Trilogy of Tragedies

My Trilogy of Tragedies Continued at the 3rd Mack's Cycle Triathlon...

After a good swim I took off on the bike, racing past people leaving the parking lot. As I passed two people right before the turn onto the main road, I hit the brakes and went into a skid that I couldn't recover from and wound up crashing my bike into a metal guard post. I quickly got up with my adrenaline racing and I wasn't in pain so I fixed my bike chain and continued on the course. I noticed that my rim was bent and was causing 1) lots of extra friction and drag on the tire and 2) my Polar speed sensor was not working so I knew I was biking slower than usual but I wasn't sure of my speed. I finished the bike leg and went on the the run and the finish line.

After the race I went back to look at my bike and realized that the crash had been more serious than I thought- I shattered my carbon fiber fork and was really lucky that it didn't give out completely during the rest of the bike! By the time I walked my bike the two miles home my bruises were coming through and by that night the neck whiplash had set in. The pains only lasted a few days- I feeling better already! I wish I could say the same for my bike.
Despite another disappointing race, I was pleased to find out that I still placed 15/23 in my age group and 3rd in my age group overall for the Trilogy Series.

-Shaunna

The Rock Run

On Saturday, August 4th I took part in a 50 mile, 5 member relay race on the beach around the island of Nantucket called the Rock Run. I ran Leg 2 (12 miles) affectionately known as "No-Man's Land" since there are not any specators or places for water or aid anywhere on the 12 mile stretch of the beach. My original teammates decided not to run, so I picked up 4 other single runners at the race meeting the night before. None of us had ever met before, but we had a great time driving around the island and cheering each other on all day. We finished in 13th place out of 21 teams, with a total time of 8 hours, 43 minutes. This was a lot more of an endurance challenge than a race since the sand was very soft and the slope of the Atlantic beach really beat up your lower body. It was an incredible experience, both for the team environment and the chance to see unspoiled natural beauty around the island. They also had a great after race party on the beach and each team got a mini-keg to share. This race is a must-do again in the future!

San Francisco Marathon

San Francisco has it all...beautiful scenery and great weather! What else do you need to run a marathon? Well, I was lucky enough to have two of my biggest fans with me. A friend of mine ran the second half of of the marathon with me and the other I saw cheering every three to five miles and then she ran the last mile with us! This marathon wasn't a PR for me, but it was the first time I ran 26.2 miles without stopping and feeling great!

LAST MINUTE Half Ironman Pics below. With 48 hrs notice, I borrowed Mark's bike box, packed wife and child and was off to Boulder to join my cousin for his first half IM. WOW!!!! Boulder is AWESOME. Despite the hills and altitude sickness @ mile 20 on the bike, I posted a 5:09. Hope you all are doing well. If you ever get the chance to go to Boulder, you should. Just one recommendation, don't arrive early Saturday and race on Sunday!!!!!!