Case Racing & News

Last night was my first open water swim of the season. I’m not going to lie…I did terrible. It was my first time swimming in a wetsuit, and first time in the open water this year. We did a mass start to simulate for those of us training for Tri-Shark next weekend. I went out WAY too fast and it took me the next 200 yards to get my wits about me.

I’ll be smarter next time.

So, I’m apparently terrible at this blogging thing. My last post was from February. Let me give you a quick run down since then….

1. St. Pat’s 5K - I PR’ed in my first 5k of the year. 25:19 is my official time, but my garmin told me I actually finished in 25:10. I’ll take the 9 seconds. My previous best 5k time was 27:00, so I was pretty excited!

2. Illinois Marathon - The short and sweet version of this is that I ran the race differently than I trained, so I didn’t do as well as I had hoped. BUT, I still think it’s quite the accomplishment to have finished my first Marathon. I had completely convinced myself at mile 20 that this was for the birds and I would never do another, but after the race it was a pretty amazing feeling, and I think I’d like to feel that again sometime!

3. TNTT - For those of you who don’t know this is the local Tuesday Night Time Trial. I’ve done this twice now this season and have been pretty unhappy with the results both times. Last year my PR for a slightly shorter course was 19.3 MPH. I’ve trained LIGHT YEARS more this year than I did last and my PR on this year’s course is only 19.5 MPH. I would really like to see this go well above 20 in the very near future.

4. WOWS - This is our Wednesday Night Open Water Swim (we’re crazy triathletes here in Bloomington/Normal). We go out to Miller Park and Dave Quinn has boueys set up in the little lake there for us to have a controlled, life guarded open water swim. They’ve got two weeks under their belts now (and I havn’t been able to make any of them). Tonight will be my first attempt. I hope I’m not as dissapointed as I was about my TNTT times.

5. Running - It was like after I finished the marathon I decided that was enough of this running business. I think I can count the number of times (and possibly the cumulative miles) I have ran since April 11th on two hands. I hope I’m finally getting my start back into it though. I’ve got a 1/2 Ironman to train for.

6. Future - I’ve got a busy summer planned for as little racing as I did this spring :(. My sister gets married this coming weekend, so not much training to be had there. The following weekend is TRI-SHARK. I’m totally excited for it. I can’t wait. Then the subsequent weekends will be filled with Ryan’s races, my races, and lots and lots of training!

It’ll be a great summer!

After months of planning and hard work, we’re finally having our first Pups Training meeting tonight.

I hope we see a good turnout tonight. I think this will be a great program!

So I’m into week 6 of my marathon training program. Because of the disturbingly cold weather this winter, i’ve fallen behind a bit. I think I missed two weeks of long runs. I’m up to 10 miles, and attempting 12 this weekend, but I need to be at 14 :(. At this point, I’ll just keep going until my body gets pissed!

I think I’m finally starting to see what all the fuss is about running. I’ve had to run by myself for so long now, because Ryan is so much faster, that it just got boring to be alone. I’ve run with Jessica a few times now and it makes the time/distance go much faster when you’ve got a partner in crime.

I’ve been feeling pretty good on my runs with only a little pain on my long runs. I just hope that I can keep this up. It’s something I REALLY want to accomplish. I’d also really like to bust out a great time at Tri-Shark and Evergreen this year. I’ve been working pretty hard on my cycling and running this winter (harder than I ever have in the past at least), all I need to do now is get back in the pool. I think I’m going to have to wait until closer to the marathon for that if I even want a chance at sticking with this training!

Ryan has been doing really well with his marathon training. I would LOVE to see him blow his goal out of the water in April. He did 20 last weekend already, and without food or water. He’s always been really good about making his body do things many other’s couldn’t.

Today is the first day of really nice weather. I have an off night tonight (as I’m going to run 12 tomorrow), so no outdoor run but we’ll have to grill out for dinner to enjoy it!

Around New Year’s Ryan decided to purchase a new webserver for our home projects. Long story short, we’re just now getting the site back up on the new server. I have to apologize to Gene and Beth too…as their site was down during the transition as well! SORRY GUYS!

Hopefully with our new server, we can do some cool new stuff. Better home network security, file sharing, development, etc…

When we do big computer projects like this, it makes me reminiscient of when we lived back in the quad cities. Ryan’s website used to be a forum with almost 50 active users (daily). It was pretty interested to have an outlet like that. If we even got a site with a fraction of that kind of activity it would be really cool!

My biggest goal for the new server is to host pictures better. I’d love to get back to having pictures posted for our friends and families to have access to. Posting on facebook only gets to a small audience.

Anyways. I’ll probably be hijacking CaseRacing.Rycase.Com for my blog, but look for updates at Rycase.com for our new projects!

Just because I don’t want to leave you without a picture, here’s a look at my Christmas present from Xmas 2008. I got a Cervelo P2C frameset. Ryan and I custom painted it just after the new year. I’ll have the best looking women’s tri-bike at any of the races…HANDS DOWN! Now I just need to kick it up a notch so I’m not just “that girl” with the “cute” pink bike!

Sincerely ~

Well, I’m guessing anyone reading this blog already knows about my accident.

On December 9th, after doing a trainer ride at our friend Phil’s house, I was petting his dog and got bitten.

Sandy got me ice for the bite right away and Ryan rushed me off to the ER. I think in my head it was A LOT worse than it actually ended up being, but as a female, having any trauma to the face is hard to deal with. The bite was to my top lip, kinda right in the middle.

Once we got to the ER, we waited…and waited, and waited some more. Finally about 4 hours later, they got us into a trauma room. Right away the doctor called in a plastic surgeon to fix me up. I was incredibly appreciative of that.

Well, six stitches, and lots of made up stories later….

I got the stitches out on Wednesday 12/17, and everything is healing up nicely. I’m a little bummed that I”m going to have some pretty nasty scaring, but i guess the bigger picture is that I”m ok and I still have a lip period!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for being so supportive of my ugly face for a week! Ryan’s been great through it as well, trying to help me not think about it. The plastic surgeon said it can take up to a year to fully heal, but that I should worry too much about it. In about a week I’ll start putting some of the scar healing cream on it to help minimize the effects…

Ryan was funny this morning, he said he was telling some guys at work that this wasn’t exactly the kind of plastic surgery that he had envisioned me getting…i didn’t really laugh at that…

This race was kinda/sortof a second thought. I originally wanted to do the Quad Cities 1/2 Marathon as my FIRST EVER! Well, I didn’t really train enough, and never actually registered so I wussed out. I wasn’t very happy with myself after that, and really wanted to prove I could do this. It was the first step to being able to complete a 1/2 Ironman this summer.

I registered for Memphis without consulting Ryan’s schedule, and quickly found out that he was scheduled for his first weekend of Statistics classes that weekend. Oops. Heather and Becky were kind enough to let me tag along with them though, so at least I knew I had a ride and place to stay. Heather wasn’t able to compete afterall which was too bad, but we still had a big enough group to carpool to Memphis.

I was incredibly nervous for this race. Again, not much training, but really wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

On race day, I decided that I wanted to run with a partner (or 2). Becky and Meredith were going to be running the marathon, but at my 1/2 Marathon pace. I decided to stick with them through 12.

The beginning of the race was pretty uneventful…just trucking a long. I didn’t do a very good job of tracking my mile times, so i’ll leave those out.

We were the 3 muscateers through Mile 4…at the aide station at 4 they decided to walk and I kept going. I actually felt really good at that point and was able to catch up to the 4:15 marathon pace group. I stayed with the pace group through 7…still feeling good. I had never run a race farther than 7 miles (The Bix), so I was in unknown territory.

At mile 8, we turned into this cute little park, but the road was pretty rough and my knees could feel it. At 8.5 I cramped up. I had to stop and stretch it out, which took me a decent amount of time. I was able to get back going again by shortening my stride. It seemed to make the pain more managable.

Trucking right along and I’m through mile 10. I have never run farther than this…even in training. I didn’t really know what would happen at that point. I just knew I needed to keep running. I was still a head of Becky and Meredith, so I hadn’t lost too much time.

The last 5k was pretty bad…I started to hurt and had to walk every water stop. Just after mile 12 the marathon split off from the 1/2 and I stopped to see if I could find Mere and Becky…I got to wave them on and cheer good luck and i was onto the finish.

The final 400 yards or so was run on the warning track of the Memphis Grizzlies baseball field. My knees liked that (it was cinder). It was pretty fun to finish my first 1/2 marathon on a minor league baseball field!

Finish Time: 2:13:02. Just over 10:00/mile pace. I was TOTALLY ok with that. I also beat Ryan’s dad’s 1/2 marathon time for the year…and I NEVER expected to be able to do that. The best part was that I was totally energized to run more often and get better. I know I can run a sub 2:00 1/2…

Up Next: Start my Marathon Training program for the 1st Annual Illini Marathon in Champagin. (April 11th).

Thanks to everyone for their support!

~Mel

So we took our first vacation since we’ve been married (didn’t take a honeymoon). It was an amazing trip, filled with fun, and of course Ryan’s Ironman. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather, or a better time of year to be in the Tempe/Phoenix area.

We didn’t rent a car while we were down there, so we did a lot of walking. Ryan probably wasn’t too happy about that after Ironman, we had a 1.5 mile walk back to the hotel. On average we would walk about 5 miles a day.

It was incredibly relaxing, and we both decided that we’ll start an annual tradition of finding a race somewhere away from home for our vacation. We’re not sure what next year will be yet though.

RACE: Ironman Arizona
DATE: 11/23/2008
TEMP: 56 @ 6am , 86 @ 5PM  (Water Temp 61)
TIME(s):
SWIM: 1:21:42
BIKE: 5:30:42
RUN: 4:02:21

TOTAL: 11:12:17

PLACE: 491 OA, 27th AG

I am a goal Junkie, it is sad, but my obsession with the unbeaten path
constantly nags at my libido, or simply fuels the ADD that seems to be
ever present in my life. Its not about proving your worth to others,
or your ordinal value in the grand scheme of life. For those that know
me, its simply my way of breaking free of the limits that society
places on us, saying I can, when the left side of your brain says…
what is  wrong with you.

I placed zero goals on this race. A great friend of mine once said ,
your number one goal at Ironman is to just finish…. well Woody Allen
once said ” Eighty percent of success is simply showing up”. I believe
anyone training for an Ironman would agree, if you show up… you are
most likely going to finish (assuming your raging arrogance does not
conflict with common judegement…).

Show up I did, albeit with about 5 or 6 runs (3 of which were races)
in the last 8 weeks prior to the race. I suffered from yet another
(sigh) IT Band issue. The positive aspect of that? “An obstacle is
often a Stepping Stone” - I missed less than 5 days of swimming in the
last 4 months of training. Yes folks… arguably one of the worst
swimmers in the Tri-Shark triathlon club (consistently finishing in
the bottom 3% of the swim overall, nearly always dead last in my AG)
actually finished an Ironman. Well a break through occurred sometime
in September, which sparked an instant change in my motivation to swim
(well… and about say 50 seconds per 100 yards …). This time in the
pool allowed me to let my leg rest, however, my cycling remained
strong.

No Ironman race report would be complete without stating some fun
facts that occurred during my training

Swimming: In excess of 120,000 Yards in the last 12 weeks, Long
workout 4200 yards
Cycling: 8 Century (100 + Miles)… 4 over 112, Long Ride 137 (Normal,
IL to the Quad Cities)
Running: Lowest Mileage in my running career
Number of Apple Cinamon Carb Boom’s consumed in 2008 - Over 100….
Stopped drinking Alcohol from 9/1 to  Race
Caffeine Detox

I was extremely prepared for the bike leg… some might say I spent
too much time on the bike - but again Andy came through and reminded
me… you can never be too prepared for the bike in an Ironman. The
stronger and faster I got, the easier 20mph seemed. I came to the
realization, that riding 5:30 should be…well easy, and my RPE (Rate
of Perceived Effort) should be low on race day, regardless of
condtions, etc. I am capable of a 5 hour bike leg, but the reminder
was that I needed extremely fresh legs due to a lack of running.

Melisa and I arrived in Tempe on Thursday,  no nerves present, only
positive thoughts about the excellent vacation that awaited us. We
have been married for over two years, and unfortunately a demanding
career, and a lack of discretionary income kept a honeymoon, or
vacation at bay. I wanted to enjoy the time in Arizona, not sit in a
room. So outside of the scope of this Race Report, I will say that I
definitely treated every day like a vacation.

Every race I have a tremendous amount of anxiety (to some varying
degree, based on the priority of the race of course) leading up to the
race. Perhaps the absence of a time goal filled the void that once was
overflowing with tension. I had less anxiety on race morning than I
have had in years. Could it be that I knew I could ONLY do one task
that day? Could it be that I didnt wear a watch, or run around like
the world was ending, perhaps.

Time flew by in transition, I watched people frantically look for the
fastest line to get body marked, rush around to make sure they had
ample tire pressure (standing in riddiculously long lines), and the
porta potties on one side were 200 deep (and the other side… no
one… ). For some reason, the tension was still at bay, and we walked
over to the water. They instructed us to get in, almost everyone
stayed on shore. Not wanting to be a rebel, I jumped in, nice cold 61
degree water. I continued to tread water for about 15 minutes, as I
watched people creatively try to walk along the side of the canal ,
jump fences, etc, which ultimately required them to go back and cross
the mat (too funny). I started up towards the front - as I figured, I
had less chance of getting kicked (more chance of being sunk).

Survival of the fittest and I was off. I saw melisa walking along the
shore next to me, the goal, dont work, dont breathe hard, no matter
what.

About 200 yards from the turn around I got drilled in the face (making
think back to college amaetuer boxing), and I was a tad disoriented.
Alas, I kept going, and as soon as I thought I had started, I was at
the turn. The turn was fun, the trip back, I simply pointed out
landmarks while breathing, and practiced different techniques for a
few minutes at a time (hip rotation, pull length, high cadence,
kicking, etc) , just for fun. I could see the bridges, but oops, I was
way inside, time to go out and around, oh well, its just time. I
continue to do the same a few minutes later, nice.

I come out of the water, and am screaming ecstatically as I see 1:21,
this folks is like a 30 minute PR by my calculations, as my PR in a
Half Ironman was 52 minutes….Screaming, I see Dennis Killian from
the club as a wetsuit peeler, and he helps me out (rather awkward). To
compare, I typically finish in the bottom 3% overall in the swim, i
was 78/99 in my age group! wooohoo!

I took my merry time… and I mean , took my time in T1. I didnt care,
I had a plan, and my nutrition was more important, what I didnt know
is I could have been in the tent getting assistance, and sat on a
chair, oh well.

Got on my bike… and who would have thought , my cadence sensor wasnt
working… great, well I decided to toss the computer in its entirety
, so I turned he speed off, and just let the distance sit down in the
bottom. Loop one I simply explored, I knew the course from my
Computrainer, but t was soo odd riding it (like Dejavu, only
multiplied).  Out and Back, the wind was hardly noticeable (i would
ome to learn it was apparently 14mph, I dont count that as wind
here..), I picked off people one after another, occassionally seeing a
brave sole Blast by me, as I went by an RPE of no more than 5. Lap 1
down, Rock star turn with crazy college kids, and a mess of others, on
to lap 2. Again, no sense in pushing on the bike, its IM. Lap 2 was
fun, again uneventful, although I saw a pretty nasty crash.  I decided
to do a couple sprints to stretch my legs, scared the crap out of a
woman in doing so. Just as I finished a quick sprint, Chris Leito
blasts by me… Damn thats depressing, I just got passed by a pro…
which means I got lapped…. damn,

Lap 3 was awesome, I still cannot get over how funny it is to watch
people with a 10k dollar bike and wheels go 12 mph because they dont
understand what pacing means (well or training…). I noticed no
fatigue, I continued to drink at least a 20oz bottle of gatorade, and
one bottled water between each stop (in excess of 15 for the bike
total), I was hydrated. On the way back in I considered picking it up,
but knew how awesome it would be to just feel spongey.

Plan accomplished, apparently my prediction of a 5:30 was dead on

(which I found out later).  I passed 700 people or so as It turns out.

This time the guy in the tent helped me, i think. He made putting on
compressions socks more difficult than wrapping a christmas present.
What was the deal? I dont know. I proceeded to handle it myself, eat a
bunch of junk, put on my IT band straps (one of which became an 80’s
wristband about 200 yards in), and took off with a handful of crap.
Again, I left the garmin in my bag, although it was tempting. I jogged
up and stopped to talk to melisa, she was smiling, and it was great to
see her. I felt pretty good, but knew running was going to be a chore.

I took off at an easy pace, knowing that using extra energy would cost
me HUGE. Well fast forward 9 miles when Petr came up on me (finished
8th overall), and challenged my libido. I had not been passed the
entire run thus far, and thought, who is this guy. Well he turned out
to be a stud pro, but we talked for almost 2 miles, it was awesome,
and I have a picture to cherish forever of the two of us (i think i
was a sunblock for him). It was awesome. Running down closer to 7:00
was a big mistake, it killed me. He turned to finish, and I began the
jog of shame.

The next 12 miles were uneventful, my energy was crap, but overall, I
had a smile, and I cheered on every competitor I could find.

This sport is about helping others make it through, quality
sportsmanship, and knowing that you have it better than at least one
person. You have to respect everyone out there, because it takes some
guts to show up. My last mile was like a holiday party, I was passing
people pretty aggressively, and it was obvious I was finishing to some
volunteers, so they cheered me on. I chased down a guy for the last
1/8th mile, but to no avail, when I turned the corner I nearly broke
into tears, starting laughing, and then simply had a moment of
silence.

This was the second greatest day in my life, second only to the day I
married my incredible wife who was there to support me the whole way.
Even today, 15 days later, I still think about the race throughout the
day. Everything performed great, Mitch and Ryan, I really appreciate
all the support you have given me over the years, its been fun. My
tough schedule of a full time graduate student, a full time technical
security analyst at State Farm, and full time training has me
stretched, so in 09 I will not be doing another Ironman, but no one
can take away my 11: whatever.  Thanks to everyone that offered help
with anything and everything, socks (I had rossi’s socks with me,
thats what did it), cheers, phone calls the day before, etc.

I finished 27th in my age group, had a rather poor time on the run as
it turns out, but had one heck of a time doing it.  I finished with a
smile, and enjoyed the best vacation ever with my wife, as I didnt
sleep the night after the race, and woke up to sight see in AZ on
monday. I was almost first in line for the finishers stuff, the whole
1.5 mile walk to the race site was worth it. Had coldstone Ice Cream
(those that know me , know that I have a thing against junk food)
after a few too many drinks the day after, but man was it good.

Petr & I (Hey I am leading…)

Cheers to all  -