GW 10 miler

We tri babes ran the GW 10 miler. Here are the before and after pictures. Thanks to Colleen I ran really fast and am actually pretty proud of my time. We ran every mile under 11:00 minutes AND we got popcycles (my spelling sucks). Speedy gonzales Jen missed the popcycles but she totally rocked her time. I will let them tell their stories. Check us out sporting our "See Mommy Run"Gear.

My team rocks...or have we said that before!!!

So, after reading Brooke and Jennifer's blogs I thought I might have a slight pang of wishing I could have raced on Sunday despite the conditions. Then I got in the pool today and was glad to just survive. Having to cough every fourth stroke makes it a long day, but hey I made it a half hour. Turning the bronchitis into pneumonia wouldn't have helped the lungs!

So now for my props to the girls!!! I am so proud of both of you for not only laughing at the weather but kicking its butt too. I hate the cold, the rain, the wind....and you two made short order of them both. Your pictures looked so good and you looked like the strong women I know you are! Everyone out there that isn't as lucky as I am to know you got a little glimpse into your lives and personalities from your take no prisoners attack. I am looking forward to the half, 5 and a half weeks and counting, and think I am lucky to be doing it with the two of you.

Lake Anna Kinetic Sprint Tri.

STATS:
Finish: 1:48:24
Swim: 15:31 (750 meter)
Bike: 59:55 (18 miles)
Run: 27:08 (5K)
Age Group: 13th out of 42
Overall Female: 61 out of 197
Race Day Motto: Hypothermia is a state of mind!

This was by far the worse race conditions I've ever been in (which isn't saying much since most of my races have been in Hawaii). It was somewhere around 58 degrees and pouring down rain the whole time! However, I somehow managed to have a great race. I attribute it to the great atmosphere created by my friends - joking around, laughing at our stupidity, cheering each other on while secretly hoping to beat the other. :-)

I placed 13th in my age group, making it to the top quarter. I am over the moon about this. I needed that sign of progress to keep me going. This of course means that should finishers 1 through 12 not be able to fulfill their commitments, I would be the next one to assume the role…. :-)

SWIM: This was my worst swim ever. It was flippin' cold. I think they said water temp. was 60 degrees. It's just that 60 degrees outside doesn't feel nearly as bad as in the water. I rented a wetsuit and a few days later I was wondering if I had a kid's size wetsuit. While waiting for my wave, I noticed the 12 year old boy we had been talking to had the same wetsuit. So, I have the body of a 12 year old boy. Great….

New rule: no more races in April. It's too darn cold. I was hyperventilating the first 300 meters of the race. I couldn't even put my head in the water. It wasn't until the final turn, with about 200 meters left, that my stroke finally fell into place.

BIKE: I actually had a good ride. Maybe the rain worked to my benefit because I couldn't see much of anything so I wasn't doing my usual site-seeing. However, while reviewing the pictures I realized that my bike bag was dragging against my back wheel. Doh! I managed a decent 17.8 mph average on a hilly terrain. I did realize one thing on the bike - I'm totally screwed for the half-iron. The bike is the part I'm actually nervous about, not the run. Can you believe that?! Now that's true progress.

RUN: I had an awesome run. My GPS has me averaging 8:44 minute/mile. That's the fastest I've ever run in a race. I realize this is still not fast compared to the winners, but it's a big deal to me. This was also in the pouring rain, my shoes soaked, my feet frozen and then my shoe laces were untied the last quarter mile. I got a kick out of the guy who pointed this out to me as we were coming down a narrow path, rain still pouring, on a steep downhill slope and within shouting distance of the finish line. Do you really think I’m going to stop now to tie them?! I'd rather take my chances of tripping over them and rolling through the finish line. Who knows, if I picked up enough speed, I could better my minute/mile average.

HEROES OF THE DAY:
Brooke: for coming down on her own and totally killing the bike competition. You're going to kill us on the half-iron!

My Parents: They just don't have any luck with these triathlons. They drove all the way down to the race site, hung out all day in the cold and rain, and still missed my finish (again!).

Jeff: for finishing his first triathlon. You survived the swim, had a great bike and an awesome run. Nice, strong finish. Congrats on your first race! Told you this sport was addicting…

Big Guy, Little Speedo: If you were there, you know who I'm talking about. Since this is my "mommy" blog I'll keep it PG, but there is a "Seinfeld" joke reference here.


So, it was a pretty decent race despite the awful weather conditions. More than anything it has me psyched for the rest of the race season. I'm still not sure about this half-iron. I know I'm going to have to dig down deep inside, but I know it'll be worth it. At least the rest of the season should be downhill and fun from there. That is, until the fall when I try a marathon….


"It's good training!" - Just Tri Me

Triathlons, Training, and Puller

For all of those who remember what Sunday looked/felt like, think of my teammate and I swimming , biking and running in that crappy pouring down rain. We did the Kinetic Sprint at Lake Anna this sunday and it was cold and wet! First time I ever road my bike in the rain. I felt pretty good though. As I was staning with my friends freezing my butt off waiting for the start of the race I remembered how crazy we triathletes are. But there is so much more because we share this craziness by laughing at ourselves getting nemonia. When we all split off into our groups (I am an old fart and we race last) I was talking with another old lady and she explained to me that she is no longer has the competative spirit. She just likes the sense of accomplishment she gets at the end of the race. I thought she was brillient!!!! I was all about that until I got on the bike. I didn't get passed by anyone and I passed a ton of people. I was scared to death because it was pouring rain, but MY competative attitude kicked in. Of course once I hit the run I was back into the "sense of accomplishment" mode. But all in all the race was awesome. I am so proud of us for getting up and getting out there in the pouring rain. And I can tell my training is working because I just felt like I had done a hard workout not a race. I usually don't want to d much after a race I am so worn out. But I came home feeling fabulous and I am not sore today. With that said...I am scared to death of this 1/2 ironman!!! Now for my the last part of my "speech" . I would like to thank Puller, my 90 lbs mix mut of a dog, with whom I would never get my lazy butt out the door to do a run. See, Puller is big and a high energy dog. I love him, but to tolerate him he needs to be walked/ran for AT LEAST an hour every day rain or shine. So to him I attribute my best 5K run time ever and it happened at the end of this triathlon. He has kept me on my running training schedule because I have to get him out so I might as well run. What would I do without him. I also need to thank my wonderful kids for keeping me totally motivated to show them a healthly way of life. And last but not least, my friends/teammates. Man you guys rock. By the way, Jen you kicked butt on the bike!

Here is a picture of me after the race. Sported the Jersy...It wasn't too bad. I kinda liked it. Course I am am wet and cold and it may have effected my brain.

Self-Doubt: The True Axis of Evil

I know what I wrote about trusting your training, but that still doesn't mean that that darn self-doubt doesn't start creeping in. Sunday is the start of our tri season with the Lake Kinetic sprint in Lake Anna, VA. I'm nervous - and it's only a sprint distance race! I can't imagine what I’m going to be like at our half-iron. But I wonder if I put enough time into training, did I do quality training, should I have done more bricks, will I have improved from last year, does my race outfit make me look fat…


If one good thing has come out of it is an affirmation of my passion for this sport. The last two weeks I've been in a bit of a slump, questioning why I do this and if I'll race next year. While I still haven't answered that question, the butterflies in my stomach and the pounding in my heart when I think about race day tell me I'm still in it for the right reasons - whatever they may be.


Wish us luck! And we're off and running (and biking, and swimming!).....



"It's good training." - Just Tri Me

Nervous!

As if training for this half isn't enough to worry about, I have a lovely case of bronchitis that has kept me in bed all week. I am not sure when I am going to be able to run let alone get in the water again. If I follow the rule of if the cold is in your chest you need to rest, it might be sometime next year! Even though our next event is only a sprint I am not looking forward to it and hope not to drown trying to breath! Guess these events may truly be about just finishing.

Hope everyone's training is going much better. How's the weather in Cali Brooke?