Accent Fitness

1st in Age Group, 2011 Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon

Great short sprint race leading up to Nationals next weekend. This was the first sprint distance triathlon for me this year, as the Stanford one turned into a dualthon back in February.  Last year, I got first in the Olympic distance version of this race but I didn't want to do two Olympic distance races on back to back weekend.  I'm not a huge fan of the sprint distance since the swim and bike are so short but it is a good speed workout. 

The organization by Finish Line Productions was good. There was a great group of volunteers who made everything run smoothly. For the beach start, I practice my dolphin dives on the swim entry and it worked out well.  On the bike, I averaged just over 21 mph.  My plan on the run was to work on my run pacing but I ended up forgetting my Garmin watch at home. So I just had to run for the sake of running.

All in all, a great day.  We had to wait longer than the actual race to get the awards but that's just one of those things that happens. :-)

2011 Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon Photo Album

RANK: 1st in Age Group
TOTAL TIME: 1:13:47
SWIM: 12:50
T1: 41.3
BIKE: 33:43   2011 Santa Cruz Triathlon Bike Course
T2: :49
RUN: 25:42

 

 

 

VIDEO: 2011 Southwest Regional Championship

Read about the event  and watch the video here!

Marlene wins 3rd Place: 2011 USA Triathlon Southwest Regional Championship Race

 This weekend, the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island hosted the USA Triathlon Southwest Regional Championship Race.  The 2011 Regional Championship races occurring prior to August 12, 2011 qualify the top 33% per age group for the 2011 Age Group Nationals in Burlington, Vermont on August 20.

Race Recap:

This was my third year participating in the Treasure Island triathlon and first time participating in a Regional Championship event.  I was familar with the course and although it's a almost completely flat bike and a completely flat run, it always seems to be an exhausting race.  I believe it's because the bike is technical, with 6 loops, so you never get any recovery because you are constantly pushing on any chance to grab some extra speed. 

I decided to not show up at the crack of dawn when transition opened since my wave wasn't until 8:15am and the transition spots are assigned by number. I arrived around 6:20am and had plenty of time to get my packet and do the traditional pre-race activities.  I feel sort of fatigued in the morning and not in best form but was still going to give it my best shot.  On the swim, the water temperature wasn't too bad, felt around 63'ish.  I remember from last year that there can be tides and current in this sheltered area of the bay so I made sure to consistently sight and check my line as I was swimming.  

Once out on the bike, I was enjoying my new Sidi T2 Carbon bike shoes. There was some headwind and cross wind going on during the bike course.  I tried to not get frustrated with the headwind but instead, used it as an opportunity to pass more guys, who tend to struggle more when pedaling straight into the wind since them and their bikes weigh more than me and the Rocket.  I also decided to race with the Zipp Disc wheel. I wasn't sure if I should use it but I looked at pictures from last year's Pro race and saw there was a couple guys with Discs.  I think it was the right decision.  It feels faster to me. :-)

 After successfully completing the bike, I was off for the famous run.  Again, the most logical reasoning I have come to as to why this flat run course is very so straining ends up being that I exert too much energy on the bike.  Needless to say, it was a long 10K, ACTUALLY was long.  It measured 6.51 miles instead of the standard 6.2 miles (10K).  But I pushed through and was delighted to place 3rd at my first Regional Championship triathlon.  Jon B. from Affinity also placed 3rd in Men 45-49 age group and Rob H placed 4th in the same division.  A great day for the Affinity team!

Complete Photo Album

Ranking: 3rd Place in Age Group
Overall Time: 02:41:02
Swim: 00:26:42 
T1: 1:23
Bike: 01:15:15.  Marlene's Bike Race.
T2: 0:56
Run: 00:56:46. Marlene's Run Race. 

Ashley, Marlene & Jess

Jon B and Marlene

Training since Ironman

It's been an interesting month since the Ironman.  I wasn't sure if I would revolt and want to do anything but training or if the race would have the opposite and I would be more motivated to continue training. I definitely didn't revolt although the motivation of early AM wake up was definitely lacking.

It took about 2 weeks for the blisters to heal enough on my feet to feel 'normal' again.  I was kind of depressed that I had lost so much fitness that I had gained as part of the Ironman training. It really goes to show that the frequency of exercise is the key to endurance and adaptation. I was optimistic that it would return quickly but those first couple runs and rides were very fatiguing. I was thankful that I was able to pull it together for the Metro Triathlon only 2 weeks post Ironman.  By week 3, I declared myself officially recovered and I was able to run again without a crazy high heart rate.

Next up will be the Silicon Valley Long Course. I haven't planned out anything beyond that so we shall see! 

Here are some highlights of training from the past weeks:

Thursday, June 2

• Thursday AM Portola Loop

Monday, May 30th Memorial Day

• Master Swim Class. 5200 yrd. 100 minutes

Sunday, May 29th

• San Francisco Long Run

Saturday, May 28th

• Silicon Valley Long Course Bike Leg
• Post Ride Brick Run @ Lake Almaden

Tuesday, May 24th

• Affinity Multisport Hill Repeat Workout

Saturday, May 21st

• First post Ironman ride

Tuesday, May 14th

• Affinity Multisport Track Workout

2011 Metro Triathlon: 1st in Age Group, 2:32

Great race today by Threshold Racing called Metro Triathlon.  Coming 15 days from Ironman St. George, I knew I wasn't anywhere near as strong as I had been during the peak of Ironman training.  I think I was even in better shape conditioning wise back in December to race an Olympic distance race. But I was eager to do a shorter distance race sooner rather than later, as I am still trying to decide what my focus will be for the rest of the 2011 season.  Everything is up in the air so far.  Since a bunch of my Affinity teammates were doing this race and it's close and local, I thought why not? It was an Olympic distance race with a 2 loop swim in Lake Almaden, almost flat bike leg around Almaden valley and almost flat run leg within the park.

I didn't do my typical day before race day routine with a master swim class and bike warmup.  Instead I rode.  Instead on Saturday, I rode 63 miles for about 5 hours with Bronwyn and Katie as my first long ride since IMSG.  I ended up dropping my chain on a 13% grade hill and falling over. No damage just (yet another) ding on my brake handles.  In any case, not the typical day before race activity but it was memorable.

At the start of the swim, I definitely felt more fatigue than usual, I attributed it to not swimming the day before.  Still, the swim was fast since it was short. I had a great transition and was off on the bike pounding hard. I really wanted a high average speed on the bike. I was hoping for something like 22-23mph but there was some headwind and it didn't seem possible.  But I was still going to push for over 20 mph average so that's what I did. I knew my run was going to be slow because I have literally ran twice since IMSG, and the first time was pretty dismal.  As expected, the run resulted in a high heart rate but with only 10K to worry about, it was no big deal. 

On the run, I got passed by three strong women in the 40-44 age group which placed me 4th overall and I maintained 1st in my age group!  Teammate Addison got 2nd in Age Group and Rod, Eric, Liz had great races as well.  Coach Gina Kehr's coed relay got first place.  John and Madison came down for the awards ceremony.  It was a fun Sunday morning! 

What's next remains to be seen!

2011 Metro Triathlon Photo Album

2011 Metro Triathlon VIDEO

TOTAL TIME: 2:32:56
RANK: 1st in Age Group, 4th Female Overall
SWIM: 26:23. Best Overall Female Swim Split!
T1: 1:24
BIKE: 1:09:53. Best Overall Female Bike Split! 2011 Metro Triathlon Bike Leg
T2: 1:03
RUN: 54:13.  2011 Metro Triathlon Run Leg

Addison, Rod, Marlene & Eric - Team Affinity

Marlene & Liz