Rumpass in Bumpass Oly distance tri

I'm too lazy to write a blog-specific race report, so I've posted the e-mail I sent my coach after the race. First triathlon of the season!! And a good start overall.

Overall I am happy with the race and the results. I tried to get some extra sleep in the nights leading up to the race, and I had no problem waking up at 4:45am to drive to the race site. When we arrived at 8am, it was SUPER windy - the kayaker trying to bring the inflatable buoys out provided much fodder for us as we waited in line to pick up our race packets. It took him about 20 minutes to go 30 feet. Awesome. Fortunately, the race had a late morning start (10am) and the wind and chop had died down significantly by that time. And the sun came out. And it got pleasantly warm.

Swim:
I opted for the sleeveless wetsuit - I brought both with me, thinking that I would wear the full sleeve, but the water didn't feel that bad (the race site is on the nuclear reactor side of Lake Anna - sounds worse than it is, nobody was glowing by the end of the race, just the water on that side of the lake is used to cool the reactor so this side of the lake is about 4 degrees warmer than the rest of the lake - a toasty 66 degrees). And I was really glad I went with the sleeveless, it was perfect. It was an in-water start, my wave was pretty small (waves were going off 4 minutes apart). We were to keep the buoys on our right, so I opted to go towards the middle of the pack to a bit to the left so I could avoid the initial washing machine. We spread out quickly and I was actually swimming on my own for much of the swim, but I kept a good line and didn't find myself off track at all. The water was choppy and I defintely drank my fair share of the lake, but it really wasn't bad. I felt like my stroke was strong, I was sighting every 5 strokes or so, and I think we swam a bit against the current, but I never felt like I was struggling or not making progress. It was a good swim, I was really pleased with it. Other people on my team said they thought it was a super hard swim, with the conditions and all, but I like the chop and the waves, it makes it fun. I was also just a few meters away from the finish and I was thinking to myself "wow, I didn't see any caps from the wave behind me pass me - that is a FIRST!" No sooner did I have that thought and then a purple cap from the next wave blew by me. Oh well, I was close.
1500m swim, 28:57, 36th fastest female swim time out of 142 (12 out of 31 in my AG).

T1: 2:23. I don't know what I was doing, probably having brunch.

Bike:
I had a goal of doing under 1:20 for the bike - most of my past bike times for the Oly distance have been in the 1:24-1:26 range, usually in the 17mph category. Okay, but not spectacular. I usually made myself feel better about my poor biking skills with the fact that I was a runner, not an uber-biker. I felt good on race day though and thought that a sub-1:20 was a possibility. The bike was two loops, and as you rode out of transition, there was a nice hill to greet you as you clipped in at the bottom. But I didn't fall - the bike was off to a successful start! The first few miles of the bike felt slow, slow, slow. I wasn't sure exactly why. It was hard to get into a comfortable rhythm and it was rather windy. But after a few miles, my pace picked up, my mph crept up, and things felt pretty easy. It was a rolling course, some of the pavement was rough, and some was really nice. There were some sections on smooth pavement that were a slight downhill and it was fun to just open up and go. At one point, towards the end of the first loop, my average speed was 20.2mph - my average speed is NEVER over 20mph in a race, so I was pretty happy. I ate one gel on the first loop (110 calories, watermelon carb boom) and I was sipping on a few servings of the CarboPro 1200 that was mixed with a bit of water. I felt like I did fine with my nutrition, didn't feel fatigued or depleted of necessary calories, stomach felt fine, no bloating either. My HR was in high Z2/low Z3 for the whole ride, with a few spikes. I knew what to expect on the second loop, so I wasn't surprised that the first few miles felt harder than the rest (I think there was a false flat and some headwind). As I was looking at my average speed and my time, I realized during the second loop that the 1:20 goal would definitely be met, barring any mechanicals. I then decided I wanted to have my average overall speed be at least 20mph - the best I have ever done in a race was 19mph and that was a ridiculously short 8 mile sprint. I've never done better than 17.7 in an Oly. So, I went hard on the bike, made sure to keep taking in my nutrition, and I had the 20mph speed showing on my Garmin until they made me slow down as we entered into transition. When I clicked the Garmin off, it showed 19.9, not 20, but still very satisfying. And I was only passed by 2 girls. I caught up to many of the girls who were stronger swimmers than me.
24 mile bike, 1:12:40, 24th fastest female bike time out of 142 (4th out of 31 in my AG)

T2: 2:14, again, I must've gone out for a meal or something. Or taken a nap.

Run:
Well, I hadn't given the run much thought on the bike, except towards the end when I thought, "I'm not really in the mood to run." I guess that's not a great attitude to have, and my head wasn't really in the run, and I was just so pleased with how the bike turned out, I guess I almost didn't care how the run went because I knew I could run 6.2 miles, even if it wasn't fun or pretty. And it wasn't pretty (the run course was pretty, I was not pretty). I've never had allergies, but I think I may have developed some on the run course. Right from the start (Warning, this is kind of gross), I had so much mucus in my throat and mouth, it was hard to catch my breath. I was spitting every few minutes (I'll spare you the gory details) and at one point on the second loop, I made a valiant attempt to get rid of some of this crap that was in my throat, ended up gurgling and gagging, almost throwing up, until I hocked a loogie the size of Iowa up onto the pavement. And felt much better for about 5 minutes until I started spitting again and had more buildup. My legs felt fine, my stomach felt fine, I didn't feel depleted of energy, but the whole mucus-buildup was really wrecking my run goal. I also felt like I had a huge air bubble just sitting on my chest - I've had that happen in a few races and I think it's from taking in too much air when drinking water. I'm also incapable of burping on command, so the air bubble just sat there. Blah. Either way, I survived the run. The course was rolling with some nice uphills and downhills. It was out in farm country, lots of pollen and dust in the air. I didn't eat or drink anything on the run, I just didn't feel like it. I didn't kick it in the end, I was just feeling so crappy with the air bubble and mucus.
6.2 miles, 50:49, 22nd fastest female run time out of 142 (8th in AG out of 31). I am disappointed in my run time, I've never had a 10K over 50 minutes, but I guess there's a first for everything.

Overall: 2:37:02, 22nd overall out of 142 (8th in AG out of 31). A good start to the season. And I'm especially happy with my bike - I placed better on the bike than on the run in my AG! I think all of the biking and biking drills you have me doing have helped SO MUCH! 19.9mph was not a struggle AT ALL!

Not one but FOUR pints of ice cream!

I realized while I was at work today that it was "Race Day Eve." And tradition calls for ice cream on Race Day Eve. I was stuck at the office late, but fortunately Mark is a wonderful husband who indulges my strange rituals and gladly offered to pick up some ice cream on his way home from work. I had learned today that Ben and Jerry's had come out with some new flavors that sounded SO GOOD (Peanut Brittle... Mud Pie... Boston Creme Pie...), so I gave him a few hints... And came home to not one but FOUR pints of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream! Taste-testing was in order. They were all good, but S'mores won, simply on the amount of chocolate packed into that pint. It also kept me away from the Mini Eggs. Looks like I win the bet too, there's still at least a half a bag left, so Mark owes me a dinner next week.

Training has been going well. Fast repeats on the track on Wednesday turned out to go much better than I thought they would - I only missed one time goal and it was only by two seconds. Swimming has been good this week - I'm eager to see if my 3x/week visits to the pool will pay off in the Rumpass in Bumpass Oly triathlon tomorrow. And biking has been fine - I took my bike to Contes yesterday because my back tire has flatted on every ride I've taken outside (a whopping two rides, but hey, it's not a good omen). Turns out that my rim tape had slipped. The fixed it right up for me and I took the bike out for a short spin this morning and no flats. Soooo, let's hope I have that same good luck tomorrow!

I took the puppy out for a quick 15 minute jog this morning after the bike. He actually did rather well, even though he still throws down the brakes every now and then when we head away from the house. But turning around and coming home, Zone 5 all of the way!

And with that, time for bed - early morning tomorrow! Yaaay for the first triathlon of 2010!

Hi, my name is Caroline and I'm an addict...

I had to travel to NJ today for work and for the whole train ride home, I kept thinking about getting my next fix. I went on a binge a few weeks ago, vowing that never again would I do such a thing, and swearing off my addiction. But last night, I gave in a little bit. And then today, I fully caved... I mean, who can resist when it's 75% off Easter candy and you can get a GINORMOUS bag of MINI EGGS for $1.49. And the little bags for just 19 cents? I mean, you'd have to have the self control of steel to resist. Especially with a CVS sitting in your backyard, calling you as you walked home from the bus stop.

But, I'm going to ration out the Mini Eggs into reasonable portions. Mark bets that won't even make it to the weekend. I beg to differ. And if I win, I get a really yummy dinner of my choice cooked by Mark!

Shamrock 1/2 Marathon Race Report

Better late than never, huh? Yeah, the race was like 3 weeks ago and I've never been very good at writing up race reports. But, that is going to change this year. I will write a race report for every race. And what better way to start than with my first race of 2010 - the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon.

I had a chance to see my college friend Tricia and meet her husband the day before the race. Tricia and I haven't seen each other in 7 years, but we've kept up with each other on facebook and blogs, so it really didn't feel like 7 years. But she and Sean live in Williamsburg, not too far from me, and they are both very involved in the running and tri scene so it's definitely not going to be another 7 years before I see them again! I stayed with my friend Leighton and a group of her friends in a big house right on the beach. Fell asleep listening to the ocean waves - wonderful. Race morning came, ate on the way to the race site, found parking, and jogged towards the start, hoping to see the Team Z tent on my way. Once I dropped my stuff off, I made it to the start line (even having enough time for two bathroom breaks!) My coach and I had talked race strategy and I wasn't terribly confident I could keep the pace I wanted to - 6:50/mile for the majority of the race. My fastest average pace in a 10 mile race was 7:06, so it was kind of silly to think I could suddenly drop 16 seconds/mile for a race that was three miles longer. But we can dream, right?

I started off conservatively - 7:20's for the first couple miles and then knocking it down to 7:15 and sub 7:10's. I hadn't figured out how to make my Garmin display my heart rate while it was displaying my lap pace, so I was running this race completely not knowing what my HR was and only trying to stick to a certain pace - a new race strategy. I think it worked okay, but I do feel safer knowing what my HR is. However, it was nice to take a risk and go for a certain pace, heart rate be damned! Maybe a mix of both strategies will be magic in the future. Anyways, the first six miles felt pretty good and I was able to drop my pace with every mile. And then it became hard to maintain that pace and my average pace slowly creeped upward. I felt like I was working so hard, but just going slower. Finally, around mile 10, I just stopped looking at my average pace and just ran on feel. Mentally, I felt much better. I knew I wasn't going to get a PR (sub 1:33) or get my reach goal of sub-1:30. But it wasn't bad for the first race of the season. And I've done alot more biking than running this year. I've been so busy with things that I almost forgot about the race coming up. Thus, I wasn't as prepared mentally for the race as I would've liked.

So, here's the breakdown:

Mile 1: 7:26, 158 bpm

Mile 2: 7:24, 165 bpm

Mile 3: 7:11, 166 bpm

Mile 4: 7:08, 168 bpm

Mile 5: 7:04, 167 bpm

Mile 6: 7:11, 167 bpm

Mile 7: 7:05, 168 bpm

Mile 8: 7:13, 168 bpm

Mile 9: 7:11, 168 bpm

Mile 10: 7:23, 169 bpm

Mile 11: 7:27, 169 bpm

Mile 12: 7:19, 170 bpm

Mile 13.1: 7:06 average pace, 173 bpm

TOTAL: 1:34:58

I was totally in Z4 for all but the first mile of the race. Maybe that's why the wheels came off at the end, haha!

But, it was a gorgeous weekend, a good start to the 2010 race season, and I'm less than two weeks away from the first TRIATHLON of the year!

Nothing in particular

My friend Tricia called me out - I've totally been slacking in updating my blog. Who knew a puppy could be so much work :) It has been a busy few weeks and I'll post pictures soon, I'm just too lazy to try and find my camera cord at the moment. I should also write a race report for the Shamrock 1/2 marathon - first race of 2010 - and maybe I'll eventually get to it. So, here is just a compilation of random observations I've made over the past few weeks:

- The wonders of the guest bedroom. Not only convenient for when you have guests, but serves as a great alternative sleeping spot when your puppy is loud and cranky at 2am and you have a race in two days. (also a great excuse to get a bed ALLLLL to yourself... but shhhh, don't tell Mark I said that). I've slept in the guest room three times in the last 2 weeks and it has been ahhhh-mazing.

- There are NO SHOPS in NoVa that sell Carbo Pro 1200. My coach was slightly horrified when I listed off to her one day the food I typically eat during an IM bike (fritos, PowerBars, sweet potatoes, PB&J sandwiches, pita chips, granola bars, etc) and gently suggested that perhaps I should look into some "lighter on the gut" options. I've heard about Carbo Pro 1200 - a 16oz drink that has 1200 calories - and I've been curious about trying it. I bet it's like super thick cough syrup, but the less amount of liquid I need to drink, the better, I don't like all of it sloshing around in my stomach. I discovered tonight that my only option for buying the stupid bottles is online. And shipping costs are almost as much as one bottle. I bought one of each flavor (fingers crossed that they come in before this weekend, seeing as I went with the cheapest shipping option) and I can try them out on my ride. If things work out well, this drink may be replacing my bike buffet.

- It's cherry blossom season in DC - my most favorite time of the year! I went for a run down by the Potomac and all of the blossoms last weekend - it was great. And this weekend's weather is going to be perfect for enjoying the blooms.

- Puppies are time consuming. But they are cute, so that makes up for it.

- I realized that IM France is less than three months away. I have alot of work to do between now and then! And IM Wisconsin is a little more than five months away! IM season is going to go by so fast and it hasn't even started yet!

- I used to have sympathy for Bissell when the dog would hump him and nip at him. Now I've realized that Bissell is constantly egging the dog on and is totally asking for it. No more sympathy. He even tries to steal the dog's food while the dog is in the middle of eating. I'd bite the cat too if he did that to me.

There, Tricia! No more blogger-slacking!

Training makes you tired sometimes

I'm tired. Maybe it's because I've stayed up past my bedtime lately. Maybe it's because my dog snores, grunts, and groans in his sleep, waking me up. Or maybe.... it's the triathlon training. I think it's the triathlon training because I'm tired in a good way. Not in a "I'm-so-exhausted-from-no-sleep-my-eyes-hurt" kind of way, like how I was during the whole 2+ years of grad school. No, this is a "I-an-still-feel-my-workout, I'm-starving, and I'm-asleep-the-moment-my-head-hits-the-pillow" kind of tired. I like this kind of tired. I feel like I'm accomplishing something. And I think I actually am. I've had a few easy runs over the past week, easy as in Zone 1. I've always hated Zone 1 because I could never stay in Z1 while running. That has started to change, and I can run at a decent, easy clip in Z1 now. My pace in Zone 2 has also gotten faster. The training is working - I am running faster than I was two months ago at basically the same cardiovascular effort. I have my first race of 2010 in a week and a half - the Shamrock 1/2 marathon in Virginia Beach. The plan is to PR - and if I run the way Jen has told me to run, then I think I just might. Though she recommended me to run until I'm on the verge of losing my cookies, and that's a line I have yet to cross. Maybe that's the line I need to cross to have a breakthrough race. We shall see, I don't know if I'm brave enough to do that. We all know how much I hate the whole concept of losing cookies.

In other (belated) news - this month's Triathlete magazine (yeah, it came out like 3 weeks ago, I'm a little behind the curve) voted the Savageman Triathlon the Hardest Triathlon on Earth. They had a whole article on it and everything. And I would have to agree - it is the hardest race course I have ever raced on - as well as the coolest. But I've done it - and here's the photographic proof!

Gunshots on the evening commute

So, we'll start with the most interesting news first, well, the two pieces of the most interesting news. Yesterday I was notified that I my application for a Presidential Management Fellow slot was rejected. FAIL. I was disappointed, I figured I had a decent shot and I've always wanted to work for the government. But I suppose a security clearance, 6+ years of work experience, international work, and a 3.9 GPA is insufficient. Oh well. And I'm actually quite happy in my current job and in the upcoming months I should have some really interesting projects coming up.

I was kind of mopey yesterday, but it's not the end of the world and there are worse things out there than a PMF rejection. I got into work late this morning because I did both my swim and my run this morning. My father-in-law arrived in town on a red eye flight for work, and I had a chance to see him before I headed into the office. Because I arrived late, I stayed later than usual, leaving the office around 6:25. Caught the metro like usual, took it one stop to the Pentagon where I catch my bus to get home. I strategically get on the metro so I get off close to the escalator and can get up to the bus station as quick as possible, so I don't miss a bus. When you're waiting for the bus, people informally stand in a line. Today I was first, quite happy about that since I have a favorite seat I like to sit in on the bus and I was guaranteed to get that seat today. And it was a short wait, the bus pulled up about three minutes later and I was first in line. Got on the bus and as I was walking back to my seat, I suddenly hear the bus drive yell "Get down, Get down" and he starts shutting the door and people outside start running and ducking. My first thought was that ice must be falling from the bus station roof - no idea why I thought that, there's no ice anywhere in DC except on the bike path. Then I noticed everyone on the inside of the bus was getting down. And then I heard the gunshots. So strange - everyone was so calm on the bus - we just quietly threw ourselves down on the floor and the driver took off. Everyone outside was running and within moments police were swarming everywhere.

Well, now the PMF rejection doesn't seem like such a big deal. It's all about perspective. And I think I'll bike commuting to work in the near future.

Speaking of biking (and swimming and running) - this week has been quite good workout-wise. Going hard when I have to go hard, and taking it easy during the easy workouts and sets within workouts. The swim kicked my butt today, but my easy run was actually a run in Z1 - I never manage to keep my heart rate in Z1 when I'm running, so I think this is progress we are seeing. Need to check what my workout is for tomorrow morning. And speaking of that, I should probably get to bed.