Category Archives: Quintana Roo

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.

stg1

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!

stgpart2

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!

stgpart3

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.

stgpart1

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.

stg4

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.

SaintGJump1

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.

stg5

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

stgpart4

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

Ironman CDA 2012 – The Bike

Posted on June 30, 2012 by goSonja| 6 Comments

So I really had nothing to lose in this race, which still didn’t stop me from being scared of losing something (I don’t know what…face maybe). In line with that, I love this interview with Lauren Fleshman, especially the part about understanding that failing doesn’t mean you are a failure. It’s a good one!

Part of why I signed up for CDA was as a dry run for Kona under Dirk. I wanted to see how I felt under Dirks tutelage, how my legs felt after his taper, it was a big experiment of sorts. Also I had executed 5 Ironmans with basically the same race plan and I was excited to try the plan that Dirk had suggested. This meant going quite a bit harder on the bike. It was a risk…a big KABOOM could happen. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have this quote in my little quote book, it says:
Nothing Started,
Nothing Experienced,
Nothing Learned,
Nothing Finished.

I was going for it. I hit that heart rate he suggested and drilled it. But here’s the deal. I could not wipe the biggest smile off my face. I rode though town giving shakas to EVERYONE. Like…EVERYONE. I was smiling, hamming it up, waving, shaka all over the place. Like the complete opposite of normal focused Sonja. It wasn’t that I wasn’t taking things seriously, it was just that I was having SO MUCH FUN.

I encouraged everyone around me, told them good job, talk talk talk. I gave shakas to the volunteers, to the bag pipe players, to the lady dancing zumba on the stage. I smiled, I made eye contact, I had fun. But I also nailed my plan. It was an odd turn of events for me, I had nothing to lose, and I was fearless.

The “happies” did not leave me, they stayed with me the entire bike. CDA has a 15 mile out and back along the lake and then the new course goes out to a highway for a 42 mile out and back. Then you do it all again. The way out is mostly up with 4 distinct climbs. The way back is generally more downwards, with 3 climbs. Of course I was watching my time gaps to Katy B (AKA uber studette swimmer, fastest swim split of the day in 53 minutes, my Team KE possee, and eventual 2nd in our AG and 5th woman overall, PROs included) and PIC (who you all know). At 6 miles in Katie had 16 minutes on me and PIC had 5. I had my work clearly cut out for me, but those two kept me motivated and kept me pushing for higher watts.

Starting into the first big climb I came upon Keith. He’s one of my closest friends (Moab 100 pacer extraordinare, AKA has seen me at my worst) and he said “Great swim Son” when I passed him. He said I was talking before I passed him, talked as I passed him and talked all the way until he couldn’t hear me. Dang I was happy. Every photographer I gave a big smile and a shaka! Totally Jazzercised!

At 35 miles in at the turn around on the highway Katy had 11 minutes on me and PIC had 3:30. I kept the pedal down, legs cranking, and a smile on my face. I had a group of guys go past me and there was a bit of a loose pack dynamic going on with them. I talked to a nice woman and we reminded each other to stay away from them because they were trouble, with a capitol T!

I loved the way back on the freeway. The descents were awesome, you could pedal down most of them and I was flying and smiling and loving the scenery. My QR CD0.1 was feeling great under me and all I could think was “awesome.” My legs felt really really good, and strong, and ready to shred. I was just cranking and happy to boot. I can not say enough wonderful things about my bike. It’s amazing how much of a difference a comfortable and well fit bike can do for your races.

Coming back through town was total hilarity, I hit the 1/2 way point at 2:42 and was a little shocked. Another one of those would make for an awesome bike split! I came upon Jocelyn who would eventually win our AG and take 4th woman overall (PROs included). I went through town waving, smiling, giving shakas, so freaking happy and jazzed to BE ALIVE. People were yelling my name, I was doing fist pumps. It was rather funny looking back. Jocelyn pulled up next to me and said “You know everyone here.” Actually I had only seen a few I knew, I was just loving up the crowd. I hadn’t seen Troy which worried me. I came up with a few crazy stories in my head, mostly involving Tony (AKA big brotha Beeson) not making it out of the swim (he was fine). I found out later everyone was worried because they couldn’t find me…all because of my green vest (green dress vest…that’s cruel).

We got out of town, onto lap #2. I felt like I was sitting really good, I was with Jocelyn, we were making our way up to the front of the race, I was ready to get off the bike with uber runner Katy B and Jocelyn and to go for broke. I told Jocelyn, “Now is where we get to work.” Lap 2 is where the poo hits the fan usually, where you have to dig deep on the bike because it’s not as easy any more. If only I could wipe this huge smile off my face and get serious here!

Then I started to feel like my back tire was squishy squashy. Humm? I kinda bounced on my seat to see if I could feel the rim hit the pavement and I did. Then I tried to look at it, but that’s always tough. I thought about asking Jocelyn because she was right there, but I didn’t want to interrupt her race with my issues. As we went up an incline I watched her pedal away and I was pedaling really hard. I knew I had a flat.

I pulled over next to a really nice family sitting in lawn chairs. They all hopped up to help and I said “No, I don’t want to get DQed.” Sure enough, I was flat but it was a slow leak and just squishy down to the rim but not totally flat. I also was on a set of rented wheels so that I could have power data.

The story of the flat is kinda long, but I’ll make it short. The valve extender kept me from deflating the tube all the way, so I’m trying to change the tube when the tube is rather inflated (to maybe 30-50psi). It was challenging and there was blood involved, and it slowed me down badly. My spare tubes and CO2 were WELL taped to my bike via electrical tape, this slowed me down badly too. I got it done! It’s all goooood! I think I said that like ten times to the family in the lawn chairs “It’s ALLL GOOOODDD!” I was fearless changing that flat, I knew I could do it, I knew I was quite capable, if only I could get the darn tube out.

Right when I finished inflating it with my CO2, the flat changing moto pulled up. He said to me “If you give me 1 minute I will check your work and pump your tire to 120psi”. I thought about it and said yes…what’s 1 more minute? So he did that, pumped it up, and put my tire back on. I almost asked to do that myself, because, really, I did change it all on my own, and I was proud of that.

Ten thank you’s and a few more “It’s all good”s and lots of smiles later, I was back on the road. A guy on a mountain bike rode up and said “Your looking good, Dirk is watching” or something like that, and I said “Well then tell him I just flatted” but I said it with a big smile and even maybe another “It’s all good” and probably a shaka or two….

I got right back to work straight away. It was time to drop the hammer. I saw Katy at the EXACT same place I saw her first loop. That was funny, back to 16 minutes back, doh! I saw Michelle was now 12:30 up on me. I thought I lost about 8 minutes to the flat. Turns out looking at the Garmin it was 11 minutes almost exactly. I won’t be hired on any sort of tire changing pit crews any time soon!! Hahahah!

(PS Since then I have come up with about 10 things I should have done differently, but I’m sticking to the fact that I problem solved the best I could in the moment…lessons learned. AND, not a single ounce of frustration the whole time, thinking about this a few days later makes me weepy. Because positivity is not positivity unless it remains in a difficult situation)

I got back to the plan, smiles abounded, even the next time we went through town. Shakas and fist pumps, smiles, and grins. Back to my favorite section of the course. I really had fun those last 40 miles. I felt better at mile 80 than I ever have. Mile 90 I was like “It’s on”. Mile 100 I was cheering for everyone around me going up the last climb, telling them “This is it, let’s do this, pedal hard boys, be tough, be fearless.” Also in the last 20 miles I passed most of the guys in that original pack, they were all solo now, fighting it out on their own. I even gave them “Good Job”s. I know, cheering for drafters…I don’t even who know I am?

Back into town, out of my shoes, hand off the bike, goodbye Blackjack, and run into transition with a big fatty stupid grin all over my face. Bike Split of 5:44, and I’m darn proud of that one. It was a quick T2 for me. Socks, shoes, wrist band, watch band, new race belt with EFS liquid shot in it. Off I went. I hadn’t seen Troy the whole bike, and yet there he was at the exit of T2 cheering. I apparently looked like poo, but BOY was I happy, although the photos don’t do it justice. I yelled to him “I flatted” and he yelled “I know.” Nothing more to say there. Off I went, putting on my new PxRx hat (AKA HAPPY HAT) and getting situated and ready to run.

Posted in Cycling, Ironman, Quintana Roo, Race Report, Triathlon

2012 NOLA 67.3

Posted on April 24, 2012 by goSonja| 20 Comments

DUDE!!!! I don’t even know how I’m going to blog about this weekend. I think it was the most fun I have ever had at a race weekend. NOLA is freaking awesome, so much fun fun fun fun, I can’t even explain it. So many amazing stars aligned this weekend and it was more than just the swimming biking and running.

Mama Willis (my maiden name) came with Michelle and I on this trip, we shall call her mama PIC. We also enveloped M into the fold, she’s officially PIC 3 or Trouble 3 or my favorite…Dr.PIC.

I’ll admit, I got a long pep talk from the Dirkinator before the race and it rocked so hard core. I got off the phone feeling like a beast and I felt so ready to put it all out there. Also, since I chopped off my hair, my alter ego has come out. It’s mostly a Justin Bieber, 16 year old, teenager sort of attitude. I’m not sure Michelle is so fond of it, especially after a tweet from Mac that said “It looks like Michelle is dating a rapper” (best tweet ever).

I was really not taking things very seriously before this race, which is good for me, it’s definitely not my norm. Ususally I am sorta Type A planner, organizer Sonja, but this trip I was 16 year old, hat on backwards, whatevsssss, Sonja. The awesome part was that because my mom was there, there was no fallout from my lack of organization. I feel like I can be a kid when my mom is around, she is seriously the most nurturing woman you will every meet.

Friday morning and we woke up and put our bikes together caught a cab to get beignets. They were everything I always hoped them to be. Sugary, fried, dense, totally wonderful. I think I had 4, maybe 5 of them.

We visited the French Market after that and picked up souvineers for the kiddos. PIC and I also found shirts that we had to buy immediately. This PIC thing has really gotten out of hand. WAY out of hand. But that sort of thing is allowed in NOLA, believe me here! Everything is way out of hand, and I love it!

Packet pick up, race meeting (swim canceled and replaced with a 2 mile run), bikes put together, nap nap nap, eat eat eat, bikes dropped off at transition. It was so windy things were blowing around like crazy. This was one of my favorite transitions due to this awesome and photogenic lighthouse in the middle of it. It was a good marker to run to.

We were settling into bed and getting those last minute things taken care of when PIC realized that her heart rate strap didn’t seem to make it into her bag. Crapitty Crap Crap. I could tell she didn’t want to inconvenience anyone because heading out at 9pm to procure a heart rate strap in one of the most dangerous cities in America was not her idea of a fun time. No worries!! We all hopped in the car and went on a heart rate monitor hunt in our jammies. Luckily we were successful!

Race morning was cold, and windy, and cold, and I had to poo. We got that taken care of and then I was in a great mood. Michelle and I ran the 2 mile run course as our warm up and I think we were the only ones. I’m glad we did recognizance on it, it was good to see it. It was quite windy on one section and I’m glad I wasn’t surprised.

The really cool thing about the DU format was actually seeing all the Pros take off together in one group running. You never see that, and it was really cool. Hard to explain but it got me super hyped up. I got to see the PRO men come in and go out on the bike, and the women as well. I tried to cheer for every one that I knew. I saw Michelle go out on the run and she was right with Dr.PIC. With the AGers they were letting us off two at a time in a time trial format. So you started with a buddy.

When I got in line for my turn I found Hailey. I knew going into this race that Hailey and Libby would be the ladies to watch. Libby is coached by Dirk and is insanely strong. Hailey beat me in Kona by several minutes. See, the 30-34 women have this special bond. Twitter/blogging has really helped it, but we have this really cool thing going on. We are fierce competitors on the race course, but afterwards we follow each others blogs, we train with each other when we are in each others towns, and we have deep respect for each other. That’s why it was extra extra special when Sarah P. won the PRO race at NOLA, because she’s one of us, she raced 30-34 last year and we are really supportive of the ladies that were 30-34 and are now PRO. Might I mention we are so so glad they turned pro…

With the TT start Hailey and I just slipped in the front. We were the first two to go off in the AG, and we went off together. It was a bad idea on our part. We should have gone last, but we ended up racing off the front the whole day and then wondering if anyone snuck in there.

How do you run 2 miles before you know you have to bike 52 (course shortened due to storm debris) and run another 13? I don’t know, you just run your ass off. There’s no great way to put it other than…RUN!!!

Hailey and I came into T1 about :20 seconds apart. I was leaving as she was entering. I got on the bike and took off. Hailey caught me 10-15 minutes in and I just consider her a stronger rider than me. When she went by, a switch flipped in me. Usually I am very into “race your race” “don’t let others dictate your pace” “etc etc etc” but a switch flipped and I thought about the fact that this was a duathalon, and that none of it really mattered and I could take some risks. So I went with Hailey. I sat about 5-10 bike lengths back, and when I say “sat” what I mans is…”I biked so insanely hard I thought I was doing an olympic distance race”. But I figured, why not!? Go for broke. Hailey had me against the ropes for the better part of an hour before I got comfortable in the pain. The good thing was that my legs were 100% ready to go, and while they hurt, they also didn’t want to let up either.

If Hailey lost her focus and I saw my heart rate go down, I would pass her, and try to set a harder tempo until she passed me back with an even harder tempo where I would have to fight to hang on. Also, having never ridden like this I was concerned with the drafting. I wanted to make sure I was riding 100% legal because I usually spend most races continually passing people, not sitting behind. I was actually really stoked to be passed 4 times by course marshals and each time they had nothing to say about my position. I was like “Sweet, you are doing this right”.

Hailey set a hard tempo all the way back to T2, and we came into T2 together. Like literally we ran across the timing mat side by side. I could feel both of our competitive juices flowing. We had the fastest female T1+T2 of the day…pros included. We were racing!

Out on the run, we ran shoulder to shoulder for some time. The course was challenging with some causeway type hills, several on each loop. There were two turn arounds per loop and one roundy-round…you know, like in Europe. The “hot corner” was essentially the “hot circle”. I found a way to somehow slowly drift in front of Hailey, she was fierce, and tough, and it was such a highlight to race her neck and neck.

I made my way through the first lap getting passed by all sorts of PRO women, and age group men. I tried to go with all of them. I heard the announcer saying that Sarah P was winning and then I saw her race by on the other side of the road with the 1st place female lead biker. I was so jazzed and inspired! I saw Beth Shutt out there too, she looked so strong and solid, I was happy to see her in her element. My mom was all over the course and it was so great to have her there cheering, and cowbelling. The second loop I started looking for Michelle at the out and backs. I saw her once and she wasn’t too far ahead, but she wasn’t coming back to me very quickly either. She ended up running 2 minutes slower than her open 1/2 marathon PR that she set 3 weeks ago. PICs running is soooo BACK!

In the final mile I saw her in front of me and I picked it up. I wanted to run in with her. But with every step I realized I wasn’t catching her. I tried harder and harder to pick it up. My legs were beat, I tried to pump my arms faster and faster, and I made a small gain on her. As we were probably 100 feet before the finish shoot, I meekly yelled “Ford” and SHE PICKED IT UP. I was hoping for some mercy! I picked it up as hard as I could and coming into the chute we were side by side. I asked if she wanted to hold hands, and she said yea, and that’s how we crossed. What are the odds??? Time trial start, and yet we found each other in the finish chute. I will add that she was 3rd in her AG by 2 seconds…I’m going to go ahead and take credit for that one (just kidding Ford, that was all you honey).

I was really happy with my race. I didn’t know the result. I didn’t know if someone starting behind me had gone faster, but without knowing any of that I was happy. I RACED in the truest sense of the word. I took chances and I gained confidence and I surprised myself with those risks. I have more work to do, it’s April, but I learned that I can go a harder and still survive. I was really happy. I also had a lot of fun. Sure it hurt super bad, but it was really fun too!

Syd, PIC, Dr.PIC, me, Hailey

Mark, Brandon, PIC1, PIC2 = KE CREW!

My racing yielded an Age Group win and also and overall Amateur win. That was icing on the cake really. Or powdered sugar on the beignet! Mmmmm beignets! Oh, and my Kompetitive Edge teammate Mark Hillers, he won the amateur mens title. KE was in full force!

run: 13:29, bike: 2:18, run: 1:33, overall 4:07

Womens 30-34 podium, and the only girls that posed with their arms around each other. Mad respect for each of these ladies, Jocelyn, Libby, and Hailey.

That night we went out and CELEBRATED! We had a twitter/Womens 30-34 REUNION with lots of friends that involved food, drinks, jazz, Gelato, and awesome conversation with great people. I think there were like 13 of us, and we ate like champions! It was such a treat to celebrate Sarah Ps win that evening, so happy for her! After ice cream it was time for Bourbon street. Oh my lanta. There are no words. What happens in NOLA stays in NOLA, but here are a few photos….a la Hangover style!

Dr.PIC, SarahP, Hailey, Stephanie

gelato!!!

Hand Grenade!!

 

 

First off thank you MOM! Not every mom will hold your drink while you….what happens in NOLA stays in NOLA….

Thank you to my sponsors Kompetitive Edge, Punk Rock Racing, First Endurance, Quintana Roo, who are all probably a bit disappointed with some of those last photos!! Also, thank you Troy and Annie for being you… love you both!

Posted in 1/2 Marathon, Cycling, Duathlon, Family, Quintana Roo, Running, Travel, Triathlon

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

2011 IM Cozumel Post Thoughts

Posted on December 7, 2011 by goSonja| 17 Comments

First off, let me say how sorry I am to continue to drag this whole thing out. You all have put up with 3 posts just on the race, and now I’m still here talking about it. Every time I look at the readership of this blog I am shocked that so many of you tune in to read me babble along through these. Thank you! I tried to put in some pictures so at least you have something fun to look at while I mumble along.

These Ironman races are my love…MY LOVE (third to Annie and Troy). I have the pleasure of squeaking out two of them a year and they are two of the most cherished days of the year for me. I often think that maybe one year I’ll take a break from Kona, and from doing well at Ironman, and I will just race a ton of them. But to do well at them, you do have to limit them, and so, I get two precious days a year.

That being said, I will replay those two days a year over in my mind the other 363 days of the year. I think about these races, what went well, what didn’t, what needs changing, what worked, what didn’t work. I try to share some of that on this blog, and some of it is just too raw to throw out there…but I try.

I came into Cozumel on less than sure footing. For several reasons my life has had a few challenges in the past few months and it’s manifested itself in different ways. I have felt internal angst, but I have also learned things about my family, my husband, and myself through it.

I arrived in Cozumel ready for a month long nap, both physically and emotionally. I slept a lot those days before the Ironman. I even skipped the practice swim and a bike date with Sarah Piampiano on Saturday to sleep even more. I’m still sad about this. But I was tired, and whooped, and just didn’t want to move much.

I laid in bed and just wondered what I was doing with my life and whether doing what I love would be the demise of so many other things I love. I worried about Troy, about my family, about my friends. I train so much, I say “no” so often, and I’m tired when I’m not training. But I love it, and I live it, and Troy loves it, and we get to travel so much more than most.

After the race I left Cozumel full of life and joy. I was on cloud 9 and race day for me was an affirmation that of all the things I do in this world, of all the hats that I wear, besides being a mom and a wife, this Ironman thing is what I love most, and sometimes I feel like it’s the only thing I am truly good at. It’s funny how that can happen. Race day is supposed to exhaust you, but it was life giving to me.

Emotionally I understand now what happened to me at the finish, but it’s taken some time to admit to all this in my head. When we lose control in life, we aim to control other things. Most all people strive to have control in their life, after all, the opposite is uncomfortable. I think triathlon draws in a lot of Type A people because Type Aers like to control things and there are lots of opportunities with three sports and lonely training to be in control. Type A people don’t do motocross…to much is beyond control, and too much is high risk.

Setting the 10 hour goal was my way of trying to control my world when I was feeling out of control. Which is quite pathetic because of all the things I could “control” the 10 hour barrier was a lousy choice! Ususally I am the girl who just sets forth the “plan” and then I go about executing, keeping a rational brain about not setting time goals and not getting stuck on things I can’t control.

When I came across in over 10 hours there was a huge emotional release. I think that it was my way of lamenting the total loss of control I felt. I can’t make people that I love healthy, I can’t make people that I adore like me, and I can’t pick a number and race to it. In a stupid way, I kinda thought that if I broke 10 the other things in my world would be righted, or that I could at least get a handle on them. Or at the very least that me lacking a handle on them would suddenly not seem so bad.

Like most triathletes, when I struggle in other aspects in life, it’s really easy to disappear into the training. Training for an Ironman is a good excuse to stick your head in a hole.

We ultimately don’t have control of much. We go out there and we do our best, in life, in sport, in relationships. And sometimes our best falls short of what se set out for. But if we are grounded, willing to learn, to self asses, and if we can still smile, then we haul ourselves out of the medical tent, we walk back and get our deserved medal, we grab a massage and some grub, and we move on. We fall into the arms of those that never leave our side and we go grab a fruity drink.

It may not make a lot of sense to you, but it does to me now, and it’s my blog. Ha!

So, if you read this blog to learn something through my mistakes, I will say, let go of the time goals. Work on what you can, and drop the rest. Lose the expectations, not because they are unrealistic, but because having expectations doesn’t get you any closer to achieving them. Focus on the hard stuff that no one else will do, be calm when others have angst, rally when others are falling apart.

I say these things not because I do them, not because I have mastered them, but as a reminder to myself. After all, it’s my blog… HA!

In terms of this crazy sport called triathlon, I still have much to work on, but when I look at what I asked myself to do, and I look at how much I gave to myself out there, I am really pleased. I am not upset about not going under 10, but I am upset that I set that as a goal in the first place. I am beyond lucky to be able to race these races, I am beyond lucky to have the support that I do. I don’t take these days for granted. They are a gift. But I also realize that racing triathlon is most the time, the thing I do to feel in control of my life, my weight, my emotional state, and my health. It may not be the best, but I recognize that it is that for me right now.

I want to give humble thanks to the following:

My husband and daughter: I am both easy and hard to live with. They are both easy and easy to live with. They are the two people in this world that I would lay across a set of railroad tracks for. Thank you with all that I am.

Chuckie: Two years he has put aside his own goals and dreams to train me. Thank you for all that you have done for me, it’s been quite the education.

PIC: She really is my sister from another mother…and father. Thank you for being that listening ear, and that woman who really accepts me for me.

Kompetitive Edge: Thank you guys for all the pep talks, and all the gear, and all the support, and all the well wishes. You have become family to me this year.

Quintana Roo: Thank you for the bike! Seriously, I love my little blackjack. My QR loved racing in QR!

Punk Rock Racing: Ron Ron Ron. What can I say? Not only do you provide me with the best t-shirts ever, but with advise and friendship that I really value highly. I call you when I am nervous, and you always calm me down.

TYR: My body thanks you. I have no chafing…except from the gel wrappers I stuck up my shorts. I have the most wonderful training gear. I am so lucky.

Justins: I went through about 40 jars of almond butter this year. Without you, I would be really skinny…and would barely be able to stand up!

Love Grown: I went through 58 bags of your love this year, and had it not been made with love, I would have surely starved to death, and died of a broken heart. Thank you.

Nathan: The best hand held bottles and waist packs anywhere. There was many a run where I would have been left high and dry without your products.

Nuun: The new grape Nuun has single handedly saved me from many a delirious bonk. My body thanks you.

First Endurance: What can I say, the Pre Race has propelled me to new heights, and the Ultragen has been there when I dragged myself up on the porch, kaput from all the training. Your products work. Bottom line.

Josh at Tri-Massage: From the All Sports Recovery Club to Josh’s MRT, by body is healthy, happy, and ready for many more years of this. Thank you.

To everyone who reads and my extended family: thank you for coming on the journey with me. From twitter to Facebook, to this blog, to my email and phone, I always get so much support from others. I think about all the close friends I have made the last 5 years and I know that these have been the best years of my life.

 

Posted in Family, First Endurance, health, Ironman, Justin's Nut Butter, Quintana Roo, Triathlon

Kona 2011 Bike

Posted on October 13, 2011 by goSonja| 4 Comments

As I headed out on the bike I swore that the course was different than last year. I didn’t remember going by Target and then up on Queen K before the out and back on Kuakini. But there we were, doing just that. There is no way to tell how your legs are doing just yet, I just focused on getting my heart rate under control from the mayhem that is “transition.”

My plan this year was much the same as last year. Simmer the heck down until about mile 40 of the bike, then start to build my effort. Lastly come home strong, with my head down and my legs going hard. It worked well last year, why not do it again this year? I do realize that every year is different, what the day dishes out is different, but I had to have a plan, however, I do recognize that plans change with conditions.

The out and back on Kuakini I got to see where the various people I knew were, and how much time I had lost in the swim. I was pleased and felt like I had a leg up over last year.  I also got to see ALL my family members screaming their heads off out there for me. I saw and heard their booming voices and I loved every second of it. Heading out on the Queen K, I settled into my effort and just started ticking off the miles. I remember feeling like it was a bit windy but nothing super bad. It felt a bit hotter. I wasn’t nearly as excited and pumped, in fact, I went through a bit of a lull in those first miles. I just likened it to all the training rides I’ve done. Sometimes it takes me a little while to get going on those too. Also, I know that Chuckie does not train us for our best day, he trains us to excel on a less than ideal day. I wasn’t too concerned.

The ride to Kawaihae was fairly uneventful. One guy made friends with me and he was really trying his hardest to strike up a conversation every time he passed me or I passed him. I was trying not to be snobby, but I’ll admit I was a little cold in return. It’s just that I know it’s a long day and I try not to go out of my way to waste any additional energy. It takes enough focus to keep executing your plan without being social. I wasn’t quite feeling 100% myself so I was trying to just focus on the task at hand.

I forgot that it was 20 miles from the turn to Kawaihae to Hawi, for some reason I thought it was like 11 or 16 or something. I saw Drew Scott at the side of the road during this section and I felt really bad for him. After all the wonderful juju the island has given his father, it was sad to see that the juju didn’t carry on down the generations. He was on the side with what I believe was a flat, and he had full on puppy dog eyes going on.

The climb up to Hawi was easier this year, no cross gusts, but the last 3 or so miles to Hawi was insanity, worse than last year. I got a chance to see where the leaders in my age group were and it was awesome to see that they had already put 30+ minutes on me (ouch). I just continued doing my thing. I can only do what I can do with the cards I have in my hand. I spent a lot of time with my head down, uber focused.

I pulled into special needs, replaced my bottles and shoved a bag of gummies up my shorts. On the way down from Hawi was when I started to wonder why I was feeling a little off. I just felt a little ill, but was continuing to try to get my EFS down. I craved water and coke, which is a scary thing to be starting at mile 65 on the bike. I kept feeling my tummy to see if it was poochy… a clear sign that I put too much nutrition down the hatch. It wasn’t and I was relieved, but I had that ill feeling. It wasn’t too bad though, I have felt much much worse so  I continued on with the plan as scheduled.

I came down from Hawi as hard as I could, I passed PIC in here and that was a freakin’ godsend. I was at a point where I really needed the pick me up. She looked very strong, very steady, and consistent. I asked how she was and she said good and asked how I was. I told her I loved her and she said she loved me back (insert your own joke here). Just like that we separated and had to continue with our own plans. Mine involved staring at a solid white line.

The last 32 miles of the course is where I try to nail it home. I did just that, putting my head down whenever I could and just focusing on the Garmin and the white line. I tried to get the heart rate up as high as I could, which is never that high at that point in the day. I tried to tuck and be as small as possible. Last year I didn’t get passed at all in this section, but this year I seemed to get passed quite a bit. My tummy was still off feeling but I was ignoring it and just focusing on going to my pain cave, executing my plan. I was grabbing coke and water, and trying to sip my EFS, but my focus was on riding hard over all else.

I really wanted to ride 7 minutes faster than last year. 4 in the swim, 7 on the bike, 7 on the run, and the 10 hour mark is mine. So all along I was doing the math and fighting for those 7 minutes…but it looked like 4..maybe 5 was going to be the reality. As I rode along the Queen K at 24 miles an hour, push push pushing my way back to the pier I gave it all I had until the very last moment. I think 4 minutes was all I got off last year. 5:26 I believe.

But I tried darn it, I tried. I remember thinking…4 won’t do…that means you need to run 3:20. But I added the 4 to the previous 4 from the swim to make 8 and I filed that away.

I handed off my bike to a lovely volunteer (love that part) and I ran around through transition. It’s quite the run in there. I felt my legs and thought they were doing pretty good. I was excited to get through transition and get the heck out of there. Once in transition I got a chair this time. Put on the compression socks and my shoes, grabbed my hat and race number and ran out of there. Socks, shoes, hat, number is all I put in my bag.

And now the real work begins.

 

 

Posted in Cycling, Family, First Endurance, Ironman, Quintana Roo, Race Report, Travel, Triathlon

Racine 70.3

Posted on July 23, 2011 by goSonja| 12 Comments

Racine 70.3 fit on the schedule this year. I had never been to Wisconsin, Vineman was sold out, and the race sounded fun, so I signed up for it.

Saturday morning bright and early I was on the direct flight to Chicago. Landed at 10am, was in my rental car by 11am, and was at the race site by 2pm, including a rather indulgent stop at Trader Joes for food for the weekend. I had 6 hours to pick up my packet, put my bike together, and check my bike in. I think that’s doable!

I drove to transition only to find out packet pick up was not there. I drove back to town and found packet pickup. The line was 1 hour long, yikes. The line management was pure hilarity, they had the line in a room and it was basically doing a reverse corkscrew, so the end of the line was in the middle. Pure mayhem, and people were skipping loops of the line because it was such a cluster.

The Post Office is up for sale in Racine, in case anyone is interested:

Got the packet. Got back to transition, built my bike, borrowed a pump and went for a ride. I saw someone I knew on my ride, Sydney! That was really cool, to know ONE person! My top 3 gears in my big chain ring were hopping so I went to transition to see the bike tech. No bike tech. They said there would only be one on race day (when you aren’t allowed to take your bike out of transition…?). A guy told me where there was a bike shop so I rode over there. 3rd Coast Bicycles completely hooked me up and my bike was shifting beautifully when I left there. I went and checked it into transition.

Next up I really wanted to get a swim in Lake Michigan, so I suited up and headed to the lake. It was pure bliss and I spent about 40 minutes in the water swimming around. After that, I drove 50% of the bike course, checked into my hotel, and hit the hay.

Race morning, 4:00am alarm, and I woke up at 3:56 on my own. I was jazzed and ready to go. I drove to the race, and because I’m type A, punctual to a fault, I got literally THE BEST parking spot right next to transition with a beautiful view. I slept for 30 minutes in the car, put my stuff in transition, slept almost another hour, and then headed over to the swim start which was a 1 mile walk.

KISS: Keep it Simple!!

My wave was one of the last at 8:05am. I watched other waves go and realized that the first 50 meters or so are a dolphin diving sort of situation. I’ve never dolphin dived before but I realized that if I wanted to swim with the pack that I wanted to, I was going to need to dolphin dive.

So….I practiced until I got it down. The other athletes must have thought I was crazy but if you don’t know how to do something, and there’s time to learn, then who cares! There’s no time like the present.

My wave went off and I dolphin dived like my race depended on it, which it did. I got those faster feet and I hung on. As different people would pass the feet I was on, I would switch feet, always trying to stay with the faster ones. About mid way through the swim I wondered whether I had missed the boat on this swim. I was swimming a bit too easy for me, I tried to pass the feet I was on but was unsuccessful, so I got back on them. With about 2 buoys until the final turn buoy I got caught by the first swimmers in the wave behind me. I made a split second decision to hop on their feet and swim as hard as I could to stay with them until I got dropped. I made it to shore with them, dropped the group I had been swimming with, and was exceptionally proud of myself.

LONG run up a sandy beach to the timing mat, into transition, on with the race number, Oakleys, and new Rudy Wingspan that my dad just got me (thanks dad!), grab Blackjack and get the heck out of there.

The bike was pretty flat with some rollers, and various sections of headwind, tailwind, and crosswinds. I stayed aero the entire time except for turns and I didn’t touch my breaks a single time. It was a 56 mile time trial and I steadily passed tons of people. I passed two ladies in my age group within the first few miles and then was on my normal stocking mission to find the next ladies in my age group. I couldn’t find them. Every woman I passed wasn’t in my age group, but I continued to ride hard hard hard. The one thing I would alert others about pertaining to this course is the road conditions. For much of the ride there are expansion cracks in the road, so your ride is “Uh-Uh…Uh-Uh…Uh-Uh” the whole way. Thank you TYR Carbon shorts…

This ride I choose to work on my focus and on my distraction control. I was very in the moment. When I would get distracted I would calmly bring myself back to the effort, similar to meditation. Focus on the now, focus on my body, on staying aero, on keep the pressure on my legs steady and strong. It worked out well and was both mentally and physically tiring.

The last few miles I had a run in with a guy. He was being a complete jerk, passing on the right when he didn’t need to, not obeying the rules. I just wanted past him, and so I moved to pass. I overtook him and was moving over right when he said “Wowah, No, on your right” and passed me back on the right. I dropped a few Fbombs on him and told him I overtook him and he needed to drop back, and that he was a F$%#er (apparently I was a little feisty). He rode off in front of me, so I dropped back and just kept my distance.

I made it in and out of transition licitly split and was off on the run. Right away I noticed how hot it was. Holy moly, the first mile was a scorcher. About 1.5 miles in I passed the doofus from the end of the bike and I looked at him and said “Where are you now, jerk?” and I then passed him and made him eat my shoe dust. He really pissed me off. Mostly because it’s crap like that where penalties happen, and I don’t want to be involved in that sort of behavior.

The run is two out and back sections, so the first out I was looking at every ladies number to see if she was in my age group, WHERE ARE THESE GIRLS? I knew there had to be more ahead of me, there usually are, and the last one I passed was mile 5 on the bike. I got to the turn around and that’s when I realized I was leading my age group, that I had been leading it since mile 5 of the bike. This is a completely new experience for me.

I didn’t want to rest on my laurels, because now is the time when you race the clock, now you race the invisible leaders of the other age groups. To do this, you have to race yourself.

I was really hot. The race was humid, and getting steamy by the minute. I was struggling to put down 7:30 miles. Thoughts would creep into my head like “What is wrong with you”, but I would stop them at the door and say, “Go Harder, tighten up your form.” You never know what a course is going to do to you. It wasn’t until afterwards, looking at some of the PRO ladies run splits that I understood that everyone suffered like I did out there.

The hills on the course were quite evil, 4 of them, and steep. The aid stations felt far apart and I was grabbing ice at each one. It was pure Kona practice. I set mini goals along the way…run hard to the tent, stay with the guy with the circle on his back, fix the form. Still, the pace did not quicken all that much. Heat is a tricky one.

Running down the final stretch was a lot of fun. I gave a lot of high 5s and did a fun little jump at the end.

Being on your own at a race is odd. In the finish food tent I found Sydney and we caught up. Then I got my stuff out of transition, sat on the grassy lawn and boxed my bike back up for the flight home. I repacked my bags and then headed to the lake for a swim to cool down, “shower”, and ice my legs. It was awesome, clean and clear blue water, 66 degrees, amazing! I wasn’t the only athlete down there and I enjoyed chatting with others, met some cool people doing IM Louisville this year.

I called my family, Troy gave me some results and I headed to awards. I took 1st in my age group, and 8th woman. 2nd amateur to Susanne Davis of Team Timex. I knew during the run that my finish time would be 4:45ish and based on the year before I thought it would take sub 4:40 to take the amateur title. Sure enough, she went 4:40.

Since I didn’t know anyone, my dad suggested I ask someone with a nice camera to take my photo and email it to me. I got the nerves up and asked a nice guy who said yes. He was there to support Kristin Andrews who took second PRO woman in her debut year as a PRO! Go Kristin!

After awards I headed out, back to Chicago, back to Trader Joes, and to the airport where I flew home, oh yes, and there was a stop at the Cheese Castle on the way. It was a CRAZY 38 hours, but all in all, very productive. I got to see where I am at with 12 weeks until Kona. I learned some lessons out there, had some successes. All in all, quite a great day!

I went to a Cheese Castle, who knew?

Thank you to my great sponsors, the TYR Hurricane from Kompetitive Edge performs wonderful dolphin dives, my Quintana Roo CD0.1 Blackjack is FAST, I keep getting faster on it, it’s a little scary! A special thanks to my newest sponsor DAD, thanks for the new helmet!

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

2011 Loveland Lake to Lake

Posted on June 27, 2011 by goSonja| 7 Comments

This was the third time I’ve raced this race. It’s a great local race, one where the race management just consistently puts on an excellent event. The post race food is awesome and for me it’s like a huge reunion. I felt like I knew 100 people that were racing and spent so much of the morning and afternoon catching up with friends.

Also, this race is in my husbands home town, which means we get to spend the night at his parents house the night before. They take great care of us, and Roger always comes out and takes photos, which is just awesome!

The transition is an “open transition” so it’s first come first served. Which means I was of course standing about 10 deep back in the line at 4:50am to get into transition first. I’m not Type A….what are you thinking? I got a great spot, same exact spot that I got 2 years ago, yup, still Type A back then too. I set up my stuff. I really try to keep everything as simple as possible (shocker?).

PIC came in a little later and she racked right next to me which is always so fun. She was starting 4 minutes back, which meant she might pass me in the water, dang it. We discussed that if she caught me in the water we may get to “play” on the bike, legally of course! I didn’t want her to pass me in the water, nobody wants PIC to pass her in the water, but it’s not like they/me have a choice!

I walked down to the water, chatting with all sorts of friends along the way. It was a good thing I started in one of the later waves because it took me a solid 15 minutes to get my TYR Hurricane wetsuit on. Its tight and I love it. We discovered a hole in PICs wetsuit after she loaned it out, that was no bueno. We had a little chat about “loaning” things, a chat that CV has had with us several times, yet we still keep making mistakes on that front. Insert: Team PIC banging head on wall over and over.

I felt pretty good in the water, especially after I peed in my wetsuit. Now nobody will ever loan me a wetsuit. If your swimming is anything like mine you usually can’t really tell how things are going to go with those first strokes. I had watched a few waves go off when I was putting on my suit and after confirming with Troy I decided to line up way left. It was a more direct line to the first buoy and seemed more sparsely populated.

This week has been a tough week for me in the pool. Chuck is having me train straight through this race. As he says

“we need to build a pan that can handle the bigger fish-frying”

This week I have had good days in the pool, bad days in the pool, double days in the pool, and an open water swim that was blissful. I’ve been thinking about the swim a lot this week. Mostly wondering why I am Ms.LackOfConsistency when it comes to the water. Some days I’m on from the get go and 1:33 pace in the meter pool is cake. Other days 1:40 pace has me panting at the wall, and a few days ago, 10 100s into a 20×100 set I went from crap to fantastic and held onto fanstaic the rest of the swim.

Ms.LackOfConsistency

I guess it’s better than Ms.ConsistentlySlow…I’ve been there.

They count us down and I GO. I GO really quite hard (for me). It think the fact that I forgot the scooper for my First Endurance PreRace and thus had to guess at what a teaspoon is was partly to blame. I was on triathlete-legal caffinated overload. Half way to the first buoy I look around, find some awesome feet and hold onto them the entire swim. The PreRace had me pretty focused and I swam my ASS off, the whole time screaming in my head “Chase the bubbles, chase the bubbles”. I never even touched her feet I was swimming so hard trying to stay on them.

 

I swam a 25:58 which includes a 1/4 mile run up to transition. It was my fastest swim at this race by a few minutes. It was hands down the best swim I have ever had in a triathlon in my life. Michelle’s bike was still there when I got to transition. Part of me was shocked, and the other part of me looked longingly back down the line of people running into T1 to see if I could see her. I assumed she was close.

Onto the bike. I think I have been jaded by the sprint I raced last weekend. I had this new sense of pain and I was off to find it again. I found it alright, yup, I found it on the climb up to Horsetooth reservoir. I forgot to put on my heart rate strap that morning so I was free, unencumbered, unaccountable for the sheer absurdity that my heart was beating at. I loved not being tied to that little bugger.

On the way back into town there are a series of rollers. My legs were squarely underneath me in this section and I could feel the watts in my quads. They were fired up and wanted more. There was a group of boys that went by me and I enjoyed the “pass the group of boys”, “watch the boys all pass me”, “get my legal distance behind them”, “repass the boys”. That little game had me hard charging all the way back to transition. My new bike QR Blackjack was CRAZY today. She loves going fast and the better shape I get in, the more she is going to shine. She has a crazy streak in her, so I just hold on and pedal!

I get into T2, set Blackjack on the rack, and I sit down.

Left Shoulder: “Sonja, why are you sitting down”

Right Shoulder: “Because I’m tired”

Left Shoulder: “Sonja, you’ve never sat down in a triathlon”

Right Shoulder: “I’m just going to put my shoes on and then I will get up and run”

Left Shoulder: “I think that’s a good idea”

Out I ran and the only thought that went through my head for the first mile was “Sonja, you biked way too hard, your legs are trash”. We hit the one mile mark and even though I knew exactly where it was I couldn’t believe I had 5.2 more to go.

They were painful, all 6.2 of those miles. I enjoy that this race is an out an back run because you can get a sense of where you are. I was passed by a woman who was 27 and she was haulin’. I was really glad she wasn’t in my age group. I dished out about 20 low 5s on the course. Lots of friends out there racing.

Troy and Annie and my parents in laws were near the turn around and Troy told me I was winning my age group. That’s always the goal for me.

My mantra for the day was “Never Settle” and I didn’t. My legs cussed at me the whole way but I managed to push them to keep running hard and not slow down. Good legs!

The last 1.2 miles were awesome. There were so many people cheering and whooping it up. I was having a blast and smiling up a storm. I just felt like I had a good day and I was happy with the effort my body put out. The kids ran and cheered when I went by and Troy gave me a big Whoop Whoop!

Annie held out a feather for me as I ran into the finish line. She never ceases to amaze me with how much she loves being out at the races. It’s so much fun for her to hang with all her buddies that she has met through the years. I know that she is creating memories that she will have for life, and I love all the different and unique people that she has the pleasure of interacting with. It’s so good for the kiddos.

So, all in all, it turned out pretty darn good. I ended up with second overall in the race and got handed an envelope with a little bit of cash in it. Can’t turn that one down and it was a huge surprise to me. Congratulations are in order to my podium mates Megan Riepma on her win and Wendy Mader as well.

Congratulations to everyone that raced this weekend. Huge props to all of you. I couldn’t do it without my awesome sponsors who bail me out of all sorts of crazy things I get myself into. Love all of you! A special thanks to Roger, my father in law, who took all the photos on this post. He so totally rocks!

 

Posted in 10K, Cycling, Family, First Endurance, Quintana Roo, Race Report, Running, Swimming, Triathlon

Blackjack

Posted on June 17, 2011 by goSonja| 7 Comments

Today is a REALLY GOOD DAY.

Several weeks ago PIC Michelle had a little “accident”. Bottom line…broken bike. PIC and I ride the same bikes, we wear the same uniform, we have the same coach. We are a little team of 2, we like to refer to it as Team PIC. It’s been that way for awhile, we are kinda sisters from another mother…and father. Although my parents have been known to step in as her parents, and her parents have been known to bail me out when I need a parental unit as well.

So, PIC broke her bike. I didn’t break my bike. But…she broke her bike. If she got a new bike, then we wouldn’t have the same bikes, and that my friends, is just one huge tragedy!

Needless to say, we were in the “hunt”. It was new bike time! We talked to Chuckie, because over the last year we have had several discussions about how we had “outgrown” our Isaac bikes. As we got fitter and wanted to move to a more and more aggressive position, the longer top tub prevented that. We finagled things and shortened stems and such, but PIC and I both knew that the “next” bike would be the right bike.

So Chuckie gave us a list. He looked at the geometry of all sorts of bikes and he gave us a short little list that would work well for both PIC and I’s geometry.

At the same time Ms.QR read about Michelle’s little fiasco and offered to put her in touch with Mr.QR. But was QR on “the list”?

Top and Center! Shorter Stack for the Reach put it squarely on the list.

Woot!

So Michelle and I test rode a set of QR CD0.1s at IM Texas and we LOVED them. Michelle was particularly attracted to the Pink Camo, but we both discussed that color was really the least of our needs. We had bigger wants:

1. FIT – we had that figured out via “the list”. But getting on the bikes with a very quick “fit” we were both surprised at how aggressive we were able to comfortably get immediately. Check!

2. Packability – we travel ALL THE TIME with our bikes. We are always breaking them down and putting them back together so we talked at length with QR about what they had done to make the bikes easy to pack. Check!

3. Adjustability – PIC and I knew we wanted more range to be able to grow with this bike. We wanted it to be easy to change seat tilt, and height, along with handlebar and aerobar functionality. Check!

4. Speed – the bike fits, it packs and it’s adjustable, but is it fast? Has it been in the wind tunnel? What have they done to make it faster. Well we got the skinny there too. QRs are for triathletes, not TdF riders. QRs aren’t limited by UCI rules.

5. The carrot on top – would QR love us? Would they be a company that “gets” the mom blogger, the type A triathlete, the Kona bound chicks that love the outdoors. Would they like us as much as we like them?

CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next up was componentry. Is that a word? Even though Kompetitive Edge sponsors me, and they always treat me so well, I was still amazed at what Ryan and Jared did to compliment the QR frame. I call Ryan my bike shop guru because he is hip, and knows his stuff. He knows all the new stuff and he has a sense of tasteful flare. If you ever have a frame you want built up, you gotta go to him. We had a conversation about what vibe I wanted my bike to have and then he went off and compiled everything, then sent me a list to “okay” and then ordered parts and built it up. I didn’t have to worry about anything, he just took care of it all, and my bike has flare, and is functional, and is hot. That’s about all I can say about that!

Ladies and gentleman, with a huge thanks to Quintana Roo for a beautiful CD0.1 frameset, and a gigantic thanks to Jared and Ryan at Kompetitive Edge, Blackjack is outfitted with full Dura-Ace, and she’s rockin’ the super new Profile Design Svet Base bar with the T2+Cobra Aerobars in white (try finding those…talk to Ryan :) ).

And now I’m going to go ride my bike…a lot!!!!!

Posted in Cycling, Quintana Roo, Travel, Triathlon