July 2012 My Month of Racing

San Rafael Classic--July 7, 2012

Two weeks after my ironman, I decided to do this fun olympic triathlon with my friend Deb Battaglia.  Deb is the person responsible for getting me into ironmans.  She is an amazing 45 year old endurance athlete, who has competed in an ironman every month this year. We drove up Friday night, camped in her car near the start.  Every race I have done with her we have car camped.   This race provides free camping to athletes!  So we didn't haven't search for a hiding place to car camp.  Unfortunately we missed the free pasta dinner.  We woke up race day and registered without any problems.The race started at 6:30, which was nice to avoid the heat.

Swim:
The Swim route was a two loop open water swim in the beautiful Huntington Lake.  There were only about 18 females so the swim was not very chaotic.   They started the males 5 minutes before us.  One part of the triangle loop we were swimming directly into the sun, which made spotting difficult.  I had a great swim for me 28:25 (anytime I am under 30 and I am within a minute from Deb I am OK with my swim time, she swam the course in 27:24) 

T1-1:39-My transition are always a little slow in these races, I struggle with my wetsuit. Maybe one day I will master mounting my bike while having my shoes attached..

Bike:
The Bike Route was paved, smooth and will swept prior to the race. There are a couple of cattle guards which were covered and clearly marked. The Bike Route is on a rural county road.  For the Olympic course we did two out and back loops.  The bike ended up being about 30 miles.  Leaving the lake there is some slight climbing, which makes for a sweet ride back to the lake.  Bike time 1:28, it was a little windy and the hills made it a little slower course.

Run:
The Run Route went around Huntington Lake twice for the olympic course. It was a combination of pavement, and gravel.  The run felt fairly good.  I though I paced well, but my stomach was bothering me the whole run.  Thankfully I made it to the finish without having to stop. It was a little short of 6 miles so it looks like I was running faster than I really was.  Run time 40:55.

This race was small, well organized, and has a beautiful setting.  It is the first race I have ever beat all the guys, which I actually didn't know when I finished, because they started 5 minutes earlier.  For my award, I received a cool slab of rock engraved with a swimmer, biker and runner.   The Picture is a little hazy, due to fires in the area...

Male Participants 1. Barrett Nelson 2:40:50 2. Erich Kuster 2:40:51 3. WESLEY DONALD 2:47:03 4. BYRON BENNET 2:52:29 5. Jeff Mower 2:56:07

Female Participants  1. KATHRYN THROOLIN  2:40:33  2. Meagan Johnson 2:59:18  3. deborah battaglia 3:00:30  4. Mandy Mehler 3:15:37  5. AnnaMarie Miller 3:17:00

Echo--7/14/2012 
(Thanks to Mike Mamales for all the pictures and zazoosh..)
I woke up early Saturday morning to eat breackfast and drive to Echo Reservoir.  Parked at a highscool, and biked with all my gear to the start of the race to check in.  I met my friend Andi, Jannalyn, Deb and Jeannie at the start of the race.  Then down at the swim start met my friend Alli, BJ, Chrystel, and Tracy.   My friend Deb Battaglia, beat me by about a minute on the swim again.  I always try to draft off her but always seem to loose her in the sun or muddy lakes...

Swim: Olympic athletes swam twice counter-clockwise around the buoys in Echos reservoir.  There was an awesome cloud cover, and so the sun was not a problem.  The wave start made the swim mellow.  Due to the low snow levels in Salt Lake, echo lake was very muddy and the visibility... um wait what there was no visibility.  There was a shoe zone after the swim, and I struggled putting on my shoes, maybe I should have just used sandals...I was feeling a little disoriented after the swim like usual...


Because of the low level of the lake, I think we ran about a quater mile uphill on a narrow path to get to our bikes.  So this time my long transition, was not do to wetsuit issues...

Bike:
The bike was an out and back course.  We started by leaving the Echo Resort and crossed onto Hwy 32 going North (left). Then we continued north on Hwy 32, going under the Interstate 80 overpass and turn right, continuing up Hwy 189 (Echo Canyon Road) to the turn-around.  We biked past some beautiful Red Cliffs, that are fun to climb on.  I felt pretty strong on the bike and found a good cycler to pace myself off.  The route back to Echo reservoir, was definitely faster. 



Run:
The run was also an out-and-back course.  From the transition we ran on the Park City Rail Trail (hard packed dirt trail). The trail parallels Hwy 32, and is completely separated from vehicle traffic. Olympic athletes will continue to the end of the Rail Trail.   Aid stations were provided every mile, which was very nice.  I had problems on the run with my stomach, despite taking 3 immodiums.
  Here is my flying to fast out of transition feeling great.  I started out at a 7min mile pace for the first 3 miles, and slowed to a 7:30 pace the last 3.   Here is my rabbit run when I started to fatigue...
 I'd like to blame my slow second half of the run on diarrhea, and maybe not having enough fuel...
But there are always so many variables, and triathletes are great at coming up with excuses..
Anyway, the weather was great!  The second female overall!  there is nobody I would rather loose to than Ali.  My race was 10 minutes faster than two years ago, and I think the transition was long this year!  My Coach ended up winning overall

                                                               swim              t1                bike             t2             run      

1

642

Ali BLACK

02:15:25.4

00:23:23.628

00:03:04.572

01:04:58.261

00:01:10.475

00:42:48.496

2

633

Kathryn THROOLIN

02:20:56.4

00:24:13.561

00:03:42.460

01:06:20.356

00:01:07.244

00:45:32.847

3

662

Lesley ROCKWOOD

02:22:34.3

00:23:17.651

00:03:39.403

01:07:54.735

00:01:05.556

00:46:37.003

Stansbury-July 21
I had a rough day at work friday, and was texting my friend Leslie and decided to race with her at Stansbury.  So I rushed to the bike store and bought some gu.  So glad Leslie convinced me to race.  I felt better at this race than the previous races.  Signed up the day of the race, just like I did for the San Rafael Classic...It was great to see my friends Leslie, TeKoi, Amanda, Mike, Jen and Wes at the start of the race.

Swim:
The swim consisted of a two loop swim in the Stansbury park lake.  I took the swim easy, especially on the long stretch were I was blinded by the sun, and just hoped I was swimming in the right direction.  The water was warm, and I wish I had a sleeveless wetsuit.  I actually had very fast transition times for me. Maybe, I am finally getting the hang of stripping a wetsuit...Somehow my friend Tekoi managed to take of his wetsuit, during the swim...

Bike:
The bike was flat and weaved around some country roads.  It was a little windy.  I felt great on the bike!  I found a guy that we kept playing leap frog the majority of the race, which helped me with my pacing..

Run:
Yay!!! No stomach issues!!!  The night before I ate salmon and a baked potato.  Race day I had oatmeal and a banana.  I was beginning to think that there was no solution to my stomach issues... The run was flat, and on pavement, which made for a quick time.  I wish they would have had aide stations every mile, on such a hot day. The first loop of the run, I felt awesome!  The first race of the year, that it felt good to run.  I could tell I was gaining ground on a female in front of me.  The second loop was harder, but I still felt strong, and finally in the last 100meters I caught the female in front of me and sprinted to the finish.  My fastest 10k race ever!

First overall female! 

                                    swim   t1        bike       t2        run          final time

1 Kathryn Throolin

27:42

1:01

55:02

0:52

42:07

2:06:41.1

Morgan Half Marathon--July 28
I had a coworker, Kirsten convince me to do this half marathon.  I didn't really feel like running 10 miles on my own, so I decided to use this race as a training run.  The 2nd Annual Morgan Valley Half Marathon started at 6:30am.  The course winds through the country roads of morgan valley with scenic mountain views and congestion free roads.  There was a small amount of participants, but the course was well organized and the provided free photographs!  I started out to fast, hoping I might finish with a PR. I only had diarrhea once during the race.  I was the fourth female.  I finished with a 1:32.  This was 5 minutes slower than my best time.  Not too bad considering I wasn't tapered and it was a hilly course.    The shirt I am wearing I recieved from a patient at Hunstman who is an amazing ultrarunner fighting cancer.


This is how I really look when I am running hard, and started out too fast.  I call it my rabbit run..  Debating about posting this, but it is kind of funny...


What a great month!  I regained some confidence about my athletic abilities eventhough I haven't qualified for Kona.  It was a lot of fun to race with some friends, relax, and enjoy some local races...I think I will be doing Jordanelle and the Utah Half Ironman next...

Ironman CDA 6/24/12

Ironman Coeur D'Alene is a beautiful race! Smooth roads, awesome volunteers and great friends made the experience amazing.  The cloudcover was wonderful and thankfully it didn't downpour like the previous day.  Didn't quite have the race I was imagining, but it is all good.   Just means is room for improvement.  I was super excited to finish with no bike problems!  

SWIM.

 Here is an awesomoe link to a video of the race start on you tube.   CDA ironman start 

The 2.4 mile swim started at Lake Coeur d'Alene on the sandy beaches of City Park.  It consisted of two counterclock wise loops.  Thankfully the water was not too cold!  My extra warm cap probably helped.  However, I still struggled in transition putting on arm warmers and gloves with my frozen hands...A mass beach start made for an unpleasant physical swim.   Waterpolo players must be great openwater swimmers, especially in mass starts. I lost my chip during the swim.  There were so many people all around me, I just kind of swam with the flow without sighting.  Open water swimming is definitely not one of my strengths, but I think I am slowly improving.  I love the Sable goggles my friend Leslie let me borrow.  They never fogged up and I never used antifog spray on the goggles.  I felt a little disoriented coming out of the water after the first loop and almost fell over, a volunteer told me maybe I should sit out for a little.  In my mind I thought no way are you crazy?   But the volunteer probably thought I was crazy.  The second loop was a little better as far as physical contact goes, but somebody grabbed my shoulder on the second loop.  For some reason my hips bother me in openwater swims.  On the second loop I could feel my hips starting to ache.  I don't really know my swim time, because of my lost chip.  A volunteer noticed I didnt have a chip and showed me where to get a new chip.  I grabbed my transition bag and into the tent, I was excited for the bike.  I have no idea how long I was in transition either.  However, I know I looked at the clock I think when I was exiting and the clock said 1:12..(Thanks for letting me borrow this picture Chris)

BIKE

The double-looped 112-mile bike course heads out east of the city, and then returns to downtown.  Then we headed onto US-95 south on the west side of Coeur d'Alene Lake.  The whole course had many hills, including a 2-mile uphill climb.  I was thankful for my arm warmers and gloves on the first part of the bike.  I might have started out a little to fast.  I saw my friend Ali on the first turnaround headed back to the city, so I knew I was probably close to her swim time. For some reason my quads were a little sore even at the start of the bike, but I decided to push hard, and if I crashed, try to be mentally tough.  The first loop went by fairly quick, and I was feeling fairly good.

  I continued to feel fairly strong until around mile 70.  Around mile 70 there was an aide station and I tried putting an ironman perform bottle in my front aerowater bottle instead of the cage. The bottle managed to get stuck in the lid of the aerowater bottle.  I tried pulling it out multiple times and finally succeded, but my lid came off of my aerowater bottle, so I had perform spraying all over.  By the time I succesfully pulled the perform water bottle free, I was past the drop zone.  I wasn't sure what to do.  I should have tossed the bottle but there were cars on one side and cyclists coming down on the other side. So I was shifting with the bottle in my mouth and holding it in my hand as I was biking, if only my jersey had a pocket for my bottle I thought.  Finally, I realized it stuck between my arrow bars..anyway that was the start of loosing my focus...

I saw my friend Chris near the top of the turn around on US-95.  I knew I  was having a good bike, despite my little dilemma and loosing focus, and starting to feel tired...  We finally started downhill into town, and I luckily recognized Jen on her bike cheering me on.  When I finally got to the next aide station it was hard to get my ironman perform, bottle out of my arrow bars, but finally completed the task before passing the aide station....I am guessing my bike time was around 5:47ish, which is my second fastest bike time.  Yay for no bike problems!!!!!  My watch says 5:50, but I think it was running in the transition.  I wanted to take it easy in transition and prepare mentally for the marathon.  However, somewhow I took 7 minutes in transition, maybe a little too much relaxing ;)

RUN. 

The two loop run, was hilly, definitely not flat. I knew it was going to be a long run, because my stomach felt horrible.  I stopped at the first portapotty, which would be a trend for the rest of the marathon.  I stopped probably about 10 times, a few times I didnt quite make it to the portapotty.  I am guessing I lost 15 min in toilets...somebody gave me some tums which helped a little..The diarrhea was frustrating!  Must be something wrong with my fueling or my diet.  Maybe this is a little too much information...oh well :)  I had Gus and a power bar on the bike, as well as perform. For breakfast I had some oatmeal. The night before the race I was feeling constipated like I was before st George.  I had rice and chicken, and actually decided to have an apple because I was feeling constipated. In the morning I had a small hard bowel movement and had one immodium, which I think helped on the ride..maybe I should have had another immodium for the run....maybe I should have done the four immodiums like I have for my other half ironmans...I think it is just part of the race for me-but that was the worse cramping/diarrhea I have had in an ironman.   The 2 ironmans I participated in last year I had 4 immodiums, felt a little nausea and dehydration and still had to poop on the run a few times, but it was way better than CDA.  After the race my stomach felt horrible though.  I have tried no lactose before race day; less fiber 4 days before the race; bananas, rice, applesauce and toast diet; immodium/no immodium...not sure...still trying to figure this out..

Anyway, back to the run...The first 13 miles was around 2hrs, so I was hoping to keep the pace for the last 13, but slowed down.. ending up with a 4:15.  The run was felt more like a miserable shuffle, but it was beautiful to run beside Lake Couer d'Alene.  It was great to run with Chris briefly and to see so many freinds on the run.  When I run I tend to get in this zone, and don't realize what is really going around me, but I can hear people cheering for me, which is awesome.  My goal for my next ironman, is to not run like a zombie...

As a triathlete I always analyze my races, the never ending process of improving.  I think that one reaon I keep doing ironmans is that I know there are ways to improve my race and push my limits to a new level...So I need to work more on running up hills.  I tend to start fast on the run..Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike.  I need to work on my bike so I am not fatigued after biking 112 miles so I can run.  I need to do more bricks, and higher quality workouts.. I need to work on my nutrition..  the easiest thing to improve is to not get my perform bottle stuck, in the lid of my aero water bottle :)  Anyway, I realize I have a lot more work on my bike and run before I think about Kona. There are so many amazing triathletes!  The winner in my age group did a 10:09, second 10:11, and third 10:29...I ended up with a 11:21:25.  Struggled with my breathing after the race, found out I breathe wrong, which causes asthma like symptoms.  Just takes me a little to recover after my long races..  A highlight for my race was having my mom, dad and brother at the finish line!!! 

 

Always great racing with you Chris, great job, considering you didn't train much on the run.  The Hardy's are always so kind and fun to be around.  Jen you are the best cheer leader ever.  Wes nice swim!  Ali  10:18---amazing!  Molly and Barabara, you always make everything look fun.  Nice job on your first ironman Tom and Grethcen.  Thanks for cheering for me Mike Mamales.   Cherell can't believe a motorcycle hit you during the race!  Thanks for hleping me train for the race BJ