Race Report: Oregon Ironmen 70.3

 Four years ago I tried to do the Canada 70.3 in Whistler.  In the water I had four panic attacks and was pulled out which was heartbreaking - I had wanted so badly to compete.  The reality is I wasn't ready.  The readiness problem was much more in my head but if I'm honest I didn't train nearly enough.  This year, part on a whim and part to have a new aggressive goal, I registered for and COMPLETED the Oregon Ironman 70.3 in Salem and it was AWESOME!!!  

The race course itself was amazing.  1.2mi of down river swim, 56mi pretty flat cycling, and then 13.1mi flat with trails run along the water.  The 93 degree heat wasn't terrific, but it didn't deter at all.  

For the build up for this race, I decided not to let my head get in the way and instead get some swim lessons in.  For 2mo I took swim lessons three days a week with a great teacher named Mike.  We hopped in the pool for 100 and 50 yard repeats, and did one lake swim to feel out a full mile.  I also would make sure to get lots of lake and pool time on my own to get my head in the game (water... literally).  

Juggling work and working out was tough.  Not gonna lie.  In the mornings before work I would run or cycle, then run or cycle after work and try to do meetings while walking when possible.  I only ever did one long ride and it was much less than the race distance at 40mi of which more than half was on Peloton.  

A big part of my training was mental TBH.  I consumed books non-stop.  The beauty of running is it gives plenty of time for Audible.  Here were my favs:

Triathlon for Every Woman 

To the Finish Line 

Life's Too Short to Go So F*cking Slow

Iron War 

And post-race I listened to Mike Reilly Finding my Voice which is now having me yearn for a full...

I think the biggest thing that helped me was a pep talk from a 15 time Ironman athlete the day before the race.  He had the following amazing tips:

• If you have butterflies before the race, know everyone else does too.  Try to not let them fly off to the sides - get the butterflies to fly in an arrow and pull you forward.
• Smile.  How lucky to be able to do a race like this.
• Talk to God or whomever you want while going.  
• Enjoy every second.  You worked for it.  

I thought of all of those points and more during the 70.3miles in the sun.  

One major thing that helped too was knowing my kids were eagerly waiting to hear the results.  They've come to many races, and they have been on this journey of training.  They're definitely the tribe who empowered this race along with my awesome husband, Matt.  They didn't come to this one because of our 3:30am wake up time, but they gave me a tattoo before the race to remember them and that they were with me.  

I had had one half Iron on my bucket list but now I'm not sure I'm done.  We'll see what starting line compels next!

Masters Swimming for the #humble

 Not sure what I was thinking, but the other day the urge hit me to sign up for another triathlon.  I'm terrible at the swim.  Like really bad.  I get panic attacks, swim in the wrong direction, and no matter what seem to have foggy goggles and a water logged swim cap.  But I signed up.  SO not it's time to train. 

 After a little research, I found a pool that's open in my neighborhood, which was no small feat considering Covid and all the restrictions.  But the pool seems safe, and it's a mile away.  In.  I emailed with the coach a bit and decided to try a class.  

From parking to the full workout I felt like one of those old Sesame Street "One of these Things" oddballs.  I parked in the wrong lot, and when I walked in I got lost in a sea of high schoolers getting ready for practice on my way to Masters.  

Finally situated in a shared lane for Master Swim, and after warning the coach I was s-l-o-w and didn't know what I was doing, I was in it.  Literally, in the pool.  Coach wrote a bunch of stuff on a white board and at first I couldn't see a thing (non glasses under goggles) so I hopped out and put my glasses on to toggle with the goggles.  That old lady nerd, yes, me.  Then, I still couldn't understand a thing.  Here's the white board:

1. 200 strong

2. 25 fast

3. back

4. front other 

5. x3

I was trying to make up in my head what all of these meant and failed so I asked.  "What's 200 strong?"  The coach replied "strong" and flexed her arm.  OK... very descriptive.  So I started.

The good news is I got lapped nearly ever lap so I could look at others for reference.  The bad news is I got lapped nearly every lap.

It's OK!  Day 1.  I'm just getting started...

Be where you are

It has been over two years since my last post and my how the world has changed!  We moved from Seattle to Portland.  I evolved from trail running to cyclocross and tris (and trails).  The boys turned double digits.  I left Amazon and went to Snap and now Nike.  And then the world exploded with COVID-19 and social distancing.  Over the past two years, things have changed a LOT, needless to say. 

As we are locked in place staying healthy, and my goodness we're so lucky for that! we've been antsy to get out and get going again.  Find new adventures.  But I am reminded now more than ever to be where I am.  Be present.  Roots in the ground, enjoy the space we're in. 

I wonder if the world is telling us to take a deep breath and just learn happiness in the moment.  In the space.  Slow down. 

So, here's to the meditation, the slow, the embracing of now. 

Race report: Big Sur Marathon

This year I enjoyed my 3rd Big Sur marathon and it didn't disappoint.  I LOVE this race.  It is hands down the most beautiful, and most enjoyable (albeit tough) run.  Race weekend started with an early flight to SFO where I met my mom to drive down to Monterey for checkin.  We made good time winding along the 101 to get to the expo in downtown Monterey.  After picking up my bib, we hit the road again to Carmel to check into the hotel and then rest before race day.

Race day came FAST.  In part, because I had to get up at 3:30am to catch a 3:45am shuttle to the starting line and in my stress of missing my alarm as well as pre-race jitters I just barely slept.

At 3:45 I made my way to the streets of Carmel where I simply followed other groggy looking runners to the lineup of school busses that would take us to the starting line.  The finish was in Carmel so we got to drive the entire course on the busses pre-race which added to the jitters.  Every up and down hill, I pictured in reverse.

I got to race village around 4:45am where I then waited ... and waited ... and used the porta potty many many times in part to kill time ... and waited until 6:45am to start.

Finally, it was time to start and I lined up in coral 1 with a good view of the elites.  The national anthem was sung (beautifully) and it was go time!

 The Big Sur marathon is a rolling race with some sizeable hills up to a 600ft climb.  There's a total elevation gain of 2,100 feet and an elevation loss of 2,500 feet.  The start was a downhill incline, and then the rolling began:

The race organizers and volunteers were amazing and did quite well getting entertainment where it was really needed.  My favorite drummers were right on a big hill incline and the beating of my brain got lost in the drums which was nice.

 Another great point was a grand piano just after another big climb with music blasted on speakers mingling with the crashing of the ocean.

 During the race my phone started restarting after mile 13 or so, which was a killer with motivation and trying to reset the phone.  I found myself repeating a mantra of "I feel good, I look good, I'm doing good" just for reinforcement.  It got me through the quiet moments on the run.

Finally ... done!

M minus 5

It's five days to the marathon.  FIVE DAYS!  I'm excited, nervous, tired, stressed, thinking of songs to sing at miles 16 and 20, and a whole bunch of other random thoughts.  Mostly though I can't wait to get to Carmel, put toes in the sand, then toe the line a day later to run the hills of Big Sur.

This week I'm winding down the mileage to save it all for Sunday.  Today was an easy 3.7mi loop around Queen Anne.

I'm finding all kinds of aches in this countdown - some are phantom, some need stretching and ice.

Five days ...

Masters Swim Report

In my continued attempt to like swimming, or at least not completely dread it, I am hitting the pool at least weekly.  Last week I wound up in my swim session at the same time as aqua aerobics which was not the best idea.  After about 20min of swimming, I noticed a cloudy mist coming through the water from the direction of the aqua aerobics class.  I'll let you guess what that was, but I was completely grossed out.

This week, I went for lap time and wound up timing it perfectly with a Master's Class so opted for that instead.  SO awesome!  My normal swim is get in, do a mile, get out.  And my stroke is freestyle with only breathing on the right side every other stroke.  In the class, we did the following:

1. Easy 10 laps 
2. 200s with the buoy
3. Easy 10 laps 
4. 200s with the buoy and hand fins breathing every 3 strokes 
5. Easy 10 laps 

In this short session I learned to breath less frequently (sounds counter intuitive but helped a ton!), breath on both sides, and turn more in the water to cut through faster.  

Tenacious Ten: Race Report

It's race season, it's race season - hurray!  Yesterday I toed the line for the Tenacious Ten 10mi race by Oiselle.  This was my second time doing the race and it didn't disappoint.  I went with a friend, Colleen, and we got there a bit too early.  "Too" because by the lake it was cold. 

The race itself started at Gas Works park and wound around Lake Union.  There were two options, 10mi, or 10k.  The 10mi had a couple out and backs which I didn't love, but all in it was pretty great.

The upshot of getting to the race early, is I got to fangirl out on Kara Goucher and Lauren Fleshman who are both Oiselle pro runners.

The race went clockwise around Lake Union.  Lake Union has some rolling hills, but nothing bad.  For the out and backs, there was one jaunt on the north side of the lake, and another just west of that in the dirt.  As much as I love mud, the dirt out and back is where I had my slowest mile.

All in I ran 1:10 for a 7:03/mi average pace.  I SO wanted sub-7s, but that's something to work for.