welcome to 2019 dear friends and negative three readers. i hope the off season treated you well and that you gained some weight, drank the things, and stayed up past 10 pm more than 1 night a week. in other words - you got craaaaaaazy.
but all good things must come to an end and make way for greater things. over here at casa de H & B (hell yea, we moved in together and straight into the apartment next door), we've been hitting zwift hard and buying new triathlon toys. thanks to being a member of the BASE performance team, we had the opportunity to take advantage of an amazing deal on ENVE 7.8 wheels and they are the prettiest things (besides Jazz and Brian) that currently reside in this apartment. being the super nerds that we are, we also got specialized s-works 7 cycling shoes (different colors) and invested in a couple pairs of Nike zoom fly flyknit shoes (same colors). in other words, we each spent our yearly triathlon "budget" in the first 5 months of the year so don't let me buy any more of the things. except a new bike computer. my converted 910 fake bike computer finally crapped itself and only permits me to use it for approximately 1 x 2.5 hour ride at 100% charge. LAME .
work update: i left my workplace and started working at a new hospital. and it. is. awesome. theres not a whole lot else to say because life is good. sometimes i work a lot, sometimes i don't. im generally happy, invested in work, and i care about what i do again. i was close to giving it all up and exploring other options and i'm glad that i didn't.
so thats life as i know it. can you believe that we already had our first tri of the year? i decided to tackle Monticelloman 70.3 again. i felt like i hadn't figured out the bike course at all and wanted to give it a third try. i love that its laid back and with an 8:30 am start, you can "sleep in". however, much like childbirth (or so i hear), i had forgotten just how hilly the run course is.
Bri and i headed down Saturday morning with the aim to get there around noon. we put our bikes back together and saddled up for a 45 minute bike and 15ish minute run. it was warm but not horribly humid. we saw a number of DC Tri folks as well as a couple of my DC Tri Elite teammates and they convinced us to jump in the water. we did so, sans wetsuits, and it was a beautiful temperature, somewhere in the high 60's/low 70's. following our short, out of order, triathlon, we grabbed noodles and co. for lunch and headed to the hotel because kentucky derby coverage was on and i had missed the first few hours of women in hats, beautiful horses, and $2000 mint juleps. i was having trouble calibrating my power meter to my POS garmin and i took a short adventure around the parking lot without a saddle in running shoes (you have to take the saddle off to put the bikes on the car rack inside the car). that was a terrifying, death-defying 90 seconds of my life that i'll never get back.
we packed our bags for the following day and settled in until capt Y-Bry summoned us to this hotel room and we hung with the guys + Joyce for little bit before dinner. dinner involved a yummy italian restaurant AND i was lucky enough to be able to see my friend Ryan from college. it was an awesome time catching up, drinking a bit of wine, and eating delicious food.
i guess you came here to read about the actual race - so here it is: race morning!
the alarms went off around 4:45 and by 5 am, we were dragging ourselves out of our beds. yes ,we slept in separate beds and neither of us was unhappy about that as im a sleep thrasher. though it wasn't the best mattress, i generally enjoy sleeping in hotel beds and this one did not disappoint. shout out to the Days Inn of Charlotttesville.
to our pleasant surprise, it was raining... kind of a lot. we took advantage of the continental breakfast as both of us had forgotten to pack anything of significance for breakfast. oops. i think i had instant oatmeal and some poppyseed muffins and i was happy.
we packed up the car and drove about 30 minutes to the race site where it was... still raining. we ran into Darren and we made our way over to transition where it was... still raining. i gave joyce a hug and said various "hellos" to teammates and club members, feeling that little flutter of excitement that only race day and seeing a harry potter marathon on TV can bring. i set up transition in less than 10 minutes, glad that we had the foresight to start keeping garbage bags in our transition bags after the monsoon that was wisconsin 70.3 last year. i would have dry running shoes and socks and i cherished the thought of how good that would feel if we continued to be soaking wet for the rest of the morning. i also was excited to wear my new rudy project PINK wing57 helmet with the surprise bonus of a visor - i haven't raced with a visor in a long time and was interested to see how that would feel.
remember that i was excited to try this out because the feeling would not last.
we dropped our bags off at the car (parking is easy and close at this race) and attempted to put on wetsuits on our damp bodies - not an easy feat. i tore a small hole in mine but eh, it happens. finally, FINALLY, it was time to head to the water for a short (like 10 strokes) warm-up swim.
the water felt chilly but i knew it would be perfect for swimming. especially after i peed in my wetsuit and felt all nice and toasty on the inside.
SWIM:
the men took off promptly at 8:30 and we followed at 8:33. the start is a beach run into the water and only after i made a beeline for the water did i realize that it would have been MUCH faster to run to the end of the beach and THEN dive into the water. not my smartest move. the girl who did choose this tactic was immediately way ahead of me and would later be first out of the water.
i settled into a comfortable (read: too comfortable) pace and enjoyed swimming alone. with a small field and being a generally strong swimmer, i knew it would be a fairly solo effort until we caught up to the men. and catch up to them we did - in less than 10 minutes. the buoys seemed far apart and i spent my time counting (again, why? since i have no idea how many buoys there are). i attempted some drafting which is ill advised when you are catching up to people and passing them. let this be clear - it will not help you.
in the second half, i tried to speed up a bit - i was feeling relaxed and strong. then i realized the turn buoy was not the turn buoy and that was a bit of gut puncher. what felt like many minutes later, i arrived at the turn buoy and headed to shore. a faint memory came across my consciousness about swimming to the left of the dock. so - i made a beeline for that area and starting kicking and increased my turnover only to glance over and see a few people waving me and pointing to the RIGHT side of the dock. ah... my bad... a girl in a green cap was coming on strong and i shot for the gap between her and the dock and ran out of the water a couple seconds ahead of her.
31:16 (definitely would have been well under 31 if not for the detour)
T1: 4:10 (for reference, transition was like 20 feet long)
this is where things sort of fell apart. the rain had stopped (thankfully) but the sky was pretty dark. as in - clear sunglasses would have been ideal over my very very dark helmet visor. but first, i had to remove my wetsuit - something i have done many times before but suddenly forgot how to do at this particular time. i couldn't get it over my watch and instead of just taking 10 seconds to remove my watch like sane person, i struggled for a solid minute and eventually succeeded. i put on socks and shoes as normal and then decided i needed to RIP OFF THE VISOR in order to wear equally dark sunglasses... i wasn't thinking clearly. first of all, let me thank Rudy Project for making this task impossible in the heat of the moment. yea yea, its secure and wont fall off your face during the race - but at this moment, i was PISSED. another minute spent struggling, swearing, watching the girl who came out of the swim on my heels peel out of transition, and then pausing in defeat that the helmet bestest me. i consented and just put the helmet on my head, grabbed my bike, and headed out after wasting enough time in T1.
BIKE:
my heartrate was in zn17 after my T1 antics and i needed to calm the F down. it was cool and i wanted to make sure that i got ahead of the hydration/nutrition game. my goal was to drink the majority of my three bottles of infinit over the next hopefully 2 hours and 45 minutes and supplement with snacks of honey stinger chews. my other goal was to find the woman that beat me out of the water and the woman that beat me out of transition. of course, i had no idea if the FOTW girl was even racing the half (possibly aquavelo or relay) but whatever. i settled into my HR and power and just rode. there were no large climbs, but lots of rolling terrain and pretty countryside. i stayed in aero for the majority of the ride and inclines and continued to drink and eat.
at some point, we rode past a little country house and i heard a gun shot. i stiffened and froze. another gun shot. i whipped around to look and see if i could see anybody. i heard a third shot and started riding away as fast as i could. at this point in my life, i have listened to hundreds of stories about murder and true crime and i didn't want to be the next topic for Georgia and Karen on "My Favorite Murder". it was super jarring to hear so close to the road, but its the country. it happens.
i found myself really enjoying the bike. its such a small race that a lot of the time, you are alone. i got passed by handfuls of guys but was able to pick up some power and leap frog a few of them. on one of the longer inclines, i passed the women from transition (YES). i figured that put me into the top 1 or 2. before i knew it, i was nearly back to transition and ready to head out for loop 2. my watch said 1:20 and i was shocked. i wasn't overbiking, i was not comfortable per say but it was a doable pace to continue and possibly pick it up a notch.
a few miles into the second loop, there was a roundabout and a short line of cars in the road waiting to turn onto the roundabout. it wasn't clear if they were stopped by the police or because they were waiting for cars to move around the roundabout. i slowed, assessing the situation and decided to just stay right, but cautiously, and ride around the stopped cars. a man on a road bike came flying up behind me yelling, "move faster, cmon! lets go, lets go, LETS GO!"
sir, may i politely ask you to SHUT THE FUCK UP? the space to the right of the cars was less than three feet wide and cars were slowing moving. after the MANY car-bike accidents that have occurred this year alone, losing 30 seconds was more than okay with me in order to keep myself and others safe.
i replied, "dude, calm down".
the roadie shot around me in the roudabout (are you kidding me) and took off. a minute later, i was coming up on his wheel and passed him. we leap frogged a bit, but on any incline, he fell way back and eventually i passed him for the final time and never saw him again.
the second loop was consistent and i felt strong. i couldn't remember landmarks near the end of the loop and before i knew it, i was turning into the community a minute away from transition.
2:42:32 (10 min course PR)
T2: 1:56
i saw Darren in transition and said a few things, not realizing (because im an idiot) that he wasn't in the race anymore. i took my dry shoes and socks out of the bag, fixed my ponytail and visor, and grabbed my racebelt and water bottle. on my way out, i asked what place i was in and was met with... "i don't know, maybe top three?" cmon! the last time i did this race, the guy said "you're in third.. but theyre way ahead of you!" hahaha.
RUN:
i ran out, shaking the heavy feeling out of my legs. my stomach felt... weird. i kept running, hoping the uneasy feeling would go away. i was having a solid race and excited to get onto the run to see what i could do, but for a minute, i couldn't shake this feeling of nausea. the road out of the community is a slight incline and then a right turn to get onto the road. i ran for another minute, past an aid station, and knew what was happening. i put my head down and vomited a ton of liquid. and remnants of apple cinnamon instant oatmeal. a few more heaves and i paused. a guy passed me and asked if i was okay and i confidently, but wearily, said "yep! thank you!" COME ON GUT! one more heave and i was ready to roll. unlike after the mid-race vomiting of the illinois half marathon last year, i was not able to rally. the magic was gone from my legs and suddenly, i felt tired. this course is all up and down and up and down. its not for the weak. i kept an okay but not great pace for the first couple of miles but then it was all damage control. i shuffled up the endless hills and prayed that the women behind me wouldn't start flying by. i got a lift everytime i saw B and any DC tri kit. at some point, a girl asked if i was "heather the vet" and i was like, "wait, whaaaaat?" and it turned out that she knows my coach and his wife! small world - i love this about triathlon.
by the time i arrived at the turn around at mile 6.5, i hadn't been passed nor had i passed any women. again, no concept of how this race was playing out. however, i now had visual on who was coming up on me and there were a couple girls that weren't too far behind.
i groaned internally since i still had 6 miles to go. i tried to maintain (if not pick up) my pace but i was definitely struggling. i kept repeating lines of the song "one foot in front of the other" (ooooOOOOOOOO! one foot in front of the other! ooooOOOOOOOO!) and each step was one step closer to that finish line. with a few miles to go, i tried to "surge", which essentially meant my heart rate went up but i wasn't really going any faster.
finally - FINALLY - i saw the left hand turn toward the lake - and the finish. i surged and tried to look strong as the road leveled out and i could see the arch and our DC Tri tent. THANK FREAKING GOD. soon after, i figured out that i was the first OA female (cool!) and i watched secod place run in and congratulated her on a great, though tough, day. turns out she had struggled in the run too - that terrain is rough.
i found B and found other clubbers and we sat and chatted for a bit. i had chocolate milk but couldn't really stomach anything else at that point. another excellent part of the race is the shower/bathroom situation - in that there ARE showers. i naturally was unprepared and didn't bring a towel, but i had swiped the shampoo and conditioner from the hotel so i grabbed my event t-shirt and used it to dry off. i relished scrubbing off the raceday grime and finally felt human again.
awards (as is the rest of the race) are pretty low key. though it was a pretty small field, it was pretty awesome to finally be first OA female and a great way to start the season. i love racing with B and the team and the club. friends and familiar faces are what makes doing races so fun. it may be considered an individual sport but really... its not. its hard to train for this sport alone - ive done it - but the sport got infinitely better for me when i joined a club and a team.
next up is Ironman Ireland in June. That one is definitely a tale worth telling.
until next time, negative three readers...
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Race Recap: Ironman Wisconsin, aka you CAN go home again and it might be exactly the same as you remember it.
*Deep breath.*
i have so many mixed emotions about this past weekend. i signed up for IM wisconsin with the intention of returning to the place where i did my first IM. i was going to relive that magical day where i had fun and i discovered my love of long course racing four years ago. that race changed my life. thats not even a dramatic statement - it really and truly did. if i had never done that race, i would not have met mark and started that whole series of events that led to me moving to the east coast and starting over. that day will always be the day i started my new life.
the last few years haven't been easy. i was burnt out last year and considered taking a break but instead decided to go back to my roots and have a go at IMMOO again.
the good:
there were so many things changed this year. i have a new coach that i trust and that formulated a plan around my crazy work schedule and work stress and who stresses quality workouts over quantity. i met a man that changed my world and who has become not only an awesome partner but also a workout buddy, motivator, and supporter. i moved into my own little apartment that i LOVE. ive become closer with my girlfriends in DC and love the community and support system that we have.
the bad:
work has been hard. its been difficult the last couple of years and my stress level has been through the roof which carried over into all areas of life. i don't like to be angry or upset on a daily basis and i know this hasn't helped my personal life in the slightest. i hate feeling so frustrated and helpless where the only things i want to do are scream or break things. so instead, i cry. and that sucks. it sucks to have a workplace that is run by people that don't care about you and that tell you no one likes you and that acts like you are 100% replaceable. screw that.
the build to last weekend over the past 9 months has been typical. there are highs, there are lows... there are amazing breakthrough workouts and there are the workouts that you gut through, knowing each stroke or step is just another stalk of hay in the barn. there were days i slept in. there were days i got up at 3:00 in the morning just to get that long ride in before the craziness of the day started. we all do it to accomplish our goals. do i want to go to kona? hell yes i do. but that wasn't my focus this year. this year - and this race - i wanted to be happy and satisfied with my training and see if that translated into successful races. and overall, i think it did.
i was feeling pretty confident and relaxed leading into wisconsin. my run was coming around well and i was feeling so strong in the swim and very steady and consistent in the bike. the last 1-2 weeks leading into the race, i started noticing my legs were feeling tired, despite tapering and easier efforts in workouts. they felt like id been running a daily marathon. they were tight, i could barely touch my toes, and overall just sore. ive never felt like that except after a weekend of heavy training and by day 2 or 3 the feeling always goes away. regardless of what i did, my legs wouldn't cooperate and they continued to hurt. i stretched, i foam rolled, i took baths, i took vitamins/supplements, and tried to eat well and drink water consistently. i cut back on wine. i was doing nearly everything right. this is total TMI, but multiple days leading into the race, i noticed blood in my urine. should i have done something than benignly neglect this? maybe. in the few days before the race, i didn't see anything like that so i figured all was okay and my body was just working through something like a UTI though i wasn't showing any symptoms.
Brian and i set out from home early wednesday morning. we had a pretty good drive - listened to some murder podcasts and read a book. we arrived at my parents house and i went for a quick shake-out run while B worked on my bike. my legs were tight but my pace and HR were on point so i was happy with it. we met for dinner with all my family friends and had an amazing night catching up.
thursday morning, we met laurie at Lifetime and she was so generous to take us in as her guests. we did a quick 1600m swim followed by a few min in the hot tub. i was feeling really solid and strong swimming and was getting super excited to see how that would translate into an IM swim.
we headed straight up to madison and went to the expo to check-in. check-in on thursdays are GLORIOUS. there are no lines, check-in is a breeze and takes less than 10 minutes and then you are done and ready for the weekend. we hung out with matt and lauralee for a bit then headed out for a 50 min shake-out run. again, i felt so tight and my stride felt shortened, but pace and HR were so solid. nothing hurt per say, but it wasn't comfortable running - each step felt like work. it was going to be a mental run if this kept up, but i knew i could do it. hell, if i could muscle through the horror that was Placid last year, i could handle this minor (in comparison) discomfort.
we met up with beckie, ellen, matt, and LL for a pizza dinner and B and i headed home to settle in and have a chill night.
friday morning, ellen and i met up to find beckie in the arboretum - it was a fun, though short, stretch of tree lined asphalt through a nature preserve that i had no idea existed before that day. it was a nice change of pace from the open country roads that we would be riding that weekend.
following the ride, i headed back toward the terrace. i had scheduled myself a massage thinking that it might help ease the tight muscles and allow a more comfortable run 48 hours later. i ran into Bri walking around the capitol and i headed in for my massage. it was fine, nothing spectacular, and my massage therapist just wanted to talk about herself and her practice so i didn't quite get the relaxing experience i wanted and, unfortunately, it seemed to do nothing for my leg muscles.
brian and i set out to drive the bike course and it was mostly as i remembered it and i started to feel the little butterflies of excitement fluttering in my stomach. we finished just in the nick of time to pick up mollie from the airport. it was SO GOOD to see her! we had some lunch and hung out the rest of the day.
my parents arrived saturday morning. i did a quick bike and run and i was ready to roll. i wasn't thinking about how messed up my legs were - i only wanted to think about fun i would be having the following day. we dropped off bags and bike at transition. bless the human with the orange duct tape - it was SO windy and bikes were blowing all over the place so i used the tape to secure my saddle to the rack so that it *hopefully* wouldn't crash into Jacqui Giuliano and Marni Sumbal's bikes. yes, i heather prochnow, was racked in between two of the top elite amateur triathletes in the country.
WTF.
the five of us joined the BASE team for dinner at a nice restaurant and we headed home to get some much needed rest (for all of us). i gulped down a bottle of osmo preload. i love what it does, but i hate how it tastes!
RACE MORNING!
woke up at 3:45 am and felt ready to roll. it was a typical race morning and i had my sherpa crew ready to help with anything i needed. i had oatmeal with - in a shocking twist - crushed up peanut butter filled pretzels and maple syrup because i had no peanut butter. it was actually pretty good! another bottle of osmo preload in the tank and i was ready to get to the terrace. i crushed a can of redbull too - never try something new on race day they say. have i ever drank redbull the morning of a race? thats a no from me.
i dropped my bottles and nutrition off at my bike and unwrapped the bright orange tape from the saddle. we then met up with beckie, put on our wetsuits and walked down to transition. beckie and i bid farewell and i tried to get near the front of the line but i could only get as far as the 1:10 group... sigh. i stood with a girl and made small talk and with less than three minutes to go until the start, i put my goggles on my head and the goggle strap snapped.
the girl next to me gasped and her eyes got wide. i calmly tied the strap in a knot and put them back on my head, good as new! "you handled that really well!" she said. "if thats the worst thing that happens all day, then we are in for a great race," i said with a laugh. no big deal.
we inched toward the water and it was go time!
SWIM: 1:04:04
the first time i did this race, it was still a mass start. with the rolling start, unfortunately, it still felt a bit like a washing machine. it was windy and wavy, but i settled into a decent, potentially too comfortable, pace. i started counting buoys and almost laughed when i realized this was a fruitless cause because i had zero clue how many buoys were actually out there.
at the first turn, i lifted my head and let out a diminuitive "moo". i heard no other "moos" however, so i quickly put my head back down and settled into the task at hand.
the way back always takes forever. this time, it most definitely took longer than expected since i forgot how to swim in any semblance of a straight line. the field had considerably thinned out and i was having trouble seeing buoys. it felt like i was swimming directly into waves and started to feel a little seasick. "suck it up prochnow!", i told myself. the buoy color changed and i thought, "hell yea, we're almost done!" and then i realized that meant we were only halfway.
well... hell.
the second half seemed to go by faster. i started creatively drafting off a cluster of people in front of me and actually felt myself move faster. i jumped amongst a few people to draft off of and i suddenly saw the girl that i was standing next to when my goggles broke at the start of the swim. as i continued my drafting games, i saw her drift back and realized that drafting actually works!
i saw the arch and powered in, kicking and waking up the legs for the little jaunt up the helix to transition.
T1: 7:57
aka the strangest transition ive ever encountered in ironman. the wetsuit stripper took off my wetsuit and i jogged through the turnstile through the crowd of people, blindly looking for my family or any familiar faces. i heard my name a couple of times from Lawrence friends which was awesome! up the helix i went - its a very Tour de France meets Challenge Roth feel with the spectators crowded up on you cheering for their loved ones (and me!) I headed into the terrace and the ballroom to grab my bike bag. i sat down and looked at my watch - UGHHHHH slow swim!
there were a handful of girls around me which was the last thing i wanted to see - its not usually like this when i actually have a fast swim. my friend stephanie passed me - i know shes a really solid swimmer and knew i needed to get on my way and out to the bike. i put my helmet and sunglasses on, bike shoes in hand, and headed to my bike. the awesome volunteers had her waiting and i grabbed her, put my shoes on, and headed toward the helix.
UGHHHHHH slow transition!
BIKE: 5:56:57
i gripped my brakes as i creeped down the helix, not at all confident in those bike handling skills. once at the bottom, i got on the paved trail and was excited to get out and really get the day started. i could see stephanie up ahead - i love all her pink things! - and i cruised up next to her. we exchanged some "heys!" and "have a great days" and i passed her. power was still pretty low and HR was high so i worked on getting in some fluids and a bit of food for the next minute. all of a sudden, a bottle flew out of the rear cage (which NEVER happens). i was using the usual deer park disposable bottles, same as always, so i know that they work and *usually* stay put. it was still so early and i needed my infinite bottles, so i pulled over and retrieved it. stephanie re-passed me and i laughed like the weirdo i am.
with bottles back in cages and all my things on my person, i hopped back on and set out. i caught stephanie a minute or two later and settled into trying to drink and eat again. i then heard the now familiar sound of a bottle hitting the ground and couldn't believe the bottle had jumped out again. for the second time, i pulled over and ran back to grab the bottle and stephanie yelled, "quit causing trouble!" as she passed me again. "im sorry!" i laughed as i awkwardly jogged back to my bike. "third times the charm", i thought, and i returned to the bike - for real this time!
one last pass by steph (i really hoped it would be the last time) and we made our way to the "stick" of the lollipop course. at every little crack or bump in the road (and trust me, there are many on this course), i'd hold my breath and wait to see if the bottle was going to leave me again. it never did and eventually i relaxed and focused on riding, HR, and power. 30-45 minutes later, jacqui passed me and i picked up the pace ever so slightly to keep her in my sights. this proved to be an achieveable goal and i sat about 10-15 bike lengths behind her for miles.
it was then that the bottle from the other rear caged decided it had had enough and also wanted an adventure. it leapt out of the cage and my time riding behind jacqui ended as i stopped for a third time to retrieve the bottle and continue this comedy of errors which included having to run down a short hill as the bottle gained momentum and rolled away from me.
she was long gone by the time i was rolling again so i reset myself and focused on the metrics for awhile. i made sure i was taking in 1 bottle an hour (nicely shaken from the trips out of the cages) along with honey stinger chews in various flavors that i had stuffed into my bento box. i was long into the loop by this point and it was so interesting to ride the course. it had been years but ive ridden it many times so it was surprising, yet familiar. the ride up to mt horeb passed before i knew it. its amazing how your perspective changes when you train on hills - i remember it being so long and arduous. i could still picture certain points in the course and i was excited when i got to those areas that i recognized. the first trip up the three bitches was about as i remembered it and it was very cool to have the crowd support chasing us up each hill, complete with costumes, noise makers, music, and cheers.
it wasn't long before i was headed back to verona and special needs. i ate a few E.L.Fudge cookies, took a few swigs of coke (i have OFFICIALLY replaced mountain dew!) and switched out bottles, fingers crossed that this set of bottles would stay put!
the second loop was much like the first except after the three bitches, on a steep downhill descent ending in a sharp 90 degree left turn, i watched as a man flew by me in an aggressive aero position and for a brief moment, i thought to myself, "that position is so dangerous, there is no way he can make that turn at that speed". moments later, my unfortunate thought came to fruition. he attempted to turn but carried way too much momentum into the steep left turn and I watched in horror as his back wheel skidded out and he + bike went flying - head over wheel - into a yard. I braked and pulled over, afraid of what I would find. surprisingly, he was in one piece and bike seemed okay. he did a once over on himself and then bike and he said he was all right so I left him to get back on his bike and (hopefully) continue on.
the rest of the bike was unremarkable and I was eager to finish and start the run. cruised into T2, handed off my bike, and headed into the changing room to switch gears. i knew it was a slower than expected bike, id lost 5-10 minutes in all the stops, but oh well.
T2: 2:46
RUN: 4:01:32
this is where things took an slightly unexpected turn. I started to run and I realized I no longer had legs, but 2 cement pylons that had no business moving, let alone running. what the actual EFF. I was so excited coming into this race to have a solid run off the bike and instead, my body rebelled against me. each step was work, and each step was uncomfortable. I could run, yes. not fast though. and not pain free. my left butt cheek was cramped up but really, both legs were sucking. I started out at an optimistic 8:30-ish pace thinking that if I could maintain that, I could mentally keep going despite how bad my legs felt. aerobically, I was doing great - I was no where near zone 1 and barely breathing hard. the pace soon slowed and my spirit was crushed. I knew I couldn't let myself get too down or it would be a LONG 26.2 miles back to the finish line.
I looked for my family and Brian and Mollie. when I first saw Brian, I lamented how crappy I felt and he tried to encourage me. I tried to run faster and see how zone 1 felt, but I. JUST. COULDN'T. its like I had no control over the pace I was running - just your standard ironman shuffle with no get-up-and-go to my stride.
at mile 8 or so, I saw BASE for the first time - I whined to Lauralee about my butt and had volunteers to punch my butt which made me smile temporarily. it was uplifting to see my friends so often on course and I am thankful for the generally awesome crowd support that this race continues to have.
Lindsey corbin passed me on the trail just before I returned back to the BASE tent and she looked incredible. it was awesome to be racing with one of my idols and for her to be so close I could touch her (I held back from doing so because that would be weird) was surreal.
the run in general was a blur and at this point, I've blocked most of it from memory. it wasn't enjoyable, it was super uncomfortable and I was disappointed because fitness-wise, I had a good run in me. I wasn't going to be running 3:30, but i think I at least I had a sub 3:50 in there. almost breaking 4 hours with the way I felt was shocking. my average heartrate was well below zn1 - I wish I had been able to run like I KNOW I can.
as I approached the capital building and knew I had less than a mile to go, I took in the crowd. I looked at the spectators and smiled. I saw the red carpet stretched out and felt relief as I ran toward the finish arch.
Finish time: 11:13:16
I saw my family and Brian pretty quickly. I sat down and could hardly move my legs. ive never finished a race and felt so stiff. I could barely move! I was admittedly in a terrible mood when I finished. it was a long run, a disappointing run, and I wanted out of my kit and into some sweatpants as the sun was starting to go down. Brian and I went into the terrace to retrieve my stuff when I saw HER. Lindsey Corbin was talking to another girl right inside the doorway of where the transition bags were sitting. I said a polite "excuse me" as a I stepped around them to grab my stuff. Seconds later, transition bags in hand, Lindsey was still in the doorway and was about to walk out as I walked out.
Then - I threw caution to the wind and I SPOKE TO HER.
"... um, hey... Lindsey? You had a great race, congratulations on your day today!"
Starstruck.
THEN SHE SPOKE BACK TO ME.
"you look like you had a great day too! did you have fun out there?"
OMG.
we exchanged a few more sentences and there some something about post race beers and then i watched her walk away. she walked past brian who was looking down at his phone and i hissed at him, "did you see me talking to lindsey corbin?"
he had not, in fact, seen me talking to lindsey corbin. sigh.
we picked up my bike and walked/shuffled back to the airbnb. i showered and enjoyed the post-race shower feels (its so poetically beautiful to shower after an ironman - the feel of water on your tired, dehydrated skin is magnificent as your skin just soaks up the moisture like a sad flower in parched dirt) and attempted a beer and some snacks with the family.
we all parted ways the next morning and brian and i stopped at the liqour/beer store to pick up a case of spotted cow and some goodies for me to drink on the way home.
the end of the season always seems anti-climactic to me. i always question if i should throw another race on the schedule and usually end up deciding to just enjoy the off-season. which is what i did.
and what an off season it was!
looking back on the day though - i was consistent at least. i didn't really hit the numbers i wanted to reach on the bike, and i definitely didn't have the run i was hoping for - but i was consistent and kept my head up when things started to get dark. i mentally got through that run at a pace that is respectable to me and it was my second fastest IM marathon to date (my first being my very first IM 4 years prior and 4 minutes faster). its getting there though. i have the puzzle pieces and with each race, im starting to figure out where the pieces fit together.
until next time, my -3 followers. i resolve to be better in 2019. well... maybe better in the second half of 2019 ...
i have so many mixed emotions about this past weekend. i signed up for IM wisconsin with the intention of returning to the place where i did my first IM. i was going to relive that magical day where i had fun and i discovered my love of long course racing four years ago. that race changed my life. thats not even a dramatic statement - it really and truly did. if i had never done that race, i would not have met mark and started that whole series of events that led to me moving to the east coast and starting over. that day will always be the day i started my new life.
the last few years haven't been easy. i was burnt out last year and considered taking a break but instead decided to go back to my roots and have a go at IMMOO again.
the good:
there were so many things changed this year. i have a new coach that i trust and that formulated a plan around my crazy work schedule and work stress and who stresses quality workouts over quantity. i met a man that changed my world and who has become not only an awesome partner but also a workout buddy, motivator, and supporter. i moved into my own little apartment that i LOVE. ive become closer with my girlfriends in DC and love the community and support system that we have.
the bad:
work has been hard. its been difficult the last couple of years and my stress level has been through the roof which carried over into all areas of life. i don't like to be angry or upset on a daily basis and i know this hasn't helped my personal life in the slightest. i hate feeling so frustrated and helpless where the only things i want to do are scream or break things. so instead, i cry. and that sucks. it sucks to have a workplace that is run by people that don't care about you and that tell you no one likes you and that acts like you are 100% replaceable. screw that.
the build to last weekend over the past 9 months has been typical. there are highs, there are lows... there are amazing breakthrough workouts and there are the workouts that you gut through, knowing each stroke or step is just another stalk of hay in the barn. there were days i slept in. there were days i got up at 3:00 in the morning just to get that long ride in before the craziness of the day started. we all do it to accomplish our goals. do i want to go to kona? hell yes i do. but that wasn't my focus this year. this year - and this race - i wanted to be happy and satisfied with my training and see if that translated into successful races. and overall, i think it did.
i was feeling pretty confident and relaxed leading into wisconsin. my run was coming around well and i was feeling so strong in the swim and very steady and consistent in the bike. the last 1-2 weeks leading into the race, i started noticing my legs were feeling tired, despite tapering and easier efforts in workouts. they felt like id been running a daily marathon. they were tight, i could barely touch my toes, and overall just sore. ive never felt like that except after a weekend of heavy training and by day 2 or 3 the feeling always goes away. regardless of what i did, my legs wouldn't cooperate and they continued to hurt. i stretched, i foam rolled, i took baths, i took vitamins/supplements, and tried to eat well and drink water consistently. i cut back on wine. i was doing nearly everything right. this is total TMI, but multiple days leading into the race, i noticed blood in my urine. should i have done something than benignly neglect this? maybe. in the few days before the race, i didn't see anything like that so i figured all was okay and my body was just working through something like a UTI though i wasn't showing any symptoms.
Brian and i set out from home early wednesday morning. we had a pretty good drive - listened to some murder podcasts and read a book. we arrived at my parents house and i went for a quick shake-out run while B worked on my bike. my legs were tight but my pace and HR were on point so i was happy with it. we met for dinner with all my family friends and had an amazing night catching up.
thursday morning, we met laurie at Lifetime and she was so generous to take us in as her guests. we did a quick 1600m swim followed by a few min in the hot tub. i was feeling really solid and strong swimming and was getting super excited to see how that would translate into an IM swim.
we headed straight up to madison and went to the expo to check-in. check-in on thursdays are GLORIOUS. there are no lines, check-in is a breeze and takes less than 10 minutes and then you are done and ready for the weekend. we hung out with matt and lauralee for a bit then headed out for a 50 min shake-out run. again, i felt so tight and my stride felt shortened, but pace and HR were so solid. nothing hurt per say, but it wasn't comfortable running - each step felt like work. it was going to be a mental run if this kept up, but i knew i could do it. hell, if i could muscle through the horror that was Placid last year, i could handle this minor (in comparison) discomfort.
we met up with beckie, ellen, matt, and LL for a pizza dinner and B and i headed home to settle in and have a chill night.
friday morning, ellen and i met up to find beckie in the arboretum - it was a fun, though short, stretch of tree lined asphalt through a nature preserve that i had no idea existed before that day. it was a nice change of pace from the open country roads that we would be riding that weekend.
following the ride, i headed back toward the terrace. i had scheduled myself a massage thinking that it might help ease the tight muscles and allow a more comfortable run 48 hours later. i ran into Bri walking around the capitol and i headed in for my massage. it was fine, nothing spectacular, and my massage therapist just wanted to talk about herself and her practice so i didn't quite get the relaxing experience i wanted and, unfortunately, it seemed to do nothing for my leg muscles.
brian and i set out to drive the bike course and it was mostly as i remembered it and i started to feel the little butterflies of excitement fluttering in my stomach. we finished just in the nick of time to pick up mollie from the airport. it was SO GOOD to see her! we had some lunch and hung out the rest of the day.
my parents arrived saturday morning. i did a quick bike and run and i was ready to roll. i wasn't thinking about how messed up my legs were - i only wanted to think about fun i would be having the following day. we dropped off bags and bike at transition. bless the human with the orange duct tape - it was SO windy and bikes were blowing all over the place so i used the tape to secure my saddle to the rack so that it *hopefully* wouldn't crash into Jacqui Giuliano and Marni Sumbal's bikes. yes, i heather prochnow, was racked in between two of the top elite amateur triathletes in the country.
WTF.
the five of us joined the BASE team for dinner at a nice restaurant and we headed home to get some much needed rest (for all of us). i gulped down a bottle of osmo preload. i love what it does, but i hate how it tastes!
RACE MORNING!
woke up at 3:45 am and felt ready to roll. it was a typical race morning and i had my sherpa crew ready to help with anything i needed. i had oatmeal with - in a shocking twist - crushed up peanut butter filled pretzels and maple syrup because i had no peanut butter. it was actually pretty good! another bottle of osmo preload in the tank and i was ready to get to the terrace. i crushed a can of redbull too - never try something new on race day they say. have i ever drank redbull the morning of a race? thats a no from me.
i dropped my bottles and nutrition off at my bike and unwrapped the bright orange tape from the saddle. we then met up with beckie, put on our wetsuits and walked down to transition. beckie and i bid farewell and i tried to get near the front of the line but i could only get as far as the 1:10 group... sigh. i stood with a girl and made small talk and with less than three minutes to go until the start, i put my goggles on my head and the goggle strap snapped.
the girl next to me gasped and her eyes got wide. i calmly tied the strap in a knot and put them back on my head, good as new! "you handled that really well!" she said. "if thats the worst thing that happens all day, then we are in for a great race," i said with a laugh. no big deal.
we inched toward the water and it was go time!
SWIM: 1:04:04
the first time i did this race, it was still a mass start. with the rolling start, unfortunately, it still felt a bit like a washing machine. it was windy and wavy, but i settled into a decent, potentially too comfortable, pace. i started counting buoys and almost laughed when i realized this was a fruitless cause because i had zero clue how many buoys were actually out there.
at the first turn, i lifted my head and let out a diminuitive "moo". i heard no other "moos" however, so i quickly put my head back down and settled into the task at hand.
the way back always takes forever. this time, it most definitely took longer than expected since i forgot how to swim in any semblance of a straight line. the field had considerably thinned out and i was having trouble seeing buoys. it felt like i was swimming directly into waves and started to feel a little seasick. "suck it up prochnow!", i told myself. the buoy color changed and i thought, "hell yea, we're almost done!" and then i realized that meant we were only halfway.
well... hell.
the second half seemed to go by faster. i started creatively drafting off a cluster of people in front of me and actually felt myself move faster. i jumped amongst a few people to draft off of and i suddenly saw the girl that i was standing next to when my goggles broke at the start of the swim. as i continued my drafting games, i saw her drift back and realized that drafting actually works!
i saw the arch and powered in, kicking and waking up the legs for the little jaunt up the helix to transition.
T1: 7:57
aka the strangest transition ive ever encountered in ironman. the wetsuit stripper took off my wetsuit and i jogged through the turnstile through the crowd of people, blindly looking for my family or any familiar faces. i heard my name a couple of times from Lawrence friends which was awesome! up the helix i went - its a very Tour de France meets Challenge Roth feel with the spectators crowded up on you cheering for their loved ones (and me!) I headed into the terrace and the ballroom to grab my bike bag. i sat down and looked at my watch - UGHHHHH slow swim!
there were a handful of girls around me which was the last thing i wanted to see - its not usually like this when i actually have a fast swim. my friend stephanie passed me - i know shes a really solid swimmer and knew i needed to get on my way and out to the bike. i put my helmet and sunglasses on, bike shoes in hand, and headed to my bike. the awesome volunteers had her waiting and i grabbed her, put my shoes on, and headed toward the helix.
UGHHHHHH slow transition!
BIKE: 5:56:57
i gripped my brakes as i creeped down the helix, not at all confident in those bike handling skills. once at the bottom, i got on the paved trail and was excited to get out and really get the day started. i could see stephanie up ahead - i love all her pink things! - and i cruised up next to her. we exchanged some "heys!" and "have a great days" and i passed her. power was still pretty low and HR was high so i worked on getting in some fluids and a bit of food for the next minute. all of a sudden, a bottle flew out of the rear cage (which NEVER happens). i was using the usual deer park disposable bottles, same as always, so i know that they work and *usually* stay put. it was still so early and i needed my infinite bottles, so i pulled over and retrieved it. stephanie re-passed me and i laughed like the weirdo i am.
with bottles back in cages and all my things on my person, i hopped back on and set out. i caught stephanie a minute or two later and settled into trying to drink and eat again. i then heard the now familiar sound of a bottle hitting the ground and couldn't believe the bottle had jumped out again. for the second time, i pulled over and ran back to grab the bottle and stephanie yelled, "quit causing trouble!" as she passed me again. "im sorry!" i laughed as i awkwardly jogged back to my bike. "third times the charm", i thought, and i returned to the bike - for real this time!
one last pass by steph (i really hoped it would be the last time) and we made our way to the "stick" of the lollipop course. at every little crack or bump in the road (and trust me, there are many on this course), i'd hold my breath and wait to see if the bottle was going to leave me again. it never did and eventually i relaxed and focused on riding, HR, and power. 30-45 minutes later, jacqui passed me and i picked up the pace ever so slightly to keep her in my sights. this proved to be an achieveable goal and i sat about 10-15 bike lengths behind her for miles.
it was then that the bottle from the other rear caged decided it had had enough and also wanted an adventure. it leapt out of the cage and my time riding behind jacqui ended as i stopped for a third time to retrieve the bottle and continue this comedy of errors which included having to run down a short hill as the bottle gained momentum and rolled away from me.
she was long gone by the time i was rolling again so i reset myself and focused on the metrics for awhile. i made sure i was taking in 1 bottle an hour (nicely shaken from the trips out of the cages) along with honey stinger chews in various flavors that i had stuffed into my bento box. i was long into the loop by this point and it was so interesting to ride the course. it had been years but ive ridden it many times so it was surprising, yet familiar. the ride up to mt horeb passed before i knew it. its amazing how your perspective changes when you train on hills - i remember it being so long and arduous. i could still picture certain points in the course and i was excited when i got to those areas that i recognized. the first trip up the three bitches was about as i remembered it and it was very cool to have the crowd support chasing us up each hill, complete with costumes, noise makers, music, and cheers.
it wasn't long before i was headed back to verona and special needs. i ate a few E.L.Fudge cookies, took a few swigs of coke (i have OFFICIALLY replaced mountain dew!) and switched out bottles, fingers crossed that this set of bottles would stay put!
the second loop was much like the first except after the three bitches, on a steep downhill descent ending in a sharp 90 degree left turn, i watched as a man flew by me in an aggressive aero position and for a brief moment, i thought to myself, "that position is so dangerous, there is no way he can make that turn at that speed". moments later, my unfortunate thought came to fruition. he attempted to turn but carried way too much momentum into the steep left turn and I watched in horror as his back wheel skidded out and he + bike went flying - head over wheel - into a yard. I braked and pulled over, afraid of what I would find. surprisingly, he was in one piece and bike seemed okay. he did a once over on himself and then bike and he said he was all right so I left him to get back on his bike and (hopefully) continue on.
the rest of the bike was unremarkable and I was eager to finish and start the run. cruised into T2, handed off my bike, and headed into the changing room to switch gears. i knew it was a slower than expected bike, id lost 5-10 minutes in all the stops, but oh well.
T2: 2:46
RUN: 4:01:32
this is where things took an slightly unexpected turn. I started to run and I realized I no longer had legs, but 2 cement pylons that had no business moving, let alone running. what the actual EFF. I was so excited coming into this race to have a solid run off the bike and instead, my body rebelled against me. each step was work, and each step was uncomfortable. I could run, yes. not fast though. and not pain free. my left butt cheek was cramped up but really, both legs were sucking. I started out at an optimistic 8:30-ish pace thinking that if I could maintain that, I could mentally keep going despite how bad my legs felt. aerobically, I was doing great - I was no where near zone 1 and barely breathing hard. the pace soon slowed and my spirit was crushed. I knew I couldn't let myself get too down or it would be a LONG 26.2 miles back to the finish line.
I looked for my family and Brian and Mollie. when I first saw Brian, I lamented how crappy I felt and he tried to encourage me. I tried to run faster and see how zone 1 felt, but I. JUST. COULDN'T. its like I had no control over the pace I was running - just your standard ironman shuffle with no get-up-and-go to my stride.
at mile 8 or so, I saw BASE for the first time - I whined to Lauralee about my butt and had volunteers to punch my butt which made me smile temporarily. it was uplifting to see my friends so often on course and I am thankful for the generally awesome crowd support that this race continues to have.
Lindsey corbin passed me on the trail just before I returned back to the BASE tent and she looked incredible. it was awesome to be racing with one of my idols and for her to be so close I could touch her (I held back from doing so because that would be weird) was surreal.
the run in general was a blur and at this point, I've blocked most of it from memory. it wasn't enjoyable, it was super uncomfortable and I was disappointed because fitness-wise, I had a good run in me. I wasn't going to be running 3:30, but i think I at least I had a sub 3:50 in there. almost breaking 4 hours with the way I felt was shocking. my average heartrate was well below zn1 - I wish I had been able to run like I KNOW I can.
as I approached the capital building and knew I had less than a mile to go, I took in the crowd. I looked at the spectators and smiled. I saw the red carpet stretched out and felt relief as I ran toward the finish arch.
Finish time: 11:13:16
I saw my family and Brian pretty quickly. I sat down and could hardly move my legs. ive never finished a race and felt so stiff. I could barely move! I was admittedly in a terrible mood when I finished. it was a long run, a disappointing run, and I wanted out of my kit and into some sweatpants as the sun was starting to go down. Brian and I went into the terrace to retrieve my stuff when I saw HER. Lindsey Corbin was talking to another girl right inside the doorway of where the transition bags were sitting. I said a polite "excuse me" as a I stepped around them to grab my stuff. Seconds later, transition bags in hand, Lindsey was still in the doorway and was about to walk out as I walked out.
Then - I threw caution to the wind and I SPOKE TO HER.
"... um, hey... Lindsey? You had a great race, congratulations on your day today!"
Starstruck.
THEN SHE SPOKE BACK TO ME.
"you look like you had a great day too! did you have fun out there?"
OMG.
we exchanged a few more sentences and there some something about post race beers and then i watched her walk away. she walked past brian who was looking down at his phone and i hissed at him, "did you see me talking to lindsey corbin?"
he had not, in fact, seen me talking to lindsey corbin. sigh.
we picked up my bike and walked/shuffled back to the airbnb. i showered and enjoyed the post-race shower feels (its so poetically beautiful to shower after an ironman - the feel of water on your tired, dehydrated skin is magnificent as your skin just soaks up the moisture like a sad flower in parched dirt) and attempted a beer and some snacks with the family.
we all parted ways the next morning and brian and i stopped at the liqour/beer store to pick up a case of spotted cow and some goodies for me to drink on the way home.
the end of the season always seems anti-climactic to me. i always question if i should throw another race on the schedule and usually end up deciding to just enjoy the off-season. which is what i did.
and what an off season it was!
looking back on the day though - i was consistent at least. i didn't really hit the numbers i wanted to reach on the bike, and i definitely didn't have the run i was hoping for - but i was consistent and kept my head up when things started to get dark. i mentally got through that run at a pace that is respectable to me and it was my second fastest IM marathon to date (my first being my very first IM 4 years prior and 4 minutes faster). its getting there though. i have the puzzle pieces and with each race, im starting to figure out where the pieces fit together.
until next time, my -3 followers. i resolve to be better in 2019. well... maybe better in the second half of 2019 ...
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Race recap: IM Wisconsin 70.3/Tough Mudder Wisconsin 70.3
well... this is awkward. i meant to write up some kind of race report months ago. like, June. July. even in august, i was still filled with good intentions but its December and, well, here we are. bear with me. details may be fuzzy or may be exaggerated for the betterment of the story. kidding - the details of this race need no exaggeration - the reality of it was ridiculous enough!
brian and i took our first half cross country trip together out to IL/WI in the early part of June. The race was on sunday, june 10th and we drove out thursday evening and stayed overnight in a small town in ohio - we snuck the jazz in to what we thought was a pet friendly hotel (still unclear if it was or not) but she was perfectly well behaved and we dined on buffalo wild wings in the hotel bed before we passed out for the night. we completed the journey friday morning and stayed with my parents that evening, driving up to madison saturday morning.
the intention was to get up and do a shake out ride/run, eat my dad's apple pancakes for breakfast, and head up to madison. we awoke to an epic downpour, so we decided to eat and start the drive up early, hoping to get that ride/run in as soon as we got to madison. we parked at the Alliance energy center (always a welcome site on the IMMOO bike course) and headed to check-in with our bikes. we met up with Dayle (YAY - she was doing the cycling portion of a SOAS relay) and our SOAS teammate, Jess (who happens to be related to some of my college friends/sorority sister) and checked-in with no issues. back to the energy center to head out for our shake-out ride/run. we did about 45 min on the bike along semi-familiar streets and i ran a sub 7:45 mile off the bike, feeling pretty fresh despite the warm weather.
we met the girls for lunch and the fish tacos really hit the spot - that chimichurri... mmmm... then it was off to drive the bike course, check into the hotel, and repack our stuff for the following day. there were a LOT of ups and downs on the course with many abrupt turns at the end of the hills which i knew would be a momentum killer. the roads aren't super smooth, but it was great to be back in the madison area and reflective of the terrain and flow of the full wisconsin course. the belmont stakes was that afternoon, so we watched Justify become the 13th triple crown winner, which was exciting for at least 2/3 of us.
dinner was at the great dane brewing company and we had the Dayle/T must-have of soft pretzels and a bit of beer. i had some sort of thai pasta dish that was very good and then it was back to the hotel to relax and sleep. i remembered my osmo pre-load (so gross yet so effective), hopped in bed, and fell asleep immediately.
RACE DAY:
woke up around 3:45 am to the gentle soothing sound of DOWNPOUR and had my thomas blueberry bagel with peanut butter and a banana. starbucks iced canned coffee for the win (and for the drive over) and we parked at the energy center. thanks to Dayle's presence, it was raining as per usual race morning so we sat in the car for awhile before venturing over to transition.
transition was obviously wet but the grass was still fairly intact at this point. it was pretty obvious that once 1500 people ran up and down the circumference of transition that we would quickly escalate from wisconsin 70.3 to tough mudder 70.3, but there was nothing we could do about that. we did have the foresight to bring garbage bags (thanks Dayle) so that we could keep some stuff dry. the only thing i really cared about was dry shoes and socks for the run so that got wrapped in a bag so i could rip it open during T2. Dayle didn't have a lot of prep to do since she was only biking, so we took advantage of her station under a pop up tent and attempted to put our wetsuits on our very wet bodies.
surprisingly, my stomach was pretty solid. no GI upset at this point, i had stomached my bagel and coffee and was still feeling pretty happy. the rain was a good distraction and it was exciting to be racing with both Brian and Dayle. my mom arrived while we were putting on our wetsuits and it was so good to see her. she is SUCH a trooper.
soon enough, it was time to get to the swim start. it was to be a rolling start by predicted swim time (as most IM races are these days). Bri and i tried to scootch toward the front but i couldn't see any predicted swim time signs. after a short while of standing, the first announcement was made that the swim start was delayed. we immediately sat cross legged in the grass and started chatting with a man next to us. as time passed, i was grateful for the wetsuit to keep me warm, but i was wishing for water. the swim start ended up being delayed by about 45-60 minutes but eventually, we stood and lined up appropriately and it was go time.
SWIM:
Bri and i kissed good bye and wished each other luck. we got into the water at the same time and i figured we'd have about the same swim time. the water was very comfortable and i knew it would be a bit of a shock getting onto the bike with the cooler air temperature. it was a little difficult to sight (foggy) but not too bad. ever since placid, i have this moment after i start swimming where i expect to panic and i have to talk myself down from that. the moment came and went and after a 10 second pep talk, i was totally fine. i knew i wasn't swimming all that fast, but i was trying to keep a good line and keep the systems in check being that this was my first real race of the year.
swim time: 32:06 - 2nd AG, though the first out of the water in the AG later DNF'd.
T1:
exited the swim and ran into T1 through a pit of mud. literally - it was just straight up mud on the way into T1. i saw mom near my bike and waved to her while i was getting everything ready. i wasn't thrilled with the swim, but it wasn't terrible given the conditions of the day. it was a little chilly but at least it stopped raining! the grass was slick but not too muddy at that point and my white cycling shoes were thankful. made the gametime decision of no socks on the bike since everything was soaking wet.
T1 time: 4:02
BIKE:
my goal for the bike was to keep heartrate at the top of zn2. generally, im in high zn1 to low zn2 out of the water and i control heartrate from there. my other goal was AVOID VOMITING. i started using infinite a few weeks prior and so far, i had had pretty good results so this would be my first foray into racing with it. my plan was to take roughly 1 bottle an hour, making sure to take in 3 bottles over the course of the bike and supplement with some honey stinger chews as i saw fit or if i was feeling low or tired.
i settled into a good rhythm and was passing more people than getting passed for awhile. im usually near the front of the swim so quite a few people pass me over the course of the bike. the trick was to hold off the women, though i had no idea what place i was in out of the swim.
bri passed me at some point and mumbled something. it didn't seem like a happy tone and i worried he was having a bad day. turns out he said something like, "hey babe", except i heard "askjkdajfljdfjlf grrrrrrrr". he looked really strong and he quickly rode out of sight.
just as i suspected, the abrupt turns at the bottom of the hills were a killer. as the miles passed, my legs could feel the toll that slowing and accelerating were taking and i was generally just annoyed by the number of turns, the bumpy roads, and lack of solid aero time. i wasn't fazed by the amount of climbing at all and i was happy with my ability to sit right at the top of zn2 without feeling like i was killing myself, but i knew this wouldn't be a quick bike split. i worked on hydrating well, eating a handful of chews, and before i knew it, i was cruising along the path back towards transition.
bike time: 2:50:15 - shockingly, i was 1st AG for the bike split - apparently cycling wasn't the strong leg in my age group this time around (or in general as it was 9th female) which worked great in my favor.
T2:
during my time on the bike, the slick grass that i was run on out of transition was 1000% sloppy mud. i daintily stepped around the deepest areas of mud to rerack my bike and i was thankful for dry shoes and socks. in the same high stepping, slow and deliberate manner, i made my way out of transition while putting on my BASE hat and race belt and passed mom again, giving her all the waves as i set out on the run.
T2 time: 3:04
RUN:
running off the bike felt AMAZING. the fatigue i was feeling in my legs during the bike had faded and i settled into a quick pace along the path. after half a mile, i was running 6:50 pace and knew i needed to slow way down or i would burn out after a few miles. not too many women had passed me on the bike so i hoped i was in the top 5ish in the AG and wanted to maintain or better that imagined position.
i avoided puddles like the plague and got into a nice stride, passing handfuls of dudes. the slight up down up down up down terrain was rhythmic and i used all the downhills to my advantage, picking up my step to gain some speed into the next incline. around mile 6, i ran past a guy who said, "i think you might be in the top 5 for the women". i scoffed and said, "probably not, but thanks for the vote of confidence!" i was pretty confident that wasn't the case, but even so, i picked up my step a little while maintaining my heart rate at the top of zn2/low zn3. it wasn't comfortable by any means, but it was sustainable and i was looking for that strong run-off-the-bike that has been eluding me for years. i started to recognize my surroundings around mile 10 and I started to get excited. soon enough, i could see monona terrace and i felt that swell of pride thinking about that first IM in 2014 and what a magical day it had been. my legs were tightening, but with less than 2 miles to go, i pushed on.
we ran on the path underneath the terrace and headed toward the finish at olin park. i forgot how far it was from the terrace to the park and i tried to push a little early and legs started to fade. i willed my legs to keep going and before i knew it, i was running up a short but punchy uphill to the finish. i couldn't believe my run time - it was a solid 5 minutes faster than my previous handful of 70.3 run splits and a PR by at least 3-4 minutes.
run time: 1:43:17 - 4th AG
overall time: 5:12:44 - 3rd AG, 7th OA
not a blazing fast 70.3, but it was a strong, solid day that i was very proud of. nutritionally, i kept it together and its a wonder how much better you can run and feel when you have calories in your system. who knew? not lionel sanders and myself, thats who.
we all ended up being very happy with the day. Brian had a great overall race (i got him in the swim, but he smoked me on the bike) and Dayle was very happy with her bike split. we got to hang out for a short while until Dayle had to leave to go back home. My mom, Brian, and I waiting around a long time for an anti-climactic awards ceremony and we headed home before the 70.3 worlds slot allocation. apparently it rolled down, but i had no desire to go to south africa with IMWI being a couple weeks after!
stay tuned for more extremely delayed race reports my friends. i'll try to be more entertaining in the ones to come :)
brian and i took our first half cross country trip together out to IL/WI in the early part of June. The race was on sunday, june 10th and we drove out thursday evening and stayed overnight in a small town in ohio - we snuck the jazz in to what we thought was a pet friendly hotel (still unclear if it was or not) but she was perfectly well behaved and we dined on buffalo wild wings in the hotel bed before we passed out for the night. we completed the journey friday morning and stayed with my parents that evening, driving up to madison saturday morning.
the intention was to get up and do a shake out ride/run, eat my dad's apple pancakes for breakfast, and head up to madison. we awoke to an epic downpour, so we decided to eat and start the drive up early, hoping to get that ride/run in as soon as we got to madison. we parked at the Alliance energy center (always a welcome site on the IMMOO bike course) and headed to check-in with our bikes. we met up with Dayle (YAY - she was doing the cycling portion of a SOAS relay) and our SOAS teammate, Jess (who happens to be related to some of my college friends/sorority sister) and checked-in with no issues. back to the energy center to head out for our shake-out ride/run. we did about 45 min on the bike along semi-familiar streets and i ran a sub 7:45 mile off the bike, feeling pretty fresh despite the warm weather.
we met the girls for lunch and the fish tacos really hit the spot - that chimichurri... mmmm... then it was off to drive the bike course, check into the hotel, and repack our stuff for the following day. there were a LOT of ups and downs on the course with many abrupt turns at the end of the hills which i knew would be a momentum killer. the roads aren't super smooth, but it was great to be back in the madison area and reflective of the terrain and flow of the full wisconsin course. the belmont stakes was that afternoon, so we watched Justify become the 13th triple crown winner, which was exciting for at least 2/3 of us.
dinner was at the great dane brewing company and we had the Dayle/T must-have of soft pretzels and a bit of beer. i had some sort of thai pasta dish that was very good and then it was back to the hotel to relax and sleep. i remembered my osmo pre-load (so gross yet so effective), hopped in bed, and fell asleep immediately.
RACE DAY:
woke up around 3:45 am to the gentle soothing sound of DOWNPOUR and had my thomas blueberry bagel with peanut butter and a banana. starbucks iced canned coffee for the win (and for the drive over) and we parked at the energy center. thanks to Dayle's presence, it was raining as per usual race morning so we sat in the car for awhile before venturing over to transition.
transition was obviously wet but the grass was still fairly intact at this point. it was pretty obvious that once 1500 people ran up and down the circumference of transition that we would quickly escalate from wisconsin 70.3 to tough mudder 70.3, but there was nothing we could do about that. we did have the foresight to bring garbage bags (thanks Dayle) so that we could keep some stuff dry. the only thing i really cared about was dry shoes and socks for the run so that got wrapped in a bag so i could rip it open during T2. Dayle didn't have a lot of prep to do since she was only biking, so we took advantage of her station under a pop up tent and attempted to put our wetsuits on our very wet bodies.
surprisingly, my stomach was pretty solid. no GI upset at this point, i had stomached my bagel and coffee and was still feeling pretty happy. the rain was a good distraction and it was exciting to be racing with both Brian and Dayle. my mom arrived while we were putting on our wetsuits and it was so good to see her. she is SUCH a trooper.
soon enough, it was time to get to the swim start. it was to be a rolling start by predicted swim time (as most IM races are these days). Bri and i tried to scootch toward the front but i couldn't see any predicted swim time signs. after a short while of standing, the first announcement was made that the swim start was delayed. we immediately sat cross legged in the grass and started chatting with a man next to us. as time passed, i was grateful for the wetsuit to keep me warm, but i was wishing for water. the swim start ended up being delayed by about 45-60 minutes but eventually, we stood and lined up appropriately and it was go time.
SWIM:
Bri and i kissed good bye and wished each other luck. we got into the water at the same time and i figured we'd have about the same swim time. the water was very comfortable and i knew it would be a bit of a shock getting onto the bike with the cooler air temperature. it was a little difficult to sight (foggy) but not too bad. ever since placid, i have this moment after i start swimming where i expect to panic and i have to talk myself down from that. the moment came and went and after a 10 second pep talk, i was totally fine. i knew i wasn't swimming all that fast, but i was trying to keep a good line and keep the systems in check being that this was my first real race of the year.
swim time: 32:06 - 2nd AG, though the first out of the water in the AG later DNF'd.
T1:
exited the swim and ran into T1 through a pit of mud. literally - it was just straight up mud on the way into T1. i saw mom near my bike and waved to her while i was getting everything ready. i wasn't thrilled with the swim, but it wasn't terrible given the conditions of the day. it was a little chilly but at least it stopped raining! the grass was slick but not too muddy at that point and my white cycling shoes were thankful. made the gametime decision of no socks on the bike since everything was soaking wet.
T1 time: 4:02
BIKE:
my goal for the bike was to keep heartrate at the top of zn2. generally, im in high zn1 to low zn2 out of the water and i control heartrate from there. my other goal was AVOID VOMITING. i started using infinite a few weeks prior and so far, i had had pretty good results so this would be my first foray into racing with it. my plan was to take roughly 1 bottle an hour, making sure to take in 3 bottles over the course of the bike and supplement with some honey stinger chews as i saw fit or if i was feeling low or tired.
i settled into a good rhythm and was passing more people than getting passed for awhile. im usually near the front of the swim so quite a few people pass me over the course of the bike. the trick was to hold off the women, though i had no idea what place i was in out of the swim.
bri passed me at some point and mumbled something. it didn't seem like a happy tone and i worried he was having a bad day. turns out he said something like, "hey babe", except i heard "askjkdajfljdfjlf grrrrrrrr". he looked really strong and he quickly rode out of sight.
just as i suspected, the abrupt turns at the bottom of the hills were a killer. as the miles passed, my legs could feel the toll that slowing and accelerating were taking and i was generally just annoyed by the number of turns, the bumpy roads, and lack of solid aero time. i wasn't fazed by the amount of climbing at all and i was happy with my ability to sit right at the top of zn2 without feeling like i was killing myself, but i knew this wouldn't be a quick bike split. i worked on hydrating well, eating a handful of chews, and before i knew it, i was cruising along the path back towards transition.
bike time: 2:50:15 - shockingly, i was 1st AG for the bike split - apparently cycling wasn't the strong leg in my age group this time around (or in general as it was 9th female) which worked great in my favor.
T2:
during my time on the bike, the slick grass that i was run on out of transition was 1000% sloppy mud. i daintily stepped around the deepest areas of mud to rerack my bike and i was thankful for dry shoes and socks. in the same high stepping, slow and deliberate manner, i made my way out of transition while putting on my BASE hat and race belt and passed mom again, giving her all the waves as i set out on the run.
T2 time: 3:04
RUN:
running off the bike felt AMAZING. the fatigue i was feeling in my legs during the bike had faded and i settled into a quick pace along the path. after half a mile, i was running 6:50 pace and knew i needed to slow way down or i would burn out after a few miles. not too many women had passed me on the bike so i hoped i was in the top 5ish in the AG and wanted to maintain or better that imagined position.
i avoided puddles like the plague and got into a nice stride, passing handfuls of dudes. the slight up down up down up down terrain was rhythmic and i used all the downhills to my advantage, picking up my step to gain some speed into the next incline. around mile 6, i ran past a guy who said, "i think you might be in the top 5 for the women". i scoffed and said, "probably not, but thanks for the vote of confidence!" i was pretty confident that wasn't the case, but even so, i picked up my step a little while maintaining my heart rate at the top of zn2/low zn3. it wasn't comfortable by any means, but it was sustainable and i was looking for that strong run-off-the-bike that has been eluding me for years. i started to recognize my surroundings around mile 10 and I started to get excited. soon enough, i could see monona terrace and i felt that swell of pride thinking about that first IM in 2014 and what a magical day it had been. my legs were tightening, but with less than 2 miles to go, i pushed on.
we ran on the path underneath the terrace and headed toward the finish at olin park. i forgot how far it was from the terrace to the park and i tried to push a little early and legs started to fade. i willed my legs to keep going and before i knew it, i was running up a short but punchy uphill to the finish. i couldn't believe my run time - it was a solid 5 minutes faster than my previous handful of 70.3 run splits and a PR by at least 3-4 minutes.
run time: 1:43:17 - 4th AG
overall time: 5:12:44 - 3rd AG, 7th OA
not a blazing fast 70.3, but it was a strong, solid day that i was very proud of. nutritionally, i kept it together and its a wonder how much better you can run and feel when you have calories in your system. who knew? not lionel sanders and myself, thats who.
we all ended up being very happy with the day. Brian had a great overall race (i got him in the swim, but he smoked me on the bike) and Dayle was very happy with her bike split. we got to hang out for a short while until Dayle had to leave to go back home. My mom, Brian, and I waiting around a long time for an anti-climactic awards ceremony and we headed home before the 70.3 worlds slot allocation. apparently it rolled down, but i had no desire to go to south africa with IMWI being a couple weeks after!
stay tuned for more extremely delayed race reports my friends. i'll try to be more entertaining in the ones to come :)
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Race Recap: Illinois Half-Marathon
what is UP 2018? hello negative three followers - how are YOU? its that time again, eh? about time to shake the proverbial cobwebs and do the damn thing.
run. the damn thing is... running. apparently.
i ventured back to the midwest at the end of april to have a much needed girls weekend with some of the best and enjoy a race back home. as in, this race runs directly past the last two houses i had the pleasure of calling home in good ole urbana, illinois.
last year I ran the rock-n-roll half in a respectable time of 1:40 which was nearly a PR when, in fact, the goal of that particular race was to nail a few specific heart rates and start off easy. that race was a solid negative split and i was happy with the time at that point. all things considered, running hasn't been a huge focus in recent years and i have wanted - needed - to get back to that place where i feel like i can pull off a good off-the-bike run whilst triathlon-ing.
no time like the present i suppose.
training has been going well and im pretty happy with where im at. of course, i hadn't raced up until that point so this would be a little window into the larger picture. maybe?
the adventure started off with a pretty excellent solo road trip to illinois. i listened to about 8 hours of my current favorite podcast - my favorite murder - with a couple hours of singatthetopofyourlungs sweet 90's/00's mixed CD jams for good measure. i indulged in starbucks exactly twice which was not enough to hold me over through the great state of indiana. upon my approach to gary, indiana, i determined i was hungry enough to test the waters at a random taco bell and i indulged in some hard shell goodies in the parking lot of a questionable BP. before stumbling upon this oasis in the desert that is northern indiana, I got a glimpse of this on the google maps:
if your question is, "is that the actual birthplace of michael jackson, king of pop AND a taco bell in the same 1 mile radius?" then my answer to you is, "YES, OH, YES." after verifying its legitimacy on Yelp, i decided i had to make a drive by appearance.
now, i've never knowningly ventured into gary, indiana but because my mother was tracking me via findmyfriends on the phone, she solidified her mother/stalker status when she called me in between tacos 3 and 4 in the BP parking lot.
"are you in... GARY, INDIANA?" she questioned, in a horrifyingly loud whisper.
"um, yea mom. and - GUESS WHAT - im about to go to michael jackson's old house! its on the google maps!"
after promising to stay on the phone with her for the duration of my short-lived upcoming adventure, i headed the 7 blocks over to the house. unfortunately the large marble statue depicting the life of MJ was recently stolen (thanks Yelp for the information) but i knew i was at the right house when i saw the fence. no other house in the neighborhood had a nice fence. or... any fence.
i snapped a few pics while still on the move and headed back to the highway to uneventfully take me home to my parents house.
we had dinner at domo 77 that night, lunch at portillos the next day coupled with a stop at kernels, and away i went down to champaign to meet dayle, T, and kevin.
the night before the race we had grilled chicken, pasta, garlic bread, and salad. no salad for me though, thanks. and a portion of the pasta sauce was blended - because pasta sauce with chunks is simply unacceptable and frankly, unappetizing. chew on that for awhile.
got a solid night of sleep, woke up around 5:15ish and had a thomas blueberry bagel with peanut butter and a banana. i planned to run with two gels in my sports bra and carried a third to eat 15-20 minutes prior to the start of the race. we drove over to the iHotel to the sweet stylings of JT (because, dayle) and various pump up tunes.
i did a solid 7 minute warm-up and reunited with my mom who drove down for the race that morning. side bar - my parents are amazing and my two best cheerleaders/supporters.
it was a touch chilly - i would later lament the decision not to wear gloves for the first few miles - but it really was gorgeous running weather. i was feeling a little sluggish but i tried to shake the negative feeling and just focus on the task at hand - enjoying a fun race with my friends in a place that i love and once called my home in a former life.
before i knew it, i found myself lining up near the 7:25/mi marathon group. it seemed overly ambitious, but i thought if i could maybe hang on for the first half that i could muscle through the second and later, die, but end up with a decent 7:35-7:40/mi average. i wasn't expecting a PR, but i wanted to at least go under 1:42.
the gun went off and away we went. as we ran north on 1st street, every other step sent waves of nostalgia through me. the ARC. the farmhouse frat. the old/new 6-pack. the apartment complexes along the way to green street. the first right hand turn onto quiet 7 am green street with the scattered spectators, devoid of college students stumbling out of bars and late night eateries. the new high rise apartments. papa del's pizza. legends. so. many. memories. too. many. memories. it was distracting, continuously reminiscing, and i nearly missed the first aid station. i grabbed some water and shifted focus to the 7:25/mi sign. i kept catching up and passing the pacer and consciously reigned in the pace, keeping step with the pacer. he would inevitably get away from me at the aid stations and i would work my way up in the interim time between water stops.
we travelled from champaign into urbana, took the left at lincoln mall and then a right into downtown urbana. crane alley - their ragout nachos still make my mouth water - and black dog - the BEST BBQ - were the next to go past. i glanced at "my starbucks" - where i used to walk with jazz after i got divorced and moved back into urbana - and smiled. we headed into the urbana neighborhoods and approached mile 4. my cottage grove house came up on the right and i looked over as we ran by - the huge planter box that mom painted black was still outside and that made me happy.
we took the left shortly after the house and passed the silver bullet - the local strip club that my friends and i went to a couple times... maybe a few times - including the night before vet school graduation.
the next turn was kinch and the location of our vet school house on rainbow view. the thought crossed my mind as soon as i hit the turn on kinch but oddly, i lost focus in trying to catch up to my pacer and all of a sudden, i realized i'd run past without a glance. that realization alone made me grin - id found closure so long ago, but this just solidified it - i didn't need to see the house to know how far i've come since leaving it.
at mile 5, i was shocked by how great i felt. i was smooth and comfortable - and dropping pace. i threw down a low 7 around mile 4 and my legs weren't fazed. i was averaging about 7:20 and it felt easy. i cruised into mile 6 still running strong. we ran the "uphill" around the stone creek golf course and the memories of running that road came flooding back. ive run this route 100+ times, i know it better then anywhere else i've ever run and that thought alone brought me such joy through the entirety of the race.
i hit an aid station around mile 6 and when the girl said "water", i reached for the cup and took a large sip. oh sweet jesus nooooo - it was GATORADE. this seems like such a small mishap but we've been here before... circa may 2015 alexandria running festival... and it didn't turn out well for me then and history would indeed repeat itself less than a mile later.
we approached meijer which was mom's destination for cheering. it is also the location of the first marathon relay exchange so it is essentially a madhouse. i looked for mom and couldn't find her which was a little upsetting. i reached for a gel, ripped off the top and felt my guts jump into the back of my throat.
wait. wtf. why, Why, WHY?!
i decided to forge ahead and eat the gel because i wanted the calories, sugar, and caffeine. fuck it. imma a risk taker today, baby.
10 seconds later, i realized id made a grave mistake. i hiccuped some unknown stuff from my stomach and pulled over to the left hand side of the road which was littered with spectators. i spit up some saliva nearly onto the shoes of a pair of women. they asked if i was okay and i forcefully said "YES". a few more heaves and i stood up - i was fixed.
sadly, no i was not. i bent over at the waist and vomited the contents of my stomach onto the grass which was mainly comprised of copious amounts of tan liquid. a bucket of fluid later, i stood up and was met with two pairs of widened eyes of the women next to me. Out of the right corner of my eye, a volunteer came running up and asked if I was okay. "I'm fine! hahaha!" i assured her with a nervous, freaked-out, high pitched laugh.
i crossed to the other side of the street at a diagonal, carefully considering my current situation. my stomach felt... okay. i reached the right side of the road and unexpectedly heaved up what was left in my stomach in the grass.
it was at that point that i felt back to normal. really, legit normal. this girl in blue shorts that i had long ago passed flew past me and i got my legs back under me and ran quickly to catch up with her. i clocked mile 7 at 8:42 - a solid 1:20 plus where i had been averaging. damn it. i kept on eye on my current mile pace and watched it tuck back under 7:30 again and decided not to dwell on the pit stop but to put together a solid back half of the race.
we took the left in the neighborhood and before i knew it, meadowbrook park was ahead. this part is usually a crap shoot depending on where your current place in the race is. luckily, i didn't have to fight the masses for solid sidewalk space and wasn't plagued by the possible bottlenecking that can occur in this mile and a half section. the blue-shorts-chick was still up ahead but i was inching toward her and i knew by the time we exited meadowbrook, i'd be breathing down her neck.
i love meadowbrook. i like the familiarity of the art sculptures and the little section of nature just south of windsor road. i sometimes imagine living in the houses that border the south end (they are beautiful with large floor to ceiling windows, tucked away just past the wild grasses) and imagine the neat view from their perspective. the "uphill" section as you head north in the park usually has a number of spectators and then you see a band on the right on the small stage by the community garden. ive stolen water from that hose on more than one occasion!
i continued to glance at my watch and grinned as i watch my pace maintained itself. as we left the park for the quick left on windsor and right on race street, i passed blue-shorts-chick, exactly when i thought i would. a noticeable headwind hit me as i ran up race street and passed the 10 mile mark. all of a sudden - I SAW MY MOM!
she cheered and yelled and me and I *think* i smiled (?) but i waved excitedly and it spurred me on for the final 3 miles. i did briefly wonder how she intended on making it back for the finish since the stadium was about 2.5 miles away, but i let the thought float away as i focused on running. my quads were starting to tighten but i was keeping pace and i knew if i kept my head down and focused for the final 5k, id have a PR for sure.
i ran past florida ave and took the left onto pennsylvania and within minutes, we were back on campus and running toward the stadium. miles 11 and 12 were strong, slightly faster than the 7:30 pace i was averaging and i was getting excited about my time and the finish. the cemetary hung out on my left side as i remembered countless trips through during the years. a right turn onto 6th street just past the law library and the finish was so close as i started my last mile.
i ran harder - my legs were tired and didn't have much left but i wanted a solid final mile. minutes later, i turned into the stadium and the finish line came quickly. i love crossing that finish on the 50 yard line of memorial stadium - its so awesomely special.
1:38:21 - over a 1:30 PR. had i not stopped to vomit, there is a chance i could have broken 1:37 and gazed into the 1:36 region... but thats a race for another day. im really proud of myself for finally breaking the 1:40 barrier (and i've only run 1:40 twice) at this point in the season and it makes me really happy for the start of the year.
mom was no where to be found because, at that very moment, she too was running the race of her life through the grassy pastures that border my veterinary school to make it back to the stadium. picture her high stepping through knee high grass convinced she's about to step on a dreaded, tiny woodland creature in boots and a winter ski jacket. when she described her personal 5k run, i was in hysterics and later acted it out to whoever would watch.
post-race beers and OHOP (ORIGINAL house of pancakes) for the win followed by pedicures, normatec boots, and fun on bikes the following day.
next race is not until wisconsin in june so stay tuned, my dear negative 3 followers!
i crossed to the other side of the street at a diagonal, carefully considering my current situation. my stomach felt... okay. i reached the right side of the road and unexpectedly heaved up what was left in my stomach in the grass.
it was at that point that i felt back to normal. really, legit normal. this girl in blue shorts that i had long ago passed flew past me and i got my legs back under me and ran quickly to catch up with her. i clocked mile 7 at 8:42 - a solid 1:20 plus where i had been averaging. damn it. i kept on eye on my current mile pace and watched it tuck back under 7:30 again and decided not to dwell on the pit stop but to put together a solid back half of the race.
we took the left in the neighborhood and before i knew it, meadowbrook park was ahead. this part is usually a crap shoot depending on where your current place in the race is. luckily, i didn't have to fight the masses for solid sidewalk space and wasn't plagued by the possible bottlenecking that can occur in this mile and a half section. the blue-shorts-chick was still up ahead but i was inching toward her and i knew by the time we exited meadowbrook, i'd be breathing down her neck.
i love meadowbrook. i like the familiarity of the art sculptures and the little section of nature just south of windsor road. i sometimes imagine living in the houses that border the south end (they are beautiful with large floor to ceiling windows, tucked away just past the wild grasses) and imagine the neat view from their perspective. the "uphill" section as you head north in the park usually has a number of spectators and then you see a band on the right on the small stage by the community garden. ive stolen water from that hose on more than one occasion!
i continued to glance at my watch and grinned as i watch my pace maintained itself. as we left the park for the quick left on windsor and right on race street, i passed blue-shorts-chick, exactly when i thought i would. a noticeable headwind hit me as i ran up race street and passed the 10 mile mark. all of a sudden - I SAW MY MOM!
she cheered and yelled and me and I *think* i smiled (?) but i waved excitedly and it spurred me on for the final 3 miles. i did briefly wonder how she intended on making it back for the finish since the stadium was about 2.5 miles away, but i let the thought float away as i focused on running. my quads were starting to tighten but i was keeping pace and i knew if i kept my head down and focused for the final 5k, id have a PR for sure.
i ran past florida ave and took the left onto pennsylvania and within minutes, we were back on campus and running toward the stadium. miles 11 and 12 were strong, slightly faster than the 7:30 pace i was averaging and i was getting excited about my time and the finish. the cemetary hung out on my left side as i remembered countless trips through during the years. a right turn onto 6th street just past the law library and the finish was so close as i started my last mile.
i ran harder - my legs were tired and didn't have much left but i wanted a solid final mile. minutes later, i turned into the stadium and the finish line came quickly. i love crossing that finish on the 50 yard line of memorial stadium - its so awesomely special.
love my Base Performance arm warmers!
ooo theres the vomit-induced drop in heart rate and the tiny increase where i crossed the street and subsequent second drop with the second vomit stop. excellent.
blue-shorts-chick.
3/4 quadpod + goodrs
3/4 quadpod + goodrs
1:38:21 - over a 1:30 PR. had i not stopped to vomit, there is a chance i could have broken 1:37 and gazed into the 1:36 region... but thats a race for another day. im really proud of myself for finally breaking the 1:40 barrier (and i've only run 1:40 twice) at this point in the season and it makes me really happy for the start of the year.
mom was no where to be found because, at that very moment, she too was running the race of her life through the grassy pastures that border my veterinary school to make it back to the stadium. picture her high stepping through knee high grass convinced she's about to step on a dreaded, tiny woodland creature in boots and a winter ski jacket. when she described her personal 5k run, i was in hysterics and later acted it out to whoever would watch.
post-race beers and OHOP (ORIGINAL house of pancakes) for the win followed by pedicures, normatec boots, and fun on bikes the following day.
APPLE PANCAKE
SWEDISH PANCAKE
is that sebastian kienle?!?!?!
Casey's pizza - my love.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Race Recap: Ironman Maryland = IronMacy
"Its supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great." -Jimmy Dugan (A league of their own)
i usually have some witty, funny comment to start these race reports. truth is, I'm pretty tired - mentally and physically. i might even say i'm crabbie. OH WAIT THERE IT IS - because IM Maryland finishers are "crabs"... okay you got it, *high five*. at the same point, im very satisfied with how things went down the other day/months ago. it was far from a perfect day. it was a nutritional nightmare. again. i vomited multiple times. again. i felt exhausted for exactly half of the day. but - there were great points you guys. so. many. great. points.
but first - the backstory.
the two days after placid were hard - i was disappointed and continued to be sick for a couple days following the race. two days later, i was lucky to have the opportunity to join adam, devin, rubble, and the gang on a portion of their national parks roadtrip. nicholle and i flew out to vegas, spent an awesome night in the city, and set out for the grand canyon, eventually making our way to albuquerque before flying home. early one morning, most of us headed over to the south rim of the grand canyon and watched the sunrise. we took in the breathtaking view together and separately, taking photos here and there.
for awhile, i sat near the edge looking down and across the canyon, mesmerized by the expanse and greatness of its natural beauty. i thought about placid and triathlons and life - race day was still bothering me. before now, i hadn't taken a *true* vacation in years, thanks in part to work and triathlon. i had really started to dislike training and was ready to call the season quits - and maybe the following year too. when i sat and truly thought about this tri world and everything in it - i knew i loved it but i wanted a new goal. "qualifying for kona" was *a* goal, but not a concrete, 100% attainable goal - it never is and never will be. i didn't want to focus on kona anymore. i wanted to make a difference - even just a small one.
cut to - my friend molly from undergrad. she and her husband had a baby - macy - the year before. molly was one of the inspirations for my first ironman in 2014 - she'd done the race (and kicked ass) and her mom is a true phenom at that distance as well. i'd been following the journey with macy and her numerous health issues for the past year and had the chance to catch up with molly at reunion the month prior. i knew she and her family were going through hell trying to do everything they could to help macy but poor baby just couldn't catch a break. after reaching out to molly, i decided to raise money for their family and for macy. my race was going to be for #ironmacy. through the help of my family, friends, and generous others - we raised $1300 in the weeks leading up to IMMD. it was amazing.
i arrived in cambridge late wednesday after work. in a surprising turn of events, i was in a solid mental space work-wise. it had been a pretty low stress week - had a handful of cases that i felt good about, a few very successful surgeries including a abdominal explore for a dog that was vomiting pieces of a balance exercise ball that she had eaten nearly a year prior to surgery. totally crazy, right? that week i was riding a bit of a work high, expecting the shoe to drop at any time. by wednesday at 6pm, it hadn't - i left work feeling calm and decided to head to cambridge that night. many times after work, i feel sheer mental exhaustion but on this particular week, i was good. it was a strange and unexpected feeling but i wasn't complaining. i grabbed a bubble tea for the road, finished packing up the car, and headed out.
arrived that evening and LL and matt greeted me with lobster rolls and wine (bless their thoughtful hearts). we had a nice chat and i headed to bed. the normatec boots were waiting for me and i did a nice 45 minutes in boots as i watched netflix and fell asleep.
we woke up on thursday morning and ate a quick breakfast while LL and matt headed to expo. i did my customary 20 min swim, 45 min bike, 10 min run and felt solid. I headed to the expo to check in and check my life. once the wristband of power was put on, i headed home with coffee and proceeded to watch SMASH (p.s. its great, why did they stop after 2 seasons, katherine mcphee you are stunning) whilst singing to it and re-applying bar tape to miss daisy. why do this 2 days before the race? because i had the distinct opportunity to borrow holli's aka rinny's (you've heard of her, yes?) disk wheel with teal zipp decals. the problem was that it looked like a blind person put my bike together - nothing matched. is this important? well... yea. i found teal bar tape in the exact color and it looked halfway awesome considering the front wheel still didn't match.
we headed to Base team dinner that evening and had wine and pizza which really hit the spot. a bit more wine at the house and i happily fell fast asleep.
friday morning brought a short spin and run. mom and dad showed up (huzzah!) and we headed to brunch. super sherpa adam met us at brunch and i finally had my crew together and felt ready to race. adam helped me sort my transition bags as i talked out loud - both to him and myself. we brought miss daisy and the transition bags over to great marsh park, checking off the last big to-do on the proverbial list.
for the first time in awhile, i felt relaxed. i wrote out the names of the donors to IMMD #ironmacy on a slip of paper and placed it in a ziploc bag so i could carry it in my pocket from swim start to finish line. mom and dad came over to make dinner - chicken parm - and we all ate together and watched the Nats game (GO NATS GO), followed by a "a league of their own" - hey LL - WHY AM I THE ONLY PERSON ON THIS BUS?
sports movies are obviously the only reasonable things to watch in the days leading up to races.
RACE DAY.
normal 3:45 am wake-up. mom and dad were miraculously already in the kitchen - god bless them. i drank coffee, had my thomas blueberry bagel and peanut butter and nearly cried when i was able to eat the whole thing. by 4:15 am, things were already looking better than they had at placid. i putzed around and gathered my stuff and by 5:15, we were walking to transition. it was cool and dark outside. i was buzzing on the inside and getting excited to get the show on the road. for the first time in a long time, i didn't feel the pressure on my shoulders. kona wasn't in the picture. i didn't have an outward time goal. it was mostly just, "don't suck prochnow". people were going to be paying attention after raising money and exposing macy to my world. i was going to make them proud.
deep breaths.
i checked on miss daisy, said hello to justin who was racked near me, and enjoyed the stir and buzz of transition. i made the portapotty line and reunited with mom, dad, and adam. they were holding a sign with lifesize jazz (and the office cat that they thought was monster) that read: "Go Mommy Go - The couch is waiting for you! You can DO it!"
i love them.
i wrote #ironmacy on my arms in permanent marker - a reminder of my "why" and a way to commemorate her - and double checked to make sure my ziploc bag of names was secured in my pocket.
i put my wetsuit on and downed a gel and some water. the music was pumping me up, i was smiling, and i felt like wiggly puppy about to explode into zoomies when -
i threw up. what the actual F.
i heaved a few times and looked up at my family as they stared back, obviously concerned. "i'm totally fine," i said, laughing. it was 6:35 am. swim start was at 6:45 am and lord be damned if i wasn't going to position myself near the front. i was peeved that again, i was starting out this race with a less than ideal calorie intake but, whatever. cue national anthem.
i waved to jan as she took photos of me putting my goggles on and i swung my arms around a few times to loosen up. it was time.
SWIM:
i pretty much held my breath for the first 100-200m, taking delicate, gentle strokes but ready to mentally attack whatever panic thing happened in placid. once i realized that i was still swimming and could breathe okay, i started to actually swim with focus. i drafted, i played games, i kicked a couple people and i started to enjoy the view. we started before the sun came up and it was awesome to be out with 1200 buddies chasing the sunrise.
two loop swim. i wasn't overly exerting myself and i could tell i was slow. i hadn't been swimming as much as i should have (sorry Jess!) leading into the race. i just prayed that everyone in my age group had the same anti-swimming mentality that i had going into the race.
as a blurry vision of the arch started to come into view, i started to pick up speed. i could feel some mild chafing on my neck from the wetsuit (this is nothing new - i have a permanent scar) but it wasn't too bad. as i hit that point of "do i stand or do i keep swimming" something stung me on the right side of my neck. "YOWSWA" i said (jk, i said all the actual f-words) and i stood up to run in. wetsuit was stripped and i ran into the tent.
swim: 1:07 - whoops. was i floating or swimming?
T1:
dang, i almost avoided the sea nettles! the tent was relatively empty and i sat down to put socks and shoes on. "they got me!" i said dramatically to a volunteer. "where?!" she replied and i pointed to the right side of my neck. before i could say something, she sprayed something cold right on my wetsuit burn.
i damn near leapt out of my seat and shot through the roof of the tent.
holy shit, that freaking burned. apparently alcohol takes the sting right out of a sea nettle kiss. on the flip side, it does not improving wetsuit chafing.
noted.
T1: 4:32
BIKE:
i'm riding along and i'm eating my food and i'm not feeling stellar. it felt like i'd just banked a 45 minute ironman swim and my legs and arms were lead. i attempted to eat - i'd reverted back to honey stinger waffles - and i ate one but my guts were unhappy already. i reverted to drinking BASE rocket fuel in an effort to at least stay hydrated as the weather was starting to heat up but i was very aware that i was quite low in the calorie department.
this would not bode well for the next 4 hours on the bike and the run.
i reached 20 miles on the bike, trying to think about other things, daydreaming about what i would eat and drink that evening. i started to feel really warm on the inside and s-l-o-w-l-y started to decrease speed and cadence until...
i shook myself into consciousness - holy hell, some dude had just blazed past me and i realized id almost fallen asleep. something was wrong and i didn't know what to do about it.
as if the ironman gods were watching over me, the aid station appeared in the distance and all i heard was "red bull". i pulled over and proceeded to chug a red bull - as ive heard it gives you wings - and eat some food while i was at a standstill. i knew the calorie deficit was biting me in the ass but it was going to take time to replenish the tank.
it would take another 30 plus miles before i felt more energized, but i swear to this day that red bull saved myrace life. daniela, jodie, angela, sebastian - im on team redbull all the way with you guys.
thank goodness for the 100% flat course because i did a lot of soft pedaling throughout that first loop. i loaded up on mountain dew and the customary EL Fudge cookies, as one does in special needs, and i begrudgingly got back on miss daisy.
halfway, baby.
shortly after special needs, octavio flew past me with a small group of people surrounding him. he yelled over his shoulder as he biked away from me and i felt a small surge of energy return. i sped up to keep up with his gang and before i knew it, i had caught up and was feeling stronger with each pedal stroke.
the energy returned and i started to feel infinitely better. i had group to follow and before in knew it, i re-passed octavio, giving a wave as i rolled by.
i continued eat and drink, slowly refilling the internal tank and gearing up for the, thankfully flat, marathon ahead.
naturally, as fate would have it, my stomach problems returned and for as long is it took to take that food in, it only took a second to lose it all over the side of the road. Again.
solution? more redbull. i swigged it and uneventfully cruised into T2.
bike: 5:37
T2:
so, my guts didn't feel great, but i was doing better than placid, so i went with it. it had warmed up significantly and i was so thankful for the cooling towel that lori had supplied us with at mini camp. i soaked it in water and draped it around my neck. i let the sunscreen people slather me up and away i ran, 26.2 miles away from cold beer and chicken broth - the only things my stomach desired.
T2: 4:25
run:
i saw my family and friends shortly after starting the run and i flashed them a relieved smile and my #ironmacy clad arm for the pictures. my mom and dad, liz, adam, brian, and others were out in full force and it. was. amazing. unbeknownst to me, the sunscreen latherers hadn't quite rubbed in the good stuff on my face and it looked like i had applied a homemade facial mask of eggs whites. if anything, it definitely made for some excellent race photos.
i started off watching my HR creep up - it was hot, my stomach was empty and i wasn't feeling the best, but it was coming along. the vision of sub-4 hour marathon vanished after a handful of miles - i had the same low energy feeling from the first half of the bike and i just couldn't shake it. i had a couple of gels, holding off the cola as long as possible but around mile 8, i succumbed and it was glorious. seriously, nothing is better than cola during the marathon. #nectarofthegods.
the first of half of the run was a struggle - I couldn't get the energy up. i'd think about the list of names in my pocket and i'd perk up a little, knowing they were counting on me. my battle on this day was nothing compared to macy's, and i kept on keeping on.
i loved running past the BASE tent with the music and my friends. LL gave me updates on my place and somewhere around mile 16, she told me to hang on because "girl, you're in 5th".
waaaaaaait, what? this was not a great day - it was an okay ironman day, but it didn't seem like a top 5 AG race. suddenly, my legs found a new gear. i wanted it. i wanted that podium spot, come hell or high water. ironically, there was no high water this year, but the temperature was knocking on the door of the lower realm and i was grateful for my chill towel.
I hit the turnaround in town and saw friends - including super sherpa adam - at the brewery. i felt a another surge - one more out and back and I would be at the finish. one more time running under the redbull arch (in that direction). one more time running past the BASE tent (in that direction). I kept hitting the check marks and trying to maintain speed in the heavy legs. Brian was dancing at the BASE tent and he ran with me for a second - thank goodness for awesome, supportive teammates.
i hit the last far turn around and it was on - less than a handful of miles to go. the sun was still high in the sky and the sun was out and it was really awesome out there. i entered great marsh park and ran through the BASE group. LL told me i was still in 5th but one girl was coming on STRONG. "you have to run HARD," she said as she ran with me down the block, "go get it!"
i groaned and ran harder than id run all day. just over a mile to go. i thought of macy. i thought about how no one wanted that 5th place finish more than me and no way was i going to let that go without a hell of a fight for the next mile. the struggle in a rolling start is you can't physically race your competitors because you usually can't see them. i was running blind.
my lungs and legs were on fire as i ran down the street. i hit the last right turn up the street to the brewery, knowing there was less than half a mile to go. i saw the group cheering and i tried to run even harder. i saw lester and he told me to "eat the pain" and he ran with me back down the street for a few strides while he pep talked me.
suddenly, i was in the chute and the bright lights of the arch were in my eyes. i ran through the line with my arms up and didn't even attempt a jump - my legs were cramped and burning. i saw my family right away and walked over to them at the fence.
"did i make it?" i asked them. they excitedly said yes and i demanded to see the phone with proof. once i saw the results, i collapsed into the arms of my parents and cried. "i wanted it so bad," i told them as i sobbed for a minute. shoulders heaving, ugly crying sobbing.
you guys, its march 2018 now and i can't even write this without tears in my eyes. it was the best way to finish a race - i had my family and friends there - both physically and via phone - and i was surrounded by so much love and support. i pushed myself and it paid off. i felt satisfied and that in itself was awesome because i hadn't felt like that in a long time at an ironman race.
the rest of the night was really fun. my shower was glorious, we headed back out to the BASE tent for dancing and cheering with to-go shots of Fireball and beers capped off with a trip to the Taco bell drive-thru. I didn't watch the midnight finishers in the chute, but i did watch on the side of the road near the house (about mile 25) from 11 pm and on and cheered for the athletes.
my parents and adam and i went to awards the next day. by some small miracle, i was first out of the water in the age group and won some Roka money again (i still hadn't used all of mine from Vineman so I bought new goggles AND running clothes). I got my award for 5th place and couldn't stop smiling. it was no Kona - that may be in the cards in the future - and there are still SO MANY kinks to work out in my racing - but i was content and proud of what i had pulled out of a not so great race.
im excited for this year and what it will bring. while my motivation ebbs and flows as the work and life stress make an impact, im already feeling stronger and excited about swimming, biking, and running. my squad is strong and inspirational and motivating - i can't imagine doing this without them.
stay tuned y'all - i have a feeling 2018 is going to be amazing!
i usually have some witty, funny comment to start these race reports. truth is, I'm pretty tired - mentally and physically. i might even say i'm crabbie. OH WAIT THERE IT IS - because IM Maryland finishers are "crabs"... okay you got it, *high five*. at the same point, im very satisfied with how things went down the other day/months ago. it was far from a perfect day. it was a nutritional nightmare. again. i vomited multiple times. again. i felt exhausted for exactly half of the day. but - there were great points you guys. so. many. great. points.
but first - the backstory.
the two days after placid were hard - i was disappointed and continued to be sick for a couple days following the race. two days later, i was lucky to have the opportunity to join adam, devin, rubble, and the gang on a portion of their national parks roadtrip. nicholle and i flew out to vegas, spent an awesome night in the city, and set out for the grand canyon, eventually making our way to albuquerque before flying home. early one morning, most of us headed over to the south rim of the grand canyon and watched the sunrise. we took in the breathtaking view together and separately, taking photos here and there.
cut to - my friend molly from undergrad. she and her husband had a baby - macy - the year before. molly was one of the inspirations for my first ironman in 2014 - she'd done the race (and kicked ass) and her mom is a true phenom at that distance as well. i'd been following the journey with macy and her numerous health issues for the past year and had the chance to catch up with molly at reunion the month prior. i knew she and her family were going through hell trying to do everything they could to help macy but poor baby just couldn't catch a break. after reaching out to molly, i decided to raise money for their family and for macy. my race was going to be for #ironmacy. through the help of my family, friends, and generous others - we raised $1300 in the weeks leading up to IMMD. it was amazing.
i arrived in cambridge late wednesday after work. in a surprising turn of events, i was in a solid mental space work-wise. it had been a pretty low stress week - had a handful of cases that i felt good about, a few very successful surgeries including a abdominal explore for a dog that was vomiting pieces of a balance exercise ball that she had eaten nearly a year prior to surgery. totally crazy, right? that week i was riding a bit of a work high, expecting the shoe to drop at any time. by wednesday at 6pm, it hadn't - i left work feeling calm and decided to head to cambridge that night. many times after work, i feel sheer mental exhaustion but on this particular week, i was good. it was a strange and unexpected feeling but i wasn't complaining. i grabbed a bubble tea for the road, finished packing up the car, and headed out.
arrived that evening and LL and matt greeted me with lobster rolls and wine (bless their thoughtful hearts). we had a nice chat and i headed to bed. the normatec boots were waiting for me and i did a nice 45 minutes in boots as i watched netflix and fell asleep.
we woke up on thursday morning and ate a quick breakfast while LL and matt headed to expo. i did my customary 20 min swim, 45 min bike, 10 min run and felt solid. I headed to the expo to check in and check my life. once the wristband of power was put on, i headed home with coffee and proceeded to watch SMASH (p.s. its great, why did they stop after 2 seasons, katherine mcphee you are stunning) whilst singing to it and re-applying bar tape to miss daisy. why do this 2 days before the race? because i had the distinct opportunity to borrow holli's aka rinny's (you've heard of her, yes?) disk wheel with teal zipp decals. the problem was that it looked like a blind person put my bike together - nothing matched. is this important? well... yea. i found teal bar tape in the exact color and it looked halfway awesome considering the front wheel still didn't match.
we headed to Base team dinner that evening and had wine and pizza which really hit the spot. a bit more wine at the house and i happily fell fast asleep.
friday morning brought a short spin and run. mom and dad showed up (huzzah!) and we headed to brunch. super sherpa adam met us at brunch and i finally had my crew together and felt ready to race. adam helped me sort my transition bags as i talked out loud - both to him and myself. we brought miss daisy and the transition bags over to great marsh park, checking off the last big to-do on the proverbial list.
for the first time in awhile, i felt relaxed. i wrote out the names of the donors to IMMD #ironmacy on a slip of paper and placed it in a ziploc bag so i could carry it in my pocket from swim start to finish line. mom and dad came over to make dinner - chicken parm - and we all ate together and watched the Nats game (GO NATS GO), followed by a "a league of their own" - hey LL - WHY AM I THE ONLY PERSON ON THIS BUS?
sports movies are obviously the only reasonable things to watch in the days leading up to races.
RACE DAY.
normal 3:45 am wake-up. mom and dad were miraculously already in the kitchen - god bless them. i drank coffee, had my thomas blueberry bagel and peanut butter and nearly cried when i was able to eat the whole thing. by 4:15 am, things were already looking better than they had at placid. i putzed around and gathered my stuff and by 5:15, we were walking to transition. it was cool and dark outside. i was buzzing on the inside and getting excited to get the show on the road. for the first time in a long time, i didn't feel the pressure on my shoulders. kona wasn't in the picture. i didn't have an outward time goal. it was mostly just, "don't suck prochnow". people were going to be paying attention after raising money and exposing macy to my world. i was going to make them proud.
deep breaths.
i checked on miss daisy, said hello to justin who was racked near me, and enjoyed the stir and buzz of transition. i made the portapotty line and reunited with mom, dad, and adam. they were holding a sign with lifesize jazz (and the office cat that they thought was monster) that read: "Go Mommy Go - The couch is waiting for you! You can DO it!"
i love them.
i wrote #ironmacy on my arms in permanent marker - a reminder of my "why" and a way to commemorate her - and double checked to make sure my ziploc bag of names was secured in my pocket.
i put my wetsuit on and downed a gel and some water. the music was pumping me up, i was smiling, and i felt like wiggly puppy about to explode into zoomies when -
i threw up. what the actual F.
i heaved a few times and looked up at my family as they stared back, obviously concerned. "i'm totally fine," i said, laughing. it was 6:35 am. swim start was at 6:45 am and lord be damned if i wasn't going to position myself near the front. i was peeved that again, i was starting out this race with a less than ideal calorie intake but, whatever. cue national anthem.
i waved to jan as she took photos of me putting my goggles on and i swung my arms around a few times to loosen up. it was time.
SWIM:
i pretty much held my breath for the first 100-200m, taking delicate, gentle strokes but ready to mentally attack whatever panic thing happened in placid. once i realized that i was still swimming and could breathe okay, i started to actually swim with focus. i drafted, i played games, i kicked a couple people and i started to enjoy the view. we started before the sun came up and it was awesome to be out with 1200 buddies chasing the sunrise.
two loop swim. i wasn't overly exerting myself and i could tell i was slow. i hadn't been swimming as much as i should have (sorry Jess!) leading into the race. i just prayed that everyone in my age group had the same anti-swimming mentality that i had going into the race.
as a blurry vision of the arch started to come into view, i started to pick up speed. i could feel some mild chafing on my neck from the wetsuit (this is nothing new - i have a permanent scar) but it wasn't too bad. as i hit that point of "do i stand or do i keep swimming" something stung me on the right side of my neck. "YOWSWA" i said (jk, i said all the actual f-words) and i stood up to run in. wetsuit was stripped and i ran into the tent.
swim: 1:07 - whoops. was i floating or swimming?
T1:
dang, i almost avoided the sea nettles! the tent was relatively empty and i sat down to put socks and shoes on. "they got me!" i said dramatically to a volunteer. "where?!" she replied and i pointed to the right side of my neck. before i could say something, she sprayed something cold right on my wetsuit burn.
i damn near leapt out of my seat and shot through the roof of the tent.
holy shit, that freaking burned. apparently alcohol takes the sting right out of a sea nettle kiss. on the flip side, it does not improving wetsuit chafing.
noted.
T1: 4:32
BIKE:
i'm riding along and i'm eating my food and i'm not feeling stellar. it felt like i'd just banked a 45 minute ironman swim and my legs and arms were lead. i attempted to eat - i'd reverted back to honey stinger waffles - and i ate one but my guts were unhappy already. i reverted to drinking BASE rocket fuel in an effort to at least stay hydrated as the weather was starting to heat up but i was very aware that i was quite low in the calorie department.
this would not bode well for the next 4 hours on the bike and the run.
i reached 20 miles on the bike, trying to think about other things, daydreaming about what i would eat and drink that evening. i started to feel really warm on the inside and s-l-o-w-l-y started to decrease speed and cadence until...
i shook myself into consciousness - holy hell, some dude had just blazed past me and i realized id almost fallen asleep. something was wrong and i didn't know what to do about it.
as if the ironman gods were watching over me, the aid station appeared in the distance and all i heard was "red bull". i pulled over and proceeded to chug a red bull - as ive heard it gives you wings - and eat some food while i was at a standstill. i knew the calorie deficit was biting me in the ass but it was going to take time to replenish the tank.
it would take another 30 plus miles before i felt more energized, but i swear to this day that red bull saved my
thank goodness for the 100% flat course because i did a lot of soft pedaling throughout that first loop. i loaded up on mountain dew and the customary EL Fudge cookies, as one does in special needs, and i begrudgingly got back on miss daisy.
halfway, baby.
shortly after special needs, octavio flew past me with a small group of people surrounding him. he yelled over his shoulder as he biked away from me and i felt a small surge of energy return. i sped up to keep up with his gang and before i knew it, i had caught up and was feeling stronger with each pedal stroke.
the energy returned and i started to feel infinitely better. i had group to follow and before in knew it, i re-passed octavio, giving a wave as i rolled by.
i continued eat and drink, slowly refilling the internal tank and gearing up for the, thankfully flat, marathon ahead.
naturally, as fate would have it, my stomach problems returned and for as long is it took to take that food in, it only took a second to lose it all over the side of the road. Again.
solution? more redbull. i swigged it and uneventfully cruised into T2.
bike: 5:37
T2:
so, my guts didn't feel great, but i was doing better than placid, so i went with it. it had warmed up significantly and i was so thankful for the cooling towel that lori had supplied us with at mini camp. i soaked it in water and draped it around my neck. i let the sunscreen people slather me up and away i ran, 26.2 miles away from cold beer and chicken broth - the only things my stomach desired.
T2: 4:25
run:
i saw my family and friends shortly after starting the run and i flashed them a relieved smile and my #ironmacy clad arm for the pictures. my mom and dad, liz, adam, brian, and others were out in full force and it. was. amazing. unbeknownst to me, the sunscreen latherers hadn't quite rubbed in the good stuff on my face and it looked like i had applied a homemade facial mask of eggs whites. if anything, it definitely made for some excellent race photos.
i started off watching my HR creep up - it was hot, my stomach was empty and i wasn't feeling the best, but it was coming along. the vision of sub-4 hour marathon vanished after a handful of miles - i had the same low energy feeling from the first half of the bike and i just couldn't shake it. i had a couple of gels, holding off the cola as long as possible but around mile 8, i succumbed and it was glorious. seriously, nothing is better than cola during the marathon. #nectarofthegods.
the first of half of the run was a struggle - I couldn't get the energy up. i'd think about the list of names in my pocket and i'd perk up a little, knowing they were counting on me. my battle on this day was nothing compared to macy's, and i kept on keeping on.
i loved running past the BASE tent with the music and my friends. LL gave me updates on my place and somewhere around mile 16, she told me to hang on because "girl, you're in 5th".
waaaaaaait, what? this was not a great day - it was an okay ironman day, but it didn't seem like a top 5 AG race. suddenly, my legs found a new gear. i wanted it. i wanted that podium spot, come hell or high water. ironically, there was no high water this year, but the temperature was knocking on the door of the lower realm and i was grateful for my chill towel.
I hit the turnaround in town and saw friends - including super sherpa adam - at the brewery. i felt a another surge - one more out and back and I would be at the finish. one more time running under the redbull arch (in that direction). one more time running past the BASE tent (in that direction). I kept hitting the check marks and trying to maintain speed in the heavy legs. Brian was dancing at the BASE tent and he ran with me for a second - thank goodness for awesome, supportive teammates.
i hit the last far turn around and it was on - less than a handful of miles to go. the sun was still high in the sky and the sun was out and it was really awesome out there. i entered great marsh park and ran through the BASE group. LL told me i was still in 5th but one girl was coming on STRONG. "you have to run HARD," she said as she ran with me down the block, "go get it!"
i groaned and ran harder than id run all day. just over a mile to go. i thought of macy. i thought about how no one wanted that 5th place finish more than me and no way was i going to let that go without a hell of a fight for the next mile. the struggle in a rolling start is you can't physically race your competitors because you usually can't see them. i was running blind.
my lungs and legs were on fire as i ran down the street. i hit the last right turn up the street to the brewery, knowing there was less than half a mile to go. i saw the group cheering and i tried to run even harder. i saw lester and he told me to "eat the pain" and he ran with me back down the street for a few strides while he pep talked me.
suddenly, i was in the chute and the bright lights of the arch were in my eyes. i ran through the line with my arms up and didn't even attempt a jump - my legs were cramped and burning. i saw my family right away and walked over to them at the fence.
"did i make it?" i asked them. they excitedly said yes and i demanded to see the phone with proof. once i saw the results, i collapsed into the arms of my parents and cried. "i wanted it so bad," i told them as i sobbed for a minute. shoulders heaving, ugly crying sobbing.
phone in adam's hand...
ugly cry.
happy cry.
the rest of the night was really fun. my shower was glorious, we headed back out to the BASE tent for dancing and cheering with to-go shots of Fireball and beers capped off with a trip to the Taco bell drive-thru. I didn't watch the midnight finishers in the chute, but i did watch on the side of the road near the house (about mile 25) from 11 pm and on and cheered for the athletes.
my parents and adam and i went to awards the next day. by some small miracle, i was first out of the water in the age group and won some Roka money again (i still hadn't used all of mine from Vineman so I bought new goggles AND running clothes). I got my award for 5th place and couldn't stop smiling. it was no Kona - that may be in the cards in the future - and there are still SO MANY kinks to work out in my racing - but i was content and proud of what i had pulled out of a not so great race.
im excited for this year and what it will bring. while my motivation ebbs and flows as the work and life stress make an impact, im already feeling stronger and excited about swimming, biking, and running. my squad is strong and inspirational and motivating - i can't imagine doing this without them.
stay tuned y'all - i have a feeling 2018 is going to be amazing!
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