Turkey Trot 2008

I've never been much of a fan of Thanksgiving -- overeating foods I don't really like in the first place just never seemed like a way to give thanks. When I moved to DC for law school, I decided not to head back to my parents' every year. Instead, I'd run a Turkey Trot, order pizza and do my Christmas cards while watching football. I loved it.

Fast forward ten years and we still run a Turkey Trot every year, and it's the rare occurrence that we go to Ohio. Stuart and I usually invite a mix of friends who also are here with nowhere to go, and cook a very nontraditional Thanksgiving meal, but this year it was going to be just us. While we didn't plan a big, gluttonous meal, it was going to be extravagant in its very yumminess.

We met up with Erin and a few of her running girlfriends for the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5-miler. I went out way too fast last year, and died towards the end. This year, my goal was to shoot for 45min. As we walked towards the starting line, though, I learned that this was Erin's friend Nikki's first ever race...and she was nervous. I mentioned that I was going to start out at a 10-11min/mi pace, and then hammer from there if I felt good, so we agreed to start together. But then my goal changed. I decided it would be more fun, and more rewarding, to help Nikki achieve her goal than to try for a PR in a race that was supposed to be all about having fun. And it ended up being the most fun race of my entire season.

Nikki ran strong, thanking volunteers, and pushed herself through a tough final mile without having to walk any of the race. And with a mile and a half to go, we picked up Tess, a middle schooler running her first race. She was walking and I decided we could get her to the finish with a steady run, too. Sure enough, both of them finished strong, with Tess sprinting away for the last block or two yelling a "thank you" back in our direction. Nikki finished with a smile on her face, with a time of 55:43 by my watch. I was smiling, too. So often I've been the one at the back of the pack, watching my faster friends leave me in the dust, or just wondering if I'd be able to finish. Helping two people who were really complete strangers to me accomplish a goal was such a great feeling. I knew I could have gone faster, and pushed myself, but I found more fulfillment in giving of my own time and positive energy to help them.

So on this Thanksgiving, I enjoyed a tremendous meal with my amazing husband and gave thanks not just for all that has been given to me, but for the gift of being able to give of myself to others.

Making Use of the Gym Membership

It's gotten cold and the days are short, which means long bike rides after work are over for a few months. Instead, it's time to once again make use of our gym memberships. You wouldn't know it during the summer months, but we've been members of Gold's Gym for a few years, it's just on rare instances that we step through their doors any time between April and October. Bring on the winter though, and we're each in there two or three times per week. It's always interesting to get back and see the same people year in and year out. The big burly guys with orange tans, that you just know were from the gym's tanning beds since they rarely if ever leave that weight room. Lucky us, it's the "social Golds" in town, so way too many girls in full makeup and guys with gelled hair. But it's huge and it's only two miles from our house.

Tuesday night spin class becomes a fixture during these months. "Dave L." is the instructor. Big guy -- if you saw him in the weight room you'd think he was just some meathead. But boy can that guy run a spin class! Unlike the instructors who approach it like step aerobics, he actually puts us through workouts that simulate rides --- long hill climbs, stretches of sprints, etc... Last night I somehow ended up with the bike directly under the fan, and as a result got no airflow at all. Sweat literally dripped to the ground before the hour was up. We know Dave up close and personal since last year he and I had a little argument based on a misunderstanding. I tried to tell him before class that I was going to do a time trial test and so he'd see me going strong the whole class rather than backing off when he said to recover. Basically I said "don't worry about me, but I'm sort of going to be doing my own thing." He thought I meant I was going to put an iPod on and just ignore him. Yeah. He didn't take too well to that concept and told me I was rude. We worked it out, and now we're all buds, but still, made for some tense moments. Stuart was not happy that he might be called upon to defend me. I mean, he's a big dude and he was pretty pissed at me! But anyway...now we're all friendly and say hi whenever we're there.

The point is that I started this year calling it the year of the bike, and the year I was going to love hills. Last year, Dave's class would leave me totally beat. I struggled to finish it, and would cut myself some slack on those long climbs. The past two weeks though, I find myself pushing harder. Sure, you can always max out on those spin bikes, but I'm not counting the seconds until the end of class. Once again, I'm getting the affirmation I need that my own hard work has paid off. You don't always see it on a daily basis, which makes it hard to stick with it. It takes faith, and race results, sometimes to convince yourself that progress is really being made.

I've just purchased my off-season training plan and that officially starts on Monday, 1 December. I could have just winged it, but know that I need structure. Even if I don't always follow it explicitly, at least it's something staring at me and reminding me that there's work to be done, progress to be made. And just because I'm indoors doesn't mean a workout isn't happening that won't pay dividends next summer.

More bizarre weather...

That's right. The weather is a bit schizophrenic right now. Yesterday it was cold and rainy and I was beginning to think about Christmas. We built a fire, made soup, and opened many bottles of wine with my cousin Billy, and friends Erin, Chris and a few others. Today dawned drizzly and gray, so we pulled on jeans and long-sleeves to head to the farmer's market. Huh? Stepped outside and it was 65 degrees! By the time we got home with our fresh veggies, it was over 70.

I quickly changed into shorts and a t-shirt (this is mid-November!!), and grabbed Nick's leash. After a warm-up walk through the neighborhood with Joe and Ally, we were off. It's November, so the HR monitor stayed home, but I tried to keep a steady comfortable pace, thinking I'd push it a bit on the backside. Nick is just an amazing running buddy. Once he settles in and gets focused, it's fabulous. Walking him is tough because he's always pulling the leash, nosing around and being a goofy little dog. But on a run, he's on a mission. We passed other dogs, and he glanced at them, but didn't even break stride.

And that was the crazy part, we passed other dogs! Being at Ironman Florida with Stuart definitely did good things for me. Yeah, sure I didn't hit my 8hr/wk workout goal since I was a bit busy volunteering and Ironsherpa-ing. But, the motivation and oomph from all the energy in the air seemed to stick. As someone whose comfy zone 2 pace has been in the 11-12min/mi range for a few too many years, I was shocked to realize we cranked out 6miles today in 1:01. Still not breaking landspeed records as compared to my friends and family, but it's a start.

More importantly, it was fun. With no iPod, no HR monitor, just me, Nick and the sunshine, it was calming to know I was doing something I wanted to do. Not because a coach was telling me to, but because you don't get many days like that in November. And, since Ironman is done, life in our house has calmed. I felt no pressure to move on to the next thing on my to-do list. I always read about people who use running as a way to daydream or even mull over issues at work or home that might need solutions. That's rarely been me. Either I'm too focused on how slow I am, or how tight my muscles are, or else if I start to think about things that are weighing me down my heart rate starts to rise as I get more stressed about them. Today, though, I realized I was actually day-dreaming! Nothing concrete, but just being in the moment watching Nick smile and thinking about what a beautiful day we were having.

I know right now I'm hanging on to fitness, rather than building it, but that's the point. Another week or two and I'll start thinking about harder and more focused off-season work. But this is the mental break I need - to do things because I want to, with no clear goal in mind other than to feel my own strength and freedom. Somewhere in the back of my head, I'm starting to nurture a few goals for next year, but there's time before I need to lay those out here and commit to them.

Another Aspect of Autumn

So if you see hugely obese, as in massively morbidly obese, squirrels does it mean the winter is going to be especially bad? Because we found the fattest squirrel I've ever seen munching on our Halloween pumpkins the last few days. Joe exhibited such restraint - whining profusely but not going absolutely crazy the way he might have in the past (those obedience sessions must be paying off). Somehow though, Nick and Ally remained oblivious, although very interested in sniffing out the mess when I took them for a walk last night. I took some pictures this morning before Stuart finally put the remnants of our pumpkins in the garbage can, but not before the seeds and slime were scattered all over our front lawn. These photos were taken at 7:00 this morning, but the not-so-little rodent had completely hollowed out both pumpkins by this afternoon. We might have our own pumpkin patch next year, who knows!?

A Perfect Autumn Saturday

One thing I love about off-season is the time you have. Don't get me wrong, I already miss triathlons and can't wait for that first perfect 75 degree day in April. But right now, I'm ready for fires in the fireplace, candles lit, football on tv, and comfort foods.

Today, for about the first time ever, I convinced Stuart to join me at the farmer's market. Can I say how much I love going to the farmer's market? There's something pure about buying your food freshly picked or butchered or made from the people that produced it. Over our vacation, I got Stuart reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" which I read back in February and it's really got him thinking. And so he was intrigued to join me in wandering the market - sampling apples, smelling homemade soaps and potpourri, oohing & aahing over the colorful fall flowers, and selecting the basis for our meals this week. The farmer's market has also turned into a year 'round event, so I have a feeling we'll be frequenting it almost every Saturday morning from now on. It was so much more fun with him there - it really is a family friendly place. On the way home we realized that since grocery store prices have gotten so high lately, we actually spent probably only about 5-10% more than we would have for the same items at the store. That makes the market even that much more appealing. In fact, the only thing that would make it more perfect would be if Joe, Nick and Ally could come along - but the four-footed members of our family unfortunately aren't welcome there.

Back home with our grain-fed antibiotic-free steaks, fresh mozzarella and fabulous haul of just-picked veggies tucked away it was time for a bike ride. Not a bike ride with a capital B, but a bike ride. A leisurely 20-something miles at an easy pace. Chatting, stopping to take pictures of the colorful leaves, and basically doing what some might call 'base training', but today I called being together. The only downside was that a lot of other, not quite as trail savvy folks had the same idea. We dodged and weaved around a few oblivious people on bikes and on foot. Overall though, it was just gorgeous.

It's now early evening on this idyllic day and I'm working on dinner. Those steaks are marinating in home-grown rosemary and wine. The mushrooms have been sauteed for a yummy mushroom barley risotto. And a soft red wine has just been uncorked. Time to put on some college football, light some candles and enjoy knowing that there's no rush. No 6hr bike rides or 2hr runs await us tomorrow. I admit it...I really do love autumn.

30/30's

I've now learned this phrase in two different capacities with regard to triathlon. First, it's a kick butt bike workout that my EN coach used in the off season. It works best if you do it on a trainer. Basically, once you're warmed up you do a set (5-10) of :30 as hard as you possibly can, followed by :30 of recovery. The key here is that by the 3rd or 4th set, that 30 seconds isn't nearly enough time to recover, and by the last two or three sets, you are hoping that you die rather than having to recover. It's an awesome way to boost high end fitness, presuming you don't puke from the effort of course!

Now the other 30/30 and the one I'm thinking about right now. A bunch of Trifuel folks are doing a December challenge....run for at least :30 for 30 days straight in December. Each :30 counts as 1pt. Goal being who can both run for 30 days, but the second goal might be to rack up the most points. Friendly, nation-wide competition so there's no prizes in store. I'm torn. The part of me that knows I should keep my running to a minimum if I hope to ever get over the tendonitis says I shouldn't participate (I didn't last year). The competitive/fun part of me says "what the heck", there's no speed requirements so just a 30min jog with Nick every day would make us both happy. That would be on top of being part of the USA Triathlon Club Challenge that begins on December 1st to amass the most swim/bike/run miles as a club between December and February. Hmmm... what to do? Input welcome, or I'll let you know what I decide!

Stuart, you are an IRONMAN!!!

I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of my husband! Ironman Florida was an incredible experience for me as a volunteer, spectator and most importantly, wife of an Ironman.

The day started so so so early, with the alarm going off at 4am. Nerves had struck, and he was only able to manage a piece of toast and some coffee. Not the most auspicious breakfast for an ironman, but so be it. We made our way to transition by about 5:30am. The key to the day, for me, was that magic Volunteer t-shirt from the day before. It basically guaranteed me access for the next twelve or fourteen hours. So I was able to help him settle in, pump his tires, and then walk with him to the beach...where we promptly got separated while I tried to make contact with the rest of the "support crew". After a few tears, my dad found him for me and I was able to wish him luck and give him one last kiss before the cannon sounded. He smiled but was more nervous than I've ever seen him at a race.

But, he did manage to pose for a few photos before focusing on the day ahead. His original goal had been to swim the 2.4miles in between 1:15 and 1:20, but the ruptured bicep and separated shoulder had him hoping just to break 1:30.

While he was out swimming, I sent my parents, aunt & uncle, and Stuart's bro and sis-in-law over to the bike start while I made my way back to transition in the hope that I could see him before he headed out on the bike. The day before as a volunteer I'd been part of organizing all the transition bags into neatly ordered and race numbered rows. So I found the row with #1810 and started to watch my watch. And then the chaos hit. Triathletes, fresh from the washing machine of the swim started to pour through the entrance yelling out their race numbers. We grabbed transition bags and tossed them up the aisles where the athletes grabbed them and headed to the change tents. The level of stress was palpable - most of these men and women still looked shell-shocked and half-crazed from the wild swim. Stuart finally emerged - with a swim time of 1:16 -- right on target!! I tossed him his bag, told him I loved him, and met him on the other side of the change tent to hand-off his bike. Then, since I was stuck in the chaos of transition, I stuck around for another hour and continued to hand out transition bags until I could escape and meet up with my family.

A few hours later, having watched his progress online, I headed back to Transition to accomplish the same task during the bike-to-run transition. Sure enough, in 5:46 (14min ahead of his 6hr goal), Stuart came running into T2. I was thrilled to see him looking so strong, and jogged alongside him to the changing tent to hear about his bike ride. Again, I waited on the other side while he changed into run gear and got slathered with sunscreen by a few female volunteers (a task he enjoyed quite a bit!!). Then, with a quick kiss and an exchange of "I love you's", he was off to complete his marathon and become an Ironman. Again, I headed back to hand out transition bags.

Throughout the day, I just had so much fun meeting and working with so many of the volunteers. Some were there because they wanted to sign up for the 2009 Ironman Florida. Others, like me, were there supporting athletes. And some were local residents just having fun. I had a great time with a 12yr old in T2 who was totally into yelling encouragement at the athletes as he handed out transition bags. Hopefully my pep talk was enough to convince him to check out a kids' triathlon next summer!!

I finally was able to park myself on the run course, prepared to shout encouragement in his direction as he ran the two loop course. He looked strong and managed to smile. Unfortunately, the rest of the support crew didn't make it down until after he'd started his second loop. No worries, we found a good spot in the finish area bleachers so that they'd be sure to put the signs, cowbells, and loud shouts to good use. Our families have always been supportive of our athletic endeavors, but to be at the finish line watching people of all ages, shapes and sizes cross that line really seemed to move them all. With them comfortably seated, it was time for my final volunteer effort.

I made my way to the finish line, which was obviously heavily guarded by volunteer security staff. Still wearing my now limp and sweaty "transition" volunteer shirt, I talked my way into the finish area and put on a "finish area" volunteer shirt. So armed, I set about handing out finisher's medals until my cell phone rang and my aunt told me Stuart was less than a quarter mile from the finish. I grabbed one last medal, and when I heard Mike Reilly announcing "Stuart McFarren, YOU are an Ironman" I pushed past the rest of the catchers and began crying as I grabbed him and put the medal around his neck. It was such an incredible moment. He was dazed, but upright and running strong. We confirmed that he didn't need medical aid and then made our way through the craziness of the finish area. One of the coaches who had spoken at my triathlon coaching clinic the previous weekend was there and snapped a few photos. We stopped to take the requisite official finisher's photo, which will soon be framed in our home, and then left the finisher's area to meet up with the rest of the crew. What a feeling!!!

Later that night, refreshed from a shower, he regaled us with stories of the day while my aunt Stephanie churned out pizza after pizza from the condo's kitchen. His final time was right on his 12hr target. A 4:42 marathon put his finishing time at 12:03. Phone calls, text message and emails have poured in over the last few weeks -- wishing him luck and then congratulating him on a wonderful day. And we finally got home this week to find signs, balloons and cards waiting at home from friends as well.

Being there both scared me, watching some finishers collapse and be wheeled away on wheelchairs, but also motivated me. I WILL cross that IM finish line someday. Hopefully before I'm 40. In the meantime, I'm satisfied with the label of Iron-wife, and I take great pleasure in point out to Stuart at least half a dozen times a day "Stuart, YOU are an Ironman".