2009 Races (Tentative)

As most of you know, I'm a planner when it comes to races and I always like to have a race on the calendar to look forward to. I've learned that it buffers the let down that occurs at the finish line. (I'm probably the only person who's sad at the finish line because the race is over...) So, I thought I would post my somewhat tentative race schedule now, to remind myself that there are lots more races coming in 2009!

January 8 ~ Circle of Life 5K - Orlando,FL
January 9 ~ Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - Orlando, FL
January 10 ~ Walt Disney World Marathon - Orlando, FL
March 8 ~ Walt Disney World Inaugural Princess 1/2 Marathon - Orlando, FL
April 4 ~ Lincoln's 1/2 Marathon - Springfield, IL
May 2 ~ Indy Mini Marathon - Indianapolis, IN
May 16 ~ Women of Steel Triathlon - American Fork, UT
May 30 ~ Shark Attack Triathlon - Honeyville, UT
June 13 ~ Ironman Boise 70.3 - Boise, ID
June 20 ~ Cache Valley Classic Triathlon - Hyrum, UT
June 27-28 ~ MS 150 - Cache Valley, UT
July 11 ~ Echo Triathlon - Echo, UT
July 18 ~ Scofield Triathlon - Scofield, UT
August 8 ~ Railsplitter Triathlon - Petersburg, IL
September 6 ~ The Great Illini 1/2 IM - Neoga, IL

The Great Illini 1/2 IM Race Report

Results -

Swim - 44:14

T1 - 1:47

Bike - 3:23:25

T2 - 2:28

Run - 2:54:55

Total - 7:06:50

Average HR - 157

Calories Burned - 7157

I am a 1/2 Ironman! It has been and long, hard journey, but it is finally done and I can say that I'm glad that I did it. I will say that I thought I would feel differently than I am feeling about this race. I think I thought I would have a feeling of elation, but mostly I'm disappointed and a bit sad. I'm still working on processing the race, so maybe my attitude will change and I will feel differently. Here's the story of this race and how I became a 1/2 Ironman.

On Friday afternoon, I met my friends Melissa, Erin, and Jessica and we headed down to Neoga, IL to pick up our packets and to check out the race site. We found it okay, grabbed our packets, and listened to the pre-race talk. I also made a quick, much needed trip to the porta potty. The race t-shirt was cool and is definitely one that I will happily wear. After we picked up our stuff, we headed to Mattoon to our hotel and to grab some dinner. We ended up eating at a place called "Cody's." I worked on drinking enough water and also had a diet Coke that tasted wonderful. I ordered the Cherokee grilled chicken, loaded mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies. My chicken was way overcooked and reminded me of chicken jerky. After dinner we unloaded our stuff and started winding down for the evening. I worked on my mental list of what to do in the morning and was hoping to sleep really well. I filled up my water bottles, stuck them in the fridge, and made myself a note to not forget them. I set out my stuff for the morning so that it wouldn't require much thought. After a few minutes of reading, I was out for the night.

I slept really well until 3am, and then kind of dozed until 4:20am. I heard Erin get up and we talked for a few minutes and then started getting ready for the day. I put on my tri-clothes, wished I looked better in spandex, and then worked on eating my 2 Poptarts. We loaded up the car and headed down to the race. On the way, Melissa handed Erin and I some cards from Sherry. My card was awesome and reminded me to smile during the rough times. I was feeling fairly calm and was ready for the porta potty we we arrived.

Once we arrived, we unloaded our stuff and headed over to transition. When I got to my age group's rack, I noticed that everyone had racked their bikes in the same direction, so there wasn't much room. I ended up on the other side of the rack, with my brakes holding my bike up because the rack was too low for my seat. I set up my stuff, went to get body marked, put on sunscreen, grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the lake. I ran in Tamara, Heather, and Chris from Tri-Sharks and we chatted a bit. I gave Melissa and Erin a hug, talked to Jessica for a minute and then walked into the lake.

The swim start was right on time and was a little chaotic but I handled it really well. I started swimming and was able to stretch out and swim the way I like to. The swim was clockwise so the buoys were on my right. I breath on my left so that was a little adjustment. The water temperature was great and the water even tasted good. (I know...I'm not supposed to drink it, but hey, it happens.) I made my first turn and was feeling good. I couldn't really tell if I was passing people or getting passed so I just kept swimming. I did get elbowed in the head once, which hurt and kind freaked me out and made me a little mad. When I made my final turn, I could see the blow up thing at the swim finish which really helped with my sighting. (Thanks for the tip, CD!) At one point, I forgot to sight and ended up on the wrong side of a buoy, but I straighted out and kept swimming. I swam until I could feel the bottom with my hand. Then, I stood up, staggered around for a second, and started working on getting the wetsuit off. While I was running up to transition, I took my goggles and swim cap off and didn't even notice the gravel under the carpet that I had worried a little about on my way down to the lake. The run to transition was slightly uphill, but I got into transition feeling good and smiling. I felt really good about how I swam straight and stayed on course. My goal time for the swim was 45 minutes, so when I looked at my watch when I was exiting the water and saw 43, I was pretty excited. By the time I got to transition, the time was 44:14.

T1 was actually pretty dull. I ran in, got my wetsuit off with no problems, got my shoes on easily, put on my sunglasses and helmet, grabbed my bike and was off. My T1 time was actually quite a bit faster than I expected. I was in and out in 1:50.

I headed out on the bike feeling good. I was right where I wanted to be timewise. I knew the first segment of the bike course was the hilly part so I watched my heart rate so that I wasn't pushing myself too hard. I struggled for awhile and felt kinda rotten, but managed to keep a 17 mph pace for the first hour. Once I got past the hilly part, I started pushing myself a little more. I hit some headwind that slowed me down quite a bit, but I still managed around 16.5 mph. The third hour was tough. I hit a serious headwind. I was working hard, my heart rate was around 170 and I was only going maybe 14 mph. I kept wondering when the wind would be at my back. I guess around mile 46 or so I finally felt a tailwind and was cruising along. I was actually really enjoying the bike course.

The course was four different out and backs so I got to see alot of people lots of times. My nutrition went well. I took in 2 bottles of Heed, 1 bottle of water, and 3 packages of Clif Shot Blocks (~800 calories). During my second hour on the bike, I really had to pee. I never thought about stopping and decided to try to talk myself into just peeing on the bike. It is really really hard to pee your pants! I couldn't relax. Finally, I felt like I was maybe ready, so I moved my water bottle so I wouldn't pee on it, shifted to my left side and let loose. It was a very weird experience and learning to pee on the bike apparently requires practice. At one point I was a little distracted and went off the road into the gravel. I really thought I was going down, but somehow managed to correct and not tip over. I'm actually really proud of that moment because it made me realize how far I've come on the bike in the past year. The last 30 minutes of the ride went really well. I really pushed myself and passed two people who were ahead of me for most of the ride. I was grinning going into transition because I was truly having alot of fun.

My goal for the bike was 3:15, but I didn't account for any headwind...mostly because I can't remember ever riding into a headwind on any of my training rides. My time on the bike was 3:23:25, so I was longer than I planned on, but it was also my longest ride ever, so I can't complain. I was actually smiling going in to transition because I had a good ride. I have learned that I really enjoy my time on the bike. So, while I was on the bike 8 minutes longer than I planned on, I was actually quite happy with my ride. Oh, and I feel like I could have kept riding and I didn't hate Oscar at all at the end, which was a very nice feeling.

This T2 was a little different than my usual T2. When I got off the bike, I had to walk about 15 steps before I got my legs under me. I ran to my spot, racked my bike, took off my shoes, started putting on my socks (for the first time ever in a triathlon) which was kind of a hassle, took off my helmet, put on my visor and shoes, grabbed my race bib, downed a Hammer Gel and then headed out of transition. I was in and out in 2:27, which was longer than I planned on. I'm sure it was because of the blasted socks. Did you notice that I forgot to grab my gels and endurolytes?

I headed out on the run feeling pretty good. I decided to run 8 minutes and walk 1 minute, mostly to make sure I was feeling good and to watch my heart rate. I got about half a mile down the road and realized I had forgotten all of my fuel. I knew that there would be gel and endurolytes at the aid stations, but I was a little frustrated with myself for being a dork and forgetting to grab them. Anyways, I was doing well and got to the turn around feeling okay. I stopped to pee and was surprised that I still needed to pee. On my way back to transition my feet were pretty sore and I felt like I was getting blisters on the balls of my feet.

I was still doing intervals and felt okay, but I was starting to get tired. I got back to the turnaround and headed out for my second and last loop. I made it about a half mile before my low back started cramping. I walked a little bit and the cramping moved all the way up my back and into my neck...not a good feeling. I really wanted to cry...mostly from frustration, but also because of pain. I was trying to figure out how to tough this out, when I passed the water station and heard my friend Melissa's voice. I stopped and waited for her. We ended up walking and running very slowly the rest of the race. I wasn't thinking very clearly and was having a very difficult time figuring out distances or anything. I was also STARVING. I remember telling Melissa, "I'm so hungry" multiple times. At some point, probably around miles 9-10 I took another gel which helped with the thinking. I think I ended up taking 3 gels on the run and about 10-12 endurolytes. We ended up walking to a barricade and then running to the next barricade. My feet were incredibly angry. My back was so tight. My brain wasn't working at all. We finally saw the finish line and ran in. We crossed together and met Erin (she finished an hour before us and placed 3rd in her age group) and Jessica.

The run ended up taking me 2:54:55, which is my slowest 1/2 marathon EVER, and was alot longer than I was planning on. It was also much more painful than I expected. My feet were killing me. My third and fourth toes still have a little bit of tingling. My back was in spasms. I was thirsty. I was starving. My finishing time ended up being 7:06:50, which I'm pretty disappointed in.

The finish line was pretty dull. I got my timing chip removed, hugged Melissa, Erin, and Jessica and headed to pick up my finisher's plaque. The only food was pizza from Casey's General Store, which I skipped, in spite of being STARVING. I ran into Chris, Andy, Heather, and Tamara and chatted with them for a minute. I grabbed a Cherry Coke, which may have been the best cherry coke EVER. We waited around for awards since Erin got 3rd in her age group. Chris Sweet won first overall, Tamara won her age group, and Andy placed 3rd in his age group, so the Tri-Sharks were well represented. After the trophy's, it was off to transition to pack up our stuff. I was incredibly slow, but eventually got everything together. We loaded up and headed over to the campground for showers, which consisted of a very cold trickle, but felt pretty good. Then it was a quick stop at Subway and we were on the way home.

So, there's my race report. I finished my first 1/2 ironman distance triathlon, and while it wasn't at all pretty, it's in the books and it's done. I can swim 1.2 miles without stopping or freaking out, even when people are bumping into me and elbowing me in the head. I can ride 56 miles on Oscar the bike and still feel like riding more. I can struggle through a 13.1 mile run, even when it's incredibly painful, with the help and encouragement of friends. So, yeah, I'm a 1/2 Ironman.

The Great Illini 1/2 IM Goals

All week I've been trying to come up with some goals for my 1/2 IM tomorrow. I think I've got my time goals nailed down and I feel like they're pretty reasonable. I also have a few race goals in mind as well that I will share. I need to mention that I'm sitting here with a HUGE smile on my face because I get to compete in my first 1/2 IM tomorrow. I get to do something that I've been looking forward to since last December. I'm healthy and ready to go and that's kind of a big deal. I'm totally celebrating this accomplishment before I even get to do it...so, here are my goals.

Goal Times
Swim ~ 0:45:00
T1 ~ 0:02:30
Bike ~ 3:15:00
T2 ~ 0:02:00
Run ~ 2:20:00

Total Time ~ 6:24:30

As far as the race goals are concerned there is really only one that I've had floating around in my head all week. I want to really enjoy and be smiling during this race. I want to smile during the swim because I've really been able to conquer my OW swim issues and I'm going to be able to swim 1.2 miles in a lake without freaking out. I want to smile when I'm out riding 56 miles of hills and cornfields because I've finally bonded with Oscar the silver bike and I've learned that spending long hours in the saddle provides so many rewards. I want to smile when I'm out on the 13.1 run course because I've run lots of 1/2 marathons and I know that I can do them and running is just fun. So yeah, that's my big race goal...

to totally and completely enjoy this race, to smile throughout the entire course, and to have a huge cheesy grin when I cross the finish line.

I'll be sure and post my race report on Monday.

Pre-Race Dreams

On Saturday, I will be completing my first 1/2 Ironman distance triathlon. One of my goals this week was to get lots of good sleep this week so that I would feel well rested on Saturday morning, so I've been going to bed around 9pm at night, which has, I must say, been glorious. I also have been sleeping a good 8 hours each night so I feel like I'm on track. Last night, the pre-race dreams started. I should say that I don't really do the whole anxiety freak out thing in my pre-race dreams. Mostly they're just really silly. This one falls right into that category, so I thought I would share it.

I was all set for the race, which turned out to be in Utah (the real race is in Mattoon, IL). For some reason, the run was first, but I wasn't bothered by this at all so no worries. I took off on the run and was running on roads, through fields, through buildings and ended up at a house. I had to run through the house, but the owner stopped me because he just had the carpets cleaned. I was thinking, "Why would you do that if you knew a race was going to be going through your house?" I politely tiptoed around his very clean carpets and then ran out the back door. I did notice that there wasn't anyone around, but wasn't bothered by it. Then, I had to climb up the side of a barn...in the race...as part of the race course. Of course, I do not have sticky Spiderman fingers, so this was a bit of a challenge, but somehow I figured it out.

At some point, I realized that I was probably not on the right course...probably at the point when I saw a peloton of cyclists flying down the road. Lance Armstrong was there with a livestrong team. I thought, "Wow, he's totally going to win this race." I figured I probably needed to find the transition area, but I couldn't find it. I was totally lost. I also realized that I had forgotten to put on sunscreen and didn't have my running visor. At this point, I was feeling anxious. Where did transition go? I went inside this store and was trying to find a race volunteer with some answers. I couldn't find one because the store was filled with tons of sorority girls who were giggling and screaming and gushing. Right about now is where I woke up.

Who knows what in the world made me dream this... I'm quite certain that race day will be nothing at all like this, but I was amused and thought some of my readers might be amused as well.

Hope

This weekend, while I was running with my friend Sherry, she mentioned a blog and story that she thought I would find interesting. A few weeks ago, a couple from Arizona, who are LDS, were in a plane crash. The flight instructor was killed, the husband has burns over 30% of his body, and the wife has burns over 80% of her body. They have 4 beautiful children. Over the past hour, I have been reading a couple of blogs (http://www.nierecovery.com/) and (http://blog.cjanerun.com/) and learning about this family. Reading these blogs has been incredibly touching and inspiring. They are in for the long haul and they are estimating the medical expenses to be in the millions.

If you would like to donate, please use the above button. If you would like to keep this family in your thoughts and prayers, I know they would appreciate it and acknowledge it.

Just for Laughs...

In case you're struggling from withdrawals from the Olympics...

Railsplitter Triathlon Race Report

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Swim -36:29
T1 -1:33
Bike - 2:07:14
T2 - 1:28
Run - 1:28:20
Total Time - 4:15:06 (My time goal was 4:15, so I'll take it...but it really doesn't make sense)

My alarm went off bright and early at 3:33am. Six hours of sleep is probably not enough for a race, but I'll take it. I laid in bed for 10 or so minutes, feeling very glad that I packed all of my stuff the night before. I finally got up, got dressed, and go ready to go. I hauled my bike out to the car. I almost forgot my PopTart which would have been bad. I rode down to the race with my friends, the Hills, which turned out to be a very good thing, and we left at around 4:45am. The race was in Petersburg and was about 1 hour and 15 minutes away; however, when we arrived, we discovered that finding the actually race venue was a bit tricky.

We arrived at the race site and checked in, did the packet pickup thing, and headed over to the transition area. Apparently, they mowed the transition area the day before the race and there were wet clumps of grass everywhere, which for some reason really bugged me...perhaps because I ended up wearing grass for the ENTIRE race. My feet were covered with wet grass and it was making me cranky, although I'm not sure why. I should probably mention that this was the inaugural race, so there were some organization issues. I started to set up my transition area and I decided to skip using my towel because the grass was so gross. Good thing my tri backpack has a mat in it. I set up my spot but forgot to open my water bottles and check the gearing on my bike, which ended up being okay, but I should have remembered to do that. I did remember to open my nutrition for the bike. I also had to get all of my numbers attached. The bike number was supposed to be attached with twist ties, which turned out to be a bad idea, since the number didn't have holes in the right places. Anyways, it was almost time to start and there was some (alot) confusion about whether or not wetsuits were legal. It was determined that they were legal, which resulted in several participants running back to transition to get their wetsuits. I was actually quite happy to be able to wear my wetsuit because I really don't like to be cold. So, finally, it was time to start (late).

There was only one wave of swimmers, so the start was a little chaotic, but no more than the regular wave starts. It took me about 10 yards before I finally felt like I could swim. It was an out and back swim, which was a little different. The water was gorgeous, except for the floating plant material. There was no wake and while it was murky, it wasn't green like the Miller Park Lake. Oh, the temperature was 78, so it was nice and warm...just the way I like it. I had a few collisions in the water, but absolutely no freak outs which was GLORIOUS! I'm finally settling in to the open water swimming. I was out of the water in 36:29, which is faster than my BAM triathlon swim time. My average HR was 165. I should also mention that it was a kinda longish run from the lake to the transition area. Also, I had TONS of grass inside my wetsuit, on my legs and arms, which wasn't cool, since it stayed with me until I got home that afternoon.

Once I finally got to my transition spot, I was winded from the long, uphill run. I was concerned about putting my bike shoes on because of all of the grass, but I decided to take a chance. I put on my sunglasses, strapped on my helmet, grabbed my bike and headed out of transition. Once I hit the pavement, I checked my cleats for grass (there was none), hopped on Oscar and took off. My transition time was 1:34 and my average HR was 174.

For the first few minutes on the bike, I felt like I was flying. I was ready for a drink, which was when I realized that I hadn't opened my water bottles. I took an Endurolyte and grabbed a quick drink. My goal on the bike was to push an 18mph pace. I should also mention that it takes me about 30-45 minutes before I start feeling good on the bike. After a couple of miles, I started to hit the hills. There were some rollers and there were some hills. My nutrition plan was to eat 1 shotblock every 10 minutes and 1 Endurolyte every 30 minutes. I had 1 bottle of water and 1 bottle of Heed. I was actually feeling pretty good and was going somewhere between 17-18 mph by the halfway point. At one point, I thought I had taken a wrong turn because I couldn't see anyone on the course, either in front of me or behind me. Around mile 18, I hit the wall and bonked. It was so weird because that has never really happened to me before on the bike. I'm not really sure what the problem was, but I do know it was not a good feeling. I had to drop down to my small ring and spin up the hill at a very quick 6 mph. I was seriously worried about my ability to finish the race. At some point, I pulled myself together and got going again. I actually started to feel really good. I only got passed on the bike by 2 women and maybe 8 men, but on my way back, I passed one of the women. She kinda pooped out around mile 30. I ran out of fluids at mile 24, but they were handing out water bottles so it worked out. Did you know that trying to grab a bottle from a kid while riding by is tricky? I did manage to grab a very welcome bottle of ice cold water and I was so glad to have the extra rack on the back of my bike. Anyways, I pushed myself hard on the last 8-10 miles and went rolling in to transition at 2:07:16. My average HR was 168. I took in about 500 calories on the bike and 2 bottles of water. I also took 7 endurolytes.

I hit the dismount line and had no problems clipping out. Of course, my legs were wobbly and I waddled back to my transition spot. My legs did feel better than they did after my long ride last weekend, so that was good. I racked my bike with no problems and surprisingly my bike shoes slipped right off. My running shoes slipped on easily and I downed a raspberry Hammer gel, grabbed my visor and bib and headed out for the run. My T2 time was 1:23 and my average HR was 173.

As I was heading out for the run, it was really starting to heat up and get more humid. I guess I should mention that the temperature was supposed to be around 90 and feel like 97. It was very humid and felt like it got more and more humid as the day went on. I felt pretty good heading out on the run and I knew I would feel better after the first mile. I cruised along and was passing a couple of people until my quads started to cramp up. There were no mile markers out on the course, which made the run more tough because I really had no idea where I was. I would check my watch, but I wasn't sure of my pacing or anything. I was dumping water over my head and shoulders and trying to stay as cool as possible, but it was really hot. My shoes were soaking wet and I ended up with alot of hot spots and a very good sized chunk of skin missing from my left heel. There were enough water stations, but it seemed like they weren't in the right spots. There was WAY too much winding around on the course and when I finally finished, I discovered that the run was almost a mile longer, which made me feel somewhat better about my time. Still, it ended up taking me 1:32:18 to run 7.8 miles, which is just depressing. I did struggle with cramping, but mostly got frustrated with the course and it was blasted hot. I had a hard time getting my heart rate down, and the average HR was 175, which is higher than I like it to be. I really just wanted to be done running and was so happy to cross the finish line and get the small ice cold bottle of water with a smiley face on it.

At the finish line, there was alot of discussion about the run course and how long it was. They had tons of really cold drinks which was awesome. They also had hamburgers and hot dogs which made me want to yak. I did eat 2 bags of Cheetos that might have been the most delicious Cheetos ever. I was covered in salt when I finished, so I'm guessing that's why the chips tasted so yummy. I was also pretty thirsty and drank a 180 energy drink which tasted fabulous...very refreshing. I was pretty wiped out after the race and was so ready to not be wearing my sweaty, soaking wet, stinky clothes. My shoes were squishy and my heels were really starting to hurt. We stuck around for the awards and I ended up winning my age group, but only because I was the only one in my age group. My overall time ended up being 4:19:03 (according to my watch), which was longer than I wanted, but this race was really a catered training to make sure that I'm ready for the 1/2 IM in 2 weeks, so no beating myself up over the time.

So, what did I learn from this race. Let's see...I realized that I can have a really great open water swim if I stay calm and swim like I know how. Body glide and tri-slide do work for chafing, but I need to apply more under my arms. I need to keep swimming at Miller Park to continue gaining confidence. I did realize that I have some serious tunnel vision when I exit the water.

On the bike, I realized that I need to carry more fluids. I don't think I was super dehydrated, but I was thirsty. My nutrition worked well, really well. I'm going to try taking the endurolytes every 20 minutes instead of every 30 minutes, so hopefully that will help ward off any cramping. I'll also probably carry them on the run. I've been debating about a mph pace goal for the 1/2 IM. Initially, I was sort of planning on 18 mph, but that will probably depend on the course, which means I need to do some map studying this week. I think that maybe I went too hard on the bike for this race, but since the bike course was hilly, its kind of hard to tell. So, over the next week, I need to decide how to approach my pacing on the bike course.

On the run, well, I just need to run faster and be mentally tougher. I'm not sure how the 1/2 marathon will go, but I really hope the course is not alot of out and back wanderings. I still need to work on staying focused and mentally tough. I hope there are mile markers at the 1/2 IM so I'll at least know where I am on the course.

Overall, I'm pleased with my race. I would actually do this race again, mostly to ride that bike course. I'm finally loving the bike and feeling good about my open water swim, so all of the time I spent working on them this summer has paid off. On the flip side, my lack of run training has become my weakness. I'll be able to focus on my running this winter, so hopefully, I"ll be more balanced. Now it's time to focus on the game plan for the 1/2 IM...