Hello Blogland!

Frequent readers of my blog (hmmm... are there really any anyway?) are probably wondering what in the world happened to me. Did my Stiff Legs finally get the best of me? Nope. I'm still here; just training hard, counting endangered FL scurb jays & wading through cypress swamps, celebrating an 11-year anniversary, completing a metric century ride and babysitting a cute litte dog for my grandparents.

MUCKING AROUND

Our professor made our second to last field trip of the semester "optional"... which means only six (out of 18) of us eco-geeks showed up. We found a rather large cypress out in the middle of Babcock Ranch and decided to capture the moment. I have to laugh at how 'sticky' we all look. As this photo was taken, I was deep in a moment of great tolerance b/c there was a mosquito biting my cheek! Of course, I didn't want to 'move' for fear of looking even worse than I do in the photo, so I let it bite me! Ha!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

On June 20th, Scott and I celebrated 11 years of wedded bliss! We didn't make any fuss over it though; every day is a "honey day" for us! Sondra and Jeff decided to fuss FOR us by having Edible Arrangements deliver this glorious bouquet of chocolate covered strawberries! OMG! Heaven! No, we did not eat them all in one sitting and as a matter of fact, we still have many left. They are a TEASE every time I open the fridge, though.

So no, Scott & I didn't do anything fancy for our 11th... we just rode 62 miles as part of the Hibiscus Festival Metric Century! This was the longest ride EVER for both of us and it went super well. We averaged better than 17mph... I know this isn't speedy at all, but considering that we've never gone farther than 48 miles before, we were very pleased. Scott and I are both really starting to dial in our nutrition... feeling better and better with each endurance effort. This weekend we have another 3:30 ride on tap! Coach Jen says it's all "money in the bank!" for Augusta! YES!

AUNT CHIPPY

This cute little thing is "Aunt Chippy". She is a Min Pin and belongs to my Grandparents... which I guess technically makes her my "Aunt", eh? Anyway, her mommy and daddy are on vacation for 2 weeks and this is the first time they have ever gone away without her. Of course, as Murphy's Law will have it... Aunt Chippy and I ended up at the vet this morning. She started limping on Sunday and it got progressively worse yesterday. Looks like she was either bitten by something on her foot (fire ants, maybe?) or stepped in something caustic. Whatever the case, she has an awful rash between her paw pads. She's on meds now. I'm quite sure that my Grandparents will never, ever leave her (with me) again.

ON THE MENU

When the heat index is over 100F for weeks on end, I seem to crave things that are fluid-filled and fresh (ok, cereal too... but that's ALL the time). Grilled chicken on top of fresh greens is a staple around here, but on Sunday I decided to top that salad with some grilled Filet Mignon. Um, yum! Scott and I dove into our little bowls of heaven so rapidly that I'm not even sure we 'truly' tasted the goodness. Must do again!

I am sooo far behind on blog reading, but I promise to catch up as soon as I can. Tonight is my final exam for envrio. bio and things should calm down for the next few weeks... although there is A LOT of prep work still to be done for Augusta. And that means A LOT of sleep as well.

A week of R&R

RECOVERY WEEK is in full swing and I almost (just almost) don't know what to do with myself. Last night I had an 'itch' at about 9PM to take my dog for a very long walk. Of course, I knew that if I did that (besides returning home with 1,000 mosquito bites), that falling asleep would be delayed beyond midnight and with a 6:30AM wake-up run on tap for this morning, I decided to err on the side of 'recovery' (just like Coach Jen told me to do).

I did manage to get my butt out of the house for an early run today. Since I am a night owl, waking up early enough in order to try to beat the heat is a hard thing for me to do. I managed to motor down to the harbor for 7AM. Heat index was already near 80F and the humidity was thick. I tried to stay as positive as I could throughout the run, but when I'm pealing off a 10+ min/mile pace in low zone 3; it's very difficult to do so. This sort of pace is becoming more and more mentally difficult for me to handle when I know that just last November I was capable of running in the 7 min/mile range at a 5K race (with less than a year's worth of run training; and of course under 'ideal' conditions).

Nutrition wise, I consumed 36-38oz of water in just one hour and it still wasn't nearly enough. Normally on a 1 hour run, I take in about 20oz, so to consume this much and STILL not have it be quite enough to offset my sweat rate, was eye an opener.

The BEST part about this morning's run (aside from it being over) was that I saw a paddle boarder on the harbor. I've casually mentioned the fact that I would like to get involved with paddle boarding to Scott. But, Scott (and I know that you're reading this honey), your wife REALLY wants to paddle board!!! *hint, hint*

RIDING IN STYLE
The bikes have a new home... on top of the Element. Scott put the new roof rack together yesterday and now Merlin and Pixie II get to ride in style!

ON THE MENU
The kitchen is closed today (I have an exam this evening and MUST put in some study time), but I thought I would share a few recent finds that have helped to satisfy my love of jams and spreads... but without the addition of grossness like HFCS and other added sugars. These guys actually taste good too!

INGREDIENTS:
Lost Acres All Natural Wild Blueberry Spread: Wild blueberries, concentrated white grape juice, concentrated pear juice, pectin, citric acid, natural flavoring.
Tap 'n Apple Apple Butter Spread: Apples, Apple Cider

GOOD LUCK WISHES
Sending out good luck wishes to everyone who is racing this weekend, including (but not limited to):
Coach Jen : Eagleman 70.3
Molly: Boise 70.3
Kristen: Holiday Lake Sprint Tri
Melissa: Kansas 70.3 (relay)
Cheryl: Kansas 70.3
Kate: Eagleman 70.3

Going long-er

Yesterday was my longest duration of exercise at one time (aside from 2-a-day workouts) ever. With 3:15 minutes on the agenda (2:45 bike; 30 minute brick run), I was super excited. Weird, I know. However, I'm always excited to find out how my body will respond to the unknown.

I finished my first Oly distance tri in 2:40 (MiamiMan) or so, so I knew that 3:15 would be challenging to me. Prior to yesterday I had never ridden my bike for more than 40 miles straight, so I knew that adding those extra 8 to 10 miles would be a physical effort. I also knew that running afterwards was going to tax me similarly to MiamiMan. Since we had no choice but to have a late start (10:45AM) the temperatures ranged between 87 and 89F during ride/run. I won't even factor in the Florida humidity for you or I'd have to write up heat indexes into the mid-90s.

The main goal yesterday (aside from putting in the time) was to focus on nutrition. I started working on a plan Saturday morning and settled on consuming 200 cals and 24oz of liquid per hour. Sodium content was to be 550 mg per hour for this crusty, salty sweater. Intake was a mix of Cytosport, Nuun and the new PowerBar energy balls. This was my first time using Cytosport and I was much less gassy with it than with InfiniT. Although I don't like the taste of it enough to buy it again.

So... off Scott & I went. We chose to ride most of the ride out at Babcock Ranch (pretty much a windy, 10 mile loop with maybe 1 car per hour). The first 35 miles went very smoothly. I was actually surprised at how well I felt. I was maintaining between 17 and 18 mph in high Zone 1/low Zone 2. Excellent! Of course, then came 'unknown' territory. Right around mile 42, I started getting uncomfy. My crotch hurt, my shoulders hurt, I could feel myself getting sloppy with my handling and posture and my legs were starting to feel tired. I was also running out of liquid. I definitely short-changed myself on the liquid department. I'm guessing now that I need 100oz of fluid (not 75oz) for a 2:45 to 3 hr ride (1 Liter per hour). By mile 47, I wanted OFF the bike! I had to unclip to cross over a main highway and I almost had a slo-mo clipless pedal accident b/c I was fatigued. Ack! OK... this is only going to make me stronger! Made it home for a total of 48 miles and then it was on to the run.

I ran inside, grabbed the cold bottle that I had left in the fridge, strapped on my Newtons and off I went. OMG! Hot, hard, heavy! Mile 1 --> a turtle pace of 10:23!!! If I pushed any harder than that, my HR would move out of prescribed zone 2 and up into zone 3. Before the end of the first mile, my once cold bottle was already warm. Finally, admitting defeat to hydration and the weather, I started Gallowalking without any shame at all. I Gallowalked the next 20 minutes, trying to work in some of my prescribed pick-ups during the times that I felt well enough to run. On my last pick-up, I switched back over to what I call Newton-style running (i.e- fast cadence, quick turnover) and was finally able to manage something sub-9 pace-wise.

REFLECTIONS
So... a big learning experience for me. I know that upping the mileage on the bike always hurts at first and then you settle into it like anything else. I can still remember when 20 mile rides were my 'long' rides and oh-the-pain to go any longer than that. Now 40 miles feels good and I assume that with work & time, 50 (and then 60 and 70) will come to feel ok as well.

Running... well, that's always the big question mark for me. I don't think I'll ever be a strong runner off the bike unless I really get my nutrition needs down (or I move to a cooler climate). I am SUCH a sweater. It's gross. I envy the people who have to pee on the bike; that's never, ever me... I'd probably have to take in 50oz an hour to have to actually pee. So, I shall continue to experiment and just hope that things improve with time. I certainly don't mind Gallowalking (there's no shame in that game for me), but of course, I'd rather not.

This week is a rest week and I have an end of the week trail run on the schedule! YAY! Excitement abounds! Me looooves the trails! I probably should have gone down the Xterra path; maybe someday.

ON THE MENU
Today is mixed berry smoothie day! I love this smoothie, but don't get to make it all that often. Berries can be soooo expensive! Sometimes I opt for frozen berries in my smoothies, but they just don't taste the same. Lucky for me, Publix had all three FRESH varieties on sale yesterday.

And so, my wonderful 'off day' lunch:

Vanilla Whey Gourmet Protien Powder

Fresh red raspberries

Fresh blueberries

Fresh strawberries

Skim milk

Crushed ice to 'fluff'

Skin Glorious Skin!

Lately I have really been appreciating my skin. I've always been one to wear sunscreen (not that it works all that well here in So. FL), so I guess I've had some appreciation for my skin well before all of this triathlon stuff started; BUT I've now come to realize that:

1. Continuing with triathlon means that I will never again have pretty, smooth skin. Road rash = ugly scars. Call them battle wounds if you will, but they are still ugly. If only I had appreciated the beauty of my knees pre-face plant.

Day 5 of healing (with Tegaderm removed for a brief airing). The first of many wounds/scars to come, I presume.

2. Skin makes for a great canvas! I'm not talking about tattooing here; I'm talking about junior high, cliff-style writing! I'm not the only one who does this for the bike & run right?

The main set of yesterday's bike

Training updates

I am excited. This weekend will mark my longest brick ever! Focus on nutrition is paramount and I intend to start planning all of that out this afternoon. Also hoping to get down to Naples on Sunday morning to watch the Naples Fitness Challenge. This is a very popular 'reverse' triathlon. Truth be told, I want to head down there to watch the transition area & bike mount/dismounts. I personally got back on the horse yesterday and did two flying dismounts... perfectly. Why-oh-why did I fall in that race?? Ugh!

If there is one thing I can't nail down to my satisfaction it's my poor bike. When Cervelo had to replace my frame b/c the top tube had cracked, I opted to go up a frame size to the 51cm. Every now and then I feel that decicion was a mistake. I've lost a bit speed on the larger frame and it's bugging me. I also can't climb quite as fast. I'm at that height/body make-up where I can ride BOTH the 48cm and the 51cm and figured that getting parts for the 51cm (with the 700c wheels) would be easier and more plentiful. I am comfortable on the 51cm, just as I was on the 48cm... but my average speed in training & in racing has dropped.

I'm driving my poor husband insane... so lucky that he loves me dearly. Yesterday, half out of sympathy and half out of frustration (I'm sure), he told me to just Ebay everything and start anew. So instead of divorcing me for my indecisiveness, he's encouraging me to test drive again. A patient, patient man indeed! Not that I plan on doing anything with my bike at all... other than perhaps getting an updated fit.

On the Menu

I've decided to add this little blurb to my blog to help me focus on good eating. I've got about 5 pounds of jelly belly that needs to go. Today's prep includes escarole soup with lean turkey meatballs (all homemade, of course). I'm also planning on making my favorite sugar-free Jell-O pudding pie for desert. Yummers!

ETA: The fruits of my labor... and 100 extra-lean, hand-rolled mini-meatballs later:

Zuppa di scarola

Race Report: Madeira Beach Mad Dog Triathlon

May 31, 2009

1/2 mile swim * 15 mile bike * 5K run

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finish time: 1:26:42

30-34F AG: 8 out of 45

Gender: 60/374

Ahhh... the race that I wasn't looking forward to at all. Scott & I tried to look at this race as 'good training'. I know that nothing I can do on my own can truly simulate race conditions, so in the end, I decided to suck it up (try not to worry about my calves) and just go out there and practice hard for the Heartland tri.

Wake-up call was at 4AM and I was surprised to discover that the FL weather had decided to drop the humidity levels for one brief morning. Race morning! It was cooler out than it's been in months. Yes!!! Our hotel was about 1.5 miles from the start line and after a quick bike in the dark we arrived at transition. We were fairly early, so I was able to rack my bike just one spot from the end. Excellent!

The most important element of my bike set-up: Body Glide on the saddle

Scott- racked and ready!

I found Scott at his rack and we decided to get moving on our warm-up. A quick 20 minute run with a few pick-ups later and we were back in transition and slowly making our way towards the swim start with Sondra and Jeff. The warm-up run felt good; humidity was low and I was barely sweating! SUCH a treat!!!

You can see us, right??

Scott's wave was first to go, so after a quick good luck kiss & hug, I wished him well and he dove into the Gulf for his swim warm-up. I caught back up with Sondra and we jumped in the water ourselves. Nice and toasty! At least 84F or so. My warm-up swim plan was to get the 'ants' out of my pants, so after swimming out towards buoy #1, I did a few strokes at race pace and got my HR up. Ugh! Hate that feeling, but better to get it out NOW!

Scott's wave was about to start and I met up with Sondra & Jeff on the beach again. Brrr... um, all of this dryer air = too cold for these FL girls to stand dripping wet on the beach. Back in the water we went. We watched Scott's wave take off! Men 30 to 39... INSANE ANIMALS!!! Three more waves to go until it was time for us to go.

0.5 mile swim in Gulf of Mexico

Time: 13:42

AG place: 8 out of 45

This was hands down the most aggressive swim wave I've ever had the pleasure of starting with. It was a rather large wave-- Females 14 through 39 (171 people total)-- and the Gulf was downright rough out to buoy #1. I had eyeballed the current before the start and positioned myself well. I fought hard to get through the washing machine and really focused on being aggressive and strong with my pull. I wanted OUT of that madness. I found feet in this swim and I usually never find feet. Sighting was dead-on. I'm starting to amaze myself with how well I site. I can nearly swim in a straight line... I think bilateral breathing keeps me pretty well balanced. Caught up to some of the men in the wave before me (always feels good) and then made my way back towards the beach and ran like hell up the soft sand and into transition. I was out of the water with some fast chicas who obviously meant business.

T1

Time: 1:21

Transition went fairly smoothly. My swim and bike legs are always strong enough that I'm not usually battling anyone in the transition area. I've got slipping on my aerohelmet down pat now (no problems with the ear flaps) and aside from not being able to do any fancy flying mounts or being able to get into my shoes while on the bike, I think I pulled off a fairly fast tranny time (at least compared to others in my AG).

15 mile bike around St. Pete/Madeira Beach area

Time: 41:49 (21.5 mph)

AG placement: 5 out of 45

The bike mount went seamless. I took my time, mounted the bike and got clipped in. We were almost immediately hit with the first of two draw bridges (which I knew about b/c we wisely drove the course the day before), so I stayed in the proper gear and climbed up the bridge effortlessly. About 3 miles into the ride, I found myself amidst a pack of male riders and the few female riders who had come out of the water with me. We were all trying to maneuver around slower riders from previous waves. It was tough. I knew the USAT motorcycle officials were out there and sure enough, I looked to my right and there was one. Pointing and writing and talking. Ugh! They hung out near my bike for what felt like an eternity and I was 100% certain (right up until the awards ceremony) that I had received a penalty for 'something'.

After the official moved on I decided to hold back a bit. I still went hard, but I found myself riding less aggressively b/c I didn't want to get what I assumed would be penalty #2. *soap box warning* Ya know, I really don't understand why sprint races don't cap out at 500 or so participants. 1,000 people on a 15 mile bike course is insane. You can't help but draft, overtake, and block at times... even if you aren't intentionally trying to. *soap box off* Anyway, the bike course went by quickly. I spotted Scott on his return and Sondra on her way out.

Scott, off the bike and heading into T2

With about 1 mile left of the bike I decided that I was going to practice my dismount for Heartland. I figured that I had already gotten a penalty, so what did I have to lose. I slipped out of both of my shoes flawlessly and barely lost any speed doing so. I continued to pedal at a good rate and made a mental note to start swinging my leg over my saddle well before the dismount line just in case something went wrong.

Heading to dismount line; leg coming over the saddle nicely

Well, it's a good thing that I decided to dismount early. I got my leg over my saddle perfectly and even rode balanced on the side for a few seconds. I then realized that I was still moving fairly quickly and hit the FRONT brake... completely throwing the balance of the bike (and myself) off. The back wheel went up, the bike stopped dead and I kept going. FACEPLANT in front of all of the spectators! Way to go, Sherry!

Going... doooooown

T2

Time: 1:05

I proceeded to make the quickest faceplant recovery EVER and ran my bruised ego into T2. I remember hoping that I hadn't 'left' anything at the line (shoes, computer, etc...). OK, so at this point I'm thinking that now not only do I have a drafting penalty or something like that, but I also just faceplanted my dismount... and now I have to run... on the BEACH? Calgon take me away!!!

5K run (1.5 miles on road & 1.6 miles on beach)

Time: 28:55 (pace too slow to write)

AG placement: 18 out of 45

So many things went through my head on the run... including counting the 5 or 6 people in my AG who passed me during it. Meh... nothing unusual here. I just felt mentally exhausted. About 1/4 of the way into the run I finally looked down at my leg. Nice... blood was making a pretty trail down my shin bone and coloring my sock pink. Half way through the run we hit the turnaround and made our way out onto the beach. The jog down to the water was soft sand. I moaned in agony.

Thankfully soft sand turned into wet packed sand. Much nicer and not nearly as difficult to run on. The finish line turned back into soft sand... thanks. I couldn't have been happier to see it. I approached Scott and Jeff smiling. Scott yelled at me and told me that it wasn't time to chillax yet. Some random dude in the crowd yelled, "That's it 589... way to smile!" All of this smiling stuff. I probably wasn't working hard enough.

Scott making his way to the finish

Me... all smiles! You mean I can chillax now??

Sondra, myself and Scott... glad to be done!

Sondra found her way to the finish line soon after (and with another amazing bike split of 38:34) and we all celebrated! Both Scott and Sondra has solid MOP finishes and we were all soooo glad to be done! This was a race full of mishaps. I was fairly certain that I had been penalized and I faceplanted my bike dismount; Scott got tangled with the insane animals in his wave start and ended up having to sidestroke half of the swim (he still managed a great time); and Sondra's aerobottle broke a mere 1 mile into the bike so she had NO hydration!!!

The aftermath. Scott says it's 'sexy'. I'll take that!

Waiting my turn to rinse the crustaceans out of my road rash

And finally... wouldn't you know it... I wasn't penalized and ended up 8th in my AG. Who knows what the USAT officials were doing hanging out by my bike for so long. Maybe they were admiring my awesomely bright race outfit? Whatever the case, after a quick shower back at the hotel we made our way back to the awards ceremony. This triathlon gives awards out to top 10 in age group. TOP TEN! A bit on the overkill side, but still... I had to collect.

My award for faceplanting my bike

Overall... good training and a race full of firsts. I'm glad that I faceplanted my bike at this race and NOT at the Heartland. I'm glad that I was able to run on the beach yesterday and not wake up with sore calves today. I'm glad that I got my first bought of road rash out of my system. I'm glad that I was able to compete with the amazing caliber of athletes in/around the Tampa area and hold my own. I'm glad to be done with this race and moving on towards the Heartland and Augusta (two of my 3 "A" races for the season).

Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend. I'm slowly making my way from blog to blog. Playing catch-up after a weekend away is so tough. I hope that all of you had a blast!!!

Long-overdue shout-outs!

I often write about how I want to be a more informative and prolific blogger. What I should be writing about is how I want to be a more gracious blogger. However, it's difficult enough to get on here once a week and write down my boring thoughts while trying to catch up on the thoughts of my blogland friends (who are never boring, by the way). So, when I finally do make it here... I usually write down some mumbo-jumbo about the past week or provide a race report.

THIS POST... will be in part, different. I have a few long-overdue shout outs that NEED to be posted here. I've already given these folks private (aka e-mail) shout outs, but it's just not the same when it's not posted in blogland. So here it goes... a bit late, but coming with lots of Sunshine State love:

Bree Wee... for graciously sending me a CD filled with Big Island tunes! Perfect for chillaxin' and reminding me that South FL will never, ever be Hawaii (but for a moment or two, I can close my eyes and imagine that the Tradewinds are blowing through my hair). Thank you SO much, Bree. I hope that you know how much I appreciate what you did.

Half-Fast (Ian)... for sending along some post-Shave Your 5K challenge goodies! I received a winning tech-tee and a certificate of accomplishment (er, 'winnership')! Yahoo! My very first (and probably last) Blogland podium! Thanks, Ian!

Dave Harris at Naples Cyclery for taking on my Cervelo warranty when the original store that I had purchased the bike from was unable to AND for making it all happen SO fast that I actually had to ask Dave to try and slow down the process! That's just how Naples Cyclery works! They are so worth the drive for me! You guys rock it!

Heaven knows that there are other overdue 'thank yous' out there that I need to post; but these were the big ones that have been weighing on my mind. Again, Bree, Ian, Dave... THANKS BUNCHES!!!! Y'all made me a very happy gal!

In training land news...

This past Tuesday marked my final day of HR zone and swim pace testing with Coach Jen. I am soooo glad it's over. By Tuesday evening, I felt like I had raced at least an Oly distance (or a really hard sprint tri). I had a slightly weird outcome on my bike and run test. My LT was only 1 beat away for both... which is a bit unusual. Looks like I'm not pushing my run to the same degree of 'pukeness' (Jen's word) as I do with my bike. It is true, I tend to be a run whimp... oh, but it hurts so much. Anyway, I have been promised some serious run-induced suffering.

Pixie II is down at Naples Cyclery getting all greased up for the Madeira Beach tri this weekend. Last night I rode my no-name road bike. Poor thing. It gets dogged on b/c it has no name. Truth be told, I'm a road biker. I actually prefer the position options and geometry of a road bike. Just not my current, heavy road bike. Hmmm... maybe someday a featherweight carbon beauty will appear at my door. If that ever happened, poor Pixie would probably only get used during sprint/oly distance races.

Madeira Beach Tri... it's happening on Sunday whether I'm ready for it (er, my calves are ready for it) or not. It's listed as a "B" priority race for me, but honestly, I'm approaching it somewhere in "C" zone. I'm going to give it my all... it's good prep for the Heartland, but that's about it. I've also decided to be brave and try to get out of my shoes while still on the bike before T2. I've been practicing. Still can't quite get in after T1, but I think I've got the getting out part down pretty good! As long as the dismount line isn't super congested, I should do okay.

A whirlwind of day!

What a whirlwind of a day I had yesterday. At 4:30AM Koby requested an emergency potty break and proceeded to 'explode' outside. Of course, this was followed by calls in the AM to the vet for a poop analysis. By 8:30AM I was hard at work on a take-home exam which took FOUR hours to complete! Then I had to sneak in a TT swim between the thundershowers (Florida pools = outdoors) and get my butt back home in time to actually do some work that I get 'paid for'. I managed to sneak in a 30-minute restless nap before heading out for an evening field trip. Got to muddle around in some mangrove swamps and watch the fiddler crabs play for a few hours. By 8PM, I was back home and doing some strength exercises before I nearly collapsed in exhaustion. I went to bed praying that Koby wouldn't grace me with another 4:30AM wake-up call this morning... and thankfully, he didn't.

So, it's raining here again today. I recall from my years as a Jersey Girl that grey days after grey days are the norm for northern folks. Not so much for Florida folks. We can tolerate the afternoon summertime rainstorms, but this 'all day' stuff. It's KILLING me! My new coach (Coach Jen )has a bike TT planned for me today and I'm praying that I'll have a window of time available to actually get out there and do it! This FL girl barely knows what a trainer is, so that's not an option for a TT.

In other news, I recently sold my little digi cam to my mother with the goal of getting one of those amazing waterproof Olympus cameras that so many of my tri buds have. This way I can take my own pictures of the Fiddler crab (below) and not have to steal a photo from someone else. I noticed that there are a variety of these "tough" Olympus models on the website; so which model do you have and/or recommend??

And finally... goodies arriveth from swimoutlet.com. After establishing the fact that I enjoy racing in a swimsuit; I went nuts over Sondra's bright pink/orange bikini that she wore to the Danskin. I knew I wanted one the minute I saw hers, but I was going to have to make peace with my midsection. After swallowing my pride and most likely never ordering any race photos again, I took the plunge and purchased the three suits below. I was pleasantly surprised at how well these suits fit me. They are simply gorgeous and dare I say almost 'flattering'. They are made by TheFinals (a brand I haven't worn since HS swim team days); are polyester so I know they'll hold up and are CHEAP!!! Happy days!!!!

Playing the Mental Game: The Beach Run

May 31st is the Madeira Beach Mad Dog sprint tri. It's somewhere between a B and C race in terms of overall importance to me, but for what it's worth... it's in the forefront of my mind right now. Why?

Because it includes a beach run!

You see I seem to have reoccurring calf issues. I lost 9 days worth of run training last December do to a double calf strain. I lost another couple of days after tri camp in February when I tweaked my left calf again and then I lost 4 more days of training after Escape from Ft. DeSoto's beach run left both of my calves screaming in misery. I plan on having some ART therapy done on these babies, but I keep putting it off.

Enter the Madeira Beach tri. When Jeff & Sondra sent the link to me about this tri months ago (it may have even been last year), I didn't really look at the course. Didn't think twice about anything at all. Had heard that it had a mad cool post-race party on the beach afterwards and thought heck, why not? Sounds like great fun!

Then the calves starting acting up... over and over again. They seem to be aggravated by anything that requires me to be a bit 'springier' than normal. Plyometric work, run drills, soft sand, etc...

Over the last couple of weeks I have debated on whether or not to DNS this tri. I would be DNSing 100% out of fear of jacking up my calves again and losing another week of training. I'm fairly certain that a person shouldn't DNS unless things are pretty dire, right? So aside from feeling like a wimp about not starting b/c I am completely healthy but afraid to get injured, Sondra... who knows me oh-so-well.... called me out on my silly fear and told me that, "it's time to get over it!"

So after our long ride yesterday, the gang went to the beach. While Sondra did some OWS in the Gulf. I floated along with Scott and hashed out the 3,000 reasons why I shouldn't do the Madeira triathlon. All of those reasons based 100% in fear of injury and failure. When I told Sondra about all of this after her swim, that's when she called me out. Son, I LOVE YOU FOR THIS!!!!

So what did I do?

I strapped on my running shoes and ran for 10 minutes on the beach, in the soft sand and mad as heck! Heart rate jacked up high as a kite, cursing under my breath the entire time and hoping that my calves would feel like complete SHYTE this morning so that I could have an "I told you so" moment and a reason not to start this triathlon!

Know what?

Calves feel perfectly fine this morning. Whadya know!?! OK, so it was only 10 minutes, but if I can run 10 minutes, then I can run for 20 and if I can run for 20, I can run for 30!

In all, Sondra helped me adjust my attitude and I've decided that I'm going to face this fear of running on the beach HEAD ON. I don't ever have to enter another triathlon that incorporates a beach run ever again if I don't want to, but I've paid my registration fee for this one and I will be starting (and finishing) it!

Game on!

I've been tagged!

Miss Molly tagged me to complete a fun survey! I love surveys... can't pass them up. So, here goes...

8 Things Which I'm Looking Foward:

1. A nap. I need to stop fooling around in Blogland, finish my work, so I can be done with the day and take a snooze.
2. Trip to Memphis in July for a family wedding (and a local 5K road race).
3. The Heartland Triathlon in mid-July. Best little local triathlon ever!
4. Possibly competing in Age Group Nationals in August
5. Finishing Augusta 70.3 in September with my super husband
6. A fantabulous ski trip to Breckenridge, CO with Sondra & Jeff next year.
7. Every single one of my field trips for my enviro. bio class.
8. Mid-November... so I can get back to base training

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Ran 8 miles
2. Completed my report on Vaccinium myrsinites
3. Swam 3000 yards
4. Squeezed in work
5. Took a nap
6. Went to Environmental Bio class
7. Watched my professor burn a pine cone
8. Fell asleep in front of the TV

8 Things I Would Like To Do

1. Nap... this is on every list. I. LOVE. SLEEP!
2. High adventure trip to Alaska
3. Hike the Grand Canyon
4. Complete a Master's degree
5. Build a cabin/cottage in the mountains (complete with bubbling brook)
6. Run in the 7 min/mile range for a sprint & oly tri
7. Run a marathon
8. Share everything on this list with my amazing husband

8 Shows I Watch

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. CSI
3. CSI: NY
4. Law & Order: SVU
5. American Idol
6. House
7. All major, televised tennis tournaments
8. Just about every show on NatGeo, History, Discovery & TLC Channels'
9. **Just for good measure** I heart the DVR!

9 People I Tag

1. Kim C.
2. Teacherwoman (Stacy)
3. IronBob
4. Melissa S.
5. GottaRun (Robin)
6. GreytTimes (Rachelle)
7. TriBeaner (Kristin)
8. ChiuonThis (Regina)
9. The rest of you out there... b/c I can't put too much pressure on the rock stars above! :o)

Race Report: Orlando Danskin/SheROX Triathlon

Orlando, FL

May 10, 2009

.5 mile swim * 12 mile bike * 5K run

Finish Time: 1:24:17

Age Group: 1st out of 166

Overall: 19th out of 1688

After an amazing day at the Muddy Buddy Ride & Run (see race report) and a wonderful dinner of Cold Stone Creamery (best.idea.ever), the gang returned to our hotel to settle in. Sleep was good, until about 2AM when we all went back to school!

FIRE ALARM!!!!

Yep, at 2 o'clock in the morning the loudest noise I've ever heard comes streaming into our bedroom. Scott & I jump out of bed, full of adrenaline. Fire!!! Sondra & Jeff come running out of their bedroom as well and we all just sort of look at each other. We don't smell anything, we don't feel anything. However, we are all smart enough to evacuate.

So we make our way outside with the few other 'sane' individuals who actually left their rooms and find our way to the lobby (which is in a detached building). We wait for the fire department to arrive and about 30 minutes later we are able to return to our rooms. Bravo! With only 1.5 hours left to sleep, I'm wishing that I had not planned to do this race.

Alarm goes off at 4AM. I'm exhausted. I don't think I've ever felt this tired before a race. My eyes close on the car ride over to the Magic Kingdom and again on the transport bus to Fort Wilderness.

How in the world am I going to race today???

Fort Wilderness is abuzz with activity when we arrive and Sondra and I get down to business body marking ourselves.

Receiving my brand and wishing I could go back to sleep

The transition area is insane and right away I notice that two additional people decided to squeeze their bikes onto my rack.

Like it wasn't tight enough when we racked last night, folks???

Handlebars are intertwined... it's a mess. I begin to arrange my goodies as well as I can and high-tail it out of the transition area as quickly as I can.

Next up... potty time! Sondra and I have quickly learned to avoid the port-a-johns at all costs. If there's some good scrub cover... we're all over it. So we find some trees, cop a squat, do some arms swings and squats and head on over to the swim start with the elite amateurs are getting ready to take off.

Our quick warm-up

As I'm watching the elites make their way around the swim course, I mention to Scott how much I WISH that I could be starting with them-- remembering from last year how difficult it was to maneuver around slower swimmers and bike riders at this particular event. I'm in the 14th wave... which is practically last! My ability to maneuver is going to paramount today!

The Swim- 15:26

6/166 age group; 49/1688 overall

I started the swim front and center of my wave like always. At the start I was fairly certain that I wasn't going to have a good swim b/c it 'appeared' to me that everyone and their mother passed me. My HR was sky high and I tried my very best to settle down as quickly as I could. I quickly caught up to the wave in front of me and then caught up to another wave and then another wave. Lots and lots of maneuvering, but my sighting was dead-on. I don't think I ever settled in on this swim. My HR remained right in the beginnings of the 'uncomfy' zone throughout and I was glad to reach the shore.

Exiting the swim

T1- 2:39

The run back to the transition area was fairly seamless except that I had to maneuver around people who were walking. This would become the theme of the day. When I reached my bike I noticed that nobody around me had left yet, so my bike was still stuck amidst the other improperly racked bikes. I donned my new sperm helmet and cycling shoes, just about got knocked over by someone running past me, and made me way out of transition. I had a terrible time clipping in and had to mentally 'check' myself!

Yeah... look at the tri geek with the sperm helmet who can't even clip in!

I finally got clipped in and made my way onto the Ft. Wilderness property.

The Bike- 38:33

2/166 age group; 17/1688 overall

Let the passing begin! From the moment I was free to move, I starting passing people. Not just a few people, but everybody! I Held 21-22 mph on the few clear straight-aways that I had.

Oy... the no passing zones!

The Orlando Danskin course is famous for its no-passing zones. Do other Danskin courses do this too? I went through the first no-passing zone without realizing that it was a 'no passing' zone as I'm used to passing in tight situations. Felt badly afterwards. Played follow-the-leader in the next 2 no-passing zones... even had a conversation with one lady who was doing her first tri and just 'hoping' not to wreck. I was never passed by anyone on the bike, but this was definitely a slow bike split overall for me. With the 'no passing' zones, what can ya do?

Heading into T2

T2- 1:10

Transition 2 was fairly uneventful. I was the first bike back on my AG rack, but felt certain that I had strong runners breathing down my neck. I'm usually always one of the first bikes back at these short course events, but that normally doesn't mean anything as I'm quite used to being passed by a myriad of people in my AG on the run. So, I headed out of T2 determined to push my run as hard as I could and hoping for a top 10 AG finish.

The Run- 26:26

18/166 age group; 86/1688 overall

During the run I realized that I had primarily been working in zones 4 and 5 for the entire sprint. Hey! I was doing this short-course stuff right... and I was surviving. I chose to wear my Polar HRM during this race and not utilize my Garmin (first time ever without a pacing device). I just wanted to push it as hard as I could. I started passing people.

What's this? I'm passing people on the RUN? There's a first time for everything, I suppose.

Two runners passed me on the run and boy were they booking it! I swore that one of them was in my AG (she had Kona written on the back of her cap) and while my heart sank a little when she passed, I was becoming more and more aware of the fact that my 'hopeful' top 10 AG finish, might be turning into a top 5 AG finish.

As I rounded the corner for the last 1/4 mile I passed a man who said to me:

First place number 1272!

Huh? What? I've never heard these words before! And how could he possibly know with all of these other athletes around? And... I swear, a girl in my AG just passed me!

Besides, I know that there has to be other runners breathing down my neck!

I ran so hard for that last 1/4 mile that you would have thought I was racing for my life! I felt like a sprinter! The legs were moving; I was totally anaerobic! I finally saw Scott and Jeff at the finish line. I maneuvered around people who were walking and crossed the finish line with the kind of joy that I felt at my very first triathlon! I knew I had done well.

Running for my life

After crossing the finish line and looking around, I saw no other numbers that were indicators of my age group. Maybe that top 5 placement was a done deal! Wowza! I headed back to the finish corral and waited for Sondra! Screamed at the top of my lungs when I saw her and told her to make sure she smiled when she crossed the finish line.

Sondra nearing the finish line

I met up with Sondra as soon as she crossed the line and we gave each other huge hugs. She then said to me:

Did you see what happened to me on the swim?

What? No.

Sherry, I almost drowned!!!

I need to preface this part of my post by saying that Sondra just put her face in the water last August and she has been an AMAZING student. She listens to everything that I say and has made rapid improvements in her swimming in such a short amount of time. She had a very successful swim at Ft. DeSoto last month and I (along with others) had encouraged her to try starting more towards the front of her wave for this race.

It may have been a matter of positioning or just a loss of focus, but Sondra had a bit of a panic attack after only 2 or 3 strokes in the water. One of Danskin's swim angels threw her a pool noodle for her to rest on for a bit. Now, here's the part where I'm SO FREAKIN' PROUD of her for... as thoughts of quiting entered her mind, she was able to mentally pull herself together and push on. She eventually left her pool noodle and finished the swim AND went on to the have the 2nd fastest bike split overall. Not just AG, but overall!!!

Sondra, I am sooooo proud of you. You are such an inspiration! Thank you for reminding so many people to never, ever give up. It's always about finishing!

Sondra, sharing her story with the audience at the awards ceremony

The results were finally posted. As I struggled to see my results through the sea of people gathered around the board, I tried to prepare myself for what I might see. Was I really first? I refused to believe that. I just don't feel like that caliber of athlete.

But there it was... my name... first place in 30-34 age group.

Podium!!!

What an amazing day. I had gone from dragging ass (for lack of a better term), to racing near the 'puke zone', to actually winning my age group at a triathlon for the very first time! An achievement that I truly thought was a few years out.

Many thanks to my amazing husband, Scott who is truly my rock. He gets me motivated for those long bike rides when I don't really want to do them and he has yet to say 'no' when I want a new tri gadget. I love you sweetheart. To my wonderful mother... more thanks than you could ever imagine. Knowing that Koby is with you while we're away allows us to focus on the weekend and not worry about him. Thank you so much. Sondra and Jeff... these mini vacations rock and you guys are the best workout partners and friends EVER! I love you both. Heather Gollnick, thank you so much for working with me over the past two months. You've helped me to understand that I CAN push myself and that working at a higher HR in preparation for these sprint races, while uncomfortable, is not going to kill me.

With Pixie II

Age Group Nationals

It was brought to my attention that with this win, I have qualified myself for Age Group Nationals. Now, I am no fool. I know that I am not in the same league as many of the ladies who compete at this event. I am quite sure that I would probably finish somewhere near dead last, still the idea of competing at Nationals is intriguing... and who knows, I may never get this chance again. So, what do my blogland friends think? Should I go for it? Wait a while longer?