Going in, the goal was to try and break 35 minutes on the swim and to really push it on the run. For the bike, I was supposed to stay in the 80-85 percent of FTP (for the non-tri folks, that is functional threshold pace, which basically means the power output I can hold for a specific duration and still be, well, functional).
After spending a great deal of the offseason working on my swimming and picking up speed on my running, since late winter, I have been focusing a lot of attention on my cycling. In an effort to do just that, I invested in a power meter this year. Through interval training, I managed to boost my FTP from 140 to 180 in a few months.
I have gotten more and more comfortable on a road bike, but still need to work on descents and picking up my MPH. This rolling hills course seemed like a good event to practice both.I headed up to Victoria with travel buddy and teammate Guy Haycock on Friday morning, enjoying a beautiful ferry ride from Anacortes, Wash., to the terminal in Sidney, BC.
After a leisurely afternoon strolling the harbor and enjoying some lunch, we met up with teammates Mike Marlowe and Tracey Weller for dinner and then settled in early to rest up for a short workout the next morning at the race venue, Elk Lake Park, with coach Michael Covey and teammates Ron Montague and Susie Nieto before picking up our race packets and checking in our bikes.
Again -- no alcohol. The plan worked perfectly at Blue Lake, so I was going to continue to follow it in Victoria as well.
Saturday, June 15:
We enjoyed a lovely breakfast (a protein-heavy breakfast burrito for me) before loading up the bikes and heading to the lake (it's about a 30 minute drive). The plan was for a 10-minute swim to focus on sighting, a 30-minute ride just to spin and a 10-minute run. Coach Michael took us out to swim, and helped each person make various adjustments. He called me over after we had completed the main swim and asked me to swim out ahead of him while he held onto my feet, telling me not to kick when he let go. I did that a couple of times. I noted that I felt good propulsion, and Michael noted that I was swimming straight as an arrow without kicking. He said my legs were dropping when I kicked (a function of the tightness of the wetsuit), which was throwing my streamline out of whack. By not kicking, I could allow the wetsuit to provide the buoyancy on my legs and keep my hips and legs high on the water. The instruction for the mile swim on race day: No kicking. Period.
After stripping off wetsuits, we headed out on the bikes. This time, Michael stayed with me the entire way, offering coaching along the way. It was greatly appreciated and a great help. Right away, he noticed that my seat was a bit too low. After a short adjustment, I was sitting a bit higher, allowing me to get more power in my pedal stroke. We worked on climbs and descents and I felt my confidence growing as we rode along. Again, much appreciated.
Before heading out on the run, I picked up my race packet, attached my number on my bike and left it in transition before heading out on my short run. From there, it was pack up for the ride back to Victoria for cleanup and lunch. After lunch, Guy and I headed back to the room, where he napped and I got my race bag set up for the next morning. Race start was 6:45, and we planned to get to transition at 5:30, so it was going to be an early wakeup call. I wanted to make sure I had everything together and ready to go the night before. As an added precaution, I made a point to pack an extra pair of contact lens with me. I've never had my goggles completely kicked off, but if that was to happen, and I lost a lens, that would bring an end to my race day very quickly. Not sure why I hadn't thought to do this before, but I will remember to do it for all races going forward.
We met everyone for dinner (pasta with red sauce, little spice -- trying to keep the GI tract happy), then a quick run to the grocery store to pick up bananas, Greek yogurt, bagels and peanut butter for breakfast the next morning (not my usual pre-race meal, but without access to a kitchen or microwave, this is my back-up meal). On the way back from dinner and grocery shopping, I was chewing bubble gum and blew a giant bubble. Guy bet me a bottle of champagne that I would be able to blow a bubble as I crossed the finish line the next day. I told him I'd take that bet. Then it was early to bed.
Sunday, June 16: Race morning
The alarm went off at 4:30 (that NEVER gets any easier). All that was left to do was hydrate (Powerade Zero and some coffee), eat (I took a banana with me to have before swim start, along with a couple of Stinger Waffles) and get dressed. We hit the road around 5 a.m., hoping to find a Starbucks for one last cup of coffee on the way, but no dice.
We arrived at the race site right about 5:30 and headed to our respective rack spots to set up our transition areas and the like. I borrowed Guy's pump to pump up my tires and set out the basics -- as well as a piece of bubble gum -- trying, again, for quick transitions.
Since the half-IM started 45 minutes before the Olympic, I joined Michael at the beach to watch the swim start. There's nothing quite like a mass start. Open water swimming is always an adventure, but doing it with the entire field instead of just a 100 of your close friends can be intimidating. After watching a while, I asked Michael to zip up my wetsuit and then headed into the water to warm up.
I know it's common sense, but doing the warm up is essential. It gives me time to get acclimated to the water temperature, but more importantly, it allows me to focus on my swim stroke and shake off that nervous pre-race energy.
Going against my usual pattern of hanging back and counting to 10 before I start once the gun goes off, I seeded myself to the right, mid-pack. I knew it would be a thrash for a while, but better to get myself i a position to draft off some swimmers at the start. And that's exactly what I did. I focused on my high elbow, not kicking and just swam. I told myself that I would not check my time at any point on the swim and I didn't. My goal was 35 minutes, but having never swam without kicking, I decided I was just going to swim the whole way, no breaks, no breast stroke and not worry about the time.
Went I exited the water and saw 34.59, I was beyond thrilled. On to the bike.
My T1s are always a bit too long, but I did much better then normal. Getting the wetsuit off and making sure my feet are dry are what takes the most time. Added the arm warmers also took a bit of time. It took me 7 minutes -- far too much time. My goal would be to do this in under 5 minutes.
The bike course is rolling -- a LOT of rolling, so my plan was not to really push hard on the bike but rather to work on keeping my power output at 80-85 percent, my descents and using momentum to carry me up the hills after the descents, and, as always, to get through all of my hydration, while practicing my nutrition. For the most part, it was a success. I didn't quite get my gearing right coming down the hills so there wasn't much momentum going up the next hill. However, by the end of the ride, I knew better how to do it.
I took one Stinger waffle with me, thinking the 27.65 mile bike would take me less than two hours. I was a bit off, and in hindsight, should have brought more calories with me. But the fact that I finished both bottles of Skratch and ate the waffle was another first.
I was passed by three of my teammates, who were on their second lap on the half, including Guy, who gave an encouraging tushy slap as we climbed up a hill. It was good to get the encouragement from all of them. Not my fastest bike ride (2 hours, 14 mins), but I accomplished my goals and felt pretty good at the end.
My T2 was a bit longer than I would have like because I had to pee before I started out on the run -- a VERY good sign. It meant that I was, indeed, well hydrated. After a quick stop in the little green house, I was out on the run (bubble gum in my mouth), with a time of 4:31. I KNOW I can do better at this.
The goal was for me to really let it fly on the run, but a mile and a half in, it just didn't seem like that was going to happen. My GI tract was doing just fine, but there was no fire in my legs. After Tracey passed me on her first lap of the 20K at mile 2, I just tried to focus on keeping my form in check and running 5 minutes and walking 1. It was disappointing, and I started to let my head wander into negative land, but when I would go there, I rechecked myself and said that all I could do was go forward and try to keep my form together.
The run at Victoria is a lovely trail about Elk and Beaver lakes. It's shaded and very pretty, so it was a good place to try and get my mind quiet. Power and strength, power and strength, power and strength ... that was my mantra. With two miles to go, Ron passed me on his first 20K lap, and as he went by, he reminded me that I was only two miles from a beer. A lovely thought, and it brought a smile to my face and put a little bit of push in my spirit, which pushed my legs. From that point on, I vowed that I would finish before my half IM friends. From a mental standpoint, being lapped by people doing twice my distance, despite getting a 45-minute head start, would not be good. I knew I could get there first.
With about a quarter of a mile to go, I just went for it (10:30/miles was far from as fast as I can go, but that worked for that time) and as I neared the finish line, I started trying to work on blowing that bubble. Let me tell you, that proved to be more than I could muster. It was literally trying to walk and chew gum at the same time. As I hit the finish, I had to slow down to a walk in order to blow that bubble. But I did -- bet won! My run time was terrible (1:19) but I had accomplished all but one of my goals. Final time, 4:21:31.
I finished just 4 minutes ahead of Mike, so I just barely made that road-kill goal, but I did it. That was a big boost to my morale.
Big lessons from Victoria:
1. No kicking when swimming with a wetsuit
2. When I drink all of my hydration (pre-race and during), my GI tract stays good
3. Accelerate in the descents and get my gears right in the descent so I can shift quickly on the next climb
4. Never give up!
5. Never bet me that I can't blow a bubble at the finish, otherwise ...
You'll be looking at this. On to Vineman!
No comments:
Post a Comment