I seeded myself about halfway back for the start, as it looked like a speedy field. The men went off in two waves before, and the women were the last wave (5 minutes apart) Even though this is an early season race, from looking at the results last year, it was pretty competitive. I thought the entire field went out a bit fast, but I reminded myself to "race my own race" and stick to the plan. I fell into a pretty comfortable pace early on and started picking people off soon. I kept an eye on my HR, because I didn't want to go over an average HR of 175 for this first run segment.

The second mile looped down toward the entrance to the park, and was mostly downhill. It was a good opportunity to being the HR back down and prepare for the end of the segment.

Third mile was challenging, and my pace slipped a bit. I was starting to get nervous about climbing the hills on the bike now, which probably played into the slower pace a bit. Honestly, though...my AHR was higher than I wanted it to be, and I was trying to stick with the plan.

I wish my paces were more consistent, but that's not a huge deal. The pace actually is reflective of the course. I need to have more confidence in my hill running abilities. I run hills all the time in training, so it really shouldn't be an issue.

I'm horrible at transitions. I always think I'm forgetting something. I popped my helmet on first, grabbed the sunglasses (clear lenses for today) and had a gel.

Realize that I'm not forgetting anything. I need a routine for transitions.

My main goal for this race was to practice hill climbing. I've been stressing about them for Lake Placid, and this was a great opportunity to see how I deal with them in a race situation. My coach has had me work on hill technique since we started training, so it was a good chance to see how much of it has sunk in. I wanted to keep my HR around 155-157, because that's the low end of where I keep it for tempo workouts.

Since the climbing starts pretty much immediately (after a big descent out of the park), I had to get into a rhythm quickly. I focused on keeping the cadence up and my gearing. It worked!! The majority of the people I passed were going up hills. Then...they would all fly by me on the descent because descents are apparently my weak spot. I got up to 31.6 mph at one point, which is the fastest I've ever gone on a bike. Yes...I need to work on this before Lake Placid.

The course leveled out a little toward the middle, but then came up with more hills between miles 8-9. I kept with the same formula of getting into a rhythm and staying calm, and had the same result. It was really cool to pass some bikes with Zipps and aero-helmets going up the hills. (although...I give my bike half the credit for this ride). There was one steady climb of about .75 mile toward the end that was difficult, but I worked it without too many difficulties by keeping with my focus on cadence and rhythm.

After checking the official race results, it looks like I had the second fastest bike split in my AG! (I didn't check the girls who finished after me, though). The girl who won my AG was the overall female winner, so I'm not feeling too bad about that.

My overall speed was lower than I thought it would be, but I'm not complaining. I executed my race goal and feel a lot more comfortable on hills now.

Given the higher HR average, I think I need to start working harder during my tempo rides. :)

Still suck at transitions...this one was better, though. Another gel and I was off.

I would go a lot faster. :)

The goal for this segment was just to hang on and leave everything out on course. I think I managed to do that.

It took a bit to get my run legs back, but I think they reemerged about half way through the first mile (just in time for the hills!). I knew the hills would be tough, as my quads were feeling a bit shot. I countered this by just trying to race within myself and focus on working as hard as I could at that given moment.

The hills at the end were challenging, but I did the mini-marker thing...run to that tree, run to that cone, etc. Since it was only a 5K, it went by fast! I ended the race feeling like I did leave everything on course, so mission accomplished.

Not too much. I left it all out there, as my legs were telling me hours later. I'm happy with how it ended.

Walked over to look at the sad post-race food...yuck. Sandwiches. Sorry...I can't handle a sandwich after that effort. Bagel, banana, yes...veggie sandwich, no. After that, I walked back to the car to get some warm clothes on, pack up transition and head home. (with the heat cranked!)


I didn't preview the run course before, so I wish I knew what that was like more. Other than that, for the first time in a long time, I feel like I actually raced to my fitness level. The gearing on the bike could use some work - I didn't shift up to the big ring until the end, and there might have been a section toward the middle when I could have used it.

I'm totally psyched about my bike segment. I can't believe I was worse on the run than the bike!! I think all this training stuff is actually working.


It was a great early season race. I'll put it on the calendar for next year, particularly if I end up doing IMLP again. It's a good gauge to see where I'm at and make some tweaks from there.