ING Philadelphia Distance Run

Today I ran the Philadelphia Distance Run which is a 1/2 marathon distance run. I ran 4 miles with dad before the race to make it a long training run towards the Marine Corps Marathon on 10/25/09. In total, including the race, distance before and after I ran 18 miles. I finished the race in 2:12:30 which is a 2min, 30 second PR for me. It was a perfect day weather-wise and there were a ton of people on the course for the whole run. I was happy with it and am feeling good after the race! :)

Now, onward with the training for the marathon :)

- Kel

The Nation's Triathlon - Washington DC 9.13.09

I signed up for this race way back in December as a 'destination' race. I didn't realize that by the time the race sold out they had 6,000 people registered. They had about 4,000 finishers so I guess you lose some amount of people to injury, etc.

Pre-Race:

The race was Sunday, September 13th. We arrived in Washington, D.C. on Friday, late morning. The race expo started at 12:00 on Friday, so we decided to head over around 1:00. They have a mandatory pre-race meeting that every athlete must attend. I just missed the 1:00 meeting so I had to wait for the 1:30 meeting. Nothing too earth-shattering was discussed at the meeting but they made it mandatory and your hand stamp was necessary before moving on to the next stop where you picked up your packet with your numbers and your swim cap. From there you moved on to get your t-shirt and your goodie bag.

Saturday:

Mandatory bike racking at the transition area which was located separate from the expo (at a hotel). They also had the opportunity for a practice swim in the Potomac river from 1-4pm. I didn't take advantage of it because I had run 7 miles that morning and wanted to take it easy from that point on.

Sunday/Race Day - Transition opens at 5:00am and closes at 6:45 for the first wave to go off at 7:00am. I got there around 5:50 and went straight to my bike and set up the rest of the transition, got suited up halfway in the wetsuit (water temp was 72 degrees) and checked an extra bag with dry clothes in gear check for after the race (did this because it was recommended at the pre-race meeting as they SLOWLY opened transition starting at 10:30 am for people to start getting their stuff). I stood on line for the Port-o-Johns and still had about 45 minutes before my wave went off at 7:48. Weather for race day was mid to upper 60s at the start of the race and low 70s by the finish - it was sunny and just a beautiful day! Also, this race benefitted the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so there was a ton of Team-In-Training people out there participating, volunteering and cheering everyone on - very nice!!

SWIM:

Single loop 1.5K course - pretty crowded waves just because of the large field. I thought there was a pretty long distance to the first buoy so it was tough to sight where we were headed. We swam out and underneath a bridge, past the bridge about 300 yards and then turned around to head back. I got kicked in the face going around that first buoy but not bad enough to lose the goggles or anything! I felt like I was swimming at a decent pace, but turns out it took me 35:41 which was about a minute slower than my time at NJ State Tri in July. The current was noticeable on the "out" part of the swim but not too overwhelming.

T1:

This took 3:04 which I am not completely surprised about because the transition area was 240,000 square feet and it was a long distance to the "bike out" area.

BIKE:

This was a nice course - went out on a 5 mile loop and then a 20 mile loop. Roads were in decent condition, on the 20 mile loop (10 out and 10 back) the 10 miles out were on an incline and I felt like I was just struggling to maintain a decent speed and just thought my legs were tired. I realized after the turnaround that I had been climbing most of that 10 miles - gradual incline. The 10 miles back was much faster because I had the decline working in my h There were a good amount of volunteers and spectators for most of the bike course. Overall the bike took me 1:21:51 for an average of 18.2 mph which was about 7 minutes slower than my race at NJ State.

T2: 2:25 - this was "slow" again because of the long run from the "bike in" to my area of transition. I was close to the "run out" though :)

RUN: Nice 10K course along the Potomac River, around the Jefferson Memorial, around the Lincoln Memorial, over the bridge towards Arlington where you turned around and headed back towards the Jefferson Memorial and on to the finish. Decent amount of shade on the course and mostly flat. They had an aid station about 1/10th of a mile after every mile marker which was great. Total run time was 59:40 (9:38 pace) with some periods of walking. My legs just felt tired about 3 miles into the run.

Total time: 3:02:40 - not my best time and not my worst. I was happy with finishing especially since I had the flu for a full week before this race and was just starting to feel back to normal.

Now, it's on to finish training for the Marine Corps Marathon on 10/25, then finally some relaxation!!! :)

- Kel

We're Engaged!

Bryant asked me to marry him! yay! We are in Colorado for the week on vacation and went for a 2 day retreat up in Glen Haven which is right outside Estes Park. He asked as we were stargazing :) I don't think I have seen so many stars in my life! We are both very excited! We don't have any definite plans yet for when or where we're getting married, but we figure we'll enjoy the engagement for a little bit and then figure it out! :)

Tri Babes Sprint Triathlon. Longmont, CO 8.23.09

I signed up for this race a couple weeks ago when we decided that we would be spending a week in Colorado. It was an all-women's Sprint Triathlon in Longmont, CO.

Here are the results:

KELLY KUNTZ
60/270 overall
F30-34 15/56
Total - 1:24:20
Swim (1/2 mi): 14:38
T1 - 1:48 (couldn't find my bike!)
Bike (12.5 mi) 37:26 (19.9 mph)
T2 - 1:42 (couldn't find my stuff, again!)

Run - 28:49 (9:18 min/mi)

I really enjoyed this race - the swim was wetsuit legal, so I took advantage of it and wore the wetsuit. Felt good during the swim after I got into a rhythm. Transition was tough, they had different bike racks and I had a hard time finding my bike because everything looked the same and there were no numbered racks or any order to how they were placed. Felt strong on the bike which was a 3 loop course. The run was pretty but mostly on dirt. Wish I knew that - I would have brought my regular running shoes rather than use my race shoes. There was a killer uphill and the course was all in the sun. I definitely needed to take a few walk breaks - not sure if it was the altitude getting to me or just general fatigue, but I still managed a decent run pace.

It was nice to have Bryant and his parents as spectators today. It was fun racing outside of the tri-state area and I'm feeling more confident with each race. There's only one more race for this season - the Nation's Triathlon in Washington DC on September 13th!

SheRox Sprint Duathlon

No photos yet, but here are my results:

Clock Time
01:37:36

Run 1:
00:11:38 (7:44/mile pace)

Trans1:
00:02:27

Bike:
00:54:50 (17.2mph)

Trans2:
00:01:31

Run2:
00:27:07 (8:44/mile pace)

Let's just say we should have called it a day when we got out of bed this morning. Driving to the race the skies looked ominous and the humidity was 100% - the air was thick. Kacy and I wondered if rain would hold off long enough to still make this race a triathlon. We got to the race site around 6:15am, secured a good parking spot for an easy entrance/exit and headed to transition. As we walked to transition, the skies opened up and we got soaked before we even walked down the hill on Black Rd. to get to transition. Body marking was a challenge because we were already wet. Luckily Kacy had her towel handy to dry off the arms and legs.
As we entered transition, they were announcing that they were still planning on going ahead with the race as a triathlon. As time went on and thunder boomed in the distance, they had to reconsider the decision and after a good 1/2 hour to 45 minute delay the race officials decided to cancel the swim because of the current and the amount of debris floating in the river. The race was now going to be a duathlon. I had mixed feelings about this . . . but knew the swim would have been brutal.

Run 1 (1.5 miles):
Kacy and I were in Wave 12 which ended up going off at 9:45am which was just about an hour delay from when we would have originally started. The first run was fine - it was humid, but not raining. The street was a little slippery from the earlier rain, but I was able to keep a fairly brisk pace for the run. Entered transition at 11:38.

T1:
Took me 2:27 which I was a little surprised about . . . but I think it was because my bike rack was at the far end of transition so it was a long run to the "bike out" timing mount.

Bike (15.5 miles):

Mounting the bike went off without incident. Started out averaging around 19mph and passing alot of people along the way. As the bike went on, the rain started again . . . along with thunder and some lightening now. The course was nice with only two significant uphills and a few downhills; however, the course was very slippery and dangerous. I saw a couple really nasty wrecks - 2 women with c-collars placed by paramedics on the scene. That definitely slowed me down because I didn't want that to be me on one of the downhills. One of those times that you say to yourself "is it really worth it to push hard, right now?" The safety answer was no . . . so my bike speed definitely was slower than I could have done if conditions were better.

T2:
1:31

This transition was quicker. Ran to the bike rack, took off the bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses, slipped on the running shoes, grabbed the water bottle and took off. Felt good running out through transition.

Run 2 (3.1miles):

This run was great for about the first mile and a half, at which point you could see some really nasty clouds in the distance, towards the finish. Scary and very close lightening along with deafening thunder precluded the most torrential downpour I have seen in a LONG time. Just as you thought it couldn't rain any harder, it just kept intensifying - I had to keep wiping my eyes because I couldn't see through all the rain pelting my face. Luckily I was able to run all the way through and finish the race. Unfortunately for Kacy and MANY other athletes out there, they cancelled the race while I was out on the run - people who were biking had to stop and people out on the run had to turn around wherever they were at that point. Honestly, the only thing that got me through it was the adrenaline from my 'fight or flight" response - I wanted to make sure I didn't get struck by lightening!

Post-Race-

Going back into transition after the race was another disaster. It was still downpouring rain and the transition area was flooded under 3-4" of water. I didn't lose any of my equipment but my bag was soaked as were my towels that had rested on the ground. I decided it wasn't worth keeping the towels because they were submerged in muddy flood waters and weighed about 50 pounds! Nothing else was lost, but I was super soaked. The post-race celebration was cancelled as were the awards. The priority of the race directors was getting people off the race course and on their way home as fast as possible. I give them credit for trying to keep things calm and organized under very bad conditions!
We headed back to the car and racked the bikes and headed home. Some of the local roads were floooded on the drive back, but luckily I figured a way around them.
On the way home as Kacy and I were debating our sanity for sticking with it during the race I said "There is a thin line between being brave and being stupid . . . I think we were pretty stupid today." Kacy agreed.
If nothing else, it was yet another adventure and learning experience. Hoping for better luck next year!

New Jersey State Triathlon - Olympic Distance 7.26.09

Here is my race report for the 2009 New Jersey State Olympic Distance Triathlon which took place on Sunday July 26th. This is race #2 out of 3 consecutive race weekends. I went into this race looking to beat my time from the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon which I competed in on June 28th by 1 second. My time for that race was 3:05.

Pre Race:

Great setup by the Jersey Shore Triathlon Club with a tent and an RV. The RV was awesome for the simple fact that it allowed me to avoid using the (overused) port-o-johns on the race site. Downside here was that we had to arrive at 6:00am to set up in transition and my wave was the second-to-last to start the Olympic at 9:15am. So, just some waiting around, but it ended up being well worth it.

Swim (0.9 miles):

The swim was in the lake at Mercer County Park, 0.9 mile. Seemed like forever! The race was just barely wetsuit legal, so I took advantage and wore the wetsuit for the swim. I felt a little overheated at times but I think the suit helped out with that distance of a swim. Finished the swim in about 34 minutes which I was happy with, but I know that maybe someday I'll speed up on the swim.

Bike(23miles):

Transition from swim to bike was about 2 minutes which I was cool with - able to get the wetsuit off pretty quickly, put on the helmet and sunglasses, slipped into the bike shoes and took off. Practicing mounting the bike with Bryant the night before definitely paid off today! I was able to average about 18.9 mph on the bike which I was thrilled with.

Run (6.2miles):

This run felt pretty brutal because it got pretty hot by the time I was out on the course. The first 5K was mostly flat and shaded with an awesome water stop with frozen washcloths! Felt so good! The second 5K was rough - HOT!!! Honestly, I felt like I walked more than I ran during these 6.2 miles but somehow was able to average a 9:50 pace

I finished in 2:53:32 which beat my PR for the Olympic Distance by 12 minutes!!! So happy and excited all at once.

I'm really enjoying this triathlon thing and having a great time :) I am lucky to have Bryant as my support crew! He got up at 4:50am just like I did so that means alot in my book!

Next race:

SheRox Sprint Triathlon in Philadelphia, PA on 8.2.09 - cannot wait for this one! It should be a ton of fun and Kacy is racing too, so that's icing on the cake! :)

- Kel

Sunset Challenge Sprint Tri - Bridgeton, NJ - 7.18.09

Race Report for the Sunset Challenge Sprint Triathlon

Bridgeton, NJ

07.18.09

Swim was great! No wetsuits were allowed because the water was 82 degrees. This made me a little nervous at first because this would be my first open water swim without a wetsuit, but I did a little practice swim before the

start and felt okay. Definitely a little more work than with the wetsuit, but manageable. The water itself was decent - there were a few patches where you had to swim through some thick seaweed, but I made it through this time without freaking out. The swim felt good overall and I was out of the water in about 18 minutes.

Transition took about 2 minutes from swim to bike. I always seem to be a little shaky clipping into my pedals before I get going. The 16 mile course was very scenic through horse farms

, fields and neighborhoods. The roads were in decent conditions and there weren't any major hills. In fact, I didn't have to get out of the saddle even on the biggest one. Only downside was that there was a headwind for most of the course. I ended up averaging 17.3 mph and finished the bike in 55 minutes and change.

Transition from bike to run was about 2 minutes. The run was actually alot of fun - most of it was on a trail/towpath with part of it through a grassy field and some street running. I felt decent on the run but had to take some quick walk breaks through the water stops. I ended up finishing the run in 27:55 for a 9:00 min/mi pace which I was happy with.

My total finish time for the race was 1:45:55 which was good enough for 1st place in the Athena division (females 150lb and over) which is the equivalent of the male's Clydesdale division.

I stuck around for the post-race food and awards ceremony. The food was great! The Bridgeton Exchange Club made some excellent pasta salads and there was a great spread of Jersey Fresh fruit - peaches, bananas and amazing blueberries!

Bryant was a real trooper - he woke up with me at 4:30 to leave for the race and stuck around with me for the whole thing. I can't say enough how awesome it is to have him come watch me race and to be my support crew! I wouldn't trade him for the world! :)

Next up is the New Jersey State Triathlon next Sunday - Olympic Distance! Going to try to beat my time from the Philly Insurance Tri which was 3:05 - even if that means I finish in 3:04:59!

- Kel