Posts by Agnieszka | Applied Agnieszkology

Ironman Frankfurt – an uphill struggle against the sun

31. July 201931. July 2019
by Agnieszka

It’s been a month since I finished the hardest race of my life. It has exhausted me so much that it is only now that I find the mental energy to write about it.

I started to worry already days before the race, as the weather forecast relentlessly continued to predict extrem heat for the race day – 41 degrees Celsius. I know I’m not very good at handling heat – 30 degrees at Ironman Hamburg in 2018 was already borderline. I have very seriously considered cancelling my participation for the first time (I had a DNS twice in 2016, but I was so sick, that the start was not possible, so that’s a different situation). As if it wasn’t enough – I had a terrible allergy so I needed my meds, and I hate racing on meds, as I have the impression that they distort my body sensation (and I don’t mean it in any esoteric way). I was basically not sure if I’m going to start until I checked-in my bike the afternoon before.

I checked-in my bike though. The organization in Frankfurt is pretty terrible to be honest. Of course – it’s not easy with more than 3000 athletes. But still, waiting for the shuttle bus for more than an hour with almost 40 degrees outside is just not very funny.

Swimming

The night was really hot and I didn’t sleep well. I got up and I somehow knew – it’s not going to be my day… It was not surprising that due to the high temperatures the race was held without wetsuits. I trained for that and was prepared for that. What I wasn’t prepared for, was how the “rolling start” in Frankfurt looks like. Let’s just say – when 3000 people enter the water within 20 minutes, it’s very, very, very crowded.

At the first buoy someone from behind grabbed my legs and pulled me under the water to swim over me. I struggled to get back to the surface as the flow of swimmers uninterruptedly continued. I was out of breath and had to pause before I was able to swim again. After this experience I definitely prefer separate start for men and women. I have never experienced such reckless and dangerous behavior in the water, when starting in a women-only group. My swim time: 1:32:00. About 15-18 minutes slower than expected. It was a little annoying – I expected slower bike and especially run time, but I was quite sure, that I can have an acceptable swim. But – not this time 😉

Cycling

After a very long transition – I just was really slow – I was very happy to finally be on the bike. At 8:30 the temperature was still quite pleasant, with gentle wind so my mood was good again. Even the hills (800m per round) didn’t kill me (I’m terrible uphill and even worse downhill 😀 ) and I was able to smile for the camera while climbing one of them. It was not terribly fast, but I still managed to keep the average pace at over 30 kph in the first round. But then the second round came – and with it the heat. Terrible, terrible heat. I didn’t realize it on the first round, that there was basically no shade on the whole course. I probably wouldn’t have survived the second lap if some of the spectators at the course hadn’t offered a cool shower with garden hoses, especially as the water and isotonic drinks were not cooling anymore within about 15 minutes after the nutrition points. It was also a very good decision to leave my aero helmet at home and to use a regular bike helmet, so the cool water could find it’s way to my head. Not only the heat became a problem on the second lap. Also the wind became stronger and had nothing more to do with a cool breeze, instead it resembled rather a huge hairdryer, which was adjusted to the highest temperature level. It was quite sad to see so many people dropping out on the second round. I was not sure myself if I’ll be able to finish – sometimes I was doing little mental exercises, like basic maths, to be sure that my brain is still working properly. My final bike time: 6:37:19 on the prolonged course of 185 instead of 180 kilometers. I’m not a very fast cyclist, but a solid one, so the speed average of way under 30 kph was quite disenchanting.

Running

With the run part starting just after 3 pm, with the temperature still rising, it was clear that it’s not going to be a fast marathon. My strategy for the race was: go easy, but never walk, take your time at the nutrition stations to cool down properly. Luckily the organizers and especially the volunteers did a really great job. The distance between the nutrition points was just about 2 kilometers, so it was enough even for the slow runners. And there was enough drinks, sponges, ice cubes and showers during the whole course. I was going really slow, finishing in 4:50:55 (which is more than an hour slower than my normal marathon time and about 40 minutes slower than my expected Ironman marathon time), but I was quite sure, that I’ll not DNF. Surprisingly I considered the run easier than the bike part, didn’t cramp at all and even managed to overtake 300 athletes on the run.

Nutrition

I’m normally very disciplined when it comes to nutrition. I have a gel every 30 minutes with some water to flush them down and drink mostly isotonic drinks. During the second half of the marathon I also add coke. This plan didn’t really work this time. I was not really able to eat so I had to rely on fluid sugar early on. I have no idea how much coke I drank during the race, but it felt like at least 10 liters 😀 It was also very helpful that there was salt on all the nutrition stations during the run – it was really necessary.

Finish and aftermath

The finish was at least as emotional for me as during my first long distance in 2015. I had ambitious goals for Frankfurt – I wanted to finish in 11:30 and I knew that it would have been possible under normal conditions. Under the given conditions I had to reduce this goal to:

Don’t die
Don’t get into a hospital
Finish if 1) and 2) are not in danger

I managed to finish (in 13:12:07…), and I’m quite proud of myself. But I have never been so exhausted. I’m still regenerating and it’s taking me way more time than usual. Running is still very slow, I have to limit my swimming due tu costochondritis, only cycling works right now. I had quite a physiological and mental melt down in the weeks after the race and I’m still not really motivated to get back into training for the Berlin Marathon, which is in 8 weeks. If it were my first Ironman, it’d probably be my last. But it wasn’t, and I’m not a quitter 😉 But I’ll definitely not be racing Frankfurt again in the foreseeable future. My next race will be somewhere in the North (preferably north of the wall 😛 ), where such temperatures are very unlikely.

The Championship

6. June 20196. June 2019
by Agnieszka

First triathlon this year – and a big one: The Championship, a world middle distance championship of the Challenge series in Šamorin, Slovakia. I surprisingly qualified for this race with my 5th place at Challenge Herning in Denmark – the first time in my life that I qualified for something in sports at all 😀

We decided to combine it with a short vacation, stopping to visit beautiful cities on the way there and back. The first thing I did waking up every day was checking the weather forecast for the race day – and it was getting hotter and hotter.
We arrived the day before the race – registration was organized in a very efficient way, not so the bike check-in… But the worst information came during the race briefing: water is expected to be about 14 degrees Celsius so it’s not clear which distance are we going to swim. What was clear, was that it definitely will be a wetsuit-legal or even wetsuit-obligatory swim.

Swim

On the race day, the official water temperature was announced: 14,4 degrees in the Danube river, we’re swimming the full 1900m distance. Given the 25 degrees air temperature at 9:30 in the morning getting into the water felt like the ice bucket challenge… I start to swim, or at least I’m trying to, but I’m not really moving forward. The current is so strong, that I have the impression to invest all the energy into not being drifted away. The water is so cold and there marking buoys don’t seem to come any closer, I’m having a brief thought about giving up. Instead I focus on stabilising my breath and my stroke and start to slowly move forward. 1900 meters have never been so long. I don’t even dare to look at my watch. When I finally manage to get out of the water I see the degree of the disaster: 45 minutes (I swam both 70,3 distances last year in 38 minutes, was expecting 36-37 this year). But given that I was by far not the last one to get out of the water, it was pretty clear, it’s not me it’s the current. Still, just look at the mix of disbelief and disgust on my face :joy:

T1

T1 went well, without loosing any time, this time I grabbed the right bag (last year I had the wrong one and had to go back) and ran towards the bike. Still, I needed 5 minutes for the transition, as the ways were quite long there and included tricky stairs.

Cycling

It was pretty clear that it will rather be a fast course – almost no elevation and not very windy conditions. The surface was mostly good as well. I reduced the nutrition frequency in comparison to the last year and it was a good decision – no digestive problems this time and a very consistent ride with constant 32km/h and a 2:47 bike split time (almost 10 minutes faster than last year). The course was not exactly spectacular, but yeah, the most spectacular bike courses are usually very hilly, and I’m unfortunately terrible when it comes to hills…

T2

I managed to jump off the shoes at the dismount line very easily for the first time (last year at the IronMan Hamburg I just managed one, the other clicked out, so I had to keep it on my foot and run with one cycling shoe through the transition…) and ran – barefoot on a very hot asphalt, as the carpet didn’t start immediately. Again – a long way to run, more than 500 meters. I had the impression of being quite fast, but the watch was showing more than 4 minutes for the whole transition

Run

There is only one word that comes to my mind when I think of the run – hot! The air temperature reaching about 30 degrees and almost no wind and no shade. Pretty exposed to the sun for the whole course. We were running 3 rounds on quite a strange course: while a short part of the course went along the river, the major part was happening in a horse race course, on grass and sand surface. The heat and humidity made it difficult at the beginning, I needed few minutes to stabilize my breath. I had just two gels and decided to fuel on coke during the majority of the run – which was a blessing to my stomach – no issues at all and also no feeling of being hungry. I finished the run in 1:59, finally under 2 hours

My total time 5:43:03 – not quite the time I expected, as I was aiming in about 5:30, but with the swim disaster – no wonder 😉 Now the most important thing is to keep training for the Ironman Frankfurt in 3 weeks

Leipzig Marathon

17. April 201917. April 2019
by Agnieszka

This season is slowly getting serious – the first marathon is done and the Challenge Championship is only 6 weeks away.

It was a relatively spontaneous decision to run this one as I received a free slot from Krombacher (so I guess it’s advertising now ;)) and I had to run it without any specific marathon preparation, as it was only meant as a performance test before the triathlon season get’s serious.

I was actually really looking forward to this run. Leipzig is a very nice city, not far from Berlin, it’s not a huge event like Berlin Marathon and I somehow needed the race-feeling again. But then I saw the weather forecast… 2 degrees Celsius and sleet at the start time. Additionally I had to travel to a workshop on quite a short notice, coming back home on Friday evening, and flying, even short distance is always quite a performance killer.

I was not really sure about racing until Sunday morning. I didn’t want risk getting sick in a race that’s not my priority and possibly ruining my IronMan training. But as I woke up I actually got pretty motivated and went to the start line with a huge smile

The moment we started, icy rain started pouring from the sky, but at this point I didn’t really care. I started easy – or at least that how it felt and was quite surprised finding myself in the group following the 3:45 pacemaker. I didn’t really have particular finishing time goals for this race, just the wish to be at least a minute faster than last year at Zürich Marathon, which I ran in 3:56 (and under totally different weather conditions – 28 degrees and permanent sunshine)

During the first 21 kilometers I felt like I was flying instead of running. I run my fastest 3 miles, 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, 15 kilometers and fastest half-marathon. I was well hydrated, sticking to my nutrition routine and my legs felt really light (thanks to the very painful but very relieving massage at the most awesome massage place in Berlin – Der Wohlfühler). I somehow was in a totally good mood – for reasons not totally clear to me 😉 and was smiling my way through this terrible weather.

At about 25 kilometers it all started getting a little harder. My feet and hands are pretty sensitive when it comes to the cold and I basically stopped feeling them at all. That made running a little harder and I got cramps in very strange places – midfoot and ankle, didn’t know that it’s even possible 😉 and it took ages to get a gel out of my pocket and open it. But what should you do when things get harder? More smiling 😀

So I smiled my way to the finish line, which I crossed after 3 hours 49 minutes, soaking wet, shivering and in a desperate need for a hot shower but very happy with my performance. AND, the guy announcing the incoming finishers knew how to pronounce my name correctly – many thanks for that, it doesn’t happen too often 😉

Also big thanks for or the volunteers on the course standing there in the cold and rain the whole time, serving water and food and cheering us up. Generally the whole event was pretty well organized, the checkin, bag storage, etc. everything worked perfectly. I’m looking forward to running there again – hopefully in different weather conditions.

Not to forget, as I’m still in the process of finding the best long distance running shoes – I run in Saucony Ride 10, and they did really, really well. I hope, the new version (Saucony Ride Iso) will do at least as good as the older one 🙂

Sports

6 years of running – what I learned

6. March 20196. March 2019
by Agnieszka

Exactly 6 years ago I went for a run for the first time in my grownup life. I probably don’t need to tell you – but it was a terrible, excruciating experience. I managed to do one round in the nearest park, all together 4,42 km. My average pace was 07:29 min/km. I didn’t wear a heart rate monitor, but I’m pretty sure my heart rate was at about 170 bmp or something like this.

After this run I was exhausted and frustrated. But it didn’t make me quit. Just the opposite was true. I didn’t have any marathons or triathlons in mind (I thought people doing it were crazy) – I just wanted to be able to run for an hour and not be miserable 😉

I didn’t really have a plan. I had no idea why I should use a heart rate monitor – so I didn’t, never heard of heart rate zones, had old worn-up shoes (I’m not sure if they were even proper running shoes) and obviously I didn’t have any coach or not even a training plan. Long story short – that’s definitely not the optimal way to start running, if you don’t want to quit right away 😉 But I didn’t quit. My strategy was to run a little longer every time. 2,5 months later I ran 10 kilometers for the first time in my life and 4 months after that, the first 10 kilometers within an hour

The biggest challenge for me came in April, just about a month after I did my first run. I had to go to Brussels for a consulting project – which meant 3-4 nights a week in a hotel, for several months. Goodbye healthy routines, goodbye good habits.

Wait, but why actually? Does Brussels not have streets and parks? Are there no hotels with a gym? Does running gear really takes so much space in the suitcase, that I really cannot take it with me? Of course it’s more difficult to keep the training routine, when you’re not in your regular environment – but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible (check out my post “Triathlete on business trip”.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Running in Brussels

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Agnieszka Walorska (@agamw) am Sep 16, 2013 um 10:46 PDT

I kept my running routine and at some point I really started enjoying it so much, that I decided to sign up for my first olympic distance triathlon in 2014 and shortly after for the first middle distance. But it wasn’t until I hired a coach to help me with preparation for my first IronMan distance, that I actually started training properly.

But what does it actually mean to train properly?

Many beginners guides recommend to pick a race date or to even sign up for a race. I personally don’t think it’s necessary. My goal was to be able to run for an hour without dying ;). Racing is not everyones “thing”. The important thing is to set realistic goals. If you never ran, signing up for a marathon that takes place in 3 months is a bad idea 😉
Get yourself a HR monitor and proper shoes. I didn’t have either and I consider it a mistake. I ran all my runs to the point of total exhaustion and it resulted in pain and frustration. It’s better and more sustainable to get used to it slowly. When it comes to shoes – it doesn’t mean that you need to spend a fortune. But it’s important that they give you the support you need and that you actually enjoy wearing them 🙂 My first proper shoes were the ASICS Gel Noosa Tri, but they are discontinued now. Currently I run ASICS DynaFlyte, Saucony Ride 10 and Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19

ASICS DynaFlyte
Saucony Ride 10
Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19

Ladies only, especially these with large bust. You will need a proper sports bra, otherwise it can get pretty uncomfortable (so I heard).
Get a training plan. It doesn’t mean that you need a personal trainer. Meanwhile there are so many apps that will give you a beginners training plan. Runtastic has nice, easy to follow training plans from beginners to marathon (and you can perfectly combine them with Runtastic Results for some bodyweight training). There are also a couple “Coach to 5K” apps, and you can find tons of training plans online. It’s important to have one for many reasons: it helps you with the discipline but also makes the training more variable. Running all out all the time is just not the good strategy. Most of the beginners need to start with alternating walking and running. That seams boring and unproductive at the beginning but it makes perfect sense.
About boring – the first thing my coach did was to lower the intensity of my training. Doing runs in zone 2 (check out what training zones mean), that are the basis for endurance training is necessary but it is not very exciting, especially if you repeatedly run on the same route. Some people enjoy them, focusing on themselves, some listen to music. I use the time to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. My favorite podcasts: NPR Hidden Brain ,TED Radio Hour, HBR IdeaCast, More or Less: Behind The Stats, WSJ’s The Future of Everything.
Find a training partner who is about as fast as you are, so you can motivate each other. I don’t enjoy running with other people 😉 but somehow most of us do. Do whatever you need to enjoy the experience as much you can.
Hydrate – I always have something to drink when I run for an hour or longer
Be disciplined, but don’t set yourself under too much of pressure. Don’t forget that you’re doing it to feel better, not to impress anyone. If you are slower today then you were yesterday – don’t worry, maybe you’re tired, maybe you didn’t sleep well, didn’t eat enough or ate too much, the weather is shitty. But don’t stop just because you think you’re not progressing fast enough.
Smile – if you’re having fun, it’s easy. But try to smile even if the fun factor is not at it’s highest – you’ll see that it will help you to feel better!

First race of the season & review Saucony Ride…

18. February 201918. February 2019
by Agnieszka

First race of the year 2019 was Plänterwaldlauf again. Last year I ran 10k, this year my coach decided that 15k would be a better option for me. It’s not a „real“ race of course – I did it after a normal 12 hours training week, so I didn’t expect extraordinary performance 😉 I like running a small race early in the year though, as it usually gives me a little kick for my further training. I also like the course of the race: through the forest and along the river. Very enjoyable when the wether is somehow nice.

When signing up for a race in Februar in Berlin, one of course cannot really expect nice weather. Last year it was snowy and freezing, not sunny, but still OK, this year it was a disaster. The rain was pouring, at some point turning into hail, creating countless puddles that turned into one big swamp by the time I was running the last of my three rounds. By the time I crossed the finish line I was soaking wet – as did every other athlete…

via GIPHY

I didn’t feel 100% fit during the race. I didn’t sleep well and was only semi-motivated, the weather was annoying. I just wanted to get back to bed – that was probably the only reason why I got faster and faster during the last round :D. After I crossed the finish line I just wanted to put on some dry clothes and get to a sauna as fast as possible. But then I heard my name (properly spelled to my surprise). I mean, I don’t really run to win (I’m also rather realistic about my talent ;)), so it was quite a nice surprise to learn that I finished as a second woman and won my age group. It was the first AG win and first podium since I started training and competing. Of course, it’s not the IronMan, it’s a small and cozy local race, but I’m like this anyway:

via GIPHY

It was also my first race with other shoes than ASICS Noosa Tri which I have been running for the previous 5 years. As they have been discontinued, I have bin experimenting with other models and brands recently (a separate post on this topic is coming). The difficulty – my feet are very long (European size 42) and very narrow, so my choices are quite limited. Fortunately ASICS has DynaFlyte, which is very narrow and DS Trainer, which fits me as well, but why not try a different brand as well. Saucony Ride 10 got some pretty good reviews when it comes to endurance runners with narrow feet.

So why not try (especially as it was on sale and very affordable at that time). They don’t look particularly good, which is a minus point. During the first runs they felt a little too soft as I was used to rather stiffer shoes, but getting used to it, I actually started to like how they feel. That’s why I decided to try them during the race and I didn’t regret it. They felt so comfortable, that I basically forget that I have shoes on – my feet didn’t hurt, my knees didn’t hurt, I had the impression, that the shoes support my natural way of moving. I have to lace them very tide to fit my narrow feet, but when I did this, my feet felt stable, not moving around like in some other shoes. Of course 15 km is not a long distance, so I’ll definitely have to test them on a half-marathon and marathon distance to form my formal opinion. But for now, they are in the game 😉