Triathlon
On this page, I will share information about my OTHER passion, competing in triathlons and duathlons. You might say that I have one foot in the garden and the other on the track.
2010 Race Season: Budapest Bound for Worlds!!!
The 2010 race season has been such a thrill. The highlight for me and my husband, and training partner Jim, was that our son Zach started racing as well. How fun it was to have him home from college and getting out on the roads, in the pool, and on the race course alongside us. It truly brought the “childlike” excitement of the sport back into play. And as Sheila Taormina (Olympic Gold Medalist) said when we met her at her incredible HFP swim workshop “The family that trains together stays together”.
How cool that at the Elite Endeavors Triathlon in Sylvania, Ohio the Austs all made the top 10 overall with Jim at 6th, Zach at 7th (and only his 3rd tri) and me at 10th (1st overall woman).
I’m excited with the season so far with 7: 1st Overall Female race finishes ☺, 1: 2nd Overall Female (to Master’s Elite Robyn Williams) and 1 :National World Qualifier :1st Age Group (by 10 min) and 4th Overall missing the Overall podium by 3 secs☺. (Race results below) I was also happy to have made the USA Triathlon 2009 All-American Ranking as #13 in my age group moving up from #54 AA in 2008.
Now the countdown is on for Sprint Worlds in Budapest, Hungary on September 11th, 2010!! Under the guidance of our amazing coach Brian Grasky of Grasky Endurance Jim and I both decided, based on our successful short-course racing this season, to race sprint at Worlds and again at Nationals on September 26th 2010 in Tuscaloosa Alabama. My dream for Budapest is to represent Team USA on the podium for my age group!! And hopefully again at nationals and qualify for Beijing 2011 (I’ve been Sprint National Champ runner-up for the past two years).
I have been asked while in Hungary to blog and post photos for Team USA on the usatriathlon.org website. So please follow me and my fellow world-class competitors during this incredible international age-group event. Send us positive and “fast” energy”☺ GO USA!!!!
Race Results 2010
Vermilion Harbor Tri, OH (750m swim/20k bike/5K run) 1:06:54, 1st OA Female
Sylvania Tri , OH (.25 mile Swim/13 mile bike/5k run) 1:04:44, 1st OA Female
Caesar Creek Tri, OH (750m swim/22k Bike/5k run) 1:13:36 , 1st OA Female
JCCB Independence Day Tri, OH (300y pool swim/12 mi bike/5k run) 1:02:58, 1st OA Female
Quad Cities Tri/Sprint World Qualifier, IOWA (600y swim/15 mi bike/5k run)1:16:08, 1st Age Group 50-54, 4th Overall
Wendy’s International Tri, OH (750m swim/17 mi bike/5k run) 1:21:11 1st OA Female
Tri-Tech Ohio Challenge, OH (750m swim/13 mi bike/5k run)1:06:557 1st OA Female
Miami University Tri, OH (400m pool swim/20.5K bike/5k run) 1:11:26 2nd OA Female
Thanks again to my fantastic sponsors who help keep me in top form: Fleet Feet Sports, Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Center (I’m currently on their web ad and one of their billboards in Columbus Ohio ☺, see below), Tri-Tech Multi-Sport, Cytomax, and Rudy Project.
“FOCUS, DETERMINATION, & CONSISTENCY…DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY!!” Troy Jacobson
2009 Race Season
The 2009 race season had a slow start due to an ACL repair in February (from a skiing fall). But I think it made me appreciate the joy of being able to compete in the sport of triathlon even more. I felt blessed, and anxious, for my first race in June, at the Wendy’s Sprint Triathlon, Columbus OH. What a shock and thrill to take first place overall! This lead to 11th in the world at the ITU World Championships in Australia! It was a rewarding, exciting, and inspirational season. Below are some of the highlights.
Spring: Received notice and “coveted” patch for making USAT Triathlon All-American ranking for 2008 (top 5% in the country Age Group 45-49 ranked 54). “Unofficial” rankings are just out for 2009 :All American Age Group 50-54 (top 2% country ranked 16th ) www.usatrankings.com
September: ITU Triathlon World Championship, Team USA: Gold Coast, Australia- 11th place/ 2nd American! 50-54 Age Group. 70 top women from around the world battled it out—what an awesome experience. 5 seconds from 10th 2:25:19
August: USAT Age Group Nationals: Tuscaloosa Alabama-8th place 50-54 Age Group. Qualified for Team USA and Worlds in Budapest 2010! Top 10 made the podium 2:34:45
June-July: USAT Sprint Nationals/Pacific Coast Triathlon: Newport Beach, California -2nd place 50-54 Age Group. Swim was a run due to 15’+waves 1:02:57
Columbus International/Nationwide Better Health OLY Triathlon: Columbus Ohio-1st place overall 2:21:24
Wendy’s Sprint Triathlon: Columbus Ohio-1st place overall 1:29:11 (18.6 mile bike)
New Coaching in 2010: We are happy to be working with Coach Brian Grasky www.graskyendurance.com in 2010. Brian is knowledgeable, thorough, and compassionate. Recently we went out to Tucson to meet Brian, train, and do lactate threshold testing on the bike. Consider a coach to help keep your training purposeful, efficient, effective, and to reduce junk miles and injury. Go to www.usatriathlon.org for listings of certified coaches as well as helpful information in general. We are also receiving great coaching tips, and getting pushed, on our swims at the Columbus Sharks Masters Swimming practices—they even have open water sessions—join us: www.csmst.org
Sponsors in 2010: I’m delighted to be sponsored by these outstanding businesses. Thanks for supporting health, fitness, and your local athletes!!
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Other EATS: I’m often asked “what do you eat”? In addition to the above mentioned products…Pre-training/racing: Cyto Gainer mixed with Fast Twitch (“nectar of the Gods”). During training/racing Cytomax with perhaps a bit more Fast Twitch depending on the timing. After: Muscle Milk Light (all above products can be found at www.cytosport.com) or low-fat chocolate milk. |
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Fleet Feet Sports: Fit, Function & Style for Runners and Walkers 1174 E. Powell Rd. Lewis Center, Ohio 43035 (Polaris Area) 614-846-5625 www.fleetfeetcolumbus.com all things running…Love my CWX compression tights, Asics DS Trainers, Sports Beans, and the hand-held pepper spray! |
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Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Center , Dr. Gregory C. Berlet Orthopedic Surgeon Westerville Medical Campus, 300 Polaris PKWY, Suite 2000 Westerville, OH 43082 614-895-8747 www.orthofootankle.com Dr. Berlet, a fellow duathlete, repaired my torn Achilles 7 years ago (occurred while running an obstacle course for a women’s fitness competition). His athlete-centered practice had me back to all my sports in “record” time!! I still go back periodically to OFAC for PT with Jim Wilgus when my “mature” Achilles get strained. The practice has seen my husband Jim for a strained calf muscle, our son Zach for a broken toe, and numerous fellow athletic friends. Don’t let those little nagging pains grow into full blown-injuries. |
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Rudy Project www.e-rudy.com Technically cool eyewear for every sport. I’ve worn Rudy for as long as I can remember—starting as my sunglasses for x-country skiing and rollerblading before I did Triathlons. Now I wear them for all my training and racing. Waiting for my latest pair– the Sportmask Girl in pink!!! |
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Tri-Tech Multisport 614-846-1516 www.tritechmultisport.com amazing bikes, tri-clothes, wet suits, swim gear and more..Love my Felt DA bike, Ruby Project glasses and PowerBar Gel Blasts (eat before the swim at races)! |
Some Articles About Tracy and her husband Jim Aust’s racing :
Sunbury News – July 9, 2009 [pdf]
Sunbury News – August 6, 2009 [pdf]
Sunbury News – October 22, 2009 [pdf]
Columbus Monthly – June 24, 2010
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2008 Race Season
Meet my incredible former coach ,Coach Troy Jacobson. If you want to be stronger and faster than ever, and injury free check out his informative sites and consider Troy as your coach–www.spinervals.com and www.coachtroy.com. I was honored to be a guest on Coach Troy’s podcast. Click here to give my interview with Kevin Patrick a listen.
For sound advice on nutrition for endurance training I turn to Dr. Rick Kattouf , Author of Forever Fit and Founder of TeamKattouf, Inc. For some great information on fuel for optimum performance go to www.teamkattouf.com. Pictured here waiting for our carb loading meal before Du Nationals in Richmond, Va. are (L-R) Rick Kattouf, Gail Kattouf , Ashley Halsley and J
im Aust.
This photo is from the USAT Duathlon Nationals, Richmond VA. We qualified for Team USA and Duathlon Worlds in Rimini, Italy on September 28, 2008!!!
Columbus International OLY Distance
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AT THE RACES
2008 Race Report
Event Overall Place Age Group Place
Duathlon Short Course World Championships 9/27 –- 10th
USAT Age Group Nationals 9/20 -– 12th :Q Team USA!
Great Buckeye Challenge OLY Distance 8/24 1st 1st
Cayuga Lake Tri/Sprint Age Group Nationals 8/3 7th 1st
Columbus International OLY Distance 7/20 1st 1st
Wendy’s Sprint Distance 6/15 2nd 1st
Deer Creek Sprint Distance 6/8 1st 1st
Tri For Joe 5/18 2nd 2nd
OSU TRI 5/4 3rd 1st
Duathlon Nationals 4/27 – 4th
December 17, 2008 I hope everyones off-season training is going well. Have you been working on technique as well as your aerobic base? Perhaps you are catching up on the numerous things that got put on hold during the race season? This was an interesting and uplifting article that I thought I would share. It’s good news for our sport. http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20081212-9999-1s12fitness.html
Special note for Columbus, Ohio tv viewers
My husband Jim and I appeared on Daytime Columbus with Gail Hogan on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008 to discuss Cross Training & Life Balance as well as Duathlon Worlds 2008 in Rimini Italy. Gail and I hope to do several segments on the topic of multi-sport training so keep an eye on my calendar and tune in whe
n you are on your treadmill or indoor bike trainer! Some of the topics we cover are:
CROSS TRAINING & LIFE BALANCE
Benefits of Multi-Sport/Endurance Training
Empowerment
Discipline
Determination
Stress Relief-Fun!
Improved Health
Multi-Sport/Cross Training Advantages
Injury Prevention/Strength Development/Fat Burning
Duathlon World Championship – Italy – September 27-28, 2008
It was a thrill of a lifetime to compete for Team USA in the 2008 Duathlon World Championship, in the lovely coastal town of Rimini, Italy. What an honor to be racing among the top duathletes from around the globe and hear people yelling “Go USA” as you ran or biked by! The Opening Ceremony and the Parade of Nations, where over 50 countries participated, gave you the feeling of being part of the Olympics. It was a fun time for athletes to meet and visit with other members of their own team but also to connect with the athletes from different countries. The course was flat and the bike was fast (both were a touch long!). Team USA had 220 athletes and was the largest team at the World Championship. We garnered 11 medals (3-Gold, 4-Silver, and 4-Bronze). I was delighted to be 10th in my age group (5th American), while Jim was also very pleased to be 15th in his age group (3rd American). Enjoy the photos!
Age Group Nationals – September 13, 2008
What a thrill to compete at USAT Age Group National Championship at Haag Lake, outside Portland OR with the top competition in the country. All the big “girls” and “boys” in the sport came out to vie for a spot on the USA team to compete in triathlon worlds on September 13, 2009 on the Gold Coast of Australia. The top 16 per age group would qualify and I was overjoyed to make the team with my 12th spot in the 45-49 age group (moving up to 50-54 next year—the only thing to look forward to with advancing age!!). The bike and run courses were challenging with lots of rollers and some tough turns which ma
de me nervous, and had me wishing for better technical skills on the bike. The afternoon was highlighted by the elite race featuring 2008 Olympic Team talent such as Julie Swail Ertel, Laura Bennett, and Matt Reed. I hope you’ll share in some of excitement with these photo from both the age group and elite races as well as the inspirational Endurance Film videos!
Right: Tracy finishing the bike and securing her spot on Team USA for Tri Worlds 2009!
SPRINT NATIONAL CHAMPION -August 3, 2008
My husband Jim and I enjoyed participating in the USAT Age Group Sprint Nationals: Cuyuga Lake Traithlon, at Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg, NY (near Ithaca) on August 3, 2008. The course was beautiful starting with the swim in the sparkling Cayuga Lake (one of the Finger Lakes). The bike through wine country was a rolling course, with a challenging uphill directly at the start! Then the run wound through the park and featured a turnaround at the falls– which are 3 stories higher than Niagara.
Over 600 athletes participate
d in the race with many age groups (including ours) containing 30-40 triathletes. Numerous All-American’s came out to rally for national titles. I was thrilled to be named the Sprint National Champion for the 45-49 age group. This was fortunate as I was actually second in my age group and then moved up to first when the first place speedy Jeanette Shelow-MacDougall was moved up and named Overall Master Champion. She was awesome and second female overall. I was delighted with 7th overall female.
Jim pulled off a fantastic 5th in his age group (50-54) with this being only his 3rd triathlon ever—preferring the duathlons. The swim isn’t his favorite leg but he made up by having the fastest 
bike leg in his age group.
The race director Jane Miller and her staff and volunteers did an amazing job organizing the event and being readily available for help and tons of cheering and support.
Ithaca was beautiful with a fun farmer’s market on Saturday featuring several perennial and shrub nurseries as well as cut flower vendors. I couldn’t resist buying a gorgeous tillandsia (a type of bromeliad) to bring home.
What a fun and rewarding race weekend!
