REPOST from Monday, June 21, 2010 at 12:58pm
Sorry this is so long, but hey, its 70.3 miles, what do you expect?!?! ;)
Swim
Josh
and I were both in the same wave, #7, set to go off at 12 min after the
start. Got down to the beach, they said go, and we were off. It was
WINDY, straight across the lake from west/southwest (20-25mph ish is
what I heard some people say). Which of course means 3-4 ft waves,
sweet. The lake is really shallow, about 12 feet at the deepest, and
they actually moved the course out diagonally instead of following the
shoreline this year, to make it a little deeper. I think I ended up
walking/jogging/paddling about 400m before actually beginning to swim.
Which is when it got interesting. At first I just felt seasick from
rolling sideways and up and down, then I realized I couldn’t get the
timing down to breath right. Am I supposed to breath left away from the
waves or right so I can see the waves coming? At the top of the wave,
but then I sorta fall and smack down into the trough? Not a very smooth
stroke through here. Lots of sitting up and treading water to catch my
breath and try to sight. Around the first buoy and straight into the
waves. Again trying to figure out the timing thing, but not too bad,
because I could time most of the waves now and I wasn’t rolling sideways
anymore. Around the second buoy, got a wave straight in the face and
down the lungs. Actually gagged up some water here. Did that a few
times actually, until I finally got sick of it and just went for it.
The backside of the course actually felt pretty good for me. The waves
were just barely diagonal here, so you could use them to push yourself
along a little. I shortened up my stroke a lot too; I had read that was
good for rough conditions and I also have realized recently that I’m
gliding too much and getting a good-sized dead spot in my stroke. It
worked great, I was cruising and my arms never fatigued. People kept
running in to me here, I was actually swimming really straight.
Remember how I tend to drift left? Well, apparently strong waves from
the left are just what the doctor ordered. Someone was trying to draft
off me here, and doing a pretty horrible job because they kept smacking
my calves. So I gave a couple good kicks. Around the third buoy.
Sweet, now the waves were at my back, it was like surfing! Catching the
waves just right, watching all the little bubbles in the water, and
just cruising on in. Saw the lake bottom pretty quickly here, but kept
swimming for a bit til it got really shallow. Stood up, got the wetsuit
unzipped and looked at my watch. What?!? Crap, did I cut the course?
A full 15 minutes faster than I expected, this makes the rest of my day
so much easier!! (Upon further inspection, I did NOT cut the course,
but I think the buoys drifted a bit in the waves, so the course was
short. That, plus the wave surfing, plus my shorter stroke = fast
Jacque). Saw Linda here too, got out of the water at exactly the same
time. And hey, there’s Doug and Debbie on the sidelines, cheering me
on!
Total swim time: 30:29.0 – 1:34 min/100 yd for ~1.106 miles, HR avg 159
T1
Decided
to skip the wetsuit strippers. I was worried about them pinching my
wetsuit or getting fingernail tears. Ran UP the bank to transition,
found my bike easily, actually managed to get one leg off by stepping on
the wetsuit, woo-hoo, but then sat down to get the other leg over the
timing chip. Once I was down, I decided to just take my time and wipe
off my feet well. Took a drink of water, got everything on, and jogged
out. Actually had to stop to clip in, just didn’t feel ready to do it
on the fly for some reason.
Total time: 2:33.3
Bike
So
the bike starts off with a hill. This hill would be the um, high cliff,
for which High Cliff State Park is named. Roughly 200 feet in .4
miles. And actually, not bad at all. I just picked an easy gear and
spun up it easy, passing lots of people but feeling light and good.
Nothing compared to the hills on the IM Moo course!! Out of the park,
got passed by Linda and Jamie (one of our coaches) around mile 3 or 4
ish. My goal was to take the bike easy so I could rock the run (well,
as much as I can rock a run). I wanted to keep my HR in the 150s, but
looking at my watch, I just couldn’t get it below 160. So I said, hey, I
don’t wanna go that slow anyway, its lame, I’ll target 160s! Just
spinning comfortably, passing and being passed. The hill did a nice job
of spreading people out so it wasn’t too crowded. I started wondering
about the course – I have no idea where I am actually, I hope I didn’t
accidentally take the sprint course. And up ahead, signs – sprint this
way, half that way – sweet! Pretty much uneventful now – passed the
first aid station, still had plenty of water and Gatorade. Which I was
actually drinking this time! And I was eating! I had cut up Clif Bars
into 4 pieces each, ~60 calorie pieces, and popped one every 15 minutes.
Worked perfectly. Got a little bored of them, but they were never
hard to get down. Switched to energy chews around mile 45, but they
were gross, I think I will stick with just Clif Bars next time. Had a
nice side wind the whole time (those waves had to come from somewhere).
A guy passed me around mile 20 and said, “Look at those windmills, just
spinning.” Looked up and sure enough, wind turbines. Maybe not the
best place to have a bike course? I told him to try not to think about
it! Got passed by Katie (teammate in my age group) and another girl
from our team around mile 25. Boo, I don’t think I’ll be able to catch
them. Stupid run. And more biking, biking, I’m starting to get bored
now, aren’t I done yet? 56 miles is really, really long – not
exertion-wise, just interesting-wise. So I started singing to
myself.... "22 miles until I get to heaven, 22 miles until I end this
race, 22 miles until I get to the Chicken Ranch, where history, and...
oh wait." ;) ANYWAY, got passed by Larry around mile 40. I asked him
if he had seen Josh recently – I’m kinda wondering how he did on the
swim, and why he hadn’t caught me yet!! Hope he’s okay. Larry said he
was back there, so good, I don’t have to worry. Hmmm, I start thinking,
maybe I can beat him off the bike, that would be sweet! I’m averaging
about 18.5 currently, trying to do the math to figure out how fast I
swam, how soon I’ll finish the bike, and how much time that gives me to
finish my run and meet my super-secret-goal. I think I can do it maybe!
Run through the math again, nope I can’t. Run through the math again,
this time backwards, yes I can! Oh dear, I need a piece of paper and a
pencil, I can’t even do simple multiplication and addition. Made the
turn for the last 10 miles, straight into the wind. And promptly drop
to 12 mph. Ugh, this sucks, my back is hurting and I am soooooo
sloooooow…. Just keep pushing, pushing. Someone’s passing me now, oh,
it’s Josh. And he is in a foul mood, haha, stupid wind. And wow is he
slow. So I hung out behind him for a bit, but now I’m getting my second
wind, so I decided to pass him anyway. Hope his ego isn’t damaged too
much… And he passed me again, well at least I gave him some motivation!
Out of the wind now, and I can’t catch him, but I am trying! Finally
into the park again (from a different direction, didn’t get to do the
hill, boo). Stop, unclip, and start jogging the bike in.
Total bike time: 3:08:25.8 – 18.0 mph for 56.28 miles, HR avg 163
T2
Passed
Josh, he was just walking (btw, he only beat me off the bike by 19
sec). We are racked right next to each other, but he took forever, so I
told him I’d see him out on the run course. And I’m off!
Total time: 1:47.4
Run
Aighty,
back up that stupid high cliff on the run. Most people are walking it,
but I figure if I keep my steps short and quick, I’ll be slightly
faster, but it shouldn’t take too much out of me. I saw a guy in a
Endurance House jersey stretching against a tree just outside of
transition, so I yelled “come on, you can do it, let’s go!” So he
caught up to me and we jogged together for awhile. Never met him
before, turns out he was on the team last year but not this year. Josh
caught us halfway up the hill, then kept going. Saw Marie about halfway
up the hill too – asked her where Sarah was (I’d been hoping they were
behind me on the bike, since I should have caught them there). No such
luck, Marie said she’d been passed by Sarah about mile 3 and she was way
ahead. “Oh well,” I said, “she kicked my butt last weekend, looks like
she’ll be doing it again today!” Finally off the hill and onto the
hiking trails. Really nice run course actually, wide, packed dirt
trails and lots and lots of tree cover and SHADE! Saw Doug and Debbie
again, :) and then the end of mile 1. HR 172, 11:12.76, not too bad
considering the hill. Okay, now to try and hold 10s, and then I think
I’ll make the goal!! I was actually feeling really really good, I never
feel this strong running. Haha, why do I always feel better running
off the bike than just an open run? Clearly I need to find some warm-up
routine for just foot races. Just kept running, chatting with Kyle
about all sorts of things (his ex-fiance, the race last year, his
daughter, Kansas 70.3 that he did 2 weeks ago, etc etc etc). Saw the
mile 3 marker, apparently there was no mile 2 marker. HR 174, 19:45:13,
okay, I’m doing good! Still feeling really strong, able to drink both
water and Gatorade at the aid stations. Sweet, ice station ahead, its
getting a little warm, so I popped some in my mouth and some down my
bra. Felt great, but clanked a little when I ran, haha. Kyle had to
walk around mile 4ish, so I wished him luck and kept going. Still
feeling strong, what the junk, I am loving this!!! Whose body did I
take over? Mile 4, HR 173, 9:32.98, I am rocking this. There’s Katie
in front of me, she looks like she is suffering. “How’s it going? Lap
2?” “Ha, I wish.” “What, I thought you’d be way ahead of me from the
bike!” “Nope, I can swim and I can bike, but I can’t run. This is my
run.” Hmmm… “Well, good luck, just keep moving, tortoise and the hare,
right?” “Yes, that’s actually my favorite!” And I just kept going,
woo-hoo, I’m going to beat Katie, no way! Mile 5 never saw the marker,
but I took in a Gu somewhere around here. Went down fine, stayed down
fine, got a nice boost of energy. Finishing up the last end of the
first loop was over this weird flat rock stuff at the top of the cliff.
Just uneven enough to bug my left ankle and knee. Past the turn off to
the finish line down the hill and on to the next loop. Mile 7, still
feeling great, HR 174, 30:10.03, I am still on pace holy cow! About
here found a new running buddy. Never got his name, but we jogged and
chatted for awhile too. It is soooo nice running with someone else; it
distracts you and its really hard to even think about walking when the
person next to you isn’t slowing down. Feeling great, and I haven’t
walked yet. What?!?! About mile 9 one of his training team caught up
with us and they didn’t start running again after the aid station, so I
just kept moving. HR 176, 20:40.28. Usually mile 9 is where it starts
getting ugly, but I am still strong. I keep telling myself that – Go
girl, I feel so strong! Past the ice station again (ohhh, that feels
good), past the Gu station, down the little hill and over the rocky
flats. Hmm, I am getting a blister on my left pinky toe, that kinda
hurts. But other than that, I am feeling GREAT! I think I will
actually run down this stupid hill! (I was worried my quads would be
too tired by this point and I’d have to walk). Top of the hill, down we
go….OUCH!!!! My blister just broke! Searing pain every time I put my
left foot down. Now this is making me mad, I have so much energy left,
but it HURTS!!! Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think
about it. Keep going, stride out, I see an EHouse jersey in front of
me, its Shelley, catch her before the bottom of the hill. And I did.
Also saw Sarah on the side of the road here, just sitting relaxing,
finished already!! Damn. She was cheering us on. Past Shelley, huge
burst of energy and some flat ground finally so the toe doesn’t hurt as
much. Over the finish line, I did it! And Check This Out – - - My
First Ever Half Marathon Where I Did Not Walk, Not Even Once (except aid
stations, but that totally doesn’t
count)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did it! Saw Linda right
at the finish line, she gave me a big hug, so I had to tell her what I
did – no walking! And of course bawled my eyes out, haha. Jamie and
Tara were there too (Jamie’s already showered and changed, I think he
finished around 4.5 hrs or something crazy). Found Josh, and Doug and
Debbie. I’m still telling everyone I recognize that I ran my first half
without walking, :). And then I find my results, and guess what – I
broke 6 hours, I DID IT!!! Totally smashed the super-secret-goal of
6:10. I am a friggin rock star. Promptly jumped in the ice bath, and
relaxed the legs a bit, then off for some pizza and milk and fruit.
They had a massage tent too, but the line was too long, so we decided to
pack up and head back to camp for some well-deserved burgers. Mmmmm.
Back up the hill, but this time, we’re driving. Oh yeah.
Total run
time: 2:15:26.7 – 10:20 min/mi for 13.1 miles, HR avg 174. (btw, this is
only 23 sec longer than my open PR; and 3 sec/mi faster than last
weekend’s Olympic tri)
FINAL TIME: 5:58:42.5!!!!
15 out of 29 Age group F25-29
57 out of 124 Female Half Iron distance
301 out of 468 Overall Half Iron distance
HR avg 167, peak 186
5,242 calories burned. Now I’m hungry…
Oh,
also, totally beat Sarah, she was in the first wave, 12 min before me,
so my final time was 27 sec faster, wheeew! Although she still got 4th
in her age group. I should have started this a few years sooner, in an
easier age group.
Next steps:
Well, shoot, now I don’t know!
This was just supposed to be prep for Steelhead, where I wanted to go
under 6:00:00. Now I’m gonna have to figure out a new goal, man, rough
life I lead!! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment