FYI: A 10 minute mile hurts just as much as a 6 minute mile.

Pictures from Cooper River Bridge Run.

I ran two races this past week. On Sunday March 21, I ran a half marathon in Atlanta with an old friend. She and I ran marathons together back in the late 1990’s. Since then, we have both taken on motherhood, work and… injuries. We were both fast chicks back in the glory days but took another direction with this race which took me through my old post college stomping grounds. Since I hadn’t seen Jennifer in 5 years, we decided to “run” the race together.

We arrived later than planned and literally jumped a fence into the massive crowd of 19,000. We had no idea what corral we were in but I can tell you this, when the gun went off…. We didn’t move… my first “middle of the pack” experience. We ran a 10 minute pace the entire way, stopped for water, chatted with volunteers, used the potty, laughed, giggled and talked the entire way…. We even got to experience the men’s marathon winner and his police entourage blow by us in the last ½ mile of his/our race – Yes… he ran 26.2 miles in the amount of time it took us to run 13.1… a humbling experience, something new for me, something I had never done before, something I was thankful for…

The following Saturday, I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, a 10k with 38,000 registered runners/walkers. I had planned on running a 6:15 pace to try and finish around 39 minutes but came up short. I finished in 40 minutes. My legs were flat and my exhausting week came back to haunt me.

Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy with my performances this week from a competitive viewpoint. The positive is I got to the start line… and the finish line… And, was able to have a fantastic girls weekend followed by a great weekend with my husband (and dog) in Charleston.

(I also learned a 10 minute pace hurts just as much as a 6 minute pace, except you don’t have Gatorade crusted all over you…)

Who has the best Game Face?

Eddie Helton took these pictures at the Paris Mountain TT on Saturday. Some facial expressions are fantastic!

Bring that next turn!

I'll show you how it's done, mountain!! Let me at it!!

Just 3 more minutes....just 3 more minutes...

Beth digging deep - she looks like she's smiling!

Giselle looks like she's sailing up that hill like it's flat.

KP in full attack mode.

This little hill is no problem for Weinecker. Her face even says so!

THIS WEEK

We are in full swing as far as potential team activities. There is one real truth. YOU CAN"T DO IT ALL. Each of us have lives, families, jobs (well maybe not?) and interests other than cycling and TEAM headstrong. So do what you can....do what you want to....do what is fun. Just remember, this is a marthon and not a sprint:

Tuesday - SCTAC - Team pow -wow at 5:50PM. CAT 4 women and Men Cat 4/5 will be invited to do the B's in practice for Rock Hill Omnium where we will race together. It is always your call on which group you ride in. I am planning on a week in the A's after RHO to evaluate how it fits my training needs. By then, all the Cat 4 Women will veterans and running their own show!

Wednesday - I am doing 3 hours endurance (Z1-Z2). Flexible on AM start time and flexible on start place. Looking for some company for all or part of it. We can talk of not........I 've been doing a lot of solo so I could use company.

Friday - 11:00- 12:30 - Sprint clinic - Fundamentals: Standing start, grip, body position, gearing. Cleveland Park/Greenville. Meet at TEAM HQ.

Saturday - Four hour Climbing ride. Time and starting point to be announced based on weather forecast.

webster-roubaix

This is an invite from your Florida contingent to race webster -roubaix this Saturday. I know its the Saturday before Easter but i wanted to put it out there. this is a love /hate race with a 9 mile loop but 2.7 miles is unpaved an can be sandy, making very difficult. My training has been almost non existant for the last two weeks because of bronchitis but will race none the less. I am planning on the team camp at the end of april and a chance to meet everyone. Working myself back into shape for the camp. I will try to have posts and race reports more often on the blog and welcome anyone to come to Florida for some very competitive racing particularly in the masters men. Looking forward to meeting you all soon .Ed Levins

Paris Mountain ITT --- 2.2 miles of pain

Time trials, to me, are just another form of self flagellation. I mean anyone in their right mind would only endure such a thing if either there was some great reward or you had no other choice…
That being said, once again, against my better judgment , I acquiesce into agreeing to riding the Paris Mtn ITT. Our Director Sportif (DS) tried to cajole the team into all signing up. To some this was a "target" event to others, like me, a bad way to spend a quarter of an hour.

click to read ......

http://teamheadstrong.googlegroups.com/web/Paris%20Mountain%20ITT.pdf?gda=kdt3QkkAAACKGPPl9da7NmykyZ4xRiQ9Qya-UueDI_k0EN9XaMjj2ho6B5I4iGoyss8lxFZYpptMQT8VTGzzktiehlWtbHaDhAioEG5q2hncZWbpWmJ7IQ&gsc=wiEwZwsAAADjtto7BSKya3XAsexk9akB

PARIS MT TT

This is a good news/bad news story.

THE GOOD - Fun event and super results for TEAM headstrong!

THE BAD - I will be spending some time at Paris Mt this week and it won't be climbing to improve my poor TT Time. Unthinking, I offended some of the residents with the paint on the road. I owe them and the race promotor, Nicole Bossie Johnson, an apology. So, I am going to get it cleaned up.

Don't know if any residents ever read this but if you do: I apologize for painting the road and I will get it corrected. Please do not hold Ms. Johnson or other cyclists responsible for this. We have a great cycling community and this should not reflect on the cycling community as it was the act of one person. Your mountain is treasure for those of us enjoy the sport of cycling. We should treat as such.

Sincerely
Randall Maddox

THEZE EZ NOTTA CLUB MON

Years ago, I saw a young Hispanic man on TV being interviewed in LA. He told the commentator: "Theze ez notta gang mon, theze ez a clobe". Well, this is not a club. This is a competitive racing team. This weekend:

Cooper River 10K - Lara (tentative)

Tour of Tuscaloosa - Brady, Joe

Powerman Alabama - Tom

Paris Mt TT - Bird, Weinacker, KP, Beth, Mel, Giselle, Gillespie, Sam, DirSportif

Did I miss anybody?

Good luck and go hard!

PARIS MT TT - 3/27- SATURDAY

All TEAM headstrong riders go off between 11:00-11:05.

Bird and I will be riding out of Team HQ at 10:15.

We will launch the ride (3-3.5 hours) to the top of Caesar's Head directly after(circa 11:30). Some people will shorten the ride by turning around at the base of CH and omit the climb.

See ya there!

THE PLAY OF DAY

ESPN missed but I didn't!

Site: SCTAC (Donaldson)
Date: 3/22/2o1o
LAP: 4
Place: Near the RR track
Speed: 23mph

We are around the corner and strung out. The line of riders is moving from the yellow line to the right edge of the road and everyone is jockying for position. Sam is in front of me and one bike seperates us. She is pushed off the road and into the grass......WOW! The asphalt lip is 3-4 inches high. She continues to pedal straight ahead in the grass for 75-100 meters, hops onto an industrial driveway and returns to the paceline without losing a single bike length. People are freaking out and amazed but not me. I know she is: The Mountain Bike Chic!

If you missed this, you missed the PLAY OF THE DAY.

From the Director Sportif

It is another Tuesday and I hope we stay in the B ride. Why?
* It simulates our races
* We can practice tactics
* We can work as hard..... and did last week as A group
* This ride will tax us anaerobically with many short efforts.
* We had a ton of fun last week.
Sure, the big boys are in the A's and we have to swallow our pride a little. If you wanted to 'ride', that is what you can do in the A's. BUT, YOU SAID, YOU WANTED TO RACE!
We will matriculate to A's as time goes by. I hope when we do that our skills, fitness and confidence will allow us to race. Going and setting in just to say , "I finished the A's.", may have little benefit on race day.

BE THERE AT THE TEAM POW WOW AT 5:50. GISELLE WILL LEAD THE WOMEN AND BIRD THE MEN BUT WE WILL ALL BE WORKING TOGETHER!

LOOKS LIKE CHIPOTLE AFTER....that is when we tell all the stories!

The P&B (purple and black) will prevail!

Women's Skills Clinic

We could not have asked for a better day for our first skills clinic yesterday. Thank you to Steve Baker of Hincapie Sportswear for spending time teaching us some valuable riding and racing skills, and thanks to Duke Spinelli, current president of the Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club for taking some great pictures.

On the grass at Furman University with

coach Steve.

Learning how to change body

position and pick up a water bottle.

Rubbing elbows and shoulders.

Lean on me, and lean on me back!

First chain ring casualty

of the day. Brady is

leaking hydraulic fuel.

Turtle!!

NO WALK IN THE PARKWAY - 3/20

10:00 AM - Rosman, NC. We have TEAM members Joe, Bird, Tom, Beth, Jim, Mel and me.

Also on the ride:
Mark & Michelle - the Canadians (climbing fools)
Ray - Bird's daughter's boyfriend (big and strong)
Cinthia Lehner -junior & collegiate champion


This is not going to be a 'Walk in the Parkway'. We pull out in an organized fashion and head to Brevard 2x2 at 19.1 mph avg. See where this is going? Just up 276, we stop at a closed Ranger station and get water. We have 40 miles to go to the water stop and Bird wants to know why one bottle is not enough! The 1 hour climb gets going soon and the front group looks like Bird, Joe, Cin and the Canadians. Beth and I are together (talking) and glad we are keeping them in sight. Soon, Tom zooms by and joins the lead group. Four miles from the Parkway, the grade steepens and Beth gets away from me........."keep it below threshold, RM." Soon we are regrouping at the Parkway and Jim rolls by never stopping. Bird tells us: "Rollers ahead, a 4 mile serious climb and 1/4 mile dark tunnel. Stay together in the tunnel or you could die." Since Joe has the only light, he will ride in the rear in the tunnel. We turn onto the Parkway and barriers are up....but of course that does not stop us. Bird is 'off the front' and we are dodging large trees and rocks in the road. Snow is on both sides of the road and soon in the road.














As the 4 mile climb starts, Bird is still 'off the front'. In the lead group, it is Beth, the Canadians, Cin and me(I am determined this time to match the pace). Beth stops for a gear adjustment and never gets back up with us. Half way up, Cin asks, "This is the 4 mile climb, right?" I feel better because someone else is in pain and this time....NOBODY is talking. At the crest, we see Bird and regroup again.


At Balsam Grove after a 10 mile descent, we stop at the only store on the route. It ain't over yet. In 300 meters, the pace picks up and we rip up and down about four hills. We are strung out and my thighs are screaming. I am pedaling downhill at 250 watts!

We take a right at Hwy 64 and quick left up a gravelly hill. On the downhill, I see the car:

64 miles
4:00 hours

Another great TEAM headstrong ride!

4:10 for Tom as he jumps off and runs 10 minutes to ready for Powerman Alabama next week. Are we hardcore or what?

A Tale of Two Cities, part 2

Stock Island, Fla Keys. The Key West Southernmost Sprint Triathlon actually takes place each spring at the Fla Keys Community College on Stock Island. If last week's Miami International Tri was a Tour Stage, then the Southernmost Tri is pure Grass Roots. The only problem is, there isn't any grass on Stock Island, only coral rock, bleached white by hundreds of years in the sub-tropical sun.

Stock Island is the last stop on the island chain known as the Fla Keys before crossing a bridge and entering the Griswold Nirvana that is Key West during "Season". Like an aging rock star, Key West struggles to maintain its past brilliance, while across the bridge its brooding blue-collar brother, Stock Island, struggles to maintain the Keys maritime heritage in the face of economic collapse. When the T-shirt shops and tacky bars pushed the shrimpers and lobstermen out of Key West Bight, they drifted to Stock Island; suffice it to say that other than this day each year, you won't see many men in lycra here...

6:30 a.m: As I set up my transition area, I debate the merits of a wet suit for this short event; warm and buoyant will cost me precious transition time, and this race could be all about seconds, and besides, I can stand anything for 10 min...7:00 a.m: Treading water, I wait for the deep water mass start in the lagoon...body temp 98F, water temp 68F, air temp 62F; a wetsuit would be priceless right now...Start horn goes off and I'm in the lead pack, water churning like the Margarita blenders across the bridge; hands, elbows and feet flying everywhere, forcing me to porpoise every few strokes to sight the buoys...the Dragon of Doubt sneaks out of his cave and whispers behind me "You don't belong here"; with steely resolve, I crack the whip and send him packn' before I search for some "good feet" to follow...out of the water I fly through T1 and out on the bike course...rounding the corner onto Highway 1, I drop a couple of quarters in the slot and kick things up a notch...240w, 154bpm, 26.1mph...I like the numbers, but do I have enough quarters in my roll to maintain them???...back in T2 I slam on my running shoes and stumble onto the run course with wooden legs...Joe says "the legs lie" and experience tells me "they'll open up soon", so I focus on cadence...a mile in and they do open up and I'm flying as I realize it's one of those magical days when all the cylinders are firing...as I cross the finish line, I hear the sweet sound of the Neville Brothers Band calling me from N'Orleans, where I'll be racing the 70.3 in 4 more weeks...Leissez les bon temps roulez!!!

South Fla Race Block results:
Miami International Tri 19th AG 2:38:18
Southernmost Sprint Tri 1st AG, 2nd Overall Masters 55:42 (new Sprint distance PR)

March 20th.... Saturday

2 training events..... the ladies are having a skills clinic lead by Greenville's Steve Baker, and secondly we are having a first Blue Ridge training ride heading out of Rosman for 5,000+ft of climbing...... Sun's up.....let's have some fun!

TEST ON BLOG USAGE

Wea re trying to see how many people/how often they are reading the Blog. Please reply to this when read it. All you have write is: GOT IT.

Thank you.

SCTAC "Bird's Eye View"

SCTAC (formerly known as Donaldson) March 16th, 2010 (updated version....)

With the Spring Training Series behind us and back on Daylight Savings Time we now move into the “season”. The Tuesday night “training” rides are underway….. at the “executive” team meeting the DS (that would be the Director Sportif, RPM) that we would encourage all team members to 1) show up and 2) ride the B’s. (I will spare you the DS monologue on the advantages of riding B’s instead of sitting in on the A’s….but suffice it to say he is right)

The goals being
1. pack riding skills,
2. team tactics,
3. team building

Click below to continue reading.....

http://teamheadstrong.googlegroups.com/web/SCTAC.pdf?gda=HZQquzwAAACKGPPl9da7NmykyZ4xRiQ9kU5hpcIbit_w3mzhnmkYPXx7-5azME2XnOW5FY6SMzj9Wm-ajmzVoAFUlE7c_fAt&gsc=eYgKLAsAAABOd6wBBwHea5J2dG3zBHMa

SCTAC

Or as my GPS calls it "Skatak"! Which is kind of what we did..........

Here are some photos from the first night of SCTAC. Headstrong looked great!

SCAT Season Opener........

Nothin' but an awesome showing by TEAM headstrong......... Giselle, Tom, Sam, Joe, Randall, Christina, Mel, Lara, KP, Randy..... proud to ride with all of you..... details to follow later.....

TEAM headstrong...YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO RACE!!

Be at SC TAC(Donaldson) tomorrow at 5:50PM, suited up, warmed up, and ready to race. You only need $5 to enter what I call the 'Tuesday Night World Championship'. The Spinners call it a RIDE but don't kid yourself, it is full race conditions...a peleton, attacks, breaks, and sprint to the finish. In a ride, they wait for you at the red lights......at SC TAC, there are no red lights! But, you can always get back on the next lap.

If you are new, you can learn to race here FAST. You can build race fitness here FAST. This event is one of the main reason we have so many great racers in the Upstate. Steve Baker told me the other day, this was his favorite thing in cycling...more fun than any other race! We will be hangin' out after for eats at Chicora Alley (not Barley's).

Buckle your seat belt.

A Tale of Two Cities, part 1

Wecome to Miami! It all started on Fri. with a 5:00 a.m. call from US Scair, telling me my flight was cancelled, and since it was Spring Break, all flights were booked 'till the following week. Not easily dissuaded, I convinced them to fly me into Ft. Lauderdale (AKA Ft. Liquordale during Spring Break) and shuttle me down to MIA....Fast forward to Race Day...Left the hotel @ 4:00 a.m. to beat the traffic...late night revelers stumbling back to the hotel lobby were surprised to see the grey haired guy in Headstrong kit shuffling through the lobby with a small sporting goods store supply of swim, bike and run gear....body marked with race numbers, I mark my territory as I set up my transition area in the pre-dawn darkness, going through my setup checklist for the 23rd time (goggles, wetsuit, SRM computer, spare sew-up, CO2, gels, shades, race belt/number, running shoes, etc,etc)...set-up complete and stuffed into my wet-suit like a sausage, I stroll down to the ocean and relax with my one cup of coffee as the herd begins to thunder in and the nervous energy becomes palpable around me...1600 athletes, 32 countries and Miami; think of a tour stage (OK, not the TdF, but maybe the Tour of Spain, or Argentina), or maybe a circus with 100's of endurance athletes in all shapes and sizes. With $25,000 in cash prizes on the line, even the pro's seem a bit nervous...Gun goes off and I have great position, but have a hard time sighting the first turn buoy in the early morning glare off the water...long and strong is my mantra as I focus on my swim stroke and avoid getting kicked or clawed in the swim start frenzy...out of the water and through T1 in a fairly smooth transition...out on the course I'm feeling good on the bike, despite the 15-20mph winds and my questionable decision to go with a rear disc wheel...into T2 and coming off the bike I have a hellacious abdominal muscle cramp (feels like one of the cans in my 6-pack popped it's top)...try to run through T2 but the cramp is killing me...relax, deep breaths, work it out...seconds seem like hours...finally out of T2, I feel good as I hit my running stride, but the pavement abrupty ends and I hit the trail (where did it say this was an Exterra event?) ...pro women leaders flying as they approach me on the out and back run course.... second loop of the 10k run and a tree root reaches out and trips me...up quickly with the only injury being a bruised ego, I'm back at it again, driving hard for the finish over the last mile...I cross the line and grab a drink before plunging into a sea of athletes and spectators.... back in transition, I gather my toys, hop in the truck, and head back to Islamorada for another hour and a half of bike training 'cuz 70.3 New Orleans is right around the corner, and as my buddy RM says, "It takes a little more to be a champion".

Great Times, Great Photos

I love photographs. They sometimes just say so much more than you can put down in words. These are some good ones, taken by Eddie this past weekend.

Those are some cool shades!

We did this!!

Does it look like I'm having fun?!

COACH HAS TO BOAST

We could call her the Postman. KP delivered the mail today through rain and fog on Paris Mt. She cracked 13:00 minutes in a solo TT that we set up for her as a little field test. I think I see a sub 12 in her future! Go girl. Oh, ask her about her new wheels!

Where's Waldo ???

Hey Team,

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I've gone underground (or at least South) for a while. It started with a nasty virus that knocked me down and out the night before the last GSTS race, and kept me away from training for 5 days. I started feeling well towards the end of last week, so in anticipation of an upcoming race block, I cashed in a frequent flier ticket (one of the perks of way too much business travel) and headed down island to St. Lucia for some focused open water swim training and heat/humidity acclimation. Tomorrow, I leave for Fla where I will be racing Sunday in the Miami International Triathlon. This is a very competitive international caliber race with 1600 athletes competing from 32 countries. I'll be using it for training, but still hope to finish in the top third of my AG and qualify for the USTS nationals for Olympic Distance Triathlon (I have already qualified for Long Distance, which is my bread and butter race). The following weekend, I will be racing the Southernmost Sprint Triathlon down in Key West, which is a small regional race where I hope to medal. Following these races, I will be back in Greenville, polishing my fitness for my first "A" race of the year, the Ochner Ironman 70.3 in New Orleans, April 18. This is the largest race of the 70.3 series and takes place on a fast, flat point to point course, culminating with a finish in the French Quarter. Best of luck to everyone as we head in our early season race schedules...

Last Spring Series weekend, from one point of view

What a weekend! Before the River Falls race on Saturday, we spoke about our goals considering BMW/Bianchi was there in full force with 7 women, the always powerful Lees-McRae had 3 or 4 youngsters, our local friends from the Kenda squad had 4, plus a smattering of other very capable riders and climbers. Keeping it simple:
1. If there is a break, one of us needs to be in it. So if something goes without one of us, we will have to work hard to bridge or bring it back.
2. If it is you in the break, do everything it takes to stay in the break (aka NOT get dropped), which means, do not do a lick of work if your close to red lining, even if the other girls are screaming at you (and they will!).

We did exactly as we planned, which sometimes is not an easy thing to do. Debbie, Sam and I were at the front consistently, I luckily got in the break, and luckily stayed in it. Weinecker was building confidence and finished the race in the front of the pack. I watched their finish and didn't see anyone finish between the break and Weinecker, but somehow there are two women in between on the finish list. Who knows what happened there. Debbie, who now is officially a climber, was 10th and Sam 16th. Every person on the finish list was a great rider. Nobody would sign up for that race unless they were serious!

In the Cat 4 women's race KP finished 3rd and Brady 8th. Lots of strong women there as well. Let us know the gory details, ladies!

Sunday's Donaldson pre-race meeting had the same goals as Saturdays, with us having much more confidence. All categories of women raced together with the decision being made at the starting line...I wish we had more heads up than that! Kristi, KP and Brady were in without much notice. A very fast start and first lap saw some early attrition. The rest of the race was either very fast or very slow. Nobody got away. Headstrong was active throughout the race and Weinecker was not NEAR the front, but ON the front for what seemed like forever. After the race, she admitted it was easier there! Love it!!! Headstrong ended up 3,6, 11 and 12 in the 123's...that's a lot of purple finishing forward. The 4's finished 7, 13, and 14...great showing in a chaotic finish. I'd love to hear their stories! GREAT day...except for the crash that I apparently caused...

River Falls

4 weekends of racing with the last three Saturday and Sunday…….. what was I thinking….. denial of biology, or maybe senile………. BUT I am still here to write about it….. well it is Tuesday and I just now have the energy and can see straight to type a brief report……… but first …. since I thought I lacked sustained power and strength I rode the 178 loop down to Pickens and back clockwise coming back up Cleo Chapman…. I tried to hitch ride back up from Bob’s but no one would pick me up……. I think I set a new record for slow……

Saturday 3/7….. River Falls Road Race…. 6 loops of a 6.5mile course…. 1 BIG climb (2 tier) then just a fast descent..... right turn rolling down ...then a 120 degree right into a headwind for a couple of miles until the right at the fire station setting up for the CLIMB….. 50 degrees! Whoopee… lose the leg warmers…

go to ... http://teamheadstrong.googlegroups.com/web/2010%20RiverFalls.pdf?gda=wONslkYAAACKGPPl9da7NmykyZ4xRiQ9kp_XBble_PkKdTAo0R6o27u9-eehXOLDx2v9TkgcwBK4qzmRyw7pERYbIIbTVVQIE-Ea7GxYMt0t6nY0uV5FIQ&gsc=kRFykhYAAAClPYxhRJ6zNvBnmlUOLnYXGvpoN4im2R-ZdJEe_OhWlA

Spring Series Ramblings

I just want everyone to know that I had a great time racing with my new teammates during the spring series. My only goal for the series was to finish top ten in every race (mission accomplished!). I never expected to finish top three in the omnium, so that was an added bonus. Giselle rocked! Not only is she fast, she is also a motivator (and apparently has a wicked sprint).
Sam and Weinacker, it was fun trying to work together as a team. We have such an awesome group of strong women.

It was also cool to see the progress of our cat 4 ladies. All of them are strong, but most had little or no race experience. Brady rode like a seasoned racer, good job girl. KP started out a little shaky, but is a totally different rider now. Her excitement about racing seemed to grow every weekend. Lara wasn't afraid to ride at the front in her first race at Fork Shoals. Stratton is so hardcore that she came out for the last race the day after running a marathon. We missed Christina, but she will be racing with us soon. Can't wait to race with Beth in the 12 hours of Tsali. I'm very excited about the race season, and am glad to be a member of Team Headstrong

COMING UP

DONALDSON CENTER - starting March 16th.
* Every Tuesday night
* Team meeting at 5:50 at start
* Main race teaching tool
* A blast
* Post ride - Barley's Tap Room if you can
PARIS MT TT - March 27th
* Previously postponed
* Team ride after the TT
* 10 or so of us are already signed up and paid
ROCK HILL OMNIUM
* Top SE race
* Team event - fully reimbursed
* 3 races - Sprint/RR/Crit

More to come on each of these events.

OK, ARE ANY OF YOU WOMEN GOING TO BLOG ABOUT THE BIKE RACING THIS WEEKEND? WE HAVE A LOT TO CROW ABOUT!

Just wanted to catch you guys up on last weekend. Most you know that I ran a marathon Saturday. My stats for those that like numbers were; 6th in my age group, 13th female, and 84th overall (out of 579 finishers). My goals coming into this race were to run a negative split, to run a sub 8 min/mile pace, and to finish the race sub 3:30. I was able to run a negative split for the first time in a marathon. I paced an average of 7:59 per mile and finished in 3:29--I barely squeaked in to make the last two goals, but I was so excited to make them. When I finished, the 3:30 pacer asked me how I was feeling, I replied 'great.' He said 'You didn't run fast enough! You should feel like crap when you cross that finish line--then you know you ran fast enough. You need to run a 3:20 next time." O well---future goals. I am now very ready to shift into cycling. So sorry girls that I was so toast out there Sunday. I thought I felt decent in the warm-ups, but when the race started I couldn't get my legs to go fast or climb. Don't give-up on me, I will be race fit very quickly. By the way, way to go all you 10kers! Lara, I want to run like you when I grow up! Awesome job on the cycling racing these past few weekends as well!

SERVING 2 MASTERS

Teenie & I have made a decision to scratch the Du Nats in Richmond. For 18 months my 'have my cake and eat it, too' mentality has kept me from being as good as I could be at Duathlon. My love for cycle racing and this TEAM pulls me. Teenie has felt the same.

Coach Joe and I believe I can compete at the highest levels in cycling, duathlon or running but not all at the same time. Du Nats was to end my duathlon efforts for the year so I could focus on cycling. It became apparent, if I was going to do my best at Du Nats, I would need to omit Rock Hill and all the Donaldson nights leading up to the April 25th race.

I am very happy with the decision to focus on bike racing and the TEAM, and commit to getting better very fast. I apologize for letting some of you guys down on this but I think the TEAM will be the better for it.

Now, let's go race!

Bucket List

We watched the Bucket List last night. It got me thinking about what would be on my bucket list. And then I remembered Ken and I already started one back in 1999 on our way to our first Ironman, Ironman Canada. I just pulled out our travel journal to review it and I am happy to report that we have already crossed 7 out of 19 items off the list.

10 years have past, I still want to experience what is left on the list but I know there are items I wish to add… one isn’t too glorious but it would give some personal satisfaction… run a race with a negative split...

I did the Reedy River 10k today and it went as expected based on my current, post injury fitness level. I have always been one to go out hard. Push the pace and hang on. That was my plan today. Run a 6 minute pace for the first 3 miles and then see what I could do from there.

I did the first 5k in 18:05 and the second in 19:26. Ouch. Definitely NOT a negative split. My final time with the last .2 was 39 minutes flat, good enough for 5th place overall. I felt good through 4 miles but after that I did what I could to maintain...

The course was an urban tour of downtown and Cleveland Park. The last mile and a half did finish on an uphill coming out of Cleveland Park heading up Washington towards Main Street. Not the easiest finish but a great race.

I had a great warm up with Randall and Christina. It was wonderful to have teammates to get you excited and ready to run! I am honored to be part of Team Headstrong.

What’s on your bucket list?

BIG day, tomorrow 3/6/10

TEAM headstrong is ALL over the place tomorrow:

Kristi Stratton is doing the Snicker's Marathon in Albany, GA. (Is that Snicker's chocolate bars? Didn't they come up with an energy bar that is absolutely yummy? If so, can you snag one of those for me to try? ;) )

Teenie, Randall and Lara will be doing the Reedy River Run 10K, which I do believe is the State Championship. Is that correct, guys?

And a whole bunch of us, women and men, will be doing the final Saturday of the GTS at River Falls.

Lots happening! I can't wait to hear the stories...

ATHLINKS.COM

Teenie and I have come across the most amazing web tool:

Athlinks.com

I have not taken the time to understand it's full power but click on Randall Maddox and check it out.

IT IS FREE AND YOU CAN EASILY BECOME A MEMBER!

Randall and Christina have asked me to give you all an update on my status. I have my last running event for the season which is marathon on Saturday. I would love to hit a PR for this race. After Saturday, I will quickly be 'shifting gears' into cycling and duatholons. I have been cross-training on my bike, and hope to bring the fitness of marathon training into my cycling performance. I certainly hope a can be a good contribution to the team!
Kristi Stratton

Donaldson Race on Sunday

I will admit that I am the world's biggest pansy when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. That's below 5 degrees celcius in South African speak, and where I come from, you don't even open the front door. So when I checked the weather for Sunday, and then heard that I was going to be the only Headstrong woman in the open race, I had a long, hard think about whether I should get out from under the covers!

The women were third to go off just after 9am, and the officials grouped all women together at the start line, with instructions to the 4's not to get all mixed up with the women in the front. That really left me stranded up front, with at least 2 team-mates at the back. The race started, and within the first lap, Kenda (Nicole Johnson) and Pedal Right (Cheryl Fuller-Muller) took off. Deb Sweeney Whitmore from BMW-Bianchi began to chase, and by the time I realized that there were some cat 4's sitting in the front of the pack who either had no desire to chase, or weren't sure what to do, Deb was about 200m up the road, chasing the breakaway hard. I moved around the front of the group and chased Deb down, and shortly after catching up with her, we were joined by Hannah Coughlin (Carolina Flyers). The three of us rotated and rode as hard as we could, for a lap and a half, slowly closing in on the breakaway. By the time we reached golf-course hill, Deb and Hannah closed the gap, and I just had no legs left. They joined Nicole and Cheryl, and looked back a few times as if to say "come on! We're right here - you can make it!". Well, I just couldn't. ("I just can't do it Captain! I don't have the power!").

I rode as hard as I could for another lap on my own, and then figured out that I was either going to completely wear myself out keeping that up, or I could slow down a little, let the pack catch me, and then we could work to get back up and close the gap. So I slowed down. By the time the pack caught me, we had a gap of 45 seconds - nothing we couldn't close with a bit of work. It seemed though, that nobody actually wanted to do anything. The Kenda girls were up at the front blocking for their team-mate, as they should, but there was no excuse for anyone else, so I got mad, and I attacked at least another 4 or 5 times just to try to get the pack mobilized, and then into the 4th lap, decided to sit in and save a little something for the sprint. By this time, my team-mates Kristin Philips and Elizabeth Brady must have seen my futile attempts at animation, and must also have realized that I was about smoked, so they moved up to the front for a lead-out. Thanks to the girls, I managed a 4th spot in the field sprint, and when the final score took the two cat 4's out of the equation, I ended up with 6th place overall.

This is the first time that I have ever been on a team with a bunch of woman, and I'm having a riot. This is just the best thing ever, and once we've worked together a bit, I think that Team Headstrong is going places. I'm happy to be on the train.

My First Bike Race

With family in town Sunday morning, and my husband getting ready to leave for a business trip for the week, I opted to do a pre-dawn run with some friends, leaving plenty of time with family.

Sunday’s run was a hilly 10 miler around Greenville in preparation of my half-marathon in March. During the run, I learned one of the guys was training for the Big Sur Marathon in California this April. I am sure you all are more than familiar with the beauty of the Pacific One Highway… cliffs on one side, the drop to the Pacific Ocean on the other… winding coastal roads of pure spectacular beauty. I started reminiscing how Big Sur was my first marathon nearly 13 years ago and how it was such a spiritual journey for me…

On this same run, I was able to reminisce with the guys about my first real bike race the day before at Fork Shoals. I came to the realization… there isn’t anything spiritual about your first bike race… it’s all about “suck it up and don’t get dropped”!

So begins my journey as a cyclist…

On the line, the women 4’s thought we were in for two laps. Nope. Three laps, with all the women riding together. Ok. Did I have enough nutrition? I think so. Does this trump the plan Brady laid down for us during our warm up? Nope. She marked a few gals we needed to stay close to. Time to ride.

From the start of the race, the Team Headstrong ladies were in control. I could see ahead of me, Debbie, Sam and Giselle working together on the front. The first lap went by with an ok pace. Nothing crazy. I was positioned where I was feeling a bit of the yo-yo effect. To alleviate the situation, I moved up a bit as did KP. We were on the inside and I could see Weinaker and Brady to our left. (The marked girls were there too). We kept inching closer to our Team Headstrong teammates. But then, bam… pace picks up. Ok, don’t get dropped on the hills… or down hills… Ok, back to a steady pace and nearing the front.

By the third lap, I kept expecting the pace to pick up. Should I be doing something to help? Was this the calm before the storm? Debbie gave the play by play and sure enough it played out exactly as she had said. The group stayed together with a bit of acceleration and an attack up the last hill before the final kilometer. It was about there my hip flexors wanted to know when we were going to be done. I told myself to suck it up… it was all I could do.

By the 200m mark you could hear the clicking of gears and see the sprint starting to take form. Within seconds there was screaming and a crash but it appeared everyone was thankfully going to be ok.

I finished my first bike race and I didn’t get dropped!

Though I did do a bike race pre-baby, I am going to consider this my first true bike race. It was the first time I had ridden with only women. And it was the first time (in a long time) I felt like I was part of a team. We are pretty solid and I look forward to doing my part to help. Well done everyone!

Next up: Reedy River 10K

Race Photo's

Race photos from Fork Shoals and several from BMW..

http://picasaweb.google.com/102238567529265669213/TEAMHeadstrong02#