Rev3 Cedar Point: Pushing Beyond the Comfort Zone

Going into Rev3 Cedar Point this year I wasn't exactly too sure what to expect. The week before the race: Hurricane Isaac struck, I missed a bunch of workouts, I sprained my ankle pretty severely, and there was no real taper. With that said, I knew my fitness had improved a lot with my new coach. Either way I went in with a positive attitude and knew that I was capable of getting close to that 5 hr mark. The key to success would ultimately be believing in myself and pushing beyond what feels safe and comfortable. More mentally than physically......

Although I finally purchased my own bike case this year, I was a little hesitant to fly a brand new bike in a soft case to Ohio. I figured I would chance it and go with the trusty old Pink Hotness. And I'm glad I did! And with southwest=NO baggage fees either way....

 I arrived Friday evening at the Rev3 team headquarters: a clash of Ohio and Key West. Super classy! Great location for next year...

Saturday was spent doing the usual pre-race run, packet pick up, bike drop off, and most importantly catching up with old friends and making new ones--including Kim, Jen, Jordan, Anthony, Jeff, Laura, Carole, Ryan, Tim, Pam and her hubby, Elizabeth, Chris, and Jamie. My mom drove over from Pittsburgh later in the day.

Race day was perfect. It was a beautiful morning with temps in the 60s. Dream weather for this swamp lander. With a later start my mom and I took our time getting to the start. As I arrived at my spot, I was happy to be parked almost right next to fellow blogger and rock star athlete Anne Marie.

My goal for the swim: go out hard and stay with the fast girls. And that is exactly what I did....There were a few orange caps and I tried to stay on feet. After a few minutes, we quickly caught the heats in front of us. As I made the first turn, I caught even more heats with different colored caps. The yellow caps were a little distracting as they blended closely with the yellow bouys.  I found my rhythm and stuck with it. My familiarity with the course helped steer me on the right track. The swim was over before I knew it. I felt like I had a solid swim overall. Final time: 33:24. Goal (30-31)

The funniest thing happened in T1, I literally lost my bike. I always always always find landmarks and look where I am headquartered. For some reason, I just got totally turned around. And even worse, here is proof of my transition faux pas:  (thanks to Katie's husband) Where is my bike? I thought I left it right here? ahhahahah HILARIOUS!

 

Yes I am really standing there---

Despite the prolonged T1 , all of the bikes in my AG rack were all still in place.T1:2:24

Going into the bike, I just prayed the pink hotness would get me through one last race. As we reunited once again, I felt like I was riding a midget bike. Going from 700c back to 650c with a different set up felt so awkward. I felt super compressed and like I wasn't getting full hip extension with my pedal stroke. Ugh this is going to be a long one I thought! I shrugged off the weirdness and just went for it.  I went out hard keeping my HR in the high 160s per coaches orders to go beyond the comfort zone. The winds and crosswinds made me feel like I was at home. I passed a ton of guys and a few girls in my AG. Throughout the bike, I made sure I stuck to my nutrition plan getting down 4 PowerBar gels and 3 bottles. Still need to work on getting in another 1-2 gels for the future.The course was windy, rolling, and beautiful. I absolutely loved it. (Until I had a leech encounter). Throughout the last 10-15 miles there was a leech in my AG that kept drafting off of me. All I will say is: not cool. My mantra at that point: "Focus Heidi-shrug it off and move on. Negativity will get you no-where". Regardless of the leech, I was very pleased as I finished in 2:44. Not bad for no power, old bike, and no Q rings :) (Goal 2:40-2:42)

My nightmare in T1 happened again in T2. It was no-where near as long but it definitley happened again. Ugh I wanted to kick myself! Dummy! T2: 1:48

Off the the run! I went out a little harder than  I should have with my first mile right around 7. I saw one of my teammates who was in my AG about 400 meters in front of me. I just kept focusing on her and tried to catch her. After the first 1.5 miles, I got this weird, sudden sharp stabbing in my calf. With my recent ankle injury and with a 140.6 on the horizon, I was a little concerned by the severity of the pain. My first thought was: SALT SALT SALT! At mile 2 I took a salt tab and then again at mile 3. Luckily the pain subsided pretty quickly. As the pain dissipated it strangely transitioned into "my foot is asleep".  What is going on? Either way I shrugged it off. After miles 3-4 my spunk and foot sensastion returned and my pace started to quicken again. I caught my teammate and found a pretty comfortable zone averaging 7:40s-7:50s. I felt oddly good! As I saw my mom during one of the turns, she informed me that I was 2nd or 3rd in my AG. Yay hold on....I was able to maintain that until miles 11-13. I started to falter again as a girl in my AG passed me. I was spent and I had nothing left. I helplessly let her go. And then around mile 12 it happened again as I was passed by another. I tried to hang but just didn't have it. I tried to pick it up the last mile to bring it home with terrible towel in hand.  Regardless, I crossed the finish line at 5:11:09. A new PR by over 8 minutes! Thank you coach chad! Run time 1:49. (Goal 1:43-1:45)

In the end I still ended up with a PR and a 3rd AG finish. Seeing my hard work pay off in less than ideal circumstances proved to me that there is much more to come.

Thank you Rev3 for the best race yet!

Post race was spent drinking boxed wine with my teammates and catching up with my long lost friend Kim. (who killed it btw with a 9:40!!!!) What an amazing weekend with friends and family! My mom of course had no problem hanging on and double fisting. Cheers to a fun weekend, new half PR, Rev3, and to pushing beyond my comfort zone.

Looking Ahead: 2012

Dear 2011 Tri Season,
You've been pretty good to me... I was afraid of you. I'm not going to lie. The big girl AG was quite scary and yes-so were many of the girls. With a late Dec birthday, I knew my bump up in AG would mean you forcing me to compete with the best in the country and the world. Like most seasons you brought many ups and downs. Despite you plaguing my season with endless swim cancellations, hard-core-training-burn-out, PT school graduation, and board studying....you helped me to: rock out my first big overall win at Irongirl NOLA, shave 20 minutes off my 70.3 time, and qualify for AG Nationals and the 5150 Championships. Although you did not grant the secretly coveted Kona or Vegas slot, you gave me hope that there is far more good things to come in 2012!
~Love Heidi


There a lot of factors that still need to play out to finalize 2012, but here goes my tentative schedule:

Jackson Day Race 9k-January 15^th New Orleans, LA

Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon-March 4^th Tampa, FL

Memorial Herman 70.3–April 1^st Galveston, TX

Ironman Texas-May 19^th Woodlands, TX

Grandman Triathlon-June TBD Fairhope, AL

Sandestin Triathlon-August 18^th Sandestin, FL

Rev3 Cedar Point-Sept 9^th Sandusky, OH

Santa Rosa Triathlon-Oct. TBD Pensacola, FL

Rev3 Sarasota-Oct. 28^th Sarasota, FL

I'm hoping to do a bit more travelling this year! And yes I'm giving the iron-distance my second shot :) There is also a secret possibility of another iron distance making the list. Last but not least, I'm hoping to get much closer to.... if not break that 5 hour/11 hour barrier for the 70.3/140.6 distances respectively.

What about you? What are your goals for 2012?

Time for the Big Girl Pants

Things happen for a reason. Ironically I spent my last post raving about how excited I was to have Scott joining me at the Rev3 Cedar Point 70.3. Unfortunately things didn't end up working out as planned. One week out from the race my dearest Flex messed up his back so bad he was physically dragging his legs behind him. Fearing my dog would be permanently paralyzed and utilizing wheels for back legs, I asked Scott to stay home to help the little guy mend. It was a little traumatic to say the least. I'm sure my fellow pet lovers understand.

In the end, I jet setted off to Ohio sans race sherpa. Although my parents were there on race day, I was tasked with bike assembly for the first time alone. I called it operation "big girl pants". Don't get me wrong I travel alone a lot....but the thought of physically getting the bike to the airport...flying the bike safely to my destination and then fitting it into the rental car... and out of the car... and then putting it together correctly was....

.....

just a little daunting....

My double sized bike box did NOT help my cause. Luckily I pulled the damsel in distress card at the rental car place and at least scored a free upgrade to a full size SUV :)

In the end all worked out and Heidi and the pink hotness arrived safely in Sandusky, Ohio for race day.

My personal parazzi aka my mom made it just in time for race day. The race went off Sunday without a hitch. The water was calm and the skies were clear. It was a beautiful day for race day. I went out hard at the swim start knowing I wanted to try to stay with the amateur leaders. The swim start was a little rough with the 1-2 ft muck like quicksand we had to run to getting to the water. Despite my efforts to stay with the leaders I fell back some. The morning glare made it a little tough to sight and my full wetsuit felt like it was killing my shoulders. Upon water exit I glanced down at my watch.. 36 minutes... goal time 29-32.... uh oh. Not good.

As I headed off to the bike I was a little scared as I hadn't had time to drive the course before. And although I was told my many (northerners) that the course as flat, I had some doubts. Regardless I set off below my 163 bpm heart rate threshold for the first 28 miles. There were definitely some hills... some might call them rollers but definitely hills to this now flat lander. I passed a few girls in my AG and a few passed me. Nutrition was spot on. No mistakes there. After the half way point I picked it up a notch to my 165 bpm threshold and tried not to get too excited as I neared the finish.

Final bike time: 2:45

Right on track. Not going to complain given the hills :)

Off to the run... I kept telling myself... this is it... last big race of the season... no holding back...Starting out I felt good. My legs were pretty tight as I transitioned but my turnover and cadence were good. I started off at a solid 7 minute pace. I was picking off people left and right. I found out a few miles in that I was 3rd in my AG.

Yay! Despite my efforts to hold my pace... it felt like every mile just kept getting a little slower and slower until it was 9 min pace and then even 10 min pace the around 11-12 miles. My quads felt like they were being stabbed. At that point I just started feeling sort of well... content... one mile left .... 3rd in my age group.... this really hurts.... Right around that same time I was passed unexpectedly by another girl in my age group.

Feeling pretty bad at this point, I just repeated my mantra: "stay on her Heidi--just stay on her Heidi". You can't get beat in the last mile of a 70.3! And that is exactly what I did... With about 3/4 of a mile to go I just got this surge of energy. I was not about to throw in the towel that easy. Nope. I dropped the girl with ease and kicked it in the rest of the way.

As I proudly crossed carrying the American flag on 9/11, I couldn't help but think about my lil bro the marine and my naval aviator hubby. After all because of them- they made this day and pretty much every freedom we have possible. Thank you thank you!

Final run time... 1:54. Final time 5:19. A little off my 5 hour goal time but I'll take it!

Despite my time disappointment, I was the 10th amateur and 3rd in my age group. When all was said and done, Heidi put on her big girl pants and got a 20 minute PR. I guess you can't complain about only dropping 20 minutes at a time. Hopefully more good things to come! Thank you Rev3 for by far the most beautifully executed and organized race. Loved it :) Goodbye WTC. And of course thank you to Kim my coach for getting me through and of course for putting up with me :)