Race Report: Giant Eagle Triathlon (Olympic Distance)

Where do I even begin? I guess at the beginning.

Friday night I got home after work, and when I pulled into the driveway, this was in my garage:

I knew my pro must have arrived :-) Thanks to having the world's bestest husband, Mike picked up Zana (our pro homestay) at the airport Friday afternoon. They had succesfully unpacked her bike and reassembled it. It was not, unfortunately, an anniversary present for me. Oh well. Zana and I made our introductions, and I knew we would get along swimmingly. Friday evening was relaxing. We ran into C-bus to check on a friend's cat I was watching, then Mike, Zana and I went out to dinner in Granville. We had a lovely dinner and even sampled several beers at our local brew pub - my type of triathlete.

We were all pretty tired from long weeks, so we went to sleep relatively early and woke up rather late :-) We each got about 11 hours sleep, so we were raring to take on the day once we got moving. Shortly after noon, we headed out to Alum Creek to get our race packets, check in our bikes, and Zana wanted to do a quick bike/run/swim combo. Awesome.

Once at the race site, we checked in super quickly, and we got our bikes ready for a ride. Unfortunately one of Zana's tires sprung a leak, and one of my tubes busted :-\ Therefore, we ended up spending a fair amount of time at the roll bike tent - which is fine with me - they are my team sponsor! Once our bikes were good to go, we headed out on a short ride. We just tooled around a bit, then we came back to the beach. By the time we got back, it was already 3, and I had promised roll I would work at the bike tent from 3-5. I bid Zana farewell for the afternoon so she could get a swim in, as well as do the Pro meet and greet and her required meeting for the race.

I had a great time working at the tent - I got to chat with all sorts of racers - newbies, pros, veterans - the energy was amazing. It got me SUPER pumped up for the next day.

Around 5ish, we finally had to bail out from the festival, so I bid adeiu to my roll friends and we had to make a stop over at Tri Tech to get something for Zana. I'd never been to Tri Tech before, and honestly I'm not sure if I would go back. We were in there for only a few minutes, but talk about an intimidating store :-\ The folks were nice, but not overly friendly. There was a woman working there that was great, but the two dudes didn't leave the best impression. Because I'm a member of COTT, I inquired if there was a team discount. The guy's response was a resounding no. When Zana asked if the did pro discounts, the guy responded "your discount is when you win prize money. We don't sponsor any professional triathletes." Wow - asshole much? I dunno - just had a weird feeling in there. Anyway, I just thought it was worth mentioning.

That night my husband made us an amazing risotto - roasted corn, mushrooms and swiss chard. SO good and carby. We all called it an early night - that alarm clock would come early.

RACE DAY

3:30am - RING!!!!!!! TIME TO GET UP!!!!!! Wow. That got here way too fast. A quick shower, a bagel, some coffee, and we were out the door. We dropped off our T2 bags, picked up a BDD and headed over to the race site.

First stop - porta potty. Luckily the coffee kicked in, and we were good to go. Once that was done, BDD helped me pump up my tires, and I got all my T1 stuff ready to go. As we prepared, the announcer came on to say that not only were wetsuits not allowed for prizes, but they were also banned because the water temp was a steamy 85 degrees. WOW. See, I have never swum in Alum Creek without a wetsuit. Awesome. Oh well - do what you have to do, right???? The cool thing about T1 was that right next to me was a friend of mine from spin class. I had no idea she was racing, and we were right next to each other in transition. She and I ended up chatting in the water up to start time. The butterflies were in full effect, so it was great to have someone to chat with!!!

We got started right on time, but the organizers changed the set up from one big lap for the Olympic length racers to two loops of the sprint length course. I was kind of dreading this, as I didn't know if I was prepared to face two loops. Anyway, we watched the pros all go out and complete their laps to make sure they had clear water the whole time. I chatted with my buddy through the starts, then all of a sudden I hear "Olympic women 35 and under, you're up!" EEEEE! That's me. I ran up there, and within 30 seconds we were off. I let everyone else take off, then I settled in behind them.

SWIM - 1500m

You know what? It wasn't half bad. I actually kind of liked the fact that the water was warm. It kept my muscles loose, and I was comfortable. I swam more than I walked or pushed off the bottom, so that's great for me. There's actually not a ton to report here. I kept cool, calm and collected, and just swam swam swam.

Time: 31:09, 5 out of 6 in age group

BIKE - 40K

This bike course was great. I really enjoyed this. My goal was just to push it as hard as I could. If I saw my speed drop below 18, I gunned it up again. I could give a turn by turn, but honestly the quick summary is I enjoyed nearly every part of the ride. The big success of the ride is that I used my water bottle not just once but THREE times. I actually grabbed and used my bottle while riding. Folks, that's a big deal for me.

The worst part of the ride was near the end - we were less than a mile from T2 and I saw a woman in front of me oversteer and completely lose control of her bike. She went sideways, the bike went flying, and she skid at least 6 feet across a sidewalk. It was one of the most horrible things I have ever seen. Luckily there were volunteers close by who reacted immediately. But it was so horrible to see - I almost had a spontaneous burst of tears. Within 30 seconds, a car that had seen it happen started to turn off in what I guess was an effort to help - problem was she turned her car RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I saw her window was partly down and yelled at the top of my lungs "PLEASE DON'T TURN!!!!!" Luckily she saw/heard me and stopped. My heart was going a million miles an hour. Luckily I pulled into T2 within a couple minutes of that and saw not only my hubby but my friends Erich and Susan too. It warmed my heart so much to see them.

I handed off my bike to the volunteers, ran in and grabbed my T2 bag then parked it on a chair to put on my running shoes. Due to the setup, my husband was able to run over to chat with me - he was so proud, and it just elevated my spirits so much to see him. He got me in the head space I needed to be in, and I took off. Time to run!

Time: 1:25:35, 5 out of 6 in age group (17.4 mph/avg - almost hit my 18mph goal!)

RUN - 10K

One word sums this up - HOTTTT. For the Oly, we did two loops of a 5K course. A lot of the course was unshaded, and geeeez it was baking us. It was actually a lovely 5K course - I enjoyed the route, but I felt like I could turn into a puddle at any moment. I managed to run the entire first loop (taking into account that I did walk through each water station - as I do in any race), but when I hit the festival area again - i did ask Mike, Susan or Erich to shoot me. I was super hott and going around another time did not sound like a good idea AT ALL. But I kept it up. The first water station was manned by COTT, and I knew a couple people handing out water - it was great to see their smiling faces and get their encouragement.

The second lap was not as "stellar" as the first one. I was keeping a sub 10 minute mile pace on loop one, but I just couldn't hold it for loop 2. I walked here and there, shuffled, and ran sometimes too. I just kept telling myself - "keep moving and you will be there sooner" FINALLY I as back in downtown - I could hear the spectators getting louder, and I saw the turn off for the finish. I gave it all I had at the end and was thrilled to be done. I did it. I ran my first Oly!!!!!!!

Time: 1:05:49, 6 out of 6 in age group

OVERALL TIME: 3:04:38

6 out of 6 in age group

At the finish!!!!

Honestly, I am positively thrilled about how I did. I really wanted to get sub-3, and I was damn close for my first race. I pushed it as much as I could with my training and the heat. I gave it all I could, and I had a wonderful time. I'm glad it took me 3 hours and change because I honestly loved every second of it. It was totally wonderful.

HUGE kudos to HFP Racing. They did an amazing job with a logistically difficult race - I have no idea how they pulled it off. I was really nervous about how this would all work, but they did it and did it very well. A point to point is a super cool way to race, and I would totally do this one again. HFP - THANK YOU!!! you did a great job. I honestly had an amazing race experience.

Huge thanks also goes to roll, my team sponsor. Not only have you kept my bike in top top shape, you've provided me new friends and taken me to a new level in my racing. I look forward to a long relationship with you guys - Stuart, you rock!!!!

To everyone who gave me encouraging messages on the blog, or facebook, in person, over email, or just sent me a good thought - thank you so much. It got me through the rough parts this race.

Lastly, if you ever get asked to do a homestay for a pro - do it. I feel I've made a new friend, and I wish Zana the best of luck in her pro career - I can't wait to see what she'll do. She's a great lady with amazing skill - you are welcome to stay with us anytime, dear!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zana and I before her departure - it was super hot, so ignore our sweatiness :-)

Race Report: JCC Independence Triathlon 2011

Revenge is mine. Oh yes, yes it is. But now I have an ax to bury for next year.

Here's the report.

Pre-race

One of the great things about this race is that it takes place about 35 minutes from the house. Awesome. I was able to wake up at a fairly reasonable hour, take a quick shower and change into my tri gear. I packed all my goodies for the race the night before, so all I had to do was grab my bag and my sleepy husband as I headed out the door.

Managed to get to the race site shortly after 7am and was checked in and marked within about 5 minutes. I was finally able to introduce my husband to BDD, too! (Now he knows who I spend my early Saturday mornings with on a regular basis!) Got my transition area all set up, and I was good to go. We still had about 40 minutes til start time, so I opted to head over to the pool and swim a few laps. Oddly enough, no one had this idea yet, so I got the whole pool to myself. I did a few laps in the extremely warm pool. As soon as I got out, I think about twenty people jumped in. Such a trend starter I am :p

The swim

Last year I seeded myself way too far back on the swim start. The swim is a short 300m serpentine swim in a pool. This year I opted to just get in line early and get it over with. This was an excellent strategy. I seeded myself in the 7-7:30 minute estimated time, and it was pretty much right on. I got passed by two speedy dudes who started right after me, but once they made it past, the next person was at least a half a length or more behind me. That works for me. Swim went fine - I probably could have pushed it a bit more, but I still don't know my pacing very well in the water. I know I didn't have to walk at all like last year, and I only took a couple short breaks at the wall before pushing off. All in all, I am very happy with the swim. My swim time includes a rather long jaunt to T1, as well as my t1 time.

Time: 10:39 (4 out of 7 in my age group)

The bike

This is course with a few ups and downs. There's a couple decent hills, some false flats and a few rollers. I knew this going in and I was ready. Lemme tell you, I gave it all I had on the course. Left nothing behind. And it was fabulous. There actually isn't a ton to report on it. I went all out and it felt wonderful. I rode in the big ring most of the second half of the course, and I wish I would have started out in the big ring. I was blowing up hills without much issue at all. It felt fantastic. I have got to start riding in the big ring more often than not and just upping my cadence. It felt great to be breezing past folks. Woo hoo.

Time: 41:23 (3 out of 7 in my group - and only 20 seconds behind the 1st and 2nd place ladies in my group)

The run

Last year I absolutely and positively bonked on the run. I was doing a walk/shuffle/run/hold back muffled cries type of run. This year was much improved. While it was not the stellar performance I had at Tri for Joe, I did well enough. Last year this 5K took me over 38 minutes. This year, I shaved off a great chunk of time. I am now seriously kicking myself for taking about a 20 second walk break on a gradual hill at one chunk of the course. I managed to justify it to myself at the time, but after seeing my overall final time, I want to kick my own ass.

Time: 30:12

OVERALL TIME: 1:23:17

Finished 4th out of 7 in the age group.

Here's the kicker: I WAS SIX SECONDS FROM THIRD PLACE IN MY AGE GROUP.

Six. Freaking. Seconds.

That is the ax I have to bury now. MUST cut transition times and NO WALK BREAKS unless death is imminent. Six seconds from third place, eight minutes from first place.

And oh yeah - I knocked 22 minutes off my time from last year. TWENTY-TWO MINUTES!!! (XXII for those who prefer Roman numerals!!!!!)

Overall, I am thrilled with how the race went down. I got my revenge from last year, and I learned some important lessons. I had a wonderful time and rode a high all day from the feeling I had afterwards. Next up, my first Olympic length race - July 31. ::gulp::

And HUGE thanks to my hubby for coming out to cheer me on - he cheered for me all through the run, hustled over to T1 and high fived me on my way out to the bike. When I came in from my run, he was there cheering me on. Thank you so much for your awesome support, sweetie! It means the world to me.

DFLIMAG - Kokomo Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Well, this weekend proved to be a race weekend! Yep! Even with the sadness that came upon my family this week, I happened to find out there was a triathlon going on that Saturday morning only about 40 minutes from my family's home. In an effort to provide an outlet and distraction, I threw out the option to go to the race. No one was opposed, and my Mom even decided to join me. Yay!

Therefore, Saturday morning I was up shortly before 6am to get ready, and my Mom and I jumped in the car and headed out to Kokomo, Indiana for the Kokomo Sprint Triathlon. While I enjoyed the race, it gave me my lowest race stats ever. For the very first time, I came in DFLIMAG (dead f&*%ing last in my age group).

The swim: The swim was actually something I was quite proud of!! The swim took place in a quarry behind the church where the tri was hosted. The depths ranged from 4 feet around the edge to 30 feet plus in the middle. I was nervous about this but knew I had to start getting some OWS experience. The swim went in three waves - first was men aged 35 and younger (green caps), then men 35 or over (white caps), and last was women of all ages (red caps). We saw the first two waves start off, then it was our turn. This race seemed to be much heavier on the dudes - unlike what I've seen in Ohio races. Still, when the air horn went off, I hung back a few second to let the fast people get out in front of me. It was only a 500m swim, but it sure did look like a long way from shore. I did my crappy swim/sidestroke/doggy paddle for the first leg out. On the back stretch, I actually drafted behind someone. On the final stretch in, the lady I was drafting behind started to slow down quite a bit, so I passed her and went on around. I even passed a few green and white caps!! I swam the full final stretch in with freestyle - I kept going til my knuckles hit the ground. I was actually really proud of myself on the swim. No panic, and I really SWAM.

Time: 13:25, 91/124 total racers, 4/5 in my age group

The Bike: Who knew that freaking Kokomo, IN was so damn hilly. The whole course was rollers with a couple fairly serious hills. I mapped the route out, but that elevation chart sure didn't come out looking the way that course felt on my legs. It kind of kicked my butt. BUT - the cool thing was...(ready for this??)...I was CLIPPED IN the whole bike ride!!!! I had switched my pedals to my SPD style ones on Thursday evening, so I forced myself to race with them. No problems at all. I managed an average speed of 15.16mph for the 10.5 mile course. That was really freaking slow (109/124 total racers), but I was NOT prepped for that level of course. Just a bit more challenging than I was used to.

The bike route that kicked my rear.

Time: 41:33, 109/124 total racers, 4/5 in my age group

Run: Total and absolute bonk. Between being dehydrated (with the drive to Indy and not having access to much fluid the evening before), and my legs being ground up on the ride - my "run" was a joke. I barely held it together. It was embarrassing actually. I walked more than I ran. But I finished it. Just horrible overall. This was a kick in the ass that I better watch my nutrition and pre-race night activities. Cause my ass got seriously kicked.

Time: 37:78 (egads), 5/5 in age group

Final Time: 1:35:47, 5/5 in age group, 113/124 total racers

Final notes: When I showed up at the race, I was amazed at the level of racers there. The bike porn was well worth the price of admission. Nearly half the people there seemed to be touting their Ironman race shirts and hats from previous endeavors. I was a bit out my league at this Kokomo race, lemme tell you. BUT - I managed to get some OWS confidence AND I can now officially say I ride with my SPD pedals!!! Therefore, yay for those two things!!!

I also saw something I have never seen before EVER in a race - a poor guy's bike crapped out on him around mile 6 or 7 of the race. I have no idea what had happened, as I wasn't around when the event that caused him to get off his bike actually occurred. I saw him around mile 7 jogging next to his bike. On my way out of the run, I saw him coming into transition, and I saw him after my turnaround. This guy ran his bike the 3 miles back to transition in bare feet, then put on his running shoes and finished the race. HOLY CRAP. I saw him after and said that was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Absolutely amazing. What a heart.

Overall, glad I did the race, and it gave me a serious wake up call that I HAVE to stay on my game - I have a long, LONG way to go to consistent racing.

Race Report: Hocking Hills Indian Run 10K

I did it! My first ever trail run. And WOW. Running 6.2 miles on trails is a whole hell of a lot different than running 6.2 miles on the road or a flat paved trail through town.

The great thing about the race is the rolling starts. Racers could start the 5K, 10K, 20K, or 40K at any time between 9am and 11am. Once there were enough folks to start a wave, they would count you off and send you on your way. 20K and greater started from the Hocking Hills Dining Lodge. 5K and 10K runners were bussed out to their respective starts. Hubs, Betsy and I arrived at the lodge around 8:45am, and the place was absolutely packed. It was really cool to see so many people that were going to race.

I wandered in and picked up my race shirt, my number and my D-tag. Evidently someone had given all the volunteers a very strict talking to about the use of the D-tags on runners shoes. Ever single volunteer associated with the race gave you a reminder about how you use the D-tag. Maybe it's just a bigger deal in this type of environment because there is more of a chance you could destroy your tag out on the trail?? I was ready to go, so I found a line for the bus, chatted with some folks in line, and got the butterflies in my tummy in check.

The anticipation was heightened due to the bus ride out to the start. It was just pretty cool/funny/kind of scary to have to ride a bus about 15 minutes out to get to the start line. First stop, 5K runners. Next stop, 10K. We started in the Top o' the Cave Campground. No real start line, no muss, no fuss. A very nice older lady was seated at a picnic table, she wrote down our numbers and counted us down. 3...2...1...GO! And off we went.

I have never had a bigger smile on my face for the first leg of a race. After a short .1-.2 mile stretch on the campground road, a bright orange arrow pointed us into the woods on a wide, grass covered path. It was tempting to haul butt, as the terrain was downhill and fairly smooth. I took advantage of the downhill but tried to keep as much gas in the tank as possible. It was absolutely beautiful.

Today's race made me uber glad that I've ditched the iPod for most of my runs. Here, it was a dual purpose thankfulness. First, the sound of the woods was fantastic. The crunching of leaves, the babbling of the water, the rustling in the trees - just beautiful. Second, there were some A-MAZING athletes out on this run, and they came up on your ass FAST. Out of nowhere, 2-3 dudes would just come pounding up behind you flying down the trail. It was actually crazy cool to see. How they do it, I have no idea.

So, back to my race. The smile started to wear off when I needed to pant pant pant my way up some killer hills. Like hills so steep that if you leaned forward by about 6 inches, you could easily touch the ground in front of you with no problem. These had to be some 15% grades. Crazy. Luckily, it's totally acceptable to walk up hills in trail runs. So I did. A few times.

With each uphill there was eventually a downhill to balance it out. The downhills were like roller coasters. Dodging the roots, attempting to find flat ground to place your foot, just crazy. I've never done anything like it. The other crazy thing was that I had no idea how far I had gone or how far I had to go. I ran with my cheapy Target watch and had started the timer when we set off, so I was trying to gauge how far I had gone based on about a 10 minute mile. Truth be told, I think my first 2-3 miles were well below 10 minutes per mile. It was miles 4-6 that got a little tricky.

We ran through the Old Man's Cave campground, and lots of campers were making breakfast or hanging out at their campsites. Folks had set up chairs along the road and cheered us on. Considering that the road through the campground was uphill nearly the whole way, having lots of people watching was very helpful. I didn't want to take a walk break in front of spectators!!! We finally made it out of the campground and back into the woods.

This last forest jaunt was also gorgeous. There were a couple crazy uphills, then all of a sudden we were rounding a small brick building in the woods. Then....stairs. STAIRS?? Luckily there were only about 15 or so steps up, and we were told by a couple friendly volunteers "You only have less than a mile left!!!" What they failed to mention is that the last stretch was a grueling gradual uphill. Not used to running uphill this often, my leggies were just about done. I swear - that last 10 minutes seemed like an hour.

I finally saw it - a little sign that said FINISH with an arrow pointing to the left. Here it was - the last FLAT portion. The chute seemed like it was half a mile long, though I am sure it was less than a tenth of a mile. I apologize to any spectators or other runners who I offended as I muttered "F&*$" about 20 times in quick succession as I sprinted it out. I even saw Hubs and the dog at the start of the chute "GO MICHELLE!!!!" the Hubs yelled out. YAY!!!!

Finally, the finish. I was done. 1:08:47. About 11 mins per mile. My personal goal was to finish in 1:15, so I am very happy with my time.

All in all, excellent experience. Well marked route, lots of volunteers, lots of different types of runners. One of the highlights was the finisher's medal - a ceramic arrowhead on a twine necklace with beads - it was made by the local high school's ceramics class! Very snazzy.

I'd like to make this race an annual event - maybe I'll even do the 20K next time around ;-)

And you thought your race photos were bad

I would like to blame the following photos on this principle: great race = craptacular race photos

Why I am about to share these, I have no idea.


Hello, belly :-)

Second Half - DONE

Lauren and I at the start of the race!

I am happy to report that on Saturday, May 1, I ran my second half-marathon. As mentioned in my previous post, I knew it wasn't going to be super speedy, but I was hoping to shave a few seconds off my first half's time. Ummmm, not the case. Here's why:

1) I fell off the training wagon the two weeks prior to the race. In the 14 days leading up to the race, I did no cross training and ran a total of 7 miles.

2) When Lauren arrived at the airport on Friday afternoon, the first place we went was Fleet Feet Sports to pick up our race packets. The second place we hit was....the bar. Three beers later we were back home to carb up on a wonderful meal made by my dear husband. Oh, and we had two glasses of wine with dinner. Can we say, "Race Day Hangover?" (don't worry, we got plenty of water/gatorade in our systems before we ran - and the water stations were great on the course)

3) For the first 3 miles, the temps were about 70 degrees with 80% humidity. I haven't run in temps that warm or air so damp in months. I was considering following the 5K crowd at the 1.25 mile split on the course. At mile 3, the heavens opened up....and it started to rain. The rain didn't stop until about 2pm. We finished the race at 10:30am. Yeah, we got drenched.

Summary:

Final time: 2:36:06 (about 5 minutes and change slower than last year). I'm guessing that each drink the night before added on about a minute to my PR. Then add on an extra few seconds for the rain. BUT - I had an amazing time hanging out with my bestest buddy and crossing the finish line with her yet again. I'd run with Lauren - even with a hangover for 13.1 miles - any day. Well, give me some notice actually - damn, 13.1 miles is a long way to go on your feet! And huge thanks to Lauren for just enjoying the day and my needed walk breaks.

Race route was beautiful. Lots of spectators and we got to see a lot of Columbus. Great people all around. Would have liked to have had one more "fuel" station providing Gu or power beans or something.

LOVE the race shirt. Great fit, and it did an amazing job in the rain. No chafing at all from the shirt. Now, my race capris? Yeah, we won't talk about the chafing that happened there...

LOVE the fact that our names were on our race bibs. So very cool.

LOVE the finishers medal. I am almost more impressed with the super cool ribbon that comes with the medal. Absolutely beautiful.

What's next?

I'm taking a short running break. I am going to continue to eat crappy stuff the rest of this week - pizza last night and obscene amounts of Mexican food leftovers this evening. Then I'll get back on the wagon. There's a couple of 10Ks I would like to do this summer, and I believe Granville has a 4 mile run July 4th weekend - and my Mom will be visiting from Texas that weekend. She's never seen me race (and actually only has memories of my running habits revolving around punishment after tennis practice junior year of high school).

Great experience. And I think we get serious runner points for completing more than 75% of a half marathon in the rain. That counts for something!

Our super cool finisher's medal!