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St. Croix 70.3 - Steph Colburn - 5/4/2008
May 4, 2008 was my first full distance 70.3 race and why choosing St. Croix is beyond me. All I kept hearing was how hard this race is and being one of the hardest races at this distance made me rethink my decision more than a few times.
The training was hard to accomplish with the weather this winter. Cold, wind, rain was the complete opposite of the conditions in Croix. Sun, hot, wind and rain, well at least two of the conditions I was use to.
Traveling to the race is always an adventure in its self with the availability of bikes getting on the plane with you and there were a lot of bikes that weekend. However our bikes made it with no problem which is a blessing.
My nerves were on edge and I was waffling back a forth about doing the race at all. I kept having problems with my rear wheel days before the race and I had resolved myself to not doing the race if I was going to have to stop frequently to add air to my tire. That would make anxiety levels rise even more. The bike course is really challenging in it self without me having to stop all the time. I finally got my bike wheel fixed and now I had no excuse but to do the race. Yikes!
The day we all went to the harbor in Christiansted for the group swim it was windy, very choppy and rough and that didn’t help my nerves at all. I still got in and swam a short distance and happily got out. At least I got a little used to swallowing salt water. Not a good idea except that did help my salt intake for the day.
It was another early race morning. Awake at 4, try to get some breakfast down and ride to the start and be there by 5am. Body marking, set up transition and then wait to swim to the start. You know in a way that is good. Riding to the start helped with warm-up along with the short swim to the start on the Cay in the harbor. You would think that helped the nerves, well, not mine. We had to be at the swim start by 6am. More waiting. I read an article once and the reporter remarked on how Triathlon was a hurry up and wait day. He is so right.
The waves started at 6:30 with the Pros first and all waves followed 3 minutes apart from there. I had to wait longer because my wave was the very last one. Don’t you just hate that? The last wave? I must say for my swim I was cruising along. I had a good first ocean swim. Even though I swallowed a small amount of water, yuk, and felt a tad bit nauseous everything was good. As I reached the end of the swim I reached up to grab the poles to climb out and these two hands reached in and fetched me from the water. Wow, that was great! I wondered if he could be with me on the bike with those helping hands on all the hills. I guessed not! I ran to my bike, trying not to loose my cookies from the salt water and was off on the bike.
This is where the rain started. Great, the last thing I wanted to happen. They had just paved parts of the road which was slippery enough without rain on top of it. Did I mention it was pouring? Within the first 2 miles there was a crash, not mine thank goodness. That girls is going to have a long day. I rode conservatively knowing the roads were slick and not to mention it was going to be a long day for me. I had made a pact with myself saying that I was going to ride as hard as I could when I could and grind it when I had to. At mile 20 or so was the infamous “BEAST.” That climb that starts at 14% and tops out at 21%. OH MY GOD STEEP! Well knowing what was coming at the end of the bike and with 34 or better miles to go I walked it. Walking was faster than some riding but that bike seemed to weigh 100lbs or more then. I was ok with walking . The rain had stopped before the “BEAST” which is really good because the descend is steep and a sharp turn at the bottom. So I am riding along and at mile 32 I see this person on the side of the road and I could not believe my eyes. It was Rob. I never expect to see him until the end of the race when he is waiting for me at the finish. (I’ll let him tell his story of why he was there). So I stop briefly to see if he was ok and I rode on. I left him on the side of the road to stew about his situation. When I reached the east side of the Island the winds kicked up. Head winds and cross winds with significant climbs, one after another. Yeah, that was fun! At least I had names of the hills sprayed on the road for my reading enjoyment. This is about the time you are so ready to be off the bike. And it could not have come sooner.
With the running what it to be said but you gut it out. It had been such a long day for me, longer than I had wanted. I just reminded myself about not time goal, just finish. Finish one of the hardest 70.3 in the world. Now that is something to accomplish. I just kept reminding myself of that when I came running into town , looking at the finish, just to turn around and head back out for my second loop. Man, can’t I just run over that line now? Please? And just to add salt in the wound I was running into town again just to turn and run away from the finish line again before I turned to come back down to the finish. I was spent, hot, sizzling shoulders from the sun and ready to be over this race as I ran over the finish line. Now that is one picture of the finish I don’t want.
With all my fears and hurdles I over came that weekend my biggest one was finishing this race. It has taken a few days for me to come to the understanding of what I just did. 18 out of 27 in my age group not to bad for my first 70.3 race. Just think positive and all will be alright!
Osprey Sprint - Karen Ashbrook-Barnes - 10/4/2008
Age group: 4th / 30
Overall women: 20th / 141 (very exciting!)
.5 mile swim - 15.2 mile bike - 3.1 mile run
1:29:33
Pre-race
I took 15 minutes of my fastest sprint distance races, and not just because the swim was short! I supposed the swim distance could have been close to accurate since the heavy wind was behind us…
We like this race because it is a fun, end of the season race, and the grandparents live 1 hour away, so we can actually both do the same race. It is a beautiful place on the Chincoteague Bay, very quiet. Normally the water is calm. I seem to be getting better at this (after 8 years… finally). No nerves, I was very calm at the swim start. Short lines at the toilets helps a lot also! I managed to eat a banana, some bread, and a gel just before the start. My major failure this time was in forgetting my goggles. Fortunately Charlie had an extra pair. Unfortunately they were a 10 year old pair of prescription goggles, from before my laser surgery. No salt water in the eyes, but I couldn’t see a thing.
Swim - 11:14
The Osprey Sprint often has trouble getting their distance measured correctly. This was not a half mile swim (I don’t swim a mile in 22 minutes). So it was certainly not worth putting on the wetsuit. It was windy and very choppy and cold. Starting out was straight into the chop. I couldn’t see anything due to the chop and bad goggles. But I swam as fast as I could, in whatever direction I was pointed at the time…
T1 - 2:17
Still really need to improve transitions. This time I spent the last couple minutes of the swim thinking about my transition, planning it out. It didn’t help much.
Bike - 48:02 avg/19.0
I don’t agree with the time breakdowns from the timing of this race. My bike computer has been accurate with every race. I clocked 15.8 miles and 19.6 average. I lost some time at the start with a mysterious clicking on my bike. Must ride bike BEFORE the race to adjust cadence meter (it often gets moved). Once adjusted, my cadence meter no longer worked. That throws me off, because I train with it. So I pushed hard and passed many. There are no officials on this course, so drafting and blocking are rampant. Almost completely flat, it was also windy, with occasional breaks in the trees. Still a lot of fun.
T2 - 1:19
I suppose this transition was better. Still need to improve. I only needed to change shoes and hats.
Run - 26:42
I knew I would cramp on this run, as usual. My whole abdomen had generalized cramping, and my legs were tired with slight cramping. I had not run in 2 weeks, so went for a short run the day before to wake up the muscles. I paced myself slow at first, hoping the cramp would improve. It slowly did. My first mile was 9 minutes, the second mile was 8 minutes. That is if they were measured correctly. The 3rd mile seemed rather long. Completely flat run, and exposed, so a bit hot. I forgot my metronome, so I had to imagine my 90 cadence. I think I managed it for the most part. Near the end of the bike I was passed by a 50 something ironman finisher. I was quite happy passing him on the run.
Duke Liver Center ½ Ironman - Arlene Klauber - 9/14/2008
Well, I had my pre race melt down Thursday night and I wasn’t sure at that point I could do this. Before this I was always somewhat confident of finishing, but not this time. The race update was issued and I read it very literally and thought I’m starting with a 24 minute deficit. I was in the 7th wave, scheduled to start at 7:24. In the instructions the statement of “course closes 8 hours after the start of the race” had me panicked. I know they start my time when I start but. . . . Fred and I started our journey driving to Raleigh, NC. We left home before 7 on Saturday, September 13, and made it to Raleigh just after 11. It’s great having a Garmen. We went to lunch then to packet pickup since pick up didn’t start until noon. It’s a small race so no expo but if you get a chance, you have to check out Inside-Out. It’s a wonderful tri-store- I think it’s a chain in North Carolina. Nice stuff. At packet pick-up I learn my race number is 57 (the year my sister was born-must be good luck). After packet pick up we drove over to the race site to check out the lake. Water is calm and wet suit legal-77 degrees. We drove the bike course so I could get a little familiar. It’s a tough course, long hills, rollers and some nice down hills and flats, a little bit of everything. There is a nuclear power plant on the lake and the bike course has us passing it twice. After viewing the bike course, we head to my sister’s house in one of the suburbs of Raleigh. One of the reasons for registering for this race is that they have never seen me race. After registering I realized that this race was listed as difficult. Oh well!!! My sister fixed a great pasta dinner then we just relaxed for the evening. Early to bed since the alarm will go off at 3:30 am. Fred had to learn to use my blackberry to keep friends at home up to date of my progress. Had trouble sleeping.
We arrived at the race site around 5 am. It was dark but lots of activity. The first announcement I heard was the official water temp is 79.1 degrees. No longer wetsuit legal. We could wear out suit but would not be eligible for USAT championship points or what I found out later, age group awards. Who needs those “stinking championship points anyway.” Decision made, I'm wearing my sleeveless wetsuit. I’m not proud. Next announcement was temp is 71 and expected to go to mid 90s; my plan is slow and steady Just get to the finish in 8 hours.
Transition is set up. Sun block on. We sit in the car and wait. Then another announcement, the race would start late. Lifeguards got lost on way to the lake and they can’t start the race without them. A 10 minute delay. Now I thinking about it being hotter by the time I start the run. With the 10 minute delay I’m projecting starting the run at 12:45 in the afternoon. I don’t care how shaded the run course is, it’s going to be hot.
Finally started the swim and took a little bit to get into a rhythm but once I did I felt OK. I was actually able to draft off of a guy in front of me for a while. I didn’t have any trouble seeing the buoys this time. I got excited because on the last leg of the triangle, I was able to pass a number of people. A couple swimmers were in waves that started before me and I knew that they were struggling to finish the swim and what that felt like from my previous swim struggles. The swim took 55:27.
Not many bikes left as I entered transition but that’s OK. Could find my bike easier. Left transition with another woman and we stayed together for a while. I passed her on the road going toward the power plant. Never saw any of the USAT officials but there wasn’t much of an opportunity to commit a foul either. I felt great on my bike and was very aware of hydrating. I was able to stay in the big ring for most of the ride only dropping to the little one for the short steep hills. My left foot started hurting about 6 miles before the end of the ride. Don’t know what that was all about. Rolled into T2 in 3:48.23. Not too shabby for the hills.
The run wasn't pretty, had to walk a lot because of the heat. It was a 2 loop course so we got the same hills twice, plus the first 2 miles was up hill. It’s a packed dirt/grass path through the park. Yes there is some shade but it didn’t matter. IT WAS HOT!!! Walked the hills, ran the flat areas and down hills. I just couldn’t keep my heart rate down. Did the course once go back close to transition and start over again. On my first loop, I was headed back and past a guy that was on his second loop. He thanked me for raising money for Team In Training because he lost his father to lymphoma 10 years ago. He gave me words of encouragement to finish. The second loop was very difficult. Fortunately, they had wet towels at each of the aid stations and not only did I take advantage of the towels but I stopped to put ice in my cap just to cool down. As I was nearing the finish, I saw my sister Donna and my husband, Fred coming toward me to greet me coming in. I had nothing left and knew that I left everything out there on the race course. My official time was 7:54.18. As I crossed the finish line, the clock was no longer on so I wasn’t sure that I beat the cut off until I sat down and looked at my watch. I didn’t get a finisher medal at first and asked if I missed the time cut off. I was told they ran out and said that I would have to email them and they would send it to me. Needless to say, I was very disappointed, my first half Iron man and nothing to show for it. I would be heading home with nothing but pictures that Fred took to show for my effort in the blazing sun. Another athlete was standing there and heard the conversation. He said that I had to have a medal for my first so he gave me his. He said that he sees the race director every weekend and it would be easier for him to get another one than for them to mail one to me.
Some thoughts after the race, I found it difficult on the run because there were no mile markers on the trail so I never knew how far I was. I will also be more careful in race selection, check out the courses before registering. I was also happy that my sister got the chance to see what triathlon is all about. I don’t think I can recruit her but she did say that she was proud of me after crossing the finish line. I think it was one of the most difficult things that I have attempted to do. I have to figure out a plan for next year.
ChesapeakeMan Aquavelo - Karen Ashbrook-Barnes - 9/27/2008
ChesapeakeMan AquaVelo
Total Time: 8:31
Age Group – 2nd/5
I signed up for this race just a couple months ago, with the intent of
only doing one 56 mile loop of the bike. I just wanted another long swim
to prove something to myself, having done the Bay swim slowly with torn
ligaments. But, not wanting to be a wimp, I gradually admitted to everyone
that I actually was intent on finishing the race. But at mile 56 of the
bike, I wanted off that bike bad. I had trained for 2/3 of this race
distance.
Swim 2.4 miles – 1:26:45
This was my favorite open water swim after 8 years of competing, better
than the Bay swim. The start was cool, with the rain, dark navy ominous
clouds rolling low on the horizon... It looked beautiful and dangerous at
the same time. This was also the easiest mass start. We all started in the
water at once, and I hardly had to maneuver for room. From what I could
tell the water was black, all muddied from the rain. Perfect for me
because I couldn’t see a thing. For the first time I know I grabbed many
jellyfish, but I wasn’t stung. I love my new DeSoto wetsuit, I was very
comfortable in the 70 degree water, and even got hot after 20 minutes.
The conditions were great, a little bit of chop and swimming straight
into it only on one leg of each 1.2 mile loop. I was really happy with my
sighting, stayed very straight, warily eyeing the occasional swimmer who
looked completely lost. People who can’t sight, or just don’t, irritate me
because they are unpredictable. One guy kept shadowing me and finally
decided to turn left – directly into me. Unfortunately he got cussed
heavily until he apologized. He didn’t know he crashed into my already
broken thumb, or that he caused me to have a severe calf cramp… I had been
trying to get away from him for 10 minutes already. Otherwise it was a
perfect swim.
T1 – 7:54
I didn’t plan on a fast transition – good thing. I knew I could not sit
aero for 6+ hours in my tri-suit, so I planned to change into bike shorts
and jersey with big pockets for all my food. Between changing clothes,
socks, using ear drops, staggering about, it took forever. But my heart
rate never went down. I figure that is what matters; I was still racing.
DeSoto wetsuit again is awesome, 20 seconds to get off.
Bike 112.8 miles 6:56 Avg 16.1 mpg
I spent much of the ride averaging 17mph (according to my bike computer),
but between the multiple toilet stops, delirium, cycling through rain and
river, giving away my bike tube, my average plummeted. In general I was
way slow; I averaged 20.6mph at Reston. Oh well. This was certainly the
most money I have ever spent for the honor of riding my bike all alone, in
rain, at times feeling completely lost. But it was a great race, I never
did get lost, there were bottle exchange/toilet stations quite often. All
you had to do was ride the bike. Huge wide shoulders, often completely
empty roads. The first loop through the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge I saw
an eagle, and I loved watching the colors of the marsh change with the
light/dark of the sky. But the second loop through I just wanted it to
end.
Since the high tide was higher than expected, the marsh flooded the road,
so there was a 2 mile section covered in water (salt water). Covered
intermittently the first loop with 2-8 inches of water, and completely
covered for the second loop. As I plowed through the water, filling my
shoes, shorts, I watched large schools of little menhaden fish darting
across the road. Not often you see schools of fish passing under your
front tire when you ride your bike down the road.
My lovely bike got special treatment after the race: a shower and rub
down in the hotel tub. Good Kuota.
I managed to stay aero for the entire 112 miles, but I had to get into a
routine of sitting up and stretching my back about every 30 minutes. One
calf cramped for about half the ride, so I will be working more stretching
into my workouts. The tendinitis in my shoulder gave me agony for about
the first 60 miles, and then was better.
I seem to have done really well with nutrition, I drank too much in the
beginning and had to stop a lot. But, I started with a plan of a gel every
30-45 minutes, alternating with cliff bars and peanut butter crackers. I
never was hungry or weak, never became desperate for real food, and my
last 2 hours I rode stronger and faster than the whole ride. I really
wanted off the bike by then.
Now that I have done 2/3rd of an Ironman distance race, and I realize I
could have done the whole thing, although I’m not sure I want to… I was
able to run with the kids after the race; surprised to find that my legs
still worked. My muscles are tight, but I have not had any soreness since
the race. I must have done something right.
Things to work on for next time:
Faster transition, stop less often, more speed/distance
IM Louisville - Neva Fulkerson - 8/31/2008
So my race reports have a tendency to be a little long. Hopefully if this does get long, I can at least keep you interested.
Pre-Race:
The morning of was a bunch of nerves! I was really going to do this. All those months of training and sacrifices all for this day, my first IronMan. I had a decent sleep the night before. Got into bed around 10 but woke up at 1, tossed and turned for an hour or so and finally drifted off again to wake up two minutes before my alarm at 4:30. I ate my normal race-day breakfast of two pieces of bread with peanut butter, banana and some strawberries. Probably not enough, seeing what other people eat the morning of but I know this works for me so I stuck with it. I grabbed some Gatorade and powerbar as the race start was still over 2 hours away. I wasn’t sure I would be able to eat it but at least I would have it just in case. I grabbed my special needs bags and headed down to the parking lot to meet up with Craig, Brian Crow and our gracious driver, Sam. We headed over to the transition area. As we were walking to the area, it hit me. I had just left all my fluids back at the hotel! I frantically called my husband back at the hotel and after 4 tries he finally picked up. While I was waiting for him, I pumped up my tires, laid out my jersey (I stupidly forgot to put that in my bike transition bag the day before), and dropped off my special needs bags. After a few more frantic moments with Craig giving Bryan directions to the transition area, I met up with Bryan, got my fluids, and dropped them off at my bike but not before realizing that I had told Bryan to use the wrong powder, I accidently had him make my ‘high calorie’ drink with protein powder rather then my perpetuem. I tried not to think about it knowing that I had more than enough gels and bars to survive. I just prayed my stomach would be okay with that.
We finally made it down to the swim start. Got bodymarked, dropped off our morning bags and headed to stand in line. We had about an hour until show time. I waited for my family and friends to show up. I desperately needed those last minute hugs. I finally saw them with about 20 mins to spare. The anthem was sung and at 6:50 the Pros took off. Now it was show time. For those that don’t know, IMKY is a time trial start instead of a mass start. So that means we have to stand in line and patiently wait to jump in the water. They said it would be about 1 person per second and that turned about to be about right. (Total time to get everyone in the water was about 43 mins.)
Swim:
The clock said 7:15 when I finally jumped in the water. It was a little warm. We were told the temp was 84.3. No wetsuits, which was fine with me. I had purchased a speedsuit a few weeks back and was looking forward to actually using it. (And I had not even brought my wetsuit thinking all along that I wouldn’t be able to use it.) I don’t know if I just got lucky or what but the swim was good. It seemed that every time I looked up and thought I was about to run into a group of swimmers the next time I looked up it seemed like the sea of swimmers had parted. I maybe got hit once or twice but nothing big; only small taps. I fell into a good rhythm soon after the turn, it was hard to find that rhythm in the channel just because of the amount of people but everyone spread out right after the turn. Some people went towards the middle of the river as we were told the current was at the strongest there. I started to move towards the middle but didn’t want to get too far off course and swim much more than I needed to. Before I knew it, I was going under the second bridge and knew from the practice swims that I had only about 10 mins left in the swim. I kept up my rhythm and cruised into the finish. I got out of the water and immediately checked my watch. I was shooting for sub one hour, just missed that goal but maybe if I hadn’t been sidelined from swimming for 10 days starting just two weeks earlier due to flying over my handle bars on my last long training ride I probably could have done it. Oh well no regrets.
Swim time: 1:04:18 (115 overall, 5th in my division)
T1:
All the help from the volunteers was so unusual but so appreciated. I ran up the ramp, they called out my number and all I had to do was run by and grab my bag. I ran into the changing tent. I sat down and had two volunteers to myself. One pulled off my speedsuit while the other dumped my bag and pulled out all the stuff I needed. I got on my socks, halo sweat band, little bag of goodies, sun glasses and I was off. I got a quick spray of sunscreen on the way out and I was off to grab my bike. I saw Scott and Reid just outside the tent. It felt good to see some familiar faces. Then up by my bike I saw my whole crowd. Of course my sister was yelling the most and the loudest. I never missed my posse when my sister was near! Threw on my jersey, grabbed the bike and threw the ‘I love you’ sign into the air to my family and friends off to start my 112 mile journey.
Bike:
My goal on the bike was to do under 6h30mins. I felt pretty confident that I could do it but I had driven the course on Friday and it was a lot hillier than I thought it would be. I felt ready for it as I had done almost all my long rides out in Purcellville on as many hills as I could get. I started out on the bike feeling pretty good. In my mind I had broken the course up into sections to make it a little more manageable rather than trying to tackle 112 miles at one time. While heading out River Road, lost one water bottle about 2 miles into the race going over the rail road tracks. Unfortunately because of the fluid mishap and not having the perpetuem I couldn’t afford to lose my Gatorade so I had to quickly stop, turn around and grab it. I continued out River Road and was thrilled when I saw a little change in the course. I thought we were going to have to go up this huge hill only 9 miles into the course but we breezed right past that turn and took the much flatter route. I couldn’t help thinking that things seemed to be falling into place for a good day. I knew that there was much more to come and now wasn’t the time to get ahead of myself but it did bring a little smile. I cruised along toward the out and back which I was considering to be section two of my broken course. I tried to keep my HR down as much as I could knowing that most of the day was left to come. The winds had starting to pick up a little but I just kept telling myself that everyone had the winds and we were all at the same ‘disadvantage’. The second ‘section’ was an out and back. This was considered to be the hilliest part of the course and I would have to agree. I had ridden part of this on Friday after driving the course (a huge storm rolled in and so I only did half which made me nervous on race day, the second part looked worse then the part I did). They had warned us about the bridge at the bottom of the hill being extremely bumpy, and my biggest concern was water bottles popping out. I made it out with no problems but this was the part that I had done before. I did the turn around and grabbed my first bottle of water. Oh, cold water felt good. The second half was thankfully uneventful as well. It got fast going on the downhill which freaks me out a little but I survived and thankfully survived the huge uphill waiting on the other side as well. Once I finished that, I knew the next section would be the loops. I was looking forward to starting this as I knew one I would see my friends and family soon and eventually we would have a tail wind! The next section to La Grange with all the many spectators was pretty uneventful. There were a few couple close calls with officials and drafting calls but luckily none for me. I saw Scott and Reid just before La Grange. Scott gave me my update (as he would all day Thanks Scott.) telling me I was 5th in my division. It was hard to really know because of the type of start but at least it should have been somewhat close. I then saw Steve and Brad and knew the rest of the gang couldn’t be much further. All I had to do was look for a 6 foot sign being held up by bright yellow swimming noodles. Oh and just listen for my sister too, those lungs were still going strong. I saw them, gave a smile and blew a kiss. I couldn’t wait to be back for the second loop so I could see them again. I kept moving along hoping to keep the day uneventful but no such luck after the next turn. It was on a single lane road, one that when I had driven it two days before got me a little nervous with it being so narrow and lots of blind turns. It turned out the narrowness and blind turns weren’t the problem. It was my chain! I dropped it twice on this road, once on an uphill, that was fun! And not the type of drop that I could pedal backwards and get it back on, no it went over the front and wrapped around my pedal. I had to stop the bike and manually put it back on. Dropping it twice in less than 2 miles really got me nervous. From then on I made a very conscious effort when shifting gears. Shortly after this I was starting to feel tired and hungry. Not a good sign. I knew I could not let it get any further. I had been trying to stay up with the calories but guess not enough. I managed to eat half a power bar and down some fluids. I quickly started to feel better and just made sure that for the rest of the race I focused on my nutrition. Then at the beginning of the second loop I dropped my chain again! This was getting frustrating. I got it back on quickly but still had one girl in my age group pass me then and this was the only time I let it get to me. I figured we had enough miles I could over take her again at some point. All day I kept telling myself to race my race and not let others passing me get into my head. I had no idea how this run was going to feel and didn’t want to make it worse by overdoing it on the bike. I did manage to pass her within the next couple of miles and settled back into my mindset. I didn’t have too many other girls in my age group pass me all day, one girl and I played cat and mouse most of the second loop, we even chatted a little about it during one pass. On the last stretch home she took off so I let her. I really did not want to push it too hard on the way home to try and conserve some energy. I did get passed by two more girls in my age group in the last 10 miles of the bike but for some reason I didn’t get too concerned, which is amazing because for those of you that don’t know me very well, I am extremely competitive. Somehow I managed to keep that in check for this entire bike. Not sure how but I did. Well, I was finally back to downtown Louisville. I had survived the bike and did better than my goal. I gave another smile to my family and friends and strolled the bike down to the volunteers and went off for my T2 bag.
Bike Time: 6:18:06/17.77mph (7 in my division)
T2:
I remember grabbing my bag and feeling like I was in a complete fog and a little woozy. I got really nervous there wondering if I could survive the last portion, oh only a marathon run. I had already done 114.4 miles, what’s another 26.2? (Please note the sarcasm.) For that fact, I didn’t rush in the changing tent. I knew not to stay too long but didn’t want rush it. The best part was the port-a-potty. I had tried to go on the bike, for almost 4 hours of it but my husband had placed bets the night before saying no chance I would be able to do it and he was right! That is harder then it sounds. Finally time to start the run…
Run:
The run started pretty smooth. I had not scoped out the course but a few had told me it was pretty flat. I was happy about that. I like hills but not usually for a marathon. I was keeping track of my miles and felt like I was doing a good job of keeping a good pace. I was feeling okay, the bike had left my chest very tight and deep breaths hurt a little. All the fluids and food had left me feeling really full, not a good sign for my acid reflux. Mile 3 is about where it started to go downhill. I will leave out most of the gory details. I will just say from about mile 3 to mile 13 I think I threw up about 10 times. My acid reflux was back with a vengeance. It had been pretty calm during most of my training. I couldn’t keep any fluids in me and to top it off I was having GI issues. When I saw my friends and family at mile 5, I told myself just keep smiling. Don’t let them know you are hurting. I think that helped some and knowing that I would see them again soon helped too. I had caught up with Doug Steele early in the run, I think about mile 6 or so. He was seeing that I was struggling and recommended the coke to help settle the stomach. I think eventually it did help (Thanks Doug!) though I knew it wasn’t good for my acid reflux. The run was two loops out and back with the end of the first loop passing right by the finish line. For some that might have been torture but for me it just pushed me more. I couldn’t wait to finish the second loop so I could be one of those crossing the finish line. I remember seeing Scott right after the start of the second loop. He asked if I wanted another update and of course I said yes. He told me I was 4th, which surprised me because I thought I was 3rd. I think this gave a little push. He told me to just keep going steady and strong. I was a little doubtful because of how much I was throwing up but very soon after that something just clicked. I switched over to just water at all the aid stations. I walked through each one to make sure I got all the water, took endurolytes at every other station and a gel at every third station. After the half way point, I never threw up again. My body just started feeling good. I saw my family again just before mile 16 and they couldn’t believe how much better I looked. They gave me another update as well and this time they said I was 3rd. That was more like it! I was slowly picking up the pace. I noticed that I was finally under 10 min/miles again. I had broken the run into section as well and at this point I was waiting for mile 20, all that was left after that was a 10k. The turn around was very soon after that and that fueled me even more. I knew this was the home stretch. All this hard work and months of dedication were about to pay off. I don’t know how I did it but somehow managed to cruise the last 1.8 miles in an 8:08 pace (just a little over 8 miles before I was barely making an 11 min/mile). I absorbed every bit of the finish. The crowd was amazing. It didn’t matter who you were; they were cheering for you like they knew you. I crossed that finish line with the biggest smile on my face. I had done it. I was an Iron(wo)man. No words left to describe it…just simply amazing.
Run Time: 4:09:52 (2nd in my division)
After an interview with the local news station (yep, you are talking to a celebrity!) we made it down to the convention center for my massage and food. After the massage, I noticed they had posted the some of the race results. I quickly found my name and could not believe that it read I was second in my age group! Oh my goodness, I just qualified for Kona! What an amazing way to top off an already perfect day.
You bet your bottom dollar I took that slot to Kona so I get to do this all over again in 5 weeks. Scared? A little but I plan to just go enjoy it. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am going to enjoy every minute of it.
Double Luray - Mary Delaney - 2008
So, you have no doubt heard of the Triple T triathlon challenge. Well, that ain’t nothin’ compared with the Double L! These races, otherwise known as the Luray Triathlon Festival is held the third week in August at Lake Arrowhead, in LU-ray, Virginia.
This is a fabulous venue at Lake Arrowhead park nestled in the central valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Olympic distance triathlon is Saturday and the Sprint is Sunday. But, the diehard triathlete studs “Do the Double.” The reward for mastering both events? A beautiful wineglass, etched with the race name and logo. And, in 2007 if you raced both days, you received a complementary entry into one of the 2008 races. At press time, it had not yet been announced if that would apply to the 2009 race, as well.
August 16 dawned foggy and cool. But, the weatherman promised clearing and sunny, warm weather. The Olympic competitors lined up for body marking and chip pick-up. This increasingly popular race closed prior to race day.
Lake Arrowhead is a fairly shallow body of water, so the cool weather of the previous week had dropped the water temp into wetsuit-legal range. (In 2007 wetsuits were not allowed.) After a beautiful rendition of the national anthem was sung at the beach, the first wave walked across the soft, sandy beach to the in-water start. My wave was 4th of 5, as is the usual position of 50+ women. The first 50 feet of water was very stirred up and there was no visibility, but I kept my eye on the yellow turn buoy ahead. I felt great and started pulling myself through my wave, soon passing caps of other colors. (That is always a good thing!) Soon, I was taking the 2nd of the 2 loop swim course, up the boat ramp, peeling off my cap, goggles and getting the wetsuit to my waist. Ended up improving my swim time by nearly 7 minutes!
Up the wooden stairs between rows of cheering spectators. “Go Mary, Go TriCats!” came the cheers. (Truthfully, I had not worn my TriCATs race singlet recently, and had forgotten how many cheers it always brings!) I picked up my pace and exited T2 without incident.
The fog was lifting and the sun was emerging to warm my chilly self, as I took the left turn out of the park to face the first of many Luray hills. These hills are notorious for not looking that bad, but kicking your butt while you try to figure out what the problem is with your bike or yourself. On the first of those stinker hills, Laura Novak came up behind me and said, ”This has got to be the worst part of the whole course!” As she rode on, I yelled, “Oh yea!”
Laura is a total triathlon animal! She also did the Double L in 2007 as well as this year. And this year, she had her 10 year old, Brendon with her. They camped out. Brendon, an accomplished triathlete and veteran of the Principle Fitness Kids’ Triathlon, was one of the loudest voices in the crowd! Look for him on the podium in about 4 years!
There are several rather sharp turns on the bike course, which the police and sheriff’s department monitor well, keeping the cars back for the bikers. They have the flares and the flags. Many, many volunteers wearing day-glow green t-shirts do everything from traffic control to in-water support to directing you to the least crowded porta-potty! They were outstanding!
It is a 2-loop bike course for the Olympic distance, in the shape of a lollipop. It is a little mystery how it can be uphill both going out, and coming back in, but that is Luray! Working my way through the hills, a guy flew by me, and I noted the E on his calf. My first thought was, “Wow, they started the Elites last?” Just then another E-calf speed demon was by me like a shot. Oh, right, they are on their 2nd lap…was I hypoxic already? Hardest part of the bike ride is just as you think it is time to hit the park and you are cruising along on a great winding downhill grade, you take a bend and look straight UP the last and biggest hill on the course. I knew it was coming, from last year’s race, so I just downshifted my Litespeed and cruised on up the hill. Not so for many. Several dropped chains, dismounts and groans were produced by this little bump in the road. And, we got to do it twice!
Finally, back into the park and through T2 and out to the 2 loop run course which was, SURPRISE, hilly! Actually, I like this run course. There is some shade, some sun and lots of rollers. There is a water station just as you leave the park and then another just after the turn-around at 1.1 mile. On any run, longer than 5 miles, I always take my own bottle with our custom Infinit mixture. I don’t drink water on the run, and don’t like Heed, so I just avoid the aid station crush, except to grab a cup of water to pour on my head.
Al, my husband and partner in Rehab to Racing, has been sidelined from racing since his back surgery in May, but he was volunteering and he was the flagger at the junction where the bikers were still entering the park and the runners were turning around. As I made the turn, he pointed a finger into my face and yelled, “YOU!...Are second!” After I recovered from the surprise of that move and regained my bladder control, I yelled, “I know!”
I know the gal who was in first place in my AG. I was out of the water just behind her, but had a faster T1, because she came up behind me on the bike and I didn’t see her again until the run. She had a good 20 minutes on me, so that was out. No making up 20 minutes in an Olympic race. I concentrated on keeping a good high cadence, staying hydrated and watching for runners I knew! There were a lot!
Last corner into the park, thanked the volunteers and cruised to the finish line. Gotta love that feeling! Good results for me for this course. Set a PR on the swim, solid bike time and good run. Finish time 3:04. Took home a little 2nd place hardware, well, glassware.
David Glover, the mastermind of the Luray Triathlon Festival, awards his winners with a variety of glasses or decanters, etched with the race logo. Very cool!
Ken DelRaso (another TriCAT stud) handily won his AG.
Sunday, August 17. The 2nd half of the “Double L.”
“OK, whose stupid idea was this?” That was the mantra of the day! (I have to admit this was also the question, last year, when we concocted the idea of doing 2 races in 2 days.) And, I have to admit that it was Rob Colburn and my idea, but we blamed it on their dog, Theo.
Today’s race had a 9 am start, as opposed to yesterday’s 8 am start. This race was full, as was the Olympic. Many first-timers in this race, as evidenced by lots of breaststroking in the swim, many apologies when two bodies collided in the water and lots of sneakers on the bike pedals. But, we have all been there, whether we choose to remember it or not.
My buddies, Stephanie and Katie took our warm-up run and pulled on the wetsuits.
The water had warmed 2 degrees but was still wetsuit legal. Most racers did not wear a wet-suit. Me? If it is allowed, I wear it. You are always faster in a wetsuit, assuming you can get out of it quickly. That means, practice it!
I swam around many breaststrokers and sidestrokers to hit the beach and up the stairs. PR’d this swim by 3 minutes! Not my best T2. I was slow getting out of my wetsuit today. What’s with that? One lap on the bike and one lap on the run…sweet! Finish line…even sweeter! New PR for me at this race 1:52.
Cheered in lots of racers and loved watching the smiles of the finishers! Also we loved the pizza at the “feed station!” The live music gave way to the award ceremony, which was very efficient and entertaining. Ken DelRaso had “upgraded” (as he said) to the Elite group today. He was 2nd in that group. You should see him fly! Amazing. And he beat David Orton. Go Ken! Expect incredible things from him, going forward. Andy Potts, watch your back!
I took home one size larger wine glass trophy today. That is always good!
Many thanks to Case, Adam and Rebecca for the support at the TriCATs tent! The bagels, bananas and watermelon were great!
This is a perfect race for newbies as well as the experienced triathletes. It is close, a gorgeous venue and very well run! And, you can show how much of a triathlon animal you are by “Doing the Double L!”
Race for Life (Part I) - Dave Conover
During the 2005 racing season (my 13th) I had been training for an Ironman race (my first with coaching from Gail L and Eric S of Principle Fitness). At the time I was 54. I was training an average of 10 and 12 hours per week and was scheduled to compete in appropriate races (Blackwater, Timberman Half, Columbia and a few Sprints). The season was going well, as was my training. I come from a swimming background (Catholic University late 60’s) and have always had difficulty training or racing the run especially when it is hot and humid. I know about hydration and calorie intake and think I have always had that in check. So as far as I know I was doing all the right things to train, race, prepare, etc. for the 2005 season.
Timberman Half in late August (a great race and venue in the middle of New Hampshire) was cloudy with light mist during the swim and light rain to cloudy during the bike (32+ swim and sub 3:00 bike). When I started the run the sun came out, with increasing humidity and heat, so the run was a little more difficult than I would have liked. I wear a heart rate monitor and then, as now, my HR for the swim is rarely over 130 and for the bike it is typically 140 to 155, unless really pushing up a hill. The run will always be 155 to 165 unless I really back off. Anyway, the run was not easy and I was going slower than I would like, but just didn’t want to push it through the heat, etc. The last half-mile of the run I turned it on and finished strong going in the mid-170's (in my ~100 races I can count on one hand the times I really put the hammer down at the end of a run). Anyway I felt fine right after finishing, just hot, tired and thirsty.
Thirty minutes after the race, while getting my stuff out of TA, I experienced a very sudden clammy sweating accompanied by a “3 out of 10 pain” at my sternum. (In the medical field the Visual Analogue scale [VAS] is used to describe pain from 0-10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you can imagine.) I had just had a soda (something I had never, never done after a race - but I felt so thirsty for something cold) and figured the pain was gas. I got in the lake and the pain and sweating did not go away. My son Mark, who had also done the race, and my wife Louise (a competitive tennis player) took my bike out of TA and back to where we were staying, a short walk up the road. I went to the medical tent where they took my BP and pulse and said all seemed normal given this was post race and it was hot, but if I wanted, I could go to the ambulance and see them. I did and walked there with my backpack from TA with the “3 in 10 pain” in my chest and a little sweating.
The EMTs asked me about symptoms, took BP and said it was likely a hydration issue, IV’d me and said it might be best to go to the ER to have things checked out. They took me to the ER (Mark and Louise followed). During the 3 hours I was in the ER, they constantly monitored BP, took a chest x-ray, did blood work and an EKG. After three hours the pain had gone away and they said I was OK and released me, advising me to take it easy.
I went back to our B&B and we went to dinner. I felt fine. I hung out on Monday, relaxing in NH. I did take a short hike with Louise and noticed when I exerted myself going uphill, that sternum pain came back at “1 in 10” and when I stopped walking it went away (remember the ER said take it easy so I figured an easy hike was harmless). Tuesday, before driving back from NH I took a short easy swim and again, that small pain. Then it happened again when we got home that evening and were unloading the car. I never had any inclination of what was going on since I went to the ER, and they had cleared me. Also being fit and having just done a Half Iron nothing of any significant medical concern really entered my mind.
I decided the next day (Wednesday, now three days after the race) to see my GP (Dr. Greg Bentz). He advised me to see a cardiologist. I got an appointment with Dr. Jonathan Yager in Reston (Cardiac Care Associates) who examined me that afternoon. He secured my EKG from the NH ER, my historical EKG from Dr. Bentz and took a new EKG, looked at the blood work from NH and said "you had a heart attack.” I was shocked, being an athlete and all, that this could happen to me. From the race until Dr. Yager’s diagnosis, a heart attack was never brought up by anyone and I certainly never even thought "I wonder if it is a heart issue.” Anyway, I got a chest x-ray that afternoon as instructed and I was placed in a room at the IHVI (Inova Heart and Vascular Institute) at Fairfax Inova Hospital. The next day Dr. Andrew Keller gave me a cardiac catheterization and inserted a stent in one of my arteries. Apparently, while running hard that last half-mile some plaque in the artery broke loose. It took 30 minutes or so for a clot to form inside the artery where the plaque had been, restricting the blood flow to the heart muscle. They said everything else looked good. I know now from volunteering at IHVI in CVOR Pre-OP (300+ hours since April 2006) that if the catheterization had showed anything abnormal, I might have been getting a CABG (cardiac artery bypass graft) and not a stent. I was sent home 2 days after receipt of the stent, given a regimen of pills and told to take it easy for a week or so but also take some short walks.
Having been through this myself, and seeing others come to IHVI at 5 a.m. Mondays when I am helping in pre-op, I can honestly say even if you are a "healthy" athlete, eat right, compete, have no weight issues, you are not immune to injury of any kind…in this case a heart issue. Looking back on it maybe the long hot runs and feeling "punk" at times during the summer may have been a precursor, but the results of the catheterization said other than the clot, all else was OK. In the end it happened and changed my outlook on life.
We think we know why this happened and the key is that I listened to my body and was in good shape already. Not listening and/or not being in good shape might have changed the outcome. Anyway five weeks after the event, I officiated the VA Tri Series race at Serrando Lake and seven months later did the Kinetic sprint (and 5 other VTS races in 2006). The moral of all this is to listen to your body, react accordingly and never take anything as normal, without checking it out.
That's the story with the heart issue. The next deals with the embolism four days after the stent (yes I listened to the pain when I took a deep breath) and then after that I’ll cover the cardiac rehab and back to racing.
Check back for parts 2 and 3 of Dave’s story.
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