Final Race of the Year

So a very delayed race recap.... here we go!

Drove home on Friday with Tim, by the time we got out of the car I was convinced that I may have been less sore if I had sat on the bike for 12 hours instead of in the car!  (Yes, the tired brings out the drama queen :) )  We spent a wonderful weekend with my family, seeing many family members I hadn't seen in years, what an incredible surprise and blessing.  The only downside, because of the long travel schedule and the tight work schedule that led up to it... I did not get any training in the four days before the race.  This made me more than a little nervous as to whether I would be ready.  I knew I had done the work necessary in the swim and the bike, but the run still was out of reach.  I had completed a 6 mile run earlier in the week, and it actually went pretty well.  The thing is, a 6 mile run is very different from a 6 mile run after 2 hours of exercise.  I knew that my lack of training in the run was going to bite back, I just didn't know how hard! :)

Sunday morning (race day) we woke up late.  The night before I had triple checked with Tim that he had set an alarm (yes, he assured me), that he had set an alarm for 530 (yes), and then he had set an alarm for 530 AM (yes).  Well, at 5:50 I woke up and checked my watch.... whoops!  Lo and Behold, 530 PM would have been a very long restful sleep :)

We rushed through race prep, food prep, and getting the bike on the roof.  Thankfully my packing had been done the night before and I just had to get dressed and do the last minute things and jump in the car and run.  Sunday morning traffic also helped as we had smooth sailing all the way into Detroit and onto the Island.  We unpacked and got me to check in with lots of time to spare. 

The race was incredibly well organized, check in was a breeze and I got to Transition two where my bike to run transition would take place.  It was a chilly morning at only 48 degrees, but was supposed to be 82 by noon, I planned carefully though as you never know with Michigan weather. With my shoes and hand water bottle I left a long sleeve shirt (turns out, I definitely would not need that.)

We then headed 3/4 of a mile down the road to Transition one (I knew that it was going to be this far and I had planned on bringing a pair of shoes to walk this distance in but the late wake up found that second pair still on the floor next to where my bag sat.)  Instead I rode slowly next to Dad and Tim as we made our way down.  I set up transition one and got my markings (288).  They went a little overboard marking both arms, both legs and both hands, holy moly, there would not be a missed body by the end of that day! :)

By this time, the nerves had kicked in and I was just ready to go.  Finally it was race time, we lined up only to find out that the river was much more shallow than had been predicted.  As I got going on the swim, after about 100yds, it was too shallow to swim anymore and the whole field waded through knee/thigh deep water for 150-200 yards.  We got to the first turn and the depth dropped significantly and off we went.  Nice easy swim, could have kept going, the swim certainly is my strong point.  Off I went to transition, out of the wetsuit and into my helmet and bike shoes, clipped in and off I went on a 4 loop circuit of the grand prix track.  Really flat, only a couple windy bumps in the road where I had to shift at all.  I pumped my way through it, but it was harder than one would expect a flat race to be.  I ride all hills here at home and forget that these hills allow me time out of the saddle, time coasting, etc etc.  A flat race doesn't allow for any of these things, so I was a little less comfortable than usual.  All in all though, I felt very strong and was pushing pretty hard.  I thought about backing off a bit (and probably should have) but I figured that the run was going to stink no matter what, so I may as well kick butt on the bike.  I came flying into transition, jumped off the bike and jogged in to ditch the helmet and sunglasses and change shoes. 

The run.... at transition, I thought about sitting down to put on my shoes and thank goodness I didn't, I don't know if I would have been able to get back up again.  Out on the run I went, and about a half mile in I knew it was going to be a rough road, I was behind on my fluids and my IT band was so tight.  I ended up running 2 minutes and walking 1 for much of the race, on a couple of occasions walking for even longer. The reality was that I was going to finish no matter what, and I did.  It was very emotional and overwhelming, tearing up at the end of the race.  It was awesome!

Swim: 27 minutes for one mile
Bike: 19.9 mph for 25 miles
Run: 13.5 minute/mile for 6.2 miles
Finished in just over 3 hours

As I packed up my things, I was dizzy and had to sit down several times.  I learned a lot on this race, the greatest lesson however, was that  I am hooked and that I will definitely do it again!

Now I am looking into early in the season half ironman races for next year.  If the schedule allows, I will definitely head back to Belle Isle for another Olympic distance, a great course, a great group that puts on the race, lots of support throughout the course, and of course, a little support for Detroit! :)

Pictures to come... they are stuck on Tim's phone :)

A well timed trip home

Michigan was really an awesome place to grow up.  Lots of land, incredibly nice people, strong sports teams, great community, and of course family and friends nearby.  Moving to Connecticut was both one of the easiest and one of the hardest things I have ever done, and because of that, every few months I will get a little homesick and in need of a taste of Michigan.  So thank goodness a trip home is only 4 days away. 

Training hit a bump in the road last week when this hellish cold showed up.  Wednesday I knew something was wrong and tried overdosing on OJ and Zinc and yet, Thursday came and I was feeling worse.  I had a double workout slated and needed to preview the Madison tri bike course, and I wasn't about to give in to a measly cold.  I hit the pool and put in over 1.5 miles and felt pretty good.  I then moved on to the bike course, a 13 mile loop that I would do twice to get the long bike in.  I averaged just over 17 mph, but by the end, was not at my best.  Thursday night the cold had me in its grip and I got little to no sleep both Thursday and Friday nights.  Saturday (race day) rolled in and I felt so crummy that I considered not even going.  I could not imagine throwing away the entrance fee, so decided to load up and go, especially since Pseuodoephedrine and Afrin had reined in my symptoms a bit. 

Call it fate, call it a sign, call it what you will, I got there, registered and went down to take a dip and saw the boats struggling to even get the buoys in the water, not long after this they announced that the chop was too dangerous and they would be cancelling the swim and converting the race into a duathalon.  That made me so nervous, I have practiced and built up muscle memory for the bike to run transition, not the opposite.  Combined with not feeling even 50% and a 12 hour work shift ahead, I turned in my chip and planned on heading home.  In the end, a coworker and I decided to run a relay, I ran, he biked, and we had a good time.  At the end of the total day, I didn't feel great, but I hadn't done any damage either and was content.  The best news was that Sunday morning I woke up feeling a hair better, and this morning even a little better.  I am still not one hundred percent, but at least am moving in the right direction.

So Saturday saw a mini-workout, and Sunday I took to recover and stretch, but today I hit the road hard, running 6 miles in 65 minutes, could have been a few minutes faster if I felt better and had hydrated better this morning and/or brought water with me on the run.  Good news is that I am feeling ready for Sunday.  I have completed all of the distances multiple times, I have the strength and the stamina, the mental game will likely be more of a player in this longer distance, but that will be Sunday's hurdle.  For now I am enjoying the recovery from this cold (probably at about 75% now), and my runner's high from tonight's workout.  Stretch, shower, dinner on the docket, perhaps a jump on the trainers with Timmy for some Monday night football spinning style.

Most importantly, the count-down to Michigan has begun.  Its a quick weekend with a long race in the middle of it, but I'm really looking forward to it.