As I write this I am on the airplane home from Ironman Arizona; one day post race.  If you have ever done an Ironman you know the deal: you finish, you swear you will never do another one and the next thing you know you have yourself going at least 30 minutes faster if X didn’t happen and you sign up again.  I know, because this is how the post race dissection goes for me.

Does that mean I am not happy with my 4th place finish at Ironman Arizona; no not at all.  I am very happy and it was the best I could put out that day.  But it does mean I still feel there is a better race in me.

When I arrived in Phoenix 3 days before the race I realized the weather was going to be a bit cooler than what I like to race in.  I was bummed but I was keeping my game face on and pushing forward.  All I could think of was how happy I was I packed my arm warmers and a vest at the last minute.

The morning of the race it was just what it had been all week; COLD, I believe in the upper 40‘s maybe 50 degrees at the most.  It was low enough for my Zoot long run pants, a few shirts, jacket, beanie and gloves.  Trying to stay fired up was a bit tough for me as I just do not do well with the cold. But I knew the day would warm up so that kept me motivated.  Once I was set w/my bike in transition I went and did my pre-race warm up run before the swim.  I was feeling ready to conquer what the day gives me.  My training post Kona had been good and based on workouts I really felt there was a solid PR in my body which may get me my first Ironman win overall.  I was ready to finish the year with a BIG result.

I put on my wetsuit and when it was GO time, I jumped in the SIXTY THREE degree water at 6:40 in the morning for our 6:50AM start.  It was pretty dark when we first jumped in; I could not see a thing, and I don’t mean my hand in front of me as I swam, I mean any body else.  It was a little unnerving but after 5 minutes or so it was better and by the time the gun went off there was a bit a light to make it easier.  The swim start was smooth, I lined up way right and most of the group lined up to the left.  I was a bit torn on where to go and in hind site I feel I should of lined up with the group to the left.  When the gun went off I made the break pretty good and I ended up getting hooked in the first group but I was on the tail end.  As we were cruising along I felt fine sitting in but then sort of out of the blue I was gapped.  I have no idea why but by the time we made the first turn around buoy I was solo, and I mean solo.  I swam the rest of the swim completely by myself.  The main pack put 3 minutes on me, the other pack was about 1 minute behind me.  When I came out of the water and saw that I had a bad swim I had to let it go and focus on getting into T2 and on the bike.

The day was still VERY cold.  Colder races this summer proved to me that I need to be warm so when I came out the water I needed to put on arm warmers, a vest and calf sleeves to even give myself a chance to warm up.  My fingers were useless due to the swim; thank god those volunteers helped me.  My transition was slower than normal due to putting on the clothes but I am so glad I did cause that first loop on the bike was really cold.  The bike portion was 3 loops of 37 miles and there were over 2500 people who started the race.  My first two loops I managed to stay solo.  I saw several large groups behind me and by loop 3 I was sucked up by a group that contained quite a few men and another female pro.  It was very hard to stay the distance as we were now catching lots of slow riders.  At one point I had to sprint to the front to try and get out of it but I obviously could not hold the pace and would have to slow down to get passed and then get sucked up again.  I tried to sit in the correct position the best way possible.  I would drop back and then an age-group guy would get in front of me and then I would pass back.  It seemed there were tons of people around all the time. I would pass then get passed back, move to the right, to have 2 guys to my left or have someone jump over as we would pass.  It was crazy.  We would then get strung out, which was great, but then someone would get in front of me to have me drop back to only pass back and the cycle continued.  At times you’d be 2-3 abreast trying to pass but no one letting you pass.  Every time I would try and get the 10 meters an age-group guy would jump in front making me drop back, then I would find myself riding aggressive to not let them in but then I’d be too close.  It was nuts.  Bottom line; with that many people on the course, it seems as though the bike portion of the race is set up for failure rather than success.  By mile 90 we had now caught other pro woman who looked to be in the same situation and now it would get even worse cause as we would pass age group men they would go with us just messing up the mix.  I would try to only race the woman yet I would end up racing and being penalized for the men in conjunction with the women.  It is complicated.  I ended up getting a penalty around mile 100 by being in the draft zone on a little riser w/o passing.  I understand why but I felt like I had no place to go; there were tons of people around, a few to my right, many behind me and some sitting off the back to my left.  Maybe we all need a class on how to deal with the current situations.  If WTC is going to allow 2500 people on a 37 mile bike loop, how can we set everyone up for success and be competitive? Maybe that is the way we need to look at all this; set us up for success.  Anyway, I digress.  I took my penalty at the end of the third loop right before transition, by this time I was in 3rd on the bike.  Once I was in the tent the other female pro who I was with in the group came in too, why the others didn’t get one-who knows.  I sat my 4 minutes in the box and then finished the bike into T2 to start the run.

Due to the penalty I started the run in 6th place about 13 minutes down from first.  As I started the run I noticed I had some sort of asthma thing going on.  My lungs were killing me, my chest hurt like crazy and when I spoke I sounded like I had smoked all day.  I have never experienced anything like that and I can only think of it must of been from breathing so hard on the bike or it was the dry air and pollution.  I started out conservative so I was able to work through the asthma.  Nutritionally I was not feeling so good and my plan I had originally set in place was not working.  I had to stop at a porta potty on the first loop and then by mile 12 I was on coke and water only.  One more porta potty stop after that and I was feeling more normal and could get into my groove.  From mile 16-17 on I would try and pick up my paces and I was able to pick off a few more spots and get myself into 4th place.  I was told 3rd was within range and I kept picking up my pace little by little and I was taking time back as spectators through out the course were giving me splits.  By the time I got to the finish line I was 1 minute out of 3rd with a time of 9:21- a PR by 6 minutes.

I was very tired when I finished; I really just wanted to go to sleep.  I ran hard thinking I needed to finish going for that third place spot all the way to the end and emotionally this was a big race for me.  See, when I went to Kona this year I knew that was going to be my last race; my swan song; my final Ironman of my professional career.  But when I was DQ’d I just felt going out like that did not seem right so Arizona came into play.  But getting “up” for Arizona was hard, very hard.  I did a good job for quite some time but the last few weeks before the race were tough.  What got me through those last few weeks was the belief that I had a good chance to go out with my first ever Ironman win but a PR is where it will end.  I had a good day but not the day I thought I could have.  I am not making excuses for my performance, we all had the same conditions, it is just a matter of how we dealt with it on race day.  I did the best I could that day and that is what I have to be proud of.

My first pro race was in 1998 and it was an Olympic distance race in Arizona.  My last pro race is an Ironman distance race in Arizona some 11 years later.  The first time I ever qualified for Kona was in 1997 as a 25-29 age group triathlete and I turned it down.  The last time I qualified for Kona was in Arizona in November of 2009 as a professional triathlete and I  turned it down.  These are not ironies I thought of prior to the race they are just parallels that I realized as I am wrapping up this chapter in my life.  Coincidence? I think not.  Pretty funny how we can come full circle with out even knowing it.

Let it Go,

Gina Kehr

My next blog post will be my Victory Speech I have always wanted to write on my career as professional triathlete and what lies ahead.

Opening day, Wildflower Triathlon, WOW, has it changed since the last time I was there in 2002. I went to WF knowing I was not as fit as I have been in the past for this race. Ironman Hawaii did a little havoc on my body post baby and I was still paying the consequence in January and February. By March I was finally able to get some consistency in training and with my new found love for the gym, I was using WF as a race to let me know what is working and what is not working. I am not going to lie, I was a bit unsure how my body would handle the distance.

Race morning, the weather seemed perfect for most, cool, cloudy, but for me personally, I like it HOT! I was hoping that coolness would burn off but it stayed slightly cool for the day, breaking 70 degrees after we finished.

One of the biggest highlights of the day for me was as I was walking to the swim start I saw Dane Patterson and Blaine Cotter heading down as well. WHO are they you ask, only BIGGEST LOSER CONTESTANTS from this current season!! Oh, did you not know I am totally addicted to that show, I am a HUGE fan, I watch it every season. I heard they were going to be at the race and I was so hoping I would get to meet them. As luck would have it, they were walking literally next to me as I was heading to the swim start, so I went right up to them and told them what a fan I was and gave them each a HUGE hug to wish them luck. I was smiling ear to ear and it made my morning.

As we lined up for the start, it was sort of surreal to be at WF again. They day before I was introduced as one of the legends in the sport, it was made clear I was at minimum 3 years older then everyone else standing next to me. It was 10 years earlier that I was standing on the start line as a second year pro with the likes of Paula Newby-Frasier and Heather Fuhr. Anyway, I digress….the gun went off and next thing I know I am in the thick of racing again and it felt good. The swim went as best as it could, definitely not my A game but a start. The bike leg was exciting as this was my first time riding the WF course on a TT (Guru Crono). I was within a minute of my best bike split for WF with not nearly the amount of training I would do for that race. I feel really good about that and thank my Crono big time. My legs were not trashed when I got off the bike and I started the run conservative for the first 4-5 miles. I got a HUGE second wind starting around mile 5-6 and ran super hard all the way to the end. I finished 7th overall, passing many of the woman the second half of the run. In the end, I got what I came for, the double D’s; dinero and data. I beat my guesstimated fitness level and I know what I need to do for the rest of the season but more importantly what I need to do for the number one race: Ironman World Championships.

Next up: Uvas Triathlon May 17th.

Let it go,
Gina Kehr

We left for the big island on September 26-two full weeks before the race. When I say we, I mean the whole family – my husband Chris, 3 year old Gabriella and 8 month old Blaisen. We arrived at SFO to eventually be delayed 3 hours. Awesome! Our trip was starting out with a bang and by the time we actually got on the plane, the kids were pulling their hair out. The airline attendants saw the chaos we were dealing with and ever so gently slid a free beer to Chris and then they slid another one.

As I may have stated in a previous race report arriving in Kona is always such a great feeling. I have been going to the big island since 1991 and each time it is such a wonderful, peaceful feeling as you step off that plane and smell the Kona air. I love it. This year I was more excited than I have ever been to be and race at Ironman.

Our two weeks prior to the race were uneventful, the last time I was in Kona to compete we had an awesome 6.5 earthquake; thankfully we had nothing like that this time, just the normal days of family life and preparing for the big day. We went into this race with a lot of great support and a lot of focus and it was everything we had. Chris and the kids had all been amazing as I prepared for this race, my nutrition was the best it had been, my training was the best it could be, and my mind set was above the bar. We were there to win; bottom line.

We had help with the kids starting October 1 and race week I had a full house helping with all the pre-race stuff. It truly was a team effort. My workouts were great and by Friday I was going crazy with the waiting game. The day could not come soon enough; I was ready. I had 3 goals: Goal 1: come out of the water with the first group of woman on swim. Goal 2: Ride strong and be in the zip code off bike. Goal 3: Run whatever it took to win!!

Race morning was beautiful. It was the first time in a while that race morning was crystal clear, sunny and bright. One thing I did all year was do things different than normal and race morning was no different. I decided I would actually do a warm-up run. On the advice of Cam Widoff, I made my way to the back of the King Kam and there I saw, Belinda Granger, Macca, Shingo Tani, and a few other top pro’s. Hmmm, apparently this wasn’t anything out of the normal for some but for me it was fun and great to see my competitors. Who would of thought, warming up before an Ironman!

As we entered the water I had a smile from ear to ear and I was just fired up to get going. I swam around and looked for who I was going to start with. I always wait until we start lining up to see where I will place myself, I never have a specific plan. This year I seemed to be around Macca and it felt like a good spot so there I went. Most of the women were way on my right and I knew the first 400 or so was going to be rough. The cannon blew and off we went and as in years past the beginning was rough; people slamming and hitting and dunking but then it settled down and I found that I was somewhat near the front. I knew there would be about 3-4 other woman who swim as fast as me and as we neared the boat I knew I was with them and that we were the first women. We seemed to be doing well and as we rounded the boat it got ugly again and then our pack seemed to get confused. We made the next buoy but then it looked like we were starting to head towards the buoy on the other side of the course. Once I realized what we were doing I tried heading towards the right one but was getting slammed by the guy next to me that we just hit each other until the whole group realized we were heading the wrong way. Once we corrected, which seemed to take at least another buoy, the rest of the swim was just a slam-fest as the men were fighting to stay close and women were just collateral damage. We exited the water and I think I there were 2-3 other women with me but I made it a goal to be on the bike first and that is what I did. I have led the bike before so why not again! There you have it, first woman on the bike thank you very much Goal 1: done

I have been working on my cycling a ton and even though I did not even start riding this year until April 1st and had my bike stolen at the end of July I had a great bike ride. I used a power tap for the first time and it was great. I didn’t get paralyzed by the data; just used it as a reference. I originally had thought I may go for the bike prim but when I saw I was riding over 24 mph and I was getting passed I knew that if I wanted to stay in the game I had to let that go. This was my first time doing Kona on a TT bike, my GURU Crono, and we really focused on aero dynamics which I am so glad we did. The island gave us a taste of how it used to be with the winds, it wasn’t the worst I have had but it was a solid 8 on a scale of 1-10. We had gusts and head winds most of the day. It made me smile and laugh and I actually yelled “she’s back” during the ride (meaning Madame Pele). I rode strong and tried to ride aggressive, the wind really kept the packs down and I rode solo all day long. I was inspired a lot during the ride thinking of my kids and my little 8 month old. At one point I had the camera crew on me and I was holding my fingers up in the number 2! 2 kids I was yelling! Then I was telling them that I was doing this for all those moms out there and for the women out there who think they can’t stop training to have a baby and come back better than before. It empowered me and I kept riding strong. I had a rough spot coming back into town; I could tell I had some cramping that was trying to come on but it really wasn’t totally out of the norm, by 100 miles who isn’t tired of being on their bike? I kept my focus and stayed positive and even though it seemed as if I was in no man’s land I actually was very much in the game. As I came into T2 I could see a competitor leave and there were two others in the tent. I was so excited because I knew I was going to run well. I was somewhere in top 10 (someone told me 5th, someone told me 7th) but it didn’t matter I knew I would pass these girls on the run and I felt I was in great contention for a top 3 finish!

Goal 2: done
After I grabbed my bag from T2, I went to put on my shoes and as soon as I sat down and bent my leg to put on my shoe I double cramped in both hamstrings and calves!! I could not move!! I lay in the chair waiting for them to release and when they did, I put the shoes on, stood up and was ready to go when the first step made me cramp again!! This time I was about to fall over when the volunteers caught me. Two more volunteers came and rubbed out each leg, both hammy’s and calves. While that was happening I stood there, frozen, watching women change and leave!! UGGGG!! VERY FRUSTRATING! Once the cramps released I walked out and very gingerly starting running to keep it from happening again. Hello BODY of mine, this was not my plan!! It took most of 10 miles before I felt I had anything and once on the highway I did what I could to gain back what I lost. The run was not the run I had imagined or trained for, but mentally it was. I did EVERYTHING to stay positive. I raced the run, picking it up here, backing off there, trying to get the next girl in front of me. I was waiting for my endorphin kick which ultimately didn’t come until the last 2 miles but when it did I managed to get even more positive and run hard to the end. I knew there was at least one other girl I could possibly catch so I went for it. I missed her by 7 seconds!! In the end, I made it in top 10, 9th place overall. I was elated and mentally drained when I crossed the finish line. It was a HARD day, too hard for a 9th place but it was what it was and I can not complain as I really felt I did the best I could do. If there was a category for Professional woman who have kids and especially one who had a baby 8 months ago, I would be the winner!

I knew I was going into this race with the least amount of training one could do for an Ironman. I knew it was going to be a challenge to try and compete with these girls who train all year and have no other “extra curricular” activities. I knew it was going to be hard but I prepared for my mind to take over and to race above what I may have been able to put in during training. You may be thinking it was a bit reaching to think I could win this race, especially given my circumstances, but I will tell you that is the attitude I had to have. I wish I realized this years ago; but at least I realized it and I have made the necessary changes. I may be 39, and yes I may have two kids, but I know I have not reached my full potential. I still think I can win, in the last 5 years I have only been able to compete twice, circumstances were as such; it was not planned that is just what it was. Can you imagine what I can do with a solid year of training? I can.

Let it Go,
Gina

Vineman 70.3 July 20th, 2008
Steelhead 70.3 August 2nd, 2008

I was scheduled to race Vineman 70.3 on July 20th and was really gearing up for the day. After getting two flats at Honu 70.3 during the race and having only started training April 1st due to the birth of my second child in February, I knew there was more in the tank. I also really targeted Vineman as my prep race for Kona to help me determine what I still needed to focus on to get to the start line in October in the best shape possible. I had some great training weeks leading up to Vineman with a bang out triple on the Sunday before the race. It was so great that when I woke up the Monday morning of Vineman week, I was a little tired but also noticed that I had some discomfort in my right glute. I figured a day or two of rest and a massage would take care of any ailments. By the time Thursday came I was questioning going up to race as my glute was not getting any better; in fact, I was only capable of running 20-30 minutes at a time before the pain scale went above a 6. Then on Friday I woke up with some weird virus leaving me exhausted and nauseous all day (I know what you are thinking, oh gosh, she is pregnant again!…uh…no). I had been telling myself for weeks Vineman was my race to get the info I needed for Kona as well as I was in need of a paycheck so I had lots of motivation to push through and not listen to the signals I was getting to not race. So, you can imagine my shock when I woke up Sunday morning and discovered my GURU Crono had been stolen. I will spare the details but thanks to my husband and two Santa Rosa detectives (who are doing IM Arizona in November), my bike was recovered and I picked it up on July 24th.

That leads me to the second half of the story. My chiropractor, Rikki Johansen from Health Logic, had been working on my glute and I wanted to race but needed to find one quickly so I could still recover properly for Kona. With the help of Tribike Transport I was off to Michigan to race Steelhead 70.3 on Saturday August 2. I had to scramble to get help with the kids but thanks to neighbors everything fell into place easily and I left San Francisco Thursday for the Saturday race. Friday was a whirlwind trying to get everything ready and Saturday I was ready to race and see what I originally wanted to see three weeks earlier.

Race morning the wind had really picked up and Lake Michigan went from looking like glass to choppy, nasty little swells that was going to make for a tough swim (I was okay with that). Apparently is was too much for the race to handle so after we walked a mile to the swim start they cancelled the swim. An hour and fifteen minute delay and a new format of a 3k run, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run I was off on my race venture. As in my previous reports I set several goals for myself: Goal number 1: Build into the race and feel my glute out on bike and run; Goal number 2: Ride a 2:30 or better. Ride the bike hard-stay in aero position as long as possible, bring in training methods, Ride the bike HARD!

Goal number 3: Run a 1:30 or better. Run based on glute, do not push through pain of a 5 or above; Goal number 4: Walk away with info on what is need for the remainder 10 weeks in Kona. The 3k run was a nice warm up run for the bike and I ran hard but not all out. I had a nice bike mount and I was off to ride HARD on the bike. It was pretty windy and I was able to stay in the aero position for quite a bit. I was riding solo until around mile 13 or so when I was passed by two age group men. Here is where I had to make the decision. Let them pass me and never see them again or STEP IT UP and try and ride aggressively which historically I have not done. Well, so much for history. As soon as they passed me, I stepped it up and proceeded to stay my 4 bike lengths back and practiced riding in the legal zone.

It was hard and I was riding really hard to do it. After a while we finally all spread apart and I tried to keep them in sight. By mile 45 I was getting tired but was able to stay on pace and keep the guys in sight. I rode a 2:20!! Holy cow! I do believe that is a PR by at least 10 minutes!! Goal number 2- accomplished.

My legs were pretty fatigued by the time I hopped off the bike so my plan was to take the run out conservatively. I started the run and was expecting over a 7 minute first mile, but my first mile was 6:50. I had quite a lead so I didn’t feel I needed to crush the run. The rest of the run I continued to run between 6:35-6:45 all the while staying
conservative. The glute was a bit tight but nothing out of the ordinary. I ran a 1:28, Goal number 3-accomplished. All in all the race was great; it was a crazy, busy, quick trip but I am happy I did it. I won overall and I have the information that I wanted and now it is crunch time for Kona. I can’t help but think that my bike getting stolen was a blessing in disguise. I am really looking forward to what lies ahead on October 11.

Thanks Team.

Continuing to Let it Go,
Gina

Arriving in Kona always is a great feeling. I love the feeling of the warm humid air as soon as you step off the plane. I was sad to leave the family but excited to race again and see what the body could do with the training that I have done thus far; plus it was a great way to get away and get some sleep. I really had no idea what to expect from this race. I went in with an open mind and was prepared for anything, even not finishing if the body was not able to handle the stress. Again, I set several goals for myself.

Goal number ONE: do not panic on swim start. Goal number TWO: collect data with power tap on ride to see where fitness is. Goal number THREE: try and run 7:30 pace or faster. Goal number FOUR: listen to the body and if I feel like I am injuring myself in any way I must pull out as not to hurt myself for the rest of the season.
Getting up on race morning was easy! Although it was 4:00AM, I was still on Cali time and I had gone to bed at
8:45PM (LOVED IT!!). I opened my slider and stood on the balcony and saw that it was pretty breezy. I expected the bike to have some good “old” school winds that I have experienced on this island in years past. The morning was relaxing as I mentally prepared myself for the race. One side of my brain was telling me I was in great shape and to prepare to rock and roll. The other side told me that I was crazy to try and do this half Ironman with such little training and so soon after baby number 2.

The swim start was a mass start which I have not done in many years so I was a bit nervous to be pounded by all the age group men. I used to put my head down and go hard, but now, I swim head up for a bit and am pretty conservative trying to find a hole to get in. I basically went on auto pilot and the next thing I know, I was being pulled along effortlessly. I usually can hang onto the first group but I knew my fitness was not at that level, so I hung in with the second pack. It was a rough swim with lots of wind chop, but I swam smart and ended up being first pro woman out of the water. Goal number one: accomplished.

My transition from swim to bike was another comical event but I made it out on the bike first and rode 3-4 miles before I was passed by another pro woman. In years past I would really get down on myself but it seems my “time off” has relaxed me a bit more. My goal to ride hard and get my data was in full force and I was able to keep the first place woman within site for quite some time. I was passed again around mile 20 and again I was riding strong so I stayed positive. I kept both women within sight so it was just a matter of riding my own race. The winds were strong, great training for Ironman, so I just took the gusts as they came and did what I could to keep rubber side down. Around mile 45 I was stung by a bee….nice…but then I got a flat at mile 50! Six miles to go and I get a flat! I do believe I was on pace for a PB for 56 miles too! The tire went to the ground and I rode the rim for a bit until I realized I had a spare to change it. YES! I got off my bike, changed the flat, pumped it up put all my stuff back as not to litter the highway, and as I swung my leg over to get rolling again, the tire was flat…AGAIN! I had no more CO2 cartridges, so I was down to riding the bike in on the flat tire. Oh well, I had a good 50 mile ride and I was determined to finish no matter how long it took me to go 6 miles! Goal number 2: as accomplished as it could get.

Getting off the bike, my legs were a bit stiff and I was cramping in areas in my core that I was not expecting. I knew I was out of contention for a top 3 performance but it did not stop me from trying to have a great run. I started the run holding 6:40 pace for the first 6 miles and then slowed to right around 7 min pace until about mile 10. I started getting pretty tired at that point but I worked through it and kept focused on running hard. All in all I had a good run..1:31 split for the 13.2 miles. Goal number 3: accomplished I ended up 5th pro overall and walked away feeling very positive. I went into the basement on some mental processing so I know what I need to work on there. My fitness is further along than what I would have expected and the great thing is I am only going to get better. With the time off I will just keep getting fit until October. I should be done breastfeeding by mid June (pumping at a race was a whole new experience!) which will help with some of the core weakness. My next race is July 19th and I tackle Vineman 70.3. I got the flat tires out of the way for the season so I am looking to be more fit and go and rock the house. Thanks again to the “Team”. It was another successful day at the office!

TRIBIKETRANSPORT: Such a bonus, traveling by myself it was great to have them to help with my bike. Dropping it off after the race to take back to Cali…you have no idea how much that helped me! THANK YOU SO MUCH IN SO MANY WAYS!

GURU CRONO! What a ride! LOVED IT! For the first time I have a great relationship with my bike.

ZOOT! Speedzuit was AWESOME! Race suit and shoes kicked butt!

KAENON: The lenses are so GREAT, especially for a place like Hawaii! I wore the KORE for the bike and then showed some fashion with the GEORGIA on the run! ROCK ON!

GU! Kept me going and used the Roctane on the run…how bout those 6:40 miles huh!?

Let it Go,
Gina

As I was driving to Morgan Hill at 4:45 (yes 4:45am) I reminded myself that I wanted to try and go HARD…that this was going to be one of my hard workouts for the week. It was just that the workout was REALLY early in the morning!

The morning was great, weather was awesome, we had been having a heat wave so it was expected to be 90 degrees (I say bring it on…and give me more please!) so it was all good. I had 3 goals: 1.) Not go into oxygen debt on the swim as I have not been able to swim much, but I am confident that will come with more time, 2.)

Ride the GURU Crono not pregnant to get a feel for SPEED…(I had only raced on in it twice last year and both times I was pregnant (unknowingly), and 3.) Use the run as a way to get my body to try and go to anaerobic threshold.

The gun went off at 7:35 and I started the swim feeling as if I was swimming slow but as soon as we got out about 100 meters or so, I lost the feet in front of me and goal number one went out the window…I was in serious oxygen debt. Oh well, I worked through it and moved on..(loved my ZOOT wetsuit!!)

The bike was amazing. My transitions are a little rusty but it made mounting the bike fun (I actually laughed as I was dong it) but when I started rolling I knew it was going to be a great ride. I usually don’t feel strong in the beginning of a race- usually my legs are on fire I swear you should see smoke from my thighs, but this time it was just a nice burn that I could push through. And that I did. My bike split was a Personal Best by TWO minutes and I just felt so awesome on the bike the whole time.

My bike is awesome, I have to say it is the first time I have ever felt so powerful-thanks GURU. Goal number 2…accomplished! Starting the run was a bit like getting those cob webs out but I built into it and just ran as hard as the body would let me go.

It was sort of like starting an old car but once it finally catches, then it is business as usual. I worked on different aeas of the run and did what I could to make my body go hard.

Goal number 3….accomplished! (loved my ZOOT race suit, ZOOT racing shoes and my KAENON Kore glasses). As I was finishing the race there were a few things going through my mind. One was, one of the things that made me rock that day was thinking of my family, my husband, my crazy 2.5 year old and my new little baby boy (3.5 months now). They empower me.

Another was that I completed the goals I set out to do that day-I was proud. So, you can imagine how FIRED up I was to see my overall finishing time within a few minutes of my Personal Best! To top that off, I won OVERALL! Those were the bonuses to my already very successful day.

I have a BIG goal for myself October 11, 2008 and that is what I always have in my head as I hit each workout, as I do each race. This race was a great stepping stone and shows me that I am right on track for where I want to be. Thank you to the TEAM for helping me reach the dream! We are doing it, baby steps at a time. Can’t wait to see you all in Kona!

Let it go,
Gina