Run Rudolph, Run

A quick update on our Holiday 5ks... The Turkey Trot 5k was a brisk morning uphill battle... both the run and also the getting out of bed on a holiday part. Unfortunately the final time was not a chip time so the mess of the start line cost us all a bit of time. I still wound up with a 10:07 mile pace. Slow, but for me, right about average. I wasn't disappointed, considering the hilly route and not feeling my best that morning, I stuck it out and ran the entire race. Sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other is the only goal I aspire to.

Four Personal Records!

The Reindeer run a week and a half later went considerably better. Despite another hill ridden race, I finally reached my goal of breaking a 30 minute 5k. There was no timing other than relying upon myself to look at the clock while crossing the finish line. Of course I only glanced long enough to see 28:-- (I'm going with 30 seconds, but really I have no idea). Even though real runners might scoff at my measly increase in pace, I felt a bit like Rocky throwing punches at the top of that stone staircase. Maybe by Tri season I'll be able to maintain a respectable pace.

Upcoming races include a possible trip to Cazenovia for the Chilly Chilli 5k, Maybe the Shamrock run 4 miler in March, and if any of us are feeling motivated the Mountain Goat 10 miler... but honestly if I'm going to run 10 miles up and down hills, why not just run a semi flat half? Guess we'll have to see where the motivation and athleticism stand in a few months.

For now I'll be counting down the days in hopes that Santa might bring me an indoor trainer for the off season. It sure would be nice to have a choice between my elliptical and a stationary bike.

Listening to: Cameras/ Matt & Kim

The Forgotten Post

I wrote this a few weeks ago and somehow forgot to post it...

Lately it's been an incredibly mild fall. So far I've seen very little snow which leaves me anxiously awaiting the day Mother Nature decides to flip the switch and bring her wrath of cold and blustery weather down upon us. In the meantime I'm happy to report Angela and I furiously pedaled our way up and down the wind swept hills of Oswego County and were able to get out for a 30 miler last weekend and 17.5 today. Every bike ride threatens to be our last of the season with the colder weather and shorter days. We definitely appreciate being out there, despite occasionally finding ourselves numb from face to feet.

Speaking of feet, I've just switched out my insoles for green Superfeet. They're much more stiff and less cushioned than my regular sneakers but they're supposedly designed to be stabilizing and good for shock absorption. Apparently you have to break them in for at least a week so it'll be cutting it close for use in my next race.

And the next race is... The B'ville 5K Turkey Trot! I decided to go for the 5K distance since I still seem woefully behind in my running training. I'm hopeful that I will be able to get the pace under a 10 minute mile, which would be a much welcomed first.

Last night I took, or maybe I should say Boomer took me for a run. You can take my word on this, it is not easy to tether yourself to an overexcited euphoric running dog, even if he is only 40 pounds. After being nearly attacked by unleashed dogs, dragged, pulled and tripped over the course of our 30 minute tug of war session I was ready to terminate our running partnership indefinitely. So I've decided in order to preserve our occasional workout bonding time we'll simply move our runs to a less canine populated and less hilly area. Possibly the superfeet will guard against the foot slapping that occurs when Boomer lounges ahead of me in the general direction of anything that moves and also stabilize my stride enough to keep me on my feet while being dragged down any sort of elevation decline we come across, including but not limited to hills, curbs, my front steps, etc. We'll see how it goes...

All Clear for Take Off

Stopped in to see the doctor today about my bum ankle. He's a fellow triathlete, or maybe I should say a serious triathlete as he's an actual Ironman and not a casual partaker of all girl sprint triathlons. Not to discredit IronGirl... I love it, it's not easy and I'm thankful it provides me with an inlet to a sport I would have otherwise avoided entirely. I was just trying to make the distinction Ironmen, (the guys and girls) are what I consider professional triathletes, where as I continue to enjoy the minors. So that being said, it seems there's hope yet for my bum ankle. Some minor plantar fasciitis, and moderate Achilles tendinitis was the official diagnosis and luckily I can continue my workouts with a few additions to my running gear. Tomorrow I'm off to Fleet Feet to purchase superfeet and compression socks. I'll report back about how another investment in my ever increasing Tri-equipment stockpile pays off, and possibly in the meantime... sign up for a race of two : )

Listening to: Us Against The World/ Coldplay

Rainy days and Mondays

Somewhere between work and home tonight my motivation bailed on me. Lately the rain clouds and general lack of daylight hours has got me desperately missing those long summer nights and the constant stream of available activities calling my name. Tonight I managed to get as far as changing into my workout clothes, and if lifting my fork from a plate to my mouth counts as exercise, I'm happy to report I got in a good workout.

I need a goal, stat!

There is a Veteran's day 5K in about 3 weeks and the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving, both of which I am considering as long as I can remove the monkey wrench that has been unceremoniously thrown into my plans. I've been casually ignoring the minor swelling in my right ankle and the coinciding bruise like feeling that has been irritating me for a few weeks. The problem is that I haven't run since the race and a small hike, a few short elliptical sessions and one short bike ride is apparently still too intense a week of workouts to allow my heel to heal. It leaves me questioning what kind of workout I should be doing. As much as I claim to hate running it still sort of depresses me to think I might need to stop to prevent a serious injury. It may be time to seek professional advice for the little bump on my heel that's turning into a huge bummer. Maybe it's time to return to the pool?

Run 4 It!

Team Run 4 It! has officially finished a relay marathon and I'm happy to report we were far from last place despite my initial worries.

32 / 73 Run 4 It! 4:04:07 10th in the all Female Team category out of 27 all Female teams

I thought it was a good showing by us after all was said and done.

Kris finished his first Half Marathon today too, coming in 183 out of 1139 finishers. Not too shabby : )

The relay was a little nerve racking at the 3rd leg change over. There were roughly 73 teams wandering around B'ville wondering where the hand off was supposed to be. Mostly because of this little snippet from the website:

 Now after reading this we believed that the third leg would be the shortest and relatively easy so naturally I volunteered for it as I am not our strongest runner. While I was running I quickly realised the "flat to downhill" was a bunch of BS... then as I searched hopefully for Elyssa for a good mile after the 19 mile marker I decided someone should maybe look into the measuring next year. Even though I ran almost a mile and half more than I thought I was supposed to, I at least managed to run the entire thing. Thankfully Angela put in an impressively solid performance starting us out, running her longest run ever. Jess followed up with a killer fast second leg and Elyssa brought us home strong like we knew she would, running her 6.33 miles in 48:23. Good thing everyone brought their A game today.


Here's what map my run listed my run as, maybe Empire State Marathon relay organizers should compare notes:

Oh well at least I can say I accomplished a goal I didn't even know I had... running 6 looked nearly impossible a few days ago and I somehow managed 7, looks like it's time to learn how to maintain the distance and maybe pick up the pace a bit for next time.

For now I think I'll reward myself with a much missed bike ride!

I gotta mention what I think is an awesome relay team name I saw on the results page... Screw 26.2
If only I'd thought of that : )

We did have great team shirts even if we didn't get a team picture in them...

Luckily Noah & the Whale and The Wombats came through, playing on my ipod just when I needed their songs! I believe I may have even been lip singing along to pass the time more than once, thank goodness for ipods!

Here Goes Nothing

Tomorrow is the Empire State Marathon, Half and for me, Relay. As usual I'm dreading what's sure to be a restless night of too little sleep, a cold and windy morning and the longest run I've done yet. A month ago or so I was sure I was capable of a 6 mile run, on the eve of race day I know I am, but also well aware of the fact that this could be a rough hour and change.

I think the biggest bummer about this race will be that I'm running all alone. At least I'll be running towards Elyssa and Jess will run to me, and Angela will be happily finished with the first leg waiting for us to make our way back to the start/finish line. Kris will be there as well running the half, well on his way and training hard for his Iron Man next summer. It will be another race to look back on with a solid sense of accomplishment after all is said and done, but for now I just have a mean case of the jitters. To combat my most unwelcome nerves I'm loading up my ipod with new music to distract me both before and during the race. Hopefully my ear buds will stay put despite what sounds like gale force winds outside my window. I have a feeling the ipod will be my saving grace tomorrow.

Thanks to Kris's pasta dinner and a pre-race 3 mile run with Elyssa last night, I'm carb loaded and ready to go tomorrow. I'm just hoping for a little sunshine and some good distractions during my lengthy wait and as I take over for the third leg of our relay marathon. Good Luck to all runners, especially Kris and my Relay Teammates Angela, Jess and Elyssa... Go team Run 4 It!

Pictures of our fun team shirts and post race exhaustion to follow...


Listening to: Jump Into the Fog/ The Wombats

Four on the Floor

I think I've finally switched gears. At least what has lately been an uphill battle has become a much more manageble gradual uphill slope with the occasional much needed leveling out. Thursday night despite the misty weather and occasional passing rain cloud I managed to slowly but steadily run a full 4 miles. I know I'm only 3 and a half weeks from my crazy goal of having to run almost 7, but at least I'm finally moving in the right dirrection. My ipod, a flat course and the towering rainbows arching over the parkway were all contributing factors to my success. I also find fellow runners motivate me to keep going because I don't want to hang my head in shame and walk in front of them. I know I have a long way to go but I was pretty proud of my new bench mark. I just hope I can keep it up!

Listening to: Gravity/ Stephen Kellog and the Sixers

Bring on the Rain

Running might just be defeating me. Six and a half miles might as well be a marathon at this point. It seems no matter what I do I'm just getting worse.

Negativity riddled rant over, time for a positive plan of action that will bring about desired results:

Let me know if you have any ideas : )

Sunday Angela and I took a break from running to get back to our favorite leg of Triathlon, biking! So off we went casually ignoring the threatening clouds looming in the not so far distance. If you've ever had the pleasure of being caught out in a torrential down pour while riding a bike you'll know why you don't see many cyclists out when the weather looks gloomy. First off the position you keep on the bike lends itself quite nicely to streamlining large amounts of rain water directly into your cycling shoes which coincidentally happen to act much like a sponge and seem to be able to hold about twice their weight in water. Second, dirt and sand somehow are able to defy gravity in the rain and both make a fantastic effort to climb up your legs and spray up your back tire to completely cover you in grit. Third the pooling water and newly flowing steams rapidly growing in size and velocity make any sort of quick retreat back to the comfort of dryness nearly impossible and quite frankly dangerous. When you combine all these factors and look over at your riding buddy drenched to the bone beside you it all becomes fairly comical... and after all it's only water. We had a good laugh and I'm sure all the passing vehicles on the road were highly entertained as well. I'd still take a monsoon while biking over any day running.

Maybe someday I will find the humor and enjoyment in running as well... til then I'll be grinning and bearing it for the next few weeks.

Listening to: Days Like This/ Van Morrison

Tour de Loop

Rockin the new Jerseys

This morning Kris, Angela and I rode in the 30 mile Tour de Loop. The course covers most of our go to bike route but it's quite the hilly hike after that. It was a beautiful day for a bike race and it looked like they had a great turnout.

After a trying week that left me feeling like I had been in a head on collision between a roller coaster and a brick wall I'd have to say I needed a good two hour battle with some monstrous hills. Up and over I went wondering why I put myself though the torture that is bike racing. Of course I don't think it's all torture, the volunteers are awesome, being outdoors and active with other like minded people is fun, I like the competition even though I'm light years behind and I love that last mile or so when you get to race for the finish and pat yourself on the back for getting through it.

I even managed to meet my goal of coming in under 2 hours: 1:56:34.257

Which when you consider there were 50 Milers that did it in just over 2 hours makes me think I might want to start picking up some pointers from someone : )

Congrats to Angela placing 2nd in her age group and Kris placing 5th in his!

Listening to: Life is Life/ Noah and the Whale

What goes up...

Today was not my best display of athleticism. I made the attempt to follow in the wake of the local bike group that gets together a few times a week in hopes I might pick up a few tips or at least push myself to improve. Tonight just wasn't my night. As a relative newbie I was a bit scared to even show up but people seemed very friendly and I found myself riding with some fellow lady cyclists, I'm sure could have wrecked me but thankfully they stuck with me and rode the 17 mile loop instead of the 30 miler.

I was pushing myself more than usual but I knew I could handle it. Unfortunately despite my ok stamina and cardiovascular abilities when out biking you still have to know when to change gears when you ride up hills. So my temporary lapse in cognitive reasoning left me in too high a gear pedaling up too big a hill from a slow start. So first my chain got stuck because I didn't have enough momentum to change gears as fast as was necessary for me to maintain a forward motion. I tried to rectify the problem by putting all my strength in to the pedals until a calf cramp ripped through my right leg and essentially paralyzed me as I was clipped in on my bike unable to do anything but fall... and that's exactly what I did. Right in the middle of the road. Luckily no cars were around and my riding buddies alerted the cars to my predicament before I became road kill.

As I lay on the ground, both feet still clipped in, I remained unable to move my cramping calf muscle and was finally forced to punch my heel to get out. I could barely put weight on my leg. Limping, I hung my head in shame as I walked my bike up the hill. Once at the top I hesitantly clipped in and rode for the next 4-5 miles with my toe pointed down trying to stretch my calf muscle out and keep pressure off it as it threatened to give out again. As we looped back we decided to attempt the little hill again and I swore it wouldn't defeat me. After all, as a long time equestrian, if you fall off the horse you get back on! Only off came my chain and I tipped over again. This time I was lucky enough to unclip one leg and fortunately fell in that direction so I caught myself this time. One of the other women lost her chain as well and we both stopped to pop them back on and managed to finish our ride without any further problems.

What a way to make a first impression. I'm hoping I got all the kinks out before the race and the 30 miles will go by as smoothly as possible.

For the rest of the week I'm taking a multi vitamin and drinking as much as possible to hopefully stave off these killer muscle cramps! We'll see how it goes...

Listening to: The A Team/ Ed Sheeran

Rant and Relay

Kris, Angela and I went out on the 30 mile Tour de Loop course tonight. Some major hills and some major distance. Nothing we can't handle though and it'll feel pretty awesome to finish it next weekend. Might go easy on the hills over the next week though... I have enough problems without messing up my knees too! I need to get another water bottle holder for my bike I think it might be frowned upon to stop at Ontario Orchard for a gatorade during the race itself : )

Looking forward to rocking my Ireland Jersey during the race!

On a side note, a-holes who find enjoyment in driving their cars too fast and too close to cyclists deserve to also drive their cars too fast and close to the nearest speed trap/ giant pot hole/ flock of gastrointestinal sickened birds! Share the road, it's more than big enough. They manage to fit two cars in one lane in Ireland, so we should have no problems here with one car and a cyclist!

Rant over, I've made my peace...

In the realm of running, I just signed up for the Empire State Marathon relay with Angela, Elyssa and a friend of Eylssa's who's name I will learn as soon as possible. We have to come up with a team name and decide who gets the short straw with the up hill portion of the relay... Not it!!!

Ice Ice Baby

The last two nights I have been trying to focus on running. I gave myself two nights rest and now my sights are set on my 6 and a half mile run during the Empire State Marathon weekend in November and not completely embarrassing myself in the Tour de Loop 30 mile bike race next Saturday. At the moment I seem to be suffering through a hopefully minor setback as both of my lower calf muscles are so tight it hurts to walk.

It's possible I'm over doing the running... as I sit here with an ice pack on each leg : )

I just want to get better so badly that I think I can run through the pain. Only it keeps getting worse. I'm going to look into protein supplements or pool running, just something that allows me to train without hurting myself for once. Maybe I'll ride my bike and see if I can abuse another set of muscle groups tomorrow night!

On the up side of running, I gotta say I'm loving the cooler breezy late summer nights we've been having. It's nights like these that really make me feel strong, alive and well!

Listening to: The Heart of Life/ John Mayer

Results are in

Here's the breakdown:

Final Time: 1:52:14

In the 1047 Finishers I placed 258th... top 25%

20th out of the 79 girls in my age group

Swim: 17:12 (319th over all) Considering I hung on to the side of a kayak for a good minute I'll take that : ) and I swam a lot more this year I think... though I did take a few strolls here and there.

T1: 2:53 (there was a long run this year, but I probably could have been faster here)

Bike: 1:00:19 (305th over all) 17.9mph average. I can forgive myself the 19 seconds because I think the course was slightly longer, so I sort of met my goal... I'm going to learn to make the most of those pedals soon though!

T2 1:07 Not bad here... I did my hair while running this year, next year I think I'll hack it all off before the tri : )

Run: 30:43 Since I was pretty beat at that point I can say I'm ok with my ~10 minute mile pace, hopefully I'll get that down soon too... BUT I did run the entire thing!

I'm happy with my times, there will always be room for improvement but that's what the off season is for! Time to concentrate on the Tour de Loop, and our Empire State relay Marathon ~10K race!

I also have to mention that Elyssa got 2nd in her age group and came in 31st overall! Very impressive for only her second Tri, I think she'll be one to watch in the years to come! Congrats!

Yellow Caps and Yellow Jackets

4:15 AM came a little too quickly for my liking this morning. After a night spent mostly dreading the looming morning swim I woke up more nervous than I've been in a long time. I went with a rice flour waffle with honey, a handful of cherries, and black Irish breakfast tea for breakfast. After I arrived precariously close to the closing of transition and set up T1 & T2 I broke out my vanilla Honey Stinger Waffle for a snack. Stinger Waffles are my new favorite work out food, I highly recommend them!

I made my way down to the water and swam around in an attempt to calm my nerves. It wasn't really working too well but I had a decent warm up anyways. Shortly after I found myself standing at the edge of the water listening to the National Anthem and watching the first wave start. I found a fellow triathlete to talk to and calmed down a bit. Before I knew it I was trudging into the water to begin the swim. I thought it sort of looked long but maybe my nerves were just playing tricks with me. As the swim started so did the panic. I made it to the first buoy without too much trouble, half walking half swimming. By the second buoy I was getting kicked and swam over, smacked repeatedly, splashed in the face every time I breathed, it was basically a cluster F#@%. I managed to round the far buoy and make the first right ok, I got a few strokes in here and there and then inevitably someone would use my chest to kick off of or throw their arm over my back and push me under. So I finally had to make the decision to swim to a kayak and re coop. Once I got there I took a minute to catch my breath and let the more aggressive swimmers go by. Finally I returned to the underwater wrestling match and almost got shoved under the next buoy but at least it was the final right turn for home. The rest of the swim I zigzaged my way back to the beach and finally pulled my sorry self out of the water 17 minutes 12 seconds after starting...

The run back to transition was rough, running on asphalt sucks and having your calf muscles cramp up the whole time doesn't help. I had a little trouble with my socks but I got ready pretty fast and as soon as I jumped on my bike I clipped in and took off. I have to learn to be a little more aggressive and ride around the women who are not really racing because I waited a while before blowing by them. I was loving the bike portion and making pretty good time until somewhere around mile 8 a yellow jacket flew into my left arm, lodged himself into my shoulder and I had to flick him off after he stung me. Like I really needed that. I had a few choice words and then was forced to grit my teeth through the rest of the bike course while the stinging sensation slowly turned into a throbbing pain in addition to the stinging. Fun.

Back at transition I flew through racking my bike and switching to my running sneakers. As I took off for the run my body was screaming out in protest to stop and walk and put an ice pack on my sore arm. I ignored all this and told myself it would all be over in 30 minutes. I was utterly disappointed when I realised what I thought had been the 1 mile marker was really more like a half mile point. I thought the turn around would never come. Finally I saw it and fought off the urge to walk. 15 more minutes... I tried singing "Good Life" by OneRepublic to myself a few times which worked until I didn't know any more words. Then I tried to think about Boomer being all excited to see me when I got back and finally I turned to my cheering section for inspiration and thought they might like to see me at some point rather soon... so I kicked it up a small notch and when the beach came into view despite wanting to keel over I sprinted up through the finish line. I then went directly to the medic tent and got a nice cold ice pack for my arm. It's now been over 12 hours since I got stung and it still hurts... that little effer! Although to be fair, I'm sure I ruined his day as well.

Thanks to my cheering section, Angela, Kris and my Dad... seeing you guys at transitions made it a lot more fun for me! And also to everyone who was there in spirit : ) And a big Thank You to everyone for supporting me through all my training and racing too! And Congrats to all Iron Girls out there past and present : )

Tri Time!

New clips and shoes, so far so good...

Boomer "helping" with transition set up

My Bike is racked, my nerves are shot and my bank account is suffering.

This morning I took the bike out to make sure everything was running smoothly after it's tune up. As I pulled into our usual cycling spot I noticed a group of fellow enthusiasts who did a double take while I drove by. A few minutes later one of them came over and told me about their group that ride together about 3 times a week. I'm really excited to ride new routes and hopefully learn from the more serious riders. They seemed really nice and even though it'll be hard to keep up with them I think it'll be good for me and Angela. The girl I was talking to suggested I take my bike out for a 10 mile ride before the race tomorrow so I took her advice, I hope she's right!

My bank account has been suffering with all the new equipment and the new tri suit I bought today. I'm hoping they were all good investments, since Angela and I are planning on a big bike race and a 10K run this year and 2 Triathlons next year. With any luck the suit will be comfortable and dry fast... I'm pretty sure it's more than a little see through so I'm going to cross my fingers no one notices but me!

Rockin the Lime Green Handle Bars

I guess it's time to talk goals. I remember last year saying I would never do another tri when I rolled out of bed, when I dragged myself out of the water, when I was trying to catch my breath out on the bike course and every time I knew I had a whole lot longer to go. This year I hope I can enjoy it a little more. Just like last year I hope I don't drown or panic, and I especially hope that I can swim well and not walk like last year. For the bike portion I'd like to shave 5 minutes off my time from last year. If there's wind that might not be possible, but I'd like to be in the top 33% of my age group in the bike at least. I've been neglecting the bricks this year so I'm a bit worried about a run after pushing so hard on the bike. I'm going to try like hell not to walk during the run. A lofty goal would be to run the course in under 30 minutes. Probably a little tough since I average about a ten minute mile during a 5K. I'll try my best and that's all I can do... til next year anyways : )

My play list on the insanely early drive to Oneida Shores tomorrow includes:

Good Life/ OneRepublic

Keep Your Head Up/ Andy Grammer

Faster/ Matt Nathanson

Free Fallin'/ Stevie Nicks Version

Chasing the Light/ Mat Kearney

Wetsuit/ The Vaccines

Learning to Love Again/ Mat Kearney

Bottom of the Sea/ Matt Nathanson

Just Stay Here Tonight/Augustana

Shot in the Dark/Augustana

This is your Life/ Switchfoot

Science & Faith/ The Script

Free/ Zac Brown Band

Free Fallin'/ Stevie Nicks Version

She Got the Honey/ Mat Kearney (really loving his new cd!)

I might throw the theme from Rocky in there just to pump myself up... but mostly I need chill music to settle the inevitable nerves.

So that's it for now, time to watch Harry Potter, wind down for the night and hope tomorrow is a fantastic day : )

Clipped in and Carb Loaded

T minus 3 days.

Oh crap. I'm terrified to swim. My solution: just wing it. Can't wait to Bike! Running will most likely be torture. I've come to realize Triathlons are sort of about how long you can stand putting yourself through physical agony at an ungodly hour of the morning. But I still somehow think they're a good time and well worth the hours put in... I'll let you know if my opinion changes at 4:15 AM Sunday morning.

This week has been rough. Too much work, too little training. It's taper week and I'm tapering and eating my usual over dosage of carbs. I'm hoping bad practices equal good races. I did a pretty pathetic swim the other day. Thanks to the constant furniture and photo equipment moving my arms have become weak useless apendanges that flail around hopelessly in the water. Running tonight took a while to get into and my ankles feel like the bones are grinding together. Most likely from the 12 hour days spent running around on concrete floors. The one bright spot in my training has been my biking. I made the plunge and had the guys at my local bike shop hook me up with clipless pedals. Angela and I went out for a ride to see if they made much of a difference and she seems to think they do. I hope they help me out on that long and flat and seemingly neverending tri course! They're also putting some hot handlebar tape on for me, I'll post pictures soon! For now I have to get some sleep, this tri has once again approached at warp speed.

My carb loading secret weapon: Irish Brown Bread : )

Listening to: Hey Mama/ Mat Kearney

Ealry Bird, Night Owl & Chicken S#!%

If only there were 12 more hours in each day... I need about 4 more hours of sleep every night and another good 8 hours worth of free time to train, read, take my dog to play Frisbee, visit my friends and do any of the other 4 million things I'd rather be doing lately. Lately I've been up at 5:15 and lucky to be in bed by midnight. Tonight I managed to fit in a run as the sun was disappearing below the horizon. It's been cooler so I brought Boomer with me and he pulled me through about 2.5-3 mile steady paced run. I really need to get a running watch, or at least use the handy stopwatch feature on my ipod I always forget is there. I still sometimes prefer not knowing exactly how far I'm running and how fast because I enjoy living under the impression that I'm getting faster.

I made it out to the lake in my tri suit on Sunday and as I waded out into Lake Ontario I quickly pulled a U turn and completely chickened out. Granted there were actual crashing waves and I couldn't see anything through the churning waters. Still, it knocked my confidence as the open water swim looms in my not so distant future. I'm crossing my fingers for clear skies & calm waters... little to no seaweed and a general migration of all fish to the opposite side of the lake would also be nice though.

There's been talk about a relay marathon where each runner runs 6 and a half miles. I'm considering it and even wondering if I can grit my teeth through training for a half for the next year or so. Considering it will probably take me a full year to work up to anywhere near that distance it would at least keep me fit for the tri next year.

I've worked about 38 hours in the last 3 days and I'm absolutely beat... sitting down has become one of life's great pleasures for me lately. The worst part is the lack of sleep is making it very hard to drive so I've resorted to drinking coffee again. Hopefully next week will be easier and my taper week will actually find me tapering. I suppose we'll see.

Listening to: I Would Love/ Lee Coulter

In Search of Runners High

For the second time this year I successfully ran for over 30 minutes (last time was Komen). Tonight I wanted to see if I could run a 5k and since I'm not familiar with a good route I decided to run the length of my play list and that would get me through the distance. So I ran for about 34 minutes. If in that time I didn't cover 5k then I prefer to live in my fantasy world where I can be blissfully naive. I like to think I covered more... but that's more wishful thinking. So finishing strong in the 5k run portion of the Iron Girl is at least possible.

My only question is when does the runners high kick in? It seems to me 30 minutes should have done it and all I got were tight calf muscles. Maybe somewhere in the 45 minute range? Sounds like it's time for a new goal.

Listening to: Wetsuit/ The Vaccines

90 minute Irish hike = 2.5 hour American

Conversions in Ireland

Our massive hike up and over the waterfall

Biking in Kinsale

Guiness for Strength

We're back from Ireland and back from an exceedingly long break from tri training. I was sure I'd find time and energy to run while on vacation but I failed to factor in travel fatigue, late nights, early mornings and busy schedules. We managed to get in a short scorching run on the board walk at Jones Beach the day we left, always nice to switch up the scenery. Once we got to Ireland it wasn't exactly like we were relaxing on a beach somewhere. We walked the streets of Dublin so much the heels of my boots are worn down. I believe there was also a small bit of dancing and toe tapping to all the great music, one massive hike and a few smaller treks, one bike ride, lots of ab workouts from laughing so much and I couldn't possibly forget the horseback riding on the beach. I know we got a good work out riding because on top of my bruised legs from ankle to hip, every muscle in my back and arms cried out in protest for the next two days. So much for a leisurely stroll on the beach... we don't mess around : ) So we remained active as best we could without running ourselves into the ground.

Despite a lingering cough and jet lag I pulled myself together for a run and Angela and I fit in two bike rides over the weekend. I just got back from the pool and managed the 600m without too much trouble. The only problem is that I have less than three weeks to somehow work up to a triathlon. I'm a bit worried this year. I wanted to do better than last year but the timing of the race is just not good for me. I hope I can at least finish strong and not walk during the swim or run this year. Someday I'll hit my stride with this sport!

On the upside I hear Guinness is good for you and it gives you strength as well, and I certainly had plenty of it... so here's hoping!

Back in Action

I've been a little lax in both my training and my blogging but with vaccation on the horizon and last minute arrangements still being made I've been a bit preoccupied. However, I am happy to report that I'm back in action and have managed to get a few good workouts in recently. Last week Angela, Kris and I tackled the Tri bike course in gusting winds and a light drizzle. We managed a grueling 17 mph pace, which considering the weather and the slight detour (I forgot the course momentarily) was pretty good for this stage in the game. We've been averaging 12.5-13mph on our hilly routes and that's even factoring in the occasional turtle in the road rescue. Ever so slowly but surely we are improving.

Thankfully I can now run again, although I lost a little bit of my endurance I made it to the 2 mile point a few times without any major issues. I think we're going to add the third mile this week. I'm hoping to be able to focus a bit more on running while we're in Ireland. Since running is the most convient and travel friendly activity I figured I'd put my running shoes to good use while we're over there. We plan to bike a bit as well but I doubt I'll find myself swimming, my goal this week is to get to the pool at least two or three times before we leave.

The Oswego Tri is this weekend. Angela and I will be going to watch and I'm sure I'll be snapping some pics. Part of me wishes I would have signed up but with everything going on I think it would have been too much. If they hold it again next year it will definitely be on my schedule.

Listening to:

Ivy & Gold/ Bombay Bicycle Club

White Blank Page/ Mumford & Sons

Mini Brick

I'm sill struggling with running, it's almost as if I forgot how. This whole year I've been surprised at how easy it's been to run. Usually my body gives out before my lungs do, lately everything gives out 3 minutes in. I can't help but think it's a bit odd that 3 weeks ago I ran 2.5 miles pretty consistently and now 1 mile is presenting a problem. I suppose the only thing to do is get through these bad days and hope my days of enjoying running aren't over. I'll have a big spinach salad and and iron pill and call it a solution for now.

A bonus on getting into cycling is that when your car is at the mechanics you have an alternate mode of transportation to drop your car off and pick it back up... no need to rely on someone else to give you a ride. So today I rode out to pick the car up, drove to one of my favorite running spots and managed to grit my teeth through a mile and a half or so of running. I'm dubbing it a mini brick. I'm thinking about the pool tomorrow, crossing my fingers I can get through a swim workout without any leg cramps, maybe I'll pack a banana for lunch tomorrow : )

Biking a Marathon

Oswego Harbor is missing it's lighthouse!

Lately I've been going easy on the workouts in an attempt to recover from what I think was either over use or just the result of taking on way too much and getting run down. Everything was going pretty terrible for the past week or so, unrelenting foot and leg cramps in my swim workouts, a general inability to breathe while running and breathing and muscle fatigue every hill on my normal bike route. If all of this was caused by donating blood then I think I'll wait to donate again after Tri season is over. Thankfully after a few days off, some iron pills and three absolutely wonderful days to sleep in, I finally feel better.

We took it easy yesterday and did a mild 12 mile bike loop cutting out most major hills. I felt like I could handle a bit more today but even I was surprised at what we accomplished. Angela and I took off with our bikes on a new route that brought us up and over some killer hills. We rode a 26.6 mile loop mostly on back roads out to Sterling and back. We stopped once to check out a possible open water swimming locale and then hiked back to the bikes to head for home. We stopped again to refuel at Ontario Orchards, looking like what I'm sure were some real beauties. I like taking our time and stopping along the way, especially when it's a warm day and I'm running low on water. So after our banana break we finished our 26.6 miles with a loop around the college in the crazy cold fog that has been hovering around the shores of lake Ontario as of late. When I say crazy cold fog I m

ean it. The temperature must drop a good 15 degrees and you can't see 50 ft past the shore. The lake water is pretty cold still but I don't remember any summer starting off with so much fog.

Oh and you'll be glad to know I wore my sunscreen both sunny biking days and despite a slight farmers tan I remain as blindingly white as ever : )

As usual the jumpstart back into training was a big one, hopefully with a little luck things will get back to normal this week.

The Steam station disappearing in fog

listening to: Everybody Needs Love/ Drive By Truckers

Definitions

pathetic |pəˈθetikadjective1 arousing pity, esp. through vulnerability or sadness : she looked so pathetic that I tried not to watch out of embarrassment for her. See note at moving .• informal miserably inadequate : her running ability was pathetic.
Today I could hardly run a full mile. Boomer stopped to sniff something and when the leash came to it's end he flipped ass over tea kettle. People looked at me like I should be reported to the animal abuse authorities. I felt bad about it but kept running and he bounced right back. I've seen the dog run full on into a wooden fence while looking the wrong way. He's a bigger klutz than I am, and that's saying something. Earlier today I managed to slam the freezer door under my chin which created a chain reaction of ricocheting my head off the wall and almost managing to get my head stuck between the two. I'm not sure how these things happen to me but it's clear now that Boomer and I are meant for each other.
regression |riˈgre sh ən|noun1 a return to a former or less developed state. : she was lax in her training and the ensuing regression had brought her back to square one.
Friday I donated blood for the first time, it was no where near as bad as I thought it would be. Just to be on the safe side I waited 24 hours before heading out for a real workout on the bike. I felt a bit light headed after our 12 mile loop but I was fine after a big lunch and a bunch of water. The next day I attempted the 12 miles again and had a bit of trouble. I also got a wicked sunburn, cycling requires sunblock, when will I learn? So I gave myself the next day off cause I was starting to feel run down. The next day I could only manage 20 minutes on the elliptical. Today my throat felt like it was closing and my whole body felt like lead. Running was not kind to me tonight. I can only hope the 3 day weekend will revive me, or else I'm going to ask for my blood back and hope my missing energy returns.
hopeful |ˈhōpfəl|adjectivefeeling or inspiring optimism about a future event : a hopeful sign | [withclause ] she remained hopeful that she could pull herself out of the slump she was desperately fighting to get out of.

Operation: Just Go Faster

I can now somewhat easily swim 600m

I have been able to bike 17+ miles for awhile now

I have successfully finished a 5k run

So this year will not be a matter of whether I can finish the triathlon it will be more about how fast I can finish.

I'm sort of over being disappointed with my 5k time. It was less than ideal, but I'm sure I didn't run my best that day. From this point forward I will be adding in drills and sprints and some faster shorter runs. In the pool I'll work on finding a good warm up, continue using my zoomers, throw in a few sprints here and there and push my overall distance further. On the bike I'm going to start riding the relatively flat tri course and getting some speed work outs in after our longer rides.

It would be infinitely more helpful to have some sort of coach or triathlon veteran to get a little advice from. The organized bike rides always seem to leave too early and I just end up watching the others quickly disappear ahead of me anyways. Maybe if I got the clipless pedals I'd stand a chance. I just wish everything to do with triathlons didn't cost so much! Tack on the pedals, shoes and cleats to aero bars and a wet suit and I'll be broke for the rest of the summer. I might have to make do with the gear I have this year. My wish list is always longer than the digits in my pay check can keep up with. I think I would seriously consider swimming the first leg of the Tri-Oswego race as a relay team if I had the wet suit. I have to have some protection from the evil seaweed and various fish monsters that live in the harbor. Plus the lake has to be freezing, I don't think blue is really my color.

Maybe I'll win the lotto or something. fingers crossed.

Results are In

Official race Results:

31:09 Net Time

10:02 Pace

961 out of 2003 overall

52 out of 127 in my age group

526 out of 1382 women

Weather Widget Woes

(insert expletive here)

First Official 5K

Well I met one of my goals today, I ran the whole race, albeit slowly. I actually don't know what my time wound up being. I think it was around 31 minutes which surprised me a little. I guess it's hard to gauge distances when you're just running random routes all the time. I was hoping I had been running at least a 9 minute mile pace lately. Guess it's a bit slower and I have a lot more work to do. At least now I know what to work on. The extra mile wasn't too hard to handle and I still had a lot left over to sprint for the finish line, once I realized I was so close to it. The start was hard because I wound up having to dodge a bunch of walkers and slower runners in front of me. I ran with Katie for the first mile and a half until I felt like I wanted to get the race over with. Once I took off I think I was maintaining a much faster pace but I was still at the tail end of the runners. I hope by the Triathlon I can get up to at least a 9 minute mile. After the swim and bike I feel like, for me, that would be a decent pace, last year I was around a 10:45 pace, mostly because I walked a bunch of it. No copping out this year, I'm not walking the swim even if I can touch and I'm not walking the run even if every nerve in my body is screaming out in protest. And my next 5k will be under 30 minutes whether I like it or not.

I'm not a runner but if I'm sticking with the Triathlons I'm at least going to make myself respectable. I should be faster than I am. I will be.

They had left over medals from the Kids run so Katie and I scored one on the way out. Hey, we're still kids at heart : )

Night Before Komen

Not working out is bad for me. I'm sitting here downing a pint of Benny & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide, which I gotta believe contains some sort of highly addictive substance. Other than stuffing my face I'm waiting out the wash cycle on my laundry so I have something to wear to the Komen Race tomorrow. There was an article in Runner's World recently about a guy getting tasered for running naked in a marathon. I'm thinking clothes are preferable to a taser. I walked around Sports Authority for 45 minutes today trying to find a new running shirt but I couldn't stomach spending $20 on a tank top because it has a check mark on it. Plus I really don't want more pink workout clothes and I think they were fully stocked for Komen. Or maybe there's just a high percentage of women's athletic clothing made in pink... which I resent if true. Anyway it's not a fashion show, it's a race, my sneakers are pink so I feel like that's enough to be supportive of the cause.

I gave the running a break for the last two days so yesterday I finally made it back to the pool. After my initial 600m on and off, 150m with Zoomers, and about 4 or 5 more laps the remaining swimmers left and I had the pool to myself. I started a circle swim in half of the pool and decided to see how far I could get. Before long 3 laps turned into 6 which turned into 10 and finally why not just do the whole 600m? And that's exactly what I did. No stopping, no gasping for air and not once did my feet hit the bottom. I wasn't even that tired or out of breath. Further confirmation that a mental block rather than of lack of ability is holding me back. Good to know I'm capable of the distance already but I'll have to focus more on getting over the panic in open water.

My goal for tomorrow is to run the full 5K, no matter how slow. If I'm being honest under 27 minutes would really make my day. Running with other people can sometimes mess with my rhythm so I'll have to concentrate on keeping a steady pace in order to finish strong. Apparently running with an ipod is frowned upon. If it weren't, my hypothetical playlist would be as follows:

4:05 See You Later, See You Soon/ Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers

Good pace song & aptly titled for the start line 4:05

4:21 Peaceful Easy Feeling/ Eagles

Good running rhythm song 8:26

4:04 I need a Dollar/ Aloe Blacc

I like the groove in this one 12:30

3:35 This Town/ OAR

This song was stuck in my head when I went skydiving, it apparently has a calming affect 16:05

3:25 Comeback Kid (That's my Dog)/ Brett Dennen

Past the halfway point, need to pick up the musical pace at least 19:30

3:36 Misery/ Maroon 5

I will most likely be wishing I didn't have a whole extra mile left at this point 23:06

3:26 Shot in the Dark/ Augustana

I love this song lately hopefully it'll inspire me to keep it up for a few more minutes 26:32

3:34 Fight Like a Girl/ Bomshel

I have a feeling in this race this song would be a good one to bring me home 30:06

I had to leave a lot of my favorites out, guess I'll have to learn to run longer.

My laundry is done, I need sleep, I'll report back tomorrow!

Sugar High

This week I'm all about the Komen Foundation Race for the Cure 5k on Saturday. Today at work we had our 4th annual bake sale to raise money to donate. I tend to get a bit carried away, both with making baked goods and also eating them. I was up till 12:30 last night putting the finishing touches on my mint chocolate covered oreos, peanut butter m&m dipped pretzels and white chocolate orange brunch muffins. My self restraint was tested to the limit today and sadly I have to report I caved, many, many times. So my day mostly consisted of roller coaster like sugar highs and the resulting crashes that followed. But I'm definitely not going to say I regret those awesome rice krispie treats I snacked on all day : ) Besides the money is going to a great cause and I've been running like crazy lately anyways, calories don't count when they're for charity! We managed to raise over $300 this year, not bad for a bake sale! I was pretty happy with that.

I'm thinking about making a ipod playlist for the race incase I don't run with anyone and need some motivation. I might have to include the Top Gun theme... it's very inspiring, as I learned on my run last night.

Little by little I've been going further, so with any luck and some determination I'll be able to run the entire 5k without stopping. I realize most people think of a 5k as a warm up run or as something any normal healthy adult could manage without much effort but to me it's a challenge. I think if this summer goes well I'll maybe attempt the 10kan this fall if I don't do the biking. I need some new goals. Angela's already talking half marathons, which sounds nice, but to a jogger-not-a-runner like me, it sounds nearly impossible. I much prefer cycling to running anyways. Oh and despite conveniently avoiding that other triathlon sport lately I do plan on someday in the near future returning to a pool. For now I need sleep, 4 hours last night was definitely not enough.

Theme song of the Week: Fight Like a Girl/ Bomshel

Bike Run Serve

Sleeping in today (till 7:45 anyways) was absolutely wonderful. I was feeling a lot better today and anxious to get out and enjoy the sun. By midday Angela and I were out at the lake ready to go out on our bike ride. The original plan was to ride the 12 mile loop but once we got going and warmed up a bit we added a few more turns and the 12 mile loop turned into a 20 mile, with a banana break at Ontario Orchard in the middle. I wanted to be proactive today so I had twice the normal amount of shotbloks plus the banana and thankfully I managed to avoid the leg cramps. As we rolled up back at our cars Angela said she felt like running, so off we went on our two mile loop. I very quickly remembered why a bike/run workout is called a brick, it takes a good mile before your legs quit feeling like lead. As we ran past the tennis courts we saw a few people playing and since it was such a nice day out we thought, why not make the best of the weather? So after the run we volleyed for a little while until hunger got the best of me and we were forced to seek nutrition.

So in essence, Angela and I did our own brand of Triathlon. Bike Run Serve : )

If I can stay motivated tomorrow I'll head to the pool and work on the other official sport of triathlon.

Listening to: The Big Bang/ Rock Mafia

Hit the Road Cold

Lately the only thing running is my nose.

I've never had a cold last so long. I thought it switched over to allergies late this week but I got fed up with feeling like crap and went to visit the doctor. Other than a low grade fever and typical allergy symptoms I got a clean bill of health and a bunch of blood work done. I won the doctor appointment lottery and got to be the practice patient for the new nurse who seemed like it was her first time ever drawing blood. The normal nurse declared I had beautiful veins and I would be perfect to practice on. Nice, I didn't even have to work for that compliment. Needless to say the rookie missed. A few years ago this would cue blue lips and tunnel vision but I think I've conquered my irrational fear of needle pricks. I mean after the tetanus shot that made my arm feel like someone beat me with a baseball bat, I talked myself into being a grown up for the uncomfortable minute or so that it took to successfully draw my blood. Maybe I can apply this adult mentality to the open water swim that completely terrifies me. We'll see soon enough, I think the CNY Tri club started their practices at Oneida Shores, I'll have to make my way out to one before long.

It would be nice to find a quick fix for my fatigue, like take this vitamin and you'll magically want to work out for 3 hours each day. My hopes are not high for the simple solution but if nothing comes up I'm thinking of cutting wheat out of my diet. I should probably cut out the excessive amounts of candy, but if I'm being totally honest even if it was a magical cure I'm not sure I'd make the sacrifice : )

So tomorrow come hell or high fever I'm hitting the pavement and getting back on track, this stupid cold will have to give up eventually right?

Listening to: Bleed Red/ Ronnie Dunn (seriously, I swear)