Well, the last month or so has been rough, but I'm finally feeling back on track and ready to post some updates. I'll try to keep it brief since there's a lot of ground to cover...
First, RAGE race report: This race was a surprising amount of fun; I think I was happy/smiling for about 95% of it. My goal was 6:30 (:45 swim, 3:30 bike and 2:00 run) and I finished in 6:43 (:43 swim, 3:43 bike and 2:07 run), which I'm pretty happy with, considering that it was my first one and I didn't really know what to expect.
Swim:
This went fairly well, I did panic about 5 minutes in (too many people grabbing my legs) but after treading water for a few seconds my heart rate dropped and I was able to continue doing freestyle without any more problems. When I panicked during my Olympic race last fall I ended up doggy paddling/backstroking the rest of the swim, which really tired my legs out for the bike ride, so I was really motivated not to do that this time. The water was pretty clear and I saw a few fish, I was imagining a sort of Finding Nemo scene down there with Dori singing "just keep swimming, just keep swimming." My neck got pretty chafed from my wetsuit (I'll Body Glide it next time) and my calves cramped up as soon as I hit shore, but otherwise the swim was great! I am a little worried about the cramping, in CdA you exit the water in between the two swim laps and cramping throughout the second lap would not be fun.
Bike:
The bike wasn't as bad as I was expecting, yes it was hilly and yes it was hot, but not as bad as some past race reports made it out to be. The course had fairly rolling hills with a net gain on the way out; at the end I certainly didn't want to be sitting on my bike anymore, but my legs weren't really tired. So I either should have gone faster or I just paced myself really well. After about mile 20 I started passing people and didn't get passed by anyone for the rest of the race. This was partially because most of the people around me were on road bikes, so I had a huge advantage in any headwind and on the descents. Its fun passing people :-) The only negative moment on the bike course came around the halfway point; there had been a miscommunication at the 18 mile aid station, so I hadn't picked up any water or Gatorade. I started drinking less and hoped there would be some at the turn around (even though it wasn't mentioned in any of the race information); I might have burst into tears when the volunteer there told me there wasn't any water (I'm not sure if there wasn't any or if she just wasn't allowed to give it to me). I completely ran out soon after and stayed out for about 20 minutes; since it was in the high 80's (at 9 AM) and I hadn't seen any shade since the sun had risen, this worried me somewhat. My nutrition plan went out the window but I made it back to the 38 mile aid station without any more tears and finished the bike leg just fine.
Run:
The first few miles of the run were pretty rough, so I ended up walking a little, which I had hoped wouldn't happen. I usually feel pretty strong running off the bike so I think running out of water was effecting me during this part. The first two miles were pretty flat, but they were on a dirt trail with fairly large rocks and then extra hot black asphalt. I was chugging Gatorade (which I never drink when I run because it usually hurts my stomach) and pouring ice cold water over my head at every aid station to cool down. By mile 4 I started feeling pretty good and was able to run consistently; I think the hill got less steep. The run course was really cool, it started off on a bike path along Lake Mead, then headed up a gravel trail that used to be a railroad bed. It was all up hill on the way out, which made for a really nice run back. There were 5 tunnels towards the top that were a welcome relief from the sun; I think that was the only shade I saw all day. Towards the top I started feeling cold even though I was in the sun and my vision went a little fuzzy in my right eye for awhile, but I didn't pass out or feel weird after the race, so I guess I was fine. The rock and asphalt portion was just as hard on the way down, but I finished feeling strong and still happy.
Post race:
After all the half marathons I've done my stomach has hurt so badly that I've barely been able to eat or even move for the rest of the day, but after the race I headed straight for the food, so I guess I did something right. I had several platefuls of food at the buffet at Harrah's that evening (thanks Annie and Rene!) and several helpings of dessert. It was great, I don't think I've eaten that much since I was 12 (I challenged a 15 year old boy to a taco eating contest then - I won). That night and the next day my calves were really knotted up, but the rest of my body felt like it had been a normal weekend workout. There's a lot of work left before Coeur d'Alene but overall I think I'm on the right track.
I had to focus on school for the next week and couldn't get any training in. Even without training I was up until 5:30 AM on Friday (well, Saturday morning) writing a grant proposal that had probably been due at midnight. If you consider that the entire thing was written in 72 hours and powered by cookies and caffeine, I did a fairly good job. If you consider that I'd known about the assignment for 6 weeks and had been confused and lost about how to start it, but hadn't asked for help until 3 days before it was due, I did a terrible job. I don't think it was training that played the biggest role in this; I had been spending about 40 hours per week in my lab rotation (~20 is expected, since "classes come first"...), and when you get home at 9 PM after working on failed experiments all day (and training), the last thing you want to do is think about something due in 6 weeks. In the end I think it was worth it; I got in to my favorite lab, which saved me the stress of finding a 5th rotation and the possibility of getting kicked out at the end of the month if I couldn't find one. However, lesson learned. Next spring, when I have to do essentially the same assignment for my prelims, I'll start earlier and ask for lots of help. By the way, I joined Alana Welm's lab in the Oncological Sciences department and I'll be studying the mechanisms behind breast cancer metastasis (specifically the epigenetic changes that contribute to metastasis, I'll be learning to do computer programming and looking at lots of spreadsheets, how exciting!).
Next up: my full day of volunteering at the last Ironman St George and a catch up on training (only 6 weeks left to CdA!!!)
First, RAGE race report: This race was a surprising amount of fun; I think I was happy/smiling for about 95% of it. My goal was 6:30 (:45 swim, 3:30 bike and 2:00 run) and I finished in 6:43 (:43 swim, 3:43 bike and 2:07 run), which I'm pretty happy with, considering that it was my first one and I didn't really know what to expect.
Swim:
This went fairly well, I did panic about 5 minutes in (too many people grabbing my legs) but after treading water for a few seconds my heart rate dropped and I was able to continue doing freestyle without any more problems. When I panicked during my Olympic race last fall I ended up doggy paddling/backstroking the rest of the swim, which really tired my legs out for the bike ride, so I was really motivated not to do that this time. The water was pretty clear and I saw a few fish, I was imagining a sort of Finding Nemo scene down there with Dori singing "just keep swimming, just keep swimming." My neck got pretty chafed from my wetsuit (I'll Body Glide it next time) and my calves cramped up as soon as I hit shore, but otherwise the swim was great! I am a little worried about the cramping, in CdA you exit the water in between the two swim laps and cramping throughout the second lap would not be fun.
Bike:
The bike wasn't as bad as I was expecting, yes it was hilly and yes it was hot, but not as bad as some past race reports made it out to be. The course had fairly rolling hills with a net gain on the way out; at the end I certainly didn't want to be sitting on my bike anymore, but my legs weren't really tired. So I either should have gone faster or I just paced myself really well. After about mile 20 I started passing people and didn't get passed by anyone for the rest of the race. This was partially because most of the people around me were on road bikes, so I had a huge advantage in any headwind and on the descents. Its fun passing people :-) The only negative moment on the bike course came around the halfway point; there had been a miscommunication at the 18 mile aid station, so I hadn't picked up any water or Gatorade. I started drinking less and hoped there would be some at the turn around (even though it wasn't mentioned in any of the race information); I might have burst into tears when the volunteer there told me there wasn't any water (I'm not sure if there wasn't any or if she just wasn't allowed to give it to me). I completely ran out soon after and stayed out for about 20 minutes; since it was in the high 80's (at 9 AM) and I hadn't seen any shade since the sun had risen, this worried me somewhat. My nutrition plan went out the window but I made it back to the 38 mile aid station without any more tears and finished the bike leg just fine.
 |
| Bike Elevation: up on the way out |
The first few miles of the run were pretty rough, so I ended up walking a little, which I had hoped wouldn't happen. I usually feel pretty strong running off the bike so I think running out of water was effecting me during this part. The first two miles were pretty flat, but they were on a dirt trail with fairly large rocks and then extra hot black asphalt. I was chugging Gatorade (which I never drink when I run because it usually hurts my stomach) and pouring ice cold water over my head at every aid station to cool down. By mile 4 I started feeling pretty good and was able to run consistently; I think the hill got less steep. The run course was really cool, it started off on a bike path along Lake Mead, then headed up a gravel trail that used to be a railroad bed. It was all up hill on the way out, which made for a really nice run back. There were 5 tunnels towards the top that were a welcome relief from the sun; I think that was the only shade I saw all day. Towards the top I started feeling cold even though I was in the sun and my vision went a little fuzzy in my right eye for awhile, but I didn't pass out or feel weird after the race, so I guess I was fine. The rock and asphalt portion was just as hard on the way down, but I finished feeling strong and still happy.
 |
| Run Elevation: also up on the way out |
After all the half marathons I've done my stomach has hurt so badly that I've barely been able to eat or even move for the rest of the day, but after the race I headed straight for the food, so I guess I did something right. I had several platefuls of food at the buffet at Harrah's that evening (thanks Annie and Rene!) and several helpings of dessert. It was great, I don't think I've eaten that much since I was 12 (I challenged a 15 year old boy to a taco eating contest then - I won). That night and the next day my calves were really knotted up, but the rest of my body felt like it had been a normal weekend workout. There's a lot of work left before Coeur d'Alene but overall I think I'm on the right track.
 |
| Lake Mead at sunrise, not a bad way to start your first half ironman |
 |
| Being in Vegas for a triathlon and wheeling your bike through the casino is weird. |
I had to focus on school for the next week and couldn't get any training in. Even without training I was up until 5:30 AM on Friday (well, Saturday morning) writing a grant proposal that had probably been due at midnight. If you consider that the entire thing was written in 72 hours and powered by cookies and caffeine, I did a fairly good job. If you consider that I'd known about the assignment for 6 weeks and had been confused and lost about how to start it, but hadn't asked for help until 3 days before it was due, I did a terrible job. I don't think it was training that played the biggest role in this; I had been spending about 40 hours per week in my lab rotation (~20 is expected, since "classes come first"...), and when you get home at 9 PM after working on failed experiments all day (and training), the last thing you want to do is think about something due in 6 weeks. In the end I think it was worth it; I got in to my favorite lab, which saved me the stress of finding a 5th rotation and the possibility of getting kicked out at the end of the month if I couldn't find one. However, lesson learned. Next spring, when I have to do essentially the same assignment for my prelims, I'll start earlier and ask for lots of help. By the way, I joined Alana Welm's lab in the Oncological Sciences department and I'll be studying the mechanisms behind breast cancer metastasis (specifically the epigenetic changes that contribute to metastasis, I'll be learning to do computer programming and looking at lots of spreadsheets, how exciting!).
Next up: my full day of volunteering at the last Ironman St George and a catch up on training (only 6 weeks left to CdA!!!)
No comments:
Post a Comment