The FAANT girl are at it again. The road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant goes through Lubbock, TX.
Geovany Soto and His Os Trigonum
12 years ago
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant Goes Through Lubbock
Janet and I decided we needed a hilly warm up 70.3 race about 2 months before Ironman, so of course we picked the hardest course we could find; Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 Triathlon in Lubbock, TX.
This was the same weekend that Mont-Tremblant was having their warm up race as a 70.3 on the same course as the Ironman race, but who has the time or the money to go to Quebec twice in one summer? No, we thought, we will drive to Lubbock.
That was our first mistake! We jumped in the car Friday morning and drove the 300 miles to Lubbock. What a beating! There is nothing between Fort Worth and Lubbock but wind farms, crops and cow patties. At one point, we were laughing at all the small towns with population 250ish! Really? We stopped in a Dairy Queen about 100 miles from Lubbock to get a snack. The people in the restaurant looked at us like we had dropped in from another planet.
After a lovely drive (NOT), we checked into one of the nicest hotels in Lubbock, the Holiday Inn (smirk). It actually was not horrible and was clean. Lubbock is not exactly a happening town. There really isn’t much in Lubbock other than Texas Tech and lots of cotton fields. We went to the expo on Friday night and got our numbers. The race shirt was the ugliest one I have ever seen!! A steak dinner and a beer, then off to bed.
Saturday morning we decided to go out to Buffalo Springs Lake and watch some of the sprint triathlon as well as check out the water temperature and the horrendous hills we had both heard about. If you listened to most of our friends, the hills were mountains and we were going to perish on them. Well, the water temperature was about 76 and even though they said it was going to be wetsuit legal, we both decided on speed suits. The lake was gorgeous! The hills were steep, but nothing like the mountains that had been described! We rode out bikes up and down the first 3 hills and decided we would live! A nap then a pasta dinner and we were ready for bed!
4am came really early. We had our breakfast and hit the road about 5am. We ran into a little traffic jam getting into the canyon. Seems there was a race going on! Got to the parking lot and then had to walk our bikes down a gigantic hill to transition. Found our spots and we were ready to go.
Swim waves were interesting. All the women were in one huge wave so the start was a little challenging. Then the majority of the men started just a few minutes later. Needless to say, they ran us right over! I got punched in the eye and was happy I was wearing double swim caps so I didn’t lose my goggles. Then I got kicked in the face and got a bloody lip! Ugh! At least the water was relatively calm and the temperature was very friendly! My swim time was not stellar but I got to transition only bleeding from my top lip!
Onto the bike course we went. The first hill is almost as soon as you leave transition and it was almost a 9% grade! Sadistic! After conquering the first few hills it was relatively flat but the wind kicked up as soon as you left the canyon. My swim was so bad I was convinced there weren’t too many people behind me until we hit the third hill, which was another sadistic grade, but this time I was catching the downhill. Now I know what 40 mph feels like on a bike! Scary!! Sadly I reminded myself I had to go back up that grade on the way back! At this point I saw the crowd behind me as I made the first turn around. Whew! I wasn’t in last place. That would be embarrassing! Janet passed me just about the 30 mile marker like I was standing still! Man is she fast on the bike!! The fourth hill is a long winding grade with killer turns and a skinny road. In other words, as your butt is being kicked by the grade you have to watch out for the people coming down out of control on the turns and trying to kill themselves and you. Written on the road was SLOW DOWN on one side and THANK MIKE FOR THE HILLS on the other! You then hit a long stretch of windy farmland in which you began to cook. Literally. My nutrition and hydration were great and I actually had to pee for about the last 25 miles! A good sign!
I had the pleasure of cheering on a few of the hand-cyclists as they were challenged by the hills. Those guys are tough!! Back into the canyon I went after feeling like I was challenged but not beaten, hit the last two hills and wanted desperately to get off my bike!!
Into transition I went, ditched the bike and found a port-a-potty. Running shoes and a little more sunscreen, I was ready to run! Who turned up the heat? As soon as I hit the asphalt, I felt the heat. Thanks Mike for the roving ice carts. He put people on golf carts with large coolers of ice to help with the heat. The hills on the run were not that bad, but were sadistic in the fact that they were long and it was almost 100 when I started running. When I hit the 6 mile marker, the volunteer at the aid station said it was 105! Crazy! The heat was just wafting off the road. I had ice chunks in my bra and down my pants as well as down my back just to keep my heart rate from spiking. It was walk:run the whole way. Walk through all the aid stations then run until your heart rate started to spike again. A beating! I passed Janet at about the 7 mile marker. She wasn’t faring much better than I was. We were both in hunker down and get it done mode.
I was so happy to enter the park and see the finish line, I almost cried. I crossed, got my medal and shirt then headed for the lake. I barely took my shoes off before I dived in. The water felt amazing!
So that was Buffalo Spring Lake 70.3 Triathlon. A butt whipping of a race, but a great challenge on the road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant. The hills were a challenge, but totally doable. The heat is what got you. Now I understand why it is a Kona qualifier. It was harder than Ironman Texas because of the heat coupled with the tough course. Mike, you are a sadist! And , Yes, we will be back!!
PS. Janet won her category, so she got to go home with a really cute buffalo trophy which she named Leonard. ☺ Very cool!
PPS. Video on the way.....soon
This was the same weekend that Mont-Tremblant was having their warm up race as a 70.3 on the same course as the Ironman race, but who has the time or the money to go to Quebec twice in one summer? No, we thought, we will drive to Lubbock.
That was our first mistake! We jumped in the car Friday morning and drove the 300 miles to Lubbock. What a beating! There is nothing between Fort Worth and Lubbock but wind farms, crops and cow patties. At one point, we were laughing at all the small towns with population 250ish! Really? We stopped in a Dairy Queen about 100 miles from Lubbock to get a snack. The people in the restaurant looked at us like we had dropped in from another planet.
After a lovely drive (NOT), we checked into one of the nicest hotels in Lubbock, the Holiday Inn (smirk). It actually was not horrible and was clean. Lubbock is not exactly a happening town. There really isn’t much in Lubbock other than Texas Tech and lots of cotton fields. We went to the expo on Friday night and got our numbers. The race shirt was the ugliest one I have ever seen!! A steak dinner and a beer, then off to bed.
Saturday morning we decided to go out to Buffalo Springs Lake and watch some of the sprint triathlon as well as check out the water temperature and the horrendous hills we had both heard about. If you listened to most of our friends, the hills were mountains and we were going to perish on them. Well, the water temperature was about 76 and even though they said it was going to be wetsuit legal, we both decided on speed suits. The lake was gorgeous! The hills were steep, but nothing like the mountains that had been described! We rode out bikes up and down the first 3 hills and decided we would live! A nap then a pasta dinner and we were ready for bed!
4am came really early. We had our breakfast and hit the road about 5am. We ran into a little traffic jam getting into the canyon. Seems there was a race going on! Got to the parking lot and then had to walk our bikes down a gigantic hill to transition. Found our spots and we were ready to go.
Swim waves were interesting. All the women were in one huge wave so the start was a little challenging. Then the majority of the men started just a few minutes later. Needless to say, they ran us right over! I got punched in the eye and was happy I was wearing double swim caps so I didn’t lose my goggles. Then I got kicked in the face and got a bloody lip! Ugh! At least the water was relatively calm and the temperature was very friendly! My swim time was not stellar but I got to transition only bleeding from my top lip!
Onto the bike course we went. The first hill is almost as soon as you leave transition and it was almost a 9% grade! Sadistic! After conquering the first few hills it was relatively flat but the wind kicked up as soon as you left the canyon. My swim was so bad I was convinced there weren’t too many people behind me until we hit the third hill, which was another sadistic grade, but this time I was catching the downhill. Now I know what 40 mph feels like on a bike! Scary!! Sadly I reminded myself I had to go back up that grade on the way back! At this point I saw the crowd behind me as I made the first turn around. Whew! I wasn’t in last place. That would be embarrassing! Janet passed me just about the 30 mile marker like I was standing still! Man is she fast on the bike!! The fourth hill is a long winding grade with killer turns and a skinny road. In other words, as your butt is being kicked by the grade you have to watch out for the people coming down out of control on the turns and trying to kill themselves and you. Written on the road was SLOW DOWN on one side and THANK MIKE FOR THE HILLS on the other! You then hit a long stretch of windy farmland in which you began to cook. Literally. My nutrition and hydration were great and I actually had to pee for about the last 25 miles! A good sign!
I had the pleasure of cheering on a few of the hand-cyclists as they were challenged by the hills. Those guys are tough!! Back into the canyon I went after feeling like I was challenged but not beaten, hit the last two hills and wanted desperately to get off my bike!!
Into transition I went, ditched the bike and found a port-a-potty. Running shoes and a little more sunscreen, I was ready to run! Who turned up the heat? As soon as I hit the asphalt, I felt the heat. Thanks Mike for the roving ice carts. He put people on golf carts with large coolers of ice to help with the heat. The hills on the run were not that bad, but were sadistic in the fact that they were long and it was almost 100 when I started running. When I hit the 6 mile marker, the volunteer at the aid station said it was 105! Crazy! The heat was just wafting off the road. I had ice chunks in my bra and down my pants as well as down my back just to keep my heart rate from spiking. It was walk:run the whole way. Walk through all the aid stations then run until your heart rate started to spike again. A beating! I passed Janet at about the 7 mile marker. She wasn’t faring much better than I was. We were both in hunker down and get it done mode.
I was so happy to enter the park and see the finish line, I almost cried. I crossed, got my medal and shirt then headed for the lake. I barely took my shoes off before I dived in. The water felt amazing!
So that was Buffalo Spring Lake 70.3 Triathlon. A butt whipping of a race, but a great challenge on the road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant. The hills were a challenge, but totally doable. The heat is what got you. Now I understand why it is a Kona qualifier. It was harder than Ironman Texas because of the heat coupled with the tough course. Mike, you are a sadist! And , Yes, we will be back!!
PS. Janet won her category, so she got to go home with a really cute buffalo trophy which she named Leonard. ☺ Very cool!
PPS. Video on the way.....soon
Sunday, April 29, 2012
New Orleans 70.3 or More Like 67.1 2012
The Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant went through New Orleans. It was a crazy weekend of wild, windy weather, cancelled swim and fun times for all! Dr Crane encouraged her friend Linda in her first attempt at the distance and now we all have a new Personal record at 67.1! Nuts....enjoy the video madness.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant Goes Through New Orleans
The road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant went through New Orleans
this weekend. As many of you know, that follow this blog, Janet decided to go
to Galveston and I chose New Orleans for our early season half Ironman. I chose
New Orleans because last year in Galveston, I had a really hard time staying
upright while biking into a 30 mph head wind. I thought New Orleans would have
better weather! God has a sense of humor!
New Orleans Ironman 70.3 was in a word - windy! Crazy,
insane windy!! It was also only 67.1! The wind caused the race director, Bill
Burke, to have to cancel the swim for the second year in a row. I actually felt
bad for the guy since so many people were so upset, but when we got down to the
water on Sunday morning, it was obvious that drowning was a risk given the 5
foot and higher waves!
We actually did a run-bike-run triathlon, which was much
better than what they did at the Poconos 70.3 last year. At that race, after
cancelling the swim, they attempted a time trial start of the bikes starting participants
3 seconds apart. This sounds good in theory, but the roads were very wet and
there were crashes all over the place! In New Orleans, they were creative and
wanted to keep the relay teams intact, so they made us run 2 miles to start
then ride 52 miles (shortened due to road closures) and then run 13.1 miles to
finish.
I met my friend Linda, from Arizona, in New Orleans and she
was pretty anxious to do her first 70.3. She is attempting Ironman Arizona in
November, so she needed a warm up race as well. I made a pact that I would
never race without Janet again! Every time I go to a race without Janet, the
weather sucks!
The best part of my race was the beginning of the 2 mile
run. They started us in pair about 2 seconds apart and I was in the 5th
wave (40 and older women). This wave included all the “old” ladies. I started
near the back of the wave and was just completing the first mile when I came
upon a woman with an “81” on her calf. I
glanced at her and then realized it was the “Iron Nun”! Sister Madonna Buder is
a Catholic nun who has completed over 400 triathlons and is an inspiration to
all at The Ironman World Championships every year! (If you haven't read her book, it will inspire you!) I said, “Good Morning
Sister!”, just to make sure it was her and then had a short conversation
running along with her. Such a positive
person and it was a thrill to meet her. She is still running strong and should
be an inspiration to all of us to keep moving! I told her I only hope I am
still competing in 40 years!
After the short run to warm up, we jumped on our bikes to
brave the wind. Crazy, insane and, at times, dangerous wind! I was trying to
maintain 19-20 mph but no such luck. I worked very hard to keep 17.8 mph
average into a 25mph+ head wind! It seemed like the wind was in your face no
matter what direction you were going in! There were only 4 hills on the entire
course, (Louisiana hills also known as overpasses ha ha) and at the top of one
of them, a gust practically threw me off my bike. The bike actually felt like
it went airborne for a second! I finished the bike in one piece and was happy
to start running.
Then someone turned up the heat! The run was a double loop
with awesome crowd support and plenty of aid stations! Thankfully lots of water
and wet sponges since it was so hot! Very flat with a few small hills but
overall a nice rolling course. The casts
of characters were out, just like most races. We had 3 Spidermans, guys in
jester suits, and my favorite….guys running in their wetsuits with goggles and
all, probably protesting the no swim!
I was happy to wave to Sister Madonna on the run and
shamefully happy she was on the other side of the road about 5 miles behind me
(who wants to get beaten by an 81 year old!!). I finished strong and with a
smile. Legs of jelly from pushing hard on the bike made for a slow run, but
overall a good day! No pesky plantar fasciitis showed up, so I think I have cured myself with EPAT finally! I have some work to do before I am ready to tackle the
mountains in Quebec, but I earned my post-race beer today! Linda finished not
so far behind me with a big smile!
Next up….Buffalo Springs 70.3….
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Long Road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant FAANT Girls' Style!
The road to Ironman Mont-Tremblant in Quebec officially
starts for the FAANT girls this weekend. It’s finally time to admit that I
better get my butt in gear and get training a lot harder. Janet has been in
full gear for about 6 weeks or so….I’ve been lazy until the last two. Looking
at the calendar, we have only 20 weeks to go and the challenge is mighty! For
anyone who wants to laugh at us or is just curious, go to www.ironmanmonttremblant.com and
take a look at the elevations on the bike course. We must be out of our minds.
We live in almost the flattest state in the union, so we pick the Ironman with
the most hills we can find J
Today’s video blog is just a taste of what we have in store
for our friends! In two weeks, I am “participating” in the Ironman 70.3 in New
Orleans and this should be a good barometer of how poor my fitness is at this
point! Janet and I will be racing in the 70.3 in Buffalo Springs (Lubbock, TX)
at the end of June! Hopefully by then it won’t hurt so bad!
A 50 mile bike ride (Janet actually continued and did
something on the order of 100 miles) on Saturday followed by an hour or so open
water swim on Sunday with a short run afterwards sounds like a great Easter
weekend! Thanks go out to all our friends from Lake Grapevine Runners and
Walkers who joined us!
That’s all for now….I hope you enjoy this next adventure
with us.
For more, follow us at www.myrundoc.com (Crane) and www.healthystepsdfw.blogspot.com (Dixon). I promise it will be good for a few chuckles along the way.....
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