2014 Rose City (Welland) Half Swim-Bike Race Report

3:25:29

Swim:38:08

Run up: 2:44

T1: 2:18

Bike: 2:42:19

Yesterday was the newly renamed Welland Half Iron triathlon - now called Rose City Half Triathlon.  This was supposed to be my tune up half iron distance in preparation for Ironman Lake Placid in 6 weeks.  However, on Friday when I went out for my easy run I strained my right soleus (the smaller, lower and deeper of the two calf muscles).  The injury presented itself very early into my run and got worse quickly so I cut my run short and headed home.  I was able to get into see Tracey and she assessed it and worked on and told me to get myself to a Dr.  I was able to get in to see Kris Sheppard at The Runner's Academy on Saturday morning and he confirmed a first degree soleus strain, no running for 2 weeks ...

So my half distance triathlon turned into a swim-bike as long as I promised not to run from the swim exit to transition.  I was so excited for this race because many of my friends were racing and Barry was racing his first half distance run-bike.  I was looking forward to the wonderful run course where you get to see so many of your fellow racers on the double loop.  I won't lie, I was sad.

Anyway, we left Toronto on Saturday afternoon with a truck full of gear, three kids, two long boards and two bikes.  Traffic was brutal and we were all a bit grumpy.  Got to the hotel, unpacked the truck and head to the race site to get our stuff.  Everything went smoothly checking in and it was no problem switching me to the Swim-bike.  We grabbed dinner and then back to the hotel to settle in for the night.  A little too much stress for me pre-race with all the kids but we made it work.

Sunday morning we were up and ready to ride to the race site at 7:30.  I had a bowl of cereal I brought from home and tucked a gel in my pocket to eat before the swim.  We said our good byes to the kids (they were walking to the race a little later) and head out to the race site.  It was a quick and easy ride.  I got into transition and found most of the TTC racers.  I as a bit late to the set up and had to wiggle myself onto the rack.  As always, there are people who need to learn to take less space and for the love of all things triathlon, it's a bike rack people not a wet suit rack!

race day selfie!

I was sort of lost as I have never done a swim-bike and it was just strange not setting up for the full triathlon.  We headed to the swim start and half way there I had to turn around and go back as I remembered my brake was rubbing on my front wheel and wanted to adjust it.  I made it back to the swim start, got barry to zip up my wetsuit and gingerly made my way into the cold water.

that's me and Barry chatting

The pros went off at 8:29 and then the first wave of age groupers went off - it was a huge wave that included men 34 and under and women 44 and under.  We got started and it was pretty messy. Feet and arms everywhere - I took a pretty swift kick in the cheek.  I had forgotten how nice it was to swim in a wetsuit and I quickly settled into my swim stroke and felt good and strong.  I made the first turn, crossed the canal, and turned onto the back side.  I was having a very pleasant swim when the fast boys of the second wave caught up to me.  I must have been smacked on the head by at least 4 or 5 of them as they passed me.  All in all it was a great swim.  Being a canal sighting is a non-issue.  I took the last two turns and headed for the exit.  I would have liked to see 36 minutes but I was very happy with my 38 min swim.

Sure, Nineteen wetsuits, I'll model for you

There is a long "run up" from the swim exit to transition - about 400 meters.  It took every ounce of my will to not run (though when I tried by default my calf reminded me).  I felt like I wanted to hold up a sign that said "Torn Calf, Can't Run" but then I hear Fiona call out "you better get a move on it there LK" which gave me the opportunity to call back "I can't run remember?".  Yeah, in my head I just got to validate out loud why I was strolling up to T1!

longest and slowest post swim run up ever

T1 was a few fumbles. Struggled to get my feet free of the wetsuit, then couldn't seem to get the gravel bits off my feet and my feet into my shoes, and then I grabbed my bike before putting on my helmet!!!!  What was wrong with me!  I finally got sorted and headed for the bike exit and the mount line.  Of course I'm walking, which always irritates me when I get behind someone walking ... I will have patience and respect from now on.  I mounted my bike without incident and headed out on a very fast and flat 90k ride.

always smiling even if in pain

I love this course!  I think this course is a great course to emulate Ironman Florida's course. This course is flat and fast but open and very susceptible  to windy conditions.  Just like 2 years ago, I lucked out and the wind was not very bad yesterday (though some disagree with me - but I guess when you are averaging 38.5 kph even a little wind you feel it eh Hector?).  However, this was not a great ride for me.

I have yet to mention that on Friday I had my bike re-fit - I had been having serious issues with shoulder pain on the bike so we tried to fix it and in doing so we did some radial changes to my fit including raising my seat by some 4 - 5 inches.  I am happy to report we have definitely helped the shoulder issue.  However, my hip flexors are not so happy.

By the 10th km I was feeling a sever tightness in my hips and across the tops of my quads.  I struggled with this for the rest of the ride.  I guess I had a great ride even with the issues in my legs and came off with a course record of 2:42:19 (basically the same as my distance record of 2:41:57 at Miami 70.3) averaging 33.3 kph.

It was nice seeing so many familiar faces on the course and I'm happy to report that there was no huge drafting issues like two years ago (2012 Welland Half Iron).  There were however two incidents I saw of male-female drafting.  I am 100 percent for sure that one of the 2 was full on partners but the other could have just been temporary.  But this one couple that passed me, with matching Ironman tattoos on their calf, they were full on cheating.  When they passed me, she was on his wheel, they passed and she free wheeled to drop back 2 - 3 meters.  Just enough to not draw too much attention.  And off they went.  Barry saw the same thing - and he remembered her name and bib number.  She won her age group.  Makes me sick.

I reprimanded a few guys for blatantly littering gel packs.  The first guy I saw had slowed down to take his gel and I was passing when he littered.  I said in a neutral voice "littering isn't nice.  in fact it's a dq".  Not a minute later he caught up to me and apologised.  Said it was his first race and he didn't know the rules.  He asked me what he was to do with the gel package when it was empty. I told him to put it in his pocket or discard at the aid station.  He thanked me and carried on.  He was very sincere at the time but looking back I wish I had asked him waht he does with them when he is training.

I had to stand and stretch my hip flexors quite a few times in the last 20 km.  I probably wasn't pushing as much power as I could have if my legs had been happier but over all I was happy with my bike split.  And then, with a Swim-Bike it is over.  Final time 3:25:29, 4th in my age group, missed the podium because I couldn't run 400m.

I'm done and I'm thrilled to see Calli Anna!

Being done with the race while most others are still racing is strange.  I got to hang out in the Recharge with Milk tent and spend some time in their recovery compression pants!

And spend some time with my race monkey that day!

me and my girl

Now, to the more exciting parts of the day.  Barry not only completed his first half distance Bike-Run - he crushed it!  It was exciting to have him out on the course with me.  They had a time trial start starting at 9:10am - 40 minutes after my swim start.  As I was walking into to transition I heard Barry scream "way to go Linda Kay" and I got to yell back "38 minutes!  By the time I bobbled my way out of T1 Barry had started.  I knew he was having a great bike as I wasn't catching him!  I passed a few guys who I thought were him but it wasn't until 50km in did I catch him!    He laid down a 2:45:55 on the bike so I got to see him in Transition.  He had a very long transition and then he looked good as he was off on the run.  He ran a 2:02:51.  He out biked and out ran the guy who took 3rd but missed the podium (perhaps he needs a refresher on transition).  With a time of 4:53:34 he crushed it!  Now he just have to realize he can swim and he'll be taking away all my Richard Family Records!  Way to go Barry!

Barry looking so strong at the finish!

I'm jealous - Barry crossing the finish line with Calli Anna!

A special thanks to our friends Leanne and Fiona who kept an eye on the kids for us so we could race. And Fiona for shooting some great photos!  To all my TTC mates - what a great race we all had and I loved sharing the day with you!

many of the TTC gang

 And a big thanks to Griffin for coming to see his dad race and for being in charge of Calli Anna and Jensen!  And to John Salt and the Multisport Canada crew who put on a great event and bring the long course to us locally.    Even with a hiccup or two, this is by far one of my favourite races. The staff is great (thanks for the multiple changes of T-shirts and making everything so easy).  And of course a HUGE thank you to all the volunteers who support this race.  It cannot happen without the volunteers - please remember to thank the volunteers!

Ironman Lake Placid is next, in just under 6 weeks on July 27.  I'm scared a bit.  It's been 3 days since the calf injury.  I'm moving away from ice and onto compression and TENS.  I'm taking to Chris and Michael to figure out what to do with my bike fit, and I'm getting ready to spend a whole lot of time in the pool and at therapy.  At this point I have to keep my fitness up and focus on getting healthy and to the start line!

BOSTON

The Boston Marathon (Yes, I know it was 7 1/2 weeks ago, half was written then, half now)!

What is there to say that hasn't been said about the Boston Marathon?  I'm sure this has all been said before, a million times, but this is my Boston Marathon.  It is the epic marathon of all marathons.  And this year,  with a much larger field than in the past and the weight of the events of 2013, the Boston Marathon delivered everything and more.  I can only hope I do it justice with my following race report.

We arrived in Boston on Sunday just after noon.  I was anxious to get to the expo.  It was crazy! So many people! We got up to the bib collection area and I was happy to see no lines.  I quickly got my packet and my t-shirt and headed into the expo.  I was quickly disappointed to find out the expo sold out of the small jackets which sent both Barry and I into a bit of a negative tailspin.  I ended up ordering it on line and just have to wait to get to wear it - it has already arrived in FLA and should be making it's way up to Toronto in the next day or two.

The expo was incredibly crowded and frustrating.   We picked up a few things  then decided to get out of the craziness and grab a late lunch at PF Changs.   Along the walk we got to take in the sights and crowds of Boylston and the finish line area.

That's the Finish line!

Signs like there were everywhere in Boston

We made our way back to the hotel and had a relaxing night with room service and Amazing Race on the TV.  I was in Wave 3, corral 2 with a start time of 11am.  I was instructed to load the busses at Boston Commons between 8 and 8:30 and we had made arrangements to meet up with some other Torontonians at 7:45, so it was not an early morning race start that I'm so very used to.

Race morning was quite relaxed.  I had a fitful sleep as to be expected pre-race but woke feeling particularly rested and very excited.  I had laid out all my gear the night before so I just methodically got dressed and then got dressed even more in an old pair of sweats that would be ditched at the start line.  I wasn't looking particularly runner like when I left the hotel!

Looking very runner like no?

We grab bagels and coffee on our way out of the hotel and headed to Boston Commons and the incredible line of school buses that would take us runners to the start line.  I cannot stress how efficient the entire process was.  I met up with Rob and his buddies so I wasn't on my own for the long couple of hours ahead waiting for my start time.

The bus ride was uneventful but a tad long and a bit warm.  By the time we were pulling into the Athlete's Village I was ready to hit the potty lines.  Even though I'm pretty sure every port-o-potty in Massachusetts was there, the line ups were long.  So long that one of the gals in our group went and then got right back into line! 

We all sat and chatted and ate and drank awaiting our turn to walk to the start line.  Finally our wave and corrals were called and we all trotted off.   It's about a mile walk to the start line and there were spectators along the route!  It was pretty amazing!  

if you look closely I have a Mike's Hard Lemonade in my hand.  Yes, I had a sip.

Before I knew it we were lined up and awaiting our start.  The energy was amazing, the weather was amazing and not once did my head go to that place of "why do I want to run this far".

We were off and the next 3 hours and 43 minutes were some of the best running minutes of my life.  I high fived hundreds of kids, I had a silly grin on my face for the entire time.  I was moved to tears at various points, like passing amputee runners, survivors from last years bombing.  And passing the Team MR8 cheering zone on the route.

The race went by in such a blur.  I ran it too fast out of the gate.  When I hit my first 5km split I thought, oh dear as I was averaging sub 5min/km.  Then I hit the 10k split, still running too fast.  I said to a fellow runner, My husband is probably screaming at his phone "slow down" as he sees these splits.

The course was lined with spectators the entire way.  The first part of the course is very fast and mostly down hill.  I felt great and enjoyed the run.  Around mile 18 there is a very steep and long decent and this is where I started falling apart a bit.  The down hill crushed my quads and I felt it for the rest of the race.  But the spectators made this race.  I wish I had finished writing this piece earlier because it's now been over 7 weeks since the race and my memories are already blurring. Some times the noise from the spectators was deafening - especially the "kiss me" girls from Wellesley Collage and the frat boys from Boston Collage at the top of Heartbreak Hill.  

By the time you get into Boston the crowds are even more amazing and even though physically you feel like you've just ran a marathon, emotionally I was feeling like a million bucks.  I made that final turn to the finish line and started looking for Barry and Leanne.  I was over joyed when I saw them there screaming my name and cheering.  I was well on my way to finishing the Boston Marathon and qualifying again!

The finish line is all but a blur.  I crossed, I got a medal, there were photographers everywhere.  Someone handed me a bottle of water and by that time things were getting a little foggy.  I was also dressed into a thermal cape by another volunteer. I was hyperventilating and my legs were more than wobbly.  As I headed toward the barrier to grab before I fell, a very young, very good looking doctor with an amazing Australian accent came to my aid.  He asked a few questions and we both realized I was ok so he picked me up and got me walking again.  Someone handed me a bag of food and there was the most delicious packaged bread product in there that was to die for.  I made my way to the corner where I was to meet Barry and clung to the wire fence.  A nice old lady who had run her 20th Boston Marathon chatted with me and I sent BBMs to Carole and Barry.  Barry was waiting for our friend Rob to finish so I just held tight, snacked on the yummy bread and watched the hundreds of runners reunite with their loved ones.

my finish line selfie

What an amazing race and what an honour to run Boston this year.  I will forever hold this as the most special Marathon I have ever run and I hope to run it again in the future.  I'm not sure it will be in the plan for next year but I will be back!  Thank you to the BAA for putting on such a great race and to all the volunteers that support this very well run race.  And to all the spectators not only cheering like crazy but offering fruit, water, baby wipes, tissues and candy.  Most Awesome Marathon Ever!

Thanks to my hubby and number one fan for for all his support and thanks to my favourite race volunteer and ever supportive friend Leanne for coming out to cheer me on and join me for my post race beer!

The Day Before Boston

I'm on the flight to Boston and in less than 24 hours I will be running my 3rd (not including ironman) marathon.  It's not ideal that I'm arriving to Boston so late but with Easter this weekend I had to compromise to appease the kids.  I still "ruined" easter according to my dear daughter but I'm sure she will get over it.

My thoughts on the Boston marathon are pretty simple.  3 years ago I would have never even set a goal to qualify.  Then some how, through training for Ironman Florida I got it in my head that I wanted to run a full marathon and qualify.

I ran the Chicago marathon in 2012 on a last minute bought bib.  I paced Barry for the first 32k and instead of pulling out like my training plan said, I finished the last 10k feeling super strong.  It was after Chicago that I seriously contimplated training to qualify for Boston.

3 1/2 months after completing Ironman Florida,  I raced the Ft. Lauderdale marathon and qualified with a 3:37, well under my 3:45 qualifing time.  This, of course, was 2 months before the horrifying events at Boston last year.  It never even crossed my mind that I wouldn't run Boston in 2014. But it made qualifying this year a bit special. Though any year you qualify for Boston is special!

It's already been an emotional day and I can only predict many tears tomorrow as I run. My wave stars at 11 and if all goes well I will be across the finish line before the time the first bomb went off.  And I know that throughout my 42.2km,  26.1 miles, my thoughts will go to the families of those who lost their lives watching and cheering on a sport I adore.  When it seems too hard, I'll think of those folks who have had to learn to walk, to run, to  dance again on prosthetic limbs.

And when I cross that finish line - when I earn the right to say "I ran the Boston Marathon" it just might be the sweetest finish line I have ever crossed!

So don't forget to check up on me. Bib 19270, wave 3 start time 11 am.   You can track my 5k splits at www.baa.org.  you can also watch the race online at watchlive.baa.org. 

Around the Bay 30k Race Report

While I have registered for the ATB a few times in the past, I never ran it.  This year I did not register before it sold out but got a bib before the transfer date so today I ran my first (and most likely last) Around the Bay 30k today, March 30,2014.

It was an uneventful morning, and not a particularly early wake time given the 9:30am start time plus an hour drive.  We picked up Carole and Elaine at 8am and were on the way.  We made it to the race site with plenty of time to look for a parking space and were lucky enough to scoring an amazing space very close to the venue, right behind a charter bus ... whose driver was nice enough to let me use the bathroom so I didn't even have to deal with port-o-let lines!  Bonus!

We slowly made it to the start line, not in much of a hurry as Elaine and Carole are relaxed runners and I was not "racing" today, I was just out for my long training run for Boston.  We finally caught up to the massive group and this is where I saw something that hit me as a bit of a problem.  Way up, hundreds of people in front of me, the only pace bunny sign I could see read 3:30!  OMG - 3:30?????  Then I turned around and realized there were probably only 100 or so folks behind me.  So, 13,000 registered ...  running at my "training pace" of 5:30/km (estimated 2:45 finish) I was not in the most ideal position.  Deep breath, this is not a race, it is training, it is all good.

Carole, me and Elaine at the back of the starting pack!

The gun went off and it took me 10 minutes to get to the start line!  10 minutes!  Ok, not a problem, this is just a training run.  So I ran, I weaved, I passed and passed and passed.  The weather, while it threaten to be cold and windy, was pretty darn nice for March 30!  By kilometre 3, I was taking the sleeves off my wind breaker.  From then out I felt perfectly dressed in my tights and light long sleeved shirt.  I have to say the weather probably couldn't have been better for a late March day!

So here's this race in a nutshell.  20 kilometres of boring, ugly, smelly industrial running.  Then 10 km of beautiful homes and rolling hills with some massive climbs ending around kilometre 27 and then a down hill run to the finish.  

I finished in 2:42:36 - that's a PR by a couple of minutes.  I've only run one other 30km race - Midsummer's Night in 2012 - and that I finished in 2:44:33 but as I said back then in my race report:

 I felt horrible.  I cannot remember feeling so horrible after a race. I stopped at medical and sat down on a chair but quickly stood up.  Sitting was not the right thing to do.  I staggered to the medals and found my way to the plastic bag that had a banana and a bag of candy.  My legs were wobbly and I was searching for a place to lean when I saw Cavin walking toward me.  A huge wave of relief washed over me.  I did not want to be alone in a sea of people.  Shawna,  Calvin's lovely fiancée took my stuff (I had my hand-held bottle, the steal bottle they hand out at the finish line and my food baggie.  I inhaled my banana thinking it would somehow cure my pains.  I'm not sure how long we stood there but I slowly stretched and regained my balance and composure.  They were off to the beer tent and I made my way back to the finish line to wait for Barry.

Unlike after the Midsummer's Night 30k, today I felt great - like it was just any other training run I've ever done.  So my running has definitely improved in the couple of years!

going so fast I'm a blur

So happy to see Barry in the stands and happy to feel great.

I executed this race pretty well except for starting so far back and having to run through people for the entire 30k.  I nailed my nutrition and adapted my eating schedule according to the water stations.  I felt great the entire run and feel pretty good now.  I'm feeling positive going into Boston in 3 weeks - I'm not sure what my goal is going to be but I would be happy to run between 5:20 and 5:30/km.  I have to keep in mind that I still have Ironman training on the schedule for the next three weeks as well!

Carole, me and Elaine post-race

Will I run ATM30k again - probably not - unless the weather was going to absolutely awesome and I had an early season Marathon (like Boston) to run.   However, it is worth noting, that while this is a HUGE race, it is run pretty well.  The water stations (while not necessary spaced as I like) were well staffed and the volunteers as always were amazing (Please remember to say THANK YOU to the volunteers on the course- I didn't hear nearly enough of that today).  The finish line is very efficient and well run with a good assortment of food and they do a good job of getting you through the finish area without feeling rushed.  A+ to the race director and his team!

And always, a big Thank You to my number one fan for driving us to Hamilton and being photographer and finish line sherpa!  Thanks Barry!

Did I bite off more than I can chew?

Well here it is, officially the end of March is around the corner and the beginning of Spring is here though the weather outside and the forecast would have you thinking it was still deep in February.

Does that look like Spring to you?

I haven't been myself lately and I can list off a million and one excuses why. I pushed too hard at the Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon and I had to take 2 weeks off to recover, then I had my trip to NYC with my daughter coming up and then I got a head cold right before leaving for NYC ...  in any case, my training schedule was basically non-existent and definitely very little consistency if any!  Not to mention this winter and the Polar Vortex!

And then it sort of hit me - did I bite off too much this year?  Is shifting from end of year Ironman to a mid-season Ironman not giving my body (and mind) enough distance from Ironman training?  Did I really think I could sandwich an Ironman in between the Boston and the NYC Marathons?  How in the heck did I get here anyway??????

But I am here - and I've got entry to and paid for both Boston and NYC - both of which I may never get the opportunity to run again.  Then there is Ironman Lake Placid - my "validation" Ironman.  What's a validation Ironman you ask?  As you know I have done two Ironmans - Ironman Florida 2012 and Ironman Cozumel 2013.  Both of these course are flat and considered "easy".  Well, let's just be clear - there is no such thing an an easy way to propel your body 140.6 miles.  If you take a look at this guy's number crunching you will see that Cozumel is ranked just under Lake Placid, Florida however is a lot further down.

http://www.runtri.com/2010/07/runtri-benchmarks-easiest-ironman.html

In any case, in my head, I was pretty sure I needed to do a "real" Ironman - like Placid, or Penticton, or Whistler, Or Coeur d'Alene or Mont Tremblant, to quell the thought that I only picked the easy Ironmans.  Now of course people have made comments to this effect but honestly this all stems from my own head.  So last July I signed up for Placid.  Yes, at that time I knew I was running Boston and NYC marathons.  Yes, I think I was crazy.

But here I am, 4 weeks out from Boston Marathon and 17 weeks out from Ironman Lake Placid.  It is what it is and I'm doing both, I've just had to shift my goals a little bit.  I always wanted to run my BQ time at Boston but that is just going to have to wait for another lifetime.  I will have to take it easy in Boston because I will not have weeks to recover.  In fact, I won't have any time to recover because I will be 3 weeks into my official training for Placid.  I will be pushing my biking legs to the max.

And, I've decided to take a lot of pressure off myself for IMLP.  When I got into this crazy sport I promised it was for fun.  Then I sort of got fast.  And then the talk and dreams of qualifying for Kona filled my head. And then it didn't seem fun any more.  And then it seemed that I was going to disappoint those closest to me.

And then my husband - the greatest sherpa, my biggest fan, and most amazing sport photographer, Barry sent me the most beautiful email.  I won't share it in it's entirety but one of the many paragraphs that hit home I will:

Go forward bravely and boldly.

You have become a powerhouse of endurance and you have trained brilliantly, religiously and so incredibly for 3 years now!

You are amazing!!

Fear not, as you battle on.

Fear not.

Rest assured that all will be good, no matter what the outcome.

Good, bad or neutral, life will go on and more races will come.

 So I might have bit off more than I can chew but I'm not going to back down from this challenge.  So I'm back on the training program, focusing on IM training with a little marathon training in the background.  I'm running the Around the Bay 30k next Sunday as my longest training run for Boston.  And then I'm going to run Boston, enjoying every moment of it and not once regretting that I'm not running fast enough.  And as for Lake Placid - I can only train, like I have trained in the past - I will push myself to my limits over and over in training and then on race day, I will push myself over my limits as I have done in the Ironmans before.  And at the end will be the next question - Which Ironman next?

Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon Race Report

Ok, well it's been awhile since I last hit the blog and I guess I owe myself a race report on the Fort Lauderdale half marathon since it's been over 2 weeks. 

This race came about because I had a 20k training run on my Boston marathon training schedule and I was going to be in south Florida anyway so why not. Well. Short answer is if I ran it as a training run then all good, but if I raced it for a major PR having not trained for a half marathon it could be down right stupid. I'll save the suspense... I was down right stupid.

We arrived in South Florida on Friday night. Dropped the kids with the grandparents and headed to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. The weather was perfect and I spent the afternoon drinking beers and getting sun by the cruddy hotel pool. We had a nice dinner out and retired to the cruddy hotel room for a pretty decent sleep. Given the 6am start time and the bus ride to the start line, I was up at 4 am. Had my normal hotel breakfast of coffee and cereal and headed out. 

cold but not nervous like I was the previous year

It was quite "chilly" especially since I was in my little running shorts and tank top. I knew as soon as we got moving I would be perfectly dressed.  This race is run amazingly well as we made it to the start line with ample time. Found a spot next to a generator to stay warm in the exhaust and waited for the start. 

Race was great. I started near the front and was just so happy to start running to get warm. Settled into a nice 4:35/km pace and ran happily. The sun was just coming up as we crossed e bridge over the inter-coastal and hit A1A. It was pretty spectacular.  I ran a consistent race, staying with a good group of people.

the views are down right stunning

There isn't much more to say than this is a beautiful, flat and fast course. Aid stations are well staffed and efficient.  Great support and a fun race to run. The last 5 km my legs were feeling the stress of the run since I was running basically faster than I normally would for this distance. I pushed through and hit the finish line in 1:37:15. A huge PB for me by about 5 minutes. 

Barry's signature shot

I was completely wasted when I finished.  It was like I say at the end of a hard track interval- if you don't feel like puking you didn't go fast enough. I felt like puking.  It is a fabulous finish line but I couldn't find Barry and that is always stressful for me. At the end of a race I have this unnerving need to find him and when I can't I get super irritated and annoyed. 

This was me when Barry found me

Finally we found each other and at this time I was freezing cold. They don't have Mylar blankets at these southern races so I was just ready to get back to the cruddy hotel and get out of my wet running cloths and into something warm. I wanted to go back and see the official results because I thought I might have made the podium. But of course we went back and I was hit with yet another 7 th place (6 th and 7th seem to be my sweet spot). But I ran it as fast as I could and at the time I was happy with the PR and breaking 1:40.

Sadly, racing this race was a mistake as it trashed my legs. Specifically my right hamstring. Exactly what happened last year after racing the Toronto Yonge Street 10k ....  So I've had to pay the price by missing out of running long while in Florida and having to curtail my training for a couple of weeks. 

So I returned to frigid Toronto without running a nice 30k run while in warm Florida. This of course threw me into a seriously depressed tailspin but that's for another post. 

Lesson learned though, if Ironman Lake Placid is my "A" race, my expectations and plan for Boston Marathon have to be tweaked!  While I had grand hopes for running close to 3:30 at Boston, I am now thinking just breaking 4 hours at Boston will be respectable.  I'm back to running now and my hamstring seems to be ok so only the next few weeks of training will tell!

And if you ever want a great destination race - I have now raced both the full (read the report here) and the half and I would do them again!  The expo is amazing for such a small race, the logistics are well run, the course is amazing and the finish-line has more food and freebees than any race I have ever been at!  So next time the Polar Vortex has you down escape to Ft. Lauderdale in mid-February for a destination race!

It's 2014 Already?

Happy New Year!  I think that will be the last time I say those words.  I just recently celebrated had my 41st birthday and have decided that in my life as a triathlete I will only celebrate my birthday every 5 years ... so here's looking at turning 45 in 4 years.

So, what have I been up to?  I started training for the Boston Marathon - fun times training for a marathon in the middle of the worst winter I have ever seen in Toronto.  Couple that with the fact that we remained in Canada over the holidays removing my  2 weeks of outdoor running in Florida at the beginning of this training cycle and that means in door training has consumed my life.  One thing you should know about me is I do not like the cold (hey I'm a Florida girl remember?) and the other thing is that if there is even just one little patch of ice, I will find it and I will slip.  Guaranteed.  So you can basically assume that until we are having an incredibly freakish warm spell and all the ice is gone, I will be doing my runs at the indoor track and on the treadmill.

Speaking of track - I love it!  I started last week training with the Toronto Triathlon Club at the beautiful Monarch Park indoor track.  Tuesday night track party as I like to call it!  Running track alone is dreadful.  Running  with a group and a coach is delightful!  If you get the chance to join a track group I high recommend it!

Another thing I have been up to is making great use of my Christmas present!

2.5hp motor!  LOVE my Vitamix!

Besides now having the smoothest smoothies in town, Ive ventured into making lovely frozen deserts and great soups.  I think the over all verdict is this blender is totally worth the hefty price-tag!  If you want to make a super yummy soup - this is my new all time favourite!
http://www.againstallgrain.com/2013/01/30/leftover-roast-chicken-soup-with-roasted-vegetables/

I've also ventured back to the yoga mat - believe it of not I went 3 consecutive days this week.  After my long run on the weekend I was feeling some sciatic hamstring pain in my left leg.  I quickly remembered my struggle with this in my right leg last year and decided I had to fix it asap.  After a plank-knee-swivel went horribly wrong on Sunday I sent a plea to my massage therapist and was lucky to get in to see her on Monday.  We are sure it is the Gluteus Medius and the Piriformis and Jen was able to work out the trigger points.  I decided right then and there that I was going to put yoga into my schedule to take care of these issues before they took over my training.  I am fortunate to have one of my Ironman mentors as a yoga instructor at my gym and he has helped me a lot with these issues.

Next up is the Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon in February along with 10 glorious warm days in Florida!  Until then, I'll be wishing for warmer temps and no more ice or snow!