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Author: teamenvision
Off-Season Training: Winter 2018
Triathlete’s Full Body Strength Workout – March 11, 2018
Strength training is an essential part of training leading into race season to build your baseline fitness and avoid injury. Team Envision sponsor Will Karousis of Tri-Hard Endurance Sport Coaching coached us through great workout at Naomi’s Basement Studio.
Indoor Cycling at Grace Bicycles
Team Envision members have been enjoying weekend indoor cycling workouts sponsored by Roy Cervantes at Grace Bicycles in Holliston this winter. We bring our own bikes and set them up on Roy’s CompuTrainers for a spirited ride through Lake Placid, French Valleys, Mallorca, SoCal, and some of the alpine stages of the Tour de France. Sessions last 90 minutes and we often take a team run on the bike trail behind Grace Bicycles after, to make a brick.
Indoor Swim at Draper Pool
Team Envision swim members enjoy weekly swim workouts at Draper Pool. Thanks to our swim coach, Becky Paige, for keeping us in shape!
Race Report: Maine 70.3 at Old Orchard Beach 2017
Maine 70.3 at Old Orchard Beach – August 27, 2017
Nathalie’s Race Report:
There were 4 of us racing. We got rooms in a motel on the main street, very near the transition area, perfect spot! Very early morning we were off to setup in the dark and crossed path with fellow TE member Sara B. After setting up, we went back to the rooms to wait out the start and use private restrooms, what a luxury!
The start for the swim is near the Old Orchard’s pier, it is really a lovely spot. We walk to it from transition, so about half a mile. It is the first race I experience a rolling start, the line is long, but we are chatting and it goes fine. The swim course is point to point, the water is calm and not too cold (it was much colder the day before). In the water, I feel more crowded than with the traditional group start, and as a slow swimmer I get passed all the time… I am glad when I am done. The transition is a bit long from the beach to the bike, but they have put down carpets so it is not uncomfortable on our feet. And the suit strippers are there, I really like that…
The bike course is very pleasant, a lot of shade, not too much wind, and the rolling hills are really manageable: after mile 22 it is mostly downhill. I know the course because we came and did it two weeks before, that makes a big difference, and I am having a good time.
The run is an out-and-back, very flat, nice views, mostly shaded and good surface, particularly on the Eastern Trail. I was worried about the run because of plantar faciitis which has been quite painful for months, I just got a cortisone injection ten days before the race to up my chances of completing it. And indeed the run went well considering the circumstances, and I really liked the course.
My race goal is three fold: to enjoy the experience (yes!), to be under 7 hours (6h53mn) and less than one hour behind my husband (I failed that one as he finished in 5h41mn). But let’s be honest, here is the best part about the race: the lobster fest!
Holiday Lights Run 2017
Holiday Lights Run – December 10, 2017
Liz’s Report:
On Sunday evening following December’s first snowstorm, the Team Envision women met for the annual Holiday Lights Run. Anika generously allowed us to use her Downtown Crossing office as a base to store clothing, use the restroom, share snacks, etc. Once gathered, we began our run passed Macy’s Santa up to the Boston Common. Trees surrounding the Common were lit with colored lights giving the snow that still lay on the branches a festive glow. The famous Nova Scotia Tree was large and bright next to the stating rink where a Zamboni was hard at work.
The runners crossed Charles Street and entered the Public Garden. The paths were a bit slippery, but the evening was relatively mild and we successfully dodged holiday pedestrians. After the Public Garden, we entered the Commonwealth Avenue Mall and were delighted that Roy Moore was not there picking up teenagers. Bad joke. But it was a lovely sight as the trees along the central path were lit with white lights creating a tunnel effect.
At the 1.8 mile mark, we turned around and headed up the long hill to the state house and then down Beacon Hill to Government Center, where runners and walkers reconnected. After some exploration of the Winter Market, the runners continued through Quincy Market to the Waterfront Park and took an epic picture. Then we made our way back to Anika’s office to regroup and change of a post-run/walk dinner and drinks.
Race Report: Sharon Triathlon 2017
Sharon Triathlon – August 13, 2017
Zabeth’s Race Report:
The Sharon Triathlon is one of my favorite sprints put on by Max Performance. The pond is usually calm, and the ride and run are quite flat and fast. For an August race, this one is also a great choice as the bike and run courses go around the pond and are mostly shaded and breezy.
It’s an interesting sprint in that the swim is a full ½ mile, the bike is 12.3 miles and the run is longer than usual at 4.4 miles, favoring those who are happiest running.
There is one more unusual aspect of the Sharon Tri – there has been an Aquabike division for the last couple of years.
Another perk Max Performance provides at this race is a tent with post-race massages: sign-up as soon as you finish as it’s first-come-first-served!
I chose to race the Aquabike this year due to running injuries and enjoyed being able to go as fast as possible during my ride without having to save energy for the run. I was quite pleased to come in 3rd in my division even though I had a slow swim split.
Sharon Perl Olshvang and her daughter Riley Perl both raced the triathlon. Congratulations Riley for earning 3rd place in the under 19 division. We’d love to have you join Team Envision this year!
I highly recommend the Sharon Triathlon and hope more of us register for it in 2018. It’s a great event.
Race Report: Mass State Triathlon 2017
Mass State Triathlon – July 9, 2017
Fran’s Race Report:
The 2017 Mass State triathlon took place on July 9th, at Lake Dennison in Winchendon, Massachusetts. It’s a race that has a reputation of always taking place on the hottest day of the summer, but I think we got lucky this year because the temperature never got above 80 degrees. This was my second Olympic distance triathlon and definitely my best race this year.
My training for this race perhaps wasn’t the greatest. I ended up not following a formal training plan, and instead made up my own regimen as I went along that used some of the principals from the plan I’d used to train for my first Olympic distance race. In the end, I may have done more training than a formal plan would have called for, but it was definitely less structured. Another hiccup in the training was that I ended up having to travel for work for several days about a week and a half before the race, which disrupted my final training plans. While traveling, I tried to tell myself that I was probably supposed to be tapering anyway, and then I did a last long workout when I got back before doing the real taper. Perhaps the trip even helped in the end, especially because I was working outdoors in Florida, and just about any weather feels cool and refreshing after that.
The swim had the usual waves with mass starts. I’d consider my swimming good but not spectacular, but I made some big improvements this year just by doing a better job of making sure my goggles didn’t fog up. It’s amazing how much faster you can finish the swim course when you can actually see the buoys and aren’t constantly getting off track.
The bike course had some scenic sections, some bumpy sections, some parts with newly paved road, and one slightly dicey part that goes through a town center. The race organizers assured the athletes that the bad patches of road would be fixed by next summer. There are a few hills, especially in the middle of the course, but it’s fairly flat at the beginning and the end, which I think helped me because I could get used to being on a bike at the beginning and then prepare for the run at the end without also having to worry about anything too technical. I thought there were also a surprising number of people pulled over with flat tires on the bike course. There were also at least a couple crashes, one of which happened a short distance behind me that I heard but didn’t see. Fortunately, I made it back to transition without getting into any mishaps myself.
After a short bout of jelly legs coming off the bike, I ended up having a really good run. This is most likely for two reasons. First, the course is an out and back, so whenever I got to an uphill I could tell myself that I would get to run back down it later. Second, I’d done the run leg as part of a relay with Z and Edith my first year on Team Envision. It definitely helped to be able to tell myself that no matter how tired I might feel, I’d done that run before and I could do it again. That’s made me wonder if I ought to try and do the run course in isolation before other future races, maybe it would help when the temptation to walk gets strong.
My official time was 3:13:44.9. It’s not a spectacular time by any definition, but I achieved both of my main goals for the race: to finish in under 3 hours 15 minutes, and run the entire run course. I’m looking forward to doing this race again next year and improving even more.
Race Report: Patriot Half Triathlon 2017
Patriot Half Triathlon – June 17, 2017
Melaney’s Race Report:
I was fortunate enough to complete my first half iron in June 2017. I was definitely nervous signing up and committing in the fall of 2016 (since the race sells out early) but decided to take the leap after volunteering in 2016 and seeing others complete what I once thought was unaccomplishable. Gaining confidence through having three half marathons under my belt and being able to already swim a mile, I pushed myself to set a goal that I was not quite sure would be accomplished (always exciting but scary!). However, once I set a goal, in anything, I will figure out a way to best set myself up for success. This could be the scientist or stubborn in me. I set myself up to improve my bike over the winter with an indoor trainer and Computrainer classes at Fast Splits (thanks coach Karen!), I hired a coach (thanks Will @ TriHard!), swam through the winter with TE (thanks coach Becky!), and continued to run throughout the winter (thank you mother nature!). I’m sure it is obvious but goals are easier with support behind you. I followed my training plan as best I could and trusted that I had done what I could do to prepare for race day. There were definitely moments that were difficult in life and training and lessons were learned, such as ALWAYS practice race nutrition on a training day as pounding many many GUs may not agree with you : (
June 17: Race day came and I felt good and calm to just complete the race, not “race”, but finish respectably and enjoy it. I estimated my time around 6:15-6:30.
I arrived on race day with what I thought was plenty of time but quickly turned into a rush. Parking took FOREVER, so I had to rush to get marked and get my chip. Setting up transition was fast but I literally ran to get to the port-a- potty line and then had to sprint back to get my wetsuit on. I also wanted to make sure I at least got into the water for a second, so I ran to the entrance area and fought my wetsuit sleeves on, jumped in and out and had just enough time to get back to line up. I usually like a little more time than I had and felt a little like a hot mess, but maybe it helped to not fuss over things.
The weather was misty and gray, kind of cool, basically my perfect weather. My swim was calm and comfortable. I took my time and even felt like I had good form since I was out there for a bit to focus on it. In the end I was happy with my time of 39:14 since I took it easy to not tire out.
I was looking forward to T1 since they had wetsuit strippers, woohoo! and it was kind of comical when this drill-sergeant man was grabbing the remainder of my sleeve off and then shouted “SIT DOWN!” and got my legs off in a jiffy. I almost said “YES SIR!”, in summary wetsuit strippers are awesome. T1 I don’t remember too much, just got my bike gear on and off I went.
On the bike I remember I tried to push but not too much and not get caught up in the race. I took in my nutrition and watched the fast men with disc wheels whoosh by me (and Cathy too). By the second loop I was looking at my time and thought, wow! this is fast! I averaged 18.4 mph for my first loop and wondered if I should slow down or not but I didn’t feel fatigued so I kept at the same pace. My second loop was slower, 17.5 mph, but I also took a potty break where I had to wait for someone, but since I felt good so far, I wanted to incorporate the time loss into my bike rather than my run. While I had a lot of time on the bike, my mind calculated many things, like how fast maybe I could finish, considering I knew my bike time would be a little over 3 hours (in the end 3:09:57). My swim time was a mystery but I figured it couldn’t be over an hour, so this got my mind on a goal of under 6 hours, with a sub 2-hr half marathon, which was possibly achievable.
T2 was slower, but I wanted to make sure I had sun protection on and was comfortable with all my gear.
I set off running and my legs felt good. I paced myself well using my Garmin and was cruising easily between an 8:40-8:55 pace. Since I also knew my half marathon PR time, by the time I hit the 10K point, I also knew I could likely beat my PR and push under 2hrs easily. Overall the run was smooth, even when ending a little warm/humid in the day. I started to get some minor cramping on the last two mile inclines so I walked up two hills to prevent an actual cramp and then continued running. On the final turn I saw Z and a t-rex cheering on and before the final turn the feeling was incredible.
I’ve never had emotion come over me in a race and I had to break into a smile from just feeling joy. Just to finish was enough for me, to break under 6 hrs (5:52:48) was even more incredible and to set a half marathon PR (1:54:45) was icing on the cake for me. The day was almost suspiciously perfect for me, I would like to think that on Father’s Day, someone was looking out for me : )
In the end, it paid off to trust in my training, have fun and take in the entire day around me to remember such a great goal and moment.
