Ok, so it's not quite Venus and Serena Williams

There are many “firsts” that happen each day. The first time your child walks, your first time driving a car, or the first time you start at the office. This weekend, there was a new first for me. It was the first time two Iott’s raced on the same day (without the use of a golf cart)!! My sister, Megan, raced in Indianapolis at the Indy Mini Marathon, and I raced in Rockford at the Peanut Butter Duathlon. I am pleased to report that in each race, the Iott’s were very successful.

Let’s start down in Indy. Megan has become a more competitive runner since beginning running a few years ago. Last November, she completed her first marathon, and I believe has been hooked on running ever since. On Saturday, she ran the Indy Mini Marathon in 1:52, which was a new personal best. Although she seemed disappointed in her performance and is already looking ahead at trying another race, Megan did a fantastic job and has her best running days ahead of her, and I am very proud!!!

Back up in Rockford, I lined up at the Peanut Butter Duathlon on Saturday morning under clear, cool skies. Although this was a shorter race, my preparations were the same. I pre-rode the bike course for about 40 minutes then ran a lap of the run course for a total warm-up of about an hour. Even though this race would only last about an hour and was considered a lower priority race within the entire season, I did not take anything for granted. When the gun went off, I sprinted to the lead and never looked back. I ran the first two mile part of the run in just over 11 minutes and had a lead of about 30 seconds going into the bike. Once on the bike, I decided I was going to ride as hard as I possibly could for the entire race. The route for the bike was three laps of just over five miles with the terrain always up or down, not too much flat on this course. My bike time was about 36 minutes and I averaged 325 watts for the entire ride. Upon reaching the second transition, I could not see any other racers, and I did not know that I had a lead of over 5 minutes!!! I ran the last part of the race hard, but with no one to “race” against, my second run time was about 45 seconds slower than the first run. Ended up in first place at 1 hour and 21 seconds.

After the race was over and I was on my way home, I began to analyze how I performed. My run was a bit slower than I wanted it to be, but it was on very muddy and sloppy trails, and I think that the course was a bit slow. I was pleased with my average watts on the ride, and don’t think I could have done much better. It was a good first race of the season, and I got a chance to ride with the more aggressive position on the bike. Overall, I am happy with the performance, a win is a win, and the added race experience was a plus. Congrats to Lindsay Zucco, wife of one of my training partners, Adam!! She won the overall title for the women, which meant Team TrainingBible swept the podiums!! All for now.

SJI