Don't call it a COMEBACK but...

'Tis the season for triathletes to lay out their training and racing plans for the new year. It's a time of optimism, where we all feel overly confident that we'll drop 15 pounds, improve our speed and shave an unrealistic amount of minutes off of our race times. Our inboxes are flooded with "registration NOW OPEN"messages from our favorite races. Like Black Friday shopping, this time of year often leads to impulse buys and exclamations of "yeah, this will be my best year ever!"

Back in early December, I received an intriguing email from the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile road race in Washington DC. I have not run this race in almost a decade, but an email popped up saying, "enter the lottery for the 2019 Cherry Blossom 10 mile." This has always been a popular race but over the last decade, it has become so popular that you can only enter via a winning lottery ticket or some super human fast previous race time. Somewhat on a whim, knowing that I will be in DC that weekend, I decided to enter the lottery. It's only a $50 race entry fee and I was like, if I win a slot, it will be kismet that i should give running another chance. A week later the result was in: I had won a lottery entry. OK  - let's do this. Off to the running store, get fitted for new shoes and inserts and I was literally off and running.

University of Denver has a luxurious break between Christmas and New Year, which leaves one with plenty of time to research races, dream a bit about what is possible and yes, probably make some overly ambitious racing decisions. Shortly after the New Year, I received the email from Boulder Ironman 70.3 saying, "Tier 2 pricing coming close to sell out." Approximately six months ago, you may or may not recall my declaration of "retirement" from the Ironman 70.3 racing distance. "I'm already running a 10 mile so what's another 3 miles in the half for a 70.3?" I say to myself. "I can just race Boulder, " "train on the course," "it will be great!" Well, it didn't take much for me to register...

Remind me of this optimism as I get closer to race day.

And with that, we begin the pre-season training, with a little more focus on the run this winter. Here's my tentative race schedule:

• Jan. 27 - Lifetime Indoor Tri - more of a time trial but you get a cool mug and I'm all about the swag.
• Apr. 7 - Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Washington DC
• Jun 1 - Colorado Triathlon (olympic), Boulder, CO
• June 23 - Trip the Boat (half iron aquabike), Steamboat [tentative]
• Jul 21 - TriBoulder (half iron aqua bike), Boulder, CO
• Aug. 3 - Ironman 70.3 Boulder

Stay tuned!

Race Report: Ironman Santa Rosa 70.3 - "It was great for the first 2 hours..."

Ironman Santa Rosa 70.3 has the largest athlete field of any 70.3 race in the world. More than 3,000 registrants, even though they may only have 2500 show up. I can see why people love this race: beautiful course, great crowds at the finish, cool town. And it's likely to have no weather problems: usually dry, not crazy hot, no crazy windy. This is always my concern. You can spend all this time prepping for a race (20 weeks, in my case) and then have the day blown by a thunderstorm, heat wave, wind, etc.

So it was with this optimism, relatively consistent training and promising weather forecast, that I drove into Santa Rosa this past weekend. As with many of my triathlon adventures, the unexpected happened and one has to roll with it.

PRE-RACE

This race required a lot more logistical planning than the typical race that I can just drive to. I had to ship Michonne (my bike) through this company called Tribike Transport (awesome experience and I highly recommend, by the way), fly to San Francisco, rent a car and drive to Santa Rosa. It was also what they call a "point-to-point" race which means you have start in one place and end in another. This is pretty simple when you're doing a running only race...not as simple in triathlon.

I pulled into to Santa Rosa late on Thursday night after some flight delays and traffic through SF. I was in bed within 10 minutes after arriving.

Friday was a busy day. Up early to eat breakfast. I was starving since I didn't eat dinner. Then off to athlete checkin at 9a. Very easy and fast process. The finisher shirt kind of sucks but the finisher backpack and hat are cool. If you didn't know by now, I do these races partially because of the swag. I bought a water bottle in the store and decided to pass on any other merch. Next off to the Tribike Transport to pick up Michonne, put her pedals back on and then put her right back on the truck to head up to T1. It was then time for the athlete meeting where they announced no potential issues with the course and a wetsuit legal swim. Yay. Sounds Great. 

T1 - Ironman Santa Rosa 70.3

Athlete meeting ended around 10:40 so I then headed to T2 to drop off my run gear bag. Again, because it's point-to-point, you have to plant your run stuff at the second transition in advance. I don't like this because I ike to double check everything for transition the night before but this was the system.

I then hopped in the car for the 45 minute ride to Lake Sonoma, the swim start and location of T1. Beautiful course, gorgeous water. Wow, I thought: this is going to be an amazing swim. I then walked up and down the quarter mile transition run from water to T1. Ridiculous hill from the damn boat ramp. A mean and uncalled for exit to the swim after you've just been through 1.2 miles of swimming.  This part would not be fun. 

Loving this - wanted to hop in the water

swim start

I found my spot in transition and Michonne wasn't there yet. No worries. By this point, I'm exhausted. I drove back to Santa Rosa and took a nap. It was at this point where I made my first nutrition error

Woke up around 4 and had "lunch" at In 'N Out Burger. Love it. However, this was way too late to have lunch and I should have eaten before I got back to Santa Rosa. I then decided it would be a good idea to go to the outlets in Petaluma. I need some sweatpants for morning clothes because it was actually pretty cold here in the morning. I also scored some AMAZING Sorel winter boots at the Saks Fifth Ave outlet for only $45 bucks! Very pleased with myself, I headed back to Santa Rosa and was not hungry. I forced myself to eat some chicken noodle soup and bread. This was my fatal error. I should have eaten a more normal schedule the day before the race because I ended up going into race morning in somewhat of a nutrition deficit. In bed by 9:30, a little melatonin to get the sleep process started. As I'm reading through Facebook, I see a message from the race organizers saying there may be a problem with the swim. Apparently, the drastic swings in day/night temperatures have caused Lake Sonoma to be engulfed by fog, which makes it impossible for lifeguards to see athletes if someone is having a problem. They say they'll see how tomorrow goes and make announcements on race changes that morning. Uh...not good.

RACE DAY

Ufftah...3:45 AM in the damn morning. I never got up that earlier intentionally in my LIFE. Again, because of the point-to-point race, it was advised that athletes take the shuttle at 4:15 AM to swim start since there was very little parking on site. The ride was actually pretty pleasant, chill, I ate my bagel with peanut butter and iced coffee (standard race morning meal) and I was a happy triathlon camper.

Arrived on site at 5:15am. There were already a crap-ton of people there. Did they wake up at like 3AM?! Seriously, so crazy. All seems fine, announcers says water temp is 74. Great. Porta Potty, air up Michonne's tires, shimmy myself into the wetsuit. Let's roll.

6:45AM - RACE ANNOUNCER: "So uh, athletes, we're going to delay the race start to 7am to see if this fog lifts. We'll make the determination then to either shorten the swim to 1000m (ok, but not great) or cancel the swim and do a time-trial bike start." My first thought is there's no way we're going to swim. The Fog looked like a scene from a Stephen King novel. You couldn't even see the lake from T1.

Stephen King's "The Mist" or T1? 

I spent the next 45 minutes chatting up my fellow athletes. They position you by age group so I was surrounded by middle age women of all shapes, sizes, races, ethinicities, doing this crazy thing called triathlon. Met a woman whose house burned down last December in Santa Rosa, and she had just had a baby...and she still trained for the last several months while her house was being rebuilt! Another woman who was training for Ironman Wisconsin, another doing her first 70.3. During this time, I probably should have eaten something.

7am - Race Announcer: "The full 1.2 mile swim has been scrubbed. We'll be back with you in 15 minutes to determine whether or not we'll do a 1000m swim or eliminate the swim and do a time trial bike start."

7:15am - Race Announcer: "No swim today, folks. We'll start launching the pro athletes in a time trial start at 7:30." Ok, no swim. This sucks but at this point, I just want to get started. I stay in my wetsuit a little longer because it's warm. I drop off my morning clothes bag at the station to transport back to T2 and I start getting my gear out for the bike. A time-trial start means, they send athletes out 5 at a time, every 10 seconds. This, in theory, spreads out the race field. Here's a quick video of Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae on her start:

Go Rinny!

THE BIKE
It was truly awesome for the first 2 hours. Beautiful countryside with vineyards and rolling hills. I was getting passed like crazy but I was having a good time. That's when I started to feel really hungry. I brought exactly 4 GUs with me on the bike which I take every 45 minutes. This plan has always worked for me but clearly that's when I've already have enough fuel in advance. By mile 30 I was starving. This can't be good. And then that climb on Chalk Hill Road hit me. What would be an average climb in Colorado felt like I was going to pass out. I was Bonking. And I attribute this largely to lack of proper nutrition. Yikes.

[TRIATHLON DICTIONARY ASIDE]
Bonk /bäNGk/(verb) in endurance sports such as cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk is a condition of sudden fatigue and loss of energy which is caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles.

As I made my way into town, I was never so happy to be off that bike. I don't have official times yet but it was something like 3:54:00. Pretty shitty. My worst time for a 70.3 on the bike by like 25 minutes.

T2
GU! Sucked that down ASAP and got on with the run. I was dreaming about the pretzels and coca cola at the first aid stop at mile 1.

RUN
My legs were a little beat but I was shockingly fresh on the run. My run has been horrible all year and I walk a lot. My pace was actually averaging better than what I did in training. Then it started to get hot. I took in water and gatorade every stop. By Mile 8, I was putting ice in my sports bra as "storage" and carrying ice in each hand. And I crushed those pretzels. Hardly had any GU at all. I think the salt and the carbs were reviving me. I actually started passing people. Literally everyone was walking at some point on this run. As always on the run, you start talking to people and connecting with folks who are in the same place that you are on the course. Saw a 61 year old man run past me and I yelled out, "There is no way you are 61. You look like you're 35." He said, "that's the nicest thing I've heard all day." By the way, your age is written on your calf for these races.

By Mile 12, I was ready to get my damn finisher hat and call it day. The crowds coming into the finishing line are just amazing. Your name is on your race bib so everyone is cheering your name. It's impossible to not feel great with all these people cheering for you. Crossed the finish line. Run time was like 3:17. Pretty much a fast walk pace.

Picked up some pretty outstanding homemade paella and a beer at the athlete food tent. Sat down to inhale this and was joined by some guys in the 50+ age group who qualified for Kona. Had a nice chat and reflected on the day.

I picked up Michonne in T2, thanked her for not getting us in a crash and took her back to Tribike Transport for her journey back to Colorado.

What's next?
I'm done for this season. I am officially entering "off season." Maybe I'll do an aqua bike later in August just for fun but I'm not registering until the last minute. Ben and I go to Germany next month so I may just call it quits for this year. What I do know is, this will likely be my last 70.3 (at least for a while). Until I drop some major weight, the run is going to be a problem for me. I'm planning to focus on weight training, swimming and cycling for the rest of this year and probably throw in some other fun stuff: dance classes, yoga, hiking, etc.

Next season: it's all about the Aquabike!

Thanks everyone for your support and cheers. I'm such an amateur and slow poke, but I truly enjoy the process and getting to that finish line is such a test of mental toughness for me. I love this stuff.

Stay tuned!

Winner, Winner, paella dinner

"Not Pathetic" - Colorado Triathlon 2018 Race Report

My participation in Saturday's Colorado Triathlon marks the beginning of my sixth season participating in this sport. Although I'm a bit heavier, slower and older, I have really come a long way over the last five seasons. My grit factor has dramatically increased, I don't worry about being dead freaking last anymore, and I generally just do this to have some fun and push myself a bit.

My running has just been so sucky since my hamstring strain in 2015. I've also suffered from some calf problems which just slows me down so significantly. I've grown to dread runs in general and if anything has to get shortened in my weekly training, it's usually the run. With this in mind, I'm not sure if I'll be competing in the triple sport category next year and may shift to the aquabike division. We'll see. But first, I still have 8 weeks until Santa Rosa, so I need to get consistent with running at least over the next 8 weeks.

Now on to the race report...

PRE-RACE
I was able to make it to packet pickup on Thursday night and get in a swim at Boulder Reservoir that night. It was a HORRIBLE swim. First time I put the wetsuit on this year and what should have been a 1500m swim was nearly 2400m. I just couldn't see where I was going and it took me time to adjust to wetsuit reality again. This concerned me for race day. In other news, the Colorado Triathlon swag bag is off the chain: hoodie shirt, water bottle, pint glass, lots of samples. If you didn't know already, I primarily pick races based on the swag they distribute.

I planned to go into this race knowing that I could very well end up DFL (dead freaking last), but I was planning to just race my own race and not worry about how good everyone else is in this state full of super fit triathletes. I'm over it.

RACE MORNING
Up at 4:40a, load up the car, on the road by 5:15. Ben slept in because he gets up every morning at 5:30a and I told him to just sleep. He deserves it!

I had a bagel with peanut butter and a Bing cherry energy drink instead of coffee. I was at the race site by 6:05 and had plenty of time to set up my transition, body marking, timing chip and a short warm up run. You couldn't ask for a better weather day: cool air temps, sunny, dry, light winds.

Swim warm-up opened at 7 and whew lord, that water was COLD. They said 66 degrees which is not the coldest I've experienced but I felt it. Lots of folks were freaking out about water temps but it is an early June race so...that's what's up. Did a few hundred yards around the practice swim perimeter and felt FINE. Let's do this thing.

Transition area rocking my "Pathetic" T-shirt

SWIM
Outstanding swim. If you look at my Strava, you'll see my route was on course and total yardage was almost exactly race distance. My start to shore time was 33:42 but I took my sweet time from shore to transition so my official race swim split was 35:01. T1 was 3:04....which is slow, but whatevs.

BIKE
Decent bike, but not my best time on this route. Basically what I expected...1:38:33 on 23.5 miles (not a true Olympic bike course). I probably could have pushed harder on the bike. I was just phoning it in a bit and having a nice ride. Same for T2...wasted a lot of time (4:02) doing I-don't-know-what...dreading the run, perhaps? Likely...

RUN
Well, as I said, not good. In positive news, it was better than my run/walk pace of 15 minute miles at Bolder Boulder, but it was still pitiful. And in better news, I wasn't DFL! Run time was 1:28:17.

Total finish time: 3:48:58

Overall, I achieved my goals:

• didn't drown
• didn't crash
• didn't finish DFL
• first and only in my race category (Athena Olympic distance)
• didn't completely embarrass myself

So 8 weeks until Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa. I think I can actually do better than my pitiful time at Ironman 70.3 Boulder last year but not sure if I could come close to beating my Ironman 70.3 Steelhead time from 2015. Going to work hard and stay consistent over the next 8 weeks. If nothing else, training in Colorado this time of year is the absolute best. Every day outside is a delight. Makes the process fun as well. Stay tuned!

2018 Race Season - Week 1 on the Road to Santa Rosa

It's been quite a while since my last blog post but well, I've been busy. Raced a relatively uninspiring season in 2017, got through the first year of my new job, went to China. You know, just a few things going on. Good news is, I've stayed relatively active during the off season and feel like I'm in a decent place as I begin triathlon training season.

I like outlining my race season for the world to see because it kind of keeps me honest with my training. Today marks the end of week 1 of my 20-week training plan for Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa in July. I'm looking forward to a few new races this year and to a 70.3 course at sea level with shade! I've grown to enjoy the process for 70.3 training and it's challenging but also doable for my current fitness level and amount of time I have to train.

Goals for this season:

Boulder 70.3 - 2017

• Swim - just maintain: I'd say that I've lost some speed since my 2015 season, when I had a coach and was swimming 7-8k a week. However, I am extremely comfortable in open water now, still enjoy swimming and feel pretty good about my swim times. For Boulder 70.3 last year, I swam almost the exact same time as Steelhead 70.3 in 2015 (much harder swim course), so I'm cool with that. I'll swim two, maybe three times a week during this training plan but this is not a focus area this year.

• Bike - it's all about the power: I've been really growing in this area since I moved to Colorado and will spend a lot more time this season building strength on the bike. I was consistent with spin class/bike-on-trainer over the winter and saw my FTP increase over several months. If I can stay consistent with this for the next 19 weeks, sea level in CA is going to feel amazing.

• Run - time on my feet: After Steelhead in 2015, I acquired a deep hamstring strain which required months of PT. I basically didn't run at all for like 5 months and then struggled with running for up to a year. During this time, I also gained about 15 lbs, which also made running even more difficult. 2017 race season was better but dramatically slower. I have been very consistent since January and basically if I do nothing else in a week, I get my prescribed runs in. I'm finally feeling some quality, albeit slow, runs and no injuries at all. I'd like to get that half marathon for the 70.3 under 2:45:00. 

2018 RACE SEASON:

• Apr 15 - Horsetooth Half Marathon (Ft. Collins, CO)
• May 5 - AZ Open Water State Championships - 2500m open water swim (Tempe, AZ)
• May 28 - Bolder Boulder 10K (Boulder, CO)
• Jun 2 - Colorado Triathlon (Oly) (Boulder, CO)
• Jun 16 - Denver Century Ride (HALF century for me) (Denver, CO)
• TENTATIVE - Jul 8 - Boulder Peak Triathlon (Oly) (Boulder, CO)
• 'A' RACE: Jul 28 - Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa, CA)

Might add a race or two in the fall, but we'll see how things go. More to come!

I did it! Whole 30 successfully completed, but what now?

I am a super hero. I just completed 30 entire days on the Whole 30. This is the most successful run I've ever had on a "diet." The process has transformed my eating patterns and has helped me to understand the difference between cravings and hunger. I've also discovered foods that were not regularly in my eating rotation. So as Kai Ryssdal from NPR's Marketplace says, "let's do the numbers:"

Weight loss - I lost 8 lbs during the Whole 30. Again, pretty significant for someone who never can drop weight. It should also be noted that the first two weeks were extremely difficult to exercise because I was exhausted all the time. The sugar detox really drained me so I lost that weight without my normal exercise routine.

Inches - about 5 inches overall. I noticed this the most in my waist and thighs.

Macronutrients - My daily breakdown was give or take around 50% fat, 20% protein and 30% carb. Sometimes the carbs creeped up a little higher if I had more fruit but the percentages were in and around these ranges most days. The fat intake may seem high but it's in line believe it or not. This was a major shift in my thinking. Fat is not bad.

Calories - between 1500 and 1700 daily. On days with 45-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, I might get up to 1800. Whole 30 says not to track calories or macros but I wanted to know for when I go back to civilian life. Shockingly, I never felt hungry but I had to be careful with timing, particularly after a workout. Also, my calorie intake mostly occurred between 8a and 8p. I would sometimes bring my breakfast to work because I wasn't hungry enough to eat it until around10a.

What I learned:

• Eating whole, non-processed foods 100% of the time is not that hard - it just takes planning. I tried to avoid eating out and cooked at home A LOT during the last 30 days to control what I was eating. I have a lot of meetings over meals and I was out of town for work 8 days this month so it required a lot of planning. If I had a breakfast or lunch meeting, I would always look at the menu before I arrived at the restaurant. I also kept Whole 30-approved snacks to a minimum but on hand for emergencies. Thank God for Larabars.
• I was eating WAY TOO MUCH sugar before Whole 30. When I think about the amount of processed sugar I was eating before this month, it's a little embarrassing. Like a 10-year-old kid embarrassing.
• I should probably avoid dairy altogether. I've been lactose intolerant all my life. I use lactaid, dairy pills etc, but my gut has felt so much better this month and I think no dairy has a lot to do with that.
• I'm stronger than I originally thought. I can exercise willpower. If I ate Whole 30 even 75-80% of the time, I'd be in good shape with my nutrition.

Whole 30 complete! What now?

I plan to shift to primarily Paleo eating which is extremely similar to the Whole 30 but a little more flexible on substitutes for sweeteners and grains. Last month, I started reading Paleo Diet for Athletes, which is co-written by the guru of triathlon/endurance training, Joe Friel. He is a proponent of Paleo eating and believes it improves performance. For me, it's about finding balance and this way of eating is now understandable for me and I know it actually can taste good too.

Tomorrow on day 31, I will have a glass of wine in the evening and I will likely use Splenda in my coffee (still will use unsweetened coconut milk for creamer) but I am going to try to keep this going for a bit and drop some more weight before the main triathlon training season starts. Curious about Whole 30? I strongly suggest you read the book and get to know Pinterest. Thanks for your support these last 30 days!

This actually tastes as good as it looks!

 

Reflections After Week 3 of the Whole 30

It's hard to believe that I have successfully completed 21 days of the Whole 30. I have been pretty honest with my food and have not strayed. Although, today I did have a chai tea with coconut milk which I suspect has a gram or 2 of cane sugar, but I'm not going to sweat it. Interestingly, I was planning to use sunflower butter on my pear yesterday and when I tasted it, I immediately knew it was sweetened. I looked at the jar and it included sugar...so I had to go back to using the raw almond butter. It's amazing that I can tell right away if there's added sugar.

As I enter my last 10 days of the Whole 30, I feel pretty good about myself. I think I may have lost some weight but according to Whole 30 rules, I'm not able to weight myself until the end. I am most proud of how I've been able to find some willpower. I have never been successful for this long on a "diet." It's definitely changed how I feel about food. I've been cooking a lot, learned a lot about food and my food cravings have virtually vanished. Would I like to have dessert, artificial sweetener in my coffee and a nice glass of wine? Yeah, sure, but I don't need it. One of the most significant lessons I've learned on the Whole 30 is the difference between hunger and craving. I've asked myself so many times: am I hungry right now or is this just a craving? It's a simple question but when you really analyze your feelings, it's a simple answer.

Ben has been back and forth from Nebraska as he finishes his PA clinical rotations so I have been cooking for myself mostly. When I cook, I've been really getting into this reality show on the History Channel called "Alone." The premise of the show is 10 people are left alone on Vancouver Island to survive until only one person is left. Each participant can choose 10 items to bring with them. They have to build their own shelters, find food (mostly fishing and rodents) and combat loneliness. As the participants remain on the island for 1 week, 2 weeks, 2 months(!), it all comes down to willpower. At any time, a participant can pick up their satellite phone and "tap out" (quit the show). Within an hour, a boat will arrive and take them home. A number of the participants have incredible survival skills  - they're able to build canoes, pretty nice shelters and a number of items that would allow them to live in the wilderness for quite some time. However, the individuals who win, have really strong mental toughness. As silly as it sounds, if these people have the mental toughness to survive in the wild for 2 months, I can go a month without sugar.

I'll post an update on Day 31. Wish me look for the next 10 days!

End of Whole 30 Week 2...and change of race plans

Week 2 on the Whole 30 was significantly better than week 1. No more headaches and I finally have the energy to exercise. I've been getting creative with my cooking and using a number of cool gadgets including my spiralizer which makes zucchini noodles, a magic bullet for smoothies and a juicer. The cravings have subsided a bit and overall, I feel pretty good. I'm in a bit of a routine at this point and I am very deliberate with my food planning. If I have to eat out, I search for Paleo-friendly restaurants, which typically fit within the Whole 30 guidelines. My brother has been in town for a few days and we went to an AMAZING Paleo-friendly restaurant in Boulder called Zeal.

I had a dish with cauliflower "rice" and braised beef. My brother had cauliflower "wings" and lavender-infused komboucha on tap. I also had a divine cup of dairy free, sugar free chai. Thank you, Zeal, for making dinner interesting last Friday. I'm now on the hunt for similar restaurants in Denver.

In other news, I decided to adjust my race schedule a bit. I've been considering the Escape Triathlon Series as an option instead of 106° West Triathlon. First place in age groups (including Athena/Clydesdale) win a free entry to the coveted Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. It's a race that has been on my bucket list and it's hard to win a lottery slot. I would register as an Athena and see what happens. I was also thinking it might be fun to race at sea level after training and racing at altitude all summer. The closest Escape event to me is Des Moines, so I decided to register while the early bird pricing is in effect.

Sunday, April 23 - Cherry Creak Sneak 10 mile run - Denver, CO
Saturday, May 27 - Sky Sprint Triathlon - Ann Arbor, MI
Saturday, June 3 - Colorado Triathlon (Olympic) - Boulder, CO
Saturday, June 25 - Tri the Boat (Olympic) - Steamboat Springs, CO
Saturday, July 9 - Tour de Ladies (metric century [62.5 mi] bike ride) - Parker, CO
Saturday, August 5 - Ironman Boulder 70.3 - Boulder, CO
Sunday, September 3 - Escape Des Moines Triathlon (Olympic) - Des Moines, IA
Saturday, September 9 - 106° West Triathlon (Olympic) - Dillon, CO

The Whole 30 while attending conference in New York...

Today is Day 9 of my Whole 30 experiment. No dairy, no sugar, no grains, no alcohol.  I arrived in New York for the APAP conference on Thursday thinking, if I could make it through the conference and maintain my Whole 30 standards, I can do anything. It's not easy. Great food and drinks are around every corner so it's been difficult but I can happily say that I am still on track. Not one slip...no drinks during dinner. I've been drinking water and club soda like it's going out of style. The only caffeine I've had has been from black coffee and tea. I'm drinking black coffee like it's the best-tasting drink I've ever had. No desserts or sweets of any sort. I thought abstaining from sugar would be the most difficult, but the food monotony has been worse. When you're sticking to non-processed foods on the road, there's a certain amount of repetitiveness. Also, I ask for almost everything without dressings, sauces, etc. so it's just a little boring. Again, it's practically miraculous that I haven't strayed.

So how do you feel, Kendra?! Well, not too bad for the most part. I've experienced headaches in the evening and occasionally I get a sugar craving. I have been trying to evaluate whether or not I'm feeling hunger or craving. I am starting to feel more attuned to the difference. I've also felt extremely tired. I haven't had a proper workout since I started but I've been walking around town a lot so I have decent step counts each day. From what I read, week 2 will be better.

I'm glad to be back in Denver where I can cook my own food and grocery shop. Walking through Sprouts this evening was a beautiful thing.

I'll report in at the end of week 2. Stay tunes!

2017 Race Schedule and the start of The Whole 30

2016 was a good year in many ways. I finished my MBA (finally!). Ben and I made the move to Denver for a great career opportunity for me...and for him when he finishes PA school in March. Ben and I had some fun trips to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. However, 2016 was not a year for triathlon accomplishments. With a nagging calf strain, I pretty much sucked at running all year. My work/travel and school schedule got in the way of of training and I just didn't get enough hours in overall. My race times were slower and I ended up not starting at Ironman Racine 70.3 because of nasty weather (and, frankly, lack of drive). I also gained weight to the tune of 13 pounds over last year, and last year I was already 10 pounds more than I should be.

And so I begin 2017 in Denver, CO, the epicenter of healthy living. The beginning of the year is a nice time to cleanse, purge, start anew so I'm going to start with my eating habits. I've tried a number of diets and not much sticks, other than calorie tracking. My real problem is that healthy, non-emotional eating is not really part of my routine. I do well for a while and then eat a ton of junk. I often make excuses: no time, I'm on "vacay," I deserve a reward, etc.

I had heard about The Whole 30 through friends and decided to read the book. The concept is the "change your relationship with food"...exactly what I need. It focuses on whole, non-processed foods - no added sugar, no dairy, no alcohol for 30 days to "reset" your eating habits and end the cycle of poor eating, sugar/carb addiction, binging, etc. During the 30 days, you also have to eliminate grains and legumes...no bread, no beans, no peanuts. It's going to be intense, but I'm going to give it a shot. I'm going to try and document my progress at the end of each week. My Whole 30 experiment starts tomorrow, Jan. 2. Send your willpower vibes my way - I will need them!

As for 2017 racing, I'm hoping this nutrition reset will also result in stronger results on race days. One of the awesome things about Colorado is, the weather is fairly moderate throughout the year allowing for relatively comfortable outdoor training year round. Man, I love this place. I have already taken advantage of winter cycling, hiking, snowshoeing and running. I also get the opportunity to train at higher altitude than where I live. Denver is around 5000 mi elevation and one can easily get to 7500, 8K or even 10K elev. within 2 hours. Have I mentioned I LOVE Colorado?! Because I live and train in the triathlon mecca, I plan to do all of my 2017 racing in Colorado. I also plan to get a power meter this year and really build on my cycling progress, which was one of the only positive things about my 2016 season, primarily due to the purchase of an awesome bike. So, without further ado, here are my plans for 2017:

2017 RACING SCHEDULE

Sunday, April 23 - Cherry Creak Sneak 10 mile run - Denver, CO
Saturday, May 27 - Sky Sprint Triathlon - Ann Arbor, MI
Saturday, June 3 - Colorado Triathlon (Olympic) - Boulder, CO
Saturday, June 25 - Tri the Boat (Olympic) - Steamboat Springs, CO
Saturday, July 9 - Tour de Ladies (metric century [62.5 mi] bike ride) - Parker, CO
Saturday, August 5 - Ironman Boulder 70.3 - Boulder, CO
Saturday, September 9 - 106° West Triathlon (Olympic) - Dillon, CO

Stay tuned!
 

May Races and Countdown to Racine

May was a ridiculous month for me: MBA finals and graduation, races, travel to New York for work, travel to CO for fun. Although it was a great month, each Monday I would see the note in my calendar outlining my training for the week and the remaining training weeks to Racine. 8 weeks, 7 weeks, 6 weeks...as each week it would tick down, I started to question why I decided to do this race rather than Steelhead which is a month later. This week marks five weeks to Racine. Last week, I finally felt like I was getting it together with slow-but-pain-free training and completing all my prescribed workouts. "Yeah," I said. "Maybe this won't be a disaster after all."

My May and June races thus far have been less than stellar. Kansas City Triathlon was a mediocre performance, Bolder Boulder was my slowest time of the 4 times I've raced it and a last minute decision to race Omaha Women's Tri resulted in me pulling out of the Athena National Championships the following week. The result: a new found focus to make the most of these last 5 weeks of training leading up to Racine. This means sticking to my schedule (including long rides and long runs) even in the most awful of conditions. Last night I did a 2 hr brick workout which included a 96ish minute ride and a 20 minute run. Temps were 97 when I started and 93 when I finished. The intense heat forced me to ride slow to keep my heart rate down and religiously take in fluid and nutrition. I started to feel a little nauseous about 60 minutes in but it passed and by the time I got to the run, I was actually relatively comfortable.

This weekend I'll have a nearly 2 hr run on Saturday and a 3.5 hr bike on Sunday, riding the annual Rollin to Colon charity race. Temps are expected to be near 100 degrees on Sunday and we ride out at 7:30a. Although this record heat is miserable for training, I'm hoping it will help me build some tolerance to the heat. Being the slightly OCD individual that I am, I have been reviewing the historical temperatures of Racine over the past 2 years. July temps have been primarily in the high 70s, low 80s with the occasional 90 degree day. This means there's a good chance that the weather will be fairly moderate compared to what we're experiencing now in Omaha. But as we all know, it will be what it will be...hoping for the best.  Stay tuned.

And so it begins...

It's always fun to start the new race season. This season is season #4 of triathlons for me. Unfortunately, I'm going into this season with some injuries and extra lbs so I'm not quite as optimistic about my performance as previous seasons. My first race ended in a DNF and my most recent race this weekend was the slowest time I've ever raced for this course. However, my injuries are mending and I can run again without pain and I haven't had a bike accident yet. So...that's positive.  Let's get into the mini-race reports.

Open Water Swim 3000 meter race - Lake Pleasant, AZ
On April 2, I started out the season with an open water swim race in Arizona.  I've done the AZ Open Water race series once before, swimming an astonishing 4000 meters a year after I learned how to swim. I love doing this race and it's part of the reason that Ben and I do a spring break trip to AZ every year. Normally, the first race of the series is at Tempe Town Lake, but there is something going on with the lake this year so they had to do the first race at Lake Pleasant, which is in the northwest corner of the metro area. It forced Ben and me to stay at a resort up that way which was AMAZING.  Absolutely loved this place, in the middle of the desert.

The race was to begin at 7:30a. We arrived onsite around 6:45 and it was sunny, windy and somewhat cool. Air temperatures were around 55 degrees and the water temperature was...wait for it...61 degrees. I stepped in the water and it felt like ice water...no joke. During the "warm up," I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it to the start. It was so cold and I could barely breathe. Then I see these dudes get in the water, wearing Speedos. Yeah. At this point, I was figured there is not way those guys can swim in Speedos and I will wimp out. No way.

KWI at Lake Pleasant race start

Race started about 15 minutes late as the race directors were waiting for the winds to die down. The gun finally goes off and we're moving. I was so preoccupied with the cold that I forgot to start my watch so I didn't hit it until about 400 meters in. After the first 1000 meter loop, I felt much more confident and was actually thinking I could do this. However, at the turn around, I was starting to lose feeling in my face and fingers and that kind of freaked me out. So I decided to quit after 2000 meters which resulted in a DNF (finished it in about 51 minutes). Disappointing, but it's another thing I can say I can do without fear. Note to self: must invest in a neoprene cap and maybe some neoprene booties.

Next day I did a little 5k and 25 mile amazing bike ride but nothing spectacular to report. I won second in my age group but there were only two of us.

Omaha Duathlon
Last weekend, I participated in the Omaha Duathlon which is a great local race featuring a 2.5 mile run, followed by a 14.5 mile bike on a flat but windy course followed by another go on the 2.5 mile run course. This race has some bad weather karma and after some nasty early morning thunderstorms, the clouds party for some sun and LOTS of wind. And just to make things interesting, about two-thirds of the bike course was "milled" in preparation for new pavement which is a pretty awful surface for a bike course.

I arrived at the course around 7:15 to help my fellow Team Nebraska Triathlon board members set up our info tent. Picked up my packet and started to doubt whether or not I would get to the start. (Do we see a pattern forming here?) I had driven on the milled road as I was coming to the race and it was horrible.  How the hell could I take my beautiful, precious Michonne (my new road bike) on that surface? Several people didn't show up or decided not to race, but after some back and forth, I decided to do it.

Race started and my calf was OK.  Definitely slower than I have done in previous years, but better than I expected. The bike leg was insane. I was going about 22-24 mph on a milled road and there was this moment about 3 miles in where I thought at any moment, this could all go horribly wrong and I'm going to have an epic crash. Made it to the turnaround and I kind of ran out of steam at that point. Wind in my face at 20 mph on a milled road and I kind of gave up. I made it back to the transition and lolly-gagged around contemplating whether or not I wanted to continue. The daughter of one of my neighbors, was waiting for me (she's in 4th grade!) at the transition and ran the entire 2.5 miles with me to the end. I have to say, I probably would have quit if she wasn't there. Although it was my slowest finish ever at this race, I actually felt fine (hamstring and calf) so I thought that was an accomplishment. I need to just build back my running fitness. Michonne handled that ripped up road like a champ.

Michonne - isn't she pretty?

Final times:
run 1 - 00:26:42
T1 - 00:00:42
Bike - 1:02:11
T2 - 00:01:56
run 2 - 00:30:56
Total: 2:02:29

The best part of this race was all of the great TNT folks I saw at the race. Made some new connections and socialized a bit. It was a really fun morning. Next up: Kansas City Triathlon on May 15. Stay Tuned!

TNT members at the club tent

Race schedule changes and other news...

I made a couple of adjustments to my race schedule this season based on travel, training schedule, etc. New schedule outlined below. With my change in race plans, 70.3 training week 1 is this Monday, 2/29!  Twenty weeks to Racine!  On March 8, I learn whether or not I made the lottery for the New York City Marathon.  Fingers crossed for the lottery entry or I'll likely run the race in support of Meb Keflezighi's charity, "Run for Meb"...which means I'll be hitting up all of you to contribute :-)

AZ Open Water Race (Lake Pleasant, AZ) - 3000m- Saturday, April 2
Sydney's Run 10K (+3 miles) (Peoria, AZ) - Sunday, April 3
Omaha Duathlon - Sunday, April 24
Lincoln Half Marathon - Sunday, May 1
Kansas City Triathlon - Sunday, May 15
Bolder Boulder 10K - Monday, May 30
USAT Athena/Clydesdale National Championships (Grand Rapids, MI)- Sunday, June 12
Ironman 70.3 Racine (Wisconsin) - Sunday, July 17
Omaha Corporate Cup - Sunday, September 11
Omaha Half Marathon (+ 6 miles) - Sunday, September 18
New York City Marathon - Sunday, November 6

Lake Pleasant, AZ

In other news, my hamstring is finally getting back to normal and although slow, I've been running more frequently WITHOUT PAIN! It's a beautiful thing. Also, I was just elected to the board of Team Nebraska Triathlon and will have the privilege of serving as the membership director this year. Really looking forward to contributing to the team and rocking some corncob arm warmers!  Stay tuned!



Back in the Saddle: 2016 Race Schedule

My 2016 race schedule has been three months in the making.  Triathlon racing is so well-suited to the OCD, data-obsessed, uber-planner like myself so even during the off-season, I can begin thinking about my next "ON-season."  But this season is as much about 2017 as it is about 2016.  The goal for 2016, my fourth triathlon season, is to set a solid foundation for 2017:  the year of my first full Ironman distance race.  I have Ironman Louisville in my sights for October 2017. Main goals for the year:

1. Increase my long distance average speed on the bike to a minimum of 16 mph
How I will accomplish this:  I need to spend more time on the trainer during the winter with a focus on interval training. I will also increase the number of long rides I do during my primary training. I also need to brave the roads and find more routes with hills, rather than my usual Keystone Trail route.

2.  Improve my run times on all events
How I will accomplish this:  I need to stay consistent with my running.  Running is my least favorite discipline of the three.  I tend to give up more easily on the run and cut runs short.  Strength training also needs to remain a solid part of my plan. I spent a good amount of time this fall working on strength training to rehab my hamstring strain. I need to continue to do at least two quality strength training sessions a week and supplement with regular visits to the chiropractor and massage therapist. I also need to incorporate more brick workouts to help myself more easily aclimate to the triathlon run. And oh yeah, I just need to run more.

3. Feel good about a marathon finish
How I will accomplish this: I've run two marathons in the past.  The first was Detroit in 2005.  Chicago was 2010.  In the first case, I was not sufficiently prepared and I ended up walking the last 6 miles.  In the case of Chicago, the temperature was unseasonably warm and it was already 80 degrees by the time I arrived at mile 16.  Although I felt I put in the training work, I was suffering by mile 20....and ended up walking the last 6 miles.

Because of these two races, I have a pretty negative feeling about the  marathon distance.  Ben is planning to run New York City Marathon in 2016 and I would love to be there with him.  He will get a guaranteed entry because he's so fast.  I'm hoping to lottery in but if not, I will probably run for a charity. NYC seems like a race that will be an incredible course with lots of support and I will need every ounce of encouragement to make this a successful race. I'd like to complete one marathon where I feel I am properly trained, healthy and mentally tough enough to give a good performance.  For me, this would mean anything near or around 5 hrs and 15 minutes. In order to do this, I need to achieve goal 2. I'd like to go into 2017 Ironman training season knowing I can get through that marathon successfully.

4. Race a sub 7-hour Half Ironman
How I will accomplish this: This will be ambitious but totally do-able at Steelhead, especially if conditions are as good as they were this past summer. The key is shaving a small percentage of time off of each event and the transitions.  Last year's finish was Swim - 47:58, T1 - 5:50, bike - 3:40:11, T2 - 8:31, Run - 2:45:31.  I know I can get at least 4 minutes off the swim time. If I can get my average bike speed up to 16 mph, I'd be good for a 3:30:00 on the bike.  Which means the majority of the time has to be made up on the run.  This means shaving off only 15 minutes from my run, which sucked this past year, so that seems do-able. A run time of 2:25:00 would be ideal, but that may be pushing it, especially considering the hills on the run course. I'd like to leave myself some wiggle room on the transitions so I'd budget 15 minutes total for the two.  This is an ambitious goal but I would feel very good going into 2017 if I could achieve this.

2016 RACE SCHEDULE
The race schedule will include some races I've enjoyed in the past and some new courses. The Omaha Duathlon is always a fun tune-up race and the Lincoln Half forces me to run early in the season. Kansas City and the Athena Championships will be new for me this year.  I've not done a triathlon this early in the season before so again, this will force me to get serious by February.  Ben and I absolutely love running Bolder Boulder.  We try to do it every year and make it a beer drinking/training weekend. I've also not raced the Omaha Half Marathon so I will use this race as my 20 miler training run for NYC, with a plan of running another 6 miles after I finish the official half race.

Omaha Duathlon - Sunday, April 24
Lincoln Half Marathon - Sunday, May 1
Kansas City Triathlon - Sunday, May 15
Bolder Boulder 10K - Monday, May 30
USAT Athena/Clydesdale National Championships - Sunday, June 12
Lifetime Tri Minneapolis - Saturday, July 9
Ironman 70.3 Steelhead - Sunday, August 14
Omaha Corporate Cup - Sunday, September 11
Omaha Half Marathon (+ 6 miles) - Sunday, September 18
New York City Marathon - Sunday, November 6

Let's hope for a healthy and productive 2016 race season. Stay tuned!

Off season, Injuries and Crowie's Ball

Ah the off season...
It's been 2 and a half months since my Ironman 70.3 finish at Steelhead but it feels like years ago.  My MBA classes started back up, Ben and I did a road trip through northern MI and WI and a lot of cool things have been happening at work as we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Holland Center.  With all this activity, you'd think I'd be more than pre-occupied.  However, my free time often wanders to researching races for 2016 and planning trips around those races.  The tri tan lines have faded, a little weight gain has set in and yep, I have a slight case of the off-season blues.

The Injury...
I had been struggling with my right hamstring pretty much all summer, but I muscled through to be able to finish my A race.  Immediately after, I decided I'd take 2 weeks off from running to let things come back to normal.  Things didn't come back to normal, though. It felt like it got worse.  Sitting for long periods of time was really uncomfortable and I switched to a standing desk at work to see if that would help.  Running was nearly impossible.  My right leg would begin to drag after about 15 minutes because it hurt so bad to drive me knees forward.  At the end of August, I saw a PT who diagnosed me with hamstring tendonosis. 

Hamstring tendonosis is an advanced tendonitis in the high part of the hamstring (near the insertion point at the glute).  Essentially, the hamstring muscle fibers begin to break down due to weakness (from lack of strength training - I never train my legs) and not being able to heal (overuse in training). After obsessively researching it on the internet, I learned that this particular injury takes a long time to heal....as long as 3-6 months.  The PT gave me a rehab exercise regimen that he said "will require a lot of patience and consistency."  That does not sound like my idea of fun.

The Recovery
The regimen requires me to do 12 sets of 12 hamstring curls 5 days a week for 12 weeks.  In my case, the issue is exacerbated by the way my pelvis is tilted so I have to do a prep exercise to re-set my pelvis alignment before I start do the strengthening exercises. In addition, I have added upper body training at least twice a week and supplemental lower body (quads and glutes) twice week.  My cardio has really only been swimming which is not nearly as consistent as it should be.  I am finishing up week 8 of 12 and just within the past week or so have I noticed an actual improvement.  Last week the PT suggested I try to run a little bit and see how things are progressing.  I've only done about 2 miles at a time and so far, so good.  It's still a nagging pain but not 100% debilitating like it was 8 weeks ago.I have also started doing spin and indoor riding again.  I have been super consistent with my rehab exercises so hopefully I can fix this. I'm also seeing a chiropractor once a week to re-set my alignment and massage about every 10 days to 2 weeks. It's taking forever, but I'm feeling optimistic.

Suggestions?
If anyone has had any experience with high hamstring strains, sprains or tendonosis, I'd love to hear suggestions or rehab/treatment that worked for you. 

"Crowie's Balls"
One other suggestion the PT has made was to increase core strength so I've been incorporating core strength training in between each of my hamstring curl sets.  When I do both abs and hamstring, it takes almost 30 minutes.  Because planks and crunches get boring, I started researching some alternatives and came across this gem.  The amazing triathlete superstar Craig "Crowie" Alexander has this fantastic series of core exercises that I have been using.  He affectionately refers to some of these exercises as "crowie's balls."  Behold...Crowie's Balls below...

Race Report for Ironman 70.3 Steelhead: A Perfect Day

Approximately three years ago, I watched my husband complete Ironman Wisconsin.  I had always been enamored with the Ironman.  I'd watched the race on television and read a book or two on people who have tackled the monster of endurance races.  Ben did an incredible job, finishing in less than 10 hours.  Watching this race was really the moment I decided I wanted to become a triathlete.  I couldn't swim one lap in the pool, I didn't own a bike and I wasn't a very good runner.  I had completed a number of running races but at the end of the two marathons that I completed, I didn't really feel good about them.  I felt like I just "got through it."  Today was the longest endurance event I have ever experienced and it was by far one of the most amazing feelings I've had in a race.  With that said, on to the race report...



My Finisher Medal

Pre-race:
FRIDAY - I left Omaha on Friday morning at 6:45am.  It was a LONG drive.  I arrived at the race site at 6:02p and they had just closed athlete check-in.  Grrr.  Headed to the hotel, checked in, found a Qdoba and settled in for the night.  I really like to stick with food that I know pre-race and Qdoba, Chipotle and Panera are basically my favorites.
SATURDAY - Headed out to the Ironman Village around 9:30.  After check-in, my plan was to attend the athlete meeting and then get a quick swim in Lake Michigan.  It looks really intimidating at first but it was a lovely swim.  The forecast predicted pretty outstanding race conditions.

Swim finish chute
 

I met with parents-in-law around 6p to show them the race start and have dinner.  It was really nice to have them around for the race and to know someone would be there in case the day did not go as planned (translation:  in case I ended up in the medical tent).  We had a nice dinner and I was in bed by 9:30p. 

RACE MORNING:
I didn't sleep very well, waking up at 2:30a and tossing and turning until I had to get out of bed at 4:30a.  Gulped down some Gatorade, coffee and oatmeal and I was at the race site around 5:30a.  Set up my transition and connected with my in-laws.  Ran into Paul, a Team Nebraska Triathlon member, and we had a nice chat.  We both commented on how AWESOME the race conditions were compared to what we're used to in the Plains states tris.  Susan, Richard and I walked down to the swim start and I got in the water for about 10 minutes of warm-up.  My shoulder had been bothering me a bit since my bike accident so I was a little nervous about that.  My plan was to just swim the hell out of this race with the thought that I won't need my shoulder again for a while :-)

SWIM:
My wave went off at 7:12a and it was right on schedule.  There were A LOT of woman in this wave as it included age groups 40-44 and 25-29.  I've never been in a wave with so many people and it was a bit rough to start.  I was super calm and started swimming right away.  The conditions were outstanding.  Water temp was 72.8 degrees, winds were calm and there was really no chop at all.  The water was crystal clear and lovely.  I must admit that it's a little disconcerting to look out and see a sea of nothing but water ahead of you but I stayed surprisingly calm.  When I got to the alleged half way point, I was at 25ish minutes and I was like, huh? I started cranking a little faster and made the final turn around 35 minutes. The course was busy pretty much the entire swim.  I was blowing past some folks, though.  My swim coach Jim has been working with me on picking up cadence for these instances where you need to get out of a clump of people.  Definitely paid off today.  On the beach and although it wasn't my best, I was happy with the result.  My GPS read 1.57 miles so I would say I did pretty damn well.    SWIM SPLIT:  47:58

TRANSITION 1:  I took my time here.  Didn't run through the sand for fear of turning my ankle.  Made my way down the long aisle to my bike and was out of there pretty quickly.  T1:  5:50

BIKE:
Have I mentioned that race conditions were near perfect?  Overcast all day, hardly any wind.  Temps in the low to mid 70s.  This bike course is FAST.  I wasn't event killing myself, trying to make sure I was functional for the run, and I rode my fastest miles-per-hour average ever for this distance.  Actually, it may be the best EVER ever.  I swear this course felt like it was all downhill.  There were two little hills but nothing like I've experienced in other races.  One new thing for me was the bottle toss/bottle pick up.  I was terrified I would crash.  I lost two bottles during the course of the bike but I was able to maintain my nutrition schedule really well.  Excellent bike split overall.  BIKE SPLIT:  3:40:11

TRANSITION 2:  A lot slower.  By this point, I REALLY needed to use the bathroom.  No point in going into the nasty details, but I was in there for a little bit.  Still, no real stomach distress.  T2:  8:31

RUN: 
Although I had a good bike, I was glad to be off of that damn thing.  the run kicks off with a nice little uphill which many people were walking (including myself).  I struggled through mile 6 and then actually picked up the pace a bit for about 3 miles.  Coca Cola - WOW.  This is like a miracle drug at this point.  Other than the coke, I stuck to my normal Powerbar energy blends, which is essentially pureed fruit  - kind of like baby food.  I had absolutely no gastro distress or dehydration.  I drank every stop and was fine.  The last 2 miles were rough but funny enough, I ran this bad boy slightly faster than I ran my disastrous Lincoln Half Marathon.  RUN SPLIT:  2:45:31

FINAL RACE TIME:  7:28:01

I cannot describe the joy I felt to cross the finish line.  I could never have imagined that I would be able to do this.  I'm by no means fast or competitive, but what I have personally accomplished with this training was really pretty incredible for me.  This is the first race plan that I actually stuck with the entire 20 weeks.  Even through a nasty bike accident.  One thing I realized is how I am no where near ready to finish an Ironman but I also said the same thing about the half Iron 3 years ago.  We'll see what the future brings.  For now,  I look forward to rocking my M dot and I even want to do this again.  Thanks to all of you who have supported me this year and I'll come back to the blog when my new season starts in January.  Until then!

Race Finish



Race Report: Lifetime Tri Minneapolis - It was a good day...

Swim Start at Dawn

 Ah, Minneapolis!  How I love your awesome bike lanes and running trails, your better-than-Omaha shopping, your awesome indie rock public radio station, your super nice people and your surprising cultural diversity.  It's a wonderland, this place called Minneapolis and it was a delight to make my way here this weekend for the Lifetime Tri Minneapolis. A little out of my way just to do a race, you may say.  Yes, true, but I won a free entry seven months ago so I thought I'd give it go.  I had a really good time here and I will definitely want to do this race again.  So on with the race report:




PRE-RACE:
Left Omaha around 7:30a on Friday to drive out here.  Ben wasn't able to make it because of school so I had to drive up here by myself.  I don't enjoy driving, but I loaded up with some good podcasts and music and did A-OK.  Thank you, Terry Gross and Marc Maron.

When I arrived in Minneapolis, I drove right to the race site so I could pick up my packet and hang out for the athlete meeting.  The race allowed for early bike check-in so I wanted to dump the bike, attend the meeting and then drive the bike course.  They told me at check-in that you could only transport your gear in a clear transition bag.  Wasn't thrilled about that (I have a system), but fine. Drove the bike course after the meeting and I was pleased to see it was fairly flat.  A few little rolls but nothing crazy.

The swag is pretty good for this race.  The t-shirt is underwhelming but wow, you get so much stuff in the swag bags (yes, 2 bags).  I estimate they probably gave away nearly $75 in products. 

Massive Swag

RACE DAY:

 

Alarm went off at 4:25a.  I had been up until 11:30p the night before watching "Gone Girl."  I was not planning to stay up that late, but it sucked me in.  Needless to say, it was rough waking up.  Ate some oatmeal and coffee.  Out the door at 5a and arrived at the race site within 10 minutes.  Surprisingly, there was a lot of street parking available and transition was not busy.  Note to self:  arrive early for all races going forward. 

 

I set up my transition area chilled out by the swim start.  It was really calm and quite lovely at dawn.  Race officials announced that the water temperature was 76.1 degrees - wetsuit legal, so I headed back to transition to get my wetsuit.  I did a quick warm-up swim and felt good.  I was ready.

 

 

SWIM:

The swim start was a time trial start which is awesome.  I really prefer this over the wave start.  Ran into the water and start swimming.  And I kept swimming.  It was an awesome swim.  No fear, smooth sailing.  I flew past a bunch of people and started catching folks in earlier waves.  Crossed the swim mat and was like, "yeah, that was good."  SWIM SPLIT:  00:33:50

 

T1:  Could have been quicker but it was fine.  The transition area was HUGE.  T1 SPLIT:  4:52

Transition area

 

 

BIKE:  Bike course is awesome.  Relatively flat, scenic, even a bit shaded.  I was averaging 15.7 mph until about mile 17 and I had a slight chain malfunction.  That cost me a few minutes. Happened again around mile 22, but so it goes.  I rode strong and had fun.  BIKE SPLIT:  1:41:06

 





T2:  I had been thinking about the porta pottie since around mile 12.  I was able to go right before the swim but the urge returned.  Killed a little time in the porta pottie so this transition kind of sucked.  T2 SPLIT:  7:05

RUN:    The run was meh.  I wasn't struggling but I wan'ts pushing either.  I need to get a little more serious about the run because there was really no excuse for me to take it easy.  The course was not hilly and the temps were not bad.  It was a little overcast and didn't feel too warm.  I heard some athletes commenting on the heat and humidity and I was like, "um, yeah.  This is nothing.  Race in Kansas and then let's talk."  In any case, not my best run.  RUN SPLIT:  1:11:30

Even with the bike chain issue, slow T2 and sucky run, I still managed an olympic distance PR by about 2 minutes.  Can't hate on that.  OVERALL FINISH:  3:38:22

So that's all she wrote.  This is a great race.  Really nice course, well managed, fun.  I highly recommend and may have to do it again next year.  This was my last race until the big dance on Aug 9:  Ironman Steelhead 70.3.  Four weeks out so it's getting real.  Stay tuned!


Beach at swim start

Legendary Race Report: The Chop, The Wind, The Heat...

Today marked the official start of my third triathlon racing season with the Legend Triathlon in Lawrence, KS.  Before I get into the nitty gritty of this race report, let me first give some background on this race.

A Brief History
For a good number of years, Ironman hosted a 70.3 in this location:  Clinton State Park in Lawrence, KS.  Ben has done the Ironman Kansas 70.3 twice and I volunteered at the swim start both times.  There have been some amazing athletes who have raced the course including Ironman champion Chrissy Wellington and Craig "Crowie" Alexander most recently in 2013.  I had the honor of handing him a swim cap and telling him he couldn't warm up in the lake that year.  In 2014, World Triathlon Corporation added a race to their 5150 series on this same course.  I raced the 5150 last year and had a very good race, which qualified me for the non defunct Hyvee Championship.  In 2015, WTC announced that it would discontinue Kansas 70.3, and their 5150 Series basically got the ax as well in this same year. 

And so was born the Legend Free State Triathlon.  Managed by the same race company(Silverback) that managed 5150 and 70.3, Legend boasted a number of different course options including a Sprint, Olympic (almost identical to the 5150 course), a 70.3 half iron distance and a weird 100 mile distance that included a 2 mile swim, 80 mile bike and 18 mile run.   Great incentives for early registration (I got a free sweatshirt and a $75 race entry) and lots of course options resulted in really strong races entries.  Someone told me there were approximately 1100 athletes racing today.

And now, to the race report...
After my not-so-great Lincoln Half Marathon, I really wanted to focus on pre-hydration and sodium intake.  As always, I get such amazing advice from friend and pro triathlete Alyssa Godesky and she had given me some tips for making sure I had enough sodium and hydration before I even got on the course. I have been working on that for about a month and have had some good practice runs including a really strong Bolder Boulder race and training weekend.  I felt pretty confident going into this weekend. 

Pre-race
Ben and I arrived in Lawrence around 3p on Saturday.  It was pretty hot but this is not unusual.  I checked in and took it easy the rest of the day.  Ben and I did our traditional dinner at Free State Brewery and I was well-hydrated.  I had been drinking a lot of water and sports drinks for several days prior and I felt pretty good.  In bed by 9:45p.  Fairly restless night which is typical for me the night before a race.

Race Morning
Up without an alarm at 4:30a, slapped on some sunscreen, braided my hair and made myself some oatmeal.  We were on the road at 5:07a.  I usually do coffee pre-race, but I've been using an energy drink that's really great (XS - an Amway produc,t strangely enough) which goes down easy and sits well with me.  We got to the race site at 5:30 and it was jammed.  Parking took a while and then you have to walk literally 1.5 miles to the transition and swim start.  I got there with 5 minutes to set up my crap before they closed transition.  No worries, though - I have a system and it was fine.  I had 40 minutes until my wave started so I had time to lube up (ASIDE:  for non-triathletes, using body glide lubrication on shins/arms helps to get the wetsuit off easily and around wrists/neck/ankles to avoid nasty chaffing), have a wee (pee) and even do a little loosen-up swim.  I noticed the chop but it didn't concern me.

Swim
Gun went off for my wave and the water was incredibly choppy.  This was my ninth triathlon and I've done countless open water swims including a 4000 meter swim in Tempe and I never experienced anything like this.  I seriously thought I was going to drown.  It was a total panic/freakout and I really had a difficult time recovering.  About ten minutes in, I couldn't see the people in my wave any longer because they were so far ahead of me.  I breaststroked (which I don't really know how to do) to a kayak.  I got my breath under control and thought, "Ok, just a little hiccup.  I can do this." Started out again to the next bouy.  Within 2 minutes I was panicked and unable to properly do my breathing without getting slapped in the face with a wave.  I just kind of hung out for a minute considering what I was going to do.  A boat came over and asked if I was OK.  "Do you want us to pull you out?" they said.  I couldn't believe this.  "No, I got it."  Swam to the next kayak.  Break.  Breathe.  Chill.  This went on like this for 40 minutes until I got to the half way point.  As a point of reference, I swam the entire 1500 meter course, this exact same course, in the 5150 race last year in 36:05.

By the time, I got to the turnaround, I was able to properly freestyle without taking in gulps of waves.  The second half of the race took me about 19 minutes.

swim time:  1:00:31

T1
At this point, I am seriously just happy to be out of the water.  The swim is typically my favorite event but today was all about survival.  I took my sweet ass time in transition, thanking the gods for getting me to dry land.
T1 time:  4:00

Bike
Uneventful and slightly slower than my 5150 time last year.  It was a lot windier than last year but I felt like I enjoyed the bike more.  I solidly stuck to my hydration and nutrition plan and felt pretty good getting off the bike.  Alyssa told me once that I should ride "like I don't have to run after."  I did not really do that today but I was kind of just getting through at this point.
bike time:  1:50:46, 13.2 mph average (CRAP)

T2
After ingesting half of the Clinton Lake on the swim, I had to PEE.  Took my sweet time again and used the Porta John.  NO toilet paper?  NO problem - I have grit.
T2 time:  5:01

Run
Although it was about 8 minutes slower than last year's 5150, I felt pretty good.  At this point, I wasn't really busting my butt because I kind of felt like the race was shot, but my legs were really fresh and it was HOT OUT THERE.  90 degrees when I finished.  Very little shade on the course, but I stuck to my hydration and nutrition plan and felt fine.  Note to self:  do this again.  As I was hitting the 6 mile point, I thought, "Yeah, if I had to do another 6, I could do it."  This made me feel so happy. 
run time:  1:15:52

Official race finish:  4:16:07
Takeaways:

• Things happen.  I'm really proud of myself that I kept going.  Me, 2 years ago, would have turned back at the first kayak.  Now that I've had this experience, I feel like I could better manage a similar experience in the future.  I pray that Steelhead 70.3 swim in Lake Michigan is not as choppy.
• Hydration/nutrition planned worked.  This may be the first race where I didn't want to just quit when I got off the bike.  I really felt decent and I have to think it was partially due to sticking to the plan.
• Overall, these are probably the most brutal race conditions that I have experienced in a triathlon.  It was also my slowest time of any of my Olympic races, including my very first one. 
• BUT...I really can't believe I didn't quit.  I am gaining some mental toughness and grit.  and I felt so happy with myself for that.  It also gave me confidence that I can do this 70.3.  I have a lot of work to do in the next 9 weeks, but I know it is achievable.

Next up:  Lifetime Tri Minneapolis - 7/11. I won a free entry so I'm there.  Stay tuned!

Race Report: Lincoln Half Marathon - you win some, you walk some...

After a half-way decent performance last week at Omaha Duathlon, I was feeling good about Lincoln Half.  I wasn't super well-trained for it, but my running base was solid and relatively consistent since January.  I had a good 15K race a few weeks ago and Lincoln is WAY flatter than San Diego....so my expectations were measured, but positive....

Pre-race day:
Ben and I traveled down to Lincoln yesterday afternoon.  It was a busy day for me and we got a late start.  Checked in at packet-pick up and it was 85 degrees in Lincoln.  Not a good sign the day before a long distance race.  We went to Lazlo's and it took forever to get seated.  I was supposed to see a high school musical that night but it took so long to that I ended up skipping the show.  On the bright side, I was able to get to bed early.

Race day:
Up at 5:45a, half a bagel with peanut butter and a small coffee for breakfast.  We left the hotel at 6:15a and I felt ok.  I had a little water to drink and I started to think around 6:30a that maybe I should have drank a little more water.  Not a good sign.  Said good-byes/good-lucks to Ben and lined up between the 2:15:00 and 2:20:00 pacers.  I ran about a 2:18:00 in 2013 for this race and I felt like I would end up somewhere around there this time.  Maybe a 2:23 or 2:25 worst case. 

THE RACE
Race started at 7a, but it was around 7:35a before I went through the start.  I typically have an empty bladder at race start but I had the urge so ran over the porta potties with plenty of time to start.  Ok.  I'm good.  I proceed through the start and feel good.  Running a 10:15 pace or so and feeling fine through mile 5.  I get this crazy awful cramp in my left foot which is highly unusual for me.  Had to stop for a minute to just stretch my plantar and arch of my foot.  The cramp subsided and I was good to go. Ran through the 10K mark in around 1:06:00 so I was doing OK.  Felt fine. Around mile 8, I had to pee.  What?  This NEVER happens.  Stopped at a porta potty, in and out quick but my pace slowed to a 10:45.  I'm sweating like a hog at this point.  Not good. 

Back at it and cramping starts again.  I start walking around the 15K mark and my stomach is churning.  REALLY not good.  Get to the water stop, pick up Gatorade, water and down one of my energy gels.  Immediately after, I run to the porta-potty.  Let's just say, I'm in there for about 10-15 minutes.  Massive GI distress.  I leave the porta potty and I have the chills (and sweating) and feeling a little dizzy.  I try to run, I walk, I try to run, I walk.  Basically at this point, I knew I was done.  I only kept going because it was only 3 miles away and I figured I could walk that.

I finished in 2:46:23 - my worst half marathon time ever.

Reflections:
 - I was SUPER dehydrated.  I could tell even at the beginning of the race.  When I thought back on it after the race, I realized I hadn't really taken in any water of note for the last 2 days.  I also had a few drinks on Saturday and Friday.  I have never experience such bad dehydration at a race and it was a valuable lesson as I prepare for the Ironman 70.3.  As Ben said, I need to respect the distance and make sure that I hydrate regularly throughout the day and week.  It needs to be as much a part of my plan as training and nutrition.
 - Heat - It was very warm to run that distance.  The sun was direct with no clouds.  I need to figure out a way to deal with this because it will only get worse in the summer and my 70.3 is in August.

Check out the article about the race and "runners going down:"  Tabut, Herrick win Lincoln Marathon crowns; many runners 'down'

In other news...
I swam a 550 yard time trial yesterday with my swim guru, Jim.  I dropped my time to 10:25!  A 46 second improvement from 2 months ago.  This is huge.  I'm feeling so good in the water and I'm curious to see how this pays off at the Legend Olympic next month in Kansas.  Stay tuned...