Ironman 70.3 Racine Race Report

Ironman Racine 70.3

The race was on Sunday July 21, 2013 so we headed up to Racine on Friday. It was a very long drive after getting stuck in Chicago for a LONG time! But we made it! Ate dinner and went to bed early and got a good night’s sleep.  On Saturday we went to the Ironman Village and picked up our race packets, did a little shopping (I bought an overpriced backpack that was worth every penny J ), ate some lunch, and then took the bikes to transition. Sunday morning was an early 4 am wake up call; we got up on time, packed up the car and off we went. Once we arrived I set all the gear up in the transition area, ate some breakfast, found the bathrooms, and headed off to the swim start area.

Swim (Goal – 1 hour) 1.2 miles

We made it to the swim start area around 6:30 with the race starting at 7 and my wave starting at 7:20. While waiting I was watching the lake water and trying to keep my nerves in check. The waves looked pretty rough! So instead of worrying about that I decided it was time to wiggle into the wetsuit. Well that is always a challenge and took my mind off the swim for a bit anyway! Soon came the national anthem and then the pro start and then my wave was called to line up. I talked to a couple people in my wave and everyone I asked had done this race before and said to just make it to the first turn on the swim (roughly 200 meters) after that it got easier (so they said). Before I knew it we were in the holding area and it was almost our turn. I just kept telling myself – just make it to the first turn. The first turn was about 200 meters in then there were 7 yellow buoys, a halfway point buoy, 7 orange buoys, and then the red turn buoy for the final 200 meters to the swim exit. The gun goes off and we head out into the water – did I mention the water temp was 66 degrees? BRRRR!!!!!  Wow! It’s cold! I walk out and the waves are just crazy. At some point everyone started to try to swim to the first turn buoy. Well, I didn’t really do much “swimming” it was more of a kick your feet and try not to get swallowed up by the waves – but you couldn’t get your head down in the water to really swim as the waves were just crazy! (Before this race I think I had only done 4 open water swims and one of those was not successful!) There were so many people that just grabbed ahold of the rafts before getting to the first turn; but I was determined to make it there. Well, eventually I made it and made the right turn and decided it was time to try to swim. I really had no clue how to swim with waves like these and water that was so choppy. So I just started praying (again!)! Well, that worked J because I managed to get into some sort of rhythm and started to swim to the next buoy and then the next on down the row. It was very hard to sight as every time you would look up there were waves so tall you could not see the buoys so I just looked for swim caps! I finally made it to the halfway point and all of a sudden my left calf muscle just seized up! Oh no!! I’ve only had that happen once before and I was in the pool. I had no idea what to do so I just stopped kicking (not that I had any choice as I couldn’t move my leg without pain) and used my arms that much more. Finally my left leg worked itself out a little and I was able to move my legs a little bit but that didn’t last long! Somewhere around ¾ of the way through my right leg did the same thing! Oh Crap! Really??!!! I had made it so far at this point there was no way I was giving up (besides I bought that backpack!)! So once again I stopped using my legs and just used my arms that much more. By the time I made it to the final turn my legs were somewhat usable again and I was so excited because I was almost done! The water was getting even rougher and I was getting really tired but at this point surely I could just float in right?!?! The last 200 meters was the hardest of all as the waves were crazy and I just kept choking on the water! I finally made it to where I could stand up and walk in but I forgot about my calves – until I stood up! Ouch! I couldn’t stand up! I’m really not sure how long it took me to stand up and be able to walk (well it was more like a penguin waddle I think)!  Actual swim time 58:34! Woohoo!

T1 (goal 5-6 minutes)

Well, I had not planned on how far the walk was from the beach to the bikes. I had also not planned on it being loose sand with no mats down. So, there was no running, I just walked in to the bike transition area. But, it didn’t matter because I made it through the swim!! I got to my bike, waving to my family, and rinsed my feet, put on my socks and shoes, my helmet, sunglasses and bike gloves, and my arm cooling sleeves (hot pink of course!). Grabbed the bike and off I went. Actual T1 9:09

Bike (goal 3 ½ hours) 56 miles

The start of the bike was uphill (of course!) but I was so excited to be done with the swim that I didn’t even notice the hill! The first few miles on the bike were quite a bit faster than goal but I blamed it on the fact that I was trying to hurry to the bathroom! I stopped at the first aid station and used the bathroom and took off again on the bike. I made it to mile 10 so quickly I was really surprised. I had been watching my bike mile splits and all were much faster than goal pace. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea as I didn’t think I could hold this for the 56 miles. But it was such a beautiful day and the weather was perfect for a bike ride! At the halfway point I was still smiling and my pace was still ahead of goal pace so I just decided to keep going at whatever pace I could manage! The bike course was not very hilly, had a lot of turns and the roads were pretty rough. I ate two packages of the cliff blocks and some pretzels filled with peanut butter. I drank Gatorade and water. It really seemed like no time and I was at the end of the bike part of the race! The end was at the bottom of the hill we climbed to begin with so it was very dangerous. I slowed down and moved way over to the side to get off my bike – good thing to because the people behind me crashed into one another. Actual Bike 3:15:53 or 17.15 mph! Woohoo!

T2 (goal 4-5 minutes)

Made it back to my spot in transition, put the bike on the rack, changed shoes, took off the helmet and gloves and put on my headband and hat. Waved to my family and off I went for the run. Actual T2 3:33

Run (goal 2:20) 13.1 miles

Ok, this was it! The run! I knew this would be tough but this is what I do, what I enjoy the most! Running! Woohoo! Whoa, wait a minute, what’s wrong?? My stomach. Oh no. Everytime I tried to run my left side cramped up. I was about a half mile into the run at this point. Well, this isn’t a good sign! So I walk up the first little hill hoping my side cramp will go away! I make it up the hill and run again, well sort of, not really. Ouch! I try everything I can think of to make it go away but nothing was helping. So, it was time to go up the next hill and I walked up it too. I knew that it was about a mile at the top of the hill and there was to be an aid station. So I made it to the aid station and grabbed some water and powerade hoping that I was just a little dehydrated and this would help. So I started to run again and it didn’t work very well but I just kept running and then walking again. I stopped again to use the bathroom and then back to the run/walk. I made it to the turnaround just after 3 miles and grabbed a bonk breaker and some water. I’ve never tried these but at this point I was willing to try anything! By mile five my left side was better but now my entire stomach hurt. Oh please don’t let me puke like so many others I have seen! Yikes! I made it to the next mile still doing a run/walk and it was time to turn and start the second loop. It’s really not fair to bring the runners in sight of the finish line and have us turn for a second loop! At this point, I can still make my overall 7 hour goal but with my stomach pain it was going to be tough. Up until mile 11 I did a lot of run/walk combinations with a lot of walk. The temperature had been warming up and I kept taking ice and putting it into my hat and walking through the water that people were spraying to cool down.  At mile 11 I had to pick it up and run in order to get in at 7 hours. So I ran, well, sort of! It was a slow and painful run but I was still moving. And I was about to be done with my first half ironman so I was trying to focus on that instead of my stomach! Mile 12, finally. One more to go. Finally I could see the finish line (again) and just started smiling again! I was super excited as I crossed the finish line! Woohoo! I did it! I crossed the finish line stopped running and grabbed onto a volunteer’s arm to keep from falling over! I kept moving forward and got my medal! Woohoo!!! Run actual 2:34:59

So overall my goal time was 7 hours and I finished in 7:02:08! I was very excited! I found my family, sat down and rested for a bit and somehow managed to stand back up and walk over to transition, get my stuff and made it to the car (slowly!).

This was an amazing day for me! I wasn’t sure I would even be able to make the swim and I had finished the race! I will do another half ironman again but as for a full ironman, I’m not sure, maybe, if my calf muscles ever forgive me!!

2013 Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon Race Report

Time Goals for the race: Ultimate time goal 1:50 (although I didn't feel this was very realistic); Main time goal - PR which would take something better than 1:53:34

Well, the night before the race was my typical pre race night. I didn't do much - in fact I even took a little nap! I laid out all of my race stuff and went to bed around 10:30 planning to get up at 5 in the morning. I got up a little after 5 but had a hard time getting moving. Ate my normal PB&J for breakfast and started to get ready. I was supposed to meet friends at 6 but I was definitely not moving fast enough for that today. So I was finally ready to leave my house at 6; well I thought I was anyway! I didn't make it very far, fortunately, before I realized I forgot my sunglasses and decided to turn around and go back and get them (knowing that it was overcast and rain was predicted!). That didn't put me behind too much. So I was supposed to meet the group I have been training with all season just before 7 so I was definitely going to make that!

I made it downtown in no time and found a spot to park without any trouble. Got everything I needed out of the car and headed over to Slugger Field. I stopped at the bathrooms on the way - no lines! I made it to Slugger Field early and waited. Where was everyone?? Was I at the right statue?? So I second guessed myself and walked down to the other side of Slugger Field trying to remember if there was another statue. I didn't find anyone so I went back to where I was originally but still didn't see anyone. Walked around a bit and finally found some of them standing in the corral in front of the statue - well I didn't look inside the corrals! So, the four of us lined up and just waited patiently for the race to start. I was surprisingly warm and decided to not run with the arm sleeves that I had purchased. Thanks to my running buddy for carrying them for me during the race!!

So, it was finally time to start moving. We crossed the start line and took off - well sort of anyway. It was very crowded at first and funny there were quite a few walkers that we had to run around! This really makes me angry! I think it's great to walk the races but line up appropriately so no one gets hurt! So my friend and I hit the first mile at 9:02 which is slower than we wanted but we could make that up. We are still running all over the place trying to get around people and even running on the sidewalks as there were just so many people. Mile 2 - 8:35 - better! Mile 3 went by pretty quickly too 8:28!

Mile 4 - At some point we pass close to the office and then head down Broadway. Still moving along at a nice pace. 8:37. Feeling pretty good but seemed a little humid which started to worry me as I don't run well with high humidity. Also somewhere in here we meet a lady running her first Derby Mini - more on her later.

Mile 5 8:29! Feeling better now - doesn't seem quite so humid and there was a nice breeze. Mile 6 - Central Park. Clogging up a bit but saw a friend so that was motivation :) 8:45 definitely a lot of people through there. Still running with our new friend. Mile 7 & 8 - must have been in the zone because I really don't remember these miles 8:32 & 8:35.

Oh good. Mile 9. Churchill Downs. Ok, its not that I don't like Churchill Downs, but I just don't like running through it the way the course goes - I really hate those tunnels! There is no air in there and they are so narrow. And the smells :( Not as bad as last year but still . . . However, seeing the horses running was cool. In the tunnels, the GPS on the watch glitches too and signal was lost. So I'm just going to continue to post the splits based on whatever the watch said. 9:12 for this mile :(

Mile 10 - Picked it back up for this mile 8:36. We are still running with our new friend and have learned that she is new to the area and needs a race faster than 2:01 to PR and she doesn't train like most of us runners train - she does crossfit. Wow. I'm impressed. She looks like she is out on an easy jog! I feel like I'm dying off and she is doing great! Maybe there's something to the crossfit thing. 5k left.

Mile 11 - Ok, really tired now. Tell my friend that has helped me run so fast this far that I don't think I can keep it up. Just getting tired and my left leg is hurting. 8:39 for this mile. Well on our way back to downtown through the areas that we run all the time. It does help to know the course.

Miles 12 and 13 - I knew I was going to have to keep it up if I were going to PR. When I hit mile 11 I turned on the iPod - Motley Crue :) Ok, that is helping. I keep going. 8:42. At some point in here the GPS loses signal again (around the convention center). I am running as hard as I can at this point knowing that I might not make the PR. It would be close but I just wasn't sure I could do it. So instead of giving up I pushed through (digging deep and thinking of all the training runs and the speedworkouts and the words of encouragement from everyone) and managed to keep going. I turned down Main Street and really picked it up - or at least I thought I did. My garmin says 8:40 for mile 13. I am certain it was faster! My garmin also only read 13.05 for the course because of the gps outages so I think it was faster.

Okay, one more left turn and down the hill and across the finish line! I feel like I am flying now and I think I'm going to make the PR! I ran as hard as I could until I crossed the finish line and stopped the watch. It read 1:53:11 - that's a PR! My last little bit of running was at a 6:18 pace.

My official time was 1:53:07 so a PR of 27 seconds! This was a certified course and my previous PR was not on a certified course (so today's race was obviously longer!!!). The course is definitely a flat and fast course. The crowd support was pretty good (especially with the threat of rain!) The only part of the course that I really don't like are the tunnels in Churchill Downs. Today was a triumphant day for me! My previous PR was in Oct 2011 and 2012 was a tough running year for me. So my PR today means that I am back on track and improving over the rough year last year!

I absolutely could not have done this without my friend that ran with me the whole race today and to our training group! You guys rock!

Week 15 Training

Well this was a very productive training week! I met the goals I had for the week of doing all three sports 3 times during the week and 2 1/2 hours on the bike.

Monday - 1000 yard swim and 4 miles running
Tuesday - 4 miles running
Wednesday - 3 miles running and 45 minutes (10.54 miles) on the bike
Thursday - 5k run and 30 minute (7.34 miles) on the bike
Friday - 1000 yard swim (my fastest yet!! 24:28)
Saturday - last minute decision to run a 5k race and so glad I did!! A new 5k PR of 23:21!! And 1st in my age group!! Followed that with 5 more miles running later in the day.
Sunday - long swim 2250 yards and yep! 2 1/2 hours on the bike! 34.4 miles

This was a strong training week for sure! And to end the week with a new 5k PR was great!!

Next weeks goal is to rest and recover to be ready for Saturdays Derby mini!!! It's race week!

Week 14 Training

Wow, 14 weeks already?? Looks like I'm halfway there as there are 14 weeks left until Racine! Yikes!

This has been a good week of training and ended with a good race!

Monday - 4 mile run
Tuesday - Intervals 12x400s total miles about 5.5
Wednesday - 1000 yard swim (fastest 1000 to date!); 5 mile run; 12.7 mile bike
Thursday - 4 mile run
Friday - 5 mile run
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Sprint Tri Race Day (See separate race report if you want :) )

So what did I learn from today's race? Lots of things! I still need to work on not panicking during the swim although I was able to control it much better today. I need to ride the bike a LOT more during the week. And I need to practice the brick workouts more. Oh, and don't put the chip timer on too tight around your ankle!!! Ouch :)

Goal for the upcoming week - swim, bike and run each at least 3 times this week. And at least 2.5 hours on the bike on Sunday.

Shelbyville Triathlon #4 - Race Report

My third tri. First one this year. Prepare for Racine!

Race distance:
400 yard swim
16 mile bike
3.1 mile run

On Saturday I did not do any working out, just rest. I had my favorite pre-race meal with a friend - Buca! I was home in bed ready for sleep around 9:30 as I had decided to get up at 5:30 (the race started at 8:30). I slept pretty well and got up in the morning without much trouble. I ate my normal pre-race breakfast of PB&J, got ready, and loaded up the bike. My nerves were a complete mess! It was a good thing I didn't have the HR monitor turned on, I'm afraid to see how high my HR was this morning!! Fortunately I have some great friends who were up early and giving me advice on how to calm down!!

Ok, time to go! I had never been to the park in Shelbyville so I left really early in case I got lost! I got there about a quarter after seven and went inside to figure out where everything was supposed to be set up for the day. I grabbed my race #, timing chip, and did the body markings in no time. Headed out and drove around to the other lot and set up the bike in the transition area. Wow! It's been awhile since I've done this and I had a hard time deciding where to put everything! This would be my first race with my new bike! I got everything set up, found my friends, moved my car, and headed back indoors with no issues other than being cold. It was in the low 40s and the grass was wet so my feet were wet and cold!

It didn't seem to take too long before we were lining up to get in the pool. One person every 10 seconds. I was #116 so I had awhile! My friends were faster swimmers than me so they were ahead of me in line. So I talked to the people around me trying to keep my nerves in check. I didn't do too bad :) Feet in water - COLD! Off I went down the lane. I was pretty sure the guy behind me in line would catch me so I started off too fast. I could feel my heart rate getting too high and my breathing getting a little crazy (all before I reached the end of the first lane!). So I took my friends advice and started breathing on every stroke until I got into a better rhythm. Ok, not so bad, the guy behind me did catch me and swam right passed me. Only one other person passed me in the pool so I felt pretty good about that! I however, kept hitting the legs of the girl in front of me, but I wasn't quite fast enough to pass her without using a LOT of energy and she wouldn't let me by on the turns. Oh well, although I did almost take her out (on accident!) trying to get out of the pool as we were both at the end at the same time. So, I thought it would take me about 10 minutes and my garmin said 9:35! Wow! Much faster than I thought.

We had to run outside and down the hill (in the wet grass) to reach the bike transition area. Did I mention that it was COLD??!! So, I ran down the hill and found my bike, dried off my feet, put on my socks and shoes, put on my extra shirts, race belt, sunglasses, helmet and grabbed the bike and off I went. T1 2:45

The bike seemed really hard for the first 5-6 miles. I felt tired and could not get my breathing under control. I was shooting for 4 min/mile and so far I was clocking off a lot of 3:40s! Then came some hills, which slowed me down some but helped me get my breathing under control. I drank some powerade and was starting to feel better. So, I just kept going as hard as I could! Somewhere around 10 miles, 2 guys passed me, well somewhere around mile 14 I passed them! I just kept feeling stronger so that was good. But, I was worried about how my legs would feel on the run. The bike was over before I knew it and per my garmin I did the bike in 55:20 - that's 3:27 per  mile average! Over 17 mph! Woohoo! Feeling good now!

Got off my bike (no falling!!) and into transition. Racked the bike, changed my shoes, took off one of my shirts I had layered, grabbed my headband and off I went. T2 1:18

The run was mostly on a paved path through the park - start was uphill of course! But not for long as when I looked back at my garmin most of the first mile was downhill. Mile 1 - 8:17. Somewhere in that mile one of my friends passed me as he was headed to the finish so that gave me some motivation to keep pushing. Mile two was mostly flat but some bad terrain - some gravel and then a weird narrow bridge thing! There was water at the halfway point where we turned around so I took a cup of water, but I managed to run through it with no walking and only splashed a little water on my face! I did have to stop once to loosen the chip timer around my ankle, it was way too tight and cut my ankle, I'll have to remember next time to make sure it isn't too tight! Saw my other friend before I hit the turn around on his way back so again some motivation! Mile 2 - 8:26. Mile 3 - well if mile one was downhill, mile 3 was uphill pretty much the whole way except for about the last .1! So this mile was slower for me as my legs were getting really tired. Mile 3 8:56. Then I saw the finished line and it was downhill so I sprinted in the last bit of the race, crossed the finish line and whew I was done! Run time per my garmin was 26:05 (not bad considering my 5k PR not in a triathlon is 24:05).

We stayed to listen to the awards. I missed 3rd in my age group by less than a minute! Woohoo! So in the end I think my time was about 1:35:01, which was quite a bit faster than I expected so I was thrilled! This was a great race with a very pretty (and somewhat hilly) bike course. I didn't love the run course but for 5k it wasn't a big deal. As for my bike - I LOVE IT! It was fantastic!!!

Week 13 Training

Spring break week! Vacation cruise to the Bahamas! So I didn't do much working out! On Monday I ran for 30 minutes along Miami beach - beautiful! Tuesday I ran 5 miles on the treadmill, Wednesday nothing, Thursday 6 miles on the treadmill, Friday 3 miles on the treadmill and Saturday nothing as it was a travel day. Sunday I swam, biked, and ran. My swim was fantastic! My longest swim - 2250 yards and it felt great! I felt like I was floating better and gliding through the water! It was amazing!! More swims like that and I might not dislike swimming so much! Then I rode the bike for an hour - 14.15 miles. No falls today! The bike rode fine so I didn't hurt it last week in the fall. Then I ran 3 miles at sub 9 pace to try to get used to running after riding. It's back to reality this week ugh!

Week 12 Training

Well I definitely eased back in to training this week. After reviewing my week it doesn't look like I got in the workouts that I wanted for the week but it is probably better to get back into training slowly so I don't get hurt. I'm writing this a day early because I don't plan on working out tomorrow- you will find out why soon enough!

Training for the week went like this:

Monday - 4.12 miles of easy running
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Easy 3 mile run and 1000 yard swim in 25:45 which is my fastest 1000 yards to date :)
Thursday - Easy 3 mile run
Friday - Long run day - 12 miles
Saturday - Bike Ride!! 21.05 miles ave pace 14.7 mph

My running this week was pretty easy so as to rest from the weekends race. On Monday my legs were very tired and heavy so Tuesday became a day off (well that and it was snowing again!). Met my swimming partner on Wednesday morning and just felt like my swim was a battle. I felt like I fought the water the whole time I was swimming. When I was done swimming I stopped my watch and it said 25:45! That is 7 seconds (yes a whole 7 seconds!) faster than my previous fastest 1000 yards (not that I'm keeping track of times or anything!!). I was super happy with that swim. On my run, my legs felt much better although we still took it easy. Thursday's run pace was slightly faster than Wednesday but still at an easy pace as Friday was going to be long run day. Friday's run had perfect weather - finally!! No snow or wind! Had a good run except for the bottom of my left foot bothering me some again. I think maybe it's time to go back to the doctor for more shots :( Then Saturday rolled around. Well it took a lot to motivate me today but I finally got my bike off the trainer and out the door. I was so glad I did, the weather was very nice and I rode for 21 miles at a pretty good pace for me. Well, at the end of my ride I stopped the bike in front of the driveway and unclipped my right foot, lost my balance, and fell to my left side. Yep. Down I went. OUCH! I knew I was not going to get my foot out in time and was going to hit the ground but when I did I was still in shock. It really hurt! I just kind of didn't move for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few seconds. Then I tried to get up quickly so as to keep someone from seeing me!! I ended up with a pretty skinned up knee, a bruised elbow and a bruised backside! The bike - yes my brand new bike - fared pretty well. I tore the seat a little but I think with a little glue it will be fine. I was very lucky! So I will likely not be doing anything tomorrow - except hopefully walking!!!