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! : )

HEB Drumline Contest

Richland won the HEB Contest for the second year in a row last weekend. (Sept. 19) They also received awards for Best Pit and Best Basses.

Great job Richland Drumline!!

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!

Whole lot of nothin'

Man, it's been a while since I posted. School is in full swing...Evan is eating and sleeping marching band and I'm working on getting my schedule of lessons set up. It's amazing how tricky it is to set up a full time lesson schedule. With 7 different schools that essentially have their band classes all at the same time it can be a fun, but challenging chore.

Evan recently got an iPhone and is in love with it. His phone got stolen on our honeymoon in Mexico and they rang up $1,000 worth of charges which Sprint has been not so awesome about. Therefore, no more Sprint, hello AT&T iPhone. I'm so jealous though, my contract with T-Mobile will be up soon and then I will also make the switch back to AT&T. I really got annoyed with the coverage when I was with them but it's worth it!

Couple of updates:
Today is Corey Gilmore's birthday...I think he's 32!
Courtney started as a full time student at TWU on Monday. She's exceedingly happy.
Kelly is less than 6 weeks away from her NYC wedding!
Lauren's baby girl is due Sept. 27.
Carolynn Grace Dominquez is getting baptised on Sept. 19.
The Beer Me League had a great draft last Saturday. Evan and I are in the same divison and I'm predicting Clan of the Cave Bear in first, Team 300 in second.
I chopped off all my hair.
Still anxiously awaiting wedding pictures and video. Stay tuned.
Racing the Blackland Triathlon on Monday.

I'll have a race report next week, see you then!

Chelsea vs Club America

Evan and I went to the new Cowboys Stadium last night to see Chelsea take on Club America in the World Football Challenge. It was really fun to watch the soccer game and get to see the new stadium. I think attendance was close to 58,000 and it was pretty even CA fans to Chelsea fans. (We thought it would be WAY more CA fans.) We gave the actual Stadium an A+, Entry (Parking and stuff) a B, and Exit (leaving the parking lot) a BIG FAT F. Until they get construction done it is the biggest beat down ever to leave that place. It was worth it because it was a great night, but a huge beating. Save the tailgating for afterwards while you're waiting.

Disco Triathlon - July 19, 2009

(All pictures by Dan Hill, Diana's husband.)

Diana, Me at the finish line with our medals and shirts!

Diana about 1/2 mile into the run

Diana...almost done with the bike!

Me about 1/2 mile into the run. I run with my arms too high. I'm really trying to work on this. =)

Me almost done with the bike!

Sprint Distance: 500m swim/17.6m bike/5k run

Johnson Branch State Park, Lake Ray Roberts

This was a really fun race. It was well organized, there was really nothing about it I would of changed. Tons of water on the run and everything was really well marked. We got lucky and the weather stayed under 90 degrees. It was pretty humid in the morning but could have and had been WAY worse.

The swim was a run-in from the beach. I had always started in the water at previous races and for some reason I've always been nervous about a beach run-in. It was seriously no big deal though. We positioned ourselves in the front on the right and really didn't have any congestion problems. In fact, we both commented afterwards that we had looked up during the last 150 meters and noticed that there were no red swim caps anywhere! (Red swim caps were our swim heat...it was the first women's group to go, 34 and under.) All I could see were the guys white caps getting out of the water. It was so weird, I totally thought we were off course or way in the back. We just had stayed in the front the whole time. I loved that all the guys went first because normally you can feel the fast guys coming up behind you and it's stressful and the likelihood of getting kicked is much higher.

Transition 1 was pretty normal, it was open racking on the bike and so Diana and I had our bikes next to each other which was nice!

The bike course was rolling hills, there was really only one steep hill just after the turnaround. I love out-and-backs because you can judge so well how much energy you should expend the first half. Diana was just out of the water before me and just out of the transition before me. I could see her the whole time on the bike but couldn't ever catch her. My goal was to not widen the gap between us. She's a monster biker so I knew if I could just keep her in my sights I would be good. I only looked at my distance on my computer and not mph because otherwise I get too stressed about wanting to go faster and not listening to my body. I'm too competitive! We rocked the bike though both averaging 18.6 mph for the 17.6 miles.

Transition 2 was great. I normally try to get a little extra time on my competitors during this transition and I was in and out really fast. For any distance other than a sprint I'm not nearly so concerned but when you know you'll be done in 3 miles, it's hard not to push as hard as you can.

The run was on a tree-lined path which means...SHADE!!! It was a curvy out and back, it's always fun (and demoralizing) to see the really fast people running on the opposite side of you. Diana and I ran by each other twice, we both had our best runs of the season...and it was my best run ever for a triathlon. I was pretty exhausted at the end, averaging 8:33 min miles. (For fast people, that is not fast at all, but for me, that's really super fast!)

It was totally worth waking up at 4:15 a.m., I had a really good time and I was proud of my effort. This has been the most fun training/racing season for me because of Diana! We met at our local running club, realized we live close and the rest is history.