Rough Ride

Ironman training is well under way! I am loving it but it sure can be challenging. Challenging actual training and challenging to make the time to do that training. Yesterday I was supposed to do a 5 hour 30 minute ride. Before starting, all I wanted to do was go at least one mile farther than last week (105.8 miles). However, by mile 2 I knew that I would have to come up with a new goal. Finish without blowing away. Winds were 20-30mph with gust up to blow-you-off-the-road. So I rode on the trail. For 88 miles. Ouch. Never again.

By the numbers-
1- times my bike fell over
2-garden snakes run over
3-times stopped to refill my water bottle
1-pack of cheese-its bought because I forgot my salt tabs and needed salt
4-number of times I screamed out loud from a snake or large bug
11-number of other hard core bikers brave enough to play in the wind
5-number of miles run after the bike
1-bug few into my ear
4951238-number of times I ALMOST wanted to be on my trainer instead

Today I am doing a long run, making tailgating food, and going to the alumni meet and out with some friends. Here are the cupcakes I'm going to make...http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2011/06/cookie-brownie-cupcakes-with-chocolate-marshmallow-frosting/

Vegas 70.3 World Championships 2011

 A view of Lake Las Vegas from afar

After I had finished my 'last' 70.3 for the season I was sure I had not made it to Vegas. But then on August 19th I received an email that I was invited and could go if I wanted. Even though I had spent the last week eating junk and almost not training because it was my little mid-season break before training for Cozumel, I was far too excited to say no. 

So my coach and I decided I would go and race, but my focus would still be Cozumel, my first full Ironman. Three weeks is just not enough time to have a build and taper to make a race an A race, and I didn't want to take 3 weeks away from ironman training.

Lake Las Vegas

                            

Transition

 The swim started a Lake Las Vegas, a small lake out in the desert surrounded my ritzy hotels and condos. The water was 80-81 degrees. My swim went well. I started out on the very far right. Two of the girls from the far left took off and were out in front. Eventually, another cluster of about 5 girls formed and I was in this group. By the first turn I had moved up to the front of that group and could see the other two up in front. The swim was pretty uneventful, I stayed in 3rd position for the entire swim. I did not want to try to catch the first two because I knew the day had a few more challenges for me.

Just before the swim exit

 We exited the water on the far side of the lake and had to run around the point of the lake back over to transition. Almost enough of a run to call it a quadathlon. This race had 'clean' transition, meaning you don't set your stuff on the ground by your bike, you put it all in a bag. You run to the bags, have yours handed to you by the lovely volunteers, go into a changing tent (or just run through as you grab your stuff from the bag and leave your swim skin for the volunteers to put back in your bag), and off to your bike. The bike was flat 100 yards or so, then uphill for a good long while. Forget about letting your heart rate come down and settling in after the swim.

The bike course was challenging. I don't think it was quite like I expected. It's like when you hear over and over how great a movie is. You expect to get blown away by it's greatness, only to watch it and go 'it was pretty good.' Maybe the course was just talked up too much. Don't get me wrong, it was tough. Around mile 40 (I think?) there was very long slow climb. Or, at least it didn't look like much of a climb, but it was in my smallest gear and going no where. That is what made it so hard, it was deceiving. And hot. The Branson bike course may edge this one out just a bit for the toughest bike course I have ever ridden. I think part of my problems here were not having fresh legs (which I didn't want...saving that for Cozumel) and nutrition.

Overall I think it was one of my weaker bike performances for the year. But still a blast. The first 40 miles of the course that are out in the desert mountains was amazingly beautiful in its own way.  

This picture is of me at the very end. The last 5 miles are all uphill. I was tanked and could not wait to start running!

In T2 I had to make a pit stop. You never want to waste time with no forward momentum, but sometimes your body tells you what you are going to do and you have to listen.

Then onto the run. It was three 4 mile loops. It was basically 2 miles slightly downhill one way and uphill the other. One section had some shade and the rest was like roasting, well, in the desert.

Half of my run went well. The other half I spent feeling sick, like something was going to come out one end or the other. I must figure this out before Cozumel.  This issue consumed my mind for much of the run. Somehow though I think I pulled off a decent run for feeling so sick and considering this was not an A race. 

Overall I finished 24th. Not well, but not too shabby. Good swim, bad bike, ok run, lots of fun the whole trip. Glad I went, wish I had done better, but also glad I kept my focus on Cozumel, I know it will be best in the end.

A big thank you to EVERYONE for all your support and encouragement. It means so much to me, each and every word of support I get makes me happy and I could not this without all the wonderful people around me. Especially thank you to Kyle and Kyer and DiscountTriSupply.com, Krueger Chiropractic, and my parents.

Kyer, Kyle and I after the race! Right after the race they were already telling me about their plans for making my bike even better! How awesome is that??

A few shots of Lake Mead, beautiful and awesome lake!



Never Lose Hope

I'm going to Vegas for the 70.3 world championships! After Kansas I saw the point rankings to qualify for this race and since then qualifying has been the goal. In order to do so, I needed to pack in 2 more 70.3s by Aug 14. It was a tight race schedule but how awesome would it be to qualify for the world championships as a first year pro? Thus I signed up for Muncie and Steelhead thinking that I would need to place like I had in the previous two 70.3s and I may have a chance of qualifying.


At Muncie my bike broke, at mile 8. This left me in the same gear for an entire 48 miles. Impossible to race with only one bike gear. Every kind of thought went through my head at some point in that race-do I quit? finish and get a few points? (there were less than 15 girls at that race so even last place guaranteed me points towards Vegas) stop and sign up for another race? dismiss the vegas idea all together?

Before the race began we had a moment of silence for a triathlete (who was also a doctor, wife, and mother) who had died in a bike-car accident the week before the race. During my self pity after my bike broke I thought about this woman and all the other people who are unable to race. I thought, "I have two arms, two legs, my health, this broken bike is not so bad. I'm still out here with the wind on my face and family and friends that will be my friends and family whether I win or DNF." So I sucked it up and kept going. The bike was certainly no race, I was spinning on the downhills or with the wind at my bike, and cranking out hardcore on the uphills. I was kind-of able to race the run and actually ended up finish in not last place!

Based on the points after Muncie qualifying for Vegas looked very difficult, but still possible if I had a stellar race at Steelhead. However, at Steelhead the swim was cancelled. Are you kidding me?? Is someone out to get me? A broken bike and then take away what gives me a chance against these other pros? I have to admit I had a few thoughts along the lines of do I still race, or save it up for another race? There were about 20 pro girls at Steelhead, so even if I managed to do well for me without the swim, I knew I would still be in the bottom half. Well I sucked it up and gave the brick all I had. I finished in 16th I think. Not impressive, but they did take away my strength. The glass half-full take-away from this race was that if I could beat some girls (even though few) without the swim must mean that I really can race with these pros. Even though I was disappointed with no swim and my place, I'm so excited to keep training at the bike and run and see how much I can improve them.

Anyway, I got a little of track. Before I even started at Steelhead I figured my Vegas dreams were shot. Without a swim there was no way, right? Then after I finished in 16th, I definitely figured I was far from qualifying. I had stopped thinking about it and have been going through this week as a sort-of mid-season break in preparation for some big training for Ironman Cozumel in November. Then last night I received an email that I was invited to race Vegas! Of course, the slots had rolled down to me. Seemed impossible, but somehow it did! Had I not finished Muncie, or not started Steelhead, it would surely not have made it down to me.

Back in high school during club swimming we listened to mental preparation tapes before our end of the season swim meets. On one tape they talk about tennis players. How sometimes they can be running towards a ball and then stop just short of it because they think they cannot reach it. The observer, however, could see that had they kept going they could have reached it. The point was that even if it doesn't look like you can make it, you just might be able to. Better to try and miss it, then not try when you could have reached the ball. Or in my case, Vegas.

Vegas seemed just out of reach but I never gave up and put all I had into races and finished (ok, maybe part of that is just being stubborn). And it WAS possible. Now I realize at this level that sometimes decisions must be made differently, but this just happened to be the the case where I thought there was no possible way I could reach my goal. Had I given up at any point I wouldn't have. Even though I couldn't see how it would work, I raced and gave it my all, and it did work out! (forget the fact that it rolled down, who turned down there slot!?!?!? sad for them, happy for me)  Never lose hope or give up!