Here goes! Poor sleep was had for two nights prior to the race, due to last minute preparation and pre-race jitters.  Even after Coach Julie and I sat down and discussed it to death, I spent too much time trying to figure out what to put into drop bags. Thank goodness I set my alarm for two different times because my first one didn’t go off. I had to rush to get ready but was too nervous to eat much anyway. Mostly, I was contemplating covering 50-miles by foot, and wondering why I had signed up for this race!

We started 5:30am.  The first 4-miles were flat and through old growth forest, and we ran at an easy conversational pace.  It was light out but still early so I had to really concentrate on the ground and my footing.  Mary and Sukumar (my wonderful crew) met me at the first aid station, Camp Sheppard, and I swapped my two handhelds for my hydration vest.

After more flat single track, we climbed for about 6-miles, with varied terrain – switchbacks, runnable uphills, steeps, & really steep steeps, where I had a hard time even trying to get traction to hike up. We had to step out of the way often for the faster runners, including Anton Krupicka and Scott Jurek. It was exciting to see them close up. I was on pace with a really nice gal who was running her third 50-miler; she offered some advice.  I had a tough time with graham crackers and goldfish because they were so dry, but the Fig Newtons went down easy.  The PB&J were decent, but I had to make it into a mushy lump with my Accelerade/H2O in order to swallow.  I made it to Corral Pass way ahead of schedule.  I felt good, except my bunion-y feet and knees.
Mary and Sukumar got me fed, S!-capped, sunblocked, lubed, and on my way down the 7- mile descent.  Mt. Rainier was astoundingly close and breathtakingly beautiful.  Why I didn’t notice this on my way up to the aid station, I haven’t a clue.  I knew I wasn’t supposed to pound downhill because there would be another 6-mile downhill in the second half, so I trotted down easily. My right knee started hurting so bad and I developed some major “sausage fingers,” which worried me a little.  A volunteer at the Ranger Creek aid station offered more S! caps.  For the next 5-miles I crab-walked down the switchbacks and tried to throw in some fast hiking. By the time I made it down the descent, I was not a happy runner. I’d only gone 27 miles. I changed my shoes and socks, ate watermelon, and decided to continue.

I headed out for the next 8.5-mile climb. It was exposed to the sun but amazingly pretty with lots of wildflowers.  I didn’t really soak this in as I was trying to hike as fast as my legs would take me, drowning in self-pity and tears at the thought of not finishing. But I was doing just fine as uphills didn’t bother my knees and I made it to the next station well ahead of the cut-off time. I kept climbing and made it to the top of the second ascent right at cutoff time.  The Sun Top aid station crew was so nice and encouraging.  They fed me food and drink and Tylenol, and told me to just try to hike down the last descent. It was the longest portion of the course for me – it was just fire road with no view, and I was now the last runner. With about a mile to go, the course flattened out enough, the Tylenol kicked in and I was able to hike fast, then start running to the next aid station. Mary and Sukumar were faithfully waiting and cheering. I had 6.6-miles to go and just over an hour before 7:30pm (race cutoff time), meaning I’d have to RUN the Skookum Flats trail.

I took off – the last section was beautiful old growth forest full of roots and rocks; I tripped several times.  My knees were screaming but adrenaline allowed me to power through.  A race volunteer appeared in the forest and told me I had about a mile to go and about 10 minutes to do it. I stepped up the pace and flew through the remainder of the course – and crossed the finish line with just over a minute before the cutoff. And so, I finished 50 miles!  It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do it again.

Lessons Learned:
- Ankle socks.
- S! Caps are my friend!
- I don’t need to pack as much food in the drop bags. I was happy to eat the potatoes and salt, watermelon, bananas, PB&J, Carb Boom and chips at the aid stations.
- Two handhelds were a pain as my nose wouldn’t stop running so I constantly needed my hands to blow my nose & reapply lip balm on .  The vest worked perfectly.
- Better sports bra needed!
- Wet washcloths & bandanas are nice.
- Always carry Tums, Immodium, Pepto Bismol, & emergency Tylenol, Bodyglide, moleskin.
- Carrying the course info with the pace and cutoff times was very useful.
- You can hike most of an ultra and still finish, as long as you keep moving steadily.

The race is positioned in August now (it spent a few of its first years in July) which is a little close to Ironman Canada but now almost always ensures that it doesn’t fill up so fast you can’t make a decision to race a month out.  The event is produced like one of the “big ones” with a well organized transition area, excellent aid stations and course design, Emcee’s on the microphones and qualifying slots to the 70.3 World Champs up for grabs – it makes you feel pretty cool to be out there racing it.

This shouldn’t sound like a gush-fest and there are always a few things that I hear critqued fairly often like the mandatory bike check-in the day before the event.  And the way the bike course roads arent “closed” to traffic.   However, these things don’t keep 1000 triathletes from toeing the line each year.  The pros for this event far outweight the cons year after year.

I thought about writing a “race report” about my experience but decided instead to spin a little about the event itself and hope some new as well as some veterans would agree we are lucky to have great events like this in our backyard.  I notched a personally sub-par 5:14 and it was bloody hot on the run if you wanted to know.  The race is a good challenge.

See you at Lake Stevens next year for another go.

Coach Ryan

The race started out well – a good warm-up got me out quick. About halfway to the first buoy the wind picked up, sighting became more challenging and a swift kick in jaw slowed my pace a little. I was thrilled to put my feet on solid ground. I was so focused on getting to my transition area that I didn’t recognize faces but could hear my Dad’s voice clearly. Out on the bike, I settled into a steady rhythm. I couldn’t wait to get to the hills. I rode strong and focused all the while looking for my friends and family on the course.. I always look forward to the run. This 10k was the toughest few miles I have run in a while. A forgotten Gu in T2, plus the strongest swim/ bike combo I’ve put together made for a challenging final leg. My splits were distributed differently than I had imagined but I finished 2-minutes faster than goal time! What a great day – and good enough for 4^th place!

I love writing training programs for people and motivating them to achieve.  I absolutely love it.  However, I have to admit I am not as good at motivating myself to go after my own personal fitness goals on my own.  Some days I really wonder why when I spend so much time doing it for others.  I have some thoughts on where I find my motivation.

First, my last few weeks of training (for Ironman AZ later in November) have been great because I got my family involved.  Not only with the trip but involved with my everyday training.  I think that sharing what I need to do and working on it with my wife and within our son’s schedule helps me stay on task and hold myself accountable for getting out the door when others have things planned around and complimentary to my workouts.  We trade & book time so we are more motivated use that time and get done what we set out to do.

Second, I looked at the event coming up and it is my 7th Ironman race and don’t want to squander the opportunity to participate and compete.  In the last 6 races there have been injuries, lack of training follow-through and other distractions that may have kept me from my best on race day.  This time I have spent time and energy devising a very good training plan and my motivation is to make this one count.  Look at what I have learned before and use that knowledge to avoid pitfalls and problems I have had in the past.  I also know that with a toddler around time and resource is tight and I need to take advantage of the chance to do this Ironman well as family life only gets busier!  I see this clearly in friend’s lives who have more then 1 child.

Third and finally I needed to let go of some other things I like and take up my time and interest.  Triathlon is swim, bike and run- 3 sports.  While I am not a competitive swimmer, I do enjoy and spend a great deal of time racing bikes and running races by themselves respectively.  I have made the choice to put triathlon and specifically Ironman training first.  This not only saves $ on entry fees but allows my calendar to be simply (mostly) “training” rather than races and trying to fit in training and recovery from said races and potential injuries and setbacks.  In the past I may have spread myself too thin between the different sports & racing …I can clearly see that now.  This all adds up to more motivation toward November!

To summarize, I think we can use the ones close to us (family and friends) to help motivate us.  I also think that you can value reflection on the past and apply what you learn to the future and present.  And finally, it may take some sacrifice and focus to feel like you are going to get the most out of your racing, training or fitness.  Be clear to yourself and those around you what your goals are and it seems easier to be motivated.

-Coach Ryan

Leigh Anne had a solid race at the Swedish SummeRun 5k. Leigh Anne just returned from a vacation in San Diego where she challenged herself with a week of  1-on-1 sessions with a tennis pro and runs on the beach. Despite the lack of mile markers in the race, she ran strong, is more consistent than ever and we anticipate another breakthrough in August when she takes on the Covey Run.

Amy has embarked on a cycling trek from Southern WA into Northern CA.  She and two friends are trading time on the bike and time in the car and putting down nearly 100 miles a day on their trip- awesome adventure!

Good luck to Mark & Daryl as they compete in their first ever XTERRA Triathlon at Black Diamond and our athletes who are running in the Seafair Torchlight Run.

Seafair Triathlon – as always it was a fun race and great to see every Seattlelite that does triathlon either participating or spectating. It was cloudy and the air was a little chilly but Lake Washington has warmed up nicely; we couldn’t have asked for better conditions – calm and with a slight breeze. I (Julie) started the swim in Row 3, thinking I was properly seeded.  A kick in the eye and several folks I clamored over 200yds in determined that I should have self-seeded in Row 2.  I came out of the swim to a very slow T1 – proving I have become lazy from racing longer tri. On the bike, I began to reel in a few cyclists. My position on my Cannondale felt smooth & efficient until the turn around of the out-and -back where I faced the headwind. I always forget how strong the wind is on the I-90 bridge until I’m on my Zipp Wheels. Can you say Crosswind! Yikes! I rode steady into T2 for another slow transition. Once on the run I began to relax into my steady pace and find a rhythm. In the first 1.5-miles I reeled in 4 women and a couple of guys, to then find myself in no-man’s land. The hill seemed shorter this year but perhaps that’s because there was no one else I was going to be able to chase down. I relaxed and then gave it one last push from the top of the hill down to the finish. What a great way to start the day! We were fortunate to have a great group of athletes out there with us- I just wish the sun would have come out on us!

fast and fit athletes!

Ariana,Julie,LeighAnne,Nina

This weekend marked the first local triathlon near Seattle to sort of “open”  the 2010 season.  Sammamish State Park in Issaquah played host to the sprint triathlon for the 10th year.  One would think that June would be a great time for a “summer” race but mother nature had something to say about “when summer will start”.  I think she decided it would start, for 1 day, right after this race was over!

Rain had come down steadily last week and made the park into a “bog” or swamp of sorts.  I talked to a crew of guys post-race who explained they were up the night before using Google maps & map my run to create a NEW run course for the race just hours away because the traditional trails in the park used for the run course were under water!

The result was having to use the single lane into the park as bike out, bike in, run out & run in….all designated with lanes of orange cones.  When you are trying to set a 25mph average on the bike course, riding into a single lane a few feet across with runners and cyclists going in and out on the course on a single width lane of pavement is a bit hair-raising.  But that is racing.

Coach Julie and myself as well as a few of our brave clients all had a pretty darn good day despite the weather!  Ariana & Leigh Anne get special props for running the 5K – unknown to them they would be running a cross country 5K!  Here’s mud in your eye!

All together we had myself, Julie, Ariana, LeighAnne, Ryan, Eric, Nina (and family in relay and kids tri!) all taking part in competition.  A shout need to go out to Grant (Blue Lake), Kevin (Whidby Island) and Catrena (Honu) as well this weekend – Great job everyone who was racing!

At the end of the day, completely unscathed but a little mud spattered, we all knocked off the rust, raced and had great stories and results- for most of us, triathlon #1 is in the books.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention what a stellar day Saturday was weather -wise.  I thought summer was HERE and then woke up Sunday to rain and dark skies…oh, well!

-Coach Ryan

Boston was abuzz – even cabbies and wait staff seemed to join in on our celebration.  The week prior racers were stressed about 90-degree.  Within hours of arriving the wind kicked up, alternating rain and hail, hinting at a frigid race.  I gave Daryl the spring flu I picked up from my track kids so we spent way too much time in our hotel room. I considered calling the race director to ask him to postpone the race for 2-weeks or until my cold went away but considering no concessions were made for professionals delayed by the Iceland volcanic eruption I figured I was low on the priority list! We ventured to the expo and short outings for canolis from the Bova Bakery, chowder, and Italian food in the North End. On the race eve we were joined by my high school track coach, Donna Messenger (my inspiration for all my endurance adventures) & husband Bill and relatives, Shawnie & Brent. Donna & Shawnie qualified in Portland. One of my best friends, Erin, came down from Connecticut with her boyfriend to support me too.

Race morning arrived and the city was perfect. The skyline from the hotel looked like the opening scenes from Cheers. The sun was bright and any hint of a storm has dissipated.  Donna, Shawnie & I went through our race routines – coffee, oatmeal, the ritual of pinning on race numbers and timing chips. We stepped out in the crisp 40-degree air and joined the thousands ready to take on a challenge many never dream possible.  We waited in line for buses to take us to Hopkinton with 3-girls from Nashville & Denver, and guys from Seattle that are running Big Sur next weekend because they get a free entry with proof of Boston results.  After an hour ride we arrived at the athlete’s village.

(yes- I know I look silly but who can resist a pix with Ryan Hall on the cover of Runner’s World!)

I love the eeriness of race mornings – you can sense the nerves, the anticipation, and of course, and U2 being played loudly. I ran into my college crew coach and a triathlon friend from Seattle. It was time to strip down to racing singlet and make the mile trek to the start line. My stomach continued to churn as it had the night before but I chalked it up to nerves. I felt very calm and ready for whatever challenges can occur in 26.2.  We crammed into corrals I was thankful for all the bodies radiating a little extra heat. And finally the gun went off. Despite adrenaline I held in check, heeding the warnings of going out too fast. I crossed each mile marker in perfect pace. My sour stomach continued to agitate me but I knew I could manage a little discomfort… and my legs wanted to run! At mile-11, my stomach had a mind of it’s own. I pushed through another 2-miles right on pace but by now I was feeling mentally exhausted. I made a quick stop at the port-o-potty but that didn’t help. Around mile-14 I knew I would not run 3:12 and decided to enjoy the day. I dialed back the pace and fed off the energy of my fellow runners and the amazing crowds, including the 6’5” cross-dresser-cowgirl offering kisses as we entered Wellesley.

At mile-21, Erin & Kevin held a sign bearing “GO JULIE”…. and an opportunity to socialize mid-course. I chatted and then decided to finish well. With about 5k to go, my stomach relented a little and I forced myself back to goal pace.  After all, it’s BOSTON and I wanted to cross that finish line in full momentum. I finished in 3:29:35.

Sure, at points I want to kick myself for not achieving a new PR but half of being in the race is telling that story of where you’ve been and where you’re going. I know my “bad day” was a day many runners dream of and regular folks can’t even conceptualize.  And if we always had a perfect days, what would keep us coming back? It’s the mystique of a few great moments when body & mind work in unison, training has gone well, temps are ideal, and course suits our strengths. I’ve had some of those moments and I crave the next one. I know it’s within reach.  As always, when I run I feel the most alive, oxygen filling my lungs, muscles working hard, heart beating strong, and sometimes other less optimal sensations of being alive like dehydration or a stomach ached.  There were guys with calf cramps, the wheelchair racer with a mechanical, or even Ryan Hall & Meb K who had dreams of going 1-2 (BTW- they finished 4-5 and Hall set an American course record of 2:08:41) and thought – oh, geez, I had a great day! I feel blessed to share this day and run with others, the words of Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire) always fill my head “I believe God made me for a purpose….and when I run, I feel his pleasure.” Now I’m looking forward to the rest of track season with Ballard High School, cheering on Daryl & Mark and vacationing in St. Croix, and in about 2-weeks will be itching to hit the roads again!