Redman Half Ironman 2012

It's been forever since I felt compelled to write a race report! 

Early in the week I felt very nervous about this race. Made myself write out a race plan and a list of why I was nervous. That helped a ton and as we got closer to race day I became more and more relaxed.

Had a great roommate, Alicia, who prefers to get to races super early like I do. We had plenty of time to scout transition, lay out our gear, and hit the porta-potties multiple times.

Alicia, Me, Gretchen, Jon

I wore my long-sleeve wetsuit for the swim because that's what I'm wearing in Arizona. I started the swim on the inside near the front. I'm not a crazy fast swimmer but I am a strong swimmer so I tried to position myself where I thought I should be. Lots of arms & legs in this swim which was good practice for AZ. All I saw the whole time was green, yellow, and white swim caps from the men that started in waves before us. 100's of men that we had to swim through. I only saw a few fellow pink caps the whole time. It was tough to ever get into a rhythm because I was constantly just trying to find empty space between the men. I got super tired the last 200-300 yards so I thought, I guess I swam that pretty hard! I never get that tired in my 2 mile swim! I remembered to look at my watch when I had climbed out of the mud and it said 38. Took awhile to run up the beach to transition...my total time was 39:00. Looking back at my 300 yard splits my first 300 was 5:00:08. This is without question a 300 yard PR for me. And this was right after I told Gretchen, I just need to make sure I go out slow. Hahaha! Ah well.

Alicia, Gretchen, Fiona, Me, Heidi
Tri Girls!!!

I tried to pee in the water before I got out but couldn't and thought, it will go away, I must not have too. Transition was uneventful, nice and quick and I was on my bike. I immediately realized I did have to pee and this was the worst part of my whole ride. I just suffered through it until the next transition. My bike computer hasn't been working so I had zero idea of my speed. I had my Garmin on but set on total race time and total race distance. I really prefer not to know my speed, it worked great for me.

As always, it took awhile for me to find my legs, it was like flipping on a switch when they showed up at mile 22. In those first 20 miles I had 10-12 females in my age group pass me. Talk about demoralizing!!! I just tried to tell myself that was because I had such a kick ass swim and none of these girls looked like runners. I would catch them. (I ended up 11th in my AG but had the 5th fastest swim) Averaged 18.2 on the bike while the 10 girls ahead of me all averaged 19 plus. I got really tired the last 10 miles so I knew that I had gone hard and I just needed to hold on and stay focused.

Headed out on the bike!

My Ironman nutrition that I was practicing worked great. Practiced grabbing bottles at the aid stations and pouring them in my aero bottle and practiced my food. Started to feel really hot the last 5 miles so started dumping water on my back and chest.

Running into transition all I could think about was how bad I had to pee so hit up the porta-potties on my way out. I hated to lose the 2 minutes in there but I just knew I couldn't run with that.

Starting on the run I was aware that I had given myself 2 hours and 13 minutes to run 13.1 miles and break 6 hours. I was 100% confident that I could do that. I just couldn't go too fast the first loop (of 2). I kept repeating over and over, don't go fast Michelle, just be consistent. I looked at my watch every time it beeped and my miles were 9:42, 9:37, 9:46, etc. It was in the 90's at this point with no clouds and zero tree cover. I knew that I had to keep my heart rate down so that I wouldn't over heat and blow up the second loop.

I was so determined to break 6 hours. Obsessed. This was not my goal going into this race. I told Alicia the night before it wasn't even my A, B, or C goal. It would take a miracle of a bike ride to put me in the position to have a chance at breaking 6 hours. Well, that bike course is a fast course. And here I was, within position. So it became my goal. I just knew that I had to run really smart. I ran 9:50's with the occasional walk at the aid station to fill my bottle. I started to really feel the days effort at mile 10 and slowed down a little and walked a little slower at the aid station. Had to keep telling myself not to give up, I didn't get this close to give up. I was in a very painful, quiet place these last 3 miles and very, very tired. This is the place I always hope to get to in a race because it means that I have pushed myself hard and it's when you prove to yourself you're stronger than you think you are. Managed to pick up the pace the last mile and saw my amazing friends making a tunnel for me to run through. Ran a 9:13 last mile. (It felt like I was flying. So far from my 1:46 half marathon PR this past winter, haha!!)

I was very confident the whole run that I could do it, I could break 6 hours. I started tearing up at mile 5 because I was so proud of myself. I knew I had the endurance and I just knew I could hold that pace and manage the heat as best I could.

Finishing loop 1

Official time 5:57:40.

Everything that I practiced for Ironman Arizona worked well this weekend. I kept thinking on the bike, I'm so glad I won't have to ride this hard in AZ. I could not hold that swim or bike pace for double the distance. 5 more weeks of work before I start my taper, can't wait to get back at it!

Huge thanks to Greg, Fiona, Heidi, Brian, Cassie, Sharon, Catherine, and Elaine for cheering us on!!!!

Big congrats and huge hugs to my fellow Half Ironman racers Troy, Alicia, John, Gretchen, and Jon. It made such a difference racing with friends!!!

Thanks Fiona for all the pics!!!

Fall Quick Hits

It's amazing how healing writing that last blog post turned out to be.  I almost instantly started to feel better just getting all those feelings off my chest and into the world.  I got lots of great feedback from friends who had been there before and gradually my legs started to come back as well.  It's amazing how fast time has gone since I wrote that post!  A quick list of things I've been up to:

October 15 Palo Duro 12.5 mile race

I love Palo Duro!!! Last year it was my first ultra and this year I did the short race.  It was COLD race morning which my body just loves.  I felt great from the beginning and just kept picking up the pace each mile.  It was my longest run since Lean Horse so I was nervous about my IT Bands and stuff but everything went great.  I had bad neuroma pain in my foot for the last 3 miles but I'm used to that. The after party is what makes PD so fun.  Hanging out in the Canyon, cheering for the 50k and 50 mile runners, and enjoying new and old frunners. 

Erin, Corina, and me on Sunday in the canyon

October 22 Double Trouble 5k

My running club puts on this race and I decided last minute to do the 5k.  I had to forgo two 5k's in Sept because I hadn't recovered from Lean Horse yet so I figured it was time to see just where my speed was at.  Training for ultras all late spring/summer really slowed me down but it was worth it.   My "out of speed shape" 5k pace tends to be around 7:30 - 7:35.  My 5k PR from last December was a 6:57 pace so I'm considerable slower but it was good to have a "fitness check" to base my training paces off of.  Always love doing club races, the support and volunteers are so amazing and although it's a hilly course, it's a course I've run a million times.

DT 5k coming up the last hill to the finish.

October 30 Monster Sprint Triathlon

Having not done a tri since August 1, 2010 I was feeling really excited and kinda nervous about this.  I had one goal...to get first in my age group.  When I made my goals for 2011 last December one of them was "1st AG in a triathlon." I only gave myself one shot at it.  Haha! Monster Triathlon was my 16th tri since I started in 2006 and the first time I got 1st AG!!! I had been 2nd a few times but never 1st.

Hanging out before the race start

To say that I was excited about winning my AG is an understatement.  I didn't train long, only about 5 weeks, but I trained hard.  Short bike rides but always focusing on strength and speed.  Same with my swims and runs.  I didn't need endurance, I needed some speed.  It was freezing race morning which really helps me, I knew my legs would still be able to run fast even though I had only done 2 bricks.  

The swim was uneventful, I felt just ok the first half and felt great the second half.  This was the only thing I was worried about.  All summer I had trained my body to run 50 miles, it takes me A LONG TIME to feel warmed up.  This race was going to be over before I normally start to feel good.  Pushed as hard as I could on the bike, staring at my mph the whole time. I was always about 19-20 except on the hills so I was excited about that.  Didn't wear a watch on the run and couldn't feel my feet they were so numb but just pushed hard.  I had no idea of my pace but the last mile kept trying to pick it up and couldn't so I figured I had to be going close to 7:30's.  I had the fastest bike and run (my 5k run was faster than the previous weekend's 5k race) split in my AG and 3rd fastest swim. It was a great day made even better sharing it with incredible girl friends Marci, Erin, Corina, and Stacy.  I felt like such a rockstar having them there, it was really special for me!

Erin, Corina, Me, Marci, Stacy

November 19 Wild Hare Trail Race

Coco, Rick, Me, Byron, George

Heading down to Wild Hare was a last minute decision.  I didn't have any November races on the calendar and with the weather getting better, a weekend camping strip seemed great.  My brother said he'd camp with me so it was a done deal.  I signed up for the 25k realizing it was going to be my longest run in 10 weeks. My plan was to take it easy for the first loop and pick it up for the second loop.  Well, my nightmare weather situation played out instead.  My body yells a big fat eff you when it's super humid.  I just couldn't do anything.  My upper body felt like it weighed a million pounds and I was just soaked from head to toe with sweat.  I overheated so bad with chills, goosebumps, swelling, and dizziness.  This has happened to me a number of times now (even in just the last year) and so I knew I needed to slow down and just treat it as a training run and not a race.  Ran decent until 11 and then had to walk it out and concentrate on getting my core temp dropped.  It sucked and I was frustrated but still loved the trail and the race and getting to run with my brother.  

Mama C, B, and me

This was two bad weekends of long runs in a row for me.  My weekday intervals are going great, I'm hitting my paces even when I'm tired but I could use a strong weekend run any day now.  I could also use a few consistent weekends of cool weather.  


Best part of WH was our camping zone.  Mitchell had found what turned out to be the perfect zone.  We were right on the trail and in the shade.  We stayed there all day and night cheering for the 50k and 50 mile runners as they did their loops.  We played Bocce ball, grilled fajitas, and drank beer.  Knowing how horrible the humidity conditions on the trail were it was just amazing to watch these runners knock out loop after loop.  (It also made me frustrated because how come their body seems to handle it better than mine??  It's not the heat...it's the humidity that I can't do anything with.)

Camping zone in the back!

Next up is volunteering at the White Rock Marathon on December 4 and running Isle du Bois 10 mile trail race on December 10th!

It's been a long time...

It has been so long since I've written about my running.  I spent all of November - January intensely focused on trying to qualify for Boston at the Houston Marathon.  For as well as my training went, it turned out not to be my day and I ended up DNFing with ITB issues.  I've gone through a bit of a transition phase since then.  To recap: 

I loved training for Houston.  I love high mileage weeks and I loved getting faster each week.  A few highlights of that training:  

*PRing a 5k in December.  I ran a 21:32 with Troy pacing me.  It was a perfect weather day and I felt great.

*January 1st I ran 9 miles at the club and my mantra was "You're faster than you think you are." Again...perfectly cold weather and I ran those 9 miles in 1:08.  

*One of my last track workouts before Houston was 5 x 1 mile.  Alan ran them all with me and my slowest was 7:00.  My fastest was 6:54.  This still amazes me. 

*My last long training run was 22 miles on January 8.  I ran 13 miles @ 8:30 pace and just felt exhausted.  It had been a tough week of workouts and I felt depleted.  After those 13 miles I ran RAW's Bold In The Cold 15k race with Troy pacing me.  We hung on to a 8:15 pace.  That pace actually felt better than my 8:30's until the last 3 miles.  Then it was all I could do to stay with him.  I cried after this workout.  I was so proud to have done it and my confidence was so high that I could BQ in Houston.

Some of the toughest workouts:

*20 miler on Christmas morning.  It was so incredibly windy.  My last 4 miles were into the wind and I would run as hard as I could, stop, turn my back to the wind and just breathe.  I had to do that like 4 times.  It was such a mental challenge to keep driving into that wind.  

*One of my Thursday tempo runs I was just beat before I even showed up.  I never felt good both Tuesday and Thursday (my quality workouts).  If I felt good Tuesday at the track, I would be dead for Thursday tempo.  This one particular Thursday was the worst.  There is no question I would have quit earlier had Kevin and Brad not been there.  I just hung on to them for dear life.

*Ft Worth Running Club's Half Marathon in November.  This was awful.  I could not move my legs.  At all.  This race was a turning point for me though.  I immediately kicked my training up a higher level after this race.

Since Houston, I've rehabbed my ITB and am feeling pretty good.  I ran Texas Independence Relay with team HOORAW!! and turned out my fastest 10k ever.  I loved running for a team, there was never any question about slowing down or quitting.  However, I'm mentally beat up from training so hard and not getting the results I train for.  The last two years I trained really hard for a 70.3 Triathlon only to have it totally suck and then obviously Houston sucked.  The two big things that have gone well are TransRockies and Palo Duro.

I am not burned out on training and I'm not burned out on trying to get faster.  I love running. I'm just burned out on bad races.  I'm burned out on leaving so much in the weatherman's hands.  The one thing that all my bad races have in common is bad weather.  Because of that I have signed up for some trail races this spring.  I don't feel pressure on the trails like I do the road and I love the longer, slower distances.  If the weather sucks, who cares?  It's the trails!  However, once El Scorcho in July is over I plan to get back on the road.  I want to race 5k's, 10k's and 13.1's.  I want to get stronger at holding my fast pace for shorter races.  Then hopefully, I'll be ready to try and BQ again.  I'm convinced I can be a 3:30 marathoner.  I just need some more experience and confidence.  It seems this year I'm going to be a runner only.  I'm sure I'll be back to triathlons though in no time. : )

Races that I'm already signed up for in 2011:

3/19 Grasslands Full Marathon

4/2 Backwoods Scavenger Hunt with Mitchell

5/21 Jemez 50k

6/17 - 6/19 Chattanooga Stage Race

7/16 El Scorcho 50k

Crazy June

I'm so behind on my race updates and vacation updates! June has been crazy for me. This is the first Thursday since school let out that I'm not traveling.

Some quick hits:

June 5: Grapevine Triathlon - Paddle, Pedal, Pound the Pavement XI

This was the most fun I've ever had at a race. Total time: 1:21:17. 2nd Female 30-34, 5th Female Overall. It ended at a winery where we got free drinks and BBQ! It was hot on the run and they didn't do a good job with aid stations (AT ALL!) but still a lot of fun and I was happy with my effort.

June 10 - 17: Iberostar del Mar Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico! It was a little too close to call because we forgot we both needed updated passports but it all worked out perfect! 7 full days in Mexico doing nothing but enjoying each other, the sun, and the beach. Celebrated our 1 year anniversary at the resort's Japanese Restaurant. A relaxing vacation for me is based on how many books I read and I finished 3!

Not too many pictures because I only had my iphone and I left it in the safe most of the time. Here's a couple:

    In the shuttle on the way to the resort!

    My sweet husband, the shark!

    Beautiful pool, it was huge with the waterfall at the end.

    There was a small pool with jets inside the rock area.

    

    Our favorite pool area, "The quiet pool."

    There's a pool bar in the back left corner

    that kept us hydrated all day!

June 20: Summer Solstice Duathlon, White Rock Lake

2 mile run/9.3 mile bike/2 mile run

This was my first ever duathlon and I loved it! I'm really liking shorter races were I can go all out. I signed up for this even though it was just a couple days after we got back from Mexico to keep me motivated in Mexico. I was 1st in my age group 30-34, and 4th overall female by just 8 seconds! So much fun. My running club buddy Robin was there and I made a couple new friends while we waited for the awards. Really glad I did it, I've always been intimated by duathlon's because my best event is the swim and there's no swim! : )

June 24 - 27: Blackard Family Reunion Camp Cromberg, California (an hour north of Lake Tahoe) This was a great, much needed trip. The last time the family got together was in 1995. Since I didn't come along until '98, I had never met anyone!! Most people stayed in cabins, Evan's parents in their RV, and us in our tent. We went on an epic hike, played 5 games of Settlers of Catan, at least 100 games of H-O-R-S-E (or pig, lobster, ox), watched the final USA World Cup game, and ate delicious food. It was really sentimental for Evan and I being in the Tahoe area. We lived in South Lake Tahoe in 2002-2003 and loved every minute of it. We're ready to get back during the winter so we can tear up Heavenly Ski Resort like we used to!!

    Family picture on the last day

    Before the hike

June 30 - July 5: Backpacking trip to New Mexico's highest peak, Mt. Wheeler. Great pictures from dad, this one deserves it's own post!

Every trip was incredible, but I'm really glad to be home for a while. (5.5 weeks) I've got some serious training to do to get ready for TransRockies. We leave August 19!

Grapevine Paddle, Pedal, and Pound Sprint Triathlon

Here's some pictures...race report coming soon! It was a great day!

The whole gang enjoying beer, wine, and brisket post race!

Diana came to watch...she raced Playtri the next day.

Monday night cycling group, it was Hal and John's first triathlon!

Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers (RAW) before the start!

Michelle Putze, Janet Dixon, Brad Liles, Jeff Barnhart, Brad Pearson, Mary Beth Crane, me, Joe Allen, Rick Fogle, Hal Hardister, John Ruiz

Hmmm..one of these things is not like the other. : )

Me, Janet Dixon, Della Irby, Mary Beth Crane

Medalists!! Rick Fogle, Brad Pearson, Karen Robertson, Michelle Putze, Me

The Michelle's!

TexasMan Half Ironman May 16, 2010

Warning: this is a long and sentimental race report. It was a grueling day that made me very grateful for the pieces of my life.

Short report: Total time 6:41:40. Swim 36:59, T1: 2:26, Bike 3:22:47 (16.6 average), T2: 1:13, Run: 2:38:03 (12:04 average). 25 Females and 175 Males started the race. 127 total people crossed the finish line.

I have put off writing this post for some reason. It's hard to go back and analyze this race. I'll just start at the beginning.

Training: followed triathlongeek.com's Half Ironman program and loved it. Really loved it, I followed the intermediate workouts as I wasn't looking to just finish, I had time goals. It was easy to fit each workout into my day and I loved the feeling of satisfaction each workout gave me. I had my fastest swim splits ever during some of the training as well as the best brick workout I've ever had. I was confident of my physical self being ready for this race.

The morning of: After a decent night's sleep (10pm to 3:30am, WAY more sleep than I got before my first and only other half ironman in 2006) Diana, Evan, and I loaded up the car and drove north to Lake Ray Roberts. I felt a little rushed in the transition area because I was the first swim wave. I've never been the first swim wave before and it made me anxious for some reason.

The swim: I will never forget standing on the beach as the sun is coming up over the lake and having Evan by my side. I was so proud of him for all the training he had put in and how much he had changed his lifestyle over the last few months. As we gave each other one final hug, I couldn't help but get emotional because I was so freaking nervous and as my best friend and husband, my emotions are the most tender with him.

Finally, we're swimming. Man, I love swimming. Seriously, I love swimming in open water so much. I'm really glad swimming is the first part of racing because it really calms me down and gets me in a groove. I made what I think were straight lines and my sighting was dead on. It was the most confident I've ever been about my path between buoys. The only frustrating thing was I found it really hard to tell where I was in the pack. I know I'm normally near the front in the swim but because the Olympic people started after us and had a shorter route I got confused. Didn't matter though. The wetsuit strippers were great and huge bonus, I didn't lose my pants! It was the first time I had on a 2 piece tri suit and I've heard stories of ladies getting the pants stripped off accidently. : )

Transition 1: Went without a hitch, Evan was there...he was in the second wave and beat me up there! Yay, Evan!! Windy, Grace, and Jason were all there too cheering for me. I don't think Amanda was there yet. It's hard to focus on people's faces as your whizzing by them, lol. ; )

Bike: Oh, the bike. Me and the bike. I have a confusing relationship with my bike. I like hills, I like hills better then flatland but it really didn't seem to matter that much. I had ridden the course 2 weeks before so I knew what I was getting myself into and that didn't seem to matter too much either. I just don't understand how people are fast on the bike. I don't know what they're doing that I'm not doing. Much research needs to go into this because I'm sick of being slow on the bike. In Galveston (24.4 miles) I averaged 19 mph. Here my goal was 17 because of the hills and distance. I ended up with 16.6 and I fought for every last second of that 16.6.

About 20 miles into it my left glut got a nasty twinge in it. Not a cramp, not something that seemed to need to get stretched out, a sharp twinge. It felt like if I turned my leg the wrong way it would snap in half. It was incredibly painful and totally messed with me. I have never had that happen before. I thought about what Evan said before the race, "It's ok if something goes wrong. Something will probably go wrong, but it will be fine and you will move beyond it." I thought, this will go away, it always goes away, focus on your turnover and your speed. At one point I unclipped that foot from the pedal to stretch it and had such a freaking hard time clipping back in because my leg was shaking. Whoa...my legs are working, working a lot harder then I thought they were.

Eventually I made it back to the park and I've never been so happy to run in my life. I needed off that bike ASAP or I was going to freak out. I couldn't wait to run. I trained all 16 weeks doing the run of my bricks between 8:35 - 9:00 min miles. I knew I could do it.

The run: my friends and family are so amazing. The cowbells, the cheering, it was so overwhelming. I was so happy running out of transition. Barney was in transition with me and it was just so awesome to see someone I knew who understood the beating that I just took on the bike. Evan ran with me for about 100 yards and totally pumped me up. My leg didn't bother me at all. I was feeling good.

I don't remember the first time that I walked. My watch was off because I didn't start it until like 7/10 of a mile in. I remember getting out to the road and seeing Courtney, Rob, and Kris and still having a pep in my step. I think I made it all the way to the turn around and back to the path before I started walking. I had to pee really bad and there were no porta-potties so snuck behind a tree. My quads first starting cramping around mile 2 so I knew something was weird. Cramping is really normal for me but not until the absolute end of a race. I took in as much salt and sugar as I had on me and more from the aid stations.

Everyone was waiting for me at the start of my second loop. As I first came around the corner there was my dad and then the Courtney gang with my mom. Then my trackie buddies. We run every Tuesday night at the track and then go out for beer afterwards. They were all there and made their presence known. : ) I was feeling like such crap in that moment though it's really blurry. I know I touched Troy's arm and said, "Tag, you're it." (Later he told me that my hand was freezing when I touched him. Not a good sign.)

The last group was Diana and Beth. Diana did the Olympic distance and PR'd her run. I lost it when I saw her. Of all the people, I knew that she would be able to tell what I was going through because we've done every race together the past year. We've analyzed them all with each other and almost all my long training is done with her. It was like I had permission to break down when I saw her. Man, I was in a dark, dark place. Miles 3 to 9 are really blurry, I remember very little of them. Beth ran with me for a little but I could barely run and had no energy to talk or be happy.

Some different personalities started to show themselves about this time. All I knew was that I didn't want to keep going. I had to stop. I knew it was hot but I didn't even realize that it was draining me (and everyone else) of everything. I was having a really hard time processing logical thoughts. I had trained in windy, moderate weather. Not 90 degrees and humid. The week before the high was in the 60's with a cold breeze from the north. Our bodies were not acclimated to this weather.

I get back out to the road and think there is no way in hell I can go out along the open road, under this sun again. I can't do it. I made a quick turn into the same woods area I had peed in before and crouched down in the shade. I starting looking at my watch and thinking about how long I would need to wait before I could just turn around and finish. This alternate personality thought for sure no one would know and that would be the only way this could happen. I was either going to sit there for 20 minutes and then run to the finish line or I was just going to quit. Those were my only options.

After what was probably close to 2 minutes (but felt like 5) the real Michelle's voice finally emerged from the depths of my mind and said, "what the hell. You can't even tell white lies, and you're going to cheat a half ironman? You're wasting time, get your ass back out there."

So I did. I shuffled, walked, and "ran" my way to the turn around and back past my spot in the woods. Once you got back on the path from the road, there was a long, gradual hill and there was my dad waiting for me. My dad biked alongside me the first time I ever ran 20 miles back in 2001, he ran mile 20 - 23 with me of my first marathon, he was there to watch me finish the Lake Tahoe Marathon in 2003, and he was in Galveston in 2006 for my first half ironman. He has seen me in pain. : ) I was so thrilled to see him and my mood had started picking up under the confidence that I had indeed finished the open road part a second time and that I could go 2 more miles. He walked up the hill with me and then Jason, who was the runner of Evan's relay team caught me. I was so thrilled to see him and after I gave him a big, sweaty hug he said we're finishing this thing together!! From that moment on you couldn't get the smile off my face. We saw my awesome mom who started screaming and yelling and telling everyone, "That's my daughter, that's my daughter!!!!" So awesome. We turned the corner to the finish line and there was the rest of my cheering crew. They stayed out in that oppressive heat for 6 hours and 41 minutes to see me finish and they all let me give them salty, sweaty hugs afterwards!

Upon reflection: I've never thought that I gave a race everything I had. I've always thought the next day, well, I could of probably gone faster here or at that part. Not this one. I know in each of those moments I was leaving everything that I had that day out on the course. I have zero regrets and am filled with content and happiness that I finished what I started. I didn't meet all my goals but that's not really how life works. You take what you're given on that day and do it to the best of your ability.

I am so grateful to my mom and dad who have never missed a big race, my husband, his relay team and their wonderful families, especially Jason for never letting me think I was alone out there on that run course. I am so grateful to Courtney, Rob and Kris for being there and supporting the athlete in me. My incredible running friends. We haven't even know each other a year and yet they have changed my life forever. Thanks to Diana, Beth, Troy, Barney, Jim, Jay, Nick, Colleen, Marty, Tia, Doug and Mary. Also, special thanks to my personal bike mechanic, Diana's husband Dan. : ) If you made it this far, thanks for reading.

Next up! Grapevine Paddle, Pedal, and Pound Sprint Triathlon next weekend!

Pictures from Galveston Olympic!

Thanks for the pictures Diana!

Diana, Me

Diana, Allison, Ellen, Me

Getting ready for the bike start.

Lonestar Olympic Triathlon in Galveston, TX

This race brought out the rebel in me. After a great night's sleep in our hotel, Diana and I headed over to the race site. By the time we had parked, the wind had picked up from 11 mph to 35+ mph. I needed two hands just to keep my bike upright as I was walking to transition. It was so hard to remain positive and optimistic as we were battling this weather just walking!! As we got closer to the transition area we heard the news of the morning. No swim. Bike and run only. My reaction was one of utter disappointment. I love the swim, it's my favorite part and I was really looking forward to the long test swim before TexasMan next month. The rest of the day my attitude about the whole day was just weird. We had about 1.5 hours to just hang around next to our bikes and wait for our time trial bike start. The good part about this was I made two new friends! : ) The bad part was that I just become indifferent about the whole thing.

Once I got on my bike I starting getting my competitive spirit back and had a great time the first 12 miles. However, that's when we had to turn around. Ugh. There was that wind. Not giving any thought to having to run when I was done, I just kept hammering it out. It was exhausting but satisfying. I don't know my exact time yet, but it was a definite PR for me. I think I averaged just over 19 mph. Compared to my 16.9 mph over only 12 miles last month, this was a huge improvement. Dan let me borrow some faster race wheels and his helmet. I think they both really made a difference. Honestly, I just really never let up either. I'm normally too good of an energy conserver, but not today (there's that little rebellion.)

As I sat down to change shoes in transition, I felt so tired! Way more tired than I normally do in T2. Oops, on to the run anyway. The run was a loop that you did twice through Moody Gardens. I thought I really liked it because you were around a lot of people and there was a lot of activity going on. As the day goes on though, I think that this was one of the things that messed with me mentally. I become so bitter and rebellious during the run. I was annoyed with all the people already done and getting to drink beer and the fact that I had to run two laps and that it was so crowded and that we didn't get to swim and it was hot and I was tired and being a big whiny baby! I felt like I could run a little faster, but I didn't want to! Seriously, these are the thoughts going through my head. "I think I could pick up the pace. I don't WANT to pick up the pace. I'm going to regret not going faster. I don't CARE that I'm not going faster. My running friends are going to say I could of done better. I don't CARE! I don't WANT to do better! hahahaha! I was ridiculous!! It must have been the heat, the wind and the dehydration talking.

Well, all the self-pity aside, the fire has been lit under my butt for my 70.3 in 3 weeks. To be honest, I'm pretty confident that my physical self will be ready. My goal for the next 3 weeks though is to figure out how to be stronger mentally. That was without question my biggest barrier today. For that distance I've got to stop thinking about the finish and focus more on being in the moment. 6+ hours is way too long to only be thinking, "Is this almost over? I'm tired."

*Results: 16th out of 55 females age 30-34. Bike Time 1:18:36 (40k) Transition 1:43 Run 54:27 (10k) Overall time 2:14:45. I'm not sure if it will still be a special qualifying race because there wasn't a swim but I did place in the top 33% thereby qualifying for the National Age Group Championships in Alabama! Kinda cool!

*Also, the two girls that I met placed 13th and 14th. We were all only 2 minutes apart! Too bad they live in Corpus Christi and Houston or we could train together! : )

Picture to come!

Seton Soles 5k: Saturday, April 17

This race was sponsored by my parents church and they both planned on running so I thought it would be fun to join them. In the end, it WAS fun to be with them, but I have yet to learn to love the 5k. I got there early to register and then drove to my parents house. We just walked to the church and I did about a 15 minute warm-up. The first mile was at about an 8 minute mile and then I did 4x100 strides to get my legs moving a little quicker.

Thinking we would get rained on the whole morning, it never actually rained at all. My first mile was good, 7:14 and then I freaked out a little and thought, "I can't keep that up, I'm not that fast!!" It's frustrating that I let that negative chatter dominate my actions, I'm working on it. I think the best thing for me in a race is to not wear my watch. If I just focus on how I'm feeling and not let that "watch anxiety" get to me I seem to do better. Anyway, finished in 23:56. Still a dramatic improvement from last year, just not a PR. I was 2nd in my Age Group and 10th Overall Female. Both my parents also ran this race and it was fun to cheer them on!! I feel so incredibly luck to have such active parents.

After the race Dad and I changed into bike gear and biked to Einstein's for a bagel. We did a 20 mile loop together and as he headed back home I headed to the local trail to get in as many miles as I could before it poured. 10 miles later it still hadn't rained (woo hoo!) and so I went out for the longer loop again. I ended up with my planned 45 and didn't experience but a couple drops of rain.

Still not done for the day...ran for 30 minutes when I got off the bike. It had warmed up and the sun had even come out so I was feeling really thirsty. Overall though, I was feeling good and like I could keep a decent pace going. The last three weekends I've had long bricks like this. (Last week was 63 bike/9 run, week before was 45 bike/6 run) The negative self chatter always comes up when I'm running, I start thinking, "13 miles!!! How are you going to finish 13 miles at a decent pace after all that biking???" But...if I really step back and trust my training, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I know when race day comes in 4 weeks, I will finish, and I will meet my time goals. (at least, that's what my daily mantra tells me, lol) After 45 more bike miles today (Sunday) in the rain, I know my motivation is high and I will be ready!

Tour Dallas

This past Saturday was the 30 mile Tour Dallas. It's a friendly, leisurely bike rally that goes through some beautiful Dallas neighborhood's and around White Rock Lake. Mom and Dad were on their tandem and I biked alongside them. We had a great time and it had the be the best weather we've had all year.

Grasslands Half Marathon

The weather was the race this year. March 20 turned out to have freezing temps, hail, pouring rain, snow, red mud, black mud, green mud, gray mud, brown mud, mud, mud, mud. I had done the triathlon the weekend before and then it was spring break which was also a recovery week for my training. By the time Friday night rolled around I was doing push-ups and sit-ups like a crazy woman in my living room I was so antsy and wound-up from the time off. Poor Evan, I was seriously going crazy I had so much energy. Needless to say, no amount of rain or mud was going to stop me from running on Saturday.

Until the last mile (which was hell), I don't know if I've ever had so much fun running. The terrain was just ridiculous. The only way I could figure out how to run uphill in the mud was to pretend I had on cross-country skis and wedge my way up. Going down I would just dig my heels in and go as fast as I could handle. It was so fun. The fact that I had so much energy to expend really helped my optimistic mood and the other runners and volunteers were just amazing. Beth and Diana did this race with me also and everything is just more fun when the two of them are around.

At one point we realized we had gone the wrong way and a group of us helped each other jump barbed wire. I LOVE TRAIL RUNNING!! Man, this crazy race is the epitome of why I love running. I just loved being around all the other runners who didn't think twice about driving in the pitch black early morning, to the middle of nowhere, to run in the freezing mud.

Thanks to the amount of DNS and DNF (did not show, did not finish) participants, Beth, Diana and I all placed in the top 10 women overall for the Half Marathon. I was 7th. I wonder what the weather will be like next year? : )

St Patrick's Day Triathlon

St Patrick's Day Triathlon was put on by Dallas Athletes at the Keller Natatorium on March 14. It was pretty chilly still and my hands froze on the bike. It took me forever to take my helmet off in the second transition because my fingers were numb! My first race of the season ended up how I expected, slower then normal times on the swim and bike and a personal record on the run. Pretty much sums up how I spent my winter...running. : )

Cross Timbers 13.1 Trail Race

Starting from Juniper Point West on the South side of Lake Texoma, this race is not for people who hate hills! It seems you are always going up or coming back down. A tough course, but like last year, so much fun with really great people and a fantastic overall event. The aid stations are so great at trail events, tons of candy and sandwiches, chips and pretzels. There's always tons of stuff to aid any issues that might come up like papaya enzymes, Tums, ibuprofen, salt tablets, Vaseline, Kleenex. Basically if you need it, they have it. Although I didn't have my best day, I felt really run down and depleted, I still would rather spend a Saturday morning with great friends playing in the mud and running in the woods than doing just about anything.

Me, Beth, Diana after the race.

I'm almost done!

Ah...the mud pit. Me and Diana

We actually got a guy to stop and take our picture during the race! I love trail runners!!

Diana coming up the final hill.

It was hard to believe between the 3 of us we only had one fall...at least she did it in the soft mud pit! : )

Bold in the Cold 5k (me) 15k (Beth)

I did the 5k in 23:45. It was good enough for 1st in my age group (Females 30-34). There were 46 of us. I felt really good the first mile, struggled the second and struggled the third. lol. It was really fun to "race"! Bold in the Cold was put on by my running club, Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers. The volunteers were awesome and I was super proud to be a member!

Beth did the 15k and got 3rd in her age group! She turns 30 on Friday (2/5) and Diana (who was exploring the wineries of CA the weekend of the race) turns 30 in May. Ahh, let the good natured competitiveness continue into our new age groups! : )

Up next: the three of us tackle Cross Timbers Half Marathon at Lake Texoma. See last years race report. (We're driving up the morning of. I learned my lesson last year.)

White Rock Half Marathon December 13, 2009

Well, I don't have any pictures from this race so I wasn't going to write about it but I think I'll like having the memory next year at this time. : )

This race was really tough for me. I spent all fall doing speed work at the track on Tuesday nights with my RAW friends, the "Trackies." I only missed one Tuesday, when I was in NY for Kelly's wedding. I knew I had gotten significantly faster and my form had improved a lot. (This was my 5th Half.) However, I despise the pain of going fast. Everyone's fast is different and my "fast" is way faster than it used to be, but oh dear god does it hurt.

My goal was 1:54:00. Diana and I got there in plenty of time to do a warm-up and decide what layers we wanted to wear. (Not the easiest decision, oddly enough.) Well, everyone that runs with me knows I normally have to pee at least 3 times before a race. I was seeded in the A corral but we could barely even make it to the B corral the madness of people was so overwhelming. I do not enjoy being surrounded by that many people. At all. There was about a 45 min wait for every porta-potty and I had to pee so bad! We spotted some porta-potties right before the chip line at the start and I quickly made my way over to them. When I ran back, we were thick within the C corral.

This proved to be such a challenge to my time goal. For close to 5 miles we would have to sprint in the very little open space and then get stuck behind a line of people, and then sprint, and then get stuck. FOREVER! We wasted so much energy and were so frustrated. Live and learn. This was my first big (in terms of participants) race that I actually had a time goal and not just a finish goal. Now I know, get to the correct corral and just suck it up if you still have to pee.

Evan was at mile 7.5. I was seriously so tired from my pace at this point that tears came to my eyes when I saw him. It feels so ridiculous to say that but there was such mixture of emotions going through me. I was so proud of myself for the track work I had put it and the pace I was able to keep up to that point, but I was hurting so bad and I knew I still had a while to go.

The last mile was the hardest. I have a lot of faith and confidence in my endurance but not my speed. Oh man, it sucked. It ended up being an 11 minute PR (personal record) for me, my overall time was 1:54:46. I definitely didn't negative split it, which is always my goal, but I did learn a lot of lessons for next time.

Up next:

RAW's Bold in the Cold 5k

Cross Timbers Half Marathon

St. Patty's Sprint Triathlon

Grasslands Half Marathon

Rockledge Rumble Video

This is from a guy that ran the 50k. Really neat way to capture the trail! The 50k and 30k do the same course, the 50k just has to repeat a section of it.

Rockledge Rumble 11/14/2009

Officially known as a 30k, it's actually about 20.9 miles thanks to some new trails. This was my third year in a row to participate in the Rumble and my second year to do the 30k. NTTR puts on a great race, the aid stations are awesome and the food afterwards is great. Everyone is so nice, every single person that passes you (since it's an out and back course) says "Good Job!" It was great fun to hang out before, during, and after with all the RAW (Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers) and of course to run the entire way with Diana. (It was her longest distance ever.) I'll definitely be back next year!

Only about 1.5 - 2 miles into the race. We still look pretty happy!

Photos by Mike Potter.

With about 1/4 mile to go.

Photo by Gary Howsam

The killer stairs to the finish line. My calves are cramping with each step, I knew if I looked up I would fall on my face.

Photos by Helene Walker.

Race Report: Stonebridge Olympic 9/27/09

I wasn't nearly as nervous about this race as I have been for others this summer. In general, I am more confident about my endurance than I am about my speed and I knew that this race was more about endurance. That being said I got 2nd place in my age group and was the 15th overall female!!!! Can you believe it??? I'm so freaking pumped!

The swim: I wore my wet suit on the swim. It was probably half and half, people wearing wetsuits and people wearing just their tri suit. I'm really glad I wore mine because it was only my 3rd time to race in it and my first time to have people afterwards pull it off. That was really helpful and not nearly as stressful as getting the thing off myself. 1,500 m seems like a long way when you're standing on the dock about to jump in but once I got going I felt really comfortable. This was my best event of the day, I was calm, kept a good pace, and never really got tired. I'm so paranoid about getting off course though that I never took more than 7 strokes without looking up to see where I was going. I practice in open water every Sunday so I'm decent at sighting, but you'd think I would have gone faster if I would of just trusted that I was going semi-straight.

Coming out of the water I heard my mom immediately yell, "Great job, Michelle!!! That was a fantastic swim!" lol, I always know I'm ahead of the pack if my mom uses a bigger word than "great." Since I heard "fantastic" I knew I had done well. : )

Running out of T1 with my bike I saw Evan which totally picks me up and makes my day. He is so incredibly supportive of all my athletic efforts, I'm so lucky to have such a great support system!

Now the bike. First thing out of the transition was a hill and wind. I always try to just spin my legs easy first thing to get them moving. However, it seemed like I was in my easiest gear for a LONG TIME. That wind on the first leg of the loop was a huge beating. I kept looking at my clock and seeing that I was averaging 14 mph. "14 mph! What the?!" Diana said she felt the same way, so much so that she thought her brakes were touching her tire! Thankfully though, it was a loop so the second half was super fast. I was averaging close to 24-25 mph the second half. It was a 4 loop course so I just had to stay positive each time I was going into the wind. Total time 1:20:09. 24 miles, 18.0 mph average.

After every bike loop I heard my cheering section which now included Dad! I cannot explain how awesome it is to hear people cheering for you. It also is super motivating knowing that they're waiting for you at the end at an expected time. Definitely helps keep my legs in motion. Later, with about 200-300 yards to go in the run, Mom and Dad were there and said, "Yay! You can do it, almost there." I managed to yell out, "yeah...I'm going to need a little more than that. Really freaking tired." So then they said, "WOO HOO!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! DIANA'S MOM AND COUSINS ARE JUST AROUND THE CORNER AND THEN KRIS AND EVAN ARE AT THE FINISH!!! GOOOOO!!!!" It worked, I picked up my pace and gave Evan a high five as I was crossing the finish line. Like I said, they are all the best supporters EVER! ; )

The run is described on the event website as "hilly and challenging." All I have to say is YES. Yes, it was hilly and challenging. Overall, I was happy with my pace that I kept. It was almost exactly a minute slower per mile than my last 10k race, which seems about right since I had already swam and biked. I reflected so much afterwards on how different the pain is from a hard, fast effort versus a hard, long effort. Granted 6 miles isn't a long way to run on it's own, but it sure felt like it at the end of an already long morning. I got to a point at about the 5 mile mark where I had visions of my half-ironman in Galveston on the beach where I just wanted to cry and stop running. I so wanted desperately to stop running. Then, I thought about all the amazing athletes in my running/triathlon club who do full Ironman's and have recently qualified for the Half-Ironman World Championships. I sure felt like I was having quite the pity party compared to the inspiring people I'm able to train with.

This was my last big race of the 2009 season. I'll do the Monster Tri at the end of October for fun but now I'm concentrating on the fall running season. I'm so happy with how this summer went, I not only made huge strides in my biking and running but I also made incredible friends who don't think it's crazy at all to do a 50 mile bike rally and then immediately hop off the bike to run a few miles.

Running Events for the Fall: Rockledge Rumble 30k Trail Run, White Rock Half Marathon

Triathlon Goals for 2010: two Olympic triathlon's, one Half Ironman

Wish me luck! : )

Race Report: Blackland Sprint Triathlon 9/7/09

Oak Point Rec Center, Plano, TX

300m pool swim/15m bike /5k run

Overall time: 01:25:21 6th in age group out of 36, 24th overall female out of 200.

Swim: 05:45 1:55/M Transition I: 01:58 Bike: 49:19 18.2MPH Transition 2:00:57 Run: 27:20 8:49/M

For the first time I did a 10 min warm-up run before the race. I really enjoyed it and think I'll do it again. It gave me a second to be alone from the madness and clear my head. Also, I think I've done a dozen sprint triathlons and I still get nervous! It's so silly, but the run was nice to calm the nerves. The race didn't start until 8:45. This was good because I ate breakfast at 6:30 and if a race is really early I don't eat breakfast. However, late start time was bad because this is TX and it was HOT by the time I was running.

Swim went good, uneventful. I didn't have to wait very long because of my seeding but I think that was a big issue for people. I felt strong in the water. The day before I had done my normal Sunday morning open water swim and this time it was cool enough to wear my wetsuit. I think that helped me in the race because wearing that wetsuit makes me feel like I'm having to pull my arms through sand! T1 was also uneventful but I was 2nd fastest T1 in my age group! ; )

The bike was tough. There were two steep steep hills and I felt like I was pushing just beyond my comfort zone the whole time. I was never once just pedaling on easy effort. It was HARD EFFORT the whole time. That was frustrating because I didn't have to work as hard on my race last month and averaged 18.6. I'm always trying to beat my times but there's so many factors that go into effect on race day, you can't win 'em all.

T2 was great...I tied for the fastest time in my age group, that's the second race in a row! Actually for the last two races my T2 time has been 00:57. How weird is that?

Now...the run. BEATING. This was a weird loop run so you ended up being by yourself for the majority of it. So picture...steaming hot sun, wide open concrete roads, by yourself. That was actually not the worst of it either. The last mile was in thick grass. It honestly felt like quick sand and took every last bit of energy I had. I was having to use mantras like "pain is temporary" and yelling with my breath "COME ON, COME ON." I've never had to do that for a Sprint. I was 100% giving it everything I had. The end of the run was of-course up a hill. My entourage was there to see me finish and it was such a welcome sight. It might not have seemed like it though as I immediately ran to the nearest tree to hide in the shade. It was so freaking hot. The good news is I've trained in the heat all summer and my core temperature felt normal and I wasn't dehydrated.

Note to self: Nutrition. Normally I take a Hammer Gel immediately on the bike and then during the last mile of the bike before the run. (If the bike is longer than 12 miles.) This time I mixed two Hammer Gel's in water and put that in my aero water bottle. I drank the whole bottle while I was biking so it worked out perfect. Hydrated and calories all at the same time and didn't have to mess with a gu packet.

I was completely spent after this race but felt really good about my effort. It was so fun to have the race in Plano on a holiday because the whole Plano gang came out to cheer me on and we all went to lunch afterwards. I wasn't super happy with how the race was directed, but they did do one thing right...free beer! I ran across that finish line and saw the crew all with beers in their hands raised in victory! ; ) So much thanks to Patty, Jeff, Joe, Michael, Kathy, Mom, Dad, and Evan for coming out to support me and Joyce and the Garrisons for joining us for a celebration lunch!