The Montclair Triathlon, a long spring/short Oly was a race scheduled on the Team Z calendar…and since it fell on my birthday I thought it would be a fun way to start the day. After all, I would FINALLY (for my fourth race this season) actually be the age the body markers would write on my calf! The race was also nice and local – only a 30-minute drive from home. So what’s not to like?
My kids were dragged out of bed before the crack of dawn to accompany me to this race. They were so excited. (Not!) It was nice having ‘help’ carting my stuff to the race site since we had to park nearly 2 miles away. Actually, we were a bit closer because we parked at an elementary school on our way and it made for a shorter walk. And once we got there they were awake enough to 'enjoy' the morning.
Arriving at the race site I went up to packet pick up while the boys watched my bike and other stuff. Finally got my race numbers and other junk and went to get set up. We promptly found the Team Z area, which was very hard to miss! And green was everywhere, by the way, which was so awesome! Found my spot in transition and got organized there, too. Time to wait for the start…which was not to long of a wait, either.
Swim: 21:12
The water temp was 84 degrees, so no wetsuits. I was fine with that as I always figure any time I might make up on the swim using the wetsuit is probably lost (who knows?) during T1. Note for the next tri without wetsuits is to use my smaller Team Z tri top as the one I used was a bit loose. I thought I felt it dragging actually! The swim went well but I did have a bit of a foggy goggle problem that I stopped to correct. I also went a bit wide on the return so I had to angle back in to finish. But the water temperature was wonderful and the lake while a bit murky seemed clean enough to me. No hydrilla or anything of the sort!
T1: 2:24 - So much better than when I struggle with a wetsuit!
Bike: 1:04:22 – I was aiming for 1:15:00-ish (based on my normal rides) so this was great!
I got out of transition okay, had to go up a steep grassy hill to get to the street where my one rear water bottle filled with Heed promptly launched itself off. The guy behind me got it for me. Thanks, dude! Walked up to the mount line and was off. It is always so awesome to bike up a nice little hill right out of transition! Well, they cannot help it if the lake/swim is at the bottom of the hill. It was not too bad. Anyway, I made it out to the main part of the course, which was 3 loops of rolling hills all along one street - kind of an out and back - before heading back to the side street and then to transition. A couple of the hills were hard enough (for me) where I had to go into my easiest gear. Some were not too bad and I could use the big ring. All in all, it was a pretty nice course and I had a really fun ride. I only saw one rider disobey the rules and go outside the cones when he passed someone on the right. Bad rider… On the last part of the third loop I tried to ‘spin’ more to help my legs in transition. I have to say, that downhill into transition was ‘fun’! I managed to stop and not fall, so that is a plus…then down another grassy hill past some Z’ers to my spot. Yay!
T2: 1:30 – much better even than T1!
Run: 50:40
In transition I did my shoe swap and helmet to hat swap then grabbed my other water bottle of Heed and was off on the run. Back up that steep grassy hill to the street and back up that steep hill for the first loop of the course. I made it as far as a Team Z cheerleader (Michele) and had to walk! I walked to the driveway with the family and picked up the pace again. I chugged along as usual and was enjoying the run for the most part. I was getting passed a lot, but that is normal for me. Harriet was having a good run and flew by me – she looked great as did many others. I did have to walk again on the main drag up a part of one hill. I took some water at the water stops, as well. Turned off the main drag and made it to the golf course entrance to loop back around. I saw the finish but could not figure out where to go for lap 2 until I was practically on top of it. I saw a couple Z’ers that had finished and they showed me. Off the path into the woods and it was a steep downhill and covered with leaves. I was really hoping I did not fall it was so steep! Finally down at the bottom and to the back of transition to that steep grassy uphill to the street to start lap 2. Same story – I chugged along till I reached the Team Z cheerleader, Michele again, where I walked – again to the family in their driveway. I continued along and the second loop seemed to go a little easier for me. I think I was finally warmed up. On this loop I actually passed a few people myself. Again I took a bit of water…everyone was so friendly! The second loop really was easier. My legs worked fine out of transition, too – no heaviness or cramping! (This is always a plus!) Also, this time I did not have the tingly feet issue either. I had loosened my shoes at Eagleman and they were still tied in the same manner, so maybe that helped.
Total time: 2:20:07 – this was great. I had a goal time of 2:30:00, so I was very happy! Overall I was 12 of 18 women in my age group.
After the race I met up with my kids and we wandered down to the Team Z tents for some refreshments. Hot dogs at 9:40AM – you bet! And a Diet Coke – of course. Right Priscilla? My younger son saw a kid from another high school that he ran against in cross country and track…and he is again inspired to do a triathlon but wants to wait until he finishes high school. He did however think the idea of doing a really with his mom would be fun… We are thinking of the Luray Oly in August. So, I will do the swim/bike portions and he will do the run...he has never done a 10K and would like to try it. By then he will be well enough into his cross country training to have no problem with it. My older son is not quite ready to tri…he says he is too out of shape…maybe one day he will be inspired to train for a race though!
My final note: the weather I thought was just about perfect for a summer race. Overcast and a teeny bit cool, by summer standards. It was humid but I did feel good during the run, not overheated in the least. And as always, the Team Z support was fantastic! It is so much fun to see so much GREEN all over the place - be it in the form of people racing or cheering! Thanks also to the gals manning the grill. What a great start to a birthday!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The EPIC training weekend…
Wow, first I have to say I survived! And it was awesome. I had a really, really good training weekend. On the schedule was –
Saturday: 2-ish mile open water swim followed by a 15 mile run – then a team BBQ
Sunday: 116 mile bike ride – then another team BBQ
Friday I had decided I could assist one of our Team Z Challenged Athletes, Doug-who is vision impaired. We spoke Friday and coordinated a plan for Saturday, where I would be his swim and run guide. I’ve never been a guide before, but my pace was OK for his, so I wanted to help out.
Saturday morning I got up early and headed out to pick up Doug for 6:15 to be at Gunston Manor for 7:00-ish for the 7:30 open water swim sessions. There were to be two sessions and Doug and I were going to do them both. The course was an approximate 800 meter rectangle-ish one. One of the coordinators told us swimmers to ‘just ignore’ the hydrilla. [Hydrilla verticillata: Submersed perennial herb. Rooted, with long stems that branch at the surface where growth becomes horizontal and dense mats form. Small, pointed leaves are arranged in whorls of 4 to 8. Leaves have serrated margins and one or more sharp teeth under the midrib (see Godfrey and Wooten 1979). Development of these features may vary with location, age, and water quality (Kay 1992).] Um, TEETH? Is that what I felt? Is THAT what I spit out at the end? LOL Anyway, we got our wetsuits on – the air and water temp was 72 degrees and I debated on wearing a wetsuit… Getting in the water wasn’t too bad. We waded out to the starting ‘line’ and talked about how I would sight and help Doug remain on course. Off we went. I stayed to Doug’s left and at his hip. To let him know we were ‘off course’ I tapped him on the hip and we’d stop and regroup and go. On our first lap one of the coordinators cut it short due to some boat traffic. We felt a bit of hydrilla; it was not too bad. We did two more full loops during the first session, and each loop seemed to get better and better as far as the sighting and guiding went. There were parts of each loop that seemed to be more ‘swimmer friendly’, too. We stopped a bit before the second session started. During the second session we did two more full loops. As we did each loop we did not always go ‘around’ the buoys, but did go to them. I must have been sighting and guiding OK, because Doug hit one of the buoys head on! However, each time we swam a loop the hydrilla seemed to be multiplying. What actually happened was the tide was going out and that stuff was just that much closer to the surface wrapping around your legs and arms as you went along. Lovely! After our 5th lap we decided we’d had enough hydrilla! (I am SO glad I had my wetsuit on!) Total swim was approximately 2.3 miles.
On to the run…I had all my stuff at the car so I went up to change and promised Doug I’d be back to get him for the run. Doug needed to run 10 and I needed to run 20. The plan was to run a 10 mile loop with Doug and do the additional myself. I finally was ready and was getting ready to prep my Camelback and realized I was missing the spigot for it! Major bummer…I had to resort to carrying a water bottle. This meant I would not be able to do a 10 mile loop as I can only go about 5-6 miles on one bottle. We decided to do 2 laps of 5 miles. There was a light drizzle / rain coming down and it was kind of nice, temperature wise. I had Doug attached to my right wrist by a string and held the cue sheet with my right hand and my water bottle in my left. We were off! There was some road traffic where we had to be careful since we were running side by side. But all in all, the run – both laps – went well. I did a water bottle change out at the end of the first loop and got a fresh cue sheet. It did start to rain harder at one point and we heard some not so distant thunder, but there were no mishaps. Neither Doug or I ended up in a ditch – I’d call that a success! Unfortunately I was really hungry on the run…I only wanted real food. So I stopped at 10 miles and had food. We hung out for a bit then headed home. I got home and was STILL hungry. I ate some more then eventually went out and ran another 5 miles. I got home from that and was ready for dinner! Total run was 15 miles.
On to Sunday and the bike ride, which would be (of course) my longest to date! The IM peeps had a 7AM start time so I had to be there by about 6:30 to allow time for all the usual pre-ride stuff. I did get a tad turned around with directions as I got close to the location but was successful in getting there timely and being ready to go on time. I won’t write too much about the ride, but I will say it was (for me) the most perfect ride! It was broken up in two segments; the first was about 74, the second about 42…however at the end of it all my Garmin showed 118.5, so I am going to take it! I had my nutrition nailed for the entire ride and was very pleased with that. I had no problems to speak of! My heart rate averaged zone 2 for the ride as well. Yay!
Sadly, one of the riders in my group (Mary) during the first segment took a spill while crossing some railroad tracks. She was ok and was able to get on her bike and finish the segment. But she had some problems braking and shifting and opted to do the second segment on a trainer in the parking lot. She rocked…but unfortunately an x–ray later that evening showed a fractured elbow. Her orthopedist says she should be OK for IM USA though. (fingers crossed!) The funny thing about the ride… When we had about 8 miles left we came to an intersection with a bunch of saggers and support peeps there. Our coach, Ed, was saying "slow down, stop!" I did, not knowing why…and he said "here, have some of this chicken and turkey. It is really salty and will taste so good right now." Well, I was not too sure but decided to give it a go. OMG – it was SO good. I kept eating and eating. Anyway, finally time to pull away…off for the last 8 and then rolled into the parking lot. Then it was BBQ TIME! I regrouped with my riding buddies here and we talked about our perfect ride day… Riding buddies are the best.
Last night I went out for my scheduled 50 minute run. It took a bit to loosen up but I made it through the entire 50 minutes. This morning was the third week of the Tuesday long (90 minute) swim practices to get the extra distance in. This was my FIRST long swim as the last two I was (1) out of town and (2) ultra tired. I was a bit nervous about it but I made it through! I swam about 2.32 miles! Of course, when I was done I was…STARVING! Tonight is a ‘easy’ zone 2 bike ride. I’ll bet I’ll be starving after that, too.
Saturday: 2-ish mile open water swim followed by a 15 mile run – then a team BBQ
Sunday: 116 mile bike ride – then another team BBQ
Friday I had decided I could assist one of our Team Z Challenged Athletes, Doug-who is vision impaired. We spoke Friday and coordinated a plan for Saturday, where I would be his swim and run guide. I’ve never been a guide before, but my pace was OK for his, so I wanted to help out.
Saturday morning I got up early and headed out to pick up Doug for 6:15 to be at Gunston Manor for 7:00-ish for the 7:30 open water swim sessions. There were to be two sessions and Doug and I were going to do them both. The course was an approximate 800 meter rectangle-ish one. One of the coordinators told us swimmers to ‘just ignore’ the hydrilla. [Hydrilla verticillata: Submersed perennial herb. Rooted, with long stems that branch at the surface where growth becomes horizontal and dense mats form. Small, pointed leaves are arranged in whorls of 4 to 8. Leaves have serrated margins and one or more sharp teeth under the midrib (see Godfrey and Wooten 1979). Development of these features may vary with location, age, and water quality (Kay 1992).] Um, TEETH? Is that what I felt? Is THAT what I spit out at the end? LOL Anyway, we got our wetsuits on – the air and water temp was 72 degrees and I debated on wearing a wetsuit… Getting in the water wasn’t too bad. We waded out to the starting ‘line’ and talked about how I would sight and help Doug remain on course. Off we went. I stayed to Doug’s left and at his hip. To let him know we were ‘off course’ I tapped him on the hip and we’d stop and regroup and go. On our first lap one of the coordinators cut it short due to some boat traffic. We felt a bit of hydrilla; it was not too bad. We did two more full loops during the first session, and each loop seemed to get better and better as far as the sighting and guiding went. There were parts of each loop that seemed to be more ‘swimmer friendly’, too. We stopped a bit before the second session started. During the second session we did two more full loops. As we did each loop we did not always go ‘around’ the buoys, but did go to them. I must have been sighting and guiding OK, because Doug hit one of the buoys head on! However, each time we swam a loop the hydrilla seemed to be multiplying. What actually happened was the tide was going out and that stuff was just that much closer to the surface wrapping around your legs and arms as you went along. Lovely! After our 5th lap we decided we’d had enough hydrilla! (I am SO glad I had my wetsuit on!) Total swim was approximately 2.3 miles.
On to the run…I had all my stuff at the car so I went up to change and promised Doug I’d be back to get him for the run. Doug needed to run 10 and I needed to run 20. The plan was to run a 10 mile loop with Doug and do the additional myself. I finally was ready and was getting ready to prep my Camelback and realized I was missing the spigot for it! Major bummer…I had to resort to carrying a water bottle. This meant I would not be able to do a 10 mile loop as I can only go about 5-6 miles on one bottle. We decided to do 2 laps of 5 miles. There was a light drizzle / rain coming down and it was kind of nice, temperature wise. I had Doug attached to my right wrist by a string and held the cue sheet with my right hand and my water bottle in my left. We were off! There was some road traffic where we had to be careful since we were running side by side. But all in all, the run – both laps – went well. I did a water bottle change out at the end of the first loop and got a fresh cue sheet. It did start to rain harder at one point and we heard some not so distant thunder, but there were no mishaps. Neither Doug or I ended up in a ditch – I’d call that a success! Unfortunately I was really hungry on the run…I only wanted real food. So I stopped at 10 miles and had food. We hung out for a bit then headed home. I got home and was STILL hungry. I ate some more then eventually went out and ran another 5 miles. I got home from that and was ready for dinner! Total run was 15 miles.
On to Sunday and the bike ride, which would be (of course) my longest to date! The IM peeps had a 7AM start time so I had to be there by about 6:30 to allow time for all the usual pre-ride stuff. I did get a tad turned around with directions as I got close to the location but was successful in getting there timely and being ready to go on time. I won’t write too much about the ride, but I will say it was (for me) the most perfect ride! It was broken up in two segments; the first was about 74, the second about 42…however at the end of it all my Garmin showed 118.5, so I am going to take it! I had my nutrition nailed for the entire ride and was very pleased with that. I had no problems to speak of! My heart rate averaged zone 2 for the ride as well. Yay!
Sadly, one of the riders in my group (Mary) during the first segment took a spill while crossing some railroad tracks. She was ok and was able to get on her bike and finish the segment. But she had some problems braking and shifting and opted to do the second segment on a trainer in the parking lot. She rocked…but unfortunately an x–ray later that evening showed a fractured elbow. Her orthopedist says she should be OK for IM USA though. (fingers crossed!) The funny thing about the ride… When we had about 8 miles left we came to an intersection with a bunch of saggers and support peeps there. Our coach, Ed, was saying "slow down, stop!" I did, not knowing why…and he said "here, have some of this chicken and turkey. It is really salty and will taste so good right now." Well, I was not too sure but decided to give it a go. OMG – it was SO good. I kept eating and eating. Anyway, finally time to pull away…off for the last 8 and then rolled into the parking lot. Then it was BBQ TIME! I regrouped with my riding buddies here and we talked about our perfect ride day… Riding buddies are the best.
Last night I went out for my scheduled 50 minute run. It took a bit to loosen up but I made it through the entire 50 minutes. This morning was the third week of the Tuesday long (90 minute) swim practices to get the extra distance in. This was my FIRST long swim as the last two I was (1) out of town and (2) ultra tired. I was a bit nervous about it but I made it through! I swam about 2.32 miles! Of course, when I was done I was…STARVING! Tonight is a ‘easy’ zone 2 bike ride. I’ll bet I’ll be starving after that, too.
Friday, June 19, 2009
RR: Eagleman addendum...
My final time, which was 7:06:49.
For my age group I was 57 of 65 finishers.
For my age group I was 57 of 65 finishers.
Slacking…BUT…Race Report: Eagleman…AND…Son’s HS Graduation [long…OK…VERY long]
Lately my blogging has been slacking. Of course, I was gone for 3 weeks between Mother’s Day weekend and now. That is a LOT for me. And it was not vacation…
I planned my mom’s funeral, sadly my second funeral in less than six months as I planned my dad’s in late December/early January (he had two due to being interred at Arlington National Cemetery)… Anyway, then I had to pack up/donate/give away my mom’s stuff and be cleared out of her apartment by June 11. That was not much time, but considering she lived in Massachusetts it was better to just get it over with then let it go on. Of course, my dad’s place, which he owned, which I now own – is still a small disaster…and more so now since I’ve moved a bunch of my mom’s stuff there. Well, I could not have done it without the help of family and friends.
OK, enough sadness, back to the task at hand…
Race Report:
Last Sunday, June 14, I completed the Eagleman Ironman 70.3! This of course was not my “A” race but would be a training day for me. Speaking of slacking – I had not done any training since I had left to go to Massachusetts – my last training was group swim on Thursday, June 4th…ugh! I had good intentions, but my stress and lack of sleep and the overwhelming task at hand there made it difficult. Anyway…leading up to race day…
Friday I spent 10 hours in a box truck riding from Derry, New Hampshire to Annandale, Virginia with my cousin’s husband, John. We met Jeff at my dad's house and unloaded all the ‘stuff’ then went out for Chinese, kind of late, actually. Then we had a couple beers and called it a night. Saturday morning we got up, grabbed a lovely breakfast at Ronald’s place then went to drop off the truck. About 40 minutes later we were done and headed up to BWI to drop John off at Southwest Airlines… After sitting in a bit of DC bridge traffic we sailed smoothly to the airport to make the drop. We came back home with no traffic delays and finished packing up for Eagleman. Jeff decided at the last minute to come with me.
We headed out in the early-ish afternoon for Cambridge, Maryland. We hit the same bridge traffic in the DC area, but that was about it. We made it to packet pick-up and got through there quickly and painlessly. Then off to drop the bike. Got a tad bit turned around on the way to Great Marsh Park, which is where the race venue was. I had a pretty decent location in transition – very close to the swim in location and run out location. Not too bad! Off to check into the hotel in Easton and figure out dinner, this turned out to be a Domino’s pizza – plain but with extra cheese. It was kind of blah…I missed my pineapple, I think. After dinner we ran over to Walgreen’s – okay, we drove – for a few minor things for the morning. As we got into our car at the hotel we noticed the cutest little kitten standing on the edge of a car window just meowing away! >^..^< I wanted to adopt him…but I did not. OK, off to Walgreen’s. Mission accomplished. However, when we were leaving we saw THE MOST ANNOYING THING: A man was parked in a handicapped spot that appeared to walk just fine. He was also wearing an Ironman Arizona finisher shirt! The person with him did not appear to be using any devices to walk either…argh! Oh well…back to the hotel for an early night…because 4:30 AM comes awfully early, no matter what time you go to bed, it seems.
Race Morning: yes, the alarm seemed to come early. Snooze one time. Up and moving and finally out the door at about 5:20…I think. A lot of folks had already left. The drive back to Cambridge went fine and we found a parking spot in the field. This was a bit of a walk to the start/transition area but not too bad. It was nice having Jeff there as he carried most of my stuff. Bonus! As I got to transition I saw Lindsay, Sebastian, and another Team Z person who were there to cheer their teammates on. Yay! I checked into transition and got my body marked near the front. (Apparently I dropped my cell phone there too.) Off to my bike to pump the tires and put my nutrition in its place. Realized my phone was gone…and figured it slid out of the pocket of my sweatshirt during body marking. Before leaving my bike, I then saw Kathy from Team Z who was also racing. It is always nice to see familiar GREEN on race day. Back to the front to find my phone… Thankfully someone had found it and turned it in! They said Jeff had called. LOL I knew for sure it was my phone then. Located Jeff and then waited…I had over 1.5 hours till it was time for my wave to go off… I ate my Grape “Uncrustable” and made sure to use the toiletpaperless port-a-potties (quite annoying!) Thank goodness I had some to contraband tissue. It was then finally time to put the wetsuit on and head to the swim area.
Swim: 38:58
Found Kathy again and we walked into the water together. Funny, just before the start I saw an orange turn buoy I had not previously noticed, which was a good thing, because I would have started off swimming in the wrong direction! The START HORN sounded and we were off! The beginning of the swim went quite smoothly. I focused on the almost catch up stroke and trying to just take it easy. I made the first ‘real’ turn and the water got a bit choppier. At some point along this stretch I noticed that my left hand was tingly. Then I realized my left cheek and jaw were, too. HOLY CRAP! I realized I’d been stung by jellyfish! I knew they were out here and that it was a possibility, but I’d never been stung before. Fortunately it did not really hurt but it was just annoying. At one point I saw a blob thing in front of me – that was weird. Hit the next turn buoy and could see the finish way up ahead. I think it was even a bit choppier still along this section but I made it in to the shore without any other critter incidents. My goal time was 40:00
T1: 4:18 – nothing unusual…just me being slow
Bike: 3:32:06
I will start this off with something I NEVER thought I would hear me say – I was a pretty 'boring' ride. It was flat…and a lot straight…and... I.Was.Bored! (Does this mean I wished I had some hills? OMG – I think it does!) I honestly can say I don’t have too much to say about the ride. I thought the first 40 miles went OK. They were pretty uneventful, as the winds did not bother me too much. The last 16 were definitely harder, wind-wise. But wind can be expected out there. Oh, this was the day for critter issues: a bird pooped on my arm and splattered a bit onto my handlebars/frame! Thankfully the poop blob MISSED the opening of my aero bottle. THAT would have been gross! Once I hit a big bump and I ‘thought’ I lost a water bottle. Oddly enough, I only ‘lost’ the liquid out of it…somehow. I had the two rear bottles tightly rubber banded together. When I hit a bump I heard a noise and automatically reached back to check for my bottles. The one on the left was there but I could not feel the one on the right. I knew my special one with the pink lid was still attached because I was able to sneak a look behind. I also made one pit stop to use the port-a-potty. Nutrition on the bike seemed to be fine. I thought I had lost the water bottle so got Gatorade at one of the stops and added some water to my aero bottle at another. Finally I was ready to use my favorite bottle with the pink lid…I reached back and somehow pulled it AND the ‘lost’ bottle that was still attached with the rubber band – it must have been hanging off the back. I’ll bet THAT looked silly! Anyway, the ‘lost’ bottle was completely empty. I wondered if it had been open and upside down which caused the liquid to leak? I have no idea, but it was empty…so I used the other bottle. Very funny. Anyway, my goal time had been 3:30:00 – so I wasn’t too far off…if I had not stopped to pee…
T2: 4:18 – slow as usual but the EXACT same time as T1. Funny.
Run: 2:47:12 (I love the heat. NOT!)
I was going into this prepared to practice the run/walk method – running, then walking through each water stop. As usual my feet did their tingly thing for the first mile or so as my shoes were too tight and I needed to loosen them. I only had to stop once for that though, this time. My right calf took a long time to loosen up though. At one point I thought my left sock was bunched so I stopped to check that. Who knows what that was?! Anyway, I chugged along. I had nutrition on me and was planning to use the course refreshments along the way. The heat was as usual getting to me. I ended up doing the run/walk - running about 4 minutes and walking 1 minute - instead of my original plan. This was a training day for me, so I decided it was not worth worrying about. I could not run slow enough to keep my heart rate in zone 2 though. My main goal was to get the nutrition right and feel good at the end. My revised plan seemed to work and I kept chugging along. I took in an extra salt tab from the volunteers on the second half, as I had not brought enough out with me. I took an additional gel from them but ended up not using it. I finally got to the point where I could see the finish line and that was a nice boost, but still a ways off. Finally, I made it to the finish chute and got some hand slaps and crossed the finish line. Jeff was there! (And I had seen him at the end of the bike, too.) The goal I had set here was 2:30:00 but the heat and subsequent change in strategy affected this. But no worries – I did feel great at the end and the next day as well.
Highlights: Twice during the bike I saw Team Z IMS peeps Jason, Es, and Robin who were out there on their last big ride doing the course in reverse. Awesome! Their IM race is 14 days before mine. On the latter part of the run I saw Sebastian, Linday, and the other Team Zer which was a boost as well! Thanks guys. Of course, the Zer’s I saw on the run while coming in from my bike and once I started the run was fabulous. It is always great to see the Green! At the end I got to see Chris Wren (also from Team Z) who had not only won his age group for the Kona slot, he was also the winner of the Grand Master category (for ages 60+). I was able to congratulate him. Chris rocks!
----------
Next…
My son’s High School Graduation: This was held on Monday, June 15 at 7:00 PM. I worked a half day, then had lunch with old work buddies before heading home to chill and get ready. The ceremony was being held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC so we decided not to fight traffic during rush hour but to take Metro instead. My son, Andrew, was required to be there for 6:00 PM. Metro was to take 33 minutes then we had a 10-15 minute walk…so the idea was to get there for 5:15-ish, just in case. This was good because we got a bit turned around once we left the Metro station. We saw some red robes in the distance and followed them and eventually got where we needed to be. Of course, another schools ceremony was JUST ending and our red robes mingled in with THEIR robes, which were also RED – this was kind of chaotic! Finally those kids cleared out and it was just us. There was the threat of rain, but fortunately nothing major ever happened. We stood around for a while and took a couple pictures, and then it was finally time to go inside. We found pretty decent seats then waited some more. Thankfully the ceremony started right on time. I won’t go into major details but I will say that while I was stressed about having to go downtown for it in the long run it was worth it. It was very nicely done and I enjoyed it for the most part. However, some of the audience members did not follow the simple instructions the organizers announced which was irritating. But regardless, my first born is now a high school grad! Congrats Andrew!!! Two more years then I get to do it again…
Next up: Montclair Tri, to be held on Sunday, June 28 (which also happens to be my birthday when I will officially be the age they will write on my calf). This race is different, length-wise, kind of a long Sprint…or a short Oly. The distances are: 1K Swim, 30K Bike, 8K Run. The course is described as ‘moderate’ with a lake swim and a rolling bike and run. Another training race before the big event! This should be a fun race - my sons will be there with me AND it is a Team Z race. The nice thing – it is close by and starts at 7:00 AM.
Final note: This Sunday (6/21) marks 5 weeks till Ironman USA! Yikes!!! This weekend is our EPIC of all training weekends: open water swim*, 20 mile run on Saturday; 120 mile bike on Sunday. Saturday I have volunteered to help one of our Team Z Challened Athletes who is blind. I will lead him on the swim* and the run**.
I planned my mom’s funeral, sadly my second funeral in less than six months as I planned my dad’s in late December/early January (he had two due to being interred at Arlington National Cemetery)… Anyway, then I had to pack up/donate/give away my mom’s stuff and be cleared out of her apartment by June 11. That was not much time, but considering she lived in Massachusetts it was better to just get it over with then let it go on. Of course, my dad’s place, which he owned, which I now own – is still a small disaster…and more so now since I’ve moved a bunch of my mom’s stuff there. Well, I could not have done it without the help of family and friends.
OK, enough sadness, back to the task at hand…
Race Report:
Last Sunday, June 14, I completed the Eagleman Ironman 70.3! This of course was not my “A” race but would be a training day for me. Speaking of slacking – I had not done any training since I had left to go to Massachusetts – my last training was group swim on Thursday, June 4th…ugh! I had good intentions, but my stress and lack of sleep and the overwhelming task at hand there made it difficult. Anyway…leading up to race day…
Friday I spent 10 hours in a box truck riding from Derry, New Hampshire to Annandale, Virginia with my cousin’s husband, John. We met Jeff at my dad's house and unloaded all the ‘stuff’ then went out for Chinese, kind of late, actually. Then we had a couple beers and called it a night. Saturday morning we got up, grabbed a lovely breakfast at Ronald’s place then went to drop off the truck. About 40 minutes later we were done and headed up to BWI to drop John off at Southwest Airlines… After sitting in a bit of DC bridge traffic we sailed smoothly to the airport to make the drop. We came back home with no traffic delays and finished packing up for Eagleman. Jeff decided at the last minute to come with me.
We headed out in the early-ish afternoon for Cambridge, Maryland. We hit the same bridge traffic in the DC area, but that was about it. We made it to packet pick-up and got through there quickly and painlessly. Then off to drop the bike. Got a tad bit turned around on the way to Great Marsh Park, which is where the race venue was. I had a pretty decent location in transition – very close to the swim in location and run out location. Not too bad! Off to check into the hotel in Easton and figure out dinner, this turned out to be a Domino’s pizza – plain but with extra cheese. It was kind of blah…I missed my pineapple, I think. After dinner we ran over to Walgreen’s – okay, we drove – for a few minor things for the morning. As we got into our car at the hotel we noticed the cutest little kitten standing on the edge of a car window just meowing away! >^..^< I wanted to adopt him…but I did not. OK, off to Walgreen’s. Mission accomplished. However, when we were leaving we saw THE MOST ANNOYING THING: A man was parked in a handicapped spot that appeared to walk just fine. He was also wearing an Ironman Arizona finisher shirt! The person with him did not appear to be using any devices to walk either…argh! Oh well…back to the hotel for an early night…because 4:30 AM comes awfully early, no matter what time you go to bed, it seems.
Race Morning: yes, the alarm seemed to come early. Snooze one time. Up and moving and finally out the door at about 5:20…I think. A lot of folks had already left. The drive back to Cambridge went fine and we found a parking spot in the field. This was a bit of a walk to the start/transition area but not too bad. It was nice having Jeff there as he carried most of my stuff. Bonus! As I got to transition I saw Lindsay, Sebastian, and another Team Z person who were there to cheer their teammates on. Yay! I checked into transition and got my body marked near the front. (Apparently I dropped my cell phone there too.) Off to my bike to pump the tires and put my nutrition in its place. Realized my phone was gone…and figured it slid out of the pocket of my sweatshirt during body marking. Before leaving my bike, I then saw Kathy from Team Z who was also racing. It is always nice to see familiar GREEN on race day. Back to the front to find my phone… Thankfully someone had found it and turned it in! They said Jeff had called. LOL I knew for sure it was my phone then. Located Jeff and then waited…I had over 1.5 hours till it was time for my wave to go off… I ate my Grape “Uncrustable” and made sure to use the toiletpaperless port-a-potties (quite annoying!) Thank goodness I had some to contraband tissue. It was then finally time to put the wetsuit on and head to the swim area.
Swim: 38:58
Found Kathy again and we walked into the water together. Funny, just before the start I saw an orange turn buoy I had not previously noticed, which was a good thing, because I would have started off swimming in the wrong direction! The START HORN sounded and we were off! The beginning of the swim went quite smoothly. I focused on the almost catch up stroke and trying to just take it easy. I made the first ‘real’ turn and the water got a bit choppier. At some point along this stretch I noticed that my left hand was tingly. Then I realized my left cheek and jaw were, too. HOLY CRAP! I realized I’d been stung by jellyfish! I knew they were out here and that it was a possibility, but I’d never been stung before. Fortunately it did not really hurt but it was just annoying. At one point I saw a blob thing in front of me – that was weird. Hit the next turn buoy and could see the finish way up ahead. I think it was even a bit choppier still along this section but I made it in to the shore without any other critter incidents. My goal time was 40:00
T1: 4:18 – nothing unusual…just me being slow
Bike: 3:32:06
I will start this off with something I NEVER thought I would hear me say – I was a pretty 'boring' ride. It was flat…and a lot straight…and... I.Was.Bored! (Does this mean I wished I had some hills? OMG – I think it does!) I honestly can say I don’t have too much to say about the ride. I thought the first 40 miles went OK. They were pretty uneventful, as the winds did not bother me too much. The last 16 were definitely harder, wind-wise. But wind can be expected out there. Oh, this was the day for critter issues: a bird pooped on my arm and splattered a bit onto my handlebars/frame! Thankfully the poop blob MISSED the opening of my aero bottle. THAT would have been gross! Once I hit a big bump and I ‘thought’ I lost a water bottle. Oddly enough, I only ‘lost’ the liquid out of it…somehow. I had the two rear bottles tightly rubber banded together. When I hit a bump I heard a noise and automatically reached back to check for my bottles. The one on the left was there but I could not feel the one on the right. I knew my special one with the pink lid was still attached because I was able to sneak a look behind. I also made one pit stop to use the port-a-potty. Nutrition on the bike seemed to be fine. I thought I had lost the water bottle so got Gatorade at one of the stops and added some water to my aero bottle at another. Finally I was ready to use my favorite bottle with the pink lid…I reached back and somehow pulled it AND the ‘lost’ bottle that was still attached with the rubber band – it must have been hanging off the back. I’ll bet THAT looked silly! Anyway, the ‘lost’ bottle was completely empty. I wondered if it had been open and upside down which caused the liquid to leak? I have no idea, but it was empty…so I used the other bottle. Very funny. Anyway, my goal time had been 3:30:00 – so I wasn’t too far off…if I had not stopped to pee…
T2: 4:18 – slow as usual but the EXACT same time as T1. Funny.
Run: 2:47:12 (I love the heat. NOT!)
I was going into this prepared to practice the run/walk method – running, then walking through each water stop. As usual my feet did their tingly thing for the first mile or so as my shoes were too tight and I needed to loosen them. I only had to stop once for that though, this time. My right calf took a long time to loosen up though. At one point I thought my left sock was bunched so I stopped to check that. Who knows what that was?! Anyway, I chugged along. I had nutrition on me and was planning to use the course refreshments along the way. The heat was as usual getting to me. I ended up doing the run/walk - running about 4 minutes and walking 1 minute - instead of my original plan. This was a training day for me, so I decided it was not worth worrying about. I could not run slow enough to keep my heart rate in zone 2 though. My main goal was to get the nutrition right and feel good at the end. My revised plan seemed to work and I kept chugging along. I took in an extra salt tab from the volunteers on the second half, as I had not brought enough out with me. I took an additional gel from them but ended up not using it. I finally got to the point where I could see the finish line and that was a nice boost, but still a ways off. Finally, I made it to the finish chute and got some hand slaps and crossed the finish line. Jeff was there! (And I had seen him at the end of the bike, too.) The goal I had set here was 2:30:00 but the heat and subsequent change in strategy affected this. But no worries – I did feel great at the end and the next day as well.
Highlights: Twice during the bike I saw Team Z IMS peeps Jason, Es, and Robin who were out there on their last big ride doing the course in reverse. Awesome! Their IM race is 14 days before mine. On the latter part of the run I saw Sebastian, Linday, and the other Team Zer which was a boost as well! Thanks guys. Of course, the Zer’s I saw on the run while coming in from my bike and once I started the run was fabulous. It is always great to see the Green! At the end I got to see Chris Wren (also from Team Z) who had not only won his age group for the Kona slot, he was also the winner of the Grand Master category (for ages 60+). I was able to congratulate him. Chris rocks!
----------
Next…
My son’s High School Graduation: This was held on Monday, June 15 at 7:00 PM. I worked a half day, then had lunch with old work buddies before heading home to chill and get ready. The ceremony was being held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC so we decided not to fight traffic during rush hour but to take Metro instead. My son, Andrew, was required to be there for 6:00 PM. Metro was to take 33 minutes then we had a 10-15 minute walk…so the idea was to get there for 5:15-ish, just in case. This was good because we got a bit turned around once we left the Metro station. We saw some red robes in the distance and followed them and eventually got where we needed to be. Of course, another schools ceremony was JUST ending and our red robes mingled in with THEIR robes, which were also RED – this was kind of chaotic! Finally those kids cleared out and it was just us. There was the threat of rain, but fortunately nothing major ever happened. We stood around for a while and took a couple pictures, and then it was finally time to go inside. We found pretty decent seats then waited some more. Thankfully the ceremony started right on time. I won’t go into major details but I will say that while I was stressed about having to go downtown for it in the long run it was worth it. It was very nicely done and I enjoyed it for the most part. However, some of the audience members did not follow the simple instructions the organizers announced which was irritating. But regardless, my first born is now a high school grad! Congrats Andrew!!! Two more years then I get to do it again…
Next up: Montclair Tri, to be held on Sunday, June 28 (which also happens to be my birthday when I will officially be the age they will write on my calf). This race is different, length-wise, kind of a long Sprint…or a short Oly. The distances are: 1K Swim, 30K Bike, 8K Run. The course is described as ‘moderate’ with a lake swim and a rolling bike and run. Another training race before the big event! This should be a fun race - my sons will be there with me AND it is a Team Z race. The nice thing – it is close by and starts at 7:00 AM.
Final note: This Sunday (6/21) marks 5 weeks till Ironman USA! Yikes!!! This weekend is our EPIC of all training weekends: open water swim*, 20 mile run on Saturday; 120 mile bike on Sunday. Saturday I have volunteered to help one of our Team Z Challened Athletes who is blind. I will lead him on the swim* and the run**.
*I will swim as long a distance as he needs to swim. I'm pretty comfortable in open water, so I'm happy to be able to help.
**He needs to run 10 miles, so I will run 10 with him then refuel before heading out to do my second 10.
(And...if you made it to the end - THANK YOU - and I am sorry this was so long.)Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Life is tough…
Life sure is tough sometimes. I recently lost my mom to a short battle of lung cancer and related complications. And I lost my father just a little over 5 months before that. Seriously. Such a bummer…
However, I am trying to remember all the happy times and good memories I had – and there were certainly a lot. We had a lot of fun, especially before I was an adult and got busy with ‘real life’ so to speak. When I was a kid we had so many great family gatherings. It is great to have family that really comes together in a crisis, that is for sure.
So, my sadness aside, I am in recovery week this training week. Going back a bit, over Memorial Day weekend I was up in Lake Placid, New York getting the feel for the town and learning where things were in anticipation of the next time I go there – for race weekend: Ironman USA, July 26, 2009!
Jeff and I arrived just in time for the team dinner on Friday. Then on Saturday I got to preview the run course. First things first…I needed breakfast to fuel my fun. The McDonald’s it turns out is two buildings over from our hotel. (My kids will LOVE that this summer.) I had pancakes and coffee for breakfast there. Then I drove over to the run start with teammates Carol and Pam. I successfully completed one loop of the two-loop marathon course! Afterwards I soaked my legs in the chilly Mirror Lake then had lunch with some teammates. After lunch those who wanted to preview the 10K downhill portion of the course met in the team hotel parking lot. I joined in the fun and went down the hill twice. The first time my max speed was 34.6 MPH; the second was 37.4! Wow!! That was probably the fastest I had gone…though I did feather my brakes I was certainly not super-scared or anything. Dinner that night was on our own. Though we did hit up the grocery store later with C&P for necessities…
On Sunday I got my coffee at the M and had a peanut butter and banana sandwich…thank goodness for the grocery store! I drove myself over to our start location and headed out in the rain(!) to preview the two-loop bike course, and ultimately rode 112 total miles. By the time I finished the ride I had dealt with rain, headwinds, and good old sun and heat. And hills. Did I mention there were hills? (ha-ha) Also, I completed the two-loop bike course, but not in two equal loops. See, I had to be different and on the first loop I missed the 6.5 mile out and back, meaning I did not go 13 of the 56 miles before I reached my original starting point. I realized this but at a point too late to turn around (and sometime after the point where my Garmin battery died!) to go back to pick it up. So, on my second loop of the course when I got to the out and back section I did it…TWICE! It was really hard making that decision and it hurt to do it, but I am oh-so-happy that I did. I was a huge accomplishment to go the entire distance, though not in the correct order. I had great support from some teammates and my coach, one teammate (TS) in particular, who really helped me along in the end, cheering me up the last of the hills. Wow – I did it! Then when I finished my coach had everybody at the pub cheer for me when I rolled back into the parking lot. That was exhilarating!
After the ride I again soaked my legs in the chilly Mirror Lake. I had had a bet with Lindsay to swim after our ride, but she had technical difficulties with her bike and swam earlier without me. That’s OK. Of course, it was later when I finished my ride so I just wanted to get back and clean up. I then wish I had planned to swim after the run the day before. Oh well, I will have my chance to swim in Mirror Lake in less than 53 days now….
Sadness…
After returning from Lake Placid on Monday, Memorial Day, the next day I flew out to New Hampshire to visit my ailing mom in the hospital. I visited Tuesday afternoon and again Tuesday evening till late. I slept in on Wednesday and then got a call from the hospital about visiting her. I headed over right away and sadly before I got there she had passed. It was so awful, but I know she was not in any pain and now is in a better place. I will miss her…
My training did get a bit derailed during the time I was in New England, but I returned on Saturday after having done my long run for the day up there. I went to the group bike on Sunday thinking I might go extra distance than was called for but decided I would just stick with my plan. I was tired from traveling and my emotions, and so far this recovery week all has been well. This weekend again I head to New England for the funeral and to pack up my mom’s place – it has to be vacated by June 11. I will do my best to run each day I am there, except for maybe the day of the funeral. I will then drive back home in time to get my bike out of the shop, where it went yesterday for a tune-up, in time for the Eagleman 70.3 on Sunday, June 14!! While I am gone I will miss swimming and riding, but I will do what I can. After Eagleman I should have no interruptions from my training, except maybe my son Andrew’s high school graduation on Monday, June 15! (Yay Andrew!!) I will probably take off early from work anyway and fit my run in before the ceremony.
And other good things...last night was the spring sports awards banquet at the high school. This will be the last for my older son. Kind of sad that is it almost all over for him. It was as always a fun night and nice to hear about all the other things that the kids/teams in the school do outside of the sports that my boys are in. The organizers recognize all the kids that participate in sports all three seasons each year. They give them cool t-shirts that say 3PEAT ATHLETE on them. I encouraged my senior to get his signed by the coaches for a cool thing to have to remember it all by. We'll see...
However, I am trying to remember all the happy times and good memories I had – and there were certainly a lot. We had a lot of fun, especially before I was an adult and got busy with ‘real life’ so to speak. When I was a kid we had so many great family gatherings. It is great to have family that really comes together in a crisis, that is for sure.
So, my sadness aside, I am in recovery week this training week. Going back a bit, over Memorial Day weekend I was up in Lake Placid, New York getting the feel for the town and learning where things were in anticipation of the next time I go there – for race weekend: Ironman USA, July 26, 2009!
Jeff and I arrived just in time for the team dinner on Friday. Then on Saturday I got to preview the run course. First things first…I needed breakfast to fuel my fun. The McDonald’s it turns out is two buildings over from our hotel. (My kids will LOVE that this summer.) I had pancakes and coffee for breakfast there. Then I drove over to the run start with teammates Carol and Pam. I successfully completed one loop of the two-loop marathon course! Afterwards I soaked my legs in the chilly Mirror Lake then had lunch with some teammates. After lunch those who wanted to preview the 10K downhill portion of the course met in the team hotel parking lot. I joined in the fun and went down the hill twice. The first time my max speed was 34.6 MPH; the second was 37.4! Wow!! That was probably the fastest I had gone…though I did feather my brakes I was certainly not super-scared or anything. Dinner that night was on our own. Though we did hit up the grocery store later with C&P for necessities…
On Sunday I got my coffee at the M and had a peanut butter and banana sandwich…thank goodness for the grocery store! I drove myself over to our start location and headed out in the rain(!) to preview the two-loop bike course, and ultimately rode 112 total miles. By the time I finished the ride I had dealt with rain, headwinds, and good old sun and heat. And hills. Did I mention there were hills? (ha-ha) Also, I completed the two-loop bike course, but not in two equal loops. See, I had to be different and on the first loop I missed the 6.5 mile out and back, meaning I did not go 13 of the 56 miles before I reached my original starting point. I realized this but at a point too late to turn around (and sometime after the point where my Garmin battery died!) to go back to pick it up. So, on my second loop of the course when I got to the out and back section I did it…TWICE! It was really hard making that decision and it hurt to do it, but I am oh-so-happy that I did. I was a huge accomplishment to go the entire distance, though not in the correct order. I had great support from some teammates and my coach, one teammate (TS) in particular, who really helped me along in the end, cheering me up the last of the hills. Wow – I did it! Then when I finished my coach had everybody at the pub cheer for me when I rolled back into the parking lot. That was exhilarating!
After the ride I again soaked my legs in the chilly Mirror Lake. I had had a bet with Lindsay to swim after our ride, but she had technical difficulties with her bike and swam earlier without me. That’s OK. Of course, it was later when I finished my ride so I just wanted to get back and clean up. I then wish I had planned to swim after the run the day before. Oh well, I will have my chance to swim in Mirror Lake in less than 53 days now….
Sadness…
After returning from Lake Placid on Monday, Memorial Day, the next day I flew out to New Hampshire to visit my ailing mom in the hospital. I visited Tuesday afternoon and again Tuesday evening till late. I slept in on Wednesday and then got a call from the hospital about visiting her. I headed over right away and sadly before I got there she had passed. It was so awful, but I know she was not in any pain and now is in a better place. I will miss her…
My training did get a bit derailed during the time I was in New England, but I returned on Saturday after having done my long run for the day up there. I went to the group bike on Sunday thinking I might go extra distance than was called for but decided I would just stick with my plan. I was tired from traveling and my emotions, and so far this recovery week all has been well. This weekend again I head to New England for the funeral and to pack up my mom’s place – it has to be vacated by June 11. I will do my best to run each day I am there, except for maybe the day of the funeral. I will then drive back home in time to get my bike out of the shop, where it went yesterday for a tune-up, in time for the Eagleman 70.3 on Sunday, June 14!! While I am gone I will miss swimming and riding, but I will do what I can. After Eagleman I should have no interruptions from my training, except maybe my son Andrew’s high school graduation on Monday, June 15! (Yay Andrew!!) I will probably take off early from work anyway and fit my run in before the ceremony.
And other good things...last night was the spring sports awards banquet at the high school. This will be the last for my older son. Kind of sad that is it almost all over for him. It was as always a fun night and nice to hear about all the other things that the kids/teams in the school do outside of the sports that my boys are in. The organizers recognize all the kids that participate in sports all three seasons each year. They give them cool t-shirts that say 3PEAT ATHLETE on them. I encouraged my senior to get his signed by the coaches for a cool thing to have to remember it all by. We'll see...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)