Goodell Finishes First at Elkhart Lake Triathlon

The setting for my first Olympic distance triathlon was a beautiful sunny day at the elegant Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The water was a crisp 62 degrees, and the bike & run had their fair share of steep hills and tight turns, which was thrilling & terrifying at the same time. I think my 41 mph descent on one of the hills was a personal record! I was most impressed by the sportsmanship of my fellow competitors on the course. My rack-mates were courteous in the transition area (a refreshing change from the previous week), and words of encouragement were exchanged throughout the run course - one guy even high-fived me when I passed him! I finished 1st in my age group with a time of 2:31:47... I think I've found my new favorite race distance! - By Kimberly Goodell

Polar Competes at Rockman Half-Iron

On Sunday, June 10, Laura Perez, Elisa Lee and I competed in the Rockman Half Iron Triathlon in Rockford. Congratulations to Laura on finishing third in her age group in a highly competitive field. Overall, the Rockman was a good race. It was a hot day and a challenging course. The swim was a mass start. While the course was relatively well-marked, being relentlessly attacked by seaweed made it difficult to navigate. The bike course seemed to be completely uphill, and the headwinds made for a long day. However, the large police presence made it easy to cross major intersections without incidence. Like the bike course, the run course was very hilly. The volunteers were extremely friendly and encouraging. Overall, everyone agreed it was a pretty good race for a first year event. My only suggestions for next year would be to order more drinking cups, include mile markers on the run, and, most importantly, provide finishers with T-shirts. I know it sounds petty, but after over five hours in the sun, I would have like to have walked away with more than a finisher bumper sticker and sunburn.

Glowney, Lee, & Goodell Place at Tri-Shark

Despite a Saturday forecast that threatened thundershowers, we ended up with a beautiful day for racing in LeRoy, IL. The 600 yd swim took place in a small lake in the middle of Moraine View State Park, followed by a relatively flat (compared to Galena!) 13 mile bike course that circled the perimeter of the park. The run was an out & back course through trees & campgrounds - a great change of scenery after city running... Jason Glowney took 1st in his age group, and was among the 6 finishers who completed the race in under an hour (59:42)!! wow. Elisa Lee was the 3rd Overall female finisher, with a time of 1:07:30, and Kimberly Goodell took 2nd in her age group, with a finish time of 1:10:07. All three athletes will be competing together again at the end of the month at the USAT Age Group Nationals in Portland, Oregon! - By Kimberly Goodell

Kozy's Retail Clinic

Saturday ended up being a perfect day for our Polar clinic at Kozy's Cyclery! The store received a lot of traffic because of Bike The Drive, and we had the opportunity to interact with quite a few of the customers. Many people had questions about comparisons between the CS200 and the CS400 cycling computers we had on display, but most showed more interest in regular heart rate monitors like the RS200 and the RS400. Tony was an enthusiastic advocate for the RS200, and walked many of the customers through the watch's various functions. All of the people we talked to were already familiar with Polar products, and we received a lot of thoughtful questions about the equipment. I was relieved to have Eric Bergamo along to address the technical questions - a few people had already done research on the most advanced Polar monitors, so Eric was a great resource for those inquiries. The day flew by, and we left feeling like we were able to help a lot of people out. - By Kimberly Goodell

Bowers & Mitera Complete FL IM 70.3

Tony Bowers and Bob Mitera completed the Florida Ironman 70.3 on May 20. Tony finished in 5:38:39 and Bob completed the race with a final time of 5:14:31. You can read Bob's complete race report on his blog - http://bobmiterateampolar.blogspot.com/

Polar Volunteers at Kid's Triathlon

On Sunday, May 27, Bob and I volunteered at the Multisport Madness Kids' Triathlon in Geneva. Wow! What an experience. These kids were amazing. They just didn't have great bikes (many with Litespeeds and Zipps - can you believe it?), but these kids were great athletes. There were five separate age groups ranging in ages from 7 to 16, plus an elite category. The swim began at the pool at Delnor Health and Wellness Center with varying distances based on the atheletes' age group. Then it was off to ride the challenging bike course followed by a run around the hospital campus. Congratulations to all the participants on a great job! Also, its interesting to note that the Multisport Madness Kids Triathlon Team won the overall team competition at the USA Triathlon National Championships for two consecutive years (2005 and 2006) in both the Youth and the Junior Championship divisions. If you have kids who are interested in triathlon, this is a great group to consider.

Galena Triathlon - Lee and Glowney Place

The Galena Triathlon was named one of the "top 10" sprint triathlons in the U.S. by the USAT. The organizers and the Galena community have always put on a great race, and this year was no exception. Race morning began a little on the chilly-side with the water temperature hovering around 63 degrees. Most of the competitors wore wetsuits, but there were a few brave (or crazy) enough to go without. The challenging 16.8 mile Galena bike course wound its way through the hilly landscape of Jo Daviess County, culminating with a 4.3 mile run. The race was well-supported, and it always astonishes me how welcoming the community is of all the athletes. If you weren't able to race the Galena Triathlon this year, you should definitely put it on your 2008 calendar. Once again, Team Polar placed high in the standings. Elisa ran an excellent race placing third overall with a time of 1:37:29 and Jason completed the course in a blistering 1:26, taking first in his age group. Congratulations Elisa and Jason on a spectacular race.