My New Triathlon Ride

I finally decided to go for it and purchase my "dream bike" this weekend. I got the Cervelo P2 triathlon bike. Now, when I show up to a triathlon, people are going to expect me to be fast! I guess that means I need to start working my ass off in this off-season to make that happen :) I'm so happy and excited already! I'll pick it up on December 28th after I have it fit! Can't wait already - this is my Christmas gift to myself this year and for the next several years! haha. I have to thank my most supportive fiance who convinced me to "just get it".

Marine Corps Marathon 10.25.09

Me approaching Mom and Bry between 18 and 19!

Dad approaching Mom & Bryant between 18-19 looking like a pro!

Taking a break with Bry around mile 18.5! Just the motivation I needed to continue!

I signed up for the 34th running of the Marine Corps Marathon on April 1st of this year with my dad, sister Jackie and co-worker and friend Kara. Training for this race was mixed in with triathlon training and racing all summer. This race was designed to be my season-ender and topper and turned out to be just that.

We arrived in Washington D.C. on Friday night and stayed in Metro Center close to Chinatown and the Convention Center. We ate dinner at the Capitol Brewery - I enjoyed some great white pizza and pumpkin beer. Ended up going to bed pretty early that evening which worked out well.

On Saturday, my parents arrived to D.C. from Baltimore and we met them at the hotel before going to the Convention Center for the Expo. The expo itself was an experience. It was very well run and efficient to check in but it got a little crowded on the floor around the exhibits. We walked around the mall and hit the National Art Museum. We stayed at a hotel which had a kitchen in our suite, so my mom and I went shopping to get the needed ingredients for a pasta dinner. We cooked a great pre-race carbo loading dinner which worked out perfectly since it was humid, raining and windy outside. After dinner we walked down to the Capitol Building since we were really close and took some nice night pictures. Bryant and Mom continued on to tour some of the other monuments while dad and I headed back to the hotel to prepare for race morning and get ready for bed.

Race morning I woke up at 5:15 to get dressed and start my breakfast which consisted of spaghetti from the night before with some parm cheese. I drank some gatorated and water as well. I packed everything for my race check bag, including my pre-race sports drink. We met at 5:55 to go and catch the Metro to the race start. We didn't have to wait too long for the train to the start. Once we arrived at the start area it was still pitch black outside. We made a few stops at the port-o-potties and continued our pre-race hydration. We walked at least a 1/2 mile to the area where the bag check was. When we got there we got rid of our long sleeve shirts. I decided to wear shorts, a tank top and arm-warmers. It was chilly at the start (about 50 degrees) but was forecast to warm up to the low 60s by the time the race ended.

The start area was alive with static electricity. There were so many people around the start! The introductions were great and the fly-over by the military planes was breathtaking. I was pretty nervous at the start thinking "what have I gotten myself into" and "how the heck am I going to run 26.2 miles?!?"

It took me about 10 minutes to get to the start from where I was lined up. The first 8 miles of the course were pretty hilly which was not expected! I saw the topographical map of the race which showed a 160ft elevation gain over the first 8 miles and thought "that's not much at all" but let me tell you there were a few tough hills for sure. Luckily I made a friend on the course that I could talk with for that period of time which kept my mind off the course. I lost her around mile 9 or 10 when she started to fade. The course was great around the Georgetown Reservoir and through Georgetown itself. Running along the Potomac and East & West Potomac Park was also great. The weather was perfect! I was glad I kept my arm warmers throughout the race because the breeze was cool at times. From the park we started to run along the mall. Beautiful with tons of spectator support! This is where I caught Bryant and Mom with the diet coke. I took a minute or two to hang out with them and stretch between mile 18 and 19. This was enough encouragement to continue the race! The last 10K was definitely a challenge for me. Beating the bridge was rough and running through Crystal City was kinda boring but with each mile I knew I was closer to the finish. I felt great cardiovascularly and nutritionally but orthopedically, my feet were killing me - especially my right ankle an foot. I stuck it out though as we reached mile 24 and 25 around the Pentagon and when I heard the music around mile 25, I started to really try and push my way to the finish. Running up the final incline towards the finish was awesome! I finished in 4 hours and 44 minutes. This ended up being a 41 minute PR for me. I finished my first marathon in January of 2005 in Carlsbad, CA in 5:25! I was excited to get my medal from a Marine at the finish. I felt good overall. It took me about an hour to find my dad in the finisher's area afterwards. He finished in 4:29 :)

It took a really long time to get to the hotel after the race because my dad wasn't feeling well after the race and there was a huge crowd to get into the Metro station to catch the train to the hotel. Once we got back, my parents headed back to New Jersey and Bryant and I headed back to our hotel for Sunday night. We walked to dinner in Georgetown which actually made the sore legs and feet feel better. I took a brief nap before the Yankees-Angels game came on. They won and clinched their berth to the World Series! Perfect end to a great day!

We headed home on Monday and I was feeling good physically but tired in general. I slept most of the ride home to Philly and took another nap when we got home.

I felt good all week and treated myself to a sports massage on Wednesday evening. It really helped stretch out my sore hamstrings and tight IT band! Definitely worth it as part of the post-race recovery phase. I went back to the gym cross-training workouts Wednesday and Friday. Felt pretty good overall!

This was an overall great experience for me! Now, its the "off-season" for me which will include focusing on the swimming again, building up some cycling miles and spending time at Fusion and the Lithe Method. I'll be working hard towards looking good at my wedding on January 30, 2010!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this whole challenging triathlon and racing season! This marathon was the perfect end to the season! I'm hoping to do it again next year with my sisters running along with me :)

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!