Tri-Polar Express

So here's the scoop.

Goal was a sub 4:00:00 Boston Qualifying marathon time.

I felt like I could have done it (or close to it) two weeks ago, but not this week (three weeks of taper sucked it out of me). Next time I will not do a three week taper - I don't care what the pros say. It doesn't work for me.

Mentally I was ready to call it quits at mile 13, if I had seen my husband Peter there. We kept missing each other all day, so consequently I did not have an opportunity to DNF - I finished in 4:29:13.

At least I beat the 4:30:00 time - THAT was a matter of pride.

Good news - legs feel pretty good and I practiced a new hydration/nutrition strategy that I think will work next time.

I also got a really cool, pink and grey, dri-fit, long-sleeved shirt out of the deal!

Next time - I'm looking at the Napa Valley Marathon in March '08.

Posted by Cindy at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Women 45 – 49 (Place10/61). Not bad, considering ...

You might think I look happy here, but I'm not really... I'm just smiling because I was that much closer to getting this race started, which meant I was also that much closer to putting it behind me. I was matter of fact about what needed to get done when, and not too much into soaking up the atmosphere. I was pretty sure I'd get enough of *that* on race day, which I did ... See more pictures here.

This was my second Ironman event, the first being Ironman Canada in 2005. In some ways this event was easier and in some ways it was harder. Physically I felt better prepared and more confident in my ability to finish strong. But mentally I was not as happy or excited to be there. The week leading up to Coeur d’Alene I felt tired and lethargic, not excited and primed to compete. I didn't know what was wrong with me. Was I getting sick (p-l-e-a-s-e no), or was I just burned out on the single-track purpose I'd set myself for the past 13 weeks? Perhaps I had I peaked too early, or overtrained during the final weeks of preparation, and what if I was already on the downside of my conditioning?

Despite my inner demons, there was never any question as to starting and completing the event … even when, five minutes before the gun went off, the race announcer gave us all an option to forego the swim and do a duathlon instead, because the wind was creating “dangerously” choppy water conditions. (I considered it for a split second.) But realistically folks, I had trained to do the full Ironman and that’s what I was going to do. At one point, when I found myself in a group of swimmers veering inside the corner buoy I stopped and swam around it the correct way. I wasn’t going to cheat myself.

Continue reading "Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2007" »

Posted by Cindy at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

This was my final "tune up" race before IMCDA . I did the same race in 2005 before Ironman Canada, and it was the perfect taper workout ... only this year I blew my previous times out of the water! I beat my 2005 time by 4:00 minutes, and my previous PR by 1 1/2 minutes to finish in 1:05:30. AND, even more exciting for me, I held off a woman who I was SURE was going to pass me on the run. She always does ... but not this year! Whoopie! I rocked ...

Oh yeah, I felt good too ... I hope this bodes well for Coeur d'Alene.

Posted by Cindy at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Auburn 1/2 Ironman is billed as the World's Toughest Half. But "Tough" doesn't begin to describe this course. It was grueling. It was brutal. It was a cross between Wildflower and the Santa Cruz Mountain Challenge. It reminded me a lot of the Death Ride, actually, and how I felt during it ... only I didn't puke for 12 hours afterwards. So in that regard I suppose it was less painful.

In fact, I made a point not to "race" the event, but to treat it as a pre IMCDA training day, just like any other ... despite this, my nerves acted up like always the day/night before. I got hardly any sleep, and worried endlessly about all the things that could go wrong during the race. Most of the things I thought would go wrong didn't - no flats, no dehydration or horrible gastric distress on the run. But other things caught me off guard and I had to adapt and overcome in order to have a successful race.

Continue reading "Auburn 1/2 Ironman 2007" »

Posted by Cindy at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

At first I had no desire to run a 10 k in the middle of my Ironman training, but since this weekend was a low volume week I decided what the heck ... my company is a sponsor of this small local race, and many of my colleagues were walking or running the 5 K. I think there were almost as many dogs as people at this event ... it is one of the only "pet friendly" races I know about in the area.

The Silicon Valley Human Race 10 K turned out to be a good "test" for me ... to see how my body would respond to a hard effort ... all of my training for the past 2 months or so has been at a low heart rate ... slow and steady. Now I was asking my legs to turn over at a higher cadence, my heart to beat faster, and my lungs to gasp more air over a considerable distance ... and it all worked out just fine. In fact, I felt better than I ever remember during a 10 K. The icing on the cake is that I improved my time by two minutes from last year. That is good news for a woman who one day still hopes to qualify for Boston by running a 4:00:59 marathon.

Continue reading "A Fun 10 K" »

Posted by Cindy at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

On Feb 4th I ran the San Francisco 1/2 Marathon with my buddy, Juls. I wasn't feeling too well on rising. My heart rate was elevated, and my stomach felt nauseous. But when the race began I felt okay... until mile 9 ... when I began to feel really nauseous, and lost all energy and motivation. I walked a lot ... It wasn't the result I was hoping for, but I did complete the distance in under 2:10. (My PR for this distance is 1:52:00).

Juls and I only stayed together for the first couple miles, but I was going faster than she wanted. In the end she had a great race, finishing in around 1:50 and change ... Though I was looking for her, I did not see her pass me.

Post-race, all I could think of was sleeping ... I was dead tired, which is unusual for me after that distance. I think I was still recovering from my food poisoning episode earlier in the week. It was such a beautiful day, weather wise, that I was dissapointed I didn't feel better, and wasn't enjoying the day. C'est la vie. Some runs and some races are good, some are bad.

Now I'm feeling healthy again it's time to start getting into a training routine, and doing more speed work.

Posted by Cindy at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night I went to bed not feeling too well and wondering if I would be able to do the 10k Turkey Trot today as planned. I had the chills and my throat wasn't feeling "right" ... but by morning, whatever it was that was nagging me was gone. I woke up before the alarm rang, which is unusual in itself, and what's more I felt GOOD. I had time to brew some coffee and eat my oatmeal, in addition to all the other usual morning pre-race preparatory activities.

My French friend Fred (say that 10 times fast) showed up at 10 to eight and we were off to the race start to pick up our packets. It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day but the wind was blowing, making it a little nippy. Thank goodness I had put a long sleeve top on over my sleeveless one at the last minute this morning. I needed it!

Fred and I hung out and stretched ... and he graciously shared his banana with me since I hadn't brought any food along. The race started a few minutes late to give the last minute registrants time to finish up ... The race started, and before I knew it we were at the 1 mile mark - cheering the leader of the 5k race who was already at the two mile mark heading back! Those guys (and girls) were awesome to watch. Fred and I decided we would run the 10k together - my goal was to finish in under or near my last recent 10 k PR of 52:15:00. As I checked our splits I was pleasantly surprised to see that we never dropped below an 8:30 min/mile pace ... our fastest split was mile 2 at 8:03:52 and our slowest was mile 1 at 8:30:10. Our total time was 51:35:13 according to my stopwatch, well below my aggressive goal of 52:00 minutes. The good news for me is that I exceeded my last PR by about :30 secs and felt better doing it.

Continue reading "Turkey Trot Race Report" »

Posted by Cindy at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First of all let me say I felt great when it was done - like I would have felt after a long, say 20 mile, training run ... and that's how I ended up running the last 1/2 of the marathon, like one of my training runs ... s-l-o-w-l-y. No surprise there - I trained to run long and slow, and that's what I ended up doing ...

Before I go into all that went wrong, I want to tell you what went right. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The sky was clear and sunny and the air was crisp. It was a perfect Fall day. I also want to tell you about the amazing friends I have and how they supported me throughout the day. My friend Julie and her son Ya Ya were there at Campbell Park on the way out AND on the way back! Julie's hug and words of encouragement were definitely appreciated. My friend Cathy was there at mile 20 as well! And at the finish line were my husband, Peter, and friend Brenna. Several friends and my brother called to wish me "good luck" and to check on me when I was done. All of their efforts are so appreciated!

So am I crying about my finish time of 4:34 when my goal was 4:00? Not at all! I did, after all, meet at least one of my goals - to finish without injury. But 20/20 hindsight is an amazing tool ... and I'm always up for learning from my mistakes.

So, what went wrong?

Continue reading "Silicon Valley Marathon Race Report" »

Posted by Cindy at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Running for FUN is something I haven't done enough of lately ... this weekend I ran the San Jose Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon with my friend, Anna, who came down to the South Bay from the North Bay where she is now living. This was her first race after having her first child about 8 months ago. She was awesome, steady and smiling from ear to ear the whole way. Her new training partner, Rachel, was doing her first race ever - she never ran before hooking up with Anna, and she did awesome! At the 10 mile mark Anna noted that this was officially Rachel's longest run ever, in her life! To Rachel's credit, she didn't miss a beat, keeping her rhythm constant and staying focussed on the distance left to go, rather than the distance covered.

It was so much fun being part of their personal victories. I enjoyed cheering them on, running backwards and taking pictures along the way to commemorate the event, and focussing on my form while running slower than my usual pace.

Continue reading "San Jose Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon" »

Posted by Cindy at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Death Ride – Markleville, CA – July 8, 2006

Adventure Report
- by Cindy J (Age Group: Women 45 – 50)

It all started with a crazy hair-brained idea to enter the Death Ride lottery along with my friend and her husband, who had done it the year before. “It’s a beautiful area,” they said, “You and Peter should try to get in.” So we did … but we didn’t win a slot. I have to admit to being somewhat relieved. The thought of doing 129 miles with 15,000+ feet of climbing was daunting to say the least.

Then, a few weeks later, my friend’s husband sent me an e-mail - “I’m giving you my Death Ride ticket. Not, “Would you like my Death Ride ticket?”, or "Hey, what about doing the Death Ride with Ilana?" ... Nope. “I’ve already done it once, and it doesn’t fit in with my training schedule,” he insisted. (He’s a competitive cyclist.) “You and Ilana will have fun!” he promised. “Oh,” I replied, “gee … thanks” not knowing then whether to love him or hate him … time would tell …

Continue reading "The Death Ride 2006" »

Posted by Cindy at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the 1 year anniversary of my IMC finish, I wanted to share my experiences of that awesome day. This is the race report I wrote for my family and friends following the event. Now, I have to get back to IronmanLive.com and watch my friends finish! Let the endorphins roll . . .

Ironman Canada - Penticton, BC, Canada - August 28, 2005

Race Report
- by Cindy J (Age Group: Women 40 – 45)

Heading out of T2 and facing the prospect of going another 26.2 miles on foot I wondered, fleetingly, if this was all worth it. Yup, I thought as I heard the crowd cheering me onward. The wise words of my friend Keith Sherling (himself a recent Couer d’Alene Ironman 2005 finisher) rang in my ears as I headed out on course, “What ever happens and however bad you feel getting off the bike,” he said, “just START the marathon. It’s worth it in the end.” It was the most valuable bit of advice I took away from all of my pre-race training and conversations with folks.

It also struck me that I had already covered 114.4 miles of the 140.6 mile course … and my personal cheering section was expecting to see me at mile six of the run course – I had better not disappoint them! In addition I thought of all of the other people, friends, family, colleagues and training partners who had helped contribute to my success thus far … there were so many people to not disappoint, least of all myself.

One step at a time I was getting closer and closer to my goal of completing my first Ironman.

Continue reading "Ironman Canada 2005 Race Report" »

Posted by Cindy at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)