New teaser video from USAT.  Bonus shot for the guys at about the :13 second mark.  

1st place - 30-34 age group!

Obviously a reference to Austin Powers, but I had a great race on Sunday!  I did the Monster Tri 2 in Denton.  I was ready for this race.  It was sprint race and it was really the first time that I set my mind to a training plan to be ready for it.

Sprints on the track, quick bricks and endless 100 and 50 sprints in the pool.  And, it worked.  I took 1st in my age group!

And, that qualified me for the 2011 Age Group National Championships in Vermont.  Don't know if I'm really going to attempt that again, but at least the qualification is out of the way if i decide to....So, yeah baby!

 

This guy actually did the whole race in this costume! He said he could see just fine. It made me claustrophobic!

 I raced with my friend and co-worker, Michelle who did an awesome job!  She is 3-months, post-baby!  So any of you mommies out there can understand the major respect I have for her to get herself back into the physical shape to just get out there and do it!  I am so amazingly proud of her! 

More than 300 racers!

Part of the reason, I was so happy with my finish, was last year, I had approached a certain individual about possibly his company sponsoring me as a triathlete.  He, in a joking manner, said that he "wouldn't sponsor last place."  I know him well enough to know that he was kidding, but, I was new to the sport and it irked me. Really irked me. I was excited about my progress and was getting a definite feel for the sport. It was one of those things that has driven me to push harder and expect more out of myself. 

I don't expect 1st place finishes all the time. It may never happen again. I have my loftier distance goals and then, maybe I'll re-evaluate my podium goals in the future.  But, for now.  I'll take this first place and for me, that's enough - knowing that he wouldn't have been sponsoring last - he would have been sponsoring a triathlete-in-the making. 

Heading out on the bike. Brrrrr!!

The guy behind me shot me a dirty look when I chicked him.  Seriously dude? Run. Faster.

Michelle & Me post-race! Tri-Mommies!

We have the best mom's ever!

Our hospital's Web manager and our personal Swim Coach, Blake, came out to root us on!

This is what happens when you live in a small town and there's not much news going on- even when they only publish once every other week.  So embarrassing.  But, hey, maybe it will inspire someone else to try a triathlon. That, to me, would make it worth it!  :)


Speaking of triathlons, I am trying to talk our hospital into sending me to the USA Triathlon Race Director Symposium.  It's being held in Colorado Springs, CO this January.  I'm so excited about getting to be the Race Director for an All-Women's triathlon out at our hospital in 2011.  It will be the first time for this event, and we just nailed down the event date.  Looks like we're a go for Saturday, August 13.  More info when we get the logos and the event website all set up.  

After setting the world record for an Ironman race, Chrissie Wellington had this to say on her blog. And, to me, it is one of the most inspiring things I've ever read. Thank you Chrissie for being a great role model to women of all ages and for the sport of triathlon!

"...as with any ground breaking performance the inevitable questions arise. They are never directed to me. More whispered in the background, or implied in conversations with those who know me. They ask how it is possible to do what I did without the use of performance enhancing drugs. I don’t believe that silence is golden – and my brief response is this. I got into this sport almost by accident. Not for money, for glory or even for world records. Simply to see how good I could be. I had a talent that not even I knew I had. It took a few special people to help me realise that talent and hone me into the athlete I am today. But I devote my life to this sport. Putting my heart and soul into fulfilling my potential – mentally and physically. It requires sacrifice, hard work, determination and an ability to look beyond the physical boundaries that others set for you. I look in the mirror and I know that I am clean. I have never, nor will ever, take performance enhancing drugs. I don’t need to. What you all saw last weekend is the real me, putting my heart and soul on the line to test my limits and show that the bar can be raised.  This is a wonderful time for women in sport. Please, let us celebrate that."


From Chrissie Wellington's web site:
http://www.chrissiewellington.org/blog/challenge-roth-anything-is-possible/