Spring Into Summer Triathlon 2013

A few months back, I started looking around for a triathlon early in the season to kind of kick things off and ease my way into the season.  I was having a hard time getting motivated to stick with training, and I was hoping that having something on my race calendar would make me actually train a bit.

While it worked a little, I did do a bit of training, I majorly slacked off.  It’s been the story of my life lately.  Life has been stressful, I’ve been eating like a pig, I haven’t been making exercise a priority, and have been an all around couch potato.  I’m not proud of it, but it’s true.  To top it all off, a couple of weeks ago my allergies got the best of me.  They raged on and developed into a lovely little sinus infection that reared its ugly head two days before the triathlon.  Needless to say, I felt like complete shit.  I went to the doctor to get some antibiotics, but I was still congested and coughing when I woke up on race day.  I was rocking my best ‘phone sex operator voice’.  It was masculine, and awesome.

I decided to go ahead and attempt the triathlon even though I wasn’t feeling well and was unprepared.  I had already paid my registration fee and am too much of a cheapskate to let it go to waste.  So, the morning of the race I literally squeezed myself into my triathlon clothes and gathered all of my gear.  We left the kids with some dear friends and drove to Hazelwood’s aquatic center an hour before the race was set to start.  When we arrived, there were no signs of a race.  Nothing was set up – no signs, no transition area, no flags, no tents, nothing.  A guy waved us down and explained that there wasn’t a transition area and that transitions weren’t going to be timed.  He also told us that we would start with swimming, then run, and finish with the bike.  Understandably, I was little confused.  Typically, you swim and then bike and then run so that as you become more tired you are closer to ground – less risk of drowning and falling off your bike.  And, you are timed from start to finish (transitions included and no breaks/rest/downtime between sports).  We drove over by the pool and sat there for about an hour until the ‘triathlon’ was set to start.

A few minutes before the race was set to start, all four of the participants gathered to go over the events.  You read that right … four participants – two guys, two girls.  Can safely say that it was the smallest triathlon that I will probably ever do.  Apparently it’s Hazelwood’s first year of putting a triathlon together.  Everyone has to start somewhere!

After the briefing, we grabbed our swim gear and headed to the pool.  We each took a lane and were assigned a timer at the end of the lane.  We hopped in and they yelled for us to start.  I’ve been swimming for two decades, so it is easy for me.  I know the right form and I have the endurance to swim decent distances.

I took off on the swim and didn’t look back.  Finished 400 yds in seven and a half minutes.  When I got out of the pool, the guys running the race were shocked.  They asked how long I’ve known to swim and were impressed.  I told them to just wait for the run – their expectation of me would greatly fall.

I was the first one out of the pool, and I ended up having about 15 minutes to rest before the run started.  I walked to the car, dried off a bit, and put on my socks and shoes.  I did a little light stretching and praying.  I was dreading the run.  Eventually all the participants were ready, and we lined up to start.  Stopwatches were started and we were off.  The run was a two lap course that was full of hills.  I was over it pretty quickly.  I felt like I couldn’t get enough oxygen and I was falling behind.  I jogged as best I could and opted to walk the uphills.  I kept telling myself to just keep going and get this leg finished.  I thought the bike leg would be easy, so I only needed to get through this part and the rest would be smooth sailing.  Running second was actually pretty nice.  My legs felt strong.  I’m used to trying to run after biking which never ends that well.

I brought up the rear and finished last in the run. Not surprising. But, at least I finished it. Everyone was patiently waiting on me.  Alex had checked the air pressure in my tires and had everything ready for me.  I caught my breath, grabbed a drink, and threw on my helmet.  The plan was for all the participants to leisurely ride to another park to complete the bike leg of the race.  After we were all ready, we set off to locate the start line.

Once we were all lined up, stopwatches were started and we were on our way.  The bike course was two loops, each 2.5 miles, and it was packed with hills.  There were no straightaways and no way to use momentum to help with getting up the next hill.  A downhill would end with a sharp turn and then immediately go to an uphill.  One downhill was met with a bridge that had a 4” lip.  I hit that so hard the first time that my chain bumped to another gear.  The path was really curvy with thick trees.  You couldn’t see ahead of you to know what was coming.  It was awful.  I had to walk up two of the hills.  I’m not proud, but it’s the truth.  I’ve never had to walk my road bike up a hill.  It was the worst bike course I’ve ever done.  Typically my average speed for a ride is 14 mph.  I averaged 6.5 mph for this ride.

I wanted to stop and give up.  It was so hard.  My calves were cramping and on fire.  I told myself to just keep going.  The last large uphill before the end of the race was a nightmare.  I was yelling at myself to get up the hill.  My internal thoughts turned to grunts and then to open screams as I huffed and inched my way up.  I turned another corner and had to climb a small uphill to finish.  I felt like puking.  Alex grabbed my bike and I sat down.  Alex told me that he didn’t take any pictures of me on the bike because of how painful I looked.  I appreciated the honesty, I think.

Alex got my bike loaded on the car and I somehow managed to drag myself to the passenger seat.  I was exhausted.  We drove back to the pool area for drinks, oranges, and awards.  I was shocked when the 1st place female trophy was handed to me.

In hindsight, I’m glad I competed with a sinus infection and lack of training.  Because there was only one other female, I actually placed.  I have a pretty sweet trophy sitting at home now.  And, who doesn’t love trophies?? I’m pretty positive that there is an extremely high likelihood it will never happen again.  The race also gave me a healthy fear of my next few triathlons.  I have another in a month and the next a month after that.  I’m terrified.  I know that if I don’t get my hump in gear and take training seriously, there’s absolutely no way I can do the next triathlon.  Without trying to be too dramatic – it’s do or die time.

Official Times (400 yd swim, 2 mile run, 5 mile bike):

• Swim: 7:32 (rate of 30:00 per mile)
• Run: 28:47 (rate of 14:23 per mile)
• Bike: 33:15 (rate of 6.6 mph)
• Overall time: 1:09:34

Eads Bridge Duathlon 2013

Several months ago, I heard about the Eads Bridge Duathlon and thought it sounded pretty cool.  After all, the Eads Bridge was the first structure to span the Mississippi river and the first bridge to be made of steel.  It’s the bridge that started Carnegie down the road to becoming a steel mogul.  You’re welcome, Carnegie. The bridge is still in use, so the only way to cross it is by car.  However, the race organizers worked with the city to close the bridge so the running portions of the duathlon could go across the bridge.  I thought it sounded pretty cool, and I’m not really a history nerd.  Alex, on the other hand, gets all geeked out by history stuff so, I thought it might be something he was interesting in doing.  I was right – he was all in.  I completed the registration for us both and explained that it was something that we had to train for.

Fast forward a few months, and the training department was seriously lacking.  I had attempted to get back on the bandwagon and had been on a handful of runs and bike rides.  My endurance was nowhere near the level that it was last year – I’m really angry at myself for letting up after last season.  I could have been SO much better by now.  The two weeks before the race were insanely busy and I didn’t run at all.  Essentially, I was going into this race cold turkey.  I was nervous.  Alex didn’t train at all.  He was REALLY going cold turkey and was nervous (although he wouldn’t really admit it).  Originally the goal was to just finish the race.  In the days leading up to the race (as the nerves mounted), I amended that goal to be that we left the race in anything but an ambulance.

Race day came, and it was cold and windy.  We loaded all of gear in the car, and left the kids with a sitter.  The transition area was originally set for one area close to the bridge, but because of the heavy rains and flooding that we’ve had in the area, it had to be moved.  The only lot they could find on short notice was farther away from the bridge, which meant that the run distances increased.  It was supposed to be a 1.5 mile run, 10 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run.  Instead, the run distances changed to 2 miles each.  I don’t know why, but 2 miles seems so much farther than 1.5.  I spent the entire ride to the race trying to bestow every nugget of knowledge that I had to Alex.  I’m not sure he wanted them, but I did it anyway.  I wanted him to feel comfortable in his first duathlon.  And, even though I’ve never done a duathlon, I’ve done a few triathlons which are pretty close – just add water.  I went over transitions and rules and mindsets and everything else I could think of.  I also explained to him that it’s everyone’s goal to try to take a giant dump right before the race starts.  I told him that there would be a huge line at the porta potties and they would all smell like horse shit.  He felt ready.

We found the parking area and transition area.  We aired up our tires and headed to racks in the transition area.  I found my rack and placed my bike on.  I helped a girl near me rack her bike and then went and helped Alex rack his bike.  I went back to my transition area and put on my bike computer.  I laid my helmet out and put on my gloves, ear cover, glasses, and race belt with my number.  Alex came over and I pinned his number to his shirt.  I figured out where the run in, bike out, bike in, and run out areas where and explained it to Alex.  I asked him if his area was ready.  He said it was, so we trekked off to the potties.  The line didn’t disappoint.

Did I predict this, or what??

We had plenty of time, so we waited.  After all, we had to make Alex’s first race official by him dropping off some kids before the starting gun.  It’s a tradition!  Eventually we made our way to the front.  The doors opened for me to go in and I noticed something streaked down the front of the seat.  I’m not kidding – someone had crapped down the front of the porta potty.  I was disgusted, but had no choice but to go in.  Before shutting the door, I yelled to the line so they knew that I wasn’t the one that crapped on the john instead of in it.  I decided that instead of trying to wipe up the offending poop (I had no way of washing my hands and only 1-ply toilet paper at my disposal), I was going to situate myself so that I could take care of business without getting someone else’s shit all over my bike pants.  It’s not an easy feat.  I was crouching while pulling my pants by the crotch away from the seat.  Over my dead body was I going to smell shit the entire race.  It wasn’t easy, but I got the job done.  It’s a tradition – I couldn’t not do it.

Once Alex was finished, we started toward the starting line.  The transition area was a mile from the starting line, so we had a bit of a walk.  Both of us were a little lighter on our feet at this point, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Sweet gloves, Rick James.

We made it to the start line, which was on the border of Missouri and Illinois, right in the middle of the Mississippi.  We took the opportunity to look around and grab some pictures of the scenery.

Before making our way to the back of the group…

Eventually it was time to start the race.  We positioned ourselves near the back.  We weren’t kidding anyone.  The race organizers welcomed everyone and made a few announcements.  After a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings, the starting gun went off.  It took about 30 seconds for the crowd to weed out so we could actually cross the start line.  We started with a nice jog.  I told Alex to let me know when he wanted to walk.  The plan was for us to complete the first run together.  The run started in the middle of the bridge and headed toward Illinois.  At the Illinois turnaround, we headed back across the entire distance of the bridge to land on the Missouri side.  We wound our way through The Landing and toward the transition area.  The run/walk pace was good – we both felt great!  Pretty soon, we made it to the transition area to grab our bikes.

We agreed that we wouldn’t stick with each other during the bike portion.  Alex has a hybrid, and I was on my road bike.  I told Alex to be careful and after quick ‘I love you’s we were both out on our bikes.  The bike course was set up as a loop on one street.  The street was completely closed, so you stayed to the right and went around twice before heading back to the transition area.  Heading north on the street was great – downhill with the wind to your back.  I was flying!  At the turnaround, the change in wind direction was obvious.  Going south was quite a bit of uphill with the wind in your face.  It was brutal.  All I could think about was that I had to do this twice.  Because of how the course was set up, I saw Alex going in the opposite direction.  I yelled like crazy, but didn’t wave.  The road was insanely bumpy and I didn’t feel like spilling because I let go.  What seemed like an eternity later, I made it to the next turnaround to repeat the loop.  Again, I whizzed my way to the North turnaround (passing by Alex again and yelling even more).  Made the turn, saw Alex again, and battled my way to the final turnaround.  I made decent time on the bike and passed quite a few people.  I pulled up to the transition area and got off my bike.  As much as I was hoping it wouldn’t happen, my legs felt so weak.  I could barely get them to move.  I racked my bike and took off my helmet.  I told my legs to move, and they just wouldn’t.  It was like trying to move buckets of wet cement.  I walked for a bit in hopes of getting my legs adjusted – whatever I could do to get over the weak feeling.  I attempted to run again.  It felt like I was exerting a ton of energy and getting nowhere.  I went back to walking.  Eventually some strength returned to my legs.  I was making my way back to the bridge by walking the uphills and running the flat areas and downhills.  The bridge seemed like it was countries away.  People that had already finished were pouring back toward the transition area.  I was doing everything I could to not make an ass out of myself.  My side starting cramping.  I kept going. I made it to the bridge.  I kept going.  I made it to the Missouri/Illinois border.  I kept going.  I made it to the Illinois turnaround.  I kept going.  I saw Alex coming in the opposite direction.  We exchanged exhausted smiles and breathy words of encouragement.  I think I said, ‘it’s almost time for beer’ to him as motivation to finish.  I kept going.  I saw the finish line.  I kept going.  I wanted to push harder and finish stronger, but there was nothing left.  I jogged across the finish line.  I was done!

I kept moving while I waited for Alex.  I grabbed a bottle of water and did some stretching.  A guy asked me to take his picture, so I did.  A few minutes later, I spotted Alex coming toward the finish line.  He was walking.  I kept thinking he was going to start jogging to finish out the race.  He kept walking.  He neared the finish line. Walking. I heard the announcer say ‘here comes Alex Parsons, making a strong finish’.  Alex kept walking. Apparently he attempted to run at one point and his leg started to cramp. He walked across the finish line.  He was done!

Finishing strong…

He immediately grabbed a bottle of water and went to the tent where they were doing free stretches.  After being stretched, we snapped a quick picture by the finish line and then started the long walk back to the transition area.

Stretch it – stretch it real good.

Mr. & Mrs. Duathlete

The walk seemed to take forever.  In theory, walking a mile after finishing a duathlon doesn’t seem like a big deal.  It was painstaking.  On top of being tired, I managed to pull a muscle during the race.  My legs were tight and painful.  Alex’s legs were really tired.  We slowly made our way back to the bikes.  After grabbing our gear, we rode our bikes to the car.  It was easier than walking.  We loaded everything up and drove to Morgan Street Brewery.  We were both starving, and our race packets had coupons for free beer at Morgan Street.  It seemed logical.  It was the best burger I’ve ever eaten…

The face of a champion.

By the time we got home, we were both crashing. Thankfully, it was time for the kids’ nap, so we all laid down.  I slept like a rock until Luke woke up a few hours later.  Both of us were pretty useless the rest of the day.  I was supposed to go grocery shopping, but didn’t.  Alex was going to start laundry, but didn’t.  Luke came down with pink eye in the middle of everything, so I had his doctor call in eye drops.  I picked those up after making dinner.  We’ll pay for the lack of training for several days – but, we finished.  And, more importantly, neither of us died in the process.

Lisa’s Official Times (2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run):

• Run: 25:39 (rate of 12:50 per mile)
  • Overall Rank: 280/287
• T1: 2:00
  • Overall Rank: 150/287
• Bike: 40:37 (rate of 14.8 mph)
  • Overall Rank: 197/287
• T2: 2:08
  • Overall Rank: 184/287
• Run: 30:20 (rate of 15:10 per mile)
  • Overall Rank: 284/287
• Overall time: 1:40:43
  • Division Place: 15/16
  • Overall Place: 268/287

Alex’s Official Times (2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run):

• Run: 25:38 (rate of 12:50 per mile)
  • Overall Rank: 278/287
• T1: 2:00
  • Overall Rank: 149/287
• Bike: 49:40 (rate of 12.1 mph)
  • Overall Rank: 264/287
• T2: 2:25
  • Overall Rank: 215/287
• Run: 329:50 (rate of 14:55 per mile)
  • Overall Rank: 283/287
• Overall time: 1:49:31
  • Division Place: 21/21
  • Overall Place: 280/287

2012 Gobble Wobble 5K

Thanksgiving is the holiday that you sit and stuff your face all day long. In order to balance out some of the calorie intake, we decided to up our calorie outtake. As if running a 5K was going to cancel out the dent I was going to put in the food table. A girl can dream, right?

We made the event a family affair – everyone came. My sister, brother-in-law, nephews, mom, hubs, and my kiddos. My sis and I ran the 5K, the others did the 1 mile walk. I had seriously fallen off the exercise wagon. So, I was worried about the run. Again, I just wanted to finish and, God-willing, run the entire time.

Before the run – smiles all around!

Who’s ready to burn some calories??

It started out well enough. I had a decent pace for me and was on my way. Then I hit mile 1. It’s that time during a 5K that it feels like an eternity until the finish, but you are too far in to give up.  I kept going, at times my pace was barely at walking speed.  Actually, an older lady who was speed walking almost past me.  I thought, ‘over my dead body’ and pushed a little harder.

Starting out – this isn’t so bad.

Nearing the end. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

I came out of the woods and could see the finish line.  I then noticed Alex, my kids, my mom, my brother-in-law, and my nephews a bit ahead (they were returning from the walk).  As I neared them, Anna saw me and started running toward me.  She reached for me to pick her up.  I did, and attempted to jog with her in my arms.  I was so out of shape, and the finish line was still a bit away, I knew I wouldn’t make it.  I gave her to Alex and kept going toward the finish.  All I could hear was Anna crying hysterically.  I couldn’t stop, I was so close.  As I crossed the finish line, it took every bit of me to not throw up or sit down.  I told myself to keep walking.  I was so out of shape, it was sad.  I finally composed myself enough to calm Anna down and hold her.  My sister made it across the finish line, and we moved our troops to the car.  There was food that needed to be eaten, after all!

Official Time (5K or 3.1 miles): 41:19

2012 Last Chance Triathlon

I got the idea that I should complete one last triathlon of the 2012 season.  It was getting late in the season, and the pickings were slim.  But, I happened upon the ‘Last Chance Tri’ that was going to be in the beginning of October in Mattoon, Illinois.  I decided to give it a whirl.  To make it even more interesting, we added a little trip to Chicago to visit some friends that recently had a baby.  The whole Parsons crew loaded up in our car, with my bike and tri gear, and headed toward Chicago.  We spent a day and a half in the Windy City and then headed south to the big city of Mattoon.  I had been told that Mattoon was really flat (which is awesome if you are biking and running in the streets), but windy.  I had also been told to prep for it to be cold.  The forecast for race day was cloudy skies and a temperature that hovered at 50 degrees.  We spent an uneventful night in the hotel.  The next morning, we drove the race routes and ended up driving all over town to explore.  10 minutes later, we had seen everything.  So, we stopped at a park to let the kids burn off some energy.  The race was in the afternoon, so the plan was for Alex to watch the kids in the hotel room while I did the triathlon.  Once I called him to tell him I was done, he would load everything up and come get me.  While Alex, Anna, and Luke napped – I wrestled with Mother Nature on the great streets of Mattoon.

The serpentine swim was in a heated, indoor pool.  It’s called a serpentine swim because you wind your way back and forth while sliding over, so you enter at one point and exit on the diagonal side.  When I registered, it asked me what my swim time estimate was.  When you do a swim like this, you are grouped according to your pace.  I told them that I thought I would be around 6:30 for the swim.  As we were lining up for the race to start, they had signs on the walls to section out the swimmers.  It started at 5 minutes and went all the way to 17 minutes plus.  I started second guessing myself because my swim time meant that I was about the 10th fastest swimmer there.  I opted to let a few people in front of me so I didn’t slow them down.  That ended up being a mistake (and shows that I shouldn’t doubt myself).  I passed the girl in front of me during the swim and completed it in under 6 minutes.

Immediately after the swim, you run outside to transition for the bike.  Now, it was cold for anyone standing outside, but to be soaking wet was another story.  My whole body went numb.  I dried off as quickly as I could and put my socks and shoes on.  I had swam in my swimsuit and tri capris, so I slipped on a short sleeve shirt and a long sleeve biking jacket.  I figured that wearing layers was the best option.  I threw on my helmet, glasses, and race number – and I was off.  The biking was easy and fast, but it was horrendously cold.  My skin and hair was still wet, and I was going about 15 mph in 50 degree weather with no sun.  And then the wind started picking up – gusts of 15 – 20 mph winds.  On the way out, it was to my back, which helped.  At one point, I turned and the wind was blowing from my left.  I reached for my water bottle to grab a drink.  While I was attempting to put my water bottle back, the wind caught it and shot it off into a field.  I kept going.  I was going at a great clip and passing quite a few people, I was doing really well.  I hit the turnaround and made my way back.  The wind was mainly head-on and brutal.  It felt like I wasn’t moving at all.  Snot was pouring everywhere and all I could think about was how thirsty I was.  I went to change the display on my bike computer.  Apparently it wasn’t seated properly, the wind grabbed it and it went flying into another field.  I think I yelled out in frustration.  The cornfields of Mattoon got a lot of good equipment that day.

I made it back to the transition area and quickly racked my bike and tossed my helmet.  I began running.  My feet were like blocks of ice.  I couldn’t feel my toes.  The combination of being wet and subjection to the cold wind caused havoc on my toes.  I kept trying to run, but it was next to impossible.  I don’t know if you have ever attempted to run (or walk) when you can’t feel your feet.  It just doesn’t work.  I kept stopping and kicking my feet on the curb – anything to try to ‘wake them up’.  It wasn’t working.  I kept moving, slowly.  About a mile and a half in, my toes started to thaw out.  I was exhausted and doing everything I could to just get to the finish line.  I walked quite a bit.  As I neared the end, I picked up my pace.  I was ready to be inside where the heater was working.  I crossed the finish line.  It was anticlimactic.  No one was there to cheer me on, so I gave a little cheer for myself.  I handed off my timing chip and went inside to warm up and change clothes.  Alex came by to grab me and we made the drive back home.  My first triathlon season was over.

I don’t have any race pictures because I was solo. Hard to take pictures of yourself…

Official Times (275 yd swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run):

• Swim: 5:59 (rate of 39:53 per mile)
  • Division ranking: 2/9
• T1: 2:10
• Bike: 47:26 (rate of 15.2 mph)
  • Division ranking: 4/9
• T2: 0:31
• Run: 44:18 (rate of 14:31 per mile)
  • Division ranking: 7/9
• Overall Time: 1:40:27
• Division Place: 6/9