B2B 2013 - The Bike

After my wetsuit stripping and a quick, warm shower at the end of the swim, I ran the 300 yards to Transition.  

Watching My Step. I Can't Feel my Feet.

My time in transition was quick - I was the third fastest woman to get from the swim to the bike! I saved time here by setting up transition as I would for any other race. I put everything at my bike - not in a bag. I dressed from toe to top: socks, shoes, jacket, gloves, hat and helmet. I was shaking from the cold and my teeth were chattering. I managed to dress and get out and into the sunshine in 5:40. 

I Look Worried at Mile One. The Guy in Front of Me Just Launched a Water Bottle.

The ride through town was so much fun. I crossed the bridge and was greeted shortly thereafter by the Spice Girls. They were cheering and screaming as I flew by. I spotted Dottie and Ron on Market Street in Porters Neck and they spurred me on to the next leg: I-140 where I saw Neal twice! 

This Horse's Name is Apocalypse. This is Our Theme Song.

Posters EVERYWHERE on the course.

Off the Beach and Passing the Spice Girls

My ride on i-140 was fairly uneventful. I checked out the scenery. The flowers at the ramp were amazing purples and whites. The traffic of Market Street dissipated on the highway. The worst scenery: I remember there was fresh roadkill early on. It must have been big.  I didn't see the body, but there was fresh blood all over our lane. Gross. 

I was in good spirits, but I worried. I was cold and shaking and had goosebumps. I still couldn't feel my feet.  I fretted - especially in the shady patches - that I would never warm up. Plus, I had to pee! I had to make a decision on whether to stop at the first aid station and so I fretted about that for miles. 

View from the Top of the Dan Cameron Bridge

After I crossed the Dan Cameron bridge and headed north on Hwy 421, I decided that stopping was the right decision. The time that I saved in transition would have to serve as a buffer on the side of the road. I lucked out: No lines for the port-a-john and a volunteer to help me put on my TriStacey arm warmers. Plus, I opened a few hand warmer packets. 

 

Highway 421 was simply passing the time. I felt much better with more clothes on. I sang songs to myself, played leap frog with another rider and looked for people I knew. I saw Dad and Joyce and Renee and Johnny. I looked for signs on the side of the road - planted by the Spice Girls - and thanked volunteers. 

I gave a big huzzah to Erica who passed me at mile 40ish. I was actually very surprised to see her - I expected her to be in front of me! She's a much faster swimmer, but she changed into warm, dry clothes at T1 and I had a few miles on her.

Many people have asked me what I thought about for six plus hours on the bike. The first 56 miles passed quickly. I was thinking about form: cadence, pedal stroke, heart rate, posture, etc. I was constantly checking in on my nutrition - was I hungry, how long had I had a sip of water. Plus, that long stretch on Highway 421 is littered with memories of past rides: Blueberry Road, Johnson's Corner grocery, Malpass Corner grocery, the Sampson County line,  Shiloh Road - all intersected with memories of my summer adventures. I tried to focus on those adventures to keep me busy and to warm me up. 

I was happy to turn left off of 421 onto Willard Road. The midway point was within reach and I was ready to stop. I knew that Anna and Leanne would be there and I was hoping that I had put extra socks in my special needs bag.  Note to self: put extra socks in special needs bag next time.

Erica in the Yellow Jersey. I'm in Pink and White

 

Anna Caught a Kiss at Special Needs

High Five from Leanne

I didn't have socks, but I had more hot hands and tissues. I now had hot hands stuffed in the wrist of one glove and the palm of the other, the waist band of my tri shorts (warming the femoral vein on each hip/leg), inside my shoe covers and in the back pocket of my jacket. The tissues were invaluable. Sniffles are a pain in the arse at 18.3 miles an hour. 

I stayed longer than I needed at special needs but I did a bottle swap and ate some peanut butter. Plus, I got a pick-me-up from the energy from Leanne and Anna. 

Happy Happy Happy

Five miles later, I had my first energy dip. 

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B2B 2013 - The Swim

I realize that I've waited almost three months to publish this, but it's been in the works for some time. Who knew there were so many details - thoughts, emotions, physical cues in 13 hours of an ironman? I want to remember everything - but fear publishing too much. Plus, writing it has been a way to hold onto the AMAZING DAY. 

I woke up at 4:15am as planned. Transition A was already set up in my closet: tri top, sports bra, heart rate monitor, tri shorts, sweat pants. This time, I didn't dress in the dark. After months of training, I had a routine that I could sorta sleep-walk through: take the dog out, feed her, start the kettle, prep my coffee cup, check the forecast three times. Once on my phone app: 38 degrees and calm, again on the Weather Channel: 41 degrees and 9mph winds and wunderground.com: 38 degrees and 5mph winds.  I looked at the tides once more - as if it would change. 

Nope - Tide Still Switches at 7:42am

I went through the motions of the morning - ate breakfast (mini blueberry bagel, a two-egg fritatta, part of a smoothie and coffee!!). Gathered my special needs bags, my nutrition and my gear and headed out the door. 

Lots of Bags.   Decorated to See in a Flash. Unfilled one Day....Full of Stuff on Race Day.

All the Clothes I Had to Pack

Ace and I arrived at Jen's at 5:30. Erica and Jen were gathering Erica's gear. I foam rolled while Emerson tried to lick my face. We sipped coffee for a bit and decided it was TIME TO GO! Let's put on some spandex and do this thing. 

We parked easily and headed to Transition and handled the admin:

drop off bike special needs bag

drop off run special needs

attach nutrition and hydration to Lucinda

prep bike shoes, helmet and clothing for swim to bike

mentally rehearse the entrance and exit

say a quick prayer  

We climbed back in the truck and headed to the south end. In a way, it felt like any other Saturday morning ride. Jen sang loudly and was more excited than we could handle and Erica asked to turn the music to something else. We parked at the South End Surf Shop to don our wetsuits and look for change next to the parking meter. 

Neal and Jen rode bikes while Erica and I skipped, hip openers, karioked and side stepped down the street to the south end. Did I mention that Jen was excited. She could barely contain herself. Her excitement amped us all up and that one mile was a roller coaster of anxiety and thrills. We met Tina, Leanne and Ben at the gazebo and started our journey to very south tip of Wrightsville Beach.

It was a very eerie. Everyone walked with their heads down and our hushed voices were swallowed by the sand. Once we arrived near the start chute, we stripped off sweatshirts and warm clothes and finished dressing in wetsuits. 

The shoreline atmosphere was louder, but still a little subdued. Tim Bomba cranked the music and announced my name and mentioned my journey from volunteer to relayer in the half, to half competitor twice and now my first ironman.  I jumped up and down! That's me! That's me! I exclaimed. I kissed Neal and hugged Jen and met Erica in the front third of the crowd.


Before I knew it Tim was playing the Star Spangled Banner. Midway through the anthem, I realized my goggles were full of sand so I trotted to the waters edge and swished them around in the cold water. I turned and looked back at the crowd in the chute and a thrill of realization hit me.  I was IN THIS.

Then, Eminem's song LOSE YOURSELF was blasting. There was a countdown and the air horn. Erica and I joined hands and raised them above our heads. We shouted or cheered until we reached the water and then we were racing!

It was not as hectic or chaotic as I imagined. I tucked in beside Erica and behind some strong dude and got into a good rythym early. My feet were cold from standing in the sand, but everything else felt great. I worried about the tide - worried that I'd be fighting the current for a while, but I soon realized that 809 of my best friends were pulling me along. I was past the coast guard station in no time. 

The water was clear and really gorgeous! It was green and I could see every arm stroke. I stayed mid channel and enjoyed the ride. I sighted on some purple caps ahead of me in the first mile and soon passed them. The sun started to rise above the houses as I passed the one mile mark at the seaside club. About that time I could hear the crowds of half iron athletes.

I did a few breast strokes and watched as swimmers around me splashed sunlit strokes beside me. A mist rose just above the surface – the warm bodies causing fog in the cold air.  It was a beautiful sight.

The turn buoy at the Blockade Runner appeared faster than I expected and I was pleased to take a left into Mott’s channel. It felt like the tide picked up right about then and slingshot me through the channel and towards Seapath. 

 

When I reached the swim finish I was amazed to look at my watch and see I was a 13 minutes ahead of schedule! I stopped my watch at 1:04 and had fully expected a one hour:17 minute time. I was nervous that my feet wouldn't work -- I could barely feel them -- but managed to hobble up the second ladder and the ramp before finding a wetsuit stripper to tug my wetsuit off my body. I jogged down the sidewalk with wetsuit in hand towards Transition. I passed the photog and coach on the way. Hi, Coach! I yelled. You're finished already?! she exclaimed back. I grinned in response. 

Silly Spice

Look at my leg muscles!

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State of the Heart

Many of you have asked about my triathlon training and I think it's high time that I start documenting some of the journey. As of today, I am seven weeks into my half ironman training and 16 weeks away from RACE WEEK!

First a little background: for the first time in several years I'm using a triathlon training plan. My new best friend is Don Fink - a triathlon and running coach and author of Be IronFit. I don't actually know him and I've never seen him, but I am following his advice and his training plan to get me across the finish line on October 29. His method entails heart-rate training. His belief is that "effective heart rate training is the best way to maximize your training benefit and minimize your training time."

I read the book twice before I even signed up for the B2B. I compared the plan to two others I trusted. I asked two local iron triathletes. [Both said, yes, it's a great idea! I've never done it, but it's supposed to work!] I debated, drew straws, thought twice, listed pros and cons and finally committed. Two things sold me. First, THIS ARTICLE by Mark Allen. Second, the picture below of my friend and iron-distance triathlete Renee Griffin! I watched as she crossed the B2B half iron finish line. She was laughing and smiling and practically dancing across with her two daughters. Plus, she was FAST!

My first step: calculate my proper heart rate zones. I started with the standard 220-my age = Max Heart Rate equation. I compared it to Mark Allen's method and tweaked it with the Karvonen method. My next step: stay in the zone. The first phase of the plan is ten weeks of building an aerobic base by staying in Zone 2 -- 75%-85% of my maximum heart rate -- which is about 133bpm - 155bpm. I set my Garmin 405 and set out on my first run. 

 

I learned a lot in that first week on the bike and on the run. First, my runs are a lot slower in zone two. My natural pace for short runs is about 8:50/mile. At that pace, though, my heart-rate jumps up to zone three. In order to stay in the zone, my pace slowed to nearly 11:00 minutes per mile! I also started tracking all the things that make my heart-rate jump:

1. waving to neighbors
2. the hills on Masonboro Sound road
3. nearly hitting a squirrel that has stopped in the middle of the road
4. a flat tire on mile two of my first bike ride
5. negative thoughts [I'm going so slow, this is ridiculous, I'll never meet my goals]
6. positive  thoughts [OMG! This IS working! I feel so much better! I could ride all day!]

I have learned so much in what my training partner calls OPERATION BASE PHASE [thanks, JYo]. Stay tuned for more adventures in the next few weeks, including mind games, racing dogs and getting the drift.

Gotta Run!