I have been eagerly anticipating this event, and even dreading it as the time grew closer. Much of my anxiety revolved around the discovery that the swim would have a limiting time; we would be allowed in at some time after 8 AM based on our scheduled waves and put out of the water at 9:15. For an accomplished swimmer this should not be an issue since a mile swim should really only take around 30 minutes. Let me clue you in.... I am not an accomplished swimmer. I know that in a pool, where I can push off on the ends of the pool, I can do a mile in just over an hour. In the open water, where I am zig-zagging all around the place and getting scared when people swim over me, it will take me about an hour and 20 minutes to do a mile. Those are just the swimming facts for me. I sent a frantic email to the race director asking if there was any way for me to start the swim with the long course (1/2 iron distance) athletes at 7 AM, but she said no way. I understand why, but it was a desperate situation, so I thought I would ask. Frequently I figure it is best to ask because not asking is always a "no" and asking might get you a yes. Sigh. She sent me an encouraging email that I just needed to swim hard and she was sure I could do it. That made one of us.
Saturday morning I headed off to Elephant Butte, NM. It is a long drive from Fort Sumner, about four hours, so I got to Marcy and Grady Oxfords about 3:30 that afternoon. That meant I missed the first of the packet pick up opportunities, so Marcy had to stand in line with me at 5, and it was a LONG, wait. Fortunately we have the ability to stand and chat at the same time, so fun was had. It was also a great time to visit with other friends all around. I got to meet Dave S, an online triathlon friend from Colorado, and his wife Michelle, and that was fun. Once packet pick up was done, we headed back to Marcy's for sandwiches and a great evening on the porch; it was so beautiful and I was in awe of the world God created for us to enjoy. A host of the NMSU triathlon club athletes were there too, so all of the available floor space was taken up by college-aged athletes, and as I've mentioned before, nobody knows quite how to party like triathletes: we were in bed by 9:30 and up the next morning by 5 AM.
Transition had assigned racking, and that worked out okay for me. I got an end spot, and you know how I am about my end spots because I need room to spread my gear. It was good and I got my stuff organized and set up. I waited until 7 to go find the ambulance to use their electricity to get my nebulizer going. It was the same crew that I'd bugged for Dam It Man, so that was nice since the EMT's mom is an asthmatic and he is always so encouraging. I got my gear stowed back in transition and met up with some more of the NM Outlaws, and that was fun too. This was my first race wearing my Outlaw tri jersey, and I am so thankful to my friend Deb for sending it to me so I can proudly race as an Outlaw. The race officials did decide that this would be a wetsuit legal race once they checked the water temperature, and I was so glad because I needed the security of the wet suit for the long time in the water. I was drinking lots in order to hydrate, so a couple of trips to the port-o-potties were needed, but the lines were non-existant for me and they were not stinky and were equipped with TP. YEAH for the necessities of life. Grady was capturing the moments on digital "film" and I'm glad since I didn't think to get the cameral out of my tri bag, and then we were off on the swim.
You may remember that last year I DNF'd at the 12.5 mile mark on the bike course due to dehydration, so I was highly motivated to make it this year. I am an extremely slow triathlete, but I plug away very well, and I see myself making improvements between years that do bring me joy.
It took me 1:18 to slog through my mile swim. I usually alternate between the breast stroke and the freestyle, but whenever I started to freestyle I would be called down by the kayak folks that I was getting off course, so I ended up doing the entire race in the breaststroke. There was one other woman behind me getting out of the water.
I had not been feeling well for a couple of days before the race and had put it off as pre-race digestive upset. I was nauseated the entire bike race, and figured it was the heat. Looking back, and seeing that I was sick the entire week following the race, I think I had the stomach flu. Usually I rock the bike portion of the race, but I was only mediocre, and that surprised me, but I plugged along. In the last four miles I was really stunned to realize that I could not look forward on my bike and apply my brakes at the same time. My trapezius muscles were completely locked up. I am assuming that the long breaststroke and then the long bike, something I'd never done before (can you say training failure?) were impacting me. The bike course finshed with a steep incline back down the boat ramp into transition. I knew that unchecked I would come screaming into transition at 25-28 mph, and that was not going to work. I just got off my bike at the upper parking area and ran my bike into transition. Of course my friends who had finished the race at that point and were cheering me on thought I'd lost my mind. My friend Marcy knows my dehydration accuity check is to do multiplication in my head, so she asked me to multiply for her, so I did. She was eating a snow cone, and it was HOT, and I really wanted to snatch it from her, but I needed both hands to change shoes to get out on the run. She did give me a bottle of cold water to dump on my head, and off I went.
The first 1/2 mile on the dirt trail felt good, even if it was churned and sandy, then the hills started. That was when the heat really hit me. I used the old fall back advice of walk up the hills and run down them. The heat was bad, about 95 at this point, so I did the best I could and kept plugging away. At the 3 mile mark I started seeing snakes on the road. I was pretty sure there were no snakes, so I cleverly constructed a question of one of the high school volunteers, "Are you guys having much problems with snakes on the road?"
"No, m'am," he replied, "We haven't seen any today." I figured that if they were just heat related snakes, I really didn't have much of a problem. I was not throwing up, I was only dizzy when I ran, and I would just get hosed down at the next water station. I got to the next station and there were two little boys with weed sprayers full of water. I told them to spray me down like they had sprayed nobody down all day. The look of joy in their eyes was completely worth it. I was soaked, much cooler, and did much better on the way back. Once I finished the race, I asked Marcy to help me find some ice, and I packed my bra with ice, and in five minutes I felt much more myself. I was the last person to finish the Oly course. I did get third place in the Athena category. At this race they also have a drawing for a male and female winner of a beach cruiser bike. I won the female bike and a friend from my triathlon club the NM Outlaws, Carl (won his age group in the long course) won the men's beach cruiser.
I figure that now I have to do a 1/2 iron distance race next year. The difference between a mile and a 1.2 mile swim is not that much, and since that is the part that terrifies me I can do that and enjoy the rest. Of course the bike portion will be 54 miles instead of 26.5 and the run will be 13.1 miles instead of 6.2, but who is counting. Marcy has said she is in too :-) It is good to have friends who are crazy right with you. Of course we also have decided we want to go beyond the 1/2 marathon distance, so we are looking for a good destination to do our full marathon. We think we would like to go to a place with LOTS of oxygen and not much hill, so right now San Diego sounds fun. Another reason San Diego would be good is that Southwest flies there for $49 each way, so it could be a fun girl's weekend. Another wickedly fun thing we are thinking could be a blast is one of the major relays where you get a team and do one of the ultra marathons and you take turns running through the night to cover 122 miles or something absurd like that. Uh huh, I know what you are thinking, and you are right....... you want in on this fun....... yep, that is what you are thinking. I know it <grin> You are as insane as we are. That is what the voices are telling me anyway.
I work hard, I just have so much ground to cover since I am coming from a place with absolutely no physical skills or ability. I like seeing the growth though. Participation in triathlon does bring me a great deal of joy.
Next up I've got the Duke City 1/2 Marathon on 10/23/11 and then the Candyman Triathlon on the 30th of October. On November 13th we have the Aggie Autum Triathlon at NMSU, and you should plan on joining us. It will be a great race, and you will have so much fun. Registration is available online at www.nmsportsonline.com.
Patricia
Showing posts with label Running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Running. Show all posts
September 10, 2011--> Yucca Triathlon
This Saturday I did the Yucca Triathlon at White Sands Missile Range. It was an odd distance race with an 8K run, 45K bike, and 400M swim. I wanted to do it for a couple of reasons: it was my birthday, it was a great tune up distance for the Olympic race Elephant Man in a couple of weeks, and the base is just 30 minutes from my daughter and son-in-law's house so I could spend the rest of the weekend visiting them in Las Cruces.
I left Fort Sumner on Friday afternoon at 4 and went to the school football game at Capitan and stayed until halftime (I had to do my duty as the school superintendent). The Foxes were winning, so I didn't feel to bad about being a ditcher, and I still had an hour and a half drive to Alamogordo (NM is a big state). I got up at 4 AM in order to make the next leg of the journey to get to the military base and was at the transition area and set up by 5:45 AM. I visited around transition and that was fun. There were a lot of college students from NMSU's triathlon team there, and I am helping them organize a triathlon for November 13th (put it on your calendars), so it was fun to chat about that race too.
We took off at 7:30, and I was really pleased with my 8K time of 58 minutes. I know most of you runners are much speedier than I am, but for me, this 12 minute mile pace is a SIGNIFICANT improvement and really surprised me. Frankly, I didn't know I could do five miles that fast. I guess it must be the gift of birthday magic and my new birthday orange Newtons. I was only three minutes behind this other Athena that ALWAYS beats me. I kid you not, she always comes in ahead of me. She went to nationals in Athena last year, and she is a great competitor.
I jumped on the bike, and took off, and the first four miles of the bike are an gradual decline, so I knew I would be crying on the way back to transition, but I cranked it pretty hard. At the six mile point, I passed her, and I know that caught her quite by surprise. I realize I am a pretty aggressive cyclist, and I know from looking at my bike splits in races this year that I am usually in the top third on bike times in races. I just pushed it hard because the swim is her best portion in triathlon. I saw her once more after the turnaround, and then beat it back to the transition point, and yes, that long slow incline was a beast. I did the bike in 1:33 and then my usual pitiful swim of 17 minutes. The great news was I still beat her by 11 minutes overall, and it feels AWESOME.
I have had other wins this season, but not over someone who is a recognized, regular winner. When they were giving out the medals, the race director just started to hand her the first place medal, and she had to say, "No, I got second, she got first." Yes, that is the sound of my head swelling. Yes, I am being little miss braggy pants. Yes, I have stapled my medal on my bulletin board in my office with all of my bib numbers. Yes, I wore my medal to lunch with my daughter and son-in-law. Yes, I know it is silly, and yes, I don't even care. I realize this is unseemly in a 52 year-old woman.
This strong competitor and I will both be in the same sprint race on Saturday, and I am sure she will be looking to redeem herself. I am going to try to keep her from doing so :-) She is not doing Elephant Man and that will be the last one I am doing in the Southwest Challenge Series. Right now I am third in that series and she is second. I don't know that I can unseat her from that position given the current points, but there is always next year <grin>
Patricia
I left Fort Sumner on Friday afternoon at 4 and went to the school football game at Capitan and stayed until halftime (I had to do my duty as the school superintendent). The Foxes were winning, so I didn't feel to bad about being a ditcher, and I still had an hour and a half drive to Alamogordo (NM is a big state). I got up at 4 AM in order to make the next leg of the journey to get to the military base and was at the transition area and set up by 5:45 AM. I visited around transition and that was fun. There were a lot of college students from NMSU's triathlon team there, and I am helping them organize a triathlon for November 13th (put it on your calendars), so it was fun to chat about that race too.
We took off at 7:30, and I was really pleased with my 8K time of 58 minutes. I know most of you runners are much speedier than I am, but for me, this 12 minute mile pace is a SIGNIFICANT improvement and really surprised me. Frankly, I didn't know I could do five miles that fast. I guess it must be the gift of birthday magic and my new birthday orange Newtons. I was only three minutes behind this other Athena that ALWAYS beats me. I kid you not, she always comes in ahead of me. She went to nationals in Athena last year, and she is a great competitor.
I jumped on the bike, and took off, and the first four miles of the bike are an gradual decline, so I knew I would be crying on the way back to transition, but I cranked it pretty hard. At the six mile point, I passed her, and I know that caught her quite by surprise. I realize I am a pretty aggressive cyclist, and I know from looking at my bike splits in races this year that I am usually in the top third on bike times in races. I just pushed it hard because the swim is her best portion in triathlon. I saw her once more after the turnaround, and then beat it back to the transition point, and yes, that long slow incline was a beast. I did the bike in 1:33 and then my usual pitiful swim of 17 minutes. The great news was I still beat her by 11 minutes overall, and it feels AWESOME.
I have had other wins this season, but not over someone who is a recognized, regular winner. When they were giving out the medals, the race director just started to hand her the first place medal, and she had to say, "No, I got second, she got first." Yes, that is the sound of my head swelling. Yes, I am being little miss braggy pants. Yes, I have stapled my medal on my bulletin board in my office with all of my bib numbers. Yes, I wore my medal to lunch with my daughter and son-in-law. Yes, I know it is silly, and yes, I don't even care. I realize this is unseemly in a 52 year-old woman.
This strong competitor and I will both be in the same sprint race on Saturday, and I am sure she will be looking to redeem herself. I am going to try to keep her from doing so :-) She is not doing Elephant Man and that will be the last one I am doing in the Southwest Challenge Series. Right now I am third in that series and she is second. I don't know that I can unseat her from that position given the current points, but there is always next year <grin>
Patricia
Live, Love Tri-->August 27, 2011
Live Well, Love More, Tri Harder. So say the women who organized the Live, Love Tri held this weekend in Rio Rancho, NM. The race filled and we had a WONDERFUL time. I've not done any other women only events. When I saw that they were organizing this early in the spring I signed up online right away, as evidenced by my bib number 3. I sent an email and a text, no reason to trust only one form of electronic communication, to my dear friend and fellow triathlete Marcy Oxford, and she also signed up immediately and she was #5. Now this matters because we ended up with assigned racking and we were assigned by bib number, so we were rack buddies :-) and now I am waaaaay ahead of myself in the story.
I arrived in Albuquerque in time to go to REI on Friday night to get my packet about 6:45 and ended up waiting in line until 7:30. Now I know people usually gripe about waiting in line, but this was just a lovely time to visit with fellow triathletes and get to meet new friends. It was really fun when I got up to the check in station and the organizers said, "Oh, you are Patricia Miller, the AMAZING Patricia Miller that we've heard so much about." and we all had a great giggle about that. I guess Angie from Chasing3 Race Productions had been telling them about our Billy the Kid Tombstone Triathlon that we had in Fort Sumner, so that means we may get some more good entries next year. Of course now I will owe Angie some payment for the good publicity <grin>. After packet pick up it was off to VietQ Grill to meet Marcy, Lisa and Lisa's daughter for supper and great conversation.
As per our usual athlete ethic, we were in bed by 10 and up at 4:30 AM so we could hit Starbucks for skinny lattes and be at the race venue by 5:45 AM. We even got to park in the parking lot and had no problem getting everything set up in transition. The body marking and race organization were great. The event was held at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center and was set up as a reverse sprint triathlon. We started with the run and went off in waves separated by three minutes. Marcy and I were in the first wave. The course is the same as the Patriot Triathlon and we start of going uphill and then we go off the paved path and go into the desert and run more uphill in the sand. I don't really mind the sandy trail running because it is easier on my knees, but the sand is challenging. I did love the downhill portions though, I felt so FAST. My pace was nice for this run and while it was not my best 5K time, it was not bad at 42:41. Last year when I did the Patriot Triathlon on the same route my time was 52:53, so that is a 10 minute improvement. Of course in the Patriot the run comes at the end, so a direct comparison is not very fair.
T1 was great, as always in a reverse sprint, and then it was off on the bike for a great hilly 12 mile ride. I passed so many people and it was hugely rewarding. I got to say, "On your left" to so many people. There were a number of folks who had not done triathlons before, so there were some folks who didn't know basic things like not riding two abreast or not to pass when someone is already passing someone. Since I am a fairly aggressive cyclist, I paid close attention to everyone else and did really well and was extremely happy with my bike split time of 43:15. The bike route does not compare to Patriot's route, but Chili Harvest has a 12 mile bike route and is much less hilly and it took me 45:45, so I am happy. I should be happy because I am really sore today, so my legs worked hard yesterday.
T2 went really fast too since it is just a matter of stripping excess items off and running to the pool. I did forget to take my inhaler out of my short pocket, and lost in the pool. The pool was a bit of a battle zone. I did a combination of backstroke and breaststroke and my time was 14:08, again an improvement and I passed some folks in the pool, and that is a novel experience for me. I am still a super poor swimmer and I am freaking out the closer we get to Elephant Man. That mile swim at Elephant Butte is making me tense, but I will just plug away because I know that I am a good plug away person. Frankly, the kayak people are always great about shadowing the last person in the water, and since I have LOTS of experience being that person, it will be okay. That is the positive self-talk I am using every time I begin screaming in my head anyway.
Overall, my time was 1:43:53 and that is 10 minutes faster than the similar distanced race in Socorro held just a few weeks ago. I was 202 out of 265, so that means I can in ahead of 63 other competitors, and that is the most people I've come in ahead of in any triathlon. Dance of joy moment! We all got great necklaces as we finished. My triathlon friend Paula gave me this really cool (operative word) neck bandana that I can use when I do the Yucca Triathlon and Elephant Man. It has gel crystals in it and it will help me not to get overheated.
Next up on the fun list:
October will bring a duathlon at Santa Rosa, the Candy Land Triathlon in Albuquerque, and the Duke City Marathon, so it has some fun ahead too.
Living Well, Loving More, and DEFINITELY Tring Harder,
Patricia
I arrived in Albuquerque in time to go to REI on Friday night to get my packet about 6:45 and ended up waiting in line until 7:30. Now I know people usually gripe about waiting in line, but this was just a lovely time to visit with fellow triathletes and get to meet new friends. It was really fun when I got up to the check in station and the organizers said, "Oh, you are Patricia Miller, the AMAZING Patricia Miller that we've heard so much about." and we all had a great giggle about that. I guess Angie from Chasing3 Race Productions had been telling them about our Billy the Kid Tombstone Triathlon that we had in Fort Sumner, so that means we may get some more good entries next year. Of course now I will owe Angie some payment for the good publicity <grin>. After packet pick up it was off to VietQ Grill to meet Marcy, Lisa and Lisa's daughter for supper and great conversation.
As per our usual athlete ethic, we were in bed by 10 and up at 4:30 AM so we could hit Starbucks for skinny lattes and be at the race venue by 5:45 AM. We even got to park in the parking lot and had no problem getting everything set up in transition. The body marking and race organization were great. The event was held at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center and was set up as a reverse sprint triathlon. We started with the run and went off in waves separated by three minutes. Marcy and I were in the first wave. The course is the same as the Patriot Triathlon and we start of going uphill and then we go off the paved path and go into the desert and run more uphill in the sand. I don't really mind the sandy trail running because it is easier on my knees, but the sand is challenging. I did love the downhill portions though, I felt so FAST. My pace was nice for this run and while it was not my best 5K time, it was not bad at 42:41. Last year when I did the Patriot Triathlon on the same route my time was 52:53, so that is a 10 minute improvement. Of course in the Patriot the run comes at the end, so a direct comparison is not very fair.
T1 was great, as always in a reverse sprint, and then it was off on the bike for a great hilly 12 mile ride. I passed so many people and it was hugely rewarding. I got to say, "On your left" to so many people. There were a number of folks who had not done triathlons before, so there were some folks who didn't know basic things like not riding two abreast or not to pass when someone is already passing someone. Since I am a fairly aggressive cyclist, I paid close attention to everyone else and did really well and was extremely happy with my bike split time of 43:15. The bike route does not compare to Patriot's route, but Chili Harvest has a 12 mile bike route and is much less hilly and it took me 45:45, so I am happy. I should be happy because I am really sore today, so my legs worked hard yesterday.
T2 went really fast too since it is just a matter of stripping excess items off and running to the pool. I did forget to take my inhaler out of my short pocket, and lost in the pool. The pool was a bit of a battle zone. I did a combination of backstroke and breaststroke and my time was 14:08, again an improvement and I passed some folks in the pool, and that is a novel experience for me. I am still a super poor swimmer and I am freaking out the closer we get to Elephant Man. That mile swim at Elephant Butte is making me tense, but I will just plug away because I know that I am a good plug away person. Frankly, the kayak people are always great about shadowing the last person in the water, and since I have LOTS of experience being that person, it will be okay. That is the positive self-talk I am using every time I begin screaming in my head anyway.
Overall, my time was 1:43:53 and that is 10 minutes faster than the similar distanced race in Socorro held just a few weeks ago. I was 202 out of 265, so that means I can in ahead of 63 other competitors, and that is the most people I've come in ahead of in any triathlon. Dance of joy moment! We all got great necklaces as we finished. My triathlon friend Paula gave me this really cool (operative word) neck bandana that I can use when I do the Yucca Triathlon and Elephant Man. It has gel crystals in it and it will help me not to get overheated.
Next up on the fun list:
- Hearts on Fire Youth Retreat with our FCA students on Sunday/Monday of Labor Day weekend
- Yucca Triathlon at White Sands on 9/10. This will be a different distance because it is a 7K run, a 45K bike, and a 400M swim. After the triathlon I'll head to Las Cruces and spend the rest of the weekend with our daughter and son-in-law. It will be great to see our friends in Las Cruces at the church there too.
- Cotton County Triathlon at Levelland on 9/17. I will drive over to Clovis and ride to Levelland with some of the Clovis triathletes. They tell me that this is a great triathlon, and I am looking forward to it and have never done this one before.
- Elephant Man at Elephant Butte on 9/25. This is an Olympic distance race, so that means a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 10K run. At the recent clinic they told the attendees to power walk the first mile in the sand up the hill on the run rather than to try to run it, and then when we get to the paved road surface we can start running. So glad they gave me permission to walk, giggle. Heat can be an issue for the slow pokes like me. Now the good news for me this year is that they are also having a 1/2 iron distance race, so my finishing time will be about the time that the finishers of the 1/2 iron distance folks are finishing--- yeah, I am truly that slow. Oh well, it will be my race and it will be in my time.
October will bring a duathlon at Santa Rosa, the Candy Land Triathlon in Albuquerque, and the Duke City Marathon, so it has some fun ahead too.
Living Well, Loving More, and DEFINITELY Tring Harder,
Patricia
Chili Harvest Triathlon--> August 6, 2011
Oh, this was as GREAT triathlon in Socorro. I had so much fun and improved my time by 12 minutes over last year. I have to do the celebration part right at the beginning. Three years ago I was the last person to finish this triathlon by 30 seconds. It took me 2 hours and 24 minutes and 34 seconds to do this course that year. This year it took me 1 hour and 53 minutes, so I've cut 31 minutes off my overall time in those three years. It feels so great. My swim time was pitiful at 15 minutes and my run as sadly slow at 47 minutes (I'm not sure why either), but I was thrilled with the bike time of 45 minutes. I finished the race ahead of seven people and was 8th in the Athena division.
Well, even though assigned racking usually makes me want to growl a bit, I got a spot I liked just fine on the end of a rack and I was a happy triathlete. I was able to hook up with some of the Outlaws and that was great fun and then the Oxfords from Las Cruces were all racing too, as were a whole host of folks from the Las Cruces triathlon scene, so it was fun visiting around prior to the race. We lined up based on our pre-entered swim time. I turned in 15 minutes, but ended up with people who turned in 12 and ahead of people who turned in 10, so I don't understand how that worked out. I can tell you that the pool ended up being okay. I had to do the back broadstroke most of the way, and so I hugged the lane line and stayed out of the way so folks could pass easily, so it was not a huge issue.
Once I was off on the bike, I was a passing maniac. I LOVE the bike portion of the triathlon. I may need to sign up for some bike races. They'd paved some portions of the road recently and Grace (my bike) and I fairly flew along the way. It was a dream bike ride. Right after I made the turn on the way towards the first turnaround I was passed by a 12 year old boy. My first thought was, "What! How can that happen? I'm having a great ride and no 12 year old boy can pass ME, no today." Well, I calmed myself and reminded myself that I was doing my race, not his race, and that he was not my competition anyway...... chattering monkeys in my head continued to converse. Well, he slowed down, so I had to say, "On your left," and pass him. He could not stand it, and he immediately passed me. I guess he had his own chattering monkeys in his head telling him that the 52 year old woman (ages on our legs in triathlon) could not pass HIM. He almost immediately slowed though, and I am really good at maintaining a consistent cadence, so I knew I needed o pass him back; yeah, you can see where this is going, can't you? Anyway, we were close to the first turnaround, and that is a poor place to pass, so I hung back until we finished the turn, and then it was a slight downhill. Well, my "superior mass" (shall we say weight) meant that gravity was certainly my friend and I blew past him. After the next turn though, I knew he would have his chance because there was a long uphill and he would almost certainly pass me. All along the way I was passing a good number of people. The bike was good to me and made great time. Going up the hill my 12 year old nemesis did pass me, but that was okay because after the last turnaround, I passed him and he stayed passed. It was 30-35 mph all the way back to transition and it was AWESOME. I love the bike portion of this triathlon.
Okay, the run was not hideously hot, so I have no explanation for my slowpoke time. I like the route, we get to run on an irrigation ditch for part of the way and that feels good on my legs, so I can't really tell you why it was slow. No asthma issues, so it was just me having no gas and no go. It was only 2 minutes faster than last year and I should have been 45 minutes or faster this year. If it had been really hot...... oh well, it is done. I just hated being passed by EVERYONE that I passed on the bike. That made me sad to lose the lead I built up. Grady Oxford got second in his age group, Jeffery got 4th in his, and Marcy got 4th in hers, and the NM Outlaws were second in the team division.
F1 Triathlon was cancelled this weekend because the fish have died in Bottomless Lake. Mary was mocking me and said she is surprised they didn't just say, "Hey, this is an endurance sport, keep your mouth closed." Evidently the Health Department takes a dim view on people swimming in decaying fish. That makes the next event the Live, Love Tri at Rio Rancho, NM on August 27th. After that I've got a 1/2 marathon in Roswell, NM on Sept. 5th and three triathlons in Sept., so the season is rolling along well into the fall.
Tri-ing Harder Every Day,
Patricia
Details of the Race
There was really no incentive to do packet pick-up on Friday evening or to come particularly early on Saturday since racking in transition was assigned. Transition opened at 5:30, so I had a wake-up call for 5:00 and was at McDonald's for a big coffee and an egg McMuffin (no disgusting cheese with a 'z'). I toss half the muffin away and it is "just right" as Goldilocks would say. There has been such a lot of dialog on some of the web blogs about the evils of caffeine in endurance events, with the recommendation that athletes limit themselves to only 200 mg of caffeine before competition or long training events. I have decided that this is based on spurious and anecdotal evidence. Bring on the caffeine. Evidently they have three national cases of marathoners that had cardiac incidents in the last few miles of a marathon that they were able to revive. All three had significant caffeine intake. There have been numerous others who have not been revived and they were not able to determine caffeine intake or any other reason for the cardiac incident. I have determined that three is a mighty small number for this sort of recommendation, just my opinion and if you die, well I will be sad. Ranting will now cease. Well, even though assigned racking usually makes me want to growl a bit, I got a spot I liked just fine on the end of a rack and I was a happy triathlete. I was able to hook up with some of the Outlaws and that was great fun and then the Oxfords from Las Cruces were all racing too, as were a whole host of folks from the Las Cruces triathlon scene, so it was fun visiting around prior to the race. We lined up based on our pre-entered swim time. I turned in 15 minutes, but ended up with people who turned in 12 and ahead of people who turned in 10, so I don't understand how that worked out. I can tell you that the pool ended up being okay. I had to do the back broadstroke most of the way, and so I hugged the lane line and stayed out of the way so folks could pass easily, so it was not a huge issue.
Once I was off on the bike, I was a passing maniac. I LOVE the bike portion of the triathlon. I may need to sign up for some bike races. They'd paved some portions of the road recently and Grace (my bike) and I fairly flew along the way. It was a dream bike ride. Right after I made the turn on the way towards the first turnaround I was passed by a 12 year old boy. My first thought was, "What! How can that happen? I'm having a great ride and no 12 year old boy can pass ME, no today." Well, I calmed myself and reminded myself that I was doing my race, not his race, and that he was not my competition anyway...... chattering monkeys in my head continued to converse. Well, he slowed down, so I had to say, "On your left," and pass him. He could not stand it, and he immediately passed me. I guess he had his own chattering monkeys in his head telling him that the 52 year old woman (ages on our legs in triathlon) could not pass HIM. He almost immediately slowed though, and I am really good at maintaining a consistent cadence, so I knew I needed o pass him back; yeah, you can see where this is going, can't you? Anyway, we were close to the first turnaround, and that is a poor place to pass, so I hung back until we finished the turn, and then it was a slight downhill. Well, my "superior mass" (shall we say weight) meant that gravity was certainly my friend and I blew past him. After the next turn though, I knew he would have his chance because there was a long uphill and he would almost certainly pass me. All along the way I was passing a good number of people. The bike was good to me and made great time. Going up the hill my 12 year old nemesis did pass me, but that was okay because after the last turnaround, I passed him and he stayed passed. It was 30-35 mph all the way back to transition and it was AWESOME. I love the bike portion of this triathlon.
Okay, the run was not hideously hot, so I have no explanation for my slowpoke time. I like the route, we get to run on an irrigation ditch for part of the way and that feels good on my legs, so I can't really tell you why it was slow. No asthma issues, so it was just me having no gas and no go. It was only 2 minutes faster than last year and I should have been 45 minutes or faster this year. If it had been really hot...... oh well, it is done. I just hated being passed by EVERYONE that I passed on the bike. That made me sad to lose the lead I built up. Grady Oxford got second in his age group, Jeffery got 4th in his, and Marcy got 4th in hers, and the NM Outlaws were second in the team division.
F1 Triathlon was cancelled this weekend because the fish have died in Bottomless Lake. Mary was mocking me and said she is surprised they didn't just say, "Hey, this is an endurance sport, keep your mouth closed." Evidently the Health Department takes a dim view on people swimming in decaying fish. That makes the next event the Live, Love Tri at Rio Rancho, NM on August 27th. After that I've got a 1/2 marathon in Roswell, NM on Sept. 5th and three triathlons in Sept., so the season is rolling along well into the fall.
Tri-ing Harder Every Day,
Patricia
Dam It Man Triathlon--> July 24, 2011
Dam It Man was on Sunday, July 24, 2011 at Elephant Butte Dam Site. The packet pick-up and transition opened at 5:30 AM. I'd arrived the night before and stayed at Marcy and Grady Oxford's lake house in Elephant Butte. Marcy and I got up at 4:40 and killed a 10 cup pot of coffee between us, don't try to tell me that caffeine is not a good pre-race breakfast food! Okay, we each had a banana too.
Open racking (personal favorite) and we each took an end spot so we had easy in and out and no crowding. I needed to use my nebulizer. You may now note that I am attempting to live in peace with my asthma. I am not railing, whining, or complaining, I am coexisting with my asthma, my companion in triathlon. This was a rural location with no outlets, so I went to the kind ambulance operators and asked to borrow a cup of electricity. They were quite willing to let me hook up my nebulizer to their equipment and I got my duoneb ampule delivered to my lungs readily and in time for the pre-race meeting, or at least most of it.
There was a long walk down the stone ramp to the dock. We were all talking about how long a run UP it would be after the swim. There were two waves, men in the first wave and women and Clydesdales (men over 200 pounds) in the second wave. I was good with that since I prefer NOT being in a panic when people swim over me. It is bad enough when they start swimming into me head on in a loop swim like this on their way back, but usually the lifeguards stop most of the head-on collisions. There was no ladder to get in/out, so we had to jump in and they had members of the Hot Springs High football team on hand to haul us out of the water. That was the best news of the morning, okay, electricity for the breathing treatment was #1, but this was a very high #2 since getting out of the water with no ladder was not an experience I think I could handle.
I did the freestyle out to the first buoy and then got a little panicky when a woman swam back headfirst into me. I thought, "What is up with that? How did she already loop the course and then run into me?" Then she swam to the kayak near me and I realized she was in some sort of distress. Now I am embarrassed to report my first thought was, "Good, now I won't be the last person out of the water," instead of, "Gosh, I hope she is okay." Of course the knock on the head and the panic messed me up a bit and I could not calm down enough to breath right, so I had to do the backstroke for a while until I calmed down and could do the freestyle until the turn around. Once I hit the turn around, I thought, "Is the swim EVER going to end?" I was seriously considering the stupidity of the idea that I am signed up for Elephant Man where I have to swim FOUR TIMES as long and I can't do it. I flipped over and did the freestyle for a tiny bit and noticed that the lifeguard had to jump in and rescue a woman. I am talking, jump out of the boat and take in her lifeguard fun noodle, and give it to one of my fellow triathletes. Then she stayed in the water and swam with the woman. That sort of perked me up, and I thought, "Wow, I am not the last person out of the water today for sure." Then I began doing the breast stroke, and it felt pretty good. I was moving slowly, but I was not scared, and it felt good. I was catching up on this guy who was doing the backstroke, I was catching up on the drowning woman, and I even was able to encourage a woman who was struggling along beside me. I was praying for everyone because I was so scared for them. I've been the last one out of the water in most of the open water swims this year, this was a new experience. I have no clue about why. I know I was still SCARY SLOW. The Hot Spring High boys were awesome and they hauled me out like I weighed nothing. I ran up the boat ramp, but I did not run all the way up the stone incline.
I know I am petrified when I think about Elephant Man in September. I know I did the mile swim last year in an hour and twenty minutes, and it scary. People swam over me and I thought I was going to be killed. I cried in the water but I would not quit swimming. There were waves and I didn't know what to do about them or what to do with them. Did I say I was scared. Yeah. I was scared, and I am still scared every time I do an open water swim. I do them anyway. There is a lot to be said about doing things that scare you because when you are not scared you don't have to be brave. I really like Nichole Noredeman's song Brave with the chorus that says:
There is a line in the song where she sings about "fear ties me down" and I don't want fear to tie me down. I am doing Elephant Man, and I am scared. Just letting you all know. I am scared. A whole bunch. Back to the race.
Off on the bike portion of the race, and I knew immediately I'd made a big mistake; I left my bike in too big a gear and I could not get up the hill out of the dam. I jumped off the bike and just ran up the hill and then got back on so I could pedal off. The course was good, but I really brought the wrong bike. I should have left Grace (tri bike) at home and brought Mercy (road bike) with me. I needed more gears and I had very little time in the aero position. There was a section on the course, about mile 5 where I was flying about 31 mph, that I thought, "I'd better get ready to brake, I have no clue about this route and it is a great place for a wreck." I got up out of aero position and came flying around a corner to see the ambulance, state police, EMS truck and saw them loading a cyclist into the ambulance. Evidently, I correctly assessed the danger of that particular section of the road. Heavy sigh and prayers for the sad triathlete on the way to the hospital. I did pass a few folks on the bike portion, uphill most of the time, and then off on the run.
I had to use my inhaler at the start of the run, and the run began with a good hill to just make sure our legs were aware they were expected to be active participants in the day. There was a water station and then a turn to the left and a turn around. Well, the early runners were not so fortunate to have volunteers there to tell them to turnaround, so a large number of them run an extra 3 miles, yeah, they did a 10K instead of a 5K, so they posted times that are either minutes before or after mine, but they ran twice as far. Interesting turn of events. In triathlon it is the participants responsibility to know the course, so nobody blames the event director, except that they do, if you know what I mean. I realized this had happened when I was making the second turnaround loop and Marcy is coming up to the second turnaround. I asked, "What are you doing?" and I was thinking she might just be getting in an extra workout. She told me she was trying to finish the course. YIKES. After the race we drove the extra she and the group she ended up running with and measured it with my Garmin, and it was an extra 3 miles. She still won her age group because all of the women her age were in her group. Go Marcy! Anyway, I was absolutely loving the run. I don't know why my time was 46 minutes, because I thought I had a great run. I was happy, springy in my step, I was slow according to the time, but I had an awesome time. My overall time was 2:11:40, so this was a slow sprint race but I have no baseline to compare since I've never done this race before. My individual times were Swim 400 Meters : 19:06 Bike 12 miles: 54:37 Run 5K: 46:16
Yeah, I forgot to tell you, I got second place and a beautiful shiny silver medal. I also accommodated my asthma and borrowed a second cup of electricity and did a second breathing treatment in the ambulance. My lungs were grateful.
Next up is the Chili Harvest Triathlon at Socorro on August 6th. I like that race a lot. The people do a great job and the bike course is interesting and fun. The run has some dirt trail stuff I like too; it is easier on my knees.
I am SOOOOOO open to suggestions to deal with my Elephant Man fear. You can certainly pray for me.
Open racking (personal favorite) and we each took an end spot so we had easy in and out and no crowding. I needed to use my nebulizer. You may now note that I am attempting to live in peace with my asthma. I am not railing, whining, or complaining, I am coexisting with my asthma, my companion in triathlon. This was a rural location with no outlets, so I went to the kind ambulance operators and asked to borrow a cup of electricity. They were quite willing to let me hook up my nebulizer to their equipment and I got my duoneb ampule delivered to my lungs readily and in time for the pre-race meeting, or at least most of it.
There was a long walk down the stone ramp to the dock. We were all talking about how long a run UP it would be after the swim. There were two waves, men in the first wave and women and Clydesdales (men over 200 pounds) in the second wave. I was good with that since I prefer NOT being in a panic when people swim over me. It is bad enough when they start swimming into me head on in a loop swim like this on their way back, but usually the lifeguards stop most of the head-on collisions. There was no ladder to get in/out, so we had to jump in and they had members of the Hot Springs High football team on hand to haul us out of the water. That was the best news of the morning, okay, electricity for the breathing treatment was #1, but this was a very high #2 since getting out of the water with no ladder was not an experience I think I could handle.
I did the freestyle out to the first buoy and then got a little panicky when a woman swam back headfirst into me. I thought, "What is up with that? How did she already loop the course and then run into me?" Then she swam to the kayak near me and I realized she was in some sort of distress. Now I am embarrassed to report my first thought was, "Good, now I won't be the last person out of the water," instead of, "Gosh, I hope she is okay." Of course the knock on the head and the panic messed me up a bit and I could not calm down enough to breath right, so I had to do the backstroke for a while until I calmed down and could do the freestyle until the turn around. Once I hit the turn around, I thought, "Is the swim EVER going to end?" I was seriously considering the stupidity of the idea that I am signed up for Elephant Man where I have to swim FOUR TIMES as long and I can't do it. I flipped over and did the freestyle for a tiny bit and noticed that the lifeguard had to jump in and rescue a woman. I am talking, jump out of the boat and take in her lifeguard fun noodle, and give it to one of my fellow triathletes. Then she stayed in the water and swam with the woman. That sort of perked me up, and I thought, "Wow, I am not the last person out of the water today for sure." Then I began doing the breast stroke, and it felt pretty good. I was moving slowly, but I was not scared, and it felt good. I was catching up on this guy who was doing the backstroke, I was catching up on the drowning woman, and I even was able to encourage a woman who was struggling along beside me. I was praying for everyone because I was so scared for them. I've been the last one out of the water in most of the open water swims this year, this was a new experience. I have no clue about why. I know I was still SCARY SLOW. The Hot Spring High boys were awesome and they hauled me out like I weighed nothing. I ran up the boat ramp, but I did not run all the way up the stone incline.
I know I am petrified when I think about Elephant Man in September. I know I did the mile swim last year in an hour and twenty minutes, and it scary. People swam over me and I thought I was going to be killed. I cried in the water but I would not quit swimming. There were waves and I didn't know what to do about them or what to do with them. Did I say I was scared. Yeah. I was scared, and I am still scared every time I do an open water swim. I do them anyway. There is a lot to be said about doing things that scare you because when you are not scared you don't have to be brave. I really like Nichole Noredeman's song Brave with the chorus that says:
So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave
There is a line in the song where she sings about "fear ties me down" and I don't want fear to tie me down. I am doing Elephant Man, and I am scared. Just letting you all know. I am scared. A whole bunch. Back to the race.
Off on the bike portion of the race, and I knew immediately I'd made a big mistake; I left my bike in too big a gear and I could not get up the hill out of the dam. I jumped off the bike and just ran up the hill and then got back on so I could pedal off. The course was good, but I really brought the wrong bike. I should have left Grace (tri bike) at home and brought Mercy (road bike) with me. I needed more gears and I had very little time in the aero position. There was a section on the course, about mile 5 where I was flying about 31 mph, that I thought, "I'd better get ready to brake, I have no clue about this route and it is a great place for a wreck." I got up out of aero position and came flying around a corner to see the ambulance, state police, EMS truck and saw them loading a cyclist into the ambulance. Evidently, I correctly assessed the danger of that particular section of the road. Heavy sigh and prayers for the sad triathlete on the way to the hospital. I did pass a few folks on the bike portion, uphill most of the time, and then off on the run.
I had to use my inhaler at the start of the run, and the run began with a good hill to just make sure our legs were aware they were expected to be active participants in the day. There was a water station and then a turn to the left and a turn around. Well, the early runners were not so fortunate to have volunteers there to tell them to turnaround, so a large number of them run an extra 3 miles, yeah, they did a 10K instead of a 5K, so they posted times that are either minutes before or after mine, but they ran twice as far. Interesting turn of events. In triathlon it is the participants responsibility to know the course, so nobody blames the event director, except that they do, if you know what I mean. I realized this had happened when I was making the second turnaround loop and Marcy is coming up to the second turnaround. I asked, "What are you doing?" and I was thinking she might just be getting in an extra workout. She told me she was trying to finish the course. YIKES. After the race we drove the extra she and the group she ended up running with and measured it with my Garmin, and it was an extra 3 miles. She still won her age group because all of the women her age were in her group. Go Marcy! Anyway, I was absolutely loving the run. I don't know why my time was 46 minutes, because I thought I had a great run. I was happy, springy in my step, I was slow according to the time, but I had an awesome time. My overall time was 2:11:40, so this was a slow sprint race but I have no baseline to compare since I've never done this race before. My individual times were Swim 400 Meters : 19:06 Bike 12 miles: 54:37 Run 5K: 46:16
Yeah, I forgot to tell you, I got second place and a beautiful shiny silver medal. I also accommodated my asthma and borrowed a second cup of electricity and did a second breathing treatment in the ambulance. My lungs were grateful.
Next up is the Chili Harvest Triathlon at Socorro on August 6th. I like that race a lot. The people do a great job and the bike course is interesting and fun. The run has some dirt trail stuff I like too; it is easier on my knees.
I am SOOOOOO open to suggestions to deal with my Elephant Man fear. You can certainly pray for me.
City of Santa Fe Triathlon--> July 16, 2011
Saturday was a beautiful day for a triathlon in Santa Fe. I did my packet pick-up in Albuquerque on Thursday night, and then Friday night attended the mandatory pre-race meeting in Santa Fe. Both the run and the bike courses were changed since the previous year, and the race director wanted to make sure we were all quite aware of the rules and the course. There are so many great challenges to the City of Santa Fe Triathlon that I have no choice but keep it on my race calendar, PLUS it is a wonderfully organized and supported race. This year was no exception to either the rule of challenges or support. The C of SF Tri always starts at 6:30, and transition opens at 5 AM, so I decided to go to dinner early and head to bed so I could be up get up at 4 AM. I am, as you know if you follow my RR, pretty obsessive if I have the chance to grab "my" spots in an open racking situation. My preference is to be near the exit for the bike portion of the race. This means that I am willing to dismount my bike and run into transition with my bike shoes clopping along. In this particular race it also put me in a good spot to be able to run out and down the LONG sidewalk down to the swimming pool entrance. Yes, I give transition location a lot of thought. Now for the blow by blow details of my most excellent adventure in Santa Fe.
I got to bed by 9, and then woke up about 2:30. I refused to get up, but I was just so excited about the race that I could not go back to sleep. It is a reverse sprint, so that means we run first (my favorite) and the first mile is mostly downhill. I love running downhill because the advantage gravity gives me is worth the stress on the knees. I also have way better transition times in reverse sprint triathlons, so I was running things through in my mind. I did doze off for about half an hour and then got up at 3:45 and was out of the hotel by 4:15, dressed and ready to go. I drove through McDonalds, where I chatted with the nicest fellow who was quite cheerful for that early in the morning, and got a sugar free/fat free iced latte and a cheese free egg McMuffin. Just a hint, if you get your egg McMuffin without cheese, you save about 75 calories of not so great cheeze (we spell it with a "z" because I don't think it is real cheese) and they have to make it fresh. I toss half of the muffin away and have the perfect prerace breakfast. I got to the parking area about 4:40 and loaded up my stuff and unloaded my bike. I carried my bike to the road and there were already about 10 bikes (other obsessive compulsive triathletes) in transition, but fortunately no throwdowns were necessary since none of them were in "my" spot. I got set up, and went in to get body marking done, got my timing chip, and then found an outlet to use my nebulizer for a breathing treatment for my asthma.
Back up to transition, borrowed a bike pump from the super nice bike mechanics and aired up my tires. Chatted with a few folks, and then went for a pre-race bike ride warm-up. Oh, the altitude was killer. It did not take much to get the heart pumping and the lungs working. There is not a lot of oxygen in the air in Santa Fe, compared to our elevation in Fort Sumner. I was really gasping for air. One of the challenges I like to embrace, hence one of the reasons I sign up for this race. At 6:15 they closed transition and we all moved out to the road where the wonderful City of Santa Fe Police had closed off Rodeo Road so we could run down it unimpeded. I ADORED the support in this race. They are just so great about keeping us safe. Yes, the bike course is open to vehicle traffic, but they have uniformed officers at every main intersection managing the traffic. There are over 100 volunteers, it is terrific. At 6:30, we take off, and I am running well. The downhill is being good to me, I am keeping up with a group of people, and it feels good. A little asthma problem, but I am working with it and am postponing the use of my break through inhaler. We are about 3/4 of a mile into the run, when a woman in the group I am running with, falls and breaks her ankle. She is running, and she just falls and breaks her ankle. Amazingly, she does not cry, we just wave the police down and they call the ambulance and take her away (found out later she probably did break her ankle). She is brave and she tells her friend to finish the race, so we all just leave her with the police and then we run on. Yes, we triathletes are driven. Our companion is down for the count, and we murmur in sympathy, and proceed to run our race. At least we summoned aid and made sure a responsible party was there to watch her. I wait until the turn around and then use my inhaler and then finish the run ahead of probably ten folks, just guessing. It was just the luck of the draw, but in my particular bike rack, I ended up being the first person back from the run. I can tell you that has NEVER happened to me before, and it was fun to be the first one back from the run. Now, drum roll, my run was 40 minutes! Yes, that is only 2 minutes off my personal best at Jay Benson in May, and that is despite the altitude in Santa Fe. This time was also FIVE minutes better than last year.
Off on the bike, and I am cruising. I love the bike and I love passing people. I REALLY love passing people going up hill. It is so sweet, so satisfying to push, and push and pass someone going uphill. The route was primarily uphill going out, and into the wind, but I am pretty devil-may-care and just flew back in my biggest gears and crushed the return trip. I did remember to drink plenty on the bike because I did not want a repeat of last year's dehydration episode. I'd had plenty to drink on the run, and finished about 10 ounces on the bike. The bike time included both the run into transition and the run down to the swim, both transitions, and it was 55:53. This time was 13:43 faster than last year. YEAH, baby, you read that correctly......THIRTEEN minutes and 43 seconds faster than last year. My swim was laughable, as always, at 16:30. This time was two minutes and nine seconds faster than last year. I used my rescue inhaler as I ran down the LOOOONG sidewalk to the swimming pool. I was finishing the 5th of 8 laps, when I knew I was in some breathing trouble. I switched to the backstroke and tried to ease the tightness, but my lungs were being unforgiving and unyielding. I finished and got out with an overall time that put me in 6th place for the Athenas. Last year my total time was 2:13:33 and this year my total time was 1:53:13. This means I cut 20:23 off this race. I will take that any day.
Once I got out of the water I asked a volunteer to go up and get my red nebulizer bag so I could do a breathing treatment. Actually, my asthma made me more whisper it, but I got the message across. They were good enough to go get it for me, and then got me set up by an outlet so I could use my machine. The paramedics came to check on me, but I assured them that I knew what I was doing to care for myself. Of course I had to sign forms for everyone, including the lifeguard that they had offered to help me and that I was stubborn and willful and did not want to go to the hospital. Actually, the paramedics agreed with me that I was fine, but they still had to get me to sign the form that says they offered.
So after the race it was off to Starbucks for a fat free frappe, and I got a bonus free oatmeal (they'd made an extra and it was just my lucky day) and then to the hotel for a shower. Then off to Sam's for groceries and then a small Schlotzsky's on wheat (celebration meal) to eat on the road. While I was driving I was thinking about many things. I was really happy about how well the race went, and I was also embarrassed/frustrated/angry about the struggles with my asthma. While I was in the pool I was pretty angry at my asthma, like it was my enemy. On the way home I started thinking that maybe I needed to change my perspective. My asthma is part of who I am, like my eye color. I did do the things I know I need to do to care for my asthma. I did a breathing treatment prior to the race. I took the inhaler with me. I used it. I had the machine and meds available since I know that this has been a very bad year for asthma. It has been a long time since I pretended I didn't have asthma, so maybe I should not be so angry when it flares up. Frankly, my asthma is not keeping me from doing things I like to do. I may not be doing them as fast or as fluidly as I wish, and it has been inconvenient to have asthma flare up, but I can work with that. I do keep hanging on to the information the pulmonary specialist shared years ago; asthma has a six year cycle and that consists of 2 good years, 2 bad years and 2 years that can go either way. This is one of the two bad year and maybe it will end soon and I will move on to one of the good years :-) My change of attitude or perspective toward my asthma is not fully fleshed out, but I know I need to be prayerful about this and be open to looking at this challenge differently.
Next up, Dam It Man at Elephant Butte on Sunday the 24th. Prior to that, I have Diva Night at Sports Systems on Thursday the 21st at 6 PM. That brings it own challenges since I have to be a "Fastanistia" in my sportswear for that event. I did get to pick out the outfits, and they are really cute and they are things I would really wear to run, bike or do triathlons in, so I feel good in them.
Merrily Training Along,
Patricia
I got to bed by 9, and then woke up about 2:30. I refused to get up, but I was just so excited about the race that I could not go back to sleep. It is a reverse sprint, so that means we run first (my favorite) and the first mile is mostly downhill. I love running downhill because the advantage gravity gives me is worth the stress on the knees. I also have way better transition times in reverse sprint triathlons, so I was running things through in my mind. I did doze off for about half an hour and then got up at 3:45 and was out of the hotel by 4:15, dressed and ready to go. I drove through McDonalds, where I chatted with the nicest fellow who was quite cheerful for that early in the morning, and got a sugar free/fat free iced latte and a cheese free egg McMuffin. Just a hint, if you get your egg McMuffin without cheese, you save about 75 calories of not so great cheeze (we spell it with a "z" because I don't think it is real cheese) and they have to make it fresh. I toss half of the muffin away and have the perfect prerace breakfast. I got to the parking area about 4:40 and loaded up my stuff and unloaded my bike. I carried my bike to the road and there were already about 10 bikes (other obsessive compulsive triathletes) in transition, but fortunately no throwdowns were necessary since none of them were in "my" spot. I got set up, and went in to get body marking done, got my timing chip, and then found an outlet to use my nebulizer for a breathing treatment for my asthma.
Back up to transition, borrowed a bike pump from the super nice bike mechanics and aired up my tires. Chatted with a few folks, and then went for a pre-race bike ride warm-up. Oh, the altitude was killer. It did not take much to get the heart pumping and the lungs working. There is not a lot of oxygen in the air in Santa Fe, compared to our elevation in Fort Sumner. I was really gasping for air. One of the challenges I like to embrace, hence one of the reasons I sign up for this race. At 6:15 they closed transition and we all moved out to the road where the wonderful City of Santa Fe Police had closed off Rodeo Road so we could run down it unimpeded. I ADORED the support in this race. They are just so great about keeping us safe. Yes, the bike course is open to vehicle traffic, but they have uniformed officers at every main intersection managing the traffic. There are over 100 volunteers, it is terrific. At 6:30, we take off, and I am running well. The downhill is being good to me, I am keeping up with a group of people, and it feels good. A little asthma problem, but I am working with it and am postponing the use of my break through inhaler. We are about 3/4 of a mile into the run, when a woman in the group I am running with, falls and breaks her ankle. She is running, and she just falls and breaks her ankle. Amazingly, she does not cry, we just wave the police down and they call the ambulance and take her away (found out later she probably did break her ankle). She is brave and she tells her friend to finish the race, so we all just leave her with the police and then we run on. Yes, we triathletes are driven. Our companion is down for the count, and we murmur in sympathy, and proceed to run our race. At least we summoned aid and made sure a responsible party was there to watch her. I wait until the turn around and then use my inhaler and then finish the run ahead of probably ten folks, just guessing. It was just the luck of the draw, but in my particular bike rack, I ended up being the first person back from the run. I can tell you that has NEVER happened to me before, and it was fun to be the first one back from the run. Now, drum roll, my run was 40 minutes! Yes, that is only 2 minutes off my personal best at Jay Benson in May, and that is despite the altitude in Santa Fe. This time was also FIVE minutes better than last year.
Off on the bike, and I am cruising. I love the bike and I love passing people. I REALLY love passing people going up hill. It is so sweet, so satisfying to push, and push and pass someone going uphill. The route was primarily uphill going out, and into the wind, but I am pretty devil-may-care and just flew back in my biggest gears and crushed the return trip. I did remember to drink plenty on the bike because I did not want a repeat of last year's dehydration episode. I'd had plenty to drink on the run, and finished about 10 ounces on the bike. The bike time included both the run into transition and the run down to the swim, both transitions, and it was 55:53. This time was 13:43 faster than last year. YEAH, baby, you read that correctly......THIRTEEN minutes and 43 seconds faster than last year. My swim was laughable, as always, at 16:30. This time was two minutes and nine seconds faster than last year. I used my rescue inhaler as I ran down the LOOOONG sidewalk to the swimming pool. I was finishing the 5th of 8 laps, when I knew I was in some breathing trouble. I switched to the backstroke and tried to ease the tightness, but my lungs were being unforgiving and unyielding. I finished and got out with an overall time that put me in 6th place for the Athenas. Last year my total time was 2:13:33 and this year my total time was 1:53:13. This means I cut 20:23 off this race. I will take that any day.
Once I got out of the water I asked a volunteer to go up and get my red nebulizer bag so I could do a breathing treatment. Actually, my asthma made me more whisper it, but I got the message across. They were good enough to go get it for me, and then got me set up by an outlet so I could use my machine. The paramedics came to check on me, but I assured them that I knew what I was doing to care for myself. Of course I had to sign forms for everyone, including the lifeguard that they had offered to help me and that I was stubborn and willful and did not want to go to the hospital. Actually, the paramedics agreed with me that I was fine, but they still had to get me to sign the form that says they offered.
So after the race it was off to Starbucks for a fat free frappe, and I got a bonus free oatmeal (they'd made an extra and it was just my lucky day) and then to the hotel for a shower. Then off to Sam's for groceries and then a small Schlotzsky's on wheat (celebration meal) to eat on the road. While I was driving I was thinking about many things. I was really happy about how well the race went, and I was also embarrassed/frustrated/angry about the struggles with my asthma. While I was in the pool I was pretty angry at my asthma, like it was my enemy. On the way home I started thinking that maybe I needed to change my perspective. My asthma is part of who I am, like my eye color. I did do the things I know I need to do to care for my asthma. I did a breathing treatment prior to the race. I took the inhaler with me. I used it. I had the machine and meds available since I know that this has been a very bad year for asthma. It has been a long time since I pretended I didn't have asthma, so maybe I should not be so angry when it flares up. Frankly, my asthma is not keeping me from doing things I like to do. I may not be doing them as fast or as fluidly as I wish, and it has been inconvenient to have asthma flare up, but I can work with that. I do keep hanging on to the information the pulmonary specialist shared years ago; asthma has a six year cycle and that consists of 2 good years, 2 bad years and 2 years that can go either way. This is one of the two bad year and maybe it will end soon and I will move on to one of the good years :-) My change of attitude or perspective toward my asthma is not fully fleshed out, but I know I need to be prayerful about this and be open to looking at this challenge differently.
Next up, Dam It Man at Elephant Butte on Sunday the 24th. Prior to that, I have Diva Night at Sports Systems on Thursday the 21st at 6 PM. That brings it own challenges since I have to be a "Fastanistia" in my sportswear for that event. I did get to pick out the outfits, and they are really cute and they are things I would really wear to run, bike or do triathlons in, so I feel good in them.
Merrily Training Along,
Patricia
Bottomless Lake Triathlon--> July 9, 2011
Okay, contrary to the name, you do get to wear bottoms at the Bottomless Lake Triathlon. I recently discovered that they do have naked 5K races, and I will absolutely be avoiding those. Random.
Bottomless Lake is outside of Roswell, NM. My weekend of fun started by meeting Mary (daughter) and Dave (son-in-law) in Roswell. Dave is a screenwriter and his movie Roswell FM (comedy about a radio station and aliens) is being filmed in Roswell this summer. We had a great visit and a yummy dinner, then off to bed because I had a race in the morning. Like a wonderful family, Dave, Mary, and hubby Les all decided that they would come and cheer me on. Now this is despite the fact that triathlon is really a HIDEOUS spectator sport. They must really love me a lot.
Bottomless Lake is in a hollow, so the bike is hilly and you get to ride around it. The tri started at 8:30, and by 7:30, when I got back from a warm up bike ride, I could tell it was going to be a scorcher. I was sweating buckets. Don't tell me ladies don't sweat, or that they glisten, I was pouring buckets of sweat and it was disgustingly hot. Yeah, I know, no whining, triathlon is an endurance sport and that means we endure the heat too.
Two waves in the swim; women first so the men could swim over us. We took off, and if I had ANY swim skills I would have been out of the water before the men got in the water, but no, I was meandering all over the lake. I don't know what was wrong. My usual pitiful swim attempt was lamer that usual and I thought I would never get out of the water. The poor kayak lifeguards were desperately worried about my safety and kept shouting encouragement to me like, "Lady, you're going the wrong way." and "Lady, the men are going to run over you if you don't move over this way." When I finally drug my sorry carcass out of the water they were so relieved they were cheering for me. I did beat some of the men out of the water, and they started 12 minutes after the women's wave. Yeah, you read that correctly. The swim took me 18:31 and that was about 1.5 minutes longer than last year. This was a 400 meter swim. Yes, you may gasp and mock me. I can't hear you. You may laugh out loud. I am okay with that.
I ran up and in to transition, and did a great job on the bike course. I finished the hilly route in 36:44, and that was 9:12 faster than last year's time. Super pleased with that, and the passing people part was good too. Off on the run, and I did that in five minutes faster than the previous year. Overall, my time was 11:36 faster this year than last year and I got third in my division; I will take it. I think I've mentioned that I am racing in the Master Athena division in all of my races this year, and so far I've received points in the Southwest Challenge Series in most of my races, so that is good.
Now one of the nicest things happened. I was chatting with another triathlete, and she complimented me on how great my run was. Now my run was almost 42 minutes and this was a 4K race. For most triathletes I know I am posting lame times. I console myself that I getting better and I keep setting goals. I never really thought that for some starting triathletes, I am doing great and I am where they hope to be. I keep beating myself up because I can't get my 5K time down to 30 minutes (my best time is 39 minutes). This conversation is giving me a bit of a perspective shift. Maybe I need a bit of celebration attitude. Goals are good, but somehow I've been forgetting to savor the sweetness too.
One of the other athletes, Greg, had a tough thing happen. He lost a tire and had to run 5 miles of the bike portion in his bare feet (no socks) on the 100 degree pavement. He then put on his running shoes and did the run. He had horrid, bloody blisters on the soles of his feet following the race. That is a can-do spirit.
It was really hot on Saturday in Roswell, so that afternoon Mary and I celebrated my triumph by going to get manicures and pedicures. Nothing like a good girly thing after a great tri event :-)
Next up, the City of Santa Fe Triathlon on Saturday the 16th and after that Dam It Man on Sunday the 24th (not too late to register). How did I manage to make myself compete three weekends in a row when I decided in June that was really tough to do? I think it must be that I just like it so very much.
On a fun note, if you are going to be in Albuquerque on July 21, come to Sports Systems from 6-8 PM. They are having Diva Night, which is a women's fashion show. I will be one of the sports clothing models. I think it is funny and appropriate that they want to have an Athena model in the show. I like it that they realize that larger women are athletes and like to wear great sports wear too.
Yours in Trying Harder,
Patricia
Bottomless Lake is outside of Roswell, NM. My weekend of fun started by meeting Mary (daughter) and Dave (son-in-law) in Roswell. Dave is a screenwriter and his movie Roswell FM (comedy about a radio station and aliens) is being filmed in Roswell this summer. We had a great visit and a yummy dinner, then off to bed because I had a race in the morning. Like a wonderful family, Dave, Mary, and hubby Les all decided that they would come and cheer me on. Now this is despite the fact that triathlon is really a HIDEOUS spectator sport. They must really love me a lot.
Bottomless Lake is in a hollow, so the bike is hilly and you get to ride around it. The tri started at 8:30, and by 7:30, when I got back from a warm up bike ride, I could tell it was going to be a scorcher. I was sweating buckets. Don't tell me ladies don't sweat, or that they glisten, I was pouring buckets of sweat and it was disgustingly hot. Yeah, I know, no whining, triathlon is an endurance sport and that means we endure the heat too.
Two waves in the swim; women first so the men could swim over us. We took off, and if I had ANY swim skills I would have been out of the water before the men got in the water, but no, I was meandering all over the lake. I don't know what was wrong. My usual pitiful swim attempt was lamer that usual and I thought I would never get out of the water. The poor kayak lifeguards were desperately worried about my safety and kept shouting encouragement to me like, "Lady, you're going the wrong way." and "Lady, the men are going to run over you if you don't move over this way." When I finally drug my sorry carcass out of the water they were so relieved they were cheering for me. I did beat some of the men out of the water, and they started 12 minutes after the women's wave. Yeah, you read that correctly. The swim took me 18:31 and that was about 1.5 minutes longer than last year. This was a 400 meter swim. Yes, you may gasp and mock me. I can't hear you. You may laugh out loud. I am okay with that.
I ran up and in to transition, and did a great job on the bike course. I finished the hilly route in 36:44, and that was 9:12 faster than last year's time. Super pleased with that, and the passing people part was good too. Off on the run, and I did that in five minutes faster than the previous year. Overall, my time was 11:36 faster this year than last year and I got third in my division; I will take it. I think I've mentioned that I am racing in the Master Athena division in all of my races this year, and so far I've received points in the Southwest Challenge Series in most of my races, so that is good.
Now one of the nicest things happened. I was chatting with another triathlete, and she complimented me on how great my run was. Now my run was almost 42 minutes and this was a 4K race. For most triathletes I know I am posting lame times. I console myself that I getting better and I keep setting goals. I never really thought that for some starting triathletes, I am doing great and I am where they hope to be. I keep beating myself up because I can't get my 5K time down to 30 minutes (my best time is 39 minutes). This conversation is giving me a bit of a perspective shift. Maybe I need a bit of celebration attitude. Goals are good, but somehow I've been forgetting to savor the sweetness too.
One of the other athletes, Greg, had a tough thing happen. He lost a tire and had to run 5 miles of the bike portion in his bare feet (no socks) on the 100 degree pavement. He then put on his running shoes and did the run. He had horrid, bloody blisters on the soles of his feet following the race. That is a can-do spirit.
It was really hot on Saturday in Roswell, so that afternoon Mary and I celebrated my triumph by going to get manicures and pedicures. Nothing like a good girly thing after a great tri event :-)
Next up, the City of Santa Fe Triathlon on Saturday the 16th and after that Dam It Man on Sunday the 24th (not too late to register). How did I manage to make myself compete three weekends in a row when I decided in June that was really tough to do? I think it must be that I just like it so very much.
On a fun note, if you are going to be in Albuquerque on July 21, come to Sports Systems from 6-8 PM. They are having Diva Night, which is a women's fashion show. I will be one of the sports clothing models. I think it is funny and appropriate that they want to have an Athena model in the show. I like it that they realize that larger women are athletes and like to wear great sports wear too.
Yours in Trying Harder,
Patricia
June 11, 2011--> Billy The Kid Tombstone Triathlon in Fort Sumner, NM
This week was crazy fun. Of course I over committed, and that ended up working out well (could have been a train wreck).
Thursday I had to run to Albuquerque to get the trophies, t-shirts and the fruit for the triathlon we were hosting at Sumner Lake State Park. I also attended the Superintendent's Association meeting in Albuquerque. It was a long day with a late return to Fort Sumner
The Rotary spaghetti dinner was on Friday night, and that went of without a hitch. We served about a hundred folks, and that will bring in some much needed money for our scholarship and other kid focused donation activities. I'd volunteered to do the shopping and the cooking as long as the other Rotarians showed up to serve and help clean up (they did). Friday afternoon Angie K. from www.Chasing3.com showed up and got everything together for packet pickup for the Billy the Kid Tombstone Triathlon. We had a few triathletes show up to get their packets and t-shirts, but most folks waited until Saturday morning. A surprising number of folks waited until Thursday and Friday to register for the race. I say surprising because I register just as soon as registration is open or as soon as I hear about a race and know I can go. I have my races color coded in my calendar. I put them in using pencil for the races I WANT to do and then put them in ink once I know that they are definite for "A" races, and then highlight them once I've been able to register and have a second color of highlighter I use for when I've made my hotel reservation. Yeah, just a little obsessive, but not so much that I need medication.
At 8 PM we headed home to meet Marcy, Grady and Jeffery Oxford from Las Cruces. They'd come in for the triathlon, and Mary Spence (wonderful daughter) was here for the weekend as well. Some time to visit and pump up air mattresses around the house, and then off to bed by 10 because we did have a RACE to do the next morning. I woke up about 2:30, and could not go back to sleep because I was so excited about the race. I kept thinking about the course, running it through in my mind, wondering if I could possibly finish the race in 2 hours. Since it was a super hilly bike course of 15 miles, moderately hilly 5K run, and 400 meter swim, that would be a challenge for me. Finally, I gave up and got up at 4:15 and made coffee (quietly so as not to disturb others) and got all my gear loaded and was out of the house by 5. I needed to be out at the lake early to help get things going. We had one box of t-shirts that Angie's husband Kevin was kind enough to bring out from Albuquerque for us since it was not ready for pick up on Thursday. Angie and her staff got everybody checked in and body marked and we were in the water and ready for our two wave start on time, or close to it. I had a momentary conversation with GeekGirl (that was nice) and then it was off in the swim.
I did the freestyle for a bit, and then needed to switch over to the backstroke because my goggles were filling with water. I didn't have time to fiddle, so I just did what I could and kept moving. Overall, the swim time was okay and I made it out of the water in a time that did not shame my. A little struggle running up the boat ramp and in to transition trying to get "unlatched" from my wetsuit, but transition went TONS faster than last week at Milkman. Oh, did I neglect to shout from the roof tops that I got some new bike shoes. Allow me to share the news: Specialized Ember Bike Shoes
I can't give them all the credit for the speedy transition, but they do get a lion's share. You may not be able to see the detail, but the little knob on the side allows you twist them tighter or just pop it to loosen and slip them off. Slick.
Off on the bike leg. I do like this bike course. It is 15 miles long, and it is hilly. I enjoy the screaming downhills, and the tough climbs up. All along I've just assumed the route was hard because I am not in such terrific shape. I guess I am wrong. People were coming back from the bike and then from the run and they were barfing. When I got back from the bike portion I heard Angie announcing on the PA that they had another person needing a puke bucket. It was not that warm, so it was just a challenging enough course that folks were being able to push themselves quite a bit. I must give Grace my wonderful bike (see the previous post) credit for the terrific bike leg of the race. I really had a great bike portion, of course my legs were toasted when the run time came around, and I posted absolutely the worst run time in the entire race.
Now for the good news. There was competition in my Master Athena category, and I still won first place. Yes, you are reading it here.... I was a podium finisher for the first time ever when there was actual competition. Wow that felt good. For those of you who don't know what a Master Athena is, and who have an imagination that is running amok, allow me to clarify. A Master is someone over 40 and an Athena is a woman who weighs over 150 pounds. I could opt to race in what is called "age groups" and then I would be racing regardless of weight and just against women in the my particular age group. For me this would be 50-54. I did that last year and noticed that if I'd raced as a Master Athena I might have earned enough points in the Southwest Challenge Series to have placed in the overall series. This year I decided I would do all of my races as a Master Athena to see if I could do just that. Not that I am competitive or anything.
Now for the other good news. We had a great turnout for the race, and people seemed to have such a good time that I think the race will really grow next year. One of our participants was a professional triathlete from Texas, and it was fun to have her come and participate in the race. She was FAST. The support from NM Sports Online with registration and Chasing3 for chip timing and race day organization was great. The New Mexico Parks and Recreation staff were incredible to work with, and the venue was excellent. We had awesome support from the community and the school, so it seemed like a good activity to support our student athletic program. As fund raisers go, it was a fun one that took lots of work for a few adults, but not that much for the kids.
Training-wise, racing three weeks in a row is proving a challenge. I've got the Chick-fil-a Triathlon in Amarillo on Saturday. Everything I've read says two easy days after a hard day, so I did a long, slow run to get the lactic acid out of my legs today and I will do an easy 13 mile bike ride in the morning. Tuesday is supposed to be a double day with a run in the AM and a swim in the PM, but I am not sure what to do as I finish out this third week. I can tell I've been demanding a lot of my body, but it has been so much fun to push and see the response be there. God has been so good.
Random things that were just so much fun I have to bullet them to share with you:
Patricia
Thursday I had to run to Albuquerque to get the trophies, t-shirts and the fruit for the triathlon we were hosting at Sumner Lake State Park. I also attended the Superintendent's Association meeting in Albuquerque. It was a long day with a late return to Fort Sumner
The Rotary spaghetti dinner was on Friday night, and that went of without a hitch. We served about a hundred folks, and that will bring in some much needed money for our scholarship and other kid focused donation activities. I'd volunteered to do the shopping and the cooking as long as the other Rotarians showed up to serve and help clean up (they did). Friday afternoon Angie K. from www.Chasing3.com showed up and got everything together for packet pickup for the Billy the Kid Tombstone Triathlon. We had a few triathletes show up to get their packets and t-shirts, but most folks waited until Saturday morning. A surprising number of folks waited until Thursday and Friday to register for the race. I say surprising because I register just as soon as registration is open or as soon as I hear about a race and know I can go. I have my races color coded in my calendar. I put them in using pencil for the races I WANT to do and then put them in ink once I know that they are definite for "A" races, and then highlight them once I've been able to register and have a second color of highlighter I use for when I've made my hotel reservation. Yeah, just a little obsessive, but not so much that I need medication.
At 8 PM we headed home to meet Marcy, Grady and Jeffery Oxford from Las Cruces. They'd come in for the triathlon, and Mary Spence (wonderful daughter) was here for the weekend as well. Some time to visit and pump up air mattresses around the house, and then off to bed by 10 because we did have a RACE to do the next morning. I woke up about 2:30, and could not go back to sleep because I was so excited about the race. I kept thinking about the course, running it through in my mind, wondering if I could possibly finish the race in 2 hours. Since it was a super hilly bike course of 15 miles, moderately hilly 5K run, and 400 meter swim, that would be a challenge for me. Finally, I gave up and got up at 4:15 and made coffee (quietly so as not to disturb others) and got all my gear loaded and was out of the house by 5. I needed to be out at the lake early to help get things going. We had one box of t-shirts that Angie's husband Kevin was kind enough to bring out from Albuquerque for us since it was not ready for pick up on Thursday. Angie and her staff got everybody checked in and body marked and we were in the water and ready for our two wave start on time, or close to it. I had a momentary conversation with GeekGirl (that was nice) and then it was off in the swim.
I did the freestyle for a bit, and then needed to switch over to the backstroke because my goggles were filling with water. I didn't have time to fiddle, so I just did what I could and kept moving. Overall, the swim time was okay and I made it out of the water in a time that did not shame my. A little struggle running up the boat ramp and in to transition trying to get "unlatched" from my wetsuit, but transition went TONS faster than last week at Milkman. Oh, did I neglect to shout from the roof tops that I got some new bike shoes. Allow me to share the news: Specialized Ember Bike Shoes
Off on the bike leg. I do like this bike course. It is 15 miles long, and it is hilly. I enjoy the screaming downhills, and the tough climbs up. All along I've just assumed the route was hard because I am not in such terrific shape. I guess I am wrong. People were coming back from the bike and then from the run and they were barfing. When I got back from the bike portion I heard Angie announcing on the PA that they had another person needing a puke bucket. It was not that warm, so it was just a challenging enough course that folks were being able to push themselves quite a bit. I must give Grace my wonderful bike (see the previous post) credit for the terrific bike leg of the race. I really had a great bike portion, of course my legs were toasted when the run time came around, and I posted absolutely the worst run time in the entire race.
Now for the good news. There was competition in my Master Athena category, and I still won first place. Yes, you are reading it here.... I was a podium finisher for the first time ever when there was actual competition. Wow that felt good. For those of you who don't know what a Master Athena is, and who have an imagination that is running amok, allow me to clarify. A Master is someone over 40 and an Athena is a woman who weighs over 150 pounds. I could opt to race in what is called "age groups" and then I would be racing regardless of weight and just against women in the my particular age group. For me this would be 50-54. I did that last year and noticed that if I'd raced as a Master Athena I might have earned enough points in the Southwest Challenge Series to have placed in the overall series. This year I decided I would do all of my races as a Master Athena to see if I could do just that. Not that I am competitive or anything.
Now for the other good news. We had a great turnout for the race, and people seemed to have such a good time that I think the race will really grow next year. One of our participants was a professional triathlete from Texas, and it was fun to have her come and participate in the race. She was FAST. The support from NM Sports Online with registration and Chasing3 for chip timing and race day organization was great. The New Mexico Parks and Recreation staff were incredible to work with, and the venue was excellent. We had awesome support from the community and the school, so it seemed like a good activity to support our student athletic program. As fund raisers go, it was a fun one that took lots of work for a few adults, but not that much for the kids.
Training-wise, racing three weeks in a row is proving a challenge. I've got the Chick-fil-a Triathlon in Amarillo on Saturday. Everything I've read says two easy days after a hard day, so I did a long, slow run to get the lactic acid out of my legs today and I will do an easy 13 mile bike ride in the morning. Tuesday is supposed to be a double day with a run in the AM and a swim in the PM, but I am not sure what to do as I finish out this third week. I can tell I've been demanding a lot of my body, but it has been so much fun to push and see the response be there. God has been so good.
Random things that were just so much fun I have to bullet them to share with you:
- Riding my bike down hills at 36 MPH is an ear splitting grin type of high that just can't be beat
- Seeing Laura Lewis running on the side of the road while I whiz by on my bike with a bottle of HoneyMilk (the best protein drink ever) shouting, "I've got your HoneyMilk" made me laugh out loud on the bike for at least half a mile and I am still laughing out loud while I type it on my computer.
- Having competition, and getting a first place medal. I know why people like winning even though I tell people all the time that trying hard and doing your best is enough. A medal is more.
- Not losing money on the triathlon.
- Meeting people who have become my "e-friends" and seeing that they are even nicer in person and being glad that electronic forums exist so that I can get to know people in multiple ways. I really like the world in which I live.
- That my daughter and husband are willing to spend this much of a weekend doing what makes me happy and genuinely enjoy it even though it does not bring them any particular pleasure to do those things.
- That while it may not be smart to do everything at one time, sometimes you can get away with it if you have enough support and loving kindness, and this week, I did get enough of those things so I didn't have to drop any of the things that needed to be done.
Patricia
El Paso 1/2 Marathon--> March 6, 2011
I am discovering that there are advantages to being an incredibly poor athlete that has to start from nothing to build up to any level of fitness at all; one of the prime advantages is that you can make ENORMOUS gains when you build your base fitness over a winter. Settle back and let me tell you a story about the little runner that could, did and is so excited that she could not sleep last night, will probably not sleep tonight, and may not sleep again for days.
Monday the 28th I was talking to Marcy in Las Cruces, and she told me there was a 1/2 marathon in El Paso. I told her I didn't think I could do it, after all you can't do two in a row can you? Sure you can, Marcy encouraged. We were looking at the race site (jointly on our separate computers-- parallel play at its best, separated by 200 miles) and we realized it said that you had to pick up the packet in person, in El Paso, on Saturday. That nearly put the kibosh on the deal since our girls played in the first round of state basket ball on Friday (they won, YEAH Vixens) and the boys played in the first round of state basketball on Saturday afternoon (they won, YEAH Foxes). Marcy suggested I send the race director an email asking for mercy, so I did, and that night I got an email back giving me permission to have someone else pick up the packet. I told Les that the Lord must be blessing the venture since it would be much easier for Him to keep the race director's heart hard since there were going to be thousand in the race. Les, Mr. Practical, said he didn't think I could blame my craziness on the Lord. Then he told me he would go with me, so we had a mini-vacation planned :-)
I fixed my dish for the church potluck, did the church bulletin, and we left both items at the building. Then as soon as the boys won, we headed to El Paso. We stopped in Roswell and got some yummy dinner at the Zen Asian Diner and made it to the hotel about 9 PM. Aaron met us there. He was kind enough to pick up my packet and we had a nice visit and then I was able to get to bed about 11.
Marcy, Jeffery (her son) and Johnathan (college friend of Jeffery) met me at the hotel at 6 I have to say the folks at the Holiday Inn Express get bonus points for being nice Normally they do not serve breakfast until 7. They adjusted the schedule to accommodate the racers and set it out early. They gave Marcy a parking pass so she could leave her car at the hotel and we all jogged over to the conference center for the race start, about seven tenths of a mile away. We figured it was a good warm up. They had a bag check-in, so that was great for me since I like to run in cooler wear, but tend to freeze prior to the start. I'd had Shelley (local embroidery art business owner) decorate up a performance t-shirt for me with some fox paw prints and I was wearing my Newton shoes (see my Christmas shoes note for a picture of the best shoes EVER). I had on my NM Outlaws hat (multisport group) and my pretty butterfly socks. I tell you the details of the outfit, because every moment is emblazoned on my memory now that I am writing it down......
We all lined up at the start. I chatted with a man next to me. It was his first 1/2 and he was nervous. I reassured him that he had nothing to worry about because I KNOW that if I can do these events he can and he did seem to feel better as we talked. I'd set a goal of cutting 15 minutes off my prior best running time of 3 hours and 47 minutes from the Albuquerque 1/2 marathon last October. It was a cool morning, but I was optimistic. It took about three minutes for everyone to get across the start line, and I started my Garmin when I crossed the line, so my time is only tracking my running time.
I was running along and a couple of women next to me started up a conversation and mentioned that I seemed to have a really consistent pace. I was stunned. I laughed and said, thanks and then we talked a bit about how we got into running, what running we did, etc. I guess I did have a consistent pace, because even slow as I am, I eventually left them behind. That never has happened before..... That was weird. Anyway, I kept running and I know I was looking at my pace and it was 14/15 minute mile pace, so not very fast, but I was doing okay. I got to a long hill, and walked up it with another woman and she told me that she did this 1/2 every year, never trained and that the first half was quite hilly and the rest was pretty flat. Tip of the day, find out about the course (had not done that). I decided that I would walk briskly up each hill and run down each hill. That proved to be a winner of a strategy. I remember reading somewhere that this was not a very good idea, but it sure felt good on Sunday, and I have to tell you that while I have some muscle soreness in my thighs, I am really feeling great.
Around mile five or so I ran and walked a bit with a gentleman who suggested I breath in more through my nose and less through my mouth, so I tried that. I don't know if that is good or not, but I tried it, and seemed to do fine. Talk about shooting from the hip. Gosh I am glad nobody told me to try walking on my hands! I stopped at one port-a-potty just in case there wasn't one later, but I could have skipped it (I am sure you need the toileting details). I walked each water station and poured water on my head, down my chest, and down my back since I was pretty warm even though it was not all that hot. That coolness seemed to help me quite a bit. I do not know how much I ran vs. how much I walked, but I know I averaged 14:55 minute miles and that is about 2 minutes better per mile than I have ever done before. I can't believe I cut off that kind of time.
Now I do have to give the none 1/2 marathon runners some perspective. Marcy, who is about five years younger than I am, ran her 1/2 marathon in 2:06, so that is a respectable time for a 1/2 marathon. 3:17 is still a LONG time in a 1/2 marathon---- HOWEVER it is such an improvement that I am having a huge party in my head all day and all night, and I may never sleep again because I am truly getting better and more fit. I can't believe the improvement. You can celebrate with me.
Next adventure--- Roadrunner Triathlon on April 3rd in Las Cruces (unless something else magical comes along in the meantime........) I do know that now I have to see if I can keep running 13+ miles each weekend. Long runs, here I come.
Monday the 28th I was talking to Marcy in Las Cruces, and she told me there was a 1/2 marathon in El Paso. I told her I didn't think I could do it, after all you can't do two in a row can you? Sure you can, Marcy encouraged. We were looking at the race site (jointly on our separate computers-- parallel play at its best, separated by 200 miles) and we realized it said that you had to pick up the packet in person, in El Paso, on Saturday. That nearly put the kibosh on the deal since our girls played in the first round of state basket ball on Friday (they won, YEAH Vixens) and the boys played in the first round of state basketball on Saturday afternoon (they won, YEAH Foxes). Marcy suggested I send the race director an email asking for mercy, so I did, and that night I got an email back giving me permission to have someone else pick up the packet. I told Les that the Lord must be blessing the venture since it would be much easier for Him to keep the race director's heart hard since there were going to be thousand in the race. Les, Mr. Practical, said he didn't think I could blame my craziness on the Lord. Then he told me he would go with me, so we had a mini-vacation planned :-)
I fixed my dish for the church potluck, did the church bulletin, and we left both items at the building. Then as soon as the boys won, we headed to El Paso. We stopped in Roswell and got some yummy dinner at the Zen Asian Diner and made it to the hotel about 9 PM. Aaron met us there. He was kind enough to pick up my packet and we had a nice visit and then I was able to get to bed about 11.
Marcy, Jeffery (her son) and Johnathan (college friend of Jeffery) met me at the hotel at 6 I have to say the folks at the Holiday Inn Express get bonus points for being nice Normally they do not serve breakfast until 7. They adjusted the schedule to accommodate the racers and set it out early. They gave Marcy a parking pass so she could leave her car at the hotel and we all jogged over to the conference center for the race start, about seven tenths of a mile away. We figured it was a good warm up. They had a bag check-in, so that was great for me since I like to run in cooler wear, but tend to freeze prior to the start. I'd had Shelley (local embroidery art business owner) decorate up a performance t-shirt for me with some fox paw prints and I was wearing my Newton shoes (see my Christmas shoes note for a picture of the best shoes EVER). I had on my NM Outlaws hat (multisport group) and my pretty butterfly socks. I tell you the details of the outfit, because every moment is emblazoned on my memory now that I am writing it down......
We all lined up at the start. I chatted with a man next to me. It was his first 1/2 and he was nervous. I reassured him that he had nothing to worry about because I KNOW that if I can do these events he can and he did seem to feel better as we talked. I'd set a goal of cutting 15 minutes off my prior best running time of 3 hours and 47 minutes from the Albuquerque 1/2 marathon last October. It was a cool morning, but I was optimistic. It took about three minutes for everyone to get across the start line, and I started my Garmin when I crossed the line, so my time is only tracking my running time.
I was running along and a couple of women next to me started up a conversation and mentioned that I seemed to have a really consistent pace. I was stunned. I laughed and said, thanks and then we talked a bit about how we got into running, what running we did, etc. I guess I did have a consistent pace, because even slow as I am, I eventually left them behind. That never has happened before..... That was weird. Anyway, I kept running and I know I was looking at my pace and it was 14/15 minute mile pace, so not very fast, but I was doing okay. I got to a long hill, and walked up it with another woman and she told me that she did this 1/2 every year, never trained and that the first half was quite hilly and the rest was pretty flat. Tip of the day, find out about the course (had not done that). I decided that I would walk briskly up each hill and run down each hill. That proved to be a winner of a strategy. I remember reading somewhere that this was not a very good idea, but it sure felt good on Sunday, and I have to tell you that while I have some muscle soreness in my thighs, I am really feeling great.
Around mile five or so I ran and walked a bit with a gentleman who suggested I breath in more through my nose and less through my mouth, so I tried that. I don't know if that is good or not, but I tried it, and seemed to do fine. Talk about shooting from the hip. Gosh I am glad nobody told me to try walking on my hands! I stopped at one port-a-potty just in case there wasn't one later, but I could have skipped it (I am sure you need the toileting details). I walked each water station and poured water on my head, down my chest, and down my back since I was pretty warm even though it was not all that hot. That coolness seemed to help me quite a bit. I do not know how much I ran vs. how much I walked, but I know I averaged 14:55 minute miles and that is about 2 minutes better per mile than I have ever done before. I can't believe I cut off that kind of time.
Now I do have to give the none 1/2 marathon runners some perspective. Marcy, who is about five years younger than I am, ran her 1/2 marathon in 2:06, so that is a respectable time for a 1/2 marathon. 3:17 is still a LONG time in a 1/2 marathon---- HOWEVER it is such an improvement that I am having a huge party in my head all day and all night, and I may never sleep again because I am truly getting better and more fit. I can't believe the improvement. You can celebrate with me.
Next adventure--- Roadrunner Triathlon on April 3rd in Las Cruces (unless something else magical comes along in the meantime........) I do know that now I have to see if I can keep running 13+ miles each weekend. Long runs, here I come.
Asthma Can't Keep Me Down: Pecos Valley 1/2 Marathon on 2.26.2011
Summary: I did the 1/2 marathon even though I am a wheezing asthmatic on antibiotics, and I am one happy camper for LOTS of reasons. One reason I am really happy is that this month I have biked and run over 300 miles, and that is the first time I've done that many miles in a month. Read on if you want details.
Last weekend I thought my asthma might be getting a bit obstinate, so I upped all of the usual medications and kept my training going getting ready for the 1/2 marathon on the 26th of February. On Wednesday, I called the local clinic and asked if they could work me in for an appointment, and they were merciful. I say my PCP, and she prescribed some prednisone and gave me a prescription for a z-pack of antibiotics to use once I could actually get enough phlegm up to see if it was nasty enough to warranty antibiotics. Evidently, most of the asthmatics in our region of New Mexico are having a rough patch this winter and I am not alone in my disobedient asthma. Frankly, I would like to spank my asthma and send it to bed hungry to teach it the appropriate respect for my fitness training and fantasies, however that is not working.
I kept using the nebulizer every four hours, and by Thursday night, the prednisone had loosen things up enough it was obvious that I need the antibiotics (smart doc-- thank you!). Hacking, coughing and gasping my way through the boy's district basketball game (Foxes emerged district champs, in overtime-- yeah Foxes), I didn't sleep well on Thursday night. The girls were playing for the district basketball championship on Friday night, and I didn't want to miss that game either. The Vixens emerged as the district champs-- congratulations Vixens), and I knew that no matter how bad I felt, I could make it through the 1/2 marathon on Saturday morning. Yeah, I realize it is probably not the most clever thing to do a 1/2 marathon with an asthma flare up, but I'd paid my $15 dollars for the t-shirt, and more importantly, I've been training for this since December! I knew I could do it, even if I had to do it more slowly than I anticipated.
Originally I'd planned on going over on Friday, but watching the Vixens beat Melrose for the district championship was a greater priority, so Les and I just got up at 5 on Saturday morning. I started the day with my usual Syntrax Vanilla Bean protein drink. I mix it with Splenda sweetened iced tea and Da Vinci sugar free Chai Tea extract. I am talking about the yummy Chai tea protein latte of the world. It is delicious. 100 calories and 20 grams of protein. You can't beat it for the way to start the day. I also packaged up a whole wheat bagel thin with some light cream cheese to eat at 7 AM. Since I was taking the predinsone, I had to have something solid, so I had 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on a slice of light 45 whole wheat bread. We were on the road by 5:30. I wore my compression tights, my festive running skirt with the wildflowers on it, my Brooks running shoes (the Mizuno's have not had enough distance on them for me to feel "safe" taking them on a full 1/2 marathon run yet) and a long sleeved bright pink zip top performance top. I also wore my Outlaws Multisport Club racing cap.
We got to Roswell a little after 7 (Les believes in obeying the speed limit), and I grabbed a couple of G2s and a cup of hot coffee (ahhhhh, caffeine, it is my friend). We got to Cahoun Park, and I got race number 51. I liked that symmetry since I am 51 (in triathlon years I am 52.... but that is another story). I hit the bathroom three times, never like to run with a full bladder, you know and finished my coffee. I visited with some folks and met Carl from Clovis who is also in the Outlaws. I told Les to come back about 11:30 since that was as early as I figured I would possibly finish. As it turns out, they didn't start us until about 8:15, so it was noonish when I finished.
The first mile was good. I ran a 13:30 pace, and then I had to stop to cough up so much phlegm that I had to get off the running path so nobody would see the pile of disgusting crud I was leaving on the side of the road. I knew I had to decide what type of race I was going to have, i.e. was I going to finish or not. I opted for slow and finish rather than burn out my lungs by punishing myself that way. I alternated running and walking and did well, and kept my average heartrate under 130, a pace I know does not hurt my breathing too much.
The first water station was located about 2 miles into the race and the second was located at the halfway point. The port-a-potty was at the first water station. I didn't need to stop on the way out (three trips before the race.....) but by about mile 6 I was looking for a bus. There were none. For those of you familiar with Roswell, we started at Cahoun park, ran on the bike/running trail, headed out to the highway out past the state police office, and then headed out on the truck by-pass relief route. There are no bushes, no trees, no businesses, no dirt roads to allow a detour, you are out of luck. I considered asking the volunteers at the turnaround if I could go behind their vehicle, but they were all young cadets from the military academy, and frankly I just could not bring myself to discuss my toileting needs with them. However, I do notice that I have no problem discussing it with everyone on Facebook, hmmm, the inconsistencies of my personal values and boundaries. Anyway, the trip BACK to the port-a-potty was just as desolate, though I did notice I made slightly better time on that section (ah the joys of data analysis with my special friend the Garmin Forerunner). It was hot.
I'd filled up my water bottles at the turnaround point and was swilling it pretty good. I was not worried because there was the second water station at the port-a-potty. I'd also poured water over my head and down my back and front. I'd even entertained becoming one of those women who run in her sports bra. Now I've never been one of those women because I don't look like one of those women who SHOULD run in her sports bra. I was hot, and I did consider it. I discarded it because I am frankly much to modest (refer to the paragraph above where I could not discuss my need to relieve myself behind a vehicle). I reached the 6K turnaround point and knew it was just a little bit to the port-a-potty and the next water station. I could see the port-a-potty, relief was in sight! I was so happy. Soon I was much more comfortable, unfortunately, there was no water. They'd shut down the water station. I was the last runner and there were still about 8 walkers behind me..... no water for us. Now that worried me, because I am a big drinker because I am so prone to dehydration. It was windy, it was hot, and I was out of water. I just told myself, "Suck it up, move on, there is a drinking fountain on the running path in a mile-- you can do that," and I did. I dumped a bottle of water on myself, cooled off, drank part of a bottle, and filled up two more just to be safe <grin>.
I used my inhaler about every hour on the run. Overall, it took me 3:52 and in October it took me 3:48 to do the Duke City 1/2. If my lungs had been more able, I think I could have cut 15 to 30 minutes off my time pretty handily, but I am very satisfied with the way it worked out. I will absolutely dress for hotter weather next time. I am so glad I didn't let the asthma get in the way. I am not very sore at all today, so I think my base fitness is much improved. This morning I got up at 6 and went to the gym at the school to use the stationery bike for an hour to work out my legs and have some easy spinning and did 18 miles. I track all of my miles (biking, running and swimming) each month, and this month is the first month I've gone over300 miles. Right now I have 92 running miles and 216 bike miles for February. I will add to that tomorrow :-)
After the run, Les asked what I wanted to do. I told him I needed to stretch out my legs some, so we went to Sams to do some shopping, and then we went to a yummy Asian diner for lunch and I had cashew shrimp and vegetables. We'd never been there, but I recommend Zen Asian Diner (I think that's the name) if you are in Roswell.
I really wish I had another 1/2 marathon on the schedule in May or so. May is a tough month with school responsibilities too. I've been looking, and there are a couple in April, but they both conflict with other stuff. One in Albuquerque conflicts with the Fox/Vixen Relays and one in Hobbs conflicts with Easter when we will be in CA visiting Stephen. I am thinking that I may just do a 13.1 mile run on that Saturday when we are seeing him in CA and check my time then. It isn't the same as doing it in a race though; I know I am faster in a race. The 1/2 marathon is a good distance for me because it does not seem to destroy my poor little arthritic knees (no knee pain at all). My next "event" is the Mesilla Valley Triathlon in Las Cruces on April 3rd. I am excited about that. My "worry" is that there has been no swimming since October; how good do you think I'm going to do on the swim? Yeah, that good, that is what I'm thinking. The lack of access to an indoor pool slows down winter practice, and I am not woman enough to go out to the lake with ice on it. Maybe in a week or two, brrrrr.
Anyway, I want to tell you all that your encouragement means so much to me. Thank you so much.
Patricia the Adult On-Set Athlete
Last weekend I thought my asthma might be getting a bit obstinate, so I upped all of the usual medications and kept my training going getting ready for the 1/2 marathon on the 26th of February. On Wednesday, I called the local clinic and asked if they could work me in for an appointment, and they were merciful. I say my PCP, and she prescribed some prednisone and gave me a prescription for a z-pack of antibiotics to use once I could actually get enough phlegm up to see if it was nasty enough to warranty antibiotics. Evidently, most of the asthmatics in our region of New Mexico are having a rough patch this winter and I am not alone in my disobedient asthma. Frankly, I would like to spank my asthma and send it to bed hungry to teach it the appropriate respect for my fitness training and fantasies, however that is not working.
I kept using the nebulizer every four hours, and by Thursday night, the prednisone had loosen things up enough it was obvious that I need the antibiotics (smart doc-- thank you!). Hacking, coughing and gasping my way through the boy's district basketball game (Foxes emerged district champs, in overtime-- yeah Foxes), I didn't sleep well on Thursday night. The girls were playing for the district basketball championship on Friday night, and I didn't want to miss that game either. The Vixens emerged as the district champs-- congratulations Vixens), and I knew that no matter how bad I felt, I could make it through the 1/2 marathon on Saturday morning. Yeah, I realize it is probably not the most clever thing to do a 1/2 marathon with an asthma flare up, but I'd paid my $15 dollars for the t-shirt, and more importantly, I've been training for this since December! I knew I could do it, even if I had to do it more slowly than I anticipated.
Originally I'd planned on going over on Friday, but watching the Vixens beat Melrose for the district championship was a greater priority, so Les and I just got up at 5 on Saturday morning. I started the day with my usual Syntrax Vanilla Bean protein drink. I mix it with Splenda sweetened iced tea and Da Vinci sugar free Chai Tea extract. I am talking about the yummy Chai tea protein latte of the world. It is delicious. 100 calories and 20 grams of protein. You can't beat it for the way to start the day. I also packaged up a whole wheat bagel thin with some light cream cheese to eat at 7 AM. Since I was taking the predinsone, I had to have something solid, so I had 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on a slice of light 45 whole wheat bread. We were on the road by 5:30. I wore my compression tights, my festive running skirt with the wildflowers on it, my Brooks running shoes (the Mizuno's have not had enough distance on them for me to feel "safe" taking them on a full 1/2 marathon run yet) and a long sleeved bright pink zip top performance top. I also wore my Outlaws Multisport Club racing cap.
We got to Roswell a little after 7 (Les believes in obeying the speed limit), and I grabbed a couple of G2s and a cup of hot coffee (ahhhhh, caffeine, it is my friend). We got to Cahoun Park, and I got race number 51. I liked that symmetry since I am 51 (in triathlon years I am 52.... but that is another story). I hit the bathroom three times, never like to run with a full bladder, you know and finished my coffee. I visited with some folks and met Carl from Clovis who is also in the Outlaws. I told Les to come back about 11:30 since that was as early as I figured I would possibly finish. As it turns out, they didn't start us until about 8:15, so it was noonish when I finished.
The first mile was good. I ran a 13:30 pace, and then I had to stop to cough up so much phlegm that I had to get off the running path so nobody would see the pile of disgusting crud I was leaving on the side of the road. I knew I had to decide what type of race I was going to have, i.e. was I going to finish or not. I opted for slow and finish rather than burn out my lungs by punishing myself that way. I alternated running and walking and did well, and kept my average heartrate under 130, a pace I know does not hurt my breathing too much.
The first water station was located about 2 miles into the race and the second was located at the halfway point. The port-a-potty was at the first water station. I didn't need to stop on the way out (three trips before the race.....) but by about mile 6 I was looking for a bus. There were none. For those of you familiar with Roswell, we started at Cahoun park, ran on the bike/running trail, headed out to the highway out past the state police office, and then headed out on the truck by-pass relief route. There are no bushes, no trees, no businesses, no dirt roads to allow a detour, you are out of luck. I considered asking the volunteers at the turnaround if I could go behind their vehicle, but they were all young cadets from the military academy, and frankly I just could not bring myself to discuss my toileting needs with them. However, I do notice that I have no problem discussing it with everyone on Facebook, hmmm, the inconsistencies of my personal values and boundaries. Anyway, the trip BACK to the port-a-potty was just as desolate, though I did notice I made slightly better time on that section (ah the joys of data analysis with my special friend the Garmin Forerunner). It was hot.
I'd filled up my water bottles at the turnaround point and was swilling it pretty good. I was not worried because there was the second water station at the port-a-potty. I'd also poured water over my head and down my back and front. I'd even entertained becoming one of those women who run in her sports bra. Now I've never been one of those women because I don't look like one of those women who SHOULD run in her sports bra. I was hot, and I did consider it. I discarded it because I am frankly much to modest (refer to the paragraph above where I could not discuss my need to relieve myself behind a vehicle). I reached the 6K turnaround point and knew it was just a little bit to the port-a-potty and the next water station. I could see the port-a-potty, relief was in sight! I was so happy. Soon I was much more comfortable, unfortunately, there was no water. They'd shut down the water station. I was the last runner and there were still about 8 walkers behind me..... no water for us. Now that worried me, because I am a big drinker because I am so prone to dehydration. It was windy, it was hot, and I was out of water. I just told myself, "Suck it up, move on, there is a drinking fountain on the running path in a mile-- you can do that," and I did. I dumped a bottle of water on myself, cooled off, drank part of a bottle, and filled up two more just to be safe <grin>.
I used my inhaler about every hour on the run. Overall, it took me 3:52 and in October it took me 3:48 to do the Duke City 1/2. If my lungs had been more able, I think I could have cut 15 to 30 minutes off my time pretty handily, but I am very satisfied with the way it worked out. I will absolutely dress for hotter weather next time. I am so glad I didn't let the asthma get in the way. I am not very sore at all today, so I think my base fitness is much improved. This morning I got up at 6 and went to the gym at the school to use the stationery bike for an hour to work out my legs and have some easy spinning and did 18 miles. I track all of my miles (biking, running and swimming) each month, and this month is the first month I've gone over300 miles. Right now I have 92 running miles and 216 bike miles for February. I will add to that tomorrow :-)
After the run, Les asked what I wanted to do. I told him I needed to stretch out my legs some, so we went to Sams to do some shopping, and then we went to a yummy Asian diner for lunch and I had cashew shrimp and vegetables. We'd never been there, but I recommend Zen Asian Diner (I think that's the name) if you are in Roswell.
I really wish I had another 1/2 marathon on the schedule in May or so. May is a tough month with school responsibilities too. I've been looking, and there are a couple in April, but they both conflict with other stuff. One in Albuquerque conflicts with the Fox/Vixen Relays and one in Hobbs conflicts with Easter when we will be in CA visiting Stephen. I am thinking that I may just do a 13.1 mile run on that Saturday when we are seeing him in CA and check my time then. It isn't the same as doing it in a race though; I know I am faster in a race. The 1/2 marathon is a good distance for me because it does not seem to destroy my poor little arthritic knees (no knee pain at all). My next "event" is the Mesilla Valley Triathlon in Las Cruces on April 3rd. I am excited about that. My "worry" is that there has been no swimming since October; how good do you think I'm going to do on the swim? Yeah, that good, that is what I'm thinking. The lack of access to an indoor pool slows down winter practice, and I am not woman enough to go out to the lake with ice on it. Maybe in a week or two, brrrrr.
Anyway, I want to tell you all that your encouragement means so much to me. Thank you so much.
Patricia the Adult On-Set Athlete
A Little Whining, A Little Ranting
I had a funny thing happen this morning. I've been working like crazy for the last three months or so to improve my 5k (3 mile) running time. My best time through September was just under 45 minutes. I asked one of the coaches what I needed to do to improve my time, read articles, and have done all kinds of stuff based on that information. I've read books, I've run intervals, I've done drills, I've purchased new shoes, I've changed my running style, I've purchased a little beeper that helps me run so many steps per minute so I get a faster cadence and have a "faster turnover rate." Oh, I am deeply into the science of running. I have worked at this at least three days a week for months. Today, forty-five minutes to run three miles. Yep, the same 45 minutes it took me in September. I went home and told Les how bummed I was. He looked at me and said, "No whining. Aren't you faster than any other 51 year old woman you know?"
"Well, not any of the other triathletes I know. They can all do at least 10 or 12 minute miles, or better on a 5k," I told him.
"Are you faster than you were when you were 20? Can you run further than you could when you were 20?", he asked.
"Yeah," I had to honestly respond, "But, I've been working so hard to try to get to where I can run three 12 minute miles. In a row. On the same day. One after another." Even I could hear the high pitched whine in my voice now. "Today my max heart rate was 177 and my average heart rate for the 45 minutes was 144, but I still only averaged 15 minutes miles. I am still so darned slow."
Les asked, "How much longer could you have gone at that pace?"
"Oh, at least another hour, though I would have to slow to a walk when I take drinks since I am not coordinated enough to run and drink at the same time. I can run a quarter mile at a 12 mile pace, but that is all, then I have to slow down to my regular pace," I explained.
"Do you really want to continue this conversation? Must I escalate the mocking?" Les asked. "I have the skills. I can mock you even more mercilessly, or you can quit whining. Are you or are you not more fit than you've ever been in your life?"
"More fit," I answered, "and no more mocking is needed. I am appropriately chagrined, and I will go take my shower now."
I still want to be able to run a 5K in 36 minutes...... I am not sure if I should relegate this to the dream deferred list or not. So I went to work and asked the two principals, who are both coaches, how I could get my speed up on my five K.
Mr. McMath said, "Run downhill. It will teach your legs to stretch out and you will learn how to run faster. Of course finding hills to run down here is not that easy."
Well, I could get Les to drive me to the top of seven mile hill, and I could run home. The only real draw back is that it is all pavement and that is hard on my knees, but at this point, I am about willing to try anything. So, now you know what I am thinking about doing on the next decent weather day on a Saturday or a Sunday...... You may see me on the side of the road, trying to prove something to myself. Trying to see if there is anyway I can do three miles in 36 minutes. Yes, I realize 7 mile hill is more than 3 miles, but I do have to get at least one long run in each week anyway since I've got the 1/2 marathon in Roswell on the 26th of February.
My other plan is to get outside, on the track, once the weather is nice, and run like a bear is chasing me and see if I can do three mile in less than 40 minutes. I just believe I must be able to do it.
"Well, not any of the other triathletes I know. They can all do at least 10 or 12 minute miles, or better on a 5k," I told him.
"Are you faster than you were when you were 20? Can you run further than you could when you were 20?", he asked.
"Yeah," I had to honestly respond, "But, I've been working so hard to try to get to where I can run three 12 minute miles. In a row. On the same day. One after another." Even I could hear the high pitched whine in my voice now. "Today my max heart rate was 177 and my average heart rate for the 45 minutes was 144, but I still only averaged 15 minutes miles. I am still so darned slow."
Les asked, "How much longer could you have gone at that pace?"
"Oh, at least another hour, though I would have to slow to a walk when I take drinks since I am not coordinated enough to run and drink at the same time. I can run a quarter mile at a 12 mile pace, but that is all, then I have to slow down to my regular pace," I explained.
"Do you really want to continue this conversation? Must I escalate the mocking?" Les asked. "I have the skills. I can mock you even more mercilessly, or you can quit whining. Are you or are you not more fit than you've ever been in your life?"
"More fit," I answered, "and no more mocking is needed. I am appropriately chagrined, and I will go take my shower now."
I still want to be able to run a 5K in 36 minutes...... I am not sure if I should relegate this to the dream deferred list or not. So I went to work and asked the two principals, who are both coaches, how I could get my speed up on my five K.
Mr. McMath said, "Run downhill. It will teach your legs to stretch out and you will learn how to run faster. Of course finding hills to run down here is not that easy."
Well, I could get Les to drive me to the top of seven mile hill, and I could run home. The only real draw back is that it is all pavement and that is hard on my knees, but at this point, I am about willing to try anything. So, now you know what I am thinking about doing on the next decent weather day on a Saturday or a Sunday...... You may see me on the side of the road, trying to prove something to myself. Trying to see if there is anyway I can do three miles in 36 minutes. Yes, I realize 7 mile hill is more than 3 miles, but I do have to get at least one long run in each week anyway since I've got the 1/2 marathon in Roswell on the 26th of February.
My other plan is to get outside, on the track, once the weather is nice, and run like a bear is chasing me and see if I can do three mile in less than 40 minutes. I just believe I must be able to do it.
Warrior Triathlon-->October 30, 2010 (Personal Best)
This Saturday was an awesome sprint triathlon in Albuquerque, and I had my personal best for the season.
I had a couple of internet friends that I was going to meet at the triathlon, so we had plans to meet early. The race was held at Kirtland Air Force Base, and there were over 600 folks registered. The morning was super crisp and cold, and I had a great night's rest and it was easy to be there by about 6:30 in the morning. Open racking is my favorite (you get to park your bike and gear at any untaken spot on the racks), and I ended up right near one of the sets of people I was looking to meet. I met the other group in the bathroom-- of course!!!! We chatted and visited, and ultimately the race director ended up delaying the start until about 8:45. That worked out well since it gave me more time to chat, visit and hydrate, and go to the bathroom.
The run was my best all season, with a 42:29 time for the 5K. I was second from the last on the run, but was hoping I could make up time on the bike and I was sincerely hoping to set a personal best on the run. My fastest time this year had been 44 minutes, so I was really watching my time and pushing myself. In my fantasy life I was going for 36 minutes, and while I didn't do that, I was still so happy with going faster than I had before in a triathlon. I am still going to keep working on the dream of doing three back-to-back 12 minute miles and doing a 5K in 36 minutes.
The bike was a lot of fun because I passed some folks who passed me on the run and did the 20K in 57:49 and that is also a personal best for me! Two PR in the same race and I was so jazzed. I don't know why I was so slow on the swim, it took me 15:30 and I've done the 400M swim in as little as 13 minutes.
Overall, the whole race was a personal best for this distance at 2:00:59. I was trying so hard to be under two hours and I was REALLY close to that milestone. I also looked at the overall times, and if I can cut even six more minutes off my overall time I would be tenth from the last as opposed to my current finish of fifth from the last. You know me, I am all about celebrating the success though, and being fifth from last is great compared to spending most of the first year being the absolute last person.
My next event is the Tallahassee Turkey Trot, 10K, when I visit my daughter (Mary) and son-in-law (Dave). They are willing to be sports and do the Turkey Trot too. I told them they can go for coffee and a bagel when they finish the 5K since I will be so S-L-O-W-L-Y finishing the 10K. In the Duke City Marathon it took me an hour and 38 minutes to do 6.2 miles, so my goal is to do the 10K in 1.5 hours. I figure they have this amazing thing in the air in Tallahassee called oxygen, so I might be able to make that goal.
There are two choices of sprint triathlons in December. I will only do one of them: the Polar Bear Triathlon in Las Cruces, NM (Dec 5) or the Jingle Bell Triathlon in Rio Rancho, NM (Dec 12). Then I guess I go into withdrawal because there is nothing on the radar for January, February, or March. Any suggestions for sanity maintenance? I am thinking about setting up a series of 5 and 10 K runs for the community. There might just be five or ten people who would do it, but that would be better than nothing.
I would like to do a 100 mile bike ride or another 1/2 marathon.
I have decided that for Christmas I am going to request the Newtons that I let the sales clerk talk me out of last month. I've had dreams about those shoes ever since I didn't purchase them. In the dreams I run faster, easier, and with more joy than I ever have before. I REALLY want those shoes, so that is what I want for Chrsitmas. Maybe I don't "deserve" them, but I think if I am dreaming about them, I might actually need them. I know that sounds nutty.
Your crazy, exercising friend,
Patricia
I had a couple of internet friends that I was going to meet at the triathlon, so we had plans to meet early. The race was held at Kirtland Air Force Base, and there were over 600 folks registered. The morning was super crisp and cold, and I had a great night's rest and it was easy to be there by about 6:30 in the morning. Open racking is my favorite (you get to park your bike and gear at any untaken spot on the racks), and I ended up right near one of the sets of people I was looking to meet. I met the other group in the bathroom-- of course!!!! We chatted and visited, and ultimately the race director ended up delaying the start until about 8:45. That worked out well since it gave me more time to chat, visit and hydrate, and go to the bathroom.
The run was my best all season, with a 42:29 time for the 5K. I was second from the last on the run, but was hoping I could make up time on the bike and I was sincerely hoping to set a personal best on the run. My fastest time this year had been 44 minutes, so I was really watching my time and pushing myself. In my fantasy life I was going for 36 minutes, and while I didn't do that, I was still so happy with going faster than I had before in a triathlon. I am still going to keep working on the dream of doing three back-to-back 12 minute miles and doing a 5K in 36 minutes.
The bike was a lot of fun because I passed some folks who passed me on the run and did the 20K in 57:49 and that is also a personal best for me! Two PR in the same race and I was so jazzed. I don't know why I was so slow on the swim, it took me 15:30 and I've done the 400M swim in as little as 13 minutes.
Overall, the whole race was a personal best for this distance at 2:00:59. I was trying so hard to be under two hours and I was REALLY close to that milestone. I also looked at the overall times, and if I can cut even six more minutes off my overall time I would be tenth from the last as opposed to my current finish of fifth from the last. You know me, I am all about celebrating the success though, and being fifth from last is great compared to spending most of the first year being the absolute last person.
My next event is the Tallahassee Turkey Trot, 10K, when I visit my daughter (Mary) and son-in-law (Dave). They are willing to be sports and do the Turkey Trot too. I told them they can go for coffee and a bagel when they finish the 5K since I will be so S-L-O-W-L-Y finishing the 10K. In the Duke City Marathon it took me an hour and 38 minutes to do 6.2 miles, so my goal is to do the 10K in 1.5 hours. I figure they have this amazing thing in the air in Tallahassee called oxygen, so I might be able to make that goal.
There are two choices of sprint triathlons in December. I will only do one of them: the Polar Bear Triathlon in Las Cruces, NM (Dec 5) or the Jingle Bell Triathlon in Rio Rancho, NM (Dec 12). Then I guess I go into withdrawal because there is nothing on the radar for January, February, or March. Any suggestions for sanity maintenance? I am thinking about setting up a series of 5 and 10 K runs for the community. There might just be five or ten people who would do it, but that would be better than nothing.
I would like to do a 100 mile bike ride or another 1/2 marathon.
I have decided that for Christmas I am going to request the Newtons that I let the sales clerk talk me out of last month. I've had dreams about those shoes ever since I didn't purchase them. In the dreams I run faster, easier, and with more joy than I ever have before. I REALLY want those shoes, so that is what I want for Chrsitmas. Maybe I don't "deserve" them, but I think if I am dreaming about them, I might actually need them. I know that sounds nutty.
Your crazy, exercising friend,
Patricia
New Running Shoes.....
Okay, I did the Duke City 1/2 Marathon on Sunday, and my back started cramping at mile 7, so I decided I must need new shoes. It could not be any number of other variables, I was sure I needed new shoes. After all, I've had these shoes for 10 months and I've been running between 50 and 60 miles per month, so it is time.
I did the school girl thing and read articles on the internet, magazines, posts, and of course checked out what other people were wearing at the race on Sunday. At triathlons it is easy to chat with folks about their gear, and I just kind of forced myself on people in the running world and they were okay about it. I don't know if this level of communication is normal for them, but none of them ran screaming or called the police.
By the time I got to the running store of choice in Albuquerque, I'd pretty well set my heart on a pair of Newtons. The clerk, a very kind lady named Pat, looked at me and said as gently as she could, "I don't think so, honey." It sounds condescending when I write it, but she was not rude or condescending at all. I explained that I REALLY wanted some Newtons. She asked me why, so I told her the whole story in bullet points:
* I've been working super hard to develop my running skills
* I've turned myself from a heel striker to a mid-foot striker
* I've been able to cut 16.6% off my 3.5 mile running time (from 60 minutes to 50 minutes, so no illusions of speed)
* They are a beautiful color of orange* All of the other triathletes have them
* They will make me have 44% greater energy return
* I will look super cool and fast when I run in them
* They are THE super "it" shoe in the running world
* I just did my first 1/2 marathon and need to celebrate the milestone with some new shoes
That last brought up a special gleam in her eye. You see, the 1/2 marathon is her favorite distance, and she has had to give up that distance (she is now 68). "How long was your long training run going in to the 1/2?", she asked.
Now I knew I was WOEFULLY under trained for the 1/2 marathon, so I lied and said what I thought was the right answer, "10 miles." Oops, that was the wrong answer. You see, the truthful answer is that the longest run I'd done was 5.25 miles, and I'd walked about a mile of that. What can I say... I was training for the Olympic distance triathlon and it was all about fitting in running, biking and swimming workouts. I just kind of jammed in the extra running when I could get it to fit in. I know, not the best plan, but hey, it worked out okay. I do know I was too embarrassed to admit the truth to the nice sales person though.
"Oh, no, my dear, I can't believe you went in so under trained. You should have been doing at least 12 or 13 for your long runs for the weeks leading up to the 1/2 marathon," she chastised. (See, if she'd known the truth she would just have sent me scurrying out of the store in shame and refused to sell me any shoes at all.)
Fortunately she is a good salesperson, so she let me try on some Newtons. They were sleek, lovely, and everything I imagined they would be. They looked like fast cheetahs on my feet. I looked at them with longing and perhaps a little love in my eyes, but I knew in my heart that they truly were out of my league. Pat was kind, and also brought out some other shoes too. Ultimately I agreed with her that the Newtons would not be the shoe for me. I think that at this point in my life it would be like a balding middle aged man with a poor comb-over and a beer paunch purchasing a low slung convertible; not a good fit. Still a nice car, but not the right car for the right person.
I still have a crush on those nifty orange Newtons, but my new Brooks Glycerin shoes are extremely nice and run very nicely. They are pretty and quite functional. Much like a minivan. They get the job done.
I told Pat that I might be back at some point to get some of those fast beauties. She smiled and said she would not put it past me. I guess I will just have to work really hard in the next six months to become worthy of their lovely glory and treasured speed. Yet another goal.
Patricia
These are the shoes I have a crush on. I am going to get them for Christmas......
I did the school girl thing and read articles on the internet, magazines, posts, and of course checked out what other people were wearing at the race on Sunday. At triathlons it is easy to chat with folks about their gear, and I just kind of forced myself on people in the running world and they were okay about it. I don't know if this level of communication is normal for them, but none of them ran screaming or called the police.
By the time I got to the running store of choice in Albuquerque, I'd pretty well set my heart on a pair of Newtons. The clerk, a very kind lady named Pat, looked at me and said as gently as she could, "I don't think so, honey." It sounds condescending when I write it, but she was not rude or condescending at all. I explained that I REALLY wanted some Newtons. She asked me why, so I told her the whole story in bullet points:
* I've been working super hard to develop my running skills
* I've turned myself from a heel striker to a mid-foot striker
* I've been able to cut 16.6% off my 3.5 mile running time (from 60 minutes to 50 minutes, so no illusions of speed)
* They are a beautiful color of orange* All of the other triathletes have them
* They will make me have 44% greater energy return
* I will look super cool and fast when I run in them
* They are THE super "it" shoe in the running world
* I just did my first 1/2 marathon and need to celebrate the milestone with some new shoes
That last brought up a special gleam in her eye. You see, the 1/2 marathon is her favorite distance, and she has had to give up that distance (she is now 68). "How long was your long training run going in to the 1/2?", she asked.
Now I knew I was WOEFULLY under trained for the 1/2 marathon, so I lied and said what I thought was the right answer, "10 miles." Oops, that was the wrong answer. You see, the truthful answer is that the longest run I'd done was 5.25 miles, and I'd walked about a mile of that. What can I say... I was training for the Olympic distance triathlon and it was all about fitting in running, biking and swimming workouts. I just kind of jammed in the extra running when I could get it to fit in. I know, not the best plan, but hey, it worked out okay. I do know I was too embarrassed to admit the truth to the nice sales person though.
"Oh, no, my dear, I can't believe you went in so under trained. You should have been doing at least 12 or 13 for your long runs for the weeks leading up to the 1/2 marathon," she chastised. (See, if she'd known the truth she would just have sent me scurrying out of the store in shame and refused to sell me any shoes at all.)
Fortunately she is a good salesperson, so she let me try on some Newtons. They were sleek, lovely, and everything I imagined they would be. They looked like fast cheetahs on my feet. I looked at them with longing and perhaps a little love in my eyes, but I knew in my heart that they truly were out of my league. Pat was kind, and also brought out some other shoes too. Ultimately I agreed with her that the Newtons would not be the shoe for me. I think that at this point in my life it would be like a balding middle aged man with a poor comb-over and a beer paunch purchasing a low slung convertible; not a good fit. Still a nice car, but not the right car for the right person.
I still have a crush on those nifty orange Newtons, but my new Brooks Glycerin shoes are extremely nice and run very nicely. They are pretty and quite functional. Much like a minivan. They get the job done.
I told Pat that I might be back at some point to get some of those fast beauties. She smiled and said she would not put it past me. I guess I will just have to work really hard in the next six months to become worthy of their lovely glory and treasured speed. Yet another goal.
Patricia
Duke City Marathon--> October 17, 2010
This Sunday was my first attempt at a half marathon, and it was magnificent fun. I had a great time and just to cut to the chase, I was not the last person in the race; I finished fifth from last in the 1/2 marathon run. For those of you who can stand the details, here goes.
I live in a tiny town, less than 1,000 folks, in a large county (2,345 square miles) in New Mexico. The total county population is less than 2,000. Even with that small population, we were magnificently represented. One of our high school students went with me, I will call her A, and four of our school teachers. A and I decided to do the 1/2 marathon run and the four teachers decided to do the 1/2 marathon walk. Everyone started training this summer as an outgrowth of our first local triathlon (we'd hosted one in June because we needed a fund raiser for our athletic program).
A and I left on Saturday and drove to Albuquerque for packet pick-up. We had to go to the downtown convention center. I have never been to a marathon event before, and boy are they casual compared to triathlons! No ID, no parent permission, you can pick up other people's packets; it is so much more "slack" than a USAT sanctioned event. Not that this was a problem since A is only 16, but it was something I noticed. A is a high school track qualifier (one and two mile) but she had really never done any distance running. She likes running, and she thought it would be fun to give the 1/2 a try with me.
Anyway, we took off for the mall and headed to Sephora. I told the beauty consultant that A needed a make-over since we were here for the 1/2 marathon and athletes needed to look their best (we'd planned our venture in advance) and after she was dolled up, off to meet the rest of our party at Olive Garden for pasta.
Sunday morning was great, and we got to the Civic Plaza in plenty of time. There were over 3,000 folks in the Duke City Marathon, and I am not sure how many in each event. I know we took off at 7:45.
I was worried about hydration, so I had my 40 ounce hydration belt on and I know I am the person most likely to set a "land slow record". I kid you not, I can run the most consistent 14:30 minute miles on the face of the planet. One mile, seven miles, five miles, it does not really matter, 14:30 per mile. Yes, if you see me in motion you would have to call what I am doing technically running, it is just an amazingly slow run.
Over the last two months I've been reading books on improving my running form, and have switched to a mid-foot strike. That took me from taking 60 minutes to run 3.5 miles to 50 minutes to run the same 3.5 mile route. That is a 16.6% improvement in a two month period. That makes me happy, and I really knew I needed to get different shoes before the race, but I live in a tiny town, and didn't have a chance to shop and break in new shoes early enough to make it make sense. This meant I was going to run this race in the old shoes that were correct for a heel striker. Oh well, it worked okay. I was able to run without taking a break to walk until after I finished mile 7. I have NEVER gone that far without at least some sort of walk break. If I didn't have cramping in my lower back, I am sure I could have gone at least another three miles before I needed a break. I suspect the back cramping was from forcing me to try to continue to run correctly in the shoes. I don't know that, but after talking to one of the track coaches at school, it could be that or it could just be that I am a baby. I can tell you that I was grinning ear to ear. It was AMAZING and I was so happy I could hardly stand it.
I walked half a mile, tried to work out the kinks in my back, and then ran another mile and a half. I walked with another runner who was recently out of her cast (stress fracture) and then ran the last mile and a half.
Oh, yes, my muscles are sore. I can hardly wait to get set for another 1/2 marathon, and to get up to Albuquerque tomorrow to try to get some of the correct shoes so I can gradually transition to some mid-foot strike shoes. One thing about being a person coming from absolute ground zero, you have nowhere to go but up and you have no ego to lose. I was just so excited to see the posted results and discover that I was not the last one. I spent most of my first year in triathlon being the last person to finish. This was my first 1/2 marathon, and I was NOT the last person. That is just stunning and amazing. It is particularly gratifying after feeling like such a failure after DNFing out of Elephant Man two weeks ago. To finish, finish well, and to be able to feel like I can barely wait to do the next race is so exciting and energizing.
A finished in about 2 hours and 50 minutes and I finished in 3 hours and 47 minutes. She does not ever plan on doing it again, but she is so happy she did it. I am now someone who finished running 13.1 miles in a 1/2 marathon. Wow. I am someone who is planning on doing another 1/2 marathon. I am sitting here planning on what type of training I need to do so I can do the full marathon next October. I am so excited that it is hard to even sit here at the computer and write about it instead of "doing" something.
I am excited too because I've got the Warrior Triathlon on the 30th of October. While I was doing the Duke City 1/2 I paid attention to how long it took me to do the 6.2 miles (1 hour and 38 minutes) because on Thanksgiving I am doing the Tallahassee Turkey Trot 10K (daughter and son-in-law are doing the 5K) and I want to try to do it in 1 hour and 30 minutes or better.
I realize my training goals are kind of lame compared to the competitive levels I know many of you experience, but it is nice to have a forum to share my personal victories too.
Patricia
I live in a tiny town, less than 1,000 folks, in a large county (2,345 square miles) in New Mexico. The total county population is less than 2,000. Even with that small population, we were magnificently represented. One of our high school students went with me, I will call her A, and four of our school teachers. A and I decided to do the 1/2 marathon run and the four teachers decided to do the 1/2 marathon walk. Everyone started training this summer as an outgrowth of our first local triathlon (we'd hosted one in June because we needed a fund raiser for our athletic program).
A and I left on Saturday and drove to Albuquerque for packet pick-up. We had to go to the downtown convention center. I have never been to a marathon event before, and boy are they casual compared to triathlons! No ID, no parent permission, you can pick up other people's packets; it is so much more "slack" than a USAT sanctioned event. Not that this was a problem since A is only 16, but it was something I noticed. A is a high school track qualifier (one and two mile) but she had really never done any distance running. She likes running, and she thought it would be fun to give the 1/2 a try with me.
Anyway, we took off for the mall and headed to Sephora. I told the beauty consultant that A needed a make-over since we were here for the 1/2 marathon and athletes needed to look their best (we'd planned our venture in advance) and after she was dolled up, off to meet the rest of our party at Olive Garden for pasta.
Sunday morning was great, and we got to the Civic Plaza in plenty of time. There were over 3,000 folks in the Duke City Marathon, and I am not sure how many in each event. I know we took off at 7:45.
I was worried about hydration, so I had my 40 ounce hydration belt on and I know I am the person most likely to set a "land slow record". I kid you not, I can run the most consistent 14:30 minute miles on the face of the planet. One mile, seven miles, five miles, it does not really matter, 14:30 per mile. Yes, if you see me in motion you would have to call what I am doing technically running, it is just an amazingly slow run.
Over the last two months I've been reading books on improving my running form, and have switched to a mid-foot strike. That took me from taking 60 minutes to run 3.5 miles to 50 minutes to run the same 3.5 mile route. That is a 16.6% improvement in a two month period. That makes me happy, and I really knew I needed to get different shoes before the race, but I live in a tiny town, and didn't have a chance to shop and break in new shoes early enough to make it make sense. This meant I was going to run this race in the old shoes that were correct for a heel striker. Oh well, it worked okay. I was able to run without taking a break to walk until after I finished mile 7. I have NEVER gone that far without at least some sort of walk break. If I didn't have cramping in my lower back, I am sure I could have gone at least another three miles before I needed a break. I suspect the back cramping was from forcing me to try to continue to run correctly in the shoes. I don't know that, but after talking to one of the track coaches at school, it could be that or it could just be that I am a baby. I can tell you that I was grinning ear to ear. It was AMAZING and I was so happy I could hardly stand it.
I walked half a mile, tried to work out the kinks in my back, and then ran another mile and a half. I walked with another runner who was recently out of her cast (stress fracture) and then ran the last mile and a half.
Oh, yes, my muscles are sore. I can hardly wait to get set for another 1/2 marathon, and to get up to Albuquerque tomorrow to try to get some of the correct shoes so I can gradually transition to some mid-foot strike shoes. One thing about being a person coming from absolute ground zero, you have nowhere to go but up and you have no ego to lose. I was just so excited to see the posted results and discover that I was not the last one. I spent most of my first year in triathlon being the last person to finish. This was my first 1/2 marathon, and I was NOT the last person. That is just stunning and amazing. It is particularly gratifying after feeling like such a failure after DNFing out of Elephant Man two weeks ago. To finish, finish well, and to be able to feel like I can barely wait to do the next race is so exciting and energizing.
A finished in about 2 hours and 50 minutes and I finished in 3 hours and 47 minutes. She does not ever plan on doing it again, but she is so happy she did it. I am now someone who finished running 13.1 miles in a 1/2 marathon. Wow. I am someone who is planning on doing another 1/2 marathon. I am sitting here planning on what type of training I need to do so I can do the full marathon next October. I am so excited that it is hard to even sit here at the computer and write about it instead of "doing" something.
I am excited too because I've got the Warrior Triathlon on the 30th of October. While I was doing the Duke City 1/2 I paid attention to how long it took me to do the 6.2 miles (1 hour and 38 minutes) because on Thanksgiving I am doing the Tallahassee Turkey Trot 10K (daughter and son-in-law are doing the 5K) and I want to try to do it in 1 hour and 30 minutes or better.
I realize my training goals are kind of lame compared to the competitive levels I know many of you experience, but it is nice to have a forum to share my personal victories too.
Patricia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)