Category Archives: Race Report

Oct 22 0 comments
Race Report

Atlantic Coast Triathlon Race Report

“What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all.”

– Willie Mays

It took me a few hours before I finally fell asleep, but once I was out, I was pretty much out the whole night. Usually my mind keeps me awake the night prior to a race, but I was so caught up in my migraine and purposefully did not let any thoughts of the day ahead creep into my consciousness. The alarm went off at 4 and I, quite willfully, rolled out of bed. I went straight to the kitchen and took out all my pre-filled water bottles and mixed them up with HEED and stuck them in the freezer while I got ready. I had most everything set out and ready to go, so not much thought was needed.. which, let’s be honest, at 4 in the morning is always a good thing. I continued on, braided my hair, rubbed on some arnica, donned my tri suit (new top and all!), and finished packing my bags. My mom, true to her insomniac night-before-anybody’s-big-day fashion, came out to see me and help with any preparation.

Because our bikes had to be racked the day before, it was easy to pack the car. I poured hot water into my to-go cup, already filled with a packet of VIA (best invention ever, i might add), and put my raw energy bar on a napkin along with a frozen banana and almond butter. Pre-race meal in hand, I jumped in the car and headed to Amelia island. I couldn’t believe how much energy I had, i was seriously filled with excitement and I’m pretty sure based on my rampant texts to Chloe, she could feel the energy from miles away!

I got to the race site a little before 6 and was unusually calm– excited but not nervous. i was ready. I got to the body marking and was thrilled to see my friend, Shivella, holding a marker. She used to be a part of DRC sports who puts on this race, as well as many other awesome events. It was fun to see her, catch up and reaffirm the fact that I had no nerves. I headed straight for the palm tree that my bike race was next to (always a good idea to have a landmark to help your transitions go smoothly). I started laying out my towel in my usual fashion– we’ve all got a system, and I know what works for me. Shortly after, I met up with Chloe and we both celebrated the fact that the race was confirmed to be wetsuit legal (whew!).

With 30 minutes until race start, I made sure to take my pills– 1 Race cap, 1 Anti Fatigue, and 1 Amino Acid. After one last check over all my gear and making sure my bike computer was zeroed out, I grabbed my goggles, cap, chamois butter, and espresso gel and Chloe and I headed out of transition. We got to the beach and tried to figure out the swim course– it looked SUPER long, so, naturally we figured we must skip some of the buoys. With 3 separate races going on (half, olympic, and sprint), multi color and shape buoys, it was quite the puzzle to solve. Finally, the race announcer shed some light on the course and we were in fact swimming every buoy. Boy did it look far. Moments before the national anthem I spotted my mom and my sister and was able to say hello and snap a few photos before having to file into our corral, as we were the 3rd wave.

C and I tried to analyze the water and with only seconds before the gun went off we realized the current was coming from the OTHER direction and sprinted across to the far side where we got into the ready position and began our day…

Swim

The gun fired and I sprinted into the water, jumping the tiny waves and running until it made sense to dolphin dive the wake. One or two dives and I found myself in a rhythm. There were a few red caps around me, but we quickly seemed to disperse and despite my efforts, I found no one to draft off of. One day, i swear i will figure that out!! I kept swimming and my plan all along was to focus on my form. I wanted to repeat that word over and over and make sure I didn’t let my speed or anxiety get in the way of proper technique… but I never even got the chance to use my mental focus word. I was doing it without prompting. I felt smooth. I felt relaxed. I felt fast. Pretty quickly I started coming across the wave of men that started 5 minutes ahead of me. I was lifting my head every 5-10 strokes and focusing on each buoy. I’ve never stayed so precisely on track. “this is the best swim I’ve ever had. I’m gonna totally beat my time prediction” i thought to myself. We turned the first buoy and I felt like I was being pushed backwards slightly by the current, but it didn’t feel like much and I was swimming around more and more men with my focus on each orange dot. Just 4 buoys until the last turn. I cornered that last buoy and almost immediately my view went white. My goggles fogged and my vision was gone. I was able to clear my goggles while still keeping forward motion (flutter kick, head up). I tried to find the buoy, but i saw none. It wasn’t just my goggles, but the beach was in a distant fog– focusing on anything was more than a little difficult. I decided to trust the swimmers ahead of me (who at this point were SO spread apart it looked like everyone was swimming in different directions!) I just kept moving forward, lifting my head often and trying to find something to sight. I cleared my goggles AT LEAST 5 times, each time unsure of my direction, but I could see the red finish arch and i just hoped I wasn’t ignoring any buoys in between. I was getting closer and closer and my speed kept building and building. “I can’t wait to see my time” I kept thinking. Finally, I was close to the shore and there was one other red cap just beside me and we were battling it out. A big wave came and pushed us in and she immediately stood up and started her run. Instead, I kept my horizontal position and swam shallow strokes in anticipation for one more surge from mother nature. It came and i was practically washed up ashore. I jumped up and started running and almost immediately ran past my opponent. Swim as long as you can, running through water is always slower. I scanned the crowds for my family before remembering to stop my watch, but I quickly looked down and for a split second my “high” shifted to a low. 38:00?! THIRTY EIGHT MINUTES?!?! My plan had me going 32, which I did last year on this very course and I feel like a stronger swimmer and I had visions of breaking 30 while I was out there!! But before I could even finish that (negative) thought, I returned my focus to stripping out of my wetsuit and finding my cheering section. I spotted my mom and waved at them while I yanked my zipper and crossed the timing mats. I started focusing on the task at hand: finding my palm tree and starting my transition.

Swim time 38:55.5; 39 OA; 6 Women
T-1

It’s amazing what not allowing negative thoughts creep into your psyche can do. I reached my towel where I told myself “make up for the time on the bike. the swim is over. focus on what’s next.” I quickly yanked my ankles out of my wetsuit (a usual point of contention), slipped on one sock and then the other. One shoe and then the other. sunglasses on. helmet on. helmet strapped. yanked my bike under the rack, triggered the computer and started sprinting to the mounting line. I had to go around a woman having trouble clipping in (one female down!) and then I was on my way.

T-1 time 1:29

Aug 14 0 comments
Race Report

Hammerhead Ocean Marathon Race Report

Since my race schedule has been pretty much non-existent due to the mysterious injury, i was really excited to finally have an event i could actually participate in. i’ve been putting more time in the pool lately and feeling strong in the water and wanted to use this as a chance to check my progress.

i suppose doin all those sprints at master’s practice on friday may have not been the smartest strategy, but it was SO FUN, i couldn’t help myself. really, we broke up into 3 lanes (evenly paced) and the whole practice was sprints (100s, 50’s, and 25’s). i went hard. probably too hard for the day before a race, but having a day in the pool where i feel proud of myself and happy with my efforts has been rare lately, and i didn’t want to cut that feeling short. so i pressed on. sore legs and all. afterwards, i did a solid 20:00 (no breaks) abs/core workout followed by a good stretching and yoga session in hopes to loosen my muscles. according to my massage therapist later that night, i didn’t do a great job. i believe his exact words were “woah. that’s intense”. yeah. no kidding.

anyhoo– early to bed, early to rise. only, not that early. i woke up at 6, ate my prerace snack — frozen banana with 1T raw almond butter and went back to sleep. i love that i don’t get worked up about racign any more. without an ounce of nervousness or overthinking, i fell right back to sleep and didn’t get out of bed til 7 and i left my house at about 7:10. this year we all met at the parking lot just north of the pier — this worked so much better than last year. plus, we had access to the restrooms so we didn’t end up wandering around for 20 minutes to end up at mcdonalds to use theirs. (fail). the buses dropped us off 1.25 miles south and we headed to the water’s edge. i had half an apple cinnamon hammer gel about 10:00 out and was ready to go.

the conditions were exponentially better than last year. for one, there wasn’t any fog and i could actually see my hand in front of my face. also, the waves weren’t crashing down and tumbling everything in its way. so that was nice. the race start was the most competitive, per usual, but as soon as i cleared the first buoy, we all spread out pretty quickly.

overall, the swim went pretty well… minus the incident, of course.
about midway through the race, i took a stroke and out of nowhere something slapped my face. i swear, i saw nothing and still can’t quite figure out how or what happened. i guess it was a jellyfish, but it happened so quickly i have no idea. it hit hard and in my mind the thing had scales, but whatev. it got the left side of my face and the my right underarm. i never felt it hit my arm, but i felt the aftermath. it stung and burned so badly i thought my skin was melting. it’s weird though, i didn’t panic, i just evaluated the situation and looked around to make sure the coast was clear and started swimming again, once i regained feeling in my arm. (it went numb (i think) for what felt like minutes, but was probably just a few solid seconds). there were no other swimmers OR lifeguards around, so i just put my head down and kept going. never a dull moment.

i felt really good in the water. i’ve had the trouble in the past of losing my form during a race and feeling like i can’t control my stroke, but i felt like i was swimming in the pool– relaxed, good form. i did have to remind myself quite a few times “this is a race, pick up the speed”, but all in all i’m happy with my swim. i’ve gone much faster in the same distance but you can never really compare one ocean water swim to another– conditions vary way too much.

afterwards i found a lifegaurd and asked his advice about the stings and he gave me some gel to apply. lovely green goop all over my face and armpit. sexy, i know. i was told not to put fresh water, ice, or any of the things you’d think to use. whatever you’re thinking, do the opposite. so, now you know. you’re welcome.

also, the whole peeing on a sting thing is just a myth. if only someone had warned monica.

in the afternoon i wanted to get a little more cardio in, so i went to the y and did the elliptical (still can’t run) while i watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. i highly recommend it. it’s a documentary about two men who make a life changing goal to get off their medications and achieve a healthy life. it’s on netflix, so find a machine (stationary bike, elliptical, arc trainer, etc) and your phone and do something good for yourself while you watch others do something good for themselves. it’s totally inspiring.

And on that note, i’ll be embarking on a juice fast for the next 3ish (might extend to 5) days. it’s not about weight loss, it’s about detoxing/cleansing and giving myself a fresh start. i don’t expect to detox too much since my diet already consists of all veggies/fruits/nuts as it is, but i think it’s a good idea to just set yourself back to zero every once in a while. i’m excited.

Race stats
swim time:

43:20

Ranking

AG: 1st place
OA: 7th

Things I could work on:

• figuring out how to pace myself and not let myself go too easy in races.
• not getting in the way of others

Totals

sea creatures: 2
doris: 0.

Jul 12 1 comments
Race Report

BFAST Triathlon Race Report

Triathlons are not new to me, but sprint tri’s? A whole new beast. I know how to race/pace for an olympic and a half iron distance, but these short distance races are all new. That became wildly apparent three (swim, bike, and run) times during the race…

After doing as much prep work as I could, I actually found myself in bed by 10:30 the night before. I always try for an early bedtime, but rarely does it actually happen. Though I think 4:30 in the a.m. comes far too quickly no matter what time you call “lights out”. I decided to wait til morning to make the last minute judgment call of whether or not to bike myself to the race site or use my car. Pressing snooze 3 times pretty much made my decision for me. Car it was. In fact, I started the day way later than I wanted and ended up cutting it pretty close. i ate my egg whites while i quickly braided my hair, scarfed down my oatmeal while zipping up my tri suit, grabbed my bags and crossed my fingers that I remembered everything. I sorta miss the nerves and anticipation I used to get on race morning– I was so much more prepared…

I arrived at Mickler’s, which i’ve gotten to know quite well. it’s either my turn around point on my weekday rides or a landmark I pass on my longer rides. either way, i see this place pretty much daily. After waiting in line to pick up my chip I found my rack and set up my transition. It was a small race - capped at 500, which was sorta nice. Most everyone there was out there to have a good time and it was clear that the pressure that comes with a lot of races wasn’t present.

Photo Credit: Marni Sumbal

Photo Credit: Marni Sumbal

Swim

The race was a beach start (obviously, i mean i do live in florida!). I was in the 3rd wave (along with all other women), just behind the Age Group Men. The water was pleasantly calm and cooperative– a first on raceday! Unlike bigger races, our coundown was just that. A verbal countdown “10 . 9 . 8 . 7 …. 3 . 2 . 1 .. GO!”. It works, I suppose, but it definitely made me smile :) We were off. After a good run and several dolphin dives we were able to start swimming. I found myself falling back into my old pattern of completely losing all form and swimming like I’m a newbie. What gives? I kept trying to mentally change my patterns and let my form carry me, but for whatever reason I was having a hard time. I was swimming ok, but not great and certainly not fast enough. I was swimming at a pace just a tad faster than I would a warm up and once I turned the 4th and final buoy and realized the swim was pretty much over, I knew I didn’t stand a chance to make up for the lost time. Even a sprint at this point wouldn’t cover the ground I lost. Tooooo slow.

Swim Time: 8:49; AG Place: 4

T1

Holy cow. WORST . TRANSITION . EVER .
So the unfortunate thing about a sprint race is that you really have no time to spare. Losing time during transition is pretty hard to make up. A speedy T1 is crucial. It was a long jaunt from the swim exit (through the sand) back up to transition, which I actually felt like I held a pretty good clip and passed several men along the way. As I entered T1 one of the volunteers called out “8th place in women!” I thanked him and rushed to my bike. I tried to scrape as much sand off my feet as I could but decided time was more important and pulled on my socks on my (pretty filthy) feet. Helmet and sunglasses on and feet in my bikes, I pulled my bike off the rack and ran toward the mount line. Here’s where things went wrong. I regretably found a spot directly behind another guy trying to mount his bike and since he had trouble, I couldn’t start and I had two other people file in on either side of me. i was stuck! As soon as I got the chance, i fumbled a little and clipped my foot in and started to take off.. well, part of me. I can’t remember the last time I had a hard time clipping in… but today I just couldn’t get my left shoe to click. More wasted time…

T1 time: 2:42

Bike

This is the first and only race I’ve ever done with my power tap, so i was really excited knowing when I got home I’d be able to see the data from an actual race! I wish I kept repeating the word “race” in my head over and over again, because somehow in the 16 mile course, I seemed to have forgotten that’s what this actually was. I wasn’t holding back, but I certainly wasn’t treating it like a TT. I felt strong and I was passing men like it was my job, but I hate having the feeling that I could have done better. I want to get to the point where I can just lay it all on the line and feel confident that I gave it my all. I’m not there yet. There was one bridge we did coming and going and I’m not gonna lie, I’ve lot a lot of my hill strength I worked so hard to build last year. I fell behind on both ascends. I was good about sipping my water every couple of minutes, tho it wasn’t hard to remember to hydrate with the incredibly hot florida sun beating down me.

I was keeping a tally of how many women I passed and how many passed me and while I lost a couple spots, I gained more… until I got to about 10 mins out from the finish.. out of nowhere a group of 4 girls caught me and pulled ahead. This was when I realized I wasn’t pushing hard enough. It refueled my and I began working hard. Unfortnately the timing couldn’t have been worse. We were in a close pack at the only point in the course where our course was narrowed by cones and we had a limited amount of space. Naturally we were pushed together and couldn’t avoid riding pretty closely. One of the girls turned around and yelled for me to stop drafting her and I felt terrible, so I let go of the gas and let her pull ahead. It sucks because I did this race party b/c I want to meet people in the area and the last thing I want to do is get on peoples’ bad sides. In retrospect I sorta wish I pushed harder and ignored her comment and prevailed, but oh well. I pulled back into transition feeling like I had a pretty solid ride, albeit not as good as it could have been.

Bike Time: 37:31 ; Pace: 21.7 mph; AG Place: 4
T2

Redeeming leg of the race. In and out.

T2 Time: 0:40; AG Place: 2
Run

We had to do a bit of maneuvering along the parking lot before we got out on the road, which I took easy, trying to judge the condition of my legs (and more accurately, my toe). I hit the road and a volunteer gave me an update “you’re 9, and you’re 10″. There must be another girl right behind me. I started to build up to a steady pace and was feeling fairly strong. First race all season where I felt like I might be getting my running legs back. My stress fracture has taken more time than I ever expected to get back up to speed. Pun intended. One girl passed me (lickety split fast) but I was gaining ground on the girl ahead so I just pressed on and stayed confident in my own race. I hit mile 1 and my watch said 7:57. I tried to pick up the pace a bit and my goal at this point was to get faster each mile and sprint the end. I stayed on target and I passed the girl ahead of me. I was passed by another girl but then I passed another girl. I was staying consistently #9. I hit the turn around and stayed in the tracks of another woman for as long as I could before I felt confident I could make the pass. I did. But then I was passed. I was passed again. There was one girl in eyesight, but a pretty good distance away. I laid my gaze on the back of her head as I crossed mile 2 at 7:51. Keep going. My breathing was heavy but I felt strong. I kept my comfortable pace and tried to quicken my cadence just a bit. I was gaining on her. We rounded the last corner and I knew it was time to sprint. I should have actually started earlier but I couldn’t tell how close I was to the finish and I didn’t want another repeat of last year’s ITU. I kicked it in and closed in the gap between the other girl and me. I didn’t think it was possible, but here I was only a few body lengths behind. The possibility became more realistic so I pushed harder and harder and within the last couple seconds I blew by her and crossed over the timing pad just ahead. A couple deep breaths to regain my composure and I felt fine. I felt fine. I should have felt tired… I should have gone harder.

Run Time: 24:35; Run Pace: 7:54; AG Place: 2
Overall: 1:12:15; AG Place: 3; OA: 92/500

All in all, it was a fun race and a good way to spend a saturday (yes, saturday! i still get a weekend!). This distance is new and I’m not surprised I paced myself too conservatively. Maybe next time i’ll follow my friend Ben’s training motto: “Ride til you Puke”. Simple, yet brilliant. :)

After the race, I waited around for the awards and got a nice lil towel for getting 3rd place in my age group. I used it minutes later to wipe off the caked on grime before zipping back up and heading out for a recovery ride. I was excited to get to ride with my friend Marni and her friend from out of town, Jennifer. We headed back out and revisited the race course at a much more conversational pace. It was super hot, but it felt nice to spin out the legs. They’re both embarking in careers in dietetics so we pretty much talked food the whole way. I’m not complaining. I can talk food any day, any time :) It was really cool getting their take on the whole “raw” revolution and thoughts on training/recovery. I don’t do much training with others, and it was really nice. Marni and Jennifer made their way back to their car and planned to go to the beach but I kept going and wanted to get in as close to 2 hours as I could. It was getting close to noon and the sun was getting hotter and hotter and it was draining me pretty rapidly. I got back to the car after 1:47 and called it a day… well, on the bike. I made my way home, made a delicious, healthy whole wheat wrap with chicken and filled with tons healthy veggies. I ate standing up and (still unshowered) headed out to the garage to gas up the pressure washer and get to work… 4 hours later, my sidewalk, driveway, and the majority of my exterior was cleaner than it’s ever been. Barely being able to move at this point, I did some more work in the backyard before I finally rinsed off in my outdoor shower, slipped on a bikini, poured myself a corona and slid into my hot tub. 14.5 hours after waking up, I finally sat down for the very first time.

Long (but good) day.

Apr 29 3 comments
Race Report

2010 St. Anthony’s Race Report

Race reports. they’re a funny thing. When the race is good I can’t wait to sit down and write them… but when a race less than ideal, I put them off as long as possible. I guess avoiding having to relive the experience seems easier. It’s probably easy to tell how this one went… not so good.

I guess I could say this race went as “expected”. I knew it was not going to be a PR. I knew this very well. I also knew that the run would be tough. I knew this… yet a teeny tiny piece of me thought there was a sliver of a chance that I’d beat those odds and the time off of running/training would somehow spring new life into my rested legs. Silly me.

The morning started out well. Despite my late bedtime, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. I don’t even think i pushed snooze! I guess it’s pretty common though, on race morning any sense of exhaustion is immediately replaced with a rush of adrenaline! Since I left all of my preparation until morning I knew I didn’t have time to waste. I put my numbers on my helmet and my racebelt, reorganized all my bags, and stuffed my transition bag with everything I’d need. I braided my air and heated up a cup of water to mix my starbucks via (this stuff rocks). A few minutes later I had a nice hot cup of coffee with the almond milk i brought. Mmm. Much better. I slept in my compression socks and kept those on while I donned my heartrate monitor, sweet new Saucony racesuit & jacket, and popped in my contacts. I probably should have checked my contacts before leaving my house, but for someone who wears contacts ONLY to race and maybe a couple nights a year, they tend to be the last thing on my mind. This became apparent when I put them in and the right lense was super dry and the left lense made my vision worse than without. Awesome. Can’t wait to bike blind. Maybe I should find a stick to use on the run. This’ll be great.

I loaded up the car and tried to navigate my way back to the racesite. I ate my (religious race morning) breakfast: Opytgen HP supplements, eggwhites (I made the day before) and oatmeal with half a banana as I drove. I was precisely on schedule with my plan to eat 2.5 hours pre-race. Perfect. I showed up to the line of cars searching for parking and passed the 3 designated pay-to-park sites. Since I never have cash on me I decided to take my chances. No one knows how to parallel park outside of the city, so lucky me. I slipped right into a “my car will never fit in this crack” space and I pitied all the people continuing their search. As I walked towards the transition area I took note of all the other nervous athletes around me. I love people watching and this was highly entertaining. It made me realize how calm and relaxed I was (surprisingly).

I casually waited for one of the Body Markers to free up and let two nervous looking athletes go ahead of me as I sipped my coffee and drank out of my gallon jug (new thing i’ve been trying lately. I carry a gallon jug with me all day long and i can see exactly how much i’ve consumed). I got my race numbers plastered onto my skin with the thick permanent marker and made my way to my bike. I set up my area as I always do: bike gear up front, running gear in back, optional gear off to the right side wit necessities grouped on the left. Once I got situated and quickly ran through the motions of my T1 & T2, I grabbed my wetsuit, cap, goggles, and water and began making my way to swim start. It was a bit of a walk and the line for the ladies room was massive so it took quite a while and unfortunately I missed both the pro men and pro women starts. bummer.

I found a nice stretch of pier to stand and watch the next few groups take off and construct my swim start plan. I did a good amount of stretching as I intensively watched the athletes sprint into the water. I haven’t practiced a beach start since I race Rhode Island last year so I was excited. With about an hour until my wave started I decided to get out of the excitement and find a nice patch of grass to stretch, lay down, and relax. My left hip had been really tight for the past couple days so I tried to loosen it up as best as I could. I ended up meeting a really nice woman from Tallahassee and we talked “shop” for quite a while. Turns out she’ll be racing Gulf Coast in two weeks, too. She’s done the FL IM a couple times and we had a lot to talk about. She’d also race St. Anthony’s a few times before so I picked her brain about the bike course since I didnt’t quite know what I was in for. She confirmed what everyone else had told me : technical, lots of turns, lots of people, and windy. Well, at least it won’t come as a shock, i guess. It was fun talking to her and I got so caught up in the conversation I lost track of the time! I quickly (well, that’s up for debate. it’s never quick) shimmied into my wetsuit, realizing i forgot to use any Glide on my ankles I squeezed the rest of my Chamois Butter (I always bring the trial size tubes with me to swim start) and lubed my calves/ankles.

Swim

I made my way to the front of the baby blue swim caps and we waited for the group of men to take off in front of us. I positioned myself exactly where I wanted to be: the very front and furthest to the outside. I stood there and calculated my move. I would run in, high knees, out as far as i could go, then i’d dolphin dive until it was time to swim. I would start outside and line up with the yellow buoy and swim inward. We had 5 minutes before the cannon went off which was plenty of time to check out the competition, the announcer to make corny jokes and me to hold my goggles in ready position. The gun went off and a-splashin we went. The front running girls around me and I were just about on the exact same plan. We all dove into the water and began our tumultuous journey. Now, this being the Bay, one would not expect the conditions to be too bad. Or maybe that’s just my naivety, but the conditions grew worse and worse as the time went on. I tried (yet again) to give drafting a shot. I’ve never succeeded at this yet I try every time. Maybe someday, but clearly not today. I get too antsy when the person in front of me is swimming the same speed as i am and i can’t hold back even though I know i’m supposedly conserving energy. I’ve tried drafting off of someone who was swimming faster than me, too. That doesn’t work either. So, it’s just me and my arms and legs. Good thing we’ve done this a time or two before.

I was really happy with my form, effort level, and my spotting. It’s been a struggle for me to race like I practice. For some reason, as soon as I feel there’s something at stake all form is lost and I feel like a fish with one fin. Don’t ask. But, today, today I felt good. I was finding my rhythm, staying with a strong group of girls, and making a perfect line to the yellow turn buoy. As we made the first turn the waves picked up. I was actually sort of enjoying the challenge. Once we turned, we were battling the undertow and that’s never a good thing. I knew better than to waste my energy trying to push forward while the water pulled me back, so I let nature do its thing and I waited for the eventual push forward. I took each push as much to my advantage as I could. It was getting harder and I was losing interest. It’s 1500 meters, I swim 1500 as a warmup. Why did it feel so far? I kept chugging along, made the next turn and was headed towards the exit. I was mostly around the silver and pink and royal blue caps at this point and trying to plan my route moment-by-moment. It gets to be like a maze when you’re swimming around people and it’s always better to swim near the folks in your color cap. They won’t hold you back.

I remembered my coach saying that the hard part of this swim is figuring out where to sight as the destination. It gets a little jumbled near the end and especially since I hadn’t been out in the water before the race, I kept mindful of the possibility. Luckily, the giant gatorade bottle seemed to mark the spot and I kept my eye on the prize. The waves were coming at us from the left and it was hard to plan the breaths correctly- too soon and you’d gulp water from the left, too late and you’d gulp it from the right. Luckily I only drank the salt water once and because I’ve convinced myself I have gills, it only took a moment to recover. I made it my goal to try and do 7 strokes before breathing like I do in the pool, but I was only able to do this once during the entire swim. I was consistently holding 3-4-5. As I got closer and closer I saw the stairs and realized how crowded they were. Being in a later start wave always gives you disadvantages. Just once I’d like to race at the front. Anyways, I got up to the stairs and jumped the gun on standing up. I should have swum further as I lost a couple seconds here. They had volunteers on the stairs helping us gain our footing and I’m most thankful they were there! I jogged up the stairs and by the time I hit the timing mats my goggles were off and I was fumbled my zipper. I looked down at my time only to see the clock, not my stopwatch. I must not have pressed the button hard enough. I lost my split and had no idea where I stood.

Swim Time: 27:58; Pace 1:43; AG : 17/88

T-1

I crossed into Transition and had cap and goggles in hand and wetsuit around my waist. Good start. I grabbed my sunglasses (decided to stay with the contacts), smushed them onto my fact and picked up my helmet. I somehow got the strap stuck inside and had to take it back off, wherein I proceeded to drop it. Nicely done. Moments lost. While I was down to pick it up, I slipped on my left sock. Finally got the helmet on, put on the right sock and slipped both shoes on. I velcroed up and glanced back down to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I then grabbed my bike and wrestled with it to get it off the rack. The bikes were fairly close together and mine got caught on the one next to it. More precious moments lost. FINALLY after what felt like 5 minutes, I was running my bike through the mats and preparing to mount.

T1: 1:55; AG: 5/88
Bike

Start watch now. As I got on my bike it became immediately apparent that my aero bottle had somehow (I do not understand) become un-velcroed. ALERT. Something not going as planned. I immediately weight my options– I could just toss the bottle and forget about it and not lose time or I could spend the time and effort on fixing it. I debated the pros and cons (all of this within a couple seconds). I mean, this bottle ain’t cheap and i’d really rather not have to take the time and shop for another one not to mention it’s leading up to being a hot day and if I don’t drink water on this ride there’s no chance of making it on the run. On the other hand, I have a hard time fishing the velcro piece through the microscopic hole when I’m standing on ground let alone WHILE RIDING. With the lingering taste of salt water and my dry throat naggin me, the decision seemed obvious. I would take the time to fix it. A full 8 minutes. that’s right, e-i-g-h-t. I rode with my left hand holding the bottle while my right hand, not on the shifters, not on the breaks, but was trying to direct the velcro into the hole. I went through at least 5 turns this way and was pedaling fast but in an entirely too low a gear. I was going nowhere fast. Finally I got the water bottle secured and at this point I was able to pull my other bottle out of my cage and get in some calories/electrolytes. 3 sips sports drink, few gulps water at 8:00. It hit me, I missed my scheduled 5:00 target and I didn’t care. Am I finally starting to take things more casually and not be so nit-picky precise on my nutrition? Could it be? Halelujah, the girl is growing up.

I shifted a few gears and began gaining my speed. “Just try and not let everyone pass you” I thought. Then something strange happened, I passed a small cluster of people. I was gaining speed on the next group. I passed that group and I wasn’t being passed. Concerned I was going too hard I thought about slowing down, but my heart rate was on target and I felt fine so I kept going. I gave myself one goal– do not drop below 16. If I get close, I have to just push through it. We hit a straight away where we faced oncoming cyclists and you could tell the wind was punishing them. I kept at t and stayed steady and fluid. My hip was a bit tight, but otherwise I wasn’t in any pain and my saddle sores weren’t even an issue! We hit another turn and there was that wind. I refused to go below 16. I went 18. I was feeling strong. Only two girls in my age group had passed me and I was keeping one in sight, her pink jersey was easy to spot.

The course continued to take us on bends and turns and eventually numerous speed bumps. I was really happy with how I handled them all- i only had to break on one turn (and for me, that’s huge! i’m always overcautious and tend to slow down too much. I handled them like a champ and was feeling good about it. I was really trying to make this a PR. i had my eye on the clock and I really tried hard. I thought it was possible, and I think had I not had the water bottle issues at the beginning, it could have happened. Unfortunately, I didn’t hit it, but I’m still happy with this performance. I learned from it and for the very first time i felt like a cyclist.

Nutrition

In total (not exactly on time schedule) I drank 3-4 times (3-4 sips each time) of my sports drink and I had 2 endurolytes. I also had most of my aero bottle of water.

Bike Time: 1:18:47; Pace: 18.9; AG; 28/88
T-2

Run bike to the rack, helmet off, shoes off, shoes on, visor on, run out.

T-2 Time: 1:30; AG: 3/88
Run

Yep. Went just about as well as I thought it would. I felt like I had never run a 10K before. I felt like i was walking. I had no speed and not much drive. I was still on a high from how great I felt on the bike and I tried to use that to push me on the run, but for some reason, I just didn’t have it in me. I told myself to just keep this easy pace and slowly and gradually try and build. I can do this. Why won’t my legs do this?
As I’m jogging a man comes up and starts to pass me on the left and as he does and turns to me and says “I was eating your SMOKE on the bike”. That very moment was the best of the entire race. I felt so good. It put a little pep in my step… but not quite enough to deem this even a “decent” run. It was at about this point when I had the internal debate of whether or not I kick it into high gear and push myself all-out and try and salvage whatever I could for the rest of the race… or I take this run more as a training run and accept that that’s all I could do on this day. I chose the latter approach. With Gulf Coast less than 2 weeks away, it would be a bad idea to destroy my body and put myself in a position to further injure my foot or invite other injuries. Part of me felt like this was a cop-out, but it IS the first race of the season and I want to make sure there IS more of a race season, so I just kept on trucking.
I barely remember the course. There was a little (of course it felt big) bridge into a neighborhood we had to cross and lots of pretty houses. That’s about all i remember. This wasn’t a big spectator race, though I am thankful for the few kids and families who stood in their yards and sprayed us with their sprinklers! It was slightly overcast but blistering hot and incredibly humid. I grabbed water at just about every aid station and tried to drink as much as i could (though let’s be honest, most of it spills). I didn’t take any nutrition on the run and I only had mild stomach distress– mostly near the end and mostly because my body did not want to drink any fluids.
I aimed for a negative split and I definitely kicked it up on the way back. I didn’t have much speed to give, but I gave what I had. I honestly did not feel like I was racing. I felt like I was on a leisurely jog. I couldn’t figure out why this was happening. What a disapointment.

I usually kick my sprint in with 1 mile to go and do the full on sprint once I can see the finish line. Today, I barely increased my speed when I saw the mile 5 marker, but as soon as I got close enough to deem the sprint woulnd’t kill me, I pushed. I gave it my all. I ended up challenging another girl on the mats and we went all out. The two of us were neck in neck and vying for the finish line. I had to run around a man doing the infamous “kiss-the-ground-at-the-finish-line” maneuver and my dodging this guy on all-fours cost me the last split second. Her foot crossed first. But it was close, real close and I was glad I kicked it in. I just about collapsed after that intense sprint and found myself a chair to catch my breath. It was over. Thank God.

I gotta find my runnin legs. This is ridiculous.

Splits

mile 1 - never saw it.
mile 2 - 16:34, 182, 178
mile 3 - 8:58, 179, 175
Turn around - 1:38
mile 4 - 7:14, 179, 176
mile 5 - 9:28, 180, 164 Please tell me you’re kidding.
mile 6 - 8:41, 184, 176
10 K - 3:11

Run Time: 54:15; Pace: 8:45; AG:37/88

Total Time: 2:44:22; OA 8922490/; Gender place 168/746; AG place 16/88
In Review

Maybe I should find a race that’s just transitions. I seem to do pretty well in those, and these were long and drawn out compared to my typical times. Hmm…

Things I did well:

• Spotting in the water
• Form in the water
• turns/handling on the bike
• Overall relaxed mentality
•

Things I should work on:

• Better race prep– KNOW my water bottle is secure.
• Building my legs back up to speed in the run.
• Preparing for the heat/humidity

Aug 17 1 comments
Race Report

North East 2009 Race Report

The Zipps stick out like a sore thumb... but in the best possible way!

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!