2022 was once again a busy year! My daughter graduated and headed off to college, my lingering ankle injury from 2021 got worse – then better – and before and in between there was finally the official RAMROD event (as opposed to the DIY version in 2020), a 70.3 Ironman in Oceanside and my last full Ironman race in California. So I find myself here again, after a hiatus from race reports, catching up. As a second year member of Team Zoot, I was lucky enough to spend time with and meet new people locally and nationwide from the Zoot team. My long time local triathlon friends from Raise the Bar have been fun to stay connected to and support at races. As with last year, facing challenges always has me turn to gratitude for where I am and what I am still capable of doing. I continue to train and race with a grateful heart, no matter the outcome. Brief recaps below with links to the full race reports. After the recaps, you’ll find a summary of other going ons this year.
IM Oceanside 70.3
After recouping from the NYC marathon the end of 2021, this was my first triathlon race of the year, and I was excited to travel with local friends who were racing and supporting. Another highlight was getting to meet up with Zoot HQ! My ankle had been humming along with very minor issues and felt like it was good to go. I continued therapies and trained. Without a doubt, this was one of the most fun trips I’ve done for a triathlon. Ann & Diana who are always fun were my roomies and on support, Diane and Ryan were also racing with Deborah on support. Zoot HQ was at the village, we went to HQ (to shop!) and I got to meet Zoot pros Ben Hoffman and Sarah Karpinski. As always, awesome to connect with my PNW Zooters and meet new ones from everywhere! My AP Racing camp friend Volker was also racing, so a real treat to get to connect with him and get cheer support from Katie with AP. While I held my own and finished respectfully in my AG, this race was tough. A rough swim, ankle implosion followed by all kinds of crazy when I got home. Race report
RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day)
On a crazy hot day in July, I finally got to do the official RAMROD event. I had been training for this event off and on since 2020. The DIY version in 2020 was fantastic with Ken B., my birthday twin Jenn, and Diane on event management and support. Arguably the best version of the route with fantastic views. 150 miles of riding up and around Mt. Rainier with 10,000 ft of gain on a hot, but beautiful day. It was going to be hard to beat. Nevertheless, we (Ken, Jenn, Diane, Doug and the Downey boys) were giving it a go. Having had PRP (platelet rich plasma) injection and a boot in May for a partial tear in my peroneal tendon, this event was not supposed to happen – but it did! Race report
IM California 142.6ish
Having done 2 full Ironmans in 2018 and 2019, I decided that I’d like to do one more before I retired to the 70.3 Ironman distance. Originally #3 was going to be IM Canada but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Shortly after, IM California in Sacramento became an option. Growing up in the Sacramento area, it would be a “home” race for me. After the unusual cyclone bomb cancelled the inaugural race in 2021, I decided IM CA would be my final full – a flat, fast, final Ironman where I’d get my best full IM finish time. Pretty soon my buddies Ann and Diana were racing it too, and my birthday twin Jenn also decided to do one final full IM with us. Training, racing and traveling together was great! There wasn’t a cyclone bomb, but let’s just say the winds were a bit crazy on race day. It turned out to be my slowest full IM finish time, but my best age group result for a full IM – for a happy ending to my full IM career. Race report
Gratitude for Coaching Continued Opportunities
And last but not least, I am grateful I got to spend another year run coaching a great group of people and was able to help them meet their goals. From first 5k and half marathon and 10k PRs to Boston Qualification, a very successful year for runners at Grateful Heart Adventures. Come join us, we’d love to have you on the team!
Assistant Coaching for my daughters high school XC team for two seasons was truly a special time for me, and I had intended to coach again in 2022. In August I realized moving my daughter to college in the September and doing a full Ironman in October wasn’t going to allow me to carve out the time between September and November to coach. I am hoping to return in 2023!
And with that – you made it to the end! Thanks for reading 😊 I hope you enjoy the race reports. If you have any questions or are interested in joining my Grateful Heart Adventures run team, please reach out here or at gratefulheartadventures@gmail.com
Coach Lisa
Grateful Heart Adventures 