Race Report: Birthday Race - Capital Forest 50

ah, the annual tradition (since moving to Seattle) of doing the Capital Forest Race on my birthday weekend! Great tradition :)

This year, I opted to do the 50 mile option so that I could spend the afternoon playing with Jonathan and Emily. It was a great choice! ... and here are the numbers :)

Time in saddle: 5:07
Miles Ridden: 50
Vertical feet climbed: >6250ft
# of mechanicals: 0
Placed: 2nd

But of course, the numbers never tell you the whole story .... For example, they don't tell you about the cheering section I had in my send off (thanks honey!) and how cute it is to see Emily pumping her fist in the air cheering :)  Nor do they tell you how fast my new Norco Hardtail climbs and how strong I felt on the 2nd big climb of the course! 

It was a fantastic race ... if I had to do it over I'd have a little less air in my tires (a little aggressive since last year I flatted 3 times in this race) ... but that is about all I would change. I pushed hard the entire race - I was worried that I would wimp out so I wore my heart rate strap to ensure I kept pushing - it worked :) I am very good at settling in and going a speed that I can maintain forever - this race was about pushing myself harder ... and I did! I knew coming into the last mile that I was happy with my race .. no matter where I placed. I knew I had pushed myself hard, and that I had given a good effort ... and that I had beaten my younger self.

At the end, I am not sure who was more tired from the days activities - me or Emily. Her and Jonathan had found a fantastic children's museum and fair in Olympia and she played her heart out... she was sound asleep when I finished and didn't peep till we were 5 min away from home :)  Nap time worked out pretty well - meant we got to spend the rest of the day having a family adventure!

Race Report: Xterra Black Diamond (offroad triathlon)

A bit late (Aug 10) ... but late is better than never :)

Awesome race! I really enjoyed the 1/2 ironman ... but to be back on the dirt ... well, lets just say I felt like a kid in a candy store! :)

Here are the details:
Swim: 26 minutes (compared to 32 when I did it 2 years ago!)
Bike: 1:47 (compared to 1:55 2 years ago)
Run: 50 (compared to 55 2 years ago)

Usually I am not keen to get in the water ... but with the race starting at 9:30am, it was not so bad :) I was chatting away with superstar Danelle Kabush before the start and she initated a swim warm up .. smart girl ;-)

After a quick warm up, we were off. I felt decent in the water, and was (as expected) in the back 25% of the pack. It was nice not to be swam over :) I came out of the water about 10 minutes off the leaders (Danelle) and then onto the bike. Ah, the bike! I love mountain biking! Black diamond is technical - not big drop, big descent, big climbing technical, which I LOVE, but still technical - very tight corners, baby-head rocks, and lots of roots! So in a nutshell, it is a good course for me. I spent the first lap (we did 2) passing. I felt like a broken record  ... " can I get by?" .. "I'll pass when it's safe" ... etc.  Most people were pretty good about it and let me by as soon as they could. The course is pretty technical, so you are limited more by your abilities than your fitness ... so coming out of the bike, and into the run, I barely felt tired :)  The run was great - I love trail running! I feel like a little kid on the technical trails, jumping over logs, airplaning around corners, and sprinting up the hills. A solid run at around 50 minutes! As usual, I was surprised by all the people I passed running ... makes me feel like a fast runner ;-)

A great race on the dirt, and good reminder that I am better on the technical dirt than the road!

Thanks again to Norco for the great ride, and to Element Cycle for making sure my gear was all up to snuff for race day! You guys rocks!