Upcoming Races

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's already the middle of October!  That means that the 1/2 Iron distance triathlon is just a little over a week away.  I would be lying if I didn't say that I was a little (a lot) nervous for it.  It will be my longest tri and a good indicator for how much training I will need to be ready for the Ironman in 2012.  Since I enjoyed a little vacation this past weekend, I decided to add a short tri this weekend to get me back on track.  I am also doing a trail run with some friends on Saturday--I need to get some distance in to get prepared.

Here are the races I am looking forward to in the next couple of months--
Sunday, Oct. 16-Seville Maxi Tri (300 yd, 15.4 mi, 2.8 mi)
Sunday, Oct. 23-Soma Tri (1.2 mi, 56 mi, 13.1 mi)
Sunday, Nov. 6-Women's 1/2 Marathon (13.1 mi)
Sunday, Dec. 4-Rock n Roll Vegas 1/2 Marathon (13.1 mi)
Saturday, Jan. 14-Rock n Roll AZ Full Marathon (26.2 mi)

I have convinced Adam to give a tri a try--he's joining me this weekend for the Seville Tri.  He's also signed up for the full marathon in January...we'll see if he gets trained for that.  And, my friend, Danie, is making the trip from MN to AZ to run the WHM in November!!  She has been a rockstar with her running lately, so I fully expect her to kick my butt on the 6th.  :)

Tour de Scottsdale - part 2 - DNF




Kate and Kim Looking Good at the Half Way Mark!  

Did you all read Kim's post?  She did a great job detailing the ride.  It was BEAUTIFUL but it seemed like most of the ride was uphill.  I was very proud of our performance considering we did not do many long training rides.  Last year I tackled this ride with Lance, Jake, Eric, Geoffry, and Ron and we all did really well.  BUT we put in a ton of riding time.  They guys were all riding with me as I trained for Ironman.  By the time Tour of Scottsdale rolled around we had done several rides over 50 miles.  Compare that training to this year . . . Kim and I didn't do one ride over 50 miles.  Maybe not even over 40 miles.  I knew I wasn't trained but we had already signed up and spent the money.  Why not try?   

Kim and I were very good riding partners.  When one of us would get tired the other would push ahead and keep us moving.  It worked really well.  If one of us got ahead the other would catch up quickly.  I also think we did a pretty good job with our nutrition. 

After the picture was taken above, you could really see people starting to fade.  We were doing pretty good then a huge hill on Shea kicked my rear end.  It was brutal!  It also got really hot.  Around this time I told Kim that she should keep on moving regardless of what I did.  I didn't want to hold her back.  We ended up staying together until the 7 mile mark.   

By the time we got to the last 7 miles, I knew it was all uphill and I was spent.  I was going to stop at an aid station but I thought I'd keep trying.  I made it another 3 miles and was officially pooped.  I made it another mile and I finally got to the point of where our cars were parked.  I could keep going OR jump in the car and leave. 

It was a tough decision but I decided to pull the plug.  (1)  It was HOT!  (2)  The last few miles were all up Hill.  (3)  I was feeling a pain in my Hip.  (4)  I knew if I went up the last few miles I'd have to turn around and come back to the car.  (5)  I was wiped OUT! 

When it was all said and done, I am still comfortable with my decision.  I still rode 66 miles of an extremely tough bike route.  I had an excellent work out.  That is good enough.  I'm also very proud of Kim for finishing her longest ride.  I would say we have a strong start to Ironman 2012.   Can't wait to tackle another race with the other Ironmoms!   





Kate after her DNF (Did Not Finish)





Tour de Scottsdale

Kim and Kate at Race Start

Kim with the finsher's medal

So, a couple of weeks ago Kate asked if I'd like to join her on the 70 mile Tour de Scottsdale ride. She and her husband had planned to do it, but he decided against it for a variety of reasons. Of course, I said yes! Never mind that my longest ride (ever) prior to this was approximately 56 miles, that I hadn't been training for a long ride (in the last few months I've only done relatively short--25-30 mile--training rides) and that it was a hilly course.

The ride started out with some low grade climbing--nothing too steep, but a long climb. Kate and I tried to make sure we hydrated and ate regularly to preserve our strength. We made it through the first 1/2 of the ride in pretty good shape. It was nice to finish out the first half riding down a very long (nearly 10 miles) hill.

Then, things started to get a little bit more tough. It started to get warm, hot really. The worst part about riding in the heat is that there's little relief from it. The sun beats down from above and the road radiates heat from below. The next 20 miles included lots of rolling hills and then a huge killer hill as we left Fountain Hills. It was at least a full mile of climbing approximately 52 miles into the ride. It took out a number of cyclists--you could see a growing number stopping and walking their bikes or cutting out at the aid stations. Kate and I powered through it, but we could feel ourselves fading.

The rest of the ride was a test of my mental toughness. I really didn't think I could manage another hill, but I was not going to get off that easy. At the 62 mile aid station, Kate and I talked about stopping--especially if we came upon the school where our vehicles were parked. I pushed off from the stop only to find myself climbing another low grade hill--a long and painful uphill ride (I was close to tears at this point--thinking, why was I doing this again?). For the first time in the ride, I switch from my big front gear to my little one just so I could keep moving. We finally got a little downhill relief. There was one last aid station around 65 miles. Imagine my disappointment hearing the volunteers yelling, "hydrate for the hill!!" I really didn't think I could take another hill, but I still hadn't gotten to my car and there were only a few miles left.

The hill was another painful climb. At the top was the parking lot where we had parked. I debated about finishing or calling it good at that point. I was just too close to check out, and I had just climbed the last hill of the ride. I continued to the finish where I was very happy to be done with the official ride. However, there was more riding to be done. The parking lot was about 2 miles away, so I (very reluctantly) climbed back on my bike and headed to the truck. The air conditioning felt so good!!! I hurried home to shower and head out to see West Side Story at Gammage with Adam. It was nice sitting in a cold and dark auditorium.

After the show, we helped set up for a Diversity Pipeline event at the law school and then caught dinner (I was starving!!). Finally, I ended the evening with a nice, warm bath using the new Dr. Teal's epsom salts that I won from the very awesome Mary Sailors (who ran a killer TC Marathon yesterday as I was riding around Scottsdale) at Fit This, Girl!. The salts were very relaxing and after a quick electric pulse massage on my sore neck, back, and feet; I fell asleep for a much needed night's rest.

look what came in the mail today!

Apparently I placed third in my age division for the Red Rock triathlon!

I checked my results and saw I was in fourth, and didn't bother waiting around after that. Luckily the top finisher in our age division was in the Overall top three and so she was pulled for the age division category, so I got bumped up to third.

How nice of them to mail me my award!

Kate's Race Report - Nathan's Triathlon - Sprint division

Kate and Annette after the race.

Today was race day!  The Ironmoms were tackling Nathan's triathlon.  I was originally slated to do the Olympic distance with Kim but I knew I wasn't ready.  The diet made me pretty weak so I thought I would die.  Plus, I knew the swim would be brutal for me since I haven't had a bit of swim time and I wouldn't be able to wear a wetsuit.  So I switched to the Sprint distance.  The sprint was 750 m swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.  I felt pretty comfortable with the distances. 

My day didn't go as planned.  First, I only had 2 hours of sleep the night before.  I attended the NABA-AZ dinner and might of had a couple too many glasses of wine.  Not the plan.  The plan was to stay at the dinner for a short while and then go home and get a good night of sleep.  Instead I partied like a rock star until the weee hours of the morning. 

I set the alarm for 4:30.  I thought this would give me time to get ready and get to Annette's house house for pick up.  I guess the alarm didn't go off and I woke up to Annette's phone call at 5:20!  UGH.  I manged to get there in a couple minutes but I wasn't on my A game.  Not only did I oversleep, I forgot my earplugs, my swim cap, and my timing chip!  Plus I realized I had a mild hangover! 

Even with all the morning chaos, I managed to finish the race.  It was just ok.  The high point for me was the run. I wasn't fast but I felt pretty strong. I usually feel strongest on my bike but I wasn't feeling it today.  The low point was my swim, as usual.  I didn't panic but I was still slow.  A positive note about the swim was that I did a much better job sighting in the water. The race was not my finest moment and not a total disaster.  I looked at the results and finished 3 minutes faster than in 2009.  That is good considering I was not on my A game.  Plus, I finished under 2:00 hours!  That is awesome for me. 

I'm looking forward to get the training going again.  Lots of potential to have some great races.  I'm also very proud of all of us Ironmoms.  We are doing it!

Nathan's Tempe Tri

It was a warm day for a tri, but that didn't stop the Ironmoms!! I finished the Olympic distance and felt pretty good. My swim was alright, my bike was great (I averaged over 16 mph!!), the run, however, could have been better. It was in the low 90's by the time I crossed the finish line and I definitely felt the heat on the run. There was a great bit of time (for approximately a mile) during the run when the sun was behind a cloud. Otherwise, it was hot, hot, hot. We also had a freak rainstorm (very light rain) during the ride, which was very odd. All in all, it was good to get out on a race course again.

After I was done, I had to ask myself if I was ready to double that for Soma's 1/2 iron distance in October. I am not quite there yet (and definitely not ready to quadruple it for the Ironman), but I know that I can keep working the bike and the run and I will feel a lot better.

Annette and Kate ran the sprint--it sounds like they had a good day too, but I'll let them report. :)

Kate's Weightloss Update

For all of September I've been a dieting machine.  I've been doing a pretty extreme diet and it has been working.  I've lost 10.8 pounds in 2 weeks and 2 days.  I weigh now about what I weighed when I finished Ironman in November.  I feel good having the weight off again but I know this diet is making me weak.  I have been working out, but I do not have the energy I should. 

I know some do not agree with my extreme dieting but I do have a plan.  Here is my thinking.  I want to lose as much weight as I can before I start working towards Ironman 2012.  That gives me a months before my training really gets moving again.   So my September is crazy but I promise I will start being smarter at the end of the month.  The thought of having less weight to carry around excites me!