Shameless Team Nuun Plug

I know I haven't written a non-Race Report entry in a while. That's on me and letting life get in the way. And this one won't even do it justice either. But I just wanted to plug my Nuun Ambassador status!

Late 2015, I got notified that I was fortunate enough to receive the ambassadorship and I even had a few early posts about it! It's been a great opportunity. I've gotten to run Ragnar SoCal with Team Nuun, I've gotten to meet some really great athletes who are even cooler people and I've gotten to continue to use the Nuun product through an awesome ambassadorship program.

I really have to commend the people at Nuun who makes this possible. I think this is a really great program and I think it'd be great if more companies did this kind of thing. I mean Honey Stinger does it and being part of the HS Hive is cool too. But the HS Hive community isn't as large and isn't as social as the one put on by Nuun. It just feels more like a grassroots family and a really supportive group.

What I do like about both programs is that you don't have to be a stud. You don't have to be a pro athlete or even winning your age groups to join. Passion, being social and liking the products are really all you need! And it's just great and I really think helps to spread the brand more than sponsoring rich pros you can't talk to most times. But that's just my thoughts.

Anyway, it's also cool to get a profile, be part of the website and get some FaceTime ;)

Race Report: OC Marathon

Not my brightest idea to do this race. I did it just for the bling, for the bonus medals that come from the Beach Cities Challenge and the Double Dog Dare. But attaining those challenges required grinding through this marathon and a grind it was. Among some of the many circumstances that made this marathon a challenge, the critical ones were a wedding the day/night before, 2 hours of sleep and a 3 hour drive to the start line from Tulare, CA. Ya not my brightest decision... But I mean, if I was going to miss Wildflower, why not do it big?

Race details:
Orange County, California
Run: 26.2 miles

No Garmin watch (more on that later) so no GPS map and just showing the course map

Course Reported Finish: 4:10:19

Garmin Splits:

No Garmin watch also means no splits :(

Race Summary:

Well as I alluded, this race was a mess. Let me first list the circumstances of said mess:

-Injuries preventing me from running no more than 6 miles since LA marathon

-GI issues (need to see a doc)

-Albanos wedding last night (Congrats Jason and Emily)

-2 hours of sleep

-3 hour drive from Tulare to the start line

-Not doing any of my pre race rituals (like pooping and stretching)

-Starting 10 min late

-Not having my HR monitor or my Garmin watch

And that's just the list I could think of right now! Injuries are always a thing when you race long. That's just something you learn to deal with and manage. At an LA Tri Club event, one of the pro speakers had mentioned that part of her success happens with the mindset of "being comfortable while uncomfortable." I definitely thought of this phrase while I ran and used it power through. I thought about all my training, not just for this race but for the Ironman and for every other race. My thoughts drifted to how grueling those things were so of course I could do this. And that really helped propel me to a strong finish.

The wedding, lack of sleep, drive and inability to do my pre race rituals are all of my doing. Amanda's two good friends (Jason and Emily) had a wedding in Tulare, CA which is just north of Bakersfield. I could have very easily said "sorry I have a race" but I wasn't exactly in prime shape for this race and I really just wanted to finish even if it took 5 or 6 hours because I just wanted the challenge medal. Plus, Amanda had come with me to Jenna's wedding and so I really wanted to be there for her too. So I made my choice and accepted the reality and the circumstances. It was a good decision though as it was a beautiful and very, very fun wedding! #CheersToTheAlbanos

The last two circumstances just suck. We got a little lost due to road closures so I was late to the start line as we were stuck in traffic. But in my rush to find the start line and get dressed, I ended up forgetting my Garmin watch!!! This sucked a lot! Since getting the watch, I've pretty dependent on it during a race and also love using it post race to track splits and stats to really calibrate my training and race events. So naturally I started freaking the eff out as I walked the last 100 meters towards the start line. Then I remembered that I was wearing my Vivofit like I always do! Perfect! I won't have heart rate, I won't have GPS, I won't have any runs stats, but I'll get to track this activity, I'll get something resembling pace for post race analysis AND I can use it to manage my time vs. mile marker progress. This was great! I immediately calmed down and was now crossing the start line!

I started out the race REALLY slow. Knowing I didn't have much sleep and zero tracking stats, my primary concern was managing the distance. I wanted to make sure I started out really slow and not overexert myself well before the race even started (because everyone knows a marathon really doesn't start until around mile 18). So I did it. I used a negative split mindset for the race and got going slow, like 10min/mile slow. It was rough, but I really settled into what I thought was my reality.

Around mile 3 there was a stretch of downhill. This was perfect! I was just under my 10 min/mile pace average for the 3 miles so I could use the downhill to catch up! Ya not the best idea. I went at it hard and then there were some rolling hills and it signaled potential trouble. Worries combined with the need to pee meant taking a pit stop. I probably lost about 2 min or so just doing that, but it felt like it was needed. And while it ate at my time, I was glad I did it. I felt a bit more comfortable, my heart rate had come down a bit and I suddenly felt very fresh. So I picked back up and shot for my 10 min/mile pace again and coasted along.

Without knowing it, I suddenly started to gain strength and feel confidence. By mile 9, I realized that my pace had increased but neither pain nor fatigue had. It was great! By mile 12, I was just at 2 hours and was coming to the realization that I could get pretty damn close to a 4 hour marathon finish if I could just stay strong! This is when the race started.

Feeling strong, motivated and powerful, I picked it up just a tad. It was great! I knew from my Friday peek at the course elevation that there really wasn't any big hills left. There were a couple rolling hills, but I got this! I kept powering through. With every step, I got happier and gained more confidence while also catching up to runners and passing people. It was really great! As I got towards mile 20, I had about 40 minutes left. That was tough. 6 miles to go and even my best 10k time was 46 minutes. I had a brief thought about just slowing down, just making it to the finish, screw being in pain the rest of the way, the rest of the day and likely days after (I'm still a little sore and walking gingerly).

But no! I thought of Ava and her fight. I thought of how many times I've ran a 10k. I thought about how I want to be a role model and set an example. All these things immediately turned my mindset towards what I should be: a fighter! So I picked it up with as much pace as I could manage and told myself that I would not slow down until that finish line!

And well, as you can see from my finish line approach photo, I finished strong and happy! Because despite the circumstances, I put a darn good race together!

Pics:
Packet Pickup:

Cheers to the Albanos wedding:

Run pics:

Early race pics vs. late race pics HAHAHAHAHA

Pre-Finish pics:

Looking strong and relieved haha

Finish pics:

Beach Cities Challenge medals:

Race Report: Big Rock Olympic Triathlon

First race of 2016. I wasn't really ready for this one as I've been injured, out of shape, having some gastro issues and just generally not ready. But I signed up for it last year thinking all my Ironman momentum might get me on the podium in 2016. Well the fall has been brutal and so I gave it my best and it turned out better than I had hoped but obviously not where I wanted to be.

Race details:
Lake Perris, California
Swim: 0.8 mi - open water, 2 loops, calm lake
Bike: 24.8 mi - road, 3 loops around the lake recreational area, very hilly with uphills and downhills
Run: 6.3 mi - run, 2 loops out and back, fairly flat

Course Recorded Finish: 2:55:30

Garmin Splits:


Race Analysis:
Transitions:
Nothing much to say here. T1 had a long run uphill in sand from the lake to transition. Mine was relatively quick considering I wore a wetsuit. T2 was also similarly quick. I took a couple extra seconds talking to Quinn who I ran into there as he was coaching some Team in Training folks. But otherwise, good transitions.

Swim:

This swim was amazing! I can't recall having a better swim experience in any race. My 1:33 pace was super awesome for me! I don't even know if I've swam that fast in the pool! The only thing I can say is that I felt a lot slower than my watch says. It just seemed like a struggle even though it went so well! So I was pleasantly surprised to see that! Plus I beat last year's time by almost 20 min! Always using a wetsuit when possible from now on!

Bike:

As I write these race reports and look at my Garmin splits, it seems like there is always one thing that's obvious. It's that my bike SUCKS. With the exception of Ironman 70.3 Superfrog and Ironman Florida, my bike in almost every other race has seemed to blow giant chunks. And this is yet another example of that. I knew it was going to be tough to get to my goals as I was doing the bike. The uphills just seemed super challenging and I didn't feel like the downhills were long enough for me to make up those struggles.

What's sad is that I did this race with the better bike fit and the aero wheels. While I don't have the supreme triathlon racing setup, mine isn't too bad. And yet here I am still sucking. I think the answer is that the motor pushing the bike, aka myself, just needs to get better. I'm fat and 10 lbs overweight from my peak Ironman days just months ago. But my bike needs to get a lot better if I'm going to continue to do triathlons.

The last point is that my bike this time was 8.5 min slower this year than last year. That's no bueno. I mean the conditions were slightly different (super hot, very windy, lots of headwinds) but I don't like that excuse. I need to be better and that's the bottom line.

Run:

I have mixed feelings about the run as I review the data. When I first did the race, I was actually pretty happy with my run. It wasn't my blazing PR run that I had at Malibu, but I felt like that 8:22 min/mile pace was held pretty steadily, I felt like I was running a good pace, not saving up too much. I felt like things were generally good and I didn't walk despite the heat and the desire to do so.

But having reviewed the data and having compared to last year's data, I am a little disappointed. I vaguely remember walking to start last year's run. I was gassed from really trying to push it on the back and just gave up early and walked. I picked it up but still walked a decent amount. Yet at the end of the day, I only beat last year's time by like 20 seconds. I guess the upside is that I felt strong and kept a good pace, but that's about the only really good news. How could I have walked a short couple stints and still had almost the same time? I guess it just leaves me with some doubts after feeling good about it.

Anyway, the race ended up being better than the somber discussion here. I was 5 min under my goal of 3 hours and I beat last year's time by over 12 minutes. Those aren't things to be discouraged about. I should be happy. I should be happy that I did all this with hotter conditions and brutal headwinds. But here I sit again, stuck at 4th place out of 5, missing the podium by 10 minutes and just generally feeling like I've failed despite the better overall time...

Pics:

Pre and Post Race:

 

 

Race Setup:

Creeping the Results Page (no podium... sad...):