IMCDA: The big day!

Here it is finally...race day!

So after having some rainy and windy weather I didn't know what to expect race morning. The forecasters had said that the rain would be cleared out but I was hoping the wind would be gone along with it. My alarm went off at 4 AM race morning and Brian and I got out of bed and started getting ready. We had already laid out everything so getting ready was fairly straight forward. After a quick breakfast and a check on Herb to see if he was ready, we opened the door. I had refused to look outside prior to this so I wouldn't have any excuses to climb back into bed. The sky was clear, but the wind was a-blowing. I accepted it for what it was and we loaded up the car and started our quick drive down to the race start.

The air temps were somewhat cool but not terribly freezing or anything. I was comfortable in my thin long-sleeve shirt and long pants. Walking along the waterfront towards transition I tried not to look at the turbulent water and just focus on how great it was going to be once the race began. I got to my bike and luckily the girl next had a pump with her and was kind enough to let me borrow it to air my tires. I put the rest of my nutrition on my bike and did some visualization of my exit out of the water, into the changing tent, and onto my bike. It was as I was standing here that I realized that I hadn't seen any body markers! I quickly ran over to Brian to see if he was done and told him that we needed to get body marked. He was done so we grabbed our bags and headed out to find the body markers. We had apparently approached transition from the “back” side so we had to walk around to the beach area to get marked. After that was done we headed back inside transition to finish up and drop off our morning clothes bags. After one last restroom stop it was time to put on the wet suit and head out to line up for the swim.  

The masses waiting for the swim start.
Totally not my picture. I found it on the internet but I don't remember who to give credit too. Sorry!

Swim: 1:25:00

Since this race was using the rolling start method, Brian and I placed ourselves with the 1:15-1:30 swimmers. As we were weaving our way to our places we ran into Herb who was already in line. We all gave each high-fives and good wishes. It was so awesome to see him before we started. We reached our places and waited for the crowd to roll forward. Then it was our turn! I looked at the clock as I entered the water -- 6:47. So I needed to be done with this race by 11:47 to be under 17 hours. With a quick peck and squeeze Brian and I were off on our race.

I pressed start on my Garmin and nothing happened!!! I’m skipping/running through the water trying to get my watch to do something before I finally said screw it I need to start swimming! I dove into the water and quickly had to start weaving my way around people and try to find clear water. I got pretty beat up during the first 500 meters or so. I just couldn't seem to find a clear path in the water. I also felt like a canoe being lifted up and down by the waves. The side of my face hurt from slapping down on the water. I was too busy worrying about the waves and people and that none of my issues with the clear water surfaced during my swim. I hit the first turn buoy and quickly made it to the other one that would lead us back to the beach. I should have expected this, but I didn't, so when I realized that the waves would actually help me on the way back to shore I got super excited! It was so much fun “riding” the waves back in. I knew that this would probably help my swim time. Once I got back to the beach and looked down at the watch my worst fear was realized. No swim time!!

This is a two-loop swim so as I ran in for my second swim I hit the start button again on my watch and this time it worked! I tried to keep what I thought was the same intensity as my first loop on the way out but it seemed like the waves were slightly rougher. Luckily on my second loop the crowd had thinned out a little and I was able to find a nice, clear lane to swim and had a pretty uneventful second loop. As I exited the water and headed for the changing tent to get ready for my bike I saw my second loop of the swim was 43 minutes. I decided to take that and double it and add 2 minutes for my total swim time, which would be 1:28. I was pretty close! Only off by 3 minutes and I was actually pretty excited about 1:28 considering my last IM swim time was 1:36. Huge PR!!

T1: 10:19

Since the air temps were still cool and I wasn't sure how much it was going to warm up during the day, I opted to wear my tri top with my bike jersey over it and arm warmers. It turned out to be perfect for me. Not the quickest transition time, but still a little faster than my IMAZ one. Another PR!

Bike:  8:05:34

The bike -- What can I say about the bike? Well, I did enjoy myself and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous but I really wish my bike time was at least an hour shorter. I felt strong heading out on the course. The first part of the bike takes you along the lake and it is fairly fast. I got to the turnaround feeling good and headed back into the town before the course takes you south of town on the highway. I had heard that this is where the wind can make you or break you. So far I had not noticed the wind but that would quickly change. I was approaching my first climb of the day (2 miles ~6% grade) and I put my bike in an easy gear and just pedaled my way up the climb. I got so many compliments on my SmashFest Queen Sunrise kit that I made a joke that I was going so slow so people could really take a look at the kit and see it in action. Finally the first hill was done and now I was ready to have fun on the descent! But things didn't go according to plan. I picked up speed and was ready to fly when all of a sudden a gust of wind grabbed my front tire and blew me to the side. I about freaked out!! The bike started wobbling a little bit and I was like, “Oh no! A high speed wobble!” I quickly brought my body in and tried to put as much weight on the bike as possible and the bike stabilized. Well, this totally messed with me mentally so I rode the brakes down the rest of the hill trying to keep my weight on the bike and cursing at all the people flying past me and wondering why they weren't being affected by the wind like I was. I finally got to the turnaround on the highway and started heading back.

Hello tailwind! I swear it literally took half the time to make it back into town as it did going out. I still was being careful on the descents but I was still able to take advantage of the speed. Back through town once more, out along the lake, and then I hit special needs really quick to swap out my bottles of nutrition, and I was off again. I started to get a little pain in my knees (yes both) as I was climbing so I put it in an even easier gear to try to save them for the run. I may have been a little too cautious here but I didn't want to have to start to run a marathon on knees that were already in pain. The second time out on the highway seemed to take forever. I remember looking at my watch in town and it was only 2 pm. Then when I looked at my watch on the highway it was already after 4 pm! Finally I got to the turnaround and started the trek back to transition. Even with the tailwind it seemed to take forever but finally I was back in town and transition was in sight. I have never been so happy to be off my bike in my life but I was pleased with my nutrition for the most part. I do remember that I was ready for real food that last hour of the bike. I was getting sick of the GU’s and Infinit. Even the Pay Day bar I was using for real food was not making the cut any more.

This is the bike/run part of the course. We road on the street to the left
and ran on the paved trail along Lake Coeur d'Alene

T2:  6:47

Once in the changing tent I took a look around at what all the other people were wearing. I had pulled my arm warmers down on the last trip back into town and I felt fairly comfortable without them. I was worried that the temps would drop while I was out on the run course and I would be too cold in just my tri top. But the sun was out and the temps had risen into the high 60’s so I decided to chance it. I put on some fresh socks (best idea ever) and took off my jersey. Grabbed my visor and race belt and headed out for the run.

Run:  5:22:39

One of my immediate thoughts when I started the run was how unlike this start was from IMAZ. When I started the run in Arizona, I immediately wanted to stop and walk. Here in CdA I was comfortable from the get-go with the run. It was like my running legs had been rearing to get into action! The first mile ticked off -- 9:56 pace, yes! I knew I wouldn’t be seeing 9’s for very long so I was super stoked to see at least one. The run takes us through town and back out on the bike course that runs along the lake. There were tons of spectators cheering us on and they gave me a much needed boost of energy after that bike ride.

A few miles into the run I encountered some funny experiences. This girl comes running up alongside me and as she’s passing me I hear little toots. I make a face to myself and in my head I’m like, “Is she really farting as she’s running?” I try not to giggle and check her backside to see if she sharted as she goes off ahead of me. Then, when I round the corner, I see her on the side of the road with her finger down her throat trying to make herself throw up. I felt bad for her. I don’t know if she was on her first or second lap but I knew she wasn’t doing well. Then a little farther up the street this guy just stops running and projectile vomits into the air! I started thinking to myself, “It’s too early in the race for me to be seeing so much grossness!!!!” I quickly run past him and luckily after that I was unaware if there was any more farting or puking.

I finally see Brian on the run course as he’s heading back into town to start his second loop and he’s looking good. I cheer him on and we slap hands as we pass each other. I see other people I know from San Antonio, or who I have met while up in CdA and give them all encouragement as we pass each other. I see Brian one last time as I was headed out for my second loop. I knew he was on his way to a huge PR and I shouted at the top of my lungs to him to keep going and don’t give up!

Smiling for 140.6 miles

The people in Coeur d’Alene are just amazing. Their encouragement was contagious and I didn't even think about walking once (except for a few steps on the hill towards the turnaround on the second loop). The party house on the course that had the most awesome music blaring and people dancing in the front yard was the greatest! The Fireball Whisky girls on the corner that made the tunnel to run in was hysterical. The other corner with the guy with the PA system yelling out all the runner’s names was a welcome distraction. This town has embraced the athletes and it makes the experience that much more special.

I ran with a man from Nevada who was doing this race for his daughter, who was supposed to be at the finish line, but had been murdered by an arsonist’s fire earlier in the year. I partnered up with a young guy around mile 19 whose jersey I recognized as one from the bike shop we went to for Hillary’s Smash Party and so we started talking. He is a lifetime resident of CdA and had lots of friends and relatives doing the race. He was finishing up school in Montana and decided to give Ironman a try. He did say that he was going to be sticking with his dirt bike after the race. As we approach the final stretch into town I tell him to go. We congratulate each other and he takes off.

I round the corner that takes you down to the finisher’s chute and I experience a moment of disbelief. I am about to finish my second Ironman. For some reason I had doubts about myself going into this race; like my first finish was a fluke of some sort and that I might not be able to finish another one. I run into the chute with the biggest smile I can muster and I high-five as many hands as I can. I hear the announcer say my name this time and tell me that I am an Ironman again. I’m not sure if this moment ever gets old, but I was just as exhilarated as I was the first time I finished the race. I also ended up with a 4 minute Ironman marathon PR. Yes!

Total:  15:10:19 

Two happy finishers!

What I am most proud of on this race is that I never went into that “dark“ place you can sometimes go into when you’re racing. I knew my bike split had totally messed up my plans to PR but instead of letting that bring me down I decided to just enjoy the rest of the race. I actually don’t even know if it was a conscious decision. I was having such a great time out there it just seemed to happen naturally. I knew immediately that I wanted to do another Ironman. I’m not sure where yet and I don’t know when, but being out there on the course is the absolute best feeling ever.

IMCDA: The steps before the big day

Thursday was the beginning of all things race related. We started off by going down to the water to do a test swim and practice in the wetsuits. At first the water was cold but after a few strokes I didn’t notice the temperature anymore. My borrowed long-sleeve wetsuit (thanks Aixa!) would work just fine and I didn’t even need to use the neoprene cap I brought with me. The temperature ended up the last thing I was thinking about though. The water was super clear! 

I’m used to the good ol’ murky water of Texas lakes that hide whatever may be lurking beneath you. Being able to see as the water got deeper was a totally different experience. Unfortunately for me, I watch horror movies and have a very active imagination. So instead of enjoying one of nature’s finest attributes, I was picturing every horrible scene from every horror movie I have seen. So ensued the hyperventilating and proclamations of how I didn’t need to swim before the race. Luckily Brian and Herb helped calm me down (a little) and swam next to me so I would be able to see them next to me. I did a few short out and backs from the shore to a buoy that was out in the water and Brian tried to get me to swim to a dock that was a little ways down the beach. I started out with him but he quickly got ahead of me and I decided to turn back before I freaked out again. As I got back to where I could stand in the water another swimmer that was out there stopped. He ended up being from Germany and had been in town for a week already and said that he had been swimming in the water by himself most of the time and he had never seen anything. He gave me some good calming tips and even took our picture with Herb’s camera. I thanked him and let him continue on his swim. I did one more out and back and did much better with leaving my eyes open under the water and not hyperventilating anymore. I wasn’t too worried about race day because I would be surrounded by so many people that I knew I would be distracted by racing rather than by anything my head could conjure up.

After that we drove down to athlete check in and bike pick up. We picked up the bikes first and then dropped them off at the race wheel place to get our dancing shoes put on our bikes. Then we hit athlete check in and became “official” ironman races with our wristbands on.We checked out the expo for a while, spent way too much money on IM gear, listened to the pre-race meeting, and then picked up our bikes and headed out for a short ride on the bike course. Brian started out from the expo site but Herb and I drove out to a little parking area we had seen and met up with him there and started riding from there. We got a few miles in and established that our bikes were in working order and the wheels felt good.

 

Later that night we went to Hillary Biscay’s Smashfest party at a local bike shop. There was great food, cute Smash gear to buy, and a Pro triathlete Q&A with Hillary, Maik, Haley Chura, Derek Garcia, another male pro whose name I can’t remember, and Heather Wurtele! It was so awesome meeting Heather in person. She’s another one of my favorite female triathletes and she’s super nice and also extremely tall! I definitely felt extremely short standing next to her! 

We had planned to do another practice swim on Friday morning with a group of people from the IMCDA Face Book page, but when we turned on the news that morning and they showed the whitecaps on the lake from the strong winds we decided against it. So we turned Friday into a day of making sure we had all our gear ready, making last minute purchases for things we may have forgotten, and doing some exploring closer to CdA. We used our vouchers that they gave us in lieu of an athlete dinner and met up with Kate and her husband Ray and had a fun dinner overlooking the lake as a pretty spectacular storm rolled through. This, I was hoping, was going to be the last of the rain.

Saturday came and it was time to check in the bikes. I did one last test ride around my hotel parking lot and did some last minute rearranging of my food items on my bike. We went down to transition one last time and I set off to rack my bike. I did a little visualization here picturing myself finding my bike and taking off toward the mount line. Then we went and dropped off our bike and run gear bags. It was another cool day with a good breeze and we looked out over the water one last time and I hoped that the wind would be gone by the morning. I spent the majority of the rest of the day off my feet watching a Law & Order: SVU marathon on USA. How perfect was that? Nothing can suck me and Brian into the vortex of doing nothing more than an SVU marathon. We made a quick trip out for dinner and then it was time to hit the hay.

 

Next up…..race day. 

IMCDA: Pre-race fun

We arrived in Spokane a little after noon on the Tuesday before the race and the first thing I did was drag Brian and Herb to Gonzaga University so I could get a look at their basketball court. Aside from being obsessed with triathlons and racing, I am a huge college sports fan. In 2011 when we did the Boise 70.3 half ironman, we stopped at Boise St. University and got to stand on their very distinctive blue football field. What ended up really cool about that race was that the run course actually went past the field. So since we were going to be in Spokane, I had to get inside that basketball arena!

There ended up being a summer basketball camp going on and I was hoping to be able to see the coaches in action or at least have access to the floor, but the gates were down and we got there when everyone seemed to be picking up their registration packets (or whatever basketball camps give out). So I had to suck it up and pose under the Gonzaga logo with about 50 or so high school kids looking at this old lady acting like a fan girl. As we kept walking around the arena we found this bulldog statue that, naturally, I had to get my picture with too!

After that we found a local pizza place to eat (The Flying Goat) and then we were on our way to Coeur d’Alene. We checked into our hotel, dropped our bags off, and drove around CdA doing some sightseeing. It is the most wonderful little town I have been to. The scenery is gorgeous, the main strip (or downtown, I guess) is super cute, and the weather was amazing for a June afternoon. We were able to do lots of stuff before we had to get into race-ready mode. 

  

 

We went on a tour of an old mine, went panning for gold, drove through the mountains, did some SUP’ing, went for a hike on Tubbs Hill, hit up the local Farmer’s Market, and scoped out the race site and drove the bike course.  Then Thursday came….time to get ready for the race!    

New Orleans...trip and race report

So, I don't quite remember when we all decided to sign up for the New Orleans 70.3 race, but I do remember we were out celebrating some one's birthday and there were a few adult beverages and texting of coachie involved. Before I knew it, I've got my early season 70.3 race scheduled and I'm planning a trip.

First off, I had never been to New Orleans before and I was super excited to see the French Quarter and to eat at Cafe du Monde. My best friend growing up would go to New Orleans on a regular basis and would always rave about the beignets and hot chocolate there. Her mom would make some for us and we would sneak them into the library at school to eat while we were studying.

Road trip snack food!!

The group of us left early Friday morning. It consisted of Brian, Herb, Aixa, and myself. We loaded up Brian's truck with all our gear and bikes and we were off. (Thank you Brian for making it so we could travel with four people and four bikes!) Having company on the trip sure made the drive more bearable. It didn't seem nearly as long to get out of Texas as it normally does. We arrived at the host hotel in downtown New Orleans a little before 5 pm and got ourselves unloaded and off to athlete check in. A friend of Herb and Aixa's that they met at Hillary's tri camp last year was also in town for the race and we met up with him after we got situated to grab a bite to eat. The hotel had a great restaurant in it, Drago's, and we ate there. Yummy food!!

The next day the first thing I said when I woke up

Heaven, I mean Cafe du Monde ;)

was, "Let's go to Cafe du Monde". We were in walking distance of the French Quarter and started on our way. And right then was when I knew I wasn't in San Antonio anymore. There were normal looking people just passed out on the side of buildings or in benches. A little too much partying for them! Having seen so many movies and TV shows that are filmed there it was really interesting to see it in person. It almost didn't even feel like it was my first time there since everything looked so familiar. We found Cafe du Monde and ordered and it was everything and more than I ever wanted it to be. Best hot chocolate I have ever had. Period.

The rest of the day was more sightseeing and then bike drop off. I had always said that I wanted to have my palm read or my future told by someone there, but I chickened out since it was before my race and I didn't want to hear anything negative if that's what they had to tell me! After getting lost once or twice we finally made it to bike drop off. We walked down to the swim start to check out what the course looked like and get a feel of the water temps. It was cool but not freezing cold so we decided to go with sleeveless wetsuits, which turned out to be perfect. Then we headed out to meet all the other racers for dinner and then I headed up early to get my gear ready and then hit the sack.

Pre-race dinner goofiness

Tri-Belief: Ryan, me, Dawn (coachie), Q, Aixa, and Kris

Race morning:  I got really lucky with my spot in transition, as it was at the end of the rack and the person who was assigned next to me was a no show so I had plenty of room to lay my gear out. Also I was on a row that had the only light pole around on that side so it was very easy for me to find my row. As Kris, Aixa, and I were sunblocking up we had someone comment on our Smash tri clothes we were wearing and she said that she wore Smash too. It turned out to be pro triathlete, and reigning NOLA 70.3 champ, Haley Chura!! We were able to snap a quick pic with her and wish her good luck on her race. She is a super fish extraordinaire and I was hoping some of her speedy swim powers would rub off on me! We finished up in transition and headed over to the swim start.

Swim: 40:25
This was my first time starting a 70.3 race with a time trial start. They put everyone in waves and then started each wave off by having us jump off a ramp, 8 people at a time, 10 seconds apart. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but it did take a lot of the bumping and fighting for position out of the equation. At first the water felt shockingly cold because we had waited for close to an hour in the sun to get into the water but I would say by the first turn buoy I wasn't even aware of it anymore. Overall I'm pretty happy with my swim. The water was not overly choppy and it was a pretty uneventful swim. Until the men in orange swim caps caught up to me. Then I had maybe two of them swim over me, but they were moving so fast that they were gone before I could even try to hop onto there feet and draft!

Bike: 2:53:31
Hello tailwinds and flat roads!! This is my fastest bike split for this distance race and let me tell you, it was like 56 miles of 471 out to Castroville. A little rougher in some areas and maybe two bridges to ride over, but overall a very, very flat course. I really couldn't get a gauge of exactly which direction the wind was blowing but I knew when I was riding into a headwind! Around mile 32 I looked down at my speed and saw 24 mph and it didn't even feel like I was working. I knew that when I turned around on this road, back to mile 40, was going to be into a headwind and I mentally tried to make myself ready for this. Sure enough, turn around at mile 35 and the speed dropped dramatically. It's really crazy how many thoughts go through my mind when I'm fighting a headwind. I went from loving life to questioning why I was even out there. I forced myself to stay down in my aerobars and to keep my legs moving. I took in my nutrition here since I could feel myself struggling and that seemed to help. The extra calories made me feel better. I finally got to mile 40 and back out to the road that would take me back to transition. I had some lingering effects of that headwind creeping back in my mind, but I think my food finally kicked in and I felt my legs responding and my speed started to increase. I finally got back some of that tailwind I was loving earlier and all of a sudden I was all smiles again! The last 5 miles back to transition were a combination of head/crosswinds but these didn't bother me as bad since I knew I was so close to the end. I was also very happy about my time. Now, I wasn't sure how my legs would feel for the run, but I would soon find out.

Run: 2:15:38
Coming into this race I hadn't run for 2 weeks due to some shin splits I started developing after the Austin Marathon back in February. I wasn't sure what was going on but after going to the doctor this is what was concluded. I was told not to run and put on steroids to bring down the inflammation. I was pain free by the time race day came but I wasn't sure how my body was going to respond to running a half-marathon after not running for 2 weeks. The first 2 miles were great. I was running in the 9's and there was no pain in my leg. After that though, my legs just felt heavy and I just could not seem to get them to turnover as quickly as I wanted them to. Also, it felt hot. I mean, like, really hot. It was probably only in the 80's but the sun was out in full force and there was zero shade for the first 10 miles of the run. I saw my splits rapidly declining, although, I was surprised to see them in the 10's. It felt like I was running a whole lot slower than that. I turned on my mental hat and told myself to just keep moving the feet. Don't walk, it will only make the pain last longer. Around mile 8 my right knee started KILLING me. I kept running, but it was so frustrating! I think around mile 9 I stopped completely and looked down at my knee and threw my hands up in the air and yelled at it to stop hurting! I've never had knee pain, where did you come from?! (People were like, who is this crazy person?) I started running again and was managing a painful shuffle towards the park where the finish line was. I think around mile 10 my coach was there yelling at me to push it. I was so deep in my head at that point though that I don't remember much of what was said. I just wanted to get to the finish line. I knew I wasn't going to PR this race, but my backup plan was to finish in under 6 hours. At the out and back section I found Brian waiting for me. He was having a less than spectacular run too and he knew I wasn't that far back from him so he wanted to wait for me. That was super nice of him but I just wish I had been feeling better to enjoy it more. We finally made it back to the turn into the park towards the finish line. Oh My God...the longest straightaway I have ever run to a finish line. It was like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel but jeez that tunnel was long!

Total: 5:55:33
Yahoo, I did it! I managed to hit my goal and finish in under 6 hours. On a day where not everything went right on the run, I was super proud of myself for hanging in there and pulling it out. Not every race is going to be a PR but you do certainly learn something from every race. This race taught me that even though I may not have had my fastest time, I can still accomplish great things (i.e. new bike split PR) and digging within myself when pain is consuming me and not giving up.

Pedi-cab selfie! Me, Brian, and Herb

 After the race we took a pedi-cab ride down to the French Quarter for a celebratory dinner and drinks with Herb and the A-team. Thank you Allen for the suggestion. I will rank the pedi-cab through the French Quarter right up there with my New York City taxi cab rides!

Austin Marathon

Well, they say the third time's the charm and, for me, yesterday really was. I had two previous attempts at running the Austin Marathon or half-marathon and both attempts ended with me being injured on race day and not being able to participate. First time due to poor training and the second time due to a fluke shoe sizing incident, or so that's what I believe.

I'm going to admit that I never really had a desire to run a full marathon. The first one I did was because I felt I should probably do one before attempting to run one at the end of my first Ironman race. There was nothing spectacular about that race but I finished it and I was happy with that. I did moderately better at the one at the end of Ironman Arizona. And then, since we had a coupon code for a great price and what we thought was going to be a better date for the San Antonio marathon, I did my next marathon. This one came just two weeks after I had just completed two half-ironmans in two weekends. Again there was improvement, even with the extremely warm temps that came that day and some very tired legs. I seriously was done with stand-alone marathons. I didn't need to prove to myself that I could do the distance anymore. I could.

But when you're Orissa Loftin and you have friends doing the race and your husband's doing the race, you put aside your fears and superstitions and go ahead and sign up for another marathon. I really didn't have any major goals in mind going into it. I would have been super happy with a time of 4:50 or 4:59, as long as it was under 5 hours. My downfall in my previous races has been the last 6 miles. Everything just hurts and it's super easy to mentally fall apart and to start walking for longer and longer periods of time. This race I wanted to erase all that. I told myself there was no reason to go out too fast and, if I could stay steady, I would be able to hold a 10:30 pace to the end of the race.

Son of a gun it worked!  I kept a nice cruisey pace for the half of the race and just tried to hold a consistent pace up and down the hills. When I got to 9 miles left I was right on target. My pace was staying under 10:30 and I was still feeling good. My shorts started chafing me around mile 15 so, besides the fire on my outer thighs, everything else was feeling just like normal pains from running 17 miles. This is when I knew I had to make my brain not give in. The body was holding up; it was time for the brain to do the same. 8, 7, 6, 5 miles left. Holy shit I'm doing it! 4 miles left!  Still staying right where I want to be and looking to be crossing the finish line at 4:37! All of a sudden I'm seeing the spectators again. They are cheering for us and holding their hilarious signs. I'm laughing with them and smiling and thanking them for their support. All of a sudden I feel like a rock star, lol! Then I look up ahead at all the runners in front of me and, could it be? Is that Kris??  Yes! She's having a killer race too!!! 2 miles left, can I catch up to her so we can cross the finish line together? I slowly pick up my pace. Finally with about half a mile to the finish I scream at her, "Holy shit Kris we are doing this!  Let's crush those Pr's!!!" --or something along those lines. We race each other to the finish line and finish at 4:30! We whoop and holler and hobble our way out of the finisher's shoot.

So happy for Kris for getting the PR she has been working so hard to achieve. She not only got it, she blew it out of the water. If anyone deserves it she does because I see how hard she works and I'm just so happy for her!! Thank you to Shelly and her family who came out to cheer everyone on. It was so great seeing you out there, especially during that section when I was feeling very mentally unfocused. Thank you to everyone who pushed me to do this race and told me to stop being stupid!! I'm not going to say that marathons are easy or fun but, when you have a breakthrough, it really makes a difference on how your outlook changes towards that distance. And a huge thank you and love to my husband, who stands by me and supports me and is my biggest fan. Without you out there with me, it wouldn't be the same!!

3M Half Marathon

This past Sunday I participated in the 3M half marathon in Austin. This is an awesome race and one that I would like to do every year. With it being in January, you can almost guarantee that the weather is going to be great to run in and the course is a mostly downhill elevation. That means you can fly through the 13.1 miles.  

Aixa, me, and Linda beaming bright before the race!

The morning started off with Aixa coming to my house and her, Brian, and I driving over to Linda's house and picking her up -- all before 5 a.m.!! We had a fun drive up there and we had no trouble finding parking and getting over to the race start. It was a chilly morning and we waited as long as possible to drop our warm clothes off at the gear drop. After that was done we walked up as far as we were brave enough to. It was somewhere between the 1:45 and 1:50 pace groups. My goal was to go under 2 hrs for the first time, with a top secret goal of maybe going 1:50.  

The happy finishers!

And then we were off!! As the first mile was flying by I remember thinking to myself, "Holy cow this course is downhill!" The first mile beeps on my watch and I look down: 8:30 average. Nice -- but is it too fast? Can I really stay in the 8's for 13.1 miles?? I don't know the answer but decide to just run for it. Every mile that ticked off felt like a victory as they were staying in the 8's. Also, as each mile ticked off, I could hear the 1:50 pace group behind me shouting the status of their time (13 seconds ahead of schedule, 10 seconds ahead of schedule, etc...) and that gave me motivation to keep moving. Around the 9-mile mark they finally came up along side me. I didn't mind it too much but just told myself to try to keep them in my sights for as long as possible and, by all means, DO NOT let the 1:55 pace group catch up to me!! The topography around this mile starts to change and there are some sections of steady inclines. I was able to hang on but I slowly saw the 1:50's pulling away from me. Mile 10 came along and I could feel myself starting to fade. I told myself to just hold on for two more miles and try not to drop the pace too much. I had 1 mile average in the 9's but finally I heard that beep and there was only 1 mile left. GO FOR IT!! I picked up the pace and ran my little heart out. The last mile was back down in the 8's again and then it was a sprint to the finish!! I crossed the finish line and turned off my watch. 1:51:47!!

Brian and Aixa both had PR's on their races as well and Linda had a great race too! It really turned out to be a pretty much perfect day. I'm so happy for everyone! 

Last January, I started to really focus on my run. And after a year of this focusing, I am so pleased with my progress. I've learned that I can push myself a lot harder than I thought possible. I have been able to find a mental toughness that was not there 4 years ago when I first started triathlons. Thank you to everyone who has helped and pushed me to be better and having the confidence in me that I could do it!!! First race of 2014 is in the books!!

Catching up…Marathon, Christmas 100x100, Monica’s Mile, and 2014 Races!

It’s been a while since I’ve sat down to write something, so I’m going to have to squish a bunch of thoughts into this one. 

SA RnR Marathon – I finished my second stand-alone marathon back in November before Thanksgiving and it was what it was.  I still haven’t cracked the 5 hour mark (5:08) but I’m getting closer and I’m just happy that I finished this race on a day that was extremely warm and on a course that I did not like one bit!  And, of course, after stating we would never run a stand-along marathon again, Aixa, Kris, Brian, and I are signed up for the Austin Marathon in February.  That’s what happens when the pain goes away and you’re left still trying to achieve your goals!!

100x100 Christmas Day swim – When you have friends like mine, who like to do epic shit on their birthdays, then you wind up swimming 100x100’s (6.2 miles) on Christmas morning.  Kris is a Christmas baby and she always like to try to do something fun on her birthday.  This year she decided on this swim and most of us were crazy enough to say we’d do it with her.  Luckily for us, our friend Linda has access to the Josh Davis Natatorium so we were able to do this swim set in style.  This has got to be one of the most interesting experiences in my life.  The longest I had ever swum was 4,000 meters, so doing more than double that was pretty daunting.  But once I hit 5,000 meters I knew it was just a matter of me to “just keep swimming, just keep swimming”.  It turned out to be a bunch of fun and a great way to start Christmas morning and celebrate Kris’s birthday!!

Photo credit:  Robert Cordova

Monica’s Mile – January 5, 2014, the 2^nd Annual Monica’s Mile swim was held.  This is a great event that’s held to help raise money for children and for my friend Monica, who continues to blow everyone’s minds away with her amazing progress after being hit by a car while riding her bike and suffering a horrible spinal cord injury.  She is continually proving what a strong person she is and defying all odds by getting closer and closer to being able to walk (and race) again.  She swam the full hour on her own and beat her own goal by 300 meters!!  We all showed up in our “Will Swim For Donuts” swimsuits and swam the hour.  Even Shelly came out!!  It was really great having Shelly back out there now that she’s had her baby and she’s getting back in “training” mode.  And she kicked butt by swimming 3,000 meters in the hour.  Piece of cake (or donut) for her!!      

Now it’s time to focus on 2014.  I’m signed up to race Ironman Coeur d’Alene in June and I’m super excited about that.  It’s going to be an amazing adventure and I can’t wait to share it with you all.  But first, there’s:

            3M ½ Marathon on January 19

            Austin Marathon on February 16

            New Orleans 70.3 on April 13

I’m looking forward to all of these races for special reasons.

 

3M because for the past four years I have wanted to do this race, but it just never seemed to line up for me.  Finally, this year it’s going to happen.  I can’t wait to see my ½ marathon time on this course since it’s supposed to fast (mostly downhill elevation).  And of course all the office supplies that come in the swag bag.  I love office supplies!!

Austin Marathon because this race and I have a history.  I’m not going to say any more about that now because I’m extremely superstitious and I don’t want to say anything.  Stay tuned for that blog entry.

New Orleans 70.3 because, well, because it’s New Orleans!!  It’ll be my first trip to the Big Easy and I’m super excited to see Bourbon Street and all the sights there are to see there.  I’m not super excited about the swim, but it is what it is.  It will also be my last race before IMCDA so it’ll be fun to leave it all out there.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!  Here’s to 2014!!!