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My name is Diana…I am a triathlete
It’s official! I can by all rights call my self a triathlete. What started off as “cross-training” by adding in a few other things like swim and bike has grown into a newbie triathlete a full blown athlete! My E-team sisters came out to race and spectate!
It’s all about having fun!!
My first triathlon was 3 days ago. Location: Auburn, California. Distance: Sprint (aka Mini). Terrain: HILLS HILLS and just because there wasn’t enough…MORE HILLS!!!
The distance was called a mini or what some would refer to as a sprint triathlon distance. The first discipline is the swim. The distance for the swim for the mini is 500 meters or .30 miles. For those that need a further breakdown that’s 1640 feet or 19,685 inches…impressive! Here I am in the swim:
I’m in there somewhere…for real!
The swim was great. I know a lot of folks out there get nervous. I was a little bit but just the normal nerves one gets before any race really. I knew what I’d want to do in the swim portion. I knew what it’d feel like, what I’d experience, I was prepared because I had done this over and over in my mind well before race day! I knew there was a rolling start so I knew I would plant myself at the back of the group and take my time starting. I ended up back in the group and passing by some. Was great. Outside of the girl that was having extremely hard time sighting on the last stretch…she was zig zagging across me. I was told it’s ok to gently nudge her aside or simply sprint past but she looked stressed out and hey, I wasn’t in a rush really. I was enjoying the experience! Here is me exiting the swim and getting ready to head to T1:
Because everyone should strut out of swim…just sayin’
As we exited the swim, the first of the hills (oh my legs quiver with memories) was to run up the boat ramp then take a sharp right up a rocky technical dirt path to a parking lot to T1. I thought I’d be a hot shot and start the “jog” on up, felt the incline on my legs, and said “nope save it for the bike”. I’m very smart! I transitioned (I thought pretty good for a virgin triathlete) and prepared to ride the bike leg of the race.
Please don’t be backwards…please don’t be backwards…
Off and riding on the bike. This is my before pic…poor legs, they have no idea what’s about to go down.
The legs don’t know what they are in for yet…
The bike course is beautiful!! It is a hilly course and a technical course. The distance is a mere 13 kilometers or 8 miles. Short, right? But it was HILLY!! Some as steep as a 12% grade in ascent. Tough and challenging. I learned how to handle shifting and climbing. My only fear was that on the steep climbs I would either fall or walk or both. I am extremely proud to report I did neither!! I did what I thought was best on the course and finished in the time I had anticipated based on my training and current skill set. I survived a tough bike course!
I am finished with the bike leg. I’m so excited to see my teammates!! And to be done…
I was so excited to see my teammates and close friends the Baughs (who took the above awesome pic!)…and I was happy to be riding into T2. I was much faster on T2 I think and now I entered into my comfort zone…the run! I took off my riding gear, put on my shoes, race belt, tighter things up…and began to run out of T2!! Yes…Now on to the run!!
I know I can run well. I didn’t even think about the course because it is only 4 kilometers or 2.4 miles. Guess what? There were HILLS on the run!! What?!? I can run hills, I’m not afraid of hills; however, I just had my fill of hills on the ride and now I have to run them? Bring it on!! I fly downhill on a rocky trail out of T2 area to the wooded area behind the finish line. Down the trail, up the trail, back down a trail hill then a sharp right. After that it’s really a blur but I can tell you there were several quad killer climbs and runs down hills. There were switchbacks and great volunteers cheering us on. There was a beautiful canal that flowed with crisp cold water that I was positive would be great if I could just stop and stand in the flow…my mind wandered…ahem, I snapped back to reality and saw my teammate Brynda up ahead. Time to catch her and bring us across the finish! We motivated each other to finish the race because it was the longest by far the longest 2.4 miles I ever ran…seriously. Those HILLS!! But here I am…ready to finish the entire race:
Approaching the finish…finally done with those hills.
The race was over! I did it! I completed and survived with a smile my first triathlon!
Happy smiles…we are done! Brynda did amazing!
I am happy with my overall time. It was right around where I thought’d I would be but I was handed a nice surprise…I placed 2nd in my Age Group!! What?!? That can’t be?? I double checked and triple checked. It’s true! Although there were only 4 of us in the AG, I placed 2nd and I’ll take it thank you very much!
Me and Ms. 1st place. She was so happy!!
So what are all the little lessons in this race?? Well, there are too many to list and over time I’ll share. But for now I would just like to give a huge shout out to Coach Will from Enduworld and my wonderful Endurance Reno teammates that trained and raced along with me encouraging me the entire time. A shout out for a great race for Brynda and Andrea:
Brynda, Andrea, and me!
And to my husband, a great friend, and great coaching and athletic couple:
Corrine, my hubby Nick, Olivia, Sam, and the celebrity dogs Pebbles and Sunny Rae (little pom)
I have many more trainings, races, and lessons (hopefully more food posts too) to share in the future. But what I would love to hear about is YOU!! What is going on with you with your training and racing? Share share share….please?
Napa Marathon…the race…
There is a lot to be said about the amount of time, dedication, focus, and determination a runner goes through to race an endurance race distance. What is an endurance race distance? Well for some, it may be 13.1 miles half marathon or it may be the 26.2 miles full marathon. It may include distances beyond but for the sake of time and reference, we’ll just stick with the 26.2….
I love this because it’s true. We train and train and mostly in silence pounding out the miles in preparation to our race.
As I have posted before, training taught me a lot of life lessons. I shared some of those lessons with you in prior posts. I try to take up all that life offers in my life an apply what I feel are lessons. Training prepares the body and cardiovascular system to handle the distance; however, the race….oh yes, the race offers so much more in lessons If you are receptive.
So you know I survived my race, you know who was with me, and you know my finish time. I want to share with you what it was actually like to run the race itself. What I felt, saw, and learned about myself.
At the starting line, you could feel the nerves and excitement rise above the crowd waiting for the siren to start the race! I kept thinking to myself…”don’t go out too quick”. I repeated this over and over and over. Then the siren sounds…the race is on! I look down at my HRM watch and quickly realized it was not tracking the mileage!! WHAT?? I am about to run 26 POINT 2 miles and it won’t show on my HRM watch?? Jeesh! This is not a good sign. So I continue to run. Runners are passing me rapidly. Some are clustered in packs of friends and talking already about the next marathon they are signed up for. Some share historical data of marathons they ran before. Some are coaching and cheering on strangers already walking after mile 2 when our first hill approaches. Lots of discussions, laughter, and excitement passing me by as I continue to chant to myself “don’t go out too quick…don’t go out too quick”.
I am running along the course very disciplined and focused on running the tangents properly. CONFESSION: I just truly learned what they meant by running the tangents the night before the race…true story!. For those that may not know this either…you’re in great company because as I found out, there is a language to racing not just running. Tangents are those turns and curves in the road. If the road bends to the left…it would be less mileage on your feet equalling to a faster time if you take the inside narrow elbow of that left turn. Not the center or the outside of the turn. You can add time and mileage if you don’t take tangents. Make sense? Napa had a lot of tangents to tackle. I was focused and taking them like a near pro! Hugging to the left…passing runners as I moved side to side to take the tangents almost running on the gravel shoulder. Oh yah, like a boss! I would occasionally notify my target, ahem, I mean my fellow racer I was about ready to pass….”on your left” or “on your right”. Things were running (pun intended) smooth…GPS finally kicked in…now my minute/per/mile pace is showing…now I only have 23 miles to go. I can do this!
At around mile 4, everything changed. I made eye contact with my running sister Olivia! Remember that beautiful gal…to the left of me in this pic:
I have many nicknames for her because she is one that I have secretly (well it’s not a secret now) watched and mimicked her form, her methods, her badassness. That’s a word…google it. On hills…she’s a beast! Her nickname is billy-goat. She can take a hill and make it cry as she runs up and down it. I watch her running form, her cadence, how she handles running drills, and on some days that I am feeling super sassy, I try to pretend that I can catch her! She’s always ahead of me. On the track, her nickname is little rocket! She’s a little shorter than I so I can call her ‘little’…and it’s truly out of admiration because as I grow as an athlete…I want to be just like her! She’s fast and an amazing athlete, runner, and triathlete. So now that you know a little bit about Olivia imagine my surprise to see her at mile 4 in a marathon. She was waiting scoping me out. She says she needed me that day but I needed her so much more!
I remember saying “What are you doing here at my pace!?!” She was battling a hip injury for the past few months. She trained through recovery and wasn’t sure it was going to hold out for Napa. This was her race to set a personal record (PR). This was her race! Napa would not relinquish anything for her this time. Napa fought back. At around mile 4 she felt the pain, she wasn’t sure she would continue. She knew there were a few of us in the middle and back of the pack that she may run with to see how much it would help if she slowed down. She wanted to test it out. I was her target…I had mixed feelings. I was scared because this elite badass runner was going to hang around me for the entire race. What if I wanted to walk, or stop, or I don’t know…anything. I felt scared and not sure why. hahaha. But that truly was a fleeting thought and a knee-jerk reaction. I quickly realized as we started running together that this was going to be a great journey and experience that I would cherish forever!
She paced me, coached me, and helped me through some dark moments of my race. She watched for me when I hit the physical wall, the emotional wall, and the mental wall. She asked me if I am good on nutrition, did I hydrate, how was this mile compared to last. She had me covered and under her wing. I asked her several times how she felt and she always responded with a positive answer…”it’s ok, doing better”. Well, she was not. She ran with me and pushed me through to the very last POINT FREAKIN 2 miles. The last stretch to cross this finish. She pushed me to finish and sprint strong. I did. I ran across the finish line in 4:22:19…tears in my eyes and joy in my heart! My first marathon done. I am a marathoner!
I turned to find her a literally a second behind me. I turned around, hugged her, and totally balled my eyes out on her shoulder!
The lessons I learned that day include: how to pee outside before the race starts when there is a huge line at the PP’s, that I should have taken my Immodium MUCH earlier the day before than I did, I held back out of uncertainty and could have pushed harder…and when you think you are alone, you are not. Just because you’re strong and independent, you always need someone (sometimes you don’t even know that you do). When the “wall” hits you…there is always a way through it. And finally, during the most intense, most impossible moments of your life when you think you cannot do it, you can! You just have to push through and do it. I had the honor of an awesome teammate, running superstar, badass rockstar, and now my marathon sister help me through a tough race and build a wonderful experience!
Who is your Olivia? What lessons did you learn during a race?
Napa Valley Marathon!! 2014
I am a marathoner! That’s it…end of post…I ran 26.2 miles in an official race. Oh, wait, you want to know more?? Ok…it was the best race to run in for my first marathon ever. It was nor remains an easy course. Let’s not be fooled into fiction here…It was a nice meaty race for a first timer. I did absolutely great in time for a first. What was my time?? Well, we will get there…patience!
It was a beautiful day! Overcast, a bit chilly and moist from days of rain. The smell of spring and vineyards surround. Look at the picture above. You know you’d run that…not too hot, not too cold. Perfect day for a race.
My husband and I drove down the Friday before to meet up with our Endurance Reno team and coach. My team had approximately 25 running the race and several drove out for cheering and support. Love them…a bunch! We had a blast the night before with great food homemade by the coach’s beautiful wife Shanna. We wanted not…and needed even less. We stayed in a beautiful cabin home in the hills around St. Helena. We saw a huge coyote and heard Big Foot. Swear, we did. Truth!
What an absolute experience! I would have been so relaxed and at peace with this just being the get-away! But we were there to race!
We brought all our gear and made this beautiful place our home for the next few days. We were here. We are ready to race our first marathon! We drove the course to get our heads in the game. I personally like to know what I am up against. Others, may not want to know that much. It’s all about how you plan your mental game for the race. Knowing where the turns and curves and scenery helped when I needed it the most. We drove down and went to packet pick up. ALERT!! Apparently you are NOT to try ANYTHING new ESPECIALLY at the expo before race day. That sample can’t hurt me right?? Well, you decide if you want to take that risk or not. I did not know this rule and I sampled the most lovely granola snack thing ever. Oh well…next time I know. I had no GI issues as a result of it but hey, it was risky and I was just not thinking straight. I’m new at this ok?!? Well, kinda not now but you know what I mean.
With packet pick up done and course locked into memory…all there is to do is eat and drink wine and enjoy the company of my team…my family. Oh yes, we are that badass…just sayin’.
Race morning and we are up! Took in my nutrition and stumbled to the bathroom to get one more opportunity in before the start. We are all tired, ready to get this done. No more training, no more talking about it, no more planning…the day is here. Time to roll to the start line. Now if you are not familiar with NVM it is a straight shot 26.2 miles. Not an out-and-back but starts from Calistoga and ends in Napa at the HS. All we have to do is run.
At the start line, I ran into my most favorite man, the man that gave me my life back 4 1/2 years ago through Gastric Bypass Surgery…my surgeon, Kent Sasse! He’s a marathoner. I did not know this until well after I became a runner. How cool is that? Now we have a tradition to start each race off with a hug and pic! This man doesn’t really know how much he gave back to me…such a great man great spirit!
There were a few things I learned along the way during this amazing experience! The first lesson…how to pee outside around other people. OMG! Yes, I have grown comfortable with scoping out a bush and targeting for a pee stop. That took me a few years to get comfortable with by the way. But seriously, I had to pee at the start line and there was only 5 minutes to the start time. Lines were LONG at each porta-poty! What’s a girl to do?? Go behind the line of porta-poties and join a few brave runners in their last pee break before a great race of course. I thought I was comfortable peeing outside…but when push comes to shove, you gotta do what you gotta do. I had a nice pre-race chat with a gal as we were both squatting and peeing wishing each other a great race while my wonderful running sister Olivia (more on her later) kept watch. And done…bladder empty, we are ready to race!
The marathon itself is an experience all in its own and deserves a blog entry of its own. I just want to tell you this…see that beautiful gal to my left?? (I’m in the center if you didn’t know…haha) That is Olivia! She is amazing and in the next blog about Napa…I will share EXACTLY how amazing she is and how she was part of my wonderful NVM experience!
Wrapping up this entry…I learned so much through training and racing. My running team family, coaches, and all those that supported me and continue to support me through 2014 race year…I love you all! How was my race??
Finish time: 4:22:19
Not too shabby for a first-timer! I held back, I enjoyed the experience and the race itself. Watch out for my next one. I would do Napa again! Stay tuned for more on lessons learned during a marathon.
Obstacle course and lessons learned
It’s been almost 2 full months since the last entry. I know you might have been worried that maybe I got lost in the holiday shuffle or maybe I just decided not to continue on with training. Maybe I forgot or maybe life just got in the way. The truth is that my mind is always busy pondering a little bit of everything of every part of life. Based on my personality and ingrained traits, I am an analyst. I analyze almost everything in my path. Yes, it’s exhausting at times. No, I cannot shut it off. It is what I am. It is my superpower and yet my kryptonite.
Where does that leave me with a 2-month gap in blogs? For starters prepare for a long-ass blog. Second, I have an opportunity to share my growth and transformation in that time. This is a time to share what obstacles popped up and some challenges to my mental, physical, and emotional fortitude. Sharing my experiences and allowing you, the reader, to extrapolate what speaks to you. And to share a word and its definition that stood out as powerful to me and what triggered it to be on my radar…that word is OBSTACLE
I have learned that the sport of triathlon trains you for life. Now remember, I am the analyst and as such I can make a correlation of the similarities and identify patterns, processes, and such. With this in mind, I look for valuable data, data that I can extrapolate and use and apply.
Becoming a triathlete is not only tough working on three disciplines (especially when I only really knew how to do one of them…guess which one). 2014 is going to be an epic race year for me and I am realizing that being a triathlete is more than training. It involves all the gear needed to race successfully. There can be a steep start-up cost. No one really prepares you for this. As I become stressed about how in the world am I ever going to afford all this, a life experience pops up as an analogy. It’s like preparing for a baby! During pregnancy parents-to-be often are consumed and overwhelmed by the supplies that are needed and how much it’ll cost. But somehow most of us make it through, pulling out our creativity and awesome resources and in the end, we make it happen. This is my year of a lot of firsts! This is the year of my triathlon-pregnancy with the big prize being my Ironman Lake Tahoe Baby in September.
Another realization during the past few months as training has ramped up is that becoming a triathlete is not an easy journey. A tough journey especially when I went from couch spud (with deep roots and a long list of TV favorites) to an endurance athlete that would rather train than watch TV. There are a lot of growing pains, evolutionary stages, and what I like to simply refer to as “leveling-up”.
Such as in life!
Injuries…oh yes, injuries. I have to say that I have been training extremely smart and cautious to avoid injuries. I worked on all things that I can control. These things include: stretching, foam rolling, chiropractic visits, massage therapy, and good old fashioned rest and sleep. I am very focused and passionate about these things. They help! BUT…what about the things you cannot control? Well, sometimes such things as a wrong foot strike in mid sprint can change up the mix and become the thing you cannot control. During a sprint drill I landed a bad foot strike (it happens) on my left and although I did not notice at the time, this incident would create a mental, emotional, and physical barrier…an inury! Enter tendonitis above the ankle…running along the tendons and the fascia intersection above my left ankle. No sprain…just a pain. Literally.
A decision must be made
Day 1: the first day of awareness. No inflammation yet, just a pain at the bottom of my toes under my foot. I thought I busted a toe and it’s no big deal.
Day 2: after logging mileage, inflammation now enters the equation with slight pain. Okay, it’s on the radar now. A little massage and some BioFreeze and it’s time for bed.
Day 3: after logging more miles, swelling spreads like a virus across the top of my ankle and now there is considerably noticeable pain. Hhmm…there is new data to process. After assessing what I see and compare it to what I know so far as an athlete, I continued to apply ice/heat, raise the ankle, keep rotation moving, apply BioFreeze, and take Tylenol if needed.
Day 6: as the day for my longest run scheduled for my highest mileage week ever in my life approaches, I continue on with my own therapy and continue to accumulate mileage. On the eve of my long run, I evaluate my ankle. More swelling and the pain continues, now up my shin a bit. At this point Napa Marathon is just 4 weeks out. I am at a critical decision point. Do I push through log 22 miles and reach both milestones which would bring me great joy and sense of accomplishment…OR…do I listen to what my body is saying and evaluate the data, the facts, and create a new strategy plan? Do I suffer now and risk the odds of creating a larger longer lasting injury or go hard and reach what once was impossible for me? Tough decision! Choice and consequence or action and reaction…a decision must be made. Such as in life!
After carefully evaluating the information and logically working it through my emotional, physical, and mental check points, I decided to hit pause and treat the injury with a bit more attention, respect, and re-evaluate in a few days. I chose to deploy all my resources 1) the sage wisdom and experience of my Coach that shares the secret tips and tricks to rapid healing 2) my chiropractor to re-aligning my ankle and body after the injury 3) massage therapist to keep the entire body in tune and work on specific points around the injured area 4) and my own knowledge and resources of treating my body as a whole and not only focusing on the point of injury. I focused on stretching, foam rolling, soaking, resting, icing, and making sure my nutrition and hydration were on track to aid in healing. And I had to dig deep to stay focused and balanced physically, mentally, and emotionally. This derailed me. I lost the wind in my sail. I was knocked down. It’s ok to be knocked down…just don’t stay down!
As I am blogging this to you…I am on day 21 post injury and I can tell you that it seems to have been so long ago and forever that I have been dealing with the ankle. This is where the mental and emotional strength pull ahead of physical strength. My total down time with the injury included 5 days of total rest and yes, that includes NO RUNNING or CYCLING! I did swim but used it as therapeutic time using the buoy for assistance while working upper body and stroke technique. Clever huh?
So how does this apply to life? How can a running injury become a positive element in my training and in life? I could have chosen to bring everything to a complete halt, treat the injury, drown in self sadness of not being able to train, and allow it to overwhelm my emotional and mental state of being. Or, I could analyze the data, formulate a strategy based logical decision making skills to achieve a successful outcome. I chose to use it to propel me forward and do what I can the best that I can while trying to maintain balance. Well, for me, the analyst, it was simple.
Now let’s look at the word that was a powerful word for me this morning and that I’d like to share with you! OBSTACLE
Merriam-Webster defines obstacle as “something that impedes progress or achievement” or “something that makes it difficult to do something” or “an object that you have to go around or over: something that blocks your path.”
Let that sit and marinate for a moment but first read this:
How you approach, address, and mitigate obstacles depends on how you perceive the worth of what it is your are trying to obtain. For me, I place a high value worth on my goals this year! I typically do not settle for less than giving my all and I certainly do not like to be told I cannot or should not do something. It’s worth fighting for!
How about you? How do you deal with your obstacles?
“Obstacle.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obstacle>.
It ain’t for the queasy!
This whole triathlon training. Hell, training for a marathon isn’t a breeze either! Training takes focus, dedication, commitment, and balance. Oh yes, and you tend to use a lot of muscles, do a lot of stretching, and eat all day (so it seems). Training is intense. I made a conscious choice to put my body, heart, and soul into my training for 2014. However, I find that the one thing I do not allow myself sometimes is flexibility. Not the kind that yoga or pilates can offer. Although that couldn’t hurt either at this point but how would I fit it into my schedule…sorry, I digress. Anyways, flexibility is something that helps bring balance to my schedule, family, and life.
Last training week I put on my base mileage and went to a few practices but I also missed a few mornings and didn’t go for the team run which was supposed to be a long run. With the gentle nudge and suggestion of my husband (who is also on the team and training for his first marathon at Napa with me…yay!!) we decided to waive off the morning session but to do our mileage later on in the day…a couples run. Now first let me say that I know there are those who cannot run with their significant other; however, I can! I absolutely love running with my husband and we have the most awesome time. Yes we are competitive with each other (that’s a whole other blog post right there) but we also run in harmony, smoothly, and no need for conversation…just running.
We have different schedules and do not see each other much throughout the work week. Time together is sparse. I decided to be a bit more flexible and allow the morning training to pass and spend time with the hubby. After Christmas shopping and some errands, we returned home to lace up. We did log our mileage later in the afternoon. On a side note: If you ever want to really test your commitment and focus to your training, postpone your morning run until the late afternoon and see how you really feel about lacing up and pounding the pavement or trail…in the winter…cold…getting dark mid run…now THAT’s dedication!! We logged 10 miles finishing off an awesome training week!
Logging miles together…
We just have a blast together! What can we say?
So training is intense but as you can see, I am enjoying every step of this process. Now I better stop blogging to go pack my training gear for tomorrow.
How do you handle your training schedule? Do you allow flexibility?
RTM
Over 30 hours since my last run! What??
I’ve been fighting a cold since last Wednesday to be honest. We were traveling down to family for Thanksgiving and that’s when the sinus headache and tingly throat thing started. I just brushed it off as change in temps…but on Sunday, I reached to scratch my neck and felt those lovely swollen glands. I didn’t even know they were there.
Took my rest day on Monday and then planned my training week out. Woke up Tuesday with the NyQuil fog and still glands are noticeable. Feeling groggy, I texted my coach to tell him I was not going to make morning practice but I will still get my mileage in. Grabbed my gear for Tuesday’s arctic run (Remember the highs are in the 20’s and low’s in single digits this week) and headed off to work.
Geared up for my lunch run which was AWESOME!! Put in a respectable lunch time run and then got back to work. Plugging away I get a response back from my coach that advised me to take a rest day. Ooops. A bit late. Now I’m confused. I’m feeling ‘ok’ but now conflicted. Do I listen to my coach and take the rest day or do I push through.
Now there are so many opinions of whether one should train while sick. I’ve heard it’s ok as long as it’s not in your chest or if you have a fever. I have continued training during sinus infections and such. Got the mileage in. Did it make a difference though?? I don’t know really. They were sloppy hard runs. But here’s what I do know…I personally trust my coach and as tough as it was to let go of my plans for the training week and surrender to the cooties I did what he said. I took the evening as a rest day. I also took today off as well. Sometimes you need to just trust the process and allow things to fall into place.
Also, I have learned the hard way “if it doesn’t work the first time…try doing what your coach says”. It works.
What’s another day of rest right?
Running the Miles 