As I started thinking about if I want to sign up for Lavaman for a 4th year in a few weeks I realized I never wrote a race day report! Better late than never, right... right??!
Bright and early at 5 am we met on the grassy knoll - it was still completely dark out! I didn't remember this from previous years. We put air in our tires and made our way to the transition area. I got set up, then walked around and loved feeling all the tension and nerves and excitement in the air. As prepared ourselves during the beautiful sunrise. As usual, time on race day started flying by, time for team photos, than nervous pacing on the beach, and we stared at the swim course. This year we were grouped into 4 or so waves... and before I knew it, the wave before me was in the water!
The race start was actually far enough in you had to tread water a little - Cathy laughed at me saying it was good for me, since I'm so slow at gettin the water (it was cold! in fact this was the first year it was cold enough for wet suits to be allowed!).
And then we were off! I had my most confident swim ever - apparently practice does pay off :). As people kicked me, or pushed into me at the beginning, I just kept swimming, and even managed to draft off someone. I made it to the first buoy in what felt like no time - 1/4 done! Round the corner, then at this point some of the next wave started passing us, no worries, I just kept swimming. And then saw a turtle! Before I knew it I was done with the swim, in my fastest time yet (40ish minutes I believe), and out to the bike course.
I got on my bike, turned the corner onto the highway, to go up the first hill... and found that I could switch into my hardest gear to go uphill. Ugh, that meant some strong winds! The first 13 miles went super fast and easy, I pretended its cause I'm so strong, and not at all due to a tail wind of course.
Then the turn around, and the first 8 or so miles where not so bad, I got to cheer at many of our team mates, and felt good - I was on track to meet my goal! And then with about 5 miles left... suddenly the dreaded head wind kicked in, and man did it suck! going DOWN hill, I'd be in my easiest gear, peddling super hard and barely moving. I felt like if I stopped peddling for even a second, down hill, I'd stop! So for 5 miles, there was no coasting. on the down or up hills, and it was killer! It felt like it might never end. I saw a few of our team mates still on their way out, and I felt bad for them having to face this wind... I was sooo relieved when I finally saw the turn off from the highway. I had lost all the time I'd made up on my swim and bike out, but at least I was done!
I hoped off my bike in a rush, threw on running shoes, and contemplated having to go to the bathroom. I decided I could last, and took off in a comfortable jog. About 1 mile in I got to our first slight hill, and was tempted to walk.. My legs ached a bit from the brutal bike ride, it was hot out, etc. I then reminded myself that my main goal for this tri was to run the whole way, no matter what, and pushed through that temptation. Low and behold, as soon as I made that commitment, suddenly running didn't seem as hard, and my aches and pains were forgotten. Mile 2 I started really having to go pee - and learned there wasn't a portapotty till mile 3! This motivated me to speed up, and sped up, even into some head winds. After finally making it to the porta potty, I caught up to a few team mates (Hi Emilka!) and jogged with them, then carried on. I felt so strong and full of energy, I kept trudging on at "full speed" (full speed for me is not that fast... but whatever). I ran the whole way to the finish line, even across the last mile of coral and sand, and finished happy and strong. (and then tired once I stopped).
It felt so good to have not walked and finally actually reached a goal. My overall time was one of my slower ones, due to the wind, but I didn't mind since my swim and run where good. In practice I had run about 10 minute miles, and on race day I averaged under 9 minute miles, even w/ a potty break!
I then went out to the soft sand about .5 miles from the finish line, and helped the remaining team mates finish strong. With the brutal head winds, and high heats, people where feeling very beaten up by the end, and ready to be done. So we helped cheer them on, and finish strong.
We later learned that the winds got worse and worse throughout the morning - so the fast pros had no head winds, I had it for about 5 miles, and some of the slower people had it for like 10 miles! Unfair... While it made it harder, and our times slower, I think every appreciated how much better it felt to finish.
Great job to everyone who finished their first olympic tri! See you all next season!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Pictures!
Here are some pictures from my camera--in no particular order. Click on pictures for captions. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Race Day-- another teammate's experience
Intended to post this a few days ago, but I’ve been out and about the island and away from the laptop since the Lavaman. I got to Kona a week ago. Tom & I had a couple of days to thaw out and enjoy some of the sights. Took a hike down to a black sand beach one day and went to a white sand beach the next. The following couple of days unfolded much like Ramah’s account—with the exception of the swim. For 5 months of training in Seattle one carrot that dangled for me was the thought of swimming in that beautiful blue, WARM water in Hawaii. So to get to the first team practice in Anaeho’omalu Bay (that’s for the “hooked on phonics” crowd—the locals call it “A-Bay”) and dip my toes into unseasonably cold 73 degrees was a bit of a shock. Worst thing was the rest of the body had to go with those toes. I thought I was well prepared for the swim, but much to my dismay anxiety set in on our Friday and Saturday team swims. Dodging coral, dodging people, sloshing water & the cold made it quite different from my pool swimming.
After a night of tossing and turning, dreaming of icy water and hearing the wind howl, I got up at 4:30 am. Tried to get down my breakfast of 4:1 carbs:protein, liquids, calories carefully calculated out depending on body weight, sweat rate, etc. The churning stomach only let me eat part of it.
But by race time a miracle of sorts happened—a great sense of calm & purpose came over me! Can’t explain it…probably was a combination of all of these: the beautiful sunrise & favorite music playing at the transition setup, the visual of such a colorful sea of swim caps (color by age bracket), hugs from teammates, thoughts of those I was going to be swimming for, the power of prayer, preparation, those inspiring emails sent to me from all over the world (even as far away as Mongolia!) by my son Jess’ friends, and remembering the encouraging words of friends and family. I was ready to swim! And swim I did--strong & without a pause. It was even enjoyable. Imagine that! I saw pretty fish, stayed clear of the coral, had polite people around me (maybe it’s the age bracket—the 40 yr old & up crowd was more apologetic than fierce if they bumped into you) “Oops, sorry.” “No problem”. Those angels I was swimming for were definitely having a great swim with me. I hoped they were ready for a tough bike ride, too.
The bike ride was brutal in the headwinds. It went ok, though, except that after my first bite of my Powerbar, the darned thing slipped out of my hand and splatted on the highway. So much for that part of the calculated nutrition, too. I wondered if the two goats I saw along the highway would be feasting on race day leftovers. Mine wasn't the only accidental drop. Luckily I had some Gu and Shot Bloks along to take the place of the Powerbar. I also polished off all of my 1 & ½ liters of Gatorade plus additional water.
The run was hotter than blue blazes. It took me a good half mile before I could get the legs working after the bike ride. I’ve never run over such a variety of terrain either—rocks, pavement, grass, wooded path, large lava rock, sand…I think the sand was the worst. By the time I got part way down the beach in the end stretch, the mesh tops of my running shoes had let at least a pound of sand into each shoe. It was like running in cement shoes! A nice surprise for me was my husband Tom and son Kyle who were waiting on the beach and ran along each side of me for a minute during that “hit the wall” time when I wasn’t sure I could take another step. It was sweet indeed crossing the finish line! Woo hoo!!
Any regrets? None except that I could have used more sunscreen. They stamp each competitor’s race number on both arms and your age on the back of your leg. I also had a cool skull and crossbones tattoo (compliments of Ande, our pirate loving team captain) on my forearm during the race. The ink is long gone, but after several hours in the sun my race number, age, and skull & crossbones are clearly visible in non-tan skin now. Race time 4 hrs 24 minutes—not bad for a first effort! And the $2.2 million dollars raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society--incredible! Pictures will follow after my flight home today. Right now Lavaman Triathlete #758 needs to get packed! Aloha!
After a night of tossing and turning, dreaming of icy water and hearing the wind howl, I got up at 4:30 am. Tried to get down my breakfast of 4:1 carbs:protein, liquids, calories carefully calculated out depending on body weight, sweat rate, etc. The churning stomach only let me eat part of it.
But by race time a miracle of sorts happened—a great sense of calm & purpose came over me! Can’t explain it…probably was a combination of all of these: the beautiful sunrise & favorite music playing at the transition setup, the visual of such a colorful sea of swim caps (color by age bracket), hugs from teammates, thoughts of those I was going to be swimming for, the power of prayer, preparation, those inspiring emails sent to me from all over the world (even as far away as Mongolia!) by my son Jess’ friends, and remembering the encouraging words of friends and family. I was ready to swim! And swim I did--strong & without a pause. It was even enjoyable. Imagine that! I saw pretty fish, stayed clear of the coral, had polite people around me (maybe it’s the age bracket—the 40 yr old & up crowd was more apologetic than fierce if they bumped into you) “Oops, sorry.” “No problem”. Those angels I was swimming for were definitely having a great swim with me. I hoped they were ready for a tough bike ride, too.
The bike ride was brutal in the headwinds. It went ok, though, except that after my first bite of my Powerbar, the darned thing slipped out of my hand and splatted on the highway. So much for that part of the calculated nutrition, too. I wondered if the two goats I saw along the highway would be feasting on race day leftovers. Mine wasn't the only accidental drop. Luckily I had some Gu and Shot Bloks along to take the place of the Powerbar. I also polished off all of my 1 & ½ liters of Gatorade plus additional water.
The run was hotter than blue blazes. It took me a good half mile before I could get the legs working after the bike ride. I’ve never run over such a variety of terrain either—rocks, pavement, grass, wooded path, large lava rock, sand…I think the sand was the worst. By the time I got part way down the beach in the end stretch, the mesh tops of my running shoes had let at least a pound of sand into each shoe. It was like running in cement shoes! A nice surprise for me was my husband Tom and son Kyle who were waiting on the beach and ran along each side of me for a minute during that “hit the wall” time when I wasn’t sure I could take another step. It was sweet indeed crossing the finish line! Woo hoo!!
Any regrets? None except that I could have used more sunscreen. They stamp each competitor’s race number on both arms and your age on the back of your leg. I also had a cool skull and crossbones tattoo (compliments of Ande, our pirate loving team captain) on my forearm during the race. The ink is long gone, but after several hours in the sun my race number, age, and skull & crossbones are clearly visible in non-tan skin now. Race time 4 hrs 24 minutes—not bad for a first effort! And the $2.2 million dollars raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society--incredible! Pictures will follow after my flight home today. Right now Lavaman Triathlete #758 needs to get packed! Aloha!
Monday, March 30, 2009
A day in the life of an official triathlete
The day started at 0430 when the alarm on my phone went off, and I thought....here we go!! I had a great nights sleep and even dreamed about one of my honored teammates Matt, I have never done a TNT event without him, but in my dream he was here, which also means I am doing this for Matty!
I met up with my dad at 0515 and we rode our bikes on a dark trail to meet up with the team on the grassy knoll in front of the hotel, there was a definite feeling of anxiety and nerves running through the air, mixed with disappointment when Coach Cathy told us that the winds were not going to be easy today.....you could hear the collective groans blow through the wind. At 0550 we took off to A-bay to rack our bikes in the transition area and get ready for the race. We all got inked, and I mean the kind that washes off (however with a sunburn the numbers are still there), and I was surprised when the woman putting my age on my leg used the entire surface area of my calf.
Next....setting up the transition area, pretty close quarters when over 900 people are doing the same thing. 1. place TNT transition mat on ground 2. empty backpack 3. start from the top with the items you will use last, running shoes, race number, hat and gu 4. sunscreen and extra water 5. singlet, bike shoes, helmet, gloves and sunglasses 6. grab my goggles and swim cap head to water for team picture and race start.
Aaahhh, the race start. For the previous two days we had mini practice swims, to the striped bouy and back. My first day swimming in the open water was a bit interesting, but it got better, the 2nd day no problem. And race day....wow there was a lot of people in the water at once. I had every fear I was going to get kicked in the head and beat up, well I did get kicked in the head and it pulled up my cap and goggles, pause to adjust, I got passed over (literally) by a couple of women, of course I thought, really you couldn't go around me instead of over me, how rude. The swim was going really well and I was taking the advice of the great Dave Scott, just live in the moment, I went into scuba dive mode and started looking at the coral and the fish. I saw a turtle swimming underneath me, a trumpet fish and angel fish. That was pretty cool, but found myself getting a little distracted, so back to the task at hand. I rounded the first bouy and was having a hard time getting around a couple of ladies that were doing frog kicks and treading water, its a challenge to avoid those flailing feet, and before I knew it I had beached myself on the back of the lifeguards surfboard, did I mention she cut me off, how she missed the girl in the bright pink swim cap I am not sure. Fast forward to the end of the swim when I had to literally fight off a fellow swimmer who kept climbing up my right side and I had made it to the finish, and had some trouble finding my land legs when I got out of the water, which means the first time I got up I fell back in the water. I was a bit disoriented. Swim time 46min.
Transition....rinse feet in dirty kiddy pool, run to bike, dry feet (sort of), shove semi-dry feet into socks, put on bike shoes, dowse with sunscreen (fat lotta good that did me), helmet, sunglasses, and gloves, run/walk bike to MOUNT line....take off! Go 25 miles in heat and intense wind, turn around at mile 12.5, ride last 12.5 miles in killer head wind. Hit mile 17 and wonder what the heck am I doing, I can't see anyone in front of me and nobody behind me....all alone. It made me think of the video introduction of the Ironman in KONA, when they talk about the stretch of the ride when they find themselves alone, however they fail to mention that they have cameras and support cars following them. Started to get really discouraged, strong headwind, sore back, sore feet, thought back to Dave Scott...live in the moment....then said to myself, or maybe it was outloud, all the people I am doing this for..In honor of Matty, Tracy, Jim, Megann, Jonelle, John, Emily, Jerry, Vicki, and in memory of Patrick, Matt Yost, Cassandra's MOm..and it brought me back to the moment and I made it through the last 8 miles. Bike time 2 hours.
Transition.....DISMOUNT at line, almost fall over when I start walking, so thankful for all the TNT supporters cheering! Saw my mom..hi mom! Re-rack bike, off with helmet, shoes and gloves, slip into running shoes, sunscreen again (once again, not much use), eat a gu, put on hat and started off on the 'run'......rubber legs, sore back and aching foot. The first 2 miles felt the longest, all uphill and in a headwind....AGAIN! Made it to about mile 2.5, saw Coach Cathy....she put ice in my hat....aaaahhhhh!!! Made it to the mile 3 turnaround, met a girl from Alaska, who decided to just do the Lavaman on her own!!! Way to go Ashley! (I had also passed her on the bike in the hardest part of the headwind, told her to keep going we were almost there). Passed teammates going the other way...cheered them on. I was actually feeling pretty good despite the aches and the wind. I was just pretty excited to be almost done. Turned to go behind the hotel and saw Megan running towards me.....had to go up a slight incline and about fell over...but was thrilled to see her. Ran through the resort and had the hotel guests cheering for us, that was pretty awesome! Saw Amanda many times throughout the race and loved hearing her yell and cheer. Made it through the lava and coral and could hear the band playing.....the finish line was close. Ran into some kid on the trail and he said..keep going, you are almost there...I said, I know I can smell the beer:) Hit the finish line and my team was waiting and yelling and screaming and encouraging me to the finish......saw mom and dad at the finish.....collapsed!!
So that would be a day in the life of this triathlete....let's do it again tomorrow.
I met up with my dad at 0515 and we rode our bikes on a dark trail to meet up with the team on the grassy knoll in front of the hotel, there was a definite feeling of anxiety and nerves running through the air, mixed with disappointment when Coach Cathy told us that the winds were not going to be easy today.....you could hear the collective groans blow through the wind. At 0550 we took off to A-bay to rack our bikes in the transition area and get ready for the race. We all got inked, and I mean the kind that washes off (however with a sunburn the numbers are still there), and I was surprised when the woman putting my age on my leg used the entire surface area of my calf.
Next....setting up the transition area, pretty close quarters when over 900 people are doing the same thing. 1. place TNT transition mat on ground 2. empty backpack 3. start from the top with the items you will use last, running shoes, race number, hat and gu 4. sunscreen and extra water 5. singlet, bike shoes, helmet, gloves and sunglasses 6. grab my goggles and swim cap head to water for team picture and race start.
Aaahhh, the race start. For the previous two days we had mini practice swims, to the striped bouy and back. My first day swimming in the open water was a bit interesting, but it got better, the 2nd day no problem. And race day....wow there was a lot of people in the water at once. I had every fear I was going to get kicked in the head and beat up, well I did get kicked in the head and it pulled up my cap and goggles, pause to adjust, I got passed over (literally) by a couple of women, of course I thought, really you couldn't go around me instead of over me, how rude. The swim was going really well and I was taking the advice of the great Dave Scott, just live in the moment, I went into scuba dive mode and started looking at the coral and the fish. I saw a turtle swimming underneath me, a trumpet fish and angel fish. That was pretty cool, but found myself getting a little distracted, so back to the task at hand. I rounded the first bouy and was having a hard time getting around a couple of ladies that were doing frog kicks and treading water, its a challenge to avoid those flailing feet, and before I knew it I had beached myself on the back of the lifeguards surfboard, did I mention she cut me off, how she missed the girl in the bright pink swim cap I am not sure. Fast forward to the end of the swim when I had to literally fight off a fellow swimmer who kept climbing up my right side and I had made it to the finish, and had some trouble finding my land legs when I got out of the water, which means the first time I got up I fell back in the water. I was a bit disoriented. Swim time 46min.
Transition....rinse feet in dirty kiddy pool, run to bike, dry feet (sort of), shove semi-dry feet into socks, put on bike shoes, dowse with sunscreen (fat lotta good that did me), helmet, sunglasses, and gloves, run/walk bike to MOUNT line....take off! Go 25 miles in heat and intense wind, turn around at mile 12.5, ride last 12.5 miles in killer head wind. Hit mile 17 and wonder what the heck am I doing, I can't see anyone in front of me and nobody behind me....all alone. It made me think of the video introduction of the Ironman in KONA, when they talk about the stretch of the ride when they find themselves alone, however they fail to mention that they have cameras and support cars following them. Started to get really discouraged, strong headwind, sore back, sore feet, thought back to Dave Scott...live in the moment....then said to myself, or maybe it was outloud, all the people I am doing this for..In honor of Matty, Tracy, Jim, Megann, Jonelle, John, Emily, Jerry, Vicki, and in memory of Patrick, Matt Yost, Cassandra's MOm..and it brought me back to the moment and I made it through the last 8 miles. Bike time 2 hours.
Transition.....DISMOUNT at line, almost fall over when I start walking, so thankful for all the TNT supporters cheering! Saw my mom..hi mom! Re-rack bike, off with helmet, shoes and gloves, slip into running shoes, sunscreen again (once again, not much use), eat a gu, put on hat and started off on the 'run'......rubber legs, sore back and aching foot. The first 2 miles felt the longest, all uphill and in a headwind....AGAIN! Made it to about mile 2.5, saw Coach Cathy....she put ice in my hat....aaaahhhhh!!! Made it to the mile 3 turnaround, met a girl from Alaska, who decided to just do the Lavaman on her own!!! Way to go Ashley! (I had also passed her on the bike in the hardest part of the headwind, told her to keep going we were almost there). Passed teammates going the other way...cheered them on. I was actually feeling pretty good despite the aches and the wind. I was just pretty excited to be almost done. Turned to go behind the hotel and saw Megan running towards me.....had to go up a slight incline and about fell over...but was thrilled to see her. Ran through the resort and had the hotel guests cheering for us, that was pretty awesome! Saw Amanda many times throughout the race and loved hearing her yell and cheer. Made it through the lava and coral and could hear the band playing.....the finish line was close. Ran into some kid on the trail and he said..keep going, you are almost there...I said, I know I can smell the beer:) Hit the finish line and my team was waiting and yelling and screaming and encouraging me to the finish......saw mom and dad at the finish.....collapsed!!
So that would be a day in the life of this triathlete....let's do it again tomorrow.
we did it!
i can hardly believe it. the day is a bit of a blur now. i think we would all agree this was memorable despite the winds on the bike ride and obstacle course near the end of the run (lava rocks and sand).
before i forget, wanted to add this great picture of our tribe & coach cathy that we took the night before the race. aloha!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
T-1 day to race day!
Race day starts bright and early tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, less than 12 hours away!!
We all made it to hawaii, with our bikes intact. Once we get home I'm sure we'll post more details accounts of the whole weekend, but I just wanted to get in an update before the big event.
Friday morning we walked down the end of the run course (1 mile over large lava rock, and finishing up w/ 1/2 mile on the sand) and had our first open water swim. It went pretty well. A few people were nervous, but that is to be expected. We then did about a 2 mile run.
Life got exciting that afternoon when we picked up our bikes and headed out for our first bike ride. It was very windy, and that is an underexageration. The first mile was very strong crosswinds, and I had visions of flying off my bike ... Then we head out onto the highway (the race course), and head up a hill, but I find myself shifting ot harder and harder gears. The tail wind was soo strong that coach cathy said she went 13 mph UP hill, WITHOUT pedalling. It was sooo surreal. Then we turned around to equally strong headwinds. Where you'd be in the easiest gear, going DOWN hill, and it felt at times like we were almost standing still!
It was very weird, and hopefully will not be as bad tomorrow morning! Wind is definitly the talk of the competitors right now. The forecast is for light wind, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Everyone did great through our mini tri today, and I think we are all ready for the big race tomorrow morning! We just came back from our inspiration dinner (the lavaman tri raised over 2 million dollars for lls!), and I've now packed up my tri bag, and am ready for bed...
We'll try to get some updates here tomorrow after the race, but until then...
GOOOOOO TEAM!
We all made it to hawaii, with our bikes intact. Once we get home I'm sure we'll post more details accounts of the whole weekend, but I just wanted to get in an update before the big event.
Friday morning we walked down the end of the run course (1 mile over large lava rock, and finishing up w/ 1/2 mile on the sand) and had our first open water swim. It went pretty well. A few people were nervous, but that is to be expected. We then did about a 2 mile run.
Life got exciting that afternoon when we picked up our bikes and headed out for our first bike ride. It was very windy, and that is an underexageration. The first mile was very strong crosswinds, and I had visions of flying off my bike ... Then we head out onto the highway (the race course), and head up a hill, but I find myself shifting ot harder and harder gears. The tail wind was soo strong that coach cathy said she went 13 mph UP hill, WITHOUT pedalling. It was sooo surreal. Then we turned around to equally strong headwinds. Where you'd be in the easiest gear, going DOWN hill, and it felt at times like we were almost standing still!
It was very weird, and hopefully will not be as bad tomorrow morning! Wind is definitly the talk of the competitors right now. The forecast is for light wind, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Everyone did great through our mini tri today, and I think we are all ready for the big race tomorrow morning! We just came back from our inspiration dinner (the lavaman tri raised over 2 million dollars for lls!), and I've now packed up my tri bag, and am ready for bed...
We'll try to get some updates here tomorrow after the race, but until then...
GOOOOOO TEAM!
Friday, March 27, 2009
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