Rev 3 Portland Half-Ironman PR!

(A celebratory brew for a Rev3 Joy Ride PR)

Portland was a kick-ass trip. We stayed with CREW's Annie and her hubby, Jimmy. They were super fun to hang with, which we already knew from hanging with Annie at SLB.

The day before the race was the usual Rev3 party time. We had lots of friends to hang with and we got to watch some of the kiddy tri. I love that Rev3 is such a family friendly event. We cheered, said goodnight to our bikes, then hit Portland for a bite to eat and some people watching. That night, Annie (she's incredibly competent) and I cooked a healthy pre-race dinner of brown rice pasta, veggie burgers and salad. Then there were surprise gluten free cupcakes, which of course, made me drop a giant F bomb.

I wasn't nervous about the race because I'm taking a "sure, why not?" approach to racing this year. I was excited to be there for Annie's FIRST HALF-IRONMAN and to see John on the new ERC bike and to check out another Rev3 race (my favorites). Just total blissful enjoyment. Yay!

(Dear ERC bike, Someday you will be MINE.)

Race morning was the usual... the cool people all forgot at least one thing. For me, it was my water bottles, for Annie it was deodorant. No big. I was VERY excited for my first race in my new Xterra wetsuit, and as Annie and I were suiting up, the announcer said "it's like suicide girls of triathlon!" Then he said, "I saw you and your Team Continuum roll in here yesterday with your tattoos and mohawks and thought 'there's my people'". So that got us pumped!

(Suicide girls in wetsuits. Sizzle.)

I got to watch the pros swim start, then my wave got in the water. There was enough time that *just before* our wave went off I got to see John exit the water. I knew he had a great swim because he came out in the top half of the pros and he tried to bite the underwater camera on his way out. DREAMY!!! And I was off! My new wetsuit felt super flexy compared to my old one, plus my new wetsuit energy (NWE) gave me confidence to stay with a big group and get beat up while I swam. I finished in 39 minutes, which is exactly 5 minutes faster than I was at Rev3 Quassy. Was it my new wetsuit or my swim training? (hint: I have swam, like once, since Quassy). Swim PR for me!

The bike was an out and back that we did twice. It was super flat, and I'm bad at courses where I can't use my ant-like strength to weight ratio for climbing. This was a test for me, to see how I could push. It was beautiful with floating houses, a lake and mountains. My favorite part was that I got to spectate WHILE I raced. I knew where John was at all times! I loved that. The course was windy, like College Station, Texas but I toughed it out for a 20 minute bike PR. I'm still weakest on the bike but I'm definitely getting stronger.

Then it was time to run! My favorite (yes, I play favorites). It was a mix of trails and road running, while still having the perfect view for spectating. I counted girls as I passed them and recognized most kits from when they passed me on the bike. Only one (count them, 1) girl passed me but I caught her in the last 1/4 mile and beat her to the finish. And wouldn't ya know it... a half-marathon PR!!! (I'm pretty sure).

(SimplyStu got to have his photo taken with me)

What a day! When I finished John was waiting for me, the girl of his dreams, at the finish. We hung out with the CREW and got ready to cheer Annie in. I knew she was having a killer race because she was all smiles out there every time I saw her!

Congratulations to Annie for an outstanding HIM debut! You can read her race report here.

(Annie's family made a super cool sign)

And now we have a giant CREW headed up to Rev3 SC. Life is the sweetest! Join us!