Recap of the 2015 Race Season

2015 was a good year for me. It was also a challenging year. I learned a lot about myself and my capabilities. I hope to take some of that wisdom with me this year and hopefully have an even stronger season. 

The year started off with Run for Regis in late January. I opted to run the trail half marathon. It was below zero degrees at the start, which made for a slow and frigid race for me. While its referred to as a "fun run" I still tried to push myself as hard as I could.  I ended up 5th in the race and 4th in my AG with a not so fantastic time. Steve finished 2nd male. After the race we rewarded ourselves with Winking Lizard food and brews with a group of friends. This was the "fun" part of the race!

A week later (early February) I ran a cross country half marathon in Lakeland, FL called the Holloway Half Marathon. It was maybe 55 degrees at the start so naturally Steve and I raced in shorts and tank. The locals were in tights and long sleeves. This was also a tough race. I started fast and led the race for the first 7 or 8 mile before a couple of women passed me. The last miles I was overheating and fading and I slipped to 4th female but managed 1st in AG. Steve ended up finishing 2nd overall and 1st in his AG. After the race we drove back to Clearwater Beach where we were staying and flew home the next day.

Next up was the Green Jewel 50K in early March. It was my first ultra distance race and it is a road race that starts in Rocky River and travels along the Emerald Necklace finishing in the Brecksville Reservation. It ended up being a snowy, cold and very icy day which made for a slower race than I expected. My friend Jillian ended up winning and my time was good enough for 2nd place female. Steve finished 7th male, 1st in Masters. After the race we headed to Fatheads for some hard earned food and hoppy beer! This was one of my favorite races of the season! 

Then it was the Fools 25K trail race just before April Fools, which was painful. The ground was not snow covered or muddy this year but rather frozen and jagged and icy in spots, which really got into my ankles after 16 miles of running. I was a little faster than the previous year and finished 6th female, 1st in my AG. Naturally we headed to the Winking Lizard after this race with it being in Peninsula.

Then I decided to run the 10 Mile Drop in mid April since I had done the 20 the year before as my last preperation for the Toledo Marathon. This was 2 weeks out or so. I had a decent race finishing 4th female and 1st in AG. My friend Jillian won the race and we headed to the Winking Lizard in Mentor for post race food and beers.

The Toledo Marathon in late April was the first of 4 consecutive marathons I ran last year to qualify for Boston. I had high hopes for Toledo and ended up PR'ing by 5 minutes but still had a ways to go to BQ. My friend Jillian ended up getting her first BQ so that was exciting but I knew I had work to do. Overall I loved this course and would definitely run it again!

A few weeks later it was time to run the Cleveland Marathon. I was lucky enough to be an ambassador for the race last year, which was a lot of fun. I am happy to be on board again this year! It ended up being rainy, hot and humid so I did not have the race I had hoped for here but still managed a decent time for the conditions that day. Steve ended up getting his BQ again for 2016 here. Afterwards a group of us met at the Winking Lizard downtown for post race food and beer. Typical M.O.

A week later for Memorial Day weekend it was time for the Blossomtime Run in Chagrin Falls. We met up at my friend Ginny's house with a group of Cleve Tri Club folks before the race. This is a tough 5.25 mile road race and my legs were pretty trashed but I had an okay day and placed 3rd in my AG. Steve placed 3rd in his AG as well. 

Then it was on to the first multisport race of the season, the Twinsburg duathlon. I did the first run and the dropped out of the race because Steve had flatted and I thought he said he was out. After a miscommunication and learning that he changed his wheel and jumped back in I had lost too much tine and opted to get in a longer run while they finished up the race.

My first triathlon of the season was in June at the Great Western Reserve Olympic tri at West Branch. I would say I was definitely not in tip-top tri shape yet here with the big focus on running and also training for another marathon later in the month so I was pretty excited to finish 6th female and 1st in my AG despite a tough day.

Rev3 Williamsburg, also in June which was Challenge Williamsburg has been one of my favorite races the last few years. This year I got a sinus infection a week before the race so it ended up being a last minute call to even race or not. Needless to say it was not my best day. Racing with a sinus infection in 90+ degrees and high humidity was a pretty icky experience. I did not even place in my AG here but just racing was a win that day. And of course seeing my teammates was fun.

The Charlevoix Marathon in late June was a great race. I fell in love with Northwest Michigan. It is gorgeous and the race was perfect. I fell just a little short of my BQ but PR'd by about 4 minutes. Steve raced the half and won his AG so it was a successful race for both of us and we made a fun long weekend out of it.

July was a month full of ironman training and short races. First up we ran the Johnycake Jog 5 Miler where I finally won my AG. The next weekend we ran the Painesville Sunrise 5 miler, which was a hot and hilly race. I ended up placing 3rd female there as well as the Mayfield Wildcat 5K the next weekend. This was all part of my plan to not let the IM training make me slow this season in preparation for Erie!

The month of August started off with my first multisport win at the Greater Cleveland Olympic Triathlon. It actually turned out to be a duathlon with the swim being cancelled but this worked out for me since running and biking are my two strongest events. This was fun and afterwards we headed out for food and drinks with some Cleve Tri Club folks. Next up was the Miller Marut 5K in Concord Township on my birthday which was hot and hilly and I placed 3rd female there. The last race of the month was the inaugural Rock Hall Half Marathon, which I used as my final speedwork leading into Erie. I ended placing 4th in my AG here with some tough competition. 

September was an intense month. First I ran the Erie Marathon and finally got that almighty BQ with a PR time of 3:35:15 - knocking about 7 minutes off my PR time in Charlevoix! Needless to say there was a celebration for Steve and I at Willoughby Brewing afterwards! Two weeks later it was time to race the 70.3 triathlon at the Deer Creek Fall Challenge. This was a tough race in terms of winds on the bike and it was a hot run. I started having some bladder pain about halfway through the run which caused me to slow down and even walk a couple times but I managed a PR time of 5:34 and ended up 2nd female so it was a great day and we celebrated afterwards at Matt the Millers by Polaris in Columbus on our drive home.

October was a tough month as I fought some health issues with my bladder and trying to balance out the final training days for Beach 2 Battleship 140.6 Tri. I was not sure if I would be able to race and/or complete the race so when I got the go ahead from my urologist I was a happy girl. He told me to just go out there and race and we would figure things out after. Steve and I made a vacation out of the race in Wilmington, NC. It was a lot of fun as it is a great town, we had a terrific place on the water and lots of friends there. Despite having to stop a lot to pee and some discomfort I was able to finish in 12:17 a nice PR and just a little short of my 12 hour goal. I was totally smashed for a couple days following the race so it was a tough recovery. I guess that's what I get for racing while sick.

A few weeks of recovery led into some shorter races in November and December to close out the year because it is too boring to sit around! First Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 miler, which did not go great for me due to some allergy/breathng issues and also probably some lingering fatigue. Still I placed 2nd in my AG and Steve placed overall. Then we both raced the Painesville Turkey Trot 5K to win our AGs again. Then we ran the NERC relay at Westwoods with our Snakebite Racing teammate Mark Erzen and placed 2nd co-ed team after losing by less than a minute to some high school XC kids! Next up a 4th place finish/1st in AG at the Jingle Bell Run 5K at Legacy Village, a 2nd in AG at the Frosty 5 Miler in Hudson on Xmas eve and finally a 5th place female/1st AG place at the Great New Years Eve 5K in Stow. 

That was a busy season and 2016 looks to be the same with maybe a marathon less and no 140.6. Plus I am spacing my big races out more to allow some extra recovery time. I hate resting but I need to work on that because maybe I will race even better if I can learn the art of recovery! 

2016 starts up this weekend with Run for Regis half marathon again. Forecast says 17 degrees, Brrr. Should be painful I am sure!

Deer Creek 70.3 Race Report

I'm a little late with this race report for the Deer Creek Fall Challenge triathlon but wanted to give a quick recap of the event before I write my race report for Beach 2 Battleship. Overall I thought HFP did a nice job with the event. There were a variety of distances from mini-70.3. Steve and I planned to make the 70.3 a hard training effort for our upcoming IM race at Beach 2 Battleship a few weeks later.

After a short bike and run shakeout workout, we headed down to Mt. Sterling, OH, which is a little outside of Columbus. It was maybe a 3-hour drive so not too bad. We headed over to the Beach to pick up our packets and then over to the Deer Creek Lodge to check in. A number of our friends from Cleveland were doing the race as well so we got a fun group together for dinner and drinks and then headed back to the room to get our race stuff ready for the morning. 

Prerace with friends

Race morning was smooth. We got up to eat breakfast and get ready to head back over to the beach to transition. We checked in our bikes, setup transition, grabbed our timing chips and then hung out with our friends Frank and Karen who were both racing the half too. We all got in a quick swim warm up. The weather and water temps were perfect!

The Swim - 1.2 miles - 33:41

The swim was quick and easy. There were a lot of people in the water but it went pretty smooth. It was a two lap swim course. After completing the second lap, there was a bit of a run maybe 200-400 meters over to T1. My time of 33:41 was prob more like 32 with the run.

T1 - 2:32

I had a long T1 perhaps but I like to sit down and put my socks and shoes on and eat something before heading out on the bike.

The Bike - 56 Miles - 2:59:46

Bike results were kindof flat for me. I was hoping to average between 19-20 and ended up around 18.8. I think fighting the wind just slowed me down some. It was a three loop bike course with some flat although windy terrain and the last 5 miles or so of the loop consisting of rollers. By the third lap I was ready to be done.

T2 - 1:34

T2 is always a little faster since there's no wetsuit involved. Quick change of shoes and headgear, a quick bite to eat and then off to the run.

The Run - 13.1 Miles - 1:56:50

Out on the run 

The run was okay for me. I had wanted to be a few minutes faster but it was hot and I was having some bladder pain the second half. Turned out to be a UTI I was treated for post race (not fun). I walked it off a few times but kept the breaks short as I wanted to have a decent run. I ending up averaging about an 8:55 pace versus the 8:45 I was shooting for. 

The Finish - 5:34:20

I was happy to see the finish and was excited to learn I was 2nd place female! It was hard to tell what place I was in as the run was a two loop course and there were a decent amount of people out there. This finish was very close to my goal time of 5:30 so I was happy with the effort and feeling good about my upcoming 140.6.

Post Race - 

After the race we headed over to the lodge to take a quick shower and then we drove to Polaris area in Columbus for a dinner at Matt the Millers Tavern with our friend Karen. We celebrated a good race with a good meal and a Bodhi IPA!

Miller Marut 5K Race Report & Training Update for Erie Marathon & Beach 2 Battleship 140.6

This past Saturday was my birthday and I could think of no better to celebrate it then with a race! It was five years ago on my birthday when my husband Steve and I had our first date at the Perfect 10 Miler race. In addition to my birthday, running the Miller Marut 5K this past weekend in Concord Township (where we live) was kindof a celebration of our fifth year as a couple as well!

The race started a little later at 8:30 am and was close to home so we were able to sleep in until 6:30, which was nice! We left the house around 7:30 to get to packet pickup and get in a little warm up beforehand. We ran about 2 miles at an easy pace and I was already dripping with sweat as it was a warm and humid August morning. I opted to leave my singlet in the car and race in my sportsbra, which proved to be a good decision. The first half of the course is downhill so there was a fast start. My first mile was at a 6:35 pace and it felt pretty good but as we hit the turn around it was all uphill from there! I was very close at that time to Savannah Dennison who was in second place but she took off as I faded. The last mile was hard physically and mentally tough for me and I lost a lot more ground than I should have but I do not do as well in the heat as some. I was able to hang onto third place female with my time of 21:47 but I really think I should have been a little faster. With the tired legs and heat I will take it. The real purpose of these short races for me is to force myself to get in the speed work for the upcoming Erie Marathon!

post race with my love!

After the race Steve and I got in another two miles of easy running and then headed over to the awards. Steve ended up placing 4th male and 1st in his AG so he had a pretty good race too. After the race we treated ourselves to  Starbucks non-fat, unsweetened Green Tea Lattes! Then I headed home to ride my bike for an hour and fifteen minutes followed up with a short 500 meter swim. I wanted to make sure that I got in all three sports on my special day! The rest of the day was filled with family.

Sunday I did my long ride for the week. I had planned on a century but it was so hot that I only ended up doing 85 in the 5 hours I was out. Steve did the first 50 with me and then I did the 35 on my own. This wrapped up a big week of marathon and ironman training with 50 miles of running, 150 miles of biking and some swimming although not as much as I would have liked! My long run of 18 miles on Wednesday evening went great as I was able to average an 8:40 pace even with the last 4 miles being mostly on trail. All in all it was a solid week and I am happy with where I am.

This week I am focusing more on the swim. I have done three 2500 meter swims including a double on Monday (one in the pool and one in the open water at Mentor Headlands Beach). I will also get in about 45 miles of running including racing at the inaugural Rock Hall Half Marathon this Sunday in Cleveland and 130 miles of biking. So it's a little easier of a week than last with the exception of the race.

Next week I begin to taper the run down a little more to 39 miles but have close to 200 miles of biking on the schedule including another long one. This will be my biggest bike week for a while since Erie will be two weeks out from Sunday! I will also get in a couple of 3000+ meter swims and some bikram yoga.

The following week will be lighter on the running and biking with a couple good, long swims and then the week after that I will be on a very light marathon taper with only one swim and no biking. The idea of not biking for that long is not making me happy but it is necessary so that I will have fresh legs for Erie. I know that the next 24 days are going to go very quickly! Then it is time to recover and do one more short build for the Deer Creek 70.3 Tri and Beach 2 Battleship 140.6 tri!

Stay tuned for the Rock Hall race report! My plan is to race it as hard as I can assuming I feel okay otherwise I will run it as a marathon tempo run for Erie. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize for that BQ!