable each year. I’ve participated in the race every year since Lifetime took the bold step to produce a top notch event here in the Twin Cities eight years ago. The home course advantage and knowledge has certainly made the difference for me the last few years.

In contrast to last year, I was not feeling very confident going into this event. Last year, this was my early season A race. I was training specifically for short course, and I was bursting at the seams to go after it. This year, with my early season focus on the half ironman distance, and with Buffalo Springs 70.3 recovery taking longer than expected, I was feeling less than zippy. Regardless, I couldn’t miss this event, so I had every intention to go out, play the cards I was dealt and do the best I could.

Pressure was rising during the week, but despite being the defending champion, I actually felt like the underdog to Lindsay Whalen. She’s been having a super year so far, and I didn’t think I could get in front of her. Deep down however, I held on to the hope that course knowledge and my tremendous support crew would make the difference on Saturday.

As race time approached, I was feeding off the amazing crowds and enthusiasm of the great venue. We started shortly after the pros, and once the gun went off, all my nervous energy thankfully turned into something more useful. The swim start was pretty rough, and directly into the sun. It took some time to find a decent line and clear water, but luckily it wasn’t too bad once I hit the first turn buoy. I swam on my own the entire race, which I think is a good strategy for me. Several times last year, I would get comfy behind someone else and simply enjoy the ride. I couldn’t quite find LW’s feet, but I noticed there was someone from my wave about 20 yds ahead. I figured it was her, and tried my hardest to catch her. That didn’t happen, but when I came around the corner into T1, I was amazed that Lindsay was still at her rack space.

I quickly shed my wetsuit grabbed my bike and managed to take off with her, I rounded the last corner in t1 and jumped on my bike just in front. Knowing how much easier is it to fuel off someone in your sights, I hammered the start of the bike to try to create an early gap. With all the corners etc, I knew this course made it much easier to get out of sight. I figured that was my only hope to get any ground on her. Although I typically enjoy hilly bike course, I find this fairly flat course very enjoyable. The opportunity to ride these roads without traffic is special for us locals.

I had friends cheering all over the course, and therefore loving every minute of it. I had no idea what was happening behind me, but kept working hard. Although I felt strong and smooth, I felt like such a rookie in the corners. I used to ride much more aggressively, but since I crashed in a corner last year, I’ve become such a wimp. Anyways, I’ll be working on that over the next few weeks.

It felt wonderful coming into T2 in the lead, but I knew the run was not going to be much of a party. The first opportunity to check in on the competition comes just after the first mile where there a short out and back before continuing around the lake. I saw Lindsay and figured she was about a minute behind me. This made me pretty nervous, but I didn’t see anyone else behind her. I did my best to focus on decent run form and high cadence, but I still wasn’t seeing the splits I was hoping for. Although its very hard to explain here in writing, coming around the top of the lake and passing through the first lap was very exciting. With SO many friendly cheers and support coming from the sidelines, I did everything I could to pick up the pace. I’m pretty sure I negative split the 2nd loop, which is something positive to pull from my lackluster run split. When I came around the final curve at the top of Lake Nakomis I had several people tell me there was nobody behind me. This was music to my ears, and coming into the finish chute was so much fun. That feeling never get old, and I’m go grateful for all the wonderful cheers and support out there.


Here's JH enjoying the race best bike split-AWESOME!


A very special thanks for all the kind comments (Facebook rocks). There’s no way I could have pulled it off this year without my awesome support crew. Kerry is always at the top of that list, but my awesome friends, the best crew at Gear West (thanks for hooking me up with the fast Zipp Sub9), and all the fun competitors make this so much more enjoyable. A huge kudos goes out to the Lifetime Fitness Athletic events crew for once again putting on such a World class event and for their continued support for amateur racing.


Next up: Heart of the Lakes on Sunday. I WILL have a better run on Sunday-That is My main objective.

Buffalo Springs 70.3 Race Report

Texas Girls Weekend!

The two Julie’s and I set off Friday morning for our weekend adventure to Lubbock. I’d been to Lubbock in my college days (played golf against Texas Tech), so I knew this trip was more about quality chick time/racing and less about sightseeing. All three of us signed up for this race late last year, after watching the Ironman World Championships recap and after our friend Merilee picked up her Kona slot in AZ. We all wanted to try and join her in Kona and figured this would be a great place to go after it.

We enjoyed a course preview Saturday morning. I can’t stress enough how important it is to drive a bike course before a race. It was so helpful. I counted eight climbs/descents on the bike, and with my love for climbing I was really looking forward to pushing it on the bike. The run however was very intimidating. With 3 significant climbs (at mile 3, 5 and 9) I was pretty nervous about what would happen out there. To add to the anxiety, it was over 95 degrees on Saturday, so I was getting worried about how my body would hold up in those conditions.

Race morning came quickly and we were on our way to the Lake bright and early. Not quite early enough however, as the traffic coming into the park was a brutal, and I had minimal time to get myself in race mode. By the time we finally arrived in transition I was pretty frantic trying to get my stuff organized before the kicked us out. I had to skip any form of a warm up, but in the end, that worked out. Thankfully the weather took a turn Sunday and we were greeted by much cooler temps, high winds and rain.

The water was very warm, but age groupers were still allowed to wear wetsuits. I think they know where the ‘Springs” are to drop the thermometer. Of course of love the buoyancy of my awesome Blue Seventy suit, but would have been very happy with a non-wetsuit ruling this time around. Swim was pretty uneventful- on my own most of the time. Once into T1, and I noticed one person in my AG at their bike. I quickly peeled off my wetsuit and managed to get off on my bike in front. My plan was to stay ultra conservative on the first 5-10 miles, and I stayed true to that. I felt great, and with the W35-45 starting 5 minutes ahead, it was great to have a few targets on the course.

This course has three turnarounds, so it provides plenty of opportunity to check in on the competition. With the hills nicely spaced, this course seems to pass by very quickly. The winds didn’t bother me out tere, but the wet roads made a few of the technical descents rather tricky. I felt good with my effort on the bike and came into T2 feeling strong and leading the AG. It was really cool to see Jules in T2. She got out about 30sec in front of me, but I was excited to have the chance to run with her. Again, being pretty new to this distance stuff, I wanted to start off very conservatively on the run. It felt effortless, and was happy to see my first 2 miles right on the 7min pace. I was very happy with that, but I knew there was a lot of hard work ahead. Julie and I had a chance to run together for a while, which was a real treat. I climbed the first big hill still feeling in control, but when I hit the climb at mile 4.5, I felt like 100 lbs were added to my back. That was a tough one. At the top, there’s a 1.5 mile flat out and back, so I worked hard to get myself back in a rhythm and back on pace. At the turnaround, I had a chance to check in on the swift footed Charisa in serious pursuit. I knew it was just a matter of time, but I kept trucking along hoping to hold her off as long as possible. I felt ok-no gut or body issues, just getting pretty tired. C eventually passed me at the 9.4 ish mark on the big climb before turning into the park. We ran shoulder to shoulder for about 10 seconds, and when we hit the turn, she was off in true C style. I didn’t think there were any other Amateurs ahead of us and by looking at my watch, I knew that if I held it together for the last 3 miles I could get myself a PR and a Kona slot (C picked up her slot in CA earlier this year). I suffered through to the finish and crossed the line in 4:46. I was Very pleased.

After the initial excitement wore off, my body started to shut down. I was pretty dizzy, and I was having a tough time seeing. Thankfully for me, the med tents folks were handing out IVs like candy so I was quickly offered a pick me up.


After thinking back over my nutrition for the day, I realized that I had consumed less than 450cals during the race, and I was obvioulsy dehydrated. I went to the BR before the race, and not again until 2+ hours after the race (and that’s with the 1L IV). I’ll do a better job with that next time.

So the Kona slot was mine…What to do??? The decision took a few hours, but after a few Margaritas I decided to pass on KONA, and the three of us accpeted Clearwater slots. Another big party in the making!!


I’m just not fired up for an Ironman this year-I love the OLY distance, and I’d like to do a few more 70.3 this fall. When I decide to invest the time and money into an Ironman, I want to be really jazzed for it. I know it will come, but just not this year.

CHEERS :-)

Midwest Sprint Classics-Double RR

Pigman Sprint (.5K swim, 25K bike, 5K run)
As much as I love the super sprints, they still make me a little anxious come race morning. There’s NO room for error and its 110% effort from the start. When I checked in Saturday afternoon, I noticed Jenny Garrison from IL was on the start list. Knowing her accolades, I immediately assumed that the equalizer was between her and Daniel Bretscher. Deep down however, I held a glimmer of hope-I figured this was not a focused race for JG, so if I kept it together, there was a slim chance I could do it… It was amazing to me that despite all my years of racing, the nervous butterflies were out in full force. I hadn’t felt like that in a long time. Like I said these sprints put me over the edge. The women received ~ 9minutes head start over the elite men.

Once the race started, I took off like a madwomen to find open water. I was truly expecting JG to come out of the water with me, so when I got though T1 by myself I was stoked. I hammered the beginning of the bike in an attempt to get out of sight to those in pursuit. I know it’s much easier to turn it up another level with a target in sight. It was fun to be following the lead vehicle through the rural IA roads. There's a short out and back section towards the end of the bike about mile 12 of 15, and I noticed there was nobody close behind and the chase group (I think there were 4 or 5 pretty close together) was about 2.5 minutes back. I tried to ease up a little to get my legs ready for the run, as I really wanted to put together a strong run. The run course is an out and back on the bike course, so I had another opportunity to check in on the chase group as I started my run. I figured I had a good cushion, but I still wanted to work as hard as I could in an attempt to hold off the fast charging DB for the equalizer bonus. My legs felt pretty good initially on the run, but about 3 quarters of a mile into my run after stopping for ~30-40sec (I had a really good reason) I had a little more difficulty getting my run stride back. I tried my hardest to dig, and I didn’t feel overly slow, but got passed by DB within the last half mile-This guy made up around 4min on me in a 5K. That’s embarrassing!! I was initially disappointed with my run split, but in the end, I took away so much more from that race then what’s posted on the results page. It was a super day.


Manitou Sprint (.5mile swim, 13.5 mile bike, 3.1mile run)
Race morning conditions were PERFECT, but for some reason I could not get myself fired up to GO GO GO. I was truly in a deep fog all morning: A mix of fatigue and nerves I guess, but luckily shortly before the start I snapped out of it. Due to extremely low water levels in White Bear Lake, RDs decided on a two loop swim. This was actually quite fun for me. As always the Elite start was rough-Those boys are tough, but they also provide great drafting potential. I wanted to get on Kevin’s feet, but I lost those pretty early in the frenzy. First person to make the turn-MW obvioulsy carved his way through the weeds. Kerry as always having lots of fun out there.

I came around the 1st lap on Kevin's heels, but I managed to get through the masses a little easier (the 2nd wave had already started so we had to swim around them). I ended up coming out of the water a few steps ahead of KO, therefore I knew I was in good company. I eagerly busted through transition, jumped on my bike and started to hammer…Well I tried to hammer, but my legs and probably mostly my mind could not get it going. I had difficulty finding the right gear…caught between the big gear grind and not working hard enough. I had borrowed KO’s Zipp Power tap Disk, so I was interested to see what kind of watts I could put out in real race conditions. Well, it was not pretty folks. I have no excuse, but my race day power was almost 15 watts less than my half ironman goal wattage. I’ve been doing long rides with 3x30 at stronger wattage than what I did yesterday!! Anyways, my legs had no gusto-Simple as that! I was also feeling my right hamstring tighten so I was starting to get worried for the run. I tried to stay mellow (relatively- It’s a sprint after all) through T2, and slightly ease into the 5K. I felt pretty good at the start, I focused on my form and came though mile one around 6:09. I was pretty happy with that, and wanted to hold that pace. Again, this is an out and back run course, so I had an opportunity to check in on the race behind me (I love out and backs). I was confident I could hold my position with a strong pace though the finish, and in the end I picked up the win. Also, there’s nothing that makes a race day more enjoyable then having the opportunity to watch my favorite triathlete in action. Due to the wave structure Kerry started almost 50 minutes behind me, so I was able to see him come into T2 and I was able to cheer in multiple sections during the run. For the third race in a row, Kerry made it to the podium in his AG! AWESOME.





Now, I’ve already been told by several people that I need to work on my champagne popping skills. Maybe I never quite came out of my morning fog, but I couldn’t get the darn thing open until all the guys made it up to the podium, and the gals had taken their seats…or maybe that was planned. Spare the ladies the alcohol soak and leave the boys with the sticky clothes…hum…I like that excuse. CHEERS

I want to commend John, Dan and Kris from SCS Multisport for a super event. I also owe major photo credit to Erik and GC from Triathlete.com and Greg Fleck for all the photos. Also, for your viewing pleasure, Christine Wood takes the most amazing photos... and if you're racing with Curt, you may be lucky enough to get caught behind her lens. Check them out at her blog.

NEXT UP: Buffalo Springs 70.3 in two weeks. I’m still so intimidated by that distance, but very much looking forward to the challenge.

2009 Racing Plans

I’ve been getting so many questions about my race plans for 2009, and although the season is in full swing I still don’t have a concrete race schedule. Or better stated, “I have a plan to NOT have a plan”.

After racing 16 times in 2008, and pretty much burning up my competitive juices, I’m not sure what to expect for the upcoming season. Last winter, I had every intention to significantly scale back my racing to enjoy a larger variety of adventures… I wanted to participate in fun training camps, spend more time doing yoga, maybe the Leadville 100 Mtn bike race etc. etc.. BUT here I am, at the start of the season already registered for five triathlons, with more on the horizon. How did that happen???

It’s Simple…

I guess when it really comes down to it I love triathlon. Most importantly I love the people in the tri community, and I love how training and racing makes me feel. I believe we have the BEST local races/local clubs and it’s easy to get energized by each other’s enthusiasm…. On the flip side, it’s also easy to let pressure and expectations take away some of the enjoyment, but it’s truly how you manage that which makes the difference. Just last week I had someone come up to me and say (any I know they did not mean any harm), “Cathy, what happened at Gear West Du-I heard you almost lost”…. WHAT?!?! I came away from that race energized and feeling wonderful about what I did-And it wasn’t about the victory, but that I didn’t give up. If I finished last but believed I raced the best I could , then I’m happy. Winning races is NOT why I race-In fact, If I NEVER win another race, BUT I’m still having fun, and I’m ABLE to participate then that is MY VICTORY. I know there are so many amazing amateurs out there that could kick my butt on any given day, but that does not change anything for me-I do this for FUN.

Don’t get me wrong, I have every intention to still go out and train my butt off, and race HARD each race. I have goals to improve-That's what's FUN for me right now.

Recently, I’ve heard a lot of very tragic stories, reminding me how fragile life really is. I can’t stop thinking about Cynthia Brochman: A local athletic goddess, who one day during a training run starting coughing up blood and then spent the next 6 days in the hospital charting course for the hardest and toughest fight of her career-the fight for her life. I’ve only met ‘Broc” on a few occasions, but her story is very sad and very real. It serves as a painful reminder that ‘things’ can and do happen…Things which can drastically change your life. With these unsettling reminders, my days of worrying about the little things are over (well, as much as possible). I will not take anything for granted-especially my health. I certainly don’t want to make anyone sad with this message, rather hopefully bring forth these reminders as inspiration to make the best of what you have. Go after dreams with no regrets, but most importantly ENJOY the journey.

So with that, this is what I have on the horizon:

Pigman Sprint (series race): Although it seems strange to drive 4.5 hours for a 70 min race, there is something special about Pigman. This will be the third year for the popular equalizer format. Women get a head start and bust a lung to stay in front of the Big Boys. $750 bonus for the first person to cross the line.

Manitou Sprint (series race): This was the very first triathlon I did in MN, and holds a special place as the local tri opener. I missed this race last year because I decided to drive to IA for a big $$ race (which ended up getting cancelled on race morning), so I’m very excited to be back in 2009.

Buffalo Springs 70.3. It’s been an adjustment getting ready for a 70.3 in June, but I’m excited to go after it in Texas. I still feel so inexperienced at the half distance, but I’m very much looking forward to the challenge. This race serves as a qualifier for both Kona and Clearwater, bringing out a competitive field. I’m going with two great girlfriends so it should be a super fun weekend.

Post Buffalo Springs remains unknown at this point. If I enjoy the 70.3, then I may decide to spend time working on Distance training/racing. I’ll do Pigman ½, maybe pick up another September half, or even a late season Ironman.

OR, if after BSLT I decide that I like the simplicity of OLY racing then I will shift into short/speed mode and maybe go to USAT Nationals at the end of August.

SO many great options… I am so blessed.

ENJOY THE RACES!

Twin Cities On Bike

After my four hour trans city bike tour, its not hard to understand one of the many reasons people live in the Twin Cities. If you can survive the Winter you become blessed with a beautiful playground! I had an easy ride on my plan last Saturday, and decided to do something a little different. Skip the big group ride, and simply take off on my road bike with no agenda...

Here's a few photos I took along the way. I ended up travelling through seven different cities.

Here's the view of Downtown Saint Paul from the top of the High Bridge. This was about an hour into my ride. Kerry works in the tall building in the middle.

From the same vantage point, here is a view to the West which includes the Cathedral and the High Bridge. Repeats on the high bridge=local cyclists boot camp. I skipped the bridge and took Ohio down to the River. Crossed into downtown and then took Shepherd Road towards Minneapolis.

Here's a view from the Ford Bridge. I'm crossing over the Mississippi to the Minneapolis side of the river. This is part of the Lifetime Fitness bike course.


Lower West River road getting closer to Minneapolis.

The newly rebuilt 35W Bridge.

Getting closer to downtown Minneapolis. The Beige building in the middle is where I get to spend 40+ hours a week.

Hennepin Ave Bridge from the Stone Arch Bridge.

I couldn't resist a stop at the Mill City Farmers market.




YUM...Veg dumplings

Dancers outside the Guthrie.

Heading South on East River road. This is also part of the LTF Bike course. You know you want to register...Come join me :-)

Ok-I felt a little lost here. I wanted to get over to Fort Snelling, but couldn't find the way to the pedestrian path (the road is freeway). I eventually found the stairs, and in cyclo cross style put the bike on my shoulder and went to down.

After cruising through Fort Snelling, then across the Mendota Bridge, I took Hwy 13 home to Apple Valley. A great 70 mile tour. It was such a plesant escape from the routine ride.