(Note: with the exception of my wedding post – which I promise is coming soon – I am caught up with races, and from this day forward, all posts are current.  Thank you.) 
            
My favorite triathlon/former work friend, BB, talked me into doing a Turkey Trot 5K on Sunday.  At first I was uncharacteristically non-committal and even waited until late Saturday afternoon to make my decision.  When I asked BJ whether or not I should run, he said: “You haven’t seen BB in awhile and racing is good for your soul.”  He couldn’t have been more right (it’s a good thing I have a hubs who know what’s good/bad for me).

I’m so glad I decided to run the race.  Vienna is close to my house (20 minutes) and I picked up BB on my way.  We had great weather (a little nippy at first, but not bad for November).  The course is an out-and-back course with rolling hills.  I loved it! 

Recap:  This was a great race with wonderful volunteers and a great cause: supporting the local HS band and volunteer fire department. Plus, I’m totally a sucker for Turkey Trots. 

3rd place medal, baby!

BB, 1st place female 20-29 (Time: 21:40)

(Race Date: October 24, 2010)
I think I can honestly say that the Army 10 Miler (ATM) is my favorite race of all time.  That’s a pretty serious statement, and I thought long and hard before writing it down for the whole world to see, but there’s just no denying it.  I LOVE THE ARMY 10 MILER! And here’s why:

4) Soldiers.  WOW!  I love seeing our Soldiers running the ATM, especially the ones who have been injured.  I mean, if watching a double amputee running 10 miles doesn’t inspire you, than I don’t know what does. 

My crew: BJ and KP

SavageMan is my favorite (and last) triathlon of the year. I love everything about this race:

Area – Deep Creek, MD is gorgeous (and hilly)

Course – Ohhh, it’s “savage”, alright

Volunteers – they are all so nice and wonderful

Racers – they are also, surprisingly, nice

Post-race grub – Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream? Yes, I will!

I’ve already made it perfectly clear, here and here, that I had not been training. So….the goal of this race was to have fun and finish! I can do that.

The water was very cold, even with my full body wetsuit, so it took my body and breathing a good 15 minutes to adjust. Another factor contributing to the breathing problem: I had not been swimming since EagleMan in June. Talk about a 4-month shocker. Overall, felt good (all thing considered) coming out of the water.

Swim: 31:03

For 2010, the course architect changed the bike course. It’s hard to say which course was harder – both have massive hills and challenging climbs. Bumblebee Mountain has an elevation gain of some 450 feet in a very short period of time. It’s not easy stuff. However, the best part about the bike course, and what keeps me going, are the motivating signs. And by motivating, I mean hilarious and sometimes, down-right mean (in a funny way). Here’s a few of my favorites:

“Outta Gears? Outta Luck!”

“Don’t you wish you had a 3rd ring, now?”

“Kyle Yost, Course Architect: 202-248-XXXX”

“You’re not almost there”

And, to make matters even worse (or better?), spectators are dressed in devil costumes. Not. Even. Kidding.

I love this race!!

Bike: 1:22:03

I felt strong coming off the bike – and even for the 1^st 2 miles. But, around mile 2, something funny started happening with my right foot. It fell asleep and did not want to wake-up. (Has this ever happened to anyone??!) I ran/walked the last 4 miles with a prickly foot. It was painful. Overall time, not terrible – I’ll take it, prickly foot and all.

Run: 52:52 (8:30 pace)

Total Time: 2:51:10

Overall, I had a great day and enjoyed the race. It was fun to see BJ and a few friends along the course. I actually PR’ed – I’m using this term very loosely – from last years race (2:51:21) – but with little-to-no-training I’m happy I was even able to do that. 2011 – you’ve got yourself a rematch! Plus, I’m going back for mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Stats:

Swim: 31:03

Bike: 1:22:03

Run: 52:52

Total Time: 2:51:10

Recap:

In 2008 I finished Savageman in 3:06:32; 4^th place for Women 25-29

In 2009 I finished SavageMan in 2:51:21, 4^th place for Women 25-29

In 2010 I finished the race in 2:51:10, 4^th place for Women 25-29

(with no training, and by “no”, I do mean NO)

It looks like like I’m destined to be 4^th. Maybe if I train for SavageMan 2011, I’ll come back better than ever and maybe, just maybe, place 3^rd!

I thought it would be cool to do a half-ironman 3 weeks before my wedding.

Wrong.

Let’s just say I almost died 3 weeks before my wedding.

Every year the race takes place in Cambridge, MD. EagleMan is known as an extremely flat course – but also extremely HOT and windy. There isn’t even an area of shade the size of a small leaf on the entire course. June 13, 2010: 104 degrees, with an even hotter heat index. KMS.

At 6am, the morning temperature was already so hot that wetsuits were completely illegal. Race officials wouldn’t let you in the water if you had one on. (Note: Some races allow you to wear a wetsuit, even if the water temperature is above the “wet suit legal” temperature. However, your time doesn’t count if you win or place. This race wouldn’t even allow that!)

1.2 mile swim without a wetsuit: Yikes! I’d never done that before. (Rookie mistake #1)

9:30am, I am the last wave to start. The water was nice and warm. I felt pretty good for the first 30 minutes, but the last 28 were brutal. I knew right away I hadn’t trained enough. Swim time: 58:44

Out of the water, complete outfit change in transition and I was on my bike. (Right now I should point out that I was 1 of about 10 people who didn’t have a triathlon bike. In real life, a completely flat course is not made for a road bike. Rookie mistake #2). Initially I felt great on the bike. This was the only part of the race that I had kind-of taken seriously. But at mile 40 I completely hit a wall. Couldn’t wait to be off the bike. So hot that I had a massive heat headache. And just plain angry. Bike time: 3:20:30

F-i-n-a-l-l-y made my way into transition, complete outfit change and I was on the run. (Right now I should point out that I had consumed 3 bottles of water and a handful of jolly ranchers on my 3 hour bike ride. Rookie mistake #3). I ran the 1st mile and felt okay. After the 1st mile, the heat headache that I talked about before, came back with a vengeance. I knew I was dehydrated but couldn’t stop. I kept telling myself, “You don’t start a half-ironman and not finish”. I also told myself it was okay to run/walk/run 13.1 miles (a VERY hard thing for a runner to come to grips with). So, that’s what I did. I ran and walked the 12 miles. Then, as I approached the last mile and looked down at my watch, I thought: “if I run the last mile, like I know I can, I can finish in 7 hours”. So, I sprinted my heart out, crossing the finish line in 7:00:32. Run time: 2:32:44

After I finished, I posed for a couple of pictures (Duh, I had a bad-ass medal and I just finished a half-ironman). About 1 minute later, I was throwing up and being rushed to the medical tent.

2 IV bags, an ambulance ride, and 2 more IV bags later, I was good enough to be discharged from the ER. Diagnosis: severe dehydration and nausea. To this day, I still can’t eat an orange.

Stats:

Turns out the swim was 1.6 miles instead of 1.2 (thanks race director) but other than that, I’m out of excuses. I just didn’t train enough…

Swim: 58:44

Bike: 3:20:30

Run: 2:32:44

Total: 7:00:32

Recap: I’m down for another EagleMan – as long as I have a tri bike!