We're Here - Pre-race Report

We finally arrived late night Thursday (actually early am Friday) after a 12 plus hour drive from Richmond to Meredith, NH. We'll have to plan our return trip a little better since we hit NYC at peak rush hour and then proceeded to drive through construction site after construction site in CT, MA and into NH. We also had luck (not) getting behind a 20 tractor trailer caravan of wide loads escorted by no less than 8 police cars as we neared Boston. It would have been a serious blocking penalty in the sport of triathlons.


The town of Meredith is quaint and beautiful. Here are a few pics from our hotel room at the Inns at Mills Falls over looking Lake Winnipesaukee.

We slept late yesterday, checked some work emails and headed off to a yummy brunch at noon. After chowing down and browsing the shops near our hotel a bit, we headed to Ellacoya State Park to check out the transition area, meet up with TG Kate to hand off her bike and do our practice swim. The ride to Ellacoya started to put doubts in our head as to the terrain of the bike course as we headed up and down and up and down the hills over to the park.

The transition area is huge. . . probably twice as big as White Lake. On either side of the transition are two beaches. Based on the course maps, it appears start our swim on one beach and return from the other. I will have lots of time to watch and the pros should finish the swim well in advance of my wave start.

The beaches were roped off and there was boat traffic all along so we put on our wetsuits and swam several times back and forth down the length of the beach near the buoys to get used to the water, current and swimming in our wetsuits for a change. The water temp is perfect, cool but not cold and the water itself is pretty clear. We will definitely face some current and maybe some small swells depending on boat traffic. It felt odd swimming in my wetsuit again - a little constricted and definitely different body positioning. By the end of my short swim I was sighting well, my wetsuit felt comfortable and it was time to get out and head to Gunstock.

Here is TG Kate and I post swim.

We drove up some more hills to Gunstock Ski Resort to packet pickup. I had heard that Timberman had great goodie bags and they were right. We got awesome TYR bags, long sleeved race Tshirts and hats plus an assortment of samples, and a triathlon magazine (unfortunately a back issue I've already read). The best item for me however was the portable sample size chamois cream. I had meant to pick one of these up to put on my bike for the race just in case, but had forgotten. Now I'm covered.

Post packet pickup we drove the bike course. The work on this course is definitely going to be during the first and last 13 miles. The are not for the timid and I will need to remind myself on race day not to be discouraged by them. There are definitely some longer climbs, some shorter steeper ones (including the Monster) and some twisty high speed descents. As I told Bart, I'm going to have to put on my big girl pants tomorrow and take some of these descents outside of my comfort zone in order to make up some time from the hills. TG Lynn and TG Fave are going to love them. The back half of the course is more typical of the triathlon. Some up and down but predominately flat. We even found a yummy ice cream stop - too bad we can't stop and enjoy during the race. The course is definitely doable, but it certainly will be a challenge. I just need to remember to race my race, not someone else's and have fun.

Despite our ice cream snack, at dinner time I was starving again. We ate downstairs in our hotel at Lago. It was fantastic! I had grilled pork tenderloin with a blueberry, raspberry and strawberry salsa, rosemary mashed potatoes and green beans. I learned from the waitress that the blueberries had been picked that morning and delivered to the restaurant by a local. Yum! We also had a few glasses of vino to celebrate our arrival and race weekend.

Back at our hotel room we capped the night off cheering at our TV as Michael Phelps won his 7th gold medal by .01 seconds. He is simply amazing!

This morning we tested our bikes out on the roads around Meredith and got a little taste of what our first 12 miles will be like tomorrow - hilly. Although scenic, the road we took from the hotel was anything but flat. After about our 5th hill climb,14 minutes of riding and taking a look at the next huge descent I turned around and headed back towards town. My legs got their requisite warm up and the rest of the day they can relax.

On tap next? Lunch with my mom and dad who should arrive soon, race meeting at 3 at Gunstock and then off to rack our bikes for the night.

Tonight, think good thoughts for the 15 of us racing from Richmond and pray we have a safe, fun and fast race tomorrow.

Blue Ridge Part 2

I am definitely not the King of the Mountains. However, after my second Blue Ridge ride yesterday, I certainly have a greater appreciation for the agonized faces of the Tour riders as they grimace up the long climbs in the Pyrenees.

Our ride Saturday was 50 miles on the Blue Ridge. My stomach Saturday morning wasn't cooperating at all from the start. Apparently something I ate Friday wasn't gluten free or I had the touch of the stomach bug and, I couldn't stomach anything (or keep anything in) but a half a banana pre-ride and was feeling nauseated through most of the first 20 miles. But, I had come to ride the BR so. . . a little upset stomach wasn't going to hold me back; it just didn't give me the greatest legs for my day's challenge.

About 20 of us (TGs, hubbys and Maramarc boys) started off at MP 23. Our route was 10 miles down, yes predominantly down to Reed's Gap, our starting point for the last ride, 10 miles back to our starting point, then 15 miles down (again mostly down) to milepost 38 and back up to the start. With my stomach feeling gross, my goals for the ride were 1) to finish, 2) feel comfortable riding McQueen in the mountains and 3) learn how to conquer my fears of the descents.

I did finish; felt fairly comfortable on McQueen although realized that my flat time trial gearing isn't ideal for the mountains and did improve from the last time on my descents. My Garmin recorded a speedy 38 mph. The hills seemed longer and a few a bit steeper than the last trip. And, as with the last time, each time we rode down, down, and down all I could think about was how in the world was I going to make it up, up, up. There were two particularly "memorable" climbs of the day - the first, a winding 3-4 mile long steady and seemingly never ending climb up from MP 38 and the second, the last big climb of the day, probably only a quarter mile, but straight up in the sun, when my legs screamed with every pedal stroke.

As I rolled into our starting/finish point I was exhausted and doubt I could have gone a mile further. At the same time, I'm pretty sure I was smiling and glad I had finished this rewarding and challenging ride.

Post ride, we headed back to our Wintergreen house for the weekend, cooked a bunch a burgers and dogs, celebrated our accomplishments with some Mai Tais and had a great time hanging out with my fellow team mates.

Although I still can't fathom how I am going to be able to ride the mountains of Placid for 112 miles next July, I know these hills are making me stronger. And hopefully, after many more returns to the BR, I'll be ready.

Pics to follow.

A fun week of workouts

With about six weeks left of workouts before Timberman, I tried to reengerize my workouts some this week by adding some group workouts and new adventures. Monday night and Wednesday night marked my return to the Masters routine. Monday's workout was tough and included 3 500s on 2 minute or faster pace. Wednesday night also included some longer swim sets (400s) but much to our disappointment (yeah right!) it thundered and our practice was cut short at 1700 meters. I missed Masters most of May and June so it was fun to be back in the pool with friends and push myself hard in the swim.

Tuesday night I skipped out of work on the early side and headed to West Creek to meet up with the TGs and another surprise workout with Blake. I technically had a threshold brick scheduled for the night so I promised Michael to work hard and keep my HR at threshold for the ride. Given the prior Tuesday's workout, I didn't anticipate this would be a problem. And, it wasn't. Blake's directions weren't entirely clear (at least that's my story) so Karen, Shawn and I got some extra hills and mileage on Genito road. Our focus for the night was to push the down hills in a big gear as an added bonus, work on strength by riding in our hardest gear from the intersection of Manakin and Miller's lane back to the West Creek parking lot. My ride in all was much stronger than the previous week and I surprised myself by being able to make it up all the hills on the return in my big gear. Close to 30 miles averaging over 17 mph. Not a bad ride for a Tuesday. The run afterwards, like most bricks after a hard ride, sucked. I couldn't get close to the pace I've been getting on the track and 10 minute miles for 3 1/2 miles felt awful. My "not fun" run was far outweighed by the company of the group, catching up in the parking lot post ride and a great ride.

My new endeavor for the week was a trail run. In preparation for Charlottesville Oly and to appease my running coach Brenda to run less on the road, I hit the trails off Riverside Drive with TG40 and Fave on Thursday morning. Trails in general are tough and these in Forest Hill Park were no different. Spider webs, switch backs and humidity made them even more special. I hate to admit it, but spider webs and all, I had a great time. I even convinced them to give it a go next week too.

Today's a rest day -- tomorrow marks our return to the Blue Ridge. Can't wait.

Sunday on the Blue Ridge Parkway

First, let me start by saying, I was anxious about today's ride. On one hand, I was looking forward to it. Have grown up in the mountains in Maryland, Bart always talks about how much fun it is to ride in the mountains. On the other hand, I was scared to death. I don't consider myself a hill lover. And to add to my normal trepidation, I had just this week upgraded the components on my road bike to match my time trial bike - yes that means I no longer had my grandma gears or triple.

Around 10:30 am, we headed from our house in Wintergreen to Reed's Gap - around the 13 1/2 mile mark of the Blue Ridge and where Blake (a BR vetran) suggested we begin our ride. We left refueling supplies at the car and headed out. It was a beautiful day - the air crisp and the sky blue. Immediately we started the first climb of the day - not steep, just slow and steady. After about 15 minutes, Bart and I stopped while Bart took a quick work conference call. Here are our bikes at the beginning of the ride.

And here are the mountains that were off to the side most of the day.

After this initial long climb, it seemed that much of the next part was down hill . . . and I mean down hill. Descents were by far more nerve wracking for me than wondering if I was going to make it up the climbs. Bart on the other hand, showed no fear. I learned today that the faster he can go, the happier he is - he crouches down and pedals hard and whined slightly that he could only go about 40 miles an hour. I on the other hand, at least for the ride from milepost 13.5 to mile 1, got good use out of my new brakes. As I was going down all these hills, I kept thinking, how am I ever going to get back up?

There were still lots of long climbs in this first half but I learned quickly to just keep plugging away, and I would make it up them. I didn't worry about how slow I was going (it was slow) . . . my main goal was to have fun, enjoy the amazing views and finish the ride.

After a little over an hour, we made it to mile 0 and our turn around point. Here's me by the sign. Note the elevation - 1900 feet. I refueled with a Nectar Bar, changed out my water bottles for easy access to the new one and we headed back up.

On the return, we definitely saw the hills we had descended. After a long climb ascending a couple of hundred feet, we started our first descent. That's when I knew I could finish this ride, and that I am a much stronger climber than I thought. As I was going down this first descent (and still hitting my brakes), a huge smile crossed my face. "I actually climbed this hill!"

We stopped at the information center for a quick refill of our water bottles and use of the bathrooms and then prepared for the biggest climb of the day. In my estimation, the climb lasted 20 miles, in reality, it was probably around 3. I was in my easiest gear (and wishing I still had my triple) and just kept pedaling and climbing and pedaling and climbing. My heart was pounding hard, my cadence lower than it should be and the hill just kept going. Finally, at the top of the climb, we stopped, took a moment and refueled. I made it. It hurt, but I was there. . . at the top of the hill I thought for sure on my way down I'd have to walk back up. No walking for me.

Soon after our restart we stopped for a photo moment and actually ran into my friend Benton who cuts my hair who was out riding his motorcycle. Fortunate for us since we got a picture of the two of us. The elevation - 3100 feet. (It got as high as 34oo feet). We had just climbed 1200 feet!

The rest of the ride was much of the same. Long climbs and fast descents. We refueled at our cars around the 2 hour mark and headed south on the BR. I used my brakes a little less towards the end - and at some point even reached 35 miles an hour. I made it up all the climbs and even managed a 20 minute run after our 3 plus hours on the bike.

The best part, I enjoyed it! I had a great day, a hard challenging work out and spent time in a beautiful part of our state. I'm disappointed I won't be able to come back next weekend with Blake and the TGs, but I can't wait to return in July and many more weekends in the future.

My next climb to conquer? Wintergreen Mountain.

My Half-Ironman Weekend

In anticipation of 12 days at sea with fewer than normal workouts, my last week has included some of the toughest workouts I've faced so far and a reintroduction to the brick. This weekend was no exception... but with good results. While these workouts were physical, I think they are also, more than anything, mentally preparing me for the notion that I can and will complete White Lake 1/2 Ironman.

The weekend started Saturday with my strongest ride ever with Endorphin. We did the usual 28 mile somewhat hilly loop out into Goochland and Hanover from West Creek. Unlike the earlier weeks, this time, my focus was not just on being able to finish, but to hang strong with the other cyclists (all male I might add) and keep pace without James' nudge. I rode to a fairly strong start and joked with Bart when he finally took over the lead as to why I, easily the weakest cyclist there, was leading up to Manakin when he, much stronger, was filed in behind me. I managed to stay up tight in the middle to back of the pack and even was more successful executing pace line techniques. As normal, however, when we hit the big hill right after the pace line, I fell back and James had to help get me rejoin the pack. While we were catching up, James did pass along some shifting tips and a technique focus that I practiced on the remaining hills and will be able to draw on in the future. We averaged over 16.5 mph. When we got back to West Creek, I refuled with a PB&J and some fruit smoothie and headed out, this time on McQueen for 2 more hours. I've still been having some saddle issues, so I was a little apprehensive of riding in aero position for that amount of time. But with the help of some chamois cream, I finished without TOO much discomfort. At the end of 3 hours and 40 minutes total on the bike (about 60 miles), I racked my bike, slipped on my running shoes and headed out for an easy 20 minute jog. My legs felt like jello for much of the first mile, but they must have still been turning my cycling cadence rhythm. I surprised myself with a 10 minute pace for both miles. Yikes... will probably have to slow down my start a bit if I am going to follow with a half marathon.

We celebrated Saturday night with some Casa Grande Mexican and a late night glass of vino at DeLux in honor of TG Fave's birthday. It was great seeing the TGs and their other halves out and fun to be out in the Fan night life for a change of pace.

Sunday was the bike/swim part of my half-iron weekend. SanDee, an absolute saint, offered to join me for at least the first part of the run, so we headed out to WC around 11. My legs were not excited to be running at first. We practiced nutrition and hydration (something I did poorly the day before) along the route and near mile nine, my legs started to feel really strong. At that point in my run, I realized that if I started my half marathon at this pace, I could easily pick up my pace over the last 4 or 5 miles and finish it below my goal time. We BOTH finished 11.5 miles in 2 hours, at 10:30 pace. After a stretch, a bar and a few minutes chatting with TGs Margo and ANNN who had just come in from a ride, I headed to the pool for my 50 minutes of swimming. While I'm not always enthusiastic about getting in the chilly water after my run and continuing my workout, this part of my workout always feels the best - like one giant cool down. My muscles get stretched out and cooled down and the repetitive movement of the swim seems to just steady me and my mind. Since I lost track after 2000 meters, I'm not sure of the exact distance I swam but based on pace, I'm guessing it was around 2200 give or take a hundred.

One half-iron weekend complete.