The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway...

I wish I could say this were true, but by the time I was a senior in high school I knew I needed to head south.  After many cold and snowy soccer games in Michigan I had no desire to stick around for 4 more years.  I was stubborn and rarely wore long sleeves under my jersey, never wore tights, and would only occasionally wear gloves.  In August of 2005 I was leaving a beautiful Michigan summer for the hot and humid shores of Beautiful Eagle Creek in Statesboro, Georgia.

Practice Fields on Eagle Creek

I quickly adjusted to the heat and humidity.  I wore jeans to the first day of class as a freshman -- I was sweating before I got halfway to class -- I don't think I wore jeans to class for the next four years.  What used to seem warm for a winter game or practice would soon become what I thought was 'freezing'.  I was hopeful there would be no more training sessions with snowmen as spectators.

It didn't snow once while I was in Statesboro.  The temperatures were mild in the winter and the coldest days we had to deal with while in season were during our away games in Boone, North Carolina.  I never once needed long sleeves, gloves or a headband during game day.  The only white stuff on your uniform after a game was the salt that you had sweated out on it.  Most days were sunny and gorgeous.  

The truth was...I hated the cold.  I'm not sure I really knew it at the time, I just knew I performed better when it wasn't cold.  Any training session we had in the cold I'd cough and have trouble breathing - but since this only happened a few times per year, if that, I just blamed it on coming down with a cold.  Since leaving Statesboro for Washington DC, I've had my fair share of snowdays and cold weather.   I've also had the opportunity to use a treadmill or indoor bike trainer in any instance when I don't want to brave the cold or snow.  There were plenty of times when DC was snow covered and the sun was shining that I put on my running shoes and took in the sights.  I didn't pay attention to heart rate, pace, or any piece of data for that matter.  I simply enjoyed the run and took photo ops when I wanted to.

 

This year has been my first year of training while consistently using my heart rate monitor and Garmin.  I've watched myself become a faster more efficient runner.  I've learned about heart training methods and the purpose behind them.  I recently had a couple great training cycles and races at Ironman Lake Placid and IM 70.3 Augusta, but when it came time to start a short training cycle to wrap the season up with a 1/2 marathon it appeared everything was gone.  I could barely make it a mile without wheezing and coughing.  My pace across all my zones dropped...and it would continuously drop as I brought my heart rate up throughout a run.  I gave myself a couple weeks, looked at everything I was doing outside of training and couldn't pinpoint a thing...other than cold weather.  I'd have a couple great midweek runs when I ran after work - while the sun was shining and the temps were hitting the 50s and 60s, but anything early in the morning or in the cold and windy weather was brutal.  I quickly enlisted the help of my doctor, ruled out some more serious possibilities, and moved forward with the most likely explanation -- exercise induced asthma (exacerbated by cold air)...you've got to be kidding me...

As nice as it would be to pick up and head to sunny Florida or Arizona, I'm loving life in DC.  So I'm figuring out why my body freaks out in the cold.  I've got some solutions and ideas that I've tried out this past week and I'm actually now looking forward the TCS Annapolis 1/2 Marathon next Saturday.   In some ways running with lungs that were shutting down in the cold was kind of like training at altitude.  The thought of running horribly slow, while coughing and wheezing my way through 13.1 miles had me considering sherpa duties for a few days (and hoping I wouldn't be confined to the treadmill for the majority of my first training block in 2015).

Here's to one more 2015 race and the fast approaching off-season!

The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving with passion and compassion and
humor and style and generosity and kindness. - Maya Angelou

Augusta 70.3 2014 Race Report

If you've been following my blog for awhile then you probably know I've raced Augusta before.  Every year since 2011 to be exact.  You can read my race reports from 2011, 2012,  and 2013.  Last year Adam and I made the trip and both raced -- I think he loved Augusta as much or maybe even more than I do.  There wasn't much hesitation or discussion when registration opened for 2014 - we signed up and convinced some friends to join us for a fun and fast weekend.  If you're planning on going to Augusta read this whole report -- if you want just the race details scroll down to the actual race report.

PRE-RACE: Friday and Saturday

We hit the road very early on Friday morning.  The drive was mostly non-eventful and we made pretty good time.  We drove straight to the Queen Anne Inn so we could unload our gear and bikes, catch up with some friends who were a bit ahead of us, and check out our home base for the weekend.  After 3 attempts of finding good lodging in Augusta when I found the Queen Anne Inn (located at mile 1 of the run course) I quickly reserved the 3rd floor for our group.  The Inn was about 1 mile from transition and 1 mile from race check-in.  Val, one of the owner's of the Bed and Breakfast, was amazing and

Awesome Good Luck Graphic from RosePT!

very sweet.  Our bikes were welcomed right into the living room, breakfast was perfect (even on race day morning!) and the location couldn't be beat.  After checking out the B&B we headed over to race check-in.  It was more-or-less non eventful.  We heard the water temp was about 68* and we were looking at an almost definite wetsuit legal swim.  We headed outside to the riverwalk to take a look at the swift current we'd be swimming with on Sunday.  Not so fast - the river was standing still!  We left with faith that the current would pick up by Sunday morning.  After some rest and getting our bikes ready back at the B&B we headed to Farmhaus on Broad St. for dinner.  If you're headed to Augusta and you're looking for a great burger/sandwich definitely try Farmhaus.

Saturday morning was nice and relaxed with a good homemade breakfast and no rush to get anywhere.  Once everyone was up and fed we headed over to the swim start to take the river for a ride (we hoped).  Yes, indeed the current was kicking and we were swimming much faster than normal, about 20-30s/100m faster.   We swam to the boat launch near the 2nd bridge and had such a good time that we walked back to the swim start to go for round 2.  This time we decided to attempt swimming to the first buoy and then turning around and swimming against the current back to the floating dock.  Once we made it back up river we headed back to go for a short bike and run.  Mr. felt great on a short 20 minute spin and my legs felt ready to race during my shake out run.  A much different feeling than the sluggish taper legs I had during Thursday's workouts.

Saturday afternoon involved resting prepping bikes and rolling them down to transition for bike racking.  This was the first year Ironman had separate racks for AWA athletes.  I got to rack just 6 spaces down from Adam, which was cool and convenient, but it also meant I wouldn't know where I stood within my age group during coming out of the water and coming off the bike.  Obviously not a huge deal since the focus of this race was nailing the plan, and the plan had nothing to do with where anyone else was on the course.

We took in a taste of the local restaurant scene for dinner.  A few blocks form Queen Anne Inn is Luigi's Italian Restaurant.  We walked over and had no wait (around 5:30) for a table of 9!  We were happy athletes.  Service was good, food was good and people watching was excellent.  We encountered a group of Irish Travelers from just outside of Aiken, SC that apparently eat at Luigi's every Saturday night.  If you are not familiar with the Irish Travelers Google Image search them and then read the Wikipedia page.

RACE DAY - SUNDAY

Earl AM at the B&B

We had an early start to the day on Sunday morning.  Breakfast was my usual pre-race meal of chex, granola, banana and lactose free milk along with apple sauce and toast+nutella.  I actually saved the toast+nutella to eat after going to transition while I was waiting the 2+ hours before my wave would
actually start.  We walked over to transition and had plenty of time to set up before taking the shuttle back up to swim start.

They do an excellent job with the National Anthem every year at this race.  The past couple years it has involved a paratrooper target demo team jumping out of an airplane - the last one with a very large flag.  It's a pretty cool site to see standing atop the levy near the Savannah River.   Soon after the pro's were off and age group waves were lining up an filing down the ramp to the starting dock.  I camped out on the curb since I still had more than an hour before I even needed to think about getting my wetsuit on.  Once some of our friends started to head off for race start time seemed to fly by.  In no time at all it seemed like the youngest of us were getting our wetsuits zipped up so we could start our race.

THE SWIM - 1.2 Miles - 28:14
I've been working on my swim and I've been practicing executing a race plan that involved drafting and swimming straight.  For the most part it came together in Augusta!  I was able to execute my start plan, find feet and maintain those feet for a better portion of the swim.  We were catching people from the wave before us before we hit the first buoy.   I was able to sight regularly and maintain a mostly straight
path to the finish.  The swim was relatively contact free.  As we got near the last 400-500 meters or so we were hitting a lot of slower swimmers that were just treading water.  Navigating through some of the crowds from the waves before was a little tricky but soon the final buoy was right in front of my and I was headed to the boat ramp.

T1 - 3:03
The run up from the boat ramp to the wetsuit strippers and transition area is a decent length which gave me plenty of time to get out of the top half of my wetsuit and wiggle it down to my hips as I ran.  The wetsuit strippers were fantastic and I continued on into transition.  Bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses on and then I was off with Mr.

THE BIKE - 56 Miles - 2:39:00
I started off on the bike with a high cadence and tried to stay relaxed to let my HR come down.  I was passed soon after by a girl in my age group literally standing up and hammering.  I just stuck to my plan, knowing I'd most likely see her again.  Just a few miles into the bike course I saw the lead male pro on his way back in.  No one else was within sight of him.  Less than 5 miles into the course is the first steady, gradual climb on your way to South Carolina, here is where I saw the girl who went blowing by me just a few miles earlier.  She was standing up and hammering again, and once I passed her she really hammered until she passed me again.  For a brief I got slightly worried that she was probably an uber bike and even better runner.  I reminded myself to stick to my plan and let the cards fall where they will.  I couldn't control anything else about the race other than what I was doing and my execution.  After the first 20 minutes or so I made some adjustments to the plan to account for the humidity that was present and I started in on my nutrition and hydration.  I ended up going through 4
bottles of Osmo Active Hydration which was one more than I would have thought I'd need but I pee'd don schedule and felt strong the entire time.  The aid stations on the bike course were excellent adn all handoffs went off without a hitch.  Since I started in the 2nd to last wave there were a lot of people who seemed to be riding to the left and got good practice with "on your left" - it may have come out a little stern a few times.  The first half of this bike course was more windy than it's ever been over the past few years.  Luckily, it didn't slow me down too much compared to last year.  I really love this bike course and have enjoyed it every time I've raced on it.  Rolling back in to Augusta I was feeling strong and ready to run.  I even got some applause from folks at the dismount line for my flying dismount sans shoes.

T2 - 2:45
A quick run in and helmet off, sunglasses off along with socks and shoes off and we were good to go.  I grabbed my race belt and visor before heading to Run Out.  As I was running down the chute toward the timing mat I noticed a girl in my age group that I hadn't seen yet.

THE RUN - 13.1 Miles - 1:48:32
As I exited T2 with the fellow age grouper, I thought to myself 'I wonder if she's part of a relay because her hair looks too great to have just been sweating under a bike helmet for 2.5+ hours.  I stayed controlled and settled in for the first few miles.  At about mile 2 the fellow age grouper fell behind never to be seen again.  I was feeling great, and thanks to the late start wave I was passing way more people than were passing me.  My run time wasn't blazing fast, but it was the most well executed, as well as fastest run I've had in a HIM to date.  I ran with a small fuel belt hand held bottle and started with Osmo Active Hydration in it.  Once I had finished that I refilled with cold water at a few aid

stations.  The weather was pretty nice, only slightly warm, but there were cold sponges and cups of ice at most of the aid stations which helped to keep me cool.  Around mile 8 I had to really focus and enter a little bit of the pain cave to keep bringing my HR up dropping the pace.  I kept asking myself if I could give 1% more to keep myself going and to keep pushing.  With the help of some caffeinated Gu I was able to nail my run plan.  As I was nearing the finish line I knew I'd be close to breaking 5 hours and close to the front of my wave, especially since I hadn't seen anyone else in my age group (or the younger age group) since mile 2.  Adam was able to get to the finish line area and even capture some video as I mustered what energy I could in an attempt to raise my arms in celebration.

POST RACE
I connected with Adam and some of our friends in the athlete celebration area.  Adam was signed up for a massage and very kindly let me swoop in and take it!  It was great to have an almost immediate post race massage.  Right before the massage we checked the results, my finish result wasn't updated yet, but we did find out that I'd come off the bike in 2nd place.  While I was on the massage table Adam got the final results and had our friend/Snapple teammate, AJ, tell me how I finished!  It was an utter surprise and something I did not expect at all.  One of the best parts was that seconds after finding out that I'd won my age group, they told me Adam had also won his! Decision time...

Adam and I had been discussing whether or not to take a slot to 70.3 World Championships if we each earned one.  We were thinking more likely in the case of a roll down, which would have been a long shot with the limited # of slots this year, but not out of the realm of possibility.  Since we both won our age groups we a couple hours to decide if we'd be going - and because we had the opportunity to travel to Austria and compete together we couldn't turn it down.  It'll make for a crazy and busy 2015 race schedule, but a fun and challenging one fore sure!

Signed, sealed, delivered...Going to Austria!

RESULTS
Finish Time: 5:01:22 (25/987 Females include pros, 1/96 age group)

Top 4 Women 25-29

For anyone who is looking for a first 70.3 I highly recommend this race, it was my first in 2011, and it has been over the year's a number of friends as well.  For anyone else who if possibly considering racing at Augusta, do it.  It's awesome and the atmosphere is really great.  You'll have a fast swim, great bike, and almost fully crowd supported run course.  Unfortunately I won't be racing Augusta in 2015, but instead start my day off with a 2.4 mile swim the Tennessee River and rolling 112 miles through mostly North Georgia.

Thank you to an awesome coach, Kim, from Fuel Your Passion, for setting me up with a great season of training and racing as well as controlling my habit of over training.  Thank you to my sponsors Snapple Triathlon, DC Tri Club, Osmo Hydration, Louis Garneau, Rudy Project Helmets, TrainingPeaks,  and Rose Physical Therapy Group.  Thank you to a wonderful group of friends to share this experience with Angela, Kenn, Ryan, Jess, Lee, Angela, Kevin, AJ and of course to the most supportive boyfriend and family I could ask for.

Ironman Lake Placid 2014 Race Report

I had signed up for IMLP while I was onsite in 2013.  I had a year to plan, prepare, think, make changes etc.  I had an okay day at IM Louisville in 2012 - I went about all my training on my own, hitting a couple 30+ hour training weeks (because that's what you do when you've just finished grad school and haven't started working yet).  I trained, trained some more and over trained in 2012.  I was young and rest was not in my vocabulary.

Fall of 2013 I started looking for a coach to help get me through Ironman #2 faster, as well as reach some other goals throughout the season.  I nailed down an awesome coach, took a little time to get used to the plan and how we were going about this, and eventually bought into 'the plan'.  Fast forward to July 2014 and I was feeling fit, strong, and ready to get to Lake Placid!

The Olympic Speed Skating Oval 

Adam, my brother and I left DC very early Thursday morning and had a great drive up to Placid.  Arriving with enough time to get my packet and a little run/swim action in before hitting the Lake Placid Pub/Brewery for dinner.  Mom arrived Friday and we all enjoyed some Ironman festivities and grilling out at our condo leading up to race day.  Saturday was  the usual pre-IM dance: finalize gear bags, check bike, pack special needs bags, etc.

RACE DAY

PRE-RACE
The alarm went off early and the race plan execution was under way. I started the morning off by trying to get in a nice big breakfast (and succeeding!).  The sherpa team was up and getting their coffee made.  The air outside was cool, but no rain, and the dark early morning sky didn't look threatening.  We made the 1/2 mile walk to transition with hundreds of other athletes and spectators that figured our road would be a good place to park.  As we arrived at transition you couldn't help but feel the energy and Ironman buzz in the air.  I went over to Mr. loaded him up with Osmo hydration and my nutrition for the longest part of the day to come.  I topped off the tires with air and checked the brakes before regrouping with the sherpa team to head towards Mirror Lake.  We were able to have a home base under the DC Tri Club tent on Mirror Lake Drive.  It was great having a place to sit, see other DCTCers pre race and even run into my coach (2nd Place Pro!) while getting my game face on.

Things got serious....I guess...

DCTC ready to race!

THE SWIM - 2.4 Miles - 1:17:16 (1.2 Miles - 37:10)

I lined up mid pack of 1:10-1:20 thinking this would put me near 1:15.  First loop went well, a little physical initially, but I found some clear water and nice feet along cable line and was at the T1 bouy before I knew it!  I felt like I was passing a lot of people during the first part of this loop, unusual for me. I  came out just over 37 minutes to start loop 2. Loop 2 started out well, I found good feet and was swimming in clear water along the cable for a good amount of it.  Had to get through some slower packs a couple of times.  After T2 bouy things changed, took an elbow to the goggle - I was fine just had to dump water out. Guy who had elbowed me then was trying to take the feet I was following and gave me a nice 2 handed shove.  He then proceeded to stop and start yelling something, I kept on plugging away.  The rain started coming down when I was near the T2 bouy.  Luckily, with the cable line in Mirror Lake the rain didn't mess up my sighting.  The general flow seems that everybody's 2nd loop was 2-3 minutes slower due to more congestion of the swim course and the rain.  I'll keep working in the pool, but an 11 minute improvement since the 'fast' swim course in Louisville...I'll take it!

T1 - 5:51
It's quite the run from swim exit to T1.  I done some race recon and learned that the wetsuit strippers are pretty closer to swim exit.  I decided to make a game time decision based on how far I had my wetsuit down by the time I was passing the wetsuit strippers as to if I'd utilize them or not.  well I still had 1 arm in my wetsuit and I wasn't about to stop to take that out to let the strippers take my wetsuit.  I continued to run and wiggle down my wetsuit as far as I could while moving along.  It was raining pretty hard, I didn't seem to notice or really care.  I grabbed my Bike Gear Bag and headed into the change tent.  A quick helmet and shoe job and I was off.  As a volunteer kindly handed me my bike she said 'be careful out there sweetie' and that's when I realized...there was a huge thunder storm...and I was about to bike through it.

THE BIKE - 112 Miles - 5:56:13

Descend in aero...yes please!

As I rolled out of T1 and down the first hills of Placid I realized that this ride was going to be about being safe and smart and coming back to T2 in one piece.  I saw my brother and Adam as I rolled out.  I was happy and ready to execute.  It was raining, the skies were dark and there were huge lightning bolts and monstrous thunder up ahead - but the conditions were the same for everyone.  I made a decision very early on to let the weather be to my benefit - maybe others would slow down, DNF, etc because of the weather but it wasn't bothering me and I wasn't going to let it get me down.  I passed quite a few people during the first climb out of Placid.  By the time I got to the descent it wasn't too crowded and mostly everyone else on the descent was riding their brakes.  This was my 7th time down the descent in about the past year - and it had recently been re-surfaced!  I took it in aero and had a blast!  The rain felt like tiny rocks and it was sort of painful, so the quicker it was over the better. Once I got to the flat-ish section that takes you out toward Jay the rain was slowing and the sun was trying to come out.  I had been sticking to my nutrition and hydration plan and basically started peeiing 90 minutes into the bike and about every hour after that.  Hydration was not going to hold me back.  The first out and back gave me a chance to see where I was in relation to some of the pro's and fast age groupers.  I was feeling strong and ready to tackle the hills starting in Wilmington.  I took it easy and spun on up, I also got to see Octavio having an awesome race!  Once to the 3 bears I put my climbing legs on and went after it, it's amazing how many triathletes can't climb well.  I saw my sherpa team along Mirror Lake Drive

Rolling through to finish loop 1.

before making a quick stop at Special Needs to restock my Osmo hydration and nutrition needs.  The sun was out for the 2nd loop and as the water lifted off the road the humidity came out to play.  The course was a little lonely during the 2nd loop.  I saw my friend, Mary, as we made the initial ascent out of Placid.  The descent to Keene was a even more fun with less people and better visibility!  I felt great  until about mile 84 - which is when I started to wonder if 'the plan' was too hard.  I reminded my legs to shut up and get to work.  There was a nice headwind once we made the turn to head towards the 3 bears.  That part of the course always always gets me on the 2nd loop.  I watched my numbers and carried on.  I was still passing people, still peeing and generally feeling ok.  Once at the 3 bears I was energized and ready to get to T2.

T2 - 2:28
I was ready to get off my bike and see what the legs could do on the marathon ahead.  I was fairly certain I was doing decently well as there was no one else in the women's change tent when I got there.  I had 3 volunteers to myself.  One dumped my bag adn put my race on me while 2 others put my socks and shoes on.  Nice!  I got in some water and ice as I leff the change tent and headed out of the oval.

THE RUN - 26.2 Miles - 4:36:01
I'd run this course before and I knew the first few miles could be deceptively fast due to the downhill.  I focused on my hydration, nutrition and heart rate.  My legs were feeling good

and my heart rate was right where I wanted it. Down and out of Placid before making the left turn for the long out and back along River Rd.  I got to see many pro's finishing heading back on their first loop as I was heading out.  I also got to see Kendra, who I hadn't seen all day.  It's the small things that can make you smile during the Ironman marathon.  I took in Osmo, water, ice, gels, orange slices, etc.  I felt great my entire first loop, even coming back up the hills into town.  Just about at special need's my HR started dropping.  I wanted to run faster and bring it up but my legs weren't willing to go.  The out and back seemed even longer on the 2nd time through.  I was excited to see Kim running in 2nd and closing in on the finish, Katie running in 6th and a bunch more DCTC people out on the run course.  My stomach was ok but I couldn't stand the thought of gels anymore so I switched over to orange slices and coke in

addition to my Osmo.  I was fighting to keep my heart rate from dropping anymore. Adam ran with me a bit - saying he thought I was 7th off the bike - at this point I thought about 15 people in my age group had passed me so I figure I was now somewhere between 15th and 25th.  Really, I had no clue.  All I knew is that this was hard, and if you'd asked me at mile 18 if I'd ever sign up for another I would of said, "hell no!".  (Well that changed rather quickly).  I fought up the hills once last time and knew I could push it for the short out and back on Mirror Lake Drive before heading into the oval.  One of the last aid stations was playing happy and it definitely helped bring a smile back to my face for the last few miles.  

Final turn before the finish line!

FINISH - 11:57:48 (FULL RACE) - 11:11:51 (SHORTENED RACE/SWIM CUT)

Happy to finish strong and thanking my Dad!

If you have followed my blog, you know this race fell on the 3rd anniversary of my dad's death.  I raced my first Ironman (Louisville) in 2012 just over a year after his accident.  The training was therapeutic, the challenge was new and  I was out there as part of my journey.  When I noticed IMLP was on the 3rd anniversary of the accident I had to sign up.  The setting, the race, the date - everything about it was perfect.  I trained and I raced for dad.  Everything else was just icing on the cake.  My dad will always be an inspiration and motivating force on this Ironman journey, but the next one...it's for me and he'd love that.




We found out a bit after I finished that I actually finished 6th in my age group!  With how my run went I didn't think I'd cracked the top 10.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Excited to see if maybe a Kona slot would roll down and excited that I was only a few minutes off the podium.  Then it a hit me...a few minutes over the course of 11+ hours isn't that much. I was slightly dissappointed I didn't know where I was in the race during course of the run (had I come off the bike in 4th or 7th?) it's not entirely clear on the Ironman Tracker.  Had I known, I'm not sure I could have done anything differently.  It was truly a great day with a superb sherpa team!  I'm sticking to 'the plan' and going to see where we can go from here!  

Thank you to my sponsors - Snapple, DC Tri Club, Osmo Nutrition, Rudy Project, Normatec Recovery, and Rose Physical Therapy Group for help me get to the start line race ready and helping me have a great day getting to the finish line!  Thank you to my awesome sherpa team - Adam, Mom, and Rory!  They were great all week long and put up with me all the months leading up to the race.  Thank you, Kara for your virtual cheers and support (she was the first to know how I placed!).

Adam, Rory, and Mom near the Flume.  Natural ice bath!