The Triathlon Rx

Pretty sure that this is the first time ever in D.T.R. history that a race report is being posted day-of. But before I get to that, I have some very important people to introduce:

Above you will find about half of the members of Peace Coffee Racing. Road riders, mountain bikers, and triathletes alike… we all have one thing in common: an awesome sponsor with equally awesome caffeinated products of joy.

You’ve heard me mention Peace Coffee probably more than enough times, but you also may have seen the little turtle elsewhere, such as Whole Foods Markets, Lunds, Byerlys, pedaling their coffee-wagon down the Greenway, at Birchwood cafe, and more. And although Peace Coffee is a local deal, don’t think it’s just us midwesterners who luck out! Check out this map and you’ll see you can get your Peace Coffee fix on the west coast, the east coast, the southern coast, or truthfully any place you please since you can order online!

From Peace Coffee’s website, they are…

A cultural, social and consumable revolution with grounds firmly fixed in a Farmer Friendly, Fair Trade reality.

There is obviously so much more that could be said, but that does a pretty good job in setting straight their values.

So who is Peace Coffee RACING?

Well, you can check out their website, or you can look at the photo above!! There are “two teams” – a mountain bike team, and an endurance/road team,  but truthfully.. we are all one. (Look out.. here comes that team spirit!) Yesterday was the team open house, aka caffeinated gear party, and it was a blast! Not everyone was able to make it, and especially a lot of the triathletes who are stationed down in Rochester, MN (or on an airplane to Boston to beast a marathon)… but it was awesome to meat some of my teammates who I haven’t met before! Thank you to Birchwood Cafe for providing the pre-ride fuel, and THANK YOU Peace Coffee for having the Pollinator blend on hand!! Quickly becoming one of my favorites!

Not going to lie.. the team kits are SICK.

And because of such flashy team kits, I felt it necessary to break them in with a ride. Many of the crew went out to mountain bike (it’s about an 80/20 split in terms of mountain bikers to endurance/tri), but four of us decided to hit the roads:

Yes.. that is a pretty sick Salsa bike. No… sadly it is not mine.

Stephen and I with our top-secretly-engineered road fuel. ie Quaker Oatmeal Squares and Nana Nut Cheerios.

Peace Coffee Racing has not traditionally included running as part of their whole shebang, but I am clearly trying to change that!

Get Lucky 7K – 03/17/2010

Which brings me to today…

Recycle Run 5K Race Report!

As I mentioned in the last post, you better believe I was going to race this weekend if I wasn’t going to be down racing in Texas. This morning I ran the Recycle Run 5K at Lake Harriet – about a mile from my house (1.34 to be exact) and a lake I run all the time. Lake Harriet 5Ks and 10Ks are some of my favorite because they just feel like they go by so fast! Home-course-advantage for sure.  Taking into account yesterdays 43 mile ride (I won’t go into details… all I will say as look at my 3 accompanying riders – I was making every effort not to be dropped…) I was honestly not sure how this morning was going to go. For 0.325 seconds I considered not going, but then remembered I was already registered, and repping a team. Not as much flexibility to flake anymore I suppose. So my convenient 1.34 miles I trotted over to the lake, extending it out and back a bit to make an even 2 mile warm-up. Several things to mention, and hopefully convince you to participate next year:

1. SUPER awesome shirts!! A) They had size XS. Thankkk you race-director-Gods. B) They had two different design options. C) They’re all AnvilRecycled – 69% recycled cotton, 29% acrylic, 2% “other fibers” – seems pretty fitting for the Minneapolis Recycle Run. I know having huuuge size “small” race shirts is not only something I take issue with.

2. Excellent choices of post-race goodies: Water … Peace Coffee (of course!) … granola bars … Wheaties FUEL cereal … naners … various Aveda trial sized goodies (random?? but appreciated!) … and I saw someone with Snicker’s Marathon bars – I didn’t see them but they might have run out.

3. RECYCLED SHOE DROP! So bummed I didn’t know about this ahead of time, because I definitely have a few pair of shoes to pass on! They were giving out BlueSky Guides to those that donated a pair of shoes too! If you’re not familiar with the BlueSky Guide (maybe it’s just local..?) you can score tons of great deals on natural/organic/local goodies, restaurants, and stores. Yeah – I’m bummed I missed that. I asked the woman collecting and she said I could drop off shoes at their HQs though, so I’m in luck.

4. This was one of Anderson Races races! I didn’t know that ahead of time, but was super happy to see the familiar Anderson Races tent and Mary Anderson (owner)’s face when I got there! I had the delight of interviewing Mary Anderson a few years ago for a Sports Management class, and the rest is history. Not only does she help put together fantastic races, but she’s about the nicest person you will ever meet in Minnesota. Look for her table at expos. (Twin Cities Marathon and Grandma’s runners – I’m talking to you!)

5. And because all good things come in odd numbers (hahah Karyn did that just make you cringe?) it was very family friendly! They offered a kids race – xx miles – and I LOVE watching those little totts make their way to the finish line! That’s how I got my start running (thanks Mom!) and I just feel like it is SO GOOD for these kids to have this physical activity made FUN, and crowds cheering and supporting them at a young age! (I’m NOT saying they should get rid of “winners” at T-ball games or get rid of the competition aspect of youth sports. It’s important to learn how to win and lose. But that’s for another post…)

Ok… time for the real RACE REPORT part of this. Short I promise – it was only a 5K so there’s not too much to report!

Ran with one of the guys I’ve trained with a bit over the summer! Glad he was there because I already know how he runs, and otherwise I was going to just pick one of the lead guys and try and hang on! Keep in mind.. this wasn’t a huge race. No chips, no official times recorded (thankful for that one…).

Mile 1 – 6:36
Mile 2 – 6:22
Mile 3 –  6:25
Last 0.1 –  62 seconds

Finish time: 20:15

You math kids will be able to see pretty quickly that the numbers don’t add up perfectly, but that’s what happens without chips, and a starting gun that is as official as yelling the word “GO!” Those are the times Gomer’s giving me, so that’s what I’m taking. Definitely not a 5K PR, but it was the first time I’ve outright won a race for the XY half! Also a first – there was legitimately a dildo on the road right around mile 2.6. No lies. At first I thought it was a super awkward stick, or a potato, when I was running up on it. A day full of firsts I suppose…

Doin’ a mighty fine job of reppin’ if I do say so myself!

I also want to give a shoutout to my good buddy Dave who ALSO won his first 5K today! We lead these parallel racing lives.. it’s crazy. Only that is a very hopeful statement on my part because this kid is wicked fast. He ran the 5K over in St. Paul, and *hopefully* he will be pacing me at a race in the near future. Bahaha – secrecy!

Alright, well it’s time for this fish to flip over and brown the other side! I hope everyone has had a splendid weekend and an awesome week to come! GOOD LUCK TOMORROW MY BOSTON BUDDIES!!

-E