Destination MoP is FULL (of motivation!) (Page 21)

Congrats Jennifer.  Sorry for being a little slow to get to that one.  I've been on night shifts this week and I've mostly been sleeping when I'm not at work!

Tomorrow is the BIG day. Less than 12 hours to go.  Transition bag packed. Carb-loading complete.  Early night approaching.  Panic setting in ;-)

Good luck to anyone else who is racing this weekend.  I hope to get back to you all tomorrow (or possibly sunday, given the likely tiredness level) with a positive result!

Dang, that snuck up fast!  Looking forward to hearing all about it after you recover, Rach :-)  Good luck today (you're probably somewhere on the bike as I write this)

RECAP

June Goals:

1. Focus on nutrition
• Eat every three hours hit and miss these last few weeks
• Add more vegetables at every meal better but not great
• Log meals and blood sugars monitor broke so nope did not keep this up at all
2. Focus on tempo
• Running - get under 10 mins nope
3. Follow training plan
• Plan my week on Sundays nope

Well since I did not do too well with my June goals I think these are areas I really need to work on through the summer.  My focus has not been there so I may need a little reflection on the reason; what was going on and what should I change in my life to reach these goals.  I am thinking it is work related...the hour and half drive, work load while people are away, and layoffs and budget cuts. 

I did get to take a test this week for a position here in town...we'll see, that test was friggin' hard!  Another lady from our office felt the same way, some of the questions were just confusing...the math was extremely easy...yeah pre calculas! 

July Goals:

1. Focus on nutrition
• Eat every three hours
• Add more vegetables at every meal
• Log meals and blood sugars
2. Focus on tempo
• Running - get under 10 mins
3. Follow training plan
• Plan my week on Sundays

Cleveland Steelman race report (race log here)

I'm going to start with a warning that this is going to be long (even for me).  It was a long event, and there's a lot to cover...

This was my "A" race of the season.  I've been looking forward to it with a combination of excitement and terror for quite some time.  I've been fairly confident for a while that I'd be able to finish it, but in what state was always the question.

Got organised the night before with everything but the bikes in the car.  Had loads of pasta for dinner, and then porridge for breakfast.  The weather forecast was for 16C and cloudy, but we'd spotted that they hadn't really been getting it right, so we made sure we put loads of SPF50+ sun cream on first thing in the morning to give it plenty of time to soak in.  Good thing we did, as there wasn't a single cloud to be seen all morning, and the temp got up to 24C (75F).  On the positive side there was almost no wind which, on the most windy course I've ever cycled, was a relief.

The 2000m swim was a deep water start, and having not made it out to the start line in time at the last event, we made sure we were out in plenty of time this time.  The only problem was, I realised when it actually started that I was right in the middle of the main pack.  Hadn't really planned for that, but I guess my open water swimming has come on a long way because it didn't really phase me.  I just pushed fairly hard until the pack spread out a little, and then slowed down to a comfortable pace and let people pass me.  Didn't get swum over, so it was fine.  I did get hit in the face just after the first turn at the buoy, and my goggles got knocked off, which meant I had to stop and sort them out.  I wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or amused because the person who hit me was actually someone I know from our club, and he's the nicest guy.  He obviously hadn't done it on purpose, so I mostly found it funny.  The swim route went slightly awry, as the lead kayaker got it wrong.  There was a yellow buoy to mark the start and then a triangle of 3 orange buoys.  The idea is that you went round the triangle twice and then had to swim round the yellow buoy on the way to the exit point.  Unfortunately the kayaker decided to take people round the yellow buoy on both laps, so I was a little confused about which direction I was heading in, and we swam further than we should have.  According to the spectators the swimmers were heading in the right direction and the kayaker told them they'd got it wrong!

However, I felt the swim went well.  I was working comfortably hard all the way round.  I had a bit of a revelation part way round about how to gain some power in my stroke (all those videos and articles I've been reading are finally starting to filter down), and actually started catching some people up which was nice.  Swam all the way in past some people who were standing up too soon, and got out of the water feeling pretty good.  Very pleased with my time: 43min 40sec.

T1 went according to plan.  Got my wetsuit off quickly (the baby oil really does the trick), and sorted my bike stuff.  Realised I was shaking, so I made sure I had a good drink and some jelly snakes as soon as I got going on the bike.

The bike started off fairly well.  Got my legs moving nicely and was feeling fine.  Made sure I kept it comfortable as I had a long way to go.  However, from that point onwards it was all downhill, and basically for me the bike section was horrible.  I got a new bike seat about 4 weeks ago.  I'd been trying to find the right seat because the one that came with the bike was starting to cause damage when I used it in races.  I finally found one that solved that problem, but it puts pressure on the sit bones in a completely different way to the previous one.  I've been trying to get used to it over the last few weeks, but I guess I just haven't had enough time to get conditioned.  We went for a long ride last week and I was sore afterwards.  After 9 miles of the race I was back to that pain.  With another 49 miles to go.  The first lap was tough, and I was really starting to feel it.  I landed up pushing harder gears than I wanted to because it helped take some of the pressure off the seat.  And then the 2nd lap...  Basically it was just survival and toughing it out.  I changed position between the hoods and the aero bars whenever I couldn't stand it any more, but it wasn't much of an improvement when I moved.  Then with 5 miles to go something went "ping" in my left outside thigh.  I think it was because of the way I'd been sitting/pedalling to try to remove the pressure.  It was incredibly painful, and I seriously thought I was going to have to withdraw.  If I pedalled gently the pain was better in my leg, but then my sitbones hurt more, so I was doing a strange motion where I tried to push hard with my right leg, and soft with my left.  I was close to tears...  But the pain in my leg improved and I got to the end of the bike.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to walk when I got off, and I had to take it really gently for a few seconds.  The relief from the pain was intense.

I also learned a valuable lesson about checking my bike properly a) the night before and b) in transition, as it would appear the gremlins had got to my bike.  I realised at 22 miles that the quick release on my front wheel was released.  So I'd been cycling for well over an hour with my wheel not actually attached!  That could have gone horribly wrong.  Obviously I got straight off and sorted that out (and checked the back one).  About a mile later I also realised that the angle of my handlebars was wrong.  I had my bike setup changed about a month ago, and I'd adjusted the angle since.  Apparently I hadn't tightened the headset properly, and the bars had dropped by several degrees.  This meant that the position both on the hoods and on the aero bars was uncomfortable for my wrist, and it took me ages to realise what the problem was.  I considered stopping and fixing it (and probably should have with hindsight), but I decided to just tough it out (there was a bit of a theme there on the bike - not sure I was making sensible, rational decisions by that point).

But on the positive side, I'd expected the bike to take me about 4 hours, and I finally came in at 3hr 36min 51sec.

T2 was okay.  I couldn't run when I first got off the bike, but managed to get a bit of a jog through to my racking area.  Got it all racked and changed over fairly well.  Remembered to take my Garmin off the bike this time (nearly forgot last time and it really slowed me down).

I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to run after the bike, but actually felt really good when I got going.  I think possibly it was just the comparison with the pain of being on the bike, but I was appreciating it.  At the start of the run I felt tired, but like I could keep running for ages, which was nice.  I just ran at a pace that felt comfortable, which turned out to be pretty fast at the start.  It gradually got slower and slower as I got more fatigued, but I just stuck with it.  The last couple of miles were really tough, as I was reaching the end of my endurance, although looking at my mile splits, I actually managed to pick the pace up slightly at that point.  I thought I was going to bonk in the last mile, but just kept going.  About a quarter of a mile from the end I heard someone coming up behind me, and I decided that I'd worked hard enough that I wasn't going to lose that place to someone else.  I picked up the pace and worked really hard to the end.  I even managed to pass another person who was walking.  The Garmin clocked my pace for the last 0.1mile as 7.49/mile, which I'm incredibly proud of.  I nearly threw up after I crossed the line, but I'm absolutely certain that I gave that race everything I've got.

Run time was 2hr 2min 49sec.

Total time was 6hr 26min 30sec, which was well below my target time of 7hrs.  I came in 168th out of 187, but there were 33 DNFs (mostly on the run), so I did well just to finish.

Kevin came in at 6hr 30min 53sec.  He overtook me on the bike, but then struggled on the run.  As a stand alone discipline he's a much better runner than me, but he never seems to have got the hang of it at the end of a triathlon.

Afterwards I felt like everything just hurt.  My neck and shoulders were tight, my hips and legs were sore and my feet hurt.  I've got a blister on one foot, which I've not had before with those shoes.  The sit in the lake really helped with all of that.  And then I felt sick, which I think was from hunger.  I hadn't eaten for 13 hours, except for about 3 litres of sports drink, a load of water, one gel (which didn't agree with me - no more gels on runs for me), and a handful of jelly snakes.  We had a chinese takeaway for dinner and then went to bed really, really early.

My parents came to watch, which was really nice as they haven't been to a triathlon before.  They took loads of pictures for me.  I haven't been through them yet, but I'm hoping there'll be one I can use as a new profile pic.  They also drove us home, which was really nice as neither of us was really feeling like it.  It was good to have people there who had come just to support us, although I'm assuming it was probably quite a long dull day for them.

This morning I feel tired, but very satisfied.  My knees don't like me very much when I try to move around, so I think I'll be having a few days (or so) off from any impacting exercise...

Road from Donner Lake to Rainbow Bridge again...

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Awesome job, Rach!  Congratulations!  Super job on the run and way to tough it out on the bike.  That HIM is a big step up - there's a reason it is called "iron distance" :-)  Congrats to Kevin too.  Great race report - thanks for sharing all the details... felt like we were right there with you!

Stu

Great photo, Cynthia... that looks like one serious climb!  But what a view!

Amazing job, Rachel!  I haven't had a chance to read the actual race report, but felt I like I was with you based on the details you provided in the forum... and I'm super impressed with how you stuck it out & even ramped it up at the very end.

After a few days of processing, I finally became proud of finishing my first tri 6/25 (silly, I know, but I'm a brooder at times) and am in a much more positive frame of mind about my next one - and am even looking forward to it now. 

However, I didn't do well on most of my June goals other than finishing my 1st tri.  I haven't yet determined a new training plan to get me to my August Iron Girl sprint tri and have kind of been waiting out healing my knee before documenting a plan.  But I'm not sure that's the best idea.... right now, I've been doing elliptical (though it was aggravating my knee today so i need to ask the doctor about it), haven't biked since my race (though need to) & swimming.  So, I will be coming up with some goals this week & will put them on my training log blog & post them to the forum.  Thanks, Stu (& everyone else) for helping to keep me goal oriented & accountable... even when I don't want to be!

- Jennifer

Hope everyone is doing well.  Just back from France and jet-lagged, hence the 3:30am post.  But had a delightful time - kind of the first time for me "living" in another country, where days were more like normal days.  Very nice change of rhythms.  And I think, if Karen and Katherine don't do too much shopping, we might come out "ahead" on the whole trip (financially speaking... from an experience perspective... definitely ahead!)  Definitely enjoyed trying out new running routes over there.  Found out Sundays are apparently "everyone in France get out and run day"... or maybe b/c of the Tour starting up, everyone got motivated!

Nice run thread on the main board discussing lots of different training approaches for 10+ / pace runners.  I like the diversity of opinions :-)  Frustrating for those who are looking for THE answer, but alas, there is only THE answer for you.  Read here.

Jennifer, glad to hear you are feeling more positive about your results and even more pleased that you are pysched for the next one.  It is not uncommon to have a bit of that reaction - it's probably a combination of a little letdown after working toward something big for so long, and perhaps a bit of the perfectionist in many of us (that also drives us), reflecting on how we could have done better.  I had a major case of it after my HIM, so I can relate.  That's one reason why I like to frame what we do as "triathlon lifestyle", where the races are just the spice that gives the lifestyle a few "aim for" points along the way.  Congrats again!

Stu

Stu, welcome back!

My nerves started to set in today, first race of the season on Saturday! Yippee. My husband and I will do the packet pickup tomorrow after work and test the water out. The temperature should be warm, so it is possible wetsuits will not be allowed. Weather temperatures 65-72 F with a 40% chance of rain. Last year, it poured during the run and I wore my visor to keep the rain out of my face, I guess I will pack it again.

The race is a sprint distance.... 1K swim, 11.6 mile bike, and 5K run. There is a short run from a sandy beach to the bike on a wood chip path to a gravel T-1. Last year I did it barefoot, this year ???? might be a game day decision. Any suggestions? I am adding a rinse bucket at T-1, so maybe that is right approach.

For those of you that use a garmin on the bike where do you mount it?

Socks are out, I'm thinking they will not be necessary in the sprint distance for me. The only other item, is dinner the night before, I am not sure what I ate last year (remember to do race report this year)... but it worked, so I will keep thinking about that.

My goals for the race. (1) Good navigation and drafting in the swim (2) Get the garmin going at T-1, to monitor my bike & run. (3) Trust in my capabilities (4) Leave nothing on the table. We'll see what the results of the second half are the run are, to judge my overall pacing.

The thing I am dreading most is one of the hills on the run (good thing once I hit the top, it is all down hill).

Good luck to anyone else racing this weekend and stay tuned for a race report.

Christine

Welcome back, Stu.  I hope you had a great trip. 

I have been following that slower runner thread.  I've read other threads with the 3:2:1 concept discussed and I have to say that it interests me.  I think that this would be a great way to get my mileage up a bit.  If I could just switch my run to AM at home, I think this would be great for me.  (I do run in the AM on vacation.)  It would allow me to get my run out of the way before work and allow for family time in the evening without the impending workout hanging over my head.

Good luck, Christine.  I hope you have a great experience in your race.

Christine - best of luck this weekend.  Don't you love that pre-race excitement?!  Interesting race distance... a little more swim than bike compared to the Sprints around here. 

Btw, on the wetsuit, you're good to wear it up to 78 degrees according to USAT rules - generally race directors will follow suit (hahaha). 

Garman.  I'm old fashioned.  I just wear it on my wrist the whole time so I've got one less thing to think about in T2.  As I've mentioned before, us old folks need less things to think about (speaking only for myself here of course).

Hope the weather holds for you and have a blast!

Stu

All, I will post the race log once all the results from the race are posted. Sometimes it takes a while to get them online. 

Overall, I was pleased. The water was warm, but I wore my wet suit anyways. The swim seemed the correct distance this year, last year it was short. The bike and run were fine, probably a little bit better than last year. Overall it was a great race.

As soon as I get the official results, I'll put the link on the blog. I do know that I was 2nd in my age group and I came away with a pretty cowbell Yea!