Fun Stuff in October

I can not believe it is the end of October - already.

It seems like only a blink of an eye ago, the weather was warm, the days were long and winter was a long, long way off.

This morning, we woke up to frost on the cars and crunchy grass (frost). We've turned on the heat in the house a couple of times already, sweaters are back in the drawer and I no longer feel compelled to go for a quick swim every time we drive by Lake Calhoun or Lake Harriet.

October has been a great month, though.

Started at the beginning of the month with a great run for me at the TCM 10-Miler event.

Mid-month, Hubby and I traveled to Orlando, Florida, where he played in The Golf Channel Amateur Golf tour's national event. He's played in the tour for the last couple of years.

It is a very interesting tour. There are teams in pretty much every state across the U.S. and in Canada. The teams play events in their area during the summer; have some regional events and then "The Biggie": The Nationals.

The teams are "flighted" -- meaning the players are broken down in to handicap groups, so no one is playing anyone much better or much worse than they are. (Similar to lining up in a running event at the corral spot where you expect to finish. This, for me, means I typically line up waaaay in the back.).

Hubby has made some great friends, played some really wonderful courses and has been a flight winner of several of the events, which is how he qualified to go to Nationals.

We were there for a week. He played golf every day; I worked a lot. Even though it was "vacation", I had several classes to deliver ("Language and Culture in the Workplace"; "Managing UP, the Art of Influencing").

We had a condo at Orange Lake, so we had a lot of space and a kitchen, but no internet connection. I had to go to the business center every day to connect to get my work done.

Fortunately, the business center was located right next to Starbucks, so I was happy as a clam to link in, do my work thing and have some coffee.

I did get to play golf once; I swam a few times in a really nice pool early in the morning before either the sun or the hoards of kids were up. I also ran a few times "training" for the Monster 1/2 marathon -- my last big event for 2008.

Hubby did pretty well for his first National event. His game - and his confidence - improved a lot over the summer. The best thing is that he didn't check his Crackberry once during the whole week and actually got to relax.

We had some fun during the evenings. We had dinner with some of his team mates and their significant others a few times; we went to Downtown Disney a couple of times and wandered around. All very fun.

The weather was hot and humid -- just the way I like it. So, it was very much a shock, as you might image, to get off the plane back here in good, old Minnesota. BRRRRR

However, the fall leaves have been just beeeuteeeeful. Kind of a trade off.

---

So, running Monster 1/2 last Saturday was quite lovely.

The course starts and ends at Lake Harriet, so my friends Mary, Marcia and Brenda, met a our house before the race to conserve parking spots close to the event.

Hubby drove us downto the lake/start, where we waited for Dori, who was in Minneapolis with her SD for the weekend. She signed up to run the 10-mile event. It was GREAT to see her.

Monster 1/2 was just one of the events held that day. Team Ortho also hosts a 10-mile event, a timed 5K and a 'fun run' 5K for trick or treaters and pets. People have a lot of fun at the events and there were a lot of people and animals there wearing some very cute costumes.

As we were near the bandshell taking pictures, I noticed a costume that caught my eye: Grim Reaper hood, scythe and "yellow bowl of sunshine" shorts. Yes, it was Steve Stenzel, who was there to run the timed 5K. (He came in 3rd by-the-by).

I called out to him, introduced myself and Dori as fellow bloggers and he took a couple pics with our group. Dori had the photo on her camera -- it is posted on her blog.

The race started at 8:45 and followed Lake Harriet, down Minnehaha Parkway almost to Cedar Avenue, back to Harriet and then looped around Lake Calhoun.

I started out with Marcia, Mary and Brenda, but by the time we got to the Parkway, I broke a head a bit and just did my thing.

The route is so familiar to me -- I live near it and used it a lot during the spring and summer for my training. I love the route, though. Every time I run the lakes or follow the parkway, I'm so grateful for being able to be out there, enjoying the day, the trees, the lakes, Minnehaha creek and more.

I settled in to my run and just observed every thing around me -- runners, spectators, costumes, fall colors... I just took it all in.

I had a nice pace going (just over 10 minute miles).

Another good friend, Gary, was volunteering along the course, so I got to see him a couple of times during the event.

By the time I got to mile 5 or so, I had to go to the bathroom, so I pulled off at a portapotty. There were three other women waiting to use the portapotty, but, once in, they took FOREVER to do their thing.

Now, I'm a female. Presumably I have the same body parts that they do. I was not wearing a costume; they were not wearing costumes.

Can someone, then, please explain to me why, oh why, did it take them over 1:30 minutes to do thier thing once in the john? What do they do in there?

I go in, I do my thing, I grab some Purell, and I'm OUT OF THERE. Forty-seconds TOPS. (Yes, I timed myself).

But, I had lost almost 5 minute waiting. I decided to just enjoy the day and not really worry about my finish time.

Good thing too! By the time I hit mile 10 (1:51 -- 4 minutes slower that TCM 10-miler), I decided mentally that I was done.

I was tired, mostly out of gas and was really looking forward to being finished. My last three miles were very slow, but did finally hit the finish line at 2:30:50. (11:30 / pace).

Dori had already finished her 10-miler (with a big, fat PR no less). She found Gary at the finish and they both were waiting for the rest of us to cross the line. Mary's significant, Tom, and her kids were also there, along with our friends, Cheryl and her husband Derek.

I found them all at the finish line and waited them for the rest of our crew to come in. Everyone enjoyed the race -- and we were all very proud of Brenda, who had just completed her first 1/2 marathon.

Everyone came over to our house, where Hubby had made coffee and breakfast for us. It was really fun to have everyone there enjoying good food and good company.

And so, the official events of 2008 come to a close! Kind of like fall. Just like "that" it's over.

I'll probably run the Thanksgiving Day 5K -- will also do the Polar Dash on New Year's Day, but that is really the first event of 2009....

I've already signed up for Tri-U-Mah indoor tri (February); Fargo 1/2 marathon (May) LifeTime Fitness Tri (July) and Natalie and I will do our second 1/2 Iron distance event -- Chisago (July). Gary is also "this close" to signing up for Chisago.

I'm considering doing the Minnetonka Triathlon (June), a couple nameless other Tris, maybe another 1/2 Iron distance for August or September and will throw my hat in, along with Mary, Dori and hopefully Marcia and Gary for the New York Marathon lottery.

I also have secret plans on being in Madison in September to watch IronMan Wisconsin. My goal is to sign up for IronMan Wisconsin 2010! Shhhhh...

For now, I'll just try to bask in the glory of a great 2008 season and have another piece of Halloween candy....

TC 10 Miler: wet but wonderful

I ran the TC 10 Miler today (part of Twin Cities Marathon events).

The first thing I have to do, is thank my good friend Mary and her daughter, Layla, for coming to the race to cheer me on.


They waited in the freezing cold, pouring rain (see below) to watch me cross the finish....and, because of the layers and bulk of all the clothing items people wore, missed me in the crowd. Still and all, they were there, and after the race, they they took me to breakfast. What wonderful friends.

The race started at 7:13 am (right before dawn) and it was very chilly and very cloudy. It had rained a little bit before 5:40 am, making the roads slick, but it had stopped by the time were were lining up for the start.

As I was putting my warm clothes bag in to the shuttle van, I ran in to an old running buddy of mine: Heidi. I met Heidi several years ago when she was training for her first marathon (Grandmas). We trained together with some other really fun friends including Amy P and Mary B. As happens, life sort of got in all of our ways in the forms of babies, moving out of the city; moving out of the state, etc. It was great to see her and it reminded me to send out a few emails to reconnect this week...


(What a difference a year makes. Last year, my friends and I ran == or attempted to run == Chicago Marathon. As many of you may recall, it was hot and humid and the course supplies (like, uh, water....) were in very short supplies.

Chicago ended up shutting the race down. People were dehydrated and over heated. One person died. Many, many went to the hospital. My friend Nat and I got to mile 18 before they closed the course and diverted us back to Grant Park. Other friends, Marcia, Mary and Cheryl were slightly behind us on the course when they got sent back to Grant Park.

TCM was held the same date as Chicago last year. It was hot and humid here too, and I heard that the temp was in one degree shy of shutting down the race here.)

So today, "layers" were the smart thing to wear -- to keep warm. Not to help with runner recognition.

I ran very well, despite not having much "training" around this one, and ended up PRing this event by about 7 minutes and 41 seconds (off gun time); 8:32 off of chip time.

2008: Chip time: 1:47:38; gun time: 1:51:25


2005 (last time I ran TC 10 Miler): Chip time: 1:56:16 Gun time: 1:59:06


I've been sort of slug since the end of August. I'm swimming (a little); running (some); biking (not at all). Work is out of control; I'm in a little funk (still). But Greg says that it is okay to pull back after a peak event, so....all is not lost.

(By the by, Greg ran the marathon today, keeping pace for his girlfriend Devon. I think it was Devon's first marathon. They both finished in about 4:02. Very impressive for a first time result and running in the rain).

I really like the 10 mile course. It starts at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis and winds west along a beautiful river road, crossing up and over in to St. Paul. We share the same last eight miles with the marathon course, stretching along Summitt Avenue, a wonderful street lined with huge homes.

I wore a long sleeved light dri fit shirt and layered it with a dri fit tee. I also wrapped a Sugoi jacket around my waist (which annoyed the crap out of me) until I hit mile 8.5 and the wind picked up.


It got C O L D. Needless to say, I was no longer annoyed with the jacket...


About mile 9, it started to R A I N.


Soon, it was C O L D and R A I N Y. Really RAINY. I was very happy I had that jacket.

As I rounded the last turn at the Cathedral and moved towards the Capital, I started to look for Mary and Leilah. We just missed each other in the crowd.

By the time I crossed the finish line, I was pretty well soaked. I got a MEDAL! I did not get one in 2005.


(Not sure if they gave medals this year because it is the 10th anniversary of the event, or if they do it as a regular "perk" now....who cares! It's just always nice to get a medal. That is the "tear" or "raindrop" looking item in the lower left corner of the photo above).

I got my warm clothes bag, met Mary and we hightailed it to the car and seat warmers!

So: one more longer distance race to go for the year: Monster 1/2 Marathon (10/25). Mary, Marcia, Gary and I are running it.

Should be a spooky fun time.

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.

-----

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:

Happy Anniversary, Bay-BEEEE!

Hubby and I celebrated three blissful years of marriage yesterday.

"WHAAAAAT????", you say? "You and Hubby, hip oldsters that you are, have only been married THREE years????"

Well, we've known each other and been a couple for a lot longer than 3 years. We dated for a

L O N G time and then we moved in together (living in sin) and then we tied the knot in Las Vegas at the Forever Grand Chapel located in the fabulous MGM Grand Resort and Casino on August 23rd, 2005.

We had a great wedding. We got married exactly how we wanted to in a place we love to visit. It wasn't cheesy Las Vegas, it was actually a very nice ceremony in a very nice chapel, surrounded by many people that we love who were there to help us celebrate.

We had two Las Vegas touches, one traditional and one very "now". We got to pick our own music for the ceremony and the song we picked for our "exit as the new couple" was a classic recording of Frank Sinatra singing "Fly Me to the Moon" -- fabulous!

The "now" piece was a web-cast of the wedding that allowed people that did not come to the wedding to watch us through that "interweb" thing. That was great!

It has been a great three years and things only get better.

Our tradition is that Hubby plans our anniversary celebration for the odd years and I plan it for the even years.

Yesterday, Hubby proved he did a lot of really great planning!

We drove to Cannon Falls (about one hour south of Minneapolis) and we played a really fun and challenging round of golf at Gopher Hills.

The front 9 holes is set up as a "links" style course -- wide open spaces, lots of natural grasses, not much water. The photo to the right is of the front 9.

The back 9 holes is a more traditional course -- lots of trees, doglegs and elevation.

It was a perfect day -- sunny, warm, but not too hot. We played some holes brilliantly, some -- not so much.

After golf, we drove to Red Wing -- a very charming town on the banks of the Mississippi River town -- where we spent the night.

We took a walk down to the main river launch in the middle of the town, where lots of other folks were watching a beautiful sunset.

The American Queen riverboat had just launched from Red Wing and was taking its passengers down to St. Louis

We had a fantastic meal at a restaurant called Norton's and the Lucky Cat Lounge. Hubby had a very flavorful Cuban pork roast and I had grilled salmon. Deeelish!

Today, we woke up, had a little coffee before we got on the rode and then drove about 30 minutes to Prescott, Wisconsin, where my sister and brother-in-law keep their boat.

We went on a long, lazy river ride from Prescott to Afton for lunch. We all had a wonderful time enjoying the day.

Hubby and I both got a chance to really relax with each other and just to just "enjoy".

Now, I have 364 days to plan Anniversary #4....

I love you Choppy...

Bittersweet and Sweet: Pigman 1/2 Iron Recap

Bittersweet:
Still reeling from having to euthanize Gorby on Monday night. Sad, crabby and eating every thing in sight. (I'm an emotional eater, in case you haven't figured that out...)

I did receive a curious call from the U last night. The doctor how had performed the initial necropsy yesterday called to ask if Gorby had been euthanized or if he had died on his own. She said the report didn't reflect what had happened.

I told her that we had to euthanize him and then asked her how extensive the tumors were in his midsection. She said they were multiple tumors all over his midsection and that the rate at which they reoccurred was "astonishing". She said that I made the right decision for him, which helps, but doesn't make the decision or the loss any less painful.

Anyway...

Sweet: Pigman 1/2 Iron Recap:

For those of you who like the "short version" .

Did I have fun? Yes

Was it hard? Parts of it

Will I do a 1/2 iron distance event again? You bet!
The stats:

Swim 1.2 miles: 49:18

T1: 5:02

Bike 56 miles: 3:45:51

T2: 4:28

Run 13.1 miles: 2:55:40

Total: 7:40:17

Long, drawn out version with PHOTOS!
I drove down to Cedar Rapids my good friends: Marcia and Marty L. Marcia has been training partner of mine and Nat's for many years and a veteran of many triathlons and marathons.

In fact, many of my running friends say ""MMMDI (Marcia Made Me Do It) because she gets us involved and excited about participating in lots of crazy events and activities. Marty is newer to this whole marathon thing, but has two under his belt: Marine Corp and Grandma's.

We met Natalie at the 'official' hotel, where many other triathletes were getting settled in to their rooms, getting their bikes check by Gear West, picking up their race packets and milling about.

The first thing Nat said to me was "We have the cheapest bikes here".

This is pretty much what all the other bikes looked like:

This is what our bikes looked like:
Actually, Nat has a very nice bike, complete with Aerobars. I have a great hybrid from Marin (the Fairfax). It is light weight, comfortable and gets me where I need to go. I'm just much slower getting there...

None the less, we felt woefully under equipped. And the race wasn't until the next day...

We wanted to check out the actual race area and get in to the lake for a test swim. This was a recommendation from our coach Greg. He also told us to check out the bike route, which turned out to be a very smart idea.

The start of the race is about 13 miles outside of Cedar Rapids -- Palo, Iowa. We got to the park and found a few other athletes checking out the lake and transition area.

Race officials were marking the swim route and the buoys look to be a L O N G way out, covering a L O T of the lake. More panic.

We got in the water and did a couple of quick laps, which helped relieve my anxiety quite a bit.

Once I got in to the rhythm of the swim, I thought: "Okay, I've spent a lot of time training this summer; I've put in the time and the effort. I just have to remember to put one foot in front of the other; take one stroke at a time and I'll be fine".

Driving the bike course was also helpful, because the map of the course was NOT very helpful. We got lost a couple of times, but made mental notes of the right turns; the location of hills and "rumbles" on the road.

Both Nat and I got very quiet during our course drive.

"Damn. Fifty-six miles IS a long way...."

We made our way back to the hotel, picked up Marcia (who had been volunteering at the check-in desk) and Marty and went to Olive Garden for dinner.

Marcia had prepared goodie bags for us filled with lots of fun treats, including Goldfish, sunblock, and funny glasses:

After dinner, it was time for bed.

The alarm went off early -- 4:15 am.


Nat and I got every all our stuff ready and caught a little bit of the Olympics. I think NBC was covering the popular sport of Four Square at 4:00 am....Here is a shot of Nat eating the first of many energy bars for the day watching the rousing game between Albania and Turks/Caicos...


Finally, we were ready to go, and I took this self portrait. Mostly "just in case" so that if I didn't survive, Hubby would have a photo of me:











We got to the event, set up our transition area and freaked out.


Marcia volunteered to do body marking:
And then it was time to start.

Nat and I signed up as Athena's, so we were in the 2nd wave. The Elites went in to the water at 7:30 am; we went in at 7:31 am.

The water was cool enough that we could wear wetsuits. That extra buoyancy really adds confidence! I felt really great in the water and did the ENTIRE swim without taking a break. That is a triathlon first for me. I was very surprised when I looked at my watch and it indicated that I took 49 minutes to cover 1.2 miles. I was very pleased.

Transition 1 took a couple minutes longer than usual. The day was going to be very hot and sunny and I needed to make sure that I had some sunscreen protection.

Finally got out on the bike course and had to walk through a couple of early mental challenges. "Man, it is going to be a really long day out here."

"Geeze, I don't really want to do all these HILLS".

"I should quit!"

But, I didn't! I just kept pedalling. Up and down; Up and Down; UP and down: UP and down

Marcia and Marty were driving the course to find us at various spots to provide cheers, water, ice and comic relief. At one point, they both were wearing the glasses/nose combo, which was hysterical. It was great to see them out there.

As tough as the hills were, I really had good energy along the course and at the end. I ate fig newtons (from Target -- deelicous, by the by), some Clif Shots, and Gatorade Endurance Formula with some Carbo Pro mixed in.

I was very surprised and very pleased that I didn't bonk at all nutritiously out there on the course.

The bike portion took me 3:45:51. I was much slower than I thought I'd be, but I contribute that to the hills and the Barbie bike...

Run: Okay, so it is now 11:50 am on a cloudless, hot August day in Iowa, where there is lots of corn, hogs and soybeans, but not many Maples or Oaks...

No shade on the run course.

No kidding.

I knew that I'd finish the race. There was no doubt. I decided that I was going to really just "have a day" out there and not kill myself for time. I was so happy with my swim and so happy that I wasn't about to keel over from hunger that what ever time that 1/2 marathon was going to take was fine with me.

So I "ran". Meaning I ran some but walked a lot. In my defense, there were a ton of people walking the course. I think the sun wore out a lot of us.

The course was very well organized with a water stop at every mile. Each was stocked with adequate water, Powerade, pretzels, animal crackers, oranges, bananas and ICE.

Wonderful, fantastic, refreshing ice. Ahhhhh....

I was amazed at how fast the miles clicked by, even though I was really taking my time.

I finally saw Natalie again right after mile 4 for me; about mile 8 for her. She looked great. She was taking her sweet time out on the run course as well. We chatted for a moment and then moved on.

Marcia and Marty were again out on the course. By now, they were the "new best friends" of many of the athletes on the course, since so many of us saw them at so many places. There aren't many spectators out along the course so I think a lot of participants were very happy to see Marcia and Marty multiple times during the event.

The last three miles of the run are uphill as you go back in to the park. That was the only real tough, tough spot out on the course. I found Marcia one more time, with about a mile to go. She hung with me until I turned that final corner and then I took off for the finish.

Crossed the line and felt unbelievably happy, proud and accomplished.

I found Natalie, who was also just beaming. (A grimy, sweaty beam, but beaming nonetheless).

We all hung around the finish area for a while and then got ready to go back to the hotel.

Cathy Yndestad, a triathlete from Apple Valley, came in first for women at the event. She is an amazing athlete.

The win at Pigman was her 11th win out of 12 starts THIS YEAR.

She was leaving as we were leaving and I went over to introduce myself and to tell her congrats. She was very gracious to all of us and heartily congratulated Nat and I on our accomplishment.

The nicest thing she said to us was that it was a tough day and a tough course. That made Nat and I feel like we were champions, even if we did ride Barbie Bikes.

Marcia and Marty took lots of photos too. When I get copies, I'll post some, and promise to not write as much...

Gorby

I finished Pigman 1/2 Iron tri yesterday. Nat and I did a great job and had a lot of fun. Our very good friends Marcia and Marty were in Iowa with us and provided the best support triathletes could ever want.

I'll post a full race report with photos in a few days. I just am not up to it today.

I drove back to Minneapolis today to sadness.

Over the weekend, before I left for Iowa, we noticed that there were wet spots on the bed where Gorby had been spending his days.

We thought a first that we had spilled some water, but Hubby noticed on Saturday night the Gorby was "dribbling". He was starting to lose his ability to control his bladder.

His appetite had not picked up much -- even with the prednisone and was continuing to lose weight.

When I got home today, I called the Vet at the U and we determined the cutting his dose of prednisone might help.

I felt relieved with that diagnosis -- until he tried to get off the bed.

Gorby couldn't really stand well, his back legs collapsed several times under him. He made his way in to the kitchen and plopped down on the floor.

Kirby and Lefty, two of our other cats, came to stand guard over Gorby, but this was clearly the sign that I had to have that enough was enough and I had to help my friend get to the Rainbow Bridge.

Hubby came home. We called the U and told them we were coming in.

We got Gorby in to his carrier and took the very long, sad ride to the clinic.

The people at the U and the set up has always been impressive to me. They have a very comfortable space for both the humans and the animals to say goodbye.

We took our time with Gorby; he purred and we cuddled.

Then when we were all ready, the very nice vet with the very hard job injected the medicine to stop Gorby's heart while I held him close to me and I sobbed my heart out.

I got to hold him for a while longer and then the vet took clay impressions of his paws for me.

I'll get him back in a few weeks after his autopsy (necropsy) and cremation.

I just hope that I was the very best support to him that he could ever expect.

Look at that COUNTDOWN TIMER!

Yes, we are within 1 day and 20 hours of Pigman TRI! Yikes!

The summer of training just flew by.

Do I feel stonger?

Definitely.

Am I ready?

Hope so!

Am I nervous?

Absolutely.


My goal: enjoy the day and do the best I can. Finish the race with a smile and be proud to say "I am an 1/2 Iron(wo)man.

A shout out to my friend and fellow Pig: Natalie.

We are going to ROCK!

I am not a Mountain Goat...

The story, as it goes, is that I was rather klutzy as a child.

I don't remember it as such, but, I've been told.

Actually, I've been told that my mother first noticed this.

She remarked to someone after one of my falls, that had I been born a Mountain Goat, I would not have survived my first year.

She was certain that I would have fallen off some cliff or mountain side and would have never made goat -- er, I mean HUMAN middle-age.

Well, some things never change.

Since moving up to bike clips this year, I've fallen about 5 or 6 times. I've broken 3 mirrors. I've had bruised hips, hands full of road rash and a very beaten up ego.

Why ego, you ask?

With the exception of the crash that happened a few weeks ago, when I was riding over the Mendota Bridge and a kid, going the opposite way, crossed over the middle line and clipped my handle bars causing us both to fly off our bikes, every single fall has happened when I was either coming to a stop, or STOPPED.

Yes, stopped.

I'll clip out of my right pedal with no problems, glide to a stop and then WHAM! Fall over on my left side when unable, for whatever reason, to not be able to get my foot out of the saddle.

Fortunately, I have not done this in traffic.

Unfortunately, I have done this in front of other bikers, small children and many, many friends.

I fell last week, broke the mirror and scrapped my knee. Also had a wicked tender spot on the inside of my upper thigh on the left side, where the saddle landed -- hard-- in to my leg.

Today, my wonderful friends Marcia, Gary, Kathy T, Cheryl and Julie all joined me for my last "long" ride before Pigman.

We rode together for about 2 hours and then the team was going to head on back to their cars and I was going to go do one last little burst-of-speed blast.

I pulled off the trail to say goodbye, clipped out of the right side, stopped, and WHAM. Fell over to the LEFT, re-scraping my poor scabbed up knee, and re-hitting that tender spot on my thigh.

The mirror did not break.

Note to self: Find someone or figure out the way to loosen up the clip on my left bike shoe.

Bigger note to self: Mom was right.

Updates: Cat, Toe, Training - cha cha cha

Several updates today.



I'll start with the easiest:

Training:

I did a ROCKING swim yesterday with friends and fellow triathletes Marcia, Gary and Dave. We went to one of Marcia's fav places, Little Long Lake, which is a nice sized, clean lake just outside of Minneapolis. Gas boats and "large" boats are not allowed on the lake, so if there is any boaters, they are in small motorized fishing boats, canoes or kayaks.


The lake is secluded enough that there are not pesky policemen waiting to bust you with a $125.00 ticket for open water swimming. It is not so secluded that there were several other triathletes doing practice swims, so we were definitely not alone in the water.

We swam from the boat launch to a dock, to the other side of the lake, where we encountered about 25 campers, who looked to be about 12 or 13 years old and who were getting ready to go on to the lake for a little canoe adventure. I'm sure we looked like creatures of the sea emerging to attack the camp when we came out of the water.


I did not wear my wetsuit in preparation for the possibility of the lake at Pigman being too warm to allow us to us them. Usually, I depend on the wetsuit for that extra buoyancy in the water.

Yesterday, though I felt very good in the water without it. Hurray. Progress!

Toe:

You might recall Nat's "toe of woe" story from June where she ripped off her big toe nail while trying to put her bike rack on her car.



It took her several weeks to scab over and now she has this cute little bacon strip looking thing where her nail used to be. Looks oh, so chic. (See pics on her blog).

Well, never to be one to let my friends suffer alone, I had my own toe incident recently.

Actually, the actual "incident" happened in July at the Richfield long pool. I was helping to put the lane lines in the water for one of our practice swims and a rung from the line slipped under my big toe nail. Someone pulled up on the line and SNAP went my toe nail.

Hurt and bled like a muthafocker.


What I didn't realize until last Sunday, is that when it went SNAP, it really snapped the nail at the nail bed. I was taking off nail polish and realized I could lift the entire toe nail off my toe, except at one tiny corner where it was still attached to the nail bed.

yeech.


I could see that I had a new nail forming under the old one, so I just clipped the old one off. My new nail does not look like bacon, but it sure does look strange next to the others.


So Nat and I are TOE-ins. (Say it quick; should sound sorta like TWINS).






Cat:

You are probably sick of hearing about Gorby, but it is what it is. He had a recheck with an oncologist at the U this morning and the news was not good at all.

Tumors are back (surgery was a little over three weeks ago). This is a very aggressive cancer indeed.

The Vet, a very, very nice man, outlined a range of treatments including chemo, feeding tubes, blah, blah, blah to doing nothing but making Gorby comfortable.

The chemo course does not really do a lot for him -- it may extend his time a little. It may not.

The "do-nothing" course is also a crap shoot. We don't know how long it may be (or may not be) until he loses his appetite all together, is in pain (or not), is no longer having any quality of life.

Very sad news.


Hubby came with me this morning, and that was very helpful to have the extra support and pair of ears.

Right now, this moment, I'm leaning towards some minor medication to help relieve inflammation and to just let him enjoy what ever time he has left, spoiling him rotten.

I really don't like my friends (furry or otherwise) suffer alone.


And this absolutely breaks my heart.

Urban Wildland --

I got back from SFO, safe and sound. The trip was successful work-wise, Hubby-wise and training-wise.

I had that awesome hillwork out (see previous post) and also got a swim workout in. No, not in the bay, but in a pool at Club One. My hotel had discounted guest passes, so I took advantage of that.

The pool was small (only 3 lanes and 25 yards long), but I got in 2000 yards in a little less than an hour. I've been very, very spoiled by the 50 meter swims at Richfield this summer. Going back to 25 yards is "weird".

The shorter lengths also means I'll have to spend lots more time in the lake before Pigman, which is ONLY 14 days away. In fact, in two weeks, I'll be on the bike course of the event right about now....

Urban Wildland 1/2 Marathon was yesterday. It was my third time running the race.

Urban Wildland is a very well organized, pretty race. It starts at the Richfield Pool park (more officially known as Veterans Park), winds through a couple of nature preserves, through some nice neighborhoods, where the folks come out to cheer, and then finishes back at the park.

Last year I PRd at Urban (2:16:47 -- 10:24 per mile) This year, no PR.

Two of my friends, Cheryl and Carla, also ran the race yesterday. We all started together, but quickly started to do our own thing.

I ran really well to mile 11. I got there at 1:59 on my watch, which equates a 10:49 pace. I was doing my 7 minute run/1 minute walk thing and was feeling pretty darn good.

At mile 11, it was as if someone deflated the "feel good" balloon. It took me about 26 minutes to cover the last 2.1 miles. (Pitiful).

Finish time 2:25:02, or 11:04 per mile. Sigh.

The good news is this was my third best 1/2 marathon time....I also had a very FUN time, so that is good. I also have officially "covered the distance" for Pigman, so I know I can do it.

Cheryl and Carla also did really well yesterday, so it was a successful day for all.

So now, I move in to the last week of all out training for Pigman. Natalie and I were supposed to bike this morning, but it was raining so we decided to do our own workouts. We will hook up at some point this week to hammer out a swim or bike or run.

---
Cat Update: Thanks to Sabrina and Ginna for doing such a great job cat sitting. All the cats are doing well, although Gorby's status remains a mystery to me.

He seems a bit thinner and, although still eating, is not eating with the same voracity he was just last week. I'm supposed to get more information this week from the Vet -- so I'll have more info to make decisions and / or have a better understanding of what's to come.

Hill Work in the Mecca of Hills

Fast and furious business trip this week to San Francisco.

The trip was planned long before Gorby was diagnosed with cancer. I feel a little guilty for leaving, but work is work, and Gorby is doing remarkably well. And, I've got some ACE cat sitters taking care of the house and the critters.

THANK YOU GINNA AND SABRINA!

One really nice thing is that Hubby had to be here too for work so, although we traveled separately and arrived and will depart on different days, we do get to hang out a bit here.

My training plan is "suffering" a bit here, as I don't have a bike here. (Yes, I know I could rent one, but....)

My coach, Greg, did write out my training plan to accommodate my travels: yesterday called for hill work.

I did a nice warm up going from the hotel down to the Ferry Building, over past Fisherman's Wharf to the beach where other triathletes do their open water swims.

I continued past the beach and went out on the breakwater. Turned around and started hill repeats at the entrance of Fort Mason.

The entrance is open to pedestrians and bikers only, so I didn't have to worry about anyone trying to recreate the "Karl-Malden-Michael-Douglas ARE the Streets of San Francisco" thing.

WOW. Talk about a hill for repeats! Zowie!

Up and down; up and down; upanddown; upanddown; updown. You get the drill.

After my run, Hubby and I went Circa for dinner. The head chef is one of the folks that was on Top Chef - Chicago last season. Food was very good (salmon and brown rice for me; sea bass and garlic mashed potatoes for Hubby). We split a slice of really SUPER DELICIOUS key lime cheesecake for dessert.

Hubby is on his way back home now; I leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

I have a swim workout planned for later today. No, not in the bay (call me "Weenie"), but a nice pool at a health club near the hotel.

"4" and "2" -- hours EACH

This was a big weekend for training activities. Pigman is only 20 days away...so it is PEAK training time.

My coach, Greg, scheduled a four-hour bike ride on both Nat's and my calendar for Saturday. We met at my house at 6:45 am yesterday and took off on the trails. We rode routes between Minneapolis and St. Paul for two-hours and then hooked up with our friends Marcia, Marty and Gary at Lake Nokomis.

They were also doing a ride, so we figured "the more, the merrier". We all rode together for about 50 minutes, and then Nat and I turned around to head back to my house.

The ride was actually not too bad. We both determined that we did not bring enough to eat, though. My two fat free Fig Newtons just didn't cut it.

We covered about 50 miles over the 4-hour ride. We stopped a couple of times for traffic lights; once because I fell. At a stoplight.... Not moving..... Just clipped in to my pedal on one side and did the classic BOOM and went over. Hurt my pride more than my hip, which landed squarely on the curb....

We both were hungry and tired after the ride, but it was a confidence builder. We both now think that 56 miles is attainable. Hurrah for us.

Greg, who is also Nat's coach for Pigman, is trying to work with both of us on the "nutrition during the event" thing. It is a delicate balance that we haven't quite mastered.

I also have been experimenting a little with hydration options. I really like Gatorade Endurance Formula. It has a little extra sodium and because I sweat so much when it is hot, I think this is helpful.

I used to be able to buy GEF in liquid form at a local grocery store. But, it must not have been a big seller, because it is no longer offered. Instead, there are shelves and shelves of the "new" Tiger formula. (Named for you-know-who, the Golfer...). That formula also has some extra sodium, but not the same as GEF.

I finally broke down and bought the giant TUB of GEF powder. I found it at a local running store. This works out well for me, because I can mix the formula's strength to my taste a little easier.

But why leave well enough alone?

I had read about Accelerade and found that Target carries it. I picked up a couple of bottles and have used it, but don't like it at all. It has a milky taste to it that I don't care for. Rule out Accelerade.

I had received two bottles of ABB Carbo Force at an event earlier this year. Finally tired those out and they were okay.

I think I'm going to just stick with GEF -- tired and true.

------

Today's plan called for a 2-hour run. It was very hot and very humid outside. Typical August weather for us, but since the summer has been so unusual, I'm not totally acclimated to the humidity.

Generally, I don't mind the humidity -- it does take a little bit of time (like, oh let's say, the month of June...) to get used to it.

I left the house and felt very good for about 75 minutes of the run. At 1:15, I started to lose steam. At 1:33, there was no gas in the tank (see "nutrition" comments above). At 1:53 of the run, I was D O N E.

It took every ting I had to just talk myself through running those last eight minutes.

Finally, they ticked away and I was done. Hurrah for me.

Buca, Brick: boy, oh boy!

So I've been pretty good following Weight Watchers over the last several weeks. My company started a WW at Work series and I signed up for the 12-week series.

I've lost any where between 12 and 15 lbs, depending on which scale I use, when. (I'm sure many of you know and can relate to the drill: weigh yourself at home, nekked, in the morning after you pee and it is one number. Go to the meeting, which is held after you've had your first Venti Coffee from Starbucks, are wearing your work "uniform" and it is another number...)

Anyway, I'm glad that I dropped some lbs and am -- for the most part -- eating "cleaner".

Training has ramped up and I find that I'm hungry A LOT.

Yesterday, Hubby and I were driving to work and drove past Buca di Beppo -- home of the biggest, most deeelicious family-style platters of artery-cloggin', gut-bustin', Eye-talian food.

Someone else's voice came out of my head: "Man, I could really go for Buca!".

Hubby said "Yum".

We were going to meet Stepdaughter for dinner anyway, and it was way too hot to cook so, like lemmings drawn to the cliff, we made reservations for 7:30 pm and had a food fiesta.

Hubby was right: Yum.

Today's workout schedule called for a brick: bike for 1 hour; then run for 30 minutes.

I could not drag my pasta-laden carcass out of bed at 5:30 am today, so I had to wiggle the brick in during the middle of the day.

Oh -- Summer, which has been rarely seen here in Minneapolis this year, made an appearance today: It is in the high 80's and humid.

Perfect for heading out midday for a bike and run.

WOW.

All I can say is I'm glad it's done. The bike was pretty good. The run was tough.

The only good thing is that I kept reminding myself that being out in the middle of the day is good practice for Pigman.

I figure that the swim/bike for the 1/2IM will take me about 5 hours (plus or minus many minutes). Race starts at 7:30 am, so that puts me starting the run sometime after 12:30 pm.

No reason to do training runs at 7:00 am when it is cool and comfortable, when I'll probably be out there in the middle of Iowa, plodding along in the afternoon.

Tomorrow, Nat and I will do a 4-hour training RIDE. Our plan is to do part of the ride with our friends Marcia, Marty and Gary.

I hope the humidity breaks!

Crack o' Dawn...

I met Nat at 6:00 am today for a swim in Channhassen's lovely Lake Ann.

Nat's toe has mostly recovered -- she still has a scab where her nail used to be, but no pain and no scariness, so she is back in the training saddle.

It was a little tough to get up at 5:00 am since it was still dark out. Thank heavens for the timer on our coffee maker.

I can just about stumble out of bed, head in to the kitchen and have that sip of coffee to help convince me it is NOT time to get back under the covers.

We met in the parking lot near the beach just as the raindrops started to fall.

We tried to "convince" each other that we should alter our plans, but then the reality that Pigman 1/2 Iron is less than 30 days away.

There was not threat of thunder or lightening, so we trotted down to the beach, put on our wetsuits and went swimming.

It was a good workout for us. We took the same route I did with our coach -- Greg -- a few weeks back. It took us about 3/4 across the lake and back, for a total of about 40 - 45 mintues.

Then it was home, kiss the just-waking-up Hubby, shower, feed the cats, and zip to work.

I'm not sure that the workday will be as fun as the swim...

Workouts from sunrise to sunset

Just a quick update:


I had a very early conference call with folks on the east coast yesterday, which cut in to my regular morning training schedule.

I was able to still get a good bike workout in yesterday by riding to and from work. May not sound like the "best" bike workout, if you equate "best" to "intense", but when you are running short on time, you get in what you can get in.

I swam with my Tri Club's Masters group last night -- had a really great workout over the hour.

warm up 200 each: IM (I do breast and free); freestyle drill; free build

2 sets each: 100 all out, 50 easy, 10 second rest; 100 at mile pace, 5 seconds rest; 100 at mile pace less 5 seconds, 5 seconds rest; 100 mile pace, 50 easy, 30 seconds rest.

300 free, trying to take two less stokes for each 100. I could cut back by one, but not two...

GLIDE, GLIDE....

I'm really starting to notice how much daylight has disappeared over the last few weeks. I'm up at 5:00 am and usually out the door for my first workout of the day by 5:30 or 5:45... and it is still dark now.

Last night, the sun was gone within 45 minutes of hitting the pool. We wrap up the outdoor workouts for the summer next week. Then it is back to the boring, 25 meter indoor pool.

Time really flies....

Gorby Home; Back to Training

Gorby came home on Saturday -- one day after surgery.

He was doing so well postoperatively (vitals were good; he was eating and drinking) that they let him come home.

It is great to have him back in the house. He is moving slowly, but doing all the right cat stuff -- eating, drinking, using the box and, best of all, purring.

I'll have a full biopsy report in about a week. I am not expecting any miracles.

I will talk to the oncologist about what to expect. My current plans are to spoil that cat as best as I can.

Thanks to you all who posted thoughtful comments. I know he is just a cat, but he is my cat and he means a lot to me.

----

Back to training --

I did a brick workout on Saturday with my good friends Marcia and Gary. We swam at Lake Nokomis for about 25 minutes and then went on a 25 mile bike ride.

Gary is an avid cyclist and lead us on a great route that went through Minneapolis, St. Paul and some of the near by suburbs. We rode on beautiful trails, near the Mississippi River and through some great parks.

My training plan scheduled for Sunday was a 3-hour bike ride. I liked the route Gary showed us so much that I pretty much repeated it, adding some additional miles to get to 3-hours. According to mapmyrun.com, I went just about 35 miles.



My only problem yesterday was a crash that happened on one of the bridges over the river.

I went riding later in the day, when the weekend warriors were out. Many families were taking advantage of the nice day. I was on a bridge heading back in to Minneapolis from Mendota Heights and there was a dad riding with a daughter going the opposite way. Behind him was his son (about 8 years old), who's attention was on the river, not the path.

He was veering over to the middle of the path and I had no where to go. He didn't hear me call out to him, "Heads UP!"

His handlebars clipped my handlebars and we both went flying down.

Fortunately, neither of us was hurt (no blood), but his hand hurt and my hip is tender today.

The boy apologized profusely -- I did too. The dad was not mad (hurrah) and we all survived.

Made me very leery of bridges for the rest of my ride, though.

-----

The next couple of weeks will be filled with lots of intense workouts. I'm okay with that. It will help me keep my mind off of other things.

Out of Surgery but not out of Woods

Gorby is out of surgery.

Did "well" -- tumor is removed. He is still sleeping off the anethesia.

Doc said the tumor was large, but no evidence that it had invaded the bowel (good).

Lymph nodes are "huge" (not so good). Partly because they were near a blood source and partly because of the cancer.

If the sutures hold and he starts to heal quickly, he could be home by Sunday/Monday.

Then we take it one day at a time.

Running; Cat Update

No clever title for my post today.

Just a couple quick updates:

Gorby is in surgery as I write this. The U found a donor cat to supply blood if needed. The blood thing is a big deal -- found a bunch of info on it via my friend "The Google".

Most interesting info was found here.

I should know his status in a couple of hours by the latest.

Sigh...

In the mix of all of this, my training has really taken a back seat. Too tired; too exhausted (which are two different things if you think about it...); too drained.

But, unfortunately, that countdown timer to the right of my blog doesn't stand still just because I have a sick cat and Pigman is coming up soon.

I actually got my tush out of bed this morning and went for a run.

I had a great run. Felt really good, felt like I was running at a good pace, didn't take any walk breaks between my house and all around Lake Calhoun.

I walked through a small parkway for about a block on the way home and then ran the rest of the way. Covered 4.29 miles in less than 45 minutes, putting my pace at slightly less than 10:29/mile.

I'm happy with this because my running has been very ragged this year. Today felt really good.

It has also been tough keeping my appetite under control. The good news is that I'm not raiding the candy jar. I'm just not being as diligent about points right now.

What can I say?

I'll post when I have more news about Gorby.

Gorby at the U; waiting for surgery...

Quick update: Gorby is at the U waiting to have the tumor removed.

The procedure falls under the Palliative Care umbrella.

For those of you non-medicals (like me yesterday), Palliative Care is any form of medical are or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than halting of delaying progression of the disease or providing a cure.

In other words, we are taking the possibility of an intestine problem (perforation, constriction or obstruction) off the table by taking the tumor out, but are not getting rid of the cancer.

Apparently that is not an actual possibility.

Very hard news to take, especially since the cat "looks" so healthy.

The surgery was scheduled for this morning, but there is a shortage of cat blood in Minnesota! (Can you believe this????)

They have to try to shore up supplies before they can do the procedure, which will probably be tomorrow.

When the Vet called me to tell me this today, she said that the "donor cats" aren't due to donate, but that another Vet Tech had cats that were already screened, so they are going to try to use them today.

(I have have visions of cats reclining on chairs, donating blood and then eating liver pate cookies and drinking mouse juice afterwards to help get their strength back....)

Anyway, my current thought is that if the surgery doesn't happen tomorrow, it is a sign from God/Buddah/Allah/Jehovah/Mother Earth/Krishha or who ever that it shouldn't happen and we should just bag it.

At least that is my thought at 3:28 pm today.

Today is a bummer day...

I take Gorby back to the U today for a "surgical consult" with Team One to determine the course of action regarding his intestinal tumor.

I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place:

If I do nothing, the tumor will grow and cancer will spread OR the tumor will grow and either obstruct, perforate or constrict his intestine, which, along with the cancer, presents a whole new set of problems.

I've got a list of questions a mile long to ask and reask Team One about the procedures, the recovery process, the recovery success, etc.

Depending on all the answers, Gorby will either spend the night there and have surgery tomorrow or come home with me, untreated.

Gorby, during all of this, just keeps trucking. Eating like a horse; drinking; "eliminatining"; looking for attenting and getting lots of love.

I was going to post a picture, but the Blogger template is a little weird today, and I don't see the icon to upload photos.

I'll leave you with this: =^..^=

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)

-----

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.