I Woke Up this Morning Feeling the Same Way I did the Morning of St George 70.3
About 33% better. So I thought, what a great opportunity for me to share my recent experiences.
I had pretty good training going into it. I progressed my bricks, had solid training, and then something happened on April 19th, I did my long ride, nothing spectacular, and then, proceeded to do my 10 mile run.
16 minute miles. This was the day that the “Pre Race Pneumonia” set in. I actually expected to run about a 12 minute mile off the bike that day. That was the day that the allergies went to my lungs. And I had one thing to focus on. Not getting bronchitis.
Things were not letting up, so I made an appointment with Dr Speegle. My hero. I felt a lot better after that. I had also set up an appointment with my DOM, Dr Baum, who specializes in allergies. Both helped immensely. I did have to miss out on a couple of key speed type workouts, you gotta do, what you gotta do to stay healthy.
On the way up to St George, we stopped at Navajo Bridge. WOW, that was beautiful. I am very much looking forward to returning to that area again.
I have to say, this whole experience was one of my better triathlon career experiences. I got to see a lot of people I admire from Albuquerque, I traveled with a gentleman from my swimming group, who had rented an awesome AirBnB that was centrally located, and quite the Cat’s Meow. Tim came with us, and is just the best support anybody could dream of, and our other house guest was really a joy, as well.
So Day I in St George we picked up our packets, drove the course, and I thought I saw my idol, Melanie McQuaid.
After all that was said and done, we went to the swim. And it was simple. I could not WAIT to swim around the island. The water was amazing, it was so clear compared to what I have been swimming in recently. I did not get in that day. Because of my chemical allergies, I will wait until Race Day.
When we were getting ready for our Pre Race Accelerations, it was her, Melanie McQuaid. I have to say meeting her was the highlight of the whole event. Back in 2006 she was World Champion Xterra. I’ve always just really appreciated her attitude, her energy, and the way she presented herself. So we shook hands, I was surprised, and excited to learn that she is still racing Pro at 45 years young. She told me that she will race Pro until she is no longer racing, which is about as likely as me not racing. She also told me that she is trying to qualify for Kona, so she can knock one of my bucket list items: The Double.
Kona World Championships, and a week later Xterra World Championships. She is truly an amazing athlete, and person.
The whole interaction really got me thinking that we should think about having a Masters Pro category. They do in cycling, not Mountain Biking, or Triathlon. Even though many of these Master Pros are faster than us mere mortals, 15-20 years does make a difference. She still pulled like a 430 something, so total street creds.
Race Morning 330 am. The part of Triathlons I don’t love. I woke up feeling like shit. I was literally choking back vomit. It was terrible. I didn’t know what to do. I had many discussions with my house mates. I knew I had to take a Sudafed. I couldn’t eat, breathe, or not feel like I was going to barf. They all agreed to testify for me with USADA and WADA if I had to pee in a cup. So I agreed to take one, to be able to make it through the race. The juniper allergy returned with a vengeance. By the time we were on the bus from downtown to the Lake, I was able to finish my hard boiled eggs.
Highlight #2, seeing Kim in the Porto John line, and giving her a hug.
Highlight #3, having Lisa standing next to me for a good portion of the start, and having her in the same coral as me.
Highlight # 4 having Nathan pass me on the bike about a minute into it.
Highlight #5 having Seth pass me in the beginning of the run.
My swim was effortless, literally, my average HR was 118, and according to Training Peaks, I averaged 141/100 yard. C’mon. At some point, I am going to have to race the swim. I didn’t really care, as always, I was following the Grandfather of the Alcatraz swim guidelines, “take the time to really enjoy where you are.”
I have new food that I am using. It works great. For St George, I let the Perfect Bar soften. Then, I rolled it into small bite size pieces, and rolled it into coconut. Worked perfectly. I also had Magic Potion, and a quad espresso with 5 teaspoons of sugar before the run.
I didn’t eat enough. I ate, if I’m lucky half of one of these bars. I did drink my magic potion. And I did drink my quad espresso. I couldn’t eat anymore. I know I ate what I could under the circumstances, but not ideal.
My bike ride, was Z2. I know. WTH.
My run. I had a goal of trying to maintain 10-12 minute miles for the Half Marathon. My moral was low, as I did not have a confidence builder peak workout.
I was definitely a watch watcher. And it worked.
Until my brick. Then, I wanted to go 615, and then, I wanted to go 630. And not go 830. After waking up in the morning, I not only wanted to finish. I wanted to be able to start. I was able to start. And for that I am so grateful.
April 20, 2019 OWS Clinic and 1 Mile and 5k Swims
Was a beautiful day. Everything went fairly well. We learned a lot to make improvements for our future events. Here are a couplephotos from the day: We are really looking forward to June 30th in Lake Abiquiu!
That’s it for now. I have to get rolling. At some point the Juniper is going to have to stop pollinating. I look forward to the day. At this point, it’s just holding on with every ounce of energy it has.
One thing I noticed yesterday. I rode 12 miles on SS. I really miss my single speed. It was a lot easier than it has been, and I’m in the need for a 19 on there.
Until next time. Thanks for checking in. I’ll be in the same place, working on becoming faster. Next big race isn’t until the end of July. Although we are headed to Breck for Firecracker 50, preview of a Loop of Breck 100, and a preview of the Xterra Beaver Creek Course.