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.