First Race Done and Dusted - Kinetic Half

Chris and I headed down to Lake Anna this past weekend for the Kinetic Half Ironman.  I might (ok was) rather nervous on Friday and tried to keep it quiet that I was racing.  I had the typical first race jitters of worrying how my training was going and if all the 4:50 wake ups were really worth it.  Luckily I was so nervous on Friday that I was fairly calm on race morning.

Checkin' out the race site the night before

Race morning began at 4 am.  Not that much earlier than my normal wake up, but I went to bed WAY TOO late for a 4 am wake up. Oh well, ate my quinoa and banana, drank some coffee and before I knew it, we were on the way.  Unfortunately neither of our bikes were ready, so Chris and I were both rushed to the max to make it to the start on time and were honestly quite lucky the race started 15 minutes late for fog.

Swim – 1.2 miles – 26:37

I prepared myself for the worst after Kona’s black eye, but luckily the swim start was uneventful and within the first 25 meters, I was battling it out with one other female.  I didn’t feel like pushing the pace to get in front of her, so I just settled in behind her and thought I would let her pull me until we got to the first turnaround buoy. That lasted for about 20 strokes and then I realized the pace was a bit slow and she was swimming a bit wide of the buoys. 

I'm guessing I'm the second arm in the front- I really should learn to bend my elbows

I had no intentions of swimming long, so I picked up the pace and pulled around her.  Positioned myself to swim right on the buoy line and before I knew it, I hit the first turn around buoy (course was a triangle).  I couldn’t really see where to go next, but thanks to the two waves in front of me, I just followed and spotted the next set of buoys pretty soon after.  I started swimming through the wave ahead of me at this point and did my best not to dunk/swim over anyone.  My arms started getting tired from wearing a wetsuit although I was a huge fan of the Aquasphere one I borrowed from Lindsay, but the pace felt comfortable so my swim fitness is definitely good. I got to the last turnaround buoy before I knew it and was heading for shore.  I started seeing quite a few red caps, which meant I was catching the wave two in front of me J  They didn’t have a good swim finish chute, so I was a bit confused where to go, but only wasted about 10 seconds stopping to figure it out and made a bee line for the shore.  Was excited to hear that I was the first amateur out, but that excitement was short lived when I realized I had no clue how to undo the clasp on Lindsay’s wetsuit (thanks again coach!).  Oops.

Bike –56 miles -  2:32:17

I mounted my bike and almost immediately realized I was having the same issue as I had at Ironman Louisville last year, cramps.  UGH, I thought I had addressed this.  The first thirty minutes were some of the worst I’ve had in a long time on the bike.  I was thinking very negative thoughts, got passed on the bike by the 2^nd female and could not get into any sort of rhythm thanks to some very obnoxious males that would not let me or the 2^nd place female race.  I proceeded to drop my chain and lose the cluster, but that turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise because I was finally able to get into my own rhythm and just ride my bike. I recently got a Hydrotail Blaze for my bike, which I love, but I migh have wanted to practice getting the bottles out before the race.  I was able to do the right side, but not the left and sadly had to get off my bike around mile 35 to get the bottle. Chris luckily didn’t pass me during this point because I can only imagine what he would have said.  He flew by soon after and seemed to be riding strong, so I was happy to see that. My heart rate stayed low the entire ride (avg. 151) and I honestly assumed I was riding poorly until mile 40 when I realized I was averaging right around 22mph. I knew I wouldn’t beat my Eagleman bike time from last year (hello, pancake flat course), but I pushed it right up to the dismount line. 

In the end, besides the chain and bottle mishap, I actually had a really good ride.  Cadence and power was right where they should be and it turns out I’m a lot stronger than I realized this year on the bike. 

Run - 1:41.02

Oh the run . . this is where I always get passed.  You start out and run nearly straight uphill, which is cruel, compounded by the fact that this is a three loop course. My calves were cramping and I was immediately questioning my decision to run in my Newton’s (I have no clue what I did with my old Adrenalines).  Self-doubt immediately started creeping in and my heart rate was well below my coach’s goal of 166-172. I took a gel and a salt pill and kept shuffling along and then the miracle happened, my legs loosened up and mile number four was 7:25.  WHAT?! I had just mentally prepared myself for 8:30s after seeing 8:19 for lap three.  Lap two of the course seemed easier than lap one and I just kept running steady between 7:40-7:50.  I decided I would pick it up on lap three if I could and kept looking behind me to see if anyone was catching me. The surprising thing was I only saw men and people on lap one.  Hmmm.  I didn’t want to count my chickens, but I was really hoping I could stay 3^rd overall.  I figured if my pace stayed constant, I had a good shot.  I watched at the turnaround for the third lap and saw no females coming, so I stayed consistent and decided to pick it up at mile 11.  Legs felt great, my pace was quickening and I actually passed quite a few men back on the lap three. I couldn’t stop smiling. I’m usually miserable at this point on the run and instead, I was feeling great and doing what I always enviously watch everyone else do.  The last mile hurt, but it was a fun hurt.  10 minute run PR on the day, but more importantly, I gained some confidence I never had on the run.

I crossed the line and was shocked to see I went a 4:44 for an 11 minute PR over Eagleman last year (yes, I know the temperature plays a roll).  Definitely a very exciting day for me!  Next up is a training trip to Lake Placid with Chris!

Thanks Lindsay for the fantastic coaching and letting me borrow her awesome Aquasphere wetsuit.  Thanks Powerbar for the fuel to keep me going, Cyclelops for power and Swim H20 for keeping swimming fun!  And a thank you to my family and friends who support me. 

Bloom

This past weekend was the 85th annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. Although I’m a Winchester native, I’m not a huge fan of this event (gasp, the horror!). However, I did enjoy a few of the events with some close friends of mine.

Friday afternoon Chris met me at work and we headed over to Liz’s apartment for the Fireman’s Parade.    The Fireman’s parade is approximately 2 hours of firetrucks, bands and random cars.

Parade

 We may have watched the parade for roughly five minutes and spent the rest of the time catching up with friends including two of our good friends, the Beatley’s. I don’t get to see Jen as much as I used to since she got tired of doing Ironmans, so it was great to spend some quality time with her J

Hangin' with Jen

After the parade, Chris and I met back up with the Beatley’s who had party hopped and we headed to another friend’s house before going to the firework display.  This is the first time I had gone to the fireworks and I was pretty impressed with the display. I was pleasantly surprised to be in bed around 11 this year as opposed to 1 am last year. I would be at least somewhat rested for the Apple Blossom 10K.

The Apple Blossom 10K is a lot of fun since I grew up in Winchester and know so many people doing or watching the race. Since Chris and I met at the Apple Blossom 10K last year (yes, you can gag), we obviously had to do it.  Pre-race we had about an hour at the race site so we both saw and caught up with a lot of friends.  Some highlights of the race:

1)      I had friends all over the course cheering. It definitely helped keep my mind off the fact that I was super uncomfortable with my heart rate at 187 for 30 minutes of the race.

2)      My new Powerbar Team Elite shirt was super comfy.

3)      I ran 6.2 miles under a 7 minute mile pace.  When I started with CTS in the fall of 2009, my 8 minute field test was exactly the pace I ran on Saturday.  Thanks Lindsay!

4)      Chris ran with me for the first three miles even though he wasn’t feeling well.  Lucky girl.

A little over 3 miles in

5)      I finally got an Apple Blossom 10K Jefferson cup after many years of trying (placed third in my AG).  Next goal is sub 40. 

I opted to skip the Grand Feature parade this year and do something I rarely do, rest. I even took a nap Saturday afternoon.  It was definitely needed after three straight weeks of hard workouts and one last hard bike workout Sunday before taper.  Sunday I set out on my bike with the intention of riding for 3 hours with 2 x 20 minutes at tempo power. Unfortunately within 20 minutes, I realized my head and legs weren’t into that, so I decided to just ride my bike (sorry Coach!).

95 miles later, I arrived at home very tired and very happy.  Have a great week doing the things you love :)!

The Little Things

Last week did not start out on the right foot.  And by wrong foot, I mean I left my work shoes at home and had to go to Target at 8 am on Monday for work appropriate footwear after swimming.  Thank goodness Target opens at 8 and now I know that I should NEVER leave packing my clothes until the morning.  I got to work later than I would like, completely flustered and not 100% sold on the shoes.  Until not one, but four people complimented the shoes and many more asked how my birthday weekend was.  That got me thinking how little things can be quite powerful.

Thank you, Target

Tuesday was a perfectly ordinarily day.  Between work and rotary, Tuesday is always a LONG day, but I had an awesome surprise when I got home.  I signed up for the Kinetic half a few weeks back and tweeted that I had to solve my wetsuit problem.  Mine is awful and needs replaced.  Instead, my awesome coach came to the rescue and said I could borrow her suit.  SWEET.  Package showed up on Tuesday night and included a brand new CTS bike kit with socks! I have one matching bike kit (minus socks) and all of my jerseys are way too big. I feel like a total bad ass in this kit and was so appreciative of Lindsay's gesture to include this. Lindsay felt bad for not including a note, I was so excited over this little touch of kindness.

First 100 mile ride of the season!

Wednesday morning included a typical work meeting discussing a business proposal for a new program for the hospital. At the end of the meeting, the director gave my counterpart and me a tour of the new Labor and Delivery suite and NICU.  It was 15 minutes of that director's time, but it absolutely made my entire day.  When you stare at numbers all day, it's nice to see the bigger picture and understand the WHY of what you're doing. 

Saturday was definitely the highlight of my week.  I was disturbed by the weather forecast, but I was not riding five hours on the trainer (I have a self imposed maximum of 4), so I layered up and met up with Chris since he had kindly agreed to ride the first two with me even though the route wasn't the best for his workout. Seems minor to most, but over a weekend that I rode 135 of my 175 miles alone, that little thing was a pretty huge deal.

Open roads

I had my day planned to the MAX on Saturday so after the ride, I rested for a bit and then headed off to meet my dear friend Liz who was treating me to a pedicure for my birthday.  Total blast, our toes look great, and that girl time was desperately needed.  Since I rarely get my toes done, this was a nice treat!

But the best little thing of the week was probably my transition run on Sunday.  I was a bit nervous heading into this workout (3 hour ride/1 hour run) after Saturday's five hour ride, but my legs felt surprisingly good while I was riding.  And since I didn't bother to check the mileage before I headed out, I rode for almost an entire extra hour.  D'oh!  I was already making excuses before I started to run on why my pace was pathetic, why I stopped, etc. for my training log, but then the funniest thing happened; my legs felt great when I started to run.  Mile 1 clicks in at 7:20 and I remind myself to slow down.  Mile 2 goes at 7:36 and I remind myself again to slow down, but then I realize my heart rate is still in endurance mile range. . hmm, I'll surely blow up if I keep running at this speed.  I start concentrating on my form and focus on the music and the miles slowly click by at the 7:30-7:40 range. Before I know it, I've run 8 miles in 1:01 (a 7:36 pace!) and the workout was done.  In an 18 hour training week, a 1 hour workout isn't much, but that run was the biggest confidence booster I've had in a LONG time. 

The little things do matter and for those that live / grew up in Winchester, Happy Bloom :)

Turning 29

Turning 29 turned out to be unexpectedly the best birthday in a very long time.  I have to admit, I've dreaded this birthday for weeks because it meant I was one year away from the big 3-0.  And with being the youngest of all my friends, I know I'm in for it next year.  However, for now, I'm thankful for the wonderful friends and family I have in my life.

I got to work on Friday morning to have my cubicle decorated and cards from every department in my office suite.  Definitely a fun way to start the day and got to enjoy lunch out with corporate finance at Chipotle. 

Decorations galore! 

Chris picked me up from work at 3 and we quickly hit the road for Williamsburg since we had dinner reservations at one of my favorite places, The Trellis.  The Trellis was always my choice when my parents came to visit me at William and Mary.  Dinner was absolutely delicious and although The Trellis is really known for their Death by Chocolate dessert, I couldn't resist the White Chocolate Truffles. Totally delicious and worth every calorie!!

Saturday started off a little rocky. My nephew, Preston, and I share the same birthday and I was feeling stressed figuring out how to fit in a long ride / short transition run in AND make it to the party at 3:30.  When you're not familiar with the area, it's not easy to do a long ride quickly. But Chris and I did our best, and with the exception of a few navigation issues, got in a fun and hot 90 mile ride topped off with a 15 in T-run at my goal pace for E'Man. 

Bike pit stop

Quick change and we were off to refuel and head to the party. Preston had a bounce house for his party, so our recovery started with some bouncing and chasing Preston around. I had to wait until after the party to give Preston his present - his first bike! - but watching him ride down the street was worth it.  I just hope we can get him off training wheels quickly.

First spin on the new bike!

Kona is definitely in his future

We were up early on Sunday for our long run and were not so excited with the prospect of running in 55 degrees and a heavy storm.  But, the treadmill is not going to help my running form, so I headed out with Chris having a few planned excuses in my head in case I wanted to turn back early.  Instead, I surprised myself and had probably the best 16+ mile long run I've ever done.  This year I'm lucky enough to be on Powerbar Team Elite and I think my new focus on fueling is paying off huge.  I had 3 gels during the run and instead of dying at the end, I ran strong to the hotel. 

First long run in the rain!

Quick stop at my sister's to say goodbye and we were headed home to celebrate my birthday with my parents who once again, got me some awesome gifts and we had a wonderful bottle of Stags Leap with dinner :)  What a weekend!

Hello, April!

Where do the days go?  I swear it was just the first week of March and then last week I had a mini panic attack realizing I still hadn't decided on Chris's birthday present. . luckily I had a good idea of what to order, and his sweet new bike stand to repair his our bikes came in today.

Last week was a typical week for me.  Pretty much two workouts each day except my Tuesday rest day.  Why Tuesday?  Because I'm in Rotary and it's really hard to fit in morning workouts, go to work, then go to my 6 pm rotary meetings. Something had to give.

Although my volume isn't huge yet, I had my fun filled day of VO2 work on Wednesday, which always makes me cringe.  I almost dipped into the sub 6 pace on my 3 minute run intervals, so I'm slowly making some running progress.  Thursday I had a great conversation with my coach after work, then spent some quality time on my bike trainer doing intervals.  I thought my bike seat had moved during these intervals, but I obviously forgot until half-way through my ride on Sunday. 

Saturday was a fun day.  We spent the morning running out in the country again and I really am pleased with the progress I'm making running.  Ignoring the fact I'm running a good 20-30 seconds faster now on most runs with lower heart rates, I'm having much more fun and thanks to Powerbar I'm figuring out how to fuel better.  I'm a huge fan of the Kona gel and the Harvest bars are great post-run for recovery :)  We spent the evening at Hunger Games - fun!

Enjoying the view

Sunday we set out around 11 on one of my typical riding loops.  Chris isn't a huge fan of the loop because it only has about 2500 ft. of climb over 83 miles, but it's great prep for Eagleman in June.  Over the years I've had some strong men to ride with, but riding with Chris is an entirely different story.  Solid four hours of effort just over my last year's avg. Ironman watts, polished off with a 15 minute transition run that will definitely be a speed outlier for me.  YES.  Sorry no pictures, but I essentially stared at Chris's backside for four hours.

This weekend we're running the Charlottesville half marathon.  The race is at 6:30, so hopefully I can talk Chris into post-race brunch :)  Happy Tuesday!

UVA Gait Clinic

My parents did an amazing job with my Christmas gifts this year. One of my gifts was a trip to the UVA Gait Clinic, which really may have been just as much as a Christmas present for them as me since it takes me FOREVER to run the Ironman marathon, and it's always a challenge to have a good running picture of me.  But rest assured, I have some great walking ones (insert eye roll).



4:01 marathon here - best to date


Previously (2010 & 2011), I would go out and run attempting to do what my CTS coaches told me with varying success. As hard as I tried, progress was minimal and my frustration continued to mount.  This fall after Kona was probably the worst, especially after I hurt my foot and couldn't run all of December.

Luckily, my mom asked Chris if he thought I'd want a new IPhone for Christmas (who needs an IPhone 4s?), and he suggested this.  I was very skeptical of the gift and really didn't expect much. I figured I was destined to run slow and wasn't too rushed to go. Not to mention I get 20 days off a year including holidays (umm yes, that really sucks), so it was a challenge to take time off to go.

All winter long I slogged along in cold, ice, wind, etc, with little progress and more than a few tears shed.  So when the day finally came two Tuesdays ago, I was excited and nervous.  Jay immediately put me at ease and within 10 minutes, he was analyzing my feet, legs, strength, mobility, etc.  Next up was a run on this snazzy $2m treadmill.  Talk about feeling self conscious, there were no arms and I had three people watching me run.  Pretty much my worst nightmare!

After about 10 minutes of jogging, he increased the speed for a bit and then started having me do a few drills.  Turns out I completely over stride, but somehow don't extend at all.  The opposite of what I should do.  Jay set me up with some glute exercises, which Lindsay has added to (lucky me), and some other key things that Lindsay had touched on previously after watching some running footage.

The first run out was pretty funny.  I started running and tried to do everything at once.  You'd think I'd know better with all the children I've taught to swim :-)  After that, I gotten smart and I've been concentrating on extension and cadence.

I think the proof is in my running speeds.  This past weekend Chris and I went exploring for our long run.  Mixture of gravel and roads, lots of rolling hills and somehow it was one of the fastest long runs I've ever done with a LOWER heart rate.  But the best part is running is now fun.  I am not fighting the entire time.

Pretty views from Sunday's run

Happy Tuesday :)

Wind

Call me soft, but running in 20 mph winds are not my idea of a good time. Especially when I'm scheduled for a negative split run and mentally the last few long runs have really been a struggle.  Don't get me wrong, I'm much further along then I expected to be after not running at all in December, but at the same time, I had huge hopes after Kona to make some solid gains this winter in running. 

This morning the hour by hour forecast did not look so pleasant.  I may have gotten back in bed after eating my Powerbar this morning and pouted for a bit.  Seriously, who wants to run when it feels like 15d in a high wind advisory??  Not me, the treadmill is perfect for days like this.  But my better half wanted nothing to do with the treadmill, so I sucked it up and got dressed.  Still probably acting like an 8 year old who didn't get her way, but that's besides the point.

Surprisingly, the time went by fairly fast.  I wasn't warm by any stretch and there are moments on the run where I'm a bit embarrassed how slow I was running, but I set out and did what I was scheduled to do.  Not all workouts are going to be perfect, but I'll always remember Lindsay telling me that the only bad workout is the workout I gave up on. 

And now I have a fun workout to go do, 3300 swim that includes 3 x 400 IMs.  Thank goodness part of each 100 is kick / drill because this old 200 flyer can probably not even swim a 50 fly anymore :)