Ironman 70.3 NOLA 2014 Race Report

Short recap: Okay swim, dropped a bottle and cramped/threw up/blew up on bike, cramped and walk/ran the run. I ended up in med tent for 2 IV bags upon crossing the finish line. Somehow still managed to be 2^nd in AG and snag a spot to 70.3 Worlds. Happy/thankful to have qualified, but that is not how I had imagined it happening!

Cheap bag, blah hat, another shirt...

Swim – 35:27 (1:14/100yds)

T1- 2:42

Bike – 2:35:56 (21.7mph)

T2 - 1:16

Run -1:41:14 (7:44/mile)

Total – 4:55:33

2^nd AG, 114 OA

Here is the longer report with the fun details.

Swim:

I have been spending a lot of time in the pool and I am considerably faster than I was before (in the pool). My open water swimming still does not match up with my pool swimming, but that will hopefully come with more experience in open water. I cannot be mad about my swim, because it was a half ironman PR swim by almost 2:00. I also came out of the water feeling fresh and ready to ride. The swim course is an “M” and kind of difficult to navigate – the sun was coming up and we were looking for yellow turn buoys. Besides the water tasting funny and looking pretty dirty, I thought the swim conditions were okay. I exited the water in 17^th in my AG, which happens to be the highest I have ever been out of the water! Woohoo!

She looks WAY too happy.

Bike:

The bike course is essentially a “Y” on closed roads. I think it is a great course – flat and closed roads. I was told to expect a headwind on the way out, and a tailwind on the way back in. I know we had a headwind on the way out, but I honestly cannot tell you what the wind did on the way back in. All I know is that it was not a tailwind, and we had a headwind toward the end of the bike course. Gotta love when the wind shifts.

I felt fresh out of the water and onto the bike. I believe I was under my target wattage for the first 5-10 miles, and was passing quite a few guys in my AG. Everything seemed to be going well. I traded my empty bottle at the first aid station and was ready to hit my target watts. Somewhere between miles 17-18 I dropped my water bottle. I knew it was going to be a long day. At mile 25 I was already cramping, at mile 30 I had pretty much stopped sweating, and by mile 35 I was throwing up on the bike. At the next aid station I decided to take water to dump on myself and drink, along with IM Perform to try and get some of the calories/electrolytes back. I was hurting pretty bad at this point. The next 10ish miles were just pure torture – into the wind and people were blowing by me. I was struggling to hold 18ish mph. At the last aid station on the bike (mile 50) I took two waters. With two miles to go, I was cramped so bad that I couldn’t pedal and could only coast. I was seriously considering walking my bike into t2.

Blue skies.

Coming into T2 I knew the run was going to be painful, but I was ready for it. The first couple steps off the bike actually felt great. At this point I thought I was already out of the AG race, but I was not too sure. I had not been passed by anyone in my AG on the bike, so I thought maybe there might be a slight chance I was still in the race.

The first ¼ mile on the run felt great. I started thinking I may be able to save the race. Then BOOM! Cramping – legs and arms. I knew I was in trouble. The first 6 miles of the run course have a couple bridges and overpass crossings, so it was not flat. At the first aid station I planned on taking Perform and Coke. I guess they didn’t have the coke ready, so I took perform and ice. At mile two, I was finally able to get Coke…unfortunately it was not flat and I started throwing up shortly after drinking it. I was miserable, but determined not to walk.

Around mile 7 or 8 – I really do not remember – there was a lady cheering us on yelling, “You look great. You’re doing awesome.” …and I was walking, getting ready to stop and stretch. I was bent over in the middle of the street, so cramped up that it probably looked like I was trying to do some yoga pose…and the race photographer was there. Awesome. I decided to try and run by, but I don’t think I was too successful. I had to stop and do more yoga in the street, haha. As all of this was going on, a race support vehicle stopped and a guy asked me if I was okay. I think I said, “no” and continued to stagger down the street. He then got on the radio the alert other race vehicles to watch for me coming down the road – I guess I didn’t look too good.

I look great...

At mile 8 I came up on a kid with a “20” on his calf. I told myself I needed to make the pass, and then get around the corner so I could start walking again without him seeing me. Right before turning the corner I looked back and saw him walking. That was when I made the decision to run if he ran, and I could walk if he walked. At that point, I had a feeling that we were somewhere near the podium for our AG, but I still didn’t think it would be a Worlds spot.

Over the next couple miles, I was passed by a lot of M40-49. As they would come up on me, they would say stuff along the lines of, “You’re younger and faster than me, run with me.” But I could honestly only run with them for a minute at a time before having to walk. It was not pretty, but I am very thankful to have had multiple running partners to drag me though that last 5 miles. I was in more pain that I have ever been in, and mentally I was ready to be taken away in an ambulance before dropping out. My head was throbbing, my body was on fire, and I felt like I had knives stabbing my quads, arms, and feet.

About to fall over...

I finally made it to the finish line and happened to be cramping and kind of fell over. The volunteers that caught me said, “You don’t look too good.” In my less than coherent state, I replied, “How rude.” She laughed and brought me to the med tent. They asked me how I was feeling and told me I was one of the more rough looking people they had seen so far. Great. They started an IV bag. After my first IV bag they looked at me and decided I needed another one… Did I really look that bad?! I was feeling pretty alright after the second bag though. So thank you to the wonderful medical staff for taking care of me!

Podium. Thanks @maggieru

I can’t say that I am thrilled with how my race went, but I am happy to have qualified. I think I was just disappointed that I put in the work to have a great race, and then things just kind of fell apart on race day. I know that race did not show the fitness/progress I’ve made since last year. I do think it shows that I am mentally a lot stronger this year than other years. Last year in Vegas I think my mind gave up on the race before my body did. This year, my body was shutting down, but I was fully prepared to suffer for as long as I needed to.

Finisher and 2nd AG medals

Thanks for reading and thank you for all of the texts/messages/calls before and after the race. It has been a long training cycle, and I am looking forward to recover and racing some short stuff now! Good luck to all as the race season

begins!

Late March--Early April Update: Coaching and Training

The kids I coach found my blog, and told me I need I need to update it. So, here is the update.

I miss the FL sun!!

 On March 10 I started coaching a junior high track and field team. So far it has been a great experience – I just wish it would not rain so much. I have learned many things in the first month of coaching, but most of the things are what the athletes say about me.  The students are not afraid to say what they think, so I figured I would share a few things with you:

1. I’m mean. I actually make them do workouts. *gasp*

2. I have a GameBoy Color— I’m old.

3. Everybody Loves Raymond is my favorite TV show – once again, I’m old.

4. Everybody Loves Raymond is on TV Land… You guessed it, I’m old.

5. I was born in 1990—yep, I’m old.

So yeah, this is what my athletes have taught me so far. We still have 4 weeks left in the season, so I am sure they will continue to let me know how old I am…everyday.

They think they are cool...

 We have only had one track meet so far…well we had half of a track meet and then it got rained out. The next meet was cancelled and rescheduled due to severe storms. The rescheduled meet was cancelled because of rain. They were going to reschedule the rescheduled meet, but we could not find a day that works. Anyway in the first meet, we had a pretty awesome showing from our milers. Our guys went 5:37, 5:54, 6:04 in the season opener – all running PRs. We also had a girl run 5:58. They are all faster at the mile in junior high than I was!

Trainer rides... Yay

 Now, 70.3 NOLA. I say that every race is a new and different experience…this will not be an exception. Training for NOLA had been great while in Florida. I do not regret coming back to Illinois, but it made training a little more difficult. I got sick within the first 2 days of being back in the state. Always fun. Then I guess it must have been one of the snow covered long runs I did that triggered an old injury, and I found myself in the walking boot for a couple weeks. I was going to try and run through it, but I found myself almost in tears less than 2 miles into runs. At that point I figured it was time to let the foot rest. I was still able to swim and bike without much pain, but running was out of the question. I also found myself on the trainer for pretty much 95% of my rides upon arrival in Illinois. Normally I can just suck it up and get it done, but after almost 95% of rides outdoor in FL, riding the trainer indoors really was not much fun. Over the past month, the one thing I will say that has been great is swimming. I have really been enjoying it, and I have made some good progress in the pool. I have never been known for being a strong open water swimmer, but I am hoping some of the things I have been figuring out will help.

So what does it all mean? Well, my foot and ankle are pain free now, so that is a good sign. Basically all I can do is focus on what I can control—power, nutrition, staying focused on the task at hand. Chrissie Wellington found a way to win when she was less than 100%. I am by no means on the same level as Chrissie, but it shows how important it is to be mentally tough. I am excited to race!

Bring on the warm weather--I'm ready for summer!

Thanks for reading. Good luck to everybody as the race season starts.

Early Season 2014 -- Florida

So I have been a slacker with my updates. I will keep each section short and sweet. Here we go!

Jan 27-Feb2

Swim – 19,400 yards

Bike – 4:31 hours

Run – 31.28 miles

Total: 13:38

Chilly Willy Duathlon

My first race in Florida was the Chilly Willy Duathlon Southeast Championships. It was a 5k run, 10 mile bike, 5k run. I started in wave 3 – I didn’t know I could have registered for the elite wave (1). In short, Run 1: weave in and out of the people that started in wave 2. Bike: Just ride. I had ridden through most of wave 2, and some of the elite wave. I wasn’t exactly sure what place I was in coming off the bike. Run 2: chase down more people from wave 1. I ended up negative splitting the runs by :03/mile, and turned in the fastest run #2. I finished 3^rd OA and first in my AG, so I was very happy about that—a good start to FL racing. I also met some really cool people that I look forward to (hopefully) seeing at more races. Funny story. I actually had food poisoning during this race – I thought it was pre-race jitters, but I was wrong. I was sick for a good 6 days – I ate the food 2x without knowing it. Oops.

Feb 3-9 (Chilly Willy Week)

Swim – 16,600

Bike – 5:17 hours

Run – 33.68 miles

Total: 13:45

Feb 10-16 (food poisoning week)

Swim – 7,400 yards

Bike – 1:34 hours

Run – 22.96 miles

Total: 6:14

NTC Indoor Triathlon

So, at the last minute I was talked into racing an indoor triathlon as a workout. I had no intention of doing this – I had already done masters in the morning, and a pretty hard run interval workout early afternoon. Well, at 4pm I was talked into the tri. 400yd swim, 6 mile bike, 2.2 mile run. The swim was in the outdoor pool, the bikes were on trainers…outdoor, and the run was on the treadmill. So I guess the indoor tri was more outdoor than indoor haha. Somehow I ended up finishing 2^nd OA. I didn’t even know there were awards for this until I went for my Sunday swim and there was an award waiting for me at the desk.

Feb 17-23 (Indoor Tri)

Swim – 21,450 yards

Bike – 9:20 hours

Run – 41.18 miles

Total: 19:43

Clermont AG Sprint

I think this was a good start to the outdoor racing season. The age group race was being combined with the collegiate race, so it was a very crowed start. I got to wear my new XTERRA Vendetta, so I was pumped about that. I exited the water in 20^th. Although I did not swim as well as I would have liked, I was pleased to exit the water I the top ¼ of the race. From there the day only got better. I ended up recording the 2^nd fastest bike split to move up to 4^th into T2. The run was 2 loops. I knew on loop 1 that I was in 4^th, but I couldn’t remember who was 3^rd. I just kept running hoping to chase down there kid. I’m not exactly sure where I made the pass, but I ran my way into 3^rd with the 2^nd fastest run split.

Feb 24 – March 2 (Clermont Sprint)

Swim – 17,825 yards

Bike – 7:46 hours

Run – 28.93 miles

Total: 15:41

XTERRA Vendetta Fullsuit

I have only been able to swim in it 3 times, but I absolutely love the suit. I have tried out a few different full sleeve wetsuits, and this is the most comfortable I have been in one. The suit fits me live a glove but yet it is still very flexible. I never felt like I was fighting the suit. I am looking forward to racing in it this year! Thanks again to XTERRA Wetsuits for hooking me up with such a great suit!

March 3-9 (Moving week)

Swim – 20,500 yards

Bike – 5:16 hours

Run – 30.44 miles

Total: 13:13

3 races, 3 podium finishes. I would say it is a good start to racing. I am looking forward to building upon the momentum we have going. I learned a lot in FL and now I just need to remember to apply those things to daily training. I made the decision to leave FL and come back to IL to coach junior high track and field. Junior high is such a fun age, and we have a lively group of kids to work with this year.

When I wasn’t training, I got to take a trip to Disney, West Palm Beach, and Cocoa Beach. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy. And thanks for reading. Stay safe out there!

Frozen Buns 10k, Clermont, FL, and the Beach

Nice and cold at home...

Frozen Buns 10k – 33:18, 1^st OA, Course record

I was not sure about Frozen Buns going into the race. I started to feel sick a week before the race, and I was contemplating not running. As the winner of the 2013 FB 10k, I had free entry into the 2014 race, so I figured I had nothing to lose. After a little extra sleep and a day or two of easier workouts, I was feeling okay. I drove down to St Louis on Friday for packet pick up, $5 Chinese food, and I got to see some of my Greenville teammates.

Saturday morning rolled around, and it was a wonderful 20 degrees at 8am. I wasn’t feeling great, but I was feeling much better than I had been earlier in the week. There was no pressure to run fast, so I could just go out and have fun. I did a 3 mile warm up with Josh and Ross, then I went to the start line.

Standing on the start line I knew what was ahead...10,000m of fun with a little over 200 feet of elevation gain, mostly coming in the first 3 miles. Earlier in the week Coach told me not to go out too quickly…sure, I may go out too quickly in the 5k or 8k, but I have been pretty consistent with keeping 10k starts under control.

I wish I had some fun, epic story to tell you about this race, but I don’t. It was the exact same course as last year, and I found myself alone less than a mile into the race. I never looked back to see if anyone was coming, and I knew I would lower the course record about 5000m into the race—the only question was “how low?” There is definitely a lot that can happen over the last 3k-5k of a 10k, but I was running within myself and felt very in control of the race. I ended up running 33:18 compared to 33:57 last year. After the race I did a 3 mile cool down to get my “long run” in for the week.

This is one of my favorite winter races. The course is anything but flat, and it is a good test of strength. It may not be a “PR Course” but it is definitely a fun race. It is also pretty neat to race down the St Louis Delmar Loop. It is a very fun area and the St Louis Triathlon Club puts on a quality event.

Finally a downhill section!

Clermont, FL – Staying in Groveland

I feel like I had not made any crazy life choices for a while…until two days before the Frozen Buns run. I decided I was going to pack up some stuff and head south or west after the race. I visited the Clermont area last year and really enjoyed it. I was in Colorado in September and loved it as well. In the end, Clermont was better suited for my disliking of snow. I left home for St Louis on Friday. Raced on Saturday. Left St Louis and went to Nashville on Sunday. Monday morning I took off heading south. Somehow 10 hours later I found myself in Groveland at the AAA Tri Camp with a room made up for me. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going to be sleeping on Monday night, but things worked out just fine.

Van Fleet Trail

I have now been in Groveland for a week, and I love it. I get to swim at the NTC (National Training Center) and it is definitely the largest pool I have ever been in. It is pretty crazy to see Olympians swimming a lane or two over, or see Olympic sprinters as you’re walking through the fitness center. I am fully aware that they are regular people, but it is not something you’d see in Ottawa or Greenville.

27 short course lanes!!

There are also some pretty fun places to ride and run here. The Van Fleet Trail is just a bit down the road from camp, and it is nice for flat, fast rides and runs. There is also the clay trail just south of Clermont, and I hear it is great for a hilly 10 miler. I did a short run there, and the sun just about cooked me alive!

I'm going to get friendly with this red clay road!

Also, I am taking online classes while I am down here. I am finishing my last nursing school pre-requisite (for B.SN.., or M.S.N.) and I have been looking into a few other options.

The beach – Daytona, Ponce Inlet

 

Water!!!

Saturday, after my ride and run, we took a trip to Daytona Beach and Ponce Inlet. I love looking at big bodies of water, so it was great to see the ocean. I was very happy to be there for sunset on the beach! I have been to Daytona Beach before, but this was awesome. I look forward to visiting a few other places in Florida that I have not been.

So yeah, that has been my last couple week. Hope your training is going well. To all my northern friends—stay warm! Thanks for reading!

I love palm trees!

January 13-19

Swim: 14150 yards (8 miles) / 4:02

Bike: 211 minutes / 3:31

Run: 27.29 miles / 3:03

Total: 10:36

I felt like I had a cold coming on, so I had an off day and some down time this week.

Sunset at Ponce Inlet.

January 20-26

Swim: 16900 yards (9.6 miles) / 5:04

Bike: 458 minutes / 7:38

Run: 34.40 miles / 3:57

Total: 16:39

Had an extra ride and run this week upon arrival in Clermont. I learned the places to run and the best route to the pool.

Home squeezed grapefruit/orange juice in my Frozen Buns glass.

Dark Horse 2014

The holiday season is always a busy time, but things are finally back to normal. How many cookies did you eat? I know I had plenty. It seemed like we were not going to get many cookies this year (not a bad thing), but we seemed to get a lot right after Christmas...hmm.

Christmas morning run :)

The biggest news I have is that I was selected as the 2014 Dark Horse Triathlon Project Emerge athlete. I was very thrilled to receive an email saying I had been selected. I am very excited to keep working with Coach Steve for 2014. As stated in the write up, we have set some ambitious goals for 2014—make Team USA Chicago 2015 (through Age Group Nationals 2014) and qualify for/race Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Mont Tremblant. We believe both goals are possible, but it is going to take a lot of hard work. I have a feeling we will be doing a lot more swimming and biking this year.

See you in August!

2014 will be the first year that I do not have indoor track, outdoor track, or cross country. I am so used to being on the track almost every weekend Jan-early March and late March-mid May. Summer was always “base building.” Then cross country races were every other weekend Sept-Nov. I’m sure I will hop in a track race sometime (late may), but now I have the opportunity to race some different triathlons that I couldn’t before.What is your favorite early or late season race?

How about this crazy cold weather we’re having? I think the coldest I had run in was -5F before this winter. I have now run in -15F. -15 was not as bad as I thought it might be. It was single digits for most of the week and -15 didn’t feel much different. I also got to do a run in 14” of snow…I have decided I would rather have cold temps than snow.

Probably the longest goatee I'll ever grow!

Lastly, training has been going well. The swimming “ah-ha” moments are few and far between, but things are coming along nicely. I have to think about what I’m doing pretty much every second in the pool, but it seems to be paying off. I was taught to swim with the “S” pull, but Mary Bradbury was able to help me work through that issue. I sometimes find myself reverting back to it, but I am quick to fix it. Running is still running…one foot in front of the other. Biking has also been going well. I have been working on “spinning.” I have always been a “masher.” I like to ride at 75-80 RPM. We have been working on getting it closer to 85-90, by doing a lot of 90+ RPM stuff. I thought it was awful the first couple weeks, but now I am getting more comfortable with it.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions. Stay safe out there.

Dec 23-29

Swim: 10,100 yards (5.7 miles) / 3:10

Bike: 273 minutes / 4:33

Run: 39.21 miles /4:35

Total: 12:18

Dec 30-Jan 5

Swim: 13,650 (7.8 miles) / 4:02

Bike: 324 minutes / 5:24

Run: 35.32 miles / 4:02

Total: 13:28

Jan 6-12

Swim: 13,500 yards (7.7 miles) / 4:16

Bike: 137 minutes / 2:17

Run: 38.11 miles / 4:31

Total: 11:04