Power Bar Team Elite

I am pleased to announce that after about 14 or so years of supporting Power Bar, they are returning the favor. For the next two years (2010-2011), I will be a member of Power Bar's Team Elite. This is a team composed of athletes from various sports, all who are Power Bar enthusiasts like me. My personal favorite Power Bar has always been chocolate but oatmeal raisin is growing on me too. :) Not only do they make great bars but also gels, beverage mixes and other nutritional products. This is a company I use in my everyday life and I am excited to spread the word of Power Bar goodness to the world!

USAT Elite Development Race #1 Recap

Last Sunday, I competed in my first race of the season at Clermont’s Lake Louisa State Park. The race was draft-legal format, similar to many of the ITU races I do, however, did not count towards any kind of ranking.

Although the elite women’s race didn’t start until 1pm, the park entrance closed at 10am due to the earlier start of the age group race. So, once I was inside the park, I had about 3 hours of downtime on my hands to read, relax, and cheer for the age groupers and elite men who raced before me.

A little past 1, the race began as we (the elite women) ran into the chilly, wetsuit-legal water of Lake Louisa. After stumbling a bit on the start, I was able to gain some ground back while dolphin diving towards the first buoy. After a fast and furious first couple of minutes which I’ve come to expect in this style of racing, I was able to settle into a pace and into the draft of a couple of girls ahead of me. I exited the water in 9th place and was thankful for a nice long run up the beach, across the boardwalk, and over to transition to give me plenty of time to get my heart rate back under control (dolphin diving is hard!) and tear my wetsuit down halfway.

I exited transition onto the bike and quickly joined with 2 other girls to form a mini-pace line. We worked well together and after about 1 lap (out of 4) we were able to catch the pack ahead of us and pick up the tempo. Then, halfway through the 3rd lap, another pack of girls came storming by my pack. Luckily, I happened to look over just as the last person came by and was able to hop on her wheel. At that point, our big pack was whittled down to 5 from about 9 and that’s the way we remained for the rest of the bike leg.

I had no idea what to expect for my 5k run split after the bike since I’ve been doing 10k/endurance training all winter so I decided to take my run out as fast as I possibly could and give it my all until I bonked. I was able to keep a good pace until about the last quarter mile when the heat and humidity started to get to me… so much for all the heat acclimation of living in Florida for 22 years! I finished up in 4th place and was very pleased with the result for my season opener considering I’d put in a good training block the previous 3 weeks.

One of the more rewarding parts of the weekend was being able to see my coach and help her out/participate in technical clinics. A couple of people were competing in their first draft-legal race so I was able to answer some questions about procedures/what to expect in this type of race. Also, I got some videotaping done on my swim and run form which is always helpful for tracking progression and seeing where I still need work.

In just a couple of hours, I will begin the drive down to Miami for yet another race this Sunday. The Miami International Triathlon is a non-drafting Olympic distance race… not my specialty, but I’m excited to see how much difference a year can make!

Race Time!

Only four days to go before my first race of the season. The race will be a sprint race (about 1/2 of the distance of most of my races) and will take place at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, FL. For more information about the race, click here

USAT Hall of Fame Banquet

Barb and I at the HOF banquet

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the USA Triathlon 2010 Hall of Fame banquet in Colorado Springs, Colorado (just a short 2 hour drive from Boulder). What an amazing event and electric atmosphere! The room was packed with people who (just like me) are ablaze with passion for the sport of triathlon. Although the main reason I went was to support and celebrate the accomplishments of my coach, Barb Lindquist (one of the five inductees into the hall along with Paula Newby-Fraser, Valerie Silk, Carl Thomas and Jim Curl), I also came away from the event with a deeper understanding of triathlon’s roots. That is, where the sport came from and the “founding fathers” involved in creating the sport and molding the standardized distances in today’s racing. I am truly grateful to the race director inductees for the impact they have made on the sport, because without them I may have been doing a 3 hour race instead of 2! In addition, the successes of both Paula Newby-Fraser and Barb Lindquist have really helped to put triathlon on the map and often times in the center of national media attention.

In other news, I am writing this post from Clermont, Florida – the location of my home/training camp this month. With lots of nice soft surfaces nearby, the National Training Center, and easy access to traffic-less roads, it serves as the perfect sea level training location while the snow continues to fall in Boulder, CO and I am excited to have a great group to train with! Only 2 weeks to go before I do a draft legal sprint race to tune up for my non-drafting race the following weekend in Miami. Time is flying by…

Hope everyone is healthy and happy!
AHahn

My New Baby!

Introducing the Sampson prototype that I will be riding for the 2010 racing season...now I just need to think of a name for it!

2010 Sponsors

I am excited to announce the new team of amazing companies that I will be working with in 2010 and beyond in addition to my sponsors from 2009!

Sampson – If you are looking for a quality bicycle or components, you should look no further than Sampson Sports. They offer some of the lightest and therefore, fastest bikes out there and I look forward to revealing to you my Sampson racing bike for 2010!

CycleOps – This year, with the help of CycleOps technology, I look forward to training and racing with power metrics. While heart rate can tell how your body is responding to a given workout, it is also important to know your workload (which is measured in watts) or how much torque is being put on the pedal. I look forward to documenting my workouts and races with this technology and sharing some insight as to why power is very important for improving speed and efficiency on the bike.

Kiwami – In 2010, I will be sporting a Kiwami racing suit. The Amphibian is designed to be both breathable on land (while I’m biking and running) and water repellent (while I’m swimming)… the perfect combo!

2010 Race Schedule! (Tentative)

Miami International Triathlon – March 14th
ITU World Cup Monterrey, Mexico – April 18th
Littlefoot Triathlon - May 16th
ITU Pan Am Cup Ixtapa, Mexico – May 22nd
Cap Tex Tri – Memorial Day Weekend
Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup Des Moines, Iowa – June 12-13th
ITU World Cup Holten, Netherlands – July 10th
Nautica NYC Triathlon – July 18th
ITU World Cup – Tiszaujvaros, Hungary – August 8th
ITU Pan Am Cup Kelowna, Canada – August 22nd
Accenture Chicago Triathlon – August 29th
ITU Pan Am Cup Premium/USAT Elite Nationals Tuscaloosa, Alabama – September 25th
Toyota US Open Dallas, Texas – date TBA mid-October
Miami Man 1/2 Ironman (Yikes!) - November 14th

Hope to see you somewhere along the way!

A Palouse Christmas

Pretty winter scenery in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

My sis and I at the top of Silver Mountain on Christmas Day

Apparently Hahn is a popular last name...who knew?

Ready to cheer!

What running at sunset looks like :) Happy 2010 to all!

Thanksgiving Round 6

When you stop and think about it, most of our holidays revolve around the same theme: giving thanks for something or someone in our lives. Christmastime is definitely no exception to this rule. Whether or not you’re affiliated with a religion that celebrates Christmas or Hanukkah, chances are you still give thanks during this time of year and partake in some kind of celebration and/or holiday traditions. So, in reality, Thanksgiving is really “Thanksgiving Round 4 or 5” if you count the holidays in the year preceding Thanksgiving in which we give thanks…which technically makes Christmas “Thanksgiving Round 6.”

This time of year and always, I have a lot to be thankful for. I could blog on and on forever about why triathlon is a team support and how an athlete would not progress without the help from its sponsors, friends, family, etc. But for now I’ll just say thank you (you know who you are!!)

Thanksgiving Round 6 is my favorite time of year for many reasons. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that gives me this euphoric feeling. Although, I think part of it is the fact that people seem to be more open to helping others out. That being said, if you missed Black Friday or Cyber Monday (have they had this before??) and still have holiday shopping left to do, I’d like to help you out by giving you a couple of alternative gift ideas to the iPhone or Wii that will bring joy to both the loved one on your Christmas shopping list and a complete stranger!


Feed 5 bear -$60, For the child on your list, buy a stuffed bear and help support Industrial Revelation to promote the fight against child hunger in East Africa.


Personalize a pair of Converse sneakers - $62 – For anyone on your list who could use a new pair of sneaks… 5-15% of the proceeds go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.


This holiday season, don’t have a cow, give one! At the Oxfam America Unwrapped website, you are able to choose what gift you want to give – and the choices range from animals like sheep and goats to chairs/desks, which help to create a better learning environment for children. The gifts start at a mere $10 and best of all, your friend or loved one gets a free card with details about how the gift is being put to use!

UNICEF – And last but not least I had to include the gifts you can buy at the UNICEF store. In 2004, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with UNICEF representatives from across the globe while attending the 2004 Athens Olympic Youth Camp in Greece. UNICEF’s main mission is to give children healthcare and reduce the number of deaths by preventable causes. At the camp, each country’s representative discussed the obstacles for lowering the child mortality rate and what legislation needed to be put in place to promote change. By purchasing things such as water purification and first aid kits, you will be helping children to begin their lives in good health and hopefully stay that way. I strongly believe that health is the most important thing a human being can have… how neat that we have the opportunity to share it with others?

So, although it’s been said many times, many ways… Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/ Happy Kwanza/Happy New Year to you!

Check back in a couple of weeks when I will unveil my support team of amazing companies for the 2010 racing season along with my racing schedule!

Denver ½ Marathon Recap… 09's Officially a Wrap!

All smiles doing what I love!


Chicago Triathlon 1995


My sister Heidi and I before Mrs. T's Chicago Triathlon, 1995


This past weekend, I competed in my final race of the season, the Denver ½ Marathon. Although the race was at altitude, I figured it would be a good way to gauge my progress from last year, when I competed in a ½ at around the same time of year.

A 7AM race start meant a 4AM alarm, something I hadn’t experienced in quite awhile with all the late ITU race starts this year. Luckily (or unluckily), I’m always somewhat of an insomniac during taper weeks and would’ve been up and ready to go at 2AM if need be. Since this was the most populated road race I’ve ever competed in (close to 10,000 competitors in the half marathon, marathon, and marathon relay), I wanted to make sure I got to the course with plenty of time to warm up, change shoes, and secure a good spot on the starting line. Mission accomplished!

The race started promptly at 7AM, just after sunrise in Downtown Denver’s Civic Center Park. I knew it wouldn’t be very bright for the first half of the race or so, and decided to wear my rose-colored Rudy Project Rydon glasses. This was a perfect choice as my vision was never compromised during the race. My main goal for the first couple of miles was to keep a steady and comfortable pace, and make sure I had enough “ammunition” to get me through the last half of the race. In hindsight, I probably went out a little too conservatively as I slowed myself down a couple of times in the first 4 miles to keep right on 1:25:00 pace. I was able to hit 6 miles right at goal pace, and then dropped off a bit from my pace for the 2 uphill miles that came just after the halfway point in the race. Once the race flattened back out, I was back running 6:30 miles, just not feeling as peppy doing so as I had at the beginning of the race. I finished in 1:26:53, a PR from last year’s race at sea level! In addition, I was the winner of the 18-24 age group and the 7th woman overall.

I’m so glad I decided to do this race as my season ender – it was so much fun! Simply put, there is no better feeling than running stride for stride with hundreds of people surrounding you. Having the support of thousands who lined the street to cheer was just icing on the cake.

This bodes well for my upcoming season, as I plan to try out the 70.3 distance in addition to the Olympic distance races I already do. I can’t believe this is the end of the season – time has absolutely flown by this year. I’d like to send a great big THANK YOU to my: family, friends, training partners, coach, sponsors (Rudy Project, GU, Newton), homestays for the year, and you (for taking the time to read my posts!) for all the love and support shown throughout this year. Thanks for helping to make my 3rd year as a professional triathlete a memorable one!

I look forward to continuing my progression in the sport in 2010 and beyond. But more importantly, I hope to spread my love for the sport with those around me. If I can inspire at least one person to live a healthy lifestyle, it will be worth my time and efforts! 2010 will mark my 15th year in triathlon. I started the sport when I was 8 as a way to a) follow in my big sister’s footsteps because I thought she was the coolest and b) trade in Saturday morning swim practices for trips to the beach… never did I dream that it would lead to this… enjoy the pictures of triathlon yester-year above and check back for sporadic updates on my life and to see who I’ll be partnering with in 2010 and beyond!

Of course I have to end the year with a quote for you to ponder...
“I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.”
~Anthony Robbins

Pics from Australia

Whale watching in the seas surrounding the Gold Coast

A gorgeous Australian sunset from my hotel balcony

Peacock!