2014 Topeka Tinman Review - Finally I did a Tri!

You would think with a blog titled "Slowly Tri-ing" that I would do triathlons frequently...well I should be, but as I mentioned in my last blog sometimes "life" happens.  Last spring I broke my wrist and so I was only able to do one tri and now with my Dad's illness, I've already missed two tris that I was registered for this year.

Me & Michelle pre-race

So I decided I wasn't going to sign up for any more races in advance for awhile.  I would just sign up if I thought I could do the distance and if I was in town.  I've done the Topeka Tinman tri a couple of times and it's always a fun, small, low key race.  I really like it.  My friend Michelle had already signed up, so I decided I would too.  They have two distances a "short course" and a "long course".  I signed up for the short, because I definitely wasn't ready for the long course.  The short is only a 400 meter swim, a 13 mile bike and a 3 mile run.  The long course is a 700 meter swim, a 25 mile bike and a 7.75 mile run.  Yes, they are kind of weird distances.  My biggest concern was the swim, but I knew a 400 would only be 10 or 11 minutes in the water and I thought surely I could handle that.

Going in to the race I had still been running several times a week, but over the last 6 to 8 weeks I had only biked and swam about 3 times and that was all in the prior week...so I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.  I just decided the goal was to have fun and finish.  Nothing more.  I don't know how many opportunities I'll have to race this summer...so I wanted to just enjoy the day.

Topeka is about an hour and a half from Kansas City.  It is certainly drivable on race day, but my friend Michelle was planning to stay the night Fri night before the race so I decided I would do that too.  That way I was able to "sleep in" until 4:30 on race morning, instead of getting up about 3 am.

We drove up Friday afternoon, checked in to the hotel and then headed to packet pickup and registration.  I was registered in about 5 minutes.  Easy!  We decided we'd test out the water and swim for a few minutes.  The water was surprisingly warm.  We've had a ton of rain lately, so I expected it to be much cooler, but it was warm.  Not hot and uncomfortable yet, but not exactly cool and refreshing either.  I had brought my wetsuit just in case, but I decided even if it was wetsuit legal I wasn't going to wear it.  I would probably lose more time getting it off than I would save in a short 400 meter swim.

I got up the next morning just a few minutes before my alarm went off and got ready for my race.  We were out the door about 5:30 am and off to the start.  I was surprised, but I didn't feel nervous at all considering this was my first triathlon in almost a year.

My transition area

I had my timing chip and transition area set up in a few minutes and then it was just time to wait.  I saw a couple of people I knew and struck up conversations with a few other racers on my row.  There are no pros at this race, so for the most part it really is low key.  There are definitely still some competitive athletes here, but just not a lot of egos which is really nice.

Before I knew it - it was time to race.  Michelle and I headed to the start and went our separate ways.  I wished her luck. She would be doing the long course and would start a few minutes after me. That's the one thing I really don't understand about this race; the long course always starts after the short course and always has, even though they will be out longer.

It was already a hot morning.  It was close to 80 degrees at race start and very humid.  The only saving grace was some pretty good cloud cover.  But I think we all knew it was going to get hot pretty fast.  I knew those people doing the long course were going to have to finish in some pretty hot temperatures.

The swim start before the race

It was finally the 40+ women's turn to start.  This was also my first tri as a "40+"...ugh.  There is no actual timing mat for the swim start, so everyone that starts in a group has the same start time.  So I did something I rarely do - I started right in the front.  My swim time wasn't going to be great anyway, so no reason to add 15 or 20 seconds to it by being one of the last to enter the water.  This ended up making for a little more brutal swim.  I was kicked and smacked several times.  One woman hit me right in the middle of the back, not once, not twice, but three times....I mean seriously...I'm obviously right in your stroke...how about you move.  Since it was only a 400, the pack never really broke up.  It was just kind of a jumble of bodies fighting for position the entire time.  The turns were the worst.  You literally had to dog paddle around the buoys because you couldn't actually swim.  Anyway, I felt pretty good throughout the swim.  It wasn't my normal stroke and breathing rhythm, but I never felt totally out of breath or like I needed a break.  I finally saw the shore and pushed myself to the end.  You have a little incline to run up out of the swim and most people were walking.  I was pretty proud of myself as I ran up the hill and kept running to the transition area.  I was a little surprised to learn that you had to run completely around the entire transition area (which you hadn't had to do in previous years) so it was quite a run and really added to your transition time.

I finally reached my bike, put on my shoes and helmet and took off.    You have to go out of the bike area single file which can slow you down a little bit until you reach the main street.  Once I got there I took off and actually passed a few people - go me :)  You have a little straight shot and then make a hard left only about a mile or less into the course.  As soon as I made that left there was a woman who had crashed her bike.  She was moaning in pain and two cyclists had stopped to assist her.  They were calling for the medic.  I heard later someone had broken their arm...it was probably her.  I tried to put the image out of my head and focus on my own bike. I knew she was being taken care of.  I actually felt great on the bike.  I felt strong and like I was riding really well.  I had totally messed my Garmin up so I had no idea about my pace, but I felt good.  When I'd get my time later I would find out I just did very "average" but oh well, at least I felt good.  I felt confident and I have been experiencing a lot of bike anxiety lately so it was a really good thing.  I was feeling really great until we had about 3 miles left to go.  You've been over a couple pretty good size hills and you have one last hill that's of any significance.  I see a lady passing me up the  hill.  No big deal, hills aren't my strong point and this frequently happens.  Then I happened to glance at her calf (because they put your age on your calf in triathlon).  74 it said.  I looked again.  Yes, THERE IT WAS 74.  Here was a 74 year old woman passing me up the hill like it was nothing.  Wow!  Another woman passed me about that time and I said "she just passed me and she's 74 - I want to be her when I grow up".  Amazing.  Truly amazing.  I was a little embarrassed, but more impressed by her ability.  I did look up her times later and she did beat my overall time on the bike, but I beat her on the run and the swim and overall....so take that!  LOL.

I finished the bike and quickly transitioned to the run.  It's just a quick 1.5 mile out and back...no problem right.  Well it was getting hot and I was definitely getting tired.  When I first started I just really couldn't find my legs.  I had to stop and walk a few seconds to get my breathing under control. It had been a really long time since I'd done a bike/run.  By mile 2 I had kind of found a rhythm and by mile 3 I was really feeling pretty good.  I still had to walk a few times up some of the bigger hills, but I ran the majority of it, and was actually surprised that my run time was faster than expected.

I pushed to the finish where Michelle's Mum was there cheering me on. It was nice to have someone cheering. I don't get that in races too often.  I crossed the finish line and received nothing...well some water and sports drink.  You don't get a medal for this race.  You actually get a glass, but they gave that to you during packet pickup.  It's kind of weird just finishing a race and not getting something...oh well I guess it's like a 5K right?  You did get a nice shirt and the mug as race swag, so I can't complain.

I went to find my results and grab a slice of pizza.  When I got my results I was super disappointed with my swim time.  I couldn't believe it was so slow, then I realized they had me in the Males 40-44 category....yes this happens often.  So once they changed that I did much better. 

Enjoying the finish line

Swim - 400 Meter:  10:37; Bike 13 Miles - 49:10 (15.9 mph); 3 mile run 33:55 (10:57 pace).  That was 9th in my AG out of 13.  It certainly wasn't my fastest tri, but again, the goal was to finish and have fun which I did.  My overall time including transitions was 1:37:41. 

Race shirt & mug

I then waited for my friend Michelle to finish.  I expected to her be near the top.  When she didn't come in for awhile I started getting nervous.  We soon found out she had gotten dehydrated and passed out on the course.  It was really scary.  She is an amazing athlete and you just don't expect things like this to happen.  But like I said it was a really hot, humid day and I guess things can happen to anyone.  She doesn't really remember much.  Someone driving by the course who just happened to be a nurse saw her staggering and then fall and came to her aid.  Of course a couple other participants did as well by calling for the medic.  She is totally fine, but it was scary. She just needed some IV fluids and was as good as new in a few hours.  Just a reminder to all of us to be careful out there, especially when it gets hot and humid and we don't sweat like we are supposed to.

It wasn't the ideal ending for sure, but both of us still had a good weekend.  And I was just happy to have been able to do a triathlon again.  I'm hopeful to do another one in a few weeks, but we shall see.

In other news, please send some good vibes to my buddy Jack, aka Doug.  He has a small tumor on his hip that has to be removed on Friday.  It's displaying "malignant tendencies".  We will know more after it's removed and sent to the lab.  I love this dog with all my heart. 

Night Flight 5K & Lots of Life Stuff

Well Hello there.  It's been way too long since I blogged I know.  But instead of doing a lot of triathlon training, I've been kind of training at this thing called life.

My world has been hectic to say the least and I've been dealing with things I've just never really had to deal with before.  I won't go into a lot of detail, but my Dad is very, very sick.  I've spent a lot of time over the last few weeks traveling back and forth between New Mexico (where my parents live), Texas (where he was in ICU) and Kansas City.  The situation is somewhat stabilized, but still not good. 

I've been back home for a couple of weeks and trying to get back into a routine and use exercise as my outlet, but it's still been difficult.  Other than a few runs here and there I basically didn't do much for about a month.  No swimming and no biking for a month.  I finally got in a couple of short swims and bikes last week and it felt good. 

This past weekend should have been my 2nd 70.3, but instead of being there I was cheering my friends on from home.  It was totally the right decision (which I made a couple of months ago) to not even attempt it; but it still stung a little as I watched everyone's posts and updates on FB.  But it's just a race and there will be more. 

Since we last met I've done a total of two races.  I did a half marathon on May 10th which seems a million years ago.  The thought of a half seems impossible at the moment.  I did that race and then went home quickly, showered and headed to New Mexico after.  The race went ok, but wasn't one of my best.  It was the third in the 39.3 series however which was 3 half marathons in 5 weeks.  I even got a special medal for completing the series.

Me with my Running with the Cows Half Medal and 39.3 Series Medal

Then, this past weekend Jim and I kind of spontaneously decided to do a local nighttime 5K.  The Lee's Summit Night Flight.  We've both done it a couple of times before but it had been a few years.  The race doesn't start til 9pm so it's kind of a difficult day.  You don't want to eat too much so you don't feel crappy during the race.  So it seems like you go into it kind of starving.  I honestly wasn't sure if I could even run 3.1 miles.  I couldn't believe I was saying that but it was true.  And in the end, I did have to take two quick walk breaks during the race....oh well. 

One of Jim's running friends Paul was the one who encouraged us to do it.  So he and Jim decided to basically run from the house to the race to "warm-up".  It's about 3 miles.  I chose to just drive.  I waited in the car until about 10 minutes before the race and did a few light stretches...no warm up for me...I was afraid I couldn't get through the 3 miles lol, I didn't need to add any distance.

Right before the race I found one of my tri friends and started chatting with her.  We ended up running most of the race together, which was good, because I think I probably ran a lot faster than I would have on my own.  We stuck together for the first 2.5 miles or so, but toward the end we had a long uphill climb and I just couldn't hold on to my pace.

In the few runs I've done at home lately I've struggled and had to work really hard to maintain an 11:30-12:00 min pace and that has been on 3 and 4 mile runs.  So I didn't expect much.  I figured I'd be super lucky if I managed to break 11 minutes Friday night.  In the end I actually finished with a 10:15 pace (31:45 finish time) and I was actually pretty happy with that.  I certainly hadn't been doing any speed training and I've just been completely wiped out lately so I was pretty happy with the race results overall.  It was far better than I thought I'd do. 

I met up with Jim after the race and he'd had another great race.  5th place overall and 1st in his age group. Jim's friend Paul also set a huge new PR.  So I guess it was a pretty good night for all of us. 

That's all for now.  What's been new with you the last month or so???

Garmin Half Marathon - Wickedly "Fast" - Race Review

It seems like life has been a bit of a roller coaster lately and this weekend was no exception.

We've been on "baby watch" for awhile in the Weatherly household.  My stepdaughter Madi was due to give birth to her first baby on April 16...but she wasn't quite ready to say hello to the world yet. A week after the due date Madi started having some contractions, and on Thurs evening we got the call they were heading to the Birthing Center...only to be sent home telling her she was having false labor.

Friday afternoon we get the call again that she was heading to the Birthing Center.  This time it was the real deal, she was in labor.  A few hours later sweet little Savannah Grace arrived, weighing 6 pds 7 ounces with brown hair and brown eyes.  She's amazing.  Mom and baby did great!

Madi & Savannah

Jim and I were both planning to run the Garmin Wickedly Fast Half Marathon the next morning.  We knew due to the delivery we might not get to race, but it really didn't matter.  The birth of our second grandchild was the most important thing going on. 

Well, we ended up getting home about midnight and decided we would race. We would probably be a little tired with only about 4 hours of sleep, but we could do it.

We woke a little groggy but ready to race.  The weather seemed almost perfect.  It was 55 degrees with about 12 mph winds, but there was a chance of thunderstorms and the winds were supposed to pick up, so we knew the end of the race might not be great.

We showed up a little later than we normally would and it was a mistake.  After getting off on the exit to the race it took about 35 minutes to get through traffic and park.  By the time we got parked we only had about 15 mins til the race started and we were parked quite a ways from the start.  I had to go to the bathroom before the race started.  We both quickly left the car and headed for the porta pottys. Based on the line, I knew there was a good chance I wouldn't be through before the race started. 


Race start

I finally made it to the start line just as the National Anthem was finishing; with literally no time to spare.  I took a quick selfie since we had taken no pictures.  And then I was off.  After just a minute or so of running I looked down at my Garmin and dang it I was on "bike" mode.  I had to switch over to run, but hated that because now my Garmin time and distance would be a little off and I wasn't quite sure by how much.  Turned out to be about a min and a half.

I had originally planned to try to set a PR at this race.  But with the bad winter and spring we've had, I just haven't been able to get in the kind of outdoor training I needed to make that happen.  That said, I've been working on speed quite a bit over the last few weeks.  I decided to shoot for a 2:25, which would be 2 mins slower than my PR, but still a bit of a stretch goal for me right now.

The weather was really pretty nice when I started.  It was about 55 degrees with light winds.  I started running and felt pretty good.  My first mile was too fast, as usual, but I tried to slow down a bit and get in a rhythm.  The course was a little more challenging than I had originally thought.  It is claimed to be "wickedly fast" and flat.  I have found that in the Kansas City area "flat" is a relative term.  I have ran a few flat races...like in Indianapolis and Florida - those races are flat, this race was not flat.  It has several steep inclines and rolling hills. As a matter of fact, the last 5 miles are pretty much uphill...and there is an uphill finish...seriously...an uphill finish??  The climbs are never more than about 100 feet, so they aren't huge, but they are enough to slow down your pace.

The "flat" course from my Garmin

I felt like I was running a pretty strong race for the first 9 miles and I was on pace to be right around 2:25.  But just as you made a sharp turn around mile 8, I looked up and the sky was as black as night.  There was definitely a storm moving in any second.  Some light rain began to fall which actually felt pretty good.  But by mile 8.5 it was a torrential downpour.  Somewhere around mile 9 you run on an asphalt running trail which was quickly flooding.  There were ankle deep puddles in some sections and water running all the way across the small trail at least a few feet wide in other sections. There was nothing you could do but run through the water.  My feet were heavy and wet.  It was getting colder.  It was coming down in sheets and it was thundering and lightening.  I was waiting for the race to be cancelled and pulled off the course at any minute.  It got really hard to focus on pace.  But at the same time I kinda just wanted to get done, so I kept pushing as hard as I could in the conditions.


Can anyone tell where I started to fight the weather and fatigue?

We got poured on for about 30 minutes.  From roughly mile 8.5 and to 11 or so.  Some people said they got hailed on, but I never felt any hail. 

The rain let up in those last couple of miles, but the wind grew stronger and suddenly I was freezing!  55 and sunny and light winds is great.  50, soaked and windy is cold!  Mile 11 was my slowest mile.  I was fighting the weather and tiredness was setting it. It was then that I realized I wouldn't make 2:25, but I knew if I pushed hard I could still have a strong race.  So, I pushed with all I had left in me and crossed the finish line in 2:28:38.  It was my 27th stand alone half marathon (28th if you count the half I did as part of my Half Ironman) and it was my third fastest ever.  So, I call that a good day.

I found Jim at the finish and he had luckily grabbed my jacket and brought it to me...so sweet.  I grabbed some food and we quickly headed to the car.  I was freezing.  I was shaking the entire way home. 

In the end we both had pretty good races.  Jim luckily didn't have the weather to contend with as he was finished before the downpour (lucky for being so dang fast) :)  He came in just shy of a PR and 2nd in his Age Group.  He always amazes me! 

Race medal..which also glows in the dark

Did you race this weekend?  Any weather to contend with?

Tons of Stuff Tuesday

Man, blogging seems like it is becoming harder and harder.  I have stuff to share, I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and write it.  So here's what's going on with me...in a nutshell.

The dress I finally decided on

1.  I turned 40.  Yep, the dreaded 40.  I had a lovely Birthday party surrounded by friends and family.  It was perfect.  I had wanted to do something "epic" for 40...but just never really got around to planning some big thing.  No big deal, the Birthday party was really quite perfect.  I stressed over my outfit for weeks.  I bought four dresses before finally deciding on one.  We ended up getting some bad news shortly before the party, and then Jim had a flat tire on the way there and I was late to my own party.  It was stressful and I was having so many mixed emotions...but everyone was so great.  It's times like these that you realize just how important family and friends are.

2.  I ran a half marathon a week and a half ago.  Nothing big to report.  It's the Rock the Parkway half marathon here in Kansas City.  It is my half marathon PR (3 years ago)....and I haven't been able to touch my time since.  In 2012 I ran a 2:23 (PR), 2013 a 2:34 and 2014 a 2:32.  So I guess I was 2 minutes faster than last year, but still my finish time is somewhere around my "average" for a half.  I'm usually between 2:30 and 2:35.  The weather was nice though a bit warm at the end, and we did have some strong winds, which you had to fight the entire 6.5 miles back.  I went out to fast.  I had a good 8 or 9 miles and then totally crashed at the end.  But it was fun...as always.

The finish line at Rock the Parkway

3.  I have another half marathon this weekend.  This is my 2nd in a series of 3 over 5 weeks.  It's called the Heartland 39.3 series.  It includes Rock the Parkway, Garmin, and Running with the Cows.  All fairly local though different areas of the city.  You get a special shirt for running the series and then *I think* you get a special medal at the end.  They've been doing the series a few years, and the stuff you get only gets better if it's your 2nd or 3rd year or whatever.


Me & Jim at my Birthday

4.  I withdrew from the Boulder 70.3 race last week.  As I said above, my family got some bad news about a week ago.  I was in the critical part of my training with only about 8 weeks to go and I knew I couldn't miss a workout and needed to be mentally "fit".  With everything going on, I realized it would just be too much.  Plus I'll probably be taking at least one or two week long trips over the next month or so that would keep me from being able to train pretty much at all.  I've had to drop out of races before and I've always been pretty upset by it, but this one I'm totally at peace with.  It's the right thing to do for me and my family right now.

5.  I finally rode my tri bike again.  If you've been following my blog for awhile, then you know I purchased a new tri bike last May.  On basically my first ride I had a very near miss with a car and threw myself over the handlebars of my bike breaking my wrist (among lots of other scrapes and bruises).    I have been a big chicken about getting on it again.  Honestly, I have felt so dumb, but I have been scared to death. On Sunday, I finally put on my big girl pants and went for a ride.  I only rode about 30 minutes, but I survived.  It will take a little getting used to but I know I'll be fine.  I just need to get over the mental part of it.  Now that we are finally having warm weather, I should be able to get out for more rides this week.

Jim took this picture this weekend of one happy dog enjoying the warm weather.  I guess we all love Spring!

That's probably enough for now.  How are you????  Anything new and exciting going on in your world?

Vacation...and other stuff.

The beautiful resort

Well hello there!  Sorry I’ve been away awhile.  Work was insane there for a period, and then last week I was on vacation…ahhh….magical vacation.

So this post will be about lots of random things and updates.

·       I lost 11 pounds in 4 week on the Ketogenic Diet.  I ended up gaining one back.  When I got back from vacation I was up 2 more pounds, but that is gone now.  So I can officially say I’m down 10 pounds and that makes me feel great!  I still have 10-15 more that I want to lose though.

·       I did not do the Ketogenic Diet on vacation.  We were at an All Inclusive Resort…so I ate what I wanted.  I tried not to go crazy, but it was hard.  They had amazing home made bread that was just the best bread I've ever eaten.

·       Am I going to continue the diet or stay on it full time?  No, I don't think so.  It is very restrictive, and I never really got to a point where I felt great.  I was really tired through alot of it.  But in alot of ways I loved the diet.  I will incorporate many of its ideas.  I like doing a better job of eating lots of healthy fats and far fewer carbs.  I will use it for periods to help boost weight loss until I get to where I want to be.  I am planning to do the diet for a couple of more weeks now that I'm home.  Then full time, I’d like to do something more like Paleo/Whole Foods.  I miss my fruits for sure (even though I still ate a small amount daily - 1 serving).

My friend Michelle, her Mom & Me

·       I wore my FitBit on vacation.  From Wed-Mon I logged 44.76 miles - and that included travel days on Wed & Mon.  I ran 3 times while I was there on the beach- so wonderful.  We were only there 4 full days, so I was happy with that.  But of course, I walked a ton!  I have to say I was still surprised at the total miles.  I really was active and that made me happy!  I had hoped to swim more, but the weather was a little cool, and the ocean was pretty cold.  We still got in two days though.

Junkanoo parade.  I love all the bright colors

 

·       I turn 40 in 10 days.  I can’t believe it.

·       I have a half Ironman in 10 weeks!  I really need to step up the training.  I have to get outside to ride.  I haven't ridden outside once yet.  This miserable weather is going to have to go away!

·       I vacationed in Nassau, Bahamas.  It was amazing!  It was for my 40^th Birthday.  The original plan was to go on my Birthday, but we are expecting our granddaughter just a couple of days after so it was just too close to be out of the Country.  I went with a friend and her Mom (since Jim hates vacation - crazy man I know).  We had a blast.

·       I’m including lots of vacation pictures.  I wish I was back there now.  I love the beach and warm weather so much!!  Hopefully this will help some of you feel warm inside.  Summer is just around the corner right????

Love the guy in the backfround..lol

       And last but not least.  I danced and sang on vacation - on stage!  Oh my.  There was a live band one of the first nights and they were playing really fun music, so we were up dancing.  They called 4 people up on stage to do some crazy Bohemian song.  I was one of them.   I decided I could be timid and scared (which I was) or I could just go for it....I went for it and had a blast.  After several people said I was the "best" dancer...and one called me the booty girl (it was part of the song).  Anyway, after that I was "booty girl" and "won the booty contest" according to Michelle's Mom.  LOL.  Then, later in the week, we were in the lobby bar and they had a guy singing.  Michelle's Mom told him it was my 40th Birthday and that I needed to come up an sing a song with him because I love Jimmy Buffet.  So yea, he called me up on stage.  Dancing was one thing, but I can't sing a NOTE...just ask Jim...he tells me to stop singing all the time.  I was super nervous, but just had fun with it and did my best Margaritaville.  Hey, I was on vacation, I'm never going to see those people again right?  What a wonderful, wonderful trip. 


My dance debut

 

 

Westport 4 Miler

Sometimes it's hard to write a race report about a race you've done multiple times, so I'll make this short.

Me & Michelle pre-race - clearly super excited!

This weekend I did the 36th Annual Westport St Patrick's Day 4 Miler.  It was my 3rd time doing this event.  It's such a fun race!  There is always a sea of green and people in costumes.  I think it's cool that it's been going on so long.  It's truly a Kansas City tradition.  It draws in about 3,000 people into the cool artsy area of Westport.  There are tons of unique shops and lots of bars and pubs.  Most people usually hang out after the race and fill the bars.  Nothing like drinking at 10:30 or 11:00 on a Sunday morning.  There is also always an "unofficial" aid station at about mile 3.5 that hands out green beer and this year they also had green jello shots.  I did not partake...can't do that while running!

The race didn't start until 10, but Michelle and I still needed to pick up packets and parking can be crazy so we left at 7:30.  We had packets in hand by 8:30 and some time to kill.  We just chilled in the car til about 9:30.  It was a BEAUTIFUL morning.  It was right at 55 degrees and the sun was shining.  It was truly a perfect race day.

I didn't look up my 2013 time before the race...I should have.  If I had known I was so close to my time I might have tried just a little bit harder.  I was 8 seconds slower this year.  However, my paces were a bit more consistent (except mile 3 - though consistent year over year).  I always forget just how hilly this race is.  I guess it's not super hilly, but for 4 miles, which is basically just over a 5K pace it's a tough course.  Just like last year I died in mile 3, but it's a long slow climb.  Again, if I had looked at my time prior to the race I might have been able to at least match my 2013 time, but I don't know.  The race pretty well took it out of me.

For the first time ever you were supposed to get a medal for this race.  Unfortunately, the medals were made overseas and apparently there was a bomb threat.  Now all the medals, among other things are sitting in a warehouse until they have been reviewed and approved for shipment to the US.  So eventually, I'll get one of these. 

My future medal

After the race I found Michelle and we headed home.  She  had to get home right away for another event so we didn't get to hang out for the festivities after.  It ended up working out for me because it was supposed to be my long run day.  So, after a hard run I came home and ran 4 more miles.  I had originally wanted to do 6 but with the 10 am race start it was just getting too late.  It was probably good because that 4 miles was the hardest thing I had done in a long time!  Wow!  It's amazing how hard it is to run after a hard effort.

Are you doing or did you do a St Patty's Day race this weekend?

You also get free race pictures!

 

On an unrelated note, my 4 weeks on a Ketogenic Diet are up.  I will write another blog post about that in the next day or two.  But I've decided to keep doing it for a little while longer.

First Tri of the Season - Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri

Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon - Sunday, March 9, 2014

I have always wanted to do an indoor triathlon, but they just never seemed to fall at the right time for me.  They are a great way to get you in the "tri" mood when you probably haven't done a tri since the previous summer.  When I saw they were offering one at a gym pretty close to my house (about 35 minutes) and on a date I could actually go, I was excited.  I asked a friend if she'd do it with me and with that we were set.

Flash forward a few weeks.  1)  I didn't realize the event was held on Daylight Saving Time day.  This didn't turn out to be a big deal as our heats were at 9:00 and  9:20.  So I had to get up at 6:45 (5:45 to my mind and body)...but really not that early, especially for a race day.  2)  I didn't know I would have a NASTY head cold.  I started getting a cold last Wed and by Saturday it was a full blown crap fest.  I felt completely miserable. Exhausted and unable to breathe.  I pretty much stayed in bed all day Saturday and never left the house once.  I did do an hour brick Sat (30 min bike and 30 min run) just to see if I would feel better.  I didn't really feel better or worse.  I took the workout pretty easy...then went back to bed.

I didn't sleep much on Saturday night.  I just couldn't breathe.  I woke up about 2:30 and was up til about 5:00.  I finally fell back asleep for awhile, and woke up a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off at 6:45.  So, I wasn't really sure how things would go.  I was tired, but I did wake up feeling a little better.

My transition area - a locker

I picked up my friend and we drove to the gym.  Packet pickup was super simple.  Tell them your name and they gave you a bib and a t-shirt.  Done.  We got to the gym about an hour beforehand so we could check out where we would be swimming, cycling and running.  Before we knew it Michelle's heat was about to start.  Unfortunately she was in the heat ahead of me...even though we had requested to race together..but no biggie we were just 20 minutes apart.  Michelle jumped in and I watched her group swim.  She was clearly the only "swimmer" in her heat.  She was lapping the other ladies by quite a bit. She was a high school and college swimmer and totally rocks the swim!

As a matter of fact, Michelle was so into the swim she missed the call for time.  I think she did an extra 2 laps and was starting on her 3rd before they finally got her to stop.  She got out of the pool behind the rest of her heat...but I knew she would be fine.  I wished her luck with the rest of her race and hopped in the pool to warm up for a few laps.

Michelle in the zone

This event is actually based on time and not distance, which I really liked.  No worries about being the last person (well except that I was in the last heat).  For the race you swam 10 minutes, had a 10 minute transition, biked 30 minutes, had a 5 minute transition and then ran 20 minutes.  They record your distance for each leg and give you a score for each leg, then combine the scores together for your final score/position.  So basically whoever goes the furthest wins. 

I've only been swimming about once per week, but I knew I could do 10 minutes.  They sounded the start and off I went.  I tried to be conservative.  I knew if I went out too fast I would crash at the end.  I did pretty good not starting too fast.  I felt pretty good throughout the swim and before I knew it I was done and ready to move on to the cycle.  I managed to do 425 yards in 10 minutes!  I was thrilled.  The nice thing about having a set transition is that the time didn't count, so I took advantage of it, to change out of my wet things and into dry clothes.

I made it to the cycle room with a couple of minutes to spare so I had time to adjust my bike height, etc to make the ride more comfortable.  I had brought my bike shoes, but my clips didn't fit...so I ended up riding in my tennis shoes - the bikes at least had cages.  I sat next to Michelle who had just a few minutes left to go on the bike.  In a few minutes my heat was off.  I wasn't really sure about what tension to use.  I kept adjusting it trying to find something that felt comfortable, but that maximized by mph as much as possible.  I felt pretty good on the bike and really pushed it toward the end.  I did 8.9 miles in 30 minutes.  When I got off the bike I could really feel it...I was afraid I had went a little too hard and would be dead for the run.  I kept telling myself it's only 20 minutes, you can do anything for 20 minutes.

I walked passed Michelle who only had about 2 minutes to go on the run and she was killing it!  I think she was around a 7 min pace.  I got on the treadmill and started to run.  I told myself to take it conservatively and I did.  I started out at a 5 and increased by .1 every minute until I got to a comfortable pace of 5.8 (which I think is about a 10:30 min pace).  I inched it up to a 10 minute pace (6.0) for a few minutes, then I'd go back to 5.8.  I did this a few times.  Finally with 2 minutes left, I went up .1 each 30 seconds and ended up running my last bit at a smoking fast (for me) 9:15 or 9:300 pace.  I was super happy with my run.  I managed 1.89 miles in 20 minutes, so not too bad at all.  Well I thought I did 1.89...they have me down for 1.88.  I think that's wrong.  No biggie.

When the race was over I was happy.  It was only an hour of exercise, so it wasn't super taxing, but I had pushed myself, yet played it smart at the same time.  Considering how I was feeling starting the race I was super happy with my time and effort.

The shirt...actually pretty cute and women's specific cut

After the race we chatted with a couple of the ladies that had been in my heat (this wasn't an all female race, but there were definitely more ladies then men).  This had been their first tri.  I tried to talk them into doing a local all women's sprint tri this summer.  Who knows, maybe they will.  They seemed like they had a good time .

Anyway, that was that.  My first race of the season and it went well!!!

My overall results were GREAT for me.  I was 12th out of 28 people overall and 4th out of 26 females!  That's my highest ranking like ever and puts in in the top 25% (for women).  Now, there weren't alot of serious triathletes here, but it's ok I'll take it.  I was also 2nd out of 16 women in the swim, right behind my friend Michelle!  That is crazy...of course I did 17 swim lengths and she did 27!!  Michelle ended up winning the Women's Tri.  She is awesome!