Over the past few weeks, I have been doing many long training runs out of town – one weekend in Maryland (15 miles) when I was visiting my parents and the other weekend in Napa, CA (18 miles) during a trip with a friend.  Both runs in MD and CA consisted of many large hills. And while my pace was consistent, it was slower than I wanted it to be, averaging out to around 11:00 pace/mile.

At the 1/2 marathon start line on Saturday, I was tired and drained.  I have had a lot going on in my personal life and that has affected my ability to train with a clear conscience. Thus, I wasn’t sure how my 13.1 mile run would go that morning.  Luckily, the weather was perfect, with cool temperature and lots of sun.

I met a few of the Gilda’s Club team runners and other clients/friends at the starting line.  I hoped everyone had a strategy and was prepared with hydration and gels. My personal plan was to run consistently at a 10min pace for the first 6-7 miles then turn it up if I had the energy on the last half of the race. I knew this race would consist of several big hills on the west side and around by Lasker Pool, so pacing was tremendously important.

I completed the race’s first mile at a 9:34 pace, making me think that I better slow down, as I was not sure if I could maintain this for 13 miles.  The next few miles were slightly slower as I hit the hills, but I still maintained an average around 10 minutes per miles. I started taking gels and hydration after the first 30 minutes and was on target to have my best run through the first six miles of any training run so far this season.

When I came around the first lap marker I was really pleased with my pace and time, but I wondered if I could push myself harder and faster for the 2nd loop?

My strategy was to stay consistent on the flats and push much harder on the downhills. My heart rate was dancing around my lactate threshold so I knew I couldn’t go too much faster without risking blowing up.  As the miles passed by I felt amazingly good.  The last 2 miles on the home stretch were downhill and mostly flat so I picked up the pace and ran 9min and 8:57min respectively.

Crossing the finish line in 2:05, I was really pleased with my time.  I was tired (I just ran 13 miles!) but I actually felt really good.  My Achilles tendon was achy on my left foot but I knew a few days of icing it would heal the inflammation in time for my next run.

At the finish line, I met up with my client Michele – she did great as well finishing in 1:48! A fast 8:15 pace.  My plan this week includes recovery and a few short runs. On Sunday, I’m going to try to tackle 20 miles here in NYC with a mix of Central Park and the west side bike path.

Saturday at both 9:30am and 11:00am I’ll be teaching a Central Park workout to benefit my charity team – Gilda’s Club NYC – An organization that offers FREE counseling and programs for people affected by cancer. Details are as follows:

• Donation is $20 minimum
• Meet at 60th Street and 5th Avenue on the NW corner at the benches.
• Please RSVP so I know how many people will attend.
• Pre-register at www.firstgiving.com/saradimmick or email: sara@physeeq.com

And if you cannot attend, a donation on the website is much appreciated to help me reach my fundraising goal!

The day before the race, started off great – beautiful sunny weather; I took my bike out for a short ride to make sure everything was working properly. Then, Michele (my client who competed with me) and I went to Ghiardelli Square to swim one final time in the Bay before the actual race. While swimming, we met other triathletes from all over the country that had come to San Francisco to compete in the renowned Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.  Afterward, we grabbed some lunch at the farmer’s market and ate by the water. By this time our athlete briefing and packet pickup was the only thing left on the agenda. We went to Marina Green where the expo and meetings were taking place. We were excited and pumped up for the race the next day!  All we had to do was go to dinner and then get to bed early. The time change and spending a lot of time outside walking around had made us pretty tired.

We went to get into our car to go back to the hotel before dinner but the doors would not unlock from the electronic key and when I used the manual key the alarm started to sound.  I immediately threw my bags on the ground and tried to figure out how to get it to turn off. Finally, we were able to silence the alarm, but when I tried to start the car, the alarm again began to sound, this time in conjunction with flashing lights.

Just what we needed – the car would not start! In a panic, we called the car company only to be placed on hold for 30 minutes. Finally, they were able to help get the car started, but both Michele and I became very paranoid that this malfunction could happen again tomorrow morning.  When we arrived back at the hotel, I realized I had forgotten my bag on the ground next to the car – the bag that had all of my race materials in it.  As we went to go back and retrieve it, the car alarm started sounding off again and neither the valet nor I could get it to turn off nor get the engine to start.

Things were quickly going haywire! Again I called the car company and proceeded to be on hold for another half hour. In the meantime, the valet got the car started so we drove back to the race sight to see if we could find my bag. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was gone. Luckily, I caught a woman who was assigning numbers and I got a new number and more race materials – but the special tri top I purchased earlier in the day, my race T-shirt and other swag stuff were not recovered.  As you can imagine, I was not happy, even though the rental car company agreed to send a new car; a new car that did not arrive until 1030pm.

Race Day
Michele and I got a decent night sleep after the craziness of the previous day and woke up ready to go! Driving our new minivan, we arrived at the transition area and set up our bikes and gear. We also had time to scope out some of the pro triathletes setting up their transition – Andy Potts, Hunter Kemper, Chris McCormack, Leanda Cave, Mary Beth Ellis, and Michellie Jones were some of the athletes racing. It was fun to see them up close – most sports you don’t get that close of contact with the pros.

We boarded the bus that was going to take us to the boat. Not long after we sat down, Andy Potts climbed aboard and took the seat across the isle. Michele and I were trying to hold our excitement in as we spied on the pro triathlete’s breakfast of choice – banana, sports drink, and a package of blueberry scones! On the pier, we were loaded onto the boat with 1500 other athletes getting ready to jump into the chilly 55-degree water of the San Francisco Bay. After a circumnavigation around Alcatraz Island, the National Anthem was played and the pros were off! Then in the next six minutes us amateur athletes jumped into the water and started our 1.5-mile swim to the beach at the marina.

I had a bit of trouble getting into a rhythm and didn’t feel very good during the first 10 minutes. I was kind of worried that I might have to call over a kayaker to catch my breath. I wasn’t sure why I was feeling like that since the waves weren’t very big and I had a good practice swim the day before. Just as I took one last break to tread water to decide what I would do next, I burped! This immediately made me feel better and suddenly I was able to get into a good rhythm and complete the swim. Since I took so much time at the beginning to get going I thought for sure my time was slow and I didn’t want to look at my watch for fear I was way behind. Emerging from the water on the beach I was happy to see that my time was 37 minutes (one minute faster than my 2007 time!). I hurried over to my mini transition area, got my wetsuit off and then ran to my bike.

Starting the bike I took in fluids and some shot blocks to get some fast calories in. I attacked the bike and the 18 miles were much easier (even with those massive climbs) than I remembered from 3 years ago. I passed Michele in Golden Gate Park but I knew she’d come back on the run! Dropping off my bike I quickly transitioned to the run. If I had a run similar to what I did the last time I knew I was on course to beat my goal. The first 3 miles I had great splits even for going uphill for mile 2-3. But mile 4 was along the beach in the sand, and then a huge climb up the sand ladder and then another quarter mile uphill. My split that mile was 14:30 and that was not good! I knew I’d have to run an excellent last 5k in under 30 minutes so I pushed myself hard. I passed lots of people on the downhills and stair descents. The last mile and a half was flat and to the finish line. I was going as hard as I could go. Legs burning!  I could tell I was going to come in under my 2007 time and I did by about 3 min.

I met Michele right at the finish – she had come in about 8 min before me – an excellent time. My finish time was 3:28, which accomplished my goal of beating my last course time!!! Like I expected she tore it up on the run! I also found two friends – Heather and Joe who came from Maine to watch me race and take photos. It was really great having friends support me and come out.

Since the run, my body has recovered well.  I’m actually already contemplating my next race.  Any suggestions? Michele is already competing in an Ironman 70.3 (Half Ironman) in Florida this weekend with another client Carly Walker! Good luck to the both of them! Escape from Alcatraz is a great, unique race that is super fun. A race I’ll never forget!

My runs are also getting stronger. I’ve now completed the entire Central Park loop twice, with the second time feeling much better than the first.  As for the bike – all I can say is, “thank goodness for the Olympics and DVR!” I’ve recorded hours of Olympic events and have lots of motivational races and competitions to watch as I cycle in my tiny living room.  I particularly love to watch skiing, speed skating and snowboarding.

Today is my day off from training and I just received a great massage and soft tissue work done by my friend and physical therapist, Sarah Emmanuel from Midtown PT. My IT Band, Quadratus Lumborum and Soleus are all feeling much better.  I’m looking forward to a good night sleep so I can stride through a 50 minute run tomorrow.

-Sara