3 race reports in one: the ugly, the good, and the very good

It's been a busy few weeks for me: a half marathon one weekend, a 5k the next, and a 10k the next.  I've got a weekend "off" then I have a sprint tri, a half, and then my first obstacle race, then about a month of nothing planned.  I knew this would be a busy stretch and it has been.  I've enjoyed it but with the temps rising I'm looking forward to a bit of a break.

Heels and Hills Half
2 weeks ago I did the Heels and Hills half marathon. It's a women-focused race on the Campion Trail, where I do all my long runs, so I was looking forward to the chance to race on my home turf.  For a number of reasons though, it wasn't a great race for me.

For starters, it was hot.  I knew going in that the heat might slow me down, but I still went in with hopes of reaching that elusive 1:50 finish.  Also, as would be become painfully clear as the day progressed, I was not really mentally prepared for this race.  This was partly because of an event outside my control-Kevin had knee surgery to reconstruct a torn ACL just a few days earlier, and taking care of both him and Daniel took its toll, even with my mom there to help.  But it was also my own fault-I hadn't really taken the time to think about and anticipate this race, lulled to complacency by having done so many other races and knowing this course so well.  I would pay for that as the day unfolded.

Backing up a bit, it was nice to have a short, familiar drive to the race start area in downtown Las Colinas, a mere 2 miles away.  But once I got there I found a long line for the port-a-potties.  Really, you thought 15 potties was enough for several hundred women?  The line took so long, in fact, that I missed the start of the race and by the time I got to the start line the 3:00 pace group was headed out.  Not wanting to get stuck behind slower runners I did a fast first mile to catch myself up to the 1:55 group.  I can't think that fast start did me many favors as the day went on.  Right from the start, I had deviated from my plan.  Further complicating things was that I was having issues getting my Garmin started as I rushed from the start line.  I knew my time was a few minutes off because of that but couldn't know how far off I was.  I just guessed 4 minutes to be conservative and added those moments as I looked at my elapsed time.

The day quickly turned warm and try as I might, I realized I couldn't hold my goal pace.  The 2:00 pace group overtook me and I struggled to get back in front of them.  And I found it hard to focus on anything besides how hot it was.  This was where the lack of mental prep hurt.  Without something else to focus on, I spent too much time focusing on discomfort, and just like being on a treadmill staring at the numbers, thinking about the heat just made the run feel hotter and longer.

Long story short, I finished in 2:04 and change, well off my goal pace and PR, but not terrible considering the heat.  But, I believe with better mental focus and a smarter start I could have managed a sub-2:00 time.  I'll get the chance to test that theory out in a few weeks: the Wounded Warrior Half is on the same course.  Between now and then I'll also invest in a Fuel Belt.  My 10 oz handheld flask works great for short races and cooler temp halfs, but I was having to stop at every single water station to refill, which sort of defeats the purpose of a handheld.  So, we'll see if a better hydration strategy and better prep result in a better hot half.

Run Like A Mother 5k
A few months ago I was searching active.com for races to do and came across this race.  A women-only race on Mother's Day morning?  What's not to like about that?  I'm sure most moms looked at Mother's Day as a chance to sleep in and be pampered, but there were 217 of us for whom it was a great day to race with our families there to cheer us on.

When I made my schedule for the late spring months I planned around trying to peak for this race.  I had done well enough in 5ks before when they were training races that I decided to throw in more speedwork and see how fast I could be if I focused on the shorter distance.  I felt pretty good going into the day and set a target of 23 minutes.

I took my spot in the first few rows and got off to a pretty fast start.  As we pulled away from the start line and approached the trail I saw just two women in front of me.  I passed both within the first mile, and realized I couldn't see any other racers in front of me.  It seemed surprising that I might be in the lead-I'm fast enough to compete for age group awards, but there are definitely faster runners, and usually you can count on there being at least one or two speed demons who can knock out a sub-20 5k.  But, without knowing if I was in the lead or not, I stuck to my plan of going as hard and fast as I could manage.

After the halfway point turnaround I could tell there was another runner right behind me.  She never made a move to pass but I could hear her behind me and see her shadow.  A racer with more experience frontrunning might have run through a bag of tactics to either lose her or wear her out...having never faced this issue before I wasn't sure what I should do, so I decided to just go as fast as I could and try to finish strong.  I had a feeling that she'd pass me at the very end.  Even expecting it though, I still couldn't prevent it.  With about a tenth of a mile to go I saw her sprint ahead.  I sped to a sprint myself to try to catch her but ended up finishing in 23:01, a second and change behind her and my goal. 

Oh well, I thought, I still got second.  Then Kevin told me that the winner had finished a few minutes ahead of us (she shot right out to the front in the first hundred yards, and I never saw her again), so I had actually finished third.

On the one hand, it was disappointing to come so close to my goal finish time and a 2nd place finish.  But on the other hand, 216 other women ran this race, and I finished ahead of 214 of them!  It feels like one that got away, but I'm still happy with a 3rd overall finish.  And I earned myself a new PR by over a minute. I'm still convinced I can get faster, but I'm happy with my 23 minute time. First and foremost I race against myself, but in hotter temps PRs get harder to come by so I use pole position as another measure.

I'm also happy with the nice award bag I won which included, among other things, a $100 gift certificate to a local store which sells designer clothes.  That means my first pair of designer jeans are in my future.

Triumph Over Pain 10k
This past Saturday I did my first 10k since January after claiming a free race entry from Active.com Advantage (note: the Advantage membership pays for itself).  The race was in the Craig Ranch area of McKinney, a northeastern suburb of Dallas.  I showed up hoping to break 50 minutes, or better yet, 48 minutes, but given the 9:45am start time in late May, I knew that was unlikely.  So, I hoped to at least beat my 52:20 PR.

The 10k race started at the same time and the first half used the same course as a 5k.  I lined up right in the front row, intending to stay in the lead.  As we started I noted how many women passed me.  Within the first mile 2 or 3 women passed me, but I didn't know if they were doing the 5k or 10k.  I finished the first mile around 7:50, but couldn't get below 8:30 the rest of the way.  Still, I had no one close behind, and just a handful ahead of me, so I decided to hold a strong but maintainable pace for the middle miles with the intention to speed up in the final mile.

As I passed the 5k finish line I could only see a few guys way ahead of me, but couldn't see any women ahead and just one within a minute of me.  I figured I was either the lead woman or the leader was so far out I'd never catch her, so I resolved to hold whatever position I had.  I looked back periodically to see if the woman closest behind was gaining on me but she never closed the gap.

As I closed in on the final turn I found the energy for a decent kick to finish strong at 53 minutes and change.  I hadn't met any of my time goals but I felt fairly certain I had at least placed in my age group.  So, I was quite pleased when the results were posted and I saw that I was not only the 7th overall finisher, but the 1st female finisher!  Not only did I outrun all the other women, but I "chicked" most of the guys too.  And while I wish I had PR'd, I'm happy that despite it being twice as hot as January, it only took me an extra minute and a half to finish.  I feel confident a much faster 10k would be possible in cooler temps but I'll have to wait awhile to find out.  I think it could be a competitive distance for me though.

One swag bag and one trophy later, I have to say the last 3 weeks went pretty well.

Tri for Humanity sprint tri

Last Sunday I did my first triathlon in almost 3 years, the Tri for Humanity sprint distance race in McKinney.  I signed up for it when I got a Schwaggle coupon, reasoning that it would make a good tune-up race for the Playtri Festival sprint tri in June that I hope to peak for.

A triathlon, for the uninitiated, involves first a swim leg, usually in open water like a lake, then the transition from swim to bike (T1), a bike leg, a transition from bike to run (T2), and finally a run leg.  Going into this I had swam about 3 times in the last month (and almost none that I can recall in the 2 years prior), biked a handful of times, and of course run quite a bit over the past 8 months.  So this was a test to see to what extent running could overcome a lack of sport-specific training for the first 2 legs.  I expected to be slow to middle of the pack on the swim and bike but pretty fast on the run.  That prediction turned out to be pretty accurate.

The day before a race I always make sure to lay out my race clothes, attach the bib to the race belt, get my water and salt tabs ready, make sure my Garmin is charged, etc.  I've got the drill down to a science for running events but triathlon is a whole different ballgame with a lot more to think about.  Instead of running shorts and singlet I was laying out my tri shorts and top and packing goggles and a swim cap.  Then there was the bike.  I aired the tires, lubed the chain and cable housings, and prepped my water and nutrition.  (What I did not do: check the frame all over for cracks.  This becomes relevant post-race).

Sunday morning I got up at 4:30, dressed, grabbed my gear, and headed out for McKinney, a 45 minute drive despite absolutely no traffic.  Eventually I made it there, parked, and headed in.  First came body marking-my race number was marked on my left arm and hand and my age (as of year's end, per triathlon rules) on my right calf.  Then I set up my transition area-bike hanging on the rack, my gear laid out on a towel below.  Then I walked over to scope out the swim area.  Before long, it was time for the pre-race meeting to discuss rules, then we headed en masse toward the swim start area.

Swim

The race started in 3 waves: men under 40 in the first wave, the older men in the second, and all the women and the Clydesdale and Athena racers (aka, the "bigger-boned" male and female racers, respectively) in the third.  Looking around I realized 2/3 of the other racers were wearing wetsuits.  This told me two things: 1) they were going to be faster than me because of the buoyancy of the suits, and 2) they did enough tris to justify the investment in a wetsuit, and thus were going to be faster than me.  Plus, 400 meters sure looks farther in a lake than it does doing laps in a pool.

Finally, my wave got in the water, which while invigorating was not as cold as I expected.  Then the gun went off and so did we.  The first 100 meters or so of a triathlon are an interesting experience-lots of bodies all thrashing around in close proximity, and all of us unable to see in the water.  I got kicked and elbowed several times and no doubt did the same to those around me.  Eventually we got it all sorted and found some space, though at one point another girl swam into me and our arms locked.  (I think I was on course and she was at a weird angle, but what do I know?)  I wasn't fast on the swim (in fact, at 11 minutes, I was on the slow side) but I was able to hold my pace fairly well and didn't tire out.

What I would do differently next time: train more so I can swim a faster pace; eventually, invest in a wetsuit

T1

After I reached the exit I got out, ran into transition, and prepped for the bike.  I expected to be faster here but took 3 minutes-way too long.

What I'd do differently next time: not bother drying my feet or putting on socks, put my helmet, glasses and gloves on the bike rather than the towel, eat my gel and start the Garmin on the bike rather than in transition.  I may try to practice leaving the shoes clipped into the bike pedals and putting them on while on the go.

Bike

The bike course was 2 loops in roughly a square.  There was some wind and a few hills but overall a decent course.  I took 44 minutes and averaged about 18mph-not blazing fast, but a decent pace for me.  I made it a point to ride with my hands in the drop handlebars as much as possible but need to practice this to be able to comfortably hold the position longer.

What I would do differently next time: more training so I can hold a faster pace, spend as much time as possible in the drops

T2

After the bike leg I ran the bike into transition, changed into running shoes, put on my running hat and belt, grabbed my handheld, and headed out.  This took 1:40.  Not bad, but room for improvement.

What I would do differently next time: change shoes then grab the rest and do it on the run

Run

I expected this to be my strongest leg and was not disappointed.  I reasoned that the 5k run leg was roughly equivalent to the final 3.1 miles of a half marathon, so based on recent HM finishes I figured an 8:15ish pace was doable.  I didn't worry about holding back any on the swim or bike legs, reasoning that 5 half marathons in 5 months had given me ample endurance for the run leg.  I started strong and got a little faster mile by mile, even though my legs were tired from the bike.  I passed at least a dozen people and not one person passed me.

I finished this leg in 25:16, for a total overall time of 1:25:28.  For perspective, my first 5k time in December was 25:12. 

What I would do differently next time: nothing.  I rocked the run.

Overall takeaway from the day

The fast run time is great on the one hand, as it means I can throw down a really fast run leg despite tired legs.  On the other hand, it also means that improvement on my triathlon times will have to come from the other legs.  My standalone 5k PR is only 24:06, and that's without  having swam and biked for an hour beforehand.  Yet even if I were to do the run leg this fast (highly unlikely), that would only take a minute off my time.

So if improvement can't come from the run leg, where can it come?  The low-hanging fruit is the transitions.  Just practicing these a few times a week can probably translate to several minutes saved.  Transition doesn't involve being particularly strong or fast, just practiced and purposeful.  I can do that.

Then there's the swim leg.  I've swam so little that just getting more time in the pool between now and the next race, even with little or no speedwork, should make me a little faster.  But the biggest change can come on the bike.  The bike takes about half the race time so an improvement in pace will have the biggest payoff there.  The good news is, like with the swim, I've spent so little time biking lately that just getting saddle time will benefit me.

The bad news?  That bike time will be a little harder to come by for awhile.  When I took my bike in for the mandatory pre-race inspection, the bike shop guy recommended I take the bike in soon because the back wheel was a little loose.  He said it was still fine to ride for the tri, but that I needed to get it fixed soon after.  So with my bike rack and bike already on the back of the car I decided Sunday afternoon was an ideal time to take it in.

When I went to the local bike shop (not the one which had checked it pre-race) the technician looked for a minute then called me over to look.  The good news: there was nothing wrong with my wheel.  The bad news: the seat-stay was cracked.  I don't know if it was broken before the race, during, or after, but finding that out hours post-race was like biting into an apple and finding half a worm.  I was lucky to have discovered the problem in the shop rather than mid-ride.  The manufacturer warrantied the frame for 5 years so I'm now in conversation with them to get a new frame.  One catch: they don't make these bikes anymore, so they may not have a comparable women's road bike frame to give me.  No definite word as to what they'll give me if they can't replace the frame, but I see the purchase price of the bike as a reasonable starting point in negotiations.  We'll see...I just hope to have a bike to ride soon, one way or another.

The happiness of pursuit

I saw the phrase "the happiness of pursuit" in the Dallas Morning News' running blog a few weeks ago and it immediately stuck in my head.  What an apt description of running (and other athletic pursuits).  When I set out for a training run or race I always have a goal in mind, whether distance, time, both, or something else.  The end result is often satisfying, but the effort itself it always rewarding, no matter the outcome.  Achieving a goal is great, but just having the goal and working toward it is fun too.  So much of life is about making things easier, sometimes it's nice to deliberately seek out the hard way.  Thus, the happiness of pursuit.  And thus, a name change for the blog.