Race report: Flower City Half Marathon

I can't believe I got through it. I completed the Flower City Challenge this weekend, a duathlon Saturday and a half marathon Sunday.

I did the du in 2:29:37. Check out my blog from yesterday. Yesterday I did the half marathon in 2:44:37 (is 37 my new lucky number?)

I've been pretty beat up today but it's well worth it. The best part? My rack of medals is officially too heavy to hold the new ones. Time to buy a new curtain rod!

That morning was icky at best. I woke up in the middle of the night with a stuffy nose and sore throat. My quads were sore and so were my calves. I took some cold medicine and was a little better by the time 5 am came. I nervously texted Megan and played on Twitter as I got my stuff together.

The weather was perfect. I walked to the office, across from the starting line, for some quiet and real toilets before the race. At 7 we headed to the start line and met up with Megan.

We couldn't hear a lot of the Boston tribute because the speakers kept cutting out. I'm really glad they did it though. We definitely crossed the start line to Save A Horse Ride a Cowboy.

You can usually tell how a race is going to go by the first few steps, and I was thrilled that I felt strong.

The first mile took us down West Main Street to the Susan B. Anthony House, where people were out with signs in colonial garb, awesome. We circled back and took Main Street to East Avenue. I still felt strong as we cut to Park Avenue. We took Goodman through the Highland Hills neighborhood, which had by far the best crowd support.

Up until this point we were holding a steady 11 minute pace. Then the hills hit.

Drums took us up the hills in Highland Park. Those weren't bad. Then we went into Mount Hope Cemetery. That kicked my butt. This part was really long, about three miles. I was exhausted toward the end, so the next mile along the Riverway Trail was rough. We came across the bridge to Exchange, and kicked it in.

So proud of Megan for finishing her second half! I walked around the arena and felt a little nauseated.

Got my second medal, tried to wear them both but they were too heavy! I slowly walked back to Corn Hill and collapsed. Several hours later I woke up with a full blown cold. I've been down all day.

But I did it!!

Race Report: Flower City Part 1

Race one out of three is complete! Now it is time to rest up for a 13.1 mile recovery run tomorrow!

Today I completed the Flower City Duathlon in just under two and a half hours. I'm thrilled with my performance but I'm also a little scared that I went too hard and didn't pace myself for tomorrow.

My times were:
5K run (just under 3.1 by my app): 30:45
Transition 1: 3:50
20 mile ride: 1:21:50
Transition 2: 2:24
5K run (3.4 miles by my app): 30:47
Finish: 2:29:37

I rode to the race, two miles away. I had attached a saddle bag and hand pump to my bike and wanted to make sure they were on properly!

It was a chilly start. I rode in wearing three layers. I'd be down to my tank top three hours later.

Run #1

At 7:20 they closed transition and we headed to the start. We started in waves, the du women went before the men, and at 7:36 I was off.

One thing I've noticed about Rochester runners that wasn't as true in Columbus is that everyone starts off so fast! In MIT they drilled pacing and running negative splits into our heads. I tried to start off slow, shooting for an 11:00 mile, and I was in the back of the pack.

Maybe it was the psychology of running in the back, but I felt like I was poking along. Not true. My app gave me the first half mile update, and it was sub-10. Woa there! I tried to back off but my legs wanted to carry me faster. Tomorrow I'll be happy for the pacers!

The course went along the river along the trail, and there was a nice breeze. Perfect running weather. I walked up the few very tiny hills, which saved energy and didn't hurt my pace.

My splits were:
Mile 1: 9:59
Mile 2: 10:12
Mile 3: 10:29

The average temperature was 43 degrees.

I went into transition feeling strong. I got on the bike and took off.

Bike

Here's the thing I love about running: No matter how much you spend on fancy shoes, clothes and hydration packs, the talent is all you. That's not true on the bike: Better machinery yields an advantage. You can buy speed.

It was my first race on my new road bike, she shall be named Flower from this point forth, and there was an incredible difference. On the Giant hybrid, I was riding around 12-14 mph. On Flower, I was riding 16 to 18. And that was during my first real ride of the season.

I was happy to be passing many, and only getting passed by a few. I rode the big chain ring the entire way, except for the hills.

We hit the hills by RIT and heading out toward Scottsville. We turned a corner by a gas station in Wheatland, around Mile 10, where a course marshal yelled out "it's all downhill from here!" I cursed her as we climbed yet another hill, but then it was mostly flat coming back through Chili.

My mile splits were consistently 3:20 to 3:40 on the flats, and as high as 5:30 on the hills. The average temperature for this segment was 45 degrees.

I felt wobbly getting off the bike, and went back into transition.

Run #2

Those first few steps were not pleasant.

Running right off the bike is a very odd sensation. It takes awhile for the legs to realize that it's time to work with different muscles. As a result, you can feel yourself moving, but your legs are completely numb.

I felt like I was shuffling along. The people around me looked like they were shuffling along. But when the app gave me the half mile update, I was close to a 9:00 mile. It was like I couldn't control my speed, and I also just wanted to be done.

I've been running with the app Runtastic, and it talks to you when someone online motivates you. I got two such motivations during this run, such a small thing but it really does give you a boost.

Continuing to run on autopilot, I crossed the bridge by U of R and a girl in a kayak yelled up at me, she recognized me from the pace team I ran with two weeks ago. This was another boost.

There was a paddle triathlon going on simultaneously, so we ran alongside the kayakers and the canoes, which kept me distracted. I didn't have any ability to pick it up at the end, but I kept a steady pace across the finish.

My splits were (not including the .39 at the end)
Mile 1: 9:11
Mile 2: 9:33
Mile 3: 9:02

After I stretched, laid in the grass and watched the band, rode home then went to an amazing yoga class at the Downtown Fitness Club.

Time to lay out my clothes, and get ready for Day 2.

(Typed from the tablet, I'll add in links/photos later!)

Flower City: As ready as I can ever be

In two days starts the crazy three-races-in-eight-days scheme: The Flower City Duathlon, the Flower City Half Marathon and the Capital City Half Marathon.

First, check out this video I did with some of my colleagues on the Flower City course. I'm proud of it!

So... I'm ready as I'll ever be! I got my new bike...

...have picked up my race packet...

... a very pretty t-shirt...

... and am getting my information together for the Capital City Half Marathon the following weekend!

The plan is to go slow for all legs of the Flower City Half Marathon and the Flower City Duathlon. Then I'll give Capital City all I've got!

Race weekends (plural) are fast approaching

This morning I switched into race mindset :)

Fleet Feet held a preview run for the Flower City Half Marathon today, so my training partner Megan D. and I met there for our final long run before taper.

This was my first time running in a big group outside of the smaller races that I've done. We stuck with the 12:00 pacer, the group of 20 was wonderful to run with and it made the run go so quick!

Megan and I did a little bit beforehand to make sure we'd get at least ten miles in. We ran 10.3 miles in 2 hours.

I felt strong through the entire run. I struggled on some of the hills through Highland Park, so I'm going to get some hill repeats in before the race.

Which I'm getting excited for!

I have three races coming up in rapid succession. Race #1 is the Flower City Duathlon, a 5K run, 20 mile bike, 5K run on April 27.

The very next day is the Flower City Half Marathon. My plan is to take the entire thing at a 12:00 mile, and stick with a pacer to hold myself back.

Finally, the next weekend is the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus. I cannot put into words how excited I am to go back and see all the people who got me hooked onto this wonderful sport! This one I hope to race to the best of my ability!

I'm excited but getting nervous!

My goal this week is to stick to my training plan. I've been switching the workouts around, but it's designed to be done as written.

Filling out the race calendar, and returning to COLUMBUS!

I should probably wait until I throw down my money to make it official. I've decided to run the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus May 4! I am so excited to see all my Columbus friends again, but that will mean two half marathons and a duathlon in back to back weekends. I'm also considering  a tri in Columbus at the end of June.

In addition, I'm going to shoot for the Wineglass Marathon in October.

So, the only thing I'm missing is an Olympic Tri sometime in late June. I just need to take the time to find a good one.

So my race schedule for the year:

April 27: Flower City Du: 5K run, 20 mile bike, 5K run, Rochester
April 28: Flower City half marathon - 13.1 mile run, Rochester
May 4: Capital City Half Marathon, 13.1 mile run, Columbus, Ohio (still need to register)
June 2: Strassburg Sock Keuka Lake triathlon, 820 yard (.75k) swim, 14 mile bike, 3.1 mile run, Penn Yan, NY
POSSIBLE: June 9: The Great Western Reserve triathlon, swim 1500 meters, bike 26 miles, run 6.2 miles, Ravenna, Ohio
OR
POSSIBLE: June 30: Greenswell Antrim Park triathlon, swim 1500 meters, bike 24.9 miles, run 6.2 miles, Columbus, Ohio
July 14: Musselman HALF-IRON!!! 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run, Geneva, NY
September 7: Highlander Cycle Tour, 100 mile ride, Canandaigua, New York (still need to register)
October 6: Wine Glass full marathon, 26.2 mile run, Corning, New York (still need to register)

Eeep.