So Happy It's Throwback Thursday!

I've always loved to say So Happy It's Thursday (or S*H*I*T)! Years ago I had a co-worker that would come in every Thursday and say, "Happy SHIT Day! So Happy It's Thursday!" Now, I always think of this gal, Trish, whenever *I* say it! 

On social medial you often see a lot of  Throwback Thursday pictures, or #TBT, on Thursdays. I have had fun with some and posted one today, from my very first triathlon - Breezy Point, a sprint! 

My First Triathlon! June 4, 2000!

So in honor of #TBT, here is a throw back race report! Breezy Point is an excellent race for a beginner! The race is staged on Naval Station Norfolk. Granted the swim is an open water one, in Willoughby Bay, and it was only my second open water swim. The first had been just a week before - the Jim McDonnell 2 mile! This was back when it was only a 2 mile! But I recall it wasn't too bad. I remember I did not wear a wet suit and did not think anything of it! Nowadays if a race is wet suit legal, I'm suiting up! Anyway, I never gave a thought about doing an OWS - or even really remember being scared. I just kind of jumped in and swam. I do know that some people do have a bit of anxiety with that. Team Z is great about doing drills where you practice sighting though! This is very helpful when you do get out in open water.

The bike course is what is the best about this race. Aside from the wind that is. I mean it isn't called Breezy Point for nothing! The best part, which I more than appreciate today, is that the course is closed entirely to traffic for the duration of the event. This is huge! I did not realize what a nice bonus that was in the early days. Most races are not closed to traffic and can be a little scary at times. And you run the risk of being hit. Two bloggers I've followed have been hit during races! Of course, I did my first race on my mountain bike. I remember biking out and some spectator yelling, "Go mountain-bike girl!" Cracked me up! 

"Go, Mountain-Bike Girl!"

I do not remember much about the bike - other than it was totally flat and really windy, especially in one location, but I probably got passed a lot riding that thing. One thing I remember is biking by some really nice base housing! Probably for Admirals and Commanders. My bike had toe cages and I just wore my running shoes. Bet I saved a lot of time in T2 not having to change shoes?! But...I still have that mountain bike! Now I actually use mountain bike shoes and pedals when I ride on the trail. In fact, I just added them about a year ago. It is fun to ride and a nice relaxing change from on roads. 

Finally, it was time to do the run. I recall back then I never did any brick workouts. In fact, I probably did not know that there was such a thing. That is a bike ride immediately followed by a run. I guess I did do brick workouts that were run followed by swim though. Anyway, I had no idea what to expect when I started running. Holy cow - that feeling of lead legs! Again, I don't remember much other than flat and exposed to the sun. I do remember the finish: we ran along the sea wall next to the water we just swam in! I loved that and recall some spectators lining the inside portion. I am pretty sure I cried at the end as it was such a huge accomplishment. I had my mom, my older son, and my friend Lisa there to cheer me on and take these photos! 

After, the post race party is on base at Breezy Point Park! I remember that they had decent food and a beer truck! We stayed for a bit then went back to check out of the hotel and head home. It was an amazing experience and I was hooked! Since then I have done a total of 35 triathlons of all distances. And I went back and did that race three more times, in 2001, 2002, and 2004. I skipped 2003 as that was the year I had my cervical spinal fusion procedure! I should go back and do it again - maybe next year as this year I am already scheduled for the Rock Hall Sprint the same day.

I wish I had full results from that day, and have no idea what my individual splits were. I have partial results that show I was 18 out of 20 in my age group though and what my total time was. I remember being ecstatic that I was not last - even with the mountain bike! 

Happy and Healthy Training! 

Next Up: Monument Ave 10K!

Race Report: ShamRock N Roll Half Marathons

I have been a member of the Half Fanatics - or in the Fanatics Asylum - since May 2011. To become a Half Fanatic you have to meet certain criteria, which I did and earned one moon, or Neptune status, by completing two half marathons in 16 days. Actually, it was 14 days! I did one on Sunday, May 1 - the Flying Pig Half in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then on Saturday, May 14 I did the Kinetic Half Triathlon, of which the run leg - a half marathon - counted! 

I love the half marathon distance. My personal best is around a 2:05 and was not quite 10 years ago. As I've seen on a shirt before: half the distance, twice the fun! It really is a doable distance to do while traveling and not fry your legs. Since my first half in February 2001 I've completed 17 of them! Since becoming a Fanatic almost three years ago I've thought about my fanatic status of Neptune and wondered if I'd ever get higher than that. Well, completing the back-to-back half marathons last weekend, DC Rock N Roll and Shamrock, I went from one to four moons! I am now a Jupiter! 

New Half Fanatic Status!

The columns above show the date I became a Fanatic, my moon status, races this year (of half distance or greater), race streak, total races (of half distance or greater), and states I've raced in.  

I did the races with Team Rabbit. SRab and WuDoc are not in the Fanatic Asylum, but they are always up for a challenge. #LoveMyRabbits You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of the ShamRock N Roll Half Raps on the Rabbit blog! Of course, I have to thank Holly and P-Diddles for introducing me to the Half Fanatics! 

First, I need to thank the Running Bug for picking up my Shamrock packet on Friday night. Lisa was at Shamrock from Friday - Sunday because her husband Steve ran the Shamrock 8k, while Lisa was running the half. 

So back to the races! 

The DC Rock N Roll Half was my first Rock N Roll event. Because of that I was excited to attend the expo. I went on Thursday after work and rode metro from Van Dorn to the Armory and it was a smooth ride. Got in the expo without a wait and made my way through it without a hitch. I really wanted to buy a RNR themed shirt, but did not. The race shirt was kind of cute anyway, and I will likely wear that if not while running, just in general. 

On race day the plan was for WuDoc to arrive at my house around 5:15 AM so we could drive to SRab's and catch the Huntington train the Archives and walk about .4 mile to the start. This was smooth and we arrived well before 7:00 AM and waited till the National Anthem was sung to get in our corral. Number 25! There were maybe about 28 corrals. The race started at 7:30 AM and it took us till 8:08 AM to get going! We did not figure this long of a wait into our overall plan. More on that later....

My plan for the first half was to "keep this at an easy effort and walk a minute every mile." Well, for the most part that is just what I did. I did walk the big hill around mile 5-6 - I forget exactly where. We saw a few Team Z folks cheering here! I ran with WuDoc until I need to make a pit stop after / around the 9 mile mark. Dressed in our Team Rabbit ears we got lots of shout outs! I think I took another walk on another hill later in the course. Then just kept up with the plan. There were a lot of fun people out cheering and some handing out beer. They were in St. Patrick's Day mode, I think! :) I did get a hug from a dude dressed in a pink bunny suit - he was AUsome and ran with me for a few steps. The plan made it possible for me to pass a lot of people in the last mile or so and I finished strong! Just past the finish line I met up with SRab and WuDoc and we got a group picture taken. After some recovery chocolate milk, potato chips, and water we were ready to hit the road! Actually, we had to walk a bit to get to the Armory metro stop and head back to Huntington. From here WuDoc and I high-tailed it back to my house to clean up while SRab got ready and was going to meet us at my place so we could start the trek to Virginia Beach aka Shamrock-land! 

Originally we thought we'd be on the road by about 1:00 PM. But that 38 minute delay to the start of our corral did not figure into our plans. You'd think after years of racing we would have thought about that! Anyway, at 2:15 PM we WERE on the road! Things went fairly smooth and we made one stop in Fredericksburg for a late lunch and hit the road again. One more pit stop along I-64 and we made it to dinner at Pi-zzeria just at 7:00 PM! Originally we were scheduled for 6:00 PM but a quick call to the Running Bug and we were able to change the plan. It was nice to relax and catch up a bit before heading to the hotel to prepare for half number two! 

The Shamrock Half is a nice event! And this would be my third time running it! Although this was my fifth year in a row at Shamrock: 
2010 - Half
2011 - 8k
2012 - Marathon
2013 - Dolphin Challenge (8K+Half)
2014 - Half

In fact, it was last year's Dolphin Challenge that gave me (us?) the idea to attempt our back-to-back half challenge! ERab History: I began running in 2000 when I signed up for my first sprint triathlon. Before that race I completed three 5Ks to get ready. But I had tried running once before. I think it was in early 1986. Believe it or not, back then I completed the Shamrock 8K! There was no half. And even if there was I would not have attempted it then, nor would I have been interested -hahaha! I went down with a group of folks from work. Two others were doing the 8k and 4 or 5 were doing the marathon. I thought they were CRAZY! Up until race day I had never run more than 3 miles. I managed to run the first three, then walked a quarter or half mile (because I cannot remember) and I ran the rest of the way. I swore I would never run again! Never say never! Man, I wish I still had that race T-shirt!! 

Race morning I woke up before the alarm! I managed to get some decent sleep. The plan was to drive up about 15 blocks and park and walk to meet Running Bug and family. We got a most excellent parking spot and on our chilly and windy walk to meet our friends we caught up with our friend Linda and her boyfriend Chris! They spotted our rabbit ears! We chatted with them until it was time to meet our friends. 

We got to warm up for a bit while we waited in their hotel lobby. Then it was back out into the wind! The Rabbits were all sporting space blankets we'd saved from the race the day before! Arrived at our corral and hardly had to wait at all before the race started.

Sporting our Rabbit Ears and RNR Space Blankets!

Once the race got under way, it only took 12 minutes to arrive at the starting line! Sunday's plan was for a ":04 run/:01 walk" and the running was again done at an easy pace. For the second half I ran with SRab! We decided on a pit stop right after the 2 mile mark, before the road splits and you reach 'the hill'. Would you believe we waited 6 minutes to get going again! Crazy! WuDoc had met up with an old friend, Siri, and they kept on going. We knew we'd catch up with her later anyway - she wanted to get to Church after the race! 

There were a few racers I remember going back and forth with as we continued our run/walk routine. Once we hit Fort Story we were hit with the wind! It was so windy my ears flew off and I had to carry them for most of the way through this section! All the volunteers were so nice out there because at least we were moving along in the wind - they were standing pretty much in once place. They were great! 

It was a relief to leave Fort Story - because the wind was now at our back and it wasn't quite as cold. Also, at this point we could count down the blocks to the finish on 30th Street. Only 57 blocks to go! SRab and I made another pit stop along here and then did something different: had a couple of Dixie Cups of beer and ate Oreos! The first beer was good; the second was a little too dark for me. Oh - also got a few Swedish Fish - those were da bomb! We kept our :04/:01 up and in the last couple miles we just kept passing folks. We finally made the turn onto Atlantic at the Cavalier Hotel (which sadly, we were not staying in this year) and then a few blocks more onto the boardwalk. Once we could see the finish line we really picked it up!

Just near the finish Running Bug and family shouted out and Steve even got our pictures! How cool that we are both in this? SRab's arm warmers match her running skirt perfectly! My arm warmers were St. Paddy's Day green though!

Almost done! 

SRab and I collected our finisher's gear and headed to the beer tent. After a beer and some music we met back up with the Running Bug and fam as they had to head out. It was again nice to warm up for a bit! Then back to the party where we listened to an AUsome band, the Dublin 5 - their fiddle player was amazing, and hung out with a few friends! Then it was back to the hotel to clean up and regroup with WuDoc! 

It really was a fun weekend of racing! Not sure I ever thought I could run back to back half marathons. I think doing them at an easy pace - and sticking to that plan - really helped. I was not sore after it was all over, not even my hamstring, even after the car ride home on Monday. And the bling didn't hurt either! 

ShamRock N Roll Half Bling!

Happy and Healthy Training! 

Next Up: Monument Ave 10K

Time to ShamRock N Roll!

Well the time is finally here! This weekend Team Rabbit will be attempting(!) the back to back half half extravaganza! (See the countdown timer on the right!) Tomorrow morning we kick things off with the DC Rock N Roll Half at 7:30AM. We cannot hang out at the finish line party for too long because we have to high-tail it back home to clean up and hit the road for Virginia Beach. Because on Sunday morning at 7:00AM we will run the Shamrock Half! We may or may not close that finish line party tent down. 

Well, we probably will not close the party tent down because we do have a plan for lunch and dinner! But it will be a fun and crazy weekend! We also plan to follow the start of March Madness with Selection Sunday! The selection will be televised starting at 6:00PM. It will be fun to see the madness get underway! 

An important date to note: Monday, March 17 (Happy St. Patrick's Day) will mark my one year anniversary being Diet Coke free! It is amazing, but I truly do not miss it.