Keystone Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Going into this race I had no idea what to expect. Based on last year's results I thought I could podium but then I went on vacation for two weeks and did absolutely no biking or swimming while away. I changed my goals and decided to just do this race for fun since it's one of my favorites.

I got home Saturday night around midnight, was in bed by 12:30 and before I knew it I was waking up Sunday morning, not at all motivated to race. I went through the motions and by the time we made it to the park I was starting to get excited. There was also an Olympic distance race, which made logistics a little more confusing but overall I thought this race was pretty well run.

Swim (1/2 mile)
The Olympic swimmers started first since they were doing two laps of the swim course. When the last Olympic racer started their second lap the sprinters were allowed to start. I wasn't such a big fan of this because it meant that the stronger swimmers were not far behind the slowest Olympic swimmers.

I started in the front of the pack and was anxious to see how I would feel after being out of the water for two weeks. Somehow I felt great and by the first buoy I was in the lead. I had no trouble sighting and was just cruising along, feeling the best I've felt in the water this year.

From the last turn buoy back to the shore was a little hard to navigate with the sun in your eyes but enough Olympic swimmers were there to keep you going in the right direction. After what seemed like the quickest swim ever I was suddenly done and running to transition. Couldn't be happier with how this went.

Swim: 11:10 / 1:22 pace / 1st female
T1: 1:06

Bike (18.2 miles)
I was a little nervous about the bike leg after not being on a bike in two weeks either. I don't have the best bike handling skills and was worried I was going to be jittery and shaky during the race. Luckily I frequently train on this course so I know it inside and out and had absolutely nothing to be worried about.

I think the race day nerves caught up with me on the bike because I found myself going much quicker than I anticipated within the first couple miles. I debated whether to pull back but ultimately decided to take a risk and push hard from the beginning. No holding back, at all.

I pretty much even-split the two laps on the bike course and zipped by people on the hills. All those super hilly long rides Mike had me do definitely payed off and I was thanking him in my head while climbing. This bike course, in my opinion, is awesome. It is two laps with two big hills on each lap with a mix of flat, gradual climbs and descents and big descents. There is a nice mix of elevation, which makes it much more fun.

By the end of the bike I was starting to get tired and was ready to run. I knew I was either in first or second coming off the bike but didn't know if I pushed too hard to be able to hold on during the run.

Bike: 1:04:04 / 17.04 mph / 5th female
T2: :57

Run (3.2 miles)
Time to find out whether taking a risk on the bike leg would pay off or cause me to blow up. I decided to run without my watch since this was mostly a trail run. I took off and just wan hard. I didn't think about paces or anything. Move forward and go hard. My legs felt heavy at the beginning but not terrible. They never felt great but they did feel better as the run went on.

Around halfway I missed a turn and got a little lost but quickly made my way back to the trail. I opted not to take any water during the run which ended up being a smart move because my stomach became sloshy with about a mile to go. At this point I was hurting and ready to be finished but didn't want to be passed so I kept trucking along, hoping my legs wouldn't fall off in the process.

Thankfully the run course isn't too hard. It is a trail run but it isn't very technical. I definitely would wear trail shoes though because it is really rocky and uneven. There is also one pretty steep hill that has a warning sign before it. Once you exit the trails you follow the lake path all the way to the finish line.

Run: 25:55 / 8:05 pace / 4th female

When I crossed the finish line I was spent. I pushed a lot harder than I was mentally prepared to do but it payed off. I dropped almost 22 minutes off my time from last year, with the majority being on the bike leg. I could not be happier with how this race went, especially considering everything that went on before it. Just goes to show that anything can happen on race day!

Finish Time: 1:43:14 / 2nd female

Now I am ready to fully dedicate my training to the NYC Marathon. I have some hard workouts coming up but I am ready to put in the work and am excited to see how much I can improve from last year.

And as always, a HUGE thank you to Mike for helping me get to where I am today. Last year I was clueless and not putting in nearly as much work as I needed to be doing. I have never been so confident in my training and am excited to see how much farther I can go.

York YWCA Ladies Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Triathlon #2 for the year is in the books! I wasn't entirely sure what to expect coming into this race, especially after racing just last weekend and having a less than stellar run, but this race exceeded all my expectations. I would definitely recommend this event to any girls looking to do a triathlon in south central Pennsylvania.

Since the race took place less than 5 miles from my house I was able to sleep in some, waking up at 6:10 and arriving at transition around 6:40. I'm not entirely sure why but I was so nervous for this race. I can honestly not remember the last time I was this nervous for anything so needless to say my stomach was not too cooperative. I was nervous about how little I was able to get down. About 20 minutes before the race start I headed over to the pool to get in a warm up.

Before I knew it it was time to line up for the race. Since the swim portion was in a pool things were a little unusual. The first swimmer would enter the pool and do a 50 in each lane and then swim under the lane line to the next lane until they reached the other end of the pool, with the next swimmer entering the pool in 20 second intervals and following the same pattern. Although I was slightly annoyed not being the first seeded swimmer it really helped that a former teammate of mine got that honor and I was able to relax a bit.

The Swim (500 yards)
I didn't feel too great during the swim, partly because my SOAS racing kit (which I am obsessed with) was creating a whole lot of drag, particularly when I pushed off the walls. Instead of panicking about feeling slow I told myself to let my body what it knows how to do best. I relaxed into the swim and zoned out and with a couple laps to go I was closing in on the girl in front of me. If I would have pushed it I could have caught her but I didn't want to start the bike with a higher than necessary heart rate.

Swim + run to T1: 7:38 / 1st AG / 1st overall
T1: 1:07

The Bike (15 miles)
I was pleasantly surprised that on the [long] run to transition that I was able to actually run without feeling dizzy or nauseous. With one biker in front of me I set out in pursuit of taking the lead as quickly as possible. Since the race is so close to home I have trained on this route before so I knew what to expect. I'm not a big fan of this bike course but was prepared to not let that get in my way. Within the first few miles there is a pretty big climb where I was able to pass some of the duathetes, who's race started 15 min before the triathlon.

Given how nervous I was before the race I was shocked with how calm I was during the race. My mind was calm and somehow I just knew what to do without thinking too much about anything. Once I got past the two big climbs on the course I started to pick it up. With around 5 miles left I had passed all of the duathletes and was now leading the bike. Without even realizing it I was in the same situation heading into the run as I was in last weekend.

Bike: 54:10 / 16.7 avg / 1st AG / 9th overall
T2: :33

The Run (3.1 miles)
After last week's run I was determined to not let that happen again. I was excited to be out running but had no idea how close any other participants were. I was hoping the staggered swim start would give me enough time to make it across the finish line first. Again I was much calmer this time and all of the breathing issues I had last weekend were a thing of the past. The run course takes place on one of my favorite running routes that I know inside and out. I didn't wear my watch so I wouldn't get upset with my time, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Although I was certainly tired out there I felt really strong. Not that I know much about running form but I could tell that even that was pretty good (for me at least). The race finished with a lap around the track, which also happens to be the track I train on. I was really hurting by this point and just wanted to be done but as soon as I entered the track it was like I had another gear. Something about the track just makes me run faster.

Run: 24:29 / 7:54 pace / 1st AG / 5th overall

I ended up crossing the finish line first with a time that I had never thought I could do. After getting a drink it was time to play the waiting game and see how I would place. While waiting I was interviewed by the local paper which was pretty cool. I was anxious to find out my run time too. I was thinking I probably ran something around a 26:00-26:30, only to find out I was cruising much faster than that. My run split was probably the biggest shock of the day.

Finish Time: 1:27:57 / 1st AG / 3rd overall

This race confirmed how much I love this sport. I know I'm not the fastest out there but it comes so naturally to me and just feels right. Now I have a few weeks before racing an Olympic distance triathlon down in Virginia on August 3. I'm ready to put in some solid training and see what I can do with a bigger field and more experience under my belt.

Nike Women's Half Marathon Race Report

You can read all about the rest of my AMAZING weekend here!

Race morning started with a 5:00 am wake up call. I quickly got dressed, grabbed all my gear and then was on my way to the metro by 5:20. I ate a bagel on the short metro ride over to the race start. I was so worried about getting stuck in the long lines getting off the metro that I ended up getting to the start area by 5:50. Once at the race start I headed over to the incredible VIP tent. I spent some time getting ready before I headed out for a rather unsuccessful warm up.

I didn't want to run too far so that I didn't get lost but staying close to the start just ended up with me trying to unsuccessfully navigate some really crowded sidewalks. I ran for about 10 minutes before heading back to the VIP tent to get in some stretching and go to the bathroom one last time before heading over to the corrals around 6:45. The corrals were insanely crowded and I had to hop a fence just to get in because the line was so long.

The race started right on time and around 7:04 I was crossing the start line. I quickly realized just how crowded this race was. I felt like I was walking and couldn't get around anyone. For the first mile I ran whatever pace everyone around me was going and tried to avoid weaving. I thought after the first mile the crowds would start thinning out but part way through mile 2 when things were just as bad I knew I needed to get moving if I was going to meet my goal.

Because the first few miles were slower than I wanted and I was so nervous about being behind my goal I picked up the pace a little too much through miles 3-5. I felt so good though so I just went for it. I was still weaving quite a bit but I couldn't stand the thought of being stuck behind more runners. A few times during this point in the race I tried to just hold my pace instead of running faster. I didn't want to die later on even though I felt so good early on.

Around miles 7-8 I started to get a tiny bit tired but nothing too bad. I really tried to hold my pace and focus on running consistent miles. I knew there was a hill coming up around miles 9-10 so I wanted to save some energy for that and my last 5K. I remember doing so much math in my head at this point trying to figure out if I was going to be able to break 1:50. Not being very good at math I thought I had no chance.

I don't remember what happened or what I thought in each mile at this point because the scenery was all the same but I remember growing more tired and my hip that's been bothering me started to get really cranky. The hill at mile 10 was really not much of a hill at all but it was a welcome change from the flat or slight downhill of the rest of the course. I tried to pick it up as much as possible but I was really hurting.

I realized around mile 11? that I hadn't taken the last 2 of my shot bloks. When I went to get them out of my pocket I ended up dropping them. I debated whether or not to go back and grab them but ultimately decided against it. The last two miles were a fight both mentally and physically. I wanted so badly to be finished. When I could finally see the finish line I started to sprint but then realized that the finish line wasn't as close as I thought.

The last maybe half mile or so was slightly downhill and I knew it was time to go. I remember screaming at one point because my hip hurt so badly. I don't know distance wise how close I was to the finish line, but I looked down at my watch and saw 1:47:XX. I knew I was going to be very close to 1:50. If I had any chance of going under 1:50 I needed to move.

From that point on I ran with all I had left while keeping a close eye on my watch. With maybe 10 yards to go I knew I was either going to be just under 1:50 or a few seconds over. I also knew I would by bummed if I missed going under 1:50 by so little. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I think my heart might have stopped also. I looked down at my watch not knowing if I had done it or not.

I almost started crying I was so happy. For more than 12 out of those 13 miles I didn't think I had it in me to go under 1:50. I had dreamed about seeing 1:49 when I crossed the finish line during training but I really didn't know if it was too ambitious of a goal. All those times that I fought during training and told myself it was for the 1:49 were worth it.

Official time 1:49:59
Avg pace 8:23
Splits: 9:21, 8:29, 8:22, 8:14, 8:13, 8:04, 8:07, 8:04, 8:10, 8:19, 9:12, 7:32, 8:00, 1:50 (.25-7:18 pace)
(miles 11-12 got messed up because of the tunnel)

As soon as I stopped running my hips started cramping up. I hobbled to get some water and almost forgot about the little blue box waiting for me. I wandered around the finish line still in a daze for a few minutes before getting my finishers shirt and then heading over to the VIP tent and meeting up with my parents.

One of the first people I saw when I went into the VIP tent was Shalane Flanagan. I got some more water, stretched out and finally got to talk with my parents. They were amazing and walked all over DC to see me along the course. We sat down for a bit and then went to see Shalane Flanagan and Joan Benoit Samuelson speak before heading back to our hotel.

Two days later and I am still just as happy as I was after crossing the finish line on Sunday. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I ran a 1:49 half marathon though. I could never have had such an amazing weekend and race without my wonderful coach Mike, my parents, and Nike. Now I am enjoying having a few days off before jumping into triathlon training.

Who else ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon this weekend?

Capital 10 Miler Race Report

First race of the year-done! It wasn't the race I was expecting but every race is a learning experience in my book. Race morning started with a 6:30 wake up call. I got dressed, ate my pre-run breakfast, and was on my way to Harrisburg. We got there a little more than an hour before the 9:00 race start, which left me enough time to pickup my bib and go to the bathroom before doing a quick warm up.

 I'd been debating whether to wear shorts or capris but ultimately decided to go with shorts after how warm it felt during my warm up. With about 10 minutes til race time I got all my stuff ready and noticed that one of the earbuds on my headphones had fallen off. Cue minor freak out. Panicked I put one headphone in and stuffed the other in my sports bra so it wasn't flying all over the place. With about two minutes to spare I made it to the start line.

Despite the race only having around 500 runners the first mile was pretty congested. Instead of getting frustrated and weaving I treated this as a way to not go out too fast. I wasn't sure how I wanted to run this race (negative splits, steady pace, etc) so I decided to mimic how I normally run my half marathons (first five, middle five, last 5K). I was hoping to keep miles 1-4 around 8:30, 4-8 around 8:10-8:20 and the last two sub 8:00. When the first mile clocked in the 8:40's I started to get nervous. Time to pick it up!

Mile 1: 8:46
Mile 2: 8:15
Mile 3: 8:29 <- water stop
Mile 4: 8:13

 It was during the second and third miles that I realized this was not going to be the race I was hoping for. Despite my best efforts to do all the little things right, my legs just felt heavy and tight. I really didn't like the first ~5 miles of the course either so at this point I had to make a decision. Years ago as a swimmer if a race wasn't going the way I wanted it to I would just give up. Why bother, right? On Sunday when I knew this wasn't going to be one of those OMG I love running and racing so much days I didn't quit. I thought for maybe 30 seconds about how much I just wanted to walk but those thoughts were chased away. Instead my mind was filled with thoughts like "looks like I'm going to suffer for the next 6-7 miles." 

Mile 5: 8:28 <- water stop
Mile 6: 8:02

When mile 4 came I tried to drop my pace but I just didn't have the energy to go harder. Instead I just ran hard. I remember thinking around mile 6 "how can I be this tired and it's only mile 6? I don't think I can hold this pace for the rest of the race, I'm really hurting. I guess I'll just keep running until I can't run anymore. If I crash and burn I'll deal with that later. Just go hard right now."

Miles 8-9 consisted of an out an back and an annoyingly long bridge which was both in direct sunlight and open to the wind we were getting. I was already SO hot during this race despite being one of the only people wearing shorts so running with no shade was destroying what little motivation I had. Something happened on that bridge though. I have never wanted to be done running more than when I was on that bridge (okay maybe during miles 18-20 during the Harrisburg Marathon) but instead of easing up I pushed harder. I picked off each person in front of me one by one, grimacing in pain with each step I took.

Mile 7: 8:33
Mile 8: 8:36

It was on the way back on the bridge that I realized how close I was to finishing. Less than twenty minutes til I'm done? I can do this! Run for your life! And so I did. The winds were so strong that I was being blown diagonally as I ran but I kept going. I have given up so many times before that I surprised myself by how strong I was mentally. I was not happy by any means but by continuing to push myself so hard the entire time I proved to myself that I can run strong even when I feel like shit.

Mile 9: 7:58
Mile 10: 8:16

The last mile of this race was a sufferfest. I'm pretty sure I ran the majority of this mile with my eyes closed, just visualizing myself crossing the finish line. With maybe a half mile to go you run across another bridge that is a bit shorter than the bridge previously crossed. At the Harrisburg Marathon the finish line is right after you cross the finish line so when I was nearing the end of the bridge and there was no finish line in sight I started to get angry. Then we ran past the finish line around City Island for the final quarter mile.

You're lucky I didn't zoom in. This is a rough picture

I tried to run until I had no more in me and when I finally crossed the finish line I stumbled around, practically falling over. For a few minutes I didn't have the energy to walk over to the table with water and Gatorade. I tried to stretch my legs out since I could feel my calves tightening up even more.

Time: 1:23:46
Avg pace: 8:22

Two days post race day I'm torn about how I feel about this race. I really didn't like the majority of the course and was deterred by how rough I felt physically. At the same time I proved to myself how strong I can be both mentally and physically. It was not the confidence boosting race I was hoping for in these last few weeks before my half marathon but it could have gone much worse. I taught myself how to push through pain that I normally would not have, and not to mention ran this race more than one minute per mile faster than the half marathon I ran last March.

Question, do you race with music?
I've been doing most of my long runs and hard runs with music and was planning on listening to music during this race before my headphones broke. In the past I haven't raced with music but am now considering it since I like it so much during hard runs.

Harrisburg Marathon Race Report

It has now been two days since I ran my first MARATHON! This has been such a long journey and one that I am sad has come to an end. This has also been an incredibly rewarding experience. I have learned so much about myself and am even more excited to train for my next marathon.

When I found about the NYC Marathon being cancelled I chose to run the Harrisburg because of its close proximity to my house. Harrisburg is a small race that doesn't have an expo so I picked up my bib before the race. We got there around 7:00 and the race started at 8:30. There was a nice enclosed pavilion with heaters that runners were allowed to wait in. I especially liked that there was no line for the bathroom until about 15 minutes before the start.

The race started promptly at 8:30 and there were no corrals. There were some pace groups to help runners decide where to line up. I wasn't sure where to up so I hopped in with the 4:40 group. The start of the race was not as exciting as I would have liked. I expected to be emotional when I crossed the starting line but I didn't really feel anything.

I saw my parents a few times within the first few miles and felt pretty good. The 4:40 pace group was all getting to know each other and I really enjoyed feeling that I was not alone. I also liked the idea of just following the pace leader and not worrying about how fast I was going.

In retrospect, I should not have tried to run with a pace group. There were times when I wanted to slow down some but was afraid to fall behind. I wasn't running my race and that is a mistake I will not make again.  I split off from the group around mile 12 and was so glad I did. I slowed down and ran however felt comfortable.

Despite splitting off from the group I still wasn't feeling fantastic. Miles 14-20 were absolutely brutal for me. My legs felt terrible and I didn't want to be running. There were hardly any spectators, which I hated. Around mile 18 a long serious of hills started which is where everything fell apart.

My knees hurt so badly and only felt worse with each uphill and downhill. I was just going to walk to the finish line because of how miserable I was. At almost exactly the 20 mile marker I met a man named Robert who tried to get me to run again. I didn't want to run but I wanted the race to over even more.

So I ran. We ran together all the way to the finish and those 6 miles were my favorite of the entire race. I felt the best and happiest then. Throughout those 6 miles we talked about ultra running, marathons, injuries, and life in general. There were also periods of time where nothing was said and those were just as wonderful.

I felt so at peace running with someone else. I was and am so incredibly grateful to Robert for putting me first despite the fact that I had never met him before. He ran a 50K the day before and was running the marathon to put in miles for training for his first 50 miler. I am honestly not sure I would have run any of those last 6 miles if it wasn't for Robert.

The greatest feeling during any running race is feeling strong during the last mile. I didn't feel fast but I felt in control. We were even able to pick it up during the last half mile. I never thought I would say that I enjoyed the last 6 miles of a marathon so much.

I finished in just under 5 hours, which I am okay with. I would have liked to run faster but I did what I could. It was a really hard day both physically and mentally. Some days produce great runs and others, bad runs. Sunday was a bad run day. I wish I could have changed the outcome of the race but it is what it is.

All in all it was a great experience that taught me so much about myself as a runner.

Baltimore Half Marathon 2012 Race Report

Yesterday was such an incredible day. Honestly. I didn't get to bed until 2:30 in the morning the night before the race and then had to be up at 6:30 to drive from my boyfriend's down to my apartment to meet my dad. I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed and sleep all day but I knew I needed to get in a long run and so I forced myself out of bed. To make getting out of bed even harder, it was the coldest it has been all year :32 degrees. I'm glad I checked the weather and saw that it was going to warm up to in the fifties during the race.

I was planning on wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt but due to the cooler temps I wore a long sleeved shirt instead. I bundled up with extra layers for before the race and by 8:15 my dad and I were on our way downtown. We hit a lot of traffic on the exit ramp due to roads being closed from the full marathon so we didn't make it to the race as early as we had planned. Initially I wanted to run 3 miles before the race and then 2 afterwards for a total of 18. I only had time for one mile before the race though. I then decided to make it a harder effort and only do 15 miles.

The corrals for this race aren't very well marked so I just hopped in when I saw a bunch of people who had numbers close to mine. After a minute or two we were off and running. I tried to remember as much as I could from last year about the course and what to expect. I knew there were some hills in the middle miles that were pretty brutal but I couldn't remember exactly where they were. My plan was to run the first 5 miles at a really comfortable pace so I would have energy left in the tank for the final few miles. I wore my garmin but didn't reset it after my warm up and had it set so it wouldn't give me my mile splits. I actually really liked not knowing what pace I was running at.

Last year I remember thinking that the first 3 miles took forever, but this year they flew by. I couldn't believe how quickly the race was going by. At the first aid station I thought I grabbed water but ended up grabbing Gatorade. My stomach has had trouble in the past with Gatorade but I was really thirsty and there was no more water so I drank it and luckily had no issues. I also experimented with eating Shot Bloks through out the race instead of taking a GU. I only had 1-2 Shot Bloks at a time and also had them right before a water station. I preferred them so much more than eating a gel and will definitely be taking them during the marathon. I also liked that I could take as many or as few as I wanted to keep my stomach happy.

I saw my dad at mile 5 and loved the burst of energy seeing him gave me. I picked up the pace a tiny bit but not too much yet. Between miles 4-7 is where the most/biggest hills are located. I went up the hills with the mantra even effort not even pace. I went up the hills at a pace that felt comfortable and then flew down them, taking as much advantage of the downhills as possible. I kept running along happy as could be when before I knew it we were entering the lake which meant that the hills were over. Already?! What hills?! I couldn't believe how easy they felt.

At about mile 8 I started to pick up the pace even more. I knew I was going to PR but I wasn't sure by how much. I just decided to run hard and see where it got me. I was blowing by people and loving every minute of it. I seriously don't think I stopped smiling the entire race. Once I hit mile 10 I really picked it up so I was running at a slightly uncomfortable pace. I was charging up the final few hills and riding the downhills. I picked out people who looked strong that I wanted to pass. Despite how hard I was pushing it over the final few miles I was impressed with how strong I felt. I would it was a 300% improvement over how I felt running this race last year as my first half marathon.

Once I saw the 13 mile marker I sprinted with everything I had to the finish line. I knew I was going to get a nice PR but I still didn't know by how much. After I crossed the finish line I waited in an insanely long line to get my medal and some food and drink. I soon found my dad and stretched out a bit. Then I went for a short jog around M&T Bank Stadium with hopes of loosening my legs up. I was already really stiff but started to feel a little better the longer I ran. After we went to Noodles for lunch and then back over to the race finish area to check my time.

2:03:00

A PR by 5+ minutes from the RNR Philadelphia Half Marathon 4 weeks ago. Last year I finished this race in 2:23:03. I can't believe how far I have come in only a year and am now itching for that sub 2:00 half.

Sorry there are no pictures in this post. My computer screen cracked & now I'm using my old one which is being very temperamental. Will add pictures when my computer is fixed.

Rock N' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Race Report

Like all races, this one was filled with emotions. It was one heck of a weekend that left me completely exhausted. After an easy run Saturday morning my mom and I drove to Lancaster to catch a train to Philadelphia. We got to Philly around 1:30 and quickly dropped our bags off at our hotel before heading over to the expo. I picked up my packet and then walked around for a bit. I ended up getting a new pair of headphones and a long sleeve shirt and shorts on clearance. After the expo we went over to the Reading Terminal Market to pickup some lunch. I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I was already pretty tired so we just hung out in the hotel for the rest of the evening before going to bed around 10.

I was able to get a banana and a bagel for breakfast from the hotel's complimentary breakfast, which worked out perfectly since I forgot to pack anything for breakfast. I woke up at 6:15, ate breakfast, and was out the door by 7:30. I decided to run over to the start to get in an extra mile for the day and also so I could get some stretching in before the race. Once I got to the race start I got in line for the bathroom and stayed there until around 8:10. I was supposed to be in corral 9 but didn't think I would make it because of how slow the line was moving. Luckily I was able to hop into corral 9 just as they started the count down to cross the start line.

I didn't have a super specific plan for this race but I wanted to keep my pace relatively easy for the first 5 miles. I wanted negative splits and really wanted to push the pace during the second half. The first 5 miles pretty much flew by. The first few miles were a little hot with the sun beating down but it was still in the low 60's out. It was really cool seeing the elite runners going by approaching mile 5 as we were in the first few miles still. Definitely the best inspiration.

I saw my mom somewhere between miles 5 and six and loved seeing a familiar face. Miles 5-11 were in a park where there was shade everywhere. I was having trouble breathing throughout the entire race but really noticed it during these miles. I felt like I could only take shallow breathes and consequently my stomach felt a little off as well. I took a strawberry banana GU around mile 7, which only made things worse. My stomach didn't necessarily hurt and I didn't feel sick but I just kind of felt off.

I made sure to stop at all the water stations and drink at least a few sips of water since I normally drink a fair amount during longer runs. I did skip the final aid station because I was feeling a little nauseous though. Miles 5-11 overall felt really strong. I picked up my pace and was passing a fair amount of people. I didn't feel sore or tired at all. My legs felt great and even like they could have pushed harder if I wasn't struggling so much to breathe. I also had a pretty bad side stitch off and on throughout these miles which made it hard to keep the pace up.

Once we left the park there was only about a mile until the finish. This mile had no shade though and everybody suffered. My pace slowed dramatically and I felt as though I was shuffling along. I was glad there was only one mile left because I felt pretty shitty. I tried to sprint as much as I could to the finish line but my body didn't actually go much faster. As soon as I crossed the finish line I sat down and stretched out for a minute. I grabbed a bottle of water but the thought of eating food made me feel sick. I walked around for a little until I found my mom and then drank a bottle of chocolate milk.

This was a pretty weird race for me. Normally it is my legs that feel tired and weak but yesterday they felt strong and capable. But based on how I felt during that last mile I'm not sure I could have gone any faster. I crossed the finish line in 2:08:36 for a 13 minute PR. I am really happy about my time but I really did think I had it in me to go closer to 2 hours. This was a great course for a PR and a beautiful way to see Philadelphia. This is a race that I would definitely consider again. Overall it was a great experience and now it's time to really ramp things up to the NYCM in November.

Keystone State Sprint Triathlon Race Report

I can't believe this race is over already! I signed up for it so long ago it felt like it was never going to get here. After learning about how challenging the bike course is I wanted to switch from the Olympic distance to the sprint but I didn't hear back from the race organizers until two days before the event. Luckily I was allowed to switch.

Thursday through Saturday was filled with practically no sleep and lots of time on my feet. I wasn't even sure I was going to do this race until Saturday evening. I figured it wouldn't be pretty but would be good experience. I made it home from my boyfriend's house Saturday night around midnight and was asleep at one in the morning. Not ideal for the night before a race.

Luckily the race was only about 25 minutes from my house so I was able to sleep in until 6:00. I grabbed my bag full of my stuff for transition, ate a bagel and was on my way to the race. My dad and I got to the race site around 7:00 and headed straight to packet pickup and body marking. Then it was time to set up my transition area.

The swim started in waves so while I was waiting around for my wave I made use of the short bathroom lines and did some stretching. I ran into a good friend from my old swim team who I hadn't seen in almost a year. This was her first triathlon so I prepped her with some pointers, such as how aggressive the swim can
be.

Swim: 13:52 (1/2 mile)

This time I decided to start towards the front of the pack for the swim, even though I hadn't been in a pool since the middle of July. I tried not to go too hard on the swim so I had enough energy for the massive hill at the beginning of the bike course. I kept telling myself to calm down and focus on staying steady and strong. Before I knew it the swim was over and I was heading into transition.

T1: 1:23

I am so glad I practiced this bike course before this race. It is really challenging, with some steep climbs and sharp turns. I knew how to handle every aspect of the course and felt so much more confident because of it.

My approach to the bike course was to go conservative on the first lap and then really hammer the second lap. Unfortunately during the first lap my chain popped off and got stuck so I was unable to fix it. I walked my bike for about 10 minutes before my dad luckily found it and fixed it for me. After that it was smooth sailing though. I was able to keep up with people with road and tri bikes and even passed people on those killer hills.  I felt unstoppable.

Bike: 1:22:31 (18.2 miles- 13.2 mph)

T2: 1:01

I was worried about how my legs would feel during the run since I really pushed myself on the bike but at soon as I started running I felt like I was flying. I didn't want to go out too fast but it was only a 3 mile run so I knew I could push the pace some. The run was all on trails so I was glad I was wearing my trail shoes. I loved the run and was hardly passed at all. And in my Olympic style sprint to the finish I passed some lady with just a few yards to go.

Run: 26:13 (3.2 miles- 8:11 pace)

Overall this was an incredible race. Besides my chain popping off I did really well on the bike and ran faster than I ever could have imagined on the run. During this race I truly felt like a triathlete and now I am even more excited about next year's racing season.

Finish time: 2:05:00

General Smallwood International Triathlon Race Report

Today was such a whirlwind, but an amazing one. The day started early with a 4:25 wakeup call and 4:45 departure. My dad and I stayed at my apartment down at school Friday night and then drove to Marbury in the morning so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel room. We were expecting it to take 90 minutes to get there but thanks to little traffic we got there closer to 6:00. I ate my breakfast of a bagel with Nutella around 5:30 and sipped a bottle filled with nuun all morning. 

As soon as we arrived I went straight to packet pickup. After, I got body marked and picked up my timing chip. Then I set up my transition area. It was pretty intimidating seeing everyone with their fancy bikes and equipment but I tried to just focus on myself as much as possible. After setting up transition my dad and I went to check out the swim course. The bay looked beautiful and calm, although there was a lot of green seaweed stuff in the water. I hit up the porta-potties a couple times and before I knew it the pre-race meeting was taking place down by the water. I wandered over but when I saw people warming up in the water I knew I needed to get in. As soon as I hopped in I started to panic. I couldn’t see ANYTHING. I was having trouble breathing and was becoming increasingly nervous for the race. After some sculling and treading water I tried just swimming around near some people and my nerves and anxiety were almost instantly calmed. After I got out of the water there was about 10 minutes until the start.

Swim 29:26

About two minutes before the women’s 39 and under wave went off we jumped off the dock into the water. We were given a countdown and before we knew it the horn was being sounded. The beginning of the swim wasn’t nearly as chaotic as I expected. I didn’t position myself close enough to the front and ended up passing a lot of people within the first 100 meters or so. Despite my earlier panic I was very calm during the swim. I felt at ease and very comfortable in the water. I ended up wearing a two-piece bathing suit top and my tri shorts. This worked out very well for the swim as I wasn’t too hot and never felt like my clothes were filling up with too much water. Because I have minimal (none) open water swimming experience I am not so good at sighting. I would swim 10-15 strokes and then remember that I needed to sight. I was surprised how early on I caught people from the first two waves. Definite confidence boost. My goal was to beat as many people from my wave as possible since the swim is my strongest leg. I ended up finishing first in my age group and 12^th female overall. I wasn’t too happy with my time but a lot of people thought that the course was long. Either way I had a great time out there in the water.

T1 4:00

The run from the bay to transition was pretty long and on a concrete sidewalk, making it pretty difficult to be fast. I felt a little nauseous as I was exiting the water so I walked to transition instead of running. I spent a lot of time trying to put on my bike jersey while I was all wet. Note to self: buy a tri top.

Bike 1:38:03

I knew that I was going to be passed by pretty much everyone so it came as no surprise when the first half of the bike I was being passed every few minutes. I didn’t let it get to me and just focused on getting in a good ride. I wasn’t prepared for the hills at the beginning of the course and wanted to quit within the first mile. I, again, have minimal experience climbing hills so I was worried about the rest of the course. Luckily after the first five mile the hills went from big and terrifying to nice rollers. Besides my slowness, I really enjoyed the bike. I pushed myself more than I thought I could and didn’t give up. About half way into the ride I dropped one of my bottles filled with nuun so I turned around to go get it. It was supposed to reach 105 degrees with a heat index of 112 so I knew I needed the electrolytes. With about 5 miles left I was really ready to be done riding. My legs were getting tired from the hills and my butt was hurting way more than it should have been. I was estimating that I would finish in about 1:45 so I was pleasantly surprised when I came in early.

T2 2:30

T2 was pretty uneventful.

Run 1:23:02

As I was starting the run my dad tossed me a cold water bottle and it felt amazing. After you get off the bike the heat hits you like a wall. My legs felt great and I had energy but the heat wasn’t going to let me do anything spectacular. The run was also really hilly, making it even more difficult to run. I started off running but soon switched to walking the uphills and running the downhills and when I felt good enough to run. Most of the run is not in the shade, making it even more unpleasant. There were aid stations every mile and most had ice water. At each stop I would drink two cups and pour another two on me. It was so miserably hot that almost everyone in sight was walking. About 50 people were pulled from the course because of heat exhaustion. There was a girl at the first aid station who looked absolutely terrible and at that point I decided being safe was far more important than running. I tried to run the parts that were in the shade but it was still difficult to do anything. The last mile is on a shaded trail in the park and I was able to run the whole thing. I was holding a decent pace so I know if it weren’t for the heat I wouldn’t had a great time. Before you know it the bay is in sight and the finish line is right around the corner.

Overall 3:37:00

As soon as I crossed the finish line volunteers were icing me down and giving bottles of water to drink. I was pretty dizzy so I sat down for a little and then went to find my dad. We stocked up on food and drinks and then found a spot in the shade to relax for a little. I had a pretty bad headache but I think it was from dehydration. I had at least 10 bottles of fluid between 8:30 and 12:30 and I never had to pee once (TMI, sorry). I was sweating so incredibly much that I felt like I couldn’t get enough fluids in me. I did make sure to drink nuun and Gatorade so that hyponatremia was not as issue.

This race was one of the hardest things I have ever done but I am so proud of myself for not giving up and pushing through the harsh temps. It was not ideal for my first triathlon but now I feel ready for anything. I have a lot to improve on but this was a great learning experience.

Rock N' Roll USA Half Marathon Race Report

First off I just want to say how amazing yesterday was. It was a tough day but also a great one. I woke up at 5:15, which is pretty early for a college student who start class at 10 every morning. I was pretty tired when I woke up but I was also really excited. I made two frozen waffles and a small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and had a little bit of water to wash it all down. After eating I got dressed, grabbed all of my gear, and hit the road with my dad. We left my apartment around 5:50 and made it to the metro station by 6:30. We bought our metro tickets Friday when we went down to the expo and I have to say that was such a good move. The lines to buy tickets were all so long. I stopped at the bathroom at the metro and by 6:40 we were on the metro heading into DC.

There was so many people at the metro stop in DC that it took us about 15 minutes to just leave the building. Luckily the DC Armory is right next to the metro stop so that didn't slow us down too much. Friday night I was reading race reports from people who ran the race last year ans saw that the Armory was open on Saturday morning so I headed straight for the Armory to get in line for the bathroom and warm up a little bit. The line for the bathroom was pretty long, definitely longer than the lines for the porta-potties, but I will take a longer line and clean bathroom any day. While I was waiting in line I put my bib on when I discovered that I only had three safety pins. I started freaking out but luckily gear check had a bunch of extra pins. After that debacle I headed over to my corral right around 7:50. Little did I know that I wouldn't end up even crossing the start line until 8:45.

While I was waiting in my corral I realized I had to go to the bathroom again but I didn't think I would have enough time so I decided to just hope it would go away. Bad decision, I know. After waiting around for 40 minutes it was finally time for my corral to start. Before I knew it I was crossing the finish line and starting half marathon number two! I didn't really have a goal or plan for the race but in general I wanted to take it out pretty slowly and then try to pick it up later in the race. My first mile ended up being my slowest! I was happy to be running but those first few miles felt terrible. I just felt tired, heavy, and slow. I was a little worried about what this meant for the rest of the race but I kept telling myself to only focus on now.

this was my favorite view throughout the race

Even though I live in Baltimore, I have never been to DC so I was really enjoying the sights and just exploring a new city. Running is definitely my favorite way to check out new places. Around mile four, though, my stomach started hurting so badly I couldn't focus on anything except for where the nearest bathroom was. Around mile 5.5 I saw a runner dart into a Subway to use their bathroom so I did the same thing. I hated passing the on-course bathroom in the early miles and seeing such long lines. I needed to go to the bathroom but I didn't want 10-15 minutes added to my time because of waiting in line. Luckily I only added two minutes and five seconds to my time by stopping at Subway. Even though the stop added time, it was so worth it. I felt a million times better afterwards and I ran the entire rest of the race quicker because of it.

Not long after I stopped the hills began. There was one rather long climb but I was feeling so great from stopping that I powered up the entire hill! I felt so strong and ready to take on the rest of the race. But after that hill was more hills. I don't mind running hills but I was worried that the downhills would anger my IT Band like in Baltimore. Although I had a little bit of pain here or there it was nothing too bad. I saw my dad around mile 6.5 (I think) and I couldn't have been happier to see him. I wasn't expecting to see him along the course so that was a nice surprise that put a little pep in my step.

A few times during the last 5 miles of the race my legs would start to feel like dead weight. I was hoping to break 2:20 but with the bathroom stop I knew it would be close. I ended up giving my legs multiple pep talks throughout the race which actually seemed to really help. I am not sure why but the phrase summon the will to fight came to mind. I ended up repeating this phrase over and over in my head during the last few miles. I have always thought of myself as mentally weak when it comes to sports and pushing through pain but I proved to myself yesterday that I am a fighter.

During the last few miles of the race it started getting a lot warmer outside. I was looking for water everywhere and drinking 1-2 cups at each station. I had brought a water bottle with nuun in it as a backup but by this point it was pretty warm also. The last few miles are kind of a blur to me now honestly. I just remember my legs getting more and more tired and me pleading with them over and over to finish. We are almost done. I decided to try to pick up the pace as much as I could over the last mile and mile twelve was actually my fastest mile of the day! Once I only had about a quarter of a mile left I tried to sprint to the finish but this part was uphill and my legs wanted nothing to do with it. Once I could see the finish line I sprinted as best I could and raised my arms as I crossed the finish line.

My official time is 2:21:53. I was so happy to have set a PR, but I would have broken 2:20 if I didn't stop to go to the bathroom. My argument, though, is that if I hadn't stopped I would have run slower in general from the discomfort so it is nothing to get worked up about. After the race I grabbed all of the food that I could, found my dad and sat down and relaxed. I was surprised with how much better my legs felt compared to Baltimore. We stayed for a little after the race to watch Switchfoot perform and then headed back home. I am on spring break this week so he drove me back to our house in Pennsylvania. And because I was pretty tired last night, my boyfriend and I are celebrating St. Patty's day tonight!