Making Strides at South Beach

PRERACE – It was a 6:55am race start so I was up early to eat breakfast and get my stuff around for the day.  I got into transition around 5:30 and I felt like a freshman on the first day of school!  With a couple of the big names from the Ironman circuit here and a handful of the usual suspects for the non-draft Olympic scene I felt a little out of place.  I just went about my business and got my transition area set up and headed out for a jog warm up.  The swim was about 1200m away from the swim exit/transition, so I did a little shorter jog warm up because I was planning on running to the swim start after stretching and doing swim cords.  After a few last minute transition checks I did swim cords, grabbed my Profile Design speed suit, and jogged to the swim start.  The beach in South Beach has a “road” running down it so I jogged on that.  It is very hard packed sand, and I felt more comfortable running barefoot on that versus the concrete path.  I did a 5-6 minute swim warm up and then waited on the beach for the start of the race. 

SWIM – It felt like they held us on the beach forever, but finally the horn sounded and we were off.  I am starting to enjoy beach starts more and more!  With my height and natural bounce in my running stride I am able to run a lot farther out into the water than everyone else.  This time around, that meant I was winning the race when we started dolphin diving/swimming!!  My lead only lasted a few seconds but it was fun!!  After we rounded the first buoy, I was still in a great position so I tried to stay on the feet of some of the best swimmers in the sport.  It did not last long, I quickly found myself swimming solo so I just set tried to set a solid pace for my current swimming level.   The water was rough and I was getting tossed around but it was fun to be swimming in the ocean as the sun was coming up!  A couple people went around me and I tried to draft them but I could not hold on.  Finally a pack of 4-5 caught me and I was able to stay at the front of that pack.  Coming out of the water there were sprayers since it was a salt water swim, but I think I was the only one to run through them!  Oh well!  I also noticed I had lost my chip!!  This was the first time this has ever happened to me.  I did not know what to do but so as I ran into transition I yelled “Number 14.  No chip!”   I think I was hoping that would allow them to record a time for me and mark that I was not cutting the course in any fashion.

I had a great swim for the conditions and I knew I was doing well when Wes (Nicole’s husband) yelled at me that I was 30 seconds down.  I did not know if that was to the front or the next pack, but I was feeling good!  I think the Profile Design speed suit played a huge role in this and I was happy to have it on!  With no results posted for me I believe my swim time was somewhere around 21:10.  I’ll take that!

BIKE – This was my first time in a large race riding a disc.  I just got a Quarq on my bike, so I am able to ride a disc now and have power data.  I have heard a lot about how a disc is faster, but I had no idea!  I felt like I was flying and the sound it makes as it rolls down the road is one of my favorite!!  If you have ridden a disc, you know what I am talking about, but if not, to me it kind of sounds like a quiet jet engine.  Hence the feeling I get that I am flying!!  I felt great as I started out on the bike but a few guys went around me pretty fast so I just kept myself calm and rode a tempo I thought I could handle.  There were two 180 turns on the course so I was able to get time checks on the guys ahead of me.  At the first flip I was about 4 minutes down to Cam Dye, who was leading the race, and about 2:30 down to a group of 5-6 guys.  At the second flip I was about 4:30 down to Cam and about the same down to the group.  I knew I was doing well!!  I have never been this close to the top 10 at a non-draft race!!  With about 2 miles to go on the bike I started to feel the power leaving my legs.  This is a normal felling for me at the end of a 40k but I was doing well so I fought it off as long as I could.  I was around 13^th coming off the bike, and I thought I could get in the top 10 with a good run.  I had finally put together a swim-ride that would allow me to be competitive!!  I was very happy with my wheel combination of a disc on the back and an 80 deep Profile Design on the front.  Profile Design just entered the wheel market and they make some very good wheels!  I think my ride was around 57:10, which is by far the fastest split I have ever had!!

RUN – My legs were not happy, which is normal coming off the bike, but I had a shot at the top 10 so I had to push.  I hit the first couple miles hard.  At most races the volunteers do a great job and overall they did at this race as well, but I had issues at the aid stations.  At each aid station they had accelerade and water and not only did it change what cup each was in from station to station, but the volunteers where mixing it up as they were telling me.  This would not have been an issue, but accelerade is similar to Gatorade, and contains too much sugar for me!!   I am a Hammer Nutrition man and I cannot handle anything else during a race.  I did not want to bonk on this run, so I did not get any fluids at the first 3 aid stations.  At the third station I tried to grab both color cups to be sure, but I just knocked a white cup straight to the ground.  Of course, that was water at that one!  Finally at the fourth water station I slowed down and made sure I grabbed 2 water cups!  It was hot and I needed a drink!  I am not sure if it was the lack of water during the run or the fast pace I was running early but with 1 mile to go in the run, I was cramping up but gaining on Andrew Yoder, who was in 5^th.  I tried to push and catch him but my body was out of energy.  Had it been 11k I would have caught him, but I did not have enough speed at the end this time.

POST RACE – I found Nicole who was 2^nd overall!!  Amazing!!  She is a rock star!!  I congratulated her and we got some photos together.  What a great day for TEAM IE!!  With extra points and money involved with the fastest run split, I went to the timing tent to see if they could get a run time for me.  I was not sure if I had the fastest run or not, but I at least wanted to make sure!  They ended up being able to calculate my time based on when I left transition and when I crossed the finish line.  I did it!  I outran the second fastest run by 13 seconds!!  We later found out that Nicole had the fastest run for the woman!

I believe Greg is the best coach in the world, and results don’t lie!  All TEAM IE athletes get faster, but it still amazes me on how well they continually do!!  There will be ups and downs in life, especially as an athlete, but there are far more ups than downs on this TEAM!!  Thanks Boss!!

And a big thanks to Wes!  It was great to have you on the trip!  It was a lot of fun to hang out with you and you were a great spectator, with your strong words of encouragement and split updates.

“The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.”  ~ Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Kaleb

TEAM IE Posts Fastest Run Splits

Nicole and Kaleb had a great start to the Toyota Lifetime Triathlon Series at the Nautica South Beach Triathlon.  Nicole had the fastest run split for the women to end up 2nd overall!!  She ran strong to the finish line to have the fastest split by 2 seconds!!  Kaleb posted the fastest run split of the day on his way to 6th overall!

Checking in with Kaleb!

Check out Kaleb's interview with Slowtwitch HERE

Adventure down South

I wouldn’t be giving my South American adventure justice if I only write about two hours of my trip (the race).  I was a bit nervous about traveling to Lima alone especially with the language barrier. A good friend of mine who lived in Lima last year helped me find a cheap hostel to stay in which was next to the host hotel.  I highly recommend the Dragonfly hostel to anyone who is planning on going to Miraflores. It was so much better than I had imagined. The best part was the delicious pan con fresa marmalade (homemade rolls from the bakery with strawberry preserves) in the kitchen waiting on us every morning. I recruited Joe Maloy, Chris Lutz, and Harry Wiltshire to stay in the hostel as well. We made a great group and it was quite entertaining listening to Chris pretend to know fluent Spanish, Harry’s British vocabulary and Jersey Joe. There was this awesome café/bakery underneath the hostel and we ate pretty much every meal there. So many tortas….I think Chris and Harry ate at least 3 desserts a day!

The fabulous four with our waiter at dinner

I was there for a few days before the race so I had to get some training in. Luckily, the guys got there earlier in the week so they had already found a pool to swim in at a private health club a few blocks away. I got to get in a swim with a Pervian club team. It was interesting swimming with a group who does not understand anything you say. The running was beautiful. We stayed right next to the beach and there was a running path along a cliff that overlooked the sea. Cycling was pretty nonexistent which I would regret later in the race. 

The running view

The pool we swam in

The race was about 45 minutes away by bus from where I stayed.  I was very thankful that the race director organized a bus to take the athletes and bikes to the race site. The weather was pretty strange…it was not really hot but it was. That makes no sense at all but needless to say I got a wicked sunburn L The swim was wetsuit legal and the water was quite freezing. The swim was a beach start, but the beach was made out of large stones. I was kind of nervous that I would slip on a rock at the start but when the gun went off I just forgot about it. Swimming with the boys gave me a little boost of confidence so I decided to go out hard on the swim and see what happened.  I ended up swimming alone the whole time leading and it was SO COOL! It was really hard to site because the sun was in my eyes but I made it through and was first out of the water. I have been struggling with swimming in races so it is very rewarding to see hard work pay off.  The bike course was 8 laps with 10 speed bumps (or sleeping policemen I was informed) per lap. I rode the first lap by myself not really knowing what I should do. There was a huge group and I knew I would probably get caught so I decided to just ride and not kill myself because I knew I could probably outrun the field.  On lap 3 my seat fell down and made it really hard/uncomfortable/painful to ride. Note to self #1 -always make sure the seat and handlebars are screwed in tight enough. The ride was not very challenging but it really took a toll on my quads because of my awkward bike positioning. I told myself this would not ruin my race so I just kept going. The run was pretty technical. There were some round abouts, sharp turns, slippery pavement, children and their toys, pets, and steps! It made things interesting to say the least. I went hard out of T2 and I got a minute lead and decided to just chill out for the last lap. 

My bike seat position--yowzers

Start of run

Four goals were met at this race: won the swim, got to grab the tape, sprayed champagne, and got a cardboard check! Note to self #2- champagne smells REALLY bad and I thank Joe and the boy from the Netherlands for the way my bag currently smells.

I love racing abroad. At the end of the day a race is just a race. The important thing is the people you meet and the memories you create. This trip to Lima was one I will never forget and I am so happy I got to spend time with other great athletes from across the world. Thanks for making my experience a great one :) Next time I hope I know a bit more Spanish!

Now I am on my way back to South Bend to get recovered and start training for my next race. I am retiring Miss Green Machine and starting a new relationship with Snook the Look. I am SUPER excited to get on my new Look 596 and go fasst! I am also excited to see Nicole and Kaleb dominate this weekend in Miami!

The Half Full Triathlon
http://www.halffulltri.org/

Doug Ulman, CEO of Livestrong, and Eric Shanteau, 2008 Olympic Swimmer - at the Inaugral 2010 Half Full Triathlon...

Both these guys are Cancer Survivors...

Before Lauren dominates in Peru this weekend, I wanted to get a quick post up about the Half Full Triathlon Oct. 2 in Ellicott City Maryland.  The Wassner twins and I are the current head spokes-athletes for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Yound Adults, which runs the event.  UCF is a young adult alliance of Livestrong and is one of the largest advocacy, patient education and research funds in the county benefitting young adults with cancer.  Young adults are a really marginalized population within the cancer community because there are relatively fewer young people with cancer.  This can make their battle with cancer even more challenging.  Young adults with cancer face unique issues with regards to fertility options and just finding other people that are going through the same thing.  UCF was founded by Doug Ulman, the current CEO of Livestrong and multiple-time cancer survivor, and is headed up by Brock Yetso and Brian Satola- both former elite college athletes with strong connections to cancer.  I want to encourage anyone out there looking for a late season half or olympic triathlon to think about doing this race. 100% of race registration goes to UCF.  Last year, the inaugral even was a huge success. The Half Full is the most top-notch, professionally run event you can find and the atmosphere is really special.  Watching young cancer survivors cross the finish line last year was a moment I will not soon forget.  There is so much hope and humanity tied to this event- it is not just a triathlon, it is something much more.

The site for the race:

http://www.halffulltri.org/

The Wassner Twins and I have an article coming out soon in ESPN W magazine covering the event and life as professional triathletes- I will be sure to post..as well as coverage in the REV 3 event series literature. Laurel Wassner is the first professional triathlete ever to have survived cancer....

Buenvenidos A Miami!!

Miami International Race Report

Last weekend, Kaleb and I went down to Miami for the Miami International.  First off, Miami is actually a really nice place. I was really surprised- the water was green/blue Caribbean style, the sand was white- there was a lot of traffic- but out on Biscayne Bay it was really nice.  We are going back there for the first race in the Lifetime Fitness Series in 2 weeks and I am really excited about returning.

As far as the race, there was some really great competition and I was happy to be in the mix for most of the race. My swim went really well- for the first time ever I figure how to draft most of the way. Last year, I would lose the main top swim pack after about 400m- this race, I made it to about 1000 m before falling off the back- a huge huge improvement for me!  I had tons of endurance and felt very comfortable the whole way- totally a new open water experience for me. I came out of the water only about 25 seconds down off the main lead group-  which is not a huge deal in a non- draft race.  The best part of the swim was our really incredible new speedsuits from Profile Design.  These things are AMAZING- and I think they might have been a big factor in my swim.  They fit perfectly, came off easy and just felt really comfortable and fast compared to other speedsuits I have had.  http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/wetsuits/wetsuit-category/all-wetsuits/mako-speed-suit.html  I highly highly recommend this suit.  I am a huge fan.

The bike went great as well.  I have to figure out how to not grind in a low gear during a race.  In training, I am able to maintain a cadence of 90rpms + for harder efforts since I have been with Greg. In the race I reverted back to my old ways of grinding in the high 70s and low 80s…I definitely need to fix that and just have the confidence in my cycling to know I can catch people with a  cadence of 90.  I caught everyone on the bike except the top two girls and backed it down a bit coming back towards transition because I was trying to spin a higher cadence.  Most of the girls I caught stayed up right behind me so we all came into T2 together.  I am really really excited about my cycling this year, I think I am going to have huge improvements in this area this year!  Miami was a great indicator of that considering what we have done on the bike so far.  Greg has a very long term vision on the season so we are building slowly with everything and I am happy to be where I am already.  The other great product that came out of this race that I have to share is the Rudy Wingspan TT helmet.  This helmet has been getting a lot of buzz because it is supposed to be more aero, according to wind tunnel testing, than the long tails for anyone who does not stay in perfect aero position the whole race (ie most triathletes).  The helmet was incredible. It is the lightest on the market, comfortable and fast- huge huge different from my last helmet. Practically all the pros were wearing this helmet so the best in the world have really bought into it and I think for good reason- this is an incredible new product:  http://www.e-rudy.com/index_inner_detail.php?group_id=3&cat_id=79&item_id=HL506961US

The run- felt terrible.  I thought I was going soooo sooo slow. My legs felt heavy and my cadence was so slow (I think because of the grinding bike issue). I got outkicked in the last 100m by a college miler and just felt blah.  I knew I might not be super fit yet for this run and I was disappointed when I finished- but then I saw my time and how close I was to the fastest split and I was pumped.  I ran awesome! Especially for not doing practically any run workouts yet this season- I was in absolute shock!  Goes to show you the benefits of a slow build and a long term vision of the season. I know I have tons more fitness to gain yet on the run this season and I am already in a great place.   This is all Greg- I was a little nervous when I started with him last December that I would not be ready for race season given his model- now I am a total believer.  Because of my background as a college running coach and athlete- I know that you start a limited window on your running season when you start working out hard- you can only get faster for so long, and then you just get slower or kill yourself trying not to.  Greg really understands that and I am shocked that Lauren, Kaleb and I are doing so well right now given what we have done so far- but we are!  I can’t wait to see what happens later in the season because I know what we are doing is outside the box, but I think we are seeing that less might be more sometimes.  I am so happy where I am for many different reasons right now. =)  Best of luck to all early season racers!!!

Final results: 4th place pro female:  19:24 swim, 1:02 bike, 35:10 run for a 1:59 finish time...

Miami International Triathlon

Nicole and Kaleb fought hard in the Miami heat and were able to secure valuable points toward a spot at the Hy-Vee Triathlon.  Nicole competed with a strong women's field to finish in the money with a 4th place finish.  Kaleb ended up just outside the top 10 in a competative men's field, 12th place, but had the fastest run split of the day.  Check back in the coming days for results and further info.