9.Twelve.20Ten – Harvest Moon Triathlon

Sunrise - Morning of Harvest Moon Half Ironman

My Harvest Moon race recap actually starts the day before…on Saturday, I attended an “Advanced Bicycle Mechanic” workshop at REI.  As I would like to be more comfortable doing bike tuning & adjustments (I spend way too much $$ on bike tunes), I had been meaning to register for this workshop for quite some time.  I finally did…and sure enough it fell the day before the Harvest Moon Half IM.  I did not think it would be a big deal because I envisioned sitting in a chair for most of the day listening to an instructor and doing some bike tinkering every so often.  I was wrong.  Although both my instructor (Rick) and the class were great and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone wanting to be more comfortable with bike adjustments, I was on my feet standing for seven (7) hours straight…not ideal “pre-race” activities.  I have done enough races that I typically do not rattle easily, but this had me concerned because my dogs (feet & legs) were barking (tired) on Saturday night, and I had 70.3 miles of swimming, biking & running in the a.m.  Packet pick-up was a breeze, and I was able to relax with Molly (and some yummy Z Pizza) for dinner.  After dinner, I packed up my tri gear and then fell asleep reading the latest issue of Running Times.  I was so tired I decided to shave my legs on Sunday a.m.

So…Sunday a.m. came way too soon, and I decided that my time would better be spent sleeping than shaving my legs, so I opted to do this race semi-hairy.  Since I think one (1) of the major reasons male triathletes shave their legs is for the intimidation factor (“look at those muscles!”), I decided to wear pants instead of my normal shorts to the race.  I would be the “mystery” triathlete…is he serious (i.e. are his legs shaved?) or not (i.e. does he have hairy legs?).  Other racers would just have to wait & find out!

I grabbed some breakfast (a bagel and juice) and Molly and I loaded up the Jeep and made our way to the Aurora Reservoir.  The line to get into the reservoir was rather lengthy, so we did not get parked until about 45 minutes before race start (7:20) and one (1) hour before my wave (7:45am).  Setting up my transition area did not take too long and there were not any lines for timing chip pick-up nor body marking.  Of course, when you mistake a random spectator holding a marker as an “official” body marker, that helps.  Thank you (again) to the nice lady who not only marked my # and age, but was educated enough to know exactly where it went!  😉  Even better, after a short run warm-up to the “far away” restrooms, the lines were also short!

I was in the 4^th wave, and with 5 minutes between each wave, I was able to watch the elites go off and then do my warm-up.  For a race of this distance (1.2mi Swim + 56mi Bike + 13.1mi Run), I do not do much of a warm-up.  With the exception of my short run to the restrooms, my warm-up consisted of basically getting into the water to ensure my wetsuit & goggles were feeling OK and then doing a few short intervals to get a feel for the water temps as well as the position of the sun for sighting.  Nothing too crazy, definitely nothing too strenuous.

Finally, it was time for my wave (Men 30 – 39) to start.  The pseudo-gun went off and away we went.  The race thinned out pretty quick, but I had a bit of difficulty getting into a rhythm.  Finally, I got comfortable and was able to stroke-n-sight my way out to the turnaround buoy and back.  My increased comfort helped with my pace as I was able to pass a number of people on the return trip.  Of course, everyone had on the same colored caps, so I am unsure if I was making progress on other Men 30 – 39 or simply catching up to slower swimmers in the previous heats…I like to think that it was both.  😉

After the swim it was a semi-long run up the beach to the transition area.  I opted to NOT do a flying mount onto my bicycle because the duration of the race did not necessitate the few seconds it may save, and I wanted to ensure my shoes were on well & velcro’d nice as I was going sockless.  Once on the bike I was starting to get into a rhythm when I noticed my aero-drink system affixed to my aerobars was rattling.  Apparently, as I went over one of the early bumps on my bike, the velcro strap came undone.  I fiddled with it for a bit while riding, but reattaching it securely proved unsuccessful.  So…I stopped about five (5) minutes into the ride, got off my bike & re-velcro’d my drink system.  I was a bit upset that I lost some time, but figured I would be riding for 2.5 hrs, so 20 seconds was not the end of the world.  The rest of the ride went well as I felt strong throughout and the weather was kind (read:  not a lot of wind).  I have been working on my nutrition for long course races and was pleased with my consumption of Sport Beans (basically Jelly Beans), GU, Gatorade & water.  I took a long pull from the Gatorade I picked up at the last aid station to try and be “topped off” prior to starting the run.  Near the end of the bike, I pulled my feet out of my cycling shoes and did do a flying dismount because those are pretty easy and I actually think dismounting w/o shoes is easier than dismounting with shoes.  Go figure.

I entered T2, found my spot, racked my bike and started to pull on my socks & running shoes.  I was wearing socks and “normal” running shoes because of the distance of the run and my “triathlon” running shoes gave me some nice blisters during my last race (I think they fit well w/o socks, but not so well w/ socks).  I ran out of transition and onto the run course and got some cheers from Molly.  Thanks Molly!  I settled into a decent rhythm and took a look at my watch.  To break five (5) hours, I “only” needed to run a 1:57 for the ½ marathon.  That definitely seemed doable.  As I was running along, I would check my splits from time-to-time and do the calculation “If I can run X pace, I will finish with Y.”  Initially, it was five (5) hours…then it was a personal Course Record.  Then it was a Half Ironman PR (4:48…2010 IM Boulder 70.3).  At some point, I realized I “only” needed to run 8 min/mile and I would smash my PR and break 4:40!  I was getting excited!!  With about one (1) mile to go, I was still feeling pretty good and I pushed it to the finish.  As I neared the finish line I saw Molly cheering and the clock reading 4:3x:xx.  I was stoked!!

After I crossed the line, I hugged Molly (who was nearly as excited as I was with my PR).  We then made a beeline for some shade and after a few minutes I got some food (yummy veggie tacos) and then indulged in my favorite long course triathlon post-race item:  SODA!!  I (very) rarely drink soda…but after one of these races, I absolutely love it!!  Oogave Natural Soda was at the race and I enjoyed some Cola & Root Beer (and a few sips of Molly’s Grape Fruit…think Sprite).

Final Results:  4:38:05!!  5^th in my age group!

Thanks to Molly for all your help and cheers (and pictures) !!

Mile High Multisport (MHM) Max... Getting ready to race!

Stretching for the swim...

Ready to race!

Out of the water... heading to the bike!

Max riding shoeless... prepping for flying dismount.

Bringing it in with speed!

Finished with a Personal Best!

Happy to be done... time to celebrate!

9.Ten.20Ten

Sarah 1st Day of Preschool

So the honeymoon is over… July has come and gone.  It is almost fall… boy, time sure does fly when you are having fun.  Max and I are both back at work, plugging away for another day.  Max has been keeping busy with all of his training.  For the most part, he has had a successful, injury free summer.  This weekend he will be competing in his second ½ Ironman of the season, the Harvest Moon Half IM at the Aurora Reservoir.  I will certainly be on the course watching and cheering!!  One of my favorite things about “triathlon” is being a spectator!  Especially when those you are watching know how to move… fast!  We are both currently signed up for the Crescent Moon Sprint triathlon on Sept. 19^th… and I thought I would go ahead and set-up a double header and finish my tri- season with the Oktoberfest Sprint triathlon the following weekend (Sept. 26^th)!  I sure hope it stays warm!

 This past weekend (Labor Day Holiday) we were able to sneak away to Albuquerque New Mexico for my lovely friend Kim and her fiancé Chuck’s wedding.  She was stunning… I just wish I would have taken some photos.  We had the camera!  What were we thinking?!  That was Friday evening… they said vows outside at the Botanical Gardens which is in Old Town Albuquerque (not the safest place in town, a guest at the wedding had their car broken into while we were at the ceremony).  The gardens were very nice and I wouldn’t have thought otherwise had that car break-in not happened.  Anyway… the reception followed at El Pinto Restaurant!  A perfect celebration!!  As the sun went down the temperature outside felt fantastic.  It was a beautifully romantic setting on the back patio of the restaurant with a covered dance floor and all.  Of course, the food was Mexican!!  My favorite!  Fresh guacamole, chips and salsa, shrimp cocktail, plus a fountain of margaritas and sangria!!  It felt like heaven!  Kim and Chuck had quite an eclectic crowd filled with folks from all of the different areas of the world where they both have lived and visited.  Well done, Kim and Chuck!  Thanks for letting us share in your special day!

 Of course, the weekend did not stop there… we had driven to Albuquerque with our bikes on the back of the Honda.  Max had done some research and found that Alb. was quite the town for bike trails and streets with bike lanes.  However, the catch was that none of the bike lanes had been swept or maintained.  Rocks, gravel, glass, trash, you name it, it had been pushed off the main road into the bike line.  After the car break-in on Friday night we were afraid to leave the Honda any where else besides our hotel parking lot.  So we mapped out a route from our hotel that would take us to the Paseo del Bosque Bike Trail.  The route to the trail was only 12 miles (Ha!  Just a third of the distance of our entire ride!).  The meandering path we took through town to get to the Paseo del Bosque trail was nice however you had to stop or yield every block or so as the path did not go over or under the main roads.  Definitely frustrating when you are trying to keep your heart rate up!  But it was nice to be riding in a new city with Max!  Once on the Paseo del Bosque trail the ride was very great!  Beautiful views of the mountains and open spaces.  It was smooth sailing…although, there were MANY tiny lizards darting on and off the trail (snakes too!) which made riding two wide (Max along side of me) difficult as I would swerve with every little moment from the little critters!

 Lastly, Sunday we continued our adventure in N.M.  We had registered for the local “Dam to Dam” 10k.  Supposedly it was a “must do” course for experienced and novice runners alike.  The morning started off cool and I was very excited to finally be running in the cool crisp air!  However, that did not last… just before the start of the race the sun broke over the mountain tops and kicked on it’s oven.  The race was a small, local, neighborhood race, just over a hundred folks.  Packet pick up was in the Safeway parking lot next to Starbucks.  The start was just outside the entrance to the parking lot so we had to avoid the Sunday morning shoppers!  Anyway… I was ready, Max was ready… and we were off!  The cool thing about this run was crossing on top of the dams.  You could see all the way to the otherside.  And for me, being in the back of the pack I could look off in the distance and see Max leading the pack of runner!!  He looked so good running just strides behind the “bike lead” directing him along the course pathway.  Fortunately, Max maintained his lead the entire race… he finished 30 seconds ahead of the next few runners.  That’s my man!!

The drive coming home felt long… but it was an excellent weekend! 

King of the Mountain - Sarah and Cate

Okay… we didn’t have any photos from the weekend but I hate to have a post with out pictures so I’ve included two of my nieces.  They always make me smile!