Atlanta Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon: 24 NOV 2011

The alarm went off at 0500 on Thanksgiving morning in my Dad’s guest room. Back home in Colorado it would be 0300 and we had been in Atlanta for less than 12 hours. We left for the race around 0530. On the way, I ate a banana and a greek yogurt and drank more water. Traffic was impressive and thinking we might be late added to the stress right off the bat in the morning. Next race, I want to stay at a hotel in walking distance to make this easy.

By the time we finally reached Turner Field, it was so late that I didn’t really get to do a warm up of any significance. I found my pace group and attempted to keep my heart rate over 130 by jumping and bouncing in line. At 0730, the first corral was released and five minutes later my corral released. Starting with the pace group versus red lining trying to catch up to it like I did in Denver paid off immediately and I will add that to my race plan for all running races going forward.

Leaving Turner Field the pace team was right on schedule for miles 1 and 2 through Centennial Olympic Park. The pace definitely felt faster than I am used to and I was concentrated on trying to keep my heart rate closer to 170 than 180. Mile 1 was a 7:55 and Mile 2 was a 7:59.

Miles 3 and 4 were a bit faster at 7:44 and 7:53 respectively and had some uphill as we hit Atlantic Station. I was using a fuel belt this race and was happy that I could keep running through the aid stations and drink my PowerBar Perform every 15 minutes. My plan was to drink 20 oz over the course of the race, have one gel, and drink a cup of water near mile 8.

Mile 5 we ran at 7:58 and the hills sent my heart rate up to 179 and I started to crack a little bit. I began to think that my goal was a little aggressive and felt some cramping in my calves. I managed to stay with the group through mile 10 but my heart rate steadily increased at and above 180 bpm from mile marker 6 through the finish. I really cracked between mile 10 and 13 and actually walked 4 times for between 15 and 30 seconds on hills. I had bad side stitches towards the end.

I finished in 1:46:17 8 minutes and 17 seconds faster than my last race, but shorted my goal 1 minute and 17 seconds. Even though I missed the goal I was very happy with the run. I learned a lot. I definitely need to discuss my top end heart rate with my coach so I can prevent cracking and need to work on positive self-talk and pushing through pain. Had I not walked I would have hit a 1:45.

Race Info and Splits:
1:46:17 AVG 180 Peak 191 2493 Calories

Mile 1: 7:55 170

Mile 2: 7:59: 176

Mile 3: 7:43 178

Mile 4: 7:53 175

Mile 5: 7:58 179

Mile 6: 8:07 180

Mile 7: 8:02 180

Mile 8: 8: 09 184

Mile 9: 8: 09 183

Mile 10: 8:18 183

Mile 11: 8:28 184 Walked

Mile 12: 8:24 184 Walked

Mile 13: 9:01 185 Walked

Sustains:

1)      Keep up the Improved Nutrition

2)      Start at the front of the Pace Group

3)      Hydration Belt gave me a brief rest by allowing me to run slowly through aid stations

Improves

1)      Prep Better for Hills

2)      Establish a more accurate red line heart rate for runs so I don’t crack

3)      Use the pace group to push myself but make sure I run my own race when I start feeling over exerted.

Ironman Arizona 2012 volunteer On Site Registration - 9 minute sell out

Got back to the room at 1245 am and woke up to the dreaded alarm at 5AM. Everyone told us to show up for volunteer registration at 6 AM because they sometimes open early. We arrived horrified to see that the line was several hundred people long already. An hour after we got there, the line wrapped through the whole race expo site and down the street that previously held the finish line. We waited two and a half hours to pay our $682.50. When you register on site, they just take payment and name and give you a confirmation number. You are then instructed not to lose this piece of paper and log back in to Active.com between 24 NOV and 4 DEC to complete your registration so you do not lose your slot and get a paltry $150 refund. I met an oncologist and business owner in line and had some great talk about training and other things. We will try to stay in touch until next year’s race. It turns out the online sold out in 9 minutes so I am very glad I went to the race and volunteered.

Ironman Arizona Volunteering

What an exciting weekend. I flew into Phoenix on Saturday the 20^th of November to volunteer for Ironman Arizona 2011. As I has never even witnessed a Ford Ironman event live, I had no idea how impact it would have on me emotionally. This hobby is already getting pretty expensive so I tried to minimize costs as much as possible. The plane ticket was about $250 so I used Marriott Rewards points for the room. I stayed at the Airport Marriott Fairfield Inn, just minutes away from Tempe Town beach.

A friend and I took the opportunity to take a lap on the bike course and do a short 5-mile run on the run course. I felt great coming from altitude and am a lot more confident now that I know how very flat the course is. We tried to see if there was somewhere to get in the water, but they have it locked down pretty tight and threaten automatic disqualification if you are caught in the water. Water temperature was a bone-chilling 61 degrees.

We woke up at 0600 on Sunday and drive to the volunteer parking lot on Farmer Street and walked through the race expo to the swim start. From our vantage point we couldn’t see a lot other than thousands of green swim caps bobbing up and down in the frigid water of Tempe Town lake. In hind-site, I will recommend my family gets a position on the Mill Street bridge over the river if they want to see us off.

At 0650 the gun went off for the pros and a field of 83 pros took off trying to get the 2500 Kona qualification points for being first place. Ten minutes later, 2640 age-groupers got their start 10,460 arms and legs started churning in the water. Mike Reilly said that all 50 states were represented with one triathlete each from Rhode Island and Wyoming. 29 countries were also represented. Amazingly, an age grouper exited with the chase group from the pros. The stairs exiting the lake were not nearly as ugly looking as described but that is coming from a warm spectator that didn’t swim 2.4 miles either.

After the start and watching the first age groupers come out of the water and transition, we reported to run aid station 1 to get set up. Our aid station dressed up as pirates. Set up was a lot of work. We unloaded the rented Budget box truck and divied up the supplies at our various tables. Water, Power Bar Perform, Food, Cola, Power Bar Perform, and Water again.

To run an aid station it takes 20,400 cups, 128 liters of Pepsi, 2304 Power Bar Ironman Perform drinks, 2 gallons chicken soup stock, 240 pounds of bananas, 1800 gels, 800 power bar smoothies, 3 pounds of pretzel sticks, 80 pounds of grapes, 648 cookies, and 648 gallons of water.

We were not on shift until 8 PM so we ate the volunteer breakfast and went back to recon transition. When you show up to check in they give you tickets so that your family can get your gear out of transition, another handy piece of info for me to remember. We went back to the room for a few hours and I knocked out my homework and we got back in time to see the 3^rd pro women’s finisher.

The aid station was a lot of work but very rewarding work. After our shift ended at 10 PM we went to the finish line. This was a huge street party and the pro winners came back for the last hour finishers. Mike Reilly was in the chute waiving his rally towel and winding up the crowd. Finishers included a stage three cancer survivor and several over-seventy participants. The last finisher came in 2 seconds before the midnight cutoff; I would lie if I said I did not tear up. Many other finishers were also back in the bleachers cheering on those last few. Here is a link to the amazing finish. WOW!

Riding Indoors: Better Than the Real Thing?

Although the weather was beautiful today I have been thinking about all the riding I will be doing this season on my indoor trainer. In an attempt to make this idea more palatable I started doing lots of reading regarding indoor training. As it turns out, since the late nineties, professional triathletes have been migrating more and more of their bike workouts inside.

Andy Potts, Heather Fuhr, Peter Ried, Lori Bowden, Kate Major, and Natascha Badmann were all quoted in articles I read stating that indoor training was critical to their success.

The logic makes sense: there are no breaks or coasting on an indoor trainer so it increases the intensity of a workout, without any outside hazards, one can completely focus during hard efforts, and it allows you to safely conduct technique training such as one-leg drills. Andy Potts, Ironman 70.3 World Champion rides outside only once per week and competes 5 or 6 high intensity indoor workouts.

I am going to give it a shot. I purchased the Spinerval Triathlon Series at www.spinervals.com and am going to commit to doing the majority of my riding this winter indoors focusing on technique and power development.

Today's Workout: 2 Hour Brick: 90 minute foundation ride and 30 minute foundation run at Cherry Creek State Park.

Post Long Run Ice Bath - Colorado Style

Before I ran the 2011 Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon my coach told me that she recommended I recover by taking an ice bath. Seeing as she was the last American Woman to win the Boston Marathon and a two-time Chicago Marathon winner who am I to question her advice. I tried it and I had no soreness at all the next day. After doing some research online, the recommended temperature is between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit. We have pretty cold mountain water, but I was not sure that the water was cold enough so I had to try again.

The main principle that drives the ice bath believing population is that during long runs or intense exercise you cause micro trauma to your muscles. This results in gains in strength after recovery. By rapidly cooling your body you cause constriction of the tissues and blood vessels forcing the waste products like lactic acid out of your muscles, you combat any joint swelling you had, and when you warm back up new oxygen is pushed into the muscles speeding recovery.

The beautiful thing about having to run in 17 degrees weather for two hours is that there is ample snow around so that you don't have to buy bags of ice for your recovery bath. I filled the bath with cold water and two snow shovels full of snow from the yard. Of course the baby thermometer won't read low enough, but the fact that snow was floating around the tub looking for the Titanic leads me to believe I was definitely below 60 degrees.

I suited up in a thermal shirt and kayak jersey and made a hot cup of Chai tea. In I went.

Minutes 1-3: Extreme Shock and a little Pain
Minutes 4-5: Pain relented to numbness and shivering
Minute 6: Loving supportive wife told me I was shivering like a girl.
Minutes 7-9: Big Muscle groups started shivering still a tiny bit of ice floating around.
Last Minute: Time stands still

I then quickly took a warm shower. Next time, I think I will soak a towel in hot water and put it around my, uh, private parts.

45 Minute Sell Out and Volunteering Mistake #1 and #2

I had heard that the Ford Ironman Arizona race sells out quickly, but not until reading the book, You Are an Ironman," did I realize how many Ironman dreams are crushed by failing to get registered online the day after live registration. According to the event website athletes competing the current year have an opportunity to sign up for the next year during the pre-race activities. The day after the race each year live registration begins. Volunteers with wrist band and T Shirt have priority and then everyone else who is physically present. The following day at noon, the remaining bibs go on sale online.

Accounts on how fast it sold out in 2010 range from 45 to a "little over an hour," but many say they were unable to log in before they sold out. According to Ironman.com it sold out in 25 minutes. I met a 2011 competitor on the Bicycle Village Colorado Springs Group ride last weekend that said he didn't realize  Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings Time and missed general registration and had to pay for the expensive Ironman Foundation entry.

I decided to avoid this risk and logged onto the event website to volunteer for aid station 8 on the run. I figured this way I could see what I was getting myself into. Mistake #1: by the time I did this two weeks ago, one month before the race, there were very slim pickings for volunteer stations. Male changing tent, booths not on the course, late nights so you miss the dramatic last hour finishers, etc. Sign up early.

I then bought my plane ticket for Saturday morning the day before the race so I could go to the expo and experience the event. Mistake #2: The event timeline came out this week and I see there is a Volunteer meeting at 9am on Saturday. I emailed the organizers to see if there is any makeup training. I will let you know if I hear back.

Lessons Learned: Sign up early and fly in on Friday.

P.S. Response was, "you are out of luck." However, a day later I received an email from my volunteer team captain who told me just come early to my shift. Jerry said he would train me up and I will get my shirt so I can register the following morning. I guess that means we are still on. He also said, dress like a pirate. This should be fun.