Kickin' It Off

Finally!!!  Today was my first triathlon of the season...Tri For Humanity.  Last year this was my first open water swim race, and my swim did not go so well.  I'm pleased to say that it went much better this year. Redemption!

I can honestly say that I didn't even get that "I really don't want to do this" sick feeling in my stomach as I was waiting for the race to start.   The race did start a little late, but I had Sherri and Rebecca to keep me company.  We made small talk and warmed up our wetsuits while standing on the bank of the lake.  When my wave, the third and final wave, was finally in the water, I positioned myself on the inside of the buoys.  As the swim began I was surprised by how calm if felt...at least where I was.  My sighting was good and I kept a decent pace.  It wasn't as fast as I could have swam, but my goal was to swim steady. As I approached T1 threw myself on the ground for the wetsuit strippers to help me out of all that rubber.  It wasn't easy getting that thing off!  I grabbed my bike and heading off on my 12 mile ride.

The course was a two loop course.  The first part of the loop is uphill and the wind was a factor.  It wasn't too bad, but it was noticeable.  Once I took a right onto Eldorado, I was able to pick up my pace.  I didn't pay much attention to my speed and heart rate, but at one point I looked down and saw that I was going over 27 mph!  It helped that I was on a slight decline and had a little tail wind.  A few miles into the race I could hear motorcycles behind me.  I figured it was race officials making sure that the guys who were on their second loop weren't trying to draft off me.  As women passed me I kept looking down to see if they were in my age group.  I didn't see any so I figured they hadn't caught me yet or they were already ahead of me.  So, I just kept racing.  It was nice to know that I didn't have to save a whole lot for the run since it was only a 5K.

As I came into T2 I finally saw Sherri.  She caught me, but I didn't care because she's not in my age group.  I could hear my friend Jim yelling at me from the side lines like over-bearing soccer dad, but it was what I needed.  It kept me from doing what I wanted to do...walk out of T2. I hated it, but I ran up that hill at the start of the run.  The whole time I just wanted to stop and walk for a second, but I knew I couldn't let myself.  Sprints aren't supposed to feel good, so I knew I was doing it right.  I couldn't see my pace on my Garmin, but I could see my speed.  There wasn't enough blood flow to do much math to calculate my pace so I just tried to keep my speed over 6 mph.  6mph is a 10 minute mile and that's as far as my math skills could take me.  I managed to keep my pace, and I even had snippets of time when  I was running 7+mph.  Running is not my strength so this wasn't too bad for me.

My favorite part of the race was finally coming across that finish line.  Most of my friends who were racing had already crossed, so they were there to greet me. I could barley catch my breath, but I was happy. I knew I had to be close to my goal time of 1:15.  I was actually off by a couple of minutes.  I finished in 1:17, but it was good enough to get second place in my age group.

North Texas Multisport also walked away with the team championship! I believe there were about 14 teams competing today!  I'm so proud of my tri group, and not just because we took home a trophy.  We represented well, and we were all there to support and cheer on one another.  Many members weren't even racing, but still came out to volunteer and support us. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

"Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." ~Muhammad Ali

3 Down, 30 To Go

I just completed week 3 of Ironman training, and so far things seem to be going well.  I've settled into a routine of 2 and even 3 workouts most days of the week quite nicely.  It's amazing how much more organized I am with my time when someone tells me what I need to do each and every day of the week. Thanks to the training my appetite is that of a teenage boy, and I'm rocking some pretty sweet tan lines from my bike shorts.  Don't be jealous!

Training does take a toll on my body.  I see my chiropractor and massage therapist for routine maintenance. It's good to take care of the little things before they  become big things.  Over the last few days my shoulder has been giving me problems, so I paid Dr. T a visit today.  He figured out what the problem was and treated it with a little ART!  By this, I mean that he shoved his fingers into my arm pits and inflicted enough pain for me to justify punching him in the face (which I did not do because I was paralized with pain). It felt like he was stabbing me with a knife! I'm sure that whatever he did will help.  If nothing else it will make the discomfort I've been feeling seem like nothing compared to what he did to me today.

We've had some great weather here in north Texas over the past few weeks.  It's nice to see all the green trees and grass and colorful flowers while I'm out on my rides and runs. On Sunday I didn't want to stop running because it was so nice outside.  I'm trying to savor every minute of this beautiful time of year because I know it won't last.  In a few short weeks it will feel like the fires of hell are descending on us and everything will turn brown.  While I am looking forward to a nice tan, I'm not looking forward to the kind of heat that will force me carry my weight in water and salt tabs on my workouts.  

We did have one Saturday recently that wasn't so pretty.  Jeneen and I began a four hour ride beneath the dark storm clouds.  For some reason I was convinced that it wouldn't rain until we were finished our ride, but I was wrong.  We found our selves riding on isolated country roads in the rain for part of our ride.  The wet weather did little to dampen our spirits.  It actually wasn't too bad.  What was bad, however, was the wind!  There were times on our ride when we were dealing with some pretty torrential winds of 20 miles an hour.  The first few hours were bearable, but after three hours this was no longer the case.  This was when the winds really seemed to pick up.  We found ourselves having to pedal just to get DOWN the hills, and you don't even want to know what it was like riding up a hill in 20 mph head winds.  I tried to tell myself that this is as bad as it can get.  I was dead wrong.  Some jerk in a pick up truck decided that it would be fun to hit the gas and blow black smoke on us he passed us.  We were riding on a very wide shoulder of the road, so it's not like we slowed him down or forced him to change lanes as he passed us. The _______ _______ _________ actually hit the gas just before reaching us and did let off until he was past us.  He then settled back to his regular speed.  The smoke he choked us with was actually so thick that I couldn't see Jeneen, who was only about 20 or so feet in front of me.  Seriously, is that how some people entertain themselves?  

Mother nature may not always give us optimal weather for training, but there is something to be gained from training in less than ideal conditions.  It can make you stronger bother mentally and physically.  You never know what race day will bring, so the experience of bad weather can help prepare you for the  unexpected.

"Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete." ~ Willie Shoemaker

Officially Official

While I have been training to some degree, I really haven't been on a strict training schedule since finishing up last season.  I've allowed myself to have some lazy days, and I've tried not to let training completely dictate my days.  As of today, this is no longer the case.  My coach now has complete control over my training schedule for the next 7 1/2 months.  My Ironman training has officially begun. It was nice to wake up this morning knowing that I had a workout already planned out for me.  Monday is usually my off day from training, but since this was day one of Ironman training, I figured that some type of workout would be appropriate.  Besides, I took yesterday off. I spend my last day of freedom getting my yard nice and pretty so that I can start neglecting it on the weekends, and I ended the day on a patio with some friends and a belly full of sushi.  

I started day one with a nice 2350 meter swim.  I had to swim by myself, which isn't very fun.  I packed my SwimP3 player so I could listen to some tunes in the water, but when I got there it didn't work.  I guess the 20 minute charge I gave it this morning before  heading out wasn't enough.  While I was a little disappointed, I had to remind myself that I wouldn't have music on race day.  Today's training was definitely more mental than physical.  I like to swim, but I like to swim with other people.  Swimming alone is boring and I'm always tempted to cut the  workout short....but I didn't today:)  The fact that I'm going to be swimming in cold water in Arizona (which I'm not looking forward to) is hopefully going to motivate me to give 110% to my swim workouts.  I want to finish that frigid 2.4 mile swim just as fast as I can.  I  hate being cold!!!

I'm already thinking about the craziest details of the race.  One detail I've been given a lot of thought to is the restroom situation.  Initially, I was horrified to hear that some triathletes pee while on their bikes!  While on long training rides, I just hop off my bike and find a place to squat if I'm not near a restroom.  After conversations with other Ironman finishers, I decided that "going" on the bike really would be my best option.  After all, if I'm properly hydrated, things should be pretty diluted.  I wasn't planning on practicing this aspect of the race this early on, but while on a 3 hour bike ride this past weekend, I figured I would give it a shot.  I wasn't sure I would actually be able to do it, but to my surprise, it was easier than I thought.  I just stood up and let things flow.  I was slightly grossed out, but not as much as I thought.  It just felt like warm water.  Jeneen was kind enough to give me a water bottle to try to rinse off a bit.  When I got home I threw my clothes in the washer and gave my shoes a good scrubbing. Some of you may be pretty shocked that I'm sharing this information with you, but this blog is the confessions of a triathlete.  It's just one more crazy aspect of this sport. This will no doubt be an interesting journey.


"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision,  hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe." ~ Gail Devers