Momentum Crit Series #4

This was the last race of the series. The start time moved to late afternoon, after the Tantalus TT race in the morning. The crit course was a little different than before, and less boring. They added a dog leg type of turn before the start finish line. Some parts of the race was a little wet - which made for sketchy turns and slick painted surfaces.

The tradewinds were blowing as usual, and gusting up to 25mph on the open flightline. We rode into the wind through the start-finish-line. The tail wind on the back side, made for a nice recovery section for the heart rate, but not necessarily for the legs. Still, I was feeling strong - despite racing every weekend for the past month. About 10 minutes into the race, there were a few IT&B guys that were ready to make a get away from the front with the tailwind. I could sense that they were getting bored with the pace. I decided to take that initiative, and give it a go by pushing the pace, not really breaking away, but to make an attempt to string out the riders and wake the field up a bit.

As we approach the water we make a wide sweeping left turn into the wind, then another tight left, then a right, into the wind again. They left me up there through all the turns, until one guy accelerated by me through the start/finish area. I waited for a few guys to go by, and when I saw a wheel I wanted I jumped back into the pack to recover. Russ had thought that I was done after my pull, and I'd be too tired to get back into the group, but I was fine, and managed to stay in the field without struggle. The chemistry of the race seemed to change after all that commotion, and things got more exciting, but no one or no group really got away, at least not for long.

Since this course had three different turns going into the finish - I knew that if I positioned myself well, I'd beat my friend, Spence. pictured above riding next to me. He'll whip my butt any given day, on a straight out TT race, but not this crit race, and not today.

Russ is looking on in the background, as my teammate, John, and I blast through the wind to the finish line. I finished 11th. overall in the men's field.

12th. Annual Lava Man Triathlon 1.5K/40K/10K

The 12th annual took place on March 29th, 2009. This years’ race drew approximately 800 competitors. http://www.lavamantriathlon.com/
This race draws a wide range of athletes from first timers training with LLS Team in Training program, fast age groupers from all over the U.S. and International waters, as well as top professional triathletes.
Lavaman is a must do race for all triathletes. It’s located on the Big Island of Hawaii in the Waikaloa resort area. The winds are fierce, the heat is a given, and the terrain on the run is a mix between road, lava rocks and sand. I will affirm the after party is indeed as the website advertises, “One of the best.”



Why pass up on taking the short flight over to Kailua-Kona for the Lavaman race experience, even though I’m still tired from the 30+ mile jaunt up Mt. Haleakala, and the state team TT race? I love to race!! Russ and I traveled together, and he is always a good race supporter.

Race morning – what a BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE!!

Upon arriving to the transition area, I was a little surprised that the line for body marking was a mile long, but with an hour until race time, there was nothing to worry about. The volunteers were in full force everywhere. The body marking method used block letter stamps dipped in ink, rather than drawing our numbers.

The race began with a nice swim shaped like an M. The pre-entertainment to demonstrate exactly where we will swim in relation to the buoys was watching a guy on a jet ski taking the course at warp speed. The swim segment had five different waves. Each wave started three minutes apart. My age group 40 & over was the final wave to go. The swim support and volunteers in the ocean was the best I’ve ever seen. They kept a close eye on everyone, and ensured that we maintained a good line in relation to the buoys. The water temperature was perfect. I wish the swim was three times longer to give me a bigger lead over the faster cyclists and runners. I knew that I’d be swimming through the packs that left before us. My main objective was to not get kicked, and try not to swim over anyone. Everything went swimmingly smooth, so after we exited the water we ran about 500 yards to T1 for our bikes.

I quickly buckled my helmet and pulled my bike out of the rack, ran out to the mount line, and jumped on the saddle. Bike strategy was to save some energy for after the turnaround, then attempt to go a bit harder into the head wind. On the way out, I was climbing, and feeling pretty good, when I see a girl fly past me. Wow – she is 7 years older than me, how did she do that? I stayed within myself, rather than trying to race her. The wind always gets stronger later in the day. I felt the gusts slowly build, and bring my speed slower and slower towards the end of the ride. About a mile and a half before we turn off the main road, the wind picked up, and I had to steer my wheel into it, and leaned to the side. I was glad to be approaching Waikaloa Beach Rd., because when we made that left turn, the winds were at our backs. It pushed us our final quarter mile to the next turn into T2.

I hobbled/ran in my sore barefeet to re-rack my bike – zip my Zoots onto my feet and gallop out of transition to start the run. Our course starts out on crushed lava for about 500 or so feet. The next 4 miles we are on the road. I’m feeling okay – but my legs won’t speed up. After the first aid station I’m thinking; this is going to be a long 10K today, and that’s when a younger female passes me. She started 3 minutes ahead of me. Oh jeez. Actually, I recognize her gait – from the Xterra Enduro21K run, where I tried to chase her down. She’s good. I keep up a steady effort, slow and steady. The course goes past the Hilton, and it looks flat, but there is a steady little climb with a head wind. Then a 40 yr. old guy starts to pass me, so I take advantage of him, and sit behind him and draft. That felt good, my heart rate dropped, and I could cruise. We turn left, and I see the older girl that passed me on the bike, coming the other way. She is flying of course. Man, if I could only feel that good!
After the next aid station we make a U turn and start to head down the hill with the tail wind. I’m really trying hard to run as fast as I can, because I know there are two other girls younger than me that will catch me sooner or later before the finish line. I’m not having doubts, I just know they are running faster than me.

I’m so thrilled to know that we only have two miles to go. We meander through the Hilton resort area on the path. I’ve faded from the guy I was drafting off of. Damn, if only the swim was longer……………..I’m looking forward to the finish, but at the same time, I am staying in the moment, and noticing all the people laying around at the resort watching us run by as they are drinking their Mai Tai’s. Yep, those other two youngsters behind me did pass me, but I don’t think they made up overall time on me. After the path, the terrain changes to a spectacular rugged, Xterra like dirt trail on a ledge, with rocks. It was twisty and rolling. I prefer that kind of running to the sand or the road. The trail is short lived, and the path becomes sand, at which point I can hear Russ screaming my name to “GO!!!” I smile to myself, and I do my best to speed up. He yells and yells, and guides my form to pump my arms over the sand to stay strong. He’s my guide to the finish by briefing me that I have 400 yards to run, and he mentions that no one is behind me. That’s nice – to know. I’m elated to see the finishing shoot, and I sink into the sand with every attempt to run. It’s a great feeling knowing that I’ve earned one more race t-shirt and finishers medal. What a great day. 1st. in AG by 11 minutes and 10th. Overall female. Finish time: 2:19:31.

Russ and I enjoying a beer at the after party

Everyone brought home awards back to Honolulu.

Mike and Spence literally smoked the course, and finished 12th. and 15th. respectively. Sandy won her AG, and Amy took 2nd. in her AG.

Mike and I finished 3rd. for the U.S. BEST AMATUER SERIES

Gotta love the sneeky peek view of Maggs compression socks on the podium.

Next race - Honu Half - Better start getting in shape - not much time left!

Full results can be found at http://www.theracershub.com/

Race photos located at www.hawaiiphotoman.com

Pictures of Hawaii State Team Time Trial

Hawaii State Team Time Trial

The HI State Team 40K Time Trial Championships were held yesterday at the Kualoa Regional Park. It was a beautiful day, with blistering NEasterly cross winds. All the HACC teams were Co-Ed, and we all raced well. My team was called BS3, because we had three riders with the first names beginning in an S, and one with a B. Bryant, Steve, Stephen, and Shannon. We practiced one day and we were happy with our riding chemistry.

I spent most of the week recovering from the previous weekend's long run in Maui.

We came up with some code words for when one of us was getting dropped off the pace. It was to yell, HACC. When we started off, I was very nervous, and I tried not to overlap wheels with the first riding, who was Steve C. But, in order to stay protected it's necessary to echelon across the road to get a good draft. As soon as, a big gust of wind would blow into me, and if I was not protected, I could not hold Steve's pace, and I'd yell HACC. He immediately would have to sit up out of his aero bars to give me a draft with his body. One the way out I rotated to the front one to two times. After the turnaround point, Bryant suggested I sit out of the rotation. This seemed to work much better, and I was able to stay on the back without much difficulty. So we rode this way most of the way back. I felt like I went as hard as I could, and especially for the finishing sprint, when I push so hard I really felt it in my butt muscles after the race was over.

We won the entire Mixed team division with a time of 58:47. I was pretty happy with that time, as it's the first time I've ever broken an hour for a 40K. I doubt I can ever accomplish that on a solo ride. It was great run, and I look forward to the Tantalus TT in two weeks. Ride on!

Run to the Sun

The trip started off with a journey across the ocean via the Hawaii SuperFerry. I drove the car on the Ferry and enjoyed the 3.5 hour trip over to Maui.

I hung out on the beach and read a book the day before the race.

I made reservations to stay at a B&B called the Hale Lani. It was cute place on the first floor of a private home in a neighborhood located in Kihei.

I have to admit - this is one of the Craziest runs I have ever done (so far). Not feeling 100% prepared due to taking 4 wks. off last month from running because of the broken toe, had me praying more than ever the night before. We had to check in our special needs bags by 0400, which is 30 minutes prior race start. It was a small crowd at the line up of the race, and you could feel the nervousness of the runners, as we stood around wearing our required relfector vests and waiting for the "ready set go" signal from the RD. As soon as we started running, there was a hard and heavy downpouring of rain. Argh, coldness. That only lasted a few moments, and it stopped. As we ran in the dark - I noticed that the couple from Vegas were setting a pretty good pace. I didn't want to go too fast, so I did my best to hold back and stay around 9-10min. miles. Around mile 5 I ran up to a girl putting out a lot of effort and breathing hard. She mentioned that she was a relay runner. So I paced off of her to keep the Vegas couple in site. There was a 3rd. female in our little pack, and in the end she was the ultimate winner. The relay runner, took a tumble off the side of the road. We held up to make sure she was okay. The 3rd. girl took a potty stop, and I kept on running, because I did not want to lose sight of the Vegas runners. I caught back up to the couple from Vegas, and I noticed the girl was running stronger than the guy. Around mile 12ish I decided to pass the girl and take the lead. I thought she would let me go to wait for her buddy (which was really her husband), but not a chance, she stayed on my heals and continued to chase me for the next 10 miles up the steep section between miles 13 and 15, and for the next 7 miles up the first section of Crater rd. into a very very fierce head wind. I had a feeling that my pace and my effort was not going to stay strong enough to hold 1st place. I was trying to stay positive, so I kept plugging away - and my legs got heavier and heavier, until there was no zip in the gait. I was toast. We finally come out of the winds into a forested area of the road, which reminded me of Tantalus, because of the trees, and the peacefulness of the surrounding. My pace slowed from all the hard effort I put out tyring to keep a good gap between me and second place. I was approaching an aid station at mile 22, and the runner from Vegas passed me. I also had a feeling that I was not going to see the last of the girl I ran with for a few miles at the beginning. I was right about that, because she passed me on the mountain between mile 27 and 30. I guess I started out a little too fast.

The aid station I was looking so desperately for was AS12. This was the 26.4 mile marker, and I really wanted to put on my gloves, fresh shirt, vest, and headband. Finally, I made it to my special needs bag, and the volunteer ladies there were SO wonderful and helpful in getting me dressed, and cheering me on. I am very grateful to their enthusiasm. Off I went, giving them one last hooray by raising my arms in the air and they cheered.

Now I am thinking - Russ's plane lands at 9am. So that is about now - then he and Holley will start driving up the mountiain, and I will see them soon! I am excited to know that I will see them, and I only have 10 miles left. Surprisingly, these miles went by fairly quickly even though I was not moving quickly. My back was starting to tire, and I even got on the ground to stretch it. I also tripped on a rock in the road, because my feet where barely clearing the ground. Oh man, what did I get myself into? Okay - my friends, Cheryl and Gil said, it's not that bad - just keep going. So that is what I did. Then there was this LONG line of cars coming by me, and the last car was Russ!! He honked the horn, and I was relieved to see his smiling face.

He got out to run with me, and the first thing he said was, "this isn't so bad." I'm like - yeah - right. Actually, I couldn't really speak clearly, and it was not because of the altitude, it was because my lips were SO cold. My body was okay. I was dressed perfectly. I just wished that I had some spring in my step. My right foot was hurting at the ball. Probably just because of the miles.

Russ is enjoying his banana, as I keep on plugging away to the top of Mt. Haleakala.

It was amazing running with the feeling that you were on top of the world. This shot looks like I'm going to run right off the edge of the mountain. I was barely getting one foot in front of the other - and when the wind blew it either brought me to a halt or it pushed me so hard that I actually had to pick up the pace.

I saw some incredible rainbows eminating from the ocean.

In this shot - I think I told Russ and Holley "this is Crazy" They were thinking - Yeah - we know - that's why we are in the car and you are out there running!

How many more switchbacks??