Goosepond 70.3 Race Report - Part 1

   About a week ago, Dudley and I headed down to lovely Scottsboro, Alabama for the Goosepond 70.3 triathlon. For those of you who haven't been to Scottsboro, there really isn't a whole lot to do there. In fact, there is pretty much only one thing TO do...the Unclaimed Baggage Center. This is where all of the luggage that was left on airplanes goes when it doesn't get claimed after a certain point in time. Once it's at the center, it's put up for sale to the public.

Where leftover baggage does to die.

 
  Need some random crap? Go here. This place has everything. Clothing, sunglasses, shoes, bicycles, golf clubs, iPads, cameras, a xylophone from Neil Diamond's tour - EVERYTHING.

Words can't describe how badly I wanted these.

This made me sad. A Boston 2013 jacket. Only $5.

  I ended up buying a pair of Gucci sunglasses for $15. I have no idea if they are real or not, but for $15, who really cares?
   After our little shopping spree, we headed over to the expo. It was held at the Scottsboro Civic Center, which was about 1/2 mile from the Start/Finish line. One of the reasons I wanted to do this race was to compare it to the only other half-ironman I've ever done - Ironman Augusta 70.3. While Augusta was this huge "thing," Scottsboro was MUCH more low key. Only about 400 participants as compared to 3,500 in Augusta. The expo only had about 6-7 vendors, which is pretty much the same as what Ironman had except their inventory was bigger. But the main difference was that the Ironman had a huge room full of overpriced Ironman-logoed stuff. Cowbells, water bottles… it was kind of like the Unclaimed Baggage Center but with Ironman. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me some overpriced Ironman swag. But it takes about an hour to go through everything and you walk out from an Ironman expo about $200 poorer.  It was kind of nice to just walk in, pick up my race pack and go. Plus, along with the standard race shirt, we got calf compression sleeves. Pretty cool, huh? You'd pay $50-$100 for Ironman compression sleeves.

So much swag!

   We had signed up for the official pre-race pasta dinner, which was being held at the same place at the expo. We had about an hour to kill before dinner so we went out to drive the run course. I was worried because I had heard it was really hilly. So we got the map and went out for a little drive. You know what's frustrating? Maps that are wrong. And streets that don't have street signs. We were able to figure the route out for the most part, but when we were finished with the drive, I was really hoping the route was clearly marked on race day. If not, it was going to be a cluster.

   Part 2 coming up soon!

So Tired

   It's been a busy week.  I raced Goosepond Half-Iron distance triathlon a week ago Sunday, came home, worked 13 hours on Monday and then flew to California on Tuesday morning for a visit with family. We just got back in to Nashville this afternoon after getting up at 3:45am (!) to catch our 6:00am flight. And, because I'm insane and and am still on my mission to run a half-marathon in all 50 states, I ran the Healdsburg half-marathon yesterday while I was in California. To say that I'm tired is an understatement. I'm flat-out beat.
   So - rather than writing the Goosepond race report that I had planned on posting tonight, I'm going to watch football and rest. Oh - and I'm taking the week off of any exercise. Well, I'll probably swim with FTP this week...and I don't want to miss East Nasty on Wednesday. But other than that- I'm resting. At least, I'll try to.
 

My Friend Bob

   I'm racing a big race Sunday - the Goosepond Island Half-Distance triathlon. It'll be my hardest race of the year. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not exactly ready for this race. But that's Ok. I'll suffer more than I should and it'll take a little longer than I'd like, but I should finish baring any mechanical issues (knock wood).
   Here's the thing though - my head isn't into the race. You see, Dudley and I lost a friend this week - Bob. I've known him for over a decade and he was one of the centers of our social network. Bob was, as one friend put it, the "perfect example of a modern Southern gentleman." He was funny, generous and just so, so kind. And he LOVED to entertain. Over the years, I've celebrated every major holiday and some not-so-major holidays at Bob's house. Christmas? Check. Thanksgiving? Check. Fourth of July? Check. Halloween?  Well - you get idea. Bob welcomed everyone into his home for these parties - whether you knew him or not. I met many, many of my friends at Bob's house. Heck - I met Dudley at one of his Titans parties. For that I'll be forever grateful.
   Bob's burial service was today. While I've known about Bob's death for a few days, it didn't really sink in until today. And honestly, triathlon isn't all that important to me right now. I should be creating race-day checklists and putting all of my gear in little piles so it'll be ready when we head down to Scottsboro tomorrow. But instead, I'm here. Thinking about my sweet friend Bob and hoping he knew how much he meant to all of us. He will be greatly missed.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

   The past few weeks have been a blur of work and training. I have a half-ironman coming up next weekend and I hit peak training over the last two weekends. I'm exhausted. But I've had some fun, as well. Here's a little recap.

The Good:
   My ankle is getting stronger and my speed is increasing little by little. In fact, of the past three races I've entered, I've hit the podium.

Heroes in Recovery 6k - 2nd AG.  We all won hats!  (I love me a running hat.)

 

Hustle for the House 5k - 3rd Place Masters. My first running trophy! 

Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15k - 2nd Place AG. We all got towels.

   I'd say two of these awards these are actually legit - as in I ran well enough to win something and beat other people. Yesterday's run though - well, I think I actually got fifth. Normally, not a high enough placement to win something. However, three other women in my AG were so fast that they got bumped up into the overall winners or the Master's winners divisions - so I kind of placed by default.  But hey- I'll take it. I can always use a workout towel.

The Bad:
   I can pretty much only run a few miles without wanting to die. My endurance just isn't back yet. Yesterday's run was a 15k, which is 9.3 miles and I faded like a delicate flower at around mile 6. Well, not so much a "faded flower" as "cursing, crying, questioning my life-choices hot mess." Seriously. It was bad. Granted, it was about 85-90 degrees yesterday, which is just stupid considering it's October. Way too hot.
   This regularly wouldn't be such a big deal, except that I have a half-ironman next weekend. This was supposed to be my "A-Race" for the season. The big one that you train for all year and that you're all "I'm going to kick this race's ass" for. Well, you know how my year has been. And based on yesterday's run, I have NO idea how I'm going to get through 13.1 miles after the swim and the bike. Not. A. Clue.

The Ugly:
   So - I signed up for this little thing called Ironman Chattanooga. Now, I did my due diligence and checked out the bike course prior to signing up. Considering how bad a bike course in Chattanooga COULD BE (there are MOUNTAINS there), this elevation profile didn't seem that bad. Something like 2,000 feet of climbing. Totally fine.
   But - hey!  Guess what? Turns out that the Ironman elevation was wrong! They changed it this week to over 3,000 feet of climbing! And, according to people who have ridden the course- that's even wrong. It's more like 4,000 + feet!
   So I went from signing up for a relatively "easy" Ironman as far as elevation profiles go...to one of the hardest. Awesome, right? JUST what I wanted for my first Ironman! Fortunately, I live close enough to Chattanooga that I'll be able to ride the course a few times before the race. I see lots of road trips in my future!

Next up: Goosepond Island Half Ironman...yeah...we'll see how this goes.  :-)

It Just Got Real, Y'all...

   Ironman Chattanooga is one year from today (take a look at my fancy countdown clock in the upper right-hand corner!). That might seem really far off, but having a year until the race makes it real for me. It's no longer just some event off in the distance. It's a year away. Tomorrow, it will be less than a year away.  Soon, it will be 10 months away, then 6 months... I know how quickly time can sneak by - and I want to be ready.
   So, though I don't "officially" start training for this race until January, I'll still be out there over the next few months biking on the Trace or running over in Shelby Park. Training for the training, if you will. If you see me, feel free to come say hi, offer some kind words of encouragement and maybe give me a cookie. I'm going to need all of the support I can get.  :-)

Riverbluff Triathlon Race Report

   A week ago Saturday was the Riverbluff Triathlon. Yes, I'm a little delayed in posting this. I've been a little busy...and lazy. But mostly busy.

   And unlike the past two triathlons I've tried to do, I actually got to race Riverbluff! No hurt ankles...No E.Coli in the river... The race was ALMOST changed to a Duathlon, but I'll get to that in a minute.
   Race day started at around 4:00 am. Kathy, my FTP training buddy and neighbor, picked me up at 5:20. Yes, 5-freaking-20 AM! So early. So, so early. (Sidebar:  I swear, at some point I'm taking up a sport where I can sleep in, like bowling.)  Riverbluff actually has three races, a Half-Iron distance, an Olympic and a Sprint. Our race (Olympic) didn't start until 8:15, but we were supposed to be there around 6:30, which is why we left so early. Fortunately, the crew from FTP was there, so we had a place to hang out while we were waiting for our race to start.

This was only about half of us.  FTP was everywhere!

   Unfortunately, though the day was supposed to eventually clear up, it was EXTREMELY foggy down the river. It was so bad that the Coast Guard wouldn't left the Half-Iron distance start at 7:15, as scheduled. It was too dangerous. That race kept getting postponed and postponed... I thought for sure they were going to change the Half AND the Olympic to a Duathlon because the fog just wasn't lifting.  Finally, at about 8:10, the Coast Guard gave the go-ahead and the Half was finally allowed to start.
   My race started about 15 minutes after the Half. The Olympic races were broken up into two groups of men and one of women, with the women starting last. It was still really, really foggy when the first group of men started. It was kind of surreal to watch these guys just swim off into the fog. I couldn't believe I was about to do the same thing! I was seriously thinking that I was about to do something really stupid by racing. I mean, who gets into a river to swim when they can't see where they are going?
   But sure enough, a few minutes later, I found myself in the water with 100 other crazy women. We were all just nervously laughing and saying things like "I can't believe we're racing in this!" I tried to look across the river to see the green buoy, which was our first turning point, but couldn't. I figured I'd just follow the lead swimmers and hope the fog would lift soon.

I'm somewhere in that mess...just blindly swimming off into the unknown.

   The horn sounded, and we were off. I did exactly what I had planned - I followed the leaders and hoped I'd end up at the green buoy, which I did. And by the time we hit the second buoy, I could feel the sun on my back. The fog had lifted! HAZZAH! I actually felt pretty good out there. I hadn't swam 1,500 meters continuously in a while, so I was a little concerned about my endurance, but I was fine. In fact, the worst part about the swim was getting out of the water. The boat ramp was slimy and kind of steep. Fortunately, there were several volunteers who helped us out. I wouldn't have been able to get out on my own.
    After a short run (on gravel - ouch) to transition, I easily found my bike because, as I mentioned, we were the last Olympic group to start. Most of the men (I did catch some) and some of the women were already gone. It's a little discouraging to get to transition and see a bunch of empty racks, even if you know it's because they started before you did. But what can you do? So, I got on the bike and was off.
   Now one reason I had wanted to do this race was that I was told it was a flat ride and perfect for a PR. I can't remember who told me that, but if they considered this course flat, I'd hate to see what their version of hilly is. This was NOT a flat course. FTP actually did hill repeats on one of the worst hills out here a few weeks ago. At the time, I was thinking "I'm SO glad this hill isn't on the race course!" Of course, it was.
   The only real complaint I have about the bike course was that it was WAY TOO CONGESTED for a race of this size and not have the roads closed. Remember- there were three races going one at this point and at about 10 miles left on the course, we all met up. At one point, a truck had stopped in the middle of the street, so I had to literally stop in the middle of my bike leg and wait for him to get moving again. By the time he did, about 15 riders had joined up with me, so we all started riding in a pack, which is a big race no-no. We all had to follow the truck down the biggest hill. He was going nice and slow, which was a good and bad thing. Good, because by going slow he wouldn't hit any cyclists. Thank you for being considerate, Mr. Truck Driver. The bad part was that because he was slow - I was slow. Rather than flying down the hill at 30 MPH, I was probably going 15. Sigh. But, I'd rather have all of us be safe than have a fast bike split.
   We rode in a pack most of the way back to the transition area. I really can't believe I didn't get a penalty for drafting, but I think the race organizers understood what the deal was - there were just too many people out there.
   By the time I got to the run, the sun had REALLY started shining and it was HOT. I don't really have any witty commentary about the run because I was miserable the entire time and walked way more than I should have. After being slowed on the bike leg, I kind of figured any chance I had to podium was shot. As everyone knows, the run is my nemesis in triathlon. I pretty much need conditions to be perfect for me to have a good run and today, I was already mentally defeated. I really need to work on this. I should have been all "forget you guys, I'm going to crush you on the run!" But I was really more, "Ugh, it's hot and my bike leg sucked. Let me just get through this." The last mile had no shade and just seemed to take FOREVER! My friend Maureen caught me and we ran it in to the finish together. Afterwards, we went directly to the river and sat in it for about 20 minutes. I was so hot, and that water felt really, really good.

Pretty cool medal.

East Nasty represent! Maureen, Me, Lana, Kim and Marne.

   Overall, the race was fun, even though the heat just killed me. I actually ended up with a PR, which was surprising. The post-race food was amazing, which is always a bonus. It turns out that I was only 3 minutes from 3rd place AG, which I absolutely could have made up if I had been more focused on racing rather than how hot it was. Lesson learned - no matter how bad you think you're doing, you have no idea what everyone is doing so keep pushing until the finish.
   The congestion on the ride is an issue. I found out a few days after the race that one of the racers was hit by a car. Fortunately, it looks like she's going to be Ok (though the driver isn't being charged with anything...don't get me started on this). I think the only way to fix this is to close the roads completely. I'm not sure if that's going to happen. I guess we'll see next year.
   On a totally different note, Kathy, Dudley and I all raced the Heroes in Recovery 6k yesterday. Yes, a 6k! This was an awesome race in Leipers Fork. The course took us by an alpaca farm! So cute! And Kathy and I actually went 1st and 2nd in our AG, plus Belinda from FTP also got 1st AG. We all got running hats as an award. Love it! :-)

 I loved the shirts.

FTP: Belinda, Becky, Kathy, me and Dudley.

   Next up: the Hustle for the House 5k benefitting the Ronald McDonald House. I'm on the board for this race, so I'm not sure if I'm going to race or not. It's a great race for a great cause, so I'm really looking forward to it - even if I have to get up at 4:00 to help set up!  :-)

I May or May Not Have Done Something Really Stupid

   Yeah - that's right.  I kind of signed up for an Ironman.  Ok - well, not "kind of," I DID sign up for an Ironman.  For you non-triathletes, that's 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of riding and 26.2 miles of running for a grand total of 140.6 miles.

   Have I ever swam/biked/run ANY of those distances previously? Nope. Am I crazy?  Possibly. Am I scared? Terrified, actually. But I never want "being afraid" to be the reason for me to not do something.  (Well, except skydiving. THOSE people are crazy.)

   The good news is that I probably know 20-40 people in the Nashville area who will also be doing this race. I'll have training buddies galore. Plus, with Chattanooga being only 2-hours away, I expect several trips there to ride and run the race course.  And I know that Andrew and Jessica at FTP Coaching will whip my butt into shape. Barring any injuries, I should be more than prepared physically to finish an Ironman (i.e. no time goal. Just get me across the line under 17 hours). Being prepared mentally is a totally different thing. I'm sure I'll have my ups and downs over the next year, but I'm excited to take the journey.