Ironman Boise 70.3 Race Report

Ironman Boise 70.3 

5:11.12

3/47 ag     18/376 female      119/1278 overall

Fun weekend in Boise, Idaho.  Of all my races, I can hands down say I learned the most from this 70.3 with the help a few speed bumps!  Went into this event to gain more racing experience and really wanting to inch my way closer to those pro women times! The sub 5 just wasn't in the cards for me today.

Instead of staying in a hotel, we rented a home which I highly recommend.  It ended up being cheaper than a hotel room, more space (especially for Rocky), kitchen to cook pre-race meal, not so much commotion, etc. etc.  My dad and his girlfriend were great to follow me around all weekend and so supportive!!!    




The day before I rode part of the course to make sure all was well with Rocky and then headed up to the transition area to drop my bike off. (I recommend dropping your bike off the night before so you don't have to carry it up a long dirt trail the next morning).  I always spin through the gears in transition to make sure everything is working properly and noticed my back breaks were locked up?! What.  There was no tech help available until the next morning, so a volunteer suggested I take it to the bike shop, Georges.  Good thing I did.  The tech's were awesome and quickly rewired the back break system for me!   




Between the bike situation, the heat, & the wind, I was getting a bit discouraged.  Being a bit of a control freak, these speed bumps were getting to me.  Had a little pep talk with T who reminded me to focus on the things I can control.  Everyone had to race in the heat and everyone had to deal with the wind so basically... stop being a baby & man up! :) 

Morning of the race was beautiful (this would be the perfect race if they would start it in the morning, just sayin’). I tried to sleep in as much as I could.  Had oatmeal and coffee when I woke up.  With the noon race start, I ate a Powerbar and ½ banana about 3 hours before the start.  Drank about 32ounces leading up to the race.

SWIM – 37:50 

I was in the 11th wave and it started to get hot waiting for our turn.  By the time we got into the water, the 60 degree temp felt great.  The water was choppier than St George but I was able to hang onto the feet of the lead group of girls in my wave until the turn around and then lost them.  The entire time I thought I was swimming faster than St George but ended up slower. 10^th out of the water.

T1 – 2:32

BIKE – 2:45.28

At the race briefing they warned us, at the start of the bike course there are 2 speed bumps, make sure to go slow over them.  Typical Christie to not listen, I rode over them like a bat out of hell and out fell both my water bottles. #1 thing of the day I could control with this heat was my hydration, so losing my water caused a huge mental block… not good at the very start of the race.  Looked down and saw the ‘BTM/Focus’ sticker on my bike, had a little pep talk with myself and got back in the game.  First aid station was around mile 16, which was a little over 90 minutes from the start… I can not tell you how great that water tasted when I arrived. Throughout the rest of the ride I poured water on my kit to keep my body temp down.    

In my opinion, there are no significant climbs on this course, but the headwind and heat caused it to be more difficult than St George.  I stayed down in aero and pushed through it, talking to myself (out loud like a crazy person) the entire way.  Moved to 3^rd position by the end of the bike.    

T2- 1:29

RUN – 1:43

Right out of transition, my body felt hot but my legs were turning over just fine and I was feeling good.  Boise’s run course is ideal to have the perfect run.  I should have had the perfect run.  My plan was to hold 7-7:20’s the first 10K, and then sub 7’s to finish the race.  

I hit mile 4 and my body was hot & would not push.  My legs felt fine and were turning over, stomach felt great, my body just was not responding.  Said my mantras over and over but nothing... and my pace continued to slow each mile. 

Aid stations was water over my head, sip of Cola, ice down the shirt and held ice cubes in my hands until they melted.  Finishing shoot was great with lots of support cheering you on the last 1/2 mile.  They had a huge ice bath tub at the finish line and I jumped right in!   



I learned a lot during this race to implement going forward.  I am so happy to have placed in my age group on a tough day. I am very thankful for a supportive dad and coach and friends.  AND I am ready to kick it up a notch and freaking perform like I should... no speed bumps are going to stop me :) !!!!!




OH....
and meeting Heather Jackson just might have made my day.....

OHx2....

Tradition post race fuel..... SASHIMI

St. George 70.3 Race Report

5:05.10

2/48 AG, 41/731 Female, 227/2699 Overall 

Qualified for Worlds 70.3 :D

Absolutely amazing day!  This course was the hardest, hottest, most mentally challenging thing I have ever done, and it hurt… a lot, I’d say about 77.77% of the time; but, I loved every second of it.

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Pre race- 

5 days before I made sure I was getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night, upped my carbs, increased fluids, and practiced visualizing the race. Breakfast day of was oatmeal, coffee, 4oz Powerade Zero.  Walking to the buses I finally felt calm for the first time all week and just really ready to race.  We were bussed up to Sand Hollow.  Hearing others chat about their abilities always messes with my head so as soon as I started to hear this, I put on my earphones and didn’t take them off until it was time to swim.

Swim 35:35 (1:50/100) 11^th out of the water

I was in the 4^th wave.  Right before I got in, I took 1/2 a gel.  They let us jump in 1 wave before we were to start to warm up & swim out to the first buoy.  It was coldddddd.  Dave Cox told me to help adjust my core temperature, bob up and down for about a minute before even trying to start swimming.  I watched everyone rush out to warm up while I bobbed, then I did my short warm up with about 20 fast strokes.  Decided to start on the front line. The start is always a bit of a cluster-mess kicking battle.  Going out we were facing the sun and I couldn’t see the buoys so I just spotted swim caps, then making the left turn everything was clear.  I ended up staying right in line with all the buoys, didn’t stop once, & never really crashed into anyone.  Exiting the water you run up the ramp to the strippers.  So awesome to have them… they get your wetsuit off in about .07 seconds! Woot. Came out in 11^th  place ready to go catch me some girls.

T1 2:01 

The day before, I went out to transition and practiced running up the ramp to my bike.  I counted 20 rows, so come the race, I didn’t have to worry about searching for my bike, I just counted to 20 and ran right to my bike.  They made us put all of our gear in bags instead of getting to lay it all out which I thought would add a bunch of time but it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

Bike 2:41 (20.86mph) 1^st on the bike!!

I was so excited to tackle this bike course.  I feel my strength on the bike is climbing so this course was perfect.  It went by so fast.  The whole bike I swear I had a grin on my face.  It felt 'comfortably hard ’ the whole time.  Gel’s were not agreeing with my stomach today… The first one I took came right back up. So I made sure to get in all of my liquid calories and took just small amounts of gel every 5-10 minutes.  Totals were 64 ounces of Powerade Zero with Powerbar Perform, 1 course bottle Powerbar perform, and 4 gels 

 

T2 1:58

Going into T2 my legs were not wanting to move. Put on my Pure Connects (used ziplocks this time which were so quick) grabbed my stuff and put it on as I ran out of transition.

Run 1:44 (7:58).  2^nd on the run

I had a goal going into this race to hit around a 1:30.  What I ran was one of my slowest half marathon times and one of my hardest earned.  Normal Christie would be so upset with this pace…but I am not at all :) This run course is insanely hilly as it is, add in running it after swim/bike... with 90 degrees heat and you are in for a challenge.  I honestly never felt ‘great’ during the run.  I was never able to get my heart rate under control... something to work on.  I dedicated certain miles to different people and that helped me keep focus.  Keeping mentally focused is what this last portion of the race is all about or you will totally fall apart.   Every mile there was an aid station! So nice… I would take 1 water throw over my head, take a sip of hot coke, then grab 2 sponges and hold them in my hands.  The coke was working perfect – why don’t they have this on marathon courses??

When I crossed the finish line I just hugged the volunteer for a few minutes because I was worried about falling over. Not even knowing my time or place, I was honestly so happy.  I gave this race everything I had and that was what I wanted. I did not want to have anything left in the tank!  Race times were updated about 5 minutes later, found out I qualified for World’s… seriously no words. I still can not believe I really accomplished it. All I can say is it is amazing what you can do when you set your mind to something.    

The funny thing about accomplishing ‘big’ goals you set for yourself, is that once you do, you realize how ‘little’ that original goal was and how much more capable you just might be. 

So incredibly thankful for all the support I have.  I have the best coach, hands down.  My dad, Walter, and my mom were out on the course all day! So freaking awesome of them. My cousin surprised me at the finish line. Rachelle has been the most amazing friend throughout this journey. Volunteers on the course were incredible. And everyone else…  just freaking awesome!

 so excited about what the future holds...
'BIG' goals in the making.

Fucking Fearless in St George 70.3

My mind has been going a million directions with work/personal life craziness and nerves about having a successful race.  Taper insanity is in full effect! I am so happy to have an awesome dad and coach to calm some of my madness. 

Coach Teresa has taught me so much about the world of triathlon.  She has taught me successful athletes do not have a secret magic plan, the most expensive gear, and know the most about every new race trend.  Successful athletes arise from consistency and finding their inner confidence.  I have found, working with Teresa, these go hand in hand – when you are consistent, the confidence follows.

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Confidence...something I have struggled with all my life.  Seems like such a simple concept, but the thing about confidence is that it’s a long process.  I never have been the loud, outgoing person in the crowd.  In high school, college, work… all environments, I have found myself to be the backward, quite girl.  Although quite, I have never found myself with commitment or dedication issues towards something I really want.  So naturally, when I stepped on board about a year ago with Teresa, I was all in.   

Throughout this training cycle for STG 70.3, I never once logged into Training Peaks and thought about bailing on a workout.  Words like ‘I HAVE to do a 4 hour bike ride’ were never spoken… ‘I GET to do a 4 hour bike ride’ was more like it.  Day-in, day-out I just did it.  All out.  110%.  Drinking gallons of chlorine water while trying to swim smoothly back and forth in the pool, building bike strength while falling over learning how to unclip and operate a ‘real’ triathlon bike, pushing my legs to run at new paces I never imagined possible, strength training, visualizing, forcing myself to properly recover… all the attention to detail completed.  Completed even when those doubts crept in… can I really bike that far, run that fast, swim that hard?  Remembering great things take time, and ‘mind over matter’ like my dad constantly reminds me, can be your most powerful tool. 

Training isn't all easy.  Most of the time it is not, which is the fun of it - right? You have to break yourself down to build a stronger you - Akhilandeshvari. There have been several frustrated post-workout comments and ranting emails made to coach T.  She would continuously reassure me, it is the consistent effort you are putting in that is important.  And so I would accept that workout as another building block to my ultimate goal,  realizing that every single workout is not going to be stellar; but it is every single workout combined that makes a stellar, confident athlete. 

Keeping your training logged is such a wonderful idea.  It is reassuring to look back over training cycles and see where you have come from.  All those consistent workouts build up that much needed confidence.  Conquering new distances, paces, and speeds build up that confidence. The private conversations you have with yourself, defeating doubts, builds that confidence.  Those certain trusting people in your life that have confidence in YOU, help build that confidence.  Those frozen face winter runs, the hours on the indoor trainer going nowhere, the times you thought you really might drowned... all conquered - confidence!

It is incredible how this new found confidence has translated into my day-to-day life.  Intrinsically, it means the world to me.  I no longer find myself reaching for external validation.  I have gotten to a point that I can find that within, which I believe is extremely important in Triathlon.  Teresa and my dad have helped me find my confidence to turn inward, confidence to be independent and capable of assuring myself, empowering myself, building up my mental intensity.  Confidence to feel pain, experience it, overcome it.  Confidence of a tiger… having an eye of the tiger.   Confidence to swim through that cold water in Sand Hollow, power up Snow Canyon, run strong through the hilly Red-Hills Drive to the finish line in St George.        

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“To become more confident, become fearless. Before a workout, hard set or race remember to be fearless. Not just fearless but fucking fearless. There is a difference. Squirrels in autumn are fucking fearless. They want the nut. THEY WANT IT. They will lay their furry little life on the edge for it. You can see it in their anxious eyes. Being fearless is not easy. It requires taking huge risks. Finding yourself at the edge, closing your eyes, jumping off and hoping there is water below. More than hoping – trusting it is there. That is fearless.” (Quote found here)

So for now, I am going to stop try to stop worrying so much about this race.   

I know I have consistently put in the work.   My body is ready.  It is itching to race, itching to give all it has got.  I am ready to trust my training, follow my race plan, let my inner confidence finally shine…

No matter the results, I am ready to be

FUCKING FEARLESS.

Ice Breaker Triathlon

Ice Breaker Sprint Tri

59:57.5              1/108 Female         8/282overall  

Going into this race I had 3 goals:

1- I have not done a triathlon with my new bike or actual clip-ins so practicing quick transitions
2- Every triathlon in the past I have subconsciously held back on the bike always wanting the run to be priority.  I did not want to do this… really wanted to push it the WHOLE race.
3 – Get in under 1 hour

Drove to American Fork, picked up race-packet… markings… pre race meeting… transition set up etc. etc.  Went for a quick warm-up (2.3 easy with some strides)

15 minutes before the race I still was unsure what I was going to wear.  Everyone was complaining how cold it was, but last minute I decided to take off my tri top and wear a swim top with tri shorts for the whole race.  

Swim (6:19/300 meters)

Indoor pool swim. Cluster mess.  I am not very confident in my swim, so when we were lining up I kept moving backward listening to the others talk about their swimming abilities.  Ended up stuck in the middle of the lanes and at the wall ends several times waiting for people. I need to make sure to start further up next time… especially in a lap pool! The time includes running from inside the pool to the transition area mat.

T1 (0:45)

Smooth and uneventful.

 

Bike (12 miles, 31:56, 22.5/mph)

I felt strong on the bike.  I caught a lot of people which was giving me more and more energy.  Fell short of my 25mph goal… probably should have looked at the course before setting it that high :) Double loop course with uphill going out and downhill coming back.  About 2 miles left on the bike, I took 1/2 a gel and drank poweraid zero with Powerbar Perform mixed in. (This is the first race I opened the gels and taped them to my bike. Worked out perfect)  My dad was at the dismount area and told me only 2 girls in front of me! So encouraging having him there. 

T2 (0:51)

Pretty smooth…Forgot to take my helmet off and had an official ask me if I was taking extra safety precautions running with a helmet on! Duh Christie! Right outside of T2 was Rachelle!!! Best way to start the last leg of this race.  (Note - I need to purchase the no tie laces for my shoes.) 

Run (3.1, 20:08, 6:30/mile)

The first half of the run shares the course with the biker's which is a bit scary.  I ended up running on the sidewalk most of the time to avoid a collision. Most of mile 1 my legs felt good but I felt like I couldn’t breath; very frustrating.  Mile 1 is going up the ‘big hill’ and my shoe lace came untied.  Stopped, fixed it and pushed up the hill.  Mile 2 is flat, and 3 is back downhill to the finish.  During the run I was catching men and on the look out for those two dang ladies.  Finally, I saw some braids ahead, found another gear, and just charged past her and didn’t stop pushing until the end.  I never knew what ‘running scared’ meant until today with that girl chasing me:) I was really hoping for a 19:2X… but happy with the effort I gave.       

Crossing the finish I had no idea my time because my Garmin was messed up and thought I was in 2^nd.  Rachelle and I went for a quick cool down waiting for the results to post.  When we got back my dad told me I did it… sub 1 hour and overall female!     

Cant say enough how much my dad freaking rocks.  I swear, he gets just as much of a workout as I do moving around to the different areas on the course!  So fun to have Rachelle there as well… I don’t think people know how much support really means/helps during a race.  This is the perfect pre season race: well organized & wonderful volunteers, challenging course to test your fitness, and ideal race before St George 70.3 :) 

and my post race FUEL THE MACHINE tradition...

SASHIMI

A few Brooks fav's

A few Run Happy favorites I've been loving....

 These Arm Warmers.  Even in cold temps, I get very hot if I am not in a tank.  These arm warmers work perfect... especially since Utah thinks it is still winter! Love the material, not constricting.

Across all brands, these are my favorite everyday tank and short.  Absolutely love.

Both are extremely light weight.  I admittedly sweat a TON and both items are very moisture wicking.

I feel like many Brooks tops are on the longer side, but this shirt is not.  It hits me right above my shorts while still covering my stomach - perfect. 

The shorts fit down lower on my waste which I really like.   When rolled down you have that bright pop of color! Pocket for a key/gel.

Infinity Short and Pure Drifts.  Shorts fit great, --- they remind me of a more flattering Nike Tempo short (read not so baggy).  The Pure Drifts are one of the most comfortable shoes I've put on.  Love that the the upper section is wide to give my toes room to move.  Extremely flexible.  I am using these for recovery runs.  Anything over about 8 miles or on rougher terrain, I don't feel there is enough 'shoe.'   

 

Lets talk about my go to shoe - Brooks Pure Connects.  When I first tried these shoes, I used them only for racing; but they have worked their way into my every day shoe rotation.  I have worn them for full marathons and even without socks for an entire Half Ironman (including on the bike before I got clip-ins) and have never had 1 problem with blistering/rubbing.  Light weight, wonderful arch support, and just enough cushioning to allow you to run long and FAST... cant say enough good about these pair of kicks! 

When I first got these shorts I wasn't a huge fan because they were longer than I am use to.  I decided to wear them for this past race and really liked them.  Again, the lower fit on my waste is a huge plus for me.  They are tight enough that your legs feel supported while not being compression tight.  I don't know why, but when I am working on speed or racing at a faster pace, that extra support on my legs feels good.  Most of all, they did not move what so ever.  The elastic band around the thigh is unnoticeable but keeps them in place. 

 Last is this Visor, Hat and Jacket.  I reviewed this jacket back when I was first getting into running and it is still my favorite.  I have one now for 'everyday' use and running use. 

What are some of your current running favorites??

Spectrum 10K and Training

I have not blogged in awhile! 

Lots of fun training has been going down...

Here is a quick little recap.

Spectrum 10K Race 39.43    1/73 AG, 9/467 Female, 30/791 Overall
This past weekend I was in St. George training and this race conveniently fit right into the training :D   

Smaller, super friendly race.  Organized well with the buses getting us up to the start.  (There is no real place to warmup at the start of the race so I would suggest doing your warm up at the park and then getting on the last bus up to the start.)

Miles 1-3 felt great.(downhill) First sub 6 mile!  Mile 4 the inclines in town start and got me in the zone... just told myself to hold onto the uncomfortable effort. When I turned the corner and saw the finish line clock under 40 I kicked hard and finished strong! PR
  
Splits (5:50, 6:27, 6:18, 6:38, 6:35, 6:34, 1:21)

Teresa has been upping the duration and intensity of my swim.bike.run. 

and I am loving Every.Second.Of.It

Swimming

Putting in some yardage!

Biking

Spending some quality time with Rocky! Trainer sweat fests... hill repeats... tempo efforts...time on the St George 70.3 course... Loving it!!  

 

Running

The sun is finally coming out in Utah!  I am going to do a post soon on some Brooks products I have been Running Happy in lately!

........................................................................7 weeks!!!!!!!!

Training Weekend and Pacing in St George

Training weekend in St. George

Had a wonderful weekend.  Warmer weather, running in shorts, awesome training, and fun time with new friends!  It has been so dang cold where I live so it was super nice to pack up and get out of town for the weekend. 

Kicked the weekend off pacing St. George Half Marathon, 1:40 group.  Finished 1:39:55.  I love pacing.  Such a wonderful feeling helping people reach their goals.   

Super cute girl, Lauren, came up before the race and wanted to sub 1:40.  She looked so strong the whole time and totally crushed her goal... so proud! Ran a cool down with Rachelle and a few others getting me a little over 17 miles for the day. 

 

 

After the race went to the Washington Rec Center and had a nice swim workout, in an actual lap pool! Oh how it would be to regularly swim in this facility.   

Sunday biked the 70.3 course.  Teresa had told me to just get out, experience the course, and that is exactly what I did.  No tough efforts, just getting to know what I am going to be up against.  I was worried about getting lost but the course is pretty straight forward. Everyone duct tapes course directions to their arm right?! ;) 

Lots of climbing along with some fun, speedy descends.  Climbing snow canyon was not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.  Don’t get me wrong, legs were burning; but I expected it to be a bit longer.  It was awesome making it to the top and then zipping back down in aero was fabulous.  I might have chicked a male cyclist going up who was decked out head to toe in expensive gear which Made.My.Day;)

 Got a flat at mile 50 so I didn’t get the entire course in.  Called Rachelle to do a T-run with me.

The run course is No.Freaking.Joke. So dang hilly.  Our first mile was a 8:40!! Rachelle reminded me we were going up a 9% grade. Awesome to have here there for the run portion.  She pushed me and we finished strong with a 6:16 mile that felt controlled! 

This weekend was such a confidence boost that I needed. 

I feel so much better about my training for STG now. 

3 months out!