Season started with a BANG!

Two weeks ago, Flash was out on her inaugural ride at the first Wednesday Chaires of the year. Late in the ride, I touch wheels with a rider in front of me and BAM! my body and the asphalt met. Flash now has a few scratches, ie - character but she handled the crash like a seasoned veteran.

I on the other hand took a hard blow to my hip and elbow and cracked my helmet. Thank god for helmets!

The day after wasn't too bad; however, on Friday morning I could barely move my neck and my hip was turning 50 shades of blue. I knew with time and a few days rest I would bounce back, I had the season opener at Red Hills Triathlon in one week, I had too!!

Ice and Ibuprofen were regular items during the next few days. I began to push my workouts a little harder and started to gain movement back in my neck. By Wednesday, 1 week post crash, I felt good enough to compete at Red Hills.

Red Hills Triathlon Post Race Report - RESULTS

Red Hill Triathlon
1/3 Mile Swim - 19.3 Mile Bike - 3.1 Mile Run
March 25, 2017
Maclay Gardens State Park

2017 marked the 9th time I had participated in Red Hills Triathlon. The first time was in 2006, for those who were there, that was the REALLY COLD year!

Going into the race I was excited but also nervous. My fitness felt great but I still had some lingering hip pain. I approached this race with excitement and caution as I am racing two half IRONMAN races within the next two months and I didn't want to risk further injury.

Swim: 9:01 - 2nd female and 12th overall.

I exited the water over a minute down from the female leader, Allison Born (7:46 - Fastest swim of the day among ALL participants, Male and Female!! You rock Ally!) and was ahead of Jillian and Melanie by 50-seconds. During the swim, I felt strong and was pushing a hard tempo but didn't let go of my form. The swim was smooth sailing until turning the last buoy. The last stretch involved a lot of maneuvering around the swimmers from prior waves.



T1: 1:07 - 4th female and 18th overall.

No issues to report. Got my wetsuit off halfway by time I got to my bike. Slipped out of the legs at my spot, put my helmet on, my bike shoes on, and go!

Bike: 55:50 - 2nd female and 26th overall.

My goal was to ride this right at threshold, which for me is 172 bpm. My average HR for this ride was 174 bpm. I don't think I could have squeezed out any extra seconds, anywhere. What I am most impressed about was being caught by Jillian on the second loop turning onto Ox Bottom. I knew she was going to ride the bike hard and come after me hard but I have to say, she really impressed me with her riding on that course! Once Jillian caught me, I knew she would have me on the run, the best thing I could do was try to put in as much ground between us as I could for the remaining 6 miles.

Comparing the following two data sets.

1: Before Jillian caught me - 20.5 mph
2: After Jillian caught me - 21.8 mph

Thanks Jillian for the kick in the butt those last 6 miles!

T2: 0:38 - 1st female and 7th overall.

Go, go, go!!!! I had to be as quick as possible to get as much time as I could on Jillian. I exited T2 with 59-second over Jillian and just over 3 minutes ahead of Melanie (3rd place female).

Run: 24:56 - 9th female and 62nd overall.

This is where my competitive juices ended and my caution kicked in. A few steps into the run my hip started talking to me. I listened to those voices and backed off. This run was one of the slowest 5K runs I have had off of a bike in many years. I am a little disappointing in my mental strength to block out my hip pain but I am also thankful as I am just over one week out from my half IRONMAN and my hip is about 80% better. There will always be another race, for me, pushing to my max at Red Hills just wasn't in the cards that day.

I am extremely happy with my 2nd place finish given my injuries from the crash. The girls behind me nearly ran me down. Way to go ladies! We have so many talented girls in this community! I love how much we inspire and push each other.

Here are the Top 5 female finish times: 33 seconds was all that separated 2nd-5th place.

Jillian Heddaeus - 1:29:11   30    9:51    1:10   24   55:50    0:49   22   21:33
Sandy Johnson - 1:31:35   12    9:01    1:07   26   55:55    0:38   62   24:56
Melanie Leitman - 1:31:50   29    9:51    0:44   42   58:35    0:43   28   21:59
Angie Milford - 1:31:54   35   10:12    1:04   28   56:42    1:03   36   22:54
Jamila Allen - 1:32:08   54   10:51    1:04   34   57:28    0:50   26   21:56





And there you have it, the 2017 triathlon season has begun! To top it off was Fireball and one kick ass after party!