[Race Report] Boulder Sunset

From the minute I returned from vacation I felt weird about this race. It didn't feel like a normal race. I made it to packet pick-up on Friday, where I normally at least feel some excited nervous energy but...nothing. I know I hadn't trained enough. I knew I wasn't ready for some stellar performance and quite frankly, so much had been going on in my life and stellar multisport training wasn't exactly on the forefront of my mind. For the past few weeks, I mostly I just wanted to get on my road bike and ride long, steady, endless distances.

I woke up that morning at 5:30. Thrown off because my race wasn't until 10. I didn't even need to leave the house until 7. I dawdled around, getting my act together, but much more slowly than I ever prep for race day. Normally I'm high energy, nervous, excited...yeah, none of it.

I drove to Boulder and set up transition in about 8 minutes flat. My rubberbands for my aero-bottle snapped so I gave up on that. I did ask the Kompetitive Edge tent if they had the things to secure aero-bottles, but no such luck. I'd brought an extra bottle of water so instead I just threw the bottles in the normal holders and though it meant about 10 oz. less of water, it was still close enough.

Starting my run warm-up my knee felt a little off. "Great," I thought, "just what I need." But after some drills it seemed to loosen up. Who knows. The bike warm-up went all right, but I could feel that my lack of practice on my tri bike was going to wear on me because I could feel the tension between my shoulder blades.

By the time I was done, it was barely 9 am. Race didn't start until 10:10. Cool. So I stood in transition, downing water. I remembered I usually try to drink a ton of Gatorade so... -1 pt Andrea. I started milling around and also remember I'd left my timing chip at home. Awesome. -2 pts Andrea. They were luckily able to give me a new one (so I guess, +1 pt?) and by that time it was around 9:20 and I went to get in my wetsuit.

The water was VERY VERY cold. I did two laps of the mini swim area thinking that it was probably the coldest water I've ever swam in. I was surprised because I thought it was going to be around 74-degrees and I know I've swam in the mid-60s.

Still, no jitters. My stomach felt pretty empty though. When you're used to being ready to race at 7 am, but now you have to wait until 10, fueling is kind of...hard. I thought back to Nationals in 2012, when I raced the open division and just sat around eating pretzels all morning. Pretzels probably would've been a good decision. Or, ya know, GATORADE. Oops.

I met two guys in the water and we started just chatting about the race and gels and such nonsense.

Ok so fast forward through me standing around to the actual swim.
The swim felt pretty great for the first half. I focused on using the back half of my stroke. I felt like I was flying. 1 buoy, 2 buoys, boom boom boom. I couldn't believe how fast I got to the first turn buoy. I thought "well maybe something good will come of today!" As I neared the second buoy my left goggle starting filling up with water. Boooo. But it was a departure from the salt water in my eyes I'd been dealing with while diving on vacation and so even though I had water splashing around my eye, it didn't seem all that irritating.

As I made the second turn, I felt that I went too wide. As always with this course, siting on the way in was nearly impossible. I kept trying to site the big red finish arch, but it always resulted in me going out way too far left. I finally got back on course thinking "ok, maybe my little out-left detour won't be too awful." Finally I started seeing the orange siting buoys and then all of a sudden - woosh - our course intersected with the sprinter course and the fast male sprinters swam straight over me. "Well, at least I guess that means I'm on course pretty well if they're all smacking into me," I thought. However, this was a little jarring and continually happened for a good 200 meters as more and more came barreling through the end of their course.

Now normally, a little kicking and hitting doesn't faze me, but this was just... a lot all at once. I didn't panic or stick my head up but I knew it was severely breaking down any sort of form to be getting hit so often. Plus I knew I'd slowed down with my (a) detour, (b) difficulty siting and (c) I was getting tired!

I came out of the water in the high 35s. I watched my watch hit 36 mins as I ran to transition up the hill of sand. Apparently I finally hit the transition mat around 37 mins. *sigh* It could be way worse but I'd just really like to break 34 mins in the swim. Then again, I need to actually do work when training if I want to do that so... my own fault. I probably should be glad I got as close to normal as I did.

I got on my bike without any problems, headed out of the reservoir and man it felt like people were speeding past me. That is not usually my experience on the bike, but then I saw it was the 30-something and collegiate male sprinters.  Alright well - ok then. I chugged along over the rollers, not feeling great. Definitely really really hungry. Oops. I could feel the pit in my stomach full of water...and nothing else.

At about 35 mins I took my first Gu and was happy to get in some calories and wash it down with some water. I could tell I was drinking less water than I normally would because I had to think, reach down for the bottle, and actively drink (as opposed to the straw smacking me in the nose as if to say "DRINK ME, STUPID"). I also could tell this was slowing me down, because even though I kept pedaling while drinking, I wasn't able to lay down as much power with a bottle in my hand - I was focusing more on stabilizing than power output.

I came through an hour at 17.54 miles. Eesh. NOT what I expected. In June, I'd come through at 18.55 so I was a full mile per hour behind my time. My hamstrings felt awful, my abs felt awful, the hills seemed so much larger than I remembered. At least it was almost time for another Gu! It was around then that I realized "Oh. My abs feel awful because it's the cramps. My hamstrings feel awful because they haven't sat on my TT bike since the end of July. Oh yeah." I still was bummed because I'm training most of my rides faster than or around 17.5 for much longer, hillier rides so... no excuses.

Coming back in through transition I honestly had no idea of my average. I think I'd given up on my race at that point. I believe I came through with an average of 16.7 mph. A pathetic performance, really. Dismounting I felt the all too familiar abdominal cramps that told me "Seriously, Andrea? You know better than this." That's what I get for being an idiot about nutrition and hydration. I winced through T2 and stood there and drank more water out of my bottle. I never run in socks, but knowing it was going to be a long run with these cramps, I was thankful I'd listened to my Grandma who on the phone the night before said "you should pack some socks - just in case!" They were stashed in the side pocket of my transition bag, so I grabbed them and put them on.

I walked out of transition, squeezing my stomach, trying to get the cramps to release. I stopped my Garmin, but let my race clock on my left wrist keep ticking as I pulled into the first water stop, maybe .2 miles into the run. I bent over and asked for salt. The volunteers looked at me bewildered, so I just grabbed some water and lemon-lime gatorade (gross, but I needed it) and stood there trying to get my muscles to release. I'd been here before, so many times. Workouts, races, you name it - with my damn abs cramping. I was feeling pretty calm, honestly. Debating if I should even continue. I thought to myself "if you can get them to release, you may as well finish, because DNFs blow...but so does walking 6.2 miles... that's really long." A race official who was less bewildered for my request for salt, had dashed over somewhere and brought me back six packets. I thanked him and immediately poured one into my mouth. SO DRY. I washed it down with LOTS of water.

"Are you going to be able to make it?" He asked.
"Yeah, if I can get this to release I can probably bang this run out in about an hour," I said.
"Well, you have two hours until the time cut off, so you're good."
"Honestly, I've done so many of these at this point, I'm kind of wondering if it's even worth it. We'll see," I replied.

After 5 cups of water, 2 salt packets, about 2 oz of Gatorade (because I was choking it down as I could), and about 15 mins at the rest stop, I felt the pain start to ease up. One of the volunteers really wanted me to finish. It was sweet, actually. It reminded me that so many people do these things just to finish. This sport is really hard. Not everyone can max out at it.

I set out to try one lap and see how it went.

Funny that within seconds I ran up on one of the guys I had been talking to earlier that morning. "I thought you said you were a runner?" I said, jokingly (and knowingly because...this stuff ain't easy). Brett told me a similar story of cramping and I sympathized. He only had one lap left to his run though (LUCKY!) and we agreed to run it together.

We spent about 25 mins distracting each other from the utter hell that triathlon can unleash upon your body. He ran ahead with about .5 miles to go as I felt myself starting to break down again. It was amusing as always that when I was running, I was usually holding between an 8:50 and a 9:10 min/mile but then my chest hurt, my heart rate went up...and I just needed a break. Kids, don't try this at home.

Coming through my first lap, the volunteer who I'd spent so much time doubled-over next to handed me 3 cups of water (lol) and said "Look at you! You were going to quit and now you're almost done!" Then I made the loop and he handed me 3 more cups. I must've looked like crap (understandably so).

I honestly didn't feel all that bad. I mean, yes, it was super hot and every time I ran my heart rate went through the roof, but my muscles weren't anywhere near their limits. I was much much stronger than anything I'd done that day but I just hadn't fueled myself to prove it.

Walking/running the last 5k I met a woman doing the duathlon, and we agreed that rain would be nice. I met another girl my age, named Lauren, doing her first sprint. I assured her that as you do more you get better - and that while I was having a bad day, experience usually makes it easier. I met an older man who congratulated me - and I felt like such a poser. I should be congratulating him - there was nothing to congratulate me about yesterday. There were a few other exchanges along the way and even though I couldn't get my body to do what I knew I was capable of, I actually had....FUN?!

I didn't let a bad attitude get the best of me. I didn't pay attention to time or even feel like a failure. I was kind of glad I kept going. I finished in 3:40 (probably more like 3:25 of actual moving time without my long "abs stop cramping" stop), which is 3 mins faster than my first Olympic distance during which I almost blacked out. See, I've come so far! -sarcasm-

I think yesterday served as a reminder that, hey, guess what Andrea, triathlon is actually really difficult. It's pretty impressive that you can race it and post times that are fairly decent in all three sports on a regular basis because... that's not easy. You can't just not train, and not have the right nutrition and...do something like that. It gave me a sense of respect for the sport that I'd had and lost.

In the interest of being candid I am totally burnt out on tri at the moment. I've stopped feeling excited and driven and so I think it's time for a break. I'm going to spend the fall and winter just doing whatever workouts I want to do (which probably means riding my bike all the time) and then when March comes around I'll evaluate whether there is a multisport season in store for me or if 2015 is going to be the year I take a break.

...the funny thing is I am fairly sure I will be doing a sprint in September so, maybe that will change my mind.

[Race Report] South Table Mountain Criterium

See what happens when you take a whole month off racing (nothing really, except apparently my training gets a little ...spotty).

I actually did do a 4-mile race on July 4. My chip time says 9:40s on that one, but my Garmin said 9:25s. Everyone else's Garmin said the course was long AND I had to tie my shoe so... we're going with Garmin because I like it better.

ANYWAY that is NOT what this report is about. This report is about my very stressful, but ultimately successful morning at the South Table Mountain/Boulder Orthopedics Criterium.

I signed up for this race because I was originally going to do the one last week in Littleton, until I saw how tame this course looked in terms of technical turns. It is on a closed course "track" that the Colorado State Police uses for training and other things.. I suppose. 

However, two nights ago I had this awful dream that there were only two women in my category and so they made a big "mixed" category where they threw a whole bunch of people in together and she was always chasing me and she looked super fierce and aero and... anxiety. Then I woke up the next morning, told my friend about the dream, looked at the registrants and saw there were only two women registered (including me)! Well, I about lost it. I've been having a really tough few weeks and this was just another thing to throw me over the tipping point. By the end of online registration that evening, we were a field of 4 women. If nothing else, this was going to be interesting. 

I woke up naturally this morning at 5:07, 8 minutes before my alarm. I decided that instead of trying to close my eyes for a few min, I would allow myself to wake up just a touch more slowly. It was so early :( but I got my butt up and for ONCE was ahead of schedule (good thing too). On my drive up, I was being stupid - or maybe just half asleep - and turned too early to get on the freeway. I ended up arriving at the track only 30 min before my race. NOT ideal. 

I hustled over to pick up my race bib, but because it was so early the volunteers were still sort of figuring out their process AND the porto-potties hadn't arrived yet so there was only one and a sizable line. Well, I decided that having the urge the WHOLE RACE would be worse than not getting as much of a warm-up so I waited in line. 

(I know, this is a 40-min race and I haven't even gotten to the race part yet. I promise, exposition almost done.)

Pulling my bike out of my car, I'd just put new pedals and cleats on my shoes and they were making a bit of a rattling noise. So after tightening those down (thankfully, my brain was sort of functioning at 5:20 to realize I'd probably want to bring some tools), I headed off on a warm up lap. 

The course was, as I suspected, not very technical. I think the toughest part was dealing with some loose gravel, which had been largely cleaned up. That and figuring out how best to set up the chicane on the back side of the course to navigate gravel, take the shortest path, and not - ya know - crash.

I came through one lap at 6:55. I considered starting out on one more, but another woman turned around and 3 were riding up to the line so I thought "welp, that is just going to have to do!" I ran back to my car to take in a little more water, and then came up to the line. At least half of the field was already there, so I was glad I made that decision. One more rider came up and the official said "ok, well that is everyone." *phew* We were 8 cat 4 women and one junior woman (let me tell you, she was one fierce junior woman too, but that is for later in the report). While making announcement, the race director kind of looked at me like "are you a junior woman too?" I mean, I get I'm not all kitted out in team gear and look at least 5 years younger than most of the women on the starting line (because, well, I am) but... 18, really?

I was also having some bizarre issue with my new cleats. My right foot...which I push off on would NOT clip in. Awesome. I was worried I was going to make it through one lap and have to pull off for a mechanical. Damn new clips. 

At the line, I know you're supposed to start on it to start in a good position. I mean, I guess I should've... but with such a small group, I didn't know what to expect and certainly am not capable of pulling these ladies for very long. In fact, I'd probably piss them off trying to figure out how to take the corners for the first few laps. So, as we went off, I secured a place... pretty much dead last in the group. *sigh* That wasn't what I wanted and I knew this would leave me vying for places for the entire race. Hey, at least my cleat had gone in the pedal so... small victory. I was next to the junior woman, who made a push to change up the pack, another girl went behind her and I went with her, but on the first corner she got so aggressive one woman was like "hey, I'm on your right" as she veered into her and then she basically just shoved me out of the second corner. I thought to myself "ok, whatever hot shot. I'm not crashing my brand new bike just because you have a power complex about these corners." So she made it up to second or third wheel, which is actually a really good position...but almost took some of us out along the way. I wasn't interested. The rest of us dropped back after her shenanigans.

Shortly after that, around the third lap, I started to get dropped off the back. My insufficient warm-up definitely didn't help the fact that (a) I wasn't quite ready to ride at this effort and (b) I hadn't analyzed how to knock out the corners. They never got too far ahead of me and I knew they tended to take the slightly uphill straight-away pretty easily. So I worked. I worked really. freaking. hard. They were not so much better that I couldn't hold on. Gasping for air, I gassed it to grab the wheel. God, this is why I hate being in the back. Playing yo-yo is no fun. But, sure enough, we hit the straight away and they eased up as they did up the hill and I grabbed the woman's wheel in front of me. It was so demoralizing coming through and seeing the spectators. I knew what they were thinking "oh, here we go, they're gonna weed the weak ones out - there, she's falling off." I wasn't weak. I just wasn't ready. I needed to get my head in the game. 

Back in the pack, I had flashbacks to sucking wind at my last crit. (My last crit I was dropped three times, largely due to the crashes that strung us out.) "I'm not doing that again," I told myself. So I didn't. I held the heck on and soon enough we were at 5 laps to go. For you non-bike racers, this is when the race turns from a "timed" race into a distance race. I half expected the women to start gunning it. They didn't though. As we came up the slight hill, I thought I felt a surge, but they backed off. That, or I held on alright. We just kept cruising. Around 4 laps to go I started vying for position. I was done riding in the freaking back. I came up on the right to see if I could get some girls to chicken out of riding that tight against the road with someone next to them. I almost did until one woman said "I'm holding her wheel," meaning "I'm not freaking moving." I responded with "Ok" but didn't ease up. Luckily the two women behind me did back off and I managed to grab 7th wheel. SUCCESS. 

We came around with 2 laps to go. Still not much in the way of aggression. I also realized this one girl had been pulling almost the entire time. Seriously? I mean, (a) that makes her so fierce, (b) none of you hot-shot wannabe cat 3s wanted to help a sister out?...where was the junior girl who was so into slamming us all into crappy situations? Oh, right...second wheel. Wheelsucker.

Finally as we came into the final lap, I could feel the tension. We wanted to go. There were some small moves. We did end up breaking into two-lines and shuffling around. Even I had more power, so as we entered the chicane and I was finally taking my corners like a baller, I followed this woman who was easing up the left. She backed off but I thought... "Well, I mean, I'm not going to get anything great out of the sprint..." so as we hit the last corner, I went and a few girls went with me! "Haha, look at me, making an attack like a baller" until we reached the 200m sign and I realized I was third wheel. Uh oh... here we go. Pretty much as I realized that and started "sprinting" I watched as a few girls gassed it and just TOOK OFF. Geeeeezz. I wish I could sprint like that but, the life of triathlon training is 75% steady state so let me tell you about my sprint muscles... oh yeah, I don't have any :D

I finished around 5 or 6 in the end. NOT LAST AND I DIDN'T GET DROPPED (read: what I most care about)! Not bad at all for my second crit ever. During the cool down lap I was next to the girl who pulled the whole way. I introduced myself and told her that I thought she was really strong and that I was super impressed. I could tell she was a little sad she didn't win. I would be too if I pulled the whole group for 40 min! She was really disappointed no one bothered to come share in the suffering. I felt a little guilty I never did, but truly I would've pulled one lap and then probably compromised the whole rest of my race. I mean, really, I was sitting at the back the whole time. She told me she wasn't much of a sprinter either, so I shared in her pain. Still, she's first in my book because any girl who can pull a pack of women for 40 minutes at about 23 mph must be pretty tough and tired.

I pulled off and put my bike in my car. A woman from the cycling team who was holding the event stopped me and said "I was really glad to see you get back on the group out there." I felt proud. People noticed me getting dropped and then coming back from behind and having a pretty solid mid-pack performance. ;) #don'tcallitacomeback 

This was a big break through race for me because I learned so much about cornering - even if they were tame, and got over some of my fears. During the last few laps I was taking the corners nice and tight and not being a lame-o scaredy cat or sliding off the group. It definitely makes me feel like this really is something I can do. I'm hanging in there with women who ride for teams, train with teams, practice this stuff all the time...and all I do is ride 2-4 times a week on my own or in small groups. This makes me think that being on a team would be endlessly helpful for my growth as a racer...and maybe I'll even learn how to sprint! :)

See ya back here, same time, same place, in two weeks after the Boulder Sunset Triathlon!

[Race Report] Colorado TT Championship

It figures that my first TT of the year would the the state championship, huh? (If you don't include the tri I did a few weeks ago).

Starting off the day I was running behind. It was entirely my fault, but it added to some stress. While I wasn't in any way thinking that I would place, I was hoping to have a good day. I had taken the past two days off because I was super sore. I'm sorry to report that this wasn't from some super impressive amount of swimming, biking, or running but instead (perhaps pathetically) because on bike to work day on Wednesday, I spent from 1-4 pm (or a cumulative of 90min- 2hrs) in a dance rehearsal for a company skit. Here I found myself using my muscles and body in different ways that pathetically left my quads and hip flexors laughably sore for about 60 hours. Yes. I know. I can do a 65-mile bike ride, but please don't ask me to dance. Lame.

I showed up about 35 minutes before my start time. Not ideal, but it is what it is. Setting up I asked Joel what time it was only to hear that I started in less than 10 minutes. I quickly clipped in to get maybe 5 min of warm up time. I found myself rolling up to the starting like 2 min before my start time. A race organizer was yelling "Andrea?" about to cross my name off the list as a DNS. Luckily I pulled into the back of the women's cat 4 line just in time for him to line me up with the rest of the racers - 3rd wheel to start. Great.

Starting out I felt very nervous. I had trouble getting onto my bike with the man behind me holding me up...purely, I think, because I was a little jittery. I went off and could tell that the course was going to be cruising. I had to find a balance between working hard and overdoing it. I knew that if it felt this good going out that it had to be rough riding on the way back. I told myself to use the course to my advantage and take the speed. Soon enough, the woman directly behind me passed me. She had made up 30 seconds in a little over a mile and I'd done my first mile at 27.2 mph (and was onto my second during which I averaged 28.7). GEEZ!

Coming into the first half hour, I was averaging 23.7 mph. My goal having been 19, I knew I was doing well but that it would soon come to its end once I got stuck in the opposite direction. Not sure at the time if it was tail wind or a false flat, I knew it was something.

I trucked along, pushing myself to maintain a hard effort. I was cruising at about 22 and then we turned around. The wind, while I've experienced worse, was pretty trying. At one point it blew me straight across the road and back. Coming into the hour mark, I had dropped down to 21 mph and could tell it was only going to go down from there. Knowing there wasn't much left, I told myself to push as hard as I could. The pain was only temporary, no running afterwards, and so I could just subject myself to it. It felt like almost the entire field had passed me at this point so the other people didn't matter - it was just me and my race.

I finished up in 1:14:28 which is right at the 20 mph mark. I was really happy with this because my goal had been 19, my secret goal had been 20, and if I were below 18, I would've been seriously disappointed.

I still did finish dead last in my category, but someone has to do it. I also noticed the top 2 women in our category beat all the women in the category above us that is supposed to be "harder." In fact, our top 8 women had times that were comparable to those in the category above us.

While in the rankings, my race was only ok and I am glad that I at least kept 20 so as to not totally embarrass myself against women who were holding 25 mph for a 40k race, I'm still pretty happy with the race itself. I was able to hold a pace equal to some of my best triathlon paces (and TT paces, for that matter). If that were a triathlon course, I couldn't have maxed out in quite the same way, but it was still reassuring.

Captured by the race photographer who was all up in our faces

Race Report: Boulder Sunrise

After a serious tri nightmare, I awoke this morning surprisingly calm and composed. I drove North to get Jaclyn, waking her up because her alarm didn't go off, and carting us off to Boulder.

We arrived early, though certainly weren't the first there, we got a pretty good parking spot that meant not a lot of trekking to/from the car in preparation (or after the race!).

Jaclyn accompanied me to transition where they didn't seem too concerned about non-athletes being in transition. I set up while we talked and then I headed out for a warm-up. My run warm-up was good, though a weird twinge/tightness between my outer knee into my calf made me a little concerned. I also noticed I'm starting to get little holes on the outside of my Pure Flows. Maybe I need a new pair. I jumped on the bike for maybe 3 miles, which at least allowed me to adjust my brakes, which were rubbing and settle in to get my spinning under me. I left my bike in a solid starting gear, set-up my shoes, rubber-banded on, and left the bike in transition where I took the rest of my junk back to the car.

It never fails that I find myself minutes from the swim start jumping into the water for 3 minutes just to get the feel in my arms. It kind of blows, actually, but once again, got MAYBE a 150 of swimming in before clearing out of the water, finding Jaclyn, grabbing my gatorade, and getting in line. A few minutes thereafter, before I could think about much, they said "10 seconds until you start" counted "5,4,3,2..." and I found myself bounding into the water.

My swim started out alright, but apparently my definition of "straight ahead" is to the left because as people pushed right, I looked up to sight and found that INDEED was the direction of the buoy. Oops. Sighting these buoys going out was really really hard. I rarely saw them until I was about 100 yards away. Thankfully, hanging with the group was a good idea because I guess someone saw the buoys (hint: it wasn't me).

I thought I was going fast on the way out, but I think the two times I had to stop and look up to orient myself at ALL probably did me in. At least once we hit the turn buoy things got a LOT better. It was easy to sight to the next turn buoy and then I was easily able to see all the buoys and just swim my little self in. This I really pushed through. I think what I'm learning is that I sight too often instead of trusting that I'm swimming in a straight line. Not sure. I think I'll have to get some OWS practice in this year.

Once my hand hit sand, I pushed out, only to see about 50 yards of water ahead of me. Knowing I still had enough depth to swim, I flopped right back into the water and swam until I was scooping sand in my hand, which meant still at least 25 yards of water to run through. I wasn't very happy about this. Also it got gross really fast as I sploshed out through soft muddy seaweed yuckiness. I looked down during this run to see 35:18. Not my best. Not my worst. Pretty on par with every other swim I'd been doing. I guess I should be happy, but I really was hoping I could knock this one out just a hair faster. I have work to do. Hopefully Jaclyn's knee recovering, being able to go to Rocky Mountain Tri Club swim practices, and a little time in lakes will get me swimming paces that I actually should be in the water.

We had a moderately long run, up the beach, across the lot into transition for a final swim time of 36:29. I always get a little aggravated over the runs into transition, but hey, what are you going to do?

My T1 was apparently great and my transition practice with Joel paid off - 1:14. BAM! Wetsuit off, helmet on, ready to go. I had a great position down the 5th aisle but very close to the bike out/in. I jumped on my bike to hearing Jaclyn yelling at me to have a strong bike. Nice reminder... I left the swim behind me and told myself it was time to hammer.

I hadn't forgotten the hills per se, but I'd forgotten just how numerous they were. After a few sizable rollers out of the reservoir, Jay Road is enough of an incline to slow you down, only for you to turn on to 36 which slows you down even more. After about 4.5 miles it finally breaks into more rollers with some sweet descents. Then you turn down a big old descent that almost makes all the freaking climbing worth it. Then more rollers.

My goal for this race was 18.5 mph which, in the midwest would've been a laughable goal for me. Apparently, it was perfect, because I found myself pulling through 1 hour at 18.55 miles. WOOOO.

I actually made a friend on the course with this girl who kept passing me on the uphills while I passed her on the descents (tt bike, what can I say?). We went back and forth like this and started acknowledging it because it was getting hilarious. It was nice to always be looking for her and an extra motivating force.

After a powerful first hour, things slowed down. While I wouldn't say they got "more hilly" the downhill recoveries lessened and it was a lot of low grade climbing or flats. My average dropped to a little over 18.3 by the time I made it in. I was still really happy with this. Given that my previous average on this course (when they cut it down last year and it was a normal distance instead of 26.5m...) was 17.5 (which was also what I held for the Boulder 70.3 course last year), I'm glad to see my pace finally coming back to what I'm used to. While it isn't 19.5-20 mph, it is a BIG step in the right direction.

I came up on the right turn into the reservoir really fast. Thinking "crap, I have to get my shoes off" so I reached down and managed to unvelcro both before the turn. Then I wiggled my feet out with perfect timing to make the left turn, and dismount about 2 feet off the dismount line. Sweet. It's funny how fast this snuck up on me. After so much distance training for 70.3 and half marathons, I found myself pleasantly surprised by how short this race was! Getting off the bike I thought, "wow, only an hour left!"

T2 was apparently pretty good too. 1:06. Man. When it comes to transitions, I've got it down.

Running out, my legs were definitely feeling the beating they took on the bike, but the good news was that I didn't feel the tight twinge from earlier during my run warm up. I clipped on my race belt and was out of there, stuffing my gel in my back pocket. I could feel as I got onto the course that lead-weight leg feeling. My knees didn't want to lift - not one bit. I just kept pushing forward knowing that stopping would only make it worse. I thought about what Kristina said in her blog about smiling. I know smiling often makes me feel better when I'm hurting/running. I tried that. No luck.

I saw Jaclyn and Christina this time, around 2 miles. I wouldn't say I felt strong. My stride length was short, my knees weren't driving and now I could feel the shoes start to rip up the insides of my arches. I came through the 5k point at 29:25 thinking that it wasn't too bad and I just had to maintain. Heading back for the only notable hill on the course, I reached back for my gel. Guess what? Not there. Awesome.

Jaclyn and Christina were there again, cheering me on. This time, I expended a little energy to acknowledge them. I'm really bad at acknowledging people cheering for me because I'm always just spending every ounce I have on the activity. Plodding back out onto the dirty path, I could feel my abs really getting tired/cramping. Coming through the next water stop I let myself walk and drink a good bit of it. I then hit the turn around and said to myself "this is it, you're done, just run it in." Easier said than done, apparently. I hit the water station and again walked but mostly just took a mouthful of water and dumped the rest on my head. Brrrrr

I could really feel my feet ripping apart now. I came to a small hill and let myself walk for 30 seconds before I ran it the rest of the way in. It was definitely not my best run, but definitely not my worst either!!

I ended with a 3:06, which had it been a regular distance course, at my given paces, would be a 2:59. This is of course assuming the additional miles in no way affected my ability to be more speedy. It is only an extra 1.5 miles, so I believe that that is probably a safe assumption (unless of course that means 1.5 miles of less climbing, then I probably could've run 7 min/miles - haha jk).

Overall, pretty satisfied with this race as a season opener and it has given me some drive to continue my training. Also, I have to tell you - Your Cause Sports makes some pretty sweet medals.

Elephant Rock 2014 - NOW TIME FOR TAPER WEEK

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn (just practice for next week? yeah...) to drive down to Castle Rock for Elephant Rock Cycling Festival.

Now I've been calling this the 5-week back-to-back race weekend marathon. In truth, this one wasn't a race, but a big event for me nevertheless. Still have to wake up early, manage nutrition, etc. I'd signed up for the 62 mile ride and going in, I was determined to not overdo it. My focus was to keep a nice easy pace and make sure I took leisurely breaks at rest stops since I really didn't need distance work just yet this season.

I should explain I did this because the company I work for, DaVita, backed Team Transplant and so they requested some riders from DaVita to come represent their team.

I was so incredibly unspeakably tired waking up and despite the fact that I knew I would need food, I could barely eat an entire yogurt. I arrived just after 6, hoping to have some buddies to start with at 6:30, but everyone seemed to just keep rolling out. A few other Team Transplant riders thought it best to just go so I headed out at 6:25.

Starting out, I couldn't find anyone going a good pace. Most people were pretty slow rollers, and while I didn't want to hammer, just sitting around sounded awful. I decided to just push my own pace, high cadence, but not doing a ton of work. Then we came to a hill. Probably one of the biggest, steepest hills on the course (that or I just got used to the climbing after doing it all day). Once I got that one under my belt, most climbing felt pretty good.

I felt a twinging/tightness feeling in my hamstring really gnawing at me. Around mile 10 I thought, "wow, this is going to be a long day with that aggravating me." Pulling into the rest stop at 16, I had somehow managed to average ~14 mph even with all the insane climbing, so I was pretty happy. That and I was so hungry at this point, I could've eaten anything. I stuffed down some fruit and a mini muffin, tried some stretching, then headed out.

The next stop wasn't until 33 miles and man, the hills continued to be unrelenting. Our next stop was at Palmer Lake and by now all the snacks hadn't cut it. Here I had an entire bagel with peanut butter (well, that said, being from New Jersey, it was "small" for my definition of a bagel), a whole banana, more grapes, two little cookies - man I was eating the whole rest stop! After a decently long food break, I headed out up a hill to a finally very forgiving descent that, save a few rollers, gently pushed us into the last rest stop.

On my way there, I met Arturo, from Peru, who was drafting off me and playing the "pass-pass back" game. His friend rolled into the rest stop and we all introduced ourselves. Arturo said I was a "very good" rider. This meant a lot coming from someone from Peru, watching me, a Colorado transplant, suffer through rolling hills. Arturo told me Peru's terrain was much like Colorado's only hotter and more humid (which was my understanding). He said he grew up at 11,000 ft! CRAZY!

My hamstring was really annoying me at this point, but not hurting. I grabbed more water, a mini muffin and an Oreo. Finally I wasn't starving. Arturo, and his friend, whom I now knew to be Dave, headed out with me. We talked for a bit, until coming up to another climb, where I dropped them both. I wanted to be social, but climbing at an easy effort with my twitchy hamstring was getting irritating. In fact, I found it felt better to actually put some effort into climbing that just spin out.

Right before the final rest stop. ~mile 40

But the climb was long this time. Though I'd made it through the steepest grade, there was still more. The sun was coming out and it was getting humid. I was really glad I'd taken the extra precaution to fill my water bottle, even though I had a second totally full and there were only 19-miles to go. Arturo came up to ride with me, but eventually passed me as I began to feel weighed-down by the sweat and heat.

Reaching the top of the hill, I saw two people pulled over changing a flat. One with a severed piece of tubing in his hand. I asked if they were ok and he said he needed an extra tube. With only 12 miles to go, I pulled over and handed him mind. "I hope this gives me good karma to the end and I don't flat!" They thanked me, offering to pay me for the tube, but in the cycling world - tubes are cheap and flats suck.

I then was treated to an amazing huge descent. I looked down at one point when I was brave enough - I was going 45 mph :D Tucked in in my drops, knees to top tube, too scared to try to supertuck my butt under my saddle (slash, idk if my saddle is high enough to fit my big ol' butt under it). Shortly thereafter we fought 6 miles into the wind. Though the terrain was flat, the blowing wind was pushing me to 11 mph. No good :( I tried to jump on a group that rolled by, but my legs were starting to feel it and I couldn't deal with the inconsistent speed (swerving around other riders) and then trying to respond to power jumps from the front when the road was finally clear. I backed off.

We turned again, a full U-turn. Now with the wind at our backs, rolling a steady pace. I was happy to have about 9 miles to go. I ran into another DaVita teammate who said it was only his second ride this year! Couldn't believe it! We came to a hill and I needed to maintain speed (hamstring...annoying). He asked if I was leaving and I said "No, I'll be around" but I zipped up the hill and didn't see him again. I didn't anticipate acceleration but I think it was more consistency trumping exhaustion.

A few minor hills later, and a little suffering - I was very happy the ride was over. I still managed to average a little over 15 mph, which I'm pleased with considering hills and slowing for rest-stops. I definitely felt (and still feel) wiped out. I think overall, it was a strong showing and I'm feeling like a pretty strong cyclist this year!

But guess what...NOW IT IS TIME FOR TAPER WEEK!
And all the food. I don't think I've truly stopped eating since I got home, unless you count my 2-hr nap.

[Race Report] Bolder Boulder

Man. I realized I didn't post anything about my race yet. At least I'm only two days late.

This will be short and sweet because... it was a pretty "smooth" and middle-of-the-road performance.

I headed up to Boulder to start the race with some close family friends/cycling buddies/my aunt & uncle of cycling. They were starting only one qualifier wave ahead of me so I thought it a perfect situation.

We walked/jogged to the start from their house which offered a nice warm up. I had just enough time to get to the bathroom and stand around in my wave for a little bit.

As we approached the start line, the announcer said we were the last "under an hour" 10k qualifier wave. The last of the "real runners." A) I feel bad for those over an hour, because you can do a 10k over an hour and still be under a 10 min/mile (which I generally regard as the jogging/running threshold). B) LAWL.

We started off and because there was open road people gunned it off the start line. I was like "for real people? you qualified in just under and hour and you're doing a 6 min/mile off the start line? stupid." So I settled in to what my watch said was about a 9:05 pace.

My watch has been chronically showing the distance of my races to be over the actual distance (lovely) so my watch splits and race splits were different. Please forgive me if I am off a few seconds in recounting time. While my chip time and watch time were both 59:23 to finish, my watch showed 6.33 miles, so a 9:23 pace, whereas for a 10k - that is 9:33. Important nuance.

Anyway, so my first mile was pretty good. I believe my chip time was 9:15 or something like that. I was happy with this. It wasn't a particularly hard mile and I didn't feel like I blew it up. My second mile included a large hill, so I believe my chip time on that was 9:44 or something like that. 3rd mile was solid middle-of-the-road at around 9:30.

This whole time, my friends had started about 1 min ahead of me so I was looking for them to chase them down. They guessed they would run it pretty slowly so they thought I would pass them sooner than I had. Finally I spotted them at mile 2. It was kind of fun to play the chasing game. Just before the 5k point (I believe) I passed them, swung into a water stop and went up another BIG OL hill. Mile 4, with said "big ol' hill" again was slower, in the 9:40s. Mile 5 was fast and flat again. We hit some sun, but it was the first part of the course where I'd really felt like I was combating anything but perfect weather and some hills. I believe that was my fastest mile, around 9:13 or something like that. Mile 6 was pretty mediocre. A little hilly, until I got to the big hill at the bottom of the stadium and it dropped my pace drastically. Oh well, it happens. Once I was done telling myself to "keep running" up the hill, I bounded into the stadium.

I was pretty happy with my time. It certainly wasn't my best 10k but it sure could've been worse. A solid performance given where I am with running and the course.

Now for Elephant Rock Ride this weekend (only 2300 ft of gain...PHEW) and Boulder Sunrise on June 7! I'm not..ya know, panicking or anything, but I will say I'm practicing transitions tonight and trying to get in open water this weekend.

[Review] Half the Road film

Last night I convinced Joel into a "date night" that really...further encouraged his role as my professional sherpa and made me more excited about my new jump into women's road racing.
Half the Road website

A fellow rider on my company's road cycling club sent out an email about a screening of a new film called "Half the Road" about the world of professional women's bike racing. The event included two elite rider speakers and a viewing of the movie (and a raffle, where I won a cannondale co2 flat kit, woo hoo! but that is beside the point).

Joel, as an outsider, felt the movie was interesting but long, especially with the two speakers, but I had a different perception. As a female cyclist, I don't really have any delusions of pro-cycling. I think I could escalate to cat 2 and play with the big kids, but I don't imagine I'd ever be hanging out with pros. I knew the field of women's cycling was small but I had no idea of the history behind it.

I had no idea of the equality that had existed in the sport. It disappointed me to hear about the issues with the UCI maintaining the inequality. As a woman who dreams of creating a career in the industry, this was a call to arms. I believe fervently in the value of a woman's voice in the industry. I've walked into stores with tons of road bike knowledge and been jokingly offered a job three times. Gosh, one of these times, I've got to take it.

I've been to one store that had two female employees there. One of them was kind of the "uninformed" mechanic that only worked on basic stuff on commuter bikes. The other was more informed, but less of a presence. One thing I truly love about Tribella, my local go-to bike store, is there promotion of women's cycling and being a smart female cyclist. When I was in college, I was one of the best flat tire changers on the team and I was proud of that!! I wish cycling stores in general were more female friendly. We'd all use our barrel adjusters to tweak our shifting with the best.

Anyway, back to the film. My favorite female cyclist is Evelyn Stevens so I kind of wish she got more camera time, but I'm so glad she was included. Emma Pooley was freaking hilarious and awesome. She's like the Jennifer Lawrence of cycling - I think we would be best friends. It was nice to relate to one of the speakers on that level. I thought her comments were both poignant and funny.

On that level, I think the film really succeed. The combination of poignancy and relevant information mixed with comedy kept the audience engaged. I enjoyed hearing the stories of many professional cyclists and how they've done what they've done. Furthermore, the film is about so much more than cycling - it includes triathlon, running, and sports in general. Chrissie Wellington herself plays a major role! It was cool to listen to hear after hearing Mirinda Carfrae speak live just last week.

My only draw back was that the film felt very long. Perhaps this is because I am the worst about sitting through movies as is (the ultimate multitasker) and I probably would've done better if I were also sitting on my trainer and texting during my easy spin out intervals. ;)

One aspect I felt torn about was the depiction of Brian Cookson. I think he meant well, but is stuck in his ways and didn't want to make promises he couldn't make about changes in the UCI. I agree, he has the power to make changes, but in any business, it's not always up to one person. In my own office, I see how if one of our key directors supports something, the VP can be swayed towards or away something. It really isn't about one man. Yes, it is strongly influenced by one person, but the entire UCI isn't Brian Cookson, nor was it Pat McQuaid. Like anything, they are figureheads for an entire organization. Just because they run it, doesn't mean they can be blamed for everything. It's like the president of a democracy - (or, ya know, a democratic republic... or some might call our government an oligarchy) - just because the president's "board" or "party" does something, it doesn't mean it is entirely his downfall. I guess, that is what comes of being the leader though. You always take it on the chin for the whole group you represent.

Other takeaways, fire round:
- So excited about Le Tour Entier, Le Tour de France Feminine, etc.
- Women's Cycling Association. GET IT GIRLS
- This reaffirmed my decision to be supportive of people getting into cycling. I've been doing a lot of "learning" training rides for people on my company's club (a lot of them women). I'm so happy that, even if they'll be recreational riders, I feel like I'm helping.
- I think this is a place I belong. I hope I can find a team I really want to join next year.
- Crashing is so scary. I haven't done it in a number of years now, but as I get more into racing I know it will happen, even if it isn't my fault. I need to brace myself for the blow. :'( Let me call my insurance company real quick like.


Key takeaway for you, the reader: if you are a woman endurance athlete or a woman who believes in girl power (so...everyone, I hope!) go see this film if there is a screening coming up near you (see the link at the start of the entry)! It's worth it to think about the equality of female athletes and women in general. We are strong and we can be powerful. Take a seat at the table! OH, and remember to teach your daughters to ride a bike.

Here's the trailer (hope it works! if not, click on the website link and you'll see it there!!)
"Half The Road" trailer from kevin tokstad on Vimeo.

[Race Report] Colfax Half Marathon - Birthday Race

I knew going into this race I had a lot going against me. I hadn't run distance since April, in spite of all my best efforts to do so. Then I'd gotten sick... it was all just a big mess.

Still, I felt pretty refreshed earlier in the week after a few days of rest while being sick. I noticed over the weekend my legs began to feel tight which was definitely not exciting. I also didn't feel very excited for this race because I hadn't been doing well with distance and half marathons are getting to be kind of unexciting for me. As we got out of the car, I told Joel I wished I was doing the full, or even capable of doing it, because I'd be so much more excited.

At the start line with friends, I didn't feel very nervous. My friend Hannah was anxious with nervous energy. I'm normally like that, but instead I was sort of happy-go-lucky and not very focused. I tried to stretch out my hamstring a few times to no avail.

As we took off, I set out at solid 9:30 pace. My goal was 2:05. 9:30s were actually feeling really good! We ran through a few miles and I could feel my legs tightening up. The tightness started in my hamstrings and calves. I still felt like I had a good stride though. As we approached the uphill into the zoo I felt great! I'd never felt so much adrenaline and comfort surging up a hill. My knee drive was forward and I felt relaxed.

As we turned into the zoo, the tightness grew worse, now in my quads. I kept pushing - watching for animals, I saw an elephant, hippo, ostrich, donkey, camels... and then the zoo was over. As we set out to mile 5, I told myself this was all flat, but it didn't feel flat. Joel was supposed to be between miles 4 &  5, but I didn't see him. That threw me off. The running felt uphill and the ground uneven. I took a gu before mile 6.

6-8 felt ok, but I felt the tightness moving into my quads, hips, and IT bands. I was starting to breakdown.

As I looped around through 9, this was when I finally fell below 10 min pace. I came through 8 miles at 1hr 20 and I never saw it again. The last time I had water was about 7.6 miles, we had gone through 9 and still no water stop in sight. Up a hill, in the sun, I felt defeated. I remembered this was where I felt defeated last year too. Finally, at mile 10, there was water. I walked. I took a minute just past the stop to bend over and stretch my legs, now painfully tight.

I ran until my Garmin said 11 miles, which was 10.8 by the markings on the course. I walked to the mile 11 marker from there. I told myself only 2.1 miles to go and again started to run. It was horrible. It was painful and slow and some of the worst running I've ever done. As I came into the park, with about .1 mile to go (by my watch...it actually was more like .3) I started to walk again. My legs were falling apart.

I pushed into the finish, finally finding Joel near the shoot - I was holding back tears.

I hardly cared about the medal as I stood around to get through the crowd. I barely had the energy to make it through the end. I grabbed a bottle of water and a protein shake, skipping everything else. Finding Joel, and saying goodbye to some friends, I limped out of the crowds. A few feet through the park I started crying in pain. I usually don't cry from pain. I told Joel I had to sit and take a break from walking. We sat in the grass for a few moments while I wiped my face and tried to stretch my legs.

We got up again and made it to the car. Joel drove home and made me a small breakfast once we got there. I drank water and put ice on my legs. It genuinely hurt to move.

In the end, it was just a really rough day. I hit the wall and it was my worst half marathon time to date.

I have a sport massage/torture session this weekend potentially followed by BolderBoulder on Monday. Let's hope  - if I am recovered - that that goes MUCH better :)

[Race Report] Wheels of Thunder Criterium

A quick and dirty race report:

I did my first criterium bike race today. For those of you who don't know, that involves lots of cyclists doing lots of laps around a rather small course (usually between 1-2 miles long, but it varies).

I chose to do this race because it is not too technical - the corners are pretty round and there are only three, and it is a women's mentoring race, which means a group of seasoned riders ran us through the course before the race to give us an overview.

During the mentoring lap, I couldn't hear a whole lot, but at least I got the gist of what lines to follow and where to avoid different bumps/holes on the course. It also gave me the opportunity to remember what it meant to ride nice and tight in a group as well as a try at starting before the actual start.

Through the first lap, I wasn't having a hard time. I managed to stay with the group. I was glad to find the corners and the start were not as bad as I imagined in my head. We weren't taking it too hard and we just sort of coasted through it.

As we came around through the first lap, I was coming towards the back but not too bad. There were still a number of girls behind me. All of a sudden, the two girls in front of me bumped into each other, the one on the right bumped into the one next to her and before I knew it...everyone was crashing. The two in front of me went down and I didn't know whether to stop, but after a moment of hesitation and seeing they were both down, I biked between them and sprinted up to the group.

That sprint took the wind out of me. Coming off a head cold, I could feel burning in my chest and labored breathing. Still, I really wanted to catch these girls before we hit the corner that took us into an uphill, so I did. I was huffing and puffing in the uphill trying to recover. I just sat on the group, telling myself to breathe to recover.

We made it through the second lap and as we were coming through, they slowed us and pushed us to the left into a single file line because they were not yet finished clearing some of the girls who had gone down. I felt really bad still racing knowing that someone had likely broken an ankle. Stringing us out like that really made for an interesting race because it meant we had to...get back together. Again, we were headed to the corner into the uphill, so I put in a little effort to hold on to the pack, and I did. Still, wheezing a little.

As we started into the last straight of the third lap, this was our first prime (pronounced "preem," meaning a lap in which if you finish first you get something) for $20 and a hat. The front group started to sprint up the hill. Some for the prime, some just to not lose the front of the group. As I was still wheezing, I didn't have it in me and the group lost me. Before I knew it, I was dropped.

I tried my hardest to push and catch them through the next lap. I could see the group the whole way, but that uphill was so much harder on my own. As we came down the back stretch, I lost them and I knew there was no hope of catching them, so I did the last two laps on my own.

catching up to some girls after I got dropped to hang out on the last lap

I came off the bike, worried about the girls who crashed, but happy to be done because I'd gone so hard that my chest hurt. I was coughing hard for a while afterwards.

All in all - I'd call it a success. I didn't crash. I know I can hang with these girls. I do blame getting over my cold. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be AND my legs don't hurt so I know I have more strength. It was also really awesome to have a nice group there spectating and cheering for me. I rarely have anyone at my races there just for me, so that was super cool - especially since it was my first (non time trial) bike race.

Until next time...

Challenges, defeat, and rising from the ashes

Today's blog isn't so much about me, as it is some things I'm thinking about.

Over the past few weeks something very interesting happened to me:
While at a corporate function, my co-worker, Jeff, told me about when he volunteered for this running group that worked as guides for blind runners. Here he met a young man who had been kidnapped and blinded by a group of people in Africa when he was young. Now this man lived in Colorado and enjoyed running races.

Last week, in the pool, I saw a woman teaching a man how to swim. The lifeguard explained to me that this man was blind. I was shocked. Swimming blind sounds terrifying! It's hard enough with sight to not get anxiety in the water!

I posted on my friend's Facebook wall about how cool I thought this was and through the small community that is triathlon, the woman coaching this man was quickly identified and everyone was talking about how cool they thought it was that she was helping him learn to swim to do a tri in the fall.

Last night, they were back at the pool (whom I've now learned are Sasha - the coach, and Ethan, the athlete) and I introduced myself as the one who started the Facebook chain.

Today at work I told Jeff about it and he sent me this article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_13613618
As you may have guessed... it's the same guy!

I'm so impressed by what Ethan's doing, but as Sasha said, everyone has their story.

It's easy to look at someone's challenges and weigh them as more or less challenging than our own. I've recently given up on trying to complete Colfax marathon because a short-term injury set back my training and I won't be able to truly reach that distance by 5/18. That said, I think something great came out of the hard training I had been doing - speed and strength! While a marathon might not be on the table for next month, a half certainly is, and I imagine it's going to be a pretty good one!

Ethan's decision to learn how to swim so he can do a triathlon may seem like a huge feat. I mean, it definitely is, but he has been blind for most of his life now and in the water, he doesn't regard it as a reason why he "can't" do something. I've been around him twice now in the water and he is struggling just the same as any newbie in the water. I see him dealing with the same form problems I did when I first started - breathing naturally, not displacing body position, high elbows, even strokes. He's a strong guy - mentally and physically - and I'm sure he'll learn, just through description instead of demonstration.

It has got me thinking that time, effort, and dedication to a goal can bring you to it. If he can do a tri, I can do a marathon, but it will take patience and hard work. All told, I probably could suffer through the race in May, but I don't want to suffer. I want to finish a marathon with a sense that I worked hard and did a good job. I'll be postponing it for now, but that doesn't mean I won't keep working.

Similarly, last night, I looked back on my training from before I did my first Olympic distance triathlon. I couldn't find a single workout over 1800 yards. In fact the one I did find that was 1800 yards, I didn't do, and it was estimated that it would take me about 1:06 to finish the workout. Sheesh! Now I hesitate to even get in the pool unless I'm doing 2000 m (just under 2200 y) and that only takes me between 45-50 minutes. (Last night, 2000 m took me 47:17, to give perspective.)

When I first started swimming it felt like it would never end. I still vividly remember the workout, hanging on the side of the pool, when Coach Brett stopped to ask me if I was "ok" because I'd been hanging there for so long! I told him I was "resting between sets." I mean, I was. I was super tired, but also just REALLY TERRIBLE at swimming. 3 years later (those workouts were from April 2011)....I'm not terribly fast, but I'm pretty good at it!

Your goals may not come immediately, but sometimes if you put in long, hard hours, they will come eventually. It's important not to fixate on your weaknesses, but acknowledge them. Embrace your strength, and the rest will follow.

New long run distance - 15 miles!

15.11 miles done. Ow. Longest run ever. Here's to what got me through it (other than 42 oz of water and 2 energy gels):

Miles 1-7 telling myself I could do it.
7-7.5 knowing I got to turn around
7.5-8 knowing I just turned around and was over halfway
8-10 it was mostly downhill
10 stopping at a gas station to refill my waterbottle
11 my gel and the water in the water bottle
12 Language - Porter Robinson 
13 Pompeii - Bastille, Red Line - Wolfgang Gartner
14 Pompeii (again), Red Line (again)
15 knowing it was the last mile, some lady who said I was doing a good job though she could clearly tell I was wincing in pain, and some Avicii

So now I'm supposed to figure out how to bring myself to run 11.1 more?
*sigh* Marathons are really long.

Step Two: Half Marathon [That Dam Run Race Report]

This is once of those races I'll never forget, let me set the scene for you:

8:30 PM, March 1
I'm checking the weather, as snow falls outside. The high at 9 am is supposed to be 18 degrees. I cringe. I start texting my friend Cookie to make sure she is really going to do it. She is. I set out my clothes.

6:00 AM, March 2
I wake up, it's sunny. 7 degrees outside. I look at the weather. Race start is 10 am and it is supposed to be 25 degrees. I decide this isn't bad. I eat breakfast.

8:00 AM
I'm getting dressed. It hasn't gotten warmer out - it's still 7 degrees. I walk the dog.

8:30 AM
I grab an extra wind breaker, just in case. It is now 8 degrees. I leave to drive there.

9:02 AM
I arrive at the race site. I have a text from Cookie. I call her while I'm parking the car. She's there. We meet up and go get our race packets. It is 9 degrees.

9:15 AM
We walk around the race site, trying to see if we can go in the high school next door to use the bathroom. It's locked. We miserably shiver back to Cookie's car.

9:20 AM
We sit in Cookie's car drinking water, staring at the thermometer and waiting for it to go up. It doesn't. It still says 10 degrees. I put on the new dry fit they gave us under my other clothes so I have another layer on.

9:45 AM
Amanda has joined us by now. We resolve we have to get out of the car to go to the bathroom and get on the race line. We shiver over to the porto-potties.
While waiting for the porto-potties it gets to be 10 am - race start. The race leaves when we are at the front of the line. It's chip-timed so we figure "eh, it's ok, we'll get there in a minute."

10:01 AM
Cookie is still in the porto-potty when they announced "Oh, btw, half marathoners need to start right now, we are switching mats for the 5k!" SWITCHING MATS? WHO DOES THAT?!

10:02 AM
Cookie comes out of the bathroom and we bolt through a sea of 5k'ers to get to the start. We tell the announcer we're half marathoners and he says "good luck." We're not sure if our chips will go off. Yes, it's still 10 degrees.

Cookie and Amanda and I all started running out together. Cookie insisted Amanda and I were faster and we should take off. Neither of us really had a desire to. We liked this 10 min/mile pace. We all chatted. My hands, despite how cold it was, heated up before mile 2 as usual so I handed my gloves to Amanda whose hands were FREEZING.

We kept talking and it was nice - I'm not usually one to talk during my races, but I didn't want to get too crazy on this one. It was a nice distraction really. But by mile 8, once I started to hurt a little, I knew I needed some focus so I told Cookie and Amanda I wanted to pop my music on and tune out. They seemed understanding. I know it can be rude, but we had a little over 5-miles left and I needed some focus in to make it through.

I started feeling pretty good - not that I hadn't but I was surprised to be an mile 8 and not so focused on counting down the miles to the end. We started hitting some uphills that definitely burned, one brought me to a walk, but all doable. Cookie and Amanda were always nearby, then they passed me on the uphills, but I caught up before mile 10 on the flat. On the last hill, Amanda and I lost Cookie. I could tell she was getting really tired and so far she had performed really well - better than she thought she would.

Amanda took off though, and Cookie told me she was strong and pretty fast. But soon enough, I found her again at the mile 11 water stop. I too took some water but then we started running together. She was getting tired, but I felt pretty good. I told her to just "cruise" which she later told me after the race was exactly what she needed to hear. A little while down she started walking and I came up and pushed her and told her she couldn't because we had to finish!

At the very end, there was another woman in front of us. I ran up behind her to suck her energy so I would have some kick. I brought my mile pace down around 9:30s for the last few miles and I was feeling it. She started to go though and it was hard - she felt me not come with her and she turned around and said "come on!" and we ran it in hard together.

This is the end. I look like I'm actually having fun :) But that arm crossover...oops :)

I was really proud of my time, even if it wasn't my best, it was a big stride in a good direction. My goal was under a 10 min/mile which I achieved on both my Garmin and chip time.

I was really proud of Amanda for finishing shortly behind me - her first half EVER! And then proud of Cookie for her finish shortly after that. She exceeded her expectations for herself and that is always a good feeling!

Overall a great race for all three of us and a step in the right direction.

Step One: 10k

Raced the 3W Prairie Dog Half and 10k this morning in Louisville, CO.

I knew my race didn't start until 8:30 but I found myself still stressing out on my drive up. I'd calculated it so I'd arrive just before 8, but I started getting anxious - what if they closed packet pick up at 8?

As usual, I arrived on time, 2 minutes before they started the half marathon and it was packed. I'm just really impressed by people who are fit enough to run a half marathon in the middle of the winter. As you can see, it was more than just a "few" people banging out 13.1 this AM. Well, go them.

My marathon training said I was supposed to run 8 this weekend for my long run, but it's been a slow off-season and I signed up for this to get in a hard 10k to get things started. 

I saw a handful of RMTC women lining up the starting area. Knowing they were probably faster than I am right now, I let them sort of break off. I knew my head would want me to try to keep up which would just be...bad news bears. 

I told myself when I started to just relax - everyone has a tendency to go hard out of the gate. I tried to hold myself back. I'm glad I did, because coming through the first mile I was at 9:10 by the marker and 9:17 by my watch which is a little fast for me right now. To give you context, I was aiming for 9:40s for this race given what I've been running during workouts (9:45-50).

Still, the first 3 miles felt pretty great. I had to keep telling myself not to ramp it up. Sit back, don't over do it. I came through the 3rd mile-marker (which at that point was pretty in-sync with my watch) at 28 mins - so 9:20s. I thought "well, maybe the race atmosphere really does make a difference." Plus, I took yesterday off, even though that wasn't really the plan and I was feeling pretty ok this morning. 

The turn around was a little far into the course which usually throws people off so I made the loop at 3.3 miles (by my watch, but seemed like by the markers too). Unfortunately it was then I noticed I'd been running on a slight downhill with my back to the wind and guess what I got to do now? Go all the way back up that hill in the wind. Great. Glad I saved up some of that energy. 

It was a little tough but nothing seriously brutal on the way back. I got concerned when I couldn't find the 4-mile marker, but as I closed in on 5 I just gave up, deciding there were no more mile markers and I just had to keep going. Good thing I did, or I would've been worrying about the mile markers until the finish line. 

So we forged through the wind, with a few turns of relief until we were right back head-on into it. I looked down at my watch at 5.9 thinking "ok, .3 to go" and we made a right turn looking at a straight-away to the finish line. I mean, talk about a beautiful design for the end of the course! .3 miles is a great kick, flat, not into the wind. THANK YOU RACE DESIGNERS.

Unfortunately, it was so windy that the finish line sign BLEW OVER as I was about 15 secs away from crossing the mat, and I had to run around it to a little open piece of mat that wasn't obstructed by the fallen sign and tripped crossing the second mat. I managed to regain my balance (and not fall over) and run over to where I'd dropped my water bottle. 

Soon thereafter I saw the super-fast woman whom I'd bought my tt bike from, and we stuck up a conversation. She too was lamenting the wind (though she had 13.1 miles to deal with it - yuck!) but we agreed it was a beautiful day and I set off to grab another mile since technically my run today was supposed to be 8. As I started to breach 7 I knew I didn't have it in my legs to go much further (which is understandable, having just "raced" a 10k) and cleaned up at 7.2. I figure with my warm up run/drills I'm probably at least over 7.5 logged for the day so - not too shabby.

Oh, and in the end I crossed the line, by my watch, at 59:03 which averages at a 9:30. While not exactly a PR, I'm pretty happy with that since I was aiming for 9:40s. Glad to be in decent enough shape to knock out 7.2 miles in the middle of January.

4 more months until I attempt 26.2...

Coming Back with a Bang

It's been about 2 months since I last posted.
I've gotten lost in the relaxation of the off-season.

Since last I wrote, I got a new job and, with a new job, comes a new commute. While, technically, my commute is shorter than it was before (mile wise) it is through thick traffic to drive in and then there is an issue of parking. My company provides us with year passes to ride public transit so I'd been driving to the station, where it is inexpensive to park, and taking the train in. Still, this makes my 7-mile commute take 42 minutes.

Alternatively, there is a paved trail just behind my house (that I often bike/run on) which goes almost directly to the front door of my building. 7.1 miles parking lot-to-garage door. So, with my Q4 profit-sharing bonus I bought myself this guy.

It was on sale at Performance Bike (given that it's not exactly bike-buying season) and for a reasonable price, I have a sturdy single-speed with a little more tire girth, that is harder to take apart and steal. Now, weather permitting, it is 30-min to traverse these 7.1 miles (given hills, that I only have one gear, and places I have to stop and stuff) AND and extra 14-miles of riding tacked on to everyday I ride. To me, this is a bonus, BUT it also means I have to consider what it means to spend an extra hour on training days riding. It's still calories burned and energy expended. When this was 2-miles of riding in college, that wasn't bad, but 14 is a whole new ball game. I all ready started to feel the effect of the riding the other day - on an off season 1500-1800 cal/day diet. Exhausted, I plopped on my sofa for the night instead of heading off to the gym. "Why am I so tired? This is awful!" "Oh. Maybe because I've done an hour of riding today and haven't replenished those calories so I'm at a net intake of 1000. Yeah. That might be it." 

Other than my commuting, I'm back to blogging because Monday, Jan 13 officially starts my marathon training! (AH! WHAT AM I THINKING?!) I signed up for the Colfax Marathon on my 24th birthday figuring, heck, the next day the price for the half was going to be the same as the full, so I might as well buy today and have the option. Plus, if I really want to consider an Ironman in the near future, I should probably try the marathon part.  So, here we go. I'm going to start the training. I'm going to try. Should I be met with injury or...what have you, I will say it's not my year and back-off. My A-race is Silverman 70.3 in October so I need to be prepped for that. I'm not going to destroy myself over a marathon this year. Next year may be a different story, but that is the game plan for this year. 

So there. I said it. I wrote it out. That makes it official.

Oh and I'm "racing" at 10k next week. (By "racing" I mean, I'll be running it as fast as I can run a 10k right now, which will not be nearly as fast as I know I can run a 10k given some more training time.)

Happy training!