hey!!! for once they actually didn't turn out bad!!!
... notice in the bottom right, the finishers pic from one angle shows bright skies... but in the other you can see the coming storm!!
.. now all i gotta do is work on taking LARGER STEPS when i run. what's with my 3" stride!?!?
.... after having stripped my wetsuit off outside of the transition area, as i was putting on my socks and bike shoes i noticed... shit shit SHIT!!! where's my chip timer?!?!
i freaked for a second, but thankfully most the volunteers were from KCM so they scrambled around and finally found it, just as i was about to run out with my bike. phew!
this course is HARD. its a lot of hills, and there was a LOT of wind.
but ya know what?!
I HAD SO MUCH FUN!
the bike course is a series of 4 out and backs that make up a big cross, so you get to see people over and over again which made the ride not so bad.
the training i've been doing i could tell was really paying off and the hills, while tough, weren't nearly as bad as the first time i rode them a few months ago.
i was in a really positive state of mind, really soaking it all up, just pedaling pedaling pedaling when at about the 20 mile mark...
WHOA WIND!!!
my coach had told me to go out slow. keep my average pace down about 1mph less than i wanted to average for the first 1/3 of the bike, knowing that i'd want to hammer and over-do it if not.... well...
good advice.
except that when i was ready to finally go that was no longer an option. the wind was out.of.control. and around the half-way point of the ride, i had my first negative thoughts for the day.
i had to struggle to gain any speed going downhill.. i dropped my chain at one point going up, and a few miles after that...
as always....
my knee.
my @$#!-ing knee started to hurt.
as seems to ALWAYS be the case, it was a rather new pain i'd not experience while biking before so.. that was unpleasant.
but unlike any of my races before, i told myself HTFU. you're finishing this, pain and all, so get over it already AND RIDE!
... which i did.
about 16 minutes faster than i'd actually predicted i would, so coming into T2...
i was very very happy.
now all i had to do was run!
and, shocking.. the run was kinda fun!
the first few miles were pure suck. but that was to be expected. the way they had the course set up though i was constantly greeted by friends on the course, so even with having to struggle for a while... about 3 miles in i found my groove and started feeling good.
right around 4.5 miles though... things went downhill.
a storm was rolling in on the other side of the lake and it got COLD. the wind picked up something fierce.. and the sky looked... well. not so good.
but on i ran. never thinking for a MINUTE they'd cancel the thing. no way. its not gunna rain. i'm gunna finish this thing. i'm DOING AWESOME!
.... but at the start of my second loop... half way through the run...
they did.
they cancelled the thing. re-routed the athletes to the chute, and weren't allowing us to pass by and finish.
i was devastated. i collapsed in a heap of tears, just absolutely devastated and when i got up i walked, crying, right through the finish line.
it was one of the most disappointing things i think i've ever experienced. and i don't wish a non-finished race on ANY athlete, EVER.
so i guess i should get around to writing this bad boy, shouldn't i?!
m'kay. well.. here goes.
the night before the race, while i told my parents to SHUSH!! i'm concentrating, here!!!.. i went over... and over..
and over and over and over my race-day bag.
ok first i'll be heading to the water. i'll need my wetsuit.. check... goggles and swimcap... check... and timing chip.. check.
i'll get out of the water and will need a towel.. check...socks and bike shoes.. check.. helmet and sunglasses... check.. gatorade and gel's in the freezer.. check.. f*ck. what if i forget that tomorrow morning? no. i won't. it will be fine. in the freezer.. check...
after the bike i'll need my running shoes... check... biofreeze.. check... race belt... check.
and that's it!
then i'd stand there, looking at everything, and say again, outloud..
"okay. so first i have to swim, i'll need...."
and i think i more or less did that about 19 times before bed.
finally around maybe 9ish pm i sent my parents to bed, tucked asher in for the night, and crawled under the covers for some sleep.
i wasn't actually expecting to GET any sleep, but.. i did!! i got sleep!
... until about 1am when asher demanded that he be let outside to pee. after that, sleep was a crap-shoot, but until then... i got sleep!
at 3am the alarm went off. then again at 3:20.. then again at 3:40.
i was paranoid about sleeping in and missing the whole day. what can i say?!!
after a morning of okay. first thing i need is my wetsuit... and a seriously large protein shake, i packed my car and headed off to 0%'s house, where i rechecked my list, packed her car, and finally at 4:15am headed out to the lake.
it was nuts.
it was NUTS and there were tons of people, but...
i never really got nervous.
i was excited. in the back of my mind, i knew i could do this thing, and i was just really excited to be there.
setting up transition took far less time than i thought it would, so afterwards i did a lot of standing around, wondering ok so now what the hell do we do!?!
apparently... what you do is... TAKE PICTURES!!!
at about the time running jayhawk and i were goofing off taking pictures, we noticed i had some body marking issues that made me look like a total newb.
yeah. nice.
not only did i have it all over the back of my legs... it was seriously ALL. OVER. my quads. i'd somehow gotten it to more or less cover the front of my legs and at one point almost the entire row of women in our transition area were laughing at me as a photographer came to capture the mess.
classic!
i figured then it'd be a good time to wet-suit-up!
afterwards, it all happened so fast...
athletes were ushered out of transition. we went to the water to splash around while the navy seals skydived in. the race director sang the national anthem, and just like that... the pros took off.
holy. SHIT.
i just felt like grabbing father time and yelling at him to SLOOOOOW DOWWWWWN!!!
i barely had time to think. bam, next age group. bam next age group. suddenly they were calling all silver swim caps to line up and then. FINALLY.
i got nervous.
i got cry in my goggles a little bit nervous.
can't breathe, want to pee my pants (which i did. in the water. several times.) nervous.
but i had no choice. i took a quick pic with a friend...
ran up to see my mom and give her one last hug on the side...
and we were off.
this is for real.
.... HA! the swim sucked.
oooh, man it sucked.
the men in the age group behind us were brutal. i got elbowed in the face, shoved, kicked.. you name it, it happened.
but i didn't freak out.
i stopped a lot to tread water and let people pass me by, but..
i didn't freak out.
i just went REALLY SLOW!
52 minutes later i was crawling out of the water and the swim was done. i ran alllll the way around some flooding they had to steer us around, peeled off my wetsuit (losing my chip in the process), but.. i was done!
weeeee!
... and i didn't drown!
photos of the day that wasn't.
... i'll have actual race pics up as people send them to me. these are all pre The Suck.. as it shall henceforth be named.
eventually i'll get around to writing something, but if i do it now, it'll just reflect how pissed and upset i am.
sorry.
they called the race due to weather.
i was 63 miles, 6:03 hours in.
can we say NOT PLEASED!!?!
... i think we can.
alright, well..
this is the last post i'll get in pre-race. i just wanted to let you know my bib number is 437 if you care to track me, and ask you to..
pray, cross your fingers, dance, summon the gods or just do whatever it is you do to ensure we have NO RAIN sunday! the weather here as been completely outta control, so...
we need all the good ju-ju we can muster!
i'm off to set up the KCM tent and check out the expo, so i guess i'll....
catch ya on the flip!?!
HAPPY TRI-ING EVERYONE cuz here. we. go!
oookay. um. i don't look TOTALLY FREAKING AMAZING in spandex. i just wanna throw that out there. like many women of latina descent...
i am curvy.
so, to bring my stock back up, i'm ending the photo show with one of the after-race, after-shower, after-nap photos.
fair is only fair, ya know!?
with that said.. on to the show!
here we have some dude who belongs to Transition Chick, Transition Chick, me, and 4th Place Guy.
4th place as in..... "i had a really bad race today... i only came in 4th".
he's really speedy. so he sucks!
my first body marking experience. i was excited.
apparently... i was really excited.
and maybe enjoyed it a little too much. i dunno...!!?!
my very first race start photo! i'm um.... way out there in front! yeah! in the yellow! see!?!? yup. thats me!
coming into transition one with Trans Chick Friend.
again. really excited to be there. can you say NEWBIE much!? sheesh.
loop three, climbing up that first hill of DEATH!
see all those people i just passed!? i'm practically winning the thing!
i also really enjoy pig tails.
what can'ya do?!
second run.
still running on that second run. it now hurts.... bad.
coming into the finish. again... with the smile. I WAS JUST SO EXCITED!
i sort of look like one of those really cheesy catalog pictures of people that are running.. but they look so happy, you don't actually believe they're running.
except this time.. i really am running.
or at least trying to, anyway... !
booyah. my first multi-sport medal. that's 0% on the left, and biker chick on the right. they are numbuh one stunnuh's because they came out to cheer me on! (and, you know... the rest of the KCM club.
but whatever.
details.)
me and MU girl, well after the race is done, sort of just soaking up the bliss of the day.
aaaaaaaaaaand. as promised. an after-party stock-boosting pic, with me and Party Guy. who also happens to be 4th Place Guy's dad.....
and there ya have it folks. my first duathlon experience in photos.
ta-daaaah!
alright. so. the duathlon.
lemme break it down for you in three simple words.
i.
kicked.
ass.
i kicked ass! i kicked the kind of ass that i didn't even know i HAD! (which. i'm not totally sure if that makes sense or not, but regardless....)
i pretty much ruled. i owned that course. owned in the way that a newbie, who was really just looking to finish with a reasonable time, owned.. but still!
OWNAGE!
here are the numbers.
and i know what you're thinking... thats a lot of numbers. i couldn't agree more. i haven't the foggiest what they all mean. or why there are so many columns.
but here's what happened....
the race starts out with a 2 mile run. all morning i'd been warned about the first run. "everyone goes out really hard. you want to run your own race. don't try and keep up. save some for the bike.."
you know.. the usual.
in my mind!? pffffffffft. "keep up". yeah right. like that's even a choice i have the power to make. i run one speed, and one speed only.
its called slow.
and thats just how it is.
well. ladies and gentlemen.
NOT! NO! MO'!
i don't know what happened. i don't know who i was channeling, or how i found them. i don't know if it was a fluke, some sort of time warp situation i experienced, or just the unveiling of my new found AWESOMENESS and total and complete DOMINATION of the run, but...
i ran a sub-9:00 mile on mile one. and i am damn. proud.
flabbergasted. shocked. appalled, even, to be sure... but damn. proud.
mile one came at 8:56. obviously, this is not something i experience all to often (read: ever.) so after my initial SWEET JESUS!!! i forced myself to slooooow down, i did have a bike to ride afterall, and apparently run one came in at... 19:55. a sub 10-pace.
HA! who'da man? WHO'da man!!?
after the run, was.. as you would expect... TRANSITION ONE!!!
my first transition.
it was kind of like...
GO! HURRY! what??! i don't know.. GO! HURRY! what?? i don't know... GO! HURRY!
you get the idea. i don't even really remember it.
that is, of course, until i actually had my bike, and was running to the little "you're allowed to hop on your bike here and ride now" area just outside of the corrals.
there. were people. everywhere.
i don't know how i didn't get run over. but!?
i didn't.
and so i was off.
the bike portion. well. lets be honest here folks.
I AM A BIKING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bet ya didn't see that coming, now did ya!!?! (*ahem* yeah. me either.)
i don't care how fast the fastest people were. i don't care how many people beat me, i don't care how often i got passed...
i ruled that bike course. i. me. this girl right here...
i passed people. i passed people like. it. was. my. job.
IT WAS AWESOME!
of course i also sort of would then immediately get passed by sometimes those same people. sometimes new ones.
but i cared not. i verbalized "on your left" so many times... i lost count!!!
the hills weren't as bad as i remembered them. i guess something about having 499 other people out there doing the exact same thing as me sort of got me over my whole "boo-suck" attitude and outside of omg. just three loops. omg, just three loops. you're almost there, you can do it. omg. just three loops it wasn't really all that bad.
a few things though, i think i should mention...
my hands went numb.
normally this is a toe thing. my toes go numb 75% of the time i ride, but never my hands. i mean... they. are. my. hands. wtf is that about?! but yeah. numb. they went numb.
also!? calf crampage. like total and complete cramping in both calves. sometime around loop 2.
did i let it stop me? did i allow such a thing to slow me down?
I. DID. NOT!
however by that third loop, about half way through, what did get my attention was...
this sort of...
um.
well.
left butt cheek situation.
that i just couldn't ignore.
it hurt. ooooh... it hurt. and my ass almost never hurts after a ride. 0% and i decided its because.. all this junk in my trunk that i'm "blessed" with.. has its uses.
power.
apparently though up until this point i have not tapped into said power, because HELLO! left butt cheek!
OUCH!
of course this came at the end of my bike.
i de-mounted, unclipped, and cursed my ass. we had serious cramping going on, and considering i now had 3 more miles to run.. well.
not good.
i don't really know, exactly, who's phenomenal idea it was to come up with this whole thing. but... biking. and then running?
well that combination can just kiss my... my... well. you know.
t'was near an impossibility. the second run just ruined me. i was getting passed by every single person i'd just smoked... "smoked"... on the bike.
and i was PISSED!
but there was nothing i could do about. my legs. would not. GO.
just... nope!
i think sometime after the first mile i started feeling a little better. i'd picked one chick and one dude with whom to compete... quietly. in my mind. and who, by the time it was all said and done?!
well. they had their way with me. but not until after a lot of cat and mouse!
but really.. i didn't care.
i'd wanted to finish this race in under 2 hours. i wasn't really sure i could. i wasn't really sure i wanted to try hard enough to find out. but in the end...
i did. and i was. and it. was. awesome.
run one pace = 9:58
bike pace = 16.72 (and just fyi. my normal pace, riding with the group? FOUR. TEEN. so.. you can understand my excitment now, eh!?)
run two pace = 10:35... again. much faster than. well.
ever.
like i said. my first duathon!? fantastic. really, truly, absolutely i do not know how it could have possible gone any better than that.
and for that, i am bubbling over with joy.
on another simply truly amazing and quite delightful note.. i'm wearing pants today.
pants, today, that i've never worn. because?
they've never fit.
way. wayyyy. WAY back in 2005, i found them. white house/black market. great, awesome, stripped pants. it was january, and i was feeling... optimistic.
but they just never worked.
on a whim, this morning, i tried them on.
they fit.
and they look good.
*sigh*
today is a good day. what can i say...
don't hate me cuz i'm beautiful, folks.
hate me...
CUZ I FREAKIN' RULE!!!
kinda forgot to mention i've got a 5k turkey trot this morning... i'm about ready to leave here in a bit, knock it out in roughly 30 minutes (HA! one can dream.) and then get my thanksgiving on.
hope everyone out there has a great turkey day.
and in the spirit of the season....
i love you all, and i'm thankful for each and every one of you!
(no really. i am. y'all rock. have an awesome day!)
blue shirt = soccer boy
hat = radio boy
other chick (red hair/blue shirt) = co-worker (also known as ballerina girl. she looks hot! go her!)
gray shirt = ME!!! not looking like a total freak when i run! its miraculous!
so at 3:30 today i just randomly decided to check the website for the 5K. hmm. says here race starts at 7:30. thats weird. when i signed up for it, registration said it started at 8:00.... i call co-worker, who's also running it, she checks the website (different one then mine, apparently) hmm.. her website says 8:00. registration says 8:00. the 7:30 thing i found must be a typo.
so i call the two fellas running with me and we all decide to meet up at 7:15. fair enough. co-worker and i drive in, caravan style (i'm following) and we get to the speedway at 7:00. perfect. we take a right, heading to the gate.... closed. hmm. okay. keep driving. next gate. closed.... keep driving, next gate. closed. uhhhhh??? co-worker calls and we decide if we just keep following the road around, it must, eventually, loop back around to the front. right?? so ok. we're fine. at this point, its 7:20.
ring-ring. Radio Boy calls, is at the speedway... hey... this race starts in 10 minutes.
WHAT????
yeah. i dunno. they said it starts at 7:30, where are you?
I DONT KNOW!!!!! i cant find the damn entrance to this place where the #@^&* is it?
oh uh.. yeah, i had to drive around too, you'll get to it. but uh.. what should i do? should i just wait for you or should i go run?
OH HELL I DONT KNOW... i dont know i dont know. i dont even know where i am. just... i dont know. just go, or just wait. i think we almost found it..ok, yeah, yeah, i think its right here. ok bye.
ring-ring. Soccer Boy calls and tells me.... hey. i'm at the starting line. where are you?
SHIT. i'm coming. is it seriously starting right now?
yeah. umm..
::both of us laughing not knowing what to do::
ok.. listen, i dont know if i'll make it. you run, i'll be at the end taking your picture...just, just go, i dont think i'll make it
you sure?
yeah...just. ::hysterical laughter:: yeah. just run. have fun
ok, bye!
(parking/getting out of car) HEY!! co-worker... hurry up the race is about to start
WHAT??!! where do we go..
SHIT! i dont know!!!! security guard...where to??
over there!!
okay. shit, go go go!!!
(people at the front table with race numbers)... is this race seriously about to start? yeah, we're so sorry, we dont know what happened with that 8:00 thing... did you pre-register? yeah.. name? Alejandra! ok. here's your number. (i hold it up, look around)... uh. how do i put this on my shirt? with pins. SHIT! was i supposed to bring my own PINS!? shit shit shit, i dont have pins (i start freaking out...they start laughing at me) no, no... pins are over there... where? there? (boy at table)...oh, sorry, we're out of pins. WHAT?? what do i do? uhhh...... (they find pins.) here ya go. (6 left i take 2)... okay.. GO GO GO. co-worker, where're you going? I GOTTA PEE!!!! ok, we're going. OKAY!!! radio boy... where are we going? I DONT KNOW! shit!! ::much much laughter:: this is the most unorganzied piece of crap i've ever been a part of what IS this? i dont know!! ::more laughter:: there, over there, there are people!! ok...go!!! (we run to track)
shit. where's the line? (we glance around...) SHIT! down the track about a quarter of a mile... hey. SHIT. i think they're over there. SHIT! ok. RUN RUN RUN... (we're sprinting. i dont sprint. i'm about die. i cant breathe. my legs are tightening up) ::much laughter:: what are we DOING? i dont know
(on loud-speakers)RUNNERS OUT THERE, YOU HAVE 2 MINUTES, GET TO THE LINE!!!!!
yeah no shit, WE ARE, dont you see us running? JEEEEEsus. ::more laughter, i think i'm going to cry out of pure confusion:: holy shit, radio boy, i'm already tired. yeah me too. HEY! (i look over) co-worker, there you are!! where are we going?! HELL IF I KNOW!!!! ::laughter::
(get to table. velcro-y thing thrown at me.)
what is this? chip timer! ok? what do i do? i dont know... soccer boy..hey!! glad you made it!! yeah, me too, what do i do with this?? put it on your ankle! oh... (i strap it on) well great. thats not going to be weird...
lunge...lunge...(attempting to catch breath and stretch) WOOOP WOOOP WOOOP race starts.
holy shit... AND WE'RE OFF!!!!!!
(inner dialogue) what the hell just happened? i cant believe i'm actually doing this. i thought this was going to start at 8:00, i didnt even get to stretch. i'm still trying to catch my breath from sprinting for a quarter mile down here. this is so ridiculous, why doesnt this happen to anyone else? what is going on. (i look around) holy shit this is a huge track. i have to go around this twice? shit... well, i'm definitely going to fast for this, i gotta slow down
hey!! soccer boy and radio boy... dont run with me!!! what?? why? BECAUSE!!! i'm going too fast. i dont like to run with people it screws up my pacing. just leave me. go! are you sure?? yeah!! i'll see you at the end (i get a weird look from soccer boy) ok!! bye!!
(inner dialogue again) ok now that thats taken care of maybe i can manage to BREATHE. for crying out loud this is ridiculous. i run further than this all the time. its 3 miles. its 3 miles. an easy 3 mile run. no big deal (cant breathe) SLOW YOURSELF DOWN you aren't racing... (i glance behind me) holy SHIT i'm super close to the end. SHIT! what if i'm last. i dont want to be last. thats so embarrassing. i have to run 16 miles tomorrow. why am i even HERE. this was so dumb. i'm a huge idiot.
beep beep beep beep beep (watch tells me i've gone 1 mile)
sweet. one mile. (runner comes up next to me---Asthma Girl, she's also struggling) hey!!! we just went a mile!! oh really? yup. cool!! yeah!! wait... just one mile?! yeah... shit!! oh. sorry... (we continue running same pace, start talking...)
so we run and talk and run and talk and its going pretty well. i can feel my body finally realizing that i'm USED TO THIS, so the running is becoming easier and i start to sort of feel warmed up. okay. i can do this....
VROOM VROOM. holy SHIT thats the pace car.... what the? WOOOOSH. i get lapped by super fast runner boy. awesome. WOO-WOOSH...WOOSH.. lapped by 3 more dudes...
Asthma girl and i continue to run/talk/laugh at how slow we are. i accept the fact that i'm towards the end, but decide screw it. this was supposed to be fun.
hey... its 2.34 miles!! cool. yeah!! listen...i'm going to pick it up for the last half mile, okay? (that was me talking) ok, yeah..me too. cool! (run..run..) ok. half mile, lets GO!!! (run...run) we run for a minute, Asthma Girl informs me...oh god. its getting hard to breathe... dont worry, you can do this. we have less than half a mile. we got this (i pep-talk her as best i can)...(we run some more, we have .3 to go. i can feel my body wanting to sprint...i start going) i think i'm going to have an asthma attack..
(inner dialogue) WHAT???? shit!!!!!! i dont even know this chick. shit. what do i do?
are you okay? yeah.. i'm good
(inner dialogue) shit shit shit. i could really go faster right now.. what do i do? i cant leave her, what if she dies? i'll be the girl who left her. but i'm so close. I'M JUST SO CLOSE
hey..i'm fine. go ahead. you sure?! yeah... ok! you're doing awesome!!! bye!!
(inner dialogue) GO! GO! GO! GO!
(i see clock at finish line...my goal time was 35 minutes) 34:42....34:46..:47...:49....35:00 NOOOOOO!! i'm not there yet!!!! RUN FASTEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! 35:06 WHOOSH, i'm done!
I DID IT I DID IT I FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hoorah for me!
::hysterical laughter::
(inner dialogue) now that was some messed up shit!
-----------
and that, my running-blog-family, was my first race experience.
and YOU said it'd be "no big deal"... (!!!)
