Blog
Season Ends in Cozumel with IRONMAN#2
This year was a different Thanksgiving experience than ever before. Me and my family flew down to Cozumel on Thanksgiving day so I could have a couple of days in paradise before competing in Ironman Cozumel, my 2nd Ironman race. I enjoyed all of the training leading up to the race…I put a high priority on enjoyment. I didn’t do any training this year that I didn’t want to do…therefore, I did a lot less swimming than I did last year, and I didn’t do much long, solo bike training. Even with this philosophy, I felt like I was going into this year’s race a lot fitter than last year. I felt no pressure to perform this year even though I had set some lofty goals. Last year I crumbled on the marathon run, so that is what I wanted to improve on the most. The day started well with a beautiful, quick swim…58min. Next was an amazing bike course that took us around the island 3 times. I held back my effort to leave something for the run, only problem…i got really badly sunburned, even with lots of sunscreen on, maybe this had something to do with what happened next? 5hr17min, 21.5mph. My run started great, I was hitting the pace I had trained for in the first 4miles with a very low effort level, but my gut shut down completely just before I made the first turnaround at 4.35miles. My stomach would go from sloshing, to cramping, to doubling me over. I decided to walk when I had to and run when I could. For the next 18miles, nothing went into my stomach besides some water and a few gulps of coke…not exactly the type of fuel needed for a good marathon performance. At mile 22, my stomach cramps finally subsided and I could run again without needing walk breaks. I was happy that I was able to finish strong. I had no idea what sort of time I would finish in, and was shocked when I turned down the finish chute to realise I was going to beat my time from last year. run: 4:14, total time: 10:34. I feel like I trained properly for this race and executed my nutrition and racing plan perfectly until the run. I am just disappointed that I had gut troubles during this race…especially since I have never had troubles with my gut before. If I could do anything different next time, I would completely cover my skin for the bike course. Taking an extra minute to put on a white long sleeve shirt would have saved me from getting sunburnt. I am glad I did this race, but I am also glad the triathlon season is over. I need some rest time, and some unstructured exercise. I am going to enjoy all the fitness I have gained by getting into the woods and doing all of the activities I have pushed aside to train for Ironman.
Thankful Running
This past week was the beginning of my favorite time of the year….Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons!
On Wednesday, Nick and his two sisters and I traveled to Atlanta and stayed overnight so that I could race in the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon. We feel very blessed to have his sisters with us to share the holiday and I feel extremely blessed to be able to run the Thanksgiving Half injury free. Last year at this time I had to stop in the middle of my training to rest a chronic Achilles issue and was unable to race the Thanksgiving half marathon.
Thanksgiving morning was perfect; the temperature was perfect, slightly warmer and overcast. The course this year was different than in years past so the group I was with really didn’t know what to expect. I rode to the start with good friends, team mates and inspiring athletes I coach. We were all full of early morning laughs and good cheer. It was a nice comfort to be with people I am thankful to have in my life.
The race was off and my legs felt awesome, my spirits were high and I couldn’t help but smile as we ran past all the cheering fans and many amazing volunteers. I ran with teammate and friend Glenn Alex, who inspires many athletes on a daily basis and I am thankful to have him in my life.
The run was going awesome….until about the 10 mile mark I started to feel like the engine wasn’t working as smoothly as it was in the beginning of the race. So I had a decision to make do I back off and give the engine a break OR do I mentally overcome the engine. I decided to do the second….so here is what I used to get me thru the last four miles. I took each mile and made someone special in my life the focus of that mile. So on mile 10, I used my brother Bryan. I thought of all the great qualities he has and kept repeated them in my head….his courage, his determination, his strength. Mile 11, I used my brother TJ, I thought of his ability to put his mind towards something, work hard at it and have success. TJ’s dedication and eagerness to always be better, kept repeated in my mind. Mile 12, I used my mom and dad, they were both racing in 5Ks the same morning in Florida and I believed in their strength they are putting towards their 5K and used it as my inspiration on mile 12. The final mile I thought of my husband Nick, his loyalty, his ability to get out there on race day and give it his all, his support and his strength are what made me push thru mile 13. At last on mile 13th I saw the Olympic rings (the rings from the ’96 Atlanta Olympics hang from the street) chills ran down my spine and then I ran the last 600 meters for myself. My health, my ability to overcome adversity, my positive outlook on life, my love for running….
I was so excited about my finish! I ended up taking 26th for overall females in an event that had 10,000 runners. I was ecstatic and was thankful to have healthy run, to have my family with me in spirit on my run and to be with people I love!
The weekend wasn’t over, we spent Thanksgiving with family and shared love, laughs and amazing food. Later that weekend we raced in the Aubrae Gunderson Memorial 5K, which is a local 5K that our family puts on in memory of Aubrae. It’s a really special race and brings out amazing support from friends and family. The race was a success, with the biggest number of participants and I was able to squeeze out a 1st place 5K finish for the women!
After a thankful running race weekend, I enjoyed my down time and took an afternoon nap 
)
So, what’s next?
Follin Quits Running NYC Marathon at 3:16 (Finishes 3 Seconds Earlier)
The 40th running of the New York City Marathon was held on November 7. There were 45,350 runners who started the race and 44,829 that finished. The winner was Gebre Gebrmariam of Ethiopia, who finished with a winning time of 2:08:14. Edna Kiplagat of Kenya won the women’s race with a time of 2:28:20. We had a beautiful day for running: sunny with a temperature of 45 degrees. It was chilly in the shade and perfect in the sunny spots. The crowd of 2.5 million was its usual encouraging self and, thankfully, most of the spectators in Brooklyn left their cowbells at home this year. Last year was tough on the ears through Brooklyn – everyone seemed to be clanging a cowbell. Maybe the cowbell salesman didn’t make it there yet this year.
In my age category, 2,233 finished. I placed 25th in my division and 2,332nd overall with a time of 3:15:57. The course was the usual route from Staten Island through all five boroughs of New York. The section in the Bronx was entirely different this year and featured a funky loop around a block and down an alley. I’d love to see what that looked like when the bulk of the 44,000 runner came through: I wonder if they had to take numbers to go down the alley?
As usual, there were some colorful characters in the race. Running near me for most of the race was a gentleman from Spain dressed as a bullfighter, complete with hat. I also had a Michael Jackson figure cruising along in my vicinity. The amazing part is that they were doing a fine job of running in spite of their unconventional garb. Lots of people do that for shorter races like the Bay-to-Breakers; doing that for 26.2 miles is really impressive! It also turns out there was another Follin running the race: Fredrik Follin from Sweden. Not very often does that happen!
It was my fourth consecutive NYC marathon and by far my best as far as how I felt when finishing. Unlike my previous NYC marathons, in which I had leg cramps or significant leg fatigue, I ran very consistently and finished strong. As for my Boston Marathon this year, I give a lot of credit to having changed my running from to be along the lines of the Chi Running (Danny Dryer) and Evolution Running (Ken Mierke) methodologies: I changed my foot strike to be mid-foot and almost directly under me, and increased my leg turnover. It seems to have really reduced the stress on my legs. Like Boston, I used a heart rate monitor and relied on it, not time, to pace myself. That really helped, especially early in the race, to keep from blowing myself up by running too fast.
A big “thanks!” is due to the New York Road Runners who sponsor the race, the thousands of volunteers, the spectators, the police, and all the others who make the race enjoyable and possible. Herding 45,000 people to Staten Island and getting them reunited with their gear and loved ones is not a simple task. This is an event that takes a year to plan and literally lasts for 10 hours. Finally, many thanks to my sponsors, the Dreambelieve TRI team and Mansfield Oil, and my coach, Kim Reistad.
Xterra’s Battle at Big Creek
Last weekend the gals (Kim, Tami and Gin) and myself headed to Roswell in the cold morning hours for Xterra’s Battle at Big Creek. The temperature was 34 when we left Athens and weren’t expected to change much before race start. Kim safely navigated us to Big Creek park which, it seems, was dropped from the sky strategically between a gated community and three strip malls. We pulled into the park entrance but saw no one. Thinking we must be the first ones there, we pulled to the side alongside another car full of runners. Just then a stream of cars headed in and led us down a dirt drive where a hundred or so other cars were parked. And so it began.
We picked up our packets and Gin and I contemplated what to wear. Race clothing is still a mystery to me when it gets below 50 — I think I changed clothes three times before the start of the race. Kim and Tami seemed to have it all figured out, but I think it will take another winter of training for me to realize that I need to dress for the way I’ll feel :15 into the race. Rookie move #1: hat and long sleeves not needed after mile 1 in races above 35 degrees.
Somewhere between 300-350 participants showed up to run either 5 or 9 miles of trails (I was running 5). We started with a .5 mile flat around a small lake to thin us out and then headed onto the single-track trails. The first mile or so consisted of short uphill bursts, switchbacks and surges as we settled into our places. There were a good bit of rocks, in addition to roots, but nothing compared to what we saw at the NorthFace Challenge — these you could still run over and navigate fairly easily. I ditched my long sleeve shirt, hat and gloves about 20:00 in.
As we neared mile 3, the trail was slightly more technical with large stretches of rocks. Even though it was mostly flat, I found myself repeating “see the path you want to run” — it was technical but incredibly fun. By this point I had settled into the perfect position, about 15′ in front of a group of a dozen or so runners. I could hear them and see where I was relative to them but no one was running on my heels. At mile 3.5 was an aid station so I stopped and grabbed some water…this turned out to be rookie move #2. When I stopped, the entire group of people ran passed me so I threw my cup in the trash and took off. It took me at least half a mile to pass half the group, and the last mile I spent trying to pass the rest. It’s hard to pass on single track trails and the last part of the trail included a good bit of downhill and turns which made it especially difficult. The last 200 yards opened up into a wider rocky area so I was able to pass a few more people heading into the finish.
I saw Tami at the finish and learned she had taken a nasty spill but was OK. The results were coming in quickly and she learned she had placed third overall women in the 5-mile race. We changed our clothes and headed back to the finish to wait for Kim and Gin to finish the 9-mile race. By then most of the results were in and I had taken fourth — :05 back of 3rd. Rookie move #2: no water stops in races 5 miles or under unless absolutely necessary. Tami and I darted back and forth between awards and the finish line so we wouldn’t miss either, but we wound up missing her award announcement. We did manage to see Gin and Kim cross the finish line in strong form.
Overall it was a great day for the Women in Black: Tami finished 3rd overall female in 5-mile, Gin placed 3rd overall female in 9-mile, Kim finished 1st in her age group and I finished 4th in my age group. We all had Starbucks on the brain so after a few pictures we headed back to the car. It was a great morning with some truly amazing women. I’ve run trails for years as a way to avoid the monotony of the road, but I never realized how much fun off road racing could be. It’s been a great way to challenge my running skills and endurance in a new way and I’ve met some great people along the way. Dirty Spokes Productions host the Xterra trail runs — if you are interested there are several more in the coming months at http://www.dirtyspokes.com.
Trails, Friends, and Good Laughs!
Last weekend I traveled to Roswell with team mates Kim Landrum, Tami Ramsay and friend Gin. We had a blast. The Xterra race was one of 6 races in the series for the Dirty Spokes organization; they had a 5 mile race and a 9 mile race. Half of our crew did the 5 and the other half did the 9. So we were definitely representing! The last trail race Kim L and I did we had quite the adventure with how challenging and technical the course was. Yes, I realize when signing up for trail races you are putting yourself out there for the unpredictably the trails can bring (which is a big reason why I love them so much) but I was relieved to see that when we pulled into the parking lot there were no mountains in sight )
The course was two loops and both distance races went off at the same time, which was great in that our Athens crew got to start together. I even remember hearing Tami say, “It’s just like our group run we do on Sundays” as we were following one another thru the twists and turns. The course was GREAT, lots of ups and downs and switch backs. The challenging part of the first 20 minutes of the race was all the accelerating bursts you have to do. The course was a single track so it was difficult when you came up to a runner that you wanted to pass you would have to do a quick 15 second pick up to pass and then settle back in your race pace. But who doesn’t love that anyway?
After the first loop the running pack really was spread apart. I had quite a few moments of non stop smiling out there remembering why I love the trails so much. Being out there having no idea what place you are in, feeling the adrenaline rush of hoping over logs, leaping over creeks and finally the ultimate satisfaction when you cross the finish line to see your friends and teammates with high fives makes every minute of the experience outstanding!
Our crew did awesome! We all score major points for being in the Xterra series….so what does that exactly mean? You guessed it….sign me up for the next one!
Until then, see you on the crunch, crunch (leaves) of the trails!
-Kim
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- Thanks @TotalCyclist for the great job announcing at Twilight 5k this morning & for sharing the mike for kids 10& under awards. Was fun!
- Today is the day! Bring your kids to meet Olympian @gwenjorgensen at YWCO Kids Tri the Y free transition clinic from 3-4. Great fun!
- Don't 4get 2 bring kids 2 Athens YWCO to meet Olympic triathlete @gwenjorgensen at Tri the Y youth triathlon clinic 4/28 from 3-4:00 pm.
- Tons of fitness opportunities for the family this weekend during @AthensTwilight: 5k, kids bike races, adult 30/60k rides & more.