On my recovery days I try to spend my time cooking, since A.) I eat a ton while training so it helps me save money and B.) In general pretty fun and relaxing, so its a win-win. Most nights I don't even get to eat until 8-9pm, so adding time for cooking the meal makes for a late night.
Tonight I made mushroom soup from a bunch of ingredients I had in my fridge. The picture is on my FB page, but here is the jist of what I did:
I took a package of ground pork that I got from Sprouts that is from a farm that sources feral pigs (awesome that invasive species are being used- good for the environment), browned it in a large steel pot. Then I added salt and pepper as they browned, two chopped leeks, and 3 minced cloves of garlic to soften. I then added about 2 cups of chopped portobello mushrooms and 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme. Once everything was soft and cooked through, I added 1tbs browning sauce (German version of Worshister sauce...thanks Jana!). The last part was about 4 cups or so of pork stock (beef would probably work instead) that I made from ham and a ham bone earlier in the fall. Simmer for 20min, and that's the soup!
Monday, December 1, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Next steps!
So with the 2014 season done and 2015 slowly sneaking ahead, its time to start considering what to do about next year. This fall I've been enjoying getting back into running as my foot slowly heals, and got some time to catch back up with some of the BLN guys for a few rides before it got too dark. Biking grew on me a lot this past year, and I enjoyed meeting a lot of new people through that sport. However, since in the fall the temperatures start to drop, it gets dark, and my travel schedule picks up again, I always usually revert to just running. Its a lot easier to pack a pair of shoes and my running gear then worrying about a bike and trying to find a pool. I enjoy the simplicity, the ability to explore with running, and deal with the elements better than the other sports. I signed up for the Austin Half Marathon to give myself a goal to train to with running, and have been appreciative that my body is rebounding fairly well to get my mileage up without my foot hurting again. I've had to make a few changes with my flexibility, and include more core work for imbalances with my left leg. I've also tried trying to take in more tumeric to see if that helps with the tendon inflammation in my foot...but honestly its a pretty yummy spice anyhow so even if its not doing anything its OK.
But...the big BUT is starting to come back. I talked to my friend and teammate from college Jackie about doing a half-ironman distance race in Florida in April, and I started considering whether I wanted to do my first half early in the spring before Worlds and Redman in the fall. The timing would be perfect, since late April through July I have a lot of traveling again for work, and so racing will be a secondary priority this summer as I try to juggle work and just basic training anyhow. So, it would be good to get a big race out of the way in the spring. However, it would mean pretty much my whole winter would be sucking it up on the trainer, and back to super-long, solo training sessions in Norman to try to juggle everything as efficiently as possible. Right now I'm trying to decide if I've had enough of a mental break from this past season to throw in swimming and biking too this early, or just enjoy my running return and its easy ability to adapt to my schedule. The itch for tri training is coming back...but not in full swing just yet. Decisions, decisions! But no matter what, time to get started on 2015!
 |
| Exploring Portland where I had my annual ECN/ESA meetings. My Oiselle clothes kept me warm with the unusually cold temps there in November, especially the Jogging tights. They are awesome and hold a cell phone (very important when running in Portland...which honestly was sketchy at night). |
Catching up
Its been about 4 months since my last post, and I missed a lot of race reports! Hopefully I can try to wrap up how 2014 went this late in the game, but I did have some pretty exciting parts along the way.
The first biggest race after the On Road Du Draper Duathlon was the Guthrie Triathlon, which was a nice race to do since its a beautiful course and a good challenge if you like hills. Last year I got second place because I dropped my number on the bike (successfully stayed put this year!), and this year finally got the win I really wanted. However, despite a pretty nice swim and a good start to the bike course...which again I like since I love the hills...I bit it on the turnaround with my bike. I dropped my chain and came away with a nasty bruise, which slowed me a bit, but thankfully on the run I managed to make up the distance lost and come back to win. Being able to get up and get back on the bike after crashing again was really a big thing for me since the last crash was in Austin, and I wanted to have an experience of getting past a ride like that. Thank you to all of my TriOKC teammates who were there and did a fabulous job too!
Nationals was the next race after that, and Milwaukee is always such a fun course. They changed the swim to make the course less of a mosh pit under the bridge, and moved the swim exit back so it helped with the course but made the transition a lot longer. The swim itself was one of the toughest swims I've done in terms of battling the entire time: its fun because its nice to have the challenge of being around such strong swimmers, but it was a lot of smacking of arms and not a lot of clean water. The bike was one of the best bikes I've ever had. The course was the same as last year so it was nice to have the heads up on where to push and where to cruise, and with my new Trek and Bontrager wheels I got up to almost 23mph for the average speed, and 8th overall for my agegroup in the bike (crazy!). There was some concern about the water that got into the wheels on the drive up, but it ended up not being a big deal in the end. My run this year wasn't as fast as last year, especially since I pushed it on the bike and it was a lot hotter on the course with the sun out at that point, but again I was really happy I did as well as I did. Overall I got 9th for my race, and qualified for Worlds again in Chicago! My teammate from Oklahoma Stephanie also made it in, so we'll both be racing again this next year (though she'll be a Virginian!).
The next race after that was supposed to be the State Championships at Arcadia, and I really was looking forward to do that race. However, a few setbacks emotionally the night before the race pretty much blew my ability to race, and reminded me that if your head isn't in the game, its not safe to race. Since I have a track record of crashing to begin with, my friends (and fellow triathletes) suggested it was better to be safe than sorry, and I agreed that there are times that its OK to admit to being human. Its the second time I haven't been able to do the State Championship, but hopefully next year I can fix that.
The last race I did this season was Worlds in Edmonton. Sandra was my planned travel buddy since last year, and I was extremely grateful she was there for me this year and keeping me focused and on track. My bike was checked in to be shipped to Edmonton pretty much right after it came back from Nationals, so I didn't get access to my Trek until I was there in Canada. Our flight to Canada went really well, and everything was pretty much as smooth as it could be before the race. We picked up my bike and got Sandra a road bike so she could train while we were there, as well as check out Banff after we were done. Sandra and I biked on the river trail and did the practice swim in the cold water, which was a lot of fun, but it wasn't really that cold for the preceding days of the race. In fact, the aquathlon was apparently pretty hot for people temperature-wise that Thursday. Which made the Monday morning of the race super surprising that it was only in the low 30's at the start.
All of us were freezing, especially the girls in our wave since we had to stand around a while as one of the first waves. It was the first time I've ever had a diving reflex reaction from the cold water in fact, and myself like many other girls apparently had issues with getting a full breath and just dealing with a sense of panic in that water. It was the first time I seriously considered stopping in a swim. Thankfully no matter what I had to keep swimming, and eventually it went away. The run to the bike was also a long run, and by the time I got to my bike I had such a hard time getting out of my wetsuit with numb hands and feet. The first hill climbing out of the bike transition definitely helped me get warmed up, but my feet and hands remained numb for most of the ride. The course was really difficult in terms of handling, but not a hard course by far with effort. It was really hard for me to get up to full speed when there was so much turning and twisting, especially with a TT bike, but with a bunch of people crashing out I was just so happy I was not one of them. The run was one of the most fun runs I've ever done in a triathlon because it reminded me of cross country. It was a mix of trails, grass, and pavement, and the whole time I was just having so much fun that I forgot about the pain building up in my left foot. The split on my run was about the same as Milwaukee, and I was stoked to find out I was in the top 15 in that race for my age group with a 14th place finish. I was so proud, and it was a great end of the season.
My foot that started to hurt in the run of the race ended up being a much more painful injury that I had thought, pretty much making walking around the next two days difficult. And a huge bummer because the rest of the trip was supposed to be biking and hiking with Sandra, which we still ended up doing but not as much as I had hoped. It also meant Redman was a no, but in some respects I already knew that was going to be the case because I was dealing with some serious burnout issues by the time Worlds came around. For my first half ironman I wanted to be motivated and excited, and instead I was just ready to be done. This was also a bit of the plan since I had been training since the preceding December for Worlds as the goal, and had been racing since February. Worlds ended up being the best finale.
Thank you again to the Schlegel Trek Oklahoma Elite team for the wonderful opportunities this season, as well as my friends and TriOKC for the Scholarship and support! I'm glad I could represent you guys proudly!
The first biggest race after the On Road Du Draper Duathlon was the Guthrie Triathlon, which was a nice race to do since its a beautiful course and a good challenge if you like hills. Last year I got second place because I dropped my number on the bike (successfully stayed put this year!), and this year finally got the win I really wanted. However, despite a pretty nice swim and a good start to the bike course...which again I like since I love the hills...I bit it on the turnaround with my bike. I dropped my chain and came away with a nasty bruise, which slowed me a bit, but thankfully on the run I managed to make up the distance lost and come back to win. Being able to get up and get back on the bike after crashing again was really a big thing for me since the last crash was in Austin, and I wanted to have an experience of getting past a ride like that. Thank you to all of my TriOKC teammates who were there and did a fabulous job too!
Nationals was the next race after that, and Milwaukee is always such a fun course. They changed the swim to make the course less of a mosh pit under the bridge, and moved the swim exit back so it helped with the course but made the transition a lot longer. The swim itself was one of the toughest swims I've done in terms of battling the entire time: its fun because its nice to have the challenge of being around such strong swimmers, but it was a lot of smacking of arms and not a lot of clean water. The bike was one of the best bikes I've ever had. The course was the same as last year so it was nice to have the heads up on where to push and where to cruise, and with my new Trek and Bontrager wheels I got up to almost 23mph for the average speed, and 8th overall for my agegroup in the bike (crazy!). There was some concern about the water that got into the wheels on the drive up, but it ended up not being a big deal in the end. My run this year wasn't as fast as last year, especially since I pushed it on the bike and it was a lot hotter on the course with the sun out at that point, but again I was really happy I did as well as I did. Overall I got 9th for my race, and qualified for Worlds again in Chicago! My teammate from Oklahoma Stephanie also made it in, so we'll both be racing again this next year (though she'll be a Virginian!).
The next race after that was supposed to be the State Championships at Arcadia, and I really was looking forward to do that race. However, a few setbacks emotionally the night before the race pretty much blew my ability to race, and reminded me that if your head isn't in the game, its not safe to race. Since I have a track record of crashing to begin with, my friends (and fellow triathletes) suggested it was better to be safe than sorry, and I agreed that there are times that its OK to admit to being human. Its the second time I haven't been able to do the State Championship, but hopefully next year I can fix that.
The last race I did this season was Worlds in Edmonton. Sandra was my planned travel buddy since last year, and I was extremely grateful she was there for me this year and keeping me focused and on track. My bike was checked in to be shipped to Edmonton pretty much right after it came back from Nationals, so I didn't get access to my Trek until I was there in Canada. Our flight to Canada went really well, and everything was pretty much as smooth as it could be before the race. We picked up my bike and got Sandra a road bike so she could train while we were there, as well as check out Banff after we were done. Sandra and I biked on the river trail and did the practice swim in the cold water, which was a lot of fun, but it wasn't really that cold for the preceding days of the race. In fact, the aquathlon was apparently pretty hot for people temperature-wise that Thursday. Which made the Monday morning of the race super surprising that it was only in the low 30's at the start.
All of us were freezing, especially the girls in our wave since we had to stand around a while as one of the first waves. It was the first time I've ever had a diving reflex reaction from the cold water in fact, and myself like many other girls apparently had issues with getting a full breath and just dealing with a sense of panic in that water. It was the first time I seriously considered stopping in a swim. Thankfully no matter what I had to keep swimming, and eventually it went away. The run to the bike was also a long run, and by the time I got to my bike I had such a hard time getting out of my wetsuit with numb hands and feet. The first hill climbing out of the bike transition definitely helped me get warmed up, but my feet and hands remained numb for most of the ride. The course was really difficult in terms of handling, but not a hard course by far with effort. It was really hard for me to get up to full speed when there was so much turning and twisting, especially with a TT bike, but with a bunch of people crashing out I was just so happy I was not one of them. The run was one of the most fun runs I've ever done in a triathlon because it reminded me of cross country. It was a mix of trails, grass, and pavement, and the whole time I was just having so much fun that I forgot about the pain building up in my left foot. The split on my run was about the same as Milwaukee, and I was stoked to find out I was in the top 15 in that race for my age group with a 14th place finish. I was so proud, and it was a great end of the season.
My foot that started to hurt in the run of the race ended up being a much more painful injury that I had thought, pretty much making walking around the next two days difficult. And a huge bummer because the rest of the trip was supposed to be biking and hiking with Sandra, which we still ended up doing but not as much as I had hoped. It also meant Redman was a no, but in some respects I already knew that was going to be the case because I was dealing with some serious burnout issues by the time Worlds came around. For my first half ironman I wanted to be motivated and excited, and instead I was just ready to be done. This was also a bit of the plan since I had been training since the preceding December for Worlds as the goal, and had been racing since February. Worlds ended up being the best finale.
Thank you again to the Schlegel Trek Oklahoma Elite team for the wonderful opportunities this season, as well as my friends and TriOKC for the Scholarship and support! I'm glad I could represent you guys proudly!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Work, Travel, a Conquest and a Duathlon
Its been awhile since I did a blog entry and race report, mostly because I've been doing most of my writing and traveling the last few weeks for work. As many people know, my job and career is as a research entomologist (someone who studies insects) and assistant curator at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. This means I do a lot of writing of grants to get money, equipment and supplies for our Recent Invertebrates Collection and for research, a lot of traveling for getting specimens, outreach with ExplorOlogy, and conferences to present my research. Especially in the summer, when school is out and many of the events that can't be done during the main semesters. Unfortunately, this bustle of activity also coincides with triathlon season, so the summers really test my time management skills to the maximum.
Thankfully while in college I learned the majority of my skills with managing a DI running schedule and a full academic schedule, with at least 16-18hours a semester of school and labs and 3-6 hours a day for running. All of us on the XC and track teams at William and Mary got very good at studying at track meets and doing the best we could with training while traveling to meets. Eventually when I got to graduate school and my ability to pull 3-6 hours of training a day was long gone, I found ways to at least throw my shoes in my travel bags so I could run around Europe, Australia, South Africa, and Central America when I had the opportunity.
And...there is now. I have a full time job in a career that I love and is a once-in-a-lifetime job position, and I try to fit in as much triathlon training around that schedule as a I can. So far its been using the skills I learned in college and grad school for multi-tasking...times 10. Granted I don't have a family and kids to try to balance that too, but trying to figure out how to haul a bike to Black Mesa to find opportunities to train while I'm working with high school kids 12+ hours a day has its challenges too. Since my job is #1 and pays my bills, inevitably things like the blog and sometimes extra training has to slide in months like July as I try to juggle it all, and to do the best I can in both. Unfortunately this also means I've become pretty anti-social, since every 15 minutes I would spend commuting is an extra 15min I could actually train, so lately I've stuck to training near home and Norman to maximize every ounce of time I can get.
So since Rt. 66, I've mostly just been training, working, and traveling up until the Norman Conquest and the Du Draper On Road duathlon. The Norman Conquest was a lot of fun, despite the 4 miles we accidentally cut off. It was hot and hilly as expected, and a bunch of us (Rob, Kevin, Mike, Dan, etc.) stopped at most of the SAG sites to refill our water bottles at every opportunity we could get, taking it mostly easy. Getting to ride my road bike again was a plus since I really enjoy riding it; I had a lot of fun with it at Tulsa Tough, and definitely had fun again this time in Norman. Honestly I didn't feel like the hills were that bad since we Normanites train on them all the time, but my butt was a little sore that afternoon as a warning that tomorrow might be rough. My goal on signing up was to get used to biking longer before a race so I could really get used to running on tired legs, and the next day for the Duathlon.
Sunday rolled around and again I got up at 5:30am (ugh...) to head to Draper for the Duathlon. I knew going into it that my STOKEs teammate Kirsten Chapman was a force to reckon with for the overall win since she killed it last year as well and does really well in heat (MIO this year was a testament to that!). My other teammate Sarah Bell also did really well last year and passed me on the bike, and I only caught her on the last run. Since she is focusing on her Ironman in Kentucky I knew she had a lot of fitness coming in and did really well on the Conquest the day before too, so my goal was to at least get top 3 so we could get a STOKE sweep if we could. Our guys team was set and ready to rock for top places too, so it was exciting to have all of us race in our new kits and to represent!
The first run 3K I took out pretty conservatively since my legs were just not feeling it and I didn't want to burn them out any more than I had to before the bike, so I stayed in visible distance to Kirsten until she slipped away on the bike as the stealthy biker she is. My first transition was a lot faster than it has been in the past now that I figured out my new helmet clasper, and I managed to get up and on the bike fairly well despite still not being able to do the on-the-shoe mount (yes...I know I need to work on that...). The ride felt pretty good considering, and I was passed a few guys while trying to keep my pace a solid tempo effort. The hills, though...hurt. I wasn't completely recovered from the day before and being in aero position didn't really make my butt any happier. My favorite and happiest moment was how I maintained control (and sanity) as I rode all the descents on North Draper Road at full speed in aero position on my Trek bike while dodging pot holes and other obstacles. Granted the whole time in my head I was screaming "Holy s#Y%, I'm flying!!", but for someone who is still a bit twitchy after my concussion, I was happy I could do that and not panic.
Rolling into T2 I didn't do my new skill of getting my feet out of the shoes, mostly because it was such a steep decline to transition and I didn't want to break and reach down at the same time, and I swear Roger gave me a look of shame as I unclipped out (lol). Rob snuck up right behind me on the bike, and we both exited the run around the same time. Surprisingly my second run wasn't too far off my first run pace, which was comforting since it felt a ton harder and I didn't make the mistake of last year of burning all my bridges by then. I snuck up a few places passing a few more guys on the second run, and finished in with a 10 second PR and second place overall for women. Considering I had fried legs and was pretty conservative on the race, I was happy about that!
As usual the Duathlon this weekend was really well run and a ton of fun, with great races by everyone. The next few weeks for me are traveling to DC for a conference, which again means serious time management and creativity to figure out how I'm going to train (rent a bike? where can I find a pool? The sessions start at 8am and go to at least 5-6pm...what is still open after 6?), and then more traveling to Nationals and Worlds. Yowza!
Thankfully while in college I learned the majority of my skills with managing a DI running schedule and a full academic schedule, with at least 16-18hours a semester of school and labs and 3-6 hours a day for running. All of us on the XC and track teams at William and Mary got very good at studying at track meets and doing the best we could with training while traveling to meets. Eventually when I got to graduate school and my ability to pull 3-6 hours of training a day was long gone, I found ways to at least throw my shoes in my travel bags so I could run around Europe, Australia, South Africa, and Central America when I had the opportunity.
And...there is now. I have a full time job in a career that I love and is a once-in-a-lifetime job position, and I try to fit in as much triathlon training around that schedule as a I can. So far its been using the skills I learned in college and grad school for multi-tasking...times 10. Granted I don't have a family and kids to try to balance that too, but trying to figure out how to haul a bike to Black Mesa to find opportunities to train while I'm working with high school kids 12+ hours a day has its challenges too. Since my job is #1 and pays my bills, inevitably things like the blog and sometimes extra training has to slide in months like July as I try to juggle it all, and to do the best I can in both. Unfortunately this also means I've become pretty anti-social, since every 15 minutes I would spend commuting is an extra 15min I could actually train, so lately I've stuck to training near home and Norman to maximize every ounce of time I can get.
So since Rt. 66, I've mostly just been training, working, and traveling up until the Norman Conquest and the Du Draper On Road duathlon. The Norman Conquest was a lot of fun, despite the 4 miles we accidentally cut off. It was hot and hilly as expected, and a bunch of us (Rob, Kevin, Mike, Dan, etc.) stopped at most of the SAG sites to refill our water bottles at every opportunity we could get, taking it mostly easy. Getting to ride my road bike again was a plus since I really enjoy riding it; I had a lot of fun with it at Tulsa Tough, and definitely had fun again this time in Norman. Honestly I didn't feel like the hills were that bad since we Normanites train on them all the time, but my butt was a little sore that afternoon as a warning that tomorrow might be rough. My goal on signing up was to get used to biking longer before a race so I could really get used to running on tired legs, and the next day for the Duathlon.
Sunday rolled around and again I got up at 5:30am (ugh...) to head to Draper for the Duathlon. I knew going into it that my STOKEs teammate Kirsten Chapman was a force to reckon with for the overall win since she killed it last year as well and does really well in heat (MIO this year was a testament to that!). My other teammate Sarah Bell also did really well last year and passed me on the bike, and I only caught her on the last run. Since she is focusing on her Ironman in Kentucky I knew she had a lot of fitness coming in and did really well on the Conquest the day before too, so my goal was to at least get top 3 so we could get a STOKE sweep if we could. Our guys team was set and ready to rock for top places too, so it was exciting to have all of us race in our new kits and to represent!
The first run 3K I took out pretty conservatively since my legs were just not feeling it and I didn't want to burn them out any more than I had to before the bike, so I stayed in visible distance to Kirsten until she slipped away on the bike as the stealthy biker she is. My first transition was a lot faster than it has been in the past now that I figured out my new helmet clasper, and I managed to get up and on the bike fairly well despite still not being able to do the on-the-shoe mount (yes...I know I need to work on that...). The ride felt pretty good considering, and I was passed a few guys while trying to keep my pace a solid tempo effort. The hills, though...hurt. I wasn't completely recovered from the day before and being in aero position didn't really make my butt any happier. My favorite and happiest moment was how I maintained control (and sanity) as I rode all the descents on North Draper Road at full speed in aero position on my Trek bike while dodging pot holes and other obstacles. Granted the whole time in my head I was screaming "Holy s#Y%, I'm flying!!", but for someone who is still a bit twitchy after my concussion, I was happy I could do that and not panic.
Rolling into T2 I didn't do my new skill of getting my feet out of the shoes, mostly because it was such a steep decline to transition and I didn't want to break and reach down at the same time, and I swear Roger gave me a look of shame as I unclipped out (lol). Rob snuck up right behind me on the bike, and we both exited the run around the same time. Surprisingly my second run wasn't too far off my first run pace, which was comforting since it felt a ton harder and I didn't make the mistake of last year of burning all my bridges by then. I snuck up a few places passing a few more guys on the second run, and finished in with a 10 second PR and second place overall for women. Considering I had fried legs and was pretty conservative on the race, I was happy about that!
As usual the Duathlon this weekend was really well run and a ton of fun, with great races by everyone. The next few weeks for me are traveling to DC for a conference, which again means serious time management and creativity to figure out how I'm going to train (rent a bike? where can I find a pool? The sessions start at 8am and go to at least 5-6pm...what is still open after 6?), and then more traveling to Nationals and Worlds. Yowza!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Tulsa Tough
About a month ago I did my first Fondo at Tulsa Tough, deciding it was the closest thing I would ever get to doing a cycling event there since Crits were out of the question. So, I chose to ride on Sunday and helped Dan out by taking his car so he could do a long ride to Tulsa and we both drive back after Crybaby Hill (more on that later...). My white Specialized Dolce Road bike had a new chain, was tuned up, and ready to roll road-cyclist style.
The Medio distance seemed the right choice (63 miles) for where I was at, and gave me the opportunity to experience a group-ride/race. The weather was unfortunately pretty stormy and rainy, which although it kept the temperatures down, meant that the ride itself had to be delayed 2 hours while the officials navigated what to do about the lightning. In the end, I figured if I had to wait around I might as well look for a coffee shop to hang out and dry off while the weather resolved itself, and found Cafe Cubano not too far off.
Waiting around soaked like a wet dog from the downpours with a soy latte in my hand, an older couple that drove all the way from OKC to do their annual Tulsa Tough viewing came over to me and immediately started asking if I was doing the crits since I looked like a cyclist (score!). I told them I did triathlons, not crits ("oh....thats pretty cool too, I guess") and ended up chatting with them for half an hour about how great Tulsa is for cycling and that OKC is headed that way too. Very neat people!
Around 9ish I headed back to the start to try to find another parking spot that fit Dan's car, and hid in the rain under the tents along with the hundred or so other fondo riders while they made their decision about what to do. Standing around all these "real" cyclists I just stood in a corner admiring their matching outfits, fancy rain jackets, water-resistant booties...all gear I was now becoming extremely envious of as my regular gloves, triathlon shoes, TriOKC shorts and sort-of-matching-in-color-scheme Tour de Colorado jersey turned into sponges. The race director told us a few minutes to the start that we were a go, so we all rolled to the start as it started to pour again and prepared to head out. At that point I got a better view of the other cyclists around me, and there was a woman with a Rudy aero helmet and another woman riding a TT bike...so I felt fabulous, because whatever hint of triathlon stereotype I might have conveyed was quickly erased in comparison to them. Muahaha!
And we were off. There were a few women ahead of me at the start and one or two of them zipped away, but I tried to stay with the top 30 or so cyclists just because I was feeling pretty good. The rain quickly started picking up again, and the roads were pretty slick and muddy in patches. Immediately I was grateful I was on my road bike since handling is a lot easier on the Tulsa hills and slick roads, and I managed to hold a fairly decent pace zipping around the early turns and bypasses. Unfortunately, though, I made the mistake early on of slipping into "triathlon" mode where my first instinct was to pass...and stay away from everyone. I've had this problem a lot in group rides where I'm just not comfortable riding in close proximity to others, and triathlon has kind of fostered that since legally I can't. So, after duking it out by myself for the most part for the first third of the ride, I decided to connect up with two other guys to work together for the middle of the ride on the flat part of the course, and at least practice it.
I've never really worked a paceline like that before, and when I snuck up on the two guys they were both surprised they had someone behind them (traffic stop for all of us let me catch up), and that it was a chick. My Colorado jersey threw them off too, but seemed to give them the impression I was from there and must have riding credibility to ride with them they said (ha...I wish I was a Colorado climber!). And I'm really proud to say I held my own for their accepting me in their group, switching out with the two guys every 2 miles or so to pull the pace close to 20mph in the downpours. They even waiting for me and checked in on me if I pulled back too far due to visibility (its really hard to bike in the rain with glasses), which I thought was really awesome. One guy was from Arkansas, the other Tulsa, and with me being the pseudo-Colorado Virginian living in Oklahoma, we held together for quite a while.
When we started to hit the hills again, though, they pulled ahead since they definitely had more cycling experience with hill climbing than me. They slowed at the top of the first hill to see if I wanted to stick with them, but I declined and figured at that point my legs were going to have to determine my pace on those hills, not holding a paceline. At the last stop I caught up with them again as they refueled (and learned myself that cold Coke is the best stuff ever for a long-ride), but chose to stay on my own again as the last set of brutal hills pretty much killed whatever quads I had left. I met up and chatted with a few other people in the last miles returning into the city, and overall had a really fun experience. I'll definitely have to do it again next year and try out both days...and see if I can do a better job hiding my triathlon side.
More stories and recaps later!
The Medio distance seemed the right choice (63 miles) for where I was at, and gave me the opportunity to experience a group-ride/race. The weather was unfortunately pretty stormy and rainy, which although it kept the temperatures down, meant that the ride itself had to be delayed 2 hours while the officials navigated what to do about the lightning. In the end, I figured if I had to wait around I might as well look for a coffee shop to hang out and dry off while the weather resolved itself, and found Cafe Cubano not too far off.
Waiting around soaked like a wet dog from the downpours with a soy latte in my hand, an older couple that drove all the way from OKC to do their annual Tulsa Tough viewing came over to me and immediately started asking if I was doing the crits since I looked like a cyclist (score!). I told them I did triathlons, not crits ("oh....thats pretty cool too, I guess") and ended up chatting with them for half an hour about how great Tulsa is for cycling and that OKC is headed that way too. Very neat people!
Around 9ish I headed back to the start to try to find another parking spot that fit Dan's car, and hid in the rain under the tents along with the hundred or so other fondo riders while they made their decision about what to do. Standing around all these "real" cyclists I just stood in a corner admiring their matching outfits, fancy rain jackets, water-resistant booties...all gear I was now becoming extremely envious of as my regular gloves, triathlon shoes, TriOKC shorts and sort-of-matching-in-color-scheme Tour de Colorado jersey turned into sponges. The race director told us a few minutes to the start that we were a go, so we all rolled to the start as it started to pour again and prepared to head out. At that point I got a better view of the other cyclists around me, and there was a woman with a Rudy aero helmet and another woman riding a TT bike...so I felt fabulous, because whatever hint of triathlon stereotype I might have conveyed was quickly erased in comparison to them. Muahaha!
And we were off. There were a few women ahead of me at the start and one or two of them zipped away, but I tried to stay with the top 30 or so cyclists just because I was feeling pretty good. The rain quickly started picking up again, and the roads were pretty slick and muddy in patches. Immediately I was grateful I was on my road bike since handling is a lot easier on the Tulsa hills and slick roads, and I managed to hold a fairly decent pace zipping around the early turns and bypasses. Unfortunately, though, I made the mistake early on of slipping into "triathlon" mode where my first instinct was to pass...and stay away from everyone. I've had this problem a lot in group rides where I'm just not comfortable riding in close proximity to others, and triathlon has kind of fostered that since legally I can't. So, after duking it out by myself for the most part for the first third of the ride, I decided to connect up with two other guys to work together for the middle of the ride on the flat part of the course, and at least practice it.
I've never really worked a paceline like that before, and when I snuck up on the two guys they were both surprised they had someone behind them (traffic stop for all of us let me catch up), and that it was a chick. My Colorado jersey threw them off too, but seemed to give them the impression I was from there and must have riding credibility to ride with them they said (ha...I wish I was a Colorado climber!). And I'm really proud to say I held my own for their accepting me in their group, switching out with the two guys every 2 miles or so to pull the pace close to 20mph in the downpours. They even waiting for me and checked in on me if I pulled back too far due to visibility (its really hard to bike in the rain with glasses), which I thought was really awesome. One guy was from Arkansas, the other Tulsa, and with me being the pseudo-Colorado Virginian living in Oklahoma, we held together for quite a while.
When we started to hit the hills again, though, they pulled ahead since they definitely had more cycling experience with hill climbing than me. They slowed at the top of the first hill to see if I wanted to stick with them, but I declined and figured at that point my legs were going to have to determine my pace on those hills, not holding a paceline. At the last stop I caught up with them again as they refueled (and learned myself that cold Coke is the best stuff ever for a long-ride), but chose to stay on my own again as the last set of brutal hills pretty much killed whatever quads I had left. I met up and chatted with a few other people in the last miles returning into the city, and overall had a really fun experience. I'll definitely have to do it again next year and try out both days...and see if I can do a better job hiding my triathlon side.
More stories and recaps later!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Back in the saddle
After the crash on Monday most of the week comprised of sleeping...and trying to fit work around that. Training took a back seat to both, since when I wasn't sleeping I felt like I was stuck in a constant hangover and even just sitting at the computer felt woozy. While I've trained while being hung over (hello college...), this wasn't a time to be brave and possibly ruin the rest of my season if something went wrong while recovering. Run workouts were done in the pool, swimming was easiest, and biking was done on a trainer inside. I was a bit too stubborn to take a week completely off work and training like the doctor said. So, I was going to be as smart as I could be for being kinda stupid.
By the time Saturday rolled around, I decided to see how I felt volunteering for Rt. 66's Sprint Triathlon before I made any decisions about trying to duke it out on Sunday. Toting my bike along for the journey, I figured I could ride a little at the end and see how I felt getting back on it too. Volunteering was fun as usual, especially getting to cheer on my friends at the bike intersection and seeing a few of them bring it in on the run. I only felt a little fatigue from standing most of the day. Running around after felt a little stiff, but biking felt relaxed which was a huge confidence builder. I still have no idea what happened in Austin (a few insights from others suggest it was more likely someone hit my front wheel than a slide-out), but I'm glad I could get back on the saddle fairly easily.
Saturday night I made the decision that I would try to race on Sunday...on the condition that if I felt crappy and had to stop, I'd stop. I desperately wanted to race because last year was such a bust with the weather, and both times the race was cancelled, but again I knew if I did anything stupid it would really mess me up for Canada. Rob helped set up my bike to race, I threw my gear in my transition bag, and decided to give it a shot. If anything, I would come in with a pretty nice taper of sleeping!
The swim was a new course of a double-loop around a triangular buoy set up, which ended up working out really well with sighting, but made the second loop really choppy with all the wake created by the first loop around. The water was warm enough to not wear a wetsuit, so as usual I chose to forgo it (though with strippers there to help take it off, I may reconsider using it for next year), which made me a little slower but less of a hassle to deal with. Emmy drafted off me a little while on the first lap, and I felt bad because I did my usual "get off me" tactic of super-kicking to create splash so its harder to follow me, and only after turning to see who it was...realized it was her. Oops. The dark water, waves, and mist made it hard to see and got me a bit nauseous with the water motion, but it went by pretty quickly and then it was off to the bike...the part I was most nervous about. Two girls were ahead of me out of the water, but I felt pretty good that I could challenge them in the next legs.
Since my helmet from Austin was rendered unusable due to the left temple area getting smashed in, Emmy sold me her helmet, which was the same as my old one but in blue. The only problem was that I didn't practice getting the new clip system that she installed on and off, so I literally spent 30 seconds in transition trying to figure out how to clip the helmet on. Practice, people! I didn't do a flying mount with the shoes on the bike again (sorry...that skill will have to wait a bit longer), but still managed to hop on my bike fairly well and just hoped I wouldn't get anxiety once I really hit speed. Thankfully the course was a pretty straight shot of two out and backs, so the only parts I felt a little hesitant were the turn-arounds [I even went into the grass both times]. Yes, that slowed me down a ton, but there was no other way I was going to do it on my first ride back on my TT bike. I passed one of the women on the bike, and was keeping pace with the girl in the lead.
I managed to get my feet out of the shoes again before the T2 (score!), and then it was off to the run. Surprisingly I was feeling pretty good on the bike, but I did feel the pounding of running a bit more on my head and felt a little of it out compared to the other disciples. Since I didn't have a watch on, I had no idea what my pace was....which was intentional since I wanted to go on feel only, and not be pressured by a set time or pace. I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and let my body go on autopilot while trying to drink as much fluid as possible. I passed the first-place girl on the first half of the first loop, and built up a safe buffer for the rest of the race.
Overall my swim was OK, the bike could be better but I was playing it
safe, and the run turned out to be right where I need it to be at this
point in the season for my second-best time ever in an Oly. I finally
got my win at Rt. 66! The best part of the race, though, was the volunteers and friends there. It seriously feels like a Cheers episode when you race at Rt. 66 since everyone knows everyone and we all support one another. I loved racing with my friends and their support. Thank you guys!
Next on the agenda? Tulsa Tough Medio Fondo on Sunday to try out Fondos...then its a few solid weeks of training as I juggle work trips to Black Mesa, Washington DC, and Claremore.
By the time Saturday rolled around, I decided to see how I felt volunteering for Rt. 66's Sprint Triathlon before I made any decisions about trying to duke it out on Sunday. Toting my bike along for the journey, I figured I could ride a little at the end and see how I felt getting back on it too. Volunteering was fun as usual, especially getting to cheer on my friends at the bike intersection and seeing a few of them bring it in on the run. I only felt a little fatigue from standing most of the day. Running around after felt a little stiff, but biking felt relaxed which was a huge confidence builder. I still have no idea what happened in Austin (a few insights from others suggest it was more likely someone hit my front wheel than a slide-out), but I'm glad I could get back on the saddle fairly easily.
 |
| Saturday's racers! Great job Terra Tri! |
The swim was a new course of a double-loop around a triangular buoy set up, which ended up working out really well with sighting, but made the second loop really choppy with all the wake created by the first loop around. The water was warm enough to not wear a wetsuit, so as usual I chose to forgo it (though with strippers there to help take it off, I may reconsider using it for next year), which made me a little slower but less of a hassle to deal with. Emmy drafted off me a little while on the first lap, and I felt bad because I did my usual "get off me" tactic of super-kicking to create splash so its harder to follow me, and only after turning to see who it was...realized it was her. Oops. The dark water, waves, and mist made it hard to see and got me a bit nauseous with the water motion, but it went by pretty quickly and then it was off to the bike...the part I was most nervous about. Two girls were ahead of me out of the water, but I felt pretty good that I could challenge them in the next legs.
Since my helmet from Austin was rendered unusable due to the left temple area getting smashed in, Emmy sold me her helmet, which was the same as my old one but in blue. The only problem was that I didn't practice getting the new clip system that she installed on and off, so I literally spent 30 seconds in transition trying to figure out how to clip the helmet on. Practice, people! I didn't do a flying mount with the shoes on the bike again (sorry...that skill will have to wait a bit longer), but still managed to hop on my bike fairly well and just hoped I wouldn't get anxiety once I really hit speed. Thankfully the course was a pretty straight shot of two out and backs, so the only parts I felt a little hesitant were the turn-arounds [I even went into the grass both times]. Yes, that slowed me down a ton, but there was no other way I was going to do it on my first ride back on my TT bike. I passed one of the women on the bike, and was keeping pace with the girl in the lead.
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| Nope...still can't flying mount. Thanks Dan for the pictures! |
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| Chuggin' it on the run. |
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| The best part...being with friends! My partner in crime Cat |
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Race Report?
This past Memorial Day weekend I traveled down to Austin, TX with my Terra Tri teammates Dan Tigert, Emmy Huffnagle, Elissa Lim, and Mike Brayer to compete in the Lifetime Series Cap Tex Triathlon. All four of us signed up for the Olympic Distance, with Dan going in the Pro Wave. To save time and keep ourselves entertained during the long drive down there on Saturday, we all rode together in Dan's car with the bikes and gear packed in two cars (Dan's mom came down to watch the race too and took some of the bikes and gear).
We arrived in Austin that afternoon and were lucky enough to stay at the Embassy Suites, which was a fantastic hotel and within walking distance of the start of the race. To meet up with Dan's mom and check out some of Austin's local fare, we checked out Shady Grove for eats and some "Local Water" (I assume because its maybe directly from Barton Springs, its a treat?). We enjoyed the music, atmosphere, and weather to relax before the real events started up Sunday.
We tried to see the bats after dinner, but after standing there for an hour or two and it getting dark, we ended up bailing on the little flying fur-balls and called it a night. Dan, Emmy, Ellisa and I ended up sharing one room to store all of our stuff, and somehow squeezed all the bikes and equipment in there along with us four nervous athletes. The next morning, though, it was nice having us all together to grab breakfast and face the nerves that started to creep up with the less-than-24hours-away-from-race factor closing in.
To loosen up and get ready for the next day, we decided to park at the original Whole Foods on Lamar street and run with our wetsuits to the Deep Eddy pool part of Barton Springs. It was my suggestion to swim there since when I lived in College Station and used to commute to Austin to get away, it was a favorite locale of mine, especially after running around the Town Lake. It had been a while since I did the run to the pool, though, and I definitely think I got a few "what the heck is she getting us into" thoughts from Dan, Emmy and Ellisa as we hauled our wetsuits, running to the pool. It ended up being a few more miles than planned...but we did get there, and got a nice open water swim with a wet-suit test before the race (and a few comments from the locals about its not nearly cold enough to swim in a pool with a wetsuit...we knew that, lol!).
And...I managed to covert a few more people to the dark side of invertebrates, after Dan discovered some snails hanging out by the stone walls...muahahaha!
After running back to Whole Foods we grabbed some lunch and breakfast for the next day, then hauled it back so Dan could make his athlete meeting and so we could check in, get to our athlete meeting, and check our bikes into transition. We were able to meet up with Mike Brayer at that point, and Dan and Emmy hung out with Mike and his relay team that night as Ellisa and I checked out the Austin Food Truck scene for some local dinner fare (so glad Ellisa is another foodie like me! Not sure eating food out of a truck before a race was smart, but we both survived).
And then...race day. We woke up around 5:30am to wet roads from rain overnight and Dan was the first to get ready to race. The race itself was huge...some 2000 participants. The pro waves were relatively small with less than 20 people each, and even though they got the benefit of the first waves and no crowds on the courses, they had to deal with the rainy roads first. The pros started in a mass wave, and with the temperature in the 70's were not wetsuit legal. Our waves of age-groupers, though, were wetsuit legal and had the unusual start of a "time trial" start, where in pairs of two we jumped into the water every 3 seconds to start. Emmy, Ellisa and I were all in the 30-34 agegroup and started around the same time, which was nice. In the end I decided not to wear a wetsuit and just wear tri-shorts and a sports bra because I knew it was going to get hot on the course now that the sun came out, and taking my wetsuit off was going to take a lot longer than it was worth it.
The swim went well, despite the unusual start, and I passed a ton of people and got the 3rd fastest swim in my age group. I easily passed a bunch of people on the run to transition as they were trying to get their wetsuits off (good call on me!) and got the best T-1 transition time of my age-group. The extra-long run to the transition (quarter of a mile) also helped, but made it a long haul to the bike. I took the time to put on my shoes rather than try a shoe-on-bike mount again since I didn't know how muddy my feet were going to get for slipping and sliding into my shoes (plus I need new shoes...mine are really hard to get my feet in on the bike). Everything was going smoothly so far, and I felt so confident!
Emmy told me the bike segment was a lot of fun with 4 loops around the Capital and downtown Austin with a ton of bikers on the course, making it feel like a Crit. She was right...with so many athletes on such a small course for multiple loops it was like Beltway Traffic. People were passing on the right and the left, three abreast...you name it, the rules were not being followed. Honestly it was a bit dangerous, especially when you're on an aero bike and making sharp turns...but it WAS fun, I can't lie. I might try criterium races after that since it was fun...but....I only made it one loop. As I turned up the bridge after the first loop turn around, made a right on Chavez, and then went to make the left onto Congress...something happened.
All I remember is approaching the turn...then waking up in an ambulance as it pulled into the emergency room. I also remember asking the responders when I arrived if I had crashed [yes], and how long I was out for [at least 10 minutes]. I have no memory of what happened. They rolled me into a room with my bike (they took my bike, helmet and everything with me), and then there were follow ups of CAT scans and other stuff that I don't really remember well.
Looking at my helmet and what Ellisa told me of how I was laying on the pavement when she passed me (she didn't know it was me until later), I must have slipped out on the wet road paint, hit my head on my left temple and hip, and slid on my shoulder and arms. My helmet got smashed in (wear helmets kids...they might save your life!), so I'm grateful for it. The bike got just a little cosmetic damage on the handlebars which wasn't bad...but also reinforced that my body and head got most of the brunt of the crash
I managed to get a taxi ride with my bike back to the hotel from the hospital just as the storms moved in again, and caused Ellisa to be pulled off the course on her last run loop. Emmy was the only one who completed the race unfazed and got a PR (yay Emmy!). Dan got a flat on his bike segment after a fantastic start which was disheartening, Mike crashed initially as he came out of transition but pulled of a good race in the end.
Never having a concussion before, recovering from this is completely new for me. I had a lot of supportive friends give me advice and well wishes, including the use of Tagaderm for the road rash (thank you!). My head was killing me the first day and the second day and I mostly just slept; Rob was nice enough to keep an eye out on me, and I was really happy I got a ride to Austin that I couldn't drive back. Now I still feel a slight headache, but the biggest thing is just feeling out of it and having my memory still a little wonky. I'm hoping to be recovered enough for Rt 66, but I'm playing it by ear. My brain is my most important organ...so gotta protect it.
So that's the latest report...off to bed for me! Heal brain, heal!
We arrived in Austin that afternoon and were lucky enough to stay at the Embassy Suites, which was a fantastic hotel and within walking distance of the start of the race. To meet up with Dan's mom and check out some of Austin's local fare, we checked out Shady Grove for eats and some "Local Water" (I assume because its maybe directly from Barton Springs, its a treat?). We enjoyed the music, atmosphere, and weather to relax before the real events started up Sunday.
 |
| Fresh local water. Kind of ironic... |
To loosen up and get ready for the next day, we decided to park at the original Whole Foods on Lamar street and run with our wetsuits to the Deep Eddy pool part of Barton Springs. It was my suggestion to swim there since when I lived in College Station and used to commute to Austin to get away, it was a favorite locale of mine, especially after running around the Town Lake. It had been a while since I did the run to the pool, though, and I definitely think I got a few "what the heck is she getting us into" thoughts from Dan, Emmy and Ellisa as we hauled our wetsuits, running to the pool. It ended up being a few more miles than planned...but we did get there, and got a nice open water swim with a wet-suit test before the race (and a few comments from the locals about its not nearly cold enough to swim in a pool with a wetsuit...we knew that, lol!).
 |
| Deep Eddy pool in Austin |
 |
| Watching snails... |
And then...race day. We woke up around 5:30am to wet roads from rain overnight and Dan was the first to get ready to race. The race itself was huge...some 2000 participants. The pro waves were relatively small with less than 20 people each, and even though they got the benefit of the first waves and no crowds on the courses, they had to deal with the rainy roads first. The pros started in a mass wave, and with the temperature in the 70's were not wetsuit legal. Our waves of age-groupers, though, were wetsuit legal and had the unusual start of a "time trial" start, where in pairs of two we jumped into the water every 3 seconds to start. Emmy, Ellisa and I were all in the 30-34 agegroup and started around the same time, which was nice. In the end I decided not to wear a wetsuit and just wear tri-shorts and a sports bra because I knew it was going to get hot on the course now that the sun came out, and taking my wetsuit off was going to take a lot longer than it was worth it.
The swim went well, despite the unusual start, and I passed a ton of people and got the 3rd fastest swim in my age group. I easily passed a bunch of people on the run to transition as they were trying to get their wetsuits off (good call on me!) and got the best T-1 transition time of my age-group. The extra-long run to the transition (quarter of a mile) also helped, but made it a long haul to the bike. I took the time to put on my shoes rather than try a shoe-on-bike mount again since I didn't know how muddy my feet were going to get for slipping and sliding into my shoes (plus I need new shoes...mine are really hard to get my feet in on the bike). Everything was going smoothly so far, and I felt so confident!
Emmy told me the bike segment was a lot of fun with 4 loops around the Capital and downtown Austin with a ton of bikers on the course, making it feel like a Crit. She was right...with so many athletes on such a small course for multiple loops it was like Beltway Traffic. People were passing on the right and the left, three abreast...you name it, the rules were not being followed. Honestly it was a bit dangerous, especially when you're on an aero bike and making sharp turns...but it WAS fun, I can't lie. I might try criterium races after that since it was fun...but....I only made it one loop. As I turned up the bridge after the first loop turn around, made a right on Chavez, and then went to make the left onto Congress...something happened.
All I remember is approaching the turn...then waking up in an ambulance as it pulled into the emergency room. I also remember asking the responders when I arrived if I had crashed [yes], and how long I was out for [at least 10 minutes]. I have no memory of what happened. They rolled me into a room with my bike (they took my bike, helmet and everything with me), and then there were follow ups of CAT scans and other stuff that I don't really remember well.
Looking at my helmet and what Ellisa told me of how I was laying on the pavement when she passed me (she didn't know it was me until later), I must have slipped out on the wet road paint, hit my head on my left temple and hip, and slid on my shoulder and arms. My helmet got smashed in (wear helmets kids...they might save your life!), so I'm grateful for it. The bike got just a little cosmetic damage on the handlebars which wasn't bad...but also reinforced that my body and head got most of the brunt of the crash
I managed to get a taxi ride with my bike back to the hotel from the hospital just as the storms moved in again, and caused Ellisa to be pulled off the course on her last run loop. Emmy was the only one who completed the race unfazed and got a PR (yay Emmy!). Dan got a flat on his bike segment after a fantastic start which was disheartening, Mike crashed initially as he came out of transition but pulled of a good race in the end.
Never having a concussion before, recovering from this is completely new for me. I had a lot of supportive friends give me advice and well wishes, including the use of Tagaderm for the road rash (thank you!). My head was killing me the first day and the second day and I mostly just slept; Rob was nice enough to keep an eye out on me, and I was really happy I got a ride to Austin that I couldn't drive back. Now I still feel a slight headache, but the biggest thing is just feeling out of it and having my memory still a little wonky. I'm hoping to be recovered enough for Rt 66, but I'm playing it by ear. My brain is my most important organ...so gotta protect it.
So that's the latest report...off to bed for me! Heal brain, heal!
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Two different lessons in humility
About two weeks ago I ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon, and yesterday did the May in Okarche Duathlon that replaced the original race date in March. They could not have had more different outcomes. The half I felt pretty unprepared for and surprised myself, and the duathlon ended up being a lesson in reassessing outcomes. I learned a ton in both.
The half was a spur-of the moment sign up since I really wanted to be a part of the experience of the Memorial marathon, but I knew there was no way I could do the whole thing on such short notice. Thankfully my background in long distance running meant I could probably fudge a half with less than normal training, so I figured I'd at least try that and see how it went. There were no real goals other than to stay in the 1:30's range if I could, but I knew that it was not going to be an easy run with only 12 miles of long running done beforehand.
The day of the race was pretty miserable as many people have stated with the storms pushing the start back two hours, and it meant that a lot of pre-race nutrition plans got thrown out the window too. The marathoners had it the worst, though, since they got stuck in the wind and heat so late in the day. Many kudos to all the marathoners...you rock!
At the start I just tried to focus on my pre-assigned mantra..."don't be a retard". I needed to keep telling myself this because the half marathon was, in a way, a stupid decision considering I could get injured and was the last thing I needed this early in the season. Plus, the start of long races are when everyone tries to sprint to the start, then inevitably fade...so there is no reason to get too caught up right away and to just be patient and hope you can keep a good, consistent pace. So...everytime I got excited and tried to pull with some fast people, I had to keep reminding myself of my DBAR.
It was hard not to get excited, though, with all of the crowds. My friends Cat and Travis were there around mile 3-4 to cheer me on, and later on at Broadway. Sandra and Tara also were around mile 9, all which made me smile and kept the race fun. Around Nichols Hills I got the song "What goes up...must go down...spinning wheels...round and round" stuck in my head between all the cheering and pretty much stuck with me when things started to get rough around mile 10. That is when my body said..."You know what? You WERE retarded to do this race..." and decided to throw some wrenches into the system to keep it interesting. At that point it became a mission to find a port-o-potty, remember how to deal with legs that had hit "the wall", and finish. Those last 3 miles were a nice dose of humility for why its important to properly train your body for events like these! Plus two days of barely movable calves after the race...hello ouch.
For the duathlon yesterday, I thought I had a bit more experience and training under my belt to really do well this year both in my bike and run times, but the race became one of those events where no matter how much you train, its going to be tough. For one, with it being so late in the afternoon, the heat was at its highest of the day. It also was insanely windy...serious wind gusts from the SSW that made crosswinds on the bike a real challenge. Everyone had some serious elements to deal with this race, and like a lot of people I succumbed to the fact I was unprepared to race at that hot of a temperature.
For the first time ever, I had to walk in a race because I literally could not will my legs to move from being so hot and dehydrated on the last run leg. As a runner you get used to your legs wanting to stop, and you push through because you know by experience its just a phase, and it goes away. For the first time I really couldn't will my legs to move at times, and if it wasn't for Christy helping me with fluids on the last 5K I would not have made it through. Another lesson in humility.
There were lessons to be learned from this, though, and some of this could have been prevented for me in hindsight. Though I love and am amazed by my new Trek bike, I still hadn't gotten the adapter for my Speedfill hydration system and just had a standard water-bottle holder with a small bottle of water for the bike. Even though I'm a lot more comfortable with handling in the Trek than my old Cannondale, I was really nervous about grabbing the water bottle while in aero position while duking it out with those cross winds. So I ended up baking in the sun in high winds and only getting about half a bottle of water in me...mistake.
I had hoped I could chug enough water after transition to make up for it, but it was already pretty much a lost cause at that point trying to get hydrated enough. At transition I did have a personal victory of dismounting the bike with shoes still clipped in, so booyah!
I knew it was just going to be a race where I would be happy to finish with that weather, so I was super happy to still pull off a second place. Kirsten killed it as she usually does in duathlon, and it was great to see her healthy and back to her fast self again for the win. Go STOKEs ladies!
So two different lessons in humility these last few weeks...and a reminder that its now summer, so the name of the game is hydration people! :-) Until next time...
The half was a spur-of the moment sign up since I really wanted to be a part of the experience of the Memorial marathon, but I knew there was no way I could do the whole thing on such short notice. Thankfully my background in long distance running meant I could probably fudge a half with less than normal training, so I figured I'd at least try that and see how it went. There were no real goals other than to stay in the 1:30's range if I could, but I knew that it was not going to be an easy run with only 12 miles of long running done beforehand.
The day of the race was pretty miserable as many people have stated with the storms pushing the start back two hours, and it meant that a lot of pre-race nutrition plans got thrown out the window too. The marathoners had it the worst, though, since they got stuck in the wind and heat so late in the day. Many kudos to all the marathoners...you rock!
At the start I just tried to focus on my pre-assigned mantra..."don't be a retard". I needed to keep telling myself this because the half marathon was, in a way, a stupid decision considering I could get injured and was the last thing I needed this early in the season. Plus, the start of long races are when everyone tries to sprint to the start, then inevitably fade...so there is no reason to get too caught up right away and to just be patient and hope you can keep a good, consistent pace. So...everytime I got excited and tried to pull with some fast people, I had to keep reminding myself of my DBAR.
It was hard not to get excited, though, with all of the crowds. My friends Cat and Travis were there around mile 3-4 to cheer me on, and later on at Broadway. Sandra and Tara also were around mile 9, all which made me smile and kept the race fun. Around Nichols Hills I got the song "What goes up...must go down...spinning wheels...round and round" stuck in my head between all the cheering and pretty much stuck with me when things started to get rough around mile 10. That is when my body said..."You know what? You WERE retarded to do this race..." and decided to throw some wrenches into the system to keep it interesting. At that point it became a mission to find a port-o-potty, remember how to deal with legs that had hit "the wall", and finish. Those last 3 miles were a nice dose of humility for why its important to properly train your body for events like these! Plus two days of barely movable calves after the race...hello ouch.
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| Telling the finish staff I was OK, though realizing my legs were really not happy with me! Photo by Chris Barnes |
For the first time ever, I had to walk in a race because I literally could not will my legs to move from being so hot and dehydrated on the last run leg. As a runner you get used to your legs wanting to stop, and you push through because you know by experience its just a phase, and it goes away. For the first time I really couldn't will my legs to move at times, and if it wasn't for Christy helping me with fluids on the last 5K I would not have made it through. Another lesson in humility.
There were lessons to be learned from this, though, and some of this could have been prevented for me in hindsight. Though I love and am amazed by my new Trek bike, I still hadn't gotten the adapter for my Speedfill hydration system and just had a standard water-bottle holder with a small bottle of water for the bike. Even though I'm a lot more comfortable with handling in the Trek than my old Cannondale, I was really nervous about grabbing the water bottle while in aero position while duking it out with those cross winds. So I ended up baking in the sun in high winds and only getting about half a bottle of water in me...mistake.
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| Great photo of me enjoying me new bike by Talbot Cox, but note the small water bottle...half a bottle of that water was not enough! |
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| One step closer to better transitions...cha ching! |
So two different lessons in humility these last few weeks...and a reminder that its now summer, so the name of the game is hydration people! :-) Until next time...
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Tyler Triathlon Race Report
The first thing I would like to say about the Tyler Triathlon, which was the host for the Olympic Distance South Mid-West Regional Championships, is that the volunteers, race directors, and everyone there were excellent: it was great to be back in Texas and have a nice reminder about how nice and friendly everyone is! East Texas especially is really enjoyable to me since it reminds me so much of Virginia with the tall trees and pines...and hills! But more on that in a bit.
First off...March is still pretty cold! Even for Texas! When I signed up for the race in the winter, however, I was still a bit delusional that it might warm up enough. After all, I lived in Texas for 7 years and had collected insects off trees that started to leaf out by the end of the month in eighty-degree temperatures. Surely, this year will be no different and it can warm up enough.
Nope. The water temps ended up in the low sixties when we got to the course, but the air temperature was only 38 degrees. All of us were huddled in our wetsuits and wearing as much clothing as possible for as long as we could just to stay warm in the air. Getting into the water was a bit warmer...but not much. I honestly was really nervous about getting my face in the water since I have such a bad reaction to cold water, but dunking it a few times just to get used to it helped a lot. Thankfully we didn't have a lot of time between waves starting to just sit there freezing in the water; we got going pretty quickly and that definitely helped warm us up.
The major problem, though, was that with the water so much warmer than the air temperature we had some serious fog. Fog so thick that we couldn't see the buoys, which were yellow and blended in with the fog that was reflecting the early sun coming up. So...it became a game of hide-and-seek for the buoys as we all had to keep stopping to try to see if we could see a buoy, or at least other swimmers that we [thought] might be able to see a buoy. There was a pack of at least 10 swimmers drafting off of my feet trying to follow me for directions, which was a challenge because I definitely did not see where I was going very well. About half-way [I think] a bunch of us popped our heads up to yell at the kayaks about where the turn buoy was since we couldn't see which one was the turn for us, the Olympic swimmers, versus the Half-Ironman distance continued course because they were the same color...and apparently the second to last buoy that was supposed to direct us to that buoy floated off course. A bunch of us had to then do a major dog leg to the turn buoy the kayaks pointed to, then guestimate which direction was the swim exit since we couldn't see the shore. Thankfully at that point I was able to drop a lot of the swim pack and focus on just making sure I got a straight shot back out of the swim, and only three girls got out ahead of me.
The water ended up not be that bad...but getting out into the 40 degree air after really hurt. My hands and feet went numb instantly, and it got so bad that I couldn't use my hands to get my wetsuit unzipped and off. Thankfully there were strippers there to help unzip and get my wetsuit off because I literally couldn't feel my hands. Thank you volunteers!
I grabbed my wetsuit from them, passed one of the girls running towards transition, and then had to fumble my way through transition with numb hands and feet. I saved trying to do a flying mount and dismount from my bike for a day I knew I could feel my feet, and stopped to put on socks and my shoes with numb hands so at least my feet wouldn't freeze (as much). The one perk...I did manage to get on my bike and get going the fastest yet with shoes already on and clipping in!
Biking ended up not being much better with being that cold, since my feet instantly started to hurt really bad with the socks being wet from lake water, and my hands made shifting and breaking really difficult. Eventually the air temperature warmed up a good deal during the ride, but numbness with my hands had me miss at least one turn because I literally couldn't squeeze hard enough on the breaks. My goal for the bike was to keep it 70-80% effort since it was the hilliest course I've ever biked, and the run afterwards was going to be just as challenging so I didn't want to completely fry my legs before attempting a super-hilly 10K after.
I did pass at least one other woman on the bike, but the woman who ended up getting first zipped past me about 3/4ths of the way through. Honestly the two things I thought when she flew past me were: "Man, she's a killer biker...but I might be able to reel her in on the run, though" or "If she's not a killer biker, man she's going to fry her legs with that pace on these hills, and I definitely can pass her on the run". I tried to hold onto her for a bit, but after a while I decided if I was going to pass her, it wasn't on the bike and I had better save it for that.
Well, she ended up being a good enough runner after that strong bike to build a big enough gap on me, which actually encouraging because its good to see how someone can kill a course like that. Next year! Last thing on the bike...again it was supper hilly, which isn't really a problem for me but there was one hill in particular that was brutal for everyone, the Water Tower Hill. You turn right off this really nice road onto this stripped-pavement road that literally looks like a giant half-pipe. The road was in such poor condition that you really couldn't go fast down the preceding hill to get a lot of speed, which meant that climbing up the other side was literally standing on your biggest rings trying to suffer up the thing. I think I could have walked faster, lol.
The transition to the run went alright...I managed to drop my bike on my leg at the rack and cut up my ankle, and found out my feet were still numb from the cold since I couldn't feel a thing. It was the weirdest sensation...I literally felt like I was running on sponges. For the first four miles I tried to concentrate on my form and cadence because I couldn't feel my feet landing, and a few times I nearly rolled my ankles. It was hard to really get going with speed initially for that reason, but by the last two miles I was able to pick it up a little bit and my feet actually felt "normal" running.
Overall I still have a lot to learn, and put into practice with only three Olympics under my belt, mainly learning to balance bike efforts and run efforts. Transitions definitely could improve too. But for a race that wasn't an "A" race, that was in March, one of the toughest courses I've done in a while, and I'm not really in shape for, I'm pretty happy with it. Yeah it would have been nice to defend my title, but honestly the Waco win was a bit of a fluke because it was a short-notice reschedule, and not much competition could jump into that race like I could. Going into a race that I knew other top-notch athletes had on their calendar in advance meant I definitely had a challenge, and a lot of them probably made this race an "A" race. Getting second with top-notch women to compete with and being out of shape while doing it is a huge confidence booster. Looking forward to later season races!
First off...March is still pretty cold! Even for Texas! When I signed up for the race in the winter, however, I was still a bit delusional that it might warm up enough. After all, I lived in Texas for 7 years and had collected insects off trees that started to leaf out by the end of the month in eighty-degree temperatures. Surely, this year will be no different and it can warm up enough.
Nope. The water temps ended up in the low sixties when we got to the course, but the air temperature was only 38 degrees. All of us were huddled in our wetsuits and wearing as much clothing as possible for as long as we could just to stay warm in the air. Getting into the water was a bit warmer...but not much. I honestly was really nervous about getting my face in the water since I have such a bad reaction to cold water, but dunking it a few times just to get used to it helped a lot. Thankfully we didn't have a lot of time between waves starting to just sit there freezing in the water; we got going pretty quickly and that definitely helped warm us up.
The major problem, though, was that with the water so much warmer than the air temperature we had some serious fog. Fog so thick that we couldn't see the buoys, which were yellow and blended in with the fog that was reflecting the early sun coming up. So...it became a game of hide-and-seek for the buoys as we all had to keep stopping to try to see if we could see a buoy, or at least other swimmers that we [thought] might be able to see a buoy. There was a pack of at least 10 swimmers drafting off of my feet trying to follow me for directions, which was a challenge because I definitely did not see where I was going very well. About half-way [I think] a bunch of us popped our heads up to yell at the kayaks about where the turn buoy was since we couldn't see which one was the turn for us, the Olympic swimmers, versus the Half-Ironman distance continued course because they were the same color...and apparently the second to last buoy that was supposed to direct us to that buoy floated off course. A bunch of us had to then do a major dog leg to the turn buoy the kayaks pointed to, then guestimate which direction was the swim exit since we couldn't see the shore. Thankfully at that point I was able to drop a lot of the swim pack and focus on just making sure I got a straight shot back out of the swim, and only three girls got out ahead of me.
The water ended up not be that bad...but getting out into the 40 degree air after really hurt. My hands and feet went numb instantly, and it got so bad that I couldn't use my hands to get my wetsuit unzipped and off. Thankfully there were strippers there to help unzip and get my wetsuit off because I literally couldn't feel my hands. Thank you volunteers!
I grabbed my wetsuit from them, passed one of the girls running towards transition, and then had to fumble my way through transition with numb hands and feet. I saved trying to do a flying mount and dismount from my bike for a day I knew I could feel my feet, and stopped to put on socks and my shoes with numb hands so at least my feet wouldn't freeze (as much). The one perk...I did manage to get on my bike and get going the fastest yet with shoes already on and clipping in!
Biking ended up not being much better with being that cold, since my feet instantly started to hurt really bad with the socks being wet from lake water, and my hands made shifting and breaking really difficult. Eventually the air temperature warmed up a good deal during the ride, but numbness with my hands had me miss at least one turn because I literally couldn't squeeze hard enough on the breaks. My goal for the bike was to keep it 70-80% effort since it was the hilliest course I've ever biked, and the run afterwards was going to be just as challenging so I didn't want to completely fry my legs before attempting a super-hilly 10K after.
I did pass at least one other woman on the bike, but the woman who ended up getting first zipped past me about 3/4ths of the way through. Honestly the two things I thought when she flew past me were: "Man, she's a killer biker...but I might be able to reel her in on the run, though" or "If she's not a killer biker, man she's going to fry her legs with that pace on these hills, and I definitely can pass her on the run". I tried to hold onto her for a bit, but after a while I decided if I was going to pass her, it wasn't on the bike and I had better save it for that.
Well, she ended up being a good enough runner after that strong bike to build a big enough gap on me, which actually encouraging because its good to see how someone can kill a course like that. Next year! Last thing on the bike...again it was supper hilly, which isn't really a problem for me but there was one hill in particular that was brutal for everyone, the Water Tower Hill. You turn right off this really nice road onto this stripped-pavement road that literally looks like a giant half-pipe. The road was in such poor condition that you really couldn't go fast down the preceding hill to get a lot of speed, which meant that climbing up the other side was literally standing on your biggest rings trying to suffer up the thing. I think I could have walked faster, lol.
The transition to the run went alright...I managed to drop my bike on my leg at the rack and cut up my ankle, and found out my feet were still numb from the cold since I couldn't feel a thing. It was the weirdest sensation...I literally felt like I was running on sponges. For the first four miles I tried to concentrate on my form and cadence because I couldn't feel my feet landing, and a few times I nearly rolled my ankles. It was hard to really get going with speed initially for that reason, but by the last two miles I was able to pick it up a little bit and my feet actually felt "normal" running.
Overall I still have a lot to learn, and put into practice with only three Olympics under my belt, mainly learning to balance bike efforts and run efforts. Transitions definitely could improve too. But for a race that wasn't an "A" race, that was in March, one of the toughest courses I've done in a while, and I'm not really in shape for, I'm pretty happy with it. Yeah it would have been nice to defend my title, but honestly the Waco win was a bit of a fluke because it was a short-notice reschedule, and not much competition could jump into that race like I could. Going into a race that I knew other top-notch athletes had on their calendar in advance meant I definitely had a challenge, and a lot of them probably made this race an "A" race. Getting second with top-notch women to compete with and being out of shape while doing it is a huge confidence booster. Looking forward to later season races!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Vegetable Frittata:
I like to make these when I have a ton of vegetables in my fridge that I need to use, or if there are a ton of really awesome locally grown wares at the farmers market that I can't resist trying out. In general there are few rules with these, though if you're vegan you'll probably have to pass because with frittatas you have to use eggs. The eggs provide protein, and the vegetables pack in the minerals and other nutrients. The major source of fat is the olive oil, so its fairly healthy. If you're sensitive with cholesterol you might want to substitute the eggs with Egg Beaters. The leftovers are amazing the next day...the flavors really pop!
The Basics:
- 6 large eggs (preferably fresh), or 8 if you're not adding sour cream and Parmesan
- 1/2 cup low-fat or non-fat sour cream (I usually save a bunch of sour cream that comes from Pepe's meals to go and use those...its not a set-in-stone amount. Sour cream just adds some fluffy-ness to the eggs and some creaminess)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (again, not set in stone....its to add flavor. Now that I've found I'm more lactose sensitive I usually cut this and the sour cream out in recent versions).
- olive oil (I'm a snob about olive oil...I put it on EVERYTHING, so I prefer a good-grade olive oil that's 100% Italian, Californian, or Spanish).
- 1 small onion, or half of a large onion, chopped (yellow is best, but again you can go with whatever you want to use up)
- 1 small to medium sized garlic clove, minced
- 1 large potato or 2 small potatoes, chopped finely (these are mainly for body in the fritatta...if you're not adding a whole lot of vegetables you might want to add more potato).
- 1 cup mixed chopped vegetables. (This is where you can get creative..see below)
- dash salt and pepper, or for a kick Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning
- large cast-iron skillet, and frying pan.
1.) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. With about a tbs of olive oil in the skillet (enough to coat the bottom but not enough to have the frittata swimming in oil), place the skillet in the oven to heat up.
2.) Chop the onions, potatoes, garlic, and other vegetables for the frittata.
3.) In the frying pan heat another tbsp olive oil (medium heat) to keep the potatoes and vegetables from sticking to the pan. Add the onions, potatoes and vegetables to the pan and cook until soft, but not burning them (you just want them cooked through enough that when in the oven the flavors can permeate, because they won't cook all the way in the oven once with the eggs). Add a dash of salt or pepper to taste (or any other spices you'd like to add...paprika, rosemary, oregano...any spices you think would complement the vegetables). Remove from heat when all vegetables, potatoes, and onions are heated through and soft.
4.) In a large mixing bowl mix, crack and beat the eggs until smooth (6 if adding cheese and sour cream, 8 if you're going with just eggs). If you're adding the sour cream and parmesan beat the eggs first, then fold in and beat the cheese and sour cream in until smooth (chucks of cheese and sour cream in the final product are kind of gross). You also can add additional ingredients at this stage that would shrivel if you cooked them directly but add flavor...my favorites are extra arugula, spinach, kale or other salad greens I have to use up.
5.) Add the cooked vegetables to the egg mixture bits at a time, and mix thoroughly. You'll want enough egg mixture to coat and surround the vegetables in the final product (1:1 ratio in volume), so if you cooked too many vegetables compared to eggs, save some of the veggies in a separate container for something else (pasta, etc.). If you're too much above 1.5:1 or higher for veggies to eggs you're fritatta may not stay together in the final product.
6.) When the oven is at 425 degrees, take out the skillet (HOT!), swirl the oil so that it coats the bottom of the pan to prevent the fritatta from sticking, then set it down on you stovetop or other place you can place a hot pan. Pour the egg and vegetable mixture into the skillet, using a spatula to get as much of the mixture as you can into the pan. Make sure the mixture is evenly distributed in the pan by using a spatula to press it evenly around.
7.) Place the skillet back into the oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees. You want the top of the fritatta to be golden brown, and cooked all the way through. Use a tooth-pick to test the center; if you can insert it and it comes out clean, then its cooked.
8.) Let the frittata cool for 5-10 minutes in the skillet before cutting. I like using a silicone spatula to help remove it from the pan. The fritatta will also "sink" a bit when cooling, but that's normal.
9.) I like to serve the fritatta with crusty bread or slices of citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit), and pair it with an IPA beer :).
Vegetable mixture suggestions:
- chopped mushrooms and a dash of rosemary gives a bit more protein-filled frittata. The rosemary complements the mushrooms,
- for more of a Spanish influence, use sweet red peppers and add some paprika (1/2 tsp). I've never tried added Spanish olives but I'd love to try
- marinated artichokes give a nice tang; I chop up a small jar to add sometimes.
- Zucchini and yellow squash are really good for this; they provide body and its a good way to use them up if you have a ton in your garden.
- Tomatoes work...but fall apart in the fritatta. I would add slices of them on top when baking for flavor and decor, but its really annoying having them explode when cooking/cutting the fritatta.
- You can add meat to this too...tuna, canned salmon (works really well with rosemary/mushroom/kale), pretty much anything light and can be chopped finely.
- Purple potatoes are fun to add...but turn the fritatta blue. Just a warning!
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