What I have been up to since Buffalo Springs

 It’s been FOREVER since my last post though it feels just like yesterday when I claimed that Kona spot I set my eyes on last winter when it was time to figure out the goals for the 2012 racing season.  After couple of years of talking about maybe doing Lake Placid, I finally got the green light from the master  - Jorge to try to qualify, but not by doing another IM, but by trying to qualify at a half ironman.  We picked Buffalo Springs, TX more or so due to the timing of the race rather than anything else. I had no idea how I was going to handle the dry Texas heat in June, especially after my not so stellar run debacle at last year’s 70.3 World Championships in Vegas but you all know by now what happened.

Believe me, it wasn’t easy to wait this long to just have a shot to make it there. I would constantly find myself checking the Kona qualifier list and results of different ironmans to find names that I usually compete against at the 70.3 distance punching their tickets left and right. The peer pressure was also there, and many wondered why I didn’t try sooner. Honestly, I am not sure I knew “WHY” then, but I chose to listen to the master, and only NOW I know why.

I used to think it was because I couldn’t swim fast enough and my deficit out of the water would simply be too much to overcome if I wanted to win, but now that I am in the midst of getting ready for my first ironman, I finally know WHY! And I couldn’t have been more wrong! I have been working with Jorge since July 2010, and I have watched myself improve year after year, month after month and week after week.  It hasn’t been easy by any means, but trying to get ready for the Vegas/Kona double has opened my eyes to the reality!

This IM stuff is no joke! It will tear you apart if you are not ready for it. And I am not talking just physically, but also mentally! There is absolutely NO WAY, I was even ready to train for one 2 years ago – NOT physically and NOT mentally, and I am so glad I listened to Jorge.  I am now 47 days away from toeing the line or treading the water of Kailua Bay in Kona, HI and I wouldn’t lie if I wasn’t nervous as hell.  YES – it will be my 1^st IM, and yes – it will be in Kona against the best of the best, but I will be as ready as I can be and I’ll have no regrets on that day because regardless of what happens, I know I have put all my heart and soul into being as ready as I can be on that race morning. I have trained my little ass off, and I hope there is some left in those 47 days or else it will be a long 112 miles! J  There isn’t much more time for anything else besides work, train, eat, sleep and repeat, and I can’t say enough for those that support me and tolerate my “crazy” goals. You ALL know who you are! Thank you – it really means a lot!

Throughout this IM training, I am learning a lot about myself, and I am sure I’ll learn more on race day, but as I said earlier, I have to know I did absolutely everything I could to get there and be ready to compete.  And this leads me to the MAIN focus of this post, and goes back to what I initially thought was the reason why Jorge was advising me to NOT do an IM 2 years ago – SWIMMING! My triathlon resume doesn’t extend that far but here it goes:

• Year 1 – 2 sprint races, 2 olympic disntace races which was enough to get me hooked

• Year 2 –3 x 70.3s (Mooseman - My first half ironman – I guess I like to do things backwards and I did my first 70.3 before I ran an open ½ marathon), Timberman, Clearwater World Championships) and  1x Olympic distance race – it was in July of that year I started t work with Jorge

• Year 3 – My first ½ marathon, 1 indoor time trial,  3 x 70.3s (Quassy, Providence, and Las Vegas World Championships), Am. Zofingen duathlon which may as well count since to date that is by far the toughest race I have done even though it doesn’t include swimming). If you want to read about my experiences there – check out my race reports from 2011, and 2012.

• Year 4 – 2 x ½ marathons, 2 Indoor Time Trials, why not do that crazy Am. Zofingen duathlon again, and I’ll end up with 3 x 70.3s(Quassy, Buffalo Springs, Las Vegas Worlds) and then finally Kona

You may notice, that there is no mentioned of any swim races, and or a marathon! Yup – you got that right – I have NEVER raced an open marathon, nor have I ever ran more than 14.5 miles at once and that was last weekend. I’ll change that today, when I put up 16 miles as my new all time high, and I’ll get to 22 come race day, but Kona is going to be a challenge in more ways than one. FUN challenge of course, and I’ll have expectations.  It’s actually pretty “scary” but if it all comes together, I could have a hell of a race, but I know it will be a long day and anything can happen especially with it being my 1^st shot at the distance.  

And then there is no swim races! That may also change as of next week, though I still didn’t click “Register”. I know deep down inside that doing this swim race will help me regardless of what happens. This race won’t be about winning, but rather about getting over myself.  This will be a training race, and let’s face it – although winning rocks, and I like to win every race I enter, my race will not be next week in that Merrimack river, my race will be in 2 weeks in Vegas, and in 5 weeks in Kona.  I will potentially get my ass handed to me by real swimmers, but I guess that’s ok. I bet if I asked them to come race me on a bike or on the run, I could return the favor. The win for me will really be just toeing that start line, and doing my best. No time goals, just swimming.  Just like Dory says:

But where did this “crazy” swim race idea come from?  

I have recently started to work with a swim coach, and seriously, I am one lucky girl that coach Jorge recommended Karen to me because Karen rocks!  Yup – she can swim FOREVER, she can swim FOREVER  and faaaaaaaaast, she LOVES open water, and really she just LOVES the water, and LOVES to swim.  That is all awesome, and I hope it rubs off on me, but more importantly she is an unbelievable coach!  We have been working together for 3-4 weeks now, and yes – she is helping me with my technique, and all that other fun stuff, but more importantly she somehow sees right through me, and knows exactly what buttons to push when.  We may have swam together all of 8 times, talked a bunch of times, and she has me figured out. And THAT is NOT easy! She knows when to be tough and tough she is. I am sure I have only seen the beginnings of that, and in a strange way I am excited to see more. I am pretty sure she could make me cry in my goggles, BUT she also knows when to pull back, which I never really realized was SO KEY to a potential breakthrough. I have a hard time pulling myself back, because I am just way too competitive, but Karen is changing that. I am still competitive and always will be, but my outlook is changing a bit.  And that’s when this little green light started to go off in my head.

Few weeks ago, I had a sucky swim workout. Like awful! I know those happen every once in a while, but I was bummed and just over it. I have just started to work with Karen, I have been doing bunch of dryland work including stretch cordz, upper body and core stuff. That day, I could barely make it through 3,500 yards. I finished the workout, but I literally wanted to cry. How the hell am I to swim 2.4 miles if I can’t even make it through 3,500 yards in a pool? The doubts started to creep in. I had some 100s in the end of that workout, and I swam them so freaking slow, I was really over it. I pretty much told my coach Jorge, that maybe NOT swimming will allow me to get faster because one would never know I actually swam quite a bit. That entire offseason when I bitched and wanted to ride my bike instead of going to the pooI every night after work, it all was really started to get to me. I am by no means the one to quit, but I was just THAT down and over it. Two days later, coach Karen does what? Yup – you got it – more 100s, more 100s the week after that and let’s just say though I knew what she was doing, I wasn’t thrilled at all. When I showed up this past Friday, I was expecting more 100s, or perhaps something even more “torturous” J. And I couldn’t have been more wrong. I had the most FUN swim workout ever. Not that 100s aren’t fun, but this was SUPER FUN in a laid back kind of way. Not only did I have a blast, but in the process of caring less about the clock, I actually swam the fastest 200s and 100 I have swam in a VERY long time.  I was seriously super happy, and I actually felt “fast for me” in that water – that too was FUN!  Since I was on a swimmer’s high, I figured I should sign up for that 2 mile river race mentioned above, but I made it all the way to the “pay now” button and couldn’t do it. Ugh!

I swam with Karen this morning (OWS), in a place we swim at ALL the time – for locals – Walden Pond.  There was barely anyone there and the water was so smooth! My 1^st thought was – perfect was water skiing! I went from not being able to get up on one ski, to tearing up that slalom course and actually even entering a few competitions! I can have no fear, I just have to get over myself!

 We made it ¾ of the way through and I noticed Karen had stopped. I just figured she was watching me swim my zig zag line as I was making my way across to the other side of the pond (I think I actually for once swam pretty straight), so I popped up expecting some sort of advice, but instead we just chatted our way across to the other side and all the way back enjoying the quiet pond that Walden was yesterday morning.  We saw very few swimmers around but not many, and the few we saw really had no business of being in there – they made ME look like Michael Phelps, but they didn’t care and they were just enjoying themselves.

It really was the combination of the today’s swim/chatting session, and the super FUN workout yesterday that made me realize something! I have been swimming at Walden pond for 2 years now, and I have NEVER just floated around and really looked around and just relaxed. It has always been about how fast I can make it to the other side, and how much faster I can make it back. Even if I was just suppose to swim EZ, I would always pay attention to that watch!

I had a 112 mile bike to follow yesterday’s swim, and I actually spent good 3 hours thinking about swimming,  and what is it going to take for me to learn to like it, and love it. I actually don’t hate it, or dislike it, I just hate being “slow”.  I know I will one day love swimming, and I can tell you that this offseason will be a fun one because Karen and I are going to make it happen. I know it, I can feel it! The only reason why I struggle with it a bit right now is because of I am sort of slow (too slow for myself), a bit too slow if I want to be winning races overall, and that’s why it bugs me, but that will change. Looking at the final results, coming 3^rd overall by 2 minutes but getting beat in the water by 10 minutes is OLD, and tears me up inside EVERY time! Sure, I am still able to post awesome results, but I want better. I want to bike from the front and build the lead rather than bike through the field to get the lead.

I have tried fixing the swim myself with the help of Jorge who has gone over and beyond what a triathlon coach really should do.  I have gotten better, but it hasn’t worked as well as I had hoped for.  Karen is definitely going to take me out of my comfort zone – that 2 mile race next is of course HER idea J, and she is making me see the real FUN aspect of swimming so much more than I ever could have.  Some days it will be about the clock, and some days it won’t. I am sure I’ll still have days when swimming can bite me, but I am so excited for the new journey ahead.  I know I can do it. When on that bike today, I thought about the days when I first came to the U.S. – 19 years old, thousands of miles away from family and friends, just following my dream of playing basketball and really learning English.

Swimming is easy compare to that. I tend to forget because it has been so long ago, but it wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world. It was HARD! I did take English in school, but it was British English, and let’s face it – I was a bit lost. It’s kind of like I could swim as in I wouldn’t drown, but I never swam laps, never mind miles. No friends, no family, everyone spoke what felt like million miles an hour, and let’s just say it was extremely frustrating to have to ask everyone to repeat everything at least 3 times and then still don’t understand. I couldn’t joke with anyone, and I was too shy to speak because I thought I sounded funny!  That’s a bit similar to how I feel entering a swim race! I could potentially be surrounded by swimmers that have been swimming all their life, and then me – the swimmer wanna be.

It wasn’t until I got over the “fear of sounding funny”, that I started to get better. Sitting at home, talking to my friends in Czech online and studying my dictionary wasn’t going to work, just like swimming on my own won’t.  I stopped worrying about what others thought, and if someone wanted to laugh at me because I sounded funny, so be it. I knew they couldn’t say a word in any other language but English.  I had to get out of my comfort zone and try to talk to people if I wanted to make friends, learn the American English and all the awesome slang that comes with it. And no – you will NOT find slang in any dictionary. Oh, do I have plenty stories about the use of slang! But it finally dawned on me yesterday morning, that  swimming is actually VERY similar to what I went through 12 or so years ago. I know deep down that in order to become a swimmer, I have to tackle swimming head on, and I have to step out of that comfort zone. That comfort zone of swimming alone all the time, the constant ” me vs. the clock battle”, I have to find the real FUN in swimming.

The point I am trying to make with myself, and I am on the right track, is that if I was able to pack “my life” into 2 bags (120 lbs) leave for the unknown, and come out of the shell, swimming has nothing on me. I’ll be a fast swimmer one day! Learning English, and actually having to carry on a conversation didn’t exactly take over night, it took months, and it really took years to get to where I am today. Some people don’t even believe me when I tell them I am not American, so I have come a long way! So yeah – I will one day be a great swimmer, and I’ll let Karen take me out of my comfort zone. It’s barely been 4 weeks, and she has honestly changed my entire outlook on swimming (and really NOT just on swimming) in so many ways.

So now that I shared my thoughts with the world, I think I am ready to do finally leave that comfort zone, which means I better swim that 2 mile race next weekend, eh?  Oh boy J

In the mean time, with Vegas being  13, and Kona  47 days away – I can assure you I’ll be ready!  I’ll definitely be in the best shape of my life, and I am looking forward to some revenge on that Vegas course. I  have had a GREAT training block since Buffalo springs, and I am ready to race again. I have put in some tough, tough training sessions, and I am so ready to race. I am stronger than I have ever been across the board. I am feeling stronger in the water, my biking keeps improving, and I have been feeling stronger and faster on the run than ever before.  Week in and week out I have been able to improve, and amaze myself with how much my body and mind can actually handle without giving me that middle finger.  Had I tried to do this 2 years ago, I stood no chance. I would have fallen apart, my body would have fallen apart, but I am ready now! Thanks Jorge! J

So here you have it, this post has 3,000+ words and it used to take me hours/days to write an essay for English class with 500 words.  You know what that means J 

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

I diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid it! OMG – I REALLY REALLY diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid it and if you couldn’t tell, I am just a tad bit excited. I should really be sleeping right now, but I can’t! I have such a mixed emotion of feelings running through my head, I didn’t know was possible. I am excited!  I want to scream, I want to laugh, I want to cry, I want to hug Jorge (my coach) – I really hope he is reading this because he is going to have to brace himself for probably the biggest hug EVER, I am super stoked about what lies ahead, and it would be a lie if I didn’t say that I am just a little bit “scared”. Of course I can’t forget to thank to all those around me that make my dream come true – my family/friends – this is for ALL of you too! Let’s ALL go to KONA baby!

I am honestly still not quite sure it has all sunk in yet, but I know that 109 days from todayI will be toeing the line of my FIRST EVER full ironman and there is NO turning back now! What better way to lose my ironman virginity than in Kailua- Kona Hawaii, right? Somebody PINCH me now! 

And here comes my weekend recap. You better grab a drink and a snack, because this may be a long one! I would like to say, I had a perfect race, but I didn’t. I am very proud for overcoming the adversity that I was faced with, and obviously I am ecstatic about the final outcome. Now without further adieu, here comes the recap of my adventure to Lubbock, TX and the Buffalo Springs 70.3.

Thursday:

I arrived in Lubbock, TX on Thursday early afternoon. I have received multiple warnings about what I was about to see, but I was still quite in shock when I got off the tiny little plane (I may have smacked my head once or twice trying to get my carry on bag into the overhead space), and hopped in my little red companion for the next few days. Lubbock isn’t exactly a lively town, and the highway surroundings – well there really aren’t many. I went to check in to the host hotel, but because my room wasn’t ready yet, I explored the surrounding area, and found Barnes & Noble, and couple of quality reads!

The rest of the Thursday was quite uneventful minus the trip to Super Walmart for some groceries, and Sunday really couldn’t come fast enough.

Friday:

I got a great night sleep, and set out to check out the venue! And quite the venue it was. I decided to drive the course first, just because at that time I thought it would be a GREAT idea to do my EZ 35 min run with a few pick ups right around the time that I would be running during the race to really see what kind of heat I’ll feel on race day. Did I mention yet that Texas is hot? So I am driving, and driving, and driving and the scenery is NOT changing – well there really was NO scenery. Below are a few shots I snapped while driving the 56 mile bike course, and parts of the run course.

Run course pics: The entrance into the energy lab II road and the "beautiful" view :)

 The Not So scenic bike course pics in no particular order:

The only friends I saw along the way:

They were actually quite amused that I was taking pics of them

Better make that turn right here or else it will end in dirt!

 My ride for the trip:

Aaaand the never changing scenery:

Different spot, same view:

From the top of the hill (who knew there were hills in Texas!)

One of the U- turns

The MAIN road scenery and more friends :)

Museum!

During the 56 miles, I may have seen one other car, many more gigantic tractors and other machines that I had no idea what those were called. The race director was already out there marking the course and the few potholes that were there all while also riding a weird looking “machine”, I later realized he was sweeping the roads for us! The course wasn't beautiful, but the organization was top notch! The course had a few (7 to be exact) hills in it but nothing to really be worried about. It was really going to be the heat, and strong headwinds that were going to play the major factor for me.

After that I went for a quick swim in the Buffalo Springs Lake. 

I think it took me longer to put my wetsuit on than I swam for, and in the process I managed to “poke” a hole in my TYR Hurricane. Aaaaaaaaaargh – I swear that wetsuit is so hard to get on, and so easily “ripped”. The lake was warm, and super dirty – like you couldn’t even see your arm in front of you dirty. Note to self – try NOT to swallow water during the swim which is easier said than done.

Swim was followed by a 5 mile run on the run course without any water in the heat of the day! NOT exactly one of my smartest decisions to date. It was HOT, I was cooking, and I didn’t even run hard – all I could think about was HOW am I going to run 13.1 in this heat? Flashbacks from my awful run from Vegas last September were starting to creep in – Nooooooooooo. 

I was all done for the day by lunch time, and because there isn’t exactly that much to do around here, I actually kept my feet up for the rest of the day except for when I had to pick up my “Fireball” – he made the trip with TriBike transport unharmed! Thank you TriBike! I also had a great dinner with Pat Dwyer (BTT friend) and his wife (thanks guys for letting me tag along), and for finding a good dinner spot! 

Saturday:

Saturday was here before I knew it, and I got another great night sleep. Pat and I went for a 10 mile spin on our bikes. We pretty much rode the run course and boy was it windy! We were both riding discs, and we were both questioning the call, but it turned out to be a good one. “Fireball” was ready to go J and my legs felt great!

I then hopped in for a quick swim in my TYR Torque speedsuit this time, and water felt so nice. Nice enough that I figured race wouldn’t be wetsuit legal, and if it was, staying cool would be a bit of a problem. Bike/swim was followed by a HUGE breakfast! My favorite pre-race meal – and I ate like a champ! Bowl of oatmeal with fruit, 2 gigantic pancakes, 3 egg whites, hash browns and orange juice to wash it all down. YUM! Rest of the day again, was spent mostly in my hotel room, just relaxing. I even took a nap. J Then it was time to eat dinner, and try to fall asleep as 3:15 alarm was going to be here before I knew it.

And now, let’s finally get to one of the most exciting days of my young triathlon life. 

Sunday:

My alarm went off way too early but I was ready! For once actually awake, and ready to get this party started. I almost ate my entire bagel with pbj, and a banana and drove over to the site. Due to the early start most of morning was pitch black, but the sun rose as we were ready to get started. I walked through the transition at least 10 times so that I didn’t forget where my bike was and so that I could be in and out of there FAST! (Now let’s remember this comment later). I visited the PP many times, and before I knew it, I was putting on my wetsuit. In the process, of course I managed to put ANOTHER freaking hole in it! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh what is wrong with me! I warmed up quickly, and it was time to line up for the start of the race.

The Swim: (36:11)

This was the HARDEST and MOST PHYSICAL swim of my life! I was in the 2^nd wave after the pro’s and all females were together. I have no idea how many of us were together, but most of the swim was a boxing match. As a matter of fact the whole first half of the swim was insane. I kept getting punched from left, and right, getting pulled and pushed down from behind, and I was giving away my fair share of the same – there was literally just NOWHERE to go. I have been working pretty hard on my swim, and so I have made a deal with myself. No more, old lady like sighting and braking my rhythm to pop my head up, no more sighting every 4 strokes because honestly, I don’t go very far with my 4 strokes. I was going to count to 15 – 20, trust my line and only then look up. It takes me anywhere from 18-20 strokes to swim 25 yards so even if I didn’t swim straight how far of the course could I really be, right? Well that went out the window fast because honestly I just kept bumping into people, and getting bumped. After the half way point, I finally found some clear water, and did just what I set out to do, and I think it is what helped me to my new swim PR of 36:11. Now just imagine if the boxing match could have been avoided, I know I would have swam sub 35, and that makes me super happy. I know I still have long ways to go, but have no doubt I WILL get to that 30 min mark. I didn’t swim with a watch so I had no idea of my time, but the girl whose bike was next to mine shared her swim time with mine, so I was excited to get on with the bike – good swim – CZECH!  Now let the (excuse my French) shit show begin. 

Transition 1:  (2:08)

Earlier, I made sure to “remember” where my bike was racked, right? In those 36 minutes, I somehow forgot and took the wrong turn down the wrong row. I actually went one row too far and when I got roughly to the middle of it, my bike wasn’t there. Now imagine the panic, with my wetsuit hanging off my hips when I couldn’t see “Fireball” and the numbers I was reading weren’t anywhere near mine. Panic has set in and I finally realized I was in the wrong row! Crap! I ducked under the set of bars, hoped over to the correct row and finally spotted “Fireball”, but it felt like it took an hour! I am actually pretty sure it was quite comical! OMG – I really couldn’t believe it! My transitions are usually super fast, and now this, not now. I was so frustrated with myself and it didn’t help that there was literally a traffic jam trying to get out of the transition area through to the “Bike Out”.  I had to stop – this is a race people – move and get out of the way please - every second counts in my mind!

Bike: (2:31:38)

Let the shit show continue. I finally hopped on my bike, more than ready to work my way through the field. I climbed the first hill, which is followed by a screaming downhill that finishes by going over a bridge. I must have been going pretty close to 40 mph when I hit the bridge and heard a loud noise. Oh oh. I look down and my 2 weeks old joule bike computer is GONE! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, OMG! No, no, no, no – this CAN’T be happening right now! This thing was far too expensive to leave behind, but so was getting here, and I came too far to stop during a race. I wanted this Kona slot BAD! My heart sunk, and my brain made the decision for to me. I slammed on my brakes turned around, and went back to look for it. I looked around for couple minutes and just didn’t see it L. I couldn’t waste anymore time. There were couple of volunteers on the golf cart collecting water bottles and whatever else fell of people’s bikes so I told them if the find it to give it to Lost & Found. (so far it hasn’t been returned L) . So computer less, powerless, timeless, distance less, just simply BLIND, I set out on my way. UGH! I never ride without my computer, how am I am going to know when to eat, drink, pop salt caps – I wasn’t exactly in the happiest places of all, but it was time to GO GO GO , if I wanted that slot! I quickly remembered that since the aid stations were every 10 miles, and I knew roughly what time I should be able to ride, I could figure out how long I have been on the course. I also asked couple of times when going uphill by people how long into the ride and how far they were. I did get a couple of weird looks, but when I mentioned I lost my computer, they at least didn’t think I was totally crazy! I kept working my way through the field, and I was feeling good. I kept hydrating and pouring an entire bottle all over myself at ever aid station – definitely worth the slow down. I wasn’t hot, and I kept moving. The headwind got pretty stiff for the last 15 miles, but I love my aero position, and I really believed it actually played to my advantage. I kept passing people the entire 56 miles and I rode aero even on most uphills hiding from the wind. I am very happy with my final time, and really would like to see my power file if I could, but we will never know. I felt great getting off the bike, and I rode right around the time Jorge said I would, so I am again happy with my bike time though if I didn’t stop at all, I could have broken 2:30 which would have been sweet! 

Transition 2: (1:20)

A lot faster than the first one! Phew! I found my running shoes in no time J, and I only saw one bike racked so I assumed there was one girl in front of me. Time to go get her. In reality there were two but somehow I missed Ashley. 

Run: (1:43:56)

Guess what – my GARMIN worked and I didn’t lose my watch!!!!!!!! J And yes – it was HOT! Like 95+ hot and there really wasn’t anywhere to hide. The plan was to take it out relatively EZ, make it up the hills EZ, survive the energy lab, and then push the last 6.5 miles to the finish. I started out controlled, and my pace was GREAT! I didn’t feel like I was pushing it, and my legs felt awesome. I passed the girl whose bike I saw racked very close to mine in the first mile, and I thought I could be in first at that time, but because nobody had their ages on the calf you really didn’t k now. I kept taking ice at every water stop and half the cup went down my pants and other half I held on to in my hands. That strategy worked for good 8 miles and the ice in my hands really kept me cool from aid station to aid station. I won’t bore you with my splits, but I did actually negative split the energy lab and felt really good until the last hill between miles 9 and 10. I wasn’t able to grab ice there because it was too crowded and I chose not to stop. Maybe that was a mistake, but I was never quite able to get the mojo back after that, and the last 3 miles lasted FOREVER. I kept trying to pick it up, once I grabbed some ice at mile 10, but I was so hot at that point, that the ice cubes that would last me a mile before, would seriously evaporate from my hands in less than a minute. I could feel the heat rising from the palms of my hands. I kept trying to pick it up, and I was running scared – I had no idea who was behind me, but there was no way I was getting beat in the last 3 miles of the run. I was sooooo glad to be done! Not exactly my fastest run by far, but I felt much better than I did in Vegas back in September in similar heat, and I think I can figure this whole heat thing up and get faster in it. I am definitely not as “intimidated” by it as I was 24 hours ago. Proper cooling sure goes a long way.

Final Time: 4:55:13 (2^nd AG, behind Ashley Johnson who had an awesome race). Great, super nice girl, and I am looking forward to seeing her in Vegas! It was very nice to meet you Ashley!

So here you have it. I came to Lubbock, Texas this weekend with one goal in mind and that was to qualify for KONA! I knew it was going to take a great race, and I knew I had to most likely win my AG. I didn’t have a perfect race, but I am very happy with the way I overcame adversity I faced today. It was my lucky day when Ashley decided to not take her Kona slot and told me right after the race so I didn’t have to wait till awards that night to find out we actually had 2 Kona slots anyways! I wanted it, and I wanted it bad. I had raced 2 tough races in the last 6 or so weeks, so I felt like all I have been doing was tapering and recovering, but all the work that went into this throughout the year (s) had paid off! It’s now 24 hours later, and I am still NOT sure I quite comprehend what happened yesterday.

I am going to KONA to compete in my first EVER full ironman! Holy Shit! It is for REAL and not just a dream anymore. 

I say it every time, and he always says it’s all my hard work, BUT I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today, if it wasn’t for my coach Jorge Martinez (www.e3ts.com) (@coachJorgeM) He is much more than a great coach, and I think he deserves to come to Hawaii with me. What do you think?

Thanks to all for reading, and you can now follow my journey to Vegas and Kona! Why not do the double, right? J

American Zofingen Duathlon 2012 - Defending the Title

Last year, I completed my first ever duathlon, my first ever and the one and only American Zofingen duathlon!  Every year the race offers 3 different distances:

·         Short (5m trail run/29m road bike/5m trail run)

·         Middle (5m trail run/29m road bike/5m trail run/29m road bike/5m trail run)

·         Long (5m trail run/87m road bike/15m trail run)

Last year, I opted for the middle distance.  As much as I complained how freezing cold I was throughout the race, and how much this race hurt (I may have also said, I’ll never do it again because the hills are just plain silly), I found myself toeing the start line this past weekend for a second year in a row.

You can read my race report from 2011 here:

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=253539

One glaring difference from last year to this year was the weather! We were greeted by beautiful blue skies, and the sun was out early on. I was more worried about overheating than freezing, but really I was just happy I wasn’t going to shake uncontrollably while riding my bike.  

Coach Jorge couldn’t make the trip, so it was just me and Jess. Since this was going to be her first time doing the race, we decided to drive the bike course ahead of time to give her an idea about what she is getting into. I must say, I have a very selective memory, because I definitely didn’t remember how either steep or long these uphills were! Maybe the cold/rain/fog last year made them look a bit less intimidating or they grew since last year? J To give you a better idea of what I am talking about, and put everything into perspective, American Zofingen is touted to be the hardest duathlon in the U.S. And here is why! When you climb around 1,100 feet over 5 miles on the run (3x), and around 3,000+ feet over 29 miles (2x) on the bike, your legs are bound to rebel at one point or another. That’s over 9,300 feet of climbing over 73 miles in total. Ouch! Mine are sure giving me the middle finger right now for putting them through a 5 hour and 46 minute roller coaster ride.

To quote Mark Allen:

“American Zofingen has been created to fill the glaring void in the US duathlon race calendar, i.e. the lack of an ultra distance duathlon a la Powerman Zofingen in Switzerland. Mark Allen, 6 time victor of Ironman Hawaii, has been quoted as saying the hardest race he’s ever done is Powerman Zofingen. Powerman Zofingen’s severity is due more to its terrain (mountainous road bike course, hilly trail runs) than its formidable length (10K run / 150K bike / 30K run). American Zofingen, although slightly shorter, is arguably harder. New Paltz, as a venue, offers stunning scenery and a grueling challenge. It is one of the toughest duathlons on the planet. If you want to know if you are ready for the one and only Powerman Zofingen World Championship in Switzerland, come join us.

Trip to Switzerland would be kind of cool, right?

With the foggy/rainy weather last year, I really only experienced the “grueling challenge”, so I had to return this year to experience the “stunning scenery”, and of course to try to defend my middle distance title.

Here is a pic I was able to snag while we were driving the course. Doesn’t quite do the scenery any justice, but you get the point. Training weekend in the Catskills could be FUN!

Before I get into the nitty gritty, I am going to blow my cover and as most of you already know from facebook/twitter/BT, I was able to defend my title (I am very happy about that), and I did my best to enjoy the scenery! Or the little bit one can enjoy while either constantly climbing super slow or descending super fast. To achieve an overall avg. speed of barely 17 mph over the total of 59 miles, I was either climbing in the single digits, wondering how I am still upright on my bike, or my eyes were watering from going downhill way too fast in which case I was just hoping to stay upright because otherwise I wouldn’t be here blogging about my experience. The run itself is a beauty of its own. You are either going up and up and up, or down, and down and down, negotiating your footing in between roots, rocks, fallen trees, small creeks, tiny wooden planks connecting different trails, you name it, this trail has it. To me it felt like doing agility drills for 5 miles, 3x over. The first time around, I felt great; light and quick on my feet, skipping over rocks, leaping over creeks, and fallen trees like they weren’t even there, and just like with doing agility drills over and over again, 2^nd lap my legs became a bit heavier slower, and well the 3^rd one, you get the picture.

Last year, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This time around, I knew exactly how this is going to go down, how much this race will hurt, and how much more it could hurt if not paced correctly. This race teaches you how to pace properly, and I can guarantee you that if you “gun” the first 5 miles because you feel good, you will be walking the last 5 miles wondering why! It’s also a race that tests your mental toughness. Yes – it’s super hilly on both the run, and bike, that’s a given. What is however very unique about this race is that except for the first 5 miles on the run, you are most likely going to find yourself alone. Alone for a long time! Alone running through the woods; alone climbing and descending the roads. Combine the loneliness with the beautiful scenery of the Catskill Mountains, and just like that you are reaching for the camera or iphone in your back pocket to capture the beauty. But wait – this is a RACE. It’s time to GO, GO, GO! Hello mental toughness!

This is a RACE, and there is a finish line to get to! Put the cameras away, fight through the pain, and keep the foot on the gas. I can almost guarantee you that no matter how much you will suffer through this race regardless of the distance, you will be crossing that finish line with a huge smile on your face though you may have just spent the last 5 miles or more wondering WHY, why exactly you are putting yourself through this J

And here I am, only a few steps from crossing the finish line. And YES – I am smiling!

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Maybe I should stop going on and on about the uniqueness and awesomeness of this race, but is it on your “To Do” list yet?

Due to its location, it is limited to a small number of competitors when compared to any triathlon you can think of. The atmosphere is super laid back, and everyone is super friendly. This is where Jess and I picked up our numbers the day before the race! Yes! This is the entrance to the Catskill Multisport Triathlon store J And yes they do have quite a bit of product in there!

Drive of the course, dinner in dt. New Paltz, and race morning arrived rather quickly. Here we are ready to rock!

We set up our transitions, and had the pleasure of listening to the National Anthem being played by the race director on bagpipes! He was amazing! It was also rather emotional as the Middle distance duathlon was named after the late Chris Gleason who collapsed a quarter mile from the finish line of the 2011 Philadelphia marathon and sadly passed away. He was scheduled to race, but instead it was his family and friends that were there racing in his honor. Each of them taking one leg of the race, and eventually running the last 5 miles, and finishing the race together. It was super emotional even though I never met Chris.

8:00 am was there, before I knew it, and it was GO TIME. We were all lined up ready to go, and I lined myself up in the first row. 

Here I am READY to get this show started.

And off we went. Thanks Jess J

If you feel like reading my detailed race report, Czech out the link below.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=441971

For the rest of you, I’ll leave you with bunch of numbers that may or may not mean anything to you, but describe the toughness of this race really well, and help me paint a picture of how my offseason training has been coming around.

Besides of course having a blast, my main goal was to run faster, while keeping the bike times around the same (deep down I really wanted a faster bike of course), and if that meant defending my title from last year – that was just icing on the cake J. Somehow I managed to do just that and though I am not impressed with my second bike split. Coach Jorge was right (AGAIN) when he said I should go 5 min faster overall! Does he have a crystal ball or something? If so, I have many more questions to ask him J.

The icing on the cake was not only winning the 1^st Overall Female, but also a Top 10 finish Overall. Only 9 more guys to Czech chick though they kicked my butt pretty well.

All smiles getting my prize J

And let’s not forget about the amazing post race massage!

So what did I take away from this race besides my 2^nd gigantic mug? (btw my drinking ability lacks far behind, but these mugs are still way cool)

1. PACING is KEY, and it will decide the outcome of your race. You go out too hard, you crash and burn. Notice the differences between the first 3 runs and even the 2 bikes for the top 40 finishers. The gap just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and that’s because hills are relentless and punishing. When looking at the times of the first 5 mile run – there were 22 people who ran faster than me, only 9 of those 22 ran faster than me during the second 5 mile run, and only 7 out of the 9 run faster on the third and final run. Since I was a bit disappointed with my slower second bike time, I looked at the same comparison. 17 people biked faster than me on the first bike, but only 7 out of the 17 biked faster than me on the 2^nd bike. What makes me feel a little better about my slower 2^nd bike, is that only 1 person had a smaller gap (slow down) between the first two bike segments. I apologize for the statistics class, but it helps ME justify that pacing really works J. 

Here are the actual results, and if you really want to, you can go see how going out too hard will cost you many more minutes in the latter part of the race. 

http://www.cm2promotions.com/home

I think I finally believe that going out slower, and finishing faster means faster overall time! Definitely a concept I wasn’t in love with, but one that coach Jorge has been trying to drill into my head for a while now. But, but why go “slower” when I feel good, and then try to go “faster” when I feel like poop, coach? Take it from the non- believer, crash and burn a few times, try it out for yourself and let me know when you believe! J Hard work on Jorge’s part, few sufferfests on my part, and here I said it – PACING ROCKS and WINS RACES J

2.      My offseason training is paying off. All 3 of my runs were faster than last year. It was dry, and it was hot, and I am super happy about all of my three run splits.  Heat usually slows me down. Not this time. My bike times were relatively the same when compared to last year, though last year I was able to speed up on the 2^nd loop then which didn’t happen this time. I haven’t quite looked at my power files because I was not very happy with the final numbers I quickly glanced at, but guess what – I am bringing the watts I didn’t leave on the Zofingen course with me to Quassy! J And I will bike and run faster than I did last year! And of course I gotta swim too, but if the faster running times are any indication of my offseason training, then I should see improvement in the water too! Less than 2 weeks and counting. I’ll see a lot of you there!

3.      The more you learn to suffer (have fun) in training, the more you will be able to suffer (have fun) while racing! I can’t tell you how many people I have passed on the 2^nd and 3^rd loop  of the run that were walking – not power walking, just plain walking. This course WILL reduce you to walking – I too walked the steep uphills especially on the 3^rd loop when the shuffle no longer worked and my legs just simply wouldn’t move much, but it’s about how quickly you can get back to running. You learn to work through the dark moments in training, they will be easier to deal with when racing.

4.      Racing from the front is FUN!  I did sneak this one in here, because this NEVER happens, but I had a blast racing from the front and being the one that was being chased. Now if I can just learn how to swim FAST J

Thank you Jorge Martinez (E3 Training Solutions – www.e3ts.com) for talking me off the ledge when I thought I forgot how to bike because you would only put swimming and running on my schedule J. You may just be onto something here. And of course thanks to all my friends/family/supporters for putting up with my triathlon craziness. You all know who you are.

And Mr. Fireball – next time, please don’t leave any precious watts on the highway! I know how fast you can really go! Till next time J