Boulder Sunrise Du Race Report!

This was the first Duathlon I have done, and I have to say that I LOVED IT!  It was so much fun and just had a completely different feel to it than a triathlon.  Don't get me wrong, I love triathlons, but it was soooo nice not to have to worry about the swim.  I wanted to just have fun in this race, and it's pretty much exactly what I did!  However, my competitive side did kick in a little bit, as you'll read below! :)

Pre-Race:
Since my race was in Boulder, which is roughly 45min. from Denver, I got up early, ate my bagel with PB and honey, and headed out.  My family usually comes to watch me race, but because my in-laws are in town, we just decided it would be easier if I went by myself.  The drive was pretty uneventful, and before I knew it I was at the Boulder Res. setting up my transition area.

I have to tell you that it was really STRANGE setting up my transition area without my swim stuff.  The entire time I kept feeling like I was forgetting something.  I guess when you're used to doing triathlons, anything different starts to feel a little unnatural! :)

Julie and Me

As I was setting up my stuff I saw Julie from You Just Have to Tri!  a couple rows over from me!  It turns out she was doing the Sprint Tri!!  She is so nice, and it was great having someone to talk to before things got started.  She was a little nervous about the swim part of the tri, but she ended up doing awesome and placing in her AG!  You can read her race report HERE.
Before we knew it, is was time to leave the transition area.  My race didn't start until 8:30, so I had 1 1/2hr. to kill after transition closed!  Ugh!  Luckily, I had some of my TriBella teammates that were volunteering there, so I hung out with them and cheered on the racers as they got out of the water.

Finally, it was time to get ready to race.  Aside from the Sprint and Olympic Tris, they had a duathlon AND a 5k!  The runners all started together.  I thought it would be crazy, but there actually weren't that  many people racing, so it was nice.  I lined up to start and wasn't nervous at all!  Usually I am a nervous wreck before a race, but I was out there to have fun and use it as a training day, so I was completely relaxed!  IT WAS AWESOME!

5k RUN #1:
Time: 25:03 (8:05pace)

I decided to where my VFF Bikilas for the first 5k because 1) They are awesome! :) AND  2) They would be easy to switch out of and into my bike shoes in transition (I don't wear socks with my bike shoes).  Some people asked me about them, but the majority just kind of starred at them.  I don't think many people have seen athletes wearing VFFs in races! :)

So, we started and right off the bat my pace was FAST!  Sub 8:00 FAST!  I thought, "Whoa...I better slow down."  I haven't run that fast since before my IT band injury in January.  But, something funny happened.  I felt AWESOME!  There was this mom doing the 5k with two of her boys who were probably 10 or 12 and the older one was right in front of me.  He was amazing and wasn't slowing down anytime soon!  I decided to stick with him and see how I felt.  After all, I was doing this for fun.  If I blew up on the bike, oh well!

There were a couple of slight "hills" on the run, but overall it's a pretty fast out and back course.  The 12yr. old slowed down a couple of times where I was next to him and I would say, "You're doing great, keep going!" Then he would pick up the pace and lead again.  It was awesome!  This kid was AMAZING!  We got to the end and he sprinted with all he had to finish the 5k, which he ended up getting 2nd overall!!  I finished my run with a huge smile across my face and headed towards my bike.

T1: 
Time: 1:14
By this time, all the athletes doing the Sprint and Olympic tris were out on their bikes, so the transition area was pretty empty.  I slipped off my Bikilas, put on my bike shoes and helmet and  headed out.

17Mile BIKE:
Time: 53.51 (19mph avg)
 I started the bike course and immediately noticed that I was pretty much alone on the course.  It was almost like I WAS just doing a training day.  I would see some bikers ahead of me and eventually pass them just to find that they were not even racing, but just out there riding.  I was having a blast on the course because 1) It's beautiful, and 2) it's just a fun course filled with a mix of hills, flats, and speedy downhills!  I kept waiting to feel the effects of my 5k in my legs, but I never did.  I felt great and was just having so much fun!

Then, I started wondering where all the duathletes were. I never saw anyone until around mile 12.  As most of you know, I had to use my road bike because the aerobars on my tri bike broke.  So, around mile 12, I got passed by some guy duathlete FLYING by me on his tri bike.  Then, about a mile later, I got passed by a duathlete girl, in my AG, on her tri bike.  Oh how I missed my tri bike at that time!!!  Up until that point, I was just doing this for fun.  But, when she passed me, my competitive side came out and I vowed not to let her out of my sight.  And, even though I couldn't keep up with her, I could always see her up ahead.  I kept telling myself, "I'll get her on the run, I"ll get her on the run!"

T2:
Time: 1:11
I got into transition, and immediately saw the girl that had passed me just heading out for the run.  I put on my good ole' Brooks ST4 racers and headed out.

5k RUN #2:
Time: 24:25 (7:53pace)
I had NO idea how I would feel during this run.  The longest brick I've done up to this point was a 45min. bike/15min. run.  AND, that didn't include a 5k before it!!  But, I started running and immediately I had my running legs back.  Usually it takes me a good 5-10min. to find my legs, but I felt great!  I saw the girl ahead of me and knew I had her.  When I passed her I said, "Great job!" and she replied, "Go get em'!"  It was awesome!
Then, I saw Julie headed towards finishing her sprint 5k and yelled, "Yay Julie!"  THEN, I saw several of my TriBella teammates out on the run course and we all just cheered each other on.  It was just awesome!!  

The run course by this point was really crowded with racers doing the sprint, olympic, and duathlon, but strangely, I felt like I was racing by myself.  I looked at my Garmin and again saw a sub 8:00 pace and decided right then and there that I wanted to see what I could do.  I had NO idea if I could hold that pace, but I was going to try my hardest.  Instead of a 12yr. old boy ahead of me this time, there was a guy about 5feet ahead of me and we were running about the same pace.  I decided to use him as my "pacer" and just try to hold on!  We got to the last 1/2M and he started to slow down a little bit and I ran up next to him.  I could see him look over at me, then probably think to himself, "I'm not going to let her beat me" because he sped up.  I got behind him and again tried to hold on!  We came to the finisher shoot and both sprinted to the finish!  We crossed the finish line, got some waters, a wonderful wet towel, and our medal.  I went up to him and said, "Thanks for pushing me!" and he said, "You too!"  It turns out he really didn't want me to pass him!  Ha ha!  

Post-Race:
I saw Julie after I finished and we headed towards the tables to sit, cool down, and eat some food.  Usually I'm not too hungry after a race, but today I was starving!  They were serving burritos, which they had vegan and vegetarian ones (woohoo!), grapes, and lemonade.  It was actually pretty good!  We checked out the results board and Julie found out that she placed in her AG!  Woohoo -Yay Julie!!  Then, I checked my results and found out that I got 1st in my AG and 4th overall!!  I was so excited!!  They were passing out awards, so we decided to stick around.  I thought they would go through the awards pretty quickly, but IT TOOK FOREVER!  Julie stuck around with me, which was awesome!  But, I felt so bad because the duathlon awards were last and by that time, hardly anyone was around!  But, even though I had to wait forever, for me, it was worth it because I got to stand up on a podium (which I doubt I'll do again) and actually stand on the 1st place box!  :)

See how noone is around??  By this point, it was pretty empty!  Thanks again Julie for sticking around with me! :)

    



  

Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon Race Report

The short version:  I finished!  Isn't this medal awesome?  I love how it says, "Inaugural" on it and "26.2" on the guitar.  The mountains are actually sparkly too to look like snow!


* Warning: This post is pretty long!  :)
Pre-race:
We woke up, had a pre-race breakfast of a bagel with almond butter, got dressed, and headed to the race.  My husband was nice enough to wake up early and drive us so we didn't have to deal with trying to park with thousands of other racers.  As we got closer to the freeway exit, the traffic was basically at a stand still.  Luckily, my sister had her phone with her that has GPS, so we were able to figure out some side streets to go down to get close to the site.  We were so glad that we didn't have to deal with parking because there were literally hundreds and hundreds of cars coming from different directions trying to find parking downtown.  We finally just decided to hop out of the car and walk to the start.


We ended up having to walk about 1-2 miles, which was kind of good because it was cold out and that brisk walk warmed up our legs.  Once we reached the start area, we basically had 15 minutes to gear check our bag and visit the port-a-potty.  Gear check was CRAZY!  Again, there were hundreds of racers trying to check their bags all at the same time.  Once that was done, we got in line to use the bathroom and the first coral of racers started.  We knew we wouldn't make the official start, and would probably miss our coral, but we weren't going to stress about it because there was nothing we could do about it.  Finally, we got done, ran towards the start, and joined in the masses of people.  We crossed the start with coral #7, said our good lucks to each other and took off!

The Good: Miles 1-19
The start of the race was amazing!  There were so many people cheering and yelling, and the energy was pretty intense!  It was so loud that I don't think I actually heard the music on my Shuffle until several miles into the race.  I had so much adrenaline running through  my body, that I had to work really hard not to run too fast.
The course wound through downtown for about 5 miles before heading to City Park.  I was surprised by how fast the miles were clicking by.  One thing that was kind of frustrating though was that my Garmin was ahead on mileage by about .4 of a mile.  So, when my Garmin said I reached the 5M mark, it was actually .4M ahead of me on the course.  This doesn't sound like a huge deal, but it would come into play later in the race.
The course continued for about another 5 miles around City Park.  I love that park, so it was nice being able to run through it.  I was holding my pace and I felt really good, and was just excited about being there doing my first marathon!  I kept reminding myself that my goal was to finish happy, so I embraced the Rock-n-Roll aspect of the course.  I high-fived all of the cheerleaders throughout the course, and said, "Woohoo" to all the bands!  I was just having a good time.

After leaving City Park, we got a taste of a pretty good sized hill.  I swear it was a mile long!  My legs were definitely feeling it, but I just kept going.  We ran towards another park, Cheeseman Park, before the course split into the 1/2 marathoners and full marathoners.  I saw a row of about 5 port-a-potties with hardly anyone waiting and decided to take advantage of it.  I did my business and started off again.  It was a little hard to get going again, but it was worth the stop.  

From mile 12-15 we were graced with some other hills.  They weren't exactly steep, but long.  My husband and boys were planning on meeting me around the 15M mark so I could exchange my Nathan bottles and ditch my long sleeve shirt.  The thought of seeing them really helped me mentally keep going.  I was still feeling good at this point, but my legs were definitely feeling the effects of the hills.

This is a picture my husband got of me running towards them.  I look like a complete dork, but I was SOOO excited to see them!
I pulled off to the side, kissed my husband, took off my long sleeved shirt, exchanged my bottles, gave my boys hugs and kisses, and headed off again.  I know I wasted several minutes doing all of this, but it was completely worth it to me.



And, I'm off to do the remaining 11.2 miles!



The next 5 miles were all ran around and within Wash Park.  I was actually looking forward to this part of the race because it is one of my favorite places to run.  However, around the 18 mile mark, I started burping A LOT!  I wasn't really worried about it, but after awhile, it started getting annoying.  I came around a bend and saw my husband and boys again!  This was such a great surprise because I didn't think I would see them until the finish!

Between the 19 and 20M mark I started feeling a little nauseous.  I knew that I needed to eat a gel because I hadn't had one since a little before mile 15, but it just did not sound appealing to me in the least bit.  However, I knew that if I didn't get it down I could potentially pay an even bigger price later in the run.  I tried to eat the gel while running, but it just wasn't happening.  I slowed to a walk in order to get it down, but it was not easy.  Once it was down, I started running again.

The Bad: Miles 20-26.2
I have read numerous times that the race in a marathon really starts at mile 20.  I guess I didn't really understand this, but I have to say that I completely agree with that statement.  After the 20M mark, I was entering the unknown.  Every step past that mile was further than I had ever run before, and it was hard!  As I mentioned earlier, my Garmin reached the mile markers before I did in the race and it was just mentally hard to see that.  I stopped looking at my Garmin from mile 21 to the finish.  It just wasn't worth it any more.  My stomach starting revolting and I got really nauseous.  * Warning: gross parts coming up.  When it got to the point that I thought I was going to throw-up, I would pull over to the side and proceed to dry heave over and over again.  I HATE dry heaving. Every time it happened, my back and abs would just tighten up and hurt like crazy.  I really wish I could have just thrown up, but it didn't happen.  I would start walking, start feeling a little better, start running again, then the nausea would take over again and I would repeat the same process.  I did that 3 TIMES in 3 miles!  It was horrible and disgusting and I didn't know how to stop it.

I felt like crap and I just wanted to be done.  The miles felt like they took forever!  The worst part was that between miles 23 and 24, we had to go up a hill, down the backside, turn around, then go up and down it again.  This was torture!!  I couldn't believe that they would put that hill in the last few miles of a marathon!!!  It took every thing that I had to keep going and just put one foot in front of the other.  

Around mile 25, I saw my sister!  She had run the 1/2 marathon, and had come out on the course to help me finish the last mile.  It was soooo awesome to see her and she gave me the motivation to keep going!  She told me that my husband and boys were by the finish shoot waiting for me.  She kept telling me that all I needed to do was run to Bannock street, then turn left into the finishing shoot.  I could see the runners ahead of me turning left towards the shoot, but they looked so far away.  She ran with me all the way to Bannock street into the shoot, then stopped and told me to, "Run to the balloons!"  The finish was lined with balloons and her saying that made me laugh enough to push through the nausea.

I saw my husband and heard my boys cheering for me and it was awesome!  I didn't feel any more nausea and was just overcome with joy at what I was about to accomplish.  I was finishing my first marathon!!! :)

Here is a picture my husband took of my coming into the finish.

I crossed the finish line and was so happy to be done!  There were two women with signs that read, "Free hugs" and I went up to them and got a hug!  It was great!


The Ugly:
I got my medal, then proceeded to be handed water, apple slices, and fruit snacks.  I just grabbed the stuff for my boys and kept walking.  It was at this point that my stomach started revolting again.  My sister called my name and I saw her on the other side of the shoot.  I told her I was going to throw-up and she just kept saying, "Keep going and we'll take care of you."  I was so nauseous, but I didn't want to throw-up in the shoot where all the volunteers were handing out food and drinks.  That would have been horrible!
I finally made it out to the grass, found some trash cans, and proceeded to throw-up over and over again.  It was horrible!  There were runners and their families all around me and I was so embarrassed.  I finally stopped and actually felt a little better!  My sister and I walked to an open grassy area, sat down, and waited for my husband and boys to join us.  

This is a picture of me and my sister after the race.  She rocked the 1/2 mary with a time of 2:08!
Can you see how white I am?  My lips have no color in them!

My biggest supporters...my husband and boys!









                
Final Thoughts:
26.2 Miles !!   (My Garmin read 26.6 miles...ugh) 
Overall Time:  4:01:43 (9:14pace/M)
Division Place:  55/270
Sex Place: 252/1357
Before I share my thoughts, I just want to take a moment to thank all of you.  I carried all of your good luck wishes and encouragement with me throughout the entire race!  :)

I don't really know how to feel about this race.  Because this was my first marathon, my main goal was just to finish.  I had a time goal in mind, but honestly, I didn't put much emphasis on it because I just didn't know how my body would perform.  I have no idea why my stomach revolted the way it did.  I have never experienced that in a race before.  I used gels, water, and NUUN like I did in all of my training runs, so I didn't do anything differently.  Any ideas???
I am so happy that I finished, but I wish it would have been under less pukey circumstances!  :)  One thing is for sure though, I now have something to work towards for the Arizona Rock-n-Roll Marathon in January!

As far as whether or not I think a marathon is harder than a Half Ironman, I have to say that I don't think it is.  How I felt at the end (besides being pukey) was really similar to how I felt after my last 70.3.  I think mentally it's harder because you're doing the same thing over and over again, whereas with the HIM, you mix it up with swimming, biking, and running.  I don't know, it's interesting to think about.  What do all of you think?  

Congrats of all of you that raced this past weekend too!  I'm a little behind on blogs because my family was in town, but I can't wait to read about all of your racing experiences too! :)  

Iron Girl Sprint Tri Race Report!

Or otherwise known as The Best Race Ever!!!

O-kay, there are several reason why this was the best race ever.  Not only was there a great outcome, but I got to meet and hang out with two wonderful blogger friends, I had the most fun I've had in a race, and I got a super cute race shirt!  Onto the race report!  *Feel free to skip around, it's a long one (aren't they all?)! :)

Pre-Race:
I got up at 4am, got dressed, got my bagel with peanut butter and honey ready, and headed out for my 45 minute drive to Boulder.  This is what I found when I got into the car.  I love my husband! :)

There was absolutely no traffic, and the drive up was pretty uneventful.  I got to the Boulder Reservoir and it was sooo dark outside.  I forgot my headlamp, which would have been perfect, and ended up walking all my stuff in the dark towards the packet pick-up tent.  For some reason, I thought race day packet pick-up would be crazy, but I was wrong.  There were no lines and I made it in and out with all of my stuff in less than 15minutes.  Woohoo!  Here is my swag:

   The black bag actually folds up into this neat little case.  It will be perfect for storing in my car for those times I forget my reusable shopping bags!

I got to the transition area and found out that I had to rack my bike based on bib numbers.  Apparently, the later you registered, the further you were from the entrance.  I ended up having to rack my bike in the very last row.  Now, at first I was bummed about it, until I realized that the bike exit was right by my bike row!  Score!  Woohoo!  I love having my bike close to the bike exit because it means I don't have to run very far in my bike shoes!

I got my transition area set up, visited the port-a-potties a couple of times, and basically hung out until transition closed at 6:30.  I debated whether or not to wear my wetsuit because a 1/4M swim is so short and I knew the water was in the low 70s.  I have never raced this season without my wetsuit, so I was leaning towards wearing it until I saw that no one else around me was wearing theirs.  I seriously was freaked out about what to do.  Finally, I said screw it, and walked out of transition without my wetsuit.  I got maybe 20feet out of the area when I turned right back around and went back to my spot.  I finally figured that if I was that stressed about whether or not to wear it, then I SHOULD wear it.  I had 5 minutes to get it on before transition closed.  Once I had it on I immediately knew I made the right decision.  I felt so much calmer and relaxed.  Having my wetsuit just comforts me somehow.

I headed down to the swim beach and proceeded to wait and wait and wait.  My wave was the 2nd to the last wave, and I didn't start until 7:20.  So, basically I had 50 minutes to wait around.  Usually I'm totally nervous before the race start, but I was just so calm.  I looked at the buoys in the water and almost laughed at how short the swim course seemed.  I mean, the 1/4M swim looked like nothing!  It was awesome and I was so excited to swim.  Oh, and there actually were a lot of women with wetsuits, so I wasn't the only one! :)

Swim (1/4M):
Get this, the count down for the swim start ended with the announcer screaming "AFLAC" like the duck in those horrible commercials.  It was so cheesy and we all started laughing about it.  We were off and it took awhile before it was deep enough to actually swim.  I was finally able to swim and just decided to swim as fast as I could.  It was tough because there were a lot of women struggling and they would just stop in front of me (I have been there so many times, so I totally know how they were feeling).  It made it difficult to swim because I didn't want to swim over them, but I finally found my groove and just kept swimming!  I made it to the first turn buoy, then the second, and before I knew it I was at the finish!  It was amazing how short that swim felt...I LOVED it!  I got out of the water with a huge smile on my face, pulled my wetsuit down, got a great towel from the volunteers to dry off with, and ran the LONG way to transition.

Swim stats:
1/4M swim time:  8:30 (includes the long run)    Rank: 93/619
* I looked at my watch after coming out of the water and it said about 7min, which isn't incredibly fast, but it was a great time for me!  Yay!

T1:
This was pretty uneventful.  I got my wetsuit off, shoes on, helmet on, glasses on, and I literally had to run like 20 feet to the bike exit!  It was great!
Time:  1:14


Bike (17.2M):
I got on my bike and just started riding.  Although I was doing this tri for fun, I still wanted to push myself and see what I could do.  Because I have ridden this course before I knew what to expect.  I knew the first few miles or so are the worst, but after that it's just a great, fun course.  As I got up to speed, I started focusing on all of the calves ahead of me.  I was looking for women in my age group, 30-34, and I found them.  I felt so good on my bike and I just kept passing women the entire time.  It was a really weird feeling actually, and I almost felt guilty about it.  I don't really know why except maybe that this race is really a "beginner" tri for the most part and I almost felt out of place.  I only got passed once, on a downhill turn that I didn't feel comfortable going fast on, but once we went up again, I passed her back and never saw her again.  After awhile I stopped seeing women between 30-34 and was wondering where they all were.  I kept thinking that they had super speedy swims and super fast bikes and were ahead of me.  So, I kept pushing myself, trying to catch the women in my AG.  Finally, I was back at the reservoir.  I got to the dismount line and headed into transition.

Bike Stats:
17.2M   Time:  49:01  Avg. Pace:  21.2mph    Rank:  10/619
Woohoo!  I am so thrilled with this time and my avg. pace! 
*  As a side note, I did the Boulder Sprint Tri last year and my time on the same course was 52:24, so I beat my time by almost 3 1/2 minutes! :)


T2:
Again, this was pretty uneventful.  I got into transition and there weren't any other bikes around me.  It was crazy!  I racked my bike, got my running stuff on, took a swig of NUUN, and headed out.
Time:  1:07


Run (3.1M):
I left transition and my legs felt awesome!  I knew at that point that I was going to be able to push it on the run and I was so happy about that.  After my run experience at my Half Ironman, this was just a great feeling to have.  I got on the course and just started to run.  I told myself that it was only a 5k and I could do it!  I felt great and just kept pushing forward.  At one point, the leader of the race passed me in the opposite direction and she was flying!  I kept looking at all of the calves on the women ahead of me and I never saw anyone in the 30-34 age range.  I just kept thinking how strange it was and wondering where they all were.  Because the run course is an out and back, you get to see everyone that's ahead of you.  I saw some women that looked like they could be in my AG, but really it's impossible to tell how old someone is.  As I was nearing the turn around, I saw Kathleen coming the opposite direction and yelled some words of encouragement.  I was so happy to see her and she looked great!  I finally got to the turn around and I swear I had a huge smile on my face.  I was having such a great run and just having so much fun.  I stopped for a brief second to grab a Gatorade and gulp it down, and then headed towards the finish.  I saw a women in front of me with a 3_ on her calf and I couldn't tell if it was 34 or 39, so I decided to pick it up a little bit and find out.  As I got closer I realized it was a 39, but I just kept going.  I could hear the announcer at the finish calling out women's names and I got so excited!  Finally, I was at the finish chute and I ran it in, put my arms in the air, and sprinted across the mat!

Run Stats:
3.1M  time:  23:11  avg. pace:  7:29/M    Rank:  7/619
*  Last years time at the Boulder Sprint was 25:29.  


Overall Stats:
Overall Time:  1:23:01
Overall Rank:  9/619  (Note:  5 of the women that finished ahead of me were in the 35-39 AG...That is a FAST group and I'll be joining their ranks next year!  Yikes!)
30-34 AG Place:  1/120   I GOT FIRST PLACE!!!!!   Yay!!!  


Post Race:
After I finished I waited by the finish area because I knew Kathleen would be finishing soon!  She came in and I cheered her on!  We hung out for a little while talking about the race, then Julie, another blogger, finished.  Here is a picture of all of us:

Me, Julie from You Just Have to Tri, and Kathleen from Dare to Dream

I was so glad to finally meet Julie!  She is so nice!  We all hung out for awhile, then headed to the food tent where they literally had a full spread of yummy, yummy food.  Salad, yogurt and granola, bagels, pancakes, fresh fruit, muffins, etc...  It was awesome!  We loaded up our plates, then found a place to sit.  I knew my husband and boys wouldn't be there for awhile, so I got to hang out and just relax.  It was nice.  

Then, we noticed that there were a bunch of women gathered around a table.  They had posted some results, so I went over to check them out.  Imagine my surprise when I saw my name at the top of the list on the first page! :)  Then, I looked at the AG of the women that placed ahead of me and realized I was the first one in my AG.  I was totally taken aback by that so I actually asked another girl if that meant I got first in my AG.  She said yes and congrats, then I headed back to the table with a huge smile on my face!  I could not believe that I won my AG!  I was beyond ecstatic!  Just then, my husband and boys showed up and I told him the news!  He was so happy for me!  Then, of course, we had to take lots of stupid pictures by the Aflac duck...don't ask me why!

My boys loved the duck!  They thought it was hilarious! 

Then, they had the awards ceremony.  Kathleen and  Julie were so cute and they waited around with me and my family!  I was so excited to see what I won!

Here is what I won:

I am not a jewelry person, but I will probably wear this on occasion.  It's very simple and very pretty.  Plus, I love the message behind the saying, "Race with Grace."

Isn't that awesome!?!  

Before heading back to Denver, we ended up playing in the water with the boys at the reservoir.  It was wonderful!  I love this picture b/c my youngest looks so happy.  :)  

So, my tri season is officially over.  :(  It is a bittersweet feeling.  I love racing and am kind of sad that I am not doing another tri until next year.  But, this tri was an awesome way to end the season!  Plus, now I get to really focus on my marathon training.  It will be different, but good! :)   

Feelin' HOT, HOT, HOT - Boulder 70.3 Race Report

Boulder 70.3 Race Report:
Thank you all for your emails and good luck wishes!  I thought about them all during my race! :)
Now let me warn you, this may be a little long!

Pre-race:
My family and I drove up to Boulder Saturday mid-morning to do the whole packet pick-up and expo thing.  I was actually looking forward to the expo because I thought an Ironman branded 70.3 would have some good vendors.  We got to the expo, I got my packet, and started walking through the vendors.  What a disappointment!  I walked away from the expo with nothing but my race packet. :(  Not that I "needed" anything, but it's always fun to find something you can't live without.

The race swag:  A very cool wicking shirt, an awesome blue/black bag, water bottle, wheaties, eye drops, a not-so-cool poster, and a book full of awesome coupons!







Anyways, we decided to just stay the night in Boulder so we didn't have to make multiple trips to/from Denver.  We went to dinner at Pasta Jay's (yum!), then headed back to our hotel.  Because our hotel was pretty close to the race site, I just decided to ride my bike to the race in the morning.  That way my husband and boys didn't have to wake up super early to drive me there.
I got up at 4:30, ate my bagel with PB and honey, loaded up all of my stuff, and headed to the race.  It actually worked out great!  It only took me about 25 minutes to get to the race and I passed tons and tons of cars that were waiting to get in and park!  Woohoo!
I got to transition, racked my bike according to bib number, and set up all of my stuff.  Then, I proceeded to wait for 15 minutes to use the port-a-potty!  Are you kidding me?  It was so ridiculous!  I finally made it to the front, did my thing, and literally had to run back to my transition spot to get my swim stuff because I only had 5 minutes until transition closed! The sucky thing was that transition closed at 6:20, but my swim wave didn't start until 7:10.  I put my wetsuit on, grabbed a gu and my swim stuff, and headed out to the water.

I felt really good as I was waiting for my wave to start.  I wasn't too nervous, and was just ready to do it!  As you know, I was worried about the heat, but I had come to terms with the fact that it was going to be hot and I was just going to have to do the best I could.  As I was waiting I got to see Andy Potts complete his 1.2M swim in 23 minutes!  He came up the swim shoot and everyone just broke out in cheers and applause.  It was just awesome!  He ended up winning and finished in 3:46:50!  That is just amazing!

Swim:
Those who have been following me for awhile know that my swim is my weakest discipline.  You also know that I tend to get really panicky and freak out in the water.  They called our wave into the water and a sense of calmness came over me.  The water temp. was perfect, the atmosphere was so exciting, and I was just ready to go!  It was a weird sensation because usually I'm a nervous wreck before the swim start!   I really think the Aquaman races helped prepare me for this.  The horn sounded and we were off!  I have to say that this was the best race swim that I have ever done!  I didn't panic once and I never reverted to the breast stroke except to go around the turn buoys.  I felt awesome and smooth in the water and it was such a great feeling!  I had no idea how fast I was going, but I was just happy to be having a panic free swim.  I saw the finish arch and swam as hard as I could.  I got out, ran up the long sandy hill, and headed into transition.


Swim Stats:  1.2M   Time: 42:20 (including running from water to transition)
*  I know that isn't a fast time, but honestly, I am happy with how I did.  Yes, I would have liked to have swam faster, but the fact that I was comfortable in the water and didn't panic is good enough for me!  Now that I feel I have the "panic" issue in control, my next goal will be to work on gaining speed!

T1: 
This was pretty uneventful.  I had a little bit of trouble getting my wetsuit off my right foot so that wasted some time.  Also, my rack was towards the far corner of transition, so I had a ways to run.
Time: 2:48   (I didn't feel this slow, but it is what it is!)

Bike:
I hopped on my bike and headed out.  There were a lot of riders leaving transition at the same time and it was pretty crowded.  The bike consisted of two loops and I had ridden the course last month so I knew what to expect.  I felt great on the bike and got into a nice rhythm pretty quickly.  I got passed by a lot of lean looking guys with aero helmets, tri bikes, and carbon wheels.  The majority of the men started behind me in the swim, so I was expecting that to happen.  But, I'm happy to say that I only got passed by maybe a handful of women!  Woohoo!  The first lap went great.  I felt fast and smooth and passed a lot of people.  At the start of the 2nd loop I was excited because I knew I was half way done.  I started to get a little tense in my neck and shoulders which kind of sucked, but I think it was because I was grabbing my aero bars so tight. I need to learn to have a more relaxed grip when I race.  I switched up my position from time to time to give my neck a break and it seemed to help a little.  Finally, I was ready to head back towards transition. I saw my husband and boys on the sidelines ringing their cowbells and cheering me on!  It was great to see them and was just what I needed!  :)

My husband took this picture while I passed by and headed into transition.  It's a little blurry, but I thought I'd post it anyways!  I was so ready to be done with the bike at this point.







Bike Stats:  56M
Time: 2:42:38    Avg. Pace: 20.66mph 
Woohoo!  I was so happy with this time and pace! :)

T2:
I took a little bit of time in T2 to put on more sunblock (this ended up being futile in the end) and use the bathroom, but it was needed!
Time: 3:12  (Horrible time, but whatever!)

Run:
Oh my god!  Did you notice the title of my post:  "Feelin' hot, hot, hot?"  Well, let's just say that the sun was merciless on that run course.  I headed out of transition and my legs felt like lead.  My hamstrings were so tight and I was a little worried.  But, I know that it usually takes me a mile or so to get my "running legs" so I wasn't panicked.  However, the lovely race people decided to put 3 big hills within the first 3 miles of the run. The first hill was painful, but I ran up it fine.  The second hill was tough and I thought about walking, but didn't.  The third hill just sucked all of the energy out of me.  There was an aid station on that hill, so I decided to walk and get a wet sponge to pour all over me.  It was heaven!  I started up again and my legs still felt really tired and heavy.  I kept looking at my Garmin and I was keeping a good pace, but I just felt off.  It was so hot and I could feel the sun burning my skin.  I decided that I was going to grab a sponge and cup of water to pour on me at every aid station and that is exactly what I did.  I had my Nathan handheld bottle with me full of Nuun, but it only lasted 5 miles before it was completely out.  From then on, I stopped at every aid station for either Gatorade or water.  Normally, I don't have to drink something every mile, but I honestly felt like I needed to during that run.  Oh, and the wet sponge were life savers.  They were awesome!

The run consisted of two loops, so around mile 6.5 we had to run right next to the finish shoot to start our 2nd loop.  This really sucked!  I was running with some racers and while some of them headed to the finish, I knew I still had 6.5 miles to go.  It was really hard mentally to keep going.  My hamstrings were still so tight and my left knee started hurting a little bit and I was really bummed because I knew I wasn't going to have a "great" run.  I did the whole negative self talk thing and had a little pity party for about a mile and then decided to change my mindset.  I decided to forget about my goal, stop looking at my Garmin, and just do my best to make it to the finish.  When I came upon the hills, I walked up them as fast as I could and I didn't even think twice about it.  I hardly ever walk in races, but I knew it was the best thing for me to do and I was o-kay with it.  It actually ended up being a pretty good strategy though because while I got passed by some people running up the hill, I would always pass them back once the course was flat again.  I do have to say though that I have never been in a race where so many people were walking during the run.  It was crazy!  I honestly do not think that anyone was immune to that heat.  It just really sucks the energy out of you.

At mile 8 I decided to try a cup of Coke.  I don't know why I decided to do this, because I do not drink Coke or any soda for that matter.  But, something about it just sounded so good.  I grabbed a cup, drank it down, and it tasted so good!  And, the best part about it was that I think I had the best mile after drinking that.  I got an almost instant energy boost and was able to start picking up the pace a little.  My clif shot bloks were a gooey, melted mess, so I started to grab bananas at the aid stations to eat.  They were awesome and so much better than gu or shot bloks.

Finally, I had 2 miles to go.  I was so happy!  I could see the tents by the finish line in the distance and they looked so far away.  I told myself to just keep running for a little while longer and then I would be done.  I picked up the pace as much as I could.  The last .1 mile was awesome because it was lined with spectators.  It gave me another energy boost to hear everyone cheering, ringing cowbells, and saying my name (our names were on our bib), that I picked it up again, even though it hurt, and sprinted into the finish shoot!  I crossed the finish line, heard my name being announced, said a loud, "Woohoo!" and almost fell over.  The timing chip people steadied me while they took off my chip, handed me a water and medal, and led me to a grassy patch to sit down in.  I was so happy to be done!

Check out the salt stains on my hat.  Umm..yeah, I was sweating like a pig!  When I finished, I felt my face.  You know what it's like when you stick your hands in a bag of potato chips and they come out all salty?  That is exactly how my face felt.  I had salt all over, it was just crazy!




Run Stats:  13.1M     Time:  2:05:15 (avg. pace: 9:33/M) 
 *  I knew my run time was not going to be great, but considering how I was feeling, I was o-kay with it.  This was actually the slowest I have ever run a half marathon, but it was also the first time running 13.1 miles in hell.  O-kay, so I know I wasn't in hell, but it sure felt like it! :)

Overall Thoughts:

I love the finisher medal with the mountains in the background!  We also got a hat, which I think is cool, but because I have a peanut head, I won't be able to wear it.  It looks like my husband is getting a new hat!


Overall Time:  5:36:13

Although the HIM I did last year was a completely different course, and the weather was in the 50s the entire time, my goal for this race was to beat my first HIM time, which was 5:42.  I honestly did not think I was going to beat that time and had pretty much given up on that goal during the 2nd loop of the run.  But, when I got home and realized I got a PR I was completely surprised!  
I am happy with my time, but I feel like I can't even really call it a PR because it WAS so different from my first half ironman.  Ya know?  


So, what I really took away from this race is not a PR, but:
* A new confidence in the swim.  You can not imagine (or maybe you can) how great it felt not to panic and just be able to swim smoothly in the water.  That is a feeling I will take with me to every race that I do from now on.
*  Knowing what it's like to go fast on the bike.  I was so happy with my bike time and average pace!  
*  Knowing that it's o-kay to walk when I need to in a race and not feel bad about it or think that it makes me less of a runner.  
*  Knowing that I could not have done any of it without the support of my husband.  He is amazing and I am so lucky to have him in my life.  Did I mention that when I finally met up with my husband after I finished he handed me an icy cold bottle of chocolate milk and a bag of ice to put over my shoulders.  It was just what I needed!
*  And, the last thing I will take away from this race is the importance of using sunscreen.  Although I applied and did my best to reapply, the sun won this fight:

I loved my Zoot tri top, but the mesh panel on the back led to some crazy burned spots.

Ouch!








Thank you again for all of your well wishes!  I hope you all had a good weekend!  I'm a little behind on reading your blogs but I'll get to them soon! :)

I did, but I didn't

SheROX Spring Tri Race Report:
If any of you remember from my last post, my goal for this race was not to PR, but to do better in the swim.  For those of you who don't feel like reading through my entire race report, I can say that I kind of reached my goal, but also ended up getting a PR, but I still don't know how I feel about this race.  Let me explain.

The Swim:

Pre-swim

I was excited to see that I was in the first swim wave.  I have never been in the first wave, so I was pretty happy that I'd be the first group in.  All of the 25-34 yr. olds were grouped together and there were about 80 of us.  I got my wetsuit on and headed to the water.  They announced that the water temp. was 67 degrees and it actually felt refreshing.  I did a couple practice laps and felt good.  I saw my family about 10 min. before my start time and went over to talk to them while I waited.  It was great to have them there for support.  :)  Finally, it was time to head to the start.  I just kept repeating in my head, "You can do this, you can do this, don't freak out!"  I got in the water and lined up near the front.  I know I'm not a fast swimmer, but I am done with starting near the middle or back.  All that leads to, for me, is more people kicking me and lots of confusion.  So, I start at the front and if people want to pass me they can.  This may make some fast swimmers mad, but I have found in tris I HAVE to do what's best for me to get through the swim.
Anyways, they did a count down, then we were off.  I actually felt good in the beginning.  I was swimming fast and was in a rhythm.  One person tried to swim over me, which I wasn't about going to let happen, so I did a big kick to get them off.  It worked.  I continued to the first buoy and still felt pretty good, but I kept running into people and people kept running into me.  I could not for the life of me find a clear path to swim.  A couple of times I had to stop and side stroke to find a path of my own.  I was breathing so hard and my heart rate was sky rocketing.  Finally I saw the finish arch and soon was at the finish!  I got to the sand and heard my family cheering!  It was great.  I was having a hard time catching my breath and had to walk part way up the LONG path from the water to the transition area.  I got the top of my wetsuit off and felt so much better.  I thought I had a good swim so in a way I met my goal, but I really didn't because of my time.  I was pretty disappointed and just really frustrated when I got my results.

Swim:  750yds + long run from sand to transition
Time: 21:03....Ugh!
Rank: 90/322

T1:
My wetsuit came off great.  My bike shoes, helmet, and glasses went on and I was out of there!  My bike was in the closest rack to the bike exit, so I didn't have to run far in my shoes!  Woohoo!
Time: 1:28   (Not bad, but I would really like to get this down)

Bike:
The bike was interesting to me.  I didn't get a chance to pre-ride or even drive the course (they had part of it closed), so I had no idea what to expect.  But, once I got on the course I was instantly brought back in time to my Half Ironman I did this past fall because parts of the bike course were the same.  There were a lot of rolling hills, some big hills, and lots of turns.  So, I would be going fast downhill or on a flat section and just start to get into a groove when I would have to slow way down in order to make the turns without crashing or getting caught in the loose gravel that was all over the course.  It was a royal pain actually.  And for that reason, I didn't really like the course.  But, I passed some women, never got passed, and felt like I pushed myself, so I was happy with how I did.  As I came into transition there was a guy that yelled, "Go get em, you're the 10th person in!"  I didn't know what age group the women in front of me were because the 25-34 yr olds were all lumped together, but my competitiveness kicked in and I wanted to try and catch them on the run!  

Bike: 10Miles  (My Garmin actually said I rode 10.92 miles....so I'm not sure if the course was accurate??)
Time: 34:11      
Avg. MPH: 17.6  I thought this sounded really low, but when I considered the hills and turns, it makes sense.
Rank:  11/322

T2:
I got my bike in and my helmet and shoes off without any problems.  Then, when I went to put on my running socks I noticed my right sock and shoe were completely wet. What the heck??  Then I realized that when I took my wetsuit off I draped it such that one of the legs led right to my shoe.  So the whole time I was riding my bike, the water from my wetsuit was draining into my shoe.  The cool thing though was that I brought my Smartwool16

Run:
I started the run and my legs felt so heavy and slow.  But, when I looked at my Garmin I was doing around a 7:20 pace!  With every tri, I am still amazed by how I feel so slow but am actually running pretty well.  It took me about a mile for me to get my legs back, especially since the course had some rollers, and by then I was almost half way done.  I could see women ahead of me and I just kept focused on them.  With every step I got closer and closer.  I passed one woman in my age group before the turn around and started picking up the pace on the way back.  I passed 2 more women, all in my age group, and I was so excited!  I was coming up to another women and a woman going the opposite direction said, "Go get her!"  It was awesome!  I had about .1 mile to go when I came upon another women, again in my age group.  I picked up the speed as much as I could and as I passed her I said, "Good job" and she said, "Kick it in!"

Me trying to sprint to the finish.  The girl in blue behind me is the last one I passed.

I gave it all I could and could hear and see my family and boys cheering for me.  That gave me the extra energy I needed and I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face.  :)

Run: 3.1M
Time: 22:24       Avg. Pace: 7:14  
Rank: 10/322

Overall Time: 1:20:20   A new PR!!!  
Overall Place:  14/322
Div(30-34)Place: 4/63

When I saw my results, I could not believe that I got 4th place!  I was so happy, but then I decided to see what I missed 3rd place by.  16 seconds!  Can you believe it?  I looked at the results a little closer and this is what I discovered (get ready for a pity party):  I did better than the 2nd and 3rd place finishers on the bike and the run, but my swim was a good 4 minutes slower than theirs.  Now, I compete in triathlons for fun because I love the do them, but it is so frustrating to know that I could have placed if I would have just had a better swim.  And this just wasn't a bad race day, this has been a repeating pattern for pretty much every tri that I do!  I don't know what to do anymore.  I've done lessons and am still going to Masters swim practices, and nothing is working.  I am just so frustrated!  (Pity party over)

Overall though, I had a great race!  Without Limits did an awesome job with the event and I had fun, which is ultimately what it is all about.  Oh, and getting a new PR for a sprint tri isn't bad either! :)

Metro Brokers Sprint Tri Race Report

My first race of the season is done, and for the most part it was a total blast!  The Metro Brokers Triathlon was a really small (only 131 people total), low-key sprint tri that was perfect for my first tri of the season.  I am so glad I decided to do it and I will definitely do it again next year.  Below is my race report and I must warn you that it's a little long!  For those of you who don't want to read the whole thing, here's a preview of what is to come:

Pre-Race:

I have to say that it was kind of strange having a race that didn't start until 6pm.  I was more anxious than nervous about the race, but all day my stomach had that queasy, nauseous feeling.  It was hard to eat and keep the water down because I just felt weird all day.  As the day went on, it got hotter and hotter (91 degrees to be exact) and I was hoping that we would get at least some cloud cover for our race.  

Since the race was so close to our house, I decided to just pack all my stuff in my TYR Backpack and ride my bike to the race.  Around 4, I got dressed, then headed out.  It took me about 20minutes to ride there and I arrived sweaty and hot.  I found a good place to rack my bike, set up my transition area, and went to packet pick-up.  While I was getting my packet, Kathleen from  Dare to Dream came up to me.  I was so happy to finally meet her that I gave her a hug.  :)  We chatted a little bit and then went our separate ways.  It was so hot in the transition area that I felt like my skin was burning (it wasn't thanks to gobs of sunscreen)!  I actually couldn't wait to get into the water!

With only 15min. till the start, I started to put my wetsuit on.  I have the DeSoto two-piece wetsuit, and while the bibjohn went on fine, the top was a nightmare!  For some reason I got my arms twisted, so when I went to put it over my head, it was a twisted mess.  I took it off and tried again, except this time I was sweating profusely and could not for the life of me get the darn sleeves over my hand!  I actually had to ask a volunteer to help pull it up my arm.  We did the best we could and I headed to the swim start.  As I was walking to the beach, I saw my husband ride up on his bike with the boys in the burley.  I was so glad they made it in time!   He snapped this pic just before I headed to the start.  See how my head looks wet?  Yeah, that's from sweat!  And see how my sleeves are so far down over my hands?  Ugh..I could not get them pulled up (can you foresee a problem with the swim?)

Swim:

There were 3 swim waves, and all the women (52 in all) were in the 3rd wave.  I tried to look for Kathleen to wish her luck, but everyone looks the same in wetsuits, goggles, and a swim cap and I couldn't figure out where she was!  We started on the beach, ran in between two swim buoys, then made a sharp left to swim out to the first buoy.  This made for a huge bottleneck right at the start and I got kicked in the face bad enough to knock my goggles off my right eye.  Thank god I put my goggles on under my swim cap because I think they would have come off completely!  That rattled me a little bit, so I did the breast stroke for awhile to calm down, then tried to find my groove.  I never found it.  Once you reach the first buoy, you turn right and swim parallel to the beach to the second.  There were crazy waves caused by the motorboats and jetskis that just kept pounding me.  And for some reason, I couldn't figure out how to swim through the waves without getting a gallon of water in my mouth each time.  I would be swimming, and then all of a sudden swallow tons of water.  Again, I would do the breast stroke until I got my breath back.  It sucked!  Plus, my wetsuit just didn't feel right while I swam and I just couldn't find my groove.  I was so discouraged and I just wanted it to be done.  I thought for sure I was going to be one of the last ones out of the water.  Finally, I reached the beach and ran up towards the transition area.  My husband got a picture of me running. Why are swim exit pictures so horrible?

Swim Stats:
Distance: 880 yds.     Time: 19:58 (includes running from the beach to the transition area)   
Swim Place: 77/131 (Boo!)


I know my swim time sucked, but honestly, I was so happy with that time.  With how much I struggled, I thought it would be a lot slower!  I'm still trying to figure out how to not let myself get so freaked out in the swim part.  Hopefully my next race will go much better.  

T1: Time:  1:35.  Ugh!  I was breathing so hard from the swim, had a hard time getting my wetsuit off, and was just frazzled, so this time was just blah!   
Bike:

I headed out of the transition area and just started riding as hard as I could.  I knew that I had a lot of time to make up from my horrible swim, and I knew that I could potentially pass a lot of people on the bike.  Because I ride the roads around Cherry Creek all of the time, I knew the course really well.  I knew when the hills were coming and where the flats were.  I got in aero position and just rode.  I passed a lot of people, including some men that were in the waves ahead of me, and I never once got passed!  Woohoo!  I was having a blast and I was loving every second of it.  Plus, this is what I found on my bike (it's kind of hard to see, but my husband wrote little notes on my bike.  It was perfect!).

Before I knew it, I was back at the transition area.  I heard my husband and boys cheering me on, and that gave me an extra boost of energy!

Bike Stats:
Distance: 12M     Time:  35:09     Avg. Speed:  20.5MPH      Bike Place: 34/131

T2:  Time: 1:05   I have to work on this time too.  I waisted time putting on my visor and race belt in transition rather than carrying them out with me and putting them on during the run.  You think I would know this by now, but I haven't raced since Oct. and I guess I've forgotten everything!  
Run:

By now, thankfully, there were a few clouds in the sky and it wasn't as hot.  This was awesome because the run course had pretty much no shade.  I took off running and my legs actually felt better than I thought they would.  Gotta love those brick workouts! :)  I felt a little slow, but when I looked at my Garmin I was running around 7:10.  Woa!  I couldn't believe it.  I didn't know if I could hold the pace, but I was sure going to try.  I saw several women in front of me and made it my mission to try and catch them.  I passed several of them, and then I saw the first woman coming back from her run.  I congratulated her and kept on going.  I was feeling really good, but at the turn around I really needed some water.  My mouth was extremely dry, so I stopped for two steps to drink some water (I cannot run and drink from a cup at the same time) and then started back up.  There were a couple of rolling hills on the course, but I actually liked it because it kept it interesting.  At one point I heard my husband behind me shouting, "You're doing great, you're almost done, keep going!"  It was great, because as I was getting closer to the finish, I saw two more girls that were in front of me that looked like they were slowing down.  I passed them, one after the other, and just. kept. running.  Pretty soon I could see the finish line and I saw my husband and boys on the side of the course ringing their cow bells saying, "Go, Mommy Go!"  I smiled, and waved and sprinted to the finish!  It was an awesome run!

Run Stats:   
Distance:  3.1M        Time:  21:10     Pace:  7:04/M      Run Place: 21/131

I was ecstatic when I saw my run time!  I couldn't believe that I ran at an average pace of 7:04!  Later, when I checked my Garmin though, it showed the distance as 2.85.  What?!?  And, Kathleen also mentioned that the run was short as well.  Bummer!!!  Even if it was short, I am still super excited about the run!

Post-Race:
I headed out to find my family and ran into the lady that won.  We chatted for a couple of minutes and she was super nice!  After getting some food and hanging out for a little while with my family, they announced that some of the results were up already.  We were getting ready to leave, but I told him I wanted to check my time first.  I headed over and found my name.  I scrolled across and I could not believe what I saw!  Under division place it said 1/10!  What?!?  I was so shocked that I actually asked some guy standing next to me if that meant I won my division.  I know, I'm such a dork!  I literally ran over to my husband and told him I won!  Woohoo!  He asked if I wanted to stay for the awards.  Since I've never won an award in a tri before and probably never will, we of course decided to stay!  By this time it was close to 8pm and our boys were getting a little loopy, but they were little troopers and got really excited when they found out I was getting an award!  Finally, they started the ceremony, and when they called my name I brought my boys up with me.  It was so cute!

Final Stats:
Overall Time: 1:18:56
Overall Place: 38/131
Sex. Place: 6/52
Div (30-34)Pl: 1/10










Oh, and check out the swag:

We didn't get a t-shirt, but I think a workout towel, Gu, Stay put hair bands, chap stick, medal, and a reusable shopping bag is pretty awesome for a small event!