Ironman Arizona 2019

Total time 11:27

Swim 1:20; Bike 5:50; Run 4:06

Transitions: swim to bike 7:20 (0.4 min run) and bike to run 3:27

18th in AG, 70th female and 379th overall

Arizona Ironman was my 3rd full Ironman race. My raced my first Ironman in 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. My second Ironman was in Louisville, Kentucky in 2018 (the swim was cut short due to strong current in Ohio River). I completed Madison in 12:38, and with a short swim in Louisville my time was 11:03, I think that with a full distance swim, I probably would have finished around 12:10. At Arizona I shaved 1 and 10 min from my debut Ironman and about 45 min from my second Ironman.

I like to look back at the training and see what I have worked, what did not and what I will adapt moving forward into my next training cycle and racing.

What was new this year:

- Training by an an Ironman training Plan. Training by the Ironman plan, that was written with an Ironman in mind. I purchased a planon the Training Peaks by Heather Casey from Peaks State Fit. LOVED IT and recommend checking it out if you dont have a coach and in the market for an Ironman plan.

- A month before Iroman I swam all long swims in a wetsuit (in the pool) to strengthen shoulders. I found myself being very tired after the wetstuit swims. After a month of swimming in the wetsuit regularly, I felt less exhausted and ready for the bike.

-A new nutrition plan, more on that later.

- I did not run a marathon as a prep for the race.

- Raced Half-Iroman distance 2 weeks out. 50 min PR from last year half.

- Indoor bike trainer. One of the best decisions that I made off season. Training for an ronman in the Mid-West in November when you still need to get 5-6 hours bike rides is on a borderline of impossible.

- Shoulder strength exercises before the swims.

- Found joy in swimming and biking.

Improvements to what worked last year:

- More biking. Bike represented 50+% of my weekly volume, I only had 3 runs a week and most of them where off the bike. When I trained for my first Ironman, I trained like a marathoner who added biking and swimming. When training for Louisville, I added more bike and cut some runs. But I still was run heavy.

- I did more strength workouts, which included 10-15 min workout before each swim to work on shoulder strength and pull.

- Regular off the bike runs - bricks. I barely had any stand alone runs, most of the runs were off the bike.

- Limited racing during the race specific training in the last 3 months of the training.

- Biked and swam during off season to work on technique.

What I have stopped doing:

- Thinking like a marathoner who trains for triathlon. Think bike first.

- Stressing about workouts and weather ( having trainer at home reduced weather related stress considerable).

- Relying on other people's availability and paces. Training by my own pace and putting our my own plans out and offering to join me and follow my plan, vs other way around.

Race recap.

Pre-race: Friday and Saturday.

Ironman weekend starts on Friday.

 

Friday is packet pick-up day. Saturday is bike check-in and Sunday is a race day. I jumped on a 6 am flight from Chicago to Phoenix, to make sure that I had time to check-in, get a short workout in and drive the bike course before it gets dark.

Weather was beautiful. We lucked out with the weather. Earlier that week, it rained for 4 days, when we got their, the weather was absolutely gorgeous 65F and water was 63F on Sunday.

 

I flew with my bike, paying $75 each way on Southwest. No issues. It is something new for me, flying with the bike, but I did it twice this year and it worked great and definitively more economical. Yes, there are drawbacks, like making sure I put it back correctly and in time for the check in, and of course we all heard the stories of a lost or a damaged bike. 24 weeks of training, thousands of dollars paid and the bike replacement cost, it would be devastating if the bike did not arrive or arrived damaged. I was very happy to see my bike box at the oversize baggage pick up.

Got to the venue, attended the athletes' briefing, picked up the packet, assembled the bike was ready to complete the short workout.

6 miles on a bike and 2 mile run off the bike. The venue is beautiful, views are great. Seeing athletes getting their last workouts in was exciting and motivating. Bike felt good, run did not feel easy, but I knew that late packing, early flight ect made me tired, so I was not concerned. But I definitely have noticed low humidity. I am used to high humidity, low humidity made me thirsty and my sweat rate was different, I barely was sweating. That made me worried, as I did not know how to adjust to that and how it will manifest itself during the race.

 

 

After the session on the course it was time to drive the bike course. It is a great course, with just a few turns. We did not notice an incline when driving ( definitely noticed during the race, especially on the 3rd loop). The bike course was easy and very straight forward. We grabbed an early dinner and decided to get a short swim in. Thankfully the Ironman has arrange an access to the local pools for the competing athletes. We had to wait till the start of the an open swim (7 pm) at the Arizona University pool. To my surprise it was an open pool. I was worried it will be cold, but it was beautiful and definitely has added to the overall experience. 30 min swim was what I needed to stretch and get a feel for swimming in the low humidity.

 

No surprise that I was exhausted and slept like a baby. Next morning,I got up early to make sure that I don't sleep in. When I sleep in, it makes going to bed on time the night before the race difficult. I packed my Run and Bike bags. Checked my bike and prepped it for the check in.

Day started with an open swim. It was "balmy" 64F. Definitely wetsuit legal. The open swim was scheduled for 10 am, which is 3 hours later than when the race would start the following day. I decided to swim without neoprene booties and see how it felt. When I first jumped in, I felt as cold water was getting inside of the wetsuit and it took my breath away. My forehead, feet and hands were cold. After about 10 min in water and moving, I started to feel better and not as cold. At the end of 700 yard swim, about 20 min in the water, I started to feel warmer and knew that if the water stays at this temp, I will be fine. Last year the water was colder and people did get very cold during the swim. I was in water for just 20 min, in the race it would be 1 hour and 20 min. I was still thinking if I should swim in the booties. I have not swam in them for year, and only swam once before that, so I did not know what it will look like. "Nothing new on a race day" is engraved into my brain. The rule that I broke a few times for this race, making decision on a go, adjusting to conditions, some worked, some backfired.

After the swim, I got a quick (20 min) bike in, just to make sure that bike was ready to be checked in.

 

I checked in the bike, as well as the run and bike bags. I decided to take a picture of what I checked in. That was so helpful. I have a tendency to panic trying to remember what I checked in and what I needed to bring next day. This way I had a reference and it worked out great when in the evening in the hotel I was packing the rest of my gear for the race.

 

 

In the event we went out for dinner with the family. They have been supporting me all year, picking up

slack here and there, it is as much their race as mine. I wanted to make sure we have time to relax, discuss next day and I have good dinner. I broke my own rule and ordered from the menu vs eating my baked potato. I was worried how it will work out next day. It was fine, but I will probably not do it again next time. I kept stressing out evening if unfamiliar food will sit well. Anyhow, we had a great time at the local brewery ( not for me), ate dinner, chatted about life, race, next year ect. My daughter is a freshmen at Northern Arizona and it was the first time we saw her since August. It was a special time and I wanted to make sure that we spend time as a family and enjoy each others company vs only talking about me and my race.

Back to the hotel, quick roll and stretch, shower and sleep. I was sipping on water with Nuun all day to get ready for the race day.

 

Race day

Our hotel was 10 min away, the transition was closing at 6:30am, that meant I could sleep till 4:30 am. I followed my morning routine, ate my regular breakfast, rolled for about 15 min and was ready to drive to the venue. It was a beautiful morning, 57F at 5:30 am.

I got there at 5:30 am and had an hour to get it all ready. Started by setting up the bike with nutrition and hydration, and added air to the tires. I converted to tubeless tires this year. I have heard many horror stories about cactus needles on the road at the Arizona Ironman causing the flats, that I decided to go tubeless. I also added additional water bottle in the lower cage and that was a great decision. I only stopped 1 time for 1 min 30 sec on a bike to refill. I mounted my computer, checked is I had everything I needed to change the tire if I had to. I knew I had everything, but nerves take over and I was checking and double checking.

After my bike was set, I went to add gear and nutrition to my run bag. That is when I made the decision that backfired later. I placed my old and trusted running shoes into my bag a day before. I decide to change to a newer shoe to give me more bounce on a run. Shoes had at least 50 miles on them, I purchased them for this race, put some miles on them to get them ready. At the same time, I made a good decision and added a short sleeve shirt and sleeves to the gear bag. It is a dessert and it gets cold pretty fast after the sun goes down. I also have a tendency of getting cold at the end of the race, and it is not a good combination. But it was a beautiful day and I did not want to overheat during the run. I added nutrition, filled my water bottle, packed a back up watch (hence on my finishing photos I am wearing 2 watches). My watch has 12 hours charge, and during my first Ironman I ran last 4 miles without a watch. Not a huge deal, but I like to know where I am time wise.

Bike bag was next. Left it exactly how I packed it a day before, just added nutrition. I was ready to put on the wetsuit and head to the swim start.

We all lined up based on the swim finish time. I place myself with 1:20s, which ended up to be exactly where I finished my swim. Made another good decision, I decide to wear neoprene booties. THE BEST decision of the day. I also wore a double swim cap.

 

Swim went great. It was windy and we swam into the wind. My first half (1,2 miles) was 45 min. I started to get inpatient and wanted to be out of water. I looked at my watch and I was only half way through. I increased my pace, and swimming with the wind have helped, second half only took 35 min. I was punched in a face 3-4 times and each time my googles moved, thankfully double capping worked and they did not move, last punch pushed them so deep into my face that I felt my eyes popping. But it is the name of the game when you swim with thousand of your friends and everybody wants to swim closer to the buoy. I tried to stay close to them, so close that I bumped into at least 3 of them. We swam under a lot of bridges, I was trying to remember how many of them we had to swim under, that is when I saw last red buoy, and it meant finish was close. The huge win that not even once I panicked or felt like panicking in water. Big win for Olga!

 

Got out of water - 1:20... .My last 2.4 swim was in 1:38, I cannot describe how happy I was. All early swim practices are paying off. As I was trying to get off the wetsuit off my shoulders, I was the wetsuit peelers. I was caught by surprise, I expected them to be further. My wetsuit sleeve got caught by the watch. Took us a minute to free it and get the wetsuit off. I think I lost about 30 sec here. The run to the bike transition was .4 mile on a narrow red carpet, 2 people had hard time running side by side. I started to run into people who were in the earlier swim wave, but swam slower. I was trying to run around them, with no much luck. I settled and just ran as fast as I could and passing where I could.

Bike was next. I grabbed my bike of the rack and ran toward the mounting line. I started my journey of 112 miles. My goal was 5:30 min, my time was 5:50. The incline was more than I expected and riding into the wind did not help either. We don't have a lot of hills in the area, so hills as hard for us. And I don't ride well into the wind. I have broad shoulders and they act like a parachute. In some areas I would slow down to 12 miles per hour, but way back was fast and furious, up to 30 miles per hour. My average was 19.2 miles. The course was 3 loops. I like looped courses, especially on new courses. Get familiar first time and then it gets easier. Most difficult segment is 60-80 miles, but once I got to 80, only one loop left, I started calculating my overall time and planning for the run. With low humidity, I did not need to stop to use the bathroom and only needed to refill 2 bottles 1 time. I consumed about 3000 calories on the bike. That was great, as in my first 2 Ironman races I under consumed the calories and paid on the run. On my last training bike rides I tried Belgium waffles from Whole Foods, they pack whooping 450 calories in 1. I ate 4 of them, plus I had Maurten 320 calories powder in my water bottles, and I had a couple of gels to get me to the calories I needed.

 

I got off the bike. Those first minutes are so hard, legs don't want to run, hip flexors don't want to stretch. I wobbled to the changing tent. While on a bike, I decide to run in the short sleeve and take the sleeves with me. It was 3 pm and sun was still hot, I did not want to overheat. I was 25 min behind my A goal, but I was happy to starting my marathon. As happy as one could be, but run is still my favorite and the run course is so great that I was looking forward to it. But I was also happy with my time, weather was great, I felt great and it was the last thing I had to do before I could stop and rest.

On to a run. My first 2-3 miles were in 8:45s, my goal was 9s. I decided to slow down a little and settle into 9s. The course was rolling hills, which I also liked as it allowed for different muscles to work and it added variety to the race course. It is a 2 loop course. At mile 10 my toes started to cramp. That is when changing a shoe to a newer shoe on a last minute backfired. The new shoe was not as wide as an old shoe and did not have as much room for my swollen feet.

 

 

At times it was painful, I tried to find a position where it would hurt less. I was finishing running on an outside of left foot pretty much on a heal to limit impact on the toes. But I knew I was close to my goal of 4 hour marathon which was my goal for my 2 previous races. My final time was 4:06 and I was happy, because I finished strong, felt great and my toes hurt for 16.2 miles!

 

I was mostly passing people and sometimes making new friends and encouraging them. I was half way through when I did a mental check and realized that I was not ready to be done, I was glad I had another loop, although I would be okay with 20 miles, but it is an Ironman after all, I was content with running 26.2 miles to bring it home.

My goal B was under 11:30. At mile 20 I knew if I keep the same pace, which was close to 9:20s, I will be under my goal. I felt great. I made a decision not to eat off the course. I had my Maurten gels, I had Maurten 160 in my bottle, I had electrolytes. Only thing that I took was water, coke and ice. Mile 22, 23, 24, 25, 26... .home stretch, last .2 . I was emotional. I had a great training season, I had a huge half Ironman PR, I was going under 11:30... .I had tears in my eye when I heard: OLGA, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! It never gets old. Number 3 in the books!

 

I felt great at the finish. Tired, yes, but great.

 

Next morning, I was still on cloud 9. Although 11:27 have only given me 18th place in my age group (in my debut Ironman in Wisconsin I was 20th), but I was happy with the race, training, nutrition, hydration, I was a solid race after a solid training season that I can build on in 2020!

 

I know that nutrition is of interest for many people. I have completely changed I this year. I have practiced the race nutrition on my rides, I had it as part of the workouts in my training plan and it forced me to practice. I started to use Maurten, powders and gel, and Drip Drop for the electrolytes needs. And those waffles... .450 cal per waffle, cannot beat it and they taste great and I had food on the bike.

Ironman Louisville 2018

"A SMOOTH SEA NEVER MADE A SKILLED SAILOR"

Always earned, never given

Ironman Louisville was my 2nd Ironman. My first Ironman was in Madison in September of 2017. I have finished in 12:38. We had almost perfect weather on that day in Madison. While training for Madison, I learned a lot and applied it in my training for Louisville Ironman. I had a great training season. I was going into the race strong and well prepared to race under 11:30. That was my ultimate goal. I needed to shave 20 min off each leg and 5-8 min in transition.

I will start by saying that Louisville Ironman is a great course and it is worth racing. Volunteers were amazing! Race organization, venue, bike and run course are great.

I cannot thank enough each and every volunteer that were on the course in rain and cold and helping us to have a great day. It was a tough race for me personally, but some of it was because of the choices I made or did not make.

Ironman is a tough race. After it is in the name IRONMAN. Ironman is 140.6 miles of continuous moving transitioning from swimming to biking to running a full marathon. Louisville Ironman was not just a tough race for me, but it was also a rough one. Mother Nature has added an additional layer of challenges testing me physically and mentally at each leg of the race throwing different obstacles at us .... rain showers, 45F, freezing wind, and strong currents in Ohio River morning of the race.

We had a drastic change in weather from 80s and sunny 2 days prior to the race to 40s and raining on race day. I wish I was more prepared for a cold and windy bike ride and wore a right gear. I mentally was not ready for a drastic weather change. Weather forecast showed that I would warm up to 60s by mid day. I was hoping that I will stay warm since I will be biking hard and running and will stay warm. That was a wrong assumption ... rain, wind and cold temps make the core temp drop and it is hard to stay warm. It was a lesson that I learned. This one is on me.

I had 2 moments during the race, one at mile 30 on a bike and one at mile 17 on a run when I a thought of DNFing had crossed my mind and I did entertain the idea of dropping out for good.

My Louisville Ironman results:

 

 

Swim: 0.9 mile/17:01

 

Swim was one of the areas I worked on this year and improved since last year. I was ready to put all training to the test. My goal was to shave off 20 min of my last year swim time and swim under 1:20.

My morning was going according to my plan. I woke up on time and felt great. Had my pre-race breakfast, stretched, rolled, and dressed. It was 40F outside and raining. My goal was to stay dry and warm for as long as possible, I had 3 layers on to keep me dry.

Got to the venue on time, parked 5 min away from the transition!! Prepped my bike, checked my gear bags, got body marked and right at 7 am started to make my way down to the swim start. It continued to drizzle, but not too bad. I put my wetsuit on and lined up with 1:10-1:20 total swim time group. 30 min before an anticipated start I drank pre-workout, 15 min before the anticipated start I had a cookie. I was ready to go. I tried not to look at the river.

Ohio River

As start time got closer and we still have not moved, I knew something was up. That is when we learned that the currents are too strong to swim a full course ( up the stream for about 1 mile and then downstream). The course will be shortened to 0.9 mile and it will be a straight shot down the stream and the start is delayed by 30 min.

Swim in Ohio River was causing me anxieties since I volunteered last year and decided to race Louisville. All the recent changes have added to my anxieties. But I tried to stay positive and was chatting with people around me, encouraging first timers. And then we started to move. It took us 1 hour to get to the starting blocks and there were still a lot of people behind us. In total it took almost 2 hours for all athletes to start their swim.

I jumped in and felt the current taking me down the stream. I tried to relax and just swim. I saw first buoy and made my way to go around it. The current pushed me into the buoy and I was fighting it trying to get away from it. Finally, I was able to get away from it and continue to swim downstream. There was no certain path to swim, people were all over. I started to look out for the next buoy and started to swim toward it. I was fighting the current to get to the buoy. That was the first time I started to panic. But I calmed myself down trying to remember my training swim a day before that was perfect and I loved it. I did some breaststroke to calm down and to sight. I made it to the next buoy and once again the current pinned me to the buoy and I kept fighting it to get away from it. A kayaker approached me and told me not to fight the current and just swim downstream to the exit ramp. I looked around and I was alone at that buoy. Once again a panic started to set in. I talked myself out of it. I found the exit ramp and started to swim toward it. The currents kept pushing me down the stream and away from it. I started to kick as hard as I could to make my way to the exit ramp. I grabbed the ramp rails and pulled myself out of the river. .9 mile in 17 min, just over 1 min per 100 yards. I was so happy to be out, adrenaline was pumping, I was ready to get on the bike. I dropped in front of the wetsuit strippers a few seconds later I was running toward T1.

Louisville Ironman Oct14'18 - Bike: 6:08/112 miles/18.3mph

 

I ran through the transition, grabbed my run bag and rushed into a changing tent. Day before, when I was checking my bags in, I made one vital decision that basically kept me in this race on race day. I added a long sleeve shirt and gloves to my bike bag.

It was still raining, but river water was warm, so I felt pretty good and was still actually debating if I need long sleeve and gloves. Weather forecast was calling for 60s by mid day.

The transition tent was pretty packed already. I found an empty chair, dropped my bike bag and pulled out my biking gear. My skin was wet and I had to wrestle a little with my longed sleeved shirt. Floor was sandy and my feet were covered in sand. I asked a volunteer for a cup of water to wash it off before putting my socks on. I washed it off one foot, just to step into that sand again. I decided not to waste time and pulled my socks up on sandy feet. Ran out of the tent, grabbed my bike and off I went.

I love biking on hills. Overall it was a perfect course for me. I was looking forward to the bike ride. I wished we had a different weather and I could enjoy it and push myself to see what I can do. Last year in Wisconsin my bike time was 6:22, my goal was to go under 6 on this course.

I drove the course day before. I knew that first 10 miles were flat. I started out conservatively, it was raining and I needed time to get used to handling the bike on a wet and slippery road. We were shielded by trees in our first 10 miles on the bike. I was wet; it was cold, but not too bad. Miles 10-30 were the worst miles of the day. We approached rolling hills area, it was more open to the winds. I would warm up going up the hill and freeze going down. Wind and rain was punishing me on every downhill when I was going fast so I slowed down a little. My only goal was not to allow for my core body temps to drop. I needed to consume calories and to stay hydrated. I noticed that people were stopping on a side of a road and at the medical tents to warm up. I started to shiver at mile 25. I was 1, 5 hours in, a thought of biking for another 4,5 hours made me want to DNF, I did not think I had it in me. My family was waiting for me at mile 30 and I had to make it to at least mile 30. I biked through a cheering zone, saw my family and it lifted my spirits.

Thankfully next 15 miles were in an area shielded from the winds, it also stopped raining, it drizzled, but it got warmer. I was so thankful for that. I enjoyed the rest of the bike. I got stronger with each mile. I stayed hydrated and was consuming calories regularly and stayed with my nutrition plan. A couple times I was almost wiped out by fellow bikers, who were getting tired and were not alert, but I was able to maneuver around them and get myself to the bike dismount area. In 3 of my last training rides I practice getting out of the shoes while still on a bike. I was hesitant to try it in the competition. It worked great. As I jumped off the bike, a volunteer grabbed it, I was cheered by my training partner and it gave me a boost of energy as I tan into transition 2.

every minute counts - prepping to get off the bike

Louisville Ironman Oct14'18 - Run: 4:24/26.2 miles/ 10:05 pace

Finally off the bike

 

My goal was to run under 4 hour marathon shaving 20 min off last year time. I ran Berlin marathon as a long run 4 week before that in 3:33, going into a race I knew I was in shape to run a solid under 4 hours marathon.

Rain pretty much stopped by the time I got to the transition. My clothes were dry, I was still a little cold and I was looking forward to the run. I changed out of my cycling gear, filled my water bottle, popped into a porta potty and was on my way in 6 min. I felt pretty good and was so happy to finally be running. Course is 2 loops. Roughly 4 times 6.5 miles through downtown Louisville. I like that type of course; you can easily break down your run into smaller increments and attack them one by one. When you turn around at about 13 miles you can see the finish line, there is a sign Finish to the left and second loop to the right. SUCH A TEASE!

First mile 8:30, second mile 8:30. I deliberately slowed down, I needed to run under 9s. We all know what happens when you start too fast. Miles 2-9 were perfect 9 min average pace. I have not stopped at all. I would just grab water and keep running. I had nuun with me and my stinger gels. I was on schedule with my nutrition and hydration. I was feeling great.

Ironman is hard work

Mile 10 I started to get lightheaded and cold, it would come in spells. I walked through water station and took chicken broth - 11:25 mile, mile 11 - same happened, lightheaded and cold, I drank chicken broth to warm up and it helped again - 10:43 mile. I was getting close to a turnaround where my family was waiting for me. I was slowing down to 9:30s but I ran consistent miles 12 through 16. But I was feeling that trouble was brewing. Lightheaded, cold, bloated, exhausted...and still 10 miles to go. Next 4 miles were rough, like real rough. I have never experienced that before during the race. It can be because I was eating too much to stay warm on the bike or unfamiliar food like Chicken broth, which I loved by the way, it kept me warm on the course. It is hard to say, but I hope I will never experience it again.

Only half marathon to go

I was running from one porta potty to another porta potty. Mile 17 - 11:47. Mile 18 was the mile I was ready to stop my misery and just stop running and call it a day. I found myself banging my head on the door of yet another porta potty and feeling sorry for myself. Mile 18 was the slowest 15:54. I had to remind myself that this is an Ironman, I have only 8 miles to go and I can walk until I cannot. I can do it. Nobody made me do it, I chose to. I was dehydrated, I was lightheaded. I assessed the situation. I did not think it was dangerous, if it was becoming dangerous I would stop at a medical tent and ask for help, until then I would keep going.

Mile 19 10:52, mile 20 10:43. Last turnaround, only 6 miles to go. That is when I met my angel. Girl about 7 years old. It was past her bedtime, Sunday almost 8 pm. She looked a little tired, but she kept cheering on each runner. Ironman gives you bracelets to give to a volunteer that made a difference in your race to thank them. I stopped to give my bracelet to this little girl. I hugged her, and said "Thank You" through tears. I turned around, she waved at me and said "Good Luck". That was the moment that I knew I could not stop and I will finish what I started. 10:52, 10:43, 10;09. Mile 23 was all about collecting myself for the final push, one foot in front of enough. Mile 23 - 11:23 mile. Mile 24 - 11:01. Mile 25 10:30 and mile 26 was under 10. Last turn and finally FINISH LINE! I made it! I am 2 time IROMAN! I achieved my goal. I was thinking that I can be in top 10 based on my training, placing 8th was great.

FINISH

Ironman is a tough race that is why it is call an Ironman. We train for many months in hopes of having a beautiful day on a course, all stars aligning perfectly and achieving a personal goal whatever they might be. We see ourselves crossing that finish line with your arms in the air, receiving medal and going out to celebrate.

Thank you volunteers

Ironman takes all you have to give

Behind the scene

And then you get to a start line and you already know that it will be a tough race. Mother nature decided to add an additional challenge, like 140.6 miles is not enough of a challenge. Then you remember all the cancelled bike rides when it was cold and rainy. I don't remember looking outside and saying: Awesome, it is freezing and raining, let me go for a long bike ride. Nope, usually it is goes the other way: It is freezing and raining; I am going to bike inside or move to a better day. You remember the runs on treadmill because it was raining outside or cold.

One of the main lessons I learned that it is important to train in any weather so you know what it feels like and can make a right gear choice on a race day based on the weather prognosis. Stay positive and roll with punches.

 

Ironman #2

10 months of training to earn the MEDAL and 8th AG placing

2018 Competitive Year Review

2018 BEST 9 Instagram posts

15 Races

15 Races ( 14 medals - AON Climb is missing)

2018 was another great and busy year. Year of trying new things, like racing at the National Duathlon Championship that lead to qualifying to compete on Team USA at the World Championship in Spain in 2019, and building on 2017 racing season and racing 2nd Ironman 140.6 placing 8th in AG.

January

1. Step up for children - AON building climb, 80 floors in 13:44. 3rd elite female and 4th female overall.

February

2. Hustle up the Hancock climb - 94 floors in 13:26. 2nd elite female and 3rd overall female.

March

3. Presidential Towers climb - 4X45 floors - 180 floors total in 20:42 - 2nd elite and overall female.

4. 10K at Notre Dame University. 44:04 at 7:06 pace. 3rd overall female and 1st AG.

April

5. National Duathlon Championatship - 6th in my age group with 2:19:07 at the National Championship and qualified for Team USA for Standard Distance Duathlon at the 2019 ITU Multisport Festival in Pontevedra, Spain!

Duathlon is Run - Bike - Run. Standard distance for this event was 8.45km run, 39km bike, 4.5 run

My results:

Run - 8.45 km (5.25 miles) - 38:04 -7:16 pace

Bike - 39 km (24.2 miles) - 1:17:33 - 18.7 m/h (hilly course)

Run - 4.5 km(2.8 miles) - 21:04 - 7:32 pace

Gender place -39/135, Age group place -6/18

May

6. Mini Indy Half Marathon - 1:39:58 at 7:27 pace. 8th AG place out of 1000, 129th female overall out of over 10K female who ran today and 892th out of almost 20k runners who competed half marathon distance today. It was a fun, running on 2.5 miles on the Indy500 track, flat and well organized.

7. Chicagoland Spring Half - 1:38:58 at 7:33 pace - 1st AG and 11th female overall. 2 weeks post Indy Mini Half.

June

8. Leon's Triathlon - Regional Championatship - 2:28:33 -4th AG and 10th female overall. 10 Min PR. Swim 28 min at 1:44 ave pace.

July

- No races. It was all about high volume training for Louisville Ironman and Berlin Marathon.

August

9. Triathlon National Championship - 2:36:18 - 39th AG - Swim 34:59, Bike 1:07:51, Run 47:26. Swim was choppy and hard, 10 min longer than in June at the regional championship, had an awesome bike at close to 22mph and hot run.

10. Open Water Race in Madison Wisconsine. 2,4 miles in 1:40:53 - No wetsuites. Last year I swam close to this time but in a wetsuit.

September

11. Berlin Marathon - 3:33:37. Best time in 4 years and 3rd fastest marathon. My 4th major marathon. Used it as a long run for Louisville Ironman - 1 month out from Ironman.

October

- No Races, it was all about fine tuning for 2nd Ironman

November

12. Louisville Ironman 140.6 - Overall time 11:06 ( swim was cut ot 0.9 mile), 8th AG. It was a rough race. Details posted in a recap

Swim - 0.9 mile 11 min

Bike: 6:08/112 miles/18.2mph

Run: 4:24/26.2 miles/ 10:05 pace

13. Skyrise Climb at Willis Tower - 105 Floors in 19:04. 3rd AG and 9th overall female. 35 sec PR at Willis tower

14. LaSalle Building Climb - 58 floors in 9:39. 6th overall female. Raced just 2 hours after Willis on the same day.

15. Milwaukee US Bank Center Climb - 47 floors in 6:59. 2nd elite and overall female.

December - Rolled ankle and broken fibula.