Fake It 'Til You Make It...

This month's Men's Health magazine (Mr. Sweetie subscribes to it, I read it) had an article on faking it. Faking it at work, faking happiness, faking smiles, faking empathy, faking it with your friends, and faking confidence, etc etc etc. The article cited an example of an experiment a Harvard psychologist conducted where a group of 16 elderly men were recruited to live in a monastery for a week. Half were instructed to reminisce about the year 1959, a year of their youth; the other half actually lived like it was 1959, watching the same TV shows, listening to the same music, talking about that era's world events like it was actually in the present, not many decades in the past. At the end of the week, those who lived like it was 1959 scored better on a battery of tests and were rated by observers as actually looking younger than their counterparts who only reminisced about 1959. Bottom line of this story, the Harvard psychologist posits that if you think you are healthier, you will actually become healthier.

So, how does this tie into triathlon? If I think I am faster, will I actually become faster? Of course faking it isn't a substitute for actual hard work, sufficient sleep, and a healthy diet. But triathlon does have a psychological element to it. Confidence in myself during training, and especially races, isn't one of my strong suits. Last season was a breakthrough for me in terms of learning how to race and not letting my head get in the way; however, there is still so much more for me to learn and figure out. The run has been my nemesis for awhile now, even though I was a runner before I ever picked up triathlon. I feel like I stay strong on the swim and bike, but falter (both mentally and physically) on the run. Maybe it's because I expect more of myself on the run portion since that's the discipline in which I have the most experience - anytime I experience any gains in the swim or bike I am thrilled, and anytime I don't do well in those, I chalk it up to inexperience. But the gains in my running haven't been enough to satisfy me and I always wonder if I could do better, if I could be faster, if my half ironman run time could be closer to my open half marathon time. So this season will be the season of faking it until I make it on the run. Not only will I work hard during my training runs, I'm going to make an effort to be mentally plugged in, both during workouts and during races. I'm going to run with confidence - confidence in my abilities and confidence in myself that I can be faster. I'm going to make it a top priority not to mentally crack during the run portion of triathlon. I'm going to stop paying such close attention to my splits, turn my mind off, and run on feel. I'm going to find that hurt locker and put my legs into it. This is the year of faking it until I make it.

70.3 Galway race report

I raced in boots and a scarf. It was that cold.

Not going to lie, this whole idea of turning 30 was a bit traumatizing. So, to prove to myself that I'm still young, I can still have fun, I'm still cool - I decided I needed to do something really special. And when I saw that Ireland was hosting an inaugural 70.3 the SAME DAY I was turning 30, well, that sealed the deal. Didn't hurt that we were also celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary a few days later and would make an extended vacation out of it.

We arrived in Ireland on the morning of September 1st, so about 3 days before the race. Within hours, Mark was practically an expert at driving on the left. And navigating the Irish roads. We somehow managed to found our B&B with no help from the GPS and without getting lost ONCE. I was super impressed with the B&B - we were staying in Salthill and not only did we have a view of the ocean, but we could also see Transition from our bedroom window. Score! This proved to be especially great on race morning when it was freezing cold and windy and the last thing you felt like doing was getting to transition early.

The ocean - and Transition!

We shook out the travel cobwebs with a short run on Thursday afternoon, scoping out the transition area along the way, and trying to figure out the swim start and finish. I'm terrible with T1 and T2, and the fact that this transition area was super long and narrow probably wasn't going to help me much on race day. Thank goodness for jetlag - by the time 5pm rolled around, we were starving and tired. We strolled out to the Latin Quarter for an early dinner at the Kings Head Pub, and walked back to the B&B through the park along the water, previewing most of the run course along the way (I'm all about multi-tasking). And we were in bed, asleep before 8:30pm. I think I was 10 years old the last time I fell asleep that early :)

They like triathletes here!

The poor B&B owner, I think we may have slightly offended her by NEVER being around for breakfast. The first morning we overslept (I slept 12 hours - TWELVE HOURS!), the second morning we ran out to the beach for a swim, and the third morning was race day and they don't serve breakfast at 4:30am in most B&Bs. Friday was a stay-off-your-feet day. So we drove the bike course and simultaneously went sightseeing around Connemara (see-multi-tasking). The bike course was an out-and-back from Galway, out the N56 to Maam's Cross, and then back to Galway. It was during our drive along the bike course that it dawned on me "I have to bike on the left and pass on the right." Thank goodness the course was NOT technical and instead was very straightforward; otherwise I could see myself making a few mistakes. I also carried enough water with me so I wouldn't have to do bottle handoffs with my left hand. Connemara was beautiful, even though it poured almost the whole time. We (well, Mark) had a Guinness in an Irish pub in one of the towns along the way, we took some photos of a castle from afar (too cheap to pay the entrance fee), and that was about it. And we drove on the left most of the time. I don't have any photos of how narrow the roads were, but let's put it this way - there was no way I could even have my window open, because half of the shrubs alongside the road would've ended up in my lap.

Bikes! In the sky!

We went to packet pickup on Friday, before heading out to Connemara. They had the usual stalls selling stuff: IM gear, wetsuits, toy rifles - you know, why use your words to encourage racers to go faster when you can shoot them instead?

Saturday we met up with Angelina and Charisa at the practice swim. They had both already been in the water and said it actually wasn't all that bad. HAHAHAAAA, FUNNY! Well, at first, the water was bad. Like ice cream headache bad. And even though it looked calm from shore, there were some waves. But then I got into a rhythm and my head got used to the water, and it really wasn't all that bad. Nothing that I couldn't deal with on race day. After dropping off our gear bags and bikes, we had a long, 2+ hour lunch that afternoon at a local pasta place and then dinner at the pasta place next door to the first pasta place. I had a Magnum bar for good luck before heading back to the B&B for sleep. I didn't sleep all that great that night, but what can you do? I kept waking up and hearing the wind howling all around us - maybe the wind will die down race morning. Fat chance.

We love to race! We love to race! (we also like to match)

Race morning - woken up by wind, not the alarm clock. Lovely. It was also my 30th birthday. Even more lovely. Thankfully, I was more focused on the race than my gray hairs that morning. According to the locals, the remnants of Hurricane Irene were drifting by. Could things get any more lovely? We waited until the last possible second to head over the the race site. I put on every warm article of clothing I owned. Including my wetsuit. At least it wasn't raining - yet. The winds were ridiculous. And at first it was too dark to see the water, but when it became lighter, you could see the whitecaps and the boats getting jostled about. They made an announcement that they had pushed the race start to a little later and shortened the swim to 1000m. I was relieved they hadn't canceled the swim outright. No, it wasn't going to be fun to get soaking wet before biking in the 50 degree temperatures and wind, but I'd rather have that than a cancelled swim and a pretend triathlon. Angelina and I were in the second to last wave. It gave us lots of time to stare at the water and realize just how choppy it was. By the time it was our turn to make our way down to the water, there were girls in our wave who were in tears looking at the water.

Don't be fooled by this photo - it was REALLY choppy! Honest!

The gun went off and in we went! Within moments, it was obvious that this was NOT going to be a PR swim of any sort. I was only about 12 minutes faster than my usual 1.2 mile time. We had to fight the current on the way out, all while getting slapped in the face by waves if you sighted at the wrong moment. More chop and current after the first turn, but then with the second turn on the way back in, it sort of felt like flying. The whole swim felt like some sort of warped carnival ride. But, it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be - not a single ice cream headache! I passed a number of guys in the waves ahead of me, and when I got out of the water, I saw a few girls in front of and around me, so I was in the mix.

Bike on the left. Pass on the right. And don't fall.

I ran forever to get to the transition area. Then I tried to get armwarmers over my wet arms using hands that were blocks of ice. I didn't bother with sunglasses (it had started raining at this point), remembered my helmet and my race number belt, and then ran forever to get to my bike. I put my bike shoes on at some point too, don't remember when. Got on the bike and spent the first few miles reminding myself to stay on the left. I had no idea where I was in terms of my age group. There wasn't any body marking (booo), but I had sort of an idea of what race numbers were distributed to girls in my AG. I loved the first few miles of the bike course - - there wasn't any rain, I was passing people, and spectators were shouting things like "Brilliant job!" I made the left turn onto N56 and felt like I was flying - no idea what my mph were, but when the splits popped up every mile, I was pretty happy with them. We had been told that there would be a headwind going out and tailwind coming back in - so when I was seeing those splits, despite the "headwind," I figured I must've developed some crazy bike skills overnight; the alternative - that there was a tailwind - just wasn't an idea I was willing to entertain. Around mile 10 or so, it started to rain. And by mile 20, it was raining hard. Around the halfway point, I started to hit a low point where this suddenly wasn't all that fun anymore. I was wet and cold and the wind and rain were showing no signs of giving up. And I discovered that there WAS a headwind on the way back to town. But there was a bright side - I was doing OK in the girls race - I'd seen a few girls go flying back from the turnaround when I was a mile or two away from it - and the out-and-back really gave me a chance to see where I was and things were OK. And when we were about 6 miles from town, the clouds started clearing and the sun came out - amazing! We went from dreary, disgusting weather, to beautiful weather - just in time for the run!

Ohhh Emmm Geeee - the sun!

I saw Mark right when I headed out of T2 and he told me that he'd found carrot cake for my birthday (Carrot cake is my favorite birthday treat). If that isn't motivation to run fast, I don't know what is! The run course was three loops through Salthill and into town, with an extra 1000m tagged onto the last loop as you made your way to the finish line. The first 2.5 miles were zippy - all due to a tailwind. Which meant the last 1.5 mile of each loop was a bit more of a struggle - we were running straight into the wind through a park along the water - absolutely NO shelter from the wind. Again, the spectators and volunteers were awesome during this leg - lots of cheering and lots of Irish accents and lots of use of the word "brilliant." Can all races have cheering spectators from Ireland? I kept a relatively consistent pace on each loop, but it was never quite as fast as I had hoped. But I had no GI issues and I didn't spend any time during the race dreaming of food or water or fruit smoothies - this is always a sure sign that I nailed my nutrition. The last 1000m were a struggle - lots of headwind and general lack of desire to still be running. I was beyond thrilled to see the finish line.

First loop - feeling good.

In the end, I don't really count this race as a PR because it wasn't a true 70.3 with the swim being shortened. But this was DEFINITELY the worst weather I have ever raced in. However, it also had one of the best post-race buffets. Hot stew anyone? Back at the B&B after the race, I gorged on my carrot cake and put on layers of warm clothes. We headed over to the host hotel under the guise of checking the results since they weren't posted online. My visit also coincided with the 70.3 Championships rolldown. I told myself that if I came in the top 10 in my AG, I would stick around for the rolldown. I came in 8th. Stuck around for the rolldown. AND GOT A SLOT (and not even the last slot!).

Vegas. 2012. 70.3. Be there or be square.

This was an awesome race and I would do it again - even without making Mother Nature sign a contract guaranteeing better weather. Angelina and Charisa did great - and Charisa got 3rd overall - rockstar! I loved having the chance to catch up with Angelina - she is one of the nicest people ever. I am hoping we will both be at Jen's tri camp again next March. Mark was a trooper for cheering in the terrible weather AND for finding me carrot cake for my birthday.

And while I'm still getting over the shock of turning 30 (humor me, one of these days I will stop talking about 30), if my birthday was any indication, it's going to be a great year.

Training thoughts

With Allie in town visiting this week, I wanted to get my weekend workouts done as quickly and early as possible so we could get on with our day. This meant doing my 3 hour ride on the bike path. I haven't been doing many of my bike rides on the bike path because it's crowded and not very Lake Placid-like (i.e. - it's pretty flat). In fact, it seems like all of my training rides so far this year have been stupid hilly (Skymass, Skyline Drive, Lake Placid course, some Poolesville MD hills. The only thing missing is the Ascension ride, which I will NOT be using for my 120 miler this year). Soooo, this morning's ride was a nice change of pace, especially once I got out of suburbia and the crowds. The 1.5 hours out passed quickly, with a few gels and a PowerBar. Same for the ride back. Then a short brick run and I was finished - all before 11am! My legs don't really feel like they did a 50+ mile ride this morning, probably due to the lack of major hills. Maybe next year I should do a flat Ironman - the rides are over faster and your legs feel less chewed up at the end.

I have a few goals I'd like to meet over the next few weeks as Ironman approaches:

1) Go to bed earlier. I used to be good at this, until grad school ruined me.

2) Eat fewer Magnum Bars. Eat fewer sweets in general. I'm better at this than I used to be, but I've still been known to go on a sugar bender here and there. It's getting to be that time where I really need to save the bender for post-ironman, you know - as a reward.

3) Get all my workouts in. This is tied to goal one - if I went to bed earlier, I probably wouldn't oversleep and have to reschedule my morning workouts.

4) Make triathlon and training a priority every day. This will help with accomplishing goals 1-3.

5) Don't cut workouts short, don't slack, and stay focused.

Happy training!

Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman - Race Report

I like hills. In fact, you could even say I love hills. But after Sunday's race, I also believe that hell is paved with hills (you would believe this too if your last mile in a 70.3 race was uphill...). I had so much fun at Wildflower that I didn't want to wait until August to do another half ironman. That 5:40 barrier has been staring at me in the face for the past few years and I wanted another shot at breaking it and I was too impatient to wait another three months. So, I signed up for Rev3 Quassy at the last minute. I read the course description, and there were words like "challenging," "rolling," and "hills," but I still found myself surprised at just how hilly the whole course was when I drove it the night before the race. Visions of big PRs weren't dancing in my head any longer. But no matter, I was there to race hard and test out my nutrition in preparation for Ironman Lake Placid.

In the days leading up to the race, I wasn't as focused and plugged in as I wanted to be. Mark was still out on travel and it had been a somewhat craptastic week (see previous post about Broken AC and Heat Wave). The cherry on top came on the day before the race when, upon my arrival in Connecticut, I found a text from my friend/co-worker who was watching Miles our dog. Apparently Miles had been sick all night, was hacking up a storm, and my poor friend took him to a vet (which was quite an adventure in itself, seeing as she had to take him by taxi since she doesn't have a car - apparently cabbies aren't big fans of sick dogs) and was told by her landlord the dog would have to go. I was almost ready to turn around and head back to DC to get Miles and bag the race - but my wonderful aunt Amy saved the day and took Miles for the rest of the weekend (thank you Amy, you are the best aunt EVER!!). Once this situation was sorted out, I picked up my packet, did my pre-race brick, and drove the bike and run courses. I'm so glad I drove them because it gave me the opportunity to mentally note the hills, condition of the pavement, turns, etc. There would be no surprises on race day. Finally got to the hotel after a fruitless hunt around town for a decent italian restaurant (found none, ended up eating a bagel and bakery breadsticks with hummus from Stop and Shop) and watched tv before falling asleep.

Race morning came and I woke up feeling... kind of like crap. Like I was coming down with a cold. There was lots of nose stuff going down the back of my throat and I kept hacking it up (Miles and I were kindred spirits, channeling each other). I'd had a similar experience with nose crap at Kinetic 2010 and that did not end well at all - but today was a different day and a different race and I was determined to have a different (read: better) outcome. I ate a bagel and drank water, got my stuff together and actually left my hotel EARLIER than I had planned - I had heard the race site parking was really small and I was picturing hoards of Type A triathletes clamoring at the parking gates at 3:30am to ensure they got a spot. Imagine my surprise when I rolled up to the race site, 15 minutes before the 5:15am transition opening, to find that the lot was practically empty. I snagged a spot right next to transition, which was good because I ended up going back and forth between my car and transition about 10 times because I kept forgetting important things like my nutrition and such. I parked myself next to the pro area in transition to put on my sunblock and wetsuit and simultaneously gawk at the pros (multi-tasking). Then headed down to the water in my sleeveless wetsuit (if it wasn't super cold the weekend before in Lake Placid's Mirror Lake, I was pretty sure Lake Quasa-whatever in Connecticut would be too warm for a full-sleeve).

The Swim:

I got down to the lake too late for a practice swim, so I contented myself with dipping my toes in the water and congratulating myself for going with a sleeveless. I started towards the front on the right side. It was a triangular swim and for part of it we'd be swimming towards the sun. My biggest concern was whether or not my fancy goggles would decide to leak, which they have a tendency to do. My wave started and I found some clear water and fast feet pretty quickly. I stayed right in line on the way out, got a little off-the-beaten path when we turned towards the sun, and then stayed on a good line on the way back in. I sighted every 5 strokes or so and focused on shoulder rotation and pulling hard. I couldn't really tell how many girls from my wave were in front of me, and it didn't really matter, I just needed to swim hard. Looking back, I think I could've pushed harder and focused a bit more, but I have come a long way from when I first started doing triathlons and just focused on surviving the swim. I felt like I was out there for awhile, so I was pleased to see my time when I got out of the water.

35:30 (1:50/100m), 13/54 in AG, 57/228 women. Next time I want to break 35.

T1:

I got stuck in my wetsuit again. To add insult to injury, it was caught on film by one of the Rev3 camera guys swooping around transition. He was asking me things like "how are you feeling" and "what do you think about the race" to which I grunted in return and asked if he'd like to be my stripper (wetsuit stripper - get your mind out of the gutter!)

2:22 - better than Wildflower, but pretty much anything is better than my Wildflower transition times.

The Bike:

I was excited about the bike course. I was also wondering if it would seem as hilly on my bike as it did when I rode it in my car the day before. The answer - yes, it felt hilly, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The three mile uphill from 25-28 wasn't all that terrible. I started off aggressively and figured I'd do what I could to hold that pace through the race. Though, I had no idea what my pace or HR were because I don't have my Garmin programmed to show me that stuff - it's all about keeping my head out of the game; it gets in the way when it overanalyzes data. I took in a gel every 20 minutes and I only had one bite of PowerBar - this is the first time I've done a 70.3 with basically just gels and it worked really well. I tried to drink water every 10 minutes (I remembered most of the time) and I had a Nuun tablet in some of my water, so I alternated that with regular water. The weather was absolutely perfect and I felt really good during all but the last 5 miles (those were slow, uphill, and never-ending). I played cat-and-mouse with two women on the bike (both not in my AG) and was only passed by one girl in my AG - she passed me like I was standing still and I think she won our AG, so I don't feel all that terrible about not being able to stick with her). The bike course was super pretty, well-marked and the volunteers were great. The roads were in decent shape too in most spots. I did a better job at staying focused for the whole bike at Quassy than I did at Wildflower, so I'm pleased with that. I focused on pedal turnover, my goals, why I was there, and catching any biker that looked like a girl. Unfortunately, I didn't get the sub-3 that I wanted, but I blame that on the hills.

3:01:16 (18.54mph), 4/54 AG, 21/228 women.

T2:

2:06. I made it a point to grab my visor and race number belt and put them on while I was running, rather than standing around like a fool putting them on and wasting time.

The Run:

I did my best not to think about the run while I was on the bike. I also tried not to focus on the fact that I had a lot of nose crap dripping down the back of my throat, and was it a bad sign that I was already coughing and spitting on the bike - usually I save that for the run. The first three miles of the run are basically downhill. I ran out of transition and felt... pretty good. I settled into a pace relatively quickly and actually managed to catch two girls before the first mile marker. I expected them to stay with me, but they did not, and I kept plugging along. At mile 2, my Garmin informed me that, unfortunately, my lap database was full and it would now spend the next 11.1 miles beeping and buzzing angrily at me. It was amusing to watch the people in front of me check their watches in confusion when they heard me and my Garmin approaching. I tuned it out and it really wasn't a big deal - I just would have no idea what my mile splits were. Miles 4-8 were mainly uphill. Long, steady uphills. A few flats and a couple small downhills to make it interesting. There was a short out-and-back which gave me a chance to see where I was relative to the other girls. I passed both girls I had played cat-and-mouse with on the bike. The two worst miles in this race were miles 7-8 and then the last mile. All uphill. I drank a little water every other aid station. I started eating a little bit of a gel around mile 6. And every mile I would hack up a bunch of stuff, and while that's disgusting and I apologized to everyone around me, it made me feel alot better, and my pace would pick up until I'd have to do it again. I was surprised at how good I felt during the run. Both mentally and physically. Yes, it was uncomfortable, and towards the end I was suffering, but I enjoyed it. I never had the desire to walk or stop. I was in it - this was how I'm supposed to feel during a race. I was 100% plugged in - I focused only on the positives, not the negatives, and I just kept moving forward. The last two miles were a struggle. My legs were tired and I was ready to be done. That last mile, because of the hill, was the hardest of the day. I could see on my Garmin that, if I pushed it hard on that last half mile, I was going to break 5:30 (!!!!!). So, I ran like heck, told my legs to shut up and work, and I crossed the finish line in 5:28:54, a 15 minute PR! Just like when I qualified for Boston, I went from never being able to break that 40 barrier and then breaking that one plus the 30 barrier.

1:47:39 (8:13 pace), 4/54 AG, 18/228 women. This was one of my fastest runs in a 70.3 race - I think Mooseman 2009 was the only one that was even close.

Thoughts:

I'm really glad I did this race, even though it was a long drive up and back and the drama with the dog. I'm thrilled to have finally broken 5:40, and to have managed to pull it off on such a hilly course. It makes me want to do a flatter course, just to see if I could go faster and by how much. I REALLY want a sub-3 bike. I've never gone that fast before, but I know I have it in me, I just need to figure out a way to coax it out. I'm happy I stayed positive and mentally plugged in during the race - with my gagging and spitting, it could've become a repeat of Kinetic 2010, but I'm pleased with myself that I didn't let it. Besides Savageman, this 4th place is the best I've ever placed in my AG in a half ironman, and it was a relatively large race (larger than Savageman, anyway). Nobody in my AG was in the top 3, so I didn't get bumped up to third - too bad, as there were some good prizes that were being given away. Motivation for next time, I suppose :) I would totally do this race again and I'd recommend it to anyone - it's a super well-run race. Now it's time to focus on Ironman Lake Placid... though I might try to slip in one more Oly race if possible... This season has been so much fun with lots of races!

Placid, Broken AC, Heat Wave

All I've been doing these past few days is think about cold water. Cold air. Cold anything. Having a broken AC during the middle of a 100 degree heat wave will do that to you. I spent all Memorial Day weekend up in Lake Placid, seeing the town, biking the course, running the course, and swimming in Mirror Lake. Apparently Lake Placid is the place to be Memorial Day weekend if you are a triathlete - I was rarely alone on the bike course Saturday and I saw scores of people on the run course Sunday. Spandex, compression socks, and wetsuits were a pretty common sight - it almost felt like a race weekend. So, the course - LOVED IT. The bike course (even with the bad pavement in spots) was amazing. Amazing. The perfect amount of hills, downhills, and flats. This is the first time I've pre-ridden a course before an Ironman and it has given me a boost of confidence. The 5 mile descent isn't nearly as scary as I pictured in my mind, and none of the ascents are too heartbreaking. And it was beautiful - rivers and fields. The group of us rode the course on Saturday and unfortunately got caught in a massive thunderstorm at the very end of the second loop. I'm not going to be surprised if it storms like that on race day. Sunday we ran the course - again, hills, downhills and flats. I can't wait to see what it's going to look like on race day with all of the spectators. And Mirror Lake is gorgeous - the water temperature was perfect for our swim on Sunday afternoon. I wore my full-sleeve wetsuit, but probably could've gotten away with my sleeveless. The whole weekend was a blast, made even better by the fact that there was a great group of us sharing a house together and training together. We were walking distance from a bike shop, ice cream shop, the lake, and the main street.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end - and I traded the clear, cool Adirondack mountain air for a heat wave, broken AC and an 89 degree house when I returned to Virginia. The only upside - Bissell has been too hot and lazy to even be bothered to jump up on the counter. Just when I was reaching my breaking point last night, rain and a cool front moved through and I can happily report that my house is a very comfortable 81 degrees at the moment.

I have lots of pictures I've been meaning to upload, from Tucson to Lake Placid... if I could get them off my camera.

Oh, and a quick random/amusing story. As a married girl about to hit 30, I've been getting some questions on when we're going to have kids (short answer: not anytime soon). The most recent came from the AC repairman. As he's dismantling our AC to figure out the issue (massive leaks, need to get the whole thing replaced), he was making small talk - he asked if I was married (yes) and if I had kids (no) and how long I've been married. When I told him 5 years, a look of shock passed over his face. I thought he was going to say, "oh, well you look far too young to have been married for 5 years already." And I was totally going to take that compliment. But instead he says, incredulously, shaking his head, "5 years and no kids?! That is bad, very bad." and goes back to work.

Everyone has their own opinion, I suppose!

Will Race for Wine - Kinetic Sprint race report

I came. I raced. And I drank. VICTORY WINE. After the race, of course. Last weekend was a racing weekend - Mark did the 1/2 ironman (his first!) on Saturday and I did the Sprint on Sunday. The half course has broken me every time I've done it, so I smartened up this year and opted for the sprint. Truthfully, I wasn't in a racing mood that morning. All week I kept forgetting I was racing - I went to bed too late, overslept here and there, and I wasn't the most careful about my diet. I was on my feet all day Saturday cheering Mark on and when Sunday rolled around, the last thing I really wanted to do was get up at 5am to drive to Lake Anna and race. But I sucked it up, and showed up. I saw the awards they were giving out at the Half on Saturday - cute tote bags and bottles of wine. Who wouldn't want a cute tote bag and wine?? I decided to make it my mission to win some victory wine at the sprint.

I showed up to the race site late (eh, what else is new - at least I got there before the gun went off). Forgot my bike pump, couldn't find one in transition, and initially opted for a full-sleeve wetsuit when it was clearly too warm for it. The morning was off to a stellar start. I eventually got myself and my stuff together, decided my tires were fine as they were (like I had a choice) and swapped out wetsuits for a sleeveless.

The swim (750m):

Jen - you would've been proud. I lined up at the front, pretending to be a fast swimmer (ha!). I was hoping my mad dashing skills from the beach into the water at the start would be enough to catapult me to to the lead pack, but alas, within 10 seconds of starting to swim, I was run over by 1/2 of the 30-39s in my wave. It still forced me to swim hard, and judging by the violence of this particular swim, I managed to stick with the pack because I never had clear water. I managed to meet my goal (under 14) and I also stayed focused the whole time (granted, it was a short swim, so that's not all that impressive).

13:22

T1:

You'd think I'd be better at this. 2:25.

The Bike (18 miles):

SO much fun! The sprint course was actually the last bit of the old Half course, done backwards - it was great, I knew where the hills and the turns were and what to expect. And it wasn't a technical course, so you could really just get into your aerobars and be aggressive. I raced on feel - no idea what my heartrate was or my average speed during the race. Hmm, not much else to say about the bike, except it was over really quickly!

49:23 (first in my AG?!??!!)

T2:

Nope, still total crap. And this time I don't even have the "I got stuck in my wetsuit" excuse. 1:33.

The Run (3.1 miles -of hell-):

The first mile was uphill. Bleck. I knew it was coming because I saw the people doing the 1/2 run up that same hill THREE times during their run the day before. I can't tell you how many times I mentally patted myself on the back for choosing the sprint, and thus choosing to run up that hill only once. Mile 2 wasn't pretty either, but at least it was flatter/even a little downhill. Ha, even one of my fellow Z'rs said to me after the race "well, you looked like crap at the turnaround, but by the time you passed me a little while later, you looked better." I knew there was some fast girls behind me and if I wanted that wine and tote bag, I was going to need to move - FAST! Mile 3 was downhill - but waaaay longer than I remember that section of the course being. I just kept telling myself to suck it up and reminded myself that I may be hurting now, but it's better than being irritated with myself after the race, knowing that I slowed down and didn't try my best. You know that old saying, "Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever" (that was totally printed on my XC team shirt sophomore year of high school). I crossed the finish line, having not been passed by any girls (and very few guys) on either the bike or the run. That in itself, even if I didn't win anything, was something I was pleased with. And that my mile splits for the run got faster with each mile (I guess it didn't hurt that the last mile was downhill).

21:57.

Final time: 1:28:39. Even better, I met all of my goals - place in the top 10 overall (just eeked that out with 10th), and win wine (2nd in my AG).

I haven't done alot of short course racing these past few years, and I forgot how much fun they can be. There's just something freeing about doing a race short enough that you can go all out and yet not implode. In fact, you are encouraged to go all out. It's like doing the 100m sprint in elementary school gym class - there's no pacing necessary, just go as fast as you can and see how you measure up.

Happy racing to everyone this weekend! I've already gotten my long run for the week out of the way and I look forward to having one "lazy" day this weekend, with my friend Chelsea visiting from Korea. DSW shoe store, watch out - we are coming!

Wildflower!!!!! Long Course!

This about sums up how I felt about Wildflower - two thumbs up! (I actually had a really great picture to illustrate my feelings, but unfortunately our camera cord has gone missing, so the pictures are currently trapped on the memory card, wah-wah). This race should be on every triathlete's bucket list and if you are ever given the opportunity to participate, DO IT! The beauty of the course and the festival atmosphere more than make up for the fact that this is one of the more challenging 1/2 IM courses out there (I still think Savageman takes the cake on the bike, but Wildflower's run course was brutal. BRUTAL).

Mark and I flew out to California on Thursday and stayed at my in-laws' house outside of LA on Thursday night. Mark, his mom, dad, and sister Allie were all doing the Olympic race on Sunday. Mark has done one tri, but Wildflower would be the first triathlon for the others. There was some nervous pre-race energy in the house and I had my fingers crossed that I wouldn't be ex-communicated from the family for convincing them to sign up :).

The drive up to the race site was something straight out of a Steinbeck novel. If I wasn't afraid of earthquakes or wildfires, I would definitely consider moving to this part of CA. The race site was really remote (40 minute drive to the nearest town/hotel) and most of the racers camped. I don't camp and fortunately nobody else was too keen on camping either, so we stayed in a hotel. On our way to the race site, I insisted we drive the bike course - it's time I started arriving to races better prepared and driving the bike course is rather key. We drove up this MONSTER hill on Nacimiento Drive after we went over a dam and I figured it was the Nasty Grade everyone was talking about (turns out when I actually rode the course during the race, this wasn't the Nasty Grade at all - in fact, it wasn't even part of the course - apparently I need to improve my map-reading skills). After making quick work of packet pickup, we went back to the hotel, put together our bikes (if you told me a year ago that I could assemble or disassemble my bike in less than 30 minutes, I would've called you a liar), ate dinner and went to bed.

Race Morning dawned around 4:50am for me. I ate the usual - bagel with peanut butter and drank some water while I made sure I had everything in order. I was somewhat relaxed - mostly just stressed that maybe I didn't put my bike together properly (cue visions of my back wheel falling off during the ride). I had actually felt more nervous for Rumpus Oly than I felt for Wildflower, though the race plan remained the same: suffer. I think I had a bit more confidence in myself this time around because I managed to suffer at Rumpus and I knew I could do it again. I also wasn't racing for time - Wildflower is not a PR course - I was racing for place. I wanted a top-10 AG spot, which was probably out of my reach, but no harm in trying, right?

The Swim: LOVED IT! We ran down the boat ramp under the ubiquitous Wildflower blowup arch that is in all of the advertisements for the race. The water was refreshingly cold and I managed to find clear water pretty quickly, yet still keep a good line. I stayed much more focused at the task at hand this time around than I did during my last race. I really worked on pulling hard and working hard. I soon found myself dodging the 25-29 AG girls who had started in the wave ahead of me - I caught more of them than I expected. However, I didn't see alot of 30-34 AG girls, so I didn't have a good idea of where I stood in my own group. I was sighting every 5 strokes, trying to take breaths and see the buoys between waves (hello wind - glad you made it in time to make both my bike and swim a little more interesting). About 500m from the swim finish, another girl in my AG pulled up right next to me. I started swimming harder, fully focusing on doing everything in my power NOT to let her pass me. I (barely) finished the swim in front of her - bonus that she helped push me into doing my fastest 1/2 IM swim. I should've been swimming hard like that for the whole race, but I didn't realize I had so much energy left until the end.

T1: My transition time stunk. I need to learn how to already have my shoes on the bike.

The Bike: This was one of the prettiest bike courses I've ever ridden on - and one of the more challenging. The headwind for the first twenty miles only added to the fun. At mile 20 when I made a right turn, it became a heavy-duty crosswind. I was glad I never bothered to get race wheels, I would've been blown off the course and that wouldn't have been much fun. For the most part, the bike was uneventful. Nothing terribly technical, just beautiful scenery. I concentrated on nailing my nutrition (success!) with a Hammer gel every 20 minutes and water every 10, along with a PowerBar thrown in, just for some variety. (A fond farewell to my former bike buffet of cookies, sandwiches, and cheap gas-station crackers with fake cheese) I made up some more time on the bike, passing a couple girls in my age group and lots of young'uns from my old age group. There was one girl, super nice, that I played leap frog with until she left me in the dust on the 9 mile steady downhill portion of the course. Most of the bike course was spent preparing myself for the "Nasty Grade." Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), as previously mentioned, my map-reading skills aren't very stellar and when I was biking the Nasty Grade, I thought it was just a prelude to the actual hill. So imagine my happiness and excitement when I get to the top and learn, that was it! The rest of the bike course was cake (minus the super steep downhill in which I got stuck behind a girl who was wobbling so much, she probably could've used some training wheels - I don't know if it was from fear of bombing down a hill at 35mph or that her back wheel was about to come off - either way, I wasn't going to stick around to see).

T2: I hate transitions - I'm terrible at them.

The Run: Oh holy heck, ignorance is bliss. I'm so glad I had no idea what was coming on that run course. I had deluded myself into thinking it wouldn't be that bad, and I never attempted to actually preview any parts of it - I just went by what the elevation chart said in the event guide - and compared to the bike course, it didn't look that bad! Had I known what I would be doing for the next almost-two-hours, I probably never would've come off the bike course :). Kidding, kidding - but really, had I known, I would've been obsessively thinking and strategizing during the whole bike ride and probably psyched myself out.

So, the run starts and this one girl (not in my AG) takes off like she stole something. For a hot second, I thought that maybe I would try to keep up with her; I quickly realized my running limitations and stuck to a more reasonable pace. The first few miles weren't that bad - some rolling hills, pavement, lots of cheering volunteers, some shade. I was decently content - working hard, but not dying. No, the dying part came around Miles 4-5 when I happened upon the uphill that NEVER ENDED. I finally cried uncle 3/4 from the top when my side vision started to go black, and walked a minute to get my HR under control. I had no plans on walking, but that hill just broke me. I kept it together for the next 4 miles, even feeling a second wind around mile 8 when we rolled through the campsites and cheering crowds. Then I got to Mile 9 and saw another stupid hill. Physically, I felt fine, but mentally I just momentarily gave in to a pity party and walked. I did the same at Mile 10 when I turned around and had to run up the backside of that same hill. It was all mental, I physically could've kept running - and after my 30 second pity-party, I did. At that point, I swear I got passed by the same girl twice (looking at the results later, turns out a set of twins passed me, a few minutes apart from each other). The whole run, I just kept urging myself to get to Mile 12 - after Mile 12, it's literally all downhill to the finish line. Miles 10-12 were a slow, uphill slog. With no turns, so you could see EXACTLY how far you needed to go and how high you needed to climb. I don't know if this course was more physically grueling or mentally grueling. Probably equal on both sides. Right around Mile 11, I let myself look at my watch. And I realized that if I didn't fall apart over the next two miles, and I worked really hard, I might actually get a PR. At Wildflower!?! And so that's exactly what I did. It was only a 4 minute PR, but I will take it, especially because this isn't a very fast course (the winning amateur female time was 5:04 - and even the pro women didn't average more than 20-21mph on the bike course).

So, I've gone back and forth about writing down my times in my blog. I don't want to seem full of myself, but it would be nice (for me) to see the times next to the race report, so I can connect them with how I was feeling during a race. So, here are the splits:

Swim: 35:27 (1:50 pace)

T1: 3:44 (bleck)

Bike: 3:09:06 (17.7mph)

T2: 3:03 (what was I doing??)

Run: 1:52:13 (8:33 pace)

Overall time: 5:43:33, 16th in my AG.

Someday, I will break that elusive 5:40 mark. Someday. I was really happy with how the day went. I was even happier that evening when I ate a gigantic amount of ice cream with no worries. And I was even happier the next day when I was just cheering, while the rest of my family raced :) Everyone did wonderfully - no drowning, no major fails on the bike, and I wasn't excommunicated from the family :) In fact, my in-laws enjoyed the race so much, they are joining their local tri club!! I'm so proud of them! (I'm also savoring the fact that I still have a faster Oly time than Mark - I'm reveling in it while I can, because I know he's going to catch me. Someday. Competitive? Us? Nah!)

Back in the saddle...

I jumped on my bike today for the first time since Ironman, riding for a whopping 20 minutes on the trainer. I've found a new toy that I want to invest in - a CompuTrainer. It advertises being able to raise your average speed 2-4 mph within five months... that could be rather useful, I wonder if it's true. But it's as expensive as a low-end tri bike, though with both of my Ironmans being really hilly next year, I wasn't going to invest in a tri bike next year anyways.

I haven't figured out my schedule for the rest of 2010, aside from IM France and IM Wisconsin. I am pretty sure I will run the Shamrock Marathon in March down in Virginia Beach with my tri club. I love the Mooseman 1/2 and it's about 3 weeks before France, so maybe that's an option. Now that I'm not running Boston, I can join in the fun at the Rumpass in Bumpass triathlon festival down in Lake Anna in April, maybe do the Oly. I REALLY want to do Timberman, but that's pretty close to IM Wisconsin, so I'm not sure. And no Savageman next year either (tears) because it's one week after Wisconsin. But there is chatter that the team will do the Beach2Battleship Half next year, either that or MiamiMan - either one would be great. So yes, next year's racing schedule is going to look REALLY different from this years. Probably not as many 1/2's, no Boston, but maybe I can throw in a fall marathon and a late season half. And, to be honest, I am going to have to be a little less fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants when planning next year's schedule. Two reasons: 1) the two Ironmans will probably take alot of energy, and I want to do them right and if that means less racing, so be it. Plus, the wallet will probably be grateful for a fewer race entry fees. 2) I'm investing in a coach for next year. I'm still staying with Team Z, but I want to get a little more personal attention, hopefully a more aggressive training plan, and be able to get one-on-one feedback after races and such. And I've done my research and think I've found the person - Jen Harrison (her blog is now on my blogroll). I'm not going to have school to occupy all of my time, so I can really put 100% effort into training, racing, and recovering. And, Jen will probably have quite a bit of say in my race schedule to make sure I'm being smart, not stupid.

Okay, back to the paper writing. Yessssss!

A Little This, A Little That...

Our move to our new place was successful, no problems at all! And my new commute from my new place to my new job is pretty painless, I don't mind the bus nearly as much as I thought I would. We live off of the Columbia Pike, a major thoroughfare in Arlington, so there are ALWAYS buses going up and down it to the Pentagon and Pentagon City metro stations. I love my new job, although I miss my old co-workers and the fun we used to have in the office. But I really enjoy the stuff my new job is focused on. I actually feel like I'm decent at it too, which is a plus. I didn't realize how much I felt like a fish out of water at my previous jobs until I started my new one.

Anyway, back to the new place - we have so much space, I don't think we know what to do with it all yet. We have our big TV set up in the finished basement and our small one set up in our bedroom - we didn't want to have one on the main floor of the house. My friends Ryan and Christine, who I visited over the summer, don't have a TV on their main floor either, just a stereo, and there are so many less distractions. We found ourselves just hanging out and talking alot more than we probably would've had there been a TV present. So, Mark and I are doing the same thing and we don't miss the television AT ALL. We've watched it a little in the mornings and while folding laundry, but that is it. We eat dinner at the table like civilized people, and I think we talk alot more. Best decision ever.

We are still in the middle of unpacking, but the kitchen is pretty much done, as is our bedroom. We have the cable and dvd hooked up in the basement, and I have a little desk set up in the spare bedroom so I can shut myself away and write my final papers for school. The cats LOVE the stairs, they are constantly chasing each other up and down them. We couldn't be happier with the new place.

Switching gears to triathlon, I've been doing some light running post-Ironman. We are lucky enough to still live less than a block from the bike path, so I've been venturing out on that during most of my runs during daylight. This morning I was sporting my M-Dot visor when I did my easy 5 miles. I don't know if I was just imagining it, but I felt like people on the trail looked at me a little longer or gave me a second glance. I'm blaming it on my visor. Or the fact that I was shuffling kind of slow and perhaps they were wondering how such a slow person scored an M-Dot visor. I'm also trying to figure out the delicate balance between wearing no M-Dot gear and Ironman Apparel Overkill. I bought enough clothing and accessories to outfit a small army the day after Ironman - visors, shirts, socks, mugs (and I don't even drink coffee) and an awesome jacket. But I think wearing the jacket with one of the visors while sipping water out of my waterbottle might be a bit much. Brings back painful memories of being 9 years old and wearing my NKOTB (oversized) shirt, with my NKOTB hat, both covered in a variety of NKOTB buttons. Like I said, overkill. So, I may just stick to carrying the water bottle around and bringing the visor out for a run every now and again.

In other news, my final papers for school are trying to kill me. I can feel the hives of Summer 2008 coming back. Take a deep breath and repeat - it's all (hopefully) over in less than two weeks. I hate you, school.

Biggest Weekend for Ironman Florida Training...

...Has now been completed! Besides my left knee feeling unpleasantly tight and sore with every pedal stroke on the bike today, this weekend went without a hitch (and besides running out of ice cream sandwiches before the end of Sunday night). I did my 24 mile run yesterday and felt pretty okay during most of it. My pace was in the 8:40s (I think, but I'm too lazy to get up and get my workout log to actually check) but I wasn't doing a great job at keeping my heart rate in zone. I finished in under 3:30. Oh well, I just wanted the run DONE! And then today I got up at 5am to drive 1:15 outside the city to Maryland's Eastern Shore with Bryan and Scott for the 120 mile Team Z ride. We got there on time (I NEVER get to rides on time!) and did two rounds of the 54 mile loop that has two turns (and those turns are in the first/last two miles of the loop), so you don't even need a cue sheet. You just put your head down and ride. It's nice and flat. But it is ALWAYS windy, no matter WHAT direction you are going in. You almost always feel like you have a headwind. There were times during the ride today that I was just cursing out loud. That's when you know you're having an awesome ride - you're by yourself, surrounded by wind (phantom wind because none of the leaves are blowing on the darn trees - you really start to wonder if you're just making the wind up, if 120 miles have simply made you delusional) and talking to yourself. Ohh, and your face is covered with bits of PowerBar and peanut butter from your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All that's left to do is pee on your bike and you are officially a complete mess (I refrained - I only pee on my bike during Savageman). But I'm getting off-topic. Started the ride out towards the front, jumped on the Kate Green train for a little bit, went off and got in my extra 12 miles (the two loops were only 108 miles) in the middle of the first loop, and then ended up riding solo for the rest of the ride because I wasn't catching up to anyone who was riding my pace. It was a beautiful day for riding, it was great to see friends that I hadn't seen in awhile, and there was pizza and homemade heart-shaped brownies waiting for us at the end of the ride. I did the 120 in 6 hours and 36 minutes, averaging 18.1 mph (definitely did not negative split the bike). I did a short 3 mile run after the bike just to see how I felt. My sore knee did not affect my running, fortunately. For the first half mile, I was running REALLY slow and felt really sore and stiff and told myself that it was probably not a smart idea to ride as fast as I did today at Ironman. But by the time I hit the first mile I had loosened up, my pace had quickened, and I did the three miles with an 8:34 pace, staying within Zone 2 for almost all of it. I have more confidence for Ironman Florida. I have time goals for all three disciplines and an overall time goal in my head, but I am not ready to share them. Perhaps after the race :)

Training was good this weekend. And now I'm off to sleep!

Hitting my stride?

Today did not start off great. I overslept and I blame our *lovely* neighbors who were fighting for a good hour and a half this morning - from 2am until 3:30. And they were fighting pretty loud because they woke me up and I sleep like I'm dead. I think there was some slapping going on and throwing of objects too, judging from the noises I heard. Fortunately, Mark and I are in the market to buy a house so hopefully we will leave this roach-infested, frat-boy inhabited, full of inconsiderate neighbors apartment complex behind.

By the end of the day, I was SOOOO ready to hit the track. I was fired up and determined to have a good workout, both mentally and physically. There are some days where I am not in the game mentally, my mind just takes a vacation and forgets to make my body push itself. But I feel like I've started to really pull it together these past few weeks, both the mental and the physical, and I'm really excited to see where it could take me in terms of my training and racing.

This was week one of my three week build cycle (culminating in Savageman - how perfect!). Wednesday is speedwork. I decided I would do two 2 mile repeats and then two 1 mile repeats for a total of six miles, all keeping my heart rate in Zone 4. I managed to keep a consistent pace of about 6:45/mile for each set, even dropping my overall average pace down in the last mile and ending my workout in 40 minutes and 21 seconds, with an overall average pace of 6:43/mile. I was tired, but still had enough energy to jog home. I felt good that I accomplished what I set out to do in this workout and it is money/confidence in the bank for upcoming races.

Tomorrow night is the Jimmy Buffet concert - I am a Jimmy Buffet concert virgin so I am rather excited about the concert. I still have to make oreo balls for this momentous occasion.

And then the next day is my 28th birthday. Mark asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and he said I could do anything I wanted. So we are getting up early Friday morning, driving out to Deep Creek Lake in Maryland and I am going to ride the Savageman bike course while he sags for me. He is an awesome husband. I'm going to take a picture of my brick in the Westernport Wall too, since I plan on being too busy to stop and stare on race day. I just need to do this prep ride so I feel confident about Savageman.

Even though today started out on the wrong foot, my good workout made me feel much better. Though, when I got home I went on a bit of a cleaning streak (incredible, I know) and while I was vacuuming I accidentally sucked up Bissell's toy mouse (ha, ironic, I sucked up Bissell's toy with my Hoover vacuum). I felt like bad pet mom - he had just been playing with that mouse a few minutes earlier and now it is gone (I am no going into the vacuum bag to fish it out, sorry Biss).

So, why do YOU do triathlon?

I read an interesting article recently in Triathlete Magazine. The topic up for discussion was what motivated people to train for and race triathlons. Training, especially for the long stuff, can be time consuming. Any time that you're not at work or sleeping is often spent swimming, biking, or running. Trips to the bar with friends and sleeping in on weekends are usually non-occurrences during triathlon season. So - what would motivate people to devote so much of their time to the sport? Like the article said, there are the artificial reasons - look good in a bathing suit, gives you carte blanche to eat whatever you want in huge quantities (hooray!), and gives you a feeling of satisfaction, etc. The usual reasons any normal person would give when asked that question. But the article was convinced that there were deeper motivations underlying the aforementioned surface ones; and after reading the article and thinking about the question in relation to myself and my life, I tend to agree. These underlying motivations aren't usually something that's admitted, even to oneself - in fact, you may not even be aware of it. There's something bigger than just looking good and feeling satisfied that makes me train and race. I love the feeling of accomplishment, yes, but I think I love it so much because, it's one of the places I feel like I actually excel in my life. I don't feel inadequate, like I do in other things that I do. Growing up, I was never one of those kids that stood out, I was always average. And maybe I'm average when compared to other triathletes and their accomplishments - but I feel above average because I'm doing stuff that the vast majority of America can't/chooses not to do - swim, bike, and run for inordinately long periods of time over and over and over again. Here's a secret - it's really not that hard to swim, bike, and run - you just have to have something that motivates you!

Feeling Good

This past weekend was a big boost in my confidence for Ironman Florida. I had more than enough hours for the week by Thursday so I took Friday off and did my 90 mile bike ride on Friday (I had the IronGirl triathlon on Sunday, my normal bike day). I stuck around on the bike trails in the DC area - I rode out to Mt Vernon and back, took the Capital Crescent Trail up to Bethesda and back, went up into Rock Creek Park and then zipped around Hain's Point 4 times before heading back into Arlington up the Custis Trail and onto the W&OD trail. The last few miles of the bike, I noticed that the storm clouds were gathering. Storms weren't supposed to start until three and it was only a little after 2 so I figured I could beat the rain and finish my ride. Unfortunately, at mile 88.5, Mother Nature proved me wrong and I got caught in a ridiculous rain storm. I was soaked within one minute of the rain starting - it was windy too! Made it home, squelched down the hall to the apartment, and in the time it took for me to change into my running clothes, it stopped raining and I zipped out for a 5 mile run. I was tired at the end of the day, but I felt great! I could've kept on running if I needed to. Mark and I ate gnocci for dinner with pesto - perfect!

Saturday morning I went running with Karen - I love running with her because we are so close in pace, we're both really competitive, and we push each other. And I love doing racing with her for those same reasons - you never know which one of us will cross the finish line first. And I'm motivated to try to catch her when she's in front of me and vice versa - and I'm so happy for her when she has a great race and finishes before me. I don't think I'd be as good a racer if I didn't have Karen to train and race with. And running with her makes the time fly. Before we knew it, my 20 mile run and her 14 mile run were finished. We did the hilly Military Road route, kept a great pace, drank copious amounts of water, and I looked like I had gone swimming by the time I finished running. After the run, I tried icing myself in our cooler (didn't work too well, my legs are too big), put on my compression socks, and ate lots of food. I had a PB&J sandwhich, then went up to my aunt Amy's house and had another lunch (yummy) and then went out to Columbia, MD to drop of my bike and pick up my packet for Sunday's IronGirl race. Had gnocci again for dinner (yummy!), scrounged around for newspaper to help dry out my running shoes (soaked with sweat) and biking shoes (still soaked with rainwater) because it's no fun to race in wet, smelly shoes. The only newspapers I found were my Wall Street Journal Commemorative Inauguration issues for Barack Obama's inauguration. And I fully support Obama and was thrilled he was elected, but I didn't want to race in wet shoes, so I pulled out the sections that didn't have Obama articles, and stuffed them in my shoes.

Race day was great! IronGirl 2007 was my first road triathlon so I was eager to see if I had improved these past two years. I rode up with Leighton and it was soooooo great to spend the day with her; we're both so busy that we don't see each other nearly enough. We got an awesome parking spot right by the park exit AND the bike transition (we got to watch the pro women fly by on the start of their bike legs), the race official let Leighton rack her bike that morning, and the weather was PERFECT! Leighton and I were in the second to last wave, the first women finished the race while I was treading water waiting for the start. My goal for the swim (1000m) was to keep as straight a line as possible and not swim off course. I literally hit every buoy as I swam, so I definitely met that goal. I had hoped to swim it in 20 minutes, but finished in 22 minutes (44th fastest in my age group), still two minutes faster than two years ago. I felt strong on the swim, so I guess that's what matters most. And I didn't drown, also a bonus.

The bike was pretty good - a hilly course and I passed a fair number of people, both in and not in my age group. Half of my age group started 8 minutes ahead of me so I didn't know if these girls were in my wave or in the wave in front of me. But it didn't matter, my race strategy was just to go hard for as long as possible. Hardly anyone passed me on the bike (yay! I think my biking is finally improving) and it took me 56:16 to do the 17.5 mile bike course (averaging 18.7 mph, 7th fastest in my age group). And the run seemed to come together too; I started off feeling strong, I didn't love the hills and there were times I just wished the finish line was just in front of me, but I wanted to catch as many girls in my age group as possible and I didn't want anyone to catch me. Nobody passed me and I felt like I kept a consistent pace over the 3.4 mile course. My time was 25:32 for the run, a pace of 7:31/mile and the 4th fastest in the age group. My overall time was 1:49:09, fifth place in my age group (out of 181 girls) and 39th overall (out of 1600+ girls). My time was over two minutes faster than the 2007 IronGirl and I didn't do a 90 mile bike ride, 5 mile run, and 20 mile run in the 48 hours preceding the 2007 race so I'm pretty happy with the results.

Highlight of the day, going on an impromptu movie date with Mark on Sunday afternoon (Harry Potter) and then getting some Birthday Cake Remix from ColdStone (best ice cream flavor!) Then early to bed because I was tired.

Recovery week was never so welcome!

Happy Training!

The Perfect Day - A good friend, a race, a dinner date, and gelato!

I had the honor to do a sprint triathlon today with my friend Chelsea - it was her first race and she loved it - yaaaay a new triathlete! She was smiling during the race, make it through without drowning, falling off the bike, or feeling like death on the run! I finished first in my age group out of 27 girls and 4th overall with a time of 1:00:06 - just 7 seconds off from sub-1 hour. That was my best finish ever in a triathlon - I've never won my age group before or come within the top 5 overall. The splits aren't posted yet, but my run was 21-something and my bike average was around 19mph. The swim was a really nice 400m - I didn't use a wetsuit and the water was perfect. I felt like I kept a good line and I tried to swim aggressively. The bike was good - only 8 miles so I pedaled as hard as I could. It was hilly and I mainly caught people on the uphills and I stayed aero on the downhills. I ate two honey stingers and drank a sip of water and that was it. T2 was slow because I forgot my race belt (I forgot alot of things today - my SPF85 sunscreen, my good goggles, race number belt) so I had to pin the number on my shorts - boo. My legs felt tired - it was obvious that I have been skipping my weekly speedwork sessions far too much. I kept a low 7 min per mile pace, even though it was hilly. I passed a few people on the run and overall I was really happy that I was doing the sprint race, not the international race. I think I'm a little tired from doing two halfs one week apart. I shouldn't kid myself, I am not Hillary Biscay and will not be doing full ironmans back to back anytime soon. But I'm really happy with the race and I'm looking forward to taking the next three weeks off from training since I will be in Nepal starting early next week!

Chelsea and I had a great day together - I'm going to miss her when she moves to Mississippi. Mark and I had a great date night with an early dinner at Faccia Luna in Clarendon and then we topped it off with gelato - it reminded me of Nice. I love this straight up thug town of Arlington!

Mooseman 1/2 Ironman 2009 - Maybe I should do more 1/2 Ironmans back-to-back?

I ran the perfect race at the Mooseman Half Ironman this past weekend up in New Hampshire. I did this race last year as my first half and I absolutely fell apart - it was really hot last year, really humid, and I'd never done a race lasting more than 4 hours. During the run (death crawl, really), I remember thinking to myself that there was no way I wanted to do a full ironman if a half was this painful. I seriously considered dropping out of Beach2Battleship. But thankfully, I did not! And this year's race was so much better!

We rented a house with Luke, Leighton, Scott, Amber, Mel, and Iwan right on the lake - we weren't as close to the race site as last year, but that was okay. Mark did his first outdoor triathlon on Saturday and he ENJOYED it, so I was thrilled. While he was doing his race, I spectated for the first time (I never realized how exhausting spectating could be!). It was great to hang out at the Team Z tent with everyone - such fun!

I raced on Sunday - the weather was perfect, cool with low humdity. I started in the last wave, actually got in the water 15 minutes before my wave went off to acclimate to the chilly water, and made a conscious effort to properly sight and stay on track - and was rewarded with my fastest 1/2 iron swim time of 36:47. The water was even feeling rather nice by the end of the swim, though I was glad I had a neoprene cap. Transition was slow, as usual, but I didn't forget anything when I went out on the bike.

I again made an effort to concentrate on my race - eating every 10 minutes for the first 45 minutes of the race and 15 minutes thereafter and alternating plain water with NUUN when I ate. I enjoyed a nice meal of fritos, power bars, and power balls (not the lottery kind, unfortunately). I never felt bloated or over-full like I normally do when I eat on the bike so I worried that I didn't take in enough calories, but it turned out to be perfect. I also concentrated on keeping a steady cadence and pace - I really wanted to average over 17 mph for the bike portion. It was a hilly course, but I managed to do it. Final bike time was 3:13:39 - about 11 minutes faster than last year, I think.

Then I started the run, after a slightly faster transition. I took my NUUN with me, planning on ditching it with Mark on the second loop. I planned on starting off slow and conservative so I didn't burn out, trying to stay in low zone 3. The run this year felt awesome, especially in comparison to last year - it absolutely flew by so quickly, I only walked when I took water three times (I'm not good at drinking while running) and it was fine. I probably ate too much at the beginning of the run, but felt better once I backed off. I really don't need to drink as much as other people need to - I usually feel pretty bad when I drink too much water. Anyway, I finished my run under an hour and fifty minutes, with 1:49:41 and I was thrilled. I felt great during the whole run, kept a steady pace, and even picked off a girl in my age group near the finish.

My overall time was 5:47:08 - a PR by almost 30 minutes. It was a stacked age group - I finished 14/27 and 62/214 women overall. I far exceeded my expectations - I did want to break 6 but didn't know if that would be possible this time because I raced a really hilly half ironman the weekend before (Black Bear up in PA). I think the weather was really helpful, but I also feel like I was trained and pretty ready. I was so much happier this year after the race than I was last year.

I'm going to take about three weeks off from training starting on Monday next week because I'm leaving for Nepal that day!! I'll be back on the 4th of July and I plan on starting up my Ironman Training in full force for Ironman Florida. I'll do a few smaller races in July and August, as well as the Calgary Half Ironman (where I also get to see Christine and Ryan!).

On another note, I also found out that I was chosen to be a Sugoi Brand Champion - I need to get on their website and update my information and order the gear. I was pretty happy to come home from Mooseman to that news.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!

Mooseman 1/2 Ironman Weekend - race report included

Race weekend was finally here. I carpooled up to NH with some friends on Friday morning - we left about 4 hours later than initially planned (my fault), made alot of bathroom stops along the way (we were all obssessed with getting ourselves properly hydrated for the long day on Sunday), stopped at my parent's place for dinner, and finally made it up to Bristol, NH twelve hours after we started the drive - 11pm on Friday night. The cabin we stayed in was right on the lake, it was great, as were the people we were staying with. We slept in a bit on Saturday morning, had a leisurely breakfast as we waited for it to warm up outside, and around 9am we put on our wetsuits because we were all going to swim out to the little island and back. It was sooo cold at first, and I really didn't enjoy the swim out to the island. But the swim back was really great - the water was so clean and clear, it was chilly but I was used to it at that point so it was actually enjoyable, and it was really easy to get into a rhythm. I decided that I would definitely need to get in the water on Sunday before the race and swim, just so I would be more comfortable at the start. Then we all jumped on our bikes for a 30 minute ride - we ended up over at the race site during the oly distance race so we biked up and down the run course, cheering people on. We saw lots of Team Zers, it was so much fun. Then it was back to the house for a 15 minute run. It was such a hot day so we cooled off in the lake afterwards. I don't really know where the rest of the day went - we cleaned up, went to packet pickup, thought about all the stuff we needed to do that night to be prepared for race morning (clean up the bikes, rack them, get hydration and nutrition stuff all set). I really came to realize that triathlon is perfect for Type A personalities and just a hassle for the rest of us - I am completely not Type A. That's what I love about running races - you eat pasta the night before, roll out of bed and grab a bagel the next morning, grab your running shoes and race number and get yourself down to the start line. With triathlon there is so much other crap to think about - your water bottles, filling up your bento boxes, do you have all of the clif bars you want, what flavors, how many packets of jelly-beans to bring, did you remember a towel for transition, is your bike not falling apart, is it clean, is it greased, where the heck will you put your spare tube, buying the wrong CO2 cartridges, how much Perpetuem to put in the multi-hour bottle, getting to the race site hours before race start so you can set all of your crap up and eat a few more times. I think there's a good business opportunity to create a company that sends people to get a non-Type A triathlete all prepared for race day - they take care of your bike, nutrition, etc. All the non-Type A triathlete would have to do is simply show up. I need one of those people.

But, I digress. Because of my frenzy of bike cleaning and last minute preparations, I didn't get to bed until 10:30ish and about 20 minutes later I realized that my air mattress must've sprung a leak because I was suddenly laying on the hardwood floor. I ended up (literally) curling up on the loveseat in the living room, legs hanging over the end of the armrest, and just slept there the whole night. Strangely enough, I wasn't nervous about the race. Race morning came around and I still wasn't nervous. I ate oatmeal and a bagel, drank some water, got ready to go pretty quickly, and still wasn't very nervous. We made it to the race area, bikes in tow, got a prime parking spot, got body marked, racked the bikes, and went to hang out at the Team Z tent until race start. It was really great having everyone around, hanging out with everyone released alot of tension and helped us all forget that we were basically going to be beating ourselves up nonstop for the next six hours. Six hours is a long, long time. Anyways, we got suited up in the wetsuits, went down to the water for some practice swims, and then headed to the start line.

The swim was perfect - perfect water temperature, it was totally clear water so you could see all around you - the swim ended up being my favorite part of the race. Because I could see where everyone was around me, it made it very easy to avoid getting kicked in the face. The race was off to a good start.
Swim Split: 38:40 (such an improvement over swims in past years!)

The bike was pretty good too. It was a slightly rocky start because my bike cleats got full of dirt/mud when I was running through transition with them on so I had a hard time clipping into my bike at first. But once I got them cleaned out I clipped in just fine. The bike course was really pretty - around the lake and into some small New England towns. The fifty-six miles went by quickly, I felt pretty good during this part of the race, my legs weren't tired and I wasn't feeling like I was going to die. The only bad part was because it was so hot and humid out (95 degrees and something like 80% humidity, I was paranoid about dehydration so I drank a ridiculous amount of water. And promptly had to pee as soon as I passed the bathrooms. I was hoping the urge would go away, but it didn't and I made a pitstop. And went a little easier on the water guzzling.
Bike time: 3:24:15 / 16.5 mph average

The run was pure hell. I'm a runner so I always look forward to that part of the race because I figure if I go conservative on the bike, I can catch people on the run. That did not happen in NH. As soon as I started running, I felt off and the heat and humidity hit me and I spent the rest of the race wondering how the heck I was going to get through the 13.1 miles, telling myself I was never going to do a race like this again, and even considering getting a refund on the full iron-distance event I had signed up for later in the year. I'm really hoping it was just the effects of the heat and humidity, and not every race will feel that bad. I did a pretty fair amount of walking during the race. I really didn't want to run. In fact, I just wanted to jump in the lake and say forget it to finishing. I was hating pretty much everyone and everything by the time the race was done. I've never felt so negative about a race in my entire life. I really think it was the heat and humidity - I just felt bad all over, cramps, my stomach was staging a revolt, it was misery. BUT, I finished, managed to force down a hot dog later that afternoon at the Team Z tent, and was feeling good by the end of the day and no longer hated life or triathlon.
Run: 2:08:34 / 9:49/mile pace

Overall time: 6:16:02 - 16/34 in my age group

The race weekend was really great overall, minus the crummy run and finish to the triathlon. All of us went back to the house and zonked out like zombies in front of The Princess Bride for a few hours that afternoon before heading out to a late dinner. Then Mel, Brian and I left for Southern NH so they could catch early flights out the next morning. I am already looking forward to the next big Team Z half-iron race!

So HUNGRY!

Today hubby and I slept in and missed the group bike ride out near the Chesapeake (at least I think that's where it was, it was somewhere in Maryland and that state is practically surrounded by the Chesapeake so odds are I am right). I decided that today I was going to do a bike/run brick. We only had a 30 mile ride to do so we did it on the W&OD bike trail going out towards Leesburg (we didn't actually go out to Leesburg, just in that general direction). I felt pretty good, drank almost my whole bottle of Perpetum and plenty of water and 1/2 a Clif bar. The weather was gorgeous, I didn't get run off the trail by errant children on bikes or catapulted off by a leashed dog hogging the trail so overall the ride was a success. We got back, I dropped my bike off, grabbed my running shoes and did a 4 mile run. Again, felt good. I ran some errands this afternoon and then went to the Sunday night swim (which has been moved to an earlier time 5-6pm, yay!). I got partway into the first set and suddenly just started thinking about food and how incredibly hungry I was. I seriously thought about dropping out of the swim and going in search of a Clif bar instead. When I got home from the swim, in the span of about five minutes I ate some strawberries, carrots and hummus, walnuts, raisins, and finished off the carton of Rocky Road ice cream. And then ate a full (and yummy) dinner of chicken, salad and rice about 20 minutes later. And I am still hungry. I plugged in my Garmin to see how many calories I've apparently burned today - On the bike I burned 1415 calories in two hours, on the run it was 427 and then I'm not sure exactly for the swim but it was probably in the 400-500 range - so that's over 2000 calories total from exercise. No wonder I am so hungry. Where is the cheesecake?

Running in the summertime

Today was the first day since last year that I've done a long run on a pretty hot day. I'd forgotten all of the fun things that come along with running when it's hot and humid:
- you've got enough salt on you to resupply the Atlantic Ocean
- you're chafed in places you didn't even know existed
- you've got bugs stuck all over you (kind of like a car windshield)
- it looks like you've been swimming, not running
- and your running clothes weigh almost as much as you do by the time you're done
Oh how I've missed summer running!

But overall, today's run was really good. I did a little more than 17 miles, definitely straying waaayy out of my zone 2, staying mostly in zone 3. I wanted to finish before it got dark out. I got a later start than I had planned because I got caught up doing homework - started running at 10:45 rather than 7:30 :) The whole time I was running, there were these really ominous clouds off in the distance that kept creeping closer and closer. The undersides of the leaves were showing too when the wind kicked up (I feel like they do that whenever a storm is coming, or maybe that's the only time I pay attention to it). It started to thunder just a bit when I looped by home at mile 14 and I considered going inside but decided to stay out and do another loop close to home so I could jump inside if it really started to thunder and lightening. I managed to get 17 miles in before I called it quits. Good timing too, not too long after it started pouring buckets.
I'm a little sore, definitely tired, but feeling pretty good (and hungry!) This was probably the longest run I'd done since Boston and it felt great! I have the Mooseman 1/2 Ironman up in New Hampshire next weekend. I feel ready for it, just have a few last minute things to pick up - waterbottle holders for the back of my bikeseat, a *much* larger bento box for all of the food I plan on eating (I saw Karen's bento box a few weeks ago and currently have a bad case of bento box envy - you could fit lunch AND dinner in the thing!) and maybe a neoprene cap for the swim, it's supposed to be chilly and I don't want an ice cream headache - bad way to start off a race!

That's why you swim first, not last!

People have asked me why we do the swim part of the triathlon first, not second or third. Tonight I figured out exactly why... because it if was last, we would all die. Those people in the kayaks would be fishing triathletes out of the water right and left. I went to the evening swim today rather than the morning swim (thanks very much to 2am paper writing). The swim was after speedwork on the bike and my feet and legs cramped up so many times during the swim it wasn't even funny. And this is why the swim is first, not last, in a triathlon - so your legs aren't tired and prone to cramps :) Any suggestions for fixing the cramping in the legs problem? Am I not eating enough bananas?