2015 Tri Season Part IV (Irongirl + A History)

I only have two more races to write about, Irongirl Pleasant Prairie and my "A" race Augusta.  It's hard to believe that months of hard work amount to 5 blog posts.  Anyway, on to Irongirl!

Let me start by saying I love Irongirl!  Irongirl is a series of races specifically for women.  NO MEN ALLOWED (well, they can't compete but they can be volunteers and cheerleaders).  It's a sprint triathlon and it is put on by the same organization that puts on Ironmans and Ironman 70.3s.  Many people choose Irongirl as their first ever race because of the support and comradery out on the course.  Although it is a race, Irongirl in particular is about supporting one another.  Helping the newbies and encouraging everyone to do their best (whether that means a podium finish or just finishing).  

This was my first triathlon 2 years ago.  At that time I was 100 lbs heavier than I raced at this year.  To tell you the truth it was my Irongirl journey that prompted my decision for weight loss surgery.  I have a friend who got me into triathlon, she had done Irongirl PP a few times and loved it.  I thought it would be a great way to get in shape and do something athletic again.  

Here is a quick Nikki history lesson... In high school I played field hockey, basketball, soccer, and swam.  In college I even played Div. III field hockey.  But after I left school I got married and gained weight, went to grad school and gained weight, had children and gained even more weight.  Of course I dieted (who doesn't) and at times lost a lot of the weight, even 90 lbs on Weight Watchers after my daughter was born but I gained it all back.  I needed something to get me moving and this was my spark.

   (me in January 2013)

I began training in earnest for Irongirl PP in May 2013.  I couldn't run more than a 1/4 mile without stopping, I could barely ride 5 miles on my hybrid mountain bike, but I could swim.  Thank goodness for my lifelong love of swimming.  When I was 5 or 6 years old I began swimming on the local swim team.  I continued every summer until I was 12ish and then swam again competitively in high school.  Please do not confuse me saying "competitively" with actually winning anything.  I enjoy swimming but I have never been fast.  I have always been and continue to be a middle of the pack swimmer.

As I continued to train I repeatedly got hurt.  My knees were killing me, my hip, and my shoulder.  I got a cortisone shot in each of my knees.  I knew I would not be able to run the entire 5K but I wanted to do the race anyway.  We made a mini family vacation out of the race and I managed to finish the race. I even ran some of the 5K.  My time was 2 hr and 15 min.  Slow but the tri bug had bitten me hard!

(Finish Line 2013)

I hired a coach, bought a tri bike and as soon as I started training again and I was hurt again.  I realized that the extra weight I was carrying around was hurting me.  Well, it was doing more than just hurting me... my lipids were high, I had constant migraines and my BP was slowly adding numbers.  Despite multiple diets and attempts at exercise I was falling down a slippery slope.  Heart disease runs in my family.  My dad had a heart transplant at age 41 due to a massive heart attack.  My grandpa died of a heart attack (he had several over his life time).  I wanted to be around for my kids, so I started thinking.

In October 2013, I decided to make an appointment at the Weight Management Clinic to discuss whether I was a good candidate for surgery.  My hubbie thought I was crazy.  He said I didn't need surgery.  I could lose the weight the "hard way" and keep it off if I remained active.  I had tried so many times without success that I knew it wasn't true.  I went to the clinic and was told I was great candidate for surgery.  I still hadn't made up my mind.

A month later I went back to start my journey.  Doctor's appointments, nutritionist appointments, blood tests, Oh my!  I even found out I had sleep apnea and sleep studies are so much fun (please note sarcasm).  8 months later I went under the knife.  My life will never be the same but I am so happy for the opportunity I have been given.

Anyway, back to Irongirl PP 2015!  I convinced a friend from work to do her first triathlon and my old friend was doing the race as well.  The morning of the race I set up my transition area, met up with both friends, and walked over to the swim start.  I had no fear going into this race. I just wanted to have fun.  My swim was longer than I had hoped.  The swim was not wetsuit legal so I missed the bouyancy a wetsuit gives you.  I also placed myself behind more people than I should have.  I got stuck in bottlenecks quite a few times.

Out of the water and on to the bike.  It's a quick flat 12 mile course.  It seemed short (given that my training had been ramping up as of late).  Into transition and out onto the run.  I stopped and walked twice for short periods but I had a decent run.  My total time was 1 hr 37 min.  Almost 40 minutes faster than 2 years prior.  I was happy!

(Irongirl PP 2015)

It was a great day with good friends.  I knew this was my last race before Augusta and I was happy to have had an uneventful race day.  I knew that August and early September would be painful and looked forward to the next challenge.  

2015 Tri Season Part III (The Saga Continues)

My goodness, I did not expect my 2015 tri season to turn into Beowulf (lol).  I figured I sit down and write a short blurb about each race and be done with it but I feel like I'm leaving out so much of the process if I just do that.  I mean, you want your money's worth right?  Ha!  Anyway, onto July and my second attempt at an Olympic distance triathlon (0.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run).

The race was in Dousman, Wisconsin.  It's about half way between Madison and Milwaukee just off interstate 94.  Beautiful area filled with small lakes and rolling hills.  The hubbie, the two kids and I got up around 4am to be on the road by 4:30a.  I wanted to get there early for parking and to get my spot in transition set up.  I also wanted ample time to get in the water before race start.  This was a longer swim than Michigan so I wanted to make sure I was acclimated.

Everything went smooth checking in, setting up transition and getting a warm-up swim in. My kiddos were bored already and I knew this would be a long morning for my hubbie.  He was doing a great job of being supportive and managing my frequent freak outs.  Soon the national anthem was played and the elites and men were off.  Next up the Oly distance women.  The course was out and back twice.

The swim was uneventful (whoo hoo).  The sun was out and it made it a bit harder to sight the buoys but otherwise I had a very strong swim.  I had Rihanna/TI's "Live Your Life" song stuck in my head the entire swim (actually the entire race).  It proved to be a great rhythm to swim by.  Soon I was out of the water and headed to transition.  The bike was a 2 loop course of 12 miles.  All rolling hills and nothing too difficult.  I was passed again and again.  Oh well, I do not do this to win (or I would be sorely disappointed).

The last 2 miles on the bike were ridiculous.  My butt was killing me!  I have never wanted to get off my bike more than I did at the end of that bike (this is still true after much longer rides).  I stood out of the saddle for the majority of these 2 miles and was blissfully happy when I dismounted in transition.  On to the run!

6.2 miles, a 5K course looped twice.  The most horrendous part of this race is that the loop brings you 50m short of the finish line and you have to turn around and go back out... When I came in from my first 5K I was so sad to see others finishing and I had 3.1 miles still to go.  But I saw my hubbie and kids and knew I could continue on.

I decided to run in intervals.  Run 0.4 miles, walk 0.1 miles.  It worked great.  My time wasn't awesome but I wanted to finish and not kill myself.  I took in only Gatorade on the run and it wasn't my smartest move.  I learned then that I needed to fuel with more than was offered on the course but it didn't stick (more on that later).  As I approached the finish line my son began to run with me, then my daughter joined in with about 100m left.  It was awesome to have them beside me.  Just before the finish they dropped off and I ran through the finishers chute smiling!  I had done it.  My first Oly distance tri was completed.

I even placed!  Well, honestly there were 5 people in the Novice group and I got 4th.  I still got a medal ;)

(me and the kiddos post-race)

Next up: Irongirl Pleasant Prairie

2015 Tri Season Part II

On to the rest of the season...

My next Tri was for redemption.  I continued to train and each and every swim workout scared the crap out of me.  Not because I thought I was going drown or because it was so difficult, rather, it was because it was still my strength.  I knew I had failed in KC despite having trained hard.  Psychologically I was hurting, physically I was get stronger and stronger.  So off to Michigan I went.  I needed a win...

Tri Goddess Tri is a phenomenal race put on by Epic Races outside of Jackson, MI.  It is an all women's race.  So many first timers and the energy is just fantastic.  The morning of the race the forecast was for rain.  As we readied our spots in transition we all prayed the storms would blow over.  As we made our way down to the beach for the National Anthem and start it looked as though our prays were going to be answered.  No rain, the clouds looked as though they were headed south of us.  Off we went, out into the water for the half mile swim.

My goal was to finish the swim.  After KC I needed that and that alone.  My race depended on the first 25 minutes.  As I entered the water I started slow.  I intentionally just tried to find a rhythm.  I found it quickly (much to my surprise).  Soon I began passing a few people (and was passed by others).  As I rounded the last bouy I thought "really, we're done with the swim already?"  But out of the water I went, smiling like I had just won the lottery.

The bike and swim were less notable other than the rain.  Yep, we had not been spared the rain decided to come down in sheets.  I honestly thought it was hailing while I was on the bike.  It hurt!  But I managed the ride in good time and headed off on the run.  I alternated running and walking.  The last 2 miles of the 5K was a trail run.  Since it had been raining all morning and most of the previous night the trail was mud.  But it was so much fun splashing and sliding.  I just tried not to get hurt.  Finally I was done!  I had done it.  I had finished my first triathlon post gastric bypass!  I was thrilled.

(entering the water)

(Happy to Finish)

As I drove home to Wisconsin I began to feel like IM Augusta 70.3 was actually a possibility.  That I might actually be able to do this.  I had a super supportive husband, a great group of friends, and an online group of ladies at Obesity Help who encouraged me to continue my crazy triathlon adventures.  I cannot thank them all enough.  You know who you are!

The next race on the calendar was Triing for Childrens in Dousman, WI (local finally) on July 26th.  It was another Olympic distance triathlon and although this sprint had made me more confident in my abilities I still had doubts.  I knew Childrens wouldn't be easy but I also knew if I relaxed and took my time (hard to do in a race) I would finish.  And ultimately finishing was my primary goal...

2015 Tri Season Part I

Good morning!  I started this blog forever ago with the dream of completing Ironman Augusta 70.3.  Funny thing, I did complete Ironman Augusta 70.3 on September 27, 2015 in a time of 7 hours 4 min.  Yep, thats right.  Less than 15 months after having Gastric Bypass surgery I completed my long time goal of a half Ironman triathlon.  I swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and ran 13.1 miles (in that order) and I WAS HAPPY WHEN I FINISHED!

(Right after finishing IM Augusta 70.3) 

I felt like I had accomplished something impossible.  Of course it wasn't but I felt like it was.  I hate to admit it, but when I clicked submit on the Augusta entry in December of last year I felt like I was throwing away the $400 registration fee.  I had no idea how I was going to bike 56 miles or run (or even walk) 13.1 miles.  I'm not sure my hubbie was too optimistic either (actually he has admitted he was very skeptical).

But I started slow and worked HARD!  When I started training I could not run a mile straight.  I could only bike 15 miles.  My ass hurt!  My hips hurt.  My lungs HURT!  I continued to struggle through the training my coach handed me each month.  In April I ran the Annual Crazylegs Classic in Madison.  The 8K (5 mile) race starts at the State Capitol and ends at Camp Randall Studium.  My only goal was to finish and not to walk.  I managed to do just that.  My pace was slow and I finished in 1 hour and 1 min.  I was so disappointed that I hadn't broke an hour but so very pleased I finished without walking.

(Kiddos and me post Crazy Legs)

Next up was the first triathlon of the season.  On May 17th in Kansas City I attempted my first Olympic distance triathlon (0.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) and failed miserably.  The night before there had been horrible storms.  The lake the next morning was cold and choppy.  I took off and from the get-go I knew something was off.  I couldn't find a rhythm and turned to the breast stroke.  After a couple of hundred meters I could barely breathe.  I was gasping for air despite not swimming very hard at all.  I made through the first loop of the two loop swim course and as I ran (ok I was walking) past the women cheering for me I decided to continue on.  I had previously made up my mind that I was pulling myself from the race, but seeing the ladies there screaming for me I wanted to continue.

I walked back into the water and as soon as the water got deep enough to force me to swim I knew I was done.  It hurt to breathe.  I swallowed my pride, turned around and quit.  Yes, I handed my timing chip to the lady on the shore and proceeded to walk off the course with my head hung low.  The dreaded DNF (did not finish) happened to me.  I was disappointed, ashamed, and embarassed.  I wasn't sure what had happened but I knew something wasn't right.

I continued to cheer on the other women (they were all doing the sprint disatnce) and realized I could not laugh or inhale deeply without pain.  I didn't seek medical attention (right away) but I also knew something wasn't right.  The drive home was brutal.  The friend I drove with finsihed and it killed me that I had not.  I am not a quitter, yet that was exactly what I had done.  The pain in my chest was brutal but the feeling that I had failed was worse.  Turns out I had aspirated water into my lungs and I was experiencing a mild form of dry drowning (Google it!  It's so much fun).  Swimming is normally my strength in triathlon.  This experience screwed with me mentally more than anything.  I now dreaded the pool and even worse the next open water swim.  My next tri was a month away...