Kinetic Half

Two Saturday’s ago was my first triathlon of the season, the Kinetic half distance in Lake Anna, VA. This was one of the High Cloud Dream Team races so I sported the High Cloud kit in this race. Ron did a relay with Dream Team members, Anna and Shireen. There were so many athletes racing from both High Cloud and DC Tri which made it very motivating out on the race course later!

High Cloud Pyramid

Ron and I stayed in Fredericksburg the night before which prevented us from having to get up at 4:00 am since the race started at 7:00 am. Once we arrived at Lake Anna we needed to stand in line to get our race packet and then another line to get the timing chip. This portion of the race was not real organized but that was the only thing about the race that wasn’t. I tend to take awhile setting up my transition area and stare at my setup awhile (a bad habit of mine!) to be sure I didn’t forget anything. This time, I had to rush since I didn’t get everything until about 6:30 and transition closed at 6:45. I’m one that likes a lot of time to get ready and just chill a few minutes before the race. Ron is the opposite and sometimes jokes with me about how stressed and anxious I get before races. It’s the pre race jitters! So, I hurried to get my bike off of Ron’s roof rack since he was still in line (well actually had to have a very nice race spectator help me get it off since I’m so short) and hurried to transition to get set up. It was 6:45 when they started telling us to finish up and that’s when I started to panic a bit since I wasn’t ready. I still needed to get body marked with my number/age and put sunscreen on. I was freaking out a bit because I couldn’t find my sunglasses. I found Ron before heading to the water and asked him if he could go look in the car for them. Come to find out later, he tore the car apart and ended up finding them in my transition bag by my bike right in the sunglass pocket where they always are. Oops! Then he told me later that I had forgotten my water bottles with all my Infinit nutrition in them and he had run back to the car for that. Holy cow! Now, this is why I don’t like to rush through race set-up because I do stupid stuff like that. I had set my bike helmet on my back water bottle holders. If Ron had not noticed that something did not look right with that, seeing I didn’t have my bottles, there was no way I would have had the race that I did. Thank you soooo much Ron for saving the day!!

The main reason I get so jittery before triathlons is because I don’t like open water swimming and I’m not the best at it. Once I’m past the swim, I’m a lot more at ease and just pray I don’t get a flat on the bike! Luckily, the lake was not choppy at all. A few times in the open water I started going off course so citing better is something I know I always need to work on. Also, when I'm racing I can't seem to get comfortable breathing every three strokes and was breathing to the right most the time. I did the alternating breathing a few times and started to get kind of dizzy. I don't know why I always have an issue with that. Oh well, I do what works to get me through the swim. I came out of the swim with a time of 37:53 which is what I had clocked myself at in the pool earlier that week. This was my best 1.2 open water swim, so was content with that. I know swimming is something I will always need to work at….I just don’t really enjoy it so makes it more difficult for me to get motivated for the workouts. I know I need to work hard to cut off a few minutes of my time at all distances in order to be competitive.

I got to see Ron right out of T1 as he was getting ready to bike for his relay team. T1 was relatively uneventful which is always good. Off to the bike course. The bike course had rolling hills and just a few steep/short ones. False flats and some wind. It actually felt a lot flatter when I rode it a week ago, but I also had fresh legs for that ride. I was pretty happy with the way it went. Right around mile 25 I see Ron up ahead on the side of the road. I yelled out and made sure he was ok. I found out later he had run into some bad luck on the bike course. First, he got a flat and then later a girl cut the corner and ran right into his leg and derailer. That sucks! Bike support had come around and stopped to help him. They turned his bike into a fixie. So, Ron rode over half the race in one gear! I felt so bad for him when he told me the story after the race.

Around mile 30 or so into the bike I was actually getting real annoyed with some 'cheaters' on the course. There were a pack of girls I kept going back and forth with who insisted on drafting off each other. At one point I yelled out to them to stop it b/c it was getting so annoying seeing how obvious they were being. Kind of frustrating, but I just did my own thing the fair way. :) At times it was hard to not draft when people got all packed up every once in awhile but what they were doing was ridiculous. I think I saw a course marshall once on the course so they could get away with it easily. I was happy to finally see the finish of the bike as my hamstring was starting to get real tight.
Bike – 2:39:43

The run was challenging and I ended up being very happy with the way it went! It was three loops and right at the beginning of each loop was a steep hill out of the transition area. Then a long gradual climb out of the park. Awesome downhill to the finish! The motivation on the course was seeing so many of my friends and cheering each other on! I got to see many of them all three loops.
Run – 1:37:11
Finish - 4:59:02 (I finally broke 5 hours!!)


AJ, Janie and I posing with our age group awards.

 Overall, I was very pleased how this race went! Especially, given that I didn't taper a lot for it and that it wasn't an 'A' race for me. I got 2nd in my age group and this was the first time I got a podium place in a half! High Clouder, Emily Long and DC Tri Elite team members AJ Morrison and Janie Hayes, also got a podium finish!
It makes me happy where my training is right now, and I also realize what I can keep improving on. This was a great first race test and I'm excited to see that the training Mackenzie is giving me is helping me a lot!! After looking at my heart rate data, Mackenzie told me I can push a little bit more in some of my workouts since during the race I could hold a higher heart rate for awhile. I thrive on race day adrenaline and that tends to push me on race day. Now I know that I need to push myself a bit more in my intervals when training.

Taking a water break during the century ride.

Last Saturday I did the Casa Century in Martinsburg, WV. This was a rolling, hilly course and I actually liked biking on the hills! Did you hear that.....I’m finally starting to like hills…woo hoo! (I'm usually a flat course racer!) It was so beautiful and it felt great to ride out on the open roads, not having to suck in the exhaust from busses in the city! Adrianna told me this ride was similar to rolling hills in the Louisville course.

This Friday, I will be going to Iowa to visit my family and friends for ten days! While I am there, I will have more time for training which means a lot more swimming and more time in the saddle! I'll also be racing in a sprint triathlon, which I've never done before! We'll see how these slow twitch muscles handle the fast twitch racing. Yikes!

Spring Happenings

 



I’ve been a slacker with my blog posts! Since my last blog, I have gone through some motivation transitions. Ironman Louisville is just over 15 weeks away and I now realize, in order to do well and achieve my goals, I need to get my butt in gear and stop skipping bike and swim workouts! My coach, Mackenzie, let me know it’s time to get more time in the saddle and if I want to see improvements in my swim, I need to get all my swims in! I agree and sometimes just need a little kick in the butt to get to the pool. I’m really looking forward to the pool opening at Hains Point and am hoping to join the masters swim team that meets there a few times a week. I think swimming outside in a 50 meter pool, with a masters team, will be just the motivation I need.
Over the last few weeks there has been a lot going on as usual. My mom visited in April and she finally got to see the Cherry Blossoms for the first time. I forgot to post pictures in my last blog. Here is a picture we captured by the Tidal Basin. Ron’s parents also visited and we all took a DC Harbor cruise and got to see some of the DC historical sites from the water.



  The second week in April I purchased a new 2011 Hyundai Tucson! Ron struck a great deal with the car salesman and we were out of the dealership in an hour and a half! We had looked for this specific type of suv a year ago when they changed the look of the Tucson. So, when this popped up I jumped on it. It was a little sad to say goodbye to my Saturn. My Saturn was a graduation gift from my dad back in 2000. That car has literally gotten me across the country......from Iowa to DC, from DC to San Diego and back to DC! When I moved out to DC I even had a 4x4 Uhaul attached to the back. That car had been through a lot!

My new Tucson and tri mobile!



My dad visited from Iowa the last weekend in April and did the Philly Broad Street 10 mile race with Ron and I. I ran the whole race with my dad and we had a great time! His athletic abilities always amaze me. We did some site seeing and took my dad to the “Rocky Steps” in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art where Rocky Balboa ran up for his training in his movie. My dad loves that scene from Rocky and we captured a video and a few pictures of him reenacting the scene from the movie.  After the race, we had a delicious meal at Ron’s parent’s house. You never go hungry at the Benedicts!

My dad on the Rocky Stairs.



Last weekend was the 2nd annual High Cloud Peasantman triathlon held at Lake Anna State Park, which happens to be the same location as my first triathlon of the season this coming Saturday, Kinetic half. It was a perfect weekend for training and volunteering! The event was a huge success! Both sprint and Olympic distances were offered. Many participants from the DC Triathlon New Triathlete Program took part in the event. This was a training day with a BBQ celebration after.  It provided a social training atmosphere as opposed to a competitive one. The perfect environment for new triathletes to put into place what they have learned over the past few months and get a feel of what a triathlon really is all about. Don’t worry, seasoned athletes were also welcomed, and got in a good tune-up/training day for the race season. My duties for the day were to help out in transition and be one of the course marshals for the bike and run points.  I also got to sing the National Anthem. I have now experienced what it is like to be on the other side of racing and see just how much goes into putting it all together. Tuan, Becky, High Cloud founders Adriana and Matt, and everyone else on the volunteer committee did such a wonderful job putting this race together. It’s true, there is not a race without the volunteers and I’m so happy to be able to give back to the triathlon community. 

 I also got to spend some time with my friend and mentee from the New Triathlete Program, Sharon. With my crazy schedule it has been hard to meet up so it was nice to hang out with her a bit before her first triathlon and open water swim! Here she is getting ready to head into the water. Go Sharon!





Next up on Saturday, Kinetic half distance triathlon. This is not an ‘A’ race for me so didn’t taper, but I am going to try to do the best I can on non-tapered legs. I will be sporting High Cloud colors since this is one of High Cloud’s Dream Team races. There will be High Cloud green and DC Tri red and blue all over the course! After the race, I will be celebrating my 33rd birthday with great friends back in Arlington. Only a year and a half left in this age group. Yikes!



High Cloud Peasantman Finish Line





Ron grilling after the race.

Oh and I can't forget to post a picture of our new Dogwood tree I mentioned in my last post....it has bloomed and a wonderful addition to our new patio!