So now that school is over, apparently I have nothing better to do with my time than to sign up for races. My plan for the summer is to focus on 5Ks and doing speedwork in order to get some of my speed back. I'm also tracking calories with MFP and trying to watch what I eat so I can either lose 10lbs or at least slim down some. I'm probably going to incorporate some stairs and some swimming too. My first 5K is this Sunday, in Stillwater. Here is my summer race schedule:
June 7: Scorcher 5K
June 21: Father's Day 5K
June 26: Hot 5K
June 27: Conquer the Gauntlet obstacle run
July 12: Du Draper Duathlon
July 25: Duncan Dehydrator
Aug 7: Hottest 5K
Aug 22: Tour de Trykes
Aug 29: Hotter'n Hell Hundred
I am going to weigh myself and maybe measure myself before each 5K, obviously record the time, and then compare them. I hope to see faster times and lower weight as the summer goes on.
My fall schedule is already filling up too:
Oct 4: SoS half
Oct 18: Fall Classic Duathlon (may have a school conflict with this one)
Nov 22: Rt66 Full Marathon (couldn't resist the jacket that they're offering instead of a shirt, and I'm still a little mad that I couldn't do the full Memorial this year)
I'm only able to do Rt66 because I don't have class on Wednesdays in the fall. I can put my long mid-week run on that day, and work on homework afterwards. Next spring, I will be in practicum in school, so I doubt that I will be able to do the Memorial. The half is a possibility, I guess. That being said, I have been making plans with 2 friends to do the 2017 Redman full distance triathlon. I'm going to start swimming lessons this summer, and hopefully keep up swimming through the winter (either at the Y or at OUHSC's pool). Maybe I could do a couple of short triathlons next spring. If (big if) that goes well, I may try the 2016 half redman. But I'm not going to commit to that just yet either. The goal is 2017. I'm not taking the 2017 half off of the table either. A lot can happen between now and then, and I can't even swim-just doggie paddle. But I'm putting it out there.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
My first duathlon-2015 Guthrie Super Sprint
On May 9 I did my first duathlon! It was the Guthrie Super Sprint Du-1.5mi run, 14mi bike, and a 1.5mi run. We had a very busy week in terms of weather, with lots of flooding and tornadoes (the sirens went off 17 times on Wednesday alone. SEVENTEEN.) Luckily today the weather held out. While it didn't rain, the humidity was 92%, and that sucked. The race started at 7:30, but packet pickup opened at 5:30. I didn't want to be late and get stuck in a crowd, so my bff and I left at 5:15 this morning. I packed my car and we were on our way.
We found parking very easily, and I went over to packet pickup. I thought it went really well, but I found out later that it didn't (more on that later, lol). I told them that it was my first time, and the nice lady at the table explained to me how to put the number on my bike. I got body marked (btw, sharpie doesn't come off easily), and went back to the car to get my stuff for the transition.
A man at the transition area helped me set up my bike since it was my first time. The rack spaces were assigned, thankfully. My bike is a 44", so it's pretty much an extra small. Most people hung their bikes by the seat, but the wind moved mine around too much. So we hung it by the shifters (that made me so nervous!). I laid out a towel to make it easy to find my bike. I laid out my shoes and gel flask and helmet. I had planned to set my gloves inside my helmet, but since it was windy, I fasted them onto the helmet straps just to be safe. Here's my transition set up in all of it's newbie glory:
It was sort of cold, so we went back to the car to wait for the race to start. I heard some of the announcements, but mostly it was just the RD yelling at people to re-rack their bikes, so I didn't pay attention. Finally, it was time to go line up.
I wore my triathlon shorts that I bought roughly 2 years ago for spin class and a cannondale tri top that I bought last year. I bought a bib belt and some lock laces so that my shoes would be easier to slip off. I actually really like them, so they may stay on my shoes.
Anyway, the race started. I could totally tell that I'm primarily a runner, because it confused me that there was no starting line timing strip to cross, nor were there pace markers. I lined up with a nice lady who had randomly chatted with me in the transition area, and we were off. The 1.5mi run approached and went around the masonic temple and back to the transition. I was determined not to have to walk in that first leg of the race. Unfortunately, that meant that I ran a 9:15 mile, lol. Add that to 92% humidity, and it was rough. I could not catch my breath! My garmin says that it took me 13:07 to do the first running leg. I got through it, and got into the transition. I made sure to put my helmet on first thing-they will DQ you for not wearing your helmet. I managed to get my garmin started, got my shoes and gloves on, and made it out of transition. You can't mount the bike until you cross a certain line, so I walked out of transition, got on my bike, and off I went.
Now here's the sad and pathetic part. The first half mile of the bike ride was fine. I think I was going on adrenaline at that point. But then I started feeling the effects of the heat and going out too hard in that first run. My stomach started cramping so badly that I didn't know if I could continue. It hurt to pedal. This lasted for about the first 4 miles. I managed to realize what was happening, and got some gatorade and hammer gel into me, but it took a while to work. At one point, I was going 9mph on a flat road with a 13mph tailwind. It doesn't get much more pathetic than that. I'm glad that I didn't see an official at this point, because I would have asked them to pull me. Finally, though, I started feeling better, and was able to speed up and get going. I even managed to pass 2 people on the way back! The bike route was an out-and-back, so that means that the tail wind was a headwind on the second portion. The USATF has very strict rules about drafting, and I was really worried that I would draft by accident. Luckily I didn't. I called out to the 2 cyclists as I passed them, and they both kind of looked at me funny, so I guess it's not normal to do call-outs. But I wanted them to know that I was passing them, because you have to slow down when someone overtakes you. But whatever. I finished the bike ride; I got all excited one block too soon because the intersection was closed and I thought that that was the finish. Nope, I had another block to go, lol. I got off my bike before I reached that magical pink line, and walked into the transition. I had some trouble getting my running shoes back on, but I managed to get going. Garmin says that the bike portion took me 1:01:14 (14.1mph ave).
The second run was a slow shuffle with a lot of walking. My legs were jello, and my stomach still hurt a bit from the cramps on the bike. I made it through it, though, as icky as it was. Garmin says that this one took me 16:11, which is an 11:15/mile pace. I'm surprised that it was that fast, lol.
I managed to finish, and the girl at the finish line asked for my timing chip. I didn't have one, and said as much, but I didn't think about it much because I was focused on the food at the finish line. I took the happy face pic to show how happy I was to be done, and the sad face pic because that bike part sucked. I got some food, loaded up my stuff, and went home.
Now, the sad (and somewhat embarrassing) part. When I got home and got cleaned up, I went online to check the race results. I couldn't find my name! I messaged a guy that I sort of know on fb and who was at the race, and asked if I had missed something. Since it was my first duathlon, I thought that maybe I had forgotten to check in at some mandatory after-race meeting or something. After a chat with him and with the race director, I realized that I did not pick up my timing chip with my bib and bike number. I sort of assumed that it was on my bib. The RD said that they made several announcements about it, but since we sat in the car, I had a hard time hearing the announcements. The ones I did hear were all about re-racking bikes anyway. If I had heard it, I think that it is likely that I would have thought that I was fine because I had my bib and bike number. So I didn't get an official time for my efforts today. Luckily, I have my garmin data, so I can estimate times, but as far as athlinks is concerned, I didn't do the race. I got a finisher's medal though, and the t-shirt fits, so that's good. These are my estimated times and placings, assuming that I was the only person who forgot to get their chip.
1st run: 7:29am, 13:07, ~7:42am
~T1: ~2 min
Bike: 7:44am, 1:01:14, 8:45am
~T2: ~2min
2nd run: 8:47am, 16:11, 9:03am
Approx total time: 1:34
5 people finished after me (yay for not being last!)
69/74 Overall
28/32 Females
6/6 F30-34
Monday, June 1, 2015
2015 Memorial Half Marathon Recap
This is super late, but here's my brief recap of the half on April 26. It was the 20th anniversary of the bombing. I didn't live in OKC, and I was only in 5th grade, but I remember what I was doing when they told us. I was in detention, of all places, for not doing my math homework lol. The teachers didn't tell us until lunchtime, even though the bombing occurred at 9:02am. The bombing is a sensitive memory for many Oklahomans. The moment of silence by the survivor tree was poignant and emotional.
I got my shiny medal, and a finisher's shirt that actually fits (woot!), and went home and slept for several hours.
I decided to wear my calf sleeves to fend off any lingering shin problems from changing shoes. They worked alright. I felt very color-coordinated, lol. Mike dropped me off near the start line around 5:15am. The survivor tree service started at 5:30, I think. The race started at 6:30.
The race went as expected-I was slow. My garmin said that I averaged a 11:28min/mile, which isn't too shabby, but I've done better. My time goal was not a PR, but to just finish in less than 2:30. I was struggling, but still managed to continue on, and I was on pace to finish in time. Then, around mile 11 or so, my left big toe completely curled up, and I couldn't uncurl it. It didn't hurt at all, which was weird, but I couldn't continue running. I ended up sitting on someone's lawn so I could take my shoe off and massage my toe until it straightened out. It took about 3 mins, and of course, my finish time was 2:33. Once the toe was straightened out, the end of the race was fine. I even tried to race some dude at the end, but he refused. Weirdo.
I got my shiny medal, and a finisher's shirt that actually fits (woot!), and went home and slept for several hours.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
2015 Redbud Classic 10K
I'm a little bit behind on the blog. This semester was the hardest one I've had in the interpreter training program, and I got fairly overwhelmed. I'm not the best blogger in the world on a good day, but add in all of that stress, and I'm now 3 races behind in recaps. So I'm writing them all at once, and setting them to post in the future so that I don't have to make one big massive post.
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I ran the 2015 Redbud Classic 10K on Sunday, April 12. This was my first race way back when, so I wanted to do it again. Achilles issues forced me to drop from the Memorial full to the half (if shoes feel funky the first time you wear them, return them rather than hope that they'll feel normal eventually). I ended up taking 3 weeks off with an unhappy achilles, as I said in the last post. But anyway, I ran the Redbud this year. It was ROUGH. The weather was 79F with a 20mph wind.
We had a tailwind for the first half of the race, but a tailwind provides little relief from the heat. I seriously thought that I was going to have heat stroke. I wanted this race to be a dress rehearsal for the memorial, so I had my 2-bottle fuel belt on. I was wearing calf sleeves, and they always make me feel hotter. I'm pretty sure I was pouring water on my head by the 2nd mile. Once we got out of the tailwind, it became a headwind. Headwinds are great for cooling you down, but you get to work harder just to go forward. The redbud course is pretty hilly. I was sore for 4 days after this race. My left quad and IT band were not very happy with me. Since this training plan didn't go as well as I'd wanted, I finished about where I expected to, with a course PR but not an overall PR. My results were:
Time: 1:11:24
Overall: 774 of 1,151 (top 67.2%)
Females: 341 of 609 (top 56%)
F30-34: 68 of 113 (top 60.2%)
So, not my finest work, but it is what it is. I was so spent after the race that I was really stupid. My quest to find my car was pretty entertaining. Luckily they had a shuttle that ran from the finish back to the start. When I parked, I thought that the start and finish were in the same place, but they were not. I eventually found my car though (I had parked at the mall). It would have been incredibly easy for someone to kidnap me, if they had wanted to, lol.
I finally started riding my bike outside again. I'm a wimp who doesn't like to be cold. I've started riding most of the spring training rides, and they've been enjoyable. At least I don't have to learn how to ride a bike this year, lol. There's a Clydesdale barn on the Lake Overholser route, and I had no idea that it is open to the public. So I took a pic with a horse! On another day, I did a sunrise ride with a classmate and 2 of my cycling friends. It was really early, but made for some nice pics. I very nearly dropped my car key into Lake O, and that would have been awful.
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I ran the 2015 Redbud Classic 10K on Sunday, April 12. This was my first race way back when, so I wanted to do it again. Achilles issues forced me to drop from the Memorial full to the half (if shoes feel funky the first time you wear them, return them rather than hope that they'll feel normal eventually). I ended up taking 3 weeks off with an unhappy achilles, as I said in the last post. But anyway, I ran the Redbud this year. It was ROUGH. The weather was 79F with a 20mph wind.
Time: 1:11:24
Overall: 774 of 1,151 (top 67.2%)
Females: 341 of 609 (top 56%)
F30-34: 68 of 113 (top 60.2%)
So, not my finest work, but it is what it is. I was so spent after the race that I was really stupid. My quest to find my car was pretty entertaining. Luckily they had a shuttle that ran from the finish back to the start. When I parked, I thought that the start and finish were in the same place, but they were not. I eventually found my car though (I had parked at the mall). It would have been incredibly easy for someone to kidnap me, if they had wanted to, lol.
I finally started riding my bike outside again. I'm a wimp who doesn't like to be cold. I've started riding most of the spring training rides, and they've been enjoyable. At least I don't have to learn how to ride a bike this year, lol. There's a Clydesdale barn on the Lake Overholser route, and I had no idea that it is open to the public. So I took a pic with a horse! On another day, I did a sunrise ride with a classmate and 2 of my cycling friends. It was really early, but made for some nice pics. I very nearly dropped my car key into Lake O, and that would have been awful.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
busy busy
So obviously I haven't updated in a while. I got into a bit of a funk after HHH. I ran the SoS Half in October (my 3rd time), but I was really undertrained. My goal for that race was to just finish under 2:30, and I barely did so: my chip time was 2:29:21. I only ran an 8 and 10 mile long runs in the weeks leading up to the half. I'm not sure that I even printed out my training schedule, which was pretty much my downfall. I need to be able to highlight things and see progress. School has been ridiculously crazy, so that cuts down on my time and motivation too.
Fast forward to now. I decided to run the full Memorial Marathon, and I started training for that in December. Things were going great, until I needed new shoes. I transitioned to minimalist running shoes in the summer of 2013. I wore pureflow 2s, because my glycerins were giving me shin splints. The next Feb, the pureflow 3s came out, so all of the 2s were discounted. So I bought 3 pairs, and I'm just now running out of shoes. My LRS didn't have any pureflow 4s in my size, so I looked online for clearanced 3s. I found some, and tried them out. I ran twice in them before running a long run in the new shoes. Long story short, I ran 12 miles in them and my left achilles protested. I ended up having to take 3 weeks off for that. I bought new shoes again, and this time I'm in Ghost 7s because they won't stretch my achilles as much as a minimalist shoe would. I'm wearing calf sleeves to fight off shin splints. I've taken too much time off though, so I registered for the half instead of the full. I'm pretty disappointed abut it, but it is what it is. It's possible that I can get a PR in the half, because the Memorial doesn't have very many hills.
I went on a race registration spree today, lol. While I should have been doing homework, instead I registered for:
OKC Memorial Half Marathon (4/26)
HHH 100mi bike ride (8/29)
Redbud Classic 33mi bike ride and 10K race (4/11 & 4/12)
Guthrie Super Sprint Duathlon (5/9)
I closed the window on the RT66 full marathon when I was at the checkout page. I can't be trusted online with a bank card today, it would appear. I got my biked tuned up this week, so it's ready to go when I can ride outside again. I think that I'll do a ride on the 28th. I'm out of town this weekend for my annual knitting weekend in Denton with 2 of my best friends.
Fast forward to now. I decided to run the full Memorial Marathon, and I started training for that in December. Things were going great, until I needed new shoes. I transitioned to minimalist running shoes in the summer of 2013. I wore pureflow 2s, because my glycerins were giving me shin splints. The next Feb, the pureflow 3s came out, so all of the 2s were discounted. So I bought 3 pairs, and I'm just now running out of shoes. My LRS didn't have any pureflow 4s in my size, so I looked online for clearanced 3s. I found some, and tried them out. I ran twice in them before running a long run in the new shoes. Long story short, I ran 12 miles in them and my left achilles protested. I ended up having to take 3 weeks off for that. I bought new shoes again, and this time I'm in Ghost 7s because they won't stretch my achilles as much as a minimalist shoe would. I'm wearing calf sleeves to fight off shin splints. I've taken too much time off though, so I registered for the half instead of the full. I'm pretty disappointed abut it, but it is what it is. It's possible that I can get a PR in the half, because the Memorial doesn't have very many hills.
I went on a race registration spree today, lol. While I should have been doing homework, instead I registered for:
OKC Memorial Half Marathon (4/26)
HHH 100mi bike ride (8/29)
Redbud Classic 33mi bike ride and 10K race (4/11 & 4/12)
Guthrie Super Sprint Duathlon (5/9)
I closed the window on the RT66 full marathon when I was at the checkout page. I can't be trusted online with a bank card today, it would appear. I got my biked tuned up this week, so it's ready to go when I can ride outside again. I think that I'll do a ride on the 28th. I'm out of town this weekend for my annual knitting weekend in Denton with 2 of my best friends.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Hotter'n Hell Hundred Recap
I ended up going to HHH, and while it was very hard, I really enjoyed it. The ride definitely lived up to its name.
I drank so much water on the week leading up to HHH. I took off of work on Friday, Aug 22, and left for Wichita Falls around noon. I packed my car and hit the road, stylin with my dinosaur sunglasses:
I stayed in a church that offers lodging to HHH participants every year. I was a little worried (but when am I not a little worried?!), but things worked out well. We stayed in the church's rec center. The women stayed upstairs. I went over and picked up my packet, ate the spaghetti dinner, and then went back to the church to relax. I got up at 4:15am, because I needed to meet my friends at the flagpole near the start at 6am. I live in fear of being late lol. I could have started from the church that I stayed at, but I was worried about getting lost on the way back (it was a 2mi ride). So I parked my car at another church parking lot, roughly 3 blocks from the start. I drove over there, unpacked my stuff, and rode over to the flag pole.
Kennon, me, Adam, and Sandy at the flagpole (Kelli is the photographer):
Lined up:
Adam, me, Sandy, and Kelli:
We started up behind the Scorchers (the fastest group) because those riders are experienced. I should have started way way back with the Hopefuls (9+ hr expected finish time), but that's where the start is dangerous. People lose water bottles, don't know how to ride in a group, and it's packed. So, while I was very nervous about starting up with the fast kids, Adam, Sandy, and Kelli assured me that it was for the best (and they were right!). I only saw about 6 water bottles, and I never saw any wrecks. I did see a guy go by with his buddies in identical kits, but his shorts had a big rose on the back. It took me a minute to realize that his shorts were actually ripped and that was road rash on his exposed butt cheek. I'm not sure that I would have continued on, but kudos to him.
Sandy and Kelli left us fairly early on, so I drafted behind Adam for the first 30 miles. We did catch them briefly about 10 miles in, because a train had stopped roughly 500 people at the railroad crossing. I imagine that they were pissed, and we basically had a second start. It was very packed and a little bit scary.
I took a selfie every time I stopped at a rest stop. I am in a sign language interpreter program, so I signed the number of every stop so I'd know where the pic was taken. I didn't stop until the 30mi stop, which was my plan. I needed to make Hell's Gate before the cutoff. HG is at 60 miles, and closes at 12:30. I wanted to ensure that I made the gate, otherwise I would have been diverted to a 75mi route.
30 mile rest stop, having a great time. I averaged roughly 18mph for the first 30 miles, which is ridiculously high for me. At every rest stop, I was very careful to not lay my bike in the grass because of stickers, and I checked my tires before leaving. I was super worried about getting a flat, because I'd had one on the last 2 group rides that I did.
50mi rest stop. Adam started feeling sick somewhere around 40 miles in, so we agreed that I'd continue on alone, and he planned to take the diverted route voluntarily. I caught Kelli and Sandy at the 50, which shows how bad Kelli was feeling. I shouldn't have seen her again after the start (she's really fast). I was still feeling great at 50 miles:
I made Hell's Gate at 11:30, with an hour to spare! I was so excited. My friend Heather and I met up somewhere around 58 miles. We took a right turn right into the headwind, and OMG. It was like hitting a wall.
After HG, I hit every rest stop. The temp reached 104F, and we had a 20mph headwind from about 80 miles on. You could feel it after that right turn before HG. That wind was not pleasant.
65mi rest stop. People had laid their bikes down in the grass. A gust of wind came through and it was strong enough that all of the bikes fell completely over. Not a good sign. That's Heather in the blue behind me, pouring water on her head. It was hot.
I started to feel the heat by this point. I was very careful about drinking water and gatorade, and eating on schedule. I ate every hour from the gel flask, and I had 2 bananas and a clif bar at every rest stop. I carried a 50oz camelbak, a 24oz bottle for gatorade, and a 21oz bottle with water for pouring over my head and back. I remember one brief feeling of nausea (shortly after the 50mi stop), and occasional chills. Both are signs of dehydration. Thankfully, the nausea went away. I drank water and gatorade every time I felt a chill.
This is the 75mi rest stop. It was the first time that I sat down (every rest stop had chairs and cots). I was afraid to sit down earlier than this, because the temptation to just stay there was strong. This was my favorite stop-they had a little girl with a pesticide sprayer-type contraption, filled with ice water. She was spraying people down, and it felt amazing. This was also the only stop that had a theme (neon 80s I think). I had been told that every stop had a theme, but I guess they slacked on that this year. You can see that I am growing less happy. My face is getting redder and redder, too.
By the time I got to the 85mi rest stop, I was ready to go home. I couldn't remember why I thought that this was a good idea. It was hot, I was tired, and the wind was wearing me down. I saw a guy pass out cold at this stop. He hit the ground face-down, unconscious. This was the "muddy stop." As you can see, there wasn't much grass. Add in a lot of water and gatorade, and you have a mud pit. They put down plyboards for people to walk on. I saw several people stopped down the road after this rest stop, trying to get the mud out of their cleats. I discovered the cool rags soaked in ice water at this stop, and they were a god-send.
From 85 miles on, the rest stops were at 5 mile intervals. This is the 90mi rest stop, and I was so over it by this point. There was a carport, and people were setting their bikes down there. I laid my bike down, and sat on the ground until I had the energy to walk the 50 feet to the portapotties. I started putting the cold rags under the leg bands of my shorts to help cool me off. I was passed by many many full SAG vehicles. I was beginning to wonder if they were going to run out of people to pick up.
Somewhere between the 90 and 95mi rest stops, I passed a guy. I was so tired that I yelled "On your right. I mean on your left. I mean, I'm on this side of you." (I was actually on his left) He laughed at me as I slowly passed him. Pretty much everyone was stupid tired by this point, so I'm sure he understood.
At the 95mi rest stop, I didn't even have the energy to make a number. I was just done by this point. Thankfully, there were only 5 miles left.
The last 5 miles were actually some of the easiest, with one exception. Someone decided that the route would go up a highway overpass. One of the ones in cities that goes over other roads. I don't know whose idea that was, but I yelled "this is just cruel" at the cop standing there as I started up the incline, and she agreed (and laughed. GAH). However, once I got over that, we came into a residential area, and the buildings helped block the god-awful wind. I finally felt like I was riding a road bike again, rather than pedaling through molasses.
I finally (FINALLY) got to the finish line around 4:40pm. My official time was 9:33. Nine and a half hours. According to my watch, I spent 6:45 of that on the bike (I had to pause my bia at every stop because it doesn't have autopause yet). After Hell's Gate, my goal was survival and finishing, not any kind of time goal. Unfortunately, my watch did not say 100 miles when I crossed the finish line (it said 99.25), so I did laps in the parking lot until it did. The course was actually 101 miles, so I was a bit irritated. I'll touch on that in an upcoming bia review post. But anyway. Adam and Sandy were waiting for me at the finish. All 3 of them (Kelli included) had taken the shorter route at Hell's Gate. Adam and Kelli were sick, and this was Sandy's 5th HHH and she didn't care which route she took. Kelli left immediately after finishing to go get married in New Mexico. Sandy took my picture at the finish line. This was completely not my idea, but apparently holding up your bike is a thing at HHH.
I distinctly remember telling them to hurry up before I dropped my bike on my head. I was oddly euphoric and sarcastic (probably from adrenaline). This is how I really felt, though:
I was so worried about the people waiting for me at the church that I immediately left and went to my car, loaded my bike, and drove back to the church. I was prepared to just leave so the poor woman wouldn't have to wait any longer, but she insisted that I take a shower and eat (wise woman). I did snap some pics at my car before leaving for the church:
You might notice that the medal is backwards. That shows how out of it I was-I carefully checked to make sure I could see the front of the medal, except I looked at the medal instead of at the iphone screen. LOL.
I did have some side-effects from riding my bike for forever in 104F Texas heat. I did not get a sunburn (thankfully I remembered to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or so), but I did have heat rash on my upper quads (right below the short line) and on my torso.
It went away within 2 days, thankfully. I haven't had too many lasting effects, though. I was tired for about 2 weeks, and my right knee has been pretty upset with me. It's finally getting better. I still haven't remembered to take the sticker off of my helmet.
Notes for next year (because I am signed up for lodging for next year-I'm crazy enough to do this again):
-take more money to the expo.
-taking frozen water bottles is not worth the effort; also, the church has ice.
-look for a cot
-make sure the sunscreen bottle is full (I used the last of it at the 90mi stop)
Now that school has started, I am unable to do any mid-week group rides. I am limited to the Saturday morning rides (ie the pre-donut and donut rides). I bought a bike trainer so that I can continue to ride through the winter. My goal on the bike front is to be able to stay with Smitty's group at Overholser when school is out in May. His group averages 18-20mph, and I've never managed to keep up with them (he has kindly stayed back with me on the 3 times I've tried his group).
Now it's time to switch back to running mode. I have the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon on Oct 6, and I'm going to run the full 2015 Memorial Marathon. Training for the marathon starts right before Christmas. I haven't been running as much as I should be, so the SoS half is probably going to be quite interesting. My goal for that race might be survival rather than a PR.
I drank so much water on the week leading up to HHH. I took off of work on Friday, Aug 22, and left for Wichita Falls around noon. I packed my car and hit the road, stylin with my dinosaur sunglasses:
I stayed in a church that offers lodging to HHH participants every year. I was a little worried (but when am I not a little worried?!), but things worked out well. We stayed in the church's rec center. The women stayed upstairs. I went over and picked up my packet, ate the spaghetti dinner, and then went back to the church to relax. I got up at 4:15am, because I needed to meet my friends at the flagpole near the start at 6am. I live in fear of being late lol. I could have started from the church that I stayed at, but I was worried about getting lost on the way back (it was a 2mi ride). So I parked my car at another church parking lot, roughly 3 blocks from the start. I drove over there, unpacked my stuff, and rode over to the flag pole.
Kennon, me, Adam, and Sandy at the flagpole (Kelli is the photographer):
Lined up:
Adam, me, Sandy, and Kelli:
We started up behind the Scorchers (the fastest group) because those riders are experienced. I should have started way way back with the Hopefuls (9+ hr expected finish time), but that's where the start is dangerous. People lose water bottles, don't know how to ride in a group, and it's packed. So, while I was very nervous about starting up with the fast kids, Adam, Sandy, and Kelli assured me that it was for the best (and they were right!). I only saw about 6 water bottles, and I never saw any wrecks. I did see a guy go by with his buddies in identical kits, but his shorts had a big rose on the back. It took me a minute to realize that his shorts were actually ripped and that was road rash on his exposed butt cheek. I'm not sure that I would have continued on, but kudos to him.
Sandy and Kelli left us fairly early on, so I drafted behind Adam for the first 30 miles. We did catch them briefly about 10 miles in, because a train had stopped roughly 500 people at the railroad crossing. I imagine that they were pissed, and we basically had a second start. It was very packed and a little bit scary.
I took a selfie every time I stopped at a rest stop. I am in a sign language interpreter program, so I signed the number of every stop so I'd know where the pic was taken. I didn't stop until the 30mi stop, which was my plan. I needed to make Hell's Gate before the cutoff. HG is at 60 miles, and closes at 12:30. I wanted to ensure that I made the gate, otherwise I would have been diverted to a 75mi route.
30 mile rest stop, having a great time. I averaged roughly 18mph for the first 30 miles, which is ridiculously high for me. At every rest stop, I was very careful to not lay my bike in the grass because of stickers, and I checked my tires before leaving. I was super worried about getting a flat, because I'd had one on the last 2 group rides that I did.
50mi rest stop. Adam started feeling sick somewhere around 40 miles in, so we agreed that I'd continue on alone, and he planned to take the diverted route voluntarily. I caught Kelli and Sandy at the 50, which shows how bad Kelli was feeling. I shouldn't have seen her again after the start (she's really fast). I was still feeling great at 50 miles:
I made Hell's Gate at 11:30, with an hour to spare! I was so excited. My friend Heather and I met up somewhere around 58 miles. We took a right turn right into the headwind, and OMG. It was like hitting a wall.
After HG, I hit every rest stop. The temp reached 104F, and we had a 20mph headwind from about 80 miles on. You could feel it after that right turn before HG. That wind was not pleasant.
65mi rest stop. People had laid their bikes down in the grass. A gust of wind came through and it was strong enough that all of the bikes fell completely over. Not a good sign. That's Heather in the blue behind me, pouring water on her head. It was hot.
I started to feel the heat by this point. I was very careful about drinking water and gatorade, and eating on schedule. I ate every hour from the gel flask, and I had 2 bananas and a clif bar at every rest stop. I carried a 50oz camelbak, a 24oz bottle for gatorade, and a 21oz bottle with water for pouring over my head and back. I remember one brief feeling of nausea (shortly after the 50mi stop), and occasional chills. Both are signs of dehydration. Thankfully, the nausea went away. I drank water and gatorade every time I felt a chill.
This is the 75mi rest stop. It was the first time that I sat down (every rest stop had chairs and cots). I was afraid to sit down earlier than this, because the temptation to just stay there was strong. This was my favorite stop-they had a little girl with a pesticide sprayer-type contraption, filled with ice water. She was spraying people down, and it felt amazing. This was also the only stop that had a theme (neon 80s I think). I had been told that every stop had a theme, but I guess they slacked on that this year. You can see that I am growing less happy. My face is getting redder and redder, too.
By the time I got to the 85mi rest stop, I was ready to go home. I couldn't remember why I thought that this was a good idea. It was hot, I was tired, and the wind was wearing me down. I saw a guy pass out cold at this stop. He hit the ground face-down, unconscious. This was the "muddy stop." As you can see, there wasn't much grass. Add in a lot of water and gatorade, and you have a mud pit. They put down plyboards for people to walk on. I saw several people stopped down the road after this rest stop, trying to get the mud out of their cleats. I discovered the cool rags soaked in ice water at this stop, and they were a god-send.
From 85 miles on, the rest stops were at 5 mile intervals. This is the 90mi rest stop, and I was so over it by this point. There was a carport, and people were setting their bikes down there. I laid my bike down, and sat on the ground until I had the energy to walk the 50 feet to the portapotties. I started putting the cold rags under the leg bands of my shorts to help cool me off. I was passed by many many full SAG vehicles. I was beginning to wonder if they were going to run out of people to pick up.
Somewhere between the 90 and 95mi rest stops, I passed a guy. I was so tired that I yelled "On your right. I mean on your left. I mean, I'm on this side of you." (I was actually on his left) He laughed at me as I slowly passed him. Pretty much everyone was stupid tired by this point, so I'm sure he understood.
At the 95mi rest stop, I didn't even have the energy to make a number. I was just done by this point. Thankfully, there were only 5 miles left.
The last 5 miles were actually some of the easiest, with one exception. Someone decided that the route would go up a highway overpass. One of the ones in cities that goes over other roads. I don't know whose idea that was, but I yelled "this is just cruel" at the cop standing there as I started up the incline, and she agreed (and laughed. GAH). However, once I got over that, we came into a residential area, and the buildings helped block the god-awful wind. I finally felt like I was riding a road bike again, rather than pedaling through molasses.
I finally (FINALLY) got to the finish line around 4:40pm. My official time was 9:33. Nine and a half hours. According to my watch, I spent 6:45 of that on the bike (I had to pause my bia at every stop because it doesn't have autopause yet). After Hell's Gate, my goal was survival and finishing, not any kind of time goal. Unfortunately, my watch did not say 100 miles when I crossed the finish line (it said 99.25), so I did laps in the parking lot until it did. The course was actually 101 miles, so I was a bit irritated. I'll touch on that in an upcoming bia review post. But anyway. Adam and Sandy were waiting for me at the finish. All 3 of them (Kelli included) had taken the shorter route at Hell's Gate. Adam and Kelli were sick, and this was Sandy's 5th HHH and she didn't care which route she took. Kelli left immediately after finishing to go get married in New Mexico. Sandy took my picture at the finish line. This was completely not my idea, but apparently holding up your bike is a thing at HHH.
I distinctly remember telling them to hurry up before I dropped my bike on my head. I was oddly euphoric and sarcastic (probably from adrenaline). This is how I really felt, though:
I was so worried about the people waiting for me at the church that I immediately left and went to my car, loaded my bike, and drove back to the church. I was prepared to just leave so the poor woman wouldn't have to wait any longer, but she insisted that I take a shower and eat (wise woman). I did snap some pics at my car before leaving for the church:
You might notice that the medal is backwards. That shows how out of it I was-I carefully checked to make sure I could see the front of the medal, except I looked at the medal instead of at the iphone screen. LOL.
I did have some side-effects from riding my bike for forever in 104F Texas heat. I did not get a sunburn (thankfully I remembered to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or so), but I did have heat rash on my upper quads (right below the short line) and on my torso.
It went away within 2 days, thankfully. I haven't had too many lasting effects, though. I was tired for about 2 weeks, and my right knee has been pretty upset with me. It's finally getting better. I still haven't remembered to take the sticker off of my helmet.
Notes for next year (because I am signed up for lodging for next year-I'm crazy enough to do this again):
-take more money to the expo.
-taking frozen water bottles is not worth the effort; also, the church has ice.
-look for a cot
-make sure the sunscreen bottle is full (I used the last of it at the 90mi stop)
Now that school has started, I am unable to do any mid-week group rides. I am limited to the Saturday morning rides (ie the pre-donut and donut rides). I bought a bike trainer so that I can continue to ride through the winter. My goal on the bike front is to be able to stay with Smitty's group at Overholser when school is out in May. His group averages 18-20mph, and I've never managed to keep up with them (he has kindly stayed back with me on the 3 times I've tried his group).
Now it's time to switch back to running mode. I have the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon on Oct 6, and I'm going to run the full 2015 Memorial Marathon. Training for the marathon starts right before Christmas. I haven't been running as much as I should be, so the SoS half is probably going to be quite interesting. My goal for that race might be survival rather than a PR.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Decisions, Decisions
I keep trying to start a blog post for updates, and then a week later, I'll realize that I forgot to do it. For example, I started this post on 6/3/2014, a week ago. That cycle keeps continuing. I've decided to just skip all of the mini updates that I wanted to do, and just post something (which is better than nothing, right?).
My running has pretty much gone to crap recently. I think it's a combination of burn-out and tightness. I've recently had some plantar fasciitis-type pain in my left foot. As long as I pay attention to how my foot lands on the ground, it doesn't bother me a whole lot. But if I get lazy, then it becomes a problem. As of this morning, I haven't run for a week, and it's still bothering me a little. I think it has something to do with my cycling shoes, so I'm looking into orthotics for those shoes to see if it helps. I also need to stretch my calves more, I think, because they have been ridiculously tight as well.
I'm also experiencing a bit of frustration (because of the above issues), and some burnout as well. I've been training for the Andy Payne marathon (Sept) and 24 the Hard Way ultra (Oct). Someone recently brought up the Hotter'n Hell Hundred bike ride, which is in late August. I quickly realized that there was no way that I could train for both the ultra and the HH100, and it wasn't hard for me to lean towards the cycling event. So I've decided to put off the ultra for a few years, and used my fall school schedule as an excuse. But I'm also not feeling the marathon. They haven't even announced the date yet, and that sort of disorganization really irritates me. So it wasn't a very hard decision to sit out, although I did struggle a bit about ditching 2 marathon plans in a row. Right now, I'd say I'm about 90% sure that I am going to take a brief step back! and then focus on PRing the SOS half in October. I haven't really decided on a training plan. I thought about using another Hal Higdon plan, but I don't really like the idea of dropping back down to 5 mile long runs. But maybe that's what I need? Alternatively, I could run 3 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then cycle through 8, 10, and 12 mile long runs. Idk. I'm probably not going to run again until Thursday, or maybe even until next Sunday, so I have some time to think about it. Also, race fees are a big part of the issue. I just can't afford to do as many races as I want to. So HH100, the Gravedigger, and the SoS Half are probably the only races I'll do for the rest of the year.
Now, on to the bike. I've had my bike for a little over 3 months so far. I didn't really get to ride it much for the first 4 weeks because we got snow or ice every weekend it seemed, so I've basically been riding since mid-March. I'm moving right along in mileage-my longest ride so far has been 55 miles. I've moved on to clipless pedals, and I've fallen 3x. Two Saturdays ago, I had my first wreck. My friend Heather and I went to the OBS 70 mile training ride. I went into it wanting to do 70, but ok with doing the 55 mile alternative route if need be. However, things did not go as planned. Heather and I were comfortably riding between the medium pace group and the slow group. It started raining, and we missed a turn. We eventually got back on course, but then we both went down because of wet railroad tracks. I ended up with some road rash on my hip, but nothing overly serious. My bike (Luna) is ok. Heather bloodied her knee and had some bad bruising. By the time we got to the convenience store where we were supposed to meet up, the group had left us (not maliciously-they thought we had gone on ahead). Heather didn't want to continue, so she called her husband. I rode 13 miles alone, trying to catch up with someone. I took the 55 mile route. Heather and her husband eventually caught up with me in their car, and took my bike and me ahead about a mile or 2 until we found someone for me to ride with. I finished with 54 miles. Lessons learned: don't miss any turns, and be sure to get someone's phone number so you can communicate (I ended up fb messaging 2 people to let them know what had happened). Also, wet railroad tracks are devious.
Now, on to the bike. I've had my bike for a little over 3 months so far. I didn't really get to ride it much for the first 4 weeks because we got snow or ice every weekend it seemed, so I've basically been riding since mid-March. I'm moving right along in mileage-my longest ride so far has been 55 miles. I've moved on to clipless pedals, and I've fallen 3x. Two Saturdays ago, I had my first wreck. My friend Heather and I went to the OBS 70 mile training ride. I went into it wanting to do 70, but ok with doing the 55 mile alternative route if need be. However, things did not go as planned. Heather and I were comfortably riding between the medium pace group and the slow group. It started raining, and we missed a turn. We eventually got back on course, but then we both went down because of wet railroad tracks. I ended up with some road rash on my hip, but nothing overly serious. My bike (Luna) is ok. Heather bloodied her knee and had some bad bruising. By the time we got to the convenience store where we were supposed to meet up, the group had left us (not maliciously-they thought we had gone on ahead). Heather didn't want to continue, so she called her husband. I rode 13 miles alone, trying to catch up with someone. I took the 55 mile route. Heather and her husband eventually caught up with me in their car, and took my bike and me ahead about a mile or 2 until we found someone for me to ride with. I finished with 54 miles. Lessons learned: don't miss any turns, and be sure to get someone's phone number so you can communicate (I ended up fb messaging 2 people to let them know what had happened). Also, wet railroad tracks are devious.
Like I said above, I'm thinking about doing the HH100. This weekend, I am doing the 44 mile route of miles4smiles, and then next weekend is the Tour de Cure (62 miles). I have some friends who are doing it, but I'm not entirely sure I should. The overholser group ride last week was disgustingly hot (99F at 6pm), and it sucked. But the HH100 starts in the morning, so maybe I could handle it. We'll see.
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