It's almost GO TIME!!!

So here I am...exactly 9 days before my first 1/2 Ironman!!  Funny how time creeps up on you.  I remember when it was months away, then weeks, now all of a sudden, a week from tomorrow I'll be heading to Muncie, IN...ready to race on July 7th!  It's a bit overdue for me...a year ago I fractured my elbow exactly one week before Muncie - last year was to be my 1st I/2 IM...needless to say, with a fractured elbow at the very beginning of July, there was no Muncie, no more swimming or biking & most of my tri season was shot.  I did race the women's tri at Bang's Lake in August, against my doctor's orders...but if you know me, I thought "it's only a sprint, I won't get hurt"...LOL  Now, where's that bubble wrap for the next 7 days??

I've been thinking alot about whether or not I feel ready.  I've certainly gone the distances before. And then some!  Last night was my longest open water swim ever...2 miles (or as I'm still calling it...2+ miles)...with no wetsuit.  Muncie will more than likely be no wetsuit - so I'm glad I've had to swim at LITH these past few weeks without a wetsuit - just so I know I can do it.  My wetsuit has always been my "security blanket".  I've been biking well over the 56 miles each weekend for the past few weeks...I'm good there.  Most of my long rides have had a run after it also.  And surprisingly, my legs have transitioned well.  Last week I had a hilly 2 hour run...ugh, in the hot, humid weather.  But I did it & was happy with my average pace.  If I can hold that pace, or slightly better, at Muncie, I will be THRILLED!!  And I've been pretty good at sticking to my nutrition plan...not perfect, but pretty good.  However, being that this is my 1st, and that "unknown" is present in my mind...I'm not committing to any specific times.

Even though I didn't race Muncie last year due to my injury, I still went to support my friend Kim.  So, in a way, I'm slightly less nervous because I've been there - although I haven't been on the course, I've seen the swim, been to the race site, know how far the hotel is from the race...slightly familiar than if I had never been there before.  The drive, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired......

So...here goes...next week is race week...week before my 1st half...I'm going to try to be good.  And remember what I always say to others..."There is no try.  You either do or you don't."  Remember that, Cath...LOL

Swimming in a washing machine!

Don't laugh...that is exactly how I described my open water swim experience at LITH last night.  Now, I've swam there plenty of times over the past 3 years.  But last night I swear, I felt like I was being tossed around as if I were in a washing machine!  Right from the start...BAM!  Then I'd turn to breathe and BOOM!  Holy cow, I was in for a wild ride, I thought :)  And to top it off, the air and water temps were so high wetsuits were not allowed .  This was the first time I've ever swam LITH without a wetsuit.  I knew I could do it, but I usually wear it just incase I have goggle issues and need to stop to adjust (which for me, happens frequently).  Sort of my "security blanket"...after all, I've only been swimming for 3 years and yes, I still consider myself a beginner.  My wetsuit is sleeveless, so even if it's warmer, I don't usually overheat, so had they been allowed, I would've worn it.

I guess I should've started by saying I also had to run the 3 mile course last night.  Messing up on my time, I got to LITH much earlier than I needed to and when I saw another JHC athlete heading out for his run before the swim, I figured I'd take advantage of the time that way (instead of sitting in my air conditioned car trying to nap, as I was doing).  The run, well again, I've run that 3 miles before.  I had to stop a few times and walk, just to catch my breath.  My HR was so high - partly because of the heat, partly because of the hills and partly because I was wearing a visor that was stretched out, so it kept blowing off my head, so I finally just hung it around my neck and ran.  But that meant no eye protection from the sun.  And it showed in my run.  Bleck!!  How on earth am I going to get through Muncie in 2 weeks??  I've heard there is no shade on that run :(  But I got through it...not every run is going to be a good one, I told myself.

So anyways, back to the swim.  After my run I literally laid my towel out & rested.  My HR was still high and I felt a bit dizzy.  All I could think of was...I needed to relax, get my HR back down and clear my head. 

 

I had to swim 3 loops, without my security blanket...LOL  I do spend a lot of time thinking while swimming. After all, what else is there to do?  First lap was to be easy.  Easy...in a washing machine?  I knew from the start, don't be concerned about my time.  Midway through the 1st loop I realized they changed the bouy layout...I kept looking and looking for that 1st bouy off the turn and it wasn't there!  And as usual, I got off course after the last turn.  Happens every time, no matter how many times I sight.

So loop #2...supposed to be moderate to fast.  Ha!  In a washing machine I thought, sure!  Well I tried.  It felt like I was putting out the effort.  I took in a lot of water on the 2nd loop.  Kept thinking that couldn't be good...but keep going!!  I think I zoned out for a minute because I found myself almost adjusting my goggles underwater...oops, that wouldn't have been smart.  So finished the 2nd loop and this is when I looked at my watch.  Du-oh...bad idea.  I just couldn't help myself. Sort of like when there is chocolate around...

So loop #3 was to be easy and I told myself, easy is easy.  So I took it easy.  Very easy.  To the point my overall swim time for 3 loops was pathetic.  But wait...I swam in a washing machine!!  How many of you can say that?  LOL  So now I wonder what will IM Wisconsin's swim be like?  Will it be that choppy...all those athletes at once?  It's choppy at times on it's own (my 1st open water swimming experience was in Lake Monona...very choppy that day).  Will the bouys be closer together so they are easier to find?  Do I just go with the pack?  What if the pack is swimming off course?  Yikes...maybe I'll just NOT think about it.  At all.  Until race day.  Then just go with the flow...and hope the flow stays on course!

SheROX 2012...the Before, During & After

So this was my 2nd women's only tri that I've competed in.  Last year I did Bang's Lake and placed 3rd in AG but it was much small (about 300 vs. 1493 today).  I was going into it healthy (meaning no injuries!), prepared & with a few goals in mind.  I prepared like any other race.  Got a good nights sleep on Friday as we all know, you don't sleep well the night before a race.  Packed up my transition bag, the bike & got my nutrition ready Sat afternoon.  What I hadn't planned on was good 'ol Erin, the foster dog, being sick Sat night & keeping me up most of the night.  Not sure if it was from spending all day playing in the sun (she LOVES the sprinkler) or what...but she didn't eat her dinner & fidgeted in the bed all night.  And her tummy was making some odd noises.  I kept letting her outside for fear she'd get sick in the bed.  Needless to say, by 2:30am I was still wide away & by 3:30am said screw it & got up.

Got to the race bright 'n early.  Which I like to do anyways so I can get an end spot on the racks if they're not numbered. Score!  Transition was set up in 5 min.  So I had plenty of time to meander around & look for my friends, and make sure I knew how to find my transition spot for T1 & T2.  Now, I did 3 things between Sat & this morning that I've NEVER done for a race (thank you Coach Jen!)...practiced my transitions on Sat (yes, my neighbor caught me running through my yard with my wetsuit, swim cap & goggles on!), did a 20 min warm up run pre-race & got into the water for a quick 5 min swim pre-race.  I have never done any of that before!  I found it so much easier to say "I'm not fast in transition" than to practice & maybe get faster :)  And warm up?  Who does that for a sprint?  Little did I know ;)

The weather was not cooperating today though.  I'm not someone who likes running in the heat.  Ugh, my body doesn't want to move (I'm talking run) & I'm just plain miserable running in hot weather.  I'm ok on the bike in the heat.  And the water temp was about 77 I was told. They dumped cold water into the reservoir Fri to cool it off but by afternoon it was back up in the high 70's again.  I'm ok with it...I'd rather have a bit warmer than too cold.  People thought I was nuts for wearing my wetsuit - it actually felt a bit cooler than 77 but was so refreshing.  I was going to enjoy this swim!

Luckily the waves went from oldest to youngest, after Elite & Survivor (women who've survived some kind of cancer...very cool!).  So I was in wave 9.  1st mistake...I should've started at the front of my wave.  But knowing I'm not super fast, I hung out about a 1/3 in, to avoid being swam over...UGH  I wanted to swim the inside line the entire way...would keep me straight & it was the shortest distance.  But I had to fight through breast strokers, back strokers & walkers.  Yes, walkers.  My biggest pet peeve in triathlon!  They even instructed us in the course talk on Sat...if you're not going for time, are not the strongest swimmer or think you might need help - swim on the outside & leave the inside for those going for time.  Obviously either these women didn't listen to the talk or just didn't care.  And yes, I swam the entire time...did not get up & walk through the shallow part.  That is me swimming in the green cap.  Swam until I was pulling up sand :)  Notice all the walkers.  Boo for having the timing mat 2/3 the way up the sand hill though...everyone's swim times are longer because of it.

Fumbled w/ the wetsuit a bit (putting Body Glide on the outside of the legs didn't help them from sticking like it did last year) & soon I was off & out of T1.  Some day I'd like to learn to bike/run without socks...that's always a bit challenging w/ wet feet, even with powder in the socks.  The bike is pretty flat.  A few small inclines but nothing to complain about.  Again - I was passing on the left, the right & in the middle.  I guess they just didn't care, but how frustrating & I was boxed in a few times.  Still found myself braking more than usual on the turns, afraid of the bike slipping on something & me ending up with another fractured elbow.  But overall, was happy with my bike (avg 21mph) & passed a ton of people. 

Into T2...quite the little run to get back to my transition spot.  I even passed a few women w/ my bike in T2...LOL  We all laughed as I said "on your left".  Ha!  I had put the easy laces in my shoes yesterday so that helped with T2.  Now this is where my training w/ Jen has helped tremendously.  I don't have a GPS watch so never know my pace, and have always been horrible at pacing.  Go out hard & with each mile slow down a significant amount.  I've been working on running steady...and did a pretty good job of it.  I hit mile 1 at 8:05 & ended up averaging 8:13/min miles.  Success!  In the past there would easily be 45+ seconds difference between each mile.  Plus, it's the fastest I've ever run in a tri.

Not much to work on w/ nutrition in a sprint, but I do think I drank too much before race start...midway through the swim I had to pee (TMIaerobottle too.  And my 2 "no no's" went off without a hitch...wore a tri top I've never worn before & had to buy new goggles yesterday.  Tested them for about 5 min pre-race & went for it.  Success with both!  You worried for nothing Kim...

So...hit all my goals, as wishy washy as they were.  Hit Jen's goal for me too!  Pretty happy with the way the day went.  Overall time 1:25:40.  Just for shits & giggles, I looked up the ages of the women who beat me overall.  I was beat by 3 women in their 50's!!  One of them by 11 minutes...damn!  Did not have my ice cream, but did pick up more Frosty Paws for Erin.  "Suffer like a dog" said Coach Jen...LOL...my Erin does anything but suffer!

To be continued...

I wanted to blog this week but honestly, I just didn't have the time.  Every night I had something going on & tonight I got home from LITH OW swim late & still trying to get things done. So...since I am racing Sunday, yes RACING, I will continue this blog after my race.  While many people have already raced this year, many more than once, this is actually my 1st race of the season...shit happens & I just can't do the amount of races I'd like to this year.

So, this blog is To Be Continued...after SheRox on Sunday...

PS - Tonight was my 1st 1.5 mile swim at LITH.  Prior to tonight, the most I've swam there was a mile.  3 laps.  Yep.  All I kept thinking at the end was "2 more & I've got the Madison IM swim down"...LOL