Miami 70.3 Race Report - Oct. 27

With 2 half iron distance races this year under my belt and a decent season of training, I approached this race with more of an aggressive mentality rather than the “let’s hope I finish this thing without dying” thought process.  Bay swim, flat bike, mostly flat run.  Even though I knew I would need a great race to hi it, my goal was to break 5 hours (which I definitely think is realistic). 

Funny enough, the week before the race I ended up with a chest cold that thankfully was almost gone by race date.  I flew down to Miami on Thursday where Isabel picked me up in Ft. Lauderdale.  That evening while Isa was in class, I got in an easy 3 mile run…just as I had expected, hot and humid.   Friday I got a mini tour of Miami, we went for ~30mi bike ride, and then had an awesome time joining the Critical Mass ride.  If you’ve never been part of a Critical Mass ride which is held in multiple cities to raise cycling awareness, its super fun and I highly recommend it!

We started Saturday morning off with some oatmeal, coffee, and a light 2 mile run.  That afternoon we did packet pick-up which was held at the site of transition, during which we each polished off a bottle of Pedialite.  Pick up tent was pretty hidden within all of the vendor tents but eventually we found it.  The race T’s were cool, but other than that nothing crazy.  Everyone at the race (athletes and race directors) seemed to know Isa – probably since she is an amazing athlete and won San Juan 70.3 earlier this year among other events!  We dropped our bikes at our designated racks and headed home.  For dinner I had a small piece of salmon with a serving of rice and beans and Isa and I split another bottle of Pedialite.  Then we packed and lights out by 9:30pm!

 



Watching the sun rise w/ Isa and Lora

Race morning I woke up around 4:45am and consumed a breakfast of plain oatmeal and a single cup of coffee.  We were out the door by 5:15.  On the way to the race, I had some water and an English muffin with Nutella.  We arrived around 6 and I set up my station – taped 2 packs of Clif Shot blocks to my bike, shoes clipped in and fastened with rubber bands, and everything else I needed set out in an orderly fashion.  For my bike bottles this race I chose to skip the Perpetuem since I was trying to rule out what was causing my GI distress during the later portion of the run.  Instead I went with one of plain water and a second with a scoop of Gatorade mix, a GU electrolyte tab, and water (usually I use Roctane but I forgot to pack it).  Last, we hit the portas and hung out watching the sun rise over the water.

The 1^st swim wave for Men’s pros went off at 7:25am.  Thankfully, our age group was wave 4 which started at 7:35.  Much better than at Timberman!  I felt good going out at the start but it was pretty tight and within the 1^st 5 minutes us middle of the packers were all fighting to make a right turn around the 1^st buoy.  By 7 minutes in I was already catching groups of the Wave 3 swimmers (mostly older women ~45ish group if I remember correctly).  About halfway through the swim we hit a large patch (maybe 100m or so) of thick sea grass.  Some of the women from the group in front of us almost were panicking and pulled up in the water.  There were a few times that I had trouble picking my arms up during the recovery portion of the stroke or I couldn’t kick or turn to breathe because of how heavy these “grass mats” were.  The only other portion of the swim that I struggled with was the final stretch toward the swim exit where I was being pushed laterally toward shore, but otherwise felt decent.  I rounded the swim out at 37:19, not my fastest this year, but all things considered I wasn’t upset when I checked my watch on the way to transition.

 

Coming into T2

I had no problems with T1 – spotted my bike easily and everything was set up how I had left it this morning.  Mounted my bike easily and I was on my way.  During 1^st 5 miles of the bike we were making our way out of the city and had a few small inclines but nothing to write home about.  The rest of the bike was a pretty boring single shot out and back in the left lane of Highway 27.  As compared to Timberman, due to our start wave it was mostly a solo ride.  On the way out with a headwind, I passed quite a few females from my wave and the one prior and by the halfway turnaround was being caught by males from the start wave that had followed mine.  About 40 miles into the ride, a tight pack of about 15 (males and 1 female) athletes drafting caught and surrounded me.  With them came a van with officials and it was nice to see that they were calling a lot of the athletes out in the pack and awarding penalties.  Thankfully, the pack had moved past me within about 2 minutes.  Once we returned back into the city our wonderful tailwind was gone and we had to grind out the last 5 miles. Some turns and intersections were not well marked off (Isa actually took a wrong turn and had to turn around at one point).  I closed out the bike in 2:38:46 (21.16mph) and as I was pulling my feet out of my shoes while coming into T2, my left hamstring cramped up and that was enough to make me re-think how I had pushed my bike pace.

T2 went smoothly as well.  Bike racked, hat, race belt, socks and shoes on, 3 GU’s in pocket and I hit the run.  I opened the run up around 7:30 and was feeling pretty good, but 10 minutes in I was brought to a standstill as that dang left hamstring was cramping something fierce.  After about 90 seconds of stretching and minimal walking I reached the point that I could kind of jog without a full on cramp.  I took my 1^st GU and a 2^nd supplied by the race before the end of the 2^nd mile.  By the 3^rd mile I had was back to the fastest run pace that I could tolerate and felt much better as I packed my top and shorts with the loose ice being handed out by the volunteers.  Seriously the ice was my saving grace as the 84º heat and humidity beat down on us as we crossed a large open bridge (over and back).   I completed the rest of the 1^st run loop with no major problems, took my 2^nd GU, and was definitely thinking “why in the world do I sign up for these things?” The 2^nd loop felt just as bad as the one before and I ate my last GU around mile 8.  By now I was drinking both water and Gatorade and walking a few steps at each aid stop.  The final 2.5 miles were the worst.  I knew I had less than 20 minutes to go and my body was threatening with cramping with every few strides.  My run finished up at a 1:44:47 (7:59 pace) with some light sunburn.   One big thing to mention...NO GI DISTRESS!  Yes!  On the day I went 5:04:52 which is a big PR for me, good for 7th in AG.  Looks like 5 hours will have to remain my goal for 2014!

So happy to be done!

Isa won our AG with a 4:47:23 and her friend Lora went second with a 4:51:13. I also had a chance to catch up with Monica Sanchez who claimed 2^nd in her AG with a 5:01:25. All 3 claimed their spots for Canada in Sept 2014!  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the race finish hanging out, recovering, and taking in a few adult beverages. 

We may or may not have beers in our back pockets...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the whole I had a lot of fun in Miami.  The race wasn’t anything crazy or picturesque, but if you are looking for flat and hot (when the northeast is posting low 50’s) then it’s a good choice as a weekend getaway!!



Made some new friends (Frank, Isa, & Roy)


 

 

 

No one ever includes the embarassing pics....well they caught me.

Nike Women's Marathon San Francisco 2013

From the beginning registration steps, this race was HANDS DOWN, awesome!

By registering for this race, they created a special app for smartphones just for you, if you don’t have a smartphone; you were able to set up a web page version on your computer. The app had the course map, special Nike deals, training plan, training blog, picture blog, personal information, and a place to set and achieve personal goals throughout your training!

As we got closer to race date, you realize how much of an “event” this actually is. They begin to release special edition apparel (SHOES!) that are marathon specific with the race “color,” always “Tiffany blue” because Tiffany is a sponsor of the race.

Three days before the race date, they host an “expo-tique” in the center of Union Square. Here you can pick up your packet, view a virtual race map (live pictures from points on the course), instar-gram live stream of other athletes in the area,  whole foods samples, Hair & make-up stylists, and more samples from the sponsors. Across the street, you will find the Nike store of S.F. 7 floors of Race specific apparel! Awesome!

Race day: I woke up at 5 AM for a 6:30 Race Start, Lucky for me my hotel was at the starting line, all I had to do was walk outside and into my corral. For breakfast I ate an Almond Butter Perfect Foods bar (I have these often, gluten free and all real foods mashed into the best bar ever!) I didn’t drink much water – my hydration was taken care of the day before! To warm up, I used a foam roller  to warm up my legs without getting too tired! As I head down to the start area, I am bundled up head to toe. At the start line, I ate some Honey Stinger energy gels and drank a very little Lemon-Lime EFS & water mixture. Before race start, I took off my extra clothing and was ready to begin!

As the fireworks! Went off, everyone took off I was 15 seconds behind the gun time.  As we took off, I looked at my watch and realized adrenaline had taken me too fast, so I slowed down my pace and began to get into a rhythm. My fiancé, Ricky met me at the 5K mark which was great because I had to make some adjustments. About mile 5.5, I ran down the road, and had to look up “ut-oh, here we go!” Up the first hill, wasn’t too bad especially because what goes up, comes down! Between miles 5 and 9 there were rolling climbs. I took a Cliff Energy Gel @ mile 7.5. The sponsors made running up the hills feel like nothing with all the distractions, keeping your attention elsewhere.

Mile 11 the course split and the half-marathoners ran to the finish, while the marathoners ran around Golden Gate Park and off to the Ocean Road for the second half of the race. I took another Cliff Energy Gel at mile 14. Mile 20 was inspirational there was a family greeting you at the turn around and a HUGE screen zooming in on each athlete. Took another cliff energy gel at mile 21 and just wanted the finish line to come!

My fiancé met up with me again at mile 22.5 and ran with me to the finish, which was perfect because he helped me keep my composure to finish strong!

The greatest part about this race is the finish line, where you meet men in tuxedos with tiffany boxes for YOU on a SILVER platter. Tiffany’s makes race specific finisher necklaces for each athlete! Next, you receive your finisher T-Shirt!  Whole Foods being a sponsor was great at the finish line, they had a nice big bag of all sorts of food and drinks for you!

San Francisco isn’t known for their great weather, it was pretty foggy the whole race, especially on the ocean road because the water is so cold. At the finish, my body went into temperature shock, but they were there with insulation blankets to keep your body heat in!

Overall, this was a great race- they really know how to accommodate LOTS of people. There were 30,000 athletes, 25,000 were half-marathoners & 5,000 did the full marathon! I finished with at time of 3:38.15 and that gave me 177 Place (TOP 4%!)

I would definitely do it again! Nike Women’s Marathon hosts another race in DC in the spring! (unfortunately I cannot run because I am pacing the NJ Half marathon)

Timberman 70.3 Race Report - Aug 18

Sorry guys, I know 2 months late!

My bike rack -Can you see the bike in/out sign? ...me neither.

I arrived in Ashland NH where I would be staying for the weekend with my parents late Friday night.  While it was nice to see them, immediately upon arriving I was met with non-stop complaints about the place we were staying in…they thought it smelled like mold but it was fine, I mean really, we were in the woods.  Guess who got to pack up the car to move to a different building .1 mile away?  Yep.  They also decided to do athlete packet-pickup/check in with me on Saturday, the day before the race.   Race site was about 50 minutes to an hour away from the condo we were staying in.  Due to road closure, we drove around a bit extra to get to Gunstock Mountain Resort for packet pickup but everything after that went pretty smoothly.  Transition area/bike drop off was super busy.  I found my spot wayyyy in the back far from bike in/bike out.  On the positive, I had an easy place to spot at the end of a rack.  It was also a toss-up for me about a full wetsuit or sleeveless, but after feeling the lake temp night before, full suit was definitely an appropriate choice.  On our way home we went to mass and picked up what we would make for dinner:  chicken and rice. 
 That night I packed everything I would need in my car and prepped my bike bottles – one bottle with a scoop of unflavored perpetuem and Gu Roctane Grape Flavor mixed with water and a second with just water.  I was in bed by about 9:45pm with an alarm set for 3:47am (yes, I’m the weirdo who sets my alarm to end in only a 3 or 7…I swear I’m not OCD).

Race morning went well since everything was set up the night before.  Coffee was brewing as I hit the kitchen.  I had a single cup with a scrambled egg, a slice of toast, and two scoops of plain oatmeal.  Shortly after 4am I grabbed my bike bottles, a Gatorade, and a container with an English Muffin with Nutella spread and hit the road.

While they warned that race site parking would be full by 5am, I showed up around 5:15 and there was plenty of parking.  Before I left my car I put down the rest of my coffee and the English Muffin and made my way to transition.  Security was tight race morning and they checked numbers on everything.  When I got to my bike, I used electrical tape to attach two Clif Shot Blocks to the frame, clipped in and rubber banded my bike shoes on the bike, and set out everything else I would need for the race…except I left my bottles in the car.  Luckily, the swim entrance was right behind my bike and my car was just a short walk through the woods.  On the way back, there was an awesome sunrise over the lake.  Made me glad that I forgot my bottles after all….that and the fact that I found a bunch of unused, lineless Porta Johns!  Just after 6 I had checked and double checked that I had everything where I wanted.  Transition area closed at 6:45am and from there on it was just a waiting game.  The first swim wave of Male Pros went off at 7am and then I still had a bunch of time to kill until my Wave 18 start at 8:01am – thankfully during which I didn’t decide to get in the water until 10 minutes before my start.   Everyone else that had jumped in to warm up earlier looked like they were freezing.

The lake swim was awesome - clean and clear.  The choice of a full suit was perfect as well.  (Thanks again for letting me borrow it Mo, so far I’ve had some of my best swims in your suit!)  One thing that stinks about starting in such a late wave is that you end up catching so many racers from the heats in front of you.  By no means am I a fast swimmer, but within 10 minutes I was having to maneuver over and around a lot other racers.  For the most part I felt like I was really moving during the swim with the exception of the final stretch to the beach.  I swear I was looking at the same rock below my fact for what seemed like 30 seconds before I looked up around me and saw a ton of other people in the same boat who seemed to be swimming for their lives yet going nowhere.  

Eventually I hit shore with my fastest swim at this distance: 33:07. As I was running to transition, I totally forgot that Ironman races had wetsuit strippers!!! Oh the convenience, these guys are awesome!  Many shorter races I will actually opt out of wearing a wetsuit if I don’t have to just because I struggle longer getting the dang thing off than I actually save time in the water.  But really, I felt so spoiled.  It was great!   I got to my bike fairly quickly, strapped on my helmet and sunglasses, and was headed to the bike out. 

I mounted pretty smoothly with my shoes clipped onto my bike and was ready to ride.  The 1^st 12 miles of the bike were pretty brutal…3 big hills, the 3^rd of which was not enjoyable by any means.  I just took my time and span up them, not trying to burn myself for the remainder of the race – of which there was still a lot left.  While climbing the 3^rd hill, the lead male ripped down the other side in his aeros.  Seriously, holy crap.  It looked like a death wish.  The rest of the 1^st half of the bike was a slight downhill, which we got the privilege of climbing back up, including the backside of those 3 hills on our return trip to transition area. After getting through 12 miles I ate my 1^st Packet of Cliff Shots and was still only taking in my bottle with Perpetuem and Roctane.  By mile 20 I was having sharp stomach pain similar to what I experienced at Woodstock and switched up my nutrition bottle for my water only bottle for the remainder of my ride – needless to say by mile 35,no more stomach pain.   I also passed my parents who were camped out on some business’s front lawn waiting to see me for 5 seconds.  It really is awesome to have friends or family at events, even if you only see them once or twice.  During the second half of the bike on the stretch of hills, there a female in my age group that really was blowing herself up to try and stay with me.  I let her lead the 3^rd hill and then just as we were hitting the top I thought of Joe from the peddler… and dropped her.  He would have been proud.  My bike split was much better than I had hoped for with the course profile - 2:57:58.

I dismounted my bike leaving the shoes clipped in with no problem and hustled back to where my run gear was set up.  T2 was quick.  Socks and shoes on, GU's in my back pocket, and on my way.  On the run I opened the 1^st 6 miles around a 7:50-8ish pace and felt pretty good even though the hills on the run were tough as well. The 1^st Roctane Island Nectar GU went in at mile 1.5 and the second at mile 6.  Ironman had such great (and plentiful) volunteers on their course… same goes for Porta Johns thankfully, since by mile 7 I felt my stomach rumbling and prepping to go for the kill.  At mile 8 I knew I needed an open Porta  ASAP and got very lucky.  I was in and out in less than :45 but during that time I got passed by a female in my age group.  I saw her pass as I exited but didn’t have the legs to stay with her.  By mile 9 I was starting to tank.  The hills on the return portion of the run were brutal during the second go-round.  Up to this point I was only taking in water, but I switched and took a cup of Gatorade at mile 10 and this is the last thing that I consumed prior to finishing.  I gutted out the last 3 miles and finished with a 1:46:54 run.  Slightly slower than I had hoped, but keeping in perspective my bike split, I couldn’t be disappointed in the least.


 My final race time was 5:21:49 (a PR of over 30minutes) which wound up being  12^th in AG.  On my back to transition, I met up with fellow devils Kelly and Michelle, took a few photos, and then headed over to grab a recovery drink and some food.  While I had no interest in the hot food or pasta salad, the fruit and homemade ice cream hit the spot.  I packed up all of my gear and headed out to meet my parents. 

The next day, as you would expect, I was pretty beat up and sore.  My mother had this great idea to hike…oh you know, as recovery.  Needless to say, the trails were a little aggressive on the legs, but we made it through okay.  The weather was perfect for it and waterfalls were freezing but felt great on the lower body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this race and weekend on the whole.  It was definitely challenging, good weather, and I was really happy with my performance.  I would highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a tough course.

A race without Transitions

This past weekend I participated in the Perfect 10 miler all women’s race. This was the inaugural year for what appears to be an annual event and very popular all women’s run.  As an organizer of another all women’s race, Beauty and Beach Run, I am very acutely aware of what goes into producing and delivering a great event for women.  The Perfect 10 miler did not disappoint.

last mile at the Perfect 10 miler

Race Course:  Most of the race was held within Mercer County Park, which is a beautiful park with sports fields, a lake, nice running paths a great place to hold a race.  There are some small rolling hills and it was a little windy this past weekend, but other then that the conditions were perfect over-cast and in the 50s.  The race organizer did a phenomenal job in paying attention to the small details.  Things such as bow tie men at the star line cheering us on, pacers for ladies trying to hit their goals, to the bands and music on the race course, it gives the ladies a great experience. Post race was an excellent party filled with music, beer and wine area with even coffee and hot chocolate!
Race Details: 10 miles is a challenging distance, since you do not want to go out at your crazy hard 5k sprint pace, but you need to go out harder then your haft marathon settle in pace.  My coach, Mel Fink, and I had a plan to start at a 6:50 pace for first 6 miles than drop to a 6:40 pace.  At the start line I was talking to a few of the ladies just seeing where people were at so that I can find someone to pace off of and there were a few of us that were all within that range or so they said.  Of course the gun went off and all bets were off and all of sudden we were charging out of the gate at a blistering 6:10 pace.  I knew I was in trouble as this was not my plan.  As I settle back in, a group of us started to separate and I tried to relax into a slower pace then what my first mile was.  I passed fellow NJ Tri Devil Aaron Levine who pointed out to me “so much for not being motivated” (As I had mention to him that the day before I lacked motivation) as I ran by him I let him in on a little known fact amongst my close friends and family that I am just not right in the head and once the gun goes off – switch clicks in my mind ….game time GO!.  Taking some off season nutrition advice from Brian Shea of PBN, I fueled for this event with a more simple strategy for a hard hour-ish effort.  We triathletes get into our modes of fueling every workout like we are heading out for a 100 mile ride, or to tackle a full marathon.  So through the aide stations I grab some water and had a GU gel at mile 4 and then around mile 7 I was really starting to hurt.  I had an extra gel and just took a little bit off the top, this technically did nothing for me besides appease my head as the fuel really did not get to my muscles until close to mile 9, but my head and legs were happy in that moment. 
In the end I finished 1 spot off the overall podium in 4^th place pretty much the worst place to be, but I exceeded my anticipation in the run with an average of 6:43 pace over 10 miles.  Pushing myself at that pace for 10 miles was a great learning experience and confident boost I needed, for the head case I am, with marathon training starting up soon.  Unfortunately I have not yet figured out how to overcome the 17 seconds which was the difference between 1^st and 2^nd at Vineman70.3 and at Perfect 10 the difference between 3^rd and 4^th (off the podium) was 16 seconds.  I hope to figure out how I can reach inside and find this gap for my next race.

Caitlin Dorgan's, Life Time Fitness Chicago Triathlon Race Report

Hear is the first part of Caitlin Dorgan's race report from the Chicago Triathlon, click on the link to read more of Caitlin's blog.

http://dorgancr.blogspot.com/

Hello Everyone!..Catching up on my blogs, which have all been done for a long time but never published!

Just want to say thank you to all who supported the Girls On The Run charity that I raced for this past weekend, together I beat my goal and raised over 700 dollars! That money will go towards scholarships and running programs to keep young girls in school and running! Whats better?!

Rise and shine 4am Chicago time, 5am our time which was actually lovely! I was in bed the previous night by 9pm their time so I was still on NJ time schedule so it didn't seem so bad. Transition opened at 4:15am. My cousin, Kim let me crash for the weekend and she was 1.5 miles away from the transition and about 3/4 of a mile away from the start of the swim. I walk out the door and there is a small park out front of her house FILLED with rabbits. Bunnies running everywhere it was insane! Cycled over to transition with all my stuff and racked my bike in a decent spot that was easy to find. Racks were all marked too which made everything easy. The sprint race started at 6am, the olympic didn't start until 7:38am so I went back to Kims house to eat and relax for a bit. I then warmed up around the neighborhood and headed over to the swim start.

Race Report: Atlantic City Triathlon: Break all the rules and end up on the Podium

Summary

I raced the Annual AC International Triathlon sprint distance this morning and ended up coming in 3^rd in the Clydesdale division. Wow. Never expected a podium finish in my life, much less on a day where I was unprepared, hung-over and sleep deprived.

Registration

My cousin Marc and I decided to combine the sprint together with a Boys Night Out in AC. After we registered, USAT Paratriathlon named this race as the regional championship for the Mid-Atlantic region. A couple of paratriathletes from the para-tri training camp I went to in the spring were coming, so I volunteered to be a handler and ditch Marc for the race. Unsure if they would need me, I brought my gear just in case.

Pre-Race

One thing for TriDevils to keep in mind is that this race requires bike drop-off and a mandatory race meeting the day before the race. I hate that. It must be part of the deal they made with AC to try to encourage people to stay in town. It didn’t matter for Marc and me since we were already planning to hang out for the night, but it would have really bummed me out if I wanted to drive down that morning.

Marc and I met at the course on Saturday in time for the 1:00 meeting. I knew there was a chance that there would be plenty of volunteers, so I checked in just in case. After a very smooth packet pickup and racking our bikes, we headed down to the boardwalk. It was a perfect afternoon and we found a beach bar with an awesome reggae band, lots of beautiful people, sun, and great conversation. Pre-race hydration started with more than a few beers followed with gin & tonics (mistake #1, repeated many times). We barhopped our way up the boardwalk ending at the Village Whiskey in the race sponsor Revel casino. This place is wonderful. Burgers and bourbon may not be the best pre-race nutrition, but it sure was delicious (mistake #2). A few more bars and beers, then to bed. Think I drank more on Saturday than I did this entire summer combined.

Wake-up call came shortly after we hit the beds (mistake #3). Too early for the hotel’s complimentary breakfast, and AC is basically closed at 5:30 am. Forgot to pack any food, so breakfast consisted of Rocktane energy drink, one GU gel, and about an eighth of yesterday’s soft pretzel that wasn’t so soft anymore (mistake #4).

Loads of folks showed up to help with the paratriathlon – including TriDevil James Armstrong - so the race director gave me the go ahead to race.

Swim

Watching the paratriahletes do the swim was inspiring for all of the able bodied racers standing on land. When each of the 10 racers came out of the water, the crowd went crazy. More than a few eyes were watery.

Swim was in the brackish water of the inlet and temp was 75 degrees. Wore my wetsuit to keep me warm on land while we waited, and for the buoyancy. I haven’t been in the water since Jersey State Tri and wasn’t feeling well trained (mistake #5). Jumped with Marc off the floating entry dock. Time trial format turned out to be great. Even with 1,000 racers, there was little bumping or kicking since everyone was well spaced out. Dropped Marc in the first minute – possibly the first person I’ve ever dropped in a swim. Finished in a blazing (for me) 9:36. 199/474 and 7^th in the 45-49 age group. Something’s wrong with the reporting of the Clydesdale results, but I can see my overall and age group results.

Bike

Typical leisurely transition for me – 3:41 – then off on the bike. Excited to be riding on loaner Profile Design Altair 80 race wheels which made my bike look killer. My pump didn’t seem to work on these wheels so I figured I would have the race mechanic take a look. Mistake #6 – there was no race mechanic. Well, I hoped that the air in there was enough.

After mounting and riding about 200 yards, we had to traverse a sand/gravel path that was slow and extremely nerve wracking. It was well marked, covered with volunteers yelling to go slow, and everyone seemed to make it through okay. Then flat out along the Blackhorse Pike, up the ramp, and onto the AC Expressway. What a great place to race. The shoulder and right hand lane were closed to traffic, and we could really fly. I was passed only once, but must have passed 200 riders. Forgot to fix my race computer, which had been only working intermittently (mistake #7). I could only guess my speed and cadence, but worked hard to keep both up. Back though the sand path and into T-2 in 26:26, averaging 23 miles per hour. 22^nd overall, and first in my age group – a full minute in front of #2. Must have been the race wheels.

Run

Another relaxed transition – finishing my energy drink and a GU, then off to run down a few blocks of city streets to the famed AC boardwalk. I did my usual slow pace and finished the run in 31:36. Should have been going to Brian Shea’s Wednesday night track workouts.

Finish

Crossed the line in 1:14:27. Great crowd cheering us over the finish line, then the best race food I’ve ever had. In addition to the usual bagels and fruit, we had scrambled eggs, bacon, pastries, donuts, and Philly soft pretzels! Almost worth the race entry itself.

The timing company had a tent set up with about a dozen screens where you could search your race results almost immediately. I couldn’t believe that I had finished 3^rd in Clydesdale, so I stuck around for the awards ceremony to take my place on the podium. What a great feeling.

Fat, drunk and stupid may be no way to go through life. But it worked pretty well for me today.

Vineman 70.3 Race Report, July 14, 2013

Training block leading into this race was littered with stumbling blocks including, but not limited too; beach cruiser bike accident, sprained ankle and to top nasty little virus that left me keeled over a toilet violently throwing up the night before a long brick workout.  

This race has always been on the bucket list; years ago I participated in a rain drenching Napa Valley Marathon; Brian (The Other Cullen) and I knew we would be back for another race one day as nothing beats this endless beauty rain or shine.  The race is extremely well run, the expo had good vendors and the efficiency of picking up your packet was easy.  One disappointment was the swag was lacking, the shirt is good and finishing medal is cute, but could use a little more.

     I used Race Day Transport to ship my bike out to CA. The guys could not be nicer and more accommodating.  When I arrived, my back Zipp wheel was completely flat and in "non Maureen fashion" I just asked if they could fix it and calmly watched them futz with my bike to try and get to the bottom of the problem.  All fixed after a little bit a time and I was off.

     

Pre Race: The day before the race one cannot help to get excited about the course and the spectacular views.  Brian and I had a relaxing afternoon sitting out on a terrace tasting different wines looking out over the vineyards (in the shade of course).  We also did some re-con work; and I swam in the Russian river, plus an easy morning run through a vineyard and a quick bike check.  Early dinner and off to bed which is easy when you are still on East Coast time.

Race Morning:  From past experience and speaking with nutrition expert Brian Shea we decided to try an all liquid approach to my pre race fueling:  

Awoke 1 cup coffee

GU Brew with 1 scoop of Carbo Pro

Few gluten free pretzels to snack on.  

2 hours prior to the race I had my Mudd/Carbo Pro and a few generous squirts of EFS Gel Flask Mocha.

Sip GU Brew and Carbo Pro mix up to Race start and snack on some gluten free pretzels.

My swim wave was late, so I did not go off until 7:54. The race started at 6:30am for the pros, each of the waves were 6 minutes apart but since the Russian River is so narrow they are not able to send out huge numbers at anyone time.  FYI it is very chilly in the Russian River Valley in the early morning hours temperature at race start 48 degrees.

Swim:

Once the swim started I went out hard but not blasting it, I felt much better then what I had felt at Eagleman 70.3, 5 weeks earlier.  I did not have the stomach distress as in the previous race, only a little bit of burping.  The Russian River is very shallow and if swimming is not your thing this is the race for you as I swam buy I noticed some people standing along the banks of the river.  The turn around was crazy shallow and I had caught up with the people from the previous wave that were taking advantage of the shallow water and standing up and walking, this was frustrating as I was trying to swim and kept running into people standing.  It was so shallow at one point I myself stood up and tried to find some deeper water, I preceded with a few dolphin kicks to move through.  I was able to get past the shallow area and start swimming again.  When I came out of the swim I took a quick peak at my watch and I saw 31 minutes and change which I was thankful for, still not the swim I wanted (about a minute and half off) but knew that I should be in a decent position.  I  used a few fast transition tricks that fellow NJ Tri Devil Caitlin Dorgan shared (securing my goggles and cap in the arm of my wetsuit) and was off getting on my bike.

Bike: At the pre race meeting they mention a new WTC rule and that you are not allowed to start your bike with shoes clip in (not that clumsy me was planning on this).

As you exit transition you immediately go up a little hill.  I always start out a race in my little chain ring to spin my legs out a little, I was about 2 miles into the bike and figured there might be a few girls in my age group ahead so I decided to start and turn it on, immediately my chain drops, thank goodness this is something I have gotten used to with this bike and I was able to get it on within about 30 seconds or so. The course is very technical with a bunch of sharp turns (one that if you are not careful will land you in a pile of black berry bushes).   Not only was the course technically challenging but there was many small climbs and rolling hills. Which kept things interesting and exciting.  But unfortunately after I had to switch to my small chain ring for a little climb when I tried to go back into my big and hit the down hill hard once again chain drop #2.  At this point I figured who ever might be in front of me I was not going to be able to catch.  I tried to just focus on my race and get my fuel/nutrition in.  I switched to GU Roctane Grape Flavor and 1 scoop of Carbo Pro as my fluids and used a EFS Flask of Berry Flavor. The Russian River valley is cold in the morning, there is a thick fog that stays over the area with temperatures in the 40s during the morning.  But I wanted to make sure I did not fall behind on my fluids as it can get very hot on the run.

Approximately at mile 40 into the race I took a GU Roctane with Caffeine knowing the hardest climb was ahead of me up Chalk Hill (The Alexander Valley Region for my wine people).  I had at this point put two and two together with the chain dropping from my small to the big (I later found out it was a de-railer problem hence why the chain kept dropping off the outside) but was faced with do I try and climb in my big and take the chance of blowing my legs out or hope that the chain would not drop for a third time.  I made up the hill and on the decent I was cruising back down and ever so gently I tried to make the switch to the big and then bam #3 chain drop.  But at this point I am cruising down a hill at a good clip so I had to tuck down and try to keep my legs as steady as possible so that the chain did not get tangled or stuck causing me to have more problems trying to get it back on.  I was beyond frustrated when I had to pull over in an area I should of been accelerating, down a hill and watch the people I had passed going up the hill passing me.  I got the chain on and once again tried to get my head back into the race and this point figured that there was no way I was close to the top few people. At mile 50 or so I saw Brian and the first thing I yelled to him was about the chain, in my head I wanted him to know I was not dogging the bike but having some challenges.  But a VERY hard lesson was learned here as I did not hear him say I was actually in first place (since I was too busy talking).  As I came into transition I notice that there were really not many bikes rack so I figured I might be able to make top 5.

Run: Goal here was to go under 1:40 for the half marathon, my legs felt great as I started the run I can only contribute this to the rolling terrain on the bike. My nutrition was good I got in a lot of fluids on the bike and calories.  Through the first few aide stations I took some gatorade.  My pace was quick the first few miles and I was well under a 7 min mile pace, I was concerned I would not be able to hold it, so I try to settle into a pace around 7 mins/mile.  The race directors were not done with the hills and the run course had those rolling hills thrown at us once again.  The sun had burned off all the clouds and there was no shade on the run course, just rolling hills and miles of vineyards.  At about mile 6 I was passed buy another girl in my age group, who was cruising I had slowed to about a 7:15 mile pace at this point and she passed me at a good clip. I just stayed focus on trying to break the 1:40 half marathon having no clue that I had just loss the race.   Before the race my awesome husband said to me just win me a bottle of wine, so I had hoped I was still in the running for a bottle and they would go 5 deep.  Nutrition on the run after mile 4 I went to water and then coke, there was no ice on course so I just dump the water over my head to cool down and drank a few ounces of coke at each aide station.  At about mile 10 the girl who had passed me was close and at the aide station she heard me call out for coke, turned around saw me and to her credit took off.  This imagine will play in my mind over and over, as I could of had it.  I should not of taken the coke and tried to do a sneak attack from the outside and passed with dominance.   Brian walked up to mile 12 and once again I did not hear him. He said she was 15 seconds in front of me, but I did not hear the part that said 1st place was 15 seconds ahead I knew she was ahead I thought he was just telling me someone in my age group was 15 seconds ahead.

Summary:

Lesson Learned: Shut up Maureen and listen. You can tell Brian everything at the end of the race.   I ended up with 2nd place with a time of 4:50:40

Swim: 31:51

T1: 2:34

Bike: 2:40:54 (3 Chain drops, I am not bitter about this!)

T2: 2:16

Run: 1:33:05

The beauty surrounding me through out the 70.3 miles was amazing.

Everyone should have this race on their bucket list, by far the best venue (Outside of KONA of course I have ever raced at).

After years of racing hard and chasing down my dreams it was good to let the 70.3 champion slot go and reflect on why we do this. 

Here's to racing hard, smiling often, experiencing new adventures and having new motivation; 17 SECONDS!