Racine 1/2 Ironman Race Recap

"Pain is about seeing how strong you are mentally."- Unbekannt

It look an hour of water and a ham sandwich, but I finally manage to smile for a finisher picture.

Yep.  I finished the Racine 1/2 Ironman yesterday.  And it wasn't pretty.  Here are the race nitty gritties:

Swim:

What a wonderful morning for a swim!  The water temperature was 68 degrees and the lake was calm.  It was so clear that you could see the bottom of the lake the entire swim portion.  I had a great swim- it is my favorite part of the race.  My time: 43:22- I'll take it!

Bike:

With the confidence from the swim, I felt good about the bike.  Well, that lasted about 10 miles.  At the transition, there is a nice hill to start you off.  We practiced that hill, so I was ready for it.  The bike was in low gear and I managed to avoid all of the folks who were falling.  Before the bike portion, I took 2 Endurolytes so I wouldn't cramp.  I had two water bottles on the bike so I felt I would be hydrated enough for the ride.  I had a Clif Bar and Clif Blocks for nutrition.  I was going to take a block or a bite of the bar every 7 miles- which I did.  I didn't bonk- amazingly.  The issue was the heat.  There was not a cloud in the sky and a nice furnace heat breeze coming from the south.  The pavement heated up quick and there wasn't much shade on the course.  I quickly realized I needed more hydration.  I finished both water bottles and drank a water bottle from every aid station.  I knew I was going to be in trouble for the run by mile 35.  

Another problem that I encountered was my feet felt like they were on FIRE.  I never had that problem ever on the bike.  I even took my feet out of my shoes for a while to cool them off.  It didn't help.  

Finally, the bike was over-3:48.  It was not a good time and I was disappointed.  The bike portion is something that I will keep working on.  I hate the bike, but that a blog subject for another time.

Run:

I knew this was going to be ugly.  I felt awful.  It was the middle of the day and the temperature was 93 degrees.  I make fun of people who run in the middle of the day.  I mock people who run in 93 degree heat.  This girl gets up at the crack of dawn to avoid the heat to run.  I also don't run fall marathons for this very reason.  I would rather freeze to death on a 20-mile run that do a death march training run in this heat.  At the aid stations, there was water, sports drink, cola, oranges, bananas, pretzels and potato chips.  I would have an orange slice and alternate between water and cola at the aid stations.  There were also sponges soaked in ice water- that was heaven!  This was my WORST 1/2 marathon time EVER: 3:09.  There isn't much to talk about here- it was terrible.

Physical Damage:
I am a bit sore today.  I might go for a shake out run tomorrow, depending on the heat and my sunburn.  I have a horrible sunburn and a lovely heat rash on my legs.  I sunburned on the top of my hands from the bike- weird.  I am chafed on the bum- my tri shorts aren't the best and I was expecting this.  Body Glide failed here.  Other than that, I have no blisters or scrapes.  I will survive to race another day.

Race Overall:

This was a very well run race.  The volunteers and support from the Racine community was bar none!  Thank you to those who had there sprinklers on for us.

Support:
Thank you to all of my friends and training buddies for coming out and cheering me on!  You don't know how much that means to me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I can't wait to return the favor.

Final Thoughts:
Will I do another 1/2 Ironman?  That is to be determined.  I won't be doing one next year.  I want to focus on the Olympic distance and really improve on the bike before I try the 1/2 Ironman distance again.

3 Questions:

1) Would you do a 1/2 Ironman or Ironman Relay?
Yes I would.  I wouldn't mind doing the swim portion or the run.

2) Which do you like more, triathlons or running races?
I am starting to like triathlons more than running races, but I will continue to do both.

3) What was your post-race celebration dinner?
Since Chris and I lead a mostly vegetarian diet, we rarely eat pork or beef.  I splurged after the race with a ham sandwich rather than a veggie sandwich and for dinner we had steak, baked potato, salad and for dessert- lemon pie!  The steak was paired with a Robert Young Scion.

3 Things I am grateful for:

1) The support of my friends, family and training buddies on this journey!
2) That I didn't die yesterday, when I really felt like I would.
3) Last night's dinner- what a splurge!

Tri Training Recap

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?"- Lance Armstrong

I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately.  Next Sunday is Racine 1/2 Ironman.  I have been training for this thing for over 6 months.  It all comes down to this one day.  This is the only triathlon I signed up for this year. In all of the races that I have trained for, this one I have practiced the most.  My triathlon training group even went to Racine TWICE to train for the swim, bike and run.   I never did that for a marathon.  I usually experience the course on race day- it is part of the deal.  


All of the training is done.  Now is a taper.  As you know, I hate taper week.  I get neurotic.  I feel fat.  I start to doubt.  It's all part of the process.


Next week at this time, I am hoping will be submitting my first race report to you.  


Here is this past week's triathlon training log:


Monday: Yoga, 30-minute swim, 10-mile bike
Tuesday: 5-mile run
Wednesday: 75-minute run, 30-minute swim in Racine.  FYI- did you know that Racine has the largest 4th of July parade in the Midwest?  Now you know!
Thursday: Rest day- to darn hot to run.
Friday: 35-mile bike, yoga
Saturday: 6-mile run (death march) in the sweltering heat
Sunday: 50+ mile bike (my Map My Ride App on my iPhone died right at the end), yoga


Questions to you:
1) What is your race mantra?
Mine is: "Attitude, not Aptitude, will determine your Altitude."
2) What do you do during taper week to calm nerves?
I do a LOT of yoga.
3) What is your favorite pre-race dinner?
My favorite pre-race dinner is spagetti with turkey meatballs, side salad with oil and vinegar and a glass of red wine.  The wine helps calm the nerves and gets me sleepy.


Thank you to all of my friends who gave some very good advice regarding my yoga funk.  After Racine, I am going to completely rework my yoga and workout schedule.  I think I have just become bored with the same routine and need to experiment with some different types of yoga and try some new teachers.  


Three things I am grateful for today:
1) The heat is not so oppressive.
2) The husband passed his colonoscopy!  One less thing to worry about...
3) Puppy Kindergarten for Bakon.  

Tri Training Recap

"Swim like you're gonna drown, ride like you stole it, run like they're chasing you"- Unknown

This is the only time I will let myself be photographed in a wetsuit.  Notice the strategically placed noodles.  This was taken at last year's Danskin in Pleasant Prairie where I volunteered as a swim angel.

We are getting into the final weeks of training for 1/2 Ironman Racine.  This week I resumed training at my usual intensity after finishing up the antibiotic/steroid regimen to get rid of that nasty sinus infection.  Here is last week's recap of training:
Monday- Yoga (no biking because of high wind warning)
Tuesday- 5-mile run
Wednesday- 1-mile open water swim
Thursday- 5-mile run
Friday- 10-mile run, yoga
Saturday- 30-minute swim
Sunday- Racine dress rehearsal

Sunday, my 1/2 Ironman training buddies and I took a field trip to Racine to get a swim in Lake Michigan and bike part of the course.  We got in 30-miles on the bike.  The course is really nice and rural- the only thing that I am nervous about on the bike is the small hill you need to go up from transition.  After the bike, we took a quick dip in Lake Michigan to get a feel for the water.  And felt the water we did!  The water temperature was 58 degrees!  We attempted to 'swim' but our faces about froze off!  We are going to attempt to get another swim session in on July 4th in Racine.  It's funny; my biggest worry was the bike.  My biggest worry is always the bike.  It's never the swim.  The swim is my strongest leg of the race.  After Sunday, my biggest worry is the swim in Racine because of the water temperature.  I hope I don't freeze to death!

3 Questions:
1)  Why did you start doing triathlons?
I started to get bored with running.  I knew eventually I would injure or burn myself out because all I was doing was running all of the time.  I thought I would mix it up and try triathlons.

2) What distance of triathlons do you like?
Actually, I like all distances-sprints, Olympic and 1/2 Ironman.  I think each distance has something to offer- sort of like the varying distances of running.

3)  What is your favorite running distance?
I really do enjoy running marathons.  Mostly because of all of the crazy people you meet.  Everyone has an interesting story out on the course.  I like how the race reveals itself to you.  At the start you just never know what type of a day you are going to have.  One tiny thing can unravel into a big issue in a marathon- it is how you deal with it that determines what kind of race you are going to have.

"Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you."- Denis Waitley

Me at the Top of the World in Trempealeau County Wisconsin last fall

Today was supposed to be an update on how training is going for the Racine 1/2 Ironman.  Not much training was going on last week because of the course of antibiotics banned me from swimming and keeping training at a low burn rather than it's usual intensity.  This is what I did last week:

Monday- Yoga and bike clinic at Training to Tri

Tuesday- Run 5 miles

Wednesday- Rest day

Thursday- Run 5 miles and yoga

Friday- Bike 24 miles and yoga

Saturday and Sunday- Off 

This week I am going to get back into the usual intensity.  I have 4 weeks to go before the big race.  I believe that with the spring marathon in Carmel, IN and Indy Mini, I  should have enough endurance base to get me through the race.  I need to really focus on transitions, the swim and my nemesis, the bike.

Having a setback during training always provides a teaching lesson.  The lesson, as in this case, is patience to get better.  If you allow your body to completely heal, then you can get back on schedule a lot quicker.   There are so many times that I 'felt' better, so I started back on my training routine only to extend an illness or injury far longer than if I had just waited a couple of more days and allowed my body to heal.  A very hard lesson to learn, especially if you don't have patience, like me!

3 things I am grateful for today:

1) All of my buddies who competed in the SIS Try in Vincennes, IN and SheROX in Naperville, IL- you inspire me!

2) I am grateful that I am able to swim tonight (if the weather allows it!)

3) I am grateful that the house is clean!