Well, yesterday I asked the question: can Rosanne race 3
weeks after an Ironman?
Spoiler alert, the answer is: mostly, yes!
Yesterday I did the Seafair Olympic tri. I was supposed to do it last year, deferred
my registration after crashing and ripping most of my skin off just a few days
before the race, and so got registered for it this year! Last year it was all about doing as many
triathlons as I could, getting them under my belt and learning as much as
possible. I was also supposed to do a
half ironman last year, but the same crash kind of threw that plan out the
window (but this Olympic was supposed to be the stepping stone to that as
well).
Neeedless to say, this year was a bit different! I was really only doing the race because it
was paid for and I was registered, but had no other motivating factor. I guess it was a good test to see how
recovered I was, and was definitely a motivation to get myself moving again
post-ironman...but I didn’t feel like I had too much to lose, since if it went
poorly I would know it was probably because of a silly 140.6 just 21 days
prior.
But of course, in true Rosanne fashion, I knew I wanted to
race it. I was supposed to take it easy and
see how it felt and then go for it if I could..but I knew it would feel fine “enough,”
based on how training has been, so went in with more of a “go for it and if it
sucks then back off and hang on” mentality. Close enough, right? This past week I really felt better; not
quite 100%, but pretty darn close.
Things felt pretty good, I was feeling strength in my legs again and
could push it (hills are still a bit more of a struggle, but even run intervals
were decent). All in all, I felt I had a
good shot at actually giving it my all.
So:
The swim was…well, it was the swim. Small group in my wave, although it was
strange to be so far back (race started with the first wave at 6:30; my wave
didn’t start until 6:51). Also, people
suck at swimming. I don’t want to say I
got pushed around and hit more than in ironman..but it felt worse. I think people in an ironman at least kind of
know what they are doing, have more experience, and control things better. I had people all over the place and slapping
and just..ugh. It felt like it took a
LONG time to clear out, finally got water to myself but it was a bit chaotic
for a while. I felt myself getting into
that panicky spot for a while; the neck of my wetsuit felt tight, I was
breathing too much, my legs were getting tingly..all those warning signs that
Rosanne is on the verge of a panic attack.
Managed to get that under control and the rest of the swim was “fine,”
so I’m just happy that I could control it :) Swim was boring. Felt long.
But also really short. Meh. Still just hate swimming. Slow, as always. Moving on…
I’m glad Allen was on the perimeter of transition. I kept forgetting my number all day, I still
had my IMCDA number stuck in my head (527!) and so trying to think of 245 was
just confusing. I kept thinking it was
425, instead. Anyway, he saw me kind of
stop at a row of bikes (they were numbered, I think I was in the 400s) and
yelled at me to keep on going, thank goodness!
Got my foot stuck in my wetsuit, which is abnormal for me in a
race. OH well.
Bike time! I wanted
to actually bike hard. Ironman was all
about conserving energy and making it to the run after 112 miles, but this was
just a short 20 mile bike. I honestly still don’t
know if/when I could have gone harder on the bike in Coeur d’Alene without
digging myself in a hole even more on the run…but still. 6:48 on the bike? That hurt.
I mean, that’s just a sad bike split, no way around it.
So I really needed to ride well, and prove that I can lay down a decent
bike split, even if it’s a way shorter course :)
The route was hillier than expected—well, not hilly, but
definitely not flat. It was essentially
the express lanes on I-90, and the freeway really isn’t a flat as you would think
:) especially with the bridge, and overpasses, etc… No real climbs at all, but it was never flat,
just lots of long, gradual ups and downs.
I rode well. I’m
happy with it. I feel much more
redeemed. 59 minutes (exactly!) for 20
miles put me at a 20.3mph average and put me at I think the 5th or 6th
fastest female bike times of the day of the age groupers.
Decent. It was really windy,
especially some areas, and I pushed it more than I would have for a longer
ride, but it felt good and I reminded myself it was ok to push things within
reason. Definitely wasn’t mashing it
out, but was trying to ride strong and steady the whole time. I did get a bit tired out by the end, but
overall, the legs held up great!
Onto the run. Allen
stood outside transition and asked me if I was going to run with my helmet
on. YES, I AM! (I always do things in the same order in
transition, and for some reason I always take my helmet off last, AFTER putting
on my running shoes...)
I finally did take my helmet off, and it was time for the
biggest test of the day: can I run??
I had been running ok this past week, my paces have been mostly back to
normal, but they have been noticeably more difficult. Not a lot, but just a “hm, I feel like I’m
breathing a little harder than I should to hold this pace,” kind of thing, so I
really did not know how I would feel and how I would be able to run at the end
of a triathlon.
Started out pretty quick, as per usual. So far, so good. Settled down into more of a 7:15-7:30 pace
which was about where I should have been.
Would have liked to have been more on the 7:15 side than the 7:30 side,
but oh well. I finally decided to try to hold
steady around 7:30 and see if my legs would let me last that long—respectable enough!
Maybe a quarter mile in, some guy came up behind me, and
settled into step next to me. “I had to
chase you and match your step—I’m just going to try to keep up with you, if that’s
ok?!” At this point I was still trying
to work out how I felt and what I should shoot for, since it was too early to
tell how I would feel, so I quickly laughed and explained my situation, but of
course I was happy to have him around if he was ok with my potential dying
later.
We talked on and off, I told him about IMCDA, he said he was
just starting and doing a full IM in September.
He said the run was his weakness, and he usually either paced off of people too
slow or too fast, so was thinking my pace might be good for him to chase. He fell behind a few times, then would surge
back up to catch me—I mostly just tried to hold steady, although garmin data
does show I bounced around a bit ;)
I’ve never run with anyone in a triathlon like that. Not like we were running “together,”
but..still. It was good. It may not have always been my preference,
but since I had slightly lower expectations and really just wanted to see if I could
hold it together, it was just what I needed!
Chatting kept me distracted, but also kept me a bit more accountable
since he was pacing off of me.
There is a big, dumb out-and-back up a stupid-steep
hill. Since it’s two loops, you do it
twice (hey, does that sound familiar?? Looking at you, Bennet Bay hill...).
I ran it both times, but it was not a pretty run. I felt like I was barely moving, and yeahhhhh
I am not ready to run hills yet. But I
focused on form, sucked it up, and ran it, baby steps and all.
So I’m happy about that :)
The second loop was a little rougher, but it actually felt
shorter since it was the second time around.
All in all, I managed a ~7:35 average for the 10k, so I am super happy
about that! I felt ok on the run, mostly
normal, except I just didn’t really have anything in me to give it an extra
push. I felt like my body settled into a
“this is the pace you can run and that’s all you’re gonna get” kind of a pace
(usually I can push it more, or at least have that extra available to kick it
up when I need to), but I am not complaining at all!
Ended the day in 1:22:39, which was good enough for 2nd
in my Age Group (after Sam, who really should have been racing as an Elite
haha), and 8th female overall!
(note: pretty sure the 1st place girl cut the course though
sooo..there’s that) Not that I'm that
amazing really, but having come off of ironman, I am really, really happy. It means I am recovering well, and am going
to be ok after all ;) Also very nice to push it a little more, not just worry
about conserving energy all the time ;)
Faster is fun!
All things considered, it was a great day. Fun.
This is my thing, and it sucks and hurts (ok fine I’ll admit it, it wasn’t
super fun during it, I was mostly wondering why I was there and why I was
running and running sucks and this is hard and boohoo woe is me)…but I love
it! :)
Especially going into it with no real expectations, it almost felt like I
was proving that things haven’t all been a fluke. I proved a lot to myself at ironman, and
going the distance, and yesterday I proved to myself I can still do short distance races
and push myself as well. Success!
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