70.3 DONE!!

Team Spirit!

Prerace: We woke up early…..a little before 5 and set about eating breakfast and pulling together everything we needed to pack along to the race sight from the hotel.  I had a peanut butter sandwich and a pop tart.  A bit more than I would usually but I knew I would be fine.  The breakfast buffet was not open yet so my roommates and I were all eating food we had brought along.

Next we drove to the race venue.  It’s not a far drive, but they had us park over a mile away and as we were walking to the race we lucked out and caught a shuttle.  I hear most people were not so lucky and had to drag a full transition bag over a mile which is just cruel.

I found my bike that I had checked into transition the night before and made sure it was still in good order.  I then loaded my water bottles on and arranged my area on the ground with my helmet, bike shoes, etc.  All that was left now was to wait.

Swim: The water was wetsuit legal and everyone was thrilled.  I however had never worn a wetsuit, EVER.  I brought one with me that I borrowed from Stina so I had one, but I was not sure which would be worse, the possibility of freezing on a 50 minute swim or the possibility that I would hate being encased in vinyl and it would freak me out.

Everyone told me to wear it so Saturday morning, in the early morning darkness, I slid that sucker on to my body.  It fit like a girdle and I wondered how I would ever get it off; they zip up the back you know.  A boy named John heard it was my first ever wetsuit experience and said he did the same thing and freaked out once in the water and had to pull it off.  That did not make me feel better.  Some friends were helping me zip up and telling me to do this or do that and don’t forget this and that. And all of a sudden I felt overwhelmed.  I started to cry.  I tucked my head onto Uwe’s chest and just sobbed for a bit.

I am usually pretty tough and prepared and don’t have such breakdowns so that was the first sign that things were not alright in my world.  I quickly regrouped and got over it but still had serious doubts about putting that wetsuit on. 

Next we all got instructions from the race director and then a prayer followed by the national anthem.  Then we all trudged down the LONG walk to the water.  You see, the Midwest had a terrible drought this summer and the lake water was very much below the normal level.  We all walked across the dry bottom of the lake until we got to the water.  Some people had on green swim caps and some had on yellow, mine was pink.  We milled around waiting, a huge crowd of neoprene clad people.  All shapes and sizes.  Some looking happy, some looking scared.  I was feeling a bit numb and still worried about the wet suit.

Me and Nancy

Before I even got in the water I started to feel hungry.  About 2 hours had passed since I ate breakfast and I was wishing I had a snack handy.  Unfortunately, I would have to wait until I got done with my swim.

Finally the 6^th wave was called to the water and I waded in.  The water wasn’t cold at all.  I didn’t even need the dumb wetsuit.  Geez.

They blew the air horn and we were off.  I tried to get to the side so I would have some room to stroke and not get kicked in the head.  It was crowded and I felt a bit funny.  I was breathing too fast so I just took it slow and easy until we all spread out and the initial excitement passed and I finally settled into a rhythmic stroke.

Sighting was hard so I would kind of stop once in a while to make sure I was swimming towards the next buoy and not off in some odd direction.  Mostly I was on target and felt relaxed.  My bilateral breathing felt natural as I had practiced it all summer.  I really didn’t want to do the breaststroke which had been my backup plan should I need “help”. 

We swam a large triangle in the dark water and all of a sudden I was back to shore.  It wasn’t that bad…..it was just boring.  I got to shallow water and waded to shore as a volunteer unzipped me and tugged my wetsuit top down so I could get my arms out.  I however was not fully prepared for this help and ended up with the wetsuit stuck around my wrists.I spent the next few minutes trying to free my arms as I was running.

Up out of the water they had placed a strip of carpet so we could run up the dry lake bed without turning it into a mud pit.  I ran and felt good.  Even my crappy feet didn’t give me fits as I ran barefoot.  That was another big concern I had since normally walking barefoot is quite painful.

As we entered transition, there were the strippers I had been told about.  I laid on my back and two young girls yanked my wetsuit off my lower body in a nanosecond.  Whew, that wasn’t bad at all.  I jogged to my bike that was close by and started to dry off.

Then I tried to put my shirt on.  Our team tri jersey is very white so I did not wear it in the nasty red lake water and now as I tried to quickly throw it on my wet body I got all tangled up.  Shit, this is supposed to be fast and I am going slowly.   I pulled my top back off and dried off better.  I found my peanut butter sandwich in my bag and started eating. I knew I needed food at this point.  Nutrition on a 6+ hour race is VERY important.

Finally I got all my stuff on and walked my bike out of the transition area.  I was right at one hour, exactly where I wanted to be.  I was climbing on my bike, my favorite thing in the world.  I felt strong and excited. 

No pictures of me on bike so here is one of Uwe.

BIKE:  Now I am feeling good and thinking this whole race is going to work, I am going to finish and I have a shot at my time goal!!  I immediately start peddling hard and I hear my club members yell for me as I pass the crowd.  I was so amped up!

The next ten miles I averaged 20 miles and hour.  I passed people and more people and did my best not to draft (a rule that is odd to bike racers who draft all the time).   Every time I got passed, it was some half naked pro triathlete man in an arrow helmet so that didn't make me feel bad, it made me feel GOOD.  I was smoking fast (especially for a chick!).

Around mile ten the course turned onto a country road that is very pitted out and rough.  This is where it got hard to keep up my pace and I had to slow down a little.  I also had to keep eating.  Most of my fuel for the balance of the race needed to be consumed in the first half of my bike.  I chowed a granola bar early on and I was still hungry.  I drank my Gatorade and tried to eat my fruit snacks.  Later i would be glad I had packed a gel.

At about 25 miles you turn around and have to go back on that same crappy road.  BUMMER.  I kept passing people but I was wearing down a bit as the temperature was getting higher by the minute.

As I got back into town and I knew I was only 5 or so miles from transition, I took a “hand-up” of some water.  Man it hit the spot.  I did my best not to relax because I was almost done.   My average pace was 19 miles an hour and I was determined to keep it there.

I was still passing people who seemed to be out there just dawdling along.  I finally made it back onto the lake's damn and checked my Garmin.  Still right at 19 so I kept pushing. 

I pulled into transition and looked at my Garmin.  It was exactly 4 hours since I started the race.  I was still on target with my time.  I was elated.



Me running.



RUN:  I found my rack and hung my bike up, popped all my bike gear off and slipped on my running shoes.  I had two goals for this transition; one was to put some sun block on my nose and the other was to pee real quickly on my way out.  I was lucky they had a bank of port-a-potties I had to run past.  I dug through my bag and could not find my sun block.  F*ck it, ill burn.  I ran to the port-a-potty and did my pee-pee.  Then I remember I wanted to grab a gel so I ran back to my bag and didn’t find it quickly either.  I’m wasting time!  I need to leave!  I figured the race would provide something along the route.

I dashed out onto the paved path that wrapped around the lake and quickly felt my tummy was not happy and I was sluggish.  I thought “don’t worry, you’ll be fine, just keep plugging away, it will pass”.  So I did.  Then I saw my friend Karen walking so I walked with her a bit, to be nice and social and because I was losing my drive.  I quickly felt anxious walking so I ditched her.  I was jogging along around mile 2 when I felt a familiar stabbing feeling in my lower abdomen. 

OH NO!!!!

I walked a bit and hoped it would pass.  I ran a bit and it came back.  I walked a bit and felt better, than ran a bit and it came back worse.  I would need a place to poop….and soon.  I started watching like a hawk for a port-a-potty.  Soon I was relegated to just walking.  I mean better to walk than crap your pants right?  I walked slower as the pains increased and I felt hot and dizzy.  Oh this damn flu is not over and its’ going to kill me now.  I was overwhelmed by my sinking emotions.  I had to stand still.  Then I could walk.  Then I had to stand still.  I had to find a potty!!!

All of a sudden I knew I was out of luck so I dashed, as best I could, behind a nearby tree, yanked my shorts down and crapped on the ground.  I was SOOO embarrassed.  I wanted to disappear.  I knew people could see me.  I was not in the woods.  I wasn’t even behind a big tree.  This tree was like 10 inches around at best.  Oh sweet Jesus this is gross!

So, my colon was not fully recovered from the flu and now it had ruined my race.  I was so deflated.  I pulled up my shorts, joined the runners and jogged to the next rest stop.  I asked where the potty was and they pointed behind a fence.  I would have used that when I went by the first time if I COULD HAVE SEEN IT!

I climbed into the stinky box and finished the job and cleaned up good.  I felt MUCH better.  I jumped out and decided I could still finish this race even if my time was ruined.  I started to run but not too fast.  I was worn down and it was getting even hotter (later I found out it was 94 degrees) and my nose was getting totally roasted by the sun.  Why the hell don’t I run with a hat?  Oh yea, cause I usually run at 5:30 am with a headlamp instead.

The balance of the run was a struggle.  There was walking and I drank lots of water which is not normal for me.  I ate nothing so as not to stimulate my lower GI any more. I finally finished as a crowd of my friends cheered me in.  Man it felt great.

POST RACE:  In the tent at the finish I got my finishers medal and a finisher’s shirt.  They also had snacks and cold drinks and rows of poor souls sitting in chairs looking half dead.  I didn’t feel that bad really, just mostly disappointed.  I found my buddy Bob and he was all long faced.  He had battled leg cramps for his whole 13.1 mile run.  Poor fellow.  I told him my poop story and that made him smile.  He actually made me feel lucky; it could have been much worse.

The rest of the day we drank beer and cheered for the people doing the full Ironman distance.  They were running 26.2 miles in the dang heat!  The last one of our team finished around 10 p.m. and then we headed back to the hotel for the night. Most of our team would be racing on Sunday because that is when the Sprint and Olympic distance races where.

Our whole team.  We got 2nd place in the team competition.

SUMMARY:

I don’t think the wetsuit made me all floaty like everyone said they do.  It just rubbed my neck raw and slowed down my T1 time.  I wish I had skipped it. 

I felt my swim was better than expected because my pace was the same as my practice swims and you would assume that being in an odd place and having to navigate around people would slow you down a bit.  So I was really happy with 1.34 miles in 51:41 with an average pace of 38.29 per mile.

I was super duper proud of my bike time, 56 miles in just under 3 hours, average pace 19.

I had a “shitty” run, but I was sick and it was hot, so there just wasn’t much I could have changed about it.  I wish I would have found a potty sooner; I might have shaved 15 minutes or more off my time.  I mean really standing still in a race is the pits!

My total time was 6:49.

SOUP POOP



I was camped in the bedroom so they camped in the living room.

 Well, I have been sick….very sick, with a sickness I have affectionately named Soup Poop.  Which is no fun at all considering you can’t stray far from the trusty commode, but, the worst part is the cramps.  The only way to describe it would be labor pains or the really really bad PMS.  You know the kind where you lay in a ball and beg for pain relievers…..where the pain makes it hard to see.

I spent all weekend in bed (and the bathroom).  I would doze off only to wake to a sharp pain in my lower abdomen and then dash to the bathroom to squirt vile liquids into my toilet.  (Sorry but it was gross and I am trying to convey that here.)

Husband was so nice though.  He brought me flowers on Friday night, he watched the kid as much as he could stand to.  He really tried to give me space and let me suffer in peace.  Only once did he falter and it was when I asked for a refill of my juice and he practically snarled at me.  Maid service was not his intention.  LOL

So Monday is almost over and I made it through the whole day at work.  I am shocked.  I got up this morning and felt no better but decided I had to at least check in at the office.  After I got here I decided I would stay until my cramping stomach made me wish I were dead and then I would leave, but all day long it has not been too bad.  Now, mind you I have barely eaten a thing today because I know that will start my system moving and kick my bowels into action.  So I am on a little bit of a weight loss kick too.  (happy side effect?)

So I starved all day but managed to get some work done and find a tad bit of hopefulness that I still might be able to give my BIG race this weekend a solid effort.  This morning I was in tears thinking I would be too sick to race or at least be too weak to give it much of an effort.

However, I am getting ahead of myself here, this morning just coming up the steps from the basement winded me and I had to take a rest.  So I need to feel MUCH better by Friday when we leave for the race.

Race is on Saturday.....I really hope i feel good by then!

Labor Day Weekend

So my husband has either found my blog and never confessed or he has an incredible sense of timing.  I’m going to go with the second option.

Saturday was rainy and I went down to visit Friss.  Of course I took Beanie because husband could not be bothered with watching her all afternoon.  We had a great visit other than the fact that a 5 year old is incredibly good at interrupting, so the words “now what were we talking about?” were uttered so many times I can’t count.

On the drive home I phoned husband and he was working on installing a ceiling fan in Beanie’s bedroom.  I was thrilled!  He went and picked one out, purchased it and installed it and I didn’t have to do a thing.  What a nice feeling to have Daddy taking care of us!  (In hind sight he was no doubt waiting for a rainy day to do it and we all know it has been since May that we had one.)

Sunday morning I was supposed to do one last LONG brick before my race and Bob was supposed to join me; however in the wee hour of the morning he texted me that he was feeling under the weather and would not make it. SO I put my bike on the car and did it all by myself.  I wore my new GARMIN 910xt so there was some fun involved as I was trying out a new toy.  Overall it went well.  I started a bit late and rode the first 15 miles in some light rain but by the turn around it had cleared up and I had a tail wind for the last 28 miles.  Total time for my 56 mile bike was right at 3:15 hours.  I am happy with that and hope to do 3 hours in the actual race assuming it is not raining or super windy.

Next it was time to run.  I had planned a 13 mile out and back course.  I successfully switched my Garmin from bike mode to run mode (go me) and headed out.  At first I felt sluggish but figured I would feel better once I found my groove.  Later I decided that I had probably eaten TOO MANY calories.  I was being overly cautious about running out of fuel; lesson learned.  (Husband later told me no more than 300 calories per hour.) Then, around mile 3, there was a construction area that was super muddy thanks to all the rain from Hurricane Isaac.  I tried to pick my way through and not get too muddy but there was just no way.  It took me 10 minutes to scrape my shoes off so I could start running again.  Wow, was I losing steam.  As I kept running on the original course it occurred to me I needed a reroute so I did not have to traverse the mud pit again.  I mapped a route in my mind and switched direction.  At some point I figured out that the new route was not going to be long enough.  I fussed about not making my 13 miles for a bit and then decided I was too crabby, tired and sick of running tocare anymore and just ran back to the car.  It was 11 ugly miles at a 9:30 average pace.  I was hoping for closer to a 9 minute pace.  That is my goal for the race.

I spent the rest of the day puttering around the house.  I drank some beer, did some cooking and napped with my daughter.  I deemed it a successful day.

Monday was a holiday which was perfect.  I needed a day to do my weekend chores and as a bonus, I could actually join my friends for their normal Monday morning bike ride.  After the ride one of the participants always hosts a big home cooked breakfast.  This time it was my buddy who is a police officer so it was kind of fun to see what his place was like.  Also, we ate biscuits, gravy, eggs and bacon.  Wow, best breakfast I have had in years.

After enjoying the company of my friends for a long and digesting a bit I headed home and hubby disappeared down the road on his bike.  I did all my chores and got Beanie down for an early nap.  Around 2 I dropped her at a friend’s house for a play date and I scooted over to the lake to swim with my new Garmin on.  It was pretty cool to finally get a real reading on how long it will take me to swim 1.2 miles.  It was 48 minutes.  So I am estimating it will take one hour or less in the actual race.

So let’s add this up:

Swim – 1 hour

Bike – 3 hours

Run – 2 hours

Total = 6 hours  = BEST CASE!!  If I do this thing in anywhere near 6 hours I will be THRILLED.

I will be disappointed if it takes me more than 7 hours.  So that is the goal, under 7 hours.

A BIG Brick workout (with girls)

Thursday at my multisport club meeting I met a woman named Keri who is training for a FULL marathon distance triathlon.  I was looking for someone to bike with and found out she was biking Saturday morning so I begged to join her.  I was so very excited to have a girl to train with on the bike.  She was worried I would be too fast for her but I knew it would be fine.  I was looking for distance not speed, besides when I post my 20 mph rides, that is because I am drafting off of some fast men.  It is really not hard if you know how to draft well, which I do.  So I was also looking forward to earning my keep on this ride and not sitting easy on the back of some dudes tire.

I met the girls as planned at 6 am.  Husband was still asleep when I left but I woke him to say goodbye and to have a nice trip and to tell him the dress our daughter wanted to pack was in the dryer.  (Cause I take care of so much shit he has no clue.)

So now I have to brag because I am really really proud of myself.  Keri, Kelly, Nancy and I biked 62.5 miles together.  The whole time we had some nasty breeze that made us have to work both out and back on the ride but we still managed to averaged 17.5 miles per hour with NO drafting which is GREAT. 

Next it was time to run.  Keri was planning on 14 and I decided I wanted about 10.  The other two girls opted for shorter runs.  I put on my iPod and hit the trail and watched my Garmin tick off the miles.  I finally arrived at a bathroom/water station at just under 5 miles and decided it was a good time to turn around and head back.  I actually felt pretty good at that point and my average pace was 8:37 which I was thrilled with given the fact that it was getting very hot out and I had just biked for 4 hours!!  On my return run I struggled to keep up the pace so the final tally was 9.6 miles at an average pace of 8:52.

For my race in September I need to bike 56 and run 13.1 and this “brick” as they call it was a huge confidence builder for me.  I can do this! (No I have not forgotten that I need to swim first…..just let me bask in the glory for a minute….OK?)

The whole way home I was pretty dang proud and texted Uwe and Stina to tell them I survived.  I tried to call hubby to see how he was and tell him how great my ride with the girls was but he did not answer so I left him a voice message with the highlights and asked that he call me back when he could.  He was headed to KC for the wedding and would not be home until tomorrow.

Back home I was hungry but not feeling bad at all.  As we biked we had practiced our nutrition plans.  If you are ever racing more than an hour you have to plan to eat or you will just fall apart from lack of fuel.   Another good outcome from today was I did manage to eat a lot of calories on the bike and still keep my tummy happy so I could run.  This is huge. 

Now it was about 1 pm and I ate 3 scrambled eggs with salsa for lunch and a big bowl of Greek yogurt and fruit for dessert.  Yes I was going for a protein rich meal.

Next I did some stuff around the house and colored my hair and took a shower.  About 4 I headed over to Uwe because he was taking me to the state fair.  I have never been before and he insisted I tag along with him and his best friend Kevin who go every year.  He even offered to pay for me to get in and hear the band.  (Such a sweet heart.)

We had a fun filled night people watching and eating junk food and marveling at naked chickens and big prize winning turkeys.  I didn’t get home until 1 am!!  I was beyond wiped out at this point!!

Triathlon Update

Last night at bed time, Husband and Beanie left to go visit G&G.  I enjoyed some quit time alone in bed with a glass of wine, the TV tuned to some dumb chick flick and my cell phone texting my friends.  (Living large I know)

I woke up with a crick in my neck thanks to so many pillows in our bed because Husband has been trying to sleep upright.  Later when I told Husband about my pains he laughed and said it must really suck to have a “sleeping related injury”.  Aint he funny.

I ate an Eggo waffle, threw some chicken in the crock-pot, fed the dog and dashed to my morning ride.  45 miles later, I pulled on my running shoes for my first ever “brick” other than nationals in 2006.  At first my legs did feel weird, but in no time my stride was fine and I felt good other than the sun blasting 90+ degrees on my head.  After a few miles I considered the experiment a success.  My feet hurt but they weren’t too bad.  I think I could run 13 miles after a 56 mile bike.  It will hurt, there is no doubt, but what’s the worst thing that could happen?  I might end up hobbling or walking the last few miles.  No biggy, that is how my first half marathon ended.

Then, Mark informed me that I would not be allowed to wear my music at the triathlon!!!  WHAT?  This, my friend, is not a good thing.  My mind will not be happy to actually run for over 2 hours with no music to distract it.  See, here is where the mental aspect is the hardest part.  I know my body can do it; it’s my mind that is the week link.  Haven’t registered yet….there is still time to decide.

After our run, there was much talk of breakfast foods so Uwe and I decided to head back to his place and make our own ham, egg and cheese on a muffin.  I used pepper cheese and they totally rocked.  After that, we watched some TV and had a beer.  Anyone ever see the show Alaska the Last Frontier on Discovery?  It’s about the Kilcher family and what their life in Alaska is like.  It’s cheesy cause it’s very staged but still fascinating.

It was after noon when I finally arrived home and was super happy that my chicken was done cooking.  I threw some vegetables in a pot and got to doing all my weekend chores as fast as I could.  I wanted to go swim at 4 and needed to start getting ready at 3 because the lake is a pretty good drive.  They keep telling me it is the BEST lake in town so I was really excited.

I carpooled to the swim with Stina and her husband and although the beach left a little to be desired…..like there is no beach.  The water was clear and the lake is really long so that means less laps and more uninterrupted swim time.  Today my goal was to focus on breathing on both sides. 

Here is a picture of what my Garmin records for me when I use it to swim.  I now know that if I swim this lake back and forth twice….that’s two laps, it is about 1.2 miles; the same amount I need for my half distance triathlon.

Everyone else swam one lap but Stina and I did two.  I was thrilled when the second lap felt better than the first.  I hope to start sneaking out at lunch time to swim.  Swimming is my weakness and I need to work on that so I can feel comfortable about this race.  I can’t actually call it a race.  I won’t be racing…I just want to finish.  I will call it an accomplishment, not a race.

After the swim a few of us sat around and chatted.  It was a nice evening out once the sun got a bit lower.  Soon I headed home to wait for my family to return.  I dub the day a huge success.

Wednesday

He finally stayed home…said he would drive himself to work because he was no longer on the pain pills.  I am not sure having both arms and a foot bandage is a good way to steer a car but who the heck am I to tell him what to do.  As luck would have it after I left he found out his car’s battery was dead.  HA!  Lucky break there.  He finally got a little more rest.

After work I took Monster and Beanie to the lake.  They played and I swam laps.  Yea, I am really planning on doing the half distance triathlon in September.  Especially now that Husband won’t be competing for workout time.