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As I mentioned in the 2020 blog post, the Half marathon was painful and frustrating…  3 years later, I had such high hopes for it.

Going into race morning, I had a thorough plan with Amanda and Taylor.  It involved proper hydration and nutrition, along with watching the pacing.  Amanda had a hydration vest as part of that plan, which helped tremendously in so many ways.

Because of the walk from the expo center to the start line, and that wheelies start so early, I had an extra base layer on top.  While I followed that part of the plan properly (knowing we’d be standing for an hour), I had forgotten the Tylenol in the car.  I didn’t realize this until it was far too late…

As we started, the sun started coming up and it started warming up.  By about mile 2, I was starting to get hot enough that I needed to peel the base layer off.  While I had hoped for a port-a-potty, I had to settle for a ‘quick change’.  Thankfully the hydration vest’s pouch ensured that I didn’t have to choose between carrying it for 11+ m or fighting with pitching an expensive UA top.

Things went well and on plan through at least mile 4.  But by 5, it was a run/walk and run mix.  By mile 7, I was feeling the same pain that I had at about mile 5 the prior year.  I know that I tried to run at some point in mile 7, but I just couldn’t.

So at least the last 6 miles were mostly a walk.  Both Amanda and Taylor helped me to soldier through it, especially when the pain got really bad between miles 11 and 12.  Even though I was in so much pain, I decided that I was still going to try to run through the chute.

While I was concerned that I would tear something in the last 25 yd (I could feel it), it all held together.  I was in so much pain walking back to the expo center.  All I wanted to do was sit.

Thank you to Team Catapult for their support and all of my guides / support staff throughout the weekend.  Also, I really appreciated one of my friends that was running the full seeing me struggling and encouraging me on.  That was somewhere around mile 12 (Half) and 25 (Full) where the full goes under the Half goes over the overpass.

While the Half was still a struggle, I do intend to be back in 2024.  I will continue training, and continue working towards a successful Half!

(Photo courtesy of Blake)

When I ran the We Are Houston 5K with Nicole in 2020, it was a hot and humid day.  I remember it starting to pour within 10 minutes of us finishing the race. 

In 2023, the conditions were a bit more favorable.  The guide that I had did a great job with the pacing, and Blake helped with clearing. 

Things were going so well at ~2.25 that I almost didn’t stop for hydration.  I almost talked myself into ‘it’s only 10 minutes; you can go without for that long’  I wish I had…

I grabbed whatever electrolyte drink was on course.  And unfortunately things went downhill from there.  What had been a strong, solid run to that point became a choppy walk/run as I tried to clear my throat so I could swallow.  I managed to get things ‘settled’ by 3 so that I could sprint in the chute as normal, but it was disappointing.

As frustrating as that was, I did learn a lesson (from the convesation with my coach).  Going forward, I will be sticking to just water on the shorter run races.  Looking back, anything else during a 5K has just led to similar issues.

During the Welcome 2 Running camp, we were told about an AWD (Athletes with Disabilities) initative that Spartan was focusing on.  While I had never done an Obstacle Course Race (OCR), I decided why not?  I mean, to this point all of the ‘comfortably uncomfortable’ things that I’ve done with or through Team Catapult have worked out well.  So I believed that this would as well.

My first Spartan Sprint will be in Dallas in the fall of 2023.  While I am a bit concerned about it (mostly in regards to finding the right handholds / other supports on the climbing obstacles), I’m also excited about it.  We’ll see how things go as I start the training…  And yes, the contingency plans (meaning updated will and medical POA) are in place…

I am extremely grateful to Joe De Sena for putting this program together and Dan McDonald for helping with everything logistical so far.  Hopefully I’ll know more in August 2023 about potential adaptations once the RDs are in place.

I hope and expect that 2023 will be a strong and productive season.  As I’ve been told by my coach umpteen times ‘practice to race; don’t race to practice.’  Meaning – put in the work so that the races are ‘fun’.

As part of this, I went to Columbus during the offseason to work with a swim coach.  I found Ryan through a Google search, and as I learned over the sessions, I made the right choice.  If you’re in or will be visiting the Columbus area and need a good coach, reach out to him via rct.coach!

Because of a scheduling change on my end, what we ended up with was 2 sessions each day.  So the first one would be drills / easy 100s and the second would be a much harder / tempo set.

While I don’t remember all of the specific drills or sets, I did make it through everything.  I know that I came out of the sessions having learned a great deal.

All in all, this ended up being a great training trip.  I will definitely connect with Ryan in the future for more off-season swim training!

I am extremely grateful to the Naperville Noon Lions Club for their continued support of my athletic endeavors!

Since the very beginning of my Triathlon journey in 2015, the NNLC has assisted me in some way. 

Their continued support means a tremendous amount to me.  This is why when given the option of the local race (Naperville Sprint) or a National race (USAT Age Group Nationals – Sprint) in 2022, I immediately went with the Naperville Sprint. 

I am honored and proud to be a Mind Over Matter Alpha for the 2023 season! 

This will be my second year as part of the team, and I’m hopeful that I can continue to self-shrink into the Tri kit.

I’m still waiting for a proper ‘visit’ from the M/M mascot, Ms. Primm (@adventures_of_primmcakes)… 🙂

I am honored and proud to be part of the Kiwami Racing Team (North America) for the 2023 season! 

This will be my second year as part of the team.  I’m looking forward to a strong season when I can make full use of the Tri kit as the self-shrinking has been successful! 🙂

Welcome to Santa Claus, IL… um, I mean the Santa Rotary run.

About 5 years ago, one of my guides mentioned this race in Arlington Heights.  I did it in 2019 for the first time, and had so much fun.  It’s become one of my standard winter races at this point.

For 2022’s race, you couldn’t try the suits on (due to the pandemic), so I had to guess on sizing.  Even though I had shrunk a bit at that point, I still went with the same size as in the past since I had to guess.  That was a bad choice, as I’ll explain later.  [For reference, the Santa suit was over an Under Armour base layer and Saucony running pants / t-shirt.]

As I’ve mentioned in the past, pacing was a concern.  So Natalie made sure that we kept things fairly slow for mile 1, and started to negative split from there.  Mile 1 went great, and mile 2 was decent.  And then the wardrobe malfunctions began…

When we started running at a decent pace for the final mile, first the Santa pants started coming down.  After stopping to fix them twice, I gave up and stripped them off.  However, that didn’t stop the issue.  The running pants were also too large, and started coming off as we ran. 

While I haven’t found them, I am certain that there are some very ‘interesting’ photos of us coming into the finish line with me holding up the running pants so that I’m decent.  Yes, I did have on the UA tights, but I didn’t want it to get to that level…

Even with the wardrobe challenges, I still felt that it was a solid race and a great way to end the 2022 running season!

The FraidyCat races have been one of my consistent fall running races.  While I did the 10K at one point, I’ve primarily focused on the 5Ks.

The 2022 race was my first chance to use the new Hoka shoes in a 5K.  It was also an opportunity to put into practice everything that I had learned at the Welcome 2 Running camp.

One of my biggest challenges in all 3 disciplines of Triathlon is going out too fast.  In swimming and cycling, I can usually compensate and ‘smooth the curve’.  But in running, if I end up going out too fast, it can bonk the race later on.

Knowing this, I had asked John to watch the pace.  Unconciously, multiple times during the first mile I was in the 9:30-10:00 / mi range.  That’s at least 3 min faster than the target had been.  And that was with him telling me I was going too fast, allowing myself to correct the pace, and then unconciously going back to a too-fast pace.

Needless to say, things started falling apart after the first mile.  The second mile was a respectable mix of run and run/walk.  However, the last 1.1 was a choppy walk/run at best.

While it wasn’t the race I wanted, I did at least confirm that the Hokas worked and that they will be the right shoe going forward!

(Photo courtesy of Blake)

As I’ve mentioned in the past, the run leg has been where I’ve struggled the most.  So when the opportunity to participate in a run-specific camp with Team Catapult presented itself, I jumped at it.

Day 1 of camp started with a run gait analysis, followed by a shake out run before dinner.  Both of these were done in the new Hoka shoes that were generously provided.  After dinner, Oofos added the recovery sandals into our gear.  These will be incredibly helpful as I continue running more and longer.

Day 2 included run training and two specific runs (moderate and faster pace) along with strength, yoga and nutrition sessions..  Almost 8 years in, I still am NOT a fan of Yoga, but the instructor did an amazing job..  I learned a lot from the nutrition session, and got a fair amount out of the strength session.

The first run session of the day started with drills (active warmup such as butt kickers and the like) followed by intervals.  The second session was more of a longer run at medium pace, and the last session of the day was doing loops around a neighborhood at a faster pace.  I’ll admit now (and I told the coach on the way back) that I was hiding the vomit to avoid being pulled from the run session.  Especially as I was able to have a conversation 5-10 seconds on either side of it, I was confident that it was just my body not being used to that pace vs. anything being wrong. 

At the end of Day 2, we all ended up in the pool.  It was honestly one of the strangest and most mesmerising things I’ve ever experienced.  When you went under the water, you could clearly hear music that wasn’t audible at or above the surface.  Think of The Sirens from the Odyssey…  I did want to try the 25 ft water slide in the dark, but by the time I got up the nerve, it had closed for the night.

The camp concluded on Day 3 with a relay (coaches and athletes).  I believe each team had athletes from each type (amputee, VI, WC), with the coach being the anchor.  I also believe that it was a 1/4 mile loop for each member of the relay.

When it was our turn, I had to trust Blake (my guide) tremendously.  Whether it wasn’t fully light or it was overcast, it was hard to see.  While it was only 1/4 mile, I still treated that last 50 yards or so like a normal finishing chute.  There’s a great video floating around of our leg finish.

This was a great weekend, and I learned a lot.  I came away having formed new friendships, gained knowledge and picked up some really great gear that will get used from here on out.   And I will be switching to Hokas going forward — I can definitely feel the difference.

THANK YOU to Team Catapult for putting this event on and to ALL of the sponsor!