DNF in Hawaii Ironman Worldchampionship.

Yep, that was my first DNF, dropped out of Ironman race in 10 years. How do I feel about it ???, not so good. Although a decision I've made was right.

I got this injury on the bottom of my foot, which going on already for more than 3 months. It doesn't feel like it a bad one, but it doesn't let me run without pain, it's just there all the time. I can't get any diagnose right now, because I am in US at the moment and I can't afford it and I don't want to finish the season earlier. I thought I can do a few more races and I did. After Ironman 70.3 in Augusta I treated my foot as well as I could: massages, icing, acupuncture.... it felt much better. At the race day I felt good. And everything else was fine, like the time when you feel that everything fits together, like in puzzles. I was calm, of course I had a small butterfly in my stomach a day before the race (it's very normal before such a big event). 

Race day. We get into water about 10-15 min. before start. And it felt a little bit chill, but I though: "it's probably a last time today when I feel cold". I was right it was one of the hottest days in Kona. I swam with plenty of people around me all swim course and it felt fast, but my swim time was the same like in 2007 (hope water was flatter back then :)) But I came out of the water with bunch if people and I was in the right spot. So on the bike I wasn't alone, I had 3-5 girls I could keep eye on. It was a god pace to be in and I felt pretty confident on the bike. After Hy Wee turn around it was windy, not crazy windy, but normal Hawaii wind. At the end of bike course I still had a power to pass a few people. And I was ready to start a marathon. 1 mile mark behind, 2 miles mark behind, 3...., I started feel it, the pain in my foot and I already knew how I'll feel in 1 or 2 hours. Should I damage myself now and make it last race of the season (I also knew that with this kind of pain no way I can make it to top 10 and maybe even walking at the end of the marathon) or try to heal during another 4 weeks and do Ironman Florida, which I planed to do anyway. After 5 ml mark I made a decision I stopped running and started to walk to make it back to transition aria. On the way back I walked by the hotel, where we stayed, and I needed something to drink, so I went to the hotel took a shower, got plenty of water and wend back to the transition to see how Ironman people finish this day. 

I thought I can handle it, but then people kept asking me how did I do and there was too many times saying: "I didn't finish" and to many times hearing "Oh, I am sorry". But there is nothing to be sorry about. It just an injury, which I'll take care of after Ironman Florida. Yes, I'll give it another try and I am doing Ironman Florida.

Hard training in high altitude payed back.

Last couple weeks of preparation for Hawaii Ironman I've decided to train in high altitude in my favorite place in US, Los Alamos, NM. It not just about beautiful aria and awesome nature, it also about Los Alamos people, my friends and very quiet atmosphere of this town. I already know what to expect from the training in high altitude and how hard it is, but I like how preparation in high altitude pays me back later. 

I stayed in Los Alamos for full 4 weeks, first week is the hardest one: I feel always sleepy, second and third day pass usually with heavy headache; during the bike rides I feel no power, even jogging puts my heard rate too high. Then comes 5th day of acclimatization when I barely can move and feel extremely lazy, but after that day I usually start feel better, although still not that powerful like when I train at the sea level. 

Each weekend I did either a race or long training with my friend Clay Moseley (pro cyclist in past).  I've done Salida triathlon in Colorado and a sprint Patriot triathlon near Albuquerque. My time were passing very fast in New Mexico, somehow it's never boring, thanks my friends Dina and Clay. 

After I came back from New Mexico I planed to do one more race, Ironman 70.3, Augusta, before Ironman World championship in Kona. This event took part yesterday in Augusta, Georgia. 

About the race: I was very lucky, like most people who doesn't conceder themselves as a strong swimmer, with the swim course. The swim course was set in a river , it was one way swim with the same direction of a current . The bike segment was a part of the course what I was most proud of. I still felt good on the run, but it was hard to keep up with such a strong runners like Laura Bennet, Kelly Williamson, Desiree Fiker, plus the foot injury made me miss most of my running intervals. At the finish line I was very happy with my result, so far it is the fastest Half Ironman for me: 4h. 22 min. 36" and 4th place overall. I guess high altitude training is paying back.

Ironman 70.3 results; pictures

Ironman Lake Placid.

I guess number 4 is my favorite number. That's the place in Ironman where I finished most. Let see: Ironman Arizona 2005 and 2008, Ironman Austria 2008, Ironman Florida 2006 and now Ironman Lake Placid 2009 again 4th place. But in my case I am pretty happy with my results. I wasn't sure if will able to go through marathon. The problem was, that I got injured 10 days before the Ironman. It was a foot injury, which caused a knee pain. I've tried to get well before the race, but there was not enough time. Thanks Trigger point and Cassidy, who took care of my injured leg two days before the Ironman, it really helped a lot. 

The swim and bike passe very well, I felt very confident on the bike, although I didn't expect such a hilly course. Finally I learned how to use a Power Tap and download to my computer. I had 178 W. average and 86 cadence and 50.33 ml/h on the dissent hill :)   

I still wasn't sure about my run, but the first loop felt surprisingly good. I guess it was adrenalin I got from running behind the mountain bike with a sign on it "3d woman". By the time Caitlin Snow passed me I was a bit broken. Then I got some other problems except keeling pain from knee and the foot, like diarrhea and dehydration at the end. So, I spent a few hours in the medical tent after my finish. In spite my troubles during a marathon run, 4th place is good, right??? :) I want to say spacial thank you to Cassidy (Trigger Point Therapy), to Tristan (team Timex manager),  to Larry ( photographer) to the guys, who helped me out at the medical tent for all your help and support.

Ukrainian and Europian races.

It took me a while to recover from Strongman triathlon. Mostly I was tired from too much traveling last month. In two weeks after Japan I had Ukrainian team relay championship and Ukrainian cup on a sprint distance. It was still cold in our east Europian countries and we had to swim in the swimming pool at first day of the race. The competitions were divided in 3 days: next day after swimming race we had to do sprint distance (bike+run) and the last day of the event we did team relay super sprint (bike+run). During the swim meet I started feel tooth pain, I just fixed one a few days before the race. I could handle the pain during the day, but at night..... I think it was worst night in my life so far. Next morning my coach drove me to a hospital where I had a surgery in my mouth . I started feel better after that, although I couldn't compete in that same day. But next day I did a super sprint and did it pretty well, as a team we got second place. After I came home I finaly had a time to train without traveling and racing for a next, at least, 3 weeks. But my health wasn't good on 100 % after taking antibiotics for the mouth healing.

           

 I got well before my next triathlon race, which was in Senec, Slovakia.

 I had a crazy idea (as usualy:)) I wanted to do 2 races in one weekend. It's okay if it 2 sprints, or sprint and Olympic distance race, but I figured out it's not that good when you do one sprint triathlon in one country, then drive 200 km to another country, then sleep in a tent and when do Half Ironman next morning..... Not the best idea. Anyway I did good at sprint distance  and I actually felt okay next day during the swim and run, but on the bike I found out that my saddle is too low and the shifter doesn't work well (after trasporting the bike in a car). I still finished though and it was Ironman 70.3 in St. Polten. 

For some reason I started loosing a motivation to train, I guess I just were tired and I still had two more races ahead of me before I could take a small brake: Olympic and super sprint triathlon in Ukraine and half distance race in Poland. Didn't feel good during Ukrainian races, but triathlon in Poland came out very well in spite of unlucky trip to this east Euripian country ( We had some troubles crossing a border in minivan with a stranger driver. It's a long story and not very funny). But even with all not very nice moments it was a good journey , we had Ukrainian team in Poland, included Viktor Zyemtsev, two new in Long course triathlon athletes: Anton Blohin and Galina Makedon and one more guy from west of Ukraine. So, it was fun and all of us had a good race: 1st and 2d female overal; 1st, 2d and 10th overal male.(results)

And right now I am back to US, training and preparing for the second part of my season and Ironman races.

All Japan triathlon, Strongman.

Finally,one of my dreams came true, I went to Japan. After Ironman Florida last year I was invited to Japan to do the race, Strongman. I heard about this event from our team mate in past, Andrey Yastrebov several years ago and since when I wanted to do this race one year. So, I was really excited about this coming opurtunity. A first race of the season always makes me nervous. 3 months of winter preparation are back and I went to Japan, still couldn't beleive in it. But I was there and I've done the first race of my 2009 season. It was a wonderful week on a beautiful Island, Miyako, which reminded me a bit of Kona with it's green plants and tropical climate. Even with a rainy and windy, most of the time, weather I've got just warm memories about nice and welcome people, unbeleivably tasty Japanese food and of course about an atmosphere of the this, very importent for Miyako people event. I think Strongman triathlon is in my Top 5 best organised triathlons. That just describes one more time how well Japanese people work. The weather at the race morning was windy and worm with some clouds, but the water was flat. It was one loop swim course, one and a half loop bike course around Miyako (Miyako is a small Island) and one loop for marathon run, not really a loop, just the way out and back. The swim came out as I planed, time wise, I plan to do it around 45 min (it's 3 km), I felt pretty good on the bike, espacially first 40 km with a tail wind;) But at the beginning of marathon I felt that wind took some energy from me on the bike. I was confused in bike-run transition area about my place, so I thought I have to catch girls ahead of me: 5 and 10 min (it's a big gap). But I was ready to chase them. I didn't know that I am already leading after 70th km on the bike and I have a gap on them 5 and 10 min. I have to learn some Japanese words if I want to come back again :) All way out on the run was a head wind and first 10 km I thought that I am not going to make it, but I started feel better after turn around and I save my lead till the finish line. Even with all attention to me and inteviews after finish I still wasn't sure that I won, so I kept asking a translator: What place am I? They thought it's a joke. :) It was a good beginning of 2009 season. Hope to continue as I started.

The Travels

One of my dreams will come true very soon, I'll see a wonderful country, Japan. After Ironman Florida I got an invitation from a race director to participate in Stronman triathlon. As qualified fro Ironman World Championship in Kona, I didn't plan to start my season very early, but because of this event and I really wanted to see Japan and the competition is the only opportunity for me to see the other countries I changed my plans a little bit. But before this long journe

y I had to make another trip to United States to get my bike and gears for a season 2009. I couldn't leave Ukraine before April 4th and couldn't come back later than at April 13th, because of the plight to Japan. Not too much time to fly over the ocean. But I made it, although the trip to US wasn't smooth: missing flight, delayed flight, bad traffic. I had all of that. I had a 3 days of rest in my friends apartment in Kiev. And now I am on my way to Japan, which I am very excited about no matter what.

Crimea, training camp.

When people ask me where is my home, usually I can't answer right away on this question. I was born on east side of Ukraine in a small town calls Pervomaysk. Already when I was a kid I started travel with my grandmother and back then I new I am not going to stay for a rest of life in my small town. A first step was when I moved to Donetsk (regional center on east side of Ukraine, one of biggest cities) to start studding in University. I'd lived in Donetsk for 8 years, that when I started to do triathlon and I began to travel to Europe for competitions and mostly we did by car (to safe money). But to get to Europe by car at first I had to cross all Ukraine from east to west, which is almost 2 000 km. So, here was my second step: I moved to Lvov (of course there were some other reasons to move). I still live in Lvov for about another 8 years and, no, I don't go anywhere else right now, but I started to travel to US and spend from 4 to 8 months in America. But all the time I moved somewhere it wasn't that easy,

 because everywhere I had friends and it always hard to leave them. Since I do triathlon most of my friends are triathlete and they travel as well and we meet all the time at the training camps or during triathlon races. So back to my answer. Home is the place where you feel comfortable, welcome and where somebody waits for you. I guess my home is where my friends are. And this time of the year most of my Ukrainian friend were in Crimea. 

After I came to Lvov, I spent 10 days in the city and after went to Crimea to see my friends and of course to train (that the only place in Ukraine where we can train in winter time). Almost two months I spend in Yalta, but it felt like home, my friends were there. The wether wasn't very nice this year I would say we had 50% of raining day, but even then to train with young and fast short course triathletes were a lot of fun and hard work. 

After Clermont training I already had about 2000 km of biking in my legs but even though bike rides in Crimea were not easy once. It's never been easy to train in this aria. I am not sure what makes it hard hills or climate, probably both. I still decided to do a few bike races just for some hard workouts. I did two group bike races, I did pretty good, but it's really hard to win a cycling race when you don't have a team. Was very nice to see how Ukrainian level of cycling is growing in Ukraine although a few races were canceled because of krises situation in Ukraine. 

At the end of the training camp we had two competitions: one was a team stafet and the other one was Olympic distance race, but both of them didn't look like real triathlon at all (it's a winter time). All three distances: swim, bike and run were splited and we swam in a swimming pool. I got second place at both races, even second place we got with my team. Of course it's better than a 4th place, but I think I already did 5 or 6 races in row finishing second :) I hope to brake this magic number very soon and I hope not back tot the number 4 ;) Two Ukrainian races are done and everybody were leaving back to a home town to meet each other again very soon for a next event and I have a  few trips ahead of me..............