TRI Lakes Triathlon – Columbia City, IN

Posted on July 26, 2016 by tootallfritz

On Saturday, I participated in the Olympic distance Tri Lakes Triathlon for the very first time. 1500m swim, 25 mi bike, 6.2 mi run. First Olympic distance race for me since 2008! Tri Lakes is a local race, about 35 minutes from my house. About 10 members of my triathlon team were participating, I figured since I wear their kit, but rarely see anyone when I race, I’d join in the fun. Go Team Tritaniaum!!

The race was small, 55 participants, at a very out of the way location on Skinner Lake. Parking was at the Tri Lakes Tavern. The tavern was kind enough to not only let us use their parking lot but they also opened early so we could use their facilities. Love the hospitality of small community races!

Small transition. Close to the water & parking area. Nice setup.

Open water, 1500m swim in Skinner Lake. Water temp was 82 degrees. No wetsuits. Easy, calm, out & back around a line of buoys, 2x. Men started first, women followed 10 minutes later.

I’m a slow swimmer and that was really amplified with such a small field. Almost last out of the water. But it was a smooth, easy swim for me. Not stress or anxiety so that’s a win! 2:14 average per 100yd. Right where I normally am, you’d think I’d eventually get faster, right? Nah! On to the bike. Photo courtesy of TRI Lakes Triathlon.

The bike is where I’ve really been struggling this year. I’ve taken so much down time, that at this point, I’m starting to worry if my fitness is suffering. The bike was 25 miles. Should have been easy, even with the searing temps. No. It was a struggle. I had hoped I could pick off some of the people who had passed me on swim. No. I had hoped that the rest I had taken would bring my legs back. No. Dead legs. The course had some hills, nothing noteworthy unless your legs are shot. I could barely get up the hills. I’m not a great hill rider anyhow but this was just insane. 16.1mph average on the bike. Took me forever and I’m pretty sure I did better on my very first TRI. I have better equipment (by far) now and I know what to expect. I just can’t go any faster right now. Super frustrating.

Run. Heat & Hills. That’s the theme of 2016 and I think it was the theme of most of 2015 too. Everyone was walking. I had grandiose plans of running the entire 6.2 miles. No. I walked up the hills. Aid stations were pretty far apart considering the temps, there were 3 on route, plus a homeowner that was so kind as to give out water & ice!! I think it was over 91 by the time we finished. Most of the run was in the open, full sun. Aid station at the turn around ran out of water but at least they had ice. Athletes were just crabby and miserable & ready to finish. Shout out to the 2 residents who put out their sprinklers for us! Life saver! Run: 12:09 min/mi average.

Finished my first Olympic triathlon since 2008. I was “almost” last and I anticipated it being way more fun than what reality delivered. Summer racing, is always a wildcard. Nice small town race. Community members weren’t real active with the race but the few who were, really went out of their way to help us. Another one in the DONE column.

At this point, I’m not really sure what to do about the fatigue in my legs. I’d like to take a month off and lounge on a beach in Hawaii but that’s not my reality. I’m heading up to ride the Steelhead course tomorrow since that’s my “A” race & approaching fast. My legs still feel like poop from SAT. I’m just not sure how to bring them back. My nutrition is on point. I’m definitely resting more. Trying to get extra sleep. Avoiding alcohol & sugar. Adding in tart cherry juice & turmeric to help with inflammation. Seeing the Chiro to help my damaged back. So I’m focused on ME. Just struggling a bit with the quad fatigue. Hmmmm…. If you have any ideas (other than take a month off and sleep on the beach in Hawaii), let me know.

** Keep TRIing ** Amanda – TooTallFritz

Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon – 2016

Posted on July 19, 2016 by tootallfritz

Year after year, I return to the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon. In fact this is my 4th appearance (2012, 2014, 2015 & 2016 – In 2013 I did IM 70.3 Racine which is always the same day). Why have I ran so many times? Don’t I like to experience new events vs repeating the same one over and over? Well, this is a popular race & I always have friends who want to run. My daughter LOVES this race. I LOVE Chicago. And ultimately, I go where my friends & family want to go. And RNR Chicago is where the fun is in July! #RNRCHI So let’s run!

Part of this year’s RNR CHI crew. From Left: Nicki, Me, Julie B, & Aby.

Aby & Nicki ran the 10K. Julie B & I ran the half.

I must say, this was the most fun I’ve had (so far) at RNR CHI. This was a no pressure year. I’m currently focusing on my nutrition & recovery so I can ~~hopefully~~ kill IM 70.3 Steelhead. Therefore, I wasn’t worried about the weather or what was to come, I just settled in with Julie B and ran. The weather was amazing this year. Coolish, high 60s at the start. In the 70s at the finish. Cloud cover. Light breeze. Little did I know that the great weather was due to a storm brewing nearby. Hmmmm…..

Early 6:30am start, cuz its July & we want to beat the heat!! Corral start. Corrals were separated by 2-3 minutes. Course was crowded but I never felt hindered. Once thru the first mile, our corral had already thinned out and we were free to run whatever pace we could manage. Aid stations & porta potties every mile or so. Bands every couple miles. Gels between mile 9 & 10. Cold sponges at mile 11. The half was 100% on the streets of Chicago this year, from start to finish. Nice course. As for the 10K, they started with the half, then split early, within the first 1/4 mile of the race. They turned off the streets and onto the lakefront path at Dusable Harbor, then ran the path to McCormick Place. They finished with the half route for the last 3ish miles. A couple pics from the course.

This race is about fun. I know some feel the need to race every event and that’s great, but that’s not where I am at this point. I’d rather enjoy the run with friends than rush off and try to win. Smile So I’m thankful for my run friends, like Julie B who put up with my non-stop chatter while we run. Fun day in Chicago! And we beat the storm but just barely. We finished and I immediately made a dash for my car. It started raining, just as we hit the parking garage. By the time we were out of the parking garage it was a total downpour. So I missed hooking up with some of my other friends who ran. I missed utilizing the VIP tent for the after party. But ultimately, I go to an event for the running aspect and I loved RNR CHI this year! Thanks Chicago! Thanks Rock N Roll Marathon series!!!

At the finish with Julie B.

Swag. Finishers medal.

If you are interested in running Rock N Roll Chicago next year, they are doing an early bird pre-sale now! The half is only $50, the 10K is $35 & the 5K is $30. You can register here. If you are interested in any of the remaining 2016 Rock N Roll events, feel free to use my discount code (TTF2016) for $15 off any half or full events. I believe its active for every race EXCEPT San Antonio, as of right now. I’ll be running the full in Vegas in November, then San Antonio in December, in case your interested. Smile

** Rock YOUR Run ** Amanda – TooTallFritz

Ironman 70.3 Muncie – 2016

Posted on July 14, 2016 by tootallfritz

Last weekend was Ironman 70.3 Muncie. Close to home, within 2 hours of where I currently live in NE Indiana. 2016 is my second appearance at this event, the first time in 2012 just after I tore a tendon in my foot. That year, I showed up to swim & bike, then I took a DNF since I couldn’t run. This year, my only goal was a finish. Little did I know, that’s all the cards had in store for me.

Packet pick-up was at the race site this year verses the convention center like it was in 2012. Loved it! The race is kinda “out of the way” at Prairie Creek Reservoir. Definitely not a venue that you’ll stumble across unless you have Google maps loaded! It was nice to see the venue in the day light. I immediately noticed that the water looked calm & clean, despite the wind. I also noticed the site was much better groomed than it was in 2012. No pesky rocks this year. Lots of nice grassy areas. Clean beach. Yay!!!

I arrived at the venue after 5pm because I was waiting for as long as possible to leave home so the kids didn’t kill each other weren’t home alone too long before hubby got home from work. I’m so bad about looking at the event schedule. And the last pre-race meeting was at 5pm. I realized this as I was picking up my packet. Good news, packet pick-up was fast since everyone else had already been thru and I was on to the meeting very quickly. Cool SWAG this year. Ironman 70.3 Muncie backpack & gender specific tee, plus we got a Cliff Bar. This year they put the race specific logo on the bag & I really liked that. The last several years, IM has given out generic bags that just say “Ironman 70.3”. They in turn give that for each 70.3 event. So if you do multiple 70.3 events, you get the exact same bag for each race. Boring. Happy to see the change for this year.

Race day started early. Transition opened at 5am. Transition closed at 6:45am for a 7am start. I was concerned about parking so got to the reservoir pretty close to 5am and was happy I had cuz parking filled up very quickly. Set up transition quickly but it was still visibly dark. And visibly chaotic.

Hit the potties & was surprised that it looked like there were only about 20 potties for approximately 2200 athletes (and their families/friends). The lines were long. Like really long. Fortunately, I was there early enough to wait thru that line 2x. Hydrate much?

Race started at 7am. My wave started at 7:59am. I believe there were 5 minutes between waves this year, which was a little better than the 3 minutes from when I participated in 2012. This event was not wetsuit legal, the water temp on race day was between 77 & 78 degrees, which is typical for this event. USAT rules do not allow wetsuits when water temps are greater than 76.1 degrees. No wetsuit, no problem. I must say, I was calm. I’m not a fast swimmer but I can swim for a long time. Like Dory, I “Just Keep Swimming”. Once in the water, it seemed cool & refreshing. Not much turbulence. I always start toward the back of my wave (cuz that’s where I finish the swim) and always get jammed up in the beginning. I may be slow but its inevitable that the breast strokers start ahead of me and I have to figure out a way to get around them. I felt strong on the swim. I was focused, stayed on course, pulled thru my stroke. I didn’t have the moments of panic that have visited in the past. It was difficult heading into shore on the last 1/3 of the course cuz the sun was in our eyes and I just couldn’t see the buoys in front of me. That resulted in me spending too much time checking my position but overall, I was happy with the swim and hoping my time would show as much. It didn’t. 50:30 swim for 1.2 miles. I was hoping for 45 minutes but overall happy cuz I was comfortable in the water and in my opinion that’s a win!!

On to the bike! As I moved into transition, I forgot about the swim and started focusing on the bike. I was really hoping for a good bike split. My last 70.3 at Cutting Edge in June had a slow bike split and I was hoping that was a result of 1) the high temps and 2) still being fatigued from my double marathon weekend at the beginning of May. I spent a lot of time resting in June, plus the temps at Muncie were much milder (70s & 80s). So I and hoping my time would show as much. It didn’t. I couldn’t get any power/speed. I wasn’t fatigued per say. I was well fueled (thank you Tailwind Nutrition!!!). I was hydrated. I just couldn’t get any speed. Why?!?!? No idea. I’m not going to lie, I was frustrated out there. But I did see Sharon S. out on course & that probably the bright spot in my bike! She got the first pic below. Second pic was from an Ironman photog. Great aid stations on the bike, every 15ish miles. Food, water, Gatorade, gels, & potties. It always amazes me how steady & brave the bike aid station volunteers are to hold out the water or Gatorade so we can grab it as we zoom past. Smile

Then my bike broke. Initially, I thought the chain had just popped off, which was odd cuz that had never happened in the 3.5 years I’ve had this bike. But it wasn’t just that. My derailleur was also broken and my chain was jammed behind the brakes. It was stuck. Nothing I could fix roadside. At that point, I kinda laughed to be honest. I was already 38 miles into a poor bike split. I figured, if the bike is going to break, I was super thankful it broke on day when I was already having a subpar performance!! Then immediately, my thoughts went to “OMGosh, am I going to have to DNF this race AGAIN (like in 2012)?” Thankfully, I did not have to DNF. Ironman SAG support came rolling up after a short while. It took the dude a minute to figure out the problem, then he pulled out a giant wrench. He removed the crank arms that held on the chain ring so he could get to the chain. Fixed the chain, adjusted the broken derailleur and told me to take it easy and not shift much as I limped back to transition. That did the trick to get me back to transition! And my bike has been in the shop since Tuesday awaiting a new derailleur. Hoping to pick it up tomorrow. Anyhow, slow for me bike split: 3:40:39. I was hoping to go under 3 hours but I was WAY off that before I broke. I’m guessing that SAG found & fixed me within 20 minutes of the break, which is AWESOME. I could have been there for an hour or more. Thank you Ironman SAG!!

On to the run. Smooth transition. Sprayed down with sunscreen again. Took off on the run. I had heard the run was hilly. That was accurate. At this point, I had nothing to gain by trying to rush, so I took my time. Didn’t stress about the hills. Or the heat. Just ran. Walked up the bigger hills Walked thru aid stations, which were every mile apart. Lots of run support. Great aid stations. Lots of potties. I tried to enjoy it. One loop run which is unusual for IM 70.3 courses. It was good. Got to the turnaround and cruised back at whatever pace I could manage without pushing. Run Split: 2:31:32.

Total time: 7:09:20. Not where I was hoping to be but hey, a finish is a finish. My goal for the year is to go under 6 hours for the 70.3 distance. If I don’t figure out how to freshen up these legs & find my power on the bike, that goal is going to be impossible. I’m also having issues with my saddle this year. I’ve swapped it out 3x already and just can not get comfortable (I’m flat out miserable). UGH. Hoping to get everything dialed in by Steelhead so I can make an honest attempt at the sub 6 hour finish. Only time will tell if that’s a realistic goal (for this year) but I’m focusing on me this month. Nutrition. Rest. Chiropractor. And I’m going to get a massage the week before Steelhead to try to flush out any nastiness from my legs pre-race. I must say, I was frustrated Saturday after my finish. It was not the race I envisioned but honestly, there are so many people who would give anything to be out there just DOING something, that I must thank my lucky stars for my health, my motivation and the constant drive to keep moving, even when life isn’t perfect. And who has a perfect life? I, of course, have a lot to focus on other than my fitness but I continue to make fitness a priority while simultaneously managing the family, work and life. So that’s a WIN in my book. And the finisher medal to prove it.