NJ STATE TRIATHLON

July 20th 2014. Up and out by 4:45am. Headed to Mercer County Park with my parents, my awesome supporters who wake up at terrible hours to travel with me and help me with all my gear.

I got to the race and went into transition to find a little NJ state flag on my bike spot to represent the state champion. The age group state champions had theirs too! It played a nice role in marking my bike so I didn't have to look as hard for my spot when flying in and out of transition!

The water was 77.5 degrees on race day, making it wetsuit legal. So it apparently dropped 2+ degrees from the day before when they had the sprint triathlon.... Into my wetsuit and into the swim. Was out of the water in 23 minutes and change. Not bad but still want to improve that time. The swim was hot, almost too hot for a wetsuit but I was still ok. Into T1 and out shortly after. Onto the bike my legs felt dead for the first loop so dead that I was getting super mad at myself for being so slow! FINALLY onto the second loop of the bike and my legs felt much better so I hammered away. Averaged just over 22mph on the bike and into T2. Out quickly and onto the run. I felt the best I have in a long long time on the run. I had something left in the tank after the bike and that's a great feeling when you have a 10K to run left to go. I averaged 6:22 miles, over 10 seconds faster per mile than last year but I still have some work to do. I finished 3rd place overall but being the first NJ resident I was still able to claim the title of NJ State Triathlon Champion.

Thanks to XTERRA Wetsuits and PowerBar for helping me power my way to the finish and walk away with the NJ State Triathlon Champion Title.

Next stop: Chicago!

Until then....back to training.

War at the Shore Triathlon

Rewind to Friday July 11th AKA 7-11, free slurpee day....which I unfortunately did not make it to....By anywhoo.

With the help of the Tri Devils I put together a triathlon transition clinic for Friday night at Thompson park. The clinic included PoweBar product tasting as well since one of my sponsors is PowerBar. Their products are awesome and so I decided to share some of my favorite bars with everyone!

During the clinic I taught a bunch of skill sets that are great to have come race day. Even the smallest change to your transition area and setup can make quite a few seconds difference in the end and maybe a place difference among competitors. I was able to teach some basic skills along with more advanced. The goal was to learn the skill and then it must be practiced to become super efficient at it, just like most other things we learn. However some people used a few of the new techniques on race day two days later and their times showed the difference! 

"Thank you for the clinic. I compared my results to my Long Branch race last year (so same set up) and my combined transitions were 30% (or 47 seconds) faster." Sean Casey

Great job Sean! I have to give you the MOST IMPROVED athlete!

Fast forward to Sunday morning....
Up at 5am and out the door shortly after to head to the race and get set up in transition. I found a good spot for my bike next to a landmark so I knew where my bike was when I came out of the water. I ran to warm up after everything was set and then headed down to the start at 6:50ish am. The women started a few minutes after the men. The water was brutally cold for this time of year....last Sunday read 47 degrees....it warmed up a bit into the 60s but it was still cold and my hands were numb while warming up a few minutes before the start.

Off we go after the men (4 or 5 minutes), I dolphin dove in because the water was shallow and it immediately boosted me to the front and into a nice lead. Left around the first buoy and then the second and straight in. First one out of the water by a good margin (which NEVER happens for me, like ever...) into transition and out in 55 seconds, onto the bike and I began passing some of the guys. I wound up averaging 22mph which is great for me so I am very happy with that bike. Into T2 and out in under 30 seconds. Onto the run my legs took a little too long to get themselves together but I was able to run a few guys down and get my legs under me for the second half. I managed to average 6:12 miles but thats still not where I want and need to be. I will get there in time and I now know what I need to focus a little more attention on. 

The Jersey Shore Triathlon

Pre Race Routine: Everyone always talks about what they do the night before a race to prepare....My pre race routine is pretty simple, eat a good dinner: chicken, fish (personal fave) salad, pasta, whatever is on the menu at the Dorgan household and then either a bowl of ice cream or milkshake. I used to do the whole, eat pasta before a race thing but it never did make a difference in my racing so I just eat a healthy meal...and ice cream.... In moderation.  Fact is, I race better when I consume it the night before a race. I know it works for me. Do what works for you...or give ice cream a try!
Now lets get into race morning and the race itself....
Up at 4:30 am to be out the door at 5am. Right on schedule I head to Asbury Park. As I am approaching a light I look to my left to see a guy standing by the crosswalk with a towel around his neck wearing an old school sweatsuit, no big deal. The light turns red, I slow down to a stop...He starts walking towards me. GREAT. Adrenaline pumping he goes towards the back of my car, "ok he's walking around me to get to the other side." NOPE. Next thing I know he's at my window. I make a quick decision and go through the red light....No idea what he wanted at 5:20 am but wasn't about to roll down the window and find out. I calm back down and start mental prep work for the race during the rest of the drive.
I arrived in transition, set my bike up next to a landmark so I knew exactly where it was and warmed up. Down to the beach for the start and the ocean pumping out some medium sized waves that lacked power. Perfect swimming conditions for me having grown up at the beach body surfing. The Olympic distance started first and then the mens sprint wave with us starting 3 minutes later. I swam out, turned at the buoy and body surfed my way back in. I dolphin dove when it became inefficient to swim but still too deep to run. Out of the swim in the lead and into T1. Flawless transition in 51 seconds, wetsuit off and bike gear on, out onto the bike. As I hop on my right shoe came loose from its rubber band and hit the ground popping off into the road. I had to stop, dismount and go get it. Unfortunate but not the end of the world. Back on the bike and into a head wind on the way down and a tailwind on the way back, two loops of that and I hopped off having had a solid ride averaging just about 21mph (20.9 to be exact). Into T2 and out in just over 30 seconds. Out onto the run, I was feeling pretty good. I picked off a bunch of guys who were ahead of me on the bike. As I ran past some geese I got a very serious hiss which I translated as "stay away from my babies," which I happily did. I didn't have the best run but it was a solid effort and I finished in 19:18.
During the run I made up some serious time on the leader... my brother! He put a 5 minute lead on me on the bike, a gap a little too big for me to make up during a 5k but I came within 1 minute 40 seconds by the end. Congrats to Sean for winning his first triathlon ever! I wound up being second overall and 1st female.
A little sibling rivalry...I'm coming for you Sean! All in fun of course.
All in all it was a great day, a great confidence booster and fast transitions which I am very happy with. Ending the day with the fastest swim, T1, T2 and run overall; I am pretty happy with the results but then again never satisfied.
Big shout to XTERRA Wetsuits and PowerBar for the support and products I need to succeed! Wearing their names on my suit is an absolute pleasure!

Out of Hibernation

Well, I guess its time for the blog to come out of hibernation.

As many of you know, I am now being coached by Trista Francis of iTz Multisport. She began coaching me in the fall and I am very happy! I think its safe to say I have been swimming and cycling more this winter on a weekly basis than I did during the season last summer! I am especially excited to get back on the roads with my bike and see what kind of power I can throw down.
New news, Good News:
I have two new sponsors going into this season, Xterra wetsuits and PowerBar Team Elite. I'm super excited to be racing in their gear and chowing down on some great fuel during training and racing.

I am set to compete in my first half ironman in October down in Miami so thats another big one on this years calendar and I am really looking forward to the challenge and anxious to see what I can do at a longer distance.

New news, Meh News:
Last summer I strained my calf muscle pretty bad in July at NJ State triathlon and it wound up hampering my season and cutting it short. Unfortunately it has returned.... but not quite as bad.
I have been working diligently to get myself back to health, going to masseuse once a week for deep tissue work, icing, rolling, pool running, doing PT work etc etc etc.
I expect to have this calf healed up and ready to go in a few weeks when I head to South Beach Miami for my first triathlon of the season. I also hope it is good to go for a half marathon two weeks after but I am not going to push it if I feel its not ready for the distance.

With all of that being said, I am most nervous for the running leg of this triathlon in Miami. Lets hope I am ready!

I expect to see great times this year in triathlon with a whole bunch of PRs and the #1 goal of earning that Pro card. Although Coach T and I haven't been working together long I think I will see vast improvement this season. With that being said I believe it takes more than a few months of working together to fully understand each other and to really see results with a lot of changes made to training and getting accustomed to everything. I think this first season together will be great but I also look forward to seasons to come.

The Fall/Winter training and a race here and there:

My fall and winter seasons have consisted mostly of just training, a lot more strength training and some stressful months with Gerard being deployed.
While Gerard was home on leave from the army after deployment we ran the Polar Bear 5mile race in Asbury Park. He was second male, I was first female. We both ran good times even though the weather was far less than perfect. Temps in the low 40s (if that) with some winds and torrential rain. It was COLD but also a lot of fun.
We raced in singlets I had made to represent the two Rangers from Gerards unit who made the ultimate sacrifice on a mission back in October now known as "Rangers In The Sky"

I also raced at Milrose in a DMR put together by Shore AC. It was a little last minute but we got it together and I met my teammates for the first time at the race!! We all warmed up and raced well as a group just having met. I raced the mile, anchor leg. My time wasn't what I had hoped but I also hadn't been doing much speed work yet. 

I am really looking forward to this season, I have a bunch of races lined up and I am just really excited to race and have some warm weather!!!! 

Train Happy, 

Caitlin 

Powerbar Team Elite

I am excited to announce my new sponsor for 2014-2015 

PowerBar Team Elite! #PBTE

www.powerbar.com

GET FUELED by POWERBAR

Hot Chocolate 15/5k Chicago!

Hello Everyone!

While I was out in Chicago for the Chicago Triathlon my cousin Kim and I decided we should sign up for the Hot Chocolate 15k in November. I was battling a calf injury that began the end of July and continued through August so I knew I would have to be seeing Dr. Goldberger and probably taking time off to rehab...I needed a race to come back to and what better than a no pressure 15k! Of course I always have my own expectations when racing, who doesn't? but it was more of a race to see where I was in my training, a confidence booster, a starting point to continue getting faster.
I arrived in Chicago on Halloween, went to workout at the gym and then later handed out candy to some kids, until we ran out of candy! I have never seen so many children! Once the candy was gone we had to get the heck out of the house before more kids came! We went out to a friends "Fall Festival" party across the street for the rest of the night. Friday morning I was dragged to a yoga class against my will. Kim is a super yogi and so I really had no choice. In the beginning of class Kim tells everyone to "set their intentions" my intention was "I was forced to be here, just survive the class." I did just that. I survived...and I felt I needed a nap afterwards...downward dog is not easy...
Saturday I did a shake out run with some strides to make sure I was ready, the usual. I was feeling good and confident but still had really no idea what pace I would be able to average. Partly because this was my first race back from an injury and also because I had never raced a 15k before. My goals were just to negative split and run sub 7s.
Saturday afternoon Kim and I decided to be real tourists and go on a Segway tour, a 2.5 hour Segway tour. We were unaware of the length when we signed up...but regardless it was still a lot of fun and REALLY cold. We learned a few things about the city, but questioned some of it since the other tour guide from the group next to us was saying different information about the same object...So don't ask me anything about Chicago...I still have no idea.
Sunday morning rolls around, rise and shine, time to race! It was cold but not unbearable. My uniform was blacked out and for a specific reason...I had on black shorts, black arm warmers, red sports bra (to match the red "Rangers Lead the Way! on the back of my singlet), and my custom made singlet with the American flag on the front and the names of the 3/75 guys KIA October 5 2013 on the back in support of my boyfriend who is in the Ranger Regiment and his friends who were killed and injured that night. I was bundled up and had my gear check bag with me so I could check all my sweats before the race. I didn't realize how far the gear check was from coral A...Surprisingly the run to the start was long enough for a warm up so once I dropped off my gear I headed to the start line, I was warmed up by then and jumped into the crowded Coral where I was able to stay pretty toasty due to all the body heat! I was planning on starting out at a decent pace, warm my body up more and then go after it. I was successful in my attempt and by mile 2 I was feeling great. With every mile I was picking up the pace slowly and I went through 3 mile in 21 minutes. I went through 10k in 41 minutes. I finished in just over 1:02 for the 15k. I heard from a few people that the course wasn't exact and I had the course quite long according to my watch it was 9.54 and thats even with losing satellites on my GPS when we ran in tunnels for quite a bit. So I can either go by averaging 6:30 pace for 9.54 miles or averaging 6:40 pace for 9.3. Either way I was happy with my time. The lead woman finished in 59 and change. I was 15th, which means all of us were within two and a half minutes of each other! Thats a good race! I will most likely be going back next year to see what I can do, hopefully not coming off an injury and in a little better shape.
Lets back track a minute. When I say crowded I mean 20,000+ people!!! Not all in Coral A but I think there was a Coral for almost every letter in the alphabet. It was insane. There were about 6500 women in the 15k and many more in the 5k that went off simultaneously and split mid race.

Headed home Monday where somewhere in my travels I caught a cold. Off for a few days from training but now I am back at.

Train Happy.

Big Announcement- XTERRA

I am proud to announce I have partnered with XTERRA for the 2014 triathlon season! 

XTERRA was my first wetsuit brand and my only wetsuit brand. I am so happy to be able to represent and promote XTERRA, a brand I love, stand behind and highly recommend to fellow athletes. I look forward to an awesome season with them, crushing times and reaching goals! 

Please feel free to use the code below to get 60% off of a new wetsuit!

http://xterrawetsuits.com/index.php/2012-ctc/