Dextro ITU Triathlon in DC

So it was pointed out to me that my blogging regularity has dropped off. Shame on me! No excuse except that it's just too nice to spend much time sitting in my study crafting blog entries. Maybe one day I should try actually keeping a journal and that way I can just transfer interesting thoughts here.

Anyway, latest and greatest is that we spent Sunday downtown watching the only North American stop on the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit. Originally we were slated to serve as a homestay for one of the foreign athletes and his coach, which had us pretty jazzed. It also meant that we decided not to register to race ourselves, since we'd be focused on being a good host family. Sadly, a few days before he was due to arrive, I got an email saying that he'd injured himself in a training ride and would not be coming to race. Bummer!

Sunday morning Billy and his girlfriend Allison drove out from Annapolis and the four of us hopped on bikes and headed downtown. We missed the start of the men's race and so headed straight for the finish line along Pennsylvania Ave. The bike and run were both multiple loops so we were in a great spot to see the triathletes race by again and again.

Billy, Allison and Stuart

Unbelievable to watch the peloton of draft-legal racing!

Here's Americans Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper headed out on one of the run loops. They were flying!

Andy was solidly in 4th place, so able to give some thumbs-up and ham it up for the crowd as he neared the finish line.

All in all, it was a ton of fun. Billy was jazzed for his second triathlon this coming weekend, and Allison now wants to try one. Once the men's race finished, we biked down to West Potomac Park to watch the start of the women's race. All of downtown DC was shut down, so it was awesome to be tooling along Constitution Avenue on our bikes. If only they shut the Mall down to traffic every weekend!

The current was brutal, the pro women looked so incredibly slow. Of course they weren't, but it was telling that all the spectators were commenting on how hard they were working on the up-river half of the two loop swim.

Afterwards we slowly biked home, but of course had to stop to make friends with even more wildlife! Here's Allison posing with her new pet turtle!

Ensign Vey

Oops, a few weeks late, but still worth it. My wonderful fantabulous cousin Billy survived four years of Annapolis and collegiate swimming and dealing with a cousin living nearby(!) to finally graduate two weeks ago. No one in the family could be any more proud of him than we all are. Congratulations, Billy!!

Bike Riding and Buying

My secret plan to infest the world with cyclists has grabbed another rider! Erin's already signed up to do the Montclair Triathlon with us in a few weeks, but until now she'd been planning on riding her mountain bike. But that changed yesterday...

Saturday we met up with Erin and biked the Mount Vernon trail. It's a fairly technical trail, as well as being crowded that day, so our average speed was actually pretty slow, and she's fit so she was hanging tough. That's Erin with Stuart, still managing a smile. At our turnaround point (which actually turned out NOT to be the halfway point, we paused for a break and made friends with a family of muskrats frolicking on the banks of the Potomac.

Sometimes I think Stuart has a future as a park ranger since he constantly wants to get more dogs, take home the cute furry little things we see on the trail and generally add to our imaginary farm.

On our way back we diverted into a neighborhood to take what we thought was a "slightly" longer route but apparently made a wrong turn. Oops. We ended up on a 2-lane road with cars going 40mph. Poor Erin was not exactly thrilled, but thanks to her iPhone we made it back safely. Needless to say, the 25mi ride for her turned into upwards of 30miles, and nearly 50 for us by the time we biked back home!! The day helped her make a decision, though. Riding a mountain bike in yoga shorts(!) was the tipping point, and Sunday we headed over to Conte's to spend some of her husband Chip's hard-earned combat pay.

Two hours later.....she is the proud owner of a gorgeous full-carbon Cannondale Synapse!!! And happily enough, her brand new ride color coordinates with my beloved Orbea. While Stuart handled more yard duties, we headed out for a 22mile ride late in the day to help her get acclimated. We headed west, and at one point hit 27mph on the open stretch of trail between Vienna and Hunter Mill Road as she unleashed the power of a road bike. We took turns pulling and it was awesome!

Needless to say, I'm a bit sore today. Made it to the pool, only to have the kids swim coach point out that she hadn't seen me there in a month. oops. yeah, Kinetic was May 9th....and I haven't been to the pool since. Guess even the lifeguards have noticed. Time to get back on track with that. But in the meantime, there's the satisfaction of knowing we're converting yet another member of our friend/family circle to an awesome lifetime sport.

Oh yeah, and check out Erin's new blog! Now it's off to bed, I'm running not one but TWO 5Ks tomorrow. More on that later...

Those speedy =PR= ladies

Thursday night -- time for another =PR= run. I originally started attending these runs last fall with the goal of using them as speedworkouts. But the last few months I've spent more and more of my time at the back of the pack, either playing sweeper for new/slower runners or just being the slowest one out there myself.

Last night I knew Heather was coming as usual, and my friend Erin said she was going to join us for the first time. Heather's a Boston finisher, and I know is usually holding back to run with me. And Erin is super speedy (just PR'd a 24min 5k this week). It's been a crazy week with work and Girls on the Run, so mentally I was going into the workout saying to myself that today was going to be the day that I just hung on to Erin and Heather and got some real work in without focusing on the girls bringing up the rear.

Erin ended up not showing, and it was rainy and 60 degrees (hel-LO, it's JUNE!) but I remained positive that this could be a good tough day for me. I had forgotten, but it was also the first run of the month, which means that the local Luna Chix team was out in force supporting the run. This is a really cool group of women triathletes who are part of a nationwide network of amateur and pro Luna-supported athletes raising money for the Breast Cancer Fund. Anyway, Laura is one of the awesome women who is a regular at =PR= and I think was the one who started the relationship between the store and Team Luna Chix. She's the mother of a couple of boys, and has so much positive energy and just loves being out there being social and active. So as the run starts off, I get separated from Heather and start chatting with Laura. Before I know it, Heather's long gone with the front runners, but Laura is hanging with me at her "go easy" pace and my "race until I puke pace".

It was tough, but awesome. We got two quick little breaks at traffic lights totaling less than 90seconds and managed to crank out 4.5miles in 42minutes (43 with those stops). It's been a long time since I was fighting off puking at the end of a workout and I loved it. Many thanks to Laura for helping me push my limits and come off a long day feeling a teeny bit stronger.

A weekend of cycling

Saturday morning I volunteered at the Kids Race at the US Air Force Cycling Classic Clarendon Cup. Ranging from 3 to 10 it was so much fun to see these kids! Some of them teeny tiny on their trikes, but a few of the older ones really committed to racing and doing their best. Afterwards, I stuck around for a bit to watch the pros before meeting fellow board member Stephanie for a smoothie.

Sunday we were scheduled to participate in the Crystal Ride, but woke to thunder and lightening. Um, no thanks. Back to sleep, and woke again at 9am to gorgeous weather. Sorry we missed the 100K event, but I much prefer the pleasant weather. So Stuart and I finally got our acts together and headed out the door a little before noon.

Beautiful day, riding Cristoforo and focusing on a long aerobic ride. I wish I had my camera -- it was the kind of day that makes you wish you could ride forever. We rode through the Herndon Town Festival and all the way out to what smells like potentially the best BBQ north of Carolina. Stuart and I stopped and split a Diet Coke and bag of chips -- nothing like a little caffeine and salt to ward off bonking. Next weekend, though, we may bring money and stop for lunch!

The trail was filled with cyclists, but not in an annoying way. Everyone out there was enjoying the 80 degree weather and for the most part being pretty considerate. Very un-DC like! Steady aerobic pace -- the ride was just shy of 3hrs, and all but about 11min of it were in zone. Well done!

What I Learned From the Kinetic Half

It’s been a busy 11 days since the Kinetic Half, but in the back of my head I know I’ve been mulling over my lessons learned from last weekend. So that I don’t forget, I know I need to write them down and re-visit them later this summer.

1. Early season long-course isn’t for me. As much as I love the heat, I hate the cold even more and just don’t do enough training during the winter to be ready for long endurance events that early in the year. Also, not having time to acclimatize to the warmth sucks and makes me like the heat a lot less than I normally do.

2. Train more during the off season. Duh. I’ve now got all the cold weather gear that a girl could need – so absolutely zero excuses not to get my butt out the door on the bike or in my running shoes on just about any day of the year.

3. Don’t forget to practice your nutrition. As a corollary to not doing enough long rides, that also meant I didn’t get to practice my race nutrition.

4. Remember that it’s okay to pee on the bike. I probably lost 3 or 4 minutes because for some reason I felt the need to get off my bike and find a bush rather than just going on the fly.

4. On the plus side, I learned that even in my dark places, I can still recognize those times as simply temporary darkness rather than true failure. In this way, I can hopefully remember that I can pull myself through to the other side rather than giving in and living with a DNF. The body can do more than the mind thinks it can.

5. Get a swim coach or start attending masters swim sessions. I’ve made improvements on my own, and I have much greater comfort in open water. But I’m still way too slow, and I don’t think I’ll improve any further without a coach to help my technique.

6. Relying on the strength of others can be huge in a tough situation. Stuart’s presence meant the world to me, as did the cheering and support of other spectators and athletes. But even those friends and family not there were part of my motivation. Bringing to mind specific names and faces, and knowing that these were people cheering for me, or just people I’d have to face with either success or failure, was a huge part of my ability to keep moving.

In the midst of the race, I was questioning the whys. But less than two weeks later, as I look at the tan lines and watch the final bits of chafing fade, I’m thinking back nostalgically to it and looking forward to the next one!

Vote for a Girl on the Run!

I don't know her personally, but Bailey is a member of Girls on the Run in Washington State. She is also a finalist for this year's Youth Achievement Award, presented in conjunction with ESPN's Espy Awards. You can vote for her once per day between now and June 15th.

Vote early vote often....what a great opportunity for Bailey and an incredible public awareness opportunity for Girls on the Run nationwide!

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/specialsection/kelloggs09/

Kinetic Half Race Report

Third half ironman done, and never before have I ever questioned why I do triathlons and whether it’s really fun. The Kinetic Half was on May 9th at Lake Anna State Park here in Virginia. Going into the race, I was already a bit nervous. I’ve worked on my swim, and done more running than before my previous halfs, but the unpleasant spring weather really limited the time I spent outside on my bike in the last two months. I’d already been joking that Lesson Number One would be “no early season long-course races”. That lesson came across loud and clear.

Friday night I basically didn’t sleep. The alarm was set for 2:45, but I was awake at midnight, I was awake at 1:30am. Maybe I got 90min of sleep total. Not ideal, but I slept well on Thursday night so hopefully I’d survive. The morning’s oatmeal didn’t sit well, and my iPod broke inexplicably, so before even leaving the house at 4am things were already a little off. On the plus side, the thunderstorms the weatherman had been predicting hadn’t materialized, so the rain maybe wouldn’t be as much of a factor as I’d feared (little did I know).

Shake it off, and arrived at Lake Anna by about 5:30. Plenty of time to get bodymarked, set up transition and hand off my transition bag to Stuart to keep the area clean (a mistake I’d pay for later), and get in a quick warm up in the lake before my wave started the 2-loop swim. The water was perfect – in my wetsuit, 68 degrees felt comfortable. I think I may have also finally gotten over my panic in the swim. I’m still not thrilled with swimming, but was able to stay calm and felt like my form wasn’t horrible. Clearly, I’m still not fast though, it may be time to start going to some Masters swim sessions since I’m not improving on my own. 43:29 (10/13 in my AG).

The last few hundred meters of the swim I was feeling queasy, and as I ran to T1, I told Stuart that I thought I might puke. In fact, I was pretty surprised that I didn’t. I tossed my wetsuit towards Stuart and the dogs, took a minute to get my bearings and was off on my ride. T2 3:35 (7/13AG).
The bike was a two loop rolling course. Some awesome downhills where I hit 30mph, but some long grinding uphills in a headwind where literally I was going 8mph a few times. For about the first 45min I was regularly sipping my Infinit and taking in water, but my stomach still wouldn’t settle. Maybe I’d mixed it too strong, but I also think I was going too hard on the bike and just didn’t realize it at the time. I gave up on the Infinit and stuck with water and Clif Shot Bloks. This was the price I paid for not having done sufficient bike training in the crappy weather this winter and spring. I didn’t see too many women, and so wasn’t sure if I was so far behind everyone, or (more unlikely) if I somehow managed a decent swim and was towards the front of the pack. Looking at results later, I really was in a “no woman’s land” with most women either much faster swimmers, or much slower cyclists than me.

The second loop started to wear on me and I found myself wondering what if I quit. I mean, sooner or later everyone is bound to get a flat tire or DNF, right? What if today was my time? This was the start of my descent into the darkest place I’ve ever been in an athletic event. Finally, the bike was over and I was back in transition. My mental state was still a mess, but I’d done pretty well considering the winds, the poor pacing, and my struggle to get in sufficient nutrition. 3:19:42, 16.8mph average (6/13 in AG)

Now for the run. My earlier mistake in cleaning up my transition area cost me. Instead of rain, the sun had emerged, and my sunscreen was back in the car so I have some vicious burns on my shoulders and forehead. As I left T2 – FIRST IN MY AGE GROUP, BABY!!! (1:41, 1/13AG) – I was hating life. Leaving transition was a long uphill and Stuart was waiting with the dogs. I stopped in front of him, gasping for air on the verge of fully hyperventilating. I told him I wanted to quit, that I really thought I couldn’t do it, and that there wasn’t enough time anyway since I’d be walking the whole thing and would DNF, but he convinced me to do “just one lap”.

It was scary. The heat index was 89 degrees by midday. I walked the uphills, shuffle-ran the flats and downhills and kept trying to push myself out of the darkness. I told myself that I didn’t want to face my friends, colleagues, and Girls on the Run girls if I quit. I thought of how ashamed I'd be. I told myself that I was only feeling this way because I was bonking, but that I could do it. I finally managed to realize that my math was wrong, and even if I DID walk the whole thing, there would still be time to finish, and so since I was doing some running I knew I’d be fine. That helped. With that first lap under my belt, the hyperventilating and crying went away, and then it was just time to push through. Stuart and the dogs were there waiting for me again at the end of each lap – although Joe decided to take a quick swim in the lake rather than greeting his mom!

The run was a death march. I have never seen so many people walking in a race like that. We’ve had such a cool and rainy spring, no one was prepared for the amount of sunshine and heat and humidity. I gulped water and coke at every aid station, stuffed my shirt and shorts with ice (lovely chafing in all sorts of special places as a result), and swallowed salt tablets whenever they offered them. With a little more than half a mile to go, I suddenly cried out in pain, as my posterior tibialis finally got the best of me. I was frustrated as another woman in my AG passed me with less than 300yds to go, but I couldn’t complain as it had held out for over 12-1/2miles. I gimped to the finish, never so happy to be done with a race in my life! Run time of 2:51:07 (9/13). My final time was 6:59:31 (7/13 in my Age Group).

Part of me is disappointed. Although my bike training was lacking this spring, I have a solid base, and I’ve worked hard on my swim and run, which clearly wasn’t reflected here. On the other hand, now that I see the results and realize that I was solidly mid-pack, I guess I can’t complain. The wind on the bike. The heat and humidity on the run. No one was prepared for any of it and we all suffered together.

I’ll be spending the next few days thinking about how to structure my summer training to fix some of the glaring weaknesses. I need some swim lessons. I need more time on my bike on hilly roads as opposed to just the W&OD. And of course any time I spend running is goodness. This was scary. I’m re-thinking my readiness for an Ironman next year – especially one as hot and humid as IM Louisville – but I know there’s time to make that decision. But, as much as I hate the pit I found myself in during that race, I’m also proud that I conquered it. I didn’t quit. The mental training and the visualizations are helping. Feeling crappy and at the same time identifying it for what it was, and thereby tricking myself into keeping moving, was something I couldn’t have done a few years ago. I suppose it’s all part of the process. It’s why I do this – growing, knowing what I’m capable of, and maybe just maybe having some fun in the process.

3 Days and Counting...

It's taper time. The water is 68 degrees. I'm stopping by the LBS to pick up a fresh batch of Clif Shot Bloks. I'll be making up my bottle of Infinit and putting the speedlaces on my running shoes tomorrow. I had a pre-race massage yesterday after work. Most importantly, I haven't figured out whether to sport the DC Tri gear or the rockin' pink SkirtSports attire. I know that whatever work I've put in over the last few months is done. I'm now less than 72hrs from execution.

My emotions are running from nervous to scared to calm to confident and back again. This is my first triathlon since last July at IM Rhode Island 70.3. And while I've put in more swimming and running time in preparation for this race than last year, I feel less prepared for the bike, which is normally my strength. The hours I have spent on my Orbea, including this weekend's ride with Billy, have felt good, just not enough to be walking into a half iron.

But there's no turning back. Stuart's driving down with me to cheer me on during the day. I feel bad making him do that, but will appreciate him making the 70mile drive back home so I can stretch out and sleep.

How do pros do this? I wonder if taper and prepping mentally for a race ever gets any easier, or even just gets routine. We've had some rain every day for over a week at this point, so I've spent lots of time indoors worrying about whether I'm ready, and knowing that if I'm not, it's too late to change it. Monday night though, I had a dream in which I was swimming strong, biking with power, and running upright and smiling. So I'm trying to do some visualization exercises this week to prepare myself. If I can dream it, I can perform it, right?

Water Watch #2

Yahoo! Thank goodness for some 90 degree days. As of today Lake Anna is up to 67 degrees. Still chilly, but definitely wetsuit comfortable. The next week unfortunately is in the 60s and 70s as opposed to 70s/80s, so it's unlikely to get much warmer. But this is much better news than the originally icy fears.

Now the bad news....10 day forecast is calling for rain on race day.

Aren't Swimming Pools for Swimming?

Got to the pool yesterday afternoon to find an interesting and unusual assortment of characters. The "baby pool" was filled with probably 8 or 10 not petite, non-English speaking adult men playing water basketball. Okaaayyy. So that probably explains why one of the lanes of the regular pool is filled with screaming, splashing kids. There were four other lanes for swimming at the time, all of them occupied with 1-2 people, so Stuart hopped in there. The last lane is reserved for (primarily kids') swim lessons, but the swim instructor likes me so she lets me share the lane.

Start swimming and after about 20min I almost run into the backside of an elderly woman. WTF? "Um, ma'am? I'm here, and because of the swim lesson we can't circle swim so you need to change lanes." She harumphs, but leaves the pool. The coach thanks me, since this lady has apparently done this before. Next time I see her she has again slid into another lane without notifying the existing swimmers, and is again slowly slowly slowly bobbing her way down the lane. Unfortunately, she happened to choose Stuart's lane. sorry, honey!

Only a few minutes more pass and it's time for the dreaded water aerobics. That's right. A dozen or so women bobbing up and down in place claim ownership of three lanes of the pool. We usually try to time our workouts to be done or close to done before this happens, both because the principle of water aerobics annoys us and because it means only two lanes are available for swimming. But....don't forget all those screaming, splashing kids. They now run over and jump in one of the two available lanes....where three women are already trying to do their workouts! I finally stop swimming to watch the carnage. At this point, there are now SIX adults swimming in one lane, 4 kids playing in one lane, a dozen or so "aerobics" people, and me in the instruction lane. I got a bit more of my workout done, but to be honest, Stuart couldn't take it so I agreed to leave with him.

Needless to say, I'll be talking to the pool management today. Seriously, why are we paying for access to a swimming pool if swimming is the activity that the management seems least interested in accommodating? The poor onsite manager is just a teenager - she was ill equipped to get the adults out of the baby pool and the kids out of a lap lane. I struggle as it is to get myself to the pool and try to pretend that I enjoy it. Why do they have to conspire to make it that much tougher?

Pollen & the Ride from Hell

Stuart and I were supposed to do the Howard County Life Festival 100K on Sunday. But apparently we forgot to sign up, and by the time we got online on Saturday it was full. oops. I was looking at the bright side, I really wanted another long ride on my Orbea, so we could do 60 ourselves on the trail. By the time we left the house at about 10:20a.m. it was already 80 degrees. I'd smeared myself all over with sunscreen to avoid a repeat of last week's sunburn.

I was feeling good as we neared Reston when my eyes began to act up from the pollen and dryness. And that was the story for the rest of the day. Ride a few miles until my eyes started to swell shut and then pull over. Clean the contacts, sit with my eyes closed and let them water. Stopping at every water fountain to flush my eyes with fresh cold water. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. I made it to Smith's Switch which meant my ride would be about 44miles roundtrip. Decent, but not ideal. While sitting there wishing I could be magically transported home, I got a text from Stuart that he had made it to Leesburg and was turning around. That was incentive to start moving, trying to maybe stay ahead of him the whole trip back.

That second half was a mix of emotions and feelings. When I got moving, I was really hauling. Pulling a few other girls on bikes at over 19mph. And then my eyes would act up, and I'd pull off to the side again. I was feeling low on energy, my morale was low, and I don't think it was a nutrition thing. It was more about the amount of time and energy that I was pouring into my eyes and keeping them open while on the trail.

I beat Stuart home by only about 5minutes. Once inside, I popped out my contacts and wore my glasses the rest of the day. And as someone who HATES her glasses, that means it was bad. They were still swollen and sore at bedtime.

Now starting taper week, and rather than feeling confident going into this race in two weeks, I'm scared. Already a lesson learned that early season long-course might not be for me, but still uneasy that I'm not ready at all. We'll see.

On a more promising note, the warmer weather is paying off. Lake Anna is up to a balmy 61 degrees!

The Lessons of Susan Boyle

As I was reading CNN.com this morning, I came upon a commentary by Peter Bregman about the “Britain’s Got Talent” performer, Susan Boyle. When I finally broke down and clicked on the You Tube link last week, I found myself overwhelmed. There’s been tons of news coverage over the last few weeks, but reading his column today, I think he summed up very eloquently my thoughts. I’m condensing and excerpting the pieces of it that touch me the most (you can read the entire column here).

“Susan Boyle, who recently performed on the U.K. television show "Britain's Got Talent," has captured the world's attention …. She wasn't painfully ordinary; she was amazingly extraordinary. The audience immediately jumped to a standing ovation and stayed there until the end of the song. The YouTube video of Susan's performance has, as of Tuesday, received more than 35 million views…..

But there's something else Susan Boyle awakens in us as we watch her come out of her shell: our own selves. Who among us does not move through life with the hidden sense, maybe even quiet desperation, that we are destined for more? That underneath our ordinary exterior lays an extraordinary soul? That given the right opportunity, the right stage, the right audience, we would shine as the stars we truly are?

That promise underlies most successful advertising campaigns: the desire to transform from caterpillar to butterfly. Maybe if you buy that (fill in the blank), people will see you for the sophisticated, cool, gorgeous, talented, lovable person you know you really are. But in our less desperate moments, we know we can't purchase that transformation. Although Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation, hers was not an overnight transformation. She's been practicing singing since she was 12. In her case, overnight was 35 years.

It's easy to admire Susan. But it's far more interesting to be transformed by her. "There is grace," a friend recently wrote to me, "in being molded by your own gifts."

To allow yourself to be molded by your own gifts takes courage. You have to be willing to stand there, exposed and authentic, while the audience rolls their eyes at you and sneers, expecting failure. And then, of course, you have to fail, laugh or cry, and keep going until, one day, they stop laughing and start clapping.

But you can't do it alone….If we're lucky, we have parents who encourage us. Nothing really replaces a mother or father who believes in you. But even if you don't have parents who believe in you, it's important to have someone. Someone you trust, enough that when they offer criticism, you know it's to draw you out more fully, not shut you down even partially….

Susan Boyle is a phenomenal role model for all of us, not just because of her talent or her courage or her perseverance or her supportive friends. She is a phenomenal role model for us because she is us, in all our awkward ordinariness and amazing extraordinariness.”

To me, Peter Bregman captured what I was feeling but unable to express as I watched the video and found the music sticking in my head the rest of the day. Whether we dare to dream big or simply just survive the day-to-day of our offices, classrooms, neighborhoods and worlds, we need courage. Courage, plus the love and support of those around us, lets us move mountains. Maybe not immediately or in hugely visible ways, but bit by bit moving ourselves closer to the person we want to be.

This week with my Girls on the Run we talked about standing up for ourselves, expressing our own feelings, and learning how to evaluate and make good decisions. Heavy stuff for 8 and 9-year olds. But listening to their reactions to the games and questions I posed, they seemed to get it. It’s scary to be yourself, to refuse to surrender to the will of the cliques around you, and to learn to listen and trust that little voice inside. And yet they were articulating that they know it will only get harder as they get older, that the choices will be even tougher. My hope for each of them is not that they will be guffawing in the audience, but instead on the stage of life with their heads held high and the joy of living a real and honest life shining through them.

Race Rehearsal

Today was just gorgeous! Sunny and warm with highs in the 70s by midday. After a morning trip to the nursery to buy some compost and a holly bush for the front yard, it was time to hit the trail (no flowers, since Monday night there is the tiniest chance for frost). Unbelievably, considering I have a half ironman in only three weeks, today was my first day with the tri bike on the trail instead of the trainer. At first I was nervous -- what if I'd forgotten how to ride him? But I settled in easily. And apparently the winter core work paid off, since although my shoulders and back are sore today, I didn't really struggle too much with the aero position. What I had forgotten though, was the difference in pressure points in my "sit region". Ouch. I'll definitely need some Vaseline on hand for the run to help insure the chafing and swelling doesn't worsen during the half marathon.

On our first attempt to leave the house, I realized about 2miles in that I hadn't lubed my chain, and I could hear the raspiness as it scraped against the gears and derailleur, so we turned around. The second time leaving the house, somehow we made different turns off our street and got separated. Twenty minutes later, thanks to the cellphone of some girls holding a bakesale on the side of the trail, we connected again. Finally we reconnected, and settled in for the afternoon. It was a pretty ride, and surprisingly the trail wasn't too crowded. At one point I found myself getting discouraged, and contemplated pulling out of the race. After all, this early season thing is harder than I thought. Before voicing that idea, I convinced myself to drink a little more, suck down some Infinit and push ahead. We stopped at about the half way point to pose for a quick photo before heading for home. Luckily I was in a much better state of mind once the nutrition took hold. We realized at the stop how salty my skin was -- the air was dry so my sweat was evaporating immediately, making me unaware of how dehydrated I was. One potential explanation for that drop in mood and energy a while back.

On our way back home, we stopped at the same bake sale. They were packing up by that point, but I'd promised we'd stop and buy something as a thank you for helping us earlier. All they had left were two gooey lemon bars. I bought one -- it tasted like lemon pie with a crumbly top. Yum! And much better than another gel or two before the transition run waiting for me at home. Finally, we were done. 52miles in 3:15 for a 16mph average. Not bad considering all the stops and starts at intersections.

I SO didn't feel like running for 50-60min, but I'll have to run longer than that in a few weeks, so I wouldn't be doing myself any favors by skipping out on it. A quick change into a fresh pair of shorts, strapped on the Fuel Belt, and I was out the door with Nick. Stuart had expected that I would get a mile or two in, and was encouraging me to aim for three.


Instead, I picked a painfully slow pace (still not slow enough to be Z1-2 as the plan called for), but ran the entire 5miles with a happy happy dog at my side. By late afternoon, the trail was actually a lot busier, lots of couples walking with strollers or small children, and still a decent number of cyclists. I kept wanting to make excuses for my snail's pace, but realized that no one was paying attention to me except for me.

A little less than an hour later, we were home. Both of us tired and panting, but happy. Hmm, they say no headphones on the race course, but I don't recall anything specifically banning dogs. Maybe Nick could join me??

Water watch has begun...

25 or so days until the Kinetic Half. I check online the water temps at Lake Anna. As of yesterday, they are still a charmingly chilly 55 degrees. brrr....

Wildlife

Not exactly the most pleasantly warm weather for an Easter weekend. I'm getting worried that the lake is going to be FREEZING in four weeks if the weather doesn't heat up soon. 1.2miles in sub-60 degree water is going to suck in a big way.

Anyway, despite the odd weather patterns, I managed to get in 2-1/2hrs of riding on Saturday and a 1+hr run on Easter Sunday morning. Billy and I headed out on Saturday in the gray drizzly rain, riding down to Georgetown to watch one of his classmates in a crew regatta. Thet rails were definitely slick with water and magnolia and cherry blossom petals, so speed wasn't exactly a factor.

We got back to the house, where Billy called it quits (he had a concert to go to) and Stuart and I headed west on the trail for another 90min or so. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun even came out, although the temps were still only about 60 degrees. The weather is wacky, but the animals are clearly all coming out of their winter hidey-holes. Bright red cardinals were everywhere. Stuart pulled off the side of the trail at one point to help a box turtle get safely across the road. While we were pulled over, we realized that our tires were covered in worm bits. As if that wasn't gross enough, as we rode through Vienna we saw a dead, mostly smooshed rat lying in the middle of the trail. GROSS!!! How it ended up there, dead and smooshed, is beyond me. But it was totally disgusting.

Yesterday morning was Easter. I knew the day would be busy cooking and entertaining -- Billy and his girlfriend were here, as were our niece and her fiance. So I grabbed Nick and we slipped out of the house at 7am. Easy recovery pace for 65 minutes before getting home and showering for Mass. Dinner ended up being a re-creation of the meal we learned to cook in Florence in cooking school back in 2001, and that we cooked as our first Easter meal together. Slight modifications, but basically the same. yummy! And lucky for us, we have leftovers for tonight. Even better!

Ended the afternoon watching the Ironman 70.3 World Championships special on NBC back-to-back with Vs' showing of Paris-Roubaix. LOVED IT ALL!!!

And the season begins

My first triathlon is still a little over a month away, but my first race of the season was this morning. We've done the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler for the past four or five years. The last two years I pushed hard, and achieved a PR both times - even if last year was only by a measly 3 seconds. This year I was truly approaching this as a training run.

We biked to packet pickup yesterday, and now I understand why I've never headed to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. The crush of people was absolutely overwhelming. Thousands of people, cars in gridlock. Bikes were really the only option, it would have taken hours to drive down there. We didn't even bother to stop and snap the requisite romantic photo under a tree - we just wanted to get out of there.

No neighbors to run it with us this year so Stuart and I caught the metro together at 6:30. We were both sporting our Girls on the Run hats, and ended up talking with a woman about how to start the program at her school in Falls Church. A few others standing near us were listening and one apparently works with a fellow Board member. Mission accomplished before the race even started -- to raise awareness of the program and generate some interest.

It was a picture perfect morning to run a race. Beautiful sunshine, temp right around 50 at the start, and the cherry blossoms were in total bloom. Stuart and I were in different waves, so as is our tradition, kissed each other goodbye and promised to be safe and healthy. I took a quick picture before he slipped away.

The Girls on the Run theme continued, as the woman I coached with my very first season was just a few places behind me in the porta-potty line! It was great to see her and chat. And then I was in my corral. No heart rate monitor, just a promise to myself that this was not a race. It was a training run for the Kinetic Half.

The gun sounded and I was off. And almost from the start I was in my own world. I'd say more than half the field had iPods, even though they were forbidden, so there wasn't much conversation anyways. I watched for Stuart the few times that the field doubled back on itself, but never did see him.

The first mile I hit at 10:04, good but frankly not slow enough. I dialed it back a tiny bit and kept moving. But one after the other, the miles still hovered around 10:30. I could live with that as a solid mid-distance aerobic pace! Guess all those tough =PR= runs are paying off. My posterior tib started acting up around mile 5, but good karma came to my rescue. A woman about 8ft ahead of me dropped her sunglasses. Almost without breaking stride, I picked them up, passed them to the guy between us who handed them back to her. And miraculously the pain subsided for awhile!

But I realized today that the best way to stave off the discomfort is to run off-road. Whenever possible, I ran on the grassy berms instead of the road. Thank goodness Hains Point was the last three miles of the race instead of the first three. Running on the grass made a huge difference in my ability to keep moving. I walked two water stations for about 20 seconds to grab water (it warmed up quickly this morning) and stopped once to stretch. But before I knew it, I could see the Washington Monument and passed that 9mile point. This was a training run, so I didn't increase my speed but just kept steady as I crossed the finish line and slowed to a walk. 1:46:13. I'm happier with that than I was with last year's PR where I felt like I'd worked so hard for just three seconds. Today showed my aerobic pace has increased. If I can hold that for 13.1 miles in May, I'll be so stoked!

I hopped the metro home - coincidentally the same one Stuart was on just in a separate car (he'd waited at the finish line for me, contrary to our initial plans). A short while later, our "showering optional" post party meant a house full of sweaty estrogen as a number of our awesome running female friends came over for sandwichs and plenty of salty and sweet treats.

A relaxing afternoon, followed by 45minutes of lifting at the gym. Time for a shower, dinner and a good night's sleep before tomorrow's swim. If today is an indicator of 2009, and I hope it is, I'm in for a good year!

Luna Chix =PR= Run

Another Thursday night run with Potomac River Running. Team Luna Chix is now sponsoring the first run of each month, so there was a great turnout last night. Between those Luna Chix and the warmer weather, there were probably 15 women. Talk about a range of paces! I offered to be the caboose, but so did Laura who is Luna Chix extraordinaire. So I ended up doing this weird mixed pace, most of it on the very very hard end for me trying to hang with Laura and some of her teammates. Great workout but humbling.

We ran the Custis Trail between the store and basically my house. Most of the women weren’t familiar with it. I ended up in a mid-place no man’s land as I got to the turn-around point, so let the women I was with go ahead while I waited for the back of the pack so that they didn’t accidentally keep going. A minute or two later Laura appears at the top of the hill and whistles for me. The last few women had turnaround at the mid-point so I was now the back of the pack!! We picked up the pace until we came upon a few of the mid-pack women and then strung ourselves out over about 1/4mile on the way home.

Good but tough run. The Luna Chix support the Breast Cancer Fund and so had a trivia question with a giveaway, and I won! Some yummy luna moon chews for my weekend ride. 2 Luna bars in their two newest flavors. And one of those cool travel coffee mugs. Lucky for me that I’m developing a very tiny coffee habit. I was sore as I went to bed last night – that good kind of sore. The sore that tells you that hard work was done, and a tiny bit more fitness was gained.

Sticking with it

Yesterday, I missed my first scheduled workout in three weeks. I've been very disciplined and focused in this final run-up to my first race of the season, but last night I was exhausted. I practically fell asleep driving home from work. So a nap rather than spin class and a run was the right decision.

Tonight was a tough swim workout I'd been dreading all week. Stuart and I went together -- his second time in the pool since January thanks to his shoulder. After Monday's awesome swim, I should have been prepared for a rough night. I just could not get in the rhythm. 50yds and I was out of breath. I was supposed to do 8x300's at faster than race pace on only 15-30 seconds of rest. Tough work! And I just couldn't get it moving. I was pausing for air and a drink of water after every 100yds. It was miserable.

Stuart hit 1500yds and was done. I was so tempted to call it quits and get out of the pool with him. Instead, I sent him to the store and told him to come back and grab me when he was done. That way I'd have nothing to do except stay in the pool and swim. Eventually, after what felt like an 1800yd warmup I started to get in the groove. I still only swam 2500yds, but that last 800 or so were the best of the night. My form felt on, my speed had improved, and I cranked through a couple of those 300s feeling good and proud.

Something I've really focused on the last year or so is my mental toughness. When I think of myself, I always want to describe myself as tough, strong and assertive. Yet, deep inside I know that I can easily talk myself out of or into anything. When no one is looking, it's easy to cut corners. I'm realizing, though, that I'm letting myself down. And even if they don't know it, I'm letting down my Girls on the Run, friends, colleagues or others who might claim to admire or respect me for some reason. I owe it to them, not just to me, to not quit. Workouts like tonight are ones I need to remember. Just because the start is slow, awkward or tough, doesn't mean that workout or that race or even that day are a waste. Finding the strength to push through the rough spots is what bit by bit reinforces that original strength. The ultimate "do loop" in the words of my husband.

Unexpectedly great workout

Long story short -- I almost blew off today's swim workout. Late getting home. Felt the dogs needed attention and a walk. Just generally lost my mojo. Tried to tell myself that I'd get up at 5am and do it. While walking the dogs though, I knew I'd be mad at myself if I didn't get it done tonight. So when we got back to the house I threw on my swimsuit, and raced to the pool.

I had less than an hour, so knew I wouldn't get the entire 1,600yds of warmup and cool-down done (!), but had faith that I could do a short warmup and the main set. Mondays are the long aerobic workouts. Good steady sets, a mix of 75s, descending 25s and a series of 200s. Out of nowhere they were all solid. My form felt good, my head was down and although I wasn't really closely watching my splits, I could tell they were faster than they were just a few months ago.

As I sit here I realize that's an experience I could have missed. Sure, I might have gotten some paperwork done. Played a few rounds of websudoku. Seen what my friends are up to on Facebook. And somehow I'd have justified to myself that the short time frame I had tonight wasn't worth the effort to make it to the pool. And yet I would have been wrong and deluding myself.

At the end of the day, it's almost always worth it. If nothing else about this day I'll have the knowledge that I achieved something and did something for myself.