Triathlons are so nice, I might be doing it twice....

http://www.phillytri.com/

How does one select a triathlon???

It's official.  I am doing another triathlon.  The only question now is which one and when. I think I'd like to train with Team In Training again.  I'm a little concerned about how the fundraising might go (really, how many times can I ask my friends, family, and coworkers to donate?) However, I don't think I have enough motivation do to the training on my own.

So here are the options:

1. St. Anthony's Tri on May 1st in St. Peterburgs, Florida
or
2. Columbia Tri on May 22nd in Ellicott City, Maryland

Thoughts? Suggestions?

This stuff is so addictive, they should make it illegal.

Yeah, I'm thinking about doing another tri...stay tuned.

Race Weekend Part III or The Race (finally)

I know I'm recounting the events of the day in a very "dear diary" kind of way, but I just can't resist.

Finally, it was 8:48am.  That's 20 minutes after my scheduled start time, but again, the entire race was delayed due to the rain.  I stood with a large group of women, 30-34, all of us wore dark green swim caps, and most of us were in wetsuits.  Nothing really seemed too scary at that point.  I knew what I had to do.  I wasn't going to quit and (quite possibly most importantly) I knew that I was capable of finishing the entire thing.

As we made our way down to the dock, there was a lot of excitement.  We all started joking with each other, clapping, letting out shouts.  It was exciting!

I had no fear jumping into the Potomac this time.  When the horn/gun/whatever that sound was went off,  I just started swimming.  There were arms and legs and commotion everywhere.  I tried to just keep my stroke strong and remember to site.

The first 400 meters went by so quickly. The course was shaped like the Washington Monument, so it came to a point on one edge. (I really thought it was pretty lame, but the announcer kept pointing it out.) Right before I got to the "point" I swam under Memorial Bridge. I tried to take a minute and look at the underside of the bridge.  I remember thinking, how many people don't get to see the bridge from this angle and how many people and cars have crossed that bridge.  It was a pretty cool moment.

Once I turned the corner at the 600 meter mark, I started to notice that I was mostly still with the dark green caps.  Thank goodness!  I started to notice a few orange caps which was the wave ahead of us.  However, that group contained women in their 50s or 60s, so I was mostly impressed that they were taking on the challenge of a triathlon.  There also started to be a few blue caps around me, being from the wave after me.  Oh well, can't beat everyone.

The back stretch wasn't so bad, but I started to get bored.  For instance, there was a woman that kept running into me.  I nicknamed her "the tank."  (To be fair, I might have been running into her, but it's easier to think that I was the one swimming in a straight line.) I did get kicked in the face.  It only knocked at my goggles a little and let in some water.  Luckily, it was not a big deal.

Here are some photos from the swim, again compliments of Steph.

It wasn't nearly as chaotic as it looks.

When I had gotten into the water, I kind of had to go to the bathroom.  I decided that I would follow the advice of more seasoned triathletes and just go in the river.  So as I got to the last 100 meters I realized that it was now or never if I was going to wet myself.  Sadly, I couldn't do it.  I don't know if it was psychological or if it's just too hard to keep kicking your legs and pee at the same time, but I got to the swim out without having relieved myself.  (I apologize to my mother for admitting that on the Internet.)

I got out of the water with no problem and was easily able to pull down my wet suit to my waist and start jogging to transition.  My cap and goggles didn't want to come off so easily and you can see a great picture of it here:  http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95140254&FROM=photos&BIB=4530

I swear, I didn't feel as exhausted as I look here: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95154061&FROM=photos&BIB=4530

They had a light sprayer set up.  The idea was that it would lightly rinse you off before transition.  However, at this point, I think the rain was coming down harder than the mister, so it didn't really matter.  It did make for a great photo op that Steph managed to catch.

By this point, transition was mostly a mud field.  As I ran to my bike, I think I saw a few men who were already finished.  That was a bit disheartening.

I got to my bike, peeled off my wetsuit, and put on my bike helmet.  I grabbed my extra towel and started to dry my feet prior to putting on my socks.  However, I quickly realized that at that second, there was absolutely nothing in my life that was dry. So instead, I just wiped off the mud and put on my socks and shoes.  I decided to skip the sunglasses since 1) it was pretty dark and 2) they would just get rained on and that could make it harder to see.  As I was putting on my gloves (because I'm kind of a wimp and can't ride more than 10 miles without them) I realized that I had been in transition for what felt like a really really long time. I grabbed by bike and started jogging out of transition.

This picture http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95178682&FROM=photos&BIB=4530 makes it look like I was walking, but I swear I was jogging!

Before the mount line, I heard someone call my name and saw my former TNT staff person and new colleague at work.  It was SO GOOD to see friendly faces.

Once I got on my bike and started pedaling, things went really well.  I consistently passed a few people and a few passed me, but I felt like I was keeping a really good pace.  My rate of pedaling was steady and I was able to shift with no problem. (Thanks to the guy from the Bike Lane.) Our course was somewhat narrow in some places, which made me really nervous about the no drafting rule and trying to pass.  I didn't see any crashes, but apparently there were a few.

We biked to Maryland, almost to 495. It went by so fast!  As I was riding, I couldn't tell if it was raining, there was water dripping off of me, off of other people, or if water was being kicked up from other bikers.  Needless to say, it was just wet, Wet, WET!

For the parts of the ride in DC, it was so awesome to go through stop lights and ride through the tunnel on the Whitehurst Freeway.  Again, I started thinking about how few people had the opportunity to see everything from this angle.

One of the most amusing parts of the bike ride was seeing those riders who had flats.  Not the people who were changing their tubes, but rather, the people who were unable to fix their bikes on the course and had resorted to picking up their bikes and running with them back to transition.  That's a real triathlete.

During the bike, there were so many great people, just out on the streets, or on walks, that happened to see our race.  I loved it when people would stop, clap, and call out "Good job, bikers!" It was so encouraging.

Here are links to two of the photos that the pros took:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95197724&FROM=photos&BIB=4530

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95207128&FROM=photos&BIB=4530

When I got close to transition, I noticed that everyone was doing stuff.  I looked around me and tried to think about what I should be doing.  Then I realized that they were all un-clipping and and unfastening their shoes.  Seeing as I was too uncoordinated to wear biking shoes and clip in, I really had nothing to be doing.

I was so excited when I got back to transition!  I knew that I was done with two-thirds of the race and although I am not a strong runner, I would get through the rest of this.  I was even willing to walk the entire 10k. However, I quickly remembered that my socks and shoes were soaked completely through to the skin. I was about to "run" 6 plus miles in wet shoes and socks. Awesome.

I can't lie.  The run was a-w-f-u-l. Terrible. I hate it. HATED. IT. 

It was within the first mile, that I heard someone call my name and shout out encouragement.  It was my old friend Amanda, standing in the rain as a volunteer.  Again, it was seeing a familiar face, smiling at me and cheering me on, that really kept me going. 

Just after passing mile one, I let myself walk for about 45 seconds.  In terms of breathing and overall energy, I felt pretty good.  But my shins, ankles, feet...pretty much everything below my knees hurt.  Now, I know that some of this was because I need new running shoes.  I realized that I needed new shoes about a week before the race.  I thought that running with old shoes would be the lesser evil when compared to running with new shoes.  I'm not so sure I made the right decision.

There were several things that were great about the course of this run.  First, there was water and Gatorade every mile.  Even if I didn't need any hydration or nutrition, it made for a fun game trying to get it.  If I only took a few sips and dumped the rest on myself, it was still awesome. Next, there are always interesting people on the mall.  On Sunday, September 12th, there happened to be a lot of Tea Partiers invading the mall.  We ran straight down 14th to Constitution and they stood there and stared at us like some kind of freak show.  (The annoying thing about these people and tourists in general is their inability to judge time and space.  So as the triathletes ran down 14th and the tourists tried to cross 14th, there was the constant risk of a collision.  They crossed the street so slowly and without regard for the fact that people were running a race!)

The course took me down and around Haines Point.  I had to pause and tighten my shoe laces in the hopes that it would help the pain in my feet.  My socks and shoes were still soaking wet.  Haines Point is actually a beautiful run. It's nice and flat.  There were a few people here and there, cheering. 

I really loved that anytime I passed (which didn't happen often) or was passed (which happened quite frequently) by anyone else wearing a TNT tri suit, there was an automatic greeting of "Go Team!" It was a wonderful distraction and an excellent way to encourage and be encouraged.

Here's a few photos of me on the run.
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95206133&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95168151&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95203094&FROM=photos&BIB=4530

In these pictures, you can tell as I get closer to the finish line because my smile gets bigger, and bigger and BIGGER.

Right around mile 6, I saw two of our coaches and my TNT staff person. They just started shouting. I got a high five and kept running.

It's hard to describe the scene and the feeling for the last mile.  There were a lot of people around.  Some were there to cheer us on and others were also racers, who had completed the event and made their way back to cheer on those of us who hadn't finished yet. 

As I got closer to the finish line, I could not keep the smile off of my face.  Not only was I guaranteed to finish this thing (that I wasn't sure I could,) but there were so many people lining the streets.  Even though none of these people knew me, they would make eye contact with me, shout encouragement to me, cheer me on to the finish line.  How could I not smile in that circumstance?

As I got to the finish line, I felt like I was going to start crying.  (In retrospect, I think I was too dehydrated to cry much.) Here's me crossing the finish line: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95150480&FROM=photos&BIB=4530 and http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95158807&FROM=photos&BIB=4530.

As I walked from the finish line, I got my bottle of water and more importantly, my finishers medal. I heard shouts to my right and it was my wonderful friends Steph (from earlier) and Amanda.  They cheered and hugged me and I thought they might want to cry with me.  It was so wonderful that my friends were willing to come out in terrible weather, sit on a wet curb, and cheer me on across the finish line.

I went to walk around the barrier to talk to Steph and Amanda and right in front of me were my coworkers and friends Kelli and Katie.  I was shocked! It took a long time to get there and as I mentioned, the weather was terrible, but they made it out.  I couldn't have been happier.

It took me some time to make it around the barrier, return my timing chip, getting the shiny plastic stuff that keeps you warm, and get some Gatorade, but when I did, we got these great pictures.



I don't look so good, but I was on SUCH a high.


The rest of the day was a little bit of a blur.  I couldn't quite put together full thoughts or kept forgetting names or couldn't think of specific words that I wanted to use.  We hung out at the finish celebration for awhile, I got this great picture http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95183338&FROM=photos&BIB=4530 and then Steph and Amanda helped me carry my stuff home so that we could go and enjoy lunch at Lauriol Plaza.  Jess even joined us.

The rest of my day and the next day is pretty boring.  There was a lot of stretching and napping.  I wasn't too sore, but really tired.  Almost immediately after I finished the race, I knew that I would be doing another.  It's hard to get over a high like that.

I have a few more thoughts that I want to include on this blog, but I'll save that for a final post.

Race Weekend Part II or RACE DAY!

Sunday, September 12th
I woke up briefly at 3:00 AM.  Otto and I walked to the kitchen to make sure his food and water were still there.  (They always are, but we still check.)  I went back to sleep.

My alarm went off at 4:30 AM.  I have never been good at packing in advance.  But, when I have enough time, I can be quite efficient packing in the morning.  It's true for any trip. So even though my bathroom looked like this on Saturday night, I had my lists and was in a good position to have everything ready.

I looked outside. It was raining.  Well, it wasn't so much raining as it was misting.  Everything just looked damped.  I really didn't think it would be so bad.  I would be wet for the swim and a good portion of the bike, so why did it really matter?  Ignorance really can be bliss.

So here's what getting ready involved:

• Getting "dressed" in my tri suit. (But first, I had to apply body glide to any part of skin that would touch my wet suit or a seam on my wetsuit or tri suit or any part of skin that might touch any other piece of skin.  This means I was pretty much covering myself in body glide.)
• Packing up my mostly dried wetsuit with cap and goggles.
• Applying sunscreen to my face.  (Little did I know how unnecessary that effort was.)
• Packing 1 towel to lay all of my stuff for transition on and a smaller towel to wipe off my feet during T-1.
• Tucking my running shoes and favorite socks in my bag.
• Putting a change of clothes (pants, t-shirt, hat) into a plastic bag and packing it into my larger bag.
• Filling 3 bottles of water (2 for the bike, 1 extra) and adding them to my bag.
• Adding body glide, powder, 2 gels, nutrition bar, and chomps to my bag.
• Layering an extra t-shirt and jacket on top of tri suit.
• Packing my helmet and sunglasses. (Again, the ridiculousness of sunglasses wouldn't strike me until later.)
• Eating some low fat cottage cheese, plain oatmeal with some frozen mixed berries mixed in.  (The entire time I was getting ready, I considered making coffee.  I really wish I had just committed and made the darn coffee.)

After all of this, I put on my flip flops, told Otto to wish me luck and headed out the door.

When I first got outside, there was a gentle mist floating through the air. It felt good.  As I walked toward West Potomac Park, there was a guy a couple of feet behind me who was obviously also on his way to compete in the triathlon.  We struck up a very nice conversation. His name was John. He was an attorney from New York and this was definitely not his first tri.  As we walked, the rain started coming down, harder and harder.  By the time I got to transition, it was raining.

I picked up my timing chip, strapped it to my leg, and went to re-find my bike.  Everything seemed so clear and easy.  I was no longer nervous about the race.  There was nothing else that I could do to prepare physically.  I only had the things that I brought with me.  It was time to put four months of training into action.

By now, the time was about 6:00 AM.  It was raining a full-on, going to soak everything on this green earth kind of a rain. I wasn't completely sure what to do.  In theory, I should be setting up my transition, but the sooner I did that, the sooner everything I had with me would be soaked.  So I just stood there.  I chatted with the women around me. And we stood there getting wet. The woman next to me told me that while she was in the port-a-potty, it was warm, dry, and didn't stink yet. She thought of staying in there until the rain stopped, but decided that would be selfish and a little bit ridiculous.  Transition was supposed to close at 6:55 AM, so by 6:40, I finally bit the bullet and just set-up all of my stuff in the pouring rain. 

They had been announcing that the start of the first swim wave (which was scheduled for 7:00 AM) had been pushed back 15-20 minutes but it was still unclear if transition would stay open for longer.  So there everything sat, in the rain, getting wetter. 

Transition did stay open for an extra 20 minutes and during that time, the rain lightened to a mild mist.  However, that did nothing for my already soaked transition towel.  You can't see it very well in this picture, but every single item in this photo was wet, wet, wet.  I did have enough forethought to cover my shoes and socks with a plastic bag, but more about that later. 

The extra t-shirt that I was wearing (and planning to wear prior to my swim wave in order to stay warm) was completely soaked and useless at this point.  I donned by wetsuit in an effort to stay warm and headed out of transition as it was about to close.



Transition in the misty morning.



I ran into my new TNT friend Teresa. She was eating her breakfast consisting of two hot dog buns and a banana.  Why?  Because that's the breakfast she ate every Saturday during training.  It worked fine for four months of training, so would she have changed for race day?

We stood in line for the port-a-potties and that's where we heard the National Anthem and a few words from Mayor Adrien Fenty who was also competing in the race.

The rest of the hour and twenty-eight minutes before my swim wave was spent trying to stay warm, dodging from tree to tree to avoid the rain, and watching the other swim waves start.  That's where the true entertainment of the day was, watching other swimmers.  It's amazing how many people can't swim in a straight line AND don't learn to site in open water.  We watched one guy swim 50 meters, stop and hang onto the kayak for about 5 minutes.  Then he started swimming and from the sidelines, we all cheered.  But then we realized that he was definitely not swimming in a straight line and it appeared as though he was swimming straight across the swim course.  Finally, I realized that he was swimming to the 100 meter buoy and he proceeded to cling to the buoy for another few minutes. During this time, there were at least another two swim waves that passed.  Once he let go of the buoy, he swam another 25 meters or so and again, grabbed on to one of the kayaks.  Either this poor man had not done nearly enough training or he was having such significant panic issues that continuing did not seem prudent. I'm not sure if he was finally able to continue or ended up dropping out of the race.

Ok, it was at this point that Teresa (who was in the swim wave after mine) and I realized that we were getting very close to our swim times.  We headed up to the swim corrals and I said good-bye and wished Teresa good luck with her race.  As I turned to join the ranks of the other dark green capped swimmers, who should I see, but my very dear friend Stephanie.  She had made it out, early in the morning while it was raining to watch me race.  I gave her the biggest hug I possibly could without sending her tumbling backwards.  It was so good to see someone who was there for me. This picture, the only one of me moments before entering the Potomac is compliments of Steph.

I think this post has been long enough, so I'll save the actual race for tomorrow night.

Race Weekend, Part 1

This weekend was such a wonderful blur! It's hard to separate actual events from emotions, but I'm going to try my hardest to recount the weekend with a little bit of both.

Friday, September 10th
It was a pretty normal day at work, despite the fact that I could not stop thinking or talking about the weekend ahead of me.  Luckily, all of my colleagues were very gracious and encouraging.

I ended up staying later at work than I had wanted and didn't make it to packet pick-up at the Washington Hilton until about 6:30pm.  The pick-up line and expo area were virtually empty.  Apparently, not many people were able to plan ahead. 

I did manage to take a pretty good athlete ID picture, if I do say so myself. (Yes, feel free to order prints.)  Hopefully, this is as close as I ever get to a mug shot. I also wandered around a bit, checked out some expensive merchandise, sampled some Muscle Milk and picked up my finished t-shirt.

After packet pick-up, I had a wonderful dinner (yum, Ethiopian!) with my old friend Katie.  She was so encouraging and supportive.  Thanks, Katie!  It was a great start to the weekend and with all of that walking, I slept like a rock that night.

Saturday, September 11th
My alarm went off ridiculously early in an attempt to mimick the events on Sunday morning.  My first thought: Happy Birthday, Emily!  Second thought: Wow, it's been 9 years since 9/11/01.  Third thought: Crap, I'm competing in a triathlon tomorrow.

I had some time to kill, so I laid on the couch for a few hours and "rested" my eyes. Then I started making lists.  They included: things I would need for that day's bike racking and practice swim, things I would need to do that night, and the things I would need for race day. Making lists relieved some of the anxiety.  Maybe I should make lists more often in my normal life.

Ok, so once I'd packed up my cap, goggles, wet suit, towel, change of clothes, bike number, and helmet number, I got into my tri suit, grabbed some water and food, raised the seat on my bike, put on my gloves and helmet and pedaled my way to transition.  Yes, all of this was by completed by 11:20 AM.

Once I found transition, got marked with my numbers, and got into transition, it seemed really big and scary.

I'd had some trouble with my back shifter on the way over, but the helpful bike mechanics from the Bike Lane smoothed it out and gave me some tips for the next day.

Looks good from the front, right?

My bike all racked and ready.

I had some time to spare before our scheduled swim practice, so I met up with some of my fellow teammates from Team In Training and we proceeded to pose and take some pictures.

Demonstrating my skill on the aerobars.

Showing off my sweet muscles and bib number. This pose never gets old.

After our photography fun, I walked down to the swim area to get a better idea of how terrible the waters of the Potomac were really going to be.  Truth be told, it didn't look so bad and there was virtually no smell! (Yes, Lucy. No milfoil.)

Here are a few pics to show how things looked.

This is the walkway to the swim in.

Here's the swim out.

A view down river

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also have to share a quick picture of these buoys.  There were so many comments about their size and quantity.  Apparently, most triathlons don't have 10 foot tall buoys marking every 100 meters. (Just for a size comparison, those little dots in the water are the heads of people swimming.)  Who knew?

 

I was excited for my swim practice.  I had already done a couple of open water swims, but there was something about the Potomac was particularly terrifying.

Wetsuits look good on no one. NO. ONE.

I only swam for about 400 meters.  The first 50, I really thought I was going to vomit.  I could only see about 12-15 inches in front of me and I realized that I felt so awful just because I was thinking about how disgusting the river was...but it wasn't!  So once I got over the fear of just being in the Potomac river, I calmed down and the swim went really well. 

After the day's excitement, I still had to go home, shower and get ready for the Inspiration Dinner.  During the dinner, everyone who has participated with that event's Team In Training loads up on carbohydrates and cries.  We got to hear the touching story of a little boy from Texas named Gage who was diagnosed with Leukemia and everything that his family had done and all the money they had raised for LLS.  It was a sob-fest.

I finally got home around 9:15pm.  As I laid down to try and get some sleep, I was really pleased that the day had been so busy.  I'm sure that if I hadn't been utterly exhausted, I would not have gotten such a wonderul nights sleep.

Those are the details of Friday and Saturday.  I'll share the damp details of race day in part two!

Heading out....

see everyone on the flip side.

Almost Go Time

It's the day before the race. I have my lists. I'm rounding up my stuff. I have to rack my bike in a couple of hours and a practice swim later this afternoon. Tonight is the pasta dinner and as much sleep as I can get.  There's no turning back now.  More to come....

FREAKING OUT

For real, I am perpetually on the verge of a panic attack.  I'm getting overly nervous about all of the details and logistics which is causing me to question if I can actually do this darn thing.  More later....

Here's the message I wrote to my local friends who might come and watch. Feel free to pretend that you are a local.

First, I want to again say thanks to everyone for your financial support and encouragement as I have been training. It means more than you can possibly know.

Next, since you are all local and I know that some of you are excited to watch on Sunday, I want to share all of the details about my race day. Feel free to forward this message to others who know me and might be interested in watching or buddy up with anyone copied on this message.

What you will need to bring:
camera
spare camera
signs, posters, home-made t-shirts (all cheering me on!)
copy of the course map (if you're planning to move around)
a strong voice for shouting encouragement
umbrella/rain coat (as it's forecasted to rain)

I have attached to this message, a map of the course. (Here's a link to the website as well http://www.thenationstriathlon.com/course-overview.html.) As you can imagine, it will be difficult to drive to the event. There are parking lots right nearby, but I would not recommend planning to park there unless you are arriving at 4:30 AM. I also understand that there is parking available at Arlington Cemetery and then you can just walk across the bridge. Also, since it's Sunday, all parking meters in DC are free. So find a parking spot on the street and walk on over or just plan to take the metro.

On the map, you will see that recommended viewing areas are marked with a pink V. There are also special Team In Training cheering sections. Feel free to plant yourself in one of these areas, or create a plan for moving from one section of the course to another. I've broken down the details of my race below.

Swim Start
I will be "hanging out" in the swim corral (near the swim start) from 6:55 AM when the transition area closes until approximately 8:28 AM (which is my swim start time.) The first swim wave is at 7:00 AM. I'm not sure how crowded the area will be (I'm guessing very) but feel free to find me in the swim corral to get some sweet photos of me in the very flattering wetsuit that I hope to be wearing. If you would like to see me enter the nasty waters of the Potomac, here is my specific info:
Swim wave 23
8:28 AM start
dark green swim cap
bib number 4530

I'm anticipating that the swim will take me 45-60 minutes.

Bike
Yes, I'll be wearing a helmet. Yes, I'll be wet. Feel free to take photos. I don't think I need say anymore about this part.

Assuming that I keep a good pace and nothing tragic happens (like a flat) the bike will take me 90-100 minutes. My bib number will still be 4530.

Run
Here's where it gets ugly. I am not a strong runner. Based on my training, the run will take me 65-75 minutes. You can see on the map that the run circles through part of the District, moves out to Haines Point and then back to the finish line. I am going to need all the encouragement I can get along the run! The more often I see friendly faces, the better. Again, my bib number is 4530.

Finish
I'm sure it's going to be chaotic, but if you came out to watch me, I'd love to get the chance to see and talk to you at the finish, take some pictures, cry a little bit, etc.

Please let me know if you have any questions, need more details, etc. I'm really looking forward to this weekend, but (like most things) won't be able to get through it without a little help from my friends.

Thanks!
Melanie

Where will you be at 8:28 AM on Sunday, September 12th?

I personally will be in the nasty waters of the Potomac getting ready to swim my little heart out wearing bib number 4530.

For anyone who might be interested in viewing the full course map, you can find it here:
http://www.nationstri.com/course-overview.html

If you happen to be in the DC metro area on the 12th and plan to come and cheer me on, I've also included a link to the detailed course map below.  You'll notice that suggested viewing areas are marked with a "V" and there are also specifically designated Team In Training cheering areas.  Really, I don't care where you are, but it would be great to see friendly faces along the route.  http://nationstri.com/assets/images/NT-2010-course-map.pdf

Also, I have a very special request of anyone who bothers to show up on race day...TAKE AS MANY PICTURES AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN!!! Although this race includes professional photographers, I need as much documentation of this event as physically possible.


There's not much I can do anymore in terms of training.  The next seven days are just tapering and getting prepared mentally...7 days and counting!

My Home Transition Area

I might have previously mentioned that my apartment looks like a triathlon transition area.  I would like to back that up with a few photos.

Welcome to my foyer.  What is that? Oh yes, it's a bike and a helmet located near the door for an easy exit. You'll also notice that hydration is included.  Well, the bottles aren't filled with water right now, but I have taken to leaving them on the bike.  That way I can find them quickly and easily.

Now, if I were really serious, every time I came home with my bike, I would back it in.  Why?  So that I could leave transition (home) as quickly as possible, duh!  If I were a really serious biker, I would also have my shoes clipped into my pedals.  I'm not that advanced!

Let's move on to the back of the door.  Is that Batman's suit? No. My Halloween costume? Well, it might be. For right now, this is what I'll be wearing to swim through the Potomac.  Well, this is what I'll be wearing so long as the temperature of the river goes down.  If not, there will be much less protecting me.

Initially, I tried hanging my wetsuit in the closet.  Who knew that neoprene has a very distinct odor and that the odor would transfer to natural fibers so easily?  Since I prefer not to spend my work days smells like a wetsuit factory, I have taken to letting it "breathe."

Here's the bathroom with not one, but two swim caps hanging out amongst jewelry and hair accessories. You'll even notice that one cap has my name scrawled on it.  (If I were to zoom out, you would also find powder, goggles, and body glide all very nearby.  However, I did not feel compelled to show the entire contents of my bathroom, thank you very much.) 

Last, but not least in this tour of my home transition area is my coffee table complete with my new favorite nutrition, Gu.  (Sarcasm doesn't come off so well in my writing.)  I would like to highlight that in the background, next to piles of mail is my tri suit. Do I really eat that stuff?  Yep.  Am I really going to wear that purple and green thing? Yep. 

I will admit that this photo is staged.  I don't leave Gu standing up straight on my coffee table.  Just for my amusement, below are two pics of Otto "helping" me with this picture.

I'm pretty sure he thought that he was doing something really good and helpful. 

There was no good way to clarify.



That's it for now.  Less than 9 full days until race day!

Training Quotes

• My face looks like the before picture in a Proactiv commercial.
• My apartment looks like a triathlon transition area between the bike, the wetsuit, swim caps, Gu....
• Is it wrong that I've started putting on Body Glide everyday?

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Where to start, oh where to start.

Both the training and fundraising has been going really well as of late...which is really good considering my race is TWO WEEKS AWAY!  I have more to say about that a little later.

I found myself in a serious panic about fundraising two weeks ago.  It was just getting too late to host any kind of well-organized event and frankly, I'm not very good at asking people for money and following-up.  But, I managed to get over the shyness of asking and found that 85% of people are really generous!  All I can do is ask and remind...if someone chooses not to give, that's fine.  I know there are plenty of causes and fundraising efforts of friends that I've skipped and everyone knows that I need plenty of reminders.

There were a couple of "organized" fundraising events in which I participated.  On two different Sundays, I stood outside Giant (that's a supermarket if you're not in the know) and sold baked goods. I always thought bake sales were cheesy and probably a little gross if I did any of the baking myself.  Little did I know, with the right combination of people, how much fun they could also be.  The stories that I have...the woman yelling at me in Japanese, the person who refused to donate because she "doesn't support Lymphoma" and the guy who showed up in the banana suit...thinking about any of these incidences makes me dissolve into giggles.  I'll probably need to remind myself of these stories when I'm running by myself on Hains Point on race day.

Training has also felt super good lately.  On Wednesday, I ran 6 miles. (I would like to give a special shout out to every gym teach I had through grade school, junior high, and high school.  All of those mile runs that I gave half-assed efforts toward, it really was childhood rebellion and not an inability. Thank you.) 6 miles is probably the farthest that I've ever run in one shot. Ever. And let me just say, it felt awesome. By no means am I breaking any records. In fact, I'm pretty slow, but it feels good.  It's awesome.

Today was the cherry on top of the sundae. We had a mini practice triathlon.  It was only a 200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run but it still felt good.  My transitions were easy and despite that getting on my bike wet and running after riding both feel really weird, I still like it.

Race day is 14 days away. I want to wet myself when I think about it, but really, I think I'm ready.  I'm scared and know that I'm not going to be fast, but I'm definitely going to finish this thing.  And hey, if it goes well, maybe I'll even do something like this again.

It Must be Freezing in Hell Right Now

I am wearing a helmet and remaining upright on a bike. That is all.

What a busy week! Here are the highlights:

Biking
Now that I'm finally riding, biking is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, I've had my fair share of near falls in the middle of the streets of busy DC. Also, I definitely do not understand the finer points of how the gears really work. However, I can manage to shift relatively well, I feel good about my pedaling, and I even managed to adjust the seat height myself! Saturday's team ride was long and hilly so I was able to practice the rate of my pedaling and even spend some time on the aerobars. (If you're not familiar, aerobars are the bars that come off the front of the handlebars and allow triathletes to get down into a comfortable and aerodynamic position. While riding in that position gave my arms a nice rest, it was also very scary!)

Swimming
I got one of the biggest compliments on Tuesday morning when one of the coaches told me that my kick was too big and I should focus more on controlling my speed with my arms. At first, using my arms more stunk! But with a little practice, I can see how this will be more effective and help save my legs. It also boosted my spirits when the same coach told me that I'd be just fine in getting through the swim. PHEW!!

Running
I am not a good runner. I will never be a good or fast runner. Slow and steady is definitely my prerogative when it comes to runs and I need to get over the fear of walking. I will be running a 10k after swimming 1.5 kilometers and biking 40. There will be no shame if I allow myself to walk for 1 minute here or there. As long as I don't walk across the finish line. That would just be embarrasing!


Overall
I've gotten through 80% of my workouts this past week. Although it's difficult, I've been trying to reign in my diet including cutting out coffee and alcohol...not sure how long that will last, but I'm trying!! The fact that the event is 36 days away does not scare me. I feel like I'm in a good place training-wise and pretty sure I'll get through the whole thing. The likelihood that I'll sleep the entire afternoon and evening of September 12th is very, very high!

Now, if only I could wrap-up my fundraising....

Up Like a Rosebud, High on the Vine!

Things are looking up! I had a very productive weekend followed by two great workouts today. It's quite possible that the best thing is the continued generosity of my friends. It's created a nice pick-up in my fundraising. I continue to be amazed by their thoughtfulness in donations and encouraging words.

Now it's off to bed so I stay awake for tomorrow's 5:30 AM swim!

Swamp-ed

I am frustrated. It's not the normal, everyday frustrated. In fact, I'm stressing and frustrated. How's that for a combo?

Here, in no particular order are my areas of frustration:

1 - DC is currently a swamp. It's hot. It's humid. The only possible time to get in a good run is early o'clock AM or late:30 PM. My run tonight is an excellent illustration. I left my apartment at 9:45 PM. I thought I could easily put in 30 minutes. HA! No sir, no how, no way. It sucked. Well at least the 20 minutes that I ran really stunk. My entire body was pretty much one big cramp. I was gasping for breath. I was sweating from places that I didn't know could produce sweat. I tried to be crafty and run close to the doors of buildings, hoping that I would catch enough icy cold air to keep me going. (As an aside, the World Bank is great for this purpose. They seem to air condition the entire block between 19th and 20th streets.) It didn't work. I returned home with my head hung in shame.

2 - I am not a good fundraiser. Really, I have not put too much effort into it but $2,400 is not a lot of money. I probably drop that annually on going out. Actually, no. I spend much much more than that. So what's the problem?

3 - Bike. Oh, I can't even talk about it.

4 - Although it's unrelated to my triathlon training, I am in a weight loss "contest" at work. The idea is that I drop of total of 10 pounds. It does not look like it will happen. I have not been going to CrossFit regularly. I feel weak. And slow. I miss it.

The bottom line is that I need to perk up about the whole thing. I will take donations, motivation, and inspiration in equal doses. Finally, if someone could manage to get rid of the heat and humidity, I would greatly appreciate it.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri10/mzentnecxd

P-A-C-I-N-G

Never in a million, billion, trillion years did I ever think that I would need to tell myself to slow down. I was always been the kid who ran pretty slowly. I usually cannot talk when running or working out in general. Why? Well, I'm too busy gasping for breath. Over the last few weeks, I have been forced to realize that if I just slow down my pace a little, in both running and swimming, I can go farther and for longer, and manage to talk while running.

Pacing is a lesson that I think I missed in junior high gym class. Maybe instead of spending so much time insisting that we all shower after class or getting us excited to do butt slides, those teachers could have given us some lessons in how to appreciate running. It wasn't until after college that I started to see running as a fun activity. In my mind, running was something to be dreaded, especially in the spring when we had to run a mile.

Not that I can entirely blame the gym teachers of my childhood. I have never been an athlete, but I have discovered that I'm pretty good at working out. Really, what is a triathlon except one really, really long workout? As long as I can keep moving in a forward direction for 3-4 hours, without injuring myself, I will finish and after all, that is the main point for me. Although, I also am raising money for a great cause too!

Thus far, the training has only been okay. Between work and trying to maintain a social life, it's hard to find the time everyday to put in the miles. Also, since it is clearly summer in the fair District of Columbia, any outdoor activities need to be done at sunrise or after sunset. Even this morning's 8:30 AM run should have been done a good hour beforehand and I know that I'll be paying for it with a mild headache all day.

Besides the obvious training that I need to focus on, I really must start putting efforts into my fundraising. For over a month, I have been at 10% to my fundraising goal...which is great and I'm so appreciate to everyone who has donated thus far! But, $2400 is still a long way off and this is an effort I'm not willing to quit.

So, since it is the end of June, I'm committing (or re-committing?) myself to both my training and fundraising efforts. The race date of September 12th seems so far off, but time moves quickly and I know it will be here in no time!

Weekend = SUCCESS!

This weekend's tasks were many. However, those most pertinent to my triathlon training preparation (that's what I've decided to call this period of time) were highly successful.

Here's a recap:

1) Locate a nearby sporting goods store that both carries the necessary swimwear (suit and goggles) and does not employ annoying sales people. Mission was accomplished by visiting City Sports on 19th and L.

2) Purchase suit that is modest, supportive, relatively inexpensive and (as much as possible) is flattering. Also, purchase goggles that keep water out of my eyes, preferably not giving me the puffy raccoon eyes I remember from my days on the Monroe Area Swim Team. I achieved most of my goals by selecting these two beauties:

I do need to point out that this suit is navy. Yes, I am swimming wearing the poor man's black, but when I put it on, there was just something about this suit that felt right. It might have been a side affect of the poor, fluorescent lighting of the fitting room or my low blood sugar while shopping, but I really like my newest purchase. Plus, I forgot how much competition swimming suits are like Spanx for your mid-section. I might start wearing one on a daily basis.

3) Locate local swimming facility and desperately hope that I remember how to swim.

As a resident of the District of Columbia, I may not have a voting member of Congress (an issue for another time and another blog) but by golly, I DO have free access to quality and well-maintained indoor swimming facilities. Gosh, it's good to remember why I live here!

The Wilson Aquatic Center is just a block from the Tenleytown metro and a great facility. Even though it is well out my daily commute, I would very much like to visit here again, hopefully on a regular basis. As an added bonus, there is a Guapo's a block away.

4)Swim! Oh, and swim I did! It felt really good to be in the water, using my muscles in a way that I haven't for a very long time. On the downside, I'm not really sure what I've previously done while swimming. Talking to myself got very boring, very fast. I mean, I do that enough everyday.

My pre-training instructions indicate that I should be swimming for about 30 minutes, with few breaks in between laps. So I swam for the prescribed 30 minutes and completed 22 laps or 1100 meters. I did have to break the strokes and did about half and half, freestyle and breaststroke. Still, in 30 minutes that's about .68 miles. I feel pretty confident that with a little training, I will be able to swim .9 miles with no issue. Although, I still do have to deal with the fact that I'll be swimming in the Potomac...ew.

Next up, where oh where are my compression shorts???

What was I thinking???

Really. I am not an athlete. I have never been an athlete. I do not think I ever will be an athlete. Despite all of this, I have done something that seems incredibly foolish. I have signed up to "compete" in the Nation's Triathlon on Sunday, September 12th. Crap.

I've committed to train with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. In exchange for raising a modest amount for the organization (a really good organization at that!) I will be expertly guided through four months of training to prepare me. (By the way, if you're reading this and haven't contributed, please visit my fundraising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri10/mzentnecxd. Every little bit helps!)

In my mind, I've been breaking down the pieces of the tri and this is what I have so far:

Swim
It's only .9 miles. I swam competitively when I was 8 or 9. Ok, so that was 22 years ago. But, Emily and and I used to swim at least a mile per week back in college. Of course, we always followed-up our swims with big beers and big nachos at Sally's...oh, to be in college again! The other downside of the swim is that it is in the Potomac. I'm fully prepared to come out with a third eye or some kind of fungus growing on me. Maybe I'll sprout a third leg that will help me with the run? Or else, I'll just try not to open my mouth.

Bike
I really like biking. Of course, I've only been on the stationary and recumbent variety (with TV and AC, naturally) since the day that I got my driver's license and put my good old 10-speed on mothballs. The other problem is the helmet. Anyone who knows me well, also knows my feelings on helmets. They look stupid. It has absolutely nothing to do with safety. I am all for safety! It's purely the aesthetic. Unfortunately, I'll just have to get over it.

Run
The 10k run should be the least of my worries, but there is much to consider. 1) I am only a baby runner. Anything over 5 miles and I get scared. Yes, it is all in my head. 2) The last time I ran was two weeks ago. What happened? A quarter mile into the run, I bit it. Hard. I tripped over my own feet and landed in the middle of K st and 20th. Apparently, my instincts told me to catch myself with my joints. Hence, I have been dealing with a gaping wound on my elbow and a bruised knee. It's a very classy look for a 30 year old professional woman. 3) I usually don't run for anything, not even the bus. There goes that catch phrase.

Honestly, I am really excited about this challenge. Turning 30 has been hard for me. I'm already impressed by the things that I've learned my body can do through my CrossFit workouts. (As an example, I can dead lift over 200lbs. Who knew?) This is a whole new level of challenge for me. I have to get out of my head and admit that I CAN DO this! I'm not in it to win it. I want to finish and feel good about what I've accomplished and the money that I've helped raise for LLS.

I invite all of you to follow my training adventures and keep up with the hilarity that is sure to ensue. Real training doesn't actually start until mid-May, but I'll keep this space updated with my pre-training activities until then. Please comment and keep me motivated!

Next up, buying a new suit and goggles!