This Weekend...Santa Rosa.....

I am going camping in the mountains for a week so won't be back on until the 10th of August.  This coming weekend is Barb's Race and The Vineman Ironman competition in Santa Rosa.  Several of the women are going down to compete in the all women half ironman race and Jeanne O'Regan will be doing the Vineman Ironman at the same time on the same course....except for longer of course!!  If the rest of the tri clubs competitions this summer are any indication it will be stellar weekend for the ladies.

Next weekend I am going down to Rancho Seco to do a practice Olympic Distance Race...it will be my final race environment before I go to Australia. I am anxious to see how I will do.

Ok....next time I talk to you I will be back in the valley and the countdown to worlds will begin!

The Count Is Final!

Six women and one man from Chico went down to Newport Beach this last weekend to qualify for the World Sprint Championships in Australia and they ALL qualified!!! So what that means is 13 of us from Chico who train with the Women's Triathlon Club under coach Preben (from Chico Sports Club) will be competing in Australia in September. It is very exciting. I have been feeling so apprehensive about my physical condition and my desire to compete that I have lost a bit of enthusiasm along the way. The team called me right away from the race and gave me the news. I was so touched that they let me know right away. It gave me such a lift to know that all of these people kicked butt and we are all going!!

So here are the athletes and their results from the Pacific Coast Sprint Triathlon:

Joanne Gilchrest 35-39 11th 1:05:18

Reene Fiack 45-49 11th 1:10:16

Sue Kamrar 45-49 13th 1:10:21

Kim Agur 55-59 2nd 1:11:13

Anne Yates 55-59 1:18:48

Darlene Henderson 55-59 1:20:49

Bill Brent 55-59 6th 1:03:05

Nice job everyone....seriously you gave me the juice I needed to dig into my training!!

Next weekend is Barb's Race in Santa Rosa along with the Vineman Ironman....several of the athletes will be competing here including Jeanne O' Regan doing her first Ironman.

Donner Lake Triathlon

Hi all, In Chico for a few days after being at the Donner Lake Triathlon. I was there with Teresa Kludt, and Joanne Gilchrest.  All three of us are nursing injuries so none of us are running. It made it kind if weird but we were there to use the venue as training for worlds and for Joanne who is going to Newport Beach to try and qualify for worlds.  In that way it was a very successful day for us. I was glad because it gave me the confidence boost I have been needing...to realize I am still strong despite the lack of training.  If anyone out there wants to do one of the most beautiful and challenging races out there you should try this one....it always takes place mid July.

Sounds like there have been some exciting things happening in the cycling scene in Chico and it is the women from the tri club that are out there shaking things up.  Even the guys are having a hard time shaking them off.....go girls!!

Well......training is in full swing and the excitement is building.  As I have mentioned before several women from the club are headed to Newport Beach this weekend to qualify for the Sprint distance World Championships in Australia.  Best of luck ladies....you have all been training hard and you are going to do great.  It will be so fun to know more women will be going to Australia.  We actually have a bit of a following out there in the triathlon world.  When I was at Donner I talked to a couple of people who said they have been following the success of our club...pretty cool.  

I'll check in again soon....stay cool peoples!

Third Annual Bieber Weekend.....

Well for the third year in a row a few people came up here for a weekend of riding, running, swimming and fun. It was a small group this year which made it nice and mellow...mellow except for the riding!!  Preben was truly on a mission to keep things rolling.  He and Jeanne O'Regan rode 250 miles in three days.  Jeanne did the last 75 with only one cleat!!  She also got some running in.  She will be completing the Vineman Ironman on August 1. It was incredible to watch her train this weekend.  I was able to complete 150 miles of riding, a couple of swims and a short run.  I am feeling more confident now about getting to Worlds and actually being able to perform. Reene Fiack was here as well..she is dealing with carpal tunnel and is not cycling these days but she is  getting ready to qualify worlds in Newport Beach on July 26th.  We spent time talking about how much fitness we already have after the years of training and how surprised we are at how much we can pull out.  We also had fun talking,watching a movie, eating, BBQ, playing Yahtzee (jeanne kicked our ass here too!), and soaking in the hot springs.  Jeanne said it best as she left..."I got great training AND had a blast doing it....."  I think the only down side for Preben was not getting to watch Tour De France....we will have to figure out how to plug in next year.

So next on the agenda is the Donner Lake Triathlon in Truckee this Sunday 7/19....a few women from the cub will be there for this very challenging course. I plan to do well with my swim and transitions, I will work the bike a bit but will not run.  I will be in touch from there.  The summer is heating up and so are the women in the club!!  

Another Bump in the Road.....

Hi....well it has been quite a week + since I was in Bend....After spending 2 days in pain and despair and then another few days in basic despair and a little less pain my daughter came to visit.  We did yoga together and massage and soaked in the hot springs together here.  It was incredibly healing and through that I realized what bad shape my right leg is.... from the hip all the way down. I made a commitment then to spend  an hour each day on stretching out my hip, leg, and low back.  I am still waiting to get in to see an orthopedist...finally knowing I need a diagnosis.   So there I am now going out each day to do a little riding, a little running and then a lot of stretching.

Well...also this is the weekend some folks are coming up here to the high desert to do some riding.  While I know I can't ride with them...the speed or distance I m really glad they are coming up....it should be a fun weekend of action and relaxation.

Lastly the women who are attempting to qualify for Worlds will be headed to Newport Beach in a couple of weeks...it should be very exciting to see how these women do....We expect it to be pretty good.  Also a couple of women should be headed to Donner Lake the weekend after this as well as Ranch Seco in Sacramento... Great to see so many women out there shaking it up and having a good time......till next time...and thanks for all the support from my friends.

Pacific Crest Results

OK here as promised:

Half Ironman Distance

Jeanne O'Regan  

2/11

6:05:49 overall time

swim: 40:40

bike: 2:53:50

run: 2:28

Half Ironman Relay Teams

1/2 (womens masters category)

Preben's Chica Masters

Gabrielle Walters swim 37:15

Kim Agur bike 2:53 (approx)

Reene Fiack RUN 2:11:27

Chico Women's Tri Club

2/2 (womens masters catgory)

Elizabeth Brent swim 42:01

Elizabeth Brent bike 3:07:14

Jennifer Mojica run 2:30

10k run

Brittany O'Regan 20 years old

4th woman overall

47:15 at a 7:36 pace

Olympic Distance Triathlon

Bill Brent

1/11

2:53:53 overall time

swim 35:20

bike 1:25:54

run 48:33

If I Can See Through The Tears......

Hi all, I just now read Jeanne's post...so ...wow...here I wanted her to write all about her incredible performance and to gloat at her victory......I love you too Jeanne.  I will make a quick aside here and say that it has been an honor to watch Jeanne bring herself up through the ranks with nothing but hard work and determination....out of all the women in the triathlon club she has been the one woman to pull out all the stops and so now the student becomes the teacher....she has become our inspiration...!

Getting to read Jeanne's post was especially meaningful to me today because I am feeling pretty down.  I managed to reinjure myself pretty good last weekend....my calf muscle as well as severely dehydrating myself...I had to sleep for two days to recover and my calf has never been in that much pain.   My wonderful husband who has to put up with all this crap has been massaging it for me and listening to me cry.  It is really discouraging but after I get done crying and feeling sorry for myself I just have to keep plugging ahead..it is not over till it is over.  So that is where I am at right now..how do I salvage this situation?  I honestly know that if I did not have worlds to go to I would take as much time as I need right now to fully heal...but I DO have worlds and so I have to figure out how to handle this whole situation.

OK...so I promised you times from Pacific Crest.....they will be in my next entry.  Meanwhile...for inspiration keep your eyes on Jeanne O'Regan this summer because she is HOT!