Burley Spudman Triathlon 2014

I love this race! I'll just start out saying that because this is my all time favorite event. Don't get me wrong there are some great race organizers out there and I enjoy most of the events in which I compete but this was my first open water tri so it holds a special place in my heart. This weekend is usually a camping trip with my hubby and some good friends from Park City and my brother from Boise. Unfortunately with hubby gone and my brother predisposed, I was camping in my trailer alone. Park City friends were there as well so that was fun.

Spudman is an Olympic distance triathlon. 1.5k swim down the Snake River, 40k bike and 10k run through the farm fields. I've always considered this my A race and this year was no difference. It's a two transition race so after picking up my packet (which includes a potato!), I took my bike over to T1 to claim my favorite spot by the bike out.

Several of us were then meeting up for a pre-race pizza dinner. We had a newbie with us. It was going to be his first open water Olympic tri so we talked about a lot of things that he could expect. I was so excited for him!  Then it was back to camp to finish preparing for the morning and early to bed.

Transition open at 6 am so even though I was in one of the last start waves, I headed over to finish setting up T1 to try and beat the crowds. Ran into a few other Salt Lake Tri Club peeps and snapped some sunrise pics and went to set up T2.

 

 

I was so early that I was able to sit in my truck and stay warm until the race started.

And they're off!

As usually happens wave starts are age dependent so I'm usually in one of the last waves, having plenty of time to gather my wits and get ready. Waves are 10 minutes apart so about 5 minutes after the previous wave started, I got in the water. It was very comfortable and the current felt strong. You don't want to get in too early so that you don't use too much energy trying to stay behind the start line. I timed it just right and was at the start when the horn blew. Except for one guy who kept cutting me off for a ways, the swim was uneventful. I was happy to see I took off a couple minutes from last year when I exited.

For some reason, I took my sweet time in transition. It's a "clean" transition so everything you have has to be put in the provided trash bag and dropped off with volunteers at the bike out. The bike starts out on the main road and then winds around through some neighborhoods before getting on the straightaway country roads. It's basically a 25 mile flat rectangle. Even though drafting is illegal, there were several draft packs that passed me and I saw a lot of it throughout the day. But whatever, I was just worried about my own race and pedaled on! I averaged 19 mph which is something that I have not been able to do in a race before. Came off the bike a little over 3 minutes faster from last year.

The run is my Achilles heel this year. I've been having problems breathing but this day, I remembered the inhaler and some extra nutrition. My run plan is always a 5 min run/1 min walk even in a triathlon so after walking the hill out of transition to get my legs going, I stuck to the Galloway method the entire 10k. It was warm but not unbearable. I didn't want to take a chance on overheating so I took in plenty of fluid at the aid stations. The run takes you through some farm fields along a canal. I saw lots of people squatting in the potatoes so I don't think dehydration was a problem! My run was only 20 seconds faster than last year.

It's always such a great feeling to run down that last hill to the finish chute and have them call your name and where you are from!

I first did this race in 2011 where I finished 22 of 24. The second year I was 14 of 21, 28 minutes faster. Then in 2013 I was 8 of 17 with another 18 minutes faster. I really was hoping and planning on 15 minutes faster this year but it was only 4 minutes and 7 of 21. As one friend said, a pr is a pr! One of my friends and training mates won our age group, beating me by over half hour - she's fast!

I met up with Dr. Tom at the finish and we waited for his brother, Steve to finish. It was Steve's first open water tri and I am always very proud when someone does something that pushes past their comfort level. Can't wait to see the next one (hint, hint, Steve!).

This event is truly a community event. From the organizers to the high school football players and cheerleaders and other volunteers to the residents who held water hoses or put sprinklers in the streets to help keep us cool - they are all so very great! As if you can't tell, I highly recommend this race to all.

As is tradition, after cleaning up and grabbing a bite to eat, I finished off the day with 18 holes of golf with Ron & Susan. My one concession is to take a cart since it is in the heat of the day. It was weird this year without my hubby and brother but we had a good time and mostly played well.

Packed everything up the next morning and made it home in time for church and to prepare for the upcoming week!




 

Echo Triathlon

It was a beautiful Saturday morning for the Echo Triathlon. The day before, the weather forecast had called for a chance of thunder showers but as you can see there was nary a cloud in the sky. It's a little bit of a drive from my house to the reservoir so I opted once again to go up the night before and stay at the one hotel nearby. A fellow club member and I shared a room. It was the first time we had met and I know I say this over and over again but I love this sport because of the people! Every time I meet someone, I feel like I've made a new life-long friend. It was fun to spend time visiting and getting to know each other.

There was to be a swim clinic before packet pickup so we all headed over. I opted out of the swim but was there to take pictures.

After packets were picked up, it was back to the hotel to finish our prep and get our eyes closed early. The 4 o'clock hour comes way to soon on race morning!

There is little parking at the venue so we have to ride our bikes the two miles with all of our gear. Our group headed over about 5:30 am. The temperature was great, just a hoodie over the tri kit.

TriUtah puts on such a great race (I know I've said this before as well!). Bike spots are marked with our numbers so no question on where to set up. With setup done, it was time to catch up and visit with friends for awhile. I was doing the sprint and as often happens I was in the last wave so I got to watch my friends at their start.

Something new this year (I think) was participation of the Push to the Finish organization. Check out their website. Several athletes pulled kids with physical disabilities in rafts on the swim course and then they were pushed on the rest of the course. It was so great to see the joy in the kids as they were coming out of the water. I know I'm not strong enough to pull or push one of the kids, but this seems like such a worthy cause for me to check into.

The Olympic and Sprint waves started and soon it was time to get in the water for a warm-up. The water was perfect. The buoys were staying put (last year one of them moved so my swim was short). The air horn blew and we were off. Even with my bum shoulder, I felt like I was having a good swim and was happy to come out of the water at 18 minutes. Official time shows 20 something because it's quite a long way up to transition.

Photo credit goes to my favorite mommy-to-be and one of my surrogate coaches, Jen.

Love her belly!

With a quick transition, I started the bike. Since I'm not a fast swimmer, I usually make up my time on the bike. I passed a lot of people and was feeling really good. The course has a false flat out of transition with a little climb and then some rollers. On the return, there is climb up to where the dam is and I even managed to pass someone on that stretch! The run course parallels the road in spots so I was seeing my fellow tri club members out running.

Another quick transition and I was off on the run. I'm struggling with my breathing on my runs and had forgotten to bring my inhaler. Last year's run was about three minutes faster. I forgot to look at my time from last year so didn't know until later that I pr'd by a few minutes. I definitely made up time on the swim, bike and transitions. I believe it was one of my best open water swims yet, pace-wise.

So many of us made it on the podium. Even some newbies!
It was the first tri for one of my new friends, Melanie, and only her second open water swim!

This was one of the races last year in which I qualified for USAT Age Group Nationals. I thought that was a one time thing but when I looked at the results, I found that I beat out second place by a few seconds and have qualified again for next year.

I've taken a few weeks break from serious training and it probably helped with this race. Monday is my re-commitment day to my training schedule. It felt good to hit GPP this morning at 5 am. My favorite race of all time is in two weeks - Burley Spudman!

Blah!

Not much going on in the past week. I'm trying to figure out how to get motivated again to train. I realized this week that I am so afraid of my shoulder hurting worse that I avoid anything that might possibly do this. I've been lucky to have a month break between races and I supposed I am taking full advantage of it and getting all the rest I have needed.

There have been a couple of runs and bike rides. These have been great. Mostly I'm afraid of getting in the pool and swimming laps. I give myself another week and then my butt will be back in the pool.

I have been in the water, though. Open water. I've organized some open water swims at Pineview Reservoir. It was been great to see people who have never had a wetsuit on and are not completely comfortable in the water, face these fears!

Last week a few of my friends and even some new ones came out and we had a great time.

We are doing it again tonight and I can't wait to see who comes out. The key to getting comfortable with open water swimming is getting in the open water. The more you do it, the better it is.

Finished up my week by chilling on my deck and yard, stalking my friends doing Ironman Coeur D'Alene and a little sunset yoga. Even though my training has been less than stellar, I am trying not to beat myself up about it too much. As my kind and loving coach has said to me, I'm giving myself permission to recover. Working on the guilt thing!

Oh and to sign off, here are a couple of my tasty dinners.

Rest, rest, rest

I may have done this a little too well last week.  After doing the River Rampage Triathlon on Saturday, I completely went into hibernation mode. Nothing was scheduled all of last week, there was not one piece of tri or workout clothing that ended up in the laundry. I was tired and my body was worn out. And for the first time, I did not feel guilty. Not one bit. I slept at least 8 hours every night. I think it was Thursday morning before I actually thought about doing triathlon.

In the past 18 months, I have completed 3-5ks, 1-10k, 11-half marathons, 1-marathon, Ragnar Wasatch Back, 11-sprint triathlons, 3-Olympic triathlons, 2-Ironman 70.3s and attempted a full Ironman. I wonder why I'm tired! It's been great fun but I am now ready for a few week break. My next race is not for another 3 weeks.

To make matters worse, my shoulder that's been bugging me since I fell on my bike three months ago has not gotten better. It finally came time to have an MRI. I half hoped that there was something that could be "fixed" but the good news is that my rotator cuff is intact. Bad news is I have signs of early degeneration and arthritis and a lot of inflammation. It's just going to be one of those things that I deal with. I will have good days and bad days and I hope the good outnumber the painful ones.

I had a lot of time to think and reflect during the week but unfortunately this also meant that I had a lot of time to miss my hubby. It's been okay for the most part with him working on the other side of the world because I've stayed so busy but with some downtime, uh oh!

I finally started feeling some energy by Friday. That evening I got my hair done and planned on an early Saturday morning temple session and a trip to the local farmers market. Up before 5 am and downtown by 6:30! I love doing this very early in the morning, it feels like there is so much more day in the day! The rest of my day was spent in my yard which has sorely been lacking love this year. Lots of weeding and trimming.

I'm sure my neighbors were happy to see me doing something. I even managed to get a couple of tomato plants planted.

Sunday morning I made it out the door by 7 am for a 5 mile run. I had set an intention for an hour because I have not run in awhile but made it back sooner than that because I was able to finally keep running and not fight my breathing from the stupid cold and allergies.

Back into training mode this week, I checked my schedule this morning and have a couple of bike rides and runs scheduled. Yay!

I'm most excited about leading an open water swim on Wednesday with some friends. Some are experienced swimmers and some are just getting into it. It will be a fun time and I hope they fall in love with it and don't feel like this -

Not many pictures this week but I'll sign off with one of my favorite trees in my backyard!

River Rampage Triathlon 2014 - redemption

I am not sure that I have ever gone "to" Green River, Utah. Sure, I have gone "through" it to get to Moab and points beyond. It's a small town about 3 hours southeast of Salt Lake City and it's main draw besides a truck stop, is the Green River Recreation Area, home of the River Rampage Triathlon.

I had signed up for this race thinking it would be a good "recovery" race four weeks out from IMTX. Just didn't realize I would throw a half ironman in between! This race is put on by TriUtah. I've competed in several of their events and they really put on a good race. The swim is a one mile down river swim for both the Olympic and Sprint distances. It's fast! Unfortunately, this year it is running a little too fast and has resulted in some accidents and even one death so the authorities asked that the swim portion be cancelled.  We had the choice of still racing or transferring our entry to another event.

I chose to go ahead with it since it was a recovery race for me. I figured I could use a bike/run to flush out my body so I headed out Friday afternoon. Got checked into my hotel and met up with a fellow Salt Lake Tri Club member, Scott, to pick up packets and eat dinner. In our brief exploration of the town, the only thing we found was a little drive-in that served pizza. It wasn't bad and of course I got an ice cream cone! We drove part of the bike course and then hit our rooms to finish preparations for the morning.

It was a beautiful morning. Cool and crisp with just a touch of wind. The river looked benign enough but was still running fast. Some people had not gotten the word about the canceled swim until packet pickup and were disappointed to say the least.

I heard my name in the transition area and found out there were more than a couple of us from SLTC racing. Chris was there with a couple of his friends.

before

after

The wind started picking up after the athlete meeting. They were going to do a time trial start with the Sprint racers heading out first so I got lined up and ready to go. The bike was uneventful. I passed quite a few people and felt good about how it was going. I can't seem to get away from the wind in anything I do and today was no exception. I felt strong, though and after the turnaround, passed a few more people. Part of the last mile of the ride before turning back into the campground was on a section of road that was really rough. They had marked the potholes but the whole road felt very shaky.

Thanks so much to Myrleen Wright for taking so many photos!

Fast transition and then off to run. The sprint was a one loop course around the golf course. It ended up being a little shy of a 5k. My legs felt good off of the bike and running felt good for the first mile. It was then I realized I really still couldn't breathe. I'm so over this cold/allergy thing. I ran more than walked but had to walk in order to get my breath. Some of the people I passed on the bike started passing me. Dang it! I set my sight on one runner in front of me and even with my run/walk, I was able to catch and pass her. My goal was to stay in front of her. She was several age groups younger than me and ended up on the podium too. Staying in front of her was one of my small victories in life!

All in all a decent race while recovering from Boise 70.3 and being sick. I averaged over 18 mph on the bike in the wind and 11 minute pace with all my walking. I know this doesn't compare to all you speedy people out there but I'll take it.



And a good showing by all Salt Lake Tri Club people, I believe everyone made it to the podium.

 

I'm set for a week of rest. My shoulder is acting up again and my body is just plain old tired.

 

Last picture - we really do live in a beautiful state. Even when it isn't that scenic, it is!

Boise IM 70.3

It was a beautiful weekend in Boise this past weekend. I had originally planned on going to cheer on a couple of friends who were doing their first half ironman but after my dnf at IMTX three weeks ago, I decided to register and use my training to prove to myself that I could finish a race.

The best part of the weekend was being with over three dozen of my teammates from Salt Lake Tri Club and Balanced Art Multisport. We met for a practice swim and ride at the reservoir after lunch.

The water was about 62 degrees and it felt good to get into it to calm the pre-race nerves. After swimming we got on our bikes to make sure everything was in working order and checked them in to T1. This was a two transition race with T1 being at the lake and T2 in town by the finish line.  Later that evening we had plans to meet up for dinner.  Trying to get a reservation for 40 people can prove to be difficult but Coach Wes managed to pull it off. And it was a popular place, we got there only to find that Apolo Anton Ohno was there with Craig Alexander and Paula Newby Fraser. Apolo is competing in Ironman Kona on the Chocolate Milk Team and this was to be his first triathlon. We were all pretty star struck but waited until after dinner to start asking to take pictures. They were very gracious about it and posed with quite a few of us.

Some of our group

The race has a noon start time on Saturday which is unlike most races in the world. This would explain some of us being at the ice cream shop at 10 pm on race eve. Usually we would be well asleep by then in prep for a very early morning alarm.

The noon race start, while great in that no alarm is needed in the morning, presents a dilemma in what to do for food on race day. I know exactly what I need to eat for breakfast but then we had to wait for more than 4 hours to start. Since we had to catch the bus up to the lake early, I made a peanut butter & banana sandwich to take with me. This has always been a comfort food for me and it was easy to make and take.

After meeting up with some teammates and catching the bus, we arrived at the lake with plenty of time to set up and get organized. Unfortunately there were not a lot of shady spots to rest but we made do. About an hour before the start, the pb & banana tasted really, really good!

I have said that the reason I was going to be at this race originally was to cheer on my two good friends, Carmen & Marianne, for their first half ironman. I think for this reason, I was surprisingly calm with no pre-race jitters. I also had it in my head that this was going to be a just get it done race. After my whirlwind trip to NYC the weekend before, I came down with a cold and cough. Couple that with only being three weeks from IMTX, it wasn't shaping up to be a very speedy event for me!

We were getting close to starting so I found a bathroom and then my two friends to go to the start. We had decided the night before that we would hold hands like little girls going into the water and we did it. It meant a lot for me to be there at the beginning with them. Our wave was first off after the pros and it came quickly. The wind had picked up a little so the water was a little choppy and my goggles fogged up a little so siting was challenging but after correcting for taking the first turn wide, I came back to the end at 59 minutes. All my times were slower than my Monterrey half ironman but again this was to be expected.

T1 was uneventful and I was off on the bike. I never looked at the race profile prior to Saturday so really had no idea what to expect. It's probably a good thing, I may have backed out! I will say that my race wheels made a difference and I can't wait to ride them on a "normal" course for comparison. It's a good downhill ride back towards town, but then you start encountering some hills (note - my version of hills is different than more seasoned cyclists!). The winds really started blowing. I stopped at the first aid station to refill my water bottle and then once more at the last aid station. My goal was to consume all of my planned calories on the bike which is where I think I partially went wrong in Texas. I accomplished this. At one point on the ride going downhill, there was a pretty good headwind so that it was necessary to pedal. downhill. weird! There was a  (for me) surprise no-pass zone in the last 10 miles. I hadn't planned on it. I made it through but one poor guy behind me said he was just going to have to pass me as he couldn't possibly go any slower than I was. Poor guy!

Anyway, finally came off the bike at 3:47. Way longer than I had hoped for but fully fueled and ready for the run. My plan is always to run/walk with a 5:1 ratio. I started off great for the first mile and a half and then nausea set in. It was all I could do to walk and not puke. I'm not sure at what point I realized that I would be walking the rest of the half marathon but it was clear it was happening. I tried taking in some gu, Gatorade, salt tabs and a banana but nothing was sitting very well with me. The run is a very beautiful two loop course along the river. Very shady and scenic. I met and talked to quite a few racers and the volunteers and spectators were the best! A few team members came past and walked with me a few minutes. Everyone was very encouraging and more than one said they were having the same problem. As I came around to start the second loop, there were my SLTC teammates! Coach Wes walked with me awhile and gave me a pep talk. 6 more miles to go! Every time I crossed over a timing mat, I laughed at what Coach Lizz must be thinking while tracking me. During the last couple of miles, I tried some potato chips. One chip at a time. They tasted really good and probably helped me make it to the finish. It wasn't my slowest half marathon but pretty dang close.

Done and done. I was determined to not dnf another race and in that aspect I was successful. I will live to do another one sometime. Although, I'm pretty sure I was ready to take a picture of my bike laying on the grass and post it for sale and never race again!

We waited for Marianne to finish and what an epic finish it was. She came down the finish chute with almost no time to spare and into our emotional, outstretched arms!

I could not be more proud of these two ladies. We've spent a lot of time together this year, training, laughing and talking, and it was great to see get a half ironman under their belt!

This has been a hard post to write for me. Not sure why. I've left a lot out from the weekend but the main point I want to make is having friends and teammates around you during a race is one of the best things ever! So much laughter and fun!

Time to recover until next time.