White Lake Triathlon Race Report - Goodbye NC

White Lake Sprint II Triathlon - 750 Meters / 14 Miles / 3 Miles

I raced my last race in North Carolina yesterday - The White Lake Sprint Triathlon in White Lake, NC.  The morning started off a little iffy but fortunately turned into an awesome day.  My husband Bill reported rain at 3:00 am - hmmmm.... I really don't want to race in the rain, maybe I should just stay in bed and sleep.  No, get up and go, you know you'll be happy you did.  Had my typical pre-race breakfast of oatmeal with banana, peanut butter and vanilla soy milk. 

White Lake is about 90 minutes to the race site from our house so we left at 5:15 which would give me plenty of time to get my race packet, get set up and then warm up. We got about 20 miles from home when I realized that I didn't have my USAT card or Drivers Licence to get my packet!  Arrrruuuggghhhhh.... We turned around and rushed back home.  Made it with an hour to go before race start, whew!  Didn't get in a run for a warm up but I think running back and forth to packet pick up helped a little. 

White Lake is an absolutely beautiful venue for a triathlon, I'm going to miss racing here a lot. I've done a hand full of races at White Lake including one in the middle of a 100 mile bike ride with some friends when I lived in Fayetteville.  The water is crystal clear with a sandy bottom.  The water temperature according to race officials was just under 70 degrees at race start.  I warmed up in my wetsuit and the temperature definitely felt warmer than 70.  So I shucked the wetsuit for my speedsuit. 

I had what felt like a good swim, ended up with the fastest swim in my age group and 5th fastest swim for the women in my swim wave (40+), 29th among all the girls that day.   That's not bad considering I'm only swimming 1-2 times a week.  Gotta get to the pool more!  Average HR: 165 / Max HR: 170

It's a long transition run from the swim exit up the wooden ladders at the end of a pier to T1.  I overheard someone say "She's really moving" as I ran across the grass to the transition area!  1:23 for T1. (looks like 1:13 was the fastest of the day). 

My bike felt decent; good even!  I rode the day before with the Ocean Isle Beach Cyclists since I only have a couple more times to ride with them before I move.  I only rode 41 miles and tried not to get drawn into any of the faster sections.  I was successful with that except towards the end where I just couldn't resist riding down the three that had gotten away.  There was a slight tail wind on the first part of the 2 loop course.  I saw 23mph some during that time!  On the second lap the wind picked up a little and changed direction slightly but I was still hovering around the 21 mph pace. 

Somewhere along the way, I can't remember if it was on the first or second loop I hit a bump and my Garmin on my wrist came apart at the pin!  I'm glad it didn't happen during the swim.  I grabbed it and stuck it in my back pocket.  Of course thinking okay, now I'm going to have to pull it out to hit the lap button in T2. I passed a lot of girls with 40+ and 30+ on their calves but didn't see any 50+ women. There is a girl from Kure Beach in my age group, Karen Wilson, who is super fast and I was looking for her.  8th fastest bike split of the women!  Average pace 21.1 mph.  Average HR: 164 / Max HR: 172.

T2 was a mess!  Since my swim wave was number 8 of 10 waves there were a lot of bikes already back on the rack.  When I went to rack my bike I knocked over two bikes.  $#!T  So I re-racked both of them and they fell down again!  A spectator standing by witnessing all of this said "Leave them, the bike is over", thus giving me unofficial permission to leave them where they lay.  I feel terrible about this.  But I honestly did try to get them re-racked.  Thus my T2 took 1:15!  Boo....  the best of the day :50.  Rats.  I did remember to get out my Garmin just before I exited onto the run and hit the lap button twice. 

The weather hadn't warmed up too much for the run so it was nice and comfortable.  I have to say I LOVE my new Brooks Launch running shoes!  So comfortable, not a second thought about my feet.  Couldn't see my watch since it was stuck in my pocket but I did feel it buzz for mile one.  So it was just - "run as hard as you can".  Got caught by two girls in their 40's and thougth I saw Karen on my way back but I don't really know her except that she is tall and blond so I wasn't sure.  Turns out that she was registered but didn't race that day!  Lucky for me!!  Run time:  23:58 / 7:59 miles.  I thought it was a 5K and was really psyched thinking I'd run 7:42 pace.  Rats.  Average HR: 173 / Max HR: 184.  I guess I could have run a little harder, should have run a little harder. 

Rebecca Moxey

At the finish line I found Bill then chatted with my friend Rebecca Moxey, got some water, went to the car to change and clean up.  Back to transition now that it was open, got my bike and transition bag, back to car to dump off stuff.  Back to race site for a hot dog and a soda, passed out about 40 samples of Aquaphor!!  (Could have passed out 140!)  Saw my friend Suzy Nisbet from the Raleigh area. 

Suzy Nisbet

I met a fellow Aquaphor Teammate! He shouted go Team Aquaphor at me as I was setting up in the transition area and we did meet later at packet pick up, Jeff Plemmons from over by Charlotte, NC.

Placed 11th overall Female and won my Age Group by 4:25!  It was sad saying goodbye to Rebecca and Suzy. I wish my friend Carol Scheible would have been here racing.   I'm going to miss them.  I'm going to miss this place.  Good Bye North Carolina!

Crawfishman Race Report

Crawfishman Triathlon - Grand Hills Estates - Bush, LA.  1000 yds / 18 mile / 4 mile

Pre Race:  Why is it that if you don't know anyone that everyone looks so fast?  A lot of very fit women in south Louisiana on race day.  I kept seeing women with 50 and older on their calves that looked like they would leave me in the dust.  I was worried.  Perfect weather that morning, a little breeze in the air, cool enough for a jacket.  Looks like its going to be an awesome day!  I raced in my Recovery e21 Kit!  I keep telling you - this product is amazing!!!  (Use Code: e21WINS for a 20% discount!)



Nina and Lonnie Borrouso!


The Swim:   The water temperature was perfect, probably around 81 degrees.  No wetsuit - hurray!!  I think the swim course was a bit long - my Garmin clocked it just at a mile.  Drafted off of a girl for the first half of the swim, she was swimming just a tiny bit faster than me.  Then for the second half she slowed the pace so I went around her.  I saw a lot of green swim caps in front of me in the water and knew that my swimming wasn't up to normal - not good.  Bill's sister Nina her husband Lonnie and my nephew Scott were supposed to come to the race but at race start they hadn't showed up yet so we thought that maybe they'd changed their minds.  As I came out of the water I heard a woman's voice yell "Go Ginger!" and I knew that they'd made it!!  We'd stayed with them the night before in Covington, LA and I was excited to have family at the race.  Average HR: 155 / Max HR:  171

The Bike:  Anyone who thinks South Louisiana is flat is misinformed!  You have to remember that I'm a flat lander now and that bike course kicked my you know what!  My right lower quad was tight and uncomfortable the entire bike.  I think it's from sitting in the car driving down from North Carolina.  I always run and swim to warm up before the race but should have taken my bike out for a little spin to flush out the legs.  I passed a lot of really young girls in their teens - great age group swimmers from the area.  Towards the end of the bike two girls passed me.  One was 46 and the other 57!  The 57 year old was a woman named Susan Boudreaux - I've raced against her before in Shreveport and on the coast.  I'd looked up prior year's race results from Crawfishman and saw that she always took the Masters or Grand Masters podium spot, and when she was younger was one of the top 3 Females.   Averaged 20.1 mph on the bike.  Average HR: 165 / Max HR: 175

The Run:  More hills - ouch!  It felt like I was running in slow motion.  I had my Garmin set to show me heart rate, pace and distance but I didn't have it on scroll mode.  Rats.  I did see the first mile split - 7:55, not quite as fast as I was hoping to run, but then the hills do slow me down.  At the turn around I saw the two women that had passed me on the bike, they were behind me.  Thank goodness for speedy transitions!  By mile 3 both of them were passing me.  I asked the one if she was Susan Boudreaux but she didn't remember me from prior races.  Hmmmm.... I guess I'm just not that memorable!   The last 1/4 or a mile or so was downhill to the finish.  I'd warmed up out and back up that hill and knew that it would be a fast finish.  I started picking up the pace and saw that I was catching Susan.  I honestly didn't think I stood a chance to catch her, she'd made up a lot of distance on me.  And I wasn't really planning on catching her.  But as we made the last turn onto the grass headed to the finish banner my momentum took me right by her.  She hadn't changed her pace at all on the downhill.  I heard her say "THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!" as I went by her.  It is a race after all, right?  8:04 pace. Average HR: 176 / Max HR: 190 



Susan in the red tri shorts.

Post Race:  Found Bill and the rest of my family and we went over to the festivities!!  There was Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Hubig's Pies, Great Harvest Bread, Smoothies, Beer and Frozen Margaritas!!  Sweet!  While I was in the beer line I overheard a guy asking a girl if she took the Grand Master's award and she said "No there was a girl who passed me in the finish chute."  I tapped her on the shoulder and said " That would be me!"  The humidity was low and a nice breeze made the wait for awards pleasent!  Bill and I went to the car for me to get cleaned up - I hate hanging around in wet, stinky clothes.  Then we met back up with Nina, Lonnie and Scott to wait for the awards presentation.





Nina, Lonnie, Me and Scott*



I finished 12th Overall Female and Grand Masters Female (50 and older)! 

The award was so cool!  An original piece of artwork from a local artist, Jose Balli.  I found out later that he lives on the race course and we'd passed his home on the bike!

My husband Bill was amazing!  He and Scotty were running all over the place taking pictures.  He did an awesome job as Chief Photographer!!  After the race we went back to Nina and Lonnie's house for an awesome lunch of grilled chicken, sausages, roasted corn on the cob and salad - YUM!!!! 


*My nephew Scott Saladino lives in Virginia with his wife Christina.  They're both serving our country in the Navy.  Scott is at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS until August for training.  I think it's so awesome that he gets to see his family on the weekends and that he came out to cheer me on at the race!









Things That Make You Say "Doh!!"

Tomorrow we're leaving on a "ROADTRIP"!!!  Bill is on vacation and we wanted to go and visit family in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  He told me about a month or two ago that he would be taking a week around the first part of May. I of course immediately go online and see if there are any triathlons in the NOLA area for that time.  And I find the CRAWFISHMAN TRIATHLON on the first weekend in May!  "Do you think you could wrap your vacation week around a weekend instead of taking Sunday through Saturday?"  "You could?  Really??"  Cha-ching - Active.com race entry fee.

We got a new car last February - a Subaru Outback!  Bill used to drive a Jeep Cherokee so the cargo room in our vehicle has decreased slightly.  Now we need to figure out how to take two Golden Retrievers, luggage and a bike.  No problem - we'll get a trailer hitch and a cool bike rack for the back of the car.  (The roof rack houses kayak carriers). 

I order a Yakima HoldUp bike rack - I like this version because the bike is held onto the rack by the wheels instead of the frame.  No frame torque and all bikes will be horizontal, even if they have a sloping top tube. I make an appointment with the Subaru dealership to have the hitch installed.  I go to Wilmington with the car last Thursday and hang around the city for 6 hours. Right when the Outback is finally through the complimentary car wash, dried and brought to me it starts to rain.  Nice.  My mistake - not checking the work.

Last night we decided to put the rack on the car.  But when we remove the little cover on the hitch and start to install the Spline of the rack we notice that the 2" reciever that I ordered for the car is a 1.25.  DOH!!!!!  Of course the dealership is already closed for the day.  We have to wait until the morning to do anything.  In the morning, upon contacting the dealership we find out that the 1.25 is the only size available for our car because of the towing capacity.  Okay... I get it, but we're not going to tow anything. 

So then I have to see what I can do about the rack.  No one stocks one anywhere with a 1.25", I found a couple more 2", but we were SOL on the size we need.   The guy at TrySports in Wilmington recommends that I call Yakima and get creative in my thinking on what to do.  He gave me some good advice!  I called Yakima and yes, they have the Spine for the rack.  I'd have to Overnight it to get it here on time.  I ask if I can exchange the one I have for that one?  No, I can't because I didn't buy the rack from them, I got it from ORS Racks Direct.  I got a great deal on it and free shipping!!   The person at Yakima suggests that I call them, that they're open and might be able to help.  Maybe they could exchange it and overnight me the correct size. 

No such luck... they don't carry the individual Spline.  However the oh so cool folks at ORS Racks Direct are going to let me return just the 2" Spline by itself and are going to give me credit for it!  How amazing is that Customer Service.  Brianna at Yakima referred to the guy at ORS by name.  What great companies.  

So I should have the correci size Spline for our trailer hitch by noon tomorrow from Yakima.  And then let the Roadtrip begin!!!!  Keeping my fingers crossed for the FedEx guy to show up early!

The Weekend

What a great weekend!!  Saturday I met up with the local Ocean Isle Beach Cyclists for a ride.  The plan was for a 74 miler plus my 12 mile commute to the shop.  A rider from Greensboro showed up for the ride.  We had a tailwind out and the speed ramped up to 25+ when The Masher and our visitor went to the front.  We started out with 6 of us, dropped one on the way out.  Dropped two more on the way back - at the end it was just me and the two hammerheads into a headwind all the way back.  I thought I was going to hurl.  But I hung on until the end!!  Yay Me!!

Sunday was the perfect day!  Started out with a visit from the Easter Bunny then Bill and I ran an easy 3 miles on the golf course.  After we got home we packed up and went to Sunset Beach for some sun and relaxation in the form of a couple margaritas!  Back at home, made some dinner and then we took the boys for a walk - again on the golf course.  By then the course was closed and we were able to let them off leash to burn off some energy.

I met up with The Masher and The Dominator and Jimmy, the wrestling and cross country coach from the High School for a ride on Monday morning.  I wanted to do a few 3 mile intervals.  Again - nearing the hurl point.  Here is what my heart rate looked like.

Then I went to the pool to get in a swim.  Had a great swim until my last set - 14 x 50 @ :60.  In the next lane there was a guy (here we go again) wearing swim gloves who raced me for the first 25 of the 50, then hung on the wall for my next 50 and did it again and again and again.  Of course I beat him to the wall every time so then he started leaving a couple seconds early.  Aaaaarrruuuugggghhhhh.....  only this time when I got finished I turned to him and told him that I didn't mind him doing the intervals with me, but they were 50's on a minute and what he was doing was extremely irritating.   I'll chalk up my irritation to another cased of electrolyte imbalance.

I hope I'm ready for this coming Sunday!!

Things That Irritate Me

Okay... so generally I'm a pretty even tempered, let things roll off my back like a duck kind of person, but there are a few things that really irritate me.  I'm thinking that the degree of irritation is directly correlated to the electrolyte imbalance at that particular point in my workout.

Swimming
Why is there always some guy in the next lane who is swimming a few laps and decides he needs to wait at end of the lane for you to flip turn and try to race you to the end of the pool? And then wait another 50 and do it again and again and again.  Please do your own workout.  The other day I had one who (hopefully was just trying to learn) waited underwater watching me flip turn.  He did it so many times I almost got out of the pool because I was getting a little creeped out.   Please try YouTube, I'm sure there are much better swimmers than me on there showing you how to flip.

Cycling
At White Rock Lake where I used to ride in Dallas - Why is there always the guy that you pass when you're doing an interval on the smooth side and he jumps on your wheel and drafts you to the end and then flies around you and never says a word.  Please say something Mr. Wheelsucker. 

Running
Why are there always women on the running path 4 abreast taking up the entire path?  Or 2 coming at you with one on the line and you still have to squeeze way over to get by them?  Please remember that this is a public shared path, you haven't reserved it for your own personal run.   Oh.. and then there are the "stare at you but won't wave back people".  Please acknowledge my wave or stop staring at me. 

Okay - I'm off my soapbox.  Thank you for allowing me to vent.

SwimRunSwimRun - Repeat

So I've had a lot of time to swim and run these past few days and I'm seeing some nice improvement! 

I did a 5 mile run the other day and really tried to push the pace, when I got home and downloaded the run my Garmin clocked me at a 7:52 pace!!  Now for some of you that may not seem like anything significant but for me it's gold!!  Long long ago (when I was in my 20's and 30's) I always seemed to train at an 8:00 minute pace.  It was like clockwork.  Now days it's more like 8:30.  When I try to run easy I can get it to around an 8:45-8:50, but I feel like I'm going super slow.  Now don't get me wrong, that 7:52 had me working, but it felt good! 

Two days after that I went out for a 6 mile run and told myself that I was going to keep it down a little.  Six miles is typically when my left knee really starts to scream.  It feels like it starts to swell inside the joint and hurts like I'm doing some damage to it so I don't like to push the pace at this distance.  (This one had microfracture surgery back in 2002 and has never felt "right").  So I got home and downloaded the data and low and behold 8:11 average pace!!  Whooo Hoooo!!!

And as far as my swimming goes, I've been extremely negligent on the amount of time I've been in the water this year.  I wrote a post about my first time in the pool a while back and since then I've been lucky to be in the pool once a week.  So I've swam the last 3 days in a row and have watched my 100 yard time go down 5 seconds!  And that's on a 400 as well as a pure 100!!  When I'm in good swim shape I usually bring my 100's in on 1:26 when I'm repeating on 1:45, 1:30 when I'm just cruising.  (This must sound like total gibberish to any non swimmers!!)   So on my first of the three swims the 100's took me 1:40 and I had to extend the repeat interval to 1:50- ugh.  So yesterday I bought the 400 in on 3:20 - Sweet!  Still not where it needs to be but nice to see the improvement!! 

I just love how the pressure of an upcoming race gets me in gear.  I'm looking forward to Crawfishman and White Lake two weeks later! 

Oh... and I just found out that my nephew, sister and brother in law may come and watch me at Crawfishman.  They live about 20 minutes away from the race!  Whoo Hooo ....  more performance pressure!!

"Spanish Moss In My Hand Turn Me Into Crawfishman!"

My first race of the season is a month away on May 1st.  I'll be in south Louisiana racing the Crawfishman Triathlon!!  My husband is from New Orleans so we'll be road tripping as a family, and getting to eat some awesome N'awlins food while were there.  Crawfishman is known for it's post race party, but then most races in Louisiana seem to be known for the party!!  I was hoping my nephew who is in the Navy would be racing with me in his very first triathlon but it doesn't look like it's going to happen, darn. 

I enjoy going to races where no one knows you.  In some ways it takes off some of the "Performance Pressure".  But then again it's always fun to make the locals ask "Who the heck is that?"  I'll be wearing my Recovery e21 tri kit for this race!  It's pretty sweet looking - the back says: RECOVER FASTER TRAIN HARDER!  If you haven't checked it out go to the link and take a look - this stuff is awesome!!  Use code:  e21WINS for a 20% discount!

"The race was founded in 1983 by Charlie Hoolihan, Mark Salvetti and Rick Ramirez. We started with a three-race series 1983 and along the past 26 years we have received numerous awards and recognition for putting on a quality race in South Louisiana. We've come a long way since the first year.....the introduction of clipless pedals....aero bars....heck, we used to put up "changing rooms" for transitions!!!"  *

I've done this race a couple times that I can remember, maybe three times.  First in 1987 when it was known as the Crawfishman Causeway Cup.  I don't even know what the distances were back then.   Look at number 15 - there I am!!  I'm hoping for a better finish this year.  Wow I was only 26 years old!  How time flies. 

The second time I raced it there was a girl coming off the bike at the same time that I was this year and she told me afterwards that when she hit a little bump in the road just before the finish her front fork drop outs came completely off the front wheel - she'd forgotten to tighten her quick release when she put her wheel on!  Luckily it landed right back on the wheel or she would have been in for a nasty crash! Scary!! Triathlon Pointer - ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK YOUR WHEELS!

In 1991 -  it was a Half Ironman distance and a Kona qualifier. It was my first half, I wish I had the results from that day - I have no idea of how I finished.  This picture was taken on the way to the swim start that year.  I remember that the waves were so rough in Lake Ponchatrain that a triathlete from Dallas had to be pulled from the water after an hour and a half of floundering around out in the lake.  It was one of those swims where you have to wait until you're on a crest of a wave to see the shoreline. 

I hope I do well, I'm not really ready so I'd better get out there and do some more training! 

*From the Crawfishman Triathlon website.

AQUAPHOR CHICK 2011!!

Received the email yesterday confirming my acceptance to the 2011 Team Aquaphor!!  This will be my fourth consecutive year on this awesome team!!  I've never had such a performance enhancing experience!  Being on this team has made me train and race harder than any other time in my 26 years of racing!  So happy to be back for another season!!

"Aquaphor, Aquaphor,

Use it on your chafes and sores,

It will help you heal your cuts,

Use it on your baby's butt!

Look out!

Here comes Team Aquaphor!!!!"

The Little Engine

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....

Friends are planning a 100 miler on Friday - 20 mph pace.  I haven't been on my bike in a couple weeks.  My longest ride has been 60.  Should I stay or should I go......

Back In The Pool

I finally got back to the pool!!  I haven't swum since last October!  The pool that I use is indoor but not usually heated, so the thought of jumping into really cold water when it's REALLY cold outside isn't very appealing.  It's a very nice facility at the Brunswick County Community College - the Dinah E. Gore Aquatic and Fitness Center. 

My first swim was last week, I swam 3100 yards.  I could tell that my endurance is down, felt the fatigue set into my arms, shoulders and lats pretty early into the workout.  Because it's was my first swim of the season I did the distance but not on any intervals, just used 10-15 seconds rest.  Yesterday I went ahead and tried to make my intervals - it went just fine. It is so good to get back in the water again!  I only wish that the pool wasn't so far from my house, I know I'd be more consistent if the pool was closer.  It's a 42 mile roundtrip.




8 Lane Lap Pool and Warm Water Therapy Pool

 

Here is what I did last week (3100):

Warm Up:

2 x (300 Swim / 4 X 50Kick / 100 Stroke / 100Swim)

Main Set:

400 Swim (7:00)
2 X 200 Pull (3:30)
4 X 100 Swim (1:45, 1:40, 1:35, 1:30)
200 Kick
Cool Down:
300 Easy

Yesterday (3000):
Warm Up:
500 Swim
Main Set:
5 X 150 Pull @2:45
5 X 100 Swim @ 1:45
5 X 150 Swim @2:45 (50 Swim / 50 Stroke / 50 Swim)
6 X 50 Swim @ 1:00
Cool Down:
200 Swim/Kick

Felt much better yesterday in the pool.  There were two older gentlemen in the lanes next to me.  They both seemed to take turns racing me for a 50 here and there.  It's pretty obvious when they take off right when you come by to flip.  I will admit that I didn't let either of them beat me!  Ah.. the old spirit of competition!!

One stopped at the end of the pool to chat while I was waiting in between an interval. He told me that he competed in the Senior Games in the 70-74 age group.  He swam some in high school and took it back up when his back problems forced him to stop playing golf.  He asked me for some pointers, so I swam a few lengths with him watching him swim.  He was a good swimmer, just needed to drop his head a little so his body alignment would come up in the water.  It was really nice to see other people at the pool that swim well. 

When I got to the car the weather driving home was so beautiful that when I got home I grabbed a book and went to the Resident Center pool here in my subdivision and sat in the sun to read.  What a life!!