March Madness Duathlon 2012

March Madness Duathlon 2012 

Central Park, NYC
March 25th, 2012

2 Mile Run --- 12 Mile BIKE --- 2 Mile RUN 

Speedwork, speedwork, speedwork!

Marc had me sign up for this race for some speedwork leading up to Collegiate Nationals. I was a bit hesitant to do a race without a swim (I’m sorry, run bike and then run again?), but I knew it’d be good practice for my legs.

I also needed to get outside. This end of March race was smack dab in the dreary days of late winter and I hadn’t been outside on the bike in a while.

Let me tell you, if you ever have the chance to do a bike race in CENTRAL PARK, do it. What a rush. Pushing as hard as you can on your bike in the middle of the most famous park in the WORLD… that’s one hell of a high. Needless to say, I did really well.

The race went so well, in fact, that I shocked myself with an overall female win!!!!! 

Takeaways: make sure I’m thoroughly warmed up before a running race (sprinting out of the gate on a cold day cold turkey is rough), and practice some more hard bike/run bricks.

Run1 = 15:17

T1= 0:46

Bike= 33:14 – fastest female bike split

T2= 0:37

Run2 = 15:48

Overall time = 1:05:46
Overall Place = 1st Female, 36/373 OA

Results posted here: http://nytc.org/results_full.cfm?ID=195

[ECCC] Week 3

“The 2012 Jersey Devil”

This is the 4th overall weekend for the ECCCseason, but my 3^rd weekend racing as I skipped the weekend before because we were in South Carolina for Spring Break.

I decided to sign up for the Road Race on Saturday and skip the races on Sunday.

The big decision this weekend was for me and Jamie to move up to Women’s A to score some bigger points for the team.

The Road Race was super challenging and very fun.

Truthfully, my legs were still a wreck from spring break training and I wasn’t so sure that this race was going to go as well as the Stevens Circuit. I was pretty close to tears when I did Triggerpoint the night before, so needless to say I was frightened of the monstrous hill that loomed in the distance that morning.

Course Description: A 4.4 mile loop with rolling hills and one large climb. That ‘one large climb’ was in the first mile and a half of the course, and the remainder was an awesome bomb downhill with some flat sections leading into the climb. 310 ft of climbing per lap and my race did 6 laps total.

Click here for the RR Results:

http://velocityresults.com/results/367/eccc-week-4-princeton-rr-skilman-nj

Jamie wound up popping her tire on one of the potholes on the first lap and had to drop out unfortunately. But I stuck with it for the rest of the race even though my legs wanted me to quit. A couple girls went off the front and stayed there the whole time (they’re really strong) while a lead pack formed with me and about 5 other girls after the 2^nd lap. During the climb on the 5^th lap, I could feel my legs starting to itch to cramp and I knew it wasn’t going to be good for the last lap. Luckily I timed it well because I wouldn’t have been able to do that climb a 7^th time. During the last lap, I fell off the back of the pack on the steepest section because I could feel my inner quads seizing and just beginning to cramp every time I stood up. I was still able to catch up during the less steep part just before the downhill and came in with the rest of the group to the sprint finish.

I ended up 6^th in Women’s A! I would’ve gotten 2^nd in Women’s B which would have been 4 less points than what I got, so it’s a good thing I moved up even if it was just for one race!

Here is a link to the ECCC Blog post for the weekend:

http://ecccnews.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/the-jersey-devil/

Next up, the March Madness Duathlon in Central Park tomorrow!

#USATCN12

Today on Twitter, I saw @usatriathlon post an interesting tweet!

https://twitter.com/#!/usatriathlon/status/181789335601950721

First of all, they have come up with a hashtag for USATCollegiate Nationals #USATCN12 and that got me really excited! 

Secondly, they’re calling for collegiate bloggers! Awesome!

I actually started up this blog here in 2010 right after my second attempt at USATCN in Lubbock, TX. Click here for the link to that first post! I had been in Lubbock in 2009 for my first Nationals experience, but I was just a young newcomer to the sport and wasn’t linked into the blogging world quite yet.

My third time racing USATCN was last year in Tuscaloosa and here is the link to that race report. It might also be good to mention that I have a USAT Age Group Nationals race under my belt as well from 2011 and I even qualified for TeamUSA there! I’ve also written about 3 seasons with the North Eastern Collegiate Triathlon Conference (NECTC). I’m a huge advocate of all things USAT!

Needless to say, I’ve got quite the experience when it comes to USATCN and I would love to do some writing about the race! I’ve been blogging about my active lifestyle for almost 2 years now and I am so glad that I have a repository of all the big events in my life to share with friends and family.

I’m very happy that I happened to see @usatriathlon post about this opportunity today and I really do hope they take the time to read this : )

Remember to follow USATriathlon on Twitter @usatriathlon and me! @_amanda_panda_

Thanks!

[ECCC] Week 2

Second ECCC weekend!!!
“Grants Tomb Criterium” and the “Duck Country Circuit Race”

Jamie and I moved up to Women’s B this weekend!! Big move!

We both did really well the first weekend, so we decided to move up and take on the big guns for more points and longer races!

The Crit was soooooo much fun!!! It’s truly an awesome location in NYC and I’m glad I got to race it for the first time. I got 2^nd place by just a hair!

Instagram photo at the race: amanda_panda_

Click here for the Crit Results:

http://velocityresults.com/results/362/eccc-week-2-grants-tomb-criterium-new-york-ny

The Circuit race was in Mountainside, NJ and it was a full on blast. I loved every second of it. I stayed with the lead group for the first 2 laps and then I broke away with a girl at the top of the steep hill on the 3^rd lap. On the 4^th lap, the A rider girl ahead of me just took off and I couldn’t stick with her, but I ended up holding off the other girls and snagging 2^nd female in the wave and 1^st place for the Women’s B riders!!!

Click here for the CR Results:

http://velocityresults.com/results/363/eccc-week-2-stevens-duck-country-circuit-race-mountainside-nj

Moving up to B was a fantastic idea and I loved the higher level of racing! Can’t wait til the next one!

Here is a link to the ECCC Blog post for the weekend: http://ecccnews.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/grants-tomb-and-stevens-circuit/

Instagram photo from the westsidehighway: amanda_panda_ 

[ECCC] Week 1

First ECCC weekend!!!
“The Frozen Toed Season Opener”

I decided to sign up for the ITT and the Road Race on Saturday and skip the crit on Sunday.
I raced in Women’s C for both races and did pretty well!

The ITT was VERY short and fast. I didn’t even have time to think. It was just pedal to the metal and go as hard as possible! 2.2 miles all out.

Click here for the ITT Results:
http://velocityresults.com/results/358/eccc-week-1-rutgers-itt-somerset-nj

The Road Race was a grueling journey unlike the ITT. It was 26 long and arduous miles in Hillsborough, NJ!

Click here for the RR Results:
http://velocityresults.com/results/359/eccc-week-1-rutgers-road-race-hillsborough-nj

Here is a link to the ECCC Blog post for the weekend: http://ecccnews.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/rutgers-race-report-2012/