Race Report: OC Triathlon 2013

I love the Orange County Triathlon for many reasons. One of the best is that I can train on the race course since it's so close. This year was my 4th time racing here and I was definitely looking forward to it. Oceanside was my "A" race this year, but OC was a close 2nd.

The training: yes, I had been riding through the canyon at least once a week. I felt like I had my climbing training dialed. My swimming has been improving incredibly. My run was on par with the previous year. I was ready for a PR, even if just by a few seconds.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was not too hot like in previous years and no rain was in sight. No fog in the morning for the swim was a definite plus too. Here we go!

Swim: the water was a perfect temperature (70 degrees) and felt wonderful. I was wave 3 and excited to have a few friends racing with me. I got into a groove quickly and felt great. After a while I noticed a women swimming on my right who was going the same speed as me. I figured I'd use her for spotting so I wouldn't have to look as much. I had an inkling she was one of my friends, but I couldn't remember what her wetsuit looked like. Before I knew it the swim was coming to an end. I don't look at my watch until I get out of the water and was so happy to see my time. Wow! I had killed my time from last year by over 5 minutes.

Swim 28:24

T1: I got out of the water and my friend Heather was right next to me. It was her swimming next to me! We really should train together. I ran into transition and stripped my wetsuit quickly (that's a first!). I grabbed my bike and I was off!

T1 1:53

Bike: I felt great and didn't feel too tired. That was my problem I guess. I was flying on the first half of the bike, but when I got to the point that is the half-way point for time I was surprised to see I was way off. Was there wind? Were my legs tired? No and no. Hmmm...what happened? Not sure, but I needed to kick my butt to get back to T2 to get my PR. Unfortunately the second half of the bike is mostly uphill. I got my act together and managed to keep the same mph for the rest of the bike. I was really upset at how horrible my bike was, but I knew I still had a chance to PR.

Bike 1:21:14

T2: Lightning fast and I was off on the run.

T2 1:05

Run: My legs were feeling the effects of my extra push on the bike. They were tired, but I managed to keep one foot in front of the other. I was still passing people right and left. I started my Garmin right when I exited T2, but it wasn't getting location. Sadly, I waited over two miles for it to start with no avail, so I have no stats for the run. I took my last Cliff Shot gel after about 10 minutes on the run. The first two miles are slightly downhill or flat. I tried running fast to make up for the hills that awaited me. I had 50 minutes to get to the finish line to PR. The previous year I ran a 47:36 run, so it was possible. The hills started and I kept running. No stopping for me, even if I was running as fast as some people were walking. I made it up the dreaded Vista del Lago hill and saw that not only was I going to PR, but I had a chance to go under 2:40. I happily ran towards the finish line. Since I didn't have an accurate race time, I didn't know how close I was to coming in under 2:40. Turns out I was just a few seconds over. Oh well. It wasn't my goal. I jumped across the finish line to a new PR. Yippee!

Run 47:24

OC Triathlon 2:40:03

(3:49 PR)

Skyler and I both got to race, thanks to a friend watching Desmond. Skyler's day wasn't as great as mine, but he still did great! I love being married to such a talented man!

Heather and I first met before Ironman Arizona. I think we will always have a connection because of that race. Ironman is a life-changing event and I'm happy we got to share part of our day together. I'm hoping we get to start training together. She's fast on the bike and I could sure use a training partner.

Canyon run

One of my favorite places to ride is now one of my favorite places to run. Carrie and I wanted to run somewhere new so we headed into Santiago canyon for our long Sunday run. I'm definitely adding this to my places to train for st George.

Hotel workout

Sometimes you have to make the best with what you've got. I was recently in San Francisco (well 15 minutes south of it) for work. It was still an important weekend for training though so I used what I had.

I started with 4 miles on the treadmill, ending with a speedy last mile at 6:30.

The pool was about half the size of a normal lap pool but I made it work. 17 minutes was probably about 800 yards.

Workout complete!

Ride with trailer

I don't always have to ride alone. I finally got up the courage to do a real training ride pulling the trailer. It wasn't easy and my pace was only 13mph but my legs were so sore the next day. I'm definitely adding this to the routine.

OC tri practice

It's pretty cool that I can train on the course of one of my favorite triathlons: OC Triathlon. It's a hilly course but I've been spending lots of time riding them. Can't wait for race day!

My Ragnar Made Possible By...

You can't head into a Ragnar Relay without being prepared. Maybe you can squeak by with a normal 12-person team, but when you're on an ULTRA team, there's no time for stopping.

Last year I got super sick and thought I'd never do a relay again. Yet here I was again, but this time I had the tools I needed to survive.

First on the list was Dramamine. Sitting in the back of a 12-seater van, starting & stopping a million times, will really do a number on your stomach. Thankfully I brought these and my stomach was happy.

Ragnar weekend turned out to be another hot weekend. I loaded up on water and Nuun the days before, and continued to chug it all weekend long. I especially loved the new Cherry Limeade flavor, which had caffeine. I love that Nuun has lots of sodium so that the hot weather didn't rob me of all of my water supply.

Nuun

I regularly eat Honey Stinger waffles, but the gels were new to me. I usually only eat vanilla because gels can be hard to swallow, literally. I reached for the fruit smoothie flavor when I ran out of my normal gels. I was pleasantly surprised how thin the consistency was and how good it tasted. I'm pretty sure I'll be switching to Honey Stinger gels from now on.

Honey Stinger

I've been a KT Tape user for several years now. The new PRO tape is even better because it sticks for several days. I applied some KT Tape mid-relay because my IT Band was acting up. It really is magical. I recommend this product to strangers all the time and I stand by it.

KT Tape

Oh compression! Some people believe and some just don't understand. Of course I was skeptical several years ago when it first became popular. But after experiencing the magic of it, I became a believer. I use compression several times a month, whether it's calf sleeves or full-length tights. SKINS is my favorite brand and I view them as the highest quality. I wore SKINS recovery tights between each of my legs at Ragnar. I also slept in them the night after the relay. I wish I could live in them forever because of how great they make my legs feel.

SKINS 

I packed several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the weekend. This is a normal meal for me at home, so I figured I should stick with what I know. I ate one for lunch, one during the night, and one in the morning.

I started going to Hit the Mark Fitness right after I had Desmond. These boot camp classes really helped me jump back into fitness. Some months I go several times a week, and some months not at all. I wish I could go more often, but with Desmond and Skyler's job, it's not easy making it work. But every time I go I feel great. I love feeling the sweat and pushing harder than I would go myself.

Hit the Mark Fitness

Smiling in a workout?

I might have cracked a smile yesterday while swimming. Had my fastest set of 100s EVER! 1:30 1:30 1:31 1:29 Yippee!!