Tri Diva Tri

I love this race! It is the best beginning race for women. I love it so much, that I signed up for it way back in November. It was the first race I signed up for as I thought it would be a great first race for the season.   There were several of us going to this race together and we trained throughout the winter.  My goal for this race was to beat my times from last year, especially on the bike, which has been my focus lately.
As the date got closer, the weather looked great! 13 degrees and sunny! It was the perfect weather. However, as any good Calgarian knows, the weather changes quickly.  Soon the forecast was 2 degrees with snow and there was talk of changing the triathlon to an aquathon.  I can't say I was overly sad about not having to ride the bike, but was a little disappointed to know I wouldn't be able to see if my hard work had paid off.
Just in case, we met up a few days before the race to practice our transitions. We put on our swim caps and goggles and laughed at our ridiculousness.  We worked on our transitions from swim to bike and bike to run but in the back of our minds we knew we wouldn't be doing them.

Do you think that Bob could sneak into Tri Diva Tri? With his beer?

On Friday evening, I received an email from my coach saying it had been changed to an aquathon. This sure changed how I thought about this race. I packed some warm, easy to slide on clothes and and stored by bike back on its trainer (with a small, smug smile and a na na boo boo).

Lucky Number 242!

I got up early, loaded the car with Kristen, Jodi and Sasha and we headed out to the snowy, icy highway to Olds. We were all a bit nervous, but we managed to laugh and chat to keep out minds off of the race butterflies. We arrived just after 8:00, got body marked, set up for the transition and headed over to the gym for the mandatory meeting. I was so happy to see one of my teammates, Yvonne, as soon as I walked in.  It was great to reconnect after the winter of hibernation!
 None of us swam right away, so we had some time to watch the first heats. It is always inspiring to me to watch these first heats.  Soon after the first couple heats, my friends were up. This was the first time I went with a group of people and I liked that I had the chance to watch each of them swim. It really kept me calm and made the time fly by. I was very happy that I could be there with them on their first race and help them where I could.
The race was going quickly and soon the last heat was getting ready for the swim.  I changed into my suit, took a few deep breaths, and made my way out to the pool deck.
While in line,  I chatted with the others in the line up and soon I was just a few spots away from starting. I spotted my friends and family through the window cheering me on.  This picture of my friend Kristen makes my heart melt. Having so much support and knowing that my friends had just finished made me feel even much more inspired and excited.

Can you find me? Look for the one
 without the ankle timer!

As I was putting my goggles on, the swim captain noticed I was missing my timing chip! What an idiot! I ran back, slipped it on and by then it was my turn to jump in the pool.  I was assigned lane 3. I jogged across the mat, but no beep went. The race director called me as she thought my timer was broken. It finally beeped... so I went to jump in the pool. As I got close to the lane,  my lane mate stopped!! Why is she stopping?!?! I had to wait for her to get mid way down the lane before I entered(more missed time!) I was a little nervous, but I was quickly soothed by the warm water and within a few seconds I felt relaxed and comfortable.  After about 50m, I  caught up to my lane mate.  I tapped her but she wouldn't move over. I was feeling a little frustrated so rather than kept worked up, I decided to draft her and save some energy. Once I finally passed her, she sped up and started tapping me. With a sigh, I moved over at the end of the lane to let her pass. She then told me to go ahead! What was happening?? I just kept swimming and rejoiced when I saw her hop out of the pool. I knew I had 75m left, so I picked up the pace and enjoyed having the lane to myself.

What a stroke!

I was the second to last out of the pool, so the transition area was quiet. The first person I saw was my coach Sharon who moved from Bike Captain to Mop Captain. It was great to see a smiling, friendly face! I quickly found the locker with my things.  I dried off as best I could and started to get dressed. Was I ever happy about my choice of pants. They slipped on so easily! What a weird transition this was! Here I was putting on a jacket and long pants while I was soaking wet. I struggled with my jacket. I thought this was such a good choice with its zip up closure and embedded dry fit shirt. Turns out, it wasn't a good choice. I could NOT get my hands through the arms. I finally got it on, tied up my shoes, attached my run belt and ran outside. I had been smart enough to tuck mittens and a toque in my pockets and I got those on as quickly as I could. Man it was chilly! I saw my cheer squad as soon as I came out and all I could say was " I am soaking wet in the cold!"

I tried to remember to keep an easy pace at first to make sure I didn't cramp, which I often do when I start running. My legs felt a little bit jellyish and it took a few minutes for this feeling to pass.
The snow was falling, but it felt surprisingly refreshing.   I passed a few runners on the course and offered each of them a little piece of encouragement. I thanked the volunteers and tried my best to keep up my pace.  I sped up as I went through the route and when I knew I was on the home stretch, I gave it all I could.  I could hear my name announced and felt so happy to be done and so excited to have tried a new race.

Finished and out of breath!

When I finished, everyone else was already done, so we hugged it out, said our congratulations and stood there for a photo shoot with our husbands. Then we all went together to the change room and chatted like excited a bunch teenager girls. We shared all of our challenges and successes from the day. We had so much to catch up on! I was so proud of all the girls for coming out, giving it their all, and accomplishing their goal. It was exciting and uplifting to hear each of them say that they wanted to do another. Tri S'more.... here we come!

I love the snowflake nose I have in this photo!

 We went over to the gym for some food and coffee. I had some time to talk with Yvonne and Sharon.  As we chatted someone mentioned that the results were up. I quickly grabbed my phone and searched for my name. I couldn't see it... where was I? I started to panic and thought that maybe my chip was faulty after all.

Then there it was... 10th place! I could not believe it. And it gets better - 1st in my age group. Was I reading that right? I really thought there was a mistake, but it turns out there wasn't. I really did it! I was so proud!  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate my success with my husband, my coach, and some of my closest friends. I was embarrassed to go get the flower award and couldn't wait to get out of the spotlight, but Sharon managed to sneak this picture of me. In hindsight, I am happy she did. Thanks for a great race everyone!

Getting my 1st place award and trying to escape being in the spotlight. 

Diakonos 10K St. Patrick's Day Run

It seems like I signed up for this race ages ago and now in a blink, it is over! Since the New Year, I have been running mostly on my treadmill due to the ice. I managed to get outside a few times, but I was a little worried about how I would do running outside.  

The strangest collection of
things in this race package
(chips, rolaids, and a
leather keychain)

My original race plan was to finish around 57 or 58 minutes.  I knew this was a bit of a stretch after a long winter, but I really wanted to run under 60 minutes. However, after this week at school, I wasn't sure if my legs would allow me to do this.  My students have been learning hip hop dance for a big dance performance this Wednesday. I have been trying to learn the dance too. I have also been secretly learning a simplified jive dance during my lunch hour with some of the other teachers as a surprise to the students. Needless to say, I have been using a few muscles that I just don't usually use.  This whole week, my legs felt heavy and tired. So much so that it was a terribly short taper run on Friday.  I reevaluated my goals with this in mind and decided that I would be happy if I was as close to 60 minutes as possible. 

I woke up Saturday morning, opened the curtains and cursed at the light dusting of snow that had fallen over night. Just enough to hide the ice and make the roads slick. (Damn you winter!!) Again, I reevaluated and figured I would be happy with 62 or 63 minutes. 
I followed my normal race day routine of a coffee and oatmeal with plenty of brown sugar.  I was soon  on the road to Sydney's house and then downtown.  We were excessively early getting to the race site so we enjoyed the seat warmers in my car a little longer.
Due to a nervous bladder, we eventually made our way over to Eau Clare where we admired admired the various costumes of the participants and pondered deep questions such as  "How people can run in those hats?!" and "Does that t-shirt need the apostrophe?" 

Who or what do those teachers belong to?

We realized that we were approaching 10:00 and that the rest of racers were heading out.  We scurried out there and just as we got to the start line, the race was beginning. We jumped into the crowd, wished each other a good race and away we went!  
As I half jogged, half walked, half skipped through the start line crowd, I wondered "Does anyone else hate the start of a race?" I tried to be patient for the first km of the race, but I had to do quite a lot of weaving through the large groups and hopping around icy patches to find a spot that I could run in and find my own rhythm.  Finding this rhythm seemed to take much longer than normal.  I kept my eyes peeled for those little red km markers and counted down the kms as I hit them. This is not usually my style.  My first few kms were on on pace to hit 60 minutes so I did what I could to keep it up.  I was struggling though. My legs felt like lead. I carried on and just kept one foot in front of the other and enjoyed the the beautiful scenery along Bow River.  The blue sky, the melting icy river, and the dusting of snow made it a truly magnificent day for a run. 

As I jogged along Parkdale, I squinted my eyes to see that the 5km turn around was coming up.  I rejoiced when I saw this for three reasons: 
1) I hit under the 30 minute mark! (Barely @ 29:36 but still there). 
2) I was halfway done.
3) I would be running into the sun! Oh sun how I have missed you lately! 
I tried to hold my pace steady for the the next little bit and I decided I would pick it up around the 7km marker.  My goal was to run the second half of the race faster than the first half, so I knew I had some work to do.
At the 7km, I added a little juice until my pace hit 5:35/km. Hurray!  Each km I picked it up as much as I thought I could and maintain.  At some point in this process, my jelly legs seemed to disappear. I had a groove and it felt so great! 

Sydney approaching
the finish line

Finally when I saw that 9km spot, I ran as fast as my little legs would take me. The home stretch! I was breathing hard and actually a little self conscious of how hard I was breathing as I ran past some of the other joggers, but it didn't matter for long.  As I turned the last corner, there in front of me was the big, inflatable, finish line and it looked incredible! 
Interestingly enough, my GPS told me I had hit 10km well before I actually finished the race, which was a little strange. I wonder which was off and why one is off by so much! When I crossed, the timer was just about to 59 minutes.  I was so happy!  I was way under my goal and closer to my original goal than I could have hoped for.  Dancing legs and icy pathways, you've got nothin!
The final time on the website was 58:35, which was the perfect time for a season opener.  Just over a year ago, I could struggled to do 10k under 65 minutes.  This race gave me the just the motivation to keep me going and setting new goals for this new race season. 

All done!!!!

First Tri of the Year - TNT Dynamite Sprint

Ready to go!

My coach Sharon shared the information about this Tri with me a couple of months ago. In her words "It's really fun!". I'll admit, I wasn't sure it would be. Part of me wanted to do it, as the money for the race went towards a kids triathlon group, but I didn't know how competitive people would be or how I would feel about riding on my trainer and running on a track for a race. I hummed and hawed and finally when my neighbour Jayme (who has never done a tri before)agreed and signed up, I realized I needed to sign up too.
After a restless night in a mediocre hotel, I woke up early, had a good breakfast and a coffee and we took off to Collicutt Centre. The race set up was extremely well organized with both adults and kids there to help. I set up my trainer and bike, tested it out, checked out the pool and chatted with some other racers (including a fellow Team Tri-Lifer) and before I knew it, the race meeting was starting.
I was in the 9th heat for swimming and with only two lanes, I knew it would be quite a wait. I cheered on Jayme who was in the 1st heat and chatted with my teammate.  Having someone to chat with sure calmed any nerves I had been feeling.

Not alot needed for an indoor tri transition!

After about 40 minutes, it was my turn. I let my lanemate go first as I had a very sore throat (turned out to be strep!)and I thought this would hold me back today. I started with a good pace and before I knew it, I was close behind him. I miscounted my laps (thought I had 12 laps to do, not 24) and believed I was almost done so I gave it the gas and passed him. It was quickly after that I realized I had 15 laps to go, not 3, so I pulled back a bit but still gave it a strong, consistent effort.  The pool was HOT, so it was hard to keep motivated to swim at a race pace. All I could think about was turning grabbing a floatie, laying on my back and snapping my fingers at Jose who would bring me an extra strong pina colada. Maybe it was this daydreaming that got me through, but I finally saw the dip of the pool noodle, indicating I had one more to lap go, so I gave it my all and then jumped out of the pool.
My next stop was the dry station. There were some boys with towels and a timer. I had to stay for 10 seconds to dry off. When they gave me the go ahead, I jogged to the gym, put my socks, shoes, and helmet on and hopped on the bike.

Done!

Almost finished...

The bike was a really strange experience. Before the tri, I was asked for my quickest bike time in a previous race and this was used as my time for this race.  They had the kids timing us and they would tell us how much time left and when to get off.  It turns out that people manipulated their bikes and computers last year, so they tried it this way.  I liked it. It sure made it a more relaxed race and took the pressure off! I rode at a good pace, but knowing I wasn't racing or aiming to beat a time, I didn't feel the need to give it my all. I drank water, chatted with my bike neighbour and enjoyed the music. When my time was up, I slipped on my running shoes, half ass jogged up to the track and started my run.
I felt slow... my legs felt heavy and after just a lap, my throat was aching and was extremely dry. I felt I couldn't find a good pace until midway through the run. I felt frustrated that I couldn't catch up to anyone and I felt like I was being lapped by everyone! At the end, I thought I had a lap and a half, when all that was actually left was half a lap. I sprinted it, crossed the silver ribbon finish line and was greeted by my husband's smiling face and a young boy bringing me a much needed cup of water.

Crossing the finish line!

We waited for the results and my swim averaged :56min/100m and my run was a 5min/km.  The run was better than I expected. After some thought about my run, I realized that I was running with the fastest of the group, so it is no wonder I felt so slow! Seeing my results made me feel a lot better about my race.

All in all it was a good day. It was amazing to be able to race in February and in such a friendly environment. I was disappointed there weren't more people as I thought it was a worth while cause and would be such a great experience for someone who wanted to try a Triathlon. I hope they keep this triathlon going and I hope more people will give it a try. I know I will be back! 

Thanks for joining me Jayme! Great job on your first Tri!

New Year, New Goals, New Races

Race 1: Calgary Road Runners Tuscany Coulee

Jan. 25, 2014

Although I am not usually one to set New Year's Resolutions, this year, I was inspired by many of the running and fitness blogs that I follow.  I decided to start one of my own.  I thought this would be a great way for me to record and share my thoughts, challenges, and joys of training and racing.

Mid way through 2013, I discovered the idea of 13 races in 2013. I really liked this idea, but wondered how I could fit so many in and afford so many.  Over the last few months, I have discovered some fun and affordable races that I thought would help solve both of these problems. For 2014, my goal is to run 14 races!

 
Today I tried something completely new to me, a short 4k trail run with the Calgary Road Runners. I have friends who rave about trail running, but getting out to the mountains to do these, is a big committment. Luckily, Calgary Road Runners does races all around town through the ravines, parks, hills, and coulees.  

This run was in Tuscany in the Coulee. To be honest, I didn't really even know this beautiful space existed until I saw this race.  I was intrigued, so after talking with a few friends, we decided to give it a go.  I really had no expectations.

It started with us meeting in the Tuscany Hall to register, pay our $10 (Yes... that's right, only $10!!) and get some information.  It turns out the actual race start was about a 15 minute walk, which was a perfect warm up before the run.  

There were more people than I expected, but with our beautiful 13 degree January weather, I can see why so many people came out.  The weather couldn't have been better. The warm sun and clear blue sky gave everyone that extra energy. We gathered around, listened to a few instructions and with a simple "Go" from the man in the Hawaiian shirt, we were off. I felt great, so I let myself start at a decent pace. After going down a slippery hill, we had to go back up it. It was here that I discovered that my Costco "Snowtracks" did not meet my high expectations. They were already sliding off my toes and up my heel.  I pulled over to fix them, but in no time, they were sliding off.  They seemed to stay in that spot and left me with some traction on my toe, so I tried to ignore them and keep going. 

Trying to capture the views

behind me

The course was a good mix of small hills and flat trails, which allowed me to catch my breath. I tried to run up the hills as much as I could, but found myself walking up the ends of a couple.  Due to the thin trails, I found myself on other's heels quite often with no place to pass. This is the big difference I see to road running, where you have all the space you need to pass. Some people were more aware of this than others and tried to move over on the wider spots, where others seemed to pretend you didn't exist.  I wonder if the summer trails are the same or if it's just the snow trails that make it difficult to pass. I didn't really mind though as it gave me a chance to catch my breath and slow down.

The scenery was beautiful.  Along the top of the coulee I could see the snow covered mountains against the blue sky. As we went down, the trail through the trees was relaxing and serene.  I enjoyed having so much to look at during the run and I enjoyed the quietness of the trails. During my regular runs, I NEEEED music, but the thought didn't even cross my mind once.  

The popsicle placing system - Genius!

 I used Map My Run and I liked hearing her voice along to the way to tell me how far I had gone. I ignored the pacing today and just tried to trust my body and my lungs on this one.  I heard it tell me I was at 3km so I picked up as much as I could and passed a couple people along the way.  I knew I was nearing the end as I came to the huge hill. I walked up most of it, but near the end picked up my feet and forced myself to run to the finish line. 

I was happy to be given a popsicle stick with the number 10. I am not sure how many people did the 4km, as it seemed majority did 8km, but a 10 in my eyes looked good. I was also happy to look up and see a time of 28:13.  

I have to admit, I was TIRED!  It was hard work today.  I had to think about what I was doing, where I was running, and about how to pace for a type of running that I had never done. BUT, I enjoyed it and I am planning to run another. I enjoyed the challenge and the change.  All in all, it was a day with great weather, a great run, but best of all, great friends!