ZIPP-e-tee-do-dahhhhhhh

Chisago is in the books. It was a very good race for me. I PRed by 55 minutes over my 2009 time (when I walked pretty much the whole 1/2 marathon) and PRed by 37 minutes over Liberty 1/2 iron tri earlier this summer.

Yippee, yippee, yippee!

Two things worked well for me:
1) I have been working hard. Still not sure if it has been "finish Ironman WI before midnight" hard enough, but I have been working hard.
2) Zipp wheels.

Yes, that's right: awesome, rocking Zipp wheels.

I rented a pair for IM WI but got a chance to "preview" them last weekend. I had a bike fit tweak scheduled for last Wednesday with Kevin at Gear West. Unfortunately, Kevin had to switch my appointment at the last minute. When making the new appointment, Kevin asked me what my concerns were. I talked about the bike fit but also asked about the race wheels.

Having never used them before, I didn't know if they'd really make a difference, or if they would ride differently than regular wheels, or if it would make a difference if I was on a flat course (which IM WI is NOT) versus a hilly course (which IM WI IS).

He answered each of my questions (Yes; not really; no) and then said that I could preview a pair for Chisago... and so I did.

WOW!

What a difference! I was much faster on the bike; the little hills didn't feel like much work at all and made it through those 56 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes. That was a HUGE improvement for me!

The swim was pretty uneventful -- felt good in the water and came out in 45 minutes. The "official" time was 47 minutes because the timing mat was at the top of a hill (where transition was set up). I decided to take a potty-break in the bath house, which was on my way up the hill.

My run was okay -- not stellar. I actually RAN this year -- but did end up taking lots of walk breaks. The temps were up and there was not a cloud in the sky, so I got very hot, very fast.

All in all, I discovered that getting off the bike earlier means you see more of your friends out on the run course. (Who knew?)

Nat, Patrick, Gary, Rich, CY, Derek, Joe, Pam and Brett all just rocked the course. Marcia did the sprint distance and was out on the run course with her wonderful supplies of ice, water and other "aid". (I think it will be very hard for her to not be able to provide any support other than cheers at IM WI....If she hands us any thing on the course, we risk disqualification).

Another really nice plus was that my coach decided to race the event too. I saw him right before the swim, where he wished me well and gave me a nice little pep talk. He caught up to me at about mile 35 on the bike and gave me another "Atta Girl" along with a high-five as we passed each other on the run. That kind of encouragement means a lot to me.

After the race, I was supposed to ride the 56-mile course again. I ended up only looping the 22-mile sprint course. (I know. I am a bad person.)

I was way over heated; the sun was relentless and, foolish me, packed a cooler with water and extra nutrition for the second loop, but forgot ice.

So.... I had HOT Infinit and Nunn. Blech.

I had also developed a bit of a blood blister:




which bugged me a bit.

Still and all, 78 miles, plus 1.2 for the swim; plus 13.1 for the run? All in all a good day.

Only one more tri left before IM WI: Waseca 1/3 iron.

I can't believe how fast time is flying and how fast the summer is passing.

I'll run a 1/2 marathon with Hubby on August 7th -- it will be his first...And I'll got back to Madison for one last ride on that bike course... plus, I'm sure my coach has lot of other fun stuff in store for me over the next 7 weeks....

Finally, I thought the photo below was very telling about life at our house. Notice what fills the dishwasher:



Seven water bottles and three cat food dishes.....

What more can I say?

PRs and Divorce

First the good news:

Buffalo Triathlon was today.

I have not done this race since 2005, which was the first year I participated in triathlon. The event is always scheduled for the first Sunday in June, which is also the same weekend for the Edina Art Fair.

Hubby is a part-time photographer and has been a selected artist of the art fair ever since 2006. We typically have spent this weekend manning the booth at the fair making Buffalo an "event of the past" for me.

Not this year. Hubby decided to take a break from the art fair so I had the chance to register for the sprint distance event. My goal was to do better -- MUCH better-- than I did in 2005.

Well, yippee-eye-yeah-cai-yo, I achieved my goal.

I beat my 2005 time by almost 21-minutes (20:56 to be exact). Best of all, I placed 4th out of 11 in my age group. I am estatic (if I do say so myself).

I had a great swim, a pretty good bike ride and a pretty good run (even with waiting in line for the portapotty...).

Three other friends (Nat, Marcia and Sara) also did the sprint distance course today. We all had great races and a lot of fun.

Buffalo is a very well run event; they give away great schwag, have very enthusiastic volunteers and I was very happy to be able to do the event this year. I highly recommend it.

Now on to Subject Number Two: Divorce.

No, Hubby and I are not getting divorced.

That is an event I can not even imagine happening. I love him with all my heart, even after all these years of togetherness...

I had to divorce my IM coach. At least moving away from him felt like a divorce.

We'd been working together for several months and on the POSITIVE side, I'm running better and feeling stronger than I have in a long time.

He is an awesome athlete, his company is undergoing restructuring and he is a very busy guy.

I need more attention. I need more u-rah-rah. I need someone who will actually require me to log my training hours and give me feedback.

My old coach (now lovingly referred to as "OC") didn't have the time to check logs or provide much advice. (In his defense, during our divorce proceedings, he said that I was paying for a service. His service provided workouts and advice if I were to proactively ask for it. He said that if I wanted him to be more proactive, I could pay more money. That did not seem like a good deal to me).

I thought about this long and hard and decided that if I was going to make a move, I'd have to do it now. There are only 15-weeks left until Ironman Wisconsin and my training can not skip a beat at this point.

So....I divorced him last week.

And you have to know that our relationship was a polygamous relationship (meaning OC obviously has other clients...). One of his other clients was also unhappy, so she divorced him too.

We've both entered a new relationship with a NEW coach -- "NC". NC is already sending unsolicited emails with lots of advice and encouragement. He is also sending training plans that look like they are going to challenge us and get us stronger.

Perhaps it is only a honeymoon period, but we both feel that NC will get us through the next 15-weeks and to the finish line.

The only question now is whether we should register at a local tri store for some gifts.....

Busy days...

I haven't posted in almost a month.

WOW.

Time flies when you are having "fun" (?).

Work has been very out of control lately. I work for a company in the financial services industry which has been, oh, let's just say "challenged" for the last few weeks.

Fortunately, my company happens to be in the clear, but like pretty much every other company and people, we are cutting back in a big way.

I think they say "More with Less", yes?

In addition to my regular duties, I'm also this year's Communications Chair for our annual Community Support (also known as United Way) Campaign. So, I've been building websites, writing scripts for kickoff events, securing speakers, coordinating fundraisers, etc.

Rewarding but lots of hours.

I'm hoping to get back to a normal work load by mid-October.

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I had my last tri event on September 8th: Square Lake Short Course. I set a 2 minute PR for myself. Swam well, biked much faster than at Pigman (17.4 mph vs just under 15 at Pigman) and ran pretty well.

My friends Gary and Marcia also did the event and rocked. Nat and Marcia's husband Marty came along to cheer us on. (Hubby was participating in his own golf event that day).

Steve in a Speedo came to check out the race and I "met" him as I came out of the water to make my way up to T1. He and his wife, Pharmie, did the 1/2 Iron distance the next day. If you haven't seen him in his Grim Reaper costume, you should check out his blog. He ran the entire 1/2 marathon wearing his costume. Still posted an unbelievably fast time. (grrr).

It's sad to me that tri season has come to an end. I really enjoyed this year's events. I've already signed up for my first 2009 event (Lifetime Fitness Tri)and am trying to figure out my race schedule for next year.

I do have a couple other events slated for October: Twin Cities 10 miler and the Monster 1/2 marathon.

I always seem to need to have something on the schedule to plan for.

Not really sure if it's because I'm obsessive or....

My Name In Lights and "Stuff"

There it is! My name in lights! First place in my category. Yee ha.




First things first:


This "stuff" with Gorby (see post from July 11th) is very wearing. I've talked with the vet at the U; my regular Vet; my sisters, Hubby, friends, etc. All "roads of advice" point to really the only option, which is a crappy one:




Get the cat in for surgery to remove the tumor as soon as possible. Won't cure him, but will (hopefully) stop the chance of a perforated bowel or obstruction or blockage, which may be even more horrible than just having cancer. Then, continue to make decisions as more info is revealed.
I'm trying to get an appointment for this week, as much as I dread it.


Thought I'd post a couple of pictures of him taken today as we sat out in the backyard enjoying the summer. He doesn't look sick does he?










Other photos to post today are some shots from LifeTime:



Jill Goodwin, another Goody Girl from Columbus, participated yesterday at LTF. We both were wearing our Goody uniforms, so we found each other. Hubby took a picture of us:






Here I am rocking out of T1.


Finally, my time on the Podium.... that was kind of fun, I have to admit.

Unlike other years, they didn't have the trophy at the event.
They said they would mail me my award.

Wonder if they could just award me a cancer-free cat?

3:25:02

Short version of my results at today's LifeTime Fitness tri:

I knocked slightly over 15 minutes off of last year's finish time and 17 minutes off of my finish time at Rochester.

Yippee!

I came in first in my age division (Athena 50 and over). Even though I'm only 49, LTF is a USAT Sanctioned event, so participants race in the age group category of their age on December 31st of the year.

This year, there were two of us in the 50+ group.

I finished first in my category 2 years ago (a field of 1); I finished 2nd last year (a field of 3); this year, 1st (field of 2), but I also landed in the middle of the whole Athena pack. Hurrah)

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(Slight side note: There are a couple of reasons I sign up as an Athena at LTF.

1) We get in to the water early. My start time was 7:12 am. There are over 3,000 participants at this event and the number of waves and start times go on forever. I want to be in the water early to get things rolling.

2) The field is small. This year, the whole Athena group had 23 participants. Clydesdales had three waves totaling 66 participants.

I'm sure that the women's group is so much smaller because of the "stigma" of the weight category. (Women have to weigh 150 or more lbs; Men, over 200 lbs).

I believe the men could care less who knows that they weigh over 200 lbs. Women on the other hand, have been shamed about our weight for a long time. I'm guessing that women who could enter as an Athena won't or don't.

We could all debate the "fairness" of a weight category in endurance events (pounds stretched over a very tall, very fit frame is not the same as pounds stretched over a "regular" frame; or in some cases, like mine last year and this year, pounds very close to the minimum requirements versus many pounds over the minimum), but I'm not up to that today.

Today I'm just reporting results for ME (because it is all about ME today...) (wink wink)

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Swim 1.5K: 40:13 (over 10 minutes better than last year)

T1: 5:18 (includes ripping off wet suit and taking a potty break)

Bike 40K: 1:28:17 (over 7 minutes better than last year)

T2: 3:01 (it was a LONG way to from my bike to the RUN OUT spot...)

Run 10K: 1:08:12 (slightly 3 minute MORE than last year).

Total time: 3:25:02 Last year finish time: 3:40:09

Hubby and Sabrina came to the event to cheer me on. It was great to have them there. I'll have some pictures to post tomorrow or Monday.