Syracuse 70.3 Race Report: Stepping Stones

As a final tune up and prep for Lake Placid I decided to give Syracuse 70.3 a go this year.  Despite race reports from previous years claiming it was the hardest 70.3 course ever, worst conditions, never do it again, etc I was confident it would be a good day in Syracuse.  Syracuse isn't too far of a drive from DC and logistically it's a whole lot like Placid!

Pre Race: Friday and Saturday

We arrived in time on Friday evening to grab my packet and jump in the lake for a quick shake out swim.  The water felt perfect with a full sleeve wetsuit and the lake looked pretty similar to Mirror Lake in Lake Placid.  There may have been signs saying no swimming on the beach but we just went over to a grassy area between the beach and some private homes and jumped in.  Luckily a few other athletes arrived for a short swim just as I was ready to get in.  After the nice shake out swim we headed north about 15 more minutes to our hotel, grabbed dinner, and hit the sack.  I was exhausted from an early morning workout, 1/2 day of work and long drive!

Saturday was easy going, Mom and I took care of all the necessary bike racking and pre race briefing stuff.  Once out of Jamesville Beach Park we headed to the nearest grocery store to get some race morning food
and then set out to find lunch.  We found a couple cute places near campus, too bad they didn't have weekend hours in the summer!  We ended up playing it safe with Jimmy Johns - which was delicious.  Once back at the hotel I settled into the Normatecs to watch Germany vs Ghana World Cup action and take a nap.

On recommendation from a previous patient we set out to get dinner at Pastabilities around 5:30.  It was a quick 15 minute walk.  It was busy when we arrived but we only ended up waiting 17 minutes for a seat and the service and food was awesome.  It was a hotspot for athletes, by the time we got seated people were being told that it was a 90' wait for a table.  Thank goodness we beat the rush!  After dinner we loaded some stuff into the car and got to bed early.

RACE DAY
Pre Race - I set up transition, inflated my tires, loaded up Mr with Osmo and hung out with my mom until it was time to get into my Xterra wetsuit.  It was a bit chilly race morning but as soon as the sun was shining it started warming up.  It was pretty perfect out. The water was still, the air was cool, and the sun was rising.

THE SWIM - 1.2 Miles - 39:32

The lake at Jamesville Beach park was as close as I'll get to Mirror Lake until the end of July.  My wave was fortunate enough to start off the age group wave in the first wave after the pro's.  My swim start was physical but I went out hard and got out with a group for a nice draft.  The simple rectangle swim course made for a fast first half of the swim for me.  I had a rough mid part of the swim, with two 90 degree turns I lost my bearings and my pace slowed drastically as I struggled to keep myself on course.  At which point I made it
to the first turn bouy and noticed the group I had been with was getting away from me.  I was able to regain composure and finish strong.  Initially I was disappointed with this swim, but looking back at the results  and swim data there were some really good take aways from this swim.  I had an awesome start and was able to get out with some fast girls.  I need to work on turns and sighting out of the turn so I can stay with the group.  Last of all, I was able to still finish strong despite a poor mid section of my swim.  My new Xterra wetsuit was awesome in the water.

T1 - 3:34
T1 was 0.32 miles long...good training for Placid.  I slipped my goggles and swim cap into the sleeve of my wetsuit as I ran into transition (never to be seen again).  Shoes on, helmet on, and I was out.

THE BIKE - 56 Miles - 2:48:44

Wow, this bike course it interesting.  Coming out of transition you have a couple miles of flats and rollers to get control of your heart rate and settle in.  Then up, up, and up for about 15 miles.  Some tough hills, some steady almost false flats, but just hill after hill after hill.  With such an early swim start, I wasn't 'chicking' any men.  The only men that started before me were the pros.  Mentally this got to be a little tough as mid 30 y.o. men flew past me after the first 12 miles of the bike course.  Usually I start in the last or 2nd to last swim

wave at M-Dot events, and I am the one doing most of the passing.  With the first 15 miles behind me, things started to pick up a bit with some good descents and fast rollers.  I was nailing my bike plan including nutrition and hydration and knew everyone else was on the same difficult course I was on.  As I was nearing my last bottle of hydration I knew it was time to take a bottle hand off and mix in some Osmo.  This was the biggest snafu of the day.  I had changed the top on my torpedo, having never used the quick fill top...first off I could barely get the bottle out once I had dumped the water in, once out the Osmo dump was a big fail.  On the go solution....dump Osmo in mouth, swish with water..done!  It actually tasted pretty good.  The ride finished out pretty fast.  Mr felt a little sluggish and after taking a look post race it looks as though my cadence sensor was rubbing the rear disc a bit, perhaps after hitting a bump.

T2 - 1:34

A quick run into transition change the shoes, leave the helmet and I was off.

THE RUN - 1:56:43

Everyone talks about the hill at the turn-around point of this run - and yes it's big, it get's steep, you have to do it 2x, yada, yada.  What everyone fails to talk about is the weird grassy slanted parking lot first section of the course.  It's not horrible, just something you may not be expecting.  I was running comfortably for the most part, taking in Osmo as needed and dumping cool water over my head at aid stations.  The first loop of the run went by fairly seamlessly.  I was keeping my HR very controlled and staying a bit too comfortable. While being smack dab in the middle of Ironman training I executed this run a bit more like an Ironman marathon run, which is ok.  Not ideal for 'racing' a 1/2 IM but not horrible.  I got to see a few friends while I was out on my 2nd loop of the run, most of them had later start waves and were only just starting their run.  I was thankful to be on my way in to the finish chute as the day was heating up!

FINISH TIME: 5:29:50

This was a tough course, but I'd do it again.  The setting is beautiful, the event is well run, and the course is challenging.  I think if I were to do it again I'd like to focus on it more so than it just being a prep race for IM.  That being said it was definitely needed to work out some snafus before the big day on July 27th.

Thank you DC Triathlon Club, Snapple Triathlon and our sponsors Osmo nutrition, Xterra wetsuits, Rudy Project Helmets, and Rose Physical Therapy Group for their continued support and keeping me in the race and ready to get after the next one.  Also huge thanks to my mom for making the drive with me and being great race support the entire weekend!

A touch of Inspiration and Smelling the Roses

It's been a little while since I've just written a blog post that didn't have to do with a race recap or heart rate zones.

Thank God for awesome volunteers at the IM finish line!

I was honored to be featured on Gabi's blog at Lean Green Island Girl to kick off her Motivation Monday series.  Wow, what an awesome blog, talented and dedicated athlete, and all around great person.  I've gotten to know Gabi, and her husband, Pablo, over the past year through DC Tri Club.  They have since dove headfirst into Ironman training...for Ironman Louisville 2014.  Louisville holds a special place in my heart because it it also where my first Ironman journey culminated.  I'm so excited to follow their journey to the finish line at 4th Street Live this August!

Sometimes we get so caught up in our own training, goals, and racing that we don't really stop and look around for a moment.  Well Gabi and Pablo, pause for a moment in Louisville, look around you, take it all in, and know that you are doing your Ironman.  I've been knee deep in my own Ironman training and haven't spent much time with friends, old training partners, family, etc.  The odd free time I do get has recently been spent volunteering for triathlon related events such as Peasantman and DC Tri Club training tri's.  These events help keep me grounded and help remind me that I GET to participate, I GET to ride my bike all day on Saturday, I GET to push my legs to see how far I can go and not everyone is lucky enough to have those opportunities.  It gives me a chance to reach out to new triathletes, answer questions, provide tips/tricks, and catch up with other DC Tri people setting their sights on their own goal races.

Aside from triathlon I'm amidst a pretty awesome job change.  Next Wednesday, June 4th, I'll start with Rose Physical Therapy Group in Washington, DC.  I can't say enough great things about this company and my future co-workers.  Along with partnerships with local triathlon and running clubs and support and encouragement for my own career related goals it would be an understatement to say I'm a little excited.

2014 Kinetic 1/2 Race Report

I knew before I had even finished the Kinetic 1/2 in 2013 that I would be registering for the 2014 race - after a flat tire/bike crash and hobbling through 13.1 in 2013 I had to give it another go.  Adam has a great friend who welcomes us every year to his family's lake house in the area which makes for quite the comfortable and scenic abode for race weekend.  Unlike last year, Adam decided to forego the 1/2 and race the sprint this year - which takes place the day after the 1/2 - full time sherpa duty for Saturday's 1/2!  He loved every second of it.

Pre-Race Friday

We decided to depart DC at 2pm on Friday = fail.  The 90 minute drive turned into a 120 minute drive and eventually into 200 minute drive. Much more time than we had hoped to spend in the car.  We still had plenty of time to hit packet pickup up and jump in the water for a short swim out to some of the on course

buoys.  A quick spin of the bike in the park and then we were off settle in for the evening.  A delicious dinner of grilled chicken and pasta hit the spot followed by some time with the NormaTec MVP Pro unit by Normatec Recovery.

Pre-Race Saturday

A 7am race start makes for an early morning.  All my bottles and nutrition were prepped the evening before so waking up, eating, and getting dressed and heading off to the race site was pretty much the extent of what I had to think about Saturday morning.  Adam bit the bullet and took the early wake up call to be a super sherpa.  I had plenty of time to get transition set, hang out in the DCTC tent and get a warm up swim in before race start.

THE SWIM - 1.2 miles - 37:57

I know this isn't a stellar swim time but it's a good amount of improvement for me.  Previous Kinetic swim times were in the 41 and 42 minute range, so I was happy to come out of the water sub 38 minutes!  There is still loads of room for improvement with my swim, but as long as I keep chipping away at it eventually it might even be "fast".  I had discussed a start plan with my coach, executed that plan, and it was pretty successful!  For the first time I wasn't getting swam over and beaten during the first couple hundred meters - but I even did some of the swimming over.  Once settled into the swim I was on and off feet every few minutes but was able to stick on the same feet for the middle 1/3rd of the swim.

T1 - 2:05

A little tricky getting my watch off, wetsuit sleeves off, and watch back on.  Luckily I was able to complete all that during my run to my bike.  Once at my bike it was a quick step into each shoe, sunglasses on, helmet on and off I went.  Adam has suggested that I even pushed people out of my was as I was trying to run out of transition.  Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but I was on a mission.

THE BIKE - 56 miles - 2:36:36 (21.0 mph avg)

Though this race was important, it was really all about sticking to the plan in preparation for IM Lake Placid in July.  It was tough to hit the plan exactly with the 3 or so mile uphill out of transition.  Once out of the park and onto the main part of the course I stuck to the plan as closely as I could.  I felt awesome on the bike and never once felt like I was redlining or burning too many matches on the bike.  I got in my nutrition and Osmo hydration as planned and even had to pee on the bike.  About 18 miles or so into the course I came up behind a line a 6 cars following about 6 cyclists, none of which were moving quickly.  I had just passed two guys, so they were some help in figuring out the best way to maneuver around the slow moving vehicles.  All in all we probably only lost 20-30 seconds waiting for enough space and the right time to make our move.  The bike course was great, one patch of rough road about half way through that lasted maybe 6 or so miles, but the 2nd half of the course was almost all new blacktop and fast.  The very last part of the course seemed much faster and more fun without a flat tire ;)  As I slipped my feet out of shoes and rolled downhill towards transition I heard the announcer calling out my name, place, and that I was 45 seconds behind the female leader.  Whoa....what!?  I never catch that many people on the bike, was my swim good enough to give me a shot at the OA podium this year?

T2 - 0:59

Socks, running shoes on.  Helmet, sunglasses off, race belt with visor attached in hand.  I followed another female out of transition and out onto the run course.  I saw 1 female just starting the run about 10 seconds before I dismounted my bike, so I figured I was in 3rd and 2nd was right in front of me. 

THE RUN - 1:52:43

I'm happy with this for now, like my swim, plenty of room for improvement.  As with the bike I tried to stick to my plan for the entirety of the run.  This meant not blowing out of T2 and chasing the female I exited with.  I had raced against her before, I know she is a strong runner.  I had to run my race and see what I could do.  It's a 3 loop run course - the 1st loop was lonely and sparse, the 2nd loop was more crowded and I

could see where the other females were.  With one female way ahead of everyone I figured I was in 3rd (wrong! she was a relay, so I was really in 2nd), I saw the next female behind me gaining on me and sure enough she passed me at mile 8.  At mile 11 another female - I'm not sure where she came from  - came zooming around me and up the hill.  I knew another girl was probably not far behind me and was running scared.  Once I hit the down hill campground path through the woods I was pretty sure she wasn't going to catch me.

FINISH: 5:10:17 (5th OA, 1st AG)

Female 25-29 AG Podium

A big Thank You to Dan and Lorraine for hosting us, DC Tri Club and Snapple Tri Team for the encouragement and support along the course, Osmo nutrition for keeping me hydrated and helping me recover, Louis Garneau for another chafe free race experience, Xterra wetsuits, Rose Physical Therapy Group for awesome post race work, Normatec Recovery, and Rudy Project for keeping my head cool and protected!