The Dominon - Beginner Focused Group - Closed (Page 19)

Temps weren't too bad. Started in the low to mid 70s when I left the house, but were right around 80 when I bombed. I think I took in enough water. I had 3 bottles with me, each one about 24 oz and I had finished just about all of them. Two bottles were more carbs, but with some electrolytes, and one bottle was all electrolytes. I think the 9 day layoff plus the fact that my diet was pretty bad while we were on vacation and I only had a very small breakfast before going out all contributed.

I did see that pace, but it seems a little dubious even with me wearing the wetsuit. If anything, just the simple fact that I completely stopped at least 3 times to get water out of my goggles makes me wonder. But yeah, if that pace is correct, it would be an awesome pace! And, yes, I'm very happy with my bike and run paces. I'm probably most proud of that for the fact that I put the bad swim behind me and focused on what was left of the race. I've seen firsthand how people (friends) have let a bad swim ruin the rest of their race. So I was proud of myself for letting it go and performing my best for the rest of the race. And especially given the rainy, cool conditions. There was still a lot of positive from that race.

We just got back on Saturday from 6 days up in North Conway. We hit a lot of the hot spots, opting for Santa's Village over Storyland this year. I was thinking about you when we were there because we were at Echo Lake, but not the one where you had a tri a year or two ago. I had brought my swim gear to do a workout since the lake is about 1/4 mile wide, but in the end I spent time catching pollywogs and swimming with the kids.

Two weeks sounds fantastic! Our vacation was over far too quickly. Where are you staying? Got any good plans?

R.

So, this race report is a little weird. And long. Two weeks before the race, I got a call from a local reporter who’d been given my contact information by Ironman. He wanted to do a story on me and my motivation for doing the race. I agreed, and we spent two afternoons filming, the first with just him (and two cameras), and the second with him, another camera guy, a drone guy, a bunch of GoPros. They followed me around while I was training and filmed me swimming, biking, and running. I also gave him about 80 photos. It was a pretty interesting experience; I’ve never done anything like this before. In all, they got probably 20 hours of video footage, which the reporter then edited down to a five-minute story. The story aired on the 6:00 news the Wednesday before the race. Here’s a link to the video, if you want to see it: http://www.krem.com/sports/ironman/colville-woman-to-honor-dead-son...

People started recognizing me, which I found really weird and a little uncomfortable. I have prosopagnosia, which means I don’t have the ability to recognize faces, so the fact that people can recognize me just from having seen a few minutes of video is difficult to comprehend. Also, I’ve always been one of those invisible people; nobody ever notices me unless they need something off the top shelf and they can’t reach it. (I’m really tall.)

So anyway, this was my second attempt at Ironman Cd’A 70.3; I got a DNF last year by finishing eight minutes over the cutoff. As last year, I seeded myself in the 46-55 minute swim group. I thought about putting myself in the faster group because I can swim 1.2 miles in the lake where I train in about 42 minutes, but I didn’t want to end up swimming more slowly and impede other people’s progress. The swim was pretty uneventful. There was more chop and waves than I’m used to, so that might have slowed me down a bit, but it wasn’t too bad. And I had some issues with a guy swimming behind me who kept catching my timing strap. I spent the last half of the swim worrying that I was going to lose it. I had a few run-ins with folks with sighting issues, but that’s par for the course. As I came out of the water, I was extremely disappointed to see that not only did I swim more slowly than I expected, but also I was almost a full minute slower than last year at almost 57 minutes. I have no idea why. I have no excuses. I was just slower. Oh, well! I would make it up in transition.

Bike ride went well. My hydration and nutrition went exactly according to plan. I had no issues with the hills or heat. One very quick porta potty stop and one aid station stop for a Gatorade refill. Running is my weakness and was my biggest concern of the race. So far, my fastest 13.1 mile run had been 3:23:xx, so I knew my shoes had to hit pavement by 5:00:00 in order for me to finish in time. I did not want to get a DNF as I did last year by not meeting the cutoff.

But, I was slower on the bike than last year by about 12 1/2 minutes. Again, no idea why. When I pulled in to T2 to switch from bike to run, I was over my 5-hour goal by 20 minutes. I started bawling like a baby. I had only 3:10:00 left. I knew I couldn’t finish in time. I needed 15 more minutes.

But, I blew through T2, deciding to just pee myself if I had to, rather than make another porta potty stop. I cut 4:07 from last year's transition time and just blazed through in a little more than two minutes. I was just heartsick, however. I didn't have enough time left, and I just couldn't believe I was going to get yet another DNF. Especially since I had put myself out there publicly, and people were watching to see how I was going to do. The reporter had even said they were going to mention my results on the news that night. But, I pushed on, all the while trying to figure out what to say for my poor performance. People recognized me on the run and called out words of encouragement. I managed to smile gracefully and thank some of them, but kind of snapped at others. I felt kind of small and mean and wallowed in self pity and didn’t pay much attention to the other runners around me. I really felt like a failure. All that training, time, and money! What was I doing?

I hit every aid station, pouring water on myself, putting ice in my hat, shirt, and shorts, taking in Gatorade, cola, and Red Bull. Spectators had hoses and sprinklers out to cool down runners, and I went through every one of them, soaking myself every opportunity I got, so heat never became an issue, even though it was well into the mid 90s with a blazing sun high overhead. My shoes were even making squishy sounds when I ran.

At six miles into the run, I suddenly realized I had 1:45:00 left to complete the remaining seven miles. This meant each mile had to be no more than 15 minutes. That was a complete game changer for me. I can do seven 15-minute miles! Hope! I switched to walk/jog to conserve energy, aiming for roughly 14:00. Every second I saved under 15:00 per mile was insurance. And I nailed them, coming in at about 14:30 per mile, give or take 15 seconds. And then as I rounded the turnaround point for the second time, heading into the last 3.3 mile stretch to the finish line, my right thigh suddenly cramped really bad. I think I must have swore really loudly, because the young woman in front of me turned around and came running back to see if I needed help. I was in a pretty pissy mood because I could see my 15-minute mile goal melting away, and I remembered I had the very same issue last year in the exact same spot.

I walked it off while massaging my thigh and whined about how I needed to make my 15-minute goal. She said she, too, needed to run 15-minute miles in order to finish on time and suggested that we run the rest of the way together. She kept encouraging me on, slowing to a walk when my legs (left calf, right thigh) cramped too painfully to run. And we did the first mile together in about 14 minutes. We kept running, and then she started throwing up. I noticed there wasn't much coming out, so I'm guessing this wasn't the first time. But, working together, we continued, me with my cramping legs and peeing myself, and she with her angry stomach, throwing up every half mile or so. I was pretty impressed that she could throw up without breaking stride. Every few minutes, we'd calculate how much time we had left, and walk when we needed. Finally, we were on the last mile, and we just ran the whole way. My legs--now both calves and thighs--were cramping painfully, but I ran/hobbled/hopped/peg-legged-shuffled/wobbled the best I could, and then we were running down the finisher's chute with five minutes to spare. We crossed the finish line together. I couldn't believe it! I finished! 8:25:42! My first official Ironman 70.3 finish! I ran 13.1 miles in 3:05:09, a personal best!

S: 56:58
T1: 7:48
B: 4:12:50
T2: 2:55
R: 3:05:09

In the end, I’m glad I didn’t realize until that last seven miles that finishing was a possibility because I pushed myself as hard as I could on the first six, which gave me some breathing room on the last seven. Seven 15-minute miles is a lot easier goal (for me) to achieve than 13 fourteen-minute miles, and in the end, I completed the race with four minutes breathing room. That’s huge! Also, I proved to myself that my body is far more capable than my mind thinks it is. Those last 3.5 miles were the hardest I’ve ever ran, and I really had to push myself, but I could see the goal in my grasp. It was within reach. That finisher's medal was mine for the taking. But if it hadn’t been for that young woman and that news story, I might not have been so motivated to reach my potential. It would have been really easy to “improve” on last year’s finish by still going over the cutoff, but by fewer than eight minutes. Now I know I can do it. No question. I have that Ironman certificate posted on my cubicle wall at work, and the medal hanging from the rack on my wall at home.

Also, I did something a little different this race—I stayed at an AirBnB for two nights, instead of either staying just the night before the race with a friend, or driving two or three hours to the race venue. It was well worth it, as I got a lot more rest, and was also under a lot less stress. I spent time in Cd’A on Friday and Saturday, swimming in the lake, making sure my bike was in top shape, and just relaxing. I got 11 hours sleep Friday night, so it didn’t matter how much sleep I got Saturday night, because I was well rested. Plus, the AirBnB was only $30 a night, which was cheaper than gas! I've done the same for my next race, an off-road sprint this coming Saturday. Again, only $30 a night. Why haven't I done this sooner?

Edited by burner2 2017-06-26 10:43 PM

WOW!!!!!!!!

Congratulations and display those awards with Pride!!!!!!

Randy, no big plans. Like to do some hiking, swimming, and fishing. Mostly just "relaxing"

Cass, Outstanding job. I hear it was the last year for the race. Not sure where I heard that though. Seems like a common theme.

Thanks! This is the last year for the full; the 70.3 will continue. Participation in the 70.3 races is growing, but the 140.6 is shrinking, so they're cutting back on the longer distances. They're just not as profitable. When I retire in ten years, I may think about trying a full. Until then, however, I just don't have the kind of time it takes to train for one. It's hard enough just training for a 70.3! I have no life anymore!

Swim 2h 49m 42s - 8825.00 Yd
BIKE9h 58m 37s - 169.72 Miles
RUN12h 13m 23s - 82.49 Miles


All totals up. Things seem to be clicking pretty good right now. Seem to be running faster and able to get out for a long ride today that felt really good.
I started to do the 21 day fix diet and lost 10 lbs. Not sure if the improved speed is weight loss or if the speed works is paying off. I have an oly this coming weekend. I picked up an new kit with short sleeves to help with sun burns during the longer races. I swam in the top this weekend and I was about 1:45 slower over 2000 yds. Although I will struggle getting it on in T1 I am gonna just go with that.

Nate

Swim: 2h 19m 49s - 6700 M
Bike: 9h 52m 33s - 168.47 Mi
Run: 4h 55m 54s - 34.4 Mi

My swim total was down again this month. Part of that was due to having a race, so no longer workout that weekend, and part of it was due to taking a vacation. My last pool workout I did 2150 m and I just completed over 2600 m of open water swimming yesterday that will count towards my July training. Yesterday included a full HIM swim in my wetsuit, which I handled no problem. I've got a race in a week, so I'll get at least 1600m next weekend, but I may still decide to go to the pool in the middle of this week.

My bike total was up. That surprises me a little given the 9 day layoff after my first race while I was away on vacation. Of course, 90 of those 168+ miles came on two long rides. My total number of workouts dropped and that isn't a trend I want to continue. July will be a key month and I will try to regain my consistency. I feel like I took a small step backwards, but also feel that I can get back to where I was in a short period of time. It starts today with a 35 mile ride.

My run total was down quite a bit, dropping from 52 in May to 34.4 in June. The 52 miles was one of my higher totals during tri training and is due in part to training for and running a half marathon in May. Still, I'd like to see that running total closer to 50 than 30! Having said that, I don't see much for negative effects (so far). My effort and my resulting running pace and HR from at that effort level seem to be about on par with where I was in May. But I don't want to give up any running fitness, so I'll try to get back to 12-15 miles per week.

S: 16292.5 yards
B: 259.77 miles
R: 67.59 miles

Those numbers are pretty consistent for me, and all of my swims are now outside in lakes or rivers. Most of my rides are now outside, as well.

I competed in my fourth Righteous Richland Sprint Triathlon (off-road, mountain bike) yesterday. My results were not spectacular. I was eight minutes faster last year, and even 18 seconds faster the year before, but I am still pretty tired coming off the Cd'A 70.3 last Sunday. I really needed more than five days recovery before racing again, even though it was just a sprint. I wasn't as tired the year before, but I put a lot more into this year's race, and it showed yesterday, not just in my speed, but also in my bike handling confidence. Plus, I crashed my mountain bike last Tuesday and banged up the right side of my body. But that's OK. I'm really focusing now on Whistler 70.3 at the end of July. I may do one last sprint tri two weeks after that, and then I'll be done racing for the year. I know I really need to get in some good mountain biking this fall. I went out with a group of guys last Tuesday, and the trail they selected was way too technical for me. I ended up walking my bike most of the way. Their idea of an "easy" trail is switchbacks on the steep side of a mountain--not my idea of easy! I guess I'm more of a flatlander. But, if I can get out with them a couple of times, it should improve my riding skills, not to mention hill climbing ability!

Oh, yeah, I got second in my age group, which wasn't too hard as there were only two of us this year. But it means I now have a matching set of four beer glasses.

Edited by burner2 2017-07-02 7:04 PM

I saw an article on this in Triathlete mag, not sure if anybody else saw it or has tried it out. This web site (www.relive.cc) takes your GPS data from a ride or run and turns it into a short video. You have to sign up for a free account with an email address or you can login using Facebook or Google. You link your Garmin or Strava account and it sends you an email with a link to the video it created from the workout you uploaded. It was a fun little distraction last night. The web site says that you can also upload photos you might have taken, but I don't stop for that kind of nonsense! LOL After all, that would kill my average pace.

Here is the link to the video from my bike ride yesterday, not sure if you need an account to view this or not. https://www.relive.cc/view/g12728977573 I wish the speed of the movement in the video matched my actual speed during the ride. It looks like it has marked two spots on the ride. One where I reached my top speed and one where I reached my max HR. Anyway, something fun to do if you're bored.

Had my second race of the year today. This was my 2nd year doing the Mass State Tri, an Olympic distance race. Overall, I think I did pretty well. I've had such a busy week both at work and at home that I was really tired before the race even started. Plus, my training really hit a few bumps in the road in June and I'm trying to get back on track.

Overall, I finished in 2:44:16, which was 1:10 slower than last year. But for last year's race, my GPS watch had the run at only 6.0 miles. This year it measured it at 6.17. I compared the satellite images of my runs to see where the turn around was and this year's run was clearly longer. Add an extra ~0.2 miles to the run last year and I would have been a few seconds faster this year. So I'd consider my two performances to be on par.

2016 2017
Swim 34:12 33:20
T1 1:44 2:23
Bike 1:12:11 1:11:42
T2 2:52 2:40
Run 52:11 54:12

2:43:10 2:44:16

Race report: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/RaceLog/races-edit.asp?raceid=286...

Nice race Randy. Don't know if you made your report public. I couldn't pull it up. Did you run another 3 miles afterward to see how you would feel?

NP

This was my 3rd ever Olympic and 2nd Tri for this year. We decided to spend a little time in Williambsburg and went to Busch Gardens on Saturday with the family. I found a hotel about 1 mile off the VA capital trail and planned to bike to the race Sunday morning as it was only 6 miles.

The swim was set as a point to point starting at a boat ramp in Morris Creek and swimming out into the Chickahominey River. This was to be with the tide but they had to move up the start as we were getting close to the tide coming back in. I attempted some warm up laps but cut my foot on some uneven concrete at the end of the ramp. The start was from deep water from treading but I just stayed on the ramp and gave the eager ones a head start. At swam for the ramp. There was a handful that had the same idea. My sighting to the first turn was great. I had a good line. Took a little bit to find the 2nd turn bouy but once I did my line was solid. I think people had trouble with this second turn as some had to swim back up a little to get to the left of the bouy. It appeared they were struggling so I guess there was a decent current. The swim to the exit got pretty shallow, I am guess the tide was low. The bottom was very silty and gross. I tried to swim out a little deeper so I could use my arms more to swim but it didn't help much. I did the swim in 26:07 for 0.9 miles and a pace of 1:42. Pretty happy when I got my swim times. REV3 reports data interestingly, at this point I am 13th of 26 in AG and 133 of 357 overall.

T2 was only 2:39. I ran hard into transition. Towelled lightly and put my top, socks and shoes. There was a traffic jam at the mount line. I ran thru with my bike and did a jogging mount.

The Oly and Half started on the same bike course and there seemed to be a lot of riders for the first 10 miles. I kept looking for some space but didn't find much until we split off. I felt pretty comfortable at 20.5 mph which was 2.5 fast then my planned pace. I decided to go by feel thinking my run was going to suck with a cut on my big toe. Thru 18.3 at 20.5 mph and got faster for the last 8.9 at 22. Took one gel and 1.5 bottles of water/gatorade. I really wanted to take 2 but didn't drink much due to the bike traffic. Moving dismount went flawlessly. noted I lost my second gel on the bike. Moved up to 12 of 26 for AG on bike and 94 of 347 overall.


I threw my shoes on and bib belt around my neck and started to run. Started run a 11 of 26 for AG and 99 of 357 overall

Noted that my bib was half torn off and walked while I tried to fix it. First mile was in the sun and up a small hill. Felt good and liked my pace. Picked it up a little on the second mile once I hit shade, but was back in the sun for 3 and slowed a good bit. Suspect I was behind on lytes and water. Fortunately there was several stations. I took a single sip of water at mile 1 and 2. At 2.75 I took gatorade and decide to take more at 3.25. Walked thru stations at 4 and 5 but real briefly. Started to get some energy back and ran thru six with just a couple sips. Finished strong but without a "sprint" felt good. First 2.98 at 8:42 pace last 3.22 at 8:43 pace. So pretty even. Finished 10 of 26 for AG and 96 of 357 overall.

This race went a lot better than expected. Best swim pace outside of a pool for sprint and Olympic distances. Fastest bike pace of all sprint and olympic races. Run time 6 minutes faster than my last Olympic Tri

Don't have anything planned until October but need to find something desperately.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

Hmmm, I thought I had made it public. Something weird happened when I wrote the race report the first time and it didn't save. Maybe I missed clicking on the button to make it public when I rewrote it. It should be there now.

In the end, I didn't run after the race. With my quads on the verge of cramping, I figured it was better not to. If I had paced myself a little easier on the bike, I don't think it would have been an issue. It told me that I need to do more work on the bike, be focused on not getting caught up in what pace other people are doing (ride my own pace!), and build a few more brick workouts into my schedule.

Wow, great race! That's a great average speed on the bike! Were there many hills on the course? I always feel a little like the hills we have in New England limit my ability to reach those kinds of speeds for a race average. Fantastic job on the run to be able to shave 6 minutes off your previous Oly. When's your next race?

A couple small rollers and that was it. Was expecting more in Williamsburg as it can be pretty hilly, but the course avoided them. Overall elevation gain was 500 ft. Eastern NC is pretty flat. The central part of the state has a more hills. The Raleigh IM 70.3 had a significantly higher total elevation gain than Timberman 70.3 in NH. I was pretty surprised by that having seen the NH route. The western part of the state has the highest Mountain on the East coast. Fortunately I don't race out there, but do get a couple races in the central part of the state around Raleigh. My last Olympic was at Pinehurst and very hilly. Its hard to get practice in when its flat where you train.

Nate

My race on Sunday was somewhere between 1000 and 1300 feet of elevation gain over 22 miles. You get some good downhills, but plenty of speed sapping uphills! I dropped down to almost 8 mph on at least one climb! Hard to average 20+ when you slow to a crawl like that. I felt like my pace was going to be better, but averaging 18.4 mph over 22 miles with the climbing was a pretty good ride. I'm not sure I could average 20+ for 27 miles like you did, but some day I'd like to do a flat course like that to see what I might be able to do. Oh, well, keep dreaming I guess! ;-)

21 is the fastest I ever got by at least 2 mph. This was a nearly table flat course and I was surprised at the 500 total climb. I have the opertunity to get hilly courses but have the benefit of avoiding them if I wish. And I do! Lol. Worse yet those bike hills hurt you more when it comes time to run! I really liked the rev3 race and may try to get another one next year. Maybe poconos.

Somewhere, somehow, I have to be able to claim some of this week as training time, don't I?! I spent probably no less than 30 hours during the past week working on building this new swing set for my kids. It's a custom design/build job by yours truly. The weather wasn't completely cooperative this week, but I still made significant progress. There's still work to be done, but enough of it is together so that the kids can play on it. Well, the swings and slide they can use. I still have to finish building the rock wall, which you can just barely see sticking down from behind the super cool tube slide!

It was a beast to build. I hit two low weight numbers after days of working out there that took me down to a weight that I probably haven't seen in nearly 20 years! Bonus!

Edited by rjchilds8 2017-07-15 5:38 PM




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Finally resolved the Garmin issues I was having and was able to download a week and a half of data yesterday....."dog sitting" for my daughter and son in law - 2 Wiemers; they are due back Saturday.

Meeting my wife west of here in the am to pick up our new puppy......Vizsla....its been many years since she and I have had a dog.....took the plunge; the Vizsla will be a very good walking companion...lot's of training to do; goal is to train her to run along side a bike.....my spouse had named the new puppy Scarlett....oh well.... ;)

Edited by 2NewKnees 2017-07-18 9:09 AM

Those both sound like high energy dogs. Glad you got your tech issues resolved

Still trudging away here in NC but damn it's hot. Wish I could find a HIM b/c I think my volumes are good for it. Anyone racing soon?

All certainly high energy; the pups still nap a lot tho.....finally back to our home; adapting to a new puppy; took her on a short easy walk yesterday.

After a couple setbacks with cramps on long rides, I seem like I'm finally back on track. I was able to complete about 49.5 miles today. I ended up having a couple of tracking issues, so the distance and pace are a best guess. I mapped out a course that was 16.47 miles based on MapMyRun. My bike computer was pretty much matching that perfectly. At 13.7 miles, I made a turn onto a side road. A short time later I looked down at my bike computer and it said 15.6. I knew I was supposed to make a turn at 14.8, so it really threw me off and I wondered how I could have missed the turn. After stopping and pulling off the road, my riding partner and I both checked the GPS on our phones and we hadn't yet gotten to the turn. Somehow, my bike computer, which is usually spot on, had added about an extra mile to my distance.

My riding buddy and I rode the course together twice. He was stopping at 2 hours since that is what his training plan called for. I noticed his Garmin had us at 2:02:50. I figured we must have stopped for 2 solid minutes while trying to figure out where we were and making sure we knew which direction to go to stay on track. So I'm estimating 32.94 miles in 2:00:50. At the end of the 2nd lap, we chatted briefly for a couple minutes, then he headed for his car and I started lap #3.

I reset my Garmin and my bike computer for the 3rd lap. My bike computer, which I always use as my "official" time/distance measure, had the 3rd loop including riding back to the parking lot as 16.61. Garmin measured it at 16.45. This seems to be the general trend with my Garmin. It isn't off by much, but it's always about 1% short of what my bike computer measures. The bike computer always seems to be much closer to the distance of the course I map out on MapMyRun.

Anyone ever have a random issue with their bike computers jumping up in distance? I'm pretty sure it uses ANT+. Is it possible that it got its wires crossed with my riding buddy's bike computer if he rode too close to me? It said my max speed was something like 52 mph!! I don't remember ever even making it to 30 mph. I had replaced the battery in the computer last night, but now I'm wondering if I should change the battery in the sensor too.

Anyway, 49.5 sets a new high water mark for me. I was really hitting the salt lick for the last half of that 3rd loop, but I made it through the whole ride without cramping. I'm really pumped to have now done 45.5 and 49.5 mile rides without the cramping issue. I seem to have honed in on a better combination of pacing/effort level and nutrition. Hopefully I can duplicate these latest efforts in 5 weeks at my first attempt at a half!

Swim: 2h 58m 11s - 8295.4 M
Bike: 19h 37m 57s - 318.35 Mi
Run: 5h 27m 05s - 37.19 Mi

Huge bike total this month! And, yes, I completely ignored the "10%" rule in terms of weekly total mileage. I nearly doubled my June mileage, from 168 to 318. Plenty of that came from my long rides on the weekend, but it also came from increasing my total number of workouts. In terms of my long rides, I tried not to increase by more than a few miles at a time. That plan culminated in a 49.5 mile ride this past weekend. I'll shorten that for this coming weekend and then finish off my pre-taper training with a couple rides in the 51-55 mile range.

My swimming continues to be inconsistent. I performed well enough at my last race, an Oly distance on July 9th. But I had been feeling some discomfort in my left shoulder. I intentionally skipped a workout the weekend after that race, but have made more of an effort to get back on track. So far so good since I've been on schedule that last couple weeks. Knowing my HIM is only a month away, I should not miss any more swim workouts. My pace in the pool has slowed a little as a result, but I'm optimistic I can get to where I want to be on race day.

While my running total was up from my June total, I have had to sacrifice some run training volume to focus on the bike. After all, if I don't finish the bike, it won't matter how good I can run! Still, two weeks ago I ran 2.5 miles after a 45.5 mile bike ride and I did that at a surprisingly comfortable 9:20 pace. Also, last week, I did a 5 mile run at 8:18 pace. So despite having limited running the last couple months, I seem to have retained much of my run fitness. However, I do plan to try to get my total volume for the month of August just a little higher. Hopefully, it means more like 42-45 for the month.

Overall, this was the highest volume month I've ever had. Over 19 hours on the bike was more than my entire month of training in June! Again, a big jump well over the 10% rule. But I think my body has handled it very well. I think I have done a decent job of managing my recovery from these workouts and hope it means that I'll toe the line at my first half in good shape.

monthly totals
SWIM1h 10m 03s - 3950.00 Yd
BIKE12h 54m 01s - 229.67 Mi
RUN14h 43m 43s - 97.36 Mi

Decent month for me. I had a race and was able to get out for some group rides. My trend of not being able to get to the pool continues. Swim volume down by half. Bike volume by 60 miles which is good considering the last week was a little of a training flop as we prepared to leave for vacation. My run volume has been solid and up by about 20%. I decided my fitness at this point is enough to get a 70.3 and registered on 7/31 for the Toughman 70.3 in SC on 9/30. On vacation now and no biking but started my marathon training plan at week 8, of 22. Will do some bike focused weeks when I get back. We are here for two weeks. Will continue to build after my marathon in november for the goofy challenge in January then take a couple weeks off. noticed a drop in my heart rate such that i am able to train more in zone 2/3 as before i was 3/4.

I have a timeshare in Whistler, BC, so I decided to do this as my destination race this year. I drove up a week before the event and had a great mini vacation, meeting up with other triathletes whom I've only known previously from Facebook, visiting with a friend who came up for the day from Vancouver, and relaxing in my little condo with a stack of Triathlete magazines and some DVDs. I also had a lot of time to pretty thoroughly check out the bike course, swim in the lake, and check out the first part of the run course. It's an amazing venue! Whistler was the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics and is very much still an Olympic Village, so it was a pretty interesting place and really caters to athletes of all kinds. There's a lot of parking, but mostly in only a few large public parking lots, and, of course, you have to pay, and then walk or ride a bike everywhere. Even the grocery store had a pay parking lot! However, the exchange rate is very favorable for Americans, so it didn't really cost very much.

On race day, I woke up before my 4:30 a.m. alarm went off. My morning bag was all packed with my swim gear, and my breakfast of whole wheat bagels with cream cheese and raisins was all ready to go. I still had more than four hours before my swim start, so I just tossed them in my morning bag for later. I had already set up parking pay by phone, so when I got to the event parking lot, I didn’t have to wait in line at the pay station. Instead, I just typed in the lot number on my phone, hit submit, and got in line for the shuttle bus, along with everyone else. Lots and lots of buses!

We got to the event site, and I checked my tires first thing. I learned long ago not to trust tires overnight. Fortunately, neither were flat, and I borrowed a pump to add a bit more air. After that, there was nothing else to do but wait and use the porta loos a couple of times. The pro women and full distance athletes started off in a beautiful, calm lake, but I already knew from experience that the wind could pick up later in the morning. I had spent the week practicing swimming in the lake’s choppy mid-morning water just to be sure I wouldn’t have a repeat of my disastrous swim at NOLA 70.3 in 2016.

Sure enough, by the time we 70.3 athletes started, two hours later, the wind had picked up. I started out slowly, caught the rhythm of the waves, and tried to stay away from everyone else. It felt great! I didn’t have any issues, even though some of the waves must have been two feet high. And when I got out of the water, I saw my swim time was identical to that just a month earlier at Cd’A 70.3. The waves hadn’t slowed me down at all! I was so happy I’d taken the time to practice swimming in chop and waves! I had faced my fear head on and defeated it! I know I had a big, stupid grin on my face as I grabbed my gear bag and headed into the changing tent. I had tied a bright green swim cap to my gear bag, so it was easy to find. A quick towel dry, on with socks, shoes, glasses, helmet, and I was out and on my bike in under five minutes.

The bike ride. OMG! I had chosen Whistler because race reviews I had read said it was easier than Cd’A, and I wanted something with fewer hills. I’m so tired of hills! And, I had compared elevation maps of the two races, and while Whistler had longer hills, supposedly, they were not as steep. They looked like the long, gentle slopes with which I am familiar back home.

Somebody, somewhere, must have been smoking crack, because not only are there MORE hills, but STEEPER hills, and LONGER hills, and MOAR hills, and…OMG! At one point I was wondering if I should have brought crampons and climbing gear because I felt like I was trying to ride up sheer, vertical cliffs! At times, my speed fell below 5 mph, and I debated just walking my bike up the steeper hills, but I kept going. I let it all out on the descents, trying to make up time, and even hit 44.8 mph, which terrifies me. An ambulance passed me, with lights and sirens, and I knew they were going to pick up one of my fellow competitors. That made me really sad. A few miles later, I passed the scene. A young woman (I’m guessing it was a young woman because of her slight build) was sitting up against the guard rail, head in hands. There was a lot of blood on the pavement. I don’t know what happened, but I hope she’s OK.

I kept an eye on my watch, knowing I had to make that 2:30 p.m. cutoff. And the last 16 miles, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it. Plus, I was now fighting a strong headwind that considerably slowed even my descents. But, I kept pushing on, and I was passing these young guys, sitting dejectedly on the side of the road, waiting for the support crew to pick them up, their races over. I felt really bad for them. I knew they were full distance athletes, and they had just pushed themselves too hard, even though they had lots of time left. But I didn’t have lots of time. The 70.3 cutoff was two hours before the full cutoff, and I had to keep going. As I passed each of the distance markers, I calculated how much time I had and how fast I needed to go to make it.

I gave it everything I had. My left foot was burning like crazy. And, for the first time ever, I got leg cramps on the bike. I cursed every god I could think of: Zeus, Odin, Loki, Thor—but I didn’t slow down. And then, finally! The dismount line! Seven minutes to spare! I was so happy. My legs were like rubber; I had to lean on a volunteer's shoulder to dismount without falling.

In and out of T2 in two minutes. Again, I had tied a bright orange swim cap to my T2 bag to make it easy to find. I had just over three hours to complete the run, and I knew I could do it. That big, stupid grin was back on my face again. Running is my weakness, so I kept a close eye on my watch. I knew I had to run 14-minute miles. First one, done! Second one, for some reason, was closer to 15 minutes. My left heel was really burning by this time and felt like it was blistering, but I tried not to let it bother me. Blisters heal. Pain is temporary. I had plenty of blood so it wouldn’t hurt me to lose some. I picked up the pace and kept pushing on, and made up that lost minute on the third mile. My plan was to run the first 6.1 miles, and then walk/jog the remaining seven miles, because that’s what got me through Cd’A 70.3 a month earlier, and I had enough time for it.

I hit every aid station, pouring water in my shirt, shorts, and hat. I took in every cup of Gatorade I could grab. Ice down my shirt, in my hat. I struggled with leg cramps—calves, thighs, feet. I kept going. Finally, I saw a 17 km distance marker. I had only 4 km left! And then it went like this:

Brain: Only 4 km left! And 33 minutes! You can do this!
Me: Wait, my Garmin says I have 2.8 miles left. Four kilometers is only about 2 1/2 miles.
Brain: Your Garmin is wrong. You’ve been running through trees, so it’s not tracking distance properly.
Me: Are you sure about that?
Brain: Yes. You should trust the signs. Besides, Garmin said the bike was only 54 miles, not 56.
Me: That’s true. It can be a little off on the distance.
Brain: You should trust the signs.
Me: Are you sure?
Brain: That’s what they’re there for. Trust the signs, not your Garmin. Besides, the run could be shorter. You know they never get these distances exact. They’re always off.
Me: OK.
Brain: You have lots of time. You can slow down now.
Me: I don’t know. I should keep running just in case.
Brain: Slow down. You’ve got this! And then you can save something for the finish line.
Me: But—
Brain: Doesn’t matter. You have time to walk, and you can still beat your time last month at Cd’A by two minutes. Win/win.
Me: OK

So, I slowed down a bit and walk/jogged, keeping an eye on my watch. I passed the 18 km distance sign, and then the 20 km distance sign! Only 1 km left! But why couldn’t I hear the finish line? I should be able to hear it by now. I picked up the pace. I had about 11 minutes left. And then I saw a 21 km distance sign. What? Where was the finish line? I was so confused. I should be at the finish line, but I couldn’t see anything but trees, and I couldn’t hear anyone. And then, a few minutes later…I saw…a distance sign for Ironman 70.3 20 km.

Me & Brain (simultaneously): Oh, FUUUU……..!
Me: But!
Brain: ….

I had been looking at distance markers for the FULL DISTANCE, not the 70.3 distance! Instead of finishing with seven minutes to spare, I had seven minutes to run 1 km. That’s a 12-minute mile, which is fast for me on a good day. On fresh legs.

I went all out. Every part of my body was screaming with pain, but I didn’t care. I gave it everything I had. Every few minutes, I’d look at my trusty Garmin. I knew it was close. If I finished, it would be with just seconds to spare. I ran and ran and ran. And then Garmin said 8:30, and I knew it was a DNF. Game over.

Brain: Keep going. It may be a DNF, but make it look good! Don’t stop! Don’t slow down! Don’t give up!

And I didn’t. I ran as hard as I could, with every fiber of my being, every muscle screaming, and I crossed the finish line, into the arms of two volunteers, and then into a wheel chair, and into the med tent for the next two hours as I writhed in pain from the agony of leg cramps as the world spun around me and my teeth chattered with cold in the 80+ degree heat. And I realized at that moment, my DNF did NOT mean “Did Not Finish.” It meant “Did Not Fail.” I completed that race. And I completed it with everything I had. I did NOT let the waves defeat me on the swim, as I had at NOLA in 2016. I did NOT let those hills defeat me on the bike. And I did NOT let a cutoff time defeat me. I earned that finisher’s medal!

Swim: 56:56
T1: 4:46
Bike: 4:20:15
T2: 2:06
Run: 3:07:49
Total race time: 8:31:52

Interestingly, I was initially listed on the Ironman website as having received a DNF, and then this morning, they removed the DNF, listed me as 24th of 26 in my age group, issued me a finisher’s certificate, and awarded me 700 points. To my knowledge, the 8:30:00 cutoff still exists, but I’ve seen them awarding finisher’s certificates and points to other people who completed after the cutoff, including the two women in my age group in 25th and 26th places. And not just in this Ironman 70.3 race, but in others this year, as well. I’m not sure what’s up with that.

Anyway, several of the women I met in Whistler, as well as some from my local tri club, are talking about doing it again next year. I had planned to take a year off from the longer races and just do Sprints because I'm tired of training all the time and want my life back. However, I really had fun at Whistler, and I think I learned a lot. I'm thinking maybe I will tackle it again next year!

Edited by burner2 2017-08-03 11:45 PM