On Believing

It's the night before Ironman Texas.  It's been quite a journey, that's for sure, as it always is.  I'm so grateful to have such a caring and competent captain guiding these journeys for me.  Matthew Rose is absolutely without question one of the greats.

As with many things in my life over the last 6 months, this has been quite a transformational journey.  I told my friend Bill tonight, who is here to support me, that I had no idea back in December that it would be quite so transformational.  This one has brought me to even deeper levels of self-discovery than I anticipated.

I am ready to have the race of my life tomorrow.  I am physically more ready than I've ever been.  My swim is finally coming together, and provided I can sight well, I will have a respectable swim.  Thankfully this course sets up well for that.  My pool times on Wednesday were kind of shocking.  I said to MR "if only I can get that to translate to the open water.  surely to GOD I can translate that to open water."  Rosie reminded me 'Kat, it only takes one time'. My bike is strong, as it always is, and I think this course, and my ability to be patient, will work in my favour.  And finally my run.  My run is on fire.  I am having the run of my life tomorrow.

My biggest area of growth though, honestly, is mental.  I feel the most ready I have ever felt for any race.  Physically and mentally.  The universe has been sending me messages for the last few weeks that consistently say the same thing.  Believe.  Race from your heart.  Everything you need is already in you.

I intend to race every single moment of that race tomorrow.  I'm ready, beyond doubt, to have THE race tomorrow.  I believe with every cell of my body that it's possible.  My fitness is there, and it will not fail me. There will be demons to be fought, no doubt, and I know they're coming.  And they will be vanquished once they see the strength and fortitude of me racing from my heart.

Happy racing everyone.  IMTX here I come!

Kat
xoxox

West Point Olympic – Race Report

Less than 3 weeks out from IMTX, and as you know, I did not do San Juan as my prep race due to illness.  I feel it’s important to do a prep race before the big day, and Coachie suggested I do West Point, and follow it up the next day with a long bike.  I’ve never done West Point before, shocking I know, since it really is a southern GA staple in our tri community, so it seemed like a good plan.

So certainly I wasn’t tapered for this race.  This was just another training day for me.  And if you race much, you know that racing an oly is actually a pretty tough workout.  Plus, I’m 3 weeks out from IM, so pretty freaking tired – there are a lot of miles in these legs already this year.  I had no real instructions for this race – “Redline the f’er.  It’s an Olympic.”  ‘nuff said. 

I stayed with the Daly’s on Saturday night – still an hour drive to the race, but closer than from my house with the added benefit of visiting my girl Janet and her boys.  I hope I didn’t wake them up when I left the house at 430 am J

Got to the race site, and started setting up.  And see this is why you do a prep race – I had no race belt, I didn’t even think about my goggles until late Saturday night, I left my license in the car (how many of these have you done? I got asked at reg desk – thankfully they knew me enough to let it slide) and so on and so on.  Now granted, the short races are different, and I haven’t done many of those in several years, but still...  Good to work out the cobwebs.  Saw lots of friendly faces, and thankfully Shanks was there, and although he didn’t have an extra race belt he did sort me out.  Hope he doesn't need to go hiking soon...

Swim

It was a time trial start, which is good from a spacing perspective, although the competitive side of me would prefer to know exactly where I sit relative to my competitors. Also a wetsuit legal race with water temps around 69, I believe.  As I went diving into the water, I saw Luis at the edge of the lake with his handy camera – “nice smooth strokes Kat, nice smooth strokes”.  And I was off.  First leg was fine.  A little off course at the start, but then I found my way, and it was looking good.  Made the 1^st turn right at the buoy.  Second leg was great – I was right on the line.  I pushed myself hard, and unfortunately I never felt the strong confidence that I’ve been feeling in the pool lately.  I felt out of breath for most of it, and did have those panicky thoughts of yesteryear, though they were much quieter.  I’m sure this was in part due to a combination of the cumulative fatigue from being so close to IM taper, being in a wetsuit (yuck), and the first time in OW since September.  (and does that even count with it being downriver??)  I also didn’t feel like the great technique I’ve been developing translated to the open water. At any rate, I was actually doing pretty well I think.  And then I made the 2^nd turn, into the final leg.  I literally did not know where I was going when I turned.  It’s partly because I don’t have glasses on in the water, but I also think they could’ve used another big bright buoy.  I wasn’t the only one.  The field was so spread out in that leg – it was crazy.  Someone told me later that from the shore it looked weird too – everyone just fanned out as soon as the made the turn.  I bet I stopped 5 times to try to figure out where to go.  I believe Klafter's question to me was "you have raced in open water before, yes?" ...  Oh ya, and it was choppy.  Actually quite choppy, and possibly one of the choppiest races I’ve done (tho Kansas being by far the worst).  So that didn’t help.  Way way way off course were a couple of volunteers on a paddle board or something, and bright neon yellow shirts, and that’s where I’d started to go (no glasses, remember).  I soon realized that wasn’t right, but between not being certain of the direction, and the wind which was pushing me off course, I swam waaaaaaayyyyyy off course.  It was kind of too bad.  I did eventually find my way out of the lake, though it really felt like I wasn’t going to, and got myself into transition.  Swim was an official, and abysmal, 28:39.  I’m still not fast in the water, but it should have been a 25-26’ swim for me. 

Bike

Transition was fine at 1’05.  It felt slow and I was going to start complaining about how I’ve lost my transition quickness because I’ve been racing long, but turns out now that I’m actually looking,i order for me to tell you just how slow it was, that it was the 2^nd fastest time.  Hmm.  It felt awkward – even started running the wrong way.  But only for a second ;)  I guess it’s all in my head.  (get out of your head Kat!)

Although my direction was to simply ‘redline it’, we did have an average NP in mind – and that was 190.  So I got myself going right away.  Felt not so hot the first 20’.  The same tight-leg uncomfortable feeling I had in every race last year.  In a full, or even half, 20’ isn’t much to worry about – in an oly it’s kind of a big deal.  I pretty much ignored it – no other choice – and eventually things just felt fine.  I guess it’s just old, tired legs that need some time to warm up, and swimming simply isn’t enough.  Thanks to the TT start in the water, there was lots of space on this course.  I rarely had a worry about drafting, and those that I passed, I pretty much zoomed right by them.  In the latter half of the course, I did trade places a few times with one 34 year old guy, who I finally passed for good about 5 miles or so from the end.  I also really liked the course.  Nice rolling hills, nothing to get too worked up about, and enough descent usually to kick you up the next one.  Road surfaces were also reasonably good.  Although don’t hold me to that – I was more focused on ‘cmon Katie girl – get it going’.  I knew my swim had been bad, and most likely put me out of contention for a podium spot.  But I also knew that didn’t matter – this was not my race, it was a training day, and I knew that every watt I put in would pay me back in spades on May 16.  So I kept pushing.  I never quite made it to 190, but I came very close.  (legs were tired, what can I say).  I came racing into T2, and didn’t quite realize that there was a hard 90 degree turn to the dismount.  I hopped off early to avoid a crash and ran a little farther than I should’ve.  No big deal.  Total bike time 1:13’38, for 20.3 mph. 4^th fastest female bike split of the day. Not too bad given all the miles in these legs.  Pleased with that, and my 184 NP.

Run

T2 was okay too.  Fast T2 at 46”, although not the fastest (5^th).  Out on the run, tied my shoelace (aka race belt) around my waist while running (yes I am THAT talented, lol), and just started givin’ er.  I knew from running Publix the way I did that I simply had no reason not to be in Z4 this whole run, and that I would NOT BLOW UP.  This I am certain about now.  Z4 on this run should’ve looked like 7-7’10 miles. I have learned not to make too much assessment in the first mile.  And so even though things were slower than I wanted, I didn’t worry.  Plus, I had done something to my right big toe in transition.  A quarter mile in, it literally felt like I might've ripped my entire toenail off.  Hurt really bad.  I really did look down a few times and expect to see blood oozing out of my shoe.  And I had a real conversation in my head that went something like "did i rip the thing right off?...no you couldn't have...but it feels like it - it really hurts...if you had ripped the whole nail off you would have been screaming in pain, and you wouldn't be able to run at all...stop being a baby and RUN..."  By mile 2 however, although I think I'd forgotten about the pain in my toe (the pain everywhere else was taking over), I still couldn’t get my hr up over the low 160’s. Pace was mid 7’s. I was just simply having a hard time getting my hr up.  Shanks was right there about 2 miles in, and he just shouted “you just keep your focus on your cadence”.  Saw Luis shortly after that, and how he managed to capture a smile on my face, I still don’t know.  Not only a smile, but possibly the best race pic I’ve ever had.  (you are the best Luis!!)  

So hr still not going up, but at least pace not slowing.  Wasn’t feeling great, that’s for sure, but I was also determined to keep giving as hard as I could.  As I stepped onto the dam, nightmarish recollections of Beast of the East came to me, and I had to squash them quickly.  It was so dejavu.  Except that this was flat.  And cool.  Phew.  Felt a little better at the turnaround, and found myself able to pick up just a little.  About mile 3.5 the 34 year old bike dude caught up to me.  He had a terrific cadence, and I fell in step with him for a minute, and thought, ya, I can do this.  Then, admittedly, I got scared.  Felt a bit like mile 20 in Choo when I picked up my cadence going over the bridge the 2^nd time – MR was there yelling to pick up my cadence, which I did, and shortly after that the wheels came off.  I think I felt the same thing (slightly increased hr, more laboured breathing) and panicked a bit.  And plus I practically choked to death as the now present cloud of gnats flew down my windpipe.  And so although I kept him in my sights for almost the rest of the race, I did not recatch him.  In retrospect, that was bullshit, and I totally could have caught him.  Lesson learned, and better now than in TX.  At any rate, it was good to have the cadence meter in front of me, because it did help to keep my own going. Found Luis on the back half, taking more pics.  This one in particular is a fave J And also thankfully had Shanks on that one damn little hill, making sure we didn’t walk it!  And he captured this truly awesome shot:

With a mile and a half to go, once I recovered slightly from the spike in HR coming off that hill, I was able to pick it up and bring it home.  Lesson there too – if I can just get the hr up, I can keep it up.  Managed to pull in a 45’14 run, and while slower than I wanted, at this stage of the game I’ll take 7’17s with a smile.  Sooo close to a 10k PR there though, and man that would’ve been sweet.  7^th fastest female run split of the day though, and that’s ok with me.

Even with the terrible swim, I snagged 3^rd overall Masters, thanks to a good bike and run.  Happy to share the podium with 2 pretty awesome ladies, and some of the strongest in the country frankly - Kris Kester and Laura Sophiea. 

Gonna seriously have to do something about the OWS.  Dangit.  Good thing is TX is hard to sight poorly. Really enjoyed this course, and we were definitely blessed by the weather gods on Sunday with great racing weather.  It hurts like hell to race an Olympic, but it was fun.  And Luis’ pics prove it.  ;)  I also loved racing in my #smashfest #HCkit.  Perfect for a short race like this.  And a final cherry to top of this Sundae of a day was getting to see my beautiful stepdaughter who I haven't seen in about 3 years.  Warmed my heart to look in her eyes again.

As planned, I followed the race up on Monday with an 80 mile ride.  First 5 were hellish, next 5 were better, and next 40 were great.  Miles 55-65 were really really really awful.  I sent a text to Coach.  And then actually things got better, and I finished my last 15 strong.  These guys definitely helped.  Came over and said hello, and gave me a few kisses.  As Carmen said, they came out for the last long ride to wish me luck.  

Here we go.  Just a few more hard sessions, and it’s taper time.  Hangin in there.

Happy Training

Kat

f'Epic

Ok so where did January go? Wow.  Wrote this a few weeks back (yes, continuing the trend...at least you can count on some things).  So 15 weeks out from IMTX.  Ya.  Okee Dokee.  And determined to have a post for Jan.  

So.  f'Epic.  That’s a word I created on New Year’s Eve.  On that day, I swam the longest, by far, that I have ever swam in my life.  The annual Dynamo SmashSwim.  I’d heard about it before.  In fact I recall April getting up at some ridiculous hour and swimming a ridiculous distance last year, and me just not even comprehending how that could ever be possible.  This year there was a 15k (new this year), 10k and 7.5k option.  Before this day, the most I had done was 4800 yards.  It was the day that MR was on deck, early in my Dynamo Masters days – so maybe June-ish? And I knew it was coming, I’d even put it in my calendar:

We started at 3:45 am – and there were 55 people there!  I love Dynamo!!! My goal was to swim 7500 at least, and then go as far as I could after that.  I managed to swim 9200 meters in 3 hrs.  I was a little peeved with myself afterwards, when I did the math, and it works out to 9950 yards.  Dammit!  Another 50 and I woulda hit the 10k in at least one permutation J But that’s okay – we will leave that for another day.  It was an absolutely incredible feeling to accomplish this.  More than double what I have ever swam (and that was only once).  And let me say, there wasn’t really a lot of rest in there.  It was long sets, and pretty much just swim swim swim.  One of the coolest parts of it though was that after maybe, 6 or 7k, I think it’s possible that my stroke actually got better.  Well, I wasn’t watching from the pool deck ;) but it felt smoother and Maria wasn’t yelling at me.  ;) Seriously though, it was like my body just started doing what it was supposed to be doing without the laser focus I have to bring to it every length to get that.  Pretty cool.  So this is just another example of re-setting perspective early in the season. I have to acknowledge that there are truly no excuses after this. I can swim, and I can swim far.  And a few weeks after that, MR said 'you actually look like a swimmer KF'.  Now that's a declaration of improvement in my books!

And then a few weeks later, another epic day, and rejigging of perspectives.  I ran Hogpen.  Yep.  I.Ran.Hogpen.  And it’s now official – I LOVE HILLS.  This was the final certification in my “Love Running Hills” course. Plus, it’s another classic Green day, and we had several dozen of us out there yesterday.  So if you’ve a regular reader, or if you are from GA, you know Hogpen.  It’s one of the 6 gaps, and possibly the hardest one.  Only one harder is Brasstown, and it’s not one of the “six”.  This #RunTheHog race is an 18km race from XXX State Park outside of Helen, GA to the top of Hogpen Gap, about 2000’ up.  Elevation is 3500’.  My Garmin shows a total running gain of 2500 (and loss of a mere 800).  My instructions: Get after the first 4 miles, and then don’t stop running.  Ok! So that’s what I went after.  Now, for me, this is a perfect winter training experience, because I always hold back too much at the beginning of the race.  Time to crack that nut!  And crack it I did.  I took off fast, which isn’t that hard given the first mile is all downhill.  But even during the harder bits of that first 4, I just went, and went hard.  And then we made the turn onto Hogpen, and I knew it was really starting.  The first couple miles weren’t actually that bad.  And mile 6.5 there is that beautiful downhill that lasts a little more than a half mile.  I’ve been working hard on my downhill form, and holy mackerel!  It has paid off in spades.  I saw this earlier in the race too, but I was literally FLYING past people on the downhill.  I’ve always taken advantage of the downhills, but I’ve reached a whole new level here.  I’ve learned it’s about leaning forward and just letting your legs just fall forward, as opposed to actually making a full stride with power the way you would on a flat. Of course, you can’t be afraid of the speed – and there’s a ton of it – I was hitting sub 6’ miles.  (which just completely blows my mind when I think there are folks who regularly run faster than that…on flats and hills!).  A couple of girls were passing me on the uphills but I put a good ¼ mile into them on that downhill.  With only a single exception, by the end of the day I beat all of them. 

Immediately following that downhill is the toughest section on the course.  2 full miles of climbing, without a break.  And hitting 14%+ grade.  That’s pretty darn steep is grades mean nothing to you.  But the beautiful thing is – I never stopped running.  Not one step.  It was quite an experience.  I entered this race in a different frame of mind.  I really didn’t think too much about it before, and I truly just focused on the current moment.  More than I ever have.  Part of that is a result of the work I’ve been doing personally and professionally – it has really changed me.  But without a doubt, staying in the Right Now was a big part of it.  Yes it hurt.  But it was all manageable.  And I just kept thinking, keep running.  Keep turning over the feet.  Glutes.  Glutes.  Glutes.  And, the Dynamo Cheering Squad didn’t hurt either J  They were AWESOME as always.  Hit mile 10, and kicked it up a notch.  I wanted to be in the pain cave and still dig deeper.  And the last quarter mile, I actually passed a guy, and managed a 9’08 mile.  Finished 40^th overall, 1^st in my AG.  Time of 1:39:xx.  What??!!  Dang.  There is just no reason not to have a half marathon now under 1:40.  I never dreamed I would do that kind of time on this kind of course.  San Juan – bring it on. Hills, Schmills.

So it's been a month, that's for sure.  And having an early season A race has been a little bit of a mental adjustment that hasn't quite set in fully I don't think.  Coach thinks I'm fine, and a mere 11-12 weeks away from being super fit.  That's the right timing given the race is in 15.  Feeling good about the swim, aside from a new pesky little problem in my right shoulder/delt.  Although all ya'll will say its from the aforementioned swim, in reality I believe it is from all the damn overhead painting I've done in the basement.  Very happy with where my run is going.  Not as confident on the bike, but it appears that we will get the required 'long' and 'f'epic' out of that next weekend as I do a couple of centuries back to back.  At least that's the plan.  

And since it's still Jan, I'll put my new year's stuff here after all.  No resolutions for me this year.  Didn't feel right this time around.  And as I was thinking that the last few days of the year, one of my new wizard friends posted something about choosing a word for the year instead.  A word that would guide the choices you make and the paths you walk.  And as I swam that morning, and came home, trying a few words out loud, which were all okay but without that 'right' quality, I said 'heart-open' and it just vibrated.  So that is what will guide me this year, in and out of racing.  One month in, and the universe has definitely been testing me.  So far I'm doing pretty good ;)

Happy Training, in full heart-open beauty,

Kat