What I Learned from Triathlon #2

Another race, another post on all the things I learned from it. It never ceases to amaze me how many things I figure out during a race versus training. I went into this race with the goal to make it a learning experience and that is exactly what it was.

1. Wear sunglasses even if it is raining
I knew that the weather for this race wasn't going to be nice. I woke up to overcast skies with a 50% of rain. I contemplated not bringing my biking glasses since it wasn't going to be sunny but then remembered I had interchangeable lenses for them. I can't even count how many people I saw on the bike struggling to see because of the rain in their eyes. Luckily for me my clear lenses kept the rain out without making it too dark outside.

2. Put running shoes upside down so they don't get filled with water and soggy if it is raining
Since it was raining for the majority of this race most of these points will be related to the weather and rain. During the bike leg of the race was when it was raining the heaviest. I noticed that my bike shoes were filling up with rain & getting heavy. I thought about how nice it would be to put on dry running shoes until I remembered those were getting even more wet than my bike shoes.

3. Know how to fix common problems that may occur on your bike
While climbing up a big hill on the bike, I shifted too low and ended up popping off my chain. I tried fixing it but couldn't figure it out and ended up walking my bike for almost ten minutes before my dad came to my rescue and fixed the chain for me. Had my dad not found me I probably wouldn't have finished the race. This is an easy thing to fix but there are many other things that a lot of people don't know how to do regarding their bikes.

4. Be prepared for aid stations to run out of water
The aid station on the run was hit twice by those doing the sprint tri and four times by those doing the Olympic. Even though the race was pretty small the station was out of water by the time I was hitting it for the second time. Luckily I really wasn't that thirsty and knew the finish line wasn't too far away but had I been doing the Olympic distance I would have been pretty dehydrated.

5. Biking & running with no sense of how fast you are going can be a glorious thing
I normally don't ride with a bike computer, although I do use the MapMyRide app on my phone and review the details afterwards. I hardly ever run without my Garmin though. At Sunday's race I decided not to run with my Garmin for some reason. At first I was annoyed that I didn't know how fast I was running or how far I had run, but I ended up running almost 90 seconds faster per mile than I thought I was. Had I seen that pace on my watch I probably would have slowed down so I didn't burn out. Good thing I didn't have my watch.

6. Running out socks will save you time in T2 but will you give you nasty blisters
Since the run was only 3 miles I decided not to run with socks. I definitely saved time in T2 but my feet were covered in blisters not long into the run. I do credit some of them to my shoes being wet from the rain. Most of the blisters weren't too bad but I got two, one on each pinky toe, that were so bad I could barely walk the next day.

7. Arrive to transition early if there aren't assigned spots for bikes
I knew this was a small race so I didn't think it would be a big deal to arrive later than normal. The only problem was that everybody spread out making less room to rack bikes. I walked around for a few minutes before asking someone to move over who was taking up enough space for three bikes.

8. Always bring more fluid then you plan on using
I know pretty well how much I drink while on the bike but due to a very long weekend I went into the race already dehydrated. I was incredibly thirsty the whole time and almost ran out of water after only the first lap on the bike. It is better to be overprepared than underprepared.

9. The bike is not as important as the person riding it
Even though I ride a hybrid bike I still was able to hang with some of the guys. I often get caught up in needing the fanciest bike because I think it will make me ride faster. Yes a tri bike will be faster than a hybrid bike but it doesn't mean that I can't still ride fast. It is the training that matters, not the equipment.

10. Whenever possible practice on the race course in advance
I knew that this bike course was really hilly and that my climbing skills were to a minimum. Instead of panicking (actually there was a fair amount of panicking) I drove the 25 minutes to the race site to practice the hills that I would be riding on race day. Come race day I knew every inch of the course and knew what to be careful and when to really push it. I also ran on some of the trails and knew I could handle the uneven terrain.

Keystone State Tri Training Week 6

Monday:
Sometimes I feel like I need a rest after the weekend. I had little motivation to do much of anything on Monday. I did drag myself out of the couch to go to the gym for some strength training. I had a bit of a breakthrough at the gym was able to increase my weight in most exercises. Lifting makes me feel so strong in a way that running doesn't. They really compliment each other well.

Tuesday:
I opted to sleep in instead of going to my usual yoga class. I then went for an easy bike ride to loosen up my legs from Monday night's lifting. The ride was slow but just what my legs needed. Then in the evening I went to the track for some 400 repeats. I had a hard time settling into a groove but I still was happy with my workout.

Wednesday:
The day I questioned everything. I was insanely tired and needed the extra rest. It was hard choosing to take the day off but it was greatly needed.

Thursday:
My car needed an inspection so I ran to the gym for yoga class. It was a short, mostly downhill run that really didn't take much out of me. After an hour of yoga stretches, I did a strength session. I debated whether I should have even lifted so I went easy on my lower body and really pushed my upper body.

Friday & Saturday:
My boyfriend and his younger brother threw a back to school party that ended up a little out of control, leaving my boyfriend and I running around playing chaperon all night. I think between 7:30 at night and 4 in the morning I sat down for maybe 30 minutes. After the party Friday night, Saturday was spent cleaning and catching up on sleep.

Sunday:
Triathlon!

Weekly Totals

• Swimming: 825 yards
• Biking: 30.2 miles
• Running: 13.01 miles
• Yoga: 60 min
• Strength: 1 hr 35 min
• Total hours: 7 hrs 6 min

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

What A Day

I survived! This morning's triathlon was an emotional roller coaster filled with drama but all in all I am really pleased with how the race went. Full recap to come so stay tuned!

When Exhaustion Sets In

For the past few days I have been abnormally tired. I enjoy sleeping in but I have trained myself to  wake up early to get in workouts. I go to bed early and even take frequent naps if I am really tired. Lately though I am to the point where all I want to do is sleep. My body is fighting back.

Today was supposed to be my last hard workout before Sunday's triathlon. It was also supposed to be my last day before my rest week starts. I woke up this morning sore and even more tired than normal. Almost instantly I decided it was better to start my rest week one day early than dig myself into an even deeper hole.

I do think some of this is due to my lupus. Every once in awhile I get tired to the point where I just need to sleep pretty much all day long to catch up. But I regularly get between 8-9 hours of sleep a night so it's not like I am really sleep deprived.

Ever since my first triathlon in July I have really upped both the duration and intensity of my workouts. I started doing two-a-days at least three times a week, with normally at least two days on bricks or other forms of combined workouts. I started adding in weekly long runs and track workouts, and changed my bike focus from long and easy to short and intense.

It really comes as no surprise that I am so tired. My body has been working really hard and deserves some time off. But I don't want to completely stop training since I am running a marathon in 11 weeks. Instead of panicking that my training was going to be ruined I tried to make a rest/recovery plan to get be back to normal.

Extra rest day
My planned rest day was on Saturday but I am taking today off as well. I want to feel refreshed on Sunday and ready to race, not super tired and sluggish. I will be using my extra time to start packing for school and take care of some things that have been put on the back-burner lately.

Super easy workouts
I don't want to take the next few days completely off but I will be keeping my workouts as easy as possible. I want to keep my muscles loose and fresh and ready to race. Not is not the time to try to build fitness. All of the work is done.

Eating the right foods
I started taking a multivitamin back in May but that is not enough to give the body all the micronutrients that it needs. Being a vegetarian I do struggle to get enough protein so that is going to be a focus over these next few days. Primarily though I am going to cut out junk food and try to eat as naturally as possible. My body feels the best after eating natural, wholesome foods.

Stretch, foam roll, compress
Yesterday I got my first pair of compression socks in the mail that I have been living in since I got them. My lower legs feel so much better than normal after track workouts and I credit that to running in the socks. My legs in general are really tight and sore so stretching and foam rolling and becoming a part of my daily routine. I am going to be taking full advantage of tomorrow yoga class as well.

Anything I missed?

It's Race Week Again

Despite all of the training I have been doing it is hard to believe that I have a race this weekend. I am still unsure if I am doing the Olympic or sprint distance so I have been training for both. I would definitely prefer to do the sprint though because the bike course is insanely hilly. Regardless of the hills I am much less anxious about this triathlon. Going into my first one I didn't know what to expect and wanted to see all my hours of training pay off. This time though I am also training for a marathon which is my A race for the year.

This week is shaping up to be perhaps my busiest so I am glad that this is not a super important race for me. My goal for both this week and my race is to have fun and celebrate the end of summer. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on myself and take away from everything I have going on this week.

The beautiful race site

That doesn't mean I am not transitioning into race mode though. I am increasing my sleep, especially in the beginning of the week before everything starts, eating extra carefully, and making sure every workout has a purpose. I am not tapering for this race but I am going to take the end of the week easy so my legs feel fresh come race day.

I am hoping to use this race to gain experience and learn more about the sport of triathlon. I still know so little and want to take advantage of this race so I can enter next season stronger and wiser. Hopefully it won't be as hot and I can put up some decent times too.

Keystone State Tri Training Week 5

Monday:
I started the week off with an easy bike ride on the trail. My legs were tired only climbing during rides so the flat trail was greatly welcomed. My pace was slow but the whole ride was very enjoyable. In total I rode 17.2 miles.

Tuesday:
After going to my Tuesday morning yoga class I went to the gym for some strength training. In the evening I went to the track for my weekly track session but was stormed out. I contemplated pushing through the storm but I called it quits after a tornado was spotted in my county. Safety first.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was a lazy day. I really don't remember what I did all day but I did manage to get for a 2 mile recovery run.

Thursday:
Thursday morning I did my weekly long run where I hit double digits for the first time. Of the 10 miles I did 2 at marathon goal pace and another 2 at half marathon goal pace. Very successful run. After my run I stretched out with a lunchtime yoga class.

Friday:
I was planning on going up to Pinchot for some hill work on Friday but heavy rain scared me away from trying to ride. Instead I went for a recovery run that was the opposite of Thursday's run. Then in the evening I went to the gym to strength train.

Saturday:
Rest day! Gosh I love my rest days.

Sunday:
I finished off the week with 4.69 miles of easy running to make my weekly total 22 miles, a new weekly high for me.

Weekly Totals

• Biking: 17.2 miles
• Running: 22 miles
• Yoga: 90 min
• Strength: 1 hr 25 min
• Total hours: 8 hrs 4 min