Summer Open Race Report

Yay! A completed triathlon duathlon without a trip to the emergency room. That's how it should be, folks.

I really wasn't too nervous going into this race, probably because it was a sprint and I was coming off of a month or so of good recovery from Galveston. I was just going out there to have fun with my new-found tri friends from Rocky Mountain Tri Club and Carmichael Training Systems. This really was my first local race where I knew more than one or two people other than my supportive husband (not knockin' the hubby, he's just not as into races as I am - obviously), and it made for a really fun race day. I was excited about it all week!

When we went to pick up our packets on Friday, however, it was announced that, due to the extremely unusual amount of rain in the Denver area over the past two weeks, there was too much E. Coli in the reservoir to swim. Bummer! That's my strongest discipline, and one that I count on to get me a little head start on the rest of the pack. Oh, well, it would be a duathlon. I had done one duathlon previously - the Barking Dog Duathlon, in 2010. It was a great race and I remember doing better than I thought I would in an event with two runs, a bike, and no swim. I was up for the challenge.

My team mate Randy and I carpooled to the race that morning. We got there in plenty of time to get a great spot in transition and get all set up. Without having to put on a wetsuit, there was even plenty of time for socializing and a 20ish minute warm up. I took the bike out for a little spin to make sure the gears were in the right position for an easy start out of T1. After that I did about 15 minutes of easy running with some strides thrown in. For a distance this short, I think a good warm up is key. Otherwise you just hurt like crazy for the first couple of miles!

2 mile run: 15:10 (7:35min/mi pace), including the time running to transition
Started off a bit quick (normally happens to me) with all of the speedsters but was able to reel it back in thanks to my handy Garmin watch. Felt pretty good during this run, but tried to hold back a little since I knew I had a little to go before the finish line. My official pace was off from the pace on my Garmin (7:10/mile) because of the time from the "finish" into transition.

T1: 1:07
Pretty slow compared to others - still need to work on this!

12 mile bike: 35:04 (21.2 mph)
Definitely felt that fast (for me) run in my legs when starting out, but picked it up. Definitely happy with my pace on this one. My bike seems to be getting better.

T2: 1:05

3.1 mile run: 24:15 (7:50/mi)
Started out at a good pace, but then started to fade. Held on enough. This is still really close to being a PR for me in a 5k. I'd like to try a stand-alone 5k soon to see what I'm capable of! Afterwards I felt like I could have pushed a little harder, but so much of these distances for me is learning what I'm capable of. I'm not accustomed to pushing myself through that kind of pain - I'm more of a sustained pace for longer kind of a gal. I loved feeling the short-term pain of this race, though!

6th/28 in age group

Overall, I'm really happy with my results from this event. I looked back on my results from a sprint tri I did on this course in 2009 and have improved immensely since then. My teammates did awesome - they all placed in their age groups! I'm really excited about where this season will take me, especially with the expert coaching of CTS. Things are looking good, and better than that, it's looking like it's going to be a fun season with some awesome people!!

Team Trainright (minus Bill) after the Summer Open. Jon, Malia, me, Cameron, and Randy. (Photo courtesy of Malia!)

By the way, the post-race atmosphere was awesome at this event. Without Limits does a great job of event production, even when they're thrown a big curve ball in the form of nasty bacteria.

Team Trainright Race Recap

I will be getting a race report post up soon, but check out our team's race report here. The team did awesome!! I'm proud to call these people my teammates.

Spot-On Tempo Run

Last night when I looked at my training schedule, I got a little excited at the workout Coach had planned for me this morning: it included three sets of five-minute intervals to be run at tempo pace. He even gave me a goal pace: under 7-minute miles. I knew it would be tough, but I also knew that if I nailed it, it would boost my confidence in my run. Running is definitely the area that I need the most work. Some of it is that I need to train in a speedier realm and get my body to learn to be comfortable at those paces, but a lot of it is mental.

Before my run I started with some foam rolling and Movement Prep exercises just like Jessi taught me, because I've found that it really does help to get the blood flowing before a workout. I felt great on the first tempo interval which resulted in an average pace of 6:46 min/mile. The second interval was a little tougher, but I pushed through and wound up with a 6:44 min/mile pace. I thought to myself, "great job, but you've got one more to go!". The jogging recovery between the 2nd and 3rd interval was most definitely much slower than between the 1st and 2nd. Of course, the third interval was tough. I dug deep and gave it my best shot, but I was at my threshold for sure. Some of the walkers I passed gave me some concerned looks. The last interval's pace was right at 7 min/mile. I was a little disappointed in that last one because it was so close to being under 7 min/mile pace, but knew I had given it my all.

I finished up, quite pleased with my efforts, and jogged (yes, I am using the term "jogged" here for a reason!) on back home. After I logged my workout in TrainingPeaks, Coach emailed me with some kind words. He basically said I did that workout perfectly because I pushed myself and fell off pace on the last interval. I'm happy to know that I did that workout just as he had designed it. The fact that he gave me a goal pace really, really helped me to focus my efforts. Otherwise I probably would have thought to do them at 7:30 pace, which clearly would not have been fast enough.

I love nailing a workout. It just adds more fuel to the fire, and I know to savor it because there are certainly going to be bad ones, too. Looking forward to the next challenging workout...

Ready to race!!

On Sunday I will be racing in the Without Limits Summer Open sprint triathlon. I'm really looking forward to it! This week's training involved a little bit of speed/interval work on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then transitioned into a little bit of rest in preparation for Sunday.

The guys at Without Limits put on a great race. I'm just excited that for the first time in a week (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration), the forecast is predicting a nice day for Sunday! It has been so rainy here, which is very uncharacteristic for Colorado. It definitely had me in a funk of a mood Monday through Wednesday. I'm also excited that this will be my first race with my new friends and teammates at Team Train Right and Rocky Mountain Tri Club. I've done races in Colorado for two summers where I knew maybe one or two people at the race. Having so many more familiar faces is going to make racing that much more fun.

Honestly, I'd be lying if I said that my primary goal was to stay upright on the bike. I do want to go fast, but I also want to redeem myself from my last race experience. Wish me luck!

Loveland Community Classic Bike Tour

Wow, what a crazy week! Training certainly had me busy, as did some super-fun social events. I may not have mentioned this before, but Winston (my CTS coach) gave me a pretty relaxed schedule for almost a full month following the Lone Star 70.3. I think this was perfect for me as it allowed me to recover mentally, emotionally, and physically from a long winter of training and a bad race experience. This past week, however, was my "getting back into it" week and it's been awhile since I've put that many hours in! Just the sheer planning details of it are tiring if you're out of the routine. After last week, though, I'm back into it and it feels good!

On Saturday night we had a Team Train Right pseudo-official season kickoff party. It was fun hanging out with everyone, talking "shop" and eating good (healthy) food. That's the thing about hanging out with triathletes - you know the food will likely be healthy!

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early to drive to Loveland for the Community Classic Bike Tour I had signed up to do with my friend's mom, Cathy. Despite the fact that it was raining (will I sound less crazy if I call it "misting"?) and cold, I stubbornly drove up there to do the metric century (62.5 miles). Cathy is actually crazier than I am and didn't even waver about still wanting to do the ride in the misty rain. Honestly, if she hadn't done it, I certainly would not have either. Crazy in numbers, I suppose.

It was a good ride, though it was pretty miserable at points. As we got into the higher elevations some of that misting rain turned into sleet and snow flurries. Fortunately I had good company and the aid stations every 10 miles to look forward to. We didn't end up stopping at all of them, but by far the best one was the one with the heater! My toes were numb most of the ride, after the moisture soaked through my neoprene booties. That aid station had these awesome ham/grape jelly/cream cheese on potato roll sandwiches. Sounds weird, but it tasted fantastic. There's some sort of history behind it because the volunteers were calling it "the original cycling fuel". It was totally what I needed since I think my body was also fighting to stay warm. We could have bailed at the 30 and 37 mile ride cutoffs, but we didn't. I don't think there were too many who actually stuck to the 62.5 mile ride, but I'm glad we did. I like a challenge! It made the pancake breakfast (with whole wheat pancakes!) taste so, so good at the end.

The Crazies!

Real Life

As a triathlete, training is my way of life. I've grown accustomed to it over the past couple of years, in face, I feel a little lost when I don't have my next race on the books. Unfortunately (or fortunately, not sure which), real life sometimes gets in the way and forces you to take a break. This happened to me last week while I was away at a conference in Montreal for the entire week. I was able to get in a few runs, some biking on a rented "Bixi", and lots of walking. The conference schedule was so busy that there wasn't time for much else, nor were there facilities I could use. It was nice to have a break, though, and remember that enjoyment is what it's all about - not stressing over missed workouts.
     My first run and swim back, though, made me feel that easy week at sea level! I'm sure I'll be back up to proper form in no time, though. My coach has a busy week laid out for me!

My friend Dani and I in Montreal with our sweet rented bikes. They felt a little different than my tri bike...

Lone Star 70.3 "Race Report"

The day started out well, and I was so happy to have my family and friends there to support me (and attempt to calm me down before the race, just like old times for my dad). I really had a hard time choking down food that morning. I also slept for maybe two hours. Something I really need to focus on is controlling my nerves!

Clearly I did not want to be eating that banana.

Me, my sister, and my eskimo mom.

Me and Dani.  

The swim was great. For the first time in an open water swim, I felt like I did a decent job of sighting. It was quite choppy with a good deal of side current on the longest leg, but I kept looking up and seeing the buoy right in front of me and everyone else over to the right. My official time was 28:34 for the 1.2 mile distance. I was quite pleased with that, and got in and out of transition quite fast (for me).

Had a fantastic swim - second in my age group!

The bike started off well. I was happy to be able to get an entire Clif bar down during the first hour. The riding was a little tough with a nice cross/head wind, but I was passing more people than being passed, so I was happy. Usually it's the other way around for me. I was really looking forward to the turn-around at mile 28, but at the second aid station at mile 24, I suddenly lost control and found myself on the ground with blood dripping from my head. Not where I wanted to be. The last thing I remember was throwing an almost full bottle of water toward the "last chance trash" (which was WAY too close to the aid station, by the way). I'm not sure if it was that combined with the crosswinds, or just my general clumsiness, but my race was over. Everything checked out fine but I ended up taking a ride to the ER to get some stitches and a CT. My first DNF - I was so disappointed. My family and friend met up with me at the hospital and did their best to cheer me up! I was so glad that they were there with me. Again, like old times for my dad - holding my hand while the doctor stitched me up!

Annnndddd.....done. A triathlon should not end with a trip to the hospital.

I was pretty bummed after training so hard (and giving up my ski season, basically), but that's life. I will redeem myself! The Summer Open Sprint is up next!

Welcome!

Welcome to my world, or at least the triathlon side of it. I started triathlon in the summer of 2009 with my very first sprint triathlon and was instantly hooked. I grew up a swimmer and am extremely comfortable in the water. On land, however, that's another story, hence the name of the blog. I've competed in a handful of sprint triathlons and did my first Olympic-distance and half-iron distance races last summer. Although I had a coach last season, we recently parted ways when I started training with Carmichael Training Systems. So far I've been impressed with the coaching at CTS.

This season I have a few events chosen. My first was the Lone Star 70.3, which ended in disappointment due to a crash (did I mention I'm clumsy on land?). I'll post that race report next. I guess I can say that I have yet to really start my season. Here's the schedule:

May 22 - Summer Open Sprint (Longmont, CO)
July 8 - Boulder Peak Olympic (Boulder, CO)
August 28 - Steamboat Springs Olympic (Steamboat Springs, CO)
September 11 - Harvest Moon Long Course (Aurora, CO)
December 4 - Las Vegas Rock N' Roll Marathon (my first!)

I'm sure there will be other events sprinkled in, like the Bolder Boulder and the Boulder Sunrise Century. I'll record everything here, from my journey through training to the race days, with real-life stuff in between. Feel free to join me!

The start of something great. Haha so cheesy!