I Beat the Chicken

The 2013 Tri Season has now officially begun.  Adam and I headed down to Richmond (Tuckahoe to be exact) for the 2013 Richmond Multisport Triathlon season opener - the Chasing Chicken Sprint Triathlon.  With some longer races (1/2 Iron distance right around the corner in May) we wanted to get in some racing, shake out some cobwebs, and have some fun going short, fast, and hard before a season of long days of training and racing picks up.

SATURDAY: PACKET PICK-UP

The only downfall (if considered that) of this race is that they require Saturday packet pick-up between the hours of 11-3.  I was frustrated that after an early morning of putting on the DC Tri Club Duathlon we weren't able to get in a mid-long distance ride of our own.  By the time we got to Richmond we went straight to packet pickup at 3Sports and picked up some clearance items.  The 2 new pairs of Zoot running shoes I

snagged will hopefully be worth missing a ride.  We were able to steal away for about an hour and do some course recon/discovery of the bike course.  I'm very glad we were able to do this as the course had a little bit of an interesting transition to the mount line as well as a couple turns to get out to the 2 main roads most of the course took place on.

PRE RACE DINNER

If you've ever traveled to a race with me you know I'm pretty gung ho about my pre race meal.  On occasion I make my own dinner, pack it up in tupperware, and voila have my trusty pasta, marinara, zuchinni, squash and onion.  If that's not really an option I go to Olive Garden - and get the same thing every time.  I've learned that on a Saturday night you can sit, order, and eat at the Bar in Olive Garden in about 40 minutes, the same amount of time you might wait for a table.  Our hotel was nicely located down the road from an OG - but not so fast.  Adam (the man with friends everywhere) has an old friend in Richmond who was nice enough to have us over for dinner.  Apps, drinks, homemade bread, and pasta with homemade pesto - it was definitely not my usual but it was tasty and carb loading perfection.

Post dinner consisted of readying the bikes - bike frame #, helmet #, and bib # all set and ready to go.  Transition bag packed, race clothes out for the AM, and breakfast items out and ready.

SUNDAY: PRE RACE

Breakfast was the old standby with a slight twist - Special K Chocolatey Red Berries, banana, and almond milk.  Peanut butter will no longer be making an appearance on race day or any other day really as I've started having pretty bad cramping every time I consume peanut butter (this really is a story for another day).  Getting out of the hotel and on the road to the race site was smooth.  We arrived at the race site with plenty of time to set up transition, get timing chips and take Mr (that's my bike) to the mechanic for a check in and get in a warm up swim.  After our ride the day before I noticed the shifting was off and some gears had a
sluggish feel to them.  The mechanic made some real derailleur adjustment but just couldn't get it right - he asked me about the chain which I recently had replaced and after a few more adjustments asked me about the cassette...oi.  I had no idea, I bought the wheel used a year ago, they came with the cassette and for all I know that cassette could have been on them since 2009.  He did the best he could - which was a big improvement compared to what it felt like the day before and I promptly ordered a new cassette once I had access to Amazon.

THE SWIM - 300m Pool Swim - 6:06

This time does include a few seconds of transition time to get in and out of the pool and such but I'm still not thrilled with my splits for a pool swim and considering the lessons I've been doing this year.  On a good note I felt strong and much more efficient than an probably almost any race before.  It was a time trial start and apparently the women around me had pretty accurate predicted swim times - I didn't pass anyone and no one passed me either.  I'll be working hard to get improve this time over the season - especially in the open water.

T1 - 2:40

Once pulling myself out of the pool I had to run through two sets of double doors, up some stars, up the drive way to the soccer field where transition was located and finally to my transition area.  Once there I pulled on my Gore cycling jacket, helmet, sunglasses, shoes, and gloves before heading out to the road with Mr.  Forgoing the jacket and gloves would have made for a much faster transition but a much less comfortable and more frozen bike ride.

THE BIKE - 13 Miles - 37:54 - 20.58mph

The bike was fun - but frustrating at times.  I was passed by 2 guys on the bike course - not super happy - but passed a whole lot of women.  While checking out the course the day before when we got out to the long stretch back to the YMCA on the back side of the loop we had a slight tail wind and we were sailing back in.  Making us excited for the last 1/2 of the bike segment for the race.  It was a whole different story on race day - hello headwing and crosswind!! Oi, at least everyone had the same conditions to deal with.

I took 1 PowerGel on the bike, about 9 miles in.  More to help me mentally and for the run than anything else.  I also rode with water/Ironman perform in my aerobottle.  Ironman perform still sits heavy just like it did last year - I don't know if I'll ever be able to dilute that stuff enough.  The bike is usually by far my favorite part of the race - and I definitely enjoyed this bike course but could have used a few more miles to catch and put some time into my main competition!  I'm all for short swims and long bikes :)

T2 - 1:25

I dismounted old school style and ran into T2 in my bike shoes.  I haven't been out to practice my flying dismounts and I wasn't about to try it on a slight uphill with another cyclist coming in right behind me.  It would have saved me a few seconds but no big deal.  I ditched the helmet, jacket, and gloves.  Donned my visor, Kinvara's, and grabbed my race belt and another gel for insurance before heading out for the run.

THE RUN - 5k - 23:07

I was clueless as to my position in the field, my pace, where Adam was, basically everything.  I was happy to be out of the headwind, my legs were warming up on the run, and the sun was out - though there was still a chill in the air!  I picked a comfortable pace and got to it, picking off people as I could.  I was passed by a collegiate female about 1.5 miles in but noticed her age group was different and her bib was much lower than mine - which meant I'd already made up a few minutes on her on the bike - it wasn't worth chasing her down - it wouldn't effect my AG place.  The run was a lollipop shape so I was hoping to see Adam on the out and back section - but no such luck - and I never saw the Chicken!  Oi!  Where is this guy?  Once I hit mile 2 I picked up my pace and picked off a few more women and a couple guys.  I noticed at bib 117 I seemed to be running with and passing a lot of people with bibs in the 50s and 60s.  What happened to everyone that started near me (we TT started in numerical order).  At this point I started to think that I might be doing fairly well.  As I ran it in to the finish line the chicken was handing out high 5's at the final turn to the home stretch!  Oi, I guess the chicken was donezo and I never saw him, he must have kicked my butt.  As I crossed the finish I didn't hear Adam or see him.  Unusual....

FINISH 1:11:11

I hung out near the finish line for another minute pondering where Adam might be - not long after I noticed him walking towards me.  I was greeted with a, "What are you doing here already?"  Um, I finished the race - are you just finishing?  Yes, the answer was Yes...I beat him across the finish line (which we made a bet based on this as well as finish time).  I will enjoy my glory for the day as it may not happen again anytime soon as I almost always start in a wave (or 20) behind him.  We took a nice cool down together and then headed back to get some warm clothes, pick up transitions, and get some grub and get stretched out.

We had to hang out for awhile for the awards to start.  While I was getting stretched out Adam peaked at the results and broke the news to me.  Apparently I did well, really well.  Hmmm....did I win my Age group?  No, ok then what did I do?  2nd Age group....2nd Overall Female! Woo that was good news for the first tri of the season.  We went back and checked the awards to see if we beat the chicken...and yes we both did...easily.  Adam also podiumed with an AG award - we need ideas for barbecue sauce...2 full jars of it. Adam finished with a 1:07:02 and the Chicken finished in 1:14:55...I guess that's fast for a chicken.


Finally awards started - we collected our hardware/barbecue sauce and attempted to wait to see if those that beat the chicken would take home anything else.  But time was ticking away and we were eager to get back to DC so we snuck out during the collegiate
awards.

POST RACE THOUGHTS

This was great early season tune up race.  It was fun, low pressure, and at least the swim was warm.  If it fits I'd do it again.  Definitely was reminded of some things to practice before the bigger races during race set up and the race itself.  And as I've insisted before - I'm a better runner off the bike than in a stand alone running race.

2013 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

The Cherry Blossom 10-miler is by far my favorite running race...ever.  It may have something to do with my knack for PRing all 3 times I've raced it, the idea of cherry blossoms surrounding the course, the race start in my backyard, or all the friends that run and cheer along the way.  This year lived up to my every expectation.

I set a time goal for myself - that according to McMillan and my most recent 1/2 marathon time would not be possible.  It would be a PR and a pace that  I knew I would have to focus to maintain if I achieved my time goal.  Over the past year and half I've come to appreciate my Garmin but I still use the pace calculator to have an idea of what my mile splits need to be at certain markers to keep my entertained during the run - yay for mathematics!  That being said I was still pretty glued to the idea of having my Garmin on my wrist for the run.

As I prepared my clothes and bag check bag for the morning I couldn't find my watch - oh no, I had left it on my bedroom floor!  Fail!  Luckily, I have an amazing roommate who loves any excuse to Bikeshare around town and was willing to meet me at 7:00am to hand off the Garmin!

Sunday morning I took off across Memorial Bridge - closed to car traffic to head to the race start - via bike. It was an awesome ride into town and super easy.  Going by bike is definitely the way to go.  I found a bike

rack, a tree that looked like the meeting place for the group I was meeting with and hunkered down.  15 minutes later...still no else there.  I eventually found Jesse and got the watch, found a toilet with no line, and got really worried about finding Adam and my gear check bag.  After a few minutes of frustration and crowds I found him and quickly took off my warm clothes and checked my bag so I could make it to my corral before race start.

Once comfortably in the red corral I tried to seed myself towards the back of the lead crowd as to not get caught up running to fast but also to not have to dodge around slower runners.  All in all it worked out pretty well.  I went out a bit faster than my goal pace but quickly adjusted for miles 2 and 3 and was hitting my goal pace - but I wasn't using my Garmin at all.  Old fashioned clocks and mathematics - I like to look at the Garmin Data after the run :)

The weather was cool and I'd say pretty much perfect - though there was quite the breeze I noticed while on Memorial Bridge.  Miles 1-3 came and went without much to-do.  I took a gel at mile 3 and continued on my way.  I was grabbing water as we passed water stops and enjoyed the race - even if there weren't many blossoms out quite yet.  I was pushing myself to a slightly uncomfortable place but yet maintainable.  It felt good to be running hard.  Running hard after the winter is always a bit difficult for me - I do too much slow and comfortable pace'd running in the cold weather.

As I passed the 5 mile mark I knew I was right on target and headed towards one of my favorite places...Hains Point.  Most people seem to feel strongly about Hains Point - either they love it or they hate it - and I love it!  The Oreo and Beer man at the tip of the point, the cheering crowds, the water, and the
blossoms and the last few miles!  Hains Point was still great this year - but it was windy!  We hit a major head wind heading out to the point that seemed to slow everyone down.  I tried drafting off bigger people, but to no avail - I pushed on the best I could into the wind.

Soon enough I was around the point with the wind at my back.  I felt strong for the last couple miles - though some race photos show my form falling apart - heel strike!  When I saw the clock at Mile 9 I knew I had to hold my pace to make my goal.  As I came to the end of Hains Point and saw the 1200m To Go sign I started to slightly pick up my pace.  As I ran up the 1 small hill in the entire race and finally toward the finish line I knew it'd be close.  I gave it a final kick with all I had left.

FINISH TIME: 1:19:53 (Woo sub-1:20:00)

I caught up with some friends - near the "correct" tree before grabbing a post race muffin and some warm clothes.  Once re-untied with Adam and gathering a group for brunch we headed off to a great meal and a beautifully sun-shining day.



HOLLI FINNEREN Results

Off to The Races

I waited a little longer to get started into the racing scene this year, but the racing hasn't really stopped since it started - 4 straight weeks in a row.  It'll be nice to do a little training next weekend.  The season started with my first ever trail race which was soon followed by some road races and team competition.  Time and time again this year it seem's I've been reminded of the wonderful weather that I'm missing in Georgia.  Every time it seems to warm up no sooner do we get hit with some wintry mix.  I can't say the weather has helped me get out the door and get down to training, hoping this helps come mid summer as I was starting to feel a bit burned out last year with starting my training in January.   The 4 races this so far this year have had some ups and downs, learning points and frustration points but all and all I can't be unhappy with it.

How has your 2013 season started off?

This year kicked off with a 5.5 mile Backyard Burn at Hemlock Overlook in Virginia.  I started running some trails late in 2012 but often get frustrated with the slower pace and started running sans watch and just hitting the trails for good times with friends.  I surprised myself at the BYB with a podium finish and learning a whole lot about trail running races.  When they say single track, they really mean single track.  If someone mentions they aren't very good at running downhill, they really probably are not very good at running downhill.  So far this year I've continually gone out on runs too hard, too fast so I told myself I wouldn't do that at BYB.  That left me stuck behind quite the group on some tough single track near the beginning of the course.  As the group spread out and some climbing started I was able to pass some people and finally get into a rhythm around mile 3.  Overall it was a fun race with a podium finish, 3rd in the 20-29 age group.  I'll definitely do some more early and late season trail racing in the future.

The week after BYB was St. Patrick's Day 8k here in DC.  I've run this course once, in December 2011 and had one of my best races ever on it.  I was looking forward to a chance to get yet another PR on this course and see all the craziness St. Patrick's Day themed runs seem to bring about.  I didn't use my Garmin at all -- I took off WAY to hard and fizzled out quite quickly.  By way too hard my first mile was about 1 min faster than goal race pace :/ whoops.  It was a great day with some warm weather followed by a great brunch.  No PR for me, but overall not a horrible day and a lesson learned in pacing.

Did you do any new/different races to kick off the season?

Just 5 short days later was my first long test of the season.  The Rock and Roll USA 1/2 Marathon.  I've only run 2 other free standing 1/2 marathons previously - the Publix Georgia 1/2 in 2011 and 2012 over the same weekend in March.  In 2011 I was happy with my result - it wasn't fantastic but it was under 2 hours and that was my goal.  2012 was a bit disappointing as it was within a minute of the same time as 2011, but my racing strategy was pretty horrible - I went out hard and tried to see how long I could hold on.  Not a great idea on the hills of Atlanta.  I had learned my lesson for 2013 at previous 1/2 marathons and the 8k the weekend before.  I picked a goal pace and tried to stick with it.  I was a little faster than goal pace for the first 10k of the run and slowed down a bit around mile 10 before picking it up again for the finish.  I PR'd my 1/2 marathon by more than 5 minutes ( I can't be too unhappy with that) but my "1/2 marathon" PR remains as my first 1/2 of the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon - I would like to smash that...someday soon.  Looking at the results and where I am at this time of year I should be happy and ahead of where I was this time last year, but I'm still lacking the speed I feel I had when I was still playing college soccer.


Are you having any early season struggle/frustrations?

This weekend was Tri Mania in DC and we had some friendly team competition - a trail-ish 5k and a computrainer 10k.  It was fun, I was sore from a brick the previous day and there was some tough and strong competition.  It was a good atmosphere to pick up some more motivation for the season and check out the local tri scene - but really I can only take so much tri talk and spandex in a short amount of time.

I've been looking at training plans and considering coaching options - as doing a lot of training (too much at times last year) and pure grit have seemed to hit a plateau.  As the weather warms and I'm able to get outside more I'm going to lock down a more normal training schedule and hopefully work smart - and hard :)