NJ State Oly Tri - Race Report

This past Sunday I did the NJ State Olympic Tri.  Last year this was my second tri and while this year was suppose to be nothing more than a brick workout, I was curious to see if there would be any improvement compared to last year. Specifically, I was hoping to see improvement in the swim.

The day before was anything but how I normally spend the day before a race or big workout. My grandmother passed away and after the week we had in the days leading up to her death, I didn't know if I'd have the energy to even make it to the start line. After a not so good night sleep though, I woke up feeling pretty good and we headed to NJ.

Swim:
Felt great! Even before the start, looking out at the course which freaked me out and sent me running to the port o potty over and over last year, I was completely calm. I didn't do the warm up swim because it was a cool morning (upper 60s) and I knew if I got wet I would only freeze waiting for the start. When my wave did enter the water, I was shivering a little while we waited for the gun. The water was 78 degrees and yes, I was cold. Once we started though, I warmed up quickly. There were men and woman in my wave and I positioned myself up towards the front with the men. What a difference from last year! I felt great the whole swim. Being able to breath to both sides really keeps me going in a straight line and I don't even have to sight very often. I focused on my form and although accidentally, I swam proudly over someone.  No fear, no panic and kept it all under control. I didn't push the effort, kept it aerobic, and came out of the water feeling like a million bucks. And the best part, almost 8 minutes faster than last year!!!

Swim 1500m - 30:26 (this includes the run up to transition)
T1 - 2:00

Bike:
Nothing special here but I did surprise myself with how comfortable I was. I didn't think twice about dropping right down into aero position and felt fine with other cyclists so close to me (I ride by myself all the time and was worried that might hurt me come race day if I wasn't used to other bikes right on my sides). I definitely could have put a little more into the bike if I wanted to and I should have have used my aero water bottle because I really slow down when I go to get my bottle from the cage. But regardless, I was happy with how it went and averaged 20.2mph (last year, averaged 19mph).

Bike 25.5mi - 1:15:47
T2 - 2:14 (speed laces were too tight, had trouble getting into my shoes and I forgot my gel and had to run back)

Run:
All smiles. Legs felt good off the bike and I immediately fell into an 8min pace. I had no intentions to push anything on the run and just wanted to have fun. Which I did. At one point I had my normal "I'm done with this" thought but instead of letting those thoughts get the better of me, I reminded myself of the fight my Nanny put up all week. That was all I needed to stay positive to the finish.

Run 6.2mi - 50:17 (ave 8:07)

Official Finish - 2:40:44

8/62 F 35-39

313/978 Overall

Overall, a great brick workout and a 15 min PR from last year!! While I know this race was only a fraction of the distance I'll cover at IMFL, I left the race with so much confidence. I am on the right track for IMFL and I know I can do this. For the first time in training, my excitement is outweighing my fear and I'm looking forward to November 3rd.

(Nutrition: Ensure and banana for breakfast. Hammer gel prior to swim, gel and water with Hammer Fizz on bike, and another gel on run. Hammer Recoverite after race.)

"The Weekend" Recap

I survived my biggest weekend of training so far!! It would have been a perfect weekend, leaving me with overflowing confidence, if I wasn't cheated out of my ride.

Saturday 90 mi ride:
On Friday I watched the weather forecast every time it was on. Although they were calling for spotty rain/storms on Saturday, I thought if I started right at 5:30 I could squeeze it in. Well, when I woke up on Saturday at 4:30am it was raining.  After fuming for a while and trying to get a little more sleep, I made my way to the basement. I emailed my coach and deep inside I was hoping for an email back that said to cut this ride short and use it as a recovery week. Instead I got an email that ended, "I'm sure you'll make the most of the trainer." Ugh.

At 45 miles I took a short break to refill my bottles and grab a banana. When I got upstairs, the sky had cleared up and the street was starting to dry. I was so frustrated and so done with the trainer. The thought of a few more hours on that thing was killing me. But on the other hand, I really didn't feel like packing all my stuff up and driving a half hour to where I ride. After complaining and seriously contemplating quitting for the day, I quickly packed up and headed out. While it wasn't raining, it was a wet messy ride and it felt GREAT!! I really wish I would have waited out the rain longer and done the whole ride outside. I did the full 90 miles but I felt, and still do, really cheated. I don't feel like I got the full experience.

Sunday 1.5 mi OWS Race:
The whole purpose of this race was to practice wearing my wetsuit as I've never worn one and I won't have the chance to wear it again before race day. The water temperature was 79 degrees and while wetsuits were allowed, if you opted to wear one you were not eligible for awards. They warned anyone wearing a wetsuit about the possibility of overheating and recommended we stay hydrated while waiting for our waves. My goal for this race was to just go for a little swim. I had no intentions of pushing it and just wanted to focus on form and not panicking.

It was a little crowded at the start but surprisingly, it didn't faze me at all. I didn't have any moments of panic and just did my thing. I took some hits, gave some back and dealt with each person as I came up on them. I focused on my form and kept the effort aerobic. Everything was going great but I could feel myself warming up; my legs were so hot! I don't think peeing right before the start helped as that warm liquid was trapped from the get go. I had no choice, though. I had to pee so badly. Before I knew it, I was following the buoys back to the finish. I was passing people from the earlier waves and just knew I had a decent swim. As I came up the boat launch a volunteer grabbed my hand and all I could say was "please get this off me." They quickly unzipped me but it didn't help much; I was burning up. Andy quickly came over and honestly, I was having trouble seeing him. I was shaking really bad and thought for sure I was about to pass out. We quickly got me off my feet and out of the sun with some water and bananas. I've never had that feeling before so I'm really hoping it was due to wearing the wetsuit in warm water. I don't need this happening on race day. I finished the swim in 44:03 (43 min and some change according to my watch...I didn't cross the timing mat right away because I was trying to get out of my wetsuit).

I could not be any happier with how this swim went. It was exactly what I needed it to be and all my hard work is paying off. If I did the calculation right, and I can hold this pace (~1:36/100yds) for the IM swim, it puts me well under 1:20, which is where I had hoped to be.

Sunday 16 mi run:
I bolted home after the race and met a friend who is crazy enough to run 16 miles with me in the middle of the day during a gross heat wave (real feel temp was 96). The humidity was horrible and I agree with the weatherman who described it as "suffocating." We had no set pace in mind, as this wasn't the type of weather to really push your limits, and decided to just do what we could. For the most part, I felt ok but I did hit a couple rough patches.  We averaged a 9:36, which considering the race earlier in the morning and the weather, I was pretty happy.

So, with the exception of the bike ride, the weekend went great. While I don't feel like I got the true experience of the 90 miles, I'm proud of myself for not giving up. Like one of my FB friends said, "Adapt and overcome. Way to deal." It was good mental training, which I'm going to need on race day.

"The" Weekend

I've been eyeing up a weekend on my training schedule since my Coach first sent it to me. It's not the biggest weekend I have during training, not even close. But for some reason, I decided this specific weekend will be the one that will prove whether or not I have this in me. No idea why this one stuck out so much to me but I've been thinking about it since the start of training. It seemed so far away at the time and now all of a sudden, it's here. On tap this for this weekend: 90 mile ride, 1.5 mile OWS race, 16 mile run. I think it's the # 90 that made this weekend so significant to me. I never in a million years thought I'd be riding 90 miles. And with the way my crazy mind works, breaking things into chunks to handle it mentally, being able to ride 90 miles will give me the confidence to know I can do 112. So this weekend that has been on my mind for months now is here. And you know what? I'm not nervous or scared about it at all. I'm actually looking forward to it and the feeling I'm going to have when it's over. And I'm not talking about the sore crotch...

As for the OWS race, this will essentially be a practice swim with my new wet suit. I don't have many opportunities to test it out in open water before the race so I signed up for this event. I'm feeling so confident during my swims lately that I really hope that carries over to Sunday. I will admit, when reading the athlete note, my heart started to race a little bit. I just need to keep telling myself that this is nothing more than a practice swim and I'm out there to do my own thing. I will say this, I'm so happy I picked an IM that has the swim in clear water. I think a lot of my panic is from not being able to see what I'm swimming in. At least in FL I'll be able to see the jelly fish before they sting me.

After I make it through this weekend I have a cut back week which finishes with my first Tri of the season, NJ State Olympic. While I would love to all out race it and see how I stack up to when I did it last year, I'm just not in "racing" shape right now. Meaning, I haven't done much in terms of anaerobic training and that's apparent with my running paces. It's going to kill me to not go all out but I need to keep it in check and use it as nothing more than a brick workout. Either way, I'm looking forward to being around other people and in a racing atmosphere. I've missed that.

June Recap

Time is flying. And I'm not sure I like it.

June went pretty well and it seems I'm good for one breakdown a month. Hit a rough patch the last week of my 4 week training cycle where I was full of doubts and fears. It was worse than normal and for two days I couldn't even talk about training or the race without crying. Nothing is going wrong in training, in fact, things are going really well. It's just that I can't for the life of me see how this is going to be possible. With running, and specifically the 50 miler I did, I could *see* myself crossing the finish line. I've always been able to visualize the race, accept that it's going to be hard, and know I'll push through and finish. But with this, it's so foreign to me and I'm really struggling to see how it will all come together. And when I'm exhausted I'm not rational and my fears get the best of me. It was so bad last week that for a fraction of a second I was so scared that quitting actually crossed my mind. With tears streaming down my face I said to Andy, "promise me you won't let me quit." That's the first time EVER I said the word "quit" out loud and I couldn't believe that word came out of my mouth. But...a week later and feeling so much better, I know quitting would never happen. This little "journey" as they call it might beat me down and break me, but I WILL be an Ironman exactly 4 months from today.

So, back to June...here's a recap:

Swim - 37,350 yds

Bike - 520.39 mi

Run - 100 mi

I think the highlight of the month was hitting 84 miles on the bike. I did this ride, just like every other one so far, solo and I felt really good that I accomplished the distance. I had serious saddle issues that left me in a lot of pain for a few days but mentally and physically, I felt great out there. I will say, when I got off the bike all I could think was "how does anyone run a marathon after this?!?!" I'm pretty positive I could not have run very far when I was done with this ride; my legs were shot! But I've been told it's possible and that eventually you will feel like you can run. I'll keep believing!

I'm currently in my second build week of this 4 week cycle. I have a 1.5 mile OWS in 2 weeks then an Olympic distance tri the following weekend. While I won't be "racing" either of these, I can't wait to be in a race atmosphere. I feel like I've been in a bubble all alone for months and I can't wait to feel the excitement of race day.

IMFL...4 MONTHS FROM TODAY!