Blog

Welcome to the EXPERIENCETriathlon blog! Enjoy the stories posted by our athletes, and feel free to give them positive comments!

It has been an amazing two years.  In seventeen months I completed three marathons and three Ironman triathlons with Craig Strong guiding me the entire way.  After my second Ironman, I earned a slot to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, a dream that I never thought was achievable.  Earning the slot meant that only six weeks after my second Ironman I would need to race Ironman Hawaii with arguably the best athletes in the world.  My training with Craig to this point had gone very smoothly; there were very few workouts and races that I found too challenging.  My three previous marathons and two prior Ironman efforts had been executed almost to perfection.  But, it was unclear whether my body would recover enough to race another Ironman so soon.

I arrived in Hawaii with my Mom on Saturday a week before the race.  The atmosphere was very tense; there were crazy athletes out on the hot highway riding 100 miles and runners on the course every day.  I knew that I was with the best of the best.  During athlete registration I moved aside for Chrissie Wellington, the World Champion in 2007 and 2008!  I also met one of the media slots who had petitioned Ironman to let him race in Kona.  He was hoping to be the first person with a heart transplant to finish the Ironman.  I was extremely intimidated, not only by the great athletes, but all of the amazing people who came to compete hoping to accomplish something bigger than just finishing a long race.      

As the week progressed, I tried to stay in our condo as much as possible to avoid the other tense athletes.  To calm my own nerves, we drove the bike course so I wouldn't be surprised by anything on race day.  The entire way there were athletes training in the hot sun.  How were they going to race well in less than a week!?  I swam every day in the ocean, which was very pleasant compared to the pools in Virginia.  On Wednesday, my Dad and good friend Lectie arrived to keep me company, enjoy Hawaii and support me during the race.

On race morning, I was oddly relaxed. I knew that I could complete the distance and I was prepared to do everything I could to cross the finish line.  I suited up in all my gear, put body glide on every part of my body, hugged my parents and friends, and headed to the ocean for the swim start.

The morning was dark, chilly and foggy, the race site virtually empty when the shuttle bus dropped me off, save for a few race volunteers who must have been awarded the very early shift.  I had my body-marking done and headed into the sea of racked bikes.  When I'd racked my own bicycle the day before, there were only 3 others on my rack and a slight bit of breathing space around my bike.  Not the case now... bikes were jammed so closely that it took some finagling to lay out my gear. Not a problem; I'd make do.

The race didn't start for another 2.5 hours, and my wave wasn't set to go off for another 3 hours.  Keeping my brain off the intensifying nerves wasn't going to be easy.  I was doing this race alone, so there was no one to pass the time with.  Coach Suzy had given me an internal goal list to focus on, along with a few things to do ahead of time (pre-race warm-up swim, getting suited up in my wetsuit ahead of that, some stretching, etc), but time seemed to drag before I could actually start those things.

Eventually fellow racers started to fill the space around me, and I could sense the nerves and excitement the other women around me were experiencing.  Some women were sitting, some were stretching, a couple were doing light jogs around the parking lot, some were engaged in easy conversation with other athletes.  I just observed and tried to soak in the mood of the morning.  Finally it was time to mold my wetsuit over me and zip the nerves into my core.  The 15-minute walk over to the beach start was a chance to gather my thoughts and start my blood flowing.  The ground felt cool beneath my bare feet, but invigorating at the same time.

Danskin officials were allowing women to swim alongside the course for warm-ups, so I took advantage of it, using the time to follow Suzy's advice of a pre-race swim.  The swim leg always makes me nervous, so this was about the best thing I could have done to help my nerves at that point.  The water felt phenomenal... crisp, cool, clear.  I swam a few hundred yards, then it was time to clear the water for race start. 

Monday, Sept. 28th at 5am I started my swim across the English Channel.  Wearing a Speedo, goggles, 2 jars of Vaseline, and a smile, I dove into the 62-degree salt waters and swam to Shakespeare Beach just south of Dover Harbor.  Shakespeare Beach is where most EC swim attempts start, but you have to be taken there by your support boat.  Mine was carrying the Captain, Andy, an assistant crew member, Gary, an Observer, Steve, my wife Jennifer, my mother Mary, father Don, and ET coach Craig.  Swimming up to the beach from the boat was the scariest part!  It was pitch black outside and even on the sunniest of days, you can't see your hands in the waters of the EC.  I put a flashing bike light on my goggle strap and on the back of my Speedo so the boat could see me and not run me over.  It took me about 15 minutes to swim to shore.  Once there I raised my hands above my head and the boat sounded the start horn.  I dove back in, feeling much colder this time as I had been standing in the 55 degree air for a few minutes, and started a swim that I thought would take somewhere around 12 to 14 hours.  The tide was still coming in, so I felt like I was moving my arms but not going anywhere.

I must have been about 500 yards off the coast when I kicked a fish.  This was very startling because it felt like I kicked a human in the stomach, so I knew it was a big fish.  This made me pick up the pace a little.  The first few hours after this were pretty uneventful.  It was dark and I just kept putting one arm in front of the other.  I lost one of my flashing lights about an hour in and my boat pilot, Andy, made me stop to put a new one on.  I think I was pissed about this for about an hour and this was all I thought about, since I had had that light for well over 10 years.  This is the kind of craziness you fixate on when you have this type of sensory deprivation.  You can't see ANYTHING, you hear only the water rushing past your ears, you can't smell, and your brain starts systematically shutting down your body because of the cold.  It is one of the craziest experiences.

I was feeding every 30 minutes at this point, so I would stop for about 15 seconds and drink a carb/protein/water mix.  My goal was to take in around 350 calories per hour in two feedings equaling less than 15 seconds each.  This worked out well for the first few hours.  Although it didn't feel like I was going anywhere, I was keeping pace at 2 miles per hour.  As the sun came up, I was starting to settle in.  I had given up on my light and my brain had all but shut down.  I really don't remember much else, until I started to feel a little euphoric.  This was about 4 hours into the swim.  It felt like I had the perfect buzz until I started realizing I was losing feeling in the lower half of my body.  It started with my feet and slowly worked its way to my waist over the next two hours.  At this point, I was not able to kick, so Craig put on a wetsuit and got in to pace me.  He, Jen, and Andy had been asking me how I was feeling for the last two feedings and my only response had been, "Euphoric."  As I learned later, Andy did not know what euphoric meant.  This was a good thing, because he was looking for a reason to pull me out of the water at this point.  He and the Observer (Steve) thought I was hypothermic and wanted me out.  Due to some fast talking/ thinking by Craig and Jen, they convinced him to let me stay in.  At this point, I mentally thought I was done.  When Craig was getting out of the water (rules say someone can swim with you for only an hour), I told him to watch me and keep me from drowning.  He just looked back with a blank stare and got out of the water and I kept swimming.  Once the hypothermia made it to my stomach, I knew I was done.

The Chicago Marathon was the end of a great season of racing both in running and triathlon.  It was an ambitious season to get in a lot of different types and distances of racing.  I'm sure I presented as a good challenge for Coach Joe to schedule all the training that I needed to accomplish all that I wanted to do.  As usual, I think he did a good job of getting me as well prepared as I could be.  The first half of the season saw me training for my "A" race of the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman and the second half was dedicated to my second "A" race, the Chicago Marathon.  All the while I kept sprinkling in smaller run races and triathlons - 4 other run races and 4 other triathlons.  I can tell you it can be done if you have the support of family, friends and coaches - I had that.  I will also admit, it can also prove challenging to excel at any one race and thus one must accept that finishing in any event is a huge victory in itself!  This was something I learned about the Chicago Marathon.

A year ago, I sat with Coach Joe at our yearly review and future planning session and laid out the plan for 2009.  Looking at the dates of the races it was easy to see the ambition (a polite term for craziness) of my 2009 plan.  I was going to have completed my half Ironman in the middle of July, still have an Olympic distance triathlon in August, and then begin my preparation for the Chicago Marathon with about eight weeks of training.  I even threw in a half marathon in September for good measure.  I had noticed that many of the other novice runners doing the marathon for the first time were spending the entire summer focused on running only - maybe that should have been a clue for me?  I had it in my mind that I had an established base for endurance running through my prior three years of training and that eight weeks of training could be focused on getting the distance down.  I had myself convinced that if I could endure a half Ironman event, I could surely handle a full marathon of running only...right?  I mean, I could do a half marathon in 1:30.  It would be just doubling that for a full one...right?  What's all this about "the race starting after 18 miles?"  It couldn't be nothing that a few sips of Gatorade and a few gu gels couldn't handle...right?  After eight weeks of preparations, I found all the answers I was looking for.

Today, I am a much stronger and more confident person for having become a runner. 

I met Coach Joe through another trainer about seven months ago.  At that time, I had just completed a couple of months of circuit training, had reached losing 15 pounds through a weight loss program provided through work and felt it was time for another challenge.  I felt the next logical thing to do was to run.  Running had always been my biggest challenge.  I never really liked running or tried to incorporate it into my workout routine.  I was always an elliptical or stationary bike type of person.  I remembered trying to join a running club a few summers ago.  However, I always felt like I was never progressing or had the time required to become a strong runner.  Things changed when I met Coach Joe last February.  When I met him I was upfront and told him I had three days a week, at most, to dedicate to running or working out in general.  I knew being a single mom, working in the hectic IT field, in downtown Chicago, with a son preparing to go off to college would leave me with just a few hours a week to dedicate to my work out routine.

Coach Joe was very flexible and offered a few options on how to get started.  He mentioned he would be able to supply weekly online training plans when I told him I could not attend the running classes or join the running club due to my schedule.  The online running plans were definitely the way to go.  They were convenient, affordable, and I had a coach with awesome experience and reputation.   

On September 20, athletes from EXPERIENCETriathlon, led by Coach Craig Strong, hosted the first ever open water swimming race held at Diamond Lake in southwestern Michigan.  Events included a 2.5K, 5K and 10K.  Over 25 swimmers competed in the event.  The field included one 10K swimmer who had just completed the English Channel swim in August, another 10K swimmer about to do the Channel, and many first time ever open water competitors.

Craig and I looked at each other after the event was successfully completed, and asked, "How did we do that!!???"  It all started with an age-group triathlete needing swim coaching (me), an exceptional coach (Craig), and a determined Channel-Swimmer-In-Training (Todd P) who needed more open water for his long swims.

I had been training with Craig since December, and told him about the beautiful lake where we've owned a cottage since 1988.  In the meantime, Todd had tired of doing his long swims in Lake Michigan.  In late June, Craig and Todd came to Diamond Lake for Todd's first training swim there.

September 28^th, 2008, dawned crisp and sunny and clear.  Good news as today is Berlin Marathon day.  I roll out of the hotel bed in my third country in a week and think if I could train on an airplane, I might be able to give Haile Gabreselassie a run for his money this morning!  I am up good and early and have plenty of time to have another two changes of heart as to the clothes I am going to run in, scoff down my instant oatmeal and start the walk to the start line.  I am running with a good buddy of mine from Boston and her husband and my mother are the support crew.  There's a little bit of chit chat as we join the throng that's streaming towards the starting enclosures but Lynn and I are mostly focused on what lies ahead.  A little voice in the back of my head starts to shout, "You are running HOW far today?  You must be joking..." but I quash it by reminding myself of my recent long training runs, including 21 miles in the pouring rain in London two weeks previously.

All too soon we say our goodbyes to our "Number 1 Fans" and head into the fenced off runner's area.  The numbers of people are just overwhelming and it's difficult to pick a route through to the starting corrals.  We head in what we believe is the right general direction but the crowds are moving slowly and time is starting to tick away.  We finally make it to the road where the corrals are located but are faced with 8 foot fences and hordes of runners milling around trying to get through with no clear direction.  We join a throng moving in what we hope is the right general direction.  9 am passes and we are now getting twitchy - there will be no warm up for this race.  We find a gap and make it through to a smaller, 5ft fence.  Runners are starting to move on the other side so there is nothing for it but to hop the fence.  We make it unscathed and start shuffling forwards.  We cross the line at 9:15 and it's Game On!

Hey, Coach Joe!  Happy Monday to ya!  Yup...it was toasty this weekend.  I'm sure you can relate, though...it was just perfect for me and Kent. :)  Bang's Lake was the first Tri this summer where we didn't FREEZE before the race. :)  Kent did the Aquabike and I did the full Tri.  We weren't shivering after the race either.  Very refreshing for us...

I'm also very happy to report that I didn't freak out on the swim.  That was my only goal for Bang's Lake this year.  Last year, I spent about 15 minutes hyperventilating because I thought the seaweed monsters were trying to pull me under.  Plus, they had the course swimming directly into the sun!  Brutal!  This year, they angled it slightly to the left of the sun so it was much improved!  Plus, they doubled the number of lifeguards.  Unfortunately, they still used teeny tiny buoys so many people struggled to stay on course.

Because of my seaweed fiasco in 2008, I have been mentally preparing myself all year for this race.  Last weekend, during our practice swim in Madison at ET Summer Camp, the seaweed really scared me at the beginning of our swim.  As Kent I and swam out towards the bridge, the waves and the seaweed got the best of me and I had another panic attack.  I realized then that I had gotten a little too self-confident and I still needed to work on some basic Tri skills.  So, at the end of our Madison swim, I purposely swam through the seaweed and brushed it with my hands and settled down into it.  My heartbeat slowed and I began to think of reasons why the seaweed is beautiful.

Kent and I had an involved discussion about it.  Why did it scare me?  Was it just the basic survival instinct that kept me fighting against it?  Did I think I was going to drown in it?  Was it the slimy feeling that freaked me out?  I think it was a little bit of everything.

Coach Joe!  I did it!   And while I can't say that every -moment- was great, the overall experience really was.  I wouldn't have done it nearly so well without your help, I'm so grateful for your caution, your wisdom, and your enthusiasm for this awesome sport!!

Mattoon Half Ironman.  Finish time:  5:33:35

Swim:  42:15

T1:  1:54

Bike:  2:57:20 (18.9mph)

T2: 1:23

Run: 1:50 (8:27)

I was 4th/12 in my age group, 58th/195 overall--I know I can't change who shows up, if I just focus on my times I'm ECSTATIC!

I followed my race plan with regard to exertion perfectly:  Not too hard on the swim, low zone 3 on the bike, mid-high 3 on the run.  I had no sprint left for the run finish, but didn't walk at all either.