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Ironman Louisville Photos

2nd at Ironman Louisville

I’ve just returned home from my second Ironman of the Year, Ironman Louisville.  Last year we were treated with low humidity and a high of only 80 degrees.  This year, no such luck!  The actual high of 97 degrees, combined with very high humidity made the feel like temp well over 105! Last year was one of those days where I felt amazing all day.  I finished 3rd, felt amazing on the run, ran a 3:04 and set a new run course record.  This year, I moved up a notch, but it was a brutal brutal day in every way.

The swim went well (for me!) I was happy to see that all those 30×100 main sets are paying off and I knocked 6 minutes off of my 2009 swim split.  But most importantly, I was only 8 minutes down from the main contenders.  The women’s pro field was small, but stacked with very fast swimmers.  After a few yards, I found myself in a 2.4 mile solo TT.  I felt so much stronger and faster than last year, but about a kilometer or so from the finish, my stomach started to retaliate and up came my breakfast.  This has happened to me before, and I can usually bounce back on the bike, so I wasn’t too worried. 

The first hour of the bike was tough.  My legs felt great, but my stomach was already cramping.  I knew it was going to be a scorcher, so I tried to front load my nutrition a bit while the temps were still in he 80s.  I couldn’t keep my fluid down.  The river temperature was 84 degrees, so I knew I was already at a caloric and hydration deficit.  I did my best to ride it out.  After an hour, my stomach settled down and I was finally able to get back on track with my nutrition plan. I  felt so good on my new Parlee TT and I was moving up through the field.  I really love the bike course at Ironman Louisville. It’s both challenging and beautiful.  It has a little bit of everything, hills, rollers, flats, wind, heat, humidity and beatiful scenery.  At around the  80 mile mark, I heard a split that I was finally in the top 5 and 3 minutes down on top 3 and gaining .   I could feel the heat and humidity even with a road helmet on, so I made a conscious decision at that point to turn it down a notch and try to hydrate and prepare for a strong run.  On the final flat section to T2, I passed another 2 women, and recorded the second fastest bike split of the day. 

I started the run in second place.  My legs felt ok, but I was so depleted from being so sick on the bike.  My run fitness was the best ever going into this race.  I trained so hard and felt prepared to run a 3 hour marathon, but with the high temps, I knew that was physically not possible on this day.  The run was a struggle from start to finish.  I was gaining time on first place, but my stomach was not cooperating.  Everything in came out.  Buy mile 21 even my forearms were cramping.  My charge had stalled and I was now fighting to hold onto second place. In all the Ironmans I have raced, I have never been this sick for so long.  I forced myself to fight, to dig deep.  The last 10k, I repeatedly recited an email my coach sent me after a particular workout where I really struggled.  It said, “Being a Champion is more than crossing the finish line in first.  It’s about working hard on days when you want to quite, never quit, always finish what you start, be tough and tough it out”.  So, that was my mantra-be tough and tough it out. I held onto 2nd place, for the 3rd time and still managed the fastest run split of the day!! 

Of course, it hurts to get second place again, but I honestly feel like this was one of the better races of my career.  I have to thank my new coach Lisa Bentley for this.  She has worked alot with me on my mental preparation going into this race and when my stomach failed so early on, this was all I could rely on.  Finishing second to a phenominal athlete like Bek Keat is not something I am going to hang my head about.   I’ll be back to fight another round- Ironman Florida, 10 weeks and counting!! Thanks again to all my great sponsors, K-Swiss, Zipp, Parlee, Blue Seventy, PowerBar and Fuel Belt.  It was great to catch up with you all!

RI 70.3 Race Report

I’ve been back running for 3 weeks now and my foot seems to be 100%.  I was excited to get back out on the race course and decided 2 weeks ago to race the Rhode Island 70.3 .  It is very exciting to see so many high caliber 70.3 races popping up on the east coast.  A 4 hour drive beats a 6 hour flight any day!! Plus, my car doesn’t charge me $300 to travel with my bike. 

I made the trip down to Providence with  my friend Angie, on Friday night.  Saturday morning we drove out to Narraganset to get some training in on the course.  We’ve been having quite a heat wave here in the Northeast and it was a hot humid morning, but i’d take that over cold rain any day!  Race prep workouts felt great and we capped off the morning with some body surfing! 

Sunday morning came way to fast as we had to wake up at 3am, eat breakfast, drive 1 hour to the race start, and start at 6am!  Gotta love Wildflower and the 8am start!!! My number one goal for this race was to have a good swim.  My swim has been soooooo bad, but my pool times have my best ever.  I seem to have fallen into this rut of trying desparately to find feet in the swim.  I just bounce from feet to feet, end up in the back and get dropped. My goal on sunday was to just swim as hard as I could;  look for the buoys and not feet.  I swam hard to the first buoy.  There were girls around me and I got clobbered pretty good.  I could feel my lip throbbing and swelling.  I didn’t care because  knew that I was with a few of the girls who out swam me by over 2 minutes at FL 70.3 .  After the first turn, the pace seemed slow, so I went around and pulled for a while, hoping the other girls would spark up, push the pace and go by me.  No such luck as I pulled the entire way back to shore.  The times today for everyone were a little slow.  I am by no means thrilled with my time, but happy that I swam aggressively and I learned a few things that I think will help me break an hour in my next Ironman. 

I exited the water in a smal little pack,  including Heather Jackson, an INCREDIBLE cyclist.  I made a quick decision to try my best to keep her in sight (as least for the first 20 miles).  After 15 miles the dot up the road got smaller and smaller and eventually she was out of sight.  I felt really good on the bike, but definitely felt like I rode the first hour a little above my fitness level.  I started to pay the price.  Fortunately the bad patch was short, thanks to 2 double latte powergels!  I passed Cait Snow on the bike and new I had to put more time into her on the bike.  She is a phenominal runner and I knew my run fitness wasn’t close o a 1:19 at this point in my training!  So, off I went, smashing myself once again!  I biked hard and  felt really strong.  I absolutely love my Parlee TT.  It is so light and aero and fits me sooo well andwith my 808/sub 9, it was swinging up the hills.  I’m not sure what place I was coming into T2, 5 or 6th??? I just knew there were alot of women around me and I was going to really have to fight hard to get top 3.

My run training has been short and minimal, but my tempo runs off the bike have been pretty good, so I set off trying to hold 6:15 pace.  I was grateful to have my super light K swiss K-ruz flats on, because every ounce counted today!   It’s funny how something that never happens in training, can happen in a race. As a temporary fix to my foot injury, I’ve been running with a heel wedge.   At mile 4 it had worked it way up to my toes.  I was worried about injuring myself, so I had to stop 2 times to put it back in place.  I am definitely getting some rubber cement glue today! I  had no idea I was so close to 3rd until about a half mile to go.  The course had many turns andit was hard to seek out the competition.  With less than a mile to go, I  could see her.  I ran hard, I  was running much faster, I was gaining and then I saw the state capital and the finish line.  I missed the podium again my a few seconds!

I didn’t reach my goal of a podium finish, but there are so many positives that I can derive from the race.  I pulled a pack that has been consistently 2 minutes faster than me in the water.  I had the 2nd fastest bike and run split and the fastest bike/run combo and most importantly I am healthy!  With 7 weeks to go until Ironman time, I feel like things are on track and I  will start that race stronger than ever!

2 more weeks til Ironman LP! Kelly is ready to race and I am ready for a hard week of training and some sherpa duties!!

Ironman World Champs

Another World Championship is in the books. It was a tough day for me. I tried to put all the negativity out of my mind and only focus on positive thoughts throughout the week. I was happy to be in Kona racing one of my favorite Ironmans, happy that my family was here to share the experience and excited to be racing against the best triathletes in the world. But the truth is that I was breaking down and my fitness was declining. I trained very hard for Ironman Lake Placid only to wake up with a nasy stomach bug which knocked me out of the race. I feel like I peaked for LP and needed a longer recovery from the race and the training cycle. I wanted to go to Kona, so I held onto my fitness long enough to have a solid race in IMLOU and get my Kona slot. After IMLOU, I struggled with my training. First it was a calf strain, then it was a quad bruise when my chain broke while climbing, then it was the final blow when Istrained my hip flexor 2 weeks before the race. It was a tough day and it always is. Considering my injury and the predicted weather conditions, my quote of the day was this:

“Let me pray not to be sheltered from dangers, but the be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.”

My goals were not accomplished, but I soldiered on crossed the finish line and in the end, that’s what Ironman is all about.

Thanks to everyone for all the support. Now, it’s vacation time! I’m looking forward to spending a few weeks getting healthy(my husband Brian has his work cut out!) a college reunion in Beantown and some quality holiday time with my family!

Celebrating the Finish (I made it two sips!)

Ironman Louisville Race Report

I was excited to race Ironman Louisville and excited to test my fitness out in Kona like conditions. Race temps over the past few years have been in the high 80s to low 90s, so I thought it would be a great preparation for Kona. As race week rolled in, so did a cold front and we were greeted with much cooler than normal race temps. It wasn’t exactly Kona like conditions, but it did make for a fast day.

My training has been going well and I was excited to race and see what the day would bring. The swim was a struggle as usual. Somewhere along the half way point, my arch started to cramp. I was really wishing we were wearing wetsuits at the point! Fortunately, it worked its way out and I didn’t even think about for the rest of the race. I entered T1 with a lot of catching up to do.

I started the bike with a huge deficit, but I did my best to keep my anger and emotions in check and focus on the next task at hand; a solid bike split. My plan was to bike more conservatively than I typically do with the hopes of nailing my nutrition and running a fast marathon. I was really impressed with the bike course. Within a few miles, we were out in the Kentucky countryside surrounded by green rolling hills and horse farms. I felt great on the bike from the start. My P3 paired with an 808 front and 1080 rear was the perfect set up for this course. The longer I biked, the better I felt. My stomach and legs both felt great. I knew I would have a good run. I entered T2 in 4^th place, only 6 minutes down on 3^rd .

The run course was flat and with a predicted high of 76 degrees, I knew it was going to be a fast day for everyone. I opted to run in my new K-Swiss racing flats. They are incredibly light and perfect for the flat fast course. My plan was to go out a little harder than I usually do. I wanted to just run by feel and if I felt good, I would go with it. My opening miles were 6:30s and I felt great so I just tried to run sub 7s for as long as I could. Around mile 7, I moved into 3^rd place. I was gaining on the top 2 women, but the time lost in the swim was insurmountable. I ran from mile 7 to the finish in no man’s land. I knew I was close to a run PR and the course record, so did my best to time trial it to the finish. I crossed the finish line in 3^rd place and accomplished all of my goals for the day, a top 3 finish, a Kona slot, a new run PR and a run course record!

My trip out to Louisville will be a memorable one. We had the BEST homestay host and made some new wonderful friends. My legs are recovering well and I am looking forward to my Kona preparation. Once my legs are ready, I will head out to Tucson for a heat training camp then off to Kona for the Ironman World Championships. I am fortunate to have the support of K-Swiss, Powerbar, Cervelo, Zipp, Trakkers, Blue Seventy, Fuel Belt, Katalyst Multisport, Ski Rack, Rocket 7 and Vasa, Thank you all for taking such good care of me and I look forward to seeing you on the Big Island!

Some Updates

Once again it has been a very long time since I blogged. After being harassed by all my friends for the past year, I finally broke down and joined FB, so that has been enough computer time for me!

After China, I stretched my recovery out to 2 weeks. Racing in such horrible conditions and then getting a stomach bug really took its toll on my body. Over the past 6 weeks, my training has gone really well and I was excited to test my fitness at Kansas 70.3. We arrived in Kansas on Friday and were fortunate enough to get set up with a GREAT homestay, Marc and Kim (thanks for making us feel so welcome!!). The race was just so so. I’ve been working really hard on my swimming since China. My 100Y pool times are about 5 seconds faster now, but I still swam slow! Open water swim season has finally began here in VT, so hopefully that will help. On the bike, it was just one of those days when you just cant get comfy. I switched my saddle the week before the race and felt like my position was off and I just couldnt generate much power. It was hard to be so far back, but I just kept telling myself that I would have a great run. Having a good run split was my main goal of the day. I have been struggling to run well off the bike, so I have been doing quite a bit more volume that I typically do; lots of hills and tempo, but very little speed work. I was a little worried about feeling fast off the bike. The week before the race, I went to the track and banged out mile reps in 5:30. It was good confidence builder to be able to do that without any speed work, so I thought I was ready for a sub 1:20 run at Kansas. I ended up running a 1:20 and finishing 6th place. 6h place was a little discouraging, but if you look at the start list, it’s not too shabby. I am feeling strong as I enter my final hard month of training before Ironman Lake Placid.

Yes, I am racing LP! I know I wrote a post at the begining of the year about making changes and trying some new races, but as July got closer and closer, I just couldn’t stay away!!! We all have that race that we think about when we are training hard, when we are hurting and when we are pushing hard day in and day out. For me it’s Ironman Lake Placid. 5 more weeks!!

A Record Breaking Day!

A friend of mine once told me racing Ironman is somewhat of a crap shoot. You train hard, you’re fit, mentally strong, you roll the dice, and sometimes get cat eyes. I definitely rolled cat eyes at Ironman China this past weekend. It was a day of records; record temps exceeding 113 degrees, 90% humidity, record drop out rates, and unfortunately a new record PW (personal worst) for me in the run!

The swim was in a river with a very strong current. My first lap went ok. It was a little brutal at the start due to the fact that we were in skinsuits and all the age groupers swimming all over us had full wetsuits on. However, once things thinned out, I was happy to have some company. My first lap went ok and I had a few age groupers to help sight off of. I was on pace for an hour, which is pretty good for me considering the strong current. On the way back to shore on loop 2, I took the turn way to wide and got swept off course by the current. I fought hard to get back on course but lost several minutes and once again exited the water with alot of work to do! My plan was to ride a little harder the first 30 miles to close the gap, then settle in. I am so happy to be riding a P3 again this year. The bike is really really fast and my position on it feels so powerful and efficient. Once I moved up to 4th place and was within striking distance to the top 3 girls, I toned it down and cruised into T2, trying to save my legs and energy for what I knew would be a war of attrition rather than a marathon running race. My muscles felt good coming off the bike, but once I hit the run course, it was as if I stepped into a sauna. The heat and humidity were oppressive and within a few minutes, I felt like my head was about to explode. My pace slowed to a shuffle, then a walk, then a nice little break at one of the aid stations where I contemplated quiting. I didn’t know how I was going to make it another 13 miles. I sat there drinking water and gatorade. I was cooked. I was done. My race was over. Then, I thought about last years Hawaii Ironman. When my hamstring cramped so badly, I quit and took the medical van to the finish line. The medical van is a horrible horrible place to be. They don’t just pick you up and take you straight to the medical tent. They sweep the course, picking up the carnage one by one. I sat there watching the race from a van window. The race that I trained so hard for. I watched the other athletes push there limits, walking shuffling along with indomitable will and focus. I didn’t come to China to watch the race from a van window. I couldn’t finish the Hawaii Ironman without risking a muscle tear, but I could finish Ironman China. So, I got up and continued my shuffle to the finish line. I crossed the finish line in 5thplace, completely exhausted, but with a little pride and self satisfaction in knowing that I just finished the hardest hottest Ironman in the world, EVER! Unless you were there, there is no way you can understand how hot it was. Let me tell you, I have raced well in 90 degree temps, 113 is a whole new world!

I owe a huge thank you to my K Swiss family who were the presenting sponsors of Ironman China and showed incredible support before during and after the race. I am still recovering from a nasty stomach bug I got my last day in China. I honestly don’t know what was harder the race or the flight home! With the exception of my stomach, my legs feel really good and I am eager to get back into some hard core training real soon. My original plan was to get a Kona slot early in the year and focus on 70.3’s throughout the summer and hit Kona training with fresher legs than in previous years. Sinced I failed to get my slot, I now have to re evaluate my race plans. There are many to choose from and some of my favorites on the circuit; IMCDA, IMLP and IM Canada. Kelly is still training hard core and very very fit for a great Ironman. There is still a possibility we will race an Ironman together this year. She was ready for IM China, but due to financial reasons decided to hold out and do some early season racing in the states. It has been a goal of ours for a few years to race an Ironman together. After training with her over the past few months, part of me would rather be out there on the sidelines supporting her like she has done for me over the years. We’re both getting antsy, so I know we have to make a decision soon. Well, I have plenty of time to think about things this week, because with this stomach bug, it doesnt look like I’ll be leaving the house anytime soon! I will keep you posted.

California 70.3 Race Report

After a long hard block of training, it’s always feels good to get out and race and test the fitness. It doesn’t feel so good when things don’t go as planned. My race last weekend was a dissapointing one. I was excited to get out and race my first triathlon of the year. My Ironman China build went really well. My run build up was short due to a little achillies tendinitis which I got from too many runs on the snow back home in Vermont. However over the past 4-6 weeks, it has gone really well and I was clipping off some pretty good tempo runs and long run paces. My biking has been strong as well and my pool times had gone down remarkably from where they were last year. So, I was excited and ready to get out there and RACE! Unfortunately, about 2 minutes into the swim, it felt more like a lonely training day. I really believed my faster pool times would translate into a faster swim leg. Unfortunately swimming is not like running or biking and hard work doesn’t always pay off!! argggg…..The dynamics of 70.3 racing has changed over the years. With more and more ITU girls stepping up to 70.3, and more pack riding, the swim is becoming more and more important, even in Ironman. So, I will not give up! I’ll keep swimming 5 times a week, keep up with the stretch cords, vasa and look forward to the start of open water swimming back home in VT!

Back to the race, on the bike I actually felt pretty and was surprised that I didn’t pass more women and rank a little higher in the bike split category. But just like the swim, I was all alone on the bike. Looking at the results you can see how beneficial it is to have other girls around you on the bike. Seems all the girls who swam 24 minutes biked within 2-3 seconds of each other. Onto the run still in no mans land! I ran steady holding 6:30s. I haven’t done much speed work, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to hold a much faster pace than that. By mile 8, I still felt really good, so I picked it up a little and a little and a little more and ended up running the last 2 miles at 6 min pace crossing the line in 10th place.

Every time I race, I try to draw something positive out of the day. This one was a hard one, but it is a good sign for my upcoming Ironman that I felt strong throughout the day and ended up with a big negative split on the run. That is a good sign that I am strong, which Ironman is all about!!!!

I have one more week here in Tucson before I head out to China. This is the hardest part of being away from home and tapering. Feeling lazy and bored!!!!

Desert Classic Duathlon

The 2009 season is finally underway and I am happy to report I won my first race of the year! It has been a few years since I raced a duathlon, so when I heard about the Desert Classic Duathlon only 2 hours away from my winter training base, I had to hop in. I headed up to Scottsdale with John and Kelly and of course her kids. I told Kelly this is the last time she watches me race, next race she’s in! She agreed and said spectating is harder than racing (see photos!!).

The race was a total shock to the system, yet it felt really good to blow out the cob webs! The race started with a 3.5 mile trail run. I entered T1 just a few seconds behind the top 2 women and after a quick transition, I hit the 21 mile bike course in first place. Having done zero speed work, I knew I had to bike hard to hold onto the win. I entered T2 with about an 80 second lead and managed to keep that gap throughout the second run to take home the win. It’s always nice to win the first race of the year and definitely gets me excited for the upcoming race season!

Season Wrap Up

Once again, it’s been a while since I updated my site. I was so upset after my DNF in Kona, I just wanted to put the race behind me and move on. Kona was the typical Ironman Horror story. I had to take 3 weeks off from swimming before Kona becuase I had another flair up with my shoulder. I had a few decent swims race week but unfortunatley my layoff caused me to lose quite a bit of fitness and I came out of the water with another PW (personal worst!) seems to be the year for swim PWs, but I have some ideas for next year and I am believe it or not, very excited to start my swim focus. Anyway, back to the race. I felt great on the bike, and started moving up through the field. Unfortunately, at about the 2 hour mark, I went to take a salt tablet and they were gone! The wind blew them off my bike and I had to complete the bike without any salt tablets. I felt so good on the bike, so I wasn’t really that worried. I moved up through the field and entered T2 in 17th place and the 5th fastest bike split. This was the highest I have ever entered T2, so I was confident I could run about a 3:05-3:07 and finish in the top 10 . My legs felt great off the bike and I started running 6:50s. Unfortunately at mile 2, my stomach started to cramp badly and by mile 5, the porta potty stops started. I was so upset, because I was holding 7 min pace, but every time I stopped I would put in an 8:30 mile pace. I was having a hard time eating and drinking because of my stomach cramps and by mile 13, I was so dehydrated my right hamstring cramped badly. I chugged gatorade, stretched, tried to walk it off, but it just wouldn’t release. I hobbled to mile 15 where I eventually called it a day. It was a hard decision to make. I am a firm believer in, you finish what you start and you learn a great deal about yourself when you suffer badly in races. There are times to tough it out and there are times to throw in the towel. Last year I raced Kona with a stress fracture in my femur. I toughed it out, suffered a great deal and finished just to finish. I couldn’t do it this year. I didn’t want to risk tearing my hamstring and being out for an extended amount of time. I had to take 4 months off from training after Kona last year and I chose to put my health first.

After Kona, I decided I would do Ironman Arizona. I trained so hard for Kona. I felt so fit and I didn’t want to waist all that fitness. I didn’t want to end my season with a DNF. Unfortunately as soon as I got home from Hawaii, I came down with bronchitis and was forced to rest for 2 weeks. That left me with 2.5 weeks of training and a 10 day taper going into IMAZ. All I could do was have faith that the training I did all year, would still be in me. I ended up finishing 4th and top American in a very competitive international field. Considering the obstacles that I had to overcome with my shoulder and illness, I am happy with my race. I will post a race report this week. Below are a few photos of the day.