Kinetic International

On Saturday I raced the Kinetic International distance as part of the Virginia-Maryland Triathlon Series. After living in Texas for 6 years and racing the same Sprints and Olympics over and over again I was excited to race some new "local" events that I have heard great things about. Greg Hawkins, the RD, puts on a range of great events, including the EPIC Savageman man race I did last year as part of my first race in the VA/MD area.I am looking forward to a few more of his events this year...

Racked and Ready for first race of the season!

Kinetic has in the past generally just been a Half and sprint distance but I was lucky that this year they added an olympic distance and I saw this as a great opportunity to rut-bust/tune-up and get ready for Chatty 70.3 Next week. Suffice to say, I was REALLY glad to dust the cob-webbs off (I actually forgot to put my nutrition and race belt out at first!), but also just really happy to be starting another season of triathlon (my seventh!), healthy, fit, and with new friends.

I headed down Friday afternoon in the I-95 pileup that occurs at anytime Noon and on. The rain started to spit and we were in for it for the next 24 hrs. I had high hopes that the rain would stop by race morning but I was also prepared to go to the grave and deal with the elements. I only had to race 2 hours, not 5 like people in the half!

After Check in I met up with some DC Tri Elite teammates and we headed to our lake house for dinner and sleep. Race morning was gloomy but not as bad as it could be. Because of the over night rains the transition area was a Mud pit and because of the cold temperatures I decided to do socks/gloves and change up my transition routine a bit. A few extra seconds never killed anyone if they are comfortable....

Rocking the new Helix! It was FAST!

The Swim:
I took a 5 min jog to warm up and then hopped into my new Blueseventy Helix.  Holy cow this thing was amazing! I could tell immediately the upgrades from the last helix and I was pumped to get in the water. I also wore my "Yellow" tint nero-race goggles since the sun was not out and they help to brighten when swimming in such conditions. I ran down to the water and the 66degree water felt amazing compared to the 47 degree air temperature. I kept swimming until about 2 mins to go and then lined up. Unfortunately, there was no elite wave so the girls started way back and I had alot of heads to swim through. I exited the swim, which was long by 200 meters, first female out of the water and after analyzing results top 3 swim overall male and female. I had a secret goal with the some of the locals boys that I would catch them....I was already on my way.

The Bike:
After a sloppy run through transition (the mud!), I was aboard my Quintana Roo PR6.  My first race aboard "roo" and I was excited to see what she would throw down. Something happened rather quickly and within a few miles I hit a bump so hard that I just knew something was not right. I didnt think my break was rubbing so I just kept going. Maybe it was just "hard" because I was going hard? Maybe its cuz the roads are shitty? Mud in my tires? I rode through the grind and after the race I found my dilemma. My QRBox had loosened when I went over the bump and was rubbing against my tire. I knew something wasnt right! Alas, I still biked away with the fastest female bike split, but I was now "down" on my boys that I was trying to catch....

Before QRbox death and going so fast I blurred the camera

The Run:
Wow! What a run.

Hill Climb x2

I was not expecting the hill that we had to run up (twice), and the random trail through the forest on the way back down. Half the time I didnt even know if I was on the right path but I just kept running! The run was a very challeninging run and my feet finally came back to life on the second lap from being numb on the bike. I was proud for just running hard and never letting up. My last mile was actually the fastest, which is a good sign for next week.

Running hard out of T2 up the hill!

I broke the tape in probably my slowest olympic ever, but only a few minutes down from the boys, 9th Overall, and some bragging rights. Sometimes you gotta forget about times and just go out there and RACE. Every race has its unique factor and this was one pretty hard all around! It was also super fun to be out there with my other teammates pushing each other and cheering! Congrats to everyone who raced.

First W of the season!

Top of the Podium!

Seeya at the races next week while I climb on board the Choo-Choo at Chattanooga 70.3!