Race Report: Run with Dad 5K

Sunday I participated in the Run with Dad 5K with my younger son! It was a perfect morning for a race. The weather was just a tad cool at the start and it was warm when we finished. The race was on the same course as the Run Your Heart Out 5K from earlier this year. So this time I knew what to expect! 

Patrick and I arrived in plenty of time - even after a late night celebrating my Aunt Shirley's 75th birthday the night before. We hit the track for a little warm up 1200. We got a chance to say hello to my friend Kim - who ran this with her family! How fun is that? I was very happy to be able to do the race with my son. 

We lined up on the track, as the race starts and finishes on the track at South Lakes High School. The Reston Triathlon does as well, and it really is a great venue for events! I told Patrick he should move up as the course would be crowded. It was but did not seem to be quite as crowded as in February. I should have seeded myself a little further up as well as I passed quite a lot of folks in the first mile or so. 

Anyway, after about three quarters of a lap around the track we head out and pick up the Reston pathways. This was great because once we got onto the path we had trees covering us and the temperature dropped a bit. Nice! This is a fun course because we go through two small pedestrian tunnels. The tunnels echo nicely! The trails are nice and rolling but there is one short and steep part. Oh, in addition to the hill to get back up to the school property then the track. I love the lollipop course. I got to see some of the front runners before the split right after mile 1. Man can some people run fast! During mile two I was passed by three stroller dads! One of whom I had predicted would pass me, but I later passed him back! I also caught up with a guy in a Spurs jersey. Woohoo! We were both looking forward to the game later that night. In case you missed in, the Spurs won in in 5 in  fine fashion! 

During the first and last (I think) miles I grabbed a cup of water on the run but never stopped to walk. I may have slowed and definitely slowed during the final hill and at  the top before I got back down to the track, but was very happy I did not walk. 

Almost Back on the Track!
(Courtesy of the PR Races Flickr page!)

Once I got on the track I saw my son! He had finished several minutes before me. Note: My son ran track and cross country in high school; 10 seasons, total. He has not really done any run training since his final meet (outside some running earlier this year at school); The little turd beat me by about 5 minutes! But it's all good. Something to work towards. (haha) As I got to the final straight-away I picked up the pace and sprinted to the finish. My goals were to (1) beat my February time and (2) go under 30 minutes. Happy to report that I did both! My final time while not a PR for the year was 29:48 which was good for 6 of 24 in my age group. I'll take it! 

Kim also got a couple pictures for me:

Post-Race with my Son!

Post-Race with Kim!

Thanks for taking the pictures, Kim! I just love the colors on the 2014 South Lakes High School Seniors Wall! Anyway, what a fun way to start the day! Well, anytime I get to run or race is a good day! 

Next up, if you see my crazy count down timer up on the right, is a very special birthday for me. That morning I will be running with a group of my friends at the Women's Distance Festival! This will be a great way to start of my 50th year! Below is a map of the race!

Looking forward to this race!

Happy and Healthy Training!

More on the Bay Swim

Just a little bit more about the Bay Swim. When I spoke of the 4.4 mile distance and not having worn my Garmin, I had wanted to include this route map that I had created on MapMyRun. From the map below, it looks like if you swim straight in between the spans it does equal 4.4 miles! I so wish I had used my Garmin so I could have compared routes!! 

The Bay Swim Route!

Race Report: The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim!

Well you may have read the Going Long Rap on the team rabbit blog because that's what the weekend was all about! Carol had her longest run (28.38 miles) to date - this year - and I successfully swam across the Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point State Park to Kent Island! Just 4.4 miles - The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim!! As Carol said, "You are here, and if you want to get over there just jump in the water and swim across!" 

Sunday was quite a long day when it came down to it. We (me, Pam, and Carol our trusty Sherpa) left my house at about 6:30 am. We made great time over the bridge we were soon going to swim under to the shuttle bus parking lot, only to take a bus back across the bridge to Sandy Point State Park where the race was to start at 10:30 am.

Team Rabbit in the house!!

 Once at the park we settled in with our other friends and cheer peeps to wait for the start.

Rabbits and Rabbittears!

The race director made his announcement as it got closer to the start time. He rattled of a list of organizations that go into the event. It was pretty awe inspiring. I wish I could remember them all. I do know there were a lot of volunteers - something like one per swimmer. Wow!

Checking out THE bridge!

Waiting for the swim to start I was pretty nervous. But it was a pretty laid back atmosphere. Eventually I settled down and relaxed a bit myself. Finally it was time to get into my swim skin! Thanks to Sally who helped me check on whether or not they were allowed. I was classified as 'non-wetsuit'! I forgot my Body Glide for this one spot on my arm that tends to chafe. Sally let me use some Aquaphor! And while I ended up with a pretty big chafe mark, I liked how the Aquaphor worked and will have to get my own. 

Matching Suit Straps! Photo credit: Janet (Thanks!!)

After the announcements and National Anthem we could make our way to the beach where they asked heat 1 to get checked in. There were separate timing mats for wetsuit and non-wetsuit. My line was much shorter! Then we were allowed in the water for a few minutes! But we all had to get back on the beach for the countdown and horn. The announcer said he liked my and Sally's enthusiasm as he counted down!

The horn sounded and we were off! I used the portion to get in between the bride spans as a warm up. Once between the spans I had a little trouble getting myself centered between them, which is where I wanted to stay, but then was finally set. Before I got centered I actually felt like I was being pushed toward the left supports and wanted to stay away so as not to go back under and get DQd! Wait - wasn't I supposed to be pushed towards the right here?

Now, I wish I’d worn my Garmin under my cap. It would have been nice to see my actual mile splits, like Mary. Oh well. I did look at my watch at the first buoy I came to and that was 26:50. If that buoy was accurate that was a fast for me mile! Next up was the first food boat. The first of the red caps from heat 2, who had left 15 minutes behind us, passed me just before I reached the boat. My time when I left the food boat was 42:xx. This could not have been at mile 2 as advertised because that was way too fast for a mile. A little later on I saw off to my left what was probably the mile 2 buoy.

Other than initially coming under the first bridge I did not feel much of a current. The waves and chop did seem to pick up though. It was a lot of fun to notice I was getting closer to the first shipping channel. This is the part of the bridge that has the suspension wires. This part felt a bit choppier and I looked forward to being on the other of the channel. 

At times I did take time to flip over here to check out the view! It looked something like this:

This is just past the second shipping channel, actually!
(Photo credit: Dom J. Manalo, GCBS kayaker  via The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim)

The waves and chop started to pick up more and that made it interesting. There were times I was at the bottom / between the waves and could not see around me and of course times at the top when I could! I pretty much sighted by keeping even between the spans. I found myself a bit off centered before I arrived at mile 3 but for the most part I had a lot of open water. Every now and then a swimmer would go by. Sometimes I would pass another swimmer. I did get myself re-centered and entertained myself watching an occasional boat going by on the right. I tried to race one boat! Ha! I did kind of wish the boats would stop moving so as to not create wake and contribute to the chop. But they were there for our safety!

Arriving at the mile 3 buoy I wondered where the food boat was. I was hungry! I looked at my watch at this point and was about 1 hour 35 minutes in and was cool with that. So I did like Dori and just kept on swimming! Soon at the top of a wave I spotted the second food boat! It was a little off to the left but I started heading in that direction! It was so bouncy now that I had a hard time grabbing the boat. But I did and after I got my water and Nilla Wafers I pushed off again. They said we were at mile 3.25! Yeah - just a little less than the swim of a 70.3 to go!

Not long after leaving the food boat I could see the final and mile 4 buoy up ahead. Sweet! I headed in that direction and actually found some feet to draft off of. He would switch to breaststroke to sight, but I figured this out and just followed along. We headed towards the right and to the buoys indicating where to go under the bridge to then head to the finish line. I was excited – we were almost done! And honestly, I was ready to BE done. As I went under the bridge I really cut the angle, which I am pretty sure was the wrong thing to do as this put me super close to the corner / wall / embankment and I felt like I was stuck! I would swim for a bit and sight, and it seemed like nothing was happening. So this is what an Endless Pool feels like?! Finally I just kicked like crazy and windmilled my arms and what do you know, I was out of that mess! I saw up ahead folks were standing and walking – in the water. What? I tested and put my feet down and sure enough, I could stand. At this point I decided to adjust my goggles – which had behaved perfectly – for the first time and ohmygosh OUCH the suction. Instantly regretted that and it took a few more tries to get them right again. So in between adjusting my goggles and taking short walk breaks I kept on swimming! And I finally passed some walkers!

Up ahead I could see the tents and the ramp and finally, finally, my hand touched the bottom! I was able to stand and run up that ramp! The nice volunteers removed my chip and I gave them my bib tag and continued on my way. I felt a little klutzy as I walked along and tried not to fall over the orange construction fence. Looking around for Carol’s ears, I finally saw them! I backed tracked a bit and yelled out to her – after apologizing to the spectators along the fence. She came over and congratulated me! Yay for Rabbit Sherpas! After I finally came back Carol was waiting with my shiny new 4.4 sticker! 

Thanks, SRab!!

I had checked my watch when I came out from under the bridge and I think I had been swimming for 2 hours 14 minutes. I finished in 2 hours 38 minutes, so it took me 24 minutes to do that last portion, which is like 400 meters. Yikes! 

A funny thought I had while swimming on Sunday in the last mile-ish:

You know how runners - after they finish a race - sometimes walk back along the course and cheer runners on as they finish? My thought was, “I bet we don't see any swimmers out here doing that!” I mean even if they were allowed to! But wouldn't that be neat if boats could drop fresh swimmers off to swim in with the final swimmers as kind of moral support?

All in all I am really happy with my race! My final time was 2:38:07 with a pace of 35:57 per mile. Considering the chop and the distance, I'll take it! Two weeks before I had done the Jim McDonnell Lake Swims.  My one mile swim in flat lake water was 31:37 then the two mile an hour later on the same lake my pace was 33:32 per mile. So 35:57 per mile over that distance with the conditions was great for me! And I am quite thankful that I do not get seasick on rough water. Also, I was lucky to not take in any bay water! At this time I have no plans to do this race again. See, there is this Race Bucket List I have and there are a couple of other pretty cool swims on it that I would like to do instead! The Bay Swim is very well organized and raises money for many good causes.

Since January 1, 2014 I swam a total of 162,041 yards - including the bay swim. That is 92 miles!! Of course since I did not wear my Garmin during the Bay Swim I could have gone - and probably did go - farther than 4.4 miles! Haha

Big congrats to my friends and teammates who went out and took on this swim challenge! And big thanks to those cheer peeps out there to support us! It really was a fun day and we had awesome weather. 

Happy and Healthy Training! 

Next up: Run With Dad 5k!

Race Report: Rock Hall Sprint

Well, if you read the Team Rabbit recap rap, you'll know that I successfully completed the Rock Hall Sprint! My first sprint in nearly four years! As I mentioned before I'm going for short and sweet and I've been working on speed. Both run and bike. Still need to get back on the nutrition wagon, but that's another thing...

On race day Carol and Margie arrived at my house bright and early! Well, it was early, but not quite  bright. We loaded the bikes on my rack - all Specialized - and hit the road timely. There was little traffic and we cruised right along. One short pitstop in Annapolis and before we knew it we were across the  bridge. The same bridge Margie and I will be swimming under, between the spans, THIS coming Sunday! *gulp*  It was fun to glance down and see where we would be in a week! 

We arrived at Rock Hall shortly after 7:00AM. They had suggested everyone arrive by 7:45AM. It was fantastic because we (1) got a pretty close parking spot, and (2) all got a good pick at location on our particular racks in transition. After getting things organized we walked over to where the swim start was and introduced ourselves to a new-ish triathlete along the way. He was doing his third race ever! At the swim start we each put our feet in the water and it felt pretty good! 

Then it was back over to the main site to hang out for a while. We ran into some old Team Z friends, who were there to cheer. Thanks Jen and Val! Finally it was time to head to the swim start for real! 

We all wore flip flops on the walk over and had decided we would leave them in a pile together to get on our way home. Turns out the nice race organizer folks would be bringing everyone's footwear back to the main area! Carol and Margie were going to swim without a wetsuit. I opted to wear my brand-spanking new speed suit. This things was about as hard to put on as a wetsuit!! 

Swim: 14:38 2/15
The three of us were all in the same swim wave (wave four!) which was great. We had a few minutes to bob in the water before the horn sounded and the water was really comfortable. I felt good the entire time and my goggles were fog-free! As I got out of the water Margie was right behind me! This was a good thing because the zipper on my suit got stuck in my tri top so Margie helped me out once we got across the timing mat. (Thanks, Margie!)  

T1: 3:12 4/15 
Speaking of Margie: she was in and out of transition in a flash! I, on the other hand, took over three minutes! That's because the speed suit did not come off as easily wet! (I had tried it on two days prior and it came off so much easier than it went on.) During my pre-race brick the day before I'd practiced going sockless. So that was my plan for the bike. Surprisingly, even with a 3:12 T1 I still had the 4th best time. Wow! 

Bike: 45:24 2/15
The bike was advertised as flat. Well...it was mostly flat! I came out of T1 and mounted and started off in an easy gear. Once I got situated I shifted into the big ring and just rode hard. The goal was to see how hard I could ride and then of course run afterwards. I rode hard but I got passed. But for once I passed people. A lot of people. I was trying not to let myself worry that I still had to run after. The roads were in really great shape. Nothing like Stagecoach Road from Ironman Wisconsin! Which, oddly enough, we did not write about! Oops, we actually did write about it on our training weekend rap! And looking back, I mentioned it in my training weekend report, here. Anyway, one stretch of road in about the middle of the course was super smooth! I always appreciate a nice stretch of road! I think along the third leg of the course I backed off a bit, but I used my Garmin on the bike, so I'd have a record of my RPMs, which tend to be low and my average speed. I had it display distance and RPM as I did not want to see the speed. I did maintain an average of 91, so maybe I did not back off, but I just was getting tired? I don't know. Anyway, got back to the dismount line and off my bike successfully! 

T2: 1:29 6/15
In T2 I made a 'game day decision' or more like a 'T2 decision' to go sockless on the run! Margie inspired me as she goes sockless on both the bike and the run. I wish I had taken her advice to put body glide inside my shoes. Anyway, change of shoes and hat, sip of water, and I was off! Wow - under two minutes? I am happy! 

Run: 29:17 5/15
As I started out on the run I saw the lead female almost finishing! Ran by the Team Z cheer tent here as well. (Thanks for the bunny love!) The run was entirely flat. There was a lot of sun but we did have a few shady spots. There was an occasional breeze that felt fantastic. The first mile was not too bad. But somewhere around that point I could feel a little abrasion on the instep my left foot. I did not let that hold me back though as I told myself I could suck it up for another 2.1 miles. And less as I got further along! I was running with only my watch, which I had started at the beginning of the swim and had not looked at the total time as I left T2. So as I hit mile marker 1 I had no idea about my pace. My new thing in races is to 'run naked' so to speak - using only my watch and not the Garmin, but by feel. In fact, I don't look at my watch during the race so as not to get discouraged, or overly confident! The only times I walked were at the water stops. I think there were a couple people I passed that passed me back; I'm really not quite sure. The bunny ears got some fun and positive comments! The little kids loved them, as always. Anyway, once I made the final turn and could see the finish area, I picked up the pace. There was a little Z cheer group at this point, too! After I turned onto the grass into the finisher chute I picked up the pace even more! I saw the clock and of course right after forgot the time that was there so I could not do the math to take away the 12 minutes back our swim wave started. I did remember to stop my watch and was pretty happy with the time showing, 1:34:10. I met up with Margie in the finish area and had a seat so they could remove my timing chip. She thought with my time I might have a place on the podium. I thought that would be cool, but did not allow myself to get too excited. We got up and walked so I could get a slice of pizza then went to wait for Carol to come in. We saw her finish strong! Carol, by the way, had run 24 miles the day before for her CanLake 50 training!! 

Total: 1:33:59 3/15
After we caught up with Carol we all had some pizza then found our flip flops! We decided to put everything except out bikes in the car then come back to check out the results. Setup Events, the race organizer, has a cool results tent that constantly scrolls through and updates the results as they come in. They finishing up the men's results when we got there. Then the women's started up. Margie noticed a couple women in my age group in the Top 3 Masters Female category and said again she thought I could podium. Well, imagine my surprise and shock when the 50-54 age group scrolled by and my name was listed as number 3! I was really pleased (and thrilled about the Top 3 Masters Female category). Of course, I would not believe this until they actually called my name during the awards ceremony. I went up to the podium, rabbit top, ears, and all!

Team Rabbit on the Podium!

I was happy with my swim and swim time. Generally in the swim I am near the top, then in the bike and run I always falls down in the ranks. My bike average speed was 19.2 according to my Garmin. I was beyond thrilled with that as well, as I have not seen those speeds in years! I feel like my run time really needs work for me to be a contender. However, I was very happy I had a sub 30 run though. With out a sore foot I bet could have pushed a bit harder. Maybe body glide on my shoe next time will prevent any abrasions! A positive I just realized, that my run split of 29:17 is a PR for this year in the 5K! I'm pretty excited about that. 

So, now time to shift focus to the next task at hand: 

The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim! 

Yikes!! Seriously, I am very excited about this but definitely nervous! An update went out earlier this week listing waves and bib numbers. It is getting real!! I'm trying to not obsess about the weather, but so far things are looking good! 

Happy and Healthy Training!! 

Rock Hall Bling and Hardware!