It Takes Two.....apparently it takes a lot of Twos.

There are TWO Ellers on Raise the Bar's team, and they are married to each other. Brad and Erica. Here they are with their TWO boys, Nathan and Isaiah. This picture is a little dated - it's TWO years old..but it's cute so we used it anyway.

Brad and Erica need to buy TWO bikes, TWO Time Trial Bikes, TO be exact, which was proven at their last race, where the TWO of them raced TOgether - the Federal Escape. The Federal Escape offers TWO distances -the Olympic goes first and the Sprint goes 2nd. Guess which one the Ellers picked.

So back TO the bike deal.

Raise the Bar has a fleet of very slick fast Time Trial bikes that our team members can cheaply rent to race or train on, and the Ellers snagged TWO of them for the Federal Escape. They are Felt S22's.

After they each executed great swims, they headed out for the 2nd leg of the race, which is a TWO loop course. They were magnificent. Finishing off with TWO very good runs, they crossed the finish line and each placed.....you guessed it SECOND. #2 man overall, and #2 woman overall.

What does this mean, you ask? I have no idea....Except that it's pretty neat. The Ellers work really hard and it's neat that they got such a cool result on such cool bikes on a cool day.

Just in case there's something to all those numbers, though, and assuming they want to come in 1st, maybe the bikes they buy should be something besides S22's.

An Open Letter to Young Benny Swedberg

Thoughtfully submitted by Phil Spencer....

Dear Benny,

Your mother was worried about the effect Vino's positive test might have on your young impresionable mind. I have filed the following report to ease her, and all other concerned parents' minds.

PARIS, 24 July 2007 - Following the positive homologous blood doping test of Alexandre Vinokourov and subsequent withdrawal of Team Astana from the Tour de France today, Race Director Christian Prudhomme announced that everyone else racing in the Tour de France is clean.

"Well, that about wraps it up," said Prudhomme at a hastily-called press conference. "We finally got the last doper. Everyone else racing the Tour is as clean as a whistle. Possibly even cleaner. You can now watch the rest of the race with full confidence that everyone still in the race - especially all those guys who had like half an hours advantage on the once-frontrunner Vinokourov - are not doping. At all."

Asked about current race leader Michael Rasmussen and the cloud of suspicion hanging over him, Prudhomme responded, "Well, is he still in the race? Yes, he is. So he must not be doping, or we would have caught him, just like we have caught all the dopers."

Smiling for the press, which was completely reassured, Prudhomme noted, "It's a fantastic time to be a fan of professional cycling, now that we're finally finished cleaning the sport up."

Fans and Racers React

"I used to worry about whether some of the pros were doping," said Matt Carter, an American cycling fan visiting France to see the Tour firsthand.
"But now that the sport has these really reliable drug tests in place, anyone who's foolish enough to cheat will be caught and punished. I'm just glad that Alexandre Vinokourov was the only one left cheating, and that the other GC guys - each of which was just about forever ahead of Vino - aren't doping."

"I sometimes used to look around me and wonder," said Levi Leipheimer, a clean racer for Team Discovery, "which of the cyclists around me are doping.
Now I no longer have to worry about that, because all the dopers have been caught, leaving only the honest racers in the peloton. It's a great feeling."

"Yeah," agreed teammate Alberto Contador, a clean Freshman racer currently in second place in the Tour de France. "I don't understand why anyone would need to dope anyway. I mean, look at me! I don't dope, as clearly witnessed by my negative test results, and I'm still able to take first and second place, stage after stage after stage!"

"What's crazy," said Nick Abbott, an Australian race fan, "is that Vinokourov somehow thought he could get away with it! Didn't he realize that anyone who dopes is going to get caught by this foolproof dope detector machine WADA has built?

No More Tests Needed, Ever Again

WADA Chief Dick Pound took today's announcement as an opportunity to say, "I'm very pleased that we've finally arrived at the point where our sport is all cleaned up. Effective immediately, there will be no more tests, since they are no longer necessary. Also, I am disbanding WADA, since it has so thoroughly done its job that it is no longer necessary."

"I feel immensely gratified," concluded Pound, "to have played my part in this highly effective anti-doping campaign in the great sport of cycling.

With the capture of the final doper in the pro peloton, we?ve crossed the finish line, and we've won. It's a great day for all of us."

There you go Benny, you can now rest assured that the stewards of the sport you so love have restored it to it's former glory.

Your friend, and fellow homologenous blood free mate,
Phil

Probably not for blog posting due to the whining...but it's my race report

Richard Jacroux is one of RTB's finest story-tellers, and a 5-year veteran of multisport. Coming back from an ugly stress fractures (not to mention bad ankle scarring from all the aquajogging) he gives us the account of his exploits at Seafair. Richard...seriously....about the bike......

Alternative blog titles:
"The best race that wasn’t…"
"The worst way to achieve a personal best…"
"A beautiful day, a good group, a personal best and I’m still whining… "

Standing with my buddy at the water’s edge I knew today would be a good day. My first race of the season (due to a broken foot), I thought I had a good chance of doing well…OK, to be more specific, I had a good chance of doing well for me…

I had never had the “perfect race” at Seafair. This was the 5th anniversary of my very first triathlon. My first year involved a total of 30 days of pre-race training – my goal had been simply completion. My second year was training for STP (so no run or swim) - I had only wanted to do well on the bike. My third year, I turned in my chip to “wingman” a friend in his first race. And last year, I was sick and didn’t race at Seafair.

So, even though my training was behind, I had a good chance of getting a personal best. And, my training really was behind: I had only biked 11 times since the injury (about May 1 - yes, that’s 11X in 11 weeks - i.e. not enough!), I had brought my running mileage back up, but had done no speed work. On the good side, my swim was doing excellently (again: for me) since it was the only thing I could do for a few weeks. My goal as set by my friend: 1:26:30, my old PB: 1:27:51, unhappiness would occur at 1:30:00.

Back to the water’s edge:

I decide, since my swim has been doing well, I’d pick an inside line and start further forward in the pack…never tried that before (yes, I defied rule #1: never do anything for the first time in a race). The countdown, the horn, the start, the realization I’d made a horrible mistake. Note to self: don’t go inside - everyone goes inside. One thing about my swim: I have a fairly consistent stroke - I don’t rush out, but I don’t fade. So, I start getting passed by a bunch of people. The hitting I don’t mind, but I can’t find a rhythm – and I’m searching everywhere. First buoy: some of the folks who went out fast are gasping and I’m making my way through them – again, trying to find a clear line and a rhythm. A minute later: Excellent!…I’m nearing some open water…and then a hand grabs my head and I’m pushed under just as I was taking a breath in. I manage to surface and shoot a stream of water out of my mouth and nose (just thinking about it is making my eyes water again). Treading water while choking, gagging, hacking, sneezing – and everyone passes me again. Poo! I’ve got to get back in this. Making my way into the crowd again - second buoy…and halleluiah! open water? Yup, on the outside! My best ½ mi swim prior to this had been 16:30(ish)…all that work for 16:15…Good for me, but I was hoping for something in the mid-15’s.

T1: I’m up…I’m running…My wet suit is half off before I pass the first rack. A nice person has put a large balloon on the rack across from mine, so I know exactly where I’m going. (a pause, a panic, a circle) Ummm…where’s my stuff? There’s my bike…but…(more pause) Ah ha!…my stuff is under someone’s bag and a mountain bike is on it’s kick-stand right in the way. Sometime after I left the transition area to go to the swim, someone had shown up, and thrown their stuff on top of my stuff and run off to the water. My nice little setup was a mess. Where were my glasses? How’d my socks get way over there? I was nice and racked the mountain bike, set up their stuff and bag over a little then finished my own transition. Between setting up their stuff and freaking out about not finding my stuff, I left the transition area thinking about “that guy” rather than myself…I hit my watch at 2:32…poo, a half-minute lost.

The bike: I had expected to bike poorly given my “extensive” training (a direct quote from Patty: “What's with the cycling, dude? Your bike in the shop or something????”). But, I came out of transition, got into a tempo, looked down and was very happy to see 21mph...Yea! Hitting the bridge, I realize, based on the cross winds, that there was a tail wind the whole way…much less yea! Coming back to the trail down from the bridge, the person in front of me was tip-toeing her bike down the hill and the Course Marshalls would not let us pass. The guy behind me actually starting yelling at this poor lady since she was holding up a number of racers. We got to the bottom and as I got back into my tuck, he passed me. I should have told him off, but didn’t - I just didn’t let him get away from me. I would feel better about this little victory, but unfortunately, he wasn’t in good bike shape either (isn’t that always the case – biggest mouth, smallest fill-in-the-blank). As I arrived at the dismount line and looking at my watch, it laughed at me showing 40:27.

T2: 1:23…that’s about right for me…

The run: A gu, a water, and he’s off! Ouch! What’s that horrible bubble in my side. ½ mile into the run a belch that Homer Simpson would have been proud of relieved me of the pain and I started to relax. Fortunately Kathy Morrisson (I think) had passed me long ago and the people around me forgave my bad manners. I picked up a fellow who started pacing off me and we had a nice chat as we hit mile 1 in 8:47 – “less talking more running,” I told myself. I lost my partner on the hill, (Kathy passed me again - at least this time in the opposite direction) but I kept another age-grouper in sight as my pacer and hit mile 2 at 18:00 – whoa, did I really lose that much on the hill? I thought I was making up time. “Pick up the pace, Richard.” Coming down the hill a nice lady passed me and I thought, “there’s my pacer”. I asked if it would be OK for me to pace off of her and she said “no problem”. I stayed on her left shoulder and was in just enough pain to realize this was my speed. Coming around the last bend, I saw the banner and told her it was time for us to push it more…She said I was on my own and I ran ahead for the last ¼ mi. The last mile must have averaged 7:45(ish) as my final time was 26:29. A good way to end.

As I crossed the finish line, Kathy came over to explain to me that she had already gone for a massage…

Overall 1:27:07 was 0:44 better than my last PB – but it felt slow. The silver lining? I’ve got more improvement in me – you hear that, Kathy? ;-)

Deb & Cathy Pedal to Portland

Submitted by team members Cathy Nelson and Deb O'Connell

The short version…
We made it! We had no mishaps, not even a flat tire. Our host families were great. Yes, we were hot, thirsty, tired, and grimy at the end but no major pain.

For those that want ALL the details…
We left our house at 5:30 am to drive to the UW. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the 45th Street exit and at least another 30 minutes to get into the UW parking lot. My back brake was rubbing so I made a stop at the repair tent for a quick adjustment. We skipped the port-a-potties because the line was too long. After about 1200 training miles in the last 4 months and a 10 minute wait for the next wave we headed south as part of the STP.

We had remarked earlier, “Who needs a pit stop 10 miles into a ride?” That would be us. We made our first stop at Seward Park where there was no line for the port-a-potties. :) From there, we made it another 15 miles before stopping at REI in Kent for the first free food stop. It was well organized, lots of port-a-potties so no lines, and decent snack foods. While we were reapplying sunscreen at the first aid stand a volunteer came and asked how to contact other rest stops. Apparently there was a dad who hadn’t seen his 9 year old son in the last 15 miles and had no way to contact him. We saw several seemingly unattended children over the ride… As we left, I commented to Deb that it actually wasn’t as crowded as I expected.

From that point on, the ride was swarming with bikers. We had done a few group rides but none were as crowded as this. I knew we’d have to watch out for car traffic but some people on bikes are crazy drivers too! We really learned the value of calling out and signaling to other riders. Usually we are getting passed by everyone and just have to stay right but we passed a fair amount of people.

Over all our training miles, we had never broken the 14 mph average mark on a long ride. I think that just shows how many hills we trained on! The STP is relatively flat and we averaged the lightning fast paces of 14.4 mph on day 1 and 14.1 mph on day 2.

The next free food stop was at a school in Spanaway. It was lunch time for us, we were low on fluids, and it was hot so we were ready to stop. We hadn’t passed any place recently that had lunch potential. We grabbed some food on our search for water. They had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or rice and beans in a tortilla, grapes, the ubiquitous bananas and bagels, and Cliff bars. Not wanting to take chances we went for the dried-out PB&J. We then stood in the water line for at least 20 minutes. Luckily I wasn’t wearing my watch to know exactly how long. We were able to eat our sandwiches and drink the final swallows of our water bottles while we waited. One hose for 5000 people was very poor planning! From there, we headed to the port-a-potty line. It actually moved faster. We made good use of this time by reapplying sunscreen. They had “Standing Room Only” port-a-potties that were popular with the guys because there was no line for them. We left the rest stop not really rested, still hot, but with full water bottles. A few blocks later we came to a Safeway and restaurant row. Had we only known! We could have sat down to eat a real sandwich in air-conditioned comfort and used a real bathroom. It would have cost us a few $ but taken half as long. Lesson #1 learned!

Not long later, a Wilcox Farms truck was handing out ice-cold chocolate milk, yum! Or maybe not… Deb learned quickly that Gatorade and chocolate milk do not mix well at 95 degrees. Lesson #2 learned.

The second half of the day was HOT. I have no idea what the actual temperature was but we were in the full sun a lot of the time. Between the hot sun, and the hot pavement, we were cooked. We saw several riders taking a break in a lake we passed but we pedaled on. We passed a guy with a STP jacket and number on a skateboard. Rumor has it he does the ride each year. Judging from the size of his calves I believe it.

Had some dicey riding on highway 507 near Tenino: a busy highway, and a smallish bike lane (one rider wide). The problem is, there are the “slow” people, the medium speed people (like us), and then the people who think they should be in the Tour de France and “own” the left lane. The slow people mostly stay to the right, and the crazy people mostly stay to the left, which in this case, is in the highway. There are those perforations in the road on the white line (driver reminders), that you had to cross over and back. So, people are cruising along at 20 miles an hour, jumping in and out of the right lane. We did that for about ½ hour, and that was a bit stressful.

We rolled into Centralia about 3 pm and headed straight for the beer garden. After a cold one, we made another quick stop at the repair tent for a new end cap. The guy waiting behind me in line had a cracked frame that he had repaired with duct tape. His repair job had lasted 50+ miles. I’m not sure what he thought the mechanic could do for him! We passed all the campers pitching tents on any spare patch of grass and continued to Chehalis. They were handing out creamsicles, and I tell you, that is the best Popsicle we’ve had in a long time!

Our host families live right on the route in beautiful historic homes. They had our bags in our rooms and lots of snacks and cold drinks. Dinner was delicious, dessert was awesome. Met some interesting other riders, and had a nice visit.

We were up early the next day; bags had to be on the curb by 6:30. Even at 5 AM, you could hear the bikers going by already. We were on our bikes and riding by about 6:45. The weather was perfect on Sunday, overcast and cool. Started out with some gentle rolling hills that weren’t too bad at the beginning. Reached the lunch stop, and saw the huge crowds (again), and decided to skip it and head to a mini-mart for some store-bought food and water (remember lesson #1 above). We felt good, strong and thinking that this wasn’t so bad…

Well, after about 3 hours of those rolling hills, that was starting to get old! It did sprinkle on us a bit, but then just got warmer. Stopped at the 75 mile food stop, and decided again to by-pass the huge mob and go to Subway, where Deb learned lesson #3: a sandwich on a queasy stomach isn’t always the best thing. Deb spent the last 30 miles of the ride to Portland feeling about ready to hurl. Told Cathy to not ride on my right! One amazing sight was the escort over the bridge from Washington to Oregon, full of cyclists.

The arrival in Portland was a bit anti-climatic, with a small hill climb up to the main street, then a bunch of stoplights and hordes of bikes. So, we walked our bikes across the finish line. Someone near us was playing the theme from Rocky. That got everyone cheering. We made it! After putting those pain-machines on the bus to Seattle, we headed to the beer garden for a cold one, we had earned it! While Cathy got the bags, Deb headed over to Macys to buy some shoes: lesson #4—don’t leave your shoes at the host families’ house! On the other hand, how better to reward yourself than a nice new pair of shoes?

Lesson #5: Stay in Portland! A dip in the pool, a long shower, a good dinner, and a quiet hotel room with a 9 PM bedtime were just what the doctor ordered.

What an amazing experience!

Doris Klein's Podium Trips

3 Times to the Podium This Year

First
In April my friend, Karen, said “I ran 4 miles on my treadmill this morning. I can run a 10 minute mile.” We decided to sign up together for our first fun run, the Maple Valley Days’ Bear Run. We trained by running together on Saturday mornings about 5 or 6 times and went to Toby’s Tuesday night runs. This was the first time Karen had run outside or with a training group. From our first run together I could tell she was either faster than a 10 minute mile or I was slower than I used to be. At the race, Karen (59 years old) came in about 45 seconds after the first place gal (a 50 year old in our group). I was 3rd about 4 minutes behind Karen. We both got ribbons!

Second
My Cascades Edge time was my worst triathlon time ever (oh, not quite true – my first tri, the Reebok in Sept ’04 was much slower but there were 4 hilly miles in that one and I had an old yard sale mountain bike). I had been in Deep Lake the week before and it wasn’t so bad but on June 17th I think there was a thin layer of ice. The swim is my strongest part but half way into it I was breathing on every other stroke and thinking “This is not like the Danskin where I swim over and around a lot of old ladies in front of me. I hope I make it.” I borrowed a team bike and it was fun to use. I didn’t fall. It was raining that day. On the muddy path around the lake I did put one foot in front of the other but there wasn’t much forward movement. I always try to put out a good effort for the last 100 yards or so. After that I took care of my bloody feet. (I didn’t wear socks to save a second or two in transition. Once someone told me socks were a waste of transition time.) When you’re in the 50 – 54 age group, there is a lot less competition. I was able to walk away with a 3rd place medal for my age group even though there was a 19 minutes gap between me and #2. Fortunately, they don’t worry about gaps like that when they give out that coveted hardware.

Third
There was a ¾ mile race across a lake at the church family camp last weekend. I used my wet suit even though no one else did. I hoped it would intimidate some folks. It says “Ironman”. There were about 30 people in the race. . The first place finisher was a gal, 30 years old, more or less, who had a swimming scholarship to Purdue University. Fortunately she hadn’t swum a stroke in the last year whereas I had swum about 200 miles in the last year.. She beat me by 2 minutes. She swam in a straight line. My husband told me I was way off course and could have saved a couple minutes if I had only swum in a straight line. Next time, I’m going to try to do it that way. I got a certificate for 2nd place and it was presented to me in front of maybe 500 people. A few people thought it was unusual that women came in first and second. Third place was a burly, young, tanned guy.

Doris

Kristine Kloepfer, one of Team Thriftway/Crystal Light's newest members had herself a great day at her first half Ironman at Lake Stevens on July 8th, and even gathered enough energy to tell us about it. Congratulations on a terrific accomplishment, Kristine. We're all really proud of you!!!

I did it!!! I am so excited. OK stats first.

Swim: 48:21

T1: 3:25

Bike: 3:35:42

T2: 5:01

Run: 2:29:57
Total 7:02:24

I am too tired to write too much but I'll get in what I can. It was an amazing day. Not only was it an accomplishment of a lifetime, but it was the day of a lifetime.

First, the Swim: I met this guy at dinner last night who had done 18 IM and was here trying to qualify for Clearwater. He gave me one piece of advice. Take it easy on the swim. It will only cost you a few minutes and will be totally worth it. I listened to him and I am really glad I did. The swim was slow but I felt fresh and strong the whole time, doing bilateral breathing through the 1.2 miles. Early on I found the bouy lines underwater and just followed them. Easy as swimming in a pool with almost no spotting necessary. Kinda felt like I was cheating. Came out of the water fresh, strong and ready to bike.

Bike: OMG the hills. That deserves it one more time, OMG the hills. They were relentless. But oh the joy of doing 40mph downhill while loudly yelling WHEEEEE! The bike was so much more difficult than I imagined. The whole first loop I kept thinking, OMG I gotta do this again. There were times on the bike I felt great and times I felt despair but I perservered and did the ride. I will definilty train more hills next time (YES there will be a next time!) The one bad thing about the bike was there was suppose to be gatorade at the bottle exchanges but there was none. My lone 20oz bottle was not enough. Luckily I brought some extra salt tabs cause with no gatorade I really needed it.

The Run: OH, the run. I was so worried after my bike that my legs would be toast after the ride. And doing only 3 mile bricks I had no idea how I would do. My PR on a HM is 2:19 and I only added 10 minutes onto that. I felt really strong about 80% of the run. I kept asking myself, do I really feel this strong?? And kept answering, YES I DO. Except a few water stations and one big hill on the second loop I ran the whole way.

The finish: I had to start holding back tears at mile 11. I was so overjoyed at being there, it was amazing!! By the time I crossed the finish line I couldn't hold back anymore. I felt great, and tears were streaming down my face, and I beat my goal of 7:15.

This is a day I will remember for my whole life. Mike was there all day cheering me on and I can't even tell you how much that helped. Also, much of the run I kept thinking of the RR I was gonna write and that helped me a great deal. I am so proud of myself. I know I MADE IT HAPPEN.

Pain is temporary, bragging rights last a lifetime!!! Thanks everyone. I felt you there with me all day, and oh what a day it was.

Kristine Kloepfer

Arnie Maish's Ironman Report

Note to reader: Arnie Maish decided about 10 days before Ironman to actually go through with the race...with little to no swim or run training or any logistics plan whatsoever. None of this discourages our dashing young bachelor in the least - nor does it diminish his enthusiasm. He arrived in Spokane by train at 1:30AM on Saturday and rode his bike on I-90 to Coeur d'Alene with 45lbs of gear on his back, posting only one flat. Apparently unaffected by Sleep Deprivation, he posted an 11:45 finish and entertained us all weekend.....Way to go, Arnie!! Arnie (back to camera on left) tells the story of

his arrival to CDA to disbelieving teammates

Well, this years IM will be a joy to sum up as it is the 1st time I have avoided an IV bag and the Med tent! Whoo hoo!

After months and months of diligent swim and run training, my arrival friday morning in CDA was a clear demonstration of my well thought out and excuted logistics plan.

Race morning, showing up in T2 as the announcers were calling last call to get out of T2 I calmly ignored said announcer and slowly and joyfully prepared for my day. First things first, I needed to attach my CO2, spairs and tool to my bike. I had attached my number the day before not realizing that it would be covered by my tool bag. With 3 rubber bands I went to work....quickly bundling all items and looping rubber bands over and over them and then banding to the bottom of the saddle. Somewhat confident that my flat kit would make it at least the first 20 miles of the ride I moved on to my next duty, putting my premix solution into my aero bar water bottle. Ooops, didn't bring that with me. Quickly improvising, I saw a gallon water jug sitting next to a tree, looked like water, smelled like water....maybe a little old....I poured about 10 oz's into my bottle and was satisfied as everything was coming togethar as planned. I then double checked that everything was good to go and went about putting my new wetsuit on for its first swim. With new wetsuit on I proceeded to drop off all transition, gear and special needs bags and make my way to the beach. Feeling confident that I had everything in order...

Arrived at beach with a smile on my face as I had told a few athletes at Friday's spagehtti feed that it may be a little rough later in the morning for practice swims but come race day @ 7am it's always calm smooth water :)

Went to the far left next to the fence and peered around for familiar faces...paticularly the old-school single thin green band off Brad's goggles....not seeing those I planned my inside the buoy swim line....swim went well with little to no contact with any other athletes....clear of the water in 1:03....
T1 was lengthy....as I had forgotten a towel and dried myself with one of my spare arm/leg warmers ( tube socks )...as I ran out of the tent and was lathered by sunblock from 4 females ( one of the best parts of every Ironman ) my race belt fell apart so it took about a full minute to put back togethar.....finally on my bike and off I went...

Sipping water I began to look thru my Bento box for my endurolytes.....where are they? My feeding/energy plan was gu, real food, and water with added Endurolytes...with no endurolytes I realized I would have to consume gatorade....so at about mile 45 when I caught Brad I was feeling terribly sick and bloated with my systems way off as the consumption of Gatorade and Gu's completely turned my stomach....that and a little too much pace to start with..

Thankfully Ol' Willy had come properly prepared ( as one would expect ) and was able to give me a hand with 2 salt/electrolyte capsules...swallowed the 1st one with water...broke the 2nd one open in my mouth for quicker action and I started to feel better...now just to clear the stomach...stopped at the port-a-potty before special needs bag. While reading the Sunday paper in the john, Brad passed. When heading into Higgins Point I saw Brad in a very statuesque yoga hip flex pose off his bike. I also saw a competitor take a nasty head/shoulder dive into the concrete trying to get his bag open....note to self...special need bag not worth accident...

Ah, food at last, spirits on the way back up as I started feeling much better. My needs bag was filled with the advice of our good doctor....PBJ and a bag of Tim's cascade Salt and Vinegar chips....WOW - the chips are awesome....I daintly nibbled at my bag of chips all the way thru town and up Government as I wanted to savior each and every crunch.

After disposing of the chips time to start riding again....caught back up to Brad again in about the same spot....shared a few words and then moved ahead..only to have a motorcycle Judge come and lecture me on the finer points of the "box"....no penalty...just a warning...Brad pedaled up to inquire as to penalty or no penalty....we rode together a little more until a descent marked with slow signs signaled to me it was time to accelarate and put some distance between me and my RTB team mate as I knew he would catch me in the run.

In and out of T2 like a pro - under 2 minutes - ( included my favorite part - the 8 hand sun block massage ) I felt like a Kenyan breaking into an 8 minute mile 1 time before getting into my 9-10 minute pace that I was able to maintain for the first 9 miles. I was pleased not to be passed by the top female until mile 7 of the run. At mile 9 my lack of run training started to show and I went to a walk/jog for the next 4 miles. At this point I was very pleased - and decided not to push hard and ruin the day by not finishing. I jog - walked and looked over my shoulder for Brad for the next 4 miles...ahh...finally coming out of the turn around in town there he was - closing down my gap. Finishing the last 12 miles run/walking with Brad and keeping our pace under 12 min miles was a perfect way to end the day. And then came the final turn....we had discussed finishing arrangements and talked about crossing togethar...I felt that if we hit the last straight away togethar that my noble elder would get the nod across the line.....this was the plan until a female passes with 600m to go....this can't be happening....I can out run her to the finish line....I can't take it...been passed already by too many women...Brad gives me the nod to

run her down and off I go....Michael Johnson 400 style to the finish to run her down by 2 seconds....

A great day indeed!

Maria Rippo's First Olympic Tri

Well, my first triathlon was the most exhilarating experience ever!! I LOVED every minute of it. I met up with Kelly Spangler right away at about 7:15 and she helped me with every step. I had never set up a transition or transitioned, so she was there showing me how to do it and explaining what I would do at T1 and T2. She is my triathlon guardian angel!!! I love her.

I was so nervous before the start that I was shaking, visibly shaking, involuntarily. It made me laugh. The first start I had ever seen was that morning. I just watched each start and it actually calmed me down to see it happen. Thankfully, I love the water and grew up swimming in the ocean, so the warm up you suggested was really good for me to do. Once the race started I had one moment where I thought I was crazy and couldn’t do it, but I got over that with a short session on my back and a little deep breathing and then I just decided to go for it and finished that mile in the middle of my group which was very encouraging to me. My biggest fear was coming out of the water last. Coming out was awesome b/c I saw my family first and then there you were cheering me on. THANK YOU! I loved being cheered onJ I loved wearing the RTB suit b/c so many people I had never met, just cheered me on. I felt like a champion b/c of all the encouragement and cheering. It was a fun feeling to have.

The bike was a little challenging b/c of the weather, so I didn’t go as fast as I would have liked, but I did the 24 miles in 1 ½ hours, so I was happy with that. I have only been on a handful of long bike rides, so my goal was to do it in 1 ½ hours. I did get lost trying to find my spot in the bike transition zone. Thankfully my friend had just gotten there and she yelled to direct me to my spot. I was surprised that my bottom hurt so MUCH when I got off the bike. Kelly thought maybe it was b/c I was so nervous with the rain and it being my first race ever. I really was not sure I could run once I got off the bike. I popped a couple of advil at T2 and I think that helped. There was a nice man there that heard me complaining and he said, “ don’t worry, you will use totally different muscles for the run.” That was really nice of him to say. The run was great b/c of the cold. I am not a good runner in hot weather. It was so fun to run through the crowd and have so many people cheering me on. I really did not know whether I could really complete an Olympic Distance race until I crossed the finish line. The most fun part of the whole race was sprinting to the finish line and passing two gals on my way!

Anyway, I am thrilled to have my first triathlon experience behind me, but I do hope my high from it will linger for a while longer. What an amazing sport this is. I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

Maria Rippo

Jim Hutter's Ironman Race Report

Jim Hutter was the most senior member of RTB's IMCDA squad this year. (He'll love that description)- and had a score to settle with the course. Last year, his knee blew up on him and would land him in surgury just a few days after a heart-breaking DNF (his first EVER). 2007 was a whole new ballgame and Jim finished, despite less-than-ideal circumstances...read on....

I had a fantastic time. I dropped all my salt tablets early in the bike and you probably heard that around the 75 to 80 mile mark I started having major crank issues. The crank was becoming looser and looser and the chain kept falling off. Up until that point I was on plan and feeling great. A nice gentlemen tried to help by trying to tighten the bolt on the crank but it came loose again after a couple of miles. Unfortunately the crank bolt requires a larger allen wrench which only tech support had. It was a truly frustrating experience to watch bike after bike pass me by while I waited for tech support. The finally came and repaired the crank and I was off like a bat out of hell passing bike after bike trying to make up time. I think this effort did me in and the run after about 4 miles became pure hell as I was cramping up. At about the 17 mile mark I decided that all I needed to do at that point was finish the damn race and the time didn’t matter. I came across another runner who was having difficulties and we pretty much just walked and talked until the finish line. I will be back next year with a large allen wrench and a determination to make up for a disappointing but somehow fulfilling race. It was great racing with everyone and I thank everyone for their encouragement and support.

Jen Boespflug's Ironman Spectator Report

Jen Boespflug is an energetic, enthusiastic RTB'er who traveled over to Coeur d'Alene with her equally enthusiastic friend, Julie Guillian. They were a crack-up on the course. One IM emailed me later asking who the crazy RTB chicks were on the course?! Jen writes a fun spectator report below and is pictured here having a great race at the 5-mile Lake Triathlon a week later. "Go Jen Jen Jen!!!"


I had a great time this last weekend watching the Ironman. I was so inspired and thought that I might like to give my spectator race report.



So Julie (Guillian) and I drove over to stay with friends on Friday so that we could get in a little activity on Saturday. Julie had the great idea to do "something cool" so that we didn't feel like such slouches by just watching the Ironman. We did go for a 15 mile hike and I was definately sore the next day while watching, which made me feel better.

We woke up at 5:30 and got to the beach and our viewing spot around 6:00. I do believe we had one of the best spots to view as we could see the entire swim course and were on the retaining wall right were the sand meets the pavement on the path out of the water. We got great views of all of the athletes literally a couple of feet away. In fact we were swore at by other spectators who tried to steal our location, but we held strong and didn't give it up.

My first impression of the swim course was "holy cow look how long that is" then we found out that it was 2 laps. How humbling. To boot the water was super choppy and we could see white caps. I was nervous for the athletes, let alone couldn't imagine swimming any distance in water so rough. The swim began and it was a sea of caps flooding into the water for several minutes. Wow, what a sight to see! Truly Beautiful!

Then the first swimmers emerged from the second lap and came running up the beach. We were so excited and began cheering crazily and thus began our clapping and shouting that lasted for the rest of the day. I felt like paparazzi with my camera as I was snapping pirctures like mad!



And look at that "RTB Thriftway" "Go Raise the Bar" here comes one of our guys out of the water, then another and so on. It may well have been the President or Paris Hilton, we were totally STARSTRUCK by the RTB athletes. Then came the final swimmer after over 2 hours in the water. She emerged from the water and was trying to run up the beach, when I think it dawned on her that the thousands of screams and cheers were soley for her. When she reached about where we were she covered her face to keep from crying, thus opening the faucet from my own eyes and everyone around me. I am a little teary eyed thinking about it now. How inspiring so see someone working so hard and to see so many supporters. I couldn't even imagine how she felt.

On to the bike course! We found a great location right at a round about. We could cheer the riders coming and going. Again, whenever we could see an RTB member coming you would think it was Lance Armstrong or something. We tried to be encouraging, but most of the time we would just scream and yell nonsense or the persons name "Jim! Jim! Jim!" then they would pass like a bullet and we would talk about what encouraging words we could us the next time they came by. Pointless conversations though, because we would have the same celebrity sighting reaction the next time.

We went to grab some quick eats and sit on the curb a few blocks up from the finish. It was so amazing to see the athletes coming down the road. I could not believe the athletes had the energy to smile, wave, or even still be able to run at that point. It was so inspiring, I wanted to be that person who had accompished such an amazing thing. I can't even imagine what they must have felt after finishing the race. I'm sure it is one of those things that you cannot understand until you have done it. We joked about how "sore our clapping hands" were, but knew how silly that was compared to these ironmen and ironwomen.

I would like to think that somewhere, sometime I will find that I too have an Ironwoman somewhere in me. In the mean time I am already making plans to watch/volunteer in 2008. What and inspiring weekend, I drove home Sunday night so pumped on adrenaline from such and amazing event. Julie and I did agree that it was made especially cool and exciting knowing that we had a small connection to so many inspiring people on the RTB/thriftway team who competed, even if they had no idea who the crazy chics were on the side of the road shouting jibberish at them. So THANK YOU to all of the athletes who competed in Ironman Coeur D'Alene.