Race Report: Got the Nerve?

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.”  -Vince Lombardi

The Got the Nerve? Triathlon was this past weekend in the scenic town of Mt. Gretna at the Mt. Gretna Lake.  The race is put on by the IM ABLE Foundation which helps people both able bodied and disabled realize their full potential as an athlete and to push beyond your limits.  They show people of all abilities the potential to lead an active lifestyle.  I was amazed at the different walks of life that come out to support this Foundation and usually, give triathlon a try for the first time!  While the race goes on, there is also a "Tour de Gretna" where people can participate in an outdoor cycling event for 3 hours.  Their mission is to show people that no matter what your circumstances are - you are still able to get up and move!!  Their mascot is even a 3-legged dog!  The money that is raised helps to build hand-cycles or adaptive equipment so people can still get outside and be active.  I am happy to support such a cause and know that I can help other people who are less fortunate who still want to be active, healthy people.  Please check out their website to see all the good they do:  http://www.getupandmove.org/home.php

As for the race report...here we go!

Good:

The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  A cool but comfortable 55 degrees on our way to the race site with the lake temp around 65 come race time (the lake is drained for the winter then spring filled a week before race day).  This felt nice compared to the 58 degrees last year.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but we had plenty of shade along the course.  The swim went by unusually fast for being a tad longer than advertised.  The bike went as expected although I found my legs to be a tad tired - need to practice swim to transition 1 a bit more...swimming/running out of the water then sprinting up a hill to transition left me a bit winded!  I am very pleased with the way my new bike handled the climbs, downhills, and flats.  The run was great on the shaded rail to trail path and I felt strong coming into the finish.  I love this race b/c it is very spectator friendly, so there was a lot of cheering along the course, which helped towards the end!  I saw a handful of friendly faces before, during, and after the race, which makes it that much more fun :)  I finished 11 minutes faster than my time from last year, so I am happy with the gains I made.  I believe I finished 4th in my age group and 19th out of 166 females with a 1:33:09.  Joe finished 1st in his age group and 21st overall for his first time racing this course with a 1:18:change!!  He's such a champ it makes me sick :)

Bad:

The only complaint I have about this race is the rail to trail section of the run course.  Parts of the trail can cause you to lose your footing on larger rocks or soft brush if you're not paying attention.  It is somewhat narrow, so you really have to choose your passing wisely so you don't get in the way of runners coming the other direction.  Transition is kind of bumpy, rocky, dirt filled - so running the bike in and out wasn't the easiest either.

Ugly:

Nothing really ugly about this one.  I wish it didn't take so long to get my legs under me after the bike - I think around mile 2 they came around to finish strong.

I would put this on my race calendar every year.  It is a great first timer race too with a lot of support and a great, manageable course.  So, if anyone is contemplating giving triathlon a try, come on up and give it a shot! :)

Now on to Week 11 of training.  We'll be heading to Cambridge, MD this weekend to preview the Ironman Eagleman 70.3 bike and run course which is coming up in 3 short weeks.  It looks like things are turning serious...

Cheers!

Chandra

Race Report: Turkey Hill Country Classic

Who doesn't love free Turkey Hill ice cream??  Well, you'd be nuts if you didn't.  This past weekend Joe and I raced our first 5K in well over a year.  This was a last minute decision mostly b/c we heard it was a fun race, cheap @ $12, and was a fairly local race for us.  And they give out free ice cream afterwards :)  So, here is my race report for the Turkey Hill Country Classic 5K:

The Good:
The race was only a half hour drive south towards Millersville so we didn't have to wake up ungodly early to head to the race.  There was plenty of parking, since we arrived early enough to pick up our packets and warm up a little bit.  The nice thing about local races (small town type of local races) is you can usually park close by with little hassle, have easy access to the bathroom port-a-pots, and not get run over if you start close to the front of the pack.  The race was extremely inexpensive and there was a really nice post-race gathering with fun moonbounce areas for kids and free Turkey Hill ice cream, drinks, and food.  It was a beautiful day for an old fashioned foot race!!  We had no timing chips, so starting towards the front was somewhat necessary if you wanted to have an accurate time.  The good part about my race was having a 5K PR (26:15) on somewhat of a challenging course with no shade and heat/humidity taking it's toll.  AND Joe placed 1st in his age group with a time of 19:41!  We were able to stick around for the awards ceremony, get some sun, and see the start of the bike race going on after the 5 and 10K races.

The Bad:
Well, even though the sun was shining, it was pretty humid and I wasn't feeling 100% from our 10 mile run on Thursday.  Although, I haven't been feeling 100% even on my off days lately...hm.  The course was advertised as flat and fast (unlike the 10K), so the two "hills" were a little unexpected.  I probably started out too fast and found myself having to slow my pace down even on the downhills.  I didn't enjoy being passed by little kids maintaining an all out sprint...wth?  The last mile was a steady downhill, which was nice, but I couldn't find my kick - or I kicked too early and petered out.

The Ugly:
I started out too fast for my little legs and ended up having to slow down even when I was trying to push harder.  I wanted to break 26 minutes and thought I would, but time ticked away as I saw the finish line over a mile away and kicked too soon.  There were a ton of kids, which I didn't mind, but they all started at the front at an all out sprint and were walking by the first uphill.  I guess this is where racing experience and etiquette can be appreciated.


We're coming up on week 9 of recovery and I've been feeling overly exhausted lately.  So, I'm going to take it REALLY easy this week and try to work on some stretching/yoga/icing/recovering this week.  I also have some fun stuff to look forward to throughout the week (stay tuned!!) so it's hard not to be excited :)  Although I can't attend this week, this is the first week of the Gretna Gut Wrencher training series with our tri club.

The past two weeks have been more of the same, although, we have moved into the "Aerobic Phase" of our training from weeks 7-12.  We starting to get into some longer stuff and some more intense stuff.  Last weekend was a mentally tough two days of long workouts.  We were so busy out in Philly and had to fit in our long ride and run both days.  I had a hard time on Sunday (29th) getting motivated and became overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done around the house.  So, training is beginning to take it's toll in different ways.  And after this phase, we'll be in our Ironman Specific training phase from weeks 13-18...it will come so quickly, I know.  I can't imagine doing it right now...even a Half!  I need to figure out wth is going on with me being tired constantly and get my shit together...race day will be here before I know it!

Thanks for reading!
Chandra :)

Week 5: Recovery is in sight!

So we've just completed weeks 4 and 5, which have felt like a non-stop workout session.  These two weeks were build weeks, so we added some volume and worked on some speed and strength in the pool, on the track, and in the weight room.  The weekly hour totals have been 13 and 14 respectively (average of around 2 hours a day), which are a few hours shy of our peak hours come weeks 16-18.  I can't imagine cramming in another half hour to hour each day throughout the week without going insane.  That has been the story of my life this past week between training and trying to manage the tax season rush at work.  I am happy that taxes are due by Tuesday, so maybe things will start to slow down after that, but it's not looking promising.  Just catching up on everything that has taken a back seat the past 2 weeks that has taken over my desk will take some serious focus.  Exhausted would be an understatement at this point!!

Thankfully, the upcoming week 6 is a "recovery" week which is much needed.  I've been slacking on my stretching/rolling/icing lately, so I'm going to try to focus on doing that each night - even if it's for 15-20 minutes while catching part of some tv show.  One of the hardest things is still being motivated when you get home to take time to make dinner (which Joe does great at!!) after a tiring workout.  Getting home at 8pm and still thinking about eating ...but I am so tired that I want to be asleep by 9:30 only to wake up for a morning workout?  They don't mesh well...I don't want to turn into a sumo wrestler :)  Work, train, eat, sleep.  Repeat.  But, Joe did great tonight by making a huge batch of soup so we have some quick reheat options for dinner this week.

I have been feeling good and the knees haven't been giving me much of an issue lately.  It's been more of my foot/arch - I hope it's not a case of plantar fasciitis beginning to form.  I hear that is a long, painful process to overcome.  But, after almost a month post-marathon, I'm feeling ok and managed to do 9 miles today - which has been the longest run since the marathon.  I actually miss the cold weather running that I got used to.  The heat (70 degrees?) and humidity got to me today and I was so thirsty and felt like I was overheating.  Maybe it was not enough water post bike/run yesterday and one too many beers this weekend :)

We're about a month out from our first tri of the season - the Got the Nerve? Triathlon in Mt. Gretna on May 19th.  We've been riding the course to get reacquainted and build some strength for the climbs it throws at you.  I'm just hoping that I'll have some speed come raceday since we haven't done a ton of shorter, quick stuff besides our fartlek runs on Thursdays (Track Attack!!).  I guess we'll see how speedy the legs feel that day :)

Looking forward to some shorter/easier workouts this week and then the parents come to visit next weekend!! :)  Lots to be excited about...and the weather looks to be very nice for training this week too.  I believe Spring has Sprung!

Cheers,

Chandra

Week 4: Put to the test

So we've reached week 4, which is a "test" week after this past recovery week.  I guess it is supposed to test us to see how far we've come since the first week with various "test sets" and checking your heart rate after recovery.  Not sure how that is going to go since the past 3 weeks have basically been mostly recovery after the marathon.  This past week we got in some good workouts, especially yesterday's 7 mile run and today's leg busting 53 mile bike with some "fun" climbs throughout Mt. Gretna.  I've learned that my idea of a "hill" isn't the same as what it was this time last year.  And it still isn't the same as that of Coach Mike :)  Then we had to go and lift afterwards - as always on Sundays and Thursdays.  We'll say this weekend was tiring and quite busy.  But, I did manage to throw together a pan of lasagna tonight while eating sushi and edamame for dinner.  We're trying to cook mass amounts of food on the weekends so we have quick reheats during the week when we get home at 8pm and need to make dinner still.  Hopefully we can keep it up and it'll make life a bit easier.

This upcoming week goes as follows:
Monday - Swim Test:  4x300 Warmup; 16x25; 500 free; 16x25; 400 free; 16x25; 300 cool down
Tuesday - Bike/Run brick
Wednesday - Swim:  8x100 Warmup; 1,500 free; 6x150; 12x25 cool down
Thursday - Run 60 min fartlek; Strength train
Friday - Optional Swim/60 min Bike/40 min Run
Saturday - Bike 2-3 hours/Transition run 20 mins
Sunday - optional 60 min bike; 70-90 min Run; Strength train

Looks like it is all uphill at this point.  I am just so thankful that I have my best friend and love to go through this experience with.  It makes it much easier when we understand what the other is feeling and going through...but doesn't make it easier when nothing gets done around the house!!  I am really looking forward to the upcoming 3 day weekend with some family time on Sunday for the Easter holiday.  I hope the Easter bunny still remembered me and hides a basket for me to find :)

Happy April!!

Cheers,
Chandra

Race report: One down, 23 to go!

Upcoming - Week 2:  Recovery time

Well, yesterday was the marathon in DC.  Needless to say, today has been a day of hobbling around attempting to ascend and descend the stairs and not look too awkward walking around the grocery store.  I have managed to eat a ton since the race (not quite on purpose - the stomach wants what it wants!) and I did manage to treat myself with a cinnamon chip muffin from the bakery this morning.  Joy!  The pain isn't too terrible but I keep trying to move around so I don't get stiff or cramp up - although I should be icing more than I have been, unfortunately.

So this coming week will be mostly recovery with some swimming and light biking...and a little volleyball this coming weekend with some old Altoona friends for a little reunion :)  I probably won't do any running until next week, which will still be light and easy.  But, here is my race report for the Rock n' Roll USA Marathon in DC:

The Good:
The race was in a great location downtown at the RFK Stadium.  We stayed in Landover and took the train a short 15 minutes in and got off at the stop right by the Armory.  It couldn't have been easier and I'm so glad we did that instead of trying to drive.  The gear bag check was nice with ample space for storage which made getting in and out pretty painless.  Probably the one painfree thing of the day :)  The day couldn't have been more perfect for the race - cool in the morning but warming up nicely (maybe a little too much) by the time I hit the half marathon point.  I started out feeling great during the race and carried this through for the first half of the marathon...which I was hoping for at least.  Mile 4 and 9 were a little interesting.  I managed to get a second wind of some kind around mile 16...and then again at mile 22.  These were fairly short lived in the world of "second winds", I believe.

The Bad:
The bad?  Well, there were a handful of bad things, from a dead bug in our hotel bed (free room for that, btw) neglecting my sunscreen, wearing pants I never trained in, and various other things, I'd say things went ok for my first marathon.  For a "Rock n' Roll" race, I was a little disappointed with the so called bands they had set up along the way.  Now, I know that you can't get Switchfoot to play at every stage along the course, but come on.  You could have done better than some of the stuff that was out there.  Thank god I went with my gut and wore my ipod.  As for the race itself, things were already getting to my head by mile 4 - I was hungry!  My pre-race nerves managed to curb my appetite so I couldn't force much down beforehand besides half a bagel, half a powerbar, and some gatorade.  It managed to get warmer than I was anticipating early on and was thirsty a lot.  At mile 7 they were handing out water bottles, so I grabbed one and carried it with me and refilling at water stations until mile 26.1 before tossing it aside so I could try to "sprint" to the finish line.  I'm thankful for that, otherwise, I don't think I would have made it.  I also felt somewhat defeated when all of the half marathoners started to pick up the pace around mile 9 and were passing me.  It was hard to not keep up with everyone, but I kept telling myself that I just needed to cool out and stick with the plan...otherwise I'd be hurting later (which I was).  I wanted so badly to follow the half marathoners to their finish line - I couldn't believe I still had another half to run!

The Ugly:
Sunburn, popped blister/bloody sock, mile 22...
So, I managed to get a nice sunburn on my arms, back, and chest since I neglected to wear my sunscreen.  I think my only saving grace was the fact that I wore my hat, thank god!  Otherwise, I would have a ridiculously burt face with a sunglasses tan line.  I have one from my ipod and watch, ha!  I won't make that mistake again...even on the long training rides and runs we do on the weekends - no sir!  So, things started to turn ugly around mile 18-19...I kept thinking in my head, "I've only gone 20 miles so I only know what 20 miles feels like..." and then I got scared.  Around mile 19 we had to cross a metal grate bridge which didn't feel good on the feet that were already hurting terribly.  I managed to pass everyone that was walking at this point, so that made me feel good.  When I hit the mile 20 marker, I had a sense of relief that there was only a 10K left.  Little did I know that this 10K would be the hardest of my life.  It seemed the closer I got to the finish line, the longer it took the mile markers to show up!  By mile 22 I was ready to call it quits and employ the run/walk strategy, but just tried to focus on eating and drinking and thinking about how often I had to do that so I didn't think about how painful things felt at that time.  And then it hit me.  Like someone driving a nail through my foot - the blister that I felt forming at mile 8 finally got fed up with me and busted wide open.  I screamed at the pain and managed to take 4 or 5 more strides but the pain was incredible.  I ran off to the side and sat down on the curb...I had to do SOMETHING.  I ripped my shoe and sock off to assess the damage expecting to see a blood soaked sock with half of the skin on my toe missing, but it was just slightly red and my skin was intact (by the end of the race it was much more red).  Not that I could have done anything about it if I did have a blood soaked sock and was missing all of my toe skin.  So, I took this time to retie my shoes, stretch for a second, refocus, and go on my way since there was nothing more I could do by sitting on the curb.  It was painful starting out running again, but once I got into a stride, the pain in my toe subsided (or it just went numb) and I was able to keep a decent pace the rest of the way to the end.  It was tough trying to tick off the miles...23, ok only a 5K to go, 24, ok 2 more, 25........almost....there....26.  At mile 26 I was just so happy to see the finish line and the people lining the road I couldn't help but smile the last .2.

It wasn't a pretty race and the marathon doesn't do nice things to your body (chafing).  I can't say right now that I would do one again, but who knows.  I think the first one is the hardest and now I know what it is like and can say I've done one.  I don't find it as enjoyable as other people and don't expect to...I'm just glad that I finished :)  But, what if I hadn't sat on that curb assessing my damage for 5 minutes....??!  There's always room for improvement, right?

Cheers!
Chandra

The Beginning of the End

Week 1:  Building an Ironman

This is conveniently our final taper week leading up to the marathon on Saturday the 17th - St. Patty's Day - and the first week of our 24 week training plan!  After a few weeks of struggling through workouts, I'm not feeling too confident in my ability to run those 26.2 miles.  But, after some sound advice from others with much more experience than me, I have come to accept the fact that this marathon is not the ultimate.  As much as I want to follow my marathon plan to a tee, I need to remember that this is just one test or "long workout" towards becoming an Ironman.

I try to set goals for every race that I do, so going into the marathon, I had expectations set for myself.  But, now I'm wondering if it's worth pushing myself beyond a certain point just for a goal finish time to prove to myself and others that I am capable of doing this without looking like a wuss.  Could just completing it be enough?  Not in my eyes, I suppose.  So, my aim is to run and finish the marathon comfortably without injury.  We do have 23 more weeks of long training to get through.  So, if I have to walk through aid stations or even during the race, so be it.  I have 5.5 hours (I believe) to finish it before they pick my butt up and drive me to the back of the pack, if I fall behind.  I'm confident I'll finish well ahead of that mark, but who knows - anything can happen!!

So, this week is the beginning of the end.  The end of the marathon training (and looking forward to more bike rides like today); the end of my free, relaxing weekends of movie watching and wine drinking (if you know me, that didn't happen very often...I can't sit still); and the end of these dark training days.  I feel like I have been running in the dark for decades!  Yay to Daylight Savings and the spring/summer weather.  I have certainly missed you!  It will certainly be an interesting next two weeks - this one leading up to the marathon (which SHOULD be a taper, but no rest for the weary - ok maybe a little ;) ), and the week following the marathon.  I will have to alter my training schedule slightly to give my legs some recovery, so that means mostly swims, bikes, some yoga and weight training.  I'm hoping this will help whatever is ailing my knees at the moment.  But, it'll be ALL IN after these first two "strange" weeks.

Just to give you the gist of things...

Week 1:  Build

Mon:  Swim - 2,000 drill workout

Tues:  Bike/Run Brick - 70 min tempo ride; 15-20 min transition run

Wed:  Swim - 3,500 yard aerobic work; Optional 60 min Bike

Thurs:  Swim - 2,500 sprint work; Run - 45-60 min fartlek run; Weight Training

Fri:  OFF!

Sat:  Bike/Run Brick - 2-3 hour ride; 15-20 min transition run

Sun:  Run - 50-70 mins; Weight Training

So, obviously I will not be doing all of those workouts this week.  Otherwise, I will not make it through the marathon.  But, this is the fun I have to look forward to over the next 6 months.  I hope to keep up with the blog on a weekly basis to have a running log of our training adventures.  Most likely on Sunday afternoon/evenings, when I'll be icing myself down with a glass of wine :)  I hope you'll join me!!

Cheers!

Chandra

Celtic Solstice 5 Miler...with a side of wine!

It's been awhile since my last post - almost 2 months!  Not a lot has happened in that time...just trying to enjoy a little more downtime around the holidays while still trying to maintain some level of fitness.  The spring and summer races will be here before I know it.


Joe (my husband) did the Philadelphia Marathon back in November, which was his first marathon.  He trained really hard and put in a lot of time not only with training, but also with recovery and nutrition.  I know the first race is always the most difficult as you don't know what to expect or how to prepare.  But, I would say that for his first marathon race, he did fantastic and finished in a time of 3 hours 32 minutes.  It was two minutes over his goal time of 3:30, but I think he's happy with his results overall.  But, while we were at the expo for packet pickup, we decided to sign up for the inaugural Rock N' Roll USA Marathon in Washington, DC.  This will be my first marathon...I'm looking it as a training run to prepare for Ironman Louisville.  So, my hope and goal is just a feel good run to the finish line :)


This past weekend we raced the Celtic Solstice 5 miler down in Baltimore at Druid Hill Park.  This was the first race I have done since the middle of October - since my last post, actually.  I can't say it was the best race of my life, as you will see in my race report below, but it was a fun race that will be in my rotation of races to do :)  I mostly did it for the nice Brooks thermal shirt that was the race premium, but it was nice to have some Boordy wine afterwards in the company of my love and great friends.


Celtic Solstice 5 miler Race Report:


The Good:
First off, the race course was in Druid Hill Park.  While a bit hilly, it was completely closed to traffic which made it a care-free race with no worries of cars around.  The packet pickup (which we did the weekend before) was organized and not crowded and you got a nice Brooks thermal long sleeved shirt, which was basically the cost of the entry fee.  The race itself was in a good location and we were able to find adequate parking near Johns Hopkins and had a quick half mile walk to the start line.  The course was a nice loopy route through the park - you got to see a lot of spectators at various points in the run.  The post race refreshments were nice, with cookies, apples, oranges, bananas, some yummy veggie soup, and warm spiced wassail wine!  I surprised myself by drinking some, which you will understand a little later.  But, it was a nice treat.  One of the best parts of this race was the fact that we got to see some wonderful friends that live in the area - many thanks to our friends Andy and Marissa Redding that let us stay with them Friday evening so we didn't have to wake up super early and drive down Saturday morning.  Always great hosts :)  It made me wish (for a few moments) that we still lived in Bmore.  I miss you all!!  xoxo


The Bad:
The only bad parts about this race was the before/after race area inside the tent.  It was very crowded with around 3,000 people.  This made maneuvering through the tent for your timing chip beforehand and the food/drinks afterwards a tad annoying.  The race started out on a flat, but went uphill right away for about 2 miles.  Looking back on it, I won't remember it as a terribly hilly race, but at the time, I thought "Why did I decide to do this again??".  It was also pretty chilly at 8:30 am with a slight breeze, so I wasn't fully warm until mile 3 or so.  Also, while we got plenty of emails regarding packet pickup, parking and driving directions, I couldn't tell you much about the race besides it was on a Saturday somewhere in Druid Park.  It wasn't until a few days before the race that we actually got an emailed version of the course map so we knew where the start line was.  It would have been nice to have this earlier, but that's just the "extremely prepared" personality in me.


The Ugly:
Well, there was really only one ugly thing about this race.  Dehydrated, hungry, and still slightly hungover.  Thursday night was my work holiday party here in Lancaster.  It was a beautiful time, but I made the rookie mistake of mixing drinks and getting too little sleep.  And had too much wine.  Now I understand why everyone says wine hangovers are the devil.  This is true.  So, the race was rough from the beginning - I didn't have much of an appetite on Friday, so that meant very little fuel being taken in. I tried to drink plenty of water but it wouldn't help much.  When Saturday morning came around, I was able to eat a powerbar and a banana before the race, but felt tired and heavy the whole race.  I kept telling myself that I was just out there to enjoy the run and just to get it done.  My goal was to beat my 5 miler race time in June, which I managed to do by a minute, so maybe that means I'm getting better at this running thing.  I should put that piece in the "Good" category.


On another "surprised myself today" note, Joe and I managed to run a good 12 miles with a local friend/triathlete here in Lititz.  It was great to run with "a group" of us, it made the time go by much much faster.  I am thankful for being able to do these things with some really great people.


Now, it's time to enjoy the holidays with wonderful family and friends and then get ready for a crazy 2012!  I feel it's going to be a good upcoming year - hopeful for continued motivation, good nutrition habits, and feel good training days.  Even though Thanksgiving is over, I will continue to always be thankful for everyone in my life that pushes me to be a better person and athlete.  So, I say THANK YOU to all of you out there :)


Sorry for the novel, once again....Happy Holidays to you and yours!!


xoxo,
Chandra