Finally picking up where I left off, the IMAZing party was nice and relaxing – just what I needed after my somewhat stressful morning! Pretty much all Z participants and cheer squad were either there or stopped by. Again, Bob’s daughter rocked for having all of us!
So, race day! My nutrition went well, I think. Race morning I had my usual bagel with Peanut Butter. Though it was difficult to get down! I also sipped some Gatorade and water. All-in-all, I must have been very well hydrated as I peed in my wetsuit - a lot. (I think this was a sign of things to come…)
Swim: 1:14:53 Goal: 1:20 Division Position 16
I was in the front of the pack to jump in the water wich was good - as it gave me more time to acclimate. I did go with full sleeves as I had some annoying rubbing/chaffing with the sleeveless. Must have had the shoulders up good as I had no fatigue! I loved that we had to swim a bit to the
start as it was a good warm up. I went ahead and just put myself in more or less the same position as Lake Placid from two years ago. The swim was rough but I was fine. And I took a kick to the face early on and my goggles filled with water. Yikes! It took a few adjustments to get them to stop leaking. I also got some elbows to the head and other various knocking around. No bruising in the long run though. :) I never had real clear water but had no problem sighting at all. The water temp was awesome and I felt great the entire time. Yay! The swim pullers were awesome and the wetsuit pullers too.
T1: 8:29 Goal: 10:00
My transition time was so much faster than it was in Lake Placid in 2009 – of course the run was not quite as long to get there and I did not do a complete change. I had minor heart failure when I pulled my Garmin out of the bag and saw the cracked face…not Garmin drama!! However, it turned on and worked great the rest of the day! The volunteer helping me rocked and got my arm warmers on in one try!
Bike: 7:17:54 Goal: 8:00 Division Position 51
Saw the Team Z coaches who had made a surprise visit shortly after leaving transition! That was awesome and unexpected! I saw them on all three bike loops! One crazy sight? A female athlete pedaling along in a ways in front of me literally ran over one of the traffic cones setup in the street. She almost went down, but made a good recovery. Yikes! I felt great on the bike - though I forgot to get my additional salt stick out of special needs. I started taking the bananas they offered for the potassium. I drank the Ironman Perform and used the Gus and Honey Stinger Waffles that had been working for me. I'd heard rumors about the nutty winds in Arizona. They were not rumors!! On the return of the first loop (with the decline) there was headwind headed out and once I hit the turnaround there was an amazing tailwind! On loop two there was tailwind heading out and headwind on the return! Seriously! hahaha Finally, the third loop was kind of a mix coming and going. In addition to the coaches being out there there was good Z cheer support at the turnaround back towards transition – loved it! Also, an old high school classmate of mine who lives not far from Tempe said he’d be out there with his camera and darned if he wasn’t! Very cool! Towards the end I had a little bit of tingling between my shoulder blades but all in all felt pretty comfortable the entire time. I LOVE Trixie! Also, I tried staying in zone 2 but felt really good the entire time. I think I spent more time in zone 3...
T2: 6:40 Goal: 10:00
Robin was assisting in transition when I came through and it was great having here there. What a great surprise! I did not do much – just switch shoes and headgear. I almost forgot to take the arm warmers and gloves off… Thank goodness I remembered. It is one thing running in bike gloves during an Oly, but a whole marathon? I don’t thinks so.
Run: 6:48:30 Goal: 6:30 Division Position 68
On the run I had no major stomach issues! Yay!! I could eat whatever I wanted from the aid stations. I did have a little issue around mile 4 but thankfully got over that. :) I carried water for use with
salt tabs as needed but at the aid stations I used the Ironman Perform, water, cola, grapes (they rocked), and added potato chips in the second half. This time I did not take much of the chicken broth. My watch was set to 6/1 so I could run walk. But I think 6/1 is too much and will try 5/1 next time. :) Anyway, this worked pretty well for about the first 13 miles. The only thing on the run is I 'allowed' myself to walk with two different people on two occasions - once on the second loop; once on the third loop. I wished I had not done that. The second time it happened I finally just decided I had to get going because I knew I could do this! My feet were sore (lots of concrete on the IMAZ course!) and decided to walk 100 steps then run100 steps till I got it done. I think I had about 3 miles to go at this point. It worked for me! I even switched it to 100 running and 50 walking. This counting also kept my brain occupied and from thinking about how sore my feet were. :) Wished I'd started that sooner. But glad I started it, period! I saw the Z coaches on the first two loops and other Z cheer support in various other places. Towards the end of the last loop Janet and Priscilla ran with me and gave me pre-victory hugs! At the finish Robin was there as promised to meet me and got me sorted out for my picture!
And all in all I apparently was incredibly hydrated on race day. In fact, I stopped 5 times(!!) on the bike to pee and lost count of how many times (maybe 10?) on the run. Good grief! I seriously lost a lot of time in the port-a-potties!
Good stuff to note: I had zero chafing. Zero! Amazing! And I had no blisters on my feet. My feet were sore, but that was different. This tells me I could have (should have) run more!
Other fun stuff: All the cool Z signs on the bike and run courses! Some I was not sure about because they weren’t green, but the photos of them after showed me I was not wrong. And there was a Riley one on the bike AND run. I *loved* seeing my puppy out there! Thanks Z Cheer Squad!!
Anyway, I was thrilled with my results!
Total: 15:36:26 Goal: 16:10 Division Position 68(93)
The day after race day I visited the Finisher’s tent, picked up my bike special needs bag, and ordered my official race photos. I really cannot believe it is all over! Then...I got an awesome massage from the best massage therapist ever, Robin!
Since returning from IMAZ I completed a 5 mile turkey trot on Thanksgiving! Oh, and that Hot Chocolate 15K debacle...
Next Up:
Fairfax Four-Miler on New Year's Eve followed by the REHAU Rotary 10K on New Year's Day!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Titanium Trixie
My Ironman Arizona experience was...IMAZing! Thanks, Es, for coming up with that! I did not mean to take so long to post about Ironman Arizona, but since I returned things have been busy! Following is not my race report but just everything thing up to that point...race report comes out next!
My bike left for Arizona nearly a week before I did! I dropped Titanium Trixie (her upgraded name and an explanation to follow later) with her newly applied stickers off at Bonzai on Friday, November 11. Trixie was getting transported with some other Z-mates bikes! Then I was heading out to get Carol and go to Richmond. The next day I was doing the 8K and Carol was doing the full marathon – her 25th! The 8K was pretty flat so I just ran somewhat easy and after the nice downhill finish tried to get back up to the marathon start to see Carol off. I missed her but ran into a Masters swim friend, Ron and his wife, who were there as spectators for their daughter as she ran her very first marathon. I got to see Carol around mile 19 then made it back to the finish so I could see her finish her 25th – with a cold Diet Coke waiting! After she had a bit of recovery we walked to the car and made good time back home. After dropping her off I headed home to clean up and head to see some family for a dinner.
The next week I managed to get all my last workouts in before flying out to Phoenix/Tempe on Thursday, November 17. It was AUsome because Carol dropped us at the airport – yay! We flew on Frontier and at National they are situated at one gate in the old terminal. I have not been there in AGES! Brought back memories of my first airplane trip up to Boston with my mom when I was little, and even before that meeting my mom at the gate when she returned from a trip visiting her family up there.
Anyway, we arrived timely and had lots of time to spare for getting a latte and for potty visits. We left on time and our connection was in Denver where we had a long layover but I was glad for the time and did not feel stressed. There was plenty of time for lunch and relaxing. At that point wished we would be arriving earlier in Phoenix so I could get my bike, but it was all good.
Fun Note: Frontier Airlines uses a different animal on the tail and wing tips of each plane – and they name them, too. Animal Tales! Flying to Denver we were on Thunder the American Buffalo. From Denver to Phoenix we were on Lobo the Gray Wolfe. On the return we had Flip the Dolphin from Phoenix to Denver and back on Thunder the American Buffalo from Denver to DC. Cool!
Once in Denver I claimed my one checked back (we had carried on two – one each) and got the rental car quickly – there was no line at Thrifty! I’d arranged for a small SUV so I could load the bike in it as needed. The hotel was very close by and we were there in no time and got checked in on the top floor (6) and had a nice view out the front that over looked a portion of the run course. I joked that Jeff could come hang out on the balcony till he’d seen me go by the third time then just head over to the finish...
I received a call from Tina who was staying at the same hotel regarding meeting up for dinner that night. We did and it was a lot of fun. We met her guide, Caroline, and Tekla the guide dog went with us, too. We shuttled it over to PF Chang’s and got seated right away. Dinner was delicious! We shuttled back to the hotel, too.
Friday - there was a LOT to do! I had to do a short run – just 20 minutes. Then after breakfast in the lobby and getting a latte at the Starbucks coffee bar it was off to athlete check in! I was SO excited! I remembered that two years ago at Lake Placid I just kind of went through everything blindly and did not really pause to take it all in. I did not want that to be the case this time! We were off to the Athlete Village! When we arrived there was little to no line at check in – yay! I saw IronSally and Priscilla the HalfFanatic while in line – we took some pictures! Jeff could not go in the check in tent but there was a place for him to wait. I don’t think I was in there for too long and took a few pictures as I went along.
After check in we visited the merchandise tent. I wanted to see what cool IMAZ stuff I could find ahead of time: water bottle, technical tee with all athletes names printed on the back, men’s tee with all athlete’s names printed on the back (for Patrick), AUsome TYR backpack, 16 ounce beer glass (yeah, for all the beer I drink), IMAZ sticker for my bike rack.
Afterwards I was planning to head to pick up my bike but we stopped by the A.R.T. tents so I could say hello to IronRobin (IM Switzerland, 2009) who also happens to be part of Team Z and my favorite massage therapist! I got a quick ART treatment on my feet and calves. Yay! Robin then walked us over to the bike area – not before stopping for a bag of kettle corn. OMG – delicious! Finally! I was reunited with Trixie! I was so happy to see her! I was happy to get my transition bag, too!
Next it was back into the athlete village so I could find something for my bike chain as I forgot my chain cleaner/lube. I bought a similar bottle at the bike services tent. Then, as we were wandering around the athlete village we saw a “Specialized” tent. I thought – Hey, maybe they can quickly lube my chain for me. Well, this was the Specialized Racing tent but they said they’d look at the chain if I could leave the bike for a few. We did and wandered around a little bit more and maybe ran into more IMAZing Team Z people. (To be honest, parts of Friday and Saturday in the athlete village run together.) I think I spent some time looking for anything related to the Ironman Foundation with no success.
Anyway, I got Trixie back from Specialized. They asked if my name was Trixie...um, no. Then we proceeded to walk back to the hotel – it was a mile and a half! We had planned to meet up with Tina and Caroline to drive one loop of the bike course that afternoon. I also wanted to put my feet up for a bit as I also had to start the process of prepping my gear and special needs bags! And putting race numbers on my bike, helmet, and said bags. FUN! FUN! FUN! This time I took pictures of the process, too!
We met Tine & Caroline a little after 2PM to go for the drive. We had to work around the finish line area since that was closed off but we picked up with course pretty easily after that. One loop was about 37.3 miles with one section of that over 10 miles long – on the Beeline Highway, which is the scene of the ‘climb’ on the course. It’s kind of the scene of the wind, too. It was nice to get a first hand view of what was to come on race day! We then dog-sat Tekla so Tine and Caroline could go for a spin on Tina’s bike and test the fit for Caroline.
Dinner that night was at a little pasty place (had never had that before) and I had a yummy chicken pot pie one. Then a group of us headed over to the ‘mandatory athlete briefing’. That was good but I probably could have managed without – especially since I read the athlete’s guide. But it was fund to be there. We also got a ride back to the hotel – yay! Thanks, Dana! It was nice that the athlete meeting was on a Friday night – two nights before the race, as opposed to the night before like in Lake Placid. I hope that is the case there in 2012!
Saturday - another busy day! The athlete swim practice was starting at 9AM. We headed over there with a good 30 minutes to spare, but by the time I got my wetsuit on it was a tad after 9. I was testing out my sleeveless to see how it fared with the cold water. I got in the cue and when it was my turn I jumped right in and started swimming! I decided to swim all the way to the turn buoy and head back. I think I was in the water for about 25 minutes. One thing I noticed that with the sleeveless suit my left arm kept rubbing on my body and was getting irritated and chaffed. That had happened to me in a race earlier in the year – either Kinetic or Musselman. I decided that I would go with the full sleeved suit on race day and hope I got the shoulders in place well so I would not fatigue!
With the practice swim done it was time to go on a little bike ride! I met up with Es, Timra, and Jodie for this. It was nice to have a little company! We actually did not ride the course but the opposite of it – and it took us right by the hotel! I noticed in a few gears my chain was rubbing on my front derailleur. Boo. What to do? What to DO? How much would I be in those gears and could I stand it for 112 miles? If so, what would it to do the chain and derailleur?
Jeff and I talked about it and thought about the bike services tent. Then we decided to take Trixie back to the Specialized tent and ask them for advice. To make a long story short, Joe, the Specialized tech to the pros, ended up changing out the cable and the front derailleur, and adjusting the bracket it is mounted on. This was not only a change out, but an upgrade to a SRAM Red (from a SRAM Force). I was getting super stressed as I waited as a couple of time he had to take my bike off the rack to do something to someone else’s. All I could think about was that my bike and transition bags had to be racked and in place by 3PM! ACK! We were supposed to pick up Maggie and drive her to the team pasta lunch but it was already noon and we were going to be late. I managed to find her number via the yahoo group and called her with an update.
FINALLY, Trixie was ready! I took her for a quick test ride to check the shifting. No rubbing. Yay! Major waves of relief washed over me. You have NO idea... Even Specialized Joe could see it. I must note that they replaced the cable and derailleur for me at absolutely no cost. It was all free. That was also IMAZing! Oh, and the SRAM Red front derailleur is made of titanium – so now I ride Titanium Trixie!
Finally, bike and bag drop was done. Whew. I let a little air out of the tires and headed on my way. We drove back to the hotel and got cleaned up as quickly as possible so we could head over to the IMAZing Z party that Bob’s daughter had generously offered to host for us!
To be continued...
Happy and Healthy Training!!
Next Up: Hot Chocolate 15K!
My bike left for Arizona nearly a week before I did! I dropped Titanium Trixie (her upgraded name and an explanation to follow later) with her newly applied stickers off at Bonzai on Friday, November 11. Trixie was getting transported with some other Z-mates bikes! Then I was heading out to get Carol and go to Richmond. The next day I was doing the 8K and Carol was doing the full marathon – her 25th! The 8K was pretty flat so I just ran somewhat easy and after the nice downhill finish tried to get back up to the marathon start to see Carol off. I missed her but ran into a Masters swim friend, Ron and his wife, who were there as spectators for their daughter as she ran her very first marathon. I got to see Carol around mile 19 then made it back to the finish so I could see her finish her 25th – with a cold Diet Coke waiting! After she had a bit of recovery we walked to the car and made good time back home. After dropping her off I headed home to clean up and head to see some family for a dinner.
The next week I managed to get all my last workouts in before flying out to Phoenix/Tempe on Thursday, November 17. It was AUsome because Carol dropped us at the airport – yay! We flew on Frontier and at National they are situated at one gate in the old terminal. I have not been there in AGES! Brought back memories of my first airplane trip up to Boston with my mom when I was little, and even before that meeting my mom at the gate when she returned from a trip visiting her family up there.
Anyway, we arrived timely and had lots of time to spare for getting a latte and for potty visits. We left on time and our connection was in Denver where we had a long layover but I was glad for the time and did not feel stressed. There was plenty of time for lunch and relaxing. At that point wished we would be arriving earlier in Phoenix so I could get my bike, but it was all good.
Fun Note: Frontier Airlines uses a different animal on the tail and wing tips of each plane – and they name them, too. Animal Tales! Flying to Denver we were on Thunder the American Buffalo. From Denver to Phoenix we were on Lobo the Gray Wolfe. On the return we had Flip the Dolphin from Phoenix to Denver and back on Thunder the American Buffalo from Denver to DC. Cool!
Once in Denver I claimed my one checked back (we had carried on two – one each) and got the rental car quickly – there was no line at Thrifty! I’d arranged for a small SUV so I could load the bike in it as needed. The hotel was very close by and we were there in no time and got checked in on the top floor (6) and had a nice view out the front that over looked a portion of the run course. I joked that Jeff could come hang out on the balcony till he’d seen me go by the third time then just head over to the finish...
I received a call from Tina who was staying at the same hotel regarding meeting up for dinner that night. We did and it was a lot of fun. We met her guide, Caroline, and Tekla the guide dog went with us, too. We shuttled it over to PF Chang’s and got seated right away. Dinner was delicious! We shuttled back to the hotel, too.
Friday - there was a LOT to do! I had to do a short run – just 20 minutes. Then after breakfast in the lobby and getting a latte at the Starbucks coffee bar it was off to athlete check in! I was SO excited! I remembered that two years ago at Lake Placid I just kind of went through everything blindly and did not really pause to take it all in. I did not want that to be the case this time! We were off to the Athlete Village! When we arrived there was little to no line at check in – yay! I saw IronSally and Priscilla the HalfFanatic while in line – we took some pictures! Jeff could not go in the check in tent but there was a place for him to wait. I don’t think I was in there for too long and took a few pictures as I went along.
After check in we visited the merchandise tent. I wanted to see what cool IMAZ stuff I could find ahead of time: water bottle, technical tee with all athletes names printed on the back, men’s tee with all athlete’s names printed on the back (for Patrick), AUsome TYR backpack, 16 ounce beer glass (yeah, for all the beer I drink), IMAZ sticker for my bike rack.
Afterwards I was planning to head to pick up my bike but we stopped by the A.R.T. tents so I could say hello to IronRobin (IM Switzerland, 2009) who also happens to be part of Team Z and my favorite massage therapist! I got a quick ART treatment on my feet and calves. Yay! Robin then walked us over to the bike area – not before stopping for a bag of kettle corn. OMG – delicious! Finally! I was reunited with Trixie! I was so happy to see her! I was happy to get my transition bag, too!
Next it was back into the athlete village so I could find something for my bike chain as I forgot my chain cleaner/lube. I bought a similar bottle at the bike services tent. Then, as we were wandering around the athlete village we saw a “Specialized” tent. I thought – Hey, maybe they can quickly lube my chain for me. Well, this was the Specialized Racing tent but they said they’d look at the chain if I could leave the bike for a few. We did and wandered around a little bit more and maybe ran into more IMAZing Team Z people. (To be honest, parts of Friday and Saturday in the athlete village run together.) I think I spent some time looking for anything related to the Ironman Foundation with no success.
Anyway, I got Trixie back from Specialized. They asked if my name was Trixie...um, no. Then we proceeded to walk back to the hotel – it was a mile and a half! We had planned to meet up with Tina and Caroline to drive one loop of the bike course that afternoon. I also wanted to put my feet up for a bit as I also had to start the process of prepping my gear and special needs bags! And putting race numbers on my bike, helmet, and said bags. FUN! FUN! FUN! This time I took pictures of the process, too!
We met Tine & Caroline a little after 2PM to go for the drive. We had to work around the finish line area since that was closed off but we picked up with course pretty easily after that. One loop was about 37.3 miles with one section of that over 10 miles long – on the Beeline Highway, which is the scene of the ‘climb’ on the course. It’s kind of the scene of the wind, too. It was nice to get a first hand view of what was to come on race day! We then dog-sat Tekla so Tine and Caroline could go for a spin on Tina’s bike and test the fit for Caroline.
Dinner that night was at a little pasty place (had never had that before) and I had a yummy chicken pot pie one. Then a group of us headed over to the ‘mandatory athlete briefing’. That was good but I probably could have managed without – especially since I read the athlete’s guide. But it was fund to be there. We also got a ride back to the hotel – yay! Thanks, Dana! It was nice that the athlete meeting was on a Friday night – two nights before the race, as opposed to the night before like in Lake Placid. I hope that is the case there in 2012!
Saturday - another busy day! The athlete swim practice was starting at 9AM. We headed over there with a good 30 minutes to spare, but by the time I got my wetsuit on it was a tad after 9. I was testing out my sleeveless to see how it fared with the cold water. I got in the cue and when it was my turn I jumped right in and started swimming! I decided to swim all the way to the turn buoy and head back. I think I was in the water for about 25 minutes. One thing I noticed that with the sleeveless suit my left arm kept rubbing on my body and was getting irritated and chaffed. That had happened to me in a race earlier in the year – either Kinetic or Musselman. I decided that I would go with the full sleeved suit on race day and hope I got the shoulders in place well so I would not fatigue!
With the practice swim done it was time to go on a little bike ride! I met up with Es, Timra, and Jodie for this. It was nice to have a little company! We actually did not ride the course but the opposite of it – and it took us right by the hotel! I noticed in a few gears my chain was rubbing on my front derailleur. Boo. What to do? What to DO? How much would I be in those gears and could I stand it for 112 miles? If so, what would it to do the chain and derailleur?
Jeff and I talked about it and thought about the bike services tent. Then we decided to take Trixie back to the Specialized tent and ask them for advice. To make a long story short, Joe, the Specialized tech to the pros, ended up changing out the cable and the front derailleur, and adjusting the bracket it is mounted on. This was not only a change out, but an upgrade to a SRAM Red (from a SRAM Force). I was getting super stressed as I waited as a couple of time he had to take my bike off the rack to do something to someone else’s. All I could think about was that my bike and transition bags had to be racked and in place by 3PM! ACK! We were supposed to pick up Maggie and drive her to the team pasta lunch but it was already noon and we were going to be late. I managed to find her number via the yahoo group and called her with an update.
FINALLY, Trixie was ready! I took her for a quick test ride to check the shifting. No rubbing. Yay! Major waves of relief washed over me. You have NO idea... Even Specialized Joe could see it. I must note that they replaced the cable and derailleur for me at absolutely no cost. It was all free. That was also IMAZing! Oh, and the SRAM Red front derailleur is made of titanium – so now I ride Titanium Trixie!
Finally, bike and bag drop was done. Whew. I let a little air out of the tires and headed on my way. We drove back to the hotel and got cleaned up as quickly as possible so we could head over to the IMAZing Z party that Bob’s daughter had generously offered to host for us!
To be continued...
Happy and Healthy Training!!
Next Up: Hot Chocolate 15K!
Monday, November 7, 2011
One brick closer...
Last week was a recovery week, starting out my taper. Yay for both! I even got all my recovery workouts in – double yay! Saturday was another brick – 30/8 – that I decided to do out of Wakefield Park in Annandale. I arrived at about 7:20 and it was just getting light out. Met up with Carol who was going in to swim then run 4 miles first before meeting me for my 8 miles. Pam could not join us this time. I think I got moving on the bike at about 7:34. Not too bad. I did manage to gouge some skin out of my right hand while trying to remove my bike bump thingy off the valve of my tire. That’s what I get for not putting the air in at home! Was this a sign?
The bike ride went fairly well. I started off pretty chilly – especially my hands and feet – but I pretty much warmed up except for my feet. I saw a few runners and the only other crazy biker was someone who was riding their bike to get from point A to point B. I did the usual loop in North Springfield/Ravensworth with extra looping here and there. All in all I got in 29.1 miles. On the last mile or so of the ride I was going down a hill and nearly had heart failure when Sammy Squirrel ran across in front of me. Thankfully he kept going and did not do one of those crazy change directions moves...
Back at the car Carol was waiting having finished her swim and the first four miles of her run. I had a pretty fast transition (probably faster than race day – ha!) and we were off! We just did a straight out and back to Lake Accotink and back. We actually ran towards the dam where we turned left and went up the park access road. At some point along the way my feet were completely warmed up! We were planning to pick up the path at the end of the access road, but there was a couple getting married on it! So we excited the park on to some ‘other’ road till we hit our four miles. Then turned and did the reverse. All was going well till about a half mile left when I tripped (over my own feet I think) and fell. On the same knee as two weeks ago. This knee was still healing. Can I just say – ouch! I tore the scab off it and re-bruised it. It’s very pretty now. So happy I kept my bike tights on over my tri shorts!
After we finished it was FIVE GUYS! I love their pickles!
I picked up an additional burger to take home to Patrick (War Eagle) who was visiting for the weekend. We later had dinner plans to meet some friends for Japanese style steak house food – yummm. After dinner we went back to their house to watch the ‘game of the century’: LSU v. Alabama. We stayed for about an hour of the game as then I dropped Patrick at the mall to meet up with a friend for movies and visiting. I watched the rest of the game at home...
Sunday was a training day OFF! I did a few things around the house and drove Patrick back to the airport and basically just chilled with the dog and watched movies. It was a lovely day!
Now, I’m trying not to count days to Ironman Arizona...but it is hard not to! YIKES! I’m nervous but super-excited! Fortunately this weekend I have the Richmond 8K – which is really an zone 2 training run – to look forward to. That will sort of keep my mind off things. (Other than the fact that before I leave for Richmond on Friday I have to drop my bike off so it can get transported to Arizona! Yeah, my mind will be pretty preoccupied!) After I'm done running I will then cheer on Carol in the marathon. It turns out I’ll know a few others running the full and look forward to cheering them on as well!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 20 – Ironman Arizona – Holy Cactus!
The bike ride went fairly well. I started off pretty chilly – especially my hands and feet – but I pretty much warmed up except for my feet. I saw a few runners and the only other crazy biker was someone who was riding their bike to get from point A to point B. I did the usual loop in North Springfield/Ravensworth with extra looping here and there. All in all I got in 29.1 miles. On the last mile or so of the ride I was going down a hill and nearly had heart failure when Sammy Squirrel ran across in front of me. Thankfully he kept going and did not do one of those crazy change directions moves...
Back at the car Carol was waiting having finished her swim and the first four miles of her run. I had a pretty fast transition (probably faster than race day – ha!) and we were off! We just did a straight out and back to Lake Accotink and back. We actually ran towards the dam where we turned left and went up the park access road. At some point along the way my feet were completely warmed up! We were planning to pick up the path at the end of the access road, but there was a couple getting married on it! So we excited the park on to some ‘other’ road till we hit our four miles. Then turned and did the reverse. All was going well till about a half mile left when I tripped (over my own feet I think) and fell. On the same knee as two weeks ago. This knee was still healing. Can I just say – ouch! I tore the scab off it and re-bruised it. It’s very pretty now. So happy I kept my bike tights on over my tri shorts!
After we finished it was FIVE GUYS! I love their pickles!
I picked up an additional burger to take home to Patrick (War Eagle) who was visiting for the weekend. We later had dinner plans to meet some friends for Japanese style steak house food – yummm. After dinner we went back to their house to watch the ‘game of the century’: LSU v. Alabama. We stayed for about an hour of the game as then I dropped Patrick at the mall to meet up with a friend for movies and visiting. I watched the rest of the game at home...
Sunday was a training day OFF! I did a few things around the house and drove Patrick back to the airport and basically just chilled with the dog and watched movies. It was a lovely day!
Now, I’m trying not to count days to Ironman Arizona...but it is hard not to! YIKES! I’m nervous but super-excited! Fortunately this weekend I have the Richmond 8K – which is really an zone 2 training run – to look forward to. That will sort of keep my mind off things. (Other than the fact that before I leave for Richmond on Friday I have to drop my bike off so it can get transported to Arizona! Yeah, my mind will be pretty preoccupied!) After I'm done running I will then cheer on Carol in the marathon. It turns out I’ll know a few others running the full and look forward to cheering them on as well!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 20 – Ironman Arizona – Holy Cactus!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Mind numbing...
This past weekend not as EPIC as the weekend prior. However, for me at least, it was a little tough at times. We had a crazy weather day on Saturday complete with rain, freezing rain, wintry mix, and snow. The ride had been scheduled for Saturday in Easton but the coaches moved it to Sunday. However, I wanted to cheer at the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday...which was supposed to be a fantastic day! With that, I opted to spin indoors on Saturday. All in all I completed the following training, some of which was mind-numbing:
Saturday – I started off at the pool where I swam a very easy 55 minutes, which amounted to 2800 yards. On my way home I hit up Starbucks for a tall soy latte and a roasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich for a snack/recovery meal. After I got home I decided on the "Back to the Future Trilogy" of movies to watch and ate then I set my bike up back in the living room and while I did a 4-hour spin session. There were a few breaks involved and I went 50 miles. It was...mind numbing. At this point I paused the third movie. Then I changed into my running shoes and hit the treadmill! After 45 minutes (4 miles) I was done! I managed to do a tri!
By this time I was starving! I changed into dry clothes so I could run out for nourishment. Just a little hamburger at Five Guys. And a large Diet Coke. I came home to eat and watch the remainder of the movie. I cannot remember what I did after that. Sleep perhaps?
Sunday: I had more running to do. It was nice out but I wanted to get an early start. And use my treadmill some more. I knocked out 8 miles in a hair under 90 minutes. Now, when I am on the treadmill I don’t just turn it on and leave it at 0%. I always start at 1% and then play around with the incline. And my new treadmill has a decline!
After my run was complete it was time to clean up so I could go cheer on the Marine Corps Marathon runners with Carol in Crystal City! I’m not exactly sure what time we got there – 11-something? We stayed till close to 2PM. We cheered on lots of folks – even some that we knew! We had cowbells and some AUsome Auburn shakers. And Carol brought us Diet Cokes! I even yelled out a couple of “Roll Tides” to some runners in ‘Bama gear! We cheered for everyone we could – yelling out individual names of those we could read. It was fun!
I could not stay too long as I was planning to go to the ‘Trunk or Treat’ that was being held at my neighborhood pool. I got home and loaded up the candy and Riley – complete with her “Boo bandana” and headed over to the pool. It was a pretty good turn out, I thought. I am already looking forward to next year as I have some fun ideas for decorating my ‘trunk’!
Once I was back at home where I was nearly ready to crash. I was tired. So. Tired. So was Riley! I did kick back and watch a fun movie and do my one load of laundry though.
So, this past training weekend was a success, also! I think my bike nutrition could have been better though. I completely forgot to get a couple of bottles of Ironman Perform but I did have my Gu, Honey Stinger Waffles, and Chex Mix. And salt tab capsules! I also had a sample "Fizz" tablet that I dropped in a bottle of water. The best part of my Saturday training was not having to leave little Miss Riley home alone for 13 hours!
This coming weekend I have a 30/8 brick. I’m going to try to start riding around 7AM, or so. I will back into being done and ready to run at 9:30, when I’ll meet up with Carol. And maybe Pam? Additional excitement for the coming weekend: Patrick will be home for a visit! War Eagle!!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – The Richmond 8K, where I’ll do an easy 5 miles. The day after I have another brick of 20/6...
T-H-E-N...
November 20 – Ironman Arizona. Holy Cactus!
Saturday – I started off at the pool where I swam a very easy 55 minutes, which amounted to 2800 yards. On my way home I hit up Starbucks for a tall soy latte and a roasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich for a snack/recovery meal. After I got home I decided on the "Back to the Future Trilogy" of movies to watch and ate then I set my bike up back in the living room and while I did a 4-hour spin session. There were a few breaks involved and I went 50 miles. It was...mind numbing. At this point I paused the third movie. Then I changed into my running shoes and hit the treadmill! After 45 minutes (4 miles) I was done! I managed to do a tri!
By this time I was starving! I changed into dry clothes so I could run out for nourishment. Just a little hamburger at Five Guys. And a large Diet Coke. I came home to eat and watch the remainder of the movie. I cannot remember what I did after that. Sleep perhaps?
Sunday: I had more running to do. It was nice out but I wanted to get an early start. And use my treadmill some more. I knocked out 8 miles in a hair under 90 minutes. Now, when I am on the treadmill I don’t just turn it on and leave it at 0%. I always start at 1% and then play around with the incline. And my new treadmill has a decline!
After my run was complete it was time to clean up so I could go cheer on the Marine Corps Marathon runners with Carol in Crystal City! I’m not exactly sure what time we got there – 11-something? We stayed till close to 2PM. We cheered on lots of folks – even some that we knew! We had cowbells and some AUsome Auburn shakers. And Carol brought us Diet Cokes! I even yelled out a couple of “Roll Tides” to some runners in ‘Bama gear! We cheered for everyone we could – yelling out individual names of those we could read. It was fun!
I could not stay too long as I was planning to go to the ‘Trunk or Treat’ that was being held at my neighborhood pool. I got home and loaded up the candy and Riley – complete with her “Boo bandana” and headed over to the pool. It was a pretty good turn out, I thought. I am already looking forward to next year as I have some fun ideas for decorating my ‘trunk’!
Once I was back at home where I was nearly ready to crash. I was tired. So. Tired. So was Riley! I did kick back and watch a fun movie and do my one load of laundry though.
So, this past training weekend was a success, also! I think my bike nutrition could have been better though. I completely forgot to get a couple of bottles of Ironman Perform but I did have my Gu, Honey Stinger Waffles, and Chex Mix. And salt tab capsules! I also had a sample "Fizz" tablet that I dropped in a bottle of water. The best part of my Saturday training was not having to leave little Miss Riley home alone for 13 hours!
This coming weekend I have a 30/8 brick. I’m going to try to start riding around 7AM, or so. I will back into being done and ready to run at 9:30, when I’ll meet up with Carol. And maybe Pam? Additional excitement for the coming weekend: Patrick will be home for a visit! War Eagle!!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – The Richmond 8K, where I’ll do an easy 5 miles. The day after I have another brick of 20/6...
T-H-E-N...
November 20 – Ironman Arizona. Holy Cactus!
Monday, October 24, 2011
And it was EPIC...
This past weekend was our EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND of Ironman training! I completed the following EPIC training:
Saturday - a 15.5 mostly trail mile run. This run was mostly a success. I ran with two Iron friends – Carol and Pam – and we did a 6/1 run/walk. I did great till mile 14.5, when I tripped on a rock and went down on my right knee and hands. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and capris, so nothing too horrible happened. I did scrape my knee through the capris, but no dirt or debris got on the wound. Success! (And yay for capris!) Had no nutrition issues, either.
Sunday – a 126.57 mile bike ride. It was supposed to be a 120 mile bike ride (I made no wrong turns but we had cue sheets for the additional mileage. I’m not sure why they added extra mileage though...) followed by a 5 mile run. But...after 126.57 miles I decided I was DONE! (Not to mention I had to get back to the dog!) But, I have to say I felt great! I did a 50.96 mile loop then went back out for another 75.61 mile loop. The first 5-10 miles of the second loop were a bit hard, but then I started feeling better. I rode with great company of Kathy and Greg, and later joined by Euge and Sara.
So, all in all my weekend training was a complete success! And more success was that my nutrition – especially on the bike – was spot on (for a change) and today I feel fantastic! And I left little miss Riley uncrated the entire time I was gone for the ride – she was out and about for 13 hours with minimal damage. Minimal = she pulled up the carpet for some carpet padding fun, but that was it! Whew!
I am now officially in taper mode, with actually less than 27 full days till race day! (omg) This weekend we have an 80 mile bike ride with subsequent distances of 50 and 30 miles. This should be a piece of cake, right? Haha – two years ago after this point before Ironman Lake Placid I thought the 40 mile bike ride would be a piece of cake. It felt like the hardest ride. Ever!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (This will be an easy training day as I’ll be in taper mode. I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – which is sponsored by McDonald’s – but I see from the race literature I do get a complimentary McDonald’s coffee...so it looks like I won’t be missing out on any fries!)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona (This is it!)
Saturday - a 15.5 mostly trail mile run. This run was mostly a success. I ran with two Iron friends – Carol and Pam – and we did a 6/1 run/walk. I did great till mile 14.5, when I tripped on a rock and went down on my right knee and hands. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and capris, so nothing too horrible happened. I did scrape my knee through the capris, but no dirt or debris got on the wound. Success! (And yay for capris!) Had no nutrition issues, either.
Sunday – a 126.57 mile bike ride. It was supposed to be a 120 mile bike ride (I made no wrong turns but we had cue sheets for the additional mileage. I’m not sure why they added extra mileage though...) followed by a 5 mile run. But...after 126.57 miles I decided I was DONE! (Not to mention I had to get back to the dog!) But, I have to say I felt great! I did a 50.96 mile loop then went back out for another 75.61 mile loop. The first 5-10 miles of the second loop were a bit hard, but then I started feeling better. I rode with great company of Kathy and Greg, and later joined by Euge and Sara.
So, all in all my weekend training was a complete success! And more success was that my nutrition – especially on the bike – was spot on (for a change) and today I feel fantastic! And I left little miss Riley uncrated the entire time I was gone for the ride – she was out and about for 13 hours with minimal damage. Minimal = she pulled up the carpet for some carpet padding fun, but that was it! Whew!
I am now officially in taper mode, with actually less than 27 full days till race day! (omg) This weekend we have an 80 mile bike ride with subsequent distances of 50 and 30 miles. This should be a piece of cake, right? Haha – two years ago after this point before Ironman Lake Placid I thought the 40 mile bike ride would be a piece of cake. It felt like the hardest ride. Ever!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (This will be an easy training day as I’ll be in taper mode. I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – which is sponsored by McDonald’s – but I see from the race literature I do get a complimentary McDonald’s coffee...so it looks like I won’t be missing out on any fries!)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona (This is it!)
Friday, October 21, 2011
A silver lining...
Well, since I returned from Auburn and got my lovely sinus infection – that it still hanging on – I’ve slowly gotten back onto the training wagon. And I’ve had a great week of training – I’ve not missed one recovery week workout! Good news – I took my last antibiotic! If there’s a trace of this next week I’m going to get back with my doctor...
Last weekend was my last tune-up / training race for Ironman Arizona, the Watermans’ Half in Marbury, Maryland – at General Smallwood Park. It was not a great day for me for the most part. I woke up with a headache that not only did not go away but proceeded to get worse. A bit of a stressor! There were not even 200 people entered in this race and only three waves! I was in the second one – all women. They said the water temperature was 65 degrees. I had on my sleeveless wetsuit and was quite comfortable. I’m hoping this means I can go sleeveless in Tempe next month! (But will have both just in case not.)
The swim: The water was fairly calm but sadly there was more seaweed-y stuff. Blech. The course was two rectangular loops on a well-marked course that favored right-sided breathers, like me. Bonus! There were helpers yanking us out at the swim finish, too. I ran/walked to transition because my bare feet do not like hard surfaces...I ran when there was grass though!
T1: I took my time in T1 – I’m never fast anyway, so...why try something new? J The nice thing about transition – aside from the fact that my feet don’t like to be bare foot on pavement – was the lack of grass and mud when getting my bike shoes on. Another bonus!
The bike: Despite everything, I actually really liked this course. I thought it was a good mix overall and would do this again. I knew there were some bad spots on the road and know ahead of time helped. For the most part. My headache was still there and just seemed to get worse. My sinuses were killing me (not literally of course) and every bump seemed to shake my brain. I knew this wasn’t really happening but it sure felt like it! I was telling myself that this race was not important in the big picture and I did not need to get sicker to finish it. And around the halfway point gave myself permission to not finish. (My first DNF!)
Well, maybe that decision played a part in what happened next, becasue in another six miles and I think I hit a little pot hole (or something) and then realized I’d gotten a flat. On the back wheel. Awesome! (It was like Ironman Lake Placid nightmares again – but real. Oh wait – that was real, too!) There just happened to be a church on my right, so I pulled over and tried to figure out where to start. By removing all the bottles off my bike so I could stand it upside down, of course. Many Z’ers and other nice racers slowed to see if I needed help and one actually stopped. I said I was good (I had a CO2 cartridge and a tube) but THEN realized I was without my tire levers! She (Becca – a Z’er!) had some to lend me – and they were pink! So I got her race number and promised to return them later. I got that rear wheel off and actually was able to get the tire off (but somehow flipped inside out?) with just my hands. (This is huge for me because on my old bike the original tires were so hard I could barely get the tire off with levers! And extra hands!) Turns out I did need the levers to get it flipped back then off the rim, but then I did it all by hand, replaced the tube and got the tire back on – with JUST MY HANDS. My CO2 cartridge contraption worked just liked I remembered and eventually I got the back wheel back on, the bottles loaded up, and just as I was about to mount the bike a really cute guy in a truck stopped to ask if I needed help. Unfortunately, I was all good at that point.
I had about 22 miles to go to get back to transition. And I think the flat did nothing for my aching head and here’s where my nutrition feel apart. Because up until the flat that was going well. I rolled back into transition eventually and figured out where to go to turn in my chip. I headed to my car to try to rest while I waited for Jeff to finish up – and he was rocking it!
The rest did not help my head but later Jeff realized he had some ibuprofen so I took a few and would you believe that headache stayed for about another four days! Ultimately the race organizers had me DNF after the swim as there were not separate T1 and T2 times due to a timing mat malfunction. So, I’m not sure at this point how long my ride was. I had a swim split on my watch, then a total split, but my Garmin paused during the tire change, so...who knows!
My hope is that I got all the race day demons out before the big day: November 20, 2011! Back on July 26, 2009 (at Ironman Lake Placid) I not only got a flat on the rear wheel (my biggest fear, outside of missing the bike cut-off) during the first of two loops on the bike (and fortunately had (1) switched to different, easier-to-mount tires and (2) had a spare tube AND tire because there was a staple in my rear tire) I also got stung by a bee on the second downhill into Keene. I had a huge bee sting mark for nearly a month!
So, my fingers are crossed and I think the sinus infection is mostly gone. This is a build week and my workouts have gone well. This week we started the first of eight 90-minutes swims on Thursday and that was a success. This weekend is the EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND! I have a 15 mile run tomorrow followed by a nearly 120 mile bike ride on Sunday; after which I’m supposed to run another 5 miles. I will take things one part at a time.
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (an easy training day – I’ll be in taper though I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – sponsored by McDonald’s)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona with Team IM-AZ-ing! (And it is going to be!)
Last weekend was my last tune-up / training race for Ironman Arizona, the Watermans’ Half in Marbury, Maryland – at General Smallwood Park. It was not a great day for me for the most part. I woke up with a headache that not only did not go away but proceeded to get worse. A bit of a stressor! There were not even 200 people entered in this race and only three waves! I was in the second one – all women. They said the water temperature was 65 degrees. I had on my sleeveless wetsuit and was quite comfortable. I’m hoping this means I can go sleeveless in Tempe next month! (But will have both just in case not.)
The swim: The water was fairly calm but sadly there was more seaweed-y stuff. Blech. The course was two rectangular loops on a well-marked course that favored right-sided breathers, like me. Bonus! There were helpers yanking us out at the swim finish, too. I ran/walked to transition because my bare feet do not like hard surfaces...I ran when there was grass though!
T1: I took my time in T1 – I’m never fast anyway, so...why try something new? J The nice thing about transition – aside from the fact that my feet don’t like to be bare foot on pavement – was the lack of grass and mud when getting my bike shoes on. Another bonus!
The bike: Despite everything, I actually really liked this course. I thought it was a good mix overall and would do this again. I knew there were some bad spots on the road and know ahead of time helped. For the most part. My headache was still there and just seemed to get worse. My sinuses were killing me (not literally of course) and every bump seemed to shake my brain. I knew this wasn’t really happening but it sure felt like it! I was telling myself that this race was not important in the big picture and I did not need to get sicker to finish it. And around the halfway point gave myself permission to not finish. (My first DNF!)
Well, maybe that decision played a part in what happened next, becasue in another six miles and I think I hit a little pot hole (or something) and then realized I’d gotten a flat. On the back wheel. Awesome! (It was like Ironman Lake Placid nightmares again – but real. Oh wait – that was real, too!) There just happened to be a church on my right, so I pulled over and tried to figure out where to start. By removing all the bottles off my bike so I could stand it upside down, of course. Many Z’ers and other nice racers slowed to see if I needed help and one actually stopped. I said I was good (I had a CO2 cartridge and a tube) but THEN realized I was without my tire levers! She (Becca – a Z’er!) had some to lend me – and they were pink! So I got her race number and promised to return them later. I got that rear wheel off and actually was able to get the tire off (but somehow flipped inside out?) with just my hands. (This is huge for me because on my old bike the original tires were so hard I could barely get the tire off with levers! And extra hands!) Turns out I did need the levers to get it flipped back then off the rim, but then I did it all by hand, replaced the tube and got the tire back on – with JUST MY HANDS. My CO2 cartridge contraption worked just liked I remembered and eventually I got the back wheel back on, the bottles loaded up, and just as I was about to mount the bike a really cute guy in a truck stopped to ask if I needed help. Unfortunately, I was all good at that point.
I had about 22 miles to go to get back to transition. And I think the flat did nothing for my aching head and here’s where my nutrition feel apart. Because up until the flat that was going well. I rolled back into transition eventually and figured out where to go to turn in my chip. I headed to my car to try to rest while I waited for Jeff to finish up – and he was rocking it!
The rest did not help my head but later Jeff realized he had some ibuprofen so I took a few and would you believe that headache stayed for about another four days! Ultimately the race organizers had me DNF after the swim as there were not separate T1 and T2 times due to a timing mat malfunction. So, I’m not sure at this point how long my ride was. I had a swim split on my watch, then a total split, but my Garmin paused during the tire change, so...who knows!
My hope is that I got all the race day demons out before the big day: November 20, 2011! Back on July 26, 2009 (at Ironman Lake Placid) I not only got a flat on the rear wheel (my biggest fear, outside of missing the bike cut-off) during the first of two loops on the bike (and fortunately had (1) switched to different, easier-to-mount tires and (2) had a spare tube AND tire because there was a staple in my rear tire) I also got stung by a bee on the second downhill into Keene. I had a huge bee sting mark for nearly a month!
So, my fingers are crossed and I think the sinus infection is mostly gone. This is a build week and my workouts have gone well. This week we started the first of eight 90-minutes swims on Thursday and that was a success. This weekend is the EPIC TRAINING WEEKEND! I have a 15 mile run tomorrow followed by a nearly 120 mile bike ride on Sunday; after which I’m supposed to run another 5 miles. I will take things one part at a time.
Happy and Healthy Training!
Next Up:
November 12 – Richmond 8K (an easy training day – I’ll be in taper though I really wanted to do the Richmond Half – sponsored by McDonald’s)
November 20 – Ironman Arizona with Team IM-AZ-ing! (And it is going to be!)
Friday, October 7, 2011
AUsome! Or not...
My last posted talked about going down to see my younger son Patrick for Parents’ Weekend and a football game at Auburn University. It was AUsome! (That’s my way of spelling awesome!) I flew down on Friday night then met up with my ex on Saturday to drive down to see Patrick, go to the game, etc.
So, not quite a month and a half away and he is still the same old Patrick. It was great to see him! Finding him was a bit tricky and he was not at his dorm but ‘somewhere’ that we couldn’t find. We ended up parking at the McDonald’s in town and having him find us. Then it was off to lunch and to grab some snack foods before dropping him so he could meet up with his friends for the game while we went and experience the true Auburn game day festivities! We wandered around and just took in all the goings on while we wandered our way over to the Tiger Walk. This is where the fans line this one street that leads up to the stadium, which the team and associated folks walk through on their way 2 hours prior to game time. After that and a little bit of excitement from the cheerleaders and the band we went into the stadium to find our seats...
I kept saying, “I hope they aren’t in the top row!” all I knew is that we were in the upper deck on the home side on the far right...not knowing how many rows were there I had no idea. Yeah, we were in the third row from the top! It was AUsome! But they were pretty cool regardless and each trip up the steps got easier. Patrick had gotten into the student section pretty much diagonal across from us but in the lower section. He texted me to say he could see us. It was pretty funny – we were the *only* ones there at the moment.
I was really looking forward to the pregame stuff: The flight of the War Eagle (Nova – how appropriate!) and seeing the marching band. Neither one disappointed! Finally the team came on and the game got underway. The game was exciting, but not as exciting as it would have been if we’d been watching them play against another SEC team. Note to self for next season...
Of course we all assumed they’d win and it would be a big win, but not so much! I got a little stressed at the end! We caught up with Patrick pretty quickly afterwards and walked to the car so we could go find some dinner. Driving through town right up to Toomer’s Corner. The Toomer’s Oaks were already covered with toilet paper. AUsome Victory!
We tried to go into a barbeque place but could not hear what the bouncer said. The music was crazy-loud! We went into the pizza place next door and had to nearly fight for a table but succeeded and had some pretty tasty pizza!
Sunday morning we got Patrick for breakfast and had to try two different Waffle Houses before we got to sit down (at the counter no less) to eat! It was nuts! So many people in town (FACT: On game day Auburn becomes the fifth largest cisty in Alabama) had the same idea! Then it was off to get me back to the airport.
After arriving home things became not so AUsome... Tuesday (September 27) I woke up with a sore throat. Things went downhill from there and I ended up with a pretty good sinus infection that I am still fighting off! I have done barely a lick of training since before I went to Auburn. Oh well, I figure with all my rest I’ll be very rested for the half iron distance triathlon I’m going to tri to do tomorrow. Yikes!
But for some good news: Patrick is coming home for a weekend on November 4th!
And even better news: Andrew is coming home tomorrow for the weekend! Bonus: He got a great job down in Mooresville and needs to pick up his tool chest!
Happy and HEALTHY Training!
Next Up: Waterman's Half.
Yikes = 44 days till Ironman Arizona!!
So, not quite a month and a half away and he is still the same old Patrick. It was great to see him! Finding him was a bit tricky and he was not at his dorm but ‘somewhere’ that we couldn’t find. We ended up parking at the McDonald’s in town and having him find us. Then it was off to lunch and to grab some snack foods before dropping him so he could meet up with his friends for the game while we went and experience the true Auburn game day festivities! We wandered around and just took in all the goings on while we wandered our way over to the Tiger Walk. This is where the fans line this one street that leads up to the stadium, which the team and associated folks walk through on their way 2 hours prior to game time. After that and a little bit of excitement from the cheerleaders and the band we went into the stadium to find our seats...
I kept saying, “I hope they aren’t in the top row!” all I knew is that we were in the upper deck on the home side on the far right...not knowing how many rows were there I had no idea. Yeah, we were in the third row from the top! It was AUsome! But they were pretty cool regardless and each trip up the steps got easier. Patrick had gotten into the student section pretty much diagonal across from us but in the lower section. He texted me to say he could see us. It was pretty funny – we were the *only* ones there at the moment.
I was really looking forward to the pregame stuff: The flight of the War Eagle (Nova – how appropriate!) and seeing the marching band. Neither one disappointed! Finally the team came on and the game got underway. The game was exciting, but not as exciting as it would have been if we’d been watching them play against another SEC team. Note to self for next season...
Of course we all assumed they’d win and it would be a big win, but not so much! I got a little stressed at the end! We caught up with Patrick pretty quickly afterwards and walked to the car so we could go find some dinner. Driving through town right up to Toomer’s Corner. The Toomer’s Oaks were already covered with toilet paper. AUsome Victory!
We tried to go into a barbeque place but could not hear what the bouncer said. The music was crazy-loud! We went into the pizza place next door and had to nearly fight for a table but succeeded and had some pretty tasty pizza!
Sunday morning we got Patrick for breakfast and had to try two different Waffle Houses before we got to sit down (at the counter no less) to eat! It was nuts! So many people in town (FACT: On game day Auburn becomes the fifth largest cisty in Alabama) had the same idea! Then it was off to get me back to the airport.
After arriving home things became not so AUsome... Tuesday (September 27) I woke up with a sore throat. Things went downhill from there and I ended up with a pretty good sinus infection that I am still fighting off! I have done barely a lick of training since before I went to Auburn. Oh well, I figure with all my rest I’ll be very rested for the half iron distance triathlon I’m going to tri to do tomorrow. Yikes!
But for some good news: Patrick is coming home for a weekend on November 4th!
And even better news: Andrew is coming home tomorrow for the weekend! Bonus: He got a great job down in Mooresville and needs to pick up his tool chest!
Happy and HEALTHY Training!
Next Up: Waterman's Half.
Yikes = 44 days till Ironman Arizona!!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Going long...
Well, first it has been a long time since I posted. I started the post – below – over a week ago. Goodness...
Since returning from getting rid of my kids – temporarily at least – I’ve really not had a lot of time to miss them! There’s been a bunch of training going on... long training. And by going long, I mean on the bike!
Since returning from emptying my nest I’ve gone on an 80 mile ride and two 90+ mile rides. There was a near 10 mile run, along with a failed 10 mile run (only managed 8.69 and over 2 of those miles were walking), and finally a pretty decent 13.61 mile run. All this means is that Ironman Arizona is getting closer! Now about 58 days away actually. Yikes!
For the past few weeks I’ve made very good effort on the strength training, too. Last week I started back at yoga and have not been twice. I am so excited about that – it has been way too long. I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing gets in my yoga-way. I look forward to sleeping better too as I remember when I was going to yoga regularly my sleeping quality really improved. I’m still working on getting more sleep quantity but that will likely continued to be a work in progress for some time. Darnit.
So, even though my nest has been emptied, I saw my older son Andrew last weekend for his big 21st birthday! Woo hoo!! We went to the NHRA drag races at the ZMAX dragway in Concord, NC, about 20 miles from his apartment. It was so much fun! And wow – I forgot how loud those top fuel dragsters and funny cars were! HOLY COW!
Thank goodness for ear plugs! And I got to see my favorite driver, John Force! I used to follow this stuff pretty regularly a number of years ago, before other interests came along. Makes me want to start following again! So, even though Andrew had a few beers while we were on vacation in London he got his first official beers in the United States! Good times!
This weekend I’m headed down to see my younger son Patrick for Parents Weekend and a football game at Auburn University. WAR EAGLE! I wonder if that will be as loud as the drag races? My son has season tickets (lucky kid) to all the home games this year and he says this is pretty much THE coolest thing he has ever experienced. I’m pretty excited to check it all out myself. And of course, to see him!
After all this excitement I won’t see either kid till their respective Christmas breaks. Four weeks for Patrick and just two for Andrew. But I’m already looking forward to it! But seeing as November 20 is looming ahead I probably will be too busy training and such to really miss them. Bonus!
So...Happy and Healthy Training!
WAR EAGLE!
Since returning from getting rid of my kids – temporarily at least – I’ve really not had a lot of time to miss them! There’s been a bunch of training going on... long training. And by going long, I mean on the bike!
Since returning from emptying my nest I’ve gone on an 80 mile ride and two 90+ mile rides. There was a near 10 mile run, along with a failed 10 mile run (only managed 8.69 and over 2 of those miles were walking), and finally a pretty decent 13.61 mile run. All this means is that Ironman Arizona is getting closer! Now about 58 days away actually. Yikes!
For the past few weeks I’ve made very good effort on the strength training, too. Last week I started back at yoga and have not been twice. I am so excited about that – it has been way too long. I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing gets in my yoga-way. I look forward to sleeping better too as I remember when I was going to yoga regularly my sleeping quality really improved. I’m still working on getting more sleep quantity but that will likely continued to be a work in progress for some time. Darnit.
So, even though my nest has been emptied, I saw my older son Andrew last weekend for his big 21st birthday! Woo hoo!! We went to the NHRA drag races at the ZMAX dragway in Concord, NC, about 20 miles from his apartment. It was so much fun! And wow – I forgot how loud those top fuel dragsters and funny cars were! HOLY COW!
Thank goodness for ear plugs! And I got to see my favorite driver, John Force! I used to follow this stuff pretty regularly a number of years ago, before other interests came along. Makes me want to start following again! So, even though Andrew had a few beers while we were on vacation in London he got his first official beers in the United States! Good times!
This weekend I’m headed down to see my younger son Patrick for Parents Weekend and a football game at Auburn University. WAR EAGLE! I wonder if that will be as loud as the drag races? My son has season tickets (lucky kid) to all the home games this year and he says this is pretty much THE coolest thing he has ever experienced. I’m pretty excited to check it all out myself. And of course, to see him!
After all this excitement I won’t see either kid till their respective Christmas breaks. Four weeks for Patrick and just two for Andrew. But I’m already looking forward to it! But seeing as November 20 is looming ahead I probably will be too busy training and such to really miss them. Bonus!
So...Happy and Healthy Training!
WAR EAGLE!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Catching up...
The past two-ish weeks have been pretty nutty. I left off after my dog party and my weekend training on August 6-7...
Well, my only workout two weeks ago was my Tuesday August 9 swim. I thought I’d swim on the morning of August 11...until I realized we would need to be on the road by 6AM to make sure we arrived in Mooresville, North Carolina in time for the 2PM housing orientation for Andrew.
So, Thursday August 11 we (myself, Andrew, and Patrick in our three-car caravan) were truly out the door for a little after 6AM then two of us (myself and Patrick) immediately gassed up before heading South on I-95. It was to be about a 6 hour drive to Mooresville and I figured on at least 2 stops. Things really went well and we had little traffic. I think we did make 2 stops, 3 counting the one in Mooresville for lunch, and we arrived at the NASCAR Technical Institute for the housing orientation at 1:45PM. Perfect timing!
The meeting was pretty simple – maybe lasted an hour. After they went through the basic rules they were to visit with each student individually to sign the housing paperwork. Arriving early paid off – we were second on the list to be called! We got Andrew’s keys and directions and headed over to his new place! It is on the third / top floor of garden-style apartments. Fully furnished so little was really needed for moving in – just essentials. This was to be dorm-style living but with a full living room, dining room, and kitchen. It is a really nice apartment! Being on the top floor they have a vaulted ceiling in the living room. We met two of the other roommates while we moved Andrew’s things in then went off to get supplies and dinner. When we arrived back we met the fourth roommate. They all seem like nice kids. Patrick and I then departed for our hotel – a NASCAR-themed Holiday Inn Express!
The next morning we (Patrick and I) met Andrew for breakfast before heading out of town. I had to remind the guys to ‘shake hands’ and say good bye since they would not see each other till Thanksgiving! Sheesh - boys!
Patrick and I then continued on towards the ‘final destination’ of the trip – Auburn, Alabama. This was also to be a 6 hour drive (how perfect) and we had one planned stop for an extended lunch just north of Atlanta at my old high school friend and cheerleader squad-mate, Kecia! Her three daughters had all gone through or were going through University of Georgia and she had just moved her youngest in two days prior. She made us a yummy lunch of assorted paninis (turkey, ham, and roast beef) and mini peach pies with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Delicious!
We now had just over 2 hours left in our journey. We got caught in a bit of rush hour traffic in the Atlanta area but it was not too bad, and we pulled into our lovely motel parking lot at 4:45PM, right behind Patrick’s dad who was meeting us for the move in. Move in was the next morning but we spent time driving around campus again and this time knew what dorm Patrick was going to be in so we scouted that out for the next morning. We decided to have dinner at Sonic! A nice treat since we don’t get that at home. We hung out there long enough that we decided to have dessert, too. Why not? Move it was at 8AM so we decided we’d meet for our complimentary Waffle House breakfast (it was right next to the motel) for 6:45AM. It was a good move because we beat the rush. After breakfast it was time...
We headed back to the dorm and also beat the rush and got up front parking. We had just one hour to get all things in or they would tow our cars! (So they warned!!) No problem – Patrick was on the second floor and I did not have to carry too much stuff. I held a lot of doors. After our hour was up we moved the cars to the parking garage and went back to the room to take inventory and see what he needed. At this time we met Patrick’s roommate and family. They were all really nice as well. While we were all there the boys took advantage of us and we moved some of the furniture around. Both boys decided they wanted to bed loft, too, which I ordered last week after I got home. Anyway, after Patrick decided what he needed we headed out to run errands – Best Buy was all it took. Then we had lunch. Back to the room to drop things off. Then we headed into the campus to walk around some and check out the cool bookstore in town. And the campus bookstore – Patrick needed to pick up his printer! I think by now it was time for dinner so we did that then did our final errand of going to the grocery store for necessities. Patrick’s roommate got a little fridge (Patrick brought the TV) so he wanted to get some drinks to put in there. So the final trip back to the dorm... It was kind of sad because at this point I was saying goodbye to Patrick and would not see him till Parents’ Weekend on 9/24! He was NOT planning on getting up early to meet his dad and me for breakfast at the Waffle House...
Back at the lovely motel I couldn’t sleep and finished a book I’d been reading. In the morning it was an early rise to hit up the Waffle House then hit the road as I had a 12-ish hour drive ahead of me. The plan was to stop as needed for rest but to stop and visit with Andrew in Mooresville at the halfway point. I only had to stop once just north of Atlanta before meeting up with Andrew. I picked him up at his place then we had lunch at Longhorn. They were slow in getting our appetizer to us so that was on the house. Bonus! Then we headed to the AT&T store so Andrew could get an air card for his laptop and have internet access. Finally, the Target for a few more supplies and groceries for him. I finally got him back to his place and things unloaded before I took off for home. I think I spent about 3 hours in Mooresville.
It as 5PM when I left and was hoping to get home by 11PM. About an hour or so after I left I drove through a tornado warning. Very frightening and the rain was just awful. It cleared up and so did the traffic. The trip was uneventful till I hit Richmond where I got some more rain – once pretty heavy. I debated stopping for the night but I was so close to home! I pushed on and actually arrived home at 11:30PM. Not too bad. I did take my boss upon his offer of taking the next day off...which was smart. I rested a lot.
I had a lazy kind of training week last week, too and I only swam on Thursday, August 18. However, I was good and got in my run and bike workouts in on the weekend. Saturday was a 10 mile run and I managed to run/walk 9.51 miles. It was a little warm and my heart rate was all over the place, so I walked whenever it got too high. It took me about 2 hours. That afternoon I decided to go out and get the premium heart rate strap because I’d heard that the original one would act nutty (with spikes and stuff) and my heart rate had certainly been nutty lately. My run on Saturday said my high rate was 222! Sunday was the 80 mile bike ride and for at least three quarters plus of the ride my heart rate was right where it was supposed to be! (On the ride two weeks before it had been all over the place.) Then towards the last 10-15 miles it started creeping up. All in all I was pretty happy. Those last ten miles were tough! In to the headwinds – argh. But all good training and practice for the windy flats of Arizona! Which is only 88 days away!
This week – so far – I’ve gotten my one schedule workout in. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well the rest of this week. Saturday I’ve got a 12 mile run on schedule and a 90 mile bike ride on Sunday! The team was schedule for training camp in Rehobeth Beach but I did not want to go away ‘again’ so am planning to do the local training. Maybe this is a good thing since we are supposed to be visited by Hurrican Irene this weekend!
Oh, and I survived my first earthquake – yesterday afternoon. Quite freaky!!
And as of today there are just 45 days until the Waterman’s Half – hopefully this will not get cancelled due to the low number of entries.
And as mentioned above, just 88 days till Ironman Arizona!
Happy and Healthy Training!!
Well, my only workout two weeks ago was my Tuesday August 9 swim. I thought I’d swim on the morning of August 11...until I realized we would need to be on the road by 6AM to make sure we arrived in Mooresville, North Carolina in time for the 2PM housing orientation for Andrew.
So, Thursday August 11 we (myself, Andrew, and Patrick in our three-car caravan) were truly out the door for a little after 6AM then two of us (myself and Patrick) immediately gassed up before heading South on I-95. It was to be about a 6 hour drive to Mooresville and I figured on at least 2 stops. Things really went well and we had little traffic. I think we did make 2 stops, 3 counting the one in Mooresville for lunch, and we arrived at the NASCAR Technical Institute for the housing orientation at 1:45PM. Perfect timing!
The meeting was pretty simple – maybe lasted an hour. After they went through the basic rules they were to visit with each student individually to sign the housing paperwork. Arriving early paid off – we were second on the list to be called! We got Andrew’s keys and directions and headed over to his new place! It is on the third / top floor of garden-style apartments. Fully furnished so little was really needed for moving in – just essentials. This was to be dorm-style living but with a full living room, dining room, and kitchen. It is a really nice apartment! Being on the top floor they have a vaulted ceiling in the living room. We met two of the other roommates while we moved Andrew’s things in then went off to get supplies and dinner. When we arrived back we met the fourth roommate. They all seem like nice kids. Patrick and I then departed for our hotel – a NASCAR-themed Holiday Inn Express!
The next morning we (Patrick and I) met Andrew for breakfast before heading out of town. I had to remind the guys to ‘shake hands’ and say good bye since they would not see each other till Thanksgiving! Sheesh - boys!
Patrick and I then continued on towards the ‘final destination’ of the trip – Auburn, Alabama. This was also to be a 6 hour drive (how perfect) and we had one planned stop for an extended lunch just north of Atlanta at my old high school friend and cheerleader squad-mate, Kecia! Her three daughters had all gone through or were going through University of Georgia and she had just moved her youngest in two days prior. She made us a yummy lunch of assorted paninis (turkey, ham, and roast beef) and mini peach pies with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Delicious!
We now had just over 2 hours left in our journey. We got caught in a bit of rush hour traffic in the Atlanta area but it was not too bad, and we pulled into our lovely motel parking lot at 4:45PM, right behind Patrick’s dad who was meeting us for the move in. Move in was the next morning but we spent time driving around campus again and this time knew what dorm Patrick was going to be in so we scouted that out for the next morning. We decided to have dinner at Sonic! A nice treat since we don’t get that at home. We hung out there long enough that we decided to have dessert, too. Why not? Move it was at 8AM so we decided we’d meet for our complimentary Waffle House breakfast (it was right next to the motel) for 6:45AM. It was a good move because we beat the rush. After breakfast it was time...
We headed back to the dorm and also beat the rush and got up front parking. We had just one hour to get all things in or they would tow our cars! (So they warned!!) No problem – Patrick was on the second floor and I did not have to carry too much stuff. I held a lot of doors. After our hour was up we moved the cars to the parking garage and went back to the room to take inventory and see what he needed. At this time we met Patrick’s roommate and family. They were all really nice as well. While we were all there the boys took advantage of us and we moved some of the furniture around. Both boys decided they wanted to bed loft, too, which I ordered last week after I got home. Anyway, after Patrick decided what he needed we headed out to run errands – Best Buy was all it took. Then we had lunch. Back to the room to drop things off. Then we headed into the campus to walk around some and check out the cool bookstore in town. And the campus bookstore – Patrick needed to pick up his printer! I think by now it was time for dinner so we did that then did our final errand of going to the grocery store for necessities. Patrick’s roommate got a little fridge (Patrick brought the TV) so he wanted to get some drinks to put in there. So the final trip back to the dorm... It was kind of sad because at this point I was saying goodbye to Patrick and would not see him till Parents’ Weekend on 9/24! He was NOT planning on getting up early to meet his dad and me for breakfast at the Waffle House...
Back at the lovely motel I couldn’t sleep and finished a book I’d been reading. In the morning it was an early rise to hit up the Waffle House then hit the road as I had a 12-ish hour drive ahead of me. The plan was to stop as needed for rest but to stop and visit with Andrew in Mooresville at the halfway point. I only had to stop once just north of Atlanta before meeting up with Andrew. I picked him up at his place then we had lunch at Longhorn. They were slow in getting our appetizer to us so that was on the house. Bonus! Then we headed to the AT&T store so Andrew could get an air card for his laptop and have internet access. Finally, the Target for a few more supplies and groceries for him. I finally got him back to his place and things unloaded before I took off for home. I think I spent about 3 hours in Mooresville.
It as 5PM when I left and was hoping to get home by 11PM. About an hour or so after I left I drove through a tornado warning. Very frightening and the rain was just awful. It cleared up and so did the traffic. The trip was uneventful till I hit Richmond where I got some more rain – once pretty heavy. I debated stopping for the night but I was so close to home! I pushed on and actually arrived home at 11:30PM. Not too bad. I did take my boss upon his offer of taking the next day off...which was smart. I rested a lot.
I had a lazy kind of training week last week, too and I only swam on Thursday, August 18. However, I was good and got in my run and bike workouts in on the weekend. Saturday was a 10 mile run and I managed to run/walk 9.51 miles. It was a little warm and my heart rate was all over the place, so I walked whenever it got too high. It took me about 2 hours. That afternoon I decided to go out and get the premium heart rate strap because I’d heard that the original one would act nutty (with spikes and stuff) and my heart rate had certainly been nutty lately. My run on Saturday said my high rate was 222! Sunday was the 80 mile bike ride and for at least three quarters plus of the ride my heart rate was right where it was supposed to be! (On the ride two weeks before it had been all over the place.) Then towards the last 10-15 miles it started creeping up. All in all I was pretty happy. Those last ten miles were tough! In to the headwinds – argh. But all good training and practice for the windy flats of Arizona! Which is only 88 days away!
This week – so far – I’ve gotten my one schedule workout in. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well the rest of this week. Saturday I’ve got a 12 mile run on schedule and a 90 mile bike ride on Sunday! The team was schedule for training camp in Rehobeth Beach but I did not want to go away ‘again’ so am planning to do the local training. Maybe this is a good thing since we are supposed to be visited by Hurrican Irene this weekend!
Oh, and I survived my first earthquake – yesterday afternoon. Quite freaky!!
And as of today there are just 45 days until the Waterman’s Half – hopefully this will not get cancelled due to the low number of entries.
And as mentioned above, just 88 days till Ironman Arizona!
Happy and Healthy Training!!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Gone to the dogs...
This past weekend was full of fun and training. I started the weekend with a 70 mile bike ride from Easton Park. I rode with Kathy to the start then we rode together - out and back 26.83 miles (from Easton Park to Tilghman Island and back); then we rode out and back another 8 miles to just past the first bridge and back. My watch showed 69.77 miles, but her watch and bike computer showed like 69.9 and 70.2 - or something like that! We are going with 70!
Zack's human brought Frosty Paws treats for all the dogs - that was hilariuos! Both Ally and Riley snuck off with theirs. The others just dug in!
Then after I was starving for the rest of the day...
Sunday morning started with what was supposed to be a 10 mile run. It was like soup out! I ran (and walked) 3.5 from Wakefield Park to Ravensworth and back. Then met up with a couple of the Sunday runners to run to the Lake Accotink marina and back. I ended up with 8.44 miles. the second portion of my run was on the trail so I'm pretty happy with that. Plus, as Imentioned, it was like running in soup it was so humid out! Blech! I followed the run with a nice swim outdoors at Annandale Swim and Tennis.
Now onto the fun!
Sunday afternoon
I had Riley's first birthday party!
I had Riley's first birthday party! Yes, I had a party for my dog!
Riley's mom Izzy came all the way down from Acme, Pennsylvania for the party, too! That is, my cousin Lynn (Izzy's owner) drove with her two kids and a friend to keep her company - leaving at 6:30 in the morning to have time to visit before hand.
Riley and Izzy played for about 3 hours before the other dogs and humans showed up. It was so cute!
The party was to start at 2 PM and the dogs were all on time!
I had their owners to thank for that.
Including Riley, there were six dogs:
Izzy, Ally, Zack, Ziggy, and Chessie!
I had their owners to thank for that.
Including Riley, there were six dogs:
Izzy, Ally, Zack, Ziggy, and Chessie!
Ziggy and Ally LOVED the pool!
Riley got in just once - no pictures of that!
Riley got in just once - no pictures of that!
I had 'bobbing for tennis balls' but the dogs weren't too interested in that.
There was mostly a lot of running and chasing around. But it was so much fun!
The most dogs we got in one picture was 5:
Zack's human brought Frosty Paws treats for all the dogs - that was hilariuos! Both Ally and Riley snuck off with theirs. The others just dug in!
Then the happy puppy girl gave out puppy gift bags to her dog friends, courtesy of my good friend, Maria!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Gearing up...
I am gearing up for this weekend’s workouts. And for November 20. Hoping not to jinx myself by posting this today – but so far this week I did every workout on the schedule, with the exception of strength on Monday. Shocker, I know. Monday I had a short run – ok this was somewhat modified from the schedule but I did get out there. Tuesday after work I did my spin then went to swim practice (where I did an extra long warmupand therefore swam a lot of yards). Wednesday was a run in the morning with some strength at night. Thursday morning I went to a zone 4 swim practice (yikes) then after work I did a bike ride with a time trial thrown in followed by a 10 minute run. Today, Friday, is a much needed rest day! I even managed to get close to 8 hours of sleep last night. Another shocker!
So what’s in store for the weekend? First there is a 70-mile bike ride on Saturday. The funny part is we are driving about 75 miles to get to the start location so that we can have flat and windy conditions – duplicating what we’ll have on race day. It will be worth it! And I think we head back there in a couple of weeks to do that again. Sunday is a 10-mile run. This will be my longest run in a while. I do
n’t count my walk/shuffle/jog at Musselman in there!
Fun stuff: Sunday afternoon I am having a puppy birthday party! Riley is almost one year old and we are having a few dog friends over to have a little fun. I am going to have fun treats for the dogs (courtesy of my friend, Tink) and of course some treats for the human as well. I will also get a doggie cake. I wanted to bake one, but I just don't think there's time! I’m trying to think about how I can make a couple obstacles for the dogs to play on. I have a cat tunnel, but I think all the dogs are too large for this! I plan to get a kiddie pool for them to play in! And maybe I can have a 'bobbing for tennis balls' game!
Next week will be a week of HUGE changes. On Thursday I’m heading out in a caravan with my kids to get them off to school. Sad face here...but I am truly excited for them both! And seeing as I’m training for Ironman x2 (11/20/11 and 7/22/12) I have plenty to keep me occupied! At least I still have my puppy to entertain me as well as the cats.
Happy and Healthy Training!
So what’s in store for the weekend? First there is a 70-mile bike ride on Saturday. The funny part is we are driving about 75 miles to get to the start location so that we can have flat and windy conditions – duplicating what we’ll have on race day. It will be worth it! And I think we head back there in a couple of weeks to do that again. Sunday is a 10-mile run. This will be my longest run in a while. I do
n’t count my walk/shuffle/jog at Musselman in there!Fun stuff: Sunday afternoon I am having a puppy birthday party! Riley is almost one year old and we are having a few dog friends over to have a little fun. I am going to have fun treats for the dogs (courtesy of my friend, Tink) and of course some treats for the human as well. I will also get a doggie cake. I wanted to bake one, but I just don't think there's time! I’m trying to think about how I can make a couple obstacles for the dogs to play on. I have a cat tunnel, but I think all the dogs are too large for this! I plan to get a kiddie pool for them to play in! And maybe I can have a 'bobbing for tennis balls' game!
Next week will be a week of HUGE changes. On Thursday I’m heading out in a caravan with my kids to get them off to school. Sad face here...but I am truly excited for them both! And seeing as I’m training for Ironman x2 (11/20/11 and 7/22/12) I have plenty to keep me occupied! At least I still have my puppy to entertain me as well as the cats.
Happy and Healthy Training!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Countdown to Placid... I mean Arizona!
Last week marked the true kick off to Ironman Arizona training. I kind of slacked off during the week as (1) I'd had a crazy weekend in Lake Placid (coming after a crazy weekend in Geneva, NY, coming after my week in London) and was tired. Once back home on Tuesday I had an emergency Moms on the Run (MOTR) meeting as we had a MOTR down and that important! Then on Wednesday there was an impromptu birthday dinner I wanted to attend. Thursday night was book club, but I actually bagged that so I could stay home and just -- catch up.
Then it was the weekend and I was 2 for 3 on my training. Saturday morning I did an open water swim with Coach Melissa at Lake Montclair where I swam from West Beach to Dolphin Beach and back. The water was murky as I remembered from the Montclair Tri two years ago but this time there was some gross stuff floating all over in it. I think it was goose poop, but I'm not sure. I think I'd rather not know what it was. lol After the swim Melissa gave us some stroke pointers. I'm now learning to start my rotation a bit earlier. Seems I can do it better when doing the catch up drill than when just swimming, so I will continue to work on it. I'll admit it feels better -- when I'm doing the catch up drill.
I was supposed to go for an 8 mile run on Saturday but I was hosting a little potluck at my place: the Ironman Arizona rogue group was coming over for a kind of meet and greet. I did not have time to run but I did manage to take the dog for a 20 minute walk. Riley sure was a happy pup! The potluck was fun and one person brought their seeing eye dog, so Riley had an inpromptu play date!
Sunday. What can I say? I had a 60 mile ride on the schedule. And itw as going to be very hot. But we were starting the ride at 6:00 AM. It was difficult to get up early enough for it but it was nice to get started so early and get done and be back on the way home by 11:00 AM. Since I do not plan to be Savage this year I did not need to do hill repeats. And honestly, the ride wasn't exactly flat! Anyway, I carpooled and rode with fellow IM AZ'er Kathy and it was really nice to have the company. We did two loops of 38 and 23 miles and Kathy led the first loop and did a great job. I was to lead the second loop but really had a tough time with a couple of the hills. She ended up 'taking us home' so to speak. We sure had great SAG support out there -- Team Z rocks! I did do OK on my nutrition. I missed on Gu - oddly enough of the 23 mile loop which may be why the hills were kind of a pain. But maybe not. In addition to the Gus every 30 I took the saltstick caps every hour and switched between water and EFS drink. Regardless, I did the ride and survived.
Today I actually got up early and went for a 20 minute run. It was half the time my plan called for but after my run I did take Riley for a 16 minute walk. I'll take it. It will be easier the next time. Looking forward(!) to tomorrow!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Then it was the weekend and I was 2 for 3 on my training. Saturday morning I did an open water swim with Coach Melissa at Lake Montclair where I swam from West Beach to Dolphin Beach and back. The water was murky as I remembered from the Montclair Tri two years ago but this time there was some gross stuff floating all over in it. I think it was goose poop, but I'm not sure. I think I'd rather not know what it was. lol After the swim Melissa gave us some stroke pointers. I'm now learning to start my rotation a bit earlier. Seems I can do it better when doing the catch up drill than when just swimming, so I will continue to work on it. I'll admit it feels better -- when I'm doing the catch up drill.
I was supposed to go for an 8 mile run on Saturday but I was hosting a little potluck at my place: the Ironman Arizona rogue group was coming over for a kind of meet and greet. I did not have time to run but I did manage to take the dog for a 20 minute walk. Riley sure was a happy pup! The potluck was fun and one person brought their seeing eye dog, so Riley had an inpromptu play date!
Sunday. What can I say? I had a 60 mile ride on the schedule. And itw as going to be very hot. But we were starting the ride at 6:00 AM. It was difficult to get up early enough for it but it was nice to get started so early and get done and be back on the way home by 11:00 AM. Since I do not plan to be Savage this year I did not need to do hill repeats. And honestly, the ride wasn't exactly flat! Anyway, I carpooled and rode with fellow IM AZ'er Kathy and it was really nice to have the company. We did two loops of 38 and 23 miles and Kathy led the first loop and did a great job. I was to lead the second loop but really had a tough time with a couple of the hills. She ended up 'taking us home' so to speak. We sure had great SAG support out there -- Team Z rocks! I did do OK on my nutrition. I missed on Gu - oddly enough of the 23 mile loop which may be why the hills were kind of a pain. But maybe not. In addition to the Gus every 30 I took the saltstick caps every hour and switched between water and EFS drink. Regardless, I did the ride and survived.
Today I actually got up early and went for a 20 minute run. It was half the time my plan called for but after my run I did take Riley for a 16 minute walk. I'll take it. It will be easier the next time. Looking forward(!) to tomorrow!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Cheering & Volunteering Report: Ironman Lake Placid
I had a great time cheering and volunteering at Ironman Lake Placid last weekend. I was going to write out a report, but thought I'd let my xtranormal video do the talking for me!
Click here to view! (Or maybe see the one I supposedly just posted above directly through youtube...?)
What I did not 'say' in my video was that all the folks from Team Z/Strike Out MS totally rocked! It was so inspiring to see them throughout the day. And seriously, our volunteer stint at run special needs was truly THE BEST place to be!
And I'm happy (scared) to report that as of this morning I am NOW officially signed up for Ironman Lake Placid 2012! It will be 8 months and 2 days after Ironman Arizona 2011...
omg!
But before I freak out too much about IMLP2012 I need to focus on IMAZ2011.
Happy and Healthy Training!!
Click here to view! (Or maybe see the one I supposedly just posted above directly through youtube...?)
What I did not 'say' in my video was that all the folks from Team Z/Strike Out MS totally rocked! It was so inspiring to see them throughout the day. And seriously, our volunteer stint at run special needs was truly THE BEST place to be!
And I'm happy (scared) to report that as of this morning I am NOW officially signed up for Ironman Lake Placid 2012! It will be 8 months and 2 days after Ironman Arizona 2011...
omg!
But before I freak out too much about IMLP2012 I need to focus on IMAZ2011.
Happy and Healthy Training!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
I found my Mussel...
I found my Mussel, sort of, but it did take a while! Whew! That is one word to describe my efforts at the Musselman Triathlon last Sunday. Actually a few other words come to mind, too...but I will not write them here.
Photo credit: Priscilla! (Thanks!!)
Photo credit: Priscilla! (Thanks!!)
I tried to hydrate well going into the weekend and even make sure I drank Gatorade on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We left Friday afternoon and drove about 2/3 of the way before stopping for the night. Getting a hotel room was a bit of a fiasco and prompted me to reserve one ahead of time for THIS Friday and the trip up to Placid... Anyway, we did not set an alarm for Saturday morning to ensure lots of sleep so we got a later start and were apparently directionally challenged but eventually made it to the lovely town of Geneva. And it IS a lovely town but for some reason I was hyper stressed out and wondered if I should be racing at all! Made it to packet pick up and the first of the mandatory pre-race briefings in the old Opera House (what a fantastic building) followed by a yummy lunch at the place next door. Sadly, I cannot remember the name of the place but I loved the sports memorabilia, with the exception of all the damn Yankees stuff!
From here we went to check into our room a little bit West of Geneva after a stop at RiteAid for a few items. Relaxed for a bit then headed to the park to check out transition and have a yummy dinner at the Team Z tent city. The fajitas were awesome! (As were the Coronas which really helped take the edge off my stress...) After dinner we racked our bikes then headed out to do final race preps for the next morning. It was a 12 mile drive back to our hotel – not too bad and knew that race morning we would cruise right along.
Race morning as always came too early. Transition opened at 5:00 AM and I was hoping to get there as soon after as possible. That did not happen. But we finally made it and unfortunately I forgot my towel and had to trudge back to the car for it. Ack. But finally had my area set up and went to find my breakfast and finish yet another Gatorade! Got the wetsuit on without incident (i.e., no rips or tears) and before I knew it the race was starting and I was heading over to the corral!
Swim 38:54 13/47
Well, I was prepared for the walk through the water in the swim – nutty – but boy was the sea grass awfully annoying! I got tangled up more times then I cared to count! I got bobbed around by the waves and did not mind them too much, except for on the second leg – got a bit off course here. No major contact from other racers, either, so all was well. The third leg of the lake and of course the fourth leg in the canal was much better. The canal was pretty sweet actually! I could see spectators out along here – at least I think I could. Loved the helping hand getting out of the water at the boat ramp, too. And since my foot will never be the same again (thank you plantar fasciitis) I opted to walk to transition...
T1: 4:21 43/47
What’s the rush? It was going to be a long day! I did not forget anything and just took my time.
Bike: 3:43:07 41/47
Well, my bike position was better than T1 (and T2 for that matter) – amazing! I had wanted to push as hard as I could on the bike, within reason. But of course that was not to happen. The first 15-20 miles were rather tough for me. I think I should have eaten a Gu before the swim – maybe that was the problem? It really took a while to get into a groove. However, I eventually did get into a groove and loved from mile 20-ish to 50. Maybe it was the wind! :-) We were told about the spectacular views coming downhill at about mile 26 – WOW!!! What a reward! That was truly the best and I told the marshal that he had the best spot ever directing bike traffic! The views along here were pretty darned nice too, after making the turn. The views up the ‘hill’, hmm, not so nice. Haha! I eventually got over that hill and continued on. I did not really mind the rough road section for that matter – it was actually kind of interesting. I liked seeing the airplane! Also interesting, but rather annoying was the blatant littering that took place right in front of me! She actually held her arm out and purposely dropped an empty gel package on the ground. Maybe she missed the race director’s plea about keeping all trash with you in the mandatory pre-race briefing? Anyway, I did pretty well until around mile 50. I think the heat was getting to me and maybe should have had a salt cap...or something. It was great getting back into the park though and seeing the sea of Z green! I got to the dismount line and unclipped on the left – as usual. The ground was slanted a bit on that side and was having a hard time getting my right leg over. I finally managed to swing it over, then ‘zing’! MAJOR quad cramp!!! (ouchie) Note to self: practice dismounting on the other side in case of uneven ground in the future. Nutrition-wise I used a Gu every half hour plus alternated water and Heed in my aero bottle (I probably went through 3 full bottles of Heed).
T2: 4:54 44/47
I did take a potty break here so my T2 might have been faster! But on a positive note, I remembered to take my gloves off, unlike Kinetic, so no need to go back and drop them!
From here we went to check into our room a little bit West of Geneva after a stop at RiteAid for a few items. Relaxed for a bit then headed to the park to check out transition and have a yummy dinner at the Team Z tent city. The fajitas were awesome! (As were the Coronas which really helped take the edge off my stress...) After dinner we racked our bikes then headed out to do final race preps for the next morning. It was a 12 mile drive back to our hotel – not too bad and knew that race morning we would cruise right along.
Race morning as always came too early. Transition opened at 5:00 AM and I was hoping to get there as soon after as possible. That did not happen. But we finally made it and unfortunately I forgot my towel and had to trudge back to the car for it. Ack. But finally had my area set up and went to find my breakfast and finish yet another Gatorade! Got the wetsuit on without incident (i.e., no rips or tears) and before I knew it the race was starting and I was heading over to the corral!
Swim 38:54 13/47
Well, I was prepared for the walk through the water in the swim – nutty – but boy was the sea grass awfully annoying! I got tangled up more times then I cared to count! I got bobbed around by the waves and did not mind them too much, except for on the second leg – got a bit off course here. No major contact from other racers, either, so all was well. The third leg of the lake and of course the fourth leg in the canal was much better. The canal was pretty sweet actually! I could see spectators out along here – at least I think I could. Loved the helping hand getting out of the water at the boat ramp, too. And since my foot will never be the same again (thank you plantar fasciitis) I opted to walk to transition...
T1: 4:21 43/47
What’s the rush? It was going to be a long day! I did not forget anything and just took my time.
Bike: 3:43:07 41/47
Well, my bike position was better than T1 (and T2 for that matter) – amazing! I had wanted to push as hard as I could on the bike, within reason. But of course that was not to happen. The first 15-20 miles were rather tough for me. I think I should have eaten a Gu before the swim – maybe that was the problem? It really took a while to get into a groove. However, I eventually did get into a groove and loved from mile 20-ish to 50. Maybe it was the wind! :-) We were told about the spectacular views coming downhill at about mile 26 – WOW!!! What a reward! That was truly the best and I told the marshal that he had the best spot ever directing bike traffic! The views along here were pretty darned nice too, after making the turn. The views up the ‘hill’, hmm, not so nice. Haha! I eventually got over that hill and continued on. I did not really mind the rough road section for that matter – it was actually kind of interesting. I liked seeing the airplane! Also interesting, but rather annoying was the blatant littering that took place right in front of me! She actually held her arm out and purposely dropped an empty gel package on the ground. Maybe she missed the race director’s plea about keeping all trash with you in the mandatory pre-race briefing? Anyway, I did pretty well until around mile 50. I think the heat was getting to me and maybe should have had a salt cap...or something. It was great getting back into the park though and seeing the sea of Z green! I got to the dismount line and unclipped on the left – as usual. The ground was slanted a bit on that side and was having a hard time getting my right leg over. I finally managed to swing it over, then ‘zing’! MAJOR quad cramp!!! (ouchie) Note to self: practice dismounting on the other side in case of uneven ground in the future. Nutrition-wise I used a Gu every half hour plus alternated water and Heed in my aero bottle (I probably went through 3 full bottles of Heed).
T2: 4:54 44/47
I did take a potty break here so my T2 might have been faster! But on a positive note, I remembered to take my gloves off, unlike Kinetic, so no need to go back and drop them!
Run: 3:05:51 43/47
Remember that quad cramp I got when I got off the bike? Um, yeah....it came back. I started jogging out of transition and kept it up, going past Z City and as I went along the quad cramping started up again. I took a salt cap and walked and nothing happened. Took another and the cramp left. Jogged then the cramp came back, so I repeated. Got to the first aid station and downed some Heed and took some Endurolytes. From here on out I basically walked with purpose and jogged when I could. At each aid station I took Heed and Endurolytes with an occasional cup of water. At about the halfway point I ate some Chex Mix and did manage to jog down most downhill sections. I needed to take one potty break as I was extremely hydrated, then walked with Z peeps when I could. As I started in the last swim wave I was concerned about the finish line being open when I finally got back! The gravel hill should be called gravel hell. I was especially careful here because of my foot! It was a relief to get out of that section but I did like the drum / bongo group! Of course, I like everyone else, was quite happy to have all the local people out with their hoses – and the one person who rigged their hose on a step ladder! I’m sure I would have had a hard time continuing on without all that. In fact, my quad – which eventually stopped cramping after enough salt/Endurolytes (maybe the halfway point; maybe it was the Chex Mix) had me thinking I should turn back! The farther away I got the more concerned I was. But I am stubborn also but certainly did not try to do more than I could. When I finally got back into the park I ran into Jill and Nelson! That was just the boost I needed. I walked/jogged with them pretty much till the finish when we kind of split up. Jill’s idea was to jog 3/walk 1 really helped. Kate came by to check on Nelson and she was very encouraging, too! There had been other Z people out there with words of encouragement, too – including those racing! I saw all the boats in the water cheering us on and all I wanted to do was jump in the water and swim to the finish! Finally, finally I made it. Whew. The finish area was of course full of Z green and always a great sight for sore eyes! Got my funky finisher’s medal and sat in the little pool. That was pretty cool!
Final: 7:36:07 42/47
I was thrilled that the finish line was still open as it was slightly past 3:00PM (6 minutes and 7 seconds past to be exact) when I came through. What a relief! And I had a Diet Coke. Two of them, actually...then another diet soda later with pizza (but did not take advantage of the free refill). So far this week I am diet soda free...
Lessons learned:
-Take a Gu before the swim
-Use the salt caps during the bike – I took a Gu every half hour and alternated water and Heed on the bike but with all the heat that was not enough
-Don’t be afraid to try the Gu on the run next time – maybe it will help
Next up: Ironman Lake Placid – Cheering & Volunteering! I am so excited to be volunteering and also cheering on some Team Z peeps that will be racing there!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Remember that quad cramp I got when I got off the bike? Um, yeah....it came back. I started jogging out of transition and kept it up, going past Z City and as I went along the quad cramping started up again. I took a salt cap and walked and nothing happened. Took another and the cramp left. Jogged then the cramp came back, so I repeated. Got to the first aid station and downed some Heed and took some Endurolytes. From here on out I basically walked with purpose and jogged when I could. At each aid station I took Heed and Endurolytes with an occasional cup of water. At about the halfway point I ate some Chex Mix and did manage to jog down most downhill sections. I needed to take one potty break as I was extremely hydrated, then walked with Z peeps when I could. As I started in the last swim wave I was concerned about the finish line being open when I finally got back! The gravel hill should be called gravel hell. I was especially careful here because of my foot! It was a relief to get out of that section but I did like the drum / bongo group! Of course, I like everyone else, was quite happy to have all the local people out with their hoses – and the one person who rigged their hose on a step ladder! I’m sure I would have had a hard time continuing on without all that. In fact, my quad – which eventually stopped cramping after enough salt/Endurolytes (maybe the halfway point; maybe it was the Chex Mix) had me thinking I should turn back! The farther away I got the more concerned I was. But I am stubborn also but certainly did not try to do more than I could. When I finally got back into the park I ran into Jill and Nelson! That was just the boost I needed. I walked/jogged with them pretty much till the finish when we kind of split up. Jill’s idea was to jog 3/walk 1 really helped. Kate came by to check on Nelson and she was very encouraging, too! There had been other Z people out there with words of encouragement, too – including those racing! I saw all the boats in the water cheering us on and all I wanted to do was jump in the water and swim to the finish! Finally, finally I made it. Whew. The finish area was of course full of Z green and always a great sight for sore eyes! Got my funky finisher’s medal and sat in the little pool. That was pretty cool!
Final: 7:36:07 42/47
I was thrilled that the finish line was still open as it was slightly past 3:00PM (6 minutes and 7 seconds past to be exact) when I came through. What a relief! And I had a Diet Coke. Two of them, actually...then another diet soda later with pizza (but did not take advantage of the free refill). So far this week I am diet soda free...
Lessons learned:
-Take a Gu before the swim
-Use the salt caps during the bike – I took a Gu every half hour and alternated water and Heed on the bike but with all the heat that was not enough
-Don’t be afraid to try the Gu on the run next time – maybe it will help
Next up: Ironman Lake Placid – Cheering & Volunteering! I am so excited to be volunteering and also cheering on some Team Z peeps that will be racing there!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Where’s my Mussel...
This weekend is Musselman – a half distance triathlon in Geneva, New York. And thankfully I have an ok base because due to life and vacation, ok, life, my workouts have really not been a priority. At all. But I’m not really worried. I had previously wanted this race to be an “A” race but when I realized that would not be the case I just want to go and have FUN! It is a Team Z event where apparently 1 in 7 half racers will be Z, so how could it not be fun? I’m excited!
As you can see by my picture I cracked(!) and had my first Diet Coke since May 1st! I did make it just over 2 months. I did have a few more while on the trip, but did not get excessive about it. I had one final diet soda (ad Diet Pepsi) when we returned Saturday night, but I’m back to being DC/ds free. I will possibly reward myself with an occasional ONE after something say as finishing a race! (Like this Sunday’s Musselman – but nothing excessive!)
Anyway, a LOT has gone on since my last post on June 6!
1. My younger son graduated – yay!
2. My younger son had college orientation – yay! I went too, and had a grand time!
3. My sons and I took a vacation to London(!) and Paris(!!)!!! Paris was a sort of afterthought – it was a day trip planned on our last day in London. We also took a day trip earlier in the week to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford!
1. My younger son graduated – yay!
2. My younger son had college orientation – yay! I went too, and had a grand time!
3. My sons and I took a vacation to London(!) and Paris(!!)!!! Paris was a sort of afterthought – it was a day trip planned on our last day in London. We also took a day trip earlier in the week to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford!
On our first full day in London I ran my first international race: Regents Park 10K Summer Series. Originally I thought I placed 382 out of 537. But those were just preliminary results. Out of actually 564 finishers I was 402 based on gun time and 407 based on net time. Regardless, I was happy as I came in under 1 hour: 59:57! (My last stand alone 10K was just over an hour.)
This was a three loop course in Regents Park and my splits were: 19:27, 20:17, 20:12. I was very happy my laps were somewhat consistent because it was unseasonably warm that day! My son said he heard people complaining about the heat as they crossed the finish line!
This was a three loop course in Regents Park and my splits were: 19:27, 20:17, 20:12. I was very happy my laps were somewhat consistent because it was unseasonably warm that day! My son said he heard people complaining about the heat as they crossed the finish line!
Here is a link to the official results!
And here is the official map of the course!
Below is a picture of the Happy Finisher - me that is:
And here is the official map of the course!
Below is a picture of the Happy Finisher - me that is:
As you can see by my picture I cracked(!) and had my first Diet Coke since May 1st! I did make it just over 2 months. I did have a few more while on the trip, but did not get excessive about it. I had one final diet soda (ad Diet Pepsi) when we returned Saturday night, but I’m back to being DC/ds free. I will possibly reward myself with an occasional ONE after something say as finishing a race! (Like this Sunday’s Musselman – but nothing excessive!) Our hotel was situated in I think the best place! We were close to an underground station - and speaking of which, I find London's public transportation incredibly easy to navigate - and we were able to visit some fun places all on our own!
We did some very touristy things like cross the Abbey Road intersection that the Beatles did for their album of the same name, stand on the Prime Meridian Line (0* longitude), take pictures of the guard (but not the changing of the) at Buckingham Palace. And since I'm a big Harry Potter fan it was great fun to see the snake cage in the Reptile House of the London Zoo where a scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (aka Philosopher's Stone) was filmed! And even more Harry Potter - we visited Christ Church College at Oxford and walked through the dining hall which was home to the Hogwart's Great Hall. They did not actually film there but took pictures of it and used it in the films. So cool! And of course, we went through Trafalgar Square on Monday (3 times at least on our open top bus tour) where on Thursday the Harry Potter cast was going to be for the London Premiere of The Deathly Hallows Part 2! Great fun!
Anyway, our trip was so much fun! I’ve wanted to do this with my kids for so long and was really happy to be able to do so. They are both heading off for college (War Eagle!) and technical school (Gentlemen, start your engines!) out of state in one month. From today. I will be sad when they leave but I am super excited for both of them! I cannot believe they are both so grown up!
Excited for Musselman on Sunday and the following Sunday - July 24 - where I'll be volunteering and cheering for some Team Z folks while they tackle Ironman Lake Placid!!
Happy and Healthy Training!
Monday, June 6, 2011
The story of the H’s...
Hills and Hangovers and fortunately not Heat! Otherwise known as the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon Race Report!
Saturday afternoon we went to the Kenny Chesney concert at FedExField! We had a great afternoon of tailgating planned: Corona and CornHole – what’s not to like? We also had fried chicken, pasta salad, chips, etc. A great afternoon in the sun, and I did some good carboloading! We played four fun rounds of cornhole. We also had a canopy to keep out of the sun when not playing. Fun fun fun! We headed into the stadium and got seated just after the first act – Uncle Kraker – started playing. We were pretty lucky – we had seats in the lower deck just under the upper deck overhang – out of the sun and possible rain. But – no rain! Next up was Billy Currington, followed by the Zac Brown Band. At some point my friend Teri and her husband came by for a visit. We got a great picture for our mutual friend Traci (who’d had a hand in getting Teri her tickets). Finally Kenny was up. He really puts on a great show! Loved the entire concert. We did skip out during the encore, when it semed he had all the different acts up there jamming and performing with him. But on a good note, we got out of the parking lot and home super fast. Even still, I only got about 4 hours of sleep before I had to get up for my race...
So, 4AM came awfully early on race day. Plus I’d woken up at 2AM when my son got home from being out. Anyway, got up I did. I was carpooling with Priscilla and she was going to be there for 5AM! I had organized everything the morning before, thank goodness! I was pretty much ready to go when she got there. Except I almost forgot my race number! Yikes!
Traffic to the race venue (Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium) was non-existent at 5AM on a Sunday. Also, the traffic into the stadium like last year was non-existent, too. Then when we were being directed to park we were wondering where they were sending us. But it was awesome – prime parking on an end spot right by the exit, right by the port-a-potties, and right by the finisher’s area. Perfect! P’s friend Cassie (who was doing the 10K) arrived and found us and we all hung out till the start. Sally got a bit of a late start so we weren’t sure we’d see her till after we’d finished.
I’d signed up for this race because Priscilla had decided to do it to qualify for Half Fanatic status. I thought – hey, that’d be cool, I’ll do it too. Then I'd need one more. This was before I’d realized that (1) Kinetic Half tri would work, and (2) that that race alone would be enough to qualify me for Half Fanatic status. But I was happy to be doing the race.
So, I was not sure how I’d feel running this race after my, um, LONG day the day before. I’d been trying to hydrate and was trying to eat but that did not taste good. I’d had a bit of coffee in the morning when I got up, then was alternating between Gatorade and water. Surprisingly when I started running I felt pretty good. And right after we crossed the start line then who ran by? Sally! Yay – she’d made it! I started off very slow, even though I was supposed to race at Z3/LZ4. I wanted to see how I felt. I think by mile 3 I was pretty warmed up and was able to pick up the pace a bit. The sun stayed away and there was a cool breeze, but it was a bit humid. Could have been worse though! Then at mile 4 came the lovely bridge! (The Naval Academy Bridge.) It would be the first of two times over it because the Half Marathon is an out and back at this point. The course has a lot of rolling hills and then at about mile 6 you break off the road and go onto the B&A (Baltimore & Annapolis) Park Trail. This was very nice! Here they handed out Gu. I was carrying two flavors (Chocolate and Espresso) of Gu but did not want to take one. They were handing out Vanilla Bean flavored...and that actually sounded OK. I took one and ate the entire thing. I felt pretty good after. Anyway, you followed this trail to the turnaround then retraced your steps back over “the bridge”. While one the park trail I got to slap hands with Sally and Priscilla. They were both running strong! Yay!! Back to the bridge... However, once you get across the bridge you don’t head straight toward the finish line. The course actually turns off back the way you came before crossing the bridge the first time for a total of a mile or so. We all agreed that this was the worst part of the course. Oh well. Finally got to that last turn around and was then headed back. Saw Sally cruising along here, still looking good. (I was feeling pretty cruddy at this point myself.) I was going between power walking and running because I was just feeling hot. I was hoping to finish at the same time as I’d finished the Pig. If I had I been feeling ‘better’ that could have happened. However...I finished just past 1:32, so all in all I was very happy with that. I waited at the finish line because I knew Sally was right behind me so I was able to cheer her in. Sally opened her finisher’s necklace pouch first – it was a Z for Zooma! (But also perfect for Team Z!) And I thought much cooler than last years’ sailboat finisher’s necklace. We decided to get a blanket and sit to eat our finishers’ food while we waited for Priscilla to finish. She showed up – early than she expected, too! Yay for Priscilla conquering her 3rd Half in 90 days for Half Fanatic status!! Woo hoo! After we’d all eaten we walked around the finishers area then took a picture overlooking the stadium. Time to head home! Where I made up for a LOT of lost sleep! In fact, I was so tired I skipped the opportunity for pizza and fun with the Zooma Finishers and Marlene. Maybe next time...
Next up – the Regent’s Park Summer 10K Series, #4! (OMG!!!)
Happy and Healthy Training!
Saturday afternoon we went to the Kenny Chesney concert at FedExField! We had a great afternoon of tailgating planned: Corona and CornHole – what’s not to like? We also had fried chicken, pasta salad, chips, etc. A great afternoon in the sun, and I did some good carboloading! We played four fun rounds of cornhole. We also had a canopy to keep out of the sun when not playing. Fun fun fun! We headed into the stadium and got seated just after the first act – Uncle Kraker – started playing. We were pretty lucky – we had seats in the lower deck just under the upper deck overhang – out of the sun and possible rain. But – no rain! Next up was Billy Currington, followed by the Zac Brown Band. At some point my friend Teri and her husband came by for a visit. We got a great picture for our mutual friend Traci (who’d had a hand in getting Teri her tickets). Finally Kenny was up. He really puts on a great show! Loved the entire concert. We did skip out during the encore, when it semed he had all the different acts up there jamming and performing with him. But on a good note, we got out of the parking lot and home super fast. Even still, I only got about 4 hours of sleep before I had to get up for my race...
So, 4AM came awfully early on race day. Plus I’d woken up at 2AM when my son got home from being out. Anyway, got up I did. I was carpooling with Priscilla and she was going to be there for 5AM! I had organized everything the morning before, thank goodness! I was pretty much ready to go when she got there. Except I almost forgot my race number! Yikes!
Traffic to the race venue (Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium) was non-existent at 5AM on a Sunday. Also, the traffic into the stadium like last year was non-existent, too. Then when we were being directed to park we were wondering where they were sending us. But it was awesome – prime parking on an end spot right by the exit, right by the port-a-potties, and right by the finisher’s area. Perfect! P’s friend Cassie (who was doing the 10K) arrived and found us and we all hung out till the start. Sally got a bit of a late start so we weren’t sure we’d see her till after we’d finished.
I’d signed up for this race because Priscilla had decided to do it to qualify for Half Fanatic status. I thought – hey, that’d be cool, I’ll do it too. Then I'd need one more. This was before I’d realized that (1) Kinetic Half tri would work, and (2) that that race alone would be enough to qualify me for Half Fanatic status. But I was happy to be doing the race.
So, I was not sure how I’d feel running this race after my, um, LONG day the day before. I’d been trying to hydrate and was trying to eat but that did not taste good. I’d had a bit of coffee in the morning when I got up, then was alternating between Gatorade and water. Surprisingly when I started running I felt pretty good. And right after we crossed the start line then who ran by? Sally! Yay – she’d made it! I started off very slow, even though I was supposed to race at Z3/LZ4. I wanted to see how I felt. I think by mile 3 I was pretty warmed up and was able to pick up the pace a bit. The sun stayed away and there was a cool breeze, but it was a bit humid. Could have been worse though! Then at mile 4 came the lovely bridge! (The Naval Academy Bridge.) It would be the first of two times over it because the Half Marathon is an out and back at this point. The course has a lot of rolling hills and then at about mile 6 you break off the road and go onto the B&A (Baltimore & Annapolis) Park Trail. This was very nice! Here they handed out Gu. I was carrying two flavors (Chocolate and Espresso) of Gu but did not want to take one. They were handing out Vanilla Bean flavored...and that actually sounded OK. I took one and ate the entire thing. I felt pretty good after. Anyway, you followed this trail to the turnaround then retraced your steps back over “the bridge”. While one the park trail I got to slap hands with Sally and Priscilla. They were both running strong! Yay!! Back to the bridge... However, once you get across the bridge you don’t head straight toward the finish line. The course actually turns off back the way you came before crossing the bridge the first time for a total of a mile or so. We all agreed that this was the worst part of the course. Oh well. Finally got to that last turn around and was then headed back. Saw Sally cruising along here, still looking good. (I was feeling pretty cruddy at this point myself.) I was going between power walking and running because I was just feeling hot. I was hoping to finish at the same time as I’d finished the Pig. If I had I been feeling ‘better’ that could have happened. However...I finished just past 1:32, so all in all I was very happy with that. I waited at the finish line because I knew Sally was right behind me so I was able to cheer her in. Sally opened her finisher’s necklace pouch first – it was a Z for Zooma! (But also perfect for Team Z!) And I thought much cooler than last years’ sailboat finisher’s necklace. We decided to get a blanket and sit to eat our finishers’ food while we waited for Priscilla to finish. She showed up – early than she expected, too! Yay for Priscilla conquering her 3rd Half in 90 days for Half Fanatic status!! Woo hoo! After we’d all eaten we walked around the finishers area then took a picture overlooking the stadium. Time to head home! Where I made up for a LOT of lost sleep! In fact, I was so tired I skipped the opportunity for pizza and fun with the Zooma Finishers and Marlene. Maybe next time...
Next up – the Regent’s Park Summer 10K Series, #4! (OMG!!!)
Happy and Healthy Training!
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