Bridgeland Race Report

I’m happy to report that my PR streak remains unbroken.  Since October 2012, I’ve had a PR in every race I’ve done.  I know this streak will come to an end at some point but for now, I’m really enjoying it!! 

I wasn’t nervous going into Bridgeland.  Sprint races are so much more fun after you’ve raced the longer distances.  You know you can swim the distance (mainly b/c it’s the same as your Ironman warmup).  While I wasn’t nervous, I wasn’t going into the race as prepared as I would’ve liked.  After Shadow Creek Ranch, I vowed I was going to focus more on the swim so I could tear it up at Bridgeland.  I’ll get there in a minute though.  Two weeks leading up to the race I worked over 60 hours and the week before I was just over 50 hours.  My body was tired, my mind was tired and I was just plain down in the dumps.  I contemplated not racing but for how much this race costs, I wasn’t about to miss out.  Nope, buttercup was going to suck it up and race.

Race morning was uneventful.  Because my original number had been given to someone else in error, I was assigned a higher number and racked with a hodge podge of folks.  The plus was I had lots of room on my rack.  I got in & out of transition quickly, made it to the potty before the line was too long and then headed to the swim start with Keith.  One hour until I start. 

Swim

Getting in the water, I knew I wasn’t going to post a significantly better time but I knew I wouldn’t post worse either.  I got in the water 2 minutes before my wave (the 2^nd to last wave) went off.  I felt calm and ready to go.  We were on our way and I just focused on my stroke…finishing my stroke specifically.   At Shadow Creek Ranch I tried to go out hard and it didn’t work so for this race, I just tried to pace myself.  I felt good.  My stroke felt good.  Whenever I sighted, I saw lots of red caps.  I passed a few orange and a couple yellow.  I of course got passed by a few speedy white caps but expected that.  As I headed to the exit, I felt really good.  I felt like I was faster.  Well, I got out of the water and glanced at my watch and immediately saw a 16 (last year I was 15:21) and said, “WTF”.  I saw Keith and just shook my head.  I was pissed.  Royally pissed.   There was absolutely no time to sulk though.  I needed to stay focused and get in & out of transition as quickly as possible. 

Bike

I got in and out of T1 in just over a minute.  I hopped on the bike and just rode my heart out.  My goal was to hit 20mph (I was 18.6 last year).  The good thing about coming out of the swim slow is that you get to pass a lot of people on the bike.  Seriously, I’m not bragging, just let me enjoy the one thing I’m good at.  I passed one person after another and tried to make up everything I gave away in the swim.  This was going to be hard.  The course was a little more crowded than I thought it would be and found myself having to yell, “ON YOUR LEFT” more than once to the same chick.  Seriously, there was this one girl who would NOT move.  I was coming up fast on her wheel after yelling the warning a few times.  Finally a yelled it even louder and thought about tacking the F word on at the end but thought I should be nice.  When I passed her I couldn’t help myself and shook my head and said, “seriously”.  Right at that  point, I was passing by Keith and heard a girl yelling for me too.  I couldn’t see who was with him.  Hannah was out of town and I didn’t think my family was coming.  I passed the 10 mile marker in under 30 minutes so knew that at this point, I was going more than 20mph.  With 3 miles left, I needed to keep the pressure on.  As I headed towards the dismount line, there was Keith along with Stefanie & Avery!!!!  Yay!  As I rolled to a stop I glanced at my watch and saw 38 and change. I crossed the timing mats and hit the lap button at 39ish.  So my Garmin told me my pace was 19.7 but I knew it was probably faster and would check the official results.  Yeah, right.  As luck would have it, my swim, T1 and bike time were all lumped together so I have no idea what my official pace was nor do I know just how much ground I made up on the bike.  Damnit!!!!

Run

T2 was about 1:50 for me as I was clear across transition from run out.  No problem.  I started the run and got to see my support crew.  Keith knew I wasn’t happy with my swim but also knew I just posted a very solid bike time.  This race is hot.  I mean come on, August in Texas??  I pushed as hard as I could and got my HR higher than I think I ever have in a race.  I wasn’t as fast as I was at CB&I but I was able to squeak out a 9:35 min mile.  I took as much water as I could at aid stations with most of it going on my head.  Did I mention it was hot?  I finally heard the crowd at the finish and just held my pace.  I crossed the finish line in an official time of 1:29:07 (Garmin said 1:28:55) and was quite pleased.  A 5 min PR at a sprint.  I was very happy to be under 1:30 although I would’ve loved to have been even more under (damn swim).

All in all, I’m very happy with this race.  My next race is just under 4 weeks away, a half-marathon in Wisconsin.  I haven’t checked the weather yet but expect it to be less humid than here.  I’m really hoping the conditions will be right for me to maintain my PR streak and finally get my sub-2 hour half!

After Lake Country Half Marathon, I’ll be tackling 10 for Texas and expect to have a great race there.  And then after that, I will tackle my last triathlon as a 35-39 age grouper.  Come January 1^st, I will age up and be part of the F40-44 group even though I don’t turn 40 until November 2014. Shenanigans.  Try Andy’s is also my last chance to post a Top 10 finish while I’m still in my 30’s.  Fingers crossed!

A great racing weekend makes for a happy Monday.  I’m ready to get back to training and get ready for my half-marathon.  I think my long run this weekend is 14 miles and I can’t wait!!!!!!

Happy training!

A little late but who really minds?

Shadow Creek Ranch Sprint Tri went extremely well.  I took 10 or 11 minutes off my time from last year and placed 12th in my A/G.  I really wanted to hit 10th but what can you do?  I had a pretty bad swim followed by a solid bike effort where I jumped from 21st to 12th place and then held 12th on the run.  It was hot as heck out there for the run but I hung in there!  Yay me!

My next race is a week from tomorrow...another hot one at Bridgeland of course.  This past week at work has been tough as I worked 60 hours so haven't rested or trained the way I wanted to.  I should still have a race PR but I'm definitely adjusting my expectations accordingly.  My A race remains the NYC Marathon so I'm not stressing if these smaller races don't go exactly as planned.

Aside from the past week, training has been going pretty well.  I feel like I've hit a good groove with my running and am really enjoying myself out there.  My bike rides haven't been longer than a couple hours which is actually perfect right now!  Yeah, I'm pretty happy I'm not doing Ironman next year as I 'm enjoying the "break".  

Well, that's all I've got.  No pics as I'm just trying to be good and get a blog update before my next race.  

Happy training!!!!

Race Week Again!

Woo hoo!  It's race week.  Well really, the race is tomorrow.  I've been meaning to type this all week and time just got away from me.  

Tomorrow morning I'll venture down to Pearland for the Shadow Creek Ranch Sprint Tri.  I did this race last year and really enjoyed it.  500 m lake swim, 16ish mile bike ride and a 3.23 mile run.  Last year I posted a fast (for me) 19.5mph bike so I'm really hoping I can beat that this year.  My run last year was around 35 minutes so yeah, do the math.  I'm not running like I did last year so I fully expect that run time to start with a 2.  :)  

This will be quick since I have a few errands I need to run before I relax for the rest of the day. Wish me luck!!!!

California Love

It’s that time to take a break from training/racing and tell you a little bit about our awesome weekend in San Diego.

I’ve only been to SoCal once and that was many, many moons ago when my parents took us to Disneyland.  Keith & I were so excited to get to San Diego not just to enjoy the pleasant weather but to visit his grandkids, daughter & son-in-law.  When we walked out of the terminal to the rental car bus, we were smiling almost immediately.  The weather was beautiful.  It was ever so slightly overcast but there was not a trace of humidity.   I think I’ve always been a California girl ever since living there in the 80’s and early 90’s despite the fact I’ve been in Texas for well over 20 years now.  You just can’t take the Cali outta the girl I guess.

We headed straight to Casa de Buttenob.  We love Mike & Heather’s place.  They’ve got a cute townhouse about 25 minutes from San Diego in a really cute little town that you can basically walk anywhere to.  Starbucks?  Walking distance.  Movie theatre?  Walking distance.  Wal-Mart (bleh)?  Walking distance. You get the drift.

Wednesday night we headed to San Diego for dinner at a brewery.  We all enjoyed yummy beers and pretty good food out on the patio.  While it was chilly, they had heaters and we had hoodies so it was all good.  Addison & Morgan were adorable and so well behaved! 

After my race on Thursday, we pretty much hung out most of the day.  Papa & I walked to Starbucks with Addie and then took her to the Pirate Park.  We made the mistake of calling it just the “park” and she corrected us very quickly.  Addie had a great time at the park and had us both climbing the ladder and going down the slide.  It was so much fun!  We had Lou Malnatti’s shipped to Heather & Mike so we could enjoy it with them while we were there and that was our 4^th of July dinner.  That evening, we headed to the local high school parking lot to watch fireworks.  So.  Much.  Fun.  Of course, the Captain & Diet drinks Mike had been making us sure didn’t hurt. 

Friday morning I got up early and jog/hiked up this awesome trail where I got a great view of the town.  Heather & I went for pedi’s and then the whole gang headed to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (or something like that).  Addie was so cute with all the animals and was such a little cutie.  Morgan was chill as ever of course. That night, Mike & Heather had some friends over and we cooked out.  Chef Mike fixed us some very tasty steaks and artichokes (yummmmmmy).  

Saturday was our last day.  Once again, I got up early to jog/hike up the trail and then walked to Starbucks with Keith.  Mike had practice so the rest of us went and had breakfast. 

It was such a great visit and we were very sad to leave but know we’ll be back soon (at least I hope we will).

Now THAT was fun!

I am happy to report that my race in San Diego went extremely well.  The official results had me covering 6.2 miles in 52:44, a big PR for me!  My Garmin showed 6.27 miles but hey, who is counting?  My previous PR was 59:59 and I was really hoping to be in the 55 minute range.  Right before the race, Keith asked me when I thought I would finish and I was a little gun shy but told him I would really love to finish in 52-54 minutes.  Well there you go!

The morning of the race I wasn't feeling 100% and was actually worried.  I felt confident I would PR but I wasn't sure I would have an awesome race.  We didn't eat great the night before and I even had yummy beer and shared dessert with Keith. The important thing was we had fun so if that meant the run had to hurt a bit, so be it.  We were there on vacation after all!

I did a quick warm up and immediately learned the race would have more hills than what was advertised. They said flat but this wasn't flat like we're used to.  That being said, none of the hills were very bad...more just like steady inclines.  I've been running more hills at home lately so I wasn't worried.  Before I knew it, the time to lineup had come and so I gave Keith a kiss and headed to the start line.  This race had somewhere around 3,200 people and seems to be a pretty popular July 4th run.  There were lots of military folks running.  There was also a large group of dudes running in Speedos....I hope they applied the Glide liberally before they got there. 

I took off and just told myself to run hard and keep the gas on.  My fastest mile was mile 2 which clocked in at a 8:07 pace.  Holy crap.  I was so pumped. Every time I looked down at my Garmin, my pace was under 9 minute miles.  Ok, I like this.  I hit the 5k mark at about 26 minutes (Garmin time) and quite please as that would be a 5k PR if this had been a 5k.  I would find people in front of me I wanted to catch and that's how I kept myself motivated.  When I hit the 5 mile mark, I was so excited.  I felt great, knew I was on my way to a solid PR and also knew I could push the last 1.2 miles with no problem.  

I think my favorite part of the run was when we crossed the dam with probably about a mile to go and it was lined with American flags. I looked to my right and the valley was so pretty.  Gosh, what a great photo op...if I wasn't racing!  I refocused and took off.  My Garmin would later tell me that my last .3 miles was done at a 7:44 pace.  :)  The race finished on a downhill into Hoyt Park and I am here to tell you that running downhill is not easy!  I kept focusing on my form and trying not to flail about. I saw Keith and could hardly suppress my happiness. He was cheering loudly too as he knew I was going to hit my goal. I was definitely coming in under 55 minutes and looked to be coming in under 53 even.  Seriously?  I hit the gas one last time just as I hit grass and crossed the finish.  Official chip time was 52:44 good for 28th in my division (out of 119).  I was also the 118th female (not sure how many raced) and 652 overall (out of   approximately 3,200).  I think that's the number I was most proud of next to my finish time.  My Garmin would say my avg pace was 8:25/mile but that's based on going 6.27.  Good enough for me!

My first race post-Ironman was a success and was so much fun! I think I was on cloud 9 the rest of the morning.  Keith & I agreed to meet at Starbucks post race which was on the way back to the car.  Somehow, I managed to beat him there and was dying for him to arrive so I could jump up & down with someone present (jumping around when you're alone is just kind of weird).  He also had my phone and I NEEDED to call Ana ASAP to let her know how the race went.  Ana has kicked my butt into someone who believes in themselves and I couldn't wait to tell her how I did.  She screeched with delight when she heard my time & pace!  I was soooooo excited!  I have worked so hard with her and the first several races I had were not always the races we wanted but we didn't give up and just kept with it and kept working.  

So yeah, I'm still thrilled and so, so, so proud of my time.  I looked at Keith after the race and was like, "I'm really a runner"!!!  

So there you have it.  The 10k is done and now it's time to refocus.  I have a race a week from today....Shadow Creek Ranch Sprint Triathlon and I'm ready to get out there and swim bike run my way to another PR!

Happy training (and racing)!

That's me with the uber cheesy grin post race!

Race Week!

My first race post-IMTX is this Thursday!!!!  I'm getting back to the racing scene with a little 10k in San Diego, CA.  Keith & I are going to visit Heather & Mike (his oldest daughter & her hubby) and I had already been checking online to see if there were any fun little July 4th races.  Much to my joy, my coach texted me to see if I could find a 5k or 10k to do around this time so she could set my pace zones for marathon training.  I happily signed up and just like that, my first race back will be "just" a run.  

The 10k I'm running is around Lake Miramar.  Yay!!

We are so excited to visit Mike, Heather, Addison & Morgan!  The girls have grown so much since we last saw them at Emily's wedding.  The Buttenobs are now settled in the San Diego area so we thought this would be the perfect time to visit.  I've never been to this part of Cali so I'm super excited!!!

The week after we get home, I'll have my next race which is Shadow Creek Ranch Sprint.  I did this race last year and really enjoyed it.  500 meter OWS, 16 mile bike and a 5k.  I've already set my sights on a goal and am so pumped to PR this race.  

Marathon training hasn't quite started but when it does, this chick is going to be super pumped.  The NYC Marathon is a mere 18 weeks away and it's going to fly by.  What an awesome year for racing this is going to be!!!

Some other news.....my sister Annie is engaged!  Woo too!!!  Also, Caitlin & Hannah entered the Houston Half Marathon lottery with me and we got in so come January, two more Chalfant girls will be adding half marathon finisher to their resumes.  The Houston Half is my favorite half (so far) and I'm so excited for them to see why I love it so much.  The route is changing this year but I have a feeling Houston will still show up to cheer on all the crazy runners.  

Well, that's all I've got for now.  I haven't blogged in a few weeks and wanted to start July off right!

Happy running!!!!!

Decision Made? Yes, decision made.

I’ve gone back & forth over and over every day since May 19^th (the day after my hardest race to date).  After finishing IMTX, I swore I was done with that race and maybe Ironman completely.  Of course, I came around as you all know and quickly corrected myself.  I would definitely race Ironman again.  For several weeks, I had all but convinced myself that I would tackle Texas again in 2014.  I felt like I had unfinished business even though I did the best I could given the conditions.  My best just wasn’t good enough (in my mind).  When I told Keith I was leaning towards 2014 he looked like I had killed his dog but did assure me he would support me. 

Well, after much deliberation, I’ve decided that I will NOT do IMTX in 2014.  I had told Keith early on I would only do these races every other year.  It’s a big time commitment for not only me but for my loved ones so I do need to take into account their thoughts. It does feel good to have made a decision but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad about not hitting that start line next year.

Now that a decision has been made, I can start planning my 2014 season. Yes, it’s early but I’m someone who does very well having long term goals to look forward to.  Also, I’m considering some out of state races that sell out early and I want to make sure I don’t miss out. 

I’ve been thinking about some goals I have.  The two biggest I have are running a sub-2 hour half marathon and the other is racing a sub-6 hour half Ironman.  My best half marathon to date is 2:02 so I’m right there.  I feel this goal is very achievable…I just need to figure out which race I’ll be going for it.  The Houston Half is only 2 months after the NYC Marathon and I’m planning on racing that for fun!  So maybe The Woodlands Half will be the place I go for my goal!

My best half Ironman to date is 6:28.  Going sub-6 is going to take a lot of work.  I can get ½ way there by focusing on my swim.  If I can do that, I’m hoping modest improvements on the bike & run will get me the rest of the way there.  The course I race will play a part in this too.  I’ve been thinking of a few 70.3 races I would love to tackle but they are more challenging and while that doesn’t scare me, it does mean I may not get my PR.  I did tell Keith that if I’m not doing IMTX next year, there is a chance we could be going back to Galveston where I will chase my PR and hopefully, sub-6 half! I've got some time to decide though.  

I’m excited about my races the rest of the year and in 2014.  By 2015, I’ll be itching to get back to the Ironman distance and I can’t wait!