Step 1: Volunteer at 2011 race.
Step 2: Sign up for 2012 race.
Step 3: Buy wetsuit.
Step 4: Book hotel.
Step 5: Request time off from work.
Step 6: Celebrate when time off is approved. Update calendars with vacation info.
Step 7: Make list of all the stuff I "need" for the race.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Kerrville Half Iron Race Report
When we heard in July that a half iron distance triathlon was going to be held in Kerrville, Shelly and I dropped everything and started training for it. We had half-heartedly committed to a "year of the Olympic," and although we'd been training hard and getting results (CapTex, Greater Gator), we were both really missing the fun long distance weekend training that we did last year for Longhorn. So instead of focusing on the Avia Austin Tri as the last race of our season, we started training for Kerrville instead.
The Kerrville race was small compared to Longhorn - about 260 participants altogether in the half iron race. There were only 4 swim waves for the age group participants, and Shelly, Orissa and I were in the last wave (women 39 and under). The only wave after us was the relays. So our mantra for the days leading up to the race was "please let us not be last."
Shelly and I met with Dawn on Friday to go over race-day prep. This was not an A race for us - the marathon in November is our A race. But Dawn wanted us to "race" all the same. Swim comfortably hard, ride in zone 2, and break the 4-loop run into 4 chunks (in zones 2, 3, and 4): easy, medium, kind of hard, and hard. We asked if we should do anything different because we were going to be able to start the race together and Dawn said yes - pace each other on the bike and push each other through the run. I think both of us felt some relief that we were going to be able to race together. We usually start in different waves in our big races, so this would be different. And we had never considered working together on the bike before. "Are you sure it's not cheating?" "It's not cheating if you're not drafting."
Race weekend was pretty simple. We went through the pre-race prep like old pros. Packet pickup, ride bike for 10 minutes to make sure everything's working (it was), check in bike in transition, swim for 10 minutes to make sure everything works (everything was great except some leaky goggles; goodness, the water was amazingly cool and clear), go to T2, run to make sure everything works (yep), check in run gear at T2, go and listen to pre-race talk. Stayed hydrated throughout the day. Had a wonderful pizza dinner at Mom and Dad's with the whole gang (it was weird not to have pho like usual. But this turned out to be fine. I have had no problems this year with eating "weird" stuff before working out/racing).
I woke up race morning feeling calmer than usual. It was chilly outside - 60 degrees! Robert and I said goodbye to Mom and Dad and headed over to drop a bottle in T2, then get everything ready in T1. We met up with Shelly and Patrick at T1. We were super early. Shelly and I had racked our bikes next to each other, and as we prepared our equipment, we both noticed a certain level of intensity from the other athletes that isn't usually present. There was no feel-good camaraderie here; everyone was checking each other out and sizing each other up. It was intimidating to look around at all the intense women who looked like they were in perfect shape. I might not be last overall, but there's a good chance I'll be last in my age group.
Time flew by and the race started! We waited for our wave, and when it was time for all the purple caps to line up, it seemed like there were only 40 or so women in our wave. Ugh, Shelly and I are going to get clobbered by all of these semi-pro looking triathletes from Austin. We stepped into the water that felt fabulously warm compared to the cool morning air, and prepared to swim. Shelly and I started towards the middle back of the pack. The gun went off, and we took off swimming.
The Tarzan drills we practiced all summer paid off in this swim start. I looked over the top of all the caps and arms, and made my way towards clean water. I started almost immediately paying attention to my stroke and pulling hard. If there was one part of this race that I was going to excel at, it would be the swim. Sure enough, as I swam, I realized that I was pulling to the front of the purple caps. I lost Shelly almost immediately, but I knew she was right there too. The swim felt so amazing. I felt comfortable and strong. Sometimes I felt my mind drifting and I had to get back in the game and accelerate. I sighted pretty well and spent a whole lot of time swimming completely alone. I began passing swimmers from other waves. Woo hoo! Felt a huge boost in confidence. Even though it felt great, the swim also felt long, and I was happy to take the turnaround and swim towards the finish. I kicked hard for the last 100 meters or so, and gladly took the arms of the volunteers who helped me out. Got a swim pr of 37:xx - woo hoo!
Running up the hill to T1, I felt great. Lorena and the Tri-Sition crew were there screaming encouragement. My parents were a little way up the hill yelling too. Got my wetsuit stripped off and ran up towards Robert, who was taking pictures. "Where is Shelly?" I yelled. He didn't know. I ran into transition and heard him yell, "Here she comes!" and I knew we'd get to ride together.
I got lost in transition looking for my bike. Why? Because all the other bikes were still there! Shelly and I had swum faster than most everyone in our wave. I ran out of transition ahead of Shelly, knowing that she would catch up. Took some swigs of Infinit right away (I had 3 bottles on my bike). Followed Dawn's rules: get your heartrate down (it was 160 when I started the bike - top of zone 3), get some nutrition in, get settled for the first 20 minutes. Shelly caught up within a few minutes and we were off.
The 2-loop bike course was pretty nice. It was mostly flat with some rolling hills, a few false flats, and some chip seal in sections. Shelly and I stayed together. We stayed in zone 2 and took turns leading. There was definitely a time on the bike when I thought Shelly would ride off without me; I was struggling to stay in zone 2 and felt mentally and physically tired. But I drank a few sips of Gatorade (had launched a bottle of Infinit and said the F word in front of my parents as a result, did OK with 2 bottles of Gatorade that I picked up on the course) and got back in the race. We met a new friend, Alyssa, on the course, who was riding at about our same pace (18 mph avg - another pr). We took one bathroom break about halfway through. It was great to stop, get off the bike, and stretch out my lower back that had become really tight.
The coolest thing about the bike was that Robert and my parents followed us like paparazzi through a whole lot of the course. They took pictures and yelled encouragement at several spots on the course. They happened to be at the one place on the course where there was a hill and a bump at the same time, where I launched a bottle and dropped an F bomb. They tried to give me back my bottle, but I refused outside assistance (seems kind of silly, but oh well). When we came around on the second lap they were having a great time directing traffic and I just had to laugh. I'm glad they were having fun too because it's a long day out there for a spectator!
I was very happy to be off the bike and running into T2. Threw the bike on the rack and hustled to get my shoes on. I yelled at Shelly that I'd meet her out on the course by the porta potties. I ran out onto the road and there were the porta potties - and a whole cheering crew from Trisition, plus Robert, Mom and Dad, and Patrick. They took pictures at me and yelled at me as I waited my turn in the line for the restroom. It all just made me laugh. Then I waited for Shelly to go, more laughing, and we were off and running.
I felt great for most of the run. My heart rate was in zone 2 and I felt strong. But Shelly was struggling with her heart rate and her foot, and we were supposed to take it easy in the beginning anyway. We got a nasty surprise at the first turn - a downhill that led to a trail run. Ugh, trail. Soft dirt in places, mulch in others. Grass and rocks...you name it, this course had it. And I hate trail running. I think I kind of gave up mentally when I saw the trail. I just knew I'd run slowly on it, and that would ruin my plan for a run pr, so I might as well just try "less hard." Shelly seemed up for this plan too. We know now that instead of pushing each other like Dawn wanted, we instead enable each other to run slower or to walk. We have to fix this.
Luly was cheering on the sidelines when we ran through the trail section. Mom, Dad, Robert and Patrick set up camp with Luly and her kids and cheered for us at the bottom part of the trail run. Luckily, the way back was easier than the way out. We ran up onto asphalt (love it), had to run uphill toward the finish line, pass the finish line, and then do it again 4 times.
I tripped once in the trail section and landed hard using one quad to support myself. I knew it would start to hurt later in the race, but I tried not to think about it. Just kept running. And singing! I felt really good for the first 3 laps of the run. Dawn and Amanda were out there cheering too. It was so great to have so much support.
We walked through every water stop, which Dawn told us later not to do again. And as we headed back for the final mile, I felt the dreaded twinge in my left achilles - here were the cramps I'd been hoping would not appear. Left achilles, left shin, right calf. I had to walk it out a few times. Shelly stayed right there with me. We had determined that we were going to finish the race together; no matter how slow we took the last mile, we'd get a pr. And we did! We crossed the finish line smiling, with a 10 minute pr over last year's time at Longhorn.
This race was awesome. It was well organized and the volunteers were supportive, fun, and friendly. I've never seen such awesome, energetic volunteers. I would love to do this race again next year, even with the trail running. I hope it works into the plan!
The Kerrville race was small compared to Longhorn - about 260 participants altogether in the half iron race. There were only 4 swim waves for the age group participants, and Shelly, Orissa and I were in the last wave (women 39 and under). The only wave after us was the relays. So our mantra for the days leading up to the race was "please let us not be last."
Shelly and I met with Dawn on Friday to go over race-day prep. This was not an A race for us - the marathon in November is our A race. But Dawn wanted us to "race" all the same. Swim comfortably hard, ride in zone 2, and break the 4-loop run into 4 chunks (in zones 2, 3, and 4): easy, medium, kind of hard, and hard. We asked if we should do anything different because we were going to be able to start the race together and Dawn said yes - pace each other on the bike and push each other through the run. I think both of us felt some relief that we were going to be able to race together. We usually start in different waves in our big races, so this would be different. And we had never considered working together on the bike before. "Are you sure it's not cheating?" "It's not cheating if you're not drafting."
Race weekend was pretty simple. We went through the pre-race prep like old pros. Packet pickup, ride bike for 10 minutes to make sure everything's working (it was), check in bike in transition, swim for 10 minutes to make sure everything works (everything was great except some leaky goggles; goodness, the water was amazingly cool and clear), go to T2, run to make sure everything works (yep), check in run gear at T2, go and listen to pre-race talk. Stayed hydrated throughout the day. Had a wonderful pizza dinner at Mom and Dad's with the whole gang (it was weird not to have pho like usual. But this turned out to be fine. I have had no problems this year with eating "weird" stuff before working out/racing).
I woke up race morning feeling calmer than usual. It was chilly outside - 60 degrees! Robert and I said goodbye to Mom and Dad and headed over to drop a bottle in T2, then get everything ready in T1. We met up with Shelly and Patrick at T1. We were super early. Shelly and I had racked our bikes next to each other, and as we prepared our equipment, we both noticed a certain level of intensity from the other athletes that isn't usually present. There was no feel-good camaraderie here; everyone was checking each other out and sizing each other up. It was intimidating to look around at all the intense women who looked like they were in perfect shape. I might not be last overall, but there's a good chance I'll be last in my age group.
Time flew by and the race started! We waited for our wave, and when it was time for all the purple caps to line up, it seemed like there were only 40 or so women in our wave. Ugh, Shelly and I are going to get clobbered by all of these semi-pro looking triathletes from Austin. We stepped into the water that felt fabulously warm compared to the cool morning air, and prepared to swim. Shelly and I started towards the middle back of the pack. The gun went off, and we took off swimming.
The Tarzan drills we practiced all summer paid off in this swim start. I looked over the top of all the caps and arms, and made my way towards clean water. I started almost immediately paying attention to my stroke and pulling hard. If there was one part of this race that I was going to excel at, it would be the swim. Sure enough, as I swam, I realized that I was pulling to the front of the purple caps. I lost Shelly almost immediately, but I knew she was right there too. The swim felt so amazing. I felt comfortable and strong. Sometimes I felt my mind drifting and I had to get back in the game and accelerate. I sighted pretty well and spent a whole lot of time swimming completely alone. I began passing swimmers from other waves. Woo hoo! Felt a huge boost in confidence. Even though it felt great, the swim also felt long, and I was happy to take the turnaround and swim towards the finish. I kicked hard for the last 100 meters or so, and gladly took the arms of the volunteers who helped me out. Got a swim pr of 37:xx - woo hoo!
Running up the hill to T1, I felt great. Lorena and the Tri-Sition crew were there screaming encouragement. My parents were a little way up the hill yelling too. Got my wetsuit stripped off and ran up towards Robert, who was taking pictures. "Where is Shelly?" I yelled. He didn't know. I ran into transition and heard him yell, "Here she comes!" and I knew we'd get to ride together.
I got lost in transition looking for my bike. Why? Because all the other bikes were still there! Shelly and I had swum faster than most everyone in our wave. I ran out of transition ahead of Shelly, knowing that she would catch up. Took some swigs of Infinit right away (I had 3 bottles on my bike). Followed Dawn's rules: get your heartrate down (it was 160 when I started the bike - top of zone 3), get some nutrition in, get settled for the first 20 minutes. Shelly caught up within a few minutes and we were off.
The 2-loop bike course was pretty nice. It was mostly flat with some rolling hills, a few false flats, and some chip seal in sections. Shelly and I stayed together. We stayed in zone 2 and took turns leading. There was definitely a time on the bike when I thought Shelly would ride off without me; I was struggling to stay in zone 2 and felt mentally and physically tired. But I drank a few sips of Gatorade (had launched a bottle of Infinit and said the F word in front of my parents as a result, did OK with 2 bottles of Gatorade that I picked up on the course) and got back in the race. We met a new friend, Alyssa, on the course, who was riding at about our same pace (18 mph avg - another pr). We took one bathroom break about halfway through. It was great to stop, get off the bike, and stretch out my lower back that had become really tight.
The coolest thing about the bike was that Robert and my parents followed us like paparazzi through a whole lot of the course. They took pictures and yelled encouragement at several spots on the course. They happened to be at the one place on the course where there was a hill and a bump at the same time, where I launched a bottle and dropped an F bomb. They tried to give me back my bottle, but I refused outside assistance (seems kind of silly, but oh well). When we came around on the second lap they were having a great time directing traffic and I just had to laugh. I'm glad they were having fun too because it's a long day out there for a spectator!
I was very happy to be off the bike and running into T2. Threw the bike on the rack and hustled to get my shoes on. I yelled at Shelly that I'd meet her out on the course by the porta potties. I ran out onto the road and there were the porta potties - and a whole cheering crew from Trisition, plus Robert, Mom and Dad, and Patrick. They took pictures at me and yelled at me as I waited my turn in the line for the restroom. It all just made me laugh. Then I waited for Shelly to go, more laughing, and we were off and running.
I felt great for most of the run. My heart rate was in zone 2 and I felt strong. But Shelly was struggling with her heart rate and her foot, and we were supposed to take it easy in the beginning anyway. We got a nasty surprise at the first turn - a downhill that led to a trail run. Ugh, trail. Soft dirt in places, mulch in others. Grass and rocks...you name it, this course had it. And I hate trail running. I think I kind of gave up mentally when I saw the trail. I just knew I'd run slowly on it, and that would ruin my plan for a run pr, so I might as well just try "less hard." Shelly seemed up for this plan too. We know now that instead of pushing each other like Dawn wanted, we instead enable each other to run slower or to walk. We have to fix this.
Luly was cheering on the sidelines when we ran through the trail section. Mom, Dad, Robert and Patrick set up camp with Luly and her kids and cheered for us at the bottom part of the trail run. Luckily, the way back was easier than the way out. We ran up onto asphalt (love it), had to run uphill toward the finish line, pass the finish line, and then do it again 4 times.
I tripped once in the trail section and landed hard using one quad to support myself. I knew it would start to hurt later in the race, but I tried not to think about it. Just kept running. And singing! I felt really good for the first 3 laps of the run. Dawn and Amanda were out there cheering too. It was so great to have so much support.
We walked through every water stop, which Dawn told us later not to do again. And as we headed back for the final mile, I felt the dreaded twinge in my left achilles - here were the cramps I'd been hoping would not appear. Left achilles, left shin, right calf. I had to walk it out a few times. Shelly stayed right there with me. We had determined that we were going to finish the race together; no matter how slow we took the last mile, we'd get a pr. And we did! We crossed the finish line smiling, with a 10 minute pr over last year's time at Longhorn.
This race was awesome. It was well organized and the volunteers were supportive, fun, and friendly. I've never seen such awesome, energetic volunteers. I would love to do this race again next year, even with the trail running. I hope it works into the plan!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon Race Report
The classic Alamo shot: Adam, me, and Shelly. How cool are those socks?!
This race was a big deal, but for a different reason than usual. My brother and sister-in-law had trained for their first half marathon all summer and traveled here from Louisiana to run the Rock n Roll half. The weekend was really about them and their first half marathon experience. Our family booked hotel rooms downtown, and Mom, Dad, Adam, Jen, Robert, and my little nephews Will and Henry enjoyed the marathon weekend together.
For Shelly and I, the Austin 70.3 was just a month ago. Still recovering from that race, Shelly and I didn't have any goals for this half marathon except to practice using the water stops (thereby leaving those "stupid belts," as my Dad so lovingly refers to our fuel belts, at home). Adam decided early last week that he'd run with Shelly and me. He had done all his long training runs at about a 10 minute mile, so that sounded like it would work. I was really excited about running with my brother!
The weather on race day was overcast and 55 degrees - perfect for running. Robert, Adam, Jen and I walked down to the start line together. After saying goodbye to Jen and wishing her luck (she was starting further back in the corrals), we met some friends from work in Corral 15. We had gone through some trouble to get everyone into that corral, but I'm not sure if any of us actually had plans to run together except for Shelly, Adam, and I. It ended up not being an issue. Shelly, Adam, and I took off to use the restroom about half an hour before the race started. The race started without us, and we never saw the others again that day.
We ended up starting with Corral 18. The race had a new course this year, which had its glitches. You can read in the news about the train that barreled through, forcing 2 corrals of runners to stop dead for 3+ minutes. We weren't affected by the train, but the new course has way more turns in the first mile than the old course. It was really hard to weave through all the slower runners and find a happy pace, and we ended up running the first mile in about 11 minutes. For the entire race, the course seemed even more crowded than usual. Perhaps it's because 3 of us were trying to stay together, instead of the usual 2.
Robert and his family were cheering for us at the Alamo at mile 3 (Jessica was running too, so Robert's mom and sister came to spectate - awesome!). The miles flowed quickly by, and soon we were running past my family at mile 8. Then we ran into King William and I started to realize that the race was going to be over soon, and that I wasn't tired. Usually, around mile 10, I start to fade and Shelly has to drag me to the finish line. Not this time! We kept picking up the pace, checking with each other to make sure that was okay. And it was!
As we moved closer to the end of the race, Shelly and I realized that we were going to get a new PR. After mile 11, we kept doing math, and we calculated that if we hustled, we could get 2:10. We crossed the finish line in 2:10:45. Not bad for a race that wasn't an "A" race.
We brought our own 11 oz. water bottles so that we could avoid the first few water stops, and that worked well. After that, we knew generally when the water stops were coming, and when Adam spotted one in the distance, we consumed our Gu and then walked through the water stop, drinking 3 cups each. It worked perfectly. We each consumed 3 Gu packs during this race.
Jen did well too for her first half marathon. She finished the race in 2:32, which is exactly the time it took me for my first half 5 years ago! I'm really proud of her and Adam, and I could tell that they were thrilled too. They're already signed up for the Rock n Roll New Orleans half, and I know they're going to enjoy it.
Before the race.
Dad and Will spectating at mile 8.
Mom and Henry
Monday, October 18, 2010
Austin 70.3 Race Report
This half Ironman race was the coolest race I've ever done. Maybe it's because it was a perfect, beautiful day outside with fabulous racing conditions. Maybe it's because I was on my own out there, which meant the results of the day were all up to me. Or maybe it's because I really trained my behind off for this race, so I appreciate the results more. Whatever the reason, it was an amazing day, and I still can't stop smiling.
Short Version:
Swim: 39:32 (2:04/100m)
T1: 5:46
Bike: 3:09:18 (17.75 mph)
T2: 3:34
Run: 2:30:59 (11:31 min/mi)
Total Time: 6:29:09
Age Group Stats: 58/132 (38 swim/51 bike/58 run)
Long Version:
Robert and I got stuck in traffic on the way to the race due to an accident. Even though all the other cars in the 30+ minute traffic jam were also triathletes who were desperate to get to the lake before the transition closed, I was certain that I'd miss it, that the race would start without me, and that my day would end right there in the car. But, they got traffic moving; we got the car parked and I ran to drop off my Run bag in T2, hopped on the shuttle to go to the lake, and sped to T1 to drop my Bike bag and fill my tires with air.
That's when I hit the first snag of the day - our pump broke. As I pumped up the front tire, the pump let all the air out of it. Brian and Orissa came to my aid and helped me find another pump, and to confirm that it was a pump problem and not a tube problem (thank goodness). Transition closed minutes after we finished with my bike, and we walked out in time for the national anthem to play (that was cool; a guy parachuted down to the lake with a giant American flag waving in the rising sun as the anthem was performed. Awesome.)
Time sped by and it was time to swim. As I stood in the pack of blue caps, I couldn't help but think of cows entering the slaughterhouse. We are all just willingly lined up to do this. We don't know what's ahead, but we're all about to walk in. I threw that thought aside as the announcer introduced us as his favorite age group, and 132 ladies waded into the water, found our positions, and got ready to swim.
The swim felt good; the water was fresh and cold. It was a counterclockwise triangle swim marked with nice big buoys. I took a really wide arc around the buoys just to stay out of any scrapping. I think it added time and distance to my swim, but I feel like the time sacrifice was worth it for the peaceful swim I had. I got back into the fray on the way back in, swam all the way over the top of one guy, got pushed aside by another, and swallowed some water and started coughing. I actually stopped swimming to cough and get my bearings, then looked behind me and saw another pack of swimmers coming along. I took a look at my watch and saw that it read 37 minutes. Realizing I could make my "A" goal for the swim (40 mins), I hauled butt to the shore.
I have never felt so strong running out of the water before. I got a glimpse of Robert, which provided a huge boost. This course has you running up a good hill to T1, but I hustled up it without even noticing. Stopped halfway up to have my wetsuit stripped off. One of the wetsuit strippers unzipped my suit and told me to lie on the mat. Another pulled my suit off from the waist and it popped right off my feet. Then another hauled me to my feet, handed me my wetsuit, and I was on my way.
Running through transition, someone told me I looked strong. I felt so much energy as I approached my bike, transitioned as I had practiced (in the dark, in the hotel room the previous morning, while Robert was sleeping). I slammed a gu, noted that my water bottle was still half frozen, and ran my bike out of transition. Running out of transition, I saw Robert again and shouted "I love you!" at him. He said later that everyone turned their heads to look at him after that. I stopped once I got to the pavement to check for sticker burrs (which had been present the day before after rolling through the grassy transition). I found none. Jumped on my bike and headed out!
It took probably the first 20 minutes to settle in. My heart rate was around 150, and it stayed in that range for most of the bike portion of the race. Since Shelly and I had ridden the course about a month and a half ago, it was all familiar. Having tons of cyclists passing me was NOT familiar. Some of these guys were going so fast with their aero helmets and their disc wheels, I just had to look on in awe. But my pace was pretty good too. I'll attribute that partly to the fabulous race wheels that I borrowed from Matt at Bicycle Heaven, and partly to adrenaline. I passed my share of people in the first few miles, which was the hillier portion of the course.
Things I had never experienced in previous races were mile markers on the bike course, aid stations that included water and gatorade hand-ups and porta-potties, and race officials on motorcycles looking for misbehaving cyclists to penalize. I saw two guys taking a "natural break" next to two very embarrassed female volunteers. I rolled up on the aftermath of a crash in which one cyclist was lying motionless in the road, her head supported by another cyclist. I went through a part of the course where all the traffic was backed up because of the race, and cyclists were weaving through the cars (myself included - it was either that or stand still waiting in traffic). I saw a training buddy, Rocky, race by, only to see him minutes later on the side of the road with a blown tire (he repaired it with a $10 bill and finished the race smiling). Luis passed me and shouted encouragement (it was his first half Ironman too; he finished in 5:30 - amazing).
I felt strong for the entire bike portion of the race. I passed tons of people, and it felt so cool. I stayed on my nutrition plan as well as I could (I carried 3 bottles of Infinit). Unfortunately, one of the bottles was still half-frozen, so I switched it out early for a less-frozen one. I drank every 10 minutes, but not as much as I had in training. The end result was one full bottle of Infinit left unconsumed at the end of the bike. I was worried the entire time about flatting, which never happened (thank goodness). As I approached the mile 53, I thought, OK, I can flat now. I can push my bike 3 miles if I need to. Mile 56 came up before I knew it, and I was flying into transition. I saw my Dad cheering for me, came around the corner and saw Robert and Mom. This pumped me up even more as I ran my bike into transition. I finished the bike 21 minutes faster than I'd hoped. Wow!
T2 felt long but I didn't spend the entire 5 minutes that I'd planned in there. Some might say that a 3+ minute transition is long, but for me, it was better than expected! I ran out of T2 carrying a bike bottle of water and a bag of gu which I stuffed into my race belt. I started eating and drinking immediately, but stayed away from the endurolytes that I'd brought because I thought they'd be too much of a pain to get to. Instead, I decided to drink Gatorade at every other aid station.
The 2-loop run course was pretty hilly. Nothing outrageous, but there was hardly any flat on the whole course. I usually prefer rolling hills to running on flat, so this was OK with me. The part that wasn't OK was the off-road part. Probably 5 of the 13.1 miles were on grass and mulch. I was much slower running through those parts. But on the first loop, I was feeling so strong! I looped back to the arena, where I passed the tents of cheering spectators, including the Trisition Area tent. I slapped high fives with a bunch of people, and ran off for my second loop.
As I approached mile 8, I thought, wow, this is amazing. I feel great. I didn't think I could feel so great! Maybe I jinxed myself because immediately after that thought passed my mind, both Achilles started twitching. Then my calves began cramping, enough that I was scared that I'd get full on cramps that would make me stop. I slowed to a walk and started eating all the endurolytes that I had ignored earlier. Tried to get more salt in to stop the cramping. But from mile 8 to the finish, I ran as much as I could until I couldn't bear the cramping, and then I walked. It was incredibly frustrating feeling so full of energy and ready to run, but not being able to because of the cramping. I wasn't tired. But I couldn't keep running. The walk breaks saved me and I ticked away the miles. I checked my watch and realized that I could make it to the end in under 6:30 if I hustled. Having a general goal of "anything under 7 hours will make me happy," the thought of 6:30 moved me along.
As I approached the Trisition tent for the second time, I saw that Jessica and Angel had made it out to watch me finish. Jessica even made a cool sign with my name on it, using the letters of my name to spell out "Kris, Run, bIke, Swim." That was so awesome to see. I had to start running then, even if it made my legs cramp worse. By that time, my hamstrings were cramping too. I ran past them, ran past my parents, ran past the tent of cheering Trisition folks, and took the turn into the arena, where the finish line was.
Running into that arena to the finish line was hands-down the coolest race experience I have ever had. Ever. The chute was packed with spectators on both sides. The announcer shouted my name "KRISTINA SWANN CORDOVA!" and the crowd cheered so loud for me. I wanted to cry and I slowed down to experience the feeling; I made myself listen to the crowd and feel the energy and remember the feeling.
And then it was over. I walked through the end of the chute, saw Robert and my family, and got a big hug from Robert. I was incredibly emotional. And then we headed out into the sunshine to hang out in the Trisition tent and cheer for the finishers there. I saw Dawn, Lorena, and Marco and got big hugs from them. Saw Luis and exclaimed together over how we are both now half Ironman finishers. Waited for a while for Orissa to come in, but missed her while I was getting my bike. Went out for pizza with Robert, Mom and Dad, and came home sunburned and smiling.
Everyone told me that I was smiling the whole race, and I'm glad, because that's certainly how I was feeling. Robert and I looked through his photos when we got home, and sure enough, I was smiling in each one. What a day!
Short Version:
Swim: 39:32 (2:04/100m)
T1: 5:46
Bike: 3:09:18 (17.75 mph)
T2: 3:34
Run: 2:30:59 (11:31 min/mi)
Total Time: 6:29:09
Age Group Stats: 58/132 (38 swim/51 bike/58 run)
Long Version:
Robert and I got stuck in traffic on the way to the race due to an accident. Even though all the other cars in the 30+ minute traffic jam were also triathletes who were desperate to get to the lake before the transition closed, I was certain that I'd miss it, that the race would start without me, and that my day would end right there in the car. But, they got traffic moving; we got the car parked and I ran to drop off my Run bag in T2, hopped on the shuttle to go to the lake, and sped to T1 to drop my Bike bag and fill my tires with air.
That's when I hit the first snag of the day - our pump broke. As I pumped up the front tire, the pump let all the air out of it. Brian and Orissa came to my aid and helped me find another pump, and to confirm that it was a pump problem and not a tube problem (thank goodness). Transition closed minutes after we finished with my bike, and we walked out in time for the national anthem to play (that was cool; a guy parachuted down to the lake with a giant American flag waving in the rising sun as the anthem was performed. Awesome.)
Time sped by and it was time to swim. As I stood in the pack of blue caps, I couldn't help but think of cows entering the slaughterhouse. We are all just willingly lined up to do this. We don't know what's ahead, but we're all about to walk in. I threw that thought aside as the announcer introduced us as his favorite age group, and 132 ladies waded into the water, found our positions, and got ready to swim.
The swim felt good; the water was fresh and cold. It was a counterclockwise triangle swim marked with nice big buoys. I took a really wide arc around the buoys just to stay out of any scrapping. I think it added time and distance to my swim, but I feel like the time sacrifice was worth it for the peaceful swim I had. I got back into the fray on the way back in, swam all the way over the top of one guy, got pushed aside by another, and swallowed some water and started coughing. I actually stopped swimming to cough and get my bearings, then looked behind me and saw another pack of swimmers coming along. I took a look at my watch and saw that it read 37 minutes. Realizing I could make my "A" goal for the swim (40 mins), I hauled butt to the shore.
I have never felt so strong running out of the water before. I got a glimpse of Robert, which provided a huge boost. This course has you running up a good hill to T1, but I hustled up it without even noticing. Stopped halfway up to have my wetsuit stripped off. One of the wetsuit strippers unzipped my suit and told me to lie on the mat. Another pulled my suit off from the waist and it popped right off my feet. Then another hauled me to my feet, handed me my wetsuit, and I was on my way.
Running through transition, someone told me I looked strong. I felt so much energy as I approached my bike, transitioned as I had practiced (in the dark, in the hotel room the previous morning, while Robert was sleeping). I slammed a gu, noted that my water bottle was still half frozen, and ran my bike out of transition. Running out of transition, I saw Robert again and shouted "I love you!" at him. He said later that everyone turned their heads to look at him after that. I stopped once I got to the pavement to check for sticker burrs (which had been present the day before after rolling through the grassy transition). I found none. Jumped on my bike and headed out!
It took probably the first 20 minutes to settle in. My heart rate was around 150, and it stayed in that range for most of the bike portion of the race. Since Shelly and I had ridden the course about a month and a half ago, it was all familiar. Having tons of cyclists passing me was NOT familiar. Some of these guys were going so fast with their aero helmets and their disc wheels, I just had to look on in awe. But my pace was pretty good too. I'll attribute that partly to the fabulous race wheels that I borrowed from Matt at Bicycle Heaven, and partly to adrenaline. I passed my share of people in the first few miles, which was the hillier portion of the course.
Things I had never experienced in previous races were mile markers on the bike course, aid stations that included water and gatorade hand-ups and porta-potties, and race officials on motorcycles looking for misbehaving cyclists to penalize. I saw two guys taking a "natural break" next to two very embarrassed female volunteers. I rolled up on the aftermath of a crash in which one cyclist was lying motionless in the road, her head supported by another cyclist. I went through a part of the course where all the traffic was backed up because of the race, and cyclists were weaving through the cars (myself included - it was either that or stand still waiting in traffic). I saw a training buddy, Rocky, race by, only to see him minutes later on the side of the road with a blown tire (he repaired it with a $10 bill and finished the race smiling). Luis passed me and shouted encouragement (it was his first half Ironman too; he finished in 5:30 - amazing).
I felt strong for the entire bike portion of the race. I passed tons of people, and it felt so cool. I stayed on my nutrition plan as well as I could (I carried 3 bottles of Infinit). Unfortunately, one of the bottles was still half-frozen, so I switched it out early for a less-frozen one. I drank every 10 minutes, but not as much as I had in training. The end result was one full bottle of Infinit left unconsumed at the end of the bike. I was worried the entire time about flatting, which never happened (thank goodness). As I approached the mile 53, I thought, OK, I can flat now. I can push my bike 3 miles if I need to. Mile 56 came up before I knew it, and I was flying into transition. I saw my Dad cheering for me, came around the corner and saw Robert and Mom. This pumped me up even more as I ran my bike into transition. I finished the bike 21 minutes faster than I'd hoped. Wow!
T2 felt long but I didn't spend the entire 5 minutes that I'd planned in there. Some might say that a 3+ minute transition is long, but for me, it was better than expected! I ran out of T2 carrying a bike bottle of water and a bag of gu which I stuffed into my race belt. I started eating and drinking immediately, but stayed away from the endurolytes that I'd brought because I thought they'd be too much of a pain to get to. Instead, I decided to drink Gatorade at every other aid station.
The 2-loop run course was pretty hilly. Nothing outrageous, but there was hardly any flat on the whole course. I usually prefer rolling hills to running on flat, so this was OK with me. The part that wasn't OK was the off-road part. Probably 5 of the 13.1 miles were on grass and mulch. I was much slower running through those parts. But on the first loop, I was feeling so strong! I looped back to the arena, where I passed the tents of cheering spectators, including the Trisition Area tent. I slapped high fives with a bunch of people, and ran off for my second loop.
As I approached mile 8, I thought, wow, this is amazing. I feel great. I didn't think I could feel so great! Maybe I jinxed myself because immediately after that thought passed my mind, both Achilles started twitching. Then my calves began cramping, enough that I was scared that I'd get full on cramps that would make me stop. I slowed to a walk and started eating all the endurolytes that I had ignored earlier. Tried to get more salt in to stop the cramping. But from mile 8 to the finish, I ran as much as I could until I couldn't bear the cramping, and then I walked. It was incredibly frustrating feeling so full of energy and ready to run, but not being able to because of the cramping. I wasn't tired. But I couldn't keep running. The walk breaks saved me and I ticked away the miles. I checked my watch and realized that I could make it to the end in under 6:30 if I hustled. Having a general goal of "anything under 7 hours will make me happy," the thought of 6:30 moved me along.
As I approached the Trisition tent for the second time, I saw that Jessica and Angel had made it out to watch me finish. Jessica even made a cool sign with my name on it, using the letters of my name to spell out "Kris, Run, bIke, Swim." That was so awesome to see. I had to start running then, even if it made my legs cramp worse. By that time, my hamstrings were cramping too. I ran past them, ran past my parents, ran past the tent of cheering Trisition folks, and took the turn into the arena, where the finish line was.
Running into that arena to the finish line was hands-down the coolest race experience I have ever had. Ever. The chute was packed with spectators on both sides. The announcer shouted my name "KRISTINA SWANN CORDOVA!" and the crowd cheered so loud for me. I wanted to cry and I slowed down to experience the feeling; I made myself listen to the crowd and feel the energy and remember the feeling.
And then it was over. I walked through the end of the chute, saw Robert and my family, and got a big hug from Robert. I was incredibly emotional. And then we headed out into the sunshine to hang out in the Trisition tent and cheer for the finishers there. I saw Dawn, Lorena, and Marco and got big hugs from them. Saw Luis and exclaimed together over how we are both now half Ironman finishers. Waited for a while for Orissa to come in, but missed her while I was getting my bike. Went out for pizza with Robert, Mom and Dad, and came home sunburned and smiling.
Everyone told me that I was smiling the whole race, and I'm glad, because that's certainly how I was feeling. Robert and I looked through his photos when we got home, and sure enough, I was smiling in each one. What a day!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Gator Bait Tri 2010 Race Report
Well, it's almost a month later and I haven't posted a race report for Gator Bait! It was a fantastic race - I placed first in my age group and overall had a fabulous, close-to-perfect race.
Stats:
500 meter swim: 9:26 (almost a minute of that was the run to the mat!)
T1: 1:13
13 mile bike: 45:57 (17.0 mph)
T2: 1:06
4 mile run: 39:24 (9:51 min/mile)
1/14 AG
87/222 Overall
I came into this race feeling nervous because of the sad, slow running I did at CapTex and Small Texan. Even though I'd had a couple of good brick workouts with strong, solid runs, I didn't know what would happen on race day.
The swim was great, no issues there. It was a time trial start. My actual swim time was 8:32 based on my watch, which I was very pleased with. I think the course may have been short, but I'm not going to argue about it.
In Transition 1, I tried to put my helmet on backwards, which freaked me out. Then my Garmin strap wouldn't fasten. I was frustrated and felt slow coming out of the transition area, but I settled into the bike ride and went for it. On the way out on this out-and-back course, I kept watching the people coming back. I was almost to Gator Bait hill (the turnaround point), and I still hadn't seen any women returning. I knew Shelly was up there somewhere, but I started to realize that I was at the front of the women's field. Finally, the women's leader passed and then a few more ladies, and then Shelly, and I was on my way up the hill.
It felt great to ride up this hill that I was afraid of last year and only attempted this year two weeks before the race. I passed people all the way up - people who were cycling slowly and people who were walking. Coming back to the lake was a blur. I felt so fast racing back downhill almost all the way back to the lake.
As I entered T2, I looked around and saw how few bikes were in the transition area. I thought, Oh my God, I'm at the front of this race. Well, I definitely wasn't going to slow down to put on socks. I threw my bike on the rack, pulled on my Zoots, and took off for the run.
The first half mile of the run was hard. I was battling mental demons that were telling me I was going to stink at the run and that I'd inevitably slow down. I ran out of the park and passed Robert and friends, who were cheering for me. I still didn't feel good.
About a mile and a half into the run, I caught up with Rosemarie, who was dressed in the new Trisition Area Alamo Tri Club kit like me. As I passed her, another Trisition runner came up beside me and said, "Hey, I want to run with these Trisition friends!" He and I took off together, and had a conversation all the way to the finish line. His name was John, and he told me several times that I was pacing him. I've never been in a situation where I'm the pacer in a race, and it felt great! I felt strong and light and fast. Shelly gave me a high five on the way back from the turnaround. I think she could tell how relieved I was to be feeling good on a run.
John and I ran in towards the finish line, and I let out a big cheer when we crossed. I was so proud of myself! I had the same finishing time as last year, but last year the bike was a mile shorter.
After the race, we were happy to stay around for the awards. Shelly got second in her age group, missing first by only 30ish seconds. We took a Trisiton Area Club photo, and that was the end of a great race morning!
Stats:
500 meter swim: 9:26 (almost a minute of that was the run to the mat!)
T1: 1:13
13 mile bike: 45:57 (17.0 mph)
T2: 1:06
4 mile run: 39:24 (9:51 min/mile)
1/14 AG
87/222 Overall
I came into this race feeling nervous because of the sad, slow running I did at CapTex and Small Texan. Even though I'd had a couple of good brick workouts with strong, solid runs, I didn't know what would happen on race day.
The swim was great, no issues there. It was a time trial start. My actual swim time was 8:32 based on my watch, which I was very pleased with. I think the course may have been short, but I'm not going to argue about it.
In Transition 1, I tried to put my helmet on backwards, which freaked me out. Then my Garmin strap wouldn't fasten. I was frustrated and felt slow coming out of the transition area, but I settled into the bike ride and went for it. On the way out on this out-and-back course, I kept watching the people coming back. I was almost to Gator Bait hill (the turnaround point), and I still hadn't seen any women returning. I knew Shelly was up there somewhere, but I started to realize that I was at the front of the women's field. Finally, the women's leader passed and then a few more ladies, and then Shelly, and I was on my way up the hill.
It felt great to ride up this hill that I was afraid of last year and only attempted this year two weeks before the race. I passed people all the way up - people who were cycling slowly and people who were walking. Coming back to the lake was a blur. I felt so fast racing back downhill almost all the way back to the lake.
As I entered T2, I looked around and saw how few bikes were in the transition area. I thought, Oh my God, I'm at the front of this race. Well, I definitely wasn't going to slow down to put on socks. I threw my bike on the rack, pulled on my Zoots, and took off for the run.
The first half mile of the run was hard. I was battling mental demons that were telling me I was going to stink at the run and that I'd inevitably slow down. I ran out of the park and passed Robert and friends, who were cheering for me. I still didn't feel good.
About a mile and a half into the run, I caught up with Rosemarie, who was dressed in the new Trisition Area Alamo Tri Club kit like me. As I passed her, another Trisition runner came up beside me and said, "Hey, I want to run with these Trisition friends!" He and I took off together, and had a conversation all the way to the finish line. His name was John, and he told me several times that I was pacing him. I've never been in a situation where I'm the pacer in a race, and it felt great! I felt strong and light and fast. Shelly gave me a high five on the way back from the turnaround. I think she could tell how relieved I was to be feeling good on a run.
John and I ran in towards the finish line, and I let out a big cheer when we crossed. I was so proud of myself! I had the same finishing time as last year, but last year the bike was a mile shorter.
After the race, we were happy to stay around for the awards. Shelly got second in her age group, missing first by only 30ish seconds. We took a Trisiton Area Club photo, and that was the end of a great race morning!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Week 5 Training
Shelly and I are settling into training for the Austin 70.3. We just finished Week 5 of training (how embarrassing that I can't tell you how many weeks are left). We just follow the plan. I expected to feel some sort of fanfare every time we train, since we're training for a huge distance that we've never trained for before. But it's not like that. It's just plugging away at one day of training after another: get out there, put in the miles. Practice the nutrition.
We moved our schedule all around so that our long ride/run are in the middle of the week, and we have a swim/bike/run brick every Saturday. That has worked well for us for the past 2 weeks -- although after riding long on Wednesday and running long on Thursday, by Friday I'm totally pooped and cranky.
The last couple of Saturdays, we've had awesome, fantastic, fabulous bricks out at Boerne Lake. Two weeks ago, we went out and rode the Gator Bait route with the group and Robert and Patrick, and afterwards decided to do the Gator Bait race (how could we not?). The race is next weekend. The running part of the bricks the last two weeks has been especially motivating for me. We've run the last two weekends (4 miles last week, 3 miles yesterday) at a strong, fast pace, which leaves me hopeful for the Gator Bait race. I'd love to have a good run in a race at least once this summer.
We've picked up the pace on the bike after a good showing at Small Texan. The thought is if we can race at 16+ mph in Boerne, why can't we ride our normal rides faster? So we're aiming for 15+ mph on each training ride, and we've met that goal each time. On Wednesday, we rode out to Castroville for our long ride. What a weird, awesome ride. Shelly and I have never, ever ridden on flat roads like that before. I mean, pancake flat for 33 miles. We kept our heart rates low and finished with a 15.5 mph average pace. Not bad! I'm looking forward to doing it again this week. I feel myself getting stronger on the bike. Today, on the group ride from Trisition Area, there were places on the route that I used to need to drop into the small ring for, and today I was fine in the big ring. Woo hoo! On our way.
With the new schedule that Shelly and I are following, Sunday nights are my favorite. Our rest day is Monday, so I get to eat something delicious and maybe drink a beer on Sunday night. That is, unless I fall asleep first.
We moved our schedule all around so that our long ride/run are in the middle of the week, and we have a swim/bike/run brick every Saturday. That has worked well for us for the past 2 weeks -- although after riding long on Wednesday and running long on Thursday, by Friday I'm totally pooped and cranky.
The last couple of Saturdays, we've had awesome, fantastic, fabulous bricks out at Boerne Lake. Two weeks ago, we went out and rode the Gator Bait route with the group and Robert and Patrick, and afterwards decided to do the Gator Bait race (how could we not?). The race is next weekend. The running part of the bricks the last two weeks has been especially motivating for me. We've run the last two weekends (4 miles last week, 3 miles yesterday) at a strong, fast pace, which leaves me hopeful for the Gator Bait race. I'd love to have a good run in a race at least once this summer.
We've picked up the pace on the bike after a good showing at Small Texan. The thought is if we can race at 16+ mph in Boerne, why can't we ride our normal rides faster? So we're aiming for 15+ mph on each training ride, and we've met that goal each time. On Wednesday, we rode out to Castroville for our long ride. What a weird, awesome ride. Shelly and I have never, ever ridden on flat roads like that before. I mean, pancake flat for 33 miles. We kept our heart rates low and finished with a 15.5 mph average pace. Not bad! I'm looking forward to doing it again this week. I feel myself getting stronger on the bike. Today, on the group ride from Trisition Area, there were places on the route that I used to need to drop into the small ring for, and today I was fine in the big ring. Woo hoo! On our way.
With the new schedule that Shelly and I are following, Sunday nights are my favorite. Our rest day is Monday, so I get to eat something delicious and maybe drink a beer on Sunday night. That is, unless I fall asleep first.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Small Texan Tri Race Report
The Small Texan is an Olympic distance race at Boerne Lake (our home turf!). It's a 1500 meter swim/28 mile bike/6.2 mile run. Even though the official race results aren't out yet, and due to technical difficulties (i.e., pressing the wrong button on my watch), I don't really know my time, I feel great about the race.
When we started, the weather was cool and I felt calm. The water was clear and flat. The swim felt amazing, and I'm sure that I felt strong and calm because this is the lake we always swim in. It was over in a flash, and then I waddled tentatively out of the water, trying not to slip on the green algae growing on the boat dock, and headed to transition. I pressed the wrong button on my watch and stopped the time at 32:41. I'd been hoping for under 30 minutes, but this is my best swim time in an Olympic distance race so far, so I'll take it! Shelly was already in the transition when I arrived. I was surprised to see that she was almost ready to run out with her bike. She must have really hustled on the swim.
I took my Gu with water (still frozen! Remember this for next time!) and put on my shoes, Garmin, gloves, helmet, and sunglasses. Remembered to start the Garmin on the way out of transition, and started the ride. It felt great. The plan had been to take it slow but that was hard to do. People in front of me kept slowing down on the hills, and I knew I could pass them. Sadly, I pulled not one, but TWO Andy Schlecks (dropped my chain on a hill, one time while "attacking"). It didn't take too long to put the chain back on either time, but the first time it happened, it really shook my confidence. But I did eventually pass the one guy I wanted to pass!
Having never seen a bike water hand-up before, I was curious to see how it would go. Turns out a volunteer just hands each rider who wants one a full bottle of water. I didn't grab one because I didn't have anywhere to put it. On the bike, I drank almost a full bottle of Infinit Run, and ate 6 Stingers with water. However, I finished only 3/4 of my fluids.
Coming into T2 was great because I got to see Robert, Andre, and Julia who were cheering me on. I walked up the hill onto the reservoir and began the run. I felt ridiculously great at the beginning of the run. I had to keep checking my Garmin and slowing myself to the 11 minute/mile that I'd been planning on. After mile 1, I didn't feel so buoyant. In fact, I got tired, started feeling the heat, and started walking up the hills. I should have taken a Gu like I planned. But I just couldn't. The thought of it made me feel sick and afraid that I would get that weird stomach cramp I've been getting lately. So I went on with only water, running all the downhills and flats, and walking up the hills.
My calves started to feel crampy around mile 3, so I drank some Gatorade at the aid station. That made me feel better for a moment, but then my stomach cramp started coming on. Interestingly, it disappeared after I burped a couple of times! I took more Gatorade at mile 5 (same thing with the sickness and burping) and refilled my water bottle with ice. The aid station volunteers were incredible.
The last 2.5 miles of the run were downhill, so I picked up some time there. I think I finished the run in 1:13, which isn't great, but I didn't feel like dying at the end like I did at Cap Tex. I got to see my family at the finish and gave Andre a high five on the way in. Awesome!
My nutrition is on its way to improving. I need to drink everything and eat everything I plan to consume on the bike next time. I also need to force myself to take Gu during the run, even if I don't want to. Shelly and Orissa both took Gu during the run and said it made them feel better - Shelly is a crazy-strong runner regardless of how she fuels, so I'm not listening to her - but Orissa struggles like I do, and I'm going to believe her and try it next time even when I feel terrible out there and don't want to consume anything.
It sounds very weird to me to say that I feel great after a race that still ended with what should have been a disappointing run. But I feel so much better about the nutrition during the bike, and feel like if I can control my nutrition during the run, I'll really be able to get a handle on this. I've got the Texas Tri ahead of me in October to try this strategy.
I felt elated all day yesterday for being able to get this done in the heat of the day in July. The swim and ride felt amazing (even when I dropped my chain). Both events felt like they ended so quickly. I feel calm and secure training for the half Ironman in October, knowing that with the proper training and nutrition, I can get to the end of that race with a smile on my face, too.
When we started, the weather was cool and I felt calm. The water was clear and flat. The swim felt amazing, and I'm sure that I felt strong and calm because this is the lake we always swim in. It was over in a flash, and then I waddled tentatively out of the water, trying not to slip on the green algae growing on the boat dock, and headed to transition. I pressed the wrong button on my watch and stopped the time at 32:41. I'd been hoping for under 30 minutes, but this is my best swim time in an Olympic distance race so far, so I'll take it! Shelly was already in the transition when I arrived. I was surprised to see that she was almost ready to run out with her bike. She must have really hustled on the swim.
I took my Gu with water (still frozen! Remember this for next time!) and put on my shoes, Garmin, gloves, helmet, and sunglasses. Remembered to start the Garmin on the way out of transition, and started the ride. It felt great. The plan had been to take it slow but that was hard to do. People in front of me kept slowing down on the hills, and I knew I could pass them. Sadly, I pulled not one, but TWO Andy Schlecks (dropped my chain on a hill, one time while "attacking"). It didn't take too long to put the chain back on either time, but the first time it happened, it really shook my confidence. But I did eventually pass the one guy I wanted to pass!
Having never seen a bike water hand-up before, I was curious to see how it would go. Turns out a volunteer just hands each rider who wants one a full bottle of water. I didn't grab one because I didn't have anywhere to put it. On the bike, I drank almost a full bottle of Infinit Run, and ate 6 Stingers with water. However, I finished only 3/4 of my fluids.
Coming into T2 was great because I got to see Robert, Andre, and Julia who were cheering me on. I walked up the hill onto the reservoir and began the run. I felt ridiculously great at the beginning of the run. I had to keep checking my Garmin and slowing myself to the 11 minute/mile that I'd been planning on. After mile 1, I didn't feel so buoyant. In fact, I got tired, started feeling the heat, and started walking up the hills. I should have taken a Gu like I planned. But I just couldn't. The thought of it made me feel sick and afraid that I would get that weird stomach cramp I've been getting lately. So I went on with only water, running all the downhills and flats, and walking up the hills.
My calves started to feel crampy around mile 3, so I drank some Gatorade at the aid station. That made me feel better for a moment, but then my stomach cramp started coming on. Interestingly, it disappeared after I burped a couple of times! I took more Gatorade at mile 5 (same thing with the sickness and burping) and refilled my water bottle with ice. The aid station volunteers were incredible.
The last 2.5 miles of the run were downhill, so I picked up some time there. I think I finished the run in 1:13, which isn't great, but I didn't feel like dying at the end like I did at Cap Tex. I got to see my family at the finish and gave Andre a high five on the way in. Awesome!
My nutrition is on its way to improving. I need to drink everything and eat everything I plan to consume on the bike next time. I also need to force myself to take Gu during the run, even if I don't want to. Shelly and Orissa both took Gu during the run and said it made them feel better - Shelly is a crazy-strong runner regardless of how she fuels, so I'm not listening to her - but Orissa struggles like I do, and I'm going to believe her and try it next time even when I feel terrible out there and don't want to consume anything.
It sounds very weird to me to say that I feel great after a race that still ended with what should have been a disappointing run. But I feel so much better about the nutrition during the bike, and feel like if I can control my nutrition during the run, I'll really be able to get a handle on this. I've got the Texas Tri ahead of me in October to try this strategy.
I felt elated all day yesterday for being able to get this done in the heat of the day in July. The swim and ride felt amazing (even when I dropped my chain). Both events felt like they ended so quickly. I feel calm and secure training for the half Ironman in October, knowing that with the proper training and nutrition, I can get to the end of that race with a smile on my face, too.
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