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 Swim
Comments: Felt calm before swim even though I wasn't able to get in and swim before my wave. Took a gel 15’ before my wave went off and drank some water, talked with BTers and saw Kathy (KOM) and met a BTer doing IM Canada. The short swim the day before helped. Once my wave was let into the water I took maybe 15 strokes out and back which helped came back to shore to adjust my timing chip. Being in the last wave with relays, aquabikers, clydes and athenas I knew I would be towards the back on the swim and out on the bike at the very back. Off we went…I tried to focus on good catch and keeping my elbows up. At times I can feel the pressure on my forearms and palms and it is a reminder of better technique and I can feel the difference in how far I go with each stroke. I do swim straight but pull better right. Back where I am in the swim lots of folks don’t swim straight. Felt calm and good staying up with the bunch of folks around me. Not much contact, tried to draft a couple of times but they weren’t going straight. Around the corner buoy and the next and on home stretch, and I was in good mental place. It was hard to see the location on shore we were supposed to go as there were no orange buoys there. I was behind a group of about 4 swimmers that I stayed same distance from. Kevin said he could pick me out as I turned the corner on way back to shore and I was gaining on the four folks. I made sure to empty my bladder prior to finishing the swim. I was pleased to be out of the water after having what felt like a good swim. What would you do differently?: I know it was short but hard to say how much. Being the math geek I compared some fast folks times from '08 to '09 figuring their swims won't improve as much as a MOP or BOPer so their time difference would be more based on distance differences. One guy did 32:08 last year and 23:29 this year which if he didn't improve at all would mean swim was about 1550. Other estimates I've heard were 1650-1900 yds. I also compared this swim times for two women I know who did Mooseman Oly and they swam this faster hmmmm If it was 1650 yds I averaged 2:01/100 yds...I'm super pleased with that. For last 4 years I’m sort of stuck in the 2:20-2:40/100 yd ows pace. I am pleased that my swim training this off season with my swim coach Jacki and tri coach Dave’s workout that I am faster. How much is hard to know with the unknown distance issue of the swim. I’m not sad it was short other than having a firm indication where my swim was on that day.  Transition 1
Comments: Ran around transition area to my spot. Lots of mucky grass that was slippery with all the rain we have had but I like that mud reminds me of being like a kid having fun. Hamstrings were feeling a bit funky but moved along best I could. Not many bikes in transition but quite a few folks still there doing their transition. What would you do differently?: Pleased with how I did pass a lot in transition.  Bike
Comments: Bike Race Plan: Power at intersection of zone3/4 to 10 watts higher first 35 miles (150-160 watts), push like I'm racing last 23 miles like mid zone 4 maybe higher (165-?) depending on how I'm feeling, course is 58.4 miles. Nutrition was to take on 20’ intervals 22 grams of maltodextrin made up into what I call jet fuel with flavoring and Lava salts. But take nothing first 20’ of bike to let my stomach body adjust to new position. I love having a plan to follow racing as it brings my mind into focus and helps me pace myself better. My legs felt a bit off on the start of the bike as my hamstrings were feeling a bit crampy after I got out of the water. I purposely held back as fun as it is but not wise to hammer to hard to at the start of longer race. After about 5-8 miles my legs felt good and I checked my power and it started off a little low and moved up over time which was okay. I kept checking my timer to see when I could start taking in calories. I did take water from my aerobottle and spit it out a couple times as that got the swim water taste to go away. I was happy to be able to take in calories after 20’ minutes and found the 20’ intervals to be perfect and my mind and body often knew the next time to take in calories was coming as I’d check the timer and it would be less than 2’. I have an old IM watch attached to my handlebar between my aerobar pads. Going down hills fast I can miss hearing the beeping. Dave told me if I missed a feeding to take it when I realized it and reset my timer. Why that never dawned on me? Patriot didn’t have as fast of descents as Mooseman so I heard all the beeps. What I enjoy about racing with Power Meter is it helps me pace better and the goal of dialing in both my power and cadence is challenging and mentally engaging. My legs had that working hard burn from early on in the race as riding seems to tax my strength more than my cardio vascular system. Keeping HR down will help me run better is the plan. My Power Meter is set to power, cadence and HR. I gave up racing looking at speed few years ago. It is very freeing and helps me execute my plan all while being moment focused doing the best I can right now. Speed will be what it will be but executing the right power is king. I’m good at math so seeing mile markers looking at my 20’ feed timer I could tell I was in the 17+ mph range riding. I had two bottles of jet fuel one in each water bottle. My goal is to finish first one before I have to pee on the bike. That way I can move bottle two to downtube and can pee without it getting on bottle I’m going to drink from. Perfect place to go on the bike is on the descent down between the two lakes stand on the pedals and go. Nice timing as next aid station is up ahead, ditch empty bottle point to the guy I want to give me a bottle and pick up bottle without slowing down. Turns out it was manned by my tri team but I didn’t realize it until after I passed as I was focused on safe bottle exchange. I passed a bunch of folks first half of course but less second half of first loop as the two waves before me were men 49 and under so mostly fast guys. I knew I was close to park and finishing first loop and seeing family and friends. I was stuck behind a logging truck and cars bunched behind it which meant I had to be aware and safe as road has no shoulder. See my family, BTers and my old coach yelling for me. Being that there were fewer folks cheering you could clearly hear individual voices..it was motivating. Checked my power and right on target for first loop and about 1:37. Lap 2 yep I was stuck behind the logging truck around the right and up the road and across the busy intersection with a lot of cars stuck behind him. At the corner is was a bit crazy as cars were all turning right as well as me with little room for me. At the next intersection cars were backed up about 10 cars with no room on the right to pass the stopped cars with another car pulling out of a lot. The women in front of me pulled into the middle of the road and I followed and we went through the intersection safely but it was not a good situation. Start of the second loop I started picking off women that started 15-20’ ahead of me. Found two cheaters that were being paced by others not racing riding along side of them. It annoys me that they don’t follow the rules and it made it harder to pass them as they were taking up 8 feet of the road. At 38 miles tried to pick up the pace and work harder. My VI went up a bit in the last 20 miles of the race due probably to bit of lack of focus. Turns out my power didn’t go up last 20 miles but working harder kept it more level as in past years often second half it would off 12-17 watts this race slight drop but not as much. Felt good but could feel the burn in my legs. Used the nice downhill between the lake to empty my bladder really well again as run has no porta potties. Used water to rinse off and hoped I would dry a bit before T2. My husband and kids enjoy teasing me about peeing on the bike and they like to check as folks roll in if they went or not on their bike. Bike was work and I felt I paced well and worked hard. I did worry a bit about the run after talking with my coach the night before as riding zone 3/4 is challenging and I hoped to run well. Power numbers were good and having max HR of 155 is very different than other races. Cadence was probably a tad higher than ideal. My last HIM my average cadence was 97 and this one 83 goal to be at 80. Last HIM avg RPM 97, loop 1 NP 141 avg HR 136, loop 2 NP 130 avg HR 130 This HIM avg RPM 83, loop 2 NP 154 avg HR 143 avg RPM 84; loop 2 NP 147, avg HR 142 avg RPM 83 Entire workout (141 watts): Duration: 3:17:53 Work: 1671 kJ TSS: 215.9 (intensity factor 0.81) Norm Power: 150 VI: 1.06 Pw:HR: 4.56% Pa:HR: 0.43% Distance: 57.489 mi Min Max Avg Power: 0 349 141 watts Heart Rate: 96 155 143 bpm Cadence: 35 152 83 rpm Speed: 2.4 32 17.5 mph Pace 1:52 25:25 3:26 min/mi Hub Torque: 0 275 59 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 466 144 lb-in What would you do differently?: In two year my power for HIM went up 14 watts which is good. Pace is dependent on course terrain and conditions. Power allows me to compare how I did between two different HIM courses and I was told typical improvement might be 3-5 watts in a year. Transition 2
Comments: Funny my rack was the same as when I left not many bikes there. I passed a lot while out there in a relative way. It made me happy. Feet were wet from bike and sticky to get socks on. Plus with the threat of rain had my running shoes in 2 gallon ziplock which slowed my T1 down. Forgot to take pitt stop out of jersey pocket and drop my PM HR strap. I had a ziplock of stuff I wanted to bring with me so I could pick it up and run and load up as I ran. I always take to much stuff. What would you do differently?: Pleased with how I did Don't forget to off load and bring less  Run
Comments: Run race plan: Run 2 miles walk 1'; first 6 miles push the pace a bit, final 6 miles race don't compromise Run started with a tri team mate and thought we might run some together. It took me awhile to get everything put in right pocket and in the run zone quickly I caught up with her said a few things and passed her. I felt really good and focused on executing my plan which is good for my mind. At just .5 mile in I got a cramp in my right adductor that I was able to run through followed by a stronger cramp in my left hamstring that was a little tougher to run though. I took a lava salt to see if that would help. I was a bit concerned that maybe I’d be cramping the whole run. Saw Helen at about mile 1 and she ran and talked to me for a minute or two. Realized I didn’t get my right sock on right in T2 due to wet feet thought right decision was to fix it before caused blister or something. Sat on the grass and fixed it in no time, sock lump was gone and foot felt fine. Soon my lower back/right hip started to hurt, new thing now sure why. Roads were cambered a lot and RD drove by and yelled to me to run on left side early on in the run so I did. I was looking forward to my 1’ walk break after 2 miles. By mile 4 walk break I was really looking forward to it even though it was just a minute. I started calling my walk breaks in my head my 6 gifts I got for the run. I very much wanted to put together a good run for this race and see that I was making progress on my running in races and being mentally tough. There is usually a point in a HIM or IM run we really want to walk and our bodies do a good job of talking our head into the idea that walking is a good idea with all sorts of justifications. I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to do my plan and suck it up and get it done. I had decided prior to the race that I would allow myself to walk up the hill at the end of the course as I have ridden it lots of times and knew it would be tough. I was carrying my Nathan’s water bottle holder like I do for most ofl my runs. At mile 3 or 4 water stop I had them refill it with water and wow it felt like it weighed 10 pounds. I figured I’d dump half out and get more when I needed why carry that extra weight. My right hip continued to get worse soon followed by my whole back all of which had never happened before. Suck it up and keep running. I just ran and tried not to think but just do what I needed to do no chit chat at aid stations, brief comments to the few racers that I passed or passed me but mostly just me, the road, and increasing amount of discomfort trying to stay moment focused and run. Mile 6’s gift I was thrilled with but knew the no compromise part of the run was coming up. 6+6 doesn’t add up to 13 so I added one to the first part. I had to pee and with no port a potties was looking for someplace to duck into the woods to go. I’m okay with going running but being alone out there on the run thought it might offend the race volunteers no getting lost in the shuffle of humanity. Bopped into what looked like an abandoned building site but no good place to go but I didn’t care thankfully no cars or people passed while in plan site of the road. Now try and pick up and push as hard as I can it is only maybe 1.25 hours or so. I tried to push, and my legs wouldn’t go faster but for a short time. I kept trying to go harder and I suspect my effort was greater but not my speed. It was very painful and I was very uncomfortable. I had some negative thoughts like “what about an IM run? Why do you want to do an IM? Being in this much discomfort and pain is fun? I tried hard & successfully to push those thoughts out of my head and focus on not compromising which turned from pushing the pace to not walking and keep running. Oh how walking would have been so nice. My running kept slowing down as I was fading but I pushed on. The 8 mile gift was wonderful but so short. More of the last 5 miles was in the sun with little shade and the clouds had burned off and with rain past few days it was humid. No dumping water on me as I needed dry and non blistered feet. It was all about controlling what I could to do the plan. Mile 10 gift was great but again felt super short…as I walked I tried doing yoga shoulder rolls and stretches to loosen my back up and see if it might help. I decided to ditch the water bottle and wish I had done it sooner than I did. I did take about ¼ cup of cola twice chased with water but it tasted super strong and didn’t help. Mile 12 gift getting really close thankfully the pain will end soon. Gaining on the person in front of me who is walking and running and turning around to see where I am. The last hill I had knew I would walk up I ran to where the guard rail ended about half way proud that I ran half of it and then walked. I ran more soon seeing the Cathedral camp and was still focused and controlled as only way I could keep running was just stay within the rules I had in my head. So happy to be running on the grass close the finish see the finish line but little sort of U shape you need to run over roots, soggy grass and just hoping to stay upright. Hear the BT folks cheering for me and it was like a jolt of something went through my whole body giving me a boost of energy. Over the bridge and see my old coach Will and Jason and they yell encouragement, I pick it up and both legs start to cramp horribly down whole back side of my legs, it alters my gait but I run as hard as possible I want to finish. I hear folks cheering for me but focus on the finish line, no ability to smile lift my arms my ability to push myself is done I will soon have completed the task. Focus on last timing mat and then stop feel woozie and collapse onto the ground with both legs cramping badly. For so long getting to the finish line following my plan being mental tough to suck it up was the goal getting across the line I could let go it was an amazing relief. Sue and Kathy (socks and KOM) both docs come over and say I’m fine, RD calls over the paramedics still. Seems silly to be sitting on the ground with all these medical people around but super happy to stop moving. . As I finished I saw the clock change from 7:06 to 7:07 subtract the 30’ I started late holy smokes 6:37 better than I dared hope for. I’m proud of the effort I gave as I had nothing more to give. Overall I worked harder, pushed myself more than I have for longer time and won the mental battle to keep on suffering which I’m glad I did even though it was quite painful. I think it will be a great addition to my mental toolbox to know I can suck it up and suffer more than I had previously thought. The notion some have the longer races hurt less than sprints I don’t agree this hurt for a lot longer than a sprint. Lap Data Lap Time Distance Pace/Speed AHR MHR 1 11m 18s 1.00 miles 11m 18s /mile 2 05m 06s 0.46 miles 11m 11s /mile 3 00m 06s 0.00 miles 20m 53s /mile fixed sock 4 06m 04s 0.54 miles 11m 17s /mile 5 01m 03s 0.06 miles 17m 10s /mile 6 11m 32s 1.00 miles 11m 32s /mile 7 11m 14s 0.94 miles 12m /mile 8 01m 01s 0.05 miles 19m 37s /mile 9 11m 55s 1.00 miles 11m 55s /mile 10 12m 35s 1.00 miles 12m 35s /mile 11 00m 08s 0.01 miles 12m 30s /mile 12 01m 03s 0.06 miles 18m 10s /mile 13 10m 50s 0.88 miles 12m 16s /mile 14 03m 04s 0.26 miles 11m 43s /mile 15 00m 18s 0.01 miles 20m 08s /mile 16 08m 04s 0.69 miles 11m 46s /mile 17 01m 00s 0.05 miles 19m 46s /mile 18 12m 10s 1.00 miles 12m 10s /mile 19 12m 11s 0.99 miles 12m 18s /mile 20 00m 48s 0.05 miles 17m 30s /mile 21 13m 05s 1.00 miles 13m 05s /mile 22 11m 42s 0.91 miles 12m 47s /mile 23 00m 41s 0.04 miles 16m 43s /mile 24 12m 23s 1.00 miles 12m 23s /mile 25 00m 47s 0.08 miles 10m 04s /mile What would you do differently?: Different genetics and abilities The good: Difference in pace in race vs. training is much better than last HIM 2007 avg pace in runs month before race 10:09 m/m; race pace 12:26 m/m 2009 avg pace in runs month before race 11:25 m/m; race average 12:15 m/m Mentally I was strong and able to dig deep even when it became very difficult Now realize I have more to give than I have Not sure what would help me run better...I run a lot, frequently, but have yet to put together a strong run in a tri relative to me in anything other than a sprint and those have been very infrequent. Probably need more patience and just keep at it and drop those last few pounds. Post race
Warm down: After finishing. collapsing and feeling better, I got up to walk around, talked with family and friends then got stretched and did some calf stretches, had my recovery drink. I was happy with what I had accomplished and after being alone focused on executing it was nice to catch up with the world and get out of my head. I should have jumped in the lake but finishing towards the end we wanted to pack up and get going so I went over to get food and Sue came by and told me I placed third which stunned me. I wasn't hungry and picked at my food. Talked with Sue and others about where we wanted to go out to eat with lots of BTers. Had a great time catching up and chatting celebrating what we all had done. Many PBs and first HIM finishes...racing with BT friends old and new improves things greatly. Big thank you to my husband Kevin who supports and encourages me in this sport. My kids are great and Emily and Libby enjoyed volunteering. Thanks to my coach Dave Ciaverella for helping show me the way learn, grow and improve. What limited your ability to perform faster: I did the best I could with what I had today...no regrets at all. Key is to continue to train smart and make gradual steps to improvement. I don't have the best physiology to be a super fast and competitive triathlete. What I do have is me..I'm a driven competitor who loves this sport and need to focus on trying to improve myself by stretching, learning and consistent training. Races are interesting as it brings out a different set of traits than training. More focus, ability to push harder, problem solving skills to adjust when things change or are unexpected. I love the feeling and mind set of racing when it is clicking well. Patriot it was clicking well and I'm proud of what I accomplished. 29' PB on a more rolling course sweet! Sure swim was short but how can I quantify that and I'm not letting that take the sweet joy I have from knowing my hard work is helping me grow and improve. I do believe with more hard work I can become tougher and learn to suffer a bit more and not fear that feeling but embrace it knowing that means I'm giving it my all. Event comments: I like the race. Location is beautiful with plenty of parking and great volunteers. It can be a bit lonely on the course with athletes spread out and the run since it is a loop you don't see others like you would on an out and back or multi loop course. BT friends, athletes plus my tri team improved the experience. I'd have like to had a finish line announcer to add to the party fun finish line feel. Also would like port a potties on bike and run course would be extremely helpful and might make neighbors happier. Profile Album Last updated: 2009-02-26 12:00 AM
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United States
Sun Sport Events
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 274/318
Age Group = Athena
Age Group Rank = 3/7
This was my first A race of ’09 other being IM Canada. All the other races I have trained through. Only HIM I've done prior was back in 10/07. I was curious how my training and fitness would come through on race day as my training this year has been very different than in the past.
Warning the following is more about the mental struggles I’ve been going through and how I was feeling and my mental place before the race. It’s long so feel free to skip ahead to the race details if you’d prefer. To me this is really the important part as the two are interconnected.
As some of you know I struggle with accepting me for me at times. I work hard and haven’t made much progress since summer of 2006 and in the big picture am slow. I do this for me so how I stack up needs to not be a big focus for me. To keep doing this I need to have that change in outlook to stay in a healthy place mentally.
I feel this is a time in my 6th year of tri'ing I'm at a crossroads. I believe as triathletes we are drawn to this sport for multiple reasons. One is the desire to improve, be faster, test ourselves on race day as the challenge of the sport. Yet that striving to improve and get faster has to be balanced with acceptance of results knowing you did what you could given your genetics as well as how training fits into your life, and your race execution given the many factors of the day. We make gradual steps in improvement. I have asked folks here on BT if you never improved again would you stick with doing triathlons. Most say yes but would they really?
My desire to improve and not seeing much progress since '06 has been a something that has bothered me. I love to train and race, but the post race mental aftermath was not pleasant for me (or those who are my family and friends). The lack of progress and how it made me feel after races, would on some level sucks the joy out of things for awhile. I love the training, the challenges of training, the fitness it builds, friendship I have and the whole lifestyle. I need to learn to race and be content with how I do and find satisfaction in competing. Even if in the scheme of triathletes means I slow. It is the numbers that tend to eat at my enjoyment of the race the day or two afterwards. I want to learn to be content after races and be accepting of my abilities and how I do to have more peace in my mind. Perhaps I have my self esteem wrapped up in how I do which is silly. Triathlons don't define me but is something fun I enjoy doing.
So Patriot was a big race for me to seeing how I would do. I train, I blog my training, I know pretty well where I am fitness wise. My swimming is improved over this off season and I had no doubt I would see gains there. My run is a bit of a puzzle to me as I see some gains in durability but my pace is slower than past couple years and I’ve been running more frequently. I haven’t figured out why? Part I think is my weight is up a bit maybe 5-7 pounds but the decrease in pace is more like 60-90”/mile for most runs. I ran two ½ Marys last spring and did both on tired non tapered legs and avg 10:02m/m in one and 10:16 m/m in the other. I can’t touch that now but would like to get back there. Cycling training has been very different this year as I work on improving my sub threshold power and strength. Most of my long rides are zone 2 with some intervals mixed in. Past year most of my rides NP were 20-30 watts higher mostly zone 3 work and FTP is pretty similar last 3 years. My coach is a big advocate of that I train baseline Z2 because that is endurance training to build my physiology and enzymes.
Before important races I go through this cycle of mental stuff where my emotions bounce around over the course of about a week. Emotions range from optimism. to I don't want to do the race, lots of wondering how I'll do, what issues I need to overcome, some pissy difficult moods and finally deep down I have a pretty good estimate of how I'll do within a range and this often comes with some sadness. The emotional cycle I go through is pretty predictable and it typically ends so I'm calm and ready to go come race day. I was very zen and good race day no anxiety but more like a kid at Christmas wondering what the day will unfold and hoping I'd be happy with the day.
I went to bed early Thursday night and slept well. Friday I meet up with Sue and Marianne and did a short swim at race site, picked up my race packet, then went to Emily's middle school graduation. I went to bed early but didn't sleep well after 1 and finally after tossing and turning I got up at 4. It allowed me to have quiet time in the morning before chaos of getting 6 people out the door for a long race day and being Mom role began. We left at about 5:20.
I ate normal ww blueberry pancakes with fresh strawberries for breakfast. I tried to eat more and had a granola bar on the way to race site.
The weeks and especially week before race was stressful with Kevin traveling, kids school activities and soccer winding down. Not the ideal time to do a big race. Patriot works since it is local and only a 45 drive from home.