RACE RECAP: GULF COAST 70.3 2018

Gosh I cant believe its been nearly 2 weeks already from Gulf Coast however my body still says it could use a little more TLC. I figure the best way to do this blog post is to break it down into sections so you can skip through to the parts that interest you most :).

Race Week

I think I should start off by saying that going into this race my work schedule was less than ideal. I worked Sunday 7P-7A followed by Monday 4P-2A followed by Tuesday 5P-3A which left Wednesday to get all the logistics of packing and picking up last minute necessities before taking the 7 hour drive to Panama City.  The last minute necessities seemed to be a little troublesome as I had a hard time finding any sort of nutrition that I use for the race within a reasonable driving distance from my house after stopping by multiple bike/run shops. I finally did some research and found a bike shop on the way to Panama City in Talahasse (note to self, dont want unti last minute for nutrition). I ended up driving 2.5 hours to my mom’s house in Ocala and staying the night Wednesday before heading to Panama City Thursday. I woke up Thursday morning did a 20 minute shakeout run and then headed to Panama City. I was a little upset at how my legs felt running like they were way to heavy for this stage in the taper but that is what a crazy work schedule and minimal recover will leave you. I got to Panama City late afternoon unpacked my car and went out for my check ride then went grocery shopping and sat in the boots before Ashley arrived in time for dinner and quick swim with the littles. Tam and Heather got there around 12AM I let them in chatted for a bit and then headed to bead for the pre-race festivities to commmence in the AM!

Pre-Race: 

We were all staying at the host hotel and it was super nice since transition was in the hotel parking lot and the swim was steps from our balcony. Friday we woke up and had a great pancake breakfast. Ash, Tam, and Heather did their shakeout run while I watched the kids and then we all headed down to the beach for a little sun in the sun and a shakeout swim. After we changed and then headed to packet pickup right before closing, placed all the stickers on the our bikes and then brought them down the elevator to bike check. Once back in the room we ate a speghetti dinner and then started prepping for race day. I swear in triathlon world its like a bomb explodes in your hotel room with all the stuff you need and have to get ready from nutrition to gear. I have become more and more minimalist as I have spent more time in traithlon (2 years lol) but its still like I have to bring my entire home to a race to have everything I might or might not need.

My Race Day Gear:

I am going to try to list this in terms of Start to Finish in Triathlon.

• TriTats or  Sharpie and Mark yourself in the Room
• Zealios Sunscreen and Camios Cream
• Triathlon Kit: Wyn Republic
• Wetsuit: Zoot (Make Sure you Pack a Swim Skin incase its not wetsuit legal)
• TriSlide– Use this to spray your wrists, neck, and ankles
• TYR Nest Pro Goggles
• Baby Shampoo – Best AntiFog
• Swim Cap Provided Timing Chip Provided by Event
• Bike and Race Wheels: Felt IA10 and Irwin 58/68 wheels.
• Helmet: Rudy Project Boost
• Sunglasses: Rudy Project Broomstick
• Cycling Shoes: Pearl Izumi TriFly V
• Nutrition: Infinitie Womens Grape + Huma Gels + Perfect Bar + Base Salt.
• Run Hat: Wyn Republic
• Running Socks: Procompression Mid Socks (I dont wear cycling socks)
• Running Shoes: Nike ZoomFly 4% with Nathan Lock Laces
• Race Belt for Bib Number (clip it prior and slide it on instead of hooking it)
• Water Bottle for Run and Huma Gels for Run (optional)

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Race Morning:

Once again being at the host hotel was clutch. All we literally had to do was exit the elevator and transition was right out of our building. We woke up around 3:45 AM. We all ate breakfast and drank our pre-race caffinated beverage of choice got dressed in our kits and then headed down to transitions to do our bike checks, load up our nutrition, and do one last pumping of our tires. We then all headed back to the room (host hotel perks), did our body marking on each other, went potty, squeezed into our wetsuits and then headed to the swim start.

Swim:

The Gulf is pretty flat almost like a lake wth some wind effect on it.  So its not the typical “ocean” triathlon swim you think of with big waves and fighting a current. Its pretty calm. The swim was pretty simple swim out, turn right then turn right to come back. So very easy to stay on a straight target. I started with Tam and Healther  in the 27-30 min grouping. You usually want to put yourself in 1 group up from what you think you will actually swim and we all thought we would be in the 30-35 minute range. The swim start was in a single file line into the water we all hugged and then heather went in, followed by myself, followd by Tam. My goal was to keep with Heather but it was much harder to spot her this time around without her QuestForKona Cap lol. I just focused on staying as straight as possible. In open water you literally have no clue if you are swimming fast or slow until you get our of the water which kinda sucks lol. It started out well and then about half way to the first turn bouy I started feeling all sorts of jellyfish. I was like oh crap. In Maryland there were also jellyfish and I got stung by one within minutes in my shakeout and had an allergic reaction and I was like oh no this is going to be fun. Good news was these jellies sting was very mild and I only got stung a couple times, given once was on my face but oh well. Basically you can picture yourself snorkeling in a crystal blue jellyfish tank at sunrise and that is how it was lol. I figured we would have a current assist coming back to shore but for some reason I felt coming back to shore was harder than going out. Either way I always feel whether its a half or full ironman swim its a long freaking way to swim. I was super happy when I excited the water and saw a 33 on my watch. My PR in the swim is a 33:30 and that is what the clocked matched so I was pretty pleased given that PR was in a lake and this one an ocean :).

Transition One (T1)

Transitions are not my strong suit lol, but Ash and I have had quite a few lessons and slowly but surely I am improving. I ran to transition stripped the wetsuit then put on my cycling shoes, glasses, helmet and off on the bike. As I was running out I spotted Heather loading onto her bike she was closer to the bike out than me and I was like F4%K YES as I knew if Heather was still in T1 I had done pretty well on the swim since Heather is a Kick A$$ Swimmer! We both screamed at each other our way to gos and off we went!

Bike: 

The Bike is never my number one joy, however on this particular day it proved to be my best asset. Kayla and I have been working very hard on my cycling but we didn’t have much time. We basically went from Zero to 70.3 in 10 Weeks Time. So we had to pull out every last bit of fitness I had. The first 10-15 Miles on the Bike I am no better phase to use but a trainwreck. My HR is skyhigh, my anxiety is through the roof, my breathing is like I just ran a marathon then sprinted a 5K, my percieved exertion vs speed is way off, and I can never seem to find a rhythm on the bike. This is not soley on race day but anytime I cycle its like my body really hates biking lol. I took a gel right out the gate on the bike and tried to started getting down some nutrition. However for the first 20 miles or so everything that I put down came right back up and I had to choke it back down. As time progressed I started feeling stronger and stronger I was really focusing on that no matter what to not let my cadence get below 80. I knew all I had to do is to get to the turn around and we would have a crosstail wind on the way back. I crossed the turn around in 1:23 and I knew I just had to push a little harder on the way back to get a 2:45 cycling time. I also knew that I had to push harder from Mile 28-50 since we would have a head wind from 50-56 once we turned on front beach and its intensified due to the lining of the hotels almost like a windtunnel. I clocked the final 28 miles in just shy of 1:17 on my watch and I was like F4%K YES! I had never biked that fast ever not just for that distance but EVER in my life. I had PRd my Bike last year in a 2:51 and this year I took 11 minutes off that PR which was a 33 minute bike PR from my first HIM in July 2018 at Munice!

Transition Two (T2)

I came into T2 and this year unlike last year I remembered where my bike was in transition lol.  I stripped off my helmet and put on my hat and then started the impossible task of putting on compression socks in humid florida. This was intensified by trying to put on my ZoomFlys, they are not the most easy shoes to put on with lock laces. Once I got my shoes on I slid my bib on under my feet and then headed to run out!

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Run:

The Run is 3 loops broken in approximately 4.5 mile sections. The first loop went well even with an emergent botty break at Mile 3.5. I was averaging Sub8 and felt strong and in control and then somewhere around Mile 6 I hit the wall like no other. My whole body seemed to fall apart. My stomach was cramping and hard a rock and my legs just didn’t really want to move. I was able to push through but I felt myself loosing control of the race. I saw my mom as I headed into the 3rd loop and she told me I was in 3rd so I tried picking up the pace but it didn’t last long and soon enough I was walking. Little did I know Ash was right behind me and yelled “kindal sweet you better not be walking” lol. She kept me going when I didn’t want to. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along when I wanted to give up. She listened to me cry and complain and say I couldn’t do it. She poured water and ice on me in every aid station and handed me fuel to get me through that final loop. It was not pretty, thank god for sunglasses lol. She quite literally is the BEST best friend you could ever ask for. That was not my proudest moments but she still told me she loved me anyways. I was super thankful once I crossed the finish line as she promised I would be but I was even more thankful to cross the finish line and get to the medical tent where I got ice cold blankets and fluids until I started feeling better. I also told Ash I would have my crap together by time she crossed the finish line and I got it together just in time to capture of a video of her biking butt!

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The Finish!

Final Finish Time of 5:17 and 4th AG!!! We all took our finisher pics and then headed back to the room to look a little more descent before taking a few more pictures and heading to the pool for the after party!

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The After Party!

Awards are later in the afternoon by the pool and it is super fun because they make almost like a pool party with race day food, drinks, and alcoholic beverages. I was super stocked to get an MDot Trophy. I don’t take those trophies for granted it is not a given you will ever get one and if you get one you will ever get on again so I was going to soak up that moment for everything it was worth. When they called my AG you could not wipe that smile off my face it was the moment I had dreamed of. After watching Matt do his awards a few times now I knew exactly what would happen first you hold it at your chest then you hold the trophy over your head. When I held it above my head I took the time to hold in that moment and hold it tight. It was such a super special moment with my best friends and family there and I think it wil be one of those moments I will hold dear for the rest of my life.

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So There you have it Gulf Coast 2018!

With Love and Racing,

Kindal (RunningWithStrength)

Creating a Custom Training Plan from a Free Download

Hey Guys! I figured on Tuesday’s I will try and provide some training tips. While to some these might seem like “common” ideas and knowledge to alot of new runners I know it can seem foreign. Before I hired a coach in 2015 (Lauren Floris) to create a custom plan for me in hope of Boston Qualifying I had no clue how a plan should be organized. However, after 2 Custom Plans and tons of research on the topic it became more second nature and now I am coaching my own athletes to new heights. I know some of you cannot afford coaching and so I figured I would give you a quick starter guide on how to create a plan from a generic free template.

Step 1: Find a Plan 

• From the starts of my first marathon I have always gone to Hal Higdon as a means of finding GREAT starter plans from the 5K to Marathon Distance. He does include workouts in the intermediate/advanced plans if you are interested, but I am going to choose the Novice 1 Plan for this demonstation as I think this blog will be most helpful to new runners.
• The Novice 1 Run Plan just lists out basic mileage for running with cross and rest day listed no real paces or guidelines. I am going to show you how to beef it up a little bit to make it more tailored to you. A running base is crucial to success and that involves alot of easy miles but I think adding in some strength/speed workouts can be valuable if kept at low percentage of the volume and gradually introduced.
• 

Step 2: Break the 18 Week Plan down into Phases 

• Weeks 1-4: Base Training
• Weeks 5-8: Building Phase
• Weeks 9-15: Core/Peak Training Phase
• Weeks 16-18: Taper

Step 3: Define Each of the Phases and Define Their Purpose and Stimulus

• Weeks 1-4: Base Training PhaseThis Phase is geared towards building a base for which your marathon success is laid. You can’t put a roof on a house until the groundwork is laid and the same goes with running. This phase is made of “boring” miles as most would say and is not “glamorous” on instagram. This time is spent at 1-2 min/mile slower than GMP (Goal Marathon Pace) and at a HR of less than 180-Age. Basically Zone 2 for Life 🙂
• 
• Weeks 5-8: Building PhaseThis Phase is where you start introducing a stimulus and then perfect it.
• • For the Novice 1 Plan I suggested adding a Tempo Run onto every Wednesday at GMP or GMP – 10 seconds. In weeks 5&6 it would look something like 1M Easy – 3T @ GMP – 1M Easy for 5M Total and in Weeks 7&8 you would build on that and make is 1E – 4T @ GMP – 1E for 6M Total. The gradual introduction and build allows you to gain confidence and skill at a pace you intend to hold for 26.2 Miles
  • 
• Weeks 9-15: Core/Peak PhaseThis is the phase where training gets more intense and the work is really put in and the “gains” are really made in a training cycle.
• • For the Novice 1 Plan I suggested having 2 “quality” workouts per week – On Tuesdays I suggested Speed Work and Thursdays Tempo Work.
  • Examples of Speed Work:
  • • Week 9&10: 3M – 1M Easy – 6×400 @ 10K Pace with 400R Jog – 1M Easy
    • Weeks 11-14: 4M – 1M Easy – 4×800 @ GM Time with 400R Jog – 1M Easy
    • • For Example: If your GM Time is 3:30 each 800 should be at 3:30 or 7:00 min/mi Pace
    • Weeks 14&15: 5M – 1M Easy – 5 x 1M @ HMP with 1 Min Rest – 1M Easy
  • Examples of Tempo Work: Add a 0.5M to 1M warmup and cooldown to the miles listed. Alternate one week at GMP for Tempo and the other week a progression run starting at GMP and working down to HMP throughout the tempo.
  • 
• Week 16-18: Taper PhaseThis is the hardest phase for runners. The Mileage cuts back and they feel they are “loosing fitness” but the key is to lessen the volume but keep the intensity.
• • For this phase I suggest adding in a tempo run to wednesday and if you are feeling peppy you can also add in tempo miles into your long run. All of the tempo efforts should be at GMP. The key at this phase of the training is to rest your body/legs but also teach them to remember the pace you want to run on race day.
  • 

Obviously this is a very generic idea but I hope it is helpful if you are searching for something that can help you without having to spend a ton of money. If you are intested in paces for workouts/easy runs you can find my blog post on that HERE and you can also check out my instastories on instagram :). If you are interested in Coaching you can find more information HERE or you can contact me below.

With Love and Training,

❤ Kindal

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How to Determine your Training Paces

Hey Guys! I took a Poll on Instastory and it was 50/50 as to who knew their training paces  and who did not. As a new runner I literally had no clue there were even training paces or various workouts – all I knew was you had to run. This was before the instagram days and I had no track/XC background so I was really running blind to knowledge. I think it should be noted that I am going to give you a few different outlets to determine various training paces but the most important one is your easy/recovery run pace. In the beginning and base building phase 90% of your volume should be at that pace with the other 10% as strides/pickups but nothing strenuous like tempos or long track workouts. If you want more blogs of various training topics comment below and I will write them. Sorry I haveb been MIA from blogging moving cross-country twice in 1 year and changing jobs on top of my coaching business has left me little room for my blogging hobby. But here we go…

Step 1: Determine a Subjective means of Fitness

• So what is a subjective means of fitness? It is something that is measurable like a Recent Race 5K-Marathon. If you are using a predictor app remember also that the closer the distance is to the goal race the better the prediction. For example, a Half is better than a 5K for predicting a marathon.
• When using the App for training paces and prediction make sure if you use a race that it is recent and reflects your current fitness level.
• If you are a new runner and never race or returning post injury/time off and starting from a different baseline and you’re not ready to race then you can use the “Magic Mile” by Jeff Galloway to determine your fitness.

Step 2: Determine your Paces using an Online Free Calculator.

• There are a numer of calculators but I wanted to share a few of my favorites.
  • Hansons Marathon Calculator
  • VDot Calculator
  • McMilian Calculator

Step 3: Apply the Paces to your Current Goal Training/Plan

• If you are Base Building then stick to the 90/10 rule of 90% Easy with Pickups for 10% at the Threshold/Marathon Paces
• If you dont have a coach you can apply these plans to generic free plans or automatic downloads from your favorite instagram runners.
  • Best Plans for Free I think are Hal Higdon – he has various levels and are easily modifiable.
  • If you are looking for an automatic download I have both Half and Full Marthathon Downloads available.

I hope this is Helpful! If so comment below if you have any questions or if you enjoyed the blog post. If you are intested in Coaching or Automatic Downloads you can contact me below and if you mention this blog post I will give you a discount 🙂

xoox

Kindal

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Race Recap – Ironman Maryland 2017

Ironman Maryland – DNF #1. Every race has lessons and this one I think has the biggest lessons of all. Jennifer (@JBirdRuns) reminded that “I took a big risk doing Maryland and with big risk can come big reward and even though it didn’t pay off this time it could have and I know I left no stone unturned”. While this blog post is not the one I wanted to share I think these lessons are also important to share. Because we all have these races – after countless races we all will encounter a horrible race, DNS due to injury or DNF. It isn’t pretty to embrace or experience but we are not alone and it order to be great you must be willing to fail. So here is the long and detailed story of my Ironman Maryland, My First DNF, and the time I choose to do something crazy take a big risk and it failed.

Background Leading to Maryland: 

After Ironman Santa Rosa I was super disappointed in how my season went. I had not had a good race in allof 2017. So I thought maybe redemtion. I started researching various later Ironmans with Ash and then we decided Ironman Maryland was the best option. After recover I started building back up and then on a short run my foot started hurting. I thought maybe it was just plantar fascititis so I rested but it continued getting worse and I finally got a CT and MRI which showed severe posterior tibial tendonitis with a subsquent low grade partial tear at the insertion of the tendon. I figured at that point any fall races were out. I then followed with a podiatrist and PT and they said I could race so I figured I would keep run volume low and then play it by feel. At this point  I was also dealing with Adrenal Fatigue so I didn’t really know how my body was going to hold up. I had good weeks followed by bad weeks. I had moments when I told Ash i just wasnt even going to try and then I would have some good days and reconsider. I finally had some decent 90 min runs, hit all my long bikes, and even had some solid swims so I figured why not. I figured if I didn’t try I would also wonder and regret so I registered. I really didn’t know how it would fare I figure it was a 50/50 shot of greatness or failure. But I had to take my odds and face them but I never imagined it would be the later.

Pre-Race Festivies:

My mom and I drove to Maryland starting Tuesday Afternoon and made it Thursday night where we stayed with one of my close friends just west of D.C. On Thursday we headed into Ironman Village for check-in, Ironman Purchases, and a stop by my favorite RapidReboot. After my mom and I headed to transition area where I did my shakeout swim/run/bike. I started off on the bike and everything felt great a little slower on the out due to the head wind but with an equal tail I averaged 19.1 and was feeling great and then went for a short 10 min run at 7:55 min/mi and was the best I had felt the whole training cycle. After I went in to get a feel for the water. Due to the unusual weather in Maryland in October in the 80s the jellyfish or “nettles” as they call them in Maryland were still hanging around the lake and within 90 seconds of swimming I felt what I through was seaweed but then after 10 sec quickly realized crap I got stung by that nettle. I finished my swim and got out and told my mom dang it I got stung by a nettle only to have my entire forearm break out in hives for the next 12 hours. I thought well at least this happened Thursday lol. We then headed to our AirBnB. We stayed in Salisbury about 45 min away from the race due to lack of hotels around the race course as it is mainly AirBnBs and no hotels in Cambridge. Friday we had breakfast, made out Walmart trip, and finalized all the gear bags and my bike and headed back into Cambridge. We dropped my bike, stopped by Rapid and then headed into town for lunch. They have AMAZING seafood on the northeastern coast – so yummy! Carboloading has never felt so good as pretzels in fresh lump lobster cheese dip! We headed back to Salisbury ordered pizza watched Greys anatomy and went to bed early in time for race day. Ash (@ahappypace) rolled in from Ohio around 2:30AM – Thank goodness for best friends who will drive 10 hours just to see you race and support you. Ash is the BEST best friend!

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Race Morning:

I started waking up around 1:30 and woke up on and off until my alarm at 3:30 AM. I ran out to jump on Ash and tell her I was sorry she had no sleep but I was super excited to have my best friend back again in the same roof! 🙂 We packed up, prepped breakfast and headed to Cambridge only to get 10 minutes down the road and realize I forgot my wetsuit so back we went and ended up getting to the transition area right on time. I pumped up my tires then checked all my gear bags and added in the last minute touches and then headed for the porta potty line. All was going as planned. I had a great pre-race breakfast – Ash told me it was my best yet and I was feeling calmly ready to rock and roll.

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Swim:

As time approached the 6:45 AM mark I said my goodbyes to my mom and Ash and then loaded up between the 1:05-1:10 mark on the swim. It was beautiful morning in Cambridge however it could have been cooler it was already near 70 at the start. The fired the gun and we started to roll in. The water felt great it was around 72 which was the coolest Ironman swim I had done as they had always been around 76 and at the cutoff at Louisville and Santa Rosa and Muncie wasn’t even wetsuit legal so I was like refreshing. The field was only 1400 athletes so there wasn’t much carnage in the beginning like other ironmans. I felt like I got in a good rhythm was sighting well and the views of the sunrising over the water were just breathtaking. I didn’t feel myself working too hard but I knew I didn’t need to push the swim as it was a long day however in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have been so relaxed lol. I made the turn for loop 2 and it got slightly more crowded with the additional athletes being in the water on top of the wind/current starting to pick up but I still felt in control and that I was having a productive swim. No panics, No swimming around like a chicken with my head cut off. I was going in a straight line contray to Santa Rosa where I literally rammed into everything and could not stay straight. So I figured I was winning. Nearing the end of the 2nd loop with maybe 1000 yds or so left I started to feel some tightness in my chest. I have asthma so ‘I thought it was maybe that or the constriction of the wetsuit so I just let it go and figured I was near done. As we made the final turn into the swim finish chute the current was pushing you all over the place and out of the corral but I made it in and clocked a swim of 1:15. This might have been my slowest ironman swim but I was honestly the most pleased with it. It was the most comfortable, composed, and straight swim I had done yet and for me that was a win.

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Transition 1 (T1)

I think I won Ironman Maryland in T1 lol – it was a HUGE PR! Can we count Prs in Ironman segments now? lol. I got out of the water and ran straight to the wetsuit strippers which were not the best and took forever to help me out of my wetsuit but once I did I grabbed my bag and ran into the changing tent where I slammed on my bike shoes, helmet and headed straight for my bike. However with the late sign up I was 1372 which meant I had to run my bike a long ways out of transition but even with that I did transition in 4:03 and thats AMAZING considering I did 10 min in Lousiville and 7:30 in Santa Rosa – WIN WIN WIN!

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Bike:

I got on my bike and immediately started feeling the leg fatigue and the fact I was still not breathing great. I took my inhaler within the first couple miles and started to feel better and my legs started to improve slightly. However I knew this was not going to go well because I knew the feeling in my legs very well – they just felt tired and heavy. During training for this Ironman I would have runs/bikes/swims/etc that I would just have nothing to push nothing to give no matter how bad I wanted it I had no power and that is how they felt and I knew I was in trouble. I kept pushing but around Mile 30 I just was not feeling my best and defeated and everything was burning. I got around to the 56 Mile mark where the spectators were (you only saw them once on the course) and saw Ash and then just around the corner I saw my mom and I stopped my bike and asked her if I quit would she be mad because I didn’t feel good. She said no but that I was in 8th and so I said ok Ill keep trying. But when I exited the halfway mark we were hit with a headwind that was almost non-stop the back 56 miles and it was demoralizing and defeating after already feeling horrible. I couldn’t get my legs to turn over. I couldn’t push gears. I couldn’t get nutrition down. I couldn’t hydrate enough. I was getting sunburnt/overheated and quite frankly really didn’t know how I was going to make it through the bike. The course was out in the Marsh land so it wasn’t like you had ample opportunity to call it. There were aid stations but they are around 15 miles apart which is about one every 45-60 minutes. So basically I just kept pushing but around the 100 mile mark my vision kept going where I would see flashing white in the corners every so often – my neck and back were killing me for aero – I was lightheaded and I was just like dear lord let me make it off this bike. Finally I made it off the Bike in 6:28. Far from a PR from my first or second Ironman. Talk about a blow to the heart/ego/soul/All of the Above – I felt like a failure here I bought wheels/tribike/trainer to go 10 minutes slower than my first ironman and I felt like CRAP emotionally and physically.

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Transition 2 (T2)

I got off the bike and for the first time I think in Ironman history there were no bike catchers. I was like seriously? Thats the best part of Full Ironman. So remember how I was way in the back well I just walked my bike all the way back there to rack in and not at a fast pace. Racked it then proceeded to go to the bathroom which I figured I would really have to go to not but then nothing really happened (not a great sign for hydration). I then continued to walk to grab my bag and go in the changing tent. If you know anything about a fast ironman you do not walk the transitions but I was still debating whether I was going to make it out of T2. I got in the tent and volunteers tried to help but I think I was so stoic they just moved on. Finally one nice volunteer stuck with me and got everything out I needed. I put on my socks, shoes, hat, and bib and asked the nice lady if I put my stuff near the bag and she said she would get it all for me and I exited the tent. I kept looking everywhere for Ash and my Mom as I came around to try and explain what was happening but they were waiting on the run course. So I pressed lap and off I went try and run. T2 = 7:28.

Run:

Well usually this is my good portion but I just had nothing to give. I exited T2 and there was water on the left so I grabbed some ice water and felt slightly better and was still searching for Ash and My Mom and couldn’t find them and as I turned the corner onto the road outside of transition area I saw my mom and just stopped and walked and started hysterically crying. I told her I wasn’t sure I could continue and then within seconds Ash ran over and hugged me and said I didn’t owe it to anyone to continue and it was ok if I quit. I just kept crying. I was so disappointed in myself and wanted so much for this all not to be happening but I couldn’t change it. I finally pulled myself together and decided I would try and run. I ran/walked and started to feel slightly better but I just had very minimal physically, mentally to give – but I figured I had to try. I saw them again I was doing better and my mom and Ash were so encouraging. I ran out and around the 3-4 mile mark I started having chest pain. I wasn’t sure it was stress/dehydration or what so I walked a little more in hopes it would go away. However everytime I would run the chest pain would come right back. So when I saw my mom and Ash at just after mile 6. They asked how I was and had to tell them I had to quit and what was happening. Run Time – 6.1 Miles in 1:10 (Slowest 6 Miles of my Life)

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The Aftermath:

When I had to make that decision to pull out I started hysterically crying. I felt like a failure. I felt like maybe I should keep going until I passed out or fell over like those other tough athletes. I didn’t want to have my physician brain talking that you shouldn’t compromise your health for a medal – but it was. I am very much a control freak. I operate well in contained controlled environments where things go the way they were planned. However nothing was going right. I had failed miserably. I DNFd. I literally felt like as I walked away from that Ironman course my body was being ripped in two from what I knew was the right thing and what my heart truly wanted. I wanted Ironman #3. I wanted a PR. I wanted to do well. I didn’t want to find a medic and go to the ER. I kept walking and Ash and my mom said it was ok but I just keep saying it not ok. It wasn’t ok and to be honest it still isn’t ok for me even though I knew it was the right choice. We finally got the medic and the doctor decided with the chest pain that I should go the ER to get evaluated. I got some IV Fluids and labs in which my CK was elevated and my glucose was low but otherwise everything checked out ok and I came in before things were super severe. I felt dumb. Of course you don’t want anything major to be wrong with you but at the same time you think well I could have just not been a drama queeen and finished the damn race then. But then I know in my brain I am much better off physically now that I didn’t considering my partial tear in my foot, severe tendonitis, not including the multitude of things that could have gone bad medically if I had continued. However doesn’t make it any easier. I have since seen my doctor and I have a referral pending to cardiology. So hopefully I will get answers or at least rule out anything severe so I can resume normal life.

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Reflection:

As Jennifer (@JBirdRuns) said that “I took a big risk doing Maryland and with big risk can come big reward and even though it didn’t pay off this time it could have and I know I left no stone unturned”. I have to 100% agree. I could be sitting on my couch knowing what if? What if I had gone? Now I know how the story unfolded. It wasn’t how I wanted and it went worse than I ever imagined but there were lessoned learned. I learned better pacing on the swim. I perfected my transitions. I learned that if you don’t get enough calories in your body you just cant do an Ironman. I got probably 500 calories in on the bike in 6.5 hours and that is just not enough to sustain you. As Ash put it I basically expected my body to run a marathon within eating the whole day before. I can smack myself a thousand times for that mistake but ya know it is all in lessons learned. I only consumed maybe 800 calories in Louisville and did just fine. But Ash reminded me the conditions in Lousiville were MUCH better and I wasn’t pushing I wasn’t trying to compete so the amount of fuel you need is MUCH different VASTLY different. I realize now in Santa Rosa I didn’t get enough food in my body and I know I definitely didn’t get it at Maryland. I am going to work on a plan for next season. I am going to fix my nutrition in my training and racing and try to learn how to push outragious calories even  when I don’t want to. I am so beyond disappointed in the way that Ironman Maryland and 2017 have turned out but as many people have reminded me that is why in sports you have “seasons”. Some seasons are incredible and others well you just want to smack yourself but it is all part of the game. So I am going to be proud of doing something crazy and being brave enough to try because even if it didn’t turn out the way I dreamed the experience could lead to something better than my dreams in the future.

 

With Love and Racing

❤ Kindal (RunningWithStrength)

Client Testimonial: Stacy

Stacy is one incredible athlete and individual. We spent the past 6 months cutting and reverse dieting in order to optimize her performance and physquie. Stacy is not one to deny a challenege or try sometihing new. We catered her nutrition to the specific needs of her daily workouts which allowed her continue to train at a high level while also dieting which is not an easy balance. After 6 months Stacy has lost a total of 13 lbs and 2 dress sizes and PRd in multiple events. But the best thing Stacy has won from this whole process is getting her confidence and belief in her herself back. Here what Stacy had to say…

Stacy’s Testimonial

“Having Kindal as a nutrition coach was the best decision I’ve ever made!  Before using nutrition coach, I was unhappy with my body after attempting reverse diet on my own and had been using IIFYM/macros approach for 2 years previously.  In my mind, I knew I had to eat a lot of carbs for multisports but was afraid to eat a lot of carbs because I wasn’t sure if I’d gain a lot of weight.  I felt burnt out & saw that my weight was going up.  It almost made me want to quit Triathlon but at the same time, I did not want to give it up!  After doing a lot of researches, I came into one of Kindal’s blogs and it got me interested so that’s how I found my nutrition coach.  Needless to say, with the nutrition programming, I have already lost 13 lbs and went 2 sizes down!  I achieved personal records for every Triathlon race!  My carbs intakes are higher than I have ever had before and I feel so much better than when I was 6 months ago!

Kindal has brought my passion back into my life!  I can now do it ALL…. triathlon, marathon, weightlifting & HIIT because of her nutrition programming!  Thank you to Kindal for being an amazing coach!”

If you want more information regarding coaching feel free to email me at runningwithstrength88@gmail.com for visiting the coaching page on the blog.

With Love and Coaching

❤ Kindal (RunningWithStrength)

Inside Tracker – Optimize Health, Wellness, Performance

InsideTracker reached out to me a few months ago for a collaboration and I think when I saw the DM in my mailbox I basically SCREAMED FOR JOY! I have been so interested in their product but being in the practioner in the medical field I rarely find the time to focus on my own health as I am always focusing on everyone else’s – hence the “months go” part. I discussed with InsideTracker that I was interested in comparing the “medical way” your PCP approaches your health care vs what inside tracker gives you and they were 100% on board. So lets get started.

BACKGROUND ON INSIDE TRACKER

What is InsideTracker?

• InsideTracker is a company that analyzes your blood test and physiological data and uses the results to form a simple, natural and sustainable nutrition and lifestyle recommendation in order to optimize your performance and well being.

What is the Process:

• You purchase InsideTracker online on their website and you then are sent a slip to print to take to Quest Diagnostics. You can generally make an apt online so you dont wait forever. You want to do it first thing in the morning because its a fasting test. This is important because alot of the labs they are checking are fasting dependent. Once you go to the lab they draw about 6-10 vials of blood and send them off to InsideTracker. InsideTracker has their physician team analyze the labs and you are sent your InsideTracker results within 5-7 Days. Once you get the results inside tracker gives you the lab value and if you were high, low, optimal, or normal and different foods to improve your labs and the science behind it. Additionally you can create different grocery lists to help plan which foods to buy from the recommendations based on your dietary preferences as well as a create a targeted plan to improve your valures in 6-10 weeks.

What Type of Tests does InsideTracker Perform?

• InsideTracker has 4 Main Plans and you can also do a DIY Plan if you are looking for followup on your first test or just want specific labs checked.
• The 4 Main Plan range from the Ultimate with 42 Biomarkers for $589 to the Essential with 12 BioMarkers for $189.

How is InsideTracker Different from Your Doctor’s Bloodwork?

• So you may be thinking wow thats alot of money for labwork I probably can get covered by insurance. You are probably right if you don’t have a high deductable plan where everything costs a fortune. However InsideTracker gives you MORE than just the numbers InsideTracker TEACHES you how to fix it and optimize your levels not just settle for “your labs were in the normal range” phone call and “see in you 3-12 months”. Inside tracker will let you know if you are optimal, high, or low and explain the improtance and give you NATURAL ways to fix it through your diet and not an exogenous pill. This is important because of alot of us will have labs that are in the “normal range” but was on one extreme or the other of the bell curve of normal and if we changed some things we could more optimize our bodies function but doctos only look for the “red” on the labwork and if its all “white” they say check and you get the above said phone call.

 

MY EXPERIENCE WITH INSIDE TRACKER

As I said before I was super excited about InsideTracker a few months back when they reached out, however by time I ended up getting the bloodwork I felt it was more of necessity than a fun experiment. After this year of moving around the country 2 times in 12 months, FT Job, FT Coaching, Finding 2 New jobs, Buying a House, 2 Half Marathons, 1 Marathon, 2 Half Ironmans, 1 Ironman, etc. etc. I was completely spent. I found myself just dead exhausted and it wasn’t like i was training at the volume I was and no I was not working because I am waiting on my new job in Florida to start but I still felt the need to take multiple naps and lay on the couch. On top of it when I did workout my legs were just not popping and I just felt like I was dragging through. I knew if anything I needed this test to confirm the obvious that I was in somesort of Adrenal Fatigue and I was curious to what else I put my body through the drain. Life is hard sometimes guys lol.

I got my results back last week which was perfect timing because I had 2 physician appointments with my new PCMs on base for routine physicals and “bloodwork” was supposed to be on the agenda. My first PCM appointment was on Monday prior to getting the InsideTracker Results. At my apt the physician looked over my history, vitals and listen to my heart and lungs and said whelp your healthy – call if you need anything. FANTASTIC. Mind you I didnt press the subject b/c I had the insidetracker results on their way, but it goes to show you that sometimes in medicine if you aren’t chronically ill they just scrape the surface. Later that week I saw the other PCM for my GYN apt and I had recieved my results from InsideTracker. I had analyzed them myself at home as I am a Physician Assistant but its always good to have an outside source manage your healthcare. She looked over all my labs including the “HIGH ALERT/RED” one and thought it all lokoed good and the only thing she would want to check again was my iron levels in about 1-2 months. Thats REAL MEDICINE guys! In order to get what InsideTracker gives you, you would have to find a dedicated physician who specializes in metabolic nutrition and an AMAZING DIETICIAN that will help tailor your diet to optimize your labs and perormance. InsideTracker gives you that in 1 visit without even having to exit your house or see a physician. Of course they say you always consult your doctor for any of the “red” values”. I think this is important because as a practioner I wanted to see how InsideTracker was different than how even I look at labs and to be honest it is WAY DIFFERENT. I look at normal ranges in a lab chart just like those physicians above and it isn’t way off normal then I move on. Your Family Doctor or me personally in the Emergency Room doesn’t have the time to dissect labs that was within normal and figure out what is optimal within the normal range b/c labs don’t do that. Its very black and white in medicine. HIGH – LOW – NORMAL. Thats it. Then you take the black and white and add it up to the big picture to see if someone is “healthy”. Someone like me and my viewers reading this is going to be “healthy” to every physician. Because you are compared to the hundreds of other patients they see with numerous comorbid conditions and countless medications. InsideTracker does that step farther and shows you whether you are “HIGH-LOW-OPTIMAL OR NORMAL RANGE”. This is important because even though you may be in the normal range you can always makes little tweaks to be in the optimal range by just switching something in your diet. You are what you put in your body. Nutrition is a key disipline in athletic success and inside tracker bridges the gap so that you can tailor your nutrition to optimize your heath which in turn leads to optimal peformance.

Example: 

MY RESULTS

For the most part as per my doctor I am “healthy” haha. I am lucky in that I have always been pretty healthy. This is not a given and being in the health care field I realize everyday it is a blessing. To say I was terrified some of these tests would be crazy of and I would have to be tested for XYZ crazy disease I see everyday was an understatement. When you see the worst daily its hard not to have anxiety everytime you get your blood tested. I got the InsideTracker “Ultimate” Package with 42 Biomarkers. The Biomarkers are broken down within various catagories and I will share my results for each.

Metabolism and Weight Control:

• This Panel was mostly optimal except my Glucose and TG were slightly above the “optimal range” but were still within normal range. Glucose Normal is 70-99 Fasting and TG anything under 150 is normal. However, I am going to pay attention to my TG a little bit more often because I have genetic high TG that run strong on my mothers side of the family. The PCP was SUPER PROUD of my HDL – Thank you Endurance Training!

Bone and Muscle Health:

• My Calcium was lower than optimal for this test with normal Vitamin D. Thank you summer for returning cuz I am sure this looked different during Winter. I am going to try and work on improving my calcium because as a smaller framed white female I am predisposed to osteoporosis just by genetics and also I have had a stress fracture in the past so optimizing your bone strength to me is always important.

Electrolytes and Fluid Balance:

• These were in optimal range and my mom and husband were shocked because when I eat its like would you like some food with your salt. But hey I guess my body enjoys it! 🙂

Cognition:

• I kinda smacked myself in the face when I saw that my Magnesum was not optimal after I threw away the unused magnesium suppliment when I moved after failing to take it last year after I ordered it. Guess I am going to have to see if that in a gummy form lol.

Inflammation:

• This was all pretty normal which I was thrilled about because of course my fear for the past 6 years I havent gotten bloodwork is that my CBC will be way off and Ill have some sort of cancer. To be honest I had these fears prior to being in medicine but its only gotten worse after you have to be the one to tell patients of all ages this horrible news. All joking aside I am so thankful and grateful to have those greens. However my one yellow is a High CRP which is a marker for inflammation. I am not shocked I feel my body is a constantly inflammed state – thank you Ironman! 🙂

Liver Function and Toxicity

• These were all normal. GB is staying in this lady! 🙂

Oxygen Transfer and Blood Function

• This was one of the “HIGH ALERT RED” Catagories. My TIBC was High “Red” and my Ferritin was “low yellow” but trending closer the to low “red” section and my Iron was normal. I personally reviewed my labs and then discussed them with my physician and it was determined we felt that I was trending towards an early Iron Deficiency Anemia and that we are going to recheck the levels in 1-2 months and see if there is improvement before we start suppplimentation. But I am going to start incorporating alot of the inside tracker suggestions so hopefully that will not happen. Iron deficiency is very common in atheltes and runners especially marathon runners so you have to pay close attention to your diet in terms of iron and I know that I havent because I am not the biggest fan of meat in general.

Strength and Endurance // Sex Hormones

• Well you would think in Ironman Training this section should be like “GOLD STAR” but nope its was “WHOA STOP” you get “RED STAR”! lol. Well here is the obvious that I knew but was waiting on just how bad it really was – Cortisol was in the “red”. Whomp whomp hop on the adrenal fatigue train. I didn’t need a lab to tell me I already knew as I said above but what I did need was ways to help fix it besides the obvious of I need to “take a break” which I am very soon. It makes me question that if my Cortisol was 25 after a month off work what is was like 2 months ago in the midst of Ironman, Moving, New Job, Buying a House – EEEEKKKK!!!! Shockingly not shockingly of course my PCP didn’t care about my cortisol level – lucky for me I know medicine so I can help fix it myself in the interum and see if it improves. 🙂 My CK was also elevated out of the optimal range and the suggestion was to switch out high impact running for lower impact activites like biking and swimming. Thats switch is coming real soon as this posterir tendon tear needs some rest. The last thing that was red was the SHBG and the DHEAS both of these can be highly affected by birth control as well as your time in your cycle and I have been on birth control for close to 16 years. My GYN said she was not concerned with the value and its affect on future pregnancy but we would readdress it when the time comes for babies. 

Once you have all the information you can create a grocery list through “food basket” customized to your preferences and calorie intake per day to help plan your meals to optimize your labs and performance – Example Below.

I know this was lenghty but I had ALOT of questions on instagram when I posted my InsideTracker Lab draw! I hope this was helpful and also insightful that I shared my results. I am very thankful for InsideTracker for giving me the opportunity to look outside my own medical box and gain the insight onto how to better care for myself instead of always taking care of other medical emergencies. If you have any questions feel free to reach out!

With Love

Kindal (RunningWithStrength)

Disclaimer: This post is a sponsored post. However the words, thoughts, and opinions shared on this blog are entirely my own and in no way influenced by the sponsor. 

Ironman Santa Rosa Race Recap – July 29th, 2017

Can I just skip through 2017 and and forget it never happened lol? I mean seriously though I cannot seem to catch a break this year in terms of racing. My training is going well for the most part and for some reason I cannot put a race together this year to save my life. However not all was lost of IM Santa Rosa but it most definitely did not go as planned. We will start from the beginning….

First a little backstory….

So I had talked on instagram that I had ALOT going on here and there outside my little square box. Hence why blogging and instagram have kind of taken the backseat lately just because I don’t have time. Well anyways ALOT going on consisted of coaching 15-20 clients, working FT in the ED, relocating from Ohio to Florida, Buying a House, Finding a new job, getting a new state license while having to do the normal day to day stuff that just seems to somehow fill up all the hours in the day. Anyways all of that came to a head leading into Ironman Santa Rosa Taper. We closed on our house 2 weeks prior to race day which also resulted in the movers coming to pack up my stuff and get out of our rental the 2 days prior to me leaving for the race and me also having to take off 3 days unpaid because these movers dont come on weekends. All of this resulted in a few GI ulcers which I ended up getting on medication for, but basically I was just a hot mess. This just touches the surface of what was going on but basically it was non stop with training, work, everyday life, and all of the above pilled on top that I just well pulling my hair out. I figured you needed to know such things at least Ashley felt I should tell you lol.

Pre-Race

Well in light of my life being a complete cluster and no race going right this year, this one started off no different. I woke up and got dressed and thought I had plenty of time to get to the airport – NOPE! I double checked my flight in the car and it was re-scheduled for 9:00 instead of 9:45 – WHAT?! I most definitenly did not buffer that much time into my flight window and then it was storming and Cincinatti is undergoing construction I was not aware of so basically I was going to miss my flight and be up a creek without a paddle – INSERT STRESS TEARS. Anyways I sped and weaved and finally got to the airport and parked in the parking garage. I was gone for a week so basically that was a hefty parking bill to my already thousands of dollar bills from doing an ironman in napa california lol. Anyways I parked my car ran through the airport and made it to the gate right before final boarding call – phew! When I told Ash the story my only statement was well things are going great but they can’t be any worse than gashing my head open prior to race day – refer to Gulf Coast Recap. I ended arriving to SFO Early and went to the USO to relax while I waited on my mom however I was unaware that instead of waiting the entire hour I should have known that it would also take me an hour to get from the terminal to the rental car locationand to get the rental car so basically I could have done that during my brief nap on the recliner in the USO lounge but hey I had arrived, my mom arrived and things were going fine. We got out car drove to Napa and arrived at our AirBnB. Our AirBnB was perfect and only 2 blocks from the expo and finish line in Downtown Santa Rosa and also on the race course it was perfect. After we headed to the expo for packet pickup and to meet up with Ash (@ahappypace) and Heather (@TriandRunGirl) to chat and meet up with our sponsors @RudyProject, @Zealios, @RapidReboot. After I headed out to my shakeout ride while heather headed back to her hotel to get ready for her meeting for Quest for Kona. After her meeting we did our shakeout run and then changed and headed to dinner. It was so fun to have a family dinner with all three of us and our families it was so comforting having your best friends with you and racing with you. The next morning my  mom and I woke up, went to breakfast and then we headed to T1 at Lake Sonoma for swim shakeout and bike check. At this point I just was not feeling well. I had a horrible migraine and I was having horrible stomach pain and nausea but I figured I was just dehydrated or hungry so I hydrated and ate and I thought that resolved it but not so much. We went to drive the 1st half of the course which included the hills but I couldn’t even make it through 15 miles due to how crappy I was feeling. Thank goodness my mom had Zofran and I had packed my Gastritis meds with me so I popped those and tried to nap thinking that would help. It helped slightly we got dinner and then headed back to the room. I got all my things together for the morning and went to bed early thinking I just needed to sleep it off and I would feel 100% better on race day morning.

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Race Day Morning

Well I woke up race day morning and I was still feeling less than ideal. I popped my Gastritis medications and then we packed up my food and headed to the start. I drank my normal coffee, powerade combo on the way there and ate my Bagel (it was a 30 min drive). Once we arrived I checked my bike tires, topped them off and then we all met up at the VIP area as Heather’s husband Trevor and my mom had passes and utilized the VIP potties for the pre-race ritutals. We chatted and ate our pre-race essentials I tried putting more food in my stomach but definitely wasn’t going down as well as I had hoped. I popped a Zofran and settled for that and then had my mom help me into my wetsuit. If you have never put on a wetsuit that is an Ironman in itself – ITS SO FREAKING HARD and takes SO LONG to get it “right”. After we took the 0.5 mile walk down to the start down the 8% grade boat ramp – #FunTimes and lined up for the start. I said my goodbyes to my momma and Ash hugged me and told it was my time and to do my best and then they left us to secure their viewing location and heather, matt and I headed to the swim start.

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Swim

The day prior the swim was borderline wetsuit legal so we weren’t sure if it was going to be a swim skin or wetsuit kinda day but it ended up being Wetsuit legal at 76.1 I am not so sure about that but hey Ill take it. So all was well initially. I had a goal of being around 1:05-1:06 as I swam a 1:06 at Louisville with the current assist and I was swimming faster this year so I figured I would match it without a current. The course looked promising a nice calm lake and such but it was nothing of the sort. First, it was 2 loops and you had to get of the water step of the timing mat and get back in (added time) and then the swim course was more turney than Louisville with about 4 turns per loop where louisville only has 1 turn for the out and back.

Loop 1 went pretty well. The 1st 500 yds were the best as I was near the front with serious swimmer not much of a crowd and clear conditions however as the loop progressed a dense fog started to roll in making siting less than ideal and basically I couldnt really geat a sense for the bouys. I had a couple people do the kick, nudge punch thing but nothing to serious and it went as well as could be expected but I figured Loop 2 could be better as I already had a sense of the course. I came out of Loop 1 around 33 and change and thought that was good I would be around 1:06-1:07 which was great. However Loops 2 was utter chaos as I was entering the water for Loop 2 they had just gotten all of the swimmers in the water which means Sub 1:10 swimmers mixed with 2:20 swimmers – back strokers, breast strokers, mass crowding – you basically couldn’t move without getting punched or kicked and were constantly weaving around humans while trying to spot the bouys. Not to mention the fog has now cleared and was replaced by blinding sun – yep awesome! Anyways I finally finished I think I counted about 4 kicks to the face and about 10 punches some where or another. I had also swallowed at least a quart or so of water which was awesome for my already nauseaus stomach. I exited the water and looked at my watch and realized it was already on biking – “great”. I figured maybe it “autolapped” during the lap 1 and 2 or possibly someone kicked it in the about 15 times I got hit/kicked. So I literally had no clue my time but I figured it wasn’t fantastmic but I had to move on – more work to do.

Swim Stats

• Time: 1:12:28  // Pace: 1:52/100m (6 Min Slower than Lousiville)
• Placing: Division – 9th // Female: 22nd // Overall 300th

Transition 1 (T1): Swim to Bike

T1 was approximately a 0.5 Mile long – excessive don’t ya think to get to a changing tent and your bike but no add in the extra boost of having to climb the 0.3 mile 8% grade boat ramp  in a wetsuit to the list of fun things to do when your already diorientated coming of the water. If you havent done a triathlon think of the diorietation as the feeling when you played Pinata and they spun you an then you had to hit the pinata thats how it feels when you come out of the water. Regardless I am the most proud of this transition I improved so much from Lousiville. I completed T1 in 6:50 including the climb up the boat ramp changing and grabbing my bike and at lousiville it took me 10:30 without all the “extra” of Santa Rosa. This was a HUGE deal b/c Ash and Matt had to like baby me through how to accomplish transition like a serious athlete. The key – minimalism!

Bike

So you load the bike and immediately go over this tall bridge over Lake Sonoma have a small climb then a major no-aero bar descent. It was awesome to get the descent in the beginning to loosen up your legs and body but I just couldnt seem to get a rhythm. My cadence was in the high 70s when it is usually in the high 80s. I tried downshifting spinning up and gearing up but I just couldnt get it to turn over. After the downhill you turn to the start of the climbing with the biggest hill in those initial 10 miles after the turn. Somewhere around mile 10 on one of the small hills where it flattens out I went to shift rigs from small to big and my chain dropped. Which meant stopping and time off the bike. I had fixed it before so I thought no big deal however when I got off the chain was not only dropped by jammed and it took me a solid 5 minutes to get it off not to mention the time lost stopping and starting back off. At being only 10 miles into a 112 mile bike with a techical, crappy swim, and feeling overall crappy I was just so over this race already. I comtemplated for the next 20-30 miles just dropping out but I kept pushing on and putting a smile on my face. My pace had come from close to 19 to around 15 during the technical so I had a lot of time to make up and time I just didn’t have on my side. I kept trying to get down the fuel. I did 2 bottle of liquid nutrition of 500+ calories each and thank goodness for that because I was barely able to get that down as I kept puking it back up in my mouth. Fun Times. Around Mile 40 I took the Zofran my mom had given me in my bag and hoped that would help get me through the remainder of the bike. I was still fighting for dear life to hold a rhythm and I just could feel my lack of experience on the hills especially the non-rolling kind kick me in the face and I was just dying mentally and physically during the race. Not to mention the roads were less than ideal so you were dealing with that factor which attributes alot in terms of speed on the bike. At around Mile 60 you hit town and you do 2.5 loops on flatter terrain but the road conditions were horrible and with every loop it got more and more crowded with more and more unexperienced cyclists. This meant having to be extra cautious on the bike because you had to ensure they were doing everything correct b/c this race also didn’t give you much room to negotiate as they left almost all the roads open to traffic.  I made up quite a bit of time about 0.5 mph on average during the 2.5 loops and finished strong on the bike and was more than thrilled to hand it over to the bike catcher and move forward to the marathon portion.

Bike Stats

• Time: 6:08 (10 Min Improvement from Louisville) // Pace: 18.2 mph
• Place: Division: 10th, Female: 84, Overall: 655

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Transition 2 (T2): Bike to Run

This was another LONG transition about 0.3 Miles of running of a very narrow path to the tent and back it was about the size of a bike lane on a highway to give you perspective for 2 way runner traffic lol. I grabbed my bag headed into the tent changed and went potty and headed out on the run. I should have realized at that point I was dehyrated because I barely urinated at all and I had not gone to the bathroom all day but of course thats overlooked until you are finished. I ran out saw my momma and then started booking it.

Run

I was feeling strong but that slowly faded once I hit the “trail” portion of the marathon. I had thought the trail was going to be like packed dirt like in Arizona but it was more packed rocks and it did not agree with me. I am not a trail runner and I have never ran on anything but pavement except maybe 5 times so this was uncharted territory and my body was not in favor. Additionally it was supposed to be a “downhill” grade out and a “uphill grade” back nothing serious but around 1-2% grade but the “downhill” on the trail side was almost non-existant. The run also included alot of  turn and twists to go over and under the bridges to avoid traffic – it was a mess. The run consisted of 3 loops. Loop 1 went pretty well and I was averaging 8:30s with walk breaks but it slowly declined on Loop 2 and by Loop 3 I knew I was serious trouble. I was cramping so bad despite trying everthing – water, gatorade, coke, hot shot, salt, fruit at every single aid station and I just felt super light headed and nauseus and off. I wanted to quit after loop 2. I really didn’t know if I could finish the 3rd loop but I knew I could walk and run as much as I could. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty and I am sure all of you tracking just assuming I gave up but I really was just in a really bad place physically and mentally at that point. There is a video Ash has on her phone when I saw her going into Loop 3 and I said something like “I am having a really bad day”. I really meant it I was on the verge of tears. I had trained so hard and I was literally tanking and knew I was barely going to pull out a PR if I did at all at that point. So here we are on loop 3 basically dying a painful Ironman death march and I remember stepping on this HUGE rock when I was actually running lol and rolling my foot. The next day I tried putting on my tennis shoes and it hurt so bad and I noticed a bruise and thinking oh that is from the rock no big deal – well here we are 4 weeks later – its a BIG DEAL as that rock caused me to have a posterior tibial tendon partial tear. Things are just getting better and better haha. Well I finally started nearing the finish line and dying and they ended up adding an extra 0.2+ miles at the end of the course around the portapotties – fun times – as if there wasn’t enough added mileage on the course already with the extra long transitions. But I was there I was at the finish line

Run Stats

• Time: 4:18:51 // Pace: 9:52 min/mi (9 min slower than lousiville)
• Place: Division: 10th, Gender: 60, Overall: 325

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The Finish

After my extra long amazing tour of the portapotties and the santa rosa downtown parking garage I finally made it to the finish line in 11:51:21 basically dead on from Ironman Louisville in 10th in 25-29, 53rd Female and 350th Overall. I crossed the finish grabbed my gear (Tshirt and hat), took my photo and looked at my mom and pointed to the med tent. The stupid nurse looks at me and is like “you’re fine” and I was like I am about to pass out in this chair and she got smart and is like “is the room spinning” and I was like look can I just lay down on one of your 10 open cots and you can take my vitals and then determine if I am fine. So she did and she thought immediately after completing an ironman vitals of 100/60 and 60 bpm are “normal” and at that point I just said skrew it and left and told my mom I would walk to the room in which I spent the next hour sick in the bathroom – fun times not even realizing that Matt and Ash were waiting at the finish line even after Matt came back from the hospital after his crash. Talk about feeling horrible I am still so so sorry for that. However I was just not in a great place physically and was sick not thanks to any help of the ironman medical tent lol.

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Post Race Feelings/Thoughts

Well I am sure from reading this recap you can get the gist of my thoughts haha – it did not go well. However I did buy myself a finisher’s jacket b/c I was damn proud of myself for not giving up when I knew I wasn’t going to get my goal or when I was feeling sick or when my bike broke – I just kept pushing despite all the odds. As Ash put it I should be so proud that my best day just 9 months ago is now my worst day on a much harder course however it doesn’t make the blow any easier. However I am proud of myself I took 17th in my AG in Lousiville and 10th in Santa Rosa and that is an improvement. I know that every race teaches you lessons and not every race can be a PR, especially in a race that is 12 hours long – you just don’t know what is gonna happen. However I know I am stronger and faster than an 11:51 and I will prove it to myself and give myself another shot. I am not going to say I am not sad and disappointed because I 100% am. I put countless hours into training, thousands of dollars into the race, and pushed other PRs to the side to make Santa Rosa a priority all for it to end no where close to where I had imagined. So theres the appreviated as I can short and honest recap of the race. I am kinda sorry I cant write something similar to 2016 recaps where I was so happy and proud to be honest I wish I could write something like that for you guys too – hopefully sometime soon

Special Thanks

I want to say a special thanks to Ash and Matt for being my best friends and side coaches throughout this entire experience and their unwavering support. My momma for being the best sherpa ever and never missing a race no matter the vacation days or the cost. Additionally I want to thank my sponsors Hyperthreads for their amazing kit, Newton for shoes, Procompression for socks, Rapid Reboot for recovery, Zealios for Sunscreen, Rudy for Helmet and Glasses, and JayBird for Music to Train. Without you all I would not be where I am at so thank you!

With love and racing

❤ Kindal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Recap: Week 30 and 31: July 31st – August 7th, 2017

Hey There! This is a little bit delayed as I was moving prior to Ironman, Ironman, Travels, Straight into work – so basically no time to breath/think. So I figured I would recap the “pre-race” taper as well as the post-race recovery. I mean it is nothing WOW but here it is for consistency. I am planning on writing the recap for Santa Rosa here soon enough, however to be honest I am less than thrilled to write about another failed race on my part but there blog isn’t just for the highs but also for the lows. Gotta keep it honest! 🙂

Week 30

Monday: 

• Brick: 10.5 Mile Cycle @ 17.6 mph with 2 Mile Brick @ 8:08 min/mi
• Swim: 1750 yds // 1600m in 50M Pool with 100s

Tuesday:

• Run: Speedwork – Floating 200s @ 6:15 min/mi with 200 recovery @ 8:00 – 8:40
• Bike: 10.5 Mile Cycle @ 17.6
• Swim: 1750 yds // 1600m in 50M Pool – 100 Free, 200 Pull sets

Wednesday

• Rest Day

Thursday:

• Travel to Santa Rosa
• Shakeout:
  • Bike: 30 Min 9.52 miles at 19 mph
  • Run: 2M @ 8:34 with Ash and Heath

Friday:

• Shakeout Swim: 550 yds in Lake Sonoma

Saturday:

• IRONMAN SANTA ROSA
  • Swim: 1:12
  • Bike: 6:08
  • Run: 4:18
  • 10th AG 25-29

Sunday:

• Total Rest Day

Week 31

Monday:

• Biked the Golden Gate Bridge and Walked San Fran

Tuesday:

• Walked around San Fran

Wednesday:

• Traveled from San Fran to Ohio from 2:45 AM to 9PM – OUCH

Thursday:

• Work: 12P-10P

Friday:

• Run: Shakeout Run/Walk 15 Minutes @ 9:01 min/mi. My legs still felt dead.

Saturday:

• Swim: 1600 Meters with mix of 200 free, 200 pull, and 100 free

Sunday:

• Total Rest Day

With Love and Training,

❤ Kindal (RunningWithStrength)

 

Weekly Recap: Week 29: July 17th – 23rd, 2017

The training is officially over for Ironman Santa Rosa and Race Day is next Saturday July 29th! I am so excited/nervous. I really don’t know what I am capable of as far as times go but I know a big PR is in my future and that is super exciting!!!

Monday:

• Run: Speedwork – Floating 400s @ 7:37 min/mi
• Bike: Tempo Ride – 20 Miles at 19mph
• Swim: 2000m @ 1:44/100yd in long pool (50M)

Tuesday:

• Bike: Long Ride – 2 Hours // 37.27 Miles // 18.1 mph
• Run: Brick Run – 2M @ 8:28 min/mi
• Work: 12P-10P plus dropped bike in Cincinatti for TriBikeTransport

Wednesday:

• Run: Easy Run – 3 Miles @ 8:13 min/mi
• Swim: 2500m @ 1:48/100yd
• Work: 12-10PM

Thursday:

• Run: Long Run w/ Ash – 10M @ 7:47 min/mi
• Bike: 15M @ 18 mph on Roadie
• Summer’s Birthday Party -She Turned 4! ❤

Friday:

• Bike: 1 Hr Trainer Ride
• Run: Brick Run – 2M @ 8:29 min/mi
• Work: 12P-10P

Saturday:

• Run: 4.1M @ 7:56 min/mi
• Swim: 1200 yards at 1:41/100yd

Sunday:

• Total Rest Day

Totals:

• Run: 25.1M // 3:19
• Bike: 89M // 5:00
• Swim: 6,000 yds // 1:45
• Total:  118 Miles // 10:05

With Love and Training

❤ Kindal (RunningWithStrength)

 

 

Weekly Recap: Week 28: July 10th – 16th, 2017

First week of Taper is basically like a cut back week so still a pretty heavy week of training but 5 hours less but it really didn’t feel that way. This week I was working, closing on our house, and managing our move and my licensing for Florida. Needless to say any free time I had other than training is more than taken up. I am hoping over this coming week I can eliminate some stress that I can so I can have the best race possible in 2 weeks! EEK!

Monday: 

• Run: Speedwork – 6M – 8×400 at 1:36 average
• Swim: Long Swim 3500 yds
• Work: 12P-10P

Tuesday: 

• Bike: 90 Min Intervals on KickR
• Run: Brick Run – 4M @ 8:22 min/mi
• Swim: 1000 yds Easy
• Work: 3P-10P

Wednesday: 

• Bike: Long Bike with Ash 70.5M @ 18.1 mph
• Run: 3M @ the Track 7:27 min/mi (Fartlek and I took rest breaks)
• Swim: 1600M Easy Swim

Thursday: 

• Double Brick
  • Bike: 90 Min KickR Intervals
  • Run: 2M @ 7:38 min/mi (8:04, 7:12)
  • Bike: 60 Min KickR Intervals
  • Run: 2M @ 7:29 min/mi (7:55, 7:03)

Friday: 

• Run: Easy Run 4M @ 8:35 min/mi
• Swim: 1600M Easy Swim
• Work: 5P-10P

Saturday:

• Run: 5K + Long Run – 14M @ 7:58 min/mi and 5K @ 7:21 min/mi
• Work: 12P-10P

Sunday:

• Total Rest Day
• Work: 10A-10P + Client Checkins

Total:

• Run: 35M // 4:43:37
• Bike: 144M // 8:00:00
• Swim: 8000 yds // 2:27:32
• Total: 184M // 15:11

With Love and Training

❤ Kindal (RunningWithStrength)