Mayhem Enduro

I swore I'd never race a mountain bike.  I even promised a certain someone I wouldn't use my powers for evil, but after almost a year of shredding with some amazing guys (SD, CF, HB, JB, JS, GM, IM, DR and the owner of The Bicycle Hub, RP .... also who I race for), I started kicking the idea of racing The Mayehm Enduro around.

I'd talked to SD about it and to my surprise, he was completely okay with me doing it under two conditions....

1) I was super careful and only hit the features I knew I could make
2) I had to have fun and enjoy it

This pretty much sums up our relationship (SD & ME).  He's out of control - lol!  Photo Credit: Chad Fonger

I signed up at the last minute and realized there were only 10 women in the race.  They were all ranked "Pro/Expert" including Rae Gandolf, Marla Streb and Angi Weston!!!  (Ugh, I had never raced a mountain bike in anyway, unless you count SD saying "Ready, ready... Time to get RAD" and then dropping me on a downhill as I rode as hard as I could to get to the bottom before he could drink a whole water bottle).  I registered as "sport" as they had no "novice/beginner" category -- GULP.

I was so nervous on Saturday.  I pre-rode stages 4 and 5 and crashed on a gap three times and a steep I had easily conquered a week ago without problems following the guys.  What was going on?  I also found out MC had gone down badly and he's way better than me.  Thankfully, it looks like he will make a full recovery.  I was beyond nervous.  I didn't want to get hurt.  My friends suggested I go around the features, but that was impossible.  I am not an XC rider and this was an enduro.

I texted SD and he said it would be ok if I didn't want to race.  He didn't want me to get hurt and we were going to Mountain Creek the following weekend to downhill and he wanted me to rest.  I went back and forth.  Even GM said he was relieved when I told him I didn't think I wanted to race.  He had originally pushed for me to enter it.

Race morning came and I rolled around on my bike.  I had put the bib on and was going over my bike when I realized the rear suspension was locked!  That's why I had crashed!!  I opened it and started suiting up to race....."What the heck was I doing?"  I kept asking myself.  I rolled by GM and told him I was going to the bathroom (with all my gear, hahaha).  He knew though.  I said a small prayer that we would all come out of this without any damage and headed to the start.

The first transfer was really long... like 15-20 minutes of pedaling.  I came around a left hand corner with a small descent and roots and there was a guy sitting on the ground moaning and another guy standing by him... "Oh no!  Someone had crashed on a transfer -- Eek!"  I asked if they were ok and the one guy said "yeah" so I pedaled on.  Per SD's direction I had worn my full face and pads.  I did opt for sunglasses though.  No way could I ride with goggles.  It was so hot in my full face but hey I'd pass out from heat stroke before I cracked my skull again.

I got to the start of section 1 (Bumpy Hollow) and had to pee.  I ditched my bike and hit the bushes.  Nervous as hell I rode up to the start table.  I started thinking about the features in the sections and tried to calm myself.  "5, 4, 3, 2, 1... GO!" and I was off.  I rolled through the berms to the road gap and pulled right and hit the go around.  I knew the first part would be slow as I can't hit the road gap into the berm turn.... yet.  I pedaled across the road and went through the berms into the three big tables.  I hit them a little conservatively as I was thinking of MC and sending it might lead to ending it for me.  I cleared the last table and drifted around the grass corner to the first gap.  "Ready, ready" I told myself and "send it."  I cleared the gap easily and my instincts kicked in and I drifted into the right turn -- I did it! I did it!  I made the gap and the drift.  I started thinking about SD, wishing he was here to follow him and calm me down.  I was getting worked up as I knew a double I had cased twice and gone OTB in the past was coming up.   He had once told me he's always with me in spirit and to "send that shit!"  I thought "you better be right!!"  I was coming up on it and I told myself "no brakes" and "send it."  I flew over the double and cleared it perfectly!!!!  YESSSSS!!!  It was on.  I started pedaling my ass off after that and knew I rode section 1 better than ever. 

I was so hot after section 1 that I ripped my helmet and gloves off and pushed through half of the transfer to section 2.  I was stoked 1 down 4 to go and the hardest stage was still to come.

Section 2 (Playa) started with a lot of pedaling to the "Death Drop."  It's a double drop that you can roll.  I had finally (wo)manned up and rolled it about 3 weeks before the race, after I made GM roll it and show me the line. Today, I knew it by heart and bombed it.  Pedaled up to the wall berms  and gap jump that lay ahead.  I dropped in and again tried to calm  myself and think about SD's advice.

Wall berm to Gap  Photo Credit: Vance Nonno

There was a wall berm gap that I had bailed on following SD into a week or so ago.  I had even gone down earlier in the week and tried it. I cleared the gap every time, but I crashed into the wall all three tries. RG had told me I had to look where I wanted to go.  Right before I dropped the wall berm I told myself "commit!"  and I made the turn and hit the gap.  I landed on the trail to the left away from the wall, where you are suppose to and was shocked!  I yelled "yeah, yeah, hell yeah!!!"  There were a few spectators and I was the first girl through and they started cheering and yelling too.  I hit the table and step up after and ripped through the berm done with the hardest part of stage 2.  I finished the stage again knowing it was the best I'd ever ridden through there.

I pretty much pushed the bike all the way through section 3's transfer.  I was getting nauseated and I was dumping water on my head to keep cool.  Thank goodness a down hiller had taught me how to ride and that there was absolutely no shame in pushing.  People rode by me and I just kept pushing. 

Section 3 (West Niles) was by far the scariest stage for me.  It had 3 step downs, a step up, 2 doubles and about 6-8 gap jumps with a sketchy rocky descent for those good enough to hit the rock on gap rock off.  The biggest feature was the first step down, into a berm and then a double.  I had hit it with GM about 3 weeks ago.  He had told me not to hit it, if I wasn't comfortable.  I was uncomfortable with everything!  Was he nuts?  I watched him hit it with the kind of speed and precision that wins enduros.  I was in awe.  I also watched a guy hit the the line and crash into a tree after the double right before I was about to hit it for my first time.  I cased the step down a little but it didn't matter, going into the berm because the course was built by down hillers so with just two pedal strokes into the berm I was still able to clear the double on my first try.  GM wasn't the only one who was surprised, haha.  Anyway, back to the race.  I was nervous.  I cased the step down a tiny bit and even the double with my back tire.  I popped over the step up a little too fast and almost went off the trail, but managed to make the sharp left turn into a gap and then an immediate right berm into a rock garden.  I skipped the next step down as I had crashed twice on it (the second time really hard with a full face on) and pedaled my ass off into the next double.  I was through the worst of it.  I climbed for a few seconds and then started through a few turns before hitting another step down into a left berm and 2 smaller rock gaps.  I flew around the left turn where the line splits and told myself take the high side, it's quicker and better.  The low side is easy to want to take off the turn but it's slower and sketchy.  It was dry and my tire slid into a tree on the turn and got stuck for a second.  I started yelling "Quicksand!!!  Someone put quicksand on the course."  I could hear and see spectators laughing as I was almost done.  I pedaled past the rock on/rock off jump (I had crashed on the rock off part twice) and chose the go around.  There was a woman walking her bike and she hurried to get out of my way.  I yelled "sorry and thank you!"  And then just for a final laugh I yelled "awkward, awkward descent!!!" as I slid/rolled down to the bottom, hahaha.  I had done it.  The hardest stage was over!  Again, I rode another section better than ever... 3 for 3!  Two more to go.

Rock descent if you chose the harder line. Photo Credit: Vance Nonno

I was actually starting to enjoy myself.  I was less nervous and having fun as instructed.  My nausea was manageable and there was an aid station to get more fluids.

Section 4 (Beaver City DH) : I had ridden the harder line the night before to look at the gap and 3 tables but I had not ridden the go around route so it was gonna be a little bit of a surprise as I just wasn't ready to hit that gap in the race for the first time.  I remembered there were some little drop/kickers to get speed off of somewhere.  I knew this stage was gonna be about pedal speed.  I hit it hard at the start and flew to through the go around, blasted the little drops and stole as much speed as possible off them.  I debated the rock to rock gap I had flatted on but at the last second bailed and pulled right to bounce through the rocks instead.  I was pedaling and heard a guy coming behind me and yelling.  I knew there was a gap coming up.  I couldn't pull off and make the gap.  It was a huck to straight flat, no turns and open.  I had hit the night before for the first time.  I pedaled hard and sent it.  I flew through the air and landed perfect.  I pedaled up and to the right out of the guy's way.  He came flying by and yelled "Thanks and nice jump!"  I was pumped.  Everybody in enduro was so cool and encouraging.  The stage ends with a downhill and your choice of two lines.  The higher line was again better, but I took the lower line which was tighter and almost wrecked, going into the finish - Doh!!!  Still upright and in one piece I again knew I rolled in with my best time ever.

The transfer to 5 was about as long as the first transfer to section 1.  I was fried by then.  I rode with my helmet, gloves and pads hooked on my handlebar.  I had a headache and my nausea was still there.  I pedaled about 3-5mph, keeping my heart rate down as low as possible and trying to get as much fresh air as possible and cool off a little.  Stage 5 thankfully, had VN's dad there with snacks, including pickles!  I ate 3 of them and took about a 10 minute break before starting the stage.  I met Marla Streb and she was super freaking cool!  She gave me some pointers for my upcoming trip to Mountain Creek before riding off and shredding the last stage.

Section 5 (Beaver City Brainer) Not sure if I had taken too long of a rest or my body had had enough but I almost crashed in the first 100 meters on some rocks and then my tire slipped around the next turn and almost washed out.  I came up on the first feature which I thought was a gap, but it was a step down to a double and a steep.  I didn't have nearly enough speed and you have to jump it otherwise you do the go around -- CRAP!!!  I pulled right and sprinted around the go around pumped the double and hit the steep.  Angry with my stupid mistake, I tried to hammer it and then I saw the gap I kept crashing on the night before.  I cleared it without any issues and headed for the creek gap and the finish!  I debated this jump in my head for days.  I knew I could make it.  I just had to go fast.  As I dropped down, I thought "Pin it and send it!"  I also thought about how I had a pretty good race on the day and how tired I was and that I had not crashed once.  My wreck from August flashed through my head and I decided to skip it.  There would be another day and I wanted to hit it with SD or GM pacing me into it.  I put my ego in check and rolled around to the finish.

And there you have it.  Some people do an XC race on dirt sidewalk type of terrain or something with a lot of climbs... but nope not me.  I decided this "wannabe shredder" was gonna bite off more than she could chew and go big or go home.  I was super pumped when I finished.  Not one crash.  I had hit almost every flipping feature and I had raced the best I could.  I figured I'd get last, which was gonna be super embarrassing, but I had put together a pretty good race for a first timer that hadn't even been mountain biking for a full year yet.  I also knew SD was gonna be super proud of me, especially since I hadn't crashed and I'd hit a bunch of features.  

I immediately got a beer and sat down watching the rest of the guys come in.  NF had a great race, IM's crazy ass went OTB on the creek gap, VN got blinded jumping the creek gap with popcorn and beer spray and burped his bike through the finish (ahahahaha -- EPIC!) and GM, well like I said before... "I watched him hit it with the kind of speed and precision that wins enduros"  AND HE DID!!!! (by one second).  

GM on the podium - FYI "You're gonna break it!"

He was nice enough to decline the $20 I offered him to go get my car and come pick me up.  He made me climb back up the hill with him and TC to the campsite after two beers telling me it was good training for my next enduro...."WHAT?!?!?!?!!?!" 

I can't say enough amazing things about this race, the course and the organizers and volunteers (AOA and HB).  The Wilds is an amazing gem in Ohio for mountain bike riding.  If you want to get rad... this is the race for you!!! Oh and to boot, I won a pass for Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park next year -- WINNING!!!

I keep kicking around the idea of doing another one.  I didn't finish last and I do need to start training... for something.  I hate being out of shape, but I love the rush from riding mountain bikes like this.  Hmmmmm, maybe GM is onto something.....maybe.

 

Run For Regis Half Marathon

It has been nearly 6 months since my accident and my awesome doc had encouraged me to start working out, but to take it slow, not push myself too hard and listen to my body.  My knee is still not healed and it swells after lots of time on my feet, but I am incapable of not working out and having fun. 

All that said, I wanted to try running again and I thought as long I was careful not to fall, the trails might be a little more forgiving than the pavement.  I signed myself up for the Winter Run for Regis half marathon the day it opened. 

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I even talked one of my co-workers, BE who is quite a good trail runner (the girl can run down hills like she's flying!) into trail running with me in prep for this.  We hit up a few of the CRTR runs on Thursday nights and met a few times at Ledges to run the actual course.  I slipped sometimes.  I fell sometimes.  I got muddy sometimes.  I suffered sometimes, but I always enjoyed myself and got better and better.

Race morning finally came and I was so nervous, my back would hurt or my knee would ache or I'd fall on my bad wrist, or I'd just not be able to cover the distance or a million other things, like forgetting my pre-race breakfast (a banana) on the counter.

It was cold!  I thought even with my bunz on under my tights, yep I'm gonna freeze my ass.  I did absolutely no warm-up figuring 2-3 hours on the trails would be plenty of running.  I lined up by TriSaraTops in the middle.  My only plan was not to die and survive this thing.  There were a lot of runners for single track (over 100 runners).  We were to run the orange loop (8.4) then the green (4.7).

This was by far the slowest and most comfortable start to a race I have ever experienced.  It was awesome.  No one was too crazy about getting going (those people -- pretty much all my awesome teammates were already up at the front from the get-go).  We were running the loop backwards from what I knew of it so we were going to get a big downhill and then climb.  I did end up passing a few people through that section as they had chosen to gingerly make their way down!  I comfortably sat on person after person passing only when there was an opening or they looked like they were slowing on the climbs.  I forced myself not to run any of the big hills in the beginning for fear I'd blow myself up after the first hour.  I figured I'd run 11:30-12:00/mile so I had to be patient.

I latched on to AC for a few miles and let her pull me through.  She was stronger on the uphills, but after telling myself to relax, see where I wanted to go on the DH and just mimic the ground I let go of the brakes (aka my quads and just bombed down the hills).  I slipped only twice and went down, but was perfectly fine.  I had my headphones with me, but I had told myself to just run under control to the first aid station very comfortably and had been enjoying the chat with AC.  We hit the first station, which was at Pine Hollow at the top of the "Sound of Music" hill around 50-55 minutes.  I took a gel and some Gatorade (no time to dawdle, it was after all a race).

We headed back into the woods and I took a glance at my Garmin.  I was running 10:30-11:00 minutes.  I got a little excited thinking I might actually be able to finish this mother in under 2:30!  We started passing a few people again and then I ended up next to AC and then in front of her.  Around 5-5.5 miles I felt I had reached the point where I was on my own.  I popped my headphones in and just started focusing on staying under control and relaxing.  I looked around at the trees and one by one runners kept coming back to me.  I felt amazing!  I just kept saying "on your left" and "Morning" as I passed by.  Most everyone said "hello" and moved out of the way and some even said I looked strong -- Woot!!  I wasn't trying to kill myself and I.WAS.HAVING.FUN.IN.A.RACE!   I had to smile.  I've always been mentally tough about pushing myself and suffering, but I have never felt this centered and calm.  I had worked a lot on my mental game and focusing on doing things that scared me and picturing myself doing the task without fail in my head.  I was afraid it would make me cocky or conceited but it's not that at all.  It's the confidence in my training, skill and mental strength to "do it more better" as HB always tells me that is making the once thought impossible, now possible.  Part of it is thanks to "the #ZenDHMaster," SD as I jokingly call him.  He's forced me to see how to focus on accomplishing the task at hand and being confident about it and accepting that "falling down" is gonna happen but it can be minimized, cause when I make it, it's a whole lot of fun and even at times one hell of a rush.  I felt great coming into the next aid station.  Holy crap, I only had 4.7 miles left and I would have run my longest and hardest trail race ever!

I headed out for my green loop and  realized it was gonna be fast going out and the last mile was gonna be by far the hardest and all uphill with boulders to run/climb over.  I lost the markers twice and was unsure where to go, but a photographer or another runner was there to point me in the right direction each time.  I pushed a little through the last couple miles to compensate for the hellish climb out I knew would be coming.  I was so relieved to be the runner still running and enjoying the race and not the one in survival mode barely moving forward.  Just as I thought the last mile was hard.  I had gotten a blister on my left arch and my legs were starting to get tired.  I passed a lot of runners going out which meant I must have been in the front half of the racers.  I  pushed up to the Octagon where there was food and warm dry clothes.  I felt great and finished my first race of 2015.  I had done more than survive I had destroyed my goal....... maybe this trail stuff (be it on a bike or foot) isn't as bad as I had once thought.

Total Time: 2:16:29. 



Managed to finish 19/116 overall (keep in mind 4 of the people that beat me were my own teammates -- HOLLA for TBH!!!!)
7th women overall
5th in my AG. 

Runner's were still finishing when I took this, but I was cold and had to roll!

Team Bicycle Hub cleaned up today at this Race!!

Cash (EP) won the 50K
Ghost (KL) finished 4th OA
Daisy finished 5th OA and won the women's half (her sister took 2nd for the women too)
Return of the Mack was 7th OA
Marsassy was 11th OA
JT finished 23rd OA, just behind me
JC rolled through a solid 8.4 miles with a bad foot.

And the race schwag was really sUweeeet!!!

Twinsburg Duathlon 2014

I can't say enough about the races or the race director of Northcoast Multisports, but I love his events and always make the effort to participate and volunteer as much as possible for their events.  My family even gets a little endurance bug and will jump in a race or two with me.  This year would be no different.  My little brother (who has never ridden a road bike in his life) was going to "Man Up" and do the du!! 

I had done this race one time solo a few years back in nursing school and 2 years ago as a relay with my mom.  This year I would be going solo again with my only excuse for being slow that I'm old (haha).  I had put the Joker (Quintana Roo CD0.1) back together after using parts for EPIC bike ride from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. the weekend before.  I also changed out the pedals on Flo' Rida (LiteSpeed C1) for my brother to ride.  I would have rather ridden my road bike, but no way I was going to put my brother on that homicidal tri bike of mine.

I was so stoked to see my brother race.  He tried to act calm cool and collected but I could tell he was nervous.  I helped him get set-up in transition and walked him in and out of the entrance/exit and showed him the mount/dismount line.  All the little helpful details I gave him and his reply "You f^ck%ng triathletes are crazy!"  I had to laugh.  I was hanging on to my multisport background by a hair.  I was pretty much just a roadie now (and yep, I had to agree triathletes were crazy). 

Team Bicycle Hub was in full effect this weekend with some of us racing Mohican yesterday and some of us  (E-speed, DM and me) doing the Du today.  We snapped a few pics before the race.  I tried to talk my brother into a warm-up "jog."  He adamantly refused asking me to explain the route for the run and bike.  I foolishly agreed and bypassed my warm-up.

We lined up in the middle of the field and I tried to coax my brother closer to the front.  He said "no, but you can go."  The competitor in me knew I should get up closer to the front, but I love my brother like no other and he won.  I started back with him. 

The horn sounded and we took off balls out!!  I was sucking wind after 1/4 mile.  Ugghh, old age, no warm-up, this was gonna hurt the whole way....here we go.  I saw a lot more women than I would have liked (maybe 10 or so) up in front of me.  I knew my run was weak only averaging 5 miles per week, but even on tired legs I was gonna try and rip the bike. 

About 3/4 of a mile into the run people started coming back to me.  I started to settle in and make my way to mile 1 -- 6:52.  Oh boy, no wonder I felt bad.  I hadn't see the south side of 7 minutes for a few years.  I made my way up the hill and into T1.  The run is a tad over 2 miles apparently.  Time 14:54 (7:06/mile)

Transition is easy in a du, no fighting with the wetsuit, just grab and go.  I was in and out in less than :45 seconds.

I always coming screaming out of T1 on the bike and this was no different.  I started passing people one after another.  I knew I had taken off fast because no one was moving even remotely as fast as me.  Not having any water or gels I focused on trying to settle myself down on the bike and ride this like a time trial.  I stayed on my aero bars unless I was making a turn.  A few times I caught myself not pedaling through the corners and backing off on my pedal stroke like I do when crit racing or pace lining.  I had to remind myself this was steady state and to keep up the intensity.  My legs were tight.  They would not loosen up.  There was a tiny headwind going south and I felt like I was going 14 mph at some points.  I started thinking about why I do this to myself.  I love riding.  I don't even follow any training plans anymore.  I just ride and have fun.  This was not fun, this was hurting, and then my Garmin beeped for the first 5 miles -- 14:21.  Damn, I thought this is why I do this to put it down and see what I am made of.  I knew my second run was going to be rough no matter what time I put up for the bike, so right then and there I made the decision to at least try and put up the fastest female bike split on the date.  I could see more people up ahead and I reeled them in one at a time.  The only mistake I made was not passing a friend sooner on Glenwood, up the hill.  I didn't draft but I let him pace me up for a minute or so, matching his pedal stroke before telling myself to stop being a sissy and get up the climb.  I went around him finally and yelled at him to pick it up.  I could see one more person in the distance and I was set on trying to get them before T2.  The course was all downhill from that point and I just kept pushing.  I closed on the cyclist before T2 and lo' and behold it was my teammate, e-speed.  I yelled some words of encouragement at her and pulled my feet out of my shoes, before successfully completing a flying dismount.  Time 28:48 (avg. 20.8mph). 

Ran into T2, dropped my stuff and out I went in :40 seconds.  As I passed transition on the run I saw my parents cheering and yelling.  I threw up my fist and yelled "I ripped that sh%t!!!"  I could tell my parents were excited.  My dad ALWAYS teases me about how slow I am, but I know he's super pumped and proud of me.  My mom was smiling and cheering, she's watched me race so many times, if I didn't do this she'd be worried, haha. 

I checked my watch.  I was ahead of my projected time.  I was at 45 minutes out.  I knew I couldn't break an hour, but definitely the 1:05 I had put in.  My body was pooped and running was so foreign now.  Two miles might as well be a marathon!  I did my best to run and hold my form. I knew if it got bad or I had any pain, I would have to walk per physical therapy recommendations.  My foot has been so much better, but it's still not completely healed.  My teammate passed me back in less than a 1/4 of a mile from T2 and would go on to crush me on the run.  I thought about my little brother and hoped he was having a good race and I pushed a little harder.  I wanted to finish and go back for him.  A few guys passed me on the 2nd run, but there wasn't a female in sight.  I was shocked.  I knew I was sitting in the top 10, maybe even top 5.  I rounded the corner and saw the finish line about 200 meters up.  "Less than 1 minute, if you move your ass" I told myself.  I picked it up and finished in 1:01:28.  Second run 16:20 (7:47/mile).  And you know what -- I pulled off the fastest female bike split on the day, just like I swore I would!!  Whoooo Hooooo!!!!

I took a minute to congratulate my teammate on being 2nd Female Overall (Way to Go E-speed, her ubby, DM pulled off a 4th in an insanely fast AG!!), made sure I wasn't going to vomit, grabbed my water bottle and headed back out to look for my brother.  I found him with less than a mile to go.  I ran along side him encouraging him and cheering for him.  I think I annoyed him more than helped him --haha. 

My sister-in-law, niece and nephew had also made it out and when he picked it up to finish they were all cheering for him with my parents.  I couldn't have been prouder.  He completed his first Du!! 

My family congratulated us and I could tell everyone was so proud of my brother, even my niece agreed "daddy is fast."  I was amped and excited, our makeshift family morning had gone so well.  I proceeded to torture my 4 year old niece post race by tickling and shaking her to which we both were laughing hyserically.  I love it when she sees me for the first time.  She always gets this huge grin and yells "Aunt Beth!!!"  like she just knows there is going to be some ridiculousness and lots of laughing to come.  LOVE.THAT.LITTLE.GIRL. 

My nephew he smiles at me when he sees me, but as always he is looking for food and trying to get into trouble, haha (of course, he is only 2). 

We rounded out the morning by hitting up Bob Evans and taking some selfies.

I'm so lucky to have the family I have and some days like these it all comes together perfectly and I thank God this is my life, even when it hurts a little, haha. 

Race At The Lake 1 (RATL - 1)

Well, I finally did it.  I (wo)-manned up and got in my first and certainly not last crit race!  And it was glorious....for 10 laps.

I had plenty of experience riding in groups and understood it was not about who was the fastest, but who was the smartest.  I felt confident in my bike handling skills and knew even after riding for 18 days straight for #30DaysOfBiking, I could hold my own.  Plus I wanted to see what Flo Rida' could do, so off to RATL hosted by the Summit FreeWheelers it would be.  They would run all the CAT women together (1,2,3 and the 4s).  Since, I am a rookie I start at 4 (not that I have any urge to CAT up, EVER, but eventually I will have to).  Of course, this is what when I watched my first crit race...

Needless to say RK is back up and racing stronger than ever!

I had plenty of rest and headed down about 8am.  My race was to go off at 10:15am, so I had lots of time so even stopped to make a deposit at the ATM.  I was less than 5 miles away from the race site when I realized I didn't have enough cash to register.  A 10 minute detour back to an ATM (that wasn't my bank) and about $6 in fees later I rolled into the park.  I got my gear all ready and watched the men's CAT 5 race and cheered for (2) of my teammates.  The field was huge, 55 guys!!  They only raced 8 miles, but the pace was brutal and they hammered over 24 mph average.  DaisyDuc's hubby is a monster on the bike and came away with 4th for Team Bicycle Hub! 

Daisy and I rolled out for a warm-up.  My legs felt heavy and stiff riding over some small rollers.  I checked my heart rate and it said 169bpm.  Ooohhhh, this was going to be ugly.  I was bummed I would probably get dropped and not be able to hang with the field very long.  We rolled back into the parking lot and too my surprise my mom was there!  I gave her a hug and chatted with her before deciding to pin my # on.

I soft pedaled back to my car and grabbed it out of my car.  I then locked the door and yep, you guessed it I realized my motherF-ing keys were inside.  I was so annoyed with myself at this point.  Maybe it was fatigue or nerves, but there they sat on my gym bag on my passengers seat.  I debated riding home and back (about 60 miles round trip) or getting a ride with my mom immediately to go get them and just skip the race, but my mom said that was dumb and she would just go get them and bring them back for me.  I felt horrible, but then Daisy, my knight in green argyle spandex swooped in and offered to call AAA.  I was so grateful and relieved my mom wouldn't have to go back to my house and I didn't have to ride there either.  I was still annoyed but needed to get my head together.  I road a few more easy laps around the parking lot as the CAT 4 men finished before taking off my warm-ups and staging.

I only wore my kit with arm warmers.  Kevlar and JE had warned me that after 2 laps I'd be plenty warm.  We rolled around 1/2 the course to the start. I was pretty cold when we got to the start.  It was a great start spot, right on a hill.  It would be 12 laps, about 15 miles, lap 4 was our preme lap (dont' quote me on that).  I lined up in the middle with SG.  EP and Daisy took the inside left, front. 

Cycling is a gentleman's sport, so you don't brake check your opponents or try to run them into potholes and barricades, however small tricks and tactics that do not involve endangering other rider's safety is common.  I was on red alert and although the course is 2 lanes and closed off to cars as soon as the bell went off the experienced CAT's jumped...and so did I.  This was not a no-drop group ride.  The main field hammered a little up the hill at the start and immediately dropped a few who had not clipped in quick enough and stayed on a wheel.  I got low and settled myself in about 5-6 riders back.  I wanted to stay near the front, in case of any breaks.  I figured there would be 1 or 2 on the preme laps and the last 2-3, but it was the start of the season and I was betting everyone would air on the side of caution and feel out the field. 

RATL 1 courtesy of WAS Labs Cycling

The course dropped down and wound around some corners and through the parking lot where we had staged and most of the other people were.  It was a rush railing left and right, my heart was beating at what I guessed was 150-165 and coming back down (I was already recovering from the start), and I knew I could ride at that rate all day.  We came around and back up the hill.  My legs felt heavy on the climb and I could feel my heart rate go up. I hung onto the wheel in front of me and let the girl pull me up to the start/finish.  Whooo hoooo!!!! 1  down 11 to go.

Each lap, I invested my time trying to stay toward the front, tucking into the pack and conserving as much energy as possible.  I was starting to fatigue from all the days of riding and thought, maybe I can't hold onto this.  I checked the lap counter as we came around -- 8 to go!!!  Oh man, I was hoping, I had already done 8!

I checked around, we had started with 16 and were down to 10.  I knew (3) of the riders were at least Cat 3s, and I was still there with them.  My teammate and beast on the bicycle, DaisyDuc was also still in the main field.  She looked like she was soft pedaling on the outside at times, fresh as a you guessed it, Daisy!  I on the other hand, was wheel sucking like it was my job.  She broke from the field on our preme lap.  I immediately sat up and reminded myself  "do not chase your teammate."  I started yelling in my head "Go Daisy!! Go!!"  The field picked up the pace a little but she took it uncontested.  I'm betting had she just kept pushing and going she could have gotten away and stayed away from the main field.  The girl can push some watts!!!

Daisy grabbing her preme - photo courtesy of WAS Labs Cycling

Lap after lap just kept going by and there I was still in it. There was only one breakaway attempt before the hill in the middle of the race that failed.  My legs weren't ready to give up.  Every lap I came around I felt better and better. 

The only mishap was a girl on my right was forcing me off my line left.  Daisy was on my left and we rubbed shoulders and handlebars a little bit.  I yelled "My bad!!" and we kept riding.  No one was moving us out of the race.

Oh and the other mishap,  I don't know what I was thinking but I thought we were on lap 11 and I wanted to be at the front coming off the climb, so I powered up to the front and pushed on the hill a little.  My legs were heavy but I knew I could suffer for 3 minutes.  I rolled up to the top and heard the official yell "Two laps to go!!!"  Wait what?!?!?!  What?!?! Say again?!?!  I couldn't ride like that for 2 more laps.  Immediately, defeated and sucking air the main field went around me.  I was caught up in my lap mistake for too long that when I decided I would still try to hang on, it was too late they were gone.  I should have just said "F$*K!!" and jumped right back on, but it was like a slap to the face.  It had shocked me and I had spent a lot of gas. 

What I thought was lap 11, photo courtesy of Joey & Janet Edwards

I rode my last 2 laps of shame alone, waving and smiling to my teammates yelling "I can't count!!"  I even lapped 2 girls right before the finish and encouraged them to get on my wheel, but they had one more to go and they waved me on. 

I finished 9th overall, 5th in the CAT 4s.  I was super annoyed with myself and all the absent minded mistakes I had made that morning (it continued on into the afternoon too, post-RATL). 

Daisy took 2nd in the CAT 4s.  I am guessing our average speed was 18-20 mph -- completely doable.  Overall, I thought I did a great job, suffering on and off, staying with the main field and paying attention, at least until the end of lap 10. 

TBH representing at RATL photo courtesy of The Bicycle Hub

The race was well run, the course was fun, and the weather was perfect.  It was very beginner friendly and I can not encourage enough women to give it a try if they ever were interested in crit racing.  Summit Freewheelers did a wonderful job hosting.

Arkon Marathon Relay (Four Fast Freaky Females) 2011

As most of you know the Akron Marathon relay is for 5 people and my team name is "Four Fast Freaky Females," so either

a) my team did not count me as fast
or
b) we were short a runner and someone had to run two legs

While the more believable answer is a) the truth is b).

I was to run the 2.8 mile leg through Sand Run.  I had never done the 5-person relay before, but having run the full and the 2 person relay one time each, I have ALWAYS run this section.  It is in my opinion the worst section of the course.  It is boring like the towpath and mostly uphill.  There is nothing exciting going on and it comes between mile 15.5 and 18.3 (which completely sucks for the marathoners).  If you survive this section the course is awesome to the finish, not easy, but way more exciting!!

I was the only teammate not in bun huggers.  I want to wear tight shorts, but I'm too smooshy and too slow (it's more the smooshiness that I defer from the bun huggers than the slowness).  Anyway, my mom was nice enough to get up at 5:00am to haul me down to the start and then to the relay point.  We were able to watch the start of the race and see e-speed come through at HER pedestrian pace (which is still a pace, many of us can only dream to run for one mile).  We screamed and cheered for her as she ran down High Street before jumping in the car and heading out to my relay point. 

My legs had felt pretty good the night before on my shake out run.  I had taken an ice bath on Thursday and only worked 3 days leading up to the race.  The plan was to run for fun, but the girls fun pace is still faster than my "shit your pants pace," so I still felt I had to run as hard as I could. 

I ran about 2.5 miles easy for a warm-up and felt pretty good.  It was overcast and cool.  I wasn't certain how fast we would be but I figured worst case scenario daisy would be in at 1:45:30 (that's 7:00/mile).  Impressive huh?  I jogged down the hill backwards to try and stay warm and loose and as I turned to jog back I saw a woman coming that looked an awful lot like, yep you guessed it....DAISY!! 

Oh boy!  Game time.  I ran back up to the hill and jumped just a few steps in front of the mat.  Daisy was almost to me when one of the race people started yelling at me to get back behind the line, runners were coming.  All I could think was "Look ya crazy broad!!  This is my teammate and she is the only one here!!!"  I took one step and she kept yelling, but I ignored her.  Daisy had to run up the hill to me and was probably exhausted and as far as I was concerned once she crossed the mat her job was done.  I grabbed the snap bracelet out of her hand and took off.  I secured the bracelet to my wrist and then started my garmin.  I felt good and knew I probably wouldnn't catch anybody, but hopefully I wouldn't get passed by too many.  The first mile felt awesome (it should have it was downhill or flat).  I dont' look at my Garmin when I run, but after reviewing my splits it came back at 6:52. 

Mile 2 started okay, but between the hills, the inclines and the curvy road I started to slow.  I kept thinking "you're not dead yet, run dammit, run!!"  I felt like I had run a 5k by the end of mile 2 and I was breathing heavy.  I felt like I was in quicksand.  I tried to keep pushing myself.  "Just 0.8 miles, Hang on!!"  I kept telling myself.  My garmin split 7:42 (what the hell, just happened?).

Salty said she would run back about a half mile to meet me, but when my watch beeped she wasn't there.  I know I started my garmin late, so I was well passed 2.5 miles and I didn't see the relay point either.  Oh shit!!  Was this course long?  As I rounded a bend to the right, there she was just up ahead running toward me (Thank you Jesus!!).  She did a U-turn and I could feel her trying to pull me along up to her, but she was too fast and I could see the gap getting bigger.  No women in the relay had passed me until that point and then it happened.  A significantly faster chick ran me down.  I figured Salty was faster, but what about the girl Salty had to run against?  Had I just cost us a spot?  I hung on as best I could and ran for the mat.  

I crossed the mat, relieved to be done, or so I thought.  Salty was running away from me and the race people kept telling us to keep coming!!  What the hell, not again, except now I was on the other end of it and hurting.  Finally got the snap bracelet into Salty's hand and stopped my Garmin.  It had 0.9  at 6:55, yuck!!  I figure starting my garmin late and still being over the distance put me close to 3 miles insteasd of 2.8 -- SHIT!!

I bent over disgusted with the way my leg of the race had gone.  I was bent over and spitting in the grass, trying to decided if I needed to puke or not.

I hoped I hadn't cost my teammates too much time.  I think my official time was 21:23 (suck it!!)

Turns out that girl that had passed me was on a mixed relay team, and Salty ran the last girl down anyway.  We finished in 2:53:57.  We were 3rd overall and missed 2nd by a mere 23 seconds.  All, I had to do was run 8.5 seconds per mile faster and I couldn't do it.  Who knows had I run under 7:00/mile like the rest of my team, perhaps I would have set Salty up for a fighting chance at the line with the first place team.  Damn, my slowness!!!! 

I do feel I let them down and I am embarassed.  I trained as best I could leading up to the race and ran as hard as I could, yet I am still disappointed.  I don't want to end this on a bad note because everything else about the day was awesome.


E-speed was like Tigger on speed bouncing around from the start of the day until the finish.  Daisy was her usual matter of fact self, all business, changing hats from relay team leader to party captain without missing a beat and Salty taking it all in stride, enjoying a little free time with friends, smiling from ear to ear like the cheshire cat before heading home to share her day with the mini-salties. 

As for me, I'm glad they let me run on their team, drink a few alcoholic beverages and share in the moment.

Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium 5k

I had a strange request for my 34th birthday.  I wanted my family to run/walk a 5k.  Everyone was game, even my sister-in-law who was 4 months pregnant and who would be pushing my 18 month old niece.  Whoo Hoo!! 

It seemed after lots of trash talking amongst certain family members, only my little brother and I would be running.  My little brother is by far the best runner in the family (he ran a marathon when he was 15, because he is nuts), but after dislocating his knee cap a few times over the past 10+ years his leg just doesn't handle the repetitive pounding that running provides.

My legs were trashed from the 17+ miles I had run after work on Thursday.  It had been such a nice evening when I had gotten home from work the scheduled 8 miles, somehow transformed into 17.  I thought maybe a 3 mile warm-up would help workout some of the stiffness, but all throughout the warm-up, I felt fatigued and tight.  I stretched and did a few dynamic exercises along with some striders -- nothing seemed to help. 

My brother and I started somewhere in the middle, which was still too far back.  We had to run around people and it took us a few seconds to just cross the starting line.  My brother's plan was to try and run with me (and then probably move in for the kill at the end) for as long as possible.  My plan was to run steady effort throughout and not fade, like last time. 

The course was not flat.  It was rolling, but shaded.  There were a lot more women in front of me than I had hoped.  I hoped some of them would start coming back to me as the miles wore on and to my delight a few did by the first mile.  I felt good and on cruise control.  Mile 1 was 7:20 and although I felt good, it was slower than the last race and knowing there were more rollers coming I had low expectations. 

Mile 2 seemed to take forever and I was able to get a few more girls, so I think I passed about 6 at this point.  I had lost my brother almost immediately and hoped he was just a few steps behind me.  I was breathing well, but my legs were dead.  I split 7:27.

At the start of the last mile, I had been focused on this brunette in a long sleeve white tee and black capris.  I had worked my way up to her over the last two miles.  She had faded pretty hard, but I had the feeling that if I passed her she would be one of those that will fight you to the end, even if she has to sprint, back-off, sprint and back-off -- you know the kind I'm talking about.  I don't usually strategize in a foot race.  I am too slow.  I just run my best to the finish, but for some reason with her, I felt if I passed her I would have to pick-it up and give her the impression that I had started off slow and was now just getting up to a pace that she shouldn't even bother trying to hang on to.

Apparently, I am a bad actress.  I opened my stride up and took off as I passed her.  I know I gapped her, I could feel it as I ran hard for about 200 meters.  I had also managed to close the gap on two women up ahead of me.  I tried to focus on catching them, but I had the feeling that the girl behind me was more of a threat than the two in front of me.  I surged again as I caught and passed each girl.  I was definitely beat at this point and with 500 meters to go I hit the last hill before the finish and then it happened.  The girl I had passed and suspected would be a threat at the finish passed me!   Crap!!  I picked up the pace and stayed with her to the 3rd mile marker and split 7:29. 

As always, when you hit that 3 mile marker in a race the last .1 feels infinitely longer than when you run it in a warm-up.  I was gassed.  She picked it up and started pulling away.  I half-ass tried, but my body and my heart had nothing.  I couldn't get my legs moving faster than a 6:55/mile pace.  I hit the line in 23:13 (garmin).  I  don't know the official results, the website is "under construction." 

My garmin said 3.14 and avg pace was 7:25/mile, which was about the same as the last 5k.  Uuugghhh!!  I am so not progressing as fast as I would like to. 

My little brother finished in 24:37 (7:55/mile).  He said could see me up until the last mile and then I "took off."  We laughed about that, because he admittedly faded pretty hard that last mile and ran 8:45. 

My parents finished holding hands (my dad was listed first in the results, so of course he razzed my mom, who will probably never finish a race with him again, haha!).  My preggo sister finished by running into the finish and my niece started screaming bloody murder at the 2 mile marker so my brother had to pick her up (she gets a DNF!!). 

Here is the video to the finish.  I think I am somewhere afte 7 mins and my brother is about 8:30 - 9:00 minutes in. 

Aurora Labor Day 5k - The Fade Away

The last time I ran this race was 2006 or 2007.  Let's just say it had been awhile. 

Anyway, this week called for a 3 mile tempo at 8:00/mile.  I had just done that a week or so ago, but the idea of running it on the treadmill did not appeal to me -- at all and the weather was 65F and overcast (a near perfect day in my book to race), so at 8:14am this morning, I made the executive decision to hit up the race that started at 9:00am. 

Registration and packet pick-up were efficient and quick.  I even had time to hit the porta-john twice before the race.  I only managed 0.75 miles for my warm-up.  My legs, specifically my quads were tight and a little sore from yesterday's run.  I kept reminding myself, this is going to cover your tempo workout this week and be way easier, if you're racing.  I did a few striders and lined up.  I planned to run my hardest and hoped it would be in the 7:30s. 

I had been guessing my fitness level based on my long runs and treadmill workouts, but with the relay coming up in a few weeks I need to know how close to 7:00/miles I would be.  Obviously, I am hoping for sub-7s (as I'm sure my teammates are too). So, I needed a fix.  I needed a race, not only to see where I was physically, but mentally. 

I started too far back, on purpose in hopes of going out conservative and picking it up each mile.  It would ultimately cost me at the end, but alas  I wasn't out to win the race (not that I ever would be).

The race is two laps around the park.  There is one little incline in the first .25 miles and then a small but steep hill right before mile 1. 

The horn sounded and it seemed a lot of people didn't move.  "What are they doing?"  I thought.  The race was only chipped at the finish, not the start.  I immediately ran by a bunch of people.  I didn't see any fast chicks at the race and new I would more than likely be toward the front.  I assumed some high school ringer might blow the field away, but that wasn't the case (duh!! cross country season is in full swing).  I followed a blonde through the mile 1 and split 7:16 (garmin - 7:18).  That was a lot better than I thought it would be.  I felt good too, but I didn't want to die at 1.5, so I tried to rein it in and stay under control as I passed the blonde and took advantage of the nice little decline back to the entrance of the park.

We had to make a handful of sharp turns back at the entrance to the park before heading out for lap 2, which definitley wasn't helping me.  My breathing was good, but my legs were fatigued and my stomach was a little off.  You know how you poop before a race and then you get that crampy, either you're gonna crap your pants or your uterus is gonna fall out feeling?  Well, I had a mild case of that as I neared the 2 mile marker.  The timer called out 13:2x and I was glad I had my garmin on.  It was undoubtedly short.  I ran and ran and no beep.  Crap!!  It finally beeped, but I didn't care what the split showed and just kept running.  Mile 2 split (per Garmin) 7:25. 

I was hoping at this point, I would feel good and be able to pull out my fastest mile here at the end.  I finally saw a girl about .5 miles ahead and she looked like she was fading.  I tried to focus on her and close the gap.  I wondered if she would look back to see if anyone was behind her.  She never did.  We passed the water stop and I heard someone call out 4th woman as I went by.  I managed to work my way up to her with a little at a time.  As we came out of the woods to the front of the park where the finish was I wasn't exactly sure if we cut through the grass to the finish or had to go around on the path.  It didn't matter.  GD saw me and yelled "Come on ElizaBeth!!!" 

Now, I have never seen a girl jump like that in my life, but apparently that woke her up and just like that she straightened up her form and picked up the pace.  "Darn It!"  I hadn't planned on trying to kill myself yet.  Oh well, I took off and remarkably closed the gap on her!  I was almost on her shoulder.  I yelled "Come on girl!!  I'm coming!!  Go!!  You can do this!!"  to her.  She picked up the pace and I matched her, running right off her shoulders.  I yelled again.  "I'm still coming!!" or something like that and she found another gear and so did I.  She crossed the finish banner one step in front of me, but the mats were 2 steps after that.  I had once made the stupid mistake of stopping too soon, so I went to the mat.  Mile 3, 7:35.  (That song, "Sail Away" popped in my head, but I changed the lyrics to "Fade Away, Fade Away --- Booooo!!!)  And the last 451ft., 31.5 seconds.

I felt great at the finish, except for my stomach, which was a little wonky.  I knew I had to hit the bathroom asap.  I shook hands with the girl and congratulated her.  She definitely didn't look too good at the finish.  I asked if she was okay, before leaving her and she nodded.  I ran to the bathroom and felt better after I did my business. 

At the awards ceremony, they had me as 3rd female overall, because the girl had stopped after she crossed the banner and walked to the mat, but I explained to the RD what had happened and pointed out the girl that should be 3rd overall.  She was super nice about it and I told her it was a training run for me to gauge where my fitness was at.  She said the same for her.  I suppose, to the mat I beat her.  Had I started up farther in the beginning of the race perhaps I would have never had this happen.  Either way, it is a shoulda, coulda, woulda, such as this I think, that makes runners even more neurotic and overly analytical than they already are.  I'm not sure what was in the little box the top overalls got, but I'm okay with not having it whatever it is.  My official time was 22:49.  Avg Pace: 7:24.

In basketball, the fade away is a sweet shot (Michael Jordan did it best, in my opinion), but in running there's nothing sweet about it. 

Twilight Trail 8K Race (My Eleanor)

For those of you that have seen the movie "Gone in 60 Seconds" you know what I am referring to when I call this race my Eleanor.

Every year that I have run this race, I have barely made it up th big hill only to blow up.  Hell, I have even thrown-up throughout the race sometimes and always at the end.

This year I hoped it would be different.  I wanted a PR, but more importantly I wanted to do the course like a progression run with each mile getting faster, until I was at all out effort coming into the finish (not the first mile).

I had only been running about 10-15 mpw and knew I needed to get back into the groove of things, work or no work, this couch potaot/lazy ass BS had to come to an end (I'm not really lazy, work just sucks up a minimum of 48 hours/week now). 

I jumped on the treadmill a little before noon and did 3 easy miles, then did some upper body and core training for about 20 minutes.  I ate and waited for 5:00 pm to come, trying to get caught up on laundry, blogging and cleaning up in general.  I almost chickened out, but somehow made the drive, 2 detours and all to the start.  I was really early, hoping the race had not filled up and I could still get in.  I even donated an extra $5, since the race proceeds go for such a great cause (Cleveland Rape Crisis Center).

I decided to run an easy 3 mile warm-up 1/2 road, 1/2 trails with my headphones on full blast.  I felt a little warm with my shirt on, but my legs didn't feel dead as per there usual at this race.  E-speed passed me on my warm-up pointing to her ears, later telling me that she had been screaming at me, but I hadn't even heard her (I know IMPOSSIBLE right?).

Almost forgot to spray myself with bug spray before the start, but caught my mistake with about 5 minutes to go before the start.  I lined up in the middle of my age group.  I also had my headphones on.  I felt I needed to be able to drown out everything around me and get it done today.  I know 'phones are a sin in some groups and I never wear them when I race, but today I was going to break the rules.  I had every intention of going out nice and easy, too slow if need be.  Nothing mattered but keeping my heart rate low and surviving the first 2 miles. 

God, I was so nervous I was going to mess this race up like every other year that when the horn sounded I almost didn't move.  I trotted through the grass, trying not to pass people and go out too hard.  We hit the woods and before I knew it, we were crossing the stream me, daisy, twizzle (and of course e-speed too) had foolishly jumped in, on an all girls Halloween run a few years ago.  It was much shallower and I opted to ford it in a different spot than most of the racers (didn't even get my feet wet). 

The big hill was next.  I was going slow enough still.  I was breathing easy, but just the thought of the hill stressed me out as I ran.  I started up the hill nice and easy, slowing as the effort increased until I felt I was working too hard and then I WALKED.  To hell with this hill I thought.  I have run it before and it kills me.  I watched person after person pass me on the steepest part and kept wondering what the hell was wrong with me, why couldn't I do that.  I got to the top and started running again and then it happened.  Many of those people that had run up the hill started coming back to me and I FELT GREAT!!  I felt like I had just started running.  I upped my effort a little for the second mile, but not too much as it is rolling but a little uphill.  Mile 2 came and went and now it was time to up the effort even more.

I was getting passed by guys but no women.  I was the one passing other women today.  My form felt relaxed and I was picking up my feet, no shuffling yet.  My tunes just kept me jamming along and before I knew it the big hill I normally run up was in my sights.  I went down it quickly but safely, EE caught me and went careening down it a little wrecklessly with his hands flailing in the air trying to slow himself down and overcorrect for taking the first turn too wide. 

I grabbed some water at the aid station and worked my way up to Squire's Castle and could feel my right calf turning to what felt like cement.  Oh No!!  I had less than a mile and I was running out of gas.  My legs had covered 10 miles today and had, had enough.  Blah!  It had been awhile since my mental self had pulled out a can of whoop ass on my physical self and with a 5+ minute PR looming within my grasp, I let the beating commence.  I mentally told myself to keep at it and to not back down (I used a lot of obscenities at this point) and I thought e-speed may be somewhere up ahead to drag me along, ensuring my inability to back down.  Lo' and behold a little after mile 4 there she was.  I let her pull and push me along, trying to give it a little gas on the downhills.  She was talking to me, but I couldn't hear a thing.  It didn't matter I was glad to have some human lightning at my side.  She pulled off right before I exited the woods and I gave her a thumbs-up as I pulled away from her.

There was a girl about 200 meters ahead and I was able to close the gap a little, but the legs were so tired and for the first time in a long time I ran with everything I had through the grass, cursing in my head the whole way.  I felt slower than ever and there seemed to be a hundred cones between me and the damn STOP line.  I told myself somewhere deep in that pansy ass was one more gear and I could go faster.  I did and it got me to the line.  I staggered through.  Spit on the ground and thought "Hell Yeah!!"  I finally completed this race successfully.  My time was still weak, but I finally knew I had defeated my Eleanor.  I had beaten the course today.  It had hurt me, but I had run it as planned. 

Splits via my Garmin: (I even tried to cut the corners and run the tangents and still ran over 5 miles!!)
Mile 1: 9:37
Mile 2: 8:29
Mile 3: 8:11
Mile 4: 7:59
Mile 5: 8:05
189 ft. 0:16

Total Time: 42:39, Pace 8:19 (I like what my Garmin says much better)

OFFICIAL TIME: 42:37, Pace 8:42 (6 min 4 second PR)

I am a very weak trail runner as you can see.  I just don't have overalll good general strength to handle that type of terrain, but I am committing myself to run trails more often and learn.  I may never be a mountain goat, but here goes nothing.  I got you now Eleanor!!!!

Crossfit Triathlon

I had never done this race before and I was very hesitant to sign up for it this year having only swam one time about a month or 2 ago in a swimming pool with e-speed, but I thought it's only 400 yards, how bad could it be, right?  It was also A-Train's 41st birthday and some of his training buddies would be there and even my parents were going to come down to watch.  It was a done deal, I had to race (or try). 

We arrived in plenty of time and I actually got to rack on the end for once.  I hoped it was a good sign.  I realized I had not packed a gel while I was setting up, but wasn't too worried.  It was only a sprint.  I rummaged around in my packet and to my delight found a complimentary one!  I successfully taped it to my top tube on my bike and thought - SCORE!  Then my first bad sign of the morning occurred.  A girl was asking me about where to rack her bike (the racks were clearly marked) and as I looked up to answer her I saw it was "pink shirt" from this race. Oh crap!!  Not her again.  She started to put her gear by me on the rack and I told her she could go to any of the four around me and there was even an end spot open on a different one.  Lucky for me that idea appealed to her way more than racking by me and she headed over there - whew!

The women 34 and under were to go off at 7:06am in the first wave.  Usually, the women all go off in one wave (and last for that matter), but surprisingly this race drew quite a decent size of women participants and we had two waves with mine going first!  This I knew was going to be weird.  There were 6 minutes between waves and although BH had once told me how he had swam over a ton of slow old ladies and "clobbered them," I wasn't worried.

I lined up more on the outside and toward the front for the swim, not wanting to get trapped between the lane line and swimmers, course being near the outside would have it's own challenges I would find out.  It felt so weird standing in the water about to race.  It seemed like another lifetime ago when I had raced a triathlon.  I was nervous and praying by some miracle of God I would make it out of the water and be able to put in at least an average performance.  The horn sounded and arms were a flying!!  There was more body contact than I am used to on the way out, my arms hitting others and vice a versa, a couple women swimming on my ankles and legs.  I felt my heart rate going up and up and before long I was gasping for air.  Swimming on the outside allowed me to see the lane line and sight easily, but it put a lot of girls between me and the ropes and more times then not I had to hold my line and take an arm to the body to keep them from pushing me wide of my line.  My arms and back were on fire even before I made it to the turn around.  I had a little trouble getting under the lane line and practically clothes lined myself trying to dive under it at the same instance some girl grabbed it and lifted it up.  I was completely anaerobic, just trying to hang onto the pace and relax.  I found some feet and hung on them for part of the way back.  I had a much clearer path, but then there was another lane line and I was a little confused as to where to exit.  This time however, I successfully cleared it without mishap. 

(My dad got a good laugh out of the stupid look on my face)

I hit the beach and felt how much the swim had taken out of me.  My arms felt like dead weight and as I ran for transitioin, I reminded myself "this is fun and it's only going to hurt more - weeeeeee!!!"  I had put my chip on outside my wetsuit and I struggled to get it off (rookie mistake #1).  I ended up sitting down and wrestling with my right leg for what seemed like two minutes.  Finally, with one quick burst of strength and my dead arms I got the thing off.  I pulled on my bike helmet and realized my hari bun was too high on my head and my helmet was choking me a little (rookie mistake #2)  I tried my best to re-adjust it, but I had to go.  I had already wasted too much time trying to get my wetsuit off (tick-tock, tick-tock).

I sprinted for the transition exit and noticed my legs felt okay (surprisingly).  I figured there were about 15 girls ahead of me.  We climbed up out of the park and I was immediately able to pass 4-5 of them in the first 400 meters. 

The bike course was 2 loops of rollers with right turns.  The climb up route 91 at the end of each loop was the most challenging part of the course.  I noticed a weird sensation on my back end when braking and  noticed when I was in my easiest gear I was working really hard.  My legs felt the same as always, but I didn't seem to have any power.  I assumed the swim had just killed my body from top to bottom.  I decided to ignore my computer and just go with it.  What other choice did I have?  (Later, KP and A-Train were working on my bike and noticed my brake was rubbing (every time I don't check it before the race, it seems to happen!!  DARN IT!!! rookie mistake #3).  I got another 4 or so girls on the first loop and after that couldn't tell anymore with other waves merging.  I rode alone for most of the race.  No girls passed me on the bike, but as I re-entered the park one girl had caught up to me.  I started ripping my feet out of my shoes and soft pedaling on the downhill a few hundred meters from transition.  I jumped off my bike and after not doing it for nearly 2 years managed to successfully complete a flying dismount - WOOT!!  I was on the ground and running when my pedal flipped and my shoe dragged and went flying as I was running.  "Shit!!" I said.  I went back for it, even though I wouldn't have gotten a penalty for abandonment of gear as this was not USAT race.  A volunteer tossed it to me and I ran back and grabbed my bike where I had leaned it against the transition tent, but the nose of my seat go stuck on the tent pole and I wrestled with it trying to get the bike lose without taking out the entire tent.  Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!  Come On!!!!  It was only a matter of seconds, but in triathlon, it always feels like forever. 

I finally racked my bike changed my shoes and blew out of T2 (Some people's forte is the bike or the swim or even the run, mine is unfortunately transition, even when it's bad, it is usually faster than most.  Too bad it doesn't buy me a lot of time back).

I saw my mom and the Bails and I waved and yelled "Hi Buddy!!"  That was a mistake, apparently he became super excited to see me and wanted to run too.  He spent the latter part of the race trying to drag my mother on to the course for her own unsanctioned 5k.  I grabbed some water and gatorade at the turnaround table and headed out for my first loop.  I saw my dad taking pics and cheering for me right after that.  I was breathing really hard and blubbering and wheezing from the get-go, but my legs felt way better than normal.  The run was thankfully shaded most of the way and flat too boot.  I was alone and it was dead quiet.  At about 0.5 miles in there is a little turn around area near the main gates and I saw a girl less than a minute behind me.  Yikes!!!  Her stride looked fresh and strong.  I was holding steady, but knew if my breathing got worse or my legs got tired I was D-O-N-E.  I yelled at her "Good job!!  You look great!!!"  She yelled "Thanks, you too!!" 

Around one mile we hit the only climb on the course and I saw A-train coming into the park off the bike.  I knew he had put up some insane bike time as soon as I saw him.  I worked my way up the hill.  I had no idea how many girls were in front of me.  I saw nobody.  BM passed me as he entered on his bike and yelled some encouragement.  He too had had a good bike.  As I was working the downhill, a young man blew by me like I was standing still.  Without thinking I just said "Holy Shit!"  as he passed me.  The kid never slowed and later I would come to learn it was DJ, a former Perry HS cross country runner.  We had taken him with us to Footlocker Nationals a few years ago in Wisconsin, now I experienced first hand why!!! 

As I started the second loop I was still holding off that girl, but not wanting to look back I forced myself to run hard every few cones, trying to gap her and let her think it was impossible to catch me.  At the turn-around she was still about the same distance away.  My dad had yelled at me that A-Train was only about a quarter mile ahead and I could catch him (haha, funny!!).  I had a little less than a mile to go to hold her off, but then out of the blue a female KG also a recent graduate HS cross country runner, went by me.  I was in shock.  She would go on to finish in 18:00 with one of the top 5 runs out of the women and men!!  At the hill I finally started to tire and it took a lot more energy to climb it the second time.  Over the top and heading for home I tried to open up my stride until I hit the grass and then I just cruised on in, prepared to kill myself if someone tried to sprint me down at the line (thankfully, that didn't happen).  I crossed the line in 1:10:xx.  Again, opted not to do splits and just go with it, just glad it was over and I had survived.

(I was waving my arms saying "Thank God that's over!")

It wasn't even close to my best performance ever, but I had put out a lot of effort (all that I had as a matter of fact), just to finish where I had.  The stupid mistakes definitely needed fixing, but because it was A-Train's birthday and my parents had come down (my mom had never seen me race a triathlon before), not to mention it was a beautiful day, how could I not be on cloud 9 about the day!! 
--------- Edit-----------------------
Splits for the Race
Swim 400 meters: 7:07.7
T1: 1:34.1
Bike 12 miles: 37:16.8
T2: 0:39.5
Run: 23:32.7
Total: 1:10:10.9 (6:09.4 back from the leader and most of my time was lost to her on the bike)