ChesapeakeMan Race Report or Lake Placid Redux (Minus the Hills)

That which doesn't kill (or drown) us....makes us stronger, right?

The drive up to the Eastern Shore on Friday midday was great, and the weather cooperated pretty well with just a few smatterings of rain here and there along the way. Coach Grandison came along to cheer and sherpa. She rode up with me while Patty and Heidi caravanned behind. Crossing the Choptank River bridge into Cambridge, we were elated to see calm water and few clouds. It was quite humid, but we still hoped those conditions would hold out through the morning. We breezed through packet pickup, and drove over to the race start to rack bikes and check out the (altered) swim course. It would be a 2 loop swim in the bay to the left of the boat ramp (for those who know the Eagleman course) instead of the point-to-point originally scheduled from the Hyatt upstream. There we met up with everyone doing the race: for the Aquavelo it was me and my IMFL peeps Sharon, Patty, Shawn, Charlotte and husband Fred; IMWI peeps Heidi, Tammy and husband Brad; and brave TriGirl Molly (giving the distance a try before IMFL signups). For the full ironman distance it was Coach Som and Karen. We decided to meet up post race briefing to get dinner and went off to check in to our various hotels.

I had just last week booked a room online--it seemed it was the last room available in the area so I just took what I could. Granted the reservation was for a smoking room, but I added a note asking to please change us should a non-smoking room become available. Given the crappy weather forecast, I was sure they'd have a cancellation that would work. Hopeful, we pulled into the Days Inn just down the street from the Hyatt. Most everyone else was at the Holiday Inn Express. At the desk, I reiterated our request for a non-smoking room to the manager, several times. No dice on changing rooms. Now, I'm no dummy and I have a brother-in-law that works for Marriott. I know that like airline desk agents, those managers can easily (if they so chose) change reservations to accomodate certain requests, especially if they have open seats/rooms. The manager at that Days Inn was NOT budging--even though he admitted to having a non-smoking room available! His excuse was that absolutely NO changes were allowed with a prepaid reservation, not even if I was willing to pay any difference in rate. Ugh. Defeated, Grandison and I headed upstairs. I was hoping the room wouldn't be bad....

Well, if the stairwell and hall were any indications, we were in for a fun night. Oh man! It smelled like a smoker's convention had parked themselves in the halls for a year. They were so bad, the room was a breath of fresh air in comparison. But after 2 minutes, it was awful too. We opened the window and joked about having to burn a bag of popcorn to make it smell better. All I could think about was how the heck I was supposed to get a good night's sleep breathing in that stench. Grandison was trying bravely to make the best of it, and set about getting ready for dinner. I got on the phone and called the Holiday Inn. They had quite a few cancellations and did have a double, non-smoking room available. YEY! I ran downstairs, berated the poor woman who had replaced the manager at the front desk for not switching us, then drove the car around to just below our open window. Grandison threw our stuff out (it was easier than schlepping it all back downstairs), while I loaded it in the car, and we did a drive-by check in at the Holiday Inn before meeting up back at the Hyatt for the pre-race briefing and dinner. We all were able to get order good prerace meals, then trundled off to pack our race bags, watch a little of the debates, and hit the sack. Grandison ordered up a 5am wake up call, for a 7am race start.

We made it to the race start at 6:30, after having dropped our special needs bags and extra cars at the high school finish. We barely had enough time to grab our timing chips, load our nutrition on the bikes, and suit up before it was time to get in the water. Ooops. Note to self--allow at least an hour so I'm not rushing around...I hadn't made it all the way to the white start bouys before the gun went off. It had started raining just as we got to the race start, and it poured for the first 15 mins of the swim, which was pretty much par for the course the entire day. The first half of every swim (no matter what distance) I always have a hard time calming my nerves and settling into a rhythm. Up to the first turn bouy, it was fairly calm and shallow enough to stand almost the whole way. Once around the bouy, the chop picked up quite a bit. I was sighting poorly (only breathing to one side), and needed to swim about 10 yards back to the pack. As usual, I also couldn't find any feet to hang on. Close to the last turn bouy on the first lap, I got stung by jelly fish on my arm and wrist. Ouch. I caught sight of the clock as I rounded the bouy--1st lap 43 mins and change.

The second loop was much better. The outgoing part was blessedly calm, and I felt much more confident and relaxed. That lasted until the chop started again, and I started feeling a little queasy. I definitely wanted to keep whatever nutrition I had eaten that morning firmly in my stomach--I knew I needed every calorie. I finally got to that last turn bouy and felt the current from upstream on the last 20 yards to the boat ramp. It would have been a great swim as a point to point--no chop in the face and a following current! As I crossed the timing mats, I was surprised how quick it seemed to be done and I knew I could go the distance in Florida. One discipline down, one to go. Total time (not confirmed) about 1:35.

After waving at Grandison, I grabbed my gear bag and headed for the change tent. Lo and behold, Shawn, Sharon, and Charlotte were in there! After bitching and griping about the jellyfish, and pulling sports bras on wet torsos (I need to just swim in my bike gear!), we were heading out. I had a few issues getting my bike off the rack since I approached it from the wrong side, but managed to keep it upright and run over the timing mats. Off I went, assuming Shawn, Sharon and Charlotte were just up ahead. Heading out of town, I was coasting down the street, easily maintaining 18mph. Wow, I thought, this was going to be a breeze! As I approached the Gun/Bait/Beer store on the right, there was a lady turning left into the lot in front of the store. It wasn't raining just then, and I knew she saw me, as she had just passed a few bikers in front of me. I figured she'd stop and let me pass before completing her turn. NOT. She almost ran me over. I was able to swerve and go behind her, thank goodness. The next guy that passed me saw it, and commented to me that I did a great job avoiding her. I already had consumed one bottle of my drink, and had to pee. Had I been a guy, I would've turned around and peed on her car! Stupid lady.

As we came up on the turn around, about 10 miles in, I was happily cruising along and had seen Karen, Terry, Som, Brad, and Fred. Then I turned around and slowed down. WAAAAY down. My mph hit about 15, and I couldn't figure out what happened. Then I realized...headwind. Damn. I really am slow as molasses. This is going to be a looong ride, all alone. Headed back toward town, I passed the rest of the girls. I thought I had missed a turn since they left the change tent before me. Turns out they had stopped to use the port a potties before heading out on the bike. Me, I just peed 3xs in my wetsuit during the swim, so I was fine!

The first 40 miles went by pretty quickly. People were pretty chatty, and would ride side by side just for a minute or two to say good morning. Inevitably, people that stopped at the aid stations would catch back up, so many games of leap frog were played. It made it more bearable--you had familiar faces/jerseys to keep you company. I worked hard to eat but this time I had a hard time pedalling and chewing food. Bananas were ok (luckily they weren't hot and mushy), but everything I brought just didn't look appetizing. Another reason to get up extra early for ironman: I can eat much more before race start and hopefully front load alot of calories. It was still raining on and off. Then we hit about mile 55, in the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge. Parts of the road were already under about 2-3 inches of water, and high tide was going to hit during my second loop. It was kind of fun pedalling through the water, and the scenery around us was beautiful marsh land.

Close to the high school, about mile 60, there were 2 ladies tailgating by the side of the road. As I approached, they grabbed their cow bells and cheered me as I went by. The emotional boost that gave me was indescribable--wouldn't it be nice to have the entire 112 mile route lined with cheering crowds? Then I got lapped by the guy who ended up winning...he pulled into the bike finish, and I was just getting done with 64 miles. Ugh. Grandison and another Richmond friend spectating, Monica, were working the special needs station at the high school. They held my bike, helped me sort out what I wanted, found water for one of my bottles, and let me pee in the grass (very discreetly)! It felt so damn good to be off that bike, even if just for a few minutes. But inevitably I had to get back on, and finish what I started. Just 48 miles to go--even at my best pace about a 3 hour ride.

Right at mile 70, I hear a familiar voice behind me. It was 3 of my IMFL peeps! Shawn, Sharon, and Patty had just pushed hard from the special needs station to catch me so we could finish the ride together. It was soooo great to have them there--especially since just about then the rain started pelting down but good. Course marshalls be damned, this was a "training ride" for us, and we stayed pretty tightly together. Enough so, that Shawn and Sharon were assessed pentalies for drafting. Ooops. Those miles were the longest, but now much more bearable given the company. This time as we went through the Wildlife Refuge, the water was so deep, my shoe was totally underwater at the bottom of my pedal stroke. We saw a bald eagle drying his (her?) wings in a tree, and many white egrets fishing.

By mile 80 though I could tell that my nutrition was a little off, and I was getting tired. I started in on my Gu's--one for every 10 miles left to go--and that really helped. We picked up speed with the last 8 miles (up to 20ish mph), and the body hurt a lot less. I think that was just knowing that soon I'd be off the damn thing. When we got to the guy who said "2 miles to go" I was ready to be done and cranked it in to the finish, a couple of minutes ahead of Shawn and Sharon. Patty had already pulled away much earlier. My final time: 8:50 (swim+bike). If I can do that in Florida, or even come in at 8:30, I'll be ecstatic. As it was, I was very glad I didn't have to run, and as soon as I saw the massage tables set up in the gym, I was lost. Oh my, that massage felt sooo good. The poor guy got me on the table even before I could shower, and I kept apologizing for the way I smelled.

Everyone finished well. Tammy's husband Brad survived 3 flat tires and an hour and 47 minute wait for the sag wagon, but still came in before the last two bikers. We all got cleaned up as best we could (those high school showers left something to be desired), ate some soup and cookies, and waited for Karen to finish her 2nd lap of the 3 lap run course. Grandison was anxious to get home since while we were away her baby had been running a fever (always the case that when Mom goes away, all heck breaks loose), and I wanted to sleep in my own bed too. We pulled into town about 10:30, said our goodbyes, and made it home. Today I've been tired and loungy all day. I need to eat some more...isn't it all about nutrition?!

I'm very glad to have done the race. I feel much more confident that I can tackle less than ideal swim and weather conditions, and finish the bike with plenty of time to spare. This week I think we jump back into the running part of the equation, and next weekend I get to run one of my favorite races, the Army 10 Miler up in DC. Happy training and, for you Kona folks, happy tapering!

What a glorious feelin'.....

Instead of singing in the rain, it looks like we're swimming and biking in the rain and gusty winds this weekend. ChesapeakeMan Aquavelo. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike on the same course as Eagleman. Whoo hoo!

I did check the results from last year's race. There were only 4 women in my age group. I think the TriGirls will be bringing home some hardware this weekend, provided we don't drown or get blown off the road.

Incentive to go faster?

I'm signing up for the wrong races. I want to race against (with?) him:

Yowza. Matthew McConaughey at the Malibu Celebrity Sprint race (1/2 mi swim, 18 mi bike, 4 mi run). JLo finished in 2:23, but according to People magazine, "Lopez was accompanied along the way by her trainer Gunnar Peterson, who was not racing himself, but was there to help out." Along what way? The course? WTF?!

Fall's arrival.....zzzzzzz.

As I headed out this past Thursday morning for a bike ride, the temperature gauge said it was about 55 degrees outside. You could tell fall was on its way. To me there is a certain smell to autumn, a crispness to the air that's hard to define. I was wearing bike shorts and my Ride to Cure Diabetes jersey, and once on the bike, it was downright chilly. It might be time to break down and buy some arm warmers! On my first two solo laps around West Creek, I saw a group of deer grazing close to the edge of the woods.

My friend Rab joined me and we headed out to Goochland for a 40ish mile loop. Since he hadn't ridden out there, I picked a route that would be easy for me to follow, but I forgot how many hills were on that course. Rab sets a pretty good pace, one where I'm always working hard to stay on his tail especially on the hills. I am learning that those long training sessions take a lot out of me, and I feel their effects for days, especially when combined with missed meals or snacks. Most of the roads we were on were pretty empty--up to the main drag back toward West Creek. I think there are several quarries or something along that portion of road, and we got blown around by many many dump trucks whizzing by. I finished up 50 miles by 11am, and as Rab left to go to work, I was eating my lunch and trying to gear up for another 50 by myself.

No sooner had I broken out my peanut butter sandwich, than I was overcome by exhaustion. I was so tired. I decided to sit down in my car, and I just leaned my head back to close my eyes for just a minute and fell fast asleep for over 20 minutes! After I woke up, I gulped down the rest of my lunch, reloaded my water bottles, and got back on the bike. I made it another 10 miles before my body was saying it was done--go home and go back to bed now! So that's what I did.

Friday afternoon Joey went to play with a friend after school and Maddy had dance team try-outs, so I was able to get in the pool for an hour. At the Y, all lanes in the lap pool except one were taken up by older gentlemen swimming really slowly. Surpise! Rab was in the other one, grinding out a speedy 1000m main set. I joined him in his lane and tried to count how many times he lapped me (too many!) while I swam the first half of my steady 2600m. As he was leaving, Rab commented that I'd be a lot faster if I did flip turns. Apparently Mr. Collegiate Swimmer doesn't realize that real triathletes don't do flip turns. After that I was thinking that I am so going to get my ass kicked by Jen at training camp in February.

Friday evening Joe and I had a fun dinner date with 5 other couples to celebrate my dear friend Lynn's birthday. At the restaurant, I tried to be good considering my 20 mile long run workout on tap for Saturday morning by limiting my wine intake to 2 glasses. Yet after dinner, we decided that the party needed to keep going, so most came back to chez Oliver for more wine and games of pool. We called it a night at 2am. Needless to say, I was not up in time to make our 6am start at Maramarc. After a pretty lazy day of recovery and cotillion shopping with Maddy, Lynn joined me this morning for all 20 miles of my run. It was another blessedly cool morning, but when we finished at 1pm it was close to 80 degrees. Brunch at Boychick's deli never tasted so good!

Tonight I'm going to bed at 8pm.

The end of summer

Our last day on the beach was perfect! After Labor Day, dogs are allowed on the beach anytime so we brought Sophie with us to hang out in the sand and play in the surf. We all had such a good time. While it was hot out, the ocean was the perfect temperature--cool enough to be refreshing but not so cold as to keep you in the shallows. Maddy and Joe pretty much spent the whole time on the boogie boards, and Joey, Sophie, and I took turns going on them as well. We saw a ton of dolphins, just 100 yards off shore frolicking. We wished we could have stayed another day.

Sunshine and Happiness...

....and a sore crotch!

Another long training weekend down! Yey! Saturday a group of us TriGirl/Maramarc folks did the Heart of Virginia century ride. To date that is the farthest I've ever ridden a bike. It wasn't the most hours I spent on the bike; that was last year's Ride to Cure Diabetes in Sonoma, a death march bike if there ever was one of brutal (some over 26% grades) hills. Total time on the bike then was 9.5 hours, yesterday we came in just under 7 hours. I am stoked about how we did--since it was a pretty hilly course and we stopped for two flat tires, one of which was mine. After our 80 miler two weeks ago, I still had doubts about my cycling, but slowly I'm gaining confidence and am ALMOST looking forward to the next one.



Before the ride....



During the ride....and post-ride ice cream sitting in the A/C. BLISS!


I kept up with my nutrition leading up to Saturday and during the ride, and it really helped! (Duh!) With the weather so warm, I made sure to drink almost everything in my water bottles too. This weekend was back to hot and humid weather, with yesterday topping 93 degrees, and today supposed to hit 97. We stopped at mile 60 for the provided lunch--sandwiches, grapes, and chips. I'm going to have to figure out how to eat that much during ironman, since I'm not sure how I would've done eating just clif blocks, sport beans, and gu's all day. Ideally I'd love to bring cash and hit a McDonald's drive thru, but I hear you can get DQ'd for that during the race! I have several more century rides, including ChesapeakeMan AquaVelo in two weeks, to figure that out.

Joe had taken the kids to the beach Friday evening to give me the weekend to get the workouts done with no guilt. After we talked Saturday afternoon I missed them and wanted a day to play at the beach with the kids, so I quickly showered, grabbed some food, and threw Sophie in the car and drove down yesterday evening. Surprise! We had a good family game and movie night evening and then this morning I got in that 9 mile run before 9am. It was already pretty blistering hot, but I made good time (1:20!) and can now enjoy a day catching up on my magazines/catalogues while lounging on the beach!

I hope everyone has a fun, restful Sunday! Many hearty congratulations our Iroman Wisconsin finishers Aimee, Blake, and Dr. Rick. This was Aimee's first IM, and she did amazingly well. We're so proud of you guys!

It takes a village...

Talking to Jen the other day I told her I have no idea how some women juggle the ironman training with jobs. Inevitably, my days are scheduled around a work out of some kind, but the rest of the time gets filled in very quickly. Take yesterday for example: At 9am Joey had his endocrinologist visit and at 10:15 I was supposed to go to PT, but Joey's visit ran late since he needed to get his blood work done. I couldn't reschedule that, but after dropping Joey back at school, I grabbed a quick lunch at home, moved laundry around, and did dishes before running to my acupuncture appointment at 1:15. Home again at 2 to pick Joey up from school, then run back out at 3 to go to the doctors (for me). By the time I got home at 4, I still needed to bash the kids over the head to get homework done, check emails and then get them out the door for dinner at the Thai restaurant. We did get home in time for 8pm bedtimes--myself included! Since I was a single mom last night, there wouldn't be any swimming. Sigh. My "village" includes coaches, a nutritionist, a physical therapist, an acupuncturist, a doctor, multiple training buddies, and of course the husband and kids. All I'm missing are a personal chef and cleaning lady!

Now that the school year has started, I was hoping to have more "free time" during the day to get in some workouts and avoid calling in the sitter. I've been able the past two weeks to limit my evening training to late Monday night swims and of course the Tuesday bricks. This week starts afterschool activities--soccer practice, dance team tryouts and dance class, lego robotics team. Yet more schlepping of kids hither and yon, thus the need to keep my afternoons free.

I am taking some consolation in the fact that there are only 5 weeks of seriously long training left before we start our taper. My weekends are booked from now until October 11th--alternating long rides and long runs. Looking at the schedule, they all seem doable, with the caveat from Tina the nutritionist that I keep to the meal plan and get in ALL my calories. The only little hiccup I can see really giving me a hard time are the issues I'm having in my girl-parts areas. Not to be too graphic, but in-grown bikini-line hairs + bike shorts + lots of milage in the saddle = unhappy Kate. Anyone got any good suggestions on what to do?

On another note, I've started my Janus Charity Challenge fundraising for the JDRF in earnest by mailing out almost 100 letters. I've raised almost $2000 already! Joey's appointment with the endocrinologist yesterday went well, but his A1C (a 3-month history of his blood sugar (BG) levels) count was up meaning he's been running high more often. It has been hard to get over our fear of his low blood sugar readings--they are what promted his seizures in May and December--but yesterday we have made some changes to his carb/insulin ratios so hopefully that will help. To avoid future health issues, it is important to keep his BG levels within a certain range. Joey was so brave having his blood drawn. Four tubes they filled up, and he sat perfectly still on my lap, watching the whole time, and never cried. No wonder he's my hero! If you click his picture on the left, it will take you to my fundraising page.

Snorkels Optional

Tropical Storm Hanna came for a visit yesterday and dropped a lot of rain on Richmond. MarcoDiablo, in his wisdom, convinced us to slog through it and be glad to have our long weekend run over with so we could enjoy our Sunday morning. Well, he was right. We started off at 7am with one hour on our trainers, in my case trying hard to wake the hell up, and chatting about who was missing and why (Patty???) Before long, it was time to suit up and hit the road. Two 9 mile loops in the pouring rain. In her defense, Hanna did offer some brief respites from the rain--from mile 3 to 7 I almost dried out, only to get totally soaked again. At the mid way point, we all very uselessly changed our soaking socks, shirts, and in Sharons case, hat, downed a gu or two, loaded up the fuel belts and headed out for round 2. I felt pretty good until mile 15, then everything started to hurt. I keep telling myself to get used to the feeling, and to try to run through it or despite it. Ironman will hurt even more. After it was all done, Sharon, Karen, Shawn and I hit Kitchen 64 for brunch and a well-earned pitcher of mimosas. I came home and promptly fell back into bed for a 2 hour nap.

Last night the family headed over to my friend Rob's house to celebrate his liberation from Alcoa, and visit with many grad school friends I haven't seen since May. Man, do I miss those people. Unfortunately I was still wiped out from the run so we came home by 9:30, and I was out by 10. It was sheer bliss to sleep till 8 am, and not be rudely awakened by an alarm clock! Today I'm cheering my friends/coach from afar as they tackle Ironman Wisconsin. Go Blake, Aimee, and Rick!

I need some rrrreeeeeee eeeeeeeest...

So, I'm not Lily von Schtupp, but I can so sympathize with her right now. Like many other blogger friends, I am hitting a point where I just don't seem to recover enough from our long weekend workouts to feel like I'm making any progress on my mid-week ones. On Tuesday I was dropped on the bike and couldn't for the life of me catch back up to the pack. My swim yesterday felt like all I was doing was inventing a new way of drowning, creatively. And then today's long ride/short run sucked, it was so hot out there. This may be TMI for some, but usually on our long bikes, I work hard to stay hydrated and end up having to go to the bathroom (or the woods...) quite a bit. Today I only went once during a 3.5 hour ride, and I had taken in 3 bottles of Endura and one of water. I guess there's some relief in knowing that I will not be hitting the start line in Florida after having biked 80/run 13 just a few days before, but right now I'm having a hard time seeing the forest for the trees.

Tomorrow is a day off, thank goodness. I have PT and then I'm driving up to Northern Virginia to visit my parents' grave (tomorrow would have been my mother's 73rd birthday). I'm packing bottles to take with me so I'll have plenty to drink all day--Saturday we bike 1 hr and run 18.

Labor Day Weekend recap

It's 11am and I've already sent kids off to school, run by the pediatrician's office to pick up Maddy's shot record which I then dropped off at middle school, bought stamps/mailed bills at the post office, hit the EZPass office for new toll passes, stopped by my stock brokers office and the bank, hit Starbucks for coffee #2 and breakfast, and got the car detailed (ah, what joy, a clean car). Whew, I'm exhausted. This getting up early stuff is for the birds, but I am accomplishing so much!

Today was my daughter’s first day of middle school. She seemed a little timid getting on the bus, like she wasn’t sure she was quite ready. Joey was totally stoked to go off to school—he met his teacher last week and seemed to really like her. He has a couple of buddies in his class who he hasn’t had in his class since kindergarden or 1st grade so he’ll be happy to reestablish those friendships. Here’s of pic of them this morning:


Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet. Nothing like having perfect beach weather right when you have to trundle the kids back off to school. It was a great weekend though.

Saturday was my longest bike ride ever—80 miles of east-end fun with Karen (training for ChesapeakeMan), Heidi (IMAZ), coach MarcoDiablo, and fellow IMFL peeps Sharon, Shawn, Patty, Charlotte, and KateG. The day didn’t start out great; there’s something ominous about having your coffee spill all over you and the car at 6am in the morning. I was trying a little variation in my nutrition by filling my on board bottles with concentrate that I could then just add water to during our scheduled stops. At mile 30 though, I hit a pothole and dropped a water bottle. I almost caused a crash turning around to get it (sorry guys!) and then couldn’t catch back up. Karen luckily came and got me, then pulled my sorry ass back up to the group. We didn’t stop again until mile 60. By the time we were riding by the airport (about mile 70) I was counting down the miles, trying to just get through the ride. I was tired, sick of eating Clif Blocks, and getting a little (ok, maybe a lot) chafed. The last 5 miles were tough, but I must admit I was very happy I didn’t then have to run 8 miles like the other Florida girls. I grabbed lunch and a quick dip in the pool on the way home, before throwing the dog in the car to follow Joe and the kids to the beach.

I had signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon on Sunday, and somehow had talked Lynn into running with me (I think she did it more out of desire to hang at the beach, than to run…) Turns out there were a couple of other TriGirls running too—Heidi, Jill, and Trish! Sunday morning was another early one (5:30am wake up calls both Sat and Sun = Yuck) and, standing in our starting corral at 7am, quite hot and muggy. Lynn and I found Heidi before the race, and Jill and Trish at about mile 3. My plan was to just get the milage in, try to stay well-hydrated given the heat, and finish with a smile on my face. Lynn helped me pace well, and the first 6 miles flew by and luckily were quite shady. The next 3 miles sucked. They wound through the naval base just south of Virginia Beach and offered no shade. At this point I started in with some Gu (found a new flavor!) and tried to keep ahead of the hydration game. Mile 9 was when we started seeing runners really struggling and showing the effects of the heat. I was quite happy that we ran a faster last 5k than first 5k, and Lynn and I finished together right at 2:20. Not a PR, but then again not bad for having biked to kingdom come the day before.

That afternoon, back at the beach house, we lounged pool-side. Ah, what bliss. My friend from grad school Vanessa drove out and joined us, and the three of us had a good time chit chatting and eating mostly junk food out by the pool all afternoon while the kids swam. Lynn’s husband pulled in around 5:30 and after a quick jaunt with the dogs down to the ocean, we met up with Joe for seafood and crabs at our favorite local crab shack. After dinner, it was all I could do to keep my eyes open, and despite our best intentions to get the party on, we all were in bed by 10:30.

Yesterday we spent the first half of the day down on the beach, but we all had to pack up and head home in the early afternoon. It was hard closing up the house—the weather was downright gorgeous and the ocean was warm. But we knew we needed to get home and help the kids get organized for this morning. They were in bed by 8:15, and zonked by 8:30. I was feeling good too—despite being quite tired both Saturday and Sunday, I was well recovered by yesterday, which I will take as a good sign. This week will be a tough one, but I’m sure I can handle it!

Many warm congratulations to our TriGirl/Maramarc Ironman Louisville finishers:
*Joan—her first Ironman, and she finished in under 14 hours! Way to rock that course, girl!
*Our erstwhile swim coach Som—he has ironman #3 of 6 this year under his belt.
*and Carlton, who overcame some mechanical issues on the bike.
Those were tough conditions out there and you persevered!

Getting over it

I've been able to run--yey! Monday I tried 3 miles, yesterday I ran 6, and today I did another short run. All pain free. That combined with getting back in the pool Monday night with my fun IM training buddies Patty and Heidi, and I'm feeling a little like myself again. Thank you all for your supportive comments and emails. With your help I'll get this thing done.

So, I'm thinking a little more about how my second 1/2 iron (since I never really finished my second--I DNF'd at the Patriot half) compares to my first. The splits come out as follows:

Eagleman:
42:21swim 4:31T1 3:24bike 5:23T2 2:18run

Timberman:
44:57swim 3:57T1 3:26bike 3:17T2 2:27run

I'm improving on my transition times somewhat, but those have to include sit-in-the-grass-and-pee time. I'm not one for fancy flying mounts or keeping my shoes clipped to the bike, so maybe these are as good as it gets. The run....hmmmm. I don't know. Timberman run was, like the bike, a hillier course. Some day I'd like to break 2:10 (maybe even 2hrs, but that's a different post) in a half marathon, but I doubt it'll ever be in a 1/2 iron. I do need to keep my head down and swim more instead of stopping every now and then and chatting with the kayakers about the weather or where I'm going--unless I'm lost or really off course.

I think what those splits show is that I have gotten stronger on the bike. Eagleman is flat as a pancake, and while there was some wind we had pretty ideal conditions that day. Timberman is drastically different because of the hills. I maintained virtually the same average speed in both races(which is still a slow 16ish mph), but given the tough hills at Timberman, I am happy with that. There is no way I would've done that well last year on such a hard course--my bike split from Patriot was 3:46 and I don't think that course was as demanding as Timberman. I think this bodes well for next year's Placid training. I'm more determined to keep up the strength training in the off season (which should make Marco Diablo very happy) which can only help, right?

A little perspective....please?

With this weekend's workout a major bust, I'm starting to panic. I keep thinking I've been stupid lazy all summer and won't be ready for Florida. Why oh why am I not doing any number of things like more weight training, track workouts, biking 5 hours every day, eating like Michael Phelps, learning how to bludgeon a shark or swim around jellyfish...the list goes on and on. Would doing any of those things make me more prone to injury or have helped prevent one? Would I have any family left to come home to? Would I have finished the MFA? At this point it's probably too late to start cramming, but will someone please remind me of all of this in time for Placid in say February or March?!

I am also starting to think that I'm going to be slow as molasses, and not make any cut offs. I'm thinking too much about the swim and how I'll need to fight for space, where I'm going to cram all that damn food I need to take on the bike (Annn, I'm seriously happy for my enhanced bosom right now--I know I can always cram some gels in there!), and how dreadfully slow that marathon will be if I can't run pain free for more than 10 miles. I know I will never be fast enough to qualify for Kona, and I'm totally ok with that. But I also don't want to be that person crossing the finish line at 17:00:08, or worse yet not anywhere near the finish line at midnight. I don't want to turn back into a pumpkin!

My husband was a dear for coming to the TriGirl IM dinner on Saturday, sitting through questions about packing stuff, nutrition, bike shorts, race gear, you name it. He was, up till yesterday, blissfully unaware of how long these saturday training sessions will be. I've tried very hard to maintain some semblance of normalcy in front of him, to pretend that Florida is not on my mind virtually every minute. I don't know how much longer I can keep up the facade that I'm plugging along merrily and juggling things just fine. If I was Bill the Cat from Bloom County, I'd be spitting up one NASTY huge hairball right now. I still might...

Getting Back in the Game?

I think I may have done myself a disservice. After getting back from Timberman, I was tired. Really tired. With the travelling my nutrition has been off which probably hasn't helped matters. So, I must sheepishly confess that I did absolutely nothing this week (unless you call laundry, house cleaning, doctors/nutritionist/pt appts, and grocery shopping nothing) and I may have hurt myself in the process. My knees hurt after Timberman, but after 2 days of popping Advil they were fine. Yesterday we had a scheduled 1 hr bike and 16 mile run--but I could only run 10 before my knee was really hurting. The really frustrating part is I just started back in with PT for the Bakers cyst on the right knee, but it was my left knee that hurt during the run. A very familiar kind of hurt. ITB syndrome hurt. I can't tell you how pissed off, frustrated, and scared I am. Here I am just 2 months out from Florida, having been running pain free for a while, and now I'm back in the land of the unhappy. I'm so sick of this. Monday I'll report back to the PT, and in the meantime I'll stick to the foam roller/stick of pain/ice massage routine. We'll see what he says. I know I've got some glute strength/mechanical issues that are part of the problem so I'll dig into working on them. I also am going to try a few new things like acupuncture....

On anther note, I've been meaning to post about our last day in New England. We drove down to Gloucester, MA Monday morning to take the kids whale watching. Maddy is totally into whales right now (she sleeps with 3 stuffed ones), and joined a whale conservation support club. There never is any guarantee that you'll see whales on these cruises, but the weather was perfect and we were optimistic. We ended up finding a pod of 6 humpacks, 2 of which were juveniles. The young whales couldn't dive deep for food, so it made them easier to follow, and boy--they didn't disappoint! At the end of our time on the water, the young whales were breaching! I never thought we'd see them so close up, and then to have them splashing around was just amazing. I wish now I had a better camera, but here are some pictures.

Boston/New Hampshire Trip and Race Report (part 1 of 2)

So isn't this the prize that all moms/wives get after every vacation? The laundry pile from hell...all the more fun with the addition of really stinky, still wet race clothes, including running shoes! Peeeeeyyyoouu! It was a great trip--New Hampshire was beautiful, Boston was fun, racing with my friends is always a good time, and through it all we had picture perfect weather. I'll rewind and start at the beginning:

The kids and I met Joe at the Boston airport on Wednesday morning after a crazy two days of yet another doctor's visit for my Baker's cyst, laundry (trips always start and end the same!), house cleaning, and scheduled workouts. After a quick breakfast at the hotel and change into shorts, we headed out to follow the Freedom Trail. Maddy is a big history buff, and liked seeing Paul Revere's burial place and house.

I was amazed that the house is still standing--when Revere bought the house in 1770, it was already 90 years old! We headed back to the hotel after a late lunch so I could take a much needed nap (I only had 4 hrs of sleep the night before) while Joe took the kids to Tomb. That evening, a business collegue of Joe's had given us tickets to see the Red Sox play at Fenway, and we hopped into a bike-taxi rickshaw thing to get us there. We had great seats, just behind home plate, and the Red Sox won their game against the Texas Rangers handily.
Thursday we headed north, toward New Hampshire, after a quick stop to see Harvard Yard and lunch in Concord, MA. By then the kids had just about had their fill of the educational part of the trip, and were anxious for lake swims. As we got off I93, we found our first lobster roll. Mmmmm mmmm. The lake area up there is just amazing--on the far side of Lake Winnipesaukee, you see the White Mountains rising up, and all around the lake are woods of pine, aspen, and maples. It must be such a show at peak foliage time. We stayed in a great hotel, thanks to Annn, with themed rooms with lake views. Ours was a western theme, complete with Roy Rogers wagon wheel headboards. The kids had fun at the arcade at Weir's Beach before our dinner of...you guessed it, lobster!

The rest of the TriGirls doing Timberman pulled into town either late Thursday or early Friday. Before meeting up with some of them, we rented a small boat (glorified row boat!) and tooled around the lake and had a picnic on board. The kids were brave enough to jump in the water and swim around. The water was so clear, but also much chillier than the pool back home.

We then met up with Bethany and Bart at the race site for a quick warm up swim. The lake that afternoon was not very choppy, but we also stayed quite close to shore. Maddy and Joey had a good time playing in the sand and swimming. On the way back to the hotel we hit the race expo and pick up our packets. By Saturday, it was time to start gearing up for the race. Joe took the kids up to the White Mountains for some hiking, and ended up spending most of the day at some kitchy but fun frontier-type place. I spent the afternoon with Sharon, Mary, Lynn and sherpa Dave--swimming some more (much more chop!) and trying out a Guru bike at the expo. That evening I racked my bike, enjoyed a quiet carb-load dinner with Joe at the hotel restaurant (no lobster), and hit the sack after watching Michael Phelps swim for #7.


RACE DAY!
I don't know why, but I always get nervous and don't sleep well the night before a particularly long workout or race. I spend the whole night half-asleep, very aware of the passage of time, and never get up feeling completely rested. I guess it didn't help that many of the other triathletes staying at our hotel decided to leave between 3 and 4am. Our windows were open and we heard every car door slam and engine start. Finally by 4:20 I threw in the towel and got out of bed. I had to really work hard to choke down breakfast--I envied the girl who brought her french press and cereal. Joe graciously gave me and another triathlete a ride to the race site, and we got there by 5:45. I set up my transition, pumped up my tires, loaded up my water bottles and food, and found my friends. Simon Lessing, who won Timberman the year before, was staying in my hotel, and I thought when I first saw him that he was a pro. I had chatted briefly with him up at the hotel. While he was getting all set up in transition (he had race #1!), I stopped by to say hi, wish him luck, and tell him I was going to try to catch him. He said "You do that!" Yeah right! Before long it was time to lube up, get into the wetsuits, and head down to the swim start. Thank God, cuz I had to pee!

That 1.2 miles always looks so damn long, and Susie, Patty, Shawn, Mary and I went off in the third swim wave, after the pros and men 50+. It was a large wave (all women 40+), which made for IM-like washing machine conditions in the beginning. I've never had to really jockey for swim space before and I'm not sure I like it. I also can't figure out how to catch a good draft--I get worried about getting kicked in the face or something that I prefer to swim alone, with lots of empty space around me. For a lake swim, it got pretty choppy since it was a pretty breezy morning. Even before the first bouy, I passed Team Hoyt and commented to another swimmer how inspirational it was to see them out there. By the first bouy I was finally able to settle into something of a rhythm, but I need to practice breathing between swells and maybe take some ginger or dramamine before hand. My sighting was fine, even with the sun coming up on our left after the last turn bouy. Swim split was 44:57. I guess I took my time in both transitions (over 3 mins for both), maybe I should eliminate socks (ouch), biking gloves (snot rag), or switch to yankz on my running shoes.

I think the bike went pretty well, considering I had no idea what to expect. I lost my bike computer within the first mile, so had no way to gauge my speed or cadence other than by my watch. It turns out that the first 15 miles or so of the course are super hilly, and since it's an out and back course, the last 15 miles are hilly too, but the downhills were lots of fun. I was able to keep my eye on the riders in front of me to avoid potholes and prepare for turns. Miles 20-30 were out this highway, with a short loop into a town to turn around. There seemed to be a head wind each way of that leg and by this time I was getting passed by everyone and their dog. I briefly introduced myself to Mel's husband as he passed, and cheered for Chris Waterstraat as he flew by. Susie passed me on the bike, and I caught up to Shawn who made it out of the water before me. I biked for a while with each of them, before Susie dropped me like a bad habit on one of the hills. That girl can climb! It was so great seeing most of the TriGirls out there, yelling a quick hello and good job. Bike split: 3:26, avg speed 16.3 mph.

The run, according to Lynn, was supposed to be FLAT. NOT. It was a 2 loop run, which hugged the shore for about 2 miles and had some great shade but had a few painful hills. I was hoping to catch Joe and the kids spectating before heading out on the run but didn't see them. Turns out they got to the race site (not a very efficient shuttle service...) just after I left transition. I was feeling pretty good at the start of the run, with just a little cramping in my calf. I was able to take some salt tabs and it went away. The first 6 miles seemed to go pretty quickly, and Karen caught up to me and ran with me a while. I loved seeing all the TriGirl peeps--it helps morale quite a bit! Joe caught me at the end of the first loop. I was disappointed that the kids weren't there, but so happy to see him. The second half of the run is where it gets really hard and having him tell me I looked strong was great. It had warmed up quite a bit, and temps were probably in the mid 80s. The cold sponges were great for cooling off and wiping off the sweat, but didn't help the sore legs. At mile 10 I was ready to be done. Those last miles are such a battle to keep moving at a decent pace but I knew Joe and the kids were waiting for me. Maddy and Joey ran me in to a final time 6:46, just 12 minutes slower than my Eagleman time.

Timberman postmortem

I hurt. I'm tired. I've had a glass of wine. I finished the race. Thank God!

The Timberman race report will come Tuesday, after we go whale watching with the kids on the way back to Boston.

Safe travels to my fellow TriGirls.

Taper? We don't need no stinkin' taper!

Saturday dawned quite nice--in the mid 60s, and not humid at all! I was a little late meeting up with Lynn and Fave for their last brick of the season. On tap for them, a 1 hr bike and 6 mile run. On tap for me, a 2 hour bike and short transition run. I rode my first 18 miles with them, then caught up briefly with Susie Q, and then did one last 6 mile loop. It seemed those 35 miles went quickly--but it could have been the fact that I just put my Zipps on my bike in preparation for Timberman. I got home in time to help Joe and the kids spread mulch. Not just a pick-up truck full, but a whole DUMP truck full of mulch sitting in our driveway. Joey was in 7th heaven--at least when it was first delivered. After about the 200th wheelbarrow load, however, his enthusiasm for mulch was gone--and so is mine. I was the 'barrow filler. That's hard work, so I needed a 2 hr nap in the afternoon. This morning oh how stiff my back was!

Since Shawn, Sharon and I did our long ride last weekend, this weekend was a scheduled long run. Luckily Sunday was just as pleasant as Saturday. We met up at Shawn's house at 7:30 and headed out for our first loop. Shawn chose our route this morning and gave us the option of one long 14 mile loop or two shorter loops--an 8 and 6 miler. We chose the two loops which allowed for a water/potty stop back at the house. The 8 mile loop was quite enjoyable--running through Ginter Park and oogling the beautiful houses--with the exception of the crazy lady in the BMW convertible that yelled at us to "get out of the road," when we were running single file and there was NO other traffic. Dumb ass. The second loop was painful and seemed much longer than the first. I did get to run through Bryan Park, a first in my 13 years here in Richmond and spend some fun time bonding with my fellow IMFL peeps. On my return home I sat in an ice bath, then again took another 2 hour nap. Yum.

Getting Caught Up (part 2)

Monday was Joey's birthday. I can't believe my sweet man is 9 years old. It was the birthday of all things Star Wars. He got to open one present that morning--more legos of course--and had a good time putting it together while I went for a run. Joe took the afternoon off and we went to Water Country outside Williamsburg to play! On the agenda for the evening, per Joey's request, was dinner at the japanese steak house (which due to getting home from the water park late was postponed until Wednesday night), and more present opening, and cupcakes. The birthday party with his buddies was Tuesday. Laser tag, followed by more cupcakes and ice cream chez Oliver.
Joey on the Hubba Hubba Highway.

Joey and his dad.

Kate caught in a really FLATTERING pose!

Joey and his buddies.

There are some training related lessons I've learned over the past week:

• Last weekend I was in bed, curled up on my side, and ASLEEP by 9:30 Friday (due to the 4:30 wake up call), Saturday (post 70 mile bike), AND Sunday (why not!?). I have decided early bed times are a good thing. Usually Joe and I trundle up to bed around 10:30 or even 11, and then between brushing teeth, 'jaminating, and reading it's pushing 11:30 when we turn off the lights. I'll be hard pressed to do that on Tuesday nights, since the late workout means dinner at 9pm and there's still another snack to eat before bed.
• Tina the nutritionist has me eating all the time. I've been saying "I can't go to bed yet, honey. I need to eat more food" quite often. In addition to more sleep, the more food has been a good thing. I'm not bonking during workouts, but if I miss that pre-work out snack, or not eat enough at lunch, I really notice it during the next training session. Maybe I should push dinner up to 6pm?
• I've been running at the wrong time of day (usually after 10:30am) when it starts getting really hot out, and inevitably feel that my runs suck. I will be well acclimated to the heat for the run portion of Timberman next weekend. I'm have my fuel belt, and there's the water along the course. I may even throw a small wash cloth in my transition area to bring with me and dunk in ice water if it gets really warm. Anything to simulate my dropped-cooler West Creek runs.
• My 350 calorie/hr plan on the 70 mile bike worked well, even if I had to take in gu's. The missing piece to this puzzle is now the electrolytes. I have another meeting with Tina today, and I'll try out her suggestions this weekend during my ride and long run.

The rest of this week is more of the same: training, eating, sleeping. We leave next Wednesday for Boston, then drive up to New Hampshire on Thursday for Timberman. It should be a fun weekend! Happy training everyone.

Getting Caught Up (part 1)

The past week has been surprisingly busy, with the exception of Sunday that was spent lounging pool-side. I'll rewind to last week, and see if I can remember what I was doing...

Thursday I rode out in West Creek alone--accomplishing a 30 mile ride in about 1:45. I was able to take advantage of Joey's morning playdate to get the work out at 11am instead of waiting until 5:30 when I had scheduled a babysitter. I'm not particularly fond of riding alone, since I never feel like I push myself hard enough and my average speed drops to like 12mph. Not this time, though! I managed to keep my speed to between 17 and 18mph for each 10 mile loop at West Creek. By the time I got home at 1pm, it was about 98 degrees out and miserably hot. Joey and I hit the pool, which was surprisingly refreshing. Too often when we've had back to back to back days in the high 90s the pool starts feeling like bath water or even a hot tub. Yuck. That evening, I noticed my supposedly "good" knee was quite swollen, especially the area right behind the knee. I've been trying to ignore some twingy things--feeling a little instability in that knee, swelling, and sometimes not being able to completely straighten the leg. I haven't had any pain in that knee, but it's just annoying. Squatting and kneeling are tough. Plugging those symptoms into a google search is never a good thing--I kept coming up with dire diagnoses like a torn PCL. Considering the workout on tap for the weekend (70 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway) I was anxious to figure it all out.

Friday morning I called over to Dr. Cutter's office to see if they could get me in for him to look at the knee. By 10am I had seen him and an MRI scheduled in an hour--luckily he said the knee felt stable, meaning no ligament damage, but the swelling could be from a torn meniscus. Joey was a champ for sitting through first the doctor's appointment, then waiting while I had the MRI. He was entertained with his new Star Wars lego set that the grandparents had sent for his birthday. I spent the afternoon close to the phone, doing really fun stuff like mopping the kitchen. I finally heard from Dr. Cutter at 4. I have a Baker's cyst, also called a popliteal cyst. It is caused by knee joint fluid protruding to the back of the knee (popliteal area of the knee). The knee joint fluid is compressed by the body weight between the bones of the knee joint, and becomes trapped and separates from the joint to form a fluid-filled sac--thus the bulge behind my knee. Dr. Cutter said surgery was not necessary, and just prescribed over the counter anti-inflammatories and ice. If it gets any worse, they can drain it with a needle or give me a cortisone shot. He suggested that riding hills may not be good since that's harder on the knees. No BRP for me, which given the ride that those who went had may not have been such a bad thing! (For details, read Fave's blog.)

With hill riding out of the question, I was able to join three of my fellow IMFL trainees Shawn, Sharon, and Patti, along with IMWI trainee Heidi, and TriGirl Jill for 75 miles of East End fun. Shawn and Sharon like to start early. Rendezvous time was scheduled for 6am at a boat landing about 15 miles south of the airport. I got up at 4:30 to pack the car and load the cooler with drinks and food, including a few post-workout Coronas. After a quick stop to pick up Jill, we zipped down the Chippenham Parkway and only took one wrong turn before finding the boat landing and pulled in at 5:55. Other than the Bass Master guys, we were the only TriGirls there. HELLO?! Kate Oliver early for something? Notify the papers, the armageddon is at hand.

Shawn and Sharon soon showed up, putting to rest my fears that Jill and I would be riding around blind for hours, waiting for that magical "70" to show up on my odometer. Just as we were ready to pull out, Patty and Heidi pull up. Those girls got ready lickety-split! In less than 5 minutes, they were locked and loaded, ready to ride. Our route took us through some great riding areas--Richmond Battlefield Park, Charles City, and beautiful back country roads. We all paced well together and after the 50 mile mark didn't have to brow beat Patti into staying single file anymore! RR, you missed our local (dead) fauna: in addition to the 4 opossum, we saw 1 rabbit, 1 skunk, and 1 fawn. I worked hard to stay aero as long as possible, and managed to keep on top of my nutrition. Our new joke is now not how far you've ridden, but how many blow jobs it was. Saturday's ride was a 3 blow jobber. (I am not convinced that Gu's are the way to go--I have a real hard time swallowing!) I still need to work on getting in the electrolytes. Our 40 minute T-run at noon sucked--it was really hot and I just died out there. Shawn, who took in her electrolytes at our last stop on the bike, was the picture of stick-to-it-ness, and Jill--well, she's a special case. She's now our resident over-achiever. When we were all done, we formed our little circle of happiness in the shade and popped those beers. Those Coronas never tasted so good!

While I was out riding all over the middle peninsula, Joe and Joey drove west to pick up Maddy from camp. Three weeks was a long time without my Moo. She had such a good time, and came home full of stories about having swum half a mile, dancing with boys (!), and singing new camp songs. On the way back from camp, Joe took them to the Mitchie Tavern for lunch, which is my kids' absolute favorite place to eat. Think "colonial" fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and canned green beans all served up on pewter plates by costumed waitresses. A visit to Charlottesville is never complete without eating there. That night, we were all exhausted, and I was in bed and OUT by 9pm, barely beating the kids to sleep. The family is now all joking that come September, the kids will be putting me to bed before 8. Now wouldn't that be bliss?

More to come...

Who is this strange man in my bed?!

Front and center in the business section of today's local paper--my husband's newly bald head.

Another Passenger on the Crazy Train

C'ville Oly Race Report

The weekend brick was shortened since many of us IMFL girls were racing the Charlottesville Olympic distance tri today. So Saturday morning bright and early, I met up with Fave for a 12 mi bike and, for me, an 8 mile run. Since Timberman is her last race, Fave had to run 10. Other girls not doing C'ville biked 24 and ran 16. Oooph.

Fave and I made it through the bike, and met up with Lynn to do the first 8 miles together. Man, I love running with these girls. We chatted, laughed, and ran. The time always seems to go so much faster, and goodness knows that misery loves company. Lynn has become such a strong athlete--with two ironman races under her belt in less than a year, she has developed such stamina. This week seemed a managable amount of training for me until Saturday afternoon, when I went to lie down for just a few minutes and ended up sleeping for 2 hours. I got up just in time to shower and get dressed for a dinner date with Lynn, her husband Derek, and a another couple at Havana 57. I did manage to limit myself to ONE, yes ONE, mojito. Today's early (4:30am) wake up call meant that it was a good thing we skipped out on wine/cigars on Lynn's deck in favor of bed at 10pm.

I picked up Grandison a little after 5am, and we headed west. It seemed as the sun came up that it might be overcast, which I think is the best kind of race weather. Most of the 2007 IMFL girls had done this race last year, and loved the course. Charlottesville is nestled up against the Blue Ridge, so picture lots of rolling hills, and horse farms. Emphasis on the ROLLING. The lake was warm (about 82) so no wetsuits, but they sent us off in nicely-sized swim waves--not too much chance to get knocked around jockeying for position. I felt very good about the swim, and was able to quickly settle into a rhythm. Sighting wasn't bad, and I came out of the water about 6th in the swim wave of women 40+. Swim time: 33:08.


Right from the start on the bike, I was passed by Patty. I couldn't catch her to save my life. (And she ended up placing first in her age group!) The hills came one right after another, and there seemed to be more grind-it-out-in-your-lowest-gear gradual climbs than bomb-it-downhill runs. Bummer. I'm starting to really enjoy getting in a tuck and flying. Anything to help that average mph! I still have a lot of work to do on getting enough food in me on the bike. Even ClifShots start sticking in my throat after an hour, so I'll have to work on that this coming weekend. Total time on the bike: 1:31.


The run sucked. It was entirely on trails, very hilly trails, and I was getting tired. You couldn't look up and enjoy running through the woods for fear of tripping over a rock or exposed root. I know, in the picture I'm smiling, but inside I'm not. There is something very humbling about being passed by a 75 year old man (whose swim wave took off just 3 mins before ours). By the second loop of the course, I did manage to catch up with him again, and we played leap frog the rest of the way in. I was so afraid this man was going to trip (which he did once) and break a hip or something. My sucky run time: 1:16. Yuck.


The way home went quick--aided by the iced coffee and wrap sandwiches Grandison and I found just outside UVa. It was nice to have time one on one with my TriGirl coach, and chat about everything. We beat the thunderstorms home, but only by a couple of hours. This afternoon was lazy: reading in bed, napping a little, and then fixing dinner. Looking ahead to this weekend, I know I'll need all the extra rest I can get. Our third and final Blue Ridge ride is this coming Saturday, 70 miles of hills and FUN!

An entree of IM Lake Placid, please, with a side helping of drinker's remorse

My trip up to Lake Placid started very early Saturday morning, but almost not early enough. I woke up at 4:30 and jumped in the shower, planning to hit the road by 5:15am. Joe and I had talked over my morning logistics the night before, and determined that the optimal time to leave in order to make my flight out of Dulles, up in Northern Virginia. Well, what he heard as a 9am flight departure, was in reality an 8am departure--something I realized as merged onto I-95 at 5:30am and checked my purse for my boarding pass. Dulles is a good 2 hour drive from our house in Richmond. Yeah, I know, the math just didn't add up--7:30 arrival at Dulles, and I'd still have to park the car, get to the terminal, go through security, and walk to the gate for an 8am flight. Crap! Luckily traffic that early on a Saturday morning was negligible, and I was able to stay just behind a couple of cars going 80-85mph. It was a little stressful, but I was able to pull into the parking lot at Dulles at 7:15and made the flight with 5 minutes to spare. Whew.
Lynn, Amy, and Jeff got into Burlington around noon, and we collected the rental car and headed out for the drive to Placid. Lunch was at Al's Fries, which is apparently a Vermont institution, much like Ben & Jerry's. The drive was quite lovely, with rolling hills and lovely farms, and included a ferry ride across Lake Champlain. As we crossed the lake, we could see the looming mountains of the Adirondacks in front of us.

We got into Lake Placid around 3:30 that afternoon, and immediately hit the Oval--the speedskating ring from the 1980 olympics which is repurposed for the transition area for the Ironman. It's always so amazing to see that sea of bikes, racked and ready for the race, the field of race bags hanging, and athletes everywhere. When I volunteered at Florida last year, I didn't get in on time to make it to Ironman Village before the race, and the morning of I was volunteering as a body marker. The excitement at Placid was palpable the day before the race, and very catchy. I was thrilled to be there, but also humbled--is it possible that in 3 short months I'll be in their shoes, trained and ready to race?

That evening we met up for dinner with the rest of the TriGirl/Maramarc crew that had driven up earlier. Quite a few of them were able to ride the bike course, and I was relieved to hear from TriGirl40 (who reportedly hated the hills from our second blue ridge ride) that she LOVED the bike course. That's when I started thinking, "Well, yeah, maybe I can do this one after all." The group had also managed to swim the course, and reported the lake pristine and warm enough not to require a wetsuit. We all went to dinner, and had a good time. TriGirl Shelley stayed with me in town since she was volunteering as a wet suit stripper and had to report for duty at 6am, the rest of the crew stayed at the group house about 15 miles away, up in the mountains.
Race morning was cool and overcast, and the weather report was not good--calling for rain all day. But it wasn't just rain--it was monsoon type rain. All day long it poured, at times so heavy that it sounded like a stampede. I had a great view of the swim portion of the race. My hotel room was right on the lake, about 1500m from the turn around bouys. I pulled a chair onto the dock, and heard the national anthem play, and watched both the pros and age groupers take off. From my vantage point, it looked like a wonderful swim. Only when I got home, did I realize how brutal the Lake Placid swim start is. For a good first hand account, read Mary Eggers blog. Over the next year, I will need to learn to swim defensively, and try to get in as much in-water swim start practice as possible.

At about 8am the rain started to pick up, and I was able to watch the rest of the swim from the dry hotel room window. I met up with Lynn and Jeff for breakfast, around 9:30, and they had watched the swim start too, but were already soaking wet! Our waiter was a dear and gave us some large trash bags to wear over our clothes. We then trundled downtown to watch the first of the pros come through on their way to their second bike loop. Man those guys are fast! After a short respite and swim in the lake, it was soon time to go volunteer.
The volunteer slot I was given was to work in the bag section of transition--as athletes come into T2 (transition #2) from bike to run, their race number is called out. A volunteer runs to their racked bag containing their run gear, collects it, and gets it to the athlete before they hit the changing tent. On Saturday I wasn't able to find anyone still in the Oval to pick up my shirt and wrist band, but since Amy and Lynn were slated to work in the medical tent, I decided to work with them instead. Am I glad I did! I felt so bad for all those out racing--battling horrible conditions including wet roads, wet decents, wet running shoes, wet everything. The medical tent was blessedly dry and warm--TriGirl Cyndi had worked as a bike catcher in T2, and ended up wearing plastic bags inside her shoes in an effort to keep her feet dry. TriGirl Fave's boyfriend Greg reported that the inside of the transition tent was a mud pit. Yuck.

When we reported for duty at 3pm, there were only a few patient/athletes inside the tent, and what looked like WAY too many beds (ah, lawn chairs). From what I heard, I knew by late that evening, most of the beds would be full. Around 4:30 we started seeing the pros come in--I hate to say it, but they absolutely trash themselves. They can't walk, and frankly look like hell. But after a couple of IV bags, some food and gatorade or hot chicken broth, they become human again. Since we weren't trained medical professionals (doctor, nurse, or emt), Lynn and I were runners--taking care of things such as grabbing IV start kits, warm IV bags, blankets, food, or thermometers, to helping remove shoes, change clothes, and flip beds for new patients. Like last year in Florida, it was great to be able to help the athletes, and many were extremely grateful for our care. By the time our shift was up at 8pm, that tent was innundated with athletes, most of whom had won that battle against the elements and finished. We did see our share of those that didn't--at 6:30 I ran outside to get some pizza for one of the athletes and saw a woman still in bike helmet and cleats who had just come in from the bike, an hour after the cutoff. She was in tears and walking around like a lost soul. I felt so bad for her.

We met up with Jeff, who had spent over 6 hours in the rain at an aid station along the run course, Greg and his friends at a restaurant/bar in town. Instead of following Lynn and Amy's suggestions on wine, I decided it was martini time. We ate, and drank, and caught up with the guys--swapping volunteer stories and having a good time. After martini #3 was when that drinker's remorse kicked in--and lasted until about this morning! Lynn and Amy were both able to eat a slice of pizza in the volunteer tent, but I didn't. Two of those martinis were on an empty stomach, and #3 came during/after dinner. Big mistake. Greg was a dear and kept me company outside while I emptied my stomach, then we all said good night and trundled our separate ways. Lynn and Amy ended up staying with me at the hotel while Jeff drove back up the mountain to stay at the group house.

He must not have had much sleep, since he was knocking on the door at 7:30, getting most of us up to go stand in line for sign ups. Needless to say, I still wasn't feeling any where near good. After they left, I had to really struggle to haul my sorry ass out of bed, get dressed, and walk down to meet them in line. The whole time I kept telling myself, "This is why you're here--suck it up!" The kind folks in line behind us lent me a stool to sit on, and as soon as I had that signed paper and an IMLP slot in hand, I left the celebrating TriGirls to huff it back to the hotel and dry heave some more. The drive back to Burlington that afternoon became less painful as the aspirin kicked in and I was able to eat again. I parted company with the group, whose flight was supposed to leave at 4:30 and went to lie down and wait for my plane at 7:30. The drive home from Dulles was tough--I was tired, hungry, and still somewhat hungover. I kept thinking, "What am I doing signing up for IMLP?!" Today I've resolved to put it out of my head, focus on the task at hand, and get through Florida. Then I'll worry about it. As Scarlett O'Hara claimed, "Tomorrow is another day!"

The Joys of Home Ownership

This is my kitchen ceiling, or lack thereof, thanks to a leaky supply valve to the kid's bathroom toilet. FUN STUFF!

The Blue Ridge Part Deux (of Three)

This weekend, we survived--albeit with a couple of casualties--our second installment in the "Blakey-blake's Terrible Trio" of hills up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The majority of us were on board for a beautiful but challenging 50 miles to start from mile marker 23--IMWisconsin and Louisville folks rode about 80 miles, while Coach Blake himself rode about 120 (does this tell you anything about the man?!) Early that morning, Lynn met me at our Wintergreen rental condo for some power breakfast--coffee, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast--before we loaded up our bikes, and kissed the husband and kids goodbye. The rest of the Oliver family had a great day planned, full of hiking with the Sophie dog, swimming, and golfing.

We started the ride at about 8:30, heading to mile marker 13 and back. That 10 miles went pretty quickly--about an hour, as we are all getting over our fear of bombing down the hill at 40+ mph. Along the way back UP to mile 23, Shawn, Derik, and I stopped for a little action-snaction, wild blackberries! The self-portrait was taken early that morning. I wasn't looking so happy later on...



Following a quick rendezvous at the cars to refuel and pee, it was off again, this time headed south to mile marker 38. Ah, what glorious downhills. There was one stretch that was dead straight and blistering fast. No need to worry about cars, turns, or shady spots hiding pot holes. I think I'm glad my spedometer/odometer is broken--I really didn't want to know how fast I was going. My butt was up off my seat, my head was low over the handle bars, and I just FLEW. I didn't give a second thought to how I would feel headed back up this bugger. But I did think "Thank God half the bike in Placid is downhill...no need to pedal." Ha. Down, down, down we went for 15 miles....uh oh. At the turn around at mile 38, everyone was bemoaning our return trip, and how much it was going to SUCK BALLS.
And it did. For the record, I much prefer not stating the obvious--why remind myself of what pain and torture it is or will be to climb for miles going all of 8mph? I tried to tune everyone around me out, and focus on my pedal strokes, pulling up as much as pushing down, and just turning that crank. I held on to Lynn and Shawn for dear life, knowing if I fell behind I'd only become demoralized with my slowness. Headed back up that straight downhill, just 4-5 miles from our cars was tough. At that point, I'd had it with climbing in the saddle. I had to stand up and grind through it, otherwise I'd quit. I was so glad to finally see mile marker 24--the end was in sight.
All in, the 50 miles took about 4 hours. Many folks said their average speeds were about 12-14mph. A newbie BRP'er, bless her soul, had cleat issues and could not stop on the way back without having to remove a shoe before exiting her bike. We all battle our own demons out there, and I must give kudos to TriGirl40, who admittedly HATES hills and stuck it out and finished all 50 miles. She did not look happy at the end, but as always looked amazingly strong. Back at our cars, we happily met for our picnic on the pavement--a tradition begun on our first Blue Ridge ride last year--to rehash the ride and refuel. The party continued on at Bethany and Bart's, with tons of yummy food and Sandy's great Mai Tais.

Today we packed up our kids and dog, and drove Maddy to camp before driving the 3 hours back to Richmond. Maddy'll be at camp for 3 weeks, having a great time. We'll miss her so! Home now to long runs, laundry, and packing for Placid!

What the heck am I thinking?!

On July 19th I get on a plane for Burlington, Vermont. July 20th, I'll be volunteering/cheering at Ironman Lake Placid (IMUSA). July 21st, I'll be standing in line to register for next year before driving back to Burlington to fly home. Just for comparison, here are the bike and run elevations for IMFL (in orange) and IMUSA (in red).


So, what the hell am I thinking?! Nothing like signing up for ironman #2 before I've even finished ironman #1. The good news is I'll be in good company: there are about 20 Richmonders--many of them TriGirls and Maramarc folks--heading north to do the same thing so there will be no lack of training partners. Coach Blake has assured me that my weeklong vacation in Europe planned for late June next year will not hurt my chances of finishing, with the caveat that it is the consistent training before the vacation that matters. My husband's take on all this: he's sure I'm crazy, but as long as I sign him up to do the bobsled ride, he's game to go.

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