Conquer the Canal TT
First up was a 12 mile TT on the Dismal Swamp Canal trail. This was actually my first TT (without swimming first and biking after). Since I don't really do cycling races, I would be racing as a Cat4. I set my trainer up near some good friends and did some spinning with them prior to the race. Given the temps, I probably should have warmed up a little longer but was terrified of missing my starting time. Rolling up to the line I made the guy promise not to let me fall if I clipped both feet in. He assured me I wouldn't and I was off. My friend Jen (a great Cat2 cyclist) had been chatting with me the day before and gave me some excellent advice: "if you ever feel comfortable, then you're not going hard enough." I took this to heart and kept asking myself "can I go harder?" I did slow down quite a bit at the turn around because I figured wiping out would probably cost me a bit more time. It was a nice little break but had to get right back going after the turn. Ended up with the fastest overall women's time which made me feel pretty darn good about how much my cycling has come along. Just a couple years ago I was getting dropped from the B pace ride, and was known as "the girl that can't turn." Some of the Cat4 results were mixed up so they called all Cat4s to the results booth. I was a little surprised that a girl was contesting my time! She had never heard of me (since I don't do cycling races) and exclaimed that she didn't believe that I actually did the time. I took it as a compliment and offered to show her my Garmin file. Several of the Cat 2s and 3s are good friends and were all excited for me, they have always been incredibly supportive and it was great to finally race with them. We went for a 90 min cool down after and I really enjoyed catching up with everyone, and I'm really hoping to see more of them out on the roads (or get togethers) now that its warmer.
Virginia Duathlon
I had done this race with my friend Jen (mentioned in the above paragraph) 2 years ago as a relay and had always wanted to come back to do the whole thing. I believe our team name 2 years ago was the Wingnuts, can't remember how we came up with it. I was also super excited to receive my Zoot Ultra Team gear the day before the race! The kit (especially the womens fit one) fits much nicer than last year and it looks super awesome with the neon and black. These early season races have been more or less "training races". I feel like calling them that can be misleading though, so this is how I see "training races": when you do a race you are always going to go as hard as you can on that given day, but there are differences in how you taper and recover. For these races I haven't been tapering very much and I haven't been fully recovering. I still wanted to go hard though and had the permission from Coach T to do so. At first I was thinking I would just stay with the lead women on the first 5K and then hammer the bike and the 2nd 5K. But then I thought no, coach T said to go hard, I want to go hard so no holding back! Took the first 5K out at a good pace and was almost immediately on my own. They started the race in waves so I just thought, alright looks like I'm going to try and chase down some guys. There were a couple decent hills on the runs but my strength training has really come along and I was able to power up them. Quick transition onto the bike and I was pedaling away. I just wanted to make sure I was maintaining a good effort and focus on the bike. My only hiccup was a suspected flat about halfway through when I hit a big rock, but I let it go and just kept on. The second run was just slightly slower than the first. My legs felt more jelly-like than usual off the bike but I was able to hold a decent pace and they came back after a mile. Chugged up the hills and finished strong. Hit a time of 1:40:59 for the 5K/23mi/5K course and was 8th overall and 1st female. I raced in my new Zoot Kiawe 2.0s that will be available in the fall. I really love these shoes, awesome color, lightweight and they fit so snugly but still have room in the forefoot to spread. This race is so cool because they give out handcarved decoys for awards, I got a duck. There were quite a few people we know doing the race, and I really enjoyed seeing how well everyone did, as well as a little friendly competition with our friend Mike. It was so much fun to have so many friends out racing, and congratulations to all of them on a job well done.
It was cool to finish 1, 2 with a good friend, Courtney!
Courtney, Bill and I. Courtney was 2nd female and Bill won his age group.
Everyone did awesome!
Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon
This race was on a Saturday morning, and Friday evening I started to question if I made the right decision deciding to do it. Usually the night before a race I like to eat an early dinner and then just kick back and relax, watch a movie or read. This evening I was cramming in some studying until around 10pm and I was feeling pretty fried. Saturday I got up and decided to not think about the exam until I returned home. I parked at the race site a few minutes before eight. I figured I would have plenty of time to check things out and then get in my 30 min warm up. I was strolling over to the start area when I saw a few people run past me. I thought hmmm this doesn't look good, and quickly stashed my warm up clothes and ran to where the race was supposed to start. Turns out the race started at 8am instead of 9am. Luckily for me, they were running a few minutes late and I had time to get in a few striders. Not my 30 min warm up, but it would have to do. I went out a little fast in the first mile but quickly reined myself in and kept a steady pace. Around mile 2 I felt my calf seize up, and I thought oh great, this is what I get for not warming up. I've never dropped out of a race, but it did cross my mind. I was worried about injuring myself for much more important races later in the season. I decided it would be fine and kept going at the same pace. I was picking people off and feeling great (minus the calf). A mile before the turnaround I was coming up behind our friend Vince and I thought hmmm what should I say to help motivate him? As I came by I decided on "Hey Vince, you're not going to let a girl in pigtails chick you, are you?" I think it worked :)
I came around the turnaround and a few strides later realized why the way out had seemed so effortless... we had had a wicked tailwind. I had my eyes on a girl a little ahead of me though so I focused on her back instead of the wind. I slid into 4th and saw my friend Yoko ahead. Yoko is a very speedy, friendly runner, and I get a big kick out of watching her and Meghan pass people while pushing their little ones in strollers. She was sans stroller today and she was kicking butt. For a few miles on the way back I had a guy running right behind me. I don't think he was getting much of a draft off me but I kept thinking c'mon man you take a turn! My absolute favorite part of the race was coming by Rebecca Rollick, a 10 year old hand cyclist doing her first half marathon. Rebecca just announced a sponsorship with the same shop that supports Brian and I,Fat Frogs Chesapeake. I ran by and said "Good work Rebecca," and she exclaimed "everyone knows my name!" Huge congratulations to her for last weekend. I finished and had done exactly the pace/time I had wanted to do and was stoked for a 3 minute PR. I kept thinking alright, if I can do that when the situation is not exactly ideal, I know I can do even better. I did my 30 min cool down with some lovely ladies that I met after the finish. It helped my calf ease up at the time, but then it came back even worse later. Thankfully, the guys at Ghent Chiropractic got it worked out for me on Monday. This race, and the Virginia Duathlon were both by Mettle Events, and they did a great job. The race organizer came by and said hi when I was lined up for the start and then chatted with me for a bit after the finish. Plus they have the best trophies, hand carved decoys.
The exam...
This was probably the biggest exam of my career thus far...and its not over yet. It is called the comprehensive exam or candidacy exam or qualifying exam. It consists of two parts for PhD students, the writtens and the orals. I was trying to explain this to some of my students because just calling it an exam doesn't do it justice. The written portion is a week long. I have 5 members on my committee (they are the ones that will decide if I get my PhD or not), 3 members from ODU and 2 outside members. Their areas of expertise are: ecology/stats, ecology/inverts, cephalopod systematics, fluid mechanics, physiology and biomechanics. Each day I got a list of questions from one committee member, and I had up to 8 hours to answer them (mostly in essay form, the fluid mechanics ones were problems). Most of the days were 6ish hours.
Multi-tasking at its finest
I had to laugh when my advisor came into the lab the week before the exam to talk to me about my training. He said, you know you can't leave the exam because you have to go for a long run right? I reassured him that I had already told my coach about it. He got worried for a second and said "but you should still run! just maybe run in the morning or something." I'm lucky to have an advisor that supports my other endeavors. His family may even come up for my debut race.
I made it through the exam, but it was pretty exhausting and I was having trouble stringing words together on the last day. I'm still not sure I spelled my name right on the problem set I turned in. I did workouts in the early morning and they definitely helped keep me sane. Each day when I got home I took Gunther for a long walk so I could take a break. Then it was right back to studying for the next day. I won't find out if I passed until the end of next week. If I pass, then I schedule my orals. All 5 committee members assemble for those and grill you for however long they deem fit. I've heard once students start to forget their name, they come to a stop. I genuinely do appreciate the challenge, and I do feel like these have really made me realize where my gaps in knowledge are so that I have the opportunity to make sure I understand every aspect that relates to my project. I am taking a little break this weekend and getting in some solid training, watching mind-numbing tv, getting the house back in order and getting some cooking done. I also went out with some of my favorite ladies to a new winery in Norfolk, Mermaid Winery, owned by the sister of a cycling friend. It was exactly what I needed: good wine, good food and excellent company.
My study buddies, Taz and Gunther
Now this is how you recovery from a long exam
This is a little long, but I was just so excited about all these early season races. They were great opportunities to get a hard effort in, as well as get a chance to race with friends. I really feel like I've come a long way this winter. I know these races are small potatoes compared to what is in store, but they were so much fun and a good indicator of my fitness in the early season. My goal this year is simple: race to my potential.
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