OFF THE PODIUM

I came in FOURTH!!! The results are in for 2024 and I missed the North Carolina Tri Series podium by only 656 points! I am disappointed - I was hoping to bump up a step from last year and get into second place. But, the great thing is that I was FOURTH! The women in my age group consistently crush it and I am happy to be in the top ten - much less the top five. I have been chasing Elizabeth Skiba, Suzanne Tulsey and Amy Cocanour FOREVER!!!!! I am happy to be within 20 minutes of their finishing times.

In order to qualify for NCTS series awards and year-end "swag", participants must compete in a minimum of four NCTS races. Each race awards points and only the top 4 scores will be counted. Races are weighted according to distance with the a half-iron distance races receiving more weight than Internationals which receive more weight than Sprints.

This year, I competed in SIX series races. I missed the podium at Pinehurst (which meant 0 points) and somehow my second place finish at Wrightsville Beach Sprint got 0 points (or was not one of the top four races) even though the field was bigger and the swim was longer than most sprints.

I will say that podium spots are always always always icing on the cake. It all depends on who shows up. I could have the race of my life, but if an ex-pro in my age group shows up to the same race, I will probably be at least one step below. But, it sure is sweet to be on the podium.

Back in September, I raced back to back weekends. Both times - funny things happened on the way to the podium. The first race was the WB Sprint. When I finished, I checked the overall results online and realized I was second! WooHoo! I hung out for the awards ceremony and as it approached, I checked out the results again. I noticed that I’d been bumped to third. Oh well, it happens. I happily accepted third place and the awesome medal. The second-place finisher wasn’t there, but I got a great podium selfie with Elizabeth Skiba who had a very strong race.

Later that day, I checked my splits online and compared it to the others in my age-group. I noticed that the woman who finished second (the one who didn’t show up for awards) had a 16-minute 5K. Um……..what?! The winner of the entire race finished his 5K in just under 18 minutes. I am all about girl-power, but, I doubt a woman in the 50-54 age group can beat that. I debated for hours on whether or not to contact the race director….and finally did. She double-checked her timing and reached out to the 2nd place athlete and learned that her lost chip was turned in by another participant and somehow recorded the 16-minute run finish. I was bumped back up to second place. Unfortunately, my score for that race was not in the top four of the series and was nullified in the final standings.

A week later, I raced the Pier 2 Pier swim at Wrightsville Beach. This race is not in the NC Tri Series so I wasn’t going for podiums or prizes or points. In fact, I mentioned in a previous post that it was a tough race. Honestly, I was happy to finish at all! However, I did place at this race in the spring so there was hope. I really wanted a podium spot for this race - the prize was a pair of GOGGLES!!! It’s never a easy to gain a podium spot when the age-groups are grouped by nine years. My chances in a four-year age group is much better! Plus, this year, I am smack-dab in the middle of the 50-59 year-old age group. That age group is full of super-fast swimmers (they all finished 10 minutes ahead of me!). Needless to say, my name was not called. And, when I checked the results later - I found out that one of the podium winners in my age group was actually listed as 60!!!! [And, what’s up with Anonymous. C’mon!] WTH?

There is always this year. There are always new podiums to reach. There are always new personal bests to chase. I have quite a few time goals in mind for 2025 for a few A-Races. I can’t wait to see what awaits.

Third Place, but really Second Place

Selfie from the Podium

Pier 2 Pier Results. One of the top three is NOT 50-59.

IRONMAN ARIZONA - PART 2

The bike-to-swim transition might have been the best/worst part of the whole day. My feet were numb. But, they also hurt to run. They felt heavy. There were five more concrete steps to climb, hard packed clay/sand, grass and mats heading toward the change tent. Before I grabbed my bag, I stopped to have the wetsuit peeler volunteers strip my wetsuit. They helped peel my sleeves off (one sleeve hit the volunteer in the face), I sat down on the ground and they yanked the suit off from my ankles. It took two seconds. Brilliant. I grabbed my T1 bag and headed into the changing tent. The tent was so warm - the temps and the volunteers! I put on two long sleeve shirts - but decided to skip the arm warmers. I dried off my grass-and-dirt encrusted feet and pulled on my socks while one of the volunteers opened my hot hands packages. I stuffed those into my socks. I stuffed nutrition into my kit and headed out to grab my bike and go.

T1: Swim-to-Bike 10’25”

For the first hour on the bike I was very cold. My hands - miraculously - weren’t. Everything else was. I felt like I had goosebumps on my arms and legs for the first loop. But, the sun came out and warmed the concrete and desert around me. I eventually warmed up enough to take off my top layer. Because the bike is three loops and so it’s easy to break up the work into segments. The town turns out technical section, out on the beeline, back on the beeline, and the technical turn section again.

Town Turns Out: Getting out of town and to the beeline was fairly straight-forward, despite all the turns and a bit of bumpy road. I had goosebumps from top to toe, but fortunately, my hands weren’t frozen. I could eat, grab bottles, shift and brake without a problem. My feet stayed cold until mile 62. My biggest worry here is that I lost Barbie! I had zip-tied her to the back bottle cage and as I made a turn, I encountered a couple of rough patches in the intersection. I heard a rattle and thought Barbie had jumped ship. I reached back and couldn’t feel her back there. At least RocketFire Jesus was still with me!

Beeline Out: This segment was uphill but had a tailwind. It was warm and I got to see all the bikes of the leaders headed back into town. My biggest issue was that my right glute and hip flexor were tight. I stood several times to try and work it out - but I couldn’t quite figure out the issue. The other issue: I tried to find my lip balm in my bra pocket and came up empty.

Beeline Back: This segment is a net downhill, but had a headwind. They had called for calm winds in Tempe, but, near Salt River and out in the hills, the wind picked up with every loop. My biggest issue on this segment was a RATTLE in the front of my bike. The roads were rough - so much so that in several sections they marked the pavement with signs, paint and tape. There was cold-patch all over the place. I tried what I could to quiet the RAT-A-TAT-TAT - holding the bottle cage, checking the front cap, checking the stem cap, digging into my bento box for whatever could be loose in there. Nothing stopped it the t-t-t-tt-t-t-t—-t-tttt-t-tt-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t. Talk about anxiety. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had missed a screw somewhere when putting my bike together.

Town Turns In: I liked making the turns back into town. I felt pretty good despite the cold and was a little ahead of schedule when I made the first U-TURN at the hot corner. I had been SO WORRIED about the train tracks at this turn-around. I lost sleep about it the night before. I was so relieved that they were covered with carpet! Brilliant! On my way out, I searched in my bra pocket for the lip balm. Still no luck.

Town Turns Out + Beeline Out: I felt great in this 18-mile section. The rattle had stopped, my glute and hip seemed to be better and I actually needed to pee. I think I stopped at the aid station near mile 45. I peeled off my top layer TOUR DE BLUEBERRY shirt and stepped into the porta-potty. I remembered to turn so that I emptied my pockets away from the pot. Because I was wearing a one-piece tri suit, if I had peeled my suit down over the pot, my nutrition and RocketFire Jesus would have taken a dive in the blue lagoon. As I pulled out the ziploc bag of nutrition - out jumped Rocket Fire Jesus. He landed between the door and the floor. I scooped him up and put him in the boob pocket with the lip balm. It’s very close to my heart where the real Jesus resides.

When I exited the porto, the woman holding my bike helped me play bartender (mix a new bottle of SKRATCH) and said: What’s this? She pointed to Barbie! She was still there!

That’s my Barbie pez, I explained. I take a different PEZ dispenser on each Ironman. This is number 17!

WHAT?!!!! She exclaimed! Then to another volunteer: Roger!! This woman has done 17 of these! You look like Barbie, she called after me as I rode off into the desert breeze.

Beeline Back: Ahhhh…..down hill. Grrrrrrrr……..wind. And that dang rattle again. I felt okay, but I had a little reflux and I started to worry about my nutrition and hydration. I decided to stop to get my personal needs bag - in hopes that I’d find an extra lip balm in there. . Instead I found: CHIPS! I forgot that I’d put Lay’s Baked Potato chips in the bag (along with a chocolate stroop waffle, a spare tube and spare air canisters. Oh my goodness! I was so happy! I stuffed the bag of chips and the stroop waffle in my tri kit top and headed out.

Town Turns In: My favorite part of this section was passing a group of girls near an intersection. They were volunteers directing riders to slow down for the upcoming turn. They yelled: OH MY GOSH I LOVE YOUR HOT PINK!

Thank you! I yelled back. I’m in my Barbie era. They squealed and yelled GOOOOOOO!!!! When I came back by they all yelled GO BARBIE!!!

Town Turns Out/Beeline Out: I am about ready to be off the bike. The turns out of town were not significant, but I told myself to use the momentum of the wind to gain a little speed before the turn-around. I was feeling pretty good and trying to step up my mental game and this dude passed me. He was really moving so I wasn’t surprised at the pass. I was surprised when he stood up about 100 yards ahead of me. He sat back down. I slowed so I wouldn’t catch him in the draft zone. And then he stood up again and I noticed water dripping from his bike.

You’re PEEING? I yelled at him. You pulled in front of me and THEN peed?

Sorry! he shouted. He sped up again and took off up the hill.

Beeline Back: I made the turn-around and decided to stop one more time. I filled my torpedo with ice and cold water and filled my last bottle of Skratch with ice. It made all the difference in the world. I was able to finish that bottle and eat the chocolate stroop waffle. Plus, I was able to take in a little salt and chase it with that icy cold water. I hit the 100 mile mark and cheered as I always do. Out loud and with gusto!

Town Turns In: Now I was REALLY ready to be off the bike. I braced myself for the last turn into town on the bumpiest road and the headiest head wind. Right before the turn another dude passes me, stands up and PEES!!! What is the deal guys?

I made it into town and crossed the carpeted train tracks one more time before bumping up onto the side walk and soft-pedaling into the park for transition 2. I was happy to hear Neal’s voice and even happier to get off the bike.

BIKE TIME: 7:08:58

IRONMAN ARIZONA - PART 1

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I was on the IMAZ course crushing my 17th Ironman and my 82nd triathlon. I did 140.6 miles in 14:56:55. I am still processing the meaning behind the madness, but for now, I am reveling in the fact that I DID IT! I did an IRONMAN! Here is a little of what happened:

I woke up at 3:45AM and took about 15 minutes to prep my mindset before I even started all the normal morning prep. I journaled about my confidence to swim strong + bike strong + run strong + tri strong. I wrote down some of the memories from the training season and from racing these past few months. Neal’s alarm at 4:10AM signaled that it was time to “put on some spandex and do this thing!”

We left the hotel and headed down to transition at 5:15. It took about 10 minutes to get down there. I headed into the maze that is transition. I headed to my bike first. I checked the tire pressure and my Di2 shifters. Then, I started to load Lana up with snacks, bottles, my Garmin Edge and my Barbie Pez. Usually, I put my PEZ in my Bento Box, but she didn’t quite fit with all the snacks. So, I decided to zip tie her to my back bottle cage this time. I also tucked Rocketfire Jesus in the back pocket of my tri kit. He could have fit in my bento box, but, I really wanted him to be with me on the swim, bike and run.

Next up, I headed over to the fence to check in with Ace. He had all my personal needs bags so he chucked them over the chain link so I could finish the maze and meet me on the other side.

The bike and run personal needs bags were about 500 yards away so I did a quick out and back to that area underneath the bridge and then headed over to our transition bags. I realized that I forgotten to put my lip balm in my bento box on my bike. Instead of going all the way over to my bike, I thought of dropping it in my swim-to-bike bag. Then, I worried that I might forget it. So, next logical place for it was my bra. It has a pocket along the front and it seemed like a great place to stash it. This will come back to haunt me later in the day.

Once I’d done all the chores of transition, Ace and I headed over to a quiet little spot where I could sit for a bit. This might have been the longest part of the day. They announced that the race would be wetsuit mandatory because of the water temps (in the low 60s) and the cold air temps (in the 40s). I tried to eat a little more and drink some water before I had to wiggle into my wetsuit.

We watched the crowd, I got dressed and eventually headed over to the swim start chute. At first, I moved into to the 1:20 - 1:30 finish time and then decided to move up further to the 1:15 finish time marker. Ace hung out in the crowd on the other side of the fence so once the official cannon sounded, I handed him my shoes and socks. For a few moments I stood on the cold concrete. But, a woman to my left ditched her fleecy sweatshirt on the ground near the fence and I reached down and moved it over to me to stand on. I spread it out so the girl beside me could use it, too.

Within a few minutes, we were moving forward down the sidewalk, past the announcers, down a ramp and onto a floating dock. As we got close, I poured cold water from a bottle I’d been saving on my head and in my face, down my neck and front. It helped soften the blow of the VERY cold water temp. Swimmers were sent off four at a time every 5 seconds. Almost everyone jumped in feet first. I am a wimp so when I walked to my spot, I sat down on the dock and the pushed off into the water. It took my breath away. I did my normal float and scull move for a bit to catch my breath and acclimate my ears and face to the cold water. Finally, I started to swim.

The swim was everything the blogs and how-to videos claim. It. is. cold. My head and body were fine - wrapped in neoprene. Once I warmed up - about 1000 yards in - I thought: this is a great temperature. But, my hands and feet started to feel the effects of the air temps and water temps. As predicted, sighting was a challenge in some spots. There is a good 800-yard stretch on the way out where siting is great. The shadows of the bridges and the buildings kept the sun out of my eyes. But, there is a slight curve in the rectangle and for another 800 yards the sun is in your face. I was lucky to have my FORM goggles to keep me on track. I think my heading was 240 on the way out, a 0 on the turn and 180 on the way back. Sighting on the way back was better. The sun was rising somewhere behind me and it lit up the buoys and the kayaks The problem was that the kayaks were as red as the buoys. At first, I found myself siting and heading towards kayaks that were to the right of the buoys. I kept thinking: trust your heading, trust your heading and I ended up right on target. The left curve into the finish was short and easy to sight. I finished the swim in 1:19:24 and was 8th out of the water in my age-group.

About 500 yards from the finished I started worrying about a calf cramp in my right leg. Sometimes when I swim long, with my toes pointed for my (non) kick, my legs can get a little tight. If I flex my foot, I can get a calf cramp. I had to purposefully relax and think about it and not think about it at the same time. As I was exiting the swim, I worried that flexing my foot and standing on it would cause a cramp, but I was able to swim up the ramp and stand without an incident.

The exit was a different story. Leaving the ramp required a large box jump…..er…….I mean step up. Well, I missed it. I was a little wobbly from the cold, the noise from the volunteers and crowd was loud and still had my goggles on. I followed the volunteers direction to step up and I missed. I banged my foot against the step and caught myself with my right hand. The crowd went: oooooooh! The best thing was that the photographer was RIGHT there. I looked at him and said take this picture! I will buy it! He laughed and did just that.

WB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Locally, the YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint is known as the Wrightsville Beach World Championships. Of course, it’s not - but it was the first triathlon on the east coast and one of the biggest and most popular in our area.

This is a synopsis from the recent athlete guide:

The YMCA Wrightsville Beach triathlon, first held in 1979, was the brainchild of Karl Sutter, then a resident of Wrightsville Beach, NC. There is now a movie made about the triathlon called, ON THIER FIRST TRI. Karl was competitive by nature and had been a college swimmer, then a few years after college had taken up running to get back in shape. While running one day he sprained his ankle and turned to cycling as an outlet for fitness while his injury healed. When reading Sports Illustrated in the spring of ‘79 he noticed a small article about the first Ironman triathlon with its 12 participants that was held in Hawaii the prior fall. Karl approached the Wilmington YMCA which was under the direction of Jack Morris at the time and a new event for the area was born. This triathlon was first named the Pepsi/YMCA Triathlon and would become the first and longest running triathlon on the east coast of the US with its start of 99 participants that September, 1979. Each summer as the mid September event draws near the triathletes come in droves to Wrightsville Beach each morning. On just about any morning as the sun begins to shine at the beach all sorts of friend/family groups hit the waters and pavement in and around the area to ready themselves for the fun of doing this race. For some, this race has become an annual family tradition, while others it might be competitive or just the beginning to see just what it is all about.

On race morning I was up at 4:10AM and prepped coffee, breakfast and packed most of my gear for our trip to transition. Ace woke up around 5:00AM and by 5:20, we were headed to the WB park to prep our bikes, drop shoes at the swim finish and socialize with just about every athlete in town. I made a game-day decision to drop shoes at Seapath and I’m glad I did. I remembered somewhere in the middle of the night that the last time I’d been to the park there was goose (and thus goose poop), fire ants and wet grass. Plus, it’s almost 400 yards from the swim ladder to my bike on concrete and asphalt. I knew my bunions would appreciate shoes over bare feet. #oldlady

We drove back to the beach house and walked with Tonya and Keith to the swim start at the Blockade Runner. It was a good chance to warm up. The stars were so twinkly and the breeze was warm(ish).

We stood in allegiance to the flag and I sang along (loudly) with the National Anthem Neal headed to get in the water for his wave. Tonya and I got in the water on the south side of the pier and swam around for a quick warm-up in the water. It was warm. I second-guessed my wetsuit - but then thought - why not? I need to practice in it and it might give me a little speed advantage. We swam a bit and then Tonya went to get into her wave. I walked around a bit looking for Erica - and ended up chatting with Annette and Joan and several other friends before finally getting back in the water with my wave.

I stayed back at first, but then got brave and moved up to the front of my wave in the middle of the first row. I wanted clear water and clear sighting off the buoys. Plus, I wanted to be one of the first women in my age group.

I crushed my swim! I was pleased with my form goggles and a kicking current. I finished in under 20 minutes. I was right: I had clear water and didn’t get hassled by too many swimmers. I took off my wetsuit right after I crossed the timing mat and then ran down the concrete walkway along the condos and put on my shoes. I was so glad I did!

I got to transition and found Tonya! Her spot was three spaces over on the same rack. She was sitting on the ground prepping for the bike. I’m trying to beat you out of transition! She exclaimed. You better go! I teased back.

I tried to slow myself down this time. The week before - at Nationals - I had hurried and botched my transition. I remembered a mantra from Ironman Maryland: smooth is strong and strong is fast. I slowed down and dressed from top to toe. Headband, shades, helmet, socks, shoes. [WHYYYYYYY do socks and shoes take sooooo long?] It took a moment to unrack my bike and by the time I looked up…..Tonya was gone.

I caught her just before the mount line. TONYA! You still have on your swim skin! I shouted. I think she might have cussed as I passed her. I found out later that she propped her bike against some of the fencing, took off her shoes, shimmied off the swim skin, balled it up in her tri top bra, put on her shoes and took off for the bike.

I spent the first five minutes in chill mode. In this race, there is no point in passing anyone until you get over the drawbridge and onto Airlie Road. About a mile in, I started picking off cyclists two at a time. There are so many newbies in this race and it’s easy to pass hybrids, cruisers and roadies. I burned a match on Airlie as I passed on the uphill. By the time I got to Greenville Loop Road, I was a bit winded and decided to dial it back again. I tried to bring my heart rate down and was passed by some guy who’d stuck to my wheel in those first few miles. Two miles later, I passed him and secretly vowed to stay ahead of him. I was really on the look-out for Neal who had a 12-minute head start. He was wearing red and there were a few decoys on Oleander - but I didn’t see him or catch him. The last bit of the ride is a lot like the first - bridge, cones, new riders and all sorts of craziness before the dismount line.

I made it to my bike rack in transition and realized somebody had put their bike right on top of my stuff. He literally put his wheel in between my run shoes on my towel. I shoved his bike over three spaces and put Lana back in place. I switched shoes, took of my helmet, grabbed my run belt and took off. I eased into my run.

The first mile has a great out and back where you can spot other athletes. Aside from the finish the out and back on Harbor Island (in the first mile) is the bet par t of the race. This was where I finally saw Ace. I saw Ace as I was headed north and he was headed south. He was about a half mile ahead of me.

I had a pretty good run and came across the line at 1:32:45. Bill Scott gave me a knuckle-bump and Ace handed me the coldest water ever! We had some snacks, waited for Tonya to cross the line and congratulated 1 million of our friends as they crossed the line. The finish line always feels like a festival at the end of this race.

We headed back to transition to pack up our gear and I checked the results. I came in second in my age group! I decided to stay for awards and Ace and Tonya agreed to hang out, too. Just before the awards, I looked at our results for splits and realized that I’d been bumped to third. I was a little bummed because I’ve been working for North Carolina Tri Series points this season and wanted to hold on to a podium spot. The higher you place, the more points you get. But, I was still on the podium and did my signature skip and curtsy as I accepted my medal and hopped up on the third step. [More on how I actually ended up in second place later.]

Tonya, Neal and I headed to the beach house on our bikes and spent the rest of the morning celebrating with mimosas and snacks. I was excited about my medal and about the fact that I beat Neal by six minutes. Neal was stoked that he almost beat my swim time and that I only beat him by six minutes. Tonya was excited that even though she hasn’t been triathloning this year, she was able to get out there and make it all happen!

By the way, you’re invited to this race in 2026! I’ve decided that this race is going to be my 100th race! I am hoping that in 2026, I’ll be able to make this race number 100 - and I want 100 people to play along! I want you to come do this race, too! More info on this to come.

Pre-Race Transition Set-UP

Meet-Up with Erica after the Race.

My Coeur Teammate Caroline!

First Place: Elizabeth Skiba. I was Second Place, then Third Place, then back to Second Place. 

Podium Selfie with Elizabeth Skiba

USAT NATIONALS 2024 - PART 2

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 

On Sunday….I raced again! Fortunately, my age group started a little earlier than the day before…but, we still had to be there and set up by 6:20AM. I was up and ready to go by 3:30 because I couldn’t find my timing chip. I am not one to lose things and I had been dreaming about it all night. I was prepared to leave a little early so that I could get to transition and get a replacement.

Here she is......MIss America!

As Jen got showered and prepped, I zipped up my transition bag and slid it across the floor. Voila! My timing chip appeared. Apparently, the Velcro stuck it to the back of my bag so when I moved the bag, I moved the chip. When I picked it up off the floor, the Velcro kept it stuck to the floor. PTL!

Turkeys. (Note the deli meat for sandwiches on the cooler.)

Once again at Bader Field, I headed to transition to prep my bike. Jen stayed in the car and napped. When I got back – I tried to nap, too. The seats in the Sequoia were already folded down and we positioned all my cargo organizers like they were center consoles. We each had a side to completely stretch out. I used my wetsuit as a pillow and had even brought a blanket. We snoozed for about 45 minutes and then my stomach started growling too loudly to ignore. I made us both sandwiches and finally decided to start moving towards the start.

Once again, the swim was fast. I used my FORM goggles for the second weekend in a row and they make such a huge difference for me. I can keep my head down for longer and still stay in a straight line. I felt like there was a current with me the whole way – even though it was an out and back.

The winds on the bike were stronger on Sunday than Saturday and I was thankful that it was a shorter course. I was pretty thrilled with an 18mph average despite 20mph winds and 25mph gusts. Somewhere on the bike, I realized that my watch was in open water swim mode. I got off the bike and instead of trying to fix it by turning it off and then changing modes, I just rolled with it. I had completed the swim and bike in one hour and was determined to see if I could finish the run for an overall time of 1:30.  

Jen's visor is everything. 

My run actually felt good. It was weird. I knew I wasn’t blazing fast – but it felt easy. Maybe it was all the second-hand pot smoke. Of course, I found someone to chase and nicknamed her the pineapple express. She had three little pineapples on the back of her kit and her run:walk was keeping her just ahead of me. On the turn-around, I still had her in my sights. She was about 50 yards away and I started gaining on her. I knew she might stop at the next aid station, so I caught up to her. Sure enough, she slowed for water and I passed her. I picked up my pace until I got to the rise on the pier and slowed to a power walk. Once I got to the far end of the pier, I picked up my pace again and let gravity pull me down the south side of the pier and back onto the boardwalk. With the end in sight I looked at my watch – I had 3 minutes to finish in under 1:30 and I sailed to the line in 1:28:55.  I averaged a sub 10-minute mile and I was PUMPED!

I was happy to be finished and ready to be on vacation mode instead of race mode. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the boardwalk. I had peel-and-eat shrimp at an outdoor bar and grill, we met Kitty at Bally’s casino, rode the ferris wheel at the Steel Pier, played craps at Resorts Casino, had dinner at Land Shark’s and finished with some casino games at Ocean. We even tried to get to the pool and hot tub – but it was closed by the time we got there.

Thank you, CoeurSports for the cute kit!

Let's go! I'm ready to finish and go play roulette. 

All in all, it was a great weekend and I was pleased with my effort and the results.  I am looking forward to an easy week and only one race next weekend.