Just hopped off the trainer for a short spin on the Trek. Life has been more than hectic. I grossly underestimated how hard it would really be to work 80 hours per week and try to stay motivated for anything other than sleep! I have survived a month of surgery night float and a month in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University. Currently working medicine wards and about to start a 102 hour week working the graveyard shift at the county hospital. The bonus of working nights is the added training you can get in riding your bike to the hospital since it’s always when the sun’s still out.

Training has been pathetic, I’m afraid to admit. Things will turn around, for sure when I get to my on-service (emergency) months. I can’t wait! I just happened to be very front loaded with my schedule. The bonus of that is I should be able to race early next season! I end my year with 4/5 months in the emergency department where we only work 60 hours per week. Yay!!

With my time off (we are mandated to have at least 4-24 hour work free days per month), I’ve tried to do a lot of cross-training. My workout of choice has been hiking. Two weekends ago Roger and I did 18 miles of hiking, climbing a couple mountains in Rocky Mountain National park. It was awesome!

This past week I had to take Maddie to the vet (found a 24 hour emergency vet) because she had developed what I thought was a swollen anal gland. Turns out it was a solid mass and I’m anxiously awaiting the results of the pathology. I’m terrified it’s cancer. So over the weekend I took her out to Indian Peaks on a hike. She liked it so much that I think we’re going to climb Bierstadt (14,000 feet) on Saturday if she’s feeling up to it. I’m hoping to get ahold of the new Timex Expedition series to test it out. It looks sweet and even comes in orange!

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Just trying to keep my head above water as an intern. I never fail to be inspired by my teammates at Timex ripping it up this year. I’ll be back to the races eventually!

I finished!!!!

Going into this race I honestly thought my chances of finishing were about 30%. I had been slowly and steadily rehabbing my knee from the injury I sustained during the Cali 70.3 but not at all confident in its ability to take me uphill 13.6 miles and downhill 13.6 miles in 3 days. Miraculously, thanks to ice baths and TP massage, when I woke up on day 3 it wasn’t hurting at all! Not to say I wasn’t in a world of hurt. I spent the night tossing and turning from the soreness and the sound of my heart exploding in my ears. But that is to be expected coming off back to back olympic distance races in the heat.

We got to transition about an hour ahead of time and slowly got the transition area ready. People were definitely moving slower than the past few days but not quite the zombie walk that I remember from last year. One thing that was obvious, though, was there were not nearly as many people starting race 4 as there were at race 1. Curious to see the numbers…

Here I am putting on my race chip. Hurts to bend down a little. Not the best way to start the journey of 70 miles, but that’s life.

The forecast was for rain, but there was not a cloud in the sky. I was really hoping for rain. The humidity was 92% at 5am.

Being goofy before the start:

The start of race 4 is pretty funny. Rather than a full on sprint into the water, most people leisurely walk to the first cone before slowly starting to swim. The contrast from day 1 is hilarious!

Doing my best to run in:

The swim went really well. It’s the only discipline that doesn’t suffer very much with fatigue. I’m not sure if the course was short or not, but when I looked at my watch on the exit it was under 32 minutes. Which would be a new PR!

Heading out onto the bike is when things get interesting. The course for race 4 is again very challenging. Near the start is a long 1.3 mile switchback climb. My rear derailleur wasn’t loving my 27 tooth in the back and was trying to shift down. Making it to the top is a minor victory. It becomes major on the second loop… The descent out of that climb is very technical with several 90-150 degree turns. I am a big big wuss and always err on the side of safety. I’m sure I lose some time on these, but I’m a big fan of skin and collarbones, so it’s all good.

Later on during one of the other long climbs on a single lane fire road an ambulance came screaming by. There wasn’t room for him and us so I had to jump off my bike. I felt something give in my bottle holder but was more concerned with how on earth I was going to clip into the pedals in the middle of that hill. After walking for about 20 seconds I just gave it a go and was able to get moving again. Towards the end of lap 1 the legs were definitely starting to feel the fatigue. The hills just keep coming and coming. The only saving grace is the last 3 miles which are all downhill. It was getting very hot and I was really thirsty. I made the big mistake of trying to drink some gatorade while descending. So of course at 30 mph with my hand on my bottle in the aero position I hit a bump and the water bottle went flying out of my hand and down a steep ditch. DOH! This race is self supported and I just launched one of my 3 gatorade bottles. crap.

Headed into transition to grab my last gatorade bottle from the special needs table I noticed what gave when the ambulance went by. I managed to break one of my rear bottle cages. Double crap! I took one of HFPs water bottles that they supplied at the turnaround and just wished that it would hold:

And then ate a banana!

Loop two was pretty uneventful besides my rear derailleur having increasing testiness with the 27 tooth. Oh, and getting stung multiple times by a bee that got stuck in my singlet… Towards the end of the loop my legs were so tired I started to doubt my ability to get up over the final hills. It’s a very lonely bike course, often going several minutes at a time between seeing another racer, so I was happy to have some company going over the final hill. We were all complaining about having to do that run. One guy told me that he was ok with it since he needed to finish in order to go to the Golden Corral to eat an entire carrot cake. I thought that was hilarious!

Coming back into transition was so bittersweet. Happy to be done with the hills on the bike, but REALLY not wanting to tackle that run course…

This was one of the last smiles in quite some time!

As you can see from the pictures, the rain and overcast day hadn’t happened. The humidity was still in the 90’s and the temps in the high 80’s. At high noon there was no shade on that run course. And being in the middle of the woods there was also not a hint of wind. I simply could not believe how hot it was. I made a decision to allow myself to walk up the steepest hills. The problem was, every time I would walk I would get immediately hot, light headed and I thought I would pass out. Not good. The saving grace was the best volunteers on the planet! They would fill my Nathan bottle with ice and water and were so fast with getting us all the water we needed and even had some salt tablets ready.

I think that if the run course was designed in the opposite way there would be a lot of DNFs. But having the last 2.5 miles before the turnaround be all downhill is a nice boost. Coming into the turnaround I knew that I would finish, but also knew that it was not going to be fast. I told my mom not to expect me to finish quickly and headed back out. The best thing ever happened during loop 2. The clouds rolled in. The temperature dropped (slightly) and I stopped feeling like I was going to pass out every time I walked up the steep hills. To give you a taste of how steep some of the hills are, my heart rate never dropped below 165 walking up them. The run course is so brutal.

Getting to mile 10.5 is HUGE. From that point the rest of the run is downhill. The only drawback is that since you have already run countless hilly miles up to that point, every single step sends shocks of pain up your quads. Running downhill is killer on the quads, shins and knees. But at least it’s not uphill…

I was so happy to finish I would have done a cartwheel if I thought I wouldn’t faceplant.

The finisher’s medals and T-shirts at the Triple T are more coveted than my Ironman finisher’s stuff. I really think this race is harder. The courses are harder than any Ironman I know of (except maybe Silverman) and you have to pull yourself out of bed two mornings after racing, sore and beat up to start another tough day.

But although it is a grueling race, it is honestly the most enjoyable race I have ever done. The race organizers are absolutely top notch! HFP and everyone involved with the organization are the most positive, caring, adaptable and fun group of people putting on races. Their attitude is contagious and attracts a truly outstanding group of competitors. Everyone out there cheers on everyone else, regardless of whether or not the person who needs encouragement is your direct competitor or not. This race is a celebration of the sport of triathlon. A race that I think every triathlete should experience at least once. And then promptly say there is not a snowball’s chance in hell they will do that race again. And then sign up for next year…

Special Thanks to…

- The guy who fired up his sprinkler at the run turnaround and gave me a nice cold water bath

- Roger for letting me borrow his Bontrager XXX Lite Clinchers for the race

- Nathan hydration for providing us with some great hydration products that got me through those tough conditions. Trigger Point for providing the massage products that got my knee through the race. Trek and Bontrager for being awesome. Avia for their most fabulous trail shoes that allowed me to run that race without completely trashing my feet on those rocks. And TIMEX!!!!!! Although I think I would have rather NOT known my heart rate for some of that race….

- And last but certainly not least, Mom for being the best race sherpa/photographer/PR coordinator/race strategist/cheerleader I could ask for

Race 2- Hardest Oly Course ever!

When I finished this course last year I proclaimed it the hardest course of any distance that I had ever done. Now I can proudly say that it is the hardest course that I have ever done at any distance… twice. The bike course is sick, and the run… well the run is the same for the two races today and the Half tomorrow, and it’s just a cruel, cruel joke.

So here is my photo race report for race 2/4 of the Triple T

Here I am donning the wetsuit. This race definitely merited the full suit.

And off to start the hardest race ever…

The swim was great. I love this course. The time trial start makes it relatively contact free and the lake is like glass. The consistency is a little nasty, but as long as you don’t mind swimming in pea soup it’s all good. I think I took around 24 minutes for the 1500 meters

Coming out, SOOOO excited to hit this bike course (NOT!)

The bike was hilly. Big Thompson hill was grueling as always. You start the hill at 18% from practically a standstill after a 160 degree turn. The first 50 meters are 15-18% and then the remainder is about 9%. It’s not a fun thing to do when you know you have a hilly run in your future. But the field is much stronger this year. Last year I saw several people walk up the hill. This year most people took it with no difficulty. The bike course took me in the ballpark of 1:25. Close to what it took me last year.

Here I am starting the run:

The run was really, really tough. It is never, ever flat and quite steep for much of it (all trail). The humidity when we started was 88% with a high of 87 degrees. I absolutely wilted in the heat. There were several times where I took 10-20 step walk breaks up the steep hills. My HR stayed around 180 for the majority of the run. When I started to get the chills towards the end of the run it made me a little nervous. But the last 2.5 miles is all downhill, so it is quite the mental boost after the crazy climbing.

Here I am coming into the finish. I think I did the race in around 2:46, a couple minutes slower than last year, but for this course and conditions it’s fine with me!

One of the toughest part of this race is trying to recover between races. There isn’t much time with the starts at 7:30 and 3pm. This is my strategy…

Step one: Ice bath

With Peanut butter bagels (I choked down 2 between races):

Then step two is sitting with my legs in the air for 10 minutes. Lets the blood flow out:

And finally TP massage! I can’t say my legs feel awesome, but I think I’ll survive the afternoon. No telling about tomorrow though…

The next race is in a couple hours and features a Bike – Swim – Run. It’s always fun getting the wetsuit on in transition. I bring a sleeveless for this race because it’s easier to get on. I can’t believe I have to do that run 3 more times. This is a sickness….

We arrived today in Portsmouth Ohio, Home of the American Triple T, otherwise known as:

It was very hard to leave the dogs at home, especially when they looked at us like this:

But alas, with 4 races waiting we headed down and picked up the outfit that I will be wearing for 3 days of races (yeah, it will stand on its own by Sunday). That’s one neat thing about this race. Everyone wears the same thing. Makes it feel like a big team. Very cool and unique (I did wear my Timex visor, though!)

Then time to set up transition for the first of four times in the next 3 days.

And it was time for the prologue- 250 meter swim, 5 mile hilly bike and 1 mile run. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to resist going out a little too hard for a race of this distance. Here is the start. It is a time trial start with 2 people leaving every 3 seconds.

The water was WAY, WAY warmer this year. Most people, myself included did the race without a wetsuit. Just easier for a race of this distance. And it was very hot tonight. So standing around in a wetsuit for 30 minutes before the start would have been grueling. Here I am headed to T1

The bike went by fast. It’s just basically 2 big hills within the park. I took it way more conservatively this year (downhill) because it’s just not worth crashing on the first day. But it was very fun. Here I am coming back into T2:

And then off to the run:

Being only 1 mile it’s over before you know it. I think my heart rate maxed out around 190. Oops…

All in all a total adrenaline rush! I had a great time and saw a bunch of old friends and met some new ones. Then it was off to carb load and then now to BED! Well, after I spend about 20 minutes doing Trigger Point Massage. 2 very challenging Olympic Distance races tomorrow. 7:30 am and 3pm. Forecast is for 86 degrees and very humid. I’ll be wearing my Nathan hydration belt on the run. The results of getting behind in hydration this weekend are NOT pretty.

Talk after the next race!