New Half PR!!!!

Last week was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster (bad stuff happening to good people, not us), so the Leiden Half Marathon was a welcome distraction. I wasn't supposed to "race" it, but the weather was PERFECT (12C, cloudy, no rain, and some wind), and the course was absolutely FANTASTICally beautiful. So what can I say, I got inspired. The full race report is coming soon, but I am happy to announce my new PR of 1:56:51 (I know, it's less than 20 seconds...).
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Utrecht Half Marathon - Prep

Tomorrow is the Utrecht Half Marathon. This was supposed to be the half where I went sub-1:55. However, as things stand, I did not train enough to be able to pull it off this time. Instead, I signed up for another half on June 18th in Zwolle where I WILL go sub 1:55. My (not so) secret goal is to go sub-4:00 at the Amsterdam Marathon in October, so a sub 1:55 in June would really set the stage.

So, my revised plan for tomorrow is as follows: practice! Tomorrow I will practice my nutrition and even most importantly, my pacing during the first 6 miles (and then I can blow up). The plan is to start with 9:40, 9:20 and 9:00 minute miles and then try to stick with 08:50 miles until the end. If I keep the 08:50 miles up long enough, I will be able to go sub-2:00 (but I probably won't...).

I will bring my own water and GO GELs. While I had no nutrition problems at Egmond aan Zee, I really had trouble with the aid stations in Den Haag. So, I want to see if it's feasible for me to carry my own water for 13.1 miles. The hubby has very graciously agreed to meet me around the 12k mark for a bottle and gel handover. I think 3 gels (every 30 minutes) and a pre-start Luna bar should do it.

According to the forecast, tomorrow will also be very warm, and I really don't do well in heat. So, I plan on drinking a lot during the day tomorrow, and trying to stay out of trouble [insert cheesy smile here]. My bib number is 21569 and the half marathon starts at 2pm. Happy Easter y'all!

2:02:51

I ran the CPC Loop in The Hague, NL on Sunday. I finished in 2:02:51, not a PR, not a sub 2-hour, but another learning experience (yes another one) in what not to do... I still had a great time though. Race report to follow soon!

What was I thinking?

About a month ago, in the middle of my once-a-week working-at-home-day, an e-mail popped up, inviting me to sign up for the Groet Uit Schoorl run. There were10, 21, and 30k options and the races were taking place in the same area as Egmond-aan-Zee. I was still looking for a February race, so it seemed like a no-brainer. Five minutes later, I had signed up for the 10K.

I did the math today. I need to leave home at around 10, and probably won't be home before 7 or 8pm, to run a race that will hopefully take less than an hour... On the bright side, it is apparently a very beautiful area, and the weather will be cool and cloudy, with no rain.

I'm hoping for a PR. I will be better prepared than for my last 10K,  but not by much ;-)

I did it!

Yup, I survived 1.2 miles of swimming, 55 miles of biking, and half a marathon despite at 6+ week taper. Here are the stats:
Swim 33:36 (8/52 in AG)
Bike 4:08:05 (46/52 in AG)
Run 2:20:56 (43/52 in AG)

All in all pretty slow, but considering the POURING rain, the mud and the lack of training, I am HAPPY! Race report to follow :-) In the meantime, check out my lovely wubby's post... Isn't he the best?

First BIG Rookie Mistake

So we made the 4 1/2 hour drive from Den Haag, The Netherlands to Wiesbaden, Germany. This was my first time in 3 years driving in the Netherlands, and the first time in 9 months driving a stick shift, and the first time in 3 years driving a rental car... However, I am very happy to report that drive was pretty uneventful.

We are staying at the lovely Radisson Blue in Wiesbaden. My only pet peeve is the price of valet parking (25 EUR/day for them to park our car in a public lot...). So I parked my own car, thank you very much, for a price not much below that... So parking in Wiesbaden is a rip-off.

On the (very) bright side: the city is completely, and absolutely STUNNING! (sorry, pictures will need to wait a couple of days). So, if all goes to bits on Sunday, at least I will have a great walk through an amazing city.We also had some great all you can eat sushi, so all is happy.

Now, for the triathlon stuff (well, yeah, that's why we are in town). Since I have NOT been training for the past two months (my last real training session was early June, WHOOPS), I have decided that my goal for Sunday is to enjoy the race, and if things go really well, finish before the 5:30pm cut-off. There, I said it. I will be a triathlon-tourist. I will stay out of others' way, cheer them on, and enjoy the sights. And if I finish? GREAT! In my infinite (lack of) wisdom, I signed up for a half ironman that has 1,500 (5,000 ft) of climbing, and "technical descents" on a day like this:

So, at least I won't get too hot...

On an even funnier note, I manage to do my first huge silly ROOKIE mistake: I did not bring shoes. Yup! You read this right. I was soooooooooooo worried I would forget my running shoes, I decided to wear them on the trip and to walk around Wiesbaden. I have done so for all my races until now. But while driving, I realized I had to give my shoes on Saturday. See, for this race, instead of setting up the transition ourselves on race morning, we get to rack our bikes the day before (Saturday), and put all of our other stuff in three bags, two of which we need to surrender on Saturday. Also, the swim-bike transition is different from the bike-run transition and I don't think I get to see T2 until race day...

So long story short, I had to pick: option 1) surrender running shoes on Saturday and walk barefoot... 2) keep running shoes and walk barefoot, 3) buy a cheap pair of shoes... I present you, the shoes of shame!

If you want to see whether I finish, I am pretty sure that you can follow the race at: www.ironmanlive.com. Find Wiesbaden 70.3. I will be number 685 :-)

Second!

I was second in my age group at the Fly by Night Duathlon. No official results have been posted yet, so no race report yet. And after 4 hours of driving to get there, two hour of racing, and three hours to get back, I am ready for food, shower, and sleep, in that order.

Fly by Night Duathlon Race Prep

So.... Today is the Fly by Night Duathlon. It is taking place at the Watkins Glen International racing facility, after a Porsche Clash. This is only going to be my second multi-sport event, the first being the Azalea Triathlon, in March. The race isn't until 5 or 6 tonight, so I only need to be there by 3 for registration (and Porsche oggling). Can you believe the transition area will be in the pit lane? Awesome. The race consists of a 1.86 mile run, followed by a 10 mile bike ride (3 laps of the track), followed by another 1.86 mile run, followed by yet another 10 mile bike ride, followed by (finally) another 1.86 mile run. So yeah, that's going to take me a while.

My goals for this race are pretty straightforward:
C Goal: I want to run a good/smart race: not blow up in the first 3 sections, go really hard on sections 4 and 5 (last bike and last run).
B Goal: If the track permits, I want to get my runs at under 8:20 pace, and my bikes at at least 17 mph average (although there are some speed turns and hills).
A Goal: I want to get my runs at sub-8 pace, and my bikes at at least 18 mph average. And place in my AG. There, I said it.

However, I have not trained for either my B or A goal. I have been focused on the half-ironman in August, meaning that I have been working hard on my endurance, and neglecting my speed. I also did not taper for this race, since I am putting all my energy in the half-ironman training. I am doing this race for three reasons: 1) it's going to be fun, 2) hubby is away so it will be nice for me to do something that is going to keep me busy and around others, 3) it is great racing practice.

I have about 1 1/2 hours to prepare, before leaving. According to google maps, it is about a 3 hour drive. If I leave by 9 or 10, I should be there in plenty of time to put my bike back together, test it, pump up the tires... My hubby usually does those things, but this week, he is is living it up in Europe, leaving me to fend for myself. I was also supposed to clean and lube the bikechain, but I got home late last night and focused on carbo-loading... Pasta and Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra. Yuuuuuum!

My little plan to eat more healthy backfired a bit. I managed to eat more fruit and vegetables than I normally would,protein at almost every meal, and slightly less junk (but still had bagels, lemon cake, ice cream, pasta, pretzels). However, I lost 1.2 kg in three days and my digestion has been a bit turbulent. So for today, I will stick to carbs, carbs, and more carbs, because I do not want any surprises, either for the 2 x 3 hour drive or the 2 hour race...

I need to go finish packing. I hope you all have great races and great trainings this weekend!

Bike Mojo is Back!

Today was a beautiful day. I got to ride my bike again, no wind, no falls. Just pure joy. So today's ride will hereafter be known as Mojo-is-back-Ride.

It all started a couple of days ago. The awesome guys from Freeze Thaw Cycles have been helping me make some adjustments to my bike. Last week I got a new crankset with bigger chainrings and a outboard bottom bracket (hubby helped put this sentence together). I don't know what that means, but is sure is faster!!! I first tried it on Saturday (also known as first metric century Saturday), but did not really notice any difference. I was still riding scared from 1) fall Wednesday, and 2) windy Saturday. But today was different!

The other change (on Tuesday), was a minor adjustment to my saddle (lower and further back). On rides over 1-2 hours, my back starts hurting me and my neck/back muscles get very stiff and painful. So Jordyn from Freeze Thaw Cycles, bike fitter extraordinaire, suggested I try this first, and then report back. Sadly, the change did not improve the back/neck problems, but it sure made me faster...

Not being very adventurous (especially when riding alone), I like to stick the same route, with minor modifications. The advantage is that I can time myself. So today I started with State College to Bellefonte on Seibert Road (I have four different ways of going from State College to Bellefonte). My old record on that route was 44 minutes and 16.6 mph average. Today, I did it in 43 minutes and 17.4 mph average (it's about 13 miles). That part of the ride is relatively flat.

The next 20 miles I tried to find long uphills (3 miles +). I did three of those (followed by the inevitable downhill that follows) and then went back on Seibert road again. I did 48 miles in about 3:25 hours, not including a couple of stretching, eating and drinking breaks.

In addition to getting my biking mojo back, I also practiced nutrition (2 x 100 calories in jelly beans and 1 Luna bar) and drinking on the bike (1 1/2 bottles ). Even though I did not completely bonk (an improvement over other rides), I was still well below what I needed. I also worked on going faster on downhills and am happy to report that I hit 35 mph (still below my 37 mph record) and exceeded 30 mph on several other occasions.

Post mojo-is-back ride, I made wubby and myself an epic lunch (included egg, peppers, onions, cheese, with salad, avocado, loads of bread (and butter), and Nutella... I think I was eating for over an hour, and my plate kept on looking full...

In other news, next week is the Fly by Night Duathlon, consisting of run-bike-run-bike-run on The Glen, a racing circuit. They still have spots open, so please join if you can! The more, the merrier!

Life is good, biking is better! Happy training!