Category Archives: Race Report

Jul 30 0 comments
Race Report

Nautica New York Triathlon Race Report

It wasn’t a stellar race, but it wasn’t a terrible race, either. Nothing really eventful today. I was a bit disappointed in myself on the bike, but I’m happy with my run. I wasn’t really expecting an awesome race, so i really can’t complain.

I woke up at 3:50, made my oatmeal (with 1/2 banana and 1/2 peach) and got out my 2 hard boiled egg whites. I turned on a motivational playlist, reviewed my gear checklist, did my hair and got in some stretches when Morgan walked in the door. Pretty funny that she was getting IN from the night before at the same time I was getting ready to start my day! We caught up a bit and she told me about her fun (late) night and then it was time for me to leave. It started pouring outside so I waited a few minutes for it to die down before heading up the street to catch a cab. I headed across town and a few minutes later found myself in the hustle and bustle of transition. It was dark, wet, humid, and you could feel all the nerves running wildly. I stuck to myself, set up my area, and set forth on the mile-long walk up to the swim start. It was raining pretty hard at this point but not much I could do about it, so I just shrugged it off and trekked on. The body-marking and chip pick-up areas were total chaos. This would probably be the one aspect of the race that could have been better executed. No signs or direction, just mass crowds of clueless people. Finally, I got marked and got my chip and made my way to stand in line for the port-a-potties. I made my way down to the organized areas dedicated to the various age groups/swim waves.

Swim

I was one of the earlier waves which is atypical for F25-29, but I was excited to get started (and finished) early. The current apparently grows less strong the later it gets., so to make up for getting the extra boost on the swim, the folks who were in the yellow transition had a further distance to run from the swim exit to the yellow transition area. All the waves were pushed back 20 minutes due to the lightening and rain storm we received while setting up in transition, but they pushed the swim waves closer together and we were going in increments of 1:30. It was very well organized and the announcer was keeping the energy light and fun. He asked random people where they were from and had a witty response for each one. I think he’s done this a time or two before :)

Anyways, not much after the pros and elites were off (they got to do a dive start while the rest of us had an in-water start), the age groupers started. I ate 1 shot blok and washed it down with the rest of my water ten minutes before my predicted start. Like clockwork the next 3 waves jumped in and were off. Now it was our turn. I’ve never been so at ease before a race. A couple girls around me had said it was their first triathon and were asking for advice, it was kinda fun to feel like the veteran! I was totally at ease and I put so little pressure on myself for this race, I was just excited to get out there and enjoy my morning. They called our wave to start walking down the barge and we all jumped into the Hudson and quickly grabbed on to the rope. The current really was pretty strong and if you didn’t grab ahold you’d start floating downstream. I set up to the far outside, it seemed as though that’s where the pros had chosen to swim and i figured they probably have a good idea as to what’s the fastest. so i followed their cue. We waited for a little bit and then the horn set us free.

I started off and used a long, relaxed stroke. I planned on going very low-effort on the swim and saving my energy for the bike. I was right on task. I felt like I was swimming warm-up pace. I was still in the lead pack which really surprised me for how little energy I was putting into it. I lifted my head to spot more often than I usually do because the water clarity was zero. The only time my HR spiked was when a fellow red-capper continually grabbed my ankles from behind and I tried to kick back. Hey, she started it.
I continued along in this fashion for the entire distance. I did manage to swim into a paper bag and get my hand stuck inside for a second. I’m pretty sure I can safely say this was the poorest water quality I’ve had to swim in (and after swimming in the Potomac twice, that’s saying a lot). Every time the water got in my mouth my stomach churned. Disgusting.

My goggles fogged up a bit, but as soon as I saw congestion ahead I figured it MUST be the finish area and that’s when I decided to add a little bit of a push. I glided in, passing 2 more red caps and glided in to the ramp. We were warned to swim all the way up the ramp until we were basically “beached” as to avoid the muck on the bottom. If you try and stand up too early, you risk getting your feet stuck in the mud. They had volunteers at this section to help you stand up and get your footing. I got myself up and out of the water, ripped off my goggles and began my transition.

Swim Time: 17:44; pace 1:04; AG place 23/268


Transition

By far… by FAR… the longest transition I have ever seen. I’m not sure the exact distance, but I bet it was close to a mile. Now a mile in a normal setting is not bad, but when you are running barefoot, in a wetsuit, and have two more events ahead of you, a mile is a lot. Not to mention a blow to the ego when you see your T1 time has quadrupled. Under the circumstances, I sucked it up and did what I could. I turned off the boat ramp, hit the pavement and held a good, steady pace. I pulled off my cap, reached for the zipper on my wetsuit and pulled it down to my waist. There was a good crowd along the sidelines cheering along and clapping. A few hundred yards in, one of the spectators yells “wipe your face!” … awesome, I had remnants of the Hudson adorning my cheeks. I sure hope the race photographers captured that. Thankfully a little bit further and there were sprinklers to run under. I still held my pace but I took advantage of the clean water. I was passing all the athletes around me and feeling pretty good. I was going through my next steps in my head– visualizing the transition area and the route to my bike and going through my list of to-do’s once I got there. My bike was positioned in the center of the row, so I spent some time yesterday figuring out which side I’d run in from. I always pick landmarks to help me find my row. There were banners along the fence and ironically there was an Orbea banner at the end of my row. Perfect.

I ran in, spotted the Orbea logo, jumped over a few messy transition spots, saw my bright pink transition bag and with a quick yank my wetsuit was off. I liked having my socks on my gear shifters last weekend at RI, so I repeated that trick today. They were damp from the rain, but no more wet than I was already. Slipped on my socks, velcroed my shoes, sunglasses on and helmet on. I decided since it was a short race I’d just wear my contacts the whole way, so I didn’t have to worry about ripping those out. I pulled my bike off the rack and ran towards the bike out exit. I made the mistake of not fastening my helmet back before grabbing my bike and once I hit the mounting line I lost a few seconds dealing with it.

T1 time: 5:29; AG place 11/268

(ouch)


Bike

I had racked my bike in a low gear in preparation for the short but steep incline that comes pretty quickly, but there was a short straight-away before the hill and I ended up shifting up to pass riders ahead of me first. After the climb we had a sharp left turn onto a traffic circle and then another sharp left onto the highway. It was a little dicey with wet roads and lots of cyclists, but luckily no crashes. I followed my plan of taking the first 5:00 to get comfortable spinning and going high cadence. At 5:00 in I took a few sips of cytomax, washed it down with water and then shifted gears. I was passing several people ahead of me. I started playing a game in my head– I kept track of how many folks passed me. I counted each person that passed me then if I passed them back I subtracted them. For the first 15:00 the number was 0. Eventually 2 men slipped ahead. Then a girl. Then another man. Then I passed the first man. I kept this going the whole way. I actually made up names for each person. There was a guy who had to be 6’5, his seat post was taller than me when I was in aero position, he would be called “Tall George”. The girl with the t-mobile hot pink bike spun her feet at an insane cadence, she would be “Speedy Gonzales”. Little did these folks know they were playing the game, but it kept me entertained and focused. I knew what was ahead and who I had to take down. The largest the number got was 13, but I kept picking them off along the way. I think the final count was 9, and most of them were men.

I didn’t know much about the course going into it. I had heard there were some rollers, a few good hills but didn’t sound too terrible. It didn’t feel too bad, but it must have been worse than I thought b/c my bike split was nowhere near what I thought. I must have knocked the magnet or the reader b/c my computer didn’t pick up any data. I had to do the entire ride by feel, which in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I think it’s good practice to judge pace by feel every now and again… but I really do like having my cadence at the ready so I can adjust accordingly. I definitely think not having my computer affected my overall ride. I felt like I was holding a good pace and pushing myself. I kept reminding myself that today was all about the bike portion of the race. I wanted to hammer it. Regardless of how I felt on the run, I wanted to crush the bike. Today was about experimentation… I’ll call it an experiment failure. I didn’t push myself hard enough and didn’t at all reach my potential. Oh well, just gotta train harder for next time.

I followed my nutrition plan pretty well–
5:00 cytomax
15:00 1 endurolyte
30:00 1 shot blok
45:00 1 endurolyte
I was supposed to drink cytomax at 60:00 but I was also supposed to not take in anything (except water) after 20 miles, and since I never saw a single mile marker I wasn’t sure which trumped the other. I decided to skip the drink and just continue with water. I had no stomach issues and had plenty of energy. As we rounded the final hairpin turn and headed back up the last hill, I pushed pretty hard to pass a couple folks and knock the number down a few more.

Getting back into the yellow transition was a little ugly. We had to pass the “bike in” for the red transition and that caused a bit of congestion and awkward/cautious riders slowing down. Despite my “ON THE LEFT!” calls, I had a really hard time getting by anybody. Finally I hit the dismount line, jumped off and rushed towards the Orbea banner.

Bike time: 1:21:26; pace: 18.3; AG place 15/268


Transition

This went quite quickly. Racked the bike, slipped on my shoes, and grabbed my race belt, shot bloks, and baggie of endurolytes (wasn’t gonna forget those again!). As I ran towards the run out, I stuffed the nutrition in my pockets and clicked on my race belt. I jumped over the obstacle course that was everybody elses transition areas and realized I didn’t start my foot-pod. I quickly stopped, turned it on, made sure it connected and started running again. I hated that I had to stop, but I think it only added a total of 2-3 seconds. It’s funny how that can seem like an eternity while racing. It’s true– every second does count.

T2 time: 1:21; Place in AG 15/268


Run

There were too many athletes clogging the path at the aid station directly outside of transition so I ran around them and skipped the water. We were immediately greeted by a pretty nice hill which spiked my HR up a bit, but shortly after we were on 72nd street and a multitude of people were lining the course screaming and cheering. I felt like I was the only one out there, like they were all cheering for me. It was such a rush. I definitely had a huge smile on my face. The crowds here were incredible. I can’t explain enough how much it helps to have people encouraging you and pushing you to push harder. Makes all the difference.

I was trying to use the first few minutes to get a grip on my cadence and find my “fast feet” before settling into my groove. Just before entering Central Park I heard my name, I turned to see my friend Ellen and a group of her friends. I was so excited and I know I got an extra jump in my step. She had a few other friends she knew doing the race and I think it’s awesome she came out to support. (thanks Ellen!)

The course was awesome. I loved it. It was hillier than I expected, but turns out I think I like hills now! Who would have thought!? There was only one big climb, the rest were rollers, but not much of it was actually flat. There were aid stations at just about every mile and I grabbed water at each one. We had the far right lane dedicated to us and the rest of the path was still being used by recreational runners, bikers, walkers, etc. So many of them cheered us along and shared encouragement. I got a lot of women cheering for me as I was in a crowd of men. I passed a group of ladies who informed that I was one of the first women to go by. Really?! I knew I wanted to wait until the halfway point to pick up my pace, but her comment made me want to push. I’ve learned that when I feel like I’m doing well it motivates me to want to do even better, and likewise, when I feel like I’m doing poorly, I lose my drive and begin to give up. So, to the lady who gave me the ego-boost, I thank you.

I decided to play a different game on the run– I knew I’d be passed by all the crazy fast runners, so I’d only count the women who passed my with 25-29 written on the back of their calves. I was about 2 miles in when I counted the first. I found myself running alongside with a gentleman about the same pace for a little while and for the first time in any race, I actually held a conversation with him. He had a great accent and it was fun listening to him talk. He had a great sense of humor and made many of the spectators laugh when he ran past. It was great, then we hit an aid station and I suppose he must have slowed to grab his beverage, b/c that was the last I saw of him.

I kept passing the mile markers and couldn’t believe how quickly this race was going. At mile 3 I popped an endurolyte. 3-4 girls in my AG had passed me, but I kept my speed and held steady. One girl passed me and was going SO fast, I couldn’t believe her pace. She was definitely a college runner and I had no plans of trying to keep up with her.

The day seemed to be flying by. My time, however, was not where I wanted it to be. I passed mile marker 4 and shortly after someone yelled “1 and a half to go!!”. I looked at my watch and it said 2:22, I had approximately 8:00 to cross the finish line in order to make my 2:30 goal. I knew it wasn’t going to happen but I pushed anyway, I wanted to get as close as I could. I told myself not to leave anything behind and crank it out- I can rest once I cross the finish line. This felt like a repeat of ITU where I sprinted too early thinking the finish line was closer than it actually was. The end of the course sort of snaked around twisty-turny and there was no telling where the end would turn up. I was holding a (too) fast pace that I couldn’t sustain and ended up having to drop it back a little so I’d have that last spurt of energy to sprint the end. Once I saw the line ahead, I had very little left in the tank but I kicked it in and passed the last two men ahead of me.

Run Splits

Mile 1 - 6:42 (unlikely); max HR 172, avg 169;
Mile 2 - 8:16; 172, 166
Mile 3 - 8:01; 171, 164
Mile 4 - 8:08; 175, 167
Mile 5 - 7:53; 179, 175
Mile 6.2 - 8:51 (also seems wrong); 192, 184

Run time: 47:56; Pace: 7:43 ; Place in AG: 28/268
Overall time: 2:33:53; Place in AG 12/268

I crossed the timing mats and had a momentary lack of balance. A nice volunteer took my arm and insisted he walk me over to the med tent. I assured him I was ok and just needed some water, but he made me talk to one of the medics. I completely understand it was a safety precaution and he was just doing his job. He asked me all sorts of questions to make sure I was cognizant and assess my mental state. It was actually kind of fun to have someone to talk to and tell about my race, plus I got a place to sit and an ice cold water! Despite his attempts to keep me longer and make sure I was in fact healthy, I convinced him to let me leave. The volunteers were top-notch and seemed to not only take their duties seriously, but went above and beyond. Well done, NY, well done.

After I finished I knew I had a while before Charlie finished and with the CROWDS of people, the chances of finding anyone was not gonna be easy. I decided to go wander the finish festival on my own. I picked up my morning clothes bag which really just contained a pair of flip flops and a biz card with my friends’ phone numbers on it. I switched shoes and ventured towards the food area. This was the best post-race spread I’ve ever seen. Bagels (plain, cinnamon raisin, poppyseed, etc), oranges, bananas, apples, etc. There were tons of vendors and free samples and all sorts of goodies like water bottles, Muscle Milk, cytomax, protein bars, glutamine packets, nuts, etc. They handed out drawstring bags to carry all our findings and I filled two of them! They had a massage/stretch area that was pretty empty and with plenty of time to kill, for the very first time, I put myself in line. The line started with 6 chairs with foot massage machines on the ground. It felt alright, nothing to write home about and it kinda grossed me out to be sitting in a chair covered in other athletes’ sweat and put my bare feet on something that several others’ put their bare feet. That’s gotta be a fungus breeding ground if I’ve ever seen one. About 10 minutes later it was my time to be stretched. I told the guy about my IT band and my calf and he did a few really good deep stretches that felt really good.

I kept on exploring and found my way to the crowd-covered posted results. I waited patiently for a spot to view the (unorganized) papers. I finally found my name and ran my finger across the rows and there it was: “total time: 2:33:53”. Not my goal time and slower than my last olympic race, but not bad. I was ok with it. I read the numbers again and realized I actually PR’d my run! I went almost a full minute faster than at ITU (which was a PR, as well) and this course was much hillier! I’m continually making progress in my run, and I love it. I can feel myself becoming stronger and faster and it really encourages me to want to continue the trend. My bike, however, was a big let down. I planned on using this race to test my strength on the bike leg and really drop the hammer. I dropped it alright, fumbled and let it fall. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all and it was a good learning experience and I’m glad I did it. This was a great race and I’d recommend it to anyone.

I got the chance to have a front row spot for the pro awards. Greg Bennett took home the gold for the 4th year in a row- pretty incredible. The announcer handed over the mic to all the podium finishers to recount their races and every single one of them talked about the difficulty of this race. I really didn’t find it to be bad, but maybe my view is just so skewed after racing the infamous hill in Rhode Island. Nothing could compare. Makes me feel good though to have had a decent race on what is apparently one of the tougher courses in the sport. The girls were given their awards and then all 6 of them stayed on the stage for the famous champagne “toast”. My front row spot turned out to be right in the “splash zone” and seconds later I was wet and sticky and smelled like New Years Eve. It was great. Salud!

In Review
Things I did well

• No nerves, put little pressure on myself

Mistakes I made

• Not fastening helmet strap before grabbing bike
• Not double-checking bike computer before race

Jul 12 1 comments
Race Report

Ironman Amica Rhode Island 70.3 Race Report

Alarms went off at 3:45, though I had been awake since 3 and I used that time to stretch and roll out my IT band and calf a little more. I got up and opened the curtains to see a dreary, wet dark morning. It had rained during the night and did not look like a good start of the day. I took care of typical race morning duties– put in my contacts, heated up water in the coffee maker (to make my oatmeal), braided my hair, put sunscreen on my face, and put on my tri-top & shorts (decided to go all black today. i mean business.). Because Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 is a point-to-point triathlon (start in one spot, finish in another… and in this case, you start on one side of the state (Narragansett Beach) and finish on the other side (Providence), race morning was a little different. All of our T2 gear was already in transition and all we had to bring was swim/bike gear (if we didn’t already leave it in T1 yesterday) I double/triple checked my black (”morning-of”) gear bag– wetsuit, goggles, cap, body glide, bike shoes, helmet, and bike nutrition). Satisfied with my checklist, I threw on big comfy sweats and my compression socks (hot, i know), gathered everything and packed the car. Luckily since Jordan wasn’t racing, she could drive the car to the race start and we didn’t have to deal w/ the shuttle bus (and lots of anxious athletes!). We set out on the (hour long) journey to the beach. I sat in the back seat eating my hard boiled eggwhites, oatmeal, and sipping on my water bottle. The hotel coffee hadn’t been made yet so for the first time, I was gonna race w/o coffee… not wanting to change anything on race day, I was a bit nervous, but it didn’t seem to be an issue.

We arrived at T1 with only minutes before transition closed so we quickly gathered our things and rushed over to body marking and then made our way to our bikes. Soon after, they made an announcement that the storms from the night before had moved the buoys around and they needed remeasure and place them again, resulting in a delay of about 30 minutes. Nice, I needed that! They made it clear at the race briefing that this race was to have a “clean transition”, meaning nothing except your front (or rear) wheel can touch the ground. Everything had to be either on your bike or in your green (bike) gear bag hanging from your bike. I put my helmet on my bars with my sunglasses inside, one sock on each gear shift and my shoes on my arm pads with my arm warmers inside. I re-attached my computer, put all my nutrition in my bento box, affixed my aero bottle (filled with water), and put my other bottle filled w/ 2x cytomax in the cage.

I met back up with Charlie and Jordan and we waited in the infamously long line for the port-a-potties. It was pretty amusing, Charlie was next door and needed toilet paper, so I opened the door and gave him the last of what was in the stall. Too bad we didnt get a pic of that! Then it turns out there was none left in any of the stalls, so one volunteer was grabbing tissues and passing them out to the folks in line. Never a dull moment.
It was absolutely freezing and most people were wearing their full wetsuits just to stay warm! We made our way to the beach as they started the national anthem and the pros prepared for their start. It was still dark, drizzly, and gloomy and the waves were a bit rough. They actually gave the option for anyone who wasn’t comfortable swimming in these conditions to instead do a duathlon and skip the swim. Crazy. The cannon went off and the pro men fiercely stampeded the water. Most of them ran as far as they could before dolphin diving the waves. I tried to pay close attention to the current and find any sort of pattern that would help me when it came my turn. I had planned on setting up on the outside and coming in diagonally, but after watching the first few waves go off, it seemed like more folks were being pushed to the outside. I made up my mind to start on the very inside and hope for the best.

I got to watch and cheer on Charlie as he started the swim then a few minutes later got to watch the pro men exit! I love watching the pros- everything is so fast and deliberate. James Cotter was the first male out of the water lept through the waves and sprinted across the sand. He had about a 30 second lead on second place Richie Cunningham. I was getting really into being a spectator and for a few minutes forgot that I was soon going to be in the water myself. I then decided to walk away from the action and spend a few minutes by myself and do some visualization and race prep. I reminded myself of my plan of attack and psyched myself up for the day. I opened my eyes and almost instantly the announcer called my age group to line up “on deck”.

Swim

I love beach starts. We stood on the sand and anxiously awaited the cannon to go off. I lined up at the very front and inside. I counted the buoys– 6 yellow buoys until the turn around. Just 6 measly buoys. I was ready. I put my goggles on, adjusted my cap, and got into my starting position. BOOM… and we were off. I jumped through the first few waves and ran as far as I could before dolphin diving my way through the rest. On my second dive my goggles got knocked off enough to fill with water. I had to roll over and readjust. I quickly gathered myself and got up to speed. It only took a few minutes for our swim wave to disperse and quickly spread out into different ability levels. The race organizers did a nice job at spacing out the different waves and it wasn’t until a good ways into the swim that i found myself dealing with different colored caps. I held a pretty consistent pace and effort level and found myself using good form (something that has been an issue for me in the past). I kept reminding myself “let my form carry me”. I kept playing leap frog with another girl– we would be right next to each other for a few strokes then one of us would pull ahead, then back to side by side, then the other would pull ahead. I didn’t want to focus on her or anyone else, i wanted to focus on me so I tried to ignore her. She never pulled ahead enough for me to catch any draft and she seemed to have a hard time staying in a straight line so I tried to drop her w/o increasing much speed. At the turn-around point I finally lost her. Once we rounded the orange buoy and were headed back to shore i could tell the current was slightly more in our favor. I was doing a great job at sighting and for the first time ever I didn’t swim off course. I was ready to start kicking it up but was slightly hesitant b/c I knew I needed to conserve energy. I kept looking up and could not seem to find any red buoys so I followed the crowds and hoped they knew where they were going. Every time I tried to spot I saw red blobs but they were caps, not buoys! I was swimming around more and more different colored caps and less and less purple caps. I think the waves knocked things around in the water, but next year I would suggest more buoys on the return. Finally I crossed the first buoy and I saw the beach just ahead. I was next to a purple cap and we seemed to be pacing each other. I knew I could outswim her so I let her set the pace and I held back until I was close enough to warrant sprinting in to the finish. I crossed the last buoy and then threw down. I lengthened my stroke, added some strength to my kick and pushed my way ahead. I didn’t stand up until the sand was shallow enough to almost hit with my hand. I let a wave push me and i streamlined in. I got up to my feet, pulled my goggles off, jumped the waves and began running towards the beach. I glanced at my watch and saw 30 minutes and some change. Excited that I beat my prediction, I pulled off my cap, reached for the zipper on my back and started running fast.

Swim time: 31:25, 1:38/100; 13 in AG

t1

It seemed like a ridiculously long way to run and I passed 3 people before I hit the timing mat and saw the wetsuit peelers ahead. Having never used peelers before, I was a bit hesitant, but I decided ahead of time that I’d give it a chance. I saw the biggest, toughest, strongest guy in the line and went straight to him. I jumped to the ground, laid on my back, threw my legs up and let him do the work. In about a second and a half it slipped right off. LOVE THIS. i thanked him, grabbed my wetsuit, and rushed to my bike. 1…2…3 racks in and I ran until my landmark (exactly even with where the swim chute hit the pavement) and found my bike, right where I left her.

T1 time: 2:01; 9 in AG
Bike

Sunglasses on. Helmet on. Chin strap secured. Tossed my wetsuit, goggles, and cap into the bag hanging on my bike and dropped it on the ground. Right sock on. Left sock on. Right shoe on. Grabbed my arm warmers and dropped them into the gear bag (made a last minute judgement call while running to my bike– it was still chilly, but not freezing and I remembered the trouble I had at Columbia trying to get the things on, so I decided to leave them behind). Left shoe on. I yanked my bike off the rack and began running towards the mount line. During this jaunt I poked my finger in my eyes and ripped my contacts out (I had my prescription sunglasses). I jumped on, clicked in, and was off. I used the first 5:00 to keep a high cadence/easy gear and spin my legs to warm up. Once my watch said 5:00, I shifted up a gear or two and settled into my groove. Knowing this course was pretty flat for the first 15-20 miles and it was going to gradually get more difficult, I was prepared to hold back and reserve my energy for the hills. I was feeling good and confident. I hit 15:00 and took in my cytomax + water. I was right on target. I hit the 15 mile mark and the first aid station and grabbed a water bottle. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very graceful when it came to refilling my aero bottle and a good portion of it ended up on my bike and on my legs! whoops. It was right around then that I came across a guy on a red Orbea, and feeling so thrilled to be out there doing what I love, as I passed him I told him I liked his bike. Little did I know I’d see much more of this guy throughout the day. We went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth for the ENTIRE bike course. I stayed on target with my nutrition plan of refueling every 15:00 and rotating between sports drink and shot bloks. I took my endurolytes at the hour mark. I passed the mile 25 mark and not noticing much by way of hills, I knew they must be right around the corner. A few rollers, some downhills and some uphills, but nothing major. They must be coming…. well, I’ll be honest, they never really came. I was prepared for (and expecting) much worse. I held back accordingly and looking back, I wish I would have pushed harder.

I found myself to be riding with the boys pretty much the entire time. Every once in a while a girl would come into the picture, but not very often. I was holding strong. We had to wear our race bibs during the bike (facing the back for the bike and facing the front on the run), which is unusual, but I loved it. They had our first names on them so it was great and added some personality to the otherwise tedious road. I held conversations with them in my head (hey what else are you gonna do for 3 hours?). “Hey Tom, ready to get passed by a girl?” things of that nature :)

The race was flying by. Every time I looked at my watch I couldn’t believe how quickly time was passing. I was actually really enjoying myself and things to slow a little (crazy, i know!). I didn’t want the race to end. I caught myself smiling for no reason a few times and couldn’t help but think maybe I’ve been a little too hard on Chrissie Wellington. Maybe she’s just caught up in the spirit. it does happen. Anyways, before I knew it I hit the 3rd aid station and mile marker 45. Shortly thereafter I encountered the biggest climb of the day. While it was not anywhere near as tough as some others I’ve done this season, I just wasn’t expecting it. I thought all hills were behind us at this point. I guess maybe I didn’t read the map well enough. Another good reason to always drive the bike course first if you aren’t already familiar with it. Anyways, I got myself up tit without too much trouble and was rewarded with a nice, fast downhill. I was flying.

The last 6 or so miles were the worst of the day. Not b/c of difficulty, but b/c of road conditions and traffic. The section of road we had to ride on was covered in potholes and uneven pavement. It was like a game of who can avoid crashing. If you’ve ever done IM FL or Gulf Coast Tri, you know how poor the quality of Hwy 388 is (after the turn around).. Rhode Island is worse. I’ve never seen so many water bottles lying on the side of the road. As if that weren’t bad enough, we also had the pleasure of crossing about 6-7 railroad tracks, which any cyclist knows can mean terrible things. At one point going downhill on a very narrow stretch with bumper-to-bumper beach traffic on our left we got completely bottle-necked. There were about 5 riders ahead of me who had really slowed down and with no room to pass, I had no choice but to come to a halt. Frazzled and frustrated as soon as I got the chance I weaseled my way around them and kicked up my effort level. I wanted to make up for that lost time. I kept looking at my watch and I was just under 3:00 but I wasn’t sure how much further I had left. I knew I was close to T2, but we were riding through downtown Providence and it all tends to look the same. I decided to take no mercy and go hard. Seeing a bike time of under 3 hours would make my day and though I should have been keeping a high cadence/quick legs in preparation for the run, I threw logic out the window and went for it. I was passing lots of folks and just kept checking my watch. Finally I heard a spectator shout that the dismount was just after the hill ahead of me. Now one of my biggest pet peeves is when a spectator tells you you’re close when you’re not… but I decided to trust him. I crested the hill and saw the dismount line ahead. I jumped off and ran for the timing mats. I didn’t hit my 3 hour mark, but I came pretty darn close and I KNOW if I had pushed harder earlier in the ride I could have shaved off a couple minutes. All in all, I’m happy.

I drank my water throughout, but I only took a bottle at the first aid station. I felt like I still had plenty at the 2nd and 3rd stations, so i breezed right through. I ended up skipping 2 cycles of my nutrition plan, but other than that I was hitting my every 15:00 eat/drink goal. I took my endurolytes at 1 hour and at 2 hour, but fumbled when I tried to get the pills out of my baggie for my 3 hour dosage. With the rough roads, I really needed to keep both hands on my bars and concentrate on staying upright. So I missed my last round of endurolytes, but more on this later…

Bike time: 3:04:26; 9 in AG
T2

I ran into the transition area counted the racks and made my way to my spot. I put my bike on the rack, tossed my helmet on the ground and ripped open my red gear bag. it was heavier than i remembered… oh wait, it was FULL of water from the storm the night before. i literally dumped out the water and grabbed my soggy running shoes. I had placed the “don’t forget” items (visor, shot bloks, flask of cytomax (which i decided i wasn’t going to bring), and endurolytes) inside my shoes and everything else was loose in the bag. Unfortunately, in my frazzled state, I took what was in my shoe and dropped it all on the ground while I changed shoes and while I thought I grabbed everything from the grass, I left one key item: my bag of endurolytes.

T2 time: 1:26


Run

I made my way underneath the “RUN OUT” arch, crossed the timing mats and was on my way. There were crowds of people lining the street. It was awesome to see so many supporters out! People yelled your name (read it from the bibs) and cheered us on. I was feeling good at this point, i couldn’t believe how quickly the first 2 legs had gone, I just had to make it through the run. 13.1 miles, I can do this. I was definitely feeling the energy and it must have showed b/c I got several comments from spectators about my huge smile. haha. I made the first turn and had this nagging feeling like I had forgotten something, and that’s when I realized I left my bag of endurolytes back at T2. Knowing this could very well affect my race I got a little worried but tried not to freak out just yet. I wasn’t having stomach issues yet and if I could just stop thinking about it, perhaps I’d be lucky. I had missed my last cycle of endurolytes on the bike so I was already behind on my nutrition plan. I was worried about eating my bloks w/o having the endurolytes, so in a preemptive effort to avoid GI distress I decided to just drink water and hold off on eating. I saw the first aid station, grabbed a sponge and stuffed it in my tri top, grabbed a cup of water and prepared myself for what I knew was coming: the hill. Not just any hill, but the MONSTER hill. I saw it just ahead of me, set my gaze on the top and told myself just to get it done. I tried not to pay attention to anyone else, but i couldn’t help but notice almost EVERYone was walking. I just kept telling myself “quick cadence, fast feet, breathe, keep form.” I crested the top of the first half, took in a deep breath, and was ready for the second part. this one looked even steeper. I didn’t take my eyes off of the top of the climb. No walking. I can make it. Truth be told, it was tough, but I knew I didn’t need to walk. I saw a few of the pros sprinting in the opposite direction and I knew I’d be there doing the same thing soon. As I got closer and closer to the top I think I actually picked up some speed– there was something about knowing I had almost conquered it that gave me a rush. I was actually excited for the second go-round. I wanted another go at it. I can do that twice! i WILL do that twice! There’s gotta be something wrong with me– when I find a challenge or something really hard, I find a way to make it even tougher. Guess i just like the sense of satisfaction.


As I crested the top I knew it was just going to be rollers for quite a while, until I met the big hill again. I used the next few seconds to catch my breath and regroup. I saw a few folks wearing DC Tri gear and I made sure to give a shout-out each time. Next aid station I did the same thing– water, sponges, and skipped food. I knew I’d be berated for not taking in calories, but I was afraid that my stomach would get upset and I didn’t have the pills to counteract it. Could have been a total mental thing but I didn’t wanna chance it. I took my splits at every mile, but I’m pretty sure the mile markers were not very accurate and I don’t trust them. I was keeping an eye on my total time and kept trying to count and see what I’d have to average in order to get my 5:30 goal. Focusing on numbers and counting helped keep me from thinking about my stomach/nutrition. The sun was finally coming out and starting to beat down on all of us. I took sponges at every aid station and stuffed them into my top and squeezed them over my head. I refused to have another experience like I did at Gulf Coast. I made sure to take a cup of water every chance I got and drank as much as I could without slowing (or spilling).

I finally got up the courage to attempt to get in some calories at mile 6… it was in the form of just one shot blok, but it was better than nothing. I was still feeling pretty good and as I motored down the giant hill I knew I was getting close. I ran through the crowd-lined street, completed the turn-around and began the second loop.


Jordan captured a great shot of the hill that shows EVERYONE walking. That’s exactly what I saw, but I refused to be one of them and I quickly moved my feet to power me up and over the top. Goal accomplished. Now I could go find the guy who lead our briefing yesterday and prove to him that it is possible.


At mile 8, I attempted more calories and ate one more shot blok washed down with water. It went down ok and stomach was doing ok. The next section of the course was hot, bright, and lengthy, but I still had plenty of energy and showed now signs of slowing. I reached my favorite section of the course– the beautiful tree-lined stretch with the running path in the center. Something about it just made me want to smile. So refreshing and New England-esque. The grassy median was lined with signs cheering on athletes, and while I knew there wouldn’t be one with my name one it, I read each one and pretended that they were for me. Some were funny, some were sentimental, and some were simply giant displays of children’s artwork. This certainly passed the time and kept my focus off of my worrying about my nutrition. Shortly thereafter, I hit the turn around and knew I was almost there. I picked up my pace a little and knew I needed to push if I had any plans of hitting my goals. The clock was ticking and my 5:30 (ultimate) goal was becoming less and less of a possibility. I reevaluated and focused on my penultimate goal: 5:40. If I could keep ahold of my current pace and kick up the last mile, I could do it.


I was passing most of the folks around me at this point and the rush I got from it fueled me even more. I was knocking off landmarks and continually setting sights on what was ahead. A few more aid stations, a few more cups of water, a few more sponges. Just . keep . going . There it was– the downhill! I could feel the finish line ahead,. I just had a little over a mile. GO!


I rounded the crowds of screaming spectators and I was hauling. Made the next turn and embraced the last (big) hill towards the finish. Naturally, my pace slowed a bit but I held it steady and focused my eyes on the top and let my feet turnover quickly beneath me. I saw the capitol ahead and began my sprint. Just as I entered the chute I saw my friend Mike’s wife, Amy and their son. I had already passed them when it registered it was them, but I heard them shout my name and I got an extra kick in my step. As I rushed across the timing mats the announcer said “And here’s Doris Steere from Washington, DC. Where is that energy coming from?!” hahah. love it.

Mile Splits

Mile 1 - 8:52 (Max HR 174, avg 161)
Mile 2 - 7:59 (172, 152)
Mile 3 - 9:29 (170, 158)
Mile 4 - 8:51 (182, 162)
Mile 5 - 8:52 (175, 162)
Mile 6 - 9:20 (188, 161)
Turnaround - 4:59 (173, 164)
Mile 7 - 3:55 (178, 168)
Mile 8 - 9:39 (195, 166) (HILL)
Mile 9 - 9:03 (164, 126)
Mile 10 - 8:47 (164, 93) (monitor glitchy)
Mile 11 - 9:09 (171, 151)
Mile 13.1 - 18:55 (186, 141) (missed split)

Run Time: 1:57:48; Halfway split: 58:24; Pace: 8:59; 29 in AG
Overall Time: 5:37:06; 27 in AG

The volunteers removed my timing chip, placed a medal on my neck, and handed me a water. I was done. I felt great. Tired, yes. Exhausted and needed to sit? nope. I had plenty of energy and wanted to find my friends and celebrate! All my hard work had paid off. This race proved so much and now I know I have no plans of slowing down. This is what I love and I want to continue to set goals, aim high and work hard.


It didn’t take long before I found Charlie and Jordan and we made our way to the finish festival to find some food and chill. The food was slightly disappointing- they had the typical bagels, oranges, and bananas, and pizza… but that was about it. Nothing appealed. I forced myself to eat a mini bagel and drank a few bottles of water. I was excited about finding some “real” food. We found a nice shady spot and sat in the grass and told each other about our race. Charlie finished his first half-ironman and I’m so excited for him. You only get one first time and his went pretty darn well. We both had a great day and the weather was so fitting- bright sunshine with a nice New England breeze. The only thing that could ruin this day was reminding ourselves that we had a LONG drive ahead of us…


I made my way back to the finish area to look for the results and check out my standing. I thought there might be a possibility of qualifying for the World Championship 70.3 race in Clearwater… I knew it was unlikely, but worth at least looking. The top 2 in my age group automatically qualify, but they use a roll-down process (if #1 has already qualified or declines, it goes to #3 and on and on), I’ve heard of it getting down to the 20’s. The results were not in any convenient order (by division, AG, or even gender), but instead just one long list based on finish time. I finally found my name and decided to count backwards and figure out how many lied ahead of me (and my chances to qualify). I counted 21 when I decided the chances weren’t good enough to warrant hanging around for another 2 hours when the slotting took place. We gathered our belongings and made our way to the car and hit the road.

In Review

Overall, I’m very happy w/ my performance, but i know i could have gone faster in ALL 3 disciplines. i was close to making my ultimate goal (5:30) and I honestly do think i can get there.

Things I did well

• Pacing myself. Didn’t go out too hard.
• Staying on course in the swim. Good spotting.

Things I could do better

• Dialing in nutrition (still)
• Push myself harder on bike

Jun 22 1 comments
Race Report

Dextro Energy ITU World Championships Triathlon- Race Report

wow. where to start… i’m still on such a high from today’s race.

woke up to my alarm going off at 3:45… in the a.m. It was a little rough, but knowing I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, I rolled out of bed and started my normal race morning routine. Priority #1, turn on coffee maker. Then I get my hair wet and start the braiding (only way i can wear my hair and not have it get in my way during the race). One braid in and I throw the egg whites on the stove, pop my oatmeal in the microwave and pour my glorious cup of coffee. 2nd braid in and I ate my breakfast (standing up, of course) while scrolling through my checklist. I pulled my bottles out of the freezer (aero bottle half full/frozen, cage bottle was empty but wanted to keep it’s chill). Filled them both with water and added 1/2 a scoop of cytomax to the cage bottle. Did a minimal amount of stretching (gotta get better at making this a priority), slipped into my trisuit. Double checked my list (thankfully) and realized I hadn’t packed my wetsuit. Whew. I was sharing a cab with a couple guys who called and said they were on their way. I threw on some sweats and grabbed my bags and met them outside. Street closings were everywhere and we ended up having to walk a good mile+ to get to the race site. Just what you want to do before putting your body through a tough race.

The sun was just beginning to rise and there was a serene, calm aura about it. Transition wasn’t too crowded and almost felt like it was moving in slow motion. I got to my bike, unwrapped the plastic bags and set up my transition. The bikes were pretty close together (this will come up again later) which made the set up a little tougher than usual. I grabbed my goggles, cap, wetsuit and headed towards the swim start. I found my friend Brian (who was a rockstar– came out at 5:30 to watch and was at every point in the race snapping photos and cheering me on). I also found my friend, Charlie, and was able to wish him luck before his start. Smaller races are great b/c you actually run into people you know!

Swim

There were only 4 swim waves: Open male/female, Men 40+, Men 39 & under, and All Women. Yep, all women in one corral. Interesting. It being an in-water swim start, we all jumped off the floating dock into the delightfully clean Potomac. First swim in the new, unfamiliar goggles. I set up closest to the shore, all the way to the right side. I planned on avoiding the chaos of the center and meeting the top swimmers in the middle. I ended up staying too far to the right longer than I should and added quite a bit of distance. I was keeping good form and reminding myself over and over to swim like I do in the pool. The current was unusually strong (the Potomac is usually stand-still) and we were swimming through mad debris from all the rain we’ve had earlier in the week. I scooped a few twigs, hit some sort of branch-like object, and my fingers ran through some very questionable floating object. I paid very little attention to any of it and just kept going. I’m so thankful that I’m completely comfortable in the water and don’t panic for anything. I realize I’m in the minority here and have to remind myself that I shouldn’t take that for granted. As I turned the first orange buoy a guy in a yellow cap (wave #2) knocked into my face and smacked my goggles. Luckily they didn’t leak and I just kept going. For some reason I was kicking way more than usual and had to remind myself again to swim like I would in the pool. I was slowing down and my (dominant) right shoulder was beginning to get sore. I really wish I had studied the course a little bit better. My sighting was completely off today. I came very close to swimming under the 4th arch of the bridge rather than the 3rd (I saw caps ahead and followed them… they were wrong). I added another 100-200 yards. Still unsure where the next buoy was, I decided to take the safe route and just head in the direction of the shore. I saw the final 2 orange buoys and it appeared to me that you swam between them… until I got there and found out we actually had to swim around the furthest buoy, so I turned around, headed back, and rounded the last orange marker. Added another 25-50 yards. Frustrated at my mistakes, I wanted to sprint the finish but with all the congestion of the green/yellow caps it was near impossible. I spent the last 25 yards dodging swimmers and tapping feet. Once at the ramp, I pushed my way around the stragglers and began running my way towards transition. By the time I hit the grass my cap/goggles were off, wetsuit half down and I was well on my way to start the next leg. Time wasn’t too bad, but I’m certain I’m capable of much better, especially if I hadn’t gone off course.

Swim time:25:09 / pace 1:41 / 3rd in AG




T1

I jogged through the arch, counted 5 rows in and mid-way into the racks, my bike was waiting for me. I quickly yanked the wetsuit off (yay, another success!), I slid my socks on, stepped into my shoes, popped my sunglasses on, and tossed my helmet on my head. I grabbed my bike and started jogging to the mounting line. I had a little trouble clipping in, but then I was off…

T1: 1:46 / 1st in AG

Bike

My plan was to take the first 5:00 to just warm up my legs– fast cadence, stay comfortable. Then I was to shift up a gear or so and hold it there for the remainder of the race. As soon as I kicked it in gear I realized how tired/sore my legs were. I was hoping for a miraculous recovery overnight. no such luck. I was gonna have to power through it just try and hold a steady pace. I made the turn onto Independence and started to find my groove. The competitors had thinned out a lot and I only saw a couple men ahead of me. I just stayed in my game and focused on my ride and ignored everyone else. I actually liked the 2 loop course b/c I knew what to expect on the second lap. I knew going up the Whitehurst Freeway was going to be a tougher hill than it looked. I took that one out of the saddle and I was ready to do the same on lap #2. Cruising onto Clara Barton was awesome. It’s a road that otherwise bikes would never be allowed on. It was tree-lined and gorgeous. I paid (too much?) attention to the bikers going the opposite direction trying to spot my friends Charlie and Sam. The wind was at my back at this point and I was cruising. I forgot how tired my legs were and just kept on spinning. I kept my cadence at 85-90 the entire ride. Despite my hesitation, every time I dipped below 85, i shifted down. I stopped being stubborn and just did it. I finally saw Charlie and yelled out a good cheer for him then before I knew it I was hitting the turn-around. I wasn’t too far behind! I think this encouraged me to keep pushing it and not let go.

My HR was possibly higher than it should be, but I almost just tossed that logic out the window and used my perceived exertion instead. When we hit the parkway, the wind was on our side and I was holding a good 22pmh w/o much effort. It felt great. I made it to transition after the first loop and saw my friends Brian and Jordan on the sidelines. I yelled a big cheer and kept going strong. I looked at my time– 36 minutes… I did the math in my head and realized I was way ahead of schedule. If I could just perform another lap at the same speed, I’d have the potential to have a great race. At this point, I was racing primarily with all men. I think 2 girls passed me in the first loop (neither of which in my age group). It was kinda fun. I kept thinking to myself “don’t let up”. I was fearing that I was biking too hard and I would have enough legs to carry me through the run. I wanted to PR in the bike, but more importantly, I wanted to PR the whole race. New strategy: “pedal hard, but I still have a 10K”. Over and over in my head “10K left. 10K left. 10K left.” Then all of a sudden, I hear my name being yelled. Sam was passing me on the bike! It being his first tri and the swim being his weakest link I knew he was about to have a phenomenal race. I knew I couldn’t keep pace with him on the bike so I didn’t even make the effort. I kept maintaining my speed and trying to add the times in my head to figure out how fast i needed to go to achieve my goals.

A girl dressed in purple passed me going just a tad bit faster and I kept right behind her (legally, not drafting). I knew I could catch her, but I didn’t want to go out too hard before the finish. I knew I needed to shift down, increase cadence, and prep my legs for the run. Before I knew it, I was back on the parkway and was about to dismount. I glided through to the white line, jumped off and ran across the mat and towards my stuff. I saw my friends out of the corner of my eye and tried to acknowledge them (hope they noticed).

Bike time:1:15:53 / avg 19.6 / 6th in AG





T2

I ran to Row 9, counted in 3 racks and found my spot… but the two bikes on either side of my number were blocking my space. I tried to gently move them but the handlebars were caught and I was wasting valuable time. I thought about just leaning my bike where it was and taking off but I feared getting a penalty for not racking correctly. So I somewhat forcefully separated the bikes and slammed mine onto the rack (my poor bike). I quickly stepped into my shoes, pressed my footpod on, grabbed my race number and headed back towards the exit… whoops! wrong way! (Again, i should really have studied this course more) I turned around and headed back past my bike and through the correct exit. They were handing out water but I passed on it b/c I knew I had lost valuable time already. Now it was game-on. All I had to do was a 10K. Please legs, just make it through. Turns out my T2 time was not as bad as it felt, but imagine if it had gone smoother, I definitely could have shaved some time off here.

T2: 1:10 / 2nd in AG


Run

Here it was. The dreaded run. I exited the transition funnel and hit the pavement. Jordan and Brian were right there cheering and I looked at them and said but one word, “ouch”. I heard them chuckle and sorta laughed at myself. I knew my legs weren’t fresh and that having that fantastic run I was dreaming of was pretty darn unlikely. I just wanted to settle into my groove and make it to the end. I saw the girl in purple and passed her back within the first few hundred meters. The first mile felt ok. I predicted I was holding about a 9:00/mi pace and was pleasantly surprised when I took my split: 8:42! Ok, almost right on target. Now I just had to keep myself from slowing down. I kept my eyes peeled for friends along the way. I started singing songs to myself. I felt pretty good. I tried to utter some motivating words to all the folks I as passing. I looked down and my HR wasn’t as high as it typically is during a race. I tried to crank it up just a little bit more. I crossed the 2 mile mark at with a split of 8:17. I think I must have smiled when I saw that. Seeing that I was doing pretty well motivated me to not let it slip.

The run course was one of the worst I’d ever seen. Not sure who dreamed up the route on this one, but I’d be interested to hear the thought behind it. The one redeeming quality in the course was that with all the out-n-backs, you crossed paths with the same people multiple times. I was able to cheer on Charlie, Sam, and Simon several times. It also helped judge your pace by seeing how far ahead others were. Now, DC itself is not terribly hilly. They had to work at it to devise a course that had as many hills as this one did. I was definitely surprised at how many ups and downs we took. We ran through 2 tunnels and over an overpass to one of the bridges. Pretty crazy. The rain held off until the run and it felt so good when it came down. I love running in the rain. It dumped on us for only a minute or two and then went back to being a sprinkle. Though it was humid, the sun wasn’t quite peaking out yet and the mist felt great.

I never saw mile markers 3 or 4 but I saw the mile 5 on the opposite side of the dark tunnel as I ran towards the biggest hill of the day. As we neared the light again I saw the hill staring at me. I knew what had to be done– quick steps, gaze up, and power through. Before I knew it, I was at the top. It didn’t even hurt! These hill workouts must be paying off! I grabbed a cup of water at the turn around and knew the infamous mile 5 mark was waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. Just as I started the descent, a woman breezes past me. “wow she’s fast”, I thought. Her leg said 43 so I knew i had nothing to worry about (age group wise). I knew there was no way I could keep up with her, so my goal was simply to keep her in sight. There it was #5… my split was 23:28. I was pretty sure that couldn’t be right– that’s practically a 5k in less than 24? Nah, couldn’t be right… could it? I saw my total time and I was about 2:24 at this point. I was in serious disbelief and tried not to let myself get my hopes up… I was going to be really happy if I hit 2:40 today, and judging by my watch I was way ahead of target. I wanted it so bad, so I pushed. I was gaining on the woman ahead. We were on the straightaway stretch of Pennsylvania. There it was (or so I thought): the finish line arch. Not too far, time to kick it in. Using a different sprint technique– quick, fast turnover vs my normal wide, long stride. As we neared the first white arch, I realized that was not the goal… ok, next white arch, that’s gotta be it… Nope. Turns out the 2 white arches were for the professional race that took place later on… Our finish line was still ahead. At this point I had 2 options: slow down, recover and jog my way in -OR- continue this all-out sprint until I physically can’t continue. Reminding myself I had the possibility at PRing my olympic distance, I chose the ladder. “catch that girl.” I kicked it in top-speed, closer, closer, closer… DONE. I ended less than a second behind the woman I deemed far faster than myself. After we both caught our breath a little we thanked one another for pushing each other. She said she could feel me right on her toes. To this woman I do not know: thank you.

Run time: 48:44 / pace 7:52 / 6th place in AG


There it was on my watch: 2:32. Dazed, confused, and in disbelief I scrambled to get my chip removed, get my finishers medal and find my friends who were waiting at the finish line. I told them the news about how I *thought* I may have done the unattainable and reached not only my race goal, but my entire season’s goal. I really didn’t want to celebrate just yet b/c I honestly didn’t think it was right. I had to see it on the results page before I would let myself get too excited. I knew I had a good race and my legs lasted through the run and I had plenty else to be pleased with, so I focused on what I knew.

Turns out my watch didn’t lie. I was a mere 2 minutes from a (far-fetched) goal I set last year. I never actually thought I’d get there this year, especially after having two rough races this season. I did it. I couldn’t be happier… that is, until I came to realize, I accomplished another one of my goals for the season. I was going home with a trophy: 3rd place in my Age Group.

Total Time:
2:32:40 / 3rd in AG

Just the reinforcement I needed. All of my hard work, dedication, and devotion are finally paying off.

I stayed afterwards and watched the entire Elite men’s race and then the women’s swim. What an experience. I’ll post pics and stuff later.

Several hours and no food later I was ready to eat my arm off. A few friends and I ended up going to a Korean spot, Mandu, in Adams Morgan for my post-race meal. I think I would have eaten anything at that point, but the Mandu, Japchae, Bibimbap, and Sapporo were excellent. I think I ate my weight in food today… later on, my incessant sweet tooth kicked in and I caved. Knowing far and well that walking anywhere was not an option, I baked myself some cookies. That’s right, cookies just for me. Thankfully I was smart enough to made a small batch so I couldn’t overindulge. They were dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, pretty darn healthy… and pretty darn delicious. I’ll post the recipe later. I made a nice, hot soy latte to pair with the cookies and me, my dessert, and my compression socks found a movie and vegged on the couch. it was glorious.

though not gonna lie, the almond butter came out later. jar, spoon, pure bliss.

May 11 0 comments
Race Report

Gulf Coast 70.3 Race Report

so… i’ll just go ahead and start by saying i did not have the race i was expecting/hoping for. sorry this is coming a couple days after the fact, but i’ve a) been with family and trying to soak up all the time w/ them as i could; and b) slightly embarrassed to share…

I’m actually feeling better about it the more i think about it and let it sink in. plus, I’ve spoken with several other folks who competed in the race and after commiserating w/ them and hearing similar feedback , i realize i did just about as well as i could have considering the conditions…

swim

i was “lucky” enough to swim in the largest swim wave of the day. there were SO many people. it didn’t bother me a bit, i’m fine under chaotic open water situations. but, it didn’t thin out until the turn around point. it was mass chaos… mostly b/c the waves were out to play. usually the once you pass the “break”, the waves die down and it’s pretty smooth… but not on Saturday, the choppy waters were there the whole way. they were considering canceling the swim portion b/c of it. considering that, i guess i’m not to upset w/ my time. i added a minute to what i did last year, but again, the conditions were worse and last year i was doing it as a relay so i ONLY had to worry about the swim. Also for the first time since i can remember, i felt like i had a good swim. i have such a tendency to lose form and swim sloppy when it comes to race-day. today i felt smooth and controlled. i’m very happy with that. hopefully that’s a continuing trend :)
swim time- 37:42

T1

i did it!! i got out of my wetsuit! probably the best part of the day right here. my coach gave me some tips and it worked like a charm! my fears of getting my wetsuit stuck are now gone. yay!!
my T2 was a little slower than usual, but i was told to take my time here. plus, the distance from the beach to transition was quite a jaunt. i quickly tossed my contacts out, grabbed my sunglasses (prescription), threw my helmet on and ran to the mount line. i looked down when i got to my bike and i somehow gashed my knee on something (not a clue what. it didn’t hurt at all) and i had blood gushing down my leg. i loved it. i felt so tough ;)
T-1 time- 3:30

Bike

well, the one redeeming part of this race is i PR’d on my bike. i felt good starting out. i took one endurolyte at 5:00 in and continued drinking my water. At exactly 30:00 i took 1 GU and a few sips of accelerade. i continued the nutrition plan pretty closely until the second hour. the amount of calories needed and space for water bottles didn’t quite correlate, so in the interest of space/aerodynamicity i put two scoops of accelerade in one bottle. the concentrated accelerade was too much for me– too sweet, too concentrated. i couldn’t stand the thought of drinking it any more. i got 2 water bottles during the course and refilled my aero bottle. it didn’t slow me down much, either. i’ve now gotten over my mental obstacle that taking water slows you down. from mile 30-40 i felt SUPER strong, i almost had to remind myself to slow down a bit (which ive never done before). i saw 20-21mph for a good while. i tried to keep it above 17 the whole way… THEN i hit the turn around… and then the wind was at my face. i tell you, there was a good bit of wind. the wind that WAS in the water earlier was now the enemy on the bike. my speed was dropping to 15-16mph. i tried to just keep it where was comfortable and in HR z3. there was one hill going out and one hill coming back and despite my positive thinking, it was tough. i think at mile 30 miles, my cumulative time 3:30. i tried to keep mental notes of my times throughout. at mile 45 i starting feeling pain in a place that i’ve never felt before– the inside of where my legs connect to my groin– hip flexor, i suppose. i told myself with 10 miles to go, i could hit the run and be just fine. i kept going, but i’ll tell ya that is what hurts the most right now.
nutrition: i could not get myself to eat a 3rd GU. so, once i got off the bike i had consumed a total of 32oz water plus 2 16-20z water bottles i picked up on the course, half my bottle of accelerade (which prob = 1 scoop), and 2 GU’s. I also took in 7 endurolyte caplets and 2 excedrin migraine (at 2:00 exactly i felt one coming on and took them immediately)
bike time- 3:09:19

T2

easy. quick switch of shoes, grabbed my visor, bag of endurolytes and stuffed some GU in my pocket and i was out. legs felt great, a little tired but felt strong and i felt like i was gonna have a great run…

T2 time- 1:14

Run

this is where it all ended. for the first 3/4mile i felt great, started out at a fine clip, not too fast, just about perfect… then it hit me before the first mile marker, i had to start walking. all of a sudden i hit a wall. i got to the first aid station, grabbed 2 cold sponges, squeezed one on my head and stuffed them both in my shoulder straps. i grabbed 2 cups of water, drank them both and took an endurolyte. i started jogging again and made it a few minutes and then had to start walking again. i couldnt figure it out. the most i’ve ever walked in a race in my life was 30seconds up a big hill at the north east tri last year. i was walking about 1-2 minutes then running 5-6 then walking again. i got water at every aid station like you suggested and drank at least 1 cup (plus some ice) each time. i started having GI issues and took more endurolytes. the idea of eating any GU or shot bloks made me feel even more queasy and i knew they wouldnt react well with my stomach. this trend continued pretty much the whole way. walk, jog, walk, water, endurolytes. the only full mile that i was able to run without stopping was from 7-8 and even that was difficult. there wasn’t a single spot of shade the entire course. it was 87 degrees and terribly humid. i even saw professionals walking. it was like nothing i’d ever seen before– there were more walkers than runners! it made me feel a little bit better knowing that i wasnt the only one being torn apart by the heat… but still it was totally discouraging. i was finally able to try to eat a GU at around mile 4, but i could only eat half of it. i followed it with more water and an endurolyte. at close to mile 6 all that sounded appealing to me was something i could chew, so even though i’ve never trained with it, i grabbed a cliff bar, took a bite chewed it up and spit it out. it actually helped. just having the taste in my mouth and the act of chewing seemed to be a good thing. i took my split at the 6 mile mark– 1:08:34. i took my next split at 12 miles — 1:16:12. the final 1.1 was 15:54. terrible. i followed my rule of sprinting the finish line no matter what and was able to crank out a decent clip for the last 1/4 mile.

but once i finished i was completely wiped. i was helped to the medical tent where they proceeded to give me an IV and 2 bags of fluid. i was in terrible shape. i couldn’t think clearly and couldn’t really describe what was wrong. one of the medics asked if i was hot and i couldn’t even interpret the question b/c i readily answered with “YES” and when they brought a cold, damp towel and draped it on my legs i couldnt figure out why they would bring someone who’s teeth are chattering an ice cold towel! i didnt have the energy to remove it so it stayed there until i could flag down someone and tell them i was freezing. lol. it’s kinda funny thinking back on it. apparently i was just really dehydrated. the medical tent was completely full- the tell-tale sign it was just a really tough race. after about an hour of recovering in the med tent, i was finally confident that i could get myself back to my stuff and find my family. the walk to my bike took me quite a while, but i hobbled my way back. again, the most sore area was/is the inner hip.
oh, and definitely losing a few more toenails after this race. lovely.
run time (get ready to grimace ) - 2:40:41

total time:

6:32:23

a full HOUR slower than my goal. i looked at my watch and saw that i was hitting my goal time of 5:30 at around mile 8… i then realized beating my last time (5:48) wasn’t even a possibility. that was a tough realization.

i found my sister and we found a seat inside and sat down for a few hours talking and waiting for my mom to call and let us know they were getting close to the finish line. my mom ran (walked) with my dad the whole way. this was truly a family affair :)

all in all, i had fun and felt pretty good in the first two events, it was just the run that ruined the race. i know i can (and will) do better and i’m anxious to erase this time from my memory and redeem myself :) i think considering the fact i’ve been so sick and had to take crucial time off from my training and the weather conditions for the race, i can’t be too disappointed. i’m tryin to stay positive :) rhode island will be my time to shine!!

Doing this race w/ my dad made it even more special and i feel lucky and privileged to have had this experience. i’m incredibly proud of him.Having my family there on the sidelines was so awesome. i wish they could be there for every race.

Apr 07 0 comments
Race Report

Race Report: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Welp. Guess this just goes to show you can’t slack off and expect to still see results. This was probably the slap in my face I needed in order to regain focus and get back on track.

Thankfully the course changed from past years and started less than a mile from my house. Without having to worry about transportation logistics I was able to have a more leisurely race morning than most. I made my typical pre-race meal: small cup of coffee, 2 egg whites, and 1/4 c oatmeal with mixed berries & half a banana. I jogged to the race site to warm up my legs a bit. It was an absolutely gorgeous Sunday and perfect race conditions. It was slightly chilly in the shade but completely fine in the sun. No wind and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. No complaints.

It was refreshing to see so many crowds of people out for the race. Ordinarily you’d think that many people would only convene for some terrible boy band concert or for free Ben & Jerrys. I couldn’t help but smile seeing folks out for a healthy reason. Yesterday I thought I saw the longest line I’d ever seen at the packet pick up… turns out I was wrong– the line for the port-a-potties was even longer. I think folks must have still been in line after the race was over.

The beginning of the race was very unorganized and tough to navigate. There were no signs (that I could see) or any indicators of where to go. The corrals seemed all jumbled up and I ended up having to climb a barricade and run to the front where the rest of the red corral actually was. Anxiety and confusion added to the pre-race jitters is a terrible combination. I ended up in the very back of the group where it was completely congested. This undoubtedly added some extra time onto my total, but I just managed it as best as I could. Dodging and weaving is the name of the game.

I wrote my planned splits for each mile on my hands. 1-5 were on my left and 6-10 on my right. It really helps me to have something to focus on that way I don’t start concentrating on the negatives or focusing on pain. These sports are such a mental game. My first mile was a lot slower than I had planned (likely due to the congestion). Once I hit the Memorial Bridge, I was able to get around some of the crowds and bump up the pace a little. By mile marker 3 I was right on target. I ran by several girls in their running skirts and was fueled by some motivation each time. I couldn’t forgive myself if I got passed by a girl in a skirt. In between the 2nd and 3rd mile a dude behind me tried to spit and somehow it landed on me. Lovely. All I could think of was, thank goodness it didn’t land one of the skirt-clad girls. She’d likely shriek, freak out, and cause a scene. It’s pretty safe to say, you can’t be a girly-girl and compete in endurance events. They just don’t mix.

My Splits:

mile 1: 9:15 (max HR 179, avg HR 172)
mile 2: 8:55 (188, 182)
mile 3: 8:25 (190, 185)
(5k: 27:28)
mile 4: 8:22 (192, 188)
mile 5: 8:29 (193, 189)
mile 6: 8:17 (194, 190)
(10K 53:??)
mile 7: 8:50 (192, 190)
mile 8: 7:24 (193, 191)
mile 9: 8:30 (192, 190)
mile 10: 8:14 (195, 191)

Final Time:

1:24:40; pace 8:28; HR 195, 187


I crossed that finish line and wanted to pout and feel sorry for myself, but seriously, what good does that do? I did pout for a few minutes by myself, but then quickly got that out of my system. I can be happy that I hit most of my splits, and though it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, it’s a good training experience. I can use this as a learning tool and help gauge my future efforts. I’m not gonna give up so easily.
2009, it’s on.