Black Bear Sprint Triathlon, 6/3/12
Steelman Open Water Swim, 3.1 miles, 7/15/12
NJ State Sprint Triathlon, 7/21/12
NJ State Olympic Triathlon, 7/22/12
Age Group Nationals, Sprint, 8/19/12
Via Half Marathon, 9/9/12
Ironman Pocono Mountains, 70.3, 9/30/12
Possibly:: D& L Heritage Marathon, 11/4/12
Friday, February 17, 2012
ING Miami Marathon, 1/29/12
I finally feel ready to reflect on my 26.2 experience. It has been almost 3 weeks and it feels like forever ago.
I started training for this race in November 2011. 3 months out. Most people would have told me it couldn't be done. Too little time to ramp up the mileage. I just recovered from an injury that held me up for 2 months. But I proved all of those theories wrong.
Race morning- 4:30am wake up
-I slept great that night which wasn't expected. Alarm went off and I sprung out of bed.
5:00am- We arrived at the shuttle pickup, loaded the bus and ate breakfast on the way to the start line. Breakfast consisted of a cinnamon raisin bagel, a banana, and a muscle milk.
5:15am- We arrived at the start line. It was dark outside but the lights at the start were awesome. At this point it still didn't hit me that I was about to run 26.2 miles. Matt and I found a spot on the steps by the American Airlines Arena and chilled out. 1 hour til start time. I tried to remain calm and not let the butterflies start too soon. It was difficult considering the place was mobbed with runners, spectators, bands and mascots. I put biofreeze on my shins and calves, put on my calf sleeves and situated my fuel belt. Then we walked to find the bag drop off which was about 3 blocks in the opposite direction. Flying through the crowd, I started to get anxious. Once we dropped our bags off we parted ways and went to our designated corrals.
6:00am- 15 minutes until start. I was standing in the "F" corral. There was no room to walk, stretch or sit down. I had runners glued to my every side. There were marathoners and half marathoners around me. This race is comprised mostly of half marathoners. About 15,000-20,000 registered in the half, and about 5,000 in the full. I remember standing next to a girl who asked me about running with the pacers. It was her first half marathon. And to my other side, a girl and her boyfriend were running their first full. I felt like I was in the right place.
6:15am- I heard the race announcer start the pro and elite runners. The race had officially begun and the corrals were starting to move forward and closer to the start line. I heard them announce corral "C" crossing the start line, that was Matt's corral. "See you at the finish," I thought.
6:35am- I was quickly approaching the start line, the crowd started to space out and before I knew it I was over the start line and running. It was still dark out which was awesome.
The day before at the race expo I picked up a wristlet that had the 4:30 pace broken down by miles. On race morning I put it on my wrist underneath my garmin. I have been running for about 4 years now with the goal of running a marathon but I have always come up short because I would get injured. This time I made it through and I set a goal for myself to run around 4:30. After all my training runs I felt that this was a do-able goal.
Mile 1- It was congested. Runners everywhere. I remember being drenched in sweat and thinking this isn't good. I saw runners stopping, stretching and walking. Was there something that I was missing? Come to find out after, it was 83% humidity that day.
Mile 5- This was on the main strip in South Beach. Ocean Drive. I couldn't get anywhere near the aid stations. They were packed with runners. Once again there was half and full marathoners. I was thankful that I had a full fuel belt with water and gu brew. So I told myself just to use what I had on my belt until half way, because at that point the half marathoners would be gone. I compared the time on my watch with the time on my pace wristlet, I was well under at 4:30 pace.
Mile 6: I think I was somewhere on Washington Avenue and I looked up at the bank clock, 7:30am, 75 degrees. It was hot and humid. Still under pace.
Mile 11: ING Fan Zone. This part of the course was crazy! People everywhere. Bands. Drums, etc. It was a great way to boost energy. I remember I felt like such a star running through this part of the course.
Mile 12: I was slowly starting to fall apart. Still on pace, but the humidity was starting to creep up on me. This was the first aid station that I hit. I grabbed 2 cups of water, poured one on my head, drank the other one and grabbed gatorade and downed that too.
Mile 14: Humidity got the best of me. I fell off pace.My feet were starting to hurt. All the fluids in my belt were gone. I remember running up a very slight incline onto a grated bridge. I felt every inch of the metal crossing that bridge. The incline was ever so slight and normally I wouldn't even blink an eye at it, but after having 13 miles on my feet and the humidity, everything began to add up.
Miles 15-20: I continued to use every aid station. I grabbed as many liquids as possible. Poured water on me and drank whatever I could.
Mile 23: Legs became extremely heavy. I remember questioning whether I could finish. But I told myself that I wasn't going to stop. I was going to do whatever I had to do to make it to the finish line. I didn't come all this way to quit. Matt told me something before the race that came in handy during this mile. He told me no matter what I do, keep moving forward. Every step forward is a step closer to the finish line. And with another aid station gone, I continued to push forward.
Mile 24: When I hit this mile marker I realized that I was going to finish a full marathon. It wasn't going to be pretty but I was going to finish. I only had 2 miles left! At this point, I felt something in my left foot that made me stop and take my shoe off. It felt like my skin ripped on my big toe. I stopped, took my shoe off and realized I had one heck of a blister. Oh well, shoe back on and I continued on. After stopping for that split second and starting to run again I started getting cramps in my calf, cramps that I have never felt before. Matt ran his first marathon in October 2011. He described the calf cramps that he had during that marathon and I simply just laughed. Well at mile 24 I knew exactly what he was talking about. It was like lightning bolts shooting up my calves.
Mile 25: More people crowded the streets and there were bands and cheerleaders spread out on the sidewalks. I took my headphones out of my ears and just soaked in the energy. But the race wasn't over yet. I remember looking ahead and seeing another incline with another bridge approaching mile 26. Let's just say it felt like I was climbing a mountain and I have never been so cautious running over a bridge before. It's amazing how after 4 plus hours on your feet you can feel every inch of the road.
Mile 26: Emotions started flowing. I tried to contain my excitement and tears until the finish line because I knew if I started crying I would end up walking the last .2 miles. I rounded the corner and was in the finishing chute. They always say you can run 26 miles, but it's the last .2 that count. TRUTH. The finish line was so close but felt so far away! I saw Matt as I ran through the chute and I heard him yelling for me to finish.
Mile 26.2: FINISHED. 5:03. I paused for a second to catch my breath, got my finisher medal around my neck and walked over to the family area to find Matt. The walk over was slow and cautious.
After: I thought half marathons were hard until I ran 26.2! Now half marathons are going to be cake. The pain and discomfort that I felt after is something that I can't even explain. You truly never know what it's like or feels like until you have done it. I remember when Matt ran his first marathon and he couldn't walk up and down the stairs, couldn't sit down on the couch without falling into the sitting position, couldn't go anywhere fast, and always walked like a waddling duck. He also complained about cankles. I just laughed at him. Well, I wasn't laughing on 1/29/12 after completing 26.2. All the things I just explained, I felt. A 2.5 hour plane ride seems like cake, but not after running that far. I stood up at the end of the plane ride and I swear my legs were stuck in the seated position. Nothing like hobbling around through the airport. And yes, I had cankles. What's even better is the night after the marathon I went to work. I put on what I call my "fat jeans." These are a pair of jeans that are bigger than all my others, ones that I don't even have to unbutton or un-zip to put on. On this particular night they were not my fat jeans. Instead they felt like they were painted on! My legs were swollen from my hips down. It took me a good week for my ankles to come back and for my leg swelling to decrease.
It has been almost 3 weeks since I ran ING Miami. I have not run since but the past 2 weeks I have been able to swim and bike. Running will resume this upcoming week!
As I mentioned earlier, my goal was to run 4:30. I ran 5:03. Am I disappointed? Absolutely not. I was completely ignorant to the distance. I should have never made a time goal when I have never experienced the distance. It's amazing what you learn when it's just you and the road for 5 hours. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and at the same time it was the best day of my life.
Will I run another one? Absolutely I will. This time training will be a little different. I will incorporate more distance runs into training. 20+ milers instead of the regular 20 miler, 4 weeks out. At this point I know I can finish a marathon, but now my goal is time oriented.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me, friends and family. And I especially want to thank Matt. He created my training log and has coached me every step of the way. He believed I could do it from day one. Thank you!
NEXT: I am looking to run The Walt Disney World Marathon, January 2013!
I started training for this race in November 2011. 3 months out. Most people would have told me it couldn't be done. Too little time to ramp up the mileage. I just recovered from an injury that held me up for 2 months. But I proved all of those theories wrong.
Race morning- 4:30am wake up
-I slept great that night which wasn't expected. Alarm went off and I sprung out of bed.
5:00am- We arrived at the shuttle pickup, loaded the bus and ate breakfast on the way to the start line. Breakfast consisted of a cinnamon raisin bagel, a banana, and a muscle milk.
5:15am- We arrived at the start line. It was dark outside but the lights at the start were awesome. At this point it still didn't hit me that I was about to run 26.2 miles. Matt and I found a spot on the steps by the American Airlines Arena and chilled out. 1 hour til start time. I tried to remain calm and not let the butterflies start too soon. It was difficult considering the place was mobbed with runners, spectators, bands and mascots. I put biofreeze on my shins and calves, put on my calf sleeves and situated my fuel belt. Then we walked to find the bag drop off which was about 3 blocks in the opposite direction. Flying through the crowd, I started to get anxious. Once we dropped our bags off we parted ways and went to our designated corrals.
6:00am- 15 minutes until start. I was standing in the "F" corral. There was no room to walk, stretch or sit down. I had runners glued to my every side. There were marathoners and half marathoners around me. This race is comprised mostly of half marathoners. About 15,000-20,000 registered in the half, and about 5,000 in the full. I remember standing next to a girl who asked me about running with the pacers. It was her first half marathon. And to my other side, a girl and her boyfriend were running their first full. I felt like I was in the right place.
6:15am- I heard the race announcer start the pro and elite runners. The race had officially begun and the corrals were starting to move forward and closer to the start line. I heard them announce corral "C" crossing the start line, that was Matt's corral. "See you at the finish," I thought.
6:35am- I was quickly approaching the start line, the crowd started to space out and before I knew it I was over the start line and running. It was still dark out which was awesome.
The day before at the race expo I picked up a wristlet that had the 4:30 pace broken down by miles. On race morning I put it on my wrist underneath my garmin. I have been running for about 4 years now with the goal of running a marathon but I have always come up short because I would get injured. This time I made it through and I set a goal for myself to run around 4:30. After all my training runs I felt that this was a do-able goal.
Mile 1- It was congested. Runners everywhere. I remember being drenched in sweat and thinking this isn't good. I saw runners stopping, stretching and walking. Was there something that I was missing? Come to find out after, it was 83% humidity that day.
Mile 5- This was on the main strip in South Beach. Ocean Drive. I couldn't get anywhere near the aid stations. They were packed with runners. Once again there was half and full marathoners. I was thankful that I had a full fuel belt with water and gu brew. So I told myself just to use what I had on my belt until half way, because at that point the half marathoners would be gone. I compared the time on my watch with the time on my pace wristlet, I was well under at 4:30 pace.
Mile 6: I think I was somewhere on Washington Avenue and I looked up at the bank clock, 7:30am, 75 degrees. It was hot and humid. Still under pace.
Mile 11: ING Fan Zone. This part of the course was crazy! People everywhere. Bands. Drums, etc. It was a great way to boost energy. I remember I felt like such a star running through this part of the course.
Mile 12: I was slowly starting to fall apart. Still on pace, but the humidity was starting to creep up on me. This was the first aid station that I hit. I grabbed 2 cups of water, poured one on my head, drank the other one and grabbed gatorade and downed that too.
Mile 14: Humidity got the best of me. I fell off pace.My feet were starting to hurt. All the fluids in my belt were gone. I remember running up a very slight incline onto a grated bridge. I felt every inch of the metal crossing that bridge. The incline was ever so slight and normally I wouldn't even blink an eye at it, but after having 13 miles on my feet and the humidity, everything began to add up.
Miles 15-20: I continued to use every aid station. I grabbed as many liquids as possible. Poured water on me and drank whatever I could.
Mile 23: Legs became extremely heavy. I remember questioning whether I could finish. But I told myself that I wasn't going to stop. I was going to do whatever I had to do to make it to the finish line. I didn't come all this way to quit. Matt told me something before the race that came in handy during this mile. He told me no matter what I do, keep moving forward. Every step forward is a step closer to the finish line. And with another aid station gone, I continued to push forward.
Mile 24: When I hit this mile marker I realized that I was going to finish a full marathon. It wasn't going to be pretty but I was going to finish. I only had 2 miles left! At this point, I felt something in my left foot that made me stop and take my shoe off. It felt like my skin ripped on my big toe. I stopped, took my shoe off and realized I had one heck of a blister. Oh well, shoe back on and I continued on. After stopping for that split second and starting to run again I started getting cramps in my calf, cramps that I have never felt before. Matt ran his first marathon in October 2011. He described the calf cramps that he had during that marathon and I simply just laughed. Well at mile 24 I knew exactly what he was talking about. It was like lightning bolts shooting up my calves.
Mile 25: More people crowded the streets and there were bands and cheerleaders spread out on the sidewalks. I took my headphones out of my ears and just soaked in the energy. But the race wasn't over yet. I remember looking ahead and seeing another incline with another bridge approaching mile 26. Let's just say it felt like I was climbing a mountain and I have never been so cautious running over a bridge before. It's amazing how after 4 plus hours on your feet you can feel every inch of the road.
Mile 26: Emotions started flowing. I tried to contain my excitement and tears until the finish line because I knew if I started crying I would end up walking the last .2 miles. I rounded the corner and was in the finishing chute. They always say you can run 26 miles, but it's the last .2 that count. TRUTH. The finish line was so close but felt so far away! I saw Matt as I ran through the chute and I heard him yelling for me to finish.
Mile 26.2: FINISHED. 5:03. I paused for a second to catch my breath, got my finisher medal around my neck and walked over to the family area to find Matt. The walk over was slow and cautious.
After: I thought half marathons were hard until I ran 26.2! Now half marathons are going to be cake. The pain and discomfort that I felt after is something that I can't even explain. You truly never know what it's like or feels like until you have done it. I remember when Matt ran his first marathon and he couldn't walk up and down the stairs, couldn't sit down on the couch without falling into the sitting position, couldn't go anywhere fast, and always walked like a waddling duck. He also complained about cankles. I just laughed at him. Well, I wasn't laughing on 1/29/12 after completing 26.2. All the things I just explained, I felt. A 2.5 hour plane ride seems like cake, but not after running that far. I stood up at the end of the plane ride and I swear my legs were stuck in the seated position. Nothing like hobbling around through the airport. And yes, I had cankles. What's even better is the night after the marathon I went to work. I put on what I call my "fat jeans." These are a pair of jeans that are bigger than all my others, ones that I don't even have to unbutton or un-zip to put on. On this particular night they were not my fat jeans. Instead they felt like they were painted on! My legs were swollen from my hips down. It took me a good week for my ankles to come back and for my leg swelling to decrease.
It has been almost 3 weeks since I ran ING Miami. I have not run since but the past 2 weeks I have been able to swim and bike. Running will resume this upcoming week!
As I mentioned earlier, my goal was to run 4:30. I ran 5:03. Am I disappointed? Absolutely not. I was completely ignorant to the distance. I should have never made a time goal when I have never experienced the distance. It's amazing what you learn when it's just you and the road for 5 hours. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and at the same time it was the best day of my life.
Will I run another one? Absolutely I will. This time training will be a little different. I will incorporate more distance runs into training. 20+ milers instead of the regular 20 miler, 4 weeks out. At this point I know I can finish a marathon, but now my goal is time oriented.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me, friends and family. And I especially want to thank Matt. He created my training log and has coached me every step of the way. He believed I could do it from day one. Thank you!
NEXT: I am looking to run The Walt Disney World Marathon, January 2013!
Monday, December 26, 2011
12,000 yards of Christmas including a T-30 Swim
I found this on a website and thought it would be fun to do. With marathon training in full spin I can use this as a fun way to recover as well to improve my overall swimming fitness. I have to log 12,000 yards from December 24th- January 1st. I also have to complete a T-30 swim. I will update this blog as the yards are completed. December 24th and 25th were already here and gone, I better get swimming! :-)
Monday, December 26th, 2011
Total: 3500 yards
WU: 300 swim, 300 kick, 300 pull
Main Set:
400 IM strong
4x50 fly 1:00
4x25 fly :40
300 IM strong
4x50 back 1:00
4x25 back :40
200 IM strong
4x50 breast 1:00
4x25 breast :40
100 IM strong
4x50 free 1:00
4x25 free :40
400 Cool down
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Total: 4500 yards
WU: 400 swim, 400 kick, 400 pull, 400 swim
5x100 on 1:30
5x100 on 1:25
5x100 on 1:20
100 easy
16x75's, 1:20, 4 of each stroke
100 easy
**8000 yards completed, 4000 yards to go that includes a T-30 swim**
Sunday, January 1st, 2012
Total: 4000 yards
T-30 Swim Total: 2100 yards, 30 minutes
3x150's :30 rest in between (50 free/50 non-free/50 free)
3x150's pull :20 rest in between
3x150's :20 rest in between (100 swim/50 stroke)
450 kick w/fins
100 Cool Down
DONE! =)
Monday, December 26th, 2011
Total: 3500 yards
WU: 300 swim, 300 kick, 300 pull
Main Set:
400 IM strong
4x50 fly 1:00
4x25 fly :40
300 IM strong
4x50 back 1:00
4x25 back :40
200 IM strong
4x50 breast 1:00
4x25 breast :40
100 IM strong
4x50 free 1:00
4x25 free :40
400 Cool down
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Total: 4500 yards
WU: 400 swim, 400 kick, 400 pull, 400 swim
5x100 on 1:30
5x100 on 1:25
5x100 on 1:20
100 easy
16x75's, 1:20, 4 of each stroke
100 easy
**8000 yards completed, 4000 yards to go that includes a T-30 swim**
Sunday, January 1st, 2012
Total: 4000 yards
T-30 Swim Total: 2100 yards, 30 minutes
3x150's :30 rest in between (50 free/50 non-free/50 free)
3x150's pull :20 rest in between
3x150's :20 rest in between (100 swim/50 stroke)
450 kick w/fins
100 Cool Down
DONE! =)
Christmas Eve 20 miler.. or should I say 20+!!
Two months ago if I was told that I would complete a 20+ miler on Christmas Eve I would have laughed. 2 months ago I was recovering from an achilles/ankle injury which kept me from running Steamtown Marathon in October. I was devastated. Steamtown was going to be my first ever marathon. But I slowly recovered from whatever sort of injury I had going on and began running again by the end of October and the beginning of November. Nothing special, just 3 or 4 miles a few times a week. My goal was to run the Pumpkin Pie 5k on Turkey Day. Surprisingly, I was able to increase my mileage leading into this 5k. The shortest distance I was running was 6 miles. I ran the Pumpkin Pie and continued running ever since. After that race Matt came up with a marathon training program for me to follow. Nothing too severe, but he said if I could complete all of these runs I would be able to run a marathon. I had my eyes set on the ING Miami Marathon, January 29th, 2012.
So this past week my training schedule had me running an 8 mile run on Tuesday and a 20 or 20+ mile run on Saturday. I was extremely nervous about running a 20 miler. I have never run over 15. I did a 15 mile run 2 weeks before this week and around mile 14, I cracked. This made me nervous to run 20 because if I cracked at 14, I still have 6 more miles to run!
This week I made sure to stay consistent with my nutrition and hydration. I drank alot of GuBrew (electrolytes) and coconut water. I made sure to take my supplements as required and drank chocolate milk for recovery after every workout. Friday I swam 2000 yards to get my heart rate up and to get the blood flowing. I made a pasta dinner, packed a bottle of gu brew and water. I ate before I went to work, and I ate again when I got home from work. Set my alarm for 7:30am and went to bed. Matt told me to act as if this was a race, do everything that you would normally do the night before a race and the morning of the race.
7:30am- I woke up, made a bagel with butter and drank a cup of coffee. Added some more songs to my Ipod, put a bandaid on my toe that rubbed from the 8 miler, put body glide on to prevent chafing, put biofreeze on my shins, calves and ankles, got dressed and was out the door before 8:15am.
I got to the trail, turned on my garmin, ipod, situated my fuel belt (which had 6+ vanilla clif bar gels, 2 bottles with orange gu brew and 2 larger bottles of water), stretched a little, and I was off by 8:30am.
I was very anxious miles 1-5. I was extremely nervous about running 20 miles because I had no idea what to expect. I was told to take the first 10 miles easy, relax. After mile 5, I was able to relax. I guess I had a lot of nerves to run out of my system. I started taking my gels after mile 5, and every 45 minutes after that. I ran the first 10 miles effortlessly and I was feeling great! Anxiety creeped up again after 10 miles, I started to remember how my 15 miler felt 2 weeks before. However, as miles 11, 12, 13 and 14 ticked away I was surprised how great I felt. I ran 15 better than I ran 15 two weeks before. I ran 15 close to 2 minutes faster. And then it was into no man's land for me...
Miles 16 and 17 still felt decent but I could tell I have never been there before. My legs started to feel heavy. Mile 18 was a treat. I cracked. By cracked I mean that my legs felt like lead and I wanted to stop. If I had an excuse to stop I probably would have used it. But I kept moving forward. Matt told me afterwards that I should have eventually started taking my gels every 30 minutes to prevent from cracking. I will keep that in mind next time.
Mile 19 I got a burst of energy or adrenaline, whichever. I realized that I was 1 mile away from completing 20 miles. Mile 19.5 I was ecstatic. I had feeling back in my legs and I pushed forward.
20 miles, I became extremely emotional. Not because I was hurting or tired but because I have tried to run 20 + miles for over 3 years now and have failed every time. I always had some sort of an injury. But this time I succeeded. I told myself to run past 20 miles, after all, a marathon is 26.2. So I kept running but was still emotional.
I finished the 3 hour plus training day with a total of 22 miles. That includes a lengthy cool down. I've been told many times by other marathoners about the pain that you feel once you stop running. That it hits you like a brick. Well, I felt that. But I can't say that it was so much pain in my legs as it was in my feet.
Ecstatic. But then the nerves kicked in again. I found myself questioning whether I would recover properly? Did I hurt myself? How was I going to feel the next day?
It's so funny, when Matt was training to run Steamtown in October, I couldn't understand why he was always tired. Why his legs were sore. Why he couldn't sit down, but instead fall down onto the couch or a chair. Well, I now understand, because that is exactly what I have been doing.
So, I am a little over 4 weeks away from Miami. That means I will be slowly transitioning into a taper! 2 days after running over 20 miles, and I feel great. My legs are still sore, but nothing hurts.
4 weeks and counting. Tick tock.
So this past week my training schedule had me running an 8 mile run on Tuesday and a 20 or 20+ mile run on Saturday. I was extremely nervous about running a 20 miler. I have never run over 15. I did a 15 mile run 2 weeks before this week and around mile 14, I cracked. This made me nervous to run 20 because if I cracked at 14, I still have 6 more miles to run!
This week I made sure to stay consistent with my nutrition and hydration. I drank alot of GuBrew (electrolytes) and coconut water. I made sure to take my supplements as required and drank chocolate milk for recovery after every workout. Friday I swam 2000 yards to get my heart rate up and to get the blood flowing. I made a pasta dinner, packed a bottle of gu brew and water. I ate before I went to work, and I ate again when I got home from work. Set my alarm for 7:30am and went to bed. Matt told me to act as if this was a race, do everything that you would normally do the night before a race and the morning of the race.
7:30am- I woke up, made a bagel with butter and drank a cup of coffee. Added some more songs to my Ipod, put a bandaid on my toe that rubbed from the 8 miler, put body glide on to prevent chafing, put biofreeze on my shins, calves and ankles, got dressed and was out the door before 8:15am.
I got to the trail, turned on my garmin, ipod, situated my fuel belt (which had 6+ vanilla clif bar gels, 2 bottles with orange gu brew and 2 larger bottles of water), stretched a little, and I was off by 8:30am.
I was very anxious miles 1-5. I was extremely nervous about running 20 miles because I had no idea what to expect. I was told to take the first 10 miles easy, relax. After mile 5, I was able to relax. I guess I had a lot of nerves to run out of my system. I started taking my gels after mile 5, and every 45 minutes after that. I ran the first 10 miles effortlessly and I was feeling great! Anxiety creeped up again after 10 miles, I started to remember how my 15 miler felt 2 weeks before. However, as miles 11, 12, 13 and 14 ticked away I was surprised how great I felt. I ran 15 better than I ran 15 two weeks before. I ran 15 close to 2 minutes faster. And then it was into no man's land for me...
Miles 16 and 17 still felt decent but I could tell I have never been there before. My legs started to feel heavy. Mile 18 was a treat. I cracked. By cracked I mean that my legs felt like lead and I wanted to stop. If I had an excuse to stop I probably would have used it. But I kept moving forward. Matt told me afterwards that I should have eventually started taking my gels every 30 minutes to prevent from cracking. I will keep that in mind next time.
Mile 19 I got a burst of energy or adrenaline, whichever. I realized that I was 1 mile away from completing 20 miles. Mile 19.5 I was ecstatic. I had feeling back in my legs and I pushed forward.
20 miles, I became extremely emotional. Not because I was hurting or tired but because I have tried to run 20 + miles for over 3 years now and have failed every time. I always had some sort of an injury. But this time I succeeded. I told myself to run past 20 miles, after all, a marathon is 26.2. So I kept running but was still emotional.
I finished the 3 hour plus training day with a total of 22 miles. That includes a lengthy cool down. I've been told many times by other marathoners about the pain that you feel once you stop running. That it hits you like a brick. Well, I felt that. But I can't say that it was so much pain in my legs as it was in my feet.
Ecstatic. But then the nerves kicked in again. I found myself questioning whether I would recover properly? Did I hurt myself? How was I going to feel the next day?
It's so funny, when Matt was training to run Steamtown in October, I couldn't understand why he was always tired. Why his legs were sore. Why he couldn't sit down, but instead fall down onto the couch or a chair. Well, I now understand, because that is exactly what I have been doing.
So, I am a little over 4 weeks away from Miami. That means I will be slowly transitioning into a taper! 2 days after running over 20 miles, and I feel great. My legs are still sore, but nothing hurts.
4 weeks and counting. Tick tock.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
New Jersey State Sprint Triathlon, 7/23/11
I was glad that I registered for this triathlon since the one the week before became an aquathlon. I couldn't wait to test out my new Trek Speed Concept!!
This was a huge sprint, over 1700 athletes. Matt and I went down the day before for packet pickup. We toured around the race setup and felt the water. Warm again. Mid 80s!
Race day we got there early because I wanted a decent spot in transition for my bike and I got it. I set up my bike and run gear and was able to relax for awhile before heading to the swim start. Matt and I did our normal swim warmup and I felt extremely comfortable. Only downside, it was going to be over 100 degrees! I got to see Matt off for his swim start and I had about another 10 minutes before I started.
I started the swim in the front, as always. This swim was a lot more organized than the swim the week earlier. It was a straight shot, a 90 degree turn and a straight shot into the swim finish. My swim could have been faster, but I was third girl out of the water in my age group, I was happy with that.
The run into transition from the swim finish was longer than what I have done. Since there were so many people the transition area was huge! I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to find my bike. But I found it. I was able to throw on my bike shoes, helmet, glasses, grab my bike and get out of transition quickly!
The bike course was fast! I had so much fun and I passed so many people! I averaged over 20 mph on the bike. Before I knew it I was dismounting and running my bike back into transition.
Then it started to hurt. A 5k run in 100 degree heat after going hard on the bike, not fun! I have never taken so much water and ice at water stops on a 5k. Every stop I took something. I shoved a bag of ice down my tri suit, had an ice cold cloth in my tri suit and grabbed water and Heed at every station. I pushed the run until I started to feel that I was going into a cold sweat. It was at that point I knew I couldn't push myself any harder. Little did I know I was winning my age group going into the run. With a tenth of a mile to go I was passed by a girl in my age group. I remember not thinking anything of it because I didn't know where I was in my age group at that point. I finished as strong as I could, considering.
I probably drank 5 + bottles of water after the finish. We waited around for the results to be posted. Of course there was a mad dash for the result board. Matt pushed himself in there and told me that I placed 2nd in my age group. I started to cry. I couldn't believe it. Then he told me that I missed 1st place by 20 seconds! I guess that's what you get for putting it all out there on the bike and trying to run in 100 degree heat. But I was thrilled with a 2nd place finish and even more thrilled in knowing that I qualified for age group nationals!!
We waited around some more for my award. I got an awesome silver 2nd place metal that is now hanging on my metal rack!
This race was awesome. We plan on doing it again next year. It is a whole weekend event, there is a sprint triathlon on Saturday and an olympic distance on Sunday. Next year we plan on making a weekend of it and doing both!!
For those of you wondering, I am not going to compete at Age Group Nationals this year. It is a goal of mine for next year. If I qualify next year I will be attending. I have not trained for an olympic distance race yet and it would be too much to compile into a short period of time. Plus I'm sure those girls are fast, I need to make sure that I can hang! =)
So what's next??
I have registered for one more triathlon this season on 8/21/11. I have a half marathon in September and a full marathon in October. Since the last triathlon I have upped my running mileage. Got to be ready for 26.2 in T minus 2 months! Can't wait!
We are also heading to NYC this weekend. Matt is competing in the New York City Triathlon on 8/7/11. It's going to kill me to be a spectator, but it will be awesome to see. What's even better is Matt is competing with the first responders. Word on the street ist hat those police officers and firefighters in the NYPD are fast! I can't wait to see how well he does! There are close to 3000 athletes competing on Sunday! The biggest one that we are going to attend this year!
Who knows, maybe I'll be in the mix in 2012!
This was a huge sprint, over 1700 athletes. Matt and I went down the day before for packet pickup. We toured around the race setup and felt the water. Warm again. Mid 80s!
Race day we got there early because I wanted a decent spot in transition for my bike and I got it. I set up my bike and run gear and was able to relax for awhile before heading to the swim start. Matt and I did our normal swim warmup and I felt extremely comfortable. Only downside, it was going to be over 100 degrees! I got to see Matt off for his swim start and I had about another 10 minutes before I started.
I started the swim in the front, as always. This swim was a lot more organized than the swim the week earlier. It was a straight shot, a 90 degree turn and a straight shot into the swim finish. My swim could have been faster, but I was third girl out of the water in my age group, I was happy with that.
The run into transition from the swim finish was longer than what I have done. Since there were so many people the transition area was huge! I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to find my bike. But I found it. I was able to throw on my bike shoes, helmet, glasses, grab my bike and get out of transition quickly!
Then it started to hurt. A 5k run in 100 degree heat after going hard on the bike, not fun! I have never taken so much water and ice at water stops on a 5k. Every stop I took something. I shoved a bag of ice down my tri suit, had an ice cold cloth in my tri suit and grabbed water and Heed at every station. I pushed the run until I started to feel that I was going into a cold sweat. It was at that point I knew I couldn't push myself any harder. Little did I know I was winning my age group going into the run. With a tenth of a mile to go I was passed by a girl in my age group. I remember not thinking anything of it because I didn't know where I was in my age group at that point. I finished as strong as I could, considering.
I probably drank 5 + bottles of water after the finish. We waited around for the results to be posted. Of course there was a mad dash for the result board. Matt pushed himself in there and told me that I placed 2nd in my age group. I started to cry. I couldn't believe it. Then he told me that I missed 1st place by 20 seconds! I guess that's what you get for putting it all out there on the bike and trying to run in 100 degree heat. But I was thrilled with a 2nd place finish and even more thrilled in knowing that I qualified for age group nationals!!
This race was awesome. We plan on doing it again next year. It is a whole weekend event, there is a sprint triathlon on Saturday and an olympic distance on Sunday. Next year we plan on making a weekend of it and doing both!!
For those of you wondering, I am not going to compete at Age Group Nationals this year. It is a goal of mine for next year. If I qualify next year I will be attending. I have not trained for an olympic distance race yet and it would be too much to compile into a short period of time. Plus I'm sure those girls are fast, I need to make sure that I can hang! =)
So what's next??
I have registered for one more triathlon this season on 8/21/11. I have a half marathon in September and a full marathon in October. Since the last triathlon I have upped my running mileage. Got to be ready for 26.2 in T minus 2 months! Can't wait!
We are also heading to NYC this weekend. Matt is competing in the New York City Triathlon on 8/7/11. It's going to kill me to be a spectator, but it will be awesome to see. What's even better is Matt is competing with the first responders. Word on the street ist hat those police officers and firefighters in the NYPD are fast! I can't wait to see how well he does! There are close to 3000 athletes competing on Sunday! The biggest one that we are going to attend this year!
Who knows, maybe I'll be in the mix in 2012!
Patriot's Triathlon/Aquathlon, 7/17/11
Matt and I rode this bike course on two seperate occassions. Once during a 50 mile ride and another time we drove to the site and rode the course twice. I put in a lot of work on my bike leading up to this race, I was ready to go!
The day before we went to the race site for our packet pickup. While driving there, we noticed that one of the main roads for the bike was chipped and tared. Matt started prepping me and telling me to slow down on this part of the course and to take the turns easy.
That night as we were packing and carb loading, Matt got a text from a friend saying that he heard the bike was canceled. We both checked our email and wouldn't you know, it was canceled due to the chipping and taring of the road. The race went from a "triathlon" to an "aquathlon." A swim and a run. I was extremely disappointed because I put in a lot of time and effort on the bike leading up to this race. But I told myself it's better that they canceled it because it could make for a dangerous situation. Plus, I didn't want gravel hitting my bike frame and chipping or denting it! There were no refunds, so we said whatever and decided to use the day as a hard training day.
We showed up the morning of and set up our running gear in transition. Talk about throwing you a little off your game. There is just something about going into a transition area the morning of a race with your bike.
Matt and I decided we would head down to the water for a warm up swim. The water was extremely warm, mid 80s. The swim course was awkward. You pretty much swam around an irregular shaped lake. We got in, warmed up a little and waited for our waves to start.
Now, as anal as I am, I looked at the past year's race results to see how fast the fastest girl swam. She was registered to race again this year. My goal was to keep up with her, we seemed to match up pretty well on the swim. Her and I started in the front of our wave and took off. I hung with her, side by side, to the first buoy. We rounded it and she took off. I knew there was no way that I could hang with her and be able to run afterwards. I also had other issues, I couldn't see the next buoy! It was in a shaded area and you couldn't see it until you were right on top of it. I managed to pass people from earlier waves and maintain my second place position in the swim. It became extremely crowded swimming into the finish. Those guys that started in earlier waves were floating and breaststroking, just trying to make it to shore. I looked at my watch (I always start it right before my swim wave starts) as I exited the water, 2nd girl out but not as quick of a swim as I had hoped for. Matt and I later compared our times, and we think that the course was a little longer than 650 meters.
On to transition...
I threw on my run shoes, visor, glasses and race number and off I went. I have never ran after swimming. It was very difficult to get my breathing under control, probably a good mile. I was passed a few times on the run but I expected that. It was an out and back course, the first mile was downhill which was good, I was able to get my legs.
The day before we went to the race site for our packet pickup. While driving there, we noticed that one of the main roads for the bike was chipped and tared. Matt started prepping me and telling me to slow down on this part of the course and to take the turns easy.
That night as we were packing and carb loading, Matt got a text from a friend saying that he heard the bike was canceled. We both checked our email and wouldn't you know, it was canceled due to the chipping and taring of the road. The race went from a "triathlon" to an "aquathlon." A swim and a run. I was extremely disappointed because I put in a lot of time and effort on the bike leading up to this race. But I told myself it's better that they canceled it because it could make for a dangerous situation. Plus, I didn't want gravel hitting my bike frame and chipping or denting it! There were no refunds, so we said whatever and decided to use the day as a hard training day.
We showed up the morning of and set up our running gear in transition. Talk about throwing you a little off your game. There is just something about going into a transition area the morning of a race with your bike.
Matt and I decided we would head down to the water for a warm up swim. The water was extremely warm, mid 80s. The swim course was awkward. You pretty much swam around an irregular shaped lake. We got in, warmed up a little and waited for our waves to start.
Now, as anal as I am, I looked at the past year's race results to see how fast the fastest girl swam. She was registered to race again this year. My goal was to keep up with her, we seemed to match up pretty well on the swim. Her and I started in the front of our wave and took off. I hung with her, side by side, to the first buoy. We rounded it and she took off. I knew there was no way that I could hang with her and be able to run afterwards. I also had other issues, I couldn't see the next buoy! It was in a shaded area and you couldn't see it until you were right on top of it. I managed to pass people from earlier waves and maintain my second place position in the swim. It became extremely crowded swimming into the finish. Those guys that started in earlier waves were floating and breaststroking, just trying to make it to shore. I looked at my watch (I always start it right before my swim wave starts) as I exited the water, 2nd girl out but not as quick of a swim as I had hoped for. Matt and I later compared our times, and we think that the course was a little longer than 650 meters.
On to transition...
I threw on my run shoes, visor, glasses and race number and off I went. I have never ran after swimming. It was very difficult to get my breathing under control, probably a good mile. I was passed a few times on the run but I expected that. It was an out and back course, the first mile was downhill which was good, I was able to get my legs.
I won my age group. I was the 9th place girl overall, and I finished 21st overall out of men and women combined. They say a win is a win but I was still disappointed I didn't get to bike. I think it would have been a completely different race if there was a bike. Better luck next year!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Black Bear Sprint Triathlon, 6/5/11
Let me start off by saying that this was so much fun!!!!!! For those of you who are close to me, know that I swore up and down I would never do a triathlon. Why? I'm pretrified of open water. I have never biked before and the thought of doing all three in one day, no way! I was a swimmer in high school and college, but these days I have designated myself as a runner. Until 6/5/11. I have never been more proud to say that I am now a triathlete!
The Friday before race day I got a phone call from a close friend of mine. Matt and I were just leaving the gym when I got the call. She said that she was just watching the news and that it was announced that Beltzville State Park closed the lake to swimming due to high bacteria levels. I have to admit I was disappointed and became very nervous. Swimming is my strength so I was expecting to use that come race day. What now? We had to mentally prepare ourselves for a duathlon. Run, bike, run. GREAT! We were just coming off of two half marathons in two weeks so the thought of running more than a 5k on race day was not sitting well with me!
Saturday rolled around and we headed to Beltzville for our packet pickup and the race expo. When we got there they announced that they were having the water re-tested and were waiting on the results. We decided to hang out for awhile and see what the results were. About an hour later they announced that there would be swim!
Preparing for a triathlon is a lot different then prepping for a running race. There was a lot for me to remember that night. Everything for the bike, and all of my running and swimming gear.
That morning we went and set up our bikes in transition. I honestly had no clue what to do and where to put things. I had Matt help me. But I will know what to do at the next one.
Waiting at the swim start, I put on my wetsuit. Did I mention that I hate swimming in them? I am not used to having my shoulders restricted. But, wetsuits are fast! Matt convinced me to get in the water and warm up a little bit before my wave started. I'm glad that I did. I got some nerves out of the way. I was expecting the water to be freezing cold but it was pleasantly warm! I swam a little, loosened up my arms and went and lined up for my start. We were the pink wave. Imagine how excited I was when I found out I'd be wearing a pink swim cap! Haha. Next thing I knew, we were off. It was extremely difficult for me to see during the swim. I don't know if it was because it was very cloudy, or the water was really dark, or what. I know that my goggles were extremely fogged up. I remember I literally had to stop in the water and clean out my goggles so that I could see again. I even considered taking them off completely! But, somehow I made it. I ran over some people, passed some people, and next thing I know I'm running up the shore and into transition 1.
I'm trying to dry my feet the best I can while taking off my wetsuit. I hear a guy behind me say what an awesome swim I had. I'm pretty sure I was the second or third female in my wave to exit the water. I simply replied with a thank you and kept moving. Now I think back, that guy must not have been in a rush to get on the bike. He was really taking his good old time just chatting away. In the meantime, my bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses were on, bike was off the rack and I was off.
I had no trouble getting on the bike at the mount line. I really thought I would. For those of you who don't know my beginner biking experiences.. the first time I tried to get on Matt's road bike I fell right over in the street. Not this time though! However, I was no more than five minutes into the bike course when I tried to shift to the big ring to gain speed down a hill. I popped the bike chain to the outside! I was proud of myself though, I didn't panic. I simply got off, put the chain back on and got back on. What was even more exciting was that those bikers that passed me while I popped my chain and got off to put it back on, I caught right back up to them!Matt and I rode this bike course twice to train for this race. I am thankful that we did. This bike course has a decent amount of hills and on race day I knew exactly where they all were. I didn't have much confidence in my biking until this race. I thought I was terrible at biking hills. Well, I can't tell you how many people I passed going uphill. I was able to take my nutrition on the bike as required and I felt great. At the bike finish, I was able to dismount successfully. After dismounting there is a decent run back into the transition area where you drop your bike and gather your things for the run. I liked the run off the bike because I was able to get my legs situated for the run.
I felt alright on the run considering I just swam and biked 17 miles. However, my 5k run was not as fast as I would have liked. Bummer. But at least I know what I need to work on. At the turn around on the run course I started to feel a lot better than I did the first half. Next thing I know, I am passed by someone in my age group. I remember looking down at the age written on her leg and thinking "oh great!" I tried to keep up, but my legs just didn't have it. I still finished strong and gave it what I had.
To recap: I finished 4th overall in my age group. I missed 3rd place by 1 minute. The girl in my age group that I said passed me on the run, she finished 3rd. I finished 88th overall out of everyone in the sprint distance.
What's next? Once again, as my close friends know, I swore up and down that I wouldn't do a triathlon, let alone purchase a bike. Well, I lied. I recently purchased a Trek Speed Concept, in pink! I should be riding it by this weekend! I have also registered for a triathlon in New Jersey July 23rd. Matt and I are also going to be doing a triathlon the week before in Bath, PA. Possibly another one in August. I have even begun to look for next year. I am pretty sure that we will both be participating in the Nautica South Beach Triathlon in 2012. And, it's a possibility we may take next year to train for a half ironman!
For now, it's back to hitting it hard. Working on speed, since my endurance is already there. I have another half marathon in September and I'm running my first full marathon in October. In other words, I've began putting a lot of miles on my legs.
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