Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

I arrived in Madison on Thursday and met my friend Mark from Houston who will be racing, too. Sharing the experience with Mark made this weekend a “best day” kind of race day.

We swam in the lake Friday morning. Just before entering the water we were asked to be interviewed on camera about the race by a local news reporter. We were wearing our wetsuits and swim caps during the interview – not super attractive.

Later that day we picked up the support team: Than and Pat. We walked around Ironman Village and downtown Madison near the Capital. I really liked the city and all the shops, especially the coffee shops.

Saturday we drove the bike course. It was fun to be in the back seat as Than, a race car driver, took us around the 40 mile loop in Verona. Mark read the Bike Directions and I used my GPS to warn him of an upcoming turn. Sometimes the turns came up faster than anticipated and Than had to make a few quick turns – thanks goodness for his car racing skills. There were a few victims of this method: ice thrown around the truck and a destroyed Styrofoam cooler. Fun Times.

RACE DAY 

We got to transition at 5:00 and prepared our bikes and walked to the start. The lake looked calm – we were all deceived.

The waves threw us all around. Athletes were swimming off course and I have never been hit so hard in my face during the 1 hour 33 minute swim. My worse swim time ever despite feeling somewhat confident that I wasn't going to die after swallowing a lot of water.

After getting out of the water we had to run up the helix and into the conference center. I did a full change into tri shorts and bike jersey. Then out to the bike. I felt good and ready for the bike. After 20 miles my lower back and feet started hurting. The pain didn’t stop during the entire ride.

There were three hills on the loop that I looked forward to because they were towards the end of the loop, and I knew it would be over. Plus, it felt good to stand and climb up the hills. This race will be the closest I will ever come to knowing what it's like riding in the Tour de France. The fans lined the hills cheering and ringing their cow bells, which made for a great experience. 

Later, Than would remind me, "you can never have too much cowbell."

I couldn’t wait to get off the bike and was fast in T2. I wanted to run the marathon and walk the aid stations; this only worked on the first loop. During the second loop, I felt like I was retaining water and everything hurt with each foot striking the ground: my arms, my legs, and neck. I started to walk. I walked fast, but it didn’t help my time. A disappointing 5:12 marathon. My worst marathon time ever.

I know everything I did wrong with training and nutrition. I want a do-over.

I finished. I had a great time with my friends. I discovered a beautiful part of the country. It was a good day.

I don’t know when my do-over will be. It won’t be in 2014. I don’t know what the next year holds. I don’t have a long course race in mind. For the first time in decades, I don’t have a plan.

I don’t have a plan.

As scary and overwhelming these words are, I think it will be okay.

Here is the video from Ironman which reminded me of all the silly people out on the course cheering us on. Yes, it was a good day.

 

Ironman Wisconsin and Being Tested

12 days until Ironman and everyone is testing me; the universe is testing me. I have so much going on, mainly in my head, and I wonder if I’m going to make it to September 8. I think I will. 

I know I will.

But the tests, I can do without.

I have been thinking about September 8 a lot. Will I make it to the start? Will I make it to the finish? I don’t know. What if it rains? 

I haven’t biked in rain for a very long time. 

What if it is too hot or too cold? Goodness gracious, how my mind works. 

What I do know is that Ironman Wisconsin is my last Ironman for awhile; I have so much more to do. 

I want to run 50 miles. I want to write another book. I want to try new things. I know that I will compete in Ironman again – specifically LakePlacid. I love training; but today, this week, I don’t love training.

I’m burned out and yet ready for the next thing.

But for now, I love walking my dogs and hoping they don’t get into any trouble. Two weeks ago Daisy wondered what a rattlesnake in the dark smells like.

Winnie likes to smell cactus.

Barrel Cactus

And I get in trouble for not picking up poop. What else could go wrong?

Everything.

But I have a plan.

I always have a plan. 

And it always involves these crazies:

Daisy & Winnie

 

What Not To Do 2 Months Before Ironman

Get a Puppy

Because she will 1) wreck sleeping patterns 2) wake up neighbors when she barks at 4am when you leave the house for a bike ride.

What did I do??????

But she is so darn cute, and her name is Winnie.

Exploring the South West

I walk home from the library carrying book and videos about the southwest. I search for shaded areas to walk, hoping for a short respite from the sun. Today the temperature is over 100 degrees, again. Today is the 23^rd day of triple digits. 

Next month will mark my one year in Tucson. I love Tucson's winters.  

I’m not coping well with the temperatures and only half the mornings can I wake up early enough to run or bike before the heat is too much. I am training for a race in September, a triathlon; an Ironman. I hope to PR and put my triathlon days behind me. For the record, I have been saying this for the last five years. 

This trip to the library I bring home books about hiking and traveling around Arizona. Most days I’m too tired or too scared to travel outside my comfort zone meaning any place outside city limits. Although last spring I drove to Patagonia for a mountain bike ride, about an hour south of Tucson in the mountains. I’ve driven to Phoenix a handful of times, one time hitting debris and getting a flat tire at 3am and missing a half marathon race. I've driven to Lake Havasu City without incident; well I raced poorly, meaning I didn't finish, but that is another story.

I’ve decided that while I’m training, writing a second book, and working that I have to discover Arizona. I need to go find mountain trails, rivers, and lakes. I even called Parker Canyon Lake today to confirm dogs are allowed in the park and in the water. Next weekend, I’m heading there, just miles from the Mexican border. I need to step outside my comfort zone, escape the city heat, and find more stories.

My guide is Day Trips from Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff. 

Today, I explored downtown Tucson. I walked along 4^th Ave and ate at Epic Café that reminded me of my friend Sue's coffee shop in downtown Winter Park, CO.  I had the breakfast burrito with bacon. It was good.

Tucson is a great place to live; and I’m going to prove it with forthcoming posts.

Stay Tuned.

Triple T – Shawnee State Park Ohio - 2013

These are my people, the ones who races this past weekend in Shawnee State Park.

The race was …um …..

I’m still processing in my mind what I think of this race. Here is the video of the race:

2013 American Triple-T Recap Video from Rob Lahoda on Vimeo.

After finishing 4 triathlons in 3 days I feel like my mental block is gone. I’ve had some mental blocks since Lake Havasu. 

Of not being good enough, strong enough. 

But since crossing that finish line on May 19th, after swimming, biking hills, and trail running hills, I have my mojo back.

I meet a woman just before the first swim of the Super Sprint who raced the same Ironman races I did in the same year: Ironman Coeur d’Alene in 2009 and Ironman Arizona in 2010. How often does that happen? Never. But in Ohio, meeting like-minded endurance athletes happens every May at this race where they come together to launch their race season.

On paper (or a website) 2 Olympic-distance triathlons seems like a piece of cake. However, the Triple T has other things in mind - the hills give the ultimate test. The hills are hard, but I bike them. I even have a technical problem with my bike that I have to dismount to fix twice. I fix it - no problem.

There is a bike crash and we wait for 10 minutes and I watch as they place her on a stretcher and later learn she was airlifted to a hospital.I hope she is okay. I feel so thankful for my safety on the bike and hope that she will recover and bike again. 

After the 2 Olympic races, I cannot imagine getting back in that water and in my wetsuit, again on Sunday morning. I doubt having the strength to do it. Some times in life, you just have to charge forward and go through the motions. And once I get going, the swim is over and I'm on my bike.

I’m thankful for the laughter with cyclists on the hills and how nuts this particular switch back is today.

I’m thankful for the man ringing his cowbell at the top of the longest, steepest hill before the end of the bike.

On the last leg of the last triathlon I meet Tony from Cincinnati who reaffirms my sanity and gets me through the run.The method to the madness of the half marathon: he is running EFM (Every xxx Mile). This is his 5^th Triple T and vows  to run the entire 13.1 except walking the aid stations. I feel defeated from running my pace and walking a lot. I want to walk the hills like everyone recommends but it isn't working for me.

Tony's pace is about 12-13 minute miles, I mimick his feet, slow and steady. It works on the hills and I just kept going. I tell him about my broken toe – he is a trail runner too. He thinks that all the falls on the trail run and the eventual broken toe is due to muscle imbalance and strength issues in my hips and legs. It is what I said all along but no one agreed or told me anything I understood. He tells me to keep on with functional strength, yoga, Pilates.

I get through that run because I walked EFM. At the finish line I feel amazing. I am tired and sore. 

Tony’s teaching and companionship make the day.

After finishing I eat some beans and cookies, and sit in the cold creek, like everyone else. Tony joins me and instructs me to go to Masters for swimming and to take 2 weeks off before training for Ironman Wisconsin.

It’s simply amazing the people you meet in this sport. I’m so thankful.

And to Joanne from Colorado who met me in Columbus and raced with me. Thank you for joining me on this awesome journey.

The volunteers for the race are amazing. The scenery - spectacular. The company of triathletes is inspiring and makes me believe. They make me believe.

These are my people.

Triple T in Portsmouth Ohio May 2013

I’m going to find out how tough I am in a few days:

The second reason I can see to compete at Triple T is simple; to find out how tough you really are. That may sound bold, but believe me, these courses are seriously tough with hills on the run and the bike in particular that will test the endurance and strength of all but the most skilled climbers. From Musing from an Unconventional Mind. 

I need to practice my mental toughness so next weekend I’ll be in Ohio participating in what is touted as a triathlon weekend tougher than Ironman.

Triple T http://www.americantriple-t.com/

Follow me on Twitter while I post about travelling to, arriving to the race, pre-race, post-race, and more from the race.

I know the race is going to kick my butt.

I have been training, pretty much non-stop for a year.

It’s going to be a fun weekend. Stay tuned for a post-race review.

Garmin Forerunner 310XT - My Opinion

My new training buddy:

It's so pretty. 

The 310XT is not the newest technology but new to me. I have resisted the Garmin for many years. I think I resist because I don't really want to know my pace on a training run. Not a smart way to train.

When I decided to get serious and know my pace so that I can push it and get faster, I bought it.

It arrived last weekend and after a week of using it, here is my opinion on this Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

The Look – It is pretty. It matches my running shoes; unintentional, of course.

The Feel – It’s a little bulky but I’m getting used to it. It doesn't feel awesome in the water swimming laps in the pool and I haven’t figure out how to make it record correctly in the water anyway. A few days ago when I swam 1500 it recorded 2.3 miles. It may be user error.

Technical Support – I had some difficulty getting the Garmin to transfer data after the first use. I had to wait until Monday to call technical support and while I waited to speak to a technician for about 10 minutes, the technician did help me quickly. 

The Garmin is not out-of-the-box easy to figure out. The User login/account creation to Garmin Connect is not intuitive.

I am getting more comfortable with the process of paring the device, but was hoping it would transfer data automatically, I have to click Yes to enable pairing each time I transfer data. Kind of a pain. Again, maybe user error.

I am coming to love my Garmin, despite its difficulty. I like looking down at the display and seeing my pace at 8 minute miles; even if it is just for a few minutes. I don’t have the heart rate monitor or the cycling add-on, which probably would make me love this device more.

Here is one the most detailed reviews of the device.  

I'm still trying to figure out all the features. I will use it while racing the Triple T in a few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.