In my opinion, I failed at Ironman Coeur d’Alene. I was aiming for a time much faster than I turned in.  As much of a great time that was, since I did not reach my goal, I was not very happy with it. So, the next best thing to going to Kona was to go to Clearwater, Florida for the 70.3 World Championships. After doing all the training for Ironman, I figured a 1.2 swim, a 56 mile ride, and a 13.1 mile run was a walk in the park. I also decided to focus less on my bike since that appears to be naturally fast, and focus on my swim and run. Also, consultation with Mark Allen revealed I had a nutritional problem in the Ironman so; I wanted to try out a new food strategy.

Did you find the title to this article interesting? It is the comment I made to Heidi as we were sitting on the grassy hill before the race started, looking at all the fit people. Seems to me we size up our competition and wonder who is going to be faster that day. Giants in the land refer to the 12 spies that went out into Canaan in the Old Testament days to check out the land. When they came back, they ran chicken because the people looked like Giants and they shrunk with fear.

I had a nasty case of “Marathon Leg”, meaning, I was having a fearful hesitant attitude myself. I have never been so beat up going into a race like I was this one. I had a nasty case of Achilles tendonitis in my left leg. I broke the tip of my tibia off trail running a few weeks earlier so, my other ankle was still stiff, sore and numb. I also hurt my back water skiing a few days prior. It was hot and I don’t do well in the heat. I had slept poorly, and had 2 days of minor nausea.

The Swim
Same old drill. Doggie paddle as fast as I could thinking this time my new refined swim stroke was finally going to kick in. Nope. Same 40 minute swim. Oh Well. Some things never change. 29th out of the water in my age group.

The Ride
I got on my trusty P4 and did my usual stuff. I rode mostly in the upper end of my zone because it was getting hot and it was hilly. Nothing notable about the ride except it was slower than I had expected by about 10 minutes. I figured everybody was struggling out there so it is what it is.

Ride time 2:48, 19.9 MPH average. Moved up to 12 in my age.

The Run
Michelle fed me my stats right out of T2. “You’re in 3rd Place!” “Wow” I said to myself, I must have had a better ride than I expected. Right out of T2 I passed one of my buddies. I told him he was in 3rd place. He looked a little confused and mentioned he knew XX was ahead of him. Soon after I chased down another guy with a 51 on his leg and asked “Are you XX?” “No, I am OO…why?” “Never mind….” Next guy..”Are you  XX?” “No, I’m YY, why?” Then I figured out there must have been a mess up with the athlete tracker, which is nothing new. My job was to run my race anyway. I applied a lesson I learned in my last really scorching hot race in Canada last year, and that was to carry my own sports drink. This time I took Mark Allen’s sports drink, which seemed to do the trick. Since the aid stations were very crowded with people scrambling for water and ice that was a wise choice. P.S. shots of Gu that have been laying out in the sun for a few hours taste totally disgusting, but I was determined to keep my calorie intake about 500/hour.

On the last leg of the run Heidi and Michelle looked sad and hesitant to tell me that I was 12th. Good thing I knew that athlete tracker was screwed up.

At mile 9 I decided to pick up the pace a bit and that made all the difference in the world. I passed a few more in my age but most importantly I built confidence I could finish strong. I love a negative split and took a shot at one. It may have worked out except for that nasty hill at the end.

I came across the line not knowing my overall time or place, but my watch said my run time was 1:46! Great job for me, exactly what I had hoped for!

Soon after I got a text from Eric telling me I had finished 5th!

Final Result 5th in age, 5:20:40 in 93 degree heat!

They took the top 2 from my age to go to Clearwater, so I was unsure if I was going or not. It would have to come down to the roll down/awards ceremony. The first place guy didn’t show.  The second and third place guys already had their spots. The 4th guy took his place and you can bet SO DID I! I had a short conversation with the 2 other guys that finished ahead of me. They had turned in slower runs than I did and the margin between 3rd and 5th place was less than 20 seconds! I had almost chased them down for 3rd. If only I could swim…..

So now I am excited to go to Florida in November where I will get to race with the best in the world at this distance. Most of those who love and support me will be there to cheer me on as we all have some fun in the sun while the weather in Seattle will suck.

P.S. I couldn’t help myself. I had to sign up for Ironman St. George. Mike Keenan explained to me how the difficult ride course will benefit me. I spoke to Cody Hill about the stunning beauty of Utah in May. I read a few blogs about the ride being so difficult it could make a Billy Goat puke. I felt like I had no choice but to sign up to have another match with destiny and more contact with that which makes me tick.

Why?
My first IM didn’t end up as well as I had hoped for. Me being the personality that I am, find it difficult to leave unfinished business. I took a beating at my first one and wanted a rematch. Also, 20 years ago, I thought about going to Kona when I was 50. So, I signed up for Ironman a year ago along with Heidi, Chris Blair and others. I figured doing this with others would greatly ease the pain of doing all the training alone, and to do it would be a blast (which it was).

The Training:
To ensure my success I enlisted the help of Mark Allen based on the advice of Chris. I am very happy with that decision as it was a huge resource of training advice and knowledge. As I progressed through my training my smaller races and marathons got better and better, so I was very optimistic with the potential outcome of CDA.

Most of the days in the last 6 weeks of training sucked. The weather was not cooperative. I got sick of swimming in either a pool or the freezing lake water, riding in the cold and or rain, and the long runs that seemed more like swims due to all the rain!

The Travel:
Heidi, Chris and I piled our masses of stuff into my truck and drove to the Tamarack Camp and RV park in CDA, where Chris rented a cabin with 12 bunks in it. As it turns out it was a great place. We were blessed with other IM in the camp along with locals and spectators which were instant friends. Our bikes even all had separate bunks! Wonder if that’s why we all had great bike times…..

Race Day

The Swim:
There was a mass beach start on this 2 lap swim. My theory was to start in the center about half way back, wait a few second to let the faster swimmers go and draft off of them. However, that backfired. I got hung up in total mayhem and thrashing for the entire 900 yards out to the first buoy. My stroke was more of a doggie paddle because I could not reach forward without hitting the person ahead of me. The first turn reminded me of the scene in the movie “Titanic” where all the people were treading water (before they died) I had the opportunity to strike up a small conversation with the guy next to me about where he was from while they were yelling with a bull horn, “Be nice to each other!” Shortly before I resumed swimming I got kicked in the balls. OUCH! It felt like my testicle got jammed up to my belly button. (That hurt for the first lap of the bike!) Swim time 1:21. I came out of the water and saw the time and figured my chances of going to Kona were gone.

The Bike:
Yee Ha! I love to go fast and that I did. I started passing people immediately. I love the sound of carbon wheels on the ground. It is inspiring. I love telling people with fancier bikes than mine, “On your left!” Oops...did I do some blocking and stuffing? Sorry….The ride was hilly. I did have the opportunity to catch Heidi on the bike and we rode the first section of hills together. Tough gal she is. She hung with me longer than anybody else did all day. I tried chasing down Mike and Chris but they were way ahead of me.

It started to heat up on the last lap, but I settled down into my heart rate zone, watched my food plan and kept going strong to the end without difficulty.

The Run:
I got out of T2 reasonably quickly and got into the run. My first 2 miles were at an 8 minute pace with a low heart rate. I was very happy about that since that is what had been happening on my bricks as well. In the back of my mind I said “Your going too fast pal…your gonna pay for this,” but my heart rate was low and I felt good. So, I choose to run by my heart rate and keep in my zone regardless of pace. I saw Heidi come onto the run course 2 miles into my run.

8 miles into the first lap I saw the famed yellow sign Chris Keenan had put up for us. She had internet access and was able to track our progress. M for Mike (her husband) 4 (for 4th place) C 5 (Chris was just behind Mike) H 11, and P 7!  What? I am in 7th place? What? No way? I had a chance! How encouraging! All I needed to do was hold what is now my 8:20 pace, which is what I was running going up that small hill, and I am going to Kona! I got a chance!

I followed my nutrition plan well. I took in water, Gatorade, alternate gu, some food, and keep pushing. No problems…pace looks good for the first half…

On the out and backs I was able to see Mike and Chris. Mike was making his move, Chris was falling off of the pace a bit, and Heidi was gaining on me as I had expected she would.

Second lap: Time to put the hammer down but I could not get my heart rate up because my legs would only go so fast. On the way down the nasty hill at mile 20 I was greeted with my first cramp. I did the Eric Sach trick of eating a small pack of mustard and my cramp went away, but I never recovered my pace. I was getting miserable, but told myself, “You should be miserable now. This is an Ironman!” Heidi passed me and she was cruising right along. At 24 I got a much worse cramp and since the mustard was nasty, I choose to take a Succeed salt tablet. It was hot and my mouth was dry. The tablet got stuck between my esophagus and trachea. It would not go up or down. I tried to muster up some spit to get it down but it was not happening. It started to slip down to my trachea, so I coughed it up. YUK. It exploded all that salt and crap into my mouth and nose, resulting in an instant vomit of the caldron of stuff I had been eating. I had to stop and ask for help from a spectator. I seized her water and rinsed out my mouth and blew water out my nose. I also headed for a sprinkler and hosed the puke off myself and as long as I was at it cooled off some.
Then I ate the last mustard and my cramp was gone in about 20 seconds but I was doing the death march. “Please whoever is passing me, don’t be 50!”

I gutted out the last few miles and came into town and the finish line was in sight. Ahh,.. that was a beautiful sight. I did muster my last bit of strength to get my pace back to reasonable.

The crowds were amazing, so I took the opportunity to show off a bit by taking bows, high fiving the little kids and a few arm pumps crossing the finish line. Yes, I did smile when it was done knowing I spent all I had out there.

11:05. 8th in age. 303th overall.

Happy with that? No. I didn’t reach my goal. Good thing I didn’t boast to everybody about how fast I intended and planned on going.

After The Race:
The biggest compliment of the day came from a 35 year old age grouper pushing a very nice bike. He had said he hated hearing, “On your left,” before I passed him up. He said he did everything he could do to catch me, but despite his efforts and hating to get passed, I toasted him anyway. Then he noticed the “51” on my leg. I earned his respect.

We gathered our stuff up and went back to get cleaned up. Then we came back downtown to eat, where we met up with about 6 others we knew and watched as those who were the real heroes of the day finish. Old guys running bent over 90 degrees in pain; those who and lost hundreds of pounds or beat cancer; housewives and moms who paid a much higher price of personal sacrifice than I did; hurting for 16 hours pressing ahead. I thought to myself, “I wonder what their attitudes are right now compared to my whine, shout, pout, mad, sad one because I didn’t reach my goal.”

The Day After:
We went to the athlete sign up for 2011. Want to? I asked myself..Nope! They took 4 from my age group, and 2 had taken their spots. I was 8th. Maybe…just maybe…I might get a roll down spot. The 5th place finisher did not show. The 6th and 7th place finishers took up the spots. I missed it by one spot. If I had made a better decision about my swim place at the start or ran a little better running race, I would have made it.

But, I saved a bunch of money by not going to Kona so I rewarded myself with a finisher’s coat.

Now that it is over I have an empty feeling inside like I lost a friend. Woulda…coulda… shouldas… do no good. Will I do it again? I did have a fleeting though of IM Canada, but I will let that thought roll around in my head for a while before I make that decision.

How fun was it? At first I said 9.0 because I didn’t reach my goal. Now 9.5 because I think the race for me is not about faster race time. It is about attitude. It is about mental toughness. It is the training; planning and attempting to accomplish what many would think is impossible. It is about dreaming big and setting goals high and setting out to accomplish them while holding fears and doubt at bay. It is learning to find humor, good and fun in a miserable circumstance. It is about the people I have met and have had the honor of swimming, riding, biking and hanging with. It is about the fans whose hero I am. It is about others living their lives and dreams through me because they are unable to do what I do. It is about making decisions and sticking to them regardless of my personal preferences to do something else. It’s about character….

4/16/~ 9PM Karen, Phil and Heidi meet and car pool to the airport.
11:30 PM Plane leaves on time but flying lopsided because Heidi’s suitcase tips the balance of the airplane. Sleep is difficult as the girls continue to bounce around with excitement
4/17~7:30 Plane lands right on time.
9:00AM Time for first feeding at Dunkin Donuts, which turns into a 3x/day ritual. Phil and Karen enjoy the donuts while Heidi sticks with the eggs.
10:00AM Trick or treat begins. That is the name given to the expo as the three of us go begging from vendor to vendor holding out our feed bags. By the end of round one at the expo the take of free samples was likely to be around 10 pounds of free samples of food, recovery drinks, pain relieving potions and lotions. First choice of vendors hands down…Cliff Bar samples! Chocolate, vanilla, lemon, cookie dough, peanut butter, white macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin..all in fun little bit size portions that fill you up so you don’t have to go out for lunch!  Then you get so thirsty that you have to go sample all the drink vendors.  Favorite drink vendor..Odwalla Monster Protein Drink.  YUM!
1:00 PM First food expedition begins with a successful discovery of Uno’s Chicago Style Pizza. Who would have thought you could eat 5,000 calories of pizza in one sitting!  Excuse: we have a marathon to run in 2 days!  Let’s eat..and eat..and eat..and wait..what did you say was for dessert?!
coffee
2:00 PM Mall browsing that turned into mall drooling since our eyes were bigger than our wallets.
5:00 PM A game of TriBond.  All you need to know about this is Phil got OWNED! HA!

4/18~8AM coffee. BAA 5k run around town. Heidi is impressed with the brownstone salt box homes and the apartment buildings that rent for $5,000 a month.
11:30. Group Pictures with the Marathon Maniacs and the first meeting with David Spooner, Bulls Eye Bob Martin and Tony Phillipi
1:00PM Bus tour of Boston
Coffee and coffee!
6:00PM Meet with a group of 10 for a pizza/carbo load dinner at the Upper Crust.
8:00PM Return to room and begin to organize and lay our race gear

4/19 RACE DAY~4:45AM  Alarm goes off. Where’s the coffee? Dunkin Donuts is not yet open. Good thing our hotel had a Starbucks with a line of 20 waiting for the doors to open. Coffee…coffee…coffee..
6:00AM Meet Spooner and Laurie for the first lines of the day going to get on the busses.
7:30 AM Porta Potties are a disaster as expected as the Boston Marathon is famous for. The usual “what should I wear” gig was less than usual as we attempted to keep warm and out of a pretty stiff cold wind that blew through the Athletes Village.
Coffee..yes, there was even coffee there too!
10:00AM The race goes off as usual. Heidi had the look in her eye from before the race she was going to be off and running, which she did.

Phil had a blast during the race. He loved the cheering crowds. Phil had his IPod in from about mile 5 to about 20. There was no problem hearing them cheer over the vintage tunes playing. For the first 13/1 miles he kept his heart rate low. Phil bumped it up a bit till 17, then, he got on pace. Phil + running negative splits = BIG HEAD

At mile 22, Phil looked at his time and was at 3:00 even. This may be his day for the elusive PR!! He was running 7:15s then, so Phil gave it a shot. Phil faded some at the end. Plus, on his GPS the distance turned out to be 26.7 miles because of the lack of tangents. Finish time: 3:32. Not a PR, but he beat his previous Boston time by 19 minutes and was plenty happy!

Heidi started out with Phil and Karen. She had a pace band for 3.35 and had just about every intention to follow the mile splits until….she hit the first mile at 7:45. Hum…feeling really good and heart rate in check. Perhaps this was going to be a good day. A little too early to tell yet but the heart rate continued to stay in zone and the miles continued to come under the pace band by at least 30 seconds.  At mile 13 Heidi decided to take up the heart rate by at least 5 beats.  She was able to hold her pace on the hills. So far so good!  Goo, water, Gatorade, salt tablets, and tummy was feeling ok! Mile 20-Heidi decided to pick it up even more for the last part of the marathon. Heart rate increased by another 5 to 10 beats. The legs were flying, form was staying strong, focus, focus…almost there…and there it was…the finish line. Why did it look so close but seem so far away. Head was saying “calves, please don’t cramp”, body was saying,” I just might, ha, ha!” Fortunately my head won in the end.  Heidi crossed the line with a new Boston PR. Time: 3:24. Aver Pace: 7:42. Boston time in 2008: 3:30. 
Heidi + PR = HAPPY!

After a ten minute walk-jog to the start line Karen was ready to run.  First question: Can she hold a slow enough pace to ease the pain at the end? Answer – Not quite.  The excitement of the runners around her took her along with them. She was able to hold back long enough to enjoy the first 22 miles. Karen decided to wear a 3:45 pace band and hovered around that pace until the last 4 miles. Second question: Would the Plantar Fasciitis in her right foot stay at a dull pain? Answer – Amazingly YES! At times she thought it would cramp.  Quad cramping was also coming on, but thanks to Phil and his “magic” salt pills Karen’s legs held on.  Final Question: How was it? Answer – It was a tough race for Karen as she had injuries to contend with. It was Boston #3 and she was only 4 minutes slower than her best Boston time set back in 2007.
Coffee..triple and quadruple shots

1:00 PM to 3:00PM. Tell war stories and brag to friends. How many texts do three runners send after a race? Too many to count!
7:00 PM Took the subway out to Harvard to meet the Maniacs and eat and eat and…
???PM/AM Finally…Sleep!!!!! 

7:00 Am Tuesday Head to Dunkin donuts for final round of coffee and donuts as a reward for doing so well. Phil has a revelation after he almost pukes up his donuts…those things are bad for ya…or maybe it was the coffee.
9:00 to 3PM  Play tourist and walk the Freedom trail, ending in the final meal in Boston, Chicago pizza at Uno’s…the official favorite place to eat while in Boston.

Now that we all qualified again for Boston the question is
“WHEN DO WE GET TO DO IT AGAIN!?!?!?” 

Phil ~ This is the marathon that was not supposed to be and started out as a joke.

First, I had learned from my triathlon coach Mark Allen that running marathons is not good ironman training. Running 5k, 10ks, and half marathons are, but not this distance. Since I paid the guy for his advice, I think I better listen.

Second, all I was doing was thinking out loud to Cody and Heidi about not running my favorite marathon, also the anniversary of my first marathon (now 30 in 4 years) the YRCM. Cody was all over that mentioning he wanted to do it but I was the one that talked him out of it. He wanted to do it as a training run in 3:15. I thought he meant he would run it in 3:15! Ouch…who would want to do that as a training run? What he meant was he was to run 3:15 as part of his ironman training. I felt sort of guilty I maybe caused him to bail on it, not to mention our mutual buddy Bob Satko was going to attempt a Boston Qualification. How cool would it be if we were there with him?

Of course we would have to ride as long as we were over there in the perfect eastern Washington environment as well…
Heidi was no help to rescue me from my not running-running dilemma. “Sounds crazy enough to be fun...Let’ go!”

Same Drill. Stuff my pie hole with more food the night before…Get up at 3:30 AM…Meet Heidi at 4AM. Meet Cody at 4:30...drink lots of coffee and drive.

We arrived plenty early to get our stuff and meet up with our pals.
Off and running right on time. We decided in advance to keep our heart rates low as if training run and not be concern about the time. We did stick to the plan for a change too.

Time at the half 1:56

Heidi ~ As Cody Hill has taught me to say, “An ironman gotta do what an ironman gotta do.”  This includes such activities as getting up at 3:30 on a Saturday morning, hauling with me a bike and 4 bags of gear (curse of the over packer) and heading to Yakima with Phil and Cody.  Upon arrival in the dark, chilly 25ish degree weather, I find myself once again having the time of my life.  Did I mention that I went to bed at 11:00 the night before?  Love running on those endorphins!!  Well I am thrilled because this is all a new adventure for me.  First of all, I have never run this marathon before (#21 for me) and secondly, I have never run a marathon solely based on low heart rate. 

As usual, there was much talk about clothing decisions…the dreaded cold start to the hot finish.  It’s so difficult finding what is just right.  Of course since it is so cold outside the three of us are hibernating in the car holding up our fashion statements.  Once we make the final decision we are off to the start line where once again I find myself hanging with boys that just feel so free using nature as their port a potty.  I get no sympathy…no running buddies volunteering to wait with me in the long port a potty line so once again I cave in and find myself joining the men behind a bush.  Well, at least I feel better!

We are off and running; happy as can be until I hear Cody say he doesn’t have his heart rate monitor strap and Phil saying he wants to NOW drop his shirt.  Did I mention we have not even go to mile one yet and the boys are making a stop at the car while my marathon time is ticking away?!  I know it is just a training run but can’t help to notice how many people are now ahead of us that we will have to pass up!  Hurry up boys!!! that is already a minute or more added to my time!

I am one lucky girl because I am running with two story tellers.  There is Phil, the King of Stories.  We get to hear all about Disneyland, past Yakima Marathon adventures, and small conversations with other participants on the course.  He sure seems to know a lot of people out there!  Then there is Cody Hill.  Now Cody is story teller of a different nature.  He recites cowboy poems that just amaze you.  I have never quite heard anything like this!  I don’t think we had very many quiet moments.  That includes all the times the boys were passing gas and blowing snot rockets.  Oh, did I mention that we had to stop two more times so the BOYS could go to the bathroom.  They were such high maintenance!  There goes another 4 minutes added to my time (but once again, I am working on letting that go…training run….training run…training run).

Phil ~ Lesson one...don’t drink too much coffee on a road trip the morning of a marathon.  I was plenty hydrated but with the wrong stuff. I never stopped to pee on a marathon before, so I was a little surprised when I stopped twice. What’s up with that?

We had a blast running. There was a story telling competition between Cody and me. He has a thousand poems memorized he tells as stories. I have just regular stories.

At mile 17, Heidi whipped out her I-pod. I knew that would be the last I saw of her till the end of the run. So, I put mine on too. Maybe to numb myself out and get in the zone, or maybe to get away from those cowboy poems!

Heidi ~ So far the three of us are on a roll, stroking right along with low heart rates within our zones.  Pace and time is looking good.  The conversations start to die off a little once we get to the hills.  I think it’s time.  Time to put on the music.  Time to bring this puppy home.  Time to jack up the heart rate.  Time to pass people!  That is exactly what I did.  Mile 18 is where it started.  Not one person passed me from that point on and I had a negative split of 10 minutes.  Love it!  Once I crossed that finish line I felt great.  What an amazing run.  Best of all, it was just a couple minutes before Cody and Phil came across that finish line too.  It’s a good thing because I was actually starting to miss those two crazies! 

Phil ~ I did keep my heart rate mostly in its training zone until mile 20, and then bumped it up.

The last 7 miles were probably the most fun. We increased our pace and heart rate and began passing people. In the famed hill at 21.5, there were groups of 20 and 30 all bunched up. “Cody, we are gonna blast past all of before the next aid station.”  “You betcha Baby!”(Cody’s famous words), And so we did.

On the top of the hill, “5k to go...let’s get er done.” ”You betcha baby” Good for us.  I got dropped by Cody, but not by much. We steadily increased our pace from 7:50s to the low 7s in the last mile.

We did the usual chat at the finish line.  We found Eric and a few of my other friends I use to run with.  Of course we had to snack on the post race gourmet foods, M&Ms, pretzels, fig bars, gummy bears, bananas and rice crispies.  Um, um!

Heidi ~ Now at this point most “normal” people would be calling it a day.  They would most likely eat some real food, take a shower, change clothes, and pat themselves on the back for a job well done.  However, ironmen gotta do what ironmen gotta do.  Today that meant changing out of our running clothes into our biking clothes!  Yes, I know, a little nutty but once again loved every minute of it.  The best part was we were able to ride on the closed bike course so we had the road all to ourselves.  It was amazing to see how many miles you can cover on a bike verses on foot.  Plus, there was a port a potty about every two miles with no lines (I didn’t even have to use the bushes this time)!!  After about 15 miles of rolling hills, hungry stomachs, and cramping calves Phil and I headed back to the car for a total of 33 miles.  Now Cody, that has an ironman to do in May, St. George, decided to keep riding for more miles.

Phil ~ That was cool too. We rode the course backwards. At the canyon entrance, there were 2 cops there making sure the roads were closed while keeping a close eye on their donuts and coffee. They waved us right through. We had the whole road to ourselves!

Heidi ~ Our day is officially complete.  Well, at least the training portion.  Next on the agenda is FOOD!  Of course the non-red meat eater gets to hear the boys discuss how much they want steak…great.  It wasn’t so bad though.  We found a restaurant where the two boys could happily share their dead cow meals and I could eat my dead chicken.  Life is good.  However, it’s not quite perfect until I get some ICECREAM.  Next stop, Dairy Queen.  Now I’m good. J

We are now coming to the home stretch. We drive away from our day with full bellies, text messages to all our friends, small talk, music, and reflection on a day spent to its fullest.  A day spent with good friends, laughter, mental and physical toughness, encouragements and self fulfillment.  A day that will go down into the history books as one of those days you won’t soon, if ever, forget.  Thanks boyz.
_________________________

Run Time: 3:47 (with the stops).
Run Time without the stops 3:43
Heart rate average 139
Pace: 8:27
Calories burned on run: 1512
_________________________

Bike Time: 1:47 minutes
Miles: 33.54
Pace: 18.7
Heart rate: 0 (since I forgot my monitor!  J)
Day Rating: 10

Nookachamps?  Where in the heck is Nookachamps and why would we drive out there to push ourselves beyond comfort for some 90+ minutes just for the fun of it on a Saturday when most people are relaxing on the couch or going to the mall?

I now know that the Nookachamps race is approximately 99.89 miles North of Bonney Lake in Mount Vernon. So, why would we want to do this to ourselves??? Because we are all a little crazy!  Seriously…I think us runner/triathlete types all have a few screws loose but that’s what makes us keep putting those tights on, buying expensive running shoes, pinning on numbers so we can earn a ribbon that hangs on the wall, grab little cups of water to gag on as we sprint by, and eat those gloppy, goopy goos!  I also wonder why the women’s bathroom line is ALWAYS twice as long as the men’s…..

On board for the fun were Phil, Steve, Dean, Earl, and Tony.  Phil and I had the pleasure of driving up together and mixing classic rock with current top hits.  Plus, we have talking competitions and I think Phil always ends up getting more words in than I do (go figure)!

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for the run.  I was prepared to get soaked but was blessed with a clear, blue, sun filled Northwest kind of day.  The biggest question was what to wear!  Long sleeves, short sleeve, tank, capris, shorts, gloves, no gloves, warm hat or regular.  Phil and I must have gone back and forth 10 times until we figured out we better get to that start line or they were going to leave without us and our fashion dilemmas!
 
We quickly worked our way up toward the front of the line with Dean, Tony, and Steve.   I told Steve he’d better chase me down but the tables turned on me.  I was chasing him down!  The first mile was tough to gain speed.  We had to run on the sidewalks to get around the other 700 or so people; that included 5K and 10K mixed in with the half marathoners.  I was happy to see my first 6 miles all less than 7 minute pace.  Then the hills started to hit and the combination of perhaps not tapering and a bit of overtraining (raced Bridal Trails week before) started talking to me.  I was still able to hold a good pace but had a few 7 minute-and-change miles in there.  According to the Garmin my average came out as 6:56 pace.  Not bad and feel pretty good about that.  Not a PR for me but good enough.  Time: 1:31:45

In the end Steve finished the run a minute ahead of me and with a PR for his half marathon time.  Great job Steve!!!!  It’s about time you came back to beat me again!
Phil had a great race with a time of 1:37:17. I didn’t realize until after the run that this was his inaugural half marathon!!!   Good for you training partner and partner in crime!!

After the race we stuffed our faces with animal crackers, pieces of bagels, pretzels, bananas, and oranges.  Funny how yummy those things look and taste after a hard run!

I discovered that being in my age group for this race sucked!  I was the 4th woman overall but ended up in 3rd place in my age group.  Oh well.  I still got a lovely ribbon to add to my collection and I am happy to be running against such talented women (well, kind of… J Let’s be fairly honest now)! Competition and self-satisfaction…that’s what makes me keep working hard and pushing myself to get stronger and faster. Ahhh, the blood of a competitive athlete.  Wouldn’t change it for the world.  Fun Rating: The entire day~10.  The race itself~8.
Run Along Now…

How many Lady Gaga songs does it take to run two-five mile loops at Bridal Trails?  Well the answer for me is 19!!  Question #2: Is it insane to bike 40 miles before racing at 3:00 PM?  Wait, don’t answer that.  Question #3: How predictable am I when I say, I’m just going to run easy with the group and focus on low heart rate.  Well, very predictable according to my husband Brady.  As soon as I heard the words GO and Lady Gaga started singing to me I COULDN’T RESIST!  I gave Brady the look as if to say, “You coming or what?!”  I think that’s when he rolled his eyes and I didn’t see him again.

Before I knew it I was working on my agility and core strength (thanks to CrossFit Lake Tapps), jumping side to side over mud, logs, roots, horse crap, and the runners that started five minutes ahead of me for the five miler!  HA!

One thing I know for sure was my heart rate definitely did not stay within my limits.  In fact, the Quicksilver guy that I paced on the entire second loop (only person I really ever saw) told me after the run that I kept him going because he kept hearing my Garmin go off and was afraid I was going to pass him! I guess that’s what happens when you exceed your planned heart rate by 20+ beats!

So, about now you are wondering what I actually ran this trail run in aren’t you?  Time: 1:18:05, Average Pace: 8.17. I slowed down by about 2 minutes for the last loop.  Most likely a combination of general fatigue, perhaps bike ride, the darkness that settled in, and more and more mud!!

Along for the fun were Michael, Patty, and Brady.  They all had a blast and it wouldn’t have been the same without traveling with them to the event.  Of course Eric was there in his awesome flame shorts.  Looking good Eric!  He got me by ten minutes but next year, Eric, I expect a little more out of you (and maybe a new pair of shorts)!
To close this adventure I want to send a little thank-you to my body for allowing me to push it so hard and…to Lady Gaga who keeps pushing me and allows me to enjoy the ride just a little bit more, however muddy it may be.

FUN FACTOR RATING: 9.0

The venue is at Ft Steilacoom Park and is brought to you by Kevin Reinensmeyer creating: Who's the Hardest? Off Road Duathlon?

The temp is 25 degrees with snow flurries. Time since last mountain bike ride: 2 years. KBA participants: me (Chris Blair) in solo division and co-ed couple team Karen and Adam Leahy.
 
All other team members needed their heart rates under 131 BPM that day. Well, It's a good thing they did something else because I averaged 170 for the 7.6-mile trail run and 160 for the 15.1-mile Mt. bike ride. Wow, are you kidding me? 9.1MPH average on the bike!! What gives?  Anyway, the gun goes off and I figure go pretty much all out because that's what I do and besides it's only a leisure 50 minute Mt. bike after all! Well I only lost one minute on the second lap. Not bad... now let's ROCK the bike!!

Thirteen minutes into the course I took a wrong turn and backtracked until I ran into some more confused soles! There we all sat while others joined until finally someone came and we saw the correct way. I promptly jumped on his wheel.   My mountain bike skills were making me nervous with the people behind me and I had to dismount twice for two log crossings.  I found myself behind most of that pack! Oh well, there went my lead cushion all in the first of four laps!!  

As for the results.... no idea since other participants went off coursers and some people only doing 3 laps, etc. One thing I do know is that it was not a 50-minute ride, more like double that. Fun factor was 8.9.  Also know that this Tri Geek was shown a thing or two from these hardcore adventure race mountain biker endurance fanatics. As for Karen and Adam's team competition, I believe they won!

P: The fun actually started Saturday night with a combo birthday and carbo-load party/event/shindig at Heidi’s. Everybody was there along with 2 guests, Tony P and Lori G who made our website. As usual, there was more bragging and taunting going on than there should have been, but that is what we seem to do when we get together.

H: K Girl (Karen) shows up in my driveway at 5:35 AM to head on over to Knucklehead’s (Phil) house where we meet up with the Big Show (David).   We all pile in the super warm cozy car of Big Show and listen to crazy fun music (well, at least David and I think so)!  We are on our way to the Emerald City!

P: We piled into Spooner’s bus and down to Seattle we go. I found out that Lady GaGa is not rap. Hm. What is it then?

We got down to Seattle and as expected the place was a zoo. We looked for Chris Blair, who was running the half, but chances of finding him in among a million people would be worse than finding a needle in a hay stack. Plus, he probably was either running the course or studying it with a map, compass and magnifying glass anyway.

8:15…race starts. Spooner takes off. Karen, Heidi and I stick together for the first 5 miles, accompanied by Pigtails from time to time. Karen was a huge asset because she pointed out we were way over our established pace plan and got us (me) to calm down.

The bad news: My brand new Garmin 310 got brushed by someone in the mile 4 aid station and it hit the ground right on the corner. The glass was shattered and it had no pulse.

The good news: My best races over the summer were with no watch or heart rate monitor. So, I thanked the person who knocked it off and told them it was a sign from God not to use it today. (Sniff. Sniff). So… I stuffed the watch in my pocket and carried on.

H: I seriously don’t know what happened between mile 8ish to mile 19.  I think time just melted away.  All I know is that when Knucklehead and I get together we have a hard time shutting up!  Funny thing is that no one else was really talking around us…I almost felt guilty having the energy to run well and “yak” at the same time.  I can’t even begin to tell you what the conversations were about but I do know that Knucklehead tries to wait patiently for me to be quiet so he can get the next word in!

P: At the half the sign said 1:50. OUCH. For me that was the worst half I have ever ran. Wonder what my heart rate was. Occasionally I would ask Heidi, because hers is usually just a bit higher than mine. Hers was OK and I could still talk so I made the assumption things must have been OK.

H: Since Phil and I hold a very consistent pace we have many people ask if they can pace off of us.  Of course we say “Sure! but you have to tell us a story!”  They usually hang on for a few miles and then disappear somewhere.  Well that’s exactly what happened to one very nice man.  Phil and I decided to put on our IPODs about mile 19.  Sure enough, both of us took off like crazies! 

P: I took the cue and put my IPOD on too. I figured I would do the Spooner thing and put it on brain numbing loud. Plus, I deleted the waltz and country tunes I had on there. The stuff I did have on was rocking beating your brains out good stuff!

We all had the pleasure of seeing Eric Sach on one of the hills. I told him “I AM ON FIRE!” I guess you don’t need to say it that loud just because the IPOD is blaring does not mean others can hear it. “Why, is it your legs? Your lungs? You gonna blow up.” “No, I am going fast and this is really cool!” A few small words of advise and I continued hammering up those hills.

H: My last 7 miles: Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and many, many others kept me company as I conquered the most difficult part of the marathon.  I truly enjoyed the challenge and knew I could basically run as fast as my little legs would carry me and I would finish well.  That is exactly what I did (positive thoughts always work for me)!  I kept between 6:50 and 8:00 minute mile pace.  Running through the stadium is the absolute best!  It’s like the icing the cake (even though I take my icing off the cake and really don’t like cake at all)!!  In the sea of unfamiliar screaming faces Brady, Nikko (nephew) and daughter Sierra cheered me on as I completed my 20th marathon with a time of 3:33. 

P: The last 7 miles only one person passed me, a snotty nose 20 year old kid, but he doesn’t count.

Until the end…the final hill. Who chases me down? Pigtails! I say to myself “Self…you can get her…stay on her heels!” My heart said, “Nice try Self. Maybe next time…

Finishing time: 3:38. Almost 5 minutes faster than my previous best for this race. Also my first negative split in a marathon.

Mexican Food for lunch on the way home.

Fun rating: 9.0. I had to deduct half a point for my watch, and another half because I didn’t get the ever so elusive PR…

Note: I love REI. I had no receipt, but I took the watch in, they looked at it and saw the broken band and gave me a new one no questions asked!

H & P:
~Our K Girl had a wonderful run and felt great!  She finished with a 3:43:46.

~Big Show came in with a 3:30:05.  He says it wasn’t his best day but we all have those now and then.  We are hoping he writes the BIG SHOW race report so we can all enjoy his witty sense of humor.

~Chris finished his half in 1:33:56. Not bad for a guy carrying a framed, 8.5 x 11 course map.

~The famous Lori who is KBAs very own behind the scenes website guru ran a 4:24:36 with a beautiful smile on her face. 

~The man behind the camera deserves a standing ovation.  Adam Leahy
(K Girl’s hubby) pops up in unknown places on race courses clicking away with his magic touch.  Thank you Adam!  You are simply amazing.

In attendance: Heidi Hubler, Karen Leahy, David Spooner and Phil Kriss

Once again, I was minding my own business and I got my arm twisted by Heidi and Karen to run Tri Cites marathon 2 weeks after Portland. That didn’t sound too smart to me but then again, I do have a number I pay money for a club I am in that has an insane asylum.

Heidi had all the details worked out. “We get to get up at 3 AM. If you drive, I can sleep till Ellensburg where we stop for coffee. Karen will already have our race packets, so all we have to do is get out of the car and run really fast for 26.2 miles. Then we can get back in the car and drive home and still be home by 5! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

In fact, it didn’t sound that great. Looking for a potential way out, I e-mailed Spooner hoping to have him say “NO. Not interested because that is a stupid idea” or something like that. Then I could maybe drum up some excuse and blame him for it. No. He quickly said yes and volunteered to drive.

Race Day. Get up at 3. Get to Heidi’s where she is bouncing around like the energizer bunny. Spooner had the rap on in his car. (I hate that stuff) It was freezing cold. So far this is not sounding like much fun.

Drive to Richland. Meet Karen.  Get stuff. Walk around for 30 minutes. Freeze my butt off. Get to the starting line. Watch Spooner and Heidi run fast.

I figured I would press the pace a little harder than I did at Portland. Maybe (after 25 prior starts) this would be my lucky day! Maybe this is the day I would cap off a PR! So, I set a steady 7:50 pace and I was doing fine.

Shortly before what I thought was the turn around on the out and back course, I saw Spooner and Heidi. I was right on their heels. Knowing they were going for a 3:20, I thought this was my lucky day!

In retrospect, I did not do what Chris Blair always does…study the course. I didn’t watch my watch or the mile markers as close as I should have. (I was busy yakking with Steve from Alaska who needed a 3:30 to get to Boston. I figured I was the guy to pace him there!) So, at a turn around at 12 miles, I thought I was at 13.1! Me being the big shot I am, looked at the 1:30 on my watch and said to myself “Self! This is your lucky day! You are way ahead of schedule and feeling great! You may as well put the hammer down and get the new PR you have been chasing down for the last 3 years!”

As I got to the bridge where I thought I was going to turn and run back, a very nice local directed me to run past the bridge. Huh? What? Oh…run to that bridge?…Oops…Then I noticed a mile marker after I had burned up the pace for 2 miles that said “14” Oops.

Note to self “Dumb ass”

I was still feeling pretty good through mile 20, but I knew I made a mistake. I tried my best to hang on for a sub 3:30, but not that day. I ran out of gas and slowed the last few miles. When I was having another near death feeling I decided not to kill myself but live to run a PR on another day.

Half a mile before the end I had the opportunity to see Gunshow the energizer bunny bounding around like she just won the lottery! I had the opportunity to soak up some of her bubbling enthusiasm and finish the race..I mean run.

The results

Gunshow 3:15 and a new PR
Big Show 3:23. Did well
Me 3:34 (Liars I say. Thieving buzzards. My watch said 3:32)
Karen 3:41

Over all it was a great day. Spooner drove us home via White Pass. The leaves were in full bloom and the drive was spectacular. We stopped at Packwood and did the carbo-load of pizza.

The best news is I had a great day with my friends! Rating of day 9.0

Next up: Seattle 11/29. New PR?

For me the idea of racing the GC was Chris Blair’s. I think he spends too much time in front of his computer surfing the net to find the next series of races when he is up working all night. I don’t know how many times I heard about it and all the reasons to do it.

Meanwhile, Heidi and Brady found out we were considering it. They were already signed up! Seemed like one of those weird karma things.

Didn’t take much to twist Eric’s arm into going either. He had a prior commitment to do the Black Diamond half iron. Turns out it was the following weekend, so he could do both. (My kinda guy).

Next thing I took care of business with USAT and we became an official team, which allowed us to compete as a team and save even more money on entry fees. Is there a better reason?

After some discussion we all piled into Chris’ big Ford truck with 6 bodies and all our gear on top, inside and on the back. The Clampits would be proud!

On the way into town, we decided to drive the first half of the bike course. Chris got all excited when he saw the rolling hills heading south into a head wind. “Dots” he said’ that’s what I am gonna do..Make you all dots in my rear view mirror”. I taunted him by encouraging him to once again do the foolish thing of hanging it all out there on the bike, especially the first half, so I could kick his butt around on the run.

We got up Friday night, picked up our race packets and headed out for what is becoming the traditional carbo load food of choice…Mexican food. I noticed a guy sitting in a booth alone in the corner (I hate it when that is me and everybody else is having fun with their pals). He looked like a tri geek, so invited him to eat with us. He did and we found out he was one of the aid stations on the run. Scott expressed a lot of enthusiasm for us as triathletes coming to his town. We all quickly found out we were very welcome in the community.

Not to mention he tipped us off to eating at Flow’s, the local greasy spoon for breakfast the next morning. Heidi, Steve, Brady and I stumbled in there and were accosted by more locals who were the first aid station on the bike!

Race day:

Perfect weather conditions. Cool. Calm water. Good forecast. Well marked swim course with one of those nifty yellow under water ropes to follow so you don’t have to sight. Everybody had a good swim. First out of the water was Chris, followed by Eric, Heidi, me, then Brady and Steve.

The Ride:

It was a big 56 mile loop from the middle of nowhere to the middle of the center of nowhere. The ride started with a 1700 foot climb over 4 miles right out of the water. But, the climb was not as bad as it sounded even though it included some very mentally intimidating switch backs. The first aid station was fun as it was manned by the people we met at breakfast. They love us up there!

The ride was hilly on chip seal. I hate that stuff. It was mostly uphill until the last 8 miles which is about a 4000 foot decent. The speed limit was 35. My bike hit 54. It makes going around corners really interesting. Everybody hit high speeds.

At the end of the ride, Chris was first, but I was not far behind. Eric was about 10 minutes behind me followed by Heidi, then Brady and Steve.

The Run:

2 loops out and back. Some mild hills. I was stroking right along when I got passed by Eric about 5 miles into the run. That boy knows how to run! I saw Chris and he looked like he was gonna die. Once again, he played his trump card on the ride and was coming up a little short on the run….

I love those out and backs. The red shirts Eric scored for us was perfect because we could spot our team mates from a mile away.

I was concern that Heidi was going to pass me on the run since she is a running machine. Didn’t happen. I did get passed by a guy in my age group who had done his homework. In the last mile, at the top of a hill, he passed me and said “Nice try Phil” and dusted me. That cost me first in my age. OUCH! Once again, my run needs work.

The Results:

I forgot the times. Does it matter?

Heidi…first in age.
Eric and Phil..second in age.
Chris 3rd in age.

As a team, they gave us a check for 4th. But, there were some changes to the order and disqualifications. If I did my math right, we tied for second.

Dottie?  He was not too happy with his day. He expected a masters placement at least and maybe part of the overall. Nope. When we left the race he was not even 3rd in his age division. Eric had chased him down on the run making him the dot! I probably did the wrong thing by taunting him further for the next several weeks by calling him “Dottie”. But, he got over it and the name stuck.

Next year? You bet! We have 5 free entry’s as part of the prize for winning (plus $250). We will have a stronger team. I doubt we will beat the pros, but they should be in their own division anyway. Other than them, I expect first place!

The idea of a competitive racing team was the brain child of Phil Kriss and Eric Sach. The idea was mostly born on the Wednesday Runs in Maple Valley. Eric and Phil had similar ideas of founding their own teams. Somehow sometime they both decided to jump in it together.

Chris Blair embraced the idea of a competitive race team from the beginning. He is very accomplished as a triathlete and deserves recognition and a way to climb the ranks of recognition.

Heidi  Hubler has been very willing to do a lot of the leg work to get the team off the ground. There are not better or more reliable secretarys than her.

Eric has been the “Radar” (as in M.A.S.H.) to get the stuff we need right when we need it.

Over the summer of racing we have racked up an impressive list of performances. From the season opening Rainier Duathlon to the season concluding Grand Columbian Half Ironman, we have all at least placed on the podium at every race we entered. In some cases everybody on the team swept first place.

Here are some highlights:

Heidi “Gunshow” Hubler should get a medal for most courageous as she overcomes her fear of going downhill fast to hanging right with the boys as they hit top speed. Heidi has been the most impressive (in my opinion) with setting a new women’s course record in the Chelan Man tri in July in hot hilly windy conditions. She turned in an impressive 5:10. She also set a new marathon PR with 3:14 at Tri-Cities

Chris “Dottie” Blair also had a great year. He placed 7th at the Seafair sprint. He is not too happy about his performance at the Desert Half or the Grand Columbian, but nobody tries harder than Chris. His 4:48 at the Desert Half I thought was impressive because the heat (105), elevation gain up Richter Pass, and the wind. Did you know AA sports has him ranked as the number one Master? If you don’t, just talk to Chris about it and he will tell you!

Eric had a great first half ironman with a 2nd in age win! He had a solid swim and bike but kicked butt on the run to everybody’s envy. Eric in my opinion had the second best performance with a 2nd in age at the Grand Columbian and 8th over all at the Whiskey Dick. His 1:35 run earned the respect of many. His 20 MPH bike average was also impressive for someone who does not ride his bike much.

David Spooner did his first half ironman, duathlon and Olympic tri all in 2 months. He proved he is all heart. At the Desert Half Canadian Long Course championship, he competed while sick in hot windy conditions on a bike that felt like it was gonna blow up when it goes over 40. I witnessed him puke a steady stream of green from his 6’4” head to a garbage can. Still he signed up for his first Ironman in June 2010.

Jake Jones did his first triathlon, a sprint, and he was 2nd overall!

Karen Leahy also had a great season. She at least placed in most all the races she was in. As usual, she is the first woman out of the water.

And Patty McKerney! It took her years of persistent hard work to make it to Kona. She did this year with a 3rd in her age at Ironman Canada. Congratulations again!

We don’t know Mike or Mike yet, but it looks like they have great potential and we are happy to have them on our team.

Also big news is the launching of our website. Lori did a fantastic job getting it set up. She herself is half ironperson. And now like it or not, she is an honorary member of the team.

What’s next?

Next year with better preparation, training and equipment we should do even better. Hopefully we will find more sponsors to help out with the expense of equipment and racing. Probably, as we all perform well, we will get national recognition by USAT and sponsors.

What we are wanting is to have a competitive team of age group athletes in all divisions. How cool would it be to sweep every age category in both sexes in a major race?