May 20th, 2012 was a cool dark and at 4:30 am an early morning. I took a drive into Morgan Hill with as many as 1000 other crazy people who too were up at 4am, to gather around a small reservoir by the name of Uvas Reservoir to swim, bike and run our way to a podium finish at the 21st annual Morgan Hill sprint triathlon. The morning was cool but calm, the people were quiet and welcoming all the while the steam slowly lifted off the water as the sun barely shone above the tops of the surrounding mountains. Ah I could sit here all morning with a coffee in hand and camera in the other. But no I came here to do something to that day I had not done before, and that was to take part in this crazy sport of triathlons.
I arrive early enough to get a good parking spot only a 3 minute walk from the transition area. I hop out of my car like all the other crazies, unload my bike, grab my equipment bag (of which I need to buy a better backpack) lock the car and make the short trek to fight for a good spot in transition. I am pleasantly greeted with empty racks as I was smart enough to get there early. No wait so I assess the entry and exit for each of the three events we have to do and find my best suited place amongst the racks. I rack my bike, drop my bag and before I do anything else I do my morning Port-o-John visit and get my body markings done.
Making my way back to my bike I assess the other transition set ups, as this is my very first triathlon as the one I did in April turned into a duathlon because of poor water quality. What does that mean? It meant I had an extra piece of equipment in my transition area, namely the wetsuit I had to account for when I came back from the swim. Transition area is set up and I still have 1.5 hours till gun time, so what to do. Walk around to keep from getting nervous. Find a "quiet" place to reflect on what I am about to embark upon today and how I may stay calm under pressure and in what ways will I stay focused on the task at hand....stay afloat, rubber side down, and on my feet.
This day was to break me into my first mass start swim. Going into the event I knew I could be very competitive in the bike and run portion of this triathlon being it was only a 16 mile bike and a 5 mile run. My biggest concern was the swim. I had not to that point participated in a open water mass start swim, and this was to be only my third time in a wetsuit. Needless to say I was literally shaking in my wetsuit when I finally got to jump into the water, but more on that later.
Back to the transition area, its T-minus 40 minute to gun time and I start pulling on my wetsuit. BUT first I have to slather up with body glide to make sure the wetsuit can slid on but also to make sure it will not chafe me during the swim. Its on and I gather my swim cap, the hideous pink it was, my goggles, make a few quick checks on my transition area, make sure my timing chip is securely in place on my ankle under the wetsuit and start the long walk to the waters edge.
Standing at the water I feel the nerves begin to rise inside me like the rising tides, the anxiousness get the best of me and I decided to get into the water 3 waves before my start (about 15 minutes). Its murky, mushy and just plain nasty but I have to wade through it to get to the start which is about 100 meters out. Making my way to the side of the start line with all the other pink capped ladies I notice my teeth start to chatter, I check in with myself I'm not cold, so crap I am way too nervous. Time is ticking and my body knows its about to have to pull my using my arms for three quarters of a mile in very close proximity to many other women and some men along the way.
The last heat before mine is off and all the ladies in my wave move to the floating start line. I line up at the right side in the front row behind only one woman. However as we are floating there I notice I am surrounded by too many and we are all kicking each other while we are treading water. Oh well I cant do anything about it cause the official starts the count down, 3...2...1 BANG!!! And what a bang it was. The woman in front of me dove in and kicked her feet up catching me right in the nose as I lean forward to begin my stroke. I stop dead trying to catch my breath when all of a sudden the woman right behind me is now swimming over me and I catch her elbow in the back of my head as I sink underneath her. My god what am I doing here, I'm going to die even before I cross the start line. Trying to regain my composure I finally come up catch a few breaths and take off trying frantically to get in a groove and stop hyperventilating. Its no use I cannot so for the ENTIRE swim I alternate between 20 strokes and roll onto my back catch my breath for 10 back strokes, roll over and do it again. Not the best way to do the swim but it was all I could do to stay composed enough for the swim.
The swim couldn't even end uneventful. Nope I had to slip getting out of the water and fall right on the timing chip on my ankle. I didn't realize it at the time but it cracked me right on the ankle bone. Finally I am up the hill, the goggles and swim cap are off, the top of the wetsuit is off and I find my transition area. Sitting down to get the legs off was the only way to go for me. Throw on the helmet, socks, shoes, number belt, and sunglasses, I grab the bike and begin running out the shoot. Once clipped in I take off like a bat outta hell. Passing people left and right, okay well maybe only on their left but still passing a multitude of people. I'm in my groove and hold a steady 20mph average pace for the entire 16 miles. I felt strong and checked in with my body to see if I could push faster, knowing I still had to run 5 miles and starting to feel an ache in my ankle I decided to hold steady at 20. The transition zone is only a mile away and I check in again to remind myself what I need to do to make a quick transition. I slam on my brakes, literally skidding through the transition shoot, I am throwing my leg off the bike and already running while the bike is moving, WOW that was cool!
T2 as it is called, bike to run transition, is super fast. I rack my bike, shoes go flying off and on go running shoes fully equipped with stretchy laces. I grab my visor and Garmin and am out the T2 area in under a minute! On the run course my legs are heavy (as they always are the first few miles after a ride), but my left ankle is feeling really weird. I stumble a few times and realize the timing chip slipped and is pressing into my ankle bone and hitting a nerve. OUCH! The damn chip is hurting me and slowing me down, but I don't stop running. Instead I keep running but with a huge lift of my left leg to try and move then chip. I am determined NOT to stop running, but it just isn't working. The legs come to a halt and I bend over to see what the hell is the problem. Taking the fastest alternative I rotate the chip so it is facing almost the front of my ankle, ahhh relief finally so off I go. At this point in the race I know I am not in contention for the podium but I still challenge myself to push as hard as I can and keep a 7:30 mile pace.
The run course was relatively flat and exposed as we were on Uvas rd right next to the reservoir. And because its an out and back I decided to count how many women are ahead of me and if any I may catch before the finish line. I counted as high as 60 women heading back to the finish before I hit the turn around, and decide its "Go TIME". So go I did, and one by one started picking off the women till I was staring down the back of woman number 39. Its a mile to go and knowing I want to push myself as hard as I can I pace her for a short bit, maybe 200 meters, then decided I can keep a bit faster pace for the final three quarter mile and I pick up my pace overtake her and run down the finishing shoot with a smile on my face, throbbing in my feet and ankles and a sense of accomplishment I hadn't thought I would have felt after my less than stellar swim earlier that day.
My official finish time is 2 hours and 55 seconds. I had no idea what that meant in the grand scheme of female competitors that day. The event for me was a success, why because I did not drown, I stayed rubber side down, I kept on my feet, and I stayed present every step of the way. I learned many things about myself and most importantly my limiters in triathlon events, but also learned about my will to press on in the face of adversity.
With the swim being my weakest event from now till July 28th I must spend many many hours in the pool working on my stroke and breathing. In the next few weeks training is going to get pretty intense as June is going to be the last month to really push the intensity and distances on my training. June 3rd I am participating in an Olympic distance triathlon the Reservoir tri at Uvas again, then on June 23rd (my 35th birthday, gift to myself) I will be participating in the Silicon Valley International Half Ironman triathlon. My training plans also include a few of the splash and dash events at Stevens creek reservoir to get that little bit more mass start swim practice in.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more updates to my road to triathlon transition. Cheers!
Showing posts with label Swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swimming. Show all posts
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Practice Half Iron Distance Event
The morning of April 28th was to be an epic day for me. I was invited by a good cycling friend who is also in Ironman triathlon training to join him and another friend for a practice Half iron distance triathlon. With a little hesitation I decided to go ahead and join them. Prior to that day I had not ran further than 9.2 miles and that day we were not only to run a full half marathon, but do it with over 1000 feet of climbing, again my most climbing was about 300 feet. In the end I am so glad I joined them and here is why...
Rise at 5:30am, make breakfast which consisted of toasted banana and peanut butter sandwich, coffee, and big bottle of water. Load the car up and off I go. The morning was a warm 62 degrees already and the sun was shining beautifully upon us. Arrival at Los Gatos Swim and Tennis club promptly at 6:45 to allow time to change and jump into the pool for which we were to do 40 laps. I knew I would not get the entire 40 laps in in the time they boys would but I just jumped in and started knocking them off one by one. It was about lap 20 when I started feeling a bit tired and winded, so I rolled on my back and kept moving, practice for the real events right? The boys finished 40 laps in 35 minutes and I hit 32 laps when they both jumped out of the pool. Feeling like I could and wanted to keep going I checked in with them but they wanted to start the bike so I needed to get out at that point to be able to ride with them.
So off we go, change out of the wet cloths which takes us about 10 minutes to transition but then off we go by bike now and a total time of 45 minutes since starting. Headed past the reservoirs and into Morgan Hill was our route before our return leg to the swim and tennis club. There were head winds out there this particular morning that slowed me down too much but I kept as aero as possible and just kept the legs going even if that meant I had to use my small chain ring. Many times we were pretty close together but I kept trying not to ride in anyones draft just as I wont be able to during my events this year, so different than my former life in bike racing where you are encouraged to get as close as possible to really get the best draft. During the ride we end up going 61 miles instead of the 55 we needed to do, I felt that was my make up for not swimming the full distance.
Back to the swim club and off the bikes. I toss my bike on the roof rack as quickly as I can, toss the shoes on, wet my head, put on my visor and sunglasses, take a few sips more of water and eat half a package of GU chomps, Peach tea flavor YUM! Make sure my pockets have nutrition in them and turn to the guys who are still changing. In all it took us about 10 minutes in this transition. Before we head off for the run.
To date my longest run was 9.2 miles which I did in about an hour and 20 minutes but it had little climbing. Today's route was to do the Over and back loop up Lexington. I told the guys I may have to drop back early, so the plan was to head out for about 56 minutes then turn around. Well 4 miles in and we get to the bottom of the reservoir. I'm a bit nervous but load up with water as this is also our last water stop for the next 6 miles. Up we go, and wow some of those "ups" were killer. But my good buddy Adam kindly reminded me about this YouTube video on HTFU. Some of you may remember it if not look it up and please share it. In any case HTFU quite simply means, "Harden The Fuck Up". Adam was reminding me if I wanted to attain my goal of finishing the Ironman triathlon this year I needed to suck it up today and just do the run. So every time we hit one of those nasty climbs I would just say in my head and sometimes out loud HTFU, HTFU, HTFU!!!!! It sure did help me because before I knew it we were at the top of the ridge 1300 feet up and 6.1 miles into the run. I did it I made it to the top of the climb and the half way point of the run, much further than I thought I would be able to do, and much harder than I have had to push myself to date. We took maybe a minute to stop look at the view take in 2 GU chomps each and then off we go back down.
The run back was still difficult because we needed to descend all that which we climbed plus a few other small climbs on the way back down. Knowing I could keep pace with these guys I would allow myself to slow a little on the climbs but promised myself they could not get more than 20 feet ahead at which point I MUST pick back up my pace. Well mile 10 rolls around and my feet are getting sore (blisters on top of blisters) but we are back at the watering station. I think I drank at least 24 ounces and also held back tears of accomplishment. To date I had never ran that far. I felt such a sense of accomplishment in not only running that far but doing it after already having swum and rode my bike.
The last 4 miles of the run were gruelling but I have to say I hit the wall at mile 12. My legs were saying no more, my blisters were screaming at me saying no more, and my will to push on was telling all these parts of my body to HTFU!!!!!!!! I even told Adam if we get back to the club and we haven't hit the full 13.1 miles I am going to keep going till I get it. I didn't go this far NOT to do an entire half marathon! So just as we are approaching the club I realize we are going to hit 13.1 miles and I might be able to get it in in under 2 hours. I pick up my pace just enough and at 1 hour 59 minutes and 32 seconds I complete my first half marathon! Not to mention I at that same time completed my first Half Ironman Distance triathlon. With the times we did today everything included my final time on the day was 6 hours and 22 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm excited and nervous all at the same time for my next attempt at this distance but this time it will be under race conditions and in open water with a wetsuit so transitions will be different. My goal for the day was not just met but exceeded, I managed to push past the mental blocks I had of running that far and being able to push after each transition. Looking forward to my next adventure...Auburn Half Iron Distance May 20th dubbed "The World's Toughest Half", and I AM ready to HTFU and meet that challenge head on!
Rise at 5:30am, make breakfast which consisted of toasted banana and peanut butter sandwich, coffee, and big bottle of water. Load the car up and off I go. The morning was a warm 62 degrees already and the sun was shining beautifully upon us. Arrival at Los Gatos Swim and Tennis club promptly at 6:45 to allow time to change and jump into the pool for which we were to do 40 laps. I knew I would not get the entire 40 laps in in the time they boys would but I just jumped in and started knocking them off one by one. It was about lap 20 when I started feeling a bit tired and winded, so I rolled on my back and kept moving, practice for the real events right? The boys finished 40 laps in 35 minutes and I hit 32 laps when they both jumped out of the pool. Feeling like I could and wanted to keep going I checked in with them but they wanted to start the bike so I needed to get out at that point to be able to ride with them.
So off we go, change out of the wet cloths which takes us about 10 minutes to transition but then off we go by bike now and a total time of 45 minutes since starting. Headed past the reservoirs and into Morgan Hill was our route before our return leg to the swim and tennis club. There were head winds out there this particular morning that slowed me down too much but I kept as aero as possible and just kept the legs going even if that meant I had to use my small chain ring. Many times we were pretty close together but I kept trying not to ride in anyones draft just as I wont be able to during my events this year, so different than my former life in bike racing where you are encouraged to get as close as possible to really get the best draft. During the ride we end up going 61 miles instead of the 55 we needed to do, I felt that was my make up for not swimming the full distance.
Back to the swim club and off the bikes. I toss my bike on the roof rack as quickly as I can, toss the shoes on, wet my head, put on my visor and sunglasses, take a few sips more of water and eat half a package of GU chomps, Peach tea flavor YUM! Make sure my pockets have nutrition in them and turn to the guys who are still changing. In all it took us about 10 minutes in this transition. Before we head off for the run.
To date my longest run was 9.2 miles which I did in about an hour and 20 minutes but it had little climbing. Today's route was to do the Over and back loop up Lexington. I told the guys I may have to drop back early, so the plan was to head out for about 56 minutes then turn around. Well 4 miles in and we get to the bottom of the reservoir. I'm a bit nervous but load up with water as this is also our last water stop for the next 6 miles. Up we go, and wow some of those "ups" were killer. But my good buddy Adam kindly reminded me about this YouTube video on HTFU. Some of you may remember it if not look it up and please share it. In any case HTFU quite simply means, "Harden The Fuck Up". Adam was reminding me if I wanted to attain my goal of finishing the Ironman triathlon this year I needed to suck it up today and just do the run. So every time we hit one of those nasty climbs I would just say in my head and sometimes out loud HTFU, HTFU, HTFU!!!!! It sure did help me because before I knew it we were at the top of the ridge 1300 feet up and 6.1 miles into the run. I did it I made it to the top of the climb and the half way point of the run, much further than I thought I would be able to do, and much harder than I have had to push myself to date. We took maybe a minute to stop look at the view take in 2 GU chomps each and then off we go back down.
The run back was still difficult because we needed to descend all that which we climbed plus a few other small climbs on the way back down. Knowing I could keep pace with these guys I would allow myself to slow a little on the climbs but promised myself they could not get more than 20 feet ahead at which point I MUST pick back up my pace. Well mile 10 rolls around and my feet are getting sore (blisters on top of blisters) but we are back at the watering station. I think I drank at least 24 ounces and also held back tears of accomplishment. To date I had never ran that far. I felt such a sense of accomplishment in not only running that far but doing it after already having swum and rode my bike.
The last 4 miles of the run were gruelling but I have to say I hit the wall at mile 12. My legs were saying no more, my blisters were screaming at me saying no more, and my will to push on was telling all these parts of my body to HTFU!!!!!!!! I even told Adam if we get back to the club and we haven't hit the full 13.1 miles I am going to keep going till I get it. I didn't go this far NOT to do an entire half marathon! So just as we are approaching the club I realize we are going to hit 13.1 miles and I might be able to get it in in under 2 hours. I pick up my pace just enough and at 1 hour 59 minutes and 32 seconds I complete my first half marathon! Not to mention I at that same time completed my first Half Ironman Distance triathlon. With the times we did today everything included my final time on the day was 6 hours and 22 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm excited and nervous all at the same time for my next attempt at this distance but this time it will be under race conditions and in open water with a wetsuit so transitions will be different. My goal for the day was not just met but exceeded, I managed to push past the mental blocks I had of running that far and being able to push after each transition. Looking forward to my next adventure...Auburn Half Iron Distance May 20th dubbed "The World's Toughest Half", and I AM ready to HTFU and meet that challenge head on!
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