Race report for the Pioneer Tri
Petersburg is a cozy little town north of Springfield, very hilly by Champaign standards.  The annual Pioneer Tri is a 300 yard swim, 13 mile bike ride, and 5 kilometer run - a one hour intense effort.  Aubrey and Martin headed west for this warm-up race, one of the first in the spring.  Aubrey sliced through the swim and run to transition in 4:04 (the swim was probably ~3:45!), the fifth fastest of the day, kept the heat up on the bike at 20 mph in wind and over hills, and kept the legs rolling for a 23:59 run off the bike. The run and bike went well despite having crippled an ankle while winning a trail running race two weeks previous, and having not run since. She finished in 1:08:14, second in the 25-29 age group.  To see if he could PR again over last year’s 1:02:36 despite advancing decrepitude, Martin adopted a novel strategy: he lost 6 lb. of fat just before the race (we know that sounds scary).  It worked!  Bike, swim and run were all faster, with almost 20 seconds/mile gain over last year on the hilly run.  Martin finished more thanr 2-1/2 minutes faster than last year, 6th in a field of 149, 1st in the 45-49 age group.  The 40 year old overall winner ripped through the course in under 56 minutes.  Overall, there was stronger competition this year than in past years at this race.  Missed you Scott, the weather was perfect!
Martin Gruebele