Race Calendar 2013

Hey! Guess what? I didn't fall off the face of the Earth...it just appeared that way! Life just got extremely busy and I took a little break, but I'mmmmmmmm Baaaaack!

So let's get right down to it...what's my 2013 Race Calendar? So far...

March

10     Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, Seattle, WA

17     Shamrock Run 15K, Portland, OR

April

6     To Hell with Cancer 5K, Kirkland, WA 

May

18     2013 US Masters Swimming 10k Open Water Swimming National Championships, Lake Mead, NV. Will be doing 5k event.

June

10     Blue Lake Olympic Tri, TriNW Club Championship Race, Fairview, OR     

16    Hagg Lake Open Water Swim,  Gaston, OR

23     Clackamas Cove Triathlon, Clackamas OR

29     Pac Crest Long Course Tri, TriNW Long Course Championship Race, Sunriver, OR

July

21     Portland Bridge Swim Relay, Portland OR 

Sept

22     Ironman Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, CA

It's a lighter calendar than years past, but I think smarter as I work up to my first full Ironman, and a very aggressive one at that. It has a lot of variety too, which I think is fun. Of course, I may add a few other events here and there, depending on my schedule and how I'm feeling, and, well, honestly, what I get uber-excited about and talked into by the mere mention of a race other friends are doing! June looks pretty full, with a race every weekend, so I may end up adjusting that. I am for sure doing Pac Crest Long Course as it is at elevation and will be a good indicator of how my training is doing to prepare me for IM Tahoe.

The 2013 Race Team training plan comes out January 21st, and I'm ready to start.

Let's do this thing!!

Shamrock Run 2012

Shamrock Run, March 18, 2012

High School buddies, Patty and Seriny, came to Vancouver for our Second Annual Girls Weekend/Shamrock Run. We vowed to do a few things differently this year, however:

• Sleep the night before (and that means more than three hours)
• No hangovers for the run
• Eat a little something before the run, which, without a hangover, is much easier to do!

And we were successful! We ended up late night shoe shopping the night before, but did get home at a decent hour and hit the sack for some great sleep.

The weather forecast was all over the board the week before the run and by Saturday night, there was a chance of snow flurries during the race. But it ended up being beautiful that morning, 34 degrees and partly sunny.

We ran as part of the Portland Triathlon Club team again this year. Patty and Seriny ran the 5K and I ran the 15K.

The 15K course changed a little bit this year, for the better. It still ran over Marquam Hill, but the route wound a little differently through downtown and I liked it better...no running partway up the Burnside Bridge and down this year.

The race was fantastic for me! I ended up with a new PR by 13 minutes with a time of 1:32:50. How amazing is that!?!? I felt great throughout the whole event. I ran the entire event, only walked during water stations and one 15 second stint by the base of the VA Hospital. It started raining on the way down the hill, and I ran as fast as I felt I could safely do with slippery roadway conditions. Here are my splits:

Click on chart to enlarge

I didn't have my Garmin last year, so I can't compare my splits between the two years. Boy, do I wish I had that info!

Interestingly, my iPhone was not working that morning, wouldn't play music more than 30 seconds at a time, so I ended up going without music, and I wonder if that helped me. I have noticed in the past that I ran faster without music, but hadn't really tested that theory for months.

I'm super happy with my results. I felt great throughout and at the end as well. I know my training is helping greatly, as well as proper race prep the night and morning before!

Some of PTC Board: me, Jon Bero, Becky Hillary, Margaret Heald, and Zach Wiens