stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL (Page 228)

Wow - so - where to start? With three tidbits:

1) Yesterday was an incredible experience for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Actually, the whole weekend was an absolute blast. So, even though I'm a little disappointed that I missed my time goal (6:30 - as I told Lisa on Saturday ), I wouldn't trade how this weekend turned out for ANYTHING!

2) The race organization was phenomenal. Absolutely, hands down the best organized race I have ever been a part of. By all rights, there should have been people passed out on the side of the road given the weather conditions when I was out on the run course. There were a few casualties, but not as many as I would have expected. I think I only saw two or three ambulances when I was on the run. Incredible.  The RD literally saved lives yesterday. No joke.

3) LISA: you are an inspiration! I had so much fun meeting up with you on Saturday Thank you for answering my questions, helping me get a feel for the race course and transition area. And of course, CONGRATS on an incredible race! You = force of nature I cannot WAIT to see how you do at Clearwater and IMLoo!

Ok, so those three highlights aside - here's the story of the weekend. The long story!

Friday Night: I drove down after work on Friday evening. I got into the high school around 9:30. There were only 3 or 4 other tents set up, so I wasn't sure I was in the right place. I drove around for a while, then picked a spot next right next to another tent. I was camping alone on Friday night (Mark was in AC for a friend's bachelor party) so I wanted to make sure I was safe. The couple in the tent next door helped me set up my tent, and I met their dog Chunk. They were super nice Had a nice, relaxing evening reading in the tent. I officially love camping.

Saturday Morning: Got up and met Lisa and Ryan for a last minute ride/run/swim. Was definitely pleased to see that my bike had recovered from its earlier derailleur problems. Got a good feel for the course and transition area. Lisa helped me find my rack spot! As always, Lisa and Ryan were so fun and helpful. They put me at ease! We had some pro-spottings, which is always cool.

Saturday Afternoon: I went to the Expo around 12:30, and stayed for the 1pm Race talk. Was helpful to hear race info from the RD. Though, I would have preferred if he hadn’t said: “It will definitely be wetsuit legal”!  Did some shopping, some people watching, etc. The goodies at this race were fabulous I was a little disappointed because I thought shirts were going to be unisex sizing. They need to make it abundantly clear when they’re going to do women’s sizes… I signed up for a small (thinking unisex) and was given a shirt that I couldn’t possibly fit into. I went back to trade it in for a medium or a large after 6 pm, and was told they didn’t have any left. I signed up to get one mailed to me, so hopefully that happens!

After the expo, I went and grabbed lunch. Then headed back to the tent and napped for a while before Mark showed up. Mark showed up around 4. We went back to the race site to rack my bike and walked around a bit. Then went out to dinner. We went to the “Portside Restaurant” or whatever it was called. They had a nice little buffet. Not bad!

After dinner, we went back to the tent. I met up with some of the BT people that I did Ragnar with – who were also camping. Spent some time chatting, then turned in for bed around 9:30.

Sunday: Woke up at 4:30. Got up, readied myself, hopped in the car. I drove over to the race site and parked near school (where I parked on Saturday as well, Lisa – Ryan told me it would be a perfect spot for race day!) Walked over to the race site. 

Got body marked and was told that there would be no wetsuits… Really and truly, I wasn’t too upset about it. I swam on Saturday with Lisa and wore my wetsuit then. It was genuinely hot with it on, even for the 10 minutes we were in the water. So I was kind of glad that the decision was made for me. I am (usually) a strong enough swimmer that not being able to use a wetsuit isn’t going to really scare me. My only real concern – the only reason I really wanted to wear it – was to ward of jellyfish (Lisa’s report from last year seared into my brain!) Since there weren’t any jellyfish, I was fine.

Stood in line for almost half an hour for the port-a-potties. Got up NEAR the front of the line at 6:43. Realized that transition was SUPPOSED to close at 6:45, and I needed to drop off my sandals and grab my goggles/cap. GAVE UP MY SPOT in line to go do that. Did that – just as I got back into transition, they announced that they were running behind. So they weren’t going to start on time, and transition would be open longer. AHH So I got my stuff, left my sandals, and went and got back into the line. Took another 30-40 minutes to get back to the front of the line. I had been drinking so much water on Saturday/Sunday morning that it was literally painful. I actually told the guy behind me in line that finally getting to pee was going to be the best part of my day – it was going to be even better than finishing Finishing turned out to be pretty awesome, but that pee was a close second!

So, they sing the anthem and start. I still had about an hour and a half to wait before my wave. I sat out on one of the piers for a while watching others swim. Then I watched the pros come into transition. SOOOO impressive. Very cool. Loved seeing the women.  Waited on the porta potty line one more time (now much shorter!)

Went over to the ramp, and headed out into the water when they called us! In water start – I honestly felt really good on the swim. I really focused on taking long strokes, gliding through the water. I felt like my sighting was pretty good on the way out, but deteriorated pretty rapidly after making the right turn… Sighting on the way back in was atrocious. Nevertheless, I felt good in the water, and thought it was fine.

Until I got out of the water and looked at my watch. Lisa – it is so good that your coach told you not to worry about the swim time. I had no one to tell me that EVERYONE’s swim time was off. So when I saw 52 (fifty two!!) minutes I was DEVASTATED. Seriously. I had expected to come in around 40-45 minutes. At Devilman, I did 28 minutes for .8, so I was extrapolating to 42 minutes for the 1.2. I guess the lack of wetsuit could have accounted for some of the lost time, but not all of it.

So I run up to the transition rack, and I notice that there are more bikes around than there really should be if I had really been finishing a swim in 52 minutes. I saw the bikes of two women that I know are really good athletes – women that I would never imagine swimming over 53 minutes… (Lisa- Christy from BT, who I ran Ragnar with, and then my friend Megan from high school both took longer on the swim than me. And they both ended up finishing right around 6 hours.) So, I realized at that point, that something was probably off with the swim. I tried to shake it off and move on.

First transition was good!  Sunscreen on, helmet on, bike shoes on, lots of gels and endurolyte’s stuffed in my pockets. And off we go!

Simply put – this was a breakthrough bike for me.  I was fully expecting to finish the bike around 3:20. I ended up finishing (comfortably) in 3:10, with a 17.7 mph average. That is faster than I did at Bassman – for half the distance. At first, my goal for the race was to average 17 mph. After the first hour, I really wanted to hit 18 mph. I averaged just over 18mph for the first two hours. There was a bit of a headwind between miles 40-50, so I slowed up a little bit in the third hour. But nothing too crazy!

I passed a ton of people, which is rare for me! For nutrition, I took an aero-bottle of Gatorade, 3 bottles of water, 4 gu packets, and 4 endurolyte pills. I took a chance on them and they seem to have helped. In that, I didn’t really notice a difference, which I think, given the heat, was a good thing! I spaced them out – taking a gu or endurolyte every 5-6 miles.

As I got closer to the race site, I realized that the run was going to be rough. As I was biking in, I was passing hundreds of shuffling runners. All looked like strong athletes (strapping young men!) and they were moving sloooow. So, that was a sign of things to come!

I cruised into the transition. I took my time in T2. I made sure to spread sunscreen over everything. I found out later that I missed some spots on my back (which are blistered today ). I took a bathroom break. Then I got going on the run!

I went out too fast, per usual, heh First couple of miles were around 9-9:30. I saw Lisa coming in – she was on Mile 11 or 12 when I was on 1 or 2. So, however hot she thinks it was – I think it was 10000 times hotter! Lisa looked so strong, I was inspired! Anyway, I was chugging along for the first couple of miles. I started getting a bad headache as I was making the right onto Rt 343. From past hot weather experience, I know that a bad headache is a really bad sign. So I switched into survival mode from then on out.

As I said before, the race support was incredible. I truly believe that the abundance of ice, water, and Gatorade saved lives. There were huge ice chests at almost every aid station. I would literally stop at each station, and “treat it like a convenience store” as Lisa put it. I would drink a Gatorade or two, drink a water. Put ice and water on my head, under my hat, down my bra. Grab a cup of pure ice to last me to the next aid station. I would then jog to the next aid station and repeat!

The sno-cone machine at mile 7 – possibly the best snow cone I’ve had in my whole life. I will always remember that incredible snow cone!

After the turn around, things get hazy. As I told my sister, I felt like I was in a scene of Forrest Gump or something. I generally kept trudging along, jogging between aid stations. I was generally running at a 10:30-11:00 clip, and then stopping at the aid stations for a minute or two.  As I was running, I would cheer on every person I passed (and I was passing TONS of people at this point). People would compliment me back, like – looking good! I saw some other Glen Rock people, who cheered me on with: “way to represent!” I would collect followers – people actually would start jogging when I passed and say that I inspired them to start running again. Then we’d chat for a couple minutes, and then they’d usually drop off and I’d keep going.

One girl in my age group stuck with me for a while. We actually went back and forth a few times on the run. We chatted at one point about how we both agreed never to do summer races again. She got really excited for me when I told her that this was my first HIM.

I remember commenting to the volunteers at one of the stop how they shouldn’t set up an aid station in a graveyard next year…

I tried picking it up for the last mile or so through the neighborhood. I really kicked it in and again passed my fellow age-group girl in the last 400 or so meters. Kicked hard to the finish. Finished with a huge smile on my face

So, that’s what I’ve got for now. My sister wants me to go get Dairy Queen with her. Final thoughts coming later tonight!

JESS!!

real quick, just got this from my coach....thought i would pass it along to you just in case you were experiencing any of this...

Welcome to day two after the best race of your lives!!   Not to bum you out but this is usually the hardest day after a big race...Both DOMs (delayed onset of muscle soreness) and PRD (post race depression) have set in and are at their peak.    Push through it.   Rest, hydrate and fuel back up.   you've done a TON of damage to your bodies and they need lots recovery.   Keep busy.   Your lives have been focused around this big event for so long and now that it's past it can be somewhat of a let down.  do those home projects or read that book that you've been neglecting for the last few months.  It's amazing that we build up to a big race, do great in it,  and then feel for days later.  It's part of the sport i guess.

steve,

that's funny because ryan's facebook status is that his wife is "smoking hot and fast", but i think he meant it a different way

here's my feeling on the heat (and part of this may sound arrogant).  i HATE the heat.  i'm miserable in it, but i prepare for it.  i really don't think that I was any stronger or physiologically better equipped to handle it.  i attribute it all to mental preparation and nutrition.  trust me, i felt like i could have keeled over and died on sunday, but being prepared helped me push through.  as i mentioned, i stopped drinking alcohol two weeks prior and focused my two week efforts on being well hydrated.  i also made it a point to get in two long training runs in the heat of the day in the 3 weeks leading up to Eman.  ryan had wanted to go out at 7am to get them in before the heat, but i suggested doing them at 3-4pm just to get used to it.  i ate a salty dinner on saturday.  i spent 1.5 hours planning my race day nutrion, i worked that plan to a tee.  i had the course maps printed out and had written in when and where and how much i would have eaten or drank by a certain time and i didn't miss a single point.  i think most athletes go into it not having a very SPECIFIC nutrition plan and it's a kiss of death (i think).  once you get yourself in a deficit on a day like sunday, you're toast.  so nutrition is a huge part of the game.  the rest is all mental.  i heard SO MANY people say "i don't do well in the heat" prior to this race.  Well of course you don't, you're already planning to suck, so you're going to.  saying "i don't do well in the heat" is going to make it that much easier to walk later.  you've already given yourself an out.  you don't do well in the heat, so it's okay.  whereas as I was ridiculously hot and uncomfortable, but i KNEW i was prepared.  who do you think is more likely to walk?  me saying "i'm prepared" or someone else saying "i don't do well in the heat"?  it's ridiculous how much of this is mental.  ridiculous.  ...i'm not saying that the heat doesn't play a role, but i think mental training and nutrition can drastically minimize the impact...  most people don't realize how much.  there are caveats to this.....as jess mentioned, this race is INCREDIBLY well prepared for hot conditions.  there was an abundance of ice and water on the course.  i think back to neil's vegas experience.  he didn't have that luxury.  he's lucky he didn't die and that RD should be ashamed...but assuming a well stocked course, i really think mind and nutrition are the biggest factors.

....off my soap box now.  maybe i'll start a new post to continue the rest of my feelings from this weekend.

ack, jess, i had just spend 20 minutes typing a LONG post to you and the power went out.  AGHHHHH!!  let's try this again.....

jess,

so first of all, you should be incredible proud of what you accomplished on sunday.  for that being your first 70.3 and given that heat, you did amazingly!!!  it's a sign of great things for you.

i understand being a little disappointed about missing your goal time.  ryan is dealing with a little of that himself.  (and i missed mine too, but i don't have angst about it).  here are my feelings about your goal time:

1.) your goal time was calculated based off of certain assumptions of the race.  chief among those assumptions was that it was a 1.2 miles swim.  from all accounts, even the swimmers on the team, that course had to have been at LEAST 1.5 miles AND had a strong competing current for the last half.  if you had planned your goal time around a 1.5 mile, no wetsuit swim, you likely would have added at least 10 minutes to your projections.

2.) you could take off 5 minutes without any extra fitness required in your transitions.  I doubt you had estimated almost 10 minutes of transition times in your calculations.  you obviously have a special need with your sun sensitivity, but i would practice putting sunscreen on while riding and running during your training sessions.  either by carrying around a small bottle of it (like the one in our swag bag) or by having some in a sandwich bag to slather on yourself.  doing this while on the move could save you time as well.  i learned i have some of this practice to do myself because i almost wiped out on the bike twice.  once will trying to refill my aero bottle with my extra bottle from my rear cage and once while trying to get motrin out of my pill case.  these are things i haven't done in training.  clearly I need to get some practice doing these things. 

so, in my estimation, based off of the two items above, you actually met and likely exceeed your goal time on a REALLY hot day.  that is awesome!!!

more for jess (i'm breaking this up into smaller pieces because the computer is acting funny and i'm petrified of losing posts).

that is an AWESOME bike time for your first one!!!!  it is less than 5 minutes slower than my time from last year, and yours was on a hotter day!!!!  this is just going to keep getting better for you!! 

i'm sorry i missed you on the run.  did you say anything to me?  the people on the fexy team OFTEN tell me that i run angry.  i prefer to think of it has focused.  i am really oblivious to my surroundings.  i'm sorry if i ignored you.  ...at mile 11 or 12 I was just also trying not to DIE

i had the same exact issue with the porta john lines.  i was around 20 people back in line with 20 minute to go before t closed and got out of line.  in the end i got in line 3 times before i actually ended up getting into one.  suffice it to say, i was really ready for my wave to go off

it was so great getting to hang out on saturday.  i had a great time!!....and STEVE, she even got to see Towelee in action!!!!  i can't believe she left that out of her report

steve,

you asked about the run time.  i did the run in 1:42:25.  i was really pleased with this.  my ideal goal had been 1:39, but with the heat, i'll take it.  what i was REALLY happy with is that my first half was 51:01, which means my second half had to have been 51:24.  that spells good news for imloo!  I definitely was feeling it in the second half, but the pace didn't drop. 

in retrospect, this whole race could not have been better prep for imloo.  it's almost like it was in the stars.  a longer swim, not-wetsuit legal and hot as hell. 

i'm estatic about getting to go to clearwater this year for sure!  i agree with you about kona, too.  at this point i will wait until i qualify.  i had signed up for the lottery this year, but i'm beginning to have hope that i can qualify before i die 

there is a local woman, leslie dimichelle, that qualified for kona at imloo in 2007 in w25-29.  i think she actually won her age group there.  she did sunday's Eman in 5:08.  she beat me by 5 minutes.  i beat her in the run and the bike.  she had me by 15 minutes on the swim.

last year, the last woman to in my age group to get a slot finished in 10:49, and that was under ideal temperature conditions.  it's not out of the range of possibility to think that could happen for me this year.  if it doesn't this year, then all my attention will turn to hill training and i will make it my goal to qualify in LP in 2011.  i'm not going to sweat it this year, as i've never done the distance and i'm sure it is going to be incredibly difficult.  next year, though, it's on.

ryan is already excited and planning his november vacation to clearwater!  he's been so supportive.  i am so lucky to have him.  in one day, he's got TWO hotels booked (because he wasn't sure which to pick just yet  and has investigated all the race details i should be aware of.  he's awesome!

i also know how long in advance you like to start contemplating your schedule, so i will tell you that there will likely be a large fexy presence at next years rev3 70.3 quassy.  it's in june and is apparently very hilly.  good LP practice.  ...isnt this the one that nathan did last year?  are you in?!....jess?  are you in?!

alright, gonna go run and grab a lunch time beer with daddio!

hope you're all doing well!!

STEVE!!  did you race this past weekend too?

I am truly inspired by reading all these reports.  What incredible results and testaments to your training and physical conditioning.  Congratulations!  SOunds like everyone had fun too, which seriously, if it stops being fun on some level, why do it?  So proud of everyone!

I'll find Steve on FB (and anyone who is already his friend), then anyone who wants to find me can do it through his friends list.

It has been unseasonably hot here, even for Atlanta.  Temps in the 90's with heat index near 100.  Running at lunch has been hard, but still better air quality, I think, than running later in the day.  I am not a morning person so that is not an option!

Congrats again to all the racers.  Well done!

holy cow, jess!  that sounds awful!!  I can't believe you were even able to make it through a day of work like that.  i hope it gets better soon!

i wanted to get this to you quick, because i have heard great things about beach to battleship full and half in november.  there are a small amount of slots left.  it's apparently a flat, fast course with a swim that has a strong tail current.  we have a mediocre swimmer on our team who did the full distance swim in 50 minutes.  he said he stopped at one point to see where he was and the current just kept pulling him along. 

while i'm happy to have gotten a clearwater spot, it's throwing a kink into my jfk plans this year   i've been looking forward to it.  i need to sit down with my coach and talk about the next 12 months racing schedule because i want to try to be strategic with it, but jfk is definitly looking like it's not in the cards for me this year.  Clearwater is 11/13/10 and jfk is 11/20/10.  that doesn't sound too smart to me.....and if given the choice, ryan has already made his opinions known that he would rather crew in florida than in the middle of the maryland woods.  go figure.

i hope you get better soon.  that fever is scary.

holy cow, jess!  that sounds awful!!  I can't believe you were even able to make it through a day of work like that.  i hope it gets better soon!

i wanted to get this to you quick, because i have heard great things about beach to battleship full and half in november.  there are a small amount of slots left.  it's apparently a flat, fast course with a swim that has a strong tail current.  we have a mediocre swimmer on our team who did the full distance swim in 50 minutes.  he said he stopped at one point to see where he was and the current just kept pulling him along. 

while i'm happy to have gotten a clearwater spot, it's throwing a kink into my jfk plans this year   i've been looking forward to it.  i need to sit down with my coach and talk about the next 12 months racing schedule because i want to try to be strategic with it, but jfk is definitly looking like it's not in the cards for me this year.  Clearwater is 11/13/10 and jfk is 11/20/10.  that doesn't sound too smart to me.....and if given the choice, ryan has already made his opinions known that he would rather crew in florida than in the middle of the maryland woods.  go figure.

i hope you get better soon.  that fever is scary.