Hulaman Half Ironman - August 17th 2008

Woke up at 4am and ate my normal meal of eggs whites and cheese along with oatmeal by 4:30. Left the house at 5am sharp to head to T2 (Bike to Run Transition) at the Hillsboro Stadium. By 5:30 had polished off a kashi go lean chocolate toffee bar. Stuck to my proven strategy of getting my gut full an hour and a half before the race started so a) I would have enough calories to top off my fuel tank b) digest all my food before the nerves set in and all systems locked up. Arrived to Hagg Lake at 6:15. The only thing left to do was to pump my tires, take my bike for a quick spin around the parking lot to make sure everything was working as expected and squeeze into my wetsuit. Was relieved to see the sunrise was blocked by cloud cover. Thank GOD it was not going to be a 100 degree race day!





SWIM
Wow, Hagg Lake was like a bathtub! It had been around 100 degrees in the Portland area for the 3 days leading up to the race. The swim was two .6 mile laps. The first lap was like glass, the water was smooth. During the second lap things changed; out of nowhere waves showed up. I suck at navigation in the open water anyways (as evidenced by my husband telling me I do indeed zig zag in the water). Hmm, was told this during Ocean Shores by another triathlete as well. I actually got overheated in my wetsuit!!! I had to slow my pace down because I was HOT. Could not believe it; usually I freeze my ass off in the water! I wish I would have worn my shlong (nick name I give my sleeveless wetsuit means sleeveless short on top with full body cover long on bottom get it, huh huh). I swear there was cow manure in the water, I could taste it. I have spent lots of time on farms so I know what this smells (consequently tastes) like. Was out of the water in 43 minutes. Was not stoked with my swim time, I am convinced if I could actually swim in a straight line my split would have been 5 minutes faster. In the pool I do not totally suck, I swear!!!

Swim Distance 1.2 Miles
Swim Finnish Time 43 Minutes
Women Overall 16/28
Age Group F30-34 3/6


BIKE
Thanks to lubing myself up like a slithery snake between the “suite juice” and body glide had a transition time of 2:11 between getting my suite off and getting my bike stuff on. This was the most challenging bike course I have EVER faced in a tri. The course was two laps around hilly Hagg Lake followed by a nice route out to Gales Creek Rd. Then took a sharp right and BOOM, I was met with CRAPshaw, I mean Capshaw Hill Rd. I swear the thing was straight up and down! Got into my lowest bike gear, stood up, and made it up the hill. They should have called about a third of this bike route “The gravely tar classic”. I felt like a human vibrator at times as I was pushing along on my 15 pound bike with the skinny wheels. I must have seen no less then 3 athletes on the side of the road with flat tires. I think my tubeless tires are flat resistant because I have not had one single flat on my tri bike all summer.

During the bike route kept my hr in the mid to high 150’s for the most part (z2). Did go into z3 (163-170) on some of the hills. I did not have my normal HR monitor (had to ship it to a service center in Seattle to have the battery replaced). My glutes (English translation = butt) muscles were on fire! Love the tri bike though, makes me use my glutes so my legs are fresher for the run. The monitor I was wearing did not have an average hr feature. Damn it! Without my trusty ANALyzer what was a girl to do!

As far as nutrition goes, the first hour I got through one hammer gel and one bottle of Perpeteum. Between hour 1 and 2 got through another hammer gel and most of the second bottle of Perpeteum Between hour 2 and 3 got through the 2nd bottle of Perpeteum and about a ¼ of the 3rd bottle along with a 3rd gel shot. Total caloric intake on the bike was 560 calories. It was around 75-80 degrees with cloud cover and about 56 percent humidity.

Bike Distance 56 Miles
Bike Finnish Time 3:00 hr
Average Pace 18.6
Women Overall 10/28
Age Group F30-34 3/6



RUN
As I was heading into transition to get off my bike and into my run gear I was met by cheers from my in-laws, hubby, and nephew. It was so nice to have them there cheering me on. My Bike to Run transition was 1 minute! The run was pretty flat. Two loops basically around the Intel campus and though a park. I didn’t know Hillsboro had parks, I thought it just had Winco and the Streets of Tanasbourne. Around mile 1 stopped to use the crapper. I was not going to leave anything to chance at this point. I knew I would not be able to hold it for then next 1:50 minutes or so. It was at least 80 degrees with humidity (around 60%) at this time so I was getting hot. I must have taken in about 5 endorolyte tablets during the course of the run and 3 gel shots. Felt like I needed the fuel. Of course, legs felt heavy and like bricks. Stopped at every water stop (except last one) and took two waters (one for my mouth one for my head). I started to get really nauseous during the last 25 minutes of the run and knew my stomach was not going to be able to hold anything else so what was in me at the time was going to be it through the end of the race. The HR monitor I was borrowing was not giving me an accurate read so I can only guestimate my HR. When I manually took it at the water stops it was around 170. During the last 3 miles of the run tried to push it but my brick legs were not having it!!! Completed the run in 158:00 (with stops in the crapper and 5 water stations). Average 9 min per mile. Was hopping to be in the 8’s but given the hard effort on the bike and the heat and humidity I was happy!

Run Distance 13.1 Miles
Run Finnish Time 1hr 58 min
Average Pace 9 min per mile
Women Overall 11/28
Age Group F30-34 4/6



Overall Finnish time 5hrs 45minutes
Women Overall 12/28
Age Group F30-34 3/6


After the race was really nauseous and felt like whatever I ate might come back up. Did force myself to eat some pork, salad, and a banana about 20 min after the race. I needed to get some protein and glycogen back to my muscles. I was covered in salt after the race (think from sweating out all the endurolytes?). The salt was so thick it was coming through my clothes. Wonder if nausea was caused by electrolyte imbalance? Felt a little nauseated for the remainder of the day (which is unusual for me). By the time I woke up Monday AM the nausea had gone away. Besides the overall muscle tightness, I felt normal.


The day after the race I had an hour and a half massage and a spinal/neck adjustment from my chiropractor. This is the ticket and what I will do from this point forward after completing every half IM! Three days after the race as I write this my body feels great (although my sinus's are on fire from the extreme weather change)

Race season 2008 has officially ended! I feel like I have met my goals for this year and that had a strong season. Besides cutting my finger with a butcher knife resulting in stitches and a freaky bloody nose resulting in packing and carterization (keeping me out of the pool for a total of 3 weeks) I really did not have any setbacks. I am happy and contemplating what my goals for 2009 will be. A full Ironman? Qualifying for the Half Ironman world championships in Clearwater Florida? I will keep you updated ;-)

Black Diamond Half IM Triathlon - September 22, 2007

Tri season 2007 came to a close on Saturday, September 22nd when I completed my first Half Ironman Triathlon (1.2 mile Swim, 57 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) in 5:57:58 (hrs, not days ;-) I met my goal of completing the distance in under 6 hrs. At age 30, having no athletic background prior to the age of 25, I never imagined as recent as 4 years ago I would complete a triathlon, let alone a Half IM distance. I am thinking back to junior high were I was last picked in gym class (not a cliché, this was my reality) and my high school days when it would take me 10.5 minutes to run just one mile. The end result - doubled over in the locker room in a fainty/vomity state. Being a heavy smoker from the age of 16 to 25 also was not conducive with endurance athletics (imagine that).

Sometimes I beat up on myself for not placing in my age group but then my husband, coach, friends remind me I do have a life outside of tris (full time job, husband, friends, having a few too many drinks more then on occasion etc.) After all, I did cover 70.3 miles in 6 hours. Most Americans do not even cover this distance over the course of a month.

A HUGE thank you is long overdue first and foremost to my husband for being incredibly supportive of all my weekends consumed with long brick workouts/bike rides and him having to endure many nights of Raisin Bran for dinner (since he cannot grill to save his life). The second biggest thanks is a tie. The first goes to all my wonderful, understanding friends who still talk to me, despite my lack of availability over the last 4 months. The second to my coach for making me the best athlete I can be and being proud of me (despite the elite triathletes she has on her coaching roster – I am not one of these) If you ever need a lesson in humility, become a triathlete. 90% of the athletes at any given event are just as Type A, obsessive, and want it just as bad, if not more, then you do.

The night before the event we rolled into Enumclaw (southeast of Seattle) about 10pm; I was sound asleep by 11pm.

Woke up at 6am and ate piece of ham (from the hotel restaurant), oatmeal and an apple. At 6:30am polished off a Balance bar.

Temperature at the event was about 58 degrees and overcast with slight drizzle at times. Perfect Pacific Northwest race weather! Event start was at 9am. http://racecenter.com/blackdiamond/halftridu/index.htm

Swim
I felt good during the swim (although as I was slow as a turtle and frozen by the end) About ¼ way through this woman grabbed onto both my legs (back of my calves) and started pulling me under I turned around, looked her in the eye, and yelled HEY! I would expect this at a sprint distance event but not a half IM. Who the hell does this at a half IM? Had this women not done a tri before? If my feet were not so frozen I would have kicked her in the head. My feet and hands were ice cubes (tried to find the neoprene booties to go over my feet the week before the event but no avail). I would have been hypothermic had it not been for the full body wetsuit I borrowed from one of my tri friends. Low body fat makes for great running and severe lack of warmth in the water.

Bike
For the bike I took my time in transition (trying to get the full body wetsuit off was tough) and I wanted to be extra sure I did not forget anything (such as nutrition and arm warmers). I did not want to mess around with a 3+ hr bike ride. I was sooo cold after the swim the arm warmers were a life saver. Literally. It took me a good 15 miles on the bike to get my body and my legs warm. I did not wear a bike jersey, just my tri shirt/shorts.

I had 2 16 oz bottles of accelerade on my bike and got through the first one and maybe a quarter of the second one throughout the 3 hr ride. I also took 3 powerbars and cut into 1/3's and rolled in balls and put these in a sandwich bag. I wore the bag o powerbar balls in my bosom inside of my race top. Worked for about 1/2 the ride then the power balls became one conglomerated power blob. Coach says next year when I do this distance (yes, I am doing this again) she wants me to use gels so my stomach doesn’t take energy from my muscles trying to digest solid food. I sipped my accelerade every 10 min and ate a power bar "ball" about every 1/2 hour. Ate a total of about one and a half powerbars on the ride. For the first part of the bike kept HR lower z2 (around 145). During the second half did start building to around 150-155. Toward the last 6 miles did mid z2 to a little z3. I pretty much stayed out of z3 (lactate threshold) because I was paranoid about not having energy for the run. Considering I had to run a ½ marathon after the bike, I thought what I cheezed out on during the bike I would have 13.1 miles to make up for on the run. I was on my aerobars almost the entire time (but do not normally train much this way since I like to have full control of my bike when riding in traffic by myself). As a result, my lower glute/upper hams (English translation: butt and back of thighs) were yelling at me but I kept down on the bars and was glad I did, especially when it came to the run.

My glutes/hams were not the only thing yelling at me when I got off the bike. My hubby was giving me words of encouragement saying “you love the run” to which my reply was “not after almost 60 miles on the bike” His response “you will love the run”. Everyone around him started laughing; if I had one ounce of energy extra energy, I would have started laughing as well.

In transition when I bent over and switch out of my bike to my running shoes my hams/glutes felt like they were going to jump out my skin. This is where the power thoughts/words come in handy. I thought okay, 13 miles w/ a little pain, I can do this! The absurdity of having to run 13.1 miles in pain was too much for me to handle at that moment; I broke out in laughter as I was reaching down to grab the cliff gel shots.


Run
Did a gel shot at the start of the run. I had to pee so I used the outhouse conveniently placed at the start of the course. The hardcore athletes pee on the bike. Yep, you heard right. They stand up, let it go, then rinse off with water. Beings I am not even coming close to placing in my age group, I would look like the biggest jerk/poser/idiot if I attempted this. Maybe in a few years;-) I did 2 additional gel shots on the run (one about every 1/2 hour). Took water at every aid station (had one about every mile) and walked through most. Kept HR around 155 for the first third then for the rest stayed around 165. Pushed into 170-175 the last couple miles (my running lactate threshold). My legs were fatigued and throughout the entire run in addition to my glutes/hams aching but I somehow powered through it. Part of the run course was on trails; toward the end I tripped on a rock (result of dragging my legs from exhaustion) when I was only 1/4 mile from the finish and went flying. In a semi panicked state (from my heart rate being so high) I still managed to pull myself up and make it to the finish line.

Summary of my Results


More race pics: http://www.finishshots.com/racerresults3.php?raceid=506&bibnumber=67
I loved the half IM distance and will most certainly do this distance again next year! 5 days later I almost have my appetite back and my overall body soreness has almost subsided. I now get to reflect on my season, give myself 6 weeks of unstructured training (run and bike at MY leisure, no training plan) then do it all over again next year. Now I can eat dinner w/my hubby and hang out w/my friends; for a couple months at least ;-)

Hood To Coast - August 24-25 2007

Hood to Coast is the largest running relay race in North America. The race covers a distance of 197 miles starting from Timberline Lodge toward the top of Mt. Hood ending at the Oregon Coast in Seaside. The relay distance is covered by about 1000 teams (12 people each team). Each person on a team runs 3 legs with a distance of 4-7 miles (usually covering a total distance of 14-18 miles). The total relay takes anywhere from 23 to 32 hours to complete, depending on how fast the runners are! I was on a corporate womens team. I was not super fast, considering I was lucky to be running at all beings less then two weeks before I had the blown up quad from the St. Helens climb and was barely even able to walk until about 4 days before HTC!

Each team is split into two vans; van 1 will go through their 6 runners then van 2 will meet at a transition area (we are at Fred Meyer in Sandy) to meet van 1 when their runners finish. The BEST part of the race is the crazy decorating! Some of my favorites...

Somewhere is a really pissed off youngster after their favorite stuffed animal has been confiscated to be used a hood ornament....

Barbie Orgy!! Mom, if you read this, I NEVER partook in such vile behavior with my dolls....

You could only imagine the nastiness of these puppies, thank god we were trailing the crap sucking machine almost the entire race! Being a slower team had its advantages.....

Handing off where one teammate gets the pleasure of running though meth alley (springwater corridor in east Portland). Watch out, don't trip on tainted needle or a passed out transient!

Seaside at the finish, too exhausted to even think about celebrating. Sick thing is, I will do this again, maybe not until 2009 ;-)

Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour - Aug 12th 2007

Two days after the Mt St. Helens climb with a strained quadricep to boot , we were heading down to the mid Willamette valley methopolis known as Albany to the start line for the Covered Bridge Bicycle tour http://www.mvbc.com/. Not sure if this is the Albany mascot? German Shepherd sniffing drugs; Chasing crazy hillbilly's...








Larwood Covered Bridge

First bridge we came across during our 75 mile route...

Shimanek Covered Bridge
Bridge #2

The falling bikes lunch stop. Everyone got their bikes knocked over in our group except for me. The worse was when some pre-pubescent boy was aimlessly wandering and knocked over an older gentleman's $5000 Scott. The owner was noticeably PO'd, I am not sure if I had a $5000 bike if I would have been as calm. The boy showed no remorse when scolded by his father. The offenders sister was then crying (for 20 minutes straight) about what I assumed to be nothing. Suddenly I remembered to pick up my birth control prescription on the way home...

Gilkey Covered Bridge

The third and final bridge (we were supposed to see 5 in total).

My competitiveness came out and shortly after I got excited trying to catch a woman who consequently turned off to do the 100 mile route. Result was unexpected climb (which quads needed like a hole in the head) and bike rest stop in Deliveranceville...

Not sure what the yokels in Lebanon thought of the cyclists passing through (note to self - do not EVER, at ANY cost pull off I5 to stop in this town while by myself without toting one or both of the following - Rottweiler and/or hand gun); one guy came up to scroy and angrily asked "is that your bike with the flashing lights". It wasn't but I wanted the light to stop flashing for I could sense a nam or LCD flashback coming on...

Thanks to shortcuts we only ended up adding 7 extra miles to the planned 68. We borrowed hubby's truck, sent on our way with the instructions "to not to lean up against the truck for it might dent the sides". As we were discussing this the guys next to us were making fun of my hubby in his abscence commenting "trucks are meant to be beat up". When we arrived back from our ride this was left as a present for the beloved truck. Happy early b-day Nick!!!

No better place to advertise cock fighting then off the main west coast traffic artery otherwise known as I5..

Stuck in 2 hour traffic jam on the way home; good thing I had my muscle toothbrush.

5th Annual 80's Party Sat August 11th

What an amazing tradition this has become amongst us 30 somethings. Brings back nightmares from Junior High. Do not forget to Double Click all images for a full view of like the totally tubular pictures!! I tried to get hubby to leave the house in the cutoff jean shorts but it was a no go. At least I got him to sport the mullet wig and pornolicious historic woodburn tshirt. Sorry Tonya, I think Chad Kroeger has another hair twin ;-)

sHEEMAN, Sheera, and some other random character from the 80's.

Had a 70's party to attend beforehand so went for a late 70's/early 80's theme. Terry cloth and attempted feathered hair were my contribution.

Mt. St. Helens - August 10 2007

After living in Portland for 10 years I finally ventured up to Mt. St Helen's! Steph had some passes she had pre-purchased months ago (there are only 100 people allowed on the mountain per day). I thought "12 mile hike no big deal". I quickly learned, and am still learning 4 days later with blown up quads that being a reasonably strong runner and cyclist doesn't mean crap when you are ascending over 4000 feet of elevation gain, climbing over boulders, then using muscles you never knew you had to break and descend down the same 4000 feet. am clearly not outfitted for hiking (I am wearing cycling shorts with gator and hiking boots). Nick thought I looked dead sexy!






Started the climb 2 miles from where you see the trees in the picture. At this point we were barely an hour into the hike.












So much energy expended after an hour and a half we had to stop for a snack.








Where the true mountain climbing started. No, the rocks are not background, this is what we crawled over for a few miles as we pushed upwards. I thought I had turrets bad until I met Mark! He couldn't hold back with the comment "Yea, there is a lot of cows up here" as an urban cowboy passed on on the way down (some random guy in a cowboy hat). He retorted with some disparaging remark about my cycling shorts ;-) Another guy was coming down the mountain and when I told him I was from Portland Mark replied "she's from Tigard" I then fictitiously told the man Mark was from Coeur d' Alene Idaho. Since I incessantly joke about "white trash North Idaho" the inner circle laughed as expected. What was disturbing was the 10 year old boy who overheard also started laughing. They must have had white supremacy week during his history class that week.



Here is one of those volcanic movement monitoring thingy's. I was trying to simulate kissing my ass good by in the event this started screaming/flashing while we are on the mountain. For those of you still wondering, Mt. St. Helen's is indeed still an active volcano.











Finally reached the summit about 4.5 hours later. Above the clouds (not steam).












Another amazing view from the top.

Bull Lestor (double click on image to view name)

Found this little treat posted on the window outside of Fat Jacks (where we call the place we sign in/sign out). If you ever bear witness to the area between the Couve and Mt St Helen's running across characters like this is not the least bit shocking. This particular catch had an affinity for 15 year old girls in wheelchairs. Nice.

One of 5 people we saw stop and look at the sign within 5 minutes. We were all hoping this woman was not looking for a baby sitter.

Midsummer Olympic Triathlon - July 22, 2007

On Sunday, July 29th I completed the Midsummer Olympic Distance Triathlon (1 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) out at Blue Lake. I was powered by my usual breakfast of Oatmeal, banana, and a Harvest Powerbar . It was the exact same course and close to the same weather conditions as the Blue Lake Triathlon I completed June 10th. I beat my 2007 Blue Lake Tri time this last Sunday by a little over 6 minutes! Thanks coach Julie for your butt, thigh, hamstring, quadricep, calf muscle burning workouts! I guess barf intervals do pay off!

My swim sucked as usual (I am currently seeking out masters swim group to join this fall). Nothing exciting to report on the swim; no violence needed; everyone stayed out of my space ;-). On the bike I managed to keep up with Bridget Dawson, an ex pro triathlete (she is 50 now, but still gives all the 20 and 30 something’s a run for their money at any event she chooses to partake in). My proudest moment of the tri was looking down at my odometer and seeing I beat my previous bike time by about 4.5 minutes! Result was annoying perm grin for the remainder of the race. On the bike my average HR was 160-165 for the first 16 miles (able to maintain a higher HR for longer because I am stronger then I was in June). During the last 8 miles kept in high 160's to 170's. Almost finished an entire bottle of accelerade on the bike.

My run was uneventful and consistent. I started off with an espresso 2x cliff shot and grabbed water at the first two aid stations to wash down the syrupy contraption. I kept my hr about 170 for the first 4 miles then the last 2 wavered between 174-180. I beat my Blue lake time by an entire 20 seconds (I say this sarcastically). My goal was to try to run sub 8 min mile in my run portion this year (close but no cigar – hey, every blog is entitled to at least one bad cliché). I guess I have a new training goal for 2008 in addition to not being a flailing fish in the water. Overall this is the proudest to date I have felt about any of my triathlon accomplishments. Especially when I looked at the race results and beat out two women overall (one by 9 minutes and one by 7 minutes) who have whipped me by 10 + minutes in the past!!!

Results Summary for Midsummer Tri (comparing to Blue Lake) - Double click image to expand

Bike Pace 20:85 mph
Run Pace 8:06 mpm

This is my last Olympic Distance Tri for 2007. I am preparing for my first ever Half Ironman Distance in Enumclaw Washington September 22nd 2007. This is the Black Diamond Triathlon http://www.racecenter.com/blackdiamond/halftridu/index.htm (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13 mile run).

Event Photos http://www.finishshots.com/racerresults3.php?raceid=487&bibnumber=108