Catching up- the death ride, I’ll never be Michael Phelps, Peachtree and Chattanooga recaps

So far behind on recaps. I'll just hit the training highlights of the past several weekends. 

Headed to those mountains

Cool photos my friend Jerome took in the Gaps a few weeks ago. Lots of these photos courtesy of Jerome. Hope ya don't mind!

First, the Death Ride, as I have since termed it. I had the hardest ride of my life the week before the Chattanooga Oly. Hardest meaning the closest I've been ( or the hardest I've tried) to bail mid-ride. Lately, I have been paring down on running to really try to concentrate on improving my bike. I definitely have found the point where less is less, but more on that later. Anyways, through this process, I have become a big fan of riding my bike!  Honestly, I love riding long rides especially, the harder and hotter the better, and I love all the great centuries we have locally near Atlanta.

This is actually mile 83.... over the hump! At this point I am resigned to my  fate.. limping it in the rest of the  way. The inability to get up is real... 

So I really, really wanted to do the Cartersville century…. Even though I had done the Brevet 100 two weeks prior and a hard Gaps ride the week before... (and a HIM the weekend before that, and an IM a few weeks before that, and another HIM a few weeks before That!) Also, the C'ville century was a week prior to the Chattanooga oly, but I convinced myself it would be okay. I actually Planned on it being a very fast easy century and thought I could recover just fine. Famous. Last. Words.

The century crew Lauren, me, Jerome, and Ted... notice everyone looks to be feeling pretty normal but me

Also, it was a record hot day.. 108 degrees and I felt like crap before I even started.  I have never been so close to getting sagged in my life.  In fact, I talked to the SAG guy… not near the end.. I was ready to bail at mile 48.. especially after we got lost and added several miles right near the beginning! There was some definite sweat and tears but I was convinced    forced to  finish by my friends. The last several miles I was freezing cold and I had full blown heat exhaustion. It was pretty amazing, really!

Contemplating how I'm going to get home

Fast forward a few days to Peachtree Road Race. I was soo excited because John and I, along with several other friends, actually decided not to run Peachtree hard and we wore costumes instead. Lots of fun and laughs.. I don’t think I’ll ever run Peachtree hard again!

John and I's awesome paint before it all sweated off. Turns out even jogging  the Ptree was strenuous, especially after we got lost getting back to Steve's house and had to take a taxi.

John, Jason, Steve, and I

I don’t have much to say about Chattanooga. Basically, I had an amazing swim (for me), then proceeded to ride my half ironman watts, and ran at a pace..a lot.. slower than my last two half ironmans. All the fun of the past several weekends catching up with me. As always, though, Chattanooga is really fun and we had a blast with friends. Someday, I am going to come and crush this race!

On the yog at Chattanooga

 Finally, some big news. This just in, I found out that I’ll never be Michael Phelps. I’m sure that comes as a massive shock to those of you who have seen my unique take on the freestyle stroke. Basically, my spine is slightly crooked which goes a long way towards explaining lots of form issues and pain that I have had cycling and swimming since day 1. It’s actually a relief because I’m sure it’s a lot of pressure being a gazillion time medalist and all J

Macon Half 2012: The Power of Perception

I realized after St. George that the problem wasn’t with my training or fitness, it was in my head. When you first try something new it’s easy to have a positive attitude and open mind. Then, the longer you stick with it and expect to improve the more you are tied to expectations. If I don’t hit x or do y, I’ll be mad. If I don’t improve x amount, I’ll be disappointed etc.

I realized this is the trap I had fallen into. It’s all well and good if my expectations were sensible and allowed some degree of error, but instead they are always somewhere on the scale of ‘if things go absolutely perfect’ to ‘slightly unrealistic’ I realized what I need to do is take a step back and just have fun, and remember how to go by feel again.

Step one was chilling out a little be pre-race. Although I had a tiny bit of nervousness, I was way more relaxed than I have ever been. I went to bed close to 11 (gasp) forgot and consequently had to ‘make’ my own race belt last minute. There were other lapses or changes in terms of preparation that I never would have allowed myself previously.

This race was fantastic because it was a designated ATC volunteer event, plus we had 30ish people racing. So well over 100 club members out on the course. It was awesome and really added to an already great experience. The second great thing was really mild weather compared to most years. Often the temps reach to over 100 on this course known as the ‘toughest half in the southeast’ This year, it only got up to high 80s, which is a best case scenario for macon.

There were also a few interclub rivalries and lots of smack talk, which always adds to the experience and makes it a ‘race within a race.’ Finally, another unique feature of Macon is that it has an Open division and offers prize money to the top five in each gender. The money is awarded to top five regardless of division.

I had originally thought about entering the open division, but in the end, in keeping with my ‘no expectations’ theme I decided to stay age group.  

Bringing it home

The swim started and I just went out hard. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good. I didn’t have that … “I hate my life, I’m going to drown, why am I doing this,” sort of thing that often occurs in the first few hundred anaerobic yards. I saw right away that I wasn’t going to be able to find good feet. The wave was spread out and I was actually swimming towards the front of the group. Believe it.

Our wave was the womens wave. Half of the guys started three minutes before and the other half six minutes before. There were a few that I really wanted to catch from the club so I was ready to spot whoever I could. My main club ‘rival’ for this race was Andrew, who has just started the sport and I know isn’t a good swimmer yet. In my pre-race plan I figured I would outswim him by a bit, get way behind on the bike, and hopefully make some back on the run (I should mention that he is a way faster open runner and cyclist than I, so I am basically picking on the new kid while he figures out how best to put all three sports together. I know my days are numbered, especially after yesterday!)

So here I am, swimming along, getting in the last several hundred yards, and suddenly I see the familiar stripes of our new club shorts ahead of me in the murky water. I do a double and triple take.. could it be? Here is my chance to drown him and make up some more time! Just kidding. In all seriousness there may have been a bit of jostling as I swam past him and he may have grabbed at my ankle and pulled my timing chip. OR maybe it was someone else .. it’s hard to say. GA lakes are disgusting and it’s hard to see!

So I get out of the swim feeling great. I know I swam hard.. thank goodness I Didn’t have my watch because I would have freaked at my slow time. I think the swim was definitely longer than usual this year.

Get off on the bike and I feel okay. The next change in my plan is just to have up my three second avg power instead of average. I get stuck chasing an arbitrary average and then get frustrated when I don’t hit it normally. I decided instead to just go by feel. I knew Andrew would be coming up behind me and wanted to hold him off as long as possible. Also, another guy in our club, Jerome, is a great cyclist and a slow swimmer. I figured I had passed him in the water, too and he would be coming up behind me eventually. (Actually, oddly, I had a dream a few nights ago where he beat me at this race, so it got in my head a little bit. It was weird but I’m sure his girlfriend Jessica thought it was Really weird when I told them both!)

After about thirty minutes, Andrew caught me and we exchanged words. I can’t remember what was said exactly, but I remember thinking how much time can he put in me the next few hours? Also, he passed me pretty quickly, but I noticed that he was still in sight for a very long time. After about an hour, I started having some negative thoughts and the familiar shoulder pain, wanting to sit up, etc. I realized it was time for my red bull! I kept putting it off since I only allowed myself one the whole race (This was another change my coach and I had made post St. G. .. limiting the caffeine!) Also, Jerome caught me and pulled away during this time. He really zoomed away and I could tell he was going to have a great race.

I finally had my elixir about 2:00 in and felt markedly better. Before I had felt like my power wasn’t there and that I was destined to fade a bit towards the end of the ride. Instead I decided to stick with the theoretical ‘plan’ and push as hard as I could for the last ten miles (I saw theoretical because this is the first time I’ve actually had the goods/opportunity to do it)

I reminded myself that I know I can run even when my legs are completely destroyed.. I practice it in training all the time. So I started going as hard as I could and with about three miles to go, I see the familiar sight of the ATC uniform. Could it be? I pulled up next to Andrew and said ‘getting tired?’ knowing this would result in him leaving me in his dust.

My race nemesis.. planning how he's going to stomp me next time

We got into transition around the same time, but I could tell by his manner that he was getting tired and it wasn’t his day. Started off on the run and it was amazing to see all the ATC members volunteering at each aid station. Jared, Rich, Jim, and Joseph and their cohorts were all quick with providing my much needed water and coke and the miles started clicking off. I caught Jerome again around mile three and he was looking great and way ahead of his projection. I saw Paul, Ted, and David G ahead of me on the out and backs and it looked like they were all doing well, as expected. David had started six minutes ahead of me, and I hadn’t even really even had him on my radar prior to the race (okay, that's a lie. Of course he was on my radar... my ambition is never limited by my actual abilities) The reason is he has been  killing me in all three during training. BUT,  I started to notice that I might be gaining a little because it seemed like I was a little closer during each out and back. 

Ted killing it on the run with a 1:29... no small feat at Macon

I really just felt great and although I was pushing myself to the max the miles were going by quickly, and I just felt like it was my day. I kept noticing my positive attitude and marveling at the difference it made. I mean, I didn’t even know what my average power was for the ride, swim time, or cumulative time. I thought it was impossible to move one foot in front of the other without those metrics!

I saw lots of club members out there during this time and it was something additional to look forward to. It really is better racing with friends!

Prior to the race I had allowed myself to briefly dream the dream of getting a 1:33 run, the same as in New Orleans six weeks ago. I knew if I could do it on this course, it would be a Much better performance than NO.. with the hills and the heat. Somehow my body knew what to do, because I swear I pulled my watch face out (remember, no straps!) like two times over the course of the run and I just managed to get in the 1:33s still.

I crossed the line and was smiling/grimacing and realized that I had had Such a great time. I was able to meet one of the open competitors, Marni, whose blog I read and who is a great athlete. I remembered her name as winning our AG at my first IM, WI 2010 and admiring her speed and hoping someday I could race in the same zipcode as her.

John and Jackie.. sprint race awards

Jerome celebrating his well-deserved first AG victory!

I watched the other competitors come in and everyone looked great. We had a number of friends receive awards and I was very excited to come in 4^th female overall, including open and age group and receive $250! John won his age group at the sprint, too, so it was a good racing day for the Rutledges. I was/am Extremely sore afterwards, and had a migraine that’s still hanging around so I know I pushed myself to the limit this time. All in all, going by feel was so great, I definitely need to carry that into the next race.

Two Half Ironmans and one full Ironman in six weeks. Good stuff! Wish I could do it all again in the next six weeks, but it's time to buckle down and 'just train' for a few weeks at least.

St. George 2012: Amazing and Terrible

Pre-Race

On a hot day last summer, I had just finished IM Louisville and was contemplating signing up for a spring IM. I was stressed out about IM FL looming ahead and felt like I needed another ‘shot’ at Kona since I didn’t think I had a good chance for qualifying at Florida.

I really wanted an early season IM and had been mulling over the pros and cons of doing St. George. Coincidentally, I was walking the dogs and ran into Jared Brown, who was picking up food in my neighborhood (or possibly stalking me, it’s really hard to say) We started chatting about race plans and somehow I was able to guess and uncover that he was also thinking about St. George. Before I knew it, I got spousal permission J,  and there were several of us signed up/almost signed up and ready to go!

I ended up qualifying at FL and although the pull of St. George wasn’t quite as strong after that, I was still very excited about it and thought it would be a good time. As the winter progressed, two of  those signed up, unfortunately had to make a tough decision to pull out due to injury. A couple of other people talking about it never ended up actually signing up. So then finally, it was just Ted and I. Our plan was to get up there Wednesday and start getting acclimated and John and Stacey would come up Friday night.

As always, whatever arrival you choose sounds like it will be plenty of time but then time starts moving faster and faster and the preparations always take longer than planned. It’s always preferable to have a big group of friends and family there, but the one advantage was there was nothing to concentrate on except for the race. I was more prepared logistically than I’ve ever been.. went to the banquet and pre-race meeting, checked out the bike course, got a massage, organized bags, did a plethora of race week workouts, etc. 

This is the only pic I have of the first half of the trip... previewing the bike course!

We ran into my coach a few times and it was the first time I had actually met her in person, so that was neat. Also, we did an interview for a local podcast on our goals for the race and why we do Ironman.   The area was beautiful and the course definitely looked tough. I have never been to a race before where the volunteers and locals were so genuinely happy to have the racers there. It was pretty neat and I could tell that folks were sad that this was the last year the Ironman would come to town.

Going in I had two major concerns about St. George. The first was making it through the bike ride. After totally screwing up my bad shoulder at New Orleans, I’d been going to physical therapy, getting massage, etc double time in a desperate effort to get it solid enough to hopefully make it through.  I fully planned to stop and stretch, sit up, resort to taking an NSAID (bad) whatever it took to make it through the bike.  I made a few little changes to hopefully take the pressure off, but I was very nervous about this part .

My other concern has always been the cold water.  I don’t do well in cold and have Reynaud’s and I genuinely wasn’t sure that I could survive a 5x degree water temp. Thank goodness it was pretty warm leading up the race to get the water temp into the 60s.  On Thursday we went out for a practice swim and I had a bit of panic after I didn’t acclimate long enough and my chest started tightening up while swimming.  Since it was only 61 degrees, a tiny little voice in the back of my head wondered if the altitude or some kind of cold etc could have contributed to my reaction but I had to dismiss it since neither of those factors were within my control. I was also waking up feeling a bit congested and scratchy but I managed to convince myself that it was something about the dry desert air.

Friday morning I pulled out all the stops for the swim because I knew I needed a ‘good’ experience before the race.  Silicone cap, neoprene cap (modified so it wouldn’t squeeze my neck) ear plugs, using my inhaler, booties, and super-tight new goggles. Whew! Fortunately this swim went better, but I knew that my swim plan probably needed to entail my going out a little easier than I had planned.

Friday evening,  John and Stacey arrived and we had a super early dinner then I was in bed ready to go by 8 pm. 3:15 arrived quickly, and before I knew it was 6 am and we were about to get in the water. My original plan had been to try really really hard to catch a draft off Ted in the swim, but after my freakout (and the fact that he’s gotten a lot faster) I thought a smarter strategy would be to just do it on my own and try to find someone a little slower to draft. We started up to the left of the first buoy and then we all were off.

The swim 'before'

No worries getting to the first turn. Breathing was under control, lost my shot at drafting  immediately, but I wasn’t worried. Right after we turned I started to notice some waves and I felt really annoyed at what I thought must be boats driving too close to the swimmers. But then the waves didn’t stop and when we turned again (into the wind) all the sudden everything exploded.  Sudden windstorm that John said you could see coming by a dust cloud on the horizon. It went from no wind to 25 mph .. up to 40 mph gusts in one instant.

Swim during. 

I have never ever in my entire life been in conditions like that. I heard whistle blowing everywhere, people were yelling, kayaks turned over, and apparently a boat sank.  That was the good part, because after that I would go long stretches without seeing anyone at all. I was beyond lost and so was the rest of the field, spread out by hundreds of yards.

There were whitecaps that I would let break over my head, and I was just kind of flopping along like a rag doll, riding the waves and trying to breathe whenever there was a trough. Every time I tried to sight I got panicked and really felt better just staying underwater!

 I was so disoriented I only knew one thing about the course, that I had to go around this island off in the distance. It was so. Far. Away.  I was trying so hard not to panic but I honestly felt like there might be no shot at getting there. I hadn’t thought about swim cutoffs, but I began to truly wonder if I had missed it because there was just no one around.

More time passed, and I saw a few others. I would get so excited when I saw another swimmer and try to follow them but the spray coming off people was like a power washer blast to the face. I must have swallowed a gallon of water and I stopped a lot to dry heave and try and get my bearings.  When I finally made it to the island and around the turn buoy, when  I looked towards shore the buoys were no longer in a line but all blown in various directions. I wasn’t even sure if I was going towards the right shore!

I really wasn’t sure if I was still in the race or not either. Later I found out that 161 people got pulled out (some against their will) or didn’t make the cutoff. At the time though, I thought my performance was just terrible and that I must have swum off course by a lot. I wasn’t that mad though because it took a lot of willpower to not panic and just keep swimming.  I figured I needed to keep going because John probably thought I had drowned by this point.  I was happy when I got out because I haven’t feared for my life as much as I did during that swim.

Here is a good account of the swim chaos from a volunteer perspectice:  http://sabrosacycles.blogspot.ca/2012/05/im-on-boat.html

And the swim support crew perspective: 

http://phazesfitness.blogspot.com/2012/05/swim-support-another-story-of-st-george.html

The Bike

I felt like I was in a wind tunnel as I went out on the bike. It was as strong as the New Orleans winds a few weeks ago, but the difference was these winds were all coming from one direction and we had to climb mountains against them.

It was slow going. Extremely slow going and my biggest initial struggle was with the sheer amount of extra time this was going to take.  I was almost 4 hours into the race at mile 50 and it was very hard to swallow. I hadn’t payed attention at all to the various bike cutoffs but I started to wonder if I was in danger of missing them.

My shoulder actually ended up not being my limiter, although it did hurt some. Trying to get up to my target watts, I was having some ‘breathlessness’ and started to hyperventilate even though my legs felt fine. This really fed into my anxiety because I didn’t think it was possible to haul my butt up some of the hills at ‘bare minimum watts’ Of course, I also stupidly didn’t have my inhaler so there was nothing I could do except try to suffer through.

Another thing that happened was I somehow bumped my eye or got something in it so my vision was very blurry. So many people got pulled and the field was so spread out that I didn’t see many people at all after the first 40 miles.

The reality of what was happening versus what was happening in my head was something that really screwed with me. In my head, I was so slow in the swim and doing so poorly on the bike and hyperventilating that I was basically the LAST person out on the course. Due to the wind direction and course profile the first 2/3 of each loop is the hard part and trying to do math in my head put me at an 8 hour bike.  What I didn’t realize is that everyone was having an issue with the wind. In reality, I was doing okay and it was just going to be slow.

Then this really negative lady went by and was griping about everything going wrong, missing cutoffs etc. and I started to get really really low. I had to have some serious and lloonngg conversations with myself about how bad did I really want to finish St George. I ran through endless scenarios of what it would be like to stop versus continue. This all seems kind of silly now, but at the time, I thought I was seriously ill with the breathing issue, either from too much red bull, too much caffeine overall, the altitude, or something else.

Finally, I had to tell myself that I wasn’t going to go out like a little punk,  and if I was sick enough I would pass out and then and only then could I stop. I had to break ties emotionally with my strong desire to do ‘well’ and that entailed turning off the Garmin so I couldn’t lament about the big time and little watts. After that, it truly became a quest for survival. I sat up to rest my shoulder, stopped and took a few stretch breaks and sucked it up for the remaining part of the 7 hours and 18 minutes the course took me.

The Yog

Headed out to 'run' Not a very happy camper at this point. 

Getting off my bike, I have never felt so awful. I saw John and Stacey in transition and I was happy to be off the bike and to get my inhaler. The gallons of water, the extra time, everything caught up with me and I was doing a little puking/stopping at porta potties the first 6 miles. I managed to keep it to a jog and gradually started coming around. For the first time in an Ironman, really needed to walk the aid stations to gradually get some broth and coke in me. Finally I started hearing folks talk about the hundreds who either didn’t make swim or bike cutoff then I finally realized it wasn’t just me not having a good day.

I was looking for Ted the whole time really hoping that at least one of us was having a good day, but when I  finally saw him he said he wasn’t either.  I was bummed for him because I knew he had the fitness to really kill it but the day had taken its toll in various ways on pretty much everyone.  I also saw my coach en route to an amazing and HUGE win!!!

Ted on the run.. also not a super happy camper

Three loops was a blessing and a curse. The good side was that I saw John periodically and he was very encouraging and upbeat and didn’t say ‘What happened’ or ‘ are you okay’ both seemingly innocuous statements that really could have pissed me off at that point! Also have to give a shoutout to Angela Meyer, another GA triathlete (who crushed IMSG last year) who seriously took the cheering to a whole new level. Thanks for the encouragement!  The bad news was that we kept having to pass the finish line over and over.

Finally, I got to the last loop and I was actually feeling better after a steady diet of coke and broth. The sun was getting lower and I thought that I might be able to finish before dark still. A new goal gave me a reason to finally pick it up. I picked it up significantly the last three miles and I have never been happier to hear Mike Reilly’s voice!

Strangely, after that, I didn’t feel all that bad and was able to get around  and go out to eat just fine . I was pretty fried from the sun but otherwise moving along pretty well. Also as soon as I crossed, my full blown scratchy throat and congestion came on and I realized that my respiratory difficulties were probably due to a combo of altitude and simply getting a cold. Sucky timing, but at least I finished.

Happy to be alive!

It wasn’t until the next day that I learned there was a 28 % DNF rate… very high for folks who, at this point, knew what they were getting into when they signed up for St. George. I also heard that less than 50% of the women finished but I haven’t verified it myself yet.

Overall, about two hours slower than I was aiming for.. it was apparent early on that for me it was a day ‘to finish’ From an experience standpoint I really wouldn't trade St. George. The whole thing  could only be described as both  awesome and terrible. From a performance standpoint, the year is kicking off to an inauspicious start. I really need to reevaluate and see what needs to happen next and if I'm on the right course .   

Much thanks to my awesome and understanding husband who supports me beyond what is reasonable and puts up with my crazy, expensive, and time consuming hobby. Afterwards, I was able to rally slightly for a fun trip to Vegas with the four of us. Six cups of coffee helped me keep me going till about 2 am (not very late in Vegas!)

view from our suite in Vegas.. somehow we got upgraded to this massive, amazing suite! 

John and I in Vegas. This was taken right before bedtime... tired!

Another window view

New Orleans 70.3: Feeling a little rusty!

New Orleans 70.3. The first time we went, in 2010,  was not a great experience, mostly due to my work schedule which necessitated me flying Saturday night before the race from New Jersey and flying back to New Jersey literally from finish line to airport as soon as I finished. It was also because I finished the race forty minutes later than expected due to a bike mechanical. With all that happened I was sure that revisiting NO THIS time was sure to be a Great experience.

John and I wanted minimal impact to work and life so didn’t leave until Friday and got there pretty late. Saturday weather was bad, knew it was going to be a duathlon. Honestly, I wasn’t too upset mostly from the standpoint the lake is gross and I really didn’t enjoy swimming in it the first time.  We went to dinner with a few friends and acquaintances and got to bed at a decent hour.

Race day came and I was slightly leaning on the side of apprehension instead of excitement.  My first silly mistake was to basically not have caffeine prior to the race, which was dumb. I was yawning as I got in line with my time trial wave and envying the spectators that looked all cozy and warm on the windy day.

Second was to not put in place ‘the plan’ for the run. According to coach I was to run the first two miles fast, like all out. Sounds good to me.  Instead what I did was get at the back of our wave tt start, literally the last person to start. That seemed like a good plan at the time, but what I was actually doing was pretty much ensuring that I wouldn’t be in the mix from the start. All the contenders started at the front, together, and it goes without saying that I never saw them at all!

 At my time to take off, I started running at what ‘felt’ at the time like a fast pace, but instead was the pace I ran my half marathon at later in the day.  It felt fast because I was tired and sleepy and still passing dozens of people at the back of the wave so I figured it was fine. 

Happy to make it to the bike and we were off. I won’t go into huge detail on this (if you really want to know you can ask), but suffice it to say I had made a few last-minute changes to my normal setup and preparation that were ill-advised. The combination of said choices plus the super windy conditions/bumpy roads had my bad shoulder screaming thirty minutes in. That would have been fine, I’m pretty much used to that since it’s been happening since the first time I got on a bike.  It was disappointing however, because I have been finally making some progress lately after a couple years of physical therapy.

This time though, a conglomeration of factors made it way worse than ever and only 45 minutes in nerve c6 or 7 was absolutely getting strangled to the point I was yelling every time I hit a bump. HOLY CRAP, ouch.  There was nothing I could do to get it to release (except it straight up) and being in aero was agony.

The wind was nuts, too. In fact, I was sitting up and watching a guy next to me and envying him being all aero and low and then a gust came and knocked him right over about one second later. Because of all this I was doing a lot of sitting up and moving around and generally sucking and watching my average watts go down.  I have never been so happy to see the end of a bike ride!

I pretty much knew I was out of the race at this point and thought that I at least had a shot at a good run. THANK goodness I had a Red Bull in T2 and that pepped me up right away.

I didn’t want to be upset with not meeting some arbitrary pace goal after I had already missed all the other ones, so I tucked my Garmin away and just ran by feel.  I started to feel better and better each mile, and finally, for the first time that day, found some people to pace off of. 

I was able to see John a couple times on the loop. John was such a champ and had a great attitude the whole time spectating. I know that spectating can be harder and more tiring than racing a lot of times. Thankfully, Elaine Sipos was there so he had someone to run with and hang out with during the race at least. (She was spectating her husband Jeremy, while he snagged the top 30-34 spot and third overall amateur!) 

I saw Jamal on the run, too. I was bummed that he wasn’t having a good day, especially with as hard as he’s been training. I finally glanced at my Garmin at mile 10 and saw that I actually had a good shot at low 1:30s which was my ‘A’ goal for the run. On paper, it seemed like it was doable, but, as you know, it doesn’t really matter what’s possible in theory until you actually execute.

I picked it up significantly and actually may have achieved a negative split which, in my opinion, means I should have run faster in the beginning and overall. The run was definitely the high point of the day!

This was a nice touch!

Overall, I was disappointed with the bike, especially. I have been working so hard on improving my bike and I am disappointed I didn’t get the chance to prove my progress to myself. Like I said before,  it’s one thing to know you can do something on paper, but it doesn’t matter until you actually do it!

The icing on the cake was that I actually ‘would’ have snagged a rolldown slot to the 70.3 Championships but we left before the awards. Whoops! You know what this has to mean, though. THIRD time to New Orleans will HAVE to be the charm!

You can’t always have a good race, though. Nothing injured permanently either. I am absolutely itching to do another 70.3 before Augusta, but I can't quite figure out how to do it... yet.  Overall, I feel good and am excited for St. George in two weeks!

Charles Harris 10k

Things have been busy and I am remiss with my CH10K report. I just returned from a great weekend with the rents in Florida. I am so proud of my little brother, who is now a marine and is due to deploy soon. This was a great chance to see him and also to celebrate my niece's first birthday.

A great and special time catching up with family. Also, I enjoyed doting on Ralph. My parents 17 year old poodle, that basically grew up with my little brother. He is very old and wise and I fear this may be the last time I get to see him. :(  

On to the race!

I was excited and apprehensive about this race because it was my big ‘run test’

I had gotten over the hump of the dead legs that plagued me earlier in the year, so I thought, but this would give me a chance to know for sure. I was pumped because there were several friends running with me who all had the same goal: to break 40 then beat the rest of the crew.

I was excited because I heard that this race was flatter than the Chattahoochee Challenge and featured a lot of very gentle grades, my favorite running terrain for sure. Getting to the start was time consuming due to the point ot point nature so I barely had time to warm up at all.

I lined up with my opponents: John (who I actually don’t like to think of as an opponent, it’s better for a relationship) Rosemary, Zach, and Rich. Rosemary had smoked me, no contest, at Hogpen and I had barely edged her out at Polar Bear. There was no contest between me and the other three last two races, they beat me soundly, but I knew I had my running legs under me more the last several weeks so I was hoping I could hang this time.

Although a part of me wondered if I could go faster, I really wanted to do a nice even pace that guaranteed a sub 40, because why get greedy and risk blowing up. That is about a 6:24-24 pace to account for non perfect tangent running. Even pace to me means an even effort, I’m not going to put on the brakes going downhill because that is just silly. Therefore the first mile was a bit fast with the opening being a big downhill. 6:10. John, Rosemary, and I were basically running in a pack for the first three miles and slowly reeled Rich back in. I didn’t see Zach at all, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and just assumed that he was way ahead.

I used John to block the wind for about a mile and was thinking how cool it was that we were running together even though we weren’t purposely changing our paces to run together. I still wasn’t feeling super confident about the hills so I would run my pace uphill and fall a few feet behind then charge ahead by maintaining the same effort on the downhills. After mile 4 it was just John, Rich, and I changing places and running basically together.  I had average pace showing on my Garmin and it said 6:24. I wasn’t sure it was going to be enough.

I felt like I might have a little more to give so I managed to give it a boost the sixth mile and ran a 6:01. At this point we were getting into neighborhoods and there were some short hills that threatened to derail my race entirely. Fixated on fueling properly,  I had been feeling a bit queasy prior to the race. During the race I had been happy that for once my legs didn’t seem to be holding me back, my RPE lungwise and legwise seemed to be matched. I was just about ready to (hopefully) pick it up and sprint to the finish to see if I could hold off John and Rich for a ‘victory’ (Yes, there were probably about a thousand others running but it was a race within a race!)

Then I felt a bad feeling reminiscint of the finish chute puke at the GA half marathon last year. I knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of time. Could I hold off the puke till the finish? I could see the finish line ahead, then my stomach started contracting and I was dry heaving. NOOO!!! I was still running but I could only breathe in or out with the timing of the dry heaving. I was still trying to run as fast as I could, but lack of oxygen was making me feel if I was seriously going to black out. I saw the disgusted faces of the spectators like I was going in slow motion.. I must have been  a hilarious and disturbing sight!

The dry heaving didn’t stop so I was bobbing and weaving and jogging the whole way to the line. I watched Rich, then John fly past me and there was nothing I could do to respond. Immediately after I crossed the second timing mat, I finally puked. Good timing on the puke, but the leadup really screwed me up! I was just standing there like that for several minutes until (I thought this was quite funny) a volunteer kindly asked me to move out of the way (instead of asking if I needed help, etc. I may have looked beyond help!)

 I couldn’t be too bummed because I did PR and break 40 still by almost 15 seconds. We stayed and watched for other ATCers finishing before we all went to a great brunch at Lee’s house. A fun time, and hopefully, if I can control my stomach, some low- hanging fruit for next time!

Rosemary and I after the race. I gotta watch out for her next time.. the war isn't over! :)


Here is John's quick report of the race. I thought it was too good to leave out:

My quick report:  This was the 1st time doing this race...signed up because I'm trying to work on 10k speed and I heard it was a fast course.  It, indeed, is a very fast course!  I got a quick (shorter than usual) 1 mile warm up in and lined up with Rich and Zach.  I knew this was going to be an epic battle between the 3 of us and Bethany.  My goal was to get sub 40 minutes for the 1st time and I wanted to start out conservatively, not going too much faster than my goal avg pace (6:26/mile).  The first mile was a lot of downhill and I couldn't help from running faster than planned.  I've even told Rosemary that I should slow down, but it just felt too good running downhill!

Rosemary hung with me like a champ until about mile 4 and I was worried that she might surge and join my personal war with Rich and Zach.  Bethany and I ended up running close for almost the entire race and we finally caught Rich and slowly reeled in Zach.  From mile 4 on it was all about who was going to crack first!  The lead changed hands multiple times with all of us surging then dropping back at one time or another.  It was so much fun to be running a "tactical" race, but unfortunately I didn't know the course well enough to play my cards right.  With about a quarter mile to go, Bethany was in the lead but starting to slow a bit.  Rich put in his usual, ridiculous surge up what I thought was the last hill..I countered but then about died when I saw there was another short hill to crest!  He kept accelerating as I started slowing.  Rich ran past a slowing Bethany, who I later heard had been puking 200 yds from the finish line (what a warrior!).  I also ran past her in the last bit before the finish, looking over my shoulder in fear that Zach was gonna sneak up on me.  Zach crossed the line and proceeded to puke just past the chute!  We ended up Rich, me, Bethany and then Zach...what a fun race!  PRs for all 4 of us, but more importantly, we all left it all on the course today...literally, in Zach and B's case!  Without them pushing me there would have been no way I beat my previous PR by a minute (39:43).

Hogpen Weekend, Polar Bear 5k, and Resting

Right now I am taking a break from training. A mandated two day break. After a few weeks of continued decline in workouts and training, it’s needed.

I am fixated on one question. How could I forget what I am like without training to take the edge off my personality? I am absolutely impossible to live with. Impossible. And I’m just talking about me living with me. Who knows what’s running through the heads of my nearest and dearest.
So January has been fun, busy ,and very stressful.

I will focus on the training end since this is a triathlon blog. Soon, I hope to have exciting bike news, too that is deserving of its own post! All I will say is that I may or may not have appeared to be a beached whale with scoliosis on my bike (entirely due to my own fitting tweaks.. I get all the credit for that one) and that Soon I may NOT look like that! I may look like a poseur cyclist on a shiny bike, instead.

So here’s the recap on all the other training stuff….

Hogpen weekend


This weekend is soo much fun. It comes with goals attached. The Hogpen Trifecta is threefold and quite difficult to achieve. It includes maximum pain and maximum fun, then more pain. Therein lies the paradox of the hogpen trifecta. Specifically, it includes the following

1. Race up hogpen 11.5 miles and 4352.3 million feet of climbing
2. Sing karaoke that night in Helen
3. Ride your bike up hogpen the next day.

Last year was the inaugural year of the trifecta and I am proud to say that only three of us achieved this formidable goal. This year I wanted to try and recruit others, and was successful at the getting people rallied part. Unfortunately I messed up the actual planning and execution. I was tired and grumpy pre-Hogpen and it was slated to rain nonstop so we made the last minute decision to leave our bikes behind.

After a lackluster run up the hill, (eight minutes slower than last year. Yes, there was a course change that made it longer, but most people’s times were similar or faster because the added part was pretty much downhill at the beginning)it was time for the extreme fun portion.

We had a LOT of fun and karaoked until Helen closed down. The next day’s ride was not to be for anyone, as one, you generally feel sleep deprived and sore after the first two phases, plus the part about not having our bikes.

So I was bummed but I was even more sore and exhausted than last year, and am not sure that I could have pedaled the minimum watts to keep the bike from rolling down the hill backwards.

Onward to the Polar Bear 5k this past weekend. Fun because the club was sponsoring it and I believe we succeeded in getting a lot of people fired up about wanting to do a triathlon. Also, yes the actual running of it. After the way I was feeling and my Hogpen run I was the opposite of excited about this race. I wasn’t even sure if I would break 20 minutes much less the goal that I set awhile ago of wanting to break 19 sometime this year. In the end, pure ego allowed me to run the essentially the same time as last year.


Though there was like 1500 people in the race John, rich, rosemary, and I finished in succession, despite john and rich being almost 20 seconds ahead. They were going for 19 and rosemary was going for 19:30. After getting passed like I was standing still by them and many, many others the previous weekend I couldn’t go down without a fight. I started running and my legs immediately felt like someone had taken all the blood vessels, mitochondria etc, out of the middle and filled them with iron instead. Very strange, usually at least the first mile should feel easy, but I was in end of 5k pain from the gun.

John finishing (behind Rich) in a Hair over 19.


Anyways, I lost rich and john but managed to stay behind rosemary .. barely. Every uphill she pulled away and every downhill I managed to reel her in..the last 100 yards I put in a kick with the look, sound, and agony, I imagine, of a dying elephant and crossed the line 1 second before.

Last 100 yards...

Right after we finished.. photo credits to John's dad!




The next day was the Mountain Madness preview ride which I was Very excited about ..nothing was going to stop me. Not the 20 degree weather, not the fact that my legs were filled with molten iron as I mentioned previously. I managed to convince Rich and Ted to attend and it turned out that Lauren Fogarty and Paul were also there. (not that I saw Paul ..or Ted..after the first five minutes..showoffs)


So we started out riding casually or what I call “lazy riding.’ Lazy riding is where you don’t get in aero, pretty much keep in the small ring, and coast everything that is coastable. I was trying to stay super positive and was helped on that path by the beautiful scenery, Lots of Coke, and Rich’s company, who is perpetually chatty and positive. I kept reassuring him we weren’t slow because xy and z.

Lauren, Rich, and I at the first 'aid station' I look like I'm trying not to be grim and Rich appears to be contemplating some hand warmers.



So it turns out I was pretty tired because at first, I kept wondering why everyone was so fast. Second, I kept thinking well everyone out here is just really hardcore, and then I thought well they are just trying to see how fast they can ride the course. And THEN I noticed, when we were climbing the mountain part that I was climbing in low zone 2 and when I tried to pick it up, I really couldn’t and THEN I noticed at the halfway point that we were already 2:40 in .. yikes! I was thinking total ride time would be about 3:15 and instead it was 4:22!!!!!!!!!! After looking at my data later and my mouse-like average watts, it’s clear that this rest Is due.


*By the way, I have to mention that if you are considering Mountain Madness half distance you should totally do it! The scenery and the course is awesome, and though I will be occupied during the actual race, I plan to be at the preview rides as much as possible. Zone 5 proved they are awesome at organizing this weekend, too. I really had my own personal SAG.. even though I hope this is the first and last time I will be with the SAG 

** I had several friends tell me at Hogpen that they are thinking about donating to Sadie’s cause. I really really need more people to donate. In fact, I need YOU to donate.. just ten or 20 will do the trick. YOU will make a difference helping shelter dogs and I really really need your help. And I will stop bugging you and not send you a personal letter if you go ahead and donate now 

Disney Half, Etc.

Fundraising is tough!! Wow, I only have the utmost respect for those people who constantly do this as part of your job etc. I HATE bugging people about things like this, which is ironic, since I am in sales. But that it what I must continue to do.. until you donate. Then you are exempt from my pleas. Sorry.

At first I thought it would be extremely easy. Just put the word out and surely everyone would be happy to throw 5 bucks or so in. But I am thinking about it and seeing why it doesn’t always happen. I try to support such ventures myself but I’m sure there are as many times as I’ve forgotten or though, I’ll do it later, versus times I actually followed through and did it. Or thought, I’m sure this person has dozens of other people helping, they don’t really need my help.

Well that is definitely Not the case here so if you have it in your heart to donate, then please know that you will be one of a very select few and the effort will not be in vain, no matter how small the amount. Soo easy and so beneficial for those dogs whose lives you are directly saving http://sadier.chipin.com/barking-hound-village-foundation-rescue And for those who are reading this who HAVE donated, I love you and you are awesome!

waiting for cool pic from Disney to go here

On the training front, things are going well for the time of year. Actually last weekend we participated in my first race with Both my parents and John, the Walt Disney World half marathon. I had zero expectations going into this race. I really wanted to just use it as social time with parents. I didn’t even know if they had seeded corrals or if we had submitted times when we registered. I wasn’t even sure who had ended up registering us.

We waited too long to get plane tickets, which is becoming a theme lately, and didn’t arrive until Friday evening to pick up our bibs. Well I was telling everyone about my plan to take it easy and I was being totally forthright too. That was the plan. Then we went to the expo to pick up our bibs and I saw that my number was very low and had my name and the word ‘Elite’ on it.

First of all, it goes without saying that their definition of ‘elite’ is, shall we say, Quite broad if it includes me. Elite is people finishing 15 minutes faster than my seed time. But hey, they gave me one and that was that. I don’t like starting in front and then jogging. Maybe it’s a pride issue that I need to work on. But I almost feel like it’s disprespectful.

Last year at the Peachtree road race, for example a race with 50000ish people, I BARELY by the skin of my teeth managed to get a ‘ top seeded’ time, which meant I got to start in the front. Or ALMOST at the front.. so I thought. The plan for that one was to run easy, too.

In fact, I was having a conversation about it with a young cross country girl right before the start this year in July. We were at the ‘front’ but comfortable behind the line, as it was roped off on our side and full of the runners who were flown in and trying to win money on the other side.

Weren’t we surprised when the tape was lifted at the last moment and we were Forced to the LINE of the Ptree road race. Next to Ryan Hall et all. (Was Ryan Hall there this year or has my story just improved over time?)

So that was another example of when it was just NOT possible to stick with a plan of running easy. Even if the people you’re running ‘with’ are going to be done ten minutes plus before you are.

So where was I? Aww yes, the not going to run easy part. So the next morning we left our hotel with plenty of time, so we thought. I mean we walked out at 3:30 AM but for the Disney, apparently that is cutting it SUPER close. We almost missed the start by the time we got down there.
Plan was to just go by feel and look at my watch.. just to see. Start up and I was pleasantly surprised to be comfortably clicking off miles in the 6:30s. Legs were sore from my first big week back training but felt fine aerobically. Hoped sore legs wouldn’t catch up with me.

Through 10k and I basically was at my PR for that distance. To this point we had been running very straight but then we got into the park, where you are running around attractions and making a lot of 180 degree turns. At this point I started to feel very sore and like I might need to make a quick stop.

I was trying sooo hard not to think about it. I was actually on pace for a good sized PR if I just didn’t have to stop. Well I guess I thought about it too much because a stop became mandatory and after that I was just trying not to fall off the pace. Managed to squeak in with about a 6 or 7 second PR. Hey, I’ll take it!

The very good news is I think rested and with a bit more running I could really knock off a few minutes this year. John, had a great race and knocked THREE minutes off of his Publix time from last year. He is definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with in all three sports this year. Watch out, boys!

My parents both finished, too. My dad hasn’t been training a bunch and my mom was walking with a friend. Both of them finished but unfortunately, she hurt her knee in the process. Thought I understand it is healing well, I’m not sure she will be rushing to do a bunch more races anytime soon. Hoping though that many more races with the parents are in the future!

Overall a great weekend with the family. A logistically difficult race. Would do it again if it meant roping family into it, but not really a good ‘A’ race because of the crowds.

On Turkey Trotting and Thankfulness

My Google reader cache is filled with thankfulness posts this weekend. I had the opportunity yesterday to truly experience thankfulness.

My sister-in-law hosted a massive thanksgiving crowd. Included were an exchange student from Saudi Arabia who is living with them, and a family of refugees from Iraq. Hearing the story of this family over dinner was a huge wake-up call. Without going into too many details, the hardships they experienced during their oppression under Saddam, trying to flee the country, being separated for years, and then finally legally immigrating was amazing and sobering. This family is very close-knit and thankful for things we all take for granted on a daily basis: the ability to legally drive, get a job, basically, to be free.

People here like to complain the consequences of their choices, their freedom. In contrast, the eldest son of this family is working up to two full-time jobs in a bakery and making shoes to support this family on his own, all while feeling like the luckiest guy on the planet!

I am thankful for all the opportunities and gifts I’ve been given, and I appreciate them more after our experience yesterday.

On to the Turkey Trot!

The one I did was actually the MUST Gobble Jog, which benefits MUST Ministries. This is an organization which helps immigrants like the ones I mentioned above get temporary housing, jobs. etc. and basically helping them get their start in our country. Great organization.

Anyways, the funny thing is when I read the name of the race, and knew it benefitted this ministry, I still didn’t make the connection with the name of the race. I was thinking along the lines of MUST Gobble Jog= You SIMPLY HAVE TO Gobble Jog!

I only did this race because I couldn’t stand the thought of not running a race on a holiday. Since 2009 it has been a tradition to do so, and I didn’t want to end it even though I was 2.5 weeks post IM, and 10 lbs too heavy. John didn’t join me for this one, but was VERY sweet to get up early and show up as support for a fun run.

So I registered the night before, and showed up feeling nervous. The route was also hilly, and I haven’t run a hill in weeks. Thus, my strategy was to jog up the hills and use the leg turnover I hoped I still had on the downhills. I also only made my playlist on my IPOD 41.7 minutes, so hoped that I wouldn’t be slower than that.

Went out and felt pretty good, the route was two loops and I hit the 5k at about 20:05. At that point I knew I didn’t have a negative split in me, though. As I had suspected, I had good leg speed still on the downhills and flats, but was basically “waddling” on the uphills.

So I’d pass ten people on every downhill and the same ten would pass me back on the hills, this happened with the same ten people on EVERY hill.
At the beginning several girls got out in front. I passed all but two (so I thought) but it turns out one was too far ahead to see. Finished as fourth female in 40:53.

Was happy that I did the race, and this gives me hope for the lofty goal I have set for my 10k benchmark in February. It also makes me realize that I need to get my act together if I want to represent at the Hogpen Hill Climb in January!

Ironman Florida Race Report- Part 3

The Run- Now for the run, my coach and I had a very different strategy than the others. We both felt that I had been too conservative on the run and that I needed to go out hard to see what I could really do. The specific instructions were to take the first three miles easy then go out hard basically knowing I could blow up as at mile 18. This strategy was very exciting to me. I guess that’s a little weird.

Anyways, I got going and felt Good. I glanced at my Garmin and couldn’t seem to slow under 7:30s. Oh well, I just decided to go with it. I felt great for the first ten miles, then it started to get harder. I had my average pace up and was determined to keep it sub 8 as long as I could. There was definitely no singing and laughing and joking, this sucker started to HURT A LOT as soon as mile 13ish. Due to my finicky calves, my longest run since KY was only 1.5 hours, which I realize is Insane. I was trying to keep this out of my mind. Also, I had read this quote that helped me a lot. Something someone said about once you put your body through the wringer a few times, you’d be surprised at what it can do.

Photo courtesy of www.DaveMPhotography.com
Obviously, I'm not hurting Too bad at this point yet!



Water, coke, water, coke at every aid station. Just get to mile 13 under 1:45 and you will be on track. Just get to mile 18 and you can slow and save some for the end . Of course none of the slowing is really voluntary but you can tell yourself things to keep it moving whether it’s true or not. I had heard from a few people that John had been about 10 minutes ahead at the start of the run and I figured I was running about a minute per mile faster, so I thought I would catch him about mile ten. Sure enough , saw him right at mile ten… snuck up and smacked him in the rear. His reaction was so sweet and something I won’t forget. He said something along the lines of “Oh, I’m so glad you caught up.. I was worried you weren’t having a good race!” I said I felt good and congratulated him because he was doing a lot better than his personal prediction for himself. Then I kept running my pace and he his, and I slowly pulled away. After the turnaround I was thinking “just make it to the park. Just make it to the park” For some reason, I looked forward to the empty desolate state park bc I knew if I could make it through that I would be in the home stretch. The park is hell in the heat of may, but oddly comforting in cool October.

Got through the park the second time and my splits were starting to look not-so-good. Lots of high eights and even a niner. I was really really hurting and felt like my legs were on the verge of cramping up. I decided to walk through a few aid stations which I have never done before. If nothing else it was something short term to look forward to, if I convinced myself it would make me run faster afterwards. About this time, I also started to notice that the women that I came up on were in contention if you know what I mean. I could somehow tell by looking at them and by spectators yelling their position in their divisions. I started to thinking “Hey, maybe I actually have a chance!”

I had asked my mom and Todd L when I saw them at the turnaround to look online and see where I was at. They told me fifth or sixth when I saw them so I knew I had a shot at top five. Prior to the race, I had athlinks’d the girls in my division and had a vague idea of who my main competition would be. I came up on a girl with a 31 on her calf and a last name on her butt that I vaguely recognized the name as being who I anticipated as strong competition. She was walking an aid station and I passed her. Next aid station I walked and she passed me back. Her pace wasn’t that good though, and I knew I needed to cut the 10 second breaks and pass her definitively .

Mile 24 and I clicked over on my Garmin so I could see the time of day. Holy crap, I was going to do it! I had visualized a 10:36 and a 3:30 marathon as being the perfect day for my current ability. Somehow even though my legs were in horrible pain I managed to pick it up. I didn’t want to give up a second of my hard-earned time. My face must have looked particularly grotesque because the camera guy on the motorcycle started filming me and stayed on for about a minute. Hopefully nothing too embarrassing shows up on the broadcast!

Passing the ATCers again was just the boost I needed. I was so happy I was crying and yelling the last mile, then I would have trouble breathing so I would have to stop. I saw the clock ahead and ran and felt SOOO ALIVE even though my body was about to shut down. It was one of the best moments ever. I crossed in under 10:33 and my mom was there and telling me that I got third in 30-34. I did it!! Even if it ended up that there were only two spots, I did it as far as I was concerned. I was so thankful and felt so blessed that I could have such a good day doing what I really love and have Such a passion for.
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I stuck around at the finish line for a few minutes.. Ted and Stacey were there too and he had finished in an awesome 9:49. My dad had called to say that John would be crossing soon. I really wanted to see him finish, especially since I missed it at WI. We all recognized his stride as the clock was still at 10:52. I was soo happy because though I thought he could do sub 11, he was outperforming his own prediction by a lot.
I got back around to congratulate him and we both teared up and I was so touched by how happy he was for me. I was really proud of him and happy this IM experience had been good for him, he had questioned whether he even wanted to do it so many times.

After the massage, getting food, showering, we came back to watch the rest of the ATCers. I was SO proud of how well everyone did. A lot of people exceeded their times goals and the ones who didn’t showed extreme determination despite things not going well.

The next day I woke up at 7 and felt anxious about getting to the Kona slot allocation. I had done the math and pretty much figured there would only be two spots, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to just GO at nine to make sure. I could barely talk to anyone that morning I was so keyed up about it. I walked down to the tent with my parents I and the staff member told me there were three slots. I DID IT!!! I couldn’t believe it! I made her show me on the computer to be sure, and I was still pinching myself until they actually took my money!

I’m going to KONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!