Ah, Kansas

I heard that nearly 30% of the entrants in the Kansas 70.3 race on Sunday DNFed. I was, unfortunately, one of them.

I hate DNFs. I'm not used to them, and they feel really crappy. My one consolation is that I didn't finish the race, not because I gave up, but because I just ran out of time.

Pre-race posing.

I had spent three fairly sleepless weeks debating about doing that race. My swim performance at the KC Tri was less than desirable and most definitely a confidence bomb. Xanax wasn't helping (and it might have even hindered) and my shiny new Medium-Large wetsuit didn't seem to be doing the trick either. It still seemed to constrictive in the torso, in spite of the larger size. Luckily, one of my friends had an XL and wasn't doing the race, so I thought I'd try hers.That seemed to do the trick! No more struggling to expand my chest! No tendency to hyperventilate. The only drawback was that it was a full sleeve model. I was a little concerned that it would feel suffocating. It didn't!

So, fast forward to last weekend. I had done several 2,000+ yard swims in the borrowed suit and was feeling cautiously optimistic about the race. The weather forecast all along had been promising really hot and typically humid conditions. However, when I checked in my bike on Saturday, the wind was blowing so hard, the lake had whitecaps and literally looked like it had a current. The question of whether it would be wetsuit-legal was still up in the air. On Saturday, the lake was 77 degrees. Would it cool off during the night to drop it .9 degrees? Would the wind die down by morning?

No to both of those questions. The water was 76.8 degrees, .7 degrees hotter than allowed. And while it wasn't as bad as on Saturday, the wind was still significant. I knew from the beginning that I would wear a wetsuit regardless of the temperature. The race officials deemed that the wetsuit racers would start in the last wave. Yes! I don't really like swimmers coming up on me. What I didn't realize was that by being in the last wave, I only had an hour and ten minutes to complete the swim. Whoops. If I'd gone in my regular heat, I would have had an additional 30 minutes, but had I gone with my wave without a suit, I would have been pulled out of the water much, much sooner.

The deep water start was not the issue that I thought it might be.  I floated like a cork in the suit. The horn sounded and we all took off. The water was extremely choppy. I would swim 8-9 strokes and get a snootful of water.  I would then stop and bob while I cleared the water from my nose and wait for the next 2-3 waves pass by. And, so this pattern continued, slowly. The current-like waves kept blowing me away from the course, which was another slight problem as I lost time making course corrections. After 50 minutes, I had not made it quite to first turn buoy and the swim captain deemed it was  time for me to get out of the water. To be totally honest, I was a bit relieved. I would have kept plugging along, but the chop was really getting on my nerves. Stopping and bobbing around in the water certainly eats up a lot of time!

So, my race ended almost before it began. I was disappointed, as I had trained pretty hard for this event. My main goal was to get out of the water in regulation. The heat and the wind were good conditions to test nutrition for Louisville, needless to say the confidence builder it would have also provided. In spite of that minor sting, I was in pretty good spirits. I joined the Reds cheering squad and watched my teammates come into the finish on a record-breaking hot and miserable day.

Sunday wasn't my day. This did and still does to some degree cause me to stop and think about this sport. The swimming aspect has caused me no end of stress as I look back over the past seven triathlons started in the past two seasons. Two resulted in DNFs, and in three more, I've had some kind of problem, all related to the swim. I can look back at one open water race where I had no excuses. It hasn't been for lack of trying as I've never put so much work into a discipline and not reap the benefits of it on race day.

However, I have to say that my coach's fiance did bring it home in a somewhat profound way when he wrote in an email (paraphrased): the victory is so much sweeter, when adversity is overcome to achieve the goal. I haven't had to work that hard at my successes in running. I had some natural ability, seem to be biomechanically built for running and my good peasant stock gives me the general toughness to go long distances. I've come a long way in this whole swimming arena, and I need to remember where I was this time last year. No, the Kansas 70.3 doesn't need to be viewed as a failure, but another opportunity to gain valuable experience. The fact that I was never scared or panicky is a victory in of itself. Kansas 70.3, we just may have a date in 2013.

KC Tri - A Mixed Bag

The weather was absolutely beautiful for this race. The rain that threatened in the early hours passed by leaving the lake fairly calm and sky an azure blue.

The race started off without incident, the Olympic swimmers getting in the water first. My swim wave for the sprint distance was the second one to go, which didn't thrill me as I knew the faster swimmers from the younger age groups would be passing me. The water temp was a purported 72 degrees. Nice!

My swim wave started off uneventfully. I felt pretty good as I went around both the first and second turn buoys. I deliberately made myself go very slow to  not bump up my heart rate and left my wetsuit unzipped but fastened at the neck.

As predicted, both the girls and guys from the following two waves caught up with me in earnest by the time I turned around the last buoy. I'm not really sure happened--I was bumped a lot but that didn't really scare me, but maybe it just threw off my rhythm. I was 100 meters from the shore, and I started to struggle a bit. I wouldn't say I was scared, but seemed to be tired and not making much forward momentum. What the heck? Didn't just do a 2500-yard and a 2000-yard workout the previous week? Didn't I just do my fastest 2000 on Thursday, 4 x 500, with each of those being under 12 minutes? <sigh>

I dog paddled, swam and backstroked my way toward shore. I finally realized that people were standing up around me, so I put my feet down and found that I could indeed, touch the bottom. Where I would have "normally" swam until my hand touched the bottom, I just stood up and waded to shore. 500 meters in 17:02....woo hoo!!! Boo hoo! At least I survived it.

My bike segment went really well. The new course had some decent hills on it, as well as three fairly tight turns. My Garmin measured the course at 12.7 miles with an average of 19.2 mph (yes!) but the official results was 12.4 miles with an average of 18.6 (still not bad). Since it was a short course and I only had to run a 5K, I went as hard as I could. I was able to pass quite a few people, even a couple of guys who passed me. :)

The run felt really hard. By this point I had messed up my Forerunner Garmin and I had no idea of the pace I was running. It seemed like a really long three miles. Unfortunately, I missed the finisher's chute (I was looking for clock) and ended up running all the way past transition to the first water stop. It added almost a half mile to my run, which put my total pace at 9:26. Arg! Of course, I did measure the extra segment that I ran and came up with about four tenths of a mile.

Overall, I left Longview Lake feeling like I had not had a great race. I'm finding that while I'm not starting from scratch on the open water swim, I am have moved a few steps back. At least I did manage to finish the swim this time. However, I keep comparing my time to the WIN race I did last year, which is not rational. That race was the end of July. I had had two months of twice weekly open water swim practice to that point. I keep telling myself that it was the first race of the season and by no means the bell weather of how my season will go.

The swim experience definitely left me feeling down and doubts are creeping in as to whether I will be able to do the KS 70.3 distance, much less Louisville! I  have a lot of work to do. I'm still struggling with the wetsuit. I love the buoyancy and security it gives me, but hate the restrictiveness I feel in it. I've yet to have a successful wetsuit race yet.

The really fast 50-year-old women did the Olympic distance, so I still managed to win my age group.  Ironic. But, I'll take it.

Kansas City Triathlon - First Race of the Season

Tomorrow is the KC Tri.  I am signed up for the sprint distance, 500m swim, 20K bike, 5K run. I really like the Olympic distance, but was wise enough to not sign up for a 1500m swim this early in the season. I've managed to get out into open water three times now, and the last time was the best confidence builder.
Liz intended for the IMLV ladies to "train through" this race, meaning no taper. Hannah, Mary J and I did a hard 50-mile ride yesterday. The wind was brutal. Ugh...I was hurting big time by the time I finally rolled into my driveway. I will have a good excuse for having a sucky race tomorrow. :)

As for the swim, I think I am ready. The game may totally change if it is very choppy tomorrow. Of course, when we did our practice swim on Tuesday, the lake was like glass. But, I keep telling myself it is only 500 meters. Just get through 500 meters!

Kansas 70.3 Camp

I attended the Midwest Triathlon Coaching Kansas 70.3 training camp this weekend. It felt a little grueling as I hadn't gotten much sleep after getting back from California, but it was a good barometer of where I am right now, I think.





KS 70.3 Training Camp



Friday night, we did a "master's" format swim workout at the Lee's Summit Aquatic Center. It took me a bit to find it, but my, it was a super nice facility. One would think that swimming in a 50 meter lane would not be that big a transition from a 25 yard pool. I had just done 2300 yards the night before, so it wasn't like I couldn't do the distance. But, I felt a little winded after each length.



Saturday, we headed to Lawrence to do a short open water swim in Clinton Lake and ride the 70.3 bike course. While the OWS was not a raging success for me, I would not call it a failure, either. But, I still had some anxiety and breathing issues. I really am a head case... and I really do not like the constricting feeling of my wetsuit. I was hoping that I would feel more comfortable than I did when I was in the water. I will be getting back in the lakes a couple more times before the Kansas City Triathlon, so I'm hoping my comfort level will grow. Thank goodness that I'm only signed up for the sprint at KC Tri!

My legs felt a little tired on the ride, but they weren't too bad. I rode with my fellow Red Lady teammate, who had also gone to Big Sur. We ended up cutting the course short as she wasn't feeling very good. The day was unseasonably hot (low 90's) and typically humid which we really haven't had time to acclimate to. I averaged 15.6 mph, which I wasn't too unhappy with, considering I was really taking it easy. Kansas is a hilly course. Assuming I can get myself through the swim at that race. My swim experience earlier that day was not a confidence builder. 

The run was today. I ended up going 8.5 miles, which is further than I would have gone on my own. (I take recovery seriously, LOL). While I didn't do the intensity that I thought I would have, it was still a good training weekend, and I learned more. The coach had some very different advice on nutrition, which was encouraging for me as I was worried about how I was going to get solids down in the heat on the bike.

The season is quickly upon me. I'm not sure I'm ready. I've got that slightly sick feeling in my stomach that I carried most of last year; that niggling of doubt now that the abstract is becoming the reality. It's been a two steps forward, one step back kind of week for me. I hope that means that I'm still making forward progress.

Big Sur International Marathon

I just got back from doing Big Sur International Marathon with a few of my "best-y" triathlon and running friends. What a great race!

It was everything it was hyped to be: breathtakingly beautiful and extremely challenging. I didn't really feel ready for it when I left Kansas City last Friday morning. My longest run had only been 17 miles and it hadn't gone that well. I knew I would be falling back on my triathlon training and my marathon experience. When we picked up the race information guide at the Expo, it promised to be a long day.


When race day finally dawned, I started feeling a bit excited and ready to go. We bussed to the start line, leaving our hotel at 4:15 a.m. It was a long ride. At one point we caught a glimpse of the long line of busses snaking out behind us and we understood why we had to leave so early.


The weather couldn't have been predicted to be more perfect: 60's, clear and sunny. My long-time running buddy and friend, Julie,  took off together, clicking off the first five miles at a great pace. As promised, those were the easiest miles of the race. Around six miles, we made our first major ascent and experienced the first of famous headwinds. The weather changed abruptly to foggy and gray.


Julie and I found three Brits ahead and tucked in behind them, listening to one good-naturedly berating his mates about choosing a "lovely, warm race in California" to do. At that moment, lovely was a apt adjective; warm was absolutely not. After going a short ways, the guys noticed us running behind them and teased us about drafting off them. I told them that they had such great butts that we just couldn't pull away. They let us stay behind them. :-)  And, their asses weren't half bad.

Julie and I pose with the pianist by Bixby Bridge.

The coolest part of the race was coming up on the Bixby Bridge at the halfway point. It is the iconic bridge that represents Big Sur to me. The legendary grand piano is parked there attached to loud speakers that allowed us to hear the music long before we got to the bridge.


At mile 15, I lost Julie due to a miscommunication at a portapotty stop. I spent some time trying to find her, but finally had to accept that we had missed each other somehow and took off. At this point, I pushed to the finish line. Around mile 20, I was thrilled to see that based on my Garmin, I was on track to run a 4:10, much better than I expected on this course. Woo hoo! Much to my chagrin, the official posted time was 4:22. What?? How could it have been so far off? Then, I realized that I had my watch set to auto pause when I stopped. Ha! Twelve minutes of photo opportunities and potty breaks.

This race was everything I expected it to be! It is definitely up among my top 10 favorites. 

In Like a Lamb...

It's the end of March and we continue this beautiful weather. The redbuds are blooming. The birds are out full force. I've even had to mow my yard one time. The Farmer's Almanac is calling for a wet spring and slightly cooler summer. Fingers crossed!

Jenny and I went back to Longview last night for our brick workout. We had a great ride and an okay run. My average bike speed is gradually coming up. I'm feeling strong and enjoying the training--even biking, which was my major stressor last year.

I think that the only LV Resolution that I haven't voilated yet, is the last one...not allowing IM to completely consume me. So far, my approach to training has been much more relaxed, and I'm loving that. Yes, I am still freaked out. I don't know what swimming further than 2500 yards feels like. My 18-mile run Sunday was hard, and it was off only a 41-mile bike ride the day before. How am I going to chain all three events back-to-back in 17 hours?

That scenario is still somewhat inconceivable to me, but I think I have relaxed the control freak in me enough to trust in the training and the plan. Consistency will see me through to the finish line, save me doing something stupid and getting hurt before then.

To keep things interesting, a few of the Reds came with me to do an Adventure Race in Carthage. Robbin and I were team Tiaras and TaTas and yes, we dressed the part. What a fun day...the weather was stupendous. es, those are real "glass hats" sewn to our visors!

March

We have had the most incredible winter in KC. Actually, we haven't had winter this year in KC. So, now it is March 24th and I've already gotten more than 300 biking miles in outside. Inconceivable. Today was an incredible sunny day in the 70's...did I mention it was still March...in Kansas City? Mary and Jenny and I went north of the city to the berg of Parkville to do a hill workout.

What a beautiful day! On top of this fabulous weather, I have a serious case of tri-bike love. I was skeptical that was going to acclimate to this tri bike that I bought on impulse. But, after taking it to the downtown airport a couple of weeks ago, I realized what a sweet ride it was (to quote Napoleon Dynamite). Then, I took it on a ride around Longview Lake. Is it my imagination, or does this bike with 650 cm wheel make hill climbing a piece of cake?

It was confirmed today. Hill climbing is much easier than on my road bike. I was able to keep Mary within a reasonable distance, instead barely being able to see her bright jersey two miles down the road, as is typical. I felt really good today in spite of the little spill I took. Yay!