Desert Triathlon Race Report

I am stealing this race report format from a friend.  She is a much better athlete than I and apparently a much better blogger.  Here goes-

Pre-race:  I was nervous heading into this race.  For two reasons.  One- It's one of my favorite races of all time.  The weather is usually good, the competition is excellent and goes deep, and the course is fast.  And two- I was starting to feel really optimistic about my fitness.
Caitlin and I met up with our good buddies Larry and Christina for some Mexican food prior to the race.  The food was stupidly good.  The whole dinner my legs were bouncing up and down under the table.  My energy was through the roof and I felt like I was going to have a blinder of a race in store. I was feeling like a coiled spring.

Race Day:

Swim: I launched myself into the water and tried to get into a rhythm as quickly as possible.  I was struggling to find feet to follow and wound up in no-man's land.  Swimming alone, I just focused on the process of getting out of the G-D water.  I thought about each stroke and tried to channel some good form.  I also kept thanking God for getting each little bit further in the swim.  With epilepsy, the swim is never taken for granted.  I finally rounded the last buoy and headed into shore.

Bike:  I whipped through transition and out with my new Quintana Roo CD0.1.  I was excited to race the bike now that I really had my position dialed on it and I had trained on it a bit.  Out onto the roads, the legs were feeling like magic.  I was clicking along, thinking my Garmin was full of $#!T as it was ready 27.5-28 mph with no wind to speak of... I was riding out of my skull!  I settled into an aggressive rhythm and worked my way from 15th through to 4th.  I stuck in my aerobars for nearly the entire course and just pedaled smooth controlled circles.  I ended with an all time best average speed of 25.4 mph for 24 miles!

Run:  Moment of truth.  Can you run fast off the bike? ... At this point my answer is probably not but you have to try. Onto the run, a step ahead of 5th place I was up on my toes and running hard.  I was feeling some cramping but hoping it would melt as cramps usually do.  5th place turned into 4th place as he was pure class and I was out to lunch comparatively. I tried to keep the elastic from snapping and came through the first mile in 5:45.  He was 3 seconds ahead with the elastic still in tact.  Next mile- 5:50.  6 seconds ahead.  Then the full on cramping hit me like a bomb.  I had never had cramps like that.  My diaphragm had gone completely haywire.  It was like horrifically painful hiccups.  My pace dropped as I gasped pathetically.  4th place pranced away from me as my next mile came in at 6:12.  I was unraveling.  The cramps continued as I set out on lap 2.  I slowed and squeezed deep into my rib cage and suddenly the cramps melted.  I was back into my pace!  next mile came in low 6's and then another 6 flat and then mid 5:50's as I hit the tape.  I finished the 6 mile run with an average of 5:58's!

Yep.  That was a good one.  It was about 1.5 minutes faster than the last time I raced here and that race was unbelievable at the time.  After the race I was thinking- It's amazing.  That minute and a half means nothing to anyone but it means so much to me.  It's good to be back racing after a year of injuries. I spared you the gory details by not blogging for that year but- trust me- it wasn't fun.  This is fun.

An extraordinary week

Day 1- Dear lord. I found out that my Bike frame is non-functional. My sweet Seduza's dropout had cracked straight through. I rushed it to the ER only to be told that it was a terminal issue and required carbon repair. I went home, despondent, and put it on the trainer as it would have been a liability on the roads. I spun for 2 hours in silence. 1 hour aerobic/ 1 hour speed.  

 
Day 2- I got out in the morning and nailed a moderate paced track session, thinking about my bike the whole time. Depression was the name of the game. I had a race on the weekend and needed a steed. I had to solve the issue and it would take some creativity as I had a strict budget and no time to waste. Fortunately, I had a CD0.1 frame that I was waiting to build so it's time had come.  It was about to be called up to the Majors. I sold my SRAM crankset and bought a SRAM Red BB30 version on sale which ended up clearing up some cash. Then I ordered some levers and I decided to gut the seduza and use the parts. I hit the pool after work for a 2500 swim. Again, a moderate effort just getting the work done. Chop wood. Carry water.
Day 3- Day off as I was feeling fried. My volume has been high this year and I am still figuring out how best to handle it. With a race on the weekend, I like to have two full days off in the week before. I find it helps me get that "pop" feeling of freshness on the day.
Day 4- 6 mile run with some hard strides. I had no idea what the weekend would hold as I hadn't touched on race pace all year except a bit on the bike. The first race of the year is always a crap shoot. It's even more of a crap shoot when you are riding a new bike for the first time. Legs felt good overall. Aerobic system was still lethargic but that was kind of expected. Patience is the key in race week.
Day 5- I got out for an easy 4 miler with strides at lunch. I stayed on a dirt trail by my office. It is 1/2 mile long. Soft is good for easy runs which outweighs the boredom factor of running back and forth on a 1/2 mile strip. After getting home, I raced to the pool to nail an hour long set. Can't recall what I did but I think it had some fast 100's and 200's. Well... fast for me. Slow for the middle school girls' swim team. Everything is relative. Sidenote- all my parts were now in for the bike build. I had called my boy, Phil, at Hypercat Racing Bike Boutique and he agreed to squeeze me in for a build right before the race. What a legend.
Day 6- I went up to see Phil and he made quick work of the CD0.1 build. The nicest touch in my mind were the wicked red highlights in the cockpit and the red cable housing. It just looks FLASH!

With team Evotri, matching and style are what it's all about. After some trialing and tweaking, we left Hypercat and headed for the bike course of the Camarillo duathlon. Even though I was really familiar with the area, I wanted to make sure I would know the turns (foreshadowing). I zipped around the course and the bike felt snappy and stable despite some serious wind. It squirted along the flats like a bar of soap and felt rock solid. Love it! Ready to race!

Day 7- Nervous for the first time, I got in the car with Caitlin riding shotty. We headed to the check-in and I went about my twitchy checking and double checking pre-race routine. My type A-ness (say that fast) was showing big time. After a quick warm up, I hit the start line. I did a quick prayer for safety right before the BANG! I was off and in the lead for the first 1/4 mile. Two guys moved through and I kept in touch, settling into my rhythm. I checked my GPS and I was well sub 6 so I relaxed knowing it was a good place to be. The first lap was done and I was feeling... comfortable??! Comfort is a rare feeling at 5:47 pace for me. I rolled around the next lap and into T1 sitting in third with 1st about 20s up and 2nd about 4s up. I tore through transition and onto the new Quintana Roo. This was where I would move. I made short work of the 2nd place and set off like a death train from hell after 1st place. I was locked in and making slow chips out of his advantage. Complete tunnel vision. I had his lead down to 5 seconds as we dived into a turn... I noticed the street sign as we leaned into the turn. OH CRAP! We were off course. Un-freaking-believable! I yelled to the leader but the head wind drowned me out. I spun around and headed back to the course cursing at my bumble. All told I added on 5.5 miles but rode well. Despite a solid wind, I held a 24.2 mph average into T2 and I was out onto the run. I shot off, running with a bit of agitation at my stupidity. 1st mile was 5:48! I was stunned and now was jazzed to keep the turnover high. Second mile came in at 5:45. Finishing it off with a 5:46. And Boom goes the dynamite!

 

I came in 4th place overall but the place didn't matter as I had screwed up the course beyond belief. The performance was rock solid, my new CD0.1 had me flying, and I was actually running well for the first time in a year and half.  Also, I didn't quit which I was pretty pleased about.  I have a feeling that the week was the start of a good season. Sort of an abnormal week but I loved it so I thought I would share :)

Coaching: a weird way to experience a race

Hey All,

I have been absent for far too long so time to get back on the horse.  Not a ton going on for me from a racing perspective but that doesn't mean I have bailed on triathlon.  Quite the opposite, I am doubling down.  I am enjoying training more than ever and I actually started coaching!  The coaching has been pretty interesting so let's talk about that just between us girls.

My good friend, Lauren, contacted me last year to talk about coaching.  I thought she was asking for recommendations but she actually wanted me to coach her. At first, I was just flattered. I was blushing all over the place like a middle school girl.  But when I got down to it, I was pretty nervous. I wanted to do things the right way and deliver on my end of the bargain.  She was targeting Ironman Arizona and I felt I could set her up for a good race.  I am not quite sure I would be a good coach for certain things, but I was confident that I understood at least how to get properly fit for Ironman and also felt I could explain race execution which was learned from both nailing it and botching it on my own. I also know Lauren really well.  This was pretty important as I had a good understanding of her strengths and weaknesses.  Sounded like a good situation so I was all in... but still nervous.

The first thing we did was set up some goals.  We then spoke about race scheduling, how to approach training, what has worked for her in the past, and what we wanted to focus on.  We set about ticking things over in training.  I was throwing the kitchen sink at her in terms of workload.  The workouts were really tough, mind numbing in some cases, and pretty intense but she was nailing the program.  Obviously we were cautious in the parts of the season where the worload was highest, when she got sick, and always kept a pulse on how she was responding to the training.  She just kept it rolling, stayed injury free, consistent, and committed.  It was really freaking impressive.  I basically set up a program that I'm not sure I could have done myself and she nailed it to the T.

Race day came and I was super confident in her fitness and our prep for the race.  We had gone over the race so many times it was ridiculous and I knew she was set up for a BIG PR, but it was down to execution. Ironman is such a crap shoot. So many things can go wrong in so many different areas. I had no idea what was going to happen. I posted up on my computer, locked in and focused for a long day staring at a screen. Game on!

She set out and cruised the swim. She was a collegiate swimmer so I knew she was comfy when she came out in 1:00 flat.  We had done enough swim training for that to be totally under control. Onto the bike. I was glued to my computer.

The first few splits were so even on the bike, I couldn't believe it.  The pace was again totally in control and I was starting to get really pumped.  I knew she was on her game, conservative, and executing beautifully.  Praying for no flats, I kept refreshing on my screen to see her splits stay dead even. Unreal.  I kept calling Inch who was at the race and her boyfriend, Eric, to remind her to be patient and keep eating. She hit mile 100 and was still laughing and I knew things were on track. No flats and into T2.

Onto the run, the first couple splits looked a bit quick.  The standard 20-30 seconds per mile faster than you should be going because it's Ironman and you're finally fresh! It's freaking science bro. Everyone does it.  After mile 3, she settled in.  Around mile 10 things started trending in the wrong direction.  She was fading.  My stomach started flopping over on itself and I was biting my nails down to the stumps.  She wasn't far off her pace but it wasn't looking good.  I was on the phone again trying to get someone to tell her to get some coke down and she would come around.  I hit the refresh button probably 400 times and finally her pace started to come right. Phew.  Mile 20 and she was getting on track.  The last 3 miles were faster than goal pace!

I flipped out and was jumping around like a baby howler monkey.  Incredible.  She came in at 11:06 for a 2 hour PR!  But more than the time, she executed to perfection.  Wow.  Who knew hitting the refresh button for 11 hours could be such a rush?

Lake Stevens 70.3: Guiding Aaron Scheidies

Coke Zero and Fish n' Chips

You get what you need

Dear Bloggers,

I have been away for some time as you have undoubtedly noticed.  I’m sure it has kept you up at night and for that I am deeply sorry.  Aside from the obvious apology, I feel I owe some sort of an explanation for my absence from the world wide interweb. 

This year has been particularly rough from an exercise standpoint.  It has been one injury after another and a desperate attempt to build some meager amount of fitness week after week.  I have had weeks of solid training but in endurance sports consistency is king and the only thing that has been consistent is the injuries.

This actually took quite a toll on me emotionally as I would go through highs and lows way more often than to which I was accustomed.  That’s the reason for the absence.  As the old adage goes- if you don’t have anything nice to say, stop blogging and wallow in your own self-pity.

Because of the constant setbacks, this year has forced me to do a broad analysis of the WHY of triathlon. I love endurance activities to a degree that I can’t explain.  It is sort of like the juice in my battery as a human being. Not necessarily triathlon or racing but long sustained movement through different places is what makes me happy.  Things going awry is sort of like short circuiting my system.  I feel lost.

Now on to the deeper stuff:

Looking in the mirror though is also a major component of why I like this pursuit. Self-evaluation and accountability are things that I really value and nothing exposes your core, cowardice, and ugliness quite like endurance sport. I like that especially on a discrete unit level of one race or one workout.  This year has definitely brought a new perspective on looking in the mirror, as it is SO much broader. It put me back in touch with certain key realizations and sort of developed my spirituality.

1.     The gift of being able to do this sort of thing is not mine or any individual’s but rather something precious from God. Nothing we have done entitles us to enjoy these activities. It’s easy to forget and to not give credit or honor back is something that comes more naturally than I care to admit.  Obviously, this year I realized that I had been doing just that and taking the gift for granted. Gratitude is vital and that extends beyond sport, duh.

2.     Self-reliance is arrogant, stupid, and a waste of time.  Again- very easy for me to fall into a pattern of self-reliant behavior.  Breaking the cycle is key and I’ve found that putting my faith in God has freed me to enjoy the sport again. God doesn’t necessarily give you what you want but rather what you need and there is peace in that. 

Anyways, that’s my year in a nutshell. More to come at some point

Evotri Epicamp III

Hub Endurance is another one of Evotri’s Chattanooga-based sponsors.  An excellent bike shop that provides top-notch coaching service.  They are amazingly plugged into the community. Generally a keg-erator helps with that.  They are a big local hangout for cyclists and triathletes in the area.  Coffee and beer flow like... well, like coffee and beer, and the staff is welcoming and laid back.

We headed there to have few beers, to see the shop, and chat with the boys. SRAM was their promoting their charity, World Bicycle Relief.  The program basically gives bikes to people in impoverished country. That may not seem like much, but having a bike allows them to get to a market to sell goods, or to attend school.  Basically a bike is a game changer and for $134, SRAM donates a fully equipped commuter bike to someone in need.  The people who turned out to the HUB/Evotri event had an impromptu fundraiser and were able to send 3 full bikes to Africa.

After Hub, we headed back to the cabin to crash and get ready for a beast of a bike ride in the morning.

Dawn came too soon.  We fired up the multiple gallon coffee maker that Chris brought and watched the fog roll off the Tennessee River.  The temperature slowly crept up and by 8, it was good enough for short sleeves and no gloves.  The HUB team and Dave from the North Face met us and we rolled out as a group. We stuck together for 10 miles or so and headed to the base of a climb where the group split off for the different ride options for the day.

Me, Matt, Chris, and Dave headed up the climb that was billed as one of the toughest in the area. Dave said “just when you get desperate, you have 30 more pedal strokes and it’s over.”  I thought, “Desperate? What the ^&% are you talking about?  I don’t get desperate on a bike. You do.”  Wrong.

It was 2.4 miles and pitched up to something ridiculous like 26%.  That's just a number until you actually feel it. The climb started off steep and I powered off the front and out of the saddle.  Big mistake.  It leveled off for a second and I desperately sucked air.  As it pitched up again, I started paying for my early pace.  I could barely turn the pedals as Chris went around me.  Served. I was on my last legs as I swerved all over the road.  Desperate was an understatement.  I was PWNED in the biggest way imaginable.  I sort of got my legs back under me and started trying to pull Chris back as we hit the top.

Not thrilled as my stomach nearly came through my nose on that climb

We set off along the rolling hills at the top of the ridge. I was on the Quintana Roo illicito, so I felt the obligation to go to the front and tow the group as I had the fastest bike.  Let me tell you, that bike FLIES.  I barely was putting any effort into it and easily cruising along at 23 mph in some wind.  The bike is ridiculously stable in the windy and squirts along the flats like a bar of soap.  It isn’t as snappy as the CD0.1 on the climbs, but makes up for it with the speed everywhere else. 

We headed down a descent and into some more rolling farmland.  Just as I was starting to unravel, we stopped for snickers and coke which saved my ass, as usual.  We launched up the final climb of the day. I shredded my legs on the early part of the climb and was shot out the back.  I wasn’t pleased as I don’t usually get dropped on the bike, but early season fitness, or lack thereof will do that to you.  Nevertheless, we rolled down the descent and back to the cabin.  I was smoked.  I flopped into the jacuzzi, opened the book “Once a Runner”, and 2 pages later was dozing.

Evotri Epicamp part II

Read part I to catch up, internet dweller.

We plunged into the delightful, green, wooded bowels of Chatanooga, closing in on the Quintana Roo headquarters. I was UBER pumped for this part of the weekend as it was the first time meeting with the QR crew and it was my first time in any sort of bike making facility. We arrived and were greeted by Heather Sweet and Brad DeVaney. They showed us around their offices and introduced us to the group. The 2012 line of QR bikes was lining the office. I can't say that I would mind if my office were dotted with 3 to 6 thousand dollar bikes. Some of the new paint jobs are absolutely wicked.

After we met the QR team, they walked us into the manufacturing plant where they receive their QR bikes and make the Litespeed titanium bikes. I was like a kid in a candy store. Litespeed has always been my dream bike. Something about titanium gets me in a spot that carbon never will. Seeing how they machine these bikes was incredible.

They are so far ahead of the game in titanium manufacturing it is ridiculous. The real kicker here is that, at the moment, Brad does literally all of the design work for the group. This guy is a freaking legend. He has been responsible for a great majority of the innovations since the inception of the TT bike. He is driving the industry. Lemond and Lance rode Litespeeds to tour victories. Robbie McEwen was on one. The new shift technology of the QR CD0.1 and illicito was Brad's brainchild and is probably one of the most revolutionary concepts in tri bikes in the last decade. I could pick this guy's brain for a solid week without skipping a beat. He also showed off some prototypes and molds of things he has tried in the wind tunnels and I about lost it.

After my head basically exploded, we had some lunch, snapped a million pictures, and headed out for a group ride. We noodled around the backroads. I was on a CD0.1 so I was testing it out. I was riding like a schizophrenic squirrel and popping off the front at random intervals to put the bike through its paces. That thing is snappy. It actually climbs a lot better than I would expect from a TT bike. It is really stiff and accelerates well. Not surprisingly, it is super slippery in the wind. The bike was incredibly stable pointed into the teeth of the wind and made it really easy to apply force to the pedals smoothly. I was definitely impressed. Check out Inch's new one just so you have an idea of what the CD0.1 looks like.

He looks like an idiot but that bike is so ILL.

Heather set me up with an illicito to ride for the rest of the weekend so more to come on that. After the ride, we headed back to the cabin and then onto our next stop. Hub Endurance!