I'm a Hammerman!

Yes...not an Iron Man, or even an Iron Girl.
Not a Savage Man or Chessie Man or whatever "Man" you assign to completing a tri.

This Sunday, I completed the Hammerman Tri. Only, it wasn't a tri...it was a duathlon because the OWS was at a state park beach in proximity to many sewage treatment plants which had suffered mightily under the strain of all the rain the area had been getting. So, the state had been testing water quality continuously, and it wasn't getting better, so the swim area was closed and they finally made the call to do a 1.5 mile run first, instead of a 600 yard swim.

So, the event was: 1.5 mile run, 13.5 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. All pancake flat.

The week leading up to the event saw me as a regular at my chiropractor's office. I have crummy running form (over-striding heel striker) which I'm trying to correct. That's taken on new urgency since I've pretty much wrecked my back the other week running. So, I went into this race with a "delicate" back and a focus on trying to keep the core tight and landing mid-foot. So, obviously, running is not my strong leg - and here I had to do it twice!

Results really show where my strength lies....the bike.

Run 1: 10:33 pace and 84 out of 89 competitors, 8 out of the 10 in my age group. Overall, I was pretty happy with that. And my back held up.

A mid-pack transition in a mud pit of a field, and off I was on my bike ride.

Bike: I pre-rode the course the week before and we drove it the day before, so I was pretty familiar with it. Got passed by only one guy, who I saw fixing a flat on the side of the road. Otherwise, I did all the passing an no one else passed me. I finished in 41:36, which was good for first among all the women (!). 3:05 pace (that's like 19.4 mph, I think). 14 of 89 overall, 1 of 10 in my AG.

Another mid-pack transition, where again the mud sucked the sneaker off my foot in the run out. I guess I need to tighten the speed laces or something. :confused:

Run 2: A 5k PR for me, at 32 and change, or a 10:29 pace. I was 80 out of 89 this time (geez, managed to hold off 4 who faded!). My back was starting to talk to me by mile 2 - as was (is) my left knee - inside back right around the MCL...hmmm..:(. Can feel it now walking down stairs so I'll be icing and taking NSAIDs all week and likely NOT running). Was 6 out of 10 in my AG for that - but because I beat my nearest bike competitor in my AG by nearly 7 minutes, I managed to hold off all others to take my AG by about 5 minutes. My first 1st place victory!

Total time: 1:33:32. Pretty stoked. And a cool medal for my efforts - a Resource Revival bike chain key ring with the Hammerman logo and "1st" decal.

Here I am in transition with my friend, Jen (I'm the tall one who looks cold).

That's awesome! Nice bike split and way to push through on the running.

Veronica

Congratulations!!!

Rock star!! Congrats again!

Thats awesome! Congrats!

I love this story!! You are an inspiration. :)

You are very inspiring!