I'm going to have to break this race report into a few posts. Let's start with after Knoxville. I was worried. The bike course killed me. I decided that Jarrett and I would head down to Morgan Monroe State Park in Southern Indiana and ride some of the hills on the Hilly Hundred route. We headed down on a Saturday and met another Team T3 member who was new to the area. She is a Kona qualifier and has completed several IM's over the years. We rode about 30 miles together and then it became very obvious that we were WAY too slow for her so we split-up. Jarrett and I rode another 23 miles together. Our route brought us to a hill called Bean Blossom on 3 separate occasions. It is one of the very few rated hills in Indiana. The first two times I managed to climb the entire hill (it's about 2.5 miles long). The third time, I couldn't make it to the top. I freaked out and had a panic attack in the middle of the hill. Luckily Jarrett got me to calm down and I got back on and finished the stupid thing.
During the ride, I determined that I did not have the appropriate hill climbing gearing on my bike. I was trying very hard to love the 12x25 cassette that came on my bike but I just didn't have enough gears to spin up those hills. I almost always ended up out of the saddle mashing my way to the top. After we left, I did some research and determined that I needed to change to a 11x27 or 11x28. Luckily, the guys at T3 Multisport had an 11x28 in stock and got me all hooked up. I also decided to ditch my aero wheels and go with my lighter weight but less aero original wheelset. We headed back to Morgan Monroe the next weekend and I killed Bean Blossom and some of it's hilly friends. I was feeling much more confident about surviving Coeur d'Alene.
Training for CdA was tough. I traveled a ton leading up to the race and did not get as much training time in as I would have liked. After the Indianapolis Mini Marathon I started to battle some nagging issues with my feet, shins, knees, and hamstrings. My biking and swimming were on track but running was starting to feel like torture. I tapered back to avoid potentially not being able to start at CdA. I do not regret that decision at all.
I dropped my bike off at T3 Multisport on June 19 so TriBike Transport could pick her and my pretty pink Speedo gear bag up and haul them 2900 miles across the country. That was the first time the race felt "real" to me. I spent almost a week getting my bag ready and I can confidently say I thought of everything - except for hand warmers.
Jarrett and I flew from Indy to Denver and then Spokane on the Thursday before the race. When we landed in Spokane we were surrounded by beautiful mountains. The weather was cool and sunny. We rented a car and decided to grab lunch in Spokane before we drove the 30 miles east to Coeur d'Alene. I picked a fantastic little pub called Elk Public House. I enjoyed a tasty lamb sandwich and some chips. We rolled into CdA about 11 am. We were staying at the host hotel - The Coeur d'Alene Resort and Spa. It was amazing. The lake was beautiful and the entire town was adorable.
We headed over to TriBike transport to get my gear bag. I had packed my USAT card in my bag and I needed it to be able to check-in. Athlete check-in went very quickly. The Ironman event planners are super organized and the volunteers running the tables were efficient. They banded me and gave me all my bags and stuff and we headed back to the hotel. On our way we stopped to check out the lake. There was a pretty stiff wind and it was super choppy. All of the athletes getting out of the water were complaining about the rough conditions and the cold temps. Lake temps were about 51-53 degrees.
Jarrett and I explored the town a little while we waited for our rooms to be ready. There is a lot of art galleries and very cool bronzes and statues on the street corners. Once we got our rooms we picked-up my bike and spent the evening relaxing.
Friday morning I got up and went for my first swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene. It was choppy and cold but I survived. In fact, I kind of enjoyed it. Except for the frozen feet. I made fun of the people at Knoxville wearing neoprene booties with their wetsuits...now I wish I had them. We did some shopping a the Expo and then went out to drive the bike course. Unlike, Rev3, WTC had the bike course clearly marked DAYS before the race.
The course was interesting. There was a pretty significant hill in the first 8 miles and then it was flat until mile 20ish. That's where the fun started. I would describe the hills as rolling with two significant climbs all crammed between miles 20-48. Then it was flat/down-hill coming back into town. The bike course was 56 miles and you had to do it twice. Everything at CdA was two loops - swim, bike, and run. After driving the bike, I felt a lot better. The ride was going to be challenging but you were actually rewarded with some flats and downhill sections, unlike Knoxville.
The rest of Friday was spent relaxing and packing my transition bags. My bike along with my T1 and T2 bags had to be dropped off Saturday. We headed to the movies and saw Bridesmaids before going to bed extra early.
Part 2: Race Day! Finally!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Knoxville Rev3 70.3
A very late race report for Knoxville!
We got to town on Friday afternoon and did packet pick-up. It was fast since not many racers had arrived. Knoxville is a really cool town and Jarrett and I explored a little Friday evening before heading back to the hotel. I got up early on Saturday to do the practice swim. I had only done one open water swim prior to the race and I was wearing a new wetsuit. Rev3 sponsored a guarded swim with pros coaching in the water. I was one of the few that swam the entire 1.2 mile course but it felt good so I just went with it. We had every intention of driving the bike course but the map provided by Rev3 was useless. Several other athletes had attempted to find the course and failed so we decided I'd just have to wing it. We went to dinner at Bravo on Saturday night and I shared some lasagna with Jarrett and then we headed to see Water for Elephants at the movies in an effort to calm my nerves.
Sunday morning started with my traditional breakfast of Poptarts and Diet Coke and then we loaded up to head into town. We left later then we should have and I ended up being VERY rushed to get my stuff set-up in transition. Luckily, I got everything assembled before they kicked us out. The weather was fairly cool and the river water temp was around 65 degrees. I suited up and headed over to watch the pros start. The rest of the athletes started in 3 waves. This race was a 70.3 combined with an Olympic distance. There were not that many athletes doing the 70.3 so the waves went quick. The ladies were last and before I knew it we were off.
Swim: 45:08 - The swim was up river around a buoy and then back down river. Sounds like we would have a great advantage swimming downstream? Wrong. The winds picked-up significantly and were blowing right in our face on the way back taking away what little advantage the current might have given us. Overall, I was not horrified by my swim time, especially after learning the swim was long by about 0.3 miles.
T1: 3:58 - Slow as heck. I had an issue getting out of my wetsuit and then I was kind (dumb) enough to help the poor guy next to me who was struggling even more.
Bike: 3:35:13 - The bike course kicked my ass. It was hills followed by more hills followed by a false flat followed by more hills. I rarely could get in aero and it seemed that around ever corner lurked another hill. I have never been so happy to be off my bike. Not to mention my stomach was KILLING me. I could hardly eat anything. I was way behind on nutrition at the end of the bike and I knew that the run was going to be awful.
T2: 3:13 - Slow because Jarrett was standing at the fence and I felt the need to crab to him about the horrid bike course.
Run: 2:27:15 - Another slow run. The run course, much like the bike course was full of hills. My lack of nutrition on the bike was making running almost impossible. My stomach really, really hurt. Thankfully, I can put up with just about anything for 13.1 miles and I made it to the finish.
Total Time: 6:54:47 - 51 minutes slower then Augusta. Ouch. To be fair, this course was tough. Several other folks became ill during/shortly after the race which may indicate some sort of an issue with the river water or maybe we all just had a bug. I felt like crap for almost a week. I also learned I better get my shit together on the hills before Coeur d'Alene.
Will I race Knoxville again? Maybe. Rev3 put on a decent race. I'm not going to lie. WTC who puts on Ironman branded events does it better. With time I'm sure Rev3 will work out their issues and also be a top-notch event organizer. They did have awesome tech t-shirts, finishers medals, and visors. Unfortunately, they did not have any live athlete tracking so your family members had to just twiddle their thumbs wondering when you might show up again. The bike course was also not marked well. No volunteers standing telling you where to turn. You had to pay attention to signs posted at corners. Seriously? I did not miss any turns but I saw several people who did.
We got to town on Friday afternoon and did packet pick-up. It was fast since not many racers had arrived. Knoxville is a really cool town and Jarrett and I explored a little Friday evening before heading back to the hotel. I got up early on Saturday to do the practice swim. I had only done one open water swim prior to the race and I was wearing a new wetsuit. Rev3 sponsored a guarded swim with pros coaching in the water. I was one of the few that swam the entire 1.2 mile course but it felt good so I just went with it. We had every intention of driving the bike course but the map provided by Rev3 was useless. Several other athletes had attempted to find the course and failed so we decided I'd just have to wing it. We went to dinner at Bravo on Saturday night and I shared some lasagna with Jarrett and then we headed to see Water for Elephants at the movies in an effort to calm my nerves.
Sunday morning started with my traditional breakfast of Poptarts and Diet Coke and then we loaded up to head into town. We left later then we should have and I ended up being VERY rushed to get my stuff set-up in transition. Luckily, I got everything assembled before they kicked us out. The weather was fairly cool and the river water temp was around 65 degrees. I suited up and headed over to watch the pros start. The rest of the athletes started in 3 waves. This race was a 70.3 combined with an Olympic distance. There were not that many athletes doing the 70.3 so the waves went quick. The ladies were last and before I knew it we were off.
Swim: 45:08 - The swim was up river around a buoy and then back down river. Sounds like we would have a great advantage swimming downstream? Wrong. The winds picked-up significantly and were blowing right in our face on the way back taking away what little advantage the current might have given us. Overall, I was not horrified by my swim time, especially after learning the swim was long by about 0.3 miles.
T1: 3:58 - Slow as heck. I had an issue getting out of my wetsuit and then I was kind (dumb) enough to help the poor guy next to me who was struggling even more.
Bike: 3:35:13 - The bike course kicked my ass. It was hills followed by more hills followed by a false flat followed by more hills. I rarely could get in aero and it seemed that around ever corner lurked another hill. I have never been so happy to be off my bike. Not to mention my stomach was KILLING me. I could hardly eat anything. I was way behind on nutrition at the end of the bike and I knew that the run was going to be awful.
T2: 3:13 - Slow because Jarrett was standing at the fence and I felt the need to crab to him about the horrid bike course.
Run: 2:27:15 - Another slow run. The run course, much like the bike course was full of hills. My lack of nutrition on the bike was making running almost impossible. My stomach really, really hurt. Thankfully, I can put up with just about anything for 13.1 miles and I made it to the finish.
Total Time: 6:54:47 - 51 minutes slower then Augusta. Ouch. To be fair, this course was tough. Several other folks became ill during/shortly after the race which may indicate some sort of an issue with the river water or maybe we all just had a bug. I felt like crap for almost a week. I also learned I better get my shit together on the hills before Coeur d'Alene.
Will I race Knoxville again? Maybe. Rev3 put on a decent race. I'm not going to lie. WTC who puts on Ironman branded events does it better. With time I'm sure Rev3 will work out their issues and also be a top-notch event organizer. They did have awesome tech t-shirts, finishers medals, and visors. Unfortunately, they did not have any live athlete tracking so your family members had to just twiddle their thumbs wondering when you might show up again. The bike course was also not marked well. No volunteers standing telling you where to turn. You had to pay attention to signs posted at corners. Seriously? I did not miss any turns but I saw several people who did.
Monday, May 9, 2011
A quick note...
It's been awhile since I've posted. What have I been doing? It can be summed up as: work, sleep, eat, train - repeat. This year has been crazy busy. My new position at work has me traveling a lot. I miss being home and it makes it hard to get in long bike rides during the week. I have done a 15.5 mile treadmill run on a hotel treadmill. Pure torture. Swimming is another challenge. I've found a few good pools but many times the swim gets sacrificed until I'm home. Not only is travel interfering, but the weather has been TERRIBLE this year! It's been cold and rainy since February. I have not done a single open water swim yet this year which is going to make for an interesting first race on Sunday.
Ironman is just around the corner. Training has been hard. I wish I had more time but at the same time I feel like I'm going to be ready...or as ready as I'm going to be!
On Saturday I ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. I finished in 2:05:19. That is a 7-second race PR over last year. I really wanted to finish in under two-hours but it wasn't meant to be. I hit the wall at mile 9 and unfortunately my mind would not get past the discomfort and allow me to push through the last 4 miles. I will beat my PR this year and break 2:00:00. It may not be until the fall, but it will happen. Luckily, I my buddy Andrea showed up in my corral on race morning. She kept my spirits up and we ran most of the race together. It was a good reminder of how much I enjoy running with friends and that I need to make time to train with people.
Jarrett has been a wonderful husband and training partner this year. Not only has he dealt with my craze work and training schedule, he's also come along with me on my long rides. This weekend we rode out to Heritage Lake, about a 60 mile round-trip ride and then I took a little ride around the airport to make my ride 72 miles. The Heritage Lake ride is great. It has hills and two opportunities to make pit stops with clean bathrooms :)
This weekend is Rev3 Knoxville Half-Iron distance race (70.3 miles of fun). Do I feel prepared? Sure. Am I still nervous? Absolutely! It is kind of surreal making my FIRST tri of the year a HIM. Hopefully I remember how to set-up a transition area ;)
Since Jarrett will be traveling with me to the race, we had to find a suitable option for pet care. I feel bad inconveniencing our parents with puppy sitting so we located a local service that came highly recommended by our vet. We are crossing our fingers that all goes well. Maddie is now on Prozac to help deal with her anxiety. So far, it seems to be helping but this will be her first time with a complete stranger. We are hoping that since she gets to stay in her house she will deal with it a little better.
Frosty is awesome this year! We did our first horse show Easter weekend. It was a giant muddy mess but he did pretty well. He was a bit naughty for our first dressage test and we didn't score that well but our second test was the best dressage score we have ever had. It was good enough to put us in 3rd place! Unfortunately he ended up refusing the LAST fence jumping and we didn't place. Overall, I'm happy with how the day went. We did much better then at our last show and he and I are both improving. His jumping has gotten significantly better too. The bad part about all of my travel for work is now I get to see him even less. I hope that things calm down a bit and I can spend more time at the barn this summer and fall after CdA is over.
I will post a race report after Knoxville! Wish me luck :)
Ironman is just around the corner. Training has been hard. I wish I had more time but at the same time I feel like I'm going to be ready...or as ready as I'm going to be!
On Saturday I ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. I finished in 2:05:19. That is a 7-second race PR over last year. I really wanted to finish in under two-hours but it wasn't meant to be. I hit the wall at mile 9 and unfortunately my mind would not get past the discomfort and allow me to push through the last 4 miles. I will beat my PR this year and break 2:00:00. It may not be until the fall, but it will happen. Luckily, I my buddy Andrea showed up in my corral on race morning. She kept my spirits up and we ran most of the race together. It was a good reminder of how much I enjoy running with friends and that I need to make time to train with people.
Jarrett has been a wonderful husband and training partner this year. Not only has he dealt with my craze work and training schedule, he's also come along with me on my long rides. This weekend we rode out to Heritage Lake, about a 60 mile round-trip ride and then I took a little ride around the airport to make my ride 72 miles. The Heritage Lake ride is great. It has hills and two opportunities to make pit stops with clean bathrooms :)
This weekend is Rev3 Knoxville Half-Iron distance race (70.3 miles of fun). Do I feel prepared? Sure. Am I still nervous? Absolutely! It is kind of surreal making my FIRST tri of the year a HIM. Hopefully I remember how to set-up a transition area ;)
Since Jarrett will be traveling with me to the race, we had to find a suitable option for pet care. I feel bad inconveniencing our parents with puppy sitting so we located a local service that came highly recommended by our vet. We are crossing our fingers that all goes well. Maddie is now on Prozac to help deal with her anxiety. So far, it seems to be helping but this will be her first time with a complete stranger. We are hoping that since she gets to stay in her house she will deal with it a little better.
Frosty is awesome this year! We did our first horse show Easter weekend. It was a giant muddy mess but he did pretty well. He was a bit naughty for our first dressage test and we didn't score that well but our second test was the best dressage score we have ever had. It was good enough to put us in 3rd place! Unfortunately he ended up refusing the LAST fence jumping and we didn't place. Overall, I'm happy with how the day went. We did much better then at our last show and he and I are both improving. His jumping has gotten significantly better too. The bad part about all of my travel for work is now I get to see him even less. I hope that things calm down a bit and I can spend more time at the barn this summer and fall after CdA is over.
I will post a race report after Knoxville! Wish me luck :)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Dear Winter - GO AWAY!
Today is the first "snow" day I've had in 13 years. Indianapolis is covered in a slippery layer of ice and I am firmly trapped inside my house. Tomorrow I will be forced to leave the cocoon and go back to work. Luckily, Jarrett has agreed to drive me since he has the car with 4 wheel drive. It is frustrating being stuck. I've missed three days of workouts because of the storm. Tomorrow will be a long night at the gym.
I've been working on my 2011 race schedule. Here's the tentative version:
2/6/2011 - Groundhog 7 - Highly unlikely this race is going to happen. The trail is covered in ice and it is not suppose to warm up by Sunday to melt the mess.
3/26/2011 - Sam Costa 13.1
4/10/2011 - Holy Half 13.1
4/23/2011 - Wabash Valley Pony Club Horse Show
5/7/2011 - Indianapolis Mini Marathon
5/15/2011 - Rev3 Knoxville Half Iron (70.3)
6/4/2011 - Sunburst 13.1
6/26/2011 - Couer d'Alene Ironman 140.6
8/7/2011 - Tri Indy Olympic
8/27/2011 - Go Girl Sprint
9/11/2011 - Rev3 Cedar Point Half Iron (70.3)
I may do some shorter foot races and some bike time trails throughout the summer. Depending on how I feel after CdA, I may do a sprint in July. The current plan is to take the month and recover from the race. I am hoping that I feel well enough after about two weeks to get back into training and possibly racing.
My biggest struggle right now is my stupid feet. I got fitted for custom orthotics at the end of December. They are doing wonders for my knees and hips but they are tearing up my arches. I bought new shoes and I'm taking those back this weekend. After logging 13 miles in them, the blisters on my arches say NO MORE! I'm moving into a more neutral shoe to see if that helps.
I logged 39.5 hours of training in January and I feel pretty comfortable with my base level of fitness at this point. I cannot wait to get back outside. I'm going crazy being in they gym for hours! I need the fresh air and the wind in my face!
I've been working on my 2011 race schedule. Here's the tentative version:
2/6/2011 - Groundhog 7 - Highly unlikely this race is going to happen. The trail is covered in ice and it is not suppose to warm up by Sunday to melt the mess.
3/26/2011 - Sam Costa 13.1
4/10/2011 - Holy Half 13.1
4/23/2011 - Wabash Valley Pony Club Horse Show
5/7/2011 - Indianapolis Mini Marathon
5/15/2011 - Rev3 Knoxville Half Iron (70.3)
6/4/2011 - Sunburst 13.1
6/26/2011 - Couer d'Alene Ironman 140.6
8/7/2011 - Tri Indy Olympic
8/27/2011 - Go Girl Sprint
9/11/2011 - Rev3 Cedar Point Half Iron (70.3)
I may do some shorter foot races and some bike time trails throughout the summer. Depending on how I feel after CdA, I may do a sprint in July. The current plan is to take the month and recover from the race. I am hoping that I feel well enough after about two weeks to get back into training and possibly racing.
My biggest struggle right now is my stupid feet. I got fitted for custom orthotics at the end of December. They are doing wonders for my knees and hips but they are tearing up my arches. I bought new shoes and I'm taking those back this weekend. After logging 13 miles in them, the blisters on my arches say NO MORE! I'm moving into a more neutral shoe to see if that helps.
I logged 39.5 hours of training in January and I feel pretty comfortable with my base level of fitness at this point. I cannot wait to get back outside. I'm going crazy being in they gym for hours! I need the fresh air and the wind in my face!
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