Tri-ing in Central MA

TDD Sprint - 19 Sept 09

2009-09-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

After Timberman, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do another race...but there was quite a few planning on doing TDD, and I wanted one more time w/the gang. Due to managing an injury through training for Timberman, I had to stop running, so I convinced my son to be part of a relay team and run for me. That gave him ~3 weeks to train and get up to 3 miles...but he was game and did outstanding!

The TDD Triathlon is a memorial race for Tyrus, Dante, and Daniel Vescio, and a fundraiser for the UMass Memorial Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. So a very worthy cause. They let go three star balloons as a tribute to the triplets and a little boy sang the national anthem - he did awesome!

The race was in Douglas Ma, a few towns over from me, so very easy to get too and didn't mean I had to rouse the troops before 6:15 AM. We were all grumbling though when the time came!
We got to the race site around 7:00, parked, met up with Cake and Suzy and brought the stuff down to transition. The race venue is beautiful, but not set up well for a triathlon (more on this later). Grabbed our race packets got body marked and kept asking ourselves *why are we doing this again?* given that it was MAYBE 50 degrees, IN THE SUN! Dang it's going to be chilly. We met up with Beth, Eve, Lynn and Carlee...generally milled around and tried to stay warm.

The race went off late, but no one seemed to mind as we wanted it to warm up some more! It was a 1/4 mile swim, with (5) waves and a TON of first timers. The waves went off every (2) minutes and relays were in the last wave. Cake was in the last wave also and we couldn't believe the *mayhem* that was going on in front of us. Think mass start for the entire 1/4 mile. There were people everywhere and you couldn't find open water. GREAT! NOT! Needless to say, I never got into a rhythm, tried not to get kicked and swam as hard as I could to get out of the mess.

The timing matts were at the entrance to transition, so the swim time includes a run from the beach to the entrance. I hit my watch on the beach to get a realistic time, 5:50...uh, ok, no way was that 1/4 mile! Swim: 6:19

Into transition and Wyatt was waiting for me...trying to talk to me about the swim...asked if I needed help...dang it - I can't talk and breathe at the same time!! Decided to throw a long sleeve shirt on to cut down on being cold and couldn't get the dang thing down over my body...yeesh...I started laughing as I grabbed my bike and headed out - telling him thanks! T1 - 1:51

You had to ride over a sandy/gravelly road within the park before you got to the pavement (still within the park)...what a mess...I ran my bike out over the crappiest part and then got on. It was hard to get going and then once I did, I had to dodge all kinds of traffic as people had NO CLUE how to ride in a race. There were many a time that I was on the wrong side of the yellow line passing, and when I let them know I was passing on the "LEFT" they didn't move! This happened throuighout the bike part and got scary in places. The route was mostly rollers w/one steep hill around mile 8. I saw people walking their bikes on the smaller hills before mile 8 and thought, what the heck are you going to do later on??? There was never a time where I wasn't in a pack of people. Coming back into the park was nuts too, as you had runners coming at you on the right. Worst was when one of the runners who was on the return loop cut right in front of me and 4 other riders, to run on the left side of the road. He didn't even look and had been any closer, I would have clocked him ( I was doing ~20 mph)...I made some smart ass comment as I went by him, couldn't let that one go.

Had to dodge more bike traffic AND an ambulance coming out before I was able to get back to transition. They had cones up seperating the runners and riders, but the riders got the rocky side and I had to swing out wide at one point to avoid them and got yelled at for it - better to get yelled at than to go down. Been there done that! Bike - 39:12 (or something like that)

Into transition, gave my son the chip and sent him off. My daughter was helping out by directing the runners out of transition....T2 - 0:33

Whew, I am done! The plan was to get my camera and get some pictures of Cake and Suzy in transition, but Cake was so fast that all I could do was cheer her on as she ran out to the run! I was able to get a couple of Suzy and help her go the right way out!!! ;p I then made my way over to the finish and got my son coming in. He did awesome for only having 3 weeks worth of training and not doing many hills. Run - 31:30

Total: 1:19:26

Ok, besides having fun w/DS and the other triers that were there, I will NOT be doing this race again. It was INSANE and poorly thought out by the RD. Apparently, the number of athletes doubled from last year (~500) and its obvious that the race venue CANNOT accommodate that. If I did this race as a "1st timer", I probably would never do another one.

Let the OFF season begin!!

Timberman - 23 August 2009

2009-08-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

Pre-face
In 2008, I was part of a relay team, which was *supposed* to be me (swimmer), DH (biker) and my BIL (runner). My BIL got injured and couldn’t run, so I took up the torch and became both the swimmer and the runner. It was a hot day and I was undertrained for the run, so I was hurting big time by the time it was over. I swore swore swore! that I would NOT do that again…and yet, come Oct 1, I was chomping at the bit to sign up and this time it was for the whole thing…

Over the fall/winter months I was battling hamstring/Achilles issues so had to stop running for a few months. In addition, my shoulder started to hurt and was finally diagnosed w/a partial RC tear and a labral tear. Yeesh. But I worked with my doctor and PT (who ended up being my coach) and started healing up. I was able to swim w/o pain and started running again in February. I was building up and following my plan and things were feeling good. Hamstring was doing well, shoulder was feeling better (might have something to do w/the PT and the two shots I had, but I digress). Unfortunately, I re-injured my leg during a 5K race at work and it would plague me the rest of the summer. It now became a *game* to manage the injury and still get adequate training in so that I could finish the run.

I was fortunate that Suzy and Cheryl took the plunge with me and we were in constant touch throughout the training process – offering support, tips and encouragement – not to mention the great training rides we were able to do together. Thanks ladies!!

Race Week
Felt good to taper – while my hamstring felt better, the pain had now moved to the outside of my leg and was affecting my ITB, so I really needed to rest and pray that my leg would hold up during the race…I was diagnosed with bursitis on the outside bursa so once the race was over, it would be time for rest, recovery and PT.

My kids were signed up for the Timberkids Adventure Run, so they were excited and ready to go. We met up with Suzy and Cake at Suzy’s house and started the caravan up to NH on Friday afternoon. We decided to drive the new part of the bike course, to get a feel for it. They had added a *jog* to the return portion of the course, to avoid crappy pavement, but in doing so, the RD added another short hill around mile 40 or so. Yeesh.

We went straight to the Gunstock Inn to unload and clean up the bikes before we headed up the street to the Expo for packet pick up. We dodged most of the rain on the way up, but a few T-storms came through while at the expo and everyone was huddled in the vendor tents. Packet pick up went well and we did some shopping. Headed out for dinner and the wait at various places was insane (50+ minutes) but at that point, we decided to wait it out and had some great food and service at T-bones.

I can’t say enough good things about the Gunstock Inn – the Inn keepers are wonderful hosts and are very accommodating to the racers. They provided us with late check out on Sunday and had the breakfast set up prior to 5:00 am on both days so we could fuel up before heading over to the park. Chrissie Wellington and the Hoyts stayed at the Inn along with a slew of other race support personnel.

Saturday am I took the kids to the pool and organized my bike stuff so that I wouldn’t have to take a ton of things with me come race morning. We headed over to the park for the kids race in the early afternoon and to rack the bikes. The kids had a great time. Rachel was a bit nervous not knowing what an *adventure* run would be like, but she loved it and wanted to do it again after it was done. It was low key, no times and the kids went off every 3-5 seconds. There were kids of ALL ages, from 3 year olds to 13 year olds. So cool to see them this excited and having a good time. They had goodie bags for the kids, but underestimated race day sign up and only had enough for the first 130 kids. Whoops. We headed back to the Inn to relax while Suzy and Cake went back to the Expo to meet up with some other friends. We met back up with them at the carbo load dinner and stayed for the race meeting which covered changes to the race course, number of aid stations and drafting rules. Nothing new, but always good to hear it again.

We met up with our respective husbands at the Inn and my family and I headed over to a friend’s house for a little while. They just bought a condo not 10 minutes from the race site…hmmm, something to keep in the back of my mind. Back at the hotel, finished up some last minute packing and crashed.

Race Day
Met up with Cheryl and Tom at breakfast and caught the shuttle over to the race venue. Saw Bob, Suzy’s DH, at his volunteer spot. Uncovered my bike and started to set up transition…pulled my sneakers out and CRAP! Left my orthotics in the room! Panic sets in…how the heck am I going to run now?!?! Grabbed Bob and called the Inn, asked them to put a note under the door for DH to bring them with him. Ok, deep breath, hopefully this will work out. Back at my bike, continue to set up and see Colette (another WW). She’s here from NY racing with a group called “Moms in Motion”. Snap a quick picture and a hug and we go back to setting up. Still a bit panicked about my orthotics, so ask Bob to call my husband at 7:30 and tell him to get my orthotics and give them to a volunteer who can then put them at my transition spot. Best I can do, keeping fingers crossed that it works out.

Now reality is hitting and I am starting to feel sick…race is delayed due to an accident on the bike route…so it gives us a bit more time. Meet up with Suzy and get our wetsuits on…head over to see Cheryl, a few more photos and we head over to the swim start. Get a bit of a warm up, but the race is ready to go, so we have to get in line to cross the mats. Once in the water, high five Suzy and get towards the front on the right. We don’t quite hear the “Go Go Go”, so they have to repeat it, and then we’re off. Get going but start having a small panic attack, can’t breathe, wetsuit feels tight and generally I start to freak (ok so *this* is new). Breaststroke for a bit to calm down, get mental with myself and everything calms down. Get back into the groove and am able get my face back in the water and continue. Use my coach’s advice to not sight too often and look for feet and caps. Works pretty good until I almost swim into a kayak (again!), but keep doing this and it works for the rest of the swim. I concentrated on form as I didn’t want my back to tighten up (does that for some reason) and stayed relax. Swam until I hit bottom and I was up and out. Swim: 38:43

Up the ramp and over to the wetsuit strippers…that was cool! Ran over to my bike and decided to throw socks on, grabbed my glassed and helmet and I was ready…I was right near bike in/out, so that worked out well. T1: 3:16

Out on the bike, I remembered the mantra that Mike (coach) told me…”Bike so you can run”…”take it easy on the 1st 10 miles, cuz what you do on those miles will come back to haunt you later on in the race”. In the middle ring and spinning up the hills…kept cadence high (85+) and was happy to be on the bike. Stomach wasn’t too happy though (lake water?), but I knew I had to start eating and drinking otherwise I would be in big trouble. My stomach really didn’t settle down until after the 20 mile mark or so and then I was fine. Weird. At mile 10 is the “Marsh Hill Monstah” and everyone slows down on that – got in my small ring and spun away as best I could. Devil Lady from Mooseman was there and so was the camera(s). Yeesh. This hill is the worst on the course, so it’s nice to get it done and over with. Had fun on the rollers and then out onto Rte 106 for the long out and back (~32 miles or so)…about that time, my back decides to tighten up and so does the outside of my right leg (dang it!), but I keep to the plan, high cadence and no heavy pedals. Relaxed into my aerobars and that seemed to relieve the back, so kept that in mind. Fortunately, we had cloud cover; otherwise, it would have been brutal out there. Hit the turnaround point and just for yuks, decide to check out my speed, 18 mph, whoops! Started the return trip, continued w/my nutrition and high cadence. Started looking for Suzy and Cake, but never saw them. Saw quite a few people w/flats, and prayed that I didn’t get one either. People were very friendly and we all joked about the “police” on the course and make sure you pass in 20 secs, etc…one thing though, not enough people (mostly guys) would say “on your left” before they passed and quite a few flew by with little margin, so that if I had swerved to avoid something, there would have been a collision. Rant over.

Enter the new section of the course, and the pavement is saweet! But dang it another short steep-ish hill…right about then, I would have liked the potholes! Lol. Down shift and dang it! drop my chain…get off, get it fixed and up I go. Back out on 106 for a short time and then onto Leavitt back to 107, this time *down* the Monstah – yikes! Fun but scary at the same time – hit 42+ mph and guys were PASSING me! Turn onto Frank Bean and start that small hill. Climbing to the left of one person, who moves to his left to avoid something, so I move left, only to find that I am blocked by a guy from behind who is starting to pass me, I try to move back but there is nowhere to go. Can’t slow down or speed up to get out of there, so get crowded out and pushed over. Slam right down on my left side, with my elbow taking the brunt of it. Several strings of curses go thru my head and some out of my mouth and I just stand there trying to regroup and take stock. A volunteer tries to come over, but there are so many riders climbing right now, that he can’t get through. Everyone is asking if I am ok, and I just stand there (tears are flowing now) and nod my head. Haven’t a clue how long I am standing there, but finally get it back together and check my bike – looks ok, but dropped my chain again, so fix that, get in an easy gear and find a place to blend back in. My elbow is a mess, stinging like crazy, glasses are fogged (from the tears) and yet all I can think about is get going and get this time back. Fortunately, there is only ~8 miles left and those go by uneventful. Bike: 3:16:23

Into T2, praying orthotics made it – don’t see them at first, but then find that they are in my sneakers…thank you!!! Throw on my fuel belt, some chapstick and out I go. I am on the opposite side of the run out and the chute is long too…so it feels like I ran ~1/4 mile just to hit the timing mat! T2: 2:28

Mike told me to run out of transition and then walk once I hit the road to let my body regroup and get acclimated. Did just that and took it easy. My goal was to do the run in ~2:15 or so based on my last long run and thought that would be feasible. Walked a few minutes and everything seemed good, so started running. I kept everything to 6/1 intervals and it was working. I drank at every walk interval and at every aid station (there were TONS!). It’s a two loop out and back course, so you see people everywhere. It had started to warm up and had gotten humid…joy. But stuck with the plan and finished the 1st loop feeling good. High fived the family as I went by – so cool to see the kids and DH. Started on the second loop, up an incline and all hell broke loose. The heat finally hit me…so slowed down and decided to walk up the majority of the incline and then start again. ITB was holding up, but was starting to act funny, so I knew the downhill’s would be dicey. GREAT – NOT! Now I was in management mode and kept plugging along. Grabbed some snow from the aid station courtesy of the local hockey team and poured water over my head – oh much better…able to run on the flats and in the shade, but the hills, it wasn’t happening. Saw Suzy, Tom and Colette several times – they were all looking great!! Hit the turn around and got some inspiration from the locals – they were great and included and acapella group. Very cool – got squirted by some kids and hosed down by others and was able to pick it up again to my 6/1. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long and was walking more than I was running, but at this point I was in double digits and on the home stretch. Was able to run the last mile or so and was never so happy to turn into that finishers chute! High fived the kids again and ran it in. Heard Cheryl in the chute and smiled (at least tried to). Run: 2:28:35

Overall time – 6:29:23 Mike had given me a goal time of 6:40 and I had a secret goal of 6:30 or better. Had I not imploded on the run, I would have even come close to 6:15.

I collected my finisher’s medal, cold wet towel (nice) and water bottle. Headed over to the med tent for my elbow and then went looking for Cheryl and my family. Cheryl looked good from her swim & bike and she was cheering everyone on and waiting for her husband, Tom. Found my family on the other side of transition and went and sat in the lake. It felt good, but wasn’t cold enough and I started to feel really crappy. All I wanted to do was lay down in the shade. DH and the kids helped me with my stuff and we headed out. I tried to find everyone to wish them well, but couldn’t and I was fading fast. I started to hurt everywhere and I knew I needed a shower and A/C bad. Kids were great and found me ice and cold water and that helped enough to get me back to the hotel. It took ~3 hours for me to feel good enough to eat anything.

Lesson learned – I am NOT a long distance runner!!

Overall a GREAT experience and a great race! Thanks go to Suzy and Cake for slapping me upside the head when I started whining, for being sounding boards and great training partners. Thanks ladies!

Mass State Oly

2009-07-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts State Triathlon, Intermediate Distance - 26 July 09
0.9mi swim, 19.5mi bike, 6.2mi run

Have been battling hamstring issues since last fall and was doing well until I did a 5K in June, when I re-aggravated it. It's been iffy running since then, so was concerned with how it was going to feel come race day. And to top it off, the ball of my right foot has been sore coming off the bike for any run longer than 3 miles. yeesh.

Anyway, as the ultimate goal is Timberman, this was not an "A" race, but I still wanted to do well. I was nervous about the swim as my back can get tight and I am always afraid that I will be zig-zagging...

After driving through some nasty rain showers, on the way to the race - what was up with that?? I got to the park right as transition opened and looked around for Suzy and Cake...not there yet, so got my packet and started setting up transition. Skies were a bit funky and it wasn't sure if it wanted to clear up or rain again. There was a quick shower while we waited to get in the water, but other than that we stayed dry.

Met up with Suzy and Cake and milled around waiting to start. Couldn't hear the announcer and they ended up starting late. For some reason, they had the sprint go off first and with 7 waves overall, my wave didn't get into the water until almost 9 am - ick. I was not happy with the way the buoys were laid out, they were few and far between until you started heading back to the beach - I knew it was going to make it difficult for me to stay straight and it was starting to bother me. But did my best and tried to look for other people so I didn't go too far off course.

Lined up on the right out at the start buoys and had just enough time to hit my watch and go! Got into a decent rhythm and promptly got dropped by my wave. great. Kept going and somehow managed to NOT go too far off course and caught up with some of the other waves. Once I was back w/people I felt better and relaxed some more. I knew I was getting closer to the beach when I could smell the burgers...

Swim - 28:41

Up the small incline, into transition and changed up. For some reason, the wetsuit didn't want to come off easy despite the body glide and almost fell over. yeesh...plus my hands don't seem to want to work well when I come out of the water. frustration set in, but took a deep breath and got out of there.

T1 - 1:40

The way out of the park was flat, but the road was more like cobblestones...bumpy as all heck! And we had to worry about runners for the Sprint. But once out, the roads were pretty good. 1 hill to speak of, which we had to do twice, but all in all a fun ride. Passed a few, was passed by some, but overall felt pretty good. Back and right leg started to tighten up towards the end, but just kept pushing since I knew it would loosen up once I started running. For some reason, they had the T2 timing mats far far away from the dismount area, so you lost pace because you had to run about 100 yds to the timing mats. weird.

Bike: 1:06:00 (17.9 mph)

T2 was uneventful if you discount the fact that I almost couldn't get my bike racked again and was ready to throw the dang thing on the ground. @#$@%@# but finally got it in there, changed my shoes and was out.

T2 - 1:47

Knew this part was going to be ugly and the first 10 minutes or so proved my point. My left leg didn't want to work right, even though it wasn't really painful. Was doing run/walk intervals (8/1) and I was behind pace from the get-go. phooey. Caught up with Cake just after the 2 mile mark and she was looking GREAT! The more I ran, the more my leg loosened up and I was able to get to a more normal stride by the 1/2 way point. It was a fairly flat course through neighborhoods, and thankfully the sun never really came out as there wasn't any real shade during the middle portion of the run. After the 1/2 way point, I upped the run segments to 9 min and was able to recover some time. I wanted to break 1 hour, but it wasn't going to happen, so decided to be happy w/sub-10 min miles. Saw Suzy on the way back and she was looking good. Back in the park and under the shade, I felt much better, but soooo wanted to get it done. Tried to pick it up some more, but not sure it worked...smelled the burgers again and heard the announcer, so knew I was almost home. Sure enuf, saw the finish chute and picked it up to get it done.

Run: 1:01:32

Total time: 2:39:39 6th in AG

I liked the course, and would do it again. For some reason they seemed a bit dis-organized. Late start, no water bottles at the end of the race, massage people left early, etc....BUT it was a great day and fun to race with friends.

The road to Timberman 08 started in Aug 07

2008-08-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

This all started in the end of the summer of 07 while talking with my brother-in-law, Bruce. He's the runner in the family and we were talking about triathlons and running in general. He's done several marathons and in general just loves to run. Anyway, he was talking about ramping back up for Boston and somehow we got to the idea of doing a relay for the Timberman 1/2 IM. I volunteered to swim, if my Hubby would ride and Bruce would run. They were sold and we registered in October of 07 as Team CNN (Chaput, Nowak and Nowak). All we had to do was stay healthy...Ed had separated his shoulder in September while riding, Bruce had some nagging hamstring issues, but they were getting better and I was having foot surgery in November. But heck, the race was almost 1 year away...we'd be good by then...right?

November comes and goes, I have surgery on my foot and am able to swim and bike by mid-December. I'm back to running by the end of February 08. Ed's shoulder is doing better and better. Bruce's hamstring is doing well. Ok, Team CNN is holding up pretty well.

Ah, but I spoke too soon. Ed wrecks his ankle while running in April 08. He's in a walking cast for at least 3 weeks and then an aircast after that. He doesn't get back on the bike until June and then has to be really careful going up hills, not to put too much pressure on it. Uh-oh, this isn't looking good.

I join Suzy and her husband as the swimmer for a relay team at the FirmMan 1/2 IM the first weekend of June 08. The weather was in the 90s, but the water was rather chilly. Still, did fairly well with a time of 31:31. Figure it was a bit short, but having never swam the distance without stopping before, I didn't know what kind of time to expect.

Around that time, Bruce does a local road race and tweaks his hamstring again. He's got to lay off the running for a while, but assures me he'll be good to go come race day.

Hmmm, I'm doing ok, but the rest of my team is not too hot...BUT we still have time to get healthy again, so we continue on.

Around the end of June, Bruce isn't doing any better, in fact he's getting worse. His sciatica is bothering him, he can't run longer than 5-6 miles without pain. yikes! Decision time...I contact my Dr and PT and ask about ramping up my mileage to 13.1 in 6 weeks or so...is it doable given the amount of time and the fact that I had surgery in November? Both give me a resounding YES and my PT gives me a running schedule (of sorts) to follow. Ok, so now, I am ramping up my mileage in case Bruce can't do it. Ed, on the other hand, is doing well and his biking is getting stronger. Phew.

About 2 weeks before the race, Bruce and I decide it's best that he figure out what is going on with his back and legs and that I have enough mileage to be the runner. So I contact the RD and request the switch. Team CNN is now Team Nowak, but we leave the name alone. BUT another glitch - Ed may have to WORK the weekend of the race (he's self-employed, big job, big $$) - what the heck?!?! Can 't ramp up for a full 1/2 IM THAT fast! So...my back up is Suzy...who was game to step in at the last minute.

After a few nerve wrecking days, Ed finds out he's working on Saturday only and will be able to make the race. Phew!

Oh, and the Friday before the race, Bruce finds out that he has a possible ruptured disk, so no running, no lifting, no nothing for the foreseeable future...

So now here we are in August 08, and ready to rock and roll...

Timberman 1/2 IM - 08

2008-08-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

It was a bit bumpy getting here, but finally race weekend is here. Both my kids are doing the Timberkids race on Saturday and then will be cheering mom and dad on in the 1/2 IM on Sunday. Busy weekend for sure!

We head up to NH Friday afternoon and on the way, the front tire on my son's bike blows 'cuz it was too close to my cars exhaust. GREAT! now what. Call Suzy and Cheryl, who are coming up to volunteer, to see if they can swing by a bike shop and at least get me a tube for his tire. They come thru with flying colors!

Get up to Gunstock and packet pick-up only to have them tell me that I can't get my husband's stuff as he needs to pick it up in person. Ok, so how is this going to work since he's not getting here until late Saturday night?? Sunday am, we have to go to the registration booth to get his numbers, etc. Sheesh. BUT they were good enough to give me my Brother-in-law's goodie bag even though he didn't make it.

We meet up with Suzy and Cheryl and grab some dinner before relaxing in the hotel. Later on that night I realize that all bikes must be racked the day before, but I can't because they didn't give me the bike number!! ACK! So another thing I need to figure out...does not let me sleep well.

Saturday
Saturday am, we get up and Suzy, Rachel (daughter) and I hit the pool. The Gunstock Inn has a beautiful 25m pool and a huge fitness center - yeah, we're in heaven. We grab some breakfast and I proceed to clean up my husband's bike. Get it all cleaned up, but now the front derailleur isn't working quite right. Ok, so now I have to not only get Wyatt's tire fixed for his race, but need to get that looked at and get the bike number so I can rack the bike. If it's not one thing, it's another. sheesh.

We head up to the expo (awesome) and I drop off Ed's bike for adjustment and intended on getting Wyatt's tire fixed. However, they won't do it as the tire itself is cut and they don't have a replacement. NOW WHAT!?! The kids race is in less than 2 hours and he doesn't have a bike. Fortunately, the ski area had a camping grounds which rented bikes...so off we go and I rent him a mountain bike for his race. It needed some serious lube (which I had) and we get him all set up. AND I am able to get Ed's bike number so I can rack his bike later. phew.

The kids race was awesome! Unfortunately, they had to call it due to some threatening thunderstorms. Wyatt was able to finish, but Rachel only got thru the swim and bike. She was very disappointed! AND there were many kids that didn't even get to start! There were many many tears being shed - and not just by the kids either. Ironically, it never rained and the storms just broke up.

Sunday
Finally, race day. Ed got up to the Inn around 10 pm and was a bit tired from the drive and from standing around all day. He wasn't looking forward to getting up at 530, but was game enough. We got down there around 6:30 am and grabbed his numbers and got body marked. Then we got to wait, and wait and wait as the relay teams were in the last wave, over 1 hour after the 1st one.

The water was fairly warm and they had placed buoys about every 100-150 yards which was great for staying on track! It looked so LONG!! Yeah, I was nervous. I just wanted to get on with it.

Finally, we were lining up and they were playing "running on empty" by Jackson Browne as we crossed the mat. I was thinking...not the greatest song to START a race on! ;p We started about waist deep and I lined up on the right. I was able to get into a decent spot right off, and stayed right along the buoys. With so many people around it was easy to stay on track and follow the bubbles. I felt pretty decent for the most part. The swim was an inverted U and out on the long side it was pretty choppy. At one point, I can remember thinking, dang this is LONG!! SO I had to start making up breathing games to stay focused and not get board. I am happy to say, I did pass some people in the 2 waves ahead of us, so that made me feel pretty good. But I was really glad to get out of the water. I swear, I must have swallowed 1/2 the lake! Swim: 38:45

Crossed the mat, waved to Cheryl and Suzy and ran to the "relay pen" to give the chip to Ed. He took off and now I could rest and entertain the kids.

I ate some breakfast, relaxed, drank a ton and tried to keep the kids from getting bored. all in all it worked pretty well. It was fun to cheer everyone else on and watch the pros come in. Man, they are fast!

Around the 3 hour mark, started getting ready and looking for Ed. He came in looking beat in 3:10 and change. took the chip and off I went. Now to see what I've got.

At this point it's gotten warm and there is a slight breeze. It's a 2 loop out and back course, with some long inclines. Oh goodie. But I remember some of it from when I did the sprint a few years ago, and we drove it on Saturday, so I know what to expect, or so I thought. They had bands playing along the way and sponges, water, food, even SNOW! to help us out. It was awesome! At the turn around point, the whole neighborhood is out and had the street decorated in a Hollywood theme -complete with a bubble machine! This stuff made it so much better!

The 1st loop, goes fairly well, and I was holding a decent pace. But right around mile 8 things start to decline. I'm hydrating well, and eating ok, but I am losing steam. So I increase my walk breaks by 30 seconds or so and keep pouring water on me to keep cool. Ah, that's better. I miss the mile 9 marker and start to panic a bit when I think I have totally blown my pace...oh, phew here comes mile 10! There is a decent hill around mile 11 and I give myself permission to walk up the last 1/2 of it and I end up passing Team Hoyt. Everyone is congratulating them (myself included) and getting inspiration from them. At the top, I pick it up again and find my running legs, but my quads are starting to talk to me and both of my feet ache. OUCH!

I hit the 12 mile mark and realize I will break 2:15 easily and try to pick it up to break 2:10, possibly even 2:05. But its not until I see the "final kick" green arch way that my legs finally agree with my brain and start running again. I turn the corner and head for home. I see my family cheering and bring it on in.

Run: 2:06:50

Total time for Team CNN: 6:00:39

I was tired and achy and vowed to NOT DO THIS AGAIN....yeah, ok, heat of the moment (no pun intended)...but it was great! Timberman has to be the best supported race I have done in a long time. We've got reservations for next year at the Inn all ready.

Who's going to join us?!?!

Appleman 2008

2008-07-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...not too sure what to make of this race...felt good going in...not so good with the results...strange day for sure.

It wasn't one thing, but maybe a bunch of little things...but I'll get to that.

Met up with Cheryl and Suzy at 6:30 am, got the gear ready and walked down to transition. Parked our bikes and got our goodie bags...Suzy's wasn't ready so they slapped one together including hand writing the numbers on pieces of paper for her bike and run...

The transition area was tight as it was small and had over 500 athletes...but as luck would have it, I was on a rack leading out of transition and had a fair amount of room on the other side to throw my stuff. cool. Began setting up and chit-chatted with the ladies in the area. The woman next to me said she wasn't having a great training season, let alone race season, so we talked about the best way to attack the race and just take it one part at a time (she did great, and looked good at the finish). I met back up with Cheryl and Suzy and headed down to the beach to get in the water and warm up a bit.

It was muggy, but fortunately the sun wasn't out so it wasn't too bad. Got in and did a decent warm-up, narrowly missing 3-4 head on collisions w/swimmers coming in. (whoops) The water was clear and they had treated the lake earlier in the year, so the weeds were in control (yes!).

Listened to some pre-race announcements (tried to anyway) and then the National anthem and buddhist monk chant - loved it! Suzy and I were in the last wave and Cheryl the one before us. Watched the other waves go off and figured the best place to be was on the far right. Some of the guys in the first two waves weren't doing too good, in fact a few turned around and came back to shore and one was swimming way off course - felt really bad for them!

The swim started out uneventful and I got to the 1st turn buoy no problem. Hugged it real close and kept on going. next time I went to site, I noticed I was WAY out and had to angle back to my right to get back close to the buoy line (what the?!?!) At this point I notice that my arms feel tired and my breathing isn't that great (a bit wheezy)...hmm, not good, decide to dial it back and recover. Ok, arms feel better but breathing is still messed, but manageable. Round the next turn buoy and head on in. In the next minute or so, I get swum over by the same person TWICE! and then my watch strap decides to start to undo...what next?? Nothing...out of the water in 15:31...

Run up the beach and thru the pools of water and do as quick a change as you can with a wetsuit on. T1: 2:32

Get on the bike and feel better, start pushing from the start as its a short rolling course and really wanted to fly. Ended up playing cat and mouse with another woman in my age group...it was rather weird, just when I thought she pulled ahead and I wouldn't catch her, I would be right back in it. Passed her at one point and she says "you're really pissing me off"...uh, ok, then get in front of me and stay there! Sheesh. ANYWAY, I am in front now and I hear something, and look back and there she is hanging just off my back wheel to the left...and we stay this way for a couple of miles...where is a race official when you need one??? She does eventually get ahead and I thought for good, but I catch her just as we hit transition. Bike: 32:00

T2 actually goes according to plan - in and out in 0:46

The run STUNK from the get go...just couldn't get it together and my breathing was all messed up. I did beat the other woman out of T2, but she passes me within the 1st 1/4 mile or so. Harumph. Hit the 1st mile in 9 min or so and knew it was going to be tough from there on out. Legs didn't want to go, developed a stitch, looked like it was going to pour at any minute, so really high humidity...but fortunately, NO SUN! This is a nice run too, no real hills and part of it is in the woods. So keep assessing and trying to get rid of the stitch. Shortly after I turn into the woods, I see Cheryl up ahead. Yell to her to run with me and she turns around and says "Oh, CRAP!" and starts running again. Tell her she's looking AND doing good as I go by...I just want to get this done, so I don't stop. Once in the woods it's a bit trickier and I decide to walk a good portion of the hill. THIS ends up being my saving grace...breathing is easier the last 3/4 of a mile and I am able to get my legs back under me. So, I get it in gear, and am able to pick it up a bit - and feel more normal.

Run: 27:13

Total time: 1:18:03 8th in my AG (with drafting lady in 7th)

Overall, I was slower in every leg EXCEPT for T2! Go figure. Going back thru the race in my mind, it's tough to figure out. No idea why I got tired on the swim...that has never happened before...I felt really good on the ride and well the run just plain stunk. I think it was combination of things...I had run 8 miles on Wed (1st time at that distance in many years), then jumped on a plane and was away until Friday for work, and Saturday we were busy and it was hot. My breathing was not right from mid-swim on...I haven't been using my inhaler, didn't need it, but probably could have used it during the race. But who knew?

Since I can't go back and change anything, I'll just have to chalk it up as "just one of those days."

Webster Lake 2008

2008-07-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

I do this race every year and love the venue – only 20 minutes from the house!! I had been watching the weather all week as this race is notorious for being either rainy or really hot! Forecast was for rain after 10:00 am…cool…I’ll take that!

Met up with Suzy and Cake in the parking lot and went and got our goodie bags and body marked. Our rack was close to the bike and run out, but we couldn’t quite figure out how we’d bike in, oh well, I’ll just follow the pack… Set up transition area and went down to hit the bathroom and check out the swim course. The swim was a triangle, but it looked like it was short…which given my swim time, I was right.

By the time we got back up to transition area to get our stuff, there was a line which had to have 100 people in it waiting to sign up via race day registration!! Unbelievable! FIRM really was not ready to handle this and as a result, the race didn’t start on time and some people didn’t have chips before the 1st wave even went off. WOW! Rick and Dick Hoyt were there and their race was being filmed. Cool.

Suzy and I were in the 4th wave and as we watched the others go off, it was apparent that staying to the left, closest to the buoys was a good place to be. So, that’s where I went. Got into a pocket early and a decent rhythm and felt pretty decent. But for some reason, was having problems staying straight, so had to keep siting. On the second leg of the triangle, was doing well, passing some of the people in the prior waves, when I thought I heard someone yell. Look up and was literally 6 inches from swimming head on into a kayak! Ouch, that would have hurt…a guy was hanging on to him, resting and the kayak had moved in close to the buoy line for him. Sheesh…after that the swim was uneventful, and finished up strong. Swim time: 11:33

The run up to transition is always interesting as it’s a good ¼-1/3 mile! At least you get the blood going to your legs – but man it can be tough on your feet! Tried to get in and get out, but still took me a while. T1: 4:14

I love the bike course on this race despite the “killer hill” at ~4 miles…Legs were burning a bit, and tried to spin them out, but they wouldn’t loosen up. Hmmm, this ought to be interesting later on…I was making good time and getting psyched to start climbing…but what the? Shifted my chain right off the large front gear, but was able to shift and pedal it back on…phew. Kept going and started climbing, alternating spinning and standing…shifted to my smallest front gear and DANG IT! Chain came off…lost all momentum and couldn’t pedal it back on! What the @#$@#%!!! Pull off to the side before I fall over and take someone else with me, futz with it and finally get it back on…that cost me a couple of minutes, I think. And since I was at the steepest part of the hill, I had to run my bike up to the crest before I could get back on! UNBELIEVABLE! So, I’m covered in grease and totally frustrated but now riding and getting back up the hill. The rest of the ride went pretty uneventful and was able to regain some time. I had wanted to break 39 for the bike, and missed it by less than a minute…bike: 39:46 (18.3 mph)

We had to run down along side of transition and in the back to get back in and that was a major pain. Got back to rack my bike and noticed a yellow lens on the ground…whoops! Rode the whole course with only one lens in my glasses! Fortunately, lost it in transition and not out on the course…T2: 1:40

This was my first full race since my surgery and so far, the foot was holding up pretty good. The run is fairly flat and loops thru a neighborhood, with a couple of short rollers. Get out on the run course and my right Achilles started acting up, so tried to get my stride out and relax…told myself I would take a walk break if it didn’t start to loosen up after the 1 mile mark…1 mile came and it was fine, so kept going. On the way back, my foot started to get hot and sore, so again, made a bargain that I would take a quick break if it got unbearable…never happened, so was able to finish up running. Saw Suzy and tried to do a high five, but missed and only caught a few fingers. She looked good! After that tried to stay relaxed and pick it up a bit. Got passed in the last 100 yds or so by someone in my age group and just couldn’t get it back…she finished 4 seconds in front of me. Oh well. Run: 23:42 (2.8 miles)

So total time was 1:20:50, good enough for 15 out of 34. AND a good 1 minute faster than last year, despite my dropped chain. Run was about the same, but that’s ok considering I wasn’t even really running until March of this year.

Met up with Cheryl and went back to cheer Suzy in – she did awesome!!

It’s a fun race and by the turn out FIRM had this year, looks like it got popular overnight! They had a hard time handling all the race day registrations and timing was a bit messed up for a while after the race. But they finally got it sorted out, but not sure how it worked with the awards (not that it mattered to me).

Cranberry Country Triathlon - Pre race

2007-08-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

First time doing this race, first time doing an Oly. Suzy twisted my arm back in February to sign up for this race and despite the HHH environment on race day, glad she made me do it. To say I was nervous was an understatment. I was caught in that not so fun place of wanting to do it and wanting to go home.

The whole family came with me down to Lakeville. We stayed overnight at a local hotel, so the kids could use the pool and I wouldn't have to get up at some un-godly hour to drive to the race.

We met up with Suzy at registration late Saturday afternoon and checked out the course. The buoys were out and it really didn't look too bad. Not sure the actual mileage as the race website said 0.8 miles in one place and 0.9 miles in another. I had emailed the RD, and he didn't give me a straight answer, saying that it would be determined when they put the buoys out. Nice.

We figured out the transition area - the racks had spaces with our names on them - so no need to worry about getting there super early to set up. But man the run from the swim was pretty long and getting out of transition for the run was just as long. Oh well, everyone had to do it right?

We were also checking out the locations of the port-o-potties, as I figured I would need to use them before I went out on the run. There were 3 near the bike in and out, but nothing along the run out. I spoke with one of the race organizers and asked him why there weren't any near the run out. He said that last year the run out went right by them, but they changed it this year. He said he'd look into moving at least one to the run out. I thanked him profusely. (phew) As we were leaving, they had 1 hooked up to the back of a pick-up and were moving it.

We then headed over to the hotel, checked in and decided to beat the evening rush and get dinner early. Found a local diner and had some good food. After getting back to the hotel, my daughter and I headed down to the pool, while DH and son stayed in the room and watched the Red Sox. DH was recovering from his 75 mile ride and my son was recovering from 2 days of off and on fever.

Suzy joined us and we chit chatted about the race, our jitters and our WW friends doing an Ironman...

Cranberry Country Tri - Race Day

2007-08-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Ah, the moment of truth...I did sleep good despite having the weirdest tri-dream ever. I dreamt that I had done the race, but didn't finish the run and needed to go back and finish it, so I wouldn't DNF. Mind you, in the dream, I could remember running the first 4 miles of the course, but not the last 2.2 and I couldn't figure out where I had left off either. AND it was the next day that I was trying to finish. What the?!?! Bizarre.

Anyway, met up with Suzy around 6:15 to head down to the race site. It took us literally 10 minutes to get there - saweet.

Headed over to transition to set up and there were quite a few people already there. Very official race, checked the bikes AND your helmet before they would even let you into transition. Off course, my helmet was buried in my tri bag, so had to dig it out and held up the line. sheesh.

I set up transition as usual and helped Suzy out with taping GU to her bike. I used my new aero-bottle and my fuel belt for the run. Had forgotten about the fuel belt and ran out of fluid. Whoops! Bummed some Gatorade off of Suzy for my pre-race bagel & peanut butter.

At this point, you could tell it was going to be hot and humid...

After getting all set up, we hit the port-o-potties and got body marked. Met Cheryl at the body marking and chatted for a few minutes. I also ran into another friend of mine who was doing the run part of a relay team. Fun to see other people you know at a race. :)

They weren't letting anyone swim at the start line, so we went into the water at the finish. Did a nice long warm-up and got my breathing (and heart rate) under some semblance of control. Adrenaline was in full gear now. Headed over to the start and watched the first wave go off. Smokin' fast! Suzy was in wave #5 and I was in #6, so we had a little bit of a wait...yikes, here comes that adrenaline again.

Gave Suzy a pat on the back and into the chute she went...OMG I'm next! Into the water we went and we had to go under a starting banner, so we were pretty bunched up. I tried to stay to the side, but it really didn't matter. Once we started, I thought, yep, now I really know what it feels like to be in a washing machine. This was by far the worst start I had ever been in. The pond was very shallow in spots. At the first buoy, there was a pole directly across from it. As long as you stayed between the buoy and the pole, you were ok, but if you got on the left side of the pole, you were walking (which many people did). I was able to get into a decent rhythm and found some feet and bubbles to follow. We had to swim the perimeter of the pond (counter clockwise) and I did fairly well until I rounded the end and swung too wide (towards the middle). Saw a kayak on my left, and then looked and saw the next buoy wwaaaaayyyyy over to my right. whoops. So a little added yardage to the swim...other than that there were enough people around that you really couldn't go too far off course. I did pass some people in the previous waves and only counted ~5 white caps passing me from the wave behind (yeah, I know, I know, but it was giving me something else to do besides counting strokes). I rounded the last buoy and headed towards the swim out, touched ground, got up and over the mat I went. Swim: 25:58

We had to run up a stone staircase, around a building and all along the side of the transition area just to get into it! Sheesh. As I was doing so, I remembered that I had forgotten to fill up a spare water bottle with lake water for my feet - crap! Oh, well, I have a towel. Get to my bike, get the wetsuit off (almost fall over doing so) and notice that my feet are fairly free of any gunk. sweet. Get my stuff on, eat 1/2 a Z-bar and head out. T1: 3:18

While I had put my bike in an easy gear, I didn't have the pedals right and couldn't for the life of me clip in. FINALLY get that all situated and head out. Once out on the course, I had to remind myself to go a bit slower at first, since it wasn't a sprint distance, so took it a bit easy the first mile or so. Suzy and I had ridden the course a few weeks ago, so knew what to expect - it's mostly flat and was going to be FAST. Woohoo! Anyway, tooling along, minding my own business, go to shift and hmm, somethings not right....yep, chain is OFF and hanging onto my crank. What the?!?!@? Tried to shift and pedal it back on to no avail. Pull over out of the way and the dang thing won't go back on. Now I am REALLY frustrated and swearing and ready to heave the bike in the bushes!! Up until that point I was CRANKING! So, after swearing some more (mostly under my breath) almost in tears, I lay my bike down (more like a gentle throw) and am able to get the chain back on. Have no idea how long it took me and I am truly frustrated with the whole thing. All this happened ~7 mile...had to make up a lot of time.

So once back on, I pick it up and get back into the groove. Go to take a drink from my aero-bottle and there's nothing there. What the heck?? Then I figure that I must have lost all of my fluid when I laid my bike down to fix the chain. So now I am down to my single large bottle for the next 18 miles or so. Then my lower back decides it's not happy and starts to tighten up...jeez, what next?? This has happened the last three races so not sure what is going on, but I couldn't stay as aero as I would have liked. I had to keep rearranging myself, trying to get my back to work its way out and trying to keep my mind off the pain. I just kept looking ahead and picking people off. I did eventually catch up with some of the crew I was riding with before my chain came off, so that made me feel better. The race officials were out in force and were tagging people. I got caught in a pack, but fortunately they weren't around then. phew.

The last bit of the bike course is the same as the last bit of the run and there were people already there - they looked great and told them so. Able to crank it right on into transition.

Bike: 1:21:54 (my bike computer had me at 1:19 and change, so w/o my little stop, I was averaging ~19.1 mph)

Heard my family cheering me on in T2 as I ran my bike in and racked. My son started telling me about the number one finisher (just under 2 hours) and told him it wasn't helping...he promptly said, "Sorry, YOU'RE LOOKING GOOD MOM" Made me laugh. then I heard him tell his Dad, that since he saw me first, my husband owed him a dollar. Made me laugh again. By this time, I had my fuel belt and shoes on and out I went. T2: 1:35

Well, the port-o-potty was there, but I didn't need it. So waved at it and kept on going. I was worried about this part the most. I hadn't done too many runs longer than 6.5 miles in the recent weeks, but had done a ton of 1 hour trail runs in the heat. I felt good and got into a good groove right off. I had planned on taking walk breaks, as I had trained that way, but wanted to do longer run segments. May not have been the best idea. Started off with 9:1 and that worked well for the 1st 1/2 of the run...then I pretty much self-destructed after that. Did I mention it was HOT and HUMID? I went down to 6:1 for one segment, then I ended up doing the rest of the race at 5:2. I was getting overheated after the 3 mile mark and had visions of having to walk the rest of the way in. Talk about a head game. I was running with another lady in my age group and we were doing well keeping each other going, but once I dropped my interval to 6:1, I couldn't catch back up with her. Bummed me out. HOWEVER, I was determined to finish and running the math in my head showed that I would still break 3 hours, with some time to spare, so that helped immensely. I was drinking out of my fuel belt and pouring water over my head at every water stop. At the beginning of the run we had a nice breeze, but it all of a sudden stopped 1/2 way thru...dang it. I kept plodding along, and there were a group of us all in the same boat, helping each other finish. I was running with another woman at one point and I said to her "we have less than 1 mile left. You've run a mile before right? Just think of it as running 1 mile on tired legs..." she laughed a bit and said thanks. I was saying it just as much for me as I was for her. I had to walk a bit just before the 6 mile mark and everyone was great and encouraging. At this point I saw a runner getting help from the EMTs - he did not look good and he was really wobbly and soooo close to the finish too. I'd say less than 0.25 miles. My feet were killing me and I could tell that I had a couple of blisters brewing, but after I walked ~1 minute to regroup, I was able to get back to running. I passed all the people who wanted me to keep going and I was around the corner and into the home stretch. I was never so glad to see a finishing arch in my life!! Done D - U - N Done!! Run: 1:01:00

Final time: 2:53:43

My family was there cheering me on and I saw them on the way in to the finish. I gave my son my finisher's medal and he wore it for me the rest of the afternoon. They handed out cold towels and water and I found some shade to recover in. After a few minutes, I felt much better and was able to walk around.

To say the run hurt is an understatement. I was fine until just after mile 3 and then everything changed as fast as you can flip a light switch. I never hurt that much so fast. I was overheating and my early long run intervals probably didn't help much. Just means that I need to work on my long runs when I do another one of these. I was just as concerned about the swim, but honestly, it felt really good.

I went back to cheer Suzy in, but missed her as I was looking for more water. I did, however, cheer in my other friend who was doing the relay. She did really well. Caught up with Suzy after the finish line and we both agreed that the run was hot and tough.

Overall, despite my nerves, biking mishap and run debacle, it was a great race and I highly recommend it. Just need to work on running long in the heat, I guess.

Appleman Tri - 22 July 07

2007-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

This was my first time doing this race but have been intrigued with it, since it’s fairly close to my house. The course is short and sweet, with some trail running thrown in.

I had vowed after Webster lake to get stuff ready earlier than 9:00 pm the night before and did manage to do that, but instead of taking it easy on Saturday, I ended up running around doing errands and helping my husband to sand/steel wool my mom’s deck. This led to inconsistent hydrating and eating…nothing like eating some lasagna and 1 piece of cheese pizza at 8:30 pm as a pre-race dinner! ;)

Woke up early enough to shower up and get up there to meet Suzy, T and Guin for 6:30. I didn’t sleep well the night before and to say I was grumpy is an understatement. I was walking that fine line of wanting to do the race and going back to bed…but once I was on the road, I felt a bit better and once I got there, the grumpiness was almost gone. Most of the grumps were due to the fact that I was not really looking forward to running the trail as the trail runs I had done earlier in the week had kicked my butt and dampened my spirits and I really did not want to be sucking wind on that part…

I parked behind Suzy in my friend’s driveway, grabbed my stuff and walked down to the race start. Saw Guin right away and then T and Suzy. The transition area was really small and tight…so there were people everywhere helping squish us all together. I got my race number, got body marked (the guy was little marker happy…4 days later and I still have remnants) and then went and set up my transition area. After that, hooked up with T, Suzy and Guin and hung out on the beach figuring out how the ins and outs of the transition area were going to work. T & Guin were working on ~4 hours of sleep and a bit too much alcohol, so they found some DD coffee to keep themselves going. We got our picture taken with the “Appleman” and just soaked it all in. There were a ton of volunteers and FIRM had teamed up with the Littleton Rotary, so this race was extremely well supported.

By that time it was getting close to the start, so Suzy & I went to get our wetsuits on to do a warm up swim. That’s when I found out that someone had moved ALL my stuff over one slot and I was now next to someone on a mountain bike which would not stay on the rack. Great! Not! I do have to say though, that whoever moved my stuff did a good job and it was all set up the way I had left it, just in a different spot. Ah well. Got my wetsuit on and met Suzy & T at the beach. Suzy and I were in the 3rd wave with T right behind us in #4. The water was very comfortable and I was able to get a nice long warm-up swim in. A young girl sang the national anthem (live) and then two Buddhist monks chanted a pray before we were ready to race. The Buddhist chant was very cool.

The waves were 3 minutes apart, so we had a few minutes to watch the other waves and see what was going on. It was a triangular course; GPS marked so pretty much a true ½ mile. The only problem I could see was that there weren’t many buoys so it would be easy to swim off course. I positioned my self to the front and right to stay out of the way (if that’s even possible), which worked well for the most part. Gave Suzy a high five and we were off. I was able to get into a clear pocket fairly early and was doing well until I got kicked in my left leg, right above the knee…my knee shifted and I thought, “Is it possible to twist your knee during a swim?” Kept going and the leg worked its way out. The stretch between the two large turn buoys was the longest and during that portion, I really started overtaking the previous two waves. It was very bizarre and at one point I found my self stuck between a breast-stroker, a side-stroker and some one doing the back stroke right in front of me. What the?! I was able to dodge around them, but there were people scattered everywhere and it was hard to get back into a good rhythm.

I rounded the last buoy and started for home…~1/3 way from shore I was overtaken by those pesky blue caps in wave #4…boy those ladies were FAST! I swam until I touched bottom, tried Tink’s trick to flood the wetsuit (not sure if it really worked or not) and got up and out. Swim: 15:25

Ran up the beach and they had put out two kiddie pools to run thru to get the sand off your feet (nice), so I had minimal rinsing to do after I got my wetsuit off. Ran down my row…went a bit too far and got disoriented, as I saw lower numbers, but not my bike. There was a helper and he pointed to my bike and said right there…first time I’ve done that! Stripped the wetsuit off, put it under the rack (more on that later), put on socks, shoes, glasses, helmet and I was out outta there. T1: 2:19

There was some congestion getting out of transition, and it took a bit to get away from some people. As it was I almost clipped the back of a guy’s bike ~0.25 mile down the road as we turned onto another road, they were directing us over to the right and he slowed down and cut me off. Stood on the brakes and somehow didn’t hit his back tire or fall over. Had to go around the volunteer and on the wrong side of the cone, but managed to get away from him. This was a fun course, rollers, no significant hills and some great flat sections. My only gripe was that a lot of the men seemed to forget bike etiquette and come out of seemingly no where and cut you off. THAT really ticked me off. Almost got clipped a few times and had one guy deliberately slow down in front of me ‘cuz he didn’t want me to get into transition before him (ha – didn’t work tho). Legs were feeling it a bit and my back tightened up again (not sure what is up with that!) around mile 7, but I spun them out a little and was able to push it home. Heard Guin cheering me on just before I hit transition (that’s always nice) Bike: 31:24 (ave speed: 19.8)

T2 was pretty uneventful and I was able to get in and out fairly fast. T2: 0:48

The run is always interesting for me, never know how my legs will feel and I wasn’t sure how my back would be. Fortunately, both of them decided to co-operate that day…only needed to get my breathing under control. Out of T2 you have to run along the beach and then into the neighborhood. All I wanted to do was get past the point on the run where it veers off from the return runners before the lead athlete came thru. Managed to do that and concentrated on getting up the slight incline for the 1st part of the run. Suzy and I had trained on this earlier in the week, so I knew what to expect and was able to relax and concentrate on getting my legs under me. At about 1.5 miles, the run course turns onto “Two Brothers Trail” and goes thru a field and woods for a bit and then pops back out into the neighborhood by the lake. The trail part takes a lot out of you. While I was on the grassy field, almost to the woods, I hear, “old man overtaking old broad” behind me. I start laughing and tell him to go after the “even older broad” in front of me (there was a 45 yr old woman just ahead of me). The “old man” was 47. It was rather funny. Once in the woods, I just tried to maintain my pace, but ended up walking up the 2nd part of the large hill (heck everyone else was walking too). A good thing I decided to do that, as I recovered a bit and was able to come out of the woods stronger. The rest of the run was downhill/flat and I just wanted it done at that point. I tried to stay with the “older broad” but couldn’t do it, so just tried to pick it up the best I could. The run ends on the beach which made the footing rather interesting when you are trying to sprint…but did my best. Run: 26:31

Overall time: 1:16:30 (6th in AG)

After I recovered a bit, I went back on the race course and cheered/ran Suzy and T in. T looked great for someone who was using a sprint triathlon as detox!!

After everyone had a chance to recover, get some food and check the standings, we headed out to get some breakfast at a local restaurant. While I was packing up my stuff in transition, I found that my wetsuit had somehow gotten stuffed under the bike rack support and is now sporting a nice “dent” in the left leg. It didn’t puncture, but could tear if there is enough pressure. Lovely, guess that’s was patch is for.

A very fun fast race! And the weather was perfect although it did start getting hot afterwards. The local support for this race was phenomenal. There were people all along the race course cheering us on; ringing cowbells, spraying the runners with water…it was wonderful! And racing with friends is even better!

Webster Lake 2007

2007-06-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

Webster Lake Tri

Ok, so this is the 6th year I have done this race, amazing…I think I have done it every year.

This year the weather was MUCH better than last year!! Sunny skies and decent temps, beats pouring rain any day. It was only 45F when I left my house (it’s New England), but it warmed up quick and wasn’t too hot.

I got to the site around 6:30 and found they had changed transition from last year, and shortened the run a bit in doing so. Plus, they changed the finish line, so I think the run was probably ~0.2 mile short. I parked, grabbed my stuff and went to rack my bike. Saw Suzy in the rack in front of me, so we chit-chatted a bit while we set up our transitions.

We went down to the water to check out the course and to hit the ladies room. The lake looked really nice and calm. Jogged back to transition to see if my legs were awake yet and met the family of a friend from town. She was there doing the relay. I headed over to my bike, used my inhaler and got my wetsuit on. Talk about feeling like a stuffed sausage…sheesh.

Suzy and I ended up in the first wave: elite (of which there were 4), women 40+ and men 50+. What the? I’m NEVER in the first wave. This ought to be interesting, I thought. I got in and took a good long swim as a warm up. I finally figured out that by doing so, my breathing is calmer once the race starts (only took me 4.5 seasons to figure that one out!). The RD called everyone out of the water and asked which way we wanted to swim due to the sun. The majority (actually I think it was just the loudest people near the RD) won with a CC direction…idiots…that meant we were swimming into the sun on the LONGEST leg of the swim, instead of the 1st and shorter leg. Oh, goodie.

So, I lined up on the outermost left and somehow found a pocket right away. (again that NEVER happens) The swim wasn’t too eventful and I was able to sight every 20 strokes or so and for the most part swam pretty straight. The 1st big buoy came up fast, but the second leg felt long, and I felt like I was struggling a bit, but not too bad. By the time I hit the final turn buoy, I was by myself (which was kind of weird) and I stayed that way for the rest of the swim. I needed to sight more often as there were less buoys on this leg. I swam until I hit bottom, got up, unzipped the wetsuit and jogged out of the water.
Swim: 12:47 (HOLY CARP!)

The run up to the bikes took forever! We were racked just about at the entrance to the park, past the guard shack and on the opposite side from last year. As I was running up , I remembered I forgot to give myself a landmark! Oops – as it was I went down the wrong aisle, not too far though – rookie mistake #1. Turned around and up one more to my bike. Decided to use socks for the bike this time and wouldn’t you know, they DID NOT want to go on. Sheesh…finally got them on then the shoes, grabbed my helmet, glasses, and out I went. T1: 4:40 (too long)

Hopped on my bike and dang…forgot to put it in an easy gear when I set up my transition – rookie mistake #2. Adjusted that and away I went.

Having ridden this course many times, I knew what to expect. The hill, well what’s to say??? It’s a tough one and is actually a series of climbs. My left leg was fatigued for some reason and I couldn’t push as much as I wanted to. The backside is always nasty – but at least not wet like last year. Once off the hill, it’s a fun rolling ride and I really tried to stay aero. Funny though, the left side of my back developed a stitch (cramp?) and couldn’t stay down as much as I wanted. Felt like it was going to spasm (ACK!), but fortunately, while I was playing out all the possible scenarios in my head (walk the run, DNF, etc), it started to loosen up. Phew! Only a few women passed me and only 1 in my age group. I stayed right with a 61 year old man – he was doing great! Bike: 40:28 (18.1 mph, a little slower than last year)

Ok, knew where my rack was and was able to do T2 better than in years passed.
T2: 0:49

Ah the run! The worst part for me…did not get into a good rhythm for quite a while this year. The run was almost ½ way over before I could get my stride out and breathing under control. Ugh. But, I passed a few people and was passed by many! I developed a stitch, but was able to slap that away. I skipped the water stops and just keep on going. I saw Suzy on her bike on her way into the park and I gave her the thumbs up when we crossed paths again on the run. They changed the finish to make it more of a straight shot and I think we lost a bit of mileage. But at that point, I really didn’t care!! Lol
I picked it up on the last bit to finish it off. Run: 23:10

Total time was 1:21:56

After looking at my times over the years I have been very consistent. I took ~6 minutes off my time from last year, but my ’05 race is by far the fastest. I am bit suspect of the mileage for the swim and run…I usually swim ½ mile in ~17 minutes in the pool. Can a wetsuit take ~5 minutes off your time?!?!

I wanted to be in the top 10 in my age group (40-44), and made it this year!! 10th! But boy, these ladies are fast! The winner in my age group did it in 1:10 and change. 2nd and 3rd place were 1:11 and change and only separated by 15 seconds I think. Sheesh.

Overall a great race – and good company! Suzy you are doing awesome!!

Groton 10K Road Race

2007-04-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

This was my first road race in over 3 years...nothing like starting out the season with a bang and a longer race. I had never done a 10K race before...usually 5Ks and 5 milers and skipped this distance entirely and did two (2) 1/2 marathons in 2002....

I did one 10K practice about 1 week prior to the race near my house to get a feel for time and how I would be physically. I had wanted to do more training runs like it, but was really sick earlier in the month and the weather was not cooperating. Anyway, vowed to gallo-run on a 9/1 basis. Practice run time was 59:00, so that was what I was shooting for.

Met up with Suzy and her friends about 1 hour before the race and cheered the 5K runners coming in. Like Suzy said, there was a band playing at the finish and we were also treated to a band in the center of town and a person playing bag-pipes around the 2 mile mark. Just wish we had some more music later on! But you could hear the finish line band ~1/2 mile out and it was great!

A very scenic, rolling course…although the uphills were longer than the downhills…what’s up with that??? I tried to stay to my 9/1 plan, but ended up going more like 10 or 11 minutes before taking a break. That’s ok, my foot was handling it. There were two guys, one, w/ “SPITTY” on the back of his shirt, that I would try to reign in after my walk breaks. (BTW he lived up to what I HOPE was a nickname…) I was able to reign them in it until the last walk break but didn 't have enough to recover the ground lost and they finished ~15 seconds in front of me. I was hitting the mile marks fairly consistently, which was a nice surprise.

The race finished on a track and we cut thru a back driveway to get there. There were people waving us in and I thought the girl said “It’s a ½ mile to the track!” and I was saying some not to nice words under my breath…after I finished I realized she must have said “It’s a ½ lap around the track” or something to that affect. The ½ lap was the hardest part of the race!

Official results say 57:23, but my watch has 56:45. We were in the back of the pack and there wasn’t a pad at the start for the chip, so it’s a bit skewed.

All in all a fun race – I’d do it again.

ITB Stretch

2007-03-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a great stretch I found in RW. Enjoy!!

Shape Exercises

2006-11-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

I found these exercises in Shape...not for the faint of heart! I do the lunge with a 4-6 pound exercise ball, just to make it more interesting!! ;)

Hamstring stretch

2006-11-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

This is a great hamstring and glute stretch!!

The Century that wasn't...

2006-10-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Seacoast Century - September 23, 2006

This is a beautiful flat ride from the Hampton Beach State Park, into Massachusetts, and then up to York, Maine and then back. I did this ride last year with DH and a bunch of his ski instructor friends. We had so much fun last year that we all decided to do it again. Alas, it was not to be...Several of our rider friends got hurt and didn't go, so it was just DH and I who made the trip. I felt stronger this year, as I had several longer rides (40+) under my belt including a windy, hilly, 70 miler. I wasn't planning on doing the full 100, but I wanted to do ~85 like I did last year. There is a 15 mile loop into Massachusetts that DH planned on doing 1st then meeting me at the headquarters and we'd do the rest together.

I felt like I was coming down with a cold on Thursday, so started dosing up on zinc, vitamin c, etc. Felt like it was doing the trick as I wasn't getting any worse. The weather for Saturday was iffy, but according to the weather channel, the showers weren't going to start until the afternoon, and we'd be on our way back anyway. Ok, so not too bad.

Saturday am...wake to overcast and showers! WHAT!?!? Ugh. So much for the showers after lunchtime! Sunday wasn't supposed to be any better, in fact they were predicting severe thunderstorms for the area after lunch, so despite the early showers, Saturday was still going to be the best day. DH got up early and did the 15 mile loop and then met me ~8:30 am at the headquarters. I really was not up to riding in the rain, but we're here so lets get going. Well, the showers turned into a steady rain and the wind picked up. This is fun - NOT! But we were not alone in our misery as, there were many, many riders out, so at least we had company.

We had to walk our bikes over two bridges and the second one was up to let boat traffic through. There were ~25 riders waiting in the rain...and it just kept coming down. I am totally soaked at this point and my glasses are all fogged up. Can we go home now?!? Finally we can cross the bridge and we only have ~5 miles to the 1st SAG stop. Yeah!

We pull into the SAG stop and I can't unclip and boom fall over in front a whole group of guys. Great. DH is like, what are you doing?!? I am so frustrated that I don't know if should snap at him or cry, but am able to contain it and in a minute I am able to laugh about it. The rain has let up a little bit, but I am covered on my left side with pine needles, dirt, you name it. Not to mention that I banged up my ring finger on my right hand and it's turning all kinds of purple. Ouch. The bike doesn't look much better and I am off in search of something to clean my handlebars and myself off.

We get some food and I manage to clean up a bit, but now it's really raining and I am starting to shiver. Uh-oh, not good. I am not liking the fact that we still have 60 miles or so to go and I'm thinking that I could get really sick if I keep pushing just to do the mileage. But DH wants to go the entire ride, so that would mean my going back by myself. That's not a big deal as I know I can ride the distance, but I don't want to get lost, as it's kind of hard to see the markers. So, we're trying to figure out what to do, when we hear another group saying they are going back. DH introduces himself and I end up hooking up with a group of (5) guys who have decided to head back. DH and I have phones and I have the car keys, so I can get back to the hotel and get warm. Give DH a kiss, tell him to be careful and we go our separate ways.

So, I am now riding with Pat, Ed and Ralph. We're heading back and it raining like crazy but something doesn't feel right. I pull over and sure enough, my seat has moved (twisted in the fall). Great! No tools, so I am pulling and banging on it to get it straightened out. I got it ~95% of the way back, so at least it's not rubbing. The ride back is uneventful, but I am glad I am with someone else as we have to wind our way through the streets of Portsmouth and I know I would have gotten lost. The rain is letting up a bit and and Ed says, "boy it'll really stink if it stops raining when we get back"...to which I laugh and say "yeah, tell me about it." At one point, Ralph and I are up front and he peels off into a driveway and yells "pee break, just keep going", so I do. Now I know where I am, and keep pushing to get home.

Coming into Rye, NH, the rain is now a drizzle, but the wind has picked up I am heading right into it. Sheesh, nothing like watching your speed go from 16+ to 12 in like 30 seconds...and with no one to draft with, it was tough. Not too many people on the road now, but at least its not pouring! I keep plugging along, and lo and behold, who blows by me, but Pat, Ed and Ralph. They yelled some words of encouragement and then were gone...but I was only ~5 miles from the end, so didn't mind.

As I was getting closer to the headquarters, I checked my distance and I was a few miles short of 50, so since it wasn't raining anymore, decided to keep going to get an even 50 in. And I knew I would have a nice tailwind on the last stretch, so went past the headquarters into Seabrook NH, turned around and finished up. Ended up with an average pace of 15 mph and 51 miles for the day. As luck would have it, I was parked right behind Ed, Pat and Ralph. We chatted a bit, then I packed up and headed for the hotel.

I showered up and found a few more bruises from my fall and my finger was all kinds of colors and swollen, but not really painful. I got something to eat and watched a movie while waiting for DH. He showed up about 2 hours later and said that the group he had hooked up with had gotten lost, so he ended up doing ~110 miles for the day.

And yes, it did stop raining when I finished!

Journey for Sight Tri

2006-09-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the long awaited RR...

I have done this race in the past, but haven't for a few years. It never seems to fail, the weather always turns cool just before this race and this year was no exception. The forecast for race day was overcast and high 60s-low 70s. At least the rain held off until after the race was completed! I had contemplated not racing again after Musselman, not mentally with it, and to be honest, not happy with my results at MM, especially the run. But figured what the heck and just (try to) have fun.

This is a hilly course, both on the bike and the run, so I was not expecting anything spectacular...I really just wanted to finish the season on a good note. Its only 1/2 hour from my house, so I got there around 6:45 for an 8:00 am start. Plenty of time to set everything up. I met a woman from Canada who was visiting relatives and decided to do this race. We pretty much kept each other company until the race start and I saw her after...she said she had fun.

Swim: 0.5 mile
At least that's what it's supposed to be...looking at the course it looked a bit short. Oh well. I used my new wetsuit (thanks Rachel!) and it worked great! Definitely more bouyant and less fatigued in the water. All the women were in the last wave this time, and we never really got to spread out. It wasn't super crowded, but I always saw bubbles in front of me. Out of the water in 12:10.

T1 was up a short steep hill to the parking lot. I remembered all the tips Tink gave me for getting the wetsuit off and it worked great! Thanks! Decided against the socks and got my glasses, helmet and shoes on and off I went. T2: 2:57

Bike: 17 miles
The bike is a two loop course and has some decent rolling hills in it. I saw one lady blow by me who was in my age group and figured, since all the women were in the last wave, everyone else in my AG had to be in front of me. I was really hoping for a top 10 finish, but wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't happen. Anyway, played cat and mouse with two other women for most of the ride...until I finally was able to stay ahead the last few miles. I pulled into T2 just ahead of one of them (we were racked right next to each other). Not in my AG, so not worried, just wanted to see what kind of runner she was...Bike: 55:09

T2: off with the helmet and bike shoes, on with the socks and sneaks. I made it out of T2 ahead of the other woman, who had her BF? coaching in a loud voice to get moving and tear it up on the run. It was hard to determine where the run actually started as there wasn't a timing mat on the way out of T2, so I guessed. T2: 1:57 (or so)

Run: 3.5 miles
The run is also a two loop course but within the state park. It's flat to start out with, but at the beginning of the loop there is a wicked hill. At this point, I was ahead of the other girl, but she pulled away on the hill and just toasted me on the run. Bummer. After I made it up that nasty hill, I concentrated on my breathing and getting my kick up. I have been having issues with the ball of my right foot and so far so good. There were a few other rollers on the run and then came loop two. It really stunk to see people peeling off to the finish line and I had another lap to go. Oh, look, the nasty hill...goodie! NOT! I passed a guy and he said, "hey your doing good, keep it up", and I said something like "thanks, wish this hill wasn't here", and he said, "yeah, but you're passing me!" Made me smile...and he stayed right on my heels the whole way up that hill, pushing me. Nice! Unfortunately, at this point, my right foot decided it didn't like the running and started to alternate hurting and going numb. Dang it! I am not going to walk! So I would wiggle my foot and toes when it was off the ground and that would help for a bit, but it slowly got worse. Fortunately, I knew I had less than 0.75 mile left and decided to gut it out. I was coming into the home stretch and they were taking pictures, I tried to smile and give a thumbs up, but dang it's hard to smile when you are breathing hard! Can't imagine what that picture is going to look like. ;) I was able to pick it up at the end and finish strong. Run: 32:00

Overall: 1:44:14 Much better than the last time I did this race, but I think the swim was short.

Anyway, after I gave them my chip and grabbed some stuff to eat, I put all my stuff away and came back down to check my time. I found my name and did a double take....hey, that says I came in 3rd in my AG! What!?!? Ok, stay calm, not all the results are posted yet...keep fingers crossed. Kept waiting and they updated once more...sure enuf, 3rd!! hardware! Yeah!

So, not a bad way to end the season. YES! Now it's off to train for the Seacoast Century!

Musselman - the aftermath

2006-07-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

Afterwards, Suzy, Guin and I regroup and I track down my son. He's racing at 2:30 so I need to know where to find him when the time comes. He's been hanging with Mia's son and husband for the morning.

We mill around and end up at the chiro tent...so, figure, what the heck. let's get readjusted. Oh, but that felt good!

I gather up my kids - Rachel did wonderful at the water stop and earned her own t-shirt - to get Wyatt read for his race, but that's another story.

I have to say that I was (and still am) disappointed with my race. My run performance was not my best and for me, that makes or breaks my race. Something I have to work on I guess.

All in all - it is a great venue and a well run race. I would do it again. Wyatt liked his race so much that he is doing another in August in NH. Uh, oh, what have I created?!?!

Thanks for reading!

Musselman - The Race

2006-07-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2006

Got up early, got ready, got the kids ready and met Suzy, Guin and ER to head down to the race site. We racked our bikes the night before, so I only had to worry about Wyatt's bike. We got down there around 6:30 and set up our transition areas, got body marked and made our way over to the swim start to watch the 1/2 IMers go out. Rachel stuck with ER as she was going to help out at the 1st water stop on the run.

We met up with Tink and had a few photo ops waiting for our wave to be called. We were all in the 3rd wave. While we were waiting the 1st 1/2 IMer came out of the water in like 30 min flat! holy smokes! Finally our wave was called and we had to climb down a newly constructed set of stairs to get into the lake.

We had a in water start, ~100 yds out, but it was still only up to our waists at that point! Our course was in the shape of an inverted V, so only one buoy to contend with. We wished each other good luck and got ready to go. I got sandwiched a bit at the start, but otherwise was ok. HOWEVER, I was not anticipating swimming into CHOP! Apparently the wind had picked up since the beginning of the race and it was like swimming in a washing machine all the way out to the buoy. It was tough and there were more than a few people who called for help. It was really unnerving and I had to really get up and out of the water to get a good breath. So much for relaxing and rolling! I did get swum over, right next to the buoy, but fortunately I didn't get the air knocked out of me. The way back in was fun as the waves carried you - almost felt like body surfing a bit. The water got really shallow pretty far from shore, so I had to stand a lot sooner than I would have liked. But hey, everyone else had to too. Oh yeah, didn't encounter any dead fish! One goal down. For some reason, the timing mat was way up near the transition area, so all that time is included in the swim time. Swim: 10:30

I was racked close to the bike exit, so that was good. Decided to go w/o socks for the bike and quickly got my stuff on. Borrowed a race belt from TN (thanks!) as I realized the night before that I had left mine at home. Ran out got on the bike and started moving. That's when I noticed it had gotten hot! Uh, oh. Time to start hydrating. The bike course was one big 15 mile loop. It was beautiful! As I started out on the 1st leg, I was watching my speed drop. We had driven the course the day before, and while it appeared flat in the car, it was actually up a slight incline the whole way out. AND we had a head wind to boot...grumble grumble...why didn't I get those aerobars put on yet?!?! Anyway, get to the cross road and now the wind is to the side and I'm going downhill a bit. YES! now to make up some time. I played tag with 2 other women in my age group and finally was able to drop them. At this point I'm riding right along the lake with the wind at my back doing 20+ and thinking this is great! It was a bit awkward getting back into transition as we had to ride over grass, but manage that, and look at my time...50:00. Ok, another goal down, 2 to go.

T2 was uneventful. Racked my bike, changed my shoes and off I went.

Ah the run...my nemesis. Ever since my hamstring injury over 3 years ago, I have not been happy with my run performance and today was no exceptino. Did I mention it was HOT!??? The run was and out and back course thru the park. It looped just after the 1st water stop. I tried to get into a good rythm and get my kick up while keeping my hands relaxed, but my breathing was all messed up. I think I took my inhaler too soon before the race, cuz it almost felt like I hadn't used it at all. Sheesh. I tried not to let it bother me when I saw someone in my age group pass me, but it did just the same. After what felt like forever, I saw the water stop and my daughter came running up to me and gave me a high five...that was great! Grabbed some water from ER to pour over my head, but missed and got it down part of my back and into my left shoe! Great now, not only can I not breath well, I have a soggy shoe. ick.

Hit the turn around shortly after that and then back thru the water stop. This time Rachel gave me a glass which I succeeded in pouring over my head correctly! Now the mind games began as I really wanted it to be over, but I knew I had ~1 mile left to go. Plus, the smell coming off the lake was disgusting, making it hard to breath right. Thankfully, we did have a breeze and some shady spots which helped. I played tag with another woman who would run like a bat out of hell, only to stop and walk - that's when I would pass her. we did this for most of the run. She did finish a bit in front of me, but I didn't care as she wasn't in my age group. I see Suzy coming at me. She's looking good! I had been keeping my eye out for Tink and Guin too, but haven't seen them yet. FINALLY! I see the finisher's chute and pick it up (or so I thought) to finish strong. Click my watch, look at the time board and am disappointed to see that I missed my #1 goal by 2 minutes...overall time: 1:32:19

I grab some water and walk around to cool down. I take a look at my run time and nearly get sick. It has to be the slowest race time I've ever had for the run. I figure (desperately hope) that the course was long. I talk with a few other people and they agree, their times are off too. Makes me feel somewhat better, but still not happy about it.

I park myself right near the finishers chute and high five Tink as she comes in. Right around that time, I hear the announcer say that the 1st 1/2 IMer is coming in off the bike. Ok, so 3 out of 4 goals isn't bad...I see Guin on her way out but I miss Suzy coming in. I do get to high five Guin on her way in and cheer her on.

Musselman - 17 July 06 - pre race...

2006-07-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, finally, here it is...sorry it took so long!

I had a few goals going into this race:
(1) Finish in under 1:30
(2) Finish before the 1st 1/2 IM person came in off the bike
(3) Finish the bike in 50 minutes or faster...

We traveled to Geneva, NY Friday afternoon...by we, I mean myself and my two kids, Wyatt and Rachel. DH couldn't make it due to having PRK done the Tuesday before, and while the doc said he could go, he wouldn't have been able to stay out in the sun all day and he would have been miserable. So, he stayed home and recouped.

We go to the college around 7-ish, checked into the Athlete's village and then headed over to the Crow's Nest for dinner with the rest of the WWFCers. It was fun to meet everyone and get reacquainted with those I had already met. Wyatt hit it off with Mia's son, Matt and they spent a good amount of time together the rest of the weekend.

Saturday, we work up and it was raining! What the?!?! Didn't see that in the forecast, but rest assured it cleared out around noon time and it was HHH!! For breakfast we headed over to the pancake breakfast with Suzy, Bob, (her husband) and Guin, and met up with ER. Good pancakes! Both my kids had seconds, so they must have been good! ;)

After that we picked up our packets, checked out the expo and headed over to Wegman's. Wegman's is like the premiere grocery store in the area - wow wow wow! Great stuff! We grabbed some stuff for breakfast the next day then headed to Friendly's for lunch. We decided to head down to Seneca State Park where the race was being held to get a swim in and check out the run portion of the race as well as the transition area. We parked at the Ramada and walked in so we didn't have to pay the gate fee. In hindsight, we should have paid the $7, because it was looooonnnnngggg walk and it was sunny and hot!! We're talking mid-90s here. The kids were troopers and didn't complain too much, although Rachel and I developed blisters from our flipflops, so off they came. When we finally made it to the public beach area, we were disappointed to see that the swim area was really shallow and that there was no way we were going to be able to get a decent swim in. But the kids went in and had a blast, so we followed suit and at least we were able to cool off.

We were at the outer most edge of the swim area talking to one of the life guards when I noticed a dead fish floating thru the swim area. Now, it wasn't just some little fish, it was a huge carp! The thing had to be almost 2 feet long and probably weighed a good 8-10 lbs. Jeez louise! Ok, so now I have another goal - (4) don't swim into any dead fish!! ICK! The lifeguard explained that since the park is at the north end of the lake, all the dead fish, weeds, etc. are pushed in that direction by the wind and the waves...ewww...I am liking this swim less and less.

We met up with Mia and her family after our swim and she gave us a ride ~1/2 back to our care. Phew! wasn't looking forward to walking all the way back in the heat. We all went back to the Athlete's village and relaxed for a bit before heading to the pasta dinner to meet up with the rest of the WWFC crew.

During the pasta dinner, the RD Jeff Henderson, announced that there were 5 chairs with Geneva Bicycle stickers underneath and that if you found one, you'd be eligible for a prize. Would you believe? Rachel's chair had one of the stickers! So up we go to the front of the room. Jeff then says that we are the finalists for a wetsuit courtesy of Blue Seventy! All we had to do was tell everyone why we thought we deserved it the most and based on the amount of applause the response generated would determine the winner. Well, he has Rachel go first and she says "I'm going to give it to my mom." (YES! right answer) to which Jeff says, "well, anything after that is going to sound terribly selfish..." Everyone else gives their reason, and based on the applause...yep, you guessed it, Rachel won her mom a wetsuit! WOOHOO!!! (I have since contacted Blue Seventy and it is on it's way!)

We finished up and headed back to get ready. Wyatt was also doing the kids race, so he needed sleep just as much as I did...

Just startin' out

2006-07-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

OK, just created this here blog, so needed to fill it in a bit. I promise, next entry will be my Musselman Race Report...

;)