I had the choice to do a Sprint Triathlon on Saturday or the ½ Ironman on Sunday and I can’t believe it but I picked the ½ Ironman! Wow that is personal growth in Triathlon. The second time wasn’t near as scary. I had conquered a lot of fears with my race in Lake Stevens. I found myself actually excited for the Troika. I was excited to push myself a bit harder. My coach Roger suggested that I had probably been too conservative on the Bike at Lake Stevens, might have had something to do with the “crashes”!
The swim was 2 waves, men went 1st and five minutes later the women started. Again I felt myself honored and considerably comforted to be able to start the swim with Jessi, I think she is becoming my security blanket at the start of the swim! This swim was brutal for me, I never did get a space all to myself, there was always someone hitting or bumping me which was frustrating for me, because this time I wanted to focus on speed since I had conquered the distance fear at Lake Stevens. Even with the congestion I shaved 2 minutes off my swim, so I was happy with that.
The bike was a point-to-point ride, from the farmlands of Medical Lake to Downtown Spokane. It was a very lonely course. Only 1 or 2 places for spectators in the first ½ hour and the rest was alone, just me, my bike, and the wheat fields. The course wasn’t as challenging as Lake Stevens, but there were lots of rolling hills. My ride went pretty smoothly, I tried to maintain a higher heart rate (HR) throughout the race and I did manage to stay on my bike, no crashes and no flats. My bike time was 20 minutes faster.
The Transition from the Bike to the Run (T2) was right in front of the new water fountain in Riverfront Park and then the Run went out the Centennial Trail past Gonzaga University and along the river. I felt GREAT for the 1st 3 miles of the run, I was just cruising! Then I started to struggle around mile 5-6! What a blessing it was for me when Kevin, Scott and Cheryl Jones drove by me, honking and cheering for me. That lifted my spirits and gave me some inspiration to keep up the pace. The second half of the run was tough for me, however I kept slamming down the water and taking all the iced sponges I could carry at the aid stations. What a treat that was it was 91 degrees!
Comparative Data:
Race.............Lake Stevens.....Avg HR.....Troika............Avg HR
Swim (1.2mi)...40:47min.............150..........38:13min.........155
Bike (56mi)....3hr 24min.............142...........3hr 4min..........145
Run (13.1mi)..2hr 22min.............145..........2hr 13min........155
Overall Time........6hr 38min........................5hr 57min
My Coach Roger says that it is difficult to evaluate improvement by time because of the variables of each course, both terrain and accuracy of measurements. So what he looks for is HR and effort. My HR averages for Troika were definitely higher, which was rewarding for me to see, since my goal was to focus on more intense effort on each leg. I definitely felt like I was putting in a harder effort. My experience so far is that ½ Ironman is an extremely challenging distance, it is very difficult physically and mentally to maintain a high level of intensity for 6+ hours, however I still maintain that I like the longer distances better.
Special thanks to Kim Ellis for your labor of love in posting this Blog, thank you very much Tri-sista!
Special thanks to all of you who check up on my blog and send me your encouraging words, they mean a lot to me. Thank you for being interested and supportive of my Ironman journey…………..Love Kathi
6 comments:
Great Job Kathi!! We so enjoyed being able to support you through your second 1/2 and will continue to support you on your venture, even if we can't physically be there, always in spirit. Love ya cj
It was another awesome adventure. Fun to go into this race a little less nervous and a little more excited. I love watching you go for it. This is tough stuff, baby! Your strength may surprise you...but the rest of us already knew!
Watching Troika was my first chance to be a triathlon spectator (rather than a participant)! What an accomplishment to be able to complete that course with such strength! It was very fun to see you race. I particularly enjoyed the smile on your face when I told you that you had less than 1/2 mile to go! You are a super star!
~Jennifer
You rock, Kathi! Congratulations on breaking the 6 hr barrier and on besting every time by good margins. You are an inspiration yourself, you know!
Love,
Tim Seppa
Hi Kathy! I'm back from ten days at Cannon Beach and I was so excited to see your post about the 1/2 Ironman! What fun to cheer you on! You are amazing and your courage is inspiring to all of us! Love you! Linda (Jessi's Momma)
Hi Kathi! OK..it must be jet lag!! I know your first name ends in an i....not a y! Love You! Linda
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