Every year Phidippides Track Club has one night where we do an all out 5K on the track. It’s an exact 5K since the track don’t lie. Afterwards we get together for a potluck and it’s always a fun time.

The point for us Practical Coaching folks is to PR in this workout. It’s the only one we have for the day, and it’s meant to be run hard. I’m so excited to say that almost everyone had a great day and really threw down.

I prepared mentally, and physically most the day, making sure that I took and extra short nap with Annie, and that I ate a good lunch with proper timing. I haven’t run a 5K in over 4 months when I ran 20:25 back in April. It’s been a goal to break 20 for awhile, but I could just never get it done.

The goal was to go out slow and make up for it on the last two miles. I really struggle with that direction b/c I “think” I’m going out slow, but it always turns out to be faster than I can hold.

The first 0.15 was in 36.01, and then it was onto counting laps. The first mile went 96.46, 95.19, 94.65, 94.91 for a 6:21.21.

I knew I had gone a little fast which meant it was still important to drop it down harder. I tried to quicken it up, but two laps of that and I was dropping into a little lul. The next mile was 94.06, 94.90, 97.10, 97.44 for a 6:23.50.

At this point I looked at my watch and did a little fuzzy math. It read 13:20. My oxygen deprived brain was able to figure out that I had to run under a 6:40 to break 20. I was so excited. I knew if I could just settle into myself and crank out the laps I would be golden. 98.44, 98.13, 98.23, 94.45 for a final mile 6:29.25, and a final time of 19:49.

It hurt, it hurt bad, but it was doable, and I think it’s doable in a more consistent and better executed race. I would love to try to complete it backwards, so 6:30, 6:23, 6:20. That would be really fun. This really was a big milestone for me to get through as I have tried unsuccessfully to get it done a few times. It was definitely a deposit in the bank of confidence.

Congrats as well to my other teammates who had a great day, and for those who didn’t, I hope you were able to learn more about yourself and your racing.

I’m not waiting for photos, since Steve and Susan took them and it will probably take some cajoling to get some out of them.

The day started off awesome. Chris decided the van looked like a bus and drove us…with the other busses…into the bus station at 120th ave off I-25. Oops, Detour! Back on the road, laughing, introducing ourselves, listening to XM radio. The energy in the van was insane and Steve-O was quiet as a mouse. Couldn’t get a word in edge-wise. I knew that we all meshed well, and that things were going to be fun. Chris was a total joker and kept us laughing the entire way…little did we know it was just a preview of what was to come.

Okay, a little overview of the team:

Leg 1 ~ Tim: Susan’s Husband, kinda reminds me of Troy, stoic, six foot five high, long long legs, hilarious dry sense of humor when he gets warmed up, no doubt a very good papa, AKA Beer Run.

Leg 2 ~ Me

Leg 3 ~ Steve: My coach, you all know him.

Leg 4 ~ Chris: Total kickbutt 23 year old triathlete, SLO town resident, Susan’s Training Partner during her Olympic year, made me laugh so hard I peed my pants…twice, balls to the wall runner, fellow Steamboat Hot Springs rock climbing partner (the kids wall), man with many nicknames (Detour, Bus Stop, Red Bull), and just a generally hilarious good guy.

Leg 5 ~ Susan: Olympic Bronze Medalist, mom to 2 girls, humble, motherly, Captain our Captian, fearless leader, roadkill counter, roadkill passer.

Leg 6 ~ Jill: she’ll ruthlessly pass your a$$ with an innocent smile on her face, energizer bunny, going through a breakup (he was supposed to run my leg, so I’m happy for the split…sorry Jill, it was meant to be), Ironwoman, cute as sin.

THE GOAL: Run 36 legs ranging from 2.5 miles to 10 miles from the Budwiser factory in Fort Collins to the High School in Steamboat Springs NONSTOP. Instead of the normal team of twelve, we had an ultra team of 6, so we each ran 6 different legs.

Legs 1-6: We were all excited to get going and Tim was sad to leave the Budwiser factory. The beer was calling. It was hard not to go out too fast and I think several of us did (Ahem Steve…4:42 mile pace at some point and Chris…sub 6’s most the way), but the majority of us were generally subdued by the 103 degree weather. There was plenty of skin showing amongst all the runners, so that was exciting. Our start time was to be 12:30 but we asked the race director to change to 12:00 and that was nice. Chris made sure they announced that we had the bronze medalist as our captain, so that was fun.

Legs 7-12 ~ I honestly don’t remember any of these legs at all. They must have been mellow and boring because the fun was just starting. There was lots of joking and smack talking as we started to pass slower teams that started ahead (roadkill we called it). There were a few teams that we started to develop some rivalries with…all of them Ultra teams that were ALL MEN…just had to point that out. Teams 103 and 104 were especially on our radar screen.

Legs 13-18 ~ The fun got started as we climbed up to Red Feather Lakes. Tim had an especially difficult leg of almost 6 miles with 1200 or so vertical, on a dirt road where the vans driving to the next leg continueally shot up a ton of dust. Sometimes the runner could barely see. My leg was next and this was my most challenging leg, the one I wanted to do the best on, so I dropped it down. It was 8.5 miles with 2 miles of downhill on the front and back. I worked the 4.5 mile uphill hard and got lots of roadkill. The van was following close and stopped to cheer a ton. Chris was yelling “SONJA” in full Stella form and I could hear him from a quarter mile away. I ran the entire way with a huge smile on my heart and when I finished the sun had gone down. Steve had a crazy all downhill leg which he managed to slaughter and then Chris had a downhill-ish leg in the dark. He was running so fast that when Susan and I were standing there waiting for him to come in the volunteer said “Is that a person on a bike?”. All you could see was the head-light and the red blinky rear light we had to wear and those two lights were moving so fast it looked like a bicyclist. HAHA! Susan and Jill had pitch dark night legs on a paved road. We were in Wyoming by then and with no moon you could see every single star.

Legs 19-24 ~ This segment started off with some star gazing. Showing Steve the Milky Way for the first time…the guy has never seen the milky way, crazy. Wow. These legs were all flat and downhill and pitch dark, some longer than others. I had a very peaceful run. I passed three people right off the bat and then I had nothing but pitch dark, trees, and stars to keep me company for 4 miles. It was effortless, fast and a total blast. Steve had a longer leg and I think he experienced a bit of vertigo. When Susan and I retrieved him at the end of his leg he was delerious and stumbling. We got him warmed up, fed up, and rested up and 20 minutes later he was a total chatter bug. It was a little scary there for a second, man that boy knows how to go hard. I think his pace on that leg was low 6 min miles. Susan and Jill again were nails, picking up some good roadkill for the girls team (the girls and boys were competing for road kill).

Legs 25-30 ~ These were a challenge. tims leg was hard, just like his last two, and the sun was starting to come up. I had managed to catch a few ZZZs along the way and was super tired. The last several legs I had passed team 103’s guy and there he was again waiting at the exchange. He asked if I was going to pass him again. I said “No, we’re going to run together this leg”. And we did. shoulder to shoulder we swapped stories for 7 miles. I learned about his life, and his team, and shared silly stories about ours. His name was Bo, and I was verry happy to have his company for 7 miles. I don’t remember much of the rest of the legs this time. Were were just crusin at this point, we melded well as a team and everyone was allways willing to help out another person with food, water, driving the van, directions, etc.

Legs 31-36 ~ These legs were brutal. Tim started it off with ANOTHER difficult leg…he had to run up Rabbit Ears Pass and it was brutal. It was mid morning and hot again, and his leg was just asphalt hill after asphalt hill. My leg showed up on the log book as flat and 4.5 miles. Nope it was up a big hill, then down a big hill, then up a big hill and down a big hill. I thought it was never going to end and I was trying my hardest to run hard. Steve had a hilly leg as well and all of us were a bit shocked on the steepness of the terrain. Chris got to run DOWN Rabbit Ears pass into Steamboat and his leg was evil downhill, super steep, leg killer downhill. Susan, I think, had her strongest leg, clocking like 7:15 pace and making it look totally easy. Jill brought it home for us and managed to pass team 104 which I think made them collapse in a hissy fit. But hey, we had girls and they had all boys, so it wasn’t like we were racing them anyways. We all ran in the last 50 yards together, some looking quite gimpy (Chris).

After some post race grub we hit up the Steamboat Springs Hot Springs and had a blast playing in the water. Chris and I attacked the little kids climbing wall until we had it mastered, although we kept having to wait in line behind the little kids. My shoulders were sore the next day.

We went back at 4pm for the awards ceremony where we humbly accepted our award for winning the Ultra Coed Team category. Tim alerted us yesterday that we set the corse record by 2.5 hours. BooYa. Sha-nizzle!

There were so many good times that I can’t even type them all. Steve and Chris were hilarious together, half the time talking smack, half the time spooning each other in the back seat. They made this entire trip a laughing fest. All of us have sore cheeks and abbs from all the laughing we did. I made some great new friends and can’t wait to do some training with Jill in the future. Susan and Tim are easy going, humble folks, and Susan is my new idol. If I am ever successful in triathlon I want to be just like her, she puts the term “positive role model” to shame.

Aside: In case anyone reads this who is doing a future relay I wanted to touch on my nutrition a little bit. Last year when I did the Colorado Relay I bonked BAD. This year I wanted to counteract that fact, and I did a smashing job. I want to share what I learned. First off, you won’t want to eat. You just won’t. It’s fun, your laughing, you think it will be fine. But you have to, and you have to have a plan. You can’t just bring some stuff and expect to eat it, you have to give yourself a plan for exactly what you are going to eat and when. My plan was to drink a Mix1 immediately after I got in the van (they are shelf stable, and I like them A LOT), then change my clothes to the next set of running clothes, then eat an almond butter and honey sandwich. I did that after every single run I had. After I did my little Mix1/Sandwich thing, I continued to snack on almonds, rice cakes, and Cheesy Bunnies, all while staying on top of water and Gatorade. I made sure to stop consuming the leg before me, and I was good to go. I think it’s natural to feel queazy in the middle of the night. Your body really wants to be sleeping and instead you are running, and eating (and laughing) so I think it’s normal to feel a little sick…all of us felt this and I thought we all did a pretty good job with nutrition. I had very little soreness the next several days, but I have felt flat in the legs. Epsom Salt baths have helped, and I am clearly on the road to being fully recovered. I Hope this helps any future runners.

I just wanted to post to let you all know I survived the Epic Wild West Relay. It was an absolute blast. I am resting and recovering and plan to write a race report once I have a few pictures to post as well.

We did great, won the Ultra (6 person team) Coed (3 boys, 3 girls) division. Nifty medal for our enjoyment. Everyone raced well and stayed very steady and strong. We enjoyed each others company and there was no sleep to be had by most.

A couple weeks ago I Andrea introduced me to Susan at the gravel pond. She was looking for another runner to run on her Wild West 24 Hour Ultra Relay Team. I got so excited but before I could tell her yes Steve snagged the spot. I gave him all sorts of heck for it, including calling him a “stinker” several times. I was forced to sit on the sidelines while he trained a little harder running the last several weeks.

Well, yesterday I got the call. Apparently another runner has become unavailable and a spot is open. After a phone call to secure a sitter for Annie on Friday, I called back and said “Sure, sign me up”. As I started getting my things together last night I was 2 parts giddy to 1 part crazy. This is an ultra team so unlike the relay I did last year where we each ran three times, this is double that…I run 6 times in the race. My legs range from 3.8 miles to 8.5 miles, and also range in difficulty from Easy to Very Hard. I have a total of about 30 miles of running. That’s more than I run in a week. We start in Fort Collins and run our little legs all the way to Steamboat Springs, via the back-roads and a short stint into Wyoming. Fun times!

Last year when I did the Colorado Relay I had an absolute blast, but I bonked hard after the race. So this time I am going to try to have a total blast again, but without the bonk. I didn’t eat enough last year, so this year I am planning my meals more specifically and have purchased some things that I know I will want to eat.

Another obsticle…running outfits. If you train with me you know that I pretty much have like three different training outfits, your probably sick of them by now too. Well, I needed 6 sets of running clothes and I could only conjur up about 4 1/2. So I treated myself to a trip to Runners Roost today to pick up two new pairs of shorts and a new sports bra. Yippy-Ky-Yea. Check them out:

New Asics shorts in navy blue, very sort and comfy

New Pearl Izumi shorts in a bold blue…and me having way too much fun with the built in camera on the mac.

I’m excited also to take along my Core Concepts hoodie, and Carve Full Zip Jacket to wear in the van between runs and maybe on a midnight…or 3am…or 5am run through the middle of NOWHERE Colorado. This should be super cool, I love meeting new people, especially active ones, and it’s also exciting to know that I get to hang with the best women’s triathlete the US has ever had, bronze medal…wozer, can you even imagine making the podium at the Olympics?

So, when you are popping your popcorn Friday night, settling down to a nice flick on the big screen, send a few good thoughts my direction as I run down some lonely dirt road in the middle of Wyoming or Colorado, with trees, bugs, and the moon to keep me company (no iPods allowed).

My Partner in Crime (PIC) Michelle has now entered blog land. Michelle is a totally awesome mom of two beautiful girls who somehow manages to balance a tremendous career, and a phenominal triathlon hobby, all while being a great mommy and wife. She truely does this all with grace, class, and a spunky attitude. She is totally my peeps, and I just love her to death (Can you tell?). We kinda look alike, except she has 6-pack abs. She’s my twinkie!

Michelle has absolutely knocked it out of the park this year. She is a total bad a$$ swimmer, always has been, and continues to beat Steve out of the water every single race.

Her bike has progressed farther that I even think she realizes. She’s dedicated, and she gets in the work. I rode with her last week and as several of us rode in a paceline I was begging her (in my mind) to not pull through as hard as she was. She was pulling as hard as the boys and looked calm and cool doing so. She is super strong and I can’t wait to see her bike times diminish like her run times.

Speaking of her run. This lady ran a 54:32 10K off the bike at age group nationals last year. She walked twice due to a leg cramp. This winter she put in the miles. She ran up mount Evans and is planning a run up Pikes peak this coming month. She has hit the track workouts hard and several weeks ago at Loveland Lake to Lake she ran a 47:53 10K off the bike. Last night at track I ran the last 300 of her last 1000 with her and could not believe how hard she is throwing it down on the track. I jumped into her last interval at the 300 to go spot and she was running 6:50 mile pace. She started to lay it down with me and ran the last part of her LAST interval at 6:15 pace. She LAYED it down.

The best thing about having great friends in the triathlon community is that when they excel or jump a new hurdle you feel that success with them. I am so tremendously proud of Michelle and can’t wait to experience future successes with her. Check out my PIC’s blog, and leave her some comment love.

Check Out Her Blog Here

Chilin’ at TJ’s in Portland

Michelle and I getting our swagger on. Attitude.

Yesterdays track workout was the bomb. It was short, it was fast, and whenever I am stewing mentally processing a race I tend to train like a champ. The workout was 4×400, 2×200, 4×400. Quite a bit shorter than the usual track work that we do. The first interval I came in at 85 seconds and I thought “Humm, maybe I should try to hang onto the big boys today”. You know, the boys that I usually finish half a track behind and then spend the recovery lap trying to catch back up to them, only to be dumped again on the next interval. Yea, those boys. So I stepped it up. 81 for the next, then an 80. Humm, still feeling spunky, so I dropped to a 79 for the last one in the first set. I ran the 200’s in 38, and 38, and tried to set myself up for the last four 400’s. I wanted to run hard, to run the stuffing out of myself.

I just went for it. At the point where the boys were gapping me in the first set, I tried to hold on just a little longer. They usually ended up gapping me on the last 100, but I held on as long as I could. The last set I came in at 79, 77, 77, 79. I wish I could have held that 77 on the last one, but I was thrilled with the set.

So, usually on a workout like this I would have shot for 82-85, hoping to finish off in the low 80’s. I think I am standing in my own way sometimes. I am allowing myself to become the person at the track that people want to catch. I need to make it tougher on them. It was also an eye opening day for me. When I spend Tuesday preparing to have a good workout (nutrition and sleep) and arrive at track ready to lay it down without expectations, I surprise myself. Yesterday was a large leap in the right direction.

After an evening of nonstop laughter I was so ready for race morning to come at 4am. Michelle, Steve, Christopher and I traveled to the race site and got a primo parking spot. After racking our bikes and getting THE CLOSEST transition spots we hopped in the car and people-watched for an hour. What a total hoot. Triathletes are just funny. They are so different than runners who usually stretch and act calm. Triathletes like to walk around all nervous like, spend unimaginable amounts of time in the port-a-pottie, and strut around wearing too little clothing for 4:30am. They also like to ride their bikes around with no helmets to warm up, which can get them DQed. Doh!

Swim Start

Pook on the beach

Most of the PC crew did a warm up run together, and I probably shouldn’t have gone with them. I was in the second wave and as I got to the swim beach and pulled on my wetsuit I heard the gun for the first wave. I had 4 minutes to get my two caps and goggles on, get in the water, find the right spot to start, and get ready. Boom, I was off and feeling rushed. It was a typical swim for me with a moderate amount of body bumping, and some settling. I sighed pretty well and seemed to hit each buoy with consistency. As we turned the last buoy the next wave started to pass me. I had fun jumping on 4 different guys feet from this group, catching a 30 second draft and giving myself a reason to push push push.

As we exited the water I looked down and my watch said 26 something. My first thought…the swim is short. Ha! Give yourself some credit Sonja! The two minute run to transition was tough in the wetsuit, but a little fun too. Turns out the swim was a bit short, but the swim plus run to transition seemed to be closer to a normal mile swim time. 28:15 was my official swim time…so my first time seeing the 28’s in a race. There was still lots of room for improvement in my swim execution, but it’s getting stronger.

T1 was great. I enjoyed having the primo spot, and it was oddly reassuring to see Steve and Michelles bikes on either side of mine. I was sandwiched by two of my favorite triathletes. 43 seconds later I was on the bike.

So the bike was a total sight unseen course for me. I had heard rumors about the hills and that it was pretty but had never ridden the course. It took awhile to get going. Steve and I just had a pow-wow last week about my TT form and so I was still “messing around” with where to sit, how to sit, how to pedal, how to feel comfortable, and what gear to be in. It took some time. Troy and Chris were ALL OVER the course and they are seriously the loudest cheerers I have even encountered. They really do it up good. Anthony caught me several miles in, and the Tyler caught me a few miles after that. I know I can bike with Tyler so I put some “giddy” in the “up” and started to go hard. I kept Tyler in sight and used him to keep me focused and accountable. The hills were great and Troy said it was fun to be on the course and to watch me eat up all the ladies ahead of me. I just tried to consistently pass people and put in a hard effort. On the last stretch down Wilson Steve passed me and I really wanted to keep him in sight. It was great to ride behind my coach and to watch him in action.

As we came into T2 Steve was first, then Tyler, then me, but we were all within 30 seconds of each other. When I entered transition and racked my bike Steve was departing (and we were racked next to each other). That was cool. I had trouble getting on my second shoe, but even with that, a 38 second T2.

Taking in Water outside T2

I rolled out of T2 and saw Tyler ahead. I worked my way up to him and told him to jump on my shoulder. He hopped on and we ran to mile 1 together. I looked at my watch and in my running stupor I couldn’t get the correct words out and threw down an F-bomb. Poor Tyler thought that I was upset with the first mile split (which was 6:57) and claims that I “took off”. But…this is not true. The f-bomb came b/c I was trying to get the right words out. I was perfectly happy with 7 minute pace. I did however see SEVERAL ladies in front of me, and the truth is when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. I had to go get those girls. So I took them one at a time and tried not to over think things. Whenever I would come up on a girl I would straighten up my form and put a little surge in. This way I would give of the impression that I was running much harder, and then they would feel like they couldn’t go with me. It worked over and over again. Troy and Chris were near the turn around and again…wild and crazy cheering ensued!

Troy and Pook

At the turn around I saw five ladies very close ahead and vowed to get them all. A mile later I had them, but I knew my good friend Amy was on my heels. By mile 5 she had eaten me up, much like I tried to eat up all the other ladies I passed. Ha! What goes around comes around! She had a terrific pace going so I just tried to lock into her effort and drive harder with her.

As we came around the last turns my FIL was there taking pics and Annie and my MIL were playing at the palyground.

Here I am running my guts out and it was crazy to see Annie playing away! As we come around the last turns I see this lady ahead and she looks my age. She is clearly running slower, but I am running out of real estate. I watch Amy kick and eat her up, and even though I am kicking, the finish line is coming too quickly. We cross 6 seconds apart and I see she is in my age group. Doh. That was a tough one.

Can yo see me?

Coming down the home stretch

The point where I knew I wasn’t going to catch her

After a 5 minute section of feeling very near puking (I’ve never had that at the end of a race, but I think it was from the sprinting) Steve and I headed out for a cool down and to chear on others.

Post race Pow-Wow

Post race pook Hug

Practical Coaching had a GREAT day. Steve won his age group, Michelle was 2nd in hers, Beth 3rd, Barry 3rd, Anthony 4th, and I was also 3rd in mine. A great day, and a testament to what a great coach Steve is!

Pook and I on the podium

Michelle and Beth on podium

Results are here
Swim: 28:15
T1: 0:43
Bike: 1:27:17
T2: 0:38
Run: 43:10
Overall: 2:40:04
14th woman
3rd in F25-29

So I have to give Tyler a little shout out. He’s caught the blogging bug and I’m lovin’ it. My friend Tyler is one of the most fun guys I know to hang around. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and knows how to work hard when he needs to. He’s the one coming up with the Alphabet Game to play on long bike rides (you’ll have to join us to know about that one), but when it comes time to climb, the boy drops the hammer.

His triathlon blog is great and I strongly urge you all to meander on over and check it out. Leave a little comment love and let him know what he’s doing is inspiring. He’s a dad of three and with the support of his wife Anne he fits it ALL in.

He’s always willing to throw in a little Booo-Yaa to the mix. Enthusiasm, exuberance, yet kindness and inclusiveness are constants with Tyler. He’s just a class act dude.

He ends every post with “I love you Anne” which just makes my heart melt. Check out his blog here.

Let me be the first of many to extend a HUGE congratulations to Core Concepts! Every year Polartec awards several high tech garments their prestigious Apex Award. This year Core Concepts Carve Full Zip jacket is sharing the podium with other stellar companies including Patagonia, Marmot, and Merrell.

As an avid wearer of the Carve Full Zip jacket let me just say this coat is top notch and extremely deserving of the Apex award. I have been product testing it for the last few months and have yet to uncover a flaw. It fabric is divine for us women, and the stylish details will leave your friends drooling…like my friends are! Right friends? Don’t worry, the Carve Full Zip goes on sale in September.

Congratulations to the Core Concepts crew and especially to owners Noah and Erin! You have been such a joy to work with and I know that as the years go by Core Concepts will become a household name in outdoor apparel. Keep up the great work and I can’t wait to see the Carve Full Zip walking around the streets of Boulder, or on the slopes in Vail. Because, when it comes to ‘Active. Life. Style’ you guys nailed it!

So I’m pretty sure that the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon course is the most gorgeous course in history. It’s just breath-taking. Now hopefully the fog won’t roll in!
The bike has lots of hills, super steep ones. I took some photos.

At the top of the last hill was a sign warning people that OUR RACE IS COMING! Ha!

I took off to do the run course and hooked up with another triathlete running the course as well. We were the blind leading the blind but we had a fun run together. The funny part was that my dad was biking with us and the course goes up SEVERAL sets of stairs, and under a tunnel, plus along all this crazy single track dirt. My poor dad was doing some major hike-a-bike, all the while trying to take pictures and keep up with us. I think he is going to sleep well tonight!

Here is a shot of me running past Crissy Field (used to be a runway for the military) with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

The SAND LADDER is totally crazy! So crazy that dad and I had to go back to it after my run to take some pictures. Can you see what I am up against? This is the SECOND set of major stairs in the race!

Here it is all it’s glory:

Here is what the top of the ladder part looks like, see how the stairs get blown out and it’s just getting sandy:

Here is the final part of it. No more stairs just uphill sand. This was the most painful part when I ran it today. The stairs were fun, but the sand hurt bad!

But…it’s so worth it, because check out the view while you are climbing the sand ladder.

Here’s dad and I being silly!

So when you are done with the sand ladder and you climb up the last little hill you are awarded with an awesome view and three miles of downhill to the finish. Here’s a shot of the “nothing but downhill from here” view. Notice the Golden Gate bridge peaking out!

Are you jealous yet?