When I saw that the Detroit Women’s Half Marathon/10K/5K was scheduled for September 15, I knew I had to do it because it fell on my birthday. Of course it would be fitting to celebrate my birthday by running a half marathon. I enjoyed running this half around Belle Isle in 2018 and decided I was due to run it again. I earned a free race entry through Epic Races by volunteering for a couple of their other events this summer and chose to apply it to this race as a birthday gift to myself.

I was training for a marathon the last time I ran the race and used it as a training run at marathon pace. Since I’m not running a fall marathon this year I spent much of the summer thinking it would be nice to target a half marathon and try to really race it but that just hasn’t panned out. The heat has been tough for me and I’ve failed to do much speed work. I had a solid race at Crim several weeks ago where I covered a half marathon between the 10 mile and 5K so I hoped I might have some speed for this race. However, my right hip has bothered me since Crim. For the last few weeks I’ve run a day or two then taken a day or two off. I’ve finally gotten back to the core/strength workouts that I neglected most of the summer but my hip hasn’t gotten any better. I only ran one mile in the few days leading up to this race and hoped backing off would help.

I felt a bit jittery once I got to Belle Isle on race morning. I’ve made it through a couple of longer runs recently but have felt the discomfort in my hip. I hoped I’d hold up well enough to get through 13 miles. After I collected my packet and made a bathroom stop, I found my friend Lisa which helped distract me from my worries. It was very cool that Lisa came out to run the 10K so we’d have a chance to catch up and I could hang out with her for a bit on my birthday.

We jogged a warm up mile 20 minutes before the race and half a mile in, it was obvious that it was going to be a warm day. It was around 60° first thing and there was enough humidity that it wasn’t exactly a refreshing 60°. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and there are very few spots along the race course with any shade so I knew it probably wasn’t going to be an easy day.

After a short fun run for kids, the half marathon and 10K runners lined up together. I still had hopes that I might have some speed so I started fairly close to the front. I left a big enough gap for faster people to fill the space in front of me but not many did.

I found myself starting behind a 10K pacer who would be aiming for a 7:43 pace. I hadn’t planned to start that fast, but also figured that if I had pulled it off at Crim, maybe I could pull it off again?

I managed to stay in the 7:40s for three miles and then it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to maintain it. I was aware of my hip but at least that didn’t bother me so much – it was the warmth that got to me. I knew that it would have been wise to start behind the 8:00 pacer and I basically settled into that pace for the next several miles.

There was a turnaround point during the second mile where the half marathoners went out a little further than the 10K runners which helped them get ahead for a bit. Eventually I came up behind Lisa and got to chat for a brief moment. I told her that I wished I could be done with the race when she would be rather than going out for a second loop!

It was fun to see a bunch of people from Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club volunteering at an aid station near the end of the first loop. I knew a couple of the people but didn’t catch their attention the first time through. Still, Joe Burns happened to catch me in a couple of his photos!

I was already pretty tired after the first half of the race and hoped I would hold up for the second half. I ran 8:10 for the eighth mile and 8:08 for the tenth, but hovered around 8:00 otherwise. When I reached the out-and-back stretch around the eighth mile, I could see that the 8:00 pacer was gaining ground on me. After a couple miles I could hear him running a few steps behind me. I didn’t want to slow down, but it became a bit of a mental game knowing that he was so close. I kind of wanted him to get in front of me so I could just concentrate on trying to keep up. With a couple miles to go, he did pass. One of his friends who must have paced the 10K came back and joined him so I had two people to follow. It was kind of them to encourage me as well.

Once again, I tried to get the attention of people from my triathlon club at an aid station and caught Joe at the last second for a high five. It gave me a little burst of energy when I really wanted to be done. It was also a nice bonus when we made it to the “caramel mile” near the end where I grabbed a couple pieces of candy that I stashed in my pocket for later.

The pacers were awesome and definitely helped keep me going. I wasn’t doing much talking at that point but I really appreciated them. They picked up the pace a bit in the final mile and I was able to make the push with them. We came in for a strong finish under 1:45! My watch had the course a little short of 13.1 miles which helped bring me down to an official time of 1:42:39. I was definitely happy with that.

I made sure to thank the pacers and got some photos with them and a couple of other runners they had helped. Having someone to follow when I was struggling made a huge difference.

Lisa was waiting at the finish which I also appreciated, especially since she had about an hour to kill before I was done. She told me that I was first in my age group and I was thrilled!

Since I officially jumped into a new age group I was kind of hoping I could pull off an age group win. Thanks to a speedy woman in my age group taking the masters win, I was able to claim that top spot. I usually don’t get too excited about my birthday, but moving into the next age group had me feeling unusually celebratory this year. The sole source of my excitement was knowing that my qualifying time for the Boston Marathon would get easier by 10 minutes…at least for 2025. The day after the race it was announced that a record number of people had applied for the 2025 Boston Marathon and that the qualifying times would be adjusted for the 2026. I had been excited about the prospect of aiming for a 3:50 qualifying time going forward, but now it will actually be 3:45. The same thing happened when I moved into the 40-44 age group, so I’ve been chasing a 3:40 time for years. At least I will still get those five extra minutes!

Lisa did a great job in the 10K, placing second in her age group and seventh for all females!

I got some pancakes, an egg and cheese wrap, a cookie, and some sparkling water which I enjoyed by the fountain while I caught up with Lisa.

Eventually my stomach started to get angry so I parted ways with Lisa. Before she left she gave me an awesome gift of some cookies from Detroit Cookie Company!

Because this was my third and final race in Epic’s goddess series, I was due to collect some bonus goodies. I did the Mother’s Day 5K & 10K in May plus Tri Goddess Tri in June. Two races earned me a pair of sunglasses, and all three earned me a necklace from Rebel Nell.

As if that wasn’t enough, I was able to select a prize for my age group win. I went with the hat and came home with a LOT of swag from this race!

I caught up with photographer Greg Sadler before I left, but the heat and my angry stomach started to bother me enough that it was time to go home. Hard efforts often seem to bother my stomach afterward fairly often lately and it was kind of a bummer to feel kind of miserable for a chunk of the day. Fortunately I recovered enough to enjoy some of Lisa’s cookies and go out later for a birthday dinner.

Once again, Epic Races provided a great race day experience. I have another race on the schedule with them next month when I plan to run the Ann Arbor half marathon. In the meantime, it’s time to deal with this hip issue. My 16-week training plan for my four-race adventure at Disney World starts next week. I know I can’t start marathon training when I’m already hurting. I plan to take a week off of running and I will really hope that’s enough to deal with this latest injury.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

The 47th year of the Crim Festival of Races took place in Flint, MI on Saturday, August 24. This year brought my count up to seven out of those 47 years. It’s one of the races, if not THE race, I have participated in the most. It has become pretty routine which is a reassuring feeling. At the same time, not knowing what I might be capable of on race day keeps me on my toes.

I’m usually in marathon training mode at this point of the summer but I decided to bypass a fall marathon with Disney’s Dopey Challenge (5K/10K/half/full) on my schedule for January. I’ve kept up with my running, but without the structure of a training plan, I haven’t done much to keep up with speedwork or nailing specific paces. I often have intentions to do so, then the work day beats me down and it’s so warm outside that I just can’t pull off any fast running by the evening. I’ve done a couple of faster workouts on the treadmill to force some kind of speed, but then a few weeks go by in between and I don’t have much consistency. As a result, I really didn’t know what kind of pace to aim for at Crim.

On top of figuring out how to pace myself for the 10-mile race, I added the challenge of doing the 5K afterward. I couldn’t resist when I saw that Crim had a special half marathon medal for doing the combo. I have always “just” run the 10-mile race so this would be something new. It was only after I committed to the challenge that I realized I would have a good hour and a half between races. Crim’s “Festival of Races” includes a 1-mile run on Friday evening, then the 10-mile run, 5-mile run, and 5K on Saturday. When I signed up for the 5K I was probably thinking about how I always see the 5-mile runners lining up shortly after I finish my race. They start at 9:00 and the 5K doesn’t start until 10:00. That was going to be a rough wait but I’d just have to figure out how to make it work!

I followed my routine of parking in a huge lot to the north by 6:00. It’s a good half mile from the start and I made it to the packet pickup within 10 minutes. I was surprised to find a longish line since I usually breeze right in and out. By the time I got my bib and shirt the line had grown much longer. I’m glad I got there when I did!

I really rack up the miles on Crim day by going back and forth to my car. I took my shirt back to the car, got ready, then did a warm up jog toward the start. A friend had given me a tip for a place to use some public restrooms but it was closed so that didn’t work out after all. The porta potty lines were ridiculous and I had no choice but to wait at least 20 minutes. I started to worry that I was cutting it REALLY close to the start of the race. In the future I’ll go back to my old method of hitting the bathroom right after packet pickup before the crowds pick up.

I managed to get into the starting corral easily and got a few extra minutes of buffer time when the blow-up arch deflated right before the first runners were about to start. Good thing it happened when it did and not when runners were trying to go!

I often see my friend Don at the start because our paces are pretty similar. There are thousands of runners at Crim and I know there were plenty of people who I never saw, yet somehow I always luck out and see Don. I started at the very back of the “C” corral and he chose to move back to the front of the “D” corral. Ropes separated each wave who started 90 seconds apart which helped thin out possible congestion. I didn’t know if I could even maintain an 8:00 pace for 10 miles considering how I had only run a few miles at that pace in recent training and nothing faster. I still chose to start just in front of the 8:00 pace group figuring the momentum of the other runners would give me a boost.

The forecast showed that it would be around 60° to start with humidity around 90%. I thought that meant the humidity would be a major factor but it really wasn’t. I’m not sure the humidity actually was that high because I barely even thought about weather during the race. That was a huge relief and it ended up being a pretty great morning for racing. Starting at 7:00 sure helps.

I ended up running the first mile in 8:05 which was pretty good since there was some weaving involved trying to work my way around other people. People who have participated in the race 30+ years started first and we tend to catch up to some of those runners/walkers pretty quickly. It’s always really inspiring to see them out there and many of them have something on their shirts that says how many years they’ve done the race. I smiled when I passed the woman dressed in a leopard print outfit who I’ve probably seen every time I’ve run Crim.

Another thing that made me smile was when I overhead a conversation between a couple of guys. An older runner talked about living a few blocks off the course when he was in his 20s. His wife was pregnant and he wanted to name the kid Bradley Hill. I thought that was such a fun story and it just shows what a staple this race is for the area and how much it means to people. 

When it comes to Bradley and its hills, that part is always a bit of a challenge and it felt steeper than I remembered. I had made a point of working hills into some of my runs knowing that I needed to be prepared for them in this race. Although the hills took some effort, I gained so much momentum on the downhills that it almost balanced out. Around that part of the course my pace went from 7:42 for a mile to 7:55 then back down to 7:43. 

I was really surprised by my pace because I haven’t gotten close to miles in the 7:40s during any recent runs. I didn’t pay much attention to my watch throughout the race and went along at a pace that felt like a decent effort without breathing heavily. I thought I should try to speed up for last three miles but I still wasn’t confident about pushing hard based on my training. I picked it up a little bit, and by the last mile I really did go for it.

Within the last half mile I heard “Runnin’ Down a Dream” by Tom Petty blaring along the course. I love Tom Petty and I love that song, and it was at the part near the end of the song where Mike Campbell is on fire with the guitar. As many times as I’ve heard that song and as warm as I was, it still gave me chills. That was just before the long straightaway on the course that heads to the finish. I love that stretch and gave it my all, finishing in 1:17:49.

It’s hard to compare this race to past races because actually doing tempo and speedwork during training makes a big difference on race day. I didn’t have high expectations that I’d run a PR or anything without putting in the work to get me there. I was 30 seconds off of last year’s time and plenty happy with how I did. I ran a smart race where I got stronger at the end and I feel lucky that it worked out that way because I did not know I had that kind of speed in me. 7:12 for my last mile? Where did that speed come from??

The race day experience was a bit different this time around because I could not go through the typical celebration routine of grabbing all the food I wanted. With a 5K to go there was no way I was going to eat pizza and down a bottle of chocolate milk. I took a granola bar to eat later and just drank some water.

Once again, I managed to find Don after the race and we chatted for a bit. I tried to find some of my teammates from work at the Team Challenge tent but no one was there yet so I made a bathroom stop (without major lines!) then another hike back to my car to eat a protein bar. The tent was not well-marked so a lot of people never even found it but a few people were there once I came back. I was a part of the Dodge Chargers team and I’m not sure yet how we placed in the challenge against other corporate teams, but placing 11th in my age group was good enough for me to be one of the scoring members on my team.

I had finished the 10-mile run by 8:30 and knew that my body would stiffen up before the 5K at 10:00. When I had about 20 minutes to go I thought I better try a warm up jog. Wow – that did not feel good. My stomach felt a little iffy and my hips hurt. I got half a mile in as I attempted to loosen up but it didn’t feel like I was very successful. When I signed up for the race I told myself that at the very least the 5K would be a “cool down” run. I had run the 10-mile race pretty hard without a real goal to do the same for the 5K.

I found that the starting corral for the 5K was a free-for-all with no pace signs. It was a smaller crowd with just over 700 finishers while the 10-mile run had over 4,000. Despite being tight and questionable about what I still had left in me, I realized I might be among the faster people in the 5K and I should probably move closer to the front. That would help avoid the frustration of getting stuck behind too many people.

Once again, the momentum of the crowd probably helped pull me along because somehow I got rolling. I sure wasn’t going to run anything close to a PR but I managed to consistently stay in the 7:30s which is much faster than I would have guessed based on my warm up jog.

Like the 10-mile race, I didn’t push myself to the point of huffing and puffing. I didn’t feel like going all out and dying by the end! After having done 10 miles, suddenly three felt like a breeze and flew by pretty quickly. Things were good until I could see that we were going to turn right into the same path as a ton of walkers. There may have been a combination of 5-mile and 10-mile walkers and they were spread across the entire road. While I usually try to be conscious of running the tangents and taking the shortest path I can, that wasn’t going to be an option with walkers everywhere. I just had to hope I could find a clear path at all. I’m sure it helped that there were other runners in front of me to help blaze a path. Fortunately there was usually just enough space on the left side of the road to squeeze past people. Trying to get around walkers brought a whole new challenge to the 5K.

I had a little extra kick at the very end and finished in 23:39. I was plenty happy to average 7:36 per mile and shocked again that I even had that in me.

I was also surprised by my placement. The results on race day showed me as first in my age group and the third female overall, but a day later someone else’s results must have been accounted for and I shifted down a spot. Still – I guess it was a good idea to run the 5K after all. Most of the really speedy people clearly stuck with the 10-mile race alone which helped me place higher!

About a month after the race I received an award in the mail.

I wandered around the festival lot to find the special spot where I could collect my batch of medals.

Then I finally got to celebrate for real. People were still hanging out in the Team Challenge tent and I collected a couple pieces of pizza. We had beverage and pizza coupons on our race bibs but it was pretty nice that I had quick access to the same stuff in the tent rather than having to wait in longer lines with everyone else.

I chatted with people for a bit until I’d had enough for the day. I went to take some pictures then made my final trek back to the car.

It was nice to find some speed that I haven’t had during training this summer and exciting to see that I could turn it on for race day. I really surprised myself with my paces. I’ve been dragging through plenty of runs at a slower pace this summer to the point that I’ve wondered if I’ve lost my speed and might not be capable of running fast marathons anymore. I guess that line of thinking was a little too dramatic. Hot and humid days of summer always make things tough and it’s okay to change up my training now and then and not constantly be grinding through marathon training. I’ll get back to that soon enough by the end of September and hopefully the weather will make it a lot easier. I’m glad I had another great day at Crim to help reassure me.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

Swim to the Moon has become one of my favorite events each year and I completed the 5K open water swim for my fifth time on Sunday, August 18. Swimming a 5K is within my limits but also something I really have to work toward. I think about this event the majority of the year because the distance is just intimidating enough for me to want to maintain my swimming fitness so I will be prepared to tackle it. It’s a great motivator for me to get to the pool on those early mornings when I don’t want to get out of bed!

I don’t follow any kind of structured training to prepare for this swim. Basically, I try to get as much distance in as I can on the mornings that I swim before work to make sure I have the endurance aspect covered. Ideally, that would be three times a week but I don’t always pull it off. I tell myself that I have to get to the pool at least once a week so I don’t lose any gains I’ve made. I usually have just enough time to swim a little over two miles each time I hit the pool. Because pool swimming is much different from swimming in a lake, I go to Stony Creek Metropark for some open water swimming a number of times throughout the summer as well. I may have approached 2.5 miles during my longest swims. I guess I was a little more disciplined last year when I racked up 158 miles from January until this race, while I swam around 121 miles this year. I hoped that wouldn’t mean that I was less prepared this time around.

This year the race celebrated its 15th anniversary so Epic Races added a 15K swim to the variety of events. Usually everything takes place on Sunday with 10K being the longest distance. This year they spread the events over two days with a 10K, 2.4 miles, 1 mile, and a half mile swim taking place on Saturday, and a 15K, 5K, 1.2 miles, and a half mile swim taking place on Sunday. Some participants did multiple events, even choosing to double up and swim on both days! The shorter events took place later in the morning which helped avoid congestion that would come with so many people in the water at once.

Considering how hard I worked toward this event all year, it would seem very questionable that I chose to go to a concert the night before. Juggling my love of music with my love of endurance events has lead me to do this a ridiculous number of times and I’m fortunate that somehow I pull it off fairly well. I really wanted to see the band Vandoliers in Detroit on Saturday night despite aiming to get to the race at 6:00 the next morning. I decided I better suck it up and pay for a hotel to make it a little more doable. Rather than drive 40 minutes home after the show then face a drive of an hour and a half in the morning, I drove 40 minutes out to Ann Arbor then only had 30 more minutes to drive on Sunday morning. Saving that hour in the morning was wise, but it was still pretty brutal trying to get out of bed after four hours of sleep. At least I made a point of getting over nine hours of sleep the night before.

I got to Halfmoon Lake at the Pinckney Recreation area just before 6:00. The park really doesn’t have any lighting and of course the porta potties don’t either so my cell phone flashlight was especially useful. I added a headlamp to my packing list for the future because it stays dark until around 6:30. I’m curious how the swim start worked for the 15K people who were scheduled to start at 6:00.

I needed a raincoat for my walk to the packet pickup because it started to rain just as I got to the park. I got a bit chilly standing in the rain with my skin exposed so a volunteer could use a Sharpie to write my race number on my arms and back. Unfortunately it didn’t work very well because I had loaded up with sunscreen which I didn’t really need because we sure didn’t get any sun! I took my stuff back to the car and packed my gear check bag with a towel and a long sleeve shirt knowing that I would be cold when I finished the swim. The rain let up but popped up a couple more times throughout the morning. Nothing during my swim though.

The 5K is a point-to-point race so I caught a bus around 6:40 which took us to Patterson Lake at North Star Reach – a camp for children with serious health challenges and the beneficiaries of fundraising from this race. I already had a protein Picky Bar at the hotel and ate another normal Picky Bar on the bus. I made a point of preloading with an electrolyte drink during my drive and on the bus knowing that Gatorade along the course usually doesn’t sit well with me. For good measure, I ate a Clif Shot Blok chew just before the race too and hoped all of that would tide me over for three miles of swimming.

It was a relief that the 10K took place on Saturday because last year our start time relied on the timing of those swimmers. They started at Halfmoon Lake and turned around where we would start. That meant that although our race was due to start at 7:30, only the fastest swimmers who could keep the same pace as the 10K leaders (around an hour for 5K) would start that early. We were supposed to start with 10K swimmers who were going the same pace we’d swim. Knowing that I’d swim a hour and 50 minutes at best, I didn’t start until 8:25 last year. After that experience I was kind of lax about getting ready to go this time and waited until about 7:20 to use the porta potty and check my warm clothes. 

7:30 truly was our start time this year and the 15K swimmers were still out far enough that we didn’t have to wait for them to get to us first. I still figured that with two swimmers starting every three seconds I had some time to kill because I’m usually more than halfway back in the final results. I went to another part of the beach to get in the water and get my goggles ready. When I got out, I realized the crowd of nearly 300 people had moved much faster than I expected and now I’d be starting toward the back of the pack. I didn’t need to be near the front but I also didn’t really want to start at the back. I guess I got a little TOO lax this year. One of the things I stress about most with this race is when I should start. Some races have pace signs which makes it a no-brainer where I should line up, but there isn’t anything like that at this race. It leaves me guessing and this time I guessed wrong!

I tried swimming toward the right side hoping it would help me avoid some of the crowd to my left.

I avoided most of the crowd for a couple minutes but then congestion became an issue for me. I found myself stuck behind someone while also trapped on the sides with no way to get around people. I couldn’t speed up and go my own pace. It’s one of the challenges of racing in open water. Things space out eventually but it can be a little frustrating at times. That kept me distracted for a bit at the beginning as I tried to figure out how to make my own space without feeling crowded.

I was thankful for the crowd when it came to spotting the first two buoys where we made turns. Lately my goggles have been fogging up shortly after I start to swim. I had trouble spotting the first two buoys and had to rely on following people in front of me. Fortunately my goggles cleared up after a bit. At least they didn’t leak! After that we just had to keep orange buoys on our left side for the rest of the swim and I managed to spot most of those pretty well.

I am not sure what the water temperature may have been but I would guess that it was somewhere in the low 70s. While swimming through three miles of several lakes the temperature is bound to fluctuate along the way anyway. The water felt cool but I know there was at least one year when I felt colder and this was tolerable enough.

Fairly early into the race we swam through a short tunnel and I know photographer Greg Sadler is always stationed there. I started to do breaststroke after I spotted him because it’s a very narrow stretch where we could only swim a couple people wide. Things slowed down and it got congested leading up to the tunnel. That gave me a chance to say hi and wave to Greg who always takes the best photos of me. 

There are a few other stretches where our path got a little narrow as we swam through smaller lakes before getting into the wide open part of Halfmoon Lake. Some parts were shallow enough that a few people chose to stand and walk. I figured as long as I wasn’t swiping the ground I would keep swimming.

Trying to get around people can be one of the bigger challenges of open water swimming. I might feel comfortable swimming along then suddenly someone shows up on my side and cuts in on my path. I’ll stop for a second to let them keep going that direction while I find my own space again, then suddenly they come back and cut my direction from the opposite side. Sometimes it starts to drive me crazy and I have to try to stay patient and just cope with it.

Dealing with other swimmers kept my mind distracted for part of the swim while songs running through my head kept me distracted at other moments. After having just seen Vandoliers the night before, their songs were top of mind. It was too perfect that they have a song called “Together We Will Sink or Swim” which amused me as it played on my internal radio throughout the swim.

I also kept my mind busy by tracking my distance. My watch buzzed with an alert every 500 yards and I knew a 5K was roughly 5,500 yards. I kept track of my current distance as I went and counted down how much I still had left.

I’m not sure I even noticed the first aid station but I knew I should stop for the second one two miles into the swim. I often swim two miles without needing a drink during my normal training so that worked for me during the race as well. I stopped and hung onto the aid station boat for maybe a minute as I drank two cups of water. The stop also provided a nice break for my arms.

At that point I knew I had just over a mile to go and tried to work a little harder. It looks like my pace improved for the last 1,000 yards of the swim. Too often I get into a routine of swimming comfortably without putting more power into my stroke. I really should push more instead of just trying to cover the distance. It was a good feeling to actually still have some strength left at the end to do so. Sometimes that long stretch in Halfmoon Lake feels like it can take forever but I kept breaking it into manageable chunks. 1.2 miles to go? That’s the amount I swim in a half Ironman and it’s nothing. Half a mile to go? That’s just over 15 minutes in the pool.

As I approached the finish I felt pretty proud that I got out there to swim 3.1 miles on a Sunday morning. I told myself it’s a pretty badass thing to do. That empowering feeling helped fuel a strong finish.

My finishing time of 1:53:10 was exactly three minutes slower than last year but I was totally happy with the results. I came in under two hours which was the real goal! I felt strong, didn’t cramp, and it all went smoothly so I was thrilled.

I felt fine when I got out of the water and went to gear check right away. The water had been cool and there was no sun so I got cold quickly. Once I had my towel and warm clothes I went to take some celebratory pictures. Then I went for the food!

While I was eating I listened to the announcers speculate when the first 15K swimmer may arrive. It was pretty impressive to see the 20-year-old woman come across the line in 3:43.

A 16-year-old male had won the 5K in 1:07, and the day before a 17-year-old male won the 10K in 2:15. That gives you a good idea of how non-competitive my time is! I am so impressed by all of the strong young swimmers.

My shoulders were in desperate need of a good massage so I was willing to wait in line at a tent where we were lucky to have three massage therapists from Reach Bodywork Studio volunteering their services. It was immediately obvious that ten minutes would barely scratch the surface of the work that I need to have done. Sometimes I forget what a tight mess I am and how I probably ought to get massages every few weeks. I can’t even remember when my last one was. Still, I’m sure it helped some so I was grateful.

After chatting with some of my Epic friends, it was time for the long drive home. As I drove, I reflected on my background with swimming and how my relationship with it has evolved as an adult. I viewed swimming from a competitive perspective when I was a swim team kid. I wasn’t very fast and I’m not especially driven by competition so I didn’t see any point in continuing to do it. As an adult, I’ve realized that I’m driven by feelings of accomplishment and empowerment, and being able to swim a 5K certainly satisfies both of those no matter how I place.

I felt pretty strong this year so does that mean it’s time to consider stepping up to the 10K? Probably not simply because of the time it would take to train. I’m good for just over two miles on a regular basis but I don’t have many opportunities to double my time in the pool. It’s also hard enough to keep myself looping around buoys for an hour and a half in the lake at Stony let alone think about going even longer. It’s fun to swim through a chain of lakes, but circles around buoys over and over for training…not so much. I’m happy enough with the accomplishment of doing a 5K. Not to say that I won’t consider going longer one day!

I love this race so much that I will certainly plan to return for next year’s race. You can find a 5K running race anywhere any weekend. You can’t do that with a 5K swim. It’s hard to find many long distance open water swims, especially one that takes athletes through a chain of lakes. This is definitely a unique and very special event so it’s understandable why people choose to travel from all over to participate in it.

Many thanks to Epic Races for providing this awesome opportunity and for making everything run so smoothly. Major thanks to Greg Sadler Photography for taking so many wonderful shots to remember the day and making this blog more exciting to scroll through. 

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

Sunday, July 21 was my first experience with an Ironman-branded race and it was a good one. The Sandusky 70.3 was my third half iron-distance race, but there’s something about that Ironman name that made it feel even bigger. It’s kind of like marathons – the small hometown races are still the same distance and provide the same accomplishment, yet running in Chicago or Boston with 30,000+ people takes it to a whole new level. Things went so well for my first 70.3 race in Grand Rapids last year that I decided I was ready to see what the Ironman experience was all about. I had initially been intimidated by the size and logistics of the Chicago and Boston marathons and ended up loving them, so I told myself that it would likely be the same with an Ironman race and I should go for it.

I chose the Sandusky race because it’s 2.5 hours from home which is an easy drive, I wouldn’t have to take any vacation time, and the course was billed as FLAT. Since I’m really not much of a cyclist, a flat course sounded ideal to me.

The race took place on Sunday and I had to arrive on Saturday to check in, attend an athlete briefing, and to leave my bike in transition. I got to town sometime after 1:00 so I would be there in time for the final athlete briefing at 2:00. I parked blocks away and didn’t want to have to go back to get my bike later so I took it with me to the check-in. As soon as you enter Ironman Village, you’re taken through a series of several tents of merchandise. It definitely was awkward having to wheel through there, but tons of other people did the same. I was relieved that they had racks for our bikes once we made it through so I could stash it there.

I collected my stuff which included a running shirt and a nice backpack.

I browsed through the merchandise and decided that I liked a shirt enough to buy it. I thought it was cool that the names of the participants were printed on the back.

By then it was time for the athlete briefing which was essentially the same thing as the pre-race meeting I usually attend the morning of a race. I learned that the water temperature was just a little too warm for wetsuits at that moment, but nights had been cool enough that it might drop enough by the morning. We were told to watch the app and the Facebook page for an announcement by 5:00 the next morning. They told us that there may be as many as 1,600-1,700 participants which stressed me out a little bit. I wondered if that would lead to congestion on the courses. The local triathlons I have done usually have several hundred participants at most, and that’s spread across a variety of distances. Otherwise, the info at the meeting was pretty standard and took us through the schedule and rules for race day.

The transition area was a few minutes down the street in a marina parking lot and that was where we went to get our timing chip and to rack our bikes. I’ve never had to leave my bike overnight before so that was something new. I guess it was nice because it was one less thing to bring with me in the morning.

I’ve gotten so used to my local triathlons where we started to spread out on the bike racks as we came back from Covid times. I usually have plenty of space around my bike but this race basically had the bikes crammed in from handlebar to handlebar. I freaked out a little bit wondering how I would have room for my stuff the next morning. It’s not like we ever have room for a bunch of extra junk and we’re supposed to minimize, but I have a nice backpack with all of my gear and knew there wouldn’t be room for that. I went back to the athlete briefing area and talked to someone who was answering questions. He said most people have a friend or family member hang onto their stuff. That wasn’t an option for me so I still stressed about it until I thought about how I could consolidate my stuff into a drawstring bag that I had with me and it would all be fine. It’s always the logistical stuff that I get hung up on the most.

I walked around a bit after that to see how the swim would work. We’d have a unique start to the race where we’d jump off a ferry boat to start the swim.

I scoped out the buoys that marked the course and saw where we would exit the water and run into the transition area. Getting familiar with the layout would help ease some nerves and help me feel prepared.

I stayed at a hotel 15 minutes away and settled in there with one of my typical “safe” pre-race dinners from Panera Bread.

The transition area opened at 5:00 the next morning so I left the hotel sometime after 4:30. Just before I left I got a notification on the Ironman app that the water temperature was 75.7°. The wetsuit cutoff was 76.1° so that meant the race was wetsuit legal. That extra buoyancy makes a huge difference so I was thrilled.

One of my logistical concerns was that I didn’t want to worry about trying to find limited street parking where the bike or run course might leave my car trapped. That meant parking in one of the designated lots that was nearly a mile away. The walk took less than 15 minutes and worked out just fine. I had eaten one of the protein Picky Bars right after I woke up, then ate another one of their normal bars in the car a little over an hour before I’d start the race. I ate a Clif Blok or two as well before leaving the transition area.

I usually pump my bike tires first thing in the morning before a race. Once again, because I was there solo, I didn’t have anyone who could take that pump out of transition with them. I was told that plenty of people would have pumps and I’d be able to borrow one from someone around me. That was the case, but the pump I borrowed was much different from the one I’m used to. As we tried to figure out what I needed, the woman drained one of my tires. Luckily someone else came over to help us and everything seemed fine. That was a little worrisome though! Maybe next time I’d just go over to a tent with bike mechanics to make sure nothing screwy happens.

Once my stuff was set up in transition, bathroom usage was top of mind. The lines for the porta potties in transition were pretty long so I had planned to head to the start early and use the ones near the ferry. I got there half an hour before the start and that worked just fine. From there I went to line up by a swim pace sign. Sorting people by pace is a HUGE help and since the swim took me 38 minutes at the Grand Rapids 70.3, I figured 37-40 minutes was the perfect place to seed myself.

I took some screen captures from the race’s Facebook page to show how the ferry was set up. We slowly worked our way from the street toward the boat where they had three corrals to funnel us into the water.

The fastest athletes started at 6:30, and I made it to the start by 6:45. I was a little intimidated by the thought of jumping in the water and hoped I wouldn’t have any issues with my goggles. They had ramps that sloped down toward the water and volunteers helped us on our way to the edge. It really wasn’t much of a jump and worked out just fine. It helped that they seemed to leave a gap of a minute or so after a bunch of people in front of me had started. That helped space people out before they let two people jump in every few seconds.

We swam out from the pier and stayed in a protected part of the Sandusky Bay. Aside from some ripples, the water was pretty calm. The water did get more congested than I’ve been used to in recent races though. After making the first turn, I found myself on the heels of one guy as another guy kept sideswiping me. When he got me in the mouth I got pretty pissed off which gave me a sudden burst of speed. I got around on the side somehow and found my own space again. I found myself closer than I wanted to be to people multiple times during the swim, but it went pretty smoothly for the most part. The actual swimming part of it felt great for me. 1.2 miles is shorter than my standard swims so it was a breeze. It was a little cloudy first thing so I didn’t have to worry about the sun making it difficult to spot buoys.

I got annoyed again just before the end as we swam into the marina where it got more narrow. I got stuck behind a guy who was slower, I had a hard time finding a way around him, and I just wanted to GO! I made it to the ramp where volunteers were great about helping us out of the water, then I started working my way down the sidewalk to transition.

It looks like I’m pretty consistent and my guess that the swim would take 38 minutes was right on. I finished in 38:43.

I spent 4:40 in transition and realized that I could pull off to the side in an open area to take my wetsuit off rather than trying to do it in the cramped area by my bike. The racks were marked well so I had no problem finding my bike. I got a strong little run in as I ran my bike from the rack out to the mount line, then I was off for 56 miles!

With so many participants I was worried that the bike course might get congested. I didn’t have any issues as I started and had plenty of space. Because I’m a decent swimmer but poor cyclist, I know it’s just a matter of time before people catch up to start passing. Plenty of people did, but I even passed a few people myself. That usually doesn’t happen much for me! I usually don’t worry about draft rules because it’s not like I’m catching up to anyone to draft off of them. However, during the athlete briefing I realized the Ironman rules can be pretty strict and people can be issued penalties. We were supposed to maintain six bike lengths between us. I got pretty worried when I would actually catch up to someone right as a bunch of people were passing me and I couldn’t go around. I hoped there wasn’t a chance I’d have to worry about actually breaking the rules. I’m such a poor cyclist that it didn’t seem to make sense that it could be an issue for me! I did see a vehicle or two drive by watching for violations.

One of my biggest concerns for the day was how my body would cooperate. Sometimes it can REALLY suck being a female athlete when the race calendar doesn’t line up at an ideal time for the body’s calendar. For a race that was going to take me six hours, there was no avoiding the fact that I would have to make a bathroom stop at least once along the way. I decided that I could wait until sometime during the bike segment and knew that there would be aid stations around 16 miles and 30 miles that would have porta potties. I hated having to lose my momentum, but I waited until the 30-mile stop and decided I’d just have to do it. Fortunately there was no wait and I was able to pull over easily without other athletes in the way. I lost two or three minutes because wriggling out of a one-piece tri suit gets a little tricky, but I got right back into the rhythm so the stop didn’t throw me off too much. I had been averaging around 17.3 mph up to that point and dropped to something like 16.9 mph. Eventually my average started to go back up though and I found myself at 17.3 mph again before the end of the ride. When I’m riding for well over three hours, a couple minutes doesn’t make THAT much of a difference in the scheme of things.

I chose this race because of the flat bike course and it certainly came through for me. Aside from a few stretches where the pavement had a little more texture to it, the whole ride was smooth and truly flat. I only got out of the saddle at one point for a short climb and that was the most significant “hill” along the course. I couldn’t believe it – I actually kind of enjoyed the bike ride! On a Sunday morning out in farm country, there were very few vehicles on the road. We basically had it to ourselves and it was amazing.

When it comes to fueling, I think for my other two races I’ve eaten two Picky Bars during my ride. This time I ate three, and as usual, I seemed to be okay with one bottle of water and one bottle with my electrolyte mix. It felt like my speed remained fairly consistent for most of the ride and I didn’t seem to tire out by the end.

I kept trying to do the math and realized that even with my quick bathroom stop, I would likely come in faster than the three and a half hours that the ride took me a month earlier at the Grand Rapids Triathlon. I might even make it in 3:20! It was a shock to find that I actually finished in 3:13! The Grand Rapids course is more challenging with some rolling hills, plus the wind really killed me for half of the ride this year. What a world of a difference it made to ride a flat course with no real wind. My bike time was 18 minutes faster!

I transitioned from the bike to the run in 2:13. I did plenty of groaning as usual as I tried to find my running legs after that much time on the bike. While it was an ideal day for racing with temps in the mid-60s to start, it was in the mid-70s and sunny by the time I started the run. The sun was directly overhead for much of the run so it got warm. I’ve been training in conditions that are warmer than that, but when it’s time to run a half marathon after already racing for four hours, it never feels great.

I started with an 8:20 first mile which seemed pretty solid for me. However, I also had hints of a side cramp building. That was a problem at the Island Lake Triathlon last month too. It took a couple miles for it to fade at this race. I ran the second mile in 8:35, then I slowed down to 8:51 by the third mile. It seems like I simply don’t have any real running speed in triathlons this year. I suppose the fact that I’ve barely done any speedwork could be a pretty big factor. Apparently slowing down did the trick and the side cramp faded. I seemed to feel okay enough for the first half of the run.

By the time I was nine miles into the race, I started to see my first miles over a 9:00 pace. At a certain point it becomes a battle just to keep pushing. The flat race course certainly helped, and there were a lot of awesome spectators lining the streets. A few had squirt guns, plus there were a bunch of sprinklers aimed out into the road and a couple people even had hoses. I took advantage of everything knowing that it helped cool me down.

It was wonderful to have water stops every mile along the course. I grabbed a cup to drink at every one and often grabbed a second to dump on myself as well. One thing that boosted my mood a little bit was getting to see Angela from Epic Races a couple times during the run. I knew that she was doing the race so I was on the lookout and enjoyed cheering her on when I spotted her.

We did two loops of the course and although I wanted to make a push for it in the last few miles, my stomach got a little iffy. I think my legs could have cooperated but picking up the pace seemed to irritate my stomach. As a result, I ran a pretty consistent pace ranging from 9:08-9:13 for miles 9-13. My calves felt pretty tight but I was still going pretty strong, especially considering how I saw plenty of people struggling.

I managed to drop my pace into the 8:30s for the last couple minutes at the end. It was pretty cool to have a finishing chute at the end of the race lined with spectators which gave it a bit of a marathon vibe.

I finished the half marathon in 1:56:46, and most importantly, I finished the whole race in 5:55:28 – under six hours!

I collected my medal and a very cool finisher’s hat then found a table to lean against for a few minutes as I tried to catch my breath. My body kept going through the race, then as soon as I stopped, it pretty much shut down. It’s as if it suddenly realizes what I just put it through then wants to deconstruct.

I worked my way over to the backdrop for a finisher’s photo then thought my stomach was mad enough that I better make a bathroom stop. It ended up being fine after all, but as I left the porta potty, my arms felt tingly. It felt like they were going numb from my elbows down. I thought it would be wise to sit down so I went over to the medical tent.

I mostly just wanted to sit down and the volunteers were kind enough to bring me a cold, wet towel and some electrolytes. I grew concerned about the numbness in my hands and arms because I’ve never had that happen before. It started to stress me out quite a bit as I sat there for a while and it didn’t fade. Someone checked my blood pressure and everything seemed fine so I decided to try getting up and see if I could shake it off.

I went to the food tent and was happy to see several options that I liked. I took my food over to a picnic table and the numbness started to fade. What a relief. I chatted with a couple athletes about their races, including a guy from Grand Rapids who was 70 years old and had won his age group. He was pretty inspiring and it was nice to talk to him. The food seemed great until it started to hit my stomach, then it really did get mad. You know it’s bad when I end up skipping post-race ice cream!

I was a bit worried about how my stomach might hold up for the 2.5 hours of driving, but at some point I knew I better collect my bike and other stuff and hit the road. I didn’t feel great, but talking with my mom for an hour of the drive helped pass some of the time and I managed to hold up for the ride home. By the end of the evening I had a headache starting to build, probably from the lack of food and hydration. The next morning I really wasn’t sore at all, but I was dead tired. It took a couple days to get back on track, and I probably could have used a day off after the race just to get more sleep!

Considering how I started looking into more Ironman 70.3 races the next morning, this race was clearly a good experience. It’s funny because leading into the Grand Rapids Triathlon in June, I questioned if I should even push myself through this distance anymore or stick with the more manageable Olympic distance. Yet a day after finishing this race, I was ready for more.

I think Grand Rapids was tricky for me because I spent the spring preparing for the Boston Marathon and neglected the bike until I recovered from that. I knew that I was going into that race under prepared. Then wind on the bike made it extra difficult. I still got through it and figured that I could consider it good training for this race, which could be more of a goal race. An extra month of training helped, and most of all, that flat bike course. I went from a 6:17 finish in Grand Rapids to a 5:55 finish in Sandusky and all of the time that I shaved off came from the bike segment – my swim and run times were pretty similar between the races.

I had hopes that I’d go sub-6 at some point so this was a pretty exciting accomplishment. Even though my body felt completely depleted afterward, I also felt extremely proud of myself. I told myself that I’m actually pretty good at this stuff so I should keep doing it. I have to admit that in my search for other possible races, the ones with flat bike courses are standing out the most. That’s what made this course more enjoyable for me, and if I’m going to do this crazy stuff, I should probably kind of enjoy it, right? I’m still debating if I should return to this race next year now that I’m comfortable with how it all worked or if I should try another location. I guess I don’t have to decide immediately, but it’s looking like I’ll aim for at least one 70.3 next year.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

When Saturday, June 22 rolled around, I was already onto my third triathlon of the month. This time it was Epic Races’ Tri Goddess Tri, a women’s race that took place at Big Portage Lake State Park at the Waterloo Recreation Area in Grass Lake, MI. I really enjoyed the race in 2021 when I did the sprint distance and this time I signed up for the Olympic distance. In the days leading up to to the race I wasn’t even sure if I’d show up though.

I’d been chatting with a few people about this race, trying to ease their various worries and tell them that they would be just fine and to go for it. Yet I was in a funk about actually doing it myself. It was mostly because I was worried that my body wouldn’t cooperate. I didn’t feel great a day or two beforehand and after suffering through stomach pain at the Bayshore half marathon last month, I was really wary about feeling miserable during another race. As usual, I should have reminded myself of my favorite Tom Petty lyric, “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.” Of course I was fine and built up a bunch of unnecessary stress. It didn’t help that a big storm knocked my power out for 24 hours from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon while we were in the middle of a gross heatwave. I didn’t get a planned run in because I was dealing with cleaning up some of the mess, helping a neighbor, and shuttling all of my food to my mom’s fridge so it wouldn’t go bad. It felt like I barely slept Thursday night and I got to waste more time playing the food shuffling game again on Friday afternoon after my power came back. I was all thrown off, wasn’t excited about the hour and a half drive in the morning, and didn’t feel much like racing. Surprisingly, racing in the heatwave wasn’t even one of my bigger concerns. I knew I would feel guilty if I had encouraged others to do the race but didn’t show up myself. I debated switching down to the sprint distance. In the end, I stuck with Olympic knowing that I always like to push myself and I need to work toward a half Ironman next month. I also knew that I’d need to get a workout in anyway so I should just go do the race.

Leaving the house before 5am on Saturday was a little rough but the long drive was just fine once I got some of my favorite music going. I got to the park around 6:15 which gave me an hour before the transition area would close. That was more than enough time and I felt better about things once I was finally there.

Since I’ve done a triathlon every other weekend this month, things felt pretty routine as I set my stuff up in transition. I was surprised to find that the Olympic athletes only had one row of racks and everyone else was signed up for the sprint or mini-sprint. The woman next to me had forgotten a race belt to hold her bib during the run so I was glad that packing more than I need finally came in handy and I had an extra one in the car that I could lend her. 

I had a little more time to spare than usual since I didn’t have to deal with my wetsuit. The water was 83 degrees! Wetsuits aren’t allowed over 78 degrees if you’d like to be eligible for awards. Once it hits 84 degrees, they’re not allowed at all. The water was warm enough that we were on the verge of that. I got down to the beach five minutes before transition closed to do a warm up swim. The water definitely felt comfortable and there was no shock to the system when it was that warm! My friends Jeff and Jenni were there so it was fun to see them. Jenni and I found each other in the lake and hung out on the beach together when the pre-race meeting started. It had been 17 years since Jenni’s last triathlon so it was pretty exciting that she was jumping back into it. We parted ways when it was time for the Olympic athletes to start since Jenni was doing the mini-sprint.

Just over 20 of us were doing the Olympic race and we tried to line up based on pace. A woman said she was around 1:50/100 yards and no one lined up in front of her. I guessed that I could be around 1:51-ish and was up near the front which didn’t feel right to me. I’m not exactly one of the leaders in any swim event I do! No one seemed to want to move up though. We started in pairs every few seconds and I started just behind the leaders.

Pretty quickly it felt like everyone was passing me which reinforced that more people could have moved up to the front. Oh well, at least they didn’t swim on top of me. I felt like I was at the back of the pack after so many people went by!

The wetsuit always helps my speed thanks to its buoyancy so I missed it during this swim. The water was definitely warm enough that I wouldn’t actually want to wear it though. Olympic athletes did two loops of the swim course and I noticed that I felt a bit warm by the time I got back near the beach to start my second loop. Sometimes it’s not so bad when the water is cool and refreshing. It was pretty calm near the beach when I warmed up but it got a little wavier farther out. It was still totally manageable though.

It was helpful that swimmers in the other races waited to start until after the last Olympic athlete finished the first loop. That helped me avoid any congestion other than when I got pretty close to a couple of women as we approached the end of the swim.

Then we had a bit of a jog up a grassy hill to get back to the transition area.

The official results messed up my swim time but my Garmin shows that it took me 36:33 to cover somewhere around 1500 meters of swimming plus the run to transition. There were plenty of bikes still on the racks, so as much as I felt like everyone passed me at the beginning, a bunch of people were still behind me. I got through the first transition in 1:34 – much faster than if I had a wetsuit to get out of! Then I started my ride of just over 24 miles.

Like the swim, the bike ride was basically two loops of the course for the Olympic athletes. We went out a couple miles longer on our first loop then turned around at the same spot as the sprint and mini-sprint athletes during the second loop. I was relieved that we only did the extra stretch the first time around because that’s where the road got a bit rough in spots. There wasn’t much traffic and few people riding around me so I could go a bit wide to avoid some of the bumps. After doing a number of races from the same park I knew from experience that some of the roads in the area could use some work. We had a pretty smooth ride for a majority of the course though. Rolling hills slowed me down in spots but considering my lackluster bike skills, I still did just fine.

A couple of women passed me on my way out during the first loop and one commented that she had started to wonder if anyone else was out there. We were spread out pretty good at first and I started to see more people after coming back past the turn around point for the other races. It made me feel more secure being out on the roads after that. There were so many of us that any vehicles coming through were certainly extra aware. A few men participated in the race too, but it was fun to think about how all of us strong women had taken over the roads that morning. The women’s races feel extra supportive to me with people rooting for each other. I told people they were doing a great job most of the time when I passed on the bike, and sometimes people on the opposite side of the road would shout out cheers for others. There’s some of that at other races too, but it feels like an extra welcoming environment at these “Goddess series” races.

I didn’t think about the temperature much while I was out on the bike. I think it was in the mid-70s to start the ride around 8:00 and I drank a decent amount from my two water bottles. I ate a Picky Bar after starting my second loop and my energy seemed fine other than the moments when I climbed any hills! My Garmin tracked 24.4 miles and my official time for that segment was 1:29:35, good for an average of around 16.3 mph.

I got through the second transition in 40 seconds and groaned a little bit as I headed out to run. We started on the grass then went on a short stretch of a trail through the woods. That lead us to a slight climb on one of the park’s main roads.

Like the bike ride, we had a little extra distance to add on for the first loop of our Olympic run. We went out and back on a stretch of a dirt road that had another slight climb. Of course any kind of climb felt major to my legs that had just ridden 24 miles. We ran along a main road briefly before taking on a single track trail segment that was just under a mile and a half long. 

The trail wasn’t super technical but I still needed to watch my footing to avoid any roots. There was one quick downhill stretch where I probably allowed momentum to carry me faster than I should have the first time so I made a point of slowing down the second time around. I didn’t wipe out at all but that hill was the one spot where I worried myself for a moment! Some people were out there walking and some were running, and aside from one steep uphill climb, I was able to get around people easily enough just by communicating that I was coming from behind.

The temps were climbing into the 80s by 9:30 when I started the run so I was thankful that the majority of the run took place in the shade. Still, it was a little humid and warm enough that it kept things challenging. I feel like I haven’t had much running speed lately and that I ought to be working harder to “race” the run segments of triathlons. As that thought crossed my mind I reminded myself that it was a really warm day so I was doing pretty good for the conditions. Training through the heat in the week or two leading up to the race certainly helped me get acclimated. It still didn’t exactly feel easy though. When I got through one loop of the run I really wished that I didn’t still have a second loop to go!

I was strong enough to pass some people during the run which helped me feel good about how I was doing. Whenever I got a bit of a flat or downhill straightaway it felt especially good to pick up my pace. When I knew I just had a mile or so to go I was determined finish strong.

It was roughly a 10K run and I ended up with 6.37 miles in 56:33 according to my Garmin. My official finishing time was 3:04:50. I was a little surprised by that considering how I tend to be in the neighborhood of 2:45:00 for most Olympic races, but the courses, distances, and conditions can vary so much that it is hard to compare one race to another. Racing on a warm day seemed a little daunting, so getting through it successfully regardless of time was an accomplishment.

I was warm by the end of the run but seemed to notice it even more when I came to a complete stop after crossing the finish line. It was only after the race when I had to deal with sweat dripping into and burning my eyes. I was pretty wiped out and one of the volunteers offered to pour water down my back. I took her up on her offer and that cold bottle of water definitely felt good.

It was great to be greeted by Jeff and Jenni at the end of the race. Jenni had finished at least an hour before me so I really appreciated that they had stuck around. I was glad to hear that her race had gone well and that she’s already thinking about doing more! 

My stomach held up during the race but didn’t feel great when I was done. I took my time recovering and eating some treats and eventually I felt better. It was especially helpful when someone brought a cold can of Waterloo Sparkling Water to me. That was especially refreshing!

I’m usually slow to get going home after these races and took some time to chat with people. I had talked with Mary, one of the other Epic Races ambassadors, online a bit and we finally met in person. I talked to some of the other Epic people too and had someone check my results since I barely got any phone reception at the park. That’s when I learned that I had won my age group – I was number one out of two. At least there was one other person in my age group this time, unlike Island Lake Triathlon where I won by default because I was the only one! After collecting awards at both that race and the Mother’s Day race, I didn’t even bother to see what I could have taken home for an age group prize this time. By then it was late enough that they were pretty much ready to tear down anyway and it was time for me to start my hour and a half drive home.

For as much as I dragged my feet a day or two before this race, of course I was glad I followed through and showed up. I ended up having a pretty solid race and aside from the temps being a little warm, it really was a good day for it. Like I said earlier, I’d be training in these conditions anyway so I may as well show up for the race. Epic always makes it a great experience.

After racing three times in June, I think I will actually take a break for the next month. A “break” is relative though – I don’t think I’ll be racing but of course I will train hard to prepare for a half Ironman in Ohio later in July. Right now it seems like that’s what comes next!

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

Apparently my first experience participating in a half iron-distance/70.3 race in Grand Rapids didn’t scare me away because I returned to the race again this year on Sunday, June 9. It took me just over six hours to complete last year and I was pretty beat up by the end, but I did it. As soon as registration opened in the fall, I committed to doing it again this year.

It seemed like a great idea at the time, but just like last year, reality started to kick in after the Boston Marathon in mid-April when I only had eight weeks to get ready. Swimming isn’t a problem because I maintain that year-round. Subtract at least one week of running for post-marathon recovery time, plus I needed more time this year to allow my angry Achilles to get better. I found myself slowly rebuilding my running with six weeks to go and basically just starting to ride the bike again since I totally neglected it by the end of marathon training. Although I seem to pull it off somehow, I’m not exactly setting myself up for success with this approach. Both times now I’ve felt like I didn’t take preparation seriously enough and a few weeks out I started to question if I should even do the race. I committed to it though and decided to follow through. At the very least, this race would serve as a good “training session” for my third 70.3, which I’m scheduled to do six weeks later.

With plans in Ann Arbor earlier in the day on Saturday, I got to packet pickup at a park in Ada at 5:30 which was half an hour before they’d wrap up. I grabbed food from Firehouse Subs, checked in at my hotel that was within 10-15 minutes of the race site, and got my stuff situated the best I could for the next morning.

I left the hotel before 5:30 on Sunday morning and got to downtown Ada early enough to find street parking that was a mile from Ada Park – the main grounds of the race. I got an awesome triathlon backpack for Christmas (thanks Mom!) that holds everything I need, so I strapped that on my back and rode my bike to the park. 

It was helpful to do a triathlon the weekend prior to this one to refresh my memory about things I could tweak. I realized it would be helpful to put my backpack in a garbage bag to protect it from my dripping wetsuit once I hung it on the rack after the swim. Plus, the grass was wet from rain the night before too. Other than that, it was a pretty standard setup. First thing in the morning I’d had a protein Picky Bar and at 6:00 I had one of the regular bars, allowing an hour for it to settle before I started racing.

Knowing that I’d be racing for six hours, I was hoping I could last that long without any bathroom stops. I hit a porta potty before leaving transition then was glad to see no lines for the few placed by the start of the swim. I figured I may as well make one more last-minute stop. I heard guys discussing their techniques for peeing on the bike and I had no plans to do the same!

Athletes could do a warm up swim from 6-6:30 but I got to the start just after that timeframe. I’m not sure I would have wanted to stand around for half an hour waiting to start while wet anyway. Since the swim took place in a river and we had to go down a ramp to get in the water, it’s not like some beach starts where I could have just wandered in. I’d just have to warm up as I went and maybe my jog from the transition area was enough to get my body moving a bit.

One thing I love about this race is the use of pace signs for the swim start. It’s common to see in running races and extremely helpful for swimming as well. I placed myself somewhere in the middle of the 1:56-2:00/100m group which worked perfectly. We entered the water in pairs every few seconds.

Because of the ramp start, I only got a few steps into the water before “diving” in. The water was 69.5° and I wondered if it would be shockingly cool but it was totally fine, even with my sleeveless wetsuit. A couple of strokes in and I was good.

Then I “just” had 1.2 miles to swim. It was a beautiful morning in the high 50s and the lake felt great, other than moments when I snagged a few pieces of seaweed along the way. Nothing too bothersome though and no real waves or current that I noticed. I had plenty of space around me and even found myself mostly on my own at times. Seeding ourselves based on pace really helped. I felt good during the swim and enjoyed being able to let my mind wander rather than keeping track of laps like I do in the pool.

When the sun is out it makes it challenging to spot the buoys at some point during basically any race. We will head toward the sun eventually and this time it was on the way back. There was a stretch when I couldn’t really see where I needed to go and just kept moving forward, at least staying between the lifeguards in kayaks until I could spot the next buoy. I finished the swim in 38:16 which was an average of 1:58/100m.

When I approached the ramp out of the water, two awesome guys were ready to grab my hands to pull me up. One of them even unfastened the neck of my wetsuit to make it easier for me to get out of it.

Then more wonderful volunteers were ready to yank my wetsuit off in a quick motion. Based on how much time I usually spend fumbling to get out of it on my own, the wetsuit strippers probably saved me a minute or two!

Since the transition area is more than a quarter mile from the river, I’m thankful that the race sets up a shoe corral area. I took advantage of it because that allowed me to get a solid run in on my way back rather than tenderly stepping on the pavement in my bare feet.

Of course that bonus jog alone added three minutes to my first transition time which contributed to it taking 7:17. I also took time to spray sunscreen on myself, eat a Clif Blok, drink, stuff my tri suit pockets with bars and chews, and try to get bike gloves on my wet hands. Eventually I ran my bike out to the mount line and started the 56-mile ride.

For the first 15 miles heading east I felt pretty good, ranging between 16.2 mph to 18.4 mph. I enjoyed the pretty ride by farmland and felt grateful that I am able to do things like this. I slowed down for the next few miles when I hit some rolling hills. When we headed south for a stretch of five miles, a crosswind got to me.

My average of 17 mph declined pretty quickly as I racked up a bunch of miles going 14 mph.

It was an out-and-back course so when I saw the leader coming back the opposite direction I calculated how far ahead he was. Oh, only 16 miles. He had a good hour on me! It just made me laugh and think about how I clearly don’t do this to be competitive because I don’t stand a chance!

I thought that crosswind was tough until we headed west for four miles. At that point I dropped just below 14 mph for a couple miles. I was glad the wind hadn’t been around during our swim to create waves but it had clearly picked up quite a bit while I was out on the bike. When I got to the turn-around point of 28 miles, life was suddenly amazing again for four miles when I had a lovely tailwind. I even made it up to 19.8 mph for one mile! It told me just how significant the wind was that I could go from 13.7 mph in one direction up to 19.8 mph on the same flat stretch.

When I made the turn to head back north, I did better than I expected, averaging around 17 mph. After getting through 40 miles, my speed was stuck mostly in the 14-15 mph range as I headed back west and I cursed the wind the rest of the ride. I tried to talk myself through it knowing I had roughly an hour left. I wasn’t especially comfortable on my bike seat and didn’t enjoy battling the wind, but maybe having done it once before helped me keep a good enough mindset. Still, at my slow speed I felt like I was just “tooling around” out there.

My countdown continued when I hit the 50-mile mark and had six miles to go. At 53 miles I visualized one of my normal training rides and where I’d be with three miles left. I came across a few people who were doing the Olympic race in my last couple miles, and I was especially excited when I had a mile to go. 

While I had finished the course in 3:23:47 last year, it took me 3:31:19 this year. I was just glad to be done. Now I ONLY had a half marathon to go. Craziness.

I think I fueled enough between eating two Picky Bars during the ride and drinking from one bottle with water and one with Skratch electrolyte mix. When I got back to transition I ate a Clif Blok and drank a sip of electrolyte drink before heading out for the run. I swapped from my helmet to a hat, put my race belt on, and sprayed myself with more sunscreen. My second transition took 3:18.

When I finished this race last year I remember thinking that it felt like one of the hardest half marathons I had run. A half marathon feeling hard after 56 miles on the bike? Imagine that! Because it had beat me up so much I was determined to take it easier this year in hopes of getting through it a bit more smoothly. After having my side cramp up and seeing how much my heart rate skyrocketed at the beginning of the run during a triathlon the week before this, I knew I didn’t want to do that to myself again.

While the wind had felt brutal on the bike, it was fine during the run. I didn’t notice a headwind and it felt like the breeze probably helped keep me from getting too warm.

Even after struggling through some cruel hills on the course last year, I went ahead and signed up to do it again this year. I knew what I was getting myself into. Somehow I didn’t walk at all but I felt like I was barely moving faster than a walk on one of the hills…and we got to do two loops of the course. There were some stretches that were a slow-go and other parts that didn’t feel as bad. I tried to remind myself of that when I went through the hard parts – it would get better after that.

I had some weird tweaks from the back of my ankle throughout this run. It wasn’t the same as the Achilles thing that I’d dealt with recently, but just something to keep me a little on edge. I’m thankful it didn’t turn into anything more than twinges and it didn’t stick around after the race.

I ate a Clif Blok every couple miles, drank some of my electrolyte drink, and made a point of grabbing water from nearly every aid station. I saw one of the leaders go by a few times and he was huffing and puffing like crazy. Maybe it would have been nice for me to end up with a faster time, but pushing that hard just didn’t look fun. It seemed more ideal to not to pay attention to my pace and just go with what I felt like I could maintain. 

One spectator said to a couple of us, “You ladies are beasts!” Even when it felt tough I told myself that we were all badasses. Plenty of people were walking which made me feel like I was doing pretty good. We were all going to cover the same distance though! Since we kept going out and back on parts of the course and passed the same people multiple times, I would often exchange smiles, thumbs ups, and “good job” wishes with those who were receptive. It was hard for all of us and it was nice to feel like we were rooting for each other. 

I ran six of the miles under a 9:00 pace and seven of them over. My third mile was the fastest at 8:38 and my eleventh was the slowest at 9:29. The slowest miles definitely corresponded with the placement of the hills. After that 9:29 mile I knew the course got easier again, and surprisingly, I still had energy left. With two miles to go I decided I could pick up my pace. Taking it “easy” during this run paid off because instead of dying by the end like last year, I felt pretty good. I finished the run in 1:57:27 and completed the race in a total of 6:17:34.

Over six hours of going non-stop – crazy. When I came to a complete stop after crossing the finish line I went straight to a folding chair to sit for five minutes or so. I chatted with a kind volunteer and recovered enough to feel like I could go check out the food. After burning over 3,000 calories it was time to eat!

I was glad they had chocolate milk in a cooler so I could get some protein. I figured I could use the salt from Fritos, and went for plenty of carbs with pieces of bagels and muffins. I stopped by the food table a couple times then went to the awards table to collect a medal for placing second (out of five) in my age group. 

I finally returned to transition to pack up my stuff and casually cruised a mile on my bike back to the car.

The two-hour drive home wasn’t so bad but getting up after sitting that long didn’t feel great. I stopped at Culver’s on the way home for more replenishment of calories.

It was an accomplishment doing my first 70.3 last year and now having done it twice confirms to me that I can legitimately do this. I was 15 minutes slower this year and it’s always nice to believe I can improve, but I’m totally fine with the results. I was 2.5 minutes slower on the swim even though I felt good this year. I peaked with a 42-mile bike ride during training this time while I did a 56-mile ride last year. I knew I hadn’t put in as much time on the bike to prepare and that was the part that had me the most concerned going into the race. The wind this year was the real killer for me and I ended up 8.5 minutes slower. I had to take more time to recover from this year’s Boston Marathon and feel like I haven’t rebuilt my mileage enough and don’t have any running speed at all. My run definitely felt better this year but I was also four minutes slower. 

Although I like to look back and analyze how everything broke down, I really am not hung up on time at all. Just getting through this kind of distance is a big challenge and finishing was my only real goal. I did pretty darn good considering how much I questioned my level of preparation! Tris4Health does a really great job with this race and I’m glad I returned to do it again. 

This year I decided to try two 70.3 races, so the next one comes up in July in Ohio. I chose that one because of its flat course. At the very least this race served as a great training session to work toward possibly improving for that race. I took a couple days off to recover but luckily this race didn’t beat me up like marathons do. I have over a month to keep building up my running and to get more long rides in. I do not have ANY ambitions to try a full Ironman at this point and am still kind of questioning what I think of the 70.3 distance. Plenty of times I’ve wondered if I ought to stick with the more reasonable Olympic distance. I like to challenge myself though and there’s definitely a feeling of real empowerment after completing this. I hope the weather will cooperate enough next month to see if I can improve with my third attempt at the distance.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

As I have done so many years in the past, I kicked off another triathlon season with Epic Races’ Island Lake Triathlon on Saturday, June 1. This was my sixth time doing the Olympic distance race at Island Lake Recreation Area in Brighton. Returning to a race that is so familiar is one good way to ease any nerves about getting back into the triathlon routine for another summer.

I also helped myself feel prepared by doing my own personal triathlon at Stony Creek Metropark a few days before the race. I knew it would be wise to get in the lake with my wetsuit once prior to this race. That’s when I refreshed my memory about things like keeping the wetsuit neck fastened as loosely as I can so it doesn’t chafe. Since I knew I needed to get a bike ride in too I figured I may as well do all three triathlon segments and run as well. It helped me gather all of my gear and reassure me that I know what I’m doing.

I got to Island Lake just after 6am and collected my stuff without any wait at the packet pickup table.

It was in the 50s first thing and I was a bit cold so I prepared some of my stuff in the warm car before heading out to the transition area.

Triathlon rules sort athletes into age groups based on their age at the end of the year, meaning I’ve moved on to the 45-49 age group this year…even though I’m not quite there yet! There were racks for my age group in two aisles so I found a free spot and started sorting my stuff. My biggest concern was that it still felt cold so I wondered how I would feel catching the cold breeze on the bike after swimming. I debated using a windbreaker then decided I’d just brave it. That was really the only thing I stressed about which isn’t too bad!

Sometimes the sun can make it hard to spot the buoys that mark the swim course and it always looks a bit confusing to me at first. Once we went through the pre-race meeting it all made sense though.

I got in the lake for a couple minutes to warm up before the meeting. The water was said to be around 72° and I didn’t struggle with the temperature at all. My sleeveless wetsuit was perfect. I like having more range of motion for my arms, but the buoyancy of the full legs is a game-changer. As usual, Greg Sadler and his team of photographers got some awesome shots.

I really wasn’t too anxious as we went through the pre-race meeting and got ready to start the swim. All Olympic athletes lined up together from fastest to “less fast” and I’m always a little iffy about where to line up when there aren’t any kind of pace signs. I’ve learned that I tend to place in the top quarter of the swim so I didn’t want to start too soon but didn’t want to start behind slower people. I kind of gauged based on the looks of people. I could just sense that some of the guys looked like they could be fast and tried to line up behind them!

Swimmers started one-by-one a few seconds apart which really helped avoid congestion. I must have seeded myself appropriately because I had plenty of space nearly the whole time – no worries about swatting someone else’s feet or having the same done to me! I was a bit winded to start and it took a few minutes to settle and get more comfortable.

One amazing thing about the race this year versus past years is that seaweed levels weren’t an issue. Sometimes there has been enough seaweed to affect how the swim course was set up. In the past we’ve had to do a couple loops for the Olympic distance and run around a buoy on the beach between loops. We always get a head start, but once the sprint and mini sprint athletes get in the water, there can be congestion by the end. The lake was nice and clear this time so we got to do one loop which worked SO much better.

I was able to spot the first couple buoys without a problem but struggled to see the third one that marked our first turn. I knew I could keep following the people in front of me and just hoped everyone was on track. It took a while but eventually I saw it. Once I made that turn I didn’t have to worry about swimming toward the sun and everything else was easier to see. I had to watch for other people a little bit at the two turn buoys, but I didn’t face any real congestion and was able to keep moving smoothly the whole swim. It ended up being a great swim and my time for around 1500m was 24:53. That was fast compared to what I’m used to swimming in the pool and I’m convinced that the wetsuit works magic for me!

When I practiced with my wetsuit a few days earlier I got it off over my ankles fairly smoothly and was relieved because that usually costs me time in transition. Unfortunately I was back to my old ways during this race and although I got the right leg off smoothly enough, I really struggled to get the left leg off. I hung my wetsuit on the bike rack only to realize it was dripping on a bunch of my stuff that I’d need later. I took a few seconds to shift my stuff around so it wouldn’t get soaked. I went to put my helmet on and realized I hadn’t taken my hair out of a bun yet and still needed to do that. I finally got it all together and started to run my bike out of transition when a volunteer noticed that I had dropped my chews out of my back pocket. She knew I’d need those later and went to grab them for me. That was very kind of her and cost me a few more seconds. My first transition time is never very good but it felt like I was especially scattered this time. It seemed like my swim was fast enough that I still had a little head start going out on the bike.

While I had worried about being cold it wasn’t even an issue. I’m glad I didn’t add an extra layer that I could have regretted!

After doing this race so many times and always doing two loops of the course I’ve gotten familiar enough with the bike course. I know that there are a few rolling hills and spots where I have to work a little harder but it’s all manageable enough for me even when most of my training occurs on pretty flat routes. The course was a little different this time due to road construction just east of the transition area. Usually we go out to the west, turn around, then go past transition and add some distance to the east. That part usually wears on me because there must be a gradual climb, plus there can be cars heading in and out of parking around there. This time we just added more distance out to the west. It included a hill but it wasn’t anything too bad. I still think I preferred climbing the brief hill versus what I usually feel on that other segment of the course.

One loop down, then back out for a second loop. There are always a few people who like to whiz by a little too closely without giving any warning but the ride was all good otherwise. I had some songs stuck in my head that kept me distracted a little bit. Watching riders on the opposite side of the road helped too. In the few situations when I passed people, I often liked to give them encouragement. Usually it’s ME getting passed though!

I had a Picky Bar halfway through my second loop and struggled a little bit to get it out of the wrapper. I managed to eat the whole thing though and drank a little water from one bottle and Skratch electrolyte mix from the other.

All went well until I was just outside of the parking lot that took us back to transition. The roads are open to traffic and a car was in front of me. It was crawling along because a couple bikes were in front of it and we were coming to the closed part of the road. I didn’t want to try going around the car not knowing which way they would head from there. I had to just coast along and wait it out until I could finally go. I was kind of annoyed but what can you do?

The bike route came up as 24 miles on my Garmin which was just under 17 mph in 1:25:26.

When I dismounted my bike and ran it through transition, I had that instant “oof” feeling. Running off the bike never feels great! I took my helmet off, grabbed a hat and my race bib, and got out of transition in 53 seconds.

The start of the run was rough for me. I felt like I was crawling and I developed a side stitch. I was really hoping that wasn’t going to be a problem because I had six miles to run. I drank some of my electrolyte mix from the bottle in my running belt and made an effort to try to breathe enough, hoping I could shake it. It stuck with me for a mile or so and luckily it began to fade after that. I ate one of my chews that has extra sodium in it and hoped it might help too.

Just like the bike course, I’m familiar with the run course after doing the loop so many times. We get one nice downhill as we head on the path into Kensington Metropark, but then we have to climb it on the way back. We get a steep downhill stretch on the grass as we head toward the finish line, but climb a little as we head back out for the second loop. That climb could be worse though – some years in the past we went up a steep grassy hill that was brutal. Now we head out on a path that is more manageable. Still, I realized there’s a gradual climb for the first half mile of the loop because it slowed me down each time.

I started to feel a little better during the second loop although I questioned how I’ve run faster other times in the past. It felt like so much effort and I wasn’t even going “fast” for me. Of course it’s harder at the end of a triathlon but I also haven’t had much of a speed mode for the last couple of months.

I was distracted by people running on the opposite side of the path and watched out for walkers, runners, and bikers on the Kensington stretch of the course where it got a bit busier. It made me smile a couple times when I crossed paths with Dawn, one of the other Epic Races ambassadors. We cheered for each other which was fun.

After cautiously flying down the grassy hill, I picked up the pace for the finishing stretch. Greg Sadler got a whole series of nice finishing photos.

I finished the run in 50:50 and my watch says I got just over six miles. I finished with an overall time of 2:45:29 which was right in the range of what I had guessed I might do.

When I saw the heart rate info after the race it definitely lined up with how rough I felt during the first loop! It seems crazy high considering how I wasn’t even that speedy, but now it’s pretty clear why I couldn’t go any faster!

My treats after the race included an egg and cheese wrap, pancakes, a cookie, and an ice cream sandwich. Good stuff!

I spent a while chatting with my buddy Greg Sadler when he was in between photographing finishers. It was nice to catch up and I was there to cheer for Dawn as she finished. Angela, who coordinates the Epic ambassadors, made the smart suggestion of getting a photo of the two of us together.

It’s been fun to share the Epic love as an ambassador. I felt like I was able to contribute even more with this race by reaching out to some of the first-time triathletes. A few of us took on the opportunity to check in on people who said this was their first race to see if they had questions. I connected with a bunch of people and was able to answer some of their questions and provide some advice. It was fun to connect with people who are just getting into this crazy sport and nice to feel like I may have helped a few of them feel more comfortable in any small way.

I stopped by the awards table before heading out because I had placed first in my age group. I wondered how I’d do in the new category and it turns out I did really well because I was the only one in it! Out of the two racks of women in my age group it’s hard to believe I was the only one who did the Olympic distance. The others must have done the sprint, mini-sprint, duathlon, relay, etc. Even though I didn’t have any competition, I was excited to place first because it meant I scored a pair of the new Epic sunglasses!

My first triathlon of the season was a great way to kick things off between the perfect weather and a solid race. Now that it’s happened multiple times I’ve come to the realization that the run isn’t my strongest segment in a triathlon like I used to think – I keep placing higher in the swim. I’ve actually been enjoying the swim segment the most as well. It helps that it happens first when I’m freshest. Running is still my favorite but it sure gets more challenging after time on the bike.

Just like last year, this tri was a good trial run before taking on the half iron distance in Grand Rapids a week later. It will be my second time tackling that distance and I don’t know that I’m properly prepared for the bike segment. It looks like I’m still going to go for it though and I’m sure I’ll manage to push through somehow.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

The Bayshore Marathon stands out as a race worth doing multiple times because the course is extremely scenic, I always get to see family and friends, and it’s a great excuse to visit Traverse City for a long weekend. Sometimes I’ve had other plans and sometimes the Memorial Day hotel prices have kept me away but this race continues to draw me back. I was in Traverse City for a day last September and enjoyed it so much that I decided right then that a five-year gap had been too long and I was due to run Bayshore again this year.

As much as I love this race, it doesn’t always go smoothly for me. When I ran the half in 2012, I learned about the importance of electrolytes after walking the last three miles due to a side cramp. I struggled through the marathon in 2016 when it was warm and humid. I finally found redemption with a decent half in 2019, but I struggled through the half again this year. Despite the struggles, it was still a pretty excellent weekend.

I took half a day off work on Friday to try to beat some of the “up north” Memorial Day weekend traffic. I went straight to downtown Traverse City to pick up treats from Grand Traverse Pie Company (a sandwich and mini pies) and Kilwin’s (salt water taffy) before heading to the expo. The last time I ran the race the expo had been at a school and this time it was at the civic center. The parking lot was pretty busy around 4:00 and there were a few long lines for the half marathon packet pickup but I only waited five minutes or so.

The expo had a lot of cool Bayshore-branded merch. I was especially excited that they had Brooks clothing items. I knew I wanted the tank top so maybe it’s for the best that the sweatshirts were too big because I couldn’t resist that cool logo otherwise.

From there I went to see my half-sister Karen, her husband Tom, and their daughter Katie. They have a condo a couple miles from the school where the race finishes and welcomed me to stay with them. I was glad to spend time with them and VERY thankful that they were saving me from paying the ridiculous hotel prices! Tom and Katie were going to run as well which made it extra fun.

Saturday, May 25 was race day and an early morning for Tom and me. Katie was running the 10K and got to leave later since she didn’t need to catch a bus to the start of the half before 6am like we did. With a 7:30 start, we had plenty of time to stand around at the edge of a tent in the field, then we ventured to the bathroom lines before they got crazy long.

I saw some people from Infinite Multisport Triathlon Club and chatted with them for a bit, plus I caught a handful of other friends before the start as well. Bayshore is a perfect weekend getaway for Michiganders so I know I will always see lots of running friends.

There was a little drizzle as we waited around but nothing significant and it was dry for the race. Tom and I dropped our warm clothes at gear check 20 minutes prior to the start then did a short warm up jog on a side street. Just over half a mile was enough to suddenly become more aware of the humidity. It was around 60° and I ended up running this race easy enough that I didn’t even think about the conditions beyond my warm up.

I really didn’t have a time goal for this race because I haven’t quite gotten my groove back yet following Boston. I knew I should be good for the distance but it’s been a gradual process of building back over the last six weeks. I’m usually in the best shape when I run six days a week and I’ve been running four lately. My only real goal going into the race was to enjoy the scenery!

I figured I should line up somewhere between the 1:40 and 1:50 pacers. I didn’t know if I’d even run a 1:50 but figured I could avoid some of the early congestion on the road by starting in that range.

We faced the only significant uphill stretch during the first mile of the race. It’s early enough for my legs to be fresh and it helps keep me from starting out too quickly. The second mile makes up for it with some nice downhills. I went from an 8:29 first mile to a 7:35 second mile! That second mile sure felt great as I allowed the downhill momentum to carry me. That was my only sub-8 mile of the race though.

Within the first few miles I found myself right next to my music/running buddy Ryan and chatted for a minute. It was fun to have someone I knew around for a bit even though we didn’t run together. That gave me a small distraction and I needed anything I could get because I didn’t feel great.

My stomach was bloated and felt uncomfortable from the time I woke up. It definitely wasn’t what I hoped for on race day. I hoped the feeling might fade as I started running. I always tell myself to “run the mile I’m in” because things can change. I managed alright for nearly half of the race but was fully aware of the discomfort the whole time. The scenery was gorgeous as we ran along the water down the peninsula and I tried to enjoy that the best I could. At the same time, I was constantly thinking about how bad I felt.

I probably would have been slouched in a chair cursing my body had this happened on any other day. Yet here I was, having to run through it for 13.1 miles. It was agonizing and I was mostly in survival mode. After I got through six miles, I told myself I “just” had an hour to go. I started to slow down a little by that point as I took it easy enough to manage the pain while also continuing on. On the plus side, at least my legs felt fine!

Aside from the pretty scenery, it was nice to have more of a distraction once the marathon runners came along on the other side of the road. I like looking for people I know then cheering them on. Later in the race I also got to see Karen spectating along the road which made me smile.

My pace was in the 8:30s for miles 8-11 but jumped to 8:51 for the twelfth mile. By that point my stomach didn’t just hurt, it was also sloshing around and I wondered if I’d have to make a stop. Slowing down was my best bet to get through it.

When I had half a mile or so left, my stomach settled enough for me to pick up the pace a bit. I still hurt but I was almost there and had enough freshness in my legs to give a final push. I came close but couldn’t quite get under 1:50.

I still didn’t feel great but at least I had finished. I realized I was going to get cold pretty quickly so I had to bypass the food line and maneuver under some tape to get to gear check first. Once I was able to stay warm, the first priority was to get in line for Moomers ice cream! The scenery is a pretty big perk at this race but getting Moomers at the end is right up there.

I collected a variety of other treats like a granola bar, chips, pretzels, trail mix, and chocolate milk then found my way back to Karen, Tom, and Katie.

Tom stuck around so he could be there for a friend running the marathon, so I went back to the condo with Karen and Katie before they went back out to cheer for one of Katie’s friends. After I started to eat a variety of snacks I felt a whole lot better. It figures!

That afternoon I went on a historic asylum tour with Karen and Tom. I’m usually not into spooky kinds of things but Karen had assured me that it was more of a historic and architectural kind of tour and she was right. It was pretty fascinating to learn about the history of the Traverse City State Hospital and how it’s been renovated and transformed in recent years.

We went out for dinner then I enjoyed a nice walk with Karen and Katie back out by the East Bay where we had run earlier.

Because I have a big triathlon coming up in a couple weeks and need to get some long bike rides in, I brought my bike with me for a Sunday morning ride on the TART Trails. I had done the same thing after the 2019 race and enjoyed the trail so much that I wanted to ride it again.

I hadn’t truly “raced” the half marathon so my legs felt fine. I knew I could get around 30 miles with an out-and-back route, and I added a little extra by riding toward Traverse City before heading up the trail to Suttons Bay.

The trail is gorgeous and I had a great ride. After a shower and lunch, I headed back home so I’d still have one day of the holiday weekend to get stuff done at home.

I had a great time visiting the family and it was another fun weekend in Traverse City. Although I wish I could have actually enjoyed the race more, even on a rough day it’s hard to beat the Bayshore experience.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz

Sunday, May 12 was a gorgeous day to kick off another season of racing with Epic Races. It’s my second year of being an Epic ambassador (hit me up for 10% off any race!) and I plan to participate in or volunteer for a majority of Epic’s races this year.

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to run around beautiful Belle Isle on Mother’s Day with a bunch of other awesome women. The race is one of three in Epic’s Goddess Racing Series, which looks to inspire and celebrate women. Men can participate in the celebration too!

This race offered a 200m dash for kids, a 1-mile option, plus a 5K and 10K. Whenever a race is set up with different start times for the 5K and 10K, I often like to go for the extra challenge and double up. In this case, the 5K/10K double was called the “IRun Goddess” challenge and included a special hat for participants.

I’ve been cautious in my return to running following the Boston Marathon and this was my first race in a month. I took 10 days off after the marathon and started back by running a few times a week to make sure I recovered from the Achilles annoyance I had developed before the marathon. It seems to be okay now but I hadn’t done any kind of fast running in well over a month and the 9.3 miles of racing would be the longest I’d gone since Boston. I didn’t know what to expect and hoped the double wouldn’t be too ambitious!

I don’t go to Belle Isle often enough and when I do go, it’s usually for a race. It’s a good excuse for me to get out there and enjoy the pretty scenery. I got there an hour before the start so I could pick up my packet and jog a mile to warm up. I loved looking out over the Detroit River and seeing the Detroit skyline. I ran along a portion of the course and appreciated some of the motivational signs. I often refer to things as my adventures, so one sign made me smile.

We lucked out with a perfect day. With temps around 45-50° to start, I was cool first thing but fine by the time I finished my warm up mile. The start/finish line gave us an especially scenic view with the fountain up ahead.

The kids ran the 200m dash first, then the 5K started at 9:00.

There were a few pacers, including one aiming to run a 7:43 pace. I felt like that was a good place for me to line up. When I’m in peak shape I try to aim for a 7:00 pace. I knew I was in no condition to try that and wondered if I could run somewhere around 7:30.

I ended up lingering near that pacer longer than I wanted to and wasn’t so sure if 7:30 was within reach after all. My first mile was a 7:36 so I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t gaining more ground on her. Very gradually I got ahead and built a little distance.

Belle Isle is nice and flat which definitely helped. I didn’t feel like pushing to the point that I was dying, especially with a 10K still to come. I still pushed enough that it felt hard though and I’m not sure I had much more to give.

I ended up finishing under 24 minutes and was good with that. I was especially surprised to be the second female and overall female masters (40+) winner! I was a couple minutes off my PR but it was still good enough on this day.

It was also nice to see that I sped up as I went. That usually makes a race feel better than going all-out the whole time and barely hanging on.

I received my medal and a flower at the finish line then had about half an hour to go before the start of the 10K. I posed for a picture and went over to the fountain for a bit.

I went to check my results which is when I found out I was the masters winner. I received a backpack for my prize with “some goodies” inside. I was shocked when I opened it and found a mug, a coaster, an Epic Races hat, and a bracelet! Between all of that, post-race food, and free pictures, I’d say my registration fee was definitely worthwhile!

Soon enough it was time for the 10K. We lined up along one side of the corral to make sure remaining 5K finishers had space to come through. Then we were off!

A couple of guys and a couple of speedy women quickly took the lead and I trailed behind. I hoped I could actually hang on and finish among the top people!

I rave about the photographers every time I do one of Epic’s races because they get the best photos. Greg Sadler had the start and finish covered while Jason Paluchniak took photos along the course. I love how he was positioned in a spot to capture the RenCen behind us.

Eventually we made our way to the interior part of the island to add more distance and I was basically running on my own. I knew that a couple of women were just far enough back that it helped motivate me to keep it up.

The road along the north side of the island always provides great scenery. The views along with the flatness of the island keeps me coming back to race there.

A few other people were out walking, running, and riding around the island but it was a pretty quiet morning.

I was able to hang on, and like the 5K, I worked hard but maintained it without crashing.

An added little perk during the last mile of both races was the “Caramel Mile” where some kind volunteers gave us candy. One piece during the 5K, two during the 10K! Even though I was moving quickly, I managed the handoff both times and pocketed the treats for later.

Greg Sadler always gets a good smile out of me at the finish. I usually get a nice hand slap from him as well…as long as I’m not so spent that I miss, which I nearly did at the end of the 5K. I was determined to do better at the end of the 10K!

I wasn’t sure what I’d be capable of for the 10K and had it in my mind that hopefully I could run my goal marathon pace – an 8:00 pace. I didn’t manage to run that during my last marathon at all so I hoped I could at least do it for this 10K! I averaged a 7:51 pace so I was successful.

I was also successful because I finished as the female masters winner again! I know it all depends on who else shows up on any given day. I was 2-3 minutes off my PRs but still felt pretty great about the results!

I didn’t eat anything after the 5K but went right for the food after the 10K. Epic always has plenty of great choices. I bypassed the bananas, salad, and ice cream freezer this time, but enjoyed an egg and cheese wrap, blueberry crepe, and cookie. Mimidae Beverage Company had a tent and provided free zero-proof “MOMosas” which were really good.

It was nice getting to catch up with a few of the other Epic ambassadors throughout the morning. One was racing, one was pacing, and one was volunteering. There were great people all around and many who were inspirational. There were some mother and daughter teams out running and walking together. I saw a post afterward about a woman who is 93 years old and walked the mile. She stays active walking every day at her assisted living facility. I love that!

Even though I’d like to rebuild some speed, I’m glad my body cooperated and I had such a good day. 10.3 total miles for the day leaves me feeling better about having a half marathon to run in a couple weeks. It’s funny how I get in such great shape for a marathon but lose so much fitness afterward as I recover. It will come back though, and in the meantime, I’m glad I can enjoy the racing environment no matter what my pace may be.

– Janet

Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz