Auburn Triathlon - World's Toughest Half

I ended up doing this race because Bill, my husband, wanted to do the Long Course Duathlon (basically Half Iron with 3K run put where the swim would be)

I know “others” had said it was hard. Really hard. But I have also done St Croix 3 times and St Croix is suppose to be the hardest half “Ironman”

This race was a USA Triathlon race. You can visit their website at Auburn Triathlon.

The 1.2-mile swim is in Folsom Lake at Rattlesnake Bar Park.

The bike was suppose to be 6,000 ft of climbing with the last 10 miles of down hill... Hey – after Dr. Susan Owen got us to do the King of the Mountain series,

• Mullholland: 4-11-09…… 100 miles – 12,000 ft of climbing
  

• Breathless Agony: 5-2-09….114 miles – 12,000 ft of climbing (in the first 74 miles)

• Heartbreak Hundred: 5-23-09…..– 100 miles – only 8500 feet of climbing

Which is why I missed day 1 of PTC Man, a 3 day event put on by the Pasadena Tri ClubP:

• Day 1 - 80 mile ride to Long Beach

• Day 2 - 50 miles of hills followed by a mile swim in the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center *immediately* after you get off the bike

• Day 3 - 9.5 mile run from the Rose Bowl beyond JPL in the hills

So – what is 56 miles and 6,000 feet of climbing……..almost…….a DAY OFF!

Before going into the “disaster” aka the “run” (more on this in a bit) -- I will admit that I did have some concerns. In January I fractured my foot – so when the Oceanside half Ironman came along, I had run 2 hours in 2 months – but that was OK and the half marathon part of the Half Ironman in Oceanside was doable.

Then in April I started easing back into running. About 3 weeks ago, May 7th, the pavement had a rather harsh encounter with both of my knees (don’t ask – I have already been ridiculed to the very depths of the sea for being so dumb...that’s OK – it was well deserved!)

So, I go into this race with tons of bike fitness – 100 mile ride last Saturday (which I treated like a race rehearsal) – 25 miles on the Tour of Glendale with Pasadena Tri Club and the next day an 8 mile run to JPL.

UGH…..yeah, I am not entirely stupid………..I was pretty sure that my recovery time was on the bleeding edge of being sufficient for this race.

Duathlon Nationals - Richmond, VA Race Report

The race was a 10K - followed by 38K Bike - then a 5 K run

This was the USAT Duathlon Nationals. If you made the top 12 in your age group you would qualify for the "Worlds" at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Sept.

I have never done a duathlon. I fractured my foot at the end of Jan and I just started running 2 weeks before Oceanside. As of this race, I have spent 1 run doing speed work so I was not sure how I was going to do.

Starting out with a 10K was interesting. I got smoked by most of the woman I started with.......The first 2 waves were men over 55 and woman over 55.

I was OK with that - I just needed to find my pace and run my race. At about mile 3, I passed a bunch of ladies that went out a little too fast................................ oops.

About a 1/2 mile from the end of the 10K, one of the girls that I had passed at mile 3 and had been using me for a pacing partner, decides she is now going to pass me. Y-E-A-H, that did not go over well with me and I used my cadence drills Strauss trained me on to pick up the pace and then a slight down hill to really pick up the pace -- I could hear her fall back - then I passed one other lady in my AG about 500 feet from the finish.

There was 1 turn around and I counted the women ahead of me -- there was 16 - so when I came in - I was 15th of the group.

Got on the bike. Legs felt like lead. That was LESS than pleasant!

About mile 2 - the girl that was pacing me - passed me.............UGH! But then she made a wrong turn and went off the course to who knows where ...............S W E E T !

About 4 miles into the ride - I am thinking - how am I going to finish this race??? I was dead.......!

OK - what has my coach, Rich Strauss, taught me? I need to do something because "dead" is just not what I wanted to deal with.

Rich has a video called 4 Keys - plus he gave a talk on these in Oceanside. One of the keys is race "in the box" -- don't deal with anything else than what is happening. This puts the race in a compartment and you deal with what needs to be fixed NOW and do not worry about mile 10 or 20 or the end of the race.

That worked --- took some Gu - took some endurolytes and within about 10 minutes I was good to go for the rest of the bike. I really paid attention to taking some Gu and drink every 25 minutes. Before I got off the bike I took half an Espresso Gu. The bike course was a little hilly in some spots --- but that was fine with me!

I was told that the 2nd run was a bit----! Especially after you have already run a 10K.

Got off the bike - got on to the run - did not feel that bad until about mile 2. I walked the aid station and then finished the race! It was an up hill finish -- that hurt!

I came in 9th out of 21 in my age group - total Time 2:49:40
10K 54:52 38K bike 1:24:54 3 K Run 27:05

This was a fun race. It was tough.

Yes I would do a duathlon again -- they are good training for Triathlons.

Lynda

Race Report – Oceanside 70.3 2009

I never wanted to do this race because I was told it was very cold. I hate cold. I had signed up for it a couple years ago and never went.

But this year...there were so many Pasadena Tri-Club guys that were going that there was no way I was not going to be part of the group.

The couple of days before the race were a bit cool – but race day looked to be good weather.

David Piper arrived at my room around 5:30am and we headed down to transition, about a 4 minute bike ride from the hotel. David was doing well despite the fact that bon Tuesday he had a 103 fever with bronchitis!

It was a bit chilly at 5:30am, but I had throw away flip flops, throw away socks and gloves – so once I got my wet suit on – the cold was not bad.

They did not do the usual get out of transition routine @ 6:30– which I thought was odd. We could have not been in such a rush to get out.

The swim was in the marina – it was an “in the water” start. There were no waves and the water was smooth with the exception of the turn around which was near the entry to the sea. The “in water” start was nice because it gave me 3 minutes to get oriented in the water before I started. The water was about 60 degrees but did not seem that cold. They were allowing us to wear booties...which I forgot in my room.

My swim was around 54 minutes – that is not a bad time for me.

Once in transition, I put on my short sleeve under armor, singlet and windbreaker and gloves. I was unwilling to be cold on the bike – and the only thing I took off were the gloves.

The bike course was beautiful. I felt great on the bike for the first 40 miles – then I do not know what happened…………could have been the lack of time on my tri bike before the race…..but, my ass hurt, my back hurt – I hurt…….. and was not having a pleasant time at all!

A note here – I fractured my foot at the end of January and could not run until 10 days before Oceanside – and then I had to take it easy. By the time I arrived in Oceanside I had done 4 runs, none of them more than 35 minutes.

Plus, in the month of March, I was out of town 3 weekends and Sundays are my “on my tri bike for 50 miles” day. So, going into Oceanside, I thought I would just use it as a practice day and not do the run.

But…..you know how it is when you get into race conditions. I already had a plan if my foot was killing me – cause I really did not want to DNF.

My bad time on my bike was due to lack of “time on the bike”. Although I had spent many hours on my road bike between Tour of CA and various club rides and the 3 day prelude to the Mullholland Challenge, the road bike position is very different than tri position.

Got done with the bike – got into transition and then had to take off ALL the extra clothes I had on – that took some time.

Started the run and I felt better than I had ever felt on a run???? That was odd – especially since I had not run in almost 2 months.

At about mile 2 there was a hill – I thought maybe I would take it easy and walk it – but decided not to. THANK GAWD for that --- because at the top of the hill was Rich Strauss, my coach, and I would have been MORTIFIED beyond belief if he saw me walking that hill!

As I went on – my foot was giving me no problems and things were going well.

Then came mile 8.

Rich had given a talk 2 days before the race and he talked about the 4 Keys. One of the 4 keys was to race in the “box” This means you only deal with what you need to at THAT point. This was VERY helpful to me because looking at another 5 miles was a bit overwhelming.

I took it one mile at a time. I knew I could make it to mile 9 and then 10 and then 11. I was walking the aid stations and I stopped and walked for 2 minutes on mile 12.

This gave the lady in my age group a chance to pass me and come in about 40 seconds ahead of me. But that was OK. For as not prepared for this race as I was – I was going to finish! I was blown out!!!!!

Total time: 06:53:15
Swim 53:05 T 1 7:30 Bike 3:25:55 T2 2:56 Run 2:22:51

And last but not least……………it was soooo much fun seeing other PTC friends on the course and then had a blast hanging out with Sue, Greg, Darrell, Lenny, Jesse, Jeff and Thom after the race in Darrell”s condo.

What a pleasant end to a great race!!!

And also want to mention – the weather was perfect. Sunny but not too warm with a nice breeze on the run!

It could not have been a better day!!!

Lynda

What's Been Happening

Not much happens through the Holidays. No races...it is a 'rest' time for all of us.

Then added to that time off, I fractured my foot in January when I was out running...no running for me for weeks, months! It wasn't looking good for being in shape for my first Half Ironman for this season, Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside on April 4, 2009.

As it got closer to the Oceanside date, I felt I would go anyway and use it as a practice race and not do the run. Well....Race report coming soon.

November 16th: Pasadena (Rose Bowl) half marathon – 13.1 miles

This year it wasn't so nippy.

When I got to the 10k mark I got there at 54 minutes, that is by far my best time ever. I did this run in 205, which is not too bad. I thought I would do better but I did 2 minutes faster than last year and finished second in my age group.

The thing with marathons is they take a such toll on us. Our coach says, “Do not run marathons, even as training.” The longest runs he sends us on is 20 miles, it is just too tough on the body. We run half marathons as part of our training.

I often get asked, “How did you start?”

Well...

I was 44 and I decided I needed to do something. I had kind of done some running when I was younger, on and off. I was talking with someone in the gym who stated she had not missed a day of exercise in 2 years. I said, “You have got to be kidding me. 2 years? Whoa, that's pretty heavy.”

So I started running, 11 years later I missed one day of exercise because I had flown in from Florida and I just forgot. I was so pissed.

I was in St. Croix with my husband when we saw our first half Ironman. I was 53 at that time and thought, “Oh this shouldn't be hard...what's the big deal about a mile swim and a 56 mile bike ride and a 13 mile run. I could do that.” Yeah right.

I am not an athlete. You know I ran and did some gym work. But at 53 I just decided I could do a half ironman. It didn't seem like that big a deal. I mean it didn't seem like it was something I couldn't do. I couldn't swim when I started. I never biked over maybe 20 miles, that was like a huge, huge bike ride. But I didn't think 56 miles was that big a deal. And since I ran I didn't think 13 miles was that big of deal either.

The running was the hardest of all of it to actually get my volume up. Which was interesting since running was the one I could do. You just make the decision and you to do it.

And I like inspiring people. I like getting people going.

School Yard Ride - Pasadena Tri-club

We were emailed the following information:

We hope you are gearing up for the “School Yard Ride” this Saturday November 22nd at 7:30 am. Bring your bike, running shoes, goggles, $10 cash and your wits too…

Plan on a 25 mile ride including some hills. This is very much a ride, and not necessarily an easy one, but you must bring running shoes and goggles because there just might be a surprise or 2 or 3. Plan on having a very “fun” workout. Coffee and snacks will be provided post ride.

We arrived at the schoolyard at 7:30am. There are going to be three teams of eight and I was one of the team leaders, Haroon and Benny were the other two.

As team leaders we were given 60 seconds to shoot as many baskets as possible. The one with the most baskets got to choose first. “I don't shoot hoops!”, oh, but I am a team captain. Out of the 3, not me, shot one basket, so he got to picked first. We are not basketball players!

The rules were that we had to do the race as a team. All eight team members had to be there to get the clue as to where we were supposed to go next. Didn't I mention, there were also clues and activities we had to do in addition to the racing.

So with the teams all picked we had to take a test to determine which group would head out first. It was a multiple choice quiz of about 10 to 15 questions. I am glad I picked the right team members so they could answer all the questions! My team won that round and got a 2 minute head start!

The clue was a picture of a smoothie place, off we went! We were to buy 1 smoothie, drink it down and hand the cup back to the girl to get our next clue.

We were off again! To the top of Lake Ave. We found bubble gum and chalk. We had to chew up some stringy bubble gum, blow a bubble and then write our name in chalk on the pavement. Our next clue!

The front of the Rose Bowl. We get to the Rose Bowl and we are told we have to change a tire. Doesn't sound like much but you have to deflate the tire first and then change it.

Our next clue is the library in South Pasadena. Luckily someone recognized the picture. We had to ride around the block then eat a lemon Meringue Pie. Go to the coffee shop and each drink a shot of espresso.

Next clue is to take the blue line to take the Sierra Madre exit. We pile onto the train with our bikes. At the exit we had to take our bikes to the top on the parking structure. One bike has to get down without being walked or ridden. Waiting for us at the top: a kiddie bike, a scooter, and skate board. So one volunteer carries his bike down with all of us guarding the bike so it doesn't fall.

Nest stop is to Ralph's to buy 12 bagels and cream cheese. We didn't have to eat them. But how to carry them. One bright idea was to make it like a back pack and put his arms through the holes. We are running neck and neck with team Benny.

Next clue, a place called Hyper Coffee. There we found our running shoes lined up waiting for us. So we hopped off the bike, threw our sneakers on and ran a mile.

Still running neck and neck we are wanting to win. We had to come through the finish line holding hands.

Team Lynda came through the ribbon first!