New Orleans 70.3 2014 Race Report

I don't think I've ever had so much fun on a trip whose main purpose is a race! I'm not sure how much of this will be race report and how much will be food and related shenanigans report, but we'll see.

A bonus on this trip is that the drive goes through Lake Charles, LA, where my brother and his family live. We got to stop and have a delicious lunch at Steamboat Bill's and catch up with Adam and my adorable nephew William.

Carb loaded on crawfish etouffee stuffed baked potato. O M G.

Back on the road and we arrived in New Orleans before dark at the race's host hotel, the Hilton Riverside. The hotel was fabulous and with the IM group rate it was $200 less expensive than the other hotels in the area. I recommend it, even if you read on TripAdvisor that there's a train that goes by, we hardly noticed it. The location was close to the French Quarter and convenient with the packet pickup in the hotel and the morning shuttles to the swim start.

Couldn't even wait until morning to head over to Cafe du Monde for beignets!

I felt calmer on race morning than I ever have. We took the shuttle down to transition and got everything set up. Got to meet superstar Haley Chura, who asked to snap our photo! Squeal! How much fun to be matchy matchy with a pro! ;)

Me, Haley, Orissa, Aixa

The time trial swim start was a lengthy process and my age group went off an hour after the pros. We jumped 10 at a time off a dock and started swimming. Due to a constricted area within a marina, the swim was zig-zaggy in an "N" shape. We started in one part of the marina and climbed out on the other side next to the transition.

The bike course was flat and windy, just as predicted. I enjoyed chasing my friends who I could see on the two out-and-backs. Although the prediction was for headwind on the way out and tailwind on the way back, because the bike course was kind of star-shaped, it didn't really feel that way. If there was a time I had to dig deep at this race, it was on the bike. Racing with a power meter for only the third time, I pushed to hold the prescribed watts. I really enjoyed being able to use watts as a guide and I think it made for a pretty even bike split that didn't leave me drained. I even got a little bike split PR. 

The point-to-point run course had been changed at the last minute from a run through the scenic French Quarter because of the French Quarter Festival that happened to be going on the same weekend. As I ran out of transition, guys started passing me left and right, and I thought, ugg, here we go. But within the first mile was a highway overpass, and to my surprise, many of them started to walk. I passed several people as I ran steady up the bridge and gained confidence with every step. 

I really enjoyed running along the waterfront. The volunteers were great and it was fun talking to other people on the course. I felt like I was running fast and I was having a great time. Around mile 8 I began to feel tired and started thinking of Norseman and how badly I wanted to go and how I needed to run fast to prove to myself that I deserved to.

Besides the ~6 hours I spent racing, every 5 minutes I was checking the status of the contest. 

A smack on the butt from Coachie at mile 11 sped me up as well, and I gutted it out the last 2 miles and down the half-mile straightaway into the finish line, turning heads with my lady-tennis-player-like audible breathing. I left it all out there and I was so proud of myself, and because I had forgotten to start my watch before the swim, I didn't even know what my time was. It turned out that I got a PR - the six minutes that I cried about last October at Longhorn when I was digging mud out of my cleats - I picked them up on the bike at this race. Woo hoo!

I mean when someone in a BOOT is chasing you and screaming, what choice do you have but to run faster?

Using everything I had left in the final stretch.

Usually after a race I'm wiped out and crying to Robert to carry me home. But this time we hustled back to the hotel, got cleaned up, and went out for delicious food at the Red Fish Grill. Met up with Coachie to get her that hurricane that she'd been craving, and had a ridiculously fun time with new friends on Bourbon Street refueling on hurricanes and hand grenades rather than protein shakes.

Gumbo at Red Fish Grill. Delish!

Coachie with a hand grenade. There's a guy inside that costume.

Bourbon Street shenanigans. Too much fun!

In namedropper news, I got to be a tiny little part of two pro race reports - Wes Anderson and Haley Chura. Now how much fun is that? Read them to see what goes on at the pointy end of the race!

My next race on the schedule was supposed to be Buffalo Springs but in planning for Norseman only 3 months away, Dawn and I have agreed that that weekend should be used for training rather than racing. So my next race is Norseman, August 2. I can't imagine that it will have anything in common with this flat race at sea level in New Orleans, but if my head can be in a similar place, I think I'll be in good shape.

I'm Going to Norseman!

The winning photo, taken by my hubby, Robert Cordova, at Ironman Arizona 2012

First - a thank you to everyone who gave suggestions on Facebook for renaming this blog. I decided to keep it simple and go with my name - what better way to say who I am? Siri Lindley posted on Instagram today, "You will believe what you hear yourself say, more than what anybody else says about you." I'm taking this as a sign that changing the name from "Snails are Faster" was a good idea, because I need to believe that I'm strong enough to succeed in my next adventure.

Now, about NORSEMAN!!
I won the Blueseventy Norseman 2014 contest! I'll be jumping off that ferry in Eidfjord, Norway, in August! I just have to say again how incredible it was to watch this contest unfold the way that it did. I cannot thank everyone enough for helping me to win this amazing prize; it's truly a dream come true. Within one day of the contest when my friends started to repost and tag their friends, I became overwhelmed by the understanding that other people - even people I didn't know personally - wanted to help me achieve a dream. I had friends and relatives and their friends and family on five continents spreading the word about this contest and my desire to jump off that boat and climb that mountain. The support that I received in this effort really did bring me to tears and I hope that everyone gets to feel the love of a community like this at some point. It's a powerful thing. So again, a most heartfelt thank you to all of you who made this happen.

Robert and I were standing in line at a cafe counter in New Orleans, the day after racing the New Orleans 70.3, when I received that amazing little email telling me I had won. I was already on Cloud 9 after achieving a new personal best time at the 70.3 distance on a difficult day. I had a fantastic race because I was focused the whole time on proving to myself that I deserved to go to Norseman if I won the contest. In fact, as I crossed the finish line and collapsed in a chair, when asked if I was okay, my reply was "I just want to go to Norseman," as I started crying. The next morning in the cafe, the other customers looked on with curiosity and amusement as I stood stunned staring at my phone, then squealed, then put my face in my hands.

Why is this particular race important to me? I grew up in quite a few places as the child of a (now retired) geologist working for an oil company. I was able to see much of the world in my early years, and I spent 4 of them in Stavanger, Norway. As an adult-onset athlete, I've also spent time in the shadow of my amazing Dad, a sub-3 marathoner, a Boston qualifier who makes it look effortless, a guy who climbed to Everest Base Camp, a man who follows his dreams and makes them come true.

A year or so ago, Dad brought up Norseman and commented that he and Mom would love to be my crew if I ever went. I was already fascinated by the race, and was amused that he had heard about it too. We joked about it because it's so hard to get into, and so far away, and almost just a fantasy to consider going. And then this contest came up. And I thought, why not try? What's the danger in dreaming big? Then it happened. Wow. I'll follow in my Dad's footsteps of chasing dreams - and how much fun to have him, Mom, and Robert with me as we take on this adventure together.

It's also not lost on me that a photo taken at Ironman Arizona, a race where I had a devastating DNF, is the reason that I'm getting to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. To me, this is just more proof that everything happens for a reason, even though you may not understand at the time. What if I had finished that race and been a "one-and-done" Ironman? That's fine, but for me, it became so much bigger. I am just so grateful for what this sport has given me.

One day after receiving the news, I got a text from Coachie, who had already returned from New Orleans. "Have you come down off the cloud yet?" she asked, "let's plan this." In the middle of the night last night, I realized that the race is only 3 months away. I somehow thought I had 5 months to train. So yes, now I'm down off the cloud and ready to get to work. Here we go!

Help Me ReTitle My Blog

Ever since Michelle Simmons, who I hold in highest regard, barked at me in a comment that I should change the title of this blog, I've been thinking about it. I think her actual words were, "F that, Snails are NOT Faster!" I've had this blog for years and at the time I created it, I thought it was a cute, self-deprecating title.

But the time has come to change it - this isn't who I am anymore. Somebody who throws her hat into the ring for a Norseman slot cannot also claim to be slower than a snail. Plus it just isn't true. It wasn't true at the time I created the blog, and it certainly isn't true now.

The problem is that I can't figure out what to call it instead. Does anyone have suggestions? Maybe I'm overthinking this. Help! :)

Oh and also, please vote for me in the Norseman contest if you haven't already. Voting ends on Monday and I'm still in the lead! xoxoxo

Shameless Self Promotion - Norseman Blueseventy Contest 2014

What you need to know:
Please go to Blueseventy's Facebook page, vote for my photo and help me win an entry into Norseman!

The photo looks like this and it's labeled with my name (Kris Cordova):

Additional details:
Blueseventy is holding a contest in which the lucky winners (one male, one female) get a coveted entry into the Norseman Triathlon, a sold-out iron distance race in Norway in August where you get to start by jumping off a boat into a fjord and end at the top of a mountain. I've been stalking the contest and it appears that I'm in second place for the female spot...so this could happen! OMG!

This race has always been on my radar as "something I'd like to do one day." But then this contest came up. And then, right before the deadline to enter last weekend, I raced the Tyler Tri and one of my roommates, Maggie Rusch, casually mentioned that she is already entered to race Norseman this year! I took this as a sign that clearly it's meant to be, and I rushed home and entered this photo into the contest.

The contest required a photo that inspires you. I'm inspired by this one because it holds that moment before the start of a race (Ironman Arizona 2012), where the athletes are getting ready to start an amazing day after an incredible journey to get there, and their supportive loved ones look on from the bridge. At that moment, anything is possible.

Thank you in advance for your vote! xoxoxo

Breaking Bad(Ass)

We're due for some nice, dry weekend weather here in San Antonio - for two weeks in a row, Saturday morning has been a rainy mess, which makes for some unpleasant cycling. Last weekend, the girls and I hit Castroville and managed to get all our efforts in before the rain came. The last hour of our ride was spent in misty drizzle in traffic on slippery streets with road grime flinging up from passing cars and trucks into our faces. The highlight of that ride was having a driver pull up at a traffic light next to us in her (warm, dry) car and tell us "I just want to tell you guys that you are so badass." Were we badass or stupid to be out there? We decided on "reluctantly badass" because we had tried to outrun the rain, but failed. It still felt good to hear. 

Last Saturday's mudfest.

When you're on a journey trying to morph from not-so-badass to Super Badass status (whatever that looks like to you), you're going to have to face your fears at some point, whether it's on purpose or not. Yesterday turned out to be an exercise in facing fears, although I didn't know it when I set out. I rode with Dawn and Trent, a new member of our squad. Dawn was planning on an easy 70 miles. 

Fear #1 - Dawn's "easy rides" are never easy for me. I don't know Trent and I don't know how fast he rides. Will I be able to keep up?

Then, as soon as we exited Dawn's neighborhood, it started raining. ARGH.

Fear #2 - Robert just detailed my bike for me last weekend after I rode in the rain. He's going to kill me. (just kidding - sort of)

Real Fear #2 - I'm afraid of riding in the rain in traffic in a group that I'm not at the front of. I always feel safer in front. And clearly I am not going to be riding at the front of this group. 

As we rode easy up Blanco Road, Dawn was trying to decide on a route. She picked Kendalia/Edge Falls because it would have less traffic on this rainy day. 

Fear #3 - The route. Dawn described this route as "Alphanso's first 100 miler, remember, last year?" I do remember, but not because it was Alphanso's first 100 miler. It was a ride that I totally melted down on. On a rainy, cold day, very much like this day, we rode with a ton of people out to Kendalia/Edge Falls, and I was having a bad day. I couldn't keep up and I was pissed. The folks on the ride who were doing IMTX were expected to do 100 miles, and some were just along for the group ride. Freezing our butts off in the rain on scary high-traffic highways, Orissa and Brian, who were not doing IMTX, decided to turn back and cut the day short early. I opted to go with them. I ended up standing in the middle of Amman Road with Dawn (who had turned back to check on us) screaming at me about mental toughness, and me screaming back that I didn't need to build any character, I had plenty, thank you very much. I ended up continuing the ride and reluctantly building mental toughness. It's hilarious to look back on now, a year later, but as we rode yesterday, those memories kept resurfacing as I struggled to stay with our speedy little group that now included a stray roadie that we had picked up along the way.

Dawn, me, Trent, and the Stray Roadie (think his name was Greg).

Fear #4 - Riding in my aerobars in a group. Yep, I'm still not over this. And I need to get there before I race again. I know I won't be racing in a peloton, and that sometimes it's safer to sit up on a group ride, but sometimes you need to just suck it up and practice being around people in your aerobars. So yesterday, I did a 10 minute effort in the rain at the front of the group, in my aerobars with Dawn next to me yelling to stay in my aerobars. I did, and I even turned corners and I didn't fall down, and I lost a tiny bit of fear.

It ended up being a ride that I was proud of, and I do feel somewhat more badass for facing some fears and pushing a little bit past them. I've had conversations about fear - with Dawn, regarding riding in aerobars in crowds and wet roads - "aren't you afraid to fall and break your collarbone again?" "Yes, but I'm more afraid to ride slow and let my coach down." Maybe sometimes it's about choosing which fear to listen to. And then today on our run, I talked about it again with Brian - "Aren't you afraid to ride in the rain?" "Yes, but I'm more afraid to be screamed at by my coach for being a weenie." Whatever works, right? Moving forward. :)

Running with Love and Joy (Austin Marathon 2014 Race Report)

Finally, the race report I've been wanting to write for 4 years: I have a new marathon PR! Another reason to LOVE the Austin marathon.

I have lots of history with this race, and I feel like walking down memory lane for a minute. In 2005, I ran my first half marathon here in San Antonio. I hated it, cried, and said I'd never do another one. I continued running, but didn't race. Two years later, I started a new job and met my super bff Shelly. We started running together, and in 2008, we decided to do the Austin half marathon for fun. We ran it together and I had more fun than I imagined possible. (What! You can have fun running in a race??)

Post-race joy! Also, evidence that matchy matchy started with our very first race - ha!

Austin was the race of choice for our first marathon in 2009 and although Shelly and I "ran" it together, we did not have fun and clocked a miserable 6:01.

Filled with high hopes before the race. Ouch.

In 2010, we raced Austin together again, and that's where I got the PR (4:46) that I've been unable to break until now.

Walking to the start in perfect race conditions, ready for redemption, which we both earned.

In 2011, we returned to Austin and I got exactly the same time (4:46). Well, actually 3 seconds slower.

Lost in the crowd - running together in Tri-Sition orange.

Then I tried twice at the San Antonio marathon to get "anything better than 4:46," and failed. After the last one in November 2013, I asked, "WHY IS MARATHON SO DIFFICULT??" and, yes please, sign me up for another one. And why not make it the Austin marathon, the one that I've had so much history with?

But first of all, a change of mindset, which didn't happen overnight. At the marathon in November, I set a goal of holding a relentlessly positive attitude throughout the race. And although it didn't result in a faster time, I learned a valuable lesson - that running with joy and love is way better/easier than running with fear and doubt.

I learned these lessons over and over again during training. On one training run, I should have had a fun, easy time running the last 5 miles of the run downhill with a tailwind. Instead, my mind wandered and I started thinking about something that had been bothering me, an argument with a friend that I'd had a couple days before, and I started to get angry. I thought, oh good, being angry will make me run faster, but instead I noticed that running angry, for me, means running slower. So I forced myself to let it go. It worked.

About a week ago, Michelle Simmons, one of the baddest ass age group athletes I know, wrote this gem on her blog, which hammered it home for me. "You gotta love it. And not fear failure." Dawn has told me this before, and I've parroted it to my training buddies as if I know what I'm talking about. Why fear failure? It's not like my result at this marathon is going to change the course of the universe, or even matter to anyone besides me. But I've gone to the last 4 marathons afraid to fail. Fearing 4:46. Ok, Kris, time to get over it.

I started this race with goals in mind beyond time goals: run with joy and love, and don't be afraid to fail. I ran out with the goal of holding a 9:30 pace or better. And I did - for about 15 miles. At mile 16, I saw Shelly on the course, spectating, and as she screamed at me "OMG you are doing so great, your pace is amazing!!" At this point, I was feeling pain in both quads that I haven't felt before - not the usual cramping, but just a soreness, and I was considering purposefully slowing down to try to relieve the pain. I yelled back at Shelly, "I don't know what to do!" and without knowing at all what I was asking her, she replied, "Keep running." So I did. My legs started to slow down, but not because I was letting them. I didn't walk, I didn't give up. I just kept running as fast as I could. Marathons are supposed to hurt, right?

With 2 miles left, I was certain I'd be getting a new PR, but I wanted a round number, and 4:30 would be difficult to hit, but was in sight. I picked up the pace (even with a net downhill, "picking up the pace" meant sub-11 at this point). I kept leapfrogging with this positive little girl that I'd been running with since mile 16. She'd pass me, and I'd pass her back. We had probably done this 10 times. With a mile to go, I decided to have some fun and pushed past her, hopefully one last time. She passed me back. I passed her again.

At half a mile to go, I felt someone come up on my right shoulder, and I thought, here she is again. But it wasn't her. It was Orissa, who had paced herself evenly throughout the race and caught up with me. She barked at me to "come on" and she took off. I don't know where the energy came from, but I pulled up alongside her, and legs flying, both of us picked up the pace. We ran up the one hill that I've always walked at this race. We flew around the corner and down the last stretch to the finish. One of us would pull ahead, and then the other would catch her and go. Neither of us was going to let the other leave her behind.

We ran past our spectator friends who were yelling and snapping pictures; we were so focused that we were completely unaware of their presence. Screaming at each other to "go go go!" we crossed the finish line together, hugged, screamed, filled with joy and love! A new PR for both of us (16 minutes for me - 38 minutes for her!). Freakishly, although our chip time was 4:30, our gun time was 4:46 - I'm just going to have to start thinking of that as a lucky number.

Averaged an 8:07 pace for the last half-mile, pushed by this little roadrunner to the right of me.

And after all that, we didn't even see the PR gong at the end of the race that we'd been so excited to bang. :(

Pre-race with Orissa, Brian, and Aixa, (who had their own epic race day 5 minutes up the road from us). This weekend's photos by Herb, who raced the half.

I continue to be so grateful for what running/triathlon has given me. All the life lessons I'm learning through sport - let go of anger, don't be afraid to fail, don't be afraid to try your best at something. Have fun. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. It all sounds so cliche but it's so cool. And the friends I've made - I love how we push each other to excel and how we've grown together. I love looking back and seeing how far we've come.

I've crossed every marathon finish line before this one cursing the sport and screeching that I'll never do another one. That didn't happen this time, probably because I've already registered for the San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon in the fall. I'm looking forward to racing it with my friends, including Shelly! Yippee!

**I plucked all of the previous years' photos from my amazing hubby's Flickr site - Robert's photos have always been awesome but I think they are coming along year by year just like my running has. :) :)

Small Victories

This is probably about the time of year that the "resolutioners" start filtering out of the gyms. Something about the cold weather seems to enhance a weakening of resolve. Here's what's happened with me: in December, I had the awesome "beat my own numbers from last year" challenge to keep me going. I started strong in January, adding yoga and extra core sessions at lunch, feeling really proud of myself. Then it got cold, and I stopped going to the pool. And then my motivated friends who go to the gym at lunch started going out to lunch at delicious places instead.

 Ok, I didn't really stop going to the pool, but I've skipped more than one or two swim workouts in the past few weeks. My usual gorgeous pristine outdoor pool is COLD, which I love after the first few laps, but when it's below 50 outside I just can't force myself to do it. The alternative is a warm indoor pool that is more frequently used for water aerobics than lap swimming. If you want to swim laps at a reasonable time of day, you're fighting old ladies who don't want to wet their hair and little kids for space in the pool. So those are the excuses about swimming.

A few months back, when I was going to PT for my hamstring/adductor, I was told to do core strengthening exercises. So I started doing them and of course I almost immediately felt stronger on my bike and started swimming faster. I attributed both of these things to the additional core strength. I've been doing core workouts a few times a week since then, but it's getting harder and harder to motivate myself to go to the gym and do it. WHY!? I know it works. It's not that big a deal, and it makes me feel better than sitting and surfing the Internet while eating at my desk. So why is it so hard to talk myself into going? I hate that.

So I decided that a new challenge would help me with motivation. I joined the Biggest Loser weight loss challenge at work. I paid $40 with the intent of getting it back in April when I lose the appropriate amount of weight. Maybe this is the motivation I need. Luckily, the end of the challenge is one week before my first tri of the season - New Orleans 70.3. Getting down to race weight = bonus!

In the meantime, 2 weeks away from the Austin marathon, I'm feeling strong about running and looking forward to toeing the line and seeing what I can do. Once this race is done, I just know I'll be back to laser focus on tri and will have no difficulty at all making it to the pool. ;)

Until then, it will be about small victories. Today, I wrote my workout down and packed my swim bag. Next step, putting it in the car. Next step, driving to the pool after I run today...wish me luck.