HITS Grand Junction Half Tri Race Report

Well it happened I made it to the start and I had to fight tooth and nail to make it to the finish!!  I'm glad I had to wait a few days to write this because I've had time to process my thoughts a little and think logically about everything that happened.  Because you know race brain makes you do and say some crazy things, like "I'm never doing another triathlon again in my life!"  or "This little piece of dirt looks like a great place for a little nap then I'll get up and run it in to the finish"

Getting there

Gone are the days of traveling the night before, camping at the race site and doing last minute packet pick up.  When you travel with a toddler you go two days before allow for a gazillion potty stops since he's been doing so well with potty training when he yells potty you yell stop the car!  So we took our time driving there and made lots of stops in the mountains and enjoyed the sights.   We even had time to play in the snow.  This part was nice not being rushed to get there and having time to do a pre race swim and location scouting which I usually never did. 

Swim
The swim didn't seem as cold as I envisioned and actually probably ended up being the best/easiest part of the race for me which was quite the surprise.  I had sleeveless wet suit and a thermal cap.  It was a beach start which was a first for me but I just went with it.  It is true that even with a small mass start it feels just as chaotic as the ones for a full IM with 3,000 people it's a weird occurrence.  Another oddity was at one point going around a buoy there was a part that we actually had to stand up and walk in the shallow water then start swimming again once it got deep enough.  I felt like I was pretty close to the last one out but I was ok with that.  I had a little bit of a panic at the start which never happens to me but I did about 6 breast strokes calmed down and gathered my breathing and was fine for the rest.  Total swim time 41:56  1.2 miles I didn't swim a perfect line this time but I was still comfortable with my performance.





Bike

The bike where do I start with this...  Had to get on the bike on a dirt road so my first turn out of transition I almost ate it but was able to regain my balance before falling on my face.  My chain fell off 4 times and my water bottle once during the first 10 miles of the bike so having to get off the bike 5 times before I was even really warmed up gave me a little hint of what it was going to be like.  But I just thought to myself ok bike course we can play this game if you want!!!  The first out and back felt fairly easy with nice rollers.  There was a point where 3 cow trucks passed me right in a row and each time the wind sucked me almost to the middle line which was pretty scary and smelly. The winds were pretty harsh and the 10 ish miles uphill into a head wind was no joke but even with all of these things happening I felt like I kind of held my own considering...  So I didn't get to use my big chain ring in the front the rest of the ride which meant some of my precious downhills were not quite as fast as they could have been but I just tucked and went with it.  I will be having a little discussion with the bike shop mechanic that promised me before the race it had been fixed and yes I did test it out before twice and it hadn't happened.  The last 6 miles of this felt like they'd never end.  It was a double out and back and I was actually expecting the hills to be way worse than what they were.  So I had trained appropriately for this with bigger hills and NM winds.  I was so happy with this and thought ok ok I can still do this.  There were only 2 aid stations which meant I was pretty much on my own for water but I made myself stay fueled and hydrated, I had a bento box full of stinger chews that I kept popping on regular intervals.  My dad even missed me at the bike to run transition because I finished faster than expected 3:36 for 56 miles.  That's why it really took me by surprise when I got off the bike and was REALLY dizzy and nauseous.  This seems to be happening quite a bit to me on my rides that are over 50 miles and strenuous.  I swear I fueled and hydrated right!


Run

Because they can't all be great shots... you need to see the suffering too

 Ok so this is where it gets ugly.  Feel free to avert your eyes!  They changed the course to a shorter two loop course instead of the out and back because they didn't have enough volunteers to man all the aid stations and didn't have enough race entrants to justify it so I'm told.  Which for us meant the really tough hills at the beginning of the course we got to do twice.  The first 6 ish mile loop I thought I was recovering from the dizziness and nausea and I was hopeful that while running a little slow I was going to be ok.  The winds were pretty strong and had to hold my hat on a few parts on the dam and other points.  Started running with someone which helped distract me.  Then all of a sudden it hit me. My blood sugar plummeted and I felt like I was going to puke about every half mile or so.  I ended up walking most of the second loop and at times wasn't sure I was going to even make the cut off.  My son was so happy to see me then sad when he realized I had to keep going and I almost lost it right there almost just sat down and cry/puked yes that is a thing trust me!!  But I kept going because my son will never see his mom quit willingly!  I finally finished with only 10 minutes to spare before the official cut off feeling like death.  But I still smiled knowing a) I made it before cut off b) my son and parents were there and needed to know I was ok and that I was very happy to see them.  Later we went back to the hotel and I managed to take my son swimming and to run around in the park and to eat some dinner so I truly don't know what happened!  Every thought under the sun found it's way in my mind and swam around in there long enough to mess with me.  But I kept thinking to myself how after this race I'd concentrate on being a better mom to my son and to always practise patience.  I remember thinking I pay to do this?  I'm never doing another one of these again.  At one point I thought that I was the only half tri person left out there and the only other people out there were the fullers but it turns out I was wrong.  I wasn't last but I was pretty close.  Run time 13.1 miles 3:24:40  
Total Tri time: 7:49:52

My son making sure I got water..

I own this

What I do know from this experience is that it taught me a lot about myself and that no matter how many years as a triathlete there is always more to learn and limits you didn't know you could find or surpass.  So here are a few things I need to work on, look into, or just know about myself and adjust accordingly:

• Not being mentally prepared.  I trained correctly physically for this but most of my training was done under very high stress levels and very little sleep.  While I thought I was coping it turns out I wasn't.  This was reflected in my pre race doubts and nervousness and the fact that this was the first time I kept thinking before the race I just want to get this over with.  The FIRST TIME IN over 25 years of doing this!!!!  So I need to learn better coping skills for when the stress is too much.
• I need to figure out if it was me not fueling properly or something else going on with the dizziness and the blood sugar levels.
• My heart needs to find it's way back to my happy place and to being ok with where I am in life at all times.
• I'm so happy to be able bodied and able to do this and hope to keep doing this for many years to come even if I have moments of doubt I can over come it.  Because by the end of the weekend I was already planning out the rest of my tri season.  I may just need to be ok with shorter courses until my son gets older.
• I am my own worst enemy.
• I can be a monster when I'm nervous before a race and I am VERY THANKFUL to my parents for putting up with me!
• My son will test my limits at the same time my limits are being tested by everything else and I will just need to embrace that and hug him often so he doesn't pick up on my stress.
• I still had fun and finished the weekend seeing 3 national parks, a state park, countless mountain ranges and hotel pools!  The tri life takes me places I may never have gone and I am happy to be a part of this community even in the darkest depths of my race brain.
• Thank you to all who have reached out to me and supported me during this.  The journey was truly where it all was for this one.  The getting there was tough but I know now that I am stronger even though I didn't know yet that I needed to be.

  

  When I found out I had made the cutoff

   

I'll do a post to show all the fun hiking we did after, did I mention my parents are awesome photographers!!

Last when the going gets tough there is only one way to go from the bottom up!!  I have some very exciting news to share that I'm sure some have you have already seen me posting everywhere so I'm looking forward not back!

HAPPY TRAINING!!!!

Bring on the taper!!!

The countdown begins!  My 70.3 HITS Grand Junction race is on Saturday!  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!  If I make it to the start line it will be a miracle so I'm pretty sure if I make it that far I'll make it to the finish, or at least fight tooth and nail attempting it.  I'm so nervous and excited!

This weekend I did a 30 mile ride followed by a quick 1 mile transition run.  Then Sunday my taper began with a rest day which I took full advantage of and went for a really fun hike with my brother and my son. 

Saturday as I was flying down the Tramway hill and I was already ruminating over the soon to be uphill as I'd have to come back up that dreaded hill, that one always messes with my head and people always pass me making it look way easier than I do, I thought to myself at least no one has ever passed me going down this hill!  And guess what happened seconds later??!!!  That hill will always keep me humble.  As I came up to the stop light I laughed and told him what I had just been thinking.  He tries to make me feel better and says no that was a good pull I had to work hard to pass you.  :-)  Thanks!  But that day I felt better than I'd ever felt coming back up it which means my training has been working.  There also weren't any winds really and it was a beautiful day so that really helps!!  My son wouldn't let me out of his sight the rest of that day.  I told him don't worry I'm all yours for the rest of the weekend and now that my training will be over I'll be all his for all the weekends after the next one. 

On Sunday I had a much needed rest and relaxation day!  We all took it very seriously in our household! I know it's all relative...  But I went for a hike and it was glorious and my son walked almost the entire way and we went over 2 miles.  I also caught up on some errands that needed doing and took my bike in for a quick tune up before the race.  Where I had to bribe my son with getting to ride on the little kids bikes at the store if he stayed quiet long enough for me to talk to the technician. 

I always have chuckled to myself when I see everyone post on social media about the "Taper Crazies" or not knowing what to do with themselves.  And I always thought man I love taper and rest days I never complain about them.  But then as Sunday came to a close, my first day of taper, and I looked around my house with quiet contentment I realized this is the cleanest it's been in like 3 months!  Then as I looked in the fridge and realized I had successfully cooked a week's worth of meals and played with my son, and entertained the dog and had done all the laundry already.  It hit me!  Looks like I do get the taper crazies I just didn't realize it! :-)


Last little story because my posts wouldn't be complete without a story about my son.  This morning as I was getting ready for work my son saw a gift bag on my dresser and asked "is that for you?"  I said no that is for someone at work who just graduated.  He asked "Who?"  I said Carlos.  And he replies "Ohhhh, Carlos Santana!?"  I laughed sooooo hard!!!  My mom is such a huge fan of Santana and always plays his music for my son and dances with him that of course the only Carlos that exists in my sons world is Carlos Santana!!!  :-)

A little project I'm working on to frame, my dad had saved my ironkids medal and some photos from way back in the day so that's pretty cool!

Weather, schmeather

I just got done with my peak week and I loved it!  Not because all the workouts went as planned but because I was tested and I stepped up to the challenge.  I am officially not afraid of any weather I may encounter while out on a ride!  Ok maybe a tornado or lightning hitting the road in front of me but I use to be scared to ride in the rain.  No more!  It was a tough weekend and my mom kept commenting at dinner on Mother's Day you look like you're about to fall asleep but I survived and I feel much stronger for it!

Admittedly during my long ride on Sunday I was expanding my vocabulary with curse words I never new existed and I was thinking this:

Saturday had a 2:15 run on the schedule.  I did 2:08/12 miles.  Even though there were some tough hills and a headwind on the downhill on the way back that slowed me down a bit more than I would have liked I felt good the entire run and not once did I wish I was not out there.  I truly enjoyed every minute of this run.  My son really tested me this weekend we're talking an entire weekend of full blown temper tantrums that made the terrible twos seem like they had arrived a little late.  So even though I started this run at 8:15 am I had been up since 5:00 am dealing with sunscreen being

squirted all over my brand new comforter, then smeared on his hands then me chasing him around the entire house as he dripped it everywhere.  Not to mention a fully wound up face slap which resulted in a time out for him and me and my dog hiding in my room for a couple of minutes so I could take some deep breaths.  Needless to say that my 12 mile run sounded less exhausting than the last 2 hours with him.  I came back refreshed ready to tackle the day with him.  Of course he decided he didn't want to nap since he heard the neighbor kids outside squealing with delight.  So that afternoon of errands was fun.

Sunday was a 60 mile ride on the schedule.  I did 56 (distance I'll be doing at the race) but this was pretty much every weather condition I have spent my entire life avoiding on the bike.  The worst part of it all is I wasn't prepared for it.  I had looked up weather in town which said temps starting at 56 ending at 67 with winds no worse than 5mph and sun.  But I forgot to look up the weather in the mountains which is where we were headed.  At one point I was going to turn around because the winds were getting so bad it was throwing me around on a road where I had no shoulder and cars were flying by not giving me my 3 feet and I just kept thinking one of these wind gusts is going to send me in front of one of these cars!!  It was getting cold too and I only had on shorts and didn't bring gloves.  I went and hid behind a tree and took a pee break, gathered my thoughts and decided I at least needed to get in the race distance on my bike and that the race is known for having strong head winds so I need to just suck it up!  I turned around and noticed rain in the distance.  I also didn't see my dad for about 4 miles after my turn around and I knew he wouldn't have been that far behind me.  Of course I had no signal to call him.  Turns out he had gone the wrong way and was waiting for me at a gas station.  I told him to just go because he could try to avoid the weather.  But as I came into Cedar Crest I heard him coming up behind me yelling AHHAAA!  I slowed down to wait for him to pull up beside me and I was so tired I just fell right over clipped in and all, my brand new bike nooo!!!  At this point the rain had started and the wind gusts had to be up to at least 30.  Then when it started HAILING I pointed to get off the road.  We stood under cover of a grocery store debating what to do.  I said name a wind speed you're not willing to ride in he said above 20 mph, I looked it up on my phone and it said 17 mph so we decided to keep going.  Luckily a few miles later the hail stopped and the winds became manageable and we made it home.  I was dead tired but still felt good!  My son then decided to flip out over bath time and I had to mop up the entire bathroom and hall way while we had a 1/2 hour stand off where he didn't want me to dry him or dress him and he sat shivering and screaming in the corner and at one point had thrown himself against the bath tub spout.  I was finally able to lure him into submission with the promise of pizza at grandma and granpas!!!!  Thank goodness because I was starving since I hadn't eaten lunch either.

I learned that my aero water bottle will not work on my new bike but I did get my bento box to work so I fueled properly for this ride and that should work out well for the race.  I'll have to carry water bottles in cages on my frame and hope that I remember to drink enough.  Weather is looking to be 67 for water temp and cloudy high 70s for race day so I hope this holds with no wind.  But I know that I can survive if it doesn't.    Hope all you mama's out there had a wonderful mother's day!  This week I know will be better with my son I'm sure of it!  He just had an off week that just happened to coincide with my peak week so I'm thinking it might have had a little to do with the fact that I wasn't around to give him as much attention as usual....  Love that little guy to pieces, we all have our days!

Happy Training!

My mom is the best so happy to have her as a role model!

The cursed/new treadmill

At least he decided this weekend he'd  refuse to take his ski boots off which made it easier to hear when he was getting into trouble! :-)

Well at first we thought I can look at it as the cursed or the blessed new treadmill depending on my outlook.  But as the hours go on I am more and more convinced it is cursed. It shouldn't surprise me the way my life has been going lately and I couldn't help but laugh for the most part.  Until last night when it messed up my workout at the end of a hard rest week.  Yes, I realize that sounds counter
intuitive.

This is after I managed to put the skin back down where it belongs

First mistake I made is not paying them to deliver it for me.  For the love of PETE people learn from my mistake and pay the delivery fee.  That thing weighs like 300 lbs I thought no more than 100, I was wrong.  It was the floor model so it was already built and my dad has a trailer so I convinced him to go with me to pick it up.  They assured me most doors are 36" and when we measured the treadmill it would fit.  That was incorrect my doors and gate are 32" so it will reside in my garage.  Then we slipped the dolly under it in the trailer and as we were lifting the front end to lower it onto the dolly 3 of my fingers got stuck between the trailer and the treadmill and it ripped the skin right off.  I managed to wash it, peroxide it and bandage it all with my son's help because he insisted on helping mommy and was not deterred at all by the gushing blood that ended up all over my bathroom.  He also wants to check on them everyday and insists on seeing it.  He is the only reason I managed to keep my cool if not I probably would have been screaming and cussing.  On one of the fingers I swear I could see different color of layers like white fat, purple muscle and white again.  I'm supposed to swim tomorrow so hopefully the new skin stuff I bought is actually waterproof like it says.  Tried electrical tape to shower and that stuff did not keep water out.


Then the next day we get home from running errands and I'm so proud that my son didn't have an accident while we were out, we're potty training so just undies no diapers, and I ask him do you need to go potty?  He says "No, but I forgot something in the garage."  He comes back in and announces I went potty!  I said did you make a mess?  He says yes and proceeds to show me where so I can clean it up.  He had peed on the treadmill!!!!  So now it is christened.

Last night was the final straw.  I get on it to do my first workout.  I was supposed to run a 5k fun run with my son in the stroller that morning but with the 25mph winds and cold rain I decided not to submit him to that, if I was alone I would have done it but why torture him.  So I thought I'll do my full 6 miles on the new treadmill.  I get on it and push the incline to 2 and it makes a weird sound and nothing happens.  So I test out the incline further.  The numbers on the display kept climbing but the deck is staying put!!  Feeling completely defeated I get off the treadmill after only 1 mile.  Now to call the store and hope that this is covered under the 2 year labor and 7 year parts warranty.  If not I may possibly cry.

Yes, this is pretty much a metaphor for how my life has been going lately but I'm not letting this stop me!  I will get my peak week of training in this week one way or another!  Even if I have to swim with a latex glove on my hand on Tues. and Thurs!  And my mother's day gift is my brother watching my son for me to get in my longest ride of training in before my race.  I will make it D@!* it and I will succeed at finishing this thing!  Winds will not break me, broken skin will not break me, a little bit of pee will not break me, being sick for 3 weeks will not break me, being alone will not break me, I will do this!   HAPPY TRAINING!!!!  btw the highlight of my weekend was getting to go see Jim Belushi's comedy show and I laughed so hard I cried.  I do still laugh and I do still have good times amongst the bad and it's what keeps my hope alive. 

Bricks what are they good for.....

While there are debates on whether bricks are an effective part of triathlon training I would never say they're good for absolutely nothing....  Obviously the biggest argument for having bricks as part of your training is that it helps get your muscles ready/use to the transition from bike to run and it helps build your endurance.  You know that jello feeling you have in your legs when you first come off the bike and start running?  Well no matter how many bricks you put into your training that will always happen.  But at least you know what to expect if you train for it.  But after this last weekend where I was prescribed a double brick weekend where I was supposed to ride for roughly 2 1/2 hours followed by 1:15 hour run on both Sat. and Sun.  I can tell you one thing for sure.  My coach was right it builds your confidence!  And as we all know in endurance sports mental toughness can be as important as physical toughness.  So I will tell you that in all my years in triathlon I've never done a double brick or a brick this long.  I usually had kept my bricks short and minimal just to say I experienced them.  Well this was a dozy of a workout and I'm so glad I did them!  Now this is where I give the disclaimer that I didn't follow it to a tee.  I have been sick for over 10 days now and while my first day of the brick sessions I felt surprisingly well and strong and did what I was supposed to the second day bike ride with nasty headwinds on the way back got the best of me and my congestion made it really hard to breathe so I wimped out on the run portion and only ran for about half an hour after the bike.  BUT I feel like I left it all out there and still benefited from a double brick weekend.  I know that if I could do that much while sick that I can surely do my half iron distance hopefully fully recovered!  So the confidence boost is real.  By the way the winds on my new bike really throw me around.  Not sure at what mph on the winds you're supposed to call it and switch your wheels back to your normal ones...

On the second day my son happened to be standing outside watching me come in on my bike.  When I got off the bike I staggered backwards almost falling because I didn't realize how fatigued I was and that I was dizzy I also couldn't breathe well.  My son was so worried and asked "What's wrong mom?!?!"  I stood up and gathered myself and told him nothing is wrong mom is just a little thirsty.  He asked me if I needed water I said yes.  I figured this way he wouldn't worry.  As I'm walking in the house I hear a commotion and they are telling my son "Get down from there what are you doing?  That's dangerous!!"  He had climbed up and opened the cupboard with the glasses and was attempting to climb back down with a glass in hand and wouldn't let them stop him until he got his mom a glass of water.  He kept yelling "Don't stop me!  Mom needs water!"  Just when I think I couldn't love this kid any more!!!  He's always making me smile no matter what is happening.  He truly is my strength, my light, my hope!  When I leave to go to work he gets sad but when I say I'm leaving to go on a bike ride or run he says "Have fun"  He already knows me!  The memory on this kiddo too is amazing!!  Ok I'll stop gushing.

Now thank goodness this week has been a rest week and I'm taking it quite literally.  If I could just get rid of the last of this congestion and my son has had a cough for 2 weeks now which keeps us awake at night







.  Next week is my last hard peak week then I taper down into my race.  So excited! I hope to kill it in next weeks training.  I'm chugging water and sleeping as much as one possibly can with a 2 year old so that I can be ready for next week's training. 

Happy Training!!

 Oh yeah and this happened!  I donated it to Locks of Love and got rid of all the dead weight. :-)  Easier to train with.  This is the longest I had gone without chopping it.