TRI'ing to be FIT

Bourbon Chase 2011: Part Two

2011-11-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

So, it is finally time for me to run.   This is my first leg, and the above map is the visual I have in my head.   I also have the printed directions in my pocket, just in case the course isn't well marked.    It is now about 10pm. It is pitch black outside.   I put on my vest, blinking red light, head lamp, get out of the van and wait.   And before long I hear my group yelling, "here comes Maggie!"   and sure enough there she is!   I grab the snap wrist bracelet from her (which is what we have to pass between each leg at the relay points) and I go!   And two blocks later, I don't know where to go.   The street on my map isn't on any of the street signs.   And then a guy comes up behind me asking the same thing I am thinking "now where do we go?" Fortunately less than 30 seconds later, some lady comes up behind us and shows us the right direction, she has done this before.    Once through town it is a straight shot and I lose both of them, they are faster than me.   But, I can still see their lights in the distance, which gives me comfort, and gives me something to follow.   So my first leg is just over 5 miles.   I do not have a garmin, all I have on is a stopwatch.   And the miles aren't labeled.   So as I am running I have absolutely no idea where I am or how far I have run.   All I know is that my breathing is really labored.   And Kirk (from the yellow team) is somewhere behind me.   So, I focus on just trying to keep a pace that I can breath and hopefully stay ahead of Kirk for a little while.   I also have that map in my head with the elevation chart which gives me some idea of where I am.   After about 25 minutes of running, Kirk catches up with me, says hello and I ask him how far we have gone.   About 2.6 miles.   Cool, over half way.   And he is then quickly out of my sights, but I can still see his light for awhile.   Finally, I see the one mile left sign (they have all of these marked on course). Awesome, I pick up my speed and head to the finish.   So happy to see the relay area, hear someone yelling my name and Dave Bush waiting there to take the slap bracelet!   So after 47 minutes of running (9:15ish pace) I am done and finally realize I have been so short of breath - that is 5k pace for me!!

I catch my breath, drink some water and then quickly hop in the van, we have to go to the next relay point and Dave B. is much quicker than I am.   Sitting in the back of that van I am happy, exhilerated and can't believe I just ran that fast! Yesss!!! One leg down, 2 more to go...

Once we pick up Dave and drop off our 5th runner, Mike, I realize how tired I am and lay down in the back seat.   That is the last thing I remember for a little while.   All of the sudden I realize the van is stopped, the doors are slamming and we have picked up Dave Z. our 6th and final runner.   We are done for the first part of our legs and now on our way to the hotel we have rented for the night, to hopefully get a few more hours of shut eye before our next leg starts.   I look around the van and Dave B. has also just woken up, he is as confused as I am, LOL! It doesn't take too long and we are at the hotel, up to the rooms.   It has been decided that Ben and Kristen will stay in the van and try to sleep before Ben has to run again (approx 3.5 hours away), the rest of us head up to the room for showers, sleep, whatever.   Maggie and I decide to hit the bed instead of showers, we don't think we smell too bad and would rather sleep.   The rest of the boys take showers, reorganize their bags, and try to sleep.   With all the rustling around I have a hard time sleeping. Kristen texts and says things are a little slow and that Maggie won't have to be ready to go until about 6:30am. At this point it is about 3am, so we decide to set the alarm for 6am, still time to get up, get changed and reorganize our stuff.   I will have to be ready the same time as Maggie, as her leg is only 3.5 miles long.   So, we will need to leave the hotel right away so I can get to the relay exchange point right away.

Finally fall asleep for a little bit and all of the sudden their is a knock on the door. It is about 5:45am and it is the rest of the red team.   They are done and Ben just started.   Shit!   That means we have about 15-20 minutes to get Maggie to the next relay point.   We are both declothed and half awake.   Maggie quickly gets her stuff on and heads out the door.   I am standing there in a t-shirt and not much else, someone is already in the bathroom showering.   I have to completely change, so I yell at all the boys to get out of the room and get clothes on while also eating a honey stinger waffle.   Not sure how I do it, but ready in 10 minutes and out the door, to the van.   Dave B, Dave Z, and Kristen are there.   No sign of Mike.   No answer to his phone and nobody knows where he is.   As both Dave's run off to get him, we make the executive decision for Kristen to take me to the relay point and then go back and get the boys.    So we hope in the van and half way there get a call from a very frantic Ben wondering where the hell we are. Ooops, should have told them all first.   Kristen calmly explains things and refocuses on getting us to the next stop.    It is getting closer to 6:30am but still dark, so I still have to wear the reflective vest, headlamp, etc.   This is my longest leg.

It is also all rolling hills. Not really looking forward to this, but it must be done. We get to the relay point with plenty of time to spare. Maggie arrives right on time, then it is my turn again. This time it is really simple to get out of town. I get in a groove and go. After what seems like a really long time, I hear a garmin beep as some guy passes me. "What mile are we at?" 1 mile is his answer. That's it? Oh boy, this is gonna be a long one. I don't have any music on b/c I didn't feel it would be safe. Being dark and night time I want to hear everything that is coming my way and be more alert. I am more short of breath this time, but the hills are also more steep and rolling. I keep looking back expecting to see Kirk, but nothing. After about 30 minutes of running I start humming "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. I know this has a beat close to 180 cadence and I just try to keep on track with that for the next few miles. Pretty cool too because everytime I get to the top of a hill I can look out ahead of me and see all the lights of the runners strung out in front. Finally, I see the 1 mile to go sign and still no Kirk. Very cool. 1/2 mile left and I can see the relay exchange off in the distance. Then Kirk catches me. D'oh!! But that is the kick I need for that last 1/2 mile and I finish only a few hundred feet behind him, with the sun coming up. It is a beautiful site and leg #2 for me is complete!

Me finishing leg #21!

The cool thing about me finishing so close to Kirk, besides another good time (58 minutes for 6 miles), is that it allowed Dave B. and Larry (from the yellow team) to play cat and mouse for a bit. They said eventually they decided to just run together and then they would pick off people in front of them to pass. So, when we passed them on course they were running together and stayed together until they finished their second leg!

Dave Bush and Larry

Mike and Mary waiting at the relay point for the exchange.

We actually stayed at this point for a little bit because the yellow van was also there so we got to chat and compare stories for awhile. But, once again we had to get in the van and get going. This next leg was really pretty and I wish we would have gotten some pictures. As we were driving through we all were talking about how nice of run it would be for a normal training run. But it was hilly and curvy, so I am sure Mary and Mike, who were running it, probably had different thoughts! LOL! We also had the yellow van in front of us and we swear they were blocking us. They slowed way down and took up the whole road while they chatted with their runner, Mary, as she was going up one of the hills. By this point Mike was already ahead of Mary and we were worried we weren't going to get there in time for the exchange.

But, not to worry, before too long we dropped off Dave Z. and picked up Mike to head to our next location. Shortly after we take off we come to a river that is across the road. Now what? Do we back up and turn around and try to find a different way or drive through? As we are sitting there a car comes from the other direction and goes right across. After watching that, Kristen decides just to go for it. And we get half way, and get stuck...But, Kristen doesn't panic, floors the accelerator and we become unstuck and up the hill back onto the road. Whew! Nothing like an offroad adventure in the middle of Kentucky!

Next major exchange is at the Four Roses Distillery. We get Dave Z. and now have several hours to kill before any of us have to run again. We decide to do a quick drive through Jim Beam Distillery, where we do a few more samples of bourbon, buy some trinkets, and stretch our legs. From there we head out to our next exchange point, which is the Woodford Reserve Distillery. The place is rocking. There are people and vans everywhere. We park in a relatively remote field and then get out to explore a bit. Definately a very cool place with great bourbon (which Maggie and I also sampled). After hitting the bathroom, watching the crowds, we head back to the van. We have a couple more hours to kill, so several of us sleep in the van or pulled blankets out and sleep on the ground for a bit. I also snack a little and finally it is time for Ben to start running. As we hope in the van and start driving, we come across a ton of hills. Not an easy run and all of us in the van are glad we aren't the ones doing it. It is also now the middle of the afternoon and it is hot! So we start to stop halfway and give the runners water. All or our legs this last time are hilly. Ben finishes his, job well done and you can tell he is so happy! Maggie on her way and it is getting closer for my last leg. I am dog tired. Been awake nearly 24 hours. I still have 4.9 miles to run and it is another hilly one. This time though, I have memorized the map in my head, so I know approximately where the mile markers are on course...

Eventually it is time. I am waiting for Maggie and so excited when I finally see her. Not sure what happened exactly but I nearly take her out in the process of trying to get the bracelet from her. Fortunately we are able to steady each other and then I am off running. And it is hot. And my legs are tired. But, I figure everyone else is in the same boat. And I realize we have started catching up with alot of the slower teams. So I now have people to pick off. That is what keeps me occupied this last leg. I would pick out someone ahead of me, make the decision to pass them, and go for it. Pretty sure I passed 3-4 people this leg! So awesome and then I finally make it to the next relay exchange point and I am done!!! And no Kirk, he never caught me on this leg. And our team only has 3 legs left and we will be finished with the full race!

The last 3 legs passed quickly and next thing I knew, we were parked and at the finish line. So much fun and finally, we see Dave Z. coming down the final stretch! And we all jump out with him. He is still running full force and yelling at us to run faster, half of us are in flip flops and already had a few beers! LOL! But we did cross that line as a team! So much fun! 25:40 total time. 26th place out of 250 teams. 11th place in over 150 teams in our division. We rocked it! We did go back out and waited with the yellow team and got to see them all finish. After this we decided to go back in and get our picture taken at the finish. And then enjoy some of the free bourbon tasting at the finish line party...

Hills, Thrills, and Stills Team #2

The Bourbon Chase 2011 - Part One

2011-10-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

The idea of doing this race and planning actually started by a group of my fellow MITers October 21, 2010. Almost one year ago exactly. I was not a part of this group initially, so I really have no idea of what went on at that time. I actually got invited to join the group in April 2011 when they were still looking for a few more people to complete the 3 teams that they had submitted to the Chase. You see this race is quite popular and it has a cap of 250 teams, which it reached. Once I officially paid the deposit, I was in and added to the list of 36 runners that would be needed to complete this race. From this point I had to give someone my best 10k and 1/2 marathon times. I later learned it would be to help them divide up the teams evenly and also help to plan for an estimated finish time. It also became a number that loomed over my head for a few months. We then had parties, umm, planning meetings, every month or so to try and figure out things like housing, team name, t-shirts, etc. I learned pretty quickly that someone was doing alot of planning. It wasn't me. I just showed up when told to, paid money when told to, and voted when told to...For me the process was pretty easy, I know this is not the case for Barbara Grant who did most of the planning an delegating. I am forever grateful for this, because all of the organization helped to make it a great experience for me! This was easily one of the most fun races I have ever done and in large part to Barb and all the amazing people that were down there with me.

Maybe I should back up a bit and actually explain what the Bourbon Chase is. It is a team relay. You can have teams of 6 or 12 people and you have to complete 200 miles. Of running. Across Kentucky. And you have 36 hours (or less to complete it).

The race actually starts at the Jim Beam Distillery and follows the Bourbon Trail. It consists of 36 legs that have to be run by you and your team members. We actually had 3 teams of 12 people, which we named Hills, Stills, and Thrills (teams 1, 2, and 3). Each team member had to run 3 legs which totaled anywhere from 11.5 to 20.4 miles total. All this was figured out for us by some fancy spread sheet that someone came up with to help us figure out who was to be on what team, what legs we should do, and what time we would actually start. The start times were staggered, with the slower teams running first, with the thought that most teams would then finish around the same time. I believe the first waves went off at 8am on Friday, Oct. 7th. All three of our teams were slated to start at 4:15pm on Friday.

So, after a full year of planning, on someone else's part, the day finally arrived for us to head down. It had been decided ahead of time that we would head down on Thursday, as we didn't know our official start time until a few weeks before the race. We met at a church parking lot and headed down in groups. Each team was actually divided into 2 vans, each van would house 6 runners and a driver for the actual race. We rented these in Columbus and drove them down. We had rented 4 different houses and actually were split up into groups based on when we were to leave town. A 3pm group and 6pm group. So, the people we left town with, was not necessarily who was on our team.

Jim and Dave, two of my van mates, getting ready for the weekend to come...

Dan, Kirk, Julie, Bryan, and Dave Z. also getting ready for the weekend.

So, after some initial confusion and direction, we loaded up our van and were on our way down to Louisville, which was only about 35 minutes away from the race start.

A few of my van and house mates, Jim M. and Julie M. in the back, Bryan, I and Dave B. in the middle. Not pictured are Julie A., John, Mike B., and Dan Huston, one of two driver's for my team.

Hit alot of traffic and construction on the way down, stopped for food, and eventually made it to Louisville. We had a cool 3 story house by one of the college campuses. After unloading the vans, claiming our rooms for the night, and exploring the house, a few of us decided to head out on the town. This consisted of walking to a local bar for some draft beer, karoake, and dancing.

Bryan, John, Jim M., Julie M., Mike B., and myself

All I will say about this night was that it was a lot of fun and what happens in Louisville, stays in Louisville...

After a night of restless sleep, I awoke fairly early the next morning. We all ate, reloaded the van, took some pictures, ate again, and then headed to Jim Beam Distillery for the race start.

Our house in Louisville

Ready to go in our team uniforms!

Our shirt logo, designed by our friend Rocco who wasn't there for the race but was with us in spirit! It was decided that we would all have the same shirt, but each team would be a different color.

Once we got to the distillery we had some time to explore, we took a self guided tour that included the gift shop, storing barn for the barrels, educational barns, the house and the grounds in general.

Hanging with Mr. Beam

We also had some free samples...

Once everyone was there, we headed back to the parking lots to divide into teams and load up the vans.

Organized Chaos

more organized chaos

Our van, packed and ready to go!

Hills, Stills, and Thrills Team #2

Hills, Stills, and Thrills Team #3

Hills, Stills, and Thrills, Team #1

Hills, Stills, and Thrills - all of us, including the van drivers!

Eventually it was our turn to start! Julie (in red), Elizabeth (in white) and Barb (in yellow) got to start the race for each of our teams - leg 1 of 36...

And they're off!

At this point we all loaded into our vans and headed to our next destination. For some of the vans that meant to the relay exchange point for leg #2. For us it meant supper, as we had legs 7-12 in our van. This meant we had at least 4-5 hours to kill until our segments of the race would start. We eneded up going to Chile's and meeting up with the other 2 vans that had the same legs as us. After this we decided to head on over to Maker's Mark Distillery, which was were we would start leg #7

My team for the next 24 hours: Ben, Maggie, Mike Z.

Me, Dave Z. and Dave B.

Maker's Mark Distillery

We also got here a few hours early, so had more time to kill. Once again we took a self guided tour and got our runner's ready for the race...

Dave, Maggie, Ben, Mike, and Julie A. learning about making bourbon...

Kim, me, Sandy, and Greg, sampling some bourbon...

Ben getting ready to start his leg of the race. At this point it is dark out. My concept of time was lost the whole weekend, but I think it was probably about 8:30 or 9pm by this time. From 7pm to 8am (dusk to dawn), it is required that we wear a head lamp, reflective vest, and rear blinking red light for safety.

Some of Team 2 (aka red team) members - Dave, Maggie, Rubesh, Julie W., and Mike

Waiting for Michelle to finish her leg so Ben can start his.

Here comes Michelle, she was running so fast I almost missed her!

Michelle, finishing leg #6. Ben is right behind me ready to start leg #7!

After Ben starts, the rest of us hop into the van so we can go to the relay exchange point. Maggie is to do leg #8 and I have leg #9.

So, this is my first leg. And now that number/pace I have been thinking about it really making me anxious. The avg. pace that I am listed at is 9:48 per mile. I have 16 miles to complete in total. Legs can be classified as "E" for easy, "M" for medium, and "D" for difficult. All three of my legs are medium, meaning rolling hills. And Kentucky rolling hills are much different than Ohio ones, which I found out during the bike course of IMKY. And I realized earlier in the day that I forgot my maintanence inhaler for my asthma. So I have been almost 2 days without it at this point (I do have my rescue inhaler though, and plan on using it prior to starting my legs). I am really starting to get nervous. I am by far (almost 2 minutes per mile) slower than everyone else. This includes all 3 teams. Did I also mention that we have a friendly competition going with the yellow team to see who can finish first. And the two most competitive people are on my team? And one of them is in my van, with a clipboard, that has all of our expected times and paces on it? And, did I also mention that 9:48 is only a little slower than my 10k race pace. And that is on flat ground? I also am only barely recovered from IMKY and haven't done much speedwork this full year. I also will give it my all when it comes to a team event. So, yeah, at this point I am nervous. Glad I don't have my HR monitor on, because I am pretty sure that sitting in that van, on my way to my first exchange zone, my HR was probably already in zone 4...

IMKY Race Report

2011-09-19T22:45:00.000-04:00

The day started very early. 3:30am wake up call for me. A breakfast of oatmeal and water. Got on my clothes, did my business and met up with Kathy, Kristen, Ben, Fede, Rick, and Joey in the lobby at 4:30am to head to the transition area. Still can't believe I actually managed to drag myself out of bed that early, but I did. Transition supposed to be open at 4:45am, we are lucky and Super Sherpas Ben and and Joey drive us over. Unfortunately there is already a good sized line waiting to get into transition. Pretty uneventful for me, as all I have to do is drop off water and quickly get my bike chain checked by the mechanic, which fortunately was fine and needed no work. Back to the car I went, first one back there of the five of us. Which I jokingly said "hey at least I am in first place for something today!" Eventually everyone gets back to the car and we head over to the swim start.

IMKY is has a unique swim in two ways. The first is the "time trial start" which I will get to later, the second is that the start is actually a mile away from the transition area. The result is that most athletes have to walk there on race morning from transition. We lucked out and Super Sherpa Ben, drove us there! First stop is body marking...

Kristen and Fede showing off their guns, er numbers!

From there it is to get in line for the swim start. This year supposedly it wasn't supposed to open until 5am, but by the time we got there at about 5:15am, there were already hundreds of people in line. So we weren't first, but we were close. This is something I debated about prior to the race for a few days. Even though it is a time trial start, it isn't assigned. So, it is first come first serve. Where you wait in line is where you start. There is a cut off for the swim, but it doesn't start until the last person enters the water, 2:20 (that is hours) is the cut off. I wasn't worried about the cut-off. The time I was aiming for was 1:20. So, to me, I didn't really care when I got in the water and the idea of waiting 2 hours before the start was, well, tiresome. But, 2 people in our group of 5 were worried about time issues, so they wanted to start as early as possible. So, ultimately I decided to go ahead and start with my friends, which actually worked out great in the end because 4 of the 5 of us finished within 15 minutes of each other!

Waiting in line at the swim start: Kristen, Kathy, Me, Rick, and Fede

Super Sherpas Joey and Ben!

It was a long wait, but actually went pretty fast, especially sitting there with friends. Eventually we all had to get up and they started to shuffle us into the starting gate area.

The docks we jump in off, you can see the entry area and lots of spectators behind!

Volunteers and our safety people out on the water, ready for the swim start!

This is the entry area just to the starting point, once we entered we had to wait another 15-20 minutes before even going in the water. Enough time that Kristen and I were able to hop out of line to go to the bathroom and still make it in time. Right before 7am they did the national anthem, then a someone played the bugle, the cannon fired and people started. Once we started moving, I finally saw my mom, Jean and Aunt Debbie. I wasn't sure they were going to make the start of the swim, so was very happy to see them and even gave my mom a big hug on the way by!

Waiting patiently in line: Kristen, Fede, Kathy, Me, Rick

Found Mom, quick hug!

My kick ass swim outfit!

So the time trial start really just meant that we went in single file onto two docks and jumped in right after each other. And if you hesitated and didn't go quick enough, you would get pushed into the water!

That's me in yellow shirt and pink hat, getting close to the dock!

On the dock, getting ready to jump into the water!

I got up there, took a deep breath, and jumped in as far as I could so I wouldn't get hit by the person behind me and started swimming. Water was warm and kind of gross, but I tried not to think about it and just swam.

I did pretty good navigating the water and just tried to stay on course with the buoys for the first part of the swim. There is always some panic when you first start the swim, mostly because of all the people and suddenly you are in the midst of them just trying to not get hit and swam over. I actually felt pretty good with this one for the first 1/2 mile or so. Then, wham! All of the sudden, out of nowhere, I caught some guys fist in my mouth as I turned my head left to breath. Immediately bloody and split lip, ugh. I treaded water long enough to figure out what happened, the guy apologized and tried to help, but what could he do in the middle of the Ohio River. I told him to go on and then very carefully resumed swimming. The rest of the swim I alternated between carefully trying to swim around everyone and then thinking about the gigantic carp in the Ohio River that were probably swimming underneath me.

I finally made it out of the water, and looked at my watch. 1:19:54. Right on track!

So, bloody lip and I, ran into transition, changed quickly, hit the bathroom. Attempted to eat 1/2 peanutbutter sandwhich but my huge lip made it difficult, so I only ate about 1/4 of it and trashed the rest. decided to stop at the med tent. I knew they couldn't do much and the med guy said my lip could be stitched, but he couldn't do it. So, I asked him if he could at least rinse the Ohio River out of my mouth with some saline, which he did. Then after a quick visit to my volunteer friends Deanne and Catherine for some sunscreen, I was on my way! T1 = 12:39, quicker then my first, but not as quick as I had hoped.

Me, heading out of transtion.

Looking forward to the bike, but dreading it too. One fun thing about the bike is that I got to see alot of my friends, as they passed me, LOL! I am strong on the bike, but not fast. And knowing that it was going to be a long day, I thought I started out a little more conservatively. Based on the hills, my last training ride, and the heat (predicted 87 high for the day), I thought it would be about an 8 hour day for the bike. For the most part the ride was uneventful. My legs felt pretty good for the first loop, it was hard to drink out of my bottle because of the lip swelling. Felt like I almost got as much down the front of me as I did in the bottle, but fortunately it really didn't hurt much. Was happy to get towards LeGrange as I was expecting to see my friends and family that were cheering for me. And they didn't disappoint, they were there, cheering their hearts out and I loved every minute of it! I am one of theose people that the cheering helps, it gives me some oomph and motivation to keep going. So I am thankful they were there.

Me coming through Legrange

The second loop was a little harder. Wind picked up and it got hotter. I could feel both. The legs were starting to feel a little tired, and the hills, neverending. But once again, my faithful friends and family were still there in Legrange, cheering me on towards the finish! It was what I needed and I kept pushing. Towards the end my stomach felt a little crampy but overall didn't feel bad. I looked at my watch as I came into T2 and my befuddled brain figured out that I had a 7:50 on the bike (in reality it was a 7:22).

Me, happy, to be done with the bike!

T2: would have been pretty quick but the stomach cramping became a little worse. As I was getting ready to head to the bathroom, I saw my friend Kathy just getting into the change tent. Pretty cool because that meant we could start the run together. I told her where I was heading and we made plans to meet at the port o johns! No luck in the bathroom but a bunch of air, and no change in the bloating/cramping sensation that I was experiencing. Fortunately it didn't really slow me at all on the run at first, just felt uncomfortably full. Total T2 time = 13:50, definately longer than expected...

It was really cool to start out with Kathy on the run. I have never had this experience and it was good to be able to do it with a great friend. We stayed together for about the first mile and in time to see some of our crazy spectator friends!

The girls, patiently waiting for us: Maggie, Brenda, Teri, and Jeanne

Here we come, about to be mobbed by our friends! LOL!

The full group: Jeanne, Teri, Maggie, Brenda, and Debbie

Kathy and I parted ways shortly after that. Her legs started to cramp so she needed to walk and I felt pretty good. I debated but she told me to go. And when you can fun during an Ironman, you do. My plan was a 4:1 run to walk ratio. I did pretty well with this for the first 6-8 miles. The hard part was that I vowed to stop at each water stop to make sure I was hydrating enough and it didn't always work out with my plan. My legs actually felt good for the first 6 miles or so. My stomach didn't. It still felt really full and bloated. My infinit tasted terrible and wasn't setting well. So, for the first few miles I really only did water, ice, and pretzels at the stops and sipped my infinit when I could. I also stopped at the bathroom a few times, thinking that was the problem. I didn't go at all when I stopped, so it wasn't the issue. Shortly after my first bathroom stop I passed the point where the first loop comes back and turns into the second loop. Low and behold, my friend Aaron is coming around. We run together for a little bit and his words of wisdom are "the second loop sucks." Thanks, especially since I am probably only about 4 miles into the first one. No worries though because at this point I am still just happy to be off the bike! He eventually moves on his way and to a PR finish!

So, back on my own again I plod along. One thing that I do like about the run course is that because it is an out and back with 2 loops, it gives you a chance to see other people, in my case, friends, running the race. It was great to be able to cheer everyone on and give some high fives along the course. It almost makes up for how boring it is. You go through some pretty interesting neighborhoods on the way out to Churchill Downs, where the first turn around point is on the course. By this time I have only drank 20 oz of my infinit and had water and a few pretzels. I am not really sure what the mileage is but I guessed it to be around 8-9 miles. I am starting to bonk. I can feel it in my legs. And I realize I need to change my plan quickly. I need calories and salt/electorlytes. I think about everything at the water stops: cookies, pretzels, oranges, bananas, grapes, coke, chicken broth, water, ice, gatorade, protein bars, and gus. None of the solid food sounds appetizing and my stomach still feels really full. So I decide to force coke and chicken soup at the next few stops. And the coke makes me burb, alot. And, I start to feel better. The stomach is actually less full and uncomfortable. So now I am starting to wonder if maybe there has just been too much air in my stomach since the bike? Is it the straw for the aerobar that did this? Or the fact that I had to drink differently because of my lip? Definately something I will need to figure out for future races...

About this time I come to the half way point and turn around to go back out on the second loop. It is a slap in the face. You literally run to within 1/2 block of the finish. You can hear Mike Riley saying "...and so and so, you are an Ironman!!" and you can see the finishers shoot. And then you hear a volunteer saying, "if you are just finishing your first loop, turn right here..." Ugh, it was all I could do to turn and make the loop. But right there on that stretch I can see my mom, aunt, and friends!

My friend Aimee, came around shortly before me.

Me, just turned onto the second loop and spotted Mom, Deb, and Jeanne.

Stopped to show mom my split lip. It is so much better now, but starting to scab, everytime I smile it starts bleeding again! Need some sympathy from Mom...On the other side is my crazy friends, I also stop over for a group hug, before I am on my way again.

Kathy, just a little behind me.

So, I start on the second loop. But I think Aaron is wrong. For me the second loop actually feels better. Not sure if it is because I saw everyone that I loved that was out there, the fact that I know I am over half way done with the run, or that I am actually feeling better. Still, it is a long way. And I plod along. By this point I have seen and run with all 20 of my friends that did the race except David Bush. Not sure how I missed him, but I never saw him. I also heard he had a great race and PR'd the course. The second half of the run is a little lonelier despite seeing my friends periodically. Alot of the athletes have finished and it is starting to get dark. The legs in general are sore and tired at this point. But, I keep pushing. The end is getting nearer. From about mile 23 on I periodically see friends that are spectating, which really helps. With about 1.5 miles left I catch up with Rick who is walking. He is doing alright, just really tired. I walk with him for a bit, but at this point I just want to be done. And I know he will finish too. So, I take off and finish my race. I am pretty sure my last mile is about the same time as my first. And this time when I come around to the turn around point, it is my time to go straight. It is awesome. My friends are all lined up along the shoot. Both spectators and fellow IM finishers. And right at the end I spot my Mom and Aunt!

Me coming down the final stretch, smiley faces on both knees and face!

And then it is also my turn to hear Mike Riley say "Ann Kurtenbach, you are an Ironman"

My predicted run time was 5:30 with an overall finish of 15 hours. My actual time was 5:58 with an overall time of 15:07. So, I was pleased with the swim and bike, but not the run. But, still happy to have completed my second Ironman.

Mom, right there at the end for a victory hug.

Tani and Aaron, also there to congratulate me!

After this I stayed in the finish area. Very cool because I then got to see Julie, Rick, Kathy, and Fede come in behind me!

Julie and I.

Fede, Me, and Jeremy

So, IMKY was a great experience because of all of my friends who did the race, all the people that watched and spectated for us at the race, and accomplishing a second IM. I wasn't really that pleased with my overall time, but it just gives me more incentive to train for a better race, maybe next year...

IMKY Day #3 - The Underwear Run

2011-09-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

Day #3 started with an early ride. I hadn't been on my bike yet since getting to Louisville and wanted to go out for a bit to make sure everything was working okay. Rick and I met early and went out fo 30-40 minutes at an easy pace. We checked out the transition area and swim practice that was going on that morning, then headed around town to see the finish-line area and part of the run course.

After returning, I got my morning meal in and prepared myself for The Underpants Run. This is a charity event that is often put on before different Ironman races. It was only a 1.5 mile distance. I had a 15 minute run on my schedule anyway, so looked like something fun to do that day. So, Kristen, Ben, Kathy, and I met in the lobby and walked over. Rick met us there as he decided to do the practice swim after we went on our bike ride.

Rick and I striking a pose before the race started.

The race start!

Random participants at the event. Loving the guy in the pink undies! LOL!

The "race" finish line!

Our group, Kathy actually came up with the idea of going as Captain Underpants and made the capes for us. Kristen, Ben, and I , however decided to forgo the tightie whities for other undies...

After the run, it was back to the rooms to get all of our gear bags ready to go and to get our bikes over to the transition area. Before an Ironman you have to check your bike in the day before, it is not an option to do it race morning.

I lucked out and my bike was in the first 3 rows as you came in the transition. Made it alot easier to find my bike on race day. As you can see, unlike shorter distance tris, you do not have an actual transition area to put your stuff down. Instead you are given gear bags; i.e. swim, bike, run, special needs, and morning clothes bags. Each bag has everything in it that you will need for that transition and they are placed at various spots along the course.

The bags for the swim to bike transition and for the bike to run transition were both kept at the bike transition area. You also have two special needs bags, one for the run course and one for the bike. These are placed at about the halfway point and you can put things in these bags that you might need along the course, i.e. nutrition, extra clothes, etc. I dropped all of mine off on this day, although you can actually keep these until race morning and drop them off at that time as well.

As I was wondering around the transition area and trying to familiarize myself, I ran into a few friends!

Christy and I in front of our bikes!

Catherine, proud to wear her volunteer shirt!

Deanne, hard at work also volunteering. Cool side story here, the girl she is talking to in blue was a first time IMer. They chatted for a bit and Deanne actually saw her several times on course and was also there at the finish when she crossed the line! How cool is that!

After transition, my mom, my aunt Debbie, and I got in the car and drove most of the run course. We went as far as Churchill Downs and had to get out for a picture...

After our car trip we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then to an early dinner, again at Mozz. Fairly uneventful evening except that my mom caught the paper in the breadbasket on fire from a candle on the table. My aunt and I inadvertenly made it worse by trying to blow it out, thus making it more of a torch. My mom quickly grabbed the torch and was smart enough to douse it in her water glass to put it out. Unfortunately my dad somehow got all wet in the process and we had ashes all over the table. Luckily though that was the only damage, though. Still not clear how none of the staff saw this happen or offered to help with the fire, LOL!

Early to bed this night, I believe my clock said 8:30pm as I hopped into bed. Early morning wake up call for the race the next day...

IMKY Pre-Race Days 1&2

2011-09-05T16:43:00.001-04:00

The "" Ironman Weekend" actually started on Thursday morning. Rick arrived at my place at 10am to start the road trip. We ran into alot of traffic from accidents, construction, etc. So what should have been a relatively easy 3.5 hour trip ended up taking closer to 5.5 hours. We got to the hotel, checked in and quickly got over to the expo where we picked up our packets and did some clothes shopping in the Ironman Store. Once we finished this, Kathy had arrived in town and we hit up a place called Mozz for a quick bite to eat. After this we met up with friends, Jimmy and Natalie and the 5 of us headed over to Indiana for a beer tasting at Kegg Liquors. An old friend of mine who used to live in Columbus, Todd Antz, took over the business from his parents. Hadn't seen him in years so it was a great chance to meet up with him again and check out the store. Hands down one of the best beer/wine/liquor stores I have ever seen, he had a huge selection and I was a happy girl because he also sells Fat Tire Beer, one of my favorites, which isn't sold in Ohio.

After finishing up here we headed back to Louisville and met up with the rest of team FIT for some late nate pizza at Impellizzeris. By that time, Kristen, Ben, Jeremy, Laura, April, Megan, and Matt had arrived, so we had a much bigger group. After all this, it was time for bed!

Friday morning a few of my friends went for an early ride. I opted to sleep in instead. Once they returned we all headed back over to the athlete check-in area so everyone else could get there packets. I of course, took the opportunity to take some pictures!

Kristen

Kathy

Rick, Kristen, Jeremy

Rare shot of Matt without his sunglasses, with girlfriend Megan.

Susan, Rocco, Dave

While others were shopping around, I took the opportunity to go chat with one of the Pro Women that was there. Hillary Biscay was signing autographs and answering questions. I found out she was to do Ironman Louisville and then will be traveling to Ohio to also do the Rev3 Full in a few weeks! While I was chatting her up, Jeremy and Laura also wandered over and we got a picture with her!

Laua and I with Hillary

As we walked away, I commented to Jeremy that I was surprised he came over to chat with her. I believe his response was "she is hot!" or something along those lines.

After leaving the expo, a group of us then headed out to lunch to a place called Proof on Main to meet up with another one of my friends, Brad Stevenson, who now lives in Louisville but also formly lived in Columbus.

Rocco, Kathy, Rick, Ben, Kristen, Me, Susan

Matt, Megan, April, Jeremy, Laura, Natalie, Jimmy

Great food and great company. After the meal we all traveled to the bathroom. The place is actually in the lobby of a hotel called 21c Hotel which has alot of cool artwork. We had some fun with a few of the displays both inside and out!

After lunch, Kathy, Kristen, Rick, Ben, and I traveled down to a local bakery called Kizito Cookies to get some of their awesome cookies to bring back to some of Kristen's friends and our families. Neat area of Louisville that I would love to explore more sometime if given the time. It reminded me alot of the Short North Area of Columbus.

Once we returned to the hotel, we took some time to check into our separate rooms, take naps, and get ready for our families to arrive later that night.

Dinner that night was spent with more of the IM athletes. Most of our group headed over to the Convention Center where an Athlete Dinner and "mandatory" meeting were to be held. We got there early thinking we could get good seats and found that we had to wait in line, as they hadn't even opened the banquet hall yet!

Tani, Susan, Rocco, Fede, Me, Kristen, Rick, Aaron, Andy, and Kathy.

Per Rocco, this felt like the longest wait ever. We were all hungry and it was hot out in the hall with all the people. But eventually we got in and got some seats and food. We had enough people for three tables, it almost felt like wedding or prom or something...

Kathy, Susan (Julie's mother), Random Guy Mike, Julie, Rick, Kristen, Ben

Christy, Tommy, Robin, Thomas's Wife, Thomas, Tani, Aaron, Rocco, Susan

Andy, Angie, Dave, Sherry, Tony, Me

The Athlete Dinner was interesting to me. I didn't attend this the first year I did IMAZ because friends of mine hosted dinner that night, so I blew off the IM Athlete Dinner and only attended the mandatory meeting. During the dinner there was live entertainment. Then they had a few different speakers, included Mike Riley "the voice of the Ironman" and talked to some of the pros. It was interesting to me because they threw out stats, they also had different competitors up on stage including; the oldest athlete, the youngest athlete, the people that had lost the most weight training (one clocked in at losing 165 lbs!), etc. It was also cool to see all those athletes in one place and to feel some of the pre-race energy. However, the dinner was 2 hours long and then the mandatory meeting was an hour. During this meeting they talked mostly about the race, each portion, things to expect, went over the rules, etc. I will admit, after 3 hours of being in the same room, I was a bit antsy. I think they could easily have condensed it into 2 hours.

Once the stage was vacated, we took the opportunity to take some pictures!

Back Row: Rick, Me, Kathy, Fede, Susan, Tony, Christy

Front Row: Dave, Aimee, Julie, Kristen, Rocco, Aaron

Me and my biking buddies: Kathy, Fede, Kristen, Rick

Kathy, Kristen, and I

After this we went back to the hotels. Alot of our family members had started to arrive, including my own. Mom, Dad, and Aunt Debbie had made it to Louisville while I was at the dinner. I showed up just in time for my mom to open a bottle of red. I was a good girl though and only had water while Deb and my mom drank the wine. After chatting for a bit we all headed to bed. Still have one more day and then the IM!

Why IMKY? Cause all of my friends are doing it!

2011-08-19T21:28:00.001-04:00

From left to right, Team FIT: Natalie Herring, Jimmy Herring, Me, John Price, Aimee Price, Laura Tiller, Jeremy Tiller, Megan Miller, and Matt Herring.

Many people this year have asked me why I chose IM Louisville to do when there are so many other courses. It is because of Team FIT that I signed up for it.

This is the original group that I trained with for my first Ironman. We call ourselves Team FIT, aka. Friends in Training. The first year I trained for IMAZ, this was my main support group, especially on the bike. Without fail, almost every single Sunday from May through Novemember of that year we met and biked. But we were all doing different races. Natalie, Jeremy, and Laura signed up for Wisconsin, which is in September. So after their race they stopped training. Aimee and Matt did Florida, so although in November, it was still 2 weeks before mine. John and Jim where supporters in the ride only, neither did an IM. The result was that although we all trained together, we didn't all race together. So, after a year off, we decided that we all wanted to race one together. IM Louisville was picked by majority rule, mainly because of the location (closest to Columbus) and it was a time of year that worked for everyone. So my training times and plan have changed a bit this year and sadly, I haven't ridden with this group nearly as much as I would have liked. But, Natalie, Jeremy, Laura, Megan and I are in the same swim class, so I still get to see them, when I remember to show up for class! At this point in time all of us are doing the race except Natalie and John. John is a cyclist only, so he never signed up - he will be out there on the course supporting us as a spectator. Natalie, unfortunately had a bad bike accident a few weeks back. Her shoulder is on the mend, but not in raceable condition right now. So, much to everyone's disappointment, she will also be supporting us as a spectator on the course. However, I hear rumor she is already planning another for next year...

Team FIT (bib#'s for IMKY included): On the left is Megan (bib# 91), Laura (bib# 80) and Natalie, Meg and Matt (bib#860) in the middle, and Laura and Jeremy (bib#816) after IM Wisconsin! No extra pic of Jimmy, but his bib# is 2335.

So, this year my training support group has grown bigger.   After I signed up, I helped to convince a few more along the way and through them, I also met others from some of the different training groups that are also competing for the same race.   At this point in time, including Team FIT, I now have 19 friends doing this race with me.    Most I have met through 3 main training groups that I either participate in, or have many friends that participate in them.
These are:
1) COTT: This is more of a loosely based triathlon training clubs.   There are no coaches or plans that are set up for you as a member, but they do coordinate different group workouts, socials, and volunteer support for various events.   I joined this group last summer and so glad I did, it introduced me to some terrific people and many new friends!
2) MIT: aka Marathoners in Training:   This is primarily a running group although they are delving into the tri realm this year.   I have been a member of this group since 2006.   I have also been a coach for a few years, although I am not coaching right now.
3) Just Tri:   A coached tri group.   Although I am not an active member of this group, I know alot of the members and occasionally crash their group workouts!

So, in no particluar order, I am going to introduce the rest of my friends, their impact on me, how I met them, and their bib #'s for IMKY:

Andy Lowe #2039 ((COTT ): I originally met him last year at one of the various COTT social gatherings. I believe I was a bit tipsy and he graciously listened to me since I chatted his ear off that night. Since that time, we have become FB friends and although we don't train together, he has been very good about answering alot of my questions about the IM distance, anything from HR based training questions, coaching questions, to nutrition planning. For this I am very grateful and appreciative. I am hoping that Andy gets his Kona spot at IMKY!

Christy Feamster #341 (JustTri): Christy is one of those people I felt I have always known, although I know I just met her in the past year. The first time I met her was at an info session for Just Tri last year. Although I didn't end up joining Just Tri, I am glad I went because we became FB friends shortly after that. Since that time we have cheered together during races and done some races together. Christy has one of the best attitudes of anyone I know and I wish her the best at her first IM attempt this year.

Aaron Fridenmaker #1425 (COTT, Just Tri): I met Aaron and his wife, Tani last year after I joined COTT. It was on the first group ride that I attended. I was newly single and very excited to go out with a new group. I was actually thinking maybe I would meet some hot tri guys! When I showed up, it was all girls, except Aaron and Philip. Both are happily married (to Tani and Amy resepectively), as I found out later! However, the ride was so much fun and it introduced me to a very good group of people who I now consider some of my closest friends. Aaron did his first IM distance at Rev3 Cedar Point last year. About a week after, I asked if he was ready and would sign up for another? I strongly suggested he should do IM Louisville. He took his time deciding, but eventually caved! Glad he will be going down and I know he will do some serious damage on the course. But I am even more excited that Tani and Kati will be there as well! Tani is hands down one of the best sherpa's/spectator/cheerleader, ever!

David Bush # 1128 (Just Tri, MIT): I haven't known David very long, but him and his wife Sherry seem to be really great people. The first time I remember actually meeting them was at a trampoline workout last year at a place called Skyzone. We had an absolute blast and I have enjoyed seeing David and his wife at various races and events since then. It will be fun to see another friendly face out on the course! Rumor has it, IMKY this year is his second and he is out to set a PR on this course...

Federico Menendez #1211 (COTT, MIT): The first time I met Fede was on a century ride with COTT this year. It was his first ever and my second of the year. It was a very slow paced ride, so we got to chat, alot. We also stopped for a very leisurely lunch at some BBQ place in Howard, Ohio. As we found out later, BBQ pork or chicken isn't a good choice of food to eat when you are doing a century ride! Since that time, Fede has become a very good cycling buddy, we have put a lot of miles on the bike together. I wish Fede the best during his first IM this year!

Jen Brown ?# (former COTT): I just recently met Jennifer at a ride down in southern Ohio. Fede and I had our COTT jerseys on and Jen just happened to hear us talking about a COTT ride. She promptly introduced herself and we have been FB friends since. I just want Jen to know she will not DNF this year, I have confidence you will make it to the end!

Julie Zedakar #170 (COTT and MIT): Julie and I were actually FB and email friends prior to actually meeting. The first time we met was at Muncie 70.3, and we got to wave at each other several times along the course. I am hoping we will get to do that again in IMKY this year! Go Julie!!

Aimee Price #262 (MIT and FIT): Aimee and I met years ago during MIT. We don't run the same pace at all, but we always used to go out to breakfast together after alot of our long runs. Through the years she has become a great friend and also a good bike buddy, when I get the chance to ride with her. I am so excited that we are doing the same race together this year and can't wait to see her at the finish line!!

Kathy Parker-Jones #422 (COTT and MIT): Kathy and I met at MIT a few years back. We really got to know each other in 2009 when we were part of an elite group that went out and ran the Big Sur Marathon. Since then she has become a great friend and coach. Kathy wrote my training plan for me this year and has been a big part of my training; we have swam, ran, and biked together. Not to mention her husband, Jon is a kick ass cook and they have fed me well! Of everyone I know, she will probably race closest to my time and am hopeful we might even be able to run and possibly finish together!

Tommy Costantiello #2032 (Just Tri): Of everyone on this list, I have actually known Tommy the longest. His sister was a year ahead of me in highschool, we also all worked at Big Bear together. Some time passed, went away to college and didn't see him for awhile. After I returned from BGSU, I signed up for a flag-football league and was randomly placed on Tommy's team! We had a blast and played together for several years, and our team was awesome! Of course all good things often come to and end, as we got older our team kind of fell apart. Flash forward to last year. The same Just Tri meeting that I met Christy, Tommy was there! Since then we have spectated, cycled and raced together. I wish Tommy the best and I know he will love it when he crosses that finish line!

Rocco Maiolo #1860 and Susan Liston #275 (COTT and MIT): We met through MIT. I am not even sure how many years it has been, but Susan is another breakfast buddy. I have really gotten to know them this past year with some crazy COTT rides and have enjoyed every minute of it. They really struggled about the decision of which race they should do and I am so glad they chose IMKY. I know both of them are very strong athletes, and if they trust in themselves and the training that they have done, will have awesome races. It helps to know there are good friends out on the course and everytime I see them pass me, I will send as many strong vibes as I can and hope they do the same for me!

Rick Carlisle #1933 (COTT and MIT): I met Rick last year for the first time through our mutual friend, Jenifer Joseph. Jenifer helped Rick to train for his first marathon. Shortly after than he decided to get back into cycling but didn't know alot of people. Jenifer knew I rode alot and we both lived in Dublin. So the first time we met was when he showed up at my place to ride one day. Since that time we have ridden together alot. We have also done several races together, drank alot of wine together, and he has also acted as my chauffer for much of the year! I owe Rick alot for his support and hopefully I provided him with enough training rides, etc. to finish this race feeling really strong and with pride for everything he has accomplished this year.

Petr Janousek #1577 (COTT): So, I met Petr though COTT and a mutual friend, Deanne. I met them for coffee one day last winter, I am not sure if Petr knew I was coming but De did. She had mentioned he was training for an IM but not which one. So when we met, I asked and was happy to have another friend doing IMKY. Since then we have been FB friends. He has been fun to chit chat with about training and how it was progressing. We have done one race together and Petr did really well. I know he will do it again at IMKY!

Kristen Huener Henney #268 (MIT): Kristen and I met several years ago during MIT when we were training for our first marathon together. We have stayed great friends since that time. Through the years Kristen has become a stronger and stronger runner and I really admire her attitude with her training. I have also gradually gotten her more into multi-sport, and as you can see above, she is kicking ass with it. Until this year she had never done a tri, only du's. Somehow though, Kathy and I were able to talk her into signing up for IMKY anyway. Kristen has also been another of my biking buddies this year and often times has even put the courses together for us, hosted, and had her awesome husband Ben be ready for SAG support if needed and food at the end of the ride. I love them both very much and I hope Kristen doesn't hate me for talking her into this by the time we are all finished! But I know she will kick some serious ass out on the course and will love it when she finally crosses that line as an Ironman!!!!

IM Muncie 70.3 Race Report

2011-08-18T10:45:00.000-04:00

This is a very overdue race report, but I figure late is better than never and I should have this for my blog.

Back in July, a small group of us traveled out to Indiana to do our only 1/2 IM for this year.   Kathy Parker-Jones and I left after I got off work on a Friday and drove straight to Muncie to get out packets.   One there we met up with Kristen Huener Henny, Federico Menendez and Rick Carlisle.   I also ran into Julie Robbins, who I didn't even know was doing the race!   We got our packets, went to the athlete meeting, where we found out the water temps were already in the 80's -so no wetsuits for the swim!    From there we went out to the race site and then dropped off our bikes. We split from Kristen and Fede and hit up Olive Garden for our carbo loading before the race.    From there we went back to the church, that is right, the church, where we spent the night.   Actually a really good deal. $10 and you get a cot, water, indoor bathrooms, and breakfast food in the morning.   We actually stayed behind the church in the activity center and you get your spots first come, first serve.   We didn't get there quite early enough to snag a classroom, but we did manage to find a storage room!   Nice and dark, but nothing fancy - saw some Christmas and Easter decorations on the shelves!     We also ran into some more friends there - Petr, Christy, David, and Thomas.   They had a snagged a spot on the stage in a big room upstairs.   It was very quite and dark and I thought I would sleep well, but not so.   I went to the bathroom 2-3 times that night and just seemed to toss and turn, I think I finally fell asleep about 2 hours before the alarm went off.

Race morning came really early, we got up, ate, and stumbled out of the church and got over to the race.   Found Julie Zedaker, Kristen, Fede, Rick, Chirsty, and Tommy C. before the race and wished them good luck!   Then went to the bathroom about 4 more times and Kathy and I headed to the water to wait for the race.   This one went off in waves and they start the slower people first.   This was good for me, meant I didn't have to enter the water last like I did for my last 70.3 distance.   The water was really warm, almost felt like bath water.   Within the first 500 feet I got nailed in the face and the impact of the girl's fist knocked my goggles out of alignment (once I got home I actually discovered that my left eye was bruised).   I had to stop and refocus and after that I was alot less aggressive trying to swim around people.   I also got kind of off course around the first turn and it seemed to take me awhile to get back in line with the buoys.   When I finally exited the swim, I looked at my watch and saw a 44 min time.   I was really disappointed b/c I had been hoping for a 35 min swim.   WTH? There was quite a little jog to get to T1 and my official swim time ended up being 45:44.   Very disappointed and I think it threw me off my game for the rest of the race.

T1: I was actually pretty quick in (for me) but I did stop to apply sunscreen, which added some time.   Total T1 time: 4:03, my fastest by far.

The bike course was pretty flat, which was nice.   It was already a little windy at the start, and we had a nice tailwind.   It is an out and back course and we had a pretty steady headwind for the middle 25 miles of the course.   This gets tiring to me after awhile.   I think of all the things you can get on the bike, wind is my least favorite, it just never lets up!    The nice thing was that we got somewhat of a tailwind on the way home.   One good thing about this type of course is that it does allow you to see some friends.   I was able to see Kathy, both Julie's, Kristen, Rick, Christy, and Tommy at various points along the course.   I love to see my friends race, so this did help to pass the time! My bike ended up being 3:14:09, not my fastest (3:10) but I was still pretty pleased with it! Overall I felt like I controlled the pace well and I thought I was doing well with nutrition, one bathroom stop along the course, so this told my I was on track.

T2: Uneventful, I was in and out in 3:30

Run: My legs felt really good when I first started running, maybe a little too good.   I decided to go ahead with the 4:1 run/walk that I had been practicing for IMKY.   I also decided to do this b/c it was always into the mid 80's and was really humid by this point in the race.   My first few miles I managed to do in the 10-10:30 pace range.   I felt like I was passing alot of people at first and generally was having a good time.    Muncie is alittle deceiving, it is advertised as a fast and flat course.   That may be true of the bike, but not the run.   It is constant rollers for 13 miles.   I am not sure if it was that, or the fact that it was 89 degrees by the time I finished, but somewhere around the turnaround point (6.5ish miles) I hit a wall.   Big time.   My legs felt like lead, nausea set in, and I felt like I was moving like a snail.   I was having a hard time eating or drinking anything b/c my stomach felt very full and bloated.   Around 8 miles I started to get chills and goose bumps, then I noticed I was in the sun.    So, I tried to force more fluids and I decided to walk more of the hills.   I saw pretty much everyone else on the course and they all looked strong.   Kristen and both Julie's were flying.   Kathy and Rick looked great!    Petr flew by me with a huge smile and pat on the arm.   Meanwhile, I was feeling miserable.   I managed to muster up a big smile for Carrie McCoy and her cowbell when I saw her along the course, but after that I slowed down even more.    One foot in front of the other, ran when I could, tried to say on the 4:1, but deviated a bit.   Met a really nice gentleman from Indianapolis who seemed to be feeling the same as me.   It helped, especially the last 1.5 miles.   Finally, one last big hill, which I walked and then the turn to go back to the finish line!   My half marathon time ended up being 2:40:52 and my overall time 6:48:17.

I was never so happy to finish a race.   Rick and Kathy were both there to greet me.   We waited around and Fede finished a little behind me, huge smile on his face!    I still felt like crap and I know I was alittle out there.   Kathy chatted away and I think I managed some one word answers.   She loaded up on food and nothing looked good to me.   I managed to choke down some water, a few bites of some pretzels and still felt like my stomach was going to revolt.   Then I found the ice cream truck! Awesomeness, I found an orange flavored pushup thing and that seemed to hit the spot.   Once I ate this and sat a little, I finally started feeling a little better.   We found the JustTri group and hung with them.   Christy was still out there and I was determined to see her finish.   Kathy and I split for a bit as she wanted to change clothes and get her bike loaded up.   I did go get my recovery drink and got into flip flops, my feet finally felt wonderful!   As I headed back to transition I ran into Lauren Updyke and we chatted about the race - she did awesome, BTW!   But, she also mentioned being disappointed in the swim and being a few minutes slower than normal.   We speculated a bit and came up with the theory that the course was long!   Phew, maybe I wasn't as slow as I thought...

Back to the race and just in time to see Christy cross the line! Yes!   Everyone made it! From there I went back and quickly gathered my stuff and went out to where I thought we left the car, but it wasn't there.   At first I thought I had the wrong spot but then noticed Rick's car was still there.   So, Kathy moved the car somewhere and I had no way of finding out where she or the car were, as my cell phone was in her car! D'oh!   So back to transition, her gear is gone.   Decide to go back to the finish line, bags and bike in tow.   Finally found her, she had moved the van closer and I completely missed it!    At that point we loaded up the car and headed home!     Very uneventful trip home, I thought I would sleep and didn't.   I think we talked the whole time about IMKY.   Once home (a little over 3 hours from Muncie) I finally went to the bathroom and realized I hadn't gone since the bike of the race...

So overall I was disappointed with my time and performance of this race.   But it was so much fun to be out there with all of my friends and I did learn some things about myself.   A few things of note, I did not taper at all for this.   It was hot and that was the first time I had done a race of that distance in the heat. I realized after the race I didn't manage this well.   Maybe on the bike, but definately not on the run.   Looking at my symptoms and the fact that I didn't go to the bathroom for at least 7 hours, leads me to believe I was either really dehydrated or undergoing heat exhaustion on the run course or both.   After talking things over with Kathy and Kristen, I realized I didn't use the ice as well - they both were putting it in their bras, under hats, and munching on it.   I think this would have helped me alot and it is something I will rememember for IMKY.   So, it did rally five me some things to consider for my nutrition planning and managing in the heat.   The one other thing I noticed is that it really didn't take me that long to recover.   I was right back on track for IM training pretty quickly after the race, which I though was great.

All in all, I thought this was a really well run race and would suggest it to anyone wanting to try a 70.3 distance!

Deer Creek Oly Tri 2011 - What Not to Do in Training!

2011-06-21T11:20:00.000-04:00

Long overdue race report. I have put this off because I really wasn't happy with my performance at this race and was disappointed with my overall time. I learned alot from this race. Mostly what not to do before one.

Here is the list I have come up with thus far:

1) Do not sign up for a race 10 days before hand without a plan and on a whim. Jeanne signed up and then asked if I would come along, it was to be her first. Without thinking it through, I just went ahead and signed up. In hindsite, I probably would have been better off going as a spectator and sherpa.

2) Do not do the Warrior Dash the day before.

3) Do not drink 1/2 bottle of wine two days before then turn around and part-take in drinking beer after the Warrior Dash the day prior to the race (4 beers for me in total).

4) Do not underhydrate with water (see #3).

5) Do not go into a race with lack of sleep, i.e. for me that means only sleeping 5 hours several nights in a row before the race.

6) Do not eat like crap the week before on a diet of take out and sugary foods.

7) Do not go into a race without a taper.

8) Do not expect a great race when doing all of the above!

So, here it goes, race day came very early. Met with Rick and Jeanne at my place by 5:30am. Wanted to get down in time to get our packet pick-ups and set up prior to the race start. We made it down there with plenty of time to spare. I also find out that Jeanne and I will be in one of the last waves to start. This poses a slight problem for me as I normally try to do my rescue inhaler about 20 minutes to the race start. We will have to be out of transition about 30 minutes prior to when our wave goes off and I don't want to just leave my inhaler somewhere random. So, I opt to do it anyway and hope everything runs on time. It doesn't. They decide to "give us" and extra 10 minutes before they start the oly waves so that all of the sprints will be out of the way. Oh well. I will have to think about this for future races. May have to consider having two inhalers for the 1/2 IM and full. One that I can pitch while I wait and one to have on the course in case I need it.

The water is perfect. 71 and calm. We finally get the horn to start. I wade in right with everyone else and after a few kicks, realize that I didn't put my chip on tight enough, it is starting to come off from around my ankle. So I have to stop and try to adjust this in chest deep water, don't want it coming off during the middle of the swim! Figure I lost a few minutes, but it gives me a chance to choose a line and go with it. It doesn't take me long to catch up and pass many of the women and eventually I catch up with some of the men. I am second out of the water in my age group with a 29:31.

Transition takes a little time to get my wetsuit off, still haven't perfected this technique yet. I also take some extra time to apply some extra sunscreen. At 2:54 I have the slowest T1 of my AG.

The bike started alittle rough. My HR is already at 161 out of transition which is zone 4 for me. Not sure I can race at this the rest of the day so I slow down abit to a comfortable pace. My legs already feel tired. Overall the bike is uneventful. I try to keep a pace that is comfortably hard. Most of the ride my HR is in zone 3 except for the few hills that are on the course. One of the things I don't like about the Deer Creek course are the roads. At least 50% of them are the chip-n-seal stuff. It makes the roads really rough, so more resistance when you pedal and it feels like your whole bike just vibrates. So, my bike wasn't all that strong. 1:28:22 and I am 5th in my AG by this point.

T2 went a little faster, but I had to make a pot stop, must have hydrated just fine on the bike! No record of my time here but I assume at this point I am last in my AG (#6).

I start off on the run and about 1/2 mile into it I hear someone yelling my name. I turn around and Jeanne has almost caught me! I slow down and walk with her a bit, but once we start running again, I don't want to stop, so I leave her behind after a bit. Jeanne is doing a walk/run plan. My legs are definately tired at this point. I maintain I steady pace and end up with one of my slowest 10k times. Perhaps I should have done the walk/run plan like Jeanne. 1:08:30, this also puts me last in my AG. 6th place out of 6 people. Well, I guess someone has to do it, and this race it was me!

Total race time was 3:09:19. I guess that after looking back at everything I did wrong it isn't too bad. Not a PR time for me in this distance and not my slowest time either. It also didn't take me too long to recover from it either, so that says something. Definately a learning experience and a wake up call for my trianing until my next race, Muncie 70.3.

The Warrior Dash

2011-06-05T17:31:00.001-04:00

The Warrior Dash was this weekend. So much fun! I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into, but so glad I did it. I went down to the event with a huge group of running friends and we had an awesome time! We started out bright and early and met at our normal Saturday morning running place. Someone had come up with the great idea of hiring a charter bus for the occasion. This was the best idea ever! We loaded on the bus and then proceeded to get ready while the bus took us down to Logan, Ohio, which is an hour away to the race event site. I know we had at least 40 people on the bus and we met up with even more people when we got there. The people watching and running outfits were great.

The event actually goes off in waves every 30 minutes because there are so many people that participate. In Ohio, the event took place on Saturday and Sunday and it was rumored that over 25,000 people were running the event. One of the most organized races I have ever done. We got there, checked-in, got our drink bracelets, checked our bags and had plenty of time to hang out. Most of our group was in the 11am wave and it started on time.

We went off slow and then got slower. Most of the run was in the hills and it was already pretty muddy and slippery. Throughout the course we came upon obstacles that included things such as wading waist deep in a creek/river, pushing through tires hung by strings, climbing over cars and running through tires, jumping over waist high walls, climbing rope walls, walking on planks and balance beams, swimming in a small pond that also had logs you had to dive over, crawling through pitch black tunnels, jumping over fire, and crawling in a mud pit that included barbed wire you had to crawl under!

To my knowledge we all finished, we all got muddy, and we all had a blast!!

Nutrition an Ongoing Battle

2011-05-31T12:03:00.000-04:00

Another part of training for a long course endurance event is nutrition.   The training is important of course, but the nutrition can also make or break a race. I know many an athelete that killed the training but then on race day had difficulty with the nutrition portion, completely bonked, and any thoughts of a PR quickly died. Questions to ask: How long is the race? How much do you sweat?   What is your race weight?   Can you keep down solid foods when you race?   Just to mention a few.   Figuring out what to do race day comes with practice, like everything else.    Not only during training, but also before and after.   What you put in your body all the time really does effect performance.   Recovery and what you are doing after a tough workout, sets you up for your next workout, and so on and so forth.    This to me is an ongoing artform.

One of the steps I took last year was to meet with a dietician with a background in endurance athletes. I met with Dawn Daniels out of Max Sports Medicine.   She helped me to determine that I need about 60 g of carbohydrate during any training that is longer than 60 minutes.   A few other things she assisted me with was the importance of post workout recovery (for any workout longer than 90 minutes), and daily how much calcium, protein, carbs, fats, etc. that are important for me.   We met about 3 times and also had some email chats and I found the information to be really helpful.    I was surprised to find out that I actually need to eat alot more protein during the day than I had been.   So this is an area I have been working to improve.   Difficult for me intitially because I am not a big meat or egg eater.   I am not vegetarian or vegan but I have dabbled with some different eating styles in the past year, including, the  E2 or Engine 2 Diet.   IT was a challenge for me to follow this diet - I tried for about 28 days.   I liked that it forced me to try some new things, which I now incorporate regularly into my diet, but it was too restrictive for me.   So I have kept some of the basic principles of the diet, but I don't adhere to it.   I also regularly use the website for some of the recipes.    As I have mentioned before, I am not a big meat eater.   I have never really liked the taste, plus I don't cook it well.   So when I eat at home, which is alot, I really don't eat it.   But, I do like fish, and bacon. I don't think I could ever give these up completely!   I have also found that I really like greek yogurt as a protein source.   It satiates me, especially on days when I have to work. I add it to fresh fruit and granola and it seems to keep me full for a much longer time than any other breakfast type item I have tried, and I have tried alot of different things!   Another thing I tried more of on this diet was quinoa.   I love it now! It is a great source of protein and can fixed alot of different ways! The following is a nice summer recipe I just tried:

Citrus-Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
1 cup diced unpeeled cucumber
1/2 cup diced dried figs or dried apricots
1/2 cup drained canned mandarin orange sections, halved
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds or toasted almonds
2 green onions, diced
2 TBS chopped fresh corriander or parsley
1 tsp grated lemon or lime rind
3 TBS lemon or lime juice
1 TBS sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander.

1. Rinse quinoa under cold runningg water, drain. In saucepan, bring 2 cups water or broth to boil, stir in quinoa. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is transparent.   Drain and let cool.
2. In a large serving bowl, combine, quinoa, cucumber, figs, orange sections, sunflower seeds, green onions and chopped coriander.
3. In a small bowl, mix lemon rind, lemon juice, sesame oil, sugar, cumin and ground coriander. Pour over sald and toss to mix. Serve immediately. Can be covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.

One other thing I have been using alot this year is a product called Infinit Nutrition.   It is a company that allows you to custom blend a sports blend mix that you can add to water and use during or after training.   You buy it in bulk and it comes in a powder form.   The nice thing about it is that you can change things like the amount of carbs, the amount of calories, the electrolyte content, etc.    So far I have been using a blend I created for the run and a different one for the bike and I seem to be doing well with them.   Much better than trying to use gatorade/gu, etc.   Using this product I really don't have to use anything else, although I have found a protein bar or granola bar here and there is nice for variety!

First Run back with MIT

2011-05-28T19:52:00.002-04:00

Today was my first day back with MIT since I have started HR based training. It was a humbling experience. I started with the 11:30's thinking that it should be a slow enough pace for me to maintain my zone 2 (121-135) HR. Not so, after the first 5 minutes my HR was already in the 150's and that was even after a downhill start. After about 10 minutes I gave up and slowed down. Got dropped by the group pretty quickly. Eventually the 12:30s flew by me. Then a speed walker. So, I took a deep breath and kept going. I had to walk 4 times in the first 30 minutes to make sure I was staying in zone 2. After a quick stop to refuel at Hills Market and then a potty stop at Wilson Bridge Rd., I turned around and headed back. The second part of the run felt better, I actually felt like I was able to pick up the pace alittle, although I really don't know since I don't wear a garmin. Only had to walk 2 times to get HR to stay in zone 2. Saw a deer, saw lots of my MIT friends, and kept going. 90 minutes later and I hardly felt like I had run. If my shirt wasn't drenched I probably would have questioned it. So, I guess next MIT run I will probably start with the 12:30 or 13:00 pace and see what happens. At this point I am frustrated but I am going to try and believe and have confidence that in the long term this will be a good thing. If nothing else I will be able to slow down and enjoy the view!

Heart Rate Training

2011-05-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Alot of the Ironman plans use Heart Rate (HR) Based Training. I ignored it the first time I trained and just trained by how I felt. I finished my race and felt good about it, but I was slow. So many people have talked about the benefit of HR training that I decided this year, I was going to try this type of training. Rather than try to guess my true max HR, I opted to get a VO2 max test done instead. I did this for 3 reasons: 1) I wanted to know how well I do with oxygen utilization. 2) I wanted to know my max HR. 3) I wanted to know my LT, better known as lactate thershold.

So, sometime in mid April I went to Max Sports Medicine to get this test done. I showed up early on a Tuesday morning. You have to "rest" the day before and the day of so that you are not tired for the test. The staff there was great and Dr. Devor guides you through the test very easily. You have to wear a mask that measures your breathing and the test is primarily done on a treadmill. You start at a walking pace and are incremented up to higher speeds every 60-90 seconds. Once you hit your tempo pace, which we predetermined based on what I perceived as my tempo pace at the start of the test, then the treadmill is slowly elevated by 1-2 degrees. This also happened about every 60-90 seconds. They basicically do this until you decide you are done or can't do it anymore. I made it up to a 10% grade, I don't remember now what my speed was on the treadmill. Total test took just a little over 10 minutes.

I was fortunate as I was the only one Dr. Devor saw that day, so I was able to meet with him right after to go over my results and get his suggestions. From what I understand, he often doesn't meet with people until 2-3 weeks after their test and it is with a group of 3-4 people. So I was actually a little disappointed in my results. My VO2 max is 42. This isn't terrible, as Dr. Devor put it, it is actually high if you compare it to the general population of women my same age, which is avg of 38. However, I am used to hearing the VO2 max numbers of alot of my friends, which are a unique group of endurance athletes. Compared to them this is very low. My max HR was 182 bpm. I actually thought it would be higher than this. Again some disappointment. My LT is around 151bpm. Based on max heart rate, Dr. Devor then came up with intervals/zones of training for me.

They are as follows:

1) Zone 1: (108-121) This is the active recovery zone and also low intensity used to establish a cardiovascular base.

2) Zone 2: (121-135) This is where the majority of the building phase of IM training should be, it is used to improve overall conditioning and endurance.

3) Zone 3: (135-151 ) Tempo Pace/Latcic Acid Tolerance, this is a higher intensity zone that starts to add an anaerobic component to training.

4) Zone 4: (151-169) Interval Training, this is a high intensity zone used primarily for speedwork training. Needs to include full rest breaks in between workouts to avoid overtraining.

5) Zone 5: (169-182) This is the highest intensity training zone and reserved for use in very hard interval training.

So far doing this type of training has been very challenging for me. I have had to slow way down on my long slow runs (lsr) and my recovery runs. I often have to take walking intervals during these runs just to keep my HR below 135. I feel like I am barely above a walk on these runs and think that people have to wonder what I am trying to do on these runs. I am not even sure what pace group to run with this Saturday when I rejoin MIT. I don't have a garmin that monitors pace/speed. I only have a HR monitor so I really don't have much idea of what pace I have been running. I am going to start with the 11:30 pace group, but suspect I will likely end up dropping back to the 12:00 group. For those that know me, this is a significant decrease in pace to what I normally do. For the past year and a half, I have been helping to pace the 10:30 group (I also happen to know that my HR was generally in the 150-160 range with these runs, apparently I had been doing my LSR in my zone 4)! On the flip side, my quality workouts have felt easy. The past two weeks I have been able to do a couple of runs with some zone 4 intervals, they have almost felt too easy and I have had to be careful not to go up into zone 5 with these workouts! I have also noticed I haven't been nearly as tired after my workouts. The first year I trained, I was sleeping at least 8 hours a night and I was often taking naps during the day after some of my workouts. I really haven't felt like I have had to do this so far, even with the increase in training over the past month or so. At this point I am going to try to be patient and give this a shot, but it really is frustrating, especially on my slower workouts...

Catching Up

2011-05-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

It has been quite awhile since I have been on my blog. Not really sure why I got away from it, but a friend asked if I would start up again and thought it was about time. Since my last entry I have been keeping quite busy and managed to do a few races. These races include: Stomp the Grapes 1/2 Marathon (Nov), The First Annual Chalet Trail Run (Jan - I did 12 miles), Arizona Distance Classic Quarter Marathon(March), and Kentucky Derby 1/2 Marathon(April), and TOSRV (May).

Races that I currently have on the calander are: the Warrior Dash (June), Muncie 70.3 (July),Ironman Louisville (August), and The Bourbon Chase (October). I will likely do some shorter distance tri's but haven't signed up for anything yet.

Training this year so far has been a challenge.   In January I injured my right IT band and hamstring.   The injury itself seemed to take forever to heal and I had to change some of my race plans because of it.   I was originally going to do the 1/2 Marathon distance at the Arizona Distance Classic, but at that point in time, my knee was bothering me even on short 2-3 mile distances.   So I ended up doing the quarter instead, which I was happy about.   Very slow, but it gave me a chance to enjoy the course and then cheer in all my friends as they came through the finish.   So, although not a fast race for me, the experience was still great.   I thought I was going to completely have to bail on the Kentucky Derby Half, but I kept at my rehab for the IT band and slowly but surely increased my mileage each week.   The weekend prior to the race I was able to do a 2 hour training run and decided at that time to go ahead and do the race.   I knew it wasn't going to be a PR race or anything and decided to approach it as a training run.   I ran with my friend Kathy and we decided to try and keep my HR at a tempo pace or lower.   First half of the race I felt great and felt like I could speed up.   Unfortunately Kathy started having some cramping issues.   The course only had water at the stops until mile 9, for some reason.   I had bought my own fluids, but Kathy had not.   So, we ended up walking/running the last 4 miles or so.   Definately the slowed 1/2 marathon I have done to date.   However, that being said, I still had a great time.   The course was flat and I really liked going through Churchill Downs and ended down by the river.   It was a well run race and I felt great the whole time we were out there. I didn't really even feel tired at the end.   So, for me it was more of a confidence booster than anything!

The second challenge of my training this year is that I have started HR (heartrate) based training.   More on that next blog, but the main thing is that I have had to slow way down on my long runs, which is more mentally challenging than anything.

Fall Recipes

2010-10-24T21:43:00.001-04:00

Great fall day, which started out with a trail run at Highbanks Park. Fun group and beautiful run!

While I was out running and then driving home, it gave me a chance to figure out what I wanted to do with the day. It has been awhile since I have spent the day at home and done much cooking. So I did just that. I opened the windows to let the fall breeze and smells in, cleaned the whole place, and baked/cooked some new and wonderful recipes!

The first thing I made was a repeat recipe. I actually tried it last week and loved it! I had some leftover pumpkin that needed to be used, so decided to repeat the recipe again. . .

(From: PPK Blog)

Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 4 dozen cookies

Equipment:

2 baking sheets

2 mixing bowls

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional ingredients: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds and/or 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped or 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 2 greased baking sheets.

Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a seperate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. (If using, fold in walnuts and raisins or chocolate chips).

Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don’t spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350. If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You’ll have enough batter for 4 trays.

Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they’ve had some time to cool and set. They taste even better the next day!

**I omitted the flax, walnuts, and raisins and made 1/2 the batch with chocolate chips added and 1/2 just "plain." Both versions taste amazing!

After making the cookies I decided to try the following two recipes for my evening meal. I am happy to report that they were both wonderful!

1) Butternut Squash Pizza with Blue Cheese and Fried Sage

2) Collard Greens with Bacon from Simply Recipes

Collard Greens with Bacon

*Chef's tip: don't overcook the bacon. It should be barely brown around the edges and still somewhat raw-looking in the middle.

Ingredients:

4 strips thick-sliced bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Several dashes hot sauce

1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar

2 pounds collard greens, stems removed, sliced into 3-inch-wide strips (can substitute kale or chard)

1 cup chicken broth (or water)*

Method:

1) Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Cook the bacon in the skillet until it just begins to brown around the edges, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and cook until they have softened and are just starting to brown.

2) Add the garlic, salt, pepper, sugar and hot sauce. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about a minute. Add the vinegar, bring to a simmer, and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by half, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

3) Add the collard greens and the chicken broth (or water) and bring to a simmer. Reduce the temp to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the collard greens have wilted and have lost their brightness. Season to taste with additional vinegar and hot sauce. Serve with some of the pan juices from the pan.

Serves 6 to 8.

**I didn't have a few ingredients and substitued instead:

1) Shallots for the yellow onion

2) Red Pepper Flakes instead of hot sauce

3) Garlic infused vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar

Deer Creek Fall Challenge 70.3

2010-10-14T22:23:00.000-04:00

Long overdue race report, not sure why, just haven't really had the time or attention to get the report out.   But it ended up being a good day and I want to make sure it is in my records, so here it is. . .

I am not a morning person, so knowing this, I didn't want to drive down the morning of the race.   So, I convinced my mom to go down the day before with me and stay overnight at the Deer Creek Lodge so I could get my race packet, check out the course, and sleep in a little on race morning.    We left in the afternoon and had a quick drive down.   Decided to hit the race area first and pick up the packets.   No worries, there was maybe a dozen people there so it took all of about 10 minutes to get my packet, walk down and look at the swim course, and walk back to the car. There were some hardcore athletes checking out the water and my mom asked if I wanted to as well.   I am not hardcore, it was windy and a little chilly, so the answer was "naw, I'll be fine tomorrow."     But, we did have some extra time before check in so we decided to drive the course.   I don't do this often mostly because I think it actually makes me more nervous about the race.   However, it is nice to know what to expect, so in this case we did.    Most of the first 1/2 of the course is flat and wide open.    I also noticed alot of chip seal roads, which I hate!    The back 1/2 of the course is a bit hillier, one in particular looked a little more challenging, mostly because it is situated right at the beginning of a left had turn.    Overall, though not too bad of a course but still enough to make me nervous because I have to do 3 loops of it!

Once we were done with the drive we decided to head over to the lodge and check in.    Once there I told them I had a reservation and they were unable to locate it. WTH??   I had made that reservation well over 2 months ago.   Unfortunately I had forgotten to write down the confirmation code.   I knew I had saved the email, so they were kind enough to let me use a computer so I could search for it.    Took awhile but I finally found it and I was correct, I did have a reservation . . . .for August 28th, 2010.   Oops, not only had I made it for one month earlier, but apparently I was now a no show, which meant I probably had been billed for it as well. D'oh!!   Unfortuantely they were already booked for the night at the lodge *sigh* however, they did have a 2 bedroom cabin available so my mom and I decieded to try that instead!   Whew!    The staff was brilliant and they were able to transfer the money I had already paid for my lodge room to cover the cost of the cabin and then I just had to pay the difference.   No problem!!

Once we checked in, went back to the lodge for a quick supper and then over to the camp grounds to visit my friends Teri and Janice and their significant others.   They had decided to camp there for the weekend and Janice was also going to do the sprint tri in the morning.    Very nice visit and then mom and I were back to the cabin and I hit the hay early.

The cabin was very quiet and dark so I had a surprisingly good night's sleep.   I normally don't sleep well the night before a race, but this was quite possibly the exception!    Woke up pretty easily in the morning, ate a quick breakfast and then had mom drop me off at the race.    My mom was to go back to the cabin, check out, and then she was going to golf with some friends before coming back to the race!

Once again I got to the race way too early and had nothing to do.    Fortunately I found my friends - Jeanne, Rick, Terri, Aaron, and Tani prior to the race and hung out with them for a bit!

Rick, Jeanne, Jennifer and I before the race.

The swim started in waves, sprint distance first divided up into age group and sex, then olympic distance, then the 1/2 distance. Of course it got started late and it was cold outside. I actually ended up wading into the water about knee deep because it was warmer, then had to go back to the land because it was a beach start. The whole time I am waiting, I am getting more nervous. The bike cut-off is at 1:30pm, it is almost 9:15am before they start the 1/2 group and I am in the last wave for this. I am not the strongest cyclist so at this point, ever minute counts!

Finally in the water, waves are choppy going out (we are against the wind) so a little difficult, but once I make the first turn, I find a good path and go with it. I pass a dude wearing a snorkle at some point - thought this was illegal, but oh well, I pass by him pretty quickly. Swim seems easy and I am happy with it, get to the other end, make my turns and start heading back. Hit the wind again and feel like I am barely moving, plus I have to lift my head up pretty far to keep from gulping down water every time I try to take a breath. The water is shallow enough her that lots of people are not even trying to swim and are getting up and jogging along this section. This makes me mad and more determined to swim harder and faster. Finally finish with lap one and head onto lap two. More of the same and eventually I get the swim done. I am jogging out of the water and check my watch - 33 minutes (last year at Steelhead was 38 minutes and that was with the current)! Sweet, much faster than last year. Right at that point nausea sets in and I have to stop and start dry heaving. WTF?? This feeling passes and I stand up and try jogging to get up to transition. Nausea and gagging start again, I step to the side, dry heave some more and the feeling finally passes. I eventually make it to the transition area - 3 minutes have passed so my "swim time" ends up at 36 minutes as I head into transition.

The weather is much cooler and more overcast than I was hoping for, once I strip off the wetsuit I am freezing. Decide to go for the armwarmers on the bike to help keep me a little warm. Darn things are very hard to put on though when you are soaking wet. So, not the quickest transition but fortunately it gave me time to get the nausea settled down so I can also get in some fluids and nutrition prior to heading out on the bike! After 5 minutes I am ready for the bike!

Guy next to me has an awesome looking bike, but I am happy because I know I beat him out of the water and he had at least a 3 minute start on me if not more!

The bike was fairly uneventful.   3 loops and it was really windy.   Of course the wind changed from a west wind to north by the time I got off the bike, so it seemed like I had a headwind the whole way.    I didn't keep track of my bike splits, but I am pretty sure I slowed down on my last lap, fighting the wind all morning, makes for tired legs.   3:14:14 was my total time on the bike - last year I had 3:30, and I thought it was an easier course.   As I come into transition, my good friend Kathy's boys (Evan and Scott) are waiting for me.   The boys take turns telling me that they came down with their mom to volunteer and they are helping to pass out medals.   Scott then informs me that I almost didn't make the bike cut-off.   Thanks Scott . . .

Coming into transition I noticed how empty the parking lot was and how many bikes were gone out of transition already.   Fortunately for me, all my friends had stuck around to cheer me on and Jeanne even decided to help pace me for the first 1/2 of the 1/2 marathon!!!     Qucik shoe change and bathroom stop and in 2:27 I am on my way.

Jeanne was a blessing on this first lap.   After being on the bike for >3 hours alone and seeing hardly anyone, I am ready for some company.   The run course is a two loop out and back.   Very flat, which is fortunate for me.   We keep a pretty good pace for the first loop and I drop Jeanne off at the turn around - I would love to have her for more, but she has already run the day before and put in an awesome sprint tri ealier in the day!   I am so glad she was still able to do 6.55 mi with me!    The second loop gets a little warmer - the sun has finally decided to come out.    I am still doing pretty well until about mile 9 and then my breathing gets off track.   I have my inhaler, but I had just used it at transition, so still to early to use it out there.     Instead I start a 5:1 run/walk.    My left hip is also starting to cramp up, so this run/walk pattern helps that too.    After what seems like a very long 4 miles, I finally get to the finish!     2:21:12 for the run . . .

6:19:02 total time! My time from Steelhead 70.3 was around 6:38. So, I am very happy coming into the finish because I know this is a PR in this distance and I took almost 20 minutes off my time from last year! Whoo Hoo! I was also smiling because I have some of the greatest friends ever. All of them stuck around to cheer me on at the finish and they found my mom and took her under their wing. They were great too, everytime they saw me, I heard them and their darn cow bells before I even saw them! So, a HUGE thanks goes out to Terri, Tani, Aaron, Jennifer, Jeanne, Phillip, and Rick for sticking around after your races. Also, was pretty cool to see Kathy at the very end and have her put the medal around me neck!

High fives for us, Kathy is in the hat and those are her two boys; Evan and Scott! Thank goodness for great volunteers!

The happy finishers; Rick (first 1/2 duathlon completed), Jennifer (first in AG - oly du), me (3rd AG), Tani (best spectator ever), and Jeanne (first AG sprint tri).

My stats since last update:

9/24: rest

9/25: hour ride (easy)

9/26: Deer Creek 70.3(1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run): 6:19:02

9/27: rest

9/28: 2200 swim

9/29: 30 min run

9/30: 35 minute strength

10/1: 45 minute run

10/2: rest

10/3: 10 mi run

10/4: rest

10/5: swim 2200, strength 35 min

10/6: 64 min run

10/7: 30 min run

10/8: rest

10/9: 12 mi run

10/10: 31 mile ride

10/11: rest

10/12: swim 2200, strength 35 min

10/13: 50 min run, 15 core strength

10/14: 30 min run

Local Matters

2010-10-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

October 2-8, 2010 was the Eat Local Challenge for Central Ohio. There was a list of things that you were supposed to pick 3 things from and try out in the week. I decided to 1) Go to a local farmer's market and purchase locally grown food. 2) Prepare and share a recipe using local ingredients. 3) Eat out at a restraunt that uses local ingredients. I am happy to share that I was able to accomplish all 3 of these things and am trying to continue on with these things this week as well!

Last weekend I shopped at the North Market and found some locally grown apples (that looked awesome), onions and greens (spinach and arugula). That evening I already had dinner plans at Due Amici with friends. I was pleased to find out that they do use locally produced food and I had a wonderful meal of Pork with Sweet Potatoe Risotto and Asparagus, which was on special for the night! Sweet - 2 of my 3 goals had been met in one day!

The next day, I was to have supper with my family. I have an aunt and uncle (Jim and Elaine) who were in from out of town visiting for a long weekend. Elaine has some food sensitivities and has to eat a fairly restricted diet that includes no wheat based products and dairy, to name a few. I figured that this would be the perfect time to try a new recipe with some of the local ingredients I had purchased the day before.

Using the apples and onion I had found worked perfectly in this Apple and Parsnip Soup. What was even better was that my aunt enjoyed the soup enough that she copied the recipe for herself! Yay! Goal #3 met.

I had also found another recipe which was really good and could be used as an appetizer or maindish. I used it as a maindish and served a salad on the side later in the week for one my own meals. The Brie, Apple, and Arugula Quesadillas were really good and easy to make!

So, I enjoyed this fun little challange and would suggest that anyone try it around there town. It is nice to support the local farmers and I think it is a great way to try new things and recipes if you like to cook or eat out!

MMM, Butternut Squash

2010-09-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

With Autumn comes lots of wonderful fall veggies.   One of my favorites is butternut squash, so when I found a really good one last week I was very excited.    I contemplated all week long what I wanted to make with it, there are so many good things: butternut squash ravioli, butternut squash soup, roasted butternut squash, butternut squash bread pudding . . .you get the picture.    I finally decided that I wanted to try a butternut squash risotto, I had eaten a sweet potatoe one a few weeks ago and loved it - so the thought of trying one with butternut squash sounded even better!

After searching through all my cookbooks and on-line I found this recipe for butternutt squash risotto that I decided to follow.    I have never made a risotto before, mostly because it is supposed to be hard to make.   But after reading through the directions, I realized it really isn't all that challenging to make, you just have to have patience because there are multiple steps and it just takes along time to make good risotto!

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage
serves 4 (or one with multiple containers for leftover meals)

1 small butternut squash (you will probably use just one half)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced (I used shallots instead)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine
4-6 cups chicken stock, warmed on the stove in a pot
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

First you have to roast the butternut squash.   There are other recipes which call for cubing the butternut squash and cooking it with the onions and garlic, but there is something about roasting that is so much better.   I think it is the carmelization of the squash that doesn't occur with other methods of cooking it.    So to roast it, I have found the best way is to cut into cubes and then lightly coat with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.   I have also found that if you line a pan with aluminum foil first, it is much easier to clean up afterwards.   Depending on the size of the cubes you can roast at 350 to 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until desired doneness.

After about 20 minutes of roasting I decided to start the rest of the cooking process. Once the butternut squash got done, I just turned off the oven and let the pan sit until I was ready to use the squash.

With risotto you start with the onion first to soften.

Next step is to add the garlic for a minute or so, then the rice for just a few minutes until it starts to get golden.

The next step is to start to add the first of the liquids and any spice you are using. In this recipe it is a white wine, but you can use veggie or chicken broth for all of it.

From this point on, this is where it is a waiting a being patient game. You add a little heated stock (I used chicken) at a time, stir and let simmer until the liquid boils down. Repeat until all the stock is gone and the rice has taken on a creamy texture.

The author of this recipe suggests that you do other things in the kitchen during this process, such as clean, cut up and prepare other foods for the meal, or drink wine. I think I could get on board with this!

Drinking wine while cooking? Priceless! I also opted to clean my apartment at the same time. Worked well and looked something like this: take sip of wine, vacuum living room, stir risotto and add stock, gulp of wine, vacuum bedroom, sip of wine, stir risotto . . .you get the picture. All in all it was a very productive afternoon/eveing!

Last step is to add in the squash and cheese for the finished product! I ate mine as a maindish and added a spinach salad (and more wine) to round out this great meal!

My stats for the past few weeks:

9/6/10: 32 mile bike

9/7/10: 40 minute recovery run, 30 min strength train

9/8/10: rest (book club)

9/9/10: hour bike (17 miles), 30 min run

9/10/10: 2800 swim (200 warm up, 5x500, 100 cool down)

9/11/10: 10 mile run

9/12/10: Rev3 1/2 IM Relay - bike 56 miles (3:08)

9/13/10: 2000 swim

9/14/10: 55 minute run (5.5 miles?), 30 min strength

9/15/10: 17 mile bike

9/16/10: 40 minute run (4.25mile, middle 2 mile tempo run)

9/17/10: rest

9/18/10: 6 mile run, 20 minute open water swim at Alum

9/19/10: 44 mile ride

9/20/10: 40 minute run

9/21/10: 2200 swim, 30 min strength

Rev3 Racing Weekend

2010-09-19T19:13:00.000-04:00

Team MIT Tri Chicks

Last weekend I had the opportunity to do a 1/2 IM as a relay team. This is something I have never done before, so when Kathy emailed Kristen and I a few months ago about doing this, I was very intrigued. So, after a little discussion and figuring out who would do what leg, we decided to sign up and give it a try!

This was the inagural race for the Rev3 Tri at Cedar Point. We had to go up the day before to register and get the bike into the transition area before 5pm. Most of the bigger sized races require that you do this prior to race day and there isn't race day registration. Not sure the reason, but it does make it easier race day because you don't have to haul as much gear or worry about how long the registration lines are going to be on that given day. So, by 4:30pm we were checked in and ready to go with nothing else to do the rest of the evening.

The OSU vs. Miami was the same day, so someone suggested BW3, sounded good - so a few of us went there to kill some time and watch the game. We then ventured over to a local Italian Place and did our carbo loading for the night!

Race morning always comes early. This was no exception. It was suggested that we try to be there by 6:15am to get our body marking done. Normally this flows pretty well, you get your marking done, then go to the transition area and check all of your stuff, then get the wet suit on if appropriate, and before you know it - the race is starting! It was a little longer process for this race. The full IM race started first at 7am, then they let the 1/2 IM group go at 8:30am but in waves. The Relay Teams got to start in the last wave, which meant our start time wasn't until 8:50am! So, we got to sit around for several hours before the race even started for us. It was fun though, because we did get to see everyone else get ready and had some nice bonding time as fellow racers . . .

Kathy and I getting body marked, very early in the morning.

Found a fellow racer, who also got there way early . . .(Kathy, Me, Rocco, Kristin)

We set up our own area outside of the transition so that the spectators and racers would have a common place to meet and get ready while they waited. Kristen had the longest wait of everyone since she did the running leg of the relay. This would mean waiting until 12:15 to 12:30pm to start depending on how quickly Kathy and I could do our legs! Kristen had the right idea by bringing the recliner chair so she could rest her legs!

Getting on the wetsuit truely is an artform and there is much discussion on what is the best way to do this . . .Some spray Pam or Cooking Spray on their bodies to make it go on easier and many use body glide. You can see that this group used a variety of methods including, but not limited to, wetsuit calithenics and other friends to help zip and get into the suit!

Swim start finally arrived and most everyone headed down to the beach to get ready.

When there are "wave starts" to a race, they typically break up the groups and start them at different times, rather than everyone starting together. Each wave is typically indicated by age group, sex, and/or weight. Different color swim caps normally designate who is which wave.

As I mentioned before, the Relay Teams started in the last wave - they grouped us with the 45+women and the clydsdale athletes. Apparently someone thought those would be the slowest swimmers. Not so, Kathy actually caught up with and passed some swimmers in the 2 waves that started prior to hers!

We didn't catch Kathy coming out of the water, but we did spot our friend John, he was actually only a minute or so ahead of Kathy . . .

Kathy made it back into transtion after a 40 minute swim (1.2 miles), we exchanged the race chip and then I was off to start the leg loop of the tri (56 miles). The course itself wasn't really that challenging - a few steep but short hills and one segment that had about 10 miles of rolling hills. Would actually have been a pretty easy bike for me except that there were 15-17 mph winds that day. Wind is not my friend on the bike and I would rather deal with anything else. And wouldn't you know it, but the last 15 miles or so on the bike provided us with a nasty little headwind! No worries, I gutted it out and although it wasn't the time I was hoping for, I was able to finish the bike in 3:08.

Meanwhile, Kristen is still waiting in transition. Not sure what all she did for 3 hours while I was out there, but someone snagged a shot of her stretching and getting ready for her run.

Whatever she did, it worked! I came into to transition, Kristen took the timing chip from my ankle, and in 36 seconds our transition was complete and she was off on the run (13.1 miles)!

Once I caught my breath, got the bike put away and my legs stopped shaking, I stretched, changed clothes then met up with Kathy and Kristen's husband, Ben. We put a few things in the car and then headed to the finish line, which was inside of Cedar Point Amusement Park. That was one of my favorite parts at being part of the relay - I actually got done early enough to see most of my friends be able to finish. It was especially cool because I was able to cheer on two of my friends, Rocco and Stephanie, as they finished their first 1/2 IM distance!

Rocco, looking strong with a 5:35 finish!

Stephanie is on the left, apparently she ran 10 miles with this girl and they exchanged recipes and other things while passing time on the run!

The other really cool thing is that they let all the team members run down the final stretch so that everyone can finish together! Kathy and I went back and forth on this because we knew Kristen was on her way to a PR time for the half marathon distance. We were both in flip flops and weren't sure we could run her pace, on the otherhand we wanted to finish as a team! We opted to jump in and run as fast as we could!

In our exuberance we almost left Kristen behind! But we slowed and all got to finish together with a final time of 5:36 (Kristen's 13.1 mile run was a 1:46 PR)!!

PR, baby!

2010-09-07T09:53:00.001-04:00

Finally, after a 6 years, I was able to set a new PR for myself for the Half Marathon Distance! My very first half marathon I had set my PR 2:06:04, and had yet to beat it!

I originally signed up for this race because it was so close to my home and I know the race course fairly well.   The start of the race was only 1 mile from my house - perfect!   It isn't often that one can actually be close enough to walk to the race start!     It was also being sponsered by my workplace and I have friends that helped to run the event.    So, once I read about it, I was in and I am so glad that I did it!

Race morning started with near perfect temps - 50 degrees when I woke up!   I ate a quick breakfast, got ready, and did a light jog over to the race start.   Fortunately Fleet Feet had a tent, so I was able to drop off a bag with extra clothes, meet up with my friends, and have time to stand in line for the bathroom.     There were just shy of 1,500 participants so the race was a good size but not too big as we got off right on time.

This race was a half marathon distance and a "quarter marathon distance" and they had pacers for every minute pace.   However, since more people had signed up for "half of the half" they only had them for that part of the race and not the full half marathon.   I decided to line up with the 10's today to see how I would do, despite having run 10:30's with all my long runs and not doing much regulated speed work this summer.

I was pleasantly surprised that for the first 3 miles not only kept up with the 10 minute pacers (thank you Michele and Joe!) but that it felt pretty easy!    At this point the pacers and all of the quarter marathoners turned to go back towards the race start and the rest of us kept going.   It was now down to Dawn and I trying to keep a 10-10:15 pace.   Right around the 4 mile mark, the one big hill on the course started.   I kept a steady pace and before I knew it, I had left Dawn behind.   I slowed at the next water stop and she caught up with me.   Decided at that point I wanted to see what I could do.   Dawn was using this as a training run so didn't want to push it, she wished me luck and I took off.   I put down the next two miles at a 9:15 pace!

The next few miles I slowed just a bit because I knew I still had a little over the half the race and the course went slightly uphill again just prior to the turnaround.   By mile 8, I started to realize that if I was able to maintain a 9:30 pace the remaining of the race, that I would be pretty close to a new PR.   I don't wear a garmin, so I was relying solely on my watch time and what I could figure out in my head.     At mile 10 my legs started to cramp a little but overall felt pretty good, breathing was on track.   Got to mile 11 and my breathing was starting to give me some issues, but I hoped I was still maintaining.    This is the point that it can get hard because once you start to get tired, you can feel like you are going fast, but that isn't always the case!   I hoped I was still as fast as I felt . . .Last 1/2 mile I tried to just go as fast as I could, minutes ticked by and I thought, where the heck is the finish??   Finally I rounded a curve and could see the flags and hear the cheering.   I put my head down, gutted it out, and looked at my watch as I crossed the finish . . .2:05:55!!!

Afterwards, we all went over to Matt the Miller's for some free drinks and a really nice brunch. It was a nice way to finish out a great race!

Thanks Jeff and David (the race organizers) for a great race experience!

Summer Goodness

2010-09-02T09:31:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about summer is all of the bountiful food and wonderful selections at the Farmer's Markets. One of the best ways for me to spend a Saturday morning is to get in a nice run in with friends and then follow it up with a leisurely trip one of the local Farmer's Markets. Unfortunately I sometimes get in over my head and end up with too much food and not enough time to eat it all before it goes bad! This past Saturday was no expection. I had a lovely run with my MIT friends and then went over the the Worthington Farmer's Market with my friend, Kathy. It was a great selection and before I knew it I had walked away with 2 bags of fresh veggies, including, heirloom tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, basil, sweet corn, brocolli, fresh spinach, strawberries, and blackberries. I also walked away with several baked goods, which I managed to finish off later that day! Once I got home, I was wondering how in the world I was going to eat all of this food and started looking at my recipes for some inspiration.

So, I was thrilled when I found this recipe in Simply in Season

Stoplight Salad

2 cups tomatoes (chopped and drained)

2 cups corn (grilled gives a nice smokey flavor)

1 medium green pepper

1 medium red sweet pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, basil, or parsley (chopped)

2 cups cooked black beans

Combine the above ingredients into a bowl.

3 TBS olive oil

3 TBS balsalmic vinegar or lime juice

1 clove garlic (minced)

Whisk together in a separate bowl. Pour over salad. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently and serve.

**Few notes of interest for this salad. It serves very nicely as a side salad to any protein. I turned it into a maindish by adding 2 cups cooked quinoa to it. I also substituted fresh green beans (broken into small pieces) for the green pepper and thought it tasted just as good!

Spirit of Columbus Half 2010

2010-08-30T21:53:00.001-04:00

The 3rd running of the Spirit of Columbus 1/2 Marathon and Relay was this past weekend. I wasn't originally going to do this one because I had signed up for Emerald City 1/2, which is next weekend. Then my good friend Dayspring contacted me to see if I would be interested in doing the relay. I am so glad she did because I had a blast! I have never done a relay of this distance so it was a new experience for me!

We decided I would do the first 1/2 and Dayspring would do the second half. Dayspring wanted to be able to run into downtown. I actually preferred to do the first portion because it was easier for me to plan when to take my asthma inhaler and I thought it might be cooler!

So, the morning started out nice and cool, sunny skies. My friend Rick picked me up bright and early and we headed over to the race start. Found a bunch of MIT friends, hung out a bit, and waited in long lines for the bathroom - nothing out of the ordinary for a race morning! Very low key and about 2 minutes before start time we all ambled over to find a good spot. Darla, Rick, and I weren't overly concerned about our times so we found spot towards the back. 7:30am sharp, the gun sounded and we were off!

I wasn't too sure of myself going into this race because I haven't really done much speed work this summer. I was hopeful I would be able to do a 9:55 pace or so. Between HHH (hot, humid, hazy) days, traveling, and being sick - my plan to work on speed kind of fell apart and really I have been doing just enough training to get by. So, I was pleasantly surprised when Darla and I did the first to miles at an avg. of 10:05 and then 9:24 and I felt pretty good. After a third mile around 9:30, I decided to see what I could do. Darla slowed as she was needing to reserve some energy for the (full) 1/2. So for the next few miles I tried to work at a hard speed but not killer. I didn't look at my watch and just went by feel. I felt like I passed alot of people, including a few that normally run in faster pace groups than me. Once I got to mile 5 I tried to pick up the pace a little more and then nausea set in . . .so, I just tried to maintain. 6.55 miles finally arrived and I found Dayspring right away. I was too breathless to say much of anything but I grabbed her hand and wished her a good run! My time was right around 1:01! I forgot to stop my watch after I crossed, so I am unsure of the actual time, but close enough. Much better than I thought and a PR for this distance!

After this I had to jump on a shuttle bus to get downtown. There was alot of traffic so I was a little concerned we wouldn't make it in time. The nice thing was that we went on the road right next to the race, so I got to see most of my friends at one point in the race or another! Fortunately we were moving quicker on the bus and I made it in plenty of time to see Dayspring and many of my other friends cross the finish line!

Dayspring is in the front, white hat!

Here we are: Team 2 Runner Girls (race time of 2:06:43)!

It turned out to be a great race day and many of my friends had PR's!

Congrats to my friend Michele, who got a nice PR and is now a memeber of the sub 2 hour club!

Rick also got a PR by almost 5 minutes!

And I think 75% of this group also got PR's! Way to go Rich, Julie, Becca, Mark, Julie, and Jim!

So what else have I been up to?

Here are my stats for the past few weeks:

8/11/10: still sick - rest day

8/12/10: Attempted 30 min run (ran 20 slow then ran/walked for 2:1 ratio), 30 minutes light strength - after all this I had to take a nap, still feeling sick . . .

8/13/10: biked 15 miles at a nice easy pace (15-16mph)

8/14/10: 8 mile run with MIT

8/15/10: 40 mile bike, ridiculously hot and humid, still feeling affects of bronchitis earlier in the week

8/16/10: 30 minute recovery run

8/17/10: 45minute strength training

8/18/10: bike 19 miles, brick run 15 minutes

8/19/10: 2500 swim, 40 minute run

8/20/10: rest

8/21/10: Pelotonia 105 miles on the bike

8/22/10: 10 mile run

8/23/10: 35 minute run

8/24/10: 2300 swim, 40 minutes strength train

8/25/10: 19 mile bike

8/26/10: 2500 swim, 42 minute run

8/27/10: 38 mile bike (2.5 hours)

8/28/10: 6 mile run with MIT

8/29/10: Spirit of Columbus Relay, 6.55 mile run (1:01ish)

8/30/10: 2800 swim (outdoor pool, 94 degree weather, dodging kids)

Pelotonia 2010

2010-08-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

I participated in Pelotonia again this year and I am happy to announce that not only did I raise my fundraising goal ($1,500) but I also finished the ride from Columbus to Athens!

Pelotonia started Friday night with registration, a catered meal, motivational speakers and live music. I was honored, once again to bring Eileen with me as my guest. Especially important to me as a celebration as she is "in remission" for lymphoma, which she has been battling for 2 years! We met earlier and carpooled together. Probably should have got there sooner - the place was a zoo with over 4,000 riders and their guests. We waited in the registration line for about an hour. Fortunately we saw several people while we waited in line, including Eileen's brother Henry, and my friends Anne and Jeanne. This helped to pass the time, alot! Once we got through line, we stayed with Jeanne, found some supper, and claimed a spot on the grass to watch the opening show. Chris Spielman was the guest speaker this year and it was especially touching, as he lost his wife, Stephanie to breast cancer earlier this year. He showed this video as part of his talk:

I don't think there was a dry eye in the house by the time it was done.   Good thing the three of us had sunglasses on that evening!     After Chris, the main headliner, Counting Crows, played for a bit.   I found a few more friends - Ryan, Nate, Rocco, and Susan and forced them to take pics with me!   Unfortunately we didn't stay too much longer after this, as we had to be back at CAS early in the morning for the ride!

Saturday morning started way too early (4:30am on my clock)!    I decided to go down early because I was unsure of the parking situation or how long it would take to get my bike, given that there were double the riders from last year.   I got down there without issue, lucked out on a close spot, and got my bike pretty quickly.   At 5:45am, I had nothing to do until 7:00 am so I found a spot and just observed.   It was humbling to be amoung all of those riders, seeing survivors, and realizing we were all there for one purpose - to find a way to fight cancer!   It felt awesome!   I also got to see my friend Leighann, which was great because I hadn't seen her the night before.

After a few trips to the bathroom, I met up with Jeanne and we decided to find a place to get into the line of riders.  Much to my surprise, our friends Tammy and Lisa (from MIT) found us to wish us a happy ride and see us off for the day!   Shortly after that, we randomly found some friends of mine that ride with COTT.   Couldn't have planned it better, but it wonderful to find Sara, Ryan, and Stephanie - it gave us a bigger group to ride with on this fine day!!    They also informed us, we would meet up with 4 more people at the first stop, this would give us a group of 9 to ride with for the day!! Yay!!

At 7am sharp the ride started and we were out on the course!   Riding through Columbus at that time of day was slow, but alot of fun.   Lots of people cheering us on and much discussion about how different we felt on some of the roads on marathon day!    Less than 3 miles into the ride, I happended to glance over and saw my friend Ann that I swim with a few days a week!   We chatted for a bit and she stayed with us for the next 10 miles or so - such fun to see all these people that I know!

At the first stop we pulled over and eventually found everyone.   It was good to have the crew all there, my "peloton" for the rest of the trip included: Jeanne, Rocco, Susan, Ryan, Sara, Stephanie, Julie, and Melissa.   It was a great group, one that I was happy to be part of that day!

The next 15 miles went by pretty quickly and before I knew it we were upon the 2nd stop, we pulled in - most of us had to go to the bathroom by this point.   We also saw some more familiar faces - Susan' parents had driven down to see everyone and had a wonderful sign for Rocco and Susan!   We also ran into our friend Katie, who also runs with MIT!

After this stop we started to get more of a headwind and we started to get into some rolling hills.   Funny, but I didn't really remember these from last year and I kept thinking "who put these hills here?"    After some discussion, Julie and I decided that the wind must have been the reason the hills seemed harder.   Oh boy, we aren't even half way there and I am already getting tired from the "hills."   Fortunately, about this time, my two favorite cheerleaders, Teri and Brenda, were spotted on the side of the road.   You could hear them about a quarter a mile up the road and they had on their bright orange MIT shirts, so it was hard to miss them!   I LOVE spectators and seeing them was awesome! Just what I needed to get me through to the next stop!

The "half way" stop, Amanda, soon appeared.   I think this is misleading to the riders that do the Columbus to Athens route, in reality we are only about 40% of the way there.   But, it is a good time to stop - afterall, most of us had been up since 4:30am so it definately felt time for lunch.   OUr group had separated a bit, but we all regrouped and ate lunch together.   This was the last time all of us would be toghether until the finish.   As the bigger hills started I knew we would get separated - thank goodness for cell phones so we could all stay in touch!

After Amanda, the ride goes into Hocking Hills. This is my favorite part of the course, but also the hardest.   The hills get bigger but the views are spectacular - much of the ride is along a large creek, with winding roads and tree cover.   It really is a beautiful ride.    Jeanne and I decide to stop at the next stop, Amanda Clear Creek Park.    It is a quick stop and we also see Ryan and Sara (3 of the 4 of us has to use the bathroom), everyone else has gone on to tackle "the beast."    Shortly after this stop is the biggest hill on the course.   At one point on the climb, there is a 15% grade!    It is also decieving because you get up part of it, it levels out a bit, you round a corner and then there is more!    Last year I made it up all the hills without having to walk my bike.   Unfortunately this year I didn't.    I made it 2/3 of the way up the beast (including the 15% grade part), but the bronchitis that I battled a few weeks prior caught up with me.   I was wheezing, slightly dizzy, and the legs felt heavy, and then I saw that second incline.   I felt it best at this point to get off and walk the bike.   I was still short of breath 5 minutes after I had walked up the hill, so I felt it was a good decision at that point. The hill was also a little harder this year - rather than smooth black top it is covered with that gritty, gravel like surface that seems to increase friction and make the bike stick to the road!    Jeanne and I regrouped at the top and went on with the ride.

Shortly after this we came along another (unofficial stop).   We weren't going to stop but someone shouted "homemade baked goods" and I spotted Stephanie and Melissa eating something fabulous -so Jeanne and I quickly swerved our bikes over to join in on the action.   Glad we did - best stop.   It was put together by neighborhood ladies, they had all kinds of fabulous baked items, water, wet wipes, it was lovely.    They had my favorite too - no bake cookies!! Yum!! I only ate one, but in hindsite, I should have taken a package of them with me, they were GOOD!

After this we tackled more hills, Jeanne and I stayed together for most of it and we pulled into the Logan stop after awhile.   This was a relief - only a little over 30 miles left!   I can do this during the week, no problem.    We ate some more (homemade banana bread here - good stuff) and waited for Julie, Melissa, Sara, Stephanie, and Ryan.   Rocco and Susan had left us all behind by this point and were on a mission to finish.    Shortly after we got there it started to rain.   So, we left this stop rather quickly and headed back on course again.

This part of the course kind of sucked, well it really sucked.   I don't mind the rain, but there was also alot of traffic.   This made me nervous, I had a hard time seeing much because of the rain and I always worry the people in the cars can't see us.   So, we slowed a bit to get through all the traffic and to make sure we were staying safe.   The rain felt good because it cooled us off, but it definately slowed everything down.   Stephanie passed all of us and took off, she is a strong rider and I had actually expected her to do this much sooner.    This section also had the last hill.   It isn't especially steep, but it is long and it is late in the ride so it seems much harder.   I remembered this hell (I mean hill) from last year and everytime we went up a bit, I kept thinking "is this it?"   We finally got to it, 75% of the riders didn't even try, they just shook their heads and stepped off their bikes.   I tackled it - took it slow and steady.   Oddly, it didn't seem as hard as last year!   Ryan passed me at some point and stopped at the top to wait, once I saw him, I pulled over as well and waited for everyone else to arrive.   One by one, Julie, Melissa, Sara, and Jeanne finally appeared.   Sweet!   Only flat roads from here.

Last stop was at Hocking College.   Stephanie was waiting for us once we stopped there.   My bike had been squeeking alot so I decided to check my brakes.   Sure enough they were offset and I had been "dragging" on the front brake!   Oops, no wonder everything felt so much slower . . .wonder how long that had been going on??? For those that don't know, if the brakes are "draggin" it slows the wheel down.   So ultimately I had been riding for God Knows How Long, with my brakes pressing on the wheel!   D'oh! Oh well, it was easy to fix and then we were off for the last segment.   Jeanne and I were last to leave this stop, so it was just the two of us for the last 12 miles.

Blessed bike trail!   From here on we were on a very flat, paved, and smooth bike path!! Yay!! Less than an hour later we finally found the finish and the rest of our friends!

I am sorry to say, but after we got to Athens, we learned that a rider had died.   Michelle Kazaluasky was struck by an oncoming truck at 2:15pm than afternoon and had not survived her injuries. It is devastating to hear of a fellow rider being struck and killed, especially in event where she was riding for a great cause.   I only hope that she did not suffer and that her friends and family have plenty of support in this tragic time.

Despite this bittersweet end, once again Pelotonia was a wonderful experience, made better by all the friends that I rode with and saw along the way.    I congratulate all the riders that did the fundraising, training, and met their goals.   I thank all of the people that made this happened and supported all those riders in their efforts.    Most of all, I hope that the cure for cancer is closer, because we put up a great fight this year and I know it will continue in the coming years!

What Have I Been UP to these last few weeks?

2010-08-10T18:47:00.000-04:00

Just a quick overview of my training for the last few weeks:

7/23/10: rest

7/24/10: 7-8 miles with MIT, no timing.

7/25/10: Kewpee Sprint Triathlon: 1:30:44

7/26/10: 5.1 mile run ( 51:25)

7/27/10: 2450 swim, 45 minute strength

7/28/10: bike 19 miles (1:06)

7/29/10: 40 minute run

7/30/10: 25 minute open water swim - Lake Michigan

7/31/10: 10ish mile run during Steelhead 70.3, great way to spectate!

8/1/10: 36 mile bike (1:35), checked out 1/2 the bike course from the race

8/2/10: 5 mile run + 1.5 mile walk (no timing)

8/3/10: 2400 swim, 45 minutes on the trainer, 30 min strength

8/4/10: 50 minute run

8/5/10: 2400 swim, 30 strength

8/6/10: rest

8/7/10: 7 mile run (no timing), 21.3 mile bike (no timing)

8/8/10: 60 mile ride (4:05 hrs), 20 minute brick run

8/9/10: rest (sick)

8/10/10: rest (found out I have bronchitis)

Kewpee Triathlon 2010

2010-08-10T18:33:00.000-04:00

Long overdue race report, but since I am sitting at home with Bronchitis, I thought now would be a good time to do this.

The Kewpee Tri/Du was a blast this year. We had quite the group turnout from the MITers which made it even that much more fun! The day started out grey, overcast, and with a steady drizzle. Fortunately this actually made it cooler for the race, which was a nice change.

The water was a toasty 82 degrees, so wetsuits weren't legal. Also made it for a nice place to "warm up" while waiting for the race to start. The men got to start 1 minute ahead of the women. Not sure if this was the best decision, because it didn't take long for most of the women to catch up and pass much of the men's group. For me, this just meant trying to navigate through more people without getting hit and kicked. Was challenging around the first 2 buoys, but luckily I found a clear path so the second half of the swim felt good. I was out of the water in about 8:15 (500yds)!

Transition went fairly quick, I just had to put on the bike shoes, helmet, and race numbers. The rain had stopped, but my stuff was still soaked! Overall a quick transition and by the time I hopped on the bike, I saw the first of my MIT friends (Aimee) emerge from the water.

The bike felt good. Aimee passed me pretty quickly into the first leg of the bike and I just saw the backside of her for the rest of the race. There was only one other girl that passed me on the bike, but I passed her as well and it went this way for most of the ride. By looking at her, I could tell she was going to be a strong runner, so I really wanted to beat her into transition, in the end I got a few minutes on her. I have no idea how long my bike was, because once again I managed to stop my watch. However, I think I rolled into transition just shy of 49 minutes (15 miles). At this point my wonderful spectating friends told me there were only 3 or 4 women ahead of me on the run course.

Quick T2 and I was out on the run. It still wasn't raining but the humidity had picked up a bit. This always seems to affect my breathing and it was no different on this day. I felt sluggish and short of breath for most of the run. The run was on a trail which was newly paved, so this was a nice change from running on the road like last year. It was also an out and back route, which was great b/c it gave me a chance to check out all the competition. As I predicted, the girl on the bike, passed me on the run after the first 5 minutes - she looked very strong. Up to this point, the only person I had seen in MIT was Aimee and I knew she was well ahead of me on the run. I didn't see anyone else until I hit the turn around. Much to my surprise, Kristen and Jeanne were only a few minutes behind me. Kristen, I expected, her running has been kick ass these past few months. Jeanne, I did not expect to be that close. Jeanne is a stud in her own right but fairly new to the multisport. So, I really was expecting her to be a little further behind me! So, for the rest of the race, my only thought was "I have got to beat Jeanne back to the finish!" Kristen passed me shortly after the turn around and ultimately went on to win the ladies Du overall! I didn't dare look behind me b/c I didnt' want to see how close Jeanne was to me. I felt like my running was slowing down and I did get passed by Ben at some point, but no Jeanne. I also got a chance to wave at the rest of my MIT friends: Erin, Jennifer, Carolyn, and Steve, who were all still working on the first leg of the 5k. Finally the finish line was in view and I stumbled across it, Jeanne was only about a minute behind me at that point! Great race Jeanne and thanks for the motivation to push myself a little harder than I probably would have otherwise!

So, the results of the day:

I finished with a 1:30:44, I was 9th out of 30 women for the tri and FIRST in my age group out of 5 women! Aimee ended up 3rd overall for the ladies tri and Kristen 1st overall for the women's du! Everyone else placed in their respective AG's, so all in all it was a great race!

Race Calander

2010-07-22T22:04:00.004-04:00

So, I am not doing so well with the strength training. I am getting at least one 45-60 minute session a week, but not much more. Getting restless and wanting to race a bit more, so . . .signed up for a few. Here is what my race calander is looking like for the rest of the year:

Maybe I will focus on more strengthening this winter? LOL!

Stats for the Week so far:

Monday: 50 minute run (? 5 miles) legs were tired!

Tuesday: Strength training 60 minutes

Wed: 19 mile bike (1:06)

Thursday: 2500 swim, 40:30 run (4 miles)

Nice Tan!

2010-07-18T19:27:00.000-04:00

You know your biking has been good, when you have tan lines from your riding gloves!

My stats for the week:

Monday: 45:30 minute run (?4.6 miles)

Tuesday: 2500 swim, 45 minute strength

Wed: 40 minute run

Thursday: 2300 swim, 1:08 bike (19 miles)

Friday: rest

Saturday: ? 10 mile run - no timing

Sunday: 61 mile bike

The Tour De France

2010-07-11T18:37:00.000-04:00

As a nod to the Tour and one of my favorite sports characters in the business, enjoy a little bit of Phil!

I LOVE the TDF. It is absolutely my favorite sporting event to follow and watch on tv. Needless to say, I have been glued to the TDF this past week already. Thank goodness for DVR! I can watch at my leisure now! So, if you have any question about where I may be in the next few weeks, it is pretty safe to say that if I am not training or at work, then I am likely at home watching the TDF!

My stats for the past few weeks:
6/30/10: 20 mile ride, 30 minute run, yoga (7 sun salutations)
7/1/10: 4 mile run (2x1 mile on 9:25), 20 minute stretch/strength
7/2/10: 2600 swim
7/3/10: 8.35 mile run, 22.4 mile bike
7/4/10: 36 mile ride
7/5/10: 5 mile race (9:45 avg pace), 48 mile bike ride
7/6/10: 2100 swim, 45 minute strength
7/7/10: 70 minute ride
7/8/10: 40 minute run
7/9/10: rest (much needed)
7/10/10: 10 mile run
7/11/10: 57 mile ride, 20 minute run

Month in Review

2010-06-29T09:44:00.000-04:00

It has been awhile since I have posted any workouts.   Summertime is in full swing, which seems to leave me with less time.   Has also made for some steamy outdoor workouts.   We have already had more days over 90 degrees this month than we did last summer!   Yikes!

Well here it is, a month in review:

Week of June 6, 2010:
Monday: 30 minute run
Tuesday: 2100 swim, 40 minutes strength at gym (lat pulls, rows, bicep curls, triceps, back extensions, planks, ball exercises)
Wed: run (1 mile warm up, yasso's 4x800 - 4:15, 4:17, 4:13, 4:25 then 1 mile cool down)
Thursday: hour bike
Friday: rest
Saturday: 3 mile run, 200 swim at Antrim
Sunday:   Wendy's Sprint Tri aka YMCA Corporate Challenge:   1:48ish (18:01 swim, 55:25 bike, 29:30ish run)

Week of June 13th:
Monday: 35 minute recovery run
Tuesday: 1 hour strength train (leg lifts, squats, lunges, 1 arm rows, planks, crunches, yoga sun salutations x 6)
Wed: 1 hour bike, 20 minute run
Thursday: swim 2400, 3 mile hill run
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7 mile run, 3 hours helping at the Mohican 100
Sunday: 60 mile bike

Week of June 20:
Monday: 30 minute run (92 degree weather)
Tuesday: 1 hour strength/flexibility (squats, lunges, bicep curls, one arm rows, crunches, leg lifts, planks, 7 sun salutations)
Wed: run 30 minutes, Book Club meeting with wonderful Indian meal
Thursday: 2300 swim, 1 hour bike
Friday: rest
Saturday: reverse tri: 8 mile run, 16.33 mile bike (13.5 mph avg), 1000 yd swim at Alum (unsure of timing).
Sunday: 61 mile bike

Week of June 27:
Monday: 42 minute run - slow recovery
Tuesday: 2600 swim:   350 warm up, M1 (5x150 on 3min +100) ; 4x75 kicks on 1:30, 4x75 pulls on 1:30; M2 (F50 on 50 sec, R50 on 1:20 x 4), drill (4x50 "no splash"), 200 cool down.      50 minute strength (lat pulls, rows, bicep curls, tricep dips, ball bridges, ball hamstring curls, back extensions, leg lifts, ball crunches, planks).

Mohican 100

2010-06-26T17:43:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go up and help volunteer at an aide station that was organized by an MIT friend, Julie Bowen-Miller.

The Mohican Trail 100 is an ultrarunning trail run and participants can choose to either run 50 or 100 miles. In the words of my good friend Jeanne, "I have finally found an endurance event that I have no interest in trying." These runners are all bad asses in my book. Especially for this run. It is mostly hills and on this day the temps were in the high 80's/low 90's and it was humid. The elusive Micah True aka "Caballo Blanco" of Born to Run even made an appearance for this race and was a guest speaker at the pre-race ceremonies. My friend Mikaila and her boyfriend, Kyle, got to meet him and are now FB friends!

Kyle was able to snap a picture of him, but he was gone by the time we got there. . .

So, I have the utmost respect for all of the runners that finished this event. I am proud to say that my MIT friends, Mikalia and Mike both finished and I was honored to be there to help cheer them on and to volunteer for a few hours.

Jeanne, Jen, Pat, Rohit, and I headed up to Mohican after our MIT run in the morning and lunch. It took us about an hour or so to get there. Once there, we set out to help Julie with all of the runners as they came through. We grabbed bags for them, refilled water, help bandage up feet, gave massages, basically just tried to help the runners anyway we could.

As much as I like to participate in races, I think it also good to volunteer. I am so appreciative of everything the volunteers that have done for me in past years, it is nice to finally return the favor in some way. This is an event I hope to help out again at next year, although I would like to help a little longer if Julie will have me!

Congrats again to both Mike and Mikaila for finishing this awesome race! Job well done in my book!

YMCA Corporate Challenge Triathlon

2010-06-22T09:38:00.000-04:00

I did my first tri of the year.    I signed up through work to do the Corporate Challenge but it was the same course as Wendy's Triathlon, a sprint distance tri and I was definately not prepared for it.   This isn't really all that surprising since I keep skipping my morning swim class to sleep in and my longest run since April had only been 6 miles up to this point!

The day started out in the 70's and it was already very humid.   Possible thunderstorms are in the forecast, but fortunately it is sunny for the swim.    I really debated on wearing the wetsuit for the swim, but ultimately decided that whatever time I would make up from it would be negated by how long it takes me to get out of the dumb thing.   Being with the YMCA group allows me to start in the first wave, which is nice. As I am waiting in the water for the race to start I spot two of my friends who have never done a tri before, give them a little pep talk and wish them luck (yeah Kyle and Katie)!    The race only starts a little late but eventually we hear the horn and get started.   I can tell I am being passed by a lot of people, but my stroke feels pretty good, I am able to keep swimming the full distance without taking a break.   I passed alot of people, but also got passed myself.   Fortunately I didn't see too many people pass me that were in the waves behind.    I can't help but thinking how much better I feel now, compared to a few years ago when I did my very first tri!   Out of the water per my watch at 16:15, not my fastest time, but I feel pretty good.    We have to run a bit up the beach to get to the transition area.

Transitions are my downfall, I need to work on these.   This one took me a little longer because I got my shirt caught on my bra and couldn't figure out how to wiggle it down.    I guess next time I will just wear my full tri outfit in the water and not worry about putting the shirt on in transition.   Putting a tight fitting shirt on isn't easy when you are soaking wet . . .After a few minutes I finally got it and headed out on the bike.

This is the first year that I felt really comfortable on the bike.   The sun had gone behind the clouds so it wasn't too hot.   Just got the arrow bars put on, which is a big help.   Once out of transition, I drank a bit then settled in for the ride.   By the time I got done, I was pretty sure it was a PR bike split for me.

My second transition was a bit faster but still I got caught up.   The bike rack was all messed up and I almost knocked it over trying to put my bike on it.   Fortuntately I realized it before I knocked everything over.   I stopped to take the time to reposition it before putting my bike on it.    Once that was done, my transition was quick.    Out to the run. . .

The run course was different this year and I really liked it.   It was really humid though which doesn't help the whole asthma situation.   So, I didn't push it as hard as I would have liked but it was all breathing related.   My legs actually felt really good.   At about the 2 mile mark I spotted my friend Rocco.   That kept me going for the last mile, all I wanted to do was beat him back to the finish (which I did)!

Special thanks to Susan and her parents for cheering us on at the race, she was also my key and inhaler holder and did a fabulous job!    Also happy to report that everyone I know finished their races.    Congrats to Katie and Kyle for finishing their first and Rocco for his great 1:31 finish!

My stats:
Overall: 1:48:52
Swim: 18:01
T1: 3:52
Bike: 55:16 (18.5 MPH avg)
T2: 2:17
Run: 29:28 (9:31 avg)

Early Father's Day Meal

2010-06-06T19:15:00.000-04:00

One of the things I love about summer time is the Farmer's Markets that start to become available. Saturday I got the opportunity to stop by one very briefly and came away with alot of wonderful produce, meat, and baked goods. I am staying with my father this weekend, as my mom is out of town. So, inspired by the ingredients that I had found, I decided to make him an early Father's Day Meal! This is the menu I came up with and made tonight:

1) Grilled Ribeye Steaks (all I did was use salt and pepper)

2) Mushroom Gravy (I found shitakes at the market)

3) Smashed Green Onion and Sour Cream Potatoes

4) Sauteed Green Beans

5) Red Wine Blend

6) Strawberries and whipped cream (for dessert)

It ended up being a very good meal and one that I will remember for the future!

I also realize I haven't posted my workouts for a bit. Here is what I can remember for the past few weeks:

5/22/10: 40 minute run, 1 hour yoga

5/23/10: rest

5/24/10: rest

5/25/10: 30 minute run, 30 minute strength

5/26/10: hour on the bike

5/27/10: 30 minute run, 30 minute strength

5/28/10: rest

5/29/10: 50 minute run, hour bike ride (16 miles)

5/30/10: 55 mile bike ride

5/31/10: 26 mile bike (about 90 minutes)

6/1/10: 30 minute run, 30 minute strength

6/2/10: hour ride (about 19 miles), 10 minute brick run

6/3/10: 30 minute run, 30 minute strength

6/4/10: rest

6/5/10: 60 minute run

6/6/10: 1 mile swim, 30 minute strength

Changing It Up

2010-06-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

So I have been mixing things up a bit. Since the Big Sur Marathon my knee has still been bothering me. After discussing it with my physician it was decided that I probably have a combination of IT band syndrome and patellar tendinitis in my left knee. In the past month, I have also been diagnosed with osteopenia, which is the precursor for osteoporosis. Needless to say, I have had to really take a step back and re-assess my goals for the rest of the year.

I have decided, after talking it over with my physician and meeting with a dietician, to address the osteopenia more naturally. They both think that by increasing some things in my diet (calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and protien) and increasing strength training, that I can improve the bone density without taking medicine. The strength training should also help with my knee problems.

So, what does that mean for the rest of this year? Well in order to make time for the strengthening, I will have to decrease some of my endurance training. So, that means no long distances for me this year. I will try a few short course tri's this summer and am going to shoot for a couple of 1/2 marathon distances later this summer/fall.

So, for the past few weeks I have been trying to add more strengtheing into my routine and I am trying to do a bit more yoga to help with my balance and flexibility. Nothing crazy, but my goal is to do a combo of the two for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week.

The other thing I have been up to this past month was a little fun in Vegas. Part of Team FIT decided to finally go and celebrate our IM accomplishments from last year by taking a trip to Las Vegas. We wanted to take a trip that wasn't race/training oriented and enjoy ourselves. We also wanted to get our IM Tattoos that we had talked so much about!!

We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to doing it again sometime. Maybe next year???

TOSRV

2010-05-09T21:37:00.000-04:00

Being an Ohio native and a cyclist, I have heard about TOSRV for years, but never actually done it myself. I have been down several times in a car, had a beer at Cary Park, and stayed overnight, but I had never actually cycled down. That has all changed, this year I did it!

The day started out bright and early, the group I rode with met down at the Statehouse at 6am. The forecast was for sun/clouds and 57 degree weather. Not so bad, except that there was also a "wind advisory" warning out for the day; 17-20 mph winds with gusts up to 39 mph. Ugh! My worst nightmare on the bike, especially when it is a crosswind or headwind (we had both). We convinced each other that it wouldn't be that bad and decided to at least ride to the first stop and see how things went.

This is the group Pat, Mary, Tim, Maggie, Jennifer, Vince, Jeanne and I. All of us were TOSRV virgins except for Tim. Stop #1 was in Circleville. It was nice to get off the bike, stretch, and get some goodies before heading out again. I think most of us were thinking, first 29 miles, not so bad, we can do this!

We barely started out of Circleville and all of the sudden we got caught in a horrific headwind. I felt like I was giving it all that I could and was only going about 7mph. At this point, I dug deep, kind of zoned out and just tried to pedal and stay on my bike. The wind changed a little and we had kind of a cross/headwind for most of the next leg. It was kind of funny to see everyone riding sideways and hanging onto their bikes. I saw more than my fair share of people almost wiping out as a gust of wind blew at us! I normally don't swear much, but this ride definately tested me and I heard things come out of my mouth that shocked me! About 1/2 way into this leg I realized I was by myself. I had passed everyone in my group and had no one in site. I thought briefly about turning around and trying to find them, but quickly came to the conclusion that I didn't want to do anymore riding than I had to on this tour! Shortly before the 2nd stop Tim caught up with me and said everyone else was way behind. We opted to just pedal ahead and wait at the next stop for everyone. Stop #2 was Chillicothe, it was definately a relief to get off the bike and get more food! Our group slowly started to trickle in and we sprawled out on the lawn and caught up.

Pat, Mary, Maggie, and Vince all decided they were done. Pat had already called her husband to come get her and they made arrangements to come back and get the others. Tim convinced me to keep going and Jeanne and Jennifer were determined to keep on biking until they hit Portsmouth. The other nice thing was that Jeanne's daughter's were following us in a van with any supplies we might need. It was comforting to know they were out there! So, after a bit of a break, we hopped back onto the bikes again.

The third leg was somewhat protected from the wind as we entered the hills and forrests of Ohio. So, the good thing was that we didn't feel the effects of the wind as much, but the bad news was that there were alot of hills in this section. Not to mention a detour (due to a closed bridge) that took us an additional 7 miles out of the way. The last 1/3 of this leg had us riding hills with a headwind. My legs were toast. I barely made it to the 3rd stop and all I could think was "I am calling my mom to come and get me." Tim convinced me to at least get some food, sit down, and take a little break before making a decision. I hobbled up 3 flights of steps (yes steps!), sat down, and started listening to all the other bikers. Everyone, was complaining about the wind, seasoned riders were in disbelief. I overheard a very fit looking cyclist saying that he had done this ride 10 years and it had never taken him this long to finish it. Another guy, who raced for a team out of Cinci was complaining about only going 7mph in the headwind. In a weird way, this really comforted me and convinced me that I needed to keep going to finish this. So despite the fact that I desperately wanted to quit, I got back on the bike!

Tim and I never did see Jeanne and Jennifer at stop #3 (Waverly), but they thought to take a picture here, so I am including it in the race report!

Leg #4 wasn't as bad. There were no more hills and the wind seemed to have changed to a cross/tailwind. Tim and I made some pretty good time and finally made it to Portsmouth!!

Tim's wife, Hannah, was there to great us and I was never so happy to see someone in my life!! We were done! We made it!! The beer I had at Cary Park tasted like the best thing ever! Finally, I was there as a rider and not a spectator! Tim and I had discussed on this ride if a marathon was tougher or this ride, in the wind. I think it was a tie, neither one of us could really pick one or the other!

Jeanne and Jennifer eventually made it to the end as well!

I felt bad that I didn't wait around for them, but I was freezing! Once my mom and aunt came to get me, all I could think about was a hot shower, warm food, glass of wine, and then bed . . .

Stats for the week:

Wed: rest

Thursday: 2400 swim, 40 minute strength/stretch

Friday: rest

Sat: 113 mile bike, no timing

Sun: 40 minute walk

The Big Sur Marathon

2010-05-02T10:35:00.000-04:00

This race really should be on everyone's "Must Do" list. The experience was awesome!

The weekend started out with a flight to LA to get my sister, Lora. The flight out was uneventful except for both of my ears hurting by the end of the flight. The next morning I woke up with a heavy chest and cough. Lora and I waited for the rush-hour to clear up and then we left by car to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and the CA-1. Definately the way to travel, it was relaxing, we had gorgeous views, and we got to drive the race course prior to actually doing the race.

The next morning I woke up with a sore throat, productive cough, and my ears still hurting. Per my sister, I sounded like a cross between the Marlboro Man and Patty and Selma Bouvier. After downing some cold medicine, advil, and tea, I started to feel better and we hit the Expo and the Aquarium. Later that night we met up with my MIT friends, hit the pre-race pasta dinner, and took time out for a "team picture."

We called it an early night and by 8pm I was snuggly in bed, as we had a 3:30am wake up call.

Race morning came very early, my throat, chest, and ears still hurt. So for the first time ever I tried something new on race day; I downed some mucinex and advil along with my oatmeal breakfast. We met in the lobby at 4:05am and headed downtown to catch a bus down to the race start.

After an hour ride through the dark, we finally made it to the race start. Lots of people and long lines for the bathrooms. We barely had time to stop and pose before the race started!

Our group split up, to find out hopeful pace groups: Katie (3:45), Mark (?), John x2 & Kathy (4:30), Jen, I and Darla (5:00) and Jon just decided to wait for everyone to "get out of the way." Lora, meanwhile, was just catching the bus to go out to the relay point at mile 16.5. The race fortunately started a few minutes late (we were still in the bathroom at the actual race time) but we were still on the road by 7am!

My initial goal was to start and stay with the 5:00 pacer as long as we could. This was not going to be a PR race for me and I just wanted to enjoy the experience, take some pictures, and finish with my sister! Lora and I had originally signed up to do the relay, it is broken into 5 segments, I was to do the first 3 and then join her for the last 2 so we could stay together. It is very hard to plan when you are going to meet someone, but when I looked at the splits associated with the 5:00 pace group, it looked doable and gave Lora a better idea of when we might be there. We stayed with the balloons for about the first 2 miles, but by mile 6 we were about 10 minutes ahead of pace!

No worries though, this just meant we had more time to stop and snap some photos!

The whole course is hilly, but one of the most daunting hills comes at mile 10 of the course, it is 2 miles long with various grades! You can barely see it in the distance in this picture.

The drummers are situated right at the bottom of the hill, it was vey cool to hear them and see them play. I can't imagine how their arms and backs must feel at the end of their day!

Half way up the hill, we decided to try and reserve some energy so we split this into a 2:1 ratio (run 2 minutes:walk a minute). I think this was a good strategy, because by the end of the hill I didn't feel so bad!

The end of the 2 mile hill and also the marker of the 12th mile!!

The next views were some of my favorites, we took alot of pictures and I think we also added about 5-6 minutes to our time!

Half way there!! Whoo Hoo!!

After a few miles, our friend Jon, finally caught up with us. I snapped this next picture as he happened to jog by us.

It was just by pure chance that I also happened to get Jeff Galloway in the picture, I had no idea that was the other guy in the shot until later in the day!

Around mile 16, I started feeling a little tired and my left knee started to hurt. Up to this point it had just felt tight, but it was definately pain I started to feel this time. Darla was looking really good so we told her to go ahead. Jen opted to stay with me, as she was coming back from an injury herself and her longest training run had been 16 miles! Darla sped up and was able to keep up with Jeff Galloway's unofficial 5:00 pace group. Shortly after this, the official 5:00 group passed Jen and I. We started discussing how nice it would be to do the 6:2 plan that my sister had been using for her training!

Finally found my sister (only 5 minutes after we had guessed we would be there), exchanged the relay slap bracelet, and continued on with our slow run. Lora casually mentions that she wants to warm-up with a 20 minute run and then start the 6:2 format. I think I almost fell over, that was not at all what my body had in mind at that point. Unfortunately for Lora, Jen was thinking along the same lines as I was and after 5 minutes, asked how long before we could walk again! Lora was looking forward to "the beer" that was rumored to be at mile 18, so i think she just went with the flow.

So there was beer at mile 18, but not in the form we had hoped for! Either way, it was another opportunity to stop for a break and snap a photo!

We ended up doing 2 rounds of the 6:2, but everytime we hit a hill (which was alot) we ended up back to the 2:1 pattern. I pretty much hit a wall from mile 20 to 26.2. My mind said "you can do more!" but my body could not. Between my left knee hurting with every step, my quads complaining on the downhill, and the cold/cough finally catching up with me, it was all I could do to walk.

There were lots more photo-ops but we didn't really stop until we saw this sign, just wanting to be done at this point. But there is always hope - less than a 5k less!! We can do this!

Our strategy from this point on was just to run/jog what we could. It's flat here, let's see if we can jog to that cone. Feeling okay? How about the bridge? The reality, I think, was that our walk was probably faster than our jog by this time!

Finally! The finish line!! Jen sprinted ahead and Lora stayed with me, we did cross together although there are no pictures of it. They also ran out of relay medals by the time we got done. It will be at least a month before they get some for us, as the artist has to do them and they are made of clay. Jen did get a full marathon one for me though, she gave me hers and then went back and found another!

So, how did everyone do?

1) Katie: 3:39 (a PR and a Boston Qualifier)

2) Mark: >4:30, his knee also hurt and he walked much of the course from mile 8

3) John, John's son John, Kathy, and Darla - 4:55 to 4:57

4) Jennifer: 5:14

5) Team K (Lora and I) 5:14:19

6) Jon: >5:30

Despite everything that happened this was an excellent race and one that intend on doing again. The scenery was spectacular, I had a great group of friends, and running with my sister was awesome!

**A few side notes: John (father) donated his kidney to his son John. This race was their 10 year anniversary of that event! Elder John has completed somewhere in the ballpark or 15 marathons and 5 IM's. This was his son, John's first marathon! Katie is a machine. She normally runs her long runs with the 10 minute pace group with MIT, then she goes out and kills the races! I wish her well in Boston next year. Lora is a trooper. She put in a lot of hard work to run with us and then ended up walking at least half of her race to stay with me. She also had to wait 3 hours at the relay meeting point for us. It meant the world to me to finally do a race with her and I am grateful we had this opportunity in such a wonderful place. I do intend on doing another race with her in the future. Next time, though, it will be on her terms, her race, her pace!

My stats since 4/20/10:

4/21: 30 minute easy run

4/22: rest

4/23: rest

4/24: walked all over Monterey with Jen and my sister (16,000 steps per pedometer)

4/25: 26.2 mile run (5:14:19)

4/26: 30 minute slow walk at Lobos Point Park

4/27: 1 hour walk with Hearst Castle Tour

4/28: 1 hour recovery walk

4/29: 3 and 1/2 mile hike, no timing

4/30: 45 minute walk around airport

5/1: rest

Winding Down to Big Sur

2010-04-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

I leave in 2 days for California. I am well into the taper and was hopeful that I would feel better by this point. Not so, my left knee is still hurting 2-3 miles into the run. I may just take the rest of the week off and hope for the best come race day! Fortunately I have good friends and have no plan at a PR in this marathon. My goal is to enjoy the course, take lots of pictures, and cross the finish line with my sister!

The plan at this point is for my sister and I to do the Marathon Relay. I am going to do the first 3 legs and my sister the last 2. Depending on how I feel, I may just pass the chip to Lora and continue to run with her. Again my hope is to cross the finish line with Lora, hands held high, smiles on our faces!

Go Team K!!!

Stats for the week:

Wed: 60 minute run

Thursday: 2500 yd swim, 30 minute core workout

Friday: rest

Saturday: 76 minute run (Antrim to Hills and back)

Sunday: 23 mile bike, 30 minute walk

Monday: 42 minute run (4.2 miles)

Tuesday: 2400 yd swim, 40 minute strength (arms and core)

Taper Time!!

2010-04-13T09:25:00.000-04:00

The taper time prior to a big race always brings mixed feelings to me. I LOVE the taper because it means all the hard work that I have put in is over and the race is getting closer. I HATE the taper because of all the phantom pain that I seem to get. Without fail something starts to hurt during the taper phase, or at least it seems more noticeable. In past years everything from my achilles tendon, a hamstring, a hip, and my feet have bothered me during the taper. This year it is my IT band(s), yep, both of them. My ankle sprain of a month ago is a thing of the past. It seems to have healed up fine and is no longer bothering me. But, since my 22 miler a few weeks ago, my IT bands have taken turns bothering me. Started with the right just feeling tight with a run. Next day I could barely move my left knee while trying to walk. If I rest a few days, they both feel better. Yesterday although my run was "easy" it felt like everything hurt, both feet, my left knee, my right IT band, and I couldn't wait to be done. I should be thankful that I can even get out there and run, but all I can think about at this point is every little thing that feels "off." Par for course I guess, hopefully that will translate into a great racing experience like past years as well!

Also in true taper fashion, I have signed up for and generated my racing schedule for the next few months. Need to stay motivated after the Big Sur Marathon, otherwise I might get lazy and not do anything!

Here is what my race calander looks like thus far:

1) Olentangy Duathlon May 2, 2010

2) TOSRV May 8, 2010

3) Wendy's Triathlon (Sprint Distance) June 13, 2010

4) Alum Creek Triathlon (Olympic Distance) June 27, 2010

My motivation right now, The Big Sur Highway!!

Stats for the Week

Monday: 30 minute walk

Tuesday: 2200 swim

Wed: 80 minute run

Thursday: 2400 swim, 40 minute run

Friday: rest

Saturday: 12.5 mile run

Sunday: 40 mile bike

Monday: 6.4 mile run (63:30 minutes)

Tuesday: 2300 swim, 30 minute core workout

Tucson

2010-04-04T20:32:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I took a mini spring break and traveled to Tucson, AZ with my friend Pat to do The Valley of Gold Half Marathon. It was a very nice, but short trip out to sunny AZ. We were only there for a long weekend but it was nice to get out of the cold Ohio weather for some fun and sun while also being able to try out a short race. It worked perfectly in my training plan as I was scheduled to do a 12 mile run for that weekend anyway.

I decided to try this race a little differently. Since I didn't really have a training goal in mind and I am recently coming off of an injury, I decided to try this one "au natural." No, I didn't run it in my birthday suit, but I went back to basics and decided to see what I could do without any fancy gadgets. So I ran, no garmin, no ipod, I didn't even wear a watch. The race was fairly small, so they didn't have clocks at the mile markers. I ran by how I felt, since it was a "training run" I didn't run it at what I felt was race pace.

The race was relatively small, only about 1200 total between the 5k and the 1/2 marathon. It started promptly at 7am!

The course was hilly, but the views were awesome, we were in a valley so there were mountain views all around us! Pat and I sort of started around each other but opted to do our own thing at the race. I shot this one of her (in the purple long-sleeve shirt) before I settled into my own rhythm.

Running without having any idea of your pace is very different. At times I felt I was running much slower than normal, when I asked I was actually going about a minute faster than typical for me. At one point I thought I was running faster than normal when I spotted a group of balloons (indicating a pace group) and thought I was fairly close to the 2:00 group. This would have been a PR time for me as my best is a 2:06. So this kept me going for a few miles and then my momentum got stopped. Unfortunately quite literally, as a group of us was held up by the cops "to let traffic through!" I could see my PR quite figuratively drifting away. Once they let us through, I really kicked it up a bit to try and catch the balloons, which I did at around mile 11. Of course I had forgotten one key thing. There was also a 2:15 pace group out there and this is actually who I had been following. Knowing it wouldn't be a PR race for me, I settled into a comfortable pace for the last 2 miles and just tried to enjoy the view.

I finally crossed the finish line at 2:12:39, about a 10:07 pace overall for the race. As I hadn't being doing any speedwork, it was a hilly course, Iand it was supposed to be a training run, I was pleased with this. Just reconfirms that helping pace the 10:00 and 10:30 groups is right where I should be!

Pat finished a little later than me, also with a time that is typical for her. As you can see we were both happy to be done so we could enjoy the rest of the day!

Before taking off we made sure to say hello to our friend Jeff, also one of the race directors, to give him a big thanks for a nice race and also to give him feedback for next year! Hopefully, they will figure out how to not stop the racers for the cars! Although I have a hunch if I had been a little faster (i.e. up with the balloons) I wouldn't have had to stop.

The rest of the day was spent lounging in the sun, by the pool with the awesome view and a few post-race prickly pear margaritas!

Stats since 3/21/10

3/22: 60 minute run at DRC track

3/23: strength/core 30 minutes

3/24: 70 minute run from TWHS (1:09)

3/25: 2700 swim, 40 minute run

3/26: rest, travel day

3/27: One hour hike at Catalina State Park

3/28: 13.1 mile run (2:12:39)

3/29/: rest, travel day

3/30: 60 minute recovery run, Dublin trails

3/31: 80 minute run, Dublin trail down Emerald Parkway (out and back)

4/1: 40 minute run

4/2: rest

4/3: 22.5 mile run (4:30)

4/4: 32 mile ride

De-railed by Injury

2010-03-21T21:12:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday I rolled my ankle while running. I didn't step on anything, I wasn't on uneven ground, it was just me being klutzy and landing wrong on my foot. Fortunately I beleive it was only a grade one ankle sprain, as my gait was back to normal by Monday. But I was very careful to use the RICE treatment method and had to rethink my running plan for the week, as I was still sore and somewhat swollen. So, I chose to "rest" the first 3 days after the sprain and cross train. This was especially hard to do this week as we finally had our first week of sun and 60 degree weather - perfect for outdoor activities! But, being the good patient that I like to think that I am, I fought the urge to deviate from my plan and rested my ankle for 3 days. Fortunately, by Thursday, I was able to run at an easy pace pretty much painfree. I was still a little cautious with my long run on Saturday and was pleasently surprised this morning when I woke up to a painfree ankle (while walking) and only my quads really objecting to my long run yesterday!

It still hurts with certain movements, but at this point in time, I am hopeful that I can resume the distances this week that my plan shows. However, I think the hills and speedwork may have to wait another week!

My stats for the week:

Monday: 20 minute walk with the dog, 30 minutes light strengthening - mostly upper body and abs

Tuesday: 20 minute walk with the dog, 45 minutes on the stationary bike

Wed: 20 minute walk with the dog, 2400 swim (800 pulls)

Thursday: 20 minute walk with dog, 60 minute easy run

Friday: 20 minute walk with the dog, rest

Saturday: 20 minute walk with the dog, 18 mile run (plan called for 20 and I promised my coach I wouldn't do 20 miles, so I turned around a little early).

Sunday: 30 minute walk, 30 mile bike ride

Lazy Sunday

2010-03-14T13:45:00.000-04:00

I am staying the week with my dad since my mother went down to Myrtle Beach with friends for a long vacation. I enjoy staying here because it allows me time to spend with my father, it is quiet, I don't have as many interruptions, and it is more fun cooking for two than for one. So, I am going to try out some new recipe today with an old stand-by.

The new recipe is: Butternut Squash Bread Pudding, a recipe made by and given to me by my good friend Liz. I loved it when she made it for us and I am going to see if I can reproduce the recipe tonight.

I am going to serve this with an old favorite of mine, Pork Tenderloin and braised brussel sprouts on the side.

Stats for the Week:

Wed (3/10/10): My first speed workout with MIT. 10 minute warm up, (1000x4:35 with 1:1 work:rest)x5, 10 minute cool down

Thursday (3/11/10): 2700 swim, 40 minute run

Friday: rest day

Saturday: 13.3 mile run with MIT

Sunday: 5 mile run at Highbanks (easy run)

And the Running Goes On

2010-03-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

Training for the Big Sur continues and I am starting to get into the longer distances for the marathon training. Fotunately the blistering cold that Ohio seemed to get for much of the winter has gone by the wayside for a little while. For whatever reason, a sunny day always seems to make a run feel a bit easier. Of course, running after an ice cream truck might be good motivation too!

My stats since last week:
Friday: rest
Saturday: 18+ mile run
Sunday: 30 mile (outdoor) bike ride
Monday: 60 minute hill run
Tuesday: 2500 swim

The Need for Speed

2010-03-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

I am fascinated by all people that are fast. I love watching all of the events in which speed (human) counts. I can probably name more track-n-field athletes and endurance athletes than I can football players right now.

So, a question that I have been asking more of myself recently. Why do I not try harder to increase my speed, to PR each race that I do? Because in all honesty, I really don't try that hard on speedwork; on the run, on the bike, or in the water. Is the potential there? Yeah, I would like to think that it is, but the reality of it is that I don't want to push myself that hard.

It's funny how things have come full circle. I can remember when I was young that I loved to run, bike, and swim. I would run just for the sake of running, my mom can attest to this. I loved to race my friends on the bike and in the water in the summers. And, I was fast. I can remember being one of the two fastest girls in gradeschool. Tiffany and I often tied in alot of the races that we did. Then something weird happened, I grew and got taller and Tiffany didn't. With this growth came alot of awkardness and suddenly all that speed that I had seemed to disappear.

Around the same time I started to become more involved in team sports, in particular soccer. Which has alot of running. As I got older this included alot of conditioning and speed workouts and drills. It also came with the realization that I was no longer fast. In fact, on my highschool team, I was one of the slowest runners. And I struggled with all of the runs that we did, particularly the long ones. I can remember many mornings, after these runs, puking and dry-heaving in the bushes as everyone started practice. At some point I came to HATE all of the conditioning and even quit the soccer team my senior year because I didn't want to do the conditioning anymore.

Although I quit soccer in highschool, I did continue to play rec leagues in college and then after a graduated. Again, as I got older I started to feel my slowness and also my poor conditioning. So eventually I started to run again (on my own) so that I could keep up with everyone when I played co-ed soccer. Then a strange thing happened. Somewhere along the way I actually started to LIKE running. And slowly, I have built up my endurance so I can do longer distances. And now I love running, biking, and swimming.

So, I think one of the biggest reasons I don't push myself to do speedwork is because of the memory of puking in the bushes and the frustration at feeling so slow and hating it. I am afraid that if I really push myself that will happen again. And now that I actually enjoy what I am doing, I am reluctant to let that go.

So, in keeping with the theme of speed, check out this speed work-out we did last week in swim class:

300 warm up

200 kick

200 pull

(10x25 on 30 sec, 25 ez) x 6

drill: 3 x 50 choice

150 cool down

My stats since last the last blog:

Mon: 60 minute run

Tuesday: 2700 swim, 30 minute strength train with a personal trainer

Wed: 60 minute run

Thurs: 2600 swim, 40 minute run

Friday: rest

Saturday: 17 miler on snow covered trails

Sunday: rest

Monday: 60 minute run

Tuesday: rest

Wed: 60 minute run

Thurs: 35 minute run, 30 minutes strength

Week Re-Cap

2010-02-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

This week has been challenging to work out. Between more snow at the beginning of the week, the still standing snow and grey skies, the weather hasn't been very helpful. I have also felt very tired this week. So, rather than fight it, I have given in and taken a few more rest days then normal. Hopefully next week will be better.

Stats for last week:
Monday: 60 minutes, 6x400 at hard pace at DRC track, 30 minute strength train
Tuesday: 45 minutes on the trainer
Wed: rest
Thursday: 2400 swim, 60 minute run
Friday: rest
Saturday: 11.4 mile hilly run
Sunday: 45 minutes on the trainer