Monticelloman OLY

Going into this race my goal was to be realistic with my expectations. Training has happened over the past few months, but not to the extent which would lead me to believe I am in peak race-shape. Work and life have taken a priority and it's been an adjustment period in my life in general. The longer stuff has been the focus, building a base to have a solid day at Lake Placid.

Realistic expectations = I thought around a 2:30-ish was possible. I try not to define my results based on time because every course and day is different, but based on last year's results and my current fitness, I figured:

25ish swim [predicting a swim time in triathlon always a total crap shoot bc every swim course is different and conditions vary so much - This was just a nice round number]
1:10ish bike
50ish run
5ish for transitions.

What I learned this weekend? Mind over matter. Despite a tough bike and a hillier run than I had expected, I crossed the line in 2:29:45. Spot on my pre-race prediction. Perhaps I should be a bit more aggressive with my goal in my next few races.

I was very pleasantly surprised with my swim. I'm so glad I got in the water the day before and also warmed up/swam around for about 5 minutes before our wave went off. The water was low 60s, which is just about perfect for open water racing in my opinion, but it's definitely a shock to the arms/face if you're not able to warm up. I got out strong and was around about 4-5 other pink caps (women 39 and under), but as we turned around the first buoy, many of the girls I was swimming with started swimming towards a smaller sighting-buoy [which had drifted way off course], and I made the decision to jump off the feet I was on and swim towards the next large turn buoy. I could see one pink swim cap up ahead, and one to my left - we swam side by side for a few stroke, and she dropped back and swam the last leg back of the swim on my feet. Seb yelled out I came out of the water 2nd female and I was so happy. My swimming motivation has been severely lacking this season, and I definitely have some work to do before Ironman, but I was very happy with this swim.

I came into transition and had grand plans to take my time in T1 to put on gloves, socks and arm warmers, but who was I kidding? No way could I let this girl beat me out of transition after swimming on my feet for 10+ minutes. So threw on my helmet and shoes, decided to ignore the cold and potentially frozen feet, and was onto the bike. She still beat me out of T1 (whomp whomp) and I never saw her again.

I focused on securing my shoes and getting my breathing under control the first few miles of the bike. I was passed almost immediately by the eventual overall female winner, and didn't see another OLY female for the rest of the bike. I went back and forth with a few men, and overall I have to say the men in this race were a very nice and supportive group! Never before in a race have I had so many men passing me on the bike saying things like "Great swim!" "Nice bike" "Go get it girl" etc. It was really nice motivation. I had a tough time finding a rhythm - there were punchy hills (nothing too long or steep, just lots of up and downs) and there was a constant headwind almost the ENTIRE ride. It was a 1 loop course, so I just kept thinking, we must eventually get a tailwind, but really, it felt like headwind the entire way. I tried to keep my intensity up, but felt like my legs just weren't responding and I couldn't keep my heart rate up.

I focused on taking in my full 280 calories bottle (Carbo Pro + Skratch) plus water but felt burp-y and on the edge of throwing up the entire ride. This is the second race in the past few weeks [including a DISASTROUS trail race with multiple bathroom stops and walk breaks due to stomach pain] where my stomach has been uncomfortable [I also had to pee so badly the ENTIRE run]. After NO stomach problems last year, it's time to revisit what I have changed and go back to whatever I was doing last year.

Off the bike in 4th overall, time for the true test. My running off the bike over the past few years in OLY has just not been where I wanted it to be. I had a long talk with my coach and mentally prepared myself for this to happen again. He has asked for me to remember that I am training for an IM marathon, not a fast 10k, and they are two very different things. He reminded me how great I felt during IM and that a rough 10k isn't indicative of how IM will go. I know all these things in the back of my mind, but after getting passed over and over again in OLY races in the past few years, it's hard to stay positive.

However, this race, my legs and head were in the race. I wore my garmin to keep check of my splits, but didn't obsess over pace. I felt strong and focused on keeping my HR in check running uphill and really working the downhills. It was a lollipop-type out and back and saw 1 and 2 out ahead, but never saw 3. I also never saw 5 running me down. She came up FLYING past around mile 4.5 or 5. My body felt good and I tried to respond for about 10 seconds, but I laughed and realized it wasn't happening (turns out she was running about a minute per mile faster than me). I didn't get discouraged and focused on finishing up strong.

Based on my watch, I knew I had come in right around 2:30 and was DONE when I finished. It's been a long time since I did an OLY when I really felt like I left it all out on the course and I was happy with the results. My swim time was around what I predicted, but I felt WAY better than I expected, my bike was a few minutes off and my run made me really happy.

Useful awards are the best!

I'm excited to have a short recovery week, lay it all out next weekend at the Kinetic Aquabike, then it's head down for a solid 8 weeks of strong training up to Lake Placid! 

General Smallwood OLY

I went into the race with realistic expectations. I knew the amount of work I had put in over the past 7 weeks, fully letting my mind and body recover from Ironman. I decided to race the OLY over the HIM about 2 weeks ago, after busting  my knee as well as admitting to myself that 70.3 miles didn't sound like fun in any way. I made it my goal for the day to come off the bike as high up in the women's field as possible and not give up on the run.

Swim was cold - perhaps the coldest open water swim I've done. I felt pretty good once we started, but (not surprisingly) didn't have the extra gear to hang with the fastest eventual female swimmer. I watched her slowly pull away after the 1st turn and I just tried to stay strong and swim straight. Really nice 2 loop swim course, it was very easy to navigate and I felt like it went by quickly.

Bike was windy. Passed a female about mile 2 or 3 and was pretty sure I was riding in 1st. I tried to push the pace and keep my efforts up, but I went through miles 10-20ish without seeing a single other person. Based on the results, I had swam through most of the male field (all went in Wave 1), had a few pass me back in the first 10 miles, but after that - I was all alone for a majority of the race. Couldn't see anyone in front, no one behind. Hardly any cars. If it wasn't for the cops guarding the intersections, I would have thought I was off-course. So it was a bit hard to keep my focus and I a little bit wished I had a bike computer/HR monitor to gauge my effort. Looking at the results? Caroline and the overall winner put about 3 minutes into my on the bike. Oops.

Off the bike leading the overall race. Mission accomplished. Knew Caroline couldn't be far behind. Decided to leave my Garmin in T2, as I was racing for place, not for time at this point.

Was passed by eventually overall winner a bit after Mile 1, passed by Caroline quickly after. Wasn't surprised, was happy for my training partner and encouraged her to go after the woman in front. Was one of those strange runs/races were I had no clue how fast I was running - 7:30 pace? 8:30 pace? All I know is that it was hilly, hotter than I had expected and I was running hard. I focused on keeping my legs and arms moving, and the goal became to stay on the overall podium.

After the turn around I realized I had a very large margin over 4th place, knew I wasn't catching back up to Caroline as she disappeared in the distance, so I began to ease up a bit. Turned off the main road in the last mile, and tried to focus on just getting through the final few minutes. Through the woods, heard lots of footsteps coming up from behind and turned to see a female in a big pack of guys FLYING up from behind. DAMMIT. But then I realized the course was now shared between the OLY and Sprint - as the girl FLEW by, based on her number, I knew I was in the sprint and I was OK.

Happily crossed the line in 3rd, 2:32:56, to end my season. Perfect way to end a great year. I have surpassed many of my expectations this year and am ready for a mental and physical break. I honestly started the physical break after Ironman, but I have mentally been a little stressed about this race, and am so happy to clear my mind for the winter and just enjoy. Even better than the results - I was so happy to be able to share this race and podium with Caroline. I feel so lucky to have met such great training partners and even better friends this year.

This was far from my best OLY time, but I have learned over the past year - I'm not racing the clock. Every course is different. Conditions vary. All you can do is race yourself and anyone else who shows up.  I also think this was the quickest I have ever removed my race wheels and cleaned my bike after a race. The tri bike is hung up and taking a breather for at least the next few weeks and after that will be attached to the trainer through the winter months. HELLLLLO fall running, road bike and coffee rides!

Colonial Beach OLY Triathlon 2012

swim 28:25 (2nd overall female)
bike 1:07:48 (OLY bike PR)
run 50:06 (8:04 pace)
2:28:48 (7th overall, 2nd AG)

I have weird strange mixed up feelings about my results. I'm going to write this report candidly so I know how I was feeling during and after this race. This blog always was meant for a place to me to record my training/racing so I can look back and learn from my experiences. 

The swim was long/against the current, but I honestly felt great and strong the entire time. The course was a bit confusing, I had to do some breaststrok-ing to find the buoys and at one point I even asked a kayaker where the final turn buoy was (a buoy/left turn that MANY people in the water chose not to take and went straight to shore). It's nice to feel like there is a some payoff for the extra time I have been spending in the water leading up to Ironman.

When I got out of the water, the volunteers yelled that I was the 2nd woman on the course, then at bike mount I heard them yell that total race time was at 32 minutes. "WTF" went through my mind. In the moment, I forgot we had started 3 minutes back, but STILL - the swim actually hadn't even felt that long. I tried to push it out of my mind, knowing that all that matters was my place, not the overall time, as every course is different. One girl passed me almost immediately and also commented on how long the swim was/how many people seemed to be cutting the course, but after we exchanged some laughs, she disappeared down the road.

The course was an out/back and I felt like the entire first half was into a strong headwind. I didn't ride with my Garmin/any data, but my quads didn't feel close to recovered at 2 weeks of HUGE bike miles, and I just couldn't find that 'sweet spot' on my gears. I just tried to keep my head down and focus on getting water/nutrition in. Another girl passed about mile 10 and I felt like she just went FLYING by. I kept her in my sights for a few miles of rollers, but once the course flattened out again, she was just GONE. I literally felt like I was moving backwards, but really just tried to stay present and focused mentally. This became the biggest challenge of the day. STAYING FOCUSED AND ENGAGED MENTALLY.

At the turn around I could see there were a few ladies withing striking distance, but I felt pretty solidly in 4th. I was happy to hit the turn around and hoped for some tailwind on the way back to transition. I strangely felt like it was still quite windy (crosswind?) but definitely not as much of a struggle on the way back. As this was quite a small race, the bike course was pretty empty and I pretty much rode alone the entire way. There was a general steady stream of men passing me, either from the wave behind or some I had passed on the swim, but I never found anyone riding my same pace to help me focus in. Something else worth noting is that it was hot and HUMID out there. I was literally dripping sweat down my nose and on my glasses the entire ride, and my nose strangely also was running like crazy. Totally gross- it was like liquid snot all over my face the entire ride.

Shoes out, on to the run. This was the big unknown of the day. Which running legs would show up? The legs that have been hitting intervals on a regular basis, or the heavy weighed down legs that show up on Thursday morning long runs? It was a flat out and back course along the water. I told Dan before the race I just really wanted to hold a sub-8 pace. This didn't used to be a chore, but over the last year, the pep seems to have disappeared from my legs. I was passed almost right out of transition by a woman, and debating trying to stick on her shoulder or run my own race. She was running solid, but I was holding 7:40ish and felt comfortable so I chose to just run my own race. I wish I had tried to stay with her. Again, I was struggling to stay mentally present. I began asking myself if really racing this OLY would help the ultimate goal of Ironman? Maybe I should slow down to my IM pace and just focus on that? I knew with the long swim and windy bike, my sub 2:20 ultimate goal was likely out the window, Why should I keep pushing? I tried, I really really tried, to just push all these thoughts out of my mind. I made it to the turn around (a bit more than half way) and was still running sub-7s, but it just felt SO HARD (ya, duh, it's a race). So more negative thoughts came - "Why is this so hard? It's only a 10k! I have to run a marathon in a month. Why are my legs so tired, I only biked 24 miles!?" And I also saw a few women closing quickly. I had visions of my races at the end of last season, when I was passed over and over again in the last few miles of races and how demoralizing it was. So I tried. Until about 4.5 and then I was done. I turned my watch over so I couldn't see pace and decided to just dialed it in. I TOTALLY GAVE UP MENTALLY. Yes, physically I was cashed, but I just didn't have the mental strength to overcome the physical pain for the final 10 minutes. I was passed about mile 5 by the female masters winner who I believe actually started 6 minutes back.

I crossed the finish line a bit in a daze. I was totally bummed. And it's not even about the time. I just felt SO AWFUL on the run, and I feel like it keeps happening over and over again. I ate more, I drank more, I didn't ride the bike super super super hard, why are my legs so tired? After the race, I was so tired, hot and just wanted to go home. I didn't stay for awards, I was home and eating a good diner breakfast by 11:15 with Dan. And by the time I got home, the results were posted and available for dissection. And it was only then, 3 hours later, that I realized that I had a pretty damn good race. 7th overall, 2nd overall swim (no comment on 1st), 2nd in my AG, OLY bike PR on a windy day.

Triathlon is a process. There is no such thing as a 'PR' as every course is different. All the matters is where you finish and HOW you finish. I am really proud of where I finished yesterday, but not HOW. I dialed it in, gave up mentally, and feel like I left at least 1-2 minutes out on the course. I hoped going into this race I would be flying high with confidence going into my last two BIG weeks of training for IM. I know I am in the best biking shape of my life right now, my swim is in a better place than it has ever been for triathlon, but my run continues to mystify me. In all honestly, I am scared to death right now that I have to run a marathon in 4 weeks. If I can't even mentally commit to a 10k, how will I feel for 26.2 miles?



Nutrition:
Breakfast (between 4:30 and 6am): PB Bagel, banana, coffee, water
Pre swim, lots of water+nuun, 1 honey stinger gel (100 cals)
Bike: ~250 cals CarboPro in full aero bottle + 1 bottle water/nuun, 1 honey stinger gel (100cals)
Run: 1 Hammer gel at mile 2 (80 cals), water at every mile.

Columbia Tri 2012

Pre Race.
More of the norm. I decided to bike to work day on Friday, so took a full race day on Saturday (vs. Friday as prescribed by my coach), so I had a leisurely Saturday morning to sleep in, have coffee, and sit on the couch and watch the live feed of Ironman Texas for a few hours. I noticed my race wheel was flat and had a minor freak out, but when changing I found a big hole in the tube (vs. the tire) which made me hope that the wheel would hold out for the race. I headed out to Columbia about 1pm to check in and rack my bike. No delays, no traffic and an AMAZING spot in transition - then headed to my parents [much closer to the race] to chill out and play with the puppy for the rest of the day.

4:15am wake up call, out the door by 4:45, in transition by 5:20. No traffic or parking problems, so glad to be there early without stress, but then you play the waiting game, as I was starting over an hour after the pro wave. Set up a simple transition but when I went to put my water bottles on my bike and I realized [HOLY SH$T] I forgot to stop and get a straw for my aero bottle (7-Eleven, thankyouverymuch). I usually ride with 2 bottles in an OLY: aero bottle for calories[Carbopro]+nuun and 1 plain water bottle on my downtube. I took a deep breath, realized there was nothing I could do about it and tried to think positive: less weight on my bike! Oh well.

Went back to the car to try to zone out for awhile. And sulk over this, even though I am not officially 30 for 6 more months:

Swim.
21:59, 2nd/AG
Goal was to SWIM HARD, but swim SMART. I tried to just zone out and find a good line once we got in the water. Not bringing metallic/mirrored goggles was a HUGE mistake and I was basically blind for the first section of the course. Luckily, I literally ran into a friend in the water as we waited for the wave to start. [as she made fun of my choice in goggles]. I swam blind and tried to find feet for the first 'out' section. The course actually curves to the right a bit before the first(left) turn buoy, so I was glad I found some feet that swam a direct line to the turn vs. trying to hug the buoys on the left. The feet I found were a good speed, but she wasn't happy with my occasional tap of her feet, so I moved up to try to hug her hip. Lost her a bit at the turn, swam the short leg solo, and found my friend again on the long leg back to swim exit. Swam a comfortably hard pace on her feet, jumped on to some others to the left (closer to the buoy line), and we all merged and came out of the water in a pack of about 4 or 5 maybe? There were a few girls that were a bit out ahead, but I was very happy with my swim. I feel like I really pushed the pace, but swam smart [minus the goggles mistake]- I was aware of my surroundings and found feet almost the entire swim.

Lesson learned: Buy mirrored goggles, TODAY, so they arrive before next weekend. Review the course maps for the swim. 

Just behind Mindy!

T1. I was worried about being a little rusty here, but it actaully went really smoothly. Wetsuit came off easily, helmet on [with sunglasses attached] and off. I had my shoes on my bike due a really steep run up out of transition, and I had not yet done any transition practice, so I still chose to stop and straddle my bike vs attempting any type of flying mount. It took me a bit to get my shoes on and situated [need to practice this on my brick rides] but think it was worth it in the end for a quicker transition/run out. Had the top transition time in my age group by about 15 seconds - these things matter when 2-5 in my age group are decided by 30 seconds.

Bike.
1:17:41 (19.3mph), 4th/AG
After I got my shoes situated, it was down to business. I passed someone in my age group in the first few miles, then got passed by the eventual age group winner a few minutes later. The ride is basically a constant series of ups/downs of varying degrees, and I absolutely loved it. I am so so glad I had ridden the course a few weeks before so I knew where the climbs where, how long they were, and where I could make up time on flats/downhills. The shorter inclines I pushed a higher gear and attacked, but the longer inclines I was content to down shift and spin up, keeping my cadence high and HR under (race) control. About mile 10 I linked up with a guy who was riding a very similar pace, and we [legally] cat and moused for most of the rest of the race. For the most part, I had no trouble riding my own race on a pretty crowded course. I ran into a few jams on the road due to car-traffic, but I was pleasantly-aggressive and worked my way through the crowds. Took in a Gu about mile 15, but it wasn't pleasant being washed down with grape nuun, but had no water. At that point I wish I had the plain water on my frame. Oh well.

A few years ago, I raced Rev3 Knoxville and it had a very similar type course -a course that really rewards being prepared on the bike. And not just fitness - but comfort with bike handling, climbing, cornering, shifting, etc. I obviously have many, many minutes to drop before I am anywhere close to the 'front of the pack' when it comes to my cycling splits, but I feel like every race in the past few years, I have taken a few steps forward with my comfort level on the bike, knowing my limits, pushing my fears and riding strong. I'm really excited for the summer to keep growing and learning on the bike.

Coming back into transition, I took my feet out of the my shoes (probably a bit too early) and focused on spinning my legs to flush them out and prepare for the run.

Lesson learned: BE PREPARED (ie aero straw). Know the course. Ride your own race. Practice transitions.

T2.  Bike on rack, socks and running shoes on and GO. Top transition time again - small victories.

Run
52:50 (8:32/mile)
Race belt on, water in, focus on cadence and how I felt. I felt GREAT. I was excited to execute the race I had visualized and was moving pretty well through the crowds on a pretty narrow running path. I knew this run was hilly, but this was NOTHING like I expected. This was hands down the most brutal run course I have ever done. No complaints, no excuses, but damn, I wish I had known what to expect. Almost immediately you are hit with a steep climb, and it just never ended. I think there were about 6-7 long, steep climbs and I focused on small steps and moving forward. Looking back, I wish I had been willing to push the pace a bit more on the climbs, but my calves felt like they were on the verge of cramping. My run felt GREAT on the flatter sections, and I tried to open up and make up time on the downhills, but the hills just did me in. There were times were walking was just as fast as the trot I was doing up hill.

Mini Mindy (in the 25-29AG), passed me about mile 5ish, and seeing her definitely helped me push in the last mile, but then I sadly got passed by someone in my age group right about mile 6. I tried with all my might to dig deep and stick with her, but a last, cruel climb to the finishing chute stopped that effort cold. It was also right in the last mile or 2 that I realized I had to PEE SO BADLY ! Painfully bad. I have been able to let this happen on the run in the past, but I think the fact that I was so close to the finish, my mind wouldn't let my body just let go. Ha. And the run course was pretty crowded at this point, too.  I pushed the pace as hard as I could through the finishers chute, and bee-lined it to the bathroom. I'm only realizing as I write this that I didn't ever even consider taking my 2nd gu during the run as I had planned.

The take away from the run, and what I'm trying to focus on versus my time and pace is that I never gave up mentally. I was present for the hills, I focused on each mile, and never got to that dark place I was experiencing last season. Yes, I did walk up a few of the steepest sections, but that overwhelming, all consuming desire to walk and stop and give up never crossed my mind. To me, this is a very small, but very important victory for the day.

Lesson learned: Figure out how to get to an uncomfortable place, be OK with it, and hold on. Trust my fitness and attack the hills.

Final Time: 2:35:00 4th/AG
I have a bit of confusion re: my final age group placing, but it's neither here nor there and the lesson is 5 or 10 or 12 seconds here or there ALWAYS matter.

 

Oh my god, find me a bathroom now.

Overall, I am so, so very satisfied with this race. I didn't put time goals on the race, as every course is different and I knew this was a challenging course [OK, that's totally not true. I thought if I had a good day I could go under 2:30]. I swam hard, rode hard and held on during the run. I'm trying not to be disappointed in the run. If I was running 7-7:30 pace on the flats/downhills, and 9-10 pace on the uphills, the outcome is what I got. I felt snappy and good on the flats and downhills, and really pushed the pace the last mile [as much as my bladder would allow], but it's hard to not be a little disappointed to get passed at mile 6 in the run. I am still working on finding that place of 'hurt' in the run and holding on to it and yesterday I just don't think I was willing to get past the point of uncomfortable on the uphills and it cost me.

ALSO, I was trying out the multisport mode on my watch for the first time, and when I glanced at my watch in the middle of the bike it was stopped at about 24 minutes. I think I pressed 'STOP' vs 'LAP' when I started the bike, so I basically have no data for my race. I am SO super bummed about this. I had decided to race without my HR monitor anyway, but I really wish I could go back and overanalyze my race - especially my run pacing. I think there was an awesome section on the bike that I pretty sure I was going faster than I EVER have before, but more so, I just really wish I could see my pacing on the run.

So all in all, a really good day, some good lessons, and now time to swim a little 5k next weekend.

RACE WEEK!!

....FINALLY!! It's not travel-week, or wedding-week, or rest-week. It's RACE WEEK!

I am super pumped for this weekend. A little nervous, but mostly just calm and ready and excited to see where I'm at. Over the past 5 months, I have put in much more consistent time in the pool and on the bike than any of the past 4 years I've been involved in this crazy sport. And although running has had it's ups and downs and my mileage is less than I like it to be...last week all my runs off the bike felt crazy-good and my legs are [hopefully] ready to put down some speedy miles this weekend.

Sure, I've skipped workouts, including key sessions (such as my open water swim on Sunday. just.too.tired.), but overall, I'm ready. I rode the course a few weekends ago with a huge smile on my face; it's awesome and hilly and fair and I can't wait.

I do triathlons because RACING IS FUN. Training is fine, and I go through the motions and am leaning to enjoy and understand the process, but I have never loved the training, even in my swimming days. I love the nervous energy on race morning, the atmosphere of race day, the competition and pushing yourself to your limits - limits that I'm trying to learn and understand and push past. I am only racing a few times this year leading up to Ironman, and I want to make each race count, learn something, and walk away feeling energized and excited to be on the journey towards Ironman. So there is no over-thinking this weekend. The goals are plain and simple:

GO FAST. make it hurt. don't give up. stay positive on the run. no excuses. and RACE.

Giant Acron OLY

This is going to be all over the place. I am SO happy with the weekend, the results basically surprised the hell out of me and I had no clue that I was putting together this race until I saw the finish line chute and overall clock.

I had very simple goals for this race, I didn't put any time pressure on myself bc I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment, and I also truly had no idea as to where my fitness was, or what the course was like. Despite a solid performance at Luray, I got so caught up in my times, getting run down by what felt like the entire field and 'what ifs' that I wasn't able to enjoy that I put together a solid race and performed well. In the 6 weeks between Luray and Giant Acron, life also just calmed down in general. I took a week completely off to celebrate my best friend's wedding with basically all my college friends, and have now settled into a comfortable routine, adding regular pool running as my foot is on the mend, and convincing myself that swimming 1500 meters once a week is sufficient (read: it's not). I also have found some great training partners/friends that have showed me some challening and enjoyable rides around my area.

I put in one big weekend of riding (for me) and had three solid weeks of running in a row, building my miles, but keep the pace SUPER comfortable and focusing on how my legs were feeling. My longest run in the last 6 weeks was 7 miles, with planned 30 second walk breaks at every mile. I finished the run in 70 minutes exactly, and while that pace didn't make my confidence soar, the fact that I was on my feet for that long, finished feeling strong and healthy, and felt like I could have kept going helped my mind consider a 10k at the race.

I have nothing but great things to write about Set-Up Events. I am totally sold on their races, they are affordable, just 'big enough', logistically SIMPLE, and this race had pizza, cheese balls, oreos and mountain dew post-race, I mean...what more could a girl ask for, really?

A 10am start time only 80 miles away from home made this race attractive. While I considered that October could bring chilly weather, mid 50s is far prefferable to me than humidity and heat any day. However, as I hit 95S to head out to Lake Anna, and it was POURING, I decided that mid-50s and WINDY AND WET is not as ideal.  I arrived OCD early at the race, couldn't believe how windy and freezing it was as I waited in line to register, and headed back to my car to zone out for the next hour. I was at this race solo, the boy had to work and my dad chose the UMD game over me, understandably. I started to feel a bit lonely, but realized it took all the pressure OFF. When I emerged from the car, it had warmed up and calmed down nicely, and I realized the weather may actually cooperate.

As I headed to transition area, I had a rude awakening. There were college kids at this race. LOTS of college kids. FAST looking, skinny, young, college kids. Somehow I ended up on a rack with a lot of guys from the Duke and Virginia Tech club teams, and I realized this was some type of collegiate championship/team race. I reassesed my overall placement goals, but reminded myself that it wasn't likely that any college kids would be in my age group. I got my things settled, got my wetsuit on (for only the 3rd time this season, whoops), and realized the sun had appeared, the white caps on the lake had calmed, and I was ready to race. No warm up for this girl, I figured my ankle/foot probably  had about 6.3 miles so I didn't want to push it with a warm up.

Swim: 22:59 (6th overall, 1 AG)
From the start, 2 girls took off and I couldn't stay with (this will become important later....ohhh foreshadowing). I just put my head down and swam a strong pace I felt like I could maintain. Out to the first buoy. After the turn, started to feel just how rough the water was. With the waves, I couldn't find the yellow 'turn' buoy in the distance, only the orange site buoys. Even a few breatstrokes didn't help, so I didn't to do something I NEVER do, swim buoy to buoy. This usually adds distance, as the site-buoys are not set up in the most straight line to the turn buoy (as we were reminded by the race director), however, I felt like it was the only way to focus on forward progress. Made it to the last turn buoy, and was blinded by the sun, and literally had no clue where to go. I could generally see the shore and swim in that direction, but I know I swam wide and probably added quite a bit of distance to my route. It was during this leg of the swim when I began writing my race report...."just didn't have it", "not my day from the start" "1500 meters a week is NOT enough to race an OLY", blah blah blah. I reached swim exit and headed for my bike. I went with my shoes on my bike bc it was one of the longest runs from bike exit to bike mount I had ever seen, and as I grabbed my bike and started the run, I heard the announcer call out my name as first female out of the water. WHAT!? No way, those girls had taken off....could it be? Maybe they swam a little long, too? Well, everyone was screaming as I got to the mount line, so I let myself believe that yes, I was the first women on the bike course.

Bike: 1:08:42 (17th overall, 2nd AG) OLY PR BIKE!
I had grabbed arm warmers in transition, but once I was on the bike and got my feet in my shoes, the sun was shining and I decided not forgo trying to get them on my wet arms. Truth was, I was riding SCARED! If I was first on the course, that meant those behind me would be out for blood. So the 'ride smart' mantra became 'ride hard'. I LOVED this two loops course. I had read it was quite a fast course, and enjoyed the rolling hills and beautiful scenery. I was riding with a smile, but pushing the pace, and also focusing on getting in my calories. I think a huge aspect of my running meltdowns in my last two races had not only to do with injury/lack of fitness, but also not taking in enough calories. I learned last year that my body can handle a pretty high number of calories per hour, and I perform better when I hit those numbers. During this ride, I took in about 200-250 calories of Carbo Pro/Nuun from my aero bottle, and a caffeinated Gu around mile 20 (I wasn't going to take this until the run, but my legs were starting to feel a little lethargic and I hadn't had any caffiene yet, and I definitely appreciated the pick me up).  It was a 2 loop course, and on the second loop I focused on passing as many people as I could and riding safely and cleanly.

As I got close to T2, I undid my shoes and started to dread the flying dismount and run into transition. It had clouded over the second half of the bike and my feet felt numb (no socks, no toe warmers, ouch) and I was COLD. I actually decided to not do a flying mount for fear my feet wouldn't agree, and hated life those first few steps.

I hadn't passed anyone females on the bike, and no females had passed me. Even though I had allowed myself to believe that I was riding in first, I KNEW those two girls had gotten a jump on me in the swim. And sure enough, as I reached the dismount line, I saw two girls running out of transition. I did not let it phase me, as I knew in the back of my mind they were there, and still no on had passed me, and I had ridden SCARED and push the effort, which in the back of my mind, made me scared to death to hit the run.

Run: 48:39 (41st overall, 2nd AG)
Socks, shoes, garmin, visor and racebelt and OFF! I put a smile on my face, strapped on my Garmin and told myself not to go out too hot. I had hardly run any miles faster than 9 minute pace in MONTHS, it was ridiculous for me to start the run thinking I could hold 8s, or anything faster. I also saw there was a steady stream of girls coming off the bike that were DEFINITELY close enough to catch me if I blew up like my last two races. First mile: 7:39 DAMN. Well, I felt OK. In fact, I felt GOOD. So I went with it. It was a 2 loop out-and-back course and I knew I was losing ground to the girls in front, but I had to wait until almost mile 4 to see what was going on behind me. I was solidly holding sub-8 pace on a rolling course, and was keeping the negative self-doubt OUT of my mind (believe me, it was there and trying to take over!) I took my 2nd Gu about mile 3.5. At the turn around on the second loop (about mile 4.5) I realized I had three girls FLYING up behind me. They were all wearing college kits, and all I could think is "Damn these college girls can RUN (and damn, they are so skinny! ha)." But I also reminded myself they are 21, and not in your age group. I focused on not letting them pass, but all three made solid passes by mile 5. I pushed as best I could, including in the little trail/root section at the very end, and rounded the last downhill and corner to the finish chute. It was then that I saw the overall clock reading "2:31:--". It was that moment that I realized I had started 8 minutes back, and I may have just gotten an OLY distance PR?!?!?! I don't ride with a bike computer and the swim felt like it took AGES, so this was such a complete shock. But then I also realized that I had pushed the run as hard as I could have, that I NEVER once felt the urge to walk, and I just wanted to sit down.


2:23:52 - 1AG, 13th overall 
(I think that 5 of the girls that finished ahead of me were in the 'college' division and not counted towards AG awards, but I do think the girl who won overall was collegiate, I was confused.)

I tried not to get too excited until I saw the results, bc who knows if they actually spread the waves out 4 minutes like they were supposed to, but when it was confirmed, I did a little dance.  My previous PR was from Miami in April of this year on a dead flat course. I felt like since then, my entire season was in a backwards slide, including my fitness, my motivation and my confidence, especially on the run. This was just the race I needed to put my mind in the right place to keep the focus on getting healthy, and make a wise and smart decision about Ironman next year (I have put a Dec 1 deadline on the decision, unless it looks like it is going to sell out before then).

Now, time to run this thing they call Ragner in the mountains of Pennsylvania with 11 friends from NYC next weekend.

Luray OLY 2011

I love racing. I just wish I was in the shape I want to be to allow myself the races I want.

And that's my race report in a nutshell. I am super happy with most parts of my race.

Short Version:

Swim 24:52
Bike 1:19:36
Run 53:46
Overall 2:41:07
1st AG, 13th OA

Long, all-over-the-place version:

I swam strong and was out of the water 2nd in my wave. I chose the wrong feet and missed the lead girl from the start, and could never bridge the gap. I lost sight of her when we started to pass the waves ahead of us, came out 1 minute back on her. Had the 3rd overall female swim.

I biked within my fitness and rode in 3rd overall from about mile 7ish to mile 26ish (yes, it was a bit longer bike than a traditional OLY). I was very comfortable on the bike, my legs came around on the 2nd loop and I never felt a lag in energy or power. I got stung/bit by something that bounced off my face around mile 20, which caused a minor freak-out as I am allergic to bees but have not been stung since I was in 7th grade, so I basically tried to ignore it. There was a nasty climb back into transition right at mile 25, and I chose to spin up rather than grind and burn my legs. I was passed by 1 more girl right before transition, but had a quick T2 (rather, the girl who passed me at the end of the bike seemed to have a comedy of errors in T2 and couldn't find her rack), and started run 3rd overall.

I actually felt GREAT leaving T2. I was light on my feet, tried not to hammer the pace, and focused on quick turnover and keeping my arms and upper body loose. I knew the top 2 girls in front where way ahead, but I also knew some girls were going to be hot on my feet. I found some boys to run with, and as I had chosen not to wear my Garmin, I inquired and we were running right at 8 minute pace. I felt great and would have been happy to hold this pace. Unfortunately, I had failed to look at the course elevation profile before the race. All I knew was that it was an out and back, including some gravel road. I failed to realize the hills that the out and back also included.

I was passed hard right about mile 2 by 2 girls, leaving me in 5th, and running 1st in my age group. I knew two girls ahead were also 29, but I was fairly confident they would hold on for the overall podium. I took a gu right around this point, hit the turn around, and the dreaded 'my legs are heavy, my head isn't in this, every step hurts' pains from DC returned. I saw the cushion I had with a whole gaggle of women behind me and thought if I could just keep my legs moving forward and not walk, I would be able to hobble the last 3 miles back to the finish.

Once the desire to walk hits, it hit hard. And I gave in. I was passed by probably 5-6 women in the last mile, and my body and mind just couldn't respond. I just kept on holding my breath as they passed, hoping they weren't my age group. Crazily, every single woman that passed was 30-39 (with the exception of 1, who was 40 and had actually started 3 minutes back). I just kept thanking my lucky stars and willing the finish line to come.

I finished, sat down to decompress and try to explain the feeling in my legs to my boyfriend. I can't put into words the overwhelming desire to just STOP. I feel like my heart rate doesn't match my perceived effort and I just have this debilitating desire to STOP. I didn't want to look at my splits right away, and tried to focus on the positive: I came out of the water 2nd, rode almost the entire bike in 3rd, and my run felt better for longer than in DC. So it's forward progress. And as I had realistic expectations going into the race, I was happy overall. And it's all relative: It might not have been pretty, but I won my age group, how could I be disappointed? AND, I got quite a useful award....

Post race, after the results were available for dissecting, I had the same sad and angry feelings I had after DC. Especially after I realized that my run was actually 2 minutes SLOWER than DC. If I had only been able to run a bit faster, hold those 8 minute miles....

But again, after taking a step back, I need to figure out WHAT is going on. Then it hit me. Both in DC and this race, I took in about 1 bottle of water on the bike (maybe had Nuun in DC), 1 gu on the bike and 1 gu on the run TOTAL. Last year, I was taking over 200 liquid calories on the bike, plus water, plus a gu on the bike and run. This, combined with being honest that I am just NOT putting in the running miles I need to for the results I want, helped me return to the positive aspects of the weekend.

So, last night, I went on an easy 45 minute run (at a significantly faster pace than the race...ugh) and realized that I want to do another OLY this year. Poconos is out. I am pretty sure I have found a race for 'run redemption' - I was impressed with the race organization, this race starts at 10am, and I can sleep in my own bed before. I just want to end the year on a high note and be excited to plan out a schedule for next year. I have completed three OLYs this year, and my run is going in the wrong direction. I need to figure this out, and have 6 weeks to do it.

I just (finally) placed an order to replace my Carbo Pro and EFS, and will figure this out.

Luray Goals

Realistic Expectations. Have Fun. Good attitude. Smile.

More substantial goals:

1. Race the swim. My swim has felt pretty horrible the first 400-600 lately, but I think that is my body and triceps/lat adjusting to swimming longcourse on a regular basis again. I've been swimming more the past few weeks and I have been really happy with my swims this year. Expecting a non-wetsuit swim, hopefully my shorts stay up.

2. Don't over-cook the bike. It's a hilly course, with some fast decents, so I want to really ride smart but aggressive. I have been feeling heavy and a bit crappy on the bike, but my efforts and paces have been OK.

3. Don't talk myself out of the run. No matter what pace my legs produce, have fun and be happy. Don't walk no matter what - I probably spent 1-2 minutes walking/enjoying and aid stations at DC Tri -this is not OK in an Olympic race, no matter how I'm feeling. If I'm feeling bad, the faster I run = faster it's over.

If nothing else, I'm excited!!! I'm trying not to overthink it, but depending on how this race goes is going to decide my fall (between another OLY or committing to Poconos) and perhaps even a much bigger decision regarding next year. I don't necessarily care how I finish in terms of time or place, it's more about how I feel and if I enjoy the race. To commit to a longer race, my body needs to respond to racing in a way that I haven't felt since the half marathon in March, and I need to be in a good place mentally and excited for the potential of 5+ hours of racing.

Nautica South Beach OLY Triathlon

Welcome back to the world of novel race-report a la Sarah.

Short version, 2:24:24, 2nd/AG. Very happy girl.

Chillax. That's the best word I could find to describe my feelings going into this race. I was ecstatic after my half marathon results two weeks ago, but two weeks is a strange time in between races. Figuring out the recovery/workout/rest (for both mind and body) was difficult. I was feeling completely apathetic about my race in South Beach. A trip to South Beach? A weekend of sun? Couldn't wait. Racing an OLY? Not so sure. I felt flat all week. I had no motivation to get in my workouts, in fact, my coach left training peaks blank. I tried to move my legs and listen to my body, which basically resulted in taking most of the week off, minus a few good swims.

One thing I knew going into this race- my swim felt great. It felt in a place I haven't felt in a long time. Seeing 100 times I haven't seen in years, revisiting 100s on 1:20.

Saturday morning my Team offered a swim clinic on the race course to benefit St. Jude's. We had about 150 people turn out, it was an amazing event, and I got to work out the kinks in the ocean while raising some money for an amazing cause. The rest of the day included a hot, sweaty trip to registration (starting to freak out about racing in the heat, visions of Eagleman in the back of my mind) and some lounging by the pool (yes, in the sun, not in the shade, but c'est la vie, I was in South Beach, dammit).

Race morning, more of the same. Our hotel was about halfway between the swim start and transition (point to point swim), so I rode down to transition, dropped my stuff, and headed back to the hotel to relax before the start (and avoid the potty line). Kept things simple and tried not to overthink things - it was only 2.5 hours:
200 calories Carbo Pro + 2 Nuun (mmm grape) in the aero bottle.
water on down tube.
2 gus in my shorts - 1 for bike, 1 for run.
cycling shoes on the ground (no flying mount of this girl).
running shoes, no socks (I'm sorry my little baby toe).
visor, garmin.

Swim: 24:28 (2nd/AG, 5th female non-pro)

The water was absolutely amazing. Crystal clear, warm, relatively flat (ha, famous last words) compared to the prior morning. Every knew the water temperature was borderline, but race morning it was measured to be wetsuit legal. Some people thought it was too hot and chose to race sans, but I was out for a PR and a spot on the podium, so I pulled on my wetsuit and hoped for the best. I felt great from the start. In a very large mixed-up wave (clydesdales, athenas, women under 30, older guys) I ran, dolphin-dived (dove?) and was in the front pack at the first turn. I tried to find some feet, but got stuck behind some guys that clearly had exhausted themselves a bit too quickly, so I took off. I kept looking for feet, but finally decided to get put my head down and swim.

I realized very quickly we were swimming against the current. But I felt strong, so I just kept plugging away. I was looking for other hot pink caps, but could only see one about 2 body lengths ahead of me. I worked my way through the waves ahead of me, swam over a HUGE sting ray, and finally saw the 6th buoy and turn for the finish. At the turn, I saw another pink cap. Swim time includes a long run put the beach. I came out of the water 2nd in my age group by 1 second. Looking back, I am very happy I wore my wetsuit, but I definitely could feel myself overheating towards the end of the swim. My legs and around my knees were getting HOT and I could feel myself sweating inside my suit.

T1- I was roughly in the middle of a pretty large transition. As per usual, had trouble getting my wetsuit off over my timing chip and ankles, need to figure this out. Felt great, really raced transition as I came in next to another girl, and got out on the bike.
Bike: 1:09:02 (21.5mph)

I put my head down and pushed. This course was strikingly similar to Clearwater, with a few steeps climbs over the Causeways that connect Miami beach with the main land, and then flat and fast with lots of turns and some 180 U-turns. This course also sadly echoed the imfamous packs and pacelines of Clearwater. I luckily was able to swim through a lot of the crowds and had a pretty open bike course, but was regularly passed by pacelines of 5-10 older men. I only yelled at a few people trying to ride my wheel, but tried to not let it get to me mentally. I was sucking down my drinks faster than normal, so I had to really be aware to be a bit more conservative with the gulps. It was HOT and at some points was quite windy.

I have not had a computer on my tri bike for about a year, and strangely I think it has really allowed me to push my abilities on the bike. I no longer get bogged down with how much time has passed,, how many miles are left and how fast I am going. I just focus on keeping my cadence high (knowing what 90-95 feels like), and pushing. I was riding blind, I didn't even wear a simple stop watch. With about 3-5? miles left, a girl in my age group passed. I debated about going after her, but I was starting to feel the effort. A teammate passed and yelled some choice words of encouragement that lit my fire a bit and I picked up the pace into T2.

Flying dismount - FINALLY! Super happy and proud that I finally did this.

T2 - Had the girl who biked past in my sights, quick change of the shoes (no socks...never again), grabbed my visor and garmin and was off. Had the 2nd fastest female age group T2 of the day - it's the little things :) ha

Run: 47:40 (7:41pace) 4th/AG

I knew within 2 steps there was no mojo in my legs. I just haven't been feeling it since my race 2 weeks ago, and with the heat, I knew I was in for some suffering. I was able to hold my goal pace right around 7/miles for about 5 minutes, but as the pace started to slide, I turned my attention to NOT GIVING UP and dialing it in. I used to have a tendency to dial it back just enough to stop the pain, especially when it was clear that I wasn't going to catch the girl in front of me and there was no one coming up behind me. I have really been focusing on this mental toughness and am proud to say that even though I felt awful, I kept the thoughts positive. I knew I wasn't hitting my goal paces, but I decided if 7:30ish/7:45ish was what my legs were going to give me, then I was going to focus on keeping it there. If someone ran by me, I would try to tuck in and hold their pace as long as I could.

As a 3 mile out and back, having 35 teammates on the course was a major boost. It kept the smile on my face and found a little bit of energy with every teammate that I saw. I tried my best to pick it up into the finish. Still at mile 6, I had no clue where I was in terms of overall time. I pretty much knew my goal of sub 2:20 was out the window based on my run, but it wasn't until I turned the final corner that I realized sub 2:25 was a possibility

As I saw the results, a OLY PR by about 5 minutes a huge OLY bike PR and 2nd in my age group, I was so happy. It's funny how in a race, you can get so down on yourself over the smallest things, yet you control so much mentally. Even though my run felt completely just off, looking back, I was only about 3ish minutes off my 10k PR, and I have been dealing with an injury for the past month. It's so easy to forget these small details in the moment of racing.

Post race was followed by being spoiled by some friends who are too kind, having a few too many beers with my teammates and not enough sleep. Monday morning brought an easy 20 minute ocean swim and a long, honest talk with my coach about goals for the rest of my season. We talked about changing up my race plans through June. I am mulling over the options today.

All and all, I am very tired, happy (and sunburned) girl.