Born Again Athlete:

I may be delusional, but this race didn't seem that hard??

I did Buffalo Springs Lake Half-Iron Triathlon last weekend. I wanted to do a longer race, but didn't want to fly anywhere. I signed up for this before realizing that it is one of the hardest 70.3 races, with lots of hills on the bike AND run.

Er...I didn't tell anyone. Up until that week, I wasn't sure if I was going to do it, so kept mum. But then thought, what the hell - let me give it a try.

I met up with Misty, Brian, Liz and John. I knew John from Houston and Liz is also from Houston and I met her through Greyhound. Misty and Brian are tri-bloggers. It's funny that even though I never "met" Misty before, I felt very comfortable with her, as if I've known her for ages!

I thought the weather was pretty nice. Lubbock is notorious for being very hot and humid. However, compared to how hot it's been in Austin, 91 degrees ain't so bad! And come on folks, it really was not that humid! Windy yes, but we got tailwind as well has headwind, so figure it evens out. I don't mind the wind. I just scrunch down really small.

So, my attitude for this race was very relaxed - probably the most helpful thing for me.

My swim was slow - 54:55. I was having "wardrobe malfunction" in that my swim cap kept slipping off. I stopped about 8 times adjusting it. I also realized that I don't kick in my wetsuit! I bet I'd go a little bit faster if I actually kicked. I had a very lackadaisical attitude about the swim. I didn't feel tired at all. I guess I coulda pushed myself more...nah, cuz I had a good time swimming.

T1: 2:09 - I don't do well with wetsuit strippers. The whole process makes me giggle.

Bike: 3:37  There are 8 big hills on this ride. I didn't think it was too bad. The Couples course (Decker lake) seems harder. The hills are longer, but not as steep, and I guess I like that. Saw Greyhound a few times on the bike course. Between the hills are miles of flats, which are pretty easy. I realized I HATE going downhill! Too scary - I was sitting up to get more resistance and riding my brakes. Okay - they threw in a steep hill in the last mile of the bike - I did say motherfucker out loud as I spun up it on my burnt legs.

T2: 4:21 - took my time, used the bathroom, put on my feather boa.

Run: 2:49 - WOW! I had a GREAT run! This run has 3 humongous hills, of which I walked up, but pretty much I ran the whole thing. I felt really good running and there was plenty of ice at each aid station, which I put in my top. I admit, the last 2 miles felt pretty bad and that last mile was the longest of my life. But I finished really well, see:

 

I'm getting better! In comparison, I did Lonestar (Galveston) last year with a 3:08 bike on a very flat course and 3 hour run on a very flat course.

Learning points to this race:

1. Have a backup nutrition plan. The roads were so bumpy that I lost my nutrition bottle. Luckily I had extra gels on my top bar.

2. Use duct tape and not masking tape to tape gels to the top bar! I almost lost my backup nutrition!

3. Attitude probably dictates everything. This really was probably the most fun race I've had because I was relaxed and didn't really give a shit how I did. I wish there were more T3ers out there though.

Ate ice cream and a corndog after the race! Yeah, junk food!!

the end.

p.s. there is some bad grammar in this post. Please forgive!

Ironman Coeur D'Alene 2009

I didn't do this race, but went up to volunteer and support my T3 teammates (50+ of them!)

    This is the way to do the race - volunteer in medical tent and receive an ALL ACCESS, baby, badge. I felt like a VIP at a rock concert.

 

I volunteered in the T1 tent because Lizbeth helped me so much last year. It was very rewarding. The swim was really rough, and CdA is always cold, so the volunteers' help was even more needed - ever try to put on a sports bra when you're wet and cold? It was crazy chaotic and pretty fun! Lots of naked bodies made me realize women of all shapes and sizes do this.

It was amazing to see the pros come in. They do their T1 in probably a minute, don't change their clothes, don't put on extra suncreen or shoes (shoes are on the bike). In general, you don't help them in the change tent because they have their own routine down, and besides I didn't want to make anyone lose by being too slow assisting them!

I spent most of mid-day cheering teammates on, as well as Stacy and Kathleen. It was fun and I have to say that CdA is very spectator friendly. It was fun hanging out with Yvonne, Chris, Maggie, Nancy and Rhonda. Some of my teammates are really fast; some of them have a lot of heart. It was a hard day - water was choppy, the sun never really came out and it was windy on the bike,  weather was cold and during the run, it started getting colder, windier and started to rain.

At 3 pm I went to the medical tent. It was great experience, but not particularly a pleasant one. I've seen the great side of Ironman, now I've seen the ugly side - basically what athletes do to themselves and endure through, maxing out their bodies' capacity in less than ideal conditions. We saw mainly hypothermia, but also some dehydration. I think weather extremes mess up how your body absorbs nutrition. I think you need to eat more, too (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Your body is trying to burn calories, just to warm you up, while you are using those calories to run. So it's something to think about in the cold. I was glad to help a few teammates in the tent, but didn't see too many T3ers, thank god.

I got to see the end, which was great. Franciso Pantano won and it was exciting to see him cross the finish line, 8:32

 

To my friend Stacy, I was so happy to see you come out of the swim and unhappy that you did not get to continue on the bike. I hope you had a memorable time nonetheless.

To my friend Erin, I think you were the strongest person out there, pushing through despite having a tough day. There were so many times you could have quit, and most people would have, but you did not. It doesn't matter what your time was - you finished!

.......still.....

as much as I enjoyed volunteering and cheering -

        I'd rather be racing! (to be continued....)

Off to Couer d'Alene, not to race, but to volunteer and cheer multiple friends and teammates. It's a little bittersweet, but I made a deliberate decision not to do this race, and I'm glad I did so. It'll be interesting to see the IM race from the spectator side.

Give cheers to Stacy, my crazy ultra buddy who is racing.

I love bacon.

Colin Hay formerly of 80's band Men at Work and Chris McCormack, Ironman World Champion, vaguely look the same.  Must be an Australian thing.

Agree? Disagree?

Errm

I ran 7 miles and it felt HARD. How did I ever run 13 miles, 18 miles, much less 26.2?? I remember when 15 miles was my favorite distance. My swimming came back very quickly (like in 2 weeks); my cycling is almost back to peak; but running....ugh.

By the way, that neutrogena Sports sunscreen DOES NOT WORK! It's supposed to be SPF 70 and I wore it this afternoon, and ran only 90 minutes, of which 30 minutes was after sunset and still have a nice farmers tan. Boo.

I am trying to find some old Milli Vanilli songs, but they don't sell them on Itunes. I'll have to find them in some used record shop.

Eeep. I bonked at track practice today.

It didn't help that it was 94 degrees either.
My pulse was really high even in warm up (170+)! and my legs felt like lead.
I realized what I had eaten today was 1 egg, a protein shake and a chicken breast.
Remind me not to do low-carb on workout days.
Although remind me that it's not an excuse to eat Oreos all night long!

Hmmm...I talk about food alot on my TRI blog.

Danskin Triathlon, or Triathlons are Fun! Part Deux

Always race wearing a feather boa. I didn't win any awards, but shoulda won best dressed.

This was a great day and race from start to finish. Lizbeth raced it with me.

The course is the same (close) as Couples, so I can compare times.

Swim: was good. I got kicked in the face for the first time! I'm surprised it hasn't happened to me until today. It managed to knock my goggles half-off my face (remember to put goggles under the swim cap.) Since it is a beginner race, there were a lot of women breast stroking, which makes it harder because you get kicked more. I'm so used to being the slowest with lots of water around me, so it was difficult because the course got congested with so many newbie swimmers.

Bike was fabulous. I am lovin' my bike again. The first time I biked the Decker lake course, I thought the hills were really hard. Now, I love this course. I feel bad for beginners, because it is difficult course, especially if you're on a mountain bike! A lot of women had to get off and walk the hills.

Run: yes, in T2, I put on the blue feather boa. No, it wasn't too hot.  Environmentally, it wasn't so great because I kept dropping blue feathers everywhere. Lizbeth said she knew she was behind me because she kept seeing blue feathers on the run course. I had a great run. I didn't walk at all, but I wish my heartrate didn't get so high.

To compare times:
                   Swim                                Bike                         Run
Last year   25:50 or 3:14 per 100          av. 15.5 mph             39:27 or 12:44 min/mile
This year   22:07 or 2:45 per 100          av. 18.1 mph             35:19 or 11:23 min/mile

I came in 64th/326 in my age group, so I'm happy with that.

So, a year training in Austin with T3 has really improved me!

Post-race burger and onion rings at Phil's. These onion rings are addictive. My new crack. Phil's is right next to an Amy's Ice Cream, so a dangerous place to go:
I'm about to say something blasphemous here, but I'm really not impressed with Amy's ice cream.

Anyway, good day and I'm tired.

 

I don't wanna go to track practice

I don't wanna go to track practice.

I don't wanna go to track practice.

Oh hell, I'll go to track practice. [this is the general mindset and self-talk I go through for every workout. Just in case you thought I was just really motivated or something.]

I want some cookies too.

On Impulsivity

I'm not an impulsive person. In fact, I'm the opposite of impulsive (cautious? anal retentive? OCPD definitely), but triathlon stuff makes me more impulsive. I signed up for a coupla races on impulse. I'm crazee.

Happy Anniversary!

Of sorts. I had forgotten about this, until Natalie reminded me the other night. It's been 1 year since my bike accident! It was the week right after Cap Tex. I have a little scar on my right ankle, but otherwise, I'm great. I guess I got back on that horse (a horse called Guru).