Waco 70.3 + Magnolia

I had planned to do Austin 70.3.  Then they changed it to Waco 70.3.  Waco of all places.  I also thought it might be a little too close to IM Arizona. Dan and Abbey were trying to decide where they would do their beast Spartan race.  We ultimately decided this would be perfect because our races were the same weekend but different days.  I had already talked to Liz about doing it so I was in the clear when I finally signed up in May.

We arrived Friday.  Met up with Ashley and Abbey. Built my bike. Shake out run. Had dinner.  It was going to be a fun weekend!

Saturday: Dan and Abbey left early for their race. Ashley and I met up with Becky(a friend from Portland) for breakfast, race check in, and a bike shake out.

I was disappointed that the swim had been cancelled but there was nothing that I could do about it!  We biked the run course and there was a section of the run that was crazy hard.  Ashley and I had a nice little day while Abbey and Dan suffered through their beast race.

Dan and Abbey killed their race.  They lived to tell their race stories.

Sunday: Race day!  Ashley dropped me off at transition.  I was there way too early but I had a real low bib number and they told us we would go in a time trial by bib number.  I did pre-race stuff. Becky and I went for a shake out run.

The bike: The time trial was interesting.  The pros went off 1 at a time every 30 seconds.  Age groupers went 2 at a time every 5 seconds.  It felt like a long line going no where.

I paced myself. I was trying to be patient for the first 30 minutes. So many people paced me.  It is so hard not to go hard. But I feel like I did good “holding” back. I ate and drank like a champ. I pee’d on the bike. I really felt hydrated. I took in the salt. Just practiced everything I want to do in AZ.  I had messed up my watch early so I didn’t know exactly where I was and my power meter stopped working. (They are Garmin Vector pedals, and they are shity…don’t ever buy them..that is another story)

I was cruising right along. By the time I got to mile 35-40 I was feeling really good.  I was passing lots of the girls that had passed me those first 10 miles.  I was pretty pleased with myself, having a ton of fun, feeling awesome!

I had no clue what my bike time was! I was just rolling with it.  It was a long run into transition and not exactly easy.  Got in and out and was ready to run.

The run: do I dare say it was pretty awesome.  I don’t mean the temperature or the course.  I mean my attitude and mentally strength.  It was HOT.  So hot.  The hills were definitely harder on foot then on 2 wheels.

I tried to run as far up the steep hills as I could get and then power walked. I couldn’t believe people were just walking like they were out for a sunday walk. Anyways that is just me. The downhills were just as hard going down as they were going up. I took in my nutrition. I kept hydrated. Lots of Base Salts…again just practicing what I will do in AZ. 2nd loop was just as hard and even more hot.  But I was all smiles passing the crew at mile 7! I really felt like I had a great race and happy with how it went.

Now the fun could start!

Twisted Root for dinner.  Lots of racers from my race and the Spartan race.  Great atmosphere, food, and milkshakes! (and it was open!)

We walked Becky back to her hotel and walked over by the Silos.  It was a super nice night out for a walk.

We decided to stay in Waco until Tuesday so we could do some touristy stuff.  I thought when will I ever be in Waco again!! We were all glad we stayed the extra day!

We stopped at Magnolia Table for breakfast.  We were a little afraid it was going to be a long wait but we got a table right away!  It is super cute and the food was awesome!

Then we headed over to the Silos and Magnolia.

We went to the Silos Baking Co too.  I did not take one pic of what we got. But I will tell you I got a Silo cookie, a chocolate chip cookie, lemon-lavender cupcake, and a chocolate croissant. (I was super jealous of Dan’s cinnamon roll) Everything was delicious.  (Don’t worry didn’t eat it all in one setting) 🙂

We headed over to the Dr. Pepper museum.  Who knew Dr. Pepper was founded in Waco.    So many fun things you learn!  We took the self tour and got a Dr. Pepper float. (because #yolo) I’m not much of a soda person but it was delicious!

All fun things come to an end.  Super fun weekend!  It was 20 days until IMAZ when we left and it is now 6 days away!!

 

IM Arizona 2017 Race Report

We arrived in Phoenix on Thursday night. I was pumped to get this show on the road!

Friday: was a mix of seeing friends and getting ready. The weather was perfect. It was nice being out of the rain!

{Sarah (& Sam) who we haven’t seen in 15 years, Ashley, and Abbey}

{Oregano’s (one of my favorites) take out dinner with all of my amazing friends}

{Getting organized!}

{Making my own signs!}

Saturday! Big breakfast at Snooze.  It was delicious.  We got there before the crowd and ate a ton!

{This was harder than I thought it would be!}

Checked in and ready to go!!

The rest of the day was relaxing and playing games. It was super fun to just chill out.  Ashley and Abbey made us an amazing pasta dinner.  I was actually ready to go to bed at 9!!

Sunday: It was GO time!

4:00am: up, breakfast down, body glide and sunscreen on, I was feeling a little nervous but excited. I knew I just had to get in the water and get going.  We got a killer parking spot, 2 blocks from the park, that we didn’t have to pay for!  What?

I did a few things in transition to get ready.  I got body marked by my friend Zach, who was there volunteering so he could sign up for next year!

I was ready to go with about 50 minutes to spare! Agh…now I had to wait! I got into my corral early.  I didn’t want to fight my way to the front plus I was ready to go.  I lined myself at the back of the 1:00-1:10.  I wasn’t sure what would happen?! I thought it would be closer to 1:10.  Liz told me it is typically a slower swim.  I took that with a grain of salt.

{not my coffee! Support crew found me for last-minute hugs}

Swim: 1:10:25 //1:49/m (about a 2 minute course PR)

I had a bit of a freak out at the beginning.  There is no warm up.  You just get in and go!  I calmed myself down and was breathing every other stroke for about 100m and then I got into my groove.  The sun wasn’t up just yet.  I remember that being awful last time, trying to sight with the sun in our eyes!  I sighted pretty good.  There was no one to draft off of.  Everyone was so far off the buoy line. WTF?  I got to the first turn buoy fast.  I thought awesome, here we go.  I got around the 2nd one, and then back to the straight away.

All of a sudden there was a bunch of chop. A boat went by and thought ok it will subside, but it never really did.  Again there was no one on the buoy line.  I would try to catch a draft once in a while but it never lasted very long.  I wouldn’t say I had the swim of my life but it was a rolling start and any day the swim isn’t a mass start, it is a good day!

I looked at my watch and I was a bit disappointed but I was glad Liz had warned me!

T1: 4:38

Quick!  I had a great volunteer who sprayed me down with sunscreen while I was putting on my shoes and helmet.  I had a great spot in transition! Bike time!!

Bike: 6:26:19//17.4mph

The first loop was all about being patient, eating, and managing my watts.  Absolutely the hardest part of the bike!  #1 highlight seeing Heather Jackson cheering.  She is so awesome!!  Took in all of the cheers and then it was quiet and windy!  I had forgotten the first time I did this course I thought everyone says this is flat but it really isn’t!  I peed on the bike for the first time in my life and it was harder than I thought it would be! (I think there is a technique to be had there)

I am in from the first loop and spotted my support crew (and my signs) 😉 That is always a nice pick me up!  Eating, drinking, trying not to go to hard…. cruising right along!  I was going up on the Beeline Hwy and there was a gal in the middle of the lane.  In a split second I tried to decide what side to pass her on.. *I think* I decide on the right(that is what I get for doing an illegal pass) and bam I was on the ground.  My aero bar pad was stuck in her chain.

I thought, OMG, this is not happening right now.  What was I doing. What was I thinking. We pulled off to the side and I checked her bike and my bike.  I didn’t look at my wounds.  She didn’t hit the ground.  I said F**K and sorry too many times to count and then we were off again.  I couldn’t believe that had just happened.  One of my biggest nightmares.  I always play it safe and it was a stupid mistake!

Back to the race.  It was so windy going up the Beeline.  I thought just get to the turn around and then you will have a huge tailwind and downhill.  So fun!!

It is like Groundhogs day!  Back to the transition, see the support crew for a boost, back to the wind, into the tailwind, I was getting so close.  I was having a hard time eating. But I was getting all of my fluids in. I thought I had done a good job of eating but probably not good enough.

I was happy to be off the bike and excited for the run.  I thought ok this wasn’t the bike split I thought I would have BUT I had an awful bike ride at IMWI and then an amazing run.  I could turn this around! I could still do good!?!

T2: 3:13

I got in and out of there quick. I had another great volunteer that sprayed the sunscreen while I put my shoes on! Off I went.  Only 5 more hours, here we go!!

{All smiles starting the run}

Run: 5:43:35//13:06 mile (My worst marathon EVER–open or IM)! Frick!

I didn’t think I could have a worse run than my run at IMCDA in 2010…Until my 2nd go at IMAZ last Sunday!!

This is how it went down.

I was running/jogging very very slow to begin with.  It was hot and not a whole lot of shade.  (It was only 80 degrees but I hadn’t trained in anything warmer than about 60 since August!  I wasn’t going to look at my watch.  I thought I didn’t really want to know.  I was slowly getting to the aid station and then I walked to get my nutrition/salt/Gatorade/water in. I dumped water on my head. Doing anything to keep cool.

I saw the support crew a few times and waved.  At mile 7ish, I saw Dan for a quick kiss and debrief of my crash.

I thought 4 more hours.  The sun would go down and it would be cooler!! I guess at mile 10 is where it really went to shit.  I was holding back tears when I saw Dan and Ashley again.  It was going to be a long 16 miles.

I was jogging/walking doing everything I thought I could do just to get through it.  More salt, more nutrition, more water, more water over the head.  I didn’t want to start the coke until at least the half way point.  I was in a deep dark place and I couldn’t get myself out.  I saw Michelle and Johan right before the half.  They pumped me up. They gave me special wishes from Sheryl, who wanted to be there.  I wanted to cry again!

I saw Zach.  He was catching, the late shift, at the finish line. I had originally told him that I was hoping NOT to see him or if all went well I wouldn’t see him.;) But when I saw him at about the half way mark, I told him I would probably see him in the chute!! Then I saw my support crew again, I couldn’t even stop or I knew I would cry.  This was a good section of spectators that pumped me up a bit.  That was fun.  I was trying to run 100-200 steps and then walk 100 steps.  Just moving forward that was the name of the game at this point.

I went through the main tailgate, where I got high 5s from Heather Jackson, Wattie, and their whole crew.  Saw my crew and Zach again. There was no walking through there! About 17, I got a second wind, and found myself feeling pretty good.  That only lasted maybe 1-2 miles.  I was back in no-spectator land and finding myself back to the 100 steps intervals.  It was a long sufferfest and I have never wanted to quit so bad in my life.

What a day!! This was supposed to be the race of my life.  Training went really well. I have been heart rate training for 1 year!!! 1 year!!! It didn’t go as planned, obviously but I finished. There was NO way I was leaving there without a medal!  I had not trained this hard to not get a finishing time!! 13:28:10 so pissed!

Until the next Ironman!! 

Ironman Copenhagen 2017 Race Report

In hindsight, I’m not sure that 2.5 days/ 3 nights is enough time to get my body adjusted to the time difference. Maybe 1 or 2 more days before would have been good maybe not. I’m not one for just sitting around especially in a city that I have never been to.

Dan tried to get me to relax and off my feet. But running around trying to figure out the bike situation was a big hassle. I had a nervous stomach before that got resolved but I’m not sure that it went entirely went away before the race. I didn’t have much of an appetite and definitely didn’t eat as much as I would have regularly done before an Ironman. I was way more anxious than normal before the race. Maybe it was the bike or the different country or the time zone. Who really knows!

Long story long about the bike:

I thought it would only be $800 to ship my bike. (There was zero way we were taking it on the plane with multiple flights and dragging it around Europe). After a little more research it ended up being $2K to ship it. Well shit! Now what!?

We had 3 plans:
Plan A: rent tri bike
Plan B: rent road bike
Plan C: buy a bike (and then figure out what we would do with the bike later)

2 days before we leave, Dan gets word that the road bike is having some sort of mechanical issues that aren’t going to be able to be fixed by race day! Agh. So plan B was out! He gave us our money back and said he had a friend that owned a bike shop. He may be able to help us out. Dan said we have a tri bike that might work we will keep you posted!

Friday morning: wake up with nervous/anxious stomach ache. Picked up the tri bike. It was too big. Cue: panic!!!!!

So Dan texts Mikkel (the road bike guy) to see if his friend can help us. We get to Capillini and Jan sets me up on a brand new Weiler road bike.

Let me tell you about the bike. It is beautiful. He said we could rent it but if I got any scratches on it we would have to buy it! (The pressure is on! Thinking about how the bikes are racked in T1 and then again in T2). It was a bike that I could ride! So I was happy. I rode the road bike and Dan rode the tri bike back to our place. I did a quick 30 minute shake out ride to make sure everything worked and that I could figure all the gears out! It rode real nice BUT the saddle was not comfortable….AT ALL! It was a stock saddle after all. There was zero I could do about it but hope my ass could handle it on race day!

The day before was pretty annoying. I needed to swim in the morning but we couldn’t take our bikes/bags until the afternoon. So we took the metro to Amager Strand to do re-con for race morning. I did a quick swim. The buoys were out but there was only 1 set. I thought that was a little weird. It was cold but not awful. I had only been in OW once since Victoria. (Hope the swim goes well) 😉 there were a ton of weeds. I didn’t think it was a huge deal but I thought there would probably be people who didn’t like that.

We went on with our day. Then back in the afternoon for bike check in. More annoying stuff. We had to have our helmet on and fastened before we could go into transition. We couldn’t take it off until we had racked our bikes. Just more walking around instead of resting!

I definitely didn’t do a very good job of resting. We went out and did stuff. On foot, on our bikes. Oh well.

Race day!!!! I slept ok. I got all of my breakfast down. It was off to the strand we went. They had given us 2 tri tattoos bib #. I didn’t know where we had to put them. I ended up forgetting them and when we got to the beach I asked the “info” desk about body marking.

Me: I forgot my bib number tats
Info man: do you know your bib number?                                           Me: Yes
Info man: do you have your chip on?
Me: Yes
Info man: ok you are good to go!

This was my first triathlon ever not being body marked. It was nice!

It was chilly. I got into my wetsuit and dropped my bags. That was another funny thing. You had to ask for special needs bags. I guess it’s not that big of a thing here. We just put them in the back of a mini van. It was pretty funny. I saw Dan for one last kiss and I was off for a quick warm up.

Swim: 1:05:36 // 1:41/100m (5 minute PR) bam!
This was my first non-mass start and I was pumped. It was a self seed. At check in you just asked for the color cap you wanted for the wave you were going to swim in. I was in the second wave 1:06-1:11. Then within the wave they broke us down again. I seeded myself in the 1:08-1:10. I was getting closer and closer. Then we got into 6 lanes. Every 6 seconds 6 more people would go. IT WAS AWESOME! No pushing and shoving. I loved almost every minute of the swim.  I got into a rhythm fast and stayed steady!

We swam under 3 bridges and they had the meters marked on each of the bridges. It was kind of nice to know where you were at. I swam well. I drafted some (not as much as I would have liked) but enough. I sighted pretty good. I had a really great swim and it was super fun.

T1: 6:01
A quick run up the ramp. There were no wetsuit strippers. Grabbed my bag. Here is a big difference in the North American races. There was a small change tent and you only went in to if you were doing a full change. For everyone else, there were benches outside to use. No volunteers to help you. I was fine on my own. I took a bit more time then usual. Liz said to be patient and get my heart rate down. A quick wave to Dan and a long run with my bike.

Bike: 6:25:47 // 17.4mph
I told my friend on a training ride a few months ago, I wish I could just go for a ride and not worry about the work out or the watts. So that is exactly what I was going to do. I was on a rented bike. I wanted to enjoy the scenery. Liz told me to be patient! I was going to be patient and enjoy the ride.

The ride takes you through town then, along the coastline, and then through the rolling hills north of Copenhagen. The only considerable “climb” is Geels Bakke (not sure if that is the road or the area). It wasn’t bad. It reminded me of the climbs on the IMWI course that are lined with people.  All you can do is smile. So fun!  The first loop was great. We did get some sprinkles of rain here and there. But the sun would come out and dry us off.

I was not comfortable on my saddle from almost the beginning of the ride. I was pretty sad. It was not going to be pretty by the end of the 112 miles. I stopped at special needs and I had forgotten I had put chamois butter in the bag for a mid ride stop. Perfect! I got to the next aid station and reapplied! It only gave me relief for about 30 minutes. THEN it started pouring. All I could do was laugh and just keep riding.

Their were lots of spectators on the course and families in their yard cheering for us. It was a really fun course. I think I could have ridden it all day long had I been on my bike. (Lesson learned)

I was nearing the end of the ride. I was all of a sudden starving with nothing left to eat. There was nothing I could do. (Maybe not eating enough in the days leading up to this was finally catching up to me) 😦

T2: 5:24 (by far my slowest T2 time)
I saw Dan as I cruised into transition. It was a long run to the bags and then to the benches. Again I took my time in there. I downed a whole gel and hoped for the best. It was go time!! Again Liz said to be patient and get my heart rate down. Ha!!

Run: 5:11:51 // 11:53/mile
I was really excited for the run. I was smiling and positive. I tried to go out reallllly slow. My heart rate was so high. It wouldn’t go down. I thought shit I was definitely in trouble. I didn’t even feel like I was moving. I took at least a minute at the first couple of aid stations to see what I could do. The salt tabs weren’t working. The walking wasn’t working. I did start the coke much earlier then I usual do.

Finally after about 40 minutes I was into zone 3 kind of where I wanted to be but I was I already in a hole x2 (HR + Hunger). I saw Dan and that put an extra big smile on my face. I was still feeling good. I talked to a Danish guy at the end of my first loop. That was fun. He was super nice and we chatted until the next aid station.

The second loop was pretty good too. I’m not sure where it really started to fall apart. Maybe Mid 3rd loop. I had some stomach distress and unlike in Victoria where I just ran through it, I actual stopped. I knew I would feel better and I did. I think in retrospect that is what hurt maybe my cadence or my momentum going forward.

Maybe I was too hungry or my heart rate was too high on the bike. (that was my only gauge since I obviously didn’t have a power meter). Something was off. Maybe it was the jet lag or the time zone or the rain!  I definitely don’t want to make excuses. I think I went into a funk and couldn’t dig myself out!

By mile 19, I couldn’t take down any more gels, I just couldn’t do it. I was eating crackers instead. I took another bathroom break…what was happening. Agh! Then it was raining. I saw Dan a few more times. He tried to get me going but nothing was really working. I was walk running just trying to salvage the rest of my race. I definitely gave up mentally a bit too.

I was pumped to finally get my 4th loop bracelet. Only half a loop to go. It was mind over matter….you have to get moving. Then it was pouring. Finally at the 25 mile mark, just go and get this done with. There was a lot of self talking.  Trying to pump myself up!

And just like that after passing the finish line 4 TIMES, I finally got to go down the chute. As fast as my day started, the day ended. Ironman #6 in the books and my second fastest one to date.

I’m thinking Ironman Copenhagen 2019…who wants to go?!

Victoria 70.3 Race Report 2017

We had 8:30 ferry tickets out of Port Angeles Friday AM.  That means it was a 3am departure from Portland.  Zach, Dave, and I were on the road.  Good news was we hit zero traffic. #earlybirdgetstheworm  We had a pretty easy drive and ferry ride.

Good bye USA! Hello Canada. Eh?

At least we got there early and did all of the regular stuff.  We had breakfast. Hit the expo early.  The weather was cool.  I was a bit nervous it would be too cool on race day.  We checked out the lake and drove the bike course.  Which I don’t usually like to do but it was Zach and Dave’s first half Ironman and that is what they wanted to do.  I was just there to enjoy the scenery and the ride.  I actually thought it was nice because there was some technical turns and the climb at the end of the ride was nice to see before hand. (It was a different bike course than it was in 2015)

It was certainly a LONG day with such an early wake up call.

We met up with Nik and Devin for a carb loading dinner which was fun.  An early night for all of us!

Saturday came and went with a quick ride and swim, racked bikes, lots of relaxation and time to reflect.  The water was amazing.  Perfect temperature.  I was ready and roaring to go.

I’m pretty minimal when it comes to packing.  (This was a test run for Copenhagen.)

Race day! 3:30 AM came quick

Transition was fast//quick warm up//I got seeded in the middle of the 30-35 minute group.

Swim: 32:20 1:40/100 meters **2 minute PR**

Elk lake is amazing.  The water temperature was warmer than the air temp so it felt great getting back into the water. I can’t even express to everyone willing to listen that I love the self-seeded starts. CDA last year was awesome.  This year was even better.  We got in the water.  There was no pushing and shoving.  I got in my groove fast.  I sighted well.  I drafted a ton.  The buoys came and went fast.  The temperature was perfect.

This was probably my most enjoyable swim to date.    I don’t think that I could have executed it any better.  I got out of the water and had to do a double take on my watch. 32:xx.  What?!  It is obviously going to be a great day.  The swim set me up for a great race!

T1: 3:06

I had a sweet spot in transition thanks to being an AWA. (so there are some perks) 🙂 so I was in and out pretty quick.

Bike: 3:12:22 17.5 mph

Definitely the most disappointed about the bike.  I really shouldn’t beat myself up.  It was harder and more technical than when I did it in 2015.  I had a plan.  I executed the plan really well. (So I thought)  I stayed hydrated and stayed on top of my calories.  I didn’t want to go out too fast.  I really wanted to be able to run afterwards.  I enjoyed the scenery and had a really great ride.

The climb at mile 45. I had saved up just a bit for.  I passed a bunch of people and felt really good. The decent down was fuuuuunnn!! Scary but fun!  It made the climb worth it.

I felt like I gave it my all.  My overall time is not on my bike screen.  I thought it went by pretty quick.  It had to be a decent split but as I got off my bike and lapped my watch, I saw the 3:12 and thought….really…that slow…how could it possibly have been that slow. This is my strength!

T2: 2:07

I had to mentally get into.  I couldn’t let the bike get me down.  After not having the ride of my life, I couldn’t dwell on it, I had to go out and run! It was time to see if the heart rate training was working.

Run: 2:21:36 10:48/mile

The good: I ran the entire way for the exception of the aid stations.  I have never run the entire half marathon of a half Ironman.  I was pretty proud of that.  I thought I executed the run pretty well.  I was supposed to be in zone 3 for the last 9 miles.  I was running as fast as I could.  I was enjoying the shade and the scenery.  I was happy for the most part.  I just kept thinking.  Just keep going.  Keep it up.  You got this!! I’m always a little sad that a lot of the people who I passed on the bike, can just pass me on the run like I am standing still.  That is what I get for being somewhat fast in the water!

The bad: I had some stomach distress at mile 9ish.  I don’t think that it really hurt my time at all or anything for that matter.  I have never had stomach problems before and especially on race day.  I think it was mostly a fluke but who knows.

I also was trying to do math those last 3 miles.  Could I get close to a 2:15?  I thought I would be close but obviously my math was not adding up correctly!! ha!

I was happy for another finish.  I was happy to be done. I finally looked at my watch to see the overall time.  6:11! What?  How is that even possible?! I was sad!

It wasn’t the race I wanted.  I really did follow the plan and I left everything out on the course.  I can’t be that sad!  The plan didn’t really have time goals, only efforts.  Liz analyzed my data and my watts were too high(not by much) and the run was mostly in high zone 2.  I didn’t execute it as good as I thought! Maybe next time.  I just hate to be a slave to my watch.  I would rather enjoy the race than worry about those things too much!! That is why I wouldn’t make a good elite athlete. Among other things!! 😉

2 things to add onto that: I only had 3 outdoor rides before this race.  I think that is one thing that really hurt me not being able to train on hills.  I do think I would have been able to run faster if the run was not a trail.  This was just the tune up right?!

I saw Devin and knew Nik had finished.  I waited for Zach and Dave to finish.  I texted Dan right away and he couldn’t believe that I was done. I said that is what happens when the race starts at 6am!!

We had a nice time post race. No pictures. What is wrong with me!  We met a bunch of friends out and shared war stories!!

The ferry ride home was much more exciting.  Maybe because we were all more awake than the first time around.

Onward to Ironman Copenhagen. 52 days. **gulp**

Shamrock 15k 2017

This was my 10th year running the Portland Shamrock 15k.  One of my favorites every year.  It is usually raining, windy, and miserable but this year….it was clear and sunny.  BUT this year they changed the course!  What?!  I was really mad…how dare them change the course.  They said it was flatter and faster than before.  I don’t think so.  It used to be flat, up, up, up, and then down, down, flat.  This year it was up, flat, down, up, up, down, down, up, down, flat.  Different.  I think I could like this course but I think that it will take a few years.

I didn’t really know what to expect.  I have been consistent with my heart rate training.  I feel like it is hard to gauge if it is “working” or not.  Every weekend since RNR AZ I have run parts of the course.  Up and down Terwilliger.  Sometimes hill repeats…sometimes steady zone 2…and if I was lucky I would get to run in zone 3…which actually happened more and more as the weeks went on.  Ilana ran with me most of those weeks.  Each week got “easier” and “easier.”  Just more comfortable running uphill staying in the right zone!!

Sunday came upon us quick.  It was time for Shamrock this year.  I had a very welcomed recovery week leading up to the race.  I felt relatively good.  I was excited.

The loose plan was to stay under control and steady for the first 5k.  The middle 5k I could speed up but not get crazy.  The last 5k let it rip!  I didn’t have to look at heart rate or pace.  Liz wanted me running on feel.  Ilana and I “joked” about trying to average about 9:45s.  I thought there was zero chance of that….but you never know!

Sunday morning we had a “leisurely” morning.  Our race didn’t start until 8:50 and we live close so I was meeting Ilana at 8:30.  The race usually starts at 7 or so.  It was really late in comparison to past years.

We ran into Sherrie on the way down there.

We found Ilana and said good luck to Scott (who was running the half—starting 30 minutes later).

We positioned ourselves in a great spot.  We got into the corral in a different area this year and we ended up being real close to the front on accident.  It took us about a minute to get through the start line.  It was nice not having to fight the crowd.

Now we all know the The Pancakes aka Dan and Leslie have a loving and friendly competition.  (Just keep that in mind)

We started off and not as conservatively as I would have liked but it turned out just fine.  Dan was running with us which was fun.  He was in and out of our conversation.  We were on a steady incline for the first 3ish miles.  Dan got in front of us at the aid station and Ilana asked if I thought Dan would be able to keep up.  I said I think that he might slow down once we start going up Capital which was pretty soon, about a quarter mile away.  I didn’t really know.  He seemed to be doing good.

We get up the hardest part of the course.  It was hard but we got through it.  Sure enough Dan was out a bit in front of us as we crested the hill.  We heard the bagpipers playing at the top.  Something that didn’t change this year.  The course was just opposite how we usually ran it.

We started cruising down Terwilliger at a pretty fast clip.  I was feeling pretty good.  Ilana was keeping track of the time.  I looked at my watch when the mile split came up.  It didn’t mean too much to me as I wasn’t really trying to focus on a pace.  She said we were doing good and the pace was “fast.”  We got back in front of Dan but he passed us at the bottom of the hill.  I pointed to Dan and said he was going to take off.  🙂 He didn’t though.

We must be close to mile 7 now.  AND we were about to go back uphill.  I was definitely starting to feel it.  We weren’t slowing down so it was getting harder and harder.

We finally got to mile 8.  We had some downhill at this point, which was awesome.  I took a quick glance at my watch.  We were at 1:17 and some change.  WHAT? I was definitely in PR territory.  I just had to keep it together for less than 15 minutes.  Ilana said we can definitely get to 9:45s.  BUT we were already busting a move.  We were running fast.  Definitely out of my comfort zone.  Hallelujah that Ilana and Dan were by my side…it was a race to the finish and I definitely would not have done it without them!

I saw the Oiselle cowbell corner and they were cheering for me.  I could barely wave but had a huge smile on my face.  The last .4 was hard.  SO HARD!!  We went for it.  Dan went ahead,  Ilana and I followed.  I left EVERY.THING.ON.THE.COURSE!  I PR’d (only 40 seconds but it was so awesome) and went sub 90 minutes for the first time.  I was so excited.  I thought I might puke just for a second when I went over the finish line.  I had PR’d and I wasn’t even trying for it.  I told Liz I would be happy with 92-95 minutes!!  Totally pumped! Shamrock 15K 2017 1:29:43 (9:37 pace)

Dan won the Pancake trophy yet again but it was a fun race!  BUT I took home the PR.  The weather couldn’t have been better either!  Until next year! #livelucky

2017 Goals

Well my big goal was to have all my goals done by January 31st.  Since January has come and gone, I thought I better sit down and think about it!

1. Do the best that I can do.  Train as hard as I can train. Race as hard as I can race.
2. PR…I am looking for a solid PR at Victoria and Arizona.  I’m not exactly sure what that looks like now but I am gunning for a sub 2:15 run in Victoria and sub 5 hr run in Arizona.
3. We are doing really well not eating dessert.  I’ve been feeling really good.  I’m sleeping better and my work outs having been great!
4. Dan bought me the Run Fast. Eat Slow. cookbook for Christmas.  I am loving it.  I’m trying to cook at least one thing from the book each week.
5. Continue to work on my mental toughness.  Like all my other training, it is a work in progress.
6. Blog a little bit more.  I’m not promising anything but I feel like I always have these great ideas for posts and then I never get them typed out.

That is it for now.  Excited for 2017. The year is already moving at lightening speed.  I’m just trying to keep the momentum up!! 🙂

What are some goals for you this year?

OOPs I did it again…

Well it is funny how your mind set goes from NEVER  AGAIN to OK which one is next?!!

Lets go back to September 11th at about 4pm. I had started the IMWI run and I had a shitty bike ride and I was NEVER EVER doing another Ironman.  I told Dan!! (He reminds me every day of that moment.)  Now fast forward to 9pm that same day.  After having an amazing run and almost a sub 5 hr marathon I decided that maybe I would do another Ironman.  I have been wanting to do Copenhagen since 2015, so I thought 2017 would be a good year for that!! I just wasn’t going to be able to retire from Ironman without racing it!

So I signed up!!

We are going to Europe!!  Our tickets are booked! There is no turning back!!

NOW, lets talk about Kona.  I have NEVER EVER had any desire to race Kona.  I would much rather spectate that one.  BUT Dan and I started talking about Kona Legacy.  I only really knew about it because we have a friend that is going for it.  Dan and I thought you only had to do 10 IM races…which is already a lot but I was 1/2 way there. HA, we checked and it is actually 12 races.  I have been wavering back and forth if I really wanted to do it.  But if I was actually going to think about it, I better start upping that number that I have done.

So I signed up for Arizona:

It is going to be tough now that I have already started to think about Kona because once I start thinking about something, it never really goes away!!  I am definitely in trouble! (kind of like Copenhagen) 😉

I told some girlfriends that I was thinking about Kona.  I got this text the next day!

In the mean time, I have pretty much decided to do Victoria 70.3 for my tune up.  We don’t really have a lot of choices up in the NW so that is going to be my best bet. Plus that is my PR.  This course is most like Copenhagen so I think it will be perfect.

Good news is Ironman does an All World Athlete program which I don’t even really know what it means or that it will really matter but I made the bronze category this year. Woot Woot!!!  If I can get a better spot in transition then it will be worth it!

Those are my big races for the year!  It is going to go by fast. It is already almost February!

Who wants to go spectate Kona if I get a slot?!

Swimming Lately + Todays 50s

Well I have been feeling really good in the water lately.  I’ve already had a gain in my threshold since starting with my new coach.  I’m pretty excited.  We do one threshold work out a week. Let me tell you that it is the only work out I dread all week.  It is super hard.    The main set is 1800-2000 yards.  It is typically broken up in 300s/200s. Sometimes 400s/100s.  But after everyone of those works out I have left the pool in a better mood.  More and more excited about this year.

I have also started an 8 week swim clinic.  I haven’t actually started it yet because it started last week when we were out of town.  So tomorrow will be my first practice.

I signed up because I really want to improve my swim stroke/kick.  Molly did send us a work out with a lot of the exercises they did at the last practice so we could swim on our own.  I did it once in addition to my regular swimming.  We will see.  It couldn’t hurt to try and improve in the early season.

Today was our annual 117(100+the year) x 50s on the 1 minute.  Last year was my first year. I really felt amazing today.  I had a great swim.  Not once did I think I wish I wasn’t doing this or mentally having a hard time.  I learned a lot last year to be able to exceed my expectations this year.  To think I was secretly wishing they had done this work out at last weeks practice, when I was out of town, so I wouldn’t have to do it. 🙂

Todays practice by the numbers:

117 x 50s

234 lengths

5850 yards//3.32 miles

Led every 4th 50//led 64 lengths (this is approximate because I did a few extras)

Drafted 170 lengths

Drank 2 bottles of Skratch: about 1/2 bottle every 30 minutes.

Here is to swimming a shit-ton and seeing what happens this summer!! Any one do any crazy swims for the new year?

RNR Arizona 2017

After the 4th snow storm in the last 5 weeks, we were ready for some sunshine.  Too bad the entire 3 days we were in Phoenix there was no sun.  It did rain on Saturday but we were just happy it wasn’t snowing!

We did our annual see all the friends and eat at all of my favorite restaurants while we were there weekend + a 13.1 mile run.

This race was much different than all the years in the past.  I am heart rate training now so all my running has been slow. Slow!! If you have never tried heart rate training, it is definitely different.  Since I started with my new coach December 1, there was no way to start the heart rate training and still run fast for this race.  I was absolutely ok with that.

Here were the instructions from coach:

First 3 miles—Easy; hold back

7 miles— Tempo; moderately paced

last 5K— I could go as fast as I wanted

My only real goal was to negative split.  (I was pretty sure if I followed Liz’s instructions I would.)

I didn’t have to look at my heart rate! Which was nice but it is usually a nice guide.

My friend Abbey, dropped us about 1/2 mile from the start.  We did a short walk, a short warm up run, and got in the corral about 10 minutes before go time!

Dan and I started together and neither of us was real sure what was going to happen.  He hadn’t been training much and I haven’t been running fast very much.  We started out “easy” very conversation pace.  We bought some new wireless headphones at the expo.  We tried them out on our shake out run on Saturday and we both had problems.  I wasn’t going to risk it.  He thought he had figured out the problem.  But they still didn’t work and he put his way.  I put mine away too and we chatted.

We got to the 5k mark. I’m pretty sure slower than in any 1/2 I’ve done the last 4-5 years.  Which was fine.  I wanted to make sure I would be able to speed up the last 5k.

We kept running and kept chatting.  We sped up a bit.  Still feeling good.  At mile 7, Dan peeled off to use the portie potty.  I told him to catch up.  I would at least see him on the hill between mile 9 and 10.  I put my headphones back on and kept on trucking.  I of course felt like I was going much faster than I actually was! 🙂  I know I had dropped the pace a bit more.  I did check my heart rate at about 8 just to see where I was.

I got to the turn around point and saw Dan not too far behind me.  By the time we got to the bottom of the hill he had caught back up to me.  He asked if I was going to speed up and I didn’t think I could.  I sped up coming down the hill so there was no way I was actually going to speed up more than that.

I still felt relatively good.  I knew if I wanted to sustain the pace: 9:45ish it was going to be a hard last 3.1 miles.  I thought I would just see what happens.  Dan left me at about mile 11 to see what he had left.  I kept up my pace and finished strong.  He beat me by 2 minutes.

Dan is keeping the Fastest Pancake Award.  I thought I might have a chance but he was able to sustain the pace.  (To think he didn’t even want to do the half but really only did it to get his puzzle piece.  (I explain later)

I finished in 2:13:59.  Slow.  But it was good.  I negative split and definitely left everything out there!  I had fun.  I ran with Dan way more than I thought I would.  It was a very progressive run.   I averaged 10:40s for the first 5K. 10:14s for the middle 7. 9:48s for the last 5K.  I feel like it was a very successful run!!  I have confidence that the heart rate training is going to work and my runs are just going to get better and better!! 🙂

We got our 3rd puzzle piece for our 4 medal series.  I had understood that for 4 years we were going to get 4 medals that were eventually going to fit together.  We got our first 2 (’15, ’16) and then this year everyone got the regular medal and if you had run ’15/’16 we would get the third puzzle piece.  The same will go for the 4th next year.  I don’t think that was the intention when they set this up 2 years ago but who knows. People like medals.

My after race treat: Baked Bear  I had a cookie/brownie combo ice cream sandwich.  It was well worth it! They make the ice cream sandwich and then put it in a fancy cookie warmer where the ice cream doesn’t melt. AMAZING!!

Another awesome trip!  A great start to the year!! Until next year!!!

16 for ’16

Well I had a great 2016. Here are 16 highlights.  

I started the year with hiring a 1-on-1 triathlon coach.  There was pros and cons.  Training was awesome.  I was never brunt out. I had a solid season but I also never saw any (triathlon) PRs.

Our Annual trip to Phoenix.  Also fun to see friends and run the RNR 1/2 marathon.

Shamrock 15K.  It was pouring. My calf was somewhat injured.  BUT I managed a very very small PR. I also beat Dan for the very first time in a foot race! Bam!!

In April, The Pancakes celebrated their 1st anniversary

Another 70.3 in the books. Coeur d’Alene was a tough race mentally.  I’ve worked a ton on mental strength but CDA always gets the best of me.

Bend for July 4th was amazing.  It was very relaxing.  Sun. A few short work outs.  It was a nice reset before I really started to hit the Ironman training hard!!

The ride of the year: I rode 100 miles to the coast.  Everything about the day was perfect (except the 5 miles of gravel we rode through).  I felt great, positive, confident and although this was a Portland Tri Club ride I rode mostly solo.  It was my fastest century EVER!

6th Hood To Coast: It is hard to believe I haven’t missed a year since I started but next year we will be in Europe so I will miss it.  #sadnotsad

I started working from home.  I got a stand up desk.  It was AWESOME!! THEN 4 months later I got a new job.  Same company but I had to move to the downtown office.  Which was nice because it is closer but it’s NOT working from home! (this picture was taken the night we set it up, it was never this clean again!)

Ironman #5: Wisconsin!!  Not a PR.  Very few goals met.  But I had an amazing run and that definitely counts for something!

Kona with Dan.  We had so much fun watching IM World Championship, running, walking, swimming with the turtles and relaxing.

I was sad to see Dan leave the island but when the girls got there we had so much fun!! We had  a crazy adventure running the inaugural Ragnar Hawaii as an ultra team.

We not only won the open ultra women’s  division.  We were fastest among ALL of the ultra women’s teams! Bam!!

We went to Vegas a few times.  We met our 3rd niece.  (first on my side)  She is super precious.  Totally in love with her.

See my favorite threesome grow up!  It is hard to believe the twins just turned 3 and Seth is about to turn 6.  Crazy!!  We had lots of fun times this year especially baking and playing at the park.

In November, I decided to hire a new coach, as of December 1st.  So far so good.  I am feeling really good and loving the work outs.

We decided to staying in Portland for Christmas.  My mom was coming to visit.  Although Dan and I were kicking ourselves for deciding to stay(and looking for last-minute plane tickets to somewhere, anywhere but here), we had a fun time.  Bonus I got in every.single.one of my work outs!! 🙂

Here is to an even BETTER 2017.  What are some of your 2016 highlights?