My best friend, Tim, told me that in training for the TC Marathon, he missed two days of training in his entire plan. I was very impressed by this and admired his dedication, but wondered to myself how a fellow airline pilot could subject himself to this sort of schedule.
As a pilot, my schedule can be extremely erratic. Assuming everything goes according to plan, I often get into a hotel late at night, forcing a few hours of sleep in a strange bed with strange pillows. More often then not, the area I stay in is not good to run in. Very few hotels have adequate swimming facilities or weights.
How do I deal with this, you ask?
By realizing that in triathlon training, less is more.
And dealing. (Not drugs)
I will research the hotels I'm staying in prior to leaving on my trip, figuring out if a swim/lift is possible. I'll plan on doing all my riding at home because getting a bike on the road just isn't going to happen (unless I'm in Santa Barbara). The key is, adaptation.
But what happens when a wrench is thrown into the cog? What happens if I plan on doing a run when I get to the hotel only to be massively delayed and can't get it safely in that night?
I deal.
Unless you're a professional triathlete and can dedicate 24/7 of your life to training, things happen. Hell, even for them, things probably happen! You have to be willing to adapt and sometimes, realize that a workout is not going to happen. Don't beat yourself up over this; you didn't cause the situation to happen.
I'm not saying make excuses, of course. If I don't get in a run because I'm too busy watching Netflix and ran out of time, that's on me. If I'm not willing to go run because "it's too hot", that's on me. Now I'm not saying be unsafe, but don't make convenient excuses. That's all I'm getting at.
We were at KompetitiveEdge in Denver getting T a transition bag for her b-day and chatting with the employee at the store. He said that when you can't get a workout in due to external circumstances, realize that less is more and don't beat yourself up. Look at it this way; instead of forcing the workout and risking injury, use the off day to heal up, and go hard the next time you work out.
Simple.
It's just overcoming the mental obstacle at that point.
The fitness adventures of two Ironman triathletes
Monday, July 11, 2011
Mental training
As I said in a blog post earlier, I have a lot on my mind and a lot of thoughts right now. Consuming most of my thinking is the epic race I have coming up: Boulder 70.3.
One of the things that plagues a triathlete is nutrition. Nutrition is important. From fueling your body at breakfast to what to eat on the bike, it's on your mind. Right now, I can tell you that every single thing I consume, from a glass of water to a bowl of cereal, I'm wondering how this is going to benefit me and what is it going to give me? OCD? Perhaps, but it's the way it is right now.
Two days ago, I had a convo with my friend Kris regarding flat Coke. I was perusing the race website and saw this is going to be offered on the run. Curiosity got the best of me, so I started browsing the web about the subject. Surprisingly, there is little offered online about this. Kris summed it up as a shot of energy; mostly sugar and carbs, it will give you the boost you need if you feel like bonking. I followed up with my friend Steve, who in his former life was a triathlete. He told me it's designed to prevent you from bonking. However, you want to do everything possible to prevent bonking, so make 100% sure you are doing everything in your power to properly nutriate (is that a word?) yourself so that you don't have to rely on a can of Coke or whatever to get you through the race.
It's fun to experiment and figure out what works and what doesn't. We recently tried salt tablets and found that on a longer ride, we didn't cramp up. On an 8 mile run recently, I took a gel at 25 minutes and felt great, but bonked by mile 6. I need to probably take in more nutrition, which I will experiment with on a 120 minute run tomorrow.
Any tried and true methods that work for all of you out there? What are they?
One of the things that plagues a triathlete is nutrition. Nutrition is important. From fueling your body at breakfast to what to eat on the bike, it's on your mind. Right now, I can tell you that every single thing I consume, from a glass of water to a bowl of cereal, I'm wondering how this is going to benefit me and what is it going to give me? OCD? Perhaps, but it's the way it is right now.
Two days ago, I had a convo with my friend Kris regarding flat Coke. I was perusing the race website and saw this is going to be offered on the run. Curiosity got the best of me, so I started browsing the web about the subject. Surprisingly, there is little offered online about this. Kris summed it up as a shot of energy; mostly sugar and carbs, it will give you the boost you need if you feel like bonking. I followed up with my friend Steve, who in his former life was a triathlete. He told me it's designed to prevent you from bonking. However, you want to do everything possible to prevent bonking, so make 100% sure you are doing everything in your power to properly nutriate (is that a word?) yourself so that you don't have to rely on a can of Coke or whatever to get you through the race.
It's fun to experiment and figure out what works and what doesn't. We recently tried salt tablets and found that on a longer ride, we didn't cramp up. On an 8 mile run recently, I took a gel at 25 minutes and felt great, but bonked by mile 6. I need to probably take in more nutrition, which I will experiment with on a 120 minute run tomorrow.
Any tried and true methods that work for all of you out there? What are they?
Race Recap #3: Lone Tree Liberty Dash 5K
When I bid for my schedule in July, I asked for one thing off: The weekend of July 9th and 10th. Did I get that off? Not even close. I didn't care about getting July 4th off, but when I discovered I did, I took it as a fine thing, because I could at least do the Lone Tree Firecracker 5K.
You may wonder why I'm calling it the Liberty Dash 5K instead of the Firecracker 5K. The reason is they decided to change the name because there's like 18 trillion Firecracker 5K's out there. Or so I'm guessing. Regardless, I registered and was ready to undertake this run, even though I've done very little run training and really was using this as a workout more then anything.
We did the same thing this year that we did last year; woke up and headed down to the park for packet pick-up. Once that was done, we would head back home, eat, and get prepped for the run. At packet pick-up, there were a surprising few amount of people, which we were slightly surprised about. I figured this race was growing; instead it looked like it was a lot smaller. Also, a lot of the sponsor tents weren't there either.
We got back to the park about 10 minutes before the race started and looked for T's brother and his fiancee. Not seeing them, T, myself, and her dad hopped to the start and waited for the countdown. It came, and off we went.
The race went the same route last year, which is the better way to go. However, unlike last year, this was not an ideal day for a race. It was already hot, and only forecast to get hotter. The high that day was forecast to be in the high 90's, with some weather outlets predicting over 100. By the 1st mile, which is slow anyway since it's all uphill, it was already really hot. It's like the temperature was soaring with each step.
In between mile 1 and 2, I could feel the fatigue in my legs from the weightlifting session I had the night before and slowed it down. My goal of beating last year's time didn't look attainable at this point, so I decided to not push it, since I couldn't risk an injury at this point in my season. At the downhill point, where the race goes downhill the whole way, just before mile 2, we started to pick it up, but I could tell we were slower then last year.
On the downhill, I was unable to muster the strength to go further. Whatever reason it was, I was feeling slightly disappointed and was wondering if cracking 10:00 was even going to be possible. I know not to get frustrated with my time in this race being that it's a giant pain in the ass with massive elevation gain...but still...
When T and I crossed the finish line, we did it together chanting U.S.A.! U.S.A.! No one really seemed amused by this, which was sad. I crossed in 30:58, preserving an under 10:00 per mile, but still, it really wasn't a good 5K.
Regardless, if I get the 4th off next year, I'm sure I'll still be doing this race. :-)
You may wonder why I'm calling it the Liberty Dash 5K instead of the Firecracker 5K. The reason is they decided to change the name because there's like 18 trillion Firecracker 5K's out there. Or so I'm guessing. Regardless, I registered and was ready to undertake this run, even though I've done very little run training and really was using this as a workout more then anything.
We did the same thing this year that we did last year; woke up and headed down to the park for packet pick-up. Once that was done, we would head back home, eat, and get prepped for the run. At packet pick-up, there were a surprising few amount of people, which we were slightly surprised about. I figured this race was growing; instead it looked like it was a lot smaller. Also, a lot of the sponsor tents weren't there either.
We got back to the park about 10 minutes before the race started and looked for T's brother and his fiancee. Not seeing them, T, myself, and her dad hopped to the start and waited for the countdown. It came, and off we went.
The race went the same route last year, which is the better way to go. However, unlike last year, this was not an ideal day for a race. It was already hot, and only forecast to get hotter. The high that day was forecast to be in the high 90's, with some weather outlets predicting over 100. By the 1st mile, which is slow anyway since it's all uphill, it was already really hot. It's like the temperature was soaring with each step.
In between mile 1 and 2, I could feel the fatigue in my legs from the weightlifting session I had the night before and slowed it down. My goal of beating last year's time didn't look attainable at this point, so I decided to not push it, since I couldn't risk an injury at this point in my season. At the downhill point, where the race goes downhill the whole way, just before mile 2, we started to pick it up, but I could tell we were slower then last year.
On the downhill, I was unable to muster the strength to go further. Whatever reason it was, I was feeling slightly disappointed and was wondering if cracking 10:00 was even going to be possible. I know not to get frustrated with my time in this race being that it's a giant pain in the ass with massive elevation gain...but still...
When T and I crossed the finish line, we did it together chanting U.S.A.! U.S.A.! No one really seemed amused by this, which was sad. I crossed in 30:58, preserving an under 10:00 per mile, but still, it really wasn't a good 5K.
Regardless, if I get the 4th off next year, I'm sure I'll still be doing this race. :-)
June Roundup
I'm SO late with this.
I'm going to keep it brief. I have a lot of blog ideas right now.
Swimming - 2.58 miles (less then May, still slacking)
Cycling - 96.05 miles (woohoo!)
Running - 30.34 miles (not as much as May)
Lifting - 7 Mark Allen sessions
One Spin Class
Overall, June was NOT a bad month. It included my first tri of the season, which went very well. However, July will be MUCH more mileage and much more difficult. The true building is about to come.
I'm going to keep it brief. I have a lot of blog ideas right now.
Swimming - 2.58 miles (less then May, still slacking)
Cycling - 96.05 miles (woohoo!)
Running - 30.34 miles (not as much as May)
Lifting - 7 Mark Allen sessions
One Spin Class
Overall, June was NOT a bad month. It included my first tri of the season, which went very well. However, July will be MUCH more mileage and much more difficult. The true building is about to come.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
June Round-Up
Remember, I'm still in catch-up mode! 5430 Sprint Tri and Undy Run 5000 recaps are below!
Yes, I'm SO SO SO late with all of this. Obviously, because I'm catching up on everything. Life has gotten away from me and I need to get back reorganized. It'll make me happy.
Anyway, June was good in some ways and bad in some ways. It held the first tri of the season (that went pretty well, considering we were training through it), another 5K, more swimming, my highest-ever total in cycling ... I'll let the numbers speak for themselves.
Running: 34.53 miles (average went up about 12 seconds/mile)
Swimming: 3.4 miles (average went up about three minutes/mile)
Cycling (outside): 130.34 miles (average went up about 1.5 mph)(woo!)
Cycling (trainer): 0 miles (screw you, skippy)
Lifting: seven sessions. Missed one.
Other: nothing, unless you include an ass-ton of walking when we were in Las Vegas at the end of the month
All in all, not a bad month. I got a lot slower in a lot of ways (not sure what's going on with running and swimming, well, that just sucks right now), but I'm extremely happy I'm getting in the bike miles. That was a huge weak point last year and I'm trying to remedy it; and I'm glad the numbers are showing it.
July is pretty much the peak training month for IM Boulder 70.3, so the numbers should be massive. I can't wait.
Yes, I'm SO SO SO late with all of this. Obviously, because I'm catching up on everything. Life has gotten away from me and I need to get back reorganized. It'll make me happy.
Anyway, June was good in some ways and bad in some ways. It held the first tri of the season (that went pretty well, considering we were training through it), another 5K, more swimming, my highest-ever total in cycling ... I'll let the numbers speak for themselves.
Running: 34.53 miles (average went up about 12 seconds/mile)
Swimming: 3.4 miles (average went up about three minutes/mile)
Cycling (outside): 130.34 miles (average went up about 1.5 mph)(woo!)
Cycling (trainer): 0 miles (screw you, skippy)
Lifting: seven sessions. Missed one.
Other: nothing, unless you include an ass-ton of walking when we were in Las Vegas at the end of the month
All in all, not a bad month. I got a lot slower in a lot of ways (not sure what's going on with running and swimming, well, that just sucks right now), but I'm extremely happy I'm getting in the bike miles. That was a huge weak point last year and I'm trying to remedy it; and I'm glad the numbers are showing it.
July is pretty much the peak training month for IM Boulder 70.3, so the numbers should be massive. I can't wait.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Race #4 of the Season: Undy Run 5000
Remember; I'm catching up on blog posts. If you haven't yet read my 5430 Sprint Tri recap; scroll down! It's just below this one.
A couple years ago, my friend Claire and her mom Sue had a friend of theirs, Parker, die from cancer. Over the years, they've both participated in and organized a few events for him. I've tagged along on a few of these, even though I never met Parker; I did it in support of my friend.
Last year, Claire and Sue organized a team to walk in the Undy Run 5000 (for colorectal cancer). Due to work obligations, I wasn't able to participate. This year, I was. And since I'm not the type to enter to walk a 5K, I joined their team as a runner. (duh.)
In terms of a race, there's really not much to say here. I used it as a tempo run and was freaking out about making the 8:30 start time as Claire and Sue didn't show up to City Park until about 8:15.
Still, all was good and I got to run on time.
Race itself was ... meh. I've done a few races around City Park and I'm really realizing I hate running there. The park itself is flat, but there are some deceptively sucky inclines. That, and every race I've run there has been hot. This one was hot and humid. Peachy.
I was checking my watch at the mile markers for shits and giggles; mile one was a 9:13; mile two read 18:something and since I kinda fell apart in mile three-point-one, I finished probably not as well as I could have, but still under 30:00.
Race Details:
Time: 29:36
Pace: 9:31.64/mi
Overall: 172/875
Sex Place: 68/600
Division Place: 30/134 F2029
A couple years ago, my friend Claire and her mom Sue had a friend of theirs, Parker, die from cancer. Over the years, they've both participated in and organized a few events for him. I've tagged along on a few of these, even though I never met Parker; I did it in support of my friend.
Last year, Claire and Sue organized a team to walk in the Undy Run 5000 (for colorectal cancer). Due to work obligations, I wasn't able to participate. This year, I was. And since I'm not the type to enter to walk a 5K, I joined their team as a runner. (duh.)
In terms of a race, there's really not much to say here. I used it as a tempo run and was freaking out about making the 8:30 start time as Claire and Sue didn't show up to City Park until about 8:15.
Still, all was good and I got to run on time.
Race itself was ... meh. I've done a few races around City Park and I'm really realizing I hate running there. The park itself is flat, but there are some deceptively sucky inclines. That, and every race I've run there has been hot. This one was hot and humid. Peachy.
I was checking my watch at the mile markers for shits and giggles; mile one was a 9:13; mile two read 18:something and since I kinda fell apart in mile three-point-one, I finished probably not as well as I could have, but still under 30:00.
Race Details:
Time: 29:36
Pace: 9:31.64/mi
Overall: 172/875
Sex Place: 68/600
Division Place: 30/134 F2029
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Race #3 of the Season: 5430 Sprint Triathlon
First of all, I KNOW I'M SO BEHIND IN BLOG POSTS. I'm back three races and a recap AND I have another race this weekend. So I figure I better catch up a bit here ...
When we signed up to do Ironman Boulder 70.3, we learned that you could just sign up for the Boulder Triathlon Series which would include the 5430 Sprint, the Boulder Peak (olympic distance; now part of the 5i50 series) and the 70.3. We wouldn't really train for the first two - we'd just train through them and see how things went.
Leading up to 5430, we were feeling okay. Training had started, we were getting into somewhat of a groove ... and then we tried getting in open water swims. PILE O' FAIL. My swimming has been a struggle this year and the OWS the week before 5430 scared me back into SwimLabs (which really didn't help). Technical form is okay, but my endurance? The suck.
Talking to the ever-awesome Kris helped calm me down and alleviate some of my fears and learning the water in the Boulder Reservoir would be about 10 degrees warmer than that of Aurora didn't hurt, either.
Race Day
We woke up butt-ass early to make the long-ass drive to Boulder, making us even happier we booked a hotel for the night before the half. Yeah, we'll still have a 20 minute drive, but it's better than a 50 minute drive. We got to the Res even before transition opened so we had time to wander around a bit and take care of things (bathroom, sticker application, etc.).
The water.
Brandon looking out over the water.
Soon after, it was time to head into transition. This was our first race we've done together where we couldn't set up next to each other; everything was set up due to waves and we were in different waves. We split up for a few minutes to get set up and to get body-marked.
Brandon's calf marked up with our tribute smiley.
My calf all marked up.
We took the bikes for a spin to make sure they got through the trip okay (Bob can be dumb like that) and soon enough, it was time to get our butts out of transition and down to the water.
Down by the water, waves were going off every few minutes and my wave was a good 25 minutes or so after Brandon's. I got in the water a bit to warm up with him and was in the water right near his wave's start, but my wave was so far back in that I actually saw him get out of the water before I even had a chance to start my race. Which kind of sucks, actually.
The Swim:
This race was a return to the wave start that I did in my first couple tris (the Tri for the Cure years; My Way was a mass start and both Cheyenne and Rattlesnake were time trials). I think I like the wave starts better because you get to hang out in the water and get acclimated before the gun goes off. I like that, especially when the water is a little colder.
I knew that crawling the whole half-mile or whatever this race was was going to be an issue ... and it was. I ended up breaststroking most of it (tricky in a wetsuit due to lack of leg mobility) and had to kayak it to wipe out my goggles.
And I know this is probably going to be too much TMI, but throughout the whole damn swim, I felt as if I could do better and relax if I could just make myself pee. Couldn't do it. Argh.
Time: 21:32 (rate: 2:53; rank: 1007th overall)
T1:
Nothing much special here. I could tell I was new to this whole wetsuit thing as it inadvertantly helped me expand my personal space area ... which the guy next to me kindly pointed out as he tried to get his bike off the rack. Oops. Live and learn ...
Time is also a bit longer as the mat was RIGHT as you got out of the water. Helps for more accurate swim times; sucks for transition times.
Time: 3:10
The Bike:
The sprint bike course was surprisingly sucky for the first few miles. The first mile out of the Res was also the last mile of the bike so you got to see a lot of people coming in and that kind of sucks. I kept my eyes peeled for Brandon, but no dice.
My legs felt super heavy in the first five miles or so ... which were actually kind of uphill ... an uphill so gradual you didn't really realize it until in mile 5 when you started heading downhill. I got passed by a lot of people, passed a couple myself and started feeling really good in the middle miles of the ride.
The end of the course had a couple surprisingly nasty baby hills (just because they're small doesn't mean they don't suck), but I made it through the 17ish miles okay.
Time: 1:00:42 (17.0 mph, 893rd overall)
T2:
T2 went by really quickly. I switched off the race belt (had to wear our race numbers on the bike) for my race skirt and took a chance and didn't BodyGlide my feet for a second time. As a result, I was out pretty fast.
Time: 2:01
The Run:
I knew the run was in the actual Reservoir and I thought I may be marginally familiar with the course from doing KBCO's Race Around the Rez a few years back which took place at the Boulder Res. However, the Res is apparently fairly large and I think we ran in a totally different place.
My legs felt kind of crappy (as to be expected), but the few bricks I've done (even with the ass-long transition times) have apparently helped as the legs didn't feel as dead as they have in past years. So, yay for that.
There was a gradual uphill leading out of transition to the main part of the course (with a photog at the top of the hill; go figure - I made sure to smile) and then it was gently rolling.
I ran as much as I could; walked when I had to and just let the miles tick by ... though it seemed like a long 5K. I think tri runs ALWAYS seem longer since you've done so much before them. On the way back (out-and-back run), I chatted with another girl for a bit (and I wish I remember about what; too long ago). It was obvious it was at a slightly slower pace for her, but the conversation actually was a good pick-me-up and helped me get through the last little bit of the race.
Unlike Rattlesnake, it was also nice seeing people still starting the course and not being one of the last people out there.
Entering the chute, there was a woman wearing the bike jersey from last year's Boulder 70.3 and I tried to catch her, but as you'll see in the photo collage below, no dice. Sad day. In any case, I managed my traditional sprint across the finish ... somehow. Brandon has a fun video of it; ask to see it sometime.
Time: 31:14 (10:04/mi; 955th overall)
Overall Time:
1:58:39
940/1132 overall
357/496 female
56/80 division (F2529)
While it seemed to be a crappy race compared to other people, I actually had my fastest bike average and fastest run average ever in a tri, so really, I'll take it.
I won't bore you with anything else - I'm behind in posting as it is and I've got to bug out to take Brandon to the airport, but I will leave with a photo collage of the official race photos courtesy of Action Sports International (ASI) and the Windows snip tool.
When we signed up to do Ironman Boulder 70.3, we learned that you could just sign up for the Boulder Triathlon Series which would include the 5430 Sprint, the Boulder Peak (olympic distance; now part of the 5i50 series) and the 70.3. We wouldn't really train for the first two - we'd just train through them and see how things went.
Leading up to 5430, we were feeling okay. Training had started, we were getting into somewhat of a groove ... and then we tried getting in open water swims. PILE O' FAIL. My swimming has been a struggle this year and the OWS the week before 5430 scared me back into SwimLabs (which really didn't help). Technical form is okay, but my endurance? The suck.
Talking to the ever-awesome Kris helped calm me down and alleviate some of my fears and learning the water in the Boulder Reservoir would be about 10 degrees warmer than that of Aurora didn't hurt, either.
Race Day
We woke up butt-ass early to make the long-ass drive to Boulder, making us even happier we booked a hotel for the night before the half. Yeah, we'll still have a 20 minute drive, but it's better than a 50 minute drive. We got to the Res even before transition opened so we had time to wander around a bit and take care of things (bathroom, sticker application, etc.).
The water.
Brandon looking out over the water.
Soon after, it was time to head into transition. This was our first race we've done together where we couldn't set up next to each other; everything was set up due to waves and we were in different waves. We split up for a few minutes to get set up and to get body-marked.
Brandon's calf marked up with our tribute smiley.
My calf all marked up.
We took the bikes for a spin to make sure they got through the trip okay (Bob can be dumb like that) and soon enough, it was time to get our butts out of transition and down to the water.
Down by the water, waves were going off every few minutes and my wave was a good 25 minutes or so after Brandon's. I got in the water a bit to warm up with him and was in the water right near his wave's start, but my wave was so far back in that I actually saw him get out of the water before I even had a chance to start my race. Which kind of sucks, actually.
The Swim:
This race was a return to the wave start that I did in my first couple tris (the Tri for the Cure years; My Way was a mass start and both Cheyenne and Rattlesnake were time trials). I think I like the wave starts better because you get to hang out in the water and get acclimated before the gun goes off. I like that, especially when the water is a little colder.
I knew that crawling the whole half-mile or whatever this race was was going to be an issue ... and it was. I ended up breaststroking most of it (tricky in a wetsuit due to lack of leg mobility) and had to kayak it to wipe out my goggles.
And I know this is probably going to be too much TMI, but throughout the whole damn swim, I felt as if I could do better and relax if I could just make myself pee. Couldn't do it. Argh.
Time: 21:32 (rate: 2:53; rank: 1007th overall)
T1:
Nothing much special here. I could tell I was new to this whole wetsuit thing as it inadvertantly helped me expand my personal space area ... which the guy next to me kindly pointed out as he tried to get his bike off the rack. Oops. Live and learn ...
Time is also a bit longer as the mat was RIGHT as you got out of the water. Helps for more accurate swim times; sucks for transition times.
Time: 3:10
The Bike:
The sprint bike course was surprisingly sucky for the first few miles. The first mile out of the Res was also the last mile of the bike so you got to see a lot of people coming in and that kind of sucks. I kept my eyes peeled for Brandon, but no dice.
My legs felt super heavy in the first five miles or so ... which were actually kind of uphill ... an uphill so gradual you didn't really realize it until in mile 5 when you started heading downhill. I got passed by a lot of people, passed a couple myself and started feeling really good in the middle miles of the ride.
The end of the course had a couple surprisingly nasty baby hills (just because they're small doesn't mean they don't suck), but I made it through the 17ish miles okay.
Time: 1:00:42 (17.0 mph, 893rd overall)
T2:
T2 went by really quickly. I switched off the race belt (had to wear our race numbers on the bike) for my race skirt and took a chance and didn't BodyGlide my feet for a second time. As a result, I was out pretty fast.
Time: 2:01
The Run:
I knew the run was in the actual Reservoir and I thought I may be marginally familiar with the course from doing KBCO's Race Around the Rez a few years back which took place at the Boulder Res. However, the Res is apparently fairly large and I think we ran in a totally different place.
My legs felt kind of crappy (as to be expected), but the few bricks I've done (even with the ass-long transition times) have apparently helped as the legs didn't feel as dead as they have in past years. So, yay for that.
There was a gradual uphill leading out of transition to the main part of the course (with a photog at the top of the hill; go figure - I made sure to smile) and then it was gently rolling.
I ran as much as I could; walked when I had to and just let the miles tick by ... though it seemed like a long 5K. I think tri runs ALWAYS seem longer since you've done so much before them. On the way back (out-and-back run), I chatted with another girl for a bit (and I wish I remember about what; too long ago). It was obvious it was at a slightly slower pace for her, but the conversation actually was a good pick-me-up and helped me get through the last little bit of the race.
Unlike Rattlesnake, it was also nice seeing people still starting the course and not being one of the last people out there.
Entering the chute, there was a woman wearing the bike jersey from last year's Boulder 70.3 and I tried to catch her, but as you'll see in the photo collage below, no dice. Sad day. In any case, I managed my traditional sprint across the finish ... somehow. Brandon has a fun video of it; ask to see it sometime.
Time: 31:14 (10:04/mi; 955th overall)
Overall Time:
1:58:39
940/1132 overall
357/496 female
56/80 division (F2529)
While it seemed to be a crappy race compared to other people, I actually had my fastest bike average and fastest run average ever in a tri, so really, I'll take it.
I won't bore you with anything else - I'm behind in posting as it is and I've got to bug out to take Brandon to the airport, but I will leave with a photo collage of the official race photos courtesy of Action Sports International (ASI) and the Windows snip tool.
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