What goes on during a 115 mile ride

A couple weeks ago I went on my longest training ride yet, 115 miles.  I knew this would be a big milestone in my training for Ironman.  I was excited for this.

When it came to planning a rooute I asked several other cyclists in the area who had done longer rides as to what they recommended to make it a safe and smooth long ride.  I chose to ride from a Whataburger in Gulf Breeze instead of crossing over the three-mile bridge by myself on the bike to make things slightly safer.  The plan would be to then continue on 98 , crossover onto Garcon Point bridge , up Avalon and then up 87 to Brewton and back.

The night before I went ahead and miixed my hydration and nutrition for the bike ride as well as dropped some of my nutrition off to a friend who would meet me at an early midway point so I would not have to stop at a gas station right away.  I then laid out all my clothing and accessories I would need for the following day.  For dinner I had a healthy turkey and broccoli stirfry with lots of water to drink.

When I woke up that morning I was feeling great and I was super stoked for my long ride. I went ahead and put air in my tires before I left.  I finished loading up my car with my bike and anything else I would need for the ride and headed over to Gulf Breeze.  I then went back into the house and started to get ready. For me getting ready for the bike ride I made sure to put sunblock on, lots of body glide and chamois butter, brush my teeth and take my endurolytes.  Breakfast was two rice cakes with peanut butter on them, which has come to be one of my favorite pre-workout breakfasts.

The day was looking absolutely beautiful and perfect for a bike ride. Driving over the bridge there was a beautiful sunrise and I was only getting more excited. When I got to  Whataburger I parked my car and took my bike out but notice that my rear tire was flat.  I was shocked to find this because I just filled up my tires with air back at the house. That's when I realized I was experiencing my first flat tire ever.  But because of how odd the timing was of the tire going flat I thought there something wrong so I had to call for help to make sure that it was alright.  This cost me to have a much later start my bike right than I wanted but thankfully it had been oddly cooler that morning  so really was not a big deal as to me leaving later than I originally planned. That is part of being a triathlete one - perform and two- be able to execute when things don't go your way.

Riding to Gulf Breeze on 98 was a pain in the butt. The roads were completely awful and not well-maintained which was shocking considering it was Gulf Breeze.  I was happy to finally get on Garçon Point Bridge.   The climb was a challenge but it was so rewarding going down.  Avalon was not as bad as expected and instead of hitting Avalon & 90 I turned on commerce and went  thru the back neighborhood to get to 87.

I finally made it to Blackwater State Park Parking Lot where my good friend, Dawn, brought me two bottles of my execute and some other nutrition so I wouldn't have to hit up a gas station so early on.  After refueling really quickly, and grabbing another tube, I took off on Northbound 87 for Brewton,AL.  Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, it's long bike ride!

Traffic wasn't bad at all on 87, normally isn't which is why I choose this route often.  Coach hadn't specified what my HR needed to be so I maintained an easy, comfortable pace since I had never ridden 115 miles before, I didn't want to burn out too quickly which would also allow me to get a good idea for pacing myself with my Ironman.  During the ride I honestly just pictured race day most of the time.  Other times found myself wondering how badly I smelled, if anyone was around when I needed to pee, what I was going to devour after this long ride, you know- normal triathlete stuff, haha.  I also sung to myself, songs like "You Spin Me Right Round baby, right round", and "This is How we Roll", "Ready, Set, Let's Roll", and many more funny ones relation to spinning/rolling.  Several times I caught myself saying really random funny things, like whenever I go down hill I'll say "I'm flying Jack!" bahaha.  Or I mimic the famous line from the movie Cool Runnings " Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, it's long bike ride!"

When I finally hit my half way mark, I was excited because I wasn't feeling bad at all- physically, mentally, and emotionally.  I had been averaging around 16-17 mph.  On the way back I did stop to take a selfie of me at the "Florida State Line" sign cause I just find it awesome that these long rides have me riding into another state!  I even rewarded myself and turned my Pandora radio on my phone and listened to some fun music on my trip back.  

Trip back was just as smooth as the first part.  I did stop at a Tom Thumb just after passing NAS Whiting Field to get some Powerade and a Snickers, don't judge me! I cut thru commerce park again which was funny because I had to pee again and there were so many vehicles and I already have to pep talk myself into doing it but its really hard when you're ready to go and a car comes by.  I have stage fright! When I finally hit mile 90, around Avalon blvd, thats when I started feeling like I'd been on a bike for 5 hours.  I wasn't exhausted, just not as pumped as I was before hand.  

When I got back to Gulf Breeze I was still short a few miles so I kept turning off into random neighborhoods and circling them.  At this point I was just trying not to go crazy and ready to finish my ride.  I had to do like 5 laps in the parking lot where the Whataburger was in order to hit a perfect 115!  It ended up taking me about 6.5 hours, averaging about 17 mph, which I was very pleased with because I wasn't trying to go fast, just be comfortable.  

What did I get out of this ride?  Well here a few things:

-Chamois Butter is amazing!  After 6.5 hours on the bike my butt was very comfortable and non irritated.

-Cliff Bloks are super yummy and will be what I eat for the bike portion of my Ironman.  

-My tri shirt/sports bra can hold quite a few things, I managed to pack in 4 packages of Cliff Bloks, a tube of enduralytes, and my phone.

-No sunscreen helps a 6.5 hr ride

-I'm stronger then I think I am

-It's ok to pee on yourself as an adult, kinda

And most of all, I finally felt ready for Ironman.  I was faced with a problem early on in my day, though frustrating I didn't let it get me down.  I still had a great ride and now truly feel that I can ride those 112 miles with confidence and smile.  With now 15 days left until my Ironman, I'm beyond stoked!  Just focusing on my tapering, taking care of my body through trigger point therapy, stretching, eating right, and getting plenty of rest.

One more blog post to follow in the next week or so then it will be race time!

You know you're training for an Ironman/Triathlon when....

-There's nothing but water bottles beside your sink
-You're stocked on chamois butter and body glide
-Your counter top has all your vitamins, electrolytes, pre workout, energy/nutrition for working out
-You have to do laundry every three days for your workout clothes
-You have the weirdest tan lines including but not limited to, your watch, sunglasses, shorts, and socks.
-Someone ask you how FAR you're riding/running and reply back with how LONG you're riding or running for
-You're always stuffing your face
-The clerks at the gas station you stop at know your name
-Sleeping in is sleeping till 7 am
-You own tons of lotion/cologne to mask the smell of chlorine
-You have enough goggles for an alien to wear
-Your car smells like a gym bag
-You're in bed by 9 pm
-You have no idea whats going on in the world because you don't watch tv and when you do by spare chance have time to watch anything, you watch Ironman videos on youtube
-You count down days till your race, not Christmas
-Your Garmin 910 is always on you
-You have a stockpile of Gu
-You can always take a nap, anytime and anywhere
-You check the event website more then FB
-All of your social media revolves around your race/training
-Your car is filled with all your training necessities
-Whenever any trips are planned during your training, before looking up the hotel you look up gyms first
-You've got 100 ideas for your Ironman tattoo
-You question your sanity just about every moment

IM 70.3 Syracuse

IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse

Location: Syracuse, NY

Results: AG 18/30, Females 299/726, 1255/2359 Time: 6:27:10

Local Knowledge and Conditions: Swim took place in the Jamesville Reservoir, water temp at 69 degrees.  Average temperature for the day was 73 degrees.  Starting elevation for the bike was 685 ft, max elevation 1,722 ft, and a gain of 1,686 ft.  Run elevation started at 685 ft, max elevation was 932 ft, and a gain of 400 ft.

Pre-Race: The day before the race I consumed greek yogurt with berries for breakfast, a package of tuna and a spinach salad for lunch, and for dinner (around 6 pm) I had grilled chicken cuts and half a cup of rice.  Throughout the day I sipped on execute to keep my sodium levels up, I am going to switch to Perform by PowerBar since they use that on the course for Ironman.  I took a nap from about 5 pm to 7 pm, got up and walked around, took care of a few things for the next day and then went back to bed around 9 pm.  

Race Morning: For breakfast I had two protein waffles with one chocolate Gu spread over them, tasted really good and didn't upset my stomach.  I ate breakfast about 1 hour and 45 minutes before my race began.  I drank my execute with my breakfast but stopped taking in fluids about 20 minutes before the race started.  

Race Break Down:

Swim:

Another wetsuit swim.  Prior races where I had worn my wetsuit, the back of my neck always got chaffed.  So this time I made sure to lather, lather, lather, the back of my neck with body glide. (Even though I super body glided my neck, I still chaffed really badly, something I need to tweak on)  I was however, excited to get in to my wetsuit because it was cold! Well for me it was, for the people form NY and all the Canadians there it was summer weather, but for me I was cold.  The water temp had gone up to 69, they had predicted lower 60's which I honestly would have preferred because it gets warm in the wetsuit, especially since I pee'd in it.  Trust me, I wasn't the only one who did that.  

This one was not a mass start, they had us in waves.  I was in the 3rd wave, the first age group wave after the pro's.  It consisted of my age group (18-24) and Womens 50-59.  I didn't feel it was too big/crowded at all.  They had us get into the water deep enough to where no one could touch the bottom so we tredded water for not even two minutes.   Then the horn went off.

The course was like a rectangle.  Straight out, right turn, straight for a little bit, another right turn, and then straight for finish.  The buoys were big and visible, finally!  I did notice I kept veering off to the outside, a lot.  The course is 1.2 miles but my Garmin showed I did 1.25, oops.  Probably cause I was pulling stronger onto that side then the other so something to work on.  

I look miserable haha

For this swim, I didn't want to go all out.  This was my first half iron distance and I didn't want to burn out and made sure to pace myself.  My swim time was 40:41, so a 2:06/100 yrds pace or a 32:45/mile.  I was happy with this.  Throughout the entire swim I felt comfortable with my pace, I knew I was capable of going even faster but like I said I didn't want to push it too much to prepare myself for the remaining 5+ hours of racing I was about to do.  

I double layered my swim cap, so I had my regular cap on, then my goggles, then the race cap.  I used my Phat Girlz custom TYR swim goggles and I had no complications with them what so ever.  My stomach felt great, I was feeling good, I made sure to just pace myself and relax on the swim seeing as how this was my first and I wasn't trying to qualify for World's (not yet!).  

I loved the wetsuit strippers!  They helped me with everything when it came to getting that thing off of me and made it so easy and my transition faster for that.

T-1:

There was a decent little run to T-1 from the swim (.3 of a mile), especially from where my bike was but it wasn't terrible.  Volunteers cheered everyone on along the way and it was awesome.  I was trying to move quickly but at the same time make sure that I was all set and everything was good for the bike.  I did not wear socks for the bike, I never do.  They gave you two numbers to wear in your packet, one for the bike and one for the run. The bike bib is not mandatory.  I kept mine for safe keeping and chose to use one for the run.  When it came to grabbing my nutrition, I stuck everything in my shirt/sports bra.  And it stayed there except for when I took it out to eat/use.  

Bike:

They weren't kidding when they said this course was hilly.  Thankfully though, Coach trained me hard with the hills so they weren't as terrible as I was imagining.  I started off with two bottles of execute, because that is what I had trained with.  In training that had lasted me a good 30 miles, but I was out of fluids before mile 10 on the bike.  I didn't fret because I knew I would be at an aid station soon.

I was nervous at first about going through an aid station because that is something I hadn't gotten to practice or experience before but I was able to grab bottles of Perform easily with no mishap. I also didn't crash into another cyclists which was another thing I was worried about.  The aid stations are a decent stretch, they start with a trash drop zone to throw any of your trash, seeing as how if you drop trash on the course in an undesignated area you will receive a penalty.  After the first trash dump, you have tables that are seperated by having water, Perform, and Gu, the volunteers were awesome at being clear as to what they had, and then after those tables there is one last trash drop.  When I went through my first one I didn't get done emptying a bottle of perform into my bottle and had no where to put the spare bottle because I had already passed the last trash drop, so I stuck the bottle in my shirt which I'm sure looked weird as all get out but I was not about to get a penalty or litter the race course.

An hour and 19 minutes into the bike, right at mile 20, I was shifting gears to prepare for the steepest hill on the course when all of a sudden I heard an unpleasant sound, my chain just dropped.  I stopped, cussed, and pulled off to the side and tried to fix it.  I realized I was too frustrated at what had just happened to fix it, I needed to calm down, so I walked my bike up the hill, almost 200 ft nearly straight up.  I was also hoping tech support would drive by and help me out, but of course I never saw them when I needed them.  I finally got to the top of the hill and attempted to put my chain back on, which I managed to do but something was still wrong because it wouldn't move from the big ring to the small ring at all.  So I sucked it up, hopped back on and went.  I knew the remainder of the course, though it wasn't as hilly as the first part, I was going to have to climb all the hills in one of more difficult gears due to the incident, which did tire my legs out a lot more.  And not to mention I was so frustrated from being on the side of the road and wasting time that I cranked out the second half of my bike, which wasn't the brightest idea because it did hurt my run later.  Here were my splits:

1	20:14.5	5.00	14.8
2	27:52.7	5.00	10.8
3	13:35.9	5.00	22.1
4	16:02.3	5.00	18.7
5	21:58.6	5.00	13.7
6	16:26.5	5.00	18.2
7	13:42.8	5.00	21.9
8	17:00.0	5.00	17.6
9	16:32.7	5.00	18.1
10	13:40.7	5.00	21.9
11	15:10.0	5.00	19.8
12	1:12.0	0.32	15.9

 Split 5 is where I was stopped on the side of the road.  My first 2 splits were slow because a good majority of the hill climbing took part in the first 10 miles of the bike course.  

The biggest thing my Coach stressed with my bike is sticking to my HR.  Which I stuck to decently, the hill climbing caused my HR to go into Zone 3 (my max zone) and I was suppose to try and stick in Zone 2.  I averaged right at the top of Zone 2.  

For overall nutrition on the bike, I consumed 2 bottles of Execute, and 4 bottles of Perform.  As well as 4 Chocolate Gu's.  My stomach felt good the entire time, I never felt hungry or had an GI issues.  The only issue I ran into was that my coach had wanted me to try and make sure that I pee'd on the bike.  Literally.  I never felt though at any point, even though I had consumed plenty of fluids (or at least I thought) that I had to pee.  I tried too, but nothing would come out.  I stressed a little bit about this because even I was wondering "How on earth do I not have to pee?" and then I was thinking, great, I'm gonna have to pee myself while running if I don't do it on this bike.  It hadn't occurred to my that I was potentially still dehydrated even with all the fluids, I was lightly sweating but nothing crazy and I figured that had to be because I was never hot on the bike, the weather was 61 degrees with 72% humidity, aka Florida winter.  There were parts of the course that were shaded and I was actually cold.   I had not trained with Perform but thankfully it sat very well with me and I do feel it helped me.  I will be switching to Perform for training as well just to get more used to it.  

Towards the end of the bike course, they make you finish the ride in a single file line, no passing allowed.  It was like this for probably the last mile or two of the bike.  Slightly frustrating if you're faster than the person in front of you but at the same time it was a nice mini cool down before getting to transition.  Overall, I felt the bike went pretty well.  I managed to average 17.35 mph which I was pleased with considering how hilly the course was and my mishap that happened, and it was only that decent because the second half of the bike (after my chain dropped) I managed to average a little over 19 mph to make up for the rough first half.  

T-2:

This was quick and easy.  I racked my bike, took off my helmet and shoes, I put on my INJINJI TOE SOCKS, yes I wore toe socks, and no it didn't take me any longer then regular socks would because my feet/toes are used to wearing toe socks so they slide right on.  They are my favorite socks.  I then slid on my Newton Distance S's.  I grabbed my nutrition for the run, again stuck it in my sports bra, then grabbed my visor and race number belt and started running towards exit of transition area.  

Run:

I started out the run feeling pretty good, I wasn't fatigued/sick/drained, my legs were just a little sore/stiff.  Now, who ever created this run course, deserves to be smacked!  The run course was two loops, and mile 0-1, 6-7 was up hill, freaking cross country terrain.  It started out as gravel/rock road, then you were running up a grass hill, then had to run through a mulch path which is dusty as hell when you have hundreds of people running through it.  I was cussing this certain someone out in my head, I mean there was plenty of good, solid road for us to run on.  

I was warned about this entire race being hilly, and after the bike course I was thinking ok, it can't get much more hilly then that, right? WRONG!!!!  There was one hill, that you hit twice because of the two loops, that was over a 200 foot climb practically straight up.  But there were lots of hills on this course, and I knew my legs were already pretty done.  So my plan was to fast pace walk the up hill, and run the flats/down hills.  Unfortunately, there was more up hill then down hill and flat.  I knew I wasn't going to have the half marathon time I wanted but as I looked around me and saw how miserable a lot of the people were around me looking, I was ok with that because I wasn't feeling nearly as terrible as they were looking.  

A good few people were complaining about the heat, which made me chuckle, finally I had an advantage!  It was only 73 degrees for the run! Granted for the northerners, that was there summer weather, but for me it was gorgeous!  I never felt hot or overheated.

I ran in my Newton Distance S's.  This was a hard choice for me because I love my Altra's but I love the extra spring/boost I have with my Newtons.  I didn't have any blisters or pain in my feet what so ever, thanks to my toe socks and my shoes.

The support on the run course was awesome.  From volunteers to people who just lived along the course.  One guy left his hose out on the road with a sign saying "Help Yourself".  Your name gets put on your bib and the volunteers would say your name and cheer you on which is so awesome after 5+ hours of racing.  Every mile there was an aid station.  The aid stations were huge for the run.  They consisted of several water/Perform tables, Coke,  Gu/Chomps table, Fruit/Pretzels table, and my favorite, the Ice Cold Sponges!  Make sure y'all thank every volunteer/police officer that is there.  They really make a difference and help a lot.  And when going through an aid station and you're about to grab something from someone, make eye contact with them and nod, or say 1 or 2 for how many of whatever they have you want, and thank them.  It makes it better for you both.  Through each aid station, I grabbed the same thing each time.  I grabbed a cup of water to pour on me, a cup of Perform to drink, and then a set of sponges.  At first I put the sponges on my shoulders under my tri top, but then I started to feel chaffing under my underarms I started sticking them right in the opening of my trip top below the arm pit which prevented the chaffing from happening.  

It being a two loop course is such a tease when you get to the halfway mark cause you literally see the finish line but have to turn around and head back out one more time.  Mentally, I was feeling awesome. I was on cloud 9, happy and thrilled as could be! I knew I wasn't going to hit my goal time but was no longer worried about my time because I was about to finish a half Ironman!  And I was feeling great!  Legs were sore, very sore and tired, but I wasn't.  Emotionally, mentally, cardio- I was feeling stupid good.  My heart rate was doing great, and I was just stoked.  I was so happy, and new my training had done me well because of how overall great I was feeling, especially when I looked at people all around me who looked like they were steps away from their grave.  I made sure to encourage others around me, saying things like "We got this", "Keep it Up", "You're doing awesome".  I made friends with lots of strangers on the course, and managed to help a couple people who were dealing with some minor things on the course.

When I hit that last turn around, I was literally all smiles.  My smile couldn't be smacked off my face even if someone tried.  As I was headed back down the hill, I saw a familiar face, a guy from my run club, and he looked so miserable, he was walking up the hill and just looked awful.  I couldn't help but find that hilarious because he is normally a much faster/stronger runner than I am.  I yelled to him as I ran by him but I think he was too dazed to notice.  (I beat him by 41 minutes! He got chicked!)  My smile got bigger and bigger the closer I got to the finish line.  As I saw that finish line I gunned it, my turbo kicked in.  I was about to finish a Half Ironman.  I had goose bumps throughout the entire shoot.  Then finally, I crossed that finish line.  

I was so freakin happy.  I didn't want to stand still, but they had to take the chip of my ankle, which I double safety pinned together to truly make sure it would fall off.  Then, I was handed my gorgeous finishers medal and finishers hat.  Eee!

I continued walking towards the food area, and was looking for my coach.  When I finally saw her, I ran into her arms and balled my eyes out.  I was so proud of myself, and so thankful for her training me and being there for me.  Thanks to her awesome training, support, advice and my dedication/commitment to my training, I crossed that finish line running, with a smile!  When I finally stopped crying, we got me a chocolate milk and a grilled cheese sandwich and headed back to the camper.  I was on such a high it was unbelievable.  My legs were sore, but I was too excited to care and though it would've been nice to get an IV or a massage (services offered for free to athletes post race) I knew I didn't need it as badly as other athletes around me, I know I'm a beast.  (just kidding, kinda, not really)

Ironman 70.3 Syracuse, was so far, the best day of my life.  It was the most difficult, challenging, beautiful, amazing, experience of my life yet.  I had been training for over 5 months to get to this halfway mark.  I finally felt that I was going to be able to race a full Ironman and not die.  The entire race I stayed positive, I felt great, and was just thrilled to be there.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me so far.  Friends and family, especially those who joined me in any training.  I really want to thank my Running Wild Zoo Crew! Paul and Cherie for being so supportive and allowing me to have the time off to go up there and race.  To my coworkers; Mike, Seth, Shannon, Jon Michael, Alex, Nicki, Katie for allowing me to stuff my face whenever I needed, letting me nap on the office floor, and being very supportive and helpful as well.  Thank you to Lora Harris with Tensegrity Massage, Patrick/Gulf Coast Cycle and Tri, Anytime Fitness Downtown/Pace crew, Tri Gulf Coast, and All American Swim.  Thank you to the companies who provided great quality gear that led me to be successful; Newton Running, Pearl Izumi, Tifosi, Lazer, 110%, Moving Comfort, Injinji, Garmin, Headsweats, Energy Labs, and Gu.

This experience taught me that hard work certainly pays off.  All my training hours, and all those hours I chose to sleep instead of going out certainly showed.  It also taught me that you're not always going to have things go your way, so as a triathlete you need to be able to handle things going wrong at any point and time but have the ability to stay calm and positive.  Is it frustrating when things eff up, it sure is, but don't ruin your experience because of it.  Have fun, enjoy yourself.

Race Summary: Swim00:40:41 Bike03:13:41 Run02:26:52 Overall06:27:10

Grandman Triathlon

Grandman Triathlon 05/31/14

Location: Fairhope, AL

Class: F20-24

Results: AG 2/5, Females 24/181, Overall 164/609 Time: 1:34:01

Local Knowledge and Conditions: Overcast for the majority of the race, with on and off light rain.  Was very humid and muggy out.  Swim was in a bay and the bike/run was a hilly course.

Pre-Race:

Several team mates and myself rode the Running Wild bus for this which was fun!  We had bikes all loaded in with us and the radio up.  We got to Fairhope with little to no time to spare, we literally parked, bike tires got pumped, and then we grabbed our bags and rode down to transition are which thankfully was literally down the hill from where we were.  I had to rush to get all my stuff out and be ready for the swim but thankfully I got it all done in time and my team mates and I got to snag a quick, cute photo!

Race Break Down:

Swim:

The swim was in Mobile Bay.  Everyone had been saying how nasty this water was, and just constantly warning me about it.  It didn't look terrible, smelt funky but didn't look to be too bad.  They had us all line up by bib number for entering the swim.  They did a staggered solo swim start, you got to jump off a dock which I thought was a lot of fun!  To make sure no one jumped on one another they took a decent pause and had people go right then left, etc.  A lot of people did fun jumps or cannon balls.  I jumped and screamed "Phat Girlz!"  This was honestly probably the easiest swim I've ever had in a tri.  I didn't get trampled over, smacked, kicked, etc.  It was an easy out, make a left around a buoy, then straight in.  And the swim support was amazing! They had so many kayakers! By far, the best swim support I've had so far as well.  They had this swim very well organized and I loved it.  I didn't feel the water was nasty at all, nor was it cold, to me everything regarding this swim was awesome. Swam 600 yards in 9:21 (1:34/100yds)

T-1: 

This transition was pretty smooth.  The had us go up the beach of the bay and then not even 100 yard run to transition.  I was doing fine, just rushing caused me to stumble with getting my bike shoes on.

Bike:

This bike course was the most challenging one yet, it was pretty hilly.  I was warned about the first hill coming out of transition, and though it was steep, I didn't feel it was all that bad.  Granted that entire week prior to the race my Coach had been working my legs to prepare them for the hills I'll have at Syracuse but her training plan proved to be perfect cause I passed two guys going up that first hill and for the remaining hills I felt strong climbing.

It did get interesting though.  A fellow triathlete from Pensacola, whom actually used to work at Running Wild, was right at my tail and passed me.  I knew it would be between she and I for first place in our age group and though I wasn't feeling good and I knew I needed to focus on my heart rate and not let my competitiveness get the best of me, it did.  She and I played cat and mouse throughout a majority of that bike.  I did manage towards the end of it to get ahead of her and I did come in off the bike first, by 10 seconds.  Biked 18 miles in 52:57 (20.5 mph average).

T-2:

As I got off my bike I knew my legs were trashed from the bike.  And my heart rate was all out of whack.  I knew I was in for a good challenge and that I had the other triathlete right on my tail.  

Run:

The run course included the big hill right out of transition.  Running up it was a hell of a lot harder to me then biking.  I managed to make it to nearly .75 of the run till she passed me, and I knew that was it for first place because I knew how strong of a runner she was.  At the point it was a matter of finishing and just busting out whatever I had left in me.  The run course had good support with water only which was beyond fine.  I mostly poured the water on my head to keep me cool.  Also, thank you to the little girl who was hosing us down, that felt amazing.  

I wore no socks for the run to try and save time in transition, I had done it with my previous Tri and had no problems.  Well this time wasn't so smooth. Mile 2 I felt the rubbing.  At 2.5 I felt the blisters and that sucked.  I started trying to run on the outsides of my feet for the remainder of the race.  When I finally crossed the finish, the first thing I did was threw off my shoes, and sure enough there were decent sized blister on each foot.  But I had finished.  5k Run in 29:11 (9:25 min/mile pace)

Lessons Learned:

Take the extra 10 seconds to put socks on until I train more with no socks.  These blisters are pretty good sized and messed up my run for the following day.  Also to stick to my race plan, especially with my heart rate.  

Something Funny that happened:

During the run, I passed a familiar face as he was running out and I was coming in, twice, the first time he yelled "Wait for me!" and I said "Nah, you gotta catch me popo" (yes, he's a cop, which made it funnier to me).  When we passed each other the second time a race volunteer saw me point at him and said "Reel him in"  

This was by far the most fun, organized, and overall awesome tri this season so far.  They had officials/referee's all throughout the course which was a first but it was good that they took their jobs serious.  The post race was awesome, lots of food, drinks, massages, free photo booth and just fun.

It was fun getting to share this with some of my team mates who as well kicked butt with one of them taking 1st in her AG and another taking 2nd with hers, and then my 2nd in my AG.  We also made sure to get some cute photos after the race too.

I would like to thank sponsors Running Wild for everything they do to support the Tri team.  Gulf Coast Cycle and Tri for fixing my bike at last minute and always being super friendly and awesome.  Anytime Fitness for being an awesome, friendly, clean environment for training.  And thank you to the companies who made awesome products that made me successful; Pearl Izumi, Tifosi, Newton Running, and Moving Comfort.

2nd Place in my AG!

A few cheetahs of the Phat Girlz Tri Team!

Podium pic! I look like a beast compared to the others.

There's a little cheerleader in all of us 

Less than a month till the Half!

I am now 23 days away from my Ironman 70.3 Syracuse and my training has kicked up.  With that it has been kicking my butt.  Not because I'm not in shape, clearly, but the combination of longer training hours and still working 40 hours becomes exhausting.  I'm so glad I chose not to continue with classes this semester cause that would have been crazy.  

This has been the most demanding training week, and with Syracuse being a very hilly course and living in an area that doesn't have any hills my coach has been really working my legs.  Let me show you what my week has been like so far:

Monday: 

It's always my easy day (seeing as how Sunday I had a 3 hour trainer ride), so all I had to do Monday was swim for 1 hour and 20 minutes and then work 9:30-5:30.  That wasn't too bad.

Tuesday:

Bike for 2 hours, Run for 1 hour, then 15 minutes of TRX (lower body), then work from 11:30-7:30. I was whooped for work.  

Wednesday:

Swim for 1 hour and then a 45 min Tempo run.  Let me tell ya, after my 3 workouts yesterday, the only tempo my legs had were not so tempo haha.  My legs were crazy sore and not wanting to move.  Then I had to work 11:30-7:30.

Thursday: 

Bike for 1 hour and 8 minutes, Run for 35 minutes, and then 15 minutes of TRX (upper body).  Then work from 11:30-7:30.  I was dog tired at this point.  Like zombie status at work.  

My coach joined me for training on Thursday

Today, Friday, all I have is swimming for 30 minutes.  Tomorrow I have the Grandman Triathlon but then I also have a swim workout that evening.  Then, Sunday, 3 hours and 30 minutes of hill repeats on the bike followed by a 35 minute run followed by work.

14 hours and 18 minutes of training for this week.  Next week bumps up to 15 hours.  My last big week before I start tapering.  I know I need to get better about getting to bed at a decent time but I get home at 8 from work most nights, eat dinner, pack my gym bag for the next day, take care of my dog, wash my face, brush my teeth, and by that time its 9 pm.  

I'm not complaining, believe me I'm not.  I'm just admitting that this is tough.  I knew it would be. I love that I'm not finding any of this easy otherwise it wouldnt be worth it in the end.  I mean honestly, do you ever feel truly accomplished after finishing something if it took little to no effort?  What was the purpose in the first place?  What can you say you overcame to reach your goal?  

My Coach and I finally had a heart to heart, while sweating our butts off pedaling on spin bikes, about what I want to do with triathlon.  I told her Pro.  Without hesitation, I mean she could barely get her full question out of asking me if I wanted to go pro before I practically shouted yes.  How well I do at Syracuse followed by Louisville will determine that.  She did tell me that it will take years, which I fully anticipated.  Most professional triathletes are in their late 20's or 30's.  I'm only 22.  So we need to be careful as to how much I train because after so many hours of training, there comes a point where you will just no longer be able to improve.  But I feel with her as my Coach and with my heart and passion for this that it is extremely possible. 

It's going to be a long, tough journey.  I'm going to be tested mentally, physically, emotionally, etc.  And I'm ready, I'm ready to embrace the suck because I know crossing the finish line down the road at Kona I will be able to smile, and cry, and laugh because of everything I put in to get to that point.  But it will all truly start with Syracuse.  To think a glimpse of my future will happen in just over 20 days gives me goosebumps.   

12

There's a movie called "Where the Heart Is".  In the movie a young woman is cursed by the number 5, anytime that number shows up in her life- its bad news.  First seeing the movie you'd think that its a joke, there's no way.  I even did too until I started connecting a few numbers.  

When I was born, for some unknown reason a doctor thought I had some incurable disease and was going to die shortly after being born, so my Mom got discharged and I was left at the hospital for tests and to be watched for 12 days, until finally they realized that I was going to be fine.  On my birthday, so 12 months, my Mom lit my candle and blonde me touched it and burnt my finger.  You must be thinking so far that I'm just being paranoid, but it gets more interesting.

Several years later, I got really sick one day.  And I stayed really sick for a couple days, till finally my Mom took me to a hospital off 12th St in Ocala.  They made us wait forever, thinking I just had a silly stomach bug.  12 hours later I was on a hospital bed being put to sleep to take out my appendix.  Well, while on the table I WOKE UP.  Thankfully, they got me back under, finished the surgery with 12 stitches.  Later that year, my Grandfather past away on the 12th of June.  

When I was 12, my Dad and I went into a store and I went to the toy section while he went to whatever areas of the store he needed too.  There weren't many people in the store at all.  I was walking around when a young man shoved me up against a wall and sexually assaulted me.  I was in such shock as to what happened I didn't know what to do, and unfortunately this wasn't the first time I'd been attacked this way.  

The end of my freshman year in high school, I was training to be an exercise jockey for a summer job.  It was the 12th when I was bucked off a horse so badly I blacked out and woke up in the hospital with a broken clavicle on my right side and a ligament in my left ankle was torn.  Recovery time was 12 weeks.

As if high school isn't stressful enough for a young teenage girl, lets really throw a twist.  On March 12th, my Father (who's birthday was December [12] 12th)  had lost his battle to cancer.  Now are you starting to see a pattern? 

Now time for the 12th grade.  Summer leading up to senior year I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Disease.  I had two ovarian cysts, one on each ovary.  One was 7 cm in diameter and the other got to 5 cm (12 cm total).  Doctors had told me when they first found them that had they gotten to 4 cm, they'd surgically removed them.  That never happened, they determined that the cysts grew so big that to surgically remove them would cause too much scar tissue to the ovaries so I was a live ticking bomb waiting for them to rupture.  That hurt like a mother effer.  

I loved school, I would never want to skip and was always excited for it.  One day after school, my Mom brought me dinner while I stayed late for club stuff.  I got a chicken sandwich from Hardies, I wasn't paying attention while eating it until halfway through I stopped and looked at the sandwich and saw nothing but pink.  My sandwich was still raw.  I ran it to my Mom who was in a booster meeting and her jaw dropped and told me not to take another bite.  Sure enough, that night I was throwing up non stop, went to the ER and this chick got Salmonella poisoning.  I got to eat nothing but jello for 12 days.  Which sounded exciting and cool at first, but I was over it at day 2.  So my senior year was really off to an interesting start.  Then, as I was getting ready for the biggest competition of my high school career, I got Mono.  I was sick as a dog and just miserable.  At this point I was just done with sickness and school and ready to go to college.  I was done with the 12th grade.

I was terrified for the year 2012. I swore up and down I was going to die/get hit by a bus. Just something terrible was going to happen. I knew it was.  Months went by and nothing too terrible had happened.  I thought, had my bad luck streak with "12" finally be over?  Until 12/1/12.  That day I got the phone call that my Step Dad had died.  I had planned on leaving that day after work to go visit him cause I knew he was sick.  But I was too late.  I was a mess.  I left work immediately and drove straight to Ocala so I could say good bye before they took his body.  As if that car ride wasn't hard enough, I got a phone call from my Doctor.  They'd found cancer cells in my last screening.  A few days later the doc went in and removed the parts of my uterus that had the cancer spots on it.  Thankfully he got it all out, but because of this when down the road I do decide to have children I will most likely be high risk and have complications with carrying the child.

It's been a tough journey for me,  hard to believe with how much I smile, right?  That's because regardless of all the crap I've been through, and believe me there is a lot more than this, I MADE and FORCED each thing to make me stronger.  I didn't turn to drugs/alcohol or go psycho.  I just become stronger and better.  I still am very cautious with anything that deals with the number 12.  I honestly avoid it as much as I can.

Too many people blame unfortunate situations to their foolish behavior.  I have no pitty for those people.  Those people who try to find reasons and excuses as to why they couldn't stop eating for years, drink themselves to sleep, did drugs, committed crimes, etc. make me so upset.  Because I've dealt with some horrible stuff, again way more than what I listed above and for those of you who truly know me, you know what I'm talking about.  It hasn't been easy, I've worked for everything I have- I've never been given anything.  So stop looking for an excuse or reason to not be better, instead go look in the mirror, see that person breathing, looking back at you? Fight for that person.  Be better.  Don't let hard times bring you down, I promise they can make you stronger.  Be tough and be brave.

When I got bucked off the horse I was unable to attend a Leadership Camp for JROTC, so my friends took a paper version of me.

The last time I saw my Dad before he passed away.

Senior year at the National Drill Competition. I was sick with Mono for this event.

First time back on a horse after my accident

Recent photo of me.  I'm not smiling just for the picture but because I've come a long way and have overcome a lot.  

Progress thus far

It's been nearly 4 years since I completed my first triathlon.  I remember every step of it, from my "training" , to purchasing my first pair of tri shorts, and the race itself.  I was only doing the triathlon via a dare from a friend.  I had never even ran in a 5k race before, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.  

For "training" back then, I would swim a few laps at the pool at USF then go for maybe a mile run.  Or I would ride my mountain bike with a friend through Flatwoods Park.  That was it.  Man, did I suffer for it race day.  As for getting ready, Tampa has an awesome Tri shop called "The Ironman Store".  It's pretty nifty.  Full bike shop, swim section, and running shoes/apparel.  It was sweet.  I tried on probably 10 different pairs of tri shorts trying to figure out which were "cutest" haha.  I also got a race belt, sunglasses, new goggles, and a tri check list.  I was really excited now. 

Suncoast Triathlon 2010

Come race day, I set up my transition as I saw from photos on line.  I was chill, not warming up, and just hanging out.  Finally, we all headed out to the water.  I was in the last wave.  The swim wasn't too bad, that's always been an area I've felt very comfortable in.  I spent way too long in transition, I think I even sat down.  I then took off on my mountain bike, well took off as much as you can on a mountain bike.  Oh, I also used a camel back to stay hydrated.  That was a long bike ride.  But I was having fun.  Then came the run, I passed maybe two people.  The run was awful, I was in so much pain for lack of training that I walked most of it.  But then sure enough, I turned a corner and there was the finish line.  My goal was 2 hours for my first tri (even though it was a sprint) and I finished it in 1:46:19. I was excited, even though I was last in my age group and probably for almost the entire race.  

My step father and myself at my high school graduation

I didn't race in a tri or anything for that matter for a while.  My, now ex, spouse had become my priority for he was military going through lots of training.  But then one day my whole world changed.  My step Father (who I truly considered my Dad just as much as my biological Father) had died.  He was my biggest fan.  He took care of me as if I was his own daughter.  I was so upset, borderline depressed, and just lost.  I didn't know what to do.  So instead of just sitting in my house crying, I decided to start running.  So I started running again and made it a goal to race at least once each month that year.  All having to do with the number 12 (I'll explain in the next blog).  My race for July I decided to make a triathlon.  I chose one in Huntsville, AL so that I could also get away and visit a good friend of mine.  

Huntsville Sprint Triathlon 2013

For Huntsville, I had a hybrid bike, knew slightly what to expect, and was really excited.  The swim took place in a pool which SUCKED.  It was crowded and people were cheating and being annoying.  The bike wasn't as terrible as my first, still slow but not as bad.  Then my run, I jogged all of it which was my goal.  Slowly, yes, but I never walked.  I crossed the finish line and it was like being born again.  The feeling I had was beyond words.  I knew then that triathlon was my sport.  So, two months later I do the most outrageous thing possible.  I sign up for an Ironman. 

So here I am.  I've completed three tri's so far this season and I feel good.  I feel great.  I've come a long way since my first tri and I have results below to prove it.  With my half Ironman in 29 days I'm anxious, excited, nervous, and terrified for my race.  But its one more step I'm taking towards this journey of becoming an Ironman, and hopefully down the road, a professional triathlete.  

Results from my Sprint Tri's so far: 

Tri:                        Swim:        T1:       Bike:              MPH:          T2:      Run:               Total:

Suncoast  10/11    13:21        5:22     49:24             12.1            1:12     37:01             1:46:19

Hunstville 08/13    9:08          2:06     28:11             14.9            0:49     30:49             1:11:02

PB           05/14    4:19          2:22     29:14             20.5            0:45     26:19             1:02:59