tris & tribulations

This morning was much more leisurely than most race mornings. With transition closing at 7:20 and me having a a start time of 8:15, I didn’t roll out of bed until 6 (which has been the recent START time). Nice. I didn’t need to eat until 6:15 (exactly 2 hours before my swim), so I got up, braided my hair and started checking my gear. I really didn’t do much preparation and sorta saved everything for last minute. I went downstairs to find that the coffee had already been started and the sweet aroma was waiting for me :) I love family. I pulled my oatmeal (+ chopped banana) from the fridge, cut up a nectarine and popped it into the microwave and cracked open 3 egg whites into a pan. Within a few minutes I was eating breakfast… right on time.

It’s a small town, so nothing is far away, but my uncle’s house is conveniently close to the race… right at the 1 mile marker along the bike/run course, to be exact. So I finished getting ready, grabbed my things and drove over. I got there, put the stickers on my bike and helmet (yes a tad last minute) and rode to the transition. I got there around 7, got myself body marked and had about 20 minutes to set up my area before they closed. Since this was a smaller race they didn’t have marked spaces for the bikes, just a rack for a group of #’s (so like 850-880) and you just had to rack somewhere along the rack. A bit different than what I’m used to, but I found a spot and the girl next to me was nice enough to move over a bit so we’d have more room. I saw a bunch of folks in their DC Tri gear, I didn’t know any of them, but it was great to see such a good turnout!

After a few texts, tweets, and a picture, i left my phone behind and made my way to the port-a-potty line. Shortly after I conveniently ran into my friend Robert who I met at SXSW this past year. We decided we’d race for all the fellow web-geeks today in prep for our larger 2010 geek-triathlon event, TBD. Rob and I caught up and hung out while the we waited for the race to start. The water was pretty calm, the current was moving, but not much. Water temp ended up being a whopping 85 degrees! definitely not wet-suit legal.

Swim

it was not wetsuit legal and i wasn’t prepared for that, so after multiple unsuccessful attempts the day before to go by a suit, i had to resort to wearing a sports bra and tri shorts… major drag suit. i was in the last wave and it didn’t seem to be a terribly intimidating group so i set up in the center. Gun went off and was holding a pretty good pace to start. I started to lose form a bit and just felt a little sloppy & lethargic. I was at least aware of it and tried to make corrections. It wasn’t a terrible swim, but I just couldn’t seem to feel the way I do in the pool. After i turned the last buoy I felt better and was gaining speed, but it was no stellar performance. At the very end some giant man decided to stop and stand up on the ramp and i swam RIGHT INTO HIM! i was so mad, and in my flustered sate I just couldn’t get around the guy.

The top of my right foot (where it connects to my shin) was bothering me throughout the whole swim, so I kicked very little the whole way. It reminded me of my senior year in high school when I had knee surgery and refused to stop swimming, so I raced with out using my legs. I was “that girl” who just pulled. It actually got me really strong and took me a few years to relearn how to swim WITH using my legs. I’ve felt this pain in this spot before, not sure what causes it or why it only happens on occasion, but I was fine with not aggravating it. Plus, I wanted to save my legs for the bike/run and not risk injury.

Swim Time: 24:10; pace 1:28; OA place 49/350

Transition 1

Compared to New York, the distance to transition was nothing, but compared to a normal race, it was a bit of a jaunt. We had to run up the boat ramp and past a couple picnic areas and a gazebo. My goggles and cap were off by the time my feet hit the grass and I was instantly encouraged when I saw my friend Jon on the sidelines. I got a huge smile on my face, ran a few more paces and then I saw Trish and Matt! I was so excited they were there cheering me on. I found my way to my bike and they yelled for me from the other side of the fence. I’ve never had to change shirts before so first thing was first, get that jersey over my head… that’s about as far as it went. If you’ve ever tried to put clothes on when you’re sopping wet, you know it ain’t easy. I left it around my neck as i quickly put my socks and shoes on. I slipped on my sunglasses and fastened my helmet and was off… all the while battling with my shirt and trying to get it all the way on, as the picture awkwardly shows…

T1 Time: 2:15; OA place /350

Bike

I started off feeling pretty good. About a mile into the course I rode by my Uncle’s neighborhood and waved hello as I passed by. He and his wife were out there to cheer me on and I gotta say, there’s nothing like having people out there supporting you.. especially on a hotter than hot day like today.
About a mile further and I passed “Cara Cove”, the street that leads to the house my mom was born and raised. It’s very close to my heart and I couldn’t help but blow a kiss and a rode past this literal memory lane. The boost of excitement that provided helped for the next couple of miles as I was able to concentrate on childhood memories (like feeding the neighborhood horses giant carrots, or catching lightening bugs in our hands, or lying in the backyard watching shooting stars…). But then I was reminded of the heat and my heavy legs.

This was a hilly course and i was slowed down by some of the inclines… but thankfully, i was FLYING on the declines! My HR was higher than my coach suggested, but I decided to ignore it. it was in the 160’s for a good part of it, but my PE wasn’t that high. I don’t know what was wrong– it almost felt like i had a flat, i was putting in effort/energy but couldn’t quite seem to gain speed. Very bizarre. The hills were sorta tough and I just wasn’t feeling terribly strong. i kept falling into a comfort zone and simply pedaling rather than racing. I had to keep reminding myself it was a race!

Nutrition

I was pretty solid on my following my plan:
5:00 cytomax
30:00 1 shot blok, 2 endurolytes
50:00 cytomax
60:00 cytomax, 1 enduro

Bike Time: 1:17:16; pace 18.2; OA place 168/350

Transition 2

Smooth, quick and easy. Shoes and helmet off, shoes and visor on. I grabbed my package of shot bloks, stuffed them in my pocket and fastened my racebelt while running out.

T2 Time: 0:51; OA place 49/350

Run

Man. i don’t know what to say, other than NOT my best performance. it was hot. like really hot. like fry an egg on the sidewalk hot. There really wasn’t much flat road on this course– it was all long gradual hills– both up and down.

My cheering squad was waiting for me as I exited transition. Man was I happy to see them! I only wish I were having a better race for them to see. Matt jogged alongside me and I think I high-fived him just before this photo was taken, maybe that explains the awkwardness. haha.

I realized after a mile or two in that there was no way I was gonna PR this race and I had two choices– push myself hard and have a crappy training week next week or hold back a bit and use the run as a training run– save the legs from defeat. For the first time in my life, I raced smart and I chose the latter. Being so competitive I don’t like to hold back. I didn’t give up, but i certainly didn’t push myself as hard as i have in previous races. If i saw someone ahead of me instead of pushing myself to catch up/keep pace, i simply thought “good for her, she’s have a good race” and i continued along with my pace. I started getting upset stomach at about mile 3 and it made it hard to keep going. All i could think about was how badly i wanted to cross that finish line so i could stop and get out of the sun. I’m not sure what caused GI distress, i did everything according to plan.. it must be the heat? i grabbed 2 cups of water at each aid station– drank one and poured the second cup over my head each time. I also had a shot blok and an endurolyte at mile 3.

This race was the 2009 Regional Club Championship and I have to say it was a lot of fun racing in a team jersey. I was out there (with countless others) representing wearing the same colors as you. With most every person I passed an exchange of support was given– a “GO DC TRI” or “KEEP IT UP” or something similar… At least for the first few miles… towards DC Tri Club. I really don’t know most of them, but tere’s an unspoken bond when you see someone the end I mentally made note that I was crossing paths with a teammate but had so little energy left that I practically ignored it.

I passed my Uncle’s neighborhood and knew I only had a mile left. I could make it. My typical last mile of a race is a sprint, but not today. I tried to increase my speed a little, but just kept it comfortable, I’d be done soon. As I got back to the town and rounded the last corner I saw my friends and family. Wow was it good to see them! Matt took off his flip-flops and ran with me, encouraging me and yelling for me the whole way. I wanted so badly to respond with an all-out sprint, but instead I think I just gave him a huge grimace. I did manage to catch up with the 24 year old girl who was ahead of me the entire run and with about 50m left, I kicked it up and blew right by her. Small victory.

Mile Splits

7:54
8:47
8:39
8:34
8:39
9:42

Run Time: 52:16; pace 8:26; OA place 122/350

Total Time: 2:36:46; OA 95/350; Gender place 16/120; AG place 5

There were lots of volunteers around just past the finish line arch and one extended his hand and offered a bottle of water, i graciously accepted it, let another volunteer take off my timing chip and staggered my way to a bench on the grass. I sat and caught my breath for a few moments before I got up and searched for my friends. We found a spot in the shade and I was feeling much better and within minutes I was back to my goofy self– dancing around and having fun… really, i was just so happy to be out of the sun!

We decided to head back to the city and do lunch once we got there rather than try and find something crowded near the race. My stomach was completely upset from (had been since mile 3), but i know my typical ravenous appetite after a race, so we stopped at a gas station and picked up some snacks for the drive home. Indecisive as always, it took me a while to figure out what my body wanted. Nothing sounded good and everything sounded good all at the same time. I decided on an elvis sandwich– got a toasted whole wheat bagel and topped it with a Justin’s Almond Butter squeeze pack I brought with me and a sliced banana. Heavenly.

We made it back to the city in no time and found our way to a Pho restaurant in Cleveland Park. Hot soup on a hot day seems a little ridiculous… but with the lime and cilantro, it’s actually quite refreshing. After showing Matt his first meal of Pho, we all parted ways and I finally got to shower off the sweat from earlier. lovely. I found myself on the couch in my compression socks for the remainder of the day vegging out to mindless tv and eating what was meant to be just one serving of (soy) ice cream… and what turned out to be the entire pint! I always splurge a little on raceday, but today may have been a bit overboard. whoops… what can i say, ice cream just tasted so good after such a hot morning! Oh well, back on track tomorrow.

All in all, I’m glad I did this race, even if it wasn’t the race I hoping for. It wasn’t a complete loss: I had fun, loved having my friends there, and earned some points for the tri club. Every race is a learning experience and prepares you further for the next one. Now it’s time to focus and train hard. Nation’s is only a couple weeks away!