Timberman Report- New Half Iron PR

Sorry all, it has taken a while to try to figure out what to do about a Timberman Race Recap. Well I figure I should put up how the day went- this one is going to be a memory that will last a lifetime. It took me a while to come up with a good way to say this... I hope this doesn't fall apart before I get to the end. Its long with a good amount of pictures and if you just want the short version: I ended up with a PR.

We got up to NH Friday. Checked into the race and hung out got in an easy swim. I decided the water temp was low enough to go full sleeve wetsuit. Saturday was kind of a blur. Highlights included meeting and getting to talk to Andy Potts. I have always wanted to pick his brain about swimmers transitioning into triathlon and how much swim training he does. It was pretty awesome to get a little one on one time with a pro. He gave a fantastic speech about Hope overcoming Doubt on Race Day. I have to say he was one of those triathlete pros I have always wanted to meet. It was pretty awesome to get to pick his brain on swim stuff and hear him speak.

Saturday night dinner was the usual GF pasta with Mom's pasta sauce. Attempted to head to bed early and alarms were ringing at 3am! Up and at it! Parked early by 415 and set up transition. Everything was set and even got to say Hi to friends. Now nothing left to do but wait... well in the waiting is where my nerves kicked in. I hadn't been nervous really at all until this point. I started feeling like I was going to puke and I knew I couldn't stand to lose the calories I had eaten. Before I knew it it was time to head to the water. I tried to take deep breaths and when we saw my parents I think the look on my face said it all- they knew how nervous I had gotten.

I said my good luck to D and we headed to our waves. He was going to be doing this one with me the first 70.3 we both were racing in. His wave was right behind me. I figured I'd have him out of the water but somewhere in 56mi he would catch me on the bike. Unless I had a stellar day and he had a rough day.  The goals were on my hand- time plans and last years' times and the simple overall goal: RUN

Swim- 33:29 (new 1.2mi PR by just under 2min)

Had a great swim. Felt great. I guess the Quassy time wasn't a fluke. Dropped 2 min from last year. Hopefully next season I can get down closer to 30. (That my friends to the right is a face of nerves)

T1- 2:56 

Not great but it is what it is there. Transition is big there is a length of transition run from the swim. Getting faster just gotta move a little faster!

Bike- 3:07:34 (new bike PR by 12min) Avg 18mph

I know this course well. So I settled in fast. Grabbed a bonk breaker to get something solid in my stomach early. My watch didn't pick up so I was playing the math game. I am actually starting to like playing the math game. I knew I wanted to hit the turn around 1:30ish. The start out hills were okay- I hammered through the flats by the speedway (like last year). I stuck to the nutrition plan. Drank water from the aero bottle and topped it off at every water station. Tried to drink my bottles between my legs but one of them wasn't tasting right, decided to swap em up so I could at least get one full bottle of calories down. I tried to make sure I was eating every hour but mostly just listened to my body. If I was hungry I knew that was the best indicator to eat!

The first half of the ride (30mi split) was 1:29 avg pace 20.12mph. HOLY!  I can't complain! The back half of Timberman always gets me. I guess I just think the hills won't suck too bad coming back? Not really sure what it is? I also really had to pee. I couldn't push and I couldn't get comfortable down in aero. I tried to get myself to relax and pee but I only managed to let a little out. Maybe this is what slowed me down? Trying to get myself to relax and get comfortable? But the 26mi split was 1:38 avg pace 16mph. Not horrible. Giving me a overall bike avg of 18mph. Solid gain on the bike after last year. Need to work on the back half speed. Took 12 min off.

My parents were staying at a hotel about a mile from transition. I saw them as I crested the last hill. I had to even yell to them for them to know it was me. I asked if D had passed me and I might have missed it. They said they hadn't seen him. I was so excited. That meant my ride was going well. But soon that excitement turned into CRAP! I am not having that good of a day. Something happen. Maybe he is just having an off day with fuel again.

T2- 2:59 

No land speed record but faster than last year. Grab and go theory works. As I left transition I saw D coming in off the bike. Okay now I know where he is.

Run- 2:36:40 (almost EXACTLY last year's time)

I hit the first porta potty knowing I wasn't going to be able to run much with a full bladder. I felt so much better. As I saw my parents again- I asked and figured D had passed while I stopped to pee. They said he hadn't been by, now I started to get really nervous. "Ok focus on the run. He'll catch ya soon."

He did. As he came by he could only get out a few words before I saw the horrible road rash on his shoulder. "I crashed" "what? how?" "A **** (insert choice word here) woman cut my front wheel at 28mph." I wanted to stop dead in my tracks and fix it. But he motored off. I figured it must not have been too bad. And knowing his cycling handling skills he might have taken a fall well. 

My head started turning. Okay- we'll go to the ER after we finish. Yes, I already knew there was no way he wasn't going to not finish. Mom and Dad can probably bring us some food. I can call and cancel the hotel for our vacation this week. Crap the race next weekend. Well I have a team depending on me, I can figure that part out. Plan set. Our friend Greg flew by and I told him to go get D he had crashed.

I stuck to my plan and ran. I took a couple (max 5 walking steps) at the aid station to get down my coke, dumped the water on my head. Grabbed ice for down my shirt when I could and kept running. I was feeling good. I hit the first 5k split on a 10:14- awesome I am going to KILL my run time. I hit the first hill coming back and took it easy but didn't walk. Then there is the shorter steeper one. I kept my head down and started doing the visor down and sing to yourself. I saw D up ahead walking up the hill. I knew he was hurting- I could see it. But before I got to the crest he had taken off again.

I guess he is okay. I kept focused on my run. Then I caught him. This time he was walking, this time on a flatter section. I knew the adrenaline was starting to wear off. He told me to go. I didn't listen. I AM STUBBORN. We saw my parents again I explained what happen. And we headed back into transition, I told everyone we knew as we went by. At this point D was running clinging to his jersey tight. The shoulder was getting deeper shades of purple. He couldn't take deep breaths. I couldn't leave him like this. He kept telling me to go. Saying he didn't want to ruin my great race day. Yes I was having a great race. Yes I was sticking with my goal of running the whole half marathon until I caught him and we started run/walking together. But as I told him- he didn't plan on crashing. He didn't plan for this to happen and sometimes there are more important things in life. He is more important to me than my goal was at that point. What was I going to do run to the finish and sit there waiting and worrying about him? I also realized that a lot of the aid station folks were asking to get him medical and he kept telling them politely no. I knew if one didn't believe him his day would be over- I figured I could intervene and say "I'm staying with him. He will be okay." So that is what I did against his wishes I stayed with him. I tried to play cheerleader but also knew the typical BS wouldn't be helpful for him. We just needed to finish. As we turned the last mile or so to head to the finish we came up with the plan. I was going to go ahead and get my finisher photo. He wanted a good finish photo after what happen with Syracuse. He wanted to have someone get pictures with our medals at the finish and a picture of his shoulders. Then we would head for medical. That was the deal I agreed to.

Finish time 6:23:38 (13min PR)  
We crossed the finish line. I can't believe it but I have finisher photos with D behind me (this will NEVER again happen in a race that involves anything other than swimming). We crossed to find Andy Potts passing out medals. He put mine on my neck and I pushed a guy out of the way to have Andy put one on D. D talked to him for a minute. We grabbed some photos. And found our way to medical.

I had to be a little bit of a B**ch and push us into medical past the guy with his blisters on his feet. Medical for blisters?  We got him looked at by a doctor. He had cracked and bruised his ribs. Really bad road rash. The doc sent us away with some bandages and sling.

Honestly, I don't know what else to say. D keeps telling me I should have left him. I should have run my race. As I told him while I was racing it was more important to me to be with him. It is one hell of a memory and it is what you do to support each other. I'd like to think if I was in that rough of shape he would stick by me- he said he would have.  I don't know if I could have kept up my pace and run the whole half marathon. Who knows? It could have fallen apart and me by myself I could have crashed and burned and ended up walking and with a slower time than last year. With him I even ended up with a run time almost exactly what it was the year before. No one will ever know what could have happen that day on the run for me. I will just have to see if I have the run I want at the next one! Which is enough to drive me to train and race again! So it all works out!

And yes I did cancel the hotel and we went home for the week to recover. But he was doing better and I was able to be a part of my race team the following weekend in my first ever tri relay.

For D's take on the race and the pictures (not for those with a weak stomach) check out his blog: www.fueledbyiron.blogspot.com

The picture to the left is one of my favorites of the day- it was before the race we were laughing about something relaxed about to go race :)

Goals for Timberman

This year will be the 3rd year in a row I have prepared for Timberman. I know the hotel, I know the course, I know the race day ritual. Geesh my parents have even been going long enough to find a "better" hotel to stay at.

To be honest this will be my 5th 70.3 distance event. After 3 times on this course and 2 Quassy course races I am fairly certain I will finish on Sunday. There is one thing that has eluded me in every 70.3 I have done. That is RUNNING the half marathon. And before you make the crappy comment I have heard from many people YES I can run a half marathon. I have completed plenty of stand alone half marathon distance races with a PR 2:02. But that isn't doing it after swimming 1.2 mi and biking 56mi. I had hopes that I would run the whole course at Quassy this year. But thank you to the insane weather that came in making it so hot I didn't have much chance.  I did shuffle more than I did the year before though.

Running the half marathon at a 70.3 has been one of my big goals for this season. Honestly I don't care if it is slow I just want to be able to be honest with myself and say YEP I  Ran it. I have the plan of letting myself take a few steps (maybe 5) while taking on fluids at aid stations- if needed. And honestly- I can't run and not spill coke down my chin and chest. I plan on grabbing coke and boob ice. My plan is to get in my zone not look at those walking around me, maybe use my visor tactic from Quassy, and race my run.

For the swim- I hope to stay about the same time (around 33-35 min). I hope my transitions will be a little faster (closer to 2min). My bike maybe a little faster or about the same time. If it is a little faster I don't want it to be to the detriment of my run (goal around 3:10-3:15). All of this will hopefully end with a close to 6 hour race. I'll report back but for now this is my thoughts. Good luck to all my friends who will be out there! I can't wait to see you all on the course!!

I swear I am NOT Cherry Picking! 3rd!

For those of you that aren't familiar with the term cherry picking it is choosing races based the ability to end up on the podium. After having a great race the weekend before at Mill City Olympic. I really hadn't planned on racing at all until Timberman in late August. A friend offered me a discount code to race, it was far away and we had just raced so we had decided we wouldn't do it. Then Saturday after not having a particularly good week, we pulled the trigger and registered.

Sadly it meant a 1.5 hour drive to the race. We got there and the registration we had done at home hadn't registered with the race director- but luckily he squared it all away. D and I ended up with race numbers right next to each other- this NEVER happens. We actually commented how strange it was to be setting up just across from each other. It was nice we parked close and had time to catch up with the friend Kim who had given us the discount code.

D's wave went off before me so I knew I wouldn't get to see him again till the run or the finish. The swim was a beach run in to the water. IT WAS ROCKY! Luckily the water wasn't as cold as I figured it would be. But it was a choppy swim. I think because it was so sort and in a small triangle I was bumping people the whole time. I felt like I never caught clear water. Which explains the time 8:19 for the 500m swim.

T1 was a rocky run out of the water and a long run up a short hill to the transition. I did something I have never done before... I peed. Right there in transition as I took off my wetsuit. I had to pee in the water and as I said I couldn't get clear water so I couldn't calm down to pee. Threw on my bike gear and headed out 1:21.

It started to rain as I hit the bike course. I knew the course was PANCAKE flat so I just decided I would hammer it. I have never passed so many people on a bike course. Guys were getting mad that I was passing them- I felt like I just kept saying LEFT. But I just wanted to have a fast bike split. I even used the new bike skills D taught me and passed 2 women on road bikes up the tiny hill in the course. One of them re passed just as we hit the horrible stretch of road into transition and there was no passing. I kept an eye out and saw Kim in front of me going into transition. 11mi ride 33:08 avg 20mph?! wha?! Had a half sleeve of blocks.

Kim and I exited transition at the same time and we joked we would get to run together. I kept an eye out for the woman that had re passed on the bike but she was behind coming out of transition. 50.5

As I started to hit my stride on the beach run Kim said go. I tried to encourage her to come along. I could see what I thought was the turn around- as I got closer I saw it was the aid station. I saw D pass on the other side. He gave me a big smile. Finally out of the fog came the turn around. My legs were starting to feel the run in the sand. The run was beach at somewhat low tide. I grabbed my gel right before hitting the aid station again and took a swig of water. As I came closer to the finish a guy came up next to me and told me "You know if a Male and Female cross the finish at the EXACT same time the tie goes to the Female?" I said "how chivalrous." He said "Let's go!" And he pushed me to finish with him. It was a nice little KICK at the end. Run 3mi 26:14 8:44 pace.

Total 1:09:51

When I crossed I checked my results at the timing trailer. OMG 3rd in my Age Group! I was the 26th Female! I came in 116/383 overall. I was psyched! I hadn't even thought that was an option at this race. In looking at my results I took 4th in my division in the swim, 2nd in my division on the bike, and 8th in my division on the run. Well that reads to me like the off season time on the bike paid off and the time spent learning bike skills from D. Now it is time to focus on the run. I knew I wanted to focus on the run for Timberman but this confirms it!


We took some fun pictures at the end. And headed to a FABULOUS Brunch spot in Marshfield- Arthur and Pat's! That was a WIN!!!

Mill City Triathlon Olympic

Last week I sat thinking, "oh man I haven't done an Olympic in 2 years." I have done FOUR 70.3 distance events and this was going to be my SECOND Olympic! Cue the freak out- I looked up my results and was happy to see I had come in just over 3 hours, on the same course I was going to race on. I started thinking under 3 hours would be do-able. And as I started putting some idea of time in my head I started to stress more. How do I fuel for an Olympic? I know fueling for a half ironman. And to be honest in a sprint you just drink calories and maybe take A gel. But 3 hours that is enough time that if you don't eat you could BLOW up! After some talking down off the ledge by D, I started to get more calm about the race.

Race morning came and we got to the race site a little later than we usually do. Which to be honest was kind of nice- not tons of time to sit around and stress about is your transition just right. We had a few friends racing which is a nice change. All of us pulled on our wetsuits and hung out in the water for a little while. I have done this race 3 times now, once as an aquabike, once as an olympic and last year as a sprint, so to say I know the course and the race is a bit of an understatement. I knew the swim would be against the current on the way out and with the current on the way back. The bike has a couple hills but nothing too insane and the run is PANCAKE flat but can be hot on a sunny day.

The race was a little less organized than usual, the caps hadn't come in so it was a bit of a free for all with the waves. All women doing the olympic would be starting together first. That was a pretty big wave. The swim was tough- it took me over 19min to get to the turn around. I had to work hard against the current. And just to prove how tough the current was I swim just over 11 min back to the exit. I had hoped for a sub 30 swim but ended up with 31:56 Not super fast but fast enough to be in the top 10 swim splits.

The transition from water to bike here is always long. You run from the beach across 4 lanes of traffic to the transition area. And this year they made the swim entrance at the far end of transition. I moved as efficiently as I could to make up for the long run 2:20 eh not great but okay

Dear god look at that calf?!

I got on the bike and immediately started to settle in. My GPS didn't pick up but I knew I wanted to be sub 1:30 for the 26mi. giving me a 17mph+ bike split. First loop was 40ish. Awesome! Got time to spare on the second loop. As I started the second loop I went by D on his run of the sprint. Some words of encouragement as I went by and off to finish the bike. The roads were pretty messy with pot holes. It was a constant look ahead to be sure you didn't flat. I have done that on a similar bike course in the same area so I didn't want a repeat. Made sure to get in 3 sets of 2 salt tabs over the ride. And had a whole package of clif blocks. I kept thinking on the bike the words of wisdom of my friend who is going to Olympic Nationals, make sure you save some for the run. I came in at a 1:24:05. Who brought the girl averaging just under 19mph?! D was finished with the sprint and came over to give me a boost as I got ready for the run.

I threw on my shoes grabbed the number, the visor, the gel and salt tabs and was off and running. Okay lets settle on a pace. Still no GPS but I can keep doing this math thing. And to be honest it was nice to have something to think about. I knew I wanted to be around 9min miles. First one was under 9. Then I settled down to a little slower. Every aid station I grabbed a bag of ice and some water. I put the ice in my tri top and picked out pieces and chomped on them between aid stations. LIFE SAVER! The ice gives a little bit of hydration, little bit of cooling, and distraction. I was feeling good on the run. I honestly kept waiting for the wall. I kept waiting for the suck fest. The omg this hurts I can't keep up this pace. Mile 4 was an 8:30. I honestly think if I had my pace the whole time I could have kept a better track of it. I didn't push too hard b/c I was afraid of pushing the wheels off the bus! But I felt good. I hit mile 5 and I was like we can have a suck fest for the last mile just go! I switched the watch to multisport mode and tried to get a feel for if I was going to make it in under the 3 hours... I was 2:5-. Okay come on dig get it! It's gonna be close. Run time goal was 55 finished in 1:00:09. Not as fast as I wanted but one of my better 10k times in general.

As I got close to the finish I saw the clock- 2:59. You have to cross in this minute! And I focused. I heard D scream and my friends cheering. And I crossed in 2:59:46 . AWESOME! I had a sub3 hour Oly!!!

Honestly- I didn't think I would be anywhere near a time or place for an award. And being in a new age group made me even more skeptical. I was just happy with the time I put down. We stood around and they did the sprint awards- D took 3rd in his age group. I couldn't believe it when a friend came up and told me I had WON my age group. WHA?! I am still in shock! I had a good day! I ended up with sub 3 hours, won my new age group, finished 16th female overall (only losing 6 female spots on the bike and run- not bad for this swimmer), finished in the top 50 overall, and felt good throughout the race.

It was so much fun to race with friends. We haven't had a group at a race in a while. I enjoyed having people to hang with before and to see during and after. We even got to get some lunch after and talk tri. All in all a great day!

Protein in a NEW way: Frog Fuel Review and GIVE AWAY!!

I seem to have some sort of stomach issue with protein powders. I have discovered I can do Whey Protein Isolate but not just Whey Protein. I had a company contact me about a review of their Protein gels, Frog Fuel. I have to say when I hear protein I get a little nervous due to my stomach issues but I saw this was Collagen Protein so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

Ever had Collagen Protein? I have had Vietnamese soups with tendons and collagen and to be honest you can tell right away. Your lips feel better instantly! It is the naturally occurring protein in your body that is a part of connective tissue and muscle. So I figured my stomach would be happy with this one.

The other thing that scares me is gels, I can be pretty particular about consistency in gels. I am not a fan of the ones that feel like frosting in your mouth. Thin but not runny is usually best for me.

And I'm sorry did you say protein and CAFFEINE. I am a firm believer in caffeine helps performance. All my gels and chews for racing are caffeine laden.

I went to the gym to get in my typical workout and I figured I'd give it a try. I have to say the consistency of the gel was thin but not runny. It had a slight after taste but I think that was the taurine, kinda like a Red Bull. 15g of protein and no heavy digestion feeling. The berry flavor was pretty good, not super strong. I have to say I very quickly felt the boost from the taurine, a little kick in the pants! Generally when I reach for protein for workouts it is thru food, bars or protein shakes. It was nice to have an option that I could just throw in my bag and not have to pre plan the food and logistics that go with protein with workouts. I threw it in my gym bag just like my other gels are usually in there. I have to be honest I was bummed I only had 3 to try, I liked them a lot.

The folks at Frog Fuel have offered a nice little give away for you lovely readers- your own 3 shots of Frog Fuel and elite sticker. So comment below on your use of protein  for your workouts. For an additional entry tweet me @doubledathlete with your fitness/protein tips with  #frogfuel. I will draw a winner on 1 Aug.

Birthday Challenge- COMPLETE!

So I decided since I can I was going to do a birthday challenge to celebrate my level of fitness going into my 30th year on this planet,Birthday Weekend Challenge. The goal was from the 4th of July to the 8th of July to complete:

30k Running

3hrs of Biking

3hrs of Yoga

3k of Swimming

It figures a weekend I wanted to spend working out like crazy would be in the middle of a NASTY heat wave. A friend sent me some awesome Gluten Free Molasses cookies to fuel the workouts, THANK YOU SO MUCH! They were so yummy!

I wanted to do longer runs but the weather wasn't going to support the plan I had laid out, so I broke it into smaller chunks, 3 or 4 miles at a time. Some of the days I ran twice but the best idea was to run 30 min through midnight on the night of my 30th birthday. We threw on our reflective gear and hit the pavement to finish just after midnight on my actual birthday. Over the weekend I slowly ticked off the kilometers. I only did one open water swim on the weekend- I don't think it was 3k but I was happy to swim in open water and spend some time on the beach.

I had to head out of town on Tuesday and still had 5k left. I was going to say okay I got 25k done not bad- but I decided while I was out of town I would finish the challenge and got the whole 30k DONE!

We headed out for the ride but my saddle didn't really cooperate. I was getting really bad sores and pain so we decided to stop at a little over 2 hours. I think I need to make some adjustments to my bike... but I am happy with it. And I even added a little run off the bike.

The yoga was great. I have been going fairly regularly so doing 2 classes 2 days in a row actually was a nice change and a good challenge. My mom even joined for one of them.  I think the yoga really helped me be able to do all the run miles. 

I am really proud that I got through this and I actually am super surprised how not sore I was. I have to give credit to D for being the best partner in the world. He said to me whatever you want to do for your birthday I will do it and he was with me for all of this! I couldn't ask for a better birthday present than to have a partner to share this with.

Birthday Weekend: Birthday Challenge

This weekend is my big birthday. I decided with the fact that I will be turning 30 I wanted to make goals for this year to complete by the end of the year I turned 30. And to be honest as I review them I think I am doing well so far. I am making progress, which is the point!

So as for my birthday itself... Well I have always had a hard time getting people together for my birthday. Everyone is always out of town. So after making an attempt at a get together and again hearing everyone would be gone (and getting bummed) I decided I would do what would be my ideal activities for my birthday. How would I chose to spend my weekend?! I would like to try a new challenge... So here is what I came up with over the course of the 4th to the 8th:

Run 30k

Bike 3hrs (Climb Mt Wachusett)

Swim 3k

3hrs of Yoga

 I have invited friends to join me in any of these activities tho many will be gone and most have responded with "are you sure you just don't want to get drunk?" Luckily D has said he will do whatever I want for my birthday. I figure why not try a new challenge... and honestly I see it as a celebration of the fact that I am in the best shape of my life. I may be turning 30 but I am in WAY better than I was when I was 20 and just recently quit my college swim team. And even when I was 15 and swimming 2 times a day I had horrible nutrition habits. So I think the best thing I can do is celebrate this!

I also hope to hit the beach, get in some fireworks, do a nice dinner with D, maybe a clam bake with my family, see the movie I can't WAIT to see Despicible Me 2, and get some SLEEP!