This might become a habit...

The whole racing naked thing is going to be a craze... you just wait and see.  All the cool kids are going to be doing it soon. 

I want to write a race report from yesterday's Olympic tri, but I worry that people don't really want to hear the details.  But my mom did a great job taking pictures, and well, it was a great race, so I'm going to.  Skim it if you want, just look at the pictures, or sit back with a drink and enjoy.

So yesterday was the Tri-Tech International Tri in Columbus.  Again, it was in our backyard so I was super comfortable with the course.  I was slightly worried about the run because it was a lot of trail running, but not nice trails.  More of grassy-area-that-is-sometimes-mowed-and-because-of-the-rain-here-in-Ohio-lately-more-mushy-muddy-and-uneven-than-anything trails.  I loves me some of those... let me tell you.  I didn't really talk much about the race - chalk it up to being a little nervous or the fact that I was super busy last week. Ehhhh

So Sunday we get up (like how I forged right ahead of all the prep??? I'm trying to make this easier for your reading pleasure) and it's kind of gloomy.  Not raining, but I look at the radar and it's coming.  But it's calm, and cool so I don't mind.  We load up the car and make our 15 minute commute to the park (have I mentioned that I love local races???).  I know it's a small race (um... there were 300 people total) so transition is tiny and the parking lot is fairly empty.  They had given Tom the wrong bib when we checked in on Friday (call it women's intuition or whatever, but I just had this sneaking suspicion that it wasn't right, even though the guy checked the list and marked us off) so we took care of that, got our timing chips, swim caps and transition set up.  We had primo spots in transition - SCORE!  Hit the potties one more time, met up with my mom and dad to give them our camera (they are the best sherpa's!) and then saw BDD who came to spectate!!!  YAY!

Wetsuit is going on easier and easier each time I wear it!  :)  The process is so less painful than it was in Knoxville.  Here's my obligatory wetsuit and swim cap picture.  And Tracy, you can't tell me that I look cute in a swim cap.  Totally unflattering.  Tom and I were ready to roll.

My wave was the Clydes, Athenas, relays, and anyone under 34 (although they did have a collegiate division and they weren't included in my wave) and with all these people, there were maybe 65 people in my wave.  Small.  It was an out and back course and let me just tell you - our water is not deep enough to do this.  And a note to race directors, please don't use orange and yellow swim caps when the buoys are orange and yellow.  The horn went off and I felt great, but my site buoys keep moving.  :)  I swam wide, because it was deeper, but people were walking on the way out which is a bad sign, as the way back, we'd be swimming closer to the shore.  It felt like forever to the turn around and then I had the pleasure of swimming into the oncoming waves.  Total cluster.  I loved the guy walking in the middle of the swimmers... the entire second lap.  He made good time for being in waist deep water. Ugh.  Anyway, I'm slow as always. 29:12, but comfortable so that's alright.  And I always smile running to transition.  I think it's still some of the "thank God I survived" mentality that hasn't left since I taught myself how to swim!

T1 - 1:15  Same as Tom.  Dang... didn't beat him.

The bike was one big loop and literally went 5 miles from our house so I know the roads.  I wanted to race naked again (no watch you crazy people... swimming, riding a bike and running with no clothes would be so so gross), but I planned on having my bike computer.  Buuuuuut, the hubby took it off my bike when he was cleaning it Saturday.  Sneaky little bugger.  So I had no data.  A little harder with an Olympic race.  I just hunkered down and went as fast as my legs would take me.  I felt sluggish at times, and really powerful at times.  Tom passed me at one point and told me I was going 25mph at that point.  I smiled... I felt like I was totally doing 25.  Heck, I could have been going 15 and I wouldn't have known. The bike was uneventful, until I had to turn.  No breaks.  For some reason the breaks on Kestrel are all messed up with my race wheels (the wheel seems true, but I can't go back and forth between my Ovals and my Flashpoints and it's really frustrating).  Anyone else have this?  In any event, I didn't feel it so much during the race because I wasn't breaking much, but I get to the dismount line and  in typical Colleen fashion gracefully try to stop, but my breaks barely slow me and then must have dried and I almost went flying. Awesome. I ended up doing the 24.8 miles (I hear it was a little longer than that... I don't know because someone stole my computer) in 1:10:09  (21.2mph).  I'm happy with that.  My mother captured this beautiful picture of me as I nearly face planted.  Ha! 

T2 - in and out 0:53.  Tom beat me again.  Dagnabbit

Like I said before, I knew that the 6.2 mile run was going to be a lot of trail (like 5 miles of it).  We run the trails all the time, but they just kind of suck.  They are bumpy and uneven and haven't been mowed lately.  It was drizzling all morning (which was great for the race, but not for the mud).  I just tried to not think about it.  I told Tom before the race to run in the mud and puddles and pretend you are a kid.  We can always wash our running shoes.  I forgot to tighten my speedlaces, but my shoes fit like gloves so I was fine.  I found a groove and stayed there.  It wasn't terribly fast or hard, but what I thought I could maintain.  I saw Zach and Jim and Tracey and Tom all ahead of me, looking strong and we exchanged our "good lucks" and "looking strongs".  It's so nice to have familiar faces on the course.  In a cruel and totally uncool fashion, we had to run past the finish line to finish another out and back before the end of the run.  By about mile 5, I felt like I was laboring.  I hadn't seen anyone in my age group (like all day), but there were two girls gaining some ground on me.  As I saw the mile 6 sign, and the finish line, I decided they would not pass me.  I had another gear.  Coach Tracy yelled and yelled for me to find that next gear and I gave it all I had. I probably looked like a total tool.  But those girls didn't get me!  6.2 miles in 49:45 (8:01's).  So close to sub 8's

Since I didn't start my watch, I had no clue what my finish time was.  My mom thought that she had calculated it around 2:38 which would have been super close to a PR.  We changed, loaded our gear in the car and went to look at the results.

Wait, did I read that right? A freaking 2:31:13?  I was so stinking excited. (and if you look closely, Tom's AG is listed below me.  He PRed by 11 minutes.  The kid is pretty badass right?).  They didn't have the awards ready to handout (we have to pick them up in a week), but I ended up nabbing 1st in my AG.  I was the 5th woman (not including the collegiate girls, but they didn't list them with our results).  I'm liking that.  It makes me feel like my hard work and struggles are paying off.  I'm still middle of the pack overall, which is fine (okay, maybe slightly better in this race), but I feel like I'm making some significant progress.  Who knows how that will equate to the long distance stuff, but I'm hoping it bodes well for me.

Thanks again so much to my mom and dad for capturing our day in pictures, enduring the drizzle, and cheering louder than anyone.  Tom and I are super lucky to have you!!!

And thanks BDD for coming out and cheering for us.  I know you had a looming 12 mile run and a crappy day on Saturday.  Hopefully hanging out with my mom and dad, cheering us on at the race helped take your mind off of things for a while!

Congrats to everyone who raced.  Tracy took first overall woman, Jim was first in his AG, Zack was first in his AG.  Tom kicked butt with an 11 minute PR.  I PRed by about 7.5 minutes.  I'd say it was a successful day.
 
I then proceeded to stuff my face at Bob Evans with all of these fabulous people and my parents and sister, then drive to the casino to drink away any post race soreness that I might feel.  I didn't hit the jackpot (sorry Jason... maybe next time because Tom and I would TOTALLY love a personal chef).  But it was the perfect end to a perfect Sunday!

Jump on the bandwagon kiddos... racing naked  is as cool as peeing on your bike. Right Triathlon Rocks??? :)

REV3 Knoxville

It's all about perspective.  I learned that this weekend.  If you live in a hilly area, this course is awesome.  If you live in central Ohio, this course is brutal (but still awesome).  If you train all winter in a warm place where you can swim and bike and run outside, it's not too early for a half Ironman.  If you live in Central Ohio and Mother Nature hates you,  it's going to be a bit of a struggle.  If you think about how lucky you are to have the ability to move your body 70.3 miles, you'll love every minute of it, no matter how slow, hard, and hilly the day is!

We got to Knoxville on Friday, checked into out hotel (which was located right at the finish line and perfect), checked into the race, walked around the finish line area and finally met up with teammates.  It was so fun to finally put faces with names and I'll always laugh about us twitter and facebook stalking people as they walked by in their lime green visors, trying to figure out who everyone was.  A lot of  "hi, I'm Colleen... aka Irondiva or @CBKingery. :)  We ended up grabbing a great Mexican dinner on Friday night with a bunch of the team and Tom's teammates.  Lots of laughs!

Saturday was super busy.  We met in the morning for the practice swim.  Holy crap - the water was cold.  And yet, I freaked a little.  Again, about perspective.  I've been swimming in a pool which is probably 82 degrees or so.  Tom's two teammates are from California and thought the 62 degree water of the Tennessee River wasn't too bad.  I couldn't feel my feet, hands or face.  But it was fine.  The TYR Hurricane Cat 5 wetsuit was AWESOME and I'm not just saying that because they are a sponsor.  The thing freaking rocks... flexible, no chaffing, kept me floating and warm! :)  Two thumbs up.  

After the practice swim, I showered, busted out my "I pee on my bike" shirt (thanks Triathlon Rocks!) and grabbed some grub before volunteering at the registration tent for a few hours.  People loved my shirt - some took pictures, some asked if I really do that, others just said "best shirt we've ever seen" (btw, if you want one, you can contact Triathlon Rocks and tell them I sent you - they'll give you a special deal!  Their website should be up shortly, but they are on twitter @TriathlonRocks). 

After volunteering, I got my bike to check, realized my brakes were rubbing something fierce that I couldn't fix, totally freaked out and luckily the great people at the mechanic tent took care of Papa Smurf and made it better.  I love my Kestrel to death, but the breaks are a little funky and I changed my wheels out which weren't working real well with the set up.  They got my bike done by 7:15 (bike check in closed at 6) but I was still able to get it in there, all settled and ready. Quick bite to eat with Tom's team and I was ready to crash!

I slept well the night before the race, but had been on my feet WAY more than I wanted on Saturday and woke up Sunday a little groggy and sleepy.  And nervous.  Did I mention that?  Holy nerves.

Tom, his team, my twin Kristin and I walked to transition and got everything set up.  It was chilly in the morning and all I could think about was how cold the water was going to be.  My stomach was flip flopping.  I found Tom and we walked out of transition and the tears started.  I just felt like I was in over my head with this race.  He assured me that I was fine and to remember that I'm not racing it.  This isn't a course that suited me well - we don't have the terrain around Columbus to get us fully prepared for the climbs, and it's early in the season.  I knew I wanted to treat it as a training day and just get through it. 

We got our wetsuits on and made our way to the swim start.  It's an in water start and all of the half women started together in pink caps.  Tom was in our wave too because he changed to the aqua bike so I smiled when the man on the mic yelled "the party has started now that the women are in the water".  The women and Tom. :)  He was loving it...

Swim - I positioned myself in the back of the pack.  Tom didn't think I needed to be that far back, but felt like I was going to panic.  There were a lot of pink caps in front of me and the water was cold (although it felt warmer than the practice swim).  The horn sounded and I panicked.  Full on "oh my God, I'm going to die" panic.  Called that one.  As the pink caps swam off, I did a quick pep talk.  I can do this.  I swim all the time.  Head in a go.  Maybe a minute later, I was totally calm, swimming in a body free bit of water and passing some pink caps, then some yellow (the wave before).  The turn out seemed to be 5 miles away and there was not the help of the current that I was hoping for.  I felt like I was in the water forever, and that was fine.  I got out in 48 minutes.  Shoot... that was really slow.  I later learned that the course was long and on average, people were 5-6 minutes longer than usual.  Made me feel better, but I'm still slow.

T1pokey for some reason and didn't get out real quick.  I think it was like 2:30. HA!

Bike - Remember how I said Tom was going to bike with me.  Yeah, that lasted about .05 miles! :)  This course was a dream for him (he was in the top 5% of the bike overall).  I just got comfortable and knew it would be tough.  I didn't however think it would be that tough (Wes, you warned me and I will forever listen to you!).  Again, perspective... when you don't bike any hills, it felt like I was climbing mountains.  The course was beautiful and I really have to tip my hat to REV3.  The volunteers were amazing and I loved having police AND volunteers at ever intersection.  I used my small ring a lot.  I just rode comfortable.  I ate when I needed. Drank my EFS Grape (love that stuff)  Yes, I peed on my bike.  I think I averaged like 17.2mph and I was thrilled with that.   It might have been my slowest half bike at 3:15, but I was happy with it.

T2- I got to transition and Tom was finished with his race and waiting.  Kristin's bike was the only one in my rack at this point (she rocked her race btw getting 2nd in our age group and I am so excited for her).  I guess others struggled with the course too.  I couldn't for the life of me get my belt on right.  And I think I yelled at Tom to not take pictures of me trying to get my shoes on.  Yelled hi to Meredith and Dave and got on my way.

Run - Again, I just wanted to take this run comfortably.  I turned my watch off.  I didn't care what pace I was running.  My legs felt a little sluggish, but I was happy.  The first couple of miles were flat and went by quickly, but I knew I was running a very slow comfortable pace.  I got to maybe mile 3.5 and the climbs started.  Short and steep.  Mile 4 had a huge climb.  Miles 5-8 were up and down.  I never thought "I want to be done" but I knew that I was running a very slow pace.  It felt right that day...  I saw some teammates and cheered them on.  I talked to people, thanked the volunteers and police.  Running to the finish line was amazing. 

I finished in 6:19:xx. That's slow for me.  But it was a great race - I was comfortable, happy, enjoying it.  I didn't care about being fast, what my pace was, where I was in the pack.  I just moved forward.  A teammate told me to repeat "I eat pain for breakfast" when it hurt and I added "I eat hills for lunch" which kept me smiling.

I ended up 5th in my age group out of 20.  Not too shabby for a training day.  Trakkers rocked - I'm so honored to be racing with my teammates who are pure rock stars... a few podiums, a few big PR's!

So I'm home now and sick as a dog.  Sunday night I started to feel crappy with a sore throat and itchy eyes.  Yesterday was all out cold.  Last night I slept 11 hours, got up, ate breakfast and went back to bed for another 4.5 hours.  And I could shut my eyes now and probably sleep till morning.  My body is run down.  Oh... and for all of you asking about Tom's Achilles.  We don't know what's wrong.  It started bothering him 2 weeks ago.  No distinctive pop.  Lots of swelling and absolutely no way he could run.  Not a ton of pain, but went to the ART tent on Saturday before the race and they wouldn't touch it.  They said that there was a visible ridge which made them think rupture.  YIKES.  He raced the aqua bike Sunday (and came in 2nd out of 8!) and it felt fine, but he couldn't walk the rest of the evening.  It's probably two times the size it should be and we have an appointment with a sports med doctor on Thursday.  I'll keep you updated!

REV3 does things right.  From check in, to the volunteers, the race and the finish line party, everything was top notch. I honestly felt this was one of the most organized races I've ever done.  All of the little nuisances that usually bother me at races weren't there.  This is a top notch race and I'm hoping to be back next year.  But, I'm going to have to find some hills this time around!