Great Expectations

…left unmet on a grand scale. This past weekend I raced a 70.3 in Haines City Florida, and the tweet I sent into the interwebs just after 5pm that day summed it all up pretty well. “@trihollywood: Today’s race report could be summed up in one word. Hint: it rhymes with ‘isoppointed’.” Those of you that know me at all aren’t entirely wrong in thinking that my disappointed attitude stemmed from my performance; it did a bit. More than that though, I left the race venue upset at just how out of hand the event planning was. But before I get to that here’s the race break down…

0:32:52—0:03:19—2:28:25—0:02:06—1:51:50===4:58:32

Solid [non-wetsuit] swim in, apparently this is possible, technical swim course. Six 90* turns. (sidenote: there was a lifeguard on her SUPboard at the first turn that I’ll admit made me breathe to my left twice in a row, and then actually choke when I remembered I didn’t have gills and needed air. I’ll let your minds play with that.) T1 was good, maybe a little longer because I slowed to shove my legs through my calf sleeves, and the set up was a giant horseshoe with me being on the lower level. Bike was crap. I spent the first 20miles stuck behind cyclists who were either riding 3-4 wide, or just all the way to the left. More on that coming, but that was the big factor on the bike. T2 was quick; I’m still leaning how to put socks on in less than a second. The run was terrible. 3-lap course. Solid lap 1, I dont know what happened on the second, and then I finally started to pick it up the end of the last lap. So that’s race, but more than my own performance that left me feeling a bit defeated, I left Haines City mad at the race itself.

Why is this always the look on my face out of the water…

Let’s start with that morning. There was no pre-race check in for the bike, so I brought mine that morning. The original plan was to ride the ~7 miles from my hotel as a warm up spin, but the sun wasn’t up at 5am, and transition closed at 6am (I didnt go off until 7:20), so I drove down to the site. Haines City is a little tiny town. I’m pretty sure my apartment complex would fit it inside, yet somehow 1600 people were going to race from a central location staged there. So with everyone jammed into their spot marked with a beat up sticker of a number so close that your aerobars touched the person’s next to you, even with a bike racked facing the opposite direction between you. Cramped is an understatement. Swim went fine, I get out, don my helmet and shades, then its out on the bike. Here’s where having this many people begins to cause an issue. 10 people can not exit transition at the same time when everyone stops just on the opposite side of the mount line. Granted my mount wasn’t beautiful (where is my muscle memory?!), but there shouldnt be a line to exit transition.

Jump, land, pedal….just dont land on your face

The next 20 miles of the bike was one big social group ride. 3-4 wide, guys riding all the way to the left, no one moving no matter how loud or how many times you yell “Left!”, or just “MOOOOVE!!” for that matter, all while the ref is missing the irony that he has out his book to card riders and is only furthering the issue with his 120second explanation of why the ill placed riders need to move. I saw ZERO penalties given, but I wasnt going to be one of those guys and surge past on the right or cross the double yellows to get around, and while I’ll admit I entered the draft zone when a hole opened and then had to drop back as it closed, I was not going to just go sit on a wheel. 20 miles…Finally a space opened up and I could see a ways up the road, so I surged past between the yellow lines, but that move didnt do me all that much good this late into the game. I was told later that these refs weren’t USAT refs, and I can only assume that these refs were told to be very conservative with their penalties in order not to scare off participants…which probably also the same reason bike and helmet cameras arent allowed. They made quite the fuss about that before the gun went off. Anyway…finally settle in and get off the bike to hit the run.

Angry…just angry

The run was great.Course wise anyway. The course was not flat…oh no. at about mile .5 theres a solid hill that had a lot of people walking. I didn’t but I wasn’t moving much faster. I keep being reminded I had to take 13 weeks off running and almost as long cycling because of my stress fractures, but I don’t like excuses. Liget or not. No real complaints here. I enjoyed the superhero themed aid station, but not so much the “Y’all look so good!” lady situated half way up the hill. You ma’am, are lying to us all. Below are by far the best picture of me running. Trust me that there’s a couple that you could almost say both feet were on the ground at the same time. There was a really cool one taken of me running with past a Wattie Ink guy, but it was buy a guy who wasn’t the race photographer (and was handing out his cards to racers as we ran by…), but I don’t even know where to look for that one.

“I sure do wish I had a freakin’ sweet headband…”

So that’s the race. It may have been a blessing in disguise that I didn’t race well and therefore didn’t make the cut for anything else because I looked at my travel for Worlds in London, and umm…it’d basically be race a 70.3, get on a plane for over 8 hours, and then race almost immediately after disembarking, then nap, race again, then 8 hours home. So…Maybe it’s just that I’m holding onto this performance and want another shot, but maybe, just maybe, it was a good thing, Plus, now I get to focus on a series that doesn’t treat its athletes like another entry fee, because Rev3 Williamsburg is just next month.

“Are You Ok…?” Rev3 Knoxville RR

The quote in my title was the question that let me know I looked even worse than I felt, and that’s saying a lot. Rev3 Knoxville was this past Sunday (5-5-13), and it was absolutely not my climate to perform. Let’s explore…

Myself, my mom, and the littlest brother got into Knoxville Friday afternoon. After parking the car, we headed down to the Rev3 expo where me and Jax played around with the green-screen and I had a chance to meet up with a few of my Rev3 teammates.

After checking in and grabbing my race packet, we had team dinner where I sat with my soy latte and the meat-eaters wolfed down their meals. We left from there and everyone got ready to either run the Rev3 Glow Run, or volunteer and cheer during it. ALL of the event’s proceeds went to help former University of Tennessee swimmer Nicole Gross who was injured at the Boston Marathon Bombings. The last number I head between the 5k and the 1 mile fun run was over 1500 people came out. It was absolutely incredible.

 

 

 

Saturday was kind of a chill day. Easy spin and run to get t5he body moving, then the practice swim and TriSlide pit because no one like chaffing. And who turns down free lube?! I can say that I’ve never been more thankful that my swim has improved; that 58* water was not a fun time. blueseventy makes a kick-ass wetsuit, and knew it’d help get me out of this barely polar bear friendly water. It was definitely a double swim cap situation.

SO LET’S GET TO RACE DAY!!!!

Let’s just say it was windy and rainy and overcast on top of the 50* air temp. Hello? Nature? It’s freakin’ May…lock it up. This isn’t funny anymore. I’ve never been so happy to pee in my wetsuit. Or so upset I didn’t pack ALL of my cold weather gear. Keep in mind I live in Florida and still have my heat in my place set to 81*. I don’t do well in low temps. So the swim, even in double caps and my blueseventy HELIX was crazy cold. Huge PR on the swim though, even with not being able to get my head into the water more than mouth deep, and got out of the water in just over 21 minutes. Granted hands, feet, and face were numb, but I was only thinking that with that swim and where my bike and run abilities were, I was in for a fast race. Well…

 

Notice everyone in transition (yes; this is pre-race) is in a jacket? It was freakin’ cold. After the long run to transition, at which point I’m pretty sure I was already cursing, I stepped out of my wetsuit, kept the caps on to retain heat, and headed out onto the bike. I knew I was in trouble when I had to pull over about half a mile out to use both hands to strap my left cycling shoe on. I just couldn’t do it with my hands numb and shaking. I gritted my teeth and pushed on, knowing the clock was running, only to find that…the faster I go, the colder I became because of the wet and wind. About 30 minutes into the ride is when it really hit me and I began mumbling and shaking no matter how much I tried to stop the tremors. Internal mantra became, “Just get back to transition.” 80 minute bike leg, a solid 20 minutes longer than it should have been. Lesson here is burn the extra 30 seconds it takes to don a jacket and gloves in transition instead of losing almost half an hour on the course because you cant function.

I had an angel in T2. I somehow still managed a flying dismount; muscle memory is a funny thing. Wobbling towards my rack, Kristin D, Rev3 teammate, saw me and let a horrified look creep onto her face. She asked if I was ok a lot, and it took my 3 or 4 tries to respond simply, “…cold.” I think she was encouraging me to get out on the run, I don’t really remember, but I do know that if she wasn’t there I would have just sat next to my bike and been finished. It wasn’t going to be detrimental to finish, and my reason to quit would have been little more than I was uncomfortable. That’s not a good enough reason to bow out. So thank you to Kristin, and my pride, because I couldn’t allow myself to be seen defeated by Mother Nature’s joke. The last thing I said as I headed out onto the run in my new Pearl Izumi N1 tri racers was “Jesus.” It was a lot less a curse and very much a request for help. And warmth.

After a slow first mile, I finally warmed up and was able to take in my first bit of nutrition of the race; 1 PowerGel. Now that I could actually feel my face, I put my head down and dropped my pace to <6:30s in an attempt to make up the 22 places I lost on the bike…22 places…wow…and another 16 in T2. But I made up 19 of those places, running 3 minutes off one guy in my AG in the back side of the run. I finished 66/355 for the race, not even close to what I’m capable of, but full of a lot of new lessons. I did get to run down the finish with my brother though, and that’s pretty legit. Kudos for Rev3 for ‘allowing’ that unlike some other races.

 

The number I read last was over 100 DNFs (did not finish) and a decent number of people who didn’t even start or saw medics for hypothermia-like issues. We, the athletes, may not have been ready for the elements, but Rev3 kept the race on and put it together wonderfully. So major points to Rev3 staff and volunteers and the city’s PD for keeping the race going and being out there so we morons could suffer through it. Now it’s back to Florida sunshine and the heat I love so much. The next RR will read very differently from this one. \\m//

 

1-PropZTest and His Friends

Remember all those crazy tests you found on your graphing calculator that when you selected them, more words and symbols showed up on your screen than numbers? And then you wondered if you were actually in a math class or had somehow wandered into Building a Flux Capacitor 101? Well I did, DID being the key word. Here’s a little update on why I’ve been quiet.

The semester is OVER!!! My first semester at UNF in sunny, but surprisingly cold, Jacksonville Florida ended today when I handed in my last paper for Early British Literature. All grades well in the range they should be. Yesterday was the final exam for a statistics class where after the first two weeks, there were no more numbers; only sequences of buttons to press into your stoopid-expensive calculator. Didn’t this thing come with like PacMan or Donkey Kong? I feel cheated… The point now being that I’ve finished with all my Spring finals and have all my papers turned in, meaning nothing but training and writing and [much needed recovery of] sleep. The cherry on top is that this is (I think) the last math class I’ll EVER have to take!!! And I do so loathe math. I’ve been busy, getting healthy and maintaining grades and training along with some semblance of a dating act. But now there’s a brief lull before summer semester starts, which works out perfect because…

REV3 KNOXVILLE IS ALMOST HERE!!! I love the Knox race, and I didn’t get a chance to compete in it last year. And I’m freakin’ tired of big gear work and wind (Florida hills), so I’m stoked to get to tap into my inner mountain goat and bomb down some descents. Oh yeah…it’ll also be my first full triathlon since the Miami incident where I played chicken with that SUV and learned what it meant to really run angry. Plus, Rev3 is hosting a glow run Friday night where ALL proceeds go to help Boston bombing victim Nicole Gross. All the details on that are here. So not only do you get to run around like you’re in a rave…at least that’s what’ll be going on in my mind and how I’ll see it, but you get to help out a cause. That alone seems like a damn good reason to go sign up RIGHT. NOW. 

Happy to head to the hills and race along my triathlon, well honestly they don’t need that distinction, with my family in Knoxville after a few day stop around Atlanta. We’ll see if everyone else’s reaction to the way I look now v. 4 months ago is the same as a friend of mine when he saw me last week. I may even have some new art \\m//

Here’s Your Call to Action: Keys to Keys

I’ve been kind of quiet with classes taking up my time and getting back into full time training, but I have a cause I want you to be aware of. And it’s easy enough to help out!! Last year Team Fight, part of the Ulman Cancer Fund, teamed up with Rev3 to run across America in order to raise money for supporting young adults who are diagnosed with cancer. This year, Team Fight has teams riding the east coast, from Baltimore Maryland to Key West Florida. I The teams will be pedaling through Jacksonville next week, and I get the opportunity to ride with them for a bit! My call to action for you is to head over and donate, and to share this blog and the cause to everyone you know. I’ll do my best to click plenty of pictures from the ride and post a follow up next week. Here’s their ‘planned’ schedule:

The Key to Keys Riders will be stopping at the following locations over the course of their 8-day journey:

Saturday 4/6 – Baltimore, MD to Charlottesville, VA

Sunday 4/7 – Charlottesville, VA to Raleigh, NC

Monday 4/8 – Raleigh, NC to Myrtle Beach, SC

Tuesday 4/9 – Myrtle Beach, SC to Hilton Head, SC

Wednesday 4/10 – Hilton Head, SC to St. Mary’s, GA (Riverview Hotel)

Thursday 4/11 – St. Mary’s, GA to Vero Beach, FL

Friday 4/12 – Vero Beach, FL to Key Largo, FL

Saturday 4/13 – Key Largo, FL to Key West, FL

 

I’ll admit I’m a bit behind on blogging. Maybe not in terms of publishing these, but in updates. The quick version to get you caught up is that…

+ I’m running again, stronger than ever (Pearl Izumi EMotion line review soon)

+ The first multisport event of 2013 was a solid teeth-sharpener for this year. Aquabike in Clermont OA podium, even with walking around post bike asking (yelling) where we (ABers) were to go after reracking our steeds. Not impressed with the event…

+ Just a bit over 2 weeks left in the semester. That’s crazy

+ 1st tri of the year coming up on the 14th. Yeah; I know I just posted a schedule and I’ve already changed it. There’s a 5k this weekend too

I think that’s all. I remind you again that you can donate to Team Fight’s Keys to Keys ride, and that Sneaker Savior is always taking more shoes!! (You know you have plenty of pairs sitting around. It’s free to ship them to us, so what’s your excuse?)

A Schedule I Believe In

After battling with the whole stress fractured R. calcaneus issue the last…oh wow…it was about 13 weeks, I’m finally back to all three disciplines. I was allowed to stop wearing the boot a few weeks ago only to come down with some super-bug that had me crumpled on my couch for 6 full days, plus a 5ish hour stint the ER getting tests run. So that was a big kick in the teeth. “You’re allowed to ride and even start running again…in a week after you get so sick that you cant east and lose 7 pounds.” Good luck runs strong over here…

Running still doesn’t feel perfect, long runs are <25 minutes while we ‘baby’ it, but it’s progress. And in both dry-land disciplines I’m not far off from where I was. I could even argue, especially on Dixie my QR, that I’m stronger than I was. I’m sure the [forced] time off was good for me, even if it did create scowl lines. Regardless, my schedule, which I hadn’t posted because it was never 100% nailed down, has made its final metamorphosis. This is what crawled out for 2013 after having to bail out on two races in the beginning of March, and ‘transferring’ a race entry from April to May. Keep in mind that the BOLDS are 100%, and the italics are still a bit wispy. I’ll get to see the tough-as-hell Rev3 courses a lot, and that puts a grin on my face just thinking about.

Great Clermont International Aqua Bike 3-24

UNF Aquathon 4-14

Rev3 Knoxville Olympic 5-5

Florida 70.3 5-19

Rev3 Williamsburg HalfRev 6-23

Local Olympic  in July

Local Olympic in August or maybe Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee 

Race the first week of October, & right after I’d fly over to London…?!

TeamUSA London Aquathon and Sprint World Championship 9-11 & 13

Rev3 Anderson HalfRev 10-13

Rev3 Florida HalfRev 11-3

That’s what 2013 has planned, but what it has in store for me is something I’ll have to discover through a lot of teeth-gritting determination, sweat, and focus.

BTW!!!!! Don’t forget to send us your used shoes!!! Sneaker Savior will take them for free, and then get them onto the feet of the kids that need them.

The Best Laid Plans…

…are what God laughs at. Or something like that. Here it is March, and all triathlon training has been greatly stymied. No running since December of last year, only a handful of bike sessions, and a solid 4 week swimming block of 45000-52000 weekly distance. And then a week spent solely on the couch in the fetal position. NOT an ideal beginning to 2013 and my 5th year into endurance sports. But lets rewind a bit.

Back in mid-December I moved to Jacksonville, and jumped right into the running scene with the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon. My run fitness was higher than it’d ever been, and I was clipping along when mile 5 came up and there was a gut-wrenching pain that shot through my foot. DNF-ed, actually had to be driven back. Saw a doc the next week, and while I knew he was wrong when he basically told me that I was wrong, and he was a doctor, and he knew it was absolutely not a stress fracture, I went along with his course of action. 5 weeks later and an MRI later, ordered by the brilliant Dr Reddy, I was diagnosed with multiple stress fractures all along my right calcaneus. So enters the boot for the next 4 weeks, and my only training to be done in the pool. Fast forward to last Sunday, 24 hours before I’m supposed to have my follow up and hopefully be deemed to throw the boot into the river, and I wake up feeling extremely ill. That started the week of not being able to keep anything but water down, and even that wasn’t always a guarantee. Monday came, I was allowed to walk without the boot and ease back into all disciplines, but I certainly didn’t feel up to it. A trip to the local doc-in-the-box and an overnight trip to the ER for lots of fun tests, and now I’m on super strength antibiotics to knock out whatever virus I picked up. Salmonella has been the majority explanation for this horrible past 7 days, but 2 days on them and I’m finally eating again. It’s all liquids or almost like soup, but it’s a start.

Today I woke up (at 2pm) and after a quick self-examination, I headed to the pool. While my form felt like crap, I was barely a second off my pace from a week ago before I caught The Virus King. An easy spin on the bike after, well as I’m typing this actually, and later this week my first exposition into running since before Christmas. Good news indeed! Plus; that’s three. Hit by a car back in November down in Miami which dislocated all sorts of things but not my will to run my way to 10th place, the stress fracture, and then the hospital worthy sickness. So I should be clear now; right?! TELL ME IM SAFE NOW!!! Anyway, onward now, relentless forward progress, and a kick-ass 2013 season. I’ll post my races later this week or next. It’s going to be amaze

Just for a Laugh or Two

Because sitting in class learning how to find the average or reading ‘Beowulf’ for the n-teenth time is boring, I give you the pictures I’ve come across this week that made me laugh. Usually at inappropriate times during class. Enjoy!