Gasparilla Half Marathon Race Report

Week 4 of IM training culminated with a half marathon race, the Gasparilla Half in Tampa.  Not that this was part of my plan, but the race is a tradition, so I worked it in there.  I've been doing this race with a small group of friends for quite a few years (Emery, Joan and Christy).  Over the years there has been a time when one or more of us couldn't make it (Christy now lives in North Carolina), but we still hang on to it as a tradition and get together when we can.  This year it was me and Emery, and a new addition, Charlene, a friend of mine from work (Brian was supposed to do the 8K, but couldn't come with me, so Charlene used his bib number).

The Gasparilla Distance Classic weekend comprises four races: a 15K (the most popular of the four) and a 5K on Saturday, and the half marathon and 8K on Sunday.  They used to offer a marathon on Sunday, but ended that in 2010 (my PR for a marathon was that race, 3:49 and change).  With the schedule as it is nowadays, they offer combo "packages" wherein runners can choose to participate in one or more of the races, including the "ultra" distance of doing all four!  Definitely a worthy goal and accomplishment, but not on my bucket list right now.

Last year I ran my best half marathon time at this race--1:46:17--and I did it without "trying" to PR.  It was a great feeling, because I was two weeks out from the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, so I was race-ready.  I went into it truly thinking that I would just do what felt good, and that was great because what felt good ended up being a PR!  I remember that the only real struggle I had in that race was during the last three miles, which were hard, and I fought to maintain my pace, but there was no real pain or anything.  In retrospect, I probably could have broken 1:45 had I run with a pace group and "tried" a little harder.

So this year, as you know, my goal is the Ironman.  And right now in my training I am not focusing much on high volume or speed, just steady, short- to mid-length runs.  I have, admittedly, run longer than the plan calls for in the last month because I knew I had this race coming up, but nothing too crazy.  With all this in mind, and thinking comparatively back to last year when my entire focus was running, I had the attitude that I would try to do well, but if I didn't, no big deal.  Ha!  Who am I kidding?  Not those of you who know me well, and of course, not myself.  I wanted to PR!  The plan was to start with the 1:45 pace group, but if I couldn't hold on, then no big deal, because I knew I was not in the same running shape that I was last year.  So here's how it went.

The drive from my house to the Tampa Convention Center should take about 2 hours.  The Expo was going on until 5pm, so I told Charlene to be at my house at noon and we'd head out.  This is a really great expo every year, with a lot of amazing deals on everything a runner doesn't need (but thinks she does)!  Side note: in the past, I have been known to get a wee-bit uptight about getting to the expo early, to pick up my number and make sure I could get through all the expo booths before everything closed down.  This year I was not uptight at all.  No big deal if we weren't the first ones there.  Charlene did arrive at my house a few minutes after noon and in about 10 minutes we were on the road, Tom Tom guiding the way.  Now, being that this is race week (and by that I mean the big one, the Daytona 500), and the race fans flock to Central Florida from all over, and the 500 wasn't until Sunday, a majority of the race fans appeared to be on the road going to Disney--which of course I had to travel through.  My house is smack dab in the middle of Daytona Beach and Disney, and Disney is between my house and Tampa.  Needless to say, we hit a bit of traffic.  That piece about me NOT getting uptight about getting to the expo early?  Yeah, that all started to unravel as we sat in slow-moving, tourist-filled, bad-driver I-4 traffic.  But I kept calm and carried on!  Once we passed Disney, the traffic got back up to speed until we hit Tampa, which has TERRIBLE traffic, but luckily at the point that traffic was coming to a standstill, we were getting off the highway.

So we make it to the expo--success!  Now this is Charlene's first big race experience.  Prior to this she has walked the Orlando Corporate 5K with the work team I've put together for the past few years, and while that is a 14,000 participant, huge event, it's just not the same as a competitive individual race like Gasparilla.  So she was impressed (and a little overwhelmed) by the expo and the procedure--get your number, get your shirt, get your bag of SWAG, then shop!  Heading into the expo, I had 3 items on my shopping list that I was hoping to find there and get good deals.  Somehow I came out of there with 5 things, 3 of which weren't on my list going in.  Funny how that works.  I did get a replacement sticker for my car, though:

Then we head to Emery's for a relaxing evening and delicious pasta dinner.  Plan was to leave the house the next morning at 4:30 am, since it's a 6:00 race start and parking can sometimes be an issue.  Plus we needed to leave time for bathroom, walking to the start, and finding the pace group.  Of course, my stress dreams kicked in!  Had one that was all about waking up late, alarm didn't go off, no time to get to the race start.  Another was about going to work the next day but forgetting what happened in the race, arriving late to work in the wrong clothes at the wrong location...all the usual stuff.  So I woke up about 3 times during the night, but was luckily able to get back to sleep.  Two minutes before my alarm was set to go off, I heard Emery sneeze in the kitchen, and I was awake.  We left a little after 4:30, no traffic on the roads, found parking in a garage not too far from the convention center, short wait for the bathrooms inside the convention center (no need to find the port-o-potties), and we got into line about 15 minutes early.  Emery hung back behind the 2-hour line (they did a split start for those expecting to finish after two hours in order to thin out the start a bit), and I found the 1:45 pace group with no problem.  A great beginning so far!  The only complaint was the 70 degree weather and the seemingly 95% humidity.  Yikes!

And here's the play-by-play...
Race start...gun sounds, everyone claps, not too long and we're moving, crossing the start line 40 seconds after the gun.  There is a sharp left turn and a narrow bridge in the first half-mile.  I am ready for it because I know it's there, and I know it's a huge cluster*%& until we get over the bridge, so I don't panic.  Other people do, particularly one woman in the 1:45 group who is wasting so much energy trying to stay with the pacer and getting so upset that she can't! Chill out, lady!  After clearing the bridge, although it is still really congested, the road widens and we settle into our 8 minute-mile pace.  Here's where my doubts first begin, there's no way I can hold this pace for 13 miles!  Then I combat that with no, the first mile always sucks.  Doesn't matter whether it's a 4 mile training run or a marathon, the first mile is hard.  Let's see what mile 2 feels like.
Mile 2...Hey, this is feeling okay.  I'm alright.  Settle in. Sweating a LOT early on because of the extremely high humidity, I decide to take fluids at every water station, which come about every 1.5-2 miles.  This is more than I would normally drink, but in planning for having to learn to eat and drink more for the IM, and knowing how much I'm already sweating, I decide to try it out.
Mile 3...Okay, this feels a little tough, but I've got my rhythm, I think I can hang on for a while.  The pacer is chatting with some folks in front of me, other conversations are going on, I'm content to listen to them for the distraction.
Somewhere after Mile 4...I was planning to take some Sport Beans (aka Energy Pellets) at mile 5, but I'm feeling like I could use the mental boost of taking in some nutrition, so I start popping my little Energy Pellets and eat more than half the package.  I plan to take the rest around mile 8 and then a gel after that if needed.
Mile 5...We come off Davis Islands to begin the down and back trek along Bayshore Blvd.  The sun is just coming up, but it's cloudy (yay!), and as usual the humidity starts to drop a little bit as dawn breaks.  As we're coming off the bridge I see Charlene cheering me on and we wave--it's amazing what even a glimpse of a friend cheering you on can do for morale, isn't it?!
Mile 6...WTF?  I thought we were at mile 7?!  Okay, no big deal, let's just start counting down the miles now.  Only 7 to go, no big deal.
Mile 7...My mood is now alternating between "feeling okay" and "not quite sure how I'm feeling."  But I'm keeping pace with the pacer, there's still quite a few of us who have hung on in the group, no problem.  Only 6 miles to go, that's nothing.
Mile 8...Hmmm...that tingling kind of feels like dehydration.  That's not good.  What's that all about?  I thought I was hydrating well over the past few days.  Well, I'll just keep on.  5 miles is nothing, I did 5 miles on really sore legs Friday night.  Eat the rest of your sport beans...
Mile 9...The turnaround on Bayshore is just before the 9 mile mark.  The dehydration feeling is gone, but damn my right quad is tight!  I knew I pushed it too hard on that bike ride yesterday!  I hope it doesn't lock up on me.  The pacer has gotten eerily quiet.  Our group seems to have dwindled--some going ahead, others falling behind.  Man my legs are starting to tire!  Just keep going...
Mile 10...Where the hell is mile 10?  Haven't we gone a mile yet?  Oh my God my quads hurt!  Okay, just keep going.  Relax your shoulders...drop your arms...let your legs keep the rhythm.
Mile 10.5...This sucks.  I want to stop.  Man it would feel so nice to stop and walk.  NO!  No stopping!  Stay on pace!  Less than 3 miles, you can do 3 miles in pain. Shut up, legs!
Mile 11...Wow that was a long mile.  Only 2 more.  16 minutes...uh oh, pacer fell off the pace, we're not going to make 1:45.  I may not even be able to keep running.  Damn this hurts!  Wait, you've been here before, you've hurt before, just keep going.  The faster you run, the sooner it will be over!
Mile 11.1...Really? Is this race ever going to end?
Mile 11.8...Kids in clown wigs!  Cheering section!  Man it feels good to smile!  Keep smiling.  Keep moving.  Just keep moving.
Mile 12...You can do anything for 1 mile.  That .1 at the end doesn't count, it's adrenaline.  Is that the finish line?! No!  That's the start banner...%^*$%...that fooled me last year, too. Hey, there's Charlene!  Smile and wave, smile and wave!
FINISH LINE!!!! 

Well, it's not 1:45, but I did beat my PR (final official time was 1:45:50).  Cold towel!  Thank you!  Cool medal!  Picture with a pirate!  Great race, really great race.

Post race: Emery finished in about 2:07.  Salad, black beans and rice, chicken and yellow rice from the Columbia Restaurant.  Then I walked the 8K with Charlene.  Legs were TIRED!  Then the three of us celebrated at Stacked Burger.  Black and blue burger, medium rare, fried pickles, sweet potato fries, yum!!!  There's nothing like following a tough effort with a delicious burger.

Tomorrow: REST DAY!  Woot woot!

 

Hopes and fears...

Lately I have been considering the various hopes and fears I have related to this Ironman endeavor...and I believe that as I continue on this journey, both will continue to evolve.  I think many of my fears will go away, or transform into hopes, or at the least help to make me stronger and more prepared.

So 3 weeks of training down, only 27 more to go--it really doesn't seem like that much!  And as obsessed as I am with this journey, I have developed some very strong hopes, and some very real fears.  Some of them are directly related to each other; others are completely random.  So in no particular order:

HOPE: That my training will pay off and I will accomplish my stated goal of a 12 hour Ironman finish.

FEAR: The more I read about Ironman Louisville, the more concerned I become that I may not be able to meet the challenge I have set out for myself.  Barring any unfortunate "disaster" (i.e. bike crash), I have no doubt that I will beat the 17-hour cutoff.  However, I have been reading a lot of race reports from past races, and comments from people who have done this race over the years, and it appears as though the bike portion of the race is quite difficult.  It has some hills, which I was aware of, but apparently a lot of people overdo it on the bike and completely implode on the run.  Which brings me to my next fear.

FEAR: Overdoing it on the bike and imploding on the run.  I have good reason to fear this, because I have a tendency to push it as hard as I can on the bike, which is my strongest discipline.  In past triathlons, I think part of that has been that I've come out of the water so slow (due to my prior poor swimming technique), and I feel the added pressure of having to catch up on the bike, then pound it out as much as I can on the run.  None of the other triathlons compare to an Ironman, of course, and the very real challenge of running a marathon after 112 miles of biking.  But in the only half-ironman I've done, I swam at least 5 minutes out of my way on the swim (user-error!), and really pushed it on a VERY windy bike.  When I got to the transition and bent over to put my running shoes on, my legs seized up and I almost crumpled to the ground!  But I quickly straightened up and they relaxed.  Then my lower back was seizing up for the first 4 miles of the run.  I was able to stretch it into submission after that, but my run time was a few minutes slower than I feel it should have been.  I still did a really great job and was happy with my time, but I do think I worked too hard on the bike.

So...even though I believe all of these people who say "don't overdo it on the bike or you'll sabotage your run," I fear that come race time I won't listen.  Luckily, this is a fear I can work on because I have control over it.  At this point, though, in the back of my mind there is a little voice saying "but you have a goal for the bike, and if you don't hit that you might not make your 12-hour goal."  It's a cruel voice, a taunting voice, one that I must figure out how to beat into submission!

HOPE:  I hope that all of the work I'm doing in the pool will pay off with a steady, satisfying swim.  I believe it will, and am very excited about it since this used to be one of my biggest fears.  I was never "afraid" of the swim, never had anxiety over open water, whether ocean or lake, like some triathletes do.  My fear has always been the sense of failure as I watch all the women in front of me pull away seemingly so easily--very demoralizing to start a race this way!  So I am pleased to have turned this into a hope.  I know I have a very long way to go in perfecting my swim technique as much as I want to, but I have time to get there.

HOPE:  I hope that I can continue the momentum that I have maintained for these first three weeks.  I know the number of training hours will only get longer, and the workouts more difficult, but I look forward to that.  I have embraced this training plan, and man does it feel good not to worry about it anymore! It is such a relief to just follow a plan, albeit one I have tweaked just a bit, and to trust that it will get me there.  Maybe it's a big risk to put my trust in a stranger (Don Fink, author of the book/plan I'm following), but what he says makes sense to me, and I consider him the expert, not me.

FEAR:  Nutrition.  Both now and during the race.  I am doing well with my nutrition, but am maybe not as strict as I should be.  I'm eating good food, but probably too much of it.  I need to work on that to get down to a race weight that I'm comfortable with and that will be optimum for meeting my goal.  I fear race-day nutrition at this point because I don't yet have a strategy.  I have plenty of time to figure it out, but I have a tendency to not drink enough on the bike or run.  Everything I read from experienced IM Louisville racers is DRINK, DRINK, DRINK...EAT, EAT, EAT.  So I must make a plan, but without a coach I fear that my plan will be wrong.  We'll see.

HOPE:  Crossing that finish line with my hands up high, my family there with me, smiling a HUGE smile!  I picture this often, and visualize the accomplishment.

There are more hopes and fears, though these are the most pronounced.  Nothing unmanageable.  I plan on revisiting the subject during the second and third phases of my training to see what has changed, and maybe more importantly, what has not. 

So what are your hopes and fears?  Have you turned fears into hopes in a past endeavor that was important to you?  How did you do it?

Hooray for Rest Day Monday!

 So week 2 is done.  Only 28 to go!  Good memories from this past training week include:

• A good, high-cadence workout on the bike.  I'm getting better at keeping a higher cadence at a little bit of a higher speed than in the past.  I'm working on changing my comfort-pace from an 84-86 cadence to 90.
• The realization that for the first time EVER I actually look forward to swimming laps!  It is the most exciting (and the most frustrating) piece of my training right now.  Exciting because I have so much room for improvement, which I think will really come out during a race...frustrating because I'm not used to being a slow learner.  I normally pick things up quickly, with little instruction.  Not so with un-learning bad form and learning proper and efficient technique.
• A fantastic long run on Sunday in perfect weather with good friends, new and old, with my form feeling good.

But what I really want to talk about is rest day!  For years I have read about the importance of incorporating a rest day into a training plan, whether it applies to running, cycling or triathlon.  Rest meaning just that--rest the muscles and systems that are being put to work and taxed during the remainder of the week.  Some (extreme, in my opinion) athletes take no rest days, but I've always been a believer in them...at least, in theory.  You see, I've never actually stuck to a plan and hit all of my workouts on the other 6 days of the week, so my understanding and true appreciation of the rest day was lacking.  Essentially, I have always taken more than my fair share of rest days.

In the past I focused on "making up" missed workouts (of which there were many), continuously shifting my schedule, week after week.  At the end of a training plan, the calendar hanging on the fridge resembled something John Madden had gotten hold of, with various scribbles, lines, circles, arrows indicating what really happened rather than what was planned (did speedwork on THIS day, not THAT, switched with strength work, NOTHING on that day though two things were scheduled, etc.).

I have now come full circle and understand the peace of mind (and body) that a rest day provides.  Okay...so I'm only 2 weeks into a 30 week plan.  Hardly a strong representation of how I'll feel at week 20.  So what?  It's 2 weeks that were more successful than any training I've had in the past.  I know that as my training volume and intensity increase, I might need an unscheduled rest day, should I feel worn down, burned out, in need of a "skip" day rather than just a rest.  That's fine and I'll deal with it when it gets here.  But right now, on my 3rd rest day of the plan, I am guilt-free.  I have no shame from missing a workout, no anxiety about having to make up speed work or a swim session.  For the first time ever, I have stuck to a training plan with 6 days on, one day off.  And it feels good!  It's not only a break for my body, but also a break in the planning, packing, anxious-to-get-moving feeling that accompanies every other day.  I can "sleep in" until 6:30, I can go home after work, or to the grocery store, catch up on things I didn't accomplish over the weekend.  And then by the end of the day, I'm ready to get going again, to start my training week. So hooray for Rest Day Mondays! (Check back with me in a couple of months...I'm sure I'll still be thankful for my rest day, but maybe wishing I had more of them?)

Week 1 done!! Success!

This week will be a training recap...week 1 is done!  Only 29 more weeks to go.  Somehow, if I say it that way it doesn't sound as intimidating as "only 7 more months to go!"  Oh boy, that's the last time I'm counting in months...weeks is much easier.  I don't know why--maybe because a week goes by faster than a month so there is a sense of moving forward, of accomplishment.

So week 1 was a big deal.  A week ago I was transferring my training plan from a book to a calendar that is posted on my refrigerator.  Although I had glanced quite a bit at the training plan as I was reading the book, it became real when transferring it to paper, and a bit intimidating!  (Not to mention later in the week when I looked at the second 10 week period--oh my!)  But I was confident and excited.  As I've mentioned previously, I need a goal and a plan to really get behind something and committed.  Starting the "official" plan gave me that feeling of commitment and dedication.  I was determined to NOT miss a planned workout, and I didn't!

It was my first foray into the world of heart rate zone training, and I admit that I am not fully on board yet.  Most likely for two reasons--I haven't done an actual test to figure out my likely maximum heart rate, so I don't fully believe the number that the formula gave me.  Second, the equipment I've been using is not ideal.  My Garmin doesn't beep anymore, so even though I have it set to notify me when my heart rate is out of the targeted zone, I have to still look at it to figure that out.  Very annoying, and so difficult on the bike.  Also, the strap for the monitor feels too big and doesn't really stay in place while running until I get quite sweaty.  Annoying.  I do have some solutions to these issues--I will likely run a 5K in two weeks to help figure out my max heart rate, and I will try using a different Garmin we have that is newer to see if that works.  No solution for the monitor strap at the moment, since it's tightened as much as it can be.

So let's talk about the swim--I am getting more and more excited about the swim, mostly because I really think I can make huge improvements.  At the same time, I have an internal struggle going on knowing that it will take some time to unlearn my poor technique and teach my muscles a new muscle memory, yet experiencing frustration as I try to execute the new technique and feel like I'm failing.  The frustration lasts only a short time right now as I convince myself to be patient.  (We'll see at the start of week 20 how I feel!)  What I learned this week is I need to focus on keeping my legs closer together while kicking and elevated to the top of the water; roll my shoulders with my hips to help with timing; and although I need to keep my head down, I also have to look up a bit to make sure I'm not crossing my arms over the centerline of my body.  Wow, that's a lot!

The bike, which I feel is my strongest discipline, is going okay.  The planned workouts are fairly short right now, which is okay since I don't have much daylight to work with.  I am riding my tri bike mostly, which I did not do enough while training for my half ironman, and I'm feeling fairly comfortable.  I might have to make a few small adjustments, but so far I'm not having the lower back tightness and pain I had before.  I'll have a much better idea of how this is going once the rides get longer.

As for running, I am a little frustrated.  Before this past week, I was upset that I couldn't get my speed faster and my pace per mile down to what it has been in the past.  And then this week, with the start of heart rate zone training, my pace is slower because I need to keep my heart rate within that fat-burning zone for now.  I admit that I ignored that today on my long run, and ran longer than the plan called for since I have a half marathon in 3 weeks.

But overall, I am so pleased that I accomplished every workout, plus two strength sessions at Crossfit.  This is the first week in a very long time when I exercised 6 out of 7 days.  I am REALLY looking forward to that rest day tomorrow!  I was quite good with time management, pairing workouts when I could, taking my running or biking gear to work so I could minimize my driving time, planning my meals.

Oh--I forgot about that other discipline...diet!  I did fairly well this week, and am only disappointed slightly in my eating over the weekend.  But overall, not too bad. 

Week 1.  Done.  Success.  Fun.  Difficult.  Worth it.

Now, in closing, it is time to post my ambitious Ironman goal.  In the book I'm following, Don Fink's BeIron Fit, I am instructed to post my goal.  Write it down, post it where I can see it, and make it public.  So here it is.

Ironman Louisville 2013
Goal: 12 hours!
Top 10 age group

Swim: 1hr 15
T1: <10 minutes
Bike: 6 hrs
T2: <10 minutes
Run: 4hr 25minutes

Ambitious, but not impossible.