Standing on the "Overall Podium"

I've said it plenty of times before, and I'll say it again: I love racing triathlons! And it's so much more than "all about the results" to me despite the title of this post. It's the whole experience, it's the other people, it's feeling the race adrenaline, going fast, dealing with adversity, smiling through it all while hurting a lot too, etc, etc, etc. It's all those things and more that will make a great race -- if you just focus on results, where's the fun in that?!

So can you tell I raced today? Totally still on that high :) I did the Bonelli Olympic Triathlon that I mentioned in yesterday's post. I didn't realize until just now that this was only the second true Olympic-distance tri I've ever done (OC Tri in 2009 being the only other). All in all it was a great day. I ended up 2nd female OVERALL and 1st AG. It was pretty cool getting an overall placing for the first time. That even convinced me to stick around for awards :)
At first we heard that I was third overall (thus the 3 fingers), then got word it was 2nd. Btw, check out my brand-new Ignis kit, sweet huh!!!
My good friend Jason got 3rd overall, he's going for speed this year (instead of Ironman), and it shows!!

The whole race experience this time around got off to a good start. A mellow Friday night with a solid dinner (sweet potatoes, chicken, veggie-loaded salad, beer). I prepped my overnight oats with chia seeds so I'd have brekkie waiting in the morning. The race location was well over an hour from my place, so we hit the road early. Good thing we did because even at pre-6 a.m. there was major crap going down on the freeways -- several accidents, one of which had the whole freeway closed, and the offramp for the race site was closed too. Several detours thus ensued. Thank goodness I had a sherpa driving me otherwise I would have been uber panicky on my own. I don't do well with figuring out new directions in a foreign area so early in the morning when I have racing on the brain haha.

So to the race... the Bonelli races are low key, very grassroots and full of friendly happy people. Love love love. Surprisingly, there was a pretty good turnout for this event, more peeps than I'd seen at the past races. Plus, I had several friends, one client (Ray, with the hair) and Mike (my training buddy/boss/friend) all doing the race too, so I felt right at home :)
Here are Mike and I (in the middle) pointing out the buoys on the swim course; we tend to take the leadership roles haha:So crowded in the middle of nowhere on a Saturday morning at 6 a.m. Only triathletes :)

I remember the race courses from the shorter events being really fun and fairly challenging at points, sort of like a mini Vineman. I had never done the Oly distance, but I expected it to be a solid course too. It was. As Mike said after the race today, "That race has teeth."

Doing a few pre-race routines (complete with texts as evidenced below), then it was time to get going! Note the bathroom pic -- no line for the girls, but major line for the dudes. wtf? Also, sorry that there are only pics of me, I was not in charge of the camera ;)

Swim
1.5 k is not too far from a 70.3 swim, so I wanted to test a new anti-cramping strategy: compression socks DURING the swim. I wore them under my new Zoot Prophet. My goal for the swim was about 27 minutes or faster. I know, that is slow for that distance, but remember, I'm a slow swimmer and I know that's what I'm capable of doing without wasting too much energy. I got in for a warmup, and the water was warm and gross. Lots of disgusting sediment and pretty much no visibility. Not that big of deal. When we started, I got going at my comfortable pace as to not overdo it right away. The Prophet felt amazing. I had a few run-ins with others, etc., but didn't get too knocked around. Actually, I was all alone for the most part so no drafting potential :( The big issue this time was sighting. Not getting off track, I actually sighted the course just fine, but when I lifted my head to sight it was causing weird sensations down my back into my legs... as if that was going to set off cramping. And sure enough, after enough sighting and time in the water, calf cramps began with roughly 300-400 to go. The last chunk I was swimming with feet dorsiflexed to offset the cramps. No fun. So, compression socks were arguably ineffective at preventing cramping, although, they might have helped from making the cramping worse. I'd wear the socks again in the water. My watch said 28 something coming out of the water. Pissed. Blah. I'm not going to be negative nancy about it, nor will I dwell. Moving on.

Bike
After a rookie T1 (need to practice that more I guess), I was hammerin on the bike with a smile from ear to ear. As always, the goal was to pass as many girls as possible and rock on. The bike course was fun and a lot hillier than I expected -- both in climbs and decents. Unfortunately I didn't have my magnet on my Zipp to get speed/distance, but I at least got power, and overall I averaged 175 watts. I'll take that. I'd say there was about three good hills on each lap (three laps) where I was climbing at 250-300+ watts and passing lots of girls and guys all along. HILL WORK IS PAYING OFF. Even on the downhills I was passing people, including bigger dudes who had weight/momentum on their side. Part of my ability to pass on downhills may be the "no fear" side of me... I can comfortably go in the 40-45+ mph range even on foreign terrain.

Like I said, the whole bike course was three loops, and besides the fun hills and descents, there were several flat and fast sections. Those are a blast too. The were only a couple crappy parts. One was where it got real tight and passing was hard, some people looked like they were even drafting. No thanks, I knew it'd be a long shot to pass the big line of guys, so I chose to back off and suck it up going a little slower for a bit even though I knew I could hammer just fine. I play by the rules and would never want to do anything sketchy. I'd never draft, duh, but I wouldn't even want it to look like I was drafting so better safe than sorry. I found it funny that that was the only spot where I saw a race official moto. Apparently they get cheaters there. The other crappy section is one stretch of road that's torn up as if jack hammers were having a party. What could be a 19-20+ mph section is a 12 mph section, or so it feels. All in all, those crappy parts are minor in comparison to what I thought was a super fun, challenging and diverse bike course. Loved it! I got off the bike around 1:12, not sure on the exact time yet. My PR for the Oly distance is 1:11 (at OC Tri). Both courses are about the same difficulty, this Bonelli course might be even harder. Who knows.

Run
T2 went smooth, well under a minute. Got onto the run and Garmin was having issues "locating satellites" so it didn't start until about .5 miles in. No biggie. The run course is AWESOME! The first mile or so is totally offroad Xterra style in a jungly forest. Heck ya! Fairly hilly and rocky terrain, which I love. Then that unfortunately ends and it's all rolling hills on asphalt for pretty much the rest of the run. You go around the lake roads, and like I said, there are good hills of all sizes, but nothing too daunting. After you run El Moro, everything seems doable haha. Plus, I've been running well on hills lately, and I felt good on this course as a result. My miles were around a 7:00 pace +/- for the whole 10k. And I felt even better than on the half-mary a couple weeks ago. I swear, I run better off the bike sometimes. It's weird.

As far as my placing in the race, by the time I had gotten off the bike, I had passed tons of girls. No girl ever passed me. I'm not trying to brag by saying that because the truth is all those girls I passed are obviously better swimmers than me, so hats off to them! But it felt good to knock off girl after girl on the bike :) But back to the run. By mile 2ish I had no idea how many more fast ladies were ahead of me. Thankfully, we had a couple out and backs, so I could start counting. I saw one. OK, good. Then I saw two right in front of me. I could tell I was easily going to pass them, and I did. So by that point, I was certain at least one girl was ahead, then possibly more fast girls that were out of my league? Whatever, I was running my race and feeling great (great as in hurting in that sadistically fun way lol). I could have probably dipped into the high 6's for more of the run looking back, but that 7ish pace felt perfect for the task at hand. I have no idea what my official run time was, but I'm guessing around 44-45 min.

Finish
As I approached the finish line I heard the guy say "1st place female" which meant I was in position for 2nd or 3rd. I was sure it was 2nd. But then I crossed the line and he marked me down as 3rd. Later on that mistake was cleared, and it was in fact 2nd place overall, 1st AG :)


Now that all said, I didn't pull of the fastest time so don't get your panties in a bunch thinking that Tawnee has arrived. No, not yet folks lol. I did a 2:30, which is very decent but not jaw-dropping stellar. It's a hard course to some extent, similar to the OC Tri in some respects, and, shoot, for me it's an Oly PR, so I'll take it. The night prior to the race I was thinking I'd finish closer to 2:25 or faster, but I guess I overestimated my abilities. It's better than underestimating myself though, right?! Overall, I'm very happy with the result mostly because I gave it a solid effort but it didn't feel like I was completely dying and holding on for dear life.

This race was so fun (how many times have I said fun in this post lol) and it was yet another learning experience that gave me more insight into "Tawnee on Ironman training." Conclusion: Ironman training is doing a few things. 1) It's making me more confident in SBR at any distance (i.e. I said to myself, "oh only a 6.2 mile run after 40k on the bike? That's cakewalk distance-wise!") 2) It's making me a little slower than I'd like to be at this point (just can't shake off that lingering fatigue as quickly as I used to, plus not doing as much speed work overall these days). 3) It makes me hungry for more -- I want to keep challening myself to have some speed but still be able to do long stuff. I have many years ahead in this sport, and I want to continue testing my abilities in years to come at all race distances!!!

Last but not least, as I was racing today, I was thinking about all the people who help make it possible for me to do this sport that I love so much. There are so many people in my life who I want to thank, but instead of pretending I'm all pro status and naming them off, I'll try to do a special blog soon to give a little more insight into my life and the people who make me tick. Let's just say I'm a lucky girl :) For example, today I felt extra lucky having a pretty darn good sherpa taking care of me, but I'll hold off on that story for now...

One special mention I will make now is about my athlete Ray who's beyond a pleasure to work with. He killed it on this course today, PR'ing by about 40 min! He first contacted after this race last year, and so this month it's been a year as coach/athlete! Let's just say it looks like having a coach is paying off :)

Desert Triathlon RR :)

Well, I survived! My first triathlon since May 2010 went great! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend on all levels -- amazing company, great weather, a spectacular race and a podium finish. In short my RR goes like this: a crappy swim, stellar bike and pretty good run. But read on for the whole sha-bang...


I was traveling and doing the race with three of the athletes I coach, so the weekend was beyond special to me. Plus there was a big 3-0 birthday in the house on race day, so even more reason to have a blast and race hard. We got to Palm Desert Saturday afternoon and were lucky enough to have a huge five-bedroom house to stay in thanks to my athlete's gracious family. The weather was in the 80s... a tease of summertime conditions.

Saturday night we cooked up a great dinner of brown rice, quinoa, baked sweet potatoes, grilled chicken breast, teriyaki veggies and salad. Perfection. Tatiana joined us, forcing us to consume wine... lol jk. And of course, I spilled on my brand-new Ignis tank.
Marta and I cooking up a storm to fuel the crew. Her hubby knows how to grill some good chicken, too :)

There were lots of laughs that night, and personally I think I was the most calm I've ever been going into a race. Stress-free is the way to be :) Among the good convos, we made sure to have the all-important talk with Marta's husband on his important role as sherpa; he was the only one not racing in the house so he had to take care of four of us! (He succeeded... with flying colors.)

Before we knew it, time for lights out at 9:30 ish only to hear that oh-so lovely 4 a.m. alarm in what felt like just minutes. The troops rallied for coffee, brekkie and typical race-morning chatter. I made sure to add chia seeds into my bowl of oatmeal, along with vanilla whey and almond milk... mmm.

Next thing I know we're at the lake and it's gorgeous outside! By 7 a.m. it was probably in the mid-60s and clear sunny skies. We got in a little warmup swim, and it felt like a bath tub compared to the lake we swim at by my house.

So onto the race...

The Desert Triathlon is somewhere between an international and Olympic distance so long enough to get in a good beating, but short enough to not feel like death after.

Gorgeous start to the morning...
Marta and I trying to spot the far-away buoy, blinded by the light!With my peeps... happy coach!!!!
My race:

SWIM -- 24:xx, darn it
Knowing this is my Achilles' Heel, I lined up around the back of my wave, which is fine with me despite the "competitor" in me wanting otherwise lol. We ran into the water and got going. Right away I tried to get into rhythm and not get trampled. All seemed to be going well. I wasn't over-exerting myself and I felt good. The buoy was impossible to see heading out due to the sun, so we used some palm trees for sighting. I was really happy with how well I held a line the whole time. The only hiccup I had was with my goggles. I borrowed my mom's of the same brand but different model and they ended up leaking like crazy, causing me to lose some time, but not significantly (a minute or so?). During the second half of the swim back to transition I felt like it was taking a long time so I picked it up more, but it wasn't enough to make a big improvement time-wise. Oh well. The fact is I got out feeling fresh and not depleted/drained, so that's good. We think the course was longer than before because all the times seem to be slower than last year's--the elites and everyone. Not to mention, we did 1200 open-water TT the previous week (same as projected race distance) and finished in 20:xx, so who knows.

Finished the swim in 24:xx and felt fresh but a tad annoyed with my time. Brushed it off quickly... slow swims mean one thing to me: time to hammer on the bike baby!!!

T1
Let's just say I need some practice with my transitions... it's been a while :)

BIKE -- 1:04:xx, 22.2 mph average for 24 miles
Of course my SRM chose not to work this one time despite having charged it the night before, so I don't have any of my power data or anything, which really bums me out because I had an amazing bike! I felt so damn good the whole time and had a blast. Only gnarly part was almost getting hit by a huge truck that was hauling a load of horses--he was seconds from making a turn right in front of me, and I would have T-boned him had I not screamed my brains out. That was quite scary.
Anyways, I just love riding. Plain and simple. Knowing that this course was "flat and fast" my goal was to just hammer the whole time. I did that. Passed lots of people and got some comments like, "You're flying girl!" Not gonna lie, that felt good. The course heads out a mile or so then you do two big loops, the scenery was really nice and it reminded me how thankful I am to do a sport that lets me see more of the world without a motor to get me around. The second loop was more crowded, but in a way I think that helped me because I had to work HARD to make some big passes and keep them legal. Seriously, I wish I had the SRM data. rats.

Ooh yea, can't forget to mention the good nutrition on the bike: Vanilla Orange GU Roctane gels and my new obsession, GU Tabs, in my bottle. Not overwhelmingly sweet, just perfect. YUM!

I was keeping track of time on my watch and noticed that for the 24 miles I was set to finish in just over an hour. Bueno. I hit transition area not knowing my exact time, but later found out my bike split was 1:04:xx, an average of over 22 mph and the fastest bike split in my AG. To put it in perspective, Heather Jackson (pro) did the bike in 59:xx (24 mph avg), so I was happy to finish how I did.

Marta on the bike... how gorgeous, right?!

T2
This was probably the funniest part of the race, but also shitty for the time I lost. I bent over to put on my run shoes and my abs cramped up like I've never experienced before. They were seized up to the max and literally sticking out of my stomach. I'm not joking when I say it looked like it was straight from the movie Aliens--a creature wanting to burst out. I was trying so hard not to laugh because it made it worse, but it was freakin funny. I had to lay on my back for a while and take deep breaths to get it to subside, all while still trying to get the damn running shoes on. Ugh! Wish I had a video of that one lol.

RUN -- 41:xx, 6:53 avg pace for 6 miles
Finally made it onto the course and was happy as could be. Smile from ear to ear. I saw Nytro Women's Kristin Mayer just in front of me; I had passed her on the bike, so she must have got me during my T2 episode. Knowing she's a great runner, it was my goal to keep her right in front of me, about 5-10 yards or so. My legs felt great and I felt like I was in good form, but I could tell my HR was a lot higher than it had been on the bike so I was going to have to dig deep to sustain the pace I was running, 7:00+/- a few seconds.

Think this pic was toward the end...
The course goes around the lake twice, and it's all flat with a good chunk of it on dirt and sand. I loved that... I hate running on concrete and avoid it whenever I can. I noticed I passed a few more girls in my AG during the run, and by the second loop, I felt like I was pushing hard, maybe too much, but I just kept saying "only a few more miles, that's nothing! suck it up!" I finally caught Kristin and we chatted a bit about Oceanside 70.3 and how this was my first tri back... she could tell I was beaming with excitement to be racing again and said something like, "You're so stoked girl." It was true. I passed her and then it was just about holding on for the last couple. Oh yea, I almost got hit by another vehicle in motion during the run too. Sheesh.

I finished the run in 41:xx, a 6:53 average pace, feeling like I had given me all. However, I think the course was a bit short according to my Garmin, so my pace might have been a tad slower. Still, I'll take it, especially having hammered on the bike.

FINISH -- 2:14:xx, 3rd AG
I hadn't set a goal time for this race, just loosely said I wanted to go between 2:00 to 2:30. When I was on the bike I realized 2:13-2:15 was possible, so going sub-2:15 became the goal. I think that helped push me on the run because I just made it with my 2:14.

Podiums were not really on my mind being that this race truly was about "dusting off the cobwebs," but as luck would have it I squeezed into 3rd place in the 25-29 AG. Great way to get back to it I suppose :) Not to mention I missed 2nd by like 10 seconds. Crap... had I only known she was so close... but you can't think like that, right? Btw, Kristin still beat me because she had started in a later wave, so I don't want to give the impression that I'm faster than her haha.

My three athletes who raced all did fabulous as well! I couldn't be more proud to be their coach. Everyone had great experiences and great times. I'd like to think that us being together really helped to motivate and inspire each of us to race hard and have fun rather than get overly nervous, stressed and anxiety-filled. After all, we do this for the love of it and escape life's stressors.

Happiness... love the triathlon lifestyle and environment!!

Chillin with our amazing sherpa post-race. Hanging out...Ray spoiled us with Girl Scout cookies, mmm.

After the race we had to high-tail it back to the house, shower up and head home. The fabulous sherpa was throwing a surprise 30th birthday party for the b-day girl, Marta, and we were all invited. It turned out to be a fabulous day overall... and man did I splurge all day... love it. Samoas, muffins made by my mom, REAL lasagna and meatballs (the gluten-filled authentic kind haha), chocolate covered strawberries, birthday cake and, of course, some celebratory drinks :) How I stayed up until 11 p.m. I have no idea.... time flies when you're having fun!