Green Mountain Multisport had a busy year full of racing, volunteering, and camaraderie.
Important moments of our race season:
* Congratulations to our four members Angie Defilippi, Donna Smyers, Kim Loeffler, and Justin Ryea, who qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI.
* Donna Smyers won her age group at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI
* Donna Smyers and Lucas Moore qualified for The Best of the U.S. Amateur Triathlon Competition.
* Kim Loeffler finished top 10 at Ironman 70.3 California
* Dot Martin finished first woman overall at Sarasota Grouper Marathon in Florida.
* Kim Loeffler took first place at the Desert Classic Duathlon in Phoenix, AZ.
* Dot Martin won her age group at Lone Star Half Ironman in Galveston, TX.
* Donna Smyers won her age group at Vermont City Marathon.
* Two overall wins (male and female) at Catamount Duathlon in Vermont. Congratulations Travis Voyer and Kelly Ault.
* Sean Lutjens competed at Mooseman Triathlon Festival in Bristol, NH. racing in the Olympic distance triathlon on Saturday and in the half-ironman race on Sunday. He placed third overall for the Bull Moose Challenge.
* Lucas Moore won the Stowe Triathlon in Vermont.
* Kim Loeffler finished 5th woman overall at Ironman China under very hot conditions!
* Kim Loeffler took third place overall woman at Ironman Luisville, KY
* Matt Salter was first male overall at Eastman Triathlon in Grantham, NH.
* Donna Smyers was the top female age-graded master at Mt. Washington Road Race (run).
* Danielle Graham competed in U.S. Masters New England Swimming Championships.
* Our member Kelly Ault qualified for worlds in Maui and nationals in Utah for XTERRA.
* Kelly Ault was first overall woman in two XTERRA's in North East region and won her age group in 5 XTERRA's
Our races by the numbers
*GMM members participated in over twenty-five triathlons, over seventeen running races, four bike races, four duathlons, one ski marathon event, and three swimming competitions.
*Largest team events: Lake Dunmore Triathlon (14 team members), Ironman Lake Placid (10 team members), Mooseman Triathlon Festival (11 team members), and Vermont City Marathon (9 team members),
* Twenty-one of the races we competed in were across the country and four outside the U.S, one in China, two in Canada and one in Mexico.
Who we are
* Thirty-five athletes who share a passion for multisport events.
* Our team consists of: a tax manager, a ceramic engineer, two soldiers, two architects, a community organizer, an environmental analyst, a painter, a computer programmer, two doctors, two fitness managers, a therapy dog handler, a counselor, a psychotheraphist, a teacher, an attorney, two physical therapists, two pro athletes, a vice president for product marketing, a nurse, a retired police officer, an engineer, a store manager, a massage therapist, a physician assistant, a broker, a biathlon coach, and a student.
In 2009 team members have raise money/volunteered for:
* Therapy Dogs of Vermont, Elmore Tri Series, Vermont Sun Triathlon Series, Safe Streets Collaborative Campaign, Green up Day, Black Fly Triathlon in NH.
Great job Green Mountain Multisport!
2009/11/21
2009/10/26
GMM member Donna Smyers and Her Kona Experience
GMM member Donna Smyers won her age group at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. This is her race report:
I flew to Kona on the pre race Monday; I just happened to be on the same flight as Angie and her Mom. I’d wait listed to upgrade with my miles and scored on the first flight. Not much of a first class flight, but at least it got my bike and bag on free. In the confusion at check-in, I think that mine getting on free helped Angie got hers on free too. Whatever, it made both of our days—that’s $350 saved between the 2 of us!
The highlight of my pre-race week was my swim on Tuesday. I’ve heard of so many people swimming with the dolphins on the swim course, but finally I was out there when they came by. About 30 dolphins circled and swam within feet of me. It was really cool and a little scary. I roomed by myself for the first time ever in Kona. It was different and relaxing, definitely a very low stress week. However, by 6:30 pm on Friday night, I was done with dinner, all organized for the morning and not yet ready to sleep. Luckily my sister Karen stopped by on her way to the Kona Brewing Co. I joined her and her friends for a pre-race beer—everything in moderation, right?
Kona conditions are always hot and windy, but every year is different—How hot? How windy? And of course how brutal is the swim? I lined up on the left for the swim, hoping to avoid the crush near the buoys. It started out well, but eventually I ended up in a fairly brutal pack. I think I was always swimming about my usual pace, so not working very hard, but not getting much benefit from the draft. It’s hard to tell, but I didn’t seem to pass or drop back when I moved out to the side. My time of 1:11 was a minute over my goal. I exited the swim in a steady stream of athletes.
On the bike I guess I started out a little too fast. I always spend most of the day just trying to pass or be passed legally, so it is easy to start out too hard in the crowd. I don’t use an odometer or heart rate monitor, but I kept checking my watch at the 10 mile markers and was ahead of 20 mph (always a good goal) until well after half way. It was really hot and sunny the whole time, but only light cross and moderate headwinds near Hawaii. My legs died around 80 miles just as we had to return 25 miles into a stiff headwind. It seemed like a sea of guys and several women flew by me in those 25 miles. I was really happy with about 9 miles to go when the wind let up and I finally got out of my small chain ring. During the whole bike ride, I looked for my AG competitors, but really didn’t see anybody I recognized. Since so many people are wearing knee high compression socks or sleeves now, WTC has stopped putting your age on your calf. We had a colored wrist band to ID us—not that you could ever see that on the bike. So I waddled (it certainly isn’t really a run at that point) through T2 with no idea of my position. A quick portapotty stop and I was back on the road.
My assumption was that at least Laura Sophiea was ahead of me on the bike and I wasn’t sure of the others. Laura won 50-54 from 2005-2008 and holds the AG record of 10:31. At about the half mile mark, I passed Lydia Schlosser (she’s won our AG before) and I asked. “Is it just Laura ahead?” She said “no”, “Who else?” “Nobody.” I was pretty surprised to find myself in first all of the sudden. I checked at the 5.5 mile turnaround on Alii and saw Lydia 2 minutes back, Laura about 3 min back and Nancy Smith 4 min back. I realized it was up to me—I just had to hold. This year the sun was relentless on the run. Last year it had clouded up in the afternoon and everyone had pretty good marathon times. This year was the opposite. We all slowed down, but I slowed down the least. I was relieved at the Energy Lab turnaround at 18 miles to find Laura 7 minutes back. I had a minor stomach issue having dropped my salt capsules, but some pretzels and chicken broth near the Energy Lab held me together for a 3:50 marathon.
I finished at 10:51:28 -- 53 seconds slower than last year, but one very important age group place ahead of last year. My sister, Karen greeted me at the finish line. Wahoo, it’s over.
It was a tough year. Almost none of the special NBC athletes finished. Rudy the double above knee amputee didn’t make the bike cut off. The guy who survived cancer and had a heart transplant missed the swim cut off by 8 seconds. And ironically, the Biggest Loser was indeed the first loser to cross the finish line at 12:03 a.m. 79 year old Sister Madonna didn’t make the bike cut off and the 80 year old guy from Australia didn’t start the run. It will be interesting to see how they present it on Dec 19.
My trip ended on one other happy note when my flight upgrade came through and the bike got on free again in Kona. First Class doesn’t guarantee a free bike, but I’ve been told it’s at least 75%, so I highly recommend the upgrade if you have 15,000 spare miles. The big shock was arriving home to an inch of snow in the yard—yuck!
I flew to Kona on the pre race Monday; I just happened to be on the same flight as Angie and her Mom. I’d wait listed to upgrade with my miles and scored on the first flight. Not much of a first class flight, but at least it got my bike and bag on free. In the confusion at check-in, I think that mine getting on free helped Angie got hers on free too. Whatever, it made both of our days—that’s $350 saved between the 2 of us!
The highlight of my pre-race week was my swim on Tuesday. I’ve heard of so many people swimming with the dolphins on the swim course, but finally I was out there when they came by. About 30 dolphins circled and swam within feet of me. It was really cool and a little scary. I roomed by myself for the first time ever in Kona. It was different and relaxing, definitely a very low stress week. However, by 6:30 pm on Friday night, I was done with dinner, all organized for the morning and not yet ready to sleep. Luckily my sister Karen stopped by on her way to the Kona Brewing Co. I joined her and her friends for a pre-race beer—everything in moderation, right?
Kona conditions are always hot and windy, but every year is different—How hot? How windy? And of course how brutal is the swim? I lined up on the left for the swim, hoping to avoid the crush near the buoys. It started out well, but eventually I ended up in a fairly brutal pack. I think I was always swimming about my usual pace, so not working very hard, but not getting much benefit from the draft. It’s hard to tell, but I didn’t seem to pass or drop back when I moved out to the side. My time of 1:11 was a minute over my goal. I exited the swim in a steady stream of athletes.
On the bike I guess I started out a little too fast. I always spend most of the day just trying to pass or be passed legally, so it is easy to start out too hard in the crowd. I don’t use an odometer or heart rate monitor, but I kept checking my watch at the 10 mile markers and was ahead of 20 mph (always a good goal) until well after half way. It was really hot and sunny the whole time, but only light cross and moderate headwinds near Hawaii. My legs died around 80 miles just as we had to return 25 miles into a stiff headwind. It seemed like a sea of guys and several women flew by me in those 25 miles. I was really happy with about 9 miles to go when the wind let up and I finally got out of my small chain ring. During the whole bike ride, I looked for my AG competitors, but really didn’t see anybody I recognized. Since so many people are wearing knee high compression socks or sleeves now, WTC has stopped putting your age on your calf. We had a colored wrist band to ID us—not that you could ever see that on the bike. So I waddled (it certainly isn’t really a run at that point) through T2 with no idea of my position. A quick portapotty stop and I was back on the road.
My assumption was that at least Laura Sophiea was ahead of me on the bike and I wasn’t sure of the others. Laura won 50-54 from 2005-2008 and holds the AG record of 10:31. At about the half mile mark, I passed Lydia Schlosser (she’s won our AG before) and I asked. “Is it just Laura ahead?” She said “no”, “Who else?” “Nobody.” I was pretty surprised to find myself in first all of the sudden. I checked at the 5.5 mile turnaround on Alii and saw Lydia 2 minutes back, Laura about 3 min back and Nancy Smith 4 min back. I realized it was up to me—I just had to hold. This year the sun was relentless on the run. Last year it had clouded up in the afternoon and everyone had pretty good marathon times. This year was the opposite. We all slowed down, but I slowed down the least. I was relieved at the Energy Lab turnaround at 18 miles to find Laura 7 minutes back. I had a minor stomach issue having dropped my salt capsules, but some pretzels and chicken broth near the Energy Lab held me together for a 3:50 marathon.
I finished at 10:51:28 -- 53 seconds slower than last year, but one very important age group place ahead of last year. My sister, Karen greeted me at the finish line. Wahoo, it’s over.
It was a tough year. Almost none of the special NBC athletes finished. Rudy the double above knee amputee didn’t make the bike cut off. The guy who survived cancer and had a heart transplant missed the swim cut off by 8 seconds. And ironically, the Biggest Loser was indeed the first loser to cross the finish line at 12:03 a.m. 79 year old Sister Madonna didn’t make the bike cut off and the 80 year old guy from Australia didn’t start the run. It will be interesting to see how they present it on Dec 19.
My trip ended on one other happy note when my flight upgrade came through and the bike got on free again in Kona. First Class doesn’t guarantee a free bike, but I’ve been told it’s at least 75%, so I highly recommend the upgrade if you have 15,000 spare miles. The big shock was arriving home to an inch of snow in the yard—yuck!
2009/10/14
XTERRA National Championship Race
GMM member Kelly Ault participated in the XTERRA National Championship in Utah on Saturday, Sept 26, 2009 - The race consisted of 1.5 mile swim, 30K mountain bike, 10K run. Here is her race recap.
Wow! Amazing race! Definately the hardest thing I have ever done. I finished in 3:38:01 and 9th in my age group of 20 (41st out of 112 women). The winning amateur female had a time of 3:13 and the wicked fast pro Melanie McQuaid was 2:48.
The swim
I watched the sun come up over the mountains, eventually overcoming the stars, as I set up transition this morning. It was still cool when we started with air temps at 50 degrees, but the water was delicious at 68. The start was the most agressive I've ever experienced-everyone I've talked to was kicked, pushed, swum over and goggles knocked askew. But once I turned the first buoy at 300 meters, I tried to relax and find my own space. Convinced I was the last swimmer, I just focused on a my technique and in the end was psyched about my time of 30 minutes (1500 meters).
The Bike
The bike was mostly climbing the 3000 feet elevation gain between the Reservoir and Snowbasin Resort through double and singletrack that was sometimes steep, sometimes gradual, sometimes rocky or silty sandy, sometimes undulating and fast, packed trail.I tried to be conservative for the first half -already my heart rate was higher than normal due to altitude - then I picked it up when I fell into a pack of western women and we alternated the rest of course - I might climb past them and then they would whiz past me on the downhills, dust flying everywhere. I rolled into transition at 2:13 (18 miles/30k).
The Run
Right before the race, pro Conrad Stoltz had advised me to "save it for the run." Right out of transition, the course climbs up a long brutal work road, so I was glad I heeded his advice. The trail then turned into the woods, which were often lovely undulating through yellow aspen and red maple groves, over bridges crossing mountain streams, then in a twist of cruelty, would turn into sections littered with baby head boulders across open meadows or would switchback up sections of work roads. I'm glad I had some stamina and definately left everything I had left on the course, reeled in some women in the last few miles and cruising into transition in 51 minutes (6.1 miles/10k).
The BBQ
Then it was BBQ time, it was 80 degrees, and I sat in the grass and caught up with other athletes to share our experiences. Off to the block party in downtown Ogden!
Wow! Amazing race! Definately the hardest thing I have ever done. I finished in 3:38:01 and 9th in my age group of 20 (41st out of 112 women). The winning amateur female had a time of 3:13 and the wicked fast pro Melanie McQuaid was 2:48.
The swim
I watched the sun come up over the mountains, eventually overcoming the stars, as I set up transition this morning. It was still cool when we started with air temps at 50 degrees, but the water was delicious at 68. The start was the most agressive I've ever experienced-everyone I've talked to was kicked, pushed, swum over and goggles knocked askew. But once I turned the first buoy at 300 meters, I tried to relax and find my own space. Convinced I was the last swimmer, I just focused on a my technique and in the end was psyched about my time of 30 minutes (1500 meters).
The Bike
The bike was mostly climbing the 3000 feet elevation gain between the Reservoir and Snowbasin Resort through double and singletrack that was sometimes steep, sometimes gradual, sometimes rocky or silty sandy, sometimes undulating and fast, packed trail.I tried to be conservative for the first half -already my heart rate was higher than normal due to altitude - then I picked it up when I fell into a pack of western women and we alternated the rest of course - I might climb past them and then they would whiz past me on the downhills, dust flying everywhere. I rolled into transition at 2:13 (18 miles/30k).
The Run
Right before the race, pro Conrad Stoltz had advised me to "save it for the run." Right out of transition, the course climbs up a long brutal work road, so I was glad I heeded his advice. The trail then turned into the woods, which were often lovely undulating through yellow aspen and red maple groves, over bridges crossing mountain streams, then in a twist of cruelty, would turn into sections littered with baby head boulders across open meadows or would switchback up sections of work roads. I'm glad I had some stamina and definately left everything I had left on the course, reeled in some women in the last few miles and cruising into transition in 51 minutes (6.1 miles/10k).
The BBQ
Then it was BBQ time, it was 80 degrees, and I sat in the grass and caught up with other athletes to share our experiences. Off to the block party in downtown Ogden!
2009/10/13
GMM and Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona
Congratulations to Green Mountain Multisport members Donna Smyers, Angie Defilippi, and Kim Loeffler for their outstanding performance at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii this past Saturday, October 10th.
Professional triathlete Kim Loeffler finished in a time of 10:32 placing 36th in the women pro division. Donna Smyers finished in a time of 10:51:28 winning her division W50-54 and becoming the 2009 age group world champion! Angie Defilippi finished strong in a time of 11:12:35 placing 28th in her division W30-34. Way to go GMM!
Professional triathlete Kim Loeffler finished in a time of 10:32 placing 36th in the women pro division. Donna Smyers finished in a time of 10:51:28 winning her division W50-54 and becoming the 2009 age group world champion! Angie Defilippi finished strong in a time of 11:12:35 placing 28th in her division W30-34. Way to go GMM!
2009/10/03
Triathlon Season and Team Activities
Triathlon season is coming to an end and we will celebrate our accomplishments with a social on Saturday, October 3rd. Current and prospective members and their families will get together to chat about our races, enjoy some camaraderie, and have some food and beverages.
Congratulations to GMM member John Spinney for winning the Burlington Triathlon in Vermont. Good luck to GMM members Angie DeFilippi, Kim Loeffler, Justin Ryea, and Donna Smyers at the World Championships in October in Kona, Hawaii. Also, GMM member Luke Moore will be representing Vermont at the Best of The US Amateur Triathlete Competition held in October in California. Dot and John Martin will be competing in IM Cozumel very soon. Good luck to all of you!
Congratulations to GMM member John Spinney for winning the Burlington Triathlon in Vermont. Good luck to GMM members Angie DeFilippi, Kim Loeffler, Justin Ryea, and Donna Smyers at the World Championships in October in Kona, Hawaii. Also, GMM member Luke Moore will be representing Vermont at the Best of The US Amateur Triathlete Competition held in October in California. Dot and John Martin will be competing in IM Cozumel very soon. Good luck to all of you!
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