Who's on that stage?

Back in November, I accompanied my friends down to the Rock n Roll Expo so they could pick up their race packet.  While we were hanging around at the expo we passed a stage where a woman was speaking and we just happened to be passing by when she was telling people to "move their booties".  So my friend Kris and I started goofing off and she saw us and told us to come on stage.  We figured, what the heck.  So we joined her on stage, joined by Linda and later by Herb and Lorena and we jumped around on stage for a song.  All fun, right?  After we got off the stage I looked at the board to see who the speaker was and what the whole point of that was.  It said the speaker was..........Suzy Favor-Hamilton, a three-time olympic runner. 

A few months later a story broke that for the past year Ms. Favor-Hamilton has worked as a high-priced call girl in Las Vegas, as well as doing motivational speaking at various Rock n Roll marathoon events!  We can now check dancing on stage with call girl off the bucket list!   

Just keep running, just keep running...

To make sure that I kept up with training after completing Ironman Arizona, I made sure to sign up for a race in January.  I decided to go with the Endurothon half-marathon in Bulverde because it was close to home and only $25.00!  The bad side is that it's a fairly hilly course (one friend would call it mountainous).  So I am officially on a "running" training plan from my coach.  It still includes some swimming  (which I have not done!) and biking, but the majority of the plan, of course, is running.  I have never done a running plan before and, yup, there's a lot of running!  Running and I have had a love/hate relationship these past few years in triathlon.  There have been days that it just feels like the most wonderful thing in the world and days where I just wanted to throw my running shoes in the trash and say, "screw it".  But man, when you do have a great run, you just feel like the best runner in the world.  These are the things I have to remember when I'm looking at my plan and see all the run days scheduled.      

So far the plan hasn't been too bad, but it's picking up now that I'm three weeks into it.  And, now that I'm mostly recovered from Arizona and picking up my training more, my HR is staying in the zones I want it to and my legs and body feel great (minus the few neck and back aches and pains I've been having off and on).  I'm really excited to see how I can do at this half-marathon considering the only stand-alone half-marathon I've ever done is the San Antonio Rock 'n Roll race.  I know this race is going to be challenging but I'm ready to see what my running legs have got to give!

Orissa Loftin.....You are an Ironman!

Where do I begin about this awesome journey I just completed?  First, I have to give my love and thanks to my husband, Brian, who made this journey possible.  He understood my need to accomplish this goal and gave me all the support I needed to do it.  Thank you so much and I love you!!  I also have to thank my wonderful training partners, AKA "The Iron Whiners", Kris, Shelly, Herb, and Aixa for always making the training a fun experience.  I now look forward to training almost as much as I do to the actual race, which is completely opposite of how I used to think about training.  We had our ups and downs but through it all you guys were always there for me and I appreciate all your support and encouragement.  And thank you to my coach, Dawn Elder, for giving me the training plan that not only got me through an Ironman, but got me through an Ironman at a time that I didn't think was possible for me to do when I first started.  Your passion and love for the sport of Ironman is amazing!

Okay - race day!!

After all the pre-race obligations were completed, I was off to bed on Saturday night.  Surprisingly, I slept well and only woke up once so I was nice and rested Sunday morning.  I got to transition and pumped up the tires on my bike, put my nutrition bottles on my bike, put up my special needs bags, and walked around looking for my friends.  Luckily, I found them right away and we were able to chat a bit before the race started and said that we couldn't believe that we were actually going to do this.  We got in the crowd to walk out to the water early so we didn't risk the chance of getting in the water too late and having to rush to the start line.  We tried looking for Herb, but with a crowd that big it was really hard to find him.  As we walked up to the water the announcer was saying to jump in and start swimming to the right and for people jumping to be careful and not jump on anyone.  Yeah, that didn't make me more nervous than I already was!  I was expecting the water to feel as cold as it had on Saturday when we did our practice swim, but I guess I had so much adrenaline running through me that when I jumped in and started swimming to the right I didn't even feel the temperature of the water.  I started swimming towards the bridge that is the start line trying to keep Kris and Shelly in my sights because I didn't want to loose them this early in the race!  We positioned ourselves to the left and to the front and actually bumped into our other friend Meagan, which was really cool!  As we were hanging out we heard our friend Herb call out to us as he started swimming toward us.  So happy to see him!!  He said he heard Kris's voice and that's how he found us.  Gotta love that!!  So we were all able to start together.

Swim:  1:36:43

Before I knew it the start cannon went off and Ironman Arizona 2012 had officially started for me.  I started swimming and was sure that I was going to be drowned within the first 5 minutes.  I was trying to find some clear water but just seemed to find arms and legs.  This was the washing machine!!!  My main goal was just to try to not get hit on the head.  I didn't mind all the grabbing and clawing of the my arms and legs, but I didn't want my head to get hit or my goggles to get moved.  Finally it seemed that I found my crowd.  I had nice open water and was able to get into a rhythm.  I hit the turn buoy and started making my way back towards the bridge and the finish line.  I forced myself to not stop and look at my watch at that point.  I so wanted to know how long I had been in the water but I mustered up the self-control and didn't look.  It seemed to take forever to swim past the ASU football stadium that is located right near the lake.  I swear there was a current in that spot that was holding me back :)  I finally passed it and was coming up to the bridges.  I was so excited.  I started smiling to myself and swimming a little bit harder.  Then I came up on a swimmer and I was going to the left to pass him, he stops, kicks out his left foot, and nails me right on the nose, pushing the goggle enough to loose their suction so water starts to come in.  I gave myself a few seconds to say a curse word and try to shake the water out before I continued swimming.  I knew I needed to keep swimming because my time wasn't going to be scorching fast.  I pushed them back on my face but water kept filling up the left eye.  I tried swimming for a bit with water in it but then it started getting into my eye and I didn't want my contact to get messed up because that would just be a mess racing with only one good eye so I went into "drill" mode.  I extended my right arm and kicked and turned my head to the left so I could drain the water from goggles and reposition them, all the while still moving forward in the water.  Thank goodness for swim drills!  I was able to get a good suction again and I was up to the last turn buoy headed for the stairs.  As the volunteers pulled me out of the water I was so happy to see my time.  I wanted to be between 1:30 and 1:45 and I did it!  As I ran to the "strippers" I noticed my feet were tingling.  I guess the water was cold after all.

T1:  11:29

Walking into the changing tent was a crazy experience.  First off, it was much smaller that it looked from the outside.  And it was so funny just seeing all these women stripping off their clothes.  I was happy that I hadn't planned on a wardrobe change!  It took me a bit longer than I had planned but I wanted to warm up my feet before heading out on the bike.  I forgot to do one major procedure before I left the changing tent:  chamois cream!!  I didn't realize this until I was running out, so I ran back to my bag and grabbed the little bottle I had put in the there and threw it in my jersey pocket then ran out for my bike, planning to apply it at one of my potty stops on the bike.     

Bike:  6:45:27

 

It was so awesome seeing the crowd as I rode my bike out of transition.  I ran up to the mount line and ran a little past it.  I have watched a few Ironman bike mounts and know how crowded it can get and how sometimes people are in such a hurry to get on their bikes that things can go wrong.  I heard my name and looked up and saw everyone cheering for me.  It was so exciting to see them.  I remember seeing Dawn's face and her telling me to, "go, go, go!!"  I ran over the right side of the barrier and got on my bike and I was so happy when my foot clipped into my pedal on the first try.  I had remembered to put my bike in the right gear and I was taking off.  I had one failed attempt to get my right foot in the pedal but I got it on the second try.  I was happy that I didn't have any issues with other rides almost riding into me or vice versa!  Heading out on the course I got into areo and tried to get my heart rate down.  It was a very crowded course and you had to be aware of your surroundings when you tried to pass anyone.  I had a goal of trying to maintain a 17 mph for the ride or try to finish in about 6:15.  I had only planned one doing one potty stop at the special needs bag at mile 63, but things didn't go as planned.  The first thing I noticed right away on the bike was that I was HUNGRY!  Luckily I had packed an extra Roctane on my bike and I downed it right way.  The next thing I noticed was when I took my first sip of my infinit, it tasted too salty!  Oh no, oh well, not much I could do so I kept taking sips of it and drinking water too to try to counter the extra salt in the drink.  Unfortunately around mile 10 my bladder was telling me it had to go!!  I had just passed the last aid station that had a port-o-potty, so that meant I had to go 8.5 miles to get to the turnaround.  I tried to stay areo but my bladder did not make it easy so I sat up on that first trip out of Tempe.  The other thing I noticed on my first loop is that the trip out was pretty much a gradual uphill, which made me happy because that meant the way back into town would be downhill.  Yahoo!!  Another great thing was that the winds were calm.  I was happy that I was not going to have to fight wind all day.  I finally made the turnaround, after watching the pros just cruise past me with what looked like little effort.  I made a bee line (hehe) for the bathroom and I think I peed out half of Tempe Town Lake!  But I was not going to make the mistake to trying to "tough" it out because that would probably just make my day horrible!  And I was able to apply the missing chamois cream while I was at the stop.  It was the best decision I made.  I also dumped that first bottle of infinit and went to the drinks they had on the course and that was another good decision!  The rest of the bike ride was great.  It honestly did not feel like I was out on the course for almost 7 hours.  Even though my bike computer said I was averaging 17 mph I did not take into account the stops I was making so my actual race average was 16.5.  (Note for next time)  I also got to see each of my friends at least once on the bike which was really cool!  I only saw my cheering section once as I was finishing my first loop for reasons I wouldn't find out about until I was on the run.  I loved riding back into the transition area and handing my bike off to a volunteer. 

T2:  5:58

The biggest difference I noticed in T2 was the temperature of the changing tent.  Whereas the first time I was in it, I thought it felt nice and toasty after being in the water, this time it felt hot and muggy.  I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible!  Again, I had no wardrobe change to do, as all I had to do was take off my bike helmet and change my socks and put on my running shoes. 

Run:  5:26:53

 

The size of the crowds as I ran out of transition amazed me.  It was awesome to see so many people cheering us on.  I heard a few people yell out to me "Race for Monica", which made me happy.  She had been in my thoughts a lot throughout the day and I wanted to make her proud.  I knew that probably all my friends were ahead of me on the course and I was excited to see if I was ever going to see anyone.  My goal on the run was to try not to walk at all.  I knew I could run at least two hours because I had done that on my "last long training day" so I knew I had to keep my feet moving for at least two hours.  The volunteers at the run aid stations were great and there was plenty to choose from.  It was fun to see my coach and the Smashfest girls on the backside of the run course.  I also saw Fireman Rob on the course and I told him I was so happy to say that I could say that I raced with Fireman Rob.  He was nice and said thanks and that I was doing a good job.  I don't know how he can walk a marathon in all the gear.  Amazing!  The first loop felt great.  I was maintaining a good pace and my heart rate was staying relatively low.  I came up to Herb at the end of the first loop and I was so excited for him.  He was having a great race, and it had taken me almost a whole loop of the run course to catch him!  He had a killer bike time! 

As I started my second loop, I saw my cheering group again.  It was awesome to see them and they gave me a tunnel to run through.  It was at this time I found out why I hadn't seen them on the bike course again.  Kris had been run into by another biker on the bike course and taken out of the race.  My friend told me this thinking that I already knew this.  I didn't.  I immediately asked if she was okay and she said she was.  I was so disappointed for her.  I knew how much this meant to her and was worried that she would just be devastated by this.  So I started my second loop with a slightly heavier heart but determined to make her proud.  I was able to keep running and came upon another racer from San Antonio. I gave him some words of encouragement as I passed him and kept going.  He caught up to me a little while later and we ran together for a bit but he stopped to walk an aid station and I left him again.  When I saw my coach again on the back side she had Monica on the phone and I was able to talk to her for a bit.  That was really awesome.  She told me she was excited for me and I told her I had been thinking of her all day.  On the way back to start my last loop my knees Kris was there with the group.  When I saw her and saw her smiling face I just grabbed her hand and squeezed it so hard.  I was so happy to see her there because I knew it must have been so emotional for her to come out and cheer us on.  It was at this time I had to dig deep.  You see so many people walking on the course you begin to tell yourself things, "why are you still running?"  or "you can walk just a little bit."  But I tried to hold firm to my plan.  I did decide to walk the first aid station I came to on my third loop to see if it made my knees feel better.  It didn't.  So I resumed my shuffle again to the next aid station.  This was the trend until I got to the hill on the back side of the course.  I had been able to run up it the first two times, but this last time I walked it.  Once I was up it again though I started running until I got to the downhill and I had to walk that.  Going downhill was killing my knees!  It was on the third loop of the run course that I decided that I would be happy with just completing one Ironman and that I had no need to ever do another ever again.  Once I hit the sidewalk that was by the marina I knew it was almost over.  I saw the mile 24 sign and looked at my watch and began to think that I might actually go under 5:30 for my marathon time.  My goal coming in was to be under 6 hours so I was super excited to beat that!  I was heading to mile 25 when I looked behind me and saw my friend from San Antonio coming up behind me.  I was determined that he was not going to pass in that last mile and put everything I had left into that last mile.  In my head I was sure I was running at least a 9 or 10 minute pace, but after downloading my Garmin I saw it was only a 12:30 pace.  That just cracked me up!  But I held on and finished strong.  Coming around the corner and seeing the lights and the finish line with the time was one of the most amazing moments in my life.  The crowds are lined up on either side of the barriers and you can hear Mike Reilly's voice.  I heard him say my name, but after that it was like I had tunnel hearing.  I didn't hear anything, the music, the crowds, anything.  I just looked around wide-eyed and started smiling so big and began high-fiving people as I went across the finish line.

Total:  14:06:30  (Kind of cool how my time is just a rearranged 140.6)

P.S. The next day I said that of course I would have to do another one :)

Volunteer Fun at IMAZ

So the big weekend was here – Volunteer at IMAZ so we could have first dibs at signing up for the big race next year.  My two girlfriends and I boarded a plane super early Saturday morning so we could get to Tempe by 9 am for the volunteer meeting.  We were going to be body markers!  This is a great place to volunteer because you get to interact with the athletes before they start and hear some of their stories of how they got there or why/who they are racing for.  It was a very emotional experience for me and I had such a blast doing it.  Also it allowed us to be in the transition area when the swimmers came out of the water and hopped on their bikes.  We literally had the best seats there to view everyone taking off for their 112 mile bike ride.

After our volunteer shift was over was continued to hang around Tempe and grab some food.  We were going to walk back to our hotel to grab some shut eye since we had been up since 3 or so in the morning but as we were walking in that direction we passed the bike course and saw one of our friends finishing her first loop of the bike!  We were so super excited we decided to stay and watch all our other friends and cheer them on.  All the other spectators were great.  We had a so much fun goofing off with them and cheering on their friends, while they also cheered on our friends.  We saw our coach Dawn come in off the bike and we quickly ran to a spot on the run course so we could help her keep track of her position in the race.  She was racing for a Kona slot we wanted to help her as much as possible. 

It was so much fun watching the pros on the race course as well.  We saw Leanda Cave, Linsey Corbin, Amanda Stevens, and Timothy O’Donnell to name a few.  Poor Tim was having a tough time on the run so when my friends and I saw him walking we yelled out his name and some encouraging words, which got us a little wave and then he started running again. It was so much fun!!

Our coach ending up with a 20 minute PR and a Kona spot by getting 4^th in her age group!

The next morning we were up early again to get in line for registration.  I’m so glad we got there early because the line was already long and just getting longer.  At 9 am they opened the tent and in we went with our credit cards and out we came with our slips of paper saying “Congratulations, you have just registered for Ironman Arizona”!!

RNR Marathon 2011

After the tri season wrapped up in Kerrville, I went straight into marathon training mode.  My friends and I had decided to do the Rock ‘n Roll Full Marathon here in San Antonio.  I was super eager to get this race under my belt since my last attempt at a full marathon ended up with me getting a stress fracture.  I also wanted to complete this marathon because I was going to be signing up for IM Arizona the weekend after the race.  I at least wanted to complete a marathon before I signed up for a race that ended in one!

The race went well.  I was running with my husband and another friend of ours, who was also doing his first marathon.  Unfortunately for my husband his stomach started going sour at about mile 11.  He decided to keep running but was forced to make many bathroom stops.  My friend and I went on without him and we held strong until about mile 18 where I started to get a cramp in my right calf.  It was a super warm and humid day and I had not been taking salt tabs on a consistent basis.  I quickly downed a couple salt tabs and continued running, but I told my friend to go on ahead of me at mile 19.  I didn’t want to slow him down, as he was feeling strong.  At mile 20 I called my husband to see how he was doing (I had my phone with me) and he told me he was at mile 19.  Since I wasn’t too worried about my time with this race I decided to slow my pace and wait for him to catch up to me. 

He was still struggling with his stomach but he persevered for those last 6 miles and we were able to cross the finish line together.  And considering all the stopping and walking I did, I was still able to go under 6 hours!

Total Time = 5:44:19

Kerrville 70.3 2011

This is a new race that High Five Events out of Austin, TX put on and I'm so happy I decided to do this one instead of Longhorn 70.3.  It's obviously a much smaller race than an Ironman race and I think that's what makes it so great.  High Five Events does a great job at all the other races they put on, so I was pretty confident that this would be a great race.

Kerrville is a nice little town in the Texas Hill County so I had some reservations about the bike course.  I wasn't sure if it was going to be too hilly for me, but my worries were for nothing.  The course was mostly flat with just a couple short, steep inclines.

The day before the race, my friends and I met up to pick up our packets and then do our pre-race ritual of swim/bike/run warm up.  This is just to get a feel of the course and make sure the bike is in tip-top shape before we checked it in for the mandatory bike check-in.  After that we got some food and then went off on our separate ways with plans to meet back up in the morning.

Swim:  0:51:36

This turned out to be the worst swim of my whole season.  About halfway through the swim I got the worst burning sensation in my chest.  I had to burp!!  I probably spent the next 600-800 meters burping as I swam.  I’m not sure if it was the Gatorade I drank or the banana I ate before the race but I made a decision never to do that again!  After exiting the water we have a humongous hill to run (shuffle) up to get to T1.  Luckily they have a nice carpet down so you can run on that instead of having to worry about stepping on stickers or anything in the grass.

Bike:  3:25:58

This turned out to be my best bike time in a 70.3 race.  I was super excited about it.  It’s a two-loop course that takes you from downtown Kerrville out to a little town named Comfort and then back to Kerrville on some back roads.  The first loop of the bike went great.  I was having a great time and was super excited to see all my friends out on the course.  As I was about the 20 mile or so mark, the lead male, James Bonney, came flying past me as he was finishing his second loop.  I tried to pick up my pace to hang with him, but that didn’t last long J  Heading back out for my second loop was a different story.  I started to feel fatigued and noticed my speed dropping every mile.  At this time, I realized I hadn’t been taking in enough nutrition and tried to eat something but it was too late, I was already spent.  I just kept pedaling away and when I got to 50 miles I looked at my time and realized that I could still have a PR.  This added some fuel to the fire and I beat my previous best bike time by 10 minutes. 

Run:  2:43:15

Oh, the run, what can I say.  It was a four-loop course that was on the street and then you turned and went down what looked like to me a creek bed.  It was a pretty rough trail that was mainly uphill on the way out to the turnaround when you went back onto paved trails.  The first two loops of this run where not kind to me.  My legs had nothing in them.  I was walking every aid station and every uphill.  I was barely shuffling on the flats and the downhills.  My friends looked like there were doing great and that kind of further deflated me.  I downed tons of Gatorade and took in some caffeine and by the third loop, lo and behold, my running legs showed up!  I was so happy they finally decided to join me.  My pace picked up and I was able to finish the race with a smile on my face. 

For all the ups and downs I went through on this race I still managed to PR by 2 minutes.  I was happy about that.  Still didn’t break the elusive 7 hour mark but I was 2 minutes closer!

Total Time = 7:06:44

 

Wurst Tri Ever 2011

This race is held in Landa Park in New Braunfels, Texas and it's super fun.  First off, you get to start the swim by sliding into the water from a huge slide!  Then you do a swim around a natural spring enclourse before exiting the spring and running to an Olympic length pool to complete your swim.  Very untraditional but a lot of fun.

I went into this race this year as a spur of the moment decision.  It was the Friday before the race and my training partners were out of town and my husband was doing his own training that I did not want to do.  So after looking around and debating I decided to just sign up for this race.  Best decision ever!  I ended up placing 3rd in my age group and, with this race, qualifying for the National Olympic Distance Age Group Championships in August of 2012 in Vermont!!  Never in my life would I imagine that I would qualify for something!  Unfortunately I was unable to sign up for the race because it's the weekend before my husband competes in Ironman Canada.  But just having that e-mail with my name saying I qualified is good enough :) 

Swim:  400m in 12:42
Bike:  14mi in 49:43 (16.9 avg/mph) - I would have been faster I think if the officer at the very last intersection would not have stopped me to let traffic through!  Yes, I'm still upset about that!
Run:  3mi in 27:21 (9.06 min/mi)
Overall:  1:32:00

I guess I had the advantage of all the fast people in my age group not being there, but sometimes those last minute decisions are the best ones! 

The Austin Tri

This is one of my favorite races.  It's held at the same venue as The Capital of Texas Tri but for some reason I always seem to do better at this race.  I don't know if it's because the bike and run courses are slightly different or if it's just because it's later in the year and I've had more training time going into this race.

Swim:  1500m in 38:42
Bike:  40k in 1:24:00 (17.6 avg/mph) - One of my fastest bike times :)
Run:  10k in 1:01:00 (9.52 min/mi) - Again, one of my fastest 10k times
Overall:  3:09:49

I have yet to break the 3 hour mark on an Olympic distance race, but I hope soon I will be able to do it!

Gator Bait Tri

This is one of my favorite sprint triathlons around.  It's at Boerne Lake where I do a lot of my training and it's just an overall fun race.  I had high expectations coming into this race having raced it the previous two years.  This was the challenge I needed to see if all my training was going to give me the results I wanted.

500m swim:  10:12
I was right on goal with my swim.  I usually allow for 2 min/100m and I was only 12 seconds above it!  Extremely excited about that!  If I am remembering correctly (and this is the problem with not getting my thoughts down right away) they had marked the course differently (like a straight out and back) and I think the wind had picked up by the time the race had started and the markers were being blown around in the water causing some of the swimmers to almost swimming into each other.  I had an okay T1 of 1:05.

13 mi bike:  48:44 (16 mph)
I was aiming for at least averaging 17 mph on this course but with the wind picking up that slowed me down a bit.  After looking at my previous two attempts at this race, I have improved on the bike portion in each one so overall I'm please with the result.  I had an awesome T2 of 0:42!

4.1 mi run:  40:10 (9.47/m)
Again, I am pleased with my run in this race.  I managed to stay under a 10 minute pace and I really can't ask for more than that. 

Total time:  1:40:55.  I only knocked 1 minute off my overall time from the previous year but it was enough to place me 6th out of 18 girls in my age group!

Greater Gator Tri

So this race is an Olympic version of one of my favorite Sprint Tri's, Gator Bait Tri.  I was so excited when it was announced at the beginning of the season and had been looking forward to it since the beginning of the season.  Of course, I didn't realize it was just two weeks after my half-ironman in Boise.

Going into the race I was super tired.  I didn't feel like I had the energy needed to really compete at a level that I wanted to.  I decided to just do my best and just finishing would make me happy.

1500m swim:  33:37
Now for a swim of this distance, this was actually a pretty good time for me.  No gator sighting thank goodness :)   I had a decent T1 of 1:11.

24.5 mi bike:  1:38 (14.9 mph)  
This felt like the bike ride that would never end.  My legs were pretty much done at the beginning of the ride so I decided just to save most of my strength for the big hill at mile 6 and enjoy the scenery.  After I climbed "Gator Bait" hill I cruised to the turn-around.  On the way back I picked up the pace a little bit and really enjoyed the downhill that most of the way back to transition is.  I had another decent transition with T2 being 0:52.

5.6 mi run:  0:59:14 (10.34/m)
This may be the one thing that stops me from doing the race in the future.  The run is through a very rugged landscape and I was not wearing my trail shoes!!  Besides the course not being marked extraordinarily well and the grass to be overgrown, I managed to stay on course and not twist an ankle.  For being as tired as I was I'm actually not too disappointed with this run.  I did have to walk some of the hills but overall I'll take that 10 min pace any day! 

My overall time was 3:13:43 (first time to finish last in my age group!)  Not fantastic by any means but it was another race under my belt, and I made a profound decision as I was racing:  I definitely was not going to race in the month of July!!  I was going to give my body a month off to rest and train.  Sometimes the hardest races are where you learn the most.....