Ironman 70.3 Monterrey race recap #2

To finish out Saturday, we had to walk our bikes about 1.5 miles to transition to check them in for the night. The check in process and body marking was very smooth. I was happy with my spot - only a few bikes away from the bike out!

Everyone turned in early - I didn't even eat a proper dinner, just went back to my room and foraged on snacks that I had brought with me. After setting everything up so I would not forget anything, I took part of a sleeping pill so I would get a few hours sleep and hit the sack. My alarm was set for 4 am but I woke wide awake at 3, laying there until the alarm sounded. We met in front of my hotel to take a taxi to transition to finish setting up. We picked up one more new friend from San Francisco. After catching a cab back to the hotel, I was able to go back to my room for a few minutes. This was a good thing since I realized I forgot to charge my Garmin! Crazy, since this has been apart of my pre-race routine forever! With one minute to spare, it was fully charged and I met up with Monica from San Francisco to walk to the swim start to meet the others.

Gotta love the background--porta potties!

I was in the first wave start after the pros--yay for putting old ladies first! This made me happy, kind of a mental edge even though I knew I would be passed by other waves. My fastest mile swim before was about 45 minutes so I figured I would beat the 1:10 cutoff. I was pleased coming out of the water in 50 minutes. I had to stop a couple of times when I was being jostled around but swam continuously for the most part. We had to run up a bunch of stairs to get to transition but it was a smooth one. I remembered helmet, etc!

We had been warned of a section of  about 600m of cobblestone that would be rough. Ha! Understatement. I wasn't on my bike for 5 minutes before I lost my water bottle from my aerobar, my bike box lid popped off and the tire lever flew out and one of my rice packets came out of my pocket. I had planned my nutrition so I would not have any extra - Feed Zone rice cakes and Skratch drink. Losing one of the rice cakes meant losing a couple hundred calories. Luckily, the weather was cooler than the day before - instead of mid 80's it was more like low 70's. The brick-like cobblestone was about 3 miles in addition to the regular stone. It was so jarring, my arm felt like it was coming out of it's socket.

The pictures don't do it justice! There was one section on the rock portion that funneled down into one bike width. I felt sorry for the people behind me because I was riding cautiously through. The bulk of the miles were on Constitucion Avenue which was akin to their highway. After I got a few miles onto this road, I stopped to put my top back on the bike box so I wouldn't lose anything else out of it. On top of the rough section of road, we had winds. We had been told that we would have a headwind on the downhills and tailwind on the uphills but no such luck. It felt like riding in Davis County where there is a headwind both directions. It was difficult to stay in aero for long stretches because of the wind gusts. According to my plan, I was eating or drinking something every 15-20 minutes. I was too afraid to toss my old water bottle and grab a new one on the go so on the second loop, I stopped for a half a minute to refresh my water. It was during that second loop that I was thinking again "how the heck will I ever do a full ironman!" The bike course is about 90 km with an aid station every 10 km so I just focused on using them as my markers and enjoying the scenery. As I started the third loop (all the while hoping my bike would hold together and not shake apart), I had never looked so forward to starting a run! I wanted to finish with my rice and Skratch on the third loop. The first aid station was pretty empty so I pulled over, finished food, got a new water bottle and went potty since there were no lines. The one thing that makes me chuckle now is that on the last loop, I was actually talking out loud to the round speed bumps that were on the highway. If you've ever been in a car in Mexico, you know how crazy the driving can be so they put these round bumps throughout the road so make them slow down. I was saying farewell to them as I passed over them.

It took all the mental toughness I've ever had to make it through that last loop of cobblestone and into T2! I was shaken to the core! My goal was 3 hours on the bike but it took 3:31.

There had been a possibility of rain so I had left my running shoes and hat in a plastic bag. I put my bike shoes in the bag, popped a few salt tabs and a gu and took off running out of transition. I was able to maintain my 5:1 run/walk ratio for the first loop. The sun came out for a little bit during my run but it was cloudy and a little rainy for most of it which was nice. There was an aid station every kilometer. I managed to stay hydrated and dumped water on my head every couple stops. I discovered that one of my gu packets had disappeared on the bike as well. Sometime into the second loop, I was saved by eating part of a Kind bar and having a shot of Pepsi. I don't like full sugar soda but it did taste good at that point!

I really didn't have an idea what to expect on the run and figured if it took me 3 hours, it would be okay. My goal overall was 7 hours. Into the run, I changed that expectation to 7:30 so I was happy when I finished with 7:17 and a 2:43 run.

I ran into Rich at the finish line and we sat and talked for a few minutes but didn't see anyone else. I knew it would take me awhile to walk my bike and stuff back to the hotel so after picking up my morning clothes bag, went to retrieve the rest of my stuff and my bike. I got about halfway back to the hotel before I realized I was missing my helmet! Dang it! It blew off my bike in transition. I learned several lessons that day with my transitions and nutrition.

MaryEllen's dad, Bill, had my phone but I never saw him so I had to wait until meeting up with them later that evening to get it. It had exploded with texts and FB posts - thank you all! I had no idea where I had placed until I read Lizz's post.  There were only three people in my age group so I knew all I had to do was finish the race to place but was excited to see that I came in 2nd place.

Going to the awards ceremony was fun. It was after the slot allocation ceremony for those who qualified to go to World's. Of the people at my table, 4 made it through the qualification. Very exciting and I was happy for each of them. Luckily for me, the woman who took first in my AG accepted the slot so that I wouldn't have to make that decision. I'm pretty sure at that point I never wanted to compete again!

After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get things packed up. I had made plans to take bike back to bike shop to disassemble but when I got there Monday morning I discovered it closed because it was a holiday. Trying not to panic, I went back to the hotel lobby and started taking things apart. Luckily for me one of the nice hotel workers was a mechanic and came to my rescue! My flight was not scheduled until later in the afternoon but I was able to get on an earlier one, so off to the airport! I had the same taxi driver as had taken me to the bike shop, Jose. He spoke English and we had a great conversation. I actually gave him a hug for all his help as he dropped me off! Guess I was emotional about leaving.

If everything went well (you know that's not where I'm going with this!) I would be back to SLC around 9 pm instead of my original midnight arrival. We were a little late arriving into Houston and the lines for customs/immigration were very long - so much so that I was still in line as my connecting flight was leaving. Once I made it up to the guy, he asked me to stand to the side and wait for someone. Evidently I was flagged in the system so after a 15 minute wait, I was taken into a room and asked if I'd ever been arrested. Excuse me? I told him no and he said, "Good, because I didn't find anything on you."  Oh my word, this adventure was never ending!  Off to collect my bags and recheck them. By the time I got to the counter, I was so ready to just be home so I felt sorry for the agent as she watched my eyes fill with tears as I asked her to get me home. The next plane departed late so by the time I arrived at home and crawled into bed it was 1:30 am. I'd been up for 22+ hours!

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to push to another level. I don't mean this to sound like an acceptance speech but to all my friends and family who cheered me on and believed in me, I appreciate you. My wonderful, kind and loving coach, Lizz, was so instrumental in getting me here, I love her so much!

I met so many people with great stories - one kid had been at the Desert Tri last month when I was there. He decided to start triathlon and registered without even owning a bike! I didn't get his name to look at results, I hope he did great. Another woman was having Monterrey be her first race back six months post surgery - having her hamstring reattached. She won her age group and qualified for World's.  I'm sure there were as many stories as there were people.

I am almost done rambling but want to give another shout out to Milo, tri club president from Monterrey - he answered all my questions via email, text and in person. If you ever want to train or compete in Monterrey, let me know and I'll hook you up with this wonderful gentleman!

I know there are lots of things I missed talking about but you all get the idea of how emotional this was for me. I get to recover this week and then onto the harder training for Ironman Texas!

Ironman 70.3 Monterrey race recap #1

Transition Area

You'll have to bear with me - this may be a long, rambling report! This was beyond a doubt the hardest thing I have done to date. But well worth it - it goes along with my mantra of doing something every day that scares me! This scared the crap out of me.

The adventure started early in the week when I took my bike to have it disassembled and packed in bike case. It was a good feeling knowing that I could check that off my to do list. The day before I left, I received a message from an online friend who had already arrived in Monterrey asking me if I could find a cable for him - TSA had zipped through his and one could not be found. It was an easy chore and then I headed home to finish packing. My flight wasn't super early but I had to leave the house about 7 am for the required two hour check-in. As far as flights go, all went smoothly and I sailed through customs in Mexico and caught a taxi to my hotel.

Aaron - my new friend from Wisconsin met me so I could give him the cable and he helped me get my bike put together. Except we hit a snag when I discovered I was missing the cap to my handlebars. Wow, that stressed me out!

I was able to reach Hernan at the Cycling Boutique bike shop and he assured me we could get everything taken care of in the morning. There was not a lot left to do except find a place to eat dinner. The hotel staff recommended a place so away in the cab we went. It wasn't exactly the best place for a pre-race dinner and I was so tired that I was barely able to eat anything. After dinner we discovered the spectacle in the front window.


Yuck!

The next day we took my bike to the bike shop and they took great care of me and I was able to breathe a deep sigh of relief. Aaron also got his bike/cable put back in working order. We were able to head to the expo just across the street. It was mostly easy to communicate with everyone but anytime we heard English being spoken, it was like a magnet! We met MaryEllen, Barbi & Bill from the Dallas area and then some folks from New Hampshire.

The expo was a little unorganized but flowed okay if not a little slow. The IM 70.3 merchandise had not cleared customs so the store did not open until later in the day.

A few weeks prior to the race, I had been introduced through FaceBook to a Monterrey resident tri coach by a mutual friend. Milo turned out to be my saving grace! He was so nice and helpful and he was who introduced me to the bike mechanic and offered to help in any way he could. It was fun to find him at the expo and give him a big hug! Their tri club had over a hundred athletes competing on Sunday.

Aaron and I took out bikes out for about thirty minutes within the park loop so we could rest assured that everything was in good working order.  Dinner plans were made with the Texas folks and we were to meet up with some of their other friends at the Sierra Madre Brewing Company downtown. We met Tori from Connecticut and Rich from Texas for pizza, drinks and lots of laughter. It was the first half ironman distance for Tori, Barbi and me so we talked a lot about this.

I was able to sleep much better that night knowing my bike was working. A group swim was planned for Saturday morning. The race swim is in a man made canal and no swimming is allowed except during competition. It helped to calm my nerves to get in the water to know what to expect. It was like swimming in a giant pool - the water was about 68-70 degrees so it was wetsuit legal.

Afterwards, we headed to the English speaking athlete meeting. There was some conflicting information so we wanted to make sure our questions were all answered. Of course, we met more "friends".  Questions all answered, we ate lunch and then I headed out for a quick pre-race run. I think the temperature hit mid-80's that day so it was a slow, tough run.

I'm going to wrap up this post at the end Saturday so I can write more detail of actual race day on the next post!

Desert Triathlon

When you go to the desert on an adventure, you're bound to run into dinosaurs. We found this guy somewhere north of Palm Springs! And an adventure it was. Taking off from SLC late Thursday evening put us into St. George after midnight. In December I decided it would be a great idea to do a sprint triathlon a couple of weeks before the half ironman. The venue was the same as the HITS tri I did in early December. I was fortunate enough to have talked a couple of fellow tri club members into competing as well so we decided to make it a weekend trip with lots of driving.

The plan was to get to Palm Springs in time to pick up packets, do the group swim, and get a quick bike and run done. You know what they say about making plans? Ha! The day started out just fine but then the rain started coming and didn't stop for most of the way.

At one point, an hour or so before our destination, a BMW decided to make a U-turn in front of me on the freeway going 65 mph. He must have hydroplaned and his life may have flashed before him as he looked up at my truck just inches from the driver's door as he passed in front of me heading towards the center barrier. Nerve wracking to say the least. We made it in time to pick up packets but missed the swim and the weather was not conducive to running or biking. After checking into the hotel and getting settled, dinner was at my favorite place, Babe's. It has the best barbeque!

The alarm was going off early so we headed back to get our gear ready for the race in the morning.

 

It was wonderful to wake up to clear skies and mid-fifty degrees. The sun rising over the lake was a welcome site!



Race morning is always exciting with anticipation of what's to come. We set up our transition areas with lots of time to spare and met a few of the people racked around us. This was going to be a very competitive race, one woman next to me had done Kona four times! Oh well, I wasn't in it to win it; just to get wet in preparation for Mexico. The water was about 65 degrees. It felt so pleasant compared to the fifty degrees it was in December. Carmen and I were in the last wave and Melinda was about 20 minutes before us.

The whistle blew and we were off! I started way too fast and was barely around the first buoy when my brain started asking me how the hell I was going to swim a full ironman. I pushed the thoughts away and focused on the moment and came out of the water four minutes faster than my last tri. It was a little chilly so I decided to wear a wind breaker on the bike and it was a good thing for me to do. The bike course is relatively flat and even though I was in the last group getting out of the water, I was able to pass several dozen on the bike, averaging just under 18 mph. The best part for me though was starting the run and having strong legs. I didn't feel noodle legs that often happen and was able to run strong. The run was around the lake mostly on trails. It was a little shy of a 5k but I was able to manage about a 10 min pace which always makes me happy in a tri. I was even able to pass someone in my age group in the last quarter mile! Overall it was a good race, taking quite a bit of time off my last one. I finished 7 out 12 though because there were some screaming fast old ladies in this age bracket! The winner-Kona lady-was 28 minutes faster! I'm not sure that is even an attainable goal for me!

We all did great and were glad to get that first one out of the way for the year.

 

Amazingly enough, the weather did not hold, so after getting cleaned up and heading back to Utah, we dealt with pouring down rain most of the way!

 

I am proud to have worn the kit for my race team - all3sports.com - and look forward to a good year of representing them!

 

Let the tapering begin - nine days until departing for Mexico!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Information Overload

Winter has returned

Two weeks ago, I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a clinic to certify as a USA Triathlon Coach. It seems like the next logical thing for me to do since I love the sport so much and want everyone I know to join in with us crazies!

I started writing this last week but got sidetracked with the most hours of training in a week I have ever had. I hit every workout and only fell short of the goal by an hour. I made up for that time in changing my first bike flat ever! I was set up on my home trainer for a two plus hour ride when my rear tire blew. I have always had someone to change flats for me but figured I might as well attempt it.

Changing the flat was ok but I always have a hard time putting the rear wheel back on. I fight the derailleur every time. After getting frustrated, I walked away for ten minutes and then was able to get back up and running. I considered it a moral victory and felt okay about shortening my actual riding time.

In total, I did about 13 hours - 7 bike, 2 run, 2.5 swim, 1.5 GPP. I know there are much harder weeks to come but for me this was a first. I slept really, really good every night.
 Friday was also Valentine's Day that day and look what showed up at my office!

I have the best hubby!

Back to Santa Fe - I say information overload because we had two solid 10 hours days of presentations from others on triathlon coaching. Lots of great information from great coaches. I just hope that half of it sank into my little brain.

The clinic was at the Hilton Buffalo Resort and Casino in Santa Fe - really nice place to stay if you are ever in Santa Fe. There were outdoor and indoor pool areas, a gym and several restaurants. It is huge! I figured I probably walked 3 miles each time I left the room to get to clinic. Santa Fe is about a 90 minute drive from Albuquerque. Somewhere in my brain I though it would be a good idea to book a 6 am flight for Sunday morning. Since I didn't have the car, it was going to be a huge imposition on Rory to leave that much earlier than he needed to. I polled the attendees and had a great offer from members of the Albuquerque Tri Club to catch a ride back Saturday and catch some zzzz's at one of their houses as well as getting a ride to the airport in the morning. Thanks so much to my new friends, Marcos, Chris & Mark! I offered reciprocation for whenever they want to train or race in Utah. It was so fun hearing from another tri club on how they do things and local races.

In addition to the local people, it was fun to make new friends with people from all over the country. Jen - I plan on visiting Baltimore sometime!
To catch up to this week - winter is back! I've also hurt my shoulder somehow but got right into Dr. Tom for a little A.R.T. and taping so should be good as new before heading down to St. George this weekend for a long ride with the girlfriends.

I leave for Mexico three weeks from tomorrow - my emotions are up and down a lot this week. I feel that I am as prepared as I'll ever be but then I start having anxiety about random things.

To coin a phrase from the Ragnar days - 'It will be fun..."
 

Hump Day

I'm so tired. I have a feeling that this is how I will feel for the next 4 months. Mexico is in just over 5 weeks and then 2 months after that is IMTX. I haven't even ramped up to max weekly hours of training yet so I need to get used to it!  It's a good tired feeling though, it means I am alive and have a purpose. A good thing about all this training while working full time, teaching and running my house is that I have learned to write everything down and schedule even the little things in my calendar. Getting gas, oil changes, grocery shopping, meeting friends, etc. all have a place in the calendar!

Last weekend was a trip to St. George for a long ride. When I originally scheduled it, the weather forecast was for 68 degrees. Every few days the forecasted weather dropped a few degrees until it wasn't going to make it over 50.  I went with four of the toughest chicks I know and after a morning of swimming (me and Jen) and a gym workout (the other 3), we finally hit the road about 2 pm. It was 42 degrees and windy.  Bundling up was the key!

What was a scheduled 4 hour ride turned into a two hour ride from hell! There was a point that I wanted to call someone to pick us up but we all hung in there even with one flat tire and finished!  The reward was a super yummy dinner at Sonny's BBQ in Hurricane and cookies (always cookies!).

I hope the weather starts warming up so I can get a few more long rides in before race day.

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated being 14 years sober. The latest headline about Philip Seymour Hoffman has had a profound affect on me. I always listen with interest when high profile people are in the news about their struggles with alcohol/drugs. No one celebrated more than me when Robert Downey Jr. finally got it figured out and now seems to be doing so well. Hoffman had over 20 years sobriety when he relapsed. I know some people think this is a "choice" to use and while it might be, it is hard to judge someone for it. No one can know what is happening within a person at the moment they use again. I feel terribly sad for his family and especially his kids. It makes me realize that there is no magic number of years for me to be "cured" and I need to live each day to the fullest and pray that my decision to not drink or use each morning carries me through.

#Triathlon & stuff

Cleaner skies in the south!

I need to work on this blogging thing. Originally my goal was to post every week. It’s been a few weeks and I have so much to talk about. I have friends who are so great about posting every day, one in particular who is an inspiration in my blogging world – check her out at hungrymotherrunner.com.

I am on the uphill swing of being sick. I hate being sick and yesterday after a week of it, I just made a decision that I would feel better today. Do you think the mental state has something to do with the physical? I do. I’m not 100% yet but can see the light. The worst part of being sick for me is not being able to put the hours in for training. I had started feeling bummed about that last week, I missed a few training goals but when the week was over I still had over eight training hours. This week, not so much. I did computrainer Monday night and nothing since. It’s a fine line to push through being sick and knowing when the body just needs to rest. I actually had some run and swim testing planned for this week but the results would be skewed so maybe next week!

I am heading south to warmer weather tomorrow and plan on four hour ride. We did this a couple of weeks ago and I rode my longest ride ever and felt really confident. My half ironman (Ironmanmonterrey) is just over six weeks away so it’s time to start dialing in everything. Nutrition is key in longer races and I have been testing out different things to use on race day.

Some of my favorites so far are:

Feed Zone Portables - I made a couple of different creations with rice, eggs, bacon, potato flour and brown sugar. Weird sounding, right? They are so good and easy on the stomach.

Skratch Labs Electrolyte Hydration Mix – I mix up a bottle to sip on during the longer rides. This company was created by the guys who wrote the Feed Zone cookbooks so you know it’s a good product.

Osmo Acute Recovery for Women – I have a bottle of this mixed up and ready for me after a long ride or training session. What I like about this besides the taste is that it is made specifically for women. In fact their tag line is “Women are not small men”! Love it!

ShroomTech – this is an all natural supplement that you take before a workout and it enhances your energy. I started using this last year after my trainer talked about it and was amazed at the difference it has made.

My last post talked about my new team sponsorship with all3sports.com. Yesterday we had some exciting news with the announcement that All3Sports was selected as the top triathlon retailer in the United States based on vendor and consumer voting and rating. (see story here). I am so honored to be associated with this company and my fellow team members. I will represent with being the best that I can this year.

It has been two weeks now since hubby boarded a plane to Saudi Arabia with a one way ticket after being home for three weeks over the holidays. He is getting settled in at his new place and worksite. We are in a routine of texting and emailing daily with updates on life and hopefully soon, we’ll have the Skype thing going. This is a challenge for both of us but we know the rewards will be worth it. I miss having him home. I am grateful for boys who check on me and for great neighbors who are willing to help with the little and not so little things. The time will pass quickly!

Team sponsorship

Our Christmas holiday was spent in St. George at my mother-in-law's house will all the family. We came in shifts throughout the week so not all the family was there at any given moment but we did all get to see mom/grandma. We never did get one big family picture so I guess we will just have to do it again sometime soon.

I came home in time to have gum graft surgery on Friday. Not a fun procedure but hopefully it is worth it and my problem is fixed. I am such a party animal that I was asleep before ten on New Year’s Eve, so I had to wait until the morning to see the new year. Early to bed, early to rise! I had a run regression test on my training plan so hit the rec center before 7 am when I thought there would be plenty of treadmills available. I was right!

When I finished running, I realized I would be just in time for the first GPP workout of the year so I headed on over.  It was a doozy!

Each year a new rep gets added to each movement. Because of my hamstring issue, I normally stay away from squats but this day I did them just without any weights. Felt great to have the workout and test done before 9 a.m.

 

My big news this week, though, is that I have been selected to be a sponsored athlete on the all3sports.com racing team.  I am super excited about this for so many reasons.  All3sports.com is located in Georgia and I have bought several tri items from them online. What really got me interested in them though was how excited Swim Bike Mom’s, Meredith Atwood, was about them. I started following her earlier this year after reading her book. She tells a hilarious tale on how she decided to become a triathlete. I definitely recommend reading the book whether you are a seasoned triathlete or a newbie. Anyway she talks about not knowing what equipment to buy and that the folks at all3sports.com were super helpful.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be a “sponsored” athlete. How cool is that? Now 2014 really does need to be my best year ever!

71 days to go until IM 70.3 Monterrey and 60 days after that is IM Texas. I have had a nice couple of weeks off for the holidays and training gets cranked up a notch or two come Monday…  Heaven help me.