Category Archives: Swimming

2013 Saint George 70.3

Posted on May 7, 2013 by goSonja| 6 Comments

If you watched the triathlon racing last weekend via the blogs, FB or Twitter there were a lot of people talking about this fantastically gorgeous race in Saint George, Utah. I was lucky enough to be on the start line of that race and I can’t say enough positive things about it.

If you want to skip the reading and just get the story of my race, you can listen to Episode #37 of Jim and the other guy where he got me to spill the beans. 

Prior to the race I had a really strong training block with the camp I attended in San Jose along with the work I’ve done back in Denver. I was feeling good. Coming off Oceanside the fire in my belly was bright. Racing a 70.3 just 3 weeks prior to Ironman Brazil was something I felt excited about, I tend to recover quickly, especially in those final weeks before Ironman when my fitness is high.

I also had 3 of my athletes racing and I was really excited to see where they were at, and how the work I’ve been giving them is absorbing. I was just ecstatic with how things went. Mikki finished her first triathlon ever, very strong and she had fun! Mo had her first puke free triathlon since I’ve been working with her…and that’s been years. It was such a huge success for the both of us. And Jody had a superb race with no cramping, and is right where he needs to be for Brazil. Add to that, Punk Rock Runners 13 min half marathon PR on Sunday and I would say this was one of the best triathlon weekends of my coaching life.

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As I lined up on the start line I had a lot of things in my mind. My athletes races, mainly the swim for Mikki (so much anxiety around that for first timers), but also PICs mom. She was really in my thoughts that morning due to some medical stuff she was dealing with, and I was thinking about PIC too, and hoping she could race for her mom and be strong. Here is our scared faces!

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The reservoir is one of the nicest lakes you can find to swim in. The water is clear, you can see bubbles. I met Katie Kyme on the start line and we got into the water together. The start was smooth for me, although it was cold. My face was nice and numb but I felt like my turnover was a little slow as my arms were just cold and slow moving. I found some feet, they were great feet, straight swimming feet. On the final stretch, as the feet got a bit tired I swung around and swam strong to the finish. The swim work I’ve been doing with coach Nick continues to help me feel strong and prepared in the water. He assigns a lot of broken miles and I can refer back to those workouts on race day. It gives me tactics to use!

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Out of the water and onto the Quintana Roo I was jazzed to get this show on the road. I love the first miles on the bike, because really, the only thing going through your mind is “How are my legs?” “Are they here today.” All I could come up with is COLD. My legs were cold, they weren’t warmed up and they were slow moving because they felt cold. So I decided to really give them some time. I told myself it’s a long day, let them warm up slowly.

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3 miles into the race you go up your first climb. It takes about 5 minutes and I remember thinking “that was harder than when I rode it yesterday.” But you don’t always have to feel good in races. Sometime you just have to race hard, and know that it will all turn out okay in the end. At mile 15 I caught up to Rebecca and there were two other ladies in my age group right with her. I knew that when I went by this group of three I really needed to go and go hard. So I sat back (legal) and sat up and just watched for a little while. I ate a bar, and let my HR drop low and I just watched what was going on.

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Then I went. I put in a big effort for about 3-4 minutes and just went as hard as I felt I could reasonably go. After this effort when I pulled off of it, Sarah Jarvis passed me and said “Hi Sonja.” I took a look back and realized that she was the only one that went with my move.

The rest of the race was the Sarah/Sonja back and forth show. Sarah would pass me on every single uphill and then I would bust a move to get back to her on every descent. The course is very hilly. There are so many climbs that I lost count. But there were lots of bomber descents as well and the course evened out pretty well with a mix of the two. I remember going through 25 miles at 1:06 and thinking “this isn’t that slow.”

At about mile 38ish Sarah and I passed another girl in our age group, Christine. She was riding wicked strong and hung tight as well. As we approached Snow Canyon I was trying to decide on my tactic. My athlete Jody passed me and I had given him the go ahead to ride Snow Canyon as hard as he wanted, so he was bustin’ a move. I decided that I would keep my HR “managable” and use the 10 mile descent to bust my final move. So I rode that canyon hard, but not all out. Both Sarah and Christine gapped me pretty big.

Oh, and I ran over a Post-it note half way up the hill and it got stuck in my breaks and was making a HORRIBLE sound. It was a sound like I got a puncture, and I thought it was stuck in the back break but found it in the front and got it out. Scared the crap out of me for a few minutes though.

When the descent came I nailed it home. Hard as I could go, full tuck position on those descents and it paid off. I got back past Christine and Sarah and rode into T1 in the lead in the AG.

After Oceanside and my solid bonk I decided to make a few changes. I had a race belt with hydration to put on so that I was prepared with fuel goodies. I also decided to run without socks. I’ve been running in Sketchers recently and ran a few runs without socks in my goRun2s but didn’t practice with wet feet (bad move Sonja). I got my stuff on and got out of there.

I had advised my athletes to be VERY careful about your effort the first 2 miles. It’s a deceiving course and only gets worse as it goes. I started running and the hill was there but my legs actually felt good. My HR monitor strap was bugging me (I feel like that thing is trying to kill me on the run, hate it hate it hate it), but all in all I was feeling a boat load better than Oceanside.

I passed Mud who’s camp I attended and threw him my HR chest strap and got some encouragement to keep it steady. I also turned around, wondering where Sarah was and SHE WAS RIGHT THERE. This got me really excited. I love a good foot race.

The more the miles racked up the faster and stronger I felt (thank you Jen Schumm for all those single leg squats over the winter). I remember running down the first downhill and just feeling so strong. I had asked Stacey Simms (Osmo nutrition) a few last minute questions about my nutrition plan and I was repeating “I love Stacey Simms” going up one of those hills because my nutrition was working flawlessly. Having the waist belt was great, and I will take it in Brazil for sure.

I slowly got a little more time on Sarah as the miles went by and with each little surge I put in. I kept the pressure on and tried to catch every girl I saw in front of me regardless of age group. I felt better running than I ever had before in my life.

At about mile 6 I realized that my feet were getting harassed with no socks on. It just made me run harder. There was nothing I could do about it. With 2 miles to go, you have been descending for a long time and they send you on this out and back that’s an evil hill. I ran up that thing hard and took a time split back to Sarah of 1:05. Knowing I felt great, it was the first time I really smiled. Don’t get me wrong I was having fun, going fast is fun, but it was the first time I just was overwhelmed with absolute JOY. The last mile and a half I just wanted to feel the experience of the runners high, where you feel like you can run as hard as you want and it doesn’t even hurt. It was one of those days. I could do no wrong.

Coming into the finish I was so happy. It was so emotional to have one of those races where everything came together. Fitness Brains Tactics Emotions. It is so rare that everything falls into place and that was what happened for me out there.

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I want to extend a huge congratulations to the ladies I shared the podium with who were not only the top 5 in the AG, but also in the top 6 amateurs. Way to go womens 30-34! Sarah Jarvis, Emily Ure, Christine Avelar, Carly Johann! Solid racing ladies!! Also, a huge shout out to PIC Michelle who opened up a new age group at this race, and took home the win, and did so for her mom.

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Thank you to Kompetitive Edge, the new kit is great. Also thanks to Quintana Roo for my awesome bike. I didn’t have the fastest bike split, but it was close :) Amrita Bars, Punk Rock Racing, Osmo and NUUN have been so supportive. Thank you to them.

And also, a huge thank you to all those that have supported me through the good and the bad. My husband Troy and daughter Annie who continue to just love and accept me for who I am, tired, peppy, grumpy, you name it, they are my ROCKS. Thank you to the friends I have made training this year, especially the San Jose crew. And mostly, for the LOVE that I have received as of late.

Total Time: 4:47:28, swim: 30:57, T1: 1:40, Bike: 2:36:49, T2: 2:08, Run: 1:35:54, 1st Amateur, 1st 30-34

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Posted in 1/2 Marathon, Ironman, Quintana Roo, Race Report, Running, Swimming, Travel, Triathlon

2012 Kona Ironman Swim Bike

Posted on October 21, 2012 by goSonja| 4 Comments

Race night I slept like the dead. I was tired. Our room didn’t have AC and was rather hot and we were right on the ocean with the waves crashing all night in the windows so I dreamed about swimming in rough waters.

Before the race I was more relaxed than usual. I went through the usual body marking, bike pumping, nutrition downing, portapotty using routine. This year was nice in that Michelle and I were participating in the Korey Stringer Institute study so we got our own loo on race morning. That perk was worth the extra time in data collection.

We found Laura too and she hung with us pre race. I did my typical Kona routine and got a good spot on the wall. We ran into Jen C and that was awesome to have a friendly face there to make eye contact with in those final minutes.

When the guys started drumming, I started dancing. I was definitely more happy than I was nervous, excited to get things started and to get the show on the road.

Into the water we go. I always swim over to the sea wall and wave to my family. It was awesome to see everyone there, especially PICs kids and Annie. I blew some kisses and then swam off to get my spot on the canoe. Check out my awesome TYR goggles that I got to custom design. They are orange, and red, and pink. LOVE!

On the canoe we ran into Grant just like we did last year. I gotta admit, I missed Kendra a bit at that point, but knew I would see her out on the course cheering. Before I knew it we were lining up and the whole “continental drift” was beginning. Every year it’s the same thing. Mike Riley yells at us to stay back, the officials on surfboards yell at us to stay back, and the crowd of 2000 drift forward. Same thing every year.

The cannon didn’t work this year so Mike just yelled GO GO GO GO and off everyone went. Then I felt like the cannon sounded a few seconds later but I could have been imagining things.

Swim swim!!! Here I go. I got out well and actually found clear water in the first 500 Meters or so. Then the bashing began. Next time I am definitely stealing a mens blue cap because I swear the pink cap is a target for bullying.

Let’s just call it like it is, I got brutalized out there. I got booted off the feet I was swimming on, I got run into from both sides, I got decked in the head repeatedly. I just got harassed.

A few times out there I just wanted it to be over, to stop the physical bashing, the stop and go, the speed up and slow down, and the maneuvering that I had to do. But, alas, it’s the way these things go. I’ll keep practicing my swimming so maybe some day I will be amongst less people. I own it completely.

Oh, there was current out there. On the way out it drug us right and the way back it drug us left. In fact when I hit the pier, I actually ran directly into the end of the pier rather than the side of it. Then I had to turn right and swim along the end of the pier before making a left to swim along the pier.

The conditions were no worse than last year, but the water was a bit less clear than last year. I remember trying to relax from a particularly bad bashing and telling myself to look at the fishies and not being able to see them.

I got out and saw the clock and felt fine about it. 1:07, little slower than last year, but not too much worse for wear.

T1 was really quick. The only thing I had in my T1 bag was my sunglasses.

Out onto the bike I felt good. I stuck directly with my nutrition plan and also with my pacing plan from Dirk. I was calculating my time as I went along and felt solid with how I was feeling.

There was a lot of drafting, and a good amount of red cards being given out. This was cool to watch in action. As I have said before I try very very very hard to remain legal at all times. I will share with you something. At a race of this caliber everyone is fit, and everyone wants to have their best day. Most people in Kona have a race plan, and it usually involves some parameters on power or heart rate or effort or whatnot. Riding legal will often cause you to impact your ideal race plan. This is why I think a lot of people don’t think they are drafting and don’t think they deserve their penalty. (PS: I really dig my bike fit, Thank you Scott)

I talked to a woman who was an official and she said that 50% of people who come into the tent with a drafting penalty don’t think they deserved it. So, here’s why. In order to stay legal, you will be forced out of your plan. There will be times that someone passes you and then they slow down. Sometimes they even coast and stretch. To stay legal, you have to drop out of the zone before repassing or you risk a penalty and if the dude is coasting, you may have to break to do so. He will not receive a penalty for coasting, you will get one for drafting. See, it’s a game and sometimes it requires your heart rate or watts or whatever to go WAY below your plan. Just play the game and you won’t get a red slash through your fancy dandy bike number.

The flip side happens too. I had 3 situations, and you can see them on my power file where I passed the person at the back of a group and thus committed to passing the whole group. My heart rate went to 170. My watts were 230, but that was what I had to do to remain legal. It was on me to do so. Was it part of my optimal plan, not at all.

So, these things happened, I watched a lot of drafting, I watched people stay legal, I watched people try, I watched people get penalties, and all along I rode the race I needed to ride. It was a beautiful day out there, although, there were white caps on the water which is really bothersome to see when you are racing, because you know your day will become very hard at some point.

The wind up to Hawi was in your face. But it wasn’t cross like 2 years ago, so I was fine with it. I’ll take the wind in my face any day. Coming down was fun and fast, and then the 2 mile climb from Kawaihae to the turn onto the Queen K gave us a real taste of what we were in for. HEADWIND.

I have riden this section quite a few times and it was the biggest head wind I have experienced. It’s always a head wind, but usually I can cruise in the 19-20mph at race intensity. This year I was at 17mph for 2 hours. Boo. A lot of people just gave up on remaining legal through this section, the drafting advantage on a steep headwind like this is big, and the officials are extinct at this point.

I passed Michelle in here and she looked really good. I mean we were both in the headwind so we were working hard, but all signs looked good to me. There was an official with me at that point and I know he stuck with Michelle for about 5 minutes. Because we were in the same kit I think he thought we might work together, but he had nothing to hand out, because we don’t.

Into T2 I was really excited. I felt quite good coming off the bike and my tummy felt good. I wasn’t tired of my nutrition and all systems felt a go. Into T2 I saw Hailey! It’s not the first time this year we have been in T2 together. That was awesome to see a familiar kit.

On with the Newtons and the hat and I was off to run a marathon. I was pretty jazzed to get into the meat and potatoes of the day. I felt like I was strong and that it was go time.

Posted in Cycling, Ironman, Race Report, Swimming, Travel, Triathlon

You’re Good

Posted on October 5, 2012 by goSonja| 6 Comments

Ahhhh!! We are 9 days out now! Not nervous, nope, really, not nervous (total lie). I guess it’s more excitement and nervous energy. Every session I have on the training schedule seems to be hard and fast and short. I see high watts and fast paces with lower than expected heart rates every day and it gets me all jazzed up. I am finding myself with more and more energy each day this week. Nervous energy is starting too. All those Kona tweets and FB posts get my heart pumping.

The race wheels are on the bike! Race Day Wheels actually shipped them to my house on Monday so I get to ride with them for 2 weeks. Love those guys, they are great. I have used their services for all my Kona races, and CDA this year as well. The product (wheels) that they deliver is always consistent. The tires come brand new and you don’t feel like you are riding anything used, more like brand new.

I have an 808 with a Power Tap on the rear, and a 303 on the front this year. Last 2 years I have ridden a 404 on the front in Kona. But we have had two pretty good wind years, so I’m assuming that this year will be a doozy.

Ryan at Kompetitive Edge got her all gussied up and ready to go. She is shifting nicely (there’s still 9 days for me to mess that up) and she’s all clean (again…9 days, who knows what will happen).

Swimming! Oh my gosh. I haven’t really talked about Coach Nick, so I thought this would be a great time to do so. A little over 3 months ago Troy and I started working with coach Nick for swimming (Nick Levine with Open Water Coaching). He’s the kids swim coach at our club and we have seen him on the pool deck almost every day for the past few years. He’s a 2X channel swimmer and he knows open water swimming really well. He’s also really chill and relaxed and it’s nice for Type A athletes to have someone like that in their lives!

So on the 4th of July Troy and I did a 1500 time trial with Nick where Troy almost beat me, but I still prevailed. Whew. Then Troy got faster than me and went 1:05 in Wisconsin. I was proud. Then Troy had an off season and I kept swimming, so now I’m back to being faster. All along Nick will take the guidelines that Dirk gives me in my schedule, and he will write the actual swim workouts. Before Nick I just made things up and it was okay but hard to hold myself accountable all the time. So Nick writes workouts with the goal of getting me faster. This I like!

Last week I struggled in the pool big time. I actually quit 2 of my workouts. I had trouble hitting my intervals and I got frustrated and I got out. I was fine when I was swimming with others, but on my own, just me and the black line, I was like “it’s so cold, I’m so slow, poo” and would get out. I called Nick on Sunday and lamented. He told me not to swim Monday and to meet him at the pool Tuesday.

I get there Tuesday, 1500TT. No warm up, no cool down, just get in and do 1500 TT. Suddenly I’m nervous! Really nervous. I get in, he tells me to go whenever I want. I’m stalling and he yells “GO”. It was just like the cannon at Kona, unexpected, and the first 100 was spent yelling “swim swim swim” in my own ears.

Then I settled in for the long haul. I found with the swim the same thing I am finding with my biking and running right now. I can’t get myself to a total exhaustion place. I wasn’t panting or on the verge of puking. It seems that my top end is this strong, steady, and under control place. It’s not wild, or frantic, or at risk of an epic kaboom. But it’s efficient, and positive, and relentless.

I get to the wall and Nick says, “you swam really well”. I was like “Oh good”. He said, if you swim like that for 2.4 you can break 1:00 in Kona. I yell at him “There is no way I can hold that for 2.4, and if I did I wouldn’t bike or run very well afterwards”. We laughed. Then he said “Do you want to know your time?”. I said “yes please” and he said “22:37″.

I just stared at him blankly. I said “you mean 23:37″, he said, “No, 22:37″. I was in shock. I’ve only dreamed of holding 1:30 pace in the meter pool which yields 22:30. I thought, maybe sometime in my life I can hold 1:30 pace and swim a 22:30. It was a life goal, a life dream more like. I just took 50 seconds off my 1500TT in 3 months.

Then he looked at me, totally dead pan and said:

“Calm down Sonja, you are going to be just fine”.

No shit! Wow! Thank you Nick!

I’m still smiling over that swim. I was talking to my mom yesterday and I was telling her, I’ve have had so many successes in training the last few weeks I am probably going to walk the whole marathon in Kona and have an epic blow up. It’s just been so good lately. She got mad at me for that, but this is a woman who refused to wear her seatbelt while going through radiation for cancer treatment despite being driven around by her teenage daughter (=bad driver). She said, why do I have to wear my seatbelt, I have cancer. So, we allow each other a bit of sarcasm. Mom is honestly the only person on this earth I am sarcastic with.

So, hate to say it, love to say it, whatever….the stars are aligning. What this means for race day is completely up to me. But at least I can say I flew to Kona in the best shape of my life. Whether I have the wits, and smarts to turn that into performance on race day has yet to be determined, but man, all I can say is that this journey is freaking crazy. It’s the roller coaster of all roller coasters!

Posted in Cycling, Swimming, Triathlon

Ironman CDA 2012 – The Swim

Posted on June 28, 2012 by goSonja| 9 Comments

This was a tough Ironman for me to prepare for. I have my Kona slot. Why exactly am I racing? Oh yea, to see how Dirks training shows up in my body. I’ve had a rough go the last few weeks and I came to the race site less than confident. But if I know something about myself, it’s that I give my best every single time, AND, I can execute a plan. So, we have all read Chrissie’s book by now. Remember how she always writes something on her wrist band for when she races. I thought I would give that a go. As I did my pre race mental work sitting on a nice rock on Tubbs hill, I realized there was a lot of things I was scared of. I’m not usually a scared person, but I was scared of being slow, and I was scared of getting beat. That really was the bottom line, whether warranted or not, I was scared about these things.

As I was reading my little quote book I came across:

“Be fearless in the face of your fears”

So I wrote fearless on my wristband. And that was a good thing for me. Having fears happens, but I can choose to be fearless, I can choose to face them head on. So I did.

Swim

It seems that every year at CDA they compact the starting swimmers more and more. There are a few things that confuse me about the swim here. Why contain us in such a narrow start corral? And why 2 loops? The lake is really big, and the beach is quite large as well. I’m not sure if it’s for dramatic effect, but if so, they are successful in that. I lined up way left so that I could escape towards the inside buoy line if needed. They don’t like you to do this but survival is survival.

Pre Race Snuggles

All week long I had been talking to people about the cold swim and how to handle the mass start. I had two athletes racing their first Ironman, Katie and Emily. Both are strong swimmers, but the Ironman swim can squash strong swimmers like a bug, so I was especially attentive to them before race day, making sure they were “ready.” My advice (like Dori) was to “Just Keep Swimming” even though you want to stop and freak out a little, just keep swimming hard and things will settle with time. We also had to deal with the cold water and it’s easy to want to stop swimming when your face is freezing, but you just gotta keep going, keep swimming. The first 5 minutes of Ironman are the worst part of the day in my opinion.

Katie, Me, Emily (or EmyK as I call her)


I saw Katy B on the start line. We held hands through the national anthem, and I saw my friend Guy as well and my nerves were less than usual. I was standing next to the clock so I knew when we were going off. Boom went the cannon.


 

I ran in and started swimming. I was good for about 30 strokes, swimming, fighting, battling for some space. Then I started getting whaled on, so I went to my super wide “get the hell off me” stroke, still getting pummeled. Then a sharp kick to the chest and I got a little wind knocked out of me, just keep swimming Sonja, be fearless. Then I breathed left, no breath, right, no breath, a few strokes, no breath, a few strokes, no breath. I started to get scared, couldn’t breathe, and forgot completely about being fearless. Then a swift kick to the face and askew went the goggles. I breast stroked and put them back on, kick to the face, swam over several times. Back swimming freestyle, goggles are are full of water. I cleared the water, kick to the boobs, and go back swimming, still no breath, no breath, getting pummeled. And all I can think is “Just keep swimming, you told Katie and Emily to just keep swimming, be fearless.” Panic, and then, I find myself flipping over on my back. It felt like a total surrender, I got swam over what felt like 10 times, but I just backstroked and gasped for air. After somewhere between 6-100 strokes I flipped back on my belly and I breathed every 2 strokes all the way until the first turn buoy. I never breath 2 strokes, always 3 or 4. I also thought about Katie and Emily and I was scared for the both of them, hoping they were doing okay and were safe. They were fine…dealt with it all better than me. Good girls.

It was the worst start I had ever had to an Ironman. About 10 times I thought to myself “I should get a PRO card so I don’t have to put up with this shit.” Around the second turn buoy heading back in for the first loop, I looked up and saw the hundreds of people in front of me and thought “Maybe nix the PRO card idea.” Hahaha!

I hit the beach finishing up the first loop in 32:45. I waded out for more carnage. The second loop was particularly fun due to the chop. It was crazy out there. Luckily I knew better than to think it was due to boats. 2 years ago I cussed at the imaginary boats that were creating all the wake, but this year I knew better, I told myself to be fearless a good 5 times on that second loop and that seemed to give me strength. CDA really is one of the toughest IM swims out there with the cold water, congestion, too close together turn buoys, and 2nd lap chop-land. It’s a tough one. The last 25% of the swim I repeated over and over and over “Get me the F&#% out of here.” I was more than ready to be done with that swim.

I don’t know what’s going on with my cap here, I have a shark fin. Honestly, any Ironman swim that you make it through alive is a good day.

I exited, and looked at my watch, 1:08:40. Ouch. But honestly, I didn’t even judge it, or put an emotion on it (good progress for me). I just moved on. I was happy to have survived and fared okay. I was cold, but knew that if I was cold, then others would be freezing.

I grabbed my T1 bag and ran to the tent. I got a chair…always nice, and even had a volunteer to help me (super rad). This was the first time I was surprised by my mood. I was super chatty with the volunteer, usually I just nod. I methodically put on my favorite green vest, and my shoes, helmet, and sunglasses. She put on my race number, and helped me put on my little arm warmer bracelets that I rolled up after I got on the bike. I said thank you like 5 times, gave her a big smile and trucked on out of there.

I picked up my bike at the rack and headed out of transition. My mount was easy, methodical, and I was HAPPY! Like brimming with joy happy, smile from ear to ear.

Posted in Ironman, Race Report, Swimming, Triathlon, Uncategorized

2012 Galveston 70.3

Posted on April 3, 2012 by goSonja| 11 Comments

I can officially say that the cobwebs have been cleared from the system. Galveston 70.3 was epic indeed. I traveled to this race with my athlete Audra, who is a complete hoot.

I got to meet her hubby Clint, who took the best care of us over the race weekend. His entire family came out to see us race and it was like having my own family on course cheering me on. Thank you to the Adair family for the support and for adopting me for the weekend!

The pre race rituals went very smoothly for the first race of the year. No real hiccups and before I knew it I was standing on the pier with a slew of other light blue capped women of the 30-34 years like myself. As we waited I could feel a little bit of tension and like peoples eyes were on me. It was the Freak. This wetsuit got a lot of exposure. It’s really fast, and it costs a lot of money, and I was wearing it. Suddenly I felt like it caused a bit too much attention, I felt like I was on show. I tried to puff up my chest a little, act like I had big shoulders, do the thing some justice. As you can imagine I was more than ready when they let us in the water. I “warmed up” for the 4 minutes that they gave us, and then got on the front line, ready to find fast feet.

Off went the cannon and a group of 4 of us went off the front. I wasn’t struggling to stay with them as much as usual. I thought to myself, this wetsuit is FAST. I got on the first ladies feet and usually I’m kinda gasping and talking nice to myself to stay on feet. But I wasn’t. I was actually hitting her feet and her calves, and really just generally being a nasty foot tapper, not on purpose. I kept thinking…this wetsuit is FAST. At the first turn buoy I decided the pace was too slow. I figured I would try to pass and if the pace was indeed fast I wouldn’t be able to do so, and would just get back on the feet.

Nope, I went past her and swam away, then I’m thinking…dang this wetsuit is really FAST! I am leading my AG in the swim for the first time in my life. Nobody was on my feet, I was off the front, and feeling fast. I veered right a few times too many. I’m not the best straight swimmer, but I made it to the finish happy, and feeling like I must have swam a 30 or something.

The results were particularly alarming when Troy told me later. I was 1st out of the water, but I swam a 32:10, and would have been 9th in the 35-39AG. I didn’t swim fast, more just an average swim time for me. We just didn’t seem to have any of those studly swimmers in the age group there to pull us (me) all along. Total buzz kill after the race, but during the race, I was like “yea…I led out of the water….boooyaaa…my Freak is so fast”.

Oy…

Onto the bike I saw HR numbers that had me wondering if I would survive 5 miles much less 56. Luckily I have my trusty “Perceived Exertion” scale in my pocket at all times and calmed down and told myself I wold not die. The way out had a headwind, but I wasn’t super sure what to make of it. I tried to ride as steady as I could. A few miles in Brooke passed me. She was 6th at Kona and biked a 5:12 there and she flys on the bike. Away she went. She had an additional 4 minutes on me at the turn around.

Somewhere around 45 minutes into the bike I saw a big slew of cars and cops and whatnot coming the other direction. And then, just like that, this black blur with a Livestrong disc wheel went by on the other side of the road. Lance. I wish I could say that I didn’t get goosebumps, and that I didn’t tell the girl next to me “That was Lance” like I was 11 and seeing New Kids on the Block in concert….but I would be lying. Apparently the Lance effect works on people who are not even super interested in “The Lance”. Then I felt bad for the second place guy because there were like 30 cars following Lance and I wondered what that guy would do if he wanted to try to pass Lance (gasp). Then I actually saw the 2nd place guy and he was riding right behind one of those said cars…and I realized…eh….smart guy. Drafting a car is far superior to drafting off Lance…don’t you think? Less TV coverage though…

When we made the turn, that was cool. Flying at 24 mph, finally I could get that cadence going, and was hoping I could make up some lost time. I rode hard. the heart rate came down like 2 beats…2 beats further away from death was how I was thinking about it. But all in all, my perceived exertion was about like I am used to…maybe a bit harder. The course is a simple out and back, and I honestly really dug it. There was this huge section where we were riding on this bridge sort of thingy, it was at water level almost, but it had water on both sides of it. That was seriously awesome.

Also, another crazy thing I want to note since I talked to a few people about it. I did not see a single marshall, or a single drafting pack. Not one. I’m not sure why because this course is totally flat, but I can’t think of a single incident of drafting that I witnessed (aside from the dude drafting the Lance groupies). Strange…but nice..

Somewhere on the way back Ashley Johnson passed me. She was looking strong and I kept her in sight. Towards the end of the bike I was able to get back up to her and repass her in the final mile of the bike. Turns out…Ashley and I would have a nice long chat after the race, and I would find out that she is also under Dirkinator tutelage. Didn’t know that out there…wish I had…would have tried to team it up (legally)!

T2…uneventful…lickity split.

Off running and I felt okay….well sorta, except my heart was near internal combustion, but hey, I’m a diesel, right?

I thought I had a solid chance at running a considerable amount of sub 7 minute miles. Maybe on a straighter course, or one that lacked evil headwinds. But it wasn’t to be. I got 4 or 5 sub 7s but the rest hovered in that “Not good enough Sonja, pick it up” range. I will admit thought, I was completely lost 95% of the time on this course, and for someone who’s nickname is the Navigatress, that’s a tough feat. They wound us around  and around and around, and they made us run up this random tarmac where Lance’s private jet was sitting there waiting to whisk him away after Jordan Jones pulled out the finishing kick of stardom and nipped him for 6th.

The run was hot, there were 2×180 degree turns on each loop. It took me 2 loops to figure out where the exit to the finish line was, and on loop 2 I was starting to get nervous that I wouldn’t be able to find the magical exit to the labyrinth. In fact, Ashley missed it entirely heading out for loop #4…her final run split is…well….a little long!

As far as how my age group race was going down, Brooke was long gone, never to be seen, schooled all of us like we were wee toddlers. Then Ashley was in front of me until mile 12 when she had a “kaboom” that lead to the aforementioned 4th loop…so I got back in front of her. Then not 5 seconds later, Adrienne Shields zoomed on by and I was back in 3rd for the AG. What a day, what a crazy crazy day.  As Clint’s mom would say “Oh my heart”.

Oh, I didn’t tell you about the heat. Well, I’m sure if you read any other blogs about the race, it will be a prominent fixture. It was hot, real real hot, everything is bigger…and HOTTER in texas. Some sections actually had a breeze (headwind) and other sections were very muggy stale humid evil hot. I noticed on the tarmac that we had evil headwind, and then after the 180…evil hotness. I was expecting happy tailwind…but you never feel those, do you? “The wind at your back” is a silly phrase.

The three loop course made the aid stations crazy town. But I have been yelled at on this blog before for being an elitist when moaning about not being able to get aid because I was running through the stations and lots of people were walking. So I will not moan, and I will just mention that I wasn’t able to (because of my inability to stop at an aid station) grab any aid the last 3 aid stations. So I was a hot mess when I finished and I counted that I drank 8 water bottles of water in a row. I poured another 6 or so over my body. I was actually starting to get quite scared for my predicament, I had trouble walking, talking, or standing up. Again, not moaning, my fault, don’t hate me please.

So that was my day. It was a wonderful day. I loved nearly every part of it, and I just can’t say how much I love this sport. It’s fun, I had fun, it’s an adventure, every race, every course, every time I push my limits. A huge thanks to the women of 30-34 who push me so hard, and send me home wounded, blistered, sunburned, and inspired.

As the years roll by and I meet different people, I have to say that a few stuck out on this trip.

Audra Adair – the woman has her own blog, but if I had to get taken down by 58 seconds by any one of my own athletes, Audra would be the one I would choose, and thank goodness, because she did indeed take me down by 58 seconds. She had a great day, a 15 min PR, a slot to Vegas…but those are her stories to tell. Thanks for kicking your coach’s booty…no more speed work for you!

Mary Eggers - I’ve been wanting to meet the Eggers for so long and I actually got to! First time on race morning and then a pat on the ass as we crossed paths racing. If you haven’t heard, Mary Eggers challenged Lance Armstrong to a 50 kick off to raise $$ for Teens Living with Cancer, and he accepted. You can donate here.

Christine Kenney – Christine ran me down at Ironman Cozumel and I must say, I was waiting for her to run me down again. I saw her out there a few times on some of the out and back sections and we would always make eye contact and wave at each other. This further warmed my already warm heart. We may be racing against each other, but it doesn’t mean we don’t support each other out there. I look forward to being afraid of Christine running me down again in the future!

David Adame and Brandon too – Congratulations to David on his first 70.3!! It was very magical to see Brandon out there with his guide, but for him to know that his dad was racing out there with him too must have been awesome! Relentless Foreword Motion!!!

Ashley Johnson – Such a sweetheart, I can’t wait to race more with her and I’m so stoked she got that Vegas slot. Especially after the 3 IVs it took to bring her back!

The Adair Family – Mr. Clint, you have a wonderful family, and Audra, you are one lucky gal. Thanks for feeding me, housing me, and making me feel at home.

None of these races would be even half as sweet without the Kompetitive Edge boys, my Quintana Roo bike, First Endurance in my belly, and Punk Rock Racing. Thank you for the support.

And, to the love of my life, thank you for letting me live my dreams every darn day.

Oh, and one last thing. My Rev3 family is running across America right now. I thought about them so so much this weekend and I just want to post their fundraising page here. They are amazing, so proud to know them. Please donate if you can.

Posted in 1/2 Marathon, Cycling, Family, First Endurance, Ironman, Quintana Roo, Race Report, Running, Swimming, Travel, Triathlon

Tightening the bolts

Posted on March 8, 2012 by goSonja| 2 Comments

Dude…..things are really good.

These last few weeks things are really starting to approach a nice flow with training. I’m still sorting out my work/life balance (I seem to be a slave to my iPhone…it does EVERYTHING). This year I took on some more athletes, actually a few more than I intended. But they are like kids, and once you have them in your life, you can’t imagine not having them. Well, sometimes I dream about not having a few of them. EHEM! Just kidding!!!

It’s been fun seeing them meet each other and create a little network of support within themselves, but then again, in this day and age, small electronic networks of support are readily available. It’s the person to person connection that we seem to be lacking.

That is one reason I love triathlon. During this off season my schedule has been relaxed enough to meet some new people, make some new friends, and really enjoy the energy I get from long slow runs full of lively conversation with some great men and women. I haven’t had so many swims like that, but it’s probably just me. The energy I get from connecting with others always puts me in such a great mood. It’s been a productive Pre-Season in many ways.

I signed up for another race on a whim. This is starting to get addicting…maybe I should try for that Elite card so I can sign up for things on a whim all the time. No No No, this mama enjoys the sport just like it is. I prefer to cheer for Angela and Beth and Beth and Kim etc etc etc rather than seeing them on the start line and turning the other way and RUNNING!!! Which is probably precisely what I would do. I’ve been asked why I don’t get my elite license…’cause I’m scared to death of those girls. Heck, I was scared of those girls when they were AGers and I had to race them. Hahahahhahah!!!!

Oh sorry, I got off topic, back to whims. Yea, long story short…back and forth with Dirk…and boom, I signed up to race Texas 70.3 in a just a few short weeks. Honestly it’s time to get the party started and this little diesel engine is ready for a test run. After a few months with a new plan, it’s good to get out there and race. It gives you an idea of what is working and what isn’t, and it give your coach some good data to run with. I’m excited about it.

In the past I tend to come out of the “pre-season” a bit slow. It takes awhile to get the engine warmed up. I don’t feel as much like that now. I feel like I’m ready and it’s as good a time as any to go race.

Michelle isn’t doing Texas, but we are going to NOLA to do the 70.3 there on April 22nd. That trip will be a little racing and a lot of Beignets (I will never spell that even close to correctly). I’m kidding, I meant a LOT of racing and a little Beignets (spelled it right that time, but I cheated). My mom may crash the party with us as well which makes for a very nurturing, and sherpa-ing PIC#3.

So, that’s really what’s new in my world.

Oh, I also wanted to tell you about my morning routine, so you can make fun of me next time you see me. I signed up for RestWise. I remember when Chuckie and Angela were talking about it and it took me MONTHS to find it online. WiseRest, Restful, resting site, log your rest site….yea, I was confused. Finally found it and signed up. I love taking my Pulse Ox in the morning and watching to see what my resting heart rate is.

In addition to that I have been using the ithlete for about a year. It measures your heart rate variability while you take a breathing test that takes about a minute.

Also add into there the fact that my scale wirelessly uploads to Training Peaks. That’s not entirely relevant, I just wanted to gloat again.

Oaky, so here’s where you get to make fun of me. I wake up and acknowledge that I am awake. I sit up in bed, prop up on a few pillows, and put my heart rate monitor on. I plug in the ithlete thingee and take the 1 minute test. Breathe in, then out, in out, in out… Then I put on the pulse Oximeter and breathe deeply, let it even out and memorize the numbers. Then I open RestWise on my phone and log the pulse ox and heart rate. Then I get up, go pee, while doing that I answer all the RestWise questions. How are you feeling, how did you sleep, are you hungry, are you hurt, do you have a headache, what is your mood (sometimes I have to go back and change that later) ….it’s like a therapist! I note the color of my PEE in Restwise, oh yes, it asks, as would any good therapist, and I put my contacts in. Why put my contacts in you ask? AH! I can’t see the scale without them! Then I weigh, note that in Restwise and punch the “upload data and give me my results” button. It tells me my Daisy ranking…fresh as a daisy….dead daisy…no, actually it just says 80% or 50% or something like that. I write everything on my handy dandy clipboard that lives in the bathroom…because electronics FAIL ALL THE TIME and I don’t want any data loss. Then I crawl back in bed to check my email.

Oh the life of an endurance athlete, you’re so jealous, I know it!

 

Posted in health, Running, Swimming, Travel, Triathlon

Snowy Training Day

Posted on January 12, 2012 by goSonja| 11 Comments

Today rocked the house so hard core. I woke up to several inches of snow, cold temps, and it was still dumping. PIC, who is usually a little bit more sane than me opted for the treadmill, but then she texted me that the roads were a mess. Rather than drive to the gym, I hunted down and stole Troys YakTrax (I literally wore out mine), bundled up with 3 layers on top, and hit the state park. (have I told you I live literally next door to a state park with 30 miles of trails?)

I was out there laying down first tracks of the day, which made me feel like quite the pioneer. I had some tempo efforts to hit today so I ran out to a flat section of road in the state park that I use for these sorts of things when the track is snowy (between my house and the state park is an all-weather track, so I guess you could say I live next to the track which lives next to the state park).

I got going on the road, a 0.75 mile section that I would cover 8 times today, and a guy came by me in a car, then he came by the other way, then he pulled over in front of me and stopped. This is always an alarming action for a female runner. I was giving him the “don’t abduct and kill me look” also known as the “stink eye” as I ran on by him. Then the next effort I’m coming back by him and his car is in the ditch. Strange, very strange. Then the next time by there was a park ranger, next time two park rangers, next time they are discussing what to do, next time they are hooking up his car to ropes, next time they had pulled him out, next time everyone is gone. It was the strangest series of snapshots while I ran back and forth and back and forth ad infinitum.

I ran on home through the snow after my efforts, feeling beastly and studly, and generaly very Grrr.

The next workout later in the day PIC and I met at the pool. We had to do a main set of 10×400 at IM effort on :15 rest. It seems simple but it’s a doozy. We are in the meter pool, so it’s an IM+ swim, at IM pace, with a little bit of rest in there. Ouch. We also did it in the outdoor pool in 25 degree weather while it was snowing. This may seem very Grrr, but it’s actually one of the more enjoyable weather situations to swim in. It’s fun to be outside, in a swimsuit, totally warm (after the first 100) in the snow. Greenwood Athletic Club rocks in that they keep the pool at a solid 82 degrees year round, and it’s days like this where I feel blessed to be able to train outdoors.

The workout was awesome evil. I held on pretty darn well as long as you ignore #9 where I suddenly came in 10 seconds slower than all my other ones because I was loosing focus. Doh! It was the kind of swim where you have trouble washing your hair afterwards. I had to prop up my elbows on the inside walls of the shower to get it done. Even though PIC was out of the pool, and back in the locker room, sitting in the hot tub before I even did 9 of them, it was still nice to have her company. I always pick it up when she laps me, and that helps keep me honest and motivated. She laps me often.

All in all, today was such a rewarding day. Good work done in bad weather. Today felt like an adventure. I’m just so darn happy to be back training and looking forward to a new season. Today reminded me that most times I tend to find the adventure in adversity, and that makes me happy.

LASTLY, Kompetitive Edge is having a rather LARGE sale on TYR clothes, KSWISS, and Mix1. I would hit it up!!

Posted in Running, Swimming, Triathlon

#2 of 33: Swim a mile in the pool faster than 24:00

Posted on November 14, 2011 by goSonja| 16 Comments

Wow, what a slacker I am! See, there is a back story here. In April of 2010 I swam the mile in the short course masters swim meet. I think I swam 24:08, actually I know I did, how could I forget that? It’s been almost 2 years since then and A LOT of meters in the pool but every time Chuckie assigns a mile TT (usually it’s a 2K TT) I can’t seem to get under 24 for the mile. I’ve tried probably 10 times over the last couple years and it never comes together.

So, in my mind, I think I am faster than a 24 minute miler, but until you’ve done it, you can’t really say you are. Since the number seems to be a pesky little barrier for me I put it on the 33 things before 33 list. Little did I know I wasn’t quite aiming high enough.

I usually don’t blog about the exact workouts CV gives me, but today I will break the mold. I had a morning swim that was 500 warm up, 2K time trial, then cool down. Then I had some other training to get done during the middle of the day, then in the PM, back in the pool for the same exact workout. 500 w/u, 2KTT, cool down.

So this morning, even though I have swam a gawd awful amount this week, and I swam like poo yesterday, I was feeling kinda peppy. I decided to give the old 24 mark a run for her money. Boo Ya! I ended up with a 23:41, and a PR in the 2k with 31:51. I was jazzed, pretty pleased with myself, put me on a bit of a high the whole day.

Troy, Annie and our neighbor Anne came to the PM swim with me. Troy said he would swim every other 50, and some 100s in the lane next to me to keep me motivated. I was a little irritable…I was nervous. I just PRed that morning, what on earth was I in for this evening?

DOUBLE PR DAY!!!!!

1500M = 23:27

First time under 30 for 1900M (1/2 IM swim) in 29:51

and PR in the 2K with 31:24

Troy made a video! Photo evidence!

You bet your britches that I am eying that 23 minute barrier now. It’s nice to have a day like today, believe me for every day like today in the pool, I have 50 that feel like poo. Every once in awhile, the work that has been put in just oozes out of you, and today was one of those days for me.

Posted in 33 before 33, Swimming

SNAKE

Posted on November 13, 2011 by goSonja| 5 Comments

I headed to the pool today to get in my swim. Masters was just finishing up and I was sort of stalling at the pool deck before asking to share a lane with one of the ladies. I noticed that one of the lane lines had a lot of slack so I bent down to adjust the tension.

Just then…. a little snake jumped off the lane line and started swimming across the lane. SNAKE SNAKE SNAKE IN THE POOL!!!!!!!!

MEYHAM!

Women screaming, me jumping up and down.

SNAKE IN THE POOL!

Yes, it was little, but it was a SNAKE.

Poor thing was scared for it’s life and it attached itself firmly to the next lane line.

Of course, that didn’t stop me.

SNAKE IN THE POOL!

SNAKE IN THE POOL!

SNAKE IN THE POOL!

I interrupted nearly everyones workout. Finally this super nice guy who is always at the pool when I am lept out of his lane to save me (never mind that I was still on the deck) and rescued the snake me from certain death.

MY HERO!

I wish I could say that I swam a bit faster today because of the adrenaline and fear, but I’de be lying, I swam like crap. Every little stick or blade of grass was…

SNAKE IN THE POOL!

 

Posted in Swimming

Kona 2011 swim

Posted on October 12, 2011 by goSonja| 9 Comments

I slept like a log. Seriously, a dead, floating log, that was me on Friday night. I have never had a better night of sleep the night before a race. Who knew? I think it was because everything was done, the bike was in the barn, the bags hung and done.

In the morning PIC and I were both up and ready to go. We had the typical breakfast (Justins, Naan, Love Grown Granola, Coconut milk) and hit the road. We found a perfect parking spot and headed over to body marking. Everything in the morning went very smoothy this year. It was cool to have Michelle with me and we even found Jen and had her with us too.

I had it all planned out. As the pros got in the water, we sauntered over to the edge of the pier and hung there. Just after we did that they held the AGers behind and corralled them in. We had front row views of the action and escaped being corralled in a nervous crowd of athletes. My dad even found us with his BIG lens from like a half a mile away.

After the PROs were off and swimming we AGers were let into the water. Jen, PIC and I got in right away so we could find good spots and not be rushed. It was flawless and I think we all entered the water pretty calm. I swam over to my family on the sea wall and said hello, they like that, it makes them feel good (and me too). Lots of blowing kisses and I could see the excitement in all of their eyes.

Last year I found a canoe to hang onto and I headed out to the do the same this year. Honestly, I think it was the same canoe. The water was warmer this year, but there were some nice waves and swells that weren’t there last year. I’m the one half out of the water.

The swells were calming down over the last few days, but it wasn’t glassy by any stretch of the imagination. I always feel that I do better in adversity so I was excited that there was a tad bit of chop (is this really me talking). Check out those waves!

I oscillated between doing warm up drills and hanging onto the canoe. Karlyn taught me this awesome chicken drill that I totally did to stay warm (and scare off my competition). As they started counting things down, I started to get excited.

I lined up left of the car about 30 feet and just happened to line up next to Terry Nugent who trains at my same club. That was crazy and it calmed my nerves to have a nice chat with him on the line. I ran into my teammates Grant and Kendra as well, and we shared hugs and good lucks.

Kinda abruptly the cannon sounded and we all took off.

I got out well, smooth. I can always tell when I have had First Endurance PreRace before the swim because I feel like a rabid squirrel. Go go go!!!!! SWIM!!!

I didn’t get messed with too much, which was lucky. Starting on the line next to a very fast 6 foot 5 inch 200+ Terry Nugent is not the best idea for me, but I didn’t feel a thing and before I knew it the first buoy was passing by. The cool thing, or bad thing, about Kona is that the crowd never thins out. It’s wall to wall people the entire swim. I found feet and clung to them with all I had.

At one point a guy on my right was headed left and I did this cool roll over the back of him trick that Karlyn taught me.  It worked like a charm and I was back on the feet that I had been on.

The turn buoys were especially crazy but I made it around them using the hip trick that Karlyn taught me. There was a sail boat at the turn around and I was thinking that I wish they had a race clock on the boat. It would be cool to see your half way split.

Around the boat I went and then headed back to shore. This felt long, but it always does. I found a few sets of feet and stuck to them. A few times I got pummeled by people, always men. The women (pink caps) seems to swim offensively at Kona, maneuvering their way around and barely touching anyone.

The way back also seemed to be very swelly. There was lots of rockin’ and bobbin’ around and I remember wondering how many people were getting sick or losing their breakfast in the water. It was a bit of a mosh-pit at times.

As we merged along the pier things got especially feisty. They really create a bottleneck here and people are tired and thrashing about. When my hand hit the sand I was more than ready to be done with the swim. I’m in the back with the pink cap, and green goggle strap.

I ran up the stairs, keeping my footing this time and I glimpsed at the clock. I saw a 1:06 and I remember nodding to myself and saying “That’ll do Sonja.” I stuck “4 minutes” in my brain (I swam 1:10 last year), let the time go, and ran into the change tent, collecting my bag along the way.

In the change tent there wasn’t any chairs, so I dumped my stuff on a table, grabbed what I needed (I had a race belt and sunglasses in the bag…that’s it) and put my speed suit and goggles/cap on top of the bag. I asked a volunteer to pack it up, she nodded and I ran out of there.

I got to my bike, put on my helmet, and ran my bike down down down to the entrance of the pier.

Step one was done…now onto the next!

 

Posted in Ironman, Race Report, Swimming, Travel, Triathlon