Lo-to-Ja!

Christina and I at the finish!

I seriously had a bit of doubt that I could ride my bike from sun up to sun down.  I did it...well I should say WE did it.  You cannot go this race alone.  You have to work the draft or you will burn out fast.  Where shall I start?  We got to Logan in just enough time to pick up our packets and get our legs stamped. 

LotoJa stamp

They stamp it with the LotoJa cyclist.  This year it was blue (I heard last year it was black).  We grabbed some dinner at Cafe Rio and headed to the hotel to get our stuff in order.  When I say "stuff" what I should say is food.  Food in the form of granola bars, shot blocks, sports beans, power bars, perpetuum, chicken stock (more on that later) EFS, advil, bananas and agave nectar.  Seriously, I had about 20 pounds of food that I was supposed to ingest over 12 hours?  How was this possible?  I had it meticulously planned.  I would consume 75 grams of carbs per hour and 500 mg of sodium (bawk, bawk).  I had made a list of what I would need at each stage of the race.  Justin was kind enough to be my support for this all day affair.  He had my "nutrition plan" in a little notebook I had prepared for him.  It's crazy how much prep time you have to put into a race of this length.  Earlier in the week while at the store I was shopping for some power bars and I would check for carb content.  You see, most people who count carbs don't like to have too many in their diet and restrict their intake.  Not a weirdo like me!  If it didn't have at least 25 grams of carbs it was NOT coming home with me.

Back to the race... We woke up at 5:20, got ready, tried to eat until we were stuffed and then headed to the starting line.  My wave of CAT 1,2,3 and 4 women went off at 6:58.  It was a chilly start.  We rode 30 miles into Preston Idaho.  It was mostly flat and these girls were setting the pace around 22-23.  I hung on the back and turned on a podcast.  I just love drafting.  Into Preston I took my jacket off, got a refuel (150 carbs and two new bottle of sports drink) and I was off for the first of 3 climbs.  The first climb was very scenic but I was just not ready for it.  I missed my friend who was supposed to ride with me.  I was feeling lonely and discouraged.  When I got to the neutral feed zone at the top I decided to wait for Christina. Even though i lost 15 minutes by waiting it was so worth it.  We were together!  We could now continue on with our plan and life was good again.  We rode into Montpelier Idaho and saw our guys at the third feed zone.  I was feeling great and ready and fueled.  Onto Afton Wyoming baby!  Ohhh wait... another climb!  The second one of the day.  It reminded me of the backside of suncrest and wasn't extremely steep but we were working.  What goes up....must come down.  We cruised down the other side and enjoyed a bit of relief before heading towards our final climb.  Queen of the Mountain!  This climb was like the front side of Suncrest and only 3 miles. Christina and I met up with several groups and continued to work our drafting skills.  While we were not crowned Queen of the mountain I settled for princess.  It was steep and without Eminem singing sweet melodies in my ear I wouldn't have made it.

Afton "picnic" stop.

We flew into Afton and I was feeling great...and hungry!  We pulled into the feed zone #2 and our men were not there.  What the?  Where are they?  Who are those guys under that shaded tree enjoying a picnic?....JUSTIN!  They ran over so fast.  They "claimed" that they had just arrived themselves.  He said they got a hamburger and I said "what?  a burger?"  So my sweetie let me eat half of it.  i was starving!  Usually I rarely eat during races so this was way out of character for me.  I so want to do a long distance race and not bonk, puke, pass out, forget my name,  etc. that my goal was to get it right this time.  I did.  I ate, drank, ate, gel, pretzels, and banana.  I put in my order for a "Cafe latte" (perpetuum flavor) at the next stop in Alpine.  We were off again.  125 miles down and 34 to the next stop.

Check out our drafting skills leaving Afton.....

Once into Alpine I was still feeling surprisingly good.  I was excited that the finish was coming and the next time I saw Justin it would be at the finish.  For this stop I grabbed my latte, 2 advils and chugged down some chicken stock.  I think I made a few spectators gag as they watched me drink straight out of the box.  Kind of gross, I know but a girls gotta have her sodium!

This next part of the race was through a canyon with the beautiful snake river at our side. Stunning!  i saw a few boats full of people who were rafting down the river and having a blast.  it reminded me of our second year anniversary when we stayed in Jackson Hole at a bed and breakfast.  We did the river raft (2 months prego at the time)  and a few hikes (saw a moose of course).  I was lost in my thoughts of gorgeous mother nature and how happy I was with my life.  Its been a fun year.  Busier than ever but so enjoyable.  I could not stop thinking about my kids and how I wanted to bring them up here and do the river raft.  They are still a little small fro it but one day they'll be ready.  i also thought about the three things that I wish for them as they grow.  They are; 1-Be happy. 2- Be kind and 3- Be adventurous!  I want them to get everything they can out of life.  Not material things but experiences, new people and adventures.  This is my wish.

Coming into the finshers shoot

Kiddos at Oktoberfest!  Happy, kind and adventurous.

We had 36 miles to go and I told Christina "remember our ride last Saturday?  That's all we have left.  Lets just pretend we are out for a 36 mile ride with fresh legs."  We came out of the canyon and along the main drag and then we took a side road through the country.  10 miles to go!  We could see the Tetons in the distance and soon the sun would be behind them.  My body was feeling good but my mind was ready to be done.  I got a little weak these final miles but Christina and Karen pulled me in.  We finished 12.10!  It was still light out and I have never been so delighted to finish such a long event.  It was a great day.  So much more enjoyable than I had expected.  We celebrated with a burger the size of my head!  So happy to have done this, happy to be done and ready for a slight break before my next adventure.....

The next day.  Me and my man in downtown Jackson Hole

Outta my way!

Move over Michelle, it’s my turn to blab…I mean blog for a minute. Admittedly, I haven’t been the best at posting my race experiences, but as my tri season came to a close this past weekend I thought I’d get back into the swing of things. Who has time to blog when they’re out there training 40 hours a week anyway? Seriously people, more training and less blogging! (Michelle’s going to beat me for saying that).

I’ve had a blast this season, and learned a lot! Swimming for one was a good start! You Race Directors can all rest easy now...I can assure you, no animals were harmed in my swimming in these triathlons. I also learned that running on a seriously upset stomach is much less fun than anticipated. I don’t recommend it. I also don’t recommend chaffing, especially in the nether regions, but that’s a different story for a different time.

All in all it was a great second season, and definitely one to build upon.

As for the Utah Half (70.3) this past Saturday…I really didn’t know what to expect. I haven’t really had much interest in putting time in on the bike. Not sure what it is, but it seems to be running in the family these days…go Michelle, I know you will rock LOTOJA. My run has been okay, but not great. My swim…well it is what it is, an area for major improvement this offseason. That being said, I just really didn’t have a feel about how this race would go for me. I wasn’t nervous, or overly anxious either, which is somewhat out of the ordinary. Bottom line I had no clue how Saturday would turnout.

On to the recap…

Looking my coolest...NOT!

The Swim

The water was absolutely perfect. Total glass…I was actually really surprised to see Michelle as I exited the water. I was certain she’d have met some ski bums and been cutting it up out on the slalom, but thankfully she was there cheering myself as well as everybody else on. Ironically, I now know why she was the head cheerleader back in high school! Thanks dear…it’s really great to have you out there leading the cheers! Back to the swim…nothing too eventful, the washing machine feeling is slowly becoming less and less intimidating, and I actually like mixing it up with the boys in the front, even if it is only for a few seconds. I’ve really improved in that area a TON since last year. Anyway, the typical elbow to the face, foot to the face, etc. Nothing too crazy, except maybe the taste of gasoline from the Ranger boat….yikes. No worries, couldn’t be any worse that the water in Utah Lake itself, could it? The course did feel a little long, and it seems like everybody’s time validates that. I came in just after 40 minutes, which is about 4-5 minutes slower than I had hoped. Time to kick it in on the bike…

T1

Not bad…wetsuit came off just fine, I was a little confused by the g-string tri shorts I somehow managed to wear without my knowledge. Oh wait…silly me, my shorts had just decided to impersonate something you’d find in the Victoria Secret catalogue I guess. Nice timing for that…oh well, maybe someone got a good chuckle out of it. I know I did! Not a bad time (1:50ish), considering my transition area was on the far end from the bike out. Really need to consider sacrificing the extra 30 minutes of sleep so I can get a good transition spot. Mental note for next year!

Bike

Being a pretty flat course, I really wanted to push it on the bike. My goal was 2:30, which is roughly 22 MPH. It was a stretch, considering I’m not riding a TT bike, and haven’t been putting a ton of miles in, but I really thought I could push it today. The wind cooperated for the most part, a few miles where it was tough, but I managed to push it pretty hard for most of the ride. Other than stopping at three stoplights due to some road construction, I felt pretty good about it. Came in just over my goal, but I’m totally stoked with my 2:32 split. My favorite part of the bike was my nutrition. In the other two 70.3’s, my nutrition on the bike has been terrible…I’ve literally limped into T2 on empty and had to get some calories immediately before I could get moving. This time I had plenty energy and came into T2 strong…or so I thought.

T2

Smokin…nothing else needed here. Third fastest out of the whole field (0.56 sec). To be honest, I don’t even remember T2…it was just so dang fast it must have blown my mind.

Run

I’m really not too sure what to say about the run. Coming off the bike I felt great. By mile 1 though, I felt awful. My stomach was not happy at all and was letting me know it. I managed to get some coke and a little food down just before mile 2, but by mile 4 I just wasn’t feeling it and had to completely stop and walk for a minute. I was having my own little Michelle-Boise moment, and I couldn’t understand why. Nutrition on the bike was great, what happened? I really wish I knew, but I haven’t a clue. Anyway, I told myself enough of this, and I forced myself to jog to the next aid station. A little more walking here and there and finally, at about mile 6 things started to turn. I must have done the first 6 miles in about an hour, because I was getting passed like crazy. It was not going to be a great run split, but at that point I knew I would finish. Michelle was a huge help on the run, and I think the second half of the run was one of the more memorable I’ve had. I went from feeling like garbage, to running pretty hard. Yes, I was sore, and not 100%, but who is 65 miles into a race? I’ve always heard of this strange “negative split” concept, but my egocentric self could never come to grips with what it meant…until now. My first true negative split! I’m kidding of course, but I truly had such an enjoyable second half of the race, and I owe a ton of it to Michelle. She had somehow managed to befriend about 20 people on the course, and somehow over the multiple times I passed them, they remembered my name and cheered really loudly for me. I felt like Tom Brady out there…by the way, GO PATS! Anyway, Thanks Michelle, you really are the best.

Coming into the finishers shoot- 4.56!

Afterward

I always love to chill after a race and just chat with the other athletes. Loved having my parents there to watch, thanks Mom and Dad for coming! Chatted with some cool people, and hope to stay in touch throughout the winter and next season. Final time was 4 hours 56 minutes. Scary, but 11th place (including overall winners) in my age group…19th place overall. The 30-34 age group is just so competitive, but I love it. Great job to all the racers out there, and major thanks to RaceTri for putting on a spectacular event.

Mom and Dad

Until next time…Tri Hard!