Girlfriends & Dudes Triathlon - Race Recap

Hello folks - long time no hear?! As you can tell I took a little time away from the blogging world in order to hang with The Kid who is on his way to High School **shakes head in disbelief** this week. Knowing that I only have 4 more years before he's off to college is just terrifying. Who in the world believes that it really goes by THAT fast?! Sheesh.....

Anyway, as this race recap is over a month in the making, I tried to make it a good one......"tried" being the operative word here.

So, Girlfriends & Dudes Sprint Triathlon - Vancouver, WA. My first chance to race with The Kid! Super jazzed! Thankfully this was a local venue and with a later start time (9am) so no throwing the alarm across the room at 4am. This lead to a pretty easy going race morning with a quick breakfast, gear pack-up and a sleepy teenager to rouse.

I think I am finally starting to get a bit more, dare I say, "relaxed" on race day? P (my ever faithful sherpa), The Kid and I got to the venue about 45 minutes before the start, set up transition and then just hung out with a cup of jo before it was go time. Oh, and I can't forget to mention meeting a fellow Swim Bike Army member, Tammi, for the first time! (no photos though - next time Tammi!) Normally I am super paranoid, trying to ensure that we get to the site with oodles of time to spare. Maybe because this was "just" a Sprint and my first race coming off of Boise, but either way I was cool, calm and collected.  No one had to suffer the wrath of my usual race morning nerves - Winning!!



The Swim (.5 miles/804 meters)

Goal - 13 min or under

Doesn't look like it but I swear I'm running in this photo! :)

Ah, the swim - my fav. I debated the night before on whether or not I wanted to wear my wet suit for this race. I knew the water was a comfortable temp and given the short distance wasn't concerned with needing any additional support. Since I was also planning on trying to PR, I figured the amount of time spent in transition trying to strip my suit off wasn't really worth the extra few seconds it might save me in the water. Decision? Go without. Result? Mixed

The swim course was a point-to-point straight shot down the Columbia River.  A quick half mile walk up the beach to the race start and we were off. No wet suit? No problem.....well, kinda. It appears that my one piece tri suit had stretched out quite a bit since Boise (that or I lost some upper body weight since that time...ya right) leaving the top half to create a ton of drag in the water. Ugh - not what I wanted to happen but what can you do? 800 meters done, and given my PR, I'd say the drag was more of a mind game than anything else. Whoop!

Official Swim Time - 0:12:33  (PR from last year's Sprint of 14:46)

T1

Goal - 2 minutes

Awe yeah......pickin' up my transition pace, ya'll! I'm pretty sure it had everything to do with not bothering with a wet suit this time around but regardless I am stoked about my T1 time - 2 full minutes faster than last year?! Whaaaaat??!! Other than speed, nothing much to report. Didn't bother grabbing a drink or fuel, just threw the helmet/shoes on and Goooooo! I do need to learn how to do an awesome flying bike mount this off season -  I hate having to come to a complete stop at the mount line. Waste.of.time.

Official T1 Time - 01:49 (PR from last year's Sprint of 03:52)

Bike (12.5 miles)

Goal - Under 40 minutes

A nice flat, beautiful course - I was stoked. My goal on the bike was to average 20 mph, keep my legs pumping and do not slow down regardless of how much it burned. It is a sprint after all so EVERYTHING should be done as fast as possible. I think I'm finally starting to understand that. Both up and back down the course I only had 3 people pass me. And to my credit they were crazy 20 something year-old studs complete with speedy bikes. 12.5 miles out and back to the dismount line with a few sips of water/Nuun but no additional fuel. Although I didn't meet my 20mph sustained goal pace, I did managed to pull out quite a few miles at that speed and overall maintained 19.3mph. And let's not forget the ultimate desire of going under 40 mins - BOOM! Getting faster!

Official Bike Time - 0:38:55/av 19.3 mph (PR from last year's Sprint of :43:20/17.3mph)

T2
Goal - 2 minutes

What the what? Again with a fast transition?! I owe my T2 time to Lock Laces and Lock Laces alone. Those things are a life saver and I swear were the sole reason I took at least a full minute off my time! If you don't know what these beautiful creations are, check them out here. Shoes on, quick swig of hydration and out on the run course.

Official T2 Time -  1:36 (PR from last year's Sprint of 02:48)

Run (5k):

Goal - under 30 minutes

You know you're actually becoming a triathlete when you no longer deal with "transition" legs at the start of your run. I honestly felt great and ended up going out quite a bit faster than I thought I was, averaging around 8.5 min/mi at the first mile. 8.5?? Is this a dream?! I had no idea as to how I was able to keep that pace for a full mile but no part of me was going to complain. Halfway through the course I grabbed some hydration (without stopping - another win for me!), chugged it down and kept at it. My legs felt pretty darn good and my breathing was a bit labored but hey, it's a freakin 5k, I had better be going all out!

Through the finish and this gal was done!

Official Run Time - 28:46 (av 9:16 min/mi - PR!)


Holy crap. Is this time right? Couldn't be.....no way....did I just PR my 5k and my Sprint distance?

Check.it.

Official Finish Time - 1:23:42

2/25 Age Group

19/127 Female

55/211 Overall

Still unbelievable. I PR'd every event and took 8 minutes off my fastest Sprint! All with a 2nd place to show for it. 

Still on a crazy high from my podium spot (I literally got to have my picture taken on a podium with fellow 1st and 3rd placers - righteous), it was time to get The Kid ready for his race.

The RD (Race Director) put together such a fun event for the kids. The distance for each leg was based on age group. The Kid was scheduled for a .25 mile swim, 3 mile bike and .75 mile run. Pretty easy for a 14 year-old but the object of the event was for him to gain experience in a fun race environment. Mission accomplished.

The Kid's Tri wasn't timed and I was a ding-dong and didn't think to do it myself, so we don't have any specifics. Overall he really enjoyed himself and didn't need much coaching from me at all! He says he's ready to tackle a full Sprint next year. Hopefully I've created a monster. :)

Disappointed in his age group swim distance of 200 meters. He wanted a full mile!

On the right at the very end - away from the weaker swimmers so he can speed by. Smart play kid...smart play.

T1 - "Why is this taking so long?!!", he says. You'll get there dude. 

3 mile bike - Needless to say he wants a roadie now.

Out of T2 and on to the run! Looking strong!

                                   

Into the finish!!

Done! And exhausted. ;)

Love this Kid! 

Awesome race, with awesome support, and an awesome outcome. How could I ask for anything more?

So let's see..........

Recap done - check!

Back on the blogging wagon - check!

Kid successfully off to High School - check!

Training back in motion - check!

The break was definitely needed but I've got to get moving or I am going to drive myself and those around me completely nuts! Next on the race agenda? The 60 mile Gorgeous Relay on Sep. 21st and am  trying to nail down one more Tri before the season is over. The Beaver Fever is the sister race to The Beaver Freezer I did back in April. You know, the one I had that epic bike fail in? The OSU Triathlon club opens and ends the Oregon Tri season with these two sponsored races so I think it's only natural that I do the same. 

~ Cheers, Rebecca

Friday Thoughts and Race Goals

Wohoo! It's finally Friday! How's has everyone's week been? I have slowly started settling back into a decent workout routine, though still finding it rough trying to run in this hot weather. Anyone have any great tips for plugging through the heat?

The Girlfriends and Dudes Tri is this Sunday so The Kid (who will be racing for the first time) and I have some prep work to do these next few days. (aka long session on the trainer for me tonight) We went on an evening 16 mile ride earlier this week, just so he could get a better sense of what true "bike legs" are like. Tomorrow the event organizer is holding a practice swim session on location which will be a great opportunity for us to get a feel of the water conditions and then drive the bike/run course.

Though my training has been lacking consistency since Boise, I am hoping to PR on Sunday. 1/2 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike and 5k run. This course is new to me but the distances and terrain are pretty typical to the Blue Lake Tri that I've completed twice so I plan on treating it just same. Since my last Sprint, I've added a few new items to my racing arsenal and have changed my mindset with regard to pacing......pacing? In a Sprint? No way - all out until I feel the burn.

Goals for Sunday are as follows:

.5 Mile Swim - 0:13:45 (sans wetsuit)
T1 -   0:02:30
12.5 Mile Bike - under 0:40:00 (av 20mph)
T2 - 0:02:00
5k Run - under 0:30:00 (under 10 min/mi)


I don't know exactly how transition is set up at this location though so my T1 and T2 times may vary depending on how far I have to run out of the water/off the bike. Either way I'd like to set a PR this weekend and go under 1:30:00 for the race. The weather is looking to be pretty ideal - mid 70s and partly cloudy so I really can't ask for better conditions. We shall see.

After my race The Kid gets to have some fun completing his first tri! Each leg is significantly shorter (250 meter swim, 3 mile bike and 3/4 mile run) but the idea is just to get him out there experiencing what it's like to be on the inside vs. a spectator. And who knows, maybe he'll fall in love with the sport and want to join me in a full Sprint next summer! (crossing fingers and toes....)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and good luck to all who are racing! Go out and make that course your biotch! :)

Cheers - Bec

Weekly Training Recap

Boy do I sure miss adding "70.3" in front of my weekly training recap titles! Re-placing it with "Olympic Tri" just doesn't have the same oomph, so I am going to keep things fairly generic until I am back on an official training plan.

Last week I talked about my post race blues - thankfully I am making my way out of that valley and back into action. This last week wasn't the best, but I should at least give myself some credit for sweating it out in our unnatural PNW summer heat. After almost 4 years of living here, I think I can safely say that this SoCal gal has finally acclimated to the cooler weather and am now finding it more difficult to workout in the heat. It's been pretty humid too so......I don't know how all you Southerners do it. Huge props!

Recap:

Monday

I planned on getting a swim in while the Kid was at practice but he had lost his goggles, so my only pair became his. :( Instead I watched him soak up all that liquid glory....as I sat in the heat.....green with envy.


Tuesday

3 mile trail run

Hot, humid and just overall junky. I think I managed 10:30 m/m. Like I said before, I have turned into a  heat pansy!


Wednesday

2200 yard swim

Ah, finally back in the water and boy howdy it felt good! By the time a lane opened up I only had about 30 minutes to get my workout in before the Kid was done with his practice. I ended up staying in for a total of 36 minutes and was pretty happy to have jammed out 2200 yards in that short amount of time!
500 Free warm up
200 kick
10 x 100 Free (hard, easy, hard, easy)
500 Free cool down

You certainly can't ask for a more scenic location to get your swimmin' on!!

Thursday

Quick OWS swim session with the Kid in prep for Girlfriend's and Dudes Tri this weekend.

The Kid has his very first tri this Sunday so we decided to head over to the river (race location) Thursday evening after work so he could get a sense of what OWS is really like. The swim portion of his race is only 250 meters and he is already a very strong swimmer so I wasn't too worried about how he'd handle being in open water. Unfortunately I turned off the nav in my car about a mile before the correct location and ended up walking down to a small cove not at all groomed for swimming. Bad mistake - the water conditions there were hideous. Super mossy, even as we got about 200 yards out!! The stuff was practically strangling us, getting caught in our hands, arms and even feet at times! It's bad enough imagining what creepy things lie underneath without having to feel it at the same time!! The poor guy had to do his first open water session in the worst possible conditions. Mom fail.

"Why the heck did I let my mom talk me into this?!!!"

He's tough though and has seen me swim in most everything, so much to his can do attitude, the Kid swam - creeped out and all. Oh, and let's not forget that his girlfriend came out with us.....so there was really no possible way he was going to show any signs of fear. Haha.


Friday

30 mile ride

Yes! The heat eased up a bit and I was really itching to get out on the road - nothing super special to recap other than just getting my butt out there. And given my current funk, I'd say that was special enough!


Saturday

The Kid had his first big swim invitational this weekend so as far as training/workout goes for myself....does cheering count?

The event was held at our local pool (as are most in Oregon - thankfully!) so no lengthy car trips for us. He did well - swam in four events, was disqualified in one (learning experience!) and nearly hit his regional qualifying times in two others. Missed them by only a few seconds! I'd say he is off to a great start. Here are a few pics from the event - so proud of this guy.

Sunday

More of the above. Swim invitationals are no joke - sitting around for 8-9 hours just to see your child swim in two events?! Yeesh - guess this is where I thank my parents for putting up with years of this stuff while I competed in school. :)


There you have it - first "real" week of training since Boise. It's not much but at least it's a start.

Cheers - Bec

IM Boise 70.3 Week 17 - Training Recap

Hey-O!!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week but as you know I was in Chicago for the weekend and spent most of yesterday catching up on work and managing a 12 mile run (which I totally PR'd - B.T.Dubs!)

So how did my trip go and what kind of training was I actually able to fit in while there? Let's check in out...


Monday - 1:30 Bike

LOVE this bike route!

Wohoo! Got my butt outside for once and man did it feel good. I can totally tell how much more powerful my legs and general riding skills are from this time last year. Excited to tackle some major hills and wind this coming weekend - heard the wind in Boise can be a big pain in the arse.      


Tuesday  - 10 Mile Endurance Run

Feeling great! Got started a little late though so I ended up getting 6 miles done outside on my favorite path and the remaining 4 on the dreadmill. Oh well, 10 miles is still 10 miles!


Wednesday -  1:15 Bike                  

Nothing super exciting about Wednesday's ride - The Kid had his band concert that night so I had to spend it on the trainer afterwards. Wouldn't trade it for anything though.....learning to balance work and family with my training life is hard BUT I made a promise to myself this year - NEVER sacrifice time with family in order to race. Family will always be my number 1 priority and would never want to do anything that might hinder those relationships. As a result of sacrificing some outside riding time, I got to see this little piece of magic happen..............(my Kid is in the red shirt busting out the tunes)

                                                            

So we knew that The Kid plays drums (you can't get the dude to stop tapping on any and everything) and has been staying after school once a week to practice with this new rock group (mix of middle schoolers and music teachers). Little did we know he could actually sing too! I mean, really sing! This was the first of about 8 numbers that they performed...... needless to say we were in awe and so super proud.

My Rock Star.

Thursday - Rest Day

Lots of stretching and packing....and packing...and packing. When 2/3 of your luggage for a 5 day trip is full of workout gear, you know you are a triathlete! :)


Friday - 1:30 Endurance Bike + Travel Day

So, yeah......didn't quite get in the full 3.5 hours I wanted to but as we planned on leaving the house by 1pm to make our flight, 1:30 hours was all I had. Still, a little bike and some compression socks for the plane ride and I was all set. About the compression - wore my Zoot Ultras on both flights to and from Chicago - life.saver. My legs felt amazing the whole time and even allowed me to pull out a 12 miler the day after flying! I will never travel without them again.

Somebody is no longer a fan of giving his mom a smooch in public! ;)

Saturday - 2800 Yard Swim

Planned on getting up at 4:30am and heading downtown (1 hour away) to meet up with some folks for a little OWS in Lake Michigan....yeah right! With snow on the ground the morning prior and water temps below 50 degrees, the swim was cancelled. Would have really liked getting into some super cold water though - think it would have been good prep for Boise. No harm, no foul - I didn't get to bed until around 1:30am or so the night before so that would have made for a very tiring swim on 3 hours of sleep. Probably for the best.
Instead I was lucky enough to find an LA Fitness about 40 mins from my dad's house (he kinda lives in the boonies). Without being able to participate in some OWS, I headed out for a morning chlorine session. Easy 2800 yards that felt amazing! My arm is just about at 95% now and should be primed for Boise.

Sunday - Rest Day + Graduation Day!

Yes, I did have 3 rest days last week - so what?!!!! Actually, I felt awful having to take so many days off but knew that when travelling, you just have to give yourself a little bit of a break. My half sister, Lissa, was graduating from High School this day, which is one of the main reasons we made the trip out! So excited to see how all the hard work she's put into her education, has paid off. She graduated with honors and is heading out to Huntington Christian University in the fall to study animation. A-mazing artist so I am sure she will be just as successful in her college career as she has been these last four years. Congrats, Lissa!

The happy Graduate!

My sis made it out to IL as well so I got to meet my newest little niece-to-be for the first time as well!

The Kid and I 

That about sums it up - had a wonderful trip that went way too fast, but we were able to catch up with family and spend some quality time with my pops, whose health is very unstable at the moment. Even had lunch with my mom during our layover in Denver!  Flew back on Tues and was able to get in a 3.5 hour brick before leaving (albeit on a spin bike and treadmill) and just finished up a 12 mile run last night! Just priming the pumps for what will be my last full week of long, hard workouts before the 2 week taper begins.


Boise is only 16 weeks away! What the heck will I have to blog about after that! :)

IM Boise 70.3 Week 13 - Training Recap

You're noticing something, aren't you? Yes, I skipped week 12's recap.  Not much to report, really. This was the week after my race in Corvallis and that frustrating bike accident. After being given the diagnosis of a sprained right elbow/wrist as well as dealing with a nasty hip bruise, I decided to take the entire week off to heal. Didn't really have much choice...

Right arm + sling = no swim/bike/run for this gal.

Needless to say that week was pretty much a fail training wise. And unfortunately I went into a bit of a poor me phase as a result. So frustrated that I was unable to workout in any way shape or form. Worried that the last 12 weeks of blood, sweat and tears had gone down the drain and that Boise was now just a dream. Pissed that even if I did get to Boise, that my strongest event could now possibly be a massive struggle if the arm doesn't completely heal....blah, blah, blah, you get the point. I was in a downward spiral for sure. The brain is a real monster isn't it?

Here are the sessions I missed in week 12:

Monday: 1 hour bike
Tuesday: 30 min swim + 8 mile run
Wednesday: 1 hour bike
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: 1:30 bike
Saturday: 30 min run
Sunday: 30 min swim

So I missed a bit, yes. But as I constantly tell others my home, let's focus on the positives. Good things to come out of week 12?

• It was a recovery week so all of my scheduled workouts were much less than their normal volumes/intensities anyway. 
• Pretty sure this was my "Break down and freak out" week. I've come to find out that I have at least one while training for each year's A race. Here's hoping it's all smooth sailing from here.
• The biggest positive of the week? All that extra rest actually did wonders for my hip! Finished 6 miles on the road yesterday with minimal pain. Big smile!

Alright, enough of that. Let's move on to last week where I was finally able to snap out of my rut and get to training. Week 13 Recap:

Monday - Planned: 1:30 min bike
               Actual: 1 hour bike (trainer)
Ooo boy did this hurt, youch! Very hard riding in aero while bearing weight on my right forearm so I only lasted an hour.

Tuesday - Planned: 3000 yd swim + 13 mile run
                Actual: Nada, zip, zilch
After how much it hurt to ride on Monday, I had no motivation to run whatsoever. And of course swimming was still out of the question.

Wednesday - Planned: 1:30 min bike
                    Actual: 1:17 min bike (trainer)
Though I had to spend a lot of time sitting straight up in my saddle to keep my arm free, I was at least able to get in a full hour plus of spin work with manageable pain.

Thursday - Planned: 3000 yd swim + 45 min run
                 Actual: 45 min run Yahoo!
No swim again (reeeeally hoping I only have two more weeks to wait before getting back into the H20), but I did manage to get myself onto the treadmill for a 4 mile run. Wasn't sure how well my hip was going to cooperate, so I took it slow and got 4 miles in - SANS hip pain. Woohoo!

Friday - Planned: 3 hour bike
            Actual: 3 hour bike ( trainer)
I'm baaaaack!!! Wow - this ride felt super good. The arm definitely bugged at times but I managed with 30 mins in aero and 15 mins up in the saddle. Just enough to give my arm some rest. Also practiced (for the first time I am ashamed to admit) my race nutrition. Aiming for 200-300 calories per hour so I made a conscious effort to get this done by mixing in solids (real foods) and some GU gels. Still testing out what works be best but I am leaning towards sticking with just the GU and Nuun tabs for hydration. More to come though.....

Saturday - Planned: 3.5 hour Brick (2.5 hour bike + 7 mile run)
                Actual: 2 hour bike + 6 mile run
Whew - 2 hour ride the following day after 3 hours in the saddle is a bit of a Queen killer. Hoo Ha Glide is my friend.
2 hours on the bike followed by a 6 mile run outside. First real brick in quite some time. Wish I had pictures for you as the sky was gorgeous this day even ran a few miles through an awesome sun shower. The hip felt fine during even on the hills but was a bit sore that night. Lots of rolling and stretching afterwards followed by an overnight stay in my compression tights. Glorious compression.

Earlier that day The Kid participated in his team's annual Swim-A-Thon. 2 hours of swimming as much as you can. His goal? Swim at least an Ironman distance. And by golly he did it! 178 laps - 4,450 yards - 2.52 miles. So awesome to see the exhausted smile on his face when he finished. He's only been swimming on an organized team for about 4 months now - super excited to see how far he can take this.

Isn't he a cutie? 13 going on 21, I swear.

Probably the only kid who preferred to have a Muscle Milk for recovery versus the donuts/cookies/chips available. 

Sunday - Planned: 2800 yd swim
              Actual: I'm sure you can guess by now. No pool time but I did do a ton of stretching, rolling and a nice epsom salt bath to help my tight quads. Ahhhh.....

TOTAL:
Swim - 0
Bike - 125 miles/5:17 hours
Run - 10 miles

Not the amount of miles/hours I'd like to see 7 weeks out from Boise but still happy that I was able to get some good workouts logged, my arm is mending fairly well and I was able to kick the negative self talk in the arse. No more of that nonsense allowed. For the next 2 months I am making a promise to myself - I have too many positive and supportive people in my life that regardless of injury or what other stumbling blocks I may face, I will not discredit their belief in me nor the hours upon hours of hard work I have invested in myself by replacing it with crap talk. This gal's brain is a negative free zone.

7 more weeks till Boise - let's do this!