Chicago Lakefront

Last weekend, we returned to Chicago for the first time since we moved last November.  We were celebrating Mike's birthday and spending some time away from the Dallas heat.  We stayed at a hotel downtown at the northern end of the Magnificent Mile which provided us easy access to the Lakefront Trail (and an Equinox across the street which had a pool).  I ran on the trail last Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings and was reminded just how much I enjoy it.  I love the views of downtown and having the lake right there.  If we ever move back to Chicago, we definitely want a place with easy access to the trail.  This was the first time we have been on it since they completed the separation of bike and running lanes and I was pleased with the results.  There are a couple spots where I found the running lanes to be a little narrow, but overall it was nice not to worry about bikes speeding right by you.

On Thursday and Saturday I ran north for several miles before turning around.  On Friday we decided to do long runs in preparation for the marathon since our preparation to date has been rather last minute.  I ran south that morning which tends to be less crowded.  Despite fewer people, I think I prefer the northern part of the trail because I am more familiar with it and have spent more time on that section of it.  I ran 16.8 miles which was my longest run since Boston in April.  It was humid that morning so I was especially soaked by the end -- but I felt accomplished about getting it done.  My pace isn't as fast as it was getting ready for Boston, but it is by no means slow and I know I will be able to finish Chicago.

We are talking about possibly going back again next weekend for one last long run before the marathon.  This weekend all the running groups there are hosting their final 20 milers so we will miss out on that.  I am not aiming for 20 the following weekend but would be happy getting in 17 or 18 -- something to remind my body what it's like to run that long again.  Hopefully we see more great running weather then.

Starting to run south of downtown

Made it several miles south before I turned around

Longest run since Boston

Running north Saturday morning

Cooler morning run and what's next...

I had no intention of running today.  I ran on the treadmill yesterday and was planning to do the same again tomorrow.  Today was supposed to be bike and swim (I did still swim).  However, when I woke up, it was cloudy with temperatures in the 70's -- a rare morning for Texas in August.  It was actually pleasant walking our dog this morning, and I knew this was an opportunity to run outside that I just couldn't pass up. 

I have been wanting to do a longer run for a while but the treadmill gets so boring and the heat here makes outside running unbearable.  So I was determined to get in that run today.  I made my way to the Katy Trail like normal and wasn't surprised to see lots of runners and walkers out also taking advantage of the cooler morning.

After Boston in the spring, I learned that there is a way to connect to another trail at the northern end of the Katy Trail.  So when I got to that point, I made my way into this uncharted territory.  It would have been nice to have known about this when I was doing those Boston long runs instead of just running up and down the Katy Trail over and over.

I was happy with what I accomplished today.  The last time I ran close to this distance was at 70.3 Boulder.  My pace is slower than when I was training for Boston, but 1) I'm running a lot less right now, 2) it's still hotter and more humid than when I was running in the spring and 3) it's still more than sufficient for what's next.

Not bad for an unplanned run

So what is next?  Well we were supposed to be doing the Berlin Marathon in September and then I was signed up for the NYC Marathon in November.  Now both of them are deferred to 2020.  But October will still be a busy month for me.  First, we decided to do....

Yes, we are going back to Chicago to run the marathon again.  This will be my 4th time running Chicago and Mike's 2nd.  The plan is for us to run together the entire marathon (that was also the plan last year which ended at mile 15.5 -- but I've been assured that won't happen again this year).  Mike has been dealing with injury since last November and in the last month or so finally mended enough to run comfortably again.  This will be his big return to running.  It's a great race and I'm excited to do it again -- but now you can understand my desire to get some long runs in.

And I have been wanting to do another Ironman 70.3 before the end of the year.  I didn't think that was going to happen, but with the new plan to do Chicago, I was able to work it out that I can then do this two weeks later...

I'm thrilled to be ending my triathlon season for 2019 with this race.  Waco is just 1.5 hours away making this race a no brainer to do. 

October will be a busy month but I am up for the training!

Back at Disney World

Last weekend, I traveled back to Disney World for a resort only vacation with Piper and my mother.  Normally when I am at Disney, I will get up early and run outside.  However, since we weren't rushing off to any of the theme parks this trip, we ended up sleeping in every morning.  By the time we got up, it was too hot and humid to run outside, so I would go to the gym at our resort and run on the treadmill for an hour.

Our last day there was this past Thursday, and since we had to get up earlier to catch our flights home, I was able to run outside.  We were staying at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, which is a large property with lots of trails right next to Disney Springs.  I also found the pathway that connects our resort to Old Key West Resort, which I also enjoyed running around.  I was happy to at least run outside the one morning and I got a couple good pictures as the sun was just starting to come up.

Morning sunrise over the main building at Old Key West -
I like the reflection in the water

Love the views of Disney Springs along the water

Disney Springs

Ironman 70.3 Boulder

It's been a while since I posted but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy with training and racing.  This past Saturday, I had an amazing time completing the Ironman 70.3 Boulder.  It was a beautiful race through this Colorado town and the perfect setting for my first 70.3.

I was a little nervous in the week leading up to the race (cutting back my workouts as part of my taper didn't help) -- but by Wednesday or Thursday I started to calm down.  I still had no idea how I would fare at this distance.  Even running a marathon, I am usually on a course only around 3 hours.  Doubling that time was entirely new territory for me.  Add in the possible effects of altitude and I had some reason to be nervous.  But I knew that one way or another I would finish.

We flew to Denver late Thursday afternoon and made the 40 minute drive to Boulder.  Our flight was a little delayed getting there, so we didn't have much chance to explore Boulder that day.  However, Friday morning I was up and ready to see some of the town.  I went for a run along the Boulder Creek Path, as much to calm my nerves as anything.  It was a great path for runners and bikers with the mountains serving as the backdrop.

Boulder Creek Path

After my run, I made my way to the Ironman Village at the Boulder Reservoir to check in, attend an Athlete Briefing, get my bike checked in and shop for merchandise (of course).  I accomplished all of that in about 2 hours.

Ready for the experience

Boulder Reservoir - the picture doesn't adequately capture it

Bike is checked in!

We spent the rest of the day exploring Boulder before I had my pasta dinner and went to bed.  I had to be up early the next morning.

Saturday was the big day.  I was up before 4:30 and left the hotel around 5.  I got to the reservoir in plenty of time and walked to the transition area to set up my stuff.  I was very lucky to have one empty space to the right of my bike and two empty spaces to the left, so I had a lot more room for things than most people.

Before I knew it, it was time to put on the wetsuit and walk to the beach for the start.  I got in the water to get everything wet and it felt great.  The official water temperature was 76.1.  If it was 76.2 or higher, it wouldn't have been a wetsuit legal race.  I was very happy to be able to wear my wetsuit (as I'm sure many others were too).  They started people by their expected swim finish time.  Every 5 seconds, 5 people would get in the water.  It moved pretty quickly, and soon I was in the water and starting the first leg of the race.

I felt good on the swim - strong and comfortable.  I didn't push the pace but I was very happy with my time.  We swam out away from the beach, made two right turns and then swam back to the transition area.  It was well marked and I didn't have trouble sighting or swimming fairly straight. 

Once I was out of the water, they had wetsuit peelers help you get out of your wetsuit.  I got back to my bike and put on my shoes and helmet.  As I left the transition area, volunteers slathered sunscreen on my arms and legs (I would be a burnt mess if they hadn't).

56 miles on the bike is long.  The bike isn't my strongest area but I got through it.  I was actually pretty proud of how I did.  I took nutrition at regular intervals on the bike (GU chews) and had bottles of water or Gatorade Endurance handed to me as I rode by the volunteers at the 3 aid stations.  These weren't skills I had practiced before since I primarily train indoors on Zwift, but I mastered them on Saturday and will definitely use them in future races.

I tried to enjoy as much of the scenery as I could.  The mountains and views were gorgeous.  We passed several horse farms and I loved seeing the horses out in the fields.  I didn't think the bike course was too difficult, although there were a couple stretches along a highway where we were on the shoulder of the road.  I just kept to the right as much as possible away from traffic and didn't attempt to pass -- that was for the more open roads without cars. 

Love the mountains as a backdrop (and you can still see the sunscreen on my leg!)

Enjoying the ride

I knew once I got through the ride, I would be able to pull off the run.  I had read lots of stories about people bonking on the run -- either cramping up or running out of energy or having the altitude affect them.  Once I started running, though, I felt pretty good and had none of those issues affect me.  I was so happy to have my new running visor to keep the sun out of my face (I'll definitely be running with that in the future!).  There wasn't much shade on the two loop run course around the reservoir but there were more than enough aid stations.  They were at least every mile and offered water, Gatorade Endurance, pretzels, cookies, GU, Red Bull, Coke and ice.  They probably had more things but I didn't really stop to explore.  I listened to my body and took whatever I thought I needed -- usually water or Gatorade and some ice to put down my shirt.  Twice in the second half I took Coke which I have never done before.  Luckily it settled well.  It was cold and tasted great in that moment.  I passed so many people on the run and didn't get passed by anyone which doesn't totally surprise me given my background.

Still smiling with only a few miles to go!

There were bigger crowds of people cheering as we got closer to the finish line.  I saw Mike cheering me on and taking video toward the end of the race and it gave me a final burst of energy as I made the final turn and saw the finish line ahead.  It is such an incredible feeling crossing the finish line at any endurance event, and this was no exception.  My official finish time to swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles was 5:39:28 and I couldn't be happier with that.  My biggest goal was just to finish under 6 hours, and I more than accomplished that!

In the home stretch....

...arms in the air....

...and I did it!

I can't say enough positive things about the race.  The volunteers were amazing.  It was well run and well organized.  It's in a beautiful city that is one of the endurance training meccas of the country.  I am so fortunate that I was able to complete this race as my first Ironman 70.3.  Now that I've done one, will there be more 70.3 races in my future?  ABSOLUTELY!!!

I'm an Ironman 70.3 Finisher!

Officially a TRIATHLETE!

It's taken me a few days to come down off the high from this past Memorial Day weekend when I made the jump from runner to triathlete by completing the CapTex Tri on Monday in downtown Austin.

We had originally planned to leave on Saturday so that I could go to the expo on Sunday and then do the race on Monday.  It's about a 3 hour drive from Dallas to Austin (longer for us because we hit traffic).  At the last minute we decided to leave Friday afternoon instead. 

The race was one in a series of races put on by Lifetime Tri.  They were hosting an open water swim clinic at a Lifetime Fitness on the northern side of the city Saturday morning, so this was a big reason for our change in plans.  I am really glad I went.  The swim was in a small private lake and the water temperature was close to 80 degrees.  The water was calm and relatively clear and it felt great.  If you are a member of that gym, you can swim in the lake any time -- I would absolutely love that.  Anyway, they had buoys set up around the lake and tons of lifeguards on the water.  One lap was just under half a mile.  I chose to join the intermediate group and the instructor answered any questions we had about the race before sending us off.  He had us check in after our first lap around but I felt completely fine.  I took a quick break and then proceeded to swim four continuous laps around the lake before calling it a day.  I figured if I could swim that far without any issues, then I was in good shape.

Ready for another open water swim

On Sunday we made our way to the expo around lunchtime to pick up my packet and attend the athlete briefing.  The expo was fairly small with only a couple vendors, so I was in and out pretty quickly.  We brought my bike over to check it in to transition a little later in the afternoon.  Things were starting to get real!

Bike's ready!

I didn't have the best night's sleep Sunday night.  I was most nervous about the bike portion of the race.  I had done a lot (ok, almost all) my training indoors on Zwift and so handling the bike outside and keeping enough distance between myself and others was a concern.  I did get some sleep before I was up at 5 AM and out the door by 5:30.  It was a short walk over to transition and once I got there I set up all my stuff.  I had rehearsed in my head so many times what I needed to do at each transition and laid everything out just as I wanted it. 

It was a warm morning and I avoided putting my wetsuit all the way on until the last minute.  Transition closed at 6:40 and the Olympic distance race (which I was doing) began at 7:00 (there were also sprint and supersprint races that followed).  It was a time trial wave start for age groupers, and I was in the 17th wave so didn't start until close to 7:30.  The waves moved pretty quickly and soon it was my turn to stand on the edge of the dock and then jump in the water.  And I was off...

The swim portion took part in Lady Bird Lake (really part of the Colorado River) and the water felt cold initially (it was 71).  However, I settled quickly into a rhythm.  I felt confident in my swim and before I knew it I started passing people in the waves ahead of me.  I came out of the swim in 29:38 at a pace of 1:59/100m.  I'm very happy with that.

Getting the wetsuit off was the longest part of T1, but I was soon running with my bike to the mount line and off I went.  It was a four loop course through downtown Austin for the Olympic distance.  I was careful and cautious on the first lap, but as my comfort level increased, so too did my speed with each successive lap.  My time on the bike was 1:24:54 -- this will probably be my biggest area for improvement.  Looking back, however, the bike wasn't nearly as bad as I had worried it would be.  You never forget how to ride a bike and I think with more outside riding I'll only continue to get more comfortable and faster.

Getting it done on the bike!

T2 was much shorter as I switched into my running shoes, clipped on my bib number and took off on the run.  It was getting hotter and the first thing I noticed was that people seemed to be struggling with the run.  I was certain I was going slow but I refused to look at my watch (turns out I wasn't).  I just focused on continuing to run and I was slightly surprised that I kept passing so many people along the entire course.  I knew that this was the easiest part for me coming from a running background and if I made it this far then I would be crossing that finish line very soon.  It was a 2 loop run course and toward the end of the first loop I saw Mike among the spectators cheering me on.  That was another boost.

Feeling good on the run

And then I was in the home stretch -- about to officially accomplish what I had been working toward these last several months.  I finished the run in 40:58 (I was 28th out of over 700 on the run part!).

I felt so strong crossing the finish line -- I had done it!!!  I am a triathlete!!!  My final time was 2:43:06 -- I am more than happy with that for my first triathlon!

Finished!

I got my medal and a cold towel and chugged the bottle of cold water they offered.  Of course I made sure to get my picture taken with the medal!

Obligatory medal picture

This was an awesome race and I would definitely consider doing it again (or other tri's that Lifetime Tri puts on).  And I am definitely hooked on triathlons.  The training is so much more enjoyable to me than just constantly running all the time.  

I will continue to do some running races (Berlin marathon), but for now I think triathlons are more my passion.  My plan is to do at least 1-2 more Olympic distance triathlons this summer before I tackle Ironman 70.3 Boulder in August.  I am totally confident that I will be ready for that and am very excited about what the next couple months hold!

The finish line and transition area in downtown Austin

Another open water swim and what's next...

On Saturday morning, once again I got up early and drove out to Lake Lewisville for the open water swim.  Since we could choose which of the groups to join, I decided to try the intermediate/advanced group.  The water was a couple degrees warmer than two weeks ago, and it didn't feel nearly as shocking.  I'm starting to believe them when they say it will be very warm by the middle of summer.  As part of this group, we swam a triangle around two different buoys before heading back to the coach on the shoreline.  It was a bit of an initial adjustment to swimming much longer distances continuously in deeper water, and for a few moments I considered going back to the beginner group.  However, I stuck with it, calmed my breathing and got my swimming into a rhythm.  Once I got to that place, I had no problem with what we did. 

After a few warm up laps, most of our time was spent swimming in small groups with one person sighting to the buoys and the other people sighting to the leader.  We all took turns being the leader.  It was actually much easier just staying near the leader and sighting to him or her rather than looking ahead to where the buoy was.  It might be a good strategy in a race situation.

At the end of the session, the coach asked me if I came from a swimming background and what my next race was.  I told her I came from a running background and I was doing my first triathlon at the end of the month.  She said that if I could swim and run, the bike would be easy.

So, yes, a triathlon is officially my next race.  My training has been going in this direction for months, and with Boston behind me I am focusing even more on swim/bike/run.  After the training cycle leading up to Boston, I think I burned out on running all the time and I am really drawn to the more balanced approach of triathlon training. 

I selected the race I did because I wanted my first triathlon to be a bigger one -- I thought it would be more exciting and memorable.  (Our first running race in Chicago was a big event and look what that started for us).  We are going down to Austin for the CapTex Triathlon Memorial Day weekend (and even bringing Scooby along with us!).  I'm very excited -- and looking ahead to more triathlons this summer and in the future!

I'm second from the left playing with my watch -- time for a Garmin???

Group picture before the swim

First Open Water Swim

This past Saturday, I went to my first open water swim.  PlayTri holds the swims early every Saturday morning at Lake Lewisville, which is a big lake about 30 minutes away from our house.  Since my parents and Piper were visiting for Easter, my father decided to come along to see the lake and take a few pictures for me.  It was a beautiful morning and the water was perfectly calm -- a perfect day for my first time in the lake.

Participants were split into two groups -- beginners and an intermediate/advanced group that focused more on doing a swim workout.  Since it was my first time, I joined the beginner group.  We practiced sighting to the buoy or the shoreline, swimming with a partner and just being more comfortable in the water.  Yes, it was very different from swimming laps in a pool -- you could see NOTHING but brown when you put your face in the water and it was much colder (temps in the upper 60's) -- but I thought I did reasonably well.  I was very comfortable in the water and was probably the strongest swimmer in my group that day.  Some people really seemed to struggle in the open water, but happily I experienced none of that.  I may try moving up to the next group the next time I go to make it more of a workout.

Listening to the pre-swim talk

Trying to stay warm between drills

Partner swim

First open water swim was a success!