At the Quakerman Duathlon, remembering why I race

I remembered why I race today. (For just the details of my awesome time, skip to the graf with all the numbers)

I was on the first loop on the bike at the Quakerman Duathlon in Orchard Park, near Buffalo. I was miserable. It was raining, windy, and in a tank top that seemed appropriate less than an hour ago I was freezing. My quads were hurting, and the hills weren't even that bad. "It's ok," I told myself. "Occasionally we all have bad races." The sprint distance athletes, who started about ten minutes late after me, were passing me left and right. I psyched myself out.

I was racing the Olympic distance, which was two laps of everything. As I finished that horrid first lap, I had the choice to cut it down to the sprint distance. For reasons I don't even know, I chose to continue onto the second lap.

The winds eased up. The rain stopped. The sun never really came out but things got better. I ran some great times. I ended up with a metal.

It's a lesson I've learned before. Completing something that at one moment you thought to be insane, impossible or wanted to abandon is an empowering and surreal feeling, and reminds me why I do what I do.

It's something I needed to be reminded of. Half ironman training, while I know will be worth it in the end, is exhausting, and I feel like a lot is on hold right now while I get through the final month.

Anyway, enough with the sentimental stuff. On to the race report!!!! (I'm sure there are a zillion typos, I'm exhausted, I'll edit tomorrow!)

The Quakerman Triathlon was supposed to be, well, a triathlon, and it was supposed to be my first time swimming a mile in open water. It was also supposed to be hot and sunny outside.

But late yesterday afternoon, they changed the race to a duathlon. The ecoli levels in the lake were too high. It wasn't safe. Too much rain this week.

I almost asked about deferring (ok, I would have had Coach Mary not talked me out of it.) After all, the whole reason I signed up for the race was the open water swim practice.

I finished in 2:52:47, unofficial. I finished first in my age group. (Actually second, but the other girl got an overall so she didn't count.)

• 2.5 mile run: 22:43
• T1: 2:26
• 24.86 mile bike: 1:31:03
• T2: 1:20
• 10K run: 55:15

I'm glad I raced.

RUN #1:

Splits: 8:47, 8:57, 4:58 (8:55 pace)

The start line was a little chaotic.

The course was an out and back and relatively flat. They started us off, and woa! 

I come from the Randy Olson school of starting slow and negative splitting it, and everyone in my wave booked it. I started running a 8:30 mile, and was still at the back of the pack, thus starting my fear of finishing last that would last through the first lap on the bike.

My calves started aching -- that worried me. The pain went away. I think I took this too hard. I need to learn to hang back at the start, plenty of opportunity to pass people later.

Into transition, I started to get that sinking feeling that this would not be a good race. I took a Honey Stinger and ran Flower out. 

BIKE

Splits: 4:20, 3:48, 3:14, 3:26, 3:16, 3:17, 3:19, 3:21, 3:04, 3:13, 3:45, 4:21, 4:25, 4:04, 4:22, 3:21, 3:42, 3:36, 3:27, 3:35, 3:06, 3:05, 3:25, 3:40, 3:58 

The first part was yucky, but looking back at my splits, I was doing a heck of a lot better than I thought I would. It was slightly hilly (what isn't in WNY), but I stayed in the big ring for most of it, only shifting down for a big hill at the end. 

I tried to tell myself, "If you finish last, you finish last, race smart, or you won't finish at all," but my competitive edge wouldn't have it and as the sprinters whizzed by me, I felt dejected, but I pushed on. 

I could have turned off, I didn't. As I turned for the second lap, I passed two people in the olympic race. I'm not last! Amazing what this did for my confidence. I immediately relaxed, and ate a pack of Honey Stinger chews. I was warmer now, the wind eased up. But I was getting tired, and the hills seemed bigger. 

I thought I was almost done, but I was just passing the halfway point. I meant to slow down. I guess I sped up. I made it through. 

I dismounted, put the Asics and my hat from the Autumn Classic Duathlon on, and headed out for the run, taking another Honey Stinger on my way out. 

RUN #2

Splits: 9:18, 9:21, 9:04, 9:12, 9:19, 9:00.

I've come to expect the ouchiness of switching from the bike to the run. 

As usual, my legs were numb. My back ached. As usual, I couldn't control my speed. As usual, I ran faster than I meant to.

But somehow, it felt... better (?) than last time. 

I've never run more than a 5K off the bike. This was double. It hurt, but I felt good. I was going to do this. As I finished the first lap, a young girl said "left to finish, right for the second lap." There was no doubt in my mind what to do. 

I kept a steady pace through the second lap. A woman was running about 50 feet ahead of me but I didn't have the energy to catch her. I wished I had another gel or something, I was starting to fade but pushed through.

A half mile from the finish, a group of middle schoolers (it looked like), were dancing to Brittany Spears in what was starting to look like sunshine. They were so excited to be there and cheering that it gave me the extra boost I needed to make it to the end. 

I finished strong. I treated myself to a donut. Ok ok ok two donuts.

THE AFTERMATH

I never win anything, so after the usual stumbling around and stuffing my face I changed into dry clothes and made the first trip out to my car. As I was headed back to my car with my bike, I became captivated watching the kids race.

I wish I could have run triathlons as a kid. They had so much fun running the short course to "Gotta Fly Now", and got really excited as the announcer called their names.

Perhaps more moving, though, were the parents. As the kids rode around the park with their training wheels, some parents ran alongside, smiling. 

I watched a dad chase his kid getting so much glee running toward the finish line. I watched a mom try to explain the foreign concept of "pacing yourself" to a really excited young boy. "Now don't go out too fast..." Yea, right!

I hear the announcer talking as I put my wet, muddy bike in the car, not really caring about the mess. I come back for a cup of coffee for the road, and Mary is standing there. "They called your name." 

"Huh, what?"

"For the awards, they called your name, they really butchered it."

As does everyone else.

I won something! Ok, so I shouldn't get too excited, but I got first in my age group, out of... one. 

Actually two, but the other girl was first overall so she didn't count. 

During that cold, horrid first lap, the race didn't seem worth it. But I finished. And that's what the medal represents! 

Race report: Keuka Lake Triathlon

I am a TRIATHLETE!!!

For reals this time. It's not really official until you breathe into a wave, get kicked in the face and feel the clock ticking in transition... that indoor stuff didn't count. (Related: I am a duathlete and I am a marathoner)

The Keuka Lake Triathlon was a fantastic whirlwind kinda weekend. All in all, I'm thrilled not only with my results but by the fact that I felt SO prepared, and feel like most of the decisions I made were the right ones.

The blow by blow in a sec (you folks get the rambling, I'm already halfway through the bottle of wine I bought in wine country version. Should have bought the big bottle. I'll do a more coherent version using a couple of those professional writer skills for Scootadoot later this week!)

First and foremost, the results! The goal I told everyone else is: Finishing not last. The goal I secretly told myself: 2 hours.

• Overall time: 1:47:21
• 820 yard swim: 24:00 (3:12 per 100 yards)
• T1: 3:12
• 13.6 mile bike: 50:00 (16.56 mph)
• T2: 2:00
• 3.1 mile run: 27:40 (8:55 minute mile)
• 168/260 overall, 55th of females, 12/20 in my age group

Ok now the play by play:

SATURDAY

Philip and I went down to Penn Yan Saturday afternoon with Flower in the backseat and way too much stuff. (Only let him navigate if you have plenty of time to spare.) Got there in time for the clinics. Bummer that more people didn't go... they were excellent. Got some great tips on my running form and felt much more prepared. Chugged lots and lots of water.

Had a burger and fries (what I was craving) at Timmy G's, a cozy little restaurant downtown, and a glass of Hazlitt Cat red wine. 

Stayed in the dorms at Keuka College. It was definitely... a dorm. Ahhh, a plain white room with three twin beds and sandals in the shower. 

Far from a hotel, but a cheap bed for the night, and the best part: I could see the lake (and transition) out the window. I sprung for air conditioning, and burrrrr, it sure was air conditioned!!!

BEFORE THE RACE

The alarm went off at 5, and I commenced the: Peek out the window to see how crowded transition was, set alarm for ten minutes, go back to bed. I finally got Flower out of the car and claimed my spot (third bike in, perfect) at 5:45. 

I set my transition the way Mary taught us and put some plastic bags over it to keep it dry, and got marked. I found Sarah and Kelli who were also doing their first triathlons, it was so wonderful to know people there. In addition, the two people next to me in transition were from the Rochester-Area Triathletes!! I am totally joining. 

I went back up to the room to foam roll one more time, and made my first big mistake, I forgot transition closed an hour before my wave!! I smiled, gave the "it's my first time" plea, and got the crew to hand me my swim stuff. 

I doused myself with cooking spray, put my wetsuit on over my spandex shorts and sports bra, and went down to the water.

SWIM

I watched the olympic tri folks take off, then waded into the water as soon as they let us.

It. Was. COOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!

I slowly inched in, finally sucked it up and put my head under. Came up in shock. BURRR!!! I didn't want to be That Person Who Runs Out Of The Water With Her Tail Between Her Legs, so I stayed in, and slowly acclimated. The water was never nice, but it was tolerable. I did some swimming back and forth a little, then met Sarah on the shore. 

We met a girl from Buffalo, Katie, and us three first timers waited nervously until our wave was called. We filed through the chute, and then it was our turn. One minute. 30 seconds. 10 seconds. Horn. 

During the transition clinic, Mary told us some swim horror stories that left me wondering if I should have been taking the aqua kickboxing class at the Y to prepare. 

Fortunately, my wave was cool. Everyone spread out, and I was only kicked twice, and kicked someone else once. So water combat skills weren't necessary, but I employed her spitting in the goggles to get rid of fog strategy.

I liked the buoys because it split the swim up. I probably still zigzagged a lot, but when we practiced at Canandaigua Sarah told me her strategy, breathe three times and spot, and it worked. 

I found myself out of breath at the first buoy and my heart sunk a bit. Maybe I was too dependent on having the wall to pause at. We turned, and I settled into a nice rhythm, switching to breast stroke a few times. I had to straighten out a couple times but I felt smooth up until the next turn around point. 

Getting back was rough because there were no buoys, I was just sighting the arc in the distance. I psyched myself out a few times thinking I was closer than I was and ending up tired. Then there was someone I just couldn't get around. But I made it. 

I stripped off my cap and goggles, ran up the stairs, and peeled off the wetsuit as I ran into transition.

BIKE

I was prepared for the transition. I got my padded shorts and tank on (a tri suit would be nice), took a honey stinger, remembered the helmet before unracking the bike, and took off. I wish I would have done gloves too, but that's ok. 

Mounting the bike was a little rough, so was unmounting, but no embarrassments. The hills weren't bad at all -- all the practice on Route 65 and spinning paid off! I passed people uphill, got passed downhill. 

The only flub, the velcro strap on my saddle bag was cutting into my shorts and I ended up with a bruise and a hole in them!!! 

The ride was smooth, we rode through some rain and headwinds but nothing I couldn't handle. Average pace was 3:34, close to my 3:30 goal. 

RUN

Another smooth transition. I got the clips off, Asics, knee straps and compression sleeves on, and was out through the gate in two minutes, slurping a Gu as I went through. 

I had used the iPhone with the Runtastic app on the bike, but my hands were shaking so bad as I came through transition that I couldn't unlock/reset it, so I just left it behind and ran naked.

I feel like I started off too fast. Calves started to ache, so I backed off the second mile, then picked it up at the end. 

It was hot, and I dumped water on myself at the second water stop. I ran in hard, and finished dripping wet and grinning as Mary, who was announcing, called my name. Wonderful!! 

I finished exhausted, but probably could have handled a longer race! 

AFTER

Another perk of staying at the race site: A nice shower after. Then I inhaled all kinds of yummy food, sat in the sun for awhile, and headed home, doing a little wine tasting on the way in at Yates Cellars... yummmm Reisling. Shoutout to Philip for driving home... I was beat (though I should have taken advantage of the situation by stopping at a few more wineries on the random backroads he turned down...)

Lizzie and Brandy stayed with a sitter who had a big yard, so we're spending Sunday night laying around lazily and fighting for leg room on the couch.

I'm sad I don't have any photos from the race :( It looked like there were official race photographers there though!! 

Much more confident for Musselman!!

Keuka Lake Triathlon: What went right, where I could have done better

My results... what went right, where I could have done better (nothing went wrong), and should I do another in two weeks?

The Keuka Lake Triathlon, in a word: Awesome!!

I felt strong the entire way. The full report.

As I approach a race three times the length, I need to think about where my strong points are, and where I need to improve.

I also need to decide, very soon, if I want to do the Quakerman Triathlon olympic distance in two weeks near Buffalo. The pros and cons later in this post.

But first, the results!!

• Overall time: 1:47:21
• 820 yard swim: 24:00 (3:12 per 100 yards)
• T1: 3:12
• 13.6 mile bike: 50:00 (16.56 mph)
• T2: 2:00
• 3.1 mile run: 27:40 (8:55 minute mile)
• 168/260 overall, 55th of females, 12/20 in my age group

What went right:

• I felt very prepared with the transitions, and was pleased with my transition times! I was expecting at least 5 minutes in T1 but I was just over 3 minutes. Used some tips from Mary Eggers that helped! 
• Running was my strong suit of course!! I finished very strong.
• Glad I did so much spinning and practiced hills on the bike. The hills on this course were nothing!!

Where I could have done better:

• It was my third time in open water, so clearly I need more practice! I was happy with my time, I was hoping for under 30 and I did that. I need more practice spotting, I felt like I was zigzagging a lot and probably swam much further than 820 yards! 
• Again more open water practice! I missed having that wall where I traditionally take two pants on before I turn around (maybe I should have learned flip turns...) I found myself out of breathe a few times and switched to breaststroke. 
• I could also stand to practice more swimming with other people. There were no unfortunate incidences, the people in my wave were wonderful, but I could definitely stand to work on it! 
• Had some calf pain on the run. Need to foam roll and stretch like a madwoman this week. 
• I should practice mounting and unmounting on the bike some more. It was a little hairy, not terrible.
• I should probably get my bike form evaluated. I was fitted on the bike, but I've gotten off the past few times with slight back aches. 
• I should have warmed up more. I thought two and a half hours before start time would be a long time but it went fast!!
• I didn't get any photos! Jealous of everyone else's! 

Rookie mistakes:

• I forgot transition closed! I had to ask one of the guys inside for my swim stuff. Fortunately he was cool about it! (And I knew where my bike was, third from the bag drop, yay!)
• Bringing too much stuff. Now I know what I'll need and what I won't need. 

So, the Quakerman Triathlon is in two weeks, there's an olympic distance, and I need to decide quickly if I want to do it or not. The pros and cons of another race...

Pros:

• More race day transition practice! 
• More open water swim practice with other people in open water
• It looks like a smaller race

Cons:

• I'll lose another week to taper, and another weekend where I could be doing a long ride
• I could use the registration fee elsewhere!

Of course, since the part I really really need practice on is the swim, maybe I could get a relay team together and just do that part! Or the aquabike... hmmm..... 

I'll think on it a little bit! 

Race report: Flying Pig weekend

The Flying Pig Marathon was hands down the best event I have ever done. I ran for 5 hours, 21 minutes and 7 seconds and genuinely loved every second of it. (Separate blog post with more photos.)

Thinking back to how miserable I was the last 8 miles of the Columbus Marathon, trying to make a time goal, I wonder if slowing down and stopping to smell the roses (literally, Rebecca E. stopped and made me smell some pink ones), is the best way to go.

To bad I have too much of a competitive spirit!

This weekend was a whirlwind. I'll just whiz through the early details so I can get to the super-fun stuff. Woke up at 5 a.m. Saturday. Headed to downtown Columbus to see the MITers off for the Capital City Half Marathon. Had a blast standing on a freeway overpass for several hours ringing a cowbell, jumping up and down and yelling at the many, many members of my running groups competing. The incredibly awesome Sara W. cheered with me. She blogs here.  

Me and Sara

Sat in a Tim Hortons sipping tea for an hour -- as quiet of a moment as I was going to get that weekend. Met up with Brandie D. and Rebecca and headed out of town. Got stuck in traffic for an hour because of an Obama rally. Finally got out of the car on I-270 to stretch our legs. Saw cars moving up ahead. Screamed. Waved our arms. Ran back to the car. Many engines behind us revved up as a result.

Ick! Traffic.

Finally made it to Cincy. Found parking. Went to expo. Spent too much money at expo. Bought some yummy dried fruit snacks and some Flying Pig gear at 50 percent off. Loaded up on free samples of laundry soap, wrinkle reliever and undereye cream. Since Mr. Obama held us up we were there as they were closing and trying to get rid of stuff.

Loot

Went to Arnold's Bar and Grill for dinner with other members of Run DMC. Got some yummy gluten free pasta with portabellas and a bottle of Woodchuck cider. Made it to the hotel by 10 and crashed almost instantly.  

Run DMC after dinner

Our alarms went off at 4:30 a.m. We dragged ourselves out of bed, got ready and walked a good mile in the dark to the starting line. When I woke up I was petrified, but as we were walking across the bridge that separates Kentucky from Ohio, we heard "Born to Run" over the loudspeakers and saw crowds of people pouring in from every direction as the sun rose. The fear was gone, now we're just excited. We dropped our bags and got in the corral.

Brandie and I, up bright and early.

I loved, loved, loved this course. I wish I had brought a camera so I could document some of the things we saw. The course was windy, curvy and hilly. Around every turn there was something new, a mascot, someone in a funny costume, cute kids cheering, zombies, drunk people, a band, a DJ, people with hoses to cool us off. The miles just flew by.

Race Report: 2011 Buckeye Classic 10K

Run DMC and friends at the Buckeye Classic. 

It took me over an hour to run a 10K, and given all the factors involved I'm still thrilled with my time! Official time was 1:02:36, a 10:06 pace.

Let's just say I woke up this morning a bit dehydrated. Forgot my rule of thumb last night, 1 to 1. I didn't think it would be that bad, but it was.

That and the hills were evil! From here on out it's hill repeats twice a week until Salt Fork, and once a week thereafter!

It was the Buckeye Classic at Highbanks Metroparks in Lewis Center. This is one I decided to do on a whim, using my free race entry from volunteering at Emerald City.

Cleveland Marathon 2011 race report

I AM A MARATHONER!

I ran the Cleveland Marathon today in 4:32:50. I was 1,790th of 3,160 full participants, 554th among women and 116th in my division.

My splits were: 10:20, 10:21, 10:19, 10:24, 10:09, 11:31, 10:36, 10:27, 10:53, 10:31, 10:41, 11:26, 10:27, 11:07, 10:49, 10:32, 10:43, 10:47, 10:27, 10:37, 9:31, 9:48, 9:12, 9:10, 9:07, 9:00, 3:46 (.49 per Garmin).

Full Daily Mile data here. 

So I'll just start at the beginning of one crazy day! I'm still reeling, so some edits will likely be necessary tomorrow.

I was up at 5 and downtown by 5:45. The exits were already blocked off so my mom managed to drop me off a few blocks away. The Plain Dealer reported that there were almost 20,000 runners in the various events, it was a madhouse! Check out the photo on the link that has everyone running down the shoreway.

We were in Browns' stadium so I was happy for lots of bathrooms and places to spread out. I warmed up just enough to get the heart rate up, then stretched for a long time. The starting corral was really chaotic and disorganized, I ended up having to walk across the mud to get in the very vicinity of where I needed to be. They got us worked up with "Cleveland Rocks"

Once it starts it takes me 7 minutes to reach the start, so the clocks on the course were worthless, but I had my Garmin. I try my best to stick with the 4:45 pace group but it was difficult. I ended up back with the 5 hour group at the beginning and did some zigzagging to catch up (probably why my Garmin said 26.49 at the end)

I caught up to the 4:45s but lost them quickly. They stopped at every water station (every two miles) so it often took some time to get in step with them after. I only really stopped at 6, 12, 18 and 22. 

Still, the first two miles along the shoreway were a lot of fun, the energy was unreal, I liked being by the lake, and passing Edgewater Park where my high school cross country team used to train. Some complained about the hill as we ran up the on-ramp. I've done much, much worse.  

The first 10K was a breeze. It was really hard restraining myself, I wanted to speed up. 

The second 6 and change took us through Tremont and Carnegie Ave. which was a really phenomenal part of the course. The crowd support was unreal. I ran a lot of this without my iPod because there were bands and people playing music everywhere! 

Just before the halfs turned off, I hit a marathoner's jackpot -- a port-a-john with no line. (The port-a-john lines were another chief complaint I've heard of the event). With the Indians' stadium in sight there were lots of cheers as we bid farewell to the half marathoners. 

Then things started to get real. 

I was back with the pace group at this point, and as we headed down Euclid Ave. toward the east side I was really glad for it. As we got through the CSU campus and left downtown things got really quiet. I started to get tired. The pace group started to get chatty. That helped. 

Miles 13-19 were definitely the hardest. At one point I got ahead of the group and ended up stopping to stretch my knees and ankles while they caught up. I see my mom around Mile 15, which gave me a boost. Miles 16-19 I went for all the peppy, make me smile songs on my iPod. Usually these make me speed up, but in between my exhaustion and the pace team I stuck to 10-11 min miles. 

I think the double caffeine Gu kicked in at Mile 19 because at this point I found some new energy. Around 19.5 I realized the pace group was behind me. I told myself I'd stick with them for the first 20 -- close enough. I kick it up to 9-9:30. I turned off the fast pace alert set to 10:00. My iPod, set to shuffle on the 12-hour playlist was all about the classic rock, which was perfect. 

At this point every single muscle was screaming. My legs feel so numb. I'm soaking wet and hardly notice. But I'm passing people. This part of the course was really pretty. We turned onto a bike path as we went through several parks and along Lake Erie. I watched waves of the lovely brown waters splash against the breakers. I watched a bird eat a dead fish. I saw these people, I think they're from DetermiNation (photo from the Cap City race... the CLE signs were similar). Any distraction was a welcome distraction. I'm keeping a sub 10 pace. 

Every mile marker gave me new energy. I was going for it and was going to finish. I didn't care what my watch said. I ran the way my legs wanted to carry me. Kali, who ran the half and blogs about her running ventures, was there around Mile 24. Another boost. I passed Mile 25. I'm exhausted, dying, but I'm going to make it. 

I can't touch my iPod at this point -- the battery is dying, and my hands were so slimy, so I just took what the shuffle function gave me. First I hear Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop. Then, the Beatles' The Long and Winding Road. Then I see Mile 26 and hear cheering and music. I tuck my headphones in my FuelBelt and start sprinting. 

I cross and the first person I see is my good friend Theresa Edwards, who was volunteering and handed me my medal. I'm exhausted. Once I stop running I can barely walk but I stumble through the chute, catch up with an MIT friend. 

I remember high-fiving the guy at Mile 8 with a sign that said "18 miles til beer". I had a free drink ticket and beer was the last thing I wanted. I'm delirious. I am soaking wet. My mom brought me dry clothes. Changing was painful. 

So, after you run 26.2 miles, you eat what you please. I had yet to try Five Guys before, delicious! Then for dinner we went out for Mexican. 

At that point, I was happy for this:

And, of course, this:

I'm all signed up for the next session of MIT. I'm going to train for the Columbus full!

I know I haven't held a lot of affection for my hometown (and I know this is in my last post too), but it is only fitting that I end this post on this note: