Matyasse-Wells Triple Crown Race(s) Recap

June 11, 2015

Backstory:

I'm not exactly sure how the plan for this quest for three races in one day was initially conceived, but sometime last summer (2014) Clint and I had the idea to try to complete three races in 3 different cities in 2 different states all on the same day. Unfortunately for our plan, the first race was rained out shortly after our arrival at the race site (Fisher Fair fairgrounds). We did go on to complete the next two races in our plan that day and vowed that we would try again this summer to do all three if they were scheduled for the same day again. We were pretty excited to learn that all three races would indeed be held on the same day, and signed up in the spring for what we hoped would be our epic adventure.

Here in Central IL the summer has been pretty darn wet and rainy. We watched the forecast in the days leading up to our races (why?! The stinking forecast seems to change minute by minute here and even if one thing is forecasted...often what happens outside is quite different ;-)) and it appeared that getting wet at least at some point during our day was inevitable. We just crossed our finger that none of the events would be canceled and knew we'd deal with whatever was dealt in the way of weather while running...heat, rain, whatever! Last year not only was our first event rained out, but our second event (Dog Days 5k) was insanely hot and our third event (Moonlight Chase 4 miler) had a delayed start due to lightening and it rained for much of the race. Racing is unpredictable...but that's part of the "fun"!

Sometime during the week leading up to our race weekend, Clint began dubbing the day "The Matyasse-Wells Triple Crown"...I kinda love it ;-). Additionally, to add to the fun, our racing team placed bets on Clint's finishing times for each race. This inspired the two of us to each come up with 8 total bets each: finishing times for each of us in each of the 4 races and then also a total for each of us for race times for the day. 

Predictions:

Clint says Rachel will compete-

1. Fisher Fair 5k in 21:10

2. Dog Days 5k in 21:40

3. Moonlight Chase 4 miler in 28:30

4. Three races in 71:20

Rachel says she will complete-

1. Fisher Fair 5k in 20:45

2. Dog Days 5k 21:05

3. Moonlight Chase 4 miler in 30:10

4. Three races in 72:00

Clint says he will compete-

1. Fisher Fair 5k in 18:30

2. Dog Days 5k in 18:50

3. Moonlight Chase 4 miler in 25:00

4. Three races in 62:20

Rachel says Clint will complete-

1. Fisher Fair 5k in 18:45

2. Dog Days 5k in 18:45

3. Moonlight Chase 4 miler in 24:30

4. Three races in 62:00

Race 1 - Fisher Fair 5k - Fisher, IL

After my usual act of languishing in bed hitting snooze on the alarm more than I should and a breakfast of a Larabar each, we departed Normal shortly after 6am for Fisher, IL (about 50 minutes from home). About 12 minutes into our journey I yell at Clint in a panic, "I forgot to get our race numbers!", thinking about them sitting on the passenger seat in my car. He points out to me the fact that the race numbers I have in my car are for Dog Days (race #2). Whoops. Clearly having to organize race accessories and plan for more than one event in a day had fried my brain a bit. 

Once we arrived at the fairgrounds where the race was held, we made our way to the packet pickup area and grabbed our numbers. This race has a great option: you can pay less for the race entry (just $14!) if you choose the "no shirt" option. Seeing as race shirts just tend to pile up around here...that's a great option for us! Interestingly (puzzlingly?!;-)) this race boasts some interesting "swag"...

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

After an obligatory visit to the fairground bathrooms, we located some friends/teammates for a pre-race chat and pic...

...and then headed out for a 0.70 mile warm up before heading to the starting line. 

I decided just to go out "hard" and hold on for as long as I could. As soon as the start was signaled, I took off as quickly as I could manage (and heard a noise that I later learned was a photographer getting basically trampled by runners). My first few strides (few!!) were in line with Clint, but within mere seconds he was gone.

I was proud of myself for keeping Karen, fellow Often Running Racing Team member and all around awesome runner, in my sights for just over a mile (this is not always something I can manage:-)). My first mile ticked off in 6:40, which turned out to be clearly far too quick as my next two miles were far less impressive. 

As I started in on the second mile, I tried to fight the strong mental urge to slow down. I KNEW I had gone out too hard and really doubted my ability to hold onto the pace. I also told myself that maybe I should just buck up and try harder. My 5k PR of 20:56 was set just 3 months ago and maybe, just maybe, I could manage a time near that (if not a second or two faster!). Somewhere during the beginning of the second mile I had the pleasant surprise of seeing teammate and friend Andy who had biked down to spectate. He yelled at me for smiling, and I scowled at him ;-) and soldiered on. Mile 2 ticked off in 7:05, 25 seconds slower than the first mile. Sigh. 

As I started the third mile, I did my best to increase my pace. I remember thinking that I would be OK with this darn race ending anytime as it had actually started to heat up to an uncomfortable level. Mile 3 was over in 7:01, slightly better than mile 2.

After the final right-hand turn, I dug in for the final tenth of a mile straightaway back onto the fairgrounds. My watch actually clocked the race at 3.08 instead of 3.1, and has my final 0.08 at a 6:15 pace. 

Thanks, Andy, for capturing my true colors

Total 21:12 (6:50 pace), 1st in age group (out of 11), and 43rd out of 277 total participants. 

Clint had an amazing race...18:10 (5:52 pace), a PR!!! He also earned 2nd in his age group and 15th overall out of 277. I'm quite proud of him!

Look at that poor kid...this might be one of my fav race pictures ever ;)

After the race, we hung around a bit and then Clint and I hopped back in the car since I needed to get home and cleaned up to head to Peoria with my friend Jillian for my final wedding dress fitting (!!!!). 

Thanks to Karen (who ended up 3rd female overall in a FAST field with a stellar 19:46!), Gary and Jamey for sticking around for awards and for grabbing ours!

Once we got back home, I showered and quickly got ready to head out again...Jillian picked me up shortly afterwards and we headed to Peoria with little Nadya. First stop was Cyd's for some lunch (I tried to eat light seeing as I didn't want gut bombs sitting inside while I prepped to run two more races).

**Race 1 predictions results: Clint was closer on both of his predictions for this race so I lost! :-( (Clint - his prediction was 18:30, my prediction was

18:45, his actual finish was 18:10! Rachel - his prediction was 21:10, my prediction was 20:45, my actual finish was 21:12...Clint was only 2 seconds off of my finishing time!)

Race 2 - Dog Days 5k - Hudson, IL

We headed out to Lake Bloomington around 4:45. There was a notice on Facebook stating parking could be difficult due to the rain and flooded roads/ditches. Even though the race start wasn't until 6 and the race site is just about 15 minutes from home, we wanted to arrive in plenty of time. 

We arrived around 5 and found prime parking not far from the start/finish. Clint, as usual, was a parking champion!

Ready for #2!

We corralled the rest of the Often Running Racing Team for a group picture (maybe our first with almost everyone!). 

Poor Karen was left out, as she was already off at the mile 1 water stop getting ready for her volunteer duties...so Clint photo-shopped her in later ;-) -

Nicely done, CW ;)

After hanging around a bit, we heard the announcement that the race director (Mitch!) wanted to try to start the race ~5 minutes early due to the questionable weather. We all lined up and were sent off a few minutes prior to 6...worked out great for us since we needed to hit the road ASAP for number three!!:-)

We're off!

I started out with Amber and the two of us had determined that we both wanted to go out at around a 7 min/mile pace for the first mile. I wanted to see if going out a bit easier for my first mile could result in the coveted negative splits and an overall better time than the morning's race. It rained on us a bit during that first mile, but it provided a welcome/refreshing feeling and wasn't bad at all. 

Well, once again, all of the excitement (or something!) got the best of me. Soon mile 1 ticked off....6:36?! Whoops...this was faster than mile 1 at Fisher...not slower!!

I pressed on as mile 2 started and did my best to keep a steady-ish pace through the slight hills in this portion of the "inner loop." I love mile 2 of this race, because it's an out-and-back and I get to see who is in front of me after they turn and head back and I also get to see Clint! I cheered for him and a few other familiar faces and carried on to finish out mile 2 in....7:19?! Ugh!!! This was 43 seconds slower than mile 1. I did learn later that many people posted slower 2nd miles compared to their 1st miles....but a 43 second difference is wayyyy too much. I need to work on a few things!

Mile 3 started and I set my sights on catching Joe, teammate and friend. I was able to close the gap between us a bit and caught/passed some other runners between us on that final mile. I wasn't able to catch him, though, and he finished with a PR (way to go, Joe!).

I tried to pick up my pace for the final stretch as I neared the crowd at the finish line. I saw Clint who yelled at me and I finished the final 0.1 in a 6:22 pace (good to have a bit left in the old tank!). 

I ran a total of 21:24 which earned me 3rd female, 21st overall (out of 158) and first in my age group. I am pleased with my 6:54 average pace for my 2nd 5k of the day. I'm still rather astounded to see sub 7 min/mile paces for races of any distance. 

Ready for that finish line!

Clint got 7th overall (out of 158) and 1st in his age group with an 18:29. Last year, we both got 1st in our respective age groups as well! Fun times :-)!

As soon as the race was over, we jogged back to the car and got in a 0.6 mile "cooldown." Frankly, my legs were toast and the thought of sitting down for 2+ hours and dealing with the inevitable cramping was not appealing. I knew we didn't have much time for a long cooldown, but was glad we took a few minutes for a quick one at least! This brought our daily mileage to 9.7...not that I was obsessively counting or anything ;-).

**Race 2 predictions results: Clint was once again closer on both of his predictions for this race so I lost AGAIN! :-( (Clint - his prediction was 18:50, my prediction was 18:45, his actual finish was 18:29. Rachel - his prediction was 21:40 my prediction was 21:05, my actual finish was 21:25.)

Race 3 - Moonlight Chase (4 miler) - Eldridge, IA

Clint drove the 2+ hour trek from Lake

Bloomington to Eldridge. We managed to have enough time for a FAST bathroom stop about halfway through the journey. We arrived in Eldridge with about 20 minutes til race time on the clock. We were meeting our friend Aaron there (with our race numbers!). Aaron advised us to park in a high school lot not far from the starting line and actually stood in a parking spot to save it for us...this helped immensely as we were definitely cutting it close! 

Ready to chase the moonlight with Aaron!

We put our numbers and shoes on and I chose to wear a short-sleeved shirt instead of my Often Running jersey seeing as it was still soaked from the race ~2 hours prior. We quickly made our way to the start and got in a short 0.3 mile warm up before taking our spots at the starting line near the front of the crowd. 

After a few seconds of standing...we were off! My legs screamed in protest, but allowed me to press on. I told myself (and I REALLY MEANT IT THIS TIME ;-)) that I would take this first mile easier than the other two first miles of the day and would keep the pace right around 7:00. The first mile ticked off in 6:59. Mission accomplished!!

As I started in on mile 2, I was really regretting my choice to wear my short sleeved shirt. The temps were indeed cooler than the earlier part of the day, seeing as the sun had gone down. But...I had overestimated my ability to tolerate sleeves. Ugh. I hate running in sleeves. I kept thinking about taking my shirt off but the fact that I was running in what felt like a sea of tiny high school and college students made me keep the shirt on. I did my best to keep my pace steady from mile 1 and envisioned finishing in an even 7:00 pace/28:00 total. Regardless, I was fairly certain I would get a 4-mile PR tonight as my current PR was 31:20, a 7:50 pace (set in 2011 at the Steamboat Classic). Mile 2 was completed in 7:08. Not too shabby. 

As I started in on mile 3 I reminded myself that I was halfway done with this thing and, most importantly, I was just 2 miles away from accomplishing our goal of completing 3 races in 1 day. For basic the entire race up to this point, I had been trailing Aaron by ~10 yards. I decided it was time to catch up to him. However, my body was definitely feeling run down from the day's events. Though I felt like I was putting forth some good effort, mile 3 ticked off in 7:14.

I told myself I WOULD catch Aaron in mile 4 and that I WOULD pick up the pace so mile 4 was faster than 3. I dug in and caught Aaron shortly after the start of the 4th mile. We chatted a bit and enjoyed the last mile of this festive and unique run. The course runs through a few Eldridge neighborhoods and most people come out into their yards to watch and yell, eat and drink and have a generally fun time. It's *almost* as good as the crowd support at the Bix!

I saw the "1 mile turn around" for one of the shorter races spray painted on the pavement, deduced that the finish line was just a half mile away, and picked up my pace. My final mile ticked off in 7:09...my watch had the course at 4.07. My final 0.07 was at a 6:15 pace. 

My final finishing time of 28:55 earned me 119th out of 977 total participants and 5th in AG out of 74 (just shy of an award...awards go 4 deep at this race!). My 7:14 pace isn't quite what I would've liked...but let's be honest, I know I should be pretty pleased with this especially considering these miles were my final 4 of 14 total miles spread out over 13+ hours and including 3 races!

Clint's Moonlight performance was pretty darn stellar:  26th out of 977 total participants and 1st in his AG out of 35 with a time of 24:31 (6:08/mile pace). This was also a 4-mile PR for him! Yes, this absolute stud set two PRs in two different distances in two different races on the same day :-). Pretty incredible!!

We were pretty excited to successfully complete our quest for 3 races in 1 day! Even more exciting, we managed to have some great personal performances. 3 total PRs and 5 total top 3 age group finishes for our combined 6 race performances is pretty  fun!! Add this with the fact that we saw many of our favorite people throughout the day and this is certainly a day to remember forever. 

After we left Eldridge, we went to Granite City in Davenport for some delicious, salty food. Thank goodness they serve food until 11pm! It felt great to replace many lost calories! After dinner we headed over to my sister's where we basically just arrived and crashed. We were able to spend a little time with her family the next morning before heading back to BloNo. What a weekend!!

**Race 3 predictions results: I was closer on 1 and Clint was closer on 1 (Clint - his prediction was 25:00, my prediction was 24:30, his actual finish was 24:31...I was ONE second off!! Rachel - his prediction was 28:30, my prediction was 30:10, my actual finish was 28:55.).

Next up...the BIX on July 25 and then our wedding 13.1/5k! {send me a message if you want more info/want to join in on that fun!!}

Happy running, all! :-)

~Rachel

Park 2 Park 5 Miler Race Recap

7-4-15 Park 2 Park

 

Oh Park 2 Park...I love to hate this race. Hate to love this race? Either way, I know I'm not alone. Typically the weather is stupid hot on the 4th and the hilly, sunny course through my home of BloNo, IL is no joke. However, it's a fun and festive environment on a great American holiday that brings out many familiar faces which also makes this "terrible" race a whole lot of fun. I believe I have run this race 4 or 5 times over the past few years.

 

Going into the weekend, I felt pretty decent. I had run 3.5 easy miles with the lovely Heat Wave ladies Monday night, 4 easy miles with Clint Wednesday morning, and 2 easy miles with my  sister Friday morning (after my RAUCOUS bachelorette party...see pic).

Nadya and Charlee...two of the sweet ladies who partied the night away Thursday night to celebrate our upcoming wedding at my bachelorette party! (They belong to the two Matrons of Honor, Jillian and Megan, respectively and are just too sweet :))

Maybe all of these nice, easy miles have been somewhat good for my body...because it endured some punishment over the weekend decently well with only minimal-to-sometimes-moderate discomfort in my troubled right foot {11.5 total run miles including the race Saturday, 8 trail miles early Sunday, a pretty intense 75-minute hot yoga class Sunday afternoon, 32.5 bike miles Monday am and 3.5 easy run miles with Heat Wave Monday pm}.

 

Saturday morning, we got up around 5 and left around 6 to meet friends and teammates Karen and Joe at the Corn Crib so we could all drive together over to Miller Park. We arrived right around 6:30 and pulled in behind good friend AP. I hate to admit it (after whining about it the afternoon prior when we made the plans ;-)), but getting to the race site with a full hour to spare was really nice. I visited the porta potties right away (ok, why are the porta potties at this race always right in the middle of the action?! Weiirrrrrd!!) and then stood around for a while chatting with friends. We all reveled in the mild, cool morning temps. 

"Obligatory" pre-race selfie with pals AP, Clint and Joe!

 

After a bit AP, Clint and I went out for a short, easy warm up...and then cut it short to visit the porta potties again. Race day morning priorities...always a balancing act!

Soon it was time to jog to the starting line...I saw one of my Metcalf runners, who taunted me a bit. Love it! AP asked me what my race plan was and I responded with my typical, "who knows!!" {maybe I need to start being more mindful of race strategies??} My pie-in-the-sky goal was to stick as close to a 7 min/mi pace as possible and ultimately I just wanted to beat my P2P PR of 38:31, set in 2011. 

 

We all lined up together at the front of the field and before long...we were off! I did my best to hold myself back from sprinting out too hard for that first mile (as I can often get carried away!). I stuck next to/right behind AP and the first mile ticked off in 6:55. Not too shabby...but I was feeling a bit tired from that effort and knew the hills coming soon would likely mean I wouldn't keep that pace up for long. 

I started mile 2 sticking with AP but quickly noted the fact that he wasn't breathing as heavily as I was and informed him he needed to start working harder and leave me in his dust! He brushed the comment off and we stuck together for about a third of a mile more, at which point I started to fall behind his pace. 

 

Mile 2 - 6:57. Pretty consistent with #1

 

Somewhere during the third mile someone turned up the heat. The formerly mild, cool morning began to feel more like a typical July-summer day. Darn it all!  Mile 3 was completed in 7:17. Whoops! I tried to tell myself that all was not lost...yet...and tried to pull it together. However, then...Gregory street and its stupid hill happened and mile 4 was my slowest of the race as my crap slowly hit the fan: 7:27. Yikes!! "Get it together," I told myself! With one mile left...I knew the pain would be over soon and did my best to dial in a bit more effortfully. I dumped a cup of water over my head to cool off as I went through the final water stop and set my sights on the stadium and finish line. 

 

My final mile was 7:15 and the final 0.05 on my watch was at a 5:57 pace so I'm happy to say I had a bit left in the tank for a strong finish in spite of slogging through miles 3 and 4. I crossed the finish line in 36:07, a PR of 2 minutes and 24 seconds and earning me 7th female (out of 354), 3rd in my AG and 58th out of 688 overall. 

 

We hung out for the awards ceremony (quick and dirty thanks to the amazing Larry Schumacher...awesome!) and then a group of 6 of us ran back through the course to our cars 5+ miles away at Miller Park. 

Woot! So excited that Coach Molly came back for this race! Her BF Bryce WON the race and we were excited to get to spend some time with her while she was in town.

All in all it was a great day with good friends and I'm glad to have been a part of it! Congrats to each of the other participants. 

Thanks to Often Running for the privilege of being on this super fun and supportive racing team (I've learned so much from my participation and have definitely become a better runner over the past year), Adidas for the sweet and functional gear, and to my Often Running and Challenge Triathlon teammates for the support and camaraderie. This multi-sport community is just so much FUN! :)

 

Next up...a triple threat weekend with Clint on Sat the 11th with Fisher/Dog Days/Moonlight Chase! Bring it on! :-)

 

After that...BIX on the 25th and then someone is getting MARRIED August 1! If you want to join us at 2pm for our 13.1/5k runs at Timber Pointe between the ceremony and reception (this is an open invite!!)...let us know/check out the facebook event for more info! :-)

Happy swim-bike-running, all!

Steamboat Classic 15k Race Recap

6-20-15 Steamboat Classic 15k

{I've gotten a little out of order as I still haven't written a race report for Tri-Shark which was in early June, stay tuned for that one at a later date...if I get around to it ;)}

 

Clint and I left to head over to Peoria at 5:21am. We had planned to leave at 5:15 so by our standards we were pretty much right on time ;). Five minutes out and I say in a cold panic, "I forgot my watch!" Clint, of course, offers to turn around but I tell him it's not necessary. I didn't want to make us late(er?) and I really didn't have high hopes for the race anyway. As we drove, though, I was distracted for much of the time thinking about how on earth I would run "blind"?! I am terrible at estimating pace, time, etc.! I decided that I would shoot for an 8-minute/mile average for the race and hoped that there would be clocks with split times at the mile markers to help guide me on my watch-less way.

 

Soon enough we pulled off of the highway and into a parking lot not far from the Mark Twain Hotel where we planned to meet up with the rest of the Often Running team for a group picture. We walked over to the hotel, keeping our eyes peeled for cast-off leftover boxes of meat but sadly saw none {aside: last year we found some nasty leftovers in the parking lot pre-race;-)}. We found the team in the lobby and took a picture before some (the smart ones?) headed out for a warm-up. Paul offered up the use of his selfie stick but for some reason we didn't take him up on it and instead had someone else in the lobby take a (very nice) group team picture of those of us in attendance.

 

Love these somewhat crazy cats! :)

Clint and I took a bathroom break (separately, people!) and then headed back to our car to leave our gear. While we were at the car I realized I actually needed to hit the bathroom AGAIN so we went back to the hotel quickly before heading to the start line. I did a bit of jogging and a few "strides" as we made our way to the start line...probably not enough of anything to constitute a REAL warm-up, but it was something at least. Frankly (right, wrong or otherwise!) with my foot being such a loose cannon lately I didn't want to "waste" any good running on a warmup!

 

After standing and dancing around a bit in the starting corral it was soon time to get to work. As I ran across the starting line, I identified a girl that I had seen that ran around my pace at the U of I half marathon (I think she actually ended up beating me by a bit). I recognized her because she runs with an interesting gait that seems like it consists of some excess arm movements...but clearly works out for her as she is running faster than I can manage! Knowing that I ran around what she did at the U of I, I thought that maybe I should try to stick with her since I was running sans watch. However, within the first hundred yards or so it was clear that she was starting out much faster than I am currently capable of so that idea was scrapped....I tried to reassure myself with the thought, "maybe she's just running the 4 miler today!" ;-)

 

I settled in to what I thought was a comfortable pace and before I knew it I saw the first mile marker. There was a clock at mile 1 that let me know that I ran that mile in 7:07. Sweet! I mean, probably a little on the fast side but I will take it. I felt good and was moving comfortably. My foot was a non-issue at this point as well.

 

Shortly after mile 1, Mike Eckhoff ran up on my right side. He said hi and we chatted for a bit. I told him that I didn't have a watch and was running blind. He told me that if I stayed with him, he could help me out and tell me splits. I decided to try...but this didn't last long. As we approached the Mile 2 sign just after the entrance to the park (and the start of the HUGE hill...and where the lucky 4-milers get to turn back around!)...I dialed it back a bit, thinking I wouldn't be able to hold Mike's pace for the rest of the 7+ remaining miles.

 

Sadly, there wasn't a clock at the mile 2 marker, but I "felt" like I was still running about what I had at the beginning of the race. As I began the third mile and did my best to power up that stupid HUGE hill for the first time, though, I felt my pace slow. I did my best to take even strides and to breathe through the pain. Before long, I was cresting the hill and continued along the course. Somewhere prior to the first 5k point I saw Clint running on the inner loop of the park as I was on the outer loop. He looked strong and great (as usual) and I could tell was pretty far toward the front of the 15k runners. Awesome! Seeing him gave me a little mental boost and I dug in a bit harder than I had been.

 

At the 5k mark, I was greeted by another clock. This one proclaimed that I crossed in 23:00 (7:24 pace). Great! With some quick-and-clumsy mental math, I estimated that my pace had definitely dropped from mile 1 but not by much. I made up my mind to make it to the 10k mark (I was assuming...correctly...that this would where the next clock would be) in just over twice my first 5k time...so 48:00 or under.

 

I did my best to hold my pace steady as I soldiered on. The first time running down the big hill on the way out of the park was kinda fun, in spite of slight worries that I would topple over and roll down the hill. When I saw the HUGE hill at the park entrance for the start my second loop, I sighed and pushed forward. A guy had run up on my right side at this point and I made it my personal mission to lose him. About halfway up the hill, I was successful. I continued on my way through the second loop. Somewhere on this loop I saw Josh Favus cheering and then later I saw Ansel Wachter (who worked at Running Central and I know from both running the NYC Marathon with an Easter Seals fundraising team in 2013...an AWESOME runner!)...both of them were spectating and cheering at the top of two different hills in the park. Talk about a great spot to hear someone shouting your name!

 

At the 10k mark, I ran past the clock in 46:45. My goal for running the 10k in under 48:00 had been met! (At this point in the race, my average pace for the entire race was 7:31 min/mile and my average pace for the second 5k was 7:38.) As I continued past the 10k mark, I realized that if I could hold my pace steady or increase ever so slightly, I could likely finish in under 1 hour and 10 minutes. This seemed kind of crazy to me, even at this point in the race, since I haven't been running much lately (thanks, plantar fasciitis) and I wasn't sure how long I could hold onto a sub-8 pace.

 

As I got into the 3rd 5k of the race, I felt great. My foot was aching a bit...but the level of pain was nothing compared to where it has been at times over the past few months. I started pushing a bit harder to see just how hard I could run the last 5k. When I got to the point where there were 2 miles left in the race, a clock told me that I crossed this spot at 55:00.

 

"Two miles," I told myself, "just two stupid miles...you can make yourself hurt for two stupid miles. Run these miles in 7 minutes each and you will finish in 1:09!" I picked the guy directly in front of me to catch and pass...and then did so. At mile 8 (so 1.3 left), a kind girl told me that I was approximately the 16th girl. Wow! I started to notice that when people cheered as I passed they were saying things like, "good job ladies," so I assumed that there was another girl (number 17?!) close behind me and knew I should try to hold her off.

 

We turned to the left and started down the final hill. The girl I assumed was behind me was suddenly passing me on my left. This happened right around the time that I saw the Often Running team on the street corner, smiling and yelling. I thought, "Oh dear me...I shouldn't let her pass me now!" and dug in and passed her right back. I "sprinted" toward the finish about as hard as I could...and she passed me back again. Oh well!

 

I saw Clint cheering from the stands to my right and then I crossed the finish line in 1:08:53. I ran the final 5k in 22:08 (an average pace of 7:08...and really those final two miles were run in 13:53!). This is one of the ONLY races (actually THE only one I can think of!) that I ran the final 3rd of the race faster than the first 3rd! And...specifically, the final 2 miles were both faster than my first mile! I ended up being the 19th female overall out of 354 total gals (no females other than that one girl I mentioned passed me in the final miles...I guess the girl at the Mile 8 sign was a bit off ;)...maybe there were some manly women??)

 

Check out those insane triathlete tanlines ;)

I stumbled around for a minute and soon saw Clint, who came bearing water. My legs felt decently terrible and my foot was definitely talking to me...but shortly after the finish I realized that I could've indeed kept going for a few (?) more miles had I needed to. This is a good, good feeling.

I believe I have only run 2 other 15k races:  Steamboat in 2011 (in 1:23) and Hot Chocolate in Chicago in 2012 (in 1:21). So...hooray for a large PR!!

Clint and I both got awards for being in the top 25 15K finishers in our gender! What a day :-). He ran it in 1:00:20, a course PR with a pace of a sick 6:31/mi!

THANKS to Mitch for the privilege of being on the Often Running Racing Team, my Often Running and Challenge Triathlon teammates for the support and camaraderie, Coach Clint for the leadership and guidance and Adidas for the sweet gear. Can I just say, I am actually in love with my new racing flats. Not only are they beautiful (Pink! Purple!) but they are crazy comfortable...and fast!

 

CONGRATULATIONS to fellow Often Running Racing teammate Amber who qualified for Boston on Steamboat day! And, of course, CONGRATULATIONS to everyone else who ran Steamboat! What a great morning it was...full of awesome efforts all around!

Bring on the next race and more fun adventures! :)

Challenge Knoxville Olympic Triathlon Relay Race Recap {and a special guest co-author!}

Challenge Knoxville Olympic Distance Triathlon Relay - 5.17.15

Race Morning!

Stats -
Swim:  Me (30:44)
T1: Me (3:14)
Bike: Me (1:27:32)
T2: R+C (1:06)
Run: C (38:30)
Total: R+C (2:41:07)
Place: 4th of 10 relays

See Clint's side of the story/his run recap at the end of my recap!

I have been excited about this event, Challenge Knoxville, for the past few months.  Challenge Family recently merged with Rev3 and all Rev3 triathlon events became Challenge Family events starting in 2015. Knoxville was to be the very first Rev3-turned-Challenge Family event and expectations were high all around for a great event. I raced Rev3 Knoxville the past two years and actually my very first Rev3 event ever was Knoxville in 2013 (where I subsequently fell in love with Rev3 events!). I did the 70.3 relay in 2013 (I did the very frigid 1.2 mile swim in 55 degree water!) and did the individual Olympic distance race in 2014. I love the city of Knoxville (from these race experiences) and was eager to return....and to bring Clint along for the adventure!

In addition to being on the Challenge Family age group team and looking forward to seeing my teammates at the race, I was excited to get to spend time with another group of Tri-friends. This seemingly-random group of friends was birthed in the fall of 2012 when my friend from graduate school, Dave Cravotta sent me a facebook message asking if I would do a 70.3 with him. I had just completed my first 70.3 (Ironman Branson) in September of 2012 and he had decided he wanted to give one a whirl as well. From there, our group of two snowballed and became a group of about a dozen...and now we all get together at various races. Last year a group of us met up in Knoxville and stayed together in a great condo in the downtown square area (Shout out to Mr. Knuth for the great discovery!!) and we planned to do the same thing this year.

Clint and I each had a long day on Friday:  I spent about an hour at work in the morning and then drove to Peoria for the state track meet where one of our stellar track athletes competed in the long jump and Clint worked until 8. We ate a quick dinner together after he got off of work and hit the road by 9. While we drove, we chatted about the fact that my darn right foot is still being less than cooperative. A few days prior to this, Clint had already told me that he thought I should compete in the aquabike division instead of doing the whole triathlon so as not to run more and risk hurting my foot even more substantially. Though this sucked to hear (running is my "love" as far as the three tri legs go!), I knew he was right. As we talked, though, it hit me that Challenge also has relay divisions for all distances...I asked Clint if he would be down to relay it up with me. He said that he would and seemed excited about the prospect...if he could find some racing flats in Knoxville once we arrived (all he had packed were trainers). A quick e-mail to a Challenge teammate who lives in Knoxville (Lana, you are the BOMB!!!) resulted in a recommendation of a great local shop, Runners Marker. I became more excited...the thought of doing a relay with Clint was awesome!

We drove a few hours and stayed at a crappy Ramada somewhere outside of Indianapolis. Saturday morning we drove the rest of the way to Knoxville...through lots of torrential rain that unfortunately hindered our ability to admire the beautiful scenery (not to mention made it hard to see the road in general!). Thankfully Clint took on most of the driving that day so we arrived in one piece ;). 

A dreary drive!

The rain let up about 20 miles outside of Knoxville which was great and meant that we could walk around the expo without getting soaked.

We both walked around the expo a bit and changed my individual Olympic entry to the relay division with no issues (THANK YOU to the Challenge staff for their flexibility and helpfulness!). I had signed up to use some demo Profile Design racing wheels (a special free service Profile Design offered at this race!) and brought my bike to their tent to get the wheels installed on my bike. Clint headed out to find Runners Market (we split up as we were on a bit of a time crunch...it was already late in the afternoon and the running shop closed at 6!). When the wheels were installed, I brought my bike to transition and racked it for the night.

I then wandered down to the beautiful Tennessee Boathouse (where the U of Tennessee's women's rowing team works out) next to the swim start to scope out the water. It was a beautiful day and I was hopeful that the next morning would be beautiful as well (HAHA!). 

A BEAUTIFUL afternoon in Knoxville!

Soon, Clint returned with some sweet Brooks flats and striped shorts (and a singlet that ended up being too big) and picked me up. We then headed out in search of dinner...to one of our favorite places that is unfortunately not available in BloNo- Whole Foods!

After finding some dinner (hooray for the Whole Foods yummy food bar!) and food for the rest of the weekend, we headed back to our rented condo where we were greeted by my friends Chuck, Colleen, Richelle, Gina and Esteban. We hung out for a bit and got our things settled...and then Clint and I went for a walk around the Market Square area where we were staying so I could show him around this cute part of the city and we could scope out some restaurants to eat at later on in the weekend. This area of Knoxville is a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to travel to the area!

After our walk (which included purchasing some dark chocolate covered espresso beans at a local chocolate shop...YUM!) we headed back to the condo to put on our race number tattoos and to get everything ready for the morning. The race number tattoos always end up being not as easy as they seem they should be and we ended up with a few mistakes...oh well.  In addition, some of them were incredibly sticky once applied...causing anything and everything to become stuck to them. I had a long black hair stuck in my arm tattoo the next morning. Interesting...

Sunday morning we woke up nice and early and ate breakfast. My breakfast of choice:  a yummy sweet potato we baked the night before, mixed up in a cold mush with almond milk + figs + walnuts. Don't knock it til you try it...it's one of my favorite breakfasts...YUM!! Chuck had left the condo before I was even up (he did the 70.3 division and had an earlier start time). The rest of us started wandering down toward transition a little after 6am. HOORAY for early mornings! NOT...

Transition was about a mile away from our condo which was not bad. The walk was more than worth it for the convenience of having our own kitchen in the condo and lots of space to spread out and hang out with friends. Once we arrived, I busied myself with the typical tri-duties of making sure my transition area was set up with everything I needed. It had been a while since my last tri...so there were a few things I forgot (like flip flops), but nothing that was crucial. I had the big things...you know...a bike, helmet, goggles, bike shoes ;).

Me and Mr. Wells before the race

Transition closed at 7:30 for oly athletes, so around that time we made our way to the porta-potties for my final visit and then with a vigorous application of TriSlide + Clint's help, I wrastled on the rubber beast that is my wetsuit. UGH! I hadn't worn the thing since June...thankfully it actually fit a bit better than I had remembered since I am down a few pounds since this time last year so at least I had that going for me.

As we walked down to the swim start, it started drizzling. The day was ugly and overcast, not at all like the beautiful blue skies that were present the day before. I danced around nervously in my wetsuit and slurped down a cold brew coffee energy packet for some helpful caffeine. Soon it was time for the orange caps (the last heat!) to meander down to the end of the dock and jump in...so Clint told me goodbye and good luck with a kiss and I was off! I walked down to the edge of the dock and hesitated for just a moment before jumping in. I had heard the water temp was great...around 72 degrees or so and indeed it felt pretty great. I had gone back and forth regarding the decision to wear a wetsuit (in general I think I am more comfortable without one because they make me a bit claustrophobic) but I ended up feeling really good in the suit and was glad I had it (honestly, like I said previously, I think the better fit now has something to do with that!).

Me? Nervous?!

I did a few practice strokes and before long it was time to get situated for the start. We treaded water for a bit...and with the blast of an air horn, we were off! The beginning of a tri swim is always a slightly uncomfortable endeavor. Bodies thrashing around to find their rhythm and people swimming in less-than-straight lines makes for a hazardous environment. I am not a strong swimmer (frankly, I have never put for the time and effort necessary in order to become one!) and this was only my fourth swim of the year (and first open water swim). Going into it, I didn't even know if I would be able to swim the entire 0.9 mile course without pausing! Within the first hundred meters or so, some woman behind me to my left literally hit me in the head with her open hand. It made me see stars and I responded with some strong kicks to get away and to let her know that there was indeed another swimmer in the water (sorry I'm not sorry!).

The loop course had us swimming to the left of the start, taking a right turn after a few hundred meters, going straight for about a third of the length of the first portion, and then turning right again for the final long straight shot down the river to the swim out. By the first turn, I had found my own place and rhythm somewhere in the middle of the pack and settled in. After the second turn I wondered if I was going a little slow and reminded myself that Clint was waiting at the end of the swim and I didn't want to be TOO embarrassingly slow! So, I buckled down and made myself put forth a bit more effort. Though I know little to nothing about truly GOOD swimming form, I tried to concentrate on keeping my body on top of the water with my legs straight and did my best to produce some trunk rotation. My self-perception was that I did start moving a bit faster at this point and settled in to this new, "better" rhythm as I soldiered on to the end. As I swam, I picked out orange caps to pass and counted at least 5 that I passed. I also passed a fair number of yellow caps (from the previous heat) which made me feel a bit more confident.

Soon the dock where we were to exit the water was well within my sights so I cranked out a few last strokes and pulled myself out of the water (silently congratulating myself for making it through the swim without pausing!). I turned to the left to run up the dock and saw Clint, smiling. Turns out he was taking a video of my ever-graceful exit ;). Nice. 

I ran into the boathouse where a kind woman waiting there helped me pull off my wetsuit (I thought there weren't wetsuit strippers...but I was grateful for the help!) and then continued on my way up the dock, across the road and into transition. I hit lap on my watch and tried to get my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses secured as soon as possible. I grabbed a PowerBar performance energy blast (one of the fruit puree things...love them!) and ran with my bike to the bike out where Clint was standing. With a smile and a, "go get it Matyasse" I was off!

Mmmmm...slurping down some PowerBar fruity goodness before setting out on the bike!

Looking back at the results, somehow I was out of the water in 30:44. I really don't know how this is possible, but I managed to shave some considerable time off of my time from the same race last year which was 35:36.  I don't remember how much swim training I did prior to last year's event, but I am fairly certain it was more than this year's. The last time I did a swim of any meaningful distance was in June of 2014 when I did the 1.2 mile swim at the Rev3 Dells event. Following that race, I didn't do another complete triathlon all year (I did a relay at Rev3 Cedar Point, but just did the bike leg).  I have been in the pool 3 times since January.  Three.  I was almost 5 full minutes faster on the swim this year and managed to keep a 2:08/100m pace which is pretty decent for me. It didn't feel like there was much of a current....but maybe there was!  After the swim leg, our relay team was 8th out of 10.  Well...we weren't last!! ;)

I passed a few bikes right away as I started mile 1 and made my way up a highway ramp.  Within the first two miles or so, I saw someone by the side of the road fixing a flat. Wow, that sucks, I thought. I noticed as I passed that the person helping out with the flat was actually my friend Esteban! I smiled as I continued on my way...it was no surprise that this guy was helping another athlete in need. Last year he came to hang out for the weekend even though he was injured and could only do the swim (he swam and then DNF'ed as he planned) yet still brought along an entire arsenal of gear and tools to help everyone else out! He's a stand-up guy, that Esteban!

Around mile 2, I accidentally hit one of the buttons on my still-new Garmin and ended up sending the timer into "transition two" (it was in tri mode). Darn it! I flipped through and just re-started it in "bike" mode, but was slightly disappointed that I wouldn't have accurate times for the race on the watch. Oh well ;). 

It wasn't long into the ride when I realized Wow! This course is a lot hillier than I remembered!  Similar to how some women say they forget the trauma and pain of childbirth (ok, clearly I wouldn't REALLY know! ;)) I had apparently wiped from my memory the fact that the Knoxville bike course is a hilly beast! It is really never flat...rather it's a series of pretty constant climbs and descents. Not long into the bike leg, it started raining harder and frankly it made me kinda paranoid. I am not the strongest cyclist regardless, but this was just my 3rd real bike ride off the trainer of the season (I had ridden the 12k Tuesday Night Time Trial in our town the week of the race and the week prior to the race...in addition to that, I rode 7 miles alongside Clint in the country as he ran after the Lake Run a few weeks back...and I did a few 1-4 mile rides leading my track distance kids...other than that, my winter + spring bike training was limited to sporadic trainer rides!). Additionally, I was riding on new-to-me wheels and tires. I was white-knuckling it down most of the {scary} descents just hoping and praying I would stay upright!

As I neared mile 11 (or so?) I came across a man who was standing alongside the road warning cyclists to slow down because there were two wrecks ahead. I heeded his caution and carefully made my way down the next curvy hill. At the bottom, I saw an ambulance with a female in the back on some sort of body board with a neck brace on. This induced moderate panic within me and I felt my breathing start to intensify...clearly conditions were dangerous and I didn't want to see myself be part of the casualties! It also brought back an icky memory of a ride Memorial Day weekend in 2012. I had just purchased my shiny new Trek Madone road bike and was excited to bring it home to show my parents. My dad was excited to go on a bike ride with me on his hybrid Trek and to show me the 10-mile route that he enjoyed riding near their home. It had rained earlier that day, so the roads were slick. I let him lead because I knew my bike was faster than his and I didn't want to accidentally go too quickly. We carried along at a reasonably gentle pace and came to a hill in a neighborhood. The hill was pretty steep and curved to the right toward the bottom. He took off down the hill with reckless abandon and when he turned to the right to go with the curve, wiped out pretty darn hard. Let me tell you, I can still see that entire scene playing out in my head to this day. Long story short, my mom came to the rescue and carted him (and his bike) to the ER. I followed on my bike. He was fine...aside from basically superficial wounds that were just painful enough to be annoying but not serious. But...I am still a giant chicken on wet road conditions now because of that day (well, mostly because of that anyway ;)).

Shortly after seeing that girl in the back of an ambulance, I mentally talked myself down from my pseudo-panic attack and slowed my breathing. Soon afterwards, I saw a guy who had crashed being helped by a group of people. Other than these two significant crashes, I saw more than 5 people dealing with flat tires or other mechanical issues. Not a good day on the bike course! I was relieved to make it back to transition with NO mishaps.  I saw Clint right next to Bike In and was so happy to see him!  We hurried together to our transition area where I racked my bike and he took the timing chip from my ankle, I stole a kiss...and he was off!  I started a run timer on my watch so that I could be sure to be in place to finish the run with him by 35 minutes or so (he was shooting to finish in under 40 minutes).  I cleaned up my transition area a bit...UGH!  Nothing like some nice rain to make everything a soggy mess.  Triathlon is a disgusting, high-maintenance sport ;).  After a few minutes I headed up to the finish line and watched finishers run in.

Ready to run...always!

And he's off!

Again, this split was somehow quite a bit faster than last year's when I finished in 1:33:05 with an average pace of 16.11 mph. This year's finishing time was 1:27:32 (or about 5.5 minutes faster!) with an average pace of 17.14 mph. I was using better wheels than my own this year (the demo Profile Design wheels), however the course conditions this year were FAR worse due to the weather. So, I would think that those two variables (better wheels and worse weather this year compared to less awesome wheels and more awesome weather) would kinda cancel each other out...and the improved performance this year is likely due to better all-around fitness (in spite of limited bike-specific training!). Who knows though. Also of note, I managed to pass one relay competitor during the bike to bring our relay team up to 7th of 10.

A really fun part of Rev3-now-Challenge events is the fact that they allow you to have family members, friends, relay teammates...whomever!...cross the finish line with you. I waited for a few minutes and soon enough...saw my shirtless wonder booking it toward me and the finish line. I threw off my sweat shirt and crossed my fingers and prayed that my foot would allow me to finish off the final 0.1 mile at Clint's blistering pace ;). As he approached, I started running and he quickly appeared by my side. We ran together, me grinning of course, and finished together in a total time of 2:41:07...faster than I could do an Oly tri on my own for sure!

Big Finish!

 With my Swim+T1+Bike+T2 combined time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 36 seconds...if I were to have completed the run leg in what I ran last year's 10k run leg in (56:55 with a pace of 9:11)...I would've gotten a time of about 2:59:31 (my PR is 2:59:39, set in 2013). If I were healthy (read: no foot injury!) I would've been fully capable of pulling off a far faster 10k than last year...meaning I am (when healthy) in oly-distance PR shape! Encouraging!! I'm excited about TriShark (sprint distance tri on June 6...just under 3 weeks away) and hope I can be healthy enough to power through for a PR.

After we finished, we spent some time at the finish cheering on other finishers. The finish line of a race is always one of my favorite places to hang out! We saw some pretty inspirational finishers (like the pro who had crashed yet still finished the race with tri shorts that had big holes in the front and back and big bandages covering up some pretty significant road rash!). We also saw our friend Chuck finish his 70.3 with a PR!  Way to go Chuck!!

Pretty sure he was darn relieved to be done!

Later we celebrated our awesome race experience with a late-afternoon meal at the fabulous Tupelo Honey Cafe. 

Shrimp + Goat Cheese Grits? When in the south...

THANK YOU to Challenge Family for putting on an AMAZING race and for the privilege of being on the Challenge Triathlon Team! THANK YOU to my teammates for being all-around awesome people and inspirational athletes. 

Me with some of my Challenge Teammates and the Overall Winner, Cameron Dye

THANK YOU to my friends and weekend roomies for the FUN and support!! Chuck, Richelle, Colleen, Gina and Esteban...you guys are awesome and I hope to see you again (and race with you again!) SOON! {Special thanks to Chuck for setting up the accommodations!!}

THANK YOU to Often Running + Mitch for allowing my teammate + partner Clint to accompany me on this adventure so that he could ultimately become my last-minute relay partner! THANK YOU to the Often Running Racing Team for the constant support and camaraderie. THANK YOU to Clint for being a great relay teammate and for stepping up at the last minute to do the run leg for me in my broken state! {I also SO appreciate Clint's patience and support of me...if he had a relay partner with skills that were more comparable to his, the relay's finishing time + place would've been far more impressive. However, he never makes me feel like I am less than an equal with him in spite of my lesser skills...and for that I am grateful!} Last but not least, THANK YOU to another area team, the Grim Reapers, for the camaraderie before, during and after the race! It is SO awesome to see familiar faces at races...especially when they are far from home! I do so love this sometimes crazy sport and am grateful for all of the lessons it has taught me, the fun I have had as a result and for the people it has brought into my life.

Next Up - Tri Shark Sprint Triathlon in Hudson on June 6 and then the Steamboat Classic in Peoria on June 20.  I am doing my best to be a good girl and to rest + roll + ice + stretch so that I can be up and running again ASAP!  The early season races have really gotten me excited about this season and I hope not to be sidelined from running for much longer! {Someone has a marathon PR to set this year!! Come on, foot!!}

Keep on keepin' on!

~Rachel

{CLINT'S PERSPECTIVE} -

Friday night after work Rachel and I ate dinner, packed, and got on the road for Knoxville, Tennessee. She is a member of the Challenge Family Triathlon Age Group team. As part of her team requirements, she has to complete in a couple of their events during the course of the year. There are really only two events that are logistically "easy" to do (read - within reasonable driving distance): Challenge Knoxville and Cedar Point. Challenge Knoxville has a few different races to choose from; Half iron-distance, Olympic, and aqua bike in either distance. There was also a Championship distance for people that qualified based on last year's race performances. Anyway, we drove about 3 hours Friday night and stayed in a dank and dingy Ramada inn. The air conditioner in the room wouldn't work and was only spitting out slightly cool moist air. We had two beds in the room; one of the beds was clean and the other had a wide array of stains and markings on the comforter.

Saturday morning we left the hotel and drove the last 5 hours to Knoxville. During that drive it popped into our heads that we could do the race as a relay. Rachel has been dealing with a pretty nasty case of plantar fasciitis and hasn't been running. I thought that would be a pretty great idea but I had no racing flats and nothing to race in. After a few quick emails we get the name of a local run shop so that I could try and get a pair of flats. We arrived at the race site and got everything situated-- we changed her entry and switched it up to the Olympic relay--. As she was getting her bike racked I drove over to Runner's Market. The sales people were awesome and I bought a pair of Brooks Racing flats and a pair of Brooks split shorts. I tried my best to get something Adidas but they quit carrying Adidas. Shoes secure, bike in transition, we made our way to the condo.

Race morning
Woke up at 5am to get coffee and breakfast situated. We gathered our gear and headed down to transition to set up everything. Rachel grabbed her goggles and wet suit and we made our way down to the swim start. It was raining the entire walk down to the race start and continued to rain through the swim. I snapped a few pictures of Rachel and she got out of the water and as she got onto the bike. I don't think the rain really let up much at all during her entire bike ride.

As I was waiting for her to get done with the bike portion, I set out to get a warm up mile in. My legs were totally unresponsive. After three weekends in a row of racing my legs were in strict protest. I jogged about a half mile before I just gave up and headed to transition. I waited for her to come in, and while doing so, saw many people being brought in off the course. The rain had caused some dangerous conditions and people were wiping out on the course. One was pretty bad (I heard) and had to be carted away on a stretcher. I was a bit nervous but as if on cue, she pulled into transition. I grabbed the timing chip from her ankle, threw my shirt off, and hit the run course.

Mile 1: 6:10
I told Rachel that I was going to go out at 6:10 pace and see what happened. If I averaged close to that for the entire run I'd be happy. The run course is an out and back with a few rolling hills. Shortly before receiving the timing chip, the rain had stopped. At this point, the weather started to warm up and the humidity was creeping steadily up. My legs felt pretty awesome at this point as I clicked off my goal pace for the first mile.

Mile 2: 6:10
This mile was a bit more of a struggle than the first but still manageable. I was passing people left and right and I made it a game to continue passing as many people as possible. I felt remotely bad since I was doing a relay and most of them were doing the entire swim-bike-run.

Mile 3: 6:18
A bit off the mark. I had started grabbing water right from the start. I'm pretty sure all of that travel had left me a bit dehydrated. I was still passing people so I was good there.

Mile 4: 6:06
I hit the turn around and started gunning it for home. I passed a few of our roommates and some Grim Reaper fitness athletes. Still sucking down water, the humidity was becoming stifling. I was now taking two cups at a time; one cup to drink and another to throw on my head. When the watch heaped and showed my time I knew I had hit it a bit too fast

Mile 5: 6:26
I definitely paid for the last mile. The heat, the hill on this mile, and the humidity were starting to suck.

Mile 6: 6:27
It was a struggle to keep this pace. The past few weekends of hard races and the Thursday workouts were taking their toll.

The last .2
I knew I would be seeing Rachel soon so  right around the 5.9 mile mark I started upping the pace. With .1 left to go Rachel joined me. We sprinted into the finish together with my run being 38:31 (a 6:13 per mile average pace. We ended up being 4th out of the relays after adding in her swim and bike efforts.

Normally I would thank Often Running and Adidas but this time due to unforeseen circumstances (not knowing I was going to race) I have to thank Runner's Market and Brooks for having some pretty awesome gear. If any of you are in Knoxville, Tennessee check out their store. It definitely had an Often Running vibe to it. Thanks to Rachel for letting me do the relay with you and introducing me to some pretty awesome people.

SAYONARA, Knoxville!  ...Until next year! :)