Team Member: Diane Dutcher

Race Name: SheROX Sprint Triathlon (Tempe, AZ)

Race Date: 5/8/2010

Race Placement/Time/Qualification: 4th in AG (20 – 24) / 1:29:14

Tell us about your race (limit 500 words)…: While I was out in Phoenix/Tempe interviewing for a graduate fellowship at ASU, I figured: why not add a lil’ tri action into my itinerary? SheROX is an all-women’s sprint triathlon (750 m swim, 14 mi bike, 5K run), and, wow, these Arizona ladies are fit and fast! It must be all the training in the brutal heat here.

There were nearly 1,000 competitors, so I am proud to have landed a spot in the top 50. This race was one where I really “let it loose,” especially on the cycling part. I was 10 seconds from my age group podium, where the top two women placed in the top twenty. In addition, there were about 20 ladies, one of the largest 20 – 24 age group pools that I’ve raced in. Some stiff competition indeed!

I came from my always-lackluster swim swim to only get passed once on each the bike and the run. In order to improve my times, I would like to find a way to channel the exhilaration and joy that I feel when cycling and running into my swimming. Hardly a small feat, ha. I consistently play “catch-up” after the swim, but at least I know where I need to focus my training.