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| The song in my mind for this race: CLICK HERE TO LISTEN |
My last post indicated my knee issues. I harp on other people to take time off when injured so I had to heed my own advice. Here is my running schedule 6 weeks leading up to the race:
6wks out: 5 runs including 1200m repeats, hill efforts, "bookend" brick, and 2 easy runs
5wks out: no running
4wks out: one 30min test run (painful...almost walking) and two 10min jogs
3wks out: one elliptical workout and one 10min jog
2wks out: two elliptical workouts, 3 water jog workouts, three 10min jogs, one 2-mile jog
1wks out: 2mile, 3mile, 3mile, 4mile, 4mile, 6mile EASY
Race week: 2mile, 3mile, 4mile, 5mile
Not only did a conservative training approach allow me to finish the race, but also a "team effort" in terms of logistics. Here's what I mean:
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| Tina covered "on-call" at work so I could go to the race. |
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| Jeff "aka: Speedy feet" brought my bike to Cathie |
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| Cathie and Valerie (elite E2 racers) drove 10hrs from OH to KS to race...with my bike in the back |
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| Kromer let me borrow his race wheels...since he is temporarily retired from triathlon after Lake Placid |
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| Nickie (elite Veritas racer) let me borrow her speedsuit. My WTC-legal speedsuit has not arrived yet. Waited for the TriSports sale to order it :) |
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| Lou shuttled me to/from the airport (and helped feed my Dairy Queen habit). He shaved a "monkey tail" in his beard on race day....AWESOME!! Miss you Abby |
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| Cathie's parents were a gracious homestay for Cathie, Valerie, and I the night before the race |
Race Report:
Swim: the winds were high, making the water very choppy. I've never swallowed so much lake water. Wetsuits were not allowed (water temp 76.8) and many people's race was finished somewhere during the first leg of the race. I came out of the water 3rd
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Run: I set up my gear in T2 almost as a joke. I thought the effort from the 56 hilly miles would put my knee out. But it didn't, so the plan was to run up to the point of pain, then flag someone down for a ride back to transition. I didn't want a DNF by my name, but started the run assuming I'd be done in 2 miles. Then 4 miles...6 miles...by mile 8 I was holding strong in 4th place and decided I was finishing the race. When I got passed at mile 11, I encouraged the racer to catch the pro in 3rd (which she did...) and finished the race in 5th. Splits indicated I almost even split the run exactly!
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| Jenne was the most energetic supporter out on the run course! I didn't know her, but had to meet her after the race and thank her for dancing and playing music |
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| I made "thank you" peanut butter s'mores cookie bars for people. Here's the link for the recipe: RECIPE |
