Sunday, March 31, 2013

Ironman California 70.3 2013

Finally the Big day!  All of my training and hardwork was to be celebrated on March 30,2013 at California Ironman 70.3.  This is my 2nd round in Oceanside. I have big goals to achieve and plan to apply all my lessons learned over the last 12 months. I decided to treat this day like a celebration, like Crissy Wellington, and  take in every moment and smile even when it hurt.

My overall goal was to finish 46 minutes sooner than last year, giving me a sub 7hr race. Last year I focused on bike skills because it would give me the biggest improvement since only tri-ing for 10 months.  Now 1 yr 10 months later, I have focused on swim technique, run endurance, and bike/run brick endurance loaded with hills.  I also needed to dial in my race nutrition so I felt better during the race.

PRERACE:

The weather was so different than last year.  Since we were blanketed in fog for a week it seemed to have heated the water.  I was very comfortable at 5am in T1 which made me concerned about the run.  I didn't notice much wind either so I probably wasn't going to need extra heat for the bike.  The announcer said the harbor water was 61 degrees which is actually so much warmer than the average 58 degrees.  I still wore my triple cap, arm coolers, calf compressions, and booties this time because it was how I trained and "nothing new on race day" rules applied.  I did change wetsuit brands this year from Xterra to Aquasphere Racer level and I just love the suit's flexibility. I also put the toe warmers inside my bike shoes again but not on the hoods of the bike.  I had some oversized bike gloves this time which provided warmth and cushion.  Unfortunately I forgot my bike shorts to wear over my tri bottoms. I missed this comfort. New lesson: write down anything unusual that you want for race day. I use a tri checklist to pack but I need a "special needs" list too which is unique for each race.
Pre-swim group hug - We are all turning 50 this year!

SWIM:
I have been swimming in the pool and Bonita cove this year. The pool has been a new addition to my training. With the new 910xt watch counting my laps, it allowed me to focus on technique lessons received from many coaches and swimsmooth online. I have gradually seen great improvement in my efficiency and speed. Again, I carried a small disposable water bottle with me right up to the ramp and ate a GU. Since I aged up to 50-54 this year, my wave time started later.  This time I had the pleasure of trying to catch Marcus on this route. I had a new goal!  He started 10 minutes ahead of me! I studied the swim map because I wanted to swim the shortest route based on buoys and not follow the masses which may be going in any direction. Please note the map below shows yellow first, then red on the corners, then orange on the return. This was my plan.
 
The water felt great, and I casually swam to the start line, stopping closer to the buoy but a few rows back.  I had practiced swimming in a packed start position at the club tri and superseal so I felt I could handle the bumping to get a better start position as long as I didn't copy another person's pace.  I learned I could go out hard to find my spot and then slow down without hyperventilating.  It worked well, I found my pace and rhythm quickly. I had learned to focus. I could tell I was swimming well and quickly saw the red buoy.  I thought WOW that was amazingly fast! I can't believe it is time to turn already!!  I turned and all went quiet very quickly...I kept swimming and then I heard Steve Tally's voice in my head.."if you don't see anyone around you, it's probably NOT because you are in 1st place" So I paused and looked up...OMG I am off course!  this isn't the turn!!! WHY the hell is this buoy red??  I turned back and swam as fast as I could to get back in the pack.  It wasn't long until the next wave of swimmers were on my tail because I had lost time.  I just refocused on the new buoys in front...yellow right? or was it orange?  Crap...follow the pack!  I felt lost, confused in my direction and started sighting often which creates drag. Finally another red buoy, I looked up and said YES they are really turning this time.  I rounded the corner looking for the yellow buoys...WAIT not yellow, follow orange!!! UGH another correction.  OMG I have drown my brain cells... I kept swimming my pace so I wouldn't panic and did my best to swim steady to the ramp. I checked my watch...42 minutes.  DAMN I knew it could have been sub 40! I know 2 or 3 mintues isn't a big deal since I am not a podium finisher but I really wanted to show my improvement.  I beat last year's swim time by 11 minutes which is still awesome but I was pissed at myself for the errors in sighting as shown here
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The next "Steve Tally" thought was "get a better swim time by running through transition" so I gave it all I had running on the rigid asphalt skipping the carpet so I could pass as many swimmers as possible.  Had I realized "hey you have no foot pad on! this will really hurt", I probably would have walked but the adrenaline was amazing and I never felt any pain!
 
 
 
T1 to Bike:
 
TCSD always has their own bike racks.  Last year, we were all together by the bike out exit, 1st row near the elites.  This year, we were the very last row by the swim out. This bothered me because I didn't want my wave to be closer to bike out than me.  I think it is easier to run from the swim than run with bike shoes on so I opted out of the team rack and went to my own wave's rack.  We were not crowded this year and I parked my stuff on the end of a rack by a blue flag so it was super easy to find.  Everything went smooth in T1. I wasn't cold at all and felt no wind. So, no extra clothing was needed. I popped 2 Bayer Back n Body pills and sped off to conquer the Camp P hills! I let go of my swim disappointment.
 
BIKE:
My plan was to focus on my speed and avg speed. Push just out of my comfort zone the first 25 miles because I will lose speed on the back hills. I didn't have a huge bike improvement goal this time. Improve by 6 minutes and attack all hills.  Walking is not allowed.  I had had 2 flats on my last 2 rides so I replaced my tires so I felt my equipment was solid.  I had changed my tires many times over the year and knew if I had a flat that I could handle it now since I found the Speed Lever.  Previously I couldn't get the tire bead edge over my carbon rims but the Speed Lever helps me use leverage to roll the edge over.  Thank you Darryl MacKenzie for this awesome tool! I packed 3 Roctane GUs planning to eat one every 45 mins to an hour.  I carried 2 bottles with 1000 calories and planned to pickup water at SAG 3 which is after the hills so I didnt' have excess weight. I found liquid calories suited my stomach better and with my front bottle, I drink often. It was a great formula.
 
I ate Roctane 15 mins before hill 1.  I walked half of hill 1 last year.  This year, I'm ready to attack it. I saw more people walking the hill this year and just in front, a rider fell over. I said to myself that I'm stronger, better, and well trained for this. So I just focused on my cadence and I drove hard, my breathing labored, and I passed riders of all ages and sizes.  I just kept cranking over the pedals pulling up hard with my knees, push, pull, push, pull was my mantra.  When I reached the top, I took a huge breath and probably eeked out my first smile of the race.  A thin male racer came by me and looked over.."job well done!"  I nodded in agreement and smiled in return. yea.. it was a proud moment for me.  My confidence soared and I chased down the other hills watching my avg speed closely. I had dropped less than 1mph on the first hill but at the end of teh 3rd hill, I had dropped another mile per hour.  Suddenly I rode into strong headwinds.  I stayed low but it was exhausting! I had to push and pull hard through the last 10 miles and just at the end, my average flipped to 17mph. It was a tough ride with the wind but I finished 3:17 improving by 14 minutes over last year.
Surfrider hill, the last one just before T2
 
 
T2 to Run
 
I felt pretty good.  My neck pain was manageable, no achilles issues, but the back of my leg/hammy was pulling and my quads were stiff.  I lathered my neck and leg in muscle ointment, took more pain meds, added my foot pad to control my hammertoe pain, grabbed my PBJ and took off to run.  I stopped at the portapotty and hoped I could make it my last stop. I jogged while I ate.  I knew this time I would need "lunch" not just more GU to start my run so the PBJ/250 cals was a nice fuel charge. It also helped me start off slow to control my breathing.
 
RUN
 
My goal was to hold an 11 minute pace.  My last big brick was 56 miles/10miles and I held 11 on the run.  I wanted to finish in 2:25.  That would be tough but would be a 43 minute improvement from last year when I had incredible foot pain and walked the last 5 miles aka "death march".  I watched my average closely, but by mile 4, I couldn't hold the 11:00 min pace any longer. My legs just wouldn't go any faster.  I thought about how hard I pushed on the bike. Did I push too hard?
 
Then I realized the 56/10 brick training ride was not as hard as this.  The 56 miles didn't include 3 difficult hills and loads of headwind so it was unrealistic to expect an 11 min pace for the run.  I could do that under easier conditions so I gave myself a break.  Try to stay in the 11 range.  I ate a couple banana halves and alternated water and powerade at the aid stations.  It really started to get hot so the sponges and ice were great on the course.  These were not needed last year.  I poured water over my head, down my back, ice in my shirt, packed cold sponges.. I don't run well in heat. I would have melted on the 2nd loop without these cooling remedies on the course! The ramps on the pier are difficult on the first loop but on the 2nd loop nearly unbearable. They hurt whether running up or down!
 
 I finally had to enter a portapotty at mile 9 but it was my only stop and there was no waiting!  Last year I stopped 3 times so yea for another improvement! Along the run it was so encouraging to see TCSD shirts and cheers from everyone.  I have met so many new people over the last year and they encouraged me when I didn't even see them! I would never wear anything else but a TCSD jersey in a race.  This support is priceless.  It was awesome when Rachel Wills said I looked strong! I tried to smile and take in her energy.  She is such an amazing athlete and taught me a lot about swimming.  She is one of my favorite mentors so her compliment was gold to me.
 
 However the last 3 miles were mentally tough.  I had to beg myself to keep running. I kept looking for the next aid station and other markers.  Just over the last hill was Wisconsin Rd.  Then finally a downhill, then the final chute along the ocean...I looked past the last aid station to see the TCSD banner.  The tent would be full of members cheering me to the finishline.  It was amazing to slap their hands.  I gave it my best to sprint through the chute.  I looked for my son at the end and I couldn't hear him cheer my name but he met me at the end and it was awesome to share my PR finishtime with him.  My run took 2:32 with an 11:40 min pace, 7 minutes longer than I had planned but 36 minutes faster than last year. I finished with a smile as my ironman friend Sef was there to hug me with congrats. I finished in 6:42, which was 63 minutes faster than last year.  I worked hard and it showed.  I felt pretty good at the finish, so much better than last year, and I did wonder about a full ironman in my future. Could I do double this distance? Still, my mind said no... ok let's think about that later.... I ranked 18th of 47 finishers in my age group.  It was a great race for me overall.  I look forward to my foot surgery next week so I can see more improvement in my run at SOMA 70.3 in Tempe AZ in October. Then let's revisit the Ironman possibility again ok?
 
 

Now I was able to wait for my closest friends and Marcus to finish their run as well!  Sharon and Elwyn have been my most consistent training partners.  It was such a pleasure to see others finish their journey!



Saturday, March 23, 2013

March 2013 Lessons Learned before Oceanside 70.3

March is peak training for Oceanside 70.3 and I had to push myself further than ever before to keep on schedule. wk 16 was the peak at 157 total miles which took me 18.5 hours to complete. It was exhausting but wk 17 was 148 total miles and 17 hours but didn't feel nearly as difficult so the conditioning must be working.  My week 17 ended with the San Diego Half Marathon.


Well, I reflected on my one mile splits from Surf City Half last month and decided I really didn't give it my all.  I saw where my time dropped at times for no apparent reason so I wasn't concentrating consistently.  Runners qualify for Boston at this race and I knew I had more to give at the finishline.  So I decided to see really what was left in the tank at my next half race which was the San Diego Half Marathon.  The difference is this race had one difficult long hill.  I knew I could do it though because I had confidence after San Dieguito. Like Jim Vance keeps saying Find YOUR Rhythm.  I also had an Oceanside race clinic the day before so I biked 28 miles and pushed hard the day before the SD half when I always take the day off before a race. I figured it was good Oceanside training though.
cold and windy at Oceanside Training Clinic

I decided to not worry about a negative split this time.  The race is more difficult the 2nd half anyway so I decided to pace with the 2:00 runners for as long as I could hold it so I could find that rhythm.  I hung on for about 3 miles but stay within view for another 3 miles achieving my fastest 10k time.  I knew the extra time would help me as Washington hill was going to be difficult and IT WAS! I shortened my cadence looked down so I didn't freak out over the sight of the elevation.  It hurt like hell  and I screamed in exhileration at the top.  I took another mile to calm my breathing and then I sprinted the final 2 miles.  The race was a bit long at 13.26 so I officially finished at 2:05 but at 13.1 I was at 2:04 and that is the fastest I have ever run in my life.  I am satisfied I emptied my tank this time but it hurt! I guess that's how you know you gave it your all though! But the recovery screwed up my training week leading up to Superseal Olympic! It took a few days to be able to pickup my thighs!









 
So last year I decided to race the Supeseal Olympic because I felt it was a good way to end the training before 2 weeks of taper.  However we had the worst possible weather last March on race day and it was completely cancelled except 2 miles of the run.  This year I stuck with the plan but the SD Half delayed my prep so I ended about 10 total miles short for my training week.  I decided I would not try to PR the Superseal but check my endurance levels and see what I had left at the end of the race.  I learned this race is not USAT certified also.  This means I raced 45-49s instead of 50-54s.  They went by birthdate not birth year.  So I was likely the oldest in my category.  We had to arrive at te parking lot before 6am and out of transition by 7am... my race was 8:45! ugh what a long wait.  I had to spread out my breakfast food over 4 hrs!  My nutrition worked out pretty well but on the run, I wished for an extra GU.  they didn't offer anything on the course. This definitely affected my run.


I knew with all the fog that the air would be colder than the water and it absolutely was!  I ate my preswim GU, drank some water and poured the rest in my suit.  I was completely warm the entire swim.  I was surprised that not many wore booties but it felt awesome especially on the 1/4 mile run back to transition!  I was also shocked in the middle of the swim that I hit a sand barge!  I mean I literally couldn't swim!  I looked up and everyone around me was walking!  I was scared about a penalty and it just didn't feel right which sent my heart racing like crazy!  I ran as fast as I could to get to deeper water which royaly screwed up my breathing! Anyway, I got through it and had a pretty good swim although the current on the last 1/4 mile showed me struggling to swim straight and I actually swam .99 instead of .93 (1500M).  Still, happy with my 33 minute swim.

I felt really good on the bike and between the 3 legs, it is my best leg.  I pushed hard but then let up a few times wondering if it was too much and finished 1:19 which is above average for my age group but I still had more to give.  I haven't focused as much on bike strengthening so I'm not really sure about my level. I knew I had a lot to improve in swim/run this year.  I just want to protect my legs so I have a really good run.  I think races seem to be great or disappointing based on the run outcome.  So, I decided to leave some in the tank....

 









Took off on the run feeling really good.  I seem to have concentration issues with boring straight runs.  The strand is really mentally challenging... I counted miles, I counted water stations, I tried to remember words to songs, I looked for TCSD shirts running the other direction...all this detered me from paying attention to my average.  I had a GU at mile 3 although I wanted it at mile 2!  then by mile 4, I was hungry again!  So I tried to keep encouraging myself to run faster to get the food!  I finally got a boost of energy when I saw my friend Joy.  I know her strength is running and she can make up incredible distance quickly.  I knew I didn't want her to pass me so I finally picked up my pace.  The run route was a little long but still it took 1:05.  I have got to learn to focus on a faster rhythm from the start like I did at the SD Half Marathon.  I finished 3:03 and can definitely see where I lost 3 minutes but I am happy overall with my efforts and knowing I had more to give at the end.  Gotta work on that concentration!



The only thing that could rattle me right now pre-Oceanside is any sudden equipment failures....OMG..what is going on with the elevation on my Garmin 910XT??? It's flatline on hilly rides??  Crap. Called Roadrunner - Please exchange? No it's 2 wks over 6 months old.  WHY isn't it 1 yr exchangable?? Fine....GARMIN says refurb on its way cuz apparently the barometric altimeter is broken...5 days. Wed Mar 27!!!  ok I will try to be calm but if it is not here on Wednesday I will go GARMIN ROAD RAGE on you people! ugh! Can't wait to reset ALL my settings and put those tiny EFFING screws into the quick release backing. yea re-pair everything and test everything too... :(

Final Preparation : the TCSD Sprint tri Mar 23, 7 days before Oceanside.  Club races are about the only place to practice large wave starts.  Today was extra special with schools of jellyfish in the Fiesta Cove. I decided to be more aggressive with my start and work on a fast start to find my pocket and then quickly find my rhythm without hyperventilating.  I heard screaming, I touched about 10 jelly heads, I was bumped, kicked in the stomach, hit on the side of the goggles, but I kept going and just tried to listen to my breathing and tell myself I would be fine once I got out of the pack and IT WORKED. I was really pleased with my swim since it was faster than Superseal, my transition went well, the bike was good although I still can't average 20mph but I am over 19mph so I'm close, but I decided to run only 2 miles because my achilles kept nagging me.  DAMN this meant I could only eat 1/2 a portion of Dawn's bread pudding!  But with Oceanside in 7 days, I knew I needed ice more than dessert!  Here's my GO GET 'EM face for Oceanside below with Marcus, Erika and Sharon!  Next week is super taper so this is the end of my journey until I write my race report. I am excited!  I really feel ready!  I've made a lot of deposits in my training log and I plan to withdraw big time at Ironman Oceanside 70.3!  Thanks to all of you for your continuous support!
GRRRRRRR!!  READY SET GO TRICLUB!