What a year
it was! The main goal for 2013 was simply to get back into triathlons. I have
been doing tri’s since I was very young, but after having a child, I took a
three year hiatus from the sport. I
was both excited and nervous to get back into it. Matt and I had set the goal
in December of doing a half ironman as my “A” race for the year. Goals for the year were somewhat vague,
because there hadn’t been any major tests to my fitness and ability for a few
years, but I definitely wanted to be competitive and also had hoped to have a
shot at qualifying for the World Champs in Vegas. We had also set the New York Marathon as a late season goal,
but more just as a “bucket list” kind of race, not really with any specific
time goals in mind.
December
2012, Matt and I signed up for the Calgary 70.3, which was my “A” race for my
comeback year. The goal was to get a few road races under my belt in the early
Spring, then do the Ann Arbor triathlon as a tune up before my “A” race in July.
Due to poor weather, Ann Arbor was cancelled. This meant that I would be going into Calgary 70.3 as my
first triathlon since I raced Hawaii in October of 2009 (3.5 years). I was both excited and scared. I knew
that I was well prepared with the help of Input Output coaching and I was
feeling strong. I was racing well in the Thursday night Ciociaro Race Series
for the first time and my run times were really coming down, but without any
kind of triathlon test prior to race day, I didn’t really know what to expect.
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Blaire racing in the Ciociaro Road Series for the Tower International Cycling Team. |
Just a
little side note... I think I am most proud of this season because of the
struggles I had coming back from child birth. I was unable to lose any weight
and wanted to quit sports all together in June of 2011. After having several
melt downs, Matt and I decided it would be best if I joined weight watchers to
try and get back to my pre pregnancy weight. It worked! With the weight loss, I
gained motivation and fitness.
Calgary was
an awesome race! I was the second
amateur out of the water, 6th fastest amateur on the bike, and 4th
fastest amateur on the run. These
splits got me across the line as the first female amateur in the race and 8th
overall! I guess some things in
life you just don’t forget how to do. I was thrilled with my result and
motivated for my next challenge. My performance in Calgary qualified me for the World 70.3
Championships in Vegas so I was very excited to see how I could do against the
top age groupers in the World.
Blaire running her way to a 1st Amateur finish at the 2013 Calgary 70.3 |
Displaying our Belt Buckle Finishers medals |
Some of my
season highlights include PB’s in the 5km (18:44), ½ Marathon (1:23:15 in Detroit)
and the Marathon (3:02:24 in New York). Also winning the bronze medal at the
World 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas was something I will never forget. I went
undefeated from April to September.
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Blaire finishing 70.3 World Champs the W35-39 Bronze Medalist |
These were
my race statistics from my 2013 season (“The Year of Blaire”)
Around the
Bay 2:13:10 (Training day)
Moon in
June 5km – 1st female 19:05
Canada D’Eh
5km – 1st female 18:55
Ironfoot
5km – 1st female 19:14
Calgary
70.3-4:37, 1st female amateur
Coldstone
Creamery 5km - 1st female, 18:44
Tecumseh Triathlon
– 1st female, 1:32:29
World 70.3
Championships-Las Vegas - 3rd in age group, 4:55:39
A’Burg
10km-1st female, 39:55 (long)
Detroit
Half Marathon-1:23:15, 33rd overall out of 11001, 4th
female out of 6905, 1st age group out of 1146
New York
City Marathon - 3:02:24, 4th Canadian Female, 55th female
overall
Super Santa
Run 5km…ish - 17:29, 1st overall-first ever race WIN
The key to my most successful season ever as an
athlete was focused and structured training. I was only putting in an average of 10 hours a week training
for the year, with a peak week of 17 hours (swimming 1-2 times, biking 2-3
times and running 3 times). Thanks to Matt and Input Output Coaching, I always
made each workout count. Juggling work, family and training is not easy so when
it was time to workout, I worked hard and made it count. I also realized that I can’t train like
my competition because I don’t have the time or energy. Matt kept me focused
and made sure my training was always 100% specific in order to reach my goals. The “Year of Blaire” was outstanding for
me and I performed far beyond my expectations. I have some run focused goals for 2014, but I’m really
looking forward to cheering Matt on in the “Year of Matt.” When 2015 rolls
around, we will have some major goals in mind and we don’t plan on slowing down
any.
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