March Madness: The Final Four!

Wendy, Angelina, Max the dog, and I after a long run

Wendy and I at Garden of the Gods





Don’t be fooled by the title of this post... I’m not going to waste your time by telling you how poorly my basketball bracket is doing right now or lament over the fact that the team I picked to win it all barely escaped in the first round of the tourney. Rather, I intend to give you an update on recent happenings in the life of Amanda Hahn.

1) Following an off-season from racing that has spanned approximately half a year, I will finally toe the starting line next month for my first race of the season: St. Anthony’s! St. Anthony’s is an Olympic distance race (non-drafting) that takes place in St. Pete, Florida at the end of April. Besides a sprint triathlon that takes place each year in Gainesville, this is about as close as it gets to me having a “hometown race.” I have competed in St. Anthony’s 5 times to date (it was my 1st pro race) and the atmosphere, fast course, and great competition make it one of my favorites!

2) It has only snowed two days this entire winter since I’ve returned to Boulder! I am in complete amazement and it seems I am not alone. Everyone I talk to says we’re due for a blizzard sometime before the end of April, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this amazing weather continues because we all know my tolerance of trainers/treadmills... somewhere around zero.


3) It had been three months since I’d seen my best friend from high school, Wendy, and she decided to spend the first part of her spring break to come visit me in Boulder. Luckily, she was a good sport about being left for three to four hours at a time while I did my longer bike/run workouts. On my recovery days, I had a little more time to show her around the area, and we even had the opportunity to drive down to Colorado Springs for the day. She was able to see The Garden of the Gods (I showed her the route for my bike/run bricks from this summer), Downtown Manitou Springs, and a somewhat close view of Pikes Peak (we missed the last train that headed up to the top of the peak). It’s always good to see a familiar face and catch up with friends I rarely get to see anymore.



4) Four months! After countless years of track workouts, I took a four month hiatus from the track following the end of my racing season last year. Of course I wasn’t exempt from all running workouts in general, just ones that involved running in circles. I must confess that when I finally stepped back on the track last week, I was a bit nervous/excited. The workout went better than expected and I am happy to say I am back on track! There's something about that oval that brings a curve to my face... :)

There you have it: the final four. Consider yourself in the loop!