Hard work pays off - Lake Stevens 70.3

Prior to the New Year kicking off I had sat down with my coach and chose Lake Stevens 70.3 as my targeted "A" race for the season. I didn't have a specific time goal in mind nor did I feel Vegas was in reach. That is the mindset I started the year off with, and as the training season progressed the seed of Vegas was planted in my head. This was after I started to see PR's in my running races coming back, swimming started to feel stronger, and then the conditioning from bike racing. I knew I would have my work cut out for me at Lake Stevens since I'm surrounded by a city full of super talented tri babes. Seriously think about all my bad ass friends...However, when looking at where I was last year compared to my recent race result I'd have to say I've come a VERY long ways. Lilia gave me that nice compliment the other day which reminds me that hard work does pay off!

3 weeks prior to Lake Stevens 70.3 I had dress rehearsal at the Pacific Crest Long Course race held in Bend, OR. Beautiful city to visit and race in; however, mother nature decided not to cooperate on race day and provided the most brutal race conditions - Mt. Bachelor was snowed out which resulted in the race starting an hour late and the bike course changing and reducing down to the Olympic distance (lame). The lake was cold, froze my butt off on the bike, and got to top that all off with a half-marathon run in the rain and eventually hail. The hardest thing about Pac-Crest was that my race started off with having 3 panic attacks in the water where I felt extremely claustrophobic and had to pop up to get myself settled down before I could start swimming again. Luckily I managed to calm down and got through the swim, but walked away from that weekend not pleased with my race splits on all of the legs and a dip in motivation for Lake Stevens. After Pac-crest my coach had me swimming OW vs. in the pool so I could focus on simulating the race environment and manage through those tough spots where I feel trapped by swimmers around me. I have some friends that were more than willing to help me with that too! Went over to Chelan with Syd and Cathleen for a mini training camp and them along with Gerry & Tom graciously offered to plow over me in the water to help provide the whirlpool effect which was more fun for them than me at the time! I quickly became a Gerry and Cathleen sandwich where at one point I was in Gerry's armpit while he's swimming right over me. That swim in Chelan; despite the water tackle, served as a great tune up. Thanks guys!

Pre Race
Race eve was hectic. I could have done a better job prepping earlier in the week, but time got away from me and as a result spent the day before the race stressing out over a mechanical issue with my bike. Luckily I got down to HSP and a fix was put in place to where I could get the bike racked up in Lake Stevens in time. I failed to get to bed early and finally got around to packing my race bag at 10:30pm!
Despite the challenges from the day prior one thing that kept me relaxed race day was the presence of the worlds greatest friend (Tara). Carson was away racing so she stepped in without even asking and was at my place by 4am to be the world's best race sherpa! She knew how important this race was to me, and was there for me to do whatever it took to keep me calm and to be supportive. The sweet pre-race note from Carson + Tara's presence was perfect. I definitely felt loved and was so appreciative of her thoughtfulness. Even though the commute up was at the awful hour of 4am our conversation was so entertaining that I drove 15 exits past the Lake Stevens one. Whoops! As a result we pulled into Lake Stevens later than I had hoped for but quickly moved into race mode knowing that I had limited time to get setup in transition and get over to the swim start. I had planned to meet Sydney for a warm-up jog, but time ran out so all I could get in with a quick 5 minute jog. Heart rate elevated since this was not the pre-race plan I had mapped out. I had wanted to warm-up jogging for 20 minutes and then get in the water for a 5 minute warm-up before the swim start. That didn't happen so compromised with the short jog and Tara helping me through myself together for the swim.

Swim – 35:04
Got over to the swim start and found Sydney and Carly which always feels nice to have friends starting next to you. I was looking around at the queue and debated how I could get in the water for a warm-up prior to our wave being called it. It wasn't going to happen so I just accepted that and focused on keeping myself calm and relaxed. Despite not having a proper warm-up Lake Stevens marked my first OW swim PR! It's hard to compare swim courses, but most of time you can come within reason of what you expect based on prior races and the swim course/type of water. Last year my races were consistently around 40 minutes and after winter and consistent masters swim practices I had hoped this year I'd see the swim time drop. Oceanside which was in the ocean and freezing was 41 minutes, Pacific Crest; despite the panic moments was 39 minutes, and Lake Stevens finally executed perfectly and I got out of the water in 35 minutes! Looking down at my watch and seeing the split instantly sent a shock of energy through my body as I was so stocked I just got through a swim with no issues and with a new PR!

The course was a counter clockwise out and back loop with the buoys on the left and depending on whether you were willing to go into the battle zone there was a white cable that ran below the buoys that could help with sighting. I started at the front but way over to the right intending to go wider around the first buoys to avoid the masses of people. On the way back I found the white cable and used that to help guide my sighting. I felt in control the entire swim and anytime I felt my mind drifting off into panic mode I got myself to narrow my focus down to just the buoys in my near distance and blur everything else out.

T1 – 2:30
Transition out of the swim was long but no big hiccups. I wouldn't say I'm super efficient at these... I take the time to put on socks since ultimately I'll want them on for the run so you spend the time in T1 or T2, and for this race we had to wear our race belts so that was an additional step in the mix. I could practice this area more, but then there are bigger fish to fry on the training plan than transitions so some day I'll come back to this area to finesse some more.

Bike – 3:00:18
I started out on the T1 with one hiccup...as I was attempting to clip in I realized my cleat covers were still on my bike shoes. Dumb! Nice little touch Carson recently added to my shoes to protect the cleats, but as I'm not used to having those on I completely overlooked checking when I setup transition. After I couldn't clip in and realized why I quickly tossed them over to the right where Tom Rosenberry was standing and I'm sure that provided some good laughs along with a souvenir :)

I rode the Lake Stevens bike course twice before this race so I was familiar with the course, hills, and descents. Once I got onto the bike weather took a turn and the misting turned to rain. I was on race wheels so I rode with precaution knowing my rear break setup was not ideal. However, caution wasn't what everyone else had in mind since I witnessed some "Fred" moves. Guys almost going off the side into the ditch and two riders crossing over into the other lane of traffic descending and onto a oncoming truck. I climbed the hills aggressively, but descended conservatively since I did not feel comfortable on some of those descents. I tried to remain as aero as I could, but a few of the girls I was rallying with would catch me when they descended and then I would move back ahead of them on the climbs. Towards the end there were 4 of us girls consistently rallying for the lead which helped keep my momentum going. I had two instances where I lost some time when my chain dropped which was frustrating. The first time I recovered quickly, but the second time was 3 miles prior to the finish and I fumbled. Lost time spent putting that back on plus the momentum, but still managed to catch back up to the back of those girls before we headed into transition. Two of them looked like they could be good runners so wanted to keep them close so I didn't create too large of a gap.

Nutrition plan on the bike was executed well and have it dialed down to a good program - thanks to my dear friend Lilia's guidance. Went through 2 bottles full of calories needed across 3 hours and 4 gels. Consistently took in what I had planned to drink and eat each hour which eventually becomes a game to distract your mind while riding (every 20 minutes do X…). Seemed to be just right and had no need for other bottles that the race offered. My new BMC came around for me and found it amusing how many times guys went by and gave me a compliment on my bike during the race. Never had that on the Cervelo before. The day prior to my race even I met a guy at the HSP shop that was visiting from Cali who just bought a BMC from them and he went by me during the race and yelled "Yeah B-M-C, go get them beautiful!". So not only does my bike look HOT but got to experience the BMC love on the course which was cool.

T2 – 1:49
Once I got off the bike I was ready to get onto my leg of strength - running! I kept the girls that just got off the bike in sight and I appeared to be moving faster through transition than two of them were. I headed out of transition with the PowerBar Elite girl I tagged as a potential fast runner. She looked like she would run fast.

Run - 1:32:45

Started out through the crowds and was energized by the tunnel of friends and teammates I had yelling for me. Perk about racing local. I heard my a shout out from my running coach Mark "this is your strength now go for it!" and that fueled me to drop the Powerbar girl who fortunately was not a fast runner. I wanted to keep moving knowing at any time other ladies could come up from behind and I started settling into my planned race pace. My first 2 miles were right on pace and then the next 2 miles were a few seconds over. I eventually accepted settling into a range - knowing my target but not freaking out if I was slightly over plan.

The run course is 2 loops so on the first loop you get to see everyone ahead of you on the way out. Carly went by and with her were 2 other girls following close by. The girls all looked like they were in my age group so those were spots I had to chase down. At that time they seemed so far ahead and it did not seem likely based on their passing pace that I would make up that much ground on them. I switched my focus to pace and just kept working to try and get that back on track. Wasn't feeling the power needed so I started taking in coke at the fluid stations. When you're needing a sugar boost that stuff is like magic -sugar straight to the veins! I took down 2 gels during the run (1 per loop) in addition to the coke which kept the calories coming in even though after awhile I wanted nothing that seemed to resemble race food or gels.

Once I was onto the second loop I caught up the spot where Sean was cheering for everyone who shouted Carly is 30 seconds ahead. Feels weird to be chasing down your friends in races since Carly and I had the same goal (Vegas), but I knew she had other girls with her that I needed to get ahead of. Caught up to Carly and as I was going by I gave her a booty smack not knowing she had crashed on the bike course. Luckily I hit the non-injured cheek but I guess it was a little more powerful booty smacking than I had intended. Sorry babe! After I went by Carly I then got ahead of two other girls in my age group. I had no clue where I was at for placing until I saw Deb and Tara. You two are the best cheerleaders! Deb was running alongside the road cheering and she yelled that I was in 6th position which then gave me to motivation to step on it. Just when I needed the push Rocky came by and he was clipping along at a great pace. Grabbed onto his heels and let his pace carry me to the turn around point. As we turned around his pace momentum slowed and I then exchanged a few encouraging words and went out in front to where we switched roles - I was pacing, he was on the heels. Regardless felt good to be suffering alongside with someone else. Had a good clip heading into the finish and seeing my friends at the end was emotional. I looked down at my watch and saw that my time was exceeding my expectations and the reality of being where I was for placement made me emotional. I ran into the finish and was greeted by a big hug from Tara and Mark and then started the post race chatter and chest bumping :) with all my triathlete friends from the community that were there. Grand day of racing. Love the course and being able to see all of my friends racing or on the side cheering. Our Seattle athletic community rocks and felt spoiled with the overwhelming amount of support. Thank you!


Overall I finished 19th for amateur women and 4th in my age group. Within my age group I was 18th on swim, 10th on bike, and 4th on run. Pleased across all legs although had planned for faster splits on both bike and run.

Lake Stevens Podium for my age group AND Vegas!

First time to be on podium for an Ironman 70.3 - very exciting! Never would have imagined I could be up there and definitely helps boost your confidence that if you put the work in you do see the fruits. After the awards ceremony wrapped up they started the process for the Vegas slots. My age group had 2 slots for Vegas and those slots were not taken so I got to top off the exciting day by securing a roll down slot! Next up will be Vegas 70.3 World Championships September 9th! Honestly never would have thought last year that I would be the one ending a blog entry writing that. #Happiness #Hardworkpaysoff

Tara, Carly, and I at the awards ceremony. I'm crossing fingers and toes that miss Carly unleashes the Vegas beast at Calgary in 2 weeks and joins Lilia and I for Vegas!!

2012 Triathlon Season opener - Oceanside 69.1

2012 tri seaon kicked off amongst the palm trees in the beach town of Oceanside, CA. Oceanside is a half-ironman distance and this girl got to rebel against the corporate branded distance and started season with my own customized tri distance - 69.1! You're probably confused on what this means so you'll have to read on for the adventures of Oceanside 2012...

Plans for this race started last year as the tri babes rallied a group of the Seattle ladies together to celebrate Tesia & Cathleen's irthdays. Tesh's birthday fell on race day, and Cathleen was going to be celebrating the big 3-0 milestone birthday a few days after. This is what occurs when you have friends who are equally passionate/crazy endurance athletes who find the best way to celebrate milestone birthdays or holidays is to go race a half ironman or jump in a pool and swim some crazy yardage. Love it!

Knowing little about the Oceanside race and caught up in the thought of a fun girls weekend I didn't realize that winter training in Seattle would not allow for open water swim training or how cold the water in Oceanside would be in March. Those two things are the only things I would say make training/racing Oceanside a little challenging. Keep that in mind if this race is on your radar and I've offered some tips below on things I would have done differently.

Winter training - That's what you'll be doing if you sign up for Oceanside. This past winter was the first base training season where I consistently put forth a solid and organized (thank you Michael) effort towards the swim-bike-run and started feeling the fitness gains. Normally training in the fall wears on me, but I came out of the fall season feeling strong and pump to start racing whether it was a running or bike race. Fall training rocked. Highlights include epic swim sessions up to 7000 yds, celebrating holidays in the pool with matching swim suits and amazing brunches, and outdoor riding with my bike team. The New Year started with a PR in the half-marathon which helped reassure me that running less and cross-training on the bike and swim was allowing me to run the same times with fewer miles. My heart is completely into this right now and feel passionate and excited about the continued growth in these sports I can aim to achieve. I'm spoiled with friends who are bad ass and continually keep me accountable and motivated to show up to workouts. Definitely can't do this all alone and having a strong community of positive friends is the icing on the cake.

Pre- Race
Took the Thursday evening flight down which put our crew into Oceanside pretty late (midnight).One of the more memorable flights down to a race (like grabbing another person's suitcase from baggage instead of my own!). Slept in on Friday without any alarms which felt luxurious! Although Friday was non-stop for me up to dinner time - unpacked bags, ocean swim with Sean and Dr. Jacob, shake out run, assembled the bike, Sean double checked bike, dropped run transition bag off, and checked out swim/bike transition. If I had to do it over again I would recommend heading down Weds evening and having Thursday and Friday to prep for the race since it's a lot to do in one day. A few girls with us did that and they seemed way more relaxed and organized for race day.

After the day of hustling around we all regrouped at the condo for a pasta dinner and salad followed by an early bedtime in prep for the early alarm scheduled at 4:15am!

Race Day
Alarm went off at 4:15am and shortly after we biked over to transition 1 (swim to bike) to have first dibs on the bike racks and setup everything up. Good tip that Sean pointed out the day before - if the racks do not have bib numbers designated on them it's best to arrive transition when it first opens get first dibs on the bike rack you're assigned to. I arrived early and got the first spot on the end which meant more transition area room for me :)

Same practice as last year with setting up the bike. Had prepped most of the things beforehand so setup included laying out all the normal things plus some warmer pieces (armwarmers, socks). Looking back now there are two things I want to improve on in the next race - position helmet in transition area better (stumbled over this a lot in T1), ensure both my Garmin and Cateye on the bike are reset/ready so I'm not spending time fumbling over them at the start.

After bike setup we walked back to the condo for breakfast. No big surprises on the pre-race fuel - coffee, steel cut oatmeal/honey, and nuun water. Normally a banana makes it in that mix, but we ran out so adapted. Shortly after taking breakfast in we headed back over to Transition 1 where the swim kicks off. Ran into our Pauole teamies, snapped a few quick photos, and started to suit up for the first race of 2012! Proceeded over to the starting area like a pack of cattle to wait in queue for the wave starts. Only thing crossing my mind was whether I was really ready for all of this to start. Once in the water it was going to be forward moving from there.

Swim - Calm, Relaxed and Tried to be focused
My coach Michael gave me mantras to focus on for each leg so you'll see that at the top of each one which I thought was easy for me to focus on. After talking with friends who had raced Oceanside before I knew the swim leg was going to be cold and a tough mental battle. The trial swim in the ocean the day prior was freezing on top of it being the first open water swim of 2012. My mantra for the swim was Calm, relaxed and focused. I did all of those except for I was far from focused on sighting. I could have improved the sighting and drafting off other swimmers, but the water conditions made it tough. Swimming in the salt water was new to me and there were some sweet swells on the exposed area of the bay where I felt like I was body surfing for parts of the swim. You're also taking in water occasionally so towards the end of the swim I was dying for a beverage of any sort to wash the salt/dry mouth feeling away with. During the swells my sighting really suffered and I ended up over by the kayaks a few times. Had planned to get out of the water faster than I did so walked away not impressed with the swim result and only thing to celebrate was surviving the swim given I had no training in the open water prior to this race.

T1 - Swim to Bike Transition
Longest transition ever. You run up from the water alongside the transition area which is a pretty good distance so expect longer transition times at this race. Given how cold the water was and with the temps down I took time to put on arm warmers and socks before heading out on the bike. Need to spend some more time practicing transition tactics , but overall managed to get out in an okay time with the right things on for the ride.

Bike - ease into it and work hard on the hills
Prior to Oceanside I sat down with Lilia to discuss my race plan and get some tips from her on goals to set, nutrition, etc... After looking at my initial plan she did suggest aiming for a more conservative bike time given the course was hilly and went off some times our friends posted last year. I walked away from that conversation thinking 3:10 might be the realistic goal, but if stars were aligned try to get close to 3 hours. Michael thought I would go faster and I really did not know how things would turn out given I hadn't been riding my TT bike as often as the road bike.

To my surprise I biked my butt off and that fueled me. The entire bike leg went really well - nutrition plan followed to a T (big thank you to Lilia for helping me with suggestions), prepared and did the due diligence with bike prep beforehand so the Murphy's law played out in my favor (thank you Carson!). I continue to fall for the sport of biking...This used to be the leg I viewed as "good cross training" and honestly never really looked forward to the training last year just did it because it was necessary to compete. Bikesale has helped change that view for me completely and team rides, races, and training are things I'm hungry for and look forward to which in returns feeds into the racing. You've got to love the sport to really embrace it!

Did not regret the arm warmers or socks since those served me well on the bike along with the embrocation cream Carson recommend (brilliant old school cycling tricks!). I felt comfortable the entire race (not too hot or cold) even though it was sprinkling and cooler temps. NW riders would not bat an eye at the conditions, but for some it may have been more uncomfortable if they don't ride outdoors much or use a few extra layers.

Michael gave me a specific plan on how to race the bike leg which was super helpful. I went in with a plan and stuck to it. As he warned everyone would come flying out of transition and my focus was to get acclimated to the bike, settle in, and take in some nutrition while letting them pass. After I got through a certain mileage point I picked it up and from then on I was passing riders which felt awesome! Last year this was definitely not the case and what motivated me to change things for this season. Each race I felt so defeated on the bike leg as people would fly by me on the bike. The week prior to Oceanside I had a really good tune at at IVRR road race which was 2 loops that included 2 tougher hills which served as the perfect simulation for Oceanside. I had the hill climbing lodged in my muscle memory and felt ready for hills .

I worked hard on the hills and was motivated by the pace I was going up vs. some of the other athletes who I would see zig zagging up the hill out of the saddles or some who literally chose to get off their bike and walk it up the hills! This past fall I got in a lot of practice with the bike team on hill riding and learned a lot of helpful tactics that served me well in this race.

Run: time to race hard, negative split, and oh damm I missed a U-turn!
The part you've been waiting for...What happened during the run leg? Pure confusion…

This is the part where I take responsibility for not studying the run map before the race. Honestly I never spend a lot of time looking at the run maps for races since it's just running and how complicated can that be!?! I knew from others who had raced the course that there were 2 loops along the beach and figured it would be easy navigation. Sigh...not the case.

That said, what happened is when you come out of the bike transition there was 1 guy (Yes 1 single volunteer for a bloody ironman event) standing in the middle of the road directing athletes that if they just came out of transition that they needed to do a U-turn and run out to a point and back before continuing forward along the race course. Missed this completely (maybe this is when he was taking a breath) as the cones separate the two lanes of runners and I ended up following the natural flow of runners causing me to cut off the first 1.2 miles that loop consisted of. I noticed my miles seemed off from the mile markers but after running races for years you get used to mile markers not always being right. I knew I had 2 loops to run and did just that and into the finish chute I ended after my second loop. After finishing the race ran into my friend Cathleen in the finish area who asked me what I ended up with overall and for the run time. After attempts to estimate on our own she was able to pull up on her mobile which had me at a 1:22 1/2 marathon time. I would have expected to run 1:28-1:30, but definitely not throwing down a 1:22 unless I'm Sam Mazer! After packing up my gear in transition I ran into Kainoa and Laurie on the way back to the condo and explained what happened and it started weighing on me more as they both suggested talking to a race director. An ironman official was nearby so grabbed him to talk to him about what occurred and he ended up being the Director of Operations for the race so was the perfect one to chat with about the situation. He helped me figure out the U-turn and mileage I missed, and at least acknowledged I wasn't the only person that got in that situation. This was a new change introduced on the run course so it's good feedback for them to hear.

That said, I'm not upset at the volunteer who was in charge of the U-turn. He had a tough job and I should have been more prepared (i.e. study the course map). I accepted the DQ and did not claim a time I didn't earn. This could happen to the best of us and the last thing you want is to have people judging you for it. I am not walking away down at this at all since I look back on the race and extremely pleased with the bike split and my run time would have been right where I had projected so all in all I executed well and don't need an official time to tell me how I did.

Overall Race Results - Celebratory Handstands the day after!

Swim (1.2 miles) - 41:21
T1 (Swim to Bike) - 4:20
Bike (56 miles) -2:51:24
T2 (Bike to Run) -2:11
Run (11.9 mile) -1:22:20 (estimated might have ended with a 1:30 half if I hadn't cut the course)

Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half-Marathon

Race Goal
AZ Rock N' Roll 1/2 kicked off race season for me and my stars aligned goal heading into this race was to run a time at or faster than my current PR (1:28:06). I was a little unsure of what to expect with this race since the last time I pulled off a 1:28 half was when I was in the prime of marathon training last year. Now that I'm focused on triathlons I'm not running the mileage I was then and logging around 30 miles per week vs. the prior 70-80 per week. That made setting a race goal hard since I wasn't sure how to assess my current fitness based on the off season base training topped with the month of December being dedicated to holiday eating and drinking indulgence.

Pre- Race
In December I started working with a coach (Michael Vanderhyde) which is new to me but needed. I have a tendency to over do training so it's nice to have a well thought out plan focused on intensity with a rest day incorporated :) Prior to heading out for Arizona I chatted about the race with Michael who suggested to start out at a targeted pace I'm comfortable with and negative split the second half. The race plan seemed realistic since I could start at a pace I know I can hold and if I was feeling good I could pick it up otherwise just drop back and maintain the pace I started at.

I flew into Phoenix on Friday evening and met up with some of our Hood2Coast teamies for an indoor slumber party at my friend Cara's place. The chatter of race plans and being amongst their positive energy pumped me up for the race. We all hit the sack pretty early Sat evening and managed to get 7 hrs of sleep although for me it was pretty restless due to race jitters...

Race Day
Rise and shined to an early alarm (4:45am). Took down the typical pre-race breakfast - oatmeal,banana, and coffee/water. I'm a creature of habit so you won't see me sway on my race day meals. Rule of thumb on nutrition - if it works don't change it and don't let other people's noise on nutrition distract you.

After getting to the race and parked we had about an hour to spare. The walk over to the starting area through the crowds and lines ate up some time and we quickly found ourselves getting down to less than 30 min until the race start. For those of you who know me well I'm sure you can imagine how edgy I was getting since I usually like to have plenty of time and this was cutting it close! I didn't have time for my typical 2 mile warm-up so managed to get in 1 mile before I rushed to drop off my bag and towards the start line. On the way up towards our starting corral the race director announced they were delaying the start by 10 minutes since people were having delays with getting to the race. Whew! This allowed time for strides and stretching!

Race Time!
Prior to the race I chatted with my Hood2Coast teamie Drew Boom Shackta about pacing the first part of the race together since we were both unsure of how we would end up towards the end. After the gun went off we both got off to a good start, and I was trailing Drew trying to remain conservative on the first mile. My plan was to start out at 6:50 pace. Nailed mile 1 at 6:51, mile 2 at 6:45, and mile 3 at 6:42 where finally at mile 4 I connected back with Drew's heels where we started locking into pace together. A big thank you to Drew for pacing with me since the check-in's on our pace plan and working together throughout the race was a huge boost! A picture of us from the race is to the left :)

I felt comfortable as we picked up pace even though I did find myself questioning whether I was going to be able to carry the pace through the remaining miles. The thought of blowing up crossed my mind, but I didn't want to let up. I figured let this be the race where I try to go for it since it's only January after all! Most of racing is about staying mentally tough so I distracted myself by focusing on pre-race boosts friends offered about staying strong, make it count, and race like you want it! Finally reached mile 9 where I knew I needed to start putting some thought into how I wanted to handle the last 3-4 miles of this race. The talk with myself really came down to how bad are you willing to hurt since you could just accept running a time close to your current PR or actually go for it and try and get a faster time. At mile 9 Drew picked up the turnover and while I wasn't right on his heels having him ahead kept me focused on pace and pushig towards getting back on his heels again. Before mile 10 I got locked back in behind Drew again and when we hit Mile 10 I committed to giving those last 3 miles what I could. We dropped down to 6:21 pace and finished with 6:29 pace. Felt strong through up to Mile 12, but the last 1.1 miles was tough. Digging deep, pulling with arms, and Temper Trap "Sweet Disposition" was the finishing formula through that last 1.1 miles . I'm soooo happy that I pushed through those last 3 miles the way I did because I ended up snagging a PR to start off the new year and season with. Finishing races strong and a new PR feels great! I'm fueled to keep working towards my other race goals and energized for race season!!

Results - Chip Time: 01:27:55

Overall: 183 out of 15663
Division: 3 out of 1570
Gender: 23 out of 9505

Race Splits:
5 Km: 21:06
10 Km: 42:07
10 Mi: 1:07:48
Avg Pace: 6:43

Mile by Mile Splits:
Mile 1: 6:51:31
Mile 2: 6:44:68
Mile 3: 6:42:51
Mile 4: 6:41:51
Mile 5: 6:52:22
Mile 6: 6:39:71
Mile 7: 6:40:64
Mile 8: 6:46:78
Mile 9: 6:48:78
Mile 10: 6:34:30
Mile 11: 6:21:40
Mile 12: 6:29:79
Mile 13: 6:29: 56

*My watch read 13.21 for the course so I apparently did not run the angles the most efficiently or the course may not have been as certified as they claim.

My first 70.3...Samadhi!

There is a word we reflect on in yoga called "Samadhi" meaning a "state of joy and peace".


My choice earlier in the year to focus on triathlons and take a break from doing solely marathons twice per year has led to this. This choice has brought a lot of happiness into my life, allowed me to branch out into two other sports I've grown to love, and I've met some new amazing friends. The pool has become therapeutic - trust me the early alarm at 5am makes me want to yell out loud, but once I get myself to the pool nothing beats the feeling of a good swim workout where the inner fish is released. I also can't say enough about the athlete community we have here in Seattle. I haven't experienced this type of community anywhere else and that alone keeps me here in Seattle. If it weren't for my friends/training partners I might be considering warmer locations where strapping on fenders to a bike in the winter isn't required. To my stellar friends...thank you all for being reliable training partners this entire season and for all of the encouragement.


I also set a goal earlier in the year of doing a 1/2 ironman/70.3 distance, and with the urge from my friend Cara I signed up for my the Soma 70.3 in Phoenix. Cara gets credit for introducing me to triathlons and I can only aspire to be the talented triathlete she is someday. This past weekend I completed my first 70.3 distance, and definitely was one of the hardest events I've competed in. Props to all my friends who do full ironmans since the one thing that crossed my mind when I crossed that finish line was that I'm really at peace with sticking to this distance for awhile!


This all leads me to a quote I have posted around in a few places from K. Pattabhi Jois which is "Practice and all is coming!" Pretty simple concept meaning you typically get out what you put in for practice and another way of looking at it is consistency is proportionate to growth experienced. I know there is a lot of people that probably roll their eyes at why I put myself through all the training and races when I could be spending that time elsewhere. I realize I'm not an Olympian bound athlete, but I value good health, goal setting, and positive environments. My choice gives me all of this so with those sports I've chosen t do I want to put in a solid effort so I can see what I'm capable of. Simply just that.


So now onto my experience with the 70.3 race...The week leading up to the race was eventful and our triathlon community was shaken up with the loss of our friend Lee. I was getting emails, phone calls of encouragement before I left for my race and Weds after work my friend David called me with the news about Lee. There were a few of us closer to what was going on with him, and the emotions that followed that call were shock, anger, sadness, and then now peace. I won't write entirely about this, but I have found peace with knowing that I was a there for him as a friend and did what I could do to help. I saw his friends David and Porter amongst others pull together and be there for a friend in need. It's apparent how much the guy was loved when you see all the comments on his FB wall and look at all the people who made it out for his memorial ride today. The passing of Lee carried heavy into several of our race weekends, and I did miss having my friend post or text me "BOOM in your face" to get ready for the 70.3 distance he was eager to see how I'd do at. If you knew Lee he was a super computer when it came to people's race times. He always knew everyone's PR's, race stats, and could typically project where he'd thought you'd turn out. I found this out when he asked me to be on his Lake Steven's relay this summer after he recapped my race results he found on athlinks before I even knew him that well - funny guy but I did take what he did offer with me and know he's up there looking down on all of us now.


I arrived Phoenix and was greeted by a heat wave and hug from Cara at the airport who helped kick off the spirit of the weekend by greeting me with a welcome to AZ race bag of goodies. Kicked Fri night off with some sushi in the evening and on Sat. morning we went to ASU for a shakeout swim in the outdoor pool. Swimming under the sun is something I could get used to. Definitely looking forward to spending some more time there since AZ is the ultimate training playground.


Expo and bike check-in was on Sat. so I spent the morning after our swim building up my bike. Big thank you to Sean Harwin for spending several hours with me teaching me how to properly take my bike down, pack, and build back up. Huge help! Once we arrived the expo the AZ temps started making me nervous. I could barely take standing out there for a few minutes since the temps were about 90. My friend Bobby reminded me that it was a good thing I was nervous about that since that means I'm aware so I followed that awareness for the rest of the day and drank plenty of water including salt tablets in my water to store up for race day.


Race Morning

I woke up at 4am and started up the coffee and oatmeal followed by banana, gatorade, and water. Calorie consumption!

On the way to the race I became so nervous that I felt like I was going to throw up. Cara was dealing with her race nerves by focusing on some pre-race pump up songs but that didn't even seem to help me. I felt nauseous and questioned whether I could handle this race. Put in my headphones and let the music settle me down. Once we got to the bike transition the body marking and setup began and from there I was shifted into auto mode going through the checklist I rehearsed a dozen times. During the bike setup there was a girl next to me that started asking me questions. She said "You look like you know what you're doing, can I ask you a few questions?" I thought to myself that confidence you're sensing is not real lady - fear is behind this pose. But I realized after chatting with her that I wasn't the only one out here racing this for my first time and I've done everything I could to prepare for the race. It was now time to go out there and go through the motions I've prepared for.


Swim - 1.2 miles (40:29.1)

Temps for race day started at 71 degrees so the lake plunge was pleasant! The swim started in waves where all the Pro's and men went off in the earlier waves followed by the 1-34 age group wave for women. I started towards the far right nestled up behind the first row of women. Cara and I exchanged some thumbs up to each other before the wave was sent off. The starting position worked out well since I didn't get trampled as much as I have in some other races and the body dodging for the first few minutes wasn't too bad. When we started catching the masters men's group that is where the body dodging began. I managed to keep a consistent pace without any major interruptions by looking for the open pockets to swim into. Only thing that was hard was when the sun started coming up since that blinded my sighting until we moved away from the angle of glare. I worked around this by following the swimmers on my left side until the bouies came within sight. Exited the swim smoothly (they have to help lift you out onto stairs which can be tricky) and kept moving forward towards the bike.


Bike - 56 Miles (3:01:09.7)

Bike course was 3 legs, mostly flat terrain, and a technical course (A LOT of turns!). Got onto the bike and plan was to spend the first part of the ride hydrating from the swim and not focusing on eating too much right away. I didn't get off to such a smooth start since after the first few turns I missed one and kept riding straight until I reached a volunteer who yelled that was going the wrong way. Seriously such a bummer to do that. It felt like I rode ~3 min out of my way, and all I could think is that I was going to get disqualified for doing that even though I didn't cut the course short. That is when I reflected on what my friend David Cook sent me before the race which was to "keep a clear head and a full heart". That stuck with me the entire bike and run leg David so thank you for always have the right words to offer!


My watch was going off as a reminder to hydrate/intake calories so I let the plan kick in and followed that closely. I was nervous that if I didn't fuel properly I would bonk on the run so I drank and eat like it was my job. Took down my 2 bottles with salt and ironman formula, 2 Honey Stinger waffles, pack of shot blocks, and salt, salt, salt! I had recently picked up the salt stick tab for my bike after Nik over and over reminded me of the importance of that and staying on his wheel ;) There were 2 aide stations on each bike loop and the volunteers were fantastic. I had not practiced grabbing the water bottles so I was really nervous about this, but they put the aide stations right after 2 of the slower turns which allowed you to ease into grabbing the bottles. I took water at every aide station and kept replacing current bottle; taking a bottle of power aide at the last one to take in some sodium for the run. My feet went numb towards the end of the ride and was hoping I'd feel my feet when I got off for the run. Once I pulled into transition and got my bike split I felt pumped! I landed a time far above what I predicted I would do and I think that is due to letting all the hectiness of the nutrition plan distract me.


Run 13.1 miles (1:35:55.5)

1st in age group, 3rd female overall

Started the run in 96 degrees and I knew hydration was the only thing that was going to get me through this last section. Once I got out of transition the run stride kicked in and I was off to a smooth start. Practicing running off the bike throughout the summer helped a lot since the start of the run felt easier to where I only feel awkward for the first 400-800 meters of the run. There was an aide station every 2 miles on the 2 loop course, but some of the stations could have been staffed a little better. I managed to grab 2-3 cups of water at every station but there were some where the cup offered a few sips of water and ice cubes. Who wants to drink ice cubes!?! I took one gel packet per lap and on hot days taking those down a dehydrated mouth can be challenging. I knew I'd pay for it later if I didn't so I would choke a packet down right before a station and take in 2 cups of water to wash them down. That seemed to do the trick since I held together pretty nicely on the run compared to everyone else I was going by. This is the leg where I have to work since it usually comes down to this if I want to place decent. Time to pass all the bikers that whooped me on the roads ;) I predicted I would be much slower on the run so when I ended with a time somewhat close to my open road race times I was stoked especially since I managed to pull that off in those hot temps. Paying attention to hydration and fueling properly I feel are the key things that helped make this all come together nicely.


Results - 5:20:53.55

21st Overall Female (244 women competed)

9th in Age Division (30-34)


To give you an idea of how much the run counts for me...I was in 78th place coming off the bike, after leaving transition 2 (racking bike) I gained 8 spots, and then ran myself up to 21st place overall. Everything in these races count. Few minutes off in the swim, speedier transitions, and some improvement on the bike will serve me well next year. I'm excited to keep working at it!! I've already started by joining the bikesales team to where I get to look forward to riding outdoors this fall and spring racing, and anxious to get back in the pool to put in the laps!!

Learning to respect the process of improvement...

I competed in the Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon this past Sunday and continuing to be humbled and reminded of the required patience the sport of triathlon requires. Black Diamond is the 5th triathlon I've competed in. 1 Sprint and 4 Olympics sum of my triathlon race experience so far. A little different when compared to my experience in the sport of running which I've been competing in since I was in 7th grade up through the collegiate level. After college I discovered marathoning which carried me all the way into my discovery of triathlons. I'm learning quickly that swimming and biking don't come as naturally to me, but I am starting to respect the process of improvement. I work hard at improving and appreciate every little inch of progress I get from the effort.

I was urged by a colleague to update my blog so with that little nudge thought I'd shared some summer race updates since the ChelanMan Olympic triathlon that kicked off my tri season. Since ChelanMan I've competed at Portland Olympic, and Black Diamond Olympic. I have one race left this season which is my first LongCourse (1/2 ironman) triathlon Oct 23rd in Arizona. Scared and excited at the same time when typing that! ChelanMan started the season really well, and Portland humbled me. The Portland bike course broke me in two on the continuous hills presented, but I did get a PR in the swim and had a solid effort on the run. So walked away from Portland continuing to be reminded that biking improvement will come with time. My summer triathlon race results summary:

ChelanMan Olympic - 2:34:48 (July)

11th Overall, 5th Age group

• Swim - 30:45 (11th)
• T1 - 2:04 (8th)
• Bike - 1:17:14, 19.3 mph avg (8th)
• T2- 1:53 (21st)
• Run - 42:50 (1st)

Portland Olympic - 2:45:02 (August)

8th overall, 4th Age Group

**Received a 2 min penalty for drafting on the bike :(

• Swim - 28:37 (18th)
• T1: 2:06 (4th)
• Bike - 1:30:34, 16.6 mph avg (19th)
• T2: 1:32 (15th)
• Run - 42:11 (2nd)

Islander Aquathon (Swim-Run) August

2nd Overall Female

• 1000M Swim - 16:18
• 10K Run - 41:24 (Pretty happy given I just got back from running Hood2Coast the weekend prior!)

Black Diamond Olympic - 2:38:29

10th overall, 3rd in Age Group

• Swim - 29:22 (31st)
• T1 - 2:26
• Bike - 1:23:53, 17.78 mph avg (32nd)
• T2 - 1:32
• Run - 41:15 (1st)

Triathlon race season is nearing wrap up for me. One last race to prepare for, but by far will be the most difficult one of the season. The long course will double the biking distance which is going to challenge my legs. I've found that throughout this summer's racing that running off the bike has gotten much easier so hoping the additional time on the wheels doesn't completely crush me for the run. I'm looking forward to Soma 1/2 since I get to race with my friend Cara who was the first person to ever introduce me to triathlons. After Soma the fall is going to be spent on gaining some bike fitness and preparing for January kickoff where I will begin to start getting coached by Kainoa. I'm looking forward to working with her and getting tougher while I focus on the 70.3 distance next year.

Final update to leave you with is that I have a sexy new set of wheels. Officially unveiling the name of my new toy....drum roll please! Meet my P2 "Paciencia" meaning patience in Spanish. Hoping with consistency and "paciencia" good things will come :)

ChelanMan Olympic Tri - Have fun and Compete!

If you've followed by earlier blogs last year was my year of being a "run-aholic" and earlier this year prior to the Boston marathon I felt burned out. I was having a hard time motivating myself to keep training as hard as I did in the prior year. I was questioning giving myself a break from it all and once again left for South America alone to find balance for a few weeks. Not sure why exactly but South America is starting to become my new OM...I usually return feeling recharged both physically and mentally. After returning in June from the trip I felt ready to get back to training and missed the structure. I decided to spend this summer focusing on triathlons only, and not sign up for any fall marathon. Instead I've setup a race calendar for one triathlon per month ending in October with a 1/2 iron (Soma, Arizona) - thank you Cara Payne for + influencing me to sign up for my first 1/2 :)

"Have fun and compete" was my mantra heading into ChelanMan Olympic triathlon this year. My sis and friends are often reminding me to have fun since that is usually my breaking point - if I'm not having fun it's obvious and my training suffers. Pre-race encouragement from my sis, Jane, and Tesia were the things that stuck with me throughout the race - Angel (have fun!), Jane (have fun and compete!), and Tesia (kill it on the bike b/c you'll be fine on the run).

Pre-Race Day/Evening
Blaine and I arrived Chelan on Friday afternoon and un-winded from the road trip by getting in a tune up swim in the lake and shake out on the bike. The swim felt great. Chelan is one of my ultimate fave lakes to swim in. The waters are crystal blue when the sun is shining down on the lake and usually pretty warm in comparison to the surrounding Seattle lakes. After the bike spin and gears/tires in check I went and setup Blazing Daisy on the rack. She looked ready for tomorrow.


This year we stayed at the Bauer's cabin - big thank you to Joe Bauer for being an amazing host! Post the race meeting we all headed back to the cabin to whip up dinner and get everything setup for race morning. Triathlon race prep compared to marathon race prep is on a whole different level. Checklists are involved due to the insane amount of things you need to remember! This year I made sure to use one since I didn't have my iron Tesh to ride back to our condo 10 minutes before the race to grab my goggles. Definitely didn't want to have a redo of that freak out scene again…

After dinner wrapped up I snuggled up in my sleeping bag and listened to some pump up tunes with Jay's headphones that are about the size of my head (I looked like Warren looking for his baseball…)and got myself to sleep at a decent time.

Race Day!
Alarm clock went off at 4:30am and Jay and I were instantly up and brewing coffee and getting breakfast together. The others got up shortly after and we put in the Chelan mix to get things started :) Thank you Mikey for the Repatriated song on the mix since that was voted the race theme song of the weekend…

Took down my routine breakfast - coffee, oatmeal, banana, lots of water/Gatorade. Car was packed and heading to the start line at 5:15am. Arrived to the race with plenty of time to grab a stellar parking spot near the start and beat all the crowds to get marked up for the race.

The transition grounds were soaked on the side where my bike was racked making setup a little challenging. I couldn't lay down the towel and put my things on top since it would be a complete mess when I finally needed everything so I just went without. Setup all the tips/tricks I've learned along the way and practiced running to the rack from the swim area a few times to lock the bike location in my memory. Last year I was running in circles around the transition area from not doing this beforehand.

Sydney and I went for a warm-up run to calm the nerves which ended up helping a lot - definitely a new pre-race tradition. After the jog we watched our friends start the 1/2 iron swim and quickly got back to our transition to get suited up and ready for our start. Got in the water 5 minutes prior to our swim and acclimated to the lake temps and environment. My nerves started kicking in at that point and I was really unsure of where to start with the swim. I knew I was a stronger swimmer than last year, but you can never tell where other swimmer's abilities are when you're standing there at the start and you have to make the decision to plow or get plowed. I made the decision to not go in the very front but went for a direct shot in the second row to the first buoy. I knew this was somewhat risky since if I didn't swim out hard enough I could get plowed since everyone is going for the most direct path.

Swim 1500 Meters (30:45)
The direct path to the first buoy worked out and I didn't find myself getting plowed too much but definitely found myself having to look for open spots between bodies to swim into to get past swimmers. Had some moments of feeling claustrophobic and each time I looked up to spot and could see bodies in front and on both sides made me feel a little more panicked. I tried to think about something logical and focused on breath to keep myself out of the emotional side of my brain. Popped up once when a large mammal tried to overtake me aggressively and ended up grabbing his arm pretty hard since he needed to back off. Outside that I would say the panic/large mammal attack only lasted for 3-4 minutes top and then I felt myself get into a groove.

I felt so much more comfortable out in the water this year. The only thing I find myself struggling with at times is I tend to get cozy and somewhat forget I'm suppose to be competing at race pace. When I find myself doing that I quickly snap out and apply what my friend Lilia suggested awhile back - imagine you're doing a hard track workout and keep pushing yourself the entire time. With swimming this involves ensuring I'm both kicking powerfully, striding out long, and pulling back with my arms correctly. It's hard for me to get all three in place at times since when you're in race mode you usually resort to sloppy form your body feels comfortable in.

Overall, finished the swim feeling good and took off 1:09 from my swim time last year. Ranked 8th in my age group coming out of the water.

T1 Transition - 2:04
Took off 37 seconds from last year's transition time. This is an area I need to further improve since I wasted some seconds on doing silly things such as bike gloves (who needs these for a short ride!?!) and having things better positioned.

Bike 24.8 Miles (1:17:14 - 19.3 mph avg)
The bike leg is my weakest link, but improved my bike time 5 minutes over the prior year which was a huge thing for me. I'm an inexperienced cyclist and this gave me confidence that with time I can keep getting stronger and more knowledgeable which will help lower that even further.

I kept what Tesia said in mind "kill it on the bike" and tried to make sure I was pushing myself as hard as I could on the uphills and maintaining a solid rhythm on the flat sections. My quads tired at times but as I took in nutrition on the bike (Powerbar drink/shot blocks) that seemed to give me the energy to pick it back up. It was so encouraging to see all my Pauole teammates out there and felt the Pauole love from them and others (people seem to dig our team so thank you to all you strangers who said go "Pauole").

Towards the end of the ride a girl in my age group came up which helped me rally until the end. We ended up playing yo-yo the last 5 miles of the race - constantly moving back and forth with passing. It helped a ton to have her there and I actually enjoyed it :) I was secretly thinking to myself you won't last on the run - boom in your face. Ended up ranking 21st in my age group for the ride so this is an area I need to keep improving.

T2 Transition - 1:53
Got off the bike and legs didn't feel as bad as I had imagined they would but my feet felt numb. I sat down to put on my shoes with socks! Last year when I wore yank laces without socks it ended up being the worse idea since it resulted in bad blisters!

Run 10K (42:50)
I laced up my fave Nike flats which always put me in race mode and felt confident moving onto my asset leg - running!! Started off with the slight jello leg feeling but got off to an easier pace to get through mile 1 and then found myself maintaining a faster pace than most of the athletes in front of me after my legs adjusted. One by one I kept counting the age group females I was passing which kept pushing me to keep it up. My run time was slower than last year which was a little disappointing but I did enjoy hearing all the kudos along the way from Pauole friends and other tri babes/guy friends I've met through training. My friend Darin put some pep in my step at the mid-way point when he told me "to get at it King" and from then on I was putting all I could into those last 2+ miles left. Ended up taking first in my age group for the run leg so just need to keep tuned up with track workouts and this should continue to serve me well.

Overall, I'm really pleased with how the race turned out. I went into this with no expectations since it's the first race of my summer season on limited training. Joining Pauole Sports tri team has helped tremendously - the team is fantastic and solid group to roll with.

I've changed my master's swim group to All Star with Kainoa which has been fantastic so far and putting more time in on the bike. I'm excited to see what further focused training in the pool and on the bike does for me this summer. My mood check is also really good. I'm happy and look forward to all of the training. There aren't many days where I find myself kicking to have to do a workout, but instead up and chipper, ready for the workout. Weird...maybe this triathlon bug has bit me :)

Race Results - Overall Time 2:34:48
Overall Female - 12th place
Age group - 5th place
6 minute PR over last year - woot!!

Next up Portland Olympic!

Boston Marathon April, 2011

Oh Boston, the course that can go really well or leave you a little heartbroken. Well I finally had my year of where training had to shift in priority this season and as a result I knew going into the race I wasn't about to set any new PRs. I got myself to the start line, gave it my best, and finished which to me in the end says a lot more about my character than giving up or only allowing myself to run when I know I'll PR. Trust me it was a tough thing to do!

This past December I recorded my fastest marathon time in Sacramento at the CIM marathon (3:04)and after the marathon I felt burned out with running. This is primarily due to training for two marathons per year for the last 5 years consecutively. On top of that trend this past year was one of changes and to disconnect from everything I booked a trip to South America for the winter holiday. Vacation was exactly what I needed and I got back in early January to start the new year off fresh. I returned relaxed but not in the mindset for starting up training for Boston. I come back to my running crew who was running strong from continued training since December and here I felt like mush and lost all fitness I had from December. I contemplated for several months not running Boston and forfeiting my entry this year. But as most people know about me I value being loyal with my word. Several of my friends feared continuing with the training cycle would cause me to get even more burned out since I wouldn't enjoy the training or run a PR in the spring. Ultimately I decided to continue with training knowing I would just get in what I could to be prepared for 26.2 at Boston this year.

I ran 20 miles less per week on average than I normally do when I'm putting in a quality effort with training and I did not do any cross-training with weights which was part of my routine previously. There just wasn't enough time in my schedule to fit in the normal routine which was a little disappointing but I learned to accept it. I focused on logging the long runs I needed to get a comfortable endurance base and ran the typical Boston tune up races - Ft. Steilacom 15 Miler and Mercer Island 1/2 Marathon. Both races I ran approximately 2 minutes slower than I ran the prior year giving me early indications that I wasn't where I was previously even with the endurance base established. All of this led to the starting line at Boston...

Boston Marathon
I showed up to Boston without a race strategy or plan for time. It felt like it was my first marathon all over again - completely unprepared. The day before the race I was walking by Nike Town and noticed they were doing the pace bracelets which when the thought of selecting a projected time crossed my mind. I knew where I sat with projected marathon times based on the tune up races I ran and that landed around the 3:10 goal time so I went with that pace. I remember going back to my room that evening and chatting with my friends Katie and Larry about that pace should be okay since it's at least running 15-20 seconds slower than we normally run when in shape. Katie reminded me that it was still going to be tough and at that time I didn't think it would be that tough of a effort but I was quickly reminded of how hard of a effort 3:10 pace is!

Larry and I train together in Seattle and since our qualifying times were the same we were seeded in the same starting coral. Larry similar to me had training take a backseat for this year's Boston and we both showed up to Boston with the goal of finishing. Weather started slightly chilly with a tailwind present. After a few miles in the sun kicked in and it turned out to be the perfect running weather - a little too warm for arm warmers! I kept Larry in site as we clipped off the miles through the first 10K establishing a steady pace in target with the pace bracelet goal of 3:10. Larry was running a little ahead of me and I fell off a pace slightly at the start since I had a nagging foot pain that I wasn't sure would go away. I kept reflecting on one of Tom's tips "pain and energy levels wane in and out". It took through the 10K for the foot pain to either go away or I stopped thinking about it completely. I saw my friends Cathleen & Paige come by and both looked really strong as they passed by.

Through the 1/2 Marathon mark the pace seemed steady and legs felt okay although my mental focus was in and out a lot as I kept reflecting on my training preparation in my head which was not sending a positive energy flow through my body. As I started letting this thinking in my pace seemed to drain alongside - amazing how powerful the mind can be in one direction or the other. I passed through the 1/2 way mark and kept things together as I ran towards the hills that I'd be climbing from mile 16 through 21. The start of the climb up the hills was tough and I knew my friend Katie would be waiting for me at Mile 20 which was helping keep me focused. I felt bad for Katie knowing she was going to jump in with me at Mile 20 and I was going to be running off pace and a little out of it from the exerted effort this race was requiring. Katie jumped in at mile 20 which helped quickly snap me out of the slump, but everything in my body at that point was hurting. Mile by mile I kept debating the thought of stopping but then internally fought myself on that each time thinking "No, you're not a quitter!". That's right I'm not so I kept going knowing that at this point finishing was most important to me. I knew there would be friends tracking me online wondering what was going on with my time and friends that knew exactly what was going on with my time. I had to just put all of that aside and just do what I wanted at that point which was to stay with Katie and get to that finish line. Every step the last 4 miles was so painful, quads felt so tight and knotted up. We finally got the Citgo sign which indicated 1 mile to go and I started breaking it down in minutes. 8 minutes, 5 minutes, etc… You can do anything for 5 minutes. Finally reached the homestretch on Boylston and the crowds were crazy. I let the energy from the crowds carry me to the finish line.

This year's race wasn't my greatest, but I'm proud that I finished and gave a good effort!

Nutrition
· Pre-Race Routine
○ Wake up call: 5:50 AM for breakfast
○ Nutrition: Oatmeal, honey, almonds. Banana. Coffee.
○ Charter bus picked us up at the hotel @ 7:15am
○ Continued drinking water liberally until an hour before the race.

· Race Nutrition
○ Chocolate Excel Gel at miles 5, 10, 15, 20

The Stats
For reflection I included my 5K splits from last year's (2010) Boston Marathon where I had a PR and ran really well. Interesting when I break it down by the 5K splits and see that right out of the gate it wasn't going to be the same race… Nice thing is that Boston is there every year and when I want give it my best again I can.

Overall Place 4167 o 23879
Female Place 427 of 10073 (Top 7%)
Age Group Place 348 of 5202


Race Splits

2011 Boston Net
5K 0:22:11
10K 0:44:23
15K 1:06:28
20K 1:29:00
1/2 Marathon 1:33:51
25K 1:51:44
30K 2:15:38
35K 2:40:22
40K 3:05:03
Finish 3:16:11

2010 Boston Net
2010 Boston Net
5K 21:35
10K 43:39
15K 1:05:47
20K 1:27:59
1/2 Marathon 1:32:47
25K 1:50:18
30K 2:13:14
35K 2:36:18
40K 2:58:18
Finish Time 3:07:34



Next up - Berlin Marathon 2012!! :)