Racine 70.3 Race Report

Five years later, I revisited the site of my first half-ironman.  I was surprisingly nervous the day prior to my 5th half-ironman.  I think a lot of my nerves had to do with my new bike and the mechanical problems I've had on my last two long rides.   Jay and I drove to Racine on Saturday for my registration and bike check-in.  I decided to make a last minute change and put the tires from my old bike on my fancy new bike.  After the switch was made, nerves disappeared.

Sunday morning wake up call at 3:45 am, yikes.  Jay and I rolled out bed and into the car in order to make it to Racine, get set up and out of the transition area before it closed at 6:30.

I ran into so many old friends from WellFit and Chicago, it felt more like a social event than a race day.  Then we made the 1 mile walk down the beach for the swim start.

Last year at WellFit, I had a lesson in open water swim starts.  Every race I've done since this has been one of my favorite moments of the race.  The water looked really choppy and groups in front of mine were tenious entering the water.  When the 35-39 womens age group started, I sprinted out front of the group.  Such a rush knowing I was in the front of over 100 women, even if for only a minute. 

The swim was extra wavy.  Worse than I've ever swam in before.  And that was the end of me being in front!  I've heard at least 50 people were pulled out or chose to quit, and props to the volunteers and race director for keeping everyone safe out there.  I never really felt panicked, but it was a really tough swim.  I figured out that if I did my "sighting" only when I knew I was on top of a wave, it helped a lot to orient myself and swim the correct direction.  A few moments, I actually found myself laughing at how ridiculous it was to try to swim with my body being thrown all over the place by these waves.

40 minutes later, I finally had sand between my toes and felt like I could take a moment to breathe. 
Onto the bike portion.  Still somewhat disoriented from the swim, I almost mounted my bike to early and had to shuffle over the line so not to get a penalty.  I love my new bike.  I found myself riding much easier than I remember before.  There were a few bad accidents on the bike course, but overall a nice ride along Lake Michigan and through southern Wisconsin farmland.

After 3.5 hours on the bike, there was nothing I wanted to do in the world more than get the hell off that bike.  Each bump felt worse and worse.  I was so happy to finally run.  And by run, I mean run/walk/shuffle.  One of the social workers from work was about my pace and it was really fun to cheer each other on.  I also met a nice girl from Wellfit doing her first half-ironman.  We encouraged each other to keep at it.  I took tons of water, cola, perform, and gu packets.  I dumped ice over my head and jumped through every single sprinkler I saw.  It was pretty hot, but overall I felt pretty good.

And now I have this nice medal to show for it.

30 minutes slower than five years ago, but my second fastest half ironman and my fastest bike ever.

I lost a lot of time on the swim and in my transitions (you probably would rather not know that story).

I had so much fun and am so grateful that Jason and my friend Lore spent their entire day following me around and giving me high fives and sweaty hugs.

Willie and Paul

Last week we went to a set of concerts where we heard some serious music legends play music they've been rocking for 6 decades.  The two concerts were drastically different experiences, but both noteworthy.

On Sunday we joined The Hamm Famm at my favorite concert venue, Ravinia Park. 
We had ourselves a nice little picnic and lots and lots of laughter while waiting for Willie, Bobbi and my new favorite Lucas to take the stage.

There are few people on earth I'd rather hang out with than this couple and I'm so glad the guys get along so well.  The more we are together, the more I'm convinced these two have so much in common.

Then later in the week, we joined some new Milwaukee friends at Miller Park for Paul McCartney's Tour.  Totally packed and ridiculous lines.  Fireworks, lazer light shows and huge screens made for a much different setting than Willie.

 I've got to hand it to Sir Paul.  His voice is unchanged, flawless.  He can rock just about any music instrument you can think of.  And he was singing and dancing on stage, in an overcoat in 90 degree heat for three hours until nearly midnight.
I want a trip to the fountain of youth he's been visiting.
Only one more concert left for us this summer.  Tear.

WIBA

Last weekend I went to Madison for The 8th annual Wisconsin Brick Adventure. 
You may recall, this is not my first WIBA.  Back in 2009, the atmosphere was much different and I was much more triathlon focused.

This time over 150 athletes from all over flew and drove in for the free camp.

I met some nice people from Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio.  The swim and bike were much more organized and the group super friendly and supportive.

Lore A, a friend from WellFit IMMOO 2009 training group came with me to support my training efforts.  We work up at 4:30 am, filled the car and headed to Madison.  Lore cheered me on during the swim.  Rode 40 miles with me and spent the next 40 helping motivate me, giving me salt tabs, sunscreen, hydration and truly being a fantastic friend.  She knows first hand the highs and lows IM training can bring, and is there to remind me of the highs when I'm experiencing the lows.

It's no secret I'm not in the shape I was 5 years ago, but I was in for a rude awakening with the 1.3 mile swim.  The lake, once again, seaweed filled, was unbelievable choppy.  The water ski team was practicing on the lake, and although impressive as Dave and Marta described, the waves made my poor level of fitness overtly apparent.    I need to make a bigger effort to make it to the pool and lake before September.

Next step, 80 miles of hills on the IMWI loop.  The first loop I rocked my new bike and helmet and kicked some serious ass.  I went a good 3 mph faster than I could have in 2009.  The second loop......not as pretty.  Hot, tired, serious a@# chaffing and a flat tire made for a rough ride....literally.  But I did it.  And I'm proud of that.   I know that it's going to be a struggle to make it to that finish line this time before midnight, but I intend to give it my all.   I pride myself on life balance and I'm not embarrassed or ashamed at my slow speed.  I realize that I have not focused on training the way I did in 2009, but I am doing the best I can while making time for a new career.  I'm proud that I can attempt this sort of craziness in the midst of everything else I've chosen to dedicate my time and effort too, but I understand to some triathletes I am not taking it seriously enough.  Wish me luck. 

Troubleshooting Runners "Bloat"

Bloating is a common complaint among endurance athletes.  It can significantly impact your race after months of training.  Many different factors may contribute to bloating, some serious medical conditions and some not.  In this post I will discuss some of the most common and less serious causes of bloating in endurance athletes.

The GI tract is not as adaptable to exercise as the heart and lungs, each person's issues must be addressed individually. Small changes in your nutrition and racing/training practice could make all the difference.

Of course, if it doesn't, it's time to visit your local Gastroenterologist.

(yes, this is an incredibly embarrassing selfie of me running)

Delayed Gastric Emptying- nausea, feeling of fullness, pain and sometimes vomiting.

 A higher gastric emptying rate during racing is important because the small intestine absorbs the water/nutrients and helps prevent heat stroke and fatigue.  The rate a stomach empties varies from individual to individual, but studies show that in athletes the following affect this rate:

• The higher the carbohydrate percentage, the slower gastric emptying (at least up until a high intensity VO2max, where water and high carbs level out and both empty slowly).  Most recommend no higher than 8% carbohydrates in supplements

• Intensity of exercise

• Volume in the stomach.  A higher volume in your stomach also helps gastric emptying rate. The higher volume that can be tolerated by athletes without GI discomfort is recommended. Adding salt or cold fluids helps athletes get the fluid down.  Salt use to aid in fluid absorption is controversial but the Academy of Sports Medicine does still recommend supplementation to help with pallor of fluids and also to possibly help prevent hyponatremia.

Air Swallowing- common causes are chewing gum, anxiety and positioning.  Laying down or bending forward such as in aeroposition for triathletes could contribute to air swallowing.

Carbohydrate Malabsorption- if your body doesn't absorb the carbs you take in, they stay in the gut allowing for rapid fermentation = MORE GAS. Most people know lactose is a common problem, but fructose malabsorption is a big one too.

Constipation -  This goes along with delayed gastric emptying.  If you're constipated at a baseline, you may find what you take in has no where to go.  Regular BMs even when not exercising are essential for so many reasons.  This is also one of the most common causes for runners diarrhea "runners trots" which I'll blog about another time.

Gluten Sensitivity In this day and age, you can't talk about bloating without talking about gluten sensitivity. This will be addressed in a future blog post, but briefly you may consider switching to gluten free supplements to see if your bloating improves.

If you're still experiencing bloating, see a gastroenterologist to assess other significant health problems which can cause bloating such as chrons disease and celiac disease among others.

Independence Day

Our Fourth of July was so much fun, to be honest I'm a little bummed it's over.  We were lucky to have some of our favorite friends from Chicago come visit us in Milwaukee for the day/night.

I started the day joining Amanda and Aaron along with some of their friends (now our friends) who live in Whitefish Bay.  We walked to the neighborhood parade which was a lot of fun.....especially for the kids.

Then I came home to set up the backyard BBQ for our guests.  I was so excited to make this patriot drink, layered Red White and Blue.  Now that I know the secret, I'm sure I'll make more colorful cocktails!  Basically all you need is different sugar contents.  The highest sugar content goes on the bottom.  You need to make sure to pour the next layer directly over crushed ice (fill it all the way up to the top with ice) and the colors won't mix!  I used cherry lemonade for the red, regular gatorade for the white and low calorie gatorade for the blue.  A nice non-alcoholic treat for a hot summer day.

Of course some of us added raspberry vodka!

Lots of laughs, endless food and a perfect summer day made for a great celebration.

I wish we could hang out with this group EVERY day.

We ended the celebration with our last night at Summerfest with Goob and Melinda.  Guster put on an outstanding show.  I danced so much that my legs actually hurt the next day.

All good things come to an end, but I'll be wishing for a time when we can all get together again.

Summers are for Boating

While I wish I was with the family on Payne Lake all summer long, boating on Lake Michigan isn't so bad either.  

My friends from GI fellowship are in practice together in Michigan.  They have a time share on a boat in Burnham Harbor and were up for an adventure.  So they brought the boat up to good old Wisconsin to pick me up for the day.  

 I absolutely love these guys.  So hilarious and genuine.

Seth is a great captain.

 I don't even know what to say about Ali's outfit. 

Great times. 

Then the follow weekend my friend Kari invited me on her pontoon boat. 
This crew is rowdy and a ton of fun.  We went on Lake Michigan and up the Milwaukee river. 
I'm hoping to join them again sometime soon!

I'm still craving some water skiing and tubing, but for now thanks to these friends for getting me my boating fix!

Concerts On-Call

One of my favorite midwest summer activities is enjoying outdoor concerts.  This summer is no exception.  So far the summer hasn't felt like much of a summer with cool, rainy nights.  And as much as I am loving the start of my career, it's really taken over my life!  We've still made it to a few shows and I've loved every single one of them.

Strangely this year every concert we've been to has fallen on a night when I'm on call.  Since I'm on call at least 10 days a month and I don't want to miss our limited Chicago/Wisconsin summer, there is really only one choice.  Just like a 1980s rap star, I head out with a pager strapped to my hip.

 Early in June we met up with Amanda and Aaron in Highland Park at Ravina for Sting.  This was the farthest from the hospital I've ever been on-call and I was a little anxious.  I decided to give it a try anyways, with the hopes I could get over my anxiety in case one day we decide to move to the north burbs.

Overall, it went well.  I was paged a half dozen times, but nothing I couldn't handle over the phone.  And Ravina is a quiet, grown up crowd, so returning the pages didn't sound or feel unprofessional.

This week Summerfest started in Milwaukee.  10 days of seriously great bands for only $15 a day.  Plus we have a handleful of free tickets after running the Rock n Sole half-marathon and also from KPMG (thanks to Jay).  Figures that I would be on call this week, right?! 

I didn't want to miss Matt and Kim on Friday.  We've seen them before in Chicago and I really REALLY love their music.  Kim is kind of my idol.  She is so energetic, hilarious and a total bad ass.

Check her out!

The show was amazing.  Getting paged with blarring rock music in the background and thousands of drunk teenagers running around was NOT so awesome.  I tried to find a quiet place but that does not exist at summerfest.  In the end everything went fine and aside from a 10 minute conversation to an ER doctor, the night went off without a hitch. 

Finally last night we went back to hear Rogue Wave and Cold War Kids.  The crowd was much smaller than Friday and not as obnoxious.  I'd never heard Rogue Wave but Jason had wanted to see them in Chicago at Lincoln Hall earlier in the week.  So we went.  I LOVED.  The music was great and the guys in the band were so friendly and down to earth.  They even gave us recommendations of places to go in Milwaukee.  In the end we left before Cold War Kids came on.  Hey, it was a Sunday and we had to get up at 5am for work today.  So.....I guess we are getting a little old :)

Next up:  Guster at Summerfest, Willie Nelson with the Hamm Famm at Ravinia, Paul McCartney at Miller Park and Weird Al Yankovic at The State Fair.  Good news.  I'm not on call for ANY of these!  Can't wait.