Buffy’s Race Report: Run For Life Half Marathon - October 9, 2010

This is, hopefully, the first in my trilogy of race reports from October 2010. I don’t want to jinx my upcoming events – we all know things can happen to either stop you from getting to the start line or stop you from crossing the finish line! Anyway, I’m going to think positive, so here it is – the first of three reports (again, hopefully!). I’m going to call this trilogy “My Family is Trying to Kill Me.”

“My Family is Trying to Kill Me Part I: The Fellowship of the Ring Run”

My mother called me awhile back and informed me that she finally, after much searching, found a half marathon with a description that suited her. She has been interested in participating in a half for some time now, but she likes to run/walk so she has been concerned with race time cutoffs at many events. Also, she and my dad are the world’s biggest UT football (and all other UT sports) fans, so a race could not coincide with a UT football game. She was reading Runner’s World and found an ad for the Run For Life Marathon and Half Marathon in Madison, Mississippi on October 9^th. This race encourages walkers to participate and it has a very long race cutoff time. Also, October 9^th was a by week for UT football – perfect circumstances for Mom. She asked if I would like to go with her and suggested that I run the full marathon so I wouldn’t be waiting on her to finish. At the time, I knew I had one other event in October so I was pretty sure I wasn’t into running the full. I agreed to go run the half and assured her that I had no problems waiting for her to finish – after all, then I would get to see her cross the finish line! I know right now some of you reading this may think I’m a bad daughter for not running next to my mom for the entire race. It does make me seem sort of crappy, but I assure you that she wanted me to run my race and she wanted to run her race. I actually think that sometimes this can be less pressure (to run separately) – no one worries about if they are pushing the other one too hard or if they are holding them back.

I left straight from work here in Austin on Thursday afternoon and drove back to my parents’ house in Beaumont. Mom and I got up early on Friday morning and made the six hour drive to Madison – a much more scenic drive than I would have expected! We got checked in to our hotel and headed off to packet pickup. This is a pretty small race, so I didn’t expect too much at packet pickup, but once we got there I was very impressed with it. It wasn’t huge, but they had four or five vendors with tables set up and loads of volunteers to direct people around. It was super well organized. After that, we got some dinner, walked around a nice little outdoor shopping area, and then headed back to our hotel for the night. Long car rides exhaust me even though physically I’m not doing anything. I turned off the light and rolled over to sleep around 9:30pm – seriously, I can’t remember the last time I went to bed at 9:30pm on a Friday night…it might have been in the third grade!

Our alarms went off at 5:00am and Mom headed out for a short little warm up walk. In true “me” fashion, I hit the snooze button and fell back asleep. I got up shortly after that and started getting race ready. I got my snazzy RLE running kit on and my super awesome new “Sweet and Twisted” arm warmers. They are beyond cool-looking – I wish I had taken a better photo to attach to this race report! I put my hair in my now customary race pigtails and we were set to go. It took us all of 5 minutes to get from our hotel to the race start. Small races definitely have their perks! It was warmer than Mom and I had expected it to be. She went out in just her regular running clothes (no “throw away” clothes to stay warm). I wore my arm warmers, but honestly I could have probably gone without them - except they are so awesome looking that I think they made me faster.

There was a free car giveaway with all the race participants’ names entered into the drawing. We were very disappointed that we didn’t win, but how cool is that?! A free car give-away at a race with only around 470 participants! Definitely another reason to register for that race.

Then there were various announcements/messages from race officials, the national anthem, and it was time to get moving. I actually seeded myself appropriately for this race for once. I’m not typically very good at lining up where I should. I just don’t like to push my way forward, but this race was small enough that I was able to just walk up to my estimated pace corral. I barely had to weave around other runners at all, which was really nice. I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles. My pace was a bit faster than I expected it would be (barely under an 8:00minute/mile pace). I was slightly worried that I was starting out too fast, but my competitive tendencies didn’t want me to slow down. We cut through some neighborhoods and then were out on a fairly major looking road without much scenery. They had very nice cheer groups out on the course though, and this part was an “out and back” portion of the course so we could see the front runners, which I always love.

I noticed through the first 8 or 9 miles or so that I was constantly leap-frogging a guy and a girl running together. I’d pass them downhill and they’d pass me uphill. Also, they were doing the run/walk method and were very consistently walking a portion of each mile. I’d pass them when they’d walk and then they’d pass me once they started running again. Around mile 10 it was starting to get very warm and there wasn’t much shade. In addition to the heat, I had been maintaining a fairly fast pace for my current running ability. As much as I was determined to hang on to that couple, they totally dropped me around mile 10. It was a bit disheartening to see them off in the distance, but I kept pushing along. I could tell that I was slowing down, but not by too, too much. At mile 11, I pushed my arm warmers down as it finally got too warm for them (however, I really enjoyed them for the first 10 miles and I’m glad I had them on).

I like to try to trick myself when I’m racing and getting tired. It works really well for me – I start telling myself things like “okay, you only have a 5K left and you can totally run a 5K” or “ just 2 miles left – you can run two miles with the flu and no sleep” and my favorite “just 1 mile – you can always run 1 mile…1 mile is cake.” My normal reasoning totally worked on me until the last mile. That one hurt. Looking back on it, I think I maybe didn’t drink quite enough at the water stops and I think I probably went out a bit too fast. Then again, only the last mile really hurt and I ended up really happy with my race results! I was hoping to maybe PR, because really, who isn’t always hoping to PR? I didn’t make it, but I wasn’t too far off – just 2 or 3 minutes. Also, as this was a smaller race, I placed better than I probably ever will in my whole life so I’m going to take this time to brag just a little. I ended up 40^th overall, 9^th female, and 2^nd in my age group (3^rd if you count that the overall female winner was in my age group). And that was out of 468 people! I’m still totally psyched about it. They didn’t do an awards ceremony or anything, but I didn’t need it – just to see those number next to my name on the print out and online was enough for me. I’m thinking about printing it out and framing it. I’m not joking.

And on to the even cooler part of the event – my mom’s finish. After I finished, I headed to the car to grab my cell phone in case she called (she was running with her cell). I walked partway back to the finish line and cheered on some runners as they made the last turn in to their finish. Then I headed back to the finish line and lounged around for a bit. I used this time to start tracking the Kona Ironman coverage online from my phone. Mom had told me that she expected to finish in around 3 hours 30 minutes. With about 40 minute left to wait, I got up to go check out the results and grab some more water. As I was walking around I heard the announcer say, “and from Beaumont, Texas…” and I knew that had to be Mom. I turned and literally sprinted to the finish line so I wouldn’t miss her big finish. As I was running up I saw her running down to the finish line with the biggest smile on her face and her arms raised in the air. It was all I could do not to burst into tears, I was so happy and proud. Just typing this out makes me get all choked up again, too. She finished in under 3 hours – more than 30 minutes faster than she expected and second in her age group. Seeing her finish her first half marathon was way better than finishing my own first half marathon.

After I collected myself and we got Mom some post-race food and water (great cookies and fruit out there, by the way – they even had nectarines, and they were so good) we headed to sit in the shade. We watched the marathoners and the rest of the half marathoners finish their races while we waited to get Mom’s medal engraved with her name and time. Not everyone thinks that is important, but I think it just makes your medal a bit more special when it has your information on it – totally worth the little extra bit of money. Once we collected Mom’s engraved medal we headed back to the hotel, got cleaned up and headed back home. Following the Ironman Kona updates from my phone made for a pretty short feeling ride home, although Mom was probably irritated that I kept interrupting her listening to various football games on the radio to tell her what was happening in the world of Ironman!

To wrap this all up I’d just like to say that I feel so lucky that I got to take this trip with my mother and share in her first half marathon experience. I’m beyond impressed with that lady.

Laurie Viault's Ironman Kona Race Report!

The ironman world championship is about overcoming adversity and divine intervention..... God wanted me to finish

Well, here it is... my much anticipated race report. Kona is a stunning place, and the water here is the most beautiful water I have ever seen. I was nervous about swimming in the ocean with jellyfish, sharks, etc... however, once I got here and took a practice swim, all that fear went out the window! The water was crystal clear and you could see everything. I could go on about what a wonderful week I had, the incredible people I met, and the awesome swimming with the dophins adventure I had, but I know you all want to hear about the race, and I only have 20 minutes at this internet cafe, so let's get to it.

The swim:

It took about 15 to 20 minutes to make it through the massive line to get into the starting shoot to get to the water. I waited around until 20 minutes before gun time and ended up standing in this line right up until start time. The swim was a floating start, and I swam out to the very back of the crowd and right as I got there the gun went off, and off we went. This was the least jostled I have ever been in an ironman swim. Probably because I was in the back where I belonged and all the other racers were damn fast! The swim was an out and back and swimming out to the turnaround I had this guy swimming next to me the whole time who I could not get rid of. He was wearing a speedsuit and wasn't even kicking his feet, so it didn't make it convenient for me to draft off of him, however, he decided to draft off of me and I ended up pulling him for at least a half mile before I finally did a massive kick, turned over and yelled "GET OFF ME" at him. My little tribute to Gilbert Tuhabonye, running coach from Gilbert’s Gazelles :-)

The Bike:

Coming in from the swim to transition was pretty uneventful, took me a while as I had to use the port a potty and slather sunblock everywhere. Plus, they made us run around the entire perimeter of the transition area in order to get to our bags, which just added time. I was super impressed that they were able to fit transition and bikes in such a small area on the pier. The bikes were racked in wood blocks which was super cool. Got off on the bike and out on the Queen K and things are going well. My swim took me a lot longer than I anticipated. Thanks a lot drafting dude.... and I was one of the last cyclists out. The bike was very lonely, as I truly was out there by myself. They had bike aid stations at what seemed like every 10 miles, and I poured water on top of my head and on my jersey and arm sleeves at every single one and that kept me cool. I heard reports that the asphalt was well over 100 degrees, but it really did not feel that hot to me. At just after mile 40 I had every triathletes worst nightmare happen. I got a flat tire. Who knows, how long I was riding on it, I had just made the turn towards Havi, and all the age groupers were passing me to come back at this point. It had gotten really hilly and windy and I felt like I was riding on bumps yet there were no bumps. A single speed bike guy passed me and at that point I knew something was seriously wrong, so I looked down and noticed the flat. I stopped and realized that I did not have a tool to let the air out of the valve extenders and I was freaking out. How the hell was I going to change this tire without that tool. I had practiced changing these race wheels once before and I absolutely had to let all of the air out of the tires in order to get the tire off. Without that tool, I was in real trouble, because the tire still had a little bit of air in it. At this point, a true act of god occurred, as a bike mechanic van pulled up and asked if I needed help. I'm dead serious!! How could I possibly be this lucky!! They stopped and changed the tire for me. No joke! Took them less than 10 minutes and I was back on my way. I managed to catch up to the single speed bike guy and a couple of other people who passed me. At the turn around I had a fierce tail wind which allowed me to make up some time, there were also fierce cross winds as well. Let me tell you, I have never in my life cycled in such fierce winds. I was truly scared that these winds were going to knock me over and cause me to crash. I saw several injured people who this had happened to while I was riding, and it was a very scary experience. Once I turned back onto the Queen K, I was riding into a head wind. The hills were not that bad on this course and I still did a decent time despite the flat tire. At one point on the bike I looked down and noticed that my legs were red. This really concerned me because I still had about 25 miles left to go at this point and I stopped and asked someone who had parked their truck to cheer if they had any sunblock I could borrow and they did. This was the second miracle to happen for me during this race. I wanted to cry at this point as I couldn't believe my good fortune and I was getting emotional. I was blessed to get a lottery slot and any negative thing that happened seemed to have a solution right in front of me. I truly felt that God was with me and wanted me to finish this race. As I reached transition I still had over an hour and a half left before the cutoff time.

The Run:

Yay! I started the run off strong and didn't even need to bring my sunglasses as at this point as it was cloudy and the sun was starting to go down. I knew the sun would set around 6 pm and I knew it would get pitch black at that point so I wanted to run as strong as I could before I would have to start walking in the dark. Once I got to mile 5, I got a spurt of energy and was running at a really good pace. Had to have been at least a 10 minute mile pace, which for an ironman is pretty damn good. Once I got to mile 11 the sun had set and it had gotten dark. At that point, I had to start walking as it was just too dark to run and was not safe at that point. It was a lonely last 13 miles as there were so few of us left on the course at that point. I would try to run whenever I would get to any aid station that had light, and at the turnaround, a truly awesome volunteer must have walked half a mile with me holding water and gatorade for me while I walked. He told me I only had 6 miles left to go, even though I had 8 miles left and knew it. Oh well, gotta love volunteers! I started running again in the last half mile before the finish as I had reached the town lights again. I can not tell you how awesome it was to run in and have so many spectators there giving me high fives and telling me how much I rock! This was a constant for the last half mile of the race, and what a truly amazing experience it was to cross that finish line. I want to thank all of my friends who offered me encouragement when I needed it, I want to thank all of you for reading this and putting up with me during my training, my breakdowns, and just listening to me talk about nothing but this for the past 6 months. It was an experience of a lifetime and I'll cherish it forever. Thankyou to God for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for pushing me past my limits. Truly, Anything really is possible

Buffy’s Race Report: Silicon Labs Marathon Relay – September 26th, 2010

In case you don’t know about the Silicon Labs Marathon Relay, I’ll give you a quick run down. It is a 5 leg relay with the leg distances adding up to 26.2 miles (12k, 10k, 10k, 5k, and 5k). Each leg starts and ends at Auditorium Shores in downtown Austin. A group of my friends and I have done this race for the past 3 or 4 years - we can’t seem to remember when we started. Besides being fun racing with my friends, I really like this race because every year but one my folks have come out to cheer on our team (and they can’t remember how many years we’ve done the relay either).

We all planned to meet at 6:30am on Sunday morning to set up our tent and chairs and get our race numbers pinned on before the race start at 7:15am. Terry and I got there first and started setting up. Missy followed shortly thereafter with our race numbers and packets. I spent a good amount of time roaming around while talking on the phone with my dad trying to figure out where we each were. Of course, we were standing within about 20 feet of each other. Eventually, I found Mom and Dad and got them settled at our tent. I grabbed a mini Clif bar, pinned my number on, and headed off to the start line. I was really glad to be the first leg of the relay. It is the longest leg, but being first to go gives me less time to be nervous. In years past, I’ve gotten really nervous waiting for my leg to start. It doesn’t make any sense, either, as my team just does this race for fun – we aren’t out to win it. We race because it is tradition and there is free beer at the end.

As I was waiting for the race to begin, Eli (of Red Licorice Management Team fame) stepped up next to me. Eli and I chatted for a few minutes and then the race began!

…And then we sort of just shuffled forward waiting to get across the start line (we didn’t seed ourselves well!). It was a bit of a rough going once I was past the start line, too. The road narrows considerably so there were a number of people all crammed together. After about a mile, though, I was able to get into my stride. Around that time I saw the remaining two members of our relay team arrive. Leslie and Chris were running late, but they were the last two legs of our team so it was no big deal. And it was cool to be cheered on by them as they were walking to our tent area. I got more big cheers by my team and parents as I passed them a minute or so later. After that, I was running down Congress Avenue and I had loads of room to move. I saw Eli again as we circled around the Capitol. He was recovering from a trip to Interbike in Vegas and a late flight home; otherwise, I never would have caught up to him!

Being the first leg of the relay has the nice perk of getting to clearly see the front runners. There are three “out and back” sections of the first leg of the course so you get to see the super speedy runners multiple times. I love that – somehow, just seeing the really fast people makes me feel like I can go faster, too.

Running out down Cesar Chavez wasn’t the most exciting part of the course. I did realize around that time that I was taking in too much water, too. There were a ton of water stops for this race. Even only drinking at every other one made my stomach a bit sloshy. I held off on water at the last few stops and felt much better by the end. After I rounded the turnaround point on Cesar Chavez, I saw my buddy Beaux on the other side of the road. That was fun because he yelled, “Work off that queso!” at me, which probably sounded weird to the other runners around us. The day before the relay, Terry and I and a few of our friends did a queso crawl around town. I love queso, but let me tell you – 5 quesos in one day, even shared among 5 or 6 people, is about two too many. I needed a race after all of that!

I passed back by my cheering section of friends and parents as I headed back down South First Street. I turned down onto Riverside Drive and saw Terry (he was the second leg of the relay) standing just past the finish line arch. Then, to my right, I saw my dad cheering for me. He had headed to the finish line to watch our relay hand off. I slipped off the bracelet/relay baton from my wrist as I crossed the finish line and handed off to Terry. We got in a nice double high-five and a quick kiss (awww….) and Terry was off. I headed through the food area and picked up a cookie and a water and then met back up with Dad. We walked back to our area, chatting about running (Dad was a runner in high school and college), and we rejoined our crew.

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out and watching people run the course. We’d all get up to go cheer for our runners coming in and then going out on the course. Then we’d head back to our tent for breakfast taco eating, newspaper reading, crossword puzzle doing, and just general hanging out. The weather was really in our favor, too. It actually got a bit cooler as the morning went on. I think my leg was the warmest leg of the race even though it was the first! Awesome people, running in downtown Austin, and perfect weather - I just loved the whole feel of the morning. It was like hanging out in the park with your loved ones on a nice, relaxing day with a few moments of “race day” excitement thrown in every little once in a while. A perfect morning.

After Chris finished (our final runner), we cleaned up our area and headed over to the beer tent for our free beverages and pizza. Sadly, this year they had no vegetarian pizza options. I find this odd since it seems like half of Austin is vegetarian, but I had free beer so I was okay. Free pizza just wasn’t as important. Also, I still had my folks there and they took me out to a lovely late brunch at Hyde Park. Even though I’m an adult, it is nice to have my parents take care of me every little once in a while!

Pam Tobias' Redman Tri Report!

Anything that happened leading up to the race is probably pretty uninteresting to most of you. Jeff, Laura, and I drove from Austin to Dallas Thursday night, and Dallas to Oklahoma City Friday morning, entertaining ourselves and hopefully others with Facebook the entire way. On Friday we picked up our packets, checked our bikes, attended an entirely unnecessary mandatory pre-race meeting, had a tasty pasta dinner, and went to sleep.

Race morning:

Transition opened at 5am, first wave at 7. We arrived at the parking lot at about 5 and walked about ½ mile to the venue. We had excellent rack position – closest rack to bike in/out, farthest from swim out and run out. And we had our spot clearly marked with a sticker on the rack – name, number, city. They knew I was coming! They advertised 6 bikes per rack, but there were only four on my rack. Lots of space! I set up my transition area and ate my pre-race meal – English muffin with PB&J, a banana, and a bottle of Nuun water.

At the pre-race meeting they warned us that there would be extra USAT officials at this race, as it was a training weekend for them. Joy! The woman next to me had just arrived and dropped her bags in the general area of her bike. An official cautioned her that she couldn’t leave her stuff like that, and it needed to look like mine. “Way to be the teachers pet” she said to me. He then proceeded to inspect my area, even touching my sunglasses and helmet strap and leaving the strap inside the helmet instead of open to the outside like I had carefully placed it.

When we woke up it was in the low 60’s, but it got colder as dawn approached. So glad I had my wonderful sherpa and husband so I could wear a jacket and crocs and leave them with him. We had a good long time to huddle together and stay warm and watch the other triathletes do their pre-race routines. My pre-race routine is…to huddle to stay warm and stay in denial about what’s to come.

After watching many people don their wetsuits and declaring it was too early, I finally decided it was time for the struggle. At least everybody struggles. Walked around transition towards the water, only to discover there was a fence between me and the water. The only way to get to the swim start was through transition. I could have rolled under the fence, but with all those extra officials, I decided not to chance it, and walked back around. Many others chanced it, without apparent penalty.

The swim:

I had my pre-race caffeinated Hammer Gel when the first wave began. That first wave of white swim caps/Ironman wannabes went off right on time at 7:15. They had a 15 minute head start before they released the rest of us at 3 minute intervals. I was in wave 4 out of 5 with the other ½ IM Aquabikers. The wave appeared to be 99% women in pink caps, one confused looking male with a gold cap, and one very confident, tall, deep voiced man wearing a pink cap who strode through all the women saying “Let’s Go Ladies”. Think Kenneth in a pink swim cap.

Side note – the logo for Redman looks like the universal sign for the Men’s restroom. The logo on our pink swim caps was the universal sign for the Women’s restroom. I’m afraid if I wear it in public I’ll get asked for directions to the restrooms wherever I go.

The start was a standing water start, but we had to walk out probably 25 yards and it was still shallow enough for me to stand waist deep. We noticed the previous wave of yellow caps were at the first buoy, and it looked like they were all standing up and standing still, like there was some sort of meeting or mass prayer going on at the first buoy. And then…BOOM! Time to swim! It wasn’t too crowded. Not much incidental contact going on. The water was so brown and murky that I couldn’t see anything in front of me at all. No bubbles, no feet, and where are my hands?

We got to the first buoy and right on cue everyone started popping up like prairie dogs. The advantage to my short arms was that I wasn’t hitting bottom, so I kept right on swimming through the throngs of walkers. Just because you can stand doesn’t mean you should!

I actually don’t have much more to say about the swim. It was swimmy. I noticed two white caps passing me, who were on their second loop. Only one loop for me. I passed a few yellow caps. I fought to keep from listing right a lot. Sometimes there was so much distance between buoys that I had to have faith that those in front of me knew where they were going. At then at end the volunteer stander-upper-helpers were stationed out where we started, so we ended up having to walk the same 25 yards back in.

I LOVE wetsuit strippers! I think they should be a must at any wetsuit legal event. They had me out of my wetsuit toot sweet! The ground between swim out and my bike was a paved parking lot and it was nicely swept so very kind to my delicate footsies. Quickly ran to my bike, put on gloves, socks, shoes, sunglasses, helmet, and it was time to bike! Laura was not far behind me out of the swim and we wished each other a good ride.

The bike:

We drove the course the day before and learned that while it was flat compared to the Tour de France, it was not flat compared to Houston. It was probably more like River Cities flat, with rollers. It was an out and back course – twice for the ½, four times for the full Iron distance. Very easy to mentally break into very reasonable 14 mile chunks. And I liked being able to see my peeps and cheer them on (and hopefully they’d do the same). While driving the course, we found a couple of geocaches, which also served as milestones along the ride. I always smile when I know “there’s a cache there”.

There were aid stations every 7ish miles. The first 7 and 14 miles flew by and I felt like I was flying. At the first turnaround I teased a woman who was adjusting her shorts. She admitted she had just peed. I told her I was saving that for later. (Note: I never did pee on the bike. A sure sign I wasn’t drinking enough)

And then I saw the funniest thing I have ever seen in a triathlon. A aero-helmeted woman passed by, and her tri shorts had split just above the chamois. There was her cute little butt crack, peeking out for all to see! Oh Lord! That can happen? She was laughing about it. There was one guy in our little pack who wasn’t quite sure how to react. So next time you put on your bike or tri shorts, check that seam! Later she passed me again wearing baggy shorts over her bike shorts. Somebody along the way must have donated their shorts to the cause. Now that I think about it, I hope she didn’t accept outside aid! That would totally ruin your day, to have your shorts split and then get DQd for covering up!

My pee-ing friend (whose name was Becky) and I leapfrogged the whole way back to the next turnaround point. We were making great time! She said we could beat three hours if we kept up that pace. I was feeling great and it seemed altogether possible! The last stretch into the park had grown a hill and some wind and it was work! I thought about how much fun (NOT) it would be the second time.

Jeff and Ed (and Ed’s camera) were at the turnaround waiting for us. We looped through a small parking lot, which required a certain amount of “wheeeeeee”ing. I even got the guy ahead of me to participate. I hammed it up for Ed’s camera and left for loop 2.

Ok, just keep up the pace and it will be a fabulous time! Except…it suddenly became harder. Where I had not used my small front chain ring the entire first loop, I needed it now. Not long into the second loop Becky passed me for the last time. I couldn’t keep up. There was a section of road that was very rough, and that sucked some soul out of me. I finished the Clif bar that I had been working on the entire ride and realized I probably should have finished that a while ago. At the turnaround I took a water handup without dropping it or injuring the volunteer or myself (yay!). Shortly thereafter I ate a caffeinated Hammer Gel, hoping it would give me the boost I needed. Probably too little too late. The wind was very head-windish and I was ready to be done. My neck and lower back were tired of aero position, and I started sitting up more and more. I watched my average speed drop and drop. I was doing the best I could with what I had left. My main thought was “Ironman is STUPID” (sorry Iron-peeps). I realized my 3 hour bike goal was slipping away. But I still had hopes for an under 4 hour total time. I thanked every police officer and volunteer along the way. Special shoutout to the 3 officers at the turn onto the highway frontage road. All the officers were nice and responded to my Thank You’s with a friendly You’re Welcome, but these three were cheerleaders too! Both times I passed them they had a “you’re doing great” or “looking good” for me. Back to the final stretch that I knew would suck, and since I knew it was going to suck, it wasn’t so bad. Put it in an easy gear and pedal. At the last turn into the park, a spectator cheered me to go to my happy place. That’s a great idea! Where were you an hour ago? I could have used that sentiment much earlier! So I went to my happy place for the last 3 minutes and was exceedingly happy to reach the dismount line!

The run:

But wait! There is no run in an aquabike! Oh, but there is. In order to actually finish, you had to rack your bike and then run out, just as if you were going to run, but then you fork left to the finish line, where the poor fools doing the triathlon have to fork right, into the hell that is the run. So I doffed my bike shoes, helmet, and gloves, and donned running shoes, running hat, and race belt, and imitated a triathlete by shuffling to run out. Volunteers along the way wished me a good run. I told a few I was done, and then gave up and said thanks to the rest. The run felt like an eternity, but according to the time tracker it was only about 90 seconds from run out (plus the run from my bike), so it had to be less than the equivalent of once around a track. But it was definitely more than no run at all, which you would expect in an Aquabike.

In the week before the race we were encouraged to fill out a pre-race form where we could list our teammates and anyone we wanted to shout out to (in 24 characters or less). I wondered where that would be used. It was cool. In the finish chute I crossed the early timing mat, and before I crossed the finish line I heard the announcer shouting out to Jeff & my teammates Laura, Lynn, & Peggy.

And I was done! Ed took my picture. Jeff was there for a sweaty post-race hug and kiss. I wandered through the food tent and grabbed as much as I could carry, assuming it was my only chance. Turns out at this race, you could go through as many times as you wanted! And I did!

Here’s the beauty of the aquabike at a full distance race – you get to see what it’s like to finish early! Even though I had my typical middle of the pack finish, I was in the first group of finishers by definition. There was plenty of food! There were plenty of finishers shirts (when will they realize not all girls like pink?)! There was no line for massage! It was awesome! I think I’ll try to become fast, just so I can enjoy this at every race I do (if only)!

Summary: I was perfectly trained for an Olympic distance aquabike. For a half IM aquabike, I demonstrated the perfect positive split race. I didn’t quite make either of my dream goals, but I was close and definitely within range of my realistic goals. My bike time was improved from last year’s Ironstar by about 6 ½ minutes, but I expected that since I didn’t have to save anything for the run this time. If I’d had to run afterwards, I definitely didn’t eat and drink enough, but it was fine for today. Aquabike is very forgiving.

My times –

Swim – 44:33

T1 – 2:36

Bike – 3:16:57

T2 – 2:07

Run – 1:27

Total – 4:07:38

There’s a vicious rumor going around that this time earned me hardware, but I have not yet heard anything official, since I skipped the awards banquet. Pre-race literature said awards would only be given to the top 3 Aquabikers, and didn’t distinguish between men & women, so I had no thought of winning anything. Stay tuned to see how this works out!

Post race notes:

We had the perfect weather. The day before would have been too windy. The day after, too cold. Race day – pretty perfect.

Schwag-wise, I wasn’t so impressed. River Cities is the standard by which no other race can compare. ½ IM people got a cotton T and a canvas drawstring backpack type bag filled with mostly advertisements, a 70.3 sticker (um, not me) a Redman keychain flashlight, one mini-clif bar, and one Hammer Gel (raspberry, yuck). The medal is cool, but the finishers T is girly, baby, pastel pink. It probably will never touch my skin. I just don’t wear pink. I tried to trade for a men’s black shirt and it sent them into fits, so I politely gave up.

And now for the thank you’s. First – thank you Jeff for giving up your weekend to support me. This race couldn’t have been as much fun for you as Ironstar was, as you were stuck at the venue waiting for me to loop around every 90 minutes. But thank you for putting on your happy face every time I saw you! Thanks to Lynn for choosing this race. I probably wouldn’t have even known about it if it weren’t for you, and I’m glad you introduced it to me! And thanks to Laura & Peggy for going too and making it a party! And thanks to all my tri-friends for cheering us on Facebook and trying to stalk us with an uncooperative athlete tracker. I felt your energy for sure!

This concludes tri season 2010. I have no idea what’s next. I don’t have to right now.

P.S. There was a clown. There really was. I didn’t see it, but Ed & Jeff did.

Silicon Labs Marathon Relay Race Report

Sunday, September 26, 2010

It wasn’t pretty… actually, it was downright ugly and humbling, but such was to be expected. Having injured my medius during the Texas Independence Relay back in March and unable to ride aero as cause of a torn supraspinatus, I decided to forgo triathlon season and take some much overdue time off during the summer. The medius is now healed; I’m consistently doing yoga each week, and so the Silicon Labs Marathon Relay, the first unofficial race of the Austin Distance Challenge, marked my return from the endurance athlete’s underworld. I’m coached again by ultra-marathon great, Amanda McIntosh, but while last year’s goal was to qualify for Boston, this year’s goal is quite possibly an even greater feat: to fall in love with and find my passion for distance running all over again. To ensure that the goal is achieved, I’m now following my teammate David Garza’s Platinum Rule: Have Fun! My Distance Challenge running buddy Amy Saberian and I agreed that rather than obsessing about podium positioning, this year we’re running solely (no pun intended) for fun and post-race mimosas!

While I packed on a lot of muscle over the summer, I arrived at the race 20 pounds over ideal race weight. Though I have complete faith that my body composition will change and that I’ll be able to slim down before the Austin Marathon in February, I still need to find a better balance between work, travel, and training. The past week working the Interbike expo floor for three days in Las Vegas certainly did not help this morning’s cause, nor did Sin City’s night life!

Amy had already staked out a location for our tent by the time I made it down to Auditorium Shores, but being that our other teammates hadn’t yet arrived; I volunteered to run the first leg 12k. However, I didn’t realize just how quickly time had gotten away from me. The announcer began calling the first runners to the starting chute, so I pulled on my jersey, slapped some Flex Power on the quads and calves, and laced up my racing flats. I had no time to stretch or warm-up, my stomach couldn’t handle pounding my protein shake, but being that I had no expectations for this B race, I was okay with the fact that I’d be starting the race cold and jogged over to the starting chute where I bumped into Red Licorice teammate Buffy Weaver. We were positioned near the back of the pack, but being that my legs felt like lead, I wasn’t planning on going out fast anyways. The gun sounded but it took us a good 30 seconds before we crossed the timing pad. I started the Garmin and we were off.

I lost Buffy in the crowd as I zigzagged to find an opening and by the time I was finally able to lower my heart-rate and ease into a steady turnover, I was already across the South 1^st bridge running along Cesar Chavez about to make the turn onto Congress Avenue towards the capitol. While I’ve long considered myself a king of the hills and false flats, I simply didn’t have enough recruitment in my legs to mount an attack. Buffy caught me as we rounded the capitol and asked if the effects of Vegas had worn off yet to which I replied, “not even close!” As she sped ahead, I made sure to stay within range, but decided to ease off and focused on running my own race. Thankfully, we turned back onto Congress/Chesar Chavez which was now a slight downhill, but it was here that I relied on my running veterancy, engaged the core muscles, and leaned forward to let momentum take me the next couple of miles to the Mopac turnaround. I let my mind go blank and simply put one foot in front of the other.

Buffy had already made it past the turnaround by the time I ascended the ramp so I yelled “Go get ‘em, Buff Stuff!” as we exchanged encouraging waves. Finally, I had made it past the turnaround and back up the ramp incline and was now heading east on Cesar Chavez towards the South 1^st bridge. When I first started taking my running really seriously, I’d race this event each year with the Capitol Elite Striders. My teammate Cody Smith, a Boston Marathon qualifier, would pace me along this same portion of the course encouraging me to close the gap on the runners in front of me and lead me to the bridge. Cody passed away three years ago from a tragic accident, but he’s not soon forgotten. His spirit always seems to make an appearance this time of year. Even though I didn’t have much motivation to turn up the pace, I asked Cody to give me strength and he delivered. I quickened my pace as the bridge came into view and decided that it was finally time to mount an attack.

As we turned onto the bridge, the runners in front of me began to turn up the volume so I told myself that I needed to be faster and picked them off one by one. At that moment, I remembered just how much I’d missed racing in Downtown Austin, Texas. The fans lining the bridge, the enthusiasm of the crowd, the cheers and hand-made signs, the little kids holding their hands out for a high five… it’s truly an amazing atmosphere and undoubtedly encouraging for the athletes. I turned onto Riverside, the finish line was now in full view, and I decided that it was time to empty the tank and do what I do best… “come in hot!” I crossed the line and veered to the left to hand Andrea the timing chip bracelet. My job was done.

I spent the rest of the morning taking pictures, chatting with and cheering on my teammates and friends, enjoyed the cloud cover day, and had fun. I ran nearly 20 minutes slower than last year, but while a performance like this would’ve completely demoralized and haunted the old me, the new me acknowledged that despite all the variables (i.e. Vegas, poor nutrition, no warm-up), there’s always plenty of time and room for improvement. Going forward, I’ll do a better job of sticking to my pre-race ritual and as training continues and comes into full force, I’ll only get stronger and faster. Lady Marathon, I’ll see you in February!

-Eli Cohen

Feeling HOT-HOT-HOT

Signs of Overheating and How to Stay Cool

Racing heart rate. Profuse sweating. Blurry vision. Goosebumps.

Is this the result of reading a Harlequin romance novel? Hardly. Welcome to Central Texas in the summer! By now many of us have experienced warning signs of training in the heat. While September shows signs of high temperatures “cooling off” into the 90’s, we still have a few months hot weather ahead.

Heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke - overheating can wreak havoc on the body, impact athletic performance, and even cause serious health issues including a predisposition to heat sensitivity. Here are some common warning signs and solutions to training and racing in the heat.

Lack of Acclimatization (Heat Fatigue)

Likely Cause: Low or no long term exposure to heat.

Solution: While there are many variables that affect a person’s sensitivity to heat (age, weight, fitness, alcohol consumption, metabolism, medication), research* shows it takes most people approximately two weeks to fully heat acclimate. The way to adapt to the heat is to be out in the heat. Acclimatization results in decreased cardiovascular demands and better ability to maintain normal body temperature.

Heat Cramps (Muscle Cramping)

Likely Cause: Occurs during or after exercise due to high loss of water, salt, and minerals (electrolytes).

Solution: Take in enough water and electrolytes before, during, and after exercise**.

Higher than Expected Heart Rate and Breathing

Likely Cause: Low blood volume due to dehydration. The heart has to pump more in order to circulate less blood volume. If left unchecked, it can result in heat syncope - fainting due to low blood pressure when the blood vessels expand and body fluids pool in legs (gravity). The risk of fainting increases if exercise is abruptly stopped (think crossing a finish line).

Solution: Hydrate (8-12oz) immediately. Continue to hydrate until heart rate appears to decrease and for duration of activity. Continue to hydrate afterwards.

Increased Sweat Rate

Likely Cause: The body’s attempt to regulate (cool) body temperature.

Solution: A high sweat rate is fine as long as the sweat that is lost is replenished during and after exercise. Conduct a sweat test at home to determine sweat rates and hydration requirements.

Goosebumps / Gooseflesh

Likely Cause: Body is overheating and it is attempting to cool itself.

Solution: Hydrate, get into the shade or go indoors, and/or stop exercise for a few minutes. If goosebumps continue, stop exercise for the day.

Past Heat Exposure = Future Heat Reaction

Likely Cause: Prior issues with heat cramps, exhaustion, stroke or any other heat-related illness predisposes an individual to future heat sensitivity.

Solution: Know the warning signs of heat-related illnesses and stop activity if any symptoms occur.

There are a whole host of heat-related issues that affect the body. The best defense is to learn the warning signs and know what to do when being hot turns into being overheated. Most importantly, when in doubt, stop and cool off!

For more information and research on the extreme effects of heat and the body, go to: http://www.badwater.com/science/index.html OR search www.webmd.com for general information on heat-related illnesses.

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*http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/heataccl/heataccl.html (last download: 9/15/2010.)

**Guidelines (per hour): 18-24oz fluid and 400-800mg sodium. These are general guidelines for training in Central Texas. Actual numbers can vary drastically from person to person.

Article by Susan Farago, M.Ed., USAT L1, USAC L2, NFPT Sports Nutrition. Susan is a multisport coach, athlete, and freelance health and fitness writer in Austin, Texas. She can be reached at coach@susanfarago.com or at www.susanfarago.com.© 2010. Check out her Red Licorice Tweets, “Susan Says”, at http://twitter.com/Red_Licorice.

Michele Lopez has a great Austin Tri Race

Austin Triathlon Race Report-

Sunday: Gathered the kids and the husband and drove downtown to check in my bike and pickup packet. This task usually takes up most of the day but to my surprise everything was very organized and was easy to get in and out of the Hyatt Regency and down to transition. Found a few friends that would also be participating in the race and joined them for lunch at Wahoo’s (which for me a great before race meal)

Monday-Labor Day- Race Morning

The alarm went off at 4am… I hit the snooze until 5:30 because my wave didn’t start until 9:15 so I was able to get a little more sleep…had my normal oatmeal and coffee breakfast. Arrived downtown for the race, unloaded the kids into the wagon, went to the set up my transition area and then off to relax on a blanket under a tree with kids for an hour until my race started. Was not able to get in the water for a warm up which I really could have used since the water was cold and I chose to go without a wetsuit this race.

Swim: off to a slow start, took about 300meters to warm up. Cold water!! As I rounded the 2^nd buoy I finally started swimming hard. The support coming out of the water was excellent.. They were calling out what place you were in as you came out of the water..(true or not it gave me a boost of adrenaline to catch the person in front on me. Overall I think I had a swim that could be improved.

Into transition.

Bike: Felt strong starting on the bike, the course was flat and fast. Initially I was concerned about the water from the earlier shower but as it turned out, there was not much water remaining on the street to make a difference on the course. I completed the two laps, there were lots of people on the course cheering… very encouraging. Loved when I Passed my husband and kids with their sign “GO MOM”!

Into Transition, no socks into wet shoes… blisters again.

Run: started off a little slow but I loved seeing the lovely Lindsay H. at the first water station misting the runners with water as we ran through. its always good to see a familiar face and a burst of encouragement …… as I ran I felt good…no pain in my leg which I was extremely excited about… I think my run was decent ... still taking it easy after an injury.

THE END_ I finished 2^nd in age group and 4^th place overall…

Great food, friends, beer, and company makes for a good race experience.