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 

2012 Ironman Florida Race Report

Here it goes, my first race report. It's gonna be a long one, I mean it was an Ironman and it took me a while:)  The actual race report is a ways down!

Race week Re-cap

Jon and I arrived to Panama City Beach on Tuesday. We split the trip into two days with an overnight in Savannah, GA that involved some tasty burgers and some sweet potato beer. We left even earlier than we had planned due to Hurricane Sandy. The drive down was overall uneventful. I was just very pleased that our new bike rack kept the bikes safe!

View from condo! Hello PCB!!

There wasn't too much activity going on Tuesday or Wednesday which was nice. Jon, Lynn, Pilot Mike, Kate and I put on our wetsuits and hopped into the very choppy and rough Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday morning. The swells/waves were probably 6-7 feet high. Not kidding. I now know what it feels like to swim down hill. And HOLY salt water. I mean I knew the swim would be in the ocean but I really wasn't prepared for how it would just dry your mouth out and make you kinda want to vomit. I kept telling myself that the water would calm down for race day.



As we had hoped, as the winds calmed down so did the chop. Every day leading up to the race we had short swims, bikes and runs. We rode our bikes around the run course which was as advertised: FLAT as can be. Part of the run took us through a state park where we found two deer that almost let us pet them!  We decided not to drive the bike course which in hindsight was likely a very good decision. More on that later.

New friends on the run course. Crazy close.

Short easy ride

T-running

Also with each day, more and more Richmond racers and support crew arrived. There is something truly magical about the days leading up to the race. I won't lie and say that it was as exciting as IMCDA last year BUT I will say that I was over-the-moon excited for Jon and his first IM. I've also never really sought out races that I knew a lot of local people were doing but this year was special. 52+ Richmond athletes were down in PCB. Some I knew and had trained with and others I had just seen pop up on Facebook threads. Regardless, it was pretty awesome to see so many familiar faces and feel his/her support.

New friend in PCB! 13 yo weim!!

Mom and Dad came in on Thursday which was oh so amazing. I know how much my mom hates does not care for flying so it was pretty WONDERFUL that they came down. This would be the first triathlon of mine they would be watching!! That night for dinner we went out to Flamingo Joe's, a local hole in the wall with amazing food. Months ago I had stumbled upon a local PCB triathletes blog and this place was recommended. What  I didn't know was that the owner would have TWO WEIMARANERS out back that she let me love on. I missed my girls so much. It was just what I needed.

Note the tattoo? It's the R-dot or the Richmond Tri Club Logo! Laure had a TON of these made so that the Richmond Folks could be identified during the race. Lilo also had awesome RVA tats made that I stuck on my calf.

A car load of Pro-K peeps arrived on Friday including photographer Bryan, coach Karen, cheerleader Jill and Steve.
Jon's dad and step brother, Sebastian, made it in on Friday and finally sister Shelly and boyfriend Jason! They both volunteered at the finish line. Little did I know that they would be my "catchers".

Race Morning, we headed over to the transition house that Lynn and Kate had rented (amazing, you could see swim start) and started the process of stuffing the sausage (wetsuits on), lubing up and convincing ourselves and each other that the water was calm (it wasn't). Before races, I usually feel pretty calm and I work on just getting into the right mind set: this is gonna be a fun but long effing day.

Pro-K making sure we've got the proper shoulder ROM!

No, he isn't strangling me.

We got some last minute advice from Karen (this involved her telling me to go for a 6-hour bike split, yikes), gave everyone hugs and wishes of luck and walked down to the swim start. I got to see Spring and gave her a big hug. She just learned how to swim and was hopping into the Gulf for 2.4 miles. bad ass.

I kissed Jon good-bye, told him I'd see him on the bike course and made my way to the front lines (because karen told me to) There, I found Sally and swim beast Laure Ray. uhhh she's too fast for me to be around...So then I made my way to the right (because Bob told us to). I looked around me and saw only dudes. Started to panic but then just said "Eff-it, it is what it is"

Swim: 1:12 something (goal: around 1:10)

As the cannon scared the sh$t out me went off, I started making my way through the waves and finally started swimming.  The current was pulling us to the left which was perfect since that's where the buoys were. I had counted 5 yellow buoys until the red turn-around one so I tried to keep track of them. This proved to be very difficult as I was being pummeled by what felt like millions of arms and feet. I got swam over, under, kicked, knocked all over the place. Holy shit panic. Quickly, I calmed down and got over it. There was a dude in front of me that was barely moving his legs but as soon as my fingertips grazed his feet, he started pounding his feet. Really? I'm usually a very nice racer and am known to give out high-fives, 'woo-hoos' and occasional butt smacks.  However, nice Meredith did not like getting her face pounded on so she grabbed the dudes ankle and gave a gentle but firm tug. Problem solved.

The first lap seemed to take FOREVER. It was rough, the water was choppy and salty. I finished the first loop, got some much needed water and headed out for the second loop. I went really wide to the right and found myself swimming alone, away from the swarm of racers. In hindsight, this was probably good since the current helped push me to the left. The second lap was marginally better than the first though I felt like the water was more choppy. I felt like it was taking me at least 2 hours to do this swim.

When I came out of the water, I heard Jill yell out "1:12 mere". I don't wear a watch so this was a surprise.

Excited to see people and to have not died during the swim and rocking the awesome goggle marks. Photo courtesy of Dealio.

 T1 6:37 (Goal: didn't care much)

Since I had already pulled my wetsuit down as I walked in with the waves, it was easy for me to plop in front of the wetsuit strippers and have them yank the legs off. It was NOT easy getting back up though. I stumbled my way to the fresh water showers, pulled my cap off and enjoyed. That is until some pesky little woman came up behind me, pushed me and said, "MOVE". Rude. Actually, that didn't stop me. I wanted that salt water and sand OFF. I grabbed my bag and ran into the changing room. There were TONs of volunteers waiting. I grabbed one and started the process. She was so nice and helpful and actually put on my helmet and socks. (if you ever do an IM, tell the volunteer exactly what you want and they do, awesome) Even after I tossed down a gel, I had a funky taste in my mouth. I had a pack of "magic gum" in my T1 bag. HUGE help to get that salt water funk out.
After thanking the volunteer, I awkwardly ran in my bike shoes to find my bike but this wonderful girl had already pulled it for me so I didn't even have to slow down to get it! Again, awesome volunteers.

After the showers, heading into transition

Bike  Race time: 6:11 something   Garmin ride time: 6:05 something Goal: ummm under 7 hours...

I feel like I could summarize the bike course in just a few words. Flat, pine trees and more pine trees.  Boring. Oh and of course, DRAFT. PACKS.

I took it very easy at the beginning of the bike. My stomach was a touch queasy and I puked 2 times early on but then felt better and could start taking in calories. I was happy to find that my legs felt GREAT. Not fatigued and sore like they were for Patriots Half. The weather was perfect as this point. I was just a little chilly. In the beginning, the draft packs weren't that bad. I got passed by tons of dudes easily and had to remind myself that I didn't need to try and keep up with them. I kept waiting for Jon to come flying past me and I was on the lookout for friends and RVA folks.  The tattoos really helped because lots of Richmond people gave me shout outs as they FLEW past me (none drafting BTW). Bethany passed me pretty early and looked really strong.

Mile 20ish was when I was passed by what I assumed was a draft pack. They went by so fast that I couldn't tell. It was as if I was NOT MOVING. I checked the Garmin which showed I was going 20mph. They must have easily been pulling 27+mph. I just shook my head and kept on. Then the groups of dudes and quite a few females kept coming. I made it a game to yell out different things as they flew by. "nice draft-pack douchebags" "Nice Peloton" were some of my favorites. Shame on them. In a race this size there are times where you can not avoid being in someone's draft zone. But this, this was just blatant cheating. Lame. Enough about that. they suck.

I can't remember what exact mile markers it was but if you do this race there is a HORRIBLE out and back section where the road quality is awful. I saw tons of flats here and even one wreck. Every two seconds your whole body and bike would bounce really hard. I want to say it was about 6 miles but I don't know. I am happy that I did NOT know about this section because then I'd just been dreading it the whole time. I'm guessing this is when my bag of salt tabs and gels popped out of my tri top pocket. (So, glad that I had put an extra bag of salt/nutrition in my T2 bag!)

When I made it to the halfway point where the special needs bags were my Garmin said 2:53! And I still felt great! There was a snickers bar calling my name. And more chamois butter. I over-shot where my bag was so there was some back tracking involved. I re-filled my Carbo-Pro bottle and water and tried to eat some of the delicious Snickers but it just wasn't happening so I gave it to the Volunteer.

This is when Lynn caught up to me. We chatted a bit and then we saw Jon heading into Special Needs! I was just happy to see he survived the swim! I knew he would but I wanted to hear all about it. I kept plugging along, enjoying the sun and checking out peoples bikes. I got a lot of comments about my road-bike-without-aerobars. Whatever, works for me. I did see a handfull of other road bikes out there.

The aid stations were not exactly 10 miles apart. Some were more and some were less so that kinda annoyed me especially when I needed to pee. It got so bad at one point that I ALMOST peed my bike using Bob's method that he told us about.

Mile 60-100 or so there was a pretty strong head-wind and I really wanted to tuck in behind the tall guy in front of me. But I didn't. My pace was slowing down but I knew at that point I would definitely come in under 7 hours. I stopped 4 times during the second half due to various reasons so I figured Jon had passed and I had missed him. I was bummed that we couldn't catch up real quick.

As I made my way back to transition, I had a huge smile on my face. I felt great. No saddle issues, no pain and a new bike split PR! What made it infinitely better was seeing sooo many special people cheering for me in the homestretch. The picture below takes me back to exactly what I was feeling at that point in the race. Thanks Bryan for the pic!  Seeing my mom, dad, sister, Jason, Karen, Jill, Kate, JR, Bryan and sooo many more people just made my day even better. I *may* have been cry/laughing at this point:)

This is when I saw family and friends. My cup runneth over.

The Whitehurst clan all in one shot!

T2 3:30 something, Goal: didn't care, just faster than last year:)

I safely dismounted my bike and handed it off to a bike catcher. I. Love. That. Bike.  Easily grabbed T2 bag and ran into the changing room. (This year I marked my bags with an orange ribbon that stood out which helped a lot) Three teenage girls were there to help me. I decided not to change  out of my bike shorts but I did wipe down my legs with a baby wipe, threw on my shoes and Garmin and was ready to go. As I was standing up, fellow RVA triathlete, Amy sat down next to me! She looked great so I wished her good luck and was on my way. Legs felt pretty good. Foot, not so much.

Run 4:47 (goal: to finish)
Typically, the run is my favorite part. Still is, but I just wasn't sure how it'd go this year. The run started off kinda rough. My stomach wasn't feeling that great so I went ahead and took some salt and water coming out of transition. Fortunately, that did the trick quickly. I have very loose plans when it comes to nutrition on the run. I try to listen to my body and again my body said ORANGES. Every aid-station I grabbed a few. Glorious.

I had not done too many T-runs this year in training and my foot wasn't too happy with me. My plan was to run to each aid station and then walk through while I got water/food/etc. This worked out for the first two miles then I  had to walk/run.

The run was a two-loop course that took us through some neighborhoods and a state park. The first section coming out of transition and the first neighborhood section was great! Lots of people, a 'girl zone' which had scantily clad men and women dancing oh, and an old guy dressed up like Elvis. They were fun. After that, the run course became really boring. Once you get into the state park there is another out and back section that lets you see other people. I caught up with Sally and we walked for a while together and I saw Lynn and Bethany. They were both having great races!  My legs still felt good and with the exception of some occasional intense sharp pains in my foot, I was good to go.

I saw Jon a little while after I came out of the State Park as he was going in. I figured that he was on his second loop. We stopped, shared a quick xo and chatted. He had swallowed too much salt water and had GI issues on the bike. Seeing him was a huge boost though and I kept moving along. Somewhere in the final section of hoods I met up with a previously-unknown-except-on-Facebook-RVA person. Ameer and I introduced ourselves and became run-course friends. We did a run-walk thing which was helpful. When we were running we kept a good pace. His original goal was to finish under 12 and mine was to finish under 13 so we decided to stay together. Of course, I had no clue what pace I was going or what time it was so I went along. As we approached the turn-around and special needs bags, I again saw my family and friends!

Love this pic! I gave sweaty hugs to Mom, Dad, Shelly and Jason!

I grabbed my special needs bag which had a long sleeve T-shirt, gummy bears and arm warmers. I took everything out but gave the long sleeve T to Bryan and kept the arm warmers. The sun was going down and I didn't want to get the chills. I shared my gummies with Ameer and some salt tabs with a guy cramping and kept chugging along. (note for future IMFL people, pack a headlamp in run special needs or T2 bag depending on when you will get on run course)

Once we got into the lovely state park again, Ameer decided to go for his sub-12 goal. His Garmin had died so I gave him mine for pacing. I was pretty sure at this point I'd go sub 13 so I kept one foot in front of the other.  I made myself hold out until mile 21 before I started taking the flat coke. That stuff is the shit!  I also gave some chicken broth a try. not my thing.

Around mile 22 in the super dark and boring neighborhood, you could HEAR the finish line. oh so close. At mile 24, I saw Erik with a K and he ran with me for a little bit and let me know that Laure was doing well. At this point, my foot was killing me but I just wanted to be done.

On the way to finish!

ProK found me around mile 25ish and jogged me into the homestretch and gave me a pep talk. She told me I'd get in under 12:30 if I kept pace. Then Bryan and JR ran me into the shoot! I was moving (at least I felt that way, it was but a mear jog for Bryan and JR!) I gave high-5's to Sebastian, Mom, Dad right were the finishing chute started. Further down I saw Holly and Patrick!

I took my time going down the chute this year and enjoyed it! As I crossed the finish line I didn't pay much attention to the time clock but I did see a '12'. Sweet!! The volunteer catcher asked if I was ok and I said yes. I looked up and it was JASON! and then in front of me was sister SHELLY!! perfect ending.

Finish Time: 12:21:19   Goal: sub 13  Secret Goal: sub 12:30

Video Clip of The day!

 After the finish, I made my way to the massage area, got some chocolate milk then headed back to find mom and dad. Shortly after, I saw Jon finish. We went back to the condo, showered, stretched then headed back down to the finish line with some new RVA Ironmen, Shelly and Jason. Awesome experience to watch the final hour of finishers come in!

Great day but I found parts of the course boring. I think this is a good first Ironman because it's pretty straightforward (read: IT IS STILL NOT EASY) It really gets my goat when people label IMFL as the easy Ironman. Nothing about it is easy. I'll likely not come down to race this one again.  The volunteer support was simply amazing but the thing that set this race apart for me was the people. This race was such a special day for me and I'm so fortunate that I got to share it with so many amazing people! Thank you to everyone for your support and cheers!

No excuses

So, I've been a MAJOR slacker with trying to keep up with this blog. I have a lot of things going through my head and sometimes it just seems overwhelming to put it all down on paper. The main theme for me this year seems to be changing my goals and expectations for IMFL. Due to an injury (not an OVER-USE injury, so I don't want to hear that I do too much). ugh so frustrating.

This Saturday is my first triathlon of the season which sounds crazy that it comes so late but I like to keep my 2 triathlons per year trend going. Never. Ever. Have I gone into a race (run or triathlon) knowing and planning to walk. My mentality has always been, 'why walk when you can RUN?' that, and I love the run.  This Saturday, because of my stupid posterior tib and stupid navicular, I will have to walk. NOT cool but the alternative is not an option. I have considered just not doing the race (this was maybe a 2 second consideration) since I can't go for a PR but that's quitting. Yes, I have an injury which could be an excuse but I CAN NOT STAND excuses. I listen to them everyday. All day.  They grind my gears.

So this half-ironman will not be a PR. Oh well. I will finish even if it takes me the whole 8 hours. I will actually try to push the swim and maybe go a little harder on the bike knowing that I don't have to save my legs for the 'run'. I will even have to eat my words. I once said that I would never buy speed in the form of race wheels, speed suits etc. BUT I AM! wow those wheels do make a difference, plus they sound cool.

Bruiser looks good. I, however, have horrible posture in this pic. Please ignore.

I get asked frequently why I decided to get the M-dot tattoo. We all have our own reasons for getting them. Yes, I am proud of myself for finishing an Ironman. More importantly, I got the tat to remind myself when I am older to keep pushing myself.  No, I may not be doing Ironman when I'm 60 (i hope i am) but I promise myself that I will never be old, out-of-shape (with knee and back pain) and lazy with the EXCUSE that I'm too put excuse here to be active. If I have knee and back pain it will be because I've pushed myself and kept moving and not because I've given up and let myself accept a sedentary life-style.

I will just keep swimming, just keep swimming....and biking and running dammit.

No excuses.

Hills with a side of fog please

Just got back from my FIRST bike ride out on the Blue Ridge Parkway! This was no where on my Training Peaks for this weekend and not even a consideration until yesterday's bike plans kinda sank. I find that sometimes the best trips/experiences are the ones NOT planned. The impromptu nature of this ride prevented me from over-thinking and over-analyzing what this ride entailed (descents).  I did loose some sleep last night though thinking about it and this morning I had jitters similar to what I sometimes feel on race day!

The day did not start off too well but what can you expect when you get up at freaking 4:30. I needed gas but the Exxon up the road wasn't working and for the life of me I could not remember my PIN number. This is the same PIN number I've had for YEARS. I had to scramble to the nearest Sheets and hit the road to meet up with the crew at the park-n-ride.

I enjoyed the ride up to the Blue Ridge with great/easy convo with JB but inside, I was kinda nervous. When we got higher up to our starting point the fog was insane. I couldn't see the car that was 15ft in front of me! When JB mentioned that it may be unsafe to ride, I gotta admit that I was a little relieved. Luckily, Lynn was already waiting for us and let us know that it was clearing up.

When we first started, I felt strangely out of place. The air temperature was in the 70s which seemed cold compared to the 100+ degree temps. That, the fog and the gentle misting made me feel like I was in Forks on an early fall day. Less than ideal to start but I ended up being grateful for the milder temps and cloud cover/fog.

Once my legs warmed up a little, I started to relax and soon I found myself enjoying the ride. It's also important to note that this was my first outing on saddle #3, the Terry.  I was nervous about doing a longer ride on a new saddle but I figured nothing could be as bad as last year. I must say that this saddle  is at the top of my short list. I've tried a many saddles and so far Terry>Cobb>Deva. Thank goodness for people like Craig at RCC that are patient with picky people like me!

During the ride, I kept thinking how lucky we are to have such an amazing place to come ride. There was minimal traffic, amazing views and just clean, fresh mountain air. The fog did make a few of the descents a little sketch and my hands will definitely be sore from squeezing the shit out of feathering my brakes so much.  I snapped this with my POS droid at the top of a climb. I'm getting my Christmas tree from here this year! So pretty!

After about 13 miles of climbing/descending, JB and Lynn went off to do Vesuvius because they are crazy insane good on their bikes. The more sane people, including myself, just did an out and back and met back up with the girls to finish up the ride. Of course, now Vesuvius is a goal of mine now but mainly to check out Gertie's Country Store! what a great name:)

The way back to the cars seemed to be more descending rather than climbing and I found myself remembering all of the advice Karen has given me over the years. I relaxed my arms, pushed my butt back, leveled out my feet. and kept my line of vision out ahead of me. I'm getting the hang of it slowly but surely with every ride I do. Progress.


After about 3ish hours, we made it back to the cars. Some did t-runs while others texted significant others to let them know we survived and some tried to help a cute doggie that clearly didn't want our help. Lynn mentioned Devil's Backbone Brewery and I perked up at the thought of a burger and a beer. We enjoyed an unseasonably mild lunch on the patio which was the perfect ending to surprise impromptu ride. 

And I get to do it again next weekend at the Wintergreen TortureFest!!

Month 3

So month 3 of IM training is here (and now more than halfway over) and I must say that I'm not feeling like I'm training for an ironman. An aquabike, maybe. This is mainly due to NOT running. After a 2 hour run last Sunday, I knew that things weren't going well so now I find myself on a running ban, wearing a brace or getting my foot taped everyday. I'm trying to remain positive about that but with every week that goes by (2 more) I'm feeling less and less optimistic about my posterior tib issues. Dr. B even said the dreaded "s" word.  I told him that this wasn't gonna happen until after November. fingers crossed.

This blog's main purpose was to keep track of my IM training so I could look back and learn from my mistakes for future races or to just reminisce on days where I was active and happy. I'm not feeling happy right now, I'm feeling really frustrated. Not running in addition to a TON of changes at work has left me somewhat of a grumpy monster. I tell patients everyday to be patient and to allow his/her body to heal and I say that knowing that I would probably have a hard time following that advice.

I think the changes at work are bothering me more than I've admitted to myself. It may not be directly impacting IM training but it definitly does indirectly. I love my job and love my co-workers but over the past couple of weeks we've lost two PTs and gained a new-grad, a new part-time and soon a new PTA.  There was even talk of another new hire. After 5 years of experience, I find myself as the "old" therapist.

I will miss Chris and his goofy ways. We worked really well together and balanced each other out. We got work done but still managed to have fun. I take pride in the fact that most of our patients loved coming in because of the great dynamic we had. bye chris:(

I will miss Dan who I've known for almost 10 years and who I respect tremendously as a therapist and a person. I will miss our chats about bikes and our conversations about his son, Rudy, who is now a kick-ass pro-triathlete.

The good news is that the new PT, A, is a super fast runner. Like a sub-three-hour marathon runner! Annnnd I'm pretty sure I can convince him to do an Ironman with me! Or at least get him into triathlons.

.....several weeks have gone past since I first started that post. I still don't feel like I'm training for an IM so nothing has changed on that front. That just makes me anxious to make plans for next year. Since this year probably won't turn out like I had wished, it is time to make new goals for IM Florida AND save my time goals for next year!