Boulder 70.3 Half Ironman- It's RACE DAY!!!
My last blog post I had my feet up and relaxing before the race. I got all my stuff ready to go in my transition bag, and off to bed. I woke to my alarm clock at 3:00 AM, decided that I could go til 3:30 AM which was the time my dad called as my "alarm clock" just in case I slept in or past my alarm. Luckily that was 6 AM MI time, so they were already awake. I got up, started drinking my pre race drink with OSMO, and even cooked an egg. I debated this, as I normally don't eat something like that, but since I have been training that way, I decided to go for it. Took my shower and got dressed. I was out the door on time and headed for the race site by 5:00AM.
I expected it to take a while to park, but it was so darn smooth, I got there early. So I relaxed in the Escape for a bit, and just listened to some inspiring music to get me
We were all called out of Transition at 6:30 AM, and head over to the swim start. I was ready to go. Called Dad to make sure they were on their way and knew where to go as we discussed. Then knowing they would be there, I headed out with my cell phone to give to them. My good friends Joe and Laura were on their way as well. As I headed out of transition, I got the call that Dad and Mom just pulled in, I gave them a general area to meet, and I found them, and gave Joe and Laura the heads up. It was 7 AM and the gun had gone off for the Pros, then the Wave starts began, I was in Wave 11, and I didn't take off until 7:55 AM. So I was distracted by helping Mom and Dad, Mom took her first photo with an Iphone. Dad went back to the trunk to get the chairs for them to sit on. It took awhile, and I started to get worried, but then he showed up. The chairs ended up being a bit more heavy than he anticipated. So we chatted for a few more minutes before I saw my Wave 11 sign and had to leave. I gave them a big hug. We got a photo, and off I went. Joe and Laura snapped a few pictures for me, so It was a nice surprise to find them after the race in my email.
SWIM
I met up with a few people that came up from Prescott, that were in my age group. We chatted as we slowly moved forward in line to the swim start.
When we were one wave away, I realized I forgot to take off my flip flops, oops. I looked for Joe and Laura, but ended up having to donate them to someone else. Then, it was time. The wave before us went off. and we were headed into the water to the "start". The water was nice, 70s. It was not cold at all. I dipped my head under the water, got my face wet. and noted I could see in front of me about a good three feet. This Ironically was the clearest water, I've ever swam in, besides a pool. Scary I know, but true.
When we were one wave away, I realized I forgot to take off my flip flops, oops. I looked for Joe and Laura, but ended up having to donate them to someone else. Then, it was time. The wave before us went off. and we were headed into the water to the "start". The water was nice, 70s. It was not cold at all. I dipped my head under the water, got my face wet. and noted I could see in front of me about a good three feet. This Ironically was the clearest water, I've ever swam in, besides a pool. Scary I know, but true.
Slowly the clock ticked down, we were a lively bunch, hollering out, raising our arms up in the air, screaming off that nervous energy. and then....BOOM!!!!
Off we went. There was some banging around in the water to start, but eventually I got into some what of a rhythm. I really wanted to do good, I felt like since I was used to high elevation, I'd swim good. But I think it was a bit intimidating with the fact that I could see people swimming up on me, and by me in black wetsuits, running into me, that I was having to stop at every buoy for a breather to stay focused. I had one girl that was swimming at a angle and kept running into me, just couldn't seem to get away from her. When I got to the first turn, I was now being passed by the faster age group men who started 5 min behind us. They were catching up and passing, and making the water pretty turbulent. At this point, I was focused on wanted to try and get 40 min on my swim. Some where in my head I thought that was a reasonable doable goal. What I didn't expect was the mild panic attack that started to creep up on me. I was getting passed and just having some trouble getting clear water. My brain was saying...
"what are you doing here again?" "And your going to double it in Aug? LOL LOL LOL " Yeah, it wasn't pretty. So I kept trying to re focus, and head for each buoy. Which I was happy they were coming up quickly. But because I had 40 min in my head, I was getting discouraged. Finally I had the swim arch in sight, and I could see that a lot of people were actually standing up and walking the last 100 yds out of the water it was so shallow. But I swam until I could touch the bottom with my arms. Then I stood up and started walking out of the water. I then got to land and started to jog a bit. Suddenly I heard my name off to the left. there was my dad, camera in hand and waving at me. This is one of the favorite memories of the race. While my dad was attempting to video me coming out of the water, he couldn't get the camera to work, so he didn't get anything. BUT, The one swim photo they got, of me running up through the arch, is me waving at my dad. That's my favorite photo. I had a big smile on my face, so happy that I saw him, more happy later when I saw that photo! I was just so happy they were there. I found out later, my mom was further up the chute, but I didn't see her.
SWIM TIME: 45:28 A Swim Personal Record for 1.2 Miles.
T1 was quick, I was in and out in 4:01 min. Considering I had to run up and around the chute to get to transition, take of the wetsuit, sun block, helmet. glasses. I was pretty happy with that time. I headed out, knowing my parents, wouldn't make it up to the T1 that quick. I did see Joe and Laura who snapped off a few pictures of me leaving. And then I was off, on my 56 mile ride on the hilly course of Boulder.
BIKE
Off I went on the bike, prepared to follow my race plan, and prepared to be slower on the front half, and thinking I'd be quicker on the back half. Once I headed out and got out on the road, I was pleasantly surprised at how the hills weren't as intimidating as I thought they would be. I tried to focus on my pace and my power. My only issue was that I hadn't turned on my Garmin before the swim next to the bike. So when I headed out to ride, my power meter was not calibrated. I stopped just outside of the reservoir to do that, but I was pushing down on the pedal, and it said, error. I made the decision to just go, I didn't want to waste time, so off i went, and I decided it was good training for what I would do if it didn't work. So I focused on my cadence, and the power did register, but I wasn't sure how correct it was. So I managed to fly over the rolling hills cruising at an avg 17.4 mph on the first 29 miles of the race, 1:40 hr/min. I was happy with this time. It was close to my 1/2 in Soma ( 3000 feet lower, on a flat course) I was excited!!!! While I knew I was not to "compare" races, I couldn't help it. I felt good, was not having any major issues, the wind was quiet, and I was moving along way faster then I anticipated. But thats where things changed.....
As I began to head back into town. I started to get a twinge in my back, then it got a little stronger, then my hamstrings started to get tight. Then I started to go up false flats...a lot of them, and the wind picked up a bit. Then my back started to feel like it was going to spasm. So, Rest, stand stretch left side, stretch right side, stretch back. Pedal, shift, pedal, shift again, up false flat, shift again, stand stretch left, stretch right. I tried to focus on just keeping my cadence in the 90s, thinking that would help keep my legs from getting to tight. I had to stop at a porta potty or two, as my stomach was also acting up and I was having trouble keeping food down, so I stopped eating. I was just drinking water, OSMO, and taking Gu. (next mistake). My pace slowed, I could see my cadence slowing down too. The last 20 miles felt like 30. I was still just trying to focus on cadence. I had trouble with the hills keeping my power in a decent zone, so I kinda went back to old school with feeling what my body was doing and trying to adjust accordingly. I felt like I was pedaling in the 95s for cadence. But I also realized that I was running out of gears. If I went up a hill, then I could get in a gear to stay in the 85-90 cadence. Then when I was going down hills, I was at the end gear and could only coast. I'm not sure what to think about this, but as I reflect writing this, I am seeing it a lot in my training, I'll have to ask my coach what to do about it. Finally, finally finally, I was on the home stretch. I was so ready to be off the bike. I was also hot. I could tell the run was going to hurt. I headed back down into the Boulder Reservoir, and back into T2.
BIKE Time: 3:24:47 Avg Pace 16.4 mph ( 9 minutes shy of my best 1/2 )
T2
I was in and out of T2 in 2:35 min/sec. I didn't waste anytime. I was wondering where my parents might be and looked for them briefly as I was getting read to start the run. I was listening to see if they were calling my name, but heard nothing. I then started to get a bit worried. I was worried about them at high elevation, and the heat, and them getting dehydrated. I think my brain was working overtime , because they had found a nice shaded spot at the run out/bike in on the path under a tree. I never saw them, but they were perfectly fine, and ringing the heck out of the cowbells for all the triathletes running by them, having a good time.
RUN
So off I went on the run. I knew the run would hurt, I knew from the bike, that the run was going to hurt, I was hurting in my back at the end of the bike, and knew it wouldn't be pretty. So I kept repeating my race plan in my head. "First lap should feel Easy, like you want to go faster but don't, Second Lap you should be able to go a bit faster, and you should have something left in the tank, so that the first and second lap are paced about the same." So off I went, and found myself running a minute faster then planned. So The first two miles, I found myself walking to slow the pace down. I even was running up the hills comfortably.
So kept walking every aid station and dumping ice down the shirt and in the back, water over my head, drink, coke. I had an upset stomach. I hit the porta potty on mile three, and got some relief. but I was not getting in my nutrition, I was getting depleted. I had with me my two OSMO bottles on the race belt. The plan was one bottle per lap, just like my other race, it works good for me. But I was getting nauseous, and just couldn't tolerate anything. By the time I hit the back half of the course, I was sorta feeling a bit better, but then as I ran up on the "dam" trail that was acutally a trail on the damm of the reservoir, the winds picked up. like PICKED UP!! IT was blowing so hard that the water went from calm to white caps. I was holding onto my hat, my necklace was blowing so hard in the wind it was slapping against my collarbone on my left side. At this moment, I was thankful for all the windy runs I had done back home. But it started to make me think about how this would of killed me on the bike or the swim.
What am I getting myself into for the Full? So I put my head down and ran. I again managed to keep for the most part an even pace. Once off the dam trail, I headed down and around to start lap two. But I was already feeling the effects of the race, the heat, the wind. And as I came around to head out to Lap 2, I somehow was in a dazed zone that I ran down to the spot where you ran left for lap 2, and right to finish, and I ran right, only to thankfully recognize about 3 yrs in, I was going the wrong way. So I turned around and ran out of the finish side. I got a few looks from nearby spectators, and just said to them, "I'll be back for that after lap 2!" which got a chuckle out of a few of them. A good example of how I was feeling at that time. So off I went on lap two. Focused this time on just getting the pace I wanted, I was determined to follow the race plan. It was getting hotter, by this time, but at least I had a tail wind briefly and headed around the lake for Mile 7 and 8. Then up the hill to Mile 9. By this time, I was running every mile and walking in aid stations. I knew I was running on fumes, I couldn't take in any OSMO. My go to at the aid stations was the Pretzels. I WANTED SALT! I wanted lots of SALT!. So I knew that I was going down. I had a salt tablet in my race belt, but for some reason I didn't get it. I'm not sure why. I'm thinking I was pretty dazed at this time. I was keeping pace with a guy in front of me. and we kept talking here and there. When I said I was running on fumes, he responded, "yeah Emergency Fumes here!" and we trudged along one step at a time. When I hit Mile 10, I was trying to prepare myself for the last three miles in the wind. This last three miles, kinda went by in a blur. I kept trying to run the pace my coach wanted, but I was having to stop every 1/2 mile and walk. I was getting dizzy, nauseous. I was not feeling good. I was hot, I was hurting. I wanted to get in under 2:30 hr/min. But by Mile 11, I knew that wasn't happening, so then my goal became 2:40 hr/min. So I just kept moving, and moving, and moving.
Pretty soon I made it off, the dam trail. I honestly can't remember if the wind was blowing harder or less on the second trip. I think it was less, because I vaguely remember that the white caps were missing on the water. Finally I was on the back side of the course, I was 3/4 mile away, 1/2 mile away, 1/4 mile away. And Finally, this time, I was running down the finisher chute for real this time. I was so happy, I was so depleted, I was just spent. And so darn happy to be done. I ran across the finishline, not having the energy to raise up my arms, but just happy to stop moving.
So kept walking every aid station and dumping ice down the shirt and in the back, water over my head, drink, coke. I had an upset stomach. I hit the porta potty on mile three, and got some relief. but I was not getting in my nutrition, I was getting depleted. I had with me my two OSMO bottles on the race belt. The plan was one bottle per lap, just like my other race, it works good for me. But I was getting nauseous, and just couldn't tolerate anything. By the time I hit the back half of the course, I was sorta feeling a bit better, but then as I ran up on the "dam" trail that was acutally a trail on the damm of the reservoir, the winds picked up. like PICKED UP!! IT was blowing so hard that the water went from calm to white caps. I was holding onto my hat, my necklace was blowing so hard in the wind it was slapping against my collarbone on my left side. At this moment, I was thankful for all the windy runs I had done back home. But it started to make me think about how this would of killed me on the bike or the swim.
What am I getting myself into for the Full? So I put my head down and ran. I again managed to keep for the most part an even pace. Once off the dam trail, I headed down and around to start lap two. But I was already feeling the effects of the race, the heat, the wind. And as I came around to head out to Lap 2, I somehow was in a dazed zone that I ran down to the spot where you ran left for lap 2, and right to finish, and I ran right, only to thankfully recognize about 3 yrs in, I was going the wrong way. So I turned around and ran out of the finish side. I got a few looks from nearby spectators, and just said to them, "I'll be back for that after lap 2!" which got a chuckle out of a few of them. A good example of how I was feeling at that time. So off I went on lap two. Focused this time on just getting the pace I wanted, I was determined to follow the race plan. It was getting hotter, by this time, but at least I had a tail wind briefly and headed around the lake for Mile 7 and 8. Then up the hill to Mile 9. By this time, I was running every mile and walking in aid stations. I knew I was running on fumes, I couldn't take in any OSMO. My go to at the aid stations was the Pretzels. I WANTED SALT! I wanted lots of SALT!. So I knew that I was going down. I had a salt tablet in my race belt, but for some reason I didn't get it. I'm not sure why. I'm thinking I was pretty dazed at this time. I was keeping pace with a guy in front of me. and we kept talking here and there. When I said I was running on fumes, he responded, "yeah Emergency Fumes here!" and we trudged along one step at a time. When I hit Mile 10, I was trying to prepare myself for the last three miles in the wind. This last three miles, kinda went by in a blur. I kept trying to run the pace my coach wanted, but I was having to stop every 1/2 mile and walk. I was getting dizzy, nauseous. I was not feeling good. I was hot, I was hurting. I wanted to get in under 2:30 hr/min. But by Mile 11, I knew that wasn't happening, so then my goal became 2:40 hr/min. So I just kept moving, and moving, and moving.
Pretty soon I made it off, the dam trail. I honestly can't remember if the wind was blowing harder or less on the second trip. I think it was less, because I vaguely remember that the white caps were missing on the water. Finally I was on the back side of the course, I was 3/4 mile away, 1/2 mile away, 1/4 mile away. And Finally, this time, I was running down the finisher chute for real this time. I was so happy, I was so depleted, I was just spent. And so darn happy to be done. I ran across the finishline, not having the energy to raise up my arms, but just happy to stop moving.
RUN Time: 2:40:30 hr/min/sec.
Once across the line, I got my timing chip removed, and then my medal put around my neck, was handed one bottle of water, then two. Then the photographer showed up and snapped a picture of me. Then I saw Laura, who told me to smile, and it was at that moment, that my Asthma/whatever the heck it was kicked in, and suddenly I couldn't breath! So I am attempting to take a breath in the photo, just as she took it. Then I was hunched over, trying to calm my breathing. It took a few minutes, but I managed to get it under control. I was looking for my parents, and Laura spotted my Dad who was standing at the exit of the athlete area, looking around for me. So I walked over and he spotted me, and we walked over to where mom was standing. I got the best memory of the entire race right here, when I got a picture standing with my Dad and Mom. The first triathlon race they ever watched me do. I was so happy that they were there, and that my Dad, would spend Father's Day with me. But, I was also feeling horrible. I really should of walked right over into the med tent and maybe got an IV, etc. Because, i was dizzy, i was nauseous, I was COLD!!! I felt like CRAP. And because I felt like crap, I was not able to really celebrate my finish. But I didn't because I wanted to be with my parents, and make sure they were okay. We walked over to where Joe and Laura were sitting with the kids. And I ended up sitting/laying there for the next 45 min. I was needing something, and thought I wanted food, but I couldn't find the athlete tent for food, which is usually next to the finish. Bless my dad, he took off and went and found it somewhere on the other side of the area. and returned with pizza and chips, and cold drink. By this time I was able to walk back to get my recovery drink mix in my bag, and my warm lightweight winter, Patagonia jacket. Yes, I was that cold!!! I also managed to get my recovery socks and sandals. So after i got on my hose, and my jacket I felt about 60 % better. We all hung out for a bit, then it was time for me to go. I walked over and got my bike and transition bag. And walked back to the car with Mom and Dad. I loaded my stuff in the Escape, and headed back to my place for a long, hot shower. and my parents back to their hotel to relax and wait for me to get cleaned up and come over to go out for dinner. We were so tired, that I ended up just buying a pizza and we ate it at the hotel relaxing.
Looking back, I realized that I am proud of this race, and of my results.
SWIM (PR) 45:28
T1 4:01
Bike 3:24:47
T2 2:35
Run 2:40:30
_________________
Overall 6:57:21
This was a TRAINING race. It was a race to test out where I was in prep for Boulder Ironman in Aug. I couldn't see it at the finish line, I was feeling to crappy. I was comparing the race to my last 1/2 3000 feet elevation lower, and on a flat course. This was apples to oranges, as my coach said. I needed time to process that information. It took a few days. But when I did, I was happy. I had a goal to get in between 6:30 and 7:00. I KNEW that since it was a tougher course, I could not compare it to any of my other races, but I did. I also think i was discouraged that I was not feeling as good at the end, like I did in Soma for my last 1/2. Because it was hot their too. But I realize, it was not as hard, so that's why I was better in the heat.
I got a swim PR, I was only 10 min slower on both my bike AND my run. I anticipated that I would be slow, I knew in my heart, I would be, but I let it get to me. I got more focused on time, and not having expectations. I think I was able to stay within my limits. I had to fight thorough some nasty spams in my back and tight hamstrings. I stayed where I was able to on the bike, and I paced the run pretty good for the most part. I was in my desired time. I got a Swim PR by three minutes. THREE MINUTES!!! At higher elevation, with a mild panic attack thrown in!!!
What didn't go right? Bike- Spasms. Near as I can figure, I rode harder up the hills then I have trained, and I rode in Aero, putting extra strain on my back, and my hamstrings. And I payed for it on the back have of the course, where the false flats were. This also didn't set me up well for the run. Because of feeling that way on the bike, I neglected my nutrition, hence, starting the run depleted of the nutrition that I needed. And even though I finished within ten minutes of my best 1/2 tri race time, I payed for it.
So, Things I need to do to prepare for Boulder Ironman.
Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition.
Read # 1
Bike Fit? Did that cause the back spasms? or was it the hills and the hard push in Aero.
Run and Ride in HEAT. I just found out it was 98 degrees in Boulder 33 days out from the race. I also read somewhere on the Facebook Ironman Boulder page, that it's going the be the largest Ironman race with over 3000 athletes, and they are predicting it's going to be the hottest Ironman race. Good God, they better allow wetsuits!! Another article with some of the pros, said they wouldn't do this course, it's to brutal with the heat and winds. They'd do the 70.3 but never the 140.6 there. Awesome, I'm really excited now! ( Insert Freaked out Face here!!!)
I missed one of my long rides a week before the race, this could of been one reason for struggling on the ride. I hadn't done a long ride 2 weeks prior to the race. NO MISSING RIDES
Massage, Foam Roll, Yoga, Stretch. Get your hamstrings, and calves under control.
SALT.....load up. I've been lucky enough to not have too many issues with cramping in the past on my legs. But for some reason, it's kicking my butt lately.
I have many lessons that I learned from this race, this is just a start. Back to training.
The Only Quote I can wrap my head around is.
Anything is POSSIBLE.
No comments:
Post a Comment