Big News!

Ladies and gents, I am registered for Half Ironman Chattanooga for May 2016! Wahh!!!! 

I've heard incredible things about this course....The time of year, the scenery, the point-to-point downstream swim (can I get an amen?) Then I learned the race is on my birthday! (A sign, yes?) To top that, two of my friends from church wanted to join in! 

I heard the race is so popular that it sells out within hours. I knew registration was supposed to open on the 11th but I wasn't sure what time. So I checked it every hour from 5am on. I asked Billie to keep checking too, as he is on a computer most of the day during this deployment. 

Then I got this message: 

Talk about a supportive husband. I'm so thankful for him! It was a rush to try to register as fast as I could and notify my friends too. We all three got IN!

I also purchased the refund plan in case of any life changes or family additions before May. :) 

I'm really excited about the opportunity to take triathlon to the next level. Training with friends will be a bonus blessing. Can't WAIT! 

Music City Tri 2015

I did it! My first Olympic distance triathlon!  Music City Tri in Nashville on Sunday, July 26, 2015. 

Packing the day before is quite an undertaking... Can you believe all this stuff for just a few hours?

(Not pictured: my bike, 3 water bottles, and Garmin watch) 

At 6pm the night before the race, my a/c went out. The house temp quickly climbed to 80 degrees. Haha 

Ohhh the timing. I left a message with the a/c company and stayed the night with Kaitlyn, who was riding with me to Nashville Sunday morning. She spent the whole day cheering for me, ringing a cowbell, taking pictures, and sending updates to my Mom and Billie. I can't thank her enough!!  

We made it to Nashville at 6am, checked in, and set up my transition spot. 

My favorite part---pre race sunrise. 

Setting up transition right on Broadway! Can you see the Hard Rock sign? 

 

Modeling my first real Tri tat-- as opposed to permanent marker. Felt so official! 

No one is in it for the swim cap and spandex, I'll tell you that. :) 

Walking the plank to the swim start. I'm so glad I didn't know how tough the swim was about to be! Ignorance is bliss here. 

Photo credit: 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2015/07/26/white-repeats-winner-triathlon/30581091/

Can you see us jumping off the pier? One person in the water every 3 seconds. 

Photo cred for the above 3 photos: http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2015/07/26/white-repeats-winner-triathlon/30581091/

The Olympic racers swam a clockwise rectangle, following buoys. The current was so bad, resulting in so many swimmers stopping and waving for boat support, that the coast guard canceled the swim for the rest of the racers. I'm so glad I didn't know this until AFTER. I felt great initially. Then when I made my first right turn, swimming perpendicular to the current, I felt like I wasn't moving forward, only being pushed to my left... Away from the next buoy. After minutes of only moving further away, I seriously thought about waving for support and giving up. But I prayed for peace, closed my eyes (so I couldn't see how little I was actually moving!) and tried to reach the bank on the other side of the river as quickly as I could, even if it pushed me off course. (Luckily, Kaitlyn explained right before the race that the current is the worst in the middle of the river. But if you can "hug" a bank, it's easier to manage. Makes sense although I would not have thought of that!) 

I tried to stay light-hearted and make jokes to myself. So in my head, I sang "shoulda lifted more weights!!! Shoulda lifted more weeeeigghttsss!!" As I pushed my arms through the water as hard as I could! 

I have never been so happy as when I got out of that water! I was smiling so big, thanking Jesus! And my swim time was only a minute slower than I anticipated. Don't know how that happened, but I'll take it!! 

Next up, my favorite.... The bike. The bike is long and fun. Time to get your thoughts together, settle in, and enjoy the scenery. I held a steady 17.5mph average pace for 25 miles. Most of the course was on the (closed) interstate. But Kaitlyn snapped these pics of me at the turn-around and the finish. 

Finally, the run. My weakness and the part of the race I find most challenging! I really worked on compartmentalizing this run. Just thinking about getting to the NEXT mile marker. My first 3 mile loop felt great-- 10min mile pace. Alternated water and powderade at every aid station. At 2 aid stations, I grabbed handfuls of ice and stuffed them in my shirt! But during the second loop, I started feeling cramps in weird places on my legs. I wasn't sure what to do! Whether to rub them, walk, stretch, or just try to keep running. One runner stopped and gave me some of his BASE salt lick. I didn't know if it would help, but it was worth trying! 

Sweet finish line sighting!!!! Ah the best feeling. Kaitlyn and I both got teary- eyed when I crossed. Nothing like it. :)

Casey and me. 

Thank you, IV fluids and Toradol, for a speedy recovery! 

My times--- 

Swim (.93 miles): 37min 

T-1: 3:23 

Bike (26.7 miles): 1hr 33mins 

T-2: 1:36 

Run (6.2 miles): 1hr 7min 

Total time: 3hrs 22mins 

Paris Landing Sprint Tri 2015

Saturday morning began with a 3:30 alarm. I woke up, made a quick cup of coffee, changed into my triathlon suit, and loaded my bike for the Paris Landing Sprint Tri.

I drove to Casey's house, loaded my bike into her truck, and then we picked up another friend for the drive. Casey is a two-time Ironman. A mutual friend connected us a couple weeks ago. Turns out she is doing all the same races I'm doing in the next couple months. We met on July 4th and did an open water swim together at Lake Barkley, KY, where her family was spending the day. 

I had planned to drive to this race alone, so it was a bonus blessing to ride with two new friends and see some smiling, familiar faces before and after the race. 

Back to Saturday morning... We drove the hour to Paris Landing. My nerves were steadily growing as I realized the road we were on WAS the bike course. And it looked like a steady uphill. But I told myself, "for every uphill, there's a downhill..." I knew I could gain some speed on the decline and rest my legs a little. 

We got checked in and set up our transition spots to this sunrise...Can't beat that. 

Transition set-up 

This was my 3rd sprint tri, but the distances are all a little different. Overall, I was pleased with the outcome! 

I sped up in every sport plus I raced my first open water swim. (My first two sprint triathlons were in pools.) Swimmers started every 3 seconds. It was a bit awkward trying to spot the buoys in the sunlight, swim in a straight line to the buoys, and pass other swimmers (trying not to get kicked in the face!) But I think I managed a fairly straight line. Ha. 

Here were my stats: 

Swim (500 meters): 12:26 

2:29/ 100 meters 

Transition 1- 1:03

Bike (14 miles): 47:51

17.55 mph average 

Transition 2- 59 seconds 

Run (3 miles): 25.51 

8.37/mile*

Total Time: 1:28 

*the run was actually shortened to 2.57 miles (I think) because part of the run course was under water. So I may have been closer to a 10min/mile. My watch read a 9.25 min mile, so who knows! 

Finished!

Two weeks til my first Olympic distance tri. (1500 yard swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run.) Trying to not get cold feet!! :) 

New Addition to the Family

No, not a baby. :)

And not a dog either (still allergic.) 

A road bike.

Ladies and gents, please welcome Lexa to the Webb family. (Lexa S to be exact.) 

I had been thinking about trading in my trusty hybrid and upgrading to a road bike for a while. I asked around for a reputable bike shop in town, and all signs pointed to Bikes and Moore in Hopkinsville. 

I spent a couple hours there on Saturday discussing a possible trade in, testing out a few road bikes, and asking all my questions. The owner, Tim was one of the nicest and down to earth guys. Talk about knowledgeable. And so patient. 

I left with a price quote including everything from the bike down to the water bottle holders. I left so excited to fill Billie in on everything! 

Billie gave me his blessing, and I dreamed about the bike twice in 3 nights. Not kidding. Needless to say, I jumped on the first chance I could to go back! I got off work uncharacteristicly early today and sped home to load up my hybrid (to trade in.) 

I opened the garage door, attached my bike rack to my trailer hitch, and loaded up my hybrid before walking into the house... To hear a women from our alarm system company saying, "ma'am, is everything ok? Are you ok?" 

I ran to the alarm panel and disarmed it, quickly yelling, "yes ma'am! I'm ok!! I forgot to disarm before opening the garage door!" That was a first. But I'm so glad I went inside and disarmed before police were dispatched. That woulda been a whole 'nother blog post. 

Back to the bike. I spent almost 3 hours at the shop. Got fitted for bike shoes and clipless pedals (don't be fooled by the name... They're the ones you "clip" into) learned to change a tire, and got my bike computer (cat eye brand) up and running.

Got my sights set on what will be my first Olympic distance triathlon in August. But for now, I'm just trying to learn to clip in and out of my new pedals without falling over. Ha! 

 

My 2nd Sprint Triathlon!

Well, the race went well! Overall, I beat my last time by over 1 minute. I was hoping to beat my last time by 3 minutes, but I did my best, so I can't be unhappy about that!

Billie and I were up at 4:15 for a 5am registration and 6am start time on Saturday. Side note: I feel so blessed to have a husband that supports whatever I love and is there to keep my time, take pictures, and cheer me on! And on our drive to the race, I got the most PRECIOUS video from my nieces and nephew saying they were cheering me on. I watched it about 10 times yesterday!

pre-race sunrise

post-race pic with my hubby

 So, here are the details. Plus the good, the bad, and the ugly! :)

1st leg: The 800 meter swim. I wasn't worried about the swim at all. (Which I thought I would never say!!!) For the past two months, I have just done 1 swim workout a week, but it's true that you can improve your swim so quickly. I just recently noticed that I could swim longer distances without switching strokes to catch my breath (meaning I can freestyle the whole distance and keep my breathing steady.)

Goggles and swim caps are just so darn flattering!

And it's true that slow and steady wins the race (or swim, at least.) :) Everyone around me took off fast, but I was 3rd out of the water in my heat. I felt great about it! I ended up beating my previous swim time by 2-3 minutes! (My total swim time was about 15 minutes.)

Running to my bike.

 2nd leg: The 13 mile bike. As you know, I was riding my friend's road bike. And I still can't decide what I thought about it. My bike time for 13 miles was about the same as my last race, which I did on my hyrbid bike. But also, it's not comparing apples to apples since the courses were entirely different. I don't necessarily feel like I rode faster. I may have gotten less fatigued though. Still can't decide!

Quick transition

Off I go.

 I got off the bike feeling good but dreading the last leg... the run.

3rd leg: The 5k run is just tough. I did a lot more "brick" workouts these last two months of training, which means swimming or biking then running immediately after. Running rested and running after another workout are completely different! But I'll confess that I don't think this run was ANY easier than my last race! In all honestly, I think I still haven't gotten used to running here. The elevation and the air are so different in Arizona. I don't know what the trick is! But I have a  lot of work to do on my running form and speed. Some runners were striding it out as they passed me and leaving me in the dust! :)  AND I almost stepped on a live snake. He slithered away into the grass with his neck and head turned backwards looking at me. EEEKKKK.

About to cross the finish line

Two of my good friends from work. They did AWESOME. 

Billie drove me to Bisbee for a "Mexican Mocha" from Bisbee Coffee Company as my "treat." Not so paleo, but I decided ahead of time that THAT was what I wanted. :) Oh man, and it was OH-SO-GOOD!!! The rest of the day was back to normal eating, but surprisingly, I just wasn't that hungry! But we had a great, restful rest of the Saturday.

How was your weekend??

Sunday Morning Bike Ride

Charity and I bike together about once a week, early in the morning.

This week, she let me borrow her road bike to try it out! I was so excited. I have a hybrid, which is a mix between a road bike and a mountain bike. And I love it, but I've been curious to see if a road bike feels different.

So we rode 20 miles towards Hereford early Sunday morning. Isn't this view awesome?

And in case you're interested, here are the differences I noticed between the hybrid and road bike:

- The obvious: Road bikes have curved, downward facing handle bars, instead of straight.
- The hybrid sits a little more upright. You're leaning forward a little more on the road bike.
- Hybrid tires are a bit bigger and stouter than a road bike. But not as big as a mountain bike.
- Road bikes are sensitive with steering (A little movement gets ya a long way!)
- Hills are still hills... meaning they're hard no matter which bike you're on. But I didn't feel as fatigued/out of breath climbing on a road bike.
- Hybrids can handle jolting and uneven road a bit more easily.
- Road bikes don't have a kick stand. 
- The seat is slimmer on a road bike... I'm still feeling this one! :/

My hybrid is fine for sprint distance triathlons (13 mile bike.) But if I set my sights on longer distances, I may want to look into a road bike! I'm checking the local bike stores for used road bikes. Maybe one day! :) 

The best news is... Charity offered to let me use her road bike this Saturday, when I will be competing in my second sprint triathlon. A couple other good friends are joining in too. So I'm excited!

My First Triathlon

Well, I did it!!!

Or as my 3 year old niece would say, "me did it!!!" :) (Every time I finished a hard training workout, I could hear her sweet voice in my head.)

I am officially a triathlete.

When I woke up this past Monday morning, I had butterflies in my stomach because I knew it was race week! I've looked forward to this week and simultaneously been dreading it for a long time! :)

I also started feeling sick mid-week.... I think I caught Billie's sinus crud. But I loaded up on pseudophedrine and Benadryl and I got through!

On race day, we woke up at 4:30 am and got on post at 5:30 am. I checked in and set up my transition spot. Then we waited. And I felt surprisingly calm. I was in the 3rd heat/group. So although the race started at 6:30, I didn't get into the water until about 7:15. 

My transition spot

 The swim (800 yard or 1/2 mile): I felt like the swim was the calm before the storm. The water was COLD, but I had practiced swimming in this exact pool. It was familiar. So I mentally convinced myself that this was just another practice swim. Each lane was shared by two swimmers, and a lap counter was sitting at the head of the lane. The lap counter would wave a marker in the water when you had just one lap left. Before each turn, I loved seeing Billie standing right behind the rope, cheering me on. I beat my estimated time by a few minutes, which was awesome. Billie said I was the third female out of the water in my heat.

The lap counters

The bike (13 miles): I'm so thankful I had already ridden this bike course. It helped me be prepared. There were a few small hills and then one looong stretch that was steady uphill. And the wind was brutal... Going right against us on this climb uphill. To given you an idea, my average bike pace is about 15-18 mph. On this climb, I could barley go 9 mph. BUT, when I made the half-way turn and went back down this same stretch, my bike got to 31 mph!!!! I have never even seen that number on my bike computer. I couldn't pedal fast enough for my pedals to "catch." The wind and the decline were doing the work. That was a great feeling :) It made me want to yell across the road to all the bikers still on the incline, slowly slogging it up... "it gets better! You're almost there!"

 

Towards the end of the bike ride, a lady rode up beside me on a road bike and said, "for someone on a hybrid, you're darn hard to catch!!!" haha I laughed and thanked her. (A hybrid bike is a mix between a road bike and mountain bike... Tires are medium size.) I'd say me and my Trek did just fine. :)

The run (3.1 miles): I had practiced the bike-to-run transition 5 times. And I had run 3-5 miles many times before. But this run. Was. Miserable. I came in fast from the bike and when I transitioned to the run, I felt like I just couldn't get my heart rate and breathing to slow down and steady out! I definitely have to work more on this transition next time.

Highlight of my run: I have become friends with the guys who own and work at M and M Cycling. I took my bike to them a couple times during my training. They were so helpful! Mike and Martin (owners) used to be big-time competitors in the cycling and triathlon world. Well, Martin is from Scotland and always comments on my Louisiana accent. During the run, I all-of-a-sudden heard a bike behind me and a voice say "hey there Miss Louisiana. You having fun yet?" in his Scottish accent. Martin wasn't competing, but he was there to support some friends. It was so fun to see someone I knew!

If you ever consider a triathlon, I SO recommend it. It's so fun and encouraging. Other athletes cheer you on as you pass them. And training just takes you a little past what you think you can do... each time. If you have any questions, please ask me! I've learned so much, and been given lots of great tips along the way. For me, this has been a goal for so long. That made it even sweeter.

Here are a few of the quotes that have encouraged me during these last 10 weeks of training. :)

This one was helpful every time I put on my swim suit, swim cap, or tri suit! :)