4 Weeks to a Marathon

It all started the night of August 20th when my coach, Daniel, called to let me know his wife, Katie, had a new job and they were moving to Minnesota.  Most of our communication is online, so it wasn't going to affect me much other than no longer having the random sightings of him at the pool.  Yes, I was happy for him, but still a bit sad for me.  Anyway, as the conversation progressed, I brought up my desire to have him coach me next year through my first marathon.  We had previously briefly talked about my retirement from triathlon and what the future would bring, but the focus was on now, not next year.

His response to me was basically don't wait until next year.  His theory is I am in better marathon shape now as a former Olympic distance triathlete (they end in a 10k run...not all that close to 26.2 miles) than if I train as a marathoner next year, so take advantage of all the training I've done this year.  And, I'm healthy now, and maybe I won't be next year.  As my sports medicine doctor and physical therapist can attest to, I don't have the best track record with running and overuse injuries.  His final words of wisdom were to not make a decision now, but wait until after the World Championships.

I took a look back at my run training over the past few years.  My longest training run ever was while training for Ironman Wisconsin in 2011, and was 18 miles.  Last year I had a few 14 mile runs prepping for a half marathon.  This year my half marathon plans were derailed due to a running injury over the winter that kept my from running for 8 weeks, so my run training maxed out at 10 miles.  Can I really go from a long run of 10 miles to a marathon with 4 weeks of training?!?!

In previous years I have considered throwing a marathon in at the end of the year, but by the time the last triathlon rolls around I am more than ready for the racing season to be done.  For some reason this year has been different.

The closer I got to the World Championship, the more interested I became in running a marathon.  September 19th rolled around, I completed my last triathlon, and promptly texted Daniel that I was in...for a marathon in 4 weeks!  Let's test out this theory that I'll have a faster marathon this fall vs next fall!

The plan...6 days per week of running including 2 long runs at marathon pace, a 5k race to try to go sub-20 which I was never able to accomplish with last fall's running block, and a few track workouts thrown in.  But, take it a week at a time and see how my body responds.  The race doesn't sell out, so I can wait until the last minute to register.  Because of this, I kept my racing plans quiet (Wes, not so much).  I had hoped it would all work out, but if it didn't, I didn't want to have to explain that to anyone.  I put so much pressure on myself during tri season, and wanted to reduce that for this race.

Week 1:
One day off after my final triathlon race, then right into 6 days of running including a 10 mile fartlek run.  This doubled my weekly run mileage.  My injury from last fall seemed to be creeping back.  Not a good start.  I remembered that my doctor told me to wear compression calf sleeves while recovering from the injury this spring, so I started wearing them again.  I think they are the dorkiest looking things, but if it will get me through this, I'll wear them!

Sunday was time for my first long run.  I realized that I needed to get some items to prep for it.  I stopped by my favorite running store, We Run, and picked up a really awesome running belt from Fitletic along with some flask holders to attach to it to carry water, and a couple Gu packets since that it what will be on the race course.  The running belt and holster things are made from neoprene, like wetsuit material, which I hopped would reduce rubbing my skin off.  Ran with it for an 8 mile run with no issues (awesome!), before taking it out on the long run.

I was given a pace to hold as long as I could, and the choice to run for 18 to 20 miles.  He recommended I run on the Macbride trail out of Solon.  Such a beautiful trail to run on, but it's only 4 miles.  A bit of back and forth, but I got it done, and increased my pace the last two miles to below the goal pace.  That went much better than I had expected.  Sweet!

Crushed limestone trail along Lake Macbride

However, I discovered new areas for chaffing!  I'm not used to running that far in run shorts and a sports bra. Time to research alternatives.  I had been eyeing some new Zoot shoes, and discovered they also sell butt hugger shorts.  Hopefully they will work.

Week 2:
Back to the track.  Between the warm up, workout, and cool down, I ran in circles for 12 miles!  The best part of running on the track is an older woman that I see there frequently.  She's always complementing others on the track. I talked to her a bit afterwards.  She had been running for about half the time I was there, and is training for the Run for the Schools 10k...at like 82 years old!  Amazing!

Long run #2, and a new, faster pace to hold.  Really?!?!  For the first long run I needed to get it in early, so just had a banana before starting the run. This time I wanted to try out my normal pre-race breakfast that I use for triathlons...egg and turkey bacon sandwich on a English muffin, melon, and 3 cups of coffee with soy milk about 2 and a half hour before starting the run.  From mile 1 all the way through the end I could feel it sitting in my stomach.  At several points I wondered if I would feel better trying to puke it up.  I also had no desire to take in any Gu or water (no issues with this for the first long run).

My plan for long run #2 was to also try out body glide to help with chaffing, and forgot all about it until I arrived in Solon.  So, another painful shower when I got home.

Week 3:
Another 10 mile fartlek run, this time a bit harder than the first.  Got it done, and it was nice to know that was my last real 'work', other than the 5k race, for the training block.

My goal was to find a flat, fast 5k race the weekend before the marathon.  At the gym I saw a poster for the Team Breast Friends 5k Rack Run in Terry Trueblood park, which is a fund raiser for breast cancer.  Can't get much flatter than that area!  Coach's advice was to race with an "all or nothing" attitude to break 20 minutes.  "22min is the same as 20:01, so don't be afraid to race with reckless abandon." Ummm..ok, but that sounds painful.

I arrived at the race site with enough time to get in a decent warmup, but cut it short as they seemed anxious to get everyone to the start line well before the race started. Good enough.  I lined up at the start line.  The "gun" went off and I was in the lead...until I missed a turn that was clearly marked to not be a turn (chalk arrows painted forward and big "X" on the ground to the right.  The volunteers which were just down the sidewalk on the right yelled, and I turned around.  Not a huge deal as I had my watch set for 3.1 miles so wherever that happened to be is where I would get my unofficial official 5k time.  I was no longer in the lead.  It would have been really cool to win the race overall, but as the miles went by I slowly lost ground to first and second place.  At 2.5 miles I didn't think the race would ever be over. I checked my watch and the pace it was showing gave me little hope of breaking 20 minutes, but I also didn't know how fast I had taken out the first two miles, so I kept going.  At 2.95 miles I crossed the finish line, saw that the clock said 18 something, and just kept running.  The volunteers probably thought I was crazy.  At 3.1 miles I stopped, looked at my watch, and 19:55!!!  Oh, yeah!  Garmin file proof here.  I walked back to the start line, explained my crazy actions, then took off for a 2.5 mile cool down.

There were a lot of walkers at the race (they had their own division and start time), so I did my cool down around the lake and got to see so many friendly faces also making their way to the finish line. Along the course there were a few groups of high school cheer leaders. They were awesome and peppy, both times I passed them.  Great to have them there!  I also had a chance to look at the signs that were out on the course.  "Save Second Base" was one of my favorites.

The local newspaper wrote up an article on Monday.  You can read it here.

Photo from newspaper article

Week 4:
Race week = full on taper time!  My only hard workout was a fairly easy, short fartlek on Thursday.  Friday and Saturday were short runs to loosen up the legs. I was feeling more confident with each that I could have a decent go at the goal pace for the race, and that my body could handle, so on Monday I signed up!

Also, my butt huggers arrived!  Tried them out for a 5 mile run and the 6-mile fartlek. They worked great, just hope they work just as great for another 20 miles. 

The goal for the race was pretty much stay with the 3:15 pace group as long as possible. Daniel's words of wisdom where "I think on your best day you can maintain pace the second half, but even if you fall off you'll still have set yourself up for a great finish time.  It will come down to just making yourself really uncomfortable the last 10k."  Oh, joy!

Saturday, after the awesome Hawkeye win, we headed over to Des Moines for packet pickup, then I cooked up dinner at my aunt, Carol's house, and my mom and step-dad stopped over as well.  Good family time.  In bed by 10am, slept amazingly, and up at 5am for a bowl of cereal, banana, and a whole lot of coffee!

The Race:
At packed pickup I stopped by the pacer table in hopes to talk to my pacer, but they had all left for the pasta dinner.  But, they had handouts with information from the pacer, which was VERY helpful.  Abel's plan (my pacer guy) was to aim for 3:14.  I though 3:15 was a stretch, and now to stay with him I was going to have to run even faster!  A little stress.   But, I still decided to stick with him as long as possible. 

We arrived at the race site around 7:15am, easily found a parking spot a few blocks away, located port-a-potties with no line, the wandered over to the race start corrals.  Wes found our neighbors who were doing the half so we chatted with them for a bit before making our way near the 3:10 pace group.  I waited and waited for the 3:15 guy to show up.  I started thinking of backup plans just in case, but he made it!  Yeah!

And, we're off!

Right at 8am the race started. It took a few seconds to get to the start line, but thankfully the individual timer doesn't start until you cross the start map. At this point, I was just a few seconds ahead of the pacer.  I hit start on my watch, but apparently not hard enough with my gloves on, so hit it again, which meant my watch time was going to be slightly off from my chip time.  I didn't figure it would be a big deal.

I had my watch programmed for our goal pace +/- a few seconds, and loaded it with two variations...one that alerted me if I was out of range for each of the first two miles (these are relatively flat miles) and the other that alerted me each mile for the first 13 miles (these are fairly rolling).  I started what I thought was the 2 mile version, only to find out at mile 3 that it was still yelling at me.  Ugh!  The poor people around me!  But, I didn't want stop my watch or reset it because I would loose my total time.

The pace felt good, but I already knew after a few miles this was not going to be easy.  The miles kept ticking off faster than I had expected.  I felt like we were constantly at another water station, or seeing another mile marker sight.  It was great! 

At mile 10 we saw the leaders coming back at their mile 13 mark.  Wow!  So beautiful to see them run so gracefully, yet SO fast.

At mile 12 the course goes into Drake stadium in the track.  I loved the change of running surface, and picked up the pace a little for that 1/4 mile.

Jumbotron at the track 

Around about mile 12.5 the rolling stops, and we start our decent into Water Works Park.  It's all downhill and flat from there to the end.  Yeah!  Going into the race I had heard the hills were horrible, but I found them to be pretty okay.  Good stuff.  But, I was still glad they were done. 

Mile 14

Mile 16

Mile 18 ("the wall") came and went.  I was still sticking with my pacer.  At mile 20 I realized I was entering uncharted territory, but only 10k to go!  My legs were starting to get tired, and our pace group was falling apart.  We started with about 10 and lost about half of those.  Abel let us know we were still on pace for 3:14.  I started doing the math.  I could back off by 10 seconds/mile and still make 3:15.  I also knew that for each mile I could stick with him, I would have more of a buffer those last few miles to drop off pace.  Miles 21, 22, 23 came and went.  Only 5k left and I was still with the pacer.  I also noticed the mile markers which had been right in synch with my watch were now off by about a tenth of a  mile.  Hmmm... 

Mile 21

Mile 23

Last night's motivational email from coach was "when the going gets tough remember that you're done at the finish line.  Not just done for the day, done for as long as you want to be done".  Just a few more miles.  I can do this, and I'm still with the pacer!  At mile 24 I started getting a spring back in my step.  I was feeling good, hurting, but good.  It was an odd combination.  At mile 25 Abel said we were still on track for 3:14.  Really?!?!  I felt like I was picking up the pace a bit more, but also wondered if it as actually Abel slowing down (garmin data shows I was not any faster, but at least I felt better...such a mental race).  I was his only person left... I had my own personal pacer and he was a great cheer leader, too!  I kept asking where we were.  Was the next corner the last corner?  I expected to see the finish line. Where the hell was it?!?!  With each question he answered, and then said to just stay with him.  That's all that matters.  My watch goes off one more time at 26.2 miles...and I AM NOT AT THE FINISH LINE!  I can see it...but I'm not there.  I can also see the clock...and my watch...and both getting closer and closer to 3:15.  I gave everything I had left, which wasn't much.  I crossed as my watch flipped to 3:14:56...but, I had started it after the start line. Was is 3 seconds after the start line or 5?  After over 3 hours of running, 2 seconds would make the difference between sub-3:15 or not. 

Just me and Abel at mile 26

I hobbled across the finish, met back up with my neighbors and Wes just like 3 hours earlier, found my pacer and thanked him over and over...pacers rock!, then over to the massage tent (oh, that felt so good), food line (wow, they have an amazing selection), then in the car back to home. 

Steph, Dan, and me post-race

Oh, and my official time....3:14:59 :)

If you're a data geek, my Garmin file is here, all 26.31 miles of it.  And, that extra .11 took 44 seconds.

Huge thank to my amazing sherpa, Wes, and to those I randomly saw out on the course.  Since I registered so late, my name wasn't on my bib number, but I still heard my name yelled out and didn't always recognize where it came from.  Each and every time it made me feel a little more inspired to keep pushing forward.  Hopefully if you're one of those people, you read this post and made it all the way to the end :)

Fast like a rabbit!

The Final Countdown

No better time to write up a post covering the last races of my triathlon career than while tracking my coach, Daniel Bretscher, racing Ironman World Championships in Kona.  This is a long one, but a lot of pictures to break it up a bit.

Lakeside Triathlon
July 12, 2015

I raced this last year, didn't have the best race, and wanted to go back to prove I could do better.  There is a good prize purse for the top three which was a great incentive as well as last year I came in second place.  I mentioned something to Daniel about not having booked a hotel room yet, and he was awesome enough to find me a homestay, which I had never done before. The couple I stayed with were amazing.  They cooked up a delicious dinner and we had some great conversation.  When taking  heading up to bed, the wife had snuck in a good luck gift into my room.

Good luck gift from local popcorn shop

My goal going into the race was beat the woman that won last year and to finish in the top 3.  As I was setting up my transition area, a few more people started showing up that I hadn't seen on the start list last time I stalked it, and I was quickly becoming less optimistic about being in the top 3 and more into hoping I wouldn't come in last for the elite wave.  Apparently Milwaukee has a race the same weekend that they usually race, but this year they pulled the prize purse, so they came to Decatur.  :(

Last year there was a storm that came through the day before and the swim was cancelled due to the currents.  This year apparently there were strong currents again, so the swim was cut in half.

I had a decent swim, drafting almost the entire way.  The first half of the bike went well, then I was a little demoralized at the turnaround.  I saw where I was compared to everyone else.   Ugh!  For the run I just settled in.  Never really pushed.  On the good side, my bike and run were each a minute faster this year.  And, I my favorite run photos have been taken at this race.

Age Group National Championships
August 8, 2015

This was my A+++ race for the year.  A few people had asked why I was taking Thursday and Friday off work, so I told them, which lead to other people finding out, and then my entire company getting an email.  Good motivation :)

We slowly made our way to Milwaukee Thursday afternoon making a couple stops in Madison to look at stand up paddle boards (didn't buy one, but I know what I want to get for next summer!) and, of course, a brewery on the way into Milwaukee.

Tyranena Brewing Company

Friday was a bit of relaxing and one brewery stop.

Water Street Brewery

The race was Saturday morning.  My wave was one of the last, taking off at 9:50am.  Transition closed at 7:25, so a bit of a wait before starting.  I got everything set up, then chilled alone for a bit and had breakfast, then watched some Iowa HEAT teammates transition from swim to bike.

There were a lot of women in my wave and a good amount of fighting to begin with, something I am not all that used to.  It settled down by the time we got a few hundred feet.    I didn't get to draft much and was 8th out of the water.  I had hoped to catch up to the group ahead in the water, but never made it.  There were 9 of us that came out within 20 seconds of each other.

The day before I had asked Daniel for a bike watt goal, which he said 205, and I said that was too high, so he went down to 195.  Ok.  I felt last year I had blown up a bit on the hill at the beginning of the bike, so made sure to take it a bit more conservatively.  I checked my watts after coming back down the hill and they were around 215.  Hmm..a bit high, but I felt good.   I watched the watts come down, but they stuck around 213.  I still felt good.  Just as I came back past transition (about a third of the way through the bike course) I passed Cindi Bannick.  The past two years I have caught her at the end of the bike just to have her pass me within the first mile of the run.  I did not expect to see her this early.  It gave me great motivation to keep pushing the bike and see if I could widen the gap enough to hold her off on the run.  At the second turnaround I was still around 213 watts, but my legs were starting to feel it.  Just before the final stretch into transition I checked my watts again and they were at 211.  Nice!  Thankfully it was a very clean bike...no issues with passing men, and two even said good things as I flew past them.  I had the 4th fastest bike split for all of the women.  The fastest was by a women that can't swim or run well.  The 2nd and 3rd were the 1st and 2nd women in my age group.

I was a little worried how my legs were going to hold up on the run after biking so hard.  The first mile I just tried to settle in.  On the second mile I was still feeling good.  I saw Cindi again after the first turnaround.  She was just passing the 1 mile marker and my garmin had me at 1.4 miles.  Good gap, but she could still catch me. The next two miles seemed to never end.  After the second turnaround I looked to see how close the next person was.  She was close enough to scare me.  I never saw Cindi.  I gave what I could those last two miles. I heard someone cheer for another women and assumed it was the women in my age group that I had seen at the turnaround, so I tried to push even harder.

As you get close to the finish line, the ground changes from running on cement to grass to carpet on grass. My body did not like the change.  My legs were starting to give out.  For those last few yards I wondered if I was going to be crawling across the finish.  I remember this feeling from 2 years ago, too (same course, same change of under footing).  Not fun.  But, I made it, with 40 seconds to spare from the next women in my age group, and she was actually running slower than me! Oddly, this was most comfortable I've felt in a run that I remember.  I think it's because I had the confidence that I was running fast, instead of just running scared.  My mile splits were 6:52, 6:42, 6:49, 6:58, 6:47, 6:58.  pace for the last .2 was 6:59.  Considering how well I felt the first few miles, I wondered if I'm lacking a bit in endurance.  My long runs are definitely not where they were last year.  But, i'm still happy with my run split.

Finish line area.
Wes had a ticket to spectate from the white tent.

Proof that Wes watched my finish :)

Final results...3rd in age group and 10th overall women (I was 11th until the penalties came out and a woman higher than me had 6 minutes in penalties that dropped her out of the top 10). My goal was top 5 in age and top 25 in women.  Definitely happy with it!

Between the race and award ceremony, we celebrated with the Halls at...a brewery!

Ale Asylum...
Didn't get a chance to stop at in Madison,
so went to the Milwaukee version.
Madison's is better.

Pretty excited to be on the #3 podium!

We had walked over to the award ceremony, expecting to get a medal that I could shove in my purse for our night time fun, as I didn't realize i would be getting a stein.  I was very tempted to take it out with me and fill it up :)

Did a bit of research for the best bloody marries in the Third Ward.  Couldn't decide between two of the, so got them both!

Cafe Benelux
Bacon!

The Wicked Hop
Filled with so many goodies!

 Finished off the race-cation with a celebratory breakfast before heading back home.

Original Pancake House
We shared it all...so yummy!

And, a stop in Mount Horeb..

Grumpy Troll

There was streaming video during the race.  There are spots at 2:30:30 (people were already finishing as I was waiting to start the race in the water, and you can barely hear my name in the background), 4:19:20 (the announcers had much more faith in me than I did, and 4:45:02 (trying to stay upright).

Des Moines Triathlon
September 6, 2015

I have a love-hate relationship with this race.  It used to be sponsored by Hy-vee. They are no longer sponsoring it, but the race was continued by the same company and race director as the previous years.  The first few years of the race were really well done, with the exception of the finish line being a few miles from the transition area, which makes for a bit of a logistics headache for both racers and spectators.  There were a few years they changed the course having the start, transitions, and finish all within the same area, which were my favorite years.  This was not one of those.

The timing of it was good to break up the large break between Age Group Nationals and the World Championships.  My mom has made it to most years of this race, and this year my mom and step-dad both came out to cheer me on.

My mom and I

I raced the elite wave last year hoping to finish in the top 5, but missed out.  There was flooding on the bike course resulting in the entire race being cut in half, which also matched my motivation by that time of the season. It was my last race of the year and I was definitely ready for it to be over.  

This year my motivation was still high, riding off the excitement from Age Group Nationals.  My training was still going well, also.  


I lined up on the swim start behind Cindy Bannik hoping I could draft off her.  I caught on some feet that I thought was her, but ended up being some guy.  I wasn't tired at all behind him, but couldn't get around either.  Whenever I left his draft I would fall behind.  I wish at some race I could draft and still be pushing my pace.

Within the first few miles of the bike I had a couple guys pass me and then I passed them back.  I kept inching up on people.  I passed a female pro in waterworks park which seemed odd since they had a 5 min head start.    At 10 miles I was catching women in my wave.  At the second turnaround (at about mile 15) there were 3 women right behind me.  At this point I realized I was in the lead.  I tried to keep my watts up, but they dropped as I was getting into lots of corners and rough road.  My watts weren't awesome to begin with, but I wasn't all that tapered into this race, either.  About 207 watts for the first third and dropped down to 203 average.

Photo from the Des Moines Register website

I came in off the bike in the lead and wondered how long I could hold it.  There are two turnaround..mile 1 and mile 5.  I actually really liked that.  I knew there was a really fast runner from Des Moines racing that I really wanted to beat, and thought I needed about a mile lead off the bike to stay ahead of her (she ended up having a run that was over 7 minutes faster than mine!).  At the mile turnaround the women were much further behind me than I had expected.  In second was a chick that easily beat me at the Pigman Sprint, Sarah Alexander, and I knew was a good runner, so I just waited for her to pass, which wasn't until mile 3!  I kept a pretty steady pace the entire time.  It was getting warm and I didn't want to have issues getting to the finish line.  There was a guy about 10 feet ahead of me for almost the entire run.  I just kept watching him.  I kinda figured if I was keeping up with a guy, my pace couldn't be all that bad.  At the 5 mile turnaround I knew I was stuck in my position, so just finished it in.  The last small bit of the run is up a VERY steep hill, and was happy to not have to push up that hill.

My mile run splits were 7:09 (partly on grass), 6:57, 6:59, 6:59, 6:58, 7:03, and 7:43 (last .2 miles  which is mostly a large hill).

Happy with 2nd Place

Post race thoughts...
I hate looking at the results and thinking....hmmm... I lost by 38 seconds to Sarah Alexander.  From looking at the swim times, I really wish I would have tried harder to get into the next pack of swimmers.  It was a large, long pack and they came out of the water 24 seconds faster at the tail end and 60 seconds at the front.  I also ran exactly a minute faster at AGN.  But, maybe after she passed me she stopped trying so hard. On the good side, I had a great bike compared to everyone.  Only 4 women were faster and they were all pros.  The next fastest non pro bike was almost 2 minutes slower, which was an age grouper.  My bike was 3:20 faster than the next elite woman.

Additional thoughts after more cyberstalking...
At AGN Sarah beat me by over a minute, so I would have had to have a stellar race to have beat her here.  I feel better now.

ITU Age Group World Championships
September 19, 2015

Hmm...I thought I had written up a race report in my training log after there ace, but apparently not.  Lets see what I can remember. 

We drove over to Chicago on Wednesday.  I had hoped to make it to the parade of nations (think amateur version of the Olympics opening cermony's parade of nations), but after a few stops and then getting stuck in traffic, I knew we weren't going to make it on time, so made one more stop before checking into the place we were staying at.  

Hopvine Brewing Company

Solemn Oath

Hallway to the Lagunitas Tap Room
Pretty awesome!

Lagunitas Brewer

Thursday was a logistics nightmare.  I thought the place we were staying at would be much easier access to the race area than it turned out to be.  We rented some Divvy bikes to get to the beach for a quick swim, but the traffic was horrible and that it seemed to take forever to get there.  By the end of the day we were taking the bus and train, which was so much better, and I became a bit calmer.  Off to two more breweries. 

Goose Island
The cups on the outside that looks like cups of water,
are actually cups of water :)

They were bottling Bourbon County Coffee Stout.
A VERY rare and VERY delicious beer.
Wish we could take one home..

Revolution Brewing

I decided on Friday that I wasn't going to worry about the race on Saturday.  Instead, I was going to enjoy our time in Chicago.  I also decided that all the time on the Divvy bikes yesterday and the walking around we were going to be doing today were good enough to equal what my workout was to be for the day.  Note: I still don't regret that decision.

Throughout the day on Friday we were getting updates on the Saturday race.  The winds were to pick up overnight and so we were being told that disc wheels were not going to be allowed. My bike has a cover I can put on the back wheel to make it a disc, but I can also ride it without.  If I go without it, I would also use a training wheel on my front instead of a wheel with deep rims.  My bike could be set up either way, but I wouldn't know until race morning which version of my bike would be allowed.  The only cause of stress was that it does take some time to switch everything, which would add one more thing to race morning that I didn't want to have to deal with.  That last update we received said the decision would be made by 6am in the morning.  

To add to that, the weather app on my phone was saying there was a wave advisory through the next day...6 to 7 feet!  I was pretty sure the swim was going to be cancelled.

Race uniform

Saturday morning rolls around, and the winds are no where near what they had expected.  I kept checking my phone and finally got the email that discs would be allowed.  Yeah!

I had a few hours between transition closing and my wave.  The distance from transition to the swim start was just under a mile, and we needed to be at the swim start 30 minutes before our wave started.  Joanna and I wandered over, and waited with her family and Wes.  

Waiting with my swim wave

The swim was pretty spectator friendly.  The entire swim is completed just a few yards from the shoreline which has a path you can walk along.  The waves were pretty minimal as well since it was in a protected area.  

Course Map
(Click to Enlarge..and see the craziness)

The run from the swim to our bikes was long!  And, the transition area was a little muddy.  My fear was getting mud stuck in my cleats and not being able to lock into my pedals.  But, I was fine.  

The bike route is horrid for someone that doesn't do turns well, which is me.  We were constantly turning, and going in and out of the tunnels.  I didn't know if the next turn would be gentle, a wide 180, or a tight 180.  I don't have sun glass with clear lenses, but I still wanted to wear them.  I was fine until I became scared after going back into one of the tunnels and not being able to tell there was a curve slightly after entering.  I decided to just take my glasses off and tuck them in my top.  I am glad I did.  On the second loop (yes, we had to do the crappy route twice!) at that same spot that scared my the first time had a crash the second time through.  It had just happened, and I was happy to not have gotten caught up in it. I also locked up my rear wheel on one of the turns that ended up being sharper than I had expected it to be.

Another long run into transition and back out, then off on the run course. It was also spectator friendly as 3.5 loops, with all of it lined with spectators.  I wondered if I would be able to remember what lap I was on, but no issues.  And, I knew by my watch which mile I was on.  I could see women in my age group, but had no clue where they were.  Ahead of me? Behind me?  Our age group was so large that we were broken into two waves that were 5 minutes apart, which added even more to the confusion of current placement.  I really didn't care that much anyway.  The race was more about enjoying my time there than trying to place higher. Run splits were 7:06, 7:00, 6:57, 7:07, 7:02, 7:12, and 6:42 (I had a bit of energy at the end).  

Running around Buckingham fountain...1 of 4 times

My garmin has the total run distance as 6.56 miles (versus what it should be at 6.2).  My bike data had the bike 22.88 miles (versus what it should be at 24.8).  I was disappointed that the World Championships didn't have accurate Olympic distance triathlon distances.  That, along with the transitions being as long as they were, and the very technical bike course, the race definitely favored runners.  Not sure if that would make much difference in my placing, but it did seem a little unfair.

I ended the race as 7th in my age group (I had hoped for top 10...check), and 35th overall.

For post race food, we were given tickets to a few places that catered in the athletes village.  And, a couple beer tickets, too.  

A couple retirement beers

The following morning we took the bus to a breakfast spot recommended to us, then wandered over to a local farmers market before heading back home.

Meli Cafe
Perfect retirement breakfast!

What does the future bring...?

It does feel a bit odd to be done with triathlons.  To not be thinking about what races I will be doing next year.  Races can fill up fast in the tri world, so you have to have your calendar figured out several month in advance. With running races, a lot don't fill up at all.  You can sign up at the last minute.  Right now, I have no idea what I will be doing next year.  A marathon?  Trail races?  I know it will be something long, longer than a half marathon.  Besides the marathon at the end of Ironman Wisconsin (which is completely different then running an open marathon), I haven't done much distance running. I am excited to see how it goes, and how my body will handle it.  

It has been a great 10 years in the sport.  Along the way I have had some great support...from my family and friends and Wes, to the coaches I have gone through...Mark S, Endurance Nation, Daniel Bretscher Multisport...and companies...Zoot Sports, We Run, Core Fitness, and Geoff's Bike and Ski. I couldn't have made it this far and this well without each and every one!

CBJ Article

I really do hope to summarize the last races of my triathlon career in the near future, but for now, you get an article from the Corridor Business Journal.  It is based around the idea that "everybody has the ability to get moving and challenge themselves."  Yes, it's true, 12 years ago I couldn't run more than a block at a time.

Note: Not sure where she got the professional triathlete part from.  I am and have always been an amateur.  I couldn't image the life and stress of a professional!

Click on the image to open to a readable size :)

The Beginning of the End

A little over 10 years ago a friend at the gym, John, said "I'll do one if you do one".  Sure, why not? He did...I didn't. John signed up for the Pigman Sprint and I chickened out thinking I wasn't a good enough swimmer yet (I competed from age 7 through my freshman year of college, but hadn't be in the pool in a while).  After the race he told me how great it was, so I searched out a fall race and signed up for Troops and TriHawks (now called Iowa's Best Dam Tri).  While training for that race I discovered the CyMan sprint triathlon, and it became my first on August 14, 2005.

Things have changed so much in the past 10 years.  I upgraded from my mountain bike to a triathlon bike, knobby tires to aero wheels, a conglomeration of swim suit/bike shorts/cotton t-shirt/running shorts to a triathlon 'kit', happy to just complete the run without walking to just complete the race without having a mental breakdown, enjoying the journey to looking forward to the journey being done.

I'm ready for a change.  My body is ready for a change.  My mind is ready for a change.  I wish I loved going out for long bike rides, doing open water swims, race mornings, but I don't and never really have.  I tolerated it because I did well at it...I enjoy standing on a podium, which isn't what I'm used to from growing up.  Yes, I swam for a long time, but wasn't really good at it, just good enough to keep going.  I also love being in shape, healthy, active, whatever you want to call it (I was 40 pounds heavier when I graduated college).  With whatever I do I want to give it 100% and I don't want to give 100% to triathlon any longer.  I'm ready for a new challenge...that doesn't involve long bike rides and open water swim.  So, 2015 is my last year of triathlons.  It would have been 2014, but the World Championships is in Chicago (not sure when the last time it was even in the US) and it seemed like a fitting ending.

Anyway, enough about the end, now back to the beginning of the season...

Pigman Sprint
Sunday, June 7th

This race is typically my first triathlon of the season as it was this year. I've race it every year since 2006, which means I can compare year over year how I've improved...or not improved, which makes it a little scary.  I also want to do well at this race, not just my time, but my overall placement.  The problem with caring about placement is I don't have complete control over it.  Some years are very competitive and some years not-so-much.  This year definitely had a strong showing of women, with two professional triathletes towing the line.  The race gives overall awards for the top-5 and that was my goal.

This winter I've worked on my swim stroke (swim lessons with Megan) and tried to get back my running speed (after 2 months of not being able to run due to my lower left leg rejecting running).  I had hoped to see an improvement in my swim time, but it was right in line with the past five years (times vary from 7:17 to 7:25). Although, I did PR by a full second!  I guess I'll take that as a small win.  I came out of the water in 5th place.

I'm on the far left..not the best placement

On the bike, I just couldn't get my speed up.  I know lack of motivation was part of it.  At the first turnaround I saw Joanna, and my goal was to keep enough distance on her that she couldn't catch me in the run (we're friends and somewhat train and race together so I know her abilties).  And, that became my only goal.  I lost my motivation to even attempt to catch anyone ahead of me, and my time was 25 seconds slower than last year.

The run was more of the same...just don't get caught.  It wasn't until the last half mile that I realized the woman in front of me was quickly slowing down.  I also heard Joanna yell at me to get going, which I did in fear that her voice was coming from right behind me.  I picked up the pace, but it wasn't enough to move into fourth.  Had I given a better effort on the bike and run I think I could have made up the 10 second time difference between 4th and 5th place.  My run time was 20 seconds slower than last year, but much faster than all previous years, so I'll take that as a small win, too.  Maybe the next race would be better...?

Tim Doyle and I taking a Team Zoot pic.
My legs look nicely long from this angle!

Copper Creek
Sunday, June 14th

I've raced in 2012, 2014, and now 2015.  At packet pickup I took a look through the start list and saw the winner of the Pigman Sprint and another pretty speedy woman.  This race places to 3rd overall, and last year I had won it.  I had hoped to win again, but unless something happened to take out the other two women, that wasn't going to happen.

The swim starts with the elite men and women, and the teams, and is an in-water start.  We were treading water for several minutes, and during that time I pretty much stayed still while getting kicked repeatedly by Z3 teams (the average age is probably 14).  My goal of finding someone to draft off of didn't work so well and I pretty much swam the entire distance by myself and came out of the water in 2nd place.

One of the Z3 boys was just a bit ahead of my on the bike, and as soon as I passed him he passed back. We leapfrogged like this for over three-fourths of the 15.5 mile bike ride. It was frustrating. Each time he passed I'd have to drop back before passing him again.  Finally with about a mile to go I passed and dropped him.  Ugh!  I also was passed by the woman behind me.  Double ugh!  Surprisingly, I was over 40 seconds faster than last year, but last year was also a bad bike for me.

The chances of me passing someone on the run is pretty slim, and it was no different here.  I came out of transition with 2nd place a few seconds ahead of me, but she widened the gap VERY quickly.  Again, my goal was to not get caught.  At the turnaround on the run I was fairly confident I could hold on to third place.  Before the last turn to head back to the lake that we run around to the finish line, I looked back one more time to see what my lead was, and I didn't see her, took a few more steps, looked again, saw I had plenty of room...and missed the turn!  According to my Garmin it took me 30 seconds to figure out I was off course, and then 30 seconds to get back on course.  As I turn around, I saw myself drop from 3rd to 4th.  I also saw the huge barriers to direct people back to the lake.  Really?!?! I missed that!?!?!  I tried to catch up, but didn't have the speed needed, and ended in 4th place.

Reenactment of barrier.  I think there may have been cones as well.

Map from my Garmin watch data. Oops!

At least I had a good weekend traveling with Joanna, who came in 3rd.  And, the race has really good swag.

This year's swag.  Finis Torque Backpack.
Retail value of $64.99, and is my new swim bag.

Quad Cities Triathlon
Saturday, June 20th

Third weekend in a row of racing.  All sprints, but all slightly different swim and bike distances.  My last time here was 2012, and before that was 2006.  It's a great race and very close to home, so not sure why I haven't raced it more often.   My main goal was to prove to myself that I can mentally push myself through a race, and to get some momentum going into the rest of the summer.

The swim is a mass start for the elite men and women.  A few fast age group men joined in, too, which I wasn't a fan of.  I think they should time trial start with the rest of the age group men.  Anyway...the swim went well and I caught two of the elite men in the last chunk of the swim and came out with another guy right behind me.  This is a rare experience, so I figured I did well.  I did accidentally kind of ran over one of them (JJ Bailey I think), which didn't make him happy...he yelled at me, which I deserved.

Coming out of the water

Further out of the water

I was the first woman out of the water and made it out of transition without seeing any other women come in.  Good start!  Out on the bike I was pretty alone, which is a good thing.  At the turnaround I was happy with the effort I was putting out on the bike, but I didn't feel I had a large enough gap on the other two women in the elite wave.  I knew Joanna (yes, we raced all three races together) is a better cyclist and runner, and Jen is an AMAZING runner (she can run a 5k two minutes faster than me), and I needed more space.  The second half I slowly caught a guy ahead of me, and had a greater effort overall on that half.  Finally good things!

End of the bike.
About to take my feet out of my shoes to prepare to dismount.

The first 3/4 of a mile is grass and gravel.  Not ideal, but everyone has to deal with it. I'm glad I didn't check my run pace, because it was slow!  The turnaround is less than halfway through the run course. At that point I thought I'd be able to retain the lead, but didn't want to count either of them out yet.  With a little less than a mile to go the motorcycle that lead the winning man to the finish line came back to get me, which was awesome...except when I was close enough to smell his exhaust.  The best part was crossing the finish line with finish line tape being stretched out for me to run through.  Awesome touch!  Shortly after I watched Joanna cross in second place and Jen in third (Jen's run ended up being 1min 59sec faster than mine!).

Yeah for finish line tape!

Quick side note...while putting on my wetsuit my tri shorts rolled up.  I was a bit late getting down to the water, so didn't bother straightening them out.  There were so many photographers on the race course, which is nice, but I think the shorter bike shorts that look like they are eating into my legs add to my standard umpa-lumpa look.  Thankfully, that's really my only regret from this race. Anyway, back to the pictures...

Catching up at the finish line with bike shorts pulled back down.

Love the oversized checks...the real one that I can actually take to the bank is nice, too :)

After looking at my swim, bike, and run data when I got home, it reflected how I felt and how I had hoped I would perform.  I like to think I'm ahead of where I was this time last year...that all the training I put in this winter paid off.  I wish I could go back and change my first two races, but I can't..they are what they are.  Quad Cities gave me the motivation that I need to keep at this, if only for a few more months.

Articles on Quad Cities race:

https://hoatri.wordpress.com/2015/06/20/picture-perfect-2015-quad-cities-triathlon/

http://qctimes.com/sports/williams-goes-out-a-winner-at-q-c-triathlon-long/article_2bd72a20-78fa-50e8-b23e-5655020b45d4.html

http://www.qconline.com/sports/long-and-williams-claim-first-victories-at-q-c-triathlon/article_b52bf8dd-454b-533a-88e5-945db5c14ac2.html

Sponsor Plug:

Extra special thanks to Zoot Sports (love the race kit and shoes!), We Run, Core Fitness, and Geoff's Bike and Ski.  And, Daniel Bretscher Multsport for continuing to push me to be better.