3rd Annual Chunky Dunk Duathlon Race Report

This is one of my favorite races. I did the Chunky Dunk back in 2011 when it first started. I had an amazing experience due to the awesome event staff and race director, that I knew I’d be back. And I was. I did it last year, but never wrote a race report. I had kind of an off year with blogging.

This year was the 3rd annual Chunky Dunk Duathlon and as a new addition this year, they had a paddle board race and swim as an option. My friend, Alyson came and did the race with me for the 2nd year in a row and we did the usual swim/run race, but it was nice to see them branching out!

In usual race fashion, I set out my stuff the night before and aimed to get a good night’s sleep. And in usual race fashion, I didn’t go to bed until 2 am. Happens all the time. I know I’m not the only one!

After getting checked in and tatted up with my race number, I realized that I had gotten a T-shirt for paddle boarding instead of the Chunky Dunk. So I went over to exchange them. On my way back to the set up area, my posse informed me that I had gotten the wrong race number. Sure enough, I wasn’t Meredith... and I wasn’t number 33 either. That was disappointing. I was kind of excited that I was number 33 because that’s my age! It’s the little things that excite me, I tell you. Instead I was number 65. They had looked at my age instead of my race number when pulling my packet. Since I had already been written on in sharpie, I got block numbers on me to cover up the mistake. I calculated that it would come off in approximately 32 days. Turns out, rubbing alcohol takes of off in about 10 minutes. Maybe 2 for regular numbers. But with half my arm blackened, it was a bit longer. Holly, I’m looking at you on this one.

See? Not me!

As I was getting ready, I realized I was again breaking the cardinal rule of racing by trying out something new on race day. Goggles. I had been having issues with my goggles because they were old and fogged up really bad within seconds of starting a swim. So I bought a new pair. It was the same brand so I figured it would be fine. It wasn’t. I had issues with the straps pulling loose and not fitting into the bracket, resulting in loose fitting goggles. I actually used them for the first time at the Mass State Triathlon  and I had the same issue then too. You’d think I’d learn

They started race announcements and told us that because there were a bunch of different races going on at the same time they were going to have all the swim/run racers start in one wave together instead of in 4 waves as planned. Damn, I was hoping for a head start!  

We headed out on the half-mile swim and I realized I couldn’t see the buoys. So I just followed the hoard of people in front of me and figured I’d see the buoy when I got close enough to it. I was right. And it was fine. Got the swim done, hit the beach with my usual out of water pose and headed to the transition area to get my sneakers on for the run.

Who am I kidding? I didn’t run. This was my first running in a race since 2012 sometime and my first time running in at least a month. I was in no way shape or form ready to run. But I kind of did it anyway. I did a bit of running, or jogging really, but walked most of it.

A few people were behind me in the swim, but passed me on the run, no surprise there, so I was the last finisher of the swim/run. Normally being last place would bother me as it has in the past with my mantra of I don’t care where I finish as long as I finish, and I’m not last. But when I realized I could still feel accomplished even when I finish last, like I did at the Mass State Triathlon, I wasn’t so bothered.

I was however disappointed with myself for not training at all. I certainly had the time do some training swims and runs before this race, but I got lazy and just didn’t challenge myself. I like the fun of the races, but none of the fun of the training. All that does is build me up for disappointment at a race when I know I could have done better. Last year in the race, I shaved 4 minutes off my time from the year before. This year I added 3 minutes. I know I can do better. And I know I’ll do this race again next year, so I know what I need to do to swim and run a better race.

After the race, they were doing the awards for the top finishers in each age group. Instead of medals they were giving beer mugs with the Chunky Dunk logo on it. I jokingly asked the race director, Holly, where my award for last place was. She grabbed a mug and handed it to me. I told her I was only kidding!! Then said “Wait!” and grabbed a second mug then said, “You get two because you’re so awesome”. Well, THAT I can agree with! I went back to our transition area with my trophies and gave one to Alyson, because in my book, we’re both awesome!

We headed back to the house to change and take some pictures with our shirts, mugs and of course the infamous “We don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk” sign before heading back into town to grab some lunch.

And the next day we celebrated with some wine with frozen grapes in our mugs.

If you live in the area, you definitely need to check out this race next year. It’s one of the good ones. I promise! Plus, I'm listed on their site as a "success story". If I can do it, you can do it!

Mass State Triathlon - Aquabike Race Report

It’s been almost 2 weeks since the Mass State Triathlon and I’m still alive. I survived it. Never again, for sure. But I survived it. And not even the whole thing. I did the Aquabike. A 0.9 mile swim and 22 mile bike. The full tri was followed up by a 6.2 mile run, but I wasn’t crazy enough to add that on.

I was pretty much blah about the whole thing. I missed the Escape the Cape triathlon in June because I wasn’t well enough to race it. And from there, I just didn’t train. I’ve done squat challenges, arm workouts and ab workouts on a regular basis as well as a few runs, bike rides and swims but I’m definitely not in triathlon training mode. I’m lucky I got through the aquabike.

When I went to pick up my packet the day before the race, I asked about medals for the aquabikers, because it occurred to me that I didn’t know where or how the aquabike was going to end. I knew the runners crossed the finish line under the big Max Performance arch, but what about those of us that decided not to torture ourselves for a 6.2 mile run after all of that biking? When I asked at packet pick up, I was told that medals were for the top 3 males and the top 3 females in the aquabike category and there were only about 20 signed up for the aquabike, so I had a good chance. Obviously this lady did not know me. But that still didn’t stop me from checking out the list of aquabikers to see my chances. I had none.

But I was still fierce. My motto: Fake it til you make it!

I started the swim in the last wave with the relay group, the newbies, and the aquabikers. 

Gotta have fun right?

I clearly was going to be the last one out of the water. I expected it and thought that unless someone from an earlier wave dropped back and got passed, I’d be last. And I was right. Last out of the water.

I'm probably flailing because I'm glad to be done!

But I had fun. And I finished.

I knew I’d be the last biker too and with 22 miles ahead of me, I took my sweet time in transition. In addition to my tri shorts, I put on my bike shorts. If I had to ride for 22 miles, I was sure as hell going to make it as comfortable as possible.

So I sat right down and made myself at home.

And then I was off...

I had driven the bike course the day before and although the elevation map showed that it was a gradual uphill for about half the course, then a gradual downhill. No problem right? Except that was lies. All lies. The last half of the course had a fair amount of uphill as well. Dread.

The first half of the course was as expected: a gradual climb that was doable, but annoying. Not enough flat ground to get rest, but just enough to take the edge off of the hills. It was very tiring. The course description said “gradual rolling hills with small climbs at miles 7-9”.  Well, they lied. Mile 9.8 was the worst. I stopped once to catch my breath. Then when I got to mile 12, I decided I was wrong. Mile 12 was the worst. By this time I was already halfway there. I had no choice but to keep going. But the volunteers on the course were great. It was no secret that I was the last biker out there and each time I got to a turn or an intersection where traffic might be an issue, there was at least 2 volunteers, and sometimes more, plus a police officer waiting for me, ready to hold up traffic for me to let me go buy. I was definitely impressed with Max Performance’s dedication to their racers. They made sure all of us were safe out there.  When I hit mile 14.5, there was an officer there as well as a sign that said “bike course”. A guy was standing on the sidewalk getting ready to cross, but was held up because I was going by. He yelled out “Bike course? Is a race? Are you the leader? Are you winning?” And I yelled back “Hell yes I am!”. 

When I got to mile 16.3, there was a volunteer who told me that right around the corner there was a bit of a climb but once I hit the golf course it was downhill to the finish. Liar. That one was the new worst.

When I got to mile 16.9, I started doing math. I knew the course was 22 miles. I started figuring out how many more miles I had to go.  I did it again at mile 17.5 and 17.6 and 17.7. When I reached mile 18, I thought “Wouldn’t it suck if I got a flat tire right now?” Then I did math again to get my mind off of that.

Around that time, I passed a hospital. I contemplated going in there and playing dead, but the hill into the parking lot was undesirable so I just kept going. A little while later I passed a cemetery. I thought about just laying down on the grass next to a grave and letting the elements of nature cover me over eventually. But again, I kept going.

Finally I made it. And I was alive. It took me a minute to get off my bike in the dismount area, because sitting on a bike seat for 22 miles is a little bit like getting punched in the crotch. It hurts. Of course I stopped to pose for a picture. 

I like to entertain the volunteers.

Then I made my way to the transition area. And it was over. I had no idea where I was supposed to go or what to do. There was no finish line for aquabikers, so I assumed that after finishing the bike portion and crossing the timing mats into transition, I was done.

But, back to that medal thing. I wanted one. Even though I didn’t do the full triathlon, I paid the same amount as the crazy people did. And I finished my race too! I had to give them my timing chip back, which was over by the finish line, so as I was handing it over, someone from the relay race was asking about medals. It turns out, everyone got a medal for finishing. So I got my medal too!

And I posed by the finish line anyway!

After the race, I got a chance to talk to my favorite transition helper, Megan, about the confusion of the aquabike ending, and she said that it was their first year doing the aquabike and they were still trying to smooth things out. I trust they’ll get it straightened out for next year. They’re good about that stuff. It’s why I keep coming back. Thanks again for a great race experience, Max Performance! You're definitely a No Runners Left Behind approved race!

While I’m pretty sure I pushed myself to the limit and I’m definitely not ready for another Olympic distance triathlon any time soon, I have faith that I might try it again in the future, when I’ve had more training and I’m more confident in my health.

But for right now...I’ll stick to the sprint distances. In the meantime, I have the Chunky Dunk Duathlon that I’m doing tomorrow morning. In about 8 hours. I should get some sleep for that.

“Winning doesn’t always mean getting first place; it means getting the best out of yourself.” – Meb Keflezighi

Escape the Cape Non-Race Report

Usually I’ll do a race report for the races I do. Last year, I kind of disappeared and didn’t really blog about my races or training. I had a lot of distractions in my life last year. More on that later. Maybe. Moving on.

This year, I’d like to blog more about my races, training, and what’s going on with me. I’ll try. We’ll see.

So this is supposed to be a race report for the Escape theCape Triathlon. Instead it’s a Non-Race report. I’m also supposed to be doing the triathlon right at this very minute. Instead I’m writing this Non-Race report. Let me explain.

I signed up for the Escape the Cape Tri back in January. Along with an Olympic distance aqua-bike, the Chunky Dunk Duathlon and the Title 9 Triathlon. Then at the Tri-Mania Expo in March, I signed up for the Tufts 10K in October. Jesus, what is wrong with me?

Anyway, I created a training plan and started my training. Things were going well. I was swimming, biking, still trying to run, etc. Everything was falling into place. Then I got sick. Not the kind of sick that knocks you out for a week and then you’re back on track. The kind of sick that sneaks up on you, drains you of all energy, immobilizes you and ultimately lands you in the hospital for a week. Yeah, that happened.

I’m not a doctor-going, drug-taking, hospital type of person. I don’t even take anything for a headache. So this was a big deal. BIG deal.

It started on the day of the Earth Day 5K at Stonyfield. I was signed up for that 5K, but had been having joint pain the week before and couldn’t really walk comfortably, so running the 5K was out. Looking back now, it all really started back in February, but since it was slow going and snuck up on me, I didn’t see symptoms or feel anything was really wrong until I started getting joint and muscle pain in April. I went to the race with a friend and watched her race, but I felt crummy and really exhausted. When I got home, I spent the rest of the day in bed. The next day, Sunday, I was in bed all day too. On Monday, I wasn’t just tired and staying bed, I was physically unable to get up. I had joint & muscle pain, a rash, a fever, and severe dizziness when I got up. Tuesday was ridiculous. I wasn’t getting any better, and was progressively and obviously getting worse. I couldn’t move from bed, even to go to the bathroom without help. I couldn’t eat or drink because my throat was so sore and I couldn’t even sit upright without feeling like I was going to pass out.

I called my primary care physician (who I had never even met, since I don’t see doctors, and only had her name because I had to put down someone’s name on my health insurance packet) for an appointment because I knew I couldn’t even sit up in the emergency room for a wait. After almost passing out in the exam room, she called an ambulance to take me to the ER.

After 3 hours, they determined that my red blood cell count levels were dangerously low and transferred me to another hospital that specialized in hematology. Normal RBC counts are between 40 and 45 for women my age. Mine were 20 when I first went into the ER. When they tested me again after transferring me to the second hospital, they had dropped to 13. It’s probably safe to say, it’s a good thing I didn’t wait any longer.

I was in the ER for 24 hours. They pumped me full of all sorts of fun stuff and hilarious stories came from that. Apparently I was seeing things and kept talking about them. Even in my worst moments, I’m still good for a laugh. Except when they gave me Oxy. That was a disaster. Puke.

They finally moved me up to a room and started blood transfusions, more IVs – both saline and iron, and an array of meds to try and combat whatever it was that was going on with me. They tested me for everything under the sun. Thought maybe I had been bitten by a tick or, worse, had an autoimmune disease that was causing my Hemolytic Anemia.

Everything came back negative. Which was good, because I didn’t have whatever it was they thought I had, but also bad because they still didn’t know what I had. I had an entire army of Doogie Howser doctors, still in training, searching through every medical journal and website they could find to figure out what could be going on with me.

The only thing that came back positive was Epstein-Barr. But not positive as in, I had it. Positive as in I had it in the recent past. Most people have EBV in their bodies and it is most notably connected to Mono. Back in February I was really sick for about a week and had most of the same symptoms. So, I can only assume that’s where that came from. Other than that, they couldn’t find anything else. I had hematologists, rheumatologists, infectious disease doctors, auto immune doctors and interns and residents visiting me multiple times a day to hear my story and try to figure me out. They never did. I decided that I should have just taped myself telling my story of how things progressed so I could just press play when someone new came in to hear it. I probably told my story over 40 times. That’s not an exaggeration.

My blood levels finally raised enough for them to feel comfortable about me going home, and I felt okay enough. So after a week of searching, probing, and questions, they finally let me go home with a cocktail of meds to keep my RBC counts up enough. I’m finally able to wean myself off of them and get back to normal. But they still don’t know what caused the Hemolytic Anemia. I’ve always had anemia, but not as severe as this. And they are still driving themselves crazy trying to figure out what happened.

Since all of this happened from the middle of April until the middle of May, I wasn’t able to train, or even work out at all. Even taking a walk was hard for me. My first test walk on the treadmill when I was home from the hospital was at a speed of 2.0 for 20 minutes. I tried to up it to 2.5 and couldn’t do it. I’m very impatient and I get frustrated very easily when I can’t do something simple that I used to be able to do. I couldn’t even open a simple jar, package of crackers, or a gallon of milk without help. I was so weak and had no strength control at all. I hated it. I felt so helpless and as a very independent person, it was hard for me to ask for help. Even though it’s been a little over a month since I’ve been home, a friend just said to me the other day “Stop trying to lift things!” when I was helping carry a table across a room and was having difficulty. In my defense, it was a heavy table!

But onto better news, I’m doing much better. My RBC counts still aren’t what they want them to be. I’m getting blood taken every week for testing and as of this week my RBCs were at 29.4. Not the 40-45 they want them to be, but not at 13 either. I’ve come to the conclusion, that this is just my normal level. I’ve been around 29 for the past 4 weeks and I feel fine. I’ve been adding in exercising, taken a few runs and bike rides and tomorrow I’m planning on getting back into my Sunday spin & swim routine.

My next race is the Olympic distance aqua-bike at the Mass State Triathlon on July 14th, so I have a goal and a new training plan to get on with. I’ve started out slow and will continue to add to my training slowly. I definitely wasn’t ready enough for the triathlon today. As much as I wanted to do it and not race it, but just finish it, everyone was pleading with me not to do it. I am definitely stubborn enough to not listen to everyone and just do it anyway, but I knew deep down that I wasn’t ready and I really needed to skip it. But you can bet your ass I went and picked up my race packet for the “free” t-shirt and swim cap!!

Maybe next year.

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2012 Race Report

The big day has come. And gone. Uneventfully.

Disney Princess Half Marathon: February 26, 2012, 6:27am

Yesterday was the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Before you I get you invested and excited, I didn’t finish. We got to mile 5 and got swept for being 8 seconds behind the required pace.  Let me explain...

I had a toe injury for about 3 weeks before the race. I did some swimming and biking, but no running. On race day, it felt fine. There were no toe issues. But in those 3 weeks, I really lost a lot of conditioning and strength. I could have easily worked back up to where I had been if I had a few more weeks, but I just ran out of time.

My 2-mile run a few days ago left my legs sore for a day or two. I thought I was prepared, but I really should have prepared better.

I think what started my downward spiral, toe injury not included, was participating in the 30for60 challenge in December and January. It was a mental struggle for me, as I was more concerned with getting something in each day, that I didn’t focus fully on each running workout and didn’t give it my full attention. Not to mention, it was around the holidays and I started my own business, which I put 110% into and my workouts slacked because of it.

I’m glad I did the 30for60 challenge, though. I learned a lot about myself and I needed it to push me through the holidays. If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably still do it, I’d just be more structured about it and go into it with a better plan. I just played everything by ear and tried to fit things in wherever I could. I should have been more prepared.

I’m not at all using these things as excuses, just lessons to learn for my future endeavors. I knew there was a 16-minute mile and I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with that pace. But I tried. The 5 miles that we did seemed to go by pretty fast. It definitely didn’t feel like 5 miles. Maybe more like 3. Of course now, my legs tell me it feels like 10 miles. I had a good time. Good people, great entertainment and a positive atmosphere.

I planned this race early last year with two friends Gabbie and Amanda. They both live in Florida. We kept in touch as we trained throughout the year and were each other’s cheering squad during good times and motivation during hard times. I wish we lived closer because the training runs would have been a lot more fun as a group since we are all about the same pace.

We all went to the expo together on Friday morning and got some fun race stuff and listened to Jeff Galloway speak. I actually asked him during a Q&A how much conditioning one could lose with 3 weeks off. He told me I shouldn't do the half marathon and do the Royal Family 5K instead. Not an option. Then he said I should just walk the half marathon and jog when I saw the sweepers. Ha. I'd have been swept at mile 1! I appreciated his answer though, because he also stressed the run/walk method which is what we planned to follow.

Expo entrance

Jeff Galloway speaking

I finally got the Spibelt I’ve been wanting. As well as a t-shirt that says, “I did it” with the race course on the back. A little premature, yes, but I had high hopes. I plan to get a patch or decal to put over the word “did” that says “tried”, so it reads, “I tried it”. Then I plan to circle mile #5 on the race course picture and add another decal or lettering that says, “There’s always next year”. Or something to that effect. It was the experience that matters most to me, and it certainly was an experience, that’s for sure.

We all met up at my hotel at around 3 in the morning to board the bus over to Epcot.

Excited at 3am, even on little sleep.

When we got to the race area, we checked out the amenities and got the lay of the land. After checking a bag, we started our walk to the start/corral area. My friends were gracious enough to hop back a corral into H with me since they were all in G and I was in H. I appreciate that more than they realize. It wouldn’t have been as much fun by myself and I’m glad they were willing to stick with me, even if it meant that they got swept in the race because of it.

We used the bathroom about 3 times each – I could not stop peeing! The port-o-potties weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be. We hung out in our corral for about 45 minutes before the race started. As the first corral took off, they counted down and shot off fireworks! Gabbie wasn’t a fan of them and tried to hide under my tutu.

Protecting Gabbie from the fireworks. My tutu was good for lots of things!

As each corral took off, we got to move up closer to the start line. Finally, it was our turn! It was very exciting.

The beginning of the end.

Each mile ticked by really quickly. By mile 2, we saw the lead runner on her way back towards the finish. Wow. She was quick!! I knew my mom was waiting to view us at mile 4.2 so I was constantly texting her letting her know where we were. I also had other friends texting

Hi Mom!!

Right after we passed her we noticed a bathroom with no line. At this point in the race we were one minute ahead of pace and we figured that it would be the best opportunity we’d have to go to the bathroom with little to no line. All of the other port-o-potties that we passed had crazy long lines and I was getting to the point where I couldn’t hold it any longer. So we stopped. By the time we finished, the dreaded balloon ladies marking the back of the pace pack had passed us and we were now a minute behind pace. A 2-minute bathroom break was our downfall.

There were people on bikes riding near us letting us know that we had 5 minutes to get to the next mile marker or we’d be picked up. I appreciated their warnings because I knew how much I needed to pick up the pace to get to where we needed to be. But we just couldn’t do it. We went from one minute behind pace to 8 seconds behind pace by the time we got picked up. If we had just a little bit more distance, we’d have been able to catch up.

We were RIGHT outside the gate entrance to Magic Kingdom, missing our chance to run through the castle by a half mile. Sad. I’m grateful that my mom at least got to see us once on the course. She had originally been planning to wait outside the entrance of Magic Kingdom to see us enter the park, then go back to the finish to wait for us. Instead she decided to go to the spectator view point at mile 4.2, and then walk a 10 min path to see us again at mile 7 near the Polynesian Resort. I’m glad she decided to see us before the park!!

We got onto a bus where they took our names and bib numbers so they could keep track of us and drove us back to the finish area. They gave us our medals and we took a few “non-finisher” pictures.

Nice try.

I didn’t put my medal on. I just carried it around. I don’t feel right wearing it. I may have registered, trained for and started the race, but I didn’t finish it. They gave us finisher medals. I didn’t finish, and I certainly didn’t earn a medal. I’m grateful they still gave us a medal because it’s going on my wall at home as a reminder to keep trying so I can earn that medal another year. It’s hard to see other people walking around the resort wearing their medals, knowing that I got one too, but I can’t wear it because I didn’t finish. Hopefully the disappointment will turn into more motivation for my future races and challenges.

Better luck next time!

Throughout this entire half-marathon experience, I have discovered that I really appreciate the sport of triathlon – sprint triathlon, that is. My sprint triathlon last year was a total of 13.63 miles. Just over the distance of a half marathon, yet there are 3 sports to break it up instead of constant running, which for the record, I still hate. I haven’t yet signed up for the Title 9 Sprint triathlon again for 2012, but I think I will now. I was turned off by all of the horrid hills on the bike ride, but I think if I continue to train and work on more strength training, I can do better than last year!

As far as the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I don’t doubt that I’ll do it again. I didn’t reach my goal – to finish. So I have to keep trying until I finish. I won’t lie; it was disappointing not to finish. I would have loved to cross that finish line. I would have loved to even get to Magic Kingdom and run through Cinderella’s castle. But this time, it just didn’t workout. I don’t know if I’ll do it next year or not, but eventually, I will. I want to make sure I can be under the time limit and know confidently that I will finish the race, not just hope for the best.

Despite the disappointment of being swept on the course, I’m proud of myself. I’m proud of myself for having the guts to try it. I’m proud that I kept up with my training plan the entire time (minus the 3 week injury period), I’m proud of myself for not quitting. I’m proud of myself for thinking those 5 miles that I did complete, were easy. I’m proud of myself for doing my best. And I’m so lucky to have so much support in my friends, family, and those who read my blog. I appreciate each and every one of you and thank you so much for cheering me on throughout my journeys.