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Bryan, you know I am a regular on the Saturday ride but I am seeing low 40’s Saturday morning so my trainer is looking very attractive and warm this week.
Cindy
Club Member of the Year – Kyoko Kawai. Kyoko is very generous with her time and energy for the Club. She resumed and leads NoVA track, is the Coach for NTP and coordinates the NoVA community group. She is always coming up with new ideas and engaging members.
Most Improved, Male – Nick Waldrup. Nick did his first IM this year, IMLP. It was 2020 goal that was postponed to 2021 and he crushed it.
Veteran Athlete, Female – Liz Baugher. Liz had major hip surgery early January. She shared her recovery process (lots of swimming and rebuilding strength), then crushed her races later in the season with Overall podium finishes at 2 Swim/Runs, Luray and an especially huge podium finish at SOS Triathlon.
Veteran Athlete, Male – Matt Sarge. Matt did 5 triathlons this year, always finishing in the top 3 OA except at Rock Hall where he couldn’t find the swim exit. He is always a consistently strong athlete.
I have 4+ hrs this Saturday and happy to join you…not sure I can keep up with you unless it is all downhill.
Cindy
Hi, my name is Cindy Hutchings and I am happy to kick off the nomination process. I am currently on the Board as the Director of Programs and would love to continue in that role. I have been a member of the DC Tri Club since 2010 and an active programs volunteer for 8 years. In pre-Covid times, I was a regular on the Saturday morning bike rides and NoVa track along with all the fun Club events. In addition, I have been on the Elite team for the past 6 years.
I would like to continue serving on the Board of Directors because I want to continue giving back to the sport that has given me so much. I enjoy assisting others in their triathlon journey and it makes me so happy to see people achieve their goals. To me, the sport is more about community along with the physical and mental benefits of training and racing.
As for personal characteristics, I like to laugh and have strong organizational skills. But I do not like public speaking especially if a stage is involved.
Cindy
The Club is already on it with Training Peaks! We discussed the same scenario at this month’s Board meeting on Monday. The TrainingPeaks coordinator from the Club has it on his to-do list for this week.
This are very unusual times, thank goodness we have an exercise outlet 🙂
Cindy
Brady Nelson – Kelly Lefler, always with a smile, cheer and cowbell
Member – Bryan Frank, does all the jobs when no one else volunteers
Rookie – Jules Bilowich, wins a clock first race
Veteran – John Chambers, just shows up and goes at any distance
Veteran – Courtney Benedict, KONA!!! After 10 years of trying
I will start since I just did PR. On the bike, I used Honey Stinger gels every 40 minutes, starting with non-caffeine for the first 2 and caffeinated for the last 2. Since it was hot and the run was going to be brutally hot, I also took a SaltStick tablet in between the gels (ie 20 minutes after a gel). For fluids I used Osmo and carried a bottle of water to wash down the gels/tablets. Personally, I can’t chew when I am racing so that rules out a lot of options for me.
I am more than happy to share my lessons learned! Ideally you want to train in the conditions that you will be racing. Since I live in DC, none of that was an option. No heat acclimation, no open water swims, no outdoor riding but I did run outside 🙂 Also there are some things that you just can’t plan on, like getting a nasty cold a few days before the race.
I had to toss all my race plans out the window with a new goal of finishing. “Strong and steady” became my mantra. I also knew I had to be flexible and pay attention to how my body was reacting. I had the confidence that my training had prepared me but with my foggy head I had been forgetting things. So I really tried to keep the race plan simple – swim, bike, run while eating/drinking on a set schedule.
Swim – I am swimmer by nature, so my initial goal was to take it easy and relaxed. I lined up in the 2nd row of my wave which is not typical for me. As I am looking around, I realize I was going to be kicked in the body and/or head as soon as the gun went off. So at the last minute, I moved up to the front row. And lucky me, I am next to gal who ended up swimming at my pace. I was able to draft off of her for 2/3 of the 1.2 miles. I knew she was sighting often and could trust her lead, so I settled into nice smooth strokes and just watched her feet as she threaded us through the traffic of swimmers ahead of us. I always try to find someone to draft off in the swim, but it only seems to last for a few strokes. The benefits of drafting can be gained by swimming next to a swimmer just below their hips or directly behind them. I was 1st out of the water in my AG and 2nd in my wave, which was a complete surprise given my reduced effort.
Bike – I really had to throw away my race goals on the 56 mile bike. Thanks to DC Tri’s Off Season and TrainerRoad programs, I was hitting new power number records and looking forward to see the improvements. Instead I focused on my cadence and newly revised and lower RPE, rate of perceived effort. I kept my nutrition simple to avoid mistakes, every 20 minutes I alternated between a gel and salt tablet while sipping non-stop from my Osmo bottle. I washed down the nutrition with water. Towards the end of the bike, I could feel the leg fatigue so I scaled back the power and upped my cadence to try to spin out my legs for the run.
Run – I was 1st off the bike in my AG and knew immediately I was in trouble on the run. I was lightheaded and extremely hot in spite of ridiculous amounts of ice packed everywhere. The cold had made lightheaded and foggy prior to the race so this was not a surprise but one mile in, I really did not see how I could finish another 12 without passing out especially in the brutal heat. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, staying on my nutrition even though I wanted none of it and packing the ice in. At mile 4 and my 4th aid station, the volunteer gave me a bag of ice to carry as I was leaving since I was fully packed already. This small move ended up being a game/race changer for me. As I rotated the bag of ice between my hands, my head cleared and now I knew I could finish. It wasn’t pretty, I was cramping and did a lot of walking while struggling with the heat. I think I took 7 salt tablets during the run, initially on a schedule then every time I felt a cramp coming on. I wasn’t even disappointed when I was finally passed at the 9 mile mark since I knew I could finish it out. I also knew my age group had 3 spots for Worlds, which was my main goal to earn one. The run course was 2 out and backs, that was fully lined with cheering spectators which was huge for motivation. Several had hoses out and were thankfully spraying us. At the finish line, I was whisked away to medical to get my temperature down. I passed the glucose test with flying colors – bonus, thank you nutrition! I ended up 2nd in my age group, earned my spot for Worlds along with my teammate Kelly Lefler so it was a successful day.
Looking back, there is only one major thing I would change (besides getting sick) and I knew this from my Eagleman races but forgot – T2. In T2, I should have taken more time to re-hydrate and re-group and get my body temperature down. Once the wind from the bike stops, the heat just descends on you. If you start overheated, it makes it that much more difficult to get it back down. Also learned on the run, carry a bag of ice in your hands in addition to the usual spots (hat, front/back of bra and shorts).
Happy training everyone and I will see you out there once it stops being cold!
I am looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow night and helping Coach AJ. See everyone at 6:30 at Tenleytown Library!
Cindy
I am looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow night and helping Coach AJ. See everyone at 6:30 at Tenleytown Library!
Cindy
I am looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow night and helping Coach AJ. See everyone at 6:30 at Tenleytown Library!
Cindy
I have the Garmin Forerunner 735XT and have been very happy. I switched from the Garmin Forerunner 920XT a few years ago because of the built-in HR sensor (no more HR straps cutting into my skin) and the smaller profile watch face. I use the watch for my run training and triathlon racing. I don’t use for my bike training since my bike computer is easier to read while biking. It can also be used to monitor your sleep but I found I don’t like having anything on my wrist while I sleep. I have used it a couple of times for pool swimming but it doesn’t like it when I swim non-freestyle and will miscount my laps. It is easier for me to see the pool clock on deck, so this is not an issue for me. I have been very pleased with the watch and recommend it.
