This photo says it all. You know you're in for a tough day when the first major climb of the race comes before T1.

We drove to Carefree yesterday afternoon to pick up our Amica Sprint Triathlon race packets and get body-marked. Pre-marking seemed like a fantastic idea until we woke up the next morning with smudged numbers on our bodies and black marks on the hotel sheets. A little bleach will take care of that, right? For the record, the Homewood Suites North - Happy Valley was a fantastic place to stay. It was a 30-minute drive to Lake Pleasant, the race site, and cost $90 for a great suite with a kitchenette.





We were up at 5:00 a.m. (thanks to the hotel wake-up call and no thanks to Paul's IPhone that was set to the wrong time zone and "fell back" an hour along with most of the country) and pulled into the race parking lot around 6:45. Note to Amica - more signage would be helpful to the participants and appreciated by the very nice park fee collector who had to give directions to us, as well the long line of bike rack laden cars behind us, after we all took a wrong turn.

In theory, we had plenty of time to set up our transition area before the 7:45 a.m. transition closure. However, the matter of some missing socks left me running back to the car in a mildly panicked state. I then hurriedly slapped on some sunblock and squeezed myself into my wetsuit just before they began threatening time penalties to anyone still loitering in transition. On the bright side, I found fellow Tri Girls Mae Lee and Kandy racked nearby.



Rumor has it that the water was 68 degrees, a little warmer than had been anticipated. It felt just fine with the wetsuit, although putting my face in was a shock. It had been about 18 months since my last wetsuit swim and it took me until the first buoy to really feel comfortable. The suit certainly helps with flotation, but I feel like my arms are working overtime when I wear it.

Kandy and I exited the water together and I was happy for the company for the walk up the insanely steep boat ramp. I also appreciated the surprisingly enthusiastic cheers of some spectators, and then realized that it was a Team in Training support crew reacting to the Team in Training logo on my wetsuit that I bought secondhand. A small part of me felt like an impostor. But a larger part of me appreciated the cheers.

In a word, the bike course was hilly. At 17 miles, it was also longer than your typical sprint bike distance. Using my power meter, I had a number I was shooting for on the uphills and then just hammered as hard as I could on the downs. My chain was acting up and I dropped it once, but the bike was otherwise uneventful. My nutrition went better than usual as, after listening to Sal Tirrito's nutrition talk at yesterday's expo, I made a concerted effort to take in a good amount of XOOD. In Sal's words, "Recovery starts as soon as your workout starts." Also, I tried Robin's trick of sticking Cliff Shots to my top tube for easy access, allowing me to take in calories without risk of embarrassment or bodily harm. I'm not proficient at riding one-handed while using the other to deal with food packaging.



There was an out-and-back portion that we did twice and so I got to see Paul, Kandy and Mae Lee a few times. Paul was clearly WAY ahead of me and Mae Lee cruised by me toward the end of the bike, looking fantastic.

After the endless hills, I was thrilled to be off of the bike and on to the run, my strongest of the three disciplines (yet still rather mediocre). However, I quickly realized that the 5K run course was going to be just as challenging as the bike had been. Flat ground was no where in sight. I tried to keep my heartrate in the mid-160's, which meant walking some of the steeper hills. I commiserated with Mae Lee as I caught up to her and, later, appreciated the older man who said, in a very soft, serious voice, "Run hard, young lady."



The road turned to dirt and I knew the turnaround was near. Seeing a short, steep hill in front of me, I assumed the halfway point of the run was at the top. No such luck. Upon cresting the hill, I was incredulous to see the turnaround at the bottom of a steep decline. The run down was great - the coming back up sucked.

I was pleased to pass a number of people on the run and, thanks to my good bike nutrition, I felt good at the finish. However, this honeymoon period passed quickly and was replaced by light-headedness and nausea. Walking briefly, slamming a cup of XOOD, and sitting in the shade brought me back to life. My legs were toast, but I was no longer in danger of passing out or vomiting.





We stayed for the awards as most of the XOOD team members ended up on the podium, including Paul who took 3rd place in his age group. One of the more exciting moments of the day was when I went up to accept an award. Unfortunately, it was not for me, but I was thrilled for Kandy who had taken 3rd in her age group, an honor she, apparently, was not expecting as she was packing up her stuff in transition when it was announced. Congratulations Kandy!





This event was the championship race of a new national series presented by Amica Insurance. Here's what they did well:
- Easy parking
- Friendly and encouraging volunteers
- Clear lake (a nice change from Tempe and Sahuarita)
- Closed course on a well-maintained road
- Fantastic race announcer
- Nice medals



And some areas for improvement:
- Expo was a little sad with only a handful of vendors and was also too far off-the-beaten path. I would have preferred an expo and host hotel in north Phoenix.
- Course is not spectator friendly - your cheering section has to stay near transition.
- Better directions to the race site are needed as Lake Pleasant has multiple points of entry and boat ramps.
- Directional instruction on the course was also lacking in areas. Here I am nearing the finish, confused by the line of cones that appeared with no explanation. Which way do I go?



- A better race timing system is needed. Many of the times announced during awards were not quite right. Also, 10 hours after the race has concluded, the results page of the website still says, "Results will be posted immediately following the Championship." Immediately? Amica needs to learn the principal of "under promise, over deliver." (I think I finished around 2:15.)

Though not perfect, a day spent racing is a day well spent. It's been a great tri season for us and we're ready to move on to half marathon training!