Race report only a little more than a month after the fact!
The Austin Tri was on Labor Day in downtown Austin. It really is a lot of fun getting to race in downtown Austin. The quick low down on it was that it was a great race for me with a few hiccups. I bettered last year’s time by 17 minutes and bettered my 10k PR by a little over 30 seconds.
On the Friday before the race, I decided to play golf with my friend Nick after work. This is all well and good, but I decided that I would carry my bag and walk the course instead of getting a cart. I’m in decent shape so this should not have been a big ordeal. But, I woke up on Saturday with an incredibly sore neck and shoulder. It only got worse throughout the day and by Sunday morning, it hurt to breathe everything had become so tight and sore. I managed to get a few laps in at my pool and a tiny run in and it seemed to loosen up a little bit.
I started off the swim feeling OK, but after about 100m or so, my chest got really tight and I couldn’t breathe. Not sure if it was the cold water, the soreness I had been suffering from, the apprehension of what the race would be like, or most likely, a combination of all of the above. Well, I have had bad swims before, so I didn’t freak out, I just breast and side stroked trying to not kick anyone and keep my head out of the water. After about another 200-300m, my chest opened up and I could go back to free style. The rest of the swim, with the exception of being incredibly pissed off at myself, went really well and I made up some ground.
Once I got on my bike I became very grateful for the loaner pair of sun glasses I got from my buddy, Jimmy. I wear contacts so I have to wear sunglasses on the bike to keep them from drying out. This day was very overcast and had a good chance of rain. Jimmy lent a pair of glasses to me with yellow lenses as all of mine are dark gray. This was a tremendous help! For me, I felt like I was flying on the bike and making good time. I even caught up to Tenille (she was on her second or third lap by this time - I was on my first) and said hi. She didn’t recognize me at the time, but apparently this was inspiring to her as she quickly passed me back and that was the last of her I would see during the race. (She totally rocked the race and came in 3rd Overall for the women! Right after winning the San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz the weekend before.) On my third lap I became infinitely more appreciative of my yellow sunglasses; the skies opened up and we had a nice little down pour for a good part of the lap. I am not the most confident rider so I slowed WAY down at first to ensure I didn’t crash and see how Beva (my bike) would handle the slick roads. Luckily we made it through with no crashes!
The rain stopped just as I was getting off the bike and it started to get quite muggy. Oh well. It beats running in 105* weather. This was the first time I decided to run without socks, so the wet shoes were not too comfortable right off the bat. However, had I had socks, they too would have started off wet. As I passed the first mile of the run I saw Kelly and Steven from my running group which gave me a nice little perk. A little before mile two, I saw Roger, my first running coach. handing out water bottles and gels. Despite the inspiration I started to fade a little bit, but then one of the nicest things happened to me. The pro that I had been right behind since the start of my lap called back to me, “Come on! Pick it up. Do it now while it is easy and help bring me in.” Somehow I found another gear and managed to pull ahead of him and hopefully be a little bit of a rabbit. Even with the increased pace, I still never felt like I was really managing all that great of a pace, or form, and my stomach was just screaming at me to stop eating sugar. When I finally came to the finish line I looked at my watch and saw a time of 42:45 for the 10k portion. This was much faster than it felt like I ran so I was ecstatic. Later when I looked at the results, I discovered I missed starting the watch after transition, and that my actual run time was 40:58! Overall time was 2:21:20.
Now there is just one more race - Ironman 70.3 Austin (formerly Longhorn). That is this Sunday and I am more than a little nervous about it. I feel ready and know that I am prepared for it, but for some reason that isn’t instilling me with a sense of calm. But I am certainly looking forward to it. I promise to be much, much more punctual on posting that race report. Until then, run friendly!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Moonlight Margarita Run
Last Thursday was the Moonlight Margarita Run benefiting The Trail Foundation. Lauren, one of the members of my running group, managed to land 8 passes to the gala for our group. So, after a little pleading on her part, several of us decided that we would go ahead and do the run; and of course the margaritas at the end. Our coach, Panther, was going to be doing the race with us and thought that it would be a great idea for us to do this as a costume run.
I am a fan of dressing ridiculously (life is too short to be serious all of the time) so costume to me means just looking like an idiot. In February a friend and I were planning on doing a Valentine’s Day themed pajama run only to have it canceled due to weather the day of. Sadly, I had already purchased my “pajamas” for this great event and have not had any opportunities arise in which to wear them. This seemed like the perfect occasion to break them out! So my pink night gown with orange hearts and orange frilly collar was called to duty! Along with some orange and white tie-dye knee high socks and my incredibly short race shorts.
Panther showed up decked out as Elvis, JJ came in a coconut bra and grass skirt, Lauren as an island girl, and Fitty in his fat Hawaiian tourist getup. A running group has never looked to distinguished. So after a few pictures with strangers we started to work our way to the start line. For whatever reason, I had decided that I wanted to try to actually race this thing. It was still 98* and I had done 8.5 miles in the Barton Creek hills that morning; obviously everything was setting up for a great race. So I amble up to the front of the starting line and get a lot of weird looks from the other runners. All of their eyes were saying the same thing, “Great, someone that I will have to try to dodge because they want to get right up to the front of the line to run 15 minute miles.” Oh well.
The air horn sounded and off we went. It was certainly warm, and my incredibly tight cotton gown was not as breathable as my typical no shirt running style, but for the most part I was feeling OK. That feeling quickly disappeared, my mouth got dry and I started to think that I might have started out a tad too fast. As I approached the Mile 1 marker I looked at my watch and confirmed my thoughts; 5:35, fastest mile ever. Gulp! I refused to be the idiot in the costume that took off like a bat out of hell only to finish it off at a crawl. Too make matters worse, the first water stop was unmanned so I had to forgo it. OK, I run in the heat all the time and cut-down workouts are painful, but I can do those. Let’s rock this!
I made the turn and started to head back down Cesar Chavez and took advantage of the downhill to just pull me down without pushing too hard. Mile 2 at 11:32. OK, I have slowed down, but still sub 6. This last mile is going to suck! And my downhill was gone, but there was water. Oh thank you merciful volunteers and your sweet elixir! By this point in the race I was starting to see some of my friends going the other way and really owe them a lot for the cheers they gave me. The cat calls from strangers helped too. ;) By the time we made the turn to Austin High I was completely spent, but I had been going back and forth with this one kid for most of the race and had just pulled ahead of him and was not wanting to give that up. (This guy is actually Taylor that I had met a few days prior at Jack’s Generic Tri where he got 2nd in our age group.) Gut check time.
As we made the curve around the football field I tried to start kicking with everything I had knowing that I had about a quarter mile left. Finally the finish line was in sight and never, with the possible exception of the Austin Marathon, has a finish line looked so welcoming. As I came down the stretch I heard Evil say, “Nice top!” which brought a smile to my nearly permanently grimaced face. As I looked down at my watch I saw that I had crossed in 18:17. Nearly a 3 minute PR and the first time I had managed to average a sub 6 minute pace for a race! Oh my 3 miles can be painful!
As I was chugging my water and enjoying my ice towel I saw Elvis (Panther) cross the finish line in a sub-20 minute time. Pretty damn impressive for someone wearing polyester long sleeves and pants. Plus a black wig! We watched and cheered in the rest of Riff Raff and even gave an interview for some UT student. Once everyone was accounted for we started making our way to the gala for margaritas and Mexican food. Great race and even better times!
(I will try to put more pictures up as I get them.)
I am a fan of dressing ridiculously (life is too short to be serious all of the time) so costume to me means just looking like an idiot. In February a friend and I were planning on doing a Valentine’s Day themed pajama run only to have it canceled due to weather the day of. Sadly, I had already purchased my “pajamas” for this great event and have not had any opportunities arise in which to wear them. This seemed like the perfect occasion to break them out! So my pink night gown with orange hearts and orange frilly collar was called to duty! Along with some orange and white tie-dye knee high socks and my incredibly short race shorts.
Panther showed up decked out as Elvis, JJ came in a coconut bra and grass skirt, Lauren as an island girl, and Fitty in his fat Hawaiian tourist getup. A running group has never looked to distinguished. So after a few pictures with strangers we started to work our way to the start line. For whatever reason, I had decided that I wanted to try to actually race this thing. It was still 98* and I had done 8.5 miles in the Barton Creek hills that morning; obviously everything was setting up for a great race. So I amble up to the front of the starting line and get a lot of weird looks from the other runners. All of their eyes were saying the same thing, “Great, someone that I will have to try to dodge because they want to get right up to the front of the line to run 15 minute miles.” Oh well.
The air horn sounded and off we went. It was certainly warm, and my incredibly tight cotton gown was not as breathable as my typical no shirt running style, but for the most part I was feeling OK. That feeling quickly disappeared, my mouth got dry and I started to think that I might have started out a tad too fast. As I approached the Mile 1 marker I looked at my watch and confirmed my thoughts; 5:35, fastest mile ever. Gulp! I refused to be the idiot in the costume that took off like a bat out of hell only to finish it off at a crawl. Too make matters worse, the first water stop was unmanned so I had to forgo it. OK, I run in the heat all the time and cut-down workouts are painful, but I can do those. Let’s rock this!
I made the turn and started to head back down Cesar Chavez and took advantage of the downhill to just pull me down without pushing too hard. Mile 2 at 11:32. OK, I have slowed down, but still sub 6. This last mile is going to suck! And my downhill was gone, but there was water. Oh thank you merciful volunteers and your sweet elixir! By this point in the race I was starting to see some of my friends going the other way and really owe them a lot for the cheers they gave me. The cat calls from strangers helped too. ;) By the time we made the turn to Austin High I was completely spent, but I had been going back and forth with this one kid for most of the race and had just pulled ahead of him and was not wanting to give that up. (This guy is actually Taylor that I had met a few days prior at Jack’s Generic Tri where he got 2nd in our age group.) Gut check time.
As we made the curve around the football field I tried to start kicking with everything I had knowing that I had about a quarter mile left. Finally the finish line was in sight and never, with the possible exception of the Austin Marathon, has a finish line looked so welcoming. As I came down the stretch I heard Evil say, “Nice top!” which brought a smile to my nearly permanently grimaced face. As I looked down at my watch I saw that I had crossed in 18:17. Nearly a 3 minute PR and the first time I had managed to average a sub 6 minute pace for a race! Oh my 3 miles can be painful!
As I was chugging my water and enjoying my ice towel I saw Elvis (Panther) cross the finish line in a sub-20 minute time. Pretty damn impressive for someone wearing polyester long sleeves and pants. Plus a black wig! We watched and cheered in the rest of Riff Raff and even gave an interview for some UT student. Once everyone was accounted for we started making our way to the gala for margaritas and Mexican food. Great race and even better times!
(I will try to put more pictures up as I get them.)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Jack's Generic Tri Report
Hey, a race report not too terribly long after the race - what a concept!
Jack’s Generic Tri was somewhat of a breakthrough race for me I believe. My placing in my age group wasn’t outstanding, but my overall place floored me and I finally feel like I can hang with these guys.
My goal was to flirt with 1:10:00 - I finished in 1:08:28; good for 19th overall and 7th in my age group. (8 of the top 20 overall finishers came from my age group.) After my typical warm-up jog with a few strides put in, I actually hopped in the lake for a little warm-up swim as well. I have never done this before, but think that it might be something to start including in the pre-start activity. Swim starts have never been my strong point, but my awesome swim coach, Tenille, has been working with me to start out hard the first 50 or so meters and then find my stride. And my friend Ginny has been hounding me too to have more confidence in my swimming. Somehow I managed to wiggle my way to the front of the line at the swim start so that I had fewer bodies to beat up (and get beat up by) so when the horn went off it wasn’t as painful as normal. After a few strokes though I was getting a bit winded and started to worry a little bit about a Rookie Tri repeat, but then Tenille and Ginny got in my head and told me to suck it up. So I did, and managed to find my own little place in the stream of stuff and kept on trucking. I got out of the water in a respectable 8:17 and headed off to T1.
For the first time on the bike I really started to feel comfortable. Typically the run is the only part of the race where I feel in my element, but by that point you are so tired I am not so sure that element is all too comfortable. But I was off on the bike and not instantly being passed by everyone and their brother which is quite a new experience. About halfway through the race I saw a group of cyclists a decent ways up the road from me and I told myself to just keep them in sight. As soon as I thought that, it occured to me that I was gaining on them. Why wait for the run to try to pass them? So I focused on my pedal stroke and started my chase. Low and behold, I passed them up and continued to find more people on the ride to pick off. On the final set of hills I was passed by one guy in my age group, but I knew that I had passed more people than had passed me so I was pretty confident that I had at least held my position since the swim. As I was coming towards the end of the bike course I managed to get my feet out of my shoes before getting off the bike and avoided having to un-clip at the line. Miraculously I did not fall on my butt while doing this and came off the bike after averaging an astounding (for me) 21.7mph.
Alright, the run! Yeah, my legs were feeling the pushing I was doing on the bike, but if I can survive Panther’s, my run and tri coach, horrendous cut downs and hill repeats, I know I can belt out a fast 3 miles. The first half of the run course is up a gradual hill and definitely makes you feel all that you have already done to your legs. But, what goes up must come down, so the turn around point almost serves as a slingshot. I had managed to pass 2-3 guys in my age group on the way out, but had been caught by one guy right before the turn around. I passed him up in the turn around, but knew it was going to be really hard to hold him off. As we picked up the pace going down the hill I could hear him just settle in behind me. So I slowed the pace just a little figuring that I wasn’t going to do all the work and then have nothing left for him at the end. No sooner had I settled on this strategy than we came up on another guy in our age group. With less than a mile left strategy was being thrown out the window. The three of us all started to speed up a little and jockey for position. Kevin, the guy that had been following me, passed the two of us just as we made the turn around the lake and found a stride that I just couldn’t match. But I did manage to fall in behind the other guy and pull ahead with about 200 meters left and just barely managed to out sprint (that might be a generous word at this point) him to the finish. Somehow I managed to run the 3 miles in 19:37, good for the 9th fastest run of the day.
My standing in the Texas Tri Series will not change after this race, but I certainly walked away with a sense of belonging. Perhaps it was just a great race day for me. Perhaps it was my first week of transitioning to being vegan. ;) Or perhaps it was culmination of the training, coaching, and support that I have been getting over the past year. I will certainly be marching into Austin Tri with a little more confidence.
Sadly, shortly after I finished I heard volunteers talking about a bike rider that had fallen and was being transported to the hospital. A little while later I got a call from a friend saying that it was our friend Stacey that had crashed. Stacey suffered a broken clavicle and is pretty banged up, but she will be fine. In the midst of phone calls, talking with race officials, finding Stacey’s gear, and filling in friends it occurred to me just how small, and wonderful, the tri community really is. Everyone knows and loves Stacey. She is incredibly out going and is that person that turns training partners into friendships that last well after the program. While I was trying to talk to people to get information, they either knew me, or at least knew that I had been around for a while, and tried to help in whatever way possible. Jack, of Jack and Adam’s, was wonderful and got Stacey’s bike and transition bag for me so that I was able to load it all in her car and take it back to Austin for her. I don’t know if this would have even been remotely feasible in a larger, less familiar environment. A large shout out to Jack and the rest of the Jack’s Generic staff. Also, there were no fewer than 20 people that told me to pass along their best wishes to Stacey and to let them know if there was anything they could do. Most of us do endurance sports to learn more about ourselves in some form or fashion, and the depth that this community has really came out yesterday. Thank you all. In the light of a scare, it really made me (and Stacey) feel good.
OK, that’s it for now. In the meantime - run friendly.
Jack’s Generic Tri was somewhat of a breakthrough race for me I believe. My placing in my age group wasn’t outstanding, but my overall place floored me and I finally feel like I can hang with these guys.
My goal was to flirt with 1:10:00 - I finished in 1:08:28; good for 19th overall and 7th in my age group. (8 of the top 20 overall finishers came from my age group.) After my typical warm-up jog with a few strides put in, I actually hopped in the lake for a little warm-up swim as well. I have never done this before, but think that it might be something to start including in the pre-start activity. Swim starts have never been my strong point, but my awesome swim coach, Tenille, has been working with me to start out hard the first 50 or so meters and then find my stride. And my friend Ginny has been hounding me too to have more confidence in my swimming. Somehow I managed to wiggle my way to the front of the line at the swim start so that I had fewer bodies to beat up (and get beat up by) so when the horn went off it wasn’t as painful as normal. After a few strokes though I was getting a bit winded and started to worry a little bit about a Rookie Tri repeat, but then Tenille and Ginny got in my head and told me to suck it up. So I did, and managed to find my own little place in the stream of stuff and kept on trucking. I got out of the water in a respectable 8:17 and headed off to T1.
For the first time on the bike I really started to feel comfortable. Typically the run is the only part of the race where I feel in my element, but by that point you are so tired I am not so sure that element is all too comfortable. But I was off on the bike and not instantly being passed by everyone and their brother which is quite a new experience. About halfway through the race I saw a group of cyclists a decent ways up the road from me and I told myself to just keep them in sight. As soon as I thought that, it occured to me that I was gaining on them. Why wait for the run to try to pass them? So I focused on my pedal stroke and started my chase. Low and behold, I passed them up and continued to find more people on the ride to pick off. On the final set of hills I was passed by one guy in my age group, but I knew that I had passed more people than had passed me so I was pretty confident that I had at least held my position since the swim. As I was coming towards the end of the bike course I managed to get my feet out of my shoes before getting off the bike and avoided having to un-clip at the line. Miraculously I did not fall on my butt while doing this and came off the bike after averaging an astounding (for me) 21.7mph.
Alright, the run! Yeah, my legs were feeling the pushing I was doing on the bike, but if I can survive Panther’s, my run and tri coach, horrendous cut downs and hill repeats, I know I can belt out a fast 3 miles. The first half of the run course is up a gradual hill and definitely makes you feel all that you have already done to your legs. But, what goes up must come down, so the turn around point almost serves as a slingshot. I had managed to pass 2-3 guys in my age group on the way out, but had been caught by one guy right before the turn around. I passed him up in the turn around, but knew it was going to be really hard to hold him off. As we picked up the pace going down the hill I could hear him just settle in behind me. So I slowed the pace just a little figuring that I wasn’t going to do all the work and then have nothing left for him at the end. No sooner had I settled on this strategy than we came up on another guy in our age group. With less than a mile left strategy was being thrown out the window. The three of us all started to speed up a little and jockey for position. Kevin, the guy that had been following me, passed the two of us just as we made the turn around the lake and found a stride that I just couldn’t match. But I did manage to fall in behind the other guy and pull ahead with about 200 meters left and just barely managed to out sprint (that might be a generous word at this point) him to the finish. Somehow I managed to run the 3 miles in 19:37, good for the 9th fastest run of the day.
My standing in the Texas Tri Series will not change after this race, but I certainly walked away with a sense of belonging. Perhaps it was just a great race day for me. Perhaps it was my first week of transitioning to being vegan. ;) Or perhaps it was culmination of the training, coaching, and support that I have been getting over the past year. I will certainly be marching into Austin Tri with a little more confidence.
Sadly, shortly after I finished I heard volunteers talking about a bike rider that had fallen and was being transported to the hospital. A little while later I got a call from a friend saying that it was our friend Stacey that had crashed. Stacey suffered a broken clavicle and is pretty banged up, but she will be fine. In the midst of phone calls, talking with race officials, finding Stacey’s gear, and filling in friends it occurred to me just how small, and wonderful, the tri community really is. Everyone knows and loves Stacey. She is incredibly out going and is that person that turns training partners into friendships that last well after the program. While I was trying to talk to people to get information, they either knew me, or at least knew that I had been around for a while, and tried to help in whatever way possible. Jack, of Jack and Adam’s, was wonderful and got Stacey’s bike and transition bag for me so that I was able to load it all in her car and take it back to Austin for her. I don’t know if this would have even been remotely feasible in a larger, less familiar environment. A large shout out to Jack and the rest of the Jack’s Generic staff. Also, there were no fewer than 20 people that told me to pass along their best wishes to Stacey and to let them know if there was anything they could do. Most of us do endurance sports to learn more about ourselves in some form or fashion, and the depth that this community has really came out yesterday. Thank you all. In the light of a scare, it really made me (and Stacey) feel good.
OK, that’s it for now. In the meantime - run friendly.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Texas Tri Series, Training, and Vegan
Blogging frenzy!!!!
Well, it seems that the Texas Tri Series has posted the standings for the season through the first two races. Miraculously I am 5th in my age group and 18th overall. There is about 8 minutes between me and a podium position, so we shall see if I can’t close the gap over the next three races.
Speaking of races, the third race in the series and the last sprint distance, Jack’s Generic Tri is this Sunday. I don’t really think that I will be able to make much of a move in the standings on this one, but can hopefully just maintain my position.
With the quick turn around between races, being on-call for work one weekend, and a trip to Fort Worth, my training has felt sporadic at best the past three weeks. But I did manage to crank out a good brick workout in Fort Worth and my swimming seems to be getting better, so perhaps sporadic works for me. I guess we shall see.
Now for the big news...I have decided to go vegan. I had been throwing around the idea for quite some time, but never thought that I was close to pulling the trigger. But my nutritionist called me out for eating too much cheese and I realized that I am really bad at reining myself in and that the dairy and egg industry is really the same as the meat industry, so I decided to go ahead and go vegan. This is only day four of it, but so far it is going OK. It will be interesting to see how it affects my training. I’ll try to keep you posted on the progress, or digress.
OK, this was just a quick little update. In the meantime - run friendly.
Well, it seems that the Texas Tri Series has posted the standings for the season through the first two races. Miraculously I am 5th in my age group and 18th overall. There is about 8 minutes between me and a podium position, so we shall see if I can’t close the gap over the next three races.
Speaking of races, the third race in the series and the last sprint distance, Jack’s Generic Tri is this Sunday. I don’t really think that I will be able to make much of a move in the standings on this one, but can hopefully just maintain my position.
With the quick turn around between races, being on-call for work one weekend, and a trip to Fort Worth, my training has felt sporadic at best the past three weeks. But I did manage to crank out a good brick workout in Fort Worth and my swimming seems to be getting better, so perhaps sporadic works for me. I guess we shall see.
Now for the big news...I have decided to go vegan. I had been throwing around the idea for quite some time, but never thought that I was close to pulling the trigger. But my nutritionist called me out for eating too much cheese and I realized that I am really bad at reining myself in and that the dairy and egg industry is really the same as the meat industry, so I decided to go ahead and go vegan. This is only day four of it, but so far it is going OK. It will be interesting to see how it affects my training. I’ll try to keep you posted on the progress, or digress.
OK, this was just a quick little update. In the meantime - run friendly.
Couples Triathlon Report
I figure that I should probably post my race report before my next race. So here we go...
Several Sundays ago marked the second race of the Texas Tri Series, Couples Triathlon, and my first chance to truly measure my progress as a triathlete. Last year was my first venture into the tri world and Couples was my first race. While my final time was not as fast as I had hoped, I still walked away with two PRs and probably my best raced race.
Like all tris, the morning came way too early, but the butterflies were starting to flutter so the sleep cleared my eyes relatively quickly. Two pieces of peanut butter toast, some Ovaltine (yes, I eat like an 8 year old), a banana, and a glass of orange juice and I was ready to start loading up the car and getting race drinks ready.
My friend, Ginny, and I had decided to carpool to the race and as luck would have it, she was right on time getting to my place at 5:30 while I was running a good 10 minutes late. Oh well, this is the beauty of planning on getting there insanely early; you have time to run late. But we still managed to get on the road slightly after 5:45 and made it to the parking lot just after 6. The racks were largely unpopulated at this time and it was easy to get a prime spot and get your transition area set-up without having to shoe horn it in someplace.
After getting Beva, my bike, put in place and everything laid out for the race it was time to chit-chat with my teammate, Padre, Stacey, and some other friends and training companions that I ran into before going out for a mile jog to warm-up before heading down to swim start. On the warm-up jog I quickly realized that I had made a tactical error in wearing my Brooks T-6 racing flats. The run course is on grass and dirt roads within the park and were still quite soaked from the recent rains and my shoes were struggling mightily to find traction. Oh well, it wasn’t like I was going to be the only person with this problem.
As I was heading back into transition to put my now slightly soggy shoes I saw an old high school friend that has been doing tris for quite some time. Outside of Facebook, I haven’t seen Coop since high school; so it was great to chat briefly after all of these years.
With the shoes back in transition, I headed down towards the lake with my disposable water bottle, a packet of salt tablets (part of my nutritionist’s new game day plan), and plenty of butterflies. No matter how many times I race, I still get nervous at the start and I seem to get more and more addicted to the feeling. With 15 minutes to go I popped the three salt tablets and started sifting my way down to the start line with Padre and got ready for the mayhem that was to come. Finally we were let into the water and then the gun went off...
At The Rookie Tri in May I went out really hard on the swim only to find myself stuck with a bunch of people doing the same and ultimately had a freak out resulting in me having to back and side stroke for a bit to regain my breathe. This time around I decided that I would just go out at my pace and let the lead pack go, and just pull away from the bulk of the group as the swim progressed. As I approached the first buoy I could feel my chest tightening up, but I was able to reassure myself that I am a very strong swimmer and that I can swim this distance in my sleep. Just relax, find your stroke and trust it. Miraculously this little pep talk worked on my ever-cynical self, and low and behold, I started to pull away from everyone around me and feel more relaxed. As I rounded the second buoy my goggles had become fogged to the point that I couldn’t see the buoys ahead and sadly the pack had thinned to the point that I couldn’t rely on them to bring me. So I just raised my head up further out of the water and was able to make out the finish line and figured if I swam straight at it I would probably manage to stay on course. Luckily this plan worked as I refound the buoys and made my way to shore. Out of the water in 14:46. Not too bad.
Transitions have never been a strong suit of mine, but I keep trying to improve them. So I ran a little faster than I would like up the hill and into T1, grabbed a cup of water from the volunteers and dashed towards my bike. Typically I try way too hard to clean my feet before putting on my shoes but this day I decided I’d settle for just knocking off the major clumps of debris. What do you know? It helped! Got my sunglasses on, strapped on the helmet and started to trot to the bike start. T1-2:10
Bike has always been the weakest of the three sports for me, but I have been working on it a lot this year. So as I was getting everything adjusted for the ride I heard the distinctive griding whirl of a carbon wheel bike coming up from behind me. “Great, already starting to get passed by everyone!” I thought, but alas, after I got settled, I passed that bike up and never saw him again! Of course several bikes did ultimately pass me, but I think that I passed as many, if not more. Finally, I was holding my own on the bike. The loop around Decker is known for its hills, and particularly this nasty little gem on Blue Bluff Rd that starts immediately after a 90* turn. Luckily I knew of this hill and put my bike in an easy gear before I even got to it and was able to attack it without frantic shifting or falling off. The rest of the ride went by uneventful expect for the end when I went to grab my water bottle to take my second round of electrolyte capsules. It wasn’t there! So, I either littered or gave someone a very nice insulated Camelbak water bottle. But I was out of Accelorade so I had to forgo the electrolytes. Oh well. Unclipped and headed into T2. Bike-32:58
Racked Beva, threw on my socks and shoes, grabbed the race belt, and started working on the bandanna. As I headed out of T2 the volunteers were advertising they had Pure Sport so I grabbed a cup of that in hopes that it would make up for my lost electrolyte pills. T2-1:24
As I finished swigging down the Pure Sport and adjusting the knot on my bandanna I started looking for my stride. It really was a lot like a trail run in that watching your footing was a premium. I could feel my stomach starting to foam from all of the Accelorade I had consumed on the bike and started to get a littler nervous about what might be in store for me, but I kept pushing along. As I approached the first water stop, I was passed by a few people that had names on their tri jerseys and realized that the pros were closing in on me. Instead of demoralizing me, it actually gave me a little bit of a pep and I now had fast runners to try to keep up with. Eventual Women’s 2nd place overall winner, Natasha Van Der Merwe, passed me just before Mile 1. She seemed to be going at a good pace for me so I just latched on to her for a few minutes. As we got back to some of the more technical trail running type terrain I started to feel my stride and passed her up, but she never got far behind me and was definitely pushing me all the way in. The better part of the last half mile of the run course is up a fairly steep hill that starts at the bottom of the dam. My legs were feeling none to fresh by this point, but I could see people struggling up ahead of me and tried to pull them in and make my charge to the finish line. Finally the hill was crested and I had the flat stretch to the finish line! Run-21:01
I was honestly a little surprised to see the clock when I crossed. I had stopped paying attention to my watch so really had no idea where I stood for the race. My goal was to break 1:10. The swim had gone well, my transitions were reasonably quick for me, and I really felt that I had pushed the bike as hard as I could. So when I saw the clock read 1:12 I was a little disappointed. But after I got to think about it for a little while I realized that I had ran my race exactly the way I had wanted to. Perhaps I could have pushed a tad harder on the swim, maybe I need to learn how to leave my shoes on the bike; but I ran this race smartly and did everything I could to do my best. And I walked away with two PRs! Last year I finished Couples in 1:25:46. This year I did 1:12:21. That is not too shabby of a boost. And, I have only raced one 5k in my life, but it was a 21:37 at the 2008 Jingle Bell 5k.
I know that I still have a lot of work left to do if I am to continue to achieve my goals this year in the Texas Tri Series, but this is probably one of the races that I am the proudest of. I just raced well. Hopefully I’ll post more about training and life in the coming weeks. In the meantime, run friendly!
Several Sundays ago marked the second race of the Texas Tri Series, Couples Triathlon, and my first chance to truly measure my progress as a triathlete. Last year was my first venture into the tri world and Couples was my first race. While my final time was not as fast as I had hoped, I still walked away with two PRs and probably my best raced race.
Like all tris, the morning came way too early, but the butterflies were starting to flutter so the sleep cleared my eyes relatively quickly. Two pieces of peanut butter toast, some Ovaltine (yes, I eat like an 8 year old), a banana, and a glass of orange juice and I was ready to start loading up the car and getting race drinks ready.
My friend, Ginny, and I had decided to carpool to the race and as luck would have it, she was right on time getting to my place at 5:30 while I was running a good 10 minutes late. Oh well, this is the beauty of planning on getting there insanely early; you have time to run late. But we still managed to get on the road slightly after 5:45 and made it to the parking lot just after 6. The racks were largely unpopulated at this time and it was easy to get a prime spot and get your transition area set-up without having to shoe horn it in someplace.
After getting Beva, my bike, put in place and everything laid out for the race it was time to chit-chat with my teammate, Padre, Stacey, and some other friends and training companions that I ran into before going out for a mile jog to warm-up before heading down to swim start. On the warm-up jog I quickly realized that I had made a tactical error in wearing my Brooks T-6 racing flats. The run course is on grass and dirt roads within the park and were still quite soaked from the recent rains and my shoes were struggling mightily to find traction. Oh well, it wasn’t like I was going to be the only person with this problem.
As I was heading back into transition to put my now slightly soggy shoes I saw an old high school friend that has been doing tris for quite some time. Outside of Facebook, I haven’t seen Coop since high school; so it was great to chat briefly after all of these years.
With the shoes back in transition, I headed down towards the lake with my disposable water bottle, a packet of salt tablets (part of my nutritionist’s new game day plan), and plenty of butterflies. No matter how many times I race, I still get nervous at the start and I seem to get more and more addicted to the feeling. With 15 minutes to go I popped the three salt tablets and started sifting my way down to the start line with Padre and got ready for the mayhem that was to come. Finally we were let into the water and then the gun went off...
At The Rookie Tri in May I went out really hard on the swim only to find myself stuck with a bunch of people doing the same and ultimately had a freak out resulting in me having to back and side stroke for a bit to regain my breathe. This time around I decided that I would just go out at my pace and let the lead pack go, and just pull away from the bulk of the group as the swim progressed. As I approached the first buoy I could feel my chest tightening up, but I was able to reassure myself that I am a very strong swimmer and that I can swim this distance in my sleep. Just relax, find your stroke and trust it. Miraculously this little pep talk worked on my ever-cynical self, and low and behold, I started to pull away from everyone around me and feel more relaxed. As I rounded the second buoy my goggles had become fogged to the point that I couldn’t see the buoys ahead and sadly the pack had thinned to the point that I couldn’t rely on them to bring me. So I just raised my head up further out of the water and was able to make out the finish line and figured if I swam straight at it I would probably manage to stay on course. Luckily this plan worked as I refound the buoys and made my way to shore. Out of the water in 14:46. Not too bad.
Transitions have never been a strong suit of mine, but I keep trying to improve them. So I ran a little faster than I would like up the hill and into T1, grabbed a cup of water from the volunteers and dashed towards my bike. Typically I try way too hard to clean my feet before putting on my shoes but this day I decided I’d settle for just knocking off the major clumps of debris. What do you know? It helped! Got my sunglasses on, strapped on the helmet and started to trot to the bike start. T1-2:10
Bike has always been the weakest of the three sports for me, but I have been working on it a lot this year. So as I was getting everything adjusted for the ride I heard the distinctive griding whirl of a carbon wheel bike coming up from behind me. “Great, already starting to get passed by everyone!” I thought, but alas, after I got settled, I passed that bike up and never saw him again! Of course several bikes did ultimately pass me, but I think that I passed as many, if not more. Finally, I was holding my own on the bike. The loop around Decker is known for its hills, and particularly this nasty little gem on Blue Bluff Rd that starts immediately after a 90* turn. Luckily I knew of this hill and put my bike in an easy gear before I even got to it and was able to attack it without frantic shifting or falling off. The rest of the ride went by uneventful expect for the end when I went to grab my water bottle to take my second round of electrolyte capsules. It wasn’t there! So, I either littered or gave someone a very nice insulated Camelbak water bottle. But I was out of Accelorade so I had to forgo the electrolytes. Oh well. Unclipped and headed into T2. Bike-32:58
Racked Beva, threw on my socks and shoes, grabbed the race belt, and started working on the bandanna. As I headed out of T2 the volunteers were advertising they had Pure Sport so I grabbed a cup of that in hopes that it would make up for my lost electrolyte pills. T2-1:24
As I finished swigging down the Pure Sport and adjusting the knot on my bandanna I started looking for my stride. It really was a lot like a trail run in that watching your footing was a premium. I could feel my stomach starting to foam from all of the Accelorade I had consumed on the bike and started to get a littler nervous about what might be in store for me, but I kept pushing along. As I approached the first water stop, I was passed by a few people that had names on their tri jerseys and realized that the pros were closing in on me. Instead of demoralizing me, it actually gave me a little bit of a pep and I now had fast runners to try to keep up with. Eventual Women’s 2nd place overall winner, Natasha Van Der Merwe, passed me just before Mile 1. She seemed to be going at a good pace for me so I just latched on to her for a few minutes. As we got back to some of the more technical trail running type terrain I started to feel my stride and passed her up, but she never got far behind me and was definitely pushing me all the way in. The better part of the last half mile of the run course is up a fairly steep hill that starts at the bottom of the dam. My legs were feeling none to fresh by this point, but I could see people struggling up ahead of me and tried to pull them in and make my charge to the finish line. Finally the hill was crested and I had the flat stretch to the finish line! Run-21:01
I was honestly a little surprised to see the clock when I crossed. I had stopped paying attention to my watch so really had no idea where I stood for the race. My goal was to break 1:10. The swim had gone well, my transitions were reasonably quick for me, and I really felt that I had pushed the bike as hard as I could. So when I saw the clock read 1:12 I was a little disappointed. But after I got to think about it for a little while I realized that I had ran my race exactly the way I had wanted to. Perhaps I could have pushed a tad harder on the swim, maybe I need to learn how to leave my shoes on the bike; but I ran this race smartly and did everything I could to do my best. And I walked away with two PRs! Last year I finished Couples in 1:25:46. This year I did 1:12:21. That is not too shabby of a boost. And, I have only raced one 5k in my life, but it was a 21:37 at the 2008 Jingle Bell 5k.
I know that I still have a lot of work left to do if I am to continue to achieve my goals this year in the Texas Tri Series, but this is probably one of the races that I am the proudest of. I just raced well. Hopefully I’ll post more about training and life in the coming weeks. In the meantime, run friendly!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
I swear I'll be better...
I am quite possibly the worst blogger ever. It has been far too long since I have posted anything on here. So here goes a little catch-up entry. (This will be slightly glorified bullet points.)
After Strawberry's early departure from us, I quickly put her memory aside and replaced her with a younger woman - Snowflake. She is a gorgeous white Haro commuter bike and is doing a great job at getting me to swim practice and to work occasionally. Speaking of which, yesterday was the first time I got yelled and cussed at while riding to swim. Bikes have the right to take the entire lane on Pleasant Valley as you cross the dam, apparently this gentleman didn't read the sign. Oh well.
(OK the picture is crappy, but she really is pretty.)
Training is going well. The heat has certainly taken paces down a little, but I am sure that they will start to climb back to normalcy once I get fully acclimated. I have had to go out to my parents a few times over the past few weeks so have managed to get some good rides in out there. But, there is one road that looks incredibly innocent, but I swear it just shreds my legs every time I go down it. By summer's end, I will master you, Ranch Road 1900!!!! I have meant to do two loops out there but my legs are always down after one for whatever reason. Oh well.
Since I am already signed up for the Big Bend 50k in January, I am having to augment my triathlon training with trail running. I LOVE TRAIL RUNNING! it is beautiful, infinitely harder, and you cannot drift off while doing it or you fall. I am trying to start using my long trail runs as my long runs, but this is a new strategy and have yet to really implement it...stay tuned.
Last week I met Panther, my coach, at Gold's Gym and for the first time in my life, am entering into a weight training program. I have no intentions of getting big, but am tired of having pathetically no upper body strength. Today at lunch will be my first trip back to the weight room. We shall see...
That is the jest of the past month. I promise to get back on my blog post and get at least a post or two out per week. Colin is kicking my ass both in training and writing!!!!
After Strawberry's early departure from us, I quickly put her memory aside and replaced her with a younger woman - Snowflake. She is a gorgeous white Haro commuter bike and is doing a great job at getting me to swim practice and to work occasionally. Speaking of which, yesterday was the first time I got yelled and cussed at while riding to swim. Bikes have the right to take the entire lane on Pleasant Valley as you cross the dam, apparently this gentleman didn't read the sign. Oh well.
(OK the picture is crappy, but she really is pretty.)Training is going well. The heat has certainly taken paces down a little, but I am sure that they will start to climb back to normalcy once I get fully acclimated. I have had to go out to my parents a few times over the past few weeks so have managed to get some good rides in out there. But, there is one road that looks incredibly innocent, but I swear it just shreds my legs every time I go down it. By summer's end, I will master you, Ranch Road 1900!!!! I have meant to do two loops out there but my legs are always down after one for whatever reason. Oh well.
Since I am already signed up for the Big Bend 50k in January, I am having to augment my triathlon training with trail running. I LOVE TRAIL RUNNING! it is beautiful, infinitely harder, and you cannot drift off while doing it or you fall. I am trying to start using my long trail runs as my long runs, but this is a new strategy and have yet to really implement it...stay tuned.
Last week I met Panther, my coach, at Gold's Gym and for the first time in my life, am entering into a weight training program. I have no intentions of getting big, but am tired of having pathetically no upper body strength. Today at lunch will be my first trip back to the weight room. We shall see...
That is the jest of the past month. I promise to get back on my blog post and get at least a post or two out per week. Colin is kicking my ass both in training and writing!!!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Long Time Coming
Wow! I had not been planning on taking two weeks to make my next post. Sorry about that. I'll try to sum it all up fairly quickly.
Two weekends ago I went up to Fort Worth to see Sam and help him get ready to move into his new house. Well, the painting had not been going at the expected pace, so there wasn't much to do. But we did manage to ride our bikes from the house to his office so he could see if it will be a manageable commute; it is. But on the way back to his apartment, the straps holding my bike rack to the trunk snapped sending both bikes tumbling into the median. Thankfully the bikes and rack did not hot any other cars. (My knots holding the bikes to the rack held.) We were able to pull off to the side, back up, and pick up the bikes. Sam is still trying to decide if his is worth saving; my bike, Strawberry Shortcake, was going to cost $150-200 to repair, and even then it might have needed more. So I have ordered (and received) a new bike.
Last week there wasn't too much of excitement to report in the world of training, but I did make it out to my parents' for the long weekend. Thanks to my friend Mike, I managed to get a new bike rack and took Beva, my tri bike, out to the country. Saturday I was able to get about a 45 mile ride in. There were a ton of bugs out that day and by the end of the ride, my shoulders were speckled black with gnats. Sunday I wasn't able to get out early so I settled for an 8.5 mile run that evening in the heat. Monday morning I got up in time to get out on the road for a 20 mile ride and a 5 mile run for my brick. All in all, it was a great weekend for training. It was also nice to see the folks. :)
This week has been a blur, partly because it is short and partly because I am just busy as can be. Tuesday evening my group did hill repeats on Mesa in NW Austin. Not an easy run and even harder with the heat. Yesterday I got to go pick up my new commuter bike, Snowflake, and then do about 11 miles of trail running on the Greenbelt. We managed to get off the trail just before the storms hit. The storms came and went and this morning I crawled out of bed way too early and met my group, Riff Raff, for fartleks at the track. All I can say is that my legs are not feeling to fresh after all that. We shall see if I make it to swim this evening.
Oh! Last Thursday, Stacey and I ran the Rogue Raffler and had a blast. To top it all off, we both won some goodies! Stacey won a gift card to a restaurant and I won a pair of Adidas running shoes. I walked away with a pair of Adidas Marathons that feel great! Looks like I just made the Sweedish Olympic Team.
That pretty much catches you up. I'll try to stay on top of this blog a bit better in the future. Until next time, run friendly.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Two weekends ago I went up to Fort Worth to see Sam and help him get ready to move into his new house. Well, the painting had not been going at the expected pace, so there wasn't much to do. But we did manage to ride our bikes from the house to his office so he could see if it will be a manageable commute; it is. But on the way back to his apartment, the straps holding my bike rack to the trunk snapped sending both bikes tumbling into the median. Thankfully the bikes and rack did not hot any other cars. (My knots holding the bikes to the rack held.) We were able to pull off to the side, back up, and pick up the bikes. Sam is still trying to decide if his is worth saving; my bike, Strawberry Shortcake, was going to cost $150-200 to repair, and even then it might have needed more. So I have ordered (and received) a new bike.
Last week there wasn't too much of excitement to report in the world of training, but I did make it out to my parents' for the long weekend. Thanks to my friend Mike, I managed to get a new bike rack and took Beva, my tri bike, out to the country. Saturday I was able to get about a 45 mile ride in. There were a ton of bugs out that day and by the end of the ride, my shoulders were speckled black with gnats. Sunday I wasn't able to get out early so I settled for an 8.5 mile run that evening in the heat. Monday morning I got up in time to get out on the road for a 20 mile ride and a 5 mile run for my brick. All in all, it was a great weekend for training. It was also nice to see the folks. :)
This week has been a blur, partly because it is short and partly because I am just busy as can be. Tuesday evening my group did hill repeats on Mesa in NW Austin. Not an easy run and even harder with the heat. Yesterday I got to go pick up my new commuter bike, Snowflake, and then do about 11 miles of trail running on the Greenbelt. We managed to get off the trail just before the storms hit. The storms came and went and this morning I crawled out of bed way too early and met my group, Riff Raff, for fartleks at the track. All I can say is that my legs are not feeling to fresh after all that. We shall see if I make it to swim this evening.
Oh! Last Thursday, Stacey and I ran the Rogue Raffler and had a blast. To top it all off, we both won some goodies! Stacey won a gift card to a restaurant and I won a pair of Adidas running shoes. I walked away with a pair of Adidas Marathons that feel great! Looks like I just made the Sweedish Olympic Team.
That pretty much catches you up. I'll try to stay on top of this blog a bit better in the future. Until next time, run friendly.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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