Collegiate Nationals Race Report

Today I have a guest blogger - Kelley Hess. A runner (marathoner!) and cyclist, she recently decided to take on the world of triathlon and competed in the graduate student division USAT Collegiate Nationals. She's also one of the Girls Heart Rockets founding members.  Below is her race report....an Olympic medalist is not the only one who is impressed!

2010 Triathlon Collegiate Nationals - A Race Report

This weekend was epic--in the sense that the weather gods really did not seem to want us racing. My car (with Kelly Egan and Steve Smith) arrived in Lubbock, TX on Thurs afternoon. As soon as we hit the city limit sign it started pouring rain, and it didn't let up for...what felt like days. By Friday morning, our team of 17 racers were all safely in Lubbock--minus one bike. Chase Kettler's bike flew off the roof rack of his car at some point during the 20 hour drive south and did not survive--the fork was destroyed, one of the wheels may have taco'ed...I never saw it, but it did not sound good.
Friday afternoon we headed to the course at Buffalo Springs Lake for a preview. It was still a torrential downpour. There were tons of other teams at the course--some people were crazy enough to be on their bikes, several others were out running, but the majority of people were swimming. We huddled under the back of my car to pull on wetsuits before jumping into the 55 degree lake. We swam out into a head wind and choppy waves. This was my first time swimming in a wetsuit, and my second open water swim ever. Allow me to emphasize that I am NOT a swimmer. It took me the majority of the swim to settle down and feel like I could breathe without sucking in water or hyperventilating. That really is not to much of an exaggeration. I always knew the swim would be the toughest part, perhaps mentally more than physically.
We survived the swim preview--minus one car. Bill Martin's car would not start and had to be towed. I ferried bikes back to the hotel with Steve and Andrew Bossler. On the way back the second time, we drove the bike course. Aside from the 20-30 mph wind, and the fact that two parts of the course were under flowing water, it looked "alright". Only a video can do the status of the bike course on Friday justice: (http://vimeo.com/10994742/). Pictures from the course preview adventure courtesy of Kelly Egan: http://runningblonde.com/2010/04/16/usat-collegiate-nationals-were-in-lubbock/. Her full race report (and more pictures!) can be found here: (http://runningblonde.com/2010/04/21/usat-collegiate-nationals-race-report/).
Friday night was a free pasta dinner and team meeting. It also finally decided stopped pouring rain and just drizzle.

Saturday morning was an early breakfast around 6:10 am before heading to the course. At some point on the drive out to the course, the rain stopped completely. We were able to rack our bikes and set up our transition areas on relatively dry pavement. The idea of a transition area is to be minimalist: bike, helmet, cycling shoes, running shoes. Optional are socks, sunglasses, any other clothing, extra food, etc. I included sunglasses and socks and cycling gloves. A couple packets of race gels were already taped to my bike frame for easy access.
While we were getting ready, the race director announced over the loud speaker that due to the cold weather conditions, the swim would be shortened from 1500 meters to 750! I was standing with Jess Yurchich, and I jumped up and down so much in celebration that I broke one of the straps on my new USA Triathlon race bag. Doh! Haha--oh well, it was worth it. I will be honest: this decision by USAT may have significantly helped my final result.
It was cold, overcast, and windy, so I waited until ~8:40 to put on my wetsuit. I was in the fourth start wave, so my race would begin around 9:15. In the seeded waves, there were ~90 people. They started with an air horn every 5 minutes, and they alternated men and women, so I was in the second wave of women. The start is pretty crazy to watch--a stampede of people down the beach into the water, running/wading out until it was deep enough to swim or until there was enough room between you and the person in front of you to do a stroke. I started on the outside so I wouldn't have to wrestle too many people. I was not looking forward to the full contact swimming, but I held my own. The visibility in the water might have been six inches, but it seemed like less. It was a brown field of view unless you were breathing--or sighting the big yellow buoys that marked the course ahead. I (surprisingly!) was not the last person out of the water in my wave, although there were only a handful of people behind me--I managed better than I expected. We learned after the race that 10 people had been pulled out of the water for hypothermia! 9:08 for what ended up being something closer to a 500 meter swim, and 164th woman out of the water.
Getting out of the water was the second happiest moment of my race. There were volunteers to literally grab you under the arm and pull you up, and undo the velcro on the wetsuit. I unzipped on the run to the transition area, worked the suit off my shoulders, stopped when it was around my waist, pulled it the rest of the way off, then ran/sprinted to the spot where my bike was racked. The goal is to do everything that you can in motion so the transition takes as little time as possible. It is made more difficult because going from horizontal in the water to vertical and running is incredibly disorienting--like spinning around in a chair then trying to walk in a straight line...but worse. At my spot, I made the executive decision to wear socks on the bike because my feet were already freezing. I also kept my swim cap on under the helmet for a little extra warmth. I put on the helmet, sunglasses, grabbed the gloves and headed for the mount line. About 100 meters into the bike, I dropped one of the gloves and had to go back and get it. I may have lost ~30 seconds, but it is a bigger time penalty if you abandon any equipment. I didn't even end up using the gloves. 2:36 for T1.

The bike ride was great! Much of it was into a huge head/crosswind, but it I was infinitely more confident in my abilities here than in the water, and I passed people like mad...nearly my entire wave, and people from the first women's wave. The course was an out and back, and I saw (and heard) a couple fellow Badgers on both sections. My only reservation is that I really feel like I could have done this portion faster, but I had no computer on my bike and I was unsure of how to pace myself with the run coming up. 1:15:41 for a little more than 40K bike. 19.9 mph according to the results, good enough for 7th female time on the bike, and 2nd in the female grad student division. Regardless...such a slow pace!

Getting off the bike I managed a flying dismount! (Get your feet out of the shoes and on top of the pedals, swing one leg over the bike and step off while still moving.) I re-racked the bike, slipped on my running shoes and took off. I had only eaten one energy gel on the ride, while I had planned to do two. I left transition hoping that was not a mistake. 1:32 for T2.

Before the race, I would have considered the run my best event, but IT SUCKED! Maybe it was the cold weather, a lingering cold from a week and a half ago, or my body was sufficiently shocked that it was forced to do the third sport of the day, but I have never had the sensation of not being able to breathe while running before. My chest felt restricted (like a corsage?) and I could not take a full breath to safe my life. I unzipped the tri suit a little, and it helped...at least mentally, but I never felt comfortable on the run. And, left over from the bike ride, my feet were blocks of ice until ~2.5 miles in, when they started to regain feeling and began tingling. At any rate, the whole run I wondered HOW THE HELL COULD ANYONE THINK THIS IS FUN?!? Because of the conditions, the course was changed from a 10K out and back, to two loops of a 5K course. There was a head wind at times here too. I tried to duck behind a big guy who was running about my pace, or a little faster. It worked well, and he paced me back to the finish line for half a mile (I beat him in the end. ;) ) 45:33 for a 6.66 mile course according to Kelly's Garmin (what was supposed to be 10K), 22nd fastest female time. Despite feeling miserable, 6:50 min/mile pace.

2:13:34 for the race: 13th overall female (of 327), 3rd in the graduate student division (of 55). The overall winner did it in 2:03:10!

Full results can be found here: http://www.pigmantri.com/jmsracing/results10/usatcollegiate10.html

That evening we went to the awards ceremony. Bill Martin won the alumni division in the sprint triathlon race (500 m swim, 17.6 mile bike, 5K run, but they cut the swim out completely because of the weather). For my third place finish, I was called up to the podium and won some free stuff. But the best part was Kelly Egan calling out "It was her first triathlon!!" from the crowd, which the announcer, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Susan Williams, echoed, surprised, "And apparently it was her first triathlon", to which the crowd cheered louder.
So, it is definitely a good thing that I am already signed up for the Wisconsin Ironman in September and paid the ridiculous $585 entry fee, because I do not know if I could have convinced myself on Saturday afternoon to punish my body like that again. The next day, I am still tired, albeit not exhausted, and really sore. Sitting in the car for 20 hours cannot help. Meanwhile, my stupid, competitive self is wondering what I can do better/faster for the inevitable "next time"...also, no thanks to a certain guy who pointed out that finishing within the top 5 and within 8% of first place would've qualified me for an USAT Elite License. I finished 10% back. Sheesh. I AM crazy.

Kelley (aka KHess aka Hesser)
follow Kelley on twitter (@KHesser)

Successful 3rd Annual Casino Royale Fundraiser for LLS!

Every year my husband and I put together a Texas Hold 'Em Tournament and Silent Auction to help my Team In Training triathlon team raise money for towards their fundraising goals. It also gives my fundraising a little boost as well. This year was year #3 and took place in our new house. Since we had a little more room, we invited a few more people. The Team did a great job acquiring silent auction items and we had over 60 people playing poker. In the end we raised over $6100 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! This gives each Team member about $600 towards their fundraising goal! Below are some pictures from the evening that my dad took. Please consider clicking the link on the left and making your own contribution to LLS - it is worth it!

Platte River Half Marathon Race Report

April 11, 2010 - My first stand-alone half marathon since January of 2007. I was on the tail end of a tough three week build phase with a lot of bike intensity. Can't say that the running was a piece of cake, either. So my legs were beat and I was pretty tired. But...off I went to tackle the Platte River Half Marathon!

Got up at 5:20am, which is actually a little later than my normal 4:45am wake-up time when I get in my workouts before work, so it was like sleeping in. Almost - except it didn't feel that way.

Morning routine went smoothly, except that I didn't really have a race plan for fuel. I brought some gels, endurolytes, and filled my fuel belt with Powerade Endurance. I usually use HEED but I didn't have a chance to pick any up.  I made myself a delicious peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich and headed up to Littleton. Always a beautiful drive around sunrise.

Only got a little lost up there but found the parking lot at the depot right across the street from packet pick-up and the starting line. Ran inside and got my packet then hit the port-o-potties. There were about 50 of 'em it seemed. Plenty! and they were clean! But apparently not like the Punk Rock Tri Guy's (aka @PunkRockRunner) experience at his half marathon that same morning. Sorry Ron!

It was 7:40, the sun was shining, and I had 1:20 until race start....time for me to figure out my fueling plan. If you know me, this is very unlike me. I usually know my plan weeks in advance! Sitting in my car I decided to go with the fuel belt with the powerade endurance. It'd worked in training and that way I knew I would consume enough electrolytes....provided I drank all 18oz I was carrying.

8:15 I hit the port-o-pottie again. Guess I was hydrated. Found some TNT folks to kill some time with. 8:40am - hit the potty one more time, drop my sweats off at the gear drop, consume a pre-race gel and a couple endurolytes and I'm at the starting line.

Now I'm shooting for 8:15 pace so I get in between the 8:00min and 9:00min pace signs. Didn't have too many pre-race jitters (I was tired!) but I was going to run the race. I was pretty sure I had it in my legs so I would do my best to hang in there. And at 9:00am off we went.

My mile splits were surprisingly consistent (I won't bore you with them).

I think it was around mile 3 I saw @gosonja cheering! Finally we'd get to meet! Her green Trakkers jersey was easy to spot. Pretty sure @michelleford6p was there with her too! Miles 5-7 were slightly tough. My hip flexors tightened up a bit. Miles 8-10 I stayed with this one woman and then she ended up dropping back, but she was a nice rabbit for a while. The last 5k my legs were hurting but I kept at it. The mile 12 Team In Training aid station was awesome. They had signs about a half-mile ahead leading up to it so I knew there would be some great cheering! Thanks TEAM! Then I headed over the bridge (ay-yai-yai - my hip flexors)! Passed a few people though! Coming down the home stretch I was near my 1:48 goal time and there was @gosonja and @michelleford6p again! Woot! A little kick (just a little - don't have much) and I was at the finish line. Too bad I only have a little kick as some of the people I passed on the bridge were able to sprint past me. Nicole = slow twitch!

Official gun time: 1:48:42

Official chip time: 1:48:29 (PR by about 7:30!)

For all the data geeks like me, here's the GPS data.

Overall race commentary: Race was great - got there 80 minutes before race start and had a parking spot near packet pick-up, the starting line and the port-o-potties! Race course was slightly downhill along a concrete path, though there was some dirt you could run on next to the path. The platte river isn't the prettiest of sights, but hey, I won't complain. Aid stations about every 2-3 miles so I was glad I had my own fluid. Finish line food provided by Buckhorn Exchange, Wahoo's Fish Tacos, Sunflower Market, and someone else I skipped. Plenty there for all. Skipped the beer tent but hit the massage tent that was about 20 yards past the finish line. They even got the nice sunny weather we were hoping for! Just enough of a breeze to keep me cool

Another bonus - Got to meet Christi, someone I met on PikesPeakSports.us and a new member of the Pikes Peak Tri Club! She got a good PR as well! We rode back on the train together back to downtown Littleton then headed back to the Springs.

So I may be tired and sore now, but it was a fantastic day and a fantastic race!

Cycling for a Cure

It's year #5 with Team In Training! Hard to believe I've been involved with this great program since 2006! Last year I ran a marathon, this year I'm going to participate in the Moab Century Tour. Yep, I'm going to ride 100 miles....in one day (September 18, 2010)...in Moab, Utah.

But in order to do this I need your help! I've committed to raising $2500 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Your 100% tax-deductible contribution will help patients of blood cancers and their families with support groups, monetary assistance with treatment related costs (e.g. gas money to travel for treatment), as well as fund research in labs that are searching for cures to blood cancers. More information can be found at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society website.

A donation of just $100 can significantly impact a family dealing with this disease. Please visit this secure website to make a tax-deductuble contribution of any amount you can afford: http://pages.teamintraining.org/rm/moabtour10/ndrummer

And what is fundraising without any incentives? If you contribute $50 or more, I will put your name or a name of your choice on my bike jersey. If you contribute $100 or more, the name goes on my bike. $250 or more will get something I haven't thought of yet (feel free to send me ideas!).

St. Pat's 5k Race Report

The day started with a TNT workout at Monument Valley Park. I always choose this location for the St. Pat's 5k race day so I can get the Team on a nice endurance run and not be too far from the race start! They did about an hour, I did about 25 minutes to warm up and then walked over to Acacia Park, but not without admiring the view of the Peak. Not to mention the clear skies- perfect race day weather!

Then I got to the park...it was a happening place!

The blue globe is actually a fountain - Uncle Wilber to be specific. Lots of green shirts hanging around!

After finding the port-o-potty I mosied over to the start line. Even though I'm not the fastest, I still like to get close to the front, expecially in a race with no start mat (gun time only, though it was chip timed).

10am sharp the gun went off. The start is a gradual downhill so everyone goes too fast. I can't say that I don't somewhat follow the crowd. But I checked my GPS to try to maintain a sensible pace. After a half-mile or so, the course turns north and that means uphill, even if ever so gradual. The legs know. They know. My legs felt pretty good considering I'm at the tail end of a 3 week build phase (cycling focus).

But my lungs hurt. Oh did they hurt. My average heart rate for the race was 178. It was 185 at the finish. It's always these fast races when I question why I do this. I mean, I can run 3 miles no problem. But why try to run it as fast as I can?  I suppose I like to see if I can go a little faster and I always feel good after crossing a finish line (sometimes it's "phew - glad that's over!" and other times it's a little more celebratory.) Today was celebratory.

On tired legs I got my 5k PR of 23:32.7. My goal was to beat last year's time of 23:53 and I did. And I ever so slightly beat the 23:34 PR I set a couple years ago on a flat course at sea level (or slightly below) in New Orleans. So a very successful morning!

At the finish line I ran into my friend Shannon and since I got a pic of us together from the last race I ran, I needed another.

Got a post race massage and then started thinking about refueling as I had a 3+hr bike ride to do in the afternoon!

Bananas and Chocolate

I haven't posted anything relating to bananas in a while (though I still have one almost every day.) A banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter is my recent pre-workout staple.  It's also the valentine's day leftovers heading into easter candy season, which means a lot of chocolate lying around. So in the spirit of bananas and chocolate, enjoy some chocolate banana cream pie!

Back in the swing of TNT

The Summer Team In Training season has begun (even though it's February, below freezing and we got an inch or two of snow last night)! Today was our first group workout on the bike. Weather didn't permit us to ride outside, so we met up at Bicycle Village and had a spin class. It was a nice way for me to check bike fit and answer questions about cycling while they "rode away."



Many thanks to Steve Vaughan who led the class. We actually had some of the Bicycle Village regular spinners and the spring TNT team show up. We packed the room for sure!

After the workout was over, I did a Traithlon Gear Clinic for the new athletes. BV supports the triathlete (they are also a sponsor of the Pikes Peak Tri Club) so I could walk around the store and show them everything they need to have, what is good to have, and what is not necessary but "cool" to have.

Thanks to BV for letting us use your space, and thanks to the great summer TNT Triathletes! GO TEAM!

Delicious Dinner with New Spice

I'm always looking for quick and easy healthy dinners to make. I bought some ground turkey yesterday and was trying to think of a way to cook it as I drove home, I pondered ways to cook it, utlizing a new spice that I haven't really ever cooked with - turmeric. Here's what I came up with (and it was pretty darn good).

Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large clove garlic
1 large white sweet potato, grated
1lb ground turkey
Romano cheese, grated
turmeric
salt
pepper
olive oil

Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the garlic.
Then add the onion, celery, red pepper, and sweet potato.
Toss in salt & pepper to taste. Stir until the onions are clear, the potato soft and the peppers cooked but still crisp. 
In another pan, brown the ground turkey with the turmeric and salt/pepper to taste.
When the turkey is cooked through and the veggie/potato mixture done, combine into a oven safe dish.
Top with the grated romano cheese and put in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!

For a "I have no idea what I'm doing" kind of dinner, it turned out really well. Tim enjoyed it too! (these things can be hit or miss...though he would have liked it to have been more cheesy.) But there is only just enough leftover for one of us...

I'm baaaaack! First race of 2010!

A little over three months ago I ran the Denver Marathon. That marked the end of my 2009 race season and I took some time off to recuperate and recover, and get an overuse injury (never, ever move households during your peak volume weeks when training for a marathon!). About 7-8 weeks ago I began to ease back into training and decided to test my progress at a local 4 mile race.
It was race #2 in the Winter Series put on by the Pikes Peak Road Runners. Start time was 10am on a moderately mild day, though the wind was picking up. The course started at the El Pomar Youth Sports Complex on the south side of Colorado Springs and just picked up the local trail for an out and back. Out was north, slightly uphill and into the wind. Back was the opposite.

I actually got a good night's sleep last night - in bed before 10:30 and up around 7:00am. There were only some small remnants of last week's cold so I felt pretty good! showered then ate a peanut butter/nutella/banana sandwich with a big glass of water. By the time I was dressed and ready, it was time to leave the house. Got to the race site with plenty of time to register and get in a 2+ mile warm-up along the course. Before the race I saw Sam, a fellow Pikes Peak Tri Club member, and TNT participant. Then I saw my dentist. He did recognize me after I turned my head upside-down. :-) I ran into a friend of mine, Jessica (another PPTCer) at the starting line. She'd kicked some butt in the 1st race of the series, so I knew she'd be some good competition.

Off we went and when we were hitting a 7:45 or so pace, I thought that would be good enough for me. I would be happy with an 8:00min/mile pace. So she snuck ahead and I just tried not to get too far behind.

Mile 1 - Getting warmed up here and trying not to go out too fast. Jessica zips past.
Mile 2 - This one was slower - more uphill maybe, tried to tuck in behind some people to stay out of the wind
Mile 3 - downhill and go! I'm feeling it for real now. what am I doing out here? just hold on!

Mile 4 - Garmin locked up so couldn't check my pace. maybe that's a good thing. Just RUN!!! Heard  my friend Shannon yell for me, but didn't see her. And then my dentist passed me...

Hit the finish line in 31:33, so that was fantastic- better than my 8:00min/mile pace that I thought would be a great time for me, so woohoo!  I think that qualifies as a hummin' moment for sure! (Check out Megan Killian's blog for a chance to win some free LARABARS! she's @megankillian) And not only that, I was wearing my brand-spankin'-new Punk Rock Racing hat from Ron. (thanks again @punkrockrunner).

Saw Jessica at the finish line - she beat me by a minute exactly. Great race for her! Then it was time for hot chocolate and donuts! I hung around for Shannon who did the 8-mile version of the race. The wind was picking up so I was glad to see her cross the finish line!

A great race day for me! 4 miles at a sub-8 pace - I'll be smiling and a hummin' all weekend for sure!

Inactivity, Cereal Withdrawal and Metabolic Efficiency

My last post was my Denver marathon race report over 3 weeks ago. Since then I've been doing almost nothing. Some of that is by choice (rest/recovery from the race), some not so much (darn flu!). All this inactivity is really OK, as I'm in my "off season" or transition period. Not training, just some exercising and giving the mind and body a break from 9 months of solid structured training. Yes, I'll lose some fitness, but the recovery time is worth it. I know my overall fitness foundation is much improved over last year so I'm hoping to make some good gains this year.

The one thing to watch out for when in the recovery/transition period is eating too much. Throughout the training year I was training for long distance events (half-ironman triathlons, a marathon) which require increased carbohydrate intake and increased caloric intake over a sedentary lifestyle (I have a desk job). I trained at least 10-15 hours a week and could easily burn 1500-2000 calories during my weekend long run or brick. If I ate like that when I'm not doing anything, I'm sure I'd put on quite a bit of weight, and the last thing I want to do is have to work off several pounds when the training starts back up again. So what am I doing?

Well, I'm not on a diet. I'm indulging in some things that I stay away from during the training season - beer, chocolate, ice cream. My birthday was in October so I ate a lot of cake. mmmm. cake. Then there was the halloween candy...but really everything in moderation (except the cake - sorry! a weakness!)

I am monitoring my meals and making sure the majority of them are healthy with fruits, veggies and lean means. Today's breakfast was a homemade smoothie. Lunch was white chicken chili (leftovers from last night - I've posted the recipe below) with some cantalope.

Now I'm going to talk about metabolic efficiency. A few weeks back I took a webinar from Bob Seebohar, one of triathlon's premiere nutrition experts, on metabolic efficiency. In summary, as an endurance athlete I want my body to be efficient burning fat so when I'm racing I don't need to eat as much. This saves time in a race and also reduces the chance of GI distress. And to be honest, I've got plenty of fat on my frame to burn through. A nice summary of the webinar was posted by Matt McNamara.

Anyway, now is the time when I've got less going on in my day so I can work on structuring my meals and getting a healthy foundation, especially revolving around fruits, veggies and lean meats. Now let me state very clearly here - I am a carbo-holic. My mom used to call me starch mouth. I was the one who would eat all the dinner rolls at a restaurant before the meal. I love cereal. I could eat cereal for every meal. But during my off season these are extra carbs that right now I don't need. I needed help - some intervention. So I asked Bob what a good metabolic efficient breakfast would look like. And he responded on his blog with some recipes.

Breakfast for me will be the hardest to wean myself off of cereal and oatmeal, as I've been eating it almost everyday since I can remember. But I'm happy to announce that today is day #9 that I haven't had cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. (or lunch or dinner.) Yay me! I've been using his recipies (or slight modifications - the yogurt one transforms in a blender w/frozen berries to a delicious smoothie. As my training will pick up again in the next few weeks, I will now have a metabolically efficient meal foundation to get my body ready to be efficient for race season! And I'm really looking foward to Bob's book on metabolic efficiency that is coming out soon and there is word of a possible cookbook, too!

As a side note, to help with my dinner planning, I'm trying out a website called http://www.dinnerbeat.com/. I'm hoping it will help save time on the weekends when I shop and plan for the week. I've got plenty going on so knowing ahead of time what's for dinner will be great. And if I make extra, it leaves good leftovers for lunches.

Here's the recipe for the white chicken chili I made:
~5 chicken breasts
2 cans northern beans or navy beans (white beans)
1 can Garbonzo beans
2 4oz of diced green chilis
cumin (1-2 T)
chili powder (1-2 T)
salt (1-2 t)
pepper (1-2 t)
oregano (1-2 T)

spray crockpot w/non-stick spray
layer the chicken breasts on the bottom on the crockpot
empty the cans of beans and green chilis into the crockpot
add the spices (season to your liking - I didn't measure exactly)
stir the beans and spices leaving the chicken on the bottom.
Cook on low 8-10 hours.
When you get home from work you have a delicious protein and fiber rich meal. I'm sure you can throw in some veggies as well to modify the chili.

Respect for the Marathon Beast - Denver Marathon 2009 Race Report

Sunday, Oct 18th I experienced my very first marathon. I've run one half-marathon and a couple others as part of half-iron distance races, but this would be my first attempt at the full 26.2. I was part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) team, so there was tons of support. Our Colorado Springs team was extra motivated, because one of our teammate's daughter was at the very end of her struggle with leukemia on race day. I was also running for my aunt, Amy, who has recently been diagnosed with a form of lymphoma.

Here's my recap of race weekend...
Saturday, after a really good night's sleep, I got all my things around for the weekend. I'd be staying the night in Denver so I had to make sure I had everything I needed for the race. My husband wanted my help to move some furniture around, but I let him do most of the heavy work. We were getting some new furniture delivered that afternoon so we had to make room. I was ready to go but he wanted to get rid of some boxes. He was apparently cutting them extra fast - hurrying for me - and accidentally sliced his leg through his jeans. OW!! I quickly became medic. Thank goodness it wasn't very deep or very bloody. It only took some peroxide and a few bandaids and he was good to go. That was it for the box cutting so I loaded up the car, said goodbye to him and Juno, and headed north.

I-25 is actually pretty scenic between the Springs and Denver, especially when the day provides sun, blue skies, and snow-capped peaks. The traffic flowed nicely and I was at the race expo in under an hour. First I must explain two things about me and city parking.... 1) I can't parallel park 2) I didn't have any quarters for the meters. But I found a meter I could pull straight into and it even had 17 minutes on it! I tossed in a nickel and the time increased by a few minutes so I put in a few more - enough to get about a half-hour of time. That should be plenty for me to get my packet and find a more long-term place to park. I quickly found the expo, got my race packet and the TNT tent. Anisa was there, a Denver resident, and she directed me to the underground parking garage at the Pavillion, just a couple blocks away that was close to our luncheon site as well. Found the garage, found a spot to park, and found the exit. Then I had to find my way back to the convention center. Walked in circles a few times around the construction until I ran into TNT mentor Kelly. She pointed me to the next block where I could head over. Phew. Walked back to the convention center and walked around a little bit. I even got some free salami! I will save that for after the race! Then Jaci and her husband showed up - Jaci's daughter is the one fighting leukemia. We didn't expect her to be there, but Kalila told them to come so they did. She was obviously very distraught so I walked her through packet pick-up and back to the team meeting location. They were certainly surrounded by a wonderful support team.

The team headed over as a group, all 60+ of us the three blocks to Maggiano's for our Inspiration Lunchoen. It was very inspiring, to say the least. First we get the red carpet treatment as we enter the restaurant, with TNT coaches, staff, and volunteers cheering extremely loudly as we walk in. Then we watch a slideshow of the reason we are running - pictures of all the people the team knows who have fought or are still fighting blood cancers. I was sitting at a table with Jaci and Brian, and you could see them wait in anticipation every time Kalila's picture would be about to come up. I can't imagine what they were feeling.

Then we celebrate the Team's fundraising accomplishments (over $119,000 for the LLS!) and eat our pasta lunch. I had the spaghetti with meatballs, and one did roll off the table and onto the floor (but not out the door). We heard from "Mascot Dave," a Team Hero who is dealing with leukemia. He's currently in remission after several different experimental treatments. He highlighted how important there is money going to research and he's still alive over 7 years after being diagnosed, when 5 years was more typical for his type of leukemia. A great character and we certainly appreciate the appreciation he showed us. While dessert was being served, we had a presentation from a guest speaker, Dave McGillivray, the marathon Race Director. Wow. I didn't know much about him prior to today, but he recapped his story and all he has done to raise money for causes or just give something positive to people in need. It seems that he truly enjoys giving back to others and pushing his own personal limits. "There are no mistakes, only lessons." This luncheon put us all in the right mindset for tomorrow's big race! After a few last-minute tips from the coaches, we took some group photos and headed on our way.

So my next challenge was to find how to get back into the garage to park my car. More circles around the construction and wandering into random stairwells and I finally found the entrance and then my car. Now I had to put my ticket in the machine so I would tell me how much I owed. Surprisingly, it was the voice of Stephen Hawking (how cool is that?!) telling me I owed $7 for parking. Next challenge - exit the parking garage and find the hotel, which is about 2 blocks away. I'll keep this part short, but it took me about 20 minutes to find the entrance to the hotel.

Valet parking only due to construction so I gave up my keys and went to check in. Got to the room and roomie Lauren was already there chilling out. Dumped out all my stuff and started to get things around for the morning. Around 6pm I was starting to get a little hungry and decided it was time for my pre-race dinner. I wasn't super hungry and didn't want to eat too much so I set off in search of a sandwich. A block or so away from the hotel I ran into Sam, a TNT triathlete who got injured but begged her doctor to let her walk the half (her original intention earlier this year was to run the full). Great that she was able to be out there! I then found the Hard Rock Cafe. I thought this was where I should eat, surely they will have a chicken sandwich. And surely they did! I sat at the bar since I was going solo. The bartender dude appreciated that I only was drinking water (though a beer sounded really good!) as I was racing. He had recently done the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon. A grilled chicken sandwich, a couple glasses of water and a few french fries later (carbs and salt!) I was off to the gift shop. It is "Rocktober" at the HRC. to honor Melissa Etheridge's breast cancer awareness campaign they were selling these cool pink guitar pins. As I know several people who have dealt with breast cancer, I had to get one. 100% of net proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I walk the couple blocks back to the hotel and it is time to make all the plans - pack non-race stuff, organize race stuff, breakfast, etc. And what kind of fancy hotel (the Sheraton) does not have microwaves or refridgerators in the rooms??? At least there was a coffee maker for some hot water for my oatmeal. Roomie wasn't showering before the race (I like the warm water to help wake up the muscles) so we were good there. Watched the end of the South Carolina v. Alabama game and turned out the light. Not much later I was asleep - didn't even need the ipod to help relax me. Slept beautifully until about 3am - then I had to go to the bathroom but didn't want to get up so I just dozed until the alarm went off at 4:40am.

RACE DAY!!!
The morning went smoothly. Got ready. Decided not to wear the new pin as it was going to jingle so I put it on my bag. Went down to the lobby to check out, gave the concierge my bags and met up with the TNT crew. Jaci and Brian showed up but they didn't stay long. They got a call that Kalila was not doing well at all and might not make it until noon. So after a lot of hugs from the team, they headed out. A friend of Kalila's ran the half for Jaci in Kalila's honor. The troops were gathered and before heading to the race start we had a "Mission Moment" from a young leukemia survior, probably not much older than Kalila and was diagnosed a year or so ago. I think Jaci and Brian were still around for that so I can't begin to imagine how they were feeling with a young survior speaking and thanking us for saving her life while their daughter was in her final hours. An extremely emotional start to the race morning, but it certainly put a lot of things into perspective.

At the start, we all sign into the TNT tent. I drop my stuff at the tent instead of using the gear check. I take off my jacket and long pants, and put on the thin clear plastic poncho that Coach Mitch gave us. It works - and you're not wearing a garbage bag! Race number and cool attire completely visible. I work my way to the porta-potties and a lady with a camera says "strike a pose" so I give her a big smile. Takes about 15 mintues to get through the line and then I head over to the start. Crowded! It's about 6:45 now and I'm trying to loosen up and stay warm. Body heat from the corral was nice and the temp was about 50. It was going to hit the low 80's which was fine for me! Better than the 18 degrees I ran in last weekend! I found my way between the 3:50 and 4:00 pace groups. My original plan was to try and BQ with a 3:40, but with the strain in my hammy/calf the last few weeks, I opted that maybe a 4:00 would be more realistic. If could run a 2 hr half off a 56 mile bike I could do a 4 hr 26.2 without a swim or bike. But really, what do I know - this is my 1st marathon! Some chit-chat with the people around me and then it was time. It took about a minute to get to the start (chip-timed race) so I pressed start on my Garmin as I crossed the mat and I had officially started my first marathon.

Start slow. Take it easy. Get your legs warmed up nice and slow. I was taking in the vibe of running with so many people on the streets of Denver at sunrise. Beautiful feeling. I was taking it easy the first mile - my Garmin had me at 10:30 or so pace. first 3 miles were good - legs got warmed up and I was plenty comfy in my singlet and arm warmers. By mile 3 the 4:00 pace group was near me and the leader said "3 miles, right on pace." My Garmin had me at 2.7miles. OK - so don't believe the garmin today. Around this time Jon came running - he was shooting for a 2 hr or less half so for him hanging with the 4:00 group would be good. It seemed like Mr. 4hr balloons was running a tad fast so I let them get a little ahead. Then I started feeling good and picked up my pace. Craig caught up to me - he was hoping to do the half in about 1:50. I ran with him for a little bit - he was still wearing his plastic poncho after at least 4 miles! We wound around the streets of downtown Denver. Around 5.5 miles was the TNT cheer/aid station. Crazy people in purple and cowboy hats cheering and screaming. I remember pumping my arms - woohoo and yeehaw! Now we were at City Park. The sun was high enough it was blinding heading east. Sunglasses came off my hat and onto my eyes. At mile 6 there was the first relay exchange. Tons of people were in line waiting for their team members to show up. Mile 7 was a gu station where you could grab one if you wanted and they told us water was just around the corner. Well, more like a mile around the corner. I had my own gel in a flask, endurolytes and electrolyte drink (HEED). Nutrition and hydration plan actually worked pretty well - I took gel from my flask about every 30 minutes, and every other 30 I took two endurolytes. No stomach issues! Anyway, around mile 9 or so I heard my name and Becky (another former TNTer) was there and took my picture. She was cheering on Jon, who was probably just a few minutes ahead of me. At this point I had already pulled ahead of the 4 hr balloon man. Soon there was a TNT coach who was monitoring us on the course. He said I looked really relaxed. I felt good, even though my legs were feeling it some. I just kept going - through Cheesman park. I didn't realize I was in a park, but I did remember seeing the sign for it. Oh well. After the park we were close to the half-way point. I remember looking at my time at mile 12 and seeing 1:48. Still on track for a sub-4 race so I felt good. Just keep up this pace and I'll be golden.

After the half marathoners turn off to go to the finish, us full folks hit a long (relatively speaking) out-and-back stretch on 7th Ave. Jordan from Girls Heart Rockets found me and hoped in to run a little. At this point I was glad to have some company though I wasn't super chatty. East bound was slightly uphill and I could really tell. Another TNT coach ran with us for a couple blocks and then headed back down to find the next person in purple. I couldn't wait to get to the turn around on this part for the recovery on the slight downhill. Oh so wrong. At this point my legs were pretty sore so there was no recovery on a downhill, only pain. I remember looking at the miles and couldn't wait for the miles left to be in the single digits. Got some water at the aid station and got nailed by a cup thrown by a shirtless guy with a long ponytail down his back. I think he had 6 or 7 rubber bands in his hair. At least the cup was empty and he did apologize (I think). Jordan pulled off around mile 15 and the 4hr balloon man found me again. Just stick with him - let him do the work and just keep the legs going. That worked for a little while. Then the pain registered even more. Everything hurt - well everything except the knee pain that put me into PT all last week! Hang on and keep the legs moving. I knew why I was out there - didn't question that. I knew I would finish. I just didn't know how long it would take me to get to the finish line....

Mile 17 the TNT coach who saw me at mile 9 or 10 was back. He said I looked a little sore. I agreed. He got me to shake out my arms, relax and breathe. Really breathing wasn't an issue. At this time I was going slow enough that my cardiovascular system wasn't taxed at all. I had no trouble breathing. I had trouble moving my legs. But I was tensing up in the shoulders too, so it was good to remember to shake the arms out a bit. Mile 18. I think I just saw Mr. 4 hr balloons go by me but without his balloons...huh? Guess he had to make a pit stop. Just 8 more miles. My IT band tightness was manifesting itself in my knees. Joy. Been there, done that, don't want that again. Just keep moving. Mile 20...OK, only a 10k to go. really - just a 10k! That's still an hour...

Shuffle, shuffle, walk at an aid station. Shuffle again. Didn't even bother checking my pace on the Garmin. I hear there is a wall at mile 20. Nope, no wall, just an extremely viscous medium to sludge my way through. I didn't want to walk (other than aid stations) but I did. I admit it. I started to see more people going by me. Even though I was going pretty slow by now and was hurting (see the race photo grimace) I was moving. The cops were managing the traffic at the intersections and the runners were very polite and thanking the cops. I usually do that too, but today it was all I could do to just smile or give a thumbs up. 5 more miles. Mr. water cup throwing guy passes me. 4 more miles. 4:15 pace group goes by at some point - just hang with them...or not. 3 more miles. 2 more miles. Another TNT coach on the course - better get to running again! He asked how I was but didn't buy the "OK" I managed to squeak out. But I convinced him I was fine other than the pain (with which I am sure he was familiar). He gave me a brief run down on the last 1.5 miles of the course, said I looked good and let me go on my way. Mile 25 marker. I was almost there. walk, shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. OK maybe a little more walking. Jordan was near the finish yelling for me. Woohoo! There was no final kick for me, but I will finish with my head up high! The TNT group was there - in their purple and big yellow foam cowboy hats. Awesome. Then the finish line. And there was Tim with the camera. He made it!!! Now, don't trip on the timing mats! Didn't - good. Got my medal my water, got a big hug from Tim and it was done! I had finished my first marathon in 4:26.

We walked to the TNT tent and Tim helped me down the steps in the park to get there. Now I understand. Tim headed out and I stayed at the TNT tent to eat, drink and congratulate all the other TNT finishers. Really, besides the pain in my legs, I felt great! Made it back to the hotel to get my bags, change into some not so sweaty clothes and got home. (hooray for cruise control!)

This was by far the most pain I have ever intentionally inflicted upon myself. But was it worth it? Yeah. Would I do it again? Yeah. (got to figure the pacing stuff out for sure!) Pressure is gone, right now who cares about a BQ - finishing was fine, just fine. I knew it was going to be painful and hard, but I really did underestimate the power of the beast. I definitely have a new found respect for the marathon beast.

And unfortunately later that night, Jaci and Brian lost Kalila to leukemia....

Here's a link to some of my photos from the weekend:

denver marathon 2009

Click here to see the professional race photos and the grimace.

Harvest Moon Long Course Duathlon - Race Report

9/11/09 - First a thanks to all the service men and women in the US for all their sacrifices!

Gear was mostly packed, but I didn't have time to load the car before work, so I left work a tad early to get home, load the car and make it up to Aurora for packet pickup. The interstate was a little slow-going, but it's been worse. Made it to my exit in about an hour. Then it took me at least 5 minutes to get off the interstate. I-225 and Parker Rd must be a popular exit on a Friday evening! Then it took me at least another 15 minutes to get to the Red Lion Hotel - the map shows that it's right off the interstate, but what you don't see is that the access is via a service road. That was a bit frustrating, since I really had to pee! But I found the hotel, then found the bathroom. Then got my race packet - back to the car in less than 10 minutes. Goodie bag was pretty sweet - t-shirt, headsweats visor, 24oz water bottle, plenty of samples and coupons.

Headed a couple miles up the road to the hotel I found for $51 on priceline.com. It was one of those extended stay places so it had a small kitchen. Checked in and then drove around to find a place to eat. Plenty of chain places to choose from - I picked Boston Market. After my belly was happy I went back to the hotel to get my race stuff ready. Got all my nutrition bottles ready and put them in the fridge, put my race number on the bike (#705) and packed everything I would need in transition. Put lace locks on my shoes - first time using these instead of elastic laces, but I think I figured out how to use them! I was in bed by about 9:30 - set my alarm. Good thing I double checked it, as I set it for 5:45 when I needed to get up by 4:45am to leave by 5:45!
Slept relatively well for pre-race night. Woke up a few times, it seems people go in and out at all hours in this place.

Race day - 9/12/09
4:30am I'm awake so I might as well get up. Feeling pretty well rested and some of the back of the throat congestion that I'd had the last couple days was mostly gone. good. Breakfast was oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana. When I took my bottles out of the fridge and they were frozen! Not competely solid, but enough to not be good when it is 50 degrees or less out and the high might not even hit 60! So thank goodness for the mini-kitchen sink and some warm water. Got 'em thawed enough pretty quickly. phew. 5:45am I had the car packed up and headed to the Aurora Reservior. Very little traffic so I made good time - that is until the turn to the park. The gate didn't open until 6am (I got there at 6:05) and there was only one entrance that I know of, so you can imagine the line of cars for ~600 racers. Another 15-20 minutes later I had a front row parking space to transition. Don't think I'd ever been that close before!

Transition is set, got my timing chip and body marked. It is cold! (my girls heart rockets illuminite jacket kept me warm!) The race staff announced the water was 66 degrees. That would feel warm to all those swimming, as the air temp couldn't have been more than 50. Glad I wasn't swimming! The du start was in the last wave, about 35 minutes after transition closed, so we hung out by the port-o-potties (the race staff said to meet there - pretty convenient, I'd say!) Chatted up a little with the other duathletes and tried to keep warm!

Run 1 - 5k
Official time: 25:37 (8:16 pace)
run rank - (8/21 females, 21/38 overall)
GPS data
We started a few hundred yards up the path from transition. A guy on a mountain bike was our lead. I was wearing my TNT kit (purple, black and green) and my bright blue arm warmers, all under a white long sleeve tech tee. Got a tad warm, but really not to bad! HR probably a bit high, I meant to take this leg ~8:30-8:45 pace, but the pace felt good so I went with it. Also I had set up my GPS for auto multisport and for some reason it had the first sport as 'other' instead of running, so it gave me speed and not pace. I don't know about you, but I didn't feel like converting 7.1mph or whatever it was in a race! Caught up to a few people and hit T1.

T1: 1:14
Fastest transition of all the women! Oh yeah!
Took off my long sleeve shirt, put on my bike helmet, decided against the gloves, grabbed my bike and jogged to the bike start. nothing eventful here.

Bike - 56 miles
3:02:55 (18.4 mph)
Bike Rank (6/20 females, 14/37 overall)
GPS File
Since I've been training for the marathon, I've not spent as much time as I would like on the bike. Been on a few long rides, but not as much as I would like, and I've not done any bike-run bricks. So...time to "take it easy" on the bike leg as much as I could. Focus for the bike leg:
1) get the HR back down
2) nutrition - eat and drink!

Started drinking right away, went through my aerodrink in the first hour and also ate about a third of a clif bar. Perpetuem would be my main source of calories, and I had spiked it with endurolytes. Took a couple endurolytes every hour and that certainly gelped my calves when I felt they were cramping.
The first 12 or so miles of the course contain long rolling hills on an out-and-back along Quincy Ave. Heading out was nice with a tailwind. Heading back wasn't so nice, but not awful. Then we turned north and it was a nice gradual downhill. I looked at my average speed over the course and I was ~19mph. Once we crossed over I-70 (thanks to the cops monitoring that intersection!) we turned east. At mile 30 I was near 19.7mph average! way faster than I was planning, but it wasn't taking much effort. I was also more comfortable by this point in the aerobars. When it's windy and the roads aren't the best, I prefer being in the drops. Something to work on! Aid station #2, around mile 30 I ask for water - I was going to top off my aerodrink that I filled with bottle#2 on the bike. I taste it and it's watermelon HEED. Don't mind that, but I wanted water. I also didn't toss my empty bottle, so I pitch this new one. The roads start to get bumpy with expansion cracks and I get heed all over myself. yay. water wouldn't have been sticky. oh well. Though when I look back, I should have tossed the empty bottle and kept the HEED. On one part of the road, a garbage truck slows behind bikers and doesn't want to pass. Of all vehicles to get stuck behind!

We turn south and the hills and wind are a bit more noticable. Got to gain that elevation back somehow. This road was awful with the expansion cracks. Saw a lot of people fixing flats. Very glad I wasn't one of them! More HEED splashing on me, so I better drink up! Still sipping my perpetuem, too.

With about 20 miles left, we turn west onto Quincy again. And let the fun begin. Long rollers with overall elevation gain. So much for spinning on some of these hills and also gaining momentum on the downhills. Some were OK, but others got the big *URG!* Maybe should have dropped into the small chainring, but with compact gearing, I didn't want to and was stubborn. At mile 45 we hit aid stationg #3 - I ask for water but all they had was gatorade! Boo! So didn't quite take in enough fluids on this bike. But due to the cooler weather, I had to pee! How frustrating to fight headwinds uphill and have to pee. Oh well. On the road back into the reservoir, I finally do shift down to my small chain ring to spin out the last mile. Then I hit transition - decided to just unclip instead of taking my feet out of the shoes - because I had to pee and also wouldn't have gotten the feet out in time.

T2: 1:10 - fastest T2 of the women! score!
Tried to go fast!!! About pulled my quad getting my right shoe on (lace locks aren't quite the same as elastic laces!) But I got my shoes on, got my hat and grabbed my fuel belt. Headed out of transition and went straight to the port-o-potty! And did I have to go! but the port-o-potties were outside the timing mats so it's part of my run time.

Run 2 - 13.1 miles
2:02:22 (9:21 pace)
GPS file
Run Rank (5/20 women, 12/35 overall)
After my bladder was now empty, I headed out. Temps were still cool and still overcast. My plan was to run 8:45ish, then 8:30, then 8:15, then finish the last few miles with 8:00. Would have been nice to do a 1:50. Not in the cards today. I sipped on my HEED from my fuel belt at the start, then took a gel at mile 1 (water from aid station). Mile 2 I took a couple endurolytes. Was checking pace, usually between 8:55 and 8:35 - not bad. Mile 4 in ~36min, so that would be 9:00pace, took another gel. My hands were a tad swollen, then I realized I had an elastic hair tie around my left wrist. hmmm. also get cold, red hands easily (Reynaud's) so could be related? Found it hard to get my heart rate/breathing under control. My legs felt fine, but needed more air. I hit the turnaround at about an hour into the run. Ok, time to pick it up. Or not. Just couldn't seem to get below a 9:00pace, even though I'd just been running uphill at the faster pace. The 2nd half felt a lot more downhill, but my legs were just not cooperating. Kept up with the endurolytes every few aid stations, and gel at mile 9. The time on the course passed quickly, but the little rollers on the run (and the big rollers on the bike) must have taken their toll. I'm sure I could have had more to drink. I went through ~12 oz heed and then maybe 12-16oz of water with my gels and endurolytes. Probably not enough. My right hip (IT related) also started to tighten up. And my quads. I was feeling my quads! Really slowed down mile 11-12, but then saw the short downhill to the finish line so at least I crossed the finish line with a strong pace.

Final Time 5:33:16
Overall Ranking : 2/6 in age group, 5/20 female, 11/35 overall
Got my finisher's shot glass, a bottle of water and then walked back to transition. Packed the bike and my stuff in the car, got my change of clothes, and then the rain started. Stretched a little, but decided to head home. Stopped in Castle Rock for some Chick-fil-A and got a stuffed cow from the staff. They asked how my day was, so I told them what I just did. Guess I earned a cow! woohoo!

General race comments:
I didn't taper for this race, and am coming off a 40 mile run week last week, which is a lot for me. After the race I'm at 46 for this week. I haven't been on the bike much, let alone long bike-run bricks and could definitely feel the cardiovascular system. Though I didn't do as well getting what I hope to be my marathon pace in October on the run, I did get some really good training miles in! This is a good race with a difficult course. Weather can be hit or miss due to the September timing.

State Games of America - Sprint Triathlon Race Report

A little late coming, but here it is...

It is common for triathletes to build up their race season, starting with a sprint distance, then olympic, progressing towards half ironman, if they choose that distance. Sometimes I like to do things a little different than the norm. My race season started with a half ironman, then olympic, and finally a sprint race on Saturday. Sprints go by really fast after you've done longer distances!

The State Games of America came to Colorado Springs this year, so why not do a tri in your own back yard. I encouraged several of the Team In Training folk to either participate or watch, so we had a good showing. Was also surprised to see one of our Denver coaches down at the race. Charley is amazing - you'd never guess he was 62!

Anyway, so as race mornings always do - the alarm goes off around 4am. quick shower and eat my standard pre-race breakfast. Pack up the car and drive the short distance to Memorial Park. On the way Martha calls and asks if I have an extra helmet. Sure do! I get to the lake and the sun is just slowly rising. So far it is a cool (50 degrees) but clear day. Push the bike around the lake and get to transition. I find Martha and my extra helmet is too small for her. So she has to make hers work (really just the plastic shell got warped from being in the car). I believe some duct tape did the trick.

Transition prior to the race is pretty chill. I find my designated rack and set up my bike. I smiled if the bike next to mine was my competition.

The rest of the COS TNTers racing all made it to transition - Becky, Jon, Michele, Martha, Mitch. Shannon is racing as well. As usual, my goal is to catch her since I predicted she'd have a 5-7 minute lead on me out of the swim. Jason showed up with his camera gear and should be able get some decent shots since the bike course is a 4-lap course.

I tried to get in a swim warm-up but the weeds were so thick it was just a little gross. So I just hung out waiting for the start. We corral to the swim start as they call each wave. I'm in wave 4 and off I go...

750m Swim: 19:53. Yikes! Leaky goggles (warm-up swim would have identified that) and the swim was just not the best. Had to gain my composure a couple times - nothing major but just wasn't digging the swim right away. When I saw the lady pass me doing the back stroke, I forced myself to put my head in and just swim. Found a groove (albeit a slow one) about a third of the way into the swim and made it to the beach. There was Jason when I exited the water yelling "you swim like a girl!" He thought he might have missed me...but nope, I'm just a little sluggish in the water.

T1: 1:41. Coach Matt was on the sidelines. Wetsuit came off pretty easily and all I had to do was put on my sunglasses and helmet and grab my bike and go. A Gazette reporter/photographer was there and snagged this shot out of T1 and it made it into an article about triathlon transitions!

13.1 mile bike: 46:09. 4 laps of a very hilly course that was closed to traffic! Each lap had about 250ft of gain and the headwind seemed to be on every descent. I was hoping for a 42 minute split, but still not too bad. I thought I'd be cold with the cooler temps but was just fine. Before each turn there would be a volunteer holding a sign that read "caution, caution, caution." Some volunteers would also verbalize the upcoming turn, others would just stand there. Saw a lot of flat tires - wonder if the cool morning had anything to do with it or the rough sections/seams in the road. I got a lot of HEED from my aerodrink spashed on my from those bumps.

T2: 1:33 No real issues here, just wiped some of the rocks off the bottom of my feet from the asphalt. Got my socks and shoes on, grabbed my hat and race belt and headed out. Realized I couldn't really feel my feet.

5k Run: 23:22. I think it was a little short, but I'll take the time! Sprint tri runs are really about 25 minutes of pain. Run as fast as you can...keep running! The temp at this point was perfect - the cloulds overhead kept the sun at bay. Since I couldn't feel my feet much, I just made sure my legs were moving quickly. I saw a lady up ahead with a "3"-something on her calf so she became a target. Passed her right before the turn-around. Then I caught up to a 24 year old guy, but he would let me pass him. He could tell I was there - I was breathing pretty hard! So he essentially paced me for about the last mile of the run. Mitch had finished his race and was out on the run course cheering for us. Run hard. My nose was a little congested so I couldn't take the deep inhales that I like to do to help focus my breathing. That was a bit annoying for most of the run. But at least towards the end I could feel my feet! The my "pacer" saw the finish line about 100 yds ahead and kicked it in. I don't have legs like that, but I did what I could!

Overall time: 1:32:38 2nd place W30-34! I could not catch Shannon and she took first. I was 1:44 behind Shannon....so close (it's all in the swim - she had 7+ minutes on me there). But very cool to get a medal at the State Games! TNT folks did well - Michele got 3rd in her age group (and Athena so she got 2 medals!) and Charley got 1st in his age group.

Complete Results

I'm Tired.

I'm just plain tired today. First, it's my 12th wedding anniversary and my husband is in DC until Friday on business. Sucks. But I kept busy - got a long run in - almost 14 miles! The Garmin File. Ran with Jessica, someone I met at the Kansas half - she and her husband just moved to town a few weeks ago. Definitely great to have someone keep you company on a long run like that. The conversation makes the pain more bearable!

Made chocolate pancakes for my post-run meal. Yum. Then got cleaned up, sat on the couch for a while with my legs elevated and my eyes closed. Didn't fall asleep but I wanted to!

Then I headed over to our townhouse (but first stopping by walgreens to get some cleaning supplies) to keep working on the prep. Want to get this thing ready to rent as soon as we possibly can. I went through all the rooms and touched up paint where it needed it. Then I tried to scrub the tile in the shower. Got tired of that fast, so then I started putting outlet covers back on and pulling off the painters tape. Place still needs a lot of work but it's coming along. The carpet guys are coming to measure later in the week.

I was getting pretty hungry after all that so I stopped by the Heart of Jerusalem cafe for a yummy falafel sandwich and went home. Now I'm doing laundry and writing this. And working on a fitness plan for my sister. Didn't get to the grocery store and I'm out of just about everything. oh well.

Through all this we're trying to put an offer in on a house we like. A little more complicated with Tim out of town (and he's not actually seen the house). and my legs hurt. Not pain hurt but fatigue hurt from everything today. Think I will get my bike on the trainer and do an easy spin for a few minutes and then stretch. and chill out with my foam roller to work on any kinks in my muscles - I'm sure there are plenty of kinks. Better stop rambling and get on with my evening!

Boulder Peak Race Report

The race site: http://5430sports.com/peak.htm

Saturday, July 11th
I did a TNT bike ride in the morning at the Air Force Academy. Just did a little over 30 mintues - down stadium drive and back up. Legs felt good. On the way home stopped by Starbucks for an iced soy latte and pumpkin bread. yum. Got home, started to pack. around 11am went for a 15 minute run. Legs feeling good! Finished packing up the car and headed to meet Sarah. Remembered to stop by walgreens to get some rubber bands. Got Sarah, met Shannon and went to chick-fil-a for lunch. I love their grilled chicken sandwhich. Drive to Boulder....get to the Rez just in time for the race meeting. They are all pretty much the same! We got our race packets in a green re-usable bag (they are all the rage these days) and a really awesome race shirt. Ben got there about the same time we did so we agreed to meet somewhere for dinner. Walked around the expo for a few minutes. Very Boulder-esque expo - lots of "eco-friendly" booths. Then headed to the hotel back in Louisville, which is just a few miles up the highway. Got settled in and we all went to Mimi's for dinner. Back to the hotel, get all the race stuff around (numbers on race belt/helmet, etc. ) Harry Potter and the Prince of Azkaban was on TV. 9pm it was lights out! Something must have been in the air all day - my sinuses were hurting (pretty rare) and my nose was a little clogged. A hot shower helped, and I hoped it would go away overnight.

Sunday, July 12th - RACE DAY!
4am the cell phone alarms go off. Actually slept pretty well for a race night. only woke up a couple times but the sleep in between was solid. Felt about as good as you can at 4am! Head was a lot better. Ate my typical pre-race breakfast of oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana. There was a microwave in the room so it made the oatmeal very convenient. Sarah and I got our stuff around and headed to the car.

It's 5am in Boulder and all traffic is headed toward the Rez. It seems like they host races almost every weekend in the summer so it's really smooth to get in and park. We get our stuff and head to transition. No lines for body marking (good!) and no lines to pick up the timing chip (yay!). The 5430 Races have the best transition set-up. They have the racks well marked by wave and there are 4 bikes to a rack, two on each side. Bikes are racked by the rear tire so no having to hang from seat posts or handle bars. They also set the racks up far enough apart everyone has plenty of room. Not like the races with the single bar racks and you have to squeeze in as many bikes as you possibly can...

Today I am attempting to start the race with my shoes already clipped to my bike to save time. That's why I needed the rubber bands. I got the pedals set up so they won't bounce on the ground as I run out of transition. Then you hop on the bike and start pedaling with your feet on top of the shoes (the rubber bands break). As you gain speed, you slip your feet into the shoes and away you go!

I'm set up early enough that I do a short warm-up run to get the blood flowing before I put on my wet suit. No issues here.

My wave (#2) starts at 6:40 so at about 6:10 I head over to put on my wetsuit and get in a warm-up. I really wanted to use the real bathroom (not the port-os) but they weren't open yet. bummer - will wait for the lake. I squeeze into my wetsuit and about 6:20 I get in the water. The sun is rising over the lake, making the buoys hard to see, but that's expected of course! I swim out to the dock a couple times - all is good. The wetsuit seems to have loosened up somewhat around my shoulders, which is a good thing.

Right before the start of wave #1, the national anthem is played and the flag is up in the sky - being carried by three skydivers. Way cool!

6:30, the race starts - they sent the older men and women (50+) and relays off first.

SWIM (1500+ meters):
6:40 - my wave #2 - the lime green caps - all women ages 30-34. Off we go! I wanted to be more competitive in the swim today so I positioned myself a little off to the side but closer to the front. And it was competitive! Lots of us jockying for position, but I found myself on the losing end since I just couldn't keep up. After a few hundred yards I was able to get my space. It seemed like forever to the first buoy! and then the next, and next. Finally I get to the first turn. Then the wave behind me starts to show up - the purple caps. Then I get to the next turn and I start to see the second wave after me - the pink caps. As I am making the final turn for the last few hundred yards to the beach, I see an orange cap - the men have started and the lead guys are FAST! I make the last turn for the last few hundred yards to the beach. I am glad to get out of the water - I felt like I was swimming strong, but it also felt like it was taking forever! And it was! When I got out of the water, my watch said 40 minutes! yikes! I did the 1.2 mile swim in Kansas in just under 45! Didn't think I've slowed that much in a month. Very, very frustrating! But I accept it and get on with the bike (my favorite leg!)

Swim Results: 41:43 (age group rank- 99/121) *sigh*

T1:
I easily find my bike, strip off my wetsuit, sunglasses on, helmet on and I grab my bike. Shoes are already on the bike, which was difference from my previous routine so I paused to make sure I really was good to go. And off I ran with my bike to the bike start.

T1 Results: 1:26 (age group rank- 19/121) sweet!

BIKE (42k):
I mount my bike (a little awkward, but not bad) and start to pedal. I slip my right shoe on my foot. Pedal some more, slip my left foot in the shoe and realize that the rubber band didn't break. hmmm....don't think it is a good idea to ride the race with a rubber band attaching my shoe to the bike. quick thinking here - I unclip my shoe and pull my leg far enough away to snap the band. Now the rubber band is just attached to the shoe. I can deal with that. I soon start passing people. My favorite phrase is "on your left." The plan is to pace myself since the first seven miles are all uphill with 1200 feet of elevation gain. I stay in the small chain ring in front and make sure I'm taking it easy on the legs, since the steep part starts around mile 5.

I make the turn on to Lee Hill Rd and it starts to get steeper. The climbers are separated from the non-climbers. Then a curve to the right and we are on Olde Stage Road. It starts to get steep. I'm pretty much in my smallest two gears (36/25 and 36/27) for this part. There is a woman ahead of me swerving all over the road, crossing over the double yellow into the lane of oncoming traffic. The roads are open so I'm not sure what she was thinking. If a race official was there, she could get penalized/disqualified for that. She crossed over several times in the 5ish minutes I was behind her. I kept chugging - Olde Stage was pretty hard, but not as hard as I remember from three weeks ago so my time in Keystone might have paid off. At one point where there were no houses I looked to my right and I could see all the way down the valley. We had certainly gained some elevation! There were spectators lined up on the side of the road cheering us on, which helps on a tough section like that. After the peak of the steep part, the course levels off but you still have a couple hundred feet to climb. When the descent starts, the race directors have imposed a 35mph speed limit for a short section. A few years ago there was a bad crash. At the bottom of this "speed zone" a cop is there with a radar gun. If you exceed 35mph, you can get disqualified. So we ride the brakes for this section (less than a mile). I was behind someone conserative and I didn't have a good view of my speed, so I just hung back. I think I hit 33mph. After the speed zone you can really fly. The road isn't quite as steep, but you do gain some speed and a chance to recover the legs. Then rest of the course is fast and downhill and then some rollers, then a slight elevation gain back into the Reservoir. I just tried to go as fast as I could without too much pain in my legs. Bike nutrition/hydration: Aerobottle filled w/HEED (~24oz) and took a gel (actually almost 2 from my "gelbot") and water with about 10 minutes left on the bike.

Bike Results: 1:25:13, 18.3mph (age group rank - 27/121)
my garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/player/8659345

T2:
Find the rack, put my socks on, slip on my shoes, grab my hat and racebelt and run to the run start.

T2 results: 1:27 (age group rank - 26/118) - some people didn't go on for the run...

RUN (10k):
My plan for the run was to try to go as fast as I could to test myself. If I ran out of steam half way through, so be it. I didn't wear my GPS with pacing info so I could just run by feel. Well, I didn't feel it today. My legs felt heavy - they just didn't have any 'go.' They didn't hurt (well, of course running in a tri "hurts" but not pain that says stop running.) I also felt a little on the edge of my breathing. I know it's not supposed to be comfortable at this distance, but something was holding me back. The run course was an out and back, mainly on a dirt road that goes around the lake. It's relatively flat, but the "out" part has a slight elevation gain. There are a few sections with small hills, but they felt like big ones today. I walked through each aid station to make sure I was hydrating. Temps were supposed to be in the mid-upper 80s so when that sun is out, the course gets pretty warm. There is no shade out there. I took my gel at the turn-around to make sure I had fuel in the tank for the run back. I kept expecting that when I was on the "back" part with the slight elevation loss, it would feel better. It didn't. I was shooting to hit 3hrs for a total time and started the run around 2:10. I would have to really rock to make it. When I was at 2:45 at mile 4, I knew I was going to go over 3hrs by a little bit. My friend Shannon was ahead (she's a really fast swimmer) and I saw her before the turn around. She probably had less than half a mile on me, but feeling like I was, I just couldn't close the gap. I kept chugging along, still hoping for the burst of energy and leg speed. The last quarter mile of the course is significantly downhill so I was able to pick up speed and have good strides for the finish photo. I wish I could have found that stride earlier! Shannon and Sarah were at the finish line cheering. I got my finishers transition towel (soaked in cold water- nice!) and we headed over to the course to wait for Ben and Stacey. After they came in, it was Qdoba burritos at the meal tent and some fruit. And a lot of water. Skipped the beer tent today since I had to drive back to the Springs and didn't want to fall asleep! Then we watched the pros finish their race on a modified run course (3-lap loop) that was more spectator friendly. They seemed to glide along the road. I'm jealous.

Run results: 55:09, 8:54min/mile pace (age group rank - 40/118)

Total time: 3:04:56 (44/118 age group, 195/550 female finishers)
All in all, a good experience and a very well-executed event! Everyone thought the swim was long and I think the times show it. And only 6 women (from the entire field) with slower swim times finished ahead of me....

Back to oxygen and some cool winnings!

Funny, that going to 6000ft elevation would be back in the oxygen, but after a week in 9000+ and training, it feels good to be back in the relative low-land!

So Tim and I were in Keystone (near Dillon), CO for the 2009 Porsche Parade. We had a fabulous time enjoying the scenery. The weather cooperated 95% of the time and I got in some really good training (hills, anyone?).

Some highlights:

• We came in 5th place in our very first TSD Rally.
• I rode my bike to the top to Loveland Pass.
  

• Tim won this trip in a random drawing: http://www.fastlanetravel.com/images/budget.pdf

We'll probably exchange it for a trip in 2010 since we have a lot going on this year already and we'd like to make more of a vacation. Guess I better brush up on my German!

Now we're back and have to adjust to getting back in the normal routine and I have to get back to work, though it was nice that our shutdown was the same week as parade. But as usual, there is some more training to do...

hello from keystone

Quick post today - been in Keystone since Saturday at the 2009 Porsche Parade. Lots of nice cars! We've been on a tour to the old 10th mtn division (the ski troops) training camp from wwii - camp hale. yesterday we participated in a time-speed-distance rally and according to the preliminary results we came in 5th in our class. apparently that's pretty impressive for our first rally and that we are still on speaking terms!

The rally is this - you get a set of instructions which get you from point a to point b, and there are a set of rules on how to execute the instructions. there are checkpoints along the way separating the rally into legs and each leg is scored independently. the instructions might say CAST 33 0.5mi after "mountain views" which means to change your average speed to 33mph a half-mile after a sign that has the exact text "mountain views" on it. the idea is to enter each checkpoint as close to the perfect time, as calculated by the rally master. you can buy rally computers for your cars, which do a lot of the calculations for you. I think we got lucky - we must not have gotten off course, we used a watch that was in the ballpark of the master clock and the average speed function on tim's car. We entered in the navigation class since we had a GPS in the car, but didn't use it. It probably also helped that the rally was in the same general area as the 10th mtn div tour so we had just been on some of the roads a few days earlier! but that can't help with getting the timing just right!

These rallies can cause a lot of stress between driver and navigator, but Tim and I went into it with similar expectations as it was our first one and we are still very much on speaking terms! I can imagine in an area with more roads than rural Colorado, it could be very complicated! Today is the autocross - Tim will go watch and I am going to get some training in before the afternoon BeerFest!