So since I have been training for the half-ironman, I have been putting in way more hours than last year at the same time. I had a very heavy week the week prior to the Parvin Sprint on June 20.
The good part is I needed a recovery week and I had a lot of actual "work" to do for you know, my real job...I took a Sunday off, then my usual Monday off. On Tuesday, I resumed with the usual swim in the am and bike in the pm on the trainer (if you wonder why I do a lot of trainer rides it is due to my workload and sometimes not able to leave the house and set out the time that is required for riding and the prep and drive time).
On Wednesday I got a BONUS - my friend Bill stops that evening (I love having friends in this sport) and drops off some demo beauties ZIPPs!!!! How cool was this, I would actually know what it feels like to have $2500 wheels on my $1000 bike LOL!!
So I ran 7 miles on Wed, Thursday I did a bike on the trainer for an hour and half (again work was kicking my butt) and then Friday I had too much to do. I was trying to get ready for my meeting in Napa,errands and pre-race package pick-up.
NIGHT BEFORE
I made my usual pre-race dinner which consists of a chicken on the grill, some pasta and veggies.
I made some jerk chicken (sauce from whole foods... it was delish!) on the grill, my lemon spaghetti...
Recipe for Lemon Spaghetti
1 pound of spaghetti
3 lemons
olive oil
locatelli cheese
fresh italian parsely
I pretty much use the juicer and do 3 lemons, add same amount of olive oil, some salt and pepper, about 1/4 cup of locatelli cheese, and 1/4-1/2 bunch of italian parsely chopped. Mix that.
boil spaghetti in salted water. Drain but save 2 scoopfuls of spaghetti water. Then add the lemon mix and serve!! Voila - you can check out Giada's actual recipe on-line.
So then it was about the checklist - I don't really have an actual checklist but the mental checklist.
- Goggles
- Swim cap (race pack)
- Race belt and number already attached
- Running shoes - Zoot Tempo 2.0
- Bike shoes - my cool specialized tri shoes....awesome since I wanted to go sockless...
- Helmet
- Bike
- Body Glide
- Gu - 3 packs - just in case (only use 2)
- Lara Bar (just in case)
- Bike kit - tube, CO2 cartridge, bike levers, etc.
- socks (just in case)
- T-shirt for after race on way home
- Phone
- Camera
RACE DAY
Nicole and I left at 6am to get there around 7 (meaning 7:15am) - this is a small race so no major rules of closing transition etc. Christine was meeting us since she was a little closer.
We are late as usual so had to put my bike on the sand...which meant a pain in the ass because - sand...(add it to the list, I need a bucket for my feet). I took an orange vanilla roctane gu before the swim and got ready for the 77 degree water (last year was in the low 60s).
We really need to prepare in the water but we still have the newbie nerves. We get in the water and wait for our wave to be called. Nicole goes first then Christine and I.
Swim (9:46 - 231/311 - NOT my strong suit)
As I was swimming, I tried to do every 3 strokes for a breath. I really was feeling okay, I know I should have pushed it harder, but I still feel the newbie nerves (I know it's 3 years...grow up Heather). I swam and then stopped looked around got my bearings and moved along. So my downfall was when I swam in, I started getting a little out of breath, a little anxiety, then I started swimming again, I just wanted to get out of the nasty water, the sun was in my eyes...So then I start seeing people standing up, big mistake - SWIM TILL YOU CAN'T ANYMORE!!!
I wasted energy and time getting out of the water. Anyway, bottom line I did 2 1/4 minutes faster than last year!
Transition 1 (2:15)
What a cluster f$%k....I get out on the sand, can't get the sand off, I am panicking, how am I going to do this without socks? Then I see a bucket and no bike, so I move over dunk the feet, get the shoes, the helmet and move along...
Bike (37:49 19.0mph and 146/311)
Felt great. I still think I need to practice with my shifting, but I was passing like no-ones business. I came across a couple age groupers but we were head to head back and forth...so we kept that on, which helped me move along. I thought I was faster than last year with my fancy wheels, but I was 20 seconds slower...Still good, I need to shift more frequently though.
Transition 2 (2:14 - there is NO reason why this needs to be that long)
Switch to bike shoes, almost forget helmet (use the dude's bucket again) and then grab a gu and run.
Run (26:40, 8:40 min/mile and 205/311)
I ALWAYS get a cramp from the bike to run and I knew it was coming so I stopped at a tree, stretched the calve and moved along. So for some reason, I always make a friend on the run. This time an older gentleman, we would pass each other back and forth, then I said hello and told him if we were still together at the end we would sprint it in. AND we did...people were cheering "pass her" "beat him" - it was soo much fun! The best part was I didn't realize how fast I was going, to think if I didn't tie my shoes or didn't stretch the calves. I did 9:51 min/mile last year and this year was 8:40 min/mile - that's a helluva difference!
My total time was 1:18:52, that is a little more than a 6 min difference over last year. So as much as I planned on placing, I still had my own PR and I feel good about that!
And not to mention, my dad showed up for the end of my run! And...Bill had yuengling beers for us after we crossed the line!
