I feel a bit like Paul Harvey who would start off his radio shows with the line that I can hear even now, "You know what the news is, in a minute, you're going to hear the rest of the story..."
So as far as race reports go, here's
the news: Ironstar 1/2 Ironman in Conroe, Texas on 11/8/2009 - official time: 6:08
- early morning wake-up call...incredible friends and teammates Nancy and Karen got up early with me to take me to the race site. Almond butter and banana sandwich on the way. Some water and coffee, too. Although, as Karen noted, the Super 8 in Conroe promised "coffee available 24 hours a day" - and indeed it was. "Available" does not mean "warm", "fresh", or "good"!!!
- easy parking...this triathlon was SO small in terms of participants...loved that! Met up with Jim in the parking lot and once we got our gear together, we walked down to get body marked. Again, SUPER easy b/c there were so few people.
- transition area was a mere fraction of the size of other tris that I've done and there was something really nice about that
- Jim and I got set up and then wandered around for a while with Karen and Nancy...nice, relaxed group
- the weather was perfect...slightly overcast, cool but not cold...it was going to be a good race day!
- eventually we returned to transition to grab our wetsuits and begin the wetsuit wiggle (it helps to have folks like Nancy there to make sure they are pulled up all the way, etc...!)
- leisurely walk down to the swim start, some last minute instructions from the race director, and we were minutes from the start...
Swim I was in a wave with all women 35 and older...see, it WAS a small triathlon! We were just behind some men in fluorescent green caps which I only mention because I used some of their caps as markers in between buoys! We started in a small cove and then turned out into Lake Conroe. Mostly a flat swim. A little bit of chop out in the lake but pretty calm...okay, VERY calm if I compare it to CDA! Decided to creep up toward the front of the swim and that turned out to be a good idea. Two women darted out in front very quickly and I really never saw them again in the water. Another woman and I leap-frogged the whole way. We were never more than a stroke or half a stroke from one another and I think we probably both pulled each other along in that pattern. We followed one another into the final cove, and I finished less than a second behind her. It was funny because while I felt myself spurred on by wanting to keep her within reach (and sometimes a tad behind me!), in that final stretch I didn't really have the desire to pull a "come from just behind" move and beat her to the swim finish. I would have felt obnoxious - as if 1 second is a big deal?! Anyway, felt good about my swim. Easy sighting, strong strokes, 4th out of the water for my wave and age group (16 of us total in my AG).
T1 - uneventful...pretty quick...decided against arm warmers...good call
Bike
It was a little chilly in the beginning but nothing like it has been in years past according to friends and teammates who've done the race before. We had driven the course on Saturday so I knew what to expect but still I forget what 56 miles of rolling hills feel like until I do them on race day! Found a woman to leap-frog with for the first half of the race but when we hit the turn-around point (well, the mid-point), I didn't see her again. I think she stopped at a water stop where I just grabbed a water and kept pedaling. Saw Jim at that point and that made me smile! Lots of strong women cyclists...some were flying past...someday? Maybe someday?! But I felt strong and was enjoying the great scenery. Seriously, the ride through Sam Houston National Forest is gorgeous. I forget that there are places like this in Texas! I bet it has great camping spots...but I wasn't thinking about that while I was riding.
People often ask what I do when I ride and here's what Sunday's thought process included: lots of different songs, cadence, being strong, how the two horses on the side of the road would respond to the very fast car that was speeding toward them, and trying to channel speedy thoughts and inspirational rides with teammates. I was trying not to think about the funny pain in my left inner thigh. This happened in Galveston, too, but I remembered it going away on the run so I figured I'd be okay. It's a bizarre little ache and so far it's only happened in races...not on long rides? Anyway, nothing to stop me or really even slow me down. Averaged about 17.1 which is pretty darn solid for me on a course like this. Really, I don't know where this comes from given that on long rides during training I'm lucky to average 16 or 16.5?! Race day adrenalin maybe?? Being surprised by Karen, Nancy, and Laura on the course?! I don't know! But I felt good and ready to run by the time my bike computer read 56 miles. (Note: I didn't finish all of my nutrition on the bike...I was a little faster than I expected so I should have had some left...but not quite as much as I did!)
The ride was definitely highlighted by seeing our T3 sherpa/cheerleaders at one point - complete with awesome signs to cheer us on! Seeing Laura was a sweet surprise. And having them there was a HUGE boost.
T2 -
a few bikes already back in transition but not all of them...yay! I wasn't last in my wave/age group to finish the bike! Threw on my running shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt, picked up my water bottle, and I was off. First stop...port-o-potty! Jumped out and realized that I'd left my Thermolytes in transition...oh, well, I'd have to wing it. (Note to self: figure out how the race electrolyte/salt offerings compare to what you normally lose in the event that you pull a knuckle-headed move like this!)
RunI knew that if I wanted to hit my lofty 6:00 finish goal that I'd need to hit 9:30s on the run pretty steadily. My plan was to start off slowly (I never, ever do this and it always comes back to bite me when I bonk around mile 9 or 10!) and then pick up the pace - especially in the second half - for a steady negative split. Heading out to the main road I saw Jim which made me happy...thinking that he'd be a mile or so behind me on the run and that he'd catch me and maybe we could run together. I kept those first few miles in check - for once in my life. I thought I was holding 10 minute miles but seeing that 10 minute miles were my average, I must have been going slower. Too slowly if I was going to hit that 2 hour mark. But I didn't know that at the time, which was probably a good thing.
There was a woman in a green shirt who I spent most of the run trying to catch and pass...finally did at mile 9! And just before mile 5 I saw that our amazing T3 friends were on the run course, too. And they had recruited others to cheer for us. They were so loud you would have thought that there were about 10 of them...there were only 3...and there was no way not to speed up when you ran past them.
I was actually feeling pretty good at that point...strong, steady pace, focusing on picking it up at mile 7, working the inclines like we do in practice, and taking advantage of the few downhills and flats. The course was full of lots of false flats but also some nice stretches where it was either a slight decline or something fairly flat. It was definitely warming up by this time and it was a little more humid than I'd initially realized...darn Thermolytes that got left behind - I could have used them!
Managed to pass a lot of people on the run so I was surprised at how slow my pace was (relative to my training), especially when I felt pretty good the whole run. Saw Jim as he approached mile 5 and I was approaching mile 7. Was hoping we might run a little together but he was dealing with leg cramps so we were never really able to run together.
As I headed past Karen, Nancy, and Laura the last time they were full of all sorts of encouragement ("you're looking SO fast..." & "you're headed for a PR..." - which I knew could ONLY happen if I managed 8 min miles for the last 5 miles...ummm...not this girl!) and that totally helped. But then I started to get worried about them...if they stayed much longer they wouldn't make it to the finish line. I would have been okay with that but I knew they'd be bummed. That occupied me for about 1/2 a mile and then I had to focus on my run again! There were folks JUST heading out as I was turning back so I tried to offer them encouragement...and count my lucky stars that it was them and not me.
Final stretch back to the resort was just a beast. Well, actually, more like a slower method of torture! The main highway back is a slight incline the entire way. And then when you turn into the resort you think you have a straight shot to the finish line but NO! You wind through a neighborhood, you can hear the finish line, and you pray with every turn it will bring you closer. And it does. But it feels like forever! I did my best to pick up my pace for that last mile but I just didn't have a lot in me.
I do think I negative split but when you start slower than you are supposed to, even the negative split doesn't help you meet your goal time! But something has to be said for feeling pretty solid up until mile 12 of a 1/2 marathon following a 1.2 mile swim + a 56 mile bike ride!
Headed to the finish line...about 8 minutes after my goal time had passed...and saw Karen, Laura, and Nancy! How in the world had they gotten through that long line of cars turning into the resort? (I found out later...don't put anything past Nancy!)
Post-Race Activities and Thoughts
Nancy, Karen, and Laura made me feel awesome about my race...and Amy, too, via a phone call...and then Jim when he crossed the line...which was wonderful because I was feeling a little bummed about not having been able to pull it out on the run. But I knew I had given it my all...I just didn't have "all" that I have during training runs. And maybe that's more realistic than I was being before the race! I suppose if you add 1 minute or so to your average run pace as an expectation for an Ironman then maybe you can add 30 seconds or so to your average run pace for a 1/2 Ironman? And if I do that, then I hit the nail on the head! But I'm not sure is that's accurate math! I know it needs to be faster if I want to finish in 6 hours or under.
And in a way, it's sort of nice to still have that goal out there. I've beat it once but that was in Galveston and really, that race course is insanely fast...flat, flat, flat! This course was NOT flat. Not super hilly but enough to remind you that Texas has rollers.
I tend to be tough on myself so it's taken me about 24 hours to feel good about the race overall. I gave it my best shot and for some parts of the race that was enough. Actually, for 2/3 of the race that was good enough and that's pretty cool! It wasn't the race I wanted to have but it wasn't a total disaster either. As for the run, well, I need to pow-wow with Meredith, Chrissie, and Logan and get their advice for future training and expectations. I'm bummed that I didn't do better on it only because my training runs have been so solid. Maybe it means I need to do more bricks in the future to put that whole bike-to-run thing in motion more often OR maybe I need to push myself and run faster in training...hmmm...can't believe I just wrote both of those things (and I'm not sure how much of the latter I can do but I'll try)!
Finally saw overall results today and ended up 10th out of 16 in my age group...and even if I'd finished closer to my 6 hour goal instead of at 6:08, I would have still been in 10th place! I don't really care about what place I get - in fact most races are so much bigger that I never even look. But I thought I'd check it out just for kicks this time.
All in all, a GREAT day. Much improved by the T3 company that I kept. Oh, and by the Coke and fries on the way home...yummy. Thanks again to Nancy, Karen, Laura, and Jim for all being out there. And to everyone else who offered support leading up to the race - coaches, teammates, friends, colleagues, and family... I never feel like a race has happened on my own.
And now,
for the rest of the story...OFF SEASON!!! (from the picture below you'd have thought I started my off season the night before the race...not really!)
...I'm considering committing to using my TP massage roller kit every day. Last year, I committed to blogging every day. But this year I might commit to rolling out my muscles every day. We had a session on how to use this kit yesterday at the PTC (thanks Tony for the lesson and to Chris and Mo for organizing it). I've had my kit for a good year or so and was really good about using it when I had my shin splints but I've been rather lazy about it lately. However, given the pain I felt when I was rolling yesterday, I've decided I really just have to start using it again. And this "off season" is a good time to get back into it so I can go into CDA training with my muscles in good shape. Basically these (torture!) tools break up adhesions in your muscles so that you are less likely to get injured because your muscles are working properly...so your form is less likely to be compromised...so you are less likely to compensate with other muscles...so...well, you see where I'm going. It's just better for you.
