Redman Half Ironman Pre-Race Activities

This year my goal race was the Redman Half Ironman in Oklahoma City.  This was my second half ironman and a return to Redman for me.  This race is very convenient at just 4 hours from home and is just 40 minutes from my sister's house so I have built in cheerleaders!  Unfortunately this year my family was double-booked so instead of the whole crew at the race I got my brother-in-law Tim.  He served as head race sherpa and cheerleader and did pretty good on both jobs! Up first for my race recap is all the activities on Friday!

Redman is an athletes race...put on by athletes for athletes.  One thing they are really good about is pre-race communication.  There are several scheduled smart mails that each participant receives with detailed information for pre-race and race day schedule as well as a very active Facebook page where participants share tips and information.  Leading up to the race there was an unexpected storm that unfortunately damaged the race site on the day before registration/packet pick up.  The team quickly communicated the situation and delayed the registration schedule slightly.

I drove over to OKC Friday morning and dropped my dog Sidney off in Norman at my sister's house.  I put her crate together and got her situated in the guest room.  My sister's cats of course had to check everything out!

Annie thought that she should pack herself into my transition bag! 

Percy stood guard over Annie playing in my bag and always manages to stress poor Sidney (my dog) out.

I then did some shoe shopping and then made my way to Lake Hefner.  I made really good time and ended up arriving about an hour before the new pickup time.  Here's a tip for participants...the lake access road will be barricaded but there is room for a car to go through.  You can drive through and then park along the access road to head to packet pickup.  It will look like the road is closed but it's okay for racers!

New this year was a new check in process.  Athletes were required to attend a safety briefing in order to go to packet pickup.  This was done in small groups of athletes.  You checked in with your bib number so make sure you take note of that in advance.  Then you listened to the briefing and received a small paper with notes from the various course element directors.  Once the briefing finished, the athletes proceeded to two computers where upon providing your bib number you received a receipt detailing out your entire registration.  That receipt gained you admittance to the packet pickup tent.  After checking your ID and USAT membership card, you proceeded to the appropriate line for your bib number.  This year racers received a sling backpack, cotton event shirt, and a nice coffee mug.  There were vendors and race merchandise on the other side of the tent as you exited.  I bought a new running vest and one of my favorite visors by Headsweats!

Once you receive your packet you are ready for bike checkin.  The race uses personalized stickers for all the events and they are all labeled so it's pretty easy to figure it out.  I loved the bike number because it stayed out of the way.  Bike numbers are always so frustrating but this one was great! Once the numbers were on my bike, I made my way into transition.  My bike passed the inspection and then it was time to find my rack spot.  Now for some reason, as I looked at the bike rack signs I thought that my race number was 888 and the signs showed a gap between 850 and 900.  I was sooooo confused and asked for help.  The first question back was what's your race number...oh yeah that would be 688!  I found my spot and unfortunately my bike didn't fit on the rack by the seat.  It was breezy and the bike was just swaying in the wind so I took it down and switched it so that it was racked by the handlebar.  That solved the problem and after a brief chat with another racer I was done and headed back to Norman.

Lindsey cooked a great pasta dinner and even made a Pinterest find that I had shared with her.  Unfortunately the cooking time for the veggie dish was not right on Pinterest and so we had to eat dinner in two courses! Here's a photo of the dish...super pretty and quite tasty!

After dinner, I went back through my triathlon bag and confirmed that I had everything packed.  I laid out my clothes for the morning and laid out water bottles to fill up.  I set the alarm for 4:40 so that we could leave the house by 5:00AM.  I fell asleep okay and managed to sleep pretty well for a pre-race night.

Run for a Child Race Recap

Nearly every year on Labor Day I participate in a local race called Run for a Child.  It benefits the Anderson Children's Foundation which supports children that have been physically, emotionally, or sexually abused.  This year was the 9th year of the race and I think I've run 6-7 of the years that it has been going on for!

The race offers registration on Sunday which is something that I love.  You can stop by at your convenience and pick up your packet and timing chip and save a ton of time on race morning! I love not having to get to a race super early on race morning.  This year I waited until the last minute as I was registering to decide which race to enter.  There is a 5K and a 10K option and I usually run the 5K race. 

The race offers a great swag bag and this year had some Adidas body spray, snacks, and a water bottle.  There was also a shirt to select from and the race organizers offered a female version however it was cut small and only went up to size large.  I was very disappointed that they didn't offer additional sizes in the women's cut since it was much cuter but the men's technical shirt will be fine too. 

I decided to give the 10K option a try this year since I had skipped doing a long run on Saturday/Sunday and needed to get in the distance.  I knew the 10K course had some good hills on it so that had me worried but I figured it was finally time for the 10K.  One thing that helped with my decision was the weather...for once it wasn't ridiculously hot.  It was hot but more manageable than it had been in previous years.  The earlier start time also appealed to me: 7:30 for the 10K versus 8:15 for the 5K. 

Beautiful morning to race!

Race morning was super smooth for me.  I already had my bib and chip and was able to get parked very easily at the race site.  The race starts/finishes at the Pinnacle Promenade mall and there are lots of parking options.  The race had 8-10 porta potty on site and that meant I didn't have to wait in much of a line either time I went to the bathroom.  As the 10K racers moved to the start line there was a little problem with the arch...it fell over! I don't know if it deflated or just blew over but either way they had to put it back up for the start. 

We headed out on the course and it was exciting to see how many people were running the 10K.  Around mile one we got to one of the first inclines.  I swear it lasted 1/2 mile...it was just a long, gradual incline.  I kept plugging along and decided during this section that my goal for the race would be to avoid walk breaks.  I had tried running through the first water stop at mile one and decided to allow walking through the water stop in order to make sure I got in enough water. 

Around mile three, I was running behind a couple.  I had my headphones in but I could see the wife say to the husband, "You got this."  As I passed them, I cheered on some encouraging words.  The wife would eventually leave her husband behind and keep on her pace.  He stayed near me through out much of the remaining course but would leap frog as he switched from running too fast for his fitness and then taking walk breaks.  I finally passed him for good in the last mile of the race. 

The 5th mile of the race included a big incline up Bellview Road.  It was mentally tough to keep running up the hill as so many others were walking it.  But I did it! I was so happy to reach the highway overpass which signified the top of the hill and also a slight breeze! From there, it was downhill past the final water stop and then back to the mall entrance for the return to finish.  I enjoyed the shade in front of the stores and found that extra bit of energy to pick up my pace for the finish. 

Celebrating after the race with Mike Rush

My overall time was 1:03:30 which was great given my run fitness right now.  I've been getting maybe 10-15 miles in of running each week which is pretty low for aiming for time goals.  I was very happy with myself for running through the race instead of taking run/walk breaks.  Overall, it was a great race for me since I accomplished my goal and had a time that I was very happy with. My pace average 10:23 per mile and was fairly consistent except for the big inclines. 

One of the best things about the race was afterwards...the post race party.  They offer a huge kids party area with inflatables.  They also offer a great food spread which included full breakfast this year.  I was surprised that I could eat a couple of the food options within the current diet choices I am trying to stick to.  There is a huge tent with tables and chairs so that you can sit in shade to eat your breakfast and plenty of cold water and Gatorade to cool you off!  But that doesn't even come close to topping the photo booth!!!

Rocking our matching outfits for goofy pictures!

By far the best part of the post race party was the photo booth...it had dress up options and you got to do 3 different poses.  We had a blast getting our pictures made and it makes me smile! I love that my friends are just as silly as me and that we can share in each other's fitness adventures and triumphs. 

Frost Bike Race Recap

I headed to Carthage, Missouri this afternoon for a 20 mile time trial style bike race.  The race is part of the Rufus Racing Ruthless Series, however, Mother Nature did not cooperate with the race founders.  The race was intended to be done in the dead of winter and earn the name Frost Bike.  Mind you, I would not have done the race under those circumstances! We have had a beautiful week with temps ranging in the mid-60's so with a little prodding via Facebook announcements I decided to do the race.  I'm a total race swag fan and the cool keychain swag had me sold (once I knew the weather would be warm, that is!)

So much better than a t-shirt!

The race was set up with a time trial start. Racers started every 10 second from a complete stop with one foot on the ground.  Some friends of mine (Brent and Cole - a father/son duo) also participated in the race.  I was rider number 25 and they were 63 and 64 so I got quite the head start on them. 

Cole and I before the race...check out his bike with star rims!

The start was straight into a headwind for a short distance.  Honestly since I wasn't from the area the race course was a complete mystery to me.  It was very pretty for the most part with the course going on country roads with little traffic.  The downside to country roads are rolling hills.  I found out the course elevation chart on Map My Ride was not accurate.   

Race start

 The race was uneventful for the most part.  I spent a lot of the ride wondering when Brent and Cole would catch up to me.  I kept ahead of them until around mile 10 and 12 respectively.  They had a little competition going between them.  Cole, the son, was riding a single speed bike that he has just finished restoring.  His dad was riding his regular road bike with gears and it sounded like some trash talking had been going on between the two! Brent was rider 63 and caught up to me first.  He told me I should tell Cole that he was way ahead of me:) Unfortunately we were on an out-and-back section of the course so I couldn't mislead Cole. Also of note, Cole was racing in jean shorts or jorts over his bike shorts and had Vans shoes on!

While the temperatures weren't as frosty as the race organizers would have hoped, the wind was out of this world.  The wind was steady at probably 10-15mph with gusts up to 30-40mph.  There were sections of the course that were directly into the wind and you could just feel your bike slowing.  The cross wind was also a little tough but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Cole, Me, and Brent after the race

 I finished up the race in 1 hour 11 minutes 7 seconds.  This calculated out to a 16.87mph average pace and 8 out of 17 for females.  I was pretty pleased with my performance given the rolling hills on the course and the stiff wind.  For the family competition, Brent ended up with the win and a 20.8mph average to Cole's 20.2mph average.

Going into this race, I was worried that I wouldn't remember how to ride outside since I haven't had my bike off the trainer since November.  I guess it's true...you never forget how to ride a bike!