I am working on being intentional in things that I have said I want to do or to get back into. Things that make me me and make me happy and bring me joy. One of those things is my blog. It is a place where I can freely think 'out loud' and share my experiences. This is part of my journey, a chapter in my book of life...my tri life. Here I go again.... Today marks the 4th day — post Coeur d'Alene 70.3, my redemption race. A deferral from St. George 70.3 in 2021. I have so many thoughts that I don't want to forget so here I sit. A lot has transpired since my last post and while I could recap everything let's just simplify it all, starting from this past race. Everything in between will just have to reside in my brain and heart. Coeur d"Alene 70.3 - A race I said I wouldn't return to but here I am posting my recap from my second race at this beautiful course and so grateful that I happened to get it as my deferral. The goal this time: don't get seasick on the swim and hopefully get to my desired sub 6:30 race time. Let's go back to the training and the preparation for this race because that is really where the work is done. I was able to slay some workouts and completely bombed others. The mental toughness you need for this sport can be bigger than the athleticism. After deciding to stop coaching and self coach I had to come up with a plan to get me to this race start. This took a lot of self discipline in order to get up early enough, put in the miles, do the hard workouts and be mindful of my nutrition and recovery. Train while traveling and stay healthy. The swim training could have definitely been better. I kept making excuses for why I didn't want to swim and when I did I was faced with challenges such as a closed pool, a closed gym, no swim lanes and cloudy pool water. I was able to get in a few long swims in the pool and sought out an open water swim before the race. I wanted to test out using Dramamine as I had used in Indian Wells, to make sure that it wasn't going to make me feel bad throughout the day potentially wrecking the rest of the race. Well, I failed to take it for my practice swim and that didn't go so well after only 400 yards, but I went back the next day and tried again....it worked, I felt great! I was ready for this race. I am not going to let this life long curse of motion sickness affect this race! The bike usually comes easy, except for the climbing and while I think I could benefit from a bigger cassette on my race wheels for race day, I decided to suffer with what I have hoping it would make me stronger on my climbs. I put in a few long rides both in San Diego/Carlsbad area and up in Santa Barbara while traveling for work and while in St. George volunteering at Worlds in May. I needed to work on my climbing and so I made sure to do a day of repeats on Torrey Pines. I was able to manage 8 repeats with energy to do more so I knew my bike was going to be good. The run was definitely better training this go-around then it was in December, when I raced Indian Wells 70.3. I had a couple long runs along the coast and was consistently doing long runs while traveling for work and for fun. My longest training run of 13.5 miles was where I discovered this internal voice that said: "When you think you can't go any further, take another step and you will see how much further you can go". It is amazing how much more you have in you when you think you don't have any more left. Just keep moving forward. The last 5k found me along the beach front running in and out of the waves and that was followed up by a Coke only 1 mile left when I felt I had no gas in the tank...that coke was glorious and tasted better than any soda I had ever had in a long time. My back has not been very happy during my long rides or runs so I found myself creating a race strategy for stretching during my run. As the race got closer I wanted to be more mindful of my nutrition and packing so focus was a must. I tried my best to put away many distractions (mostly social media) and focus on packing my bike (first flight to a race) and limiting my bag sizes and quantity. I wanted to be mindful of my carb intake and hydration. Pasta, pasta, pasta....I think I ate pasta for 5 days straight. A proper taper consisted of a lot of different lower volumes workouts including some yoga and stretching, and a little time for some kayaking! I believe that was the best thing I could have done for myself. It was a great time to help me focus on why I do this sport and that I was ready to put it all out knowing I had done everything that was in my control. Now it was time to put it all together, get to CDA and do what I trained to do. Thursday Hope was safely tucked into her bag and we hit the road to the airport. I accomplished my goal of brining minimal bags and traveling with my bike. My trusty Rudy Project bags have seen many races and travel and I have now added to that my Scicon bag that I was able to find last minute thanks to Brent at RIDE Cyclery! This thing is brilliant! No disassembly or reassembly needed, except for wheels. Alaska Airlines allowed me to check my bike as a piece of check baggage, $30 each way! Wow! They took such care of Hope. The baggage personnel at my arrival saw me look for my bike when we waked out on the tarmac to the gate, "Don't worry, we are taking good care of your bike," she called to me. Everything arrived safely. I was picked up by John and Karina, on my team. In CDA, I stayed at a Motel 6 two miles from the Race. I shared the room with my new friend, Melissa, who drove down from Edmonton, Canada. She was delightful. Friday Morning - Breakfast at JB's Restaurant - Coffee , eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast Afternoon - Fail on food, ate snacks all day while working from the hotel during the day. Evening - Rode to packet pick up on my bike, A nice 2 mile easy spin each way. Something wasn't right with my left bike shoe/clip. I discovered it was broken. Dinner was plain rice and teriyaki chicken at the nearby Chinese restaurant. No fiber, only carbs and protein A quick trip to the grocery store for water, Pedialyte, bagels, avocados and coffee. Saturday I made my way to the transition area to meet for a group ride then swim to test out the water, with some of my race mates on AP Racing. I am so glad we did. I realized then, that I needed to wear my Xterra Lava socks. I opted to not go for the ride and instead see if I could find a replacement cleat for my shoe, Thankfully I was able to find what I needed since it was a Wahoo part and Ironman and Wahoo have a relationship so there was a dealer in the Merchandise tent. I decided to drop off my bike also for a last minute tune-up in the expo. Spent more money on things I didn't need such as hats, water bottles and shirts but I am a sucker for these items of memorabilia. A quick stop to the Normatech booth to enjoy a little compression on my legs, as I do at every race. They are wondering when I will finally buy a pair! Me too!! I completely failed on eating properly all morning and day long. This poor decision may have haunted me in the race. After a great swim, I met up with some other athletes that I had yet to meet in person. One of my favorite Hammer athletes, Matt Sommer, was a delight to meet and way taller than he appears on our Hammer posts. Maybe I am just short? A quick hello to another friend and his family, Vincent, and then It was time to head back to the hotel room and prep my morning transition bag then head to dinner. Dinner was at Beverly's in the Coeur d"Alene Resort. Salmon with gnocchi and truffle fries hit the spot as a pre race meal. Home by 6:30, prepped overnight oats for the morning and in crawled in bed and asleep by 9. 3:30 am was going to come very early. ...and I still had to shave!! What was I thinking? Sunday - Race day! Up at 3:30 am, shower, shave, put in the battle braids. Eat the oatmeal, put on the kit, make sure the timing chip was on, Pjur 2skin was on my feet and potential chaffing spots, Zealios sunscreen and chamois cream was on and out the door we went. But first....coffee Stopping at the nearest gas station we grabbed a cup of Joe and headed to the venue with a couple from the hotel who were also racing. It was fun how much the locals were excited and fascinated by us and often asked if we were there racing. They take so much pride in supporting us athletes. I am grateful Melissa was there with her car! What a life saver. I actually thought I was going to have to walk 2 miles to the start. That would have been a drag and a much earlier morning! 6 am, Transition was set up and I went out to the swim start. "Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it or let it slip?...snap back to reality...you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow this opportunity comes once in a lifetime...." This is the song that played as I made my way to the moment of my redemption. I was not going to let this water play with my body and my mind like it did in 2018. I was pumped! SWIM The swim was COLD, I am so grateful for the test swim that solidified my decision to wear swim booties and neoprene cap. (Shout out to Xterra Wetsuits for the last minute pick up!) I struggled once with air and needed a kayak to get my breath in control There were so many athletes everywhere and I needed to find a way to get to the outside so I can swim without running into people in front of me. I stopped a second time with a leaky goggle but on the second half I felt that I finally had a rhythm and found myself at the end of the swim. There were definitely a few moments of "I could stop now and be done with this sport" but then, I looked at my Garmin and it noted 47 min. I wasn't sure how accurate this was but I was so full of glee because my last visit to this Lake it took me 1:06 this was nearly a 20 minute PR on my swim! My feet were on land and I knew the day was going to be OK and I would finish this race and be completely content with the outcome because I had already accomplished one of my two goals for this race. Oh, I almost forgot...the right calf cramp that was starting about 2/3rds into the swim! Eeek!!! I tried my hardest to not bring thought and attention to it and thankfully it held off until the swim was over. Phew! T1 - this girl needs a new wetsuit. Dang that thing is getting harder and harder to get off! BIKE The bike felt great with the tune up. I am happy I decided to do it. As I started to ride making sure my kit wasn't rolled up from the wetsuit... because...pictures! Something was weird though and I couldn't figure it out ...until 10 miles in...I left my ear wax plugs in my ears from the swim! No wonder everything felt calm and quiet! After taking the earplugs out I kept hearing a squeak that was making me a bit crazy. I thought it was my breaks against my wheel so I stopped and did a check. Nope not my breaks. I discovered it was my new cleats and the way my foot was hitting the pedal made the squeak, every rotation and by moving my foot position, it went away but crap, that was hard to focus on so the squeaking didn’t resume. I felt strong on the bike and was passing quite a number of other athletes along the way, some during a climb which was shocking to me how some of the climbs felt easy. The last long steady climb was doing a number on my already sore back. I was looking forward to the downhills on the return. I stopped at an aide station and asked the firemen if they had any ibuprofen but no such luck. The hill I wanted to gain some speed on happened to be a no-passing zone which totally stunk since there were some much slower athletes ahead and several of us were stuck slowing our pace down the end of the no-passing zone couldn't come soon enough. As I came to the end of the ride I had a good feeling about my pace and time but my back was hurting pretty significantly and I knew the run was going to be difficult. T2 - On the way out to the run start arch I stopped at medical to grab some Tylenol. It seemed to work pretty quickly. RUN I started the run having to do a potty break. I wonder if some of my back pain came from my kidneys screaming because not soon after that little break, the pain subsided. The run course didn't seem long to me. Two loops in and around the neighborhoods. The residents were out in force, cheering, volunteering and providing moral support and water hose cool downs. One yard had a slip n' slide out front which I am sure tempted many but I knew if I did it I would probably break something so I passed. There was a group of bagpipe players that we passed out and back each loop and definitely some wonderful views along the way. I always remember the fragrant flowers along the fence lines on Lakeshore Drive. I stopped to "smell the roses". My run was not coming together as I hoped and I was finding myself walking more than I wanted but with every step forward I knew that was another step closer to the finish line and I was ok with not meeting my goal of a 6:30 in CDA. I will on another course another day. As I was heading back after my second run lap I started to pat the mile marker signs starting at mile 10, as if to say....Thank you, friend. At mile 12 and near the last aid station the bag pipe players were marching in a two by two formation while marching towards the aid station playing a song. I lost it, completely. I sobbed and cried. Was it because I was almost done, because I was going to have my 7th 70.3 finish, because I got my redemption, because although there alone I was surrounded by friends and like minded individuals, was it the community, the views, or simply because I was grateful and proud of myself? What ever it was ...it hit me hard. As I rounded the corner to head to the finish I remember hearing the announcer say , "Let's bring her home...Victoria Grammar, from Carlsbad"...and I stepped over the finish line! Exhausted, and happy. I was done, I had set my intentions, had my redemption and it was time to reflect on yet another great accomplishment. I love this sport and what it means to me. I often think about my "Why" and when others ask I often note the health aspect, that it’s my therapy, my community, my lifestyle but the very next morning when I woke up and my daughter had reposted my post noting that I was a "True Inspiration”...I then realized that ...THAT is my "Why". She is watching and I want to inspire her to do anything she dreams and that she can do hard things too.
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Victoria "Torie" GrammarJust your average Mom and Friend who found a love for the swim, bike, and run. Archives
January 2023
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