Off season fun

After taking my mind off of triathlon for 1 day...I wanted to get back at it. Luckily for me I had many opportunities over the last few weeks to be an "I am training/racing...but I am really not" athlete.

Example number one: The Durapulse IMAZ clinic

Since JR and many of my Durapulse teammates are training for IMAZ, Durapulse offers clinics that include a long OW swim, a long bike and a transition run (and then some BBQ and laughs). I was so happy to be "helping out" at the clinic. It was great to see the pain of training for an IM (and secretly it made me want to do one :-)...

I skipped the 6 am OW swim at Roosevelt Lake (because I really do not enjoy swimming there...there are some very scary looking trees underneath the water) and watched our gear instead :-)





After their swim I jumped on my bike and rode with my teammates. It was a lot of fun to help them get through the 120 mile ride in 100 degree weather. I truely enjoyed helping them, no matter if it was getting ice for them at gas stations, riding with them to keep them entertained, teaching how to change a flat fast, ...it was a lot of fun.



At the end of the day I tried to help 2 of my teammates to get through their run...and since I only rode 70 miles I was a lot more cheerful than them.

All of them did very well, they are ready for IMAZ!!!

Next adventure: Run for Maggie's place

The day after the clinic JR and I decided to race the Run for Maggie's place. It was a no brainer: a race in town, only 10k, the entry money goes to a good cause and we get to see our friends.


Let me tell you: it is harder then I thought to try to run fast after taking some time off. Luckily I found a good rythm and finished in first place. JR won the men's race (after an epic day of training the day before)...very impressive!!! He is ready for anything from 70.3 to IM, from 5 k to 26 mile races :-)

Aaaaand onto the SOMA triathlon:

Well how can I not do this one.

Check out the sweet Lazer Helmets :-)

I entered SOMA with 2 of my Durapulse Teammates as a relay. Since I was the runner I got to cheer for 3+ hrs before I actually had to go run. It was a blast. The SOMA course is very spectator friendly and we watched and cheered the entire morning (we were really loud cheer-ers).

JR came off the bike only 15 SECONDS behind the male PRO leader!!! WOW. He had an amazing swim and bike (even though he has only been in the water...5 times this YEAR!!!) I wish I could do that. The run got hot. It was 104 out there. I started running and decided I would just cheer and not look at my watch. I felt great!!! And fast!!! At mile 6 I couldn't resist and looked at my watch, that was when I realized I was on pace for a sub 1:20 Half...and then my brain started telling me to take it easy...Maybe sometimes it is better not to know how fast you are running. The second lap I cheered even more, because a lot of people were walking. I tried to motivate everyone to at least shuffle or slow jog...I think it worked in most cases!!! I ended up running a 1:25 which made me very happy because I had not ran over an hour in 5 weeks.

It was the end of the season for my frineds Pam and Shannon (who both finished VER well at SOMA) and JR and I joined them for a great dinner.

I felt a little guilty, because all I had done all day was the 13 mile run. They were out there for 4+ hrs...

I am excited for the next few months. I will be entering bike races and running events in the Phoenix area. Phoenix in the winter is great. Perfect weather, lots of races = Happy Angi.