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! 

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.

A real update.

After about 2 months of general life upheaval, things are starting to settle down. There are still some things that will take some getting used to, but in general, adjusting to life outside the bubble of Manhattan has been quite easy. I went from a cave of an office to an awesome light, filled tree-top view, I doubled my living space (and gained a quite handsome new roommate), and am absolutely obsessed to finally have central air conditioning and a dishwasher back in my life.

In the past two months, my training has taken a hit. I had a stupid bike crash in early June (read: Sarah alone on street at 5:45 am meets parked car), flatted at Rev3, and never really recovered (physically and mentally) before DC Tri. I raced on tired, painful legs, and was happy but discouraged and sad after my performance. It's a weird combo; I was actually elated when I got my results, seeing my swim time and bike performance based on how I felt. But the more I thought about it, analyzed the results, and thought about how incredibly horrible the run felt, I know something was 'off'. I am not sure if I was a bit over-trained/burned out, the bike crash jarred my body more than I realized, or basically overwhelmed with life in general, but I needed to step away.

I had a week of work/play in Chicago, went on long walks by the beach (lake), got my ass handed to me by my college roommate at her Masters team (she coached, and laughed as I struggled to keep up). When I returned in NYC, I decided to replace slow, painful, emotionally draining 30 minute runs with super-intense Boot Camp for July. It was amazing. I am so sad to have found it only a month before I moved - it was one of the best and most demanding workouts I have ever done, and showed me that despite being able to bang out a triathlon, I may just be the weakest person alive.

I also promised myself that for my last few weeks in NYC, I wouldn't choose training over enjoying myself. And enjoy myself I did. I left feeling comfortable and confident in my decision to move, and happy to know that NYC is only a few hours away.

So now I here I am. And settling in. And feeling awesome. My motivation has returned and I'm feeling good. My run is slowly coming back to me, I have the desire for hill repeats, long runs and 5am wake up calls. I am taking advantage of exploring my new neighborhood, learning new bike routes, meeting new people (slowly but surely!) and finding new training partners (hopefully!).

I am excited for my race next weekend. I think I have realistic expectations for the outcome, something I think maybe I didn't have going into DC Tri. I want to just enjoy the process. It's a smaller race, my man is coming to cheer, oh, and I have some fancy new wheels that will be making their debut, thanks to an overly generous going away present from my NYC teammates and friends...so freaking excited (and they got me clinchers, so the 'I was riding tubulars and didn't have a spare excuse is no longer valid)

Radio Silence.

I moved. I am overwhelmed. I'm trying to cram in a season of training in before my next race. I'm trying to find new training partners in DC other than the boyfriend.

But I have swam longcourse 2x in the past week, feel great on my bike, and the running is slowly coming back to me after a forced 'break' after DC Tri and a silly bike crash in June that did more damage than I realized.

All is well.

welcome to the real world...

...as in, life outside NYC. Life that is just different. I move in three weeks. I am SO EXCITED. I can't wait to see my man every day, be closer to my family, and not listen to a U2 cover band perform the same set list every.Saturday.night.until.1am (with a break at 11:50 just long enough to let me fall asleep...)

However, preparing for all the newness has me a bit perplexed. I've never owned a car. I've never bought insurance (spoiled lucky teenager? yes, I don't deny it). Last time I drove, gas was closer to $1 per gallon...so how do I choose??

Today, I bought insurance (deductible, liability, PIP...whatever, just tell me what I need thanks).

Tonight, I will hopefully be making the drive from NYC to DC in a snazzy brand new car (don't want to jinx it!). After a mild freak out about the monthly outlay, I just did the math, and it's likely less than I pay in cabs + subway per month in Manhattan. So now I feel a bit better.

OH, I raced DC tri a few weeks ago. I am now taking a month away from a structured training plan, but will keep my fitness up and adding some new things to mix up the routine and hopefully work on some underlying issues that keep popping up (read: strength, core). Next race comes mid-August, and will decide about the fall after that.

Quick recap:
swim = very happy. :30 seconds faster than Nation's last year (same course)
bike= good. felt awful, felt like I had no power, was pleasantly surprised with my time . course was crazy crowded but pretty.
run= slowest.10k.ever.(no really...ever for me) Body just wasn't feeling it. Proud of myself for finishing, sad to slowly watch my sub 2:20 slip away, especially knowing it was within grasp when I got off the bike. I know it will come.

So, what to do when you feel like complete and utter crap on the run? Throw a double thumbs up and fake it....

I still do triathlons (sort of)

Last night I swam 2900. It was the longest swim since Clearwater and I was pleasantly surprised I was able to mentally stick through a killer race-pace set. I think running fitness really translates to my swim coming back faster than I think.

On that note, I am still a triathlete. While work travel will limit my race schedule the second half of 2011 ,I still have a few big items on the horizon.

• In a few weeks I will head to camp with the team, where I will do these things:

-Run 20 miles on a red dirt road
-Race a sprint and watch my super-star roommate tear it up in a draft-legal race.
-Swim lots of miles in a sweet pool.
-Ride 100 miles.

• Then I will run a marathon. Note, I said 'run' as I haven't yet decided if this will be a 'race.'
  

• Two weeks later, pending my recovery from marathon, I will attempt a HUGE OLY PR (10+ minutes - I'm aiming high ha) at the Nautica South Beach race in April. Then I will drink my face off and sit on the beach with 30 teammates for two days.

• Then I will be all in for Eagleman. This race took the wind out of my sails last year and was a nasty intro to 70.3 racing, but I have learned a lot, and am committed to not letting the race break me this year.

Knee: Fail.

I have been MIA. Mainly because not much has been going on except working long hours.

And no running. Because something is up with my knee, and for fear of being whiny and/or making it more than it is, I have tried to stay mum. I am taking care of it and listening to my body as best I can. There is no need to push it right now, it is way more important to get and stay healthy.

I went to LA. It rained. The trail run was canceled.

I have been riding more. A lot more. Which is probably best for me now anyway. I am very excited to have a more structured plan for 2010 (read: a coach, a plan, a schedule, and exciting goals), and I have basically been told 'It's all about the bike.'

War on the Shore 2009

Short Version:

Swim: 7:54 (1/female, 9/overall swim)
T1: 2:00
Bike: 52:47 (20.5mph)
T2: 1:25
Run: 34:12 (6:51/mile)

1:38:15

3rd female overall

Long Version:

I signed up for this race totally last minute when it became a team race. I have ridden my bike about 3 times in the past 2 months, but have been swimming more and my run is coming together really great for the marathon, so I was very interested to see what I could do. The 'long course' version of this race is a 1/2 mile swim (with the current), 18 mile bike, 5 mile run, both pancake flat. My race plan: HAMMER.

I did 25 mile spin and a 80-minute open water swim on the Jersey Shore with one of the Kona-bound roommates the day before, and felt really great in the water and was hopeful for the morning. My legs had been DEAD all week, but I ignored them and hoped they would come around.

Race morning was un-eventful, other than some hoopla surrounding my coach and some 'special' racers he was coaching, but it was a great group down from NYC racing and the atmosphere was really exciting. The race venue was beautiful, the weather was absolutely perfect, and I was very impressed with the organization and race director. He put on a really great event overall.

Swim- It was a 1/2 mile swim. With the current. All female long-course racers started in the second wave, and I wanted to be first out of the water. I hopped out front and swam as hard as I could. Mission accomplished, first women out by a large margin, and I ended up having the 9th overall fastest swim of the day. Crazy fun experience hearing the cheers and realizing I was actually leading the race.


T1- slow, slow, slow. Had trouble getting my wetsuit off. My chip came off with it. My hands were cold.

Bike- I knew this was going to hurt no matter what, so I just got in my drops and rode. No computer, no idea of speed, cadence, nothing. I led the women's race for about 5 miles. Roommate passed me like I was standing still. There was tons of drafting going on in the mens race, as well as silly men trying to draft off little old me. I just rode my own race and only had to yell a few times at guys boxing me in.

Another teammate passed me I think right around 9 miles. I picked it up a bit to try to keep pace with her, but she slowly pulled away. With about 1 mile left in the bike, a third woman FLEW past me. I resisted the urge to hammer it home to hit transition with her, and spun my legs out and hoped my legs would be there on the run. My hip and back were aching a bit, but I was having so much fun, as evidenced by the goofy smile that makes all my bike pictures completely stupid and un-usable :)

Last race on my old steed- she treated me well :)

T2- I had a great spot in transition and was in and out.


Run- I ended up leaving transition with the female who had passed me on the end of the bike. She tried to make small talk, complained about numb feet (yes, mine were too, but I wasn't about to tell her that!!), and decided to push the pace to see if she could hang. She couldn't. I was able to see both teammates ahead of me at the first turnaround, and realized I was very solidly in 3rd place. There was a little lady in a orange speedo, cotton crop top, and scrunchy socks running in 4th, but no way was I letting her pass.

I didn't let up and tried to push the pace. The course passes transition and the finish-line for another mile long out and back, and a guy ran past and heard some teammates cheering my name and yelled out for me to get on his heels and "STAY THERE- COME ON, YOU CAN DO THIS!!" He definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and tried to keep me with him, yelling encouragement and my name. I had no clue how much longer we had, so I tried to stick with him as long as I could. It was so helpful and made me realize that another gear was there, even as he slowly pulled away. I ran the last mile scared that I was going to get caught by the scrunchy-socks woman and lose the overall podium, and finished in more pain (but the good kind) than I have felt in a very long time.

Hurtin bad- about 1/4 mile left.

My teammates and I ended up placing 1-2-3 in the women's long course and there were lots of other age group awards for the team, in both the long and short course races. It was a really GREAT day, and a perfect way to end what has been an amazing season. I am lucky to be healthy and racing and also have the awesome support of a truly amazing group of athletes.

Clearly, the highlight of the day (week, month, season, year?) was the most amazing gift I received after the race. It's a really long story, but the gist is I am the new owner of a lovely, brand new 2010 Giant that is nicer than anything I ever expected to own. I have promised free swim-lessons for life to my fairy godmother, and am picking the bike hopefully tonight and getting fit next week.

A truly perfect way to end the season- I can't WAIT for the winter, to get comfy on the new frame and ROCK OUT next season!

No words.

Thanks to an incredibly generous and altogether amazing teammate, looks like I've got myself some aerobars....
I was so taken aback and speechless after an amazing race and the most amazing, generous and unexpected gift I have ever received, I honestly don't even know any details; I am pretty sure it's a 2010 Trinity Alliance 1 with some upgrades, and that beauty is MINE :) More later.

Update: She's an Aeryn Alliance, size S, with a total of 1.6 miles. I'm in love- her name is Lulu, short for 'Lucky Lucy', a testament to my fairy godmother :)

Race!

I am so excited- I was just able to add a final tri to my season in less than 2 weeks- War on the Shore. It's a 0.6 mile ocean swim, 18.5 mile bike, and 5 mile run, all FLAT FLAT FLAT on the Jersey Shore.

I will have to get my first 20 miler in one or two days prior, so we will see how that goes, but I am very excited.

Speaking of racing, my 2010 race calendar is filling up:
Decided against South Africa 70.3, (would much rather spend New Years in Africa than lug my bike to the race)
May- Rev3 Olympic in Knoxville
June- Eagleman
July- Bike trip in Switzerland/Italy
(my team is racing IM Switzerland, I have to be in Vienna the week before for work, so I am hoping to go watch/support in Zurich then spend a week riding in Northern Italy!!)
Sept- Possibly the new Syracuse 70.3

I will not be signing up for the NYC tri next year, which is totally fine with me. At this point, I am also not sure about a fall marathon, training has been going really well and I am excited for NYC on Nov1, then will decide about next year.

Transition last weekend- The lovely gray sky we have grown accustomed to after a month of rain.

Grrrrr.

As it is STILL raining in NYC and up and down the East Coast, if the swim is canceled this weekend I will be throwing a very loud, obnoxious temper-tantrum.


But I am so excited for my first OLY in almost two years. Goals for the race:

Hammer the swim.
Stay focused on the bike- make it hurt.
PR the 10k run.

Gold Coast Sprint Triathlon 2009 - Long Version

It rained for about 20 days leading up to the race, and thunderstorms were in the forecast for race day. I tried to hold out hope that the swim wouldn't be canceled, keeping a positive attitude, even though the beaches had been closed during the week due to runoff, etc. But with a constant drizzle on race morning, walking from the parking lot to transition it was confirmed: swim canceled, and it would be a run/bike/run. We returned out wetsuits to the car (my wetsuit has now not be used since this race last year), and headed to a soggy transition area.

With the swim canceled, my confidence took a blow. I hoped to improve my overall time and move up in the overall standings this year. My primary focus the first half of the year has been my run fitness and speed, and I have also spent much more time in the saddle, including hours on the trainer over the winter- a first for me. However, even with this work, with no swim to 'rely' on, I wasn't sure if I needed to readjust my goals.

The announced the new waves, and I would be going off in the first wave. I decided to be confident, lined up close to the front, and make it hurt. My coach advised to be a little conservative in the first run, hammer the bike, and see what was left on the last run.

Run 1 (1.9 miles, 12:57 (6:49/mile))

I lined up front and center, not knowing how long the run was, and felt great from the start. I settled in with two other women, staying around 4th woman. I felt great, but tried to keep my breathing under control and steady. I didn't start my watch, sort of by accident, but also wanted to race by feel and effort. At the end of the first run, I thought I entered transition around 3rd in my age group.
I am basing the distance of the first run on the pace posted in the results. Who knows if it's accurate.

T1 (1:01)

I had trouble getting my bike shoes on, stepped in a huge puddle, and ran awkwardly with my bike to the bike out. I thought I had an awful transition, but realized I was the first woman out of transition (I think).

Bike (12 miles, 35:51 (20.1mph))

Being in the first wave we were lucky to have a wide open bike course for the 1st of a 2 loop course. I was passed almost right away by one of the two women who would pass me during the bike. I felt comfortable, stayed in my drops, and tried to keep her in sight. I was passed by another about halfway through the bike, made a brief attempt to hang with her, but realized it wasn't happening and continued to ride my own race, keeping my cadence up. My spirits were high, and the second loop all I thought about was avoiding a crash, as the course was wet, with puddles, and had masses of people all over the road. I witnessed one guy go down hard, and after that, took the corners conservatively and just wanted to be done. Overall, the bike felt good- I was able to make it hurt the entire time, keep my heart rate high, as well as my spirit. I think this is sort of a breakthrough for me, as I usually get bored/lose focus during the bike, no matter how short.

T2 (:46)

Ran awkwardly with my bike, stepped in more puddles, shoes on, visor in hand, run out. This felt good. I knew that only two women were in front of me, both in my age group, and wanted to see how far ahead they were ASAP.

Run2 (2.99, 20:06 (6:44/mile))

As much as I thought about doing a brick prior to this race, this was the first brick of the season for me. And I felt it. The first part of the run is a little out and back, and I was able to see how far in front the women were. I tried not to think about hammering and trying to catch them right away, just getting my legs under me and finding a comfortable stride. It took about a mile to find my legs, and I could tell I was gaining ground on the female running in front of me. I tried to keep my cool, latched on to a guy's shoulder and dig deep. My stride felt great and I was able to pick up my turn over. I passed her about ~2ish miles into the run. I could tell I wasn't gaining ground on the female in first- in fact, I couldn't even see her at that point. I tried to keep in mind there were waves behind me and I needed to keep digging deep, not just be happy with 2/AG. I finished strong, with no one out-kicking me in the finish chute, seeing my time around 1:10.

I knew this was about 4 minutes faster than last year, although the swim had been replaced (but go figure my run1 time was very close to my swim time from last year). After only a minutes or so, I saw a woman from the next wave finish, so I knew she had gone way faster than me. At that point I decided to enjoy how great I felt, cheer for others on my team, and not worry about the results.

Looking back, I wish I had run the first run a bit harder, but there is nothing else I would have changed. I can't think of any other race I have done where I have been able to push the run and set my sights on passing someone and actually get it done. AWESOME feeling.

Although of course I would have liked a swim (and I am pretty sure it could have helped me place a bit higher), I think in a weird way I am happy the swim was canceled. I am realizing up to this point I have thought of myself as "a good swimmer who does triathlons." I think I need to start thinking of myself as a "triathlete." This is the exactly the confidence I was looking for going into Philly this weekend.

De-railed.

The past 10 days have been full of cold, flu, cough all made that much more lovely by my pollen allergies.

Sadly, my A race of the spring, the Brooklyn Half Marathon, succumbed to the sneezing- coughing-post-nasal drip fun of a weekend. I know it was the right decision not to run, and I am proud of myself for laying low last week and running a whooping 2.5 miles, but I am still sort of bummed.

After finally going to the doctor yesterday, I am hoping to feel good enough to put in a good effort at the 2nd of the X-C 5k series this Thursday.

Also, seeing I have two triathlons in June, I am thinking I should spend some time on the bike and perhaps get back in the pool?

Spring Couples Relay

On Saturday, my ex-roommate and I did the Spring Couples Relay in Central Park. It consisted of a 2 mile run/12 mile bike (2 loops of central park) and an approximately 1/2 mile 'row' in the lake in Central Park. The plan was for me to run, him to bike, and do whatever we could not to fall into the lake during the rowing.


I did an easy jog from home over to the race transition area, and wasn't sure what to expect. Low-key races like this in NYC tend to draw fun crowds, but still the serious folks as well. When I got to transition, I saw multiple disk wheels and some aero helmets- I laughed out loud. The race is divided into 'combined' age groups, we fall in the 50-59 group. After eying our competition, I told my partner we had a shot at our age group. He has just started to get back into cycling shape and his doing his first triathlon with me in about a month- I told him that he better be winded when he was done with the bike :)

We lined up, and I told my partner that if I was back in 15 minutes, I would be happy. That is the pace I am hoping to hold next weekend in the 10k. I knew there was some serious runners in the race, but I lined up with them front and center and decided my plan was to run as fast as I could, try to hold on to the person in front of me, and not puke. I settled in the first mile with one woman in front of me (who I knew had just run 3:10ish in Boston). At the first mile (6:48), another woman passed me. However, we were not yet close to the turnaround for the 2 mile 'out and back' course- meaning the run was clearly going to be more than 2 miles, and I had just run the fastest mile I can ever remember running. I almost started to freak out and back off, but tried to stay with the woman who had just passed. That didn't happen, but I was still feeling OK and thinking about using my arms and keeping my legs moving. I was passed by another women after about 1.5 miles, hit mile 2 at 6:58, and felt great. The run ended up being 2.31 miles and I finished with my first ever sub-7 pace.

As I entered the transition, my partner was chatting it up with the people around him, and was clearly not expecting me so soon :) I yelled at him to 'Go, go' and he was off. I came in when I told him to expect me(15:53), but he later told me he didn't expect me to 'beat all the boys' :) I had come into transition 7th overall, with 3 men and 3 women ahead of us. Unfortunately for my partner, this meant that many of the serious cyclists would be hunting him down. He finished up his two loops, and promptly told me to be proud because "only 4 non-fancy super serious bikers" had passed him...I was very proud! And we were also safely ahead in our age group.

The rowing portion was hysterical. What I thought would be a quick, 5 minute little out and back row, was in reality a real 'course' with buoys and turns and took probably 15-20 minutes. I tried to do my part and took the oars while my partner recovered from his ride, but I was the only female rowing and we were not going anywhere (except in circles). We ended up in a fun little race with another boat, played some bumper boats, ran into a few rocks, but ended up winning our age group, soaking wet, and with smiles on our faces.

The race was really fun and we plan on not only defending next year, but now my partner tells me our new goal is to win the costume contest as well. There was some stiff competition this year, but we have a year to prepare :)

Triathlon Season...starts NOW (tomorrow)

It rained EVERY SINGLE day I was in California. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? It did allow lots of quality time with my friends, but REALLY!?!

On Valentine's Day, after a long walk up and over Coit Tower and a fabulous Ferry Building brunch, the rain regulated us to baking and wine drinking.

Mmmm Apple Galette.

OK, no more bitching allowed. The rain and crap weather, in addition to my brother now living there, means I just have to go back.

Bay to Breakers is OUT, so I am thinking.....maybe I will go for a little swim if my work travel schedule allows it???



In other news...

I decided triathlon training officially starts today. As in, some biking and swimming will be added back into the schedule. I won't admit how long it has been since I did either...Nothing crazy right now, just one or two spin classes per week and a longer trainer ride on the weekend, and one swim per week.

Oh, and when I say 'today', I obviously mean 'tomorrow', as my bed was way more comfortable than my trainer this morning after the red eye monday night.**




**This was obviously the correct decision, as I woke up to NO HOT WATER this morning and am a stinky, pony-tailed mess at work right now.

Very exciting.

This year, Trek is starting a new Women's Triathlon series- and they just announced the schedule (sort of):

Races in Cities & Venues you Love*
April	Arizona
May	Florida
	Texas
June	Southern California
	Colorado
July	Wisconsin
	Massachusetts
Aug.	Washington
	Northern California
Sept.	New York Metro
	Washington, DC

*Schedule is as of Nov. 2008; subject to change.

Once they post the actual dates, I hope to be able to do both the NY Metro and DC (depending on cost)- I also hope they plan well with the Nation's Triathlon in DC on September 13. If they are on consecutive weekends, maybe I can work it out to work from DC that week so I can do both.

Very exciting. I still get way more excited about sprint options (with a long-ish swim) than the idea of the half-ironman.

2008 Race Schedule

Here is the ever-evolving 2008 Race Schedule:

Jan- Manhattan Half Marathon (Central Park, NYC)

Feb- Bronx Half Marathon (Bronx, NY)

Mar- Two Oceans Half Marathon (Cape Town, RSA)

Apr- St. Anthony's OLY Triathlon (Tampa, FL)

Jun- Eagleman 70.3 Half-Ironman (Cambridge, MD)

Jun- Gold Coast Sprint Triathlon (Port Washington, NY)

Jul- NYC Triathlon (NY,NY)*

Sept- Pumpkinman Half-Ironman (Maine)*

Oct- Queens and Staten Island Half Marathons (exact dates TBA)*

Nov- NYC Marathon (NY,NY)*

*Races I have not yet signed up for. Yes, yes, I know NYC is sold out, but I know of a couple ways I can get in...just trying to avoid the entry free :) I am also still VERY undecided about taking the plunge into marathon training. I have entry into the race b/c I ran 9 NYRR races in 2007, so I think no matter what I will enter, and then perhaps defer until 2009.