Race Schedule and Results

Monday, August 25, 2008

Great Buckeye Challenge Race Report

I won't bore you with too many details. :)

A couple of words to describe the race yesterday - BRUTAL, hot, not fun, but definitely worth every step!

The day started out with a 1.2 mile swim. I've become slower and slower at the swim and I've accepted that. Seeing the quarter mile run UPHILL to the transition didn't make me want to even get out of the water. And to top all my happy feelings off, I knew the day was supposed to top out around 90 degrees, and my wave was the last to go. In good ole' Ohio racing fashion, we started about 20 minutes late and my wave went off close to 9am. It was going to be a long day. I had a few goggle problems at first, but got into my slow and steady groove. I felt really good throughout the swim, although my time was nothing to write home about. Swim time with the run to transition = 51:19

Had a good t1 with no major problems. In and out in 1:50

The bike was a tough 56. We're used to flat road and by flat I mean NO INCLINE WHAT-SO-EVER! This bike was hilly. We'd ridden it before though so knew what we were in for. The hills seemed even bigger the second time around too! (Gotta love 2 loop courses!) It was starting to get hot by the last 10 miles, enough that I knew it was going to be a tough run, but I felt good. I had some problems with my back right off the bat, but I think it could have been from my positioning in the swim maybe? I dunno, but my hamstring and lower back are killing me today. Anyway, the bike felt good. I was able to drink a bunch, eat and keep my speed consistent. I was hoping to average 17.5 mph with the hills and came out with an 18.1 average. Success! Total Bike time - 3:02:33

Took my time at t2 - knew that I needed some Potassium, put my socks on, put on a visor and walked out to the mat. time = 2:27

Ah the run. I don't know what it is about me and half Ironman runs. I've not had much luck. I started out slow, but there was no relief from the sun and heat. By now it was nearly 1:00pm. There wasn't a cloud to shade the sun. There weren't a ton of trees. The course was a 2 lap out and back. People were walking everywhere! I shuffled along until mile 2.5 where I saw Tom (he was at about 4.25 miles). He was walking which isn't like him at all. He was having a hard time breathing I knew that he was getting ready to hit a water station so I told him to walk there and get help. I kept shuffling along, but my pace was getting slower and slower. All I could think about was Tom and how he was doing. I hear sirens of an ambulance and convinced myself that it was him they were taking away. I started walking. At the water stops, I was taking water, ice, anything that they could give me. I wasn't peeing, but I was still drinking. Where was it all going? :) I met up with Tom again around mile 6.75. He had continued walking and felt better. We walked together for a little while and then started jogging. At one point we crossed a road that was manned by a police officer. As we were coming up to it we noticed that the officer was not there. He was tending to a girl that was out cold in the grass. We ran over to help him because we both had ice in cups. She started coming to and the cop called a squad. She didn't know where she was. Her eyes kept rolling back into her head. That's the kind of day it was. Tom ended up being able to run again, I kept walking. Around mile 10 I gave in and started shuffling again. I was going to get through this come hell or high water! And I did just that.

I finished, with a run time of 2:43:10 and an overall time of 6:41:18. Not anywhere near the 6:15:00 I was aiming for, but looking at the results today from the website, I think there were a lot of people who were not anywhere near their goal times. I was alright with things. It was incredibly hard. I finished 14 minutes faster than the last half Ironman and didn't need medical attention this time (which is always a good sign).

I learned a lot about my mental capacity yesterday and what my body is really capable of. I could have given up. I could have walked the entire 13.1, but I knew that's not what I'd do in the Ironman and I've always been taught to train the way you want to perform. So I have another half in 30 days. Maybe then I'll hit my goal time of 6:15. Until then, I'll keep training like I mean it!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Definition of burnout...

Wanting nothing to do with my scheduled bike and run today. Wanting to lay on the couch, with a pizza and do nothing. Feeling blah. Really really blah.

Hehehe - but of course, that's not what happens! I guess I'm not really burnt out, just have a case of the Monday's and it's Tuesday (being away this weekend kind of threw me off a little). We went to Cincinnati with my parents and had a great time. It was way hot at the baseball game, but still fun and then we went to Belterra in Indiana for some gambling. Not quite Vegas, but it did just fine in satisfying my slot machine withdrawal! We finished the trip with a stop to Ikea. Can't complain about that. Here are some pictures of the weekend:
Before our ride on Saturday - it was actually pretty chilly when we started and we needed our arm warmers!!!
Our view at the ball game and a random picture of Tom and I (maybe a little bored at the game???)

Belterra is a river boat casino and my dad's the "King of the World"

Just Brady and I on the boat before we lost some money! :)

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Ironman Training

Now I feel like I'm training. I don't know why exactly I feel like this is the first "real" weekend. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm totally beat and keep going and going like the Energizer bunny. I dunno.

Anyhoo, I haven't posted my workouts in a while. Give you a glimpse into my world for a minute -

Friday - Ran 10 miles. 10 hard miles to be exact. We averaged 8:48's which made me really happy, especially since our usually fast first mile was a 9:12. I felt great and was happy to see the progress I'm making.

Today - Biked 73 miles in 4:10. I think we averaged 17.3 which was good - between all of the 4 way stops, traffic lights, the stop at the dog park and the stops to pee, that was a decent average. I would like to be able to maintain that for the majority of my training rides and have found that the last few long ones have been over 17.2 or so. We never will be able to just ride out here - too many stops and whatnot so I know that kills my average. After the ride, we went for a short 2 mile transition run and my legs felt good about a half mile into it. Also I trained yesterday and today with Gatorade Endurance which is served on the Ironman course. Both Tom and I have decided that's the way to go with nutritional drinks. It's really high in sodium which is good for me and today was the first time that I haven't been a complete salt stick after a bike and run. And I like the taste which is always nice!

Tomorrow - we're planning a 6 mile run and a 1.2 mile swim. Should be a good end to a busy week. Oh, and we're heading to Cincinnati to see the Reds play and then heading to Belterra for a night of gambling with my mom and dad. I guess that'll be the really good end to a busy weekend! :)

One week is my first half of the season... gosh I hope I'm ready!!!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Our secret lives...

Tom and I have secret lives. I thought that it was time I shared them with you.



Wednesday, August 13, 2008

It's been a while...

I know that I haven't posted in a while. That's cause I'm busy. Story of my life right? :)


Actually this past weekend was a little vacation for Tom and I. He was in Washington DC for a conference starting Wednesday but met me in PA on Friday night to visit some family. I drove in by myself on Thursday. It could quite possibly be the most boring drive ever, but it was well worth the 8.5 hours in the car! I was going to see my cousins, their families, my aunt and uncle and my grandparents. We had a busy weekend, but it was so much fun. Tom and I definitely wish that we lived closer and although I've written over and over about not being a fan of the hills, I could see us living there if we needed to move out of Ohio! :)


One of the main reasons that we were there was because my cousin Carolyn was doing her first triathlon (my other cousin Chris was also doing his first Olympic distance tri) so we decided to be cheerers instead of racers. It was so fun. Carolyn did an awesome job, coming in 14th out of almost 40 people in her age group. She was smiling every time we saw her and although she said that she might sign up for another next year, I knew that she'd be hooked. She ended up signing up for another one in September. Next year... September... it's all the same. See... tri's are like crack - very addicting (not as bad for you though!). Anyhoo, here are some pictures of her - I'm so proud of her, not only for rocking her first race, but also for being the first person I know to say that the swim was her favorite part!!
Chris did awesome in his Olympic, although we didn't expect anything different. He's the kind of fast that Tom and I dream of. I'm talking 5:50 miles in the 10k part of the Olympic, only to later say that he didn't feel like he was running that fast. He took 3rd in his age group. Congrats! You're unbelievable.


The remainder of the weekend, we just hung out, caught up, worked out, ate, shopped, etc. It was great to get away!!! They are all coming to IMFL so I'm anxious to have them there and know that they will all be great cheerleaders for Tom and I.


As for Tom and I and our training - all is well. I can't believe that I'm down to about 80 days until the race. I'm starting to freak out a little - more for the swim than anything. I guess I'm under the impression that if I can make it out of there alive, I have a good chance of finishing! :) We have a tough week of training this week and then next weekend (the 24th) is our first half IM distance race. It's described as a "challenging" course so I'm just hoping to beat my pathetically slow race from last year when the heat got the best of me. No other goals than that. :)

Monday, August 4, 2008

It's fun being me

I have to say... I have a lot of fun. My weekend was no exception. Saturday we did a HARD 104 mile bike ride. Did I mention it was hard? Wowzers - it was hot, a little windy, bumpy roads that shook your brains a little, not much water, etc.! It was an organized ride by a company called Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. You sign up in the morning, they give you a map with different distance options, mark the roads with little arrows and send you on your way. It was definitely a true test of my mental ability because I thought that I might die at one point - wasn't feeling it. But obviously I lived to tell.

From there we went to Wendy's where I enjoyed a monster nugget and fries (a true recovery meal of a champ).

That night we headed to some friends for an annual party that they throw. This was our first year going. I have to say, it's going to have to make our calendars every summer. So the people that were there are mainly girls from a chat board that I'm on and their hubbies. They are an awesome group of women and I'm so glad that I can call them friends! You girls are so fun! Here we are at the beginning of the night (yeah, I have REALLY bad tri top tan lines):
And here's me by the end. No, I had surprisingly not been drinking. The one who got me to actually do this had been though and told me it didn't hurt. Last time I believe a girl who's been drinking!

Sunday was a little bit of a recovery day for both of us - Tom had drank for two on Saturday night and I was pooped from the ride. We just hung out and I started my latest and greatest project - knocking off a Vera Bradley purse. I am so excited with how it turned out! And SO much cheaper than buying the real thing (which I was going to do the week before but couldn't stomach spending $67 on a tote that I knew I could make for $30). Here's the final product:
And just for kicks, here's a picture of my babies. They are the love of my life.
Have a great week everyone. Tom's heading to DC with Team Type 1, I'm heading to PA to visit some family, Tom's meeting me there, etc. It'll be busy!