Another One Bites the Dust

Lake Run 5K
Lake Oswego, OR
Overall Time: 25:24 (127/857 OA, 36/543 F, 9/47 AG), 1:13 PR!!!
Mile 1: 7:55
Mile 2: 8:35
Mile 3: 8:14
Last 0.1: 0:40

Breakfast Report: Oatmeal w/ dried cherries, cinnamon, milk, & brown sugar, coffee, water
Fashion Report: Red Gym Girl skirt, Red Lizard SS shirt, LIT Hat, my new red lizard Mother's Day socks, & my Saucony Omni 6's

This was the last of my "races masquerading as speedwork" and my only goal was to get out there and have fun. Oh and sport my new red lizard socks, an early Mother's Day present from Chad & Nathan. I woke up with a slightly scratchy throat. Allergies? The virus that attacked our household earlier in the week? I was feeling fine otherwise so I figured I'd try the "raise my body heat for a while and maybe the bugs will cook" approach.

We got to Lake Oswego in plenty of time to pick up my packet, use the blue thrones, and do a little 1 mile warm up plus some light stretching. This was touted to be a small rolling course with only one big hill and a downhill finish. Great! I love those courses. A little bit of chaos with a malfunctioning sound system, some late police officers, and a space too little for the 850 or so 5K runners and walkers and we finally filed into the street to wait for the air horn. I placed myself near the front so I'd have a reasonably clear route to run. The first time I looked up, I was next to the Dudeman, our club's fastest Master. I have no business being up there so I squeezed back a few rows to prevent going out way to fast for my abilities. These sub-6 minute milers have a way of just sweeping you along and then dropping you like a hot potato when you realize your mistake and start fading.

And we're off! First 0.5 mile is reasonably flat and I settle in for a hard effort. If it doesn't hurt, run faster right? My first mile is a bit faster than I'd like it to be but I knew I'd check my speed on the one hill. One hill? Er, try three and one turn was steep enough to switchback a bit. No one told me about this. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess. I focus on charging up the hills and letting myself go on the downhills trading places with people who were stronger uphill runners but weaker downhill runners. That cycling business is good for the quads! My second mile split showed when I met the hills. A few rollers in mile three and it was downhill from there. Good thing because I was just about redlined and focusing on holding on until I hit the chute. They took my timing chip as I was willing myself to not puke on the volunteer's head, got my finisher's bag and we headed off to the farmer's market for breakfast.

I was still feeling mostly OK so I followed this by a 30 mile ride that started out fine but ended bad. Since I raced, I turned it into a Z1/Z2 spin vs. a hill fest. I expected my legs to feel a bit dead but it wasn't until halfway through that I realized that I wasn't suffering post-race dead legs. My chest got tight and I could barely breathe in aero. Looks like the virus that knocked down Chad and Nathan finally made its way to me. Ugh! As an insult to injury, I had a stiff headwind all the way home and I couldn't stay in aero. But I got home fine and have now spent the last day wishing the truck that hit me would come back and finish the job. Good thing I'm getting this out of the way a month out, eh?

Season's On!

Hawthorne Farms Sprint Triathlon
Hillsboro, OR
500 yd/13.2 mile Bike/3.2 mile Run
Overall Time: 1:21:57 (3rd AG)
Swim: 8:42
T1: 2:24
Bike: 42:48
T2: 1:17
Run: 26:45

Breakfast Report: Oatmeal w/ dried cherries, cinnamon, milk, & brown sugar, coffee, water
Fashion Report: Black tri shorts, blue/yellow Danskin shimmel, black Transition Girl skirt for the run, LIT hat, & a temporary Red Lizard tat on my right ankle
Race Nutrition Report: Water, Cytomax

There's something to be said for racing in your backyard, on the same roads that you train on. You know every curve, every pothole, and better yet, you can sleep in! This was that kind of a race. Point-to-point but T1 and T2 were a maximum of five miles from my house. This was a C race for me, an excuse to finally get my butt in gear and find the rest of my tri gear and to hone my race mentality. Only goals were to go out hard, go out fast, and have fun.

Race morning found me up at the more civilized hour of 6:15. It was actually light out. I had time for a leisurely breakfast and a cup of coffee before I had to leave. Chad and Nathan were planning to hit our favorite coffeehouse, which was actually on the bike & run course, in time for me to come back on the bike. I set up T2 and then drove back to the pool and set up T1. I had time for a 10 minute warmup run and a couple of bio breaks before I headed in to watch the two waves before mine.

The Swim
They actually seeded the swim waves based on your predicted time at registration. No big deal. I entered a time consistent with my last time trial. Problem was my last time trial was two months ago and I had cut another 10 seconds off my 100 m time in the subsequent months. I couldn't reseed due to the tri already being full so I had to deal with what I had and work with the other three people in my lane. On the bright side, I'd have plenty of energy for the bike & run. Chad called me a sandbagger.

I was the first off the wall in my wave and quickly settled into a smooth, strong stroke. By the third lap, I was getting ready to pass the fourth person who, unluckily for me, switched to breaststroke as I was passing her knees so I got a small kick to the temple for my efforts which filled my right goggle with water. Quick pause at the wall to drain it and I was off again. The second person was having a lot of fun drafting off my toes and the two of us lapped the third person. By the 7th lap, I figured he wanted to pass me so I let him go ahead at the wall. Mistake! He was about half a stroke too slow. Oh well! Live & learn. The two of us finish the swim at about the same time and hauled ourselves out of the pool and ran to T1 which was for me, a comical attempt at putting socks on wet feet. Three tries later, they were on. I decided to forego the jacket and arm warmers, slapped my helmet and glasses on, and mounted my bike.

The Bike
Mad pedaling off to my own stomping grounds. It was time to hammer! The only worry on my mind was if I'd have enough room to clear the humungous pothole right before Helvetia Tavern without getting dinged for blocking. Turns out I didn't have to worry much. I passed two people before we were all pretty strung out by mile two. I settled into the big ring and maintained a high cadence. Cleared the potholes with no issues and kicked back into a lower gear to deal with the hill at Helvetia Church. I was passed by a guy halfway up the hill but as I crested, I noticed that he wasn't too far ahead of me. There goes my rabbit. We played cat and mouse, passing and repassing each other for the rest of the ride when for some inexplicable reason he slowed in the second to the last turn as he passed another cyclist. Sorry dude...you're mine! I kicked it up another notch and dropped him. He ran into T2 about 30 seconds after me. We congratulated each other on the great ride and went off for a nice run.

The Run
I felt really strong going into this 5K. The run training must really be paying off. The course was flat, fast, and I ran it at least once a week.
Mile 1 - 8:12.....AWESOME!
Skipped the water station
Mile 2 - 8:30....dropping the pace but still going strong.
The fast guys started coming in as I neared the turnaround and I couldn't help but admire their rides as I heard the "whup-whup-whup" of their discs behind me. That has to explain....
Mile 3 - 9:10....Holy positive split Batman! I have no explanation other than I was blinded by carbon, HEDs, and Zipps. Since I didn't feel like I was fading, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. When I realized what I'd run in the third mile, I kicked it up and finished strong.

Final time...1:21:57. The first time I've ever broken 1:30:00 in a sprint. I ended up third in my AG. Good enough for hardware if they were giving AG awards but I'll take the huge confidence boost that a strong race gives you over a ribbon any day.