THREE months in: Dropping Ounces, Gaining Watts

This is the first morning since Blythe was born that I'm all alone downstairs  (sans baby, toddler, husband) with just my coffee and my pup. Also, probably the first Saturday in about 3 months that I haven't been hopping on the trainer to get a "long ride" started. 

It's crazy to think that I'm 3 months into official training for my next race. It does look like there is a good chance of it actually happening but that's not something I put much energy into worrying about. If it happens, awesome. If it doesn't then at least I'm in shape.

Since my last post, I turned the big 4-0 (new age group), Blythe (Bug) is 7 months old and I'm fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. AND I got a new bike!! March 1st was supposed to be my last day of breastfeeding/pumping but I'm having a harder time stopping than I thought I would. There are two freezers in the basement that are full of frozen milk that's enough to get us to a year BUT the chance that I may be giving Bug antibodies against this virus is really keeping me going. (and a small dose of guilt as I did it for 1 year for Sloane).

 It won't mean much to folks who have never done it but I'm only pumping 4 times a day. That's about 1 hour and 15 minutes of being attached to the pump, not including all the washing parts, bagging excess and just hating life:) Stopping would absolutely open up more time for training and snuggling with my girls. It may also mean that I stop eating everything in sight. Between breastfeeding and training slowly ramping up, my other hobbies include eating. This brings me to another postpartum topic....WEIGHTLOSS!! 

I have never been a person who jumps on the scale regularly or ever really. I view it as a number, a number that I refuse to let dictate my day. I do go by how I feel and apart from my chest, I'm starting to feel like myself again. I gained probably 40 lbs with Blythe and I'm guessing I've lost the majority of that but if I hear one more person tell me I need to "get my body back" I may implode. WHAT I AM getting back are watts on the bike and faster swim and run times!! Society's constant emphasis on appearance has got to stop. 

While probably well intentioned, I've heard "you've really bounced back" many times as well. No. Bouncing, to me, implies a certain level of ease or effortlessness. The first swim, bike and run after having a baby is not easy. Physically or mentally. My body seemed foreign to me so I had to learn how to move it all over again. Sure, I started feeling more "normal" after several weeks but it is taking consistently choosing to get up and go and no go back to bed after pumping.  So I'm just keeping swimming, running, cycling and pumping.....

2013 Ironman Lake Placid Race Report

I get asked quite often why I choose to do Ironmans. My first response is usually, "why not"? The answer is obvious if you have ever watched one OR watched the last hour of one. For me, I view the entire day as a gift.  How can you not be happy when you get to do something like this!?! Sure, some of it sucks and makes you question your own sanity but it's worth every second of the training and suffering. I will never be able to convey in a race report how special the day is or how special the people I have trained with have become to me. Here's my go. Round #3

Pre-race
Jon and I left after work the Monday before the race. Much easier to split the trip up into two parts. We drove through some of the worst rain storms I've ever seen. I begged Jon to pull over and call it a night but of course, he didn't listen. #stubbornpoptart.

We arrived in Lake Placid on Tuesday and I immediately fell in love with our rental house AND the very low humidity and temps.

The owners don't realize they may be getting a new roommate when they get back:)

We took our time getting settled in and going through the normal pre-race rituals. We did several swims in Mirror Lake, which is everything it's cracked up to be and more.

Best water to have to get pummeled in for IM swim

The sandy part to left of dock was the swim start.

We also rode our bikes down the notorious Keene descent. This is THE descent that has been on my mind since I signed up for Lake Placid over a year ago. Most people I ride with know that descents of any size pretty much terrify me but I have improved quite a bit. The first day we went down the 5 mile descent it was raining and there was a nasty cross wind. My hands and upper traps were sore from how hard I was squeezing the brakes.

Yea, this was not how I rolled. 

The second time we went went down, I had Zipp 808 Race Wheels on which if you are not a tri or bike person then basically, they make you go faster and sound really cool too. The wind was marginally better as was my confidence. I only "feathered" the brakes 100 times instead of the whole time:)

Hey, did I mention that the road quality SUCKED. So many paved over pot holes. Pretty sure the whole way down I was singing the "shit, f*uck, shit, shit, oww, oww, oww" Song.  sorry mom:) I was super lucky to have Jon, Jim, Jill, MK and Cindy there for moral support.

I did make the decision to switch to a 404 wheel in the front, which probably wouldn't have made too much of a difference but mentally it made me feel better. I also decided that I was done "practicing" the descent.

This is the flatter section before the descent. So beautiful!

Some of the Richmond crew gathered and swam pretty much every morning. The water was perfect, no 7 foot waves or nasty salt water or thoughts of sea creatures were involved. Goofing off, yes, of course.

Going into race day, I felt pretty good about the swim, seeing as there was a nice cable that you could see at bottom. I knew I'd be ok on the bike after the Keene descent. As for the run, I felt it would be touch and go with the good old foot and hip.

The night before the race, Jon, pilot Mike and I had our traditional breakfast-for-dinner. I fell asleep pretty early and slept well.

So cool to be here

What I learned this year:
1. do not try to plan a wedding and train for an Ironman at the same time. Neither got 100% of my effort. For wedding planning, that was ok and made decision making pretty easy.

2. I am ready to do a triathlon on an actual Tri-bike. Let the fitting and shopping begin!!

3. The people around you are what make this sport so special. I will remember every single person that shared this experience with me for a lifetime.

4. Body Glide the Sh$t out of all seams on your tri shorts.

5. I will embrace my power meter and SOME data!



RACE DAY

Jim, Jon, Me Pre-Race. 

Got down to transition and loaded bruiser up with all my nutrition then lined up for swim start with the 1:10 group. I remember thinking that I was around way too many green caps (men) but just accepted where I was in line and what abuse/beating would come with it.

SWIM:  goal time - sub 1:10
              actual time - 1:10:33

Cannon went off and the line started moving pretty quickly. I ran into the water and started swimming. The Lake Placid swim is a two loop rectangle. Pretty straight forward and for a bonus there is a rope underneath the buoys that reduces the amount you have to sight (look up to see where you're going) significantly. I debated whether or not I should find the rope and stay on it or not but ended up landing right over top of it so I just stayed there and got into an easy groove. About 15 minutes into the swim, a foot made direct contact with my jaw and I popped my head out of the water screaming. It hurt but I felt to make sure all teeth were intact and that I could open and close my jaw without increase in pain. All systems go so I stuck my head back in the water and plugged along. The thought of quitting did actually cross my mind but I told myself to HTFU several times. I finally made it through one loop, made the short run on the beach, heard Mike Reilly actually say my name then jumped in for loop two. I stayed with the same 3 guys for the entire second loop and stayed on top of the rope without issue.

T1: 7:05
Very disoriented after getting out from swim but I managed to plop down in front of a wetsuit stripper. They almost pulled of my tri-shorts with my wetsuit but I grabbed onto them real quick then made the seemingly long long run into the change tent. I keep transitions as simple as possible, helmet, gloves, shoes on while shoving a Stinger waffle in my mouth and chasing with a chug of water. It had started raining during the second loop of the swim so running out to my bike in my shoes was interesting but not nearly as interesting as watching people attempt to do a flying mount on a slippery road.

BIKE: goal time: no goal, just not die or freak out too much on descent
            actual time: 6:52:35

Bruiser in Lake Placcid!

Got on bike without issue and avoided getting knocked over by two guys who wrecked at the mount line. SMH. My plan was to take it pretty easy for the first 13 miles or so until the descent into Keene. I let all the strong cyclists pass and tried not to worry too much about the upcoming descent. It was a steady rain, nothing too heavy but enough to be more cautious of the roads and my surroundings. As I approached the descent, I said a quick prayer and tried not to tense up, shift my weight to the back and relax my shoulders. Guys were flying by me IN AERO!! #goals. I made it though and didn't piss myself . I then settled into the nice out and back section that was pretty flat. The back half of the loop is known for the hills and are called the "three bears". I felt pretty confident in my climbing as I spent a lot of time in the Blue Ridge and Crabtree Falls suffering. Made it through the first loop without much issue and if I could survive another Keene descent I'd be in the home stretch. The second loop was much much less crowded which made me a lot less nervous and honestly, by that point I was just over being on my bike and let loose a little more on the descent. Loose enough that was actually able to pee while descending! I was pretty stoked about that. 

Coming in from bike! Dude behind me drafted off me for a good 12 miles.....that's just sad haha

Got to see friends cheering at the bike finish which was a huge pick up. I was so relieved to be off that bike but for the first time, was dreading the run because of the hills and my bum hip

T2: 5:10
Dismounted without issue and handed off bike to a lovely volunteer, grabbed my pretty T2 bag. Volunteer was again super helpful and I felt pretty efficient overall. Legs were tired but hip felt decent.

The ribbons help me find bags a little easier!

Run 5:01:44

Quite possibly the worst and slowest marathon I've ever done. I had no plan or expectation for this one. Just finish. Like every race, the next aid station is my goal and I try not to think of how many more miles I have left. 

Coming out of transition there is a steep down hill through the town of Lake Placid. That's about the only time I felt good. I knew I'd have to drag ass back up that hill four times and just cringed.  I saw plenty of Pros who were almost finished with their day. Crazy fast. The good thing about this run course is that is spectator friendly as you get to run through town 4 times since it's a two looper. There is a section through some woods that gets pretty lonely but on my second loop I got to see Jon, Holly and Patrick and Jill and Cindy who all gave high 5s.  At some point during second loop it started raining and that felt just fine. I again attacked all the oranges chips at the aid stations. I spotted Jim at special needs and knew he was catching up with me. Usually this would make me go faster but this year I had nothing! He had started after me so I knew he would likely beat me. Go Jim!!

Finish Line!

Coming into Olympic Circle. Actually running

 There is something about every IM finish line that is magical. This finish was super cool because you got to finish In the Olympic Speed Skating Track.  Nothing better. 

Pretty awesome finish line. Also, my hips look pretty level which is shocking!

Final time: 13:17:07 Pretty pleased overall. It was faster than CDA which I felt was a little less hard. Hands down the hardest race I've ever done but the beauty rivals CDA

After finishing, I found some chocolate milk and Lindsay and Trey who had finished and were just hanging out. I wasn't sure where Jon was at that point but got into some warm clothes, found some other RVA people and waited. After showers and some commiserating, we did make it back to the finish line for the final hour again. The walk back and forth to the house was hilly and just unfun but totally worth it.

2011 Ironman CDA race report

As I sit here on this lazy Sunday watching some fellow Pro-K athletes complete Ironman Mont-Tremblant, I am fondly reminiscing on my own personal finish at IM CDA last summer. Since I'm gearing up for MAYBE doing Patriots Half and IMFL, I figured I could practice some race reports on the last tri I did which was CDA. So here we go. SCRATCH THAT!!

EDIT AGAIN: Fast forward to 2020, almost 10 years since my first Ironman and 7 IMs later. I'm finally finishing this post. I still remember MOST of this day and wanted to get it down 'on paper' before too much more left memory.

Current situation: what's left of my 10 year old IMCDA mug and making breakfast for Blythie. ha

PRE-RACE 

The 'Cool House' crew arrived in beautiful Coeur D'Alene the Wednesday before the race. We settled into our kick-ass house that Deal scored. It was just a few minutes from transition and the race start. It was perfect.  I couldn't have asked for better people to be around for my first IM. Everyone was so calm and encouraging and just fun to be around. Many of them had done several IM races and had plenty of advice. Tyler did CDA 'back in '07'  which we heard about at least 20 times a day! ;) 

To say I was overwhelmed by all the hype would be putting it lightly. When I signed up, I didn't know where Couer d'Alene even was and definitely didn't know what T1 and T2 tents and bags were. The day before an IM you have to drop off your bike and all your gear (except your nutrition) in transition. It was so exciting to see all the amazing bikes and athletes. Unlike a lot of other sports, we get to race the same course as the Pro Triathletes. I was just learning who was who but saw Craig Alexander several times just walking around. I geeked out just a tad! We rode bikes on the run course and drove the bike course. Needless to say I was dreading the bike portion the most.

Huge Tree in front of our house

Race Number and Race Nails compliments of Loo-Ray

All the pretty bikes

We swam everyday to get acclimated to the frigid water temps and chop (thank you, Tyler for shoving me into the freezing water that first day), rode parts of the bike course and did some light jogging.  I stayed pretty calm in the days leading up to the race. I think this was mostly due to how calm everyone in the house was and of course, the awesome house sherpa LOO-Ray. I slept like a rock the night before the race and knowing that Jon and Shelly were going to be out there just made me even more calm and confident.

RACE DAY

Swim: 1:16

After setting up transition and having a few tire inflation issues solved, Kate and I sat around swim start until it was time to line up. Kate is an IM veteran and suggested we let the crazies go first and then start afterwards in hopes of clearer and less congested water. I was cool with that so after the national anthem and loud cannon blast, I sat back and watched 2,000+ athletes run into the water. INSANE. I wish they still did mass starts but ah well.  The water was FREEZING, maybe 54-56 degrees not sure but HOLY COLDNESS. I had on two swim caps and Karen's wetsuit so I just put my head down and started swimming. The water was super clear but pretty choppy and all I could think was 'holy shit, I'm doing this" I managed the first loop without issue, grabbed some water and headed back for loop two. Loop two was a bit more congested as I swam past some of the slower swimmers (some doing breaststroke?!?!). I knew I was cold but it wasn't until I got out and started trying to get off my wetsuit that I realized I couldn't really feel my fingers. Then I realized I couldn't really feel my feet either. As I ran into T1, some lady says "the hard part is over" HA! no, that was fun. The Bike was next and honestly, it scared me!!

T1: 9:26

 Despite not being able to feel any of my digits, I somehow managed to get a dry vest, arm warmers, bike gloves, helmet and shoes on. I shoved down a few Honey stinger gels, thanked the volunteer and headed out to find my bike. On the way out, some chick yelled out for a hair tie. I almost always have an extra on my wrist so I gave that to her and continued out. This is a good reminder to pack extra in future races. There were so Many people struggling with using their hands because of the cold. If you didn't have the dexterity to put helmet on they wouldn't let you get on your bike!! 

Bike: 7:30:13 !!!! 

I knew this was going to be the longest and hardest. Honestly, I could not stand riding my bike. The fit was horrible. (If you have eyes, you can see this). I knew that coming out of the water, I would be towards the front of the race and I knew that pretty much EVERYONE would pass me on the bike. I'm used to this so I typically just stay to the right and let all the fast guys pass me. And sure enough, after the first climb which we would see again on the run course, I had been passed by some not so kind athletes. The road quality wasn't superb nor were my bike handling skills so I settled in and tried to get as comfortable as possible. 

Bike around Lake Hayden. Stunning!

Coming out of town, I got to see Shelly, Jon and Loo-ray (Laure). I had also spotted several fellow Pro-K and EF athletes which was also a boost.

In an IM they have aid stations every 10ish miles for 112 miles so mentally, I just said to myself, "make it to the next aid station'. The scenery was also a wonderful distraction to the (crotch) pain my bike was causing me. After Mile 40, I got off my bike for a few MINUTES at every aid station just to give myself a break. Ugh.

People continued to pass me, mostly on the descents and then I would pass them again on the climbs. Not sure if you can tell from the picture above but I had an aero bar bottle on my ROAD bike (filled to the brim with Carbo-Pro...more on that later). The main reason for the aero bottle was because I HATED letting go of the handles. Again, I hate pretty much everything about that bike. 

The last 20 miles were mentally a struggle. I wanted off the bike and was ready to run. Coming into T2 was likely the highlight of the day so far. Finally!!  The run!!

It took some convincing to not leave this bike in transition and actually ship it back home. ha

T2 8:37

The moment I got off the bike, I started running. Legs were jelly but ready to go. I had decided to "be more comfortable" and change into my Lulu Running skirt and to use my fuel belt. Rookie. Mistakes.  Well, remember when I told you about that HUGE ASS aero bottle of Carbo-Pro?! yea, well drinking that made my stomach bloat so badly that the Fuel Belt wouldn't fit!! so miserable. After a quick trip to a portapotty in which my stomach was like a ballon deflating, I strapped on my fuel belt and was good to go!!

Run 4:28:13

Finally Started the Run which basically was around Lake CDA for two loops. For the most part it was flat except for one giant hill. My plan was to run the whole way and walk through aid stations and during the uphills. I started passing TONS of people. The aid stations were like buffets and for some reason, nothing in my fuel belt was appealing to me and I went straight for the oranges and water. Karen and all the others had told me about the wonders of the flat Coke but I was trying to hold out until I got desperate. 

There was a long, flat out and back section that let me see TONs of RVA folks, all of whom had encouraging words. 

I had a smile on my face pretty much the entire first loop. The end was in sight and seeing Shelly at the turn around was pretty amazing!!

I got to see Kate who asked me what my finish time was going to be and of course, I had NO Idea. But a hug and quick chat boosted me even more. 

Each mile was my next goal and my reward, ORANGES and eventually some chips. At mile 24 I finally took some coke and in a few minutes the sugar took over and I kept passing more people. I vividly remember a poor lad wearing a completely WHITE Tri onesie and it was clear that he was having major GI issues!

Coming down Sherman Avenue towards the finish line was a complete blur but I felt amazing. I may have been in a haze as Jon said he was yelling at me but I didn't hear him. I barely heard Mike Reily say, Meredith Whitehurst, from Richmond Virginia---You are an Ironman"

 Finish Time: 13:33:19

Still cheesing with my almost full and useless fuel belt:)

After finding Shelly and Jon, we headed back to the house for showers. I was horrible Chaffed despite all the vaseline and chamois butt'r. The rest of the house convinced me to head back to the finish line to watch the last hour of the racers roll in. MAGICAL. Seriously, nothing better in sports.  75 year old man finishing his first IM, marriage proposals! So much positive energy. 

Finish Line Cheer crew!! so fun

The next day, we stood in line for the obligatory finisher gear and I got to talk to Karen. I was so grateful for her guidance and coaching. I had had my doubts that I would even finish. My public goal was to "just finish". My secret goal was to finish under 14 hours which was based on just rough estimates of my abilities. I could not have asked for a better first IM experience and I'm grateful for each person who was a part of that journey!! Also, I was grateful for my post-race beer:)

Cheers!!

Some of the RVA contingent