Pacific Crest Endurance Tri

I wish I had more pictures to post because this was one of the most absolutely beautiful courses that I have ever raced on! A couple of times during the bike segment, I found myself looking around, taking in the scenery, checking out all the people who were enjoying all the lakes and hiking trails in the area - then I had to remind myself "HEY! We're racing here!"

This was my first time racing the Pacific Crest Endurance Tri and it was a special race for a few different reasons:
1. I DROVE to the race! No flight to catch, no bike box packing and unpacking required!
2. Several "local" friends were there racing as well
3. We CAMPED out, right near the transition area!

I do enjoy camping, but camping before a race is not something I often do... but it turned out to be great! It's hard to go wrong when you get to have pre-race s'mores the night before the race. Thanks, Hunter - you make a mean s'more.

The race itself, went OK. I took some time off earlier in June after Alcatraz, and I had a great time visiting my sister on the East coast. But, once I returned home, I had some trouble getting back into tri mode. So, going into the race I was feeling a bit "blah" and not really feeling race ready.

On race morning, standing in the lake I spotted a couple girls who I had raced with earlier in the year. I thought to myself ... OK, you better get it in gear and race. There's not going to be any coasting today!

I started off with a great swim, 1st woman out of the water... but it didn't take long for Kat to catch me. And then, not too long after that, along came Sunny. I had a decent bike, but, not surprisingly, it wasn't real snappy. The bike ended with a FAST and FUN,14 mile downhill section into Sunriver, but by the end of the 58 miles I was READY to get off and run!

Unfortunately, that wanting to run feeling lasted only about 1/2 mile ... and I still had 13 more to go. It was a HOT HOT day out on the run course, and it took everything I had to just keep moving forward. One mile at a time, one water station at a time. Yes, there was some walking going on.

I did have some great supporters out on the course with squirt guns, which was very welcome and refreshing!

One thing that helped keep me chugging along, was that my Dad and good friend, Leanne, had driven 3+ hours early that morning to come watch me race... I couldn't DNF knowing that they had come all that way! Thank goodness they were there, otherwise there may have been a different ending! It was slow going, but eventually I made it to the finish line for a 3rd place finish. Oh, it was great to be DONE!

Results are posted here

Thank you to all my sponsors and supporters who are always right there, helping me as I pursue this life as a triathlete:Team Sport Beans / NTTC, ALCiS, Fit 2 Race, Brooks, and Melika. A special thanks to the Pacific Crest support crew - it was great to have you all out there! Thanks for braving the heat to cheer - Dad, Leanne, Paul, Erica, Heidi, Neils, Anika, Eric (thanks for the picts!), Liesel, Hunter, Taylor, Ed, and everyone else who cheered for me along the way.

Up next ... back to Bend for some bike racing! Stay tuned for updates from the Cascade Cycling Classic.

8th at Alcatraz!

Last weekend it was back to San Francisco for one of my favorite races. This is an especially fun race that I look forward to each year, for a few different reasons: Dave travels with me, we visit friends in the city, and I love the challenging, beautiful course. The hills just seem to suit me! Being in SF and racing Escape From Alcatraz this past weekend was pretty sweet...from start to finish, it was a fun weekend topped off with a great race.

Usually, I'm too scared to dive off the boat into the bay (it's high off the water, and it's scarry, hanging onto the railing, balancing on about two inches of ledge, trying not to slip off into the 55 degree water before the horn goes off!)... but this year I got brave (with the urging of Dave) and I dove in! And, here's proof - that's me second from the right. I know you can't tell, but that is me, in my new F2R suit. With this picture, I'm glad I didn't do the lifeguard stride jump this year!

I had a great swim and came out of the water right where I wanted to; right with some of the others girls I usually TRY to swim with. It felt good to stay with a pack and not find myself swimming all alone out there in the bay. That has happened before and it's not a good feeling!



The bike course is technical, with some tough climbs and some super screamin' fast downhills. Yup - it was FUN! And, it seemed to go by fast.



Onto the run, my legs felt surprisingly good. I settled into a good clip and did what I could to hold my place. I knew there were fast runners behind me, so I put on my "A-Game" and did all I could to hold them off. One flew past me in the first mile, but I was able to hold off the others. It was good enough to cross the line in 8th place!

Check out the race results here

And, here's an article on the the race

CA 70.3

My first race of the season didn’t go exactly how I would have liked, but it was good chance to see where I am this early in the year, and it turned out to be a good learning lesson. Now, I know what I need to work on and this race experience has built a little fire under me and has helped me refocus my training some.
I had a mediocre swim, and then felt good and strong on the bike, working my way up through the field. The first half of the run went well, and I was right on pace, right where I wanted to be. I felt happy to be there racing and even managed a big smile when I passed my cheering section, and an even bigger smile when I saw “Go Erin Ford!” written in chalk on the roadway. All was going along great until the second loop on the run when my stomach revolted. I tried to hold it off and take my mind elsewhere, but I was forced to slow way down to a shuffle. I couldn’t avoid it … I had to detour into a restroom (at mile 12!). It’s hard to race when you’re sitting in a bathroom!
Anyway, I did finish, but not where I wanted to.
I am now looking forward to racing again in four weeks down in Florida