Iron Girl 2014

The Comeback Race

I had raced Iron Girl in 2009 and then entered graduate school that fall. At the time, I had completed several triathlons and half marathons, and although obtaining a graduate degree was a goal I’d had for 20 years, I felt conflicted at the thought of giving up multisport. A year later, I took a new job that was faster paced, that required longer hours and a longer commute both to school and home, which also slowed down the completion of my degree. It became increasingly difficult to maintain any kind of base in any sport, and I stopped and started running numerous times only to become caught up in a time vortex.

I graduated in December 2013, right around the time of Iron Girl registration, which typically sells out in a day or two. Reclaiming this part of my life was a big goal of mine and the temptation to register was overwhelming.

Getting back into shape was a slow process. Prior to graduation, I had a busy fall with work and school and was tired on many levels. It didn’t surprise me when I came down with the flu from hell which took a month out of my training and wiped out any small base I may have had. Around the end of February, my running log read, “Long road back day 1…” for a workout of less than a half-hour. I built from there, very gradually to avoid any injury.

The Great Allegheny Passage bike trip was also on my post-grad school bucket list, and although I’d been cycling, I was under-prepared for the 30 mile uphill climb at a 2 percent grade up to the continental divide, using a rented bike loaded with panniers. The first day I acquired an overuse injury or perhaps aggravated a long-ago sports injury.

Recovering from the knee injury took a bit of time, and then I reinjured the knee during a big brick on the race course two weeks prior to the race. I embarked on the weirdest taper yet. I used a combination of Advil and rest for a week, then did a swim, bike and run workout in four days followed by another three days of rest before race day.

I had a major pre-race case of nerves. I totally freaked out on the run workout when I still felt the ache in my knee come and go and wondered if I should even race. The major effects of the injury seemed diminished, and it wasn’t a race ending injury. I was a little bit undecided up until the point that I racked my bike the night before, which was the point of no return. I knew that no race is ever a given, particularly at this point in my life so I decided to go for it.

The race itself almost didn’t happen. Shortly after registration, the company that put on the event went bankrupt. Fortunately, another local organization acquired Iron Girl and another triathlon with a deep local history, and the organization put on other events that had been planned.

Race Day Recap

In the intervening years, I had upgraded my bike and all cycling equipment. I dug out and gathered up the rest of my old equipment. One thing that changed was that I decided to take minimalist approach to transition. I got a small, light inexpensive cloth sack with strings and took only the equipment that I needed to avoid having to carrying a heavier load in a tired state.

I bought a tri top at an end-of-summer sale, planning to do a tri, although I never did until now, so I fortuitously had a great looking top to wear. This was truly awesome – how often do we have a great new top to wear without the trauma of trying to find the perfect wardrobe piece?!

The awkward juxtaposition was that I was a seasoned athlete with the benefit of experience – and a newbie. I made some really rookie mistakes. The first was forgetting my goggles. I should have made a packing list, just as I had done before for races and still do for all professional conferences. I failed to think about how gravelly the paved path was from transition to the swim start – many other athletes wore cheap flip flops and left them at the start. I had a hard time walking and my feet got scratched up.

However, I also had the genius to make a swim wave cheat sheet. The race organizers used swim waves as in the past, but within each wave used a time trial start, letting people in the water two at a time. The organizers anticipated 6-8 minutes per wave, which would have meant that I would not get in the water until over an hour after the start. I am deaf and use a cochlear implant, which cannot be worn in the water, so I wasn’t able to hear the announcements. I planned to use the time to make a last-minute trip to the bathroom. 

The cheat sheet provided visual information about the progress of swim waves, and even those with typical hearing borrowed it for their review! In the end, the waves went faster than anticipated and I was in the water 45 minutes after the start.

I was embarrassed to tell the bodymarkers to write the number 50. As I gathered with others in my age group, perhaps one of the most psychologically important parts of this race was to see other athletes my own age.

I lacked any recent open water practice, and I made the rookie mistake of panicking after getting into the water and choking a bit on some inhaled water. I tried to calm down and relax. Swimming is normally my easiest sport and I tend to think of the swim portion of the race as a “refreshing warm-up,” before the more challenging parts begin. However, the goggles leaked and it was primarily a breast stroke day for me, and although I did get sort of a freestyle stroke going at times, I never completely got into my groove as I’d wanted.

I made conscious decisions about how I was going to conserve energy on the course. The big brick that I’d done involved a narrated group ride with strategies for navigating the course and I picked up some good tips. Among them were to go easy the first few miles. “You’ll see people racing those first few miles and they will blow up on the hills at the end of the course.” So true! I heard a steady stream of “on your left” in the first miles, but then passed people that were younger than I as I climbed the bigger hills at the end.

I was seriously worried about having enough endurance to be able to run at all. In the end, I getting sore at this time and ran slowly, walking a major portion including all of the major hills on the run course.

The race involved a mixture of emotions. I was happy to finish because completing this race was something I’d very much wanted, and I even had a sense of disbelief that I’d actually finished. I was also sad because it is the slowest triathlon I’ve done, although I know that I’m about a year away from actually racing and I know I gave a good effort.

Where Do I Go From Here?

This is the question that sums up my entire post-grad life, with sports and way beyond. My immediate goal is to deal with the knee injury so that it is no longer an issue. I did do a basic bike fit, which resulted in some general adjustments. I may do a fundraiser bike ride, but my other goal is simply to continue to build my base this fall, particularly my running base. After that, I don’t know—we’ll see where it goes!

IG Dress Rehearsal

Every, once a year, Columbia Triathlon Association hosts an IronGirl dress rehearsal and allows people to do a practice swim in the lake. I didn't get into the race this year because registration closed unexpectedly quickly - just a day or so after it opened. I volunteered this year as a swim buddy, to swim with someone who might be hesitant or unsure about the swim. Frankly, I was just looking for an excuse to swim in the lake for some open water swim practice.

I admit I had a preconceived notion of who might request a swim buddy. To my surprise, I was matched with someone who was slightly younger than I who was thin and fit. She explained that she was doing IG as a relay with two other women, and I envied the friendships that made it possible. She wanted to do the swim because she wanted the "full experience." I knew she might be thinking about doing the full race herself one day.

The similarities between us were uncanny. We had the same name. She wore a swimsuit that is almost exactly the same as mine. She had tri shorts that are nearly the same as a pair I have.

As we walked toward the water preparing to get in, I saw her jaw quiver. Was she cold? Or was she scared? I wasn't sure.

In the water, she and I swam side by side. I tried to position myself close to her so that other swimmers wouldn't make contact. I wasn't too sure what to say during the swim, so I pointed out the scenery and offered a few tips. She swam with her head above the water at all times. She swam slow...but then she would surge and I knew that she was strong and fit.

When she got out she was crying. She'd been more scared than she let on and these were tears of joy that she had overcome a fear.

I was haunted by what I didn't tell her: She's a strong swimmer. All she needs is a little more experience and a lot more confidence. But which Susan are we talking about?

IronGirl 2009

Transition at dawn. I figured out how to pump up my tires in the dark...although I could have waited and done this last.
Lusy, our very relaxed dog, enjoyed IronGirl.

Damon Foreman and Chuck play at the IG post-race party. Damon taught our oldest son how to play guitar and Chuck taught our youngest son.


Bike transition. I have yet to find a pair of shorts that work with my thighs....sigh...I guess I'll just have to upgrade my wardrobe!!


I was so happy I started crying at the finish. Thanks, Tim, for sharing my special day.

Swim = 0.62 miles at 26:19
Bike = 17.5 miles at 1:13:10
Run = 3.4 miles at 36:14

I wanted to do this race for two years, but after the big day I felt speechless. Everything was wonderful. It's a local race and there is a lot of community support leading up to the event, which draws a lot of first-time triathletes. For me, it was my third triathlon, but it was my longest and largest event on a more challenging course. The local triathlon club had an IronGirls program which had an introductory meeting and then workshops throughout the summer. I enjoyed these because I was able to pick up some new tips each time, and it's nice to learn from people, instead of Internet bulletin boards. I especially enjoyed the workshop on transitions, which turned into "transitions and everything you wanted to know about IronGirl." The open water swim at Sandy Point Park was my first and got me thinking about the 1 mile Bay Swim, which is held nearby. I also gleaned a few tips from the Bike 101 workshop, but many other things I already learned on my own intuitively or through trial and error.

The Columbia Triathlon Association and the Howard County Parks host a pre-event bike/swim and it's the one day of the year that they let people swim in the lake. I took the day off and did the entire course. During the swim, I got a water up my nose feeling and a sore neck, which probably came from that panicky feeling of not being able to see where you're going. I made it a point to relax my breathing as much as I could during the race.

I didn't follow a training plan, as I'm somewhat compulsive and sometimes become too involved with a plan. I went to work early and tried to get home early and tried to fit in as many workouts as I could, weather permitting, and I also knew where I wanted to be in terms of mileage. I tried to bike the IronGirl course as much as possible.

The biggest challenge, and one of the hardest things I've done, was making the switch to clipless pedals. Shortly after the Howard Life 75K bike ride, I took my bike and my shoes into my local bike shop and had Shimano SLP pedals put on. I knew I would fall and the first fall I expected. But then I toppled over twice in a week. To top it off, my swim coach's workouts were killing me, as I came back to the team after a layoff of several months. I felt battered, bruised, and disouraged. My co-workers looked at my knees and wondered why I needed clipless pedals. My family watched me fall and thought the pedals were dangerous. In reality, falls with clipless pedals can't always be avoided because the unexpected may happen, and it's not alway possible to unclip in time to prevent a fall. And during each of my falls, that's what happened. But my confidence took a tumble and got weirded out. I felt anxious with my feet clipped in and worried about being able to unclip.

It helped to talk about it with other people. Of course, everyone thinks that their brand of clipless pedal is the absolute easiest to get out of. One person suggested that I ride around Gateway drive and practice clipping in and out whenever I came to a driveway. This was a great suggestion and helped a lot. I'd circle around the loop in an industrial park until I rode 20 miles, and for most of those mile, I'd clip in and out every time I came to a driveway, practicing different ways to clip out. A co-worker who'd done several centuries, told me that she didn't clip in when riding through traffic. Instead, she'd wait until the came to a less congested area and then clip in. This helped me to think about clipless pedals as a tool that I could use as needed, and I didn't feel obliged to clip in at all times, especially when riding on busy streets or sometimes when going up steep hills. After a while, I saw the value in the pedals, especially on the hills. I love passing people on the hills, especially people with expensive bikes and an expensive cleat and shoe setup.

Race Day

The most intimidating thing about the race was the sheer size.

Manassas Mini Tri 2009

Last year, my husband came along to watch me do this race which was my first tri ever, and this year he came to participate in his first tri ever.

I got him some off-brand tri shorts online at a big discount from REI and suggested that he could just pull on a running shirt for the bike and run. He got himself a bike helmet and I found one of my race belts.

I had breakfast of one packet of oatmeal and a smoothie and a few sips of coffee, loaded the bikes on the car, and rounded up my gear and we were off. There was an early morning fog that settled over everything and it was cooler than expected at about 60 degrees. It was only after the race was over that the sun came out and the day warmed up.

There were a lot more people doing this race than last year, including a lot of kids, many of whom were seeded first in the swim.

Swim
250 yards snake swim in a pool
I looked at my time for last year and seeded myself generously at 7 minutes. I haven't been swimming since February and only recently rejoined the swim team. The coach's workouts, designed to prepare team members for an upcoming ironman and the Bay swim, have been killing me and I've been barely able to keep up which is discouraging. Here in the pool, however, seeding myself generously had a tremendous psychological advantage: I began speeding up and passing people one after another. I came in at 5:02, a few seconds faster than last year. I was pleased, especially with my lack of swimming compared to last spring.


Bike
4 miles
I came in at 18:13...several minutes faster than last year and I was really happy to see this. I recently added clipless pedals to my bike and I've been building my confidence and rebuilding my mileage with the new pedals. I was gratified to pass a few folks.


Run
1.5 miles
Hubby didn't like the course, and I could see why. The entire race occurs on roads, paths, and sidewalks outside the George Mason University Freedom Aquatic Center. I felt like a rat in a maze on the running route, going around the building, turning this way and that, backtracking, and finally heading to the finish line. I followed the runner ahead of me, then passed her. But at the end of the race, she came up from behind and charged toward the finish line along with a few other folks. I held back when I saw a little girl join her mom for the finish. I came in at 14:03--about two minutes slower than last year.

My overall time was 37:17, a few minutes faster than last year, which made me pleased. I came in 4th in my age group out of 15.

Immediately afterwards, I asked him if he liked it. He said, "NO!"

In the car an hour later, he asked me about the various distances for triathlon.

The next day when the results were in he said, "Let's do this again next year." He says he's thinking about a sprint.

SUCCESS!!

3Sports Triathlon

This race marks my first distance event ever.

Picking the race was a challenge. I wanted a pool start, which would be logistically simpler, and the bike course had to be relatively flat. My summer consists of two conferences, a family vacation, a son's graduation and then going off to college and another son's camps. This made for a logistical challenge. I didn't want to commit to IronGirl, the race to which I was emotionally attached, because my son was going off to college around that time and I wasn't sure there would be a time conflict. And before I could figure out my schedule, the race sold out. Total bummer!! After researching just about every race in the vicinity, I picked 3Sports Triathlon in Richmond, VA because it met all of my criteria. But I fretted that doing a major race after a vacation and just days before a business conference was unwise.

In the weeks leading up to the race, I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Unlike the disappointing injury before what would have been my first half marathon, I wasn't injured. True, I woke up one morning on vacation with the outside of my knee hurting, but I'd done a big brick, run, and bike ride in the preceding days. It was a week from the race and I decided that I was done training and would do a major taper. All I did was go to one swim practice. I was ready to go.

About 1.5 weeks prior to the race, I took a tip from a member of the swim team, and did a bike-run brick the approximate length of the race course. This simulated the fatigue of the run and boosted my confidence.

I made the race into a mother-son trip with my 18-year-old son who has been pestering me to drive the car all summer and let him drive. Of course, I put up with him fiddling with the radio before every major exit and playing the music loud. But the simple overnight trip gave us the chance to talk. I found out that he wants to be a beach lifeguard, as he thinks it's the perfect, easy summer job. But I enjoyed listening to him sing, and discussing the lyrics to his favorite songs, and just talking with him. He doesn't want to do a triathlon, but even more important, he thanked me for brining him and had a good time.

I was so VERY nervous about the race. I did not think that I could do this. I worried that I hadn't trained enough. I had a lot of ambivalence and even thought of backing out of the race. I thought that I'd lost my mind to think that I could do a triathlon. What was I thinking when I got this big idea a year ago to do a triathlon??

Before the race, I visualized each part of the race and strategies I could use. I also researched some positive affirmations to tell myself throughout the race, which was a great strategy.

Here's the transition area. I got there later than I wanted to and had to move quickly to set up. I really liked the way the bike and run exits were market. That made it really easy.




Photo courtesy of Citadel1980 on Flickr

Soon, I was waiting nevrously outside the pool area for the race to begin.

Photo courtesy of Citadel1980 on Flickr

Swim - sharks rule
300 meters - 6:58
I seeded myself too fast. I gave them an honest time, but this psyched me out completely. If I do another pool start race, I'll add a minute or two to my estimated time. I tried to be courteous and let the faster people pass me. Knowing that the two toughest events are coming up, I tend to look at the swim as a refreshing warmup.

Exiting the pool...

T1 - 2:47
I'd actually practiced my transition the night before, working on assembling myself from head to toe. However, in the heat of the moment, I worked from toe to head. Someone gave me a great tip on how to roll up your socks and stick them in your shoe and this helped, as did having speed laces for my bike shoes. I decided to wear the bike shoes because I wanted to reduce the numb foot problem, which still bothers me.

Bike - going it alone
12 miles - 46:13
I had envisioned riding in a group, but my biggest surprise was that for most of the bike course, I didn't see many people. I drove the course the night before and I could see that it was relatively flat, with a few very gently rolling hills and some incline-type hills. This was much easier terrain than I'd been practicing on, which was a major confidence booster.



T2 - 2:30

Run - splat!
5K - 34:02
This was an out and back course. I was tired by this time and the run seemed to go on forever. My goal was to run to the turnaround point before walking, but I began walking and running before then. As I ran back, I suddenly went SPLAT as I tripped and fell on the sidewalk. I don't know whether I tripped on the sidewalk - or just my own feet! This gave me skinned knees and hands, an embarrassing moment, and a pesky injury. I'll have to remember to pick up my feet while running, even if I'm tired.

Finally at the finish line!



Photo courtesy of Citadel1980 on Flickr

My goal for the race was to finish and come in with a respectable time. I came in at 1:32:28, and while happy, I felt that I could have been faster. This race was the perfect first-timer event.

I have the urge to sign up for another triathlon. In 2009, it will be IronGirl or bust!

Woo Hoo for my Sister

She says, "I did the Lake Pflugerville Tri (500 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 3 mile run) and I got 5 th place in my age group! (out of 20)…..not too bad! To break it down even more, I beat the 1 st place woman (in my age group) in the swim! And I got 4 th place the run! My total time was 1:33. (one hour 33 minutes)"

Here's to a super talented sister! Way to go!!

Manassas Mini Tri 2008

At first, I wasn't even going to do this race and instead go right to a sprint -- but I'm soooooo glad I did! I was inspired to do so because I'd read reports about other beginners starting with a super sprint. I'm really glad this series is held, because it's the perfect introduction to a triathlon, which is what it's designed to be, and for others, a great way to start the season. The distances were not intimidating at all:
250 yard swim
4 mile bike
1.4 mile run.

The race was an excellent opportunity to round up my gear and go! I was sooooo excited and nervous about the race, much, much more than I thought I would be!! I used a checklist given to me by a member of the swim team to round up my gear the night before. I fretted that I might forget something, but I didn't. Everything was just perfect. With three disciplines and two transitions, I worried that I would forget to do something, but I didn't. Well, I almost forgot to get bodymarked, but my helpful husband who came along reminded me. The pettiest things confounded me. I couldn't figure out how to get the race number on the race belt until I saw someone else do it. Once the race got underway, everything more or less fell into place.

Swim 5:18
I was seeded at the beginning of the race, and was the 36th person in the water (out of about 280). I found it really challenging to get in the water and go. Unlike a swim meet, we had no opportunity to warm up in the water and I had to get in and start swimming fast. The snake swim format of touching the wall on both sides of the lane marker plays into my bad habits. When given the opportunity, I'll hold onto the wall and take a few breaths. This gives me the opportunity to rest as people bunch up in the middle of the swim...but then we spread out, so it went well.

As I swam, I couldn't help but think that the swim team was great preparation. The race was almost like swim practice in which there's the intimacy of having 7 co-ed people in a lane and all the splashing that ensues. The swim team is also a great introduction to swimming as a contact sport as I sometimes accidentally hit other people and they accidentally hit me. Nobody complains. In the race, there was one guy tapping my toes, and of course I tried to swim faster, but I thought he should just back off a bit.

T1
Took really long....way too long. The transition times weren't reported, but it can be surmised from the overall time. I wore my crocs into the pool area and put my cochlear implant processor in them. A friend suggested that I put them near where I come out of the pool, but since I couldn't tell where I'd come out, I had to ask permission to walk across the pool and get it. I also expected this transition to be lengthy because I spent time putting on my socks and tying my shoes and generally assembling myself. Should I put on the race belt now, or later? I clipped and unclipped the belt. Sunglasses on or off? Let me decide. Next time, I'll make a plan and stick with it to avoid making all of these decisions mid-race.

Bike 21:18:00
Flat and fast, but for me very slow. Cycling is my weakest area and many people who were next to me in the swim passed me. I'll have to work on this. As I came back into transition, I also remembered to put my bike in lowest gear to generate leg turnover for the run.

T2
Much faster because I simplified things by using my running shoes for the entire race. But for the most part, the race was an opportunity to experiment and try things that I might do in the future.

Run 12:56
I started out behind a 61-year-old gentleman -- the oldest person in the race -- although I didn't stay behind him. I was surprised by how tired I was at the end of the short-distance race.

And then in 39:32 minutes, it was all over. I finished in the middle of the pack in my age group. I had a great time!








A sherbet green bike is really easy to find in transition!