Wednesday, August 26, 2009

LaGrande Sprint Tri 8.22.09

My third triathlon was in LaGrande, OR. It is a two and a half hour drive from Boise, which wasn't all that bad. Shauna and I drove over Friday night and we talked the entire time, so it went by really fast! We got to town in time to find the pool and drive the bike course. We were excited about the course it looked pretty flat and it was neat riding out an old farm road with a couple of really cool barns. We went back to the hotel which was across the street from Dairy Queen so we had to get a blizzard of course. We slept pretty well, better than before the other races for sure. We got up at 5:45 am to eat breakfast and get our bike loaded back on the car. We got to the pool around 7:15 and picked up our packets and got our body marking and numbers. We were 67 and 76. We set up our transition and then we waited around for race instructions. Shauna was in the first swim heat so she started at 0830. Someone had put their time in as 40 minutes so the second heat didn't start until 0915..to try to allow enough time for the slowest swimmers....it only took her 18 minutes, so we had to sit around for 25 minutes before Kathy and I started. This was my first tri with a pool swim. I don't think it was much better than open water.....our lane had four people in it, us 3 girls were fine, but the guy in our lane started out last and in full force he passed us all kicking like crazy and about half way through he ran out of gas and slowed way down forcing all of us to have to pass him, which was not an easy task as his arms and legs were going wild. Oh well, I guess I just need to speed up so I am in a lane with normal, fast swimmers. I had thought it would take me 11:15, but I was done in 10:05. So next time I will put 10:00. The bike was great it was an out and back, I saw Shuana coming in as we were going out and then I saw Kathy just before I got to the turn around. It was a fun course, a gradual uphill on the way back, but not too bad. The run started out rough with a really big hill right off the bat. That was a little hard, but after that it was pretty easy downhill. I passed Kathy about half way through the run. I tried to run with her for a little bit, but I ended up passing her on the downhill part. I was really happy with my time of 1:26:08! I think that will be my last tri for the year....next race will be Hidden Springs Duathlon and then just some running for the winter until the Spring Sprint in April!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Training - Run

I ran 9 miles this morning in 1:30. It is the farthest and longest I have ever run in my life. And to add to the accomplishment, I did it all by myself. It is definitely easier with a partner, but I didn't let my mind talk me out of it. I kept thinking, I am never with a friend during the race.....so might as well practice by myself too (when I have to).

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Emmett Sprint Triathlon 8.8.09

Second triathlon in the books. I was so nervous before the race today....I almost threw up. I thought it wouldn't be as bad as the first race, but it was. Overall the race was really good and I felt pretty good at the end.
It was raining that morning (totally unlikely weather for August) and it was only about 60 degrees when we started the swim. But the sun peeked out just before our start so there was no rain on the course.
We were able to get in the water and warm up and I was at the start line before the gun, so that alone was in improvement from Twin. The swim itself was much better too, it was a little shorter so I am sure that helped....but I also was able to actually swim freestyle and put my face in the water without pure panic. There were a lot more people and that was a little crazy, but I was prepared for that. I was glad to see the shore, but I felt pretty good about the swim. It took me a little more time to get out of my wetsuit than last time, but I don't care because I needed it today!
The bike course was pretty easy and really fast, it was mostly downhill and I was so happy because I didn't use my breaks on my downhills! Yeah, I am getting braver!
I had a little trouble starting my run because I felt like my calves were going to cramp up at any second....I am sure it is because I didn't drink enough water since it was cold out this morning.
All in all it was a really good race and I feel great about finishing in the top half of my age group...13/27!

BTW - Kathy finished 4 in her age group! Great Job my friend!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Training - Run

Kari and I ran our longest run on Sunday. 8 miles in 1:20 minutes. It felt pretty good. The first two miles and the last half mile were a little rough, but not bad. Our goal is to do a Half Marathon in October. I am so happy to say I can run 8 miles....it is amazing to me considering I could barely run 10 minutes just a few months ago.

Training - Emmett

Kathy and I went out to Emmett last Saturday to practice the course for our Tri next weekend. We were pleasantly surprised at the reservoir. It was really pretty and the water was a little chilly, but perfect for a wetsuit swim. We decided to swim for 15 minutes and that went okay. I still freaked out a little at first, maybe it is the tightness of my wetsuit....hopefully that doesn't happen on race day. Then we decided to ride our bikes out and back from the reservoir. The ride out was 6 miles and pretty easy....the ride back was a little harder, uphill to the dam...but a good 13 mile ride. Then we drove down into town where T2 will be and ran the race route. It was a pretty easy 3 miles. The course is an easy flat loop. We finished at about 1pm and it was pushing 100 degrees. It is supposed to be a little cooler on race day and we will start earlier so it should go just fine. Hopefully I worked out the fears and I will be able to sleep Friday night. I am sure I will still have butterflies about the swim. I just can't seem to train enough for that.

Twin Falls 7.18.09

Before

After

This was my first triathlon. I was so nervous I swear I didn't sleep a wink the night before. I had been planning for Emmett to be the first one, but I felt ready to do one sooner. Twin was a pretty long sprint distance, but I had been training pretty well, so here goes!

The swim was way worse than I thought it would be. I wore my wetsuit more for floatation than temperature, it was a warm lake. But I knew I wouldn't drowned if I had it on. The course was an out and back and that red buoy looked so far away! It was a floating (treading water) start and I was not even to the start line when the gun went off, so that freaked me out. So I just started swimming and then panic set it. I could not put my face in the water, every time I did I felt like I was suffocating. I could not hold my breath for more than one arm stroke. I went to "sweet spot" (part of my swim technique to rest) and I pretty much floated on my back until I calmed down enough to try it again. It was strange because I could handle the kicking and the waves and I was not disoriented and I could see where I was and everything....it was just the fact that I couldn't swim. I even did a little breast stroke, or my version since I have never been taught the breast stroke. I could tell that I wasn't last, and I wasn't being passed by very many people, even though I was barely moving in the water. It seemed to take forever to get the the turn around and then once I made it there, I was so happy I almost cried. I just kept telling myself all I had to do was make it out of the water. My mind kept drifting to "why in the hell did I think I could do this" to "i still have to ride my bike and run after this". Finally I could see myself getting closer to the docks (which we had to swim under to get out of the water - not easy in a floaty wetsuit.) But I made it and I wasn't the last one out of the water. Thank God! I was able to strip my wetsuit pretty easily on the run up to T1. I was able to put on my bike shoes pretty quickly and compse myself enough to keep going. The bike course started with about a 1 mile climb out of the canyon and then the next 15 miles were flat and on the highway. I did okay on that part until about mile 14 when my front tire went flat. I hoped I wouldn't have to change the tube since I had not practiced that.....I stopped and filled it up with the CO2 cartridge and that did the trick. I made it 2 more flat miles and then the downhill into the canyon. I was so happy to see T2. Put on my running shoes and grabbed my ipod and I was on my way. I was so happy all I had to do was run....even though it was 5.25 miles at noon in 105 degree weather. The run started out on this nice gravel trail on the way out of the canyon and then turned into this single dirt trail and then into a rock climb and stair walking out onto new black top that was so hot you could see the heat waves. I made sure to walk at each water station and drink a full cup and pour a cup on my head and down my shirt. I felt pretty good on the run, all things considered and I was so happy when I started the downhill of the canyon (it was the same route as the bike, so I had seen it before) I knew I only had one mile to go. I finally came around the corner to the finish line....it never felt so good to see FINISH! I made it!

2009 Races

Here are the Highlights of my races and training up to the Triathlon

March 2009 - 5k run - 33 minutes
April 2009 - 5k run - 30 minutes
May 2009 - 5k run - 28 minutes
May 2009 - Duathlon - 1:11
July 2009 - Team Runner for Spudman Tri - 10k run - 59 minutes

BTW
My husband finished a Half Marathon in July- 2:10

The Beginning

I had done a few 5k fun runs over the past few years and a few days after I found out I was pregnant I did my first Duathlon. In September 2006 I did the Hidden Springs Duathlon, it was a Mountain Bike Short Course (1.2 mile run, 5 mile bike ride, 1.2 mile run) in 1:04. I loved it even though I was nervous about the new little peanut in my uterus. I told myslef that day that I would do the race the next year, which would be 4 months after delivery....totally doable right. Wrong! I got so sick the week after that and I totally quit working out during pregnancy. It showed too because I gained 40 lbs and on delivery day I weighed 184. The first 20 pounds came off pretty easily and then I stayed at that 160 mark for the summer. When I went back to work and quit breastfeeding I lost another 10 pounds. Then I stayed at 150 for the next year and a half until my baby was 2 years old. I had always said I wouldn't be one of those mom's that still had baby weight 2 years later.....but oh the ideas we have before we are parents.
I finally found some motivation in a weight loss challenge at work. We did "The Final Cut" by Jilliam Michaels. It was a 30 day program and I lost 10 lbs (and won $60)! Finally I was back to my pre pregnancy weight and I finally felt good enough to exercise and I was just tired of being a fat mom! It was late Spring and I decided I would start running because it was so nice outside, and I didn't have a gym membership, so what else could I do. My husband started running with me and we progressed pretty easily to running 3 miles, then 4 and then 5. One of his high school friends told me about a triathlon he was doing and it got me thinking.....maybe I could do that. So I signed up for a Swim Workshop with my toddlers swim teacher and I bought a road bike. I started training and researching and I decided that I would do the Emmett Sprint in August. I have loved every bit of training and I really never get bored because if I don't feel like running, then I ride my bike or I swim. I still need more practice on the swim, but the bike and run are going well. So here we are on the road to a Tri.