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EFC Power Log
EFC Power Log is your new internet fitness cafe! We post informative articles and encourage real world athletes to share their experiences with goal setting, training, nutrition, racing and achieving their fitness goals. If your workout is done for the day, kick up you feet, grab the beverage of choice and join Energy Coaching Athletes, Friends and Coaches as we share the latest fitness tips. EFC's Power Log is your source for personal, real life struggles and victories leading to true life and fitness improvements. Welcome to Energy Fitness Coaching Power Log!
EFC Athletes
Sharing stories of training, racing and life!
Thursday, February 09, 2012
So, I’m a month into the training. I’ve had fun with a new PR for a local 5K. This was particularly encouraging since I haven’t done any real speed work. I had some concerns about my training volume. I didn’t think it was high enough or intense enough. What I’ve learned is that for this time of year, with a fall target race, I’m right on schedule. I’ve got a tailored plan for overall success - not instantaneous results. I’m also getting specific feedback on what is right and what is wrong with my trainer riding. I don’t have anymore ‘wasted miles’. I’m getting the most out of each workout without crazy saddle time. I’m excited about training and looking forward to some longer workouts. This is the right place for me to be. Especially with a crazy work schedule and a family. How’s your training going?
-Athlete Ford
Posted by Athlete Ford on 02/09/12 at 02:11 PM
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Well, I’m nearing the end of a 2 week rest. Some of it was very restful, some not so much. I think it took a week just to remember how to relax. I’m not sure I’m fully there yet. I am no longer sore in the morning (or any time really), which at 45 is nice. I knew I was addicted to exercise, but didn’t realize how much I really missed each part of my training; and not just the swim, bike, run, lift. I missed my friends too. I volunteered at a local 5K/10K and saw things from their perspective, always thank your volunteers. I also had the fact reenforced that it is a privilege to be able to do what I do. I’m looking forward to getting back to it next week. Good advice from Coach Kelly to focus on form and technique setting the foundation for a solid season.
-Athlete Ford
Posted by Athlete Ford on 10/30/11 at 11:59 AM
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
So you think you don’t need a coach, right? Of course not, there are plenty of books, articles and friends. They all have good ideas and good intentions…..but where is the plan? Where is the connectivity? I’ll eat from plan A, swim from B, run and bike from C and sprinkle in some social rides and runs, that can’t possibly hurt, right? Having a coach will walk you through beginning to end, including all the wierd nagging questions in-between.
I have to be honest, I don’t sit still well. Most of you reading this don’t either. I was just enlightened on the importance of rest and listening to your body. Sometimes it takes a neutral 3rd party (your coach) talking to you and asking the right questions to determine that you NEED some rest. I’m about to start 2 weeks of rest for the first time since…….um….yeah. I’m not looking forward to this, but as I listen to my body (aches, soreness and stiffness), I’m excited about some of those going away. See everyone on the flip side.
-Athelte Ford
Posted by Athlete Ford on 10/15/11 at 07:44 PM
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The cultural diversity and unity throughout the weekend is just one memorable aspect I will always remember. The other is my race experience.
I knew it was going to be a challenging course and it was emphasized during the athlete briefing as well. The course had no flat spot on it, the weather, heat and wind would be grueling, and that this course was to determine the best of the best. For me, my goal was simply to finish and have fun. I can remember a few athletes commenting that the scenery was pretty dull. I disagreed, and frankly, comments like that seemed rather dull. Although it was held in the desert of Nevada, I found it breathtaking. I’m used to riding on rolling hills of lush trees and grass, but to see a completely different terrain where miles upon miles were freely visible captured my imagination of what it would be like to live there, to train there, and what history the area held. The hills were pretty tough, but they were manageable especially when I could plan each one miles before it came. It was much different than the jack-knife turns and steep hills at the Triple-T in Ohio where it was a mind game the whole time not knowing what was around the next corner. I can remember multiple times on this bike having the feeling much similar to my first ½ Ironman at Rev3 in Cedar Point where I was just happy to be racing and have made it to this point. It didn’t matter who passed me or what place I was in, I just wanted to enjoy the race.
The pros started at 6:40, but my age group didn’t start until 8A, so I had plenty of time to get ready. I decided to head over to the other side of the Lake and watch the pros exit. It felt a little odd because I was the only athlete over there spectating, but I had a prime spot as athletes like Andy Potts, Craig Alexander, Chris Lieto, Chris Legh, Matt Reed, and Luke Bell exited the water only a few feet from where I was standing.
It was a little lonely starting near the end of the wave starts since so many athletes were already on the bike. The water was a baking 81 degrees and unfortunately, our bike split started right around when the day started to get hot. I did a good job of getting everything ready for this race in transition, especially since I had plenty of alone time to plan out what went in each bag since it was a point-to-point race. I even learned a few tricks of tying my bag for ease of opening and affixing a tag to it to identify it from the crowd of other bags on the ground. It came in use as I ran through transition screaming my number out only to spot and grab my bag long before the volunteer had a chance to get near it. I found out how useful the tag on my bag was even when I wasn’t trying to place in my age group or break any personal record.
Like I mentioned, the scenery on the bike was breathtaking. I had no issues with cramping the entire race, and was taking sips from my aero bottle whenever the thought of hydration came to mind. I drank long before I felt I needed a drink because I was not sure what to expect. The last 15 miles on the bike felt like they took forever. My body was rather fatigued and I slowed down quite a bit. Overall, I had a great bike experience, even though my time was nothing to brag about.
The run course was one of the few things needing improvement. It is very spectator friendly since it encompasses three loops and is also great for pacing and split times, but it tended to get redundant. I knew that I would get a blister on my foot, but I had no idea how bad it would be. I’m sure this affected my run, but I tried not to let it bother me knowing that after this race, I would be done for a while. I blocked it out, but for the next week I was recovering and having to keep it bandaged. In fact, I walked through the airport with just a sock on that foot because it hurt so bad.
After the race, the first thing I had to do was use the restroom. I actually was over hydrated and think that I had a PR in the restroom. Even though I had plenty of fluids, I felt a lacking in energy, which is good to note for my next race in similar conditions. I immediately had to disassemble a few things on my bike for Tri-Bike Transport, get some shopping done before the Ironman store closed, and then ate a plate full of post-race food. The day went by very fast as I had to make sure I kept on a strict schedule to make it to the banquet and make it to the airport in time. I went back to the hotel and took an ice bath, a nice long shower, packed up all of my luggage, and headed over to the awards banquet. I had no idea how nice it would and almost considered skipping in to get some zzz’s. I’m so glad that I went. It reminded me of a movie. It was held around a pool with buffet tables of all you could eat, two free alcoholic beverages for each person, and an elaborate lighted stage for previewing each age group top 5. A few strong rain showers interrupted the dinner, but overall it was a cool and mellow evening for the event. Crowie promised that he would represent the 70.3 athletes as he competed in the Kona Ironman World Championships in October, and he followed through with his promise.
I took a red-eye flight home, slept about 3 hours total on the plane, drove home, unpacked some luggage, and went straight to work on Monday for a half day. I was welcomed with a big “Congratulations” sign in my office and knew that my lack of sleep was far worth the experience.
I have many goals having come out of this season, but the hard thing will be determining how and when they will all fit. Right now, I’ve been taking a hiatus from training and focusing strictly on my family and my job. I’ve had some personal time, but still feel just as busy as before. I miss the time I had this summer to work out and can definitely feel a difference in my mood and my energy. Since I won a contest where I can race at any HFP event next year for free, I hope to focus most of my time and energy in racing to those endeavors.
It’s been a successful, eventful, and an exciting year. I had many doubts and many positive success stories and am so glad that I was able to end my season with competing at Las Vegas for its inaugural event at that location. I hope to one day make it back and compete in my age group at a higher capacity rather than just to finish. Who knows what things will change on the course and in my life between now and that time, and I expect that reading back on this season’s blog will provide inspiration and hope to that endeavor. It is my hope that you have enjoyed reading my blogs and please keep posted as more are to come. I would like to be open about my off-season experiences and where my next season takes me. I would also like to be open about some of my life-long athletic goals too. Best of luck to all of you as you finish out your season and begin your hibernation for the winter months, if that’s in fact what you do. For some of you, the season may just be starting if you compete in winter biathlons. Maybe some of you are looking forward to racing yourself again on the Computrainer, or hanging out with Coach Troy. For me, I’m rather anxious to see how my schedule will pan out as I adjust to my new job. This will ultimately determine how much time I can commit to triathlons and what expectations I can set for next season.
-Athlete Kyle
Posted by Athlete Kyle on 10/15/11 at 12:17 PM
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Friday, October 14, 2011
Wow! What an exhilarating experience! I will never forget my first race in Las Vegas for the 70.3 World Championships. It took a lot of hard work, determination, and teamwork to get me there. Although triathlon is a solo sport, I have a team made up of my family, friends, and coaches. Without their support and encouragement, Las Vegas would never have been possible. However, one of the major components which determines success and which draws me to this sport, is the discipline required to keep a schedule, push myself beyond my body’s limit, and have a sense of personal accomplishment. When I’m out on the course, I can only depend on myself and the strength which God provides to push through the pain and difficult moments. It these moments which help define me and for which I strive in athletics. These are very comparable to moments in life when difficult times come and which define our character by how we respond.
Even though it was the World Championships, my attitude and approach to this race were far different than my other races earlier this year. I believe that this non-competitive approach is what made my experience so memorable and enjoyable. I came into the race with only having had three days of training in the past two weeks. Calling it a taper would be an understatement. I know that my body needed more maintenance and a need to stay fresh, but having landed a new full time job made my workout routine change significantly. I was waking up at 5A in the morning just to get to work rather than to workout. I thought that I would get my workouts in after work, but my job required more of me than I anticipated so I had to skip workouts. I was just happy to have already made significant personal accomplishments earlier in my season and being able to complete my goal of qualifying for Vegas. Unfortunately, I had to go alone to Vegas and had little time to enjoy anything else but the race. However, what I was given, I was thankful for and soaked up as much of it as I could. I only knew one person going to Vegas, and that would be EFC Athlete Cristie Marko-Nutter, who I was able to support in her qualifying race at Steelhead 70.3.
Not traveling with or having plans with others was actually kind of nice this time. I didn’t have to worry as much about communicating my schedule to someone else and could do what I wanted when I wanted. Although, I missed the support of my brother but I knew he was supporting me from home. It just wasn’t feasible for him to make it out to Vegas for the weekend. It allowed me the opportunity to meet many different people from all around the world. On Friday, I met a few people while I was trying to bum a ride from the expo to the hotel. James from Singapore was nice enough to give me a ride and we then connected for a run that evening with Ito from Japan. It was then that I realized how out of shape I was for this race as I tried to keep up pace with him. I could feel the pressure in my chest and knew that the race wasn’t until Sunday, so there was no need to race today. After the 30 minite run, we went to the Athlete Briefing and dinner where I drank four full glasses of water. This also was an eye opener at how much hydration the dry weather sucked out of me. I had no idea how thirsty I was or how much fluid I had lost during such a short run. I noted this for my nutrition strategy on race day.
On Saturday I met a group of people from Japan. We connected for a pre-race dinner and also connected after the race for the Awards Banquet. At the banquet I met a gentleman from Switzerland. The diversity on stage of the people who received awards was neat and the sports camaraderie was apparent regardless of cultural backgrounds. Thousands of accomplished athletes from all around the world together for one reason is very powerful and motivating. It was easy to approach others and start conversations simply because of a common interest. I was also able to connect with others from England and Australia, just to mention a few.
The cultural diversity and unity throughout the weekend was just one memorable aspect I will always remember about my first 70.3 World Championships! Read the above post to find out more.
-Athlete Kyle
Posted by Athlete Kyle on 10/14/11 at 12:20 PM
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Friday, September 23, 2011
Hello! My name is Ford Crane. I’m 45 years old and posting faster times with fewer injuries/problems than when I first started this stuff at age 40. Don’t get me wrong, my friends are getting faster as we all train smarter, just not the same magnitude I’ve seen. FYI I am not some High School or College Cross Country or Track star. I’m just some guy who wanted to run longer and faster. I’ll keep this brief so you get the bottom line. I’ve been to 2 run clinics with Energy Fitness Coaching. They video taped my run, gave me feedback on form and drills to improve.
My 1/2 Marathon time has gone from 1:54 (2007) down to 1:31 (2011). It dropped 10 minutes after the 1st coaching session and then another 10 after a follow up session a year later. My Olympic Distance Triathlon run pace has gone from 8:32 (2007) to 7:01 (2011).
Give Coach Kel and Coach Rob’s Run Clinics a try. For about the price of a pair of running shoes, you could see some of the same results.
Posted by Athlete Ford on 09/23/11 at 06:55 AM
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Thursday, September 15, 2011
On Friday, September 9th, Mike and I headed to Las Vegas so that I could compete at the Marines Ironman World Championship 70.3. I was so excited about qualifying for this event! 1700 athletes from 52 countries qualified to participate at the first Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Las Vegas. And I was one of them!!!
I checked into the athlete registration right away on Friday and brought my bike into the Ironman Bike Store to be reassembled. Athlete registration was about 12 miles away from our hotel, which made it inconvenient to travel to. Taxi costs were $45 each way, so Mike and I decided it would be best to just rent a car. We explored the Ironman Store and I bought just about everything inside! One of the shirts has the IM logo on the back and written inside the letters are the names of each and every athlete participating in this year’s event. So cool!!!
On Saturday, I checked my bike into the transition area, set it up and made sure it was ready for the tough 56 mile ride the following day. I had to add the picture above – All these guys waited at the entry to Transition (under the shade of their umbrellas) and took notes on every bike that passed by. I felt like I was in a bike parade. I guess they wanted to know what components each rider preferred. I thought it was great that someone actually wanted to know what I was riding!!!
I am all smiles through the entire day. I’m just so excited to be here! I am one of 573 female athletes participating today – the remaining 1128 are men.
Mike got some great shots of me heading into the water. I really wasn’t nervous up to this point. Sure, I was intimidated by some of the muscles on these women. Some were in INCREDIBLE shape! I had been nursing a sprained ankle for 3 weeks and felt a little unprepared for what was ahead of me. But my goal was not to rush out and try to achieve a PR, but to enjoy the day, finish the race and NOT come in last in my age group.
While in the water waiting for the cannon to boom, the announcer took some time to enlighten us with some facts about some of our fellow competitors. Can you believe one of these women is also a super model from New York? Are you kidding me? Beautiful AND a World Champion athlete? We were all trying to figure out who it was…
I struggled a little bit in the water. After just a few minutes of swimming, I had a panic attack. It was not mental, because I was definitely prepared for this swim. It came from the pit of my stomach and I couldn’t move. I just stopped for a couple of minutes and tried to recompose myself. It didn’t help that the athlete behind me was clinging to a buoy and gasping for air. I made sure she was OK and then I continued on with my swim. Now that my entire age group had already swum ahead, I had a clear path to swim without being clobbered by anyone. The only problem was that I didn’t have any feet to hang onto or guide me in a straight line. I tend to swim sideways and get way off course. Today was no exception. I was finally out of the water in 43:02.
I was glad to be out of the water and back on dry land. I always consider the bike to be the beginning of my race – that’s where I catch up to all the awesome swimmers. There was a long run from the Lake into T1, where I was greeted by a pair of volunteers who helped me get ready for the bike. I peeled off my Aqua Sphere Suit, threw on my Aquaphor top, helmet and sunglasses. One of the volunteers thoroughly sprayed me down with my 100 SPF sunscreen before I ran out of the tent. I grabbed my bike and ran up the steep hill to the street. This run was excruciating for me. The mat was uneven from the sand beneath it and it was challenging for my ankle to support me on this terrain. Once I was on the bike, I was feeling great and ready to go!
The views on the bike ride through Lake Mead National Park were incredible! I was enjoying my ride out and commenting to fellow riders on the scenery. This was amazing! I was trying to conserve some energy in my legs and not hammer up the hills.
The downhill rides were thrilling and a little scary! I was reaching speeds up to 40 mph on the downhills, then pedaling hard to try and get back up the other side. I was feeling pretty good up until mile 35. I knew I needed to continually hydrate with air temperatures around 95 degrees. I switched my nutrition to mostly water, with one GU packet. I doused myself with water every 20 minutes and continued to hydrate. By mile 45, my legs were exhausted and I felt like I couldn’t get enough water. Thank goodness there was only 11 miles to go. We passed Lake Las Vegas, while heading into Henderson for T2. I rode as quickly as I could to finish up the bike course, but ended up with my worst bike time ever (3:08:48, average speed 17.8mph). That was a challenging course!
I was glad to hand my bike off to the volunteers at T2. I was surprised to see other athletes handing off their bikes and telling the volunteers they were done. Not me! I’m finishing this course! I have too many “finisher” shirts that I won’t be able to wear if I don’t conquer this course!
I quickly laced up my running shoes, tossed on a hat and took off on the run. The run course had one long uphill climb and two shorter climbs. The course was a loop that was repeated 3 times, so once you got through the first loop, you knew what you had to conquer on the next 2 loops. I made sure to grab a Gatorade and water at each AID station then toss ice down my top and inside my hat. My hydration was better, but my legs were spent from the bike (and probably from the lack of running over the past 3 weeks). I walked on the uphill and ran the down hills. There were so many amazing athletes on this course, running strong! I talked to a few people along the way and it made the time go by quickly. Although I was not running fast, the run course went by pretty quickly. Around mile 8, at a turn around, I rolled my ankle again on a crack in the road. UGH! I was just about to approach a nice downhill stretch and I planned to run that as quickly as I could. After wincing for a minute or two and hobbling on one leg, I told myself to suck it up and just go! Down the hill I went and off to my third lap. The last three miles went by fast, and I couldn’t wait to make it to the finish line! The last downhill stretch went straight into the finish line. I felt like I was sprinting that last mile! It felt great to finish the course and celebrate my first World Championship race!
I truly hope I am able to get to Vegas again… only next time I’m planning to race hard, with no injuries! This was just my practice run… watch out for me next time World!!!
Run time 2:12:56. Total time 6:13:35. 77th / 95 in my AG (So, 77th in the WORLD!!!)
… and (most importantly), not the last one in my age group!
Posted by Athlete Cristie on 09/15/11 at 10:08 AM
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Jason and I headed up north last weekend, so that we could both do our first half Ironman--him the triathlon, and me the duathlon (the first run was 4 miles, approximating the time it would take most people to swim 1.2). It was an experience with highs and lows, but I am happy to have finished my first time at the distance, and coming into my last duathlon of the season, I am sad to see the season go!
Now about the race: The first problem was that the course was long (like I needed that!). The first run was more like 4.5 miles, so they clocked me at an 8:10 pace which was clearly not happening (according to my watch I was in the 7:40 range, which I thought was comfortable for the first run). But at that point I didn’t much mind. There were four girls signed up and one girl in front of me on the first run. I was hardly concerned about her though, since she started walking before we got to T1. Plus, you can kind of tell a good cyclist and she wasn’t playing the part. So I figured as long as I didn’t drop out I was going to have a good day.
I got on my beautiful new bike and rode the crap out of that course.
It is quite clear that cycling is my strength. I averaged 20.5 on a 56 mile course, which I think is pretty respectable. I was the 3rd fastest female out of duathlon or triathlon that day so I am happy with that. The course was perfect for it too. And I wasn’t even working that hard to go that fast! I got to see Jason a few times since it was a weird sort of loop course, and he looked like he was doing fine. Anyway, I was blazing past a lot of men with fancy disc wheels etc. That turned out to be a problem for their ego, and eventually I had one guy ride up next to me and say "Did you know you’ve had this guy drafting off you for the last 15 miles?" I didn’t know anyone was behind me, well, cuz I was racing forward. But that’s against the rules, as you know (3 bike lengths, please), and it takes a lot of energy to pull someone. So I waited to see if he was going to keep doing it, and after a mile or two, I stood up on the bike as if I was climbing a hill and peed on the guy. Whatever, I can clean my bike up, get off my butt! Plus, it would save me time in T2 anyway:D I know it’s kinda gross, but you gotta play the game right. He backed off.
I came into T2 and took my time to get a visor on and try to get comfortable, because by this time it had gotten into the high 70’s and I knew it was going to be hard anyway. For the first 6 miles or so I was doing ok (probably like an 8:30-8:45 pace), and I saw Jason a few times on the course, since it was a loop. He seemed to be going about the same pace. Then, I ran into a BIG FAT BRICK WALL. I think I had played my nutrition right (though upon second thought, maybe not. I only had approx. 700 calories of gels and drinks all day), but the duathlon just beats the crap out of your legs. So I finished the second run (what ended up being 14 miles) in 2:18. I haven’t run that slow since I was like 6. It was humbling, but there was nothing I could do. And I didn’t walk, just for pride’s sake. But boy was it hard. And it was hard on almost everyone else out there, too. I finished 40 minutes in front of the next female, and upon looking at other half ironman duathlons across the country (this one, apparently, is the longest one in the US), there were some with NO female entrants and others who just couldn’t finish it. But no one, except for last year’s winner of this race, did it anywhere close to my time. Jason also had a really good day, and placed first in his age group in his first half ironman (I am sure you will read about it on his blog post!).
So what was bad about that, you ask? Well, I’ve been trying to crack the code on the second run all season long (starting with Duathlon Nationals, where my second run was about 3 minutes slower than my first). And I just don’t quite have the "juice" yet. I ran the Crim (10-miler) a few weeks ago and was not at all embarrassing (1:13 with a previous PR of 1:19), but the second run of a duathlon has eluded me this year. I don’t want to just finish these things and win them because there’s no one else out there. I want to to win because I DOMINATED EVERYBODY. That may seem like a tall order, but I know it’s not beyond my capabilities. I have been surviving on a fast bike split (which allows me enough time to bonk on the second run) in a lot of these races, but I want to have a "complete" day at a duathlon. I’ve got one more chance coming up in two weeks at Powerman Muncie. The course is tough and the competition will be tougher, but Kelly has put together a schedule that will hopefully have me ready. I will keep you all waiting in anticipation until then!
Posted by Athlete Jenn on 09/14/11 at 10:26 AM
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Monday, August 15, 2011
Yesterday (8/14) I raced at Sylvania (like many of you!), doing the Olympic distance duathlon. I was not sure what to expect from this race, but admittedly, expectations were probably higher than they should have been, since I won the race last year and expected to be better this year. But I had been on a huge training week (per my own request, and contrary to Kelly’s wishes!), because I want to feel confident for my A race this season at the Tawas Half Ironman Duathlon on September 10th. I had also been away from my bike for 6 weeks in Greece recently and had only been back on it for two weeks since I got back. Even so, I wanted a lot out of it, even though we talked about the fact that I shouldn’t expect too much because of these factors.
With Kelly also signed up for the race, I figured it was going to be another epic battle (much like Flag City had been about two months ago). So off we went, and another girl was immediately ahead of me in the 5k. I didn’t worry about it too much since I thought I would be strong on the bike and catch her. Kelly came up behind me and encouraged me to go faster and catch her. Then she got in front of me too. I knew that was a problem because she is a beast on the bike and has been doing a lot of run training. So, immediately (and I know this is horrible), I got complacent on trying to hold onto third place female. It’s not that I wasn’t trying, I just envisioned myself hanging on to that spot and not losing it. When we came into transition, I had PRed in the 5k by about 10 seconds. Kelly and I had discussed that we wanted me to have a more "complete race" and not hold back in the first run. I was happy with this time but worried that I had spent too much energy already.
When I got into T1 I saw Kelly taking off. But I had a bad T1 (I had put my sunglasses on the top of my head and forgotten about it--a helmet isn’t going to go on easily that way!). But I got out of there and started to try to catch up. I didn’t want to waste too much energy but just do the best I could, especially with the wind and rain we had. When I came into T2 I had ridden the 40k course at an average of 21.3mph (not too bad, really, seeing that I did 20 mph last year, 5 minutes slower). There weren’t too many people out there really, and I was battling with only one other guy through most of the bike. But for the most part, there wasn’t anyone around. When I came out of T2, the other two girls (Kelly included) were loooong gone.
So I started the run. In the first mile I felt bad, but I thought I could do some work on catching up. And really, I didn’t feel too bad through the whole run. But there was no one around me (again), and I probably got a little too comfortable not pushing it and just holding on to my third place. I am not sure if I could have gone any faster, but I wasn’t holding out much either. So I don’t know. I finished the race in 2:21:20, 6 minutes faster than last year. But my 10k time was 48:17, almost an exact replica of my time last year. And I was third female, but not even close to first (my awesome coach!).
All of these things sound good: a 5k PR, an improvement on the bike and overall time, and off a big training week. And I do feel grateful that I can compete and complete these races, seeing that I had foot surgery 4 years ago and it was unclear whether or not I was going to be able to run ever again. But I had a horrible hangover from the race almost immediately after it was over. I really got dominated by the first and second place females, and I expected more out of my 10k given all the hard running work I had done in Greece. Worse, my (totally awesome, awesome, awesome) boyfriend had a GREAT triathlon race, PRing in the 10k by almost 2 minutes and qualifying for age group nationals in his first Olympic race. This is the time when I start sounding like a 5 year old: "Why is everyone getting faster but me"? I also started to have creeping doubts about my performance at Tawas. Is my half marathon going to be embarrassingly slow? Logically, none of this makes sense. But as a competitor who works really hard week after week, I (irrationally) want to see results EVERY time. I know it can’t work like that, but it is hard to put your pride away sometimes. I am very hard on myself and expect a lot (in all aspects of life), so I am having trouble shaking it even though it sounds silly.
Today, the day after the race, I purchased a new bicycle. It sounds like a drastic action following a "poor" performance (it is like a tattoo, which my dad always calls "a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling"), but I have thought about buying this bike for a long time.
It is a Trek Speed Concept 7, a major upgrade from my aluminum Trek Equinox 7. I am really hoping that it makes me faster (if you ask me, I made that aluminum bike look a lot better than it should!), but I don’t know if it truly will. I hope to race it at my Half Ironman Duathlon in September, so we will see then. In general, I want to be a more competitive duathlete, and I hope this will help. However, I don’t have the money for it, and I am hoping that someone will agree to buy my old bike for half its original price to help ease the financial blow a bit. Otherwise, I am going to be a very poor and not very well fed athlete this fall!
So, today and yesterday were actually a bit stressful for me. I am hoping that all of it pays off this coming year, but only time will tell. Not all events in an athlete’s life are rainbows and sunshine, and this is one example. But it is something I will try to learn from and hopefully be a better athlete because of it!
-Athlete Jenn
Posted by Athlete Jenn on 08/15/11 at 05:49 PM
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
Well, this is the race I’ve been training for all summer. Steelhead was my “A” race with the goal of finishing the course Sub 5 hours and claiming a highly coveted slot for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas. If the sun, moon and all the other planets line up for me, I should be walking away from this race a very happy girl.
I’ve done quite a bit of work up to this point. I’ve been pleased with my long ride times. I’ve over-trained on the run a little bit (in preparation for an upcoming marathon), which should really help me get through the final miles of the half marathon at the end of a long race day. The only discipline where I’m still lacking speed is my swim. But I was hoping my wetsuit would help me improve my swim time.
So I packed up my little Ford Fusion and headed to St. Joseph, Michigan, where I was staying at a friend’s house for the race. Registration went smoothly and I was ready to go. Everyone had a watchful eye on the weather report, as they were expecting some big storms to pass through Southern Michigan on Saturday night, bringing 4-8 foot waves and rip tides in Lake Michigan. Word was that the swim would be cancelled (bonus for me!)
A couple of Professional Triathletes were also staying in the same beach house, so I was carefully studying some of their pre race habits and nutrition. Who knew that Spaghetti sauce, canned tuna and pasta was the meal of champions? I’ll have to try that next time! I did take some advice from Chris Legh and drank one glass of wine with dinner. I actually slept on Saturday night (I NEVER sleep the night before a race).
Sunday morning brought about the wind, waves and rip tides and a cancelled swim. The race was started as a time trial bike, starting by race bib number (lowest to highest). Not exactly ideal for me, because it’s difficult to see how well the other athletes in my age group are doing and, more importantly, how I measure up against them. After a short wait, off we go on the bike!
I was feeling GREAT!!! I was pedaling into the wind at 22mph and soaring down hills at over 35 mph. My race number was 528, and I had already passed everyone with the 35-39 age group marked on their right calf. So I started cruising by athletes with bib numbers in the 400s, 300s, 200s and even some in the 100’s. What an exhilarating feeling! My nutrition was spot on. I was sipping my Infinit, which tasted a little salty today. I grabbed half a banana at mile 20. And I sipped at my water whenever I was thirsty. I was expecting a nice tail wind at mile 42, so I just kept pushing forward to that mile marker. Unfortunately, once I got to that point, it seemed that the trees were blocking the winds and I didn’t benefit as much as I thought I would. I would have to push a little bit on these final few miles. I was hoping to make it back to transition in 2:35. But my hips and pelvis were getting a little sore on the final few miles and I came in with a 2:37 on the bike. I was really looking forward to getting off the bike and starting the run!
I ran my bike through the narrow transition area, popped on my shoes, socks and hat, and off I went! I was surprised by how quickly I got my legs under me. My first mile was a sub 8 minute pace. There was a nice hill at mile 1, which I allowed myself to quickly walk up. Miles 2-4 were quick and easy. I was cruising through the aid stations, grabbing water and Gatorade at each station. Another hill between miles 4-5, which I negotiated with myself to run ½ way up then walk. I wanted to run as much as I could on this course. I have steep goals for this race and I’m going for it! I rewarded myself with short little walk breaks through every other aid station (no more than 10-15 seconds each), then I had to pick up the pace. My goal was 1:45 for the half marathon and I was still on pace. The hills set me back a little bit, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from achieving my goals. I just kept pushing forward. The weather was perfect (low 70s, overcast, breezy). Final 2 miles! Let’s go Cristie! Push it! I could hear Coach Kelly pushing me in my mind. Suffer for a little bit longer! Whenever I get to the final two miles of a race, I like to think of the 2 mile loop I frequently run around my house. It’s such an easy little run, why couldn’t I run this as fast as possible? I can!!! My finish time was 4:28 (run time ended up being 1:48). I was pretty pleased with my performance today.
I waited after the race for the World Championship roll down slots. I was able to get the third and final slot! Wow! What a great day!!! Now I’m looking forward to Vegas, baby!
-Athlete Cristie
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Posted by Athlete Cristie on 08/14/11 at 05:29 PM
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
I currently sit in the Amsterdam airport awaiting a flight back to Detroit, MI. I haven’t been home in 6 weeks (a total of 9 weeks this summer including the trip to Iran)! This time I was in Greece, with my home base at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. This was an intense trip during which we walked over a million steps (one guy had a pedometer with him the whole time!), and climbed some very steep mountains on an almost daily basis (the plain where the battle of Marathon was fought is in one of the pictures, which I had to climb a thorny mountain to take). This was all in the name of learning more about ancient history, art, and archaeology, so that come January I can be a good candidate on the job market as a professor in Classical Studies.
Now for me and my training partner, those 1 million steps were accompanied by millions more in the form of an intense running block tailored by Coach Kelly herself (my training partner sort of bowed out of the program at the end, but I never missed a workout though sometimes the exhaustion was overwhelming)! I was determined to be a half ironman duathlete in September, and I wanted to work on my run anyway, so there seemed like no better time, since I was going to have to divorce myself from my bike for six weeks.
There were long, dark, hot mornings of hill repeats, mile repeats, tempo runs, fartlek runs, and looooong runs. Combined with all of the other exercise we were doing, it was a very intense six weeks. My legs are like tree trunks now! But I had a great time, especially with the people I met on the trip. I saw some amazing places, too. I ran hill repeats in Delphi, the home of the famous ancient oracle most consulted by the Greeks. I did a recovery run on the paths by the shore in Thessaloniki, past a gigantic statue of Alexander the Great, my dissertation topic. I ran more hill repeats in what remains of ancient Sparta. I did one of my favorite long runs in Nafplion, a seaport town in the south of Greece. There were tempo runs on the island of Crete after long nights climbing rocky embankments. Terrible uphill climbs (and virtual obstacle courses) trying to avoid the protests in Athens (or sometimes just the people waiting for the bus).
And just plain heat, everywhere. It was fun to see the ancient athletic facilities too (for instance, the picture of all of us at the starting line in the stadium at Isthmia, and later, just me at Delphi).
Oftentimes the group leaders would give us time to swim in the ocean, and for the first couple of weeks I took advantage of the opportunity to see if I would like the triathlete lifestyle (I think I’m sold on duathlon for now!). I can say one thing: I am very sick of Greek food, and I can’t wait to get home to my regular training and eating schedule. But I am so proud of myself for doing all these things and being committed to both aspects of my life such that everything got done on this trip. I know that all of the work I did there is going to pay off this season in duathlon (and hopefully on the job market, too!).
-Athlete Jenn
Posted by Athlete Jenn on 07/27/11 at 02:30 PM
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011
It funny how easy one or two things can make you loose focus on training. For the last month I have been struggling on making time for my works outs. Its one of those things I think every athlete has problems with and I’m no exception. So how do you solve this problem? I found, as much as I hate getting up in the morning, that’s the better time for me to get my training done. It helps me get a jumpstart on the day and lets me plan the rest of the day with out having to think about my work out. I get all my stuff out the night before and put it right in my way to get out of my room. Yes, it does make it hard to go the bathroom at night, but it keeps me from not forgetting to get my workout in any more.
I think the best thing to do is plan your workout at a set time day after day. When I was in school I did my works out right when I got out of school. My training got done before I got home, so I had no distractions or anything to get in my way. It was tough when my friends wanted to play some games or study right after school, and when my mom or dad needed me to pick up my bother or help with some stuff around the home. But, doing the workout right after school got me in the habit of telling people that I have my workout to do and then I can play, study or help! My family and friends started understanding my schedule too and therefore they adjusted by asking to play, study or help after my training session was done.
Bottom line, I’ve discovered that making my training a set part of my day enables me to get it done. So find what works best for you, make a set workout time and get it done!
-Athlete Zech
Posted by Athlete Zech on 07/20/11 at 06:10 AM
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Friday, July 15, 2011
Most triathletes have heard of the big race in Kona, Hawaii -the Ironman World Championships well many are growing very familiar with the 70.3 World Championships too. This ½ Ironman distance race used to be held in Clearwater, Florida and recently was changed to Las Vegas for this September 2011 and going forward.
Qualifying and racing in the World Championships is a big deal in the tri world! It’s the best of the best racing for guts and glory. Qualifying for Vegas has been my goal for the whole season. I had many doubts leading up to my qualifying events, but Muncie 70.3 was going to separate the wheat from the chaff. It was a true test of my training thus far.
Muncie’s 70.3 was my first Ironman labeled event. My first half iron distance race was last year at Rev3 in Cedar Point and my second was with HFP’s Little Smokies this past May. Both of which are summarized in prior blog posts.
My training after Little Smokies really came together and I feel I really was in position for a strong performance. Although the stars have to align to qualify, I was focused on doing everything in my power to make it happen.
I read the race packet in detail, planned my travel, talked in detail to Coach Rob and Coach Kel before the race in regards to race prep, race day execution and race wheels as I was borrowing their Zipp 404s. Although nothing goes perfectly, it’s about how you react and how you control the controllables.
During athlete check-in, I randomly asked a gentleman carrying a disc wheel about his experiences with his wheel and some of the nuances involved in using one. I had recently become educated on having them but I didn’t know (or should I say “remember” in the midst of all the other details) a special set of brake pads were needed, nor did I understand the difficulties and details of changing a tubular. I was becoming stressed race week with these expenses and details. I’m glad that I finally decided to just not carry a spare knowing that if I got a flat, I would not have a chance at qualifying for Las Vegas anyway. Instead, I would save the mental energy for the race and wait for the tech van to help me on course if I got a flat. It’s funny how these details were hidden until I went through all the scenarios with bike tech people and Coach Kelly. I can now truly see why the new Zipp Firecrests are such a hot item.
So back to the person I met. When talking with him, I could tell he knew the details of his wheel very well and had a very good knowledge of his race expectations. Little did I know that it was pro triathlete, Jimmy Archer. It was a pleasure to meet him and an honor that he took so much time just to talk about his wheel and about tris with me. We also got to discuss what it’s like to live in Boulder which is considered a tri-hub in the US. It was a very fun conversation which rarely happens in my small town. It would be so nice and encouraging to be able to engage in these types of discussions on a regular basis. Any of you reading, don’t take your tri clubs for advantage. They are valuable resources of which I wish I could be a part.
After athlete check in, I drove to Prairie Creek Reservoir for the bike check in. Since I’m so used to going to local and smaller races, I didn’t know that once my bike was checked in, it could no longer be taken out. I read through the whole athlete guide, but this one detail was not stated like it is in some other race athlete guides. Only one sentence which I thought only applied to those bringing their bike race morning. So no test drive for me before race. I just had to hang my bike and pedal with my hands as I shifted to make sure everything was good to go.
I also found out the hard way that hotels book quickly for these big Ironman branded events. Let’s just say, the hotel my brother and I stayed in before the race was not ideal, but we survived the night.
Race morning I woke up allowing extra time because it was an Ironman event. With a 4:30a.m. wake up, we were out around 5a.m. and I was glad we allowed extra time because the traffic was backed up quite a bit into the park. I had just the right amount of time to get everything ready and my morning went really smoothly, including the long wait for the restroom!
And just a friendly reminder, make sure you are not wearing your race shoes to the race and while setting things up. Make sure they stay in transition. I didn’t learn this the hard way, but I know others that have. You don’t want transition to close while you still have your race shoes on your feet! Besides, it’s a good habit to wear a warm-up pair of shoes and socks in case of rain, dew, etc… (Should I just take this last paragraph out completely or do you see it as beneficial?)
Well, another thing I accounted for was a no wetsuit swim. I knew that the water was too warm for wetsuits. Since this applied to everyone, I didn’t view it as a big limiter.
I approached this race very similar to my Maumee Bay Race. My plan was to go conservatively on the swim, push it as hard as I could on the bike and see what I had left for the run. It worked well for Maumee Bay and I was willing to take the risk for this distance and try to qualify.
During the swim I was swimming past the wave three minutes in front of us, and then the wave in front of them. I was dodging, weaving, and trying to find the right pairs of legs to follow the whole time. When looking over my final times, I was pretty surprised at how slow my swim time ended up being. I averaged a 1:55/100 yd for a total time of 36 minutes and 55 seconds. I was hoping for several minutes faster, but I didn’t let it affect my bike.
My bike leg went great. Since it was such a bigger venue than I’m used to, I made sure that I knew where the bike out and bike in was, as well as how many racks/rows away my bike was from swim in. I had this down to a science.
Once out of T1, I rode strong! Thankfully, I did not have any technical issues and I only had to slow down once because the IM Perform water bottles didn’t fit nicely into my bottle cage and were sliding out the side. However, my nutrition tactic on the bike went as planned with three bottles on my bike and my aero bottle full of water/sports drink until the final aid station. I basically go on how I feel and make sure I’m downing my gels to stay on track with calories. I have an idea of how many calories to consume per hour in general, but this can vary greatly based on race conditions, personal pre race nutrition, etc. I also prefer to tape my Gu to the top tube so I can easily pull one off at a time. Focused on riding strong, controlling my breathing, getting in my nutrition/hydration and passing people, I powered by a handful in my age group and was motivated by small labels I attached to my aero bottle to keep me pushing for Las Vegas! The last 5 miles I really started to feel the pain setting in and I was ready to get off the bike. During that time, a group of 4 riders passed me, all in a draft, which made me frustrated as drafting is illegal, but I focused on my race and made it my goal to catch them on the run. So far, my race strategy was working as my pace was 23.1 MPH with a total time of 2 hours and 25 minutes for 56 miles.
Even with my strong bike, I was able to run strong too. The run course had a lot of medium to small rolling hills, so it was just enough to keep me from getting bored. However, my aching toe was not helping my pace. I had been training in my race shoes and had no problems during longer runs or speed workouts. So I’m not sure what happened on race day but I knew that the pain was only temporary and I stayed strong to finish the run. I’ll spare the gruesome details but I am missing a few toenails after this one!
I am happy to report my previous experiences are helping me race stronger and smarter. At the first aid station I took some extra time to stretch my hamstring and then my quad which were starting to cramp from the arduous bike. I learned a lot about this during my Little Smokies race, and that race was paying its dividends now. I consider this small stop a very good investment as I did not have any major cramping for the rest of the race. I focused on my breathing throughout the run and didn’t have any side stitching or cramp issues either. While passing people, I was constantly trying to asses my age group placement and was trying to estimate ages at the turnaround. I gave up because this was just too difficult and a waste of energy. However, I believe that I did pass the guy in my age group who was drafting at the end of the bike. I probably caught some others in his pack too. I was able to stay strong and pass people the entire run. I crossed the line with a 7:25/mile pace and split time of 1 hour 37 minutes for 13.1 miles.
My overall time was 4 hours and 42 minutes and 53 seconds. A killer PR of 31 minutes from Rev3 last year! I kind of figured this time would place me in the teens in my age group, which I was 11th out of 96 in my age group and 82 out of 1531 total. But I still wasn’t sure how many slots were being given out for Las Vegas. I had heard rumors of around three, so I figured I wouldn’t even make the roll down. (If you are not familiar with qualification standards and want to know, visit http://ironmanllv.com/qualification/ ) I still decided to stick around just in case.
My brother was very encouraging after the race and we had an enjoyable post race time. It was fun hanging out with him and talking about the race. After about an hour of awards, the roll down started. My age group had three slots available and two were already claimed. So the last slot needed to be claimed. They called each name (I’ll use placement to save time instead of names) out individually to see if that person wanted to sign up for Vegas. 4th place wasn’t there. 5th place wasn’t there. 6th place, 7th place. I can remember thinking “I hope that he’s not here. I hope that he’s not here.” It reminded me of high school band competitions when we learned about sportsmanship. We were in the awards ceremony listening to the top three performances. When we didn’t hear our name for 3rd place, we cheered and when we didn’t hear our name for 2nd place we cheered again. I wasn’t up and cheering when the 10th person didn’t come up, but I was bursting inside. Across the field, I could feel the shared excitement with my brother who was watching. I almost felt like cheering loudly just because everyone would have thought I was crazy, but I held back. “Kyle Sawyer…” There was no pause. I immediately walked up with confidence, but a slight feeling of unworthiness realizing how deep of a roll down it was, but I’ll take it. I was so excited and happy that all of my hard work was paying off. I had my check all ready to go and went to the booth to sign up. It was a great experience I’ll never forget.
After the roll down, we found a new hotel to crash at, took a nice shower, went out to eat and celebrated. Along the way, I was caught eating McDonald’s as a late night snack by a friend, or should I say spy, of Coach Kelly’s. Haha…I was definitely getting a bad rap for this. I was hungry, it was late, and I definitely didn’t come prepared with back up food. Besides, it was a successful day.
On the home front, I was also gearing up for a job interview on Monday. I told them that I may be wobbling in from my race, but that I would definitely be there. Well, I came wobbling in on Monday for the interview and it went really well. I got a call back for a second interview on Wednesday. I was walking a little better for this, but it was the second and only time wearing shoes all week (except my bike shoes). I took a break from running because of my injury. Most of this week I took off from working out and only got a few workouts in biking and swimming. Even though I was eager to gear up for Steelhead and Vegas, it was good to have unscheduled time to do what I wanted and to focus on my interviews. During my second interview, I was offered a school counseling position. This had been a very successful week both professionally and personally. I am very thankful to God for his grace in allowing me these opportunities in my life and for making them possible. I now have a feeling of goal accomplishment in the tri world…for now. I have a feeling that my phase of life may lower my racing goals over the next few years as I focus on family and my professional development. I don’t know what life will look like next year, so we’ll see how things go in a few months. But one day, and I’ll probably get held to this, I would like to qualify for Kona. Hopefully that venue location never moves.
Below you will find some photos that my brother took. It was great to experience this event with my brother who has been there for all of my half ironman events so far. We’re not sure if he’ll be able to make it to Steelhead or for Vegas, but here’s to hoping things can work out. It was funny because as we sat at dinner the night before my race, we both didn’t have a job. As I write this now, we both have new jobs.
-Athlete Kyle
Posted by Athlete Kyle on 07/15/11 at 06:15 AM
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Thursday, July 14, 2011
I thought in this blog post I would do away with the typical race re-cap and go with a different tune. Everyone knows what it feels like to race (or at least from reading it) on their own experience. With that said, “You Know What Really Grinds My Gears”?
So, I was watching an episode of Family Guy and in this episode Peter Griffin has a short on the local news called “What Really Grinds My Gears”. He goes into nonsensical things and complains about them. Like, have you heard a good Rabbi joke lately? Anyway, this little saying really got me thinking of what annoys me day to day. Of course I could probably name a bunch of pet peeves but I’ll stick with the more athletic related topics.
Every other day as I head to the gym to swim or workout I’m constantly reminded how lazy America has become. First off, the parking situation gets me going and just doesn’t make sense to me. I see people waiting for parking spots as close to the door as possible. Now unless you’re handicapped or waiting to pick someone up I can’t understand the reasoning. You’re at a gym…to workout. But yet you can’t bear to park in the back of the lot and walk the extra 100ft. C’mon!
Alright I might be a little harsh but on the flip side I’m glad they’re at the gym. Ok, so they wait to get a spot in the front of the gym but at least they are here to workout. They are making something of their time by being active and shooting for a goal whether it’s to lose weight, run a 5k, or just stay fit. It’s much better than the alternative of being a couch potato the whole time.
I could go on but to save you time and the hassle of me complaining I’ll cut it short here. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll have another post. As you put in the countless hours of training/sacrifice/dedication and see all of this happening around you, what really “Grinds Your Gears”?
I would love to hear some of your responses as I’m sure more than one person can relate.
-Athlete Jason
Posted by Athlete Jason on 07/14/11 at 02:18 PM
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Monday, July 11, 2011
I took on Lake Zurich Triathlon yesterday with a podium finish in my sights. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way I planned. There were some fast chickadees there this year!
Started out the day hearing that the water temp was 81 degrees, so NO WETSUITS. Not a big deal, because I just finished Eagleman 70.3 without a wetsuit.
As I’m standing on the beach waiting for my wave to go off at 6:54 am, I am sweating already and I know I’m going to want to hop back in this lake later in the day to cool off.
I positioned myself on the inside for the swim. I have been trying to get faster in the water, but I think I have this mental block that if I swim too fast I won’t have energy for the rest of the course. I tried to keep up with the group and I think at times I couldn’t see any other swimmers at all (I’m sure I swam off course a few times). I try to focus on the buoyes more than anything else. Then I just find a little song to hum in my head and swim along. I started out with "just keep swimming, swimming swimming" from finding Nemo. Maybe I need to find something a little more upbeat to make me faster :o). I ended up finishing with a 33 minute swim (which included a 200 meter run to T1). Ranked 13th swimmer out of 24 (so basically average).
T1 is quick - I position my helmet upside down on my aerobars, with my sunglasses inside and my race belt laid across it. Pop on the race belt while I slip on my shoes. Sunglasses and helmet on and I race off to the bike course. T1 finished in about 1 minute.
Bike course is a bit more hilly and windy than expected. I can ride a half ironman course at an average of 21 mph, so I was hoping for 23 mph average on this olympic distance course. Goal was to push it hard and test my limits. But some of the hills straight into the wind had me spinning at 14-16 mph, which killed my average speed. GRRRR! I passed many riders on the bike, knowing that I had to catch up to those girls who killed me in the water. I was only passed by 2 male riders on the bike. I was so hot, and I could see the sweat dripping down from my helmet to my sunglasses. I ran out of water with 5 miles left on the ride. Unfortuntately they didn’t offer any water stops on this course, so I just had to suck it up and get to T2 for some water. I was shooting for 1:07 and finished with 1:09 on the bike (21.3 mph avg). When I looked at the results later, I saw that I was 4th overall female on the bike. I’ll take it!
T2 is quick again. Rack my bike, Rip off the sunglasses and helmet. Pop on my running shoes. Squirt some water in my mouth that I stashed away in transition. Grab my hat and run while I’m putting it on. Quick glass of water in my face on the way out of T2 and I’m off!
My goal for the run was #1 NO STOPPING! #2 7:45 splits #3 Run strong and stay positive #4 Pass as many girls as I can
First mile my legs felt wobbly from the bike and tired from the heat. But I remember #1 No stopping! First mile split 7:44, right on track. Mile 2 heads into the sun and up a nice hill. Runners all around me are walking. Yup, I thought about it… I could just walk up this hill then start running again. But I’ve learned something about myself. If I let myself walk once, I will do it again and again. No walking today, my friend! Now is your chance to go for #4 - pass as many girls as you can! Mile 2 - 7:45 split. Now it’s starting to get warm and my belly is not too happy with me. I think the heat is trying to make me slow down. The loop is run around the lake where we swam, so I’m staring at it thinking I could just hop in there for a minute and cool off. FOCUS woman! Goal #3 Run strong and stay positive. Alright, coming back toward the race start (it’s a loop run twice) and I see mile 3. Watch is showing me that I’ve slowed a little bit 7:53. Only 3.2 miles left - so back out onto my second loop. Now I know what to expect and I’m looking for the sunny hill. No stopping, no stopping. My pace definitely slowed for miles 4, 5 and 6 to about an 8 minute pace. But I’m happy because I’m going for it! I AM STRONG! I can feel how strong my body is and I’m going to push through the pain and the heat. Up another little hill back toward transition and the finish line. I am now sprinting toward the finish and raise my arms up in the air as I cross the finish line! 2:35 finish time, a new PR for this distance. 8th female overall out of 142 female participants.
But the best part of the day was after the race. I went to the cooling tent and found another athlete struggling - stomach problems and obviously overheated. I spent some time with him and helped him through it, bringing him gatorade and water and talking him through it. Then I headed to the back section of the run course where there was no spectator support. I cheered on the runners and smiled as they ran by. There were quite a few that just needed that extra boost to keep going. It felt great to help the other athletes keep going at that point of the run. I had a few people thank me for pushing them afterwards. THAT is what it’s all about. Supporting each other in reaching your goals! If you ever have a chance to do this after your next race, please do! It’s an awesome feeling to help support people you don’t even know. Just a kind word goes a long way!
-Athlete Cristie
Posted by Athlete Cristie on 07/11/11 at 03:55 PM
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