Taper was a three week long process in which the weeks were divided into light, heavy and ultra light. It was in those three weeks that the above challenges happened, but I was able to put those emotions and stress aside to lay down some of the best workouts of the season. My running was doing great, my power was the highest it had ever been and I was actually doing some open water work to prepare me for the race that was approaching.
The one light week leading up to my race, I felt like a pile of poo. However, having 8 years (with tapers) of competitive swimming under my belt, I had enough knowledge to know that if I felt like poo, I was doing great. If I was ever feeling great, than something was wrong.
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| Sunset driving to Ohio |
Saturday
My dad and I got up to Cedar Point around 2pm. Because we got up so late, I was unable to get a practice swim in, however, they had to shut the swim down because of the storm that was rolling in. I was also bummed that I couldn't ride any of the roller coasters, as we were in the roller coaster capital of the world, because I was resting my legs. The weather was horrendous; it was windy, storming and pouring down rain. Due to this, they removed the "mandatory" from the bike check in and said it was optional, thus why I didn't take my warm up ride, I thought I could do that in the morning. I got all checked in, heard the athlete meeting and got to talk to all three of my POW people who wished me luck and provided last minute info, such as arriving early for the swim start and being careful on the first and last stretch of the bike.
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| Cute little KOA Kabin |
Dad and I got back to our KOA Kabin (3 miles from transition) around 5:30 p.m. where he provided very helpful Sherpa skills of helping me get ready by packing and filling nutrition bottles. It was so relieving having him there. My dad has always been our #1 Sherpa (although he has taught Rachel, for me, and Tim, for Julie, his ways). It was just so much fun having him there in our tiny little cabin, helping me get ready, watching the Ohio State game and doing (or trying to do) yoga with me, and complaining about the tiny little cabin. He even asked me what my pace plan was so I went over it with him. Power on the bike, HR on the run. He asked me what my goals were. Dan doesn't like us putting times/paces on our races, so I just don't make them known, but I'm a swammer, I still make goals.
My secret goals:
1) Sub 5:45
2) Run goal: Sub 2:20
3) Bike goal: Sub 2:48 (Eagleman time)
Before going to sleep I had one last phone call with Dan about my race and then went to sleep.
Race Morning
For breakfast I had several pieces of gluten free bread, a hard boiled egg, two bananas and a bottle of Infinit.
It was so cold race morning and the wind was whipping making it that much colder. Not thinking, I took my bike into transition to get air in my wheels then turned around to take it out for a ride...I was denied. They were refusing people to leave transition with their bikes because of the "darkness" and the unsafe nature that the dark created. I called crap on the situation because it was bright out, but apparently a pro, the previous day, wrecked his bike in the dark and couldn't race. However, they did, after I seemed too distraught, let me ride my bike around transition to set my gears.
I went for a jog around the parking lot to warm up both my legs and literally, because I was shivering. I was hoping that because I didn't have a bike warm up, I would make up for it with a long swim warm up--ugh not happening. Due to the wind, the swim course had to be changed from the lake to the sheltered marina, a very small area. Since there were full athletes in the water already swimming, there was no area to warm up in without getting in their way.
So, not bike warm up and no swim warm up. I didn't try to be a bitch about this, but I think I put that vibe off. Going into every race, I have a plan on how I do things and when those plans change, I don't adapt well.
Swim: 30:55
Because of the marina swim, swim waves were out the window, so we were doing time trial starts. Every two seconds, two swimmers entered into the water. Via text, Dan and I were trying to figure out where I should go in that line-up. I opted for near the front. I was about 12th in the water.The first ten minutes, or so, felt good. I was on some one's feet and with some long catch up strokes, I sort of treated that as a warm up. I made my first turn and I started feeling it. My back cramped, my legs cramped, my arms felt like they were being suffocated by my wetsuit...everything hurt. About halfway I thought I was not going to be able to finish. I seriously thought about DNFing. I was searching for a kayak to swim to but kept telling myself to keep pushing. It was the worst I had ever felt on a swim and I hate that my mind was so weak during it. Finally, I got out and I heard Jay say 'nice job'. I ran to the wetsuit strippers and I was off.
Transition 1: 6:05
I made a game time decision to not have shoes at the swim exit to make my 800m run to transition. Bad decision. The 800m was across a parking lot...in bare feet. It did, however, make me very aware of my run form and my right heel sticking on the pavement...I'll need to work on that!
Made it to transition, first woman in and thought slow, acted fast. Shoes, helmet, glasses, salt, gone.
Bike: 2:46:09
With having started so early in the swim, I knew that I was going to get passed quite a bit, but I didn't let that affect me. The first 5 miles were just a goal of survival. The road leading out of cedar point contained so many pot holes and bumps; it was hard to stay in aero while maneuvering around them all. I saw that one woman passed me, but didn't let it bother me, as I was going to stick to my plan. The plan being to follow power, however, that's very hard to do when your power meter isn't registering. I was in for 56 miles of blind riding.
The ride was lot more rolling than anticipated; I had thought that it was pancake with one big hill, but that was not the case. It was a lonely ride, I didn't see too many people, but I saw the greatest Sherpa on his bike three times! I put my head down and rode, can't speak too much about it.
However, about 8 miles out from transition, a young girl passed me, at which was the time I was beginning to hurt, so I was motivated to keep this girl in my sight. The 5 mile stretch back to roller coaster land hurt my butt real bad...the amount of pot holes just about killed me. In the last 500m, I passed the girl in front of me, did my second ever flying dismount and ran to transition.
Transition 2: 1:06
Another game time decision: socks! I've never put them on during a race before but usually blister so threw on a pair before passing Jay and darting out of transition.
Run: 1:59:32
Now this is what I'm talking about. The goal was sub 2:20...how about sub 2:00?
Mile 1: 8:18
I took this mile out just finding a comfortable speed that I determined that I could run for the whole 13 miles. The plan for this run was to stay in Zone 1 and working my way up to Zone 3, however just as I found myself blind on the bike, I found that I was going to be running blind on the run without a heart rate monitor. I freaked out a little and constantly tried to adjust my heart rate strap, and remember thinking how could I know when I had to push and when I had to reign myself in if I needed, but decided it was going to be all by feel. Aid station 1 got me in a better place, they were a church group and they were jamming to Jesus jams, my kind of music. Dan had mandated walks through the aid stations, so I walked, shot my Infinit nutrition and drank water then found myself on my way again.
I can't accurately tell splits for my run, unfortunately, as my Garmin only picked up 12 miles...darn you garmin. I was running really well. I felt great and just kept asking if I could hold this pace, and I thought that I could. At least I know myself.
On my second loop of the run, the big mass of people were on their first lap, allowing me to finally be around people. As people would come up and pass me, they would say "Giddy up!" which would always put a pep in my step. Downtown Sandusky provided one slight hill and by my second loop of it, I knew I was getting tired because I tripped over my own feet and nearly landed on the ground, and that mile split was my slowest of the whole, at a time of 10:01.
I saw my dad at least 5 times on the run, every time I shouted at him that this was going to be a big PR, and his response was that I just needed to keep pushing and go hard.
Overall the run felt great and nutrition was solid and there was never a time I didn't think I could handle the pace. A huge accomplishment for me was that I never stopped to walk (other than aid stations), which was indeed an accomplishment seeing that at Eagleman, in June, I walked about half of the half marathon. When I hit the 13 mile marker, I saw 1:59 hit my watch, so I put everything I had left into my run and crossed that finish line with sheer shock of my final time.
Overall Time: 5:23:48
I was elated, I couldn't believe what I had done and my first thought was that I had to call Dan and tell him, after receiving my hug from Tremper and my Dad. My legs hurt so bad, but I knew I had to walk them out, so I did, while I called Dan. His reaction was priceless and it made me so happy that he was so proud.
I was 2nd in my age group and the 5th woman overall, something that still seems so unreal. If this was what I could do after a whole year off of running, what does next year for me look like? This race shows what happens when you stick with it after wanting to DNF early on. This race also shows what hard work does...that was a 34 minute PR and only the start.
Thank You
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| Tiny bunk bed that Dad slept in |
Thank you to Julie and Soller (the dog) for driving up to Ohio with me and providing great care entertainment and encouragement. Thank you to my momma for providing support and delicious food when home to help me fuel up for the big event!
I certainly couldn't have done any of this without my friends and training partners. Rides and runs wouldn't be as fun without you all. Thank you for your full support form the day that I met you, to the time I struggled in any of the disciplines, was frustrated with Z1 runs, to being there for me to bounce ideas off of, to vent, to help me when lacking in motivation and providing not just a training partner, but a friend. All of you make my triathlon experience so much more fun and make me want to be that much better.
A special thanks goes to Dan Szajta. I think this race was close to the one year anniversary of me taking him on as my coach. When I started, I was skeptical and stubborn and I voiced that after almost every workout. His response: touch love and just kept repeating "trust the process." This year has been emotional with my knee, school beginning and relationships, but Dan was open to talk about everything. He understood that sometimes things take precedent over training, but others don't, so he'd let me know of that. He pushed me enough and supported me more than I could ever ask for. A year with Dan as my coach and this race was the direct result of it. He's not only a great coach, he's also a great friend and co-worker. Thank you, Dan, for all you do, for pushing and believing in me, I look forward to continuing to work with you!
What's Next?
The week after my race was miserable--exam week, but I turned my focus back to training the best I could after my exams, all leading up to my power test on the bike, my 8k TT a few weeks later and the Richmond half marathon in November.
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