Philly Tri Weekend

College roommate, fellow teammate and one of my closest friends, Michele competed this past Sunday in the 5th Annual Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon. Her performance in all three disciplines were stellar and a significant PR overall in the Olympic distance. Swim was approx 18:40, 67th out of the water. After a bit of trouble with her wetsuit during T1 from swim to bike, she squeezed out of that sucker and fiercely made her way onto the 25 mile bike course. (T1-2:37)
Watching the cycling portion was intense! Anxiety mounted as we waited for a brief glimpse of Michele from our static vantage point. There were two loops, so we had...2 opportunities. From what I remember, she negative split the second 12 miles or so putting her at 1:10:07 for the bike. T2 was seamless at 1:13 and she was off for the run portion.

10K (6.2 miles) is pretty challenging by itself so I can only imagine the pain after coming off a 1 mile swim and 25 mile bike, neither of which I could comfortably do independently. It was approximately 8:49AM when Shell started the 10K so I knew she was on pace to finish by 9:30AM which was her goal. The run was a turn-around course which everybody always loathes as the anticipation of the turn-around cone is a dreadful feeling but Shel pulled through in 42:13 for the 10K. Her finish time was a tremendous 2:14.53! This put her ahead of several of the Pro female competitors which bodes very well for her as she hopes to go Pro by the end of this season. Her 7th place amateur female finish counts as 1 of 3 needed to qualify within USAT standards for a "Pro card". Keep it up girl, it's going to happen before you know it! Complete results can be found here.

I couldn't be more proud. This crazy lady has shown me that with lots and lots and lots of training and complete dedication, she seriously can do anything. I totally thought that anecdote was a joke but honestly with some natural talent and unbridled intensity with training, it can be done! I only hope I can find something I am that passionate about...soon enough :)

I definitely have respect for this "sport". I only put quotations because its sort of a fusion of sports creating another sport? Strange...but compelling nonetheless. There are so many unique nuances to the sport that I knew nothing about before; like the complexities of transitions, people take their bike shoes off while still ON the bike before their dismount...the drafting rules, etc...the apparel, there is SO much that goes into the apparel for these sports. With running, all I really need is a sports bra and sneakers; to train for a Tri you need like thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The amount of accessories and perceived necessities make becoming a "tri geek" almost inevitable. Ha.