Miles of Madness and Defining Moments

One of the bigger race events in Wilmington happened a few weekends ago. Wrightsville Beach hosted 26.2 miles of madness - a 5k, half marathon and marathon. It was an action-packed four days that (for me) included a volunteer dinner, packet pick-up for the 5K, a Saturday afternoon race, an athlete's dinner and a 24-mile biking adventure on race day. 

Back in Black. Ace in Red.

Ace and I raced the 5K on Saturday at 5pm.  We ran with about 250 other runners near Mayfaire Town Center. The weather was slightly challenging - 22mph winds and 70 degrees. Plus, I could taste the pollen. Ewwww.

I didn't follow my plan - I'm still working on pacing - but I'm pleased with the result! I was only 15 seconds off my personal best and finished in 23:32. I finished as the fifth woman overall and was the first woman in masters! I earned a blue ribbon, a free-entry to another race and a gift card to BikeCycles!

Even more exciting was that Ace had a GREAT race. He claims he hasn't been training - but he runs nearly every day with Sugaree and it's paying off. He finished first in his age group with a time of 21m50s. 

Happy Podium Finishers

Winners in the hood. Our neighbor Fast Eddie, also had a podium finish.

Pre-Race Confidence

After the race, Ace and I headed into the event tent to attend the athlete's dinner. The pasta was delicious and the company (Ben Bowie) was great, but the highlight was listening to Dave McGillivray - the Boston Marathon race director. His message: DEFINING MOMENTS. He spoke of times in his life that could have set him back. His obstacles were not huge, life threatening challenges - but smaller confidence crushers. Here is an exerpt from the book cover of his book, THE LAST PICK:

"If you can dream it, it can happen." David McGillivray shares the challenges he has overcome to inspire readers to similar triumphs in their own lives.

Always the last pick for team sports because of his small stature, David McGillivray drove himself to excel at individual sports. When he was 16, he set himself up for the one "failure" that would motivate the rest of his life. He attempted to run in his first Boston Marathon - without training for the event. Not crossing the finish line could have been a crushing blow. Instead he went on to complete 115 marathons and eventually to become the Boston Marathon's race director.

At age 23, McGillivray completed his celebrated 3,452-mile run across the United States to raise money for cancer research. The story of his journey and what he learned about himself will give all readers a new understanding of how to prepare for and achieve success. McGillivray's many accomplishments will convince readers that virtually any goal is possible. This book will motivate them to overcome the mental obstacles that often keep dreams from becoming reality. 

I want to remember this in my Ironman journey. I'm learning that there are defining moments already - in training and in the small races. Moments when I want to walk - and don't. Moments when I want to quit - and push harder. Moments when it hurts - and I push through. Moments when I'm bored or doubting or discouraged - and I keep going. I'm compiling a list so that I can remember these in my build-up and so I can experience a defining moment on October 26 and finish 140.6 miles (of my own madness). 

On marathon day, I volunteered as the lead biker for the marathon women. I did it last year and it was pretty straight-forward. My job is to pick out the leader at mile three and escort her through the course. I make sure other runners clear the way and that she doesn't get lost. 

This year, I had two crazy things happen. At mile three, I found my leader in a fast pack of men. She was easy to spot and I stayed about 100 yards in front of them for the first several miles. There is a fine balance of looking behind you and looking ahead. We had to weave through three miles of other runners (a wave that had started 25 minutes prior to the leaders). 

The ride through Landfall and back to the beach was so much fun. The weather was beautiful - the sunrise was inspiring and the aid stations and spectators were motivating. I introduced myself to my leader, Molly and made sure that the aid stations knew she was coming.  

At mile 16, I spotted the volunteer coordinator at one of the aid stations. She yelled - how's it going? - and I yelled back - Great, so far! It was great. Molly was in pretty good shape and the crowd had thinned a little bit. My front brake had been scraping for a while, but suddenly I heard a new noise. It's coming from behind me......I have a flat in my back tire! 

I started looking for a spectator on the course that I might know - so that I could commandeer their bike. Then I started looking for spectators that I DIDN'T know so I could commandeer their bike! Nothing doing.  My next idea was to make it to the turnaround in Landfall - pump up the tire with the air canister and hope for the best. (That's 2.5ish miles on a flat!)

Once we got close to the out-and-back, I pulled back to Molly and told her my plan and told her I'd meet her after she grabbed her arm band and came back out. I emptied half the canister in the back tire and tucked the other half in my bento box.

Before I knew it, one of the volunteers was saying, here she comes! Except it wasn't the SHE I had been with for 17 miles. It was Sarah Glenn! I never anticipated a new leader! I picked her up and looked back - Molly was about 200 yards away - and didn't look like she was going to make a move to take back the lead.  I introduced myself to Sarah and she looked so excited. She said, Well THIS is a new experience. I joked back and said -  welcome to the big time, girlfriend!  I asked her if she had made a pass at the turnaround and she said - yeah, I guess so!

 

Like last year, I was simply amazed that she seemed to be picking up steam in the last miles. She ran every mile of her last 10K a few seconds faster than the last. As we came into the Mayfaire event field, I could hear the crowd and the emcee announce her arrival. As we made a right at the last corner, I pulled off to the side and started cheering for her to finish. 

First Place Finish in 3:00:44

As I pedaled away to watch my friends and teammates - I realized that my tire was flat again. In all the excitement - I hadn't even noticed!

Azalea Triathlon 2013

The day was perfect. I slept through the night. I woke up ready to go. I had the best nutrition plan - I felt nourished and satisfied - but not full. I arrived early to the race site. I had the best swim seed - early in the day and sandwiched between teammates. I jumped in and knocked off 20 seconds from my 300 yard time last year. My T1 time zipped by and so did the bike. Despite the 15mph winds and the 40 degree temps, I finished my bike two minutes faster than last year - and finally, finally (my Azalea tri holy grail) under 30 minutes. And the run? The best ever. I was firing on all cylinders. I held 8m:05s/mile pace in the first mile, I picked it up by 15 seconds in the second mile and switched into another gear in mile three and finished two minutes faster than my triathlon 5K best. I surprised myself and finished several seconds under one hour! I placed second in my age-group and stood on the podium with several other tri-club teammates!

The day was perfect........except that none of that happened.

For the first time ever, I did not start a race.  It was the hardest triathlon I've never raced. 

In the week before the race, I started coughing. The same raspy, rattling, bronchitis cough that I had in January. It may have been my effort in the Cardinal Strut - and the post-race wind as I gnoshed on pancakes and awaited the awards. It may have been a post-swim run the following day. It may have been the fact that I work in a gym and train in close quarters with my team - and the bug just caught me again. Regardless of the cause, I lost my voice on Tuesday. I left yoga early on Wednesday (downward dog makes me cough). I skipped a workout on Thursday.

By the time I talked to my coach on Friday, I was feeling physically at about a seven on a scale of 1 - to - 10. I was already weighing the pros and cons of racing.

I could race to shake the cobwebs - a walk-through of the event to recall transitions and race-day nerves.
I could race with lower expectations - knowing that I wouldn't hit my personal bests or physical bests. But that may mess with my mental game next time.

I could just suck it up and race because I'm an iron woman. But, I may get worse and suffer a more serious setback.

I've been training for this one with our club! Been working so hard. I want to see what I can do!

I don't want to disappoint my team, my club or my sponsor.

Her words caught me off guard: we don't race sick. Whaaaat?! Think bigger picture, she said. Think of the example you want to set. Think of this as a missed workout. Think. Think. Think.

I made a deal with her. If I slept through the night without coughing, I'd race. It was a sure-fire win for me. I hadn't woken up from coughing in four days. Of course, I did not sleep through the night. I woke up at 11:25pm - coughing harder than I had in days. I couldn't catch my breath. I felt nauseous. I coughed for 10 minutes. I knew as I was coughing that by my word, I wouldn't be racing. Of course, denial returned with the oxygen to my brain. I went back to sleep thinking, maybe I just coughed my last cough. Surely I can still race. Two hours later, same thing. Coughing. Breathless breaks between hacking. Nauseating gunk in my lungs.

You would have thought the denial would have evaporated into realization overnight. But, I woke up and prepared as if I were going to race. I fixed my smoothie. Prepped my water bottles. Packed my bag. Pulled on my tri suit. I asked myself, my hubby, the dog and the cat, what should I do? a million times. I texted my training buddy. Her response was very zen: you will make the right choice. Ugh.

I gave myself a 6:25 am deadline and as my husband came in from his run - I peeked my head out the front door and sighed: I'm not racing! I pouted. I cried. I whined (which made me cough more). Tears. Lots of tears. Oh, the drama. I cried off and on for 45 minutes. I unpacked my bike gear and re-packed my cheer gear. 

Once I arrived at the race site, I teared up every time someone would ask, when's your swim time or are you ready to race? No, I've decided not to race today. I tried to hide. I thought about leaving. I ducked into an empty hallway to pull myself together and suddenly everyone I knew was passing through. 

Luckily, one of the women who walked through the door saw my tears and pulled me aside. Girl, you're doing the right thing! she said. Don't think another minute about it. She then told me a story about a race she did that she shouldn't have done - due to something health-related. She started the race, but didn't finish. She admitted she didn't even make it to the first buoy. 

I spent the rest of the day without a tear. I turned on my coach brain and marched back up to the pool. I spent my time (indoors!) watching the swimmers, taking their splits and cheering with Anne. I cheered for the YDubTriClub and watched teammates come in from the bike and cross the finish. I witnessed Kris' first tri and her podium finish.  

Kris K's first podium finish!

YDubTriClub Team

YDubTriClub Team

 

It was a perfect day. And I didn't need a race to make it.

Cheer Co-Captain

 
You know I like a metaphor, so I've been trying to find one all week. Remember when you were in third grade and it snowed for the first time in....like....EVER...in the South? It was that perfect snow that lasted and stuck and for the first time, school was canceled and it was sunny and snowy and all your friends down the street were going out to sled on the golf course or build a snowman or have a snowball fight. And you had strep throat and watched from your window. That's all this was. I was sad because I couldn't go out to play. 

And, remember that boyfriend you had that had SO MUCH potential to be THE ONE? Or, the girl that fit you perfectly? The boy that wrote you silly songs or made you mixed tapes? The one that could have been? That's all this was. The chance to be the perfect race, to reach a personal best. There was only a chance.

There will be another snow day and there are plenty of fish in the sea. I have two A races right around the corner (Belews International and Raleigh 70.3) and I have an even bigger race in October. I can see the bigger picture and I like what I see.

AND THE RACE IS ON.......

Today was the first race of my spring season. Today I raced the Cardinal Strut 10K. Next week I race the first triathlon of the year and the weekend after that, I'm doing a 5K. I've been gearing up for this distance for a couple of months and this was the third time I've done this race, and still, I was as nervous as I was for the B2B half iron! I had dreams that I was late, that I lost my change of clothes and that they moved the finish line halfway through the run!

Don't Start Too Fast

Fortunately, none of those things happened. I awoke on time, ate my giant smoothie, sipped on my Amino Vital Pro, double-checked my checklist and arrived at the race site. I had talked to Coach Stacey on Friday and she helped me with a race strategy. We talked about not starting out too fast. We talked tuning into that threshold pace. We talked about drafting off other runners and running the tangents. I reviewed my notes in the warm car. I wrote: I RACE SMARTER, HARDER & FASTER THAN I TRAIN on my arm. I took a last swig of water and decided I was ready.

YDubTriClub: Joe, Beth, Meredith, Holly and Me

I socialized for a few minutes with my YDubTriClub team and then went to warm up. I've never actually done a real warm-up before and I took 20 minutes to incorporate skips, hops, butt kicks, high knees, hip openers, hip closers, jogging, strides and jumps. I arrived at the start line hot - not warm. My heart rate was in zone two and I opted for no gloves and no jacket. (great choices even though the temp was 40 degrees) Plus, I was able to pull up my sleeves and read my arm: I RACE SMARTER, FASTER, HARDER THAN I TRAIN.

I RACED SMARTER: 

I didn't overbake the first few miles. At the first turn, I watched my watch,  ARGO, for clues on pacing. And I slowed down.  Every year...every race I start too fast. It's hard to hold back at the start. There is an adrenaline rush and swish swish swish of people moving fast. There is a vortex of contagious energy that pushes and pulls you forward. For at least a mile, you are with other runners who are just as excited, nervous and encouraging as you are. In 2012, I started too fast (in the 7:20s/mile pace) and finished in 52:02.  I did a time trial on the course two weeks ago and started in the 7:50s/mile pace - I finished in 51:07. Today, my goal for mile one and two was around 8:10. My goal for the rest of the race: 8:02/mile.

ARGO read 7:55, then 7:58 then 8:05 in the first half mile - which was great because it meant I was slowing down. It's counter-intuitive because I felt great at that 7:55 pace!  I'm thinking, if I feel great now, shouldn't I run fast now? Plus, it was hard watching people pass me.  

My Unofficial Race Finish

The pacing paid off. My average pace for the race was right on target at 8:03/mile. In the past, I have overbaked the start and slowed to an 8:20 or 8:30 pace in the last few miles. Today I was consistent - my mile averages were between 7:58 and 8:09.

 

The Cardinal Strut 10K is a fairly technical course. There are at least 12 turns on the first loop - and there are two loops. The race winds through curvy suburban neighborhoods and includes what I call the ditch: a 100 yard downhill with a right-hand turn and then a 100-yard climb. I feels steep and short - like the side of a ditch. You get to jump the ditch twice in the 10K.

How to Run a Tangent

I have done this course at least 50 times. It is close to the YDUBTRICLUB headquarters and it's a safe easy course to get mileage and practice tempos. I know the curves and the turns, the dips and the ditch. So, I raced smarter by playing the tangent game. Everybody knows that a line is the shortest distance between two points. A tangent is a straight line that just touches a curve. It doesn't intersect the curve, and it doesn't miss the curve. To run the tangents, you really have to know what's coming around the bend. [And hope that there's not a car or a 5K runner in your tangent.] You'll notice in the picture of my watch that the distance reads: 6.18 miles and not 6.2 miles. I think it's because I ran on the inside of the curves and took a straight line when possible. I promise I didn't run through anyone's yard. :)

My last smart move was drafting. I've never done it before - never even thought of doing it before. We do it on the bike every outing, but I never thought there would be an advantage on a run. Sure enough, it pays off. There was a head-windy stretch in mile two and five. In mile two, I was able to tuck in behind a bigger guy at my pace and follow him as he blocked the wind for me. In mile five, I used another runner to edge up a short slope and catch my breath at the top of the hill.  And I used yet another runner to race harder......

I RACED HARDER THAN I TRAIN A lot of times, if you work smarter, you don't have to work harder. In this race I was determined to work harder. It would be so much easier to stop and walk up that ditch. It would have been so much better to slow for a sip of water or think, I'm tired, I'll slow down and still have a respectable time.

Today I raced harder. I didn't quit.  In the last two miles I passed three women (one of whom may have been a 5K runner), but I used them as carrots. I'm usually competitive with myself and I actually perform well if I know I'm being chased, but never look for anyone to chase. The other day in the pool, on a dare, I caught up with one of our faster swimmers. I imagined doing that same thing in this race. In the last mile, I watched as a woman ahead of me slow for the water station and thought, I bet I can catch her. There was that pesky headwind so, I used the runner ahead of me to draft until I was 10 yards from her. I moved from his draft into her draft. Ten yards later, I moved around her. We made a turn and headed down a little slope and she passed me. I thought, ANYbody can pass me on a hill. Now watch this. At the bottom of that hill, I edged to her left and was able to take the left turn on the inside and pass her. From there I picked it up every 20 seconds until I reached the finish line! She didn't catch me after that!

I RACE FASTER THAN I TRAIN The results?  That unofficial 49:46 finish and a clock time of 49:54. That beat my time from 2011 by nearly a minute, it beat my time trial from two weeks ago by over 1m15s and it beat last year's 10K by over 2 minutes. I placed first in my age-group and won an awesome beach towel! I'm excited about my progress and my start to the season. I'm thankful for my friends and for my coach!

Podium Finisher! First in Age-Group

Podium Finishers from the YDubTriClub Including Holly Konrady and Beth Sheppard

Drinking Amino Vital in the Pancake Line

 

Weekly Workouts

I'm 14 weeks away from Raleigh 70.3 and 31 weeks away from Beach2Battleship race week! To be exact, as I'm writing this, there are 239 days, 17 hours, 39 minutes and 11 seconds to the start of B2B! I'm on the edge of my first few weeks of prep races. Last week I spent over 12 hours training - including foam rolling, yoga, TRX and pilates (on top of the swimming, biking and running)!

My running buddies joke and muse and try to figure out on nearly every run what has broken in our brain to make us want to do this. Right now, I feel like I'm only half crazy - my focus is on the Raleigh 70.3 (get it? half iron= half crazy) on June 2. I can't imagine what's in store in July, August and September when the bulk of my training for 140.6 miles ramps up.

Here is what we must look like to normal people like you. [Warning: This contains adult-content.]

Ask any iron athlete and they'll do one of two things: deny they're as extreme as the guy above or they'll try to one-up him. Mostly, I deny the fact that I spend so much time training, thinking about training, racing, thinking about racing, eating to train, or thinking about eating. But, after I wrote the schedule below, I faced up to some crazy. For starters: my alarm is set for 4:40am. I usually hit the snooze once and I'm up and dressed and in the kitchen and letting the dog out by 4:58. In short, here's what a typical week of workouts looks like right now:

Monday 

YDubTri Cycle
Spin Class

Yoga or Pilates

Tuesday

Swim

Spin Class

Wednesday

Run: Speed

Spin Class

Yoga

Thursday

Swim

Bike

Friday

Run: Tempo/Social

Saturday

Long Bike

Transition Run

Sunday

Run Long

Spin Class

For those of you who want details:

Monday:  CrossTrain

I coach the YDubTriClub cycle session at 5:45a. Sometimes I ride with them, other times I sip coffee and encourage them to go a little harder. A little later in the morning I  teach an indoor cycling class at the hospital's employee fit center. More than likely, I'm on the bike for an easy 100+ cadence spin. For the past two months, I've added an extra swim on Monday evening - thankfully that has ended!

Tuesday: Swim + CrossTrain

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I swim with the YDubTriClub. We are a sprint triathlon-focused club, so we work on short-distance speed and techniques. We tackle 2500 - 3500 yards every Tuesday and Thursday. My crosstrain event is another coached spinning class and I'm usually on the bike - using it as a recovery spin with a high cadence

Wednesday: Run (Speed) + Crosstrain
I usually do a track workout that is three-to-five miles. I work on form and high cadence and my repetitions are short intervals. I teach another Spin class at the fit center and then take a basic yoga class.

Thursday: Swim + Bike
Another 5:30am swim with the tri club. This morning, we did 3000 yards.  I add a optional trainer ride in the afternoon. 

Friday: Run (EZ, Hills or Tempo)

Fridays are my favorite. I usually do an easy  social run with friends and mix in hills or tempo runs every few weeks. This week we watched the fog roll with the Cape Fear River and the sun rise over the buildings of downtown Wilmington as we crested hill after hill - and climbed the parking deck at PPD. Tempo runs are mid-distance speed workouts. You work on race pace for miles at a time and sandwich it in between easier efforts.

Saturday: Bike

Right now, I'm biking indoors. Last weekend, I stared down a two hour on my trainer. For the past few weeks, three or four other riders have set up in the classroom of a teacher at a local school. She has a projection screen and we've watched Ocean's 11, Bridesmaids, The Long Run and last Saturday, I annoyed everyone by quoting every line in So I Married an Axe Murderer. 

Sunday: Run (Long) + CrossTrain

Harkin's watch isn't bee-beeping at him.

Sunday mornings are reserved for the longer run. Last Sunday, I tackled eight miles alone. I set my Garmin up for a progressive run - where I picked up the pace every two miles. I started out a little too fast and cruised through the first two miles. But, when I hit the second pick-up, I couldn't do it. My watch kept beeping at me. Bee-Beep! It actually read: SPEED UP! Every 20 seconds for six miles, I listened to it Bee-Beep! Bee-Beep! Bee-Beep! I have now affectionately renamed it ARGO because for six miles I muttered and cussed at it with lines from the movie ARGO. You know the one.

DAY OFF  ---- Once a week I take a day off. I try to take it easy. No spin, maybe yoga, maybe a massage. This week, I tried to sleep in. I woke at 5:15 instead of 4:50. I ate, did some chores and took a nap from 6:30 - 7:30a. By then, I was wide awake and ready for coffee - and something else to eat. I like working out - I like seeing my friends. I have also learned that I like to feel rested and take some time off. More on that to come!

Weekly Update

Wow! The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of workouts and well-timed wisdoms. I'm excited about a few breakthroughs - mentally and physically and in the next few days, I'll try to share them all.

Beautiful Carolina Blue Track & Field

My most fun event was a track workout with Stacey Richardson and my Raleigh 70.3 training buddies. I traveled to Chapel Hill on a chilly, breezy, partly sunny day. I arrived with butterflies in my stomach and left with a big grin on my face. First off, I loved the people. I loved the workout and I loved being back on the campus that I love so much. 

I was admittedly nervous about the track workout. I do them almost weekly, but they are self-coached and in the darkness just before dawn. There is a new expectation and accountability when there is an objective set of eyes watching your gait, your effort and your performance in the light of day. Also, I didn't want to puke. 

My favorite thing about the workout was that Stacey coached us all - and I think there were close to 20 on the track - right where we were that day. We did a progressive run and set our paces by our last 400 (one lap around the track). We didn't have to aim for a race pace or pre-set goal - we based it on where we were at noon on a Sunday in January.

For you workout junkies, here was my target: run 3 x 800s at a 6m55s/mi - 7m00s/mi pace. Here were my results:

No. 1 Lap 1 - 1:46 (6:44/mi pace)
No. 1 Lap 2 - 1:52 (6:45/mi pace)

No. 2 Lap 1 - 1:54 (7:23/mi)
No. 2 Lap 2 - 1:51 (6:58/mi)

No. 3 Lap 1 - 1:45 (7:01/mi)
No. 3 Lap 2 - 1:42 (6:40/mi)

Stacey gave me some great feedback on my form (practice my toe-off) and offered a ton of new ideas for dynamic warmups and cool downs. Did I mention I loved the people? I met Jess who is rebuilding this year from a scary collision with a bus (and is already falcon fast). I met Jen and two Kims and another gal like me who married a boy from high school. 

After the workout, I cooled down by walking through campus. On the way back to the car, I walked by Carmichael gym and realized that the Carolina women were playing the dookies. I decided to pop in, change clothes and watch a bit of the game.

It was a Duke blowout, but I was simply glad to be enjoying some Tarheel spirit. Plus, I got to see Sylvia Hatchell in action once again. [A lifetime ago, I went to her basketball camp. Plus, I did a photojournalism project on her back in 1993!] I visited the student store and rode down Franklin Street just for old times sake. [Dude, Linda's is still there.]

 

That same weekend,  I attended a multi-sport expo in Durham, NC. I love input and information and so six hours of listening to tips and techniques in the sport I love was a dream for me. There were a few highlights and plenty of lessons learned.

One of my favorite moments was meeting Tim Deboom, back-to-back champion of Ironman world triathlon in Kona. I happened to be sitting back-to-back with him on a bench during a break. I was checking my phone and he was speaking about to someone else about retiring and I recognized who he was. I realized I had a chance to say hello. I turned around and said, "I know who you are! Would you mind signing my shoe?" [I'm such a geek. It felt kind of like a Dirty Dancing moment and later I thought: I carried a watermelon?]

He obliged and we talked for a bit about his keynote address that he was going to give, what he was doing in his retirement and what a crush he has on his one-year-old daughter. I admitted that I had been a fan of his wife before I knew who he was! She created SKIRTSPORTS and I wore one of her outfits in my very first tri!

SkirtSports Skirt and Swim Top at my First Tri

Here are a few of the notes I took from his message:

• In Ironman, especially Kona, you just don't know you can win until you win.
• Make sure that when you're in the heart of it, you can still see the heart of it. Don't make this sport a job. 
• It's okay to take a day off, three days off a week off.
• He counted the ten decisions that got him to where he is right now. You can do the same.
• Like a surfer who looks at a wave and says, I've got to ride it or a skiier who looks of a ledge and says, I've got to ski it; I will always look at a road and say I gotta be on it. I'll always be an endurance athlete. 
• Always finish.

Tim Deboom