Rio Grande Retro Tri Race Report

Ok so this one is a hard one to write and I'm still not sure how I feel about it all.  I know I will walk away with lessons learned but right now it still stings! 

First the days leading up to it with winter storm warnings and temps in the low to mid 30s I spent most of my time convincing myself and my friends that we could do it!  It was just a sprint and if they didn't cancel the race and it was safe enough to race we could all endure the poor weather conditions together.  I packed an extra plastic bag to keep as much as I could dry in transition.  This was a reverse tri which meant the swim was in the pool and last.  I didn't however realize it was an outdoor pool until I showed up to the race which gave some of my friends quite the laugh.  :-)

Morning of in my head it actually felt warmer than I had anticipated.  The one good thing about the fact that I always build things up in my head to be WAY worse than they really are is that when I show up for something no matter how bad it is I am usually pleasantly surprised because I had prepared myself for way worse. 

Run went well I was cheering everyone on that I could and finally could feel my hands and feet around 1.5 miles.  I had one girl running right behind me pacing herself with me and it turns out it was her first triathlon which was exciting to cheer her on.  I passed one of my friends who yelled keep it up Natasha you have like 5 women ahead of you.  I said yeah and one on my butt! :-)  I was joking of course with her and she said she wanted to stay next to me because I was such a good cheerleader and it kept her going.  That made me so happy to hear!  I also didn't mind because once I warmed up a little I may have slowed down if I didn't know she was right behind me.

It was so exciting to see so many of my friends out there and all with their own stories, like first race post baby, racing even though afraid they might drown, another raced her heart out and placed over all F for her first time, other people having overcome things such as heart disease to still be out there, one making her comeback after a major foot surgery and racing as a team with a super supportive hubby.  I could keep going and going!  You are all my heroes and keep me inspired!  How couldn't I spend the whole race cheering and high fiving??!!  The bike was slick with the wet roads so the first loop was kind of slow for me but the second loop I had a talk with myself and was like you already know what to expect and you didn't fall so go for it!

Then came the swim.  This is where it gets ugly for me.  I jumped in and my legs were on fire and stinging so bad.  I guess I hadn't worn enough layers on the bike and I didn't have enough circulation going to my legs as it hurt and they were red and swollen when I got out.  It was down and back in each lane then under.  Which I thought I did!!!  I heard my friends cheering for me but somehow I supposedly didn't hear an official trying to tell me I had skipped a whole lane??!?!!!!  That's what they are claiming led to my disqualification!  So while this makes me so sad because I swear I thought I did the whole course and there were so many people in the pool I was following and so many people cheering that would have told me if I had skipped and my times make sense with everyone around me, I'll just have to live with my first DQ EVER!  My first D of any sort EVER!  Until this race I had never had a DQ, DNF, DNS none of the Ds I tell you!  I may not be the fastest but a quitter or a cheater I am not.  So I will learn to live with this result and I will now be so super cautious on the course moving forward.  They actually gave finisher's medals for this one even though it was just a sprint, I think that's weird but ok, but now I have to throw this one away.  The trick is how the heck do I tell my son that I need it back!  He thinks all my medals are his because I told him I earn them for him.  I might have to let him keep it but I really don't want that reminder around the house.  :-)

In the end I was proud of myself and everyone else for getting out there and toughing it out and I still had a lot of fun with all my friends.  I am so lucky to be a part of this sport and we Tri for those who can't and I will keep at it!

Happy Training!

Ohhh triathlon how I miss you!

I am so grateful to still be able to swim, spin, lift weights and walk!  So don't get me wrong I am so very thankful that I still have a capable body that is just temporarily having to slow down to take care of this little business called creating a life! :-)  But it is ok to miss my triathlon life and it makes me appreciate it more and more each day.  With triathlon season kicking off I'm getting daily reminders of what I would normally be doing at this time of year and what I took for granted for so many years.  As I drive home and see cyclist heading up a hill that I use to train on regularly, as I get emails reminding me of fast approaching registration deadlines, as I see friends posting race pics and reports, I smile and relive some of my favorite triathlon moments.

I'm finally reaching that awkward stage where the belly is just starting to get in the way of things.  It's starting to get harder to bend over to pick something up or to stretch.  As I try to get up from the recliner I bob back and forth a few times before I can get the momentum to push the legs down.  When I run my shins feel the strain of my extra weight and I'm only running about 1 mile comfortably after that it's a constant battle balance of when I should give in and walk the rest.  I bemoaned to hubs the other day that he's gonna just have to start rolling me everywhere.  But then I think of the women who have had to be bed ridden due to complications, or those who could never do a triathlon.  It takes me back to what initially made me not only decide that I could accomplish an Ironman finish but made me feel like I had an obligation to do an Ironman.  Because I can!!!  Watching story after story of people who had obstacles in their way or were told they couldn't do an Ironman and still found a way to get there.  Some of those stories ended in heartbreak and were cut short at the swim or bike cutoff.  So I thought what is there to question, I can therefore I will!

While I sit here and yearn for my triathlon days to come back I also know there were days I didn't want to drag myself out of bed for that early morning run or there were races as I drug my equipment to transition with a ball of nerves in my stomach I thought why do I do this to myself.  But I want to capture these moments of want of desire to remind me when I am able again that not only will I go back and do a triathlon but I will choose to make the most of each workout, each rest day, and each race.  Now I will have someone new to pass along all the lessons that triathlon has taught me and even if the little guy doesn't choose to follow in the triathlon footsteps of his mom he will know what it is like to be part of a great community of strong people with a will and desire to overcome anything!

Swim because you can,

Ride because you can,

Run because you can,

TRI even when you think you can't!

 

Nationals and Rankings

Leanda Cave

So I'm not all that clear how rankings work but since I was in 3 triathlons last year that were actually USAT Sanctioned I qualified to get in them (that doesn't mean much).  Around here there aren't that many triathlons that actually make you get the USAT coverage.  But apparently in my age group for last year out of the 2,096 that did enough races to be ranked I was 1,316 out of those.  You may be thinking but why are you announcing this?  Ok well when I looked that I was being ranked with the likes of Leanda Cave, she was ranked 1 in my age group it made me feel a little better! :-)   There were about 20,000 total listed in that age group but I guess they didn't have the 3 sanctioned triathlons?  I've never looked into the points or how they are assigned but I guess I will at some point just out of curiosity.

The other exciting thing that happened this year is that I got an invitation to go to Nationals for the Olympic distance!  I was so excited the day I got the email that I ran out of the room and sat in front of my audience (my parents and husband) with a huge smile on my face saying "Guess What!?!?!"  Well then I slowly realized that with the timing of when it was and by when I would have to commit to it the logistics just aren't working out for this year.  So as bummed as I am about this I will not be able to participate in Nationals! :-(   I hope to go to Nationals in two years and might even get a coach when and if it happens and actually train for this like an A race not an "Oh crap I better start getting my miles in race!"  But I also don't fully understand the rules for qualifying for this because I think according to their rules I should have been invited in the past but this is the first time I have been.  Either way I usually don't like doing destination races but I think this one is one I would travel for!  So watch out in two years Nationals here I come!  :-0  Ok I might be getting a little bit ahead of myself.....

Have any of you been to Nationals?  Was it a really cool experience or not worth it?

Ready or Not, Here I come! Ironman Arizona 2012

It’s race week! Come Sunday it’s do or die time, 140.6 miles of guts, determination, inspiration, sweat, hopefully little to no blood, and finally excitement and accomplishment.  I’ve been prepping and asking myself all the important questions:

“What am I going to wear?”

“How should I do my hair?”

“Which pro athletes are going to be there?”

“Should I practice a dance for the finisher’s line?”

Ok, Ok I am taking it more seriously than that!  Last week hubs asked me how I felt and if I was prepared and compared to last time.  I couldn’t give him an answer!  Then I managed to figure it out, physically I think I’m more prepared than last time mainly cause I have experience now and my body is used to being punished.  But I felt that mentally I wasn’t quite as prepared as I was last time.  Don’t ask me why but I seem to have a lot more doubts, fears, worries and anxiousness this time around.  So I watched the 2012 Ironman World Championship special this weekend and got PUMPED UP!  I am dedicating this entire week not only to tapering but working on my mental toughness.  I’m going to focus on being strong and a lot of positive self talk!  I will listen to some of my favorite music and do some dancing, to the dismay of my dog who growls every time I do, and I will get myself mentally prepared for this weekend.

So I have started printing directions, athlete guides, and prepping lists of what to pack.  My list includes the following right now:

Advil, muscle relaxers (for the car ride home), motion sickness pills, sunscreen, wetsuit, trisuit, goggles, fuel, running shoes, socks, warm up clothes, extra shirt, hat, visor, bodyglide, Vaseline, sunglasses, windbreaker, towel, camera, helmet, bike, bike shoes, 2 spare tubes, CO2 cartridges, water bottles, thingys to get the tire off (I’m so distracted I can’t come up with appropriate words), bib belt, index cards with affirmations, MP3 player, USAT Card, flip flops, long pants jic, First Aid kit, family, bagels and PB & Honey, Attitude!

Here’s a pick of what my dad has started packing:

Here’s a fun thing I did to distract myself, wrote down all the feelings I was feeling and put it into Wordle:

What’s your favorite way to prep for a big race?  Happy Training!

Bike, run, swim, eat sleep, repeat; yup that’s my life!

So the longest weekend of my training for Ironman Arizona is done and I have just 3 more weeks of training left!  I am both relieved and anxious!

Saturday – 100 mile bike ride with my dad.  We started at 10:00 a.m. in hopes of it warming up a bit but it was still in the 30s when we started which made my dad cranky.  Then he got 2 flats in a row which made him even crankier.  Then we hit our 1^st hill that at least warmed us up.  I kept having to stop at porta potties, I’ve never had to pee so much during a ride ever!  Then we got kind of lost and had to make up some extra miles on the bosque trail which can get a little boring after riding back and forth more than once.  Then there was the headwind on the way back which made me cranky, so with all that we were out there for a LOOOONG time.  I think we finally were done about 7 hours later!  We waddled our way to the local pasta buffet where they treated us to free lemonade and soda cause we looked so beaten and down trodden but really we were both happy to have gotten the ride in and survived.  I think we each consumed our own body weight in pasta!

Sunday – I was solo for an 18 mile run which I was dreading but it went surprisingly well.  I kept my hat pulled down and my head low so that I wouldn’t see the path ahead.  Every time I kept thinking ok my legs are going to start hurting any minute now, it didn’t happen and I just kept saying IMF “incessant forward motion” to myself.  My other mantra for the day was “that too shall pass” For example:

“I’m tired” – That too shall pass

“I’m dizzy” – That too shall pass

“I’m nauseous” – That too shall pass

“I have a cramp” – That too shall pass

“I have all these great blog ideas” – That too shall pass

“I’m cranky” – That too shall pass

“I think my left side is hurting” – That too shall pass

Until finally the 18 miles also passed! 3 hours and 15 minutes later with the uphill on the way out to make the way back a little bit easier.

Then I went home to eat a little lunch and wanted to give up but texted my friend that I knew wouldn’t let me and I was convinced to hit the pool to finish the weekend off with a 2100 yd steady swim.

I txted hubs as he was driving back into town to tell him the floors were covered with stinky clothes and the sink was full of dirty dishes and he better be ok with that.

Now the pre-race dreams have started.  A few of the usuals, running late for the race start so I take off naked.  A few new ones are making it into the rotation too, Lance and I (yes we’re on a first name basis) are crawling to the finish of the IM and he gets mad cause I call him Lancey and tries to crawl right over me, and another one being so dehydrated that they are trying to force chicken broth down my throat as I yell “I’m vegetarian give me water!” 

Do you have pre-race dreams?

Last week to enter the giveaway HERE!  

Oly Race Report

First of all my 3 goals were met: don't puke (although I came close), don't get sunburned ( I used spray sunscreen between the swim and bike), and finish around the 3:30 time frame.  Now that being said I felt I could have done a lot better and was feeling really strong until I let something get to me and I fell apart!

Pre-race
For some reason I was really nervous and jittery.  I couldn't sit still Sat. and I had a hard time sleeping that night.  We were up just before 4 am and hit the road early to drive to the race.  We got there early with plenty of time to get settled and stare at the ridiculous hill that they were calling the wall that you had to mount your bike with no head start and immediately attempt to climb up.  I got really nervous about that and went and tried it out just a little to make sure I could actually clip in and have it in the easiest gear possible.  I changed my mind a gazillion times on if I would wear my wetsuit or not.  It was 75 degrees.  I decided to wear it.

Swim

It was a 2 loop triangle open water swim.  The first wave was catching up to us just as she yelled for us to start!  I somehow stayed right on course and didn't swim that much extra.  I felt surprisingly good considering I hadn't done an open water swim in 4 years and up until that week hadn't swam a full mile in training this season.  When I saw my finish time 36:20 I was happy and I felt really good!  During the swim I noticed I got a little motion sick from not being able to see anything other than the moving mountains every time I went to breathe but I shook of the puky feeling and powered through!

Bike

We road over the dam on what was a really bumpy road where you could feel your entire body vibrating and when we finally got on some smooth road it still felt like you were vibrating :-).  I actually took some water on the bike with me but ran out during loop 1.  I was still feeling really good at this point.  Then it happened, the volunteer said Olympic I said yes he pointed straight so I went.  There were no signs to confirm.  (btw I don't blame the volunteer at all he obviously did not get good instructions and had no signs to back him up) Then I noticed I was going downhill and it said "boat ramp" on the sign NOOOo I was headed down the dreaded wall back to transition.  I asked and someone else coming up had just done the same thing so I turned around.  I think I did about 3 miles extra.  But mentally it ruined me.  At first I got really angry and I took off and went out way too hard on loop 2.  By the time I got to the uphill part with shaky legs and no water I was really hurting. I had eaten 2 shock blocks before the bike and to during the run, this seemed to be enough nutrition to get me through.  I finished in 1:45 about 16 mph which with the hills and road I was happy with this time just not the extra miles.

Run
At this point I was past angry and began to not care I figured it was over.  As a tried to "run" up the 1/2 mile wall I started to walk.  Then at the top it turned into a shuffle then I jogged as I got my legs back a little.  Unfortunately my calf muscles were spasming the entire run.  I thought I did better on my hydration so maybe it was that I pushed too hard on the bike?  Either way I thought I would average about 9 min/mi it turned out to be more like 11:30.  I made it and survived.

Somehow I got 2nd in my AG but I think that is because there were only 7 in it to start and a few must have DNF or DNS cause my total time was 3:35.  But I'll take what I can get!!! :-)  I rewrote this paragraph several times and have decided that I will not let my inability to deal with emotional stress during a race bias my feelings towards a race.  But I have chosen not to do another race by this particular race company again due to a history of mistakes in all their races.

Afterwards my mom really wanted to go to a nearby national park Tent Rocks and since she put up with two nervous and grumpy triathletes and took awesome pictures of us we obliged.  But even a 1.5 mile hike in the middle of the day heat was excruciating after this tri.  This is where I almost puked for the 2nd time.  My dad did awesome and felt good the whole time.  We are on our way to IM.  I learned some valuable lessons, #1 being don't let your emotions get the best of you.  I know where my strengths and weaknesses are and I will be making some changes to my training.  For this year I will concentrate on the IM but next year I vow to conquer the Olympic distance tri!!!!

What is your favorite race lesson learned?

Trying something new in training.

I had a great weekend of workouts and was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally by the end but IN A GOOD WAY!  I feel like I had a little bit of a breakthrough with my training.  I don't have to be able to do each workout perfectly but I do have to give it my all and sometimes I will be tired when I start a workout but I am learning how to push through that and still get the best out of my training.  Learning to listen to your body is a fine line between knowing when to back off and when to push through.  Being tired is ok and part of endurance training is to learn when you can get through the tired and still give more.  Knowing when you are over trained versus your body just getting use to longer distances.

Another thing I did is try lighter gears and higher cadence on my ride.  I have been riding with a new friend and when he realized the gears I was pushing he asked if I had considered riding with a higher cadence.  I laughed because he seemed a little reluctant to suggest this (he knows most cyclist are sensitive) and told him yeah I've been told that before.  I'm willing to try it.  It's just mentally when I've tried it in the past it feels like I'm doing more work and not going any where.  I had a successful first ride trying this and I'm willing to try it again but I am still struggling with it mentally.  Every time he got too far ahead of me I really wanted to get into the tougher gears and mash it :-)

I did a little bit of research and have decided I at least need to get a cadence sensor and become aware of my cadence and figure out what works for me.  A few tid bits I found interesting are:

http://www.bikesplit.com/bsa14.htm

My recommendation for finding your optimal cadence is simple; count your stride rate during a run and match it on the bike. For most athletes this is 85 to 93 strides/ pedal strokes per minute, but there are a few exceptions. I've trained with one of the all time top athletes for OD to 1/2 IM distances and he stays at 80-85rpm on the flats, and it matches his slow run (and swim) turnover.

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/technique-cadence-matters-16394/

No substitute for training

However, elites are known to pedal faster than beginners, and with more oomph on the down stroke of their pedal action [2]. The exact reason why pros get more force down through the pedals is not clear. But (unsurprisingly) it seems to be due to their muscles, which contain higher blood capillary density and the type of muscle fibres that can only really be built up through years of endurance training – not to mention hill climbing, combined with fast riding in groups that allows high speeds and low effort. This produces high pedalling power and the ability to spin fast.


So while I find these concepts interesting I find my main focus while on my IM journey will still be getting in the miles.  Volume is what I need to work on the most and cadence awareness will be secondary.

Any thoughts on cadence?  How do you decide what's important in your training?

Ironkid to Ironman

Lately my parents have been going through this phase where they're trying to get rid of old stuff.  When they find stuff from our childhood that they would feel guilty getting rid of they try to just give it to us, that way we have the guilt associated with getting rid of it.  :-)  One of the things in my last box of stuff was an old medal they had from when I was in Ironkids.  Now on my medal hanger I have my Ironkids medal hanging right next to my Ironman medal! 

I thought this was pretty freaking cool!  I can say I've been doing triathlons for over 20 years that's more than half my life !!  I love that!  Of course there were some breaks from triathlons here and there throughout those years but I always come back to it.

I can honestly say this has become a lifestyle for me and I love everything that triathlons have done for me from keeping me on my toes, keeping me interested and challenged in life, staying healthy, staying grounded, relieving stress, introduced me to some AMAZING people, bonded me with friends and family, reminds me of all the good things I have in my life and how lucky I am for being able to do the things I can in my life and not take them for granted.  I could go on and on but those of you involved in any sports endeavors already know what I’m talking about.  I thank my parents for getting me involved in every sport imaginable (tee ball, soccer, dance, triathlon, basketball, hiking etc)  and for encouraging an active lifestyle.  So even though there were times I didn’t appreciate being told let’s go hike the Osha trail when all I wanted to do was sit in front of the TV now the thing I looked forward to most when I visit home is hiking the Osha trail!

That is another reason raising money for the Special Olympics seemed like such a good match for me.  Being a part of something special and challenging themselves physically makes a huge difference in a lot of people’s life’s and I am grateful that there are organizations out there that provide these types of opportunities!

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/NatashaArnold/special-olympics-new-mexico-over-the-edge

  

What has an active lifestyle done for you?