Swim Exit 101

I liked these tips from last month's Triathlete Magazine on the best way to exit the swim.

Step 1:  Swim toward the finish.  Know the course and find tall buildings or trees to sight that are in line with the swim exit.

Step 2:  Activate your legs.  Kick a little extra during the last 200 meters of the swim.

Step 3:  Keep swimming!  Don't stop or stand up until you have run aground in the shallow water.  When your fingers scrape the bottom, take a few more strokes by pulling right under your torso.

Step 4:  Stand and lift your goggles onto your forehead.  This action clears your vision for any potential hazards underfoot as you start to run out of the water.

Step 5:  Unzip your wetsuit on solid ground.  Running through sand and rock is hard enough.  Wait until you reach carpeting or pavement to search for that strap.

Step 6:  Take off your cap and goggles when you see your bike.  Abandonment of equipment can result in a penalty, so don't risk dropping these small items.

Sweet Emotion -- Michelle's First Half Ironman

-- By Michelle 

Like any big event, I’ve been looking forward to this race for several months.  This was my first trip to Oceanside and my first 70.3 distance race.  Typically, I spend hours scouring the event website, reading reviews, and checking out the course maps and elevation charts.  This time, I decided that wasn’t a good idea because each time I sat down to process what I’d gotten myself into, my stomach reminded me that I was crazy and under prepared.  Did I mention that sharks live in the ocean? So I did the next best thing…. stuck my head in the sand, entered a huge state of denial, and followed my fabulous friends around as they trained.

The day of the race arrived and we made it through all of the pre-race jitters.  I was waiting with my age group as we watched the pros take off.  They were in and out of the water before our wave even started.  It was inspiring to watch them run into transition.  The water “appeared” calm and I felt nervous but ready as we approached the boat ramp.

We gently swam to the starting line and I knew in just a few minutes I would lose my “security blanket” (a.k.a. Jacque).  Then it would be up to me.  As the air horn rang out, I felt good and had plenty of room to swim.  But then the next wave caught me and the water felt much more crowded.  It seemed I just kept going and going and going.  It felt like I spent more time vertical trying to see the next buoy than I did horizontal swimming away.

The water was choppy and it felt like the swells were enormous; it’s all much worse when you are out there.  Was this swim ever going to end?  Finally, I spotted the turn around buoy and headed straight for it.  Somebody passed right along side me and I became a little too acquainted with their heel.  Bam!  A heal to my mouth.  Ouch!  Great, now I was in the ocean with a bleeding mouth.  If I could taste the blood in my mouth then surely the sharks could smell it! Did I mention that they can smell a drop of blood within a mile?!  I started to think about the rest of the day and the reality of it all hit me in my weakest moment out in the middle of the ocean, bleeding!  I started to question my race strategy of “denial”. By the time I got out of the water, I wanted to sit down on my transition mat and cry.  I didn’t want to quit, I just wanted to cry.   I was mentally unprepared and I knew it.  Denial is NOT a good race day strategy!

It took me until about mile 15 on the bike to realize that I did want to be out there and that I was having a good time.   I finally settled in and then around mile 23 my husband Jared caught and passed me.   We had a quick chat and he was off.  I thought I had it rough…he had just gotten stung by a bee on his head!  Then the hills and wind started.  The second half of the course was much tougher.  It felt like we climbed forever, took a quick break and then climbed some more.  Lorie’s words kept echoing in my mind.  “Don’t lose your heart rate or you’ll lose your run.”

I did a good job at keeping my heart rate in check but was feeling frustrated as I just kept getting slower.  One by one I ticked off each of the last 15 miles on the bike.   I’d done a lot of firsts—many of which should have happened before race day but didn’t:  Going uphill at 4.6 mph and not tipping over.  Did you even know that was possible?  Not me!  I actually picked up a banana and a water bottle at the same time going though an aid station…and didn’t crash!  Went 35 mph downhill.  Slow to some people but for me…. speedy.

Somewhere in those last 15 miles something great happened.  I finally gave myself permission to do my best.  It sounds cliche but really I was finally able to let go of where I was in comparison to others and just enjoy the accomplishment of being out on the course surrounded by others claiming their own personal victories.  It was an empowering feeling as I slowly headed into the wind and towards transition.   As I approached the bike dismount, I got choked up and just reveled the fact that I was done with the unknown.  I walked through transition and soaked in the atmosphere around me.

I felt relief as my legs actually worked and the run began.  Two loops, lots of familiar and friendly faces, and the BEST cheering support squad ever!!  I ran the first loop comfortable and felt great.  The second loop I tried to pick up the pace a little and then finally at the 10 mile mark focused my energy and ran hard.  I like to finish a race knowing I left it all on the course and this time I did.  Running along the beach with cool temps and cloud cover, watching challenged athletes do amazing things, being on the course with friends, surrounded by a cheering section that loves you and carries you to the finish line.  Does it get any better than that?  It’s a hard feeling to beat. 

Diary Of A Slow Chick

In reality, J is anything BUT slow.  She's run several marathons including Boston, with a PR of 3:20, I believe.  She can keep pace with the best of 'em.  But J has also been injured, and is just reappearing on the running scene.  Here's her email to me describing her run with the "fasties" in the group for our weekly 10 miler.  Leave it to J to find the humor in everything!
*ATG = At The Gate (our usual meeting spot)

photo credit

ATG 5:15:  Amy, Christy Janeen
ATG 5:20:  Amy, Christy Janeen
Departure: Amy, Christy, Janeen

5:28 McKellips and Canal:  Amy, Christy...Janeen

Adobe and Canal: Amy, Christy.....Janeen

Adobe/ Greenfield: Amy, Christy........."Can't talk Janeen"

Greenfield /McKellips: Amy shows mercy on Janeen and asks if she needs to stop

 6:15 Mountainside Fitness:  Amy, Christy, Janeen and her "Rikki" in the restroom

6:25:  Greenfield canal and McKellips Amy, Christy.......................Janeen

6:27 Backs of their heads looking like dots on the horizon

6:30 Turnoff, and canal for ATG: Just Janeen

6:45:  only a black suburban left in the parking lot...................red faced, sweaty, tired as heck, Janeen

Late night, poor fueling and fast chicks don't mix.  hahaha

Thanks for making us feel NORMAL, J!  We love you!

Misty's Take on El Tour de Mesa

When I sign up for events I never anticipate anything other than racing and doing it to the best of my abilities. As Tour de Mesa approached I found that I wasn’t nearly as ready as I thought I would be, given the fact that so many things factor into training. It has been a tad on the cold side in the mornings so I hadn’t been riding as much as I probably should have been, I also found that “life” got in the way of my long Saturday rides and to top everything off I ended up getting a cold a few days before the race. 

All this aside I decided that I was just going to ride how I felt if I felt good then I would ride hard and if not then I would just enjoy the scenery. Thankfully I was able to recruit my good friend Jim to tag along to keep me motivated. It was a great day for a race, the weather was perfect and I was feeling better, as we waited at the start and watched the riders pile in my nerves started to heighten, you never know what lies ahead.

They counted down and we were off.  It’s always a little scary in the beginning as riders dash in and out trying to find the pace they want or a good draft. Things went pretty smooth as we screamed down University at 30 miles an hour, making it through all the turns and finally onto Hayden.  Then things started to get a little squirrelly when the group split a little and there was a lot of tire touching and bumping, enough to make me back off knowing that at Shea we would want to hang with the group as long as possible. 

After reaching the top of Shea I was pretty sure I had lost one of my lungs on the road, but knew that there is always a great downhill to recover. We caught on with another small group to pull us along the Beeline. I don’t what it is about that stretch but it seems like it lasts forever. One last climb up Usery Pass and we were home free, and making pretty decent time. I knew I wouldn’t hit platinum but given the circumstances I was very happy with my time, there is always next year to try again. All in all it was a great day and a great ride !!!

What A Race Looks Like From The Front Of The Pack

My younger brother, Dave, acquired all the talent in the family gene pool, while I acquired all the desire.  I asked him to recap El Tour De Mesa's 72-mile race this past Saturday.  He's a front-of-the-pack kind of guy. I wondered what that might be like.  Here's his review of the fabulously fast Web-Op Focus Team's day at the races.  All photos courtesy of Web-Op.

That's Dave on the left side of the photo

The sun was up and the weather perfect for the 1200 riders making the 6:15 start time. The pack quickly fell into a nice groove and was rolling along comfortably at 30 mph for the first half hour or so of the race. 

Being that the first 30 miles of the race is flat, it’s tough for anyone to get away off the front so the front pack usually has 300-400 riders that stick together, although it’s usually up to the top local cycling teams to drive the pace. Bicycle Haus from Scottsdale and RideClean from Phoenix are usually two of the teams with a strong presence, but this year Web-Op/Focus from east Mesa had the numbers and riders up front driving the peleton. 

Halfway into the race the climb over Shea trims the pack of those who don’t like inclines, and after the fast descent through Fountain Hills, the climb up the Beeline to Bush Highway trims it a bit more. After a very fast descent past Saguaro Lake where the pace got up to 40 mph, the riders approached the last and hardest test of the day with the 3.5 mile climb of Usery Pass. This road comes around the 60-mile mark so at this point all riders are feeling the miles, fatigue, and heat from the pavement. What was once a pack of 100 or so riders at the start of the climb, quickly turned into small groups all over the road as the elite climbers screamed away at 20 mph, while others less inclined to lose their lungs settled in to grind away at 7-8 mph. 

Once over the climb, the front pack of around eight to nine cyclist held a minute or so advantage over the chasing pack. Led by the Web-Op team which had four riders in this elite group, they were able to keep the wolves at bay and bring it in for the closing sprint. 

A perfect day for the Web-Op team was just missed when a local rider for Carlos O’Briens narrowly out-sprinted two from Web-Op to take the win by less than a wheel length. 

Great weather, great scenery, and better support from local governments this year (thank you Mayor Smith of Mesa) made this a memorable inaugural Tour de Mesa.        

Thank You, Second Sister

Inspiration Monday...

What I Believe

A little message of inspiration.  What can you do for someone else?