Valdese Triathlon 2010

Amy competed in our hometown triathlon Saturday for the second year in succession. Hoping to improve on her time from last year, and with a goal of placing in her age group, she arrived at the pool Saturday morning with no shoulder dislocations, collarbone breaks, sinus infections (mostly), colds, mechanical problems, etc. Amy was coming off a second-place finish at Wednesday's Ring of Fire in Asheville (finishing ahead of your truly), so the snap had returned to her legs at just the right time. The unseasonably warm April morning set the stage for a good day for competition, further raising the odds that Amy would meet her goals for year.

One cannot go fast without first looking good. Amy prepares her SpokesWomen Syndicate/Performance Bicycle Racing kit for the biking/running leg. Her dominant women's racing team has two professional triathletes on the roster, giving it a multi-sport flavor.

Amy's band students felt that she should paint her nails black for the tri, so black they were.

Pushing off at the start of the swimming leg.

Able to use both arms this year, Amy took 1 minute, 34 seconds off of her 2009 swim time, finishing the 250m, 10-lap leg in 6minutes, 12 seconds.

Leaving the rain-forest climate of Valdese's indoor pool, Amy was glad to be heading to the transition area in upper-60s temperatures, instead of last year's upper-40s.


The 9-mile bike leg skirts the base of the eastern-most section of the South Mountains, making it a loop of endless short, steep hills.

Heading in to the transition area after completing the bike leg in 31 minutes, 46 seconds, the 4th-best time among the 83 females competitors, and nearly 3-minutes faster than last year.

Two legs down and one to go, Amy sets out for the run.

Amy completes the 5k running leg in 24 minutes, 59 seconds, the 11th-fastest female time. She trimmed 14 seconds off from 2009.

The photo says it all! Consistent improvement in all three disciplines netted Amy an overall time of 1 hour, 5 minutes, 23 seconds. In addition, she met both of her goals, finishing 3rd in the female 30-34 division and improving on her 2009 time by 6 minutes, 31 seconds. Her time placed her 11th overall among all 83 female finishers, an jump from her 2009 placing of 18th. I enjoyed not getting my heart rate anywhere near its maximum training threshold and working out only my camera shutter-finger.

We'll be heading down to Athens, Ga next weekend for the Athens Twilight race weekend, a big date on the national race calendar.

Rock Hill Classic Road Race

Historic Brattonsville, SC, was the locale for Saturday's race, which was part of the Rock Hill Classic weekend omnium. Not being able to attend Friday night's sprints or Sunday's criterium, we targeted Saturday's road race for our weekend fun. It was a tall order, however, with the 47-mile loop representing the longest race on the calendar for the year. Having to train around jobs and kids means being better prepared for shorter events, so our expectations were modest. But, we looked forward to great weather and teammates to race with.


With their kits finally arrived, the Performance Bicycle Racing team was a presence across the women's fields for the weekend. Developmental team members Amy, Shannon Parrish (l) , and Erica Chard (c) lined up for the women's cat 4 event.


The 47-mile course consisted of unrelenting rolling hills that were never very steep, but went on seemingly forever. This resulted in most of the races getting split up, usually during the first section of really challenging, back-to-back climbs around mile 15. At this point, Amy got separated from the field and chased solo for around 10 miles. Her long, steady effort paid off, and she limited her losses until she caught on with another racer. The duo worked together until her cohort began to wobble, eventually stopping and laying down in the road, in tears due to the extreme effort. Amy stopped, helped her to her feet, and told her that if she could push out a 9-lb baby after 26 hours of labor, the other racer could finish the race. She got the other racer back on the bike and continued the chase. She eventually caught on with another group and rode in to the finish, with enough gas left in the tank to lead out a sprint to the finish line. Amy finished 25th among the Cat 4 women. Overall, the pink ladies stamped their foot on the field for the weekend, with the elite team winning both the women's cat 1-2-3 road race and the queen of the mountains competition. Their strong performance led the team to also take first and second place for the overall weekend series.

With teammate Brian Morrison just prior to the start.

The Cat 5s set out at a relatively fast pace for such a long race, covering the first 15 miles at an average speed of over 25mph. Not being well-suited to hilly efforts, I also got separated from the field around mile 15, and finished 31st while working with other stragglers along the route. An inglorious result, but the hard race was rewarding in the effort, and the beautiful weather made for a great day to be out on the bike.