Barb's Race 70.3 is about Focus

This is my year to race 70s , or as some triathletes tell me, I'm JUST riding 50 milers this year! haha! I want to learn about the little details and see where I can make some improvements.  Barb's Race, near Santa Rosa, is my 9th 70.3 distance.  I hadn't really planned on racing the event but Marcus was using the full Aquabike as a training day for IMAZ and a friend split the registration with me so for $112, of course I wanted to suffer too!  I just love the 70.3 distance and supporting a charity for Breast Cancer gives the race another purpose too.

I recently had a break through on my swim technique.  Some days, I'd shock myself with sub 2:00 min 100s, sub 4 min 200s and not know why.  It would drive me crazy because a week later, I'd lose it and be back to a crappy irregular swim time all in the over 2 min range per 100y.  This has gone on for over a year.  I work really hard at swimming.  I sprint, do drills, use paddles, use fins, and a variety of lengths.  I just accepted I suck and it is what it is.    I've had many lessons from many coaches without change. My swim is my warmup. The end. I just stopped stressing over it.  Then one day I asked Marie McBride about her swimming background.  She was a life timer and swam with ease.  During the chat she told me she disliked Xterra wetsuits because the legs were so buoyant that she couldn't keep her kick underwater.  A light bulb clicked and I pictured my body in the pool wearing my xterra  lava pants.  I visually saw my feet in the air and my head underwater.  WOW that looks horrible! I have been pushing my head through the water! When you see an amazing swimmer, their head is up enough to cause a bow in the water where there is a pocket of air near their mouth.  I started visually seeing other great swimmers and how their bodies floated in the water compared to mine.  The next time I went to the pool, I saw the +  at the back of the wall on the other side of the pool.  I'd never really noticed it before but decided to really focus on seeing it in front of me.  Instead of a 2:08/100, I swam a 1:53.  HOLY CRAP!!  I have been swimming with my head between my legs all this time! I did my first 13 - 100s all under 2:00 which has never happened.  I sprinted 10 - 50s and hit a 1:40 pace! 



My goal for Barb's was to look for that imaginary + in the river and really focus on reaching towards it the entire swim and pulling back hard to my hip.  This requires great focus for me but the weather was amazing and the water was perfect so there's nothing else to think about right?.  However, I still can get easily confused even on a straight path.  Barb's race has a lot of non-competitive racing females as well as inexperienced so I was bumped a lot during the swim and one lady swam under me but I just kept going and moving around them.  I had asked the info desk how many buoys were in the river and she said 10 so when I approached #10, I started to turn and paused because I couldn't see the next buoy across the river... well there were 11 !  I started again to #11 at the turnaround but it was just a few buoys together.  I thought there would be another buoy  to swim across towards so I was lost again looking for a buoy.  Then I recalled my coach telling me to go toward the beach, not the buoys on the return so I took off wide.  Well I went so wide that I added 200 yards extra to my swim so I didn't PR in time but I'm really proud of my race pace, especially because I was so comfortable on the exit. My race pace was 1:54 which is a PR pace for me.

I ran to the wetsuit strippers and he ripped off my wetsuit and I was off running to transition.  I really wanted to be efficient this time and not take my time.  I had looked at the top 5 last year and set a goal of 5 minutes and finished in 5:30.  I had so much mud on my feet that I had to scrub to get it off and I had to apply neck cream to control the pain I experience in aero on the bike so I was happy with my time.  Even though the weather was very cool, I still wore my cooling towel on the bike because I knew I would need it for the run later anyway.  I also wore Desoto cool wings which are sunsleeves with the additional coverage on the shoulder blades.  I wore them inside the wetsuit so I didn't' fight to put them on later and slow my transition.  They were absolutely perfect and kept me warm the first hour of the bike since it was still foggy and kept me cool for the run later.

Last year, I did the full aquabike and was terrified of the ramp out of transition.  "everyone falls here!! Just walk the ramp"  was the constant advice but this time I talked to my coach and she said I was absolutely riding up that ramp.  really?  hmmm... I went to the ramp the day before the race.  I walked my bike down the ramp and turned around and looked up.  OMG  what the hell is wrong with me?  That is a mere blip.  I made sure I was in an easy gear, clipped in, and shot right up that ramp without any issue.  WOW I can be so dramatic sometimes!!!  Race day, I was fully confident and clipped in and passed everyone walking up the ramp with a big smile on my face!  I recalled my fear last year and was so proud of my growth in confidence and ability.

I felt fantastic on the bike and I was constantly reminding myself to hold back for the run later. My front bottle holds all my calories 400c Carbo Pro and 210c of IM Perform.  Then I alternate BASE salt every 5 miles with water and sip the calories every 15 mins.  I grab a couple pieces of banana along the way for a little bit of solid for the stomach.  I took the corner turn at Sunset well and knew the sharp hill was coming soon so changed gears and zoomed right up the hill passing the walkers.  Again, I recognized my improvements from all the hill riding this year.  As I continued along the miles I watched my power 30s, avg power and normalized power with intensity.  I was pushing above the upper limits that my coach gave me and I kept hearing her say if you don't do this, you will blow up on the run.  I felt stronger than any other race today.  I remembered the first half of this ride is much easier than the second half so I let my power go above the limit slightly, knowing that I would have to back off midway.  At the half way, I was avg 18.1 mph and about 10 watts higher than allowed.  So I settled and increased cadence and easier gears to let the legs relax.  Slowly my power dropped into range and I just kept going and passing cyclists. The roads were so much better than last year.  Then I hit a bump at mile 33 and my glasses fell out of my helmet.  I just bought a new Rudy Project helmet with the lens attaches inside and it dropped right into my hand.  So I stuffed half in my shirt with the other bowed half hanging out of my shirt and prayed I didn't run into any big bugs along the way! Back to focusing on power!

About mile 42, I saw the Chalk Hill sign.  I took a big deep breath.  I was meeting the devil again.  Last year in over 100 degrees, I barely got up it the first time and by mile 100, the second time I thought I was going to black out and walked up half of it.  This time I was going to kick its ass!  I turned the corner and thought about the 100s of times I had climbed San Dieguito hill in a variety of ways and powered up it in a big gear the entire time.  this would be no different.  I  had no power limits on this hill.  I just wanted to attack and feel great and that's exactly what happened.  I smiled at the top, said F-You Chalk Hill and smiled all the way downhill afterwards.  I had dropped to 17.1 mph with the rolling hills and lower power but I knew the next 16 miles would be better.  I pushed hard and landed right in the power ranges I needed and rolled right into transition at 3:11 and 5th place off the bike in my age group.  I felt great mentally even though my calves and legs were stinging a bit.  I forgot to take my Sportlegs medicine and aspirin this morning and maybe that's why the legs were stinging.

I racked my bike quickly, grabbed my stuff and took off faster than ever...and that's why when I noticed I was still wearing bike gloves!  I hoped for a 3:45 transition but slipped to 4:35.  I just couldn't pee on the bike this time so by the time I sat down to put on the shoes, I was still going in the grass when I was ready to run!  At least I had grass to pee in and not my socks!

As soon as I exited and turned the corner, I stopped at the water station to pop a couple aspirin.  This time I carried a handheld bottle with 200 cals of carbo pro and 1 nuun tablet.  This was golden because I nursed it throughout the run always slowly taking in calories so when I was at aid stations, I focused on pouring water over myself and ice in my shirt and cap.  I grabbed a couple orange slices and one GU throughout the run as well.  I took BASE salt every couple miles because it wasn't very hot.  I was never hot on the run, especially with the cooling towel.  My legs stung constantly and I swore I was getting a blister but just ignored it.  I was comfortable the first 3 miles and then the legs really started screaming.  I had to count to 50 and reward myself to walk a shaded part of the street and pick it up again.  The run course in not like the Ironman 70.3 which is two weeks prior.  Barb's is easier and just two laps of out and back which I found incredibly boring.  The two hills each way were painful but doable and I struggled more each time but always ran downhill for the free speed.  I made a mantra sheet that I carried in my hand so I could feel that Julie was with me the entire run.  I read over them completely once and smiled.  I glanced at it frequently to stay positive.  I repeated things like YES YOU CAN,  BE GRATEFUL BE THANKFUL , JULIE AND YOUR FAMILY BELIEVE IN YOU, HUNT THE RUNNER IN FRONT OF YOU...  I worked hard on hunting this lady wearing an E on her jersey.  Her leg said she was 57.  I chased her, I passed her, she passed me, I chased her more,  when she walked, I chased her. It really helped.  I tried so hard to keep moving but my pace kept dropping.  I was able to stay in the 10min+ range for 3 miles, then I stayed in the 11 min+ range until mile 9 when I dropped to 12 min and it angered me. It wasn't acceptable so mile 10 was back in the 11min range, then one last hill dropped me into the 12s again.  I jogged with no stopping the last mile into the finish line returning to the 11 min pace and praised myself for trying so hard to hold my pace.  I finished 2:32 and wanted 2:30 so much.  Luckily officially, I PR'd by 17 seconds on the run.  Avg pace 11:39.  I can make big improvements here for sure.  I am taking a running technique class at SDCC Aug-Dec so hopeful this will help.

I was happy that I had met many of my goals and worked really hard on focus this time.  I enjoyed the entire event and was happy with my PR finish time of 6:39 even though I wanted 6:30.  My best race was 6:42 so it felt great to raise the bar even if just by 3 minutes. I was 58th of 163 women that finished Barb's Race.  I earned 8th place of 29 in my age group. I'm really happy to be in the top 10!

I have no plans to return to Guerneville.  We loved staying at the Creekside Inn which is 1/2 mile from the starting line so we could walk in the morning. Although the food is absolutely the best of any race I have attended, the shuttle transportation really soured me.  We waited 1 1/2 hours for the shuttle to go back to the start line.  That trip took 30 minutes and then we had to drive back to the finish to get our bikes.  It made for an extremely long day.  We also had return flight issues with Alaska not notifying us that our flight was 1 1/2 hours earlier.  We toured the redwoods just to kill time and arrived at the airport with a staff that was very rude to us and chastising us for being so late with oversize luggage.  We had 8 minutes to get through everything.  Of course they chose Marcus to be patted down and practically strip searched.  Then they held our bikes and said they were tagged for security search.  The good news is that we didn't pay the $150 for the bikes due to the rush but we had to return to the airport at 11 pm to pickup the bikes which were on the next flight. This was another really long day for us and not getting to bed until after midnight.





Overall we both had great races and a really good time here.  Marcus is 2/3 ironman and I completed my 9th 70.3 race and learned great lessons to apply to my 10th 70.3 race in Santa Cruz in September!

IM 70.3 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

We decided to venture out into destination racing and chose IM 70.3 Victoria, in BC Canada (or 1.9km, 90.1km, 21.1km) but course maps revised their distances to 86km bike and 20km run.

Prep: We bought Scicon soft travel bike cases from www.probikekits.com. After measuring the bikes, we found the standard road bike size fit fine so we didn’t opt for the triathlon larger size.  I did buy aero bar pads and derailleur pads for extra protection.  The case includes a metal U-bar that protects some of the rear derailleur but the cover protects the entire rear mechanism.  For peace of mind, the extra pads were inexpensive and worth it to me but not required.  We used the SpringSwim zip-up swag bags to fit in the wetsuit and empty bottles and bike shoes.  The space behind the fork was a perfect fit for the bag. The aero helmets fit perfectly on the middle post.  I laid the air pump in the base of my bag.  The cases include TSA locks too.  Only bike parts removed were the wheels which fit in their own padded pocket on each side of the case. CO2 cartridges are not allowed as carryon or in luggage so we bought them at the expo.

Accommodations:  We stayed at the Host Downtown Hotel Grand Pacific with a view of the Victorian harbor, near the famous Empress hotel and beautiful Legislative building. We were able to walk around the harbor and view the surroundings the day we landed.  The room was average so not much to brag about and 20 minutes from the race venue.  We later found out that Howard Johnson is the other host hotel which is across from the shuttle to take you to the race venue.  We will stay here next time for convenience and it is cheaper.  We can always drive downtown when we want to but it is inconvenient to stay downtown if you are there only for the race. The good news is everything is off the hwy 17 so you can’t get lost.  We were grateful for blackout curtains because the sunsets at 9:30pm and we were in bed by 8pm!

Checkin and logistics:

It’s recommended to check-in on Friday and drop off your bike because they only allow parking at the venue on Friday.  On Sat and Sun, you have to park at the Elk Lake Regional parking lot and shuttle into the venue for about 10 minutes.  You could cycle back and forth if you can manage all your stuff and have the energy.  On race day, you gather your bags except bike, get on a shuttle to your car, drive back to the venue and get in a line to park temporarily to grab your bike and leave.  Royal pain in the ass but they just don’t have the parking space.  It’s a very small venue for 1800 racers. This year, the race sold out for the sprint and half distance. It didn’t seem like Ironman was prepared for the large group arriving on Friday.  It was complete chaos at the check in with lines to get your card with bib# and then a line to get all your other stuff and people were angry.  MANY people chose to drop the bike Friday and check in and clearly they didn’t expect this given only the hours 2pm-6pm.  Our flight was late so we didn’t get to check in until 3pmish and after all the lines and putting the bikes together, we had 1 hour to ride before transition closed!  Bike check-in should have been open until 7pm since people were still getting their race packets at 6pm. We also found no food at the expo so I’m so glad I packed 2 PBJs in my bag just in case.  They were smashed but tasty enough for the bike ride!


Preview bike course: We opted to ride the sprint bike course 13 miles which took 50 minutes and checked the bikes in just before 6pm.  We skipped the Friday 5pm athlete briefing since we knew we would return Saturday and 3 more were offered.  We decided Canadians had NO IDEA what a hill was or rough roads!  Have they never been to Vineman where you are dodging potholes constantly?  We laughed along the beautiful route and when we hit the “big” hill at mile 6, we looked at each other and said “SERIOUSLY? WAS THAT IT? We road GWL 9x for that?”  Why yes we did!  How could this be 3400 ft of climbing? We thought it was fabulous!  (turns out it’s about 3000ft gain like my RIDEWITHGPS route suggested) I noticed we were in filtered shade a lot.  Even though the water was 72 degrees, the air would be in the low 50s at 6am so I was concerned about being cold without the direct sun for about an hour.  I decided to bring a bike jersey if I was cold on race day and test sun sleeves inside my wetsuit for my pre swim.  The bike ride has constant rollers of a few low % grade but there are many.  I think 2 hills are memorable at mi 6 and mi 50 and there’s a long grade at the end of loop 1 and 2. We drove the course on Saturday and took loads of pictures admiring the greenery, cows, horses, homes, berry and sheep farms. 

We noted 3 Horseshoe turns which would slow the fast momentum, the first being the worst after a long downgrade.  During the residential side, there is a long stretch into the wind and full sun and then 6 speed bumps but they are well marked and the center is flattened if you look carefully so you can miss the entire bump.  There are 2 aid stations on each loop.  The first is at mile 9 because of the sprint course so you don’t probably need a water bottle since you can just get it there.  We thought all the roads were fine but only intersections were protected for cyclists during the race and cars were zipping by during the race and the shoulder’s edge is rough. The highways had bike lanes but other streets did not however the lanes were wide.

Pre-run

We only had 20 minutes to run in the forest.  The trails are very well groomed and you are never in full sunlight for very long.  The views through the trees were spectacular and the filtered lighting was a treat.  I chose no sunglasses so I could see well for roots and there are a few but the dust does pick up so it did get in my eyes and I was covered in light dirt which means I was sucking in dust during the race run too.  That is not good for me so I knew I would need to control my HR to ensure I was not gasping for air. The forest has lots of low rollers and low grades and 2 memorable hills during mile 5, repeated at mile 10.  We ran the lake twice for 20km which is 12.8 miles. There is a very long upgrade that never seems to end in the middle.  All of the grounds are well groomed dirt with some gravel, no holes, a few roots and some random piles of horse crap.  I knew I would never feel over heated during this entire run.

 

Pre-Swim:

There is a small sandy beach but the race starts in waist deep water. Luckily the water stayed at 72 degrees while the air was 50 degrees on race day.  We swam the sprint course for 1000 yards and I wore my sun sleeves under my suit.  I never noticed them so decided to use them for race day.  I always train with sun sleeves and I hate freezing or overheating on the bike.  These worked out great for me and kept my temperature always in balance.  We noticed the swim course runs north and south and the current is east to west so the only time we really felt it was at the short turn to the other side.   

The swim course has an odd shaped finish to get you back to the beach so buoy #6 makes the swim course turn about a 45 degree angle to the beach.  Buoys are on your left the entire course:  6 yellow buoys out, 6 orange buoys in, a red on each corner.  The sun will be in your eyes on the return so I used mirrored goggles. The lake freshwater tastes just fine but not that clear.  Families and casual swimmers were playing in it without wetsuits.  Only a few racers were sans wetsuit, and some sleeveless and the rest wore full wetsuits. I noticed the swim exit required running through sand to get to the carpet and then transition is dead grass so your feet are filthy for the bike.  I brought an extra water bottle to rinse my feet because I hate that stuff in my bike shoes.  I am not a  podium contender  so the extra time for comfort is worth it to me.

I also noticed the Swim In is the same as the Run Out.  The Bike In and Out is the same place and at the opposite end of transition. 

 Sunday Race Day:

Due to our location, we were up by 3am and driving to the shuttle with our full tribags by 3:45.  We left our helmet with our bike in transition on Saturday. We were on the shuttle by 4:15 and at the venue by 4:30ish when it opened. It was already starting to get light.  We immediately hit the porta-potties before the lines started.  The racks were pre-numbered but still crowded together.  You were allowed your tri bag and were asked to put it along the side fences away from the bikes after emptying all your stuff. I was happy to wear a windbreaker in the morning with the chilly morning air.

It was pretty cool to hear the Canadian national anthem at the start!

 My Swim: 

There were 85 women in my AG/wave. I was happy that the last wave behind me was older women which meant there would be no men to climb over me!  I am a below avg swimmer in my AG and I’m ok with that because I have a steady pace and don’t like to fight for space.  I sighted every 4-6 strokes and was happily at the red corner without a hitch.  I knew to look for another red buoy for the next turn and as I sighted, I was suddenly at an orange buoy.  I started to turn and realize this can’t be right!  They snuck in a buoy before the final red one!  WHYYY??  As I started to correct my swim, a girl swam right into me trying to turn as well and I grabbed her arm and told her NO keep swimming straight! She thanked me and off we went.  Made the turn at the red and swam as straight as I could although a silver capped man was a serpentine snake all around me and drove me nuts swimming in every direction. I finally reached a red buoy again? Oh another change…this is the 45 degree turn to the beach.  I swam to the sand and stood up at 45 minutes.  Yep, that’s what I do about every swim course.  Steady Nellie.  This time only about 118 yards longer than necessary…a world record for me landing me at 57/86th place.

T1 is a bit of a sandy dirty run through dead grass to the bike.  Rinsed my feet and put on all my gear and took off to cycle. No bike vest or jersey needed as I felt fine and happy with the sun sleeves.  I felt good on the bike passing many cyclists.  This is always my favorite part.  I’m a slow swimmer so every time I pass a cyclist, it means HAHAHA speedy fishy, I’m still passing you on the bike! This is why I don’t stress about my slow swim speed since it’s just my warmup for the bike.  I’m just never going to get a lot faster at swimming. Transition took me 3:16 with .17mi travel distance

My Bike: 

I didn’t see full sun for 50 minutes so I was really happy to have sun sleeves on for a little extra warmth.  I never felt hot the entire day.  My bike ride was beautiful and exciting with constant rollers and only a couple memorable hills. The only issue I had was reminding myself to drink water because it was so cool.  I drank my front bottle with calories about every 15 minutes but I also should alternate with water.  I probably missed about 20 oz of water. The rollers, traffic and a little wind kept me busy and I was never totally comfortable grabbing my water bottle below.  I guess it’s from the IMAZ wind tunnel that has kept me cautious about letting go to get a bottle.  I saw too many crashes at IMAZ due to cross winds.  The 2^nd loop was more wind and I got chapped lips really badly.  I used my easier gears more often as my legs were feeling fatigued and the hill at mile 50 almost made my left thigh cramp so the rest was right leg favored for sure.  My goal was to watch my power and stay steady, not to power through with speed.  Bike time was 3:21 for 3035 ft climbing (not 3400 as advertised) and the mileage was only 54.9.  I earned 44/86^th on the bike.

 I rolled into T2 with a smile and thinking it was the easiest bike course I had ridden in a race and I just loved it!  And this thought distracted me into going down the wrong bike rack!  Half way down the line, I had to turn back to go around to the other rack.  It was one long line of bikes and no way to cut across.  This made my transition longer than necessary but I got out in 3:17 and .11 mi distance traveled.

My run: 

I grabbed my bottle with 100 calorie of carbo pro water , popped 2 salts  and 2 aspirins and took off for the run.  There are 5 aid stations each loop.  Supposedly they offer the standard PowerAde gels, fruit, ice water, Pepsi, Gatorade buffet but I never found any food except gels on my run during the course.  The water was as cold as Antarctica and took my breath away when I poured it on my head. The Pepsi was carbonated and I couldn’t swallow it.  I had almost 2 powergels during the run which made my GI very unhappy.  I really needed oranges or watermelon and bananas for the run- you know. REAL food!.  I really don’t like GU, especially powergels.  I had run the first mile already and then it was all new. 

 
 

The rolling grades were kind of fun but you did have to watch for roots on the edges.  A lady started to pass me and tripped on one and was flailing her arms to keep from falling as I grabbed her arm so she could stand up.  REALLY?  What’s the rush?  I kept thinking I could run an 11 min pace in this forest forever! There’s only a few short sections of total sunlight on the run course. I never broke into a sweat.  It was an incredible course.  Then the coughing attacks kicked in.  Dust. GAWD!!!  Thankfully I had 2 cough drops with me to get me through the next 2 coughing attacks. The double hills at mile 5 were painful but ok.  Not so on the 2^nd loop!  Mile 10 with 2 hills just crushed me and suddenly I couldn’t keep running to the aid station.  The legs were dying and it was a fight to run.  I realized at mile 12 that my stomach was growling and I was feeling lethargic. The final chute is short but still gratifying to finish. The total distance was short at 12.8 miles and it was my 2^nd best run after the bike but I could have done better if I had kept pace the last 5k. I still need to work on my mental strength!  I earned 47/86^th at the finish. I’m a forever midpack racer I guess finishing in 6:51! I was expecting a PR at this race but until I can be mentally stronger on the run, I will continue to end about this time always.

I was happy to receive my medal, meet up with Marcus and go for the food.  FOOD?  Oh they ran out!  WHAT?? I’m not that slow!  Hungry, filthy, tired and I was mad!  We waited for more food to be brought out while I was feeling faint.  Finally, Marcus was handed a cup of sausage links and I had a cup with a little salad and 2 small pieces of ham!!!!  That was all they had to offer!  We were so disappointed with the food that we just wanted to leave to eat immediately.  We packed our bags and headed to the buses to shuttle to the car.  All of a sudden, Marcus says, WHERE are we going??? Huh?? Oh this bus goes to the High School!! WTF??  Took a tour of the neighborhood back to the race venue, got on the correct bus to the car and saw the miles of cars on the freeway trying to go get their bikes!  Oh HELL NO!  We stopped and grabbed sodas and sushi to go at a nearby store and ate in the car waiting for traffic to die down.  It helped a lot and we had an easy time to park and grab the bikes and pack them up for the flight home.  We stopped at Boston Pizza and Pasta to grab food to take back to hotel.  They offer amazing healthy options for pastas, salads, pizzas, vegan, vegetarian, GF, etc. We ate there twice.  We really enjoyed seeing the beautiful sites around the Victorian harbor.  There were fresh flowers everywhere.

It was so nice to take the mini pizzas back to the room and eat and shower and rest all in one place.  We rested well and slept in until 9:30!  We had time for a fabulous breakfast at the ABC Country Restaurant and an easy time checking into the airport.  On the other hand, getting through customs in San Francisco was a nightmare.  Be sure you have 2-3 hour layover! There was a line to scan the passport to get a paper, a line to get the paper stamped, a line to get the passport and paper checked, a line to pickup the bags and then to take them to be rechecked for the next flight, then a line to go through security again! This took over an hour and although I complained about our 3 hour layover, our first flight was 45 minutes late so really we had just enough time to grab a quick dinner before the connecting flight started to board!.  Flying out of country takes a lot of extra time!  It’s easy to get out of the US, just complicated to get back in the US! 

 

The bike cases made it through everything without any problems.  If you decide to travel with your bike, be sure you rent a midsize car to carry it!  We had a 4 door jeep and it allowed both bikes to stand up and room for 2 tribags and 1 medium suitcase.  We just loved the course overall and want to return or we might try IM Calgary in late July.  Their time zone is 1 hour ahead but it sounds just as beautiful as Victoria! I’m personally getting bored with sun, sand, salt and concrete! Calgary’s rolling terrain and clear blue waters of Western Canada’s Rocky Mountains makes this race one of the most scenic on the circuit and has been voted one of the top-ten most scenic triathlons in the world by Triathlete Magazine.

 

The 5k challenge

May's blog is a summary of  my lessons learned about the 5k run challenge.  I've always misunderstood sprints of all levels...oh those are for the fast people, the young people, those that don't have time to train long people and they are so expensive for the money you pay... WHY would anyone my age want to do a 5k?  My coach says.. Just Try It !  ( fine.. this is dumb....just so you know! I'm a turtle.)

I signed up for Jan 11 Rum Run 5k. Coach said, "80% effort mile 1, 90% effort mile 2 and 100% effort mile 3".... What the Hell does that mean?  I decided to go out comfortable and then at each mile marker, pick it up a bit. I chased a couple little girls into the finish line and whaaa laaa it was over in about 29 minutes AVG HR 169....hmmm that was a little exhilarating!  3rd place in my AG?? WOW! Coach asks, " Did you give it your all?"  I don't know, maybe not, I was thinking about how hard my workout is tomorrow, so probably not. Besides doesn't that hurt?... Coach says, Yes and Try AGAIN.  Don't think. Just run. (didn't you hear me? I'm a turtle.. ok FINE)

Cardiff Kook 5k

I signed up for Feb 1 Cardiff Kook's 5k.  Coach said, " RUN HARD "  What?  how fast is hard? I warmed up at a faster pace and inserted some sprints.  I had seconds to spare before the gun went off.  There were a lot of people.  there were a couple jumps in elevations that worried me but I just ran and tried to pick it up at each mile marker but my lungs seared at mile 2 and it seemed to go on forever! laps 8:44, 9:52, 8:48. avg HR 162 finish 27:26 and 5th AG.  I decided that I don't like mile 2.  Coach asks, " Did you give it your all?"  I don't know, maybe not.  It's scary to go into the pain cave for too long. Coach says, Yes and Try AGAIN.  Don't think. Just run. (OK FINE... this is dumb. I'm still a turtle, maybe just a little faster now)

I signed up for Mar 22 Hot Chocolate 5k with Jim as my pacer this time.  I just didn't think I could run any fastest alone. My brain is in the way.  I am too conservative and always save something at the end.  I asked Jim to pace me and for every second he could improve my avg pace, I would donate $5 towards his Smile Train charity.  this race scared me because it was my hilliest with a gain of 230 feet.  Coach says,  "1st mile 8:45, Mile 2 8:30, Mile 3 faster".  That is not possible!  Why do you think I can run in the 8's for 3 miles?  She said, " Because you can run a half marathon in 2 hours and your 5k pace is supposed to be much faster than your 1/2 marathon pace."  :You have not reached your potential yet." hmmm. I didn't know that.  I looked up the McMillan Run Calculator.  First, there's no way I'm counting that 1:59 half marathon because it was all down hill.  But I did SD Half in 2:01 pacing myself with one big hill so I used that result and the calculation said:

 

Distance	1Mi	5Km	10Km	1/2 Mar	Mar
Time	07:31.7	26:08:00	54:17:00	2:01:00	4:14:39
Pace/Mi	7:31	8:25	8:44	9:14	9:43

100m

22.1

-

4000m

20:27.9

8:14

I probably blinked my eyes 10 times reading this data....IS THIS FOR REAL?? Coach believes it so it must be real right?  This is a pain calculator not a potential calculator! I'm supposed to run this fast?

 

Jim accepted the pacer job and I was determined to really give it my all this time.  Let's see what I've got in the tank!  Mile 1 was uphill avg 8:41, mile 2 burned but downhill avg 8:51, mile 3 avg 8:03 finishing at 26:13 and 6th of 400+ females my age.  Wow that was the most exciting 26 minutes of my life! I WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN!  I paid Jim's charity $145.  (Maybe I'm a turtle in a speed racer costume?)

Hot Choc 5k and 15K friends

 



Froyo5k with friends and family

I was pumped for IM Oceanside on Mar 28.  I would apply all my pacing lessons and have the best race ever!  I really wanted a sub 6:30 and felt I had earned it.  Well on the last easy bike ride, I hurt my neck and shoulder and tried everything to relieve it but I never got total relief and had a disappointing race.  My 1/2 marathon goal of racing the last 5k were dismal results.  I was at an all time low after the race. 



Then I got sick for 2 weeks full of coughing and misery.  There were no 5ks scheduled thankfully so it was basically a weak month of  training and healing in April.  My "April 5k" was the first weekend of May.

May 2 was the Froyo 5k.  Jim was my pacer, and Marcus and Ryan and Aliyah also joined in the fun.  I was not optimistic.  I felt I had lost my mojo and didn't have expectations but Jim tried his best to push me to go fast.  In fact I PR'd my first mile by accident, running a 7:53 mile which killed me on mile 2 down to 8:44 but we picked it up to 8:12 on mile 3 and I won 1st place in my AG with a 26:12 PR.   It was really painful but with shocking results at the same time.  The pacing was way off but we didn't really plan ahead for it.  I had forgotten about the importance since I didn't practice this during April. I decided that if I could PR after being sick that I should try one more 5k to try to break 26 minutes.



I signed up for a mother's day flat and fast race in Mission Bay named Girls on the Go. It had been raining and was cool.  This is not ideal weather for me.  Granted I love cool running but the dampness and high HR is the trifecta for me to struggle with exercise enduced asthma.  For some reason the humidity makes my throat spasm and I can't take deep breaths with a high HR.  Jim and I tried to start out slower this time.  We did better but still not slow enough at 8:09.  I need to run about 8:25 to warmup so I have more to give in mile 2.  But by the tine we approached mile 2, I could hear my breathing strain.  Jim was worried but I had already had 3 puffs of the inhaler before the start.  I would just have to endure breathing through a straw and not panic.  It would be over soon and hoped Jim would catch my head if I passed out!   Mile 2 was 8:26 but my HR was at 180 which is about 97% of my max and it burned like hell and I saw stars often.  I grabbed Jim's arm and forced a deep breath but there was a gorilla grip around my throat.  I just pushed forward as best I could as a 10 year old flew by me!  My 3rd mile ended at 8:44 partly because of lack of oxygen and max HR still at 180 mi 3 and also because the course was poorly marked and we slowed at splits on the course trying to figure out the path.  I finished at 26:41 in 2nd place AG and unhappy I was so far off my goal.  However I earned 2 medals  finishing 2nd AG, which are beautiful and appropriate for Mom's day!


I'm taking a break from 5k racing as I have a 1/2 marathon and 3 IM 70.3 races upcoming so I need to stay healthy and train long.  I have learned a lot from these painful 5ks.  Pacing is critical and I need to improve greatly to break 26 minutes but I will come back to this strenuous goal in the Fall.  I have found that emptying my tank requires more recovery than I expected but at least I know that I have the capability to run faster than I ever expected. It really is within me.  It's been a great 5 month goal and I'm really glad I pushed out of my comfort zone and dabbled in the magic zone because it was pretty exhilarating!  My transition goal from short to long races is to apply this 5k speed to my longer races and really push harder at the end of my 1/2s and 70.3 races. 

 

 

3Mi

25:02

8:21

IM 70.3 California 4th time is a charm?

IM California 2015 is my 7th half ironman and 4th time repeating this course.  I know it well and I know where I break down.  I am an Ironman now so I decided this year I would work on running speed and faster half ironmans instead of another full ironman. I gave up my Big Sur Marathon entry to focus on 70s and speed training.  I have worked hard on my climbing and my running speed since IMAZ with very little time off.  My swimming skills are about the level of a 4 year old compared to the life-time swimmers my age but sometimes I can have a good day and then something derails me and all the focus is gone again.  I do my workouts with intensity but understand that even if I improve in seconds per 100, some uncontrolled obstacle like current and elbows to the head amongst the mass of swimmers or a sudden cramp can throw all my hardwork as if it never happened.  Honestly it's not only that I swim slow, but I don't sight well either in the Oceanside race .  The route is shaped like a banana and the sun is blinding on the return. So this year, my swim goal was to figure out how to ONLY swim 1.2 miles!  I tried new approaches to tackle each discipline this year to try to break 6:30.  I had high expectations with all this  hay in the barn. 4th time is a charm, right? I'm ready.

 It was the first time I had raced with one transition for California 70.3, so receiving one bag instead of 4 made it feel like a new race!  I wondered how the bike route changed and how long the 2nd loop of the run would be since it still ended at the pier.  I realized we had to run up Breakwater street on the 2nd loop too.  There were enough changes to make it seem new for sure. I was still worrisome on race day but friends kept making me smile and laugh.

I didn't stay overnight in Oceanside at my parents house because it wasn't an available option this year so I had to add a 45 minute commute to my morning.  This meant rising at 3am but it wasn't a problem as I took my niteaid pill by 7pm and slept well.  I had my Osmo and Imodium at night and again in the morning with my standard oatmeal and banana but I couldn't eat the bagel this time.  I had coffee, 2 aspirin, 2 roctane pills, 2 salt pills and decided to bring the bagel to eat in transition.  It was never eaten so my morning calories were light at 360. Marcus bought the VIP pass so we had close parking and he was pampered all day with food and drink and the best viewing spots.  He somehow snuck into the transition area and took loads of TCSD pictures throughout the day with about 700 pictures total!  He captured a great day for everyone to see.  He was as tired as I was at the end of the day!

Once again the TCSD rack was placed at the very back by the swim exit which I find a disadvantage vs where my AG racks so I opted out of the team racks.  My AG was just past a tree and along the carpet edge so it was a good spot right in the middle of transition. I laid out all my stuff nice and organized (on the down wheel side!!!) and went to the bathroom.  When I returned, the bike next to me dumped all their crap on the up wheel side crowding my stuff and she was no where to be seen.  Whatever, let it go.  I did my walk around trying to notice the buoy placement in the dark water and then it was announced the water was 66.8 degrees.  That's the warmest it has been in my 4 years and now it's not neoprene sock legal which means a barefoot run for a 1/4 mile after the swim exit.  I'm never barefoot due to my foot surgeries because my foot pads are not even.  Barefoot = pain for me. More worrying followed...

 However the carpet looked good and there were places where there were two rows of carpet.  I would just have to be careful. Thankfully I added an old pair of regular socks to my check list and wore those while I was waiting in line to swim.  I was wave 15 with the 50s and 25 year olds!  wow they looked so young!  I started to get hungry while in line for my wave start at 7:23 so I did my ritual of eating a GU and drinking my water in line and then as it got close, poured the remaining water in my suit to reduce the water temp shock.  However the water temp felt great and my feet were comfortable.


I swam comfortably following the buoys out of the harbor.  Only once did a swimmer swim over me and she was light and way off course which made me giggle a little.  I just kept swimming without interruption to the 2nd red bouy.  Suddenly it seemed choppy which is normal so close to the ocean.  I felt like I lost a lot of speed here though but kept heading to the rock jetty as my experienced swimmers told me to do and soon the next red buoy was in sight right in front of me.  For the first time I wasn't lost in the harbor swim!  I turned toward the sun and just to the left was the big building which I had never seen before!  I never saw a buoy on my left until there were only a couple left to pass and then as I wanted to increase my speed, I started to kick harder and suddenly my right calf cramped hard.  It did this on my last OWS with no explanation so I knew I had to point and flex to get it to release which completely disrupted my swim rhythm. I kept swimming the best I could until it released.  I saw a lot of racers to my left but I just sighted the tall building the entire return and it took me just along the pier dock straight into the ramp exit.  it was the easiest swim I had completed and the first race that I had swam with a cramp.  The good news was that I was happy that my yardage was close to 1.2 although still a little over.  Then I noticed my swim time was slower as well, by at least 5 minutes so yea I sighted well, but I swam 5 minutes slower. That's a lot :(  I didn't let it get to me like in the past.  I really just wanted a great run.  I would just make it up by running faster.  I just let it go because ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

My swim-bike transition was 6 minutes as planned.  I exited without a problem and took off with a plan to not hammer the bike course. I wanted to save it for the run. I had pinned my number to my shirt and wore it under my wetsuit so I didn't fight with the race belt.  I only wore arm sun sleeves in my wetsuit and not calf compressions because it seemed to affect my circulation in the past.   I had my front bottle with 400 cals of Carbo Pro and 210 cals of IM Perform. I ate two half pieces of banana along the course and drank water between slurps of calorie water.  I prepared for the first hill with two puffs of my inhaler so I could breathe easier and I did fine.  I didn't have to serpentine climb the hill and my breathing and HR was under control.  I just went up and over with relief.  The other hills were tolerable too.  The new requirement to stay under 25 mph on dead man's curve was a distraction for sure.  The no pass zone suddenly appeared and a slow rider was in front of me going 18mph and I reminded her it was a 25 limit which promptly caused her to brake and I flew past her.  Sorry, I've never done that before but I didn't want to lose any more speed because then the required 25 mph timing section arrived for about 1/2 mile and I stared at my garmin the entire turn while trying to be under 25 and I ended up at 24.11 mph!  That's pretty close to 25 and I would have been disqualified had I passed that speed.


Nothing unusual happened for the rest of the course except I got bored on the long stretches while trying to hold lower power and a slower speed. By mile 40, I started getting a neck and shoulder cramp making aero positioning very uncomfortable. I also felt that same twinge in my right rib start to pinch. Finally mile 45 arrived and the 10 miles of head winds were in my face.  As always, I eat one GU here to prepare for the run. The headwind seemed stronger this year to me. It was awesome to roll back into the harbor without climbing Surfrider to get to transition BUT we had to cycle the same long chute we had run during the swim and that just totally sucked.  My speed dropped again as another rider in front of me didn't want to pedal along this narrow path.  I saw my final bike time was 11 minutes slower than the last 2 years. But that's ok because my normalized power was within range so I would have a great run, right?

I got to my stuff (including my cooling towel which is a life saver for hot runs) and swapped it all out for run gear within 4 minutes and took off at a slower pace to get my legs ready and just as I started up the small overpass hill, my left thigh cramped badly.  It stopped me in my tracks and I grabbed onto the fence while trying to massage the muscle to let go. I limped along for a bit and the pain subsided within a mile.  I didn't panic about my pace because I had a water bottle with 200 cals of carbo pro to drink.  I took 2 aspirin and 2 salt pills during the recovery mile.  Very soon after the cramp subsided, my right rib started to pinch again. This pain became a sharp knife pain for the next 12 miles of jogging.  My legs seemed heavy but not in pain.  I wasn't hot because the aid stations had ice water and ice and kept my cooling towel always fresh.  My legs were just not cooperating and the knife in my side made me feel like I was running off center. I faked my smiles for the camera but each time I saw my Chiro Doc on the run, I knew that he knew, I was hurting and the entire body was pulling on the right.

Doc, can I lay down RIGHT NOW for an alignment??

 I can't explain what happened over those 12 miles except there was a lot of begging going on to try to go faster.  I demanded that I run up the short steep ramps and Wisconsin because I promised myself that I would not walk them this year and then the glutes and hamstrings disagreed.  Each mile, my watch would remind me of my slow pace even though I thought I was actually running. By mile 11, I saw my total finish time goal had passed and it blew the wind out of my sails.  This was another ruined run making mile 12 a death jog.  I was disappointed in everything.  Holding back led to a slower race, not a better run for me so the formula is very perplexing to me.  It makes logical sense, but I can't execute the plan.

After reviewing some statistics, my normalized power and average power rates are not close and they should be.  This means my cycling efforts are not steady, but I thought they were.  How do you fix something that you can't feel is wrong? This leads to fatigued legs for the run. Yes I understand the logic but where's the improvement in my run when I hold back?  Just like I thought a controlled swim would give me better technique and a smoother faster swim result but it didn't.


I jogged through the finish chute feeling unworthy and embarrassed and draped myself over my Ironsister Elva.  My friend Dave helped me find a chair and reunite with Marcus. I was so sad. Dave asked if I wanted the finisher's food.  EWWW. It always smells horrible to me and can send me into dry heaves if I'm too close. Marcus handed me my favorite cookie instead - snickerdoodles always make me smile!




I just wanted to find my chiropractor who also raced and he cracked my neck and then said he would see me Sunday for a complete realignment. I wasn't holding my head up straight. I got a body massage for 30 minutes in the Ironman village, trying to get the knife out of my side but it didn't help much. I'd have to get a 90 minute massage tomorrow. We went home and I soaked in Epsom salt, ate chicken soup, and took muscle relaxers and went to bed very disappointed.  I'm still disappointed and wonder if I should stop setting goals since I can't seem to achieve them.  At this point, it seems just finishing shouldn't be the only goal I can meet.

The next day, I read about others who had mechanical problems and physical problems too.  Misery loves company so at least I wasn't alone. I'm not the only one that worked really hard for disappointing results.  It still stings but somehow I will get back out there trying to find my 6:30 result.  I have no plans to repeat Oceanside again.  My next 70.3 will be a new course in Victoria, British Columbia on June 14 so it will be exciting from beginning to end!  Maybe I won't set a finishing time goal in the future. 

At the end of the day, I still have my bragging rights for a lifetime. I. AM. IRONMOM. and I am a finisher again today.