A "Real" Triathlete

Before this past weekend's triathlon, I had done two other triathlons. This technically earned me my "Triathlete" title, but because both races were pool swims, I didn't really feel like a true triathlete. Stupid, I know. But open water is a tougher beast, especially for a novice swimmer. I needed to conquer that type of race to really feel like I earned my wings.

Enter The Rookie Triathlon.

Seriously, this name is a misnomer. They do have a separate division and awards for rookies, but that bike course? That ain't no easy thing.

Unfortunately, according to the official rules, I had to register as a Veteran. You could only be a Rookie if this was your first or second triathlon.

Dammit. I was going to be with all the fast masters chicks. Dammit dammit dammit. I just hoped I didn't make a fool out of myself out there!

I did a handful of open water swims with my wetsuit to get used to the feeling of being out there. I liked swimming in a wetsuit. I felt safe with it on, and it was a confidence booster. I figured having to get it stripped off on the way to transition wasn't a big deal and would only lose me a few seconds. Totally worth it.

As for the bike, I didn't get it out on the road as much as I had hoped. But when I did ride it, I loved it. It's a bit faster, but I'm still scared of aero position so it makes shifting trickier since the shifters are on the aerobars. I'd have to wing this part of the race. Of course, I sort of forgot about how hilly the bike course was. I really needed to have a bit more experience riding this bike on hills. I considered riding my road bike in the race, but with as great of a bike as my tri bike is, that would've been dumb.

I was nervous as hell the morning of the race, but as the start approached, I calmed down a bit. The swim really didn't look so bad. The waters were calm and it was so short. I wanted to swim well, but was still scared a bit about the other swimmers. How could I get into a groove with all those other people splashing around?

Confident Steph

Nervous Steph

The morning went by fast, and the race started and before I knew it, there I was being told "Go!" and I had to swim. It took a few seconds for me to just go, and once I did I was surrounded by all these people.

My turn!

I'm out there somewhere

 I could not get into any kind of rhythm and my heartrate skyrocketed right away. Not so good. I tried to do one sided breathing to calm down a bit but I was just nervous out there and a bit panicky. After the first buoy turn I hoped I'd feel better, but I panicked even more and had to breaststroke and backstroke for a few seconds. Once I felt my breathing had calmed I reverted back to my freestyle, sighting periodically to be sure I wasn't going off course at all. Thank God for the last buoy turn, because I was just totally done with being out there! Only about 6 minutes had passed but it felt like an eternity. I wasn't having a good swim at all.

Almost done!

Eight minutes of swimming and I was out of that water. About a minute longer than I had hoped, which bummed me out. Transition is after a long run up a grassy hill and I was breathing way too heavy to have to run up a hill. Once I got to my bike, I switched out gear as quickly as I could and got myself out of there.

Now for the bike hills. Ugh, those sucked. But surprisingly I found myself passing people on them, which was a great feeling! The great feeling would pass, however, when those same people would blow by me on the downhills. Yes, I'm still fearful of speed. It sucks. It's stupid. I'll get over it. I did bike my fastest downhill speed ever during this race, however, so there's that.

It's only an 11.2 mile route, so it did seem like it went by very quickly. I never looked at my watch so I had no idea what kind of pace I was going. I was hoping it could be over 17 mph, but those hills were bad and long enough to mess with overall pace when you're not used to them,  and when you can't make up for that slower pace on the downhills (like me). The results showed I biked 16.7 mph. Not what I had hoped, but I did learn a lot on that course of what I need to improve upon. Better next time!

How sweet of them to make us finish on a hill

Bike done!

I pulled a rookie mistake coming into T2. I lost my spot and had to search for it. I figured that cost me 20 seconds and I'm still kinda pissed about that. The actual gear switch was quick, however, once I found my stuff, and I was off on the run. Easily my best discipline, and I hoped for a solid pace.

Coming out of T2

I glanced at my watch right after I hit the run course and saw it said 53 minutes. Not what I was hoping for, but I could still break 1:10 overall on the course. I was going to try!

Classy

It took that entire first mile to get into my groove and it was a slow first mile. With it only being a 2 mile route, I knew I just needed to suck it up and I sped up considerably on that second mile. It was all dirt and grass, with several spots where you needed to watch your footing, but during that second mile I felt so much better. Rather than being passed, I was finally passing a lot more people.  That second mile flew by and with the finish line in sight and Christine screaming at me to run faster, I had a solid finish.

Thank God, because I really needed that race to be over!

My splits - 300 meter swim in 8:19 (timing mat was after wetsuit stripping, so my swim was actually right at 8:00), 2:46 T1, 11.2 mile bike in 40:11 (16.7mph), 1:44 T2, and 2 mile run in 16:10.
Overall time of 1:09:13
6th out of 30 in my age group of Veteran women 40-44

I'm conflicted about the results. I'm very happy with my placing. It was an extremely competitive veteran race. But I'm not really happy with how the race felt. I need to not be hard on myself, however. This was my first open water swim triathlon, my first time on my new bike, and I'm still really kind of a rookie in this sport. It was a solid race. I guess I just wish I had felt better!

My teammates did a phenomenal job today and I'm proud of each and every one of them. Everyone pulled off a solid race and it was a very fun day (even with the swim!). I'm so glad I did it and I can't say enough great things about the organizers, my teammates, and my competitors.

Me and my fearless Captain Christine

Georgetown Triathletes

I'm going to compete on this course again in July, with a slightly longer swim and run, but the same bike course. I do plan to do better and I'm looking forward to it!

Hometown Race Weekend...Again!

In 2014 I had a great time racing my hometown marathon, the San Luis Obispo Marathon....their motto is "Small Town, Big Race," exactly my kind of race. I was looking forward to an even better race in 2015.

ITBS derailed my hopes for a full marathon, unfortunately, and I downgraded my registration to the half marathon. As race day approached and I couldn't run more than 6 miles without being in pain, I knew I had made the right decision. I was still disappointed. I would not be running through the most beautiful parts of the vineyard-dotted course.

But that didn't mean I couldn't fuel with SLO County wine!

I signed up for the 5k the day before and knew that despite injury I would have a very fun weekend. Plus, since I was only running a half marathon, I could run a bit harder during the 5k and pull a more respectable time this year. For the half marathon I had no time goal. I would run a comfortable pace and if I felt good would try to speed up, but I would still keep myself in check. No sub-2 hour goal or expectation this time around. I was definitely okay with this. The course is fantastic...and hilly...and brings back lots of childhood and teenage memories....and its freaking HILLY. I would enjoy every mile, although because of the hills (did I mention there are HILLS??), definitely some miles more than others.

Hello rainy race morning!!

The 5k was 3.1 miles of chilly rain through Madonna Inn property, a really great 5k course. There's one yucky hill that is run twice, but it's followed by a really nice downhill. Because of the rain I wanted to run as hard as I could just to be done but I held back a bit. I didn't need to aggravate the ITBS and truth be told, I was nervous about slipping on the wet road on the downhills. I still ran a strong 5k, far off my PR pace, but a negative split nonetheless, with a sub-8 mile thrown in. I even ran into an old high school friend!

Overall, I ran a 25:27, 8:11 pace , 8th overall woman and 1st in my age group. I was happy!

Water logged with the Cal Poly mascot

Now for the half marathon. I didn't want to be nervous, but it doesn't matter how many of these races I do...I still get nervous! Even without a time goal, my nerves were a bit shot. I wanted to have fun, but I also wanted to run a respectable race. And above anything else, I didn't want to be in pain.

Representing TEXAS!!

I arrived at the start right before 6am, when the full marathoners began their race. The half didn't start until 6:45, so I spent some time walking around, chatting a bit, and getting my nerves under control. I looked for friends before the race but sadly couldn't find them. It was a chilly morning and I waited as long as I could before taking off my sweatshirt and turning in my race bag.

By the time we lined up at the start and listened to the national anthem and race director's final words, my nerves were fading and I was getting excited for the race to start.

I lived in San Luis Obispo for 14 years, so to run through the downtown area and past the Mission was very very cool. I absolutely love the first couple miles of the race and can't help but smile. It was everything I had to hold back for those first two miles, especially since it seemed like everyone was flying by me.

I was right on target to where I thought I would be for those first few miles, before the first big hill hits. I felt good, wasn't running too fast, and was prepared to tackle "Cardiac Hill," a 3/4 mile long hill that gains about 140 feet in elevation. It's kind of a beast, but thankfully comes early in the race. There's a nice downhill after you crest the top so you can get your breath back. I felt pretty darn great when I hit 4 miles. I was having a blast!

Right about mile 5 is when we had a chance to see the leader in the half marathon, Cal Poly alum-turned pro athlete Ben Bruce. Part of the race was out-and-back, so he was at mile 9 when he flew by us. He was FAST, and there wasn't anyone even close to him. He was literally running away with the victory. Not too long after seeing him, we saw his 19 weeks pregnant (and also professional runner) wife Stephanie just behind the women's leader. You'd never know she was pregnant! Crazy awesome athletes and very cool to see them on the course. They both ended up winning.

Right before the turnaround at 7.3 miles is another nasty evil hill. It was at this point that I realized my knee wasn't hurting at all yet. I was running a fairly decent race, at about 9:35 pace overall at the halfway point. I was perfectly content with this pace, especially since the race gets easier after the turnaround. There's much more downhill and flat sections, so I felt that as long as my knee held up I'd be able to speed up and run a negative split.

I'm looking down but I still love this pic because
 BOTH FEET OFF THE GROUND!

Aaaaand, I'm still looking down....

Hello, crazy awesome course! Nice hill, huh? (photo from SLO Marathon)

After the turnaround and with that nice downhill approaching, I really let myself relax a bit. I was honestly having a lot of fun, although running a half marathon is never really easy. The beauty of the course was breathtaking and I was soaking it all in. We also got a bit of a headwind after the turnaround that cooled me down a bit, not that it was very warm out. Really couldn't complain about the weather at all.

My knee finally starting snapping at me 9 miles into the race. Stupid knee. It wasn't bad pain, but it was annoying.

I think one of my favorite parts of the course, besides running by vineyards, is getting to go on the railroad bike trail. It's narrow, but it's away from traffic so it's relaxing to me. I know some people feel like it's a bit frustrating for the faster marathoners because they have to navigate the half marathoners as they pass us (they started 45 minutes ahead), and I can understand that. We did have a few of the marathon leaders weave through us, but the half marathoners started to move over to the right a bit more once we realized they were coming through. We are on this trail for about 1.5 miles and it ends on a railroad pedestrian bridge, with a switch back up to the bridge and a switch back down to the road. Because the winds were really picking up, the bridge was actually swaying and making me a little nauseous as we crossed it.

Jennifer Street Bridge at 11.5 miles

Once we were back on the street and I realized it was only about 15 minutes to the finish, I picked up the pace. My knee wasn't feeling any worse, so I didn't think speeding up by another 20 seconds per mile or so would be a big deal, and I felt good! There were lots of people out cheering us on through the neighborhoods and I was on a pretty big high knowing the race was almost over and it was going to be a good race for me.

With a half mile to go, I just smiled and RAN.

2:03:30

I can't begin to tell you how incredibly happy I am about that time. There was a point when I hated the thought of running another half over 2 hours, but I've gotten older and wiser since then. I ran over 5 minutes faster than my awful Austin Half Marathon in February. And this course is tougher. I'll take my 2:03 any day!!

Half Marathon #12 done and conquered. What a fabulous race!! My hometown always makes me proud.

Relay Reflections

I'll likely do a Texas Independence Relay race recap in another post, but for now I have a few thoughts I want to share.

1. This race, without a doubt, is my favorite, despite the sleep deprivation, agony of running in the heat, pressure to kick ass, and general delirium. I forget about my stress for 48 hours.

2. I can't believe my friends can put up with my bullshit. I'm not easy to deal with sometimes. I'm a bitch when I run in the heat, I'm generally a rule follower (not always a good thing), and I'm way too detail oriented sometimes. But nobody kills me while on the relay, year after year.

3. I'm way too consistent with my pace. Someday I'll blow it wide open and shock the crap out of people.

4. I appreciate each and every one of my teammates for different reasons...

- Thanks Tony for wanting me to be your navigator and keeping me laughing for 6 relays. We might argue too much but we get shit done.

- Thanks Geissinger for taking over the navigation when I couldn't read the map anymore Sunday morning, and for letting me treat you like a piece of meat.

- Thanks, Red, for being the coolest, hardest working, most caring teammate, and for talking about yourself in the third person.

- Thanks Katie, for being so amazing and talented, and for your concern about how mean Tony is to me ;)

- Thanks Matt for seriously being the most joyful runner I've ever met. Your positive attitude was contagious and I could learn a lot from you.

- Thanks Erica for convincing John to join us and for doing your best to control Danimal. We've missed you being on the team.

- Thanks John for being willing to endure one more relay and for not killing us. The one liners were truly epic.

- Thanks Emily for bringing such perfect humor and sarcasm to the team. Hot redheads are the best.

- Thanks Danimal for not drinking so much you couldn't still run like a badass, and for sticking with the team and giving your all when you weren't confident you could.

- Thanks Kalynn for being strong and fun and cute and darling and a really great friend...and the 7:20's don't hurt either.

- Thanks Cary for bringing it home at San Jacinto. And for being a size small.

- Thanks Team Mom Ginne for making us feel like we're all your kids, for being our rock. We love you!!

Who's giving me a massage??

I hate injury

I totally brought this on myself. I'm having trouble with my IT band, which is causing significant knee pain. I knew it was because I've let myself get weak. I've gotten lazy with core work and stretching and now I'm paying the price.

It's terrible timing. I have a relay in 5 days and a marathon in 34 days. 

I saw my sadistic friend Ken at Therapy Central this morning for myofascial release therapy to try to loosen things up and get advice on if the home trigger point therapy I'm doing is going to be effective.

He quickly discovered the probable root of the problem - tight gluteal muscles that are pinching the IT band. As he was working on releasing these muscles I about fell off the table from the pain. It radiates through my hamstrings and I wanted to cry.

My knee doesn't really feel better after the therapy (the 12 miler yesterday inflamed everything again) but I know it helped loosen things up. I need to continue to work on my glutes this week so I can avoid discomfort this weekend. My team is counting on me to be able to run at least 20 miles.

This whole fiasco just reiterates my need to take strengthening exercises seriously. But even if I work hard to get myself better I have a lot of doubts about my marathon next month.

It's a very hilly race and hills exacerbate IT band issues. It could make for a miserable race and there's no point is running on this beautiful course and hating life. I can handle the thought of running the half marathon. Still hilly, but doable.

I have a huge decision to make, and I need to make it soon before the race sells out and distance changes are no longer allowed.

Stupid silly problems to have. But frustrating nonetheless.

2015 Checkpoint

I'm putting aside my kid struggles for a moment and focusing on ME for this blog post (the kid struggles are still HUGE, however)....

It's becoming more and more apparent to me that I continue to evolve personally, and I'm liking a lot of the changes that I have made this year.

1. Essential oils

I'm always looking for new solutions to problems or struggles, whether it's physical or emotional. I'm not a typical "hippie" chick, but the essential oil solutions really appealed to me after discussing with a friend who uses Young Living. It's been an eye opening journey the more I learn about the benefits of EO's, and I'm enjoying these benefits immensely. From muscle aches to headaches to insomnia to breathing problems, I'm trying to turn to EO's to find relief before anything else.

2. Home Improvement

We've been in this house for eight years now, so we're starting to see aging signs cropping up. Appliances that need replacing, general clean up, repainting rooms and refinishing doors and furniture, redecorating...a little bit of everything. Rather than hiring people to do all this for us, I'm trying to learn to do as much of it as I can. It's been fun to be a little more independent and to save money. I feel like I'm really contributing to the smooth running of the household by tackling these tasks myself.

3. Reading

I've read 7 books so far this year. My goal for 2015 is 25, so I'm well on my way. It's relaxing to me to spend time quietly reading, with a dog or two in my lap and a cup of coffee in my hand.

4. Cross training

I did start cross training more last year because of my triathlon training, so this isn't necessarily new this year. But now that the cold weather is passing, it's becoming more of a priority for me to get on my bike and into the pool. I can't wait for outdoor swim sessions, particularly since I'm seeing running injuries crop up. To be able to exercise outside without further aggravating those injuries will be so awesome. I never thought I'd be happy about swimming!

5. Not overscheduling myself

There are a lot of activities, races, parties, and volunteer opportunities out there. But my new favorite word is "NO." It's not good for me to do too much. I'm being very deliberate in what I commit to. I could do a triathlon every week or two, but I'm not going to. I made a very conservative goal of doing four triathlons in 2015, far fewer than many of my training buddies do, but I think it's a great number for me. There are fall and winter marathons and half marathons I could register for, but I am committed to only one other 2015 running race after the SLO Marathon and that's the New Years Double (I'm hoping to get up the nerve to do the 5K and Half Marathon on NY Eve and NY Day...32.4 miles total!). This will lead up to the Houston Marathon next January. I volunteer occasionally and I accept party invitations, but I do love a clear schedule most weeks. Does it mean I'm a hermit? No, it means I need to protect my energy.

6. Finding the Quiet

When I'm at home alone, I try to keep the television off. Our house is in a very quiet neighborhood and I really enjoy that. When the only sounds I hear is the birds outside and my pug snoring, I can find peace and calm. It's good for the soul.

7. Gratitude 

Because of the stress I endure as a parent (I know many find this hard to understand, but trust me....there's so much stress), I have to actively seek gratitude about the little things (and sometimes the big things). We have a gratitude jar in our kitchen and I find myself throwing little notes into it frequently. We plan to read all the notes at the end of the year.

So there's my checkpoint for 2015. I'm exhausted from the stress and uncertainty of some situations, but I think I'm doing a lot of good things, too.  When I see that something is working, I will continue to embrace it.

Austin #8

My very first race was the Austin Half Marathon in 2008 and I ran it in 2:10:30, under my goal and a really good race for me. I ran the whole thing and loved it!

I haven't missed that race since, whether I was running the half or the full. This year I opted for the half marathon again. Last year I missed my sub-2 hour goal by 50 seconds and at first I hoped I could pull it off this year. But about a week before the race I decided to just run it for fun and not have a goal. My husband was going to run it with me (our third half marathon together).

Me with "Mr Steph" and "NotSteph" Jeff

Why do the weather gods have it out for me? It was (yet again!) a warm and humid morning. I still figured I could pull off at the very least a 2:05 but first and foremost I just wanted to enjoy the run. The course changed to a better version from a few years ago and I was looking forward to that.

Ugh.

The race sucked.

I don't remember the last time I walked in a half marathon....2009 maybe? But I walked a lot in this one after mile 8. A LOT.

I just never felt okay. I was struggling to get my legs to move. I couldn't breathe well. I never had any idea of my pace, but it felt harder than it should have looking back at my splits. Once I started hitting the hills at Mile 8 I gave in and walked. Making the turn onto a hill at Enfield right before Mile 10 was the final straw for me and I decided to walk the rest of the hills and run the flats and downhills only. I was pretty much done physically and mentally.

Greg and our friend Kimberly had been running with me up until this point and I felt so bad. They were both feeling fine and didn't care about their times, but I still couldn't help feeling badly for them. At that first hill on Enfield I finally told them just to go ahead of me and I'd see them at the finish.

As I trudged through those final 3 miles, not knowing my time at all, I really expected that I was creeping into my worst performance at the Austin Half. I made the best out of it, chatting with other folks and just trying to stay moving.

Making that final turn onto Congress with 100 yards to go to the finish I really did expect the clock to say some ghastly number, but surprisingly it looked like I would have a finish time under 2:09, much faster than I thought I had been running. I thought for sure all that walking I did in the last 3 miles would have had a bigger effect on my pace than they did. I must have been moving better than I thought!

I was so happy to be done with that medal hanging around my neck. Many of my friends had great races, some of them struggled like me. Greg and Kimberly flew through those last 3 miles and finished 5 minutes ahead of me (rockstars!). My official time was 2:08:53.

After recovering and changing clothes, I planned to spend the next few hours cheering on my full marathon friends at the final hill of the route on San Jacinto. It's a bear of a hill that comes with a half mile to go and it's a lot of fun to run up it to keep our friends going in those final minutes. Lots of Round Rock Fit coaches and members were out on that hill and over the course of a 2.5 hours we helped cheer and drag our runners...and strangers...up that brutal hill.

Those couple hours were way more fun than the race!

Looking back on my race splits, it doesn't look as bad as it felt. I only lost 11 seconds per mile on my overall pace between the 5k split and the finish. Either I wasn't walking as much as I thought I was or I was running better than I thought. I guess it could've been worse! 

Will I run Austin for the 9th time in 2016? I really have no idea. It very well could be time to end the streak. In the meantime, I need to get my mojo back in time for the Texas Independence Relay and the San Luis Obispo Marathon.

First up....12 miles in the morning!

A Change of Tune

Sometimes it only takes something small to change my attitude.

As you know, I had a bit of a tough recovery after my January 18 marathon. My last few runs have been much better, thankfully, but I was still finding it a bit difficult to get excited about running for 4+ hours again this season. Definitely in need of an attitude adjustment, because the San Luis Obispo marathon is INCREDIBLE.

Hello???

Needless to say, I'm lame and even the beautiful scenery and the chance to go home for a few days wasn't perking me up enough. I was thinking of downgrading my race (the HORROR).

AND THEN......

They unveiled their medal today. 

It's like they just knew that I'm totally smitten with red barns. I LOVE THIS MEDAL. It's a barn for crying out loud! Completely awesome.

I think I'm okay with running another 26.2 now.

Check out their awesome race right here....

http://www.slomarathon.com/

As for my training, like I said, my last few runs have been quite a bit better. I ran 8 miles at a decent pace last Saturday, intentionally trying to push myself and ignore the heaviness of my legs. Today I ran another 8 miles with a friend and felt very strong despite a lot of soreness from my Monday gym strength and treadmill workout. I'm feeling more confident now going into my next race, the Austin Half on February 15.

Yay for running!!!