Half the battle, but full-on fun

Part Deux...


My fun-filled first weekend of vacation ended with the Flower City Half Marathon (the day after my first duathlon).  I didn't train FOR this race, per se.  But I had the mileage under my belt, and had no expectations (but no limitations).


My last attempt at this course was back in 2010.  I was way undertrained, about 15 lbs heavier, and had a stomach bug the day before.  In summary, I stopped sweating at mile 6, puked 3 times in Mount Hope Cemetery, and was in tears at the finish - the only time I cried after a race.  I stopped running for a few months afterwards until I got my head out of my butt and decided to learn from the experience.


I was definitely sore after the du the day before, but felt alright when I woke up the next morning.  It was still chilly, but this bodes better for a run than for a bike ride.  Thankfully my friend Michelle Swisher was running the race, too.  I needed a buddy to get me through the course, especially miles 6 thru 8-ish, with the hills.  We kept a way easy pace, and I was nervous about feeling as good as I did as we approached the first big hill on Goodman (for all the things that collapsed for me during Sehgahunda - the training and race - last year, I did learn how to run a hill more efficiently).   We chuckled as we heard other runners comment out loud "Oh, I bet this is the last hill/only hill/worst hill!" as we peaked Goodman, and we kept trucking.


I still felt good as we got to Mt Hope Cemetery.  Michelle said she was feeling a little beat (a rock in her shoe didn't help, I'm sure).  I still had gas in the tank, I was chafing under my shirt, and ready to be done.  So I picked up the pace as we were almost out of Mt Hope Cemetery, and just cranked the last 3 miles out as hard as I could (honestly, I felt bad...Michelle had paced me through the toughest part of the course, but let me go).  We had kept 10:15/10:30s throughout, but the last three miles were all sub-9:45s.  At this point, I just wanted to leave it all on the course (yes, for me, that pace IS leaving it on the course!).

As I passed out the final gate in the cemetery, I thought:  this year, I kept my stomach contents out of Mt Hope!  #winning...

I grew increasingly excited to get to mile 12 as I ran past the University of Rochester, where fellow teammate Kelly Schroeder, and members of the middle school orchestra she teaches, were playing as we approached the Ford Street Bridge.  The song they were playing as I passed - Firework, by Katy Perry.  One of my favorites!

One of the prettiest sights on the course.  Not because it is near the finish, but you can take in the great Rochester skyline.  (Hey, look...there's Chuck and Coco!)

 

Finish:  2:13:01...about 5 minutes off my PR - not bad for dead legs!  If I had only trained...

Born to DU it...

A new year, a new adventure.

In a nutshell, and after a lot of talking with my spouse (who doesn't tell me what to do, but he can hear my knees' constant "constructive criticism" of my distance running), I decided to try something new:  multisport.

D is incredibly supportive of this, as he was an avid biker in his youth (and still does quite a bit of it, when he's healthy).  Supportive spouse = carte blanc to buy stuff!

But seriously, I sprained an ankle pretty badly again in February, my knees constantly crack, and I had to think about something I could do in the long-run (no pun intended).  What if I was injured for a long time, or could not run?  As we start to plan for a family, is my potentially gigantic pregnant self going to be able to pound the ground?  I really wanted to explore other things.  I went on a few rides last year with some friends, and while those were my first rides of anything over a "commuter" distance, and I had a hard time on hills, I really loved the challenge!  So maybe incorporating biking would be the way to go...

Now, D got me a pretty nice bike back in 2008 (2008 Specialized Dolce Elite).  And I rarely ride it.  That needed to change.  Flower City Challenge was the perfect opportunity to knock the dust off it, and see what I could do.

Of course, I can't just do one thing - I signed up for the "Double Du":  race the duathlon (5k run/20mile ride/5-ish k run) on Saturday, and the half marathon on Sunday (as a side note, I also signed up for the Ride for Missing Children century ride for mid-May)

Yep, I am far from fast, but I'll tackle ridiculous challenges to make up for it.

TRAINING:  I wasn't able to get out on my bike as much as I hoped, whether it be due to bad weather on the days I could ride, or simply being so tired after a 12 hour shift that I didn't feel safe riding in traffic.  On those days, I went to a local indoor cycling studio, Cycledelic, which really helped me get some saddle time.  Cycledelic doesn't promote "balls-to-the-wall-spinning-so-fast-that-you-launch-yourself-off-your-bike", but tries to simulate outdoor biking, hill climbs, etc.  Without a doubt, Cycledelic really complimented my training.

I also went out on the actual Flower City Challenge bike course a few times, which is a little hilly for the first 8 miles or so.  And every single time I struggled with the final hill on River Road, whether it be dumping my chain because I didn't pace myself up the hill (and had to shift - poorly), or just had to get off.  This did not bode well for my confidence.

And, as usual, I did as much "tired" running training as I could (which is pretty much my norm anymore), whether that be two back-to-back hard effort days, running a race after running 5 miles as a "warm-up", or running after a night shift when I'm dog tired.   This helped me immensely during my training for the Rochester Half Marathon last year (where I PR'd).  I hoped it would produce similar results this time around.

RACE 1 - DUATHLON:  After fretting about the weather (start time temps were predicted to be around 30, with frost warnings), and finding, perhaps, the last pair of size Small non-thermal running tights in Monroe County, I felt as ready as I could.  Jason, a friend from nursing school, parked his car at my house (which is only a couple blocks from the starting line), and we rode over to the park and set up our bikes (and his PBR in his bike's water bottle cage) in transition.

My only goals:  1)  Don't dump a chain or fall off my bike, and 2)  Stay out of people's way.

I took it easy on the first run (31:12), making sure not to break into a heavy sweat and thus freeze my kiester off on the ride.

For the ride, again I took it relatively easy in anticipation of the hills.  I was able to stay in the saddle through most of the hills, and even passed a few people.  All I wanted was to not have to dismount (or put my chain back on)...mission accomplished!  The wind was relatively light going out, but on the way back, there was a little wind in the face that I hadn't experienced before (I assure you it wasn't because of my speed!).  The intersections at Jefferson Road were well patrolled by law enforcement.  And the volunteers freezing their butts off - well, they were just fantastic (thank you, Michael Shortley and Carl C!!!).  Bike time:  1:21:03.  Not as fast as I hoped, but time was not a key goal.

When I dismounted at the transition, I truly felt like I was going to fall on my face, and was glad that my teammate Laura was working the transition entrance (assuming she would catch me!).  I had a brain cramp at the racks trying to set my bike back up (note:  it just hangs by the seat, no need to hoist your whole bike over the rack for any reason.  Of course, I didn't realize this until the rider next to me said "what the hell are you doing?").  I took forever to get my bike shoes off (note - get velcro!).  I shuffled out of transition for the last run, which was rough for the first mile, as the ever-so-slight downhills by the bridges really freaked me out.  Once I covered that mile, I felt better, but also felt as if my legs were a separate entity from my body.  Surprisingly, my pace was faster than the first run (26:32 for 2.8 miles)

Final time (with transitions):  2:24:07, 6 of 10 in AG)

Hindsight:  Quick and to the point...I ((heart)) Dus!