Season End Run Race Reports - Ups and Downs

Run for the roses

In late August I started batting around the idea of doing another half marathon this
year, but I wanted to get a longer timed run in as well.  It’s been a long time since
I’ve done a 10k run (6.2 miles). Run for the roses (in mid Oct.), which is a
fundraising run, was coming up and we decided to do it as a family.

Abby (just finishing cross country season) and Joshua (in the middle of soccer
season) were both in good shape for a 5k.  Joe who had major back issues
earlier this year has been rehabbing and working with a trainer while easing
back into the run. This race runs a 5k and an hour later runs a 10k.  So I
watched the family start and then went inside to get warm as it was a cool wet day.

Then I watched them finish with Joshua coming in first (3rd in his age group),
Abby came in second (6th in her age group just short of her goal) and Joe
came in third (2nd in his age group).  

I gave them my rain gear and we headed out for the 10k start.  I was happy the rain
stopped shortly after our start and we were off.  This course begins on the middle
school track where we do two laps before heading off down the trails behind the
middle school, up state street hill and around to the front of the middle school,
then we reversed our trip and went through the hilly neighborhoods and back up
state street to the trails to finish.  The 10k race was mostly dry but threw plenty of
hills at us. I felt strong the first four miles or so but then the little hills started to get
to me. I managed to push through and finished in good spirits with a solid time
and 2nd place age group finish. The family had finished their omelettes by the
time I got in and were at the finish to cheer me in.  All in all it was a solid race
for me and I’ll have to do it again next year. Hopefully with less soggy weather.

Before the 5k start

Race stats 2/6 W40 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, 44*, Kelley, IA 57:29

Hillbilly Hike Half Marathon

As I noted above this was a bit of a last minute decision.  In mid-September I was
trying to decide if I had enough time to train for the Des Moines half, which I have
done several times, or Hillbilly Hike half which was purported to be flat and a
fundraiser.  I opted for Hillbilly which gave me a couple more weeks to train.
About the same time I signed up I rolled my bad ankle on a training run and
am still nursing that back to a point where it doesn’t ache.

I spent the weeks leading up to this race training with a group of experienced
runners several of whom were also doing this race.  I felt like I put in the miles
I needed although I had no expectations of having a PR as I hadn’t been real
consistent with my training.  

Leading up to race day, my body had other ideas so while my MS is pretty much
in check although not without limitations, I started having some other issues.  
Starting a couple months ago I’d take my evening meds and feel like they would
get hung up in my esophagus and make me uncomfortable.
Then I had several nights where I’d wake from sleep with shooting pain in my
chest and back.  After the second time in a week I went to see my Dr who put me
on a reflux med and five days later another attack. I finally got a scope done but to
no avail. Either stress or med induced acid reflux I guess. Anyway, I’ve generally felt rather crummy the last three weeks so wasn’t sure how things
were going to shake out for the race.

So race day.  This is a point to point race so we had to be down to Carlisle early to
catch a bus to our run starts.  Joe decided to do the 10k so was on a different bus.
It was chilly and I had batted attire ideas around the night before with my coach
John Mongar and opted for more layers rather than less.  We stayed on the bus
until 15 minutes before the race started in Indianola, and then with my training
buddies we started the race. The pace was pretty assertive and on a normal day
for me it wouldn't have been a problem, but by the first water stop at about 2.2 miles
I started to get a stitch in my side.  I never get stitches and it started to work itself
around into my mid back like the attacks I’d been having only milder.

I just kept running and my teammates started to pull away by mile five.  Fortunately
it seemed when I’d start to get in a funk a new temporary running buddy would
appear, chat with me and keep me going.  This went on over and over throughout
the race and for that I was grateful. I still had stretches alone where I had to dig
deep on this cold and eventually drizzly race day but just kept putting one foot in
front of the other.  By the last four miles I was really struggling and started to walk
longer at each water stop and then shuffle some more. I walked half of the last
mile and finally was walking with another lady and we decided to hustled to the
finish.  By then I kept getting dizzy and was really feeling not well. Thanks
goodness Joe was at the finish line and offered to go get the car as I was shaking
from the cold, dizzy and really uncomfortable.

By some fluke I managed to finish the race in the range I gave my coach (2:10 - 2:20)
but without my body failing on me it probably could have been a PR day.  Either way
I was grateful to be able to run even if it didn’t turn out the way I expected.
Here is to improving health. I have big plans for 2019 so will post more about that
later.  For now, thank you for reading.

AG finish 13/21 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson - Final official time 2:19:28

Race Reports 2018 Cyman Triathlon and a Mud Run

Girl Scout Mud Run

celebrating the finish

Still clean at the start

In september the kids and I did our annual Girl Scout mud run adventure up at Camp Sacajawea outside of Boone.

I didn't think we would be able to do it as we were having issues with the online signup and we got a call from council the Friday before hand and were able to get in the first heat so we could get the boy to his soccer game on time.  

We ended up in the second heat because it took us a few minutes longer than expected to get through registration and check our clean clothes for after the race.  So at 9:10 we were off through the 3 mile course of mud pits and obstacles.

Quite muddy

This was the third time Abby and I have run it and the second time for Joshua.  The last two years with Abby running cross country (and me having a race the next day) she left us in the dust for the section with the steep downhill and up hill.  Joshua and I still had a lot of fun working our way through the course and managed to hang on to our shoes.  As you can see we were quite filthy at the end, the weather was beautiful, and we were first in line at the showers to get clean.


CyMan Triathlon (last tri of the season)

my race sherpa and I

This is a race I really enjoy not just because it usually marks the end of my season, but because it historically has great fall weather and is a fundraiser for the ISU triathlon club.

This year was no different with great weather, a lite wind, sunny sky and lots of great tri friends.  The lake in Bondurant is pretty small and sighting on the way out is always a bit of a challenge so followed the waves in front of me and aimed for some trees on the shore.

It was a wetsuit legal race but a bit warmer than in prior years so got in and got to it.  Unfortunately being the next to last wave I swam through most of the waves in front of me so navigation was occasionally an issue.

coming out of the lake

The bike is a really beautiful course through rolling country side and I always get a bit distracted by the flora and fauna.  I hadn't been on my bike much since July outside of a random spin class here and there (I'll have to work on that next year) so was just going to push it as best I could and try to have a solid ride.

The run was pretty comfortable with temps in the high sixties and sunny skies.  It is an out and back course with a loop around the lake at the end so I had a lot of fun cheering on teammates ahead of me and those behind me as I ran the course.  It was a pretty good 5k run for me.

Almost done

Triracers in mass enjoying the day

Coming into the shoot I was passed by a woman in my age group and I ended up with a 3rd place age group finish for this race.  A lot of other triracers were on the podium with me in their groups as well.

Final stats 1:33 total time, 3rd place AG finish

As always thanks for reading.

Race Reports x3 2018 - Drake Half, Clear Lake Tri, and Bluff Creek Tri

Well, I've been a giant blog slacker... plenty to say just zero time to synthesize any of it so starting with something easy.  Three quick race reports for my fitness adventures so far in 2018.

I decided last year after being a giant slacker and doing one whole triathlon and a couple of 5k runs to get myself organized and fit again.  My gym has this Inbody measurement device that looks at hydration, muscle and fat mass for all parts of your body and such.  I did the first measurement at the end of August in 2017 when I decided to get my tush moving again.  And then did a fifth measurement in May of 2018 and found I was down 8 lbs and 4.4 % body fat (I'm sure in July I put some of the squish back on but such is life... I like sweets too much).

First the Drake Half Marathon

I set some goals as part of the getting back in shape process and that was to do another half marathon and three/four triathlons this year.  Not going to let my body or the weather hold me back so I got myself signed up.



I hadn't done this race before but it sounded like a nice small race to do.  I started doing group runs with the Vardo running group in Ames.  I ran in all kinds of weather and did a least two long grueling treadmill runs thanks to mother nature's whimsy but built a good base and was ready when race day came.  The weather for Drake was about as nice as it could be for a blustery April morning.  We saw lots of vardos and Triracers at the start and I was in good spirits.  I picked a pacer close to where I hoped to end up and then We were off.  

My carpool buddy Ashish

One of the things I was trying leading up to the race was different nutrition options.  My body doesn’t tolerate Gatorade or GU so I generally avoid all free non water offerings at aid stations.  I had been testing a couple Young Living options for hydration and energy so I had a small water bottle with Aminowise, a banana, and two Nitros with me.  I started with the prerace banana, took a nitro between mile 5 and 6.  My pace was right where I wanted to be in the mid nines and felt pretty good through the never ending rolling hills (didn’t expect quite so many), and missed the right time to take my last nitro so miles 11 and 12 I didn’t have much in the tank but pulled it together for a strong finish. My final time was 2:08 which was in my top three for fastest half marathons.  I had fun and would definitely do that course again.

Clear Lake Triathlon

Second new tom me race of the year was Clear Lake triathlon.  My folks have a condo just up the hill from this race so I spend a lot of time training on this course when I’m in town.  I was busy with kid stuff in the days leading up to the race, and I hadn’t really done any racing in 2017 (yeah it sucked and I was stuck last year so this was the year of getting it done).  I threw all my gear together at 10 pm two nights before, then had this and that for the kids after work and rushed up to the lake with Joshua.  I realized as I was getting my gear set out I forgot two things... my wetsuit (not a deal breaker as we’d swam in the lake a couple of weeks earlier) and my goggles!  

Running out of the lake took forever

Yes the former competitive swimmer forgot the goggles.  It was ten pm and there were no options for getting a replacement pair.  I found some kiddie goggles in the condo as a last ditch but thankfully once I set up, I was in transition talking to one of the race volunteers and told them my goggle issue and they said follow me, led me to another local woman who had three pairs of goggles and she set me up with an older pair. They were perfect.

The swim was brisk at the start with water temps in the mid 70s. I hit the start and hyper ventilated a bit the first 100+ yards and I had to do couple quick breast strokes to settle down and give myself a pep talk, and once I calmed down it was smooth swimming.  One thing to note is the lake is pretty

smiling because running is fun

shallow so many ran in a ways, but I opted to swim as soon as it was deep enough. I didn’t follow the same rules getting to shore and ran quite a ways in the lake and legs were burning so probably should have kept swimming.  Didn’t matter because my son and folks were on the shore cheering me out of the water.

The bike was full of small rolling hills and large wind turbines and while I had decent bike training going into this there was a consistent but not super strong wind and I didn’t feel as strong as I’d hoped... seriously everyone passed me.  

The run course was pretty flat and after a quick transition I was off for downtown and the Surf.  I felt like I’d have a strong run and the clouds were hanging on with the cooler air.  I was having fun and we ran through downtown and saw the family again before heading out to the Surf and back to the finish at downtown.  While I didn’t see any racers I knew It was awesome to have part of my family there.  It was a very well supported race and I’d definitely do it again.

Sprint triathlon 750 m swim 13:54, 12.5 mile bike 46:53, Run 5k 28:39 overall time 1 hour 33 minutes

Bluff Creek Triathlon

Leading up to this one I always seem to waiver between doing the sprint and the Olympic distances because the run is always a hot steamy suck fest.  I told myself this year that I was going to stay with the challenge of the Olympic and just adjust the best I can.  I brought several icy water bottles, and a cooler with my cooling shrug which keeps my skin cool when wet as well as a cooling towel on ice.


I did forget my racing sunglasses (case but no glasses) so had to run back up to the truck to get my everyday ones that are also sport ones.  I also forgot breakfast so I ate one of the granola bars I had with me.  Did I say I was nervous about doing the Olympic distance... uh yeah just a bit distracted.  Oh and this race totally snuck up on me as I didn't do any riding after RAGBRAI until the Wednesday before the race and I hadn't done any distance swim workouts until the Monday before.  Eek!

I had fun in transition despite getting arriving later than expected.  I visited with as many of the triracers and Ames folks as I could before the race started as we were well represented.  I took a few calming breaths before the swim start and I was off.  

Again I made bad decisions on goggles as I grabbed an old mirrored pair with impossible to see out of lenses instead of just my tinted pair (time to invest in some new pairs).  Needless to say that made sighting nearly impossible during the swim.  I was forced to sight off my nearest neighbors as the red bouys are really hard to see (race directors... orange or green please) and you can't see the turnaround point for the swim course until you are 1/3 of the way through the swim as you skirt the shore on your left for quite a while before things open up so you don't really sight off the bouys until you are almost to the turn around.  I ran into traffic of the two waves in front of me about half way in and spent the rest of the time weaving through people to the turn.  After that sighting was a little easier with one red and one green bouy before the slippery run out of the lake.

Two awesome ladies (three I guess :)

Once on the bike I was cruising around 18-20 mph until the turn at Pilot mound and the roll to Twister Hill.  I think my max speed on the return trip was just short of 40mph as that hill seemed steeper then the hill on the way out.  After the first big hill I was a bit wiped and it took me a few miles of grinding things out (yes with people passing me) before I pulled it together and had a more focused return trip.  The second hill was a slow grind up (4 mph) but I had taken on some steady nutrition before getting there and felt a lot better after that one.  

My Ames teammates

I made it back to transition and did the dance of the gear swap including my cooling shrug and I was off on a shuffle to the finish.  The course goes through a lovely prairie for 1/4 mile (this is actually the suckiest part of the run despite being lovely because the humidity doubled).  Then it spits out onto a short gravel road and onto the main paved road.  This is an out and back with a repeat and there are two decent hills so you get to run up both of them twice. Thankfully the water stops are at the bottom and you hit those each twice as well.  I was pleased with the camaraderie on the course with people encouraging each other and found I started doing it as well and kept a smile going through the slog which helped keep me moving.  I made sure to double up my water at each stop to drink and to wear, and I took a nitro at the right before the turnaround to repeat the run course.  I had a few sketchy moments where I walked part of the same hill and felt a bit icky but managed to breathe through it.  Highlights of the run... two fuzzy wuzzy caterpillars near the damn at the bottom of the hills.  Never was I so happy to plod across a finish line.  Below is my last take at Olympic distance on this course (2014).  http://blaesing-thompson.blogspot.com/2014/08/race-report-shawn-bluff-creek-olympic .html

The numbers for this go are: .9 miles swim 29:15, 25 mile bike 1 hour 36 minutes, 6.2 mile run 1 hour 11 minutes.  Total for my slowest time ever 3 hours and 32 minutes for the finish.  4th in my age group out of four but I had a great day.  As always thanks for reading.

Race Report - 3rd 1/2 Marathon of the year - Season Wrap Up

 I want to share this great card my husband and kids gave me after my 1/2 Ironman race in September.  They are pretty amazing and my secret spot is formulating some dreams for next year, but until then here is my last race report for 2016. 

Card my husband and kids gave me
after my 1/2 Ironman in September

Card my husband and kids gave me
after my 1/2 Ironman in September

Well, another season is officially in the books.  I have a couple of fun runs left yet this fall but last weekend was my last A race with the IMT Des Moines half marathon.  This was the third time I have run this race and I had a plan.  In 2011 this was my third race in my first year of doing them.  I finished it with a PR and a serious runners high.  It was amazing.  2012 -13 seasons had me laid up with injury issues and a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.  2014 was a test the waters year with five triathlons racing with the Kyle’s Bike triathlon team.  I did this half last year as a test to see if I could build back up to ½ Ironman distance racing again and was pleased with my results even if I wasn’t back up to the speed I was hoping for.  I did Dam to Dam ½ marathon this June but wan’t happy with how the run felt and was determined to have a good wrap up run.

Since march I have been training with John Mongar getting “strongar with Mongar” he says.  John is an experienced runner and triathlete and I worked with him last year as I built up my racing abilities again.  He helped me have some strong late season finishes at the Hy-Vee and Cyman triathlons and I was determined to dream big for 2015.  I knew I could hit my mark with his help keeping me on track.  John and I managed my workouts with assistance of Google docs to track my monthly workout plan and actual workouts accomplished.  Most weeks I had a strength building session and we would take a minute at the end to see if I hit my primary workouts for the prior week and set some focus areas for the coming week.  John’s positive encouragement kept me going when I felt like I couldn’t train another mile.

At the start of the season these were my goals:

1. Finish another 1/2 Ironman - done
2. Get my run at distance at a 9 minute mile - see my two des 1/2 marathon blog write ups for my two best halves with splits. - average 9.30 for the half but have been doing 8:30 ave for 2-4 mile runs so getting closer
3. Get to a 20-22 mph average on the bike - I've been all over the place on this in past years but a strong ride for me last year was in the 18-19 mph range. I need to do the miles in the saddle and that is where I fell short in 2011 training for my last half.  Still stuck in the 18-19 mph range so lots of room for improvement.
4. Have an age group top 3 in a race or two and not because I am the only one in my age group. - had a second place finish in my ½ ironman
5. Figure out the mental override for my run on hot/humid days so my training overcomes my MS - had a lot more early morning training sessions to avoid the heat … but not the humidity
6. Trim down a bit - guess I like to eat too much.  :)

My A races were the 1/2 Ironman in September where the run got the best of me, and this race.  I’ve been having some really great training runs leading into this race with 2-4 mile runs with 8:30 minute miles so I was optimistic going into this race.  I wasn’t sure I would hit a PR but I thought I could get pretty close.

Yes!

The morning of the race it was around 35 at the start but I love the cooler temps so that works for me.  Joe and I drove down with plenty of time park, use the restroom and find just the right start spot.  I was determined to hit a time somewhere between 2:05 and 2:10 so we lined up about 50 feet in front of the 2:10 pace sign.  We got things started and I knew I needed to hit mile times that were under 10 minutes.  Once we got out of the first mile of traffic our next three miles were under 9:30 (8:52, 8:59, 9:14) and part of me was ecstatic and part of me was worried we went out a little too strong.  Around mile five on the backside of Water Works Park I was trying to mentally pull things back together and had what was supposed to be my first of two honey stinger gels.  This gave me a boost from a 9:46 minute fifth mile to the next three being 9:11, 9:19, 9:20.  The irony here is I was just running but not feeling like I was running fast. These miles also had a bit of a head wind so I am surprised they were faster.  I had been taking on water every other stop the first six or seven miles.  Around mile 8 I decided to take on Gatorade instead of waiting until I got to Grey’s Lake to take another gel.

The run around Grey’s Lake felt a bit slower with miles that ranged from 9:29 to 9:47.  I was definitely slowing down and having to talk to myself a bit to keep the wheels on the bus.  I don’t think I was physically laboring or feeling bad, just in a weird place mentally which was holding me back a bit.  This lack of focus is where I lost my shot as matching my best time although I wasn’t paying close enough attention to get myself back on track.  I started taking on water at most of the stops seems like mostly to have an excuse to walk for a second and took on another Gatorade just out of the park.

Joe and I at the finish line.

We got to the little ½ marathon out and back and I saw the guy with the 2:10 sign coming and picked up the pace a little bit.  I didn’t realize how close we were to the finish once we got into downtown so turned up the pace later than I should have but managed a strong last three block finish anyway.  I am happy with the outcome of this race and have high hopes I can get below my PR next year.

Here is the breakdown between 2011 and 2015:

2011 - 6.5 mile time 1:07:46 / ave 10:26 min mile - final time 2:06:27 / ave 9:40 min mile /  final place 191 in division (this race had me negative splitting as I went)

2015 - 6.5 mile time 1:05:08 / ave 9:41 min mile - final time 2:08:12 /ave 9:48 min mile / final place 113 in division (this race had me maintaining a nearly constant split but slightly slower second half)

Milo and Ash our new kittens

Flowers after my 1/2 Ironman
race in September because
my family is awesome.

I feel good about how the year went and am looking forward to even bigger goals for next year that include another ½ Ironman and maybe even a marathon (testing the waters for doing an Ironman distance in 2017 or 18).  I want to say a huge thanks to my family who supported me in my racing training efforts this year.   Thanks to the people who picked me up when I was harder on myself than I needed to be.  Thanks to my coach and my training buddies who gave me something to look forward to each week, kept me on track and helped me achieve my goals. And now I am going to play with my two new little buddies. Too cute!

Almost there - Half Ironman 2015

A training ride on a heavier bike with the tag a long
Yes we had one "training ride" for donuts too.  :)

Those who know me know I need to have a fitness goal in the hopper or I get really lazy which is really bad for my MS maintenance. Well, it is just ten days until race day.  My second half ironman triathlon (that’s 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run).  My first one was in 2011 where I learned a lot and you can read the race report here..  I had hopes for an Ironman the next year but then struggled with health issues for a couple of years. Last year I had a great season with five shorter triathlon races so I decided to give a longer race a go.  I did an indoor sprint triathlon in January but this is my only big triathlon of the season.  I found I have volunteered at more races than I am racing in this year.  It will likely take me just over six hours to finish this one.

My trainer/coach (the "Stronger with Mongar" program) assures me that I am ready.  When he said get in more run miles I did.  When he said add bike miles I did managing all the details in a Google Doc.  We’ve been working on my strength since the beginning of the year.  My distance totals from 2011 at about the same point in my training.. swim miles 20, bike miles 687, and my run miles 322 (I over trained on the run a bit that year.)

A training ride with Joe on the trails

As of today I am at 51 miles in the pool on the year which is what I use to shake things loose when I am having a tough day physically, mentally, etc.  I am at 752 miles on the bike which I was a bit under trained for in 2011.  I am at 252 miles on the year running which feels about right.

I’ve had several conversations about what I might have done to better prepare myself.  Things like more speed work on the run, more high intensity cycling, etc but really I feel like I got done what my body would let me do. I recently red the blog linked below and will note this is generally how I race, in the moment, dealing with what the day delivers.

https://triathlonresearch.org/blog/my-epic-triathlon-race-day-failure/

I have to say since my MS diagnosis, I went into some of my races last year with worry, but I am hoping to go into this race, the biggest physical challenge since my diagnosis, with an open mind and a body that is willing.  I have “practiced” resetting my chain on a hill and changing bike tires as I trained this season.  The weather could be anything in Minnesota in early September but I have trained in the heat and the cold, humidity, rain, and wind to build some mental and physical toughness so I feel like I am ready for anything at this point.

A family 5k training run because you have
 to have a little fun working out

My coach says I have done what I needed to do and has been wonderfully optimistic even when I am hard on myself.  My husband has been great about making my training schedule work for everyone in the household.  My kids are getting excited with me.  
So as I wind down my training intensity and duration the next ten days (with the exception of another really windy bike ride this afternoon) I will continue to check in with my body, try to get restful sleep, have a little labor day fun with family, and finalize my race plan, gear, etc.  I have some goals that range from “happy to finish” all the way to “wow I crushed it” but I will share those in the post race recap.  I am racing with five awesome teammates and that has been a great part of training for this race.  So for now I am grateful to be ready and able to race.  If you are in the upper twin cities and looking for something to do September 13th I’d love a cheering section up at Square Lake north of Stillwater.  Wish me luck!