Foto Friday: My 1st Triathlon Experience

Not mine really , but Lawrence's.  Who is Lawrence?  I have no idea, but he has an awesome attitude for someone who is in dead last.  His friends are hilarious routing him on, as is he.  There are some great lines in here.

"I can't feel my quads"
"Come on Grape Juice!"
"You'll make it up on the bike!"
"I'm something like Lance Armstrong, not really like him, but something like Lance Armstrong."
"I gotta take Jesus with me, alway time for Jesus."
"Come on Lawrence, we're running out of battery here."

Thanks to my friend Edwin for this.  It makes me laugh every time.  I wish I knew Lawrence, he seems like an awesome guy!

Quick And Dirty

The highlight of my weekend was my husband and I teaching our son to ride a two wheeler!  Awesome!  Now that I have the important stuff out of the way.....

I'm done with swim and bike for the summer.  I know, right?  That is sacrilege this time of year.  Seeing as how I dropped IMRI in July and my planned trip to Spain fell through, that leaves me with.....well.....nothing.  No worries.  As you may or may not remember, I won the lottery; the NYC Marathon lottery.  Yes, I was in it to win it and I did.  I got me a spot.  That is the equivalent of going to bed looking like something on the cover of Field and Stream and waking up as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model; It just doesn't happen.  Except it happened to me (not the swimsuit cover model thing....in case you were confused).

That being said, I started marathon training this past week.  Have I mentioned that I have never run a marathon?  The longest I have ever run is 13.1 miles.  Actually 13.25, but who's counting.  I'm thrilled to to have my first one be in my hometown.  Coach gave me a choice about how I wanted to train moving forward.  I could focus solely on running; this would mean losing my swim and bike fitness and would probably take 4-6 weeks to get back up to speed, but would yield my best results.  On the other hand, I could still do some swim and bike to maintain a base level of fitness.  I went with just run for a few reasons:  I want to simplify my life for the moment (for a number of reasons) and focusing on one sport does that for me.  I also pretty much still suck at running and focusing on something that I suck at could be a good thing for me.  No guarantees, but I'm willing to take the gamble.  Needless to say, my last bike and swim after REV3 was bittersweet.  Especially the bike.  I worked my ass off on the bike leading up to REV3 and to just throw that fitness to the curb was hard, but it doesn't mean I can't get it back.

Yeah, so running.....Right away I noticed that my ITB was bothering me on my long runs.  Always at that one hour mark.  I had tried some barefoot running back in March (after reading it had helped some people with ITB issues) and effed up my calf.  So have been off of it since.  However, when I felt that ITB pain kick in on a run I decided to try something.  For the last 5 minutes of my run I took my shoes and socks off and ran barefoot.  I'll be damned, if my pain didn't go away immediately.  Coach and I decided that I should add this in on all my runs, but very cautiously.  I am still doing my eccentric calf dips, calf raises (toes in and toes out), eccentric Achilles dips, etc.  I'm up to 8 minutes barefoot. Not a lot, but it seems to be helping.  Time will tell.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Foto Friday: My Thieving Magpie

My son has a heading down a slippery slope. I'll either see him in a future episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive or assisting him in seeking professional help for kleptomania. He is headed for the big leagues next year; the big K. This school year is rapidly coming to a close so I recently decided to empty out his backpack. This is what I found.

He calls it his "collection". I call him my Magpie because he is always picking things up he sees on the ground or elsewhere and wanting to bring these objects home. He just can't resist a shiny object. I think Rossini wrote an opera about him......

Magpies have a bad reputation, but they've no one to blame, but themselves. Take for instance this woman who found an engagement ring that a magpie stole and hid away in his nest for 3 years!!!

And cyclists beware! Your helmet is a 'shiny object' no matter it's size or that it is attached to your head!

Have no fear. These guys have found the solution; no helmet. ha!

Foto Friday: The Times They Are A Changin'

Thank for these, Mom....

I guess adding that 1/2 makes all the difference

Um, I think my guy is the last reason I'm taking this for.

Speechless

I actually think this business exists.

Think again....

For kids!

How about a big 'X' through every one of them...or I will cry.

Ok, is this a double entendre?

Add caption

It works for me right around 5 o'clock.

This makes me want to kill someone.

Then I must look like shit.

If it were only that easy.

I'd like to use this on some of those ad execs....I better take a Midol.

Ironman NYC (ok, NJ too....mostly NJ)

For real......I received this email today (click on the image to go to the web page). The swim is on the Jersey side of the Hudson (I pass on many of my rides). The Bike is on the Palisades Prkwy. Nice, but will piss a lot of folks off when they close it. The run is on River Road (very pretty, hilly...think Alpine Approach, it is where I do my hill repeats) and across the George Washington Bridge into Riverside Park and the finish line is a few blocks from my home! No, I have no plans on doing it. But maybe you do?

Race Report: REV3 Quassy Olympic

First things first. I wouldn't have a race report to, well, report if it wasn't for a couple of things. First, a huge thank you to SPIbelt who kindly sponsored me for this race. They have been extremely gracious and helpful in getting me to the starting line. Secondly, I owe a debt of gratitude to Big Daddy Diesel and Jason @ CookTrainEatRace. The master minds behind The Angels and Ninjas who arranged this very first racing scholarship with SPIbelt. Good people doing good works; I am honored.

I stopped writing my race reports by the numbers last year. Mostly for my own peace of mind; I was getting too caught up in the numbers and beating myself up for not meeting unreasonable expectations I held for myself. Comparisons I was making to others was sucking the joy right our of this sport for me and long before I even had an opportunity to get to know it well. This time around it has kind of been decided for me; my results were lost. Ah, the irony of it all. I emailed REV3 and they apologized and claimed to have a 'man on it'. So, I'll wait and see. In the meanwhile, I had a great race!! What does that mean? I had a great time! Ok, except maybe on the run, that kind of sucked. It was an amazing two days and some weird, crazy stuff! Are you hooked? Let's go.

I broke the cardinal rule of racing.....twice, "Nothing new on race day". I admit it. I "slowly caved like a flan in a cupboard" (~Eddie Izzard) under the tyranny of that century ride for my A group. I went out and got a compact crank and it was installed on Thursday evening. When I picked up the bike I asked the mechanic if he shortened my chain (I mean, duh, right?). Nope. Can you imagine? Do I need to say more? Smaller crank = shorter chain. Hello? Anyhoo.... I rode my bike Friday morning at 5 AM for 20 minutes. No problems, no issues, done.

I usually drink Amino Vital in my water bottle. I ran out and couldn't find any locally. I bought a package of HEED. I have never used this. It was super yucky, but I used it anyway, betting on my iron stomach. No problems, no issues, done.

I am happy to report that both things worked without a hitch! Phew!

Ok, I promise I won't bore you with pre race day stuff. However, this is too good and too weird not to tell. I dropped my bike off at the on site mechanics after picking up my race packet. I had noticed on the 5 AM jaunt that my front dérailleur was rubbing a bit, but the mechanics at REV3 hooked me up. As I was walking over to pick up my bike I saw this guy sitting near the bike tent and recognized him from my A-19 SIG (bike group). Edwin, like me, literally signed up for the race days prior. How funny to see him there! We bitched and moaned some more about the century ride from hell, exchanged war stories and he introduced me to two other women who did the the other B & C SIGs. Very cool! We wished each other good luck and went our separate ways.

I left my bike since the athlete orientation was beginning; they mentioned 800 participants, cool. Then went over to pick up my bike and drop it off in transition. Couldn't find my race number on the racks. They finally pulled it out of a bin and walked me to a rack that was partially full. Suddenly I hear someone say, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I look up and there is Edwin. We were racked RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! How funny is that?! 800 people! The race was looking up. We joked for a few and then said we'd see each other the next day. Funny shit.

Me, Edwin & Julie at the finish.

Next morning I got up and it was 46˚F. Why did I bring my sleeveless wetsuit?! Why didn't I pack my long sleeve one too? Damn! It was freezing. I got to transition, got set up, exchanged pleasantries with Edwin and fellow "rackees", got my wetsuit on and headed to the water.

Swim:

hmmmm...if I go in, then I will be wet and then I'll be cold waiting for my wave which is second to last....what to do? Suck it up buttercup and get in the water!

Air: Cold. Sand: Freezing cold. Water: Balmy (comaritively) 68˚F. It was warmer standing in the water than on the sand. My wave was second to last. All the old ladies (meaning me), Athenas, Clydesdales, relays, etc.. I forgot how much I love me a lake swim. Not since Mooseman last year had I swum in a lake. Quassy = Second favorite swim ever!!! How did I do? I have no idea since I don't have any results. However, I had no problem sighting, it was a clockwise swim, my favorite. Oh!! Cardinal rule broken again.

Nice pink goggles, no? As you can see I am wearing the timing chip, so not sure why my results were lost.

Goggles I won from my coaches blog last year that I have never worn before, but I knew that new goggles don't fog. Since I had some fogging issues last weekend I figured I'd give them a go. Watch out Sarah Palin, I'm going rogue! Oh, one exception to the sighting thing. I did run into a dock at the end. I swear, as God as my witness, I was headed straight for the finish arch and all of a sudden a few feet from the shore there was this dock! Some other dude also ran into it so I didn't feel so bad.

T1:

Not much to say here. I usually swim with my tri top on, but I was wearing a Tech T from SPIbelt for the race that I think, may not have been water friendly. It didn't take much time to get that on, sunglasses, helmet. Damn! Why, why can't I remember my cleat covers even when I practice transition at home? Fortunately I didn't run away with them on, but remembered just before putting them on.

Bike:

I got on my bike shifted and *clunk*kerplunk*! Seriously?! I'm screwed. I thought for sure that was it. I tempted the tri gods with the new crank and they were not happy. Fortunately, it was just a hiccup and I got it together and was off. I am a lame ass swimmer. I am pretty good on bike, not great, but pretty good. I started picking people off. This would go on the entire race. I passed a ton of women and did not get passed by one. I passed a fair few guys too. This course has become legend in the short two years it has been run. It is hilly and hard (even the Oly). Even the dude at the orientation was scaring the bejesus out of me. Seriously? Not that bad. Ok. I have been riding the hills from hell for 12 weeks and that has a lot to do with it. I also had that new compact crank (why oh why did someone not convince me sooner? I blame you all!). I felt really, really good. Maybe that was the problem. Even though my coach told me to go harder than I thought I could or should since I had that good bike base, and I was thinking that on the bike and thought I was doing it.....Honestly? Maybe I could have gone a little harder? I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think I had the hilly run nagging me in the back of my mind.

I took full advantage of the downhills though. Hell, that is free speed right there, I went whole hog. I maxed out at 45.1 MPH! Booyah! The ride course was beautiful, seriously beautiful. The volunteers where great and the cops at the intersections (of which there were many) were great (I think I thanked every one). I'm guessing if I don't think it was that bad a course, I should have gone harder.

Can you say "super dork". You'd think this was my first tri or something. I don't know what I was thinking.

T2:

I rolled into T2 and saw Edwin chugging something and looking relaxed. I was like. "You are NOT finished!" He laughed. I won't tell tales out of school, but I was glad he was not finished, cuz then I would feel pretty lame!!

Run:

I got my run stuff on including my lovely skull SPIbelt/racebelt with my GU in it, which worked out awesomely, headed out the shoot (the wrong direction. Thank you Edwin for kindly pointing to the run out) and straight for the porta jons. I had to go so bad! Ahhhhhhhhhh. I knew there were none on the course. It was a very wise decision.

The run was cool for the first two miles as it is mostly down hill and then you get to the first uphill. killer. More downhill...level off....more uphill...finally shook the lady I was jockeying with. Then a nice long downhill. I tried to take advantage of this cuz I knew the end had one last uphill just to mess with us (sounds like my century. I know, I need to let that go) and sure enough it was there.

I don't mind saying, the run was hard for me. I am a lousy runner. My running has also been very inconsistent this year with my husband traveling so much for work this year. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised at how hard it was for me. The thing that got me through the run was thinking about how my coach always tells me to smile and thank the volunteers, it goes a long way towards a positive mental outlook on your hurting body. True that.

Aid Station note to REV3...I'm pretty sure the Coke is supposed to be flat and NOT carbonated. I'm just saying.

Finish:

Thank you SPIbelt!

Happy to finish. Always happy to finish and the crowds were great! I waited for Edwin to cross the line, yeah! And then headed towards the food pavilion. Suddenly I hear someone say my name. Mandy @ Caratunk Girl! I was so stoked to see her. We planned to meet after the finish, but she recognized me before I had the chance to text her. She is very cool people. We talked for quite a while. I was sorry we couldn't spend more time together and it was impossible to stay since the hotel was sold out for that night.

Me & Mandy (the coolest chic at the REV3 half)

Post race thoughts....

REV3 runs a great race even if they did lose my results. Whoever does their graphics is a design genius (leave it to a designer to appreciate the logos and cool graphics). It was well organized and the transition racks were the best! Way better than racking on the seat. Even when there was a hiccup, they got it taken care of. When I emailed them this morning about my missing results (and the half was going on), someone got back to me....while she was sitting in the time trailer...at the race.

This is my only tri this year. My training has been off this year as well; lots of hubby traveling, no babysitter, lots of outside forces for good and bad making it a bit emotional and other commitments that had to take priority over training. So, I was less than confident going into this race and only felt strongly about the bike. Still though, I had a great day and am super happy that I had the opportunity to do it. That, again, with thanks to SPIbelt, BDD and Jason, you guys are the shiznit (my husband assures me this is a good thing)! Speaking of which, a HUGE thanks to my husband who is always my willing (ok, maybe not willing) sherpa and photographer. I am a lucky woman!

Sunday was spent looking at pretty bikes in the Berkshires. I lifted an ORBEA with my index finger, it was so light....(hmmmm....it is my birthday on Tuesday....ha!).

Race Report: Great Hudson River Swim

Great Hudson River Swim

1.6 Miles

What an amazing weekend I have had.  Nothing special really, just chillaxing with the family and friends; good stuff.  I also had my swim race this weekend.  Another lovely swim in the scenic Hudson River.  

I did this race last year and they had it measured at 1.2 miles.  This year it was 1.6 miles and yet the course was the same.  What up NYC SWIM peeps?  As it turns out, they had never properly measure the full length of the course, neglecting the swim from the pier out to the first turn buoy when we start to head south (the vertical length the red arrow is pointing to).

Last year the race started at 12:10 and this year it was at 8 AM.  They time the race to occur during the transition from the flow to the ebb.  The water was really calm and warm!  63˚F on race morning.  I wore a full sleeve wetsuit and I probably could have gone with a sleeveless.  Of course the really hard core swimmers went sans wetsuit.  In reality, it probably wouldn't have been that bad to go without.  Me?  I can use all the buoyancy I can get.  Oh!  And I saw no bodies and no river monsters!

We walk out on this 'gangway' to jump from the dock.

Nervously waiting.  I am NOT a morning person.

Last year there were 208 swimmers of which 198 finished.  This year they had 447 enrolled, 376 who swam and 373 who finished, not bad.  Much bigger numbers.  Last year we headed into alphabetically, this year by time.  Slowpokes first, moving on up to the fastest peeps.  I was in the 4th wave; I am on the slower side of average, despite tons of time in the pool.  I need help with my technique, but that is another issue altogether.  In any case, I still like to swim despite my lack of finesse.

 The water felt really great when I jumped in, right after the initial cold shock.  Then we floated around waiting for everyone in the wave to be in the water.  I was in the front line of my wave and then the countdown, I hit the timer on my watch and we were off.

I always hate the start because it is all arms and legs, HR through the roof and my technique sucks ass until I get moving.  After I made the very congested first turn to start heading south the group thinned out.  I started relaxing and thinking about what my coach calls EVF (early vertical forearm) and keeping my stroke long and strong.  I also counted and sighted on every count of 5 or 6.  One of my lenses was fogged up which made sighting the yellow buoys a bit difficult.  I kept the other swimmers in sight until I saw the next yellow buoy to focus on.

Mostly it was an uneventful swim.  There is one spot where it gets a little choppy and suddenly you are on a roller coaster, but I just kept moving through.  I  looked up shortly after this and saw an orange turn buoy.  What?!  I can't be done, that was too fast!  Last year it felt like forever.  Sure enough it was the turn in to the finish.

I don't know about you, but I get all excited when I know the end is in sight.  My HR goes up, my form gets sloppy, all I can think about is finishing.  I had to reign it in and force myself to keep calm and just keep control.  When I reached the ladder out of the water I stopped my watch 41:30.  Wow!  That is a ton faster than last year!  Sixteen minutes faster!  Ok, let's not get too excited yet.  I still had to see the official results and I would have to see the times overall from last year's race.  If I have learned anything by this point in time, is that all races are not considered equal, even when they are the same race and even more so when currents are involved.

When I exited the water I heard a woman's voice calling my name.  Who the heck is that?  I expected to hear my husband or son.  It was my friend Shery who was visiting for the weekend from Scotland.  yeah!!  What a nice surprise! 

My official time was 42:57.  I had to cross the timing matt on the platform and it was congested so I am sure I lost time there, but still.  Overall, every one was faster than last year.  I checked the time of a friend of mine who came in third last year.  His time was 7 minutes faster this year and he was 10th.  All things being equal and using my official time, I was still 14 minutes faster.  I'll take it.

The long and short of it is, I felt totally comfortable in the water and I felt like I was able to focus on my technique (as mediocre as it is).  Next weekend will be interesting as I will be swimming in a lake, so no current.  I don't expect too much, but I am hoping to surprise myself.

So....this weekend, Rev3 Olympic at Quassy.  One highpoint of the race?  Getting to meet Mandy @ Caratunk Girl!!!  I am so stoked to meet her.  Happy racing this weekend!