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June 2008
New bike lane coming!
Good news for cyclists!
The city of Austin will begin construction today on 5-foot bicycle lanes along both sides of Barton Springs Road within Zilker Park.
The lanes will start west of the Barton Creek Bridge, extend west under the Loop 1 overpass and end near Rollingwood Drive.
That’s a popular bike route. (The Saturday morning Austin Tricyclist taco ride comes to mind.)
Construction will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Crews will start at the east side and work west, working on one side of the road at a time to minimize traffic impact, according to a press release from the city.
The project is scheduled to be finished in early December, before the Trail of Lights opens at the park. Construction will stop during the Austin City Limits Music Festival in the fall.
Besides striping the roads for bike lanes, crews will relocate traffic signals and build pervious (porous) concrete walkways and associated drainage and landscaping, the press release says. The walkways will be set back from the roadway to protect pedestrians from vehicular traffic. They’ll be routed around existing trees and historic features.
Great move by the city!
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Nike+ Human Race
Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and … Austin? Nike has chosen our running-addicted city as one of four U.S. host sites for the Nike Plus Human Race, a 10K run being staged Aug. 31 in 25 cities around the world. The shoe and athletic wear giant hopes to get 1 million pairs of feet, the globe over, on the pavement for the event. The mission? “To unite athletes across nations and continents, for one day of competition and camaraderie.” Participants can pick which of three charities — the Austin-based Lance Armstrong Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund or the U.N. Refuge Agency’s Nine Million campaign — they want $5 of the $35 registration fee to benefit. Not sure you’re ready for the race? We’ve teamed with RunTex to bring you Team Fit City, a free nine-week training program that will give you the boost you need to make it to the finish line. The group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays at Auditorium Shores, starting this week. The first 100 to sign up for the training will get a free T-shirt. RunTex will provide the coaching. “Austin was chosen for our great running community from all the cities in the world. We need to show the world, per capita, we are number one, bar none,” says Paul Carrozza, owner of the RunTex chain of stores. Runners who don’t live in a host city can run their own 10K, and upload their results at http://www.nikeplus.com to be counted as an official finisher. Here in Austin, seven-time Tour de France champion and hometown hero Lance Armstrong will join the field. The local course will weave past the Capitol, the Austin Museum of Art, City Hall, the Warehouse District, the University of Texas, the Bullock Texas State History Museum and Sixth Street. The race starts at 6:30 p.m. at 11th Street and Congress Avenue and will conclude with a concert. Among other cities hosting Human Races on Aug. 31 are London; Madrid, Spain; Paris; Istanbul, Turkey; Melbourne, Australia; Shanghai, China; São Paulo, Brazil; and Vancouver, British Columbia. The first race will kick off in Taipei, Taiwan; the last in Los Angeles. “We’re looking forward to welcoming runners from across Texas to compete in this global event in Austin,” Gov. Rick Perry said in a press release. It’s the first and perhaps only year for the event. So far, Nike has said it won’t do a repeat performance. For more information, to see a complete list of race cities or to register, go to www.nikeplus.com. To sign up for Team Fit City training, go to http://www.runtex.com.
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Breakfast Taco Runs
Leilani Perry at Rogue Running writes to let us know about another fabulous exercise/eating combination.
Here’s the low-down:
Getting ready to train for a marathon or half marathon? Want a long Saturday run but don’t want to run alone? Need inspiration? Curious about what its like to run with a group?
Run with the crew from Rogue for our FREE Saturday Summer TACO RUNS!
Coaches will lead runners on 5, 7 or 10-mile runs Saturday July 19 and Saturday Aug. 9, starting at 8 a.m. FREE post-run breakfast tacos — supplied by the good folks at Austin’s own Tacodeli.
All Austin runners are welcome. Meet at Rogue Equipment at the corner of East 5th and San Marcos Streets.
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Best trainers in Austin
Picking a personal trainer is like finding the perfect pair of jeans.
You want your trainer to make you look your best. The first one you try isn’t always the right one. And it’s got to be a lasting relationship, not one that fades after the first use.
Some folks need trainers who bark orders and run them through a boot-camp style workout. Others need trainers who gently encourage. No matter what your preference, your trainer should make sure you’re staying safe while working out.
Here are some tips for picking a trainer:
Make sure you’re comfortable with the trainer. Do you prefer someone of the same sex? Or are you more comfortable taking direction from someone of the opposite sex?
Look for someone with experience or a personal training certification (examples include ACSM, ACE or NSCA).
Make sure the trainer can adapt the training program for someone of your age.
Look for someone who has worked with clients at your fitness level.
Look for someone who keeps current on the latest fitness research and knows the latest equipment.
Check to see how the trainer’s rates compare to others in the area.
Is there a penalty for canceling a workout?
Do you like the trainer’s personality and sense of humor?
Do the trainer’s hours work with your schedule?
My dad and his wife have worked with trainer Audrey Herold at the Jewish Community Center of Austin for about four years. They like her gentle, encouraging style. Herold also takes into considerations my dad’s heart disease and achy back when planning workouts. But she’s not a pushover — she’s motivated both of them to stay fit.
The fact is, if you don’t like going to a workout session, you’re more likely to skip. If it’s something you look forward to, you’ll show up. It’s got to be fun.
I’ve heard from tons of readers over the years about their trainers. Let me know who you think is the top trainer in Austin are by posting a comment here.
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Running, recycling and FREE ice cream!
Talk about multi-tasking. You can recycle your electronics at the same time you pick up your race packet for this weekend’s Keep Austin Weird 5K.
Race participants and non-race participants alike can drop off unwanted electronics from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday in large recycling bins in the RunTex parking lot, 422 W. Riverside Dr.
Amy’s Ice Cream will hand out ice cream samples to recycling donors.
If you haven’t registered for the Keep Austin Weird 5K yet, you still have time. Sign up from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at RunTex. Or sign up starting at 3 p.m. Saturday at Auditorium Shores. Cost is $40 for adults or $15 for kids.
The recycling event, a “Go Green! Go Run!” event hosted by RunTex and Round 2 Technologies Inc., will benefit the Sole to Soul Foundation, which encourages children and families to lead healthy active lives.
The Keep Austin Weird 5K starts at 6 p.m. Saturday at Auditorium shores. For more information about the race, go to http://www.keepaustinweirdfest.com/.
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Run with Team Fit City
Looking for a group to help you train for the Nike+ Human Race on Aug. 31?
Look no further. We’re organizing a Fit City running group to help you prepare. We’ll meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evenings at Auditorium Shores, starting July 3. The program will last nine weeks.
Austin is lucky to have landed the Nike+ Human Race. It’s one of just four U.S. cities chosen to host the 10K. (New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are the others.) The race also will be staged around the world, and if you don’t live in a city where it’s happening, you can participate virtually, using the new Nike+ Sport Band.
I’m going to test drive the Sport Band, which tracks your training miles on a computer, as I prepare for the race. (For more info, go to http://www.nikeplus.com.)
In case you’re wondering, I’m no speed demon. (I’m more of a swimmer than a runner.) I stick to 10-minute miles.
As for the training program, RunTex will provide the coaching. It’ll be fun. And hot. But we like to sweat …
Check back here for more details.
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Guess somebody does care about the Tour de France
Let’s get back to that Tour de France thing.
Clearly lots of us do care about the biggest cycling event in the world, John. I’m just saying that with all the scandal surrounding bike racing, it’s been frustrating, as a fan, to stick with it. I hate to see the sport - any sport, for that matter - corrupted by doping. It’s discrediting to those who don’t cheat.
But look at the recent track record.
Tyler Hamilton tested positive at the Athens Olympics. (He kept his medal because his second sample couldn’t be tested.) He also tested positive in the 2004 Tour of Spain and was banned for two years.
Remember 2006? Before the Tour de France even started, race organizers blocked a whole slew of cyclists, including top riders Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, who were under suspicion for doping. And guilty or not, we know what happened to Floyd Landis that year.
Last year race organizers booted Alexandre Vinokourov and the Astana team for alleged doping.
I’m a fan. Watching those guys pump up inclines that would put the rest of us into cardiac arrest is beyond amazing. Listening to OLN announcers Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen hyperventilate about the action? Hilarious. Hey, I was even hooked on that reality show that took two normal dudes, trained them up and had them attempt to ride a couple of mountain stages in the Tour. (One made it, one didn’t.)
Those cyclists can do things that seem impossible to those of us who spend most of our bike hours commuting back and forth to work.
I just hate what some cyclists have done to the Tour de France. It’s not fair to the guys who ride clean.
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Swimming with Hodding
Hodding Carter is in Austin, promoting his new book, “Off the Deep End,” which describes his quest to qualify for the Olympic Trials at the ripe old age of 45.
He’ll be signing books at 7 p.m. tonight at Book People, 603 N. Lamar Blvd.
Hodding’s a hoot, and the 200-page book captures the giddy, fun-loving side of his personality right there with the obsessive, swim-freak side of it. (I’m a swim freak too, so I get to say that.)
My friend Brian and I picked him up from his hotel this morning, where he was wrapping up a slew of radio interviews, and shuttled him directly to our favorite urban oasis.
He whimpered a little about the cold, then hopped right in and blazed back and forth across the pool.
Hodding’s stroke is amazing. He keeps his elbows high, not only on the recovery part of his stroke, but underneath the water. It’s like he’s a high-speed egg beater whisking his way through the water.
Mostly I looked at his feet, since he was ahead of me.
I can’t wait to hear him talk at Book People tonight. I hope to see you there!
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National Trails Fund
Central Texas is packed with amazing hiking trails. But we’ve got to work to maintain them. Here’s a grant opportunity from the American Hiking Society:
Have a hiking trail you love? Become part of the only privately funded national grant program to help protect it.
The American Hiking Society 2009 National Trails Fund is now open for applications. This year, American Hiking will provide more support than ever to grassroots trail organizations around the country, giving local trail groups the resources they need to secure trail access, obtain and support volunteers and provide tools and materials to protect America’s cherished hiking trails.
“Trails are the gateway to healthy outdoor recreation, allowing us to experience nature on our own terms,” said Gregory Miller, American Hiking Society President. “Our National Trails Fund provides critically needed grant funding to trail organizations to maintain and protect America’s hiking trails.”
Established in 1998, the National Trails Fund provides funding to help establish, protect and maintain foot trails in America. To date, American Hiking has granted nearly $382,000 to 105 different trail projects across the U.S. for land acquisition, constituency building campaigns and a variety of trail work projects. Awards typically range from $500 to $5,000 per project.
A variety of projects will be considered for the 2009 National Trails Fund, including projects that: • Have hikers as the primary constituency, though multiple human-powered trail projects are eligible • Secure trail lands, including acquisition of trails and trail corridors and the costs associated with acquiring conservation easements • Result in visible and substantial ease of access, improved hiker safety and/or avoidance of environmental damage • Promote constituency building surrounding specific trail projects, including volunteer recruitment and support
For the 2009 cycle, American Hiking will be awarding two different types of National Trail Fund grants: American Hiking Society Trail Grants, sponsored by L.L.Bean, Therm-a-Rest and MSR and ranging from $500 to $4,999; and Nature Valley Save the Trails Grants, totaling $5,000 each.
Each grant type has specific guidelines. To apply for a 2009 National Trails Fund grant, go to http://AmericanHiking.org. All applications must be submitted electronically and limited to three pages, plus the required attachments. Submit your complete application by Aug. 15, 2008.
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Keep Austin Weird 5K
The Town Lake Hike and Bike trail was packed this morning at 7:30 a.m., when police reporter Tony Plohetski and I ventured out for a 4-miler. I guess everyone’s trying to get their run in before the hottest part of the day.
Looking for an event to put all that training to use? The Keep Austin Weird 5K is next Saturday, June 28 at Auditorium Shores Gates open and music starts at 3 p.m., and the actual run kicks off at 6 p.m.
The best part? The costume contest. Nothing like watching Austin try to live up to its weirdness and keep in shape at the same time.
Registration is $35 (until June 26, when it’s $40) and includes admission to the Keep Austin Weird Music concert, headlined by Alejandro Escovedo. Also playing are What Made Milwaukee Famous, Black Joe Lewis and The Honey Bears, Army of Freshman, Feeding 5000 and Super Pal Universe.
For more information or to register for the race, go to http://www.keepaustinweirdfest.com/.
Did anyone see (or, gasp, participate in) the Naked Bike Ride last weekend? What was it like? Organizer Kelly Moore is looking for photos that anyone may have taken. Let me know.
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Biking Across the Country
Megan Bentzin is biking across America.
The 15-year-old St. Andrew’s Episcopal School student will shove off from Savannah, Ga., on Saturday as part of a group of 14 young cyclists riding all the way to Los Angeles. They expect to arrive on Aug. 3.
The group is riding without a support vehicle, so they’ll be packing light. Two pairs of shorts and a couple of riding shirts, along with the requisite bike tools and gear, are about all Megan’s stuffing into her panniers. She’ll be picking up mail at post offices in towns they pass through along the way.
Bentzin paid about $5,000 to join the 3,000-mile trip, organized by the Overland summer adventure program. But she’s decided to raise money for her favorite charity — Helping Hand Home — while she rides. She hopes to raise $10,000 for the organization, which serves abused children. To make a donation, go to her website at http://www.meganbentzin.com/
“I’m so fortunate,” she says. “I can go to St. Andrew’s. I can go places. These children have way less.”
The group will ride between 80 and 120 miles a day, with rest days mixed into the schedule. The route will take the group through Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico and California.
To learn more about Overland’s programs, go to http://www.overlandsummers.com/.
Megan’s been training hard since March, but is a little apprehensive about the Rockies portion of the journey. She’ll ride a Surly Long Haul Trucker bike. The group will stay in campgrounds, community centers and churches along the way.
Her parents plan to meet her at the finish, as she dips her front tires into the ocean off the Santa Monica Pier.
Here’s Megan:
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Slalom Skiing on Lake Austin
Finally, our boat is out of the shop.
The lift at our marina on Lake Austin failed a few weeks ago, dropping our Ski Nautique into the water. It spent a couple of days getting bashed against the edge of our slip, chipping the gel coat and gouging the rub rail.
But today we were out at 6:30 a.m., enjoying the sunrise over the lake. Three summers ago, a friend taught me how to run the slalom course. Now I’m hooked on skiing. I love the speed, the feeling of blasting over the wake at 30 or 32 mph, and the blue herons that flap overhead.
We were surprised to see three other boats as soon as we pulled out of Lake Austin Marina. Two were plowing through the water, side by side, with a surfer riding the wake in between them.
Slalom skiers need flounder flat water, so we grimaced a little and headed upriver. We finally caught some smoothies close to the Loop 360 bridge.
Chris, my husband, is testing out a couple of new slalon skis borrowed from Sail and Ski at the moment. He missed most of last summer after falling and breaking his ankle. (He jokingly blames me; I was driving the boat.) Now he’s back in action.
We spent about an hour out on the water, then headed home. My quad muscles are quivering from the workout.
Anyone else out there like to ski in the morning?
Here’s a photo of me skiing a couple years ago. I think I’ve improved since then …
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Stolen bikes
Someone stole my commuter bike from the courtyard at the Austin American-Statesman about two years ago.
Boy, that hurt. I even watched the security film clip, which showed a guy in business attire walking toward the bike rack with a backpack. The camera swings away, and when it swings back the guy is wheeling away my bike. All he left behind was a neatly snipped cable lock.
I still miss that bike, which we called The Bumblebee because of its yellow and black paint job. My husband built me a new one we call The Cheeto for its orange hue and I ride it to work about once a week.
It’s a miserable feeling to have your bike ripped off.
Apparently it happens frequently in Austin. Today’s Campus Watch report from the University of Texas police department lists two stolen bikes — a black and red Specialized Hard Rock Pro and a blue K-2 Firebird — both secured by cable locks to racks outside campus dormitories.
The Kryptonite Lock Company publishes a list of the 10 worst cities for bicycle theft. Guess what? Austin has made the list more than once, and we’re currently in 10th place. To see the complete list, go to http://unbreakable-bonds.blogspot.com/2008/05/top-10-shocker.html.
UT Police recommend using a U-lock with a flat key (not one with a round key hole) to secure your bike. Even better, use a U-lock and a self-locking cable lock, they say. A cable lock by itself doesn’t do much good. And remember to lock your bike to something sturdy that can’t be moved.
If you’re on campus, register your bike’s make, model, color and serial number with UT Parking and Transportation Services. It’s a free service that can be done on-line at http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transportation/biking/registration.html.
Look for a lock like this:
Have you had a bike stolen?
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Biking in this heat
OK, OK. I’m a wimp, according to some of you because I find it, um, challenging to run in the heat.
At least I do it!
As for peeling off as much clothing as possible, just watch out for sun damage. I think it’s better to go early, before the sun’s up. If you can, avoid running in the middle of the day. Wear some kind of sun protection. And of course, hydrate.
But, onward. How about biking in this heat? Not so bad because as you roll along you actually get a breeze in your face. It’s at the stop signs and street signs that the robe of heat grabs hold.
I ride my bike to work every Tuesday. It’s about 8 miles each way. Mornings, not so bad. Afternoons can be blazing hot. (They’re also up hill for me.)
Most of my commute is along the Shoal Creek hike-and-bike trail. I got an e-mail from someone who says they’ve been harassed by homeless people along the trail. They’ve never bothered me.
How about you? What other challenges do you face on your daily bike commute? Has the increase in the cost of gas encouraged you to start biking to work.
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Yellow Bike Project is Moving
First, a quick note to Tiff. How in the heck do you do heated yoga in the summer? Amazing. I’m with Tom. I just feel sluggish when it’s 100 degrees outside. Unless, of course, I’m in a nice, cold pool.
Want to help Yellow Bike Project move across town?
The organization, which operates a community bike shop, is moving to make way for a new road in the Mueller redevelopment.
Volunteers will be moving bikes, parts, tools and other equipment from the current location at 2013 E. 51st St. to the site of the project’s future headquarters at 1200 Webberville Road.
To help with the “human powered bike shop move,” show up at the East 51st Street location at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 21, with a bicycle, tricycle, bike trailer, panniers, backpacks, bungie cords or anything else that might be useful.
Don’t worry, it’s a short trip — just 2.4 miles to move 11 years’ accumulation of bike stuff.
I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for Yellow Bike. My husband, Chris, has built two bikes, and when he needed a certain tool, they had it.
For more information, including a map of the route, go to www.austinyellowbike.org.
Here’s a cool video of the last time Yellow Bike moved …
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Running in this heat
I’m trying to embrace the heat, really. So far it’s not working. That’s why my exercise of choice is swimming.
But I try to mix it up, and run once or twice a week. My running buddy Marcy Stellfox and I ran both Saturday and Sunday mornings. We headed out at 7:30 a.m., when the thermometer read 79 or 80 degrees.
I think we might need to go even earlier.
The term sweatfest doesn’t even begin to describe what it was like. When you’re actually moving along, you get a little breeze. When you stop, it’s like someone tossed a wet blanket over your body.
My face turns red. I need water. I feel trickles of warm sweat drip down my back.
Be careful out there. Drink lots of fluid. Wear sun screen. And if you run, run early in the morning.
What’s your warm weather exercise routine?
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Naked bike ride!
It’s hot out. Therefore you might as well ride your bike naked.
Kelly Moore writes to tell me that the annual Austin edition of the World Naked Bike Ride will unfold at 6 p.m. today at Bailey Park, 1101 W. 33rd St. I’m not exactly sure how to explain it, so I’ll let Moore do the job.
“We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil and other forms of non-renewable energy,” Moore says.
For more information on what it’s all about, go to www.worldnakedbikeride.org.
Let me know what it was like!
And here is a photo I took yesterday in Matagorda at the Great Texas Catamaran Race, still going on along the Texas Gulf Coast.
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Great Texas Catamaran Race
I’m in Matagorada, following the Great Texas Catamaran Race, a four-day offshore sailing race that starts in South Padre Island and ends in Galveston.
The seas have been rough and winds high, forcing four of the 12 boats that started the race to pull out of the competition.
Skipper Steve Piche and crew Juke Ball, of Team Gazelle, are still in the hunt after two days. But yesterday was difficult.
They skidded into the beach after nearly nine hours on the ocean, minus one rudder and with the other rigged together with a screwdriver, a piece of rope and duct tape.
“Yeah, that was a lot of fun,” Ball laughed after the pair kissed the beach when they came ashore.
The remaining teams will take off at about 10 a.m. today. The race ends Saturday.
I’ll be writing more about the race in an upcoming Fit City column.
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Johan Bruyneel in Austin
Johan Bruyneel, a former Belgian pro cyclist who led Lance Armstrong to his seven Tour de France victories as his team director, is coming to Austin to kick off his book tour.
Bruyneel, who writes about his own near fatal crash and comeback as a cyclist, his philosophy on winning, and the cycling’s war against performance-enhancing drugs.
Bruyneel will sign copies of his book, “We Might as Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind Eight Tour de France Victories,” from 5-7 p.m. Monday, June 16 at Armstrong’s new downtown bike shop, Mellow Johnny’s, 400 Nueces St.
For more information about the signing or the shop, go to www.mellowjohnnys.com.
Watch a cool tribute video about Bruyneel here:
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Rock Racing comes to Austin
The 2008 AT&T Downtown Austin Crit blows into town next weekend. I’ll have a guide on how to watch the race and who to keep an eye on in next Monday’s paper.
I made it to last year’s races, hanging out for a couple of hours to watch the cyclists whiz past. The energy level is amazing - people dipping in and out of shops and bars in the Second Street District, gathering on the sidewalks to cheer on cyclists, and making Austin feel like a thriving metro center. And, well, I guess it is.
The event gets bigger every year, and this year organizers are expecting pro racers from 20 countries to participate. Among the teams coming to town for the race are Rock Racing, led by fashion guru Michael Ball of Rock & Republic.
Check out this video to get a taste of what Rock Racing is all about:
If you want more information on the Austin races, go to http://www.attcrit.com/
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Plunge pools?
Anybody know of a health club in Austin that’s got a whirlpool AND a cold plunge?
A reader is looking for a local gym that has both. A plunge pool, in case you haven’t tried one, is a small cold pool usually kept at about 50 or 55 degrees. They’re popular in Europe, and some people believe they have therapeutic value.
I tried one once, in Dallas. I’m still trying to catch my breath.
Oh. And then there’s Barton Springs…
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What’s next?
Did you see that Avery Visser trotted across the finish line of yesterday’s Danskin Women’s Triathlon in an amazing 1 hour, 10 minutes and 28 seconds? I talked to Avery, 15, and her mom, who swims on the same swim team that I do, after the race.
Avery is amazingly humble. Mom Barb Visser is proud - and happy to report that Avery is thriving at school and involved in her church youth group.
In all, about 2,600 women completed the race. Eight of the top 10 finishers were from Austin, including Shellie Oroshiba, who won the 35-39 age bracket with a time of 1 hour 18 minutes and 8 seconds; Margo Baxter, who won the 30-34 age bracket with a time of 1 hour 20 minutes and 59 seconds; and Jennifer Altman, who won the 19 and under age bracket with a time of 1 hour 21 minutes and 31 seconds.
My relay team, Team J, came in second in the relay division! How did you do?
Here I am just before the swim:
Can’t get enough?
Consider swimming or donating to the Dawn to Dusk Relay Sunday, June 15 at the Jewish Community Center, 7300 Hart Lane.
The relay is a nonstop all-day swimming relay to honor Kurt Goeser, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., there will be food, live music and fitness and swimming tips from experts including three-time Olympic gold medalist Sandy Neilson-Bell.
For more information, call Lacey at 735-8216 or Neilson-Bell at 327-1280 or go to www.dawntoduskrelay.com.
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Doin’ Danskin
Whew! Wasn’t the Danskin Women’s Triathlon fun?
For the second year in a row, I entered the Danskin Women’s Triathlon as part of a relay team called Team J. That’s our runner, Audrey Herold, 46, on the left, our bicyclist, DJ Olsson, 49, in the center, and me, Pam LeBlanc, 44, on the right.
We plan to keep on doing the race until we can’t any more. Something about standing at the start line with Sally Edwards, the race’s designated last place finisher, cheering us on, just fires me up. Danskin is known for its supportive atmosphere, and roughly 3,000 women do the Austin edition of the triathlon each year at Walter E. Long Lake.
Avery Visser, the young phenom who blasted across the finish line first last year, repeated her win this year. Just 15 years old, she edged out second place finisher Missy Ruthven.
But Danskin isn’t just about the speedsters who come in first. It’s about all kinds of women who believe in themselves enough to get out on a racecourse and swim, bike and run.
The relays went in waves of 21, which meant a lot of waiting around for us. The wind made for somewhat choppy water, but I got through the swim fine. DJ spun off on her bike before I had a chance to catch my breath, and Audrey smoked it in on the run despite a sore hip.
Go team J! Let me know how you did in the race. What was the hardest part? Did you have fun?
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Made it through check-in!
My relay team made it to check-in for the Danskin Women’s Triathlon this morning at the Travis County Expo Center. We beat the crowds and picked up our race packets, Danskin shirts, swimcap and race chip.
I’m ready to race. DJ Olsson, who will be doing the cycling portion of the triathlon, went for a ride last night to loosen up. She’s a little worried about the brisk wind. Audrey Herold, our runner, is ready to go, but has been suffering from a sore hip.
No matter — we are out there to have fun!
Our team won the relay division of the Danskin Women’s Triathlon last year. Not sure we could ever repeat, but we’re looking forward to trying.
See you on the course on Sunday. Please check back with your own race report later this week!
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Almost time for Danskin
Are you ready? The Danskin Women’s Triathlon is just two days away, and I’m chompin’ at the bit to leap into Decker Lake.
If you’re already registered, don’t forget that packet pickup is Saturday at the Travis County Expo Center, 7311 Decker Lane.
If your last name starts with a letter between N and Z, you should go between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. If your last name starts with a letter between A and M, go between 12:30 and 3 p.m. Relays may pick up their race packets anytime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Bring a photo ID.
Look for me on the race course on Sunday. I’ll be doing the triathlon as a relay, with my friends from the Jewish Community Center: super speedy cyclist DJ Olsson and blazin’ fast runner Audrey Herold.
When the race is over, let me know how it went for you by commenting on this blog. And have fun!
For more information about the race, go to http://www.danskin.com/austinrelays.html.
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