Race Report: Walnut Creek Turkey Trot 5k

One of my all time favorite days to run is Thanksgiving morning.  It always feels great to get in a few good miles before the feasting begins.  This year was no exception and Kevin and I lined up for our 5th year in a row for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  While we lived in Sacramento it was Run to Feed the Hungry, last year was the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot and this year we decided to run in the Walnut Creek Turkey Trot. 

When the alarm went off I heard rain on windows.  I actually don't mind running in the rain but always have a hard time deciding what to wear as the rain always makes me think it is colder than it really is.  I went with long sleeves with a tank underneath, capris and my favorite Northface headband.  Around mile 1.5 I was regretting the long sleeves (which is why I usually just wear arm warmers) but knowing I only had 1.5 miles to go I resisted the urge to stop and take it off.

I hadn't picked up our race packets before hand so we left at 6:30 am because I wasn't sure about traffic, parking, etc.  Needless to say we had our packets and were back in the car by 6:55 am with an hour and five minutes to go before the race started at 8:00.  I spent the whole time massaging my back with the stick as it was a little tight from my run the day prior and giving me a little bit of trouble.   


We walked over to the start around 7:50 and easily got a spot in the 9:00-10:00 minute mile corral and the rain was just starting to let up at this point.  We were both signed up for the 10k but I told Kevin that if my back started to tighten up I was going to cut out at the 5k split.  I had no goals for this race other than to have fun so it was not worth being in pain for.

The gun fired and we were off.  One thing about Turkey Trots is they usually allow baby joggers (I guess a lot of 5ks do for that matter) so I spent a good portion of mile one dodging them (that's what happens when you are slow).  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that families are out there together and I fully intend on continuing the Turkey Trot tradition with a baby jogger when I have kids but I promise to be considerate and stay to the far left or right so people don't have to go around me. 

Around mile 1.5 I felt the all to familiar twinge of of my muscles tightening in my back.  I told myself to just try and stick it out but I have been having such successful (short, but successful) runs lately I didn't want to push my luck and knew I would be much happier to finish a shorter race pain free than a longer race in pain.  When I finally caught Kevin I told him I was going to duck out at the 5k but for him to continue on with the 10k.  Once I knew I only had less than 1.5 miles to go I picked up the pace and really enjoyed the rest of the race. 

Mile 1: 10:43
Mile 2: 10:18
Mile 3: 10:03
Mile .1: 9:55
Total: 32:00 (10:21 avg)

I have clearly lost a lot of speed over this past year being injured but this past month I have been completing runs without having to stop and walk (a huge improvement) so I consider that a success and a step in the right direction to being healed!

 

I got in some good stretching and ran into a friend waiting for Kevin to finish - he wasn't too far behind me!

There wasn't much time to hang out after though as we had an important person to go see:

My nephew was born on November 22 and was still in the hospital on Thanksgiving which was only minutes from where the race finished.  I am so in love with the little guy (even though he looks a little terrified of me in this picture!)  He was scheduled to be born on November 28th but decided he wanted to make his appearance a little bit early.  He is healthy, happy and truly blessed to have two of the best parents in the whole world - and of course, the best uncle and auntie in the whole world. :)

From there we rushed home as I had a turkey to get in the oven.  We hosted my family and Kevin's parents for Thanksgiving.

Today we got in a good ride with great company and tomorrow I get to catch up with one of my best friends and my godson.

 

There are just too many cute babies in my life!

2011 has brought me so much to be thankful for - I am such a lucky a girl.  I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with your families!

Race Report: Big Kahuna Half Ironman Reflections {part 2)

Despite the fact it might not make it on the blog, after every race/ride I always take a moment to look back at my training - did I stick to the plan? if yes, did I accomplish what I set out to do?  if not, why? then how can I make myself more successful next time?

Planning My Training Plan

For this race I loosely used the Essential Week-By-Week Training Guide by Matt Fitzgerald to help me formulate my plan.  This book is pretty amazing and has training plans for triathlons from sprint distance to full ironmans.  Each distance has 10 plans based on how hard/how much time you have to train - level 1 being "just finish" and level 10 being "devote your entire life to training but achieve a massive PR."  When I initially created my training plan I worked in training in anticipation of some fall events (a century and a marathon), and thus needed to be training at distances longer than prescribed in the book.  About week 4 I realized my back injury was not going to let me continue training for those events so I revised my training usually the book level 4 for the cycling distances but made up my own workouts and used a half-marathon training plan I had to fill in the running workouts.  As for the swimming I based the majority of my swim workouts on level 5, with a few from level four to get back into swimming in the beginning and a few I made up on my own when I wanted to swim farther.

The plans in the book are 20 weeks long.  My plan was 12.  While I would have liked to have a 20 long plan, I didn't want to commit to the race until I knew whether or not I passed the bar as that would determine whether or not I could take the summer to train.  Luckily I passed, however, the consequence of waiting was a shorter training cycle.  The race was important to me though, and I hoped that with a slightly more aggressive plan combined with my fitness base 12 weeks would be adequate time. 

Executing My Training Plan

I had a few set backs - a sliced finger that kept me out of the pool for two weeks, a back flare up, a trip to Costa Rica (ok, ok a self induced set back but completely and totally worth it), and a broken toe. 

I think my plan was 100% doable but doesn't mean I hit every workout.  Despite being unemployed throughout the majority of the training time (although looking for a job felt like a full time job at times), my schedule was almost more unpredictable than if I had a job.  Generally, I feel like I am the type of person who is more successful when my schedule is packed versus open.  For example, when I know I only have "from 7:00 - 8:00" to work out I do it because I know that is the only time I have.  However, when I could say workout anytime between "7:00 and 1:00" my procrastination tendencies would kick in and I would be scrambling to get it in the last minute.  Totally and utterly my own fault but owning up to it is the first step right? :)  That being said, while I rarely did the right workout on the prescribed day, I only missed a handful of workouts that were beyond the control of the above 4 setbacks.

Effectiveness of My Training Plan

Swimming
Swimming is my "strong" sport and I loved my swim workouts.  I definitely think my plan was adequate and I saw a great improvement in my swimming throughout the 12 weeks.

Biking
The book incorporates speed workouts that I did not incorporate into my plan.  Like I mentioned in my race recap, I hit my goal of 15 mph/avg so my training, so yes, I can say the plan was effective.

Running
Ultimately, I think my running left a lot to be desired.  On the one hand I did have some injury setbacks, on the other hand I think there were times I was afraid to push myself harder for fear of making the injury worse and forcing me to withdraw from the race altogether.  As written, I think the plan would have been effective, especially given that I am not a newbie to running.  As executed not so much.

What I will Do Different Next Time

Swimming
While overall I was pleased with my swimming, I would definitely incorporate more open water swims to work on sighting.

Biking
Even though I met my "goal" I want/need to get faster.  I am definitely stronger on the bike when it comes to climbing than I was when I started but I am still slower than I would like to be.  I will definitely be including a "speed workout" each week next time. 

Running
Run more - plain and simple. 

Misc
I did one Olympic triathlon to prepare for this race and I am so glad I did.  However, next time I would try to get in at least two or three tun up races.  I would also do more brick workouts.  While there were many "double days," rarely did I do them in a race setting going immediately from one to the other. 

What This Race Meant to Me

Isn't it funny the difference a year can make?  Last year I had a few minor and major setbacks which seemed to make it impossible to achieve many of the goals I set for myself.  I understand that in the big scheme of life these were minor bumps in the road but at the time they felt major.

On May 13, 2011 at 6:00 pm I achieved my major personal/career goal I failed last year - I got the news I passed the California State Bar.

This left my fitness goal.  Last year I was in the midst of training for Barb's Half Ironman when I found out I was going to have to take the bar again.  I had to bow out of training although I still went and cheered on Alisa and Tara and watched them become half iron{women}.  Thus, this year after I found out I passed the bar I knew my next goal (besides finding a job) was to get my half ironman.

Thus, even though I may be slightly disappointed with my my time, this race was kind of like my last obstacle I had to overcome to fully be able to put the disappointments of 2010 behind me and I did just that.

My overall training stats include:

28.71 miles swam

638.76 biked

112.38 ran

over 12 weeks.

So . . . will I do another?  I think we all know the answer to that.  July 8, 2012 Portland Rev3.  I will get my sub 7:00.  Training starts March 5.

Race Report: Big Kahuna Half Ironman {part 1}

I did it.  I am a {half} ironman.

I know, I know.  This post is long overdo and funny enough it has been almost completely written for a month but I just couldn't press post.  For one, work (more on that later) and have been swamped with 50 hour work weeks but more so I was struggling to convey my emotions about this race.  When I finished I was so happy to have finished but a week later I was really upset with my performance and realized while I went in wanting just to finish (or at least that is what I told myself) I wasn't really happy with just "finishing."  I had set a goal and missed it.  Some races I am a-ok with that but this race was too big to "just finish."  Thus, my initial report was fairly negative and I didn't want to convey that it was a negative race because despite missing my overall goal I did hit my swim and bike goal.  These last 6 weeks I have been working has given me a chance to step back from running, biking, blogs etc for a bit and take a break and put things in perspective.  I think I have finally found my groove - have gotten back into training - and am slowly learning to balance life as an attorney and life.

I won't be gone as long this time but I have found that when life becomes hectic blogging takes a backseat and I have to be okay with that. 

So, without further ado, (I know the suspense has been killing you these last two months), my Big Kahuna Half Ironman race report! 

Pre-Race

To say I was restless the night before was an understatement.  I barely slept a wink and when the alarm went off at 4:00 am I sprung out of bed.  Our hotel was a mere mile from the race start but the transition area opened at 5:00 am and I learned from my last tri that location is key and I wanted an end spot.  I was there at 5:05 am and nabbed a prime spot on the end.  At 5:25 am I was all set up and body marked and had nothing to do but wait until the race started at 7:00 am.

I tried to eat and managed to choke down 1/2 a protein bar and 1/2 a banana but my nerves got the best of me.

Around 6:45 they started doing general announcements so we headed to the beach.  I was in the 4th wave so my race would be starting at 7:15.  I did a small warm up swim and instantly grateful to have decided to rent a full arm and leg wetsuit (from Sports Basement - only $25 for a week rental!!)  I was toasty warm in the high 50 degree water.

Swim - 1.2 miles

Big Kahuna is an ocean swim out and around the Santa Cruz pier.  Another race no-no, I never practiced swimming in the ocean.  Other than sharks I wasn't too worried though.  I knew I could go the distance and luckily the ocean was calm that morning.

They started the race with an "authentic" Hawaiian welcome and right at 7:00 am the elite and 24 and under men were off. 

Pretty soon the 7:10 wave left and it was time to file into the corral.  It was a beach start which meant when the horn sounded we ran into the water.

By this point I wasn't really nervous anymore.  The adrenaline was pumping and I just wanted to go.

Once we hit the water I immediately figured out what was going to make ocean swimming hard - breathing!  For the first five minutes it seemed that every time I took a breathe a wave was rolling by at the same time and I was taking in LOTS of saltwater.

The buoys were a little hard to sight.  I thought we only had to swim to the end of the pier and then turn right and head back into shore.  Oh no, we swam past the pier to a buoy, straight out to another buoy and then into shore and due to the swells they were kinda hard to see.  I managed to "swim the tangents" for lack of a better description very well though and minimize any extra distance.

I ended up LOVING the swim!  Maybe it was the wetsuit covering me so I never encountered anything gross touching my skin, or the fact that I couldn't see in the water so nothing freaked me out or maybe it was hearing the sea lions under the wharf as we swam by.  Whatever it was the swim was awesome.  I quickly found myself amongst the leaders as we rounded the first buoy.  As we rounded the second buoy I was passing green caps (men from the 7:10 wave).  I love that I actually get to pass people when I swim - such a change from the other sports.

Pretty soon the red arch was in sight and not soon after the sand was underneath my feet.  As I stood up I looked for a clock but couldn't see anything.  As I grabbed my Garmin from my dad he said 31 minutes.  31 minutes what? I thought.  31 minutes slower than he thought?  It wasn't til I looked down and saw he meant a 31 minute swim.  I figured there was no way that could be right - he must have started my watch too late.  That was only three minutes slower than I swam the .92 miles at the California Olympic Triathlon and that was about a quarter mile shorter than this race.

Goal Time: 45:00 or under
Actual Time: 31:40:2
4/35 Age Group (Women 25-29)
111/620 Overall

T1

The transition area was about a quarter mile away from the transition area so I decided to have one of my "crew" (aka parents, husband and in-laws) have some shoes waiting for me as I exited the water as the thought of stepping on rocks the whole way was not appealing.  The transition went smoothly and I took my time to make sure I didn't forget anything.

Goal Time: 10:00 or under
Actual Time: 9:30

Bike - 56 miles

One of my main concerns was getting my broken toe which I "claimed" was 80% healed at the time but think it was really 80% broken into my bike shoe.  Oh it was a tight fit and that toe screamed at me for all 56 miles but I wasn't about to give into it. 

I profiled the course before the race and it appeared to only have a little over 1000 feet of climbing.  Of course, my garmin had some issues during the bike and will not load the bike portion of the race so I was unable to get an elevation profile but lets say the course felt a lot more than 1000 feet of climbing.

It was an out and back course and in my relentless search for race reports for this race (which there are few) many people talked about the strong headwind.  I had it in my head the wind would be on the "out" portion of the ride.  Thus, for the first 25ish miles, despite the hills (oh the hills) I was keeping a 17mph - 18mph pace and thinking to myself, "if I am flying against the wind the way back must be awesome."

 

Then I turned around and was immediately hit by a huge wall of wind.  I wish my garmin would have recorded my times as I would love to compare the time it took me to get "out" versus the time it took me to get "back".  I was pushing with everything I had in me and going about 11/12 mph and being passed left and right.  This race had a very fast field and men and women were whizzing by me.  I tried really hard to keep focusing on the fact that I was still hitting my goal of maintaining a 15mph pace but I was getting really frustrated since I felt I was doing so good (for me) and yet I was still being passed like crazy.  Luckily, my "crew" stopped at 5 points on the way back to cheer me on and I needed it every time (although I kept thinking to myself if I see them one more freakin' time I am going to jump in the car with you and please don't stop stopping in case I get a flat and need your help).

freakin' hills that never ended

this is my "this sucks but I am still smiling" face

At the time, I thought the hills + the wind made the ride tough, and don't get me wrong, it was a tougher course than I anticipated, but now that can look back on it the pain was definitely more mental than physical (minus the toe).  I have had countless tough rides - heat, rain, over 4000 feet - but this one was mentally rough.  While I felt good about my performance - this was the speed I trained hard to maintain - the amount of people passing me made me think otherwise and I wasn't mentally strong enough to let that not affect me. 

Despite my bad attitude, the course was beautiful set along side the pacific coastline.  I fueled every 15 miles and that seemed to be perfect.  I never felt hungry or fatigued.  Once I hit 52 miles we were back in town and I was able to hear the crowd.  At this point I knew I could hit my goal of under 3:45 so I just put my head down and channeled all my negative thoughts into those last 4 miles keeping a 18/19 mph pace.  

Goal Time: 3:45:00 or under
Actual Time: 3:41:37/15.2 mph avg
33/35 Age Group (Women 25-29) - speedsters I tell you!
592/620 Overall

T2

Like T1 I wanted to take my time and just make sure I had what I needed.  As I pulled off my bike shoe and slipped my foot into my running shoe I instantly knew this was going to be a long 13.1 (how long I did not anticipate).  It was fairly numb at that point (good and bad) and for a split second almost decided to make the tri and "aqua bike" but kept telling myself that there is "no greater pain than that of quitting."  My goal was to complete the distance and if I had to walk so be it - I was going to cross that finish line and with that I grabbed by water belt, threw on a visor and made my way out to the run. 

Goal Time: 10:00 or under
Actual Time: 5:20.9

Run - 13.1 miles

The run was an out and back as well along the coast and some dirt trails.  My throbbing toe told me I wasn't going to run the whole 13.1 so from the get go I set a run/walk scheme - run .5, walk .1 and was able to maintain this for the first 4/5 miles.  By mile 6 it was more like run .5/walk .5 and by mile 8 is was just plain walk.  And walk I did til mile 12.

At the turnaround they have a little totem guy with a lei on.  I have no idea why I loved that so much but I think because we were seriously out in the middle of nowhere on a cliff with the Pacific ocean crashing on the rocks and here is this totem with a lei.  Maybe I was just delirious?

I will say I know my running was not up to par due to back injury.  While I had completed a good number of short runs the longest training run I did was 8 miles.  Had my toe not been broken I can 110% say I would have been faster, however, if I am being truly honest with myself, despite all my training, I definitely gave running the short end of the stick.  I think it came down to the fact I was terrified of re-injuring myself.  Swimming and biking never hurt my back but running did and I needed to do this race - for me.  Symbolically it was like the icing on the cake for 2011.  2010 held so many "personal goal" disappoints, a half ironman being one of them, I needed to know I could finish this and running potentially meant further injury which meant I might not race.  Was this smart?  No.  If someone else did it would I say they were nuts?  Yes.  Will I make the same mistake again?  Absolutely not.

Much of the course is open and there are other runners running and people milling around not a part of the race.  So many of them passed on encouraging sentiments that it really helped make the run not so lonely (obviously there weren't much of us left out there at that point).

The last mile of the run has you running on the beach.  I was amazed with the amount of spectators still out cheering.

I dug deep for that last mile ultimately focusing on that it would be yards until I was a {half} ironman.

And can we discuss these finishing pictures for a minute?  My family was so excited they temporarily spaced on their camera duties and these are the pictures I have crossing the finish line.  I swear I did throw my hands up and jump over the finish line - I didn't cross looking like death.

I immediately sat my butt in the sand and ripped off my shoe.  I honestly thought I might have to amputate my toe.  One my toe could breath it sank in I just finished 70.3 miles - I was a {half} ironman!!  (although, I distinctly remember mumbling NEVER again as I lay in the sand, although I said that after my first half marathon in 2007 and well, we all know how that turned out!)

Goal Time: 2:45:00 or under
Actual Time: 3:28:03/15:53 avg {gulp, that is hard to swallow}
35/35 Age Group (Women 25-29)
613/620 Overall

FINAL RESULTS

7:56:12

34/35 Age Group (women 25-29)

600/620 overall

Despite the few disappoints I had - both beyond my control (toe) and in my control (run) - I have to focus on the fact that I hit my goals on the swim and the bike and at the end of the day crossed the finish line after going 70.3 miles.  Now, I don't want that statement to come across as settling - when I set a goal I have every intention on following through with it and it kills me when I fall short but this was a learning experience, a new distance, and I am armed with knowledge for the next one (ha, you had to know I would be back for more).  My very first marathon taught me that and I while I walked away accomplished I knew I had more in me and came back six months later for a 56 minute PR.  I know a 7:00 (or faster) 70.3 is in me and I intend to accomplish it.

When I crossed the finish line they had a bunch of food, which looked delicious but the thought of eating seemed very unappetizing at that moment in time so I just grabbed water and we headed home.  I passed out as soon as we hit the road and woke up an hour later and we were just about home.  At that moment I had the most intense craving for Taco Bell nachos.  I can't even tell you the last time I had Taco Bell but I had to have those nachos - fake cheese and all.  Kevin looked at my crazy-eyed but knew better than to mess with a girl who just went 70.3 miles and indulged me in my request.  

Now that time has passed and I can reflect more clearly I can say with confidence it was crazy, it was tough but it was worth it, and I can't wait to do it all over again in 2012!