Red Rock Relay Report

It's 2011 and that means Relay #4 with the "not professional" relay team Girls Heart Rockets. This year I joined the rocket loving girls for the Red Rock Relay in Utah and as usual had a blast! Here's a recap (as best I can remember with the lack of sleep) of my adventure.

At the start - I'm in the orange shirt as I didn't have time to find my purple one!

The Red Rock Team
Van 1 (Discovery): Jordan Wirfs-Brock, Stephanie Wuerth, Serena Eley, Henrietta Aiken, Jenn Burke, Stephanie Law
Van 2 (Columbia): Nicole Drummer, Clara Eng, Kelley Hess, Vicky Petryshyn, Kate Kostal, Laura Jakosky

Jordan, Stephanie W, and I road-tripped it out to Utah. We met at the Wooly Mammoth Lot Park-n-Ride near Morrison a bit after 7:00am and got rolling to southwest Utah. About 9 hours later we got to Cedar City, where packet pick-up was getting set up. A little weary from the long drive, but we met up with most of the rest of the team, got our race stuff, and enjoyed the pasta dinner put on for us by the local boy scout troop. Once satisfied, we made our way down I-15 to Hurricane and to our hotel. (note: Hurricane gets very, very windy in the evening.)

I knew some of the GHR-RRR team, others were new. We got everything around as best we could for the morning and went to bed. The alarms went off at 5:45am and it was time to load up the vans, decorate the vans, and partake in the complimentary continental breakfast before making our way to the start at Brian Head Resort (yes, it's both strange to say and type.)

The start line was a party, with good music, a fun race announcer, and many excited teams. Costumes were everywhere. We had Wonder Women, many gals in tutus, and an exposed (fake) rear on team Better than a Colonoscopy. (??!?!?!) We had just enough time for a group photo before Jordan began the relay for us. She hopped on the ski lift and went up to the top to then have to run down back to the resort to then handed off to Stephanie W.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Van 1 left to get their runners on the course, and we, van 2, slowly made our way up to the first major exchange. It was there when the lightening, rain, and hail came. And I got to meet the Banana!

Around 2:00 we figured Stephanie L would be arriving any minute, so Kelley was my umbrellina and Kate and Laura kept me warm while I waited. (thank you Laura for letting me share your poncho!) We're at about 8500 feet so pretty chilly. Once Van 1 arrived, we knew Stephanie was nearby and a few minutes later she was running up the hill to the exchange. I grabbed the baton (slap bracelet) secured it to my wrist and headed off.

Up and up the hill!

Leg #7: Navajo Ninja, 5.8 miles of VERY HARD. The rain and wind had subsided slightly and it was actually a comfortable temperature for running uphill. I started off a little too fast, backed off a tad and then pushed myself up the hill. There was one guy ahead of me that I just couldn't quite catch, but I'm sure having him as a target allowed me to push a little harder up that hill. My first leg done and I changed into some dry clothes and hopped back in the van.

Back in the van, we went from exchange to exchange, enjoying the views and really glad we had Victoria the Geologist on board!

Once our van was done, we handed off to Van 1 back in Cedar City, posed for a group shot and went to find our resting place for a few hours until the next major exchange. I pulled a blanket into the grass (I think it was a church in New Castle.) We altered the rotation here a bit and Kelley took Leg #19 (8.5 miles) and I took #20 (Cap'n Kirk) - a 2.8 mile EASY flat, run as fast as you can at 11pm. So I did:

The profile here is deceiving. If you look at the scale it's only about 50 feet of gain. PANCAKE FLAT! I passed a few folks and really tried to catch one guy, but he heard me coming so he picked up his pace. He thanked me afterwards for the little push. I hand off to Clara and we do our leap to exchanges thing. The next major exchange is at a church and here our driver, Eric, had to leave us after we handed off to Van 1.

So we were on our own to find our resting stop/major exchange. He also took the GPS so we relied on poor cell phone navigation, went the wrong way for a bit, then finally found our stopping point at the Washington City Rec Center. A little bit of heaven! Showers for those who wanted, real bathrooms and places to snooze. It's 3:45am and we're anticipating the runners to arrive around 5:15. The pool deck was open for lounging and snoozing so I got a few minutes of sleep, but as I was once again the first runner for the van, I wanted to make sure I was ready. I'm usually up at 5am, but the sun wasn't. I made sure I was in order, had one more Cran-Razz UCAN (at this point I was pretty hungry but not ready for solid food).

Sure enough just before 5:15 Stephanie came blazing in and I headed out.

Leg #31: 5 miles of HARD. I took the downhill a bit conservatively and then gave what I had left for the rest of the 5 mile leg. I had a rabbit with a red-blinky light that I didn't want to let out of my sight. My quads were burning on the downhill section and a bit heavy on the uphill, but I made it to the gas station exchange and let Clara go on her way!

The sun was now rising, I started to eat some more solid food and was feeling pretty good. A bit tired, but good. Our last set of legs totaled about 35 miles so we had a good stretch of time before reaching the finish. We began to get more rural on the highway and had to climb up to Zion National Park. The views were phenomenal, and the gals still had some speed in their legs. They all hammered their way to the finish. We met the rest of the team at the finish line and when Laura was in sight, we all crossed together. It was 10:50am, just under 25 hours after we started. We were actually the 5th team to cross the line and came in 13th overall (teams started at different times between 6am-noon on Friday.) We indulged in the free snow cones, enjoyed the amazing views, got lunch at a mexican restaurant in Zion and then split up. Some explored the park and others who were too tired (like me) went back to the hotel. But, the group out and about did stop by In-N-Out Burger in St. George and brought back dinner for us all. Yeah I put down the double double animal style and a chocolate milkshake pretty quickly. Great way to wrap up an amazing weekend with amazing people and amazing views.

After a SOLID night's sleep Jordan and I headed back to Colorado and had to join the real world again.

Here's a link to more pictures.

Note on my fueling plan:  I was to have a Cran-Razz Generation UCAN 30-60 minutes prior to each leg and a chocolate afterwards. Relays are tough on your system due to the lack of sleep, running, and deviation from normal eating patterns. My plan was for the UCAN to give me the energy so I could rely less on solid food. I did the UCAN before each leg and a chocolate after the first. I did eat a couple small turkey sandwiches, bananas and Justin's Nut Butters, hard boiled egg, and a few snack foods (brownies) throughout the relay. I ended up only having one chocolate after the first leg. In retrospect I should have stuck to my plan with having one after every leg, but this was by far the best relay I've had in terms of keeping everything in check!

Race Reports - USA Pro Cycling Challenge Ancillary Events

Last weekend I put away my triathlete shoes for a couple days and played the part of a bike racer. With the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in town there were several 'ancillary events' and as I was swept up in the excitement, I signed up for two of them.

Saturday, August 21 - Race #1: A Criterium. (Crit HR/GPS data) What the heck was I thinking? I'm essentially trained as a time trial specialist. That means I just go, solo, for quite a while. My previous race was that half ironman - so 56 miles trying to stay 3-4 bike lengths behind any other rider. Now put me in a group of other riders and go around corners....and this course had three, yes, three 180 degree turns. Oy. So a week before the event, my coach and another client of his (they were out in Colorado getting in some altitude training) hit up some corners in the downtown neighborhood. I also spent time in a couple parking lots on some separate occasions. Race day comes around and I'm ready as I'll ever be, not training to race crits.
I got to the race site. I warmed up. They called my group (cat 4 women) and three of us showed up. Well, so much for worrying about riding in a group. With the shortage of cat 4 women, the officials made the race 20 minutes. All right, I can go hard for 20 minutes. It was the first crit race for all of us so we decided to take the first few laps easy, each taking a turn up front. I was 3rd to go and I picked up the pace a bit. Then they rang the bell for the prime lap (a massage) and one girl took off like shot. I didn't think I would catch her on that lap, but I didn't want her to get too far ahead. So I turned on the gas. She won the prime, but after the next lap right after the 180 degree turn hitting a short hill near the start/finish, I caught her and passed her. Then her coach/supporter or whoever yelled at the two girls - "you can catch her - she's got like 30 pounds on you!" Wow. To note and to be candid...I'm 5'6" and weigh about 135. 20% body fat. So I'm not sure if he motivated them or me more! At this point we were 7 minutes into a 20 minute race. Go fast for 13 minutes - sure! And I just raced as hard as I could - after all, I am a TT specialist! I worked on taking the 180 degree corners as efficiently as possible, and working on getting the right gear, as we had to climb out of two of them. Three laps to go...they haven't caught me yet. Two laps - I think I'm widening the gap....Last lap all out and Wheeee! I won! Got one for Team Stomach of Anger! We took a few recovery laps together and chatted. They were Air Force Academy freshmen - just barely 18. One asked if I was a college student. I guess with a helmet and sunglasses, it's hard to guess age...
Big thanks to Michele and Greg for coming out and cheering for me and taking some sweeeeeet photos!

Coach and I while I warm up

Early in the race we're still all together

having fun, are we?

Sunday, August 22 - Race #2 -The Cheyenne Canyon Time Trial.  (TT HR/GPS data) 3.2 miles and 1200ish feet of gain. Yep. Hell. Time Trial or not - this is a tough climb. I rode up it a few times last year, my best time being 24:08ish (not chip timed). This was a chip timed race. Tom Danielson, a pro with Garmin-Cervelo) holds the record of 13:34. They offer $1000 for anyone who can beat his time. I'm not exactly going to chop 10 minutes off a 3 mile climb, but I at least wanted to beat my previous time.
I parked a couple miles away and used that as some of my warm-up. Once I got to the race site I got my chip and race number and went riding around for a few more minutes. My start time was 9:00 on the dot. About 5 minutes before, they start staging the next riders so I headed to the start. Time to collect myself. 24 minutes or less of all out pain. I got on the start mat, the guy held my saddle for me, I started my computer, and then it was GO TIME. First mile is "less steep" spin, spin, spin. Don't wear yourself out. I was hoping for 220W and of course I had taken off like a shot so it took a while for my average power to settle in. I was close to target and breathing as hard as I could. Go, go. One mile down...1.5. OK it gets steep here....mile 2-2.5 has some gnarly switchbacks. I don't know what the steepest short section is, but it's pretty dang steep. Alright - 2.5 it settles in and then a steady grind up some switchbacks past Helen Hunt falls. There were spectators cheering with cowbells! Yeah! MORE COWBELL!! And then I saw it - the finish... out of the saddle and hammer. and Phew! I was SPENT! The ride down was fun and a nice recovery back to the car. Then I drove downtown to get in a run on the Santa Fe Trail before the awards ceremony at 12:30.  I didn't know my actual time since I started my timer before the actual start and didn't stop it until afterwards. So I found out at the awards ceremony that I won...

all smiles

23:51! Enough to take the cat 4 win by 4 seconds! (And I did stick to my plan as much as possible...I guess it worked!)

Boulder 70.3 Race Report

All right - here we go. Another race report. This one will be another long one, but who can quickly recap almost 6 hours of racing, anyway?

Spoiler: I was still smiling after melting in the hot sun!

The trip to Boulder started on Saturday around noon, with Shannon (a friend and client of mine) driving up to Boulder for packet pick-up. Uneventful drive up there and no lines! We did a brief walk through of the expo, listened in on the athlete meeting while seeking shade in the Ironman Merchandise tent. It was melty hot and windy - and probably going to be the same on race day!

Shannon's ready to go!

Then we killed some time before Tom Danielson showed up at the TrainingPeaks booth. Wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to meet the top American finisher at the 2011 Tour de France, now would we? It was also super cool to meet the TrainingPeaks team (who of course drilled me on what I like and what I would want to improve with their software!)

THE Tommy D of Garmin-Cervelo

Once we got the photo and autograph, we went to check into the hotel. Ahhhh - air conditioning! We had about an hour to settle in the room, before it was time to meet the Pikes Peak Tri Club for dinner at Gondolier. Great food and great company, and everyone was looking forward to race day! I of course had my ritual salmon, rice and veggies. And this time I shared an order of garlic knots...it just sounded so gooood!

We were back at the hotel around 8pm after swinging by the grocery store for some needed breakfast food for Shannon. Dark chocolate sounded good so I picked up a bar. Only had one square! Discipline!

We were in bed by 9:30ish. It took me a while to fall asleep, but once asleep I slept pretty well. Got up a couple times, which meant I was pretty well hydrated.

RACE DAY!
Once we got to the res we parked, headed to transition and got set up. I had plenty of time so I wasn't hurried at all getting everything out of my transition bag that I would need. My clients, Carley and Shannon, also seemed to be doing well.

Carley and Tory are all smiles

After making sure I was satisfied with my set-up, I went for a warm-up run and the legs felt great. I was definitely hoping for a solid run today. Back in transition to drop off my shoes, I did one final check on my bike and saw my rear wheel wasn't quite aligned. When this happens I release the rear skewer and tighten it up. But of course my bike is hanging on the rack and when I release the skewer, the wheel pops out. "Five minutes until transition closes!" the race announcer was barking. After a couple failed attempts to muscle it back in while on the rack, I took off the bottles (including the aero drink) turned the bike upside down to have gravity help me. It was still being a pain, so I asked a couple guys at the next rack to help and we were able to get it in. For a fast bike, Tachyon can be temperamental at times! No doubt in this mess I knocked over my aerodrink spilling half the contents. Good thing I had extra water bottles and could top it off. Made it out of transition just in time, and fortunately not really frazzled at all.
It was then time to hit the line for the port-o-potty, which was pretty darn long! I had planned to take a 2nd UCAN (Cran Raspberry at 45 minutes before my start, but it was closer to 25 minutes by the time I was able to take care of business.) I had just enough time to get my wetsuit on, do a short (and I mean short!) swim warm-up and then join my wave in the staging area about 10 minutes before GO TIME.

Swim: 45:21 (61/94)
I was predicting a 45 minutes swim, so was pretty much spot on. My goggles worked great (changed straps on a good pair that had broken - and they worked like a charm!) The start was a mad-house, but I wanted to be in the fray because Ironman Arizona might be a litte chaotic. Probably had my head up for longer than ideal, but once I found some space it was smooth sailing. Well, until the lady doing the back stroke kept clobbering me. And it wasn't like she was going to find another path to avoid me. So I took a look around and got out of the way. This was probably my 21 seconds. :) But overall I felt nice and steady during the swim, trying not to sight too often. And if anyone reading this wonders why my swim is not up to par with my bike and run, check out this article. I'm probably a worst-case in terms of shoulder flexibility, and I have even been to physical therapy to release my pecs, lats, etc... I'm a work in progress, but I have some serious stretching/flexibility/massage work that needs to get done if I want to bring my swim times down. And that's a lot of time and $$$. (I feel better now after the little vent...I agree the potential is there, but I suppose I've put my priorities elsewhere in regards to my swimming performance. And to note for the fun of it, only one other person in my AG with a slower swim finished ahead of me...)

T1: 3:10 This includes the run up the beach and is on par with my other transitions this year. Not particularly speedy, but I certainly didn't lolly-gag around. I trotted up the beach at a comfortable but quick pace and found my bike pretty easily. Took the wetsuit off (a little slow getting it off the ankles) and then put on my shoes, glasses and helmet, and then grabbed my bike. On to the bike out I was ready to ride.

Bike: 2:49:01 (25/91) My goal was to stay in the mid-upper 140w to low 150w for my power and I did just that. This was the first time I actually watched my power while racing. I was comfortable so it seemed like about the right effort for this distance race. I might have dropped power a tad the second half (warmer and the wind was starting to pick up) but overall each lap was pretty consistent. The race timing has my first lap as 1:24:48, which is almost dead-on half of my total time. I saw Sonja pass me early on Hwy36 so I gave her a big shout out. I kept wondering if I'd see Mary, my TNT coach back in 2006 and 2007 (she knew me when I didn't know what the heck I was doing!) but she was just enough ahead that I didn't see her, even on the out and back. When I wasn't sipping at my UCAN or fluids, or trying to enjoy the scenery, I was singing this song, thanks to Shannon the night before, who said a PB&J would be her post-race treat.


T2: 1:48 Again quick but not super hurried. I made sure to grab my UCAN "gel" that I had in a carry flask, along with my container of endurolytes.

Run: 2:10:15 (not sure the AG run rank yet, the results page doesn't report it). I knew I was going to get HOT so I grabbed water and tried to get my hat wet in the "shower" they had set up for us. My hydration plan revolved around sipping the UCAN every other aid station and taking enduryolytes (2-3) at the other aid stations. I planned to walk each aid station (which I did, and unfortunately a little more). The run starts slightly uphill as you exit the parking lot, then you turn onto a dirt road, which then gives you a nice downhill for a bit. My pace started about where I had planned and felt good, so I was hoping to keep it. But man those hills that popped up between miles 1-3ish and lack of shade (one, maybe two, trees on the entire course). And it was HOT. The high was 95 that day and I started my run about 11am. No clouds, either. The word for the day was brutal. However, around the first mile a lady, thanked me for being a part of Team In Training. (I was wearing my TNT kit today.) Her son had a friend (7 year old) who dealt with Leukemia and didn't make it. (I think I'm recalling the details correctly.) Anyway, she asked me to run for Blake, so I did. And so did the lady who was just ahead of us and overheard the conversation.

"Run for Blake" popped into my head many times during the run...as I trotted along realizing my pace slowed more than anticipated. So was it fuel or was it the heat? Or both? I drank water at each aid station, alternating endurolytes and UCAN as planned. I made it to the second lap and ran under the shower again. I walked a bit more up those hills between miles 1-3. I decided to see if my slowing pace was fuel related so I took a gel that I had in my pocket. It did perk me up and I was able to keep moving. I did this about mile 8 or 9. I decided I'd take part of my other gel at the mile 11 aid station to get me through the finish. That got me there, along with Blake and Peanut Butter Jelly Time! The wind was picking up as well...I'd say 12-18" swells on the lake! Heat + wind = tough conditions for anyone! Fortunately, because my pace was much slower than I had planned, my legs didn't feel too bad at all - a bit tight the last 2 miles or so. In coming down the dam road at the end, trying to stay upright with the crosswind, I kept it as steady as I could. No more walking (except up the tiny hill going back on the paved road). Once on the paved road I set my sights on the tree, as once you get to the tree, it is all downhill into the finish chute. Coming into the finish chute I practiced my ironman finish line "let's get cheering" arm wave (it worked!) and did a few fist pumps across the line.  And yes, that was part of my race plan. Another 70.3 in the bag!
Total Time: 5:49:35, 25/91 Age Group
Not a HIM PR, but still a solid race!
(fun fact: this was my first HIM way back in 2007. Time then was 6:33:36. And it was almost as hot.)

After finishing, getting my cold water soaked finisher's hat, medal, and not falling over when they took the timing chip off, I wandered to find the other peeps I knew. Mary came in about 5 minutes before me, so she was in some shade at the Rocky Mountain Tri Club tent. (I couldn't find the Pikes Peak Tri Club tent...hmmm). There was an awesome support crew there as all of us racers tried to get sorted out mentally and physically after that endeavor in the sun! I actually felt like eating so I made my way to the food tent. We "chilled out," if that's what you want to call it in that heat! I made it back over to the finish line to see Carley finish, and some other folks.

Always a party in Boulder, CO!

Once Shannon crossed the line and regrouped, we got our stuff around, showered up, grabbed an ice cold liter of water each and some salt & vinegar pop chips, and drove home. And then I went on a real drinking binge.

(For those interested in my nutrition "experiment" details, there will be another post soon on my coaching blog.)

Inaugural SoCo Ride for the Cure - Ride Report

This ride was a the start to a very busy weekend for me! A 72 mile ride on the "flats" of Colorado would be a perfect training ride. AND since I know many, many people affected by breast cancer (my grandmother and mother-in-law included) it seemed like a no-brainer to ride. Thanks to David Pico of The Peak Region Cyclist who made it a little easier for me to get in. I'm still accepting donations so if you have a few bucks (every dollar helps!) let's see if we can't wipe out breast cancer! DONATE HERE! THANK YOU!!!


Once again I had to get up at the crack of dawn. Well, 4am is even earlier than the crack of dawn! It was going to be a cooker out there so a 6am start time was a good idea. I drove all the way down south to the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, about 35 miles south of where I live. I'd forgotten how far south it really is! But I got there with enough time to get checked in and met up with Terri and Christi. Terri and I were both on TT bikes and are getting ready for the Boulder 70.3 so we rode together.

Terri and me at the first rest stop.

For Colorado standards the ride is flat, although the first part was the "uphill" part and it seemed going north we had a bit of a headwind. Nothing like it could be, but noticeable. The further north we got, the wind died down a bit and we figured it was shifting, as in the afternoons it usually comes out of the south. Sure enough, on our way back south we had another headwind. There is no escaping a headwind here in Colorado!

There we five, appropriately spaced aid stations along the course and we stopped at each one. All were well-stocked with goodies, although I was only going for the water, as I was testing out my Generation UCAN only fueling plan. (1 packet chocolate prior, 1 cran-raspberry and 1 chocolate during). It worked, although my stomach was feeling a bit empty. So I will need to incorporate a little bit of substance into my future fueling plan. But otherwise my energy felt great. I consumed additional electrolytes with Nuun.

Terri and I just rode along, enjoying the scenery a quality training ride. We had started our ride in the back of the pack, but made our way up front after a few miles. Being on the TT bike on those flat roads and slight wind was to our advantage! We also stopped for a photo op at an "impromtu rest stop," a recliner on the side of the road!

As we approached the 3rd aid station, my chain wasn't shifting so well (I had just put my 11-25 cassette back on after using the 12-28 for the Boulder Peak). Lucky for me the Bicycle Village crew was there and tweaked it for me and we were on our way shortly thereafter!

The next part of the ride was more downhill so I worked on keeping my cadence near 100rpm. I did a pretty good job at that (and going downhill makes it easier!) We made our way back south and hit up the final aid station at about mile 66. At this point my left calf and hamstring were pretty tight, and although I didn't need more water, I thought it would be a good idea to stretch. I also got some nice compliments on my bike at this stop!

We cruised the last 8 miles, and caught up with pro/olympian Alison Dunlap and a friend of hers. We could have passed them, but I told Terri - we never get to draft so why not draft off a pro!? So we cruised with them all the way into the finish.

Alison Dunlap and me after the race

The finish party was nice - food from Chick-fil-A, Rudi's BBQ, and Borriello's Pizza. There was great music from KRCC, free massages from the Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy (much needed for my calf and hammy!) Oh, and beer from Colorado Mountain Brewery. And I did partake in that! I chatted with folks at the expo. Rocky Mountain Rags had made the sweet Pikes Peak Cycling Society jersey I was wearing.

All and all, a really great ride! Here's the GPS and Power data.
More photos from Pikes Peak Sports.

Then I went home, took a nap, and went with my buddy Khem to go see the Indigo Girls in Boulder at the Chautauqua amphitheater. It. Rocked.

had to wear my Stomach of Anger "Girls Climb in the Big Ring" to this show!

I was a bit tired, but.... I got to eat chocolate covered bacon before the show (at a place called George's in Boulder) and enjoy one of the best live acts ever!!

even chocolate is better with bacon!!!

my seat was a couple rows in front of the sound board

cell phones don't take great photos...i was only about 10 rows back!

Then I crashed at Khem's place in order to make the 7:45 TNT open water swim at Grant Ranch....just coached this one.

Boulder Peak Race Report

This year was the 20th annual Boulder Peak Triathlon and my 3rd consecutive year doing this race. It never gets easier, that's for sure! This is going to be a long write up...be forewarned!

Saturday - the Day Before Race Day
Saturday is my pre-race prep day and it's packet pick-up day. So that means I get up, do my day before the race workouts and then head up to Boulder for packet pick-up. This went pretty smoothly and although a little behind schedule, I left around 11:30am. Made a quick stop at Chick-fil-A in Castle Rock for lunch (chargrilled chicken wrap for anyone who is interested). I hit the Res just after 1pm, and just in time to see 2x Boulder Peak winner Tim O'Donnell's Q&A. Barry Siff was asking him some questions and then opened it up to the audience, where he was asked about nutrition, pacing strategy and what was in his flat kit. After learning he was going to have a coke in his bottle on the bike, he was going to red-line the entire race, and that he was going sans flat kit, I got my packet and then headed to Downtown Boulder.
I found the coffee shop that I had spent some time in last year (Brewing Market), although they had a lot more customers in today. Even more showed up during the 30 minute deluge! It stopped raining in just enough time for me to meet the Pikes Peak Tri Club gang.

Pikes Peak Tri Club Dinner at Gondolino's

We, 11 of us, headed down to Gondolino's for dinner. I once again had the salmon, veggies and rice. I was eyeing the garlic bread, but since that's not a part of my normal diet, I skipped it. After an enjoyable meal with some new and familiar faces, it was time head to Jordan's place to crash. This time I brought the air mattress that didn't have a slow leak. Very uneventful evening while I put water bottles in the fridge to cool, put the stickers on my bike and helmet, and make sure I had everything I needed for the race. By 9pm I was definitely relaxing and ready for lights out.

Sunday, Race Day:
That good old 4am alarm was back! I didn't feel like springing out of bed, but wasn't feeling like I needed to sleep, either. Probably because it was 4am on race morning. Once I was moving around I had more energy. I drank some of my water, knowing that staying hydrated for today's race would be important. The forecast was for upper 80s, and the run course is totally exposed, so even between 9-10am when I would be running, it was going to be plenty warm.
I got the car packed up (several trips and being careful not to let the cat out) and headed to the Res at about 4:50. Two hours before go time and I drank a chocolate UCAN and had a packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter. This worked well before Loveland, so I tried it again.

Shortly after 5am I'm parked, gathering my gear out of the car, and pumping up my tires. A short walk later I'm at transition and find a place to rack my bike. My pre-race routine is pretty standard. Once I get set-up, I go for a short run with some dynamic warm-ups. (somewhere in here I usually make the obligatory visit to the port-o-potty). I had a small gas bubble in my stomach, but it was pretty minor so I ignored it. My warm-up is done on the run course so I can visualize myself finishing the race nice and strong as I head back to transition.
Once I'm back, I leave my running shoes on my towel, make sure my bike is in the right gear, brakes are good and then grab my wetsuit, cap and goggles.
Just after 6:00am I took in a Cran-Razz UCAN with about 8oz of water. Yum. Then I met up with a couple clients of mine to make sure they were doing well. This was one's first triathlon since about 2005! Everyone seemed happy and excited, so I proceeded with my pre-race routine. Time to get the wetsuit on and head down to the water for a short warm-up. The bubble in my stomach was a non-issue at this point, so I'm guessing I just swallowed some air (what little we have here in Colorado!) My back and shoulders felt a bit tight so I tried to stretch them while waiting for our wave to get into the water.
The PA system wasn't working so well, and they didn't have a DJ like the sprint race, so it was an oddly calm race start. The only way to really know a wave was starting was the air horn. But the volunteers had signs for wave staging, and it was easy to find my fellow bright pink caps in the F35-39 age group.


So here goes the race part...
Swim: 36:05
I found myself in the front middle and stuck with the pack as long as I could. Pretty early on, my goggle started to leak so I did make a quick stop to adjust it and it held well enough for the rest of the swim. I bumped into a few people here and there, had some people's feet for a while. We we swimming almost into the sun so sighting was a bit challenging, as it always is! I felt like I was swimming this about has hard as I could to maintain my form and felt pretty comfortable. The course seemed to pass by pretty quickly, except for maybe the last 400m to the finish. I swam until my hands hit sand a couple times and then hauled it up the beach.

T1: 3:13 (not the fastest time, but the mat was very close to the swim exit. AND I had glitch #1 of the day.) My hair is a bit longer so I decided to put it in a pony tail. I meant to check the helmet fit before I left transition before the race start, but forgot. So of course it's too tight as I try to pull the hair through the back. When I went to adjust it, I pulled the sizing piece apart, which meant I needed to take the helmet completely off, put the plastic adjuster back together, and try again. No point in getting flustered over a small set-back (last race it was the shoes on the pedals!) but I certainly lost time messing with my helmet. But once the helmet was secured, I headed out to climb the hill.

Bike: 1:21:39
The mount line was a bit congested so I made sure to move off to the side to mount my bike. Once pedaling, I made my way out of the Res and tried to settle into a pace. I was breathing pretty hard, but my legs felt good (as they should at the beginning of a race) so I just kept at it. I passed quite a few people and started to drink my water. Needed to make sure I stayed hydrated today! This course has a gradual climb for the first 5 miles and then it gets steep. By mile 7ish you are 1200 feet above where you started. And about half that gain is in under a mile. It's just brutal (but "fun"). I'm so glad I put the compact cassette on my bike to give me a couple extra gears. I was only turning over 42 rpm or so on the steep part! I was jealous of the guys with the full compact crank as they had even more room to spin up the hill. Oh well - I still beat my time up the hill by about 2 minutes from last year! Once at the top of the steep one, there is a short flat section and one more climb that takes you to 7ish miles. Then it's FAST. The key is to gain as much free speed as possible (after you pass the 35mph speed zone on the initial descent). Nothing much else to report here - I felt good, I took a Gu (Chocolate Rasperry Roctane) at just past 1:30 into the race as planned. I drank all my water and about half my electrolyte drink (Nuun). Heading back along the diagonal we had a slight headwind, and even though I had a slight burn in the quads, I was having a great time. It felt much better thank the Loveland bike course. (and was about 14 minutes faster!)

Bike Power File

T2: 1:28
Pretty quick. I do wear socks so that takes a few extra seconds, but once I get my bike on the rack, I put on my shoes and then just grab my stuff. I can get everything else taken care of while running.

Run: 50:35
I was hoping to do a 8:00ish pace, and ended up with an 8:09. I walked every aid station to make sure I took in fluids (and I probably walked longer each time). My fueling/hydration plan was this: 2 Endurolytes at mile 2 and mile 4, and a gel (GU Espresso Love) at the turn around. Water at each aid station. I normally do hammer gels, but I didn't get a chance to buy more before I left town and relied on the expo (so not the ideal thing to do!). I picked up some chocolate, but also got the GUs due to the caffeine. Otherwise I would have done Hammer Espresso flavor gels.  ** for any of my athletes reading this...this is why you should have what you know you like BEFORE heading to the race**  On the run I passed a few ladies in my age group, got passed mostly by men (and really fast women in the 45-49 age group!) The last half mile or so is down hill (there's a tree that I use as a landmark) and just tried to go as fast as my legs would carry me.

Run Data

Total: 2:52:58 (23/92 age group, 121/461 females)
I beat last year by over 3 minutes - the bike and the run were my main savers of time! After the race I cooled off with the nice wet towel they gave us, grabbed a cold bottle of water and had a chocolate UCAN as a recovery drink. I then cheered on  a couple of my clients as they finished. Well, I only saw one, and missed the other as she sped down the finishing chute. I caught up with her later and she had rocked the race, coming in 12th in her age group!

Dina and me after finishing the Peak.

More photos.
Next event for me...the Ride for the Cure on 7/16. Stay tuned...

Loveland Lake to Lake Race Report

Last Sunday I raced in my first triathlon of the 2011 season - the 5430 Sprint. Today (Saturday) I raced in my 2nd. Loveland Lake to Lake is a beautiful, locally run race. It's well organized, the volunteers are great, the bike course is challenging but gorgeous, and the venue is fantastic. A lot of Colorado triathletes were in Loveland to race today!

Shannon, Chris, John, Nicole, Bridget, Kisti

Pre-race: I left yesterday afternoon with one a friend and client to make the 2ish hour trek to Loveland. It was about a 2.5 hour journey - Denver traffic was SLOW. It was moving, but slow. We caught the tail end of the pre-race meeting and met up with the Team In Training group. After scouting out the venue with the team, we headed to Mimi's Cafe for our TNT Inspiration Dinner. Mimi's rocks - a lot of options for pre-race foods, and a lot of us opted for the sweet & sour chicken. And what an amazing group of people raising money  After dinner we all went our separate ways to get as much rest as possible! Transition opened at 5am with the first wave at 6:30am!

Shannon and I stayed at an inexpensive place in Ft. Collins, which was surprisingly nice. Clean, comfy, and a fridge for our water bottles. And thank goodness no rowdy neighbors! We got our bikes and race bags ready, worked on a race plan, and went to bed.

Race Day!
Alarms started going off at 3:50am. I got up at 4:00am and felt pretty good. It took me a while to get to sleep, and I woke up a few times, but for the most part a good night's sleep, although short. At 4:30 we were out the door towards Loveland High School. I downed a packet of chocolate Generation UCAN and a packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter as my main meal. (Last weekend I just had the chocolate, but felt like my stomach was still a little empty, so tried the nut butter. It seemed to work!)

We arrived at the race site a little before 5am. Perfect. I found a sweet spot on the end of a row for easy access and got everything set up. Even though my rubber bands were a little dry, I went ahead and put the shoes on the pedals. All was good in transition, so I went down to where the TNT tent was getting set up and had my 2nd pre-race UCAN - the new Cran-Raz. This time I only used about 8oz of water and was able to consume the whole thing, unlike last weekend. Then I did my quick run warm-up, got my shoes back into transition and found one of my rubber bands had broke. So I did a quick tie-up job and went on my way back to the Team tent. Time to put on my wetsuit (an XTERRA Vector Pro X2). The swim start is about a quarter mile from transition, so the team and I hoofed down to the water so we could at least get in a little warm-up before the gun went off. I just wanted to have a fun solid day at this race. I had vague time goals and really wanted to enjoy the race!

At 6:30 sharp, the gun went off and I was off along with the elites and all men and women 35-39...

Swim: 36:45.  I was predicting a swim of around 35 minutes in the water, and sure enough, when I reached the shore, my watch had 35:00. The entire swim felt really steady and comfortable (hopefully not too comfortable). I swam fairly straight and didn't have to sight as much as I had to in other races. As I mentioned, transition is about a quarter mile from the water, so the rest of the time is my run. I felt good and had a quick run up the grass, passing a couple people along the way.

T1: 1:38
My wetsuit came off easily, and I put on my sunglasses and helmet. Then I saw that the rubber band had broken so I opted to just grab the shoes off the pedals an put them on in transition. Probably lost about 15-20 seconds with that glitch.

Bike: 1:35:38
This ride was not as smooth as I would have liked. I never seemed to get my legs for very long and I was struggling to find the right effort level. It didn't help that the course profile looks like this (the green):

The bike leg is usually my favorite, but today I really couldn't wait for it to be over. Maybe that's because once we came down the hill and hit the rollers, there was a pretty decent headwind. That and I'm figuring out my fueling needs - so on the bike I had my aerodrink with water, a 18oz bottle with Nuun for electrolytes. I taped a honey stinger gel to my top tub in case I would need it, and at about 1:49 total race time, I realized I probably needed some calories. About 10 minutes after consuming the gel I was feeling better. My neck and shoulders were stiff from the steep descents, and my nose was running quite a bit. My calves were also starting to get a little tight. Lesson learned - that I probably need to make sure I'm fueling about 90 minutes into a race lasting 3 or more hours. Finally the rollers ended and we made our way back to the high school. I pulled my feet out of my shoes and had a pretty smooth dismount. Glad that was over!

T2: 1:18  (I wear socks for the run).
I grabbed my hat, another gel, my bottle of endurolytes, and of course my race belt. And I was hoping my legs would feel better on the run.

Run: 50:31 (8:08 pace)
The first part of the course is slightly uphill, but overall it's a flat run. It goes through a neighborhood and then meets up with the path around the lake. My focus at the beginning was quick steps and a tall posture. I saw a couple Pikes Peak Tri Club folks up ahead and slowly reeled them in. I made sure to walk each aid station to get in some fluid. Mile 2 I took my 2 endurolytes. At the turn around I took in my hammer gel (espresso flavor! probably about 2/3 of it) to make sure I had enough juice to finish. I was holding a nice steady pace, and felt strong so the last couple miles I gave it the rest of what I had and finished strong. It also didn't hurt to see Sonja and her friends and family at the corner with about a half mile to go cheering really loudly!

guess i was feeling better at this point!

Total: 3:05:51, 12/63 age group

The weather held out today - the high was to be in the upper 80s, but the morning was overcast and kept the temps down during the race. After I finished, I found all my Team In Training athletes as well as my NEO Endurance Sports & Fitness clients and cheered as they crossed the finish line. Everyone had a great day!

5430 Sprint Race Report

It's only about a week late...but here's the race report from my first tri of the 2011 season.

5430 Sprint Triathlon - 750m swim, 17.2mi bike, 5k run

Part 1 - The Wheel Nightmare
My new wheels (which are nice Gray 50mm carbon clinchers) have been a "nightmare" from the get-go. They are nice wheels, but the process of changing the cassette from my other wheel, as well as the tires, brake pads took a lot longer than I had planned. I wasn't able to get the bike ready to ride with the new wheels until Thursday night, and my first ride on them was Saturday morning. I had a 60 minute ride, mostly easy, with a few pick-ups to prep the legs for race day. I was starting my last 30s burst, was just a few miles from home and pssssht....front flat! In the craziness I forgot to grab my CO2! So I rode home really slowly with my weight as far back as I could! I got the tire changed (took a while as the tires I have fit really tight on these wheels...part of the reason getting the bike set-up took so long!). But while changing the tire I apparently pinched the tube, so it wouldn't hold air. I needed to get up to Boulder, so I figured I'd find a bike person at the expo and they could help me out. The ironman wheel rental guy was really helpful, and one of the vendors had tubes with 80mm valve stems so I didn't need to use the valve extender...we got it changed and inflated and it held air!

Part 2 - The Fun Part
After that adventure (as well as getting my race packet) I met some Tri Club folks for dinner on the Pearl Street Mall. We had a nice dinner at Gondolino's and then went our separate ways for the evening. I headed to my Girls Heart Rockets teammate, Jordan's place. Nice place to crash about 10 minutes from the Res. I had a room to myself and my air mattress (which had a slow leak...better the bed than my tire!) But considering that, I actually slept pretty well for the night before my first race of the season!

Race morning - nothing out of the ordinary here, except that I was trying Generation UCAN as my fuel source. No peanut butter-banana-honey sandwich for me this year. I took a chocolate UCAN (one with protein) a little after 6am, and then about half a packet of the new Cran-Raz (which is a great new flavor sweetened with stevia). I would have liked to have had the whole thing, but I mixed it with too much water, and my stomach wasn't ready for that much fluid yet. Shortly thereafter I headed to the water to get my swim warm-up in. I got in several hundred yards and felt ready for race number 1!

750m Swim: 17:58
Started swimming in the pack (Ironman practice!) Eventually I had my own space as usual, but ran into a few people here and there. There was quite a bit of chop and the first half is always straight into the sun. I hit the beach at 17:00...glad it was over. But my fastest 5430 swim yet!

T1: 2:54 Super slow today - first race kinks.

17.2mi Bike: 50:26
I really was hoping to have a faster bike split today, and I felt like I was able to produce a nice steady effort. Matched my time from last year within a couple seconds. The first half is a gradual uphill on Jay Rd and Hwy 36, then Neva Rd...FAST! I had my coach compare my power files from this year and last year.

Similar power, slightly lower cadence this year (last year rode compact gearing) and lower HR. Which set me up for a nice run.

T2: 1:18 - pretty straightforward here - no issues.

5k Run: 23:42 (7:38 pace) Last year my run was an 8:07 pace...
I hadn't looked at my watch at all for total time until it buzzed with my first mile split. I was running sub-8 minute pace so I was happy and just kept going. My legs felt strong so I just ran and tried to ignore my lungs. I always look forward to the turn-around, as the first half is slightly uphill on the out-and-back course. It's nice to have gravity, even just a little bit, on my side.

Total: 1:36:12 (19/90 Age Group)
Note: I didn't consume any calories during the race - just water.

Some of the Pikes Peak Tri Club gang were there with the tent to cheer on our folks. We didn't have the club banner, but I had my NEO banner, so I had a tent for the race!

I also ran into Michelle and Sonja. I think the last time I saw them was Ironman Arizona! One of my clients did the race as well, and I always enjoy giving that extra cheer out on the race course!

Some more photos of the weekend here on PikesPeakSports.us.

Tour de Cure Ride Report

getting ready to start in my Stomach of Anger team jersey

Now that I'm done with my early season run focus, it's time to spend a lot of quality time on the bike. Ironman Arizona might be 6 months away, but the stronger I am on the bike, the better that race is going to be. Instead of going my my typical solo long ride today, I signed up for the Tour de Cure 50-miler to get a great challenging ride in and support a fabulous cause. (note: Donations will be accepted until June 15th so if you've got $5, why not put it for a great cause? THANKS!!!) Also, as one of my triathlete clients (who will be racing his first tri tomorrow!) has diabetes, so it made signing up even more worthwhile.

I was hoping to be a little more rested going in to the ride and tried, to no avail, to get to bed by 9:30pm. It was closer to 10:30 by the time I got to bed and my alarm was going off at 5am... I was able to get out of bed around 5:15 and get ready. I got my bike packed up and everything I thought I might need, including extra layers. Highs were supposed to be around the mid-50s with clouds coming in and possible storms. Better to have too much than too little! Just before 6:30 I was on the road to Woodland Park. Heading up the pass my stomach started to feel a little weird so I made a pit stop at a gas station just outside of WP. Eventually it settled down so I was glad. Not sure what was going on there.

When I arrived at the ride site, I started prepping my bike and got a text from my mom that she was at the site as well. She found me and once I was ready we headed over to the start area. I found the tent of our team, the SnydeRemarks Ruff Riders and set down my bike and my other stuff. I saw Jennie Kiser from the tri club and let my mom know she could chat with her while she waited for me to finish (although she did head out and run some errands - would have been a long wait!) I then met Charlie, our team captain and a Red Rider (rider with diabetes), who I'd actually never met in person. The sun was out and it was looking like a great morning. Some other team members assembled at the tent as well and we were able to get a group shot:

Bill, Charlie, Alan, Madison, and Nicole

Shortly thereafter we made our way to the starting line.

Then we were off! The 50 miler was mostly downhill for the first half, and uphill for the second. It was a tad chilly on the first descents, but gorgeous scenery! I rode with Bill and Madison until about 10 miles outside of Deckers, where I pulled a little ahead. The last few miles before the turn-around, even though downhill, were rough as we were fighting a pretty substantial headwind. I saw Rick K from the tri club heading back up the hill. He started a little earlier to try to avoid the weather - not a bad idea today, although probably a bit chillier at the start. I stopped at a rest stop, made a quick pit stop, ate half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (stomach seemed just fine), refilled my bottle (of which I wasn't drinking enough due to the chill), and made my way the last couple miles to the turn-around. After the turn-around a couple guys caught me and asked if they could join me. Sure! Even though we had a tailwind to climb back up, working with others will make it a much nicer ride.

So up we went, climbing back out of Deckers. Great scenery and a fun climb. About 7 miles out of Deckers it gets steep and I lead the group of three to the top. The "tough" part was over but there would still be plenty of climbing left to get back to 8500ft. Up we went, happy when we got some relief from climbing, and working together. On the way back another guy joined us all the way to the finish. The more the merrier to share the load! The wind was picking up even more, clouds were rolling in, and the hills just kept on coming, but we all made it to the finish line smiling that we made it through a tough ride!

Brian from PikesPeakSports.us was out taking some pictures.
Here's the GPS data from my ride.

Finished!

Mom was there at the finish line and we waited a few minutes for the food tent to open, had a bit of lunch and then headed to a coffee shop to warm up!

yup, a mexican mocha and a treat for the week!

Then I headed back down the hill for a much needed nap!