The Austin Triathlon - A Win!

The Austin Triathlon is quickly becoming one of the best multisport events in Austin. It is very local (right around Auditorium Shores, in the heart of downtown) and is a well organized, loop format course, which makes it very spectator friendly. High Five Events heads this one up along with Jack & Adams. Dan Carroll is the 'man in charge', and when he is working, he may be better called Mr. Attention to Detail. Just as in the past few years, the Austin Triathlon did not disappoint this weekend.
This race came about 5 weeks out from Hawaii, so, of course my training has been rather heavy the past few weeks. I actually had to change things up a bit last week since I found my energy levels were beginning to drop. This seems to be a very tricky time, since you have the cumulative fatigue from the season building up, yet a good level of fitness; my husband Derick is a great sounding board, as when he sees me dragging around the house talking of needing a nap, he usually tells me to take an extra rest day. And he is usually right. Anyhoo, I had thoughts of not racing this event, but I knew that despite slightly tired legs, once race morning came around I would get in the mood and once the gun went off, I'd go into race mode and love it.I spent Sunday at the expo doing a brief transition clinic, followed by a pro panel, which was entertaining even on my side of it listening to Richie Cunningham and Michael Lovato talk smack to one another; definitely crowd pleasing. We kicked off Monday morning promptly at 7:00 AM (sans the usual Shawn Colvin, who often sings the national anthem! ) in the wetsuit-legal 1500 meter swim, down and back up Town Lake. It was actually a very pleasant swim, despite a large Open wave, people seemed to spread out nicely and there was no jockeying for position. I found some calm water and cruised along pretty much solo, coming out on the heels of Todd Gerlach, and about 20 seconds down from Tenille Hoogland, the first woman out. I hustled through transition and was out on the bike which consisted of 3 loops (24 or so miles total).
This bike is fun in that we head up South Congress Avenue (a hot spot in Austin, in terms of restaurants, bars, trailer park eateries and most definitely people watching) which gives us a long steady climb then come bombing back down it towards the Capitol. While it is a 'fast' course, it has a few hills which keeps it honest. I hammered away from the start, as I had about 45 seconds to make up on 1st place. I finally caught her on the third lap, but just as I did Desiree caught me so I knew that I needed to stay on the gas. I was quite surprised my body was giving me this much knowing how my legs had felt prior to the start! I guess this is called the 'adrenaline effect'. I had taken my two PowerGels and as the loops became a bit more crowded as we progressed, I was anxious to get off the course as it was also getting a bit wet with some spitting rain. We entered T2 together (Desiree and I) and I knew it would not be easy from then on as she is a great and tough runner! Photo by Mario Cantu

We started the 10k run out of transition and right onto the grass, talk about a cross country course to start! I was using my new Zoot TT 4.0's which felt great, and were a nice bright PINK. Very visible! We had two loops, and the first couple of minutes we spent on a grassy section before we hit the road. I pushed hard from the start, knowing that Des would be tough to stay away from. After about 1.5 miles, we hit another grassy stretch winding through a park and then hit pavement again, as we also hit the crowds. This is always nice, especially if you do not want to 'look back' because they seem to tell you what is happening! I knew I had gapped her a bit, but I never take that for granted and kept pushing hard. We started the second loop, and I took my Raspberry PowerGel to ensure no bonking. I tried to stay on pace, but also tried to keep myself controlled, starting to feel the race catching up to me. Once I hit First Street bridge (and the final mile), I knew I likely had the win and I really enjoyed the crowds cheering. It felt so good, as I had gotten passed the previous year (by Des!) about halfway through the run and lost by 30 seconds or so. I was able to come away with the win, and about a 6 minute improvement on last years time, along with a 2-hour flat overall time! Very pleased with this result, and so nice to do it in a 'home crowd'!

Thanks so much to all of the local support that I have in this amazing town, including Jack & Adams, Hill Country Running (Jamie & Andrea, the watermelon post-race was delicious...!), Advanced Rehab, 3 Cosas Massage, and Go with the Flo Acupuncture. Also a big thanks to my sponsors Zoot Sports, Quintana Roo, PowerBar and Katalyst Multisport. And a huge congrats to the top men Philip Graves, Richie Cunningham and Michael Lovato for duking it out for Top 3. And thanks to fellow women made me work so hard for this win, Des, Tenille, and fellow Zoot'er Sierra Snyder.
Next up is a bit of recovery from this event, and then Branson 70.3 right around the corner on September 19th. Then the season finale, Hawaii, on October 9th. It's been an incredible year, and I already feel very blessed with this season. That said, I still want to finish with a bang! Thank you for stopping by.

**Please note, I am in my final weeks of raising funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through the Janus Charity Challenge via my participation in Ironman Hawaii. My goal is $5000, and I am about $1500 short right now. I really think I can make this goal! Please contact me (kellymhandel@yahoo.com) to find out about how you can donate to this cause. It is one very close to my heart, and your support makes a huge difference, no matter the amount. Thank you!**

Steelhead 70.3: First W-I-N!

It was only 5 years in the making, but I finally secured a 70.3 win. Wait; that's not entirely true. I did win Racine 70.3 in 2007, but of course, it was not technically a '70.3' yet. I guess you could say the wait was well worth it, as yesterday at Steelhead, it all came together and it felt amazing.

I had been in Salida, CO (~7,000 ft. elevation) prior to this race. Derick and I decided to escape the Austin heat for a few weeks, and found a small, outdoorsey town that we both love that would suit us well. The cycling out there is incredible, but I found after about a week, my quads had a constant 'ache' to them which was due to the huge climbs (and inescapable false flats). Needless to say, when I flew to Indiana from Denver on Thursday, I proceeded to take 2 days entirely OFF going into Steelhead. Not typical for me, but my body was quite tired and I felt it needed some extra rest. Point being, I had no idea what to expect from having been at altitude coming into this. My cycling felt strong, but I had been swimming solo (and missing the awesome UT Masters group) and my running felt it was missing some leg turnover. That said, I was excited to race having taken 5 weeks away from competing since Coeur d'Alene.

We drove in on Friday mid-day, and I hit up the usual pre-race meeting, only to see 3 pro women there! I figured that a few more may trickle in, but I knew then that this would be a rather small race. Nonetheless, I figure you have to go out and attack it no matter who shows up. Anyone can be on top on any day, and a chance to race can always be an opportunity to get stronger. I love to race big, high quality fields, but a smaller field like this makes it a bit more laid-back which is always a nice thing.

I arrived at about 5:30 to transition on Saturday AM to find Heather Jackson there as well, and we set up our things under a steady, cool rain. I am not sure where all the other pro's were, but I was a bit jealous of them, obviously staying under shelter, warm and dry. I finally made my way down the 1 mile beach walk to the start, in my Zoot speedsuit (to sadly have to be retired in a month!) and found myself shivering for about 30 minutes! The weather was not threatening, but we were going to have very wet conditions for at least the first half of the bike. We were off right at 7:02, 2 minutes behind the men, all 4 of us, the non-wetsuit, straight shot swim in Lake Michigan.

I found a groove pretty quickly and plugged along, solo, catching a couple of men but mostly enjoying the nice splash in the lake. It is pretty cool as we swim only about 50 meters out from the beach right along the lake, so the spectators can walk along beside us. I exited in about 26-min flat, which was rather quick for the distance without a wetsuit, and began the challenging run up the beach. I did not know who was behind me and by how much, but pushed as quickly as I could to get onto the bike, as Heather Jackson is a phenomenal cyclist and I did not expect her to be too far behind.

Out onto the QR CD0.1 machine and I just hammered it! Having come off of Ironman CDA, I had to really pace myself there, coming through the first half with it feeling 'easy' and resisting the urge to hammer the hills like I would have liked. I like to go HARD! So now I had my chance again! I have to admit I was biking scared, as I knew that if Heather caught me, I would have my work cut out for me. The awesome Aaron Scheides along with his guide passed me, part of the K-Swiss team, and I have to admit I was glad it was THEM in the white and blue and not Heather! I continued to stay on top of my PowerGel's (I take about 7 of them throughout the 56-mile bike), push the flats and keep aero as much as possible on the flat yet slightly rolling course. I could not see the Mile 55 sign too soon, and I was ready to be done with the bike and see what my running legs had in store for the final 13 miles.

Into T2, I grabbed my PowerBar visor, slid into my Zoot Ultra TT's (just like green slippers!), gel flask in hand and was off. I did my usual hair-fix as exiting transition area (low pony-tail to high, gotta be comfortable!) and quickly found a rhythm. This run course is not particularly flat, but I have done many significantly more challenging. It greets you with a hill right at Mile 1, and you then proceed to wind through a neighborhood. You then come to the 'sucker' part of a lollipop loop, which you run around twice. At both Miles 5 & 10, you hit the other good sized hill; nothing crushing, but enough to keep this an honest run course. I felt great cresting the hill, especially the second time, and they are nice enough to not have a Mile 11 marker so that Mile 12 looks even better. As I came back towards transition, I saw many exiting who were starting the run, yelling and cheering at me... Thank you so much for the cheers, and I am sorry I did not return them! I was in a world of hurt and ready to see the finish line by this time. Which brings me to the finish...let me flash back to pre-race on the beach.

Karen had jokingly said as the 4 of us stood there, "So, ladies, lets all get paid today! No super hero's out there today, are there?" (To which I thought, "Well, hell, I hope I am a super hero today! I want to win!") There is currently a rule intact which states that to take home any prize money, a professional must finish within 8% of the winners time. While I can respect the rule in that it is aiming to 'raise the bar' for us professionals, I would also like to see those who show up get paid, especially when the field consists of only 4 women. After Karen said this, the idea kept creeping back into my head throughout the race. So, as I approached the finish line, I figured why not take this opportunity to at least try to allow us to all get a paycheck. I did not know the exact spread, but when I came to the line, the clock said "4:15" (which was 4:13 as we had gone 2 minutes back) and upon a quick calculation, I realized this was going to mean they would need to be within about 18 minutes. I slowed down, high fived a few spectators, then about 5 meters from the finish line, stopped and waited. People looked around, a bit confused, but I knew what I was doing and simply held there for 2 minutes or so. Not knowing the exact spread, and knowing that Heather was likely not too far behind, I decided not to push my luck too much and crossed. While a bit anti-climactic for my first 70.3 win, it still felt incredible to break the tape, while also showing some respect to my fellow competitors.

It was awesome to have my parents there, as they have seen me through this crazy sport from the start. The Muncie Endurathon was my first half-ironman race back in 2004, and I distinctly recall coming in from the bike, hearing my dad yell out, "Kelly, where ya been?!" to which I replied not so silently, "Shut UP, dad!". Good times. Anyone who says the bike is the easiest discipline to 'pick up', I beg to differ. It used to be I would post one of the fastest swim and run times, yet the bike would be so slow it would remove me from contention at all. I have always known that I was better than that, better than the mediocre bike splits I kept posting, it just took a few years to dig it out of me.

Thanks to my parents and my husband Derick, who have seen me through many ups and downs the past few years. Thanks to the Steelhead 70.3 crew; you all put on a spectacular event, even better than in 2009. And thanks to my fellow competitors, albeit a small group of us, Heather Jackson, Karen Smyers and Annie Gervais. I have seen Karen at races here and there for the past few years, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for her. I hear she is a big fan of good beer, as am I. I sure would like to share a few with her someday! It has been a long time coming to 'officially' be a 70.3 Champion, and I am going to savor this one. Hopefully there are more to come!

Next up is Austin Triathlon on Labor Day, a local favorite, put on by only the best, Jack & Adams and High Five Events. Thanks so much for stopping by!

P.S. BIG THANKS to Sean Watkins (www.wattieink.com) for the awesome photos during the event!

Grandma Handel - 96 Incredible Years.

Last night, my grandmother of 96 years passed away. This is "Grandma Handel", to me. She lived a long and very full life. She lived in Columbus, Ohio, so unfortunately I was unable to see her as much as I would have liked regularly. I did however see her over Christmas, as she had moved into Knightsbridge Forum; an 'assisted living' place but she did have the freedom of her own apartment. It is very hard to realize that she is 'gone'. I find myself alternating between overwhelming sadness, and then happiness at the life she was able to live. She moved out of her own house only one year ago. She out-lived my grandfather by about 20 years. He was an incredible man himself, as he taught her (and my father) how to camp, even writing a book on 'cooking in the outdoors'. So, she was living on her own in her own house (probably 1500-2000 sq feet of house, with a basement she used to do her laundry and wrap gifts) through age 95. How many people will ever get to do this? That in and of itself is incredible. It was hard for her to move out of 3122 Glenrich Parkway, but I think she knew that it was time for her to simplify her life a bit.She loved a few things, some of which included her family, giving gifts (she had Christmas gifts wrapped by June each year!), Ohio State football, lunches with her lady friends, crossword puzzles in the mornings. She rarely skipped a day without her 3:00 'highball', a simple glass of whiskey (usually Kentucky Tavern). I am tempted to say this is what helped her live her 96-years. :) Grandma was always up for a visit from us, though I only wish I could have done so more often. Life can be tough; we do the best we can, but ultimately we have to 'live our lives' and she was nothing but supportive of what I have chosen to do with mine.

I spoke with her just 2 weeks ago, upon our arrival in Coeur d'Alene. She called me after receiving a card in the mail, and after her highball, which made her quite chatty. While she was a bit short of breath, she was animated as ever. Her mind quick as a whip. My mother told her last weekend of how I performed, telling her that I 'qualified to race in Hawaii'. Her response? She lit up, smiled and said "Ooh, that's the big one!" How she knew this, well I can only say it is because she is Amazing Grandma and she just 'gets it'.
Grandma Handel even picked up emailing the past few years, keeping up with the times. She had a 'mail station' which she used to open up and correspond with people via email. She made friends easily and in her 20 years living alone, had her fair share of boyfriends. She would tell you of how a few wanted to marry her. She'd kind of giggle and make light of how she was 'outliving them all'~! When we visited her house even last year, the light in her living room would automatically go out at 10:00 PM. This was when it was "time for Doc to go home." (Doc being one of her past boyfriends).
I will miss her dearly. Just writing these thoughts down hurts. There is no way around it, dying sucks. I know it is a cycle and I should be thankful for her time here with us, but when Grandma has always been here and always been so quick and smart, it is incredibly tough to try to imagine moving forward without her. That said, I can only hope to remember all the amazing times we had with her, and carry on with the so many things that she taught me. Grandma knew how to take care of herself; while she was fiercely independent, she loved deeply. She was a beautiful person inside and out, and not surprisingly, I think she just got tired. We will all miss you Grandma, and you will live forever in my heart.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene: 3rd Place - What a DAY!

Whew; what a journey it has been. I am still in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, at the coffee shop that Derick and I have eaten lunch at now I believe approximately four times. We head back to Austin tomorrow, and the past week here has been incredible. I am not really sure I have fully 'digested' that my first Ironman has come and gone, but I will try to put the thoughts out on paper as best as I can only two days post.

I came into this event still a 'newbie' at this distance, which is interesting because I am anything BUT a newbie to this sport. I started in 2001 and I turned pro in 2002. I knew I did not want to tackle an Ironman until I felt I could do WELL; I attempted this last year in Canada, but I dealt with some unforseen circumstances and was unable to finish (I stepped up to the start line knowing I would probably not finish). So, all things considered, this was truly the first one I knew I was ready and prepared for. I told a friend in transition race morning, as we walked to the swim start, "What a perfect day; we could not ask for any better conditions. I know now that if anything goes wrong, it is all my fault; nothing else to blame!" I like this kind of situation; I like holding myself accountable.
The days leading into Sunday were perfect; incredible 'homestay' with Sherry Brietenbach, who lives up in Hayden Lake right off the bike course. We arrived early, settled in, and I felt ready to go by Thursday. Probably the hardest thing was containing my energy and excitement until Sunday. I felt a strong sense of peace, and ease, even through Sunday morning. There were a few flutters of nerves, but I was moreso just ready to see what I was capable of and finally DO this thing that I had set out to do a year ago.

We arrived to the venue early, and I headed down to the lake with enough time to hop in and swim a few strokes; not much, but I knew that my Zoot Zenith wetsuit felt perfect in these conditions. I actually love 'cool' water so the temperature could not have been better; low 60's I heard. In the minutes before the gun went off, I made sure to find a few friends, give them a hug and wish them the best; we were all in for a long day, and I think it helps to relax by remembering this and knowing that essentially we are all 'in this thing together.'
Right at 6:25 AM, we were off! I felt a mild panic at the start. I think this could have been that it was a bit crowded, but I think that a small wave of nerves hit me and I thought "This is it! How awesome!" I still felt a bit boxed in, so I swam far to the right and found some clean water. I am sure I took a slightly longer line to the first turn buoy than needed, but I felt comfortable and for me, that is very important with the swim; feeling like I can find my own rhythm and stroke. I exited the first loop with Hillary Biscay, and we headed out for #2 together. She was a great swim partner, as I believe she led the first loop and I led most of the second. The chop was a bit worse than it appeared from the beach, but I tried to relax, enjoy it and realize that this portion was far shorter than what was to come; the body would not feel this light (or cool) for many more hours!

We came out, the awesome volunteers did their job well and tore that wetsuit off of me and it was onto T1. I was out on the bike and spent a little bit of time (we are talking maybe a few minutes) in first, which was fun. I knew that would not last long. :) I was passed by a couple of women within the first 5-10 miles, but I tried to 'let them go'. My biggest goal on the bike was to RIDE WITHIN MYSELF. I knew that women would pass me, and I had to be alright with this. I cruised along, started to push the nutrition (MANY PowerGels fueled me along; I probably took 15 gels and two bottles of PowerBar Endurance on the bike) and tried to keep myself controlled with my pacing, using my SRM to keep me controlled. It was tough to get to the upper part of the course and 'not push the hills', as this is what is my strength. I let the ladies come and go, many of them before the first loop completed, coming back through town still feeling great at miles 60-70. My Quintana Roo CD0.1 did not fail me, as I felt incredible in the TT position and just as good on the climbs. I cannot express enough how much that bike feels to have been made for me. Nothing ever 'unraveled' physically, but I did notice the hills were much harder by about mile 90, and the last 12 miles coming back into town I could feel my power start to fall off. I also intentionally decreased my intensity a bit here, knowing I had 26.2 miles to run soon and I needed my running legs. While I completed the bike in 5:27, a few minutes faster than 'planned', I think that I really nailed it in terms of perceived exertion. Now I had to only hope that I had it in me to run well. The unknown was a bit daunting, but I tried to not think too far ahead.

Into T2, I threw on my Zoot Kapilani's (they have laces, but they have been great for open half marathons so I decided to use them for this full; they feel like slippers!), PowerBar visor, gel flasks, and was off. Haley Cooper was out of transition just ahead of me and started off with a strong pace. My plan for the run was as follows: If you see sub-7 min for the first mile, dial it back. I did not catch the FIRST mile split due to the markers, but I did catch the second mile split: 5:58. That could not have been correct; maybe I was out of it, but I immediately said "EASY KILLER!" I substantially dialed back my intensity, let Haley go and settled into a rhythm. I was seeing between 7:00 and 7:30's for most of the first half of the run. The big surprise here was, it did NOT FEEL GOOD. :) I am blessed that almost every time I race a half, it just feels great! I knew this could happen, and I told myself it was alright; to simply keep moving, keep fueling and keep looking ahead. Once I completed the first loop, I was hurting. I found myself walking twice. They were short bouts, but I did walk around the 13 or 14 mile mark. I said to myself, "Kelly if you walk, it will take a hell of a lot longer than if you keep running." That got me going. I wanted this to be OVER WITH! :) I kicked it back up a notch and kept running, and somehow, my body came back around at mile 18 or 19 and I started to feel almost 'good' again. I did not think this was possible in an Ironman! I could see the lead women quite a bit ahead, but I did not even think about it. I told myself "This is YOUR journey. You are in 4th place right now. You can be sub-10 hrs if you just keep moving." Amazingly enough, I started hearing people saying that Haley was just 50 meters ahead. I did NOT alter my pace, knowing I did not want to risk blowing up. I kept it steady and passed her at about mile 22, offering her a few words of encouragement, and kept plugging along. I pushed in another PowerGel, and not until I saw Mile 25 did I start to pick it up. I figured after this long and so many hard training days, I could kill myself for one mile and still finish.
I finally saw Sherman Avenue, and I have never been so happy to see the finish up ahead. With my history of being out sprinted, I kept on the pace, and with about 200 meters to go, took a look over my shoulder; seeing an empty stretch of road was a huge relief. I smiled and thanked the lead cyclist, when he peeled of and I began to celebrate. WHAT A FEELING! Top three and a 9-something (I did not even know exactly what) for the first one! I enjoyed it, gave out some high 5's, and cruised my way into the finish.

After finishing, my first thought was, "I don't want to do that again for a long while." Then I was pulled off by the amazing Lisa Bentley and Greg Welch for an interview, and by USAADA for drug testing, to which I replied "I'd love to be drug tested." It is tough to explain exactly how I was feeling; mostly shock that I was able to recover from such a rough patch on the run to recover and still have a very respectable finish.

A few thoughts from this crazy experience:

• I was quite humbled on the run. I had big hopes of a 3:00-3:10 marathon; I figure (hence my blog title), AIM HIGH and if you fall short, you still succeed! That is my approach and that is what I did. That said, I now know how truly tough it is to run a marathon after 112 miles of cycling and it is no easy feat. My goal will not change going forward, but I am NOW quite pleased to have put together a 3:14 run with how I was feeling.
• The term 'mental fortitude' keeps coming to mind. This beast is truly about simply persevering. I knew that the others had more experience, I knew they had been through the 'first one'; but I knew that I was used to having to run myself into contention from prior races. I never gave up and when I wanted to walk, I reminded of how I'd kick myself for months to come if I had. It is amazing the strength that exists tucked away in our own head.
• A sense of calm is a good thing before an Ironman. It is essentially a long day of training; three long back to back workouts. I think that the relaxed attitude I tried to take into it and the excitement of the event helped me out in the end.
• SUPPORT - What a difference a support network makes. My husband Derick who has seen me go from being truly horrible on a bike to seeing me become non-sucky; my parents who have never done anything but support my athletic endeavors; my sisters, and my aunt Sandy and uncle Del. My sponsors Quintana Roo, PowerBar, Zoot, Chris McCrary and Katalyst Multisport, Xcis, Jack & Adams (Jack has called this for some time that I could tackle this distance, and he was right!), Advanced Rehabilitation, Hill Country Running, 3 Cosas Massage and Karen with Go with the Flo Acupuncture (who also did her first Ironman!). Sherry was our host and she was nothing but accommodating and a joy to be around. I could not ask for a better support network; these people all make my job 'easy'.

Also a huge congrats to Andy Potts and Linsey Corbin on their stellar performances and first Ironman wins. Both are truly nice people and very deserving of their success. Congrats to Meredith Kessler, first year pro and 2nd here, and Haley Cooper who made me work damn hard for that third place finish! I love the stiff competition as it forces us to bring out the best in ourselves. I hope that I can be a lesson in that anything is possible with loads of hard work and a never-say-die attitude. This is an incredible journey, and I frequently have to stop and think about how lucky I am to be able to do this. Thank you for the kind notes, it really means a lot to me to hear the support from each one of you. Now is time to rest, reflect and refocus for another one of these beasts of a race in October.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kelly

Rev 3 Half Ironman: 2nd & Better than Expected!

What a day! I wanted to put my thoughts down rather quickly from yesterdays event, Rev 3 Tri Half Ironman at Quassy Amusement Park in beautiful Middlebury, CT. I had this event on my schedule in 2009 and opted out at the last minute for fear of a back to back race weekend with Eagleman, and I regretted it ever since as I heard such positive things about this event. So, this year I planned for at least the first two races, Knoxville Olympic and Quassy Half Ironman. Thus far, I have been 3rd and 2nd, and tackled beautiful and challenging courses both times. Here's how it all played out...(above is my mom and I at end of weekend, not sure why it is so small...!)

I flew in on Friday and met my mom at the Hartford airport, as I figured this would be a great trip to spend the weekend with her in a gorgeous part of the country. We settled in and before I knew it it was 7:00pm Friday night and we had not stopped; so we found ourselves a great little seafood restaurant and sat outside, enjoying a relaxing dinner with some wine and some much cooler temps than I am used to in Austin. Saturday I did my brief bike ride on my QR CD0.1 (about 20 minutes) and a quick run (12 minutes or so) and proceeded to chill out and get off the legs; Zoot compression socks and all. The pro meeting was at a very convenient time of 2:30 on Saturday, allowing my mom and I time to have an early dinner and be back into the hotel room by 6pm to relax for the never-welcome 4 am wake up call.

The weather was a bit threatening, with storms predicted for Sunday morning. I don't mind rain, in fact I can enjoy it for the cooling factor; however I had heard this course was very winding and hilly, so I was hoping for as dry a course as possible. We very much lucked out, as it was humid and warm but for the most part dry on race morning; we had a few sprinkles on the bike but no downpours. I arrived much too early to transition, out of character for me but better safe than sorry. I had everything set up in approximately 4 minutes (more or less) and proceeded to do a short run warmup and prepare for the 6:53 start.

The swim was in beautiful Lake Quassapaug, which fell pro friend and local Dom Gillen told me was one of the cleanest lakes in the area. It was crystal clear water and flat as glass, just as I like it. I tend to get pummeled and buried in choppy conditions. The entire course was visible from the beach; each buoy and all of the turns. We were off promptly, and I positioned myself right with the top few women from the gun. I felt strong, relaxed and confident from the start; very in control. We had a nice little group of about 4 of us, with no pushing or shoving; just swimming, the way it should be. The only tough spot was turning into the sun on the furthest part of the course, but luckily the feet before me swam a nice straight line and we all stayed on course! I exited on the heels of Joanna, Mary Beth and Julie, all very strong swimmers and I knew that I had put up a solid swim. Part 1: Done and onto the monster of a bike I had heard of.

I immediately began taking my PowerBar gels once on the bike, as I was feeling a bit light-headed pre-race and wanted to make sure I stayed ahead of my nutrition needs. I had put my typical flask with 4 gels on the bike as well as taped 3 more gels to my top tube. I took my Double Latte PowerGel immediately and settled into a rhythm. You had to be ON YOUR GAME the entire bike course; the terrain was either going up, down, or twisting and turning before you. I felt so strong on my QR CD0.1, especially on the hills. I tried to stay low and fast on the descents, and immediately get into climbing mode on the hills, which were alternating so frequently. I was able to come out of transition in 4th and worked my way into 2nd within 10-15 miles. I knew that Mirinda would come by me sooner or later, and that she did about 25 miles into the course, with some nice positive words as she did so. I was quite shocked and encouraged to find that I was able to work hard to not let her get away too quickly! But by the time we were nearing 40 miles or so, I could start to feel the course and I knew I needed to stay within myself. She and Mary Beth rode away a bit, but I stayed strong, proceeded to down all of my gels and by mile 45 I was thinking "I will not be upset once this bike course is over with." That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was hoping that my running legs had not decided to stay out on the roads far behind me as I neared transition.

I entered T2, racked the bike and thanked her for carrying me along so swiftly, grabbed the PowerBar visor, gel flask, race number, threw on my Zoot Ultra TT2.0's and off I went for more hill torture; this time for a 'brief' 13 miles, by foot rather than bike.

I was sitting in 4th place out onto the run and I knew I had some work cut out for me. As I always do, I tried not to think about where the women were ahead of me but moreso what I could do to move forward as quickly as possible. I settled into a rhythm, checked a few mile splits but for the most part focused on getting a steady stream of calories and water into me and just kept looking ahead down the road. Talk about BEAUTIFUL! Long roads nestled among tall green trees and nothing but farm houses and lakes around you. Absolutely a stunning place to host an event. That said, I knew that a punishing hill started at mile 3.5 and went for ~1 mile, so I mentally prepared for this (on a gravel road nonetheless). I was able to run into 3rd place by approximately mile 6, but I tried not to alter my pace too much. I know what I am capable of and a race like this truly is a race against yourself. I knew we were all suffering in our own way out there, so as I then moved into 2nd at about mile 9, I offered a few words of encouragement to Julie; what an incredible competitor; I had to contain some excitement when I realized that I has passed her by. You know a course is challenging when people of her stature are struggling. That said, I knew nothing is a sure thing until you cross the finish line, so I continued to try to stay on my pace, take my gels and just take it one mile at a time.

I did not let myself start to 'celebrate' until about mile 12, at which point they did the unthinkable... ANOTHER HILL! One last hill to keep us honest, guess you could say! I pushed myself up it and the best part was that when you turned the corner at the top of the hill, there was the finish chute. What a welcome sight!

I then proceeded down a short grassy stretch, at which point my legs felt like they may give out on me from fatigue, the uneven terrain and the short downhill. Wouldn't that have been entertaining; the second place pro women falls down and trips 100 yards from the finish. It's definitely something that I of all people would do... luckily I kept myself upright, and I enjoyed every second of the celebrating down the finish chute.

Words are hard to describe how I am feeling from this race. I knew that I have had this in me for awhile, but it is so rare that we go to compete it all just 'comes together'. I said going into this race, I would be stoked with Top 3 finish. I truly thought that would be enough of a challenge. That said, I knew that I was capable of more. That is something I think is very important to differentiate -- Set your goals high, but also know what you are CAPABLE of doing. Had I of not thought that I could be 2nd or even 1st place, my emotions could have gotten the best of me when I found myself sitting firmly within the top 3 and it could have been my downfall. But when I moved into 2nd, I had to think to myself, "Kelly - This is where you deseve to be. Go with it." I am humbled to have performed so well among a field of such amazing women competitors. I am excited to see YEARS of hard work finally coming to fruition. And, I am confident about what else lays ahead. Nothing is ever a sure thing when we toe the line; what we have done in the past, what others have done on paper, or what our bodies will give us on the day. That is what makes this sport and the challenges so unique. It always comes down to competing smart and competing within yourself.

I have to give a huge thanks to my sponsors: Zoot, PowerBar, Quintana Roo, Katalyst Multisport, Xcis Software, Advanced Rehabilitation, Jack and Adams, 3 Cosas Massage, Hill Country Running, and Go with the Flo Accupuncture. The support and belief ya'll have in me means so much; I have such an incredible support network. Thank you to the Rev 3 event crew: Heather, Charlie and Eric and the amazing volunteers - you all know how to put on a top-notch event and I see big things on the horizon. Also thanks to my biggest and most enduring supporters, my husband Derick and my parents, who have seen me through this journey since my ITU days of getting dropped off of bike pack upon bike pack upon bike pack. Here's to perserverance!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and see you at the next one...

Kelly

Don't Be Anxious for Success

Everyone wants to be successful at something, be it a career, an athletic endeavor or simply being a good husband, wife, parent or friend. And rightfully so; aiming for something in our lives gives us a sense of purpose and drive; a reason to get up each morning, and hopefully a sense of fulfillment. But I think that it is important for us to not 'expect' immediate success. I do not claim to be an expert on this topic, but I simply wanted to voice some thoughts from experience in of course the realm of sport.
They way I see it, sport is a journey, and hopefully a lifestyle for many of us. You may be working towards your first 5K, or perhaps you are doing your first triathlon this summer. Maybe you are going to start yoga classes soon, which you have never formally done before. It is completely different for each one of us; but ultimately we all (likely) want to 'become better than we currently are'. I am often asked by various people getting into the sport of triathlon about my background; and most are shocked when they hear that I am currently training for my first Ironman. My journey with this sport started back in 2000, when I began racing local event back in Champaign, Illinois. Those first two seasons were so much FUN! My motto was "this is not going to be serious" (so much for that one). But in all reality, it was not serious. It was truly fun; I met a new group of friends; we rode together, I learned of this strange 'town sign sprint' thing on the bike... I crashed, many times...I got injured...and I realized that I liked this 'lifestyle'. The next step was that I realized I had some 'talent' at triathlon and headed to Colorado Springs to step it up a notch... honestly, it was a double whammy that I got to go to the Olympic Training Center; all I really wanted to do was move the hell out of the midwest. What a great excuse!

2002 through 2005: I raced ITU events internationally, I had some big success' and some big injuries, I met my now husband (thank buddha for stress fractures, or I would have been off at some race instead of at the Mt. Evans hill climb where I met him!). I realized I did not like this 'draft legal' stuff so much, so I started doing half ironmans. I royally SUCKED on the bike, but everyone told me 'time in the saddle will fix that!' so I optimistically believed them.

2006: We moved to Austin, Texas for Derick to go to grad school; I was still racing and of course working to pay the bills as well (since racing was not accomplishing this goal). I continued to creep up in my results. Slowly, my running got stronger and my cycling got less-weak. Fast forward to current day, 2010, where after 10 YEARS of this stuff I have finally seen some consistent, solid results. I guess they all were right... time in the saddles DOES work, but noone told me that it would take 10 years of it?!
Point being...slow and steady is the way to go, people. You know the turtle and the hare story? In sum...

The story concerns a hare who ridicules a slow-moving tortoise.
In response, the tortoise challenges his swift mocker to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise far behind and, confident of winning, he decides to take a nap midway through the course.
When he awakes, however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily,
has already won the race.

Don't be anxious to be successful. This is not to say that if you experience quick success, you will then come crashing down. I am not saying that; I am simply saying to be patient, and if you enjoy the path that you are on, good things will come. In the world of sport, there are no quick recipes for success. And if you think you have found one, I hate to tell you but it will probably come back to bite you in the ass at some point. There will be ups and there will be downs; such is life. Often times, the biggest 'downs' have turned out to be the biggest 'ups' in my journey because it forced me to step back and realize that there is more to life than triathlon. They forced me to enhance other parts of my life, because when you are pushed out of the race scene by no choice of your own for 2 or unexpectedly 10 months, what other choice do you have? It then becomes about perspective and how you choose to REACT to the cards you are dealt.

I could go on and on, but the simple message here is to be patient. Put in hard work. Be smart, listen to your body. Allow yourself good days and bad days. Savor the success' and roll with the punches when the results are not what you had hoped for. But most of all, be sure to always be able to step outside of yourself every so often and be sure that the path you are on is fulfilling to YOU. Everyone has a lot to deal with in their own lives; if you worry about what others think if they see a lackluster result, get over it...as my swim coach in college told me when I whined about a bad swim, "Kelly, there are thousands of people over in China right now who don't give a damn about swimming." He also told me when nerves got the best of me, "Bug, (my nickname; I looked like a bug when I swam), you are going to go and race, and no matter what, we are going to put you back on that bus and take you back to Champaign." So there you have it. Do your best, be honest with yourself, enjoy the journey and most of all, don't ever take yourself too seriously. There's always tomorrow.

Rev 3 Tri Knoxville - Enough with the sprint finishes...

So...it's official, I need to work on my sprints. Yep; that is me, above, in 3rd. Not 2nd. Maybe I'll take to the track after this race write up and bang out something like 10x200's. I blame it on my swimming background. I happened to qualify for State Meet when I was young in about every event EXCEPT the 50-free. It's not my fault, it's in my genes! Nonetheless, despite the 2-second differential between myself and 2nd place (me being on the 'losing' end), I am extremely pleased with the 3rd place at Rev 3 Tri Knoxville from the weekend.
I went into this event excited that it would be over with in 2+ hours, and also very relaxed as my focus is on Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June. I love to race, so I was ready to see what my body would give me for a short 2-hour event, but I was also realistic in that my training has been focused around something much longer. I flew into Birmingham, Alabama on Friday, where my good friend Laura picked me up and we headed 4 hours north towards Knoxville. However we made a quick detour to the Quintana Roo headquarters Chattanooga, TN where I was able to meet much of the awesome crew there, including Brad DeVaney, the man behind the magic (designer of the new CD0.1). Not only have they created an amazing bike, but the people behind the scenes are just good people. It was very cool to see where the bike started, how it evolved and became what it is now; which is a kickass machine!Saturday found myself abnormally tired, waking up late and only getting in a 30 minute ride that morning; I just nixed my typical 15 minute run. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body and go with what it is telling you. I spent the day getting my bike dialed in with Tres from QR, doing a brief interview with Mike at BeginnerTriathlete.com (expect to see a review of the CD0.1 on their site soon), pro meeting and enjoying dinner with Laura and Derick's parents who drove in from South Carolina. With family and friend support for Sunday's race, the pressure was on to give them all a good show. "Check" on that one!
As you have likely heard from others, Sunday morning was COLD; especially coming from Austin where the previous week had greeted us with many 95-degree days. It was probably in the upper 40's or low 50's, but a beautiful morning. With a 7:50 AM start, I was not complaining; it was cool but the sun was shining. We had a non-wetsuit swim, which you'll rarely find me complaining about, and it was not so much the 69-degree water but the air which made things tough. We took off promptly at 7:50-something, made our way down the Tennessee River into the sun and then headed back towards the exit. Swim was nice, nothing too exciting, and I found myself exiting with friend and fellow American Dede Griesbauer. I had a pretty entertaining transition, exiting with my shoes in my bike and one shoe popping off; a nice man handed it to me, so I put it in my mouth and ran my bike to the mount line, at which point I put the left shoe on and then hopped onto my bike, fiddling into the shoe which had not come off; and slightly laughing at myself. Let's just not acknowledge that this mishap definitely took an extra 2-seconds...moving onto the bike.This course was beautiful! Winding, hilly, cold, and gorgeous. It was quite challenging to get any water, but I managed to drink almost one bottle and also get down two PowerGels on the 25-mile course. I held my position, and found myself leap-frogging with Dede and also Sam Warriner. I had very numb hands and feet, but I have had this before; you just have to be very careful and cognizant of your handling skills in this situation. I powered up the hills loving every minute of it and hung on for dear life on the fast descents and winding turns. Before I knew it, we were back at transition and I exited the bike in 7th place or so; and only 30+ minutes to make it up!

I fumbled to get my Zoot TT2.0's on, yet I was probably not the only one, as my hands would not work too well. I finally go them on and took off... charging hard to catch some women! It felt GREAT! Amazing the difference in your legs from 25 vs. 56 miles of cycling. I ran myself into 3rd place by about mile 4 (at which point I then realized I did have feet underneath me), which honestly kind of surprised me when I heard "40-seconds from 2nd" from some friends. Yikes! If I could keep this up, I'd be at least top 3 or even 2nd. I kept pushing hard, and finally saw Sam Warriner up there at about mile 5. I could tell I was closing on her, but it was slowly. And I was working HARD! We came through transition with about 1/2 mile to go, and I was able to run even with her. She jostled for position, trying to keep me behind her. This is why I was no good at ITU racing; this irritated me. For most, it would fire them up. I felt strong up a slight hill and was able to pass her without too much added effort, and we were then within about 400 meters of the finish. I SHOULD have put in a big surge here knowing that I lack a final kick, and tried to gap her. However I didn't, and she put that surge in with less than 200 meters to go, gapping me, and I did not have a response. Of course I was a bit frustrated, but I knew that she would be tough at the end. We cruised into the finish, and I was, yes, ... 2-seconds behind her. However, I came to find out that I had put in a 35:26 10K effort, which I believe is the fastest I have ever run for the distance. So, I am not disappointed in the finish, though I will say that it is OFFICIAL: I CANNOT SPRINT! But hey, at least I can make the finish exciting! Fellow ladies, do not fret: if you are in a sprint finish with me, you'll probably win it. :) Of course, I'll try my hardest not to let that happen.

Having come here not expecting too much, I was very pleased with 3rd and I cannot say enough about how awesome this event was. Heather and her crew with Rev 3 Tri had an amazing setup. It was spectator friendly, they scouted out a beautiful and challenging course, and made this so easy on the competitors in terms of logistics. They have done great things with this young series, and I am stoked to see what Quassy holds in store in just 4 short weeks. If you have the chance, check out the Rev 3 Tri series! You will not be disappointed; and if you have friends or family attending, there will be plenty of action for them as well outside of the event. Congrats to all of those out there who raced and thanks to all of the fellow pro women for making it an awesome event. The entire layout from transition to the finish line area made it feel like a little 'community', as I saw may of the same people both Saturday and Sunday; from the guy with the Woodle dog, to fellow professional and friend Jessica Jacobs and her husband and daughter with their pup decked out in a Sport Beans jersey... by far the cutest dog in attendance.

I have opted to not race for a few weeks, which is very hard for me, but to stay put in Austin and focus on preparations for June. The down time will be good, the volume will be big and I hope I survive. But I am excited at the challenge and I am extremely pleased with how the first few season races have gone thus far. Life is good, I feel extremely lucky to be able to do this and I am loving every minute of it. Derick and I decided that after every 'good' race I have, we need to go and have tex-mex and margaritas to celebrate. That said, I must go and get my swim done as the margaritas will taste a bit better after that. Thanks for stopping by and see you out there!