LOVELAND little tri called Lake to Lake

This race was exciting for me this year for two main reasons. One, I am able to return and race a course for the second time and second Anne was racing at this race. I was pretty certain that I would be able to see her on the course because the run was an out and back. She was the run leg of a relay and so I was hoping that it would work out.
The alarm did not even go off because I was up at 3:30am excited for the day and by 3:50 decided to get up. I nudged Anne and woke her up and we were off to a place in the Northlands called LOVELAND.
We arrived at 5:30 and Anne dropped me off at the Transition area to get my bike racked and check in. The racking was open and so I ended up being on the row with Beth which was kind of fun. I was the 3rd wave start on the swim and so I had about 45 minutes to get warmed up, get my wetsuit on and head to the water. This race brought most of the Practical Coaching kids out and so Anne and I saw friends everywhere. I love racing with friends and warming up with friends and talking about the race with friends. It was the start to a really good day.
The gun went off and I started my normal swim build and felt that I was going at a pretty good pace. I felt good and really focused on relaxing in the water and swimming calm and fast. I was able to stay away from any real water fights and so the swim was going well. I made the last turn and started to head back and off in the distance I could see the swim exit. I kept my pace the same which is hard for me to do at this point and kept telling myself that I was doing well. Out of the water I did a quick check of how I was feeling and smiled because at this point last year on the run to T1 I was dead tired. This year I did my check and ran to T1 feeling in check and proud of the swim. I even ended up beating last years time. T1 was fast, REALLY fast. I had my suit off and my helmet on and was out in :38 seconds. Past the mount line and I was off on the ride. I settled into the ride pretty quick, had little problems with getting my shoes on and I was off for a 30 mile ride. The first few climbs felt good and I kept myself focused on a good clean ride. I wanted to have plenty of energy for the run. 10 miles in I saw Troy and Chris walking back to the car and new that they had just seen Sonja. That made me excited because if I caught her we could use each other other to push the race a little faster. A few miles later a few hundred yards away I saw a familiar ride form and outfit. It was the "GOSONJA" and I was getting close. I came up on her as we started to climb and for the next 15 miles we stayed on each other and it helped. The climbs were fun because Steve has taught us to be good climbers and so we were steady and passed alot of people. The only thing more fun then picking people off was the downhill. The first one I was able to get into a full tuck position and let the "Stealth" (my bike's name) go. I had to smile as I passed in a tuck people peddling as hard as they could. I felt like I was in the mid 40mph and it was FUN. The second climb we kept the pace steady and I felt strong and as we made it to the top and then a car passed me. That is not unusual but as we stared our decent that same car decided to go slower that I wanted to so I did the only thing that I felt was right, I passed 3 bike's and that same car that passed me at the top of the hill. We were on the down side and headed back to T2 and I was feeling good. The course has rollers for the remaining portion and about half the way back I hear someone passing me. Most of the this it is a guy with a disc wheel which carries a familiar sound but this was different. I was a calm fast sound. It was Steve and he even smile, looked and gave the slight hand lift. I felt inspired and dropped a gear and pushed my pace. Off he went and then a swarm followed. Sonja was in that swam and so I jumped on. The group had 4 or 5 that were going back and forth and by the time we settled down we were back in town and almost at T2. I slowed down took off my shoes and started to focus on a good clean T2. Sonja and I bet Steve that we would have a faster T2 time than he would and so I pushed to be fast. I have to say that my shoes never went on so quick and I was off. I saw Steve lead out of T2 and off he went at blazing speed. I I did not see Sonja so I thought I was out second of the three of us. Half a mile into the run she was on me and told me to jump on. I did and held with her until we passed mile one and she looked at her watch and was mad at a 7 minute pace. She pushed on and I decided that if I wanted to have a good race I needed to let her go. So for the next mile I saw here move forward until she was out of sight. My check at mile two was good and by the time I hit the turn-a-round I was feeling really good. In fact I have never felt that strong, even thought I was having a stomach thing go on I was feeling good. The next 2 miles I saw Michelle, Beth, John, Barry, Anne, Michelle, and others. It was a party and everyone looked good so I kept it up. I ran past the point that made me stop last year and smile with sweet satisfaction. I passed the spot were I walked for the second and third time and was feeling really good. I sat down and pushed the pace for the last half mile. I came into the finish lane hearing my name yelled and that motivated me to let it go. I passed the finish line with the clock saying 2:45. That was my last years time and if I stared 8 minutes back this year that meant I was in the 2:30's and oh was I happy. I did not get to see my run time until later that day but I felt like it was my best race. Later that night I found out I ran a 45 minute 10K and could not be happier. For those that are aware of my run last year I ran a 52/10k and have never run a faster 10k ever. BOOO YAAAAA.
Anne came in looking good and I was able to cheer everyone in. The awards were fun because we had a 5 or 6 place. We went crazy and finished the Loveland Lake to Lake the only way we know how. HAPPY and LOUD.

Boo Yaaa,

Good job Anne, I love racing with you.

T