Tri Del Sol #racereport

Oy - not quite sure how to write this one up - it's gonna be long so you might want to grab a beverage.  I put in the work for the past couple months and it was time to get paid on Saturday.  I woke up at the ridiculous time of 4:30 and was out the door by 5:30.  I ate a real breakfast since I knew I wasn't going to be racing for another 3 hours and I figured it wouldn't hurt.

This triathlon takes place at a YMCA camp.  Very rustic surroundings - and spotty cell service at best.  But you have to admit, the morning was beautiful.  The 90+ degree temps we'd had earlier in the week had broken and it was in the mid 70s at the start.

My daughter came with me and we made it to the race site in plenty of time to get set up in transition.  The race was really relaxed in that no one stopped her for not being an athlete and she was able to hang out with me and some of my other friends who were racing.

I got my bike racked and was very happy to see my friend, Jim, had his bike right next to mine.  It was good to be in familiar company.  Looking back at my transition times, I should've set up my shoes facing the other direction, but whatever. It's not like that 10 seconds would have made any difference.  After getting set up, K and I walked around to check out the swim, bike and run start and finish areas.  I really psyched myself out by doing this because I started to obsess about how far away the buoys were for the swim (in that photo of the lake you can't even see the turnaround buoy) and that the beginning and ending of the run would be on trails (sand, woodchips, dirt and grass).  After transition closed, we headed down to the beach to watch the kid's races.  They were so cute and little!  (I apologize for the lack of pictures but I had turned off and put away my phone at this point and the bike course wasn't an area my daughter could get to once the race started.)

SWIM - 750 meters in 23:24
Like I said, I was pretty much freaking myself out waiting and watching the swim start.  My wave was one of the last ones for the sprint and I kept watching how unorganized the swim was turning out to be.  In the picture above, you can see some giant red balls out on the water.  Those were supposed to indicate the swim course and be in a horseshoe shape, but by the time the swim started, they were moving all over the place and people were swimming every which way.  I was starting to panic and got some hugs from my friends and even Angie's dad before the start.  (Angie went on to win the Olympic Tri Masters division - rockstar.)  I gave K a hug and thanked her for getting up at 4:30 to come with me, then walked down to the water.  Angie caught up to me and told me to just aim for the big triangle inflatable at the turnaround since the other markers were so fraked up.  She told me not to swim any farther than I absolutely had to, relax, and have fun.  I started making conversation with some other girls in my wave who were just as confused as I was (we weren't even sure it was our wave because you couldn't really hear the announcer).  I finally heard "sprint women 14 to 44 you have 30 seconds" so I got my goggles on and headed farther into the water.  There was a horn sound and we were off.  I wasn't too bothered by the people around me and I think I took off a little fast because I was completely winded just 2 minutes in.  I forced myself to try to slow down, get focused, and just swim, but I kept looking up and it seemed like I had so far to swim - only to turn around and need to swim back.  I felt like a failure every time I switched to sidestroke and I even did something I said I'd never do and switched to backstroke for a couple minutes to catch my breath. I at least made sure to keep moving though - I knew treading water would just make me more tired and I wouldn't get anywhere. I finally made it to the turnaround and headed back to shore, only to be blinded by the sun.  I couldn't see a damn thing and just prayed I was headed in the right direction.  I even kept looking for the lifeguards on kayaks just in case I wanted to bail.  Finally I could see the lodge on the beach and just headed for that since I knew it was near the swim exit.  I've never been so happy to see my daughter and friends as I was when I ran up that beach after getting out of the water.  I was slower than my goal but I made it out without quitting.  I was the slowest swimmer in my age group but I did make it out of the water before a few people so I'll take it.

T1: 2:39
This was wayyyyy too slow and I was even trying to be fast. Most of my age group (of which there were only 8) were out in about 1:30. Suffice it to say, I suck at transitions, but this was only my 2nd triathlon so I'm trying to give myself a break.

BIKE: 13.79 miles in 48:47 (17 mph ave)
I was very happy with my bike portion.  I felt like I pushed hard and I did a lot of passing (yes, I got passed too).  The hills were tough but not killer and I really let it fly on one of the downhill areas (averaging over 23 mph!).  I never needed to get out of the saddle on the uphills either, which made me happy. I was glad I had taken the time to preview the course on July 4th so I knew where to go and what to expect.  Being able to practice on those hills was helpful, too.  Since the course was the same for the Olympic distance, I wanted to make sure I turned the correct direction at mile 6. I was the slowest in my age group, but not by much, and I beat quite a few people on the bike.  I wanted to finish the bike in under 55 minutes and I crushed that goal.  Still lots of room for improvement though.

T2: 2:10
Again, too slow in comparison to my age group peers.  I should be able to change shoes and take off a helmet faster than this.  I swear, I didn't stop and eat a sandwich.

RUN: 3.2 miles in 32:49 (10:09 pace)
I was dreading the run for most of the last 1/2 of the bike route.  I kept trying to tell myself to bike the mile I was in, but my head kept going to the trail running I was going to need to do.  The last thing I wanted was to roll and ankle or something stupid like that (I NEVER run trails.  EVER.)  I got out of transition and realized I hadn't had much at all to drink on the bike and the weather was now HOT, so I grabbed some gatorade from a volunteer, threw it back (GAG) and started to run.  I saw my friends and K again and they seemed surprised to see me so soon :) I gave them a wave and off I went.  The beginning was just as bad as I'd lead myself to believe.  I was struggling to keep my footing and then coming out of the woods was a hill that went straight up.  WTF, seriously??? I walked. Lame, but true.  Once out of the woods, the full sun hit me and it sucked anything I thought I had left.  I really let the inner mean girl get the best of me on this run and that pisses me off.  The run out was mostly uphill (even though the data looks flat) and I let myself walk a couple times.  I walked through the aide stations. I walked WAY TOO MUCH.  I was looking at my watch and I knew there was no way I could make my sub-30 5k goal.  I did kick it in for the 2nd half and ran a nice negative split with a great kick (in grass, no less) to the end. (10:17, 10:13, 10:07, 9:25 pace for last .23)

FINISHED! 1:49:51
I was done and I finished strong (after a pretty rocky start).  My goal was to finish under 2 hours, knowing this was a much harder course than my first tri last year where I finished in 1:52:56.  My super-ambitious goal was to finish in under 1:50 and I made it - just barely!

I met up with my friends, got some snacks and stopped at the finisher tent for my bling.  Triathlons don't usually give out medals unless you win - which is disappointing for us mortals  - but more and more are giving out pint glasses or water bottles, which are a special bling in and of themselves.

I hung around for a while longer and watched my friends finish who were competing in the Olympic distance.  I'm so impressed with how well everyone did!  I'm not sure that the triathlon is really something that I will ever love, but I do like the challenge and that it forces me to cross train.  I just need to get over the fear parts.  Maybe I need to start looking at the duathlon and eliminate that nasty swimming portion :)

Did any of you race this weekend?  Have you done a tri?  Suggestions for how I can improve in transition and get over myself in the swim?

Fitness Friday: swim-bike-run

Tri Del Sol is tomorrow.

Beginning around 8:23 am (after getting up at 0 dark:30) I'll swim 750m, bike 13.79 miles and then  hopefully have enough gas left in the tank to run a 5k.

I have some rough time/speed/pace goals but I'm keeping them to myself for this one.  Obviously I'd like to do better than my last tri, but comparing last year's tri to this one would be like comparing apples to oranges - or short swims to long swims and flat rides to hilly rides and healing legs to relatively healthy ones.  Mostly I'll be happy to finish. 

It'll be fun, right?!?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tri Training Tuesday: week 7

The past week has been a bit rough. I'm a tiny bit injured & trying not to make things worse, so there hasn't been much running going on.



Saw this on Facebook yesterday and felt it was appropriate to how I'm feeling about this whole triathlon thing.

Here's how the week played out.

Monday 7/8 - STRENGTH with NROLFW A6 then walked for 3/4 of a mile.

Tuesday 7/9 - RUN 3 miles in 30 min (10 m/m pace) and later in the day SWIM 30 min (backyard pool)

Wednesday 7/10 - BIKE/RUN brick: 11.2 miles on the bike (45 min/15 mph) then 1/2 mile run (10 m/m pace). Later in the day STRENGTH with NROLFW B6

Thursday 7/11 - I was completely burned out and having meltdowns on Wednesday, so I took a rest day and spend the day reading and floating in the pool.

Friday 7/12 - Saw the sports chiro and he benched me from running.  My heel and achilles are pretty messed up. Turns out my body is burning out too.  He said I could bike easy and swim.  BIKE 10.5 miles in 45 min (14.1 mph).

Saturday 7/13 - BIKE 10.6 mph in 44 min (14.4 mph) then a little later in the morning SWIM 1/2 mile in 20 min in the lake.  Not really a brick because they were spread out.

Sunday 7/14 - SWIM/BIKE brick - went back to Saturday's lake and did 6 laps SWIM for about 3/4 of a mile (1200 yards or so) in 30 min then tried to BIKE around the area but freaked myself out about getting lost and only went 5.4 very slow miles in 23 min (13.9 mph).  Was extremely pissed and disappointed in myself, so when I got home, I did another BIKE ride of 6 miles on the trail in 22 min (16 mph).  I still feel like I'll never be a "real" cyclist.  I just get too nervous and scared about biking on the roads and my speed is too slow even with my road bike to keep up with group rides.  It is what it is, I guess.

This coming Saturday is Tri Del Sol race day.  The weather looks pretty close to perfect and might even be cold in the morning (I'm worried about being cold on the bike after getting out of the water and biking soaking wet).  That happened in the tri last year and in 15 miles my feet never warmed up.  Maybe if they're frozen, my planar fasciitis won't hurt?? #wishfulthinking

Tri Training Tuesday: Weeks 5 and 6

Since I had to talk about my awesome 10k last week, I got a week behind on my training posts.  Hope you didn't mind :)

Here's the last 2 weeks.

Monday 6/24 - RUN 4.1 in 42:40 (10:24 pace) - completely BAKED outside on this lunch run.  Then went into the gym and did STRENGTH - NROLFW workout A.
Tuesday 6/25 - BIKE/RUN brick - It was storming so I did a 50 min spin class and then just 1 mile RUN on the treadmill, but that mile was at a 9:20 pace :)
Wednesday 6/26 - STRENGTH - NROLFW workout B, then SWIM about 15 min in the pool for 500 yds.
Thursday 6/27 - RUN 3.2 in 32:15 (10:04 pace) Another steamy one.
Friday 6/28 - BIKE/RUN brick - just a baby brick, 7.45 mile bike in 28:33 (15.7 mph) and a .5 mile run in my new shoes at a 9:07 pace.
Saturday 6/29 - RUN - Reeds Lake Run 10k and a killer new PR!!! Ran my first sub-60 and finished in 58:50 (9:29 pace).
Sunday 6/30 - SWIM/BIKE brick - swam for 20 minutes in my girlfriend's pool and then she took me out for a very hilly ride on real roads. 13.12 miles in 53:47 (14.6 mph).  This ride kicked my already shredded legs collective ass.

Monday 7/1 - I was really sore from the weekend and just did NROLFW workout A. This week it upped to 3 sets and I even upped my weights a bit more.
Tuesday 7/2 - RUN double.  3.1 miles in the morning in 32:38 (10:21 pace) then 2 miles in the evening with my girl in 21:25 (10:42 pace)
Wednesday 7/3 - BIKE Upright spin bike at the gym, 20 miles in an hour.  For the record, I don't think that's accurate at all.  STRENGTH Lifted for 25 minutes.
Thursday 7/4 - Wanted a preview of the Tri Del Sol bike route, so I biked it, but I missed a turn and added 6 miles to the route.  BIKE 20.75 miles in 1:31:11 (13.7 mph).  Then RUN 1 mile in 9:55.
Friday 7/5 - SWIM did a 20 minute open water swim.  It went ok.
Saturday 7/6 - RUN 10.11 miles in 1:51:42 (11:02 pace).  HOT HOT HOT run. I downed over 50 oz of water and still felt like it wasn't enough.
Sunday 7/8 - Trifecta! Brick in the morning: BIKE 14.5 miles in 58 min (15 mph) followed by RUN 2 miles in 19:21 (9:40 pace). Then before dinner: SWIM 20 minutes at my friend's pool so I have no clue on distance.

I'm going to start freaking a little bit that Tri Del Sol is now less than 2 weeks away. I feel much less prepared than I did for my first tri last year but the last few brick workouts have been pretty good and I'm becoming more comfortable on my bike and in the water.

Tri Training Tuesday: Week 4, the one where I kicked my own ass

I won't lie...last week was really hard.  I struggled mentally and physically, but I made it through the week with only some sore muscles and maybe a new perspective on double workouts.  Here's how the week played out:

Monday 6/17: RUN and STRENGTH.  I ran to and from the gym for 2.8 miles in 28 minutes (total - 1.4 miles each way) and while I was at the gym completed workout A3 from NROLFW.  I upped the weights this week and didn't die, so I'll call it a win.  
Tuesday 6/18: Triple workout day.  Oh.My.Werd. RUN 3.2 in 33:56 (10:36 pace) in the morning.  SWIM 20 minutes in a LAKE in the afternoon.  Then RUN 4.5 miles in 45:35 (10:02 pace) at the Grand Rapids Marathon Beerrun.  I was extremely proud of myself for nailing these workouts.
Wednesday 6/19: NOTHING - I took the day off. 
Thursday 6/20: BIKE 14.2 miles in 58 minutes (about 14 mph) in the morning then a RUN of 4.2 miles in 42:26 (10:06 pace) at lunch time.  Loved the convo and running with a friend but was reminded why I never run at lunch time.  Holy HOT.  And then I might have eaten 1/2 a bag of tortilla chips on the way home from the store. Don't judge.
Friday 6/21: NROLFW 3B - Mentally, this day was really tough for me to the point of sitting in the parking lot at the gym for the longest time before I'd even go in.  I didn't want to work out but I sucked it up and did it anyway.
Saturday 6/22: RUN 9.34 miles in 1:38:24 (10:32 pace).  This was my virtual 15k for the We Get LOST in Running Race Series.  It was so humid that I was praying for rain to dry me off.  All I got was a dude's sprinklers for about 3 steps.  This run was hard, I ran out of water, and it overall sucked and hurt but I stuck with it.  In all likelihood, my relay and half marathon in August will be worse than today, so I might as well get used to it.
Sunday 6/23: I mowed the lawn. Calling it good.


How was your training this week?  Any fun races this past weekend?

Tri Training Tuesday: Week 3: #vlog #triathlon

Anyway...here was how the week panned out from a training standpoint:

Monday 6/10: RUN a most incredible 5 miles in 46:34 (9:18 pace) with Corey in the morning and then NROLFW workout A2 in the afternoon.
Tuesday 6/11: SWIM 1200 yards in 36 min - Couldn't managed to swim freestyle the whole time like I'd wanted so ended up doing 300 free/100 back three times.  Also tried to drown by inhaling water up my nose, going under and flooding my goggles, all while doing the back stroke.  I should also note this was in the pool with a deep end and I couldn't touch bottom.  It was definitely one of my finer moments. Go ahead. Laugh. It's ok.  I live to amuse.
Wednesday 6/12: BIKE - the one where I fell down.  Only  made it 1.5 miles before I wiped out and then had to bike 1.5 miles home.  It wasn't a good day.  My scrape has crusted over very nicely  now and the bruise on my elbow is quite colorful.

Thursday 6/13: RUN 3.2 miles in 31 minutes (9:44 pace).  I was very stiff from Wednesday's fall and wasn't sure how this would go, so I just left a watch on the porch and took off.  No music, just me and the wildlife.  It actually turned into a pretty decent run, in spite of the sore areas and God-awful humidity.
Friday 6/14: NROLFW 2B - I was supposed to do this on Thursday along with the run but my forearm, hand and wrist were entirely too sore to try lifting weights, so I scrapped the planned rest or swim and did the strength workout I missed on Thursday.  Didn't go nuts this time but still used the same weights as last week.
Saturday 6/15: RUN 8.1 miles in 1:26:28 (10:40 pace).  This just felt all sorts of wrong the entire time. Had to refill my water at the 1/2 way mark, never felt like I got into a groove. It was just a really crappy run.
Sunday 6/16: BIKE 10.5 miles in 43 minutes (14.6 mph) - My plan called for a 1 hour ride but I'm just not comfortable going out onto roads yet so I stuck to the trail. I was feeling really negative when I left and wasn't any better when I got back, but at least I didn't fall.  

Vlogs? yes, no, want more, don't care?  I hope I wasn't too annoying.  Ever notice things about your speech when you record one?  I know I do.

Tri Training Tuesday: week 2

I think I'm starting to get into the swing of training again - but I'm paying for going a bit overboard.  Mostly a number of muscle groups are a little pissed for jumping back in too quickly and still not being fully recovered.  It'll get better though.  Here's how the week looked:

Monday 6/3: SWIM 1000 yds in 27 min and NROLFW workout A1
Tuesday 6/4: RUN 4 miles in about 40 min - my Garmin wigged out so I'm not really sure what I did, only that this run was HARD.
Wednesday 6/5: Happy National Running Day! RUN 2 miles in 21:17 (my first "double" of relay training), BIKE (upright at gym) 6 miles in 17:22.  NROLFW workout B1
Thursday 6/6: nothing - so sore that I could barely move.
Friday 6/7: BIKE 11.7 miles in 51:44 then a short .6 mile run off the bike in 5:57
Saturday 6/8: RUN 6.2 miles in 1:03:36 (10:15 pace).  Finally feel like I'm getting my legs back!
Sunday 6/9: nothing

My hamstrings are still complaining a little but I'm starting to feel much better.  I had the most amazing run yesterday, too - can't wait to tell you all about it!

How's your training going?  Do you plan races in the summer or is this your "off" season?

Tri Training Tuesday

Since it seemed to work out to post my half marathon training here, I figured I'd start posting my training for Tri Del Sol now that all those crazy halfs are done (at least for a little while).

I have to admit - trying to come up with a training plan for a triathlon that is only about 7 weeks away, plus incorporate the NROLFW strength workouts, train for the 200 mile relay and keep up my mileage for the half I have at the end of August has been a colossal PITA.  I learned last night that I don't like to follow swimming with any other workout (unless I'm outside and just going to do a swim/bike brick) because getting dressed for a workout after a swim is dumb.  Do any of you have any idea how hard it is to put on a sports bra when you're all wet? And yes, I tried to dry off first.  I've reworked the plan a little to avoid this scenario.  I'm trying to get in at least a couple bike rides, a couple swims, 2 strength workouts and 3 runs each week. It's a lot.  I haven't even begun to figure out 2-a-day runs for the relay and I'm trying not to stress that the run days just say "run" - there's no speed work, tempos, intervals, etc.



As for last week's workouts....they were pretty minimal.  I can't believe DailyMile called them "epic" or something ridiculous like that.

Monday 5/27: nothing
Tuesday 5/28: nothing
Wednesday 5/29: 15 min abs workout
Thursday 5/30: nothing
Friday 5/31: BIKE 1.5 miles - maiden voyage clipped in and I didn't fall down.
Saturday 6/1: RUN 3.1 miles in 31:08 (9:56 pace) - pretty good run considering I still felt very tight/sore in my achilles and calves from last Saturday's half and it was 80bazilionty degrees outside.  Later in the day BIKE 7.8 miles in 31:15 (15 mph ave) - great ride but I was disappointed I wasn't faster overall.
Sunday 6/2: nothing

The workout log will get better.  I hope.  I'm open to any suggestions in that training plan.  Just hit me up in the comments.

Fitness Friday: Tri-ing Again!

How crazy is it that the one thing I bought on Cyber Monday was my first race fee for 2013??? Even crazier - it's a triathlon! This one is longer that the tri I finished in 2012 so I'm now freaking out a bit. Longer swim and longer run, but the bike distance is about the same.  Good thing I have until July to train!

source

If you live in Michigan (or nearby), I've heard great things about Tri del Sol and as far as triathlons go, it's very reasonably priced.  Anyone want to come "tri" with me???  If you click this link, you'll find a very short (3 question) survey and a discount code towards ANY of the races.  The survey will be open until tonight and the code is good until Feb 1st.  Tomorrow morning, I think I'm going to register for a half marathon that's coming up in May in Northern Michigan.  It always sells out and I've heard it's beautiful and FAST.  So much for not training for any distance races in 2013.

Remember....

(stolen from FB)