Recap and Renew

Recap:

Square Lake Tri: For the last three year, Square Lake has been my "adieu to summer" event. And, each year for the past three years, I'm completely surprised that it actually IS the end of the summer.

We have such a short tri season here in Minnesota. It really only spans about 3 1/2 months from June until about mid-September. I travel a bit for work and always look up tris and tri club information in the cities I visit. Charlotte's season runs through the end of October. Tempe's season never ends...Minnesota? Fourteen jam packed, filled to the max weeks.

I try to "stretch" the year by including Tri U Mah in to my tri season count. Tri U Mah is the indoor event held at the University of Minnesota every February. It kicks off the new year for me, but there is that long, cold and lonely stretch before open water swimming and official tris.

I tried to get in as many events as I could this year -- signed up for nine; only participated in eight. New Bri Tri was just too dang cold for me to get in to the water...But the other eight were fun and challenging in their own ways, culminating in Square Lake.

This season was not my stellar best. I really didn't train the way I should have or wanted to (see all my thousands of previous posts for my lame excuses as to WHY).. Once I got to the start line for Square Lake, I was a little sad about being so lazy during the season.

My friends Marcia and Gary also signed up for this event and our other friends, Angel and Rick volunteered as kayak supporters for the swim portion.

The water was perfect. The temp was great, it was smooth as glass before the athletes got in the water. I do feel pretty good about my swim progress this year. I felt more comfortable in the water this year than I ever have. I stayed with the pack, only got off course a little bit, but all in all, felt just fine in the water.

Even though I'd done this race twice before, I forgot how hilly it was. The good news is on the downs and the flats, I flew pretty well -- up to 31 mph in a couple spots. The bad part is that shifting the new bike still seems to confuse me and had some issues with it on the up's. At one point my chain fell off and I had to pop it back on. All in all my bike was okay. It will be great once I get my shifting worked out.

I was most fearful of the run, which has been the most difficult for me this year. Once I got out on the course, though I felt really just fine. I had more energy and pep and less stiffness than I had all year. This run was definitely a confidence builder for me. I CAN enjoy running. I DO enjoy running...

So, although no PR this year, I felt pretty good about the race.

Renew:

Later that afternoon, Nat and I drove to Madison to volunteer/watch Ironman Wisconsin.

WOW.

We both had been toying with the idea of signing up for IM WI 2010, but wanted to see the race first, from the up-close-and-personal view point of volunteering. I was a wetsuit peeler, Nat volunteered in the T1 area and then we both worked the water stop in Mt. Horeb.

WOW.

It was incredible to watch the event, the process and especially the athletes.

Once we were done volunteering, we walked along the run course and watched the marathon.

WOW.

It was amazing to watch the athletes do their thing. Very, very inspiring and invigorating.

So, the day after the event, we joined a long line of volunteers and others waiting for the chance to sign up for a spot in the 2010 event.

We are officially now in training.

I can't wait! Let the fun begin!

Last Tri 2009

I can not believe that my last tri event of 2009 happens this Saturday -- Square Lake Short course.

This year has absolutely whizzed by.

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for my performance at any of my events this year.

All in all, it has been a pretty disappointing physical year for me.

I'm worse shape than I've been in for the last two years.

I've struggled with having much motivation within my personal, professional or physical lives.

The summer was cold and pretty much non-exsistant.

I got involved in not one but TWO disappointing running groups.

I bagged my first outdoor tri of the summer because it was cold (call me "wimpy"); I'm bagging on Twin Cities Marathon because I couldn't get my mojo together to actually train (call me "lazy")

I really understand that I have no one to blane for MOST of the issues I list above except myself.

I ate the chocolate covered peanuts; I hit the snooze alarm over and over and over; I got my undies in a bundle because the Running Groups weren't what I wanted. (I did NOT control the weather, however...so I get a pass on that).

For all my complaints, there were high points:

I did had fun doing the 1/2 iron distances (even through I walked the 1/2 marathon portion of one and did the other as a relay)

I have an awesome new bike.

I am swimming better than ever.

I still have a posse of wonderful tri and running friends who put up with me.

My golf game improved a lot this summer.

So, yin and yang. Ebb and flow. One step forward, two steps (and about 15 lbs) back.

Not one to leave on sour note, or "Well, There's a Way to SNAP my Motivation Back":

After Square Lake, I'm going to Madison to volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin. Nat is coming along too. AND, I'm 99.9% sure I'll be lined up with the other volunteers on Monday morning to register for the 2010 event.

If swimming 2.4, biking 112 and running 26.2 doesn't jolt me back in to Motivation Land, I'll be trading in all my athletic stuff for applique tee shirts, elastic waist band and support hose...

Ms. 60 goes Aero...

Minnetoka Tri was today. First time doing this event and I had a blast.

I'm really have so much fun doing triathlons. I enjoy the activities, the events and the courses. It is also fun to watch other competitors. I'm sorry I didn't discover this sport sooner, but... it is what it is.

Sometimes I worry about the time that I'll have to give up participating. At some point, I'll either be too slow, or just tooooo old to be spending a lot of time in performance wear.

Having said that, there are plenty of people in their 50's that compete. Even 60's and older are out there on the course. So if they can, I can (God willing).

The weather was much, much better today than two weeks ago when I bagged on New Bri tri. Then, it was cold (41 degrees air temp) and rainy.

Today was very different...it was sunny and warm. Summer has finally, finally arrived!

Hubby is away on a business trip, so I went to the event solo, which was a little lonely. I set up in transition, went to the portapotty about a million times, got on my wetsuit and followed the masses to the start.

I stared at the lake for a little while, turned around and there was Nat. She had come to see me do the swim. I was very happy to see a friendly, familiar face. It was great that she showed up for me.

I was a little nervous about the swim. Not about the mechanics of the swim, but about the water temperature. My fears were for naught. The water was crisp, but with the help of my wetsuit for my core, I was just fine.

The swim is a little different than other tris. Instead of being an out and back, the course runs parallel to the shore line. I was in the last wave -- got in the water, started swimming and didn't stop once.

Not stopping is still a big deal for me. Not long ago (like last year...), I'd have to stop, re-adjust my goggles; let some of the stronger swimmers get by me and relax.

Then I had my "no stop" break through last year and it has been smooth sailing, or shall I say swimming, ever since.

I got through the 1/2 mile swim in just over 17 minutes. Not tooo fast, but certainly not tooo slow. I passed people from different waves, felt strong and just did my thing. I was very happy with my time.

Transition One (T1) was a little putzy. I was a little dizzy coming out of the lake (normal from rolling side to side in the water). I got tangled in my wetsuit but eventually got it together and got on the bike and out on the course.

The bike course was pretty, but hilly. Hillier than Chisago's 1/2 iron course. As I was getting out on to the course, this woman zipped right past me. Her age, according to her leg, was 60. She rocketed by me on her slick tri bike and immediately got in to aero position.

All I could think was "you GO, Ms. Thing" and "I got to get me another bike!".

We rode from the lake through Excelsior and out to Lake Ann Park (site of my "no stop" swim break through) and around that area.

I felt pretty fast and strong, although some of the hills were tough. Still, I passed plenty of people -- who then passed me when my chain slipped off. Twice.

After I finally got the chain back on, I caught up to and passed the posse, bringing myself in to T2 in under an hour.

Quick change of shoes and out to the run. My legs were stiff -- hills and just general stiffness, so I was slow going getting to the actual "running" part.

Eventually I got it together and started to run. I was slow, but got through it. Again, passing plenty of people, which is highly unusual for me.

At one point, I saw a familiar leg: it was Ms. 60, just ahead of me.

I decided to smoke her, which I did. (Evil grin).

I pulled in to the finish line at 1:53:48, which I believe is a PR for me for this distance.

Next up, Rochester Oly on June 27th.

So GLAD tri season is hear!

I am a Wuss

My first outdoor tri of the year was today, except I wasn't in it.

We had a very unusual cold snap roll through last night, bringing lots of cold rain along with it.

Although I had my gear all packed last night, when I woke up this morning and it was 41 degrees, I looked at Hubby and said, "That is two degrees too close to the 30s" -- I'm not getting in the lake".

My friends and I had tried a brief open water swim last weekend and the water temps were "brisk" to say the least.

It may have been one thing to swim .4 of a mile in cold water, but this tri has a 1/2 mile swim, which takes me a bit of time to complete.

The thought of following that with a 14-mile bike ride (while wet) and then a 3-mile run just wasn't cutting it for me.

I may have let my mind get the best of me, but I do have at least one "good" excuse:

I may have a bit of Raynaud's disease. (I'm still in denial about probably having it, as I have the symptoms -- lose circulation in my fingers while I'm running in the winter ; they go white and get a little numb. It can take quite a while for them to get pink again. I have to wear both mittens and gloves to keep my fingers toasty... I'm in denial because I don't like to think of myself having "issues".)

Although this primarily only happens in the winter, symptoms do crop up if I get overly cold.

I was worried that swimming in the cold water would trip the trigger, causing me to lose circulation, which would be very hard to get back on the bike (also making holding on to the handle bars or breaking problematic) or the on run, where it would just be annoying.

So, I bagged the tri. There were 435 people signed up and, according to the race results, only 87 were DNS. That means the majority of people braved the elements and competed.

I really felt like a wuss after learning that.

The only redeeming thing about this whole day was that I did do a tri (of sorts). I covered the same distances from the indoor comfort of my health club.

I swam .5 miles; rode a spin bike for one-hour (surely covering 14 miles) and then ran for 3. I felt good, had circulation in my hands the whole time.

Tomorrow, my friends Nat, Marcia, Gary, Mary S and a new friend, Joe, are scheduled to do Buffalo. (.4 swim/13 bike/ 3 run). The weather is supposed to be much more cooperative for their event.

I'll be there to cheer them on.

I just won't have a spiffy new tee shirt to wear...

NY = No Go, Buddy Can You Spare a Dime???

So, lottery results are in for New York, but alas, I am not.

I have at least one friend who IS in, but I'll wait for Friend X to let the world know...

I'm bummed, but not totally hopeless.

I could potentially get in by being a Charity Runner. I'll be mulling over this option for a day or two and then decide.

There is a part of me that says "Okay, you didn't get in. Let the chips lie where they may".

Another part says "HEY! You are only getting older. You want to try to get in to NY next year AND potentially do IM WI? What are you, TWENTY? New York is already expensive, why not just buck up and run for a good cause???"

In the meantime:

I'm wrapping up my time here in Charlotte. I've been here on business the last few days. Nice city, polite people, interesting downtown. Loooove the weather. Hot, humid -- just my cup of tea.

Not so much back in Minneapolis, where the temps have been "reasonable" but the evenings still chilly.

My first outdoor tri is Saturday -- yes, THIS Saturday -- and I'm already preparing my list of "I won't do the event if..." list.

The first big IF is IF there is still ice on the lake.

Ha ha.

Giving Back and Cold Water

I've participated in a lot of events over the last decade. Marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5K, tris of all distances.

They are a ton of fun to participate in and, as race directors and organizers will tell you, a lot of work to put together.

I've also tried to do my best to "give back" by volunteering at a few events each year. I love doing it. I get a different perspective on the event, of the participants and feel like I make a difference to a runner or triathlete when I'm able to look 'em in the eye and say:

"Nice job, 5624", or

"Way to go, 623", or

"You've got this 7822".

I had my first chance to give back yesterday as a volunteer for the first Minneapolis Marathon. I worked the finish line for both the 1/2 marathon and marathon and had a blast.

It is always such a rush to see the faces of all the finishers: the people who've just run their PR beam. The one's who are doing this as "just another Sunday" cock their head as they gaze at their watches and usually give a knowing smirk. The first timers are my favorites, though. They smile from ear to ear and just look sooooo happy with themselves.

Even the folks who end up with a time that they aren't happy with are interesting to observe. Some take in the news with the grace of understanding that, for what ever reasons, the Gods of Running did not smile kindly upon them that day...

Others beat themselves up for not making the mark. You can just see their own disappointment in their eyes and posture.

The other selfish reason I like volunteering is that I leave the event re-energized and excited to be part of the running/tri communities.

So I got all revved up after the event and I was lucky to be able to meet my friends Marcia and Gary for a quick run around the lake and then our first dip in the lake.

Our first events of the summer are coming up this weekend. It was time to get in the lake for a quick feel of temps and to remember what it's like to not have lane lines.

YIKES!

I'm not sure any of us were expecting the lake to be THAT cold. And I mean cold! I had my wet suit on; Marcia and Gary braved the chilly water without theirs.

Maybe all the volunteers for next week's events could send a little volunteer warmth by way of New Brighton and Buffalo so all the triathletes can have a warmer swim...

Fast and furious

No, not me unfortunately. Well, furious, maybe, but certainly not fast.

The truth was glaringly apparent yesterday, as I did a little workout with my friend Nat. We decided enough of our usual 'pussy-footing around' workouts and went for a little speed work by running pickups last night.

Did a little warm up (also at a pace that was faster than current-usual). Then we did six one-minute pickups with some longer recover pieces in-between.

YIKES.

I could feel every single lb of stored winter (okay, SPRING) weight that I've packed on. Nat really got ahead of me on the pickups, which was fine and depressing at the same time.

Proved to me -- again -- that I have got to get it back together and get in to training. Not having fun, but training. (Not that training isn't fun.... it's just hard.)

This also applies to biking and swimming.

We have a whole, huge Posse of people that are training for some tris this summer. None of us joined a formal training program this year, for one reason or another.

For one, most are waaaaay to expensive. For another, we can't find one that any of us really love any more. Most of us really, really, really miss having a training group. The one that we were all so heavily involved with evolved in to a really not-very-fun place to be, which is just a shame.

I really envy the bloggers that I follow who have great tri or running training groups.

Our group is pretty good about getting together and getting workouts in. Truth be told, though, we are all a little bit on the "let's just take it easy" side.

I need someone like Jillian from Biggest Loser yelling at me to do "MORE! FASTER! STRONGER, HARDER!"and to "PUT THE FORK DOWN for chissake!"

Anyway, I digress:

The Posse got together for a bike ride last Sunday. We were out for about 2 hours. Great company, great back on the bike, great trail. Except for Nat, who got a flat tire.

In any event, fun (but slow) ride.

As far as the furious thing... well, that is a topic for another post.

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 Friends Are the Best

It's almost been two weeks since Pigman 1/2 iron distance tri and have I been a SLUG...

Very little working out; very little adhering to an "athlete in training" nutrition plan.

Some of this slugginess has been wonderful: sleeping in a little later; having that extra serving of whatever it is strikes me at the moment...

However, believe it or not, this lazy streak is getting a little old.

So: goal for the weekend (after one last HURRAH at the great State Get Together (aka the Minnesota State Fair, where you can find pretty much every food item on a stick...)

1) Get back on the bike

2) Get back in the lake

3) Get out for a run or two.

4) Get back to counting points.

I do have one more triathlon to complete this year.

Square Lake short course is next week Saturday. My friends Marcia and Gary are doing the event too. It will be fun to participate with them.

Speaking of Marcia, I got a lovely surprise in the mail today -- a CD of photos that she and her husband Marty took of Natalie and I during Pigman.

Marcia and Marty weren't competing in the tri, but they sure had their own grueling day out there on the course. They spent a lot of time, effort and energy following us around the corn fields of Iowa both cheering us on and taking lots of photos.

As you can see from the photos at the top, all those hours on the course took a toll: both Marcia and Marty sprouted mustaches and needed glasses...

Here are a few:

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.