I would have thought that starting a weekly blog "feature" would have made me more likely to update this thing. Baby steps Julia. . .baby steps.
This week's IMM is brought to you by the number five, the periodic table element Fe, and the Tasmanian Devil. Why him? Because when he spins around, it looks like he's working himself into a frenzy. Get it? Five Iron Frenzy?
I know, I need to work on my Sesame Street humor.
My husband turned me on FIF when we first started dating. He is a big fan of ska and punk. The band scores bonus points because they are local (Denver), but sadly they broke up in 2003. According to their Wikipedia page, a DVD called "The Rise and Fall of Five Iron Frenzy" is scheduled to come out next month. Its on the interwebz, so it must be true.
I don't remember exactly what my husband told me when he played this song for me; actually, I think he put it on a mix tape for me to listen to during my 30 minute drive between our apartments. I do remember him telling me I'd like it, and I do. This week's inspirational song is called, "Dandelions." Its about seeing the beauty that is beyond the surface; and, its got a good beat to run to.
I found the song on YouTube, which includes the lyrics. A more whimsical video can be found here. Viva la FIF!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Inspirational Music Monday
A lot of the blogs I follow have "theme days." I would like to think that by starting one here, it might encourage me (or force me, whichever) to post more. So ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Inspirational Music Monday. These are songs that encourage, push, and are just fun to listen to while you run, bike, or whatever you choose to do.
When I first started running, I chose to follow the C25K program. There are several podcasts designed to help you run/walk, but I wanted something a bit more inspirational. After Googling for a bit, I found a podcast of Christian Indie Artists (CIA) started by the front man of Buried Talents Band; he was looking to run the 5Ks he used to when he was younger. I downloaded the first four weeks and hit the pavement.
It was about half way through my first run that I heard my first song for Inspirational Music Monday. Something came over me when I heard it; I knew from then on I was running for something bigger than myself.* I look forward to hearing this song every time it comes up in the shuffle of my MP3 player.
This week's selection: Run, by After the Chase. Here is a sample of the song, along with the lyrics. Another sample can be found here.
I'm sorry that I am unable to find a full length sample on the interwebs; the song is much more powerful when you hear it from the beginning. However, I can certainly understand why I can't find one.
*Yes, most of the songs for Inspirational Music Monday will probably be religious in nature. These are the songs that inspire me and I wish to share them. If you find offense to the post, then just move along to another post more suited to your needs; and realize that you probably offend a little too easily.
When I first started running, I chose to follow the C25K program. There are several podcasts designed to help you run/walk, but I wanted something a bit more inspirational. After Googling for a bit, I found a podcast of Christian Indie Artists (CIA) started by the front man of Buried Talents Band; he was looking to run the 5Ks he used to when he was younger. I downloaded the first four weeks and hit the pavement.
It was about half way through my first run that I heard my first song for Inspirational Music Monday. Something came over me when I heard it; I knew from then on I was running for something bigger than myself.* I look forward to hearing this song every time it comes up in the shuffle of my MP3 player.
This week's selection: Run, by After the Chase. Here is a sample of the song, along with the lyrics. Another sample can be found here.
I'm sorry that I am unable to find a full length sample on the interwebs; the song is much more powerful when you hear it from the beginning. However, I can certainly understand why I can't find one.
*Yes, most of the songs for Inspirational Music Monday will probably be religious in nature. These are the songs that inspire me and I wish to share them. If you find offense to the post, then just move along to another post more suited to your needs; and realize that you probably offend a little too easily.
Holy Crowded Gym!
Tis the season for new year's resolutions! I am stuck working out inside for a bit longer; we finally got above freezing here this week and the roads are still far too slick. All I want to do right now is get on my bike and go anywhere.
It's near impossible to find a parking spot at my gym right now. Thankfully, once you get inside its not so bad (they have a ton of machines and weights). I think the majority of people right now are going to classes instead of working out on their own. This is the time of year that everyone resolves to lose weight, get healthy, and become a better "you." I understand the frustration of those who go to the gym year-round who complain this time of year; the majority of those crowding the treadmills and free weights will be gone in six weeks. But at the same time I have to ask, "Do you remember your first time at a gym?"
I do; I signed up for a 24 Hour Fitness not too far from my work back in 2007. M and I had been married for less than a year, and I had put on the "newlywed nine" and then some. At this point I still cared about the number on the scale, so my goal was to lose 25 pounds (and I still haven't gotten down to that weight). I spent my lunch hours there, watching trashy soaps or Montel while speeding away on the elliptical or jamming out while going around the circuit. I remember feeling out of place and unwanted by those on the machines next to me. I felt like I had to work out harder and longer to prove I "belonged" there. Now that I am a little more "seasoned" in the language of the gym, I try really hard not to put on the same airs I met when I first starting going. Those people are simply trying to do what I did two years ago - feel better about themselves. If my biggest issue is that I have to look a bit longer for a place to park, then my day is going pretty well. Sadly, most of them will be gone in six weeks; discouraged by their lack of progress or motivation or any number of other reasons. But I choose to not be a reason for someone quitting. I encourage all others to do the same.
It's near impossible to find a parking spot at my gym right now. Thankfully, once you get inside its not so bad (they have a ton of machines and weights). I think the majority of people right now are going to classes instead of working out on their own. This is the time of year that everyone resolves to lose weight, get healthy, and become a better "you." I understand the frustration of those who go to the gym year-round who complain this time of year; the majority of those crowding the treadmills and free weights will be gone in six weeks. But at the same time I have to ask, "Do you remember your first time at a gym?"
I do; I signed up for a 24 Hour Fitness not too far from my work back in 2007. M and I had been married for less than a year, and I had put on the "newlywed nine" and then some. At this point I still cared about the number on the scale, so my goal was to lose 25 pounds (and I still haven't gotten down to that weight). I spent my lunch hours there, watching trashy soaps or Montel while speeding away on the elliptical or jamming out while going around the circuit. I remember feeling out of place and unwanted by those on the machines next to me. I felt like I had to work out harder and longer to prove I "belonged" there. Now that I am a little more "seasoned" in the language of the gym, I try really hard not to put on the same airs I met when I first starting going. Those people are simply trying to do what I did two years ago - feel better about themselves. If my biggest issue is that I have to look a bit longer for a place to park, then my day is going pretty well. Sadly, most of them will be gone in six weeks; discouraged by their lack of progress or motivation or any number of other reasons. But I choose to not be a reason for someone quitting. I encourage all others to do the same.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
One of my biggest obstacles. . .
Is working out while I'm traveling. Whether I'm traveling for work or pleasure, as soon as I get out of my normal routine, everything goes out the window.
Why can't I be more disciplined?
- I know exercise makes me feel better.
- I know exercise makes me sleep better.
- I know exercise gives me a sense of accomplishment I can't find anywhere else.
My goal in 2010 is to get better about exercise while traveling. I hope to set up a series of strength training exercises I can do in my hotel room if all else fails.
Right now, I'm blogging to the world from the business center of the Hampton Inn - AFTER 3 miles on the elliptical. Woot!
So riddle me this Internet; how do you stay motivated to exercise when you're not in your "normal" routine?
Why can't I be more disciplined?
- I know exercise makes me feel better.
- I know exercise makes me sleep better.
- I know exercise gives me a sense of accomplishment I can't find anywhere else.
My goal in 2010 is to get better about exercise while traveling. I hope to set up a series of strength training exercises I can do in my hotel room if all else fails.
Right now, I'm blogging to the world from the business center of the Hampton Inn - AFTER 3 miles on the elliptical. Woot!
So riddle me this Internet; how do you stay motivated to exercise when you're not in your "normal" routine?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A New Year, A New Goal
I spent the holidays doing some soul searching, trying to figure out what I wanted to get out of 2010 (race wise). I was incredibly inspired by my friend Jill who finished her second marathon in 2009. I'm sure that training with a toddler was a challenge! My sister-in-law Anne ran her first half marathon in October, and countless ladies on the Health & Fitness board I lurk on are meeting their race goals and feeling great. That's not to say I didn't feel an incredible sense of accomplishment with Highline and Glenwood last year; but I want to take it up a notch.
As a recommendation from several H&F ladies, I picked up "The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women" as a fun read this summer. When I brought it home, my husband's first response was, "you thinking of running a marathon now?," followed by his usual jolly chuckle. At the time, I had no plans to run that kind of distance, I just wanted a fun girl-trying-to-be-an-athlete read. But I have to admit, that remark has been gnawing at me for almost 6 months now. So, the question then becomes. . .
Why couldn't I?
Thumbing through the newest copy of Runner's World over Christmas, I noticed that the Rock n' Roll Marathon series was going to have its inaugural year in Denver. They don't have a set date yet (its listed for Fall 2010), but it looks like it will be in October and take over the slot of the ING Denver Marathon. I've heard from several people how fun the RnR series is; the date would give me plenty of time to train (and throw a 1/2 marathon in there somewhere).
So, while I'll still do a couple of tri's this year to try and better my time, I am going to try and focus my energy on running. 26.2 is quite a jaunt, but over the last year I've really enjoyed running and what if offers to me physically and psychologically.
Now, to convince my husband I'm not crazy. . .
As a recommendation from several H&F ladies, I picked up "The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women" as a fun read this summer. When I brought it home, my husband's first response was, "you thinking of running a marathon now?," followed by his usual jolly chuckle. At the time, I had no plans to run that kind of distance, I just wanted a fun girl-trying-to-be-an-athlete read. But I have to admit, that remark has been gnawing at me for almost 6 months now. So, the question then becomes. . .
Why couldn't I?
Thumbing through the newest copy of Runner's World over Christmas, I noticed that the Rock n' Roll Marathon series was going to have its inaugural year in Denver. They don't have a set date yet (its listed for Fall 2010), but it looks like it will be in October and take over the slot of the ING Denver Marathon. I've heard from several people how fun the RnR series is; the date would give me plenty of time to train (and throw a 1/2 marathon in there somewhere).
So, while I'll still do a couple of tri's this year to try and better my time, I am going to try and focus my energy on running. 26.2 is quite a jaunt, but over the last year I've really enjoyed running and what if offers to me physically and psychologically.
Now, to convince my husband I'm not crazy. . .
Monday, October 19, 2009
Seattle is a No Go
I found out this last week that my training for work will not happen in Seattle. This means no Seattle half marathon for me. I plan to regroup and try and find a race I can work towards. Shoot, maybe I'll just train a little longer and do the whole 26.2.
Just kidding. . .maybe.
Just kidding. . .maybe.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tri Glenwood Review
I apologize for the delay in this post. I hope to be better at blogging now that the season is over.
If you ever have the opportunity to do this race - DO IT. I don't know what exactly made this one so much fun; it was my second triathlon, the swim was pool and not open water, and the atmosphere was much more. . .well. . .friendly. There were a lot of families doing this race - husbands and wives, parents and their kids, brothers and sisters, etc.
M and I made it to Glenwood Springs on Saturday afternoon and played tourist for a while. He dropped me off for the orientation, which was relatively informative. The USAT official was there to give us his spiel, and they noted that there were 75 first timers to race. I thought that was pretty neat. I found out I was in the first heat (6:30am start time), so we were getting up pretty early.
Like, 5am early.
I prepped all of my stuff the night before and packed my transition bag. I woke up at 5am and got dressed and ready to go. M went down to the car to make sure everything was okay on the bike (we didn't need that kind of drama again), and I tried to take a few bites of my Powerbar. We left the hotel around 5:40 and started walking towards the Hot Springs Pool. Our hotel was about 1/3 mile from the Pool.
One thing I really liked about this race was that they had an assigned spot for each bike. I like knowing I don't have to worry about where to put all of my stuff, or to fight with other competitors about who gets what spot. When I got to the transition area, they were just finishing the set up, but a lot of people were already there. I had an end spot on my row (score!), but someone was already there setting up. I started looking at the stickers to make sure, and when I made it to her she said something like, "oh, I didn't realize they were marked." Um, if you're here at 5:45 in the morning to make sure you get an end spot, I'm pretty sure you know how this works. Rant over.
I learned a couple of things from my first tri and how I wanted to set up my gear. One thing I noticed was that most people who wore socks rolled them up like pantyhose, to make them easier to get over your feet when they're wet. I had my bottle of water, bottle of Gatorade, and Shot Blocks set up and ready to go. It was pretty darn cold Sunday morning (~47 degrees), so I had a jacket ready just in case. We made our way into the main entrance of the pool so I could get marked and get my chip. They were running a little behind, and didn't start giving out chips until about 6:15. I was amazed there were people there that were in a later heat. Luckily, everyone was really nice and let me cut to the front of the line so I could get out to the pool on time.
M walked me outside to the pool, took my "before" picture, wished me good luck with a kiss and sent me on my way. The pool itself if fed off of a hot spring, which they said they "cooled down" for the race. I got in and basically knelt down on the pool floor to keep warm. If you've ever been in a hot spring (or even a hot tub) before, you know what it feels like to be nice and warm and then get out. As 6:30 approached, the race director started to call out the numbers of people that hadn't checked in yet to see if they were in the pool. We had 58 people in our heat, and I'm sure he called out at least 10-12 numbers. Hey, that means more room for the rest of us. We all counted down together, the buzzer rang, and off we went for our seven lengths (the pools is over 100m long).
I was definitely more aggressive during this swim than the last. I had a (slightly) better idea of what I was doing, and I wanted to keep the swim as short as possible. The pool was set up with one long string our buoys in the middle. I followed them intently to make sure I wasn't swimming all over the place. M said he was watching people zig zag everywhere. There was a woman right in front of me that I could drag off of; once she left me I could definitely tell what a difference she made in cutting the water. Thanks anonymous athlete! The water felt noticeably cooler than previous times I have been there, I could notice a difference in all spots but one. I'm sure this is where the hot spring itself spilled into the pool. It felt like I was using more energy in this spot, so I did my best to streamline myself. It really felt like I was going much faster than normal; I wanted so badly to come in under the 25 minute cutoff. Once I finished the 7th length, I didn't see any other way to get out other than to pull myself up on the side. My arms were *exhausted* by this point. I think I did a belly flop to get out of the pool. I'm sure I looked like a beached whale. I got myself up and raced over to T1. I refused to look back.
M was outside the transition area to cheer me on, which was a nice surprise. I was sure he was heading back to the hotel for a nap. He told me later that about 1/3 of my heat was still in the pool when I got out. I got into my gear, took a big swig of Gatorade, grabbed my bike off the rack and jogged towards the end of the transition area. Jogging in bike shoes is WEIRD. I felt like a horse running in its shoes with all the noise I was making. I decided against putting the jacket on; I didn't necessarily regret that decision, but more on that later.
The ride on I-70 was not as bad as I had feared. There were volunteers at every on ramp slowing traffic down so riders could pass. Everyone was very friendly, bundled up in their coats with their coffee just chatting away. It was on the bike that I started getting passed. I expected this to happen; I'm not the fastest cyclist in the world. I lost count at the number of times I was passed, but I made sure to shout out at each one of them, "have a great day!" I wanted to repay some of the kindness I received during my first triathlon from other competitors. The first heat consisted of mostly beginners or those of us who knew they would take a while (like yours truly). It was when I started getting passed by those in the heat after me that I got a little discouraged. As much as you want to say that you are competing only against yourself, there will always be a part of you that looks to the others. There is nothing wrong with that, it's simply human nature.
The course was quite deceiving when I drove it. It looked to be uphill on the way out, and downhill on the way back. It was in fact the opposite. Bummer. Once I got to the half way point and made my way back up I-70 to the Glenwood exit, I hit a horrible head wind. I hadn't had a chance to put a computer on this bike yet, so I have no idea how slow that second half really was. It's probably better that I didn't know. This is where I started getting passed by people in the second heat. I'm sure they are much stronger than I and could push through the wind. This is also the place where I was singing praises that I had a geared bike. I love my single speed, I really, really do. But, I don't know how I would have made it without walking a portion if it hadn't been for gears. About that decision not to wear a jacket on the bike? That head wind was *cold.* I had goosebumps the whole way back. I am very proud to say that I rode the whole thing, at no point did I have to walk. This made taking a Clif Shot slightly more difficult. I took my shot last time when I was walking up the widow maker, so trying to keep upright with a head wind and get all of the shot out of the package was quite the juggling feat. Maybe my real calling is the circus.
I made it back in to T2 and racked my bike. I swapped my shoes, which got a little frustrating as my socks had absorbed all of the water from my feet. This made getting my running shoes on slightly difficult. Having jello legs did not help this transition either. I saw some women sitting down on the curb, which I did not want to do. To me, it is a waste of valuable time to sit down and get back up. I grabbed my running hat and got on my way.
I really need to incorporate more brick workouts into my training. I have the hardest time making it more than 1/4 mile without stopping to walk during an actual race. It happened again this time, but because I had an opportunity to run the course the week before I felt a bit more prepared. There were more volunteers and more cheerfulness. The first mile of the run also took you by the finish line, which was neat to see before hand.
I did the run/walk method until I got to 27th street, which is the turn around point (around the three mile mark). My run/walk method is not time or distance based, but HR based. I run until I hit 165, then I walk until I come back down to 130ish. My HR recovers very quickly, so I was never walking for more than ~90 seconds at a time. Once I hit 27th street and got up the initial hill, I knew the rest of the course was a slight downhill. I knew at that point I was golden. I didn't stop running after that, I am proud to say. There were signs plastered along the back of the route; people cheering their friends on. My favorite one was a poster that said, "Run like hell, Katie Bell!" She was one of the favorites to win the women's title for first time triathletes. She came in 75th overall, and 13th for first time women. Great job Katie! I got passed some more on the run, more and more by people in the second heat. I didn't see anyone from the third heat, I think that would have really discouraged me. On Midland Avenue (the downhill stretch home), I was passed with 1 1/2 miles to go by a woman who told me, "thank you for being my pacer." I didn't get her bib number to see how she did, but I'll take that as a compliment.
I turned the corner at 8th Avenue and knew I had about 1/2 a mile to go. I tried to ramp it up and finish strong, but I had already given it every last thing I had. I'm sure I looked pitiful crossing that finish line, but I finished. They looked up your name based on your bib and called it out as you approached the end, which I thought was really nice. People cheered for everyone who crossed.
I immediately made my way to the service table. I was ravenous! There was quite the spread of goodies, of which I grabbed a banana nut muffin and some water. I made my way back to the transition area to grab my stuff, and then back to the hotel to relax and shower. The sulfur from the water gave me a nice "rotten egg" smell that I really wanted to get off.
Sadly, M was not there to meet me at the finish line. So, I don't have a picture of me crossing it either. I told him how long I thought it would take me, and he went back to the hotel to take a nap after he cheered me on at T1. M slept through his alarm and we missed each other by about five minutes. I'm bummed he wasn't there, but he beat himself up over more than I ever could (or would, for that matter). As a way of saying "I'm sorry," he let me choose where we went to lunch. M really wanted to go to this burger joint off the highway, but my hungry belly was saying Moe's. It was delicious!
My goal this time was to do better than before, but still not be last. My goal times were:
Swim: 25:00
T1: 2:30
Bike: 1:00:00
T2: 2:30
Run: 1:15:00
Total time: 2:45:00
My official times were:
If you ever have the opportunity to do this race - DO IT. I don't know what exactly made this one so much fun; it was my second triathlon, the swim was pool and not open water, and the atmosphere was much more. . .well. . .friendly. There were a lot of families doing this race - husbands and wives, parents and their kids, brothers and sisters, etc.
M and I made it to Glenwood Springs on Saturday afternoon and played tourist for a while. He dropped me off for the orientation, which was relatively informative. The USAT official was there to give us his spiel, and they noted that there were 75 first timers to race. I thought that was pretty neat. I found out I was in the first heat (6:30am start time), so we were getting up pretty early.
Like, 5am early.
I prepped all of my stuff the night before and packed my transition bag. I woke up at 5am and got dressed and ready to go. M went down to the car to make sure everything was okay on the bike (we didn't need that kind of drama again), and I tried to take a few bites of my Powerbar. We left the hotel around 5:40 and started walking towards the Hot Springs Pool. Our hotel was about 1/3 mile from the Pool.
One thing I really liked about this race was that they had an assigned spot for each bike. I like knowing I don't have to worry about where to put all of my stuff, or to fight with other competitors about who gets what spot. When I got to the transition area, they were just finishing the set up, but a lot of people were already there. I had an end spot on my row (score!), but someone was already there setting up. I started looking at the stickers to make sure, and when I made it to her she said something like, "oh, I didn't realize they were marked." Um, if you're here at 5:45 in the morning to make sure you get an end spot, I'm pretty sure you know how this works. Rant over.
I learned a couple of things from my first tri and how I wanted to set up my gear. One thing I noticed was that most people who wore socks rolled them up like pantyhose, to make them easier to get over your feet when they're wet. I had my bottle of water, bottle of Gatorade, and Shot Blocks set up and ready to go. It was pretty darn cold Sunday morning (~47 degrees), so I had a jacket ready just in case. We made our way into the main entrance of the pool so I could get marked and get my chip. They were running a little behind, and didn't start giving out chips until about 6:15. I was amazed there were people there that were in a later heat. Luckily, everyone was really nice and let me cut to the front of the line so I could get out to the pool on time.
M walked me outside to the pool, took my "before" picture, wished me good luck with a kiss and sent me on my way. The pool itself if fed off of a hot spring, which they said they "cooled down" for the race. I got in and basically knelt down on the pool floor to keep warm. If you've ever been in a hot spring (or even a hot tub) before, you know what it feels like to be nice and warm and then get out. As 6:30 approached, the race director started to call out the numbers of people that hadn't checked in yet to see if they were in the pool. We had 58 people in our heat, and I'm sure he called out at least 10-12 numbers. Hey, that means more room for the rest of us. We all counted down together, the buzzer rang, and off we went for our seven lengths (the pools is over 100m long).
I was definitely more aggressive during this swim than the last. I had a (slightly) better idea of what I was doing, and I wanted to keep the swim as short as possible. The pool was set up with one long string our buoys in the middle. I followed them intently to make sure I wasn't swimming all over the place. M said he was watching people zig zag everywhere. There was a woman right in front of me that I could drag off of; once she left me I could definitely tell what a difference she made in cutting the water. Thanks anonymous athlete! The water felt noticeably cooler than previous times I have been there, I could notice a difference in all spots but one. I'm sure this is where the hot spring itself spilled into the pool. It felt like I was using more energy in this spot, so I did my best to streamline myself. It really felt like I was going much faster than normal; I wanted so badly to come in under the 25 minute cutoff. Once I finished the 7th length, I didn't see any other way to get out other than to pull myself up on the side. My arms were *exhausted* by this point. I think I did a belly flop to get out of the pool. I'm sure I looked like a beached whale. I got myself up and raced over to T1. I refused to look back.
M was outside the transition area to cheer me on, which was a nice surprise. I was sure he was heading back to the hotel for a nap. He told me later that about 1/3 of my heat was still in the pool when I got out. I got into my gear, took a big swig of Gatorade, grabbed my bike off the rack and jogged towards the end of the transition area. Jogging in bike shoes is WEIRD. I felt like a horse running in its shoes with all the noise I was making. I decided against putting the jacket on; I didn't necessarily regret that decision, but more on that later.
The ride on I-70 was not as bad as I had feared. There were volunteers at every on ramp slowing traffic down so riders could pass. Everyone was very friendly, bundled up in their coats with their coffee just chatting away. It was on the bike that I started getting passed. I expected this to happen; I'm not the fastest cyclist in the world. I lost count at the number of times I was passed, but I made sure to shout out at each one of them, "have a great day!" I wanted to repay some of the kindness I received during my first triathlon from other competitors. The first heat consisted of mostly beginners or those of us who knew they would take a while (like yours truly). It was when I started getting passed by those in the heat after me that I got a little discouraged. As much as you want to say that you are competing only against yourself, there will always be a part of you that looks to the others. There is nothing wrong with that, it's simply human nature.
The course was quite deceiving when I drove it. It looked to be uphill on the way out, and downhill on the way back. It was in fact the opposite. Bummer. Once I got to the half way point and made my way back up I-70 to the Glenwood exit, I hit a horrible head wind. I hadn't had a chance to put a computer on this bike yet, so I have no idea how slow that second half really was. It's probably better that I didn't know. This is where I started getting passed by people in the second heat. I'm sure they are much stronger than I and could push through the wind. This is also the place where I was singing praises that I had a geared bike. I love my single speed, I really, really do. But, I don't know how I would have made it without walking a portion if it hadn't been for gears. About that decision not to wear a jacket on the bike? That head wind was *cold.* I had goosebumps the whole way back. I am very proud to say that I rode the whole thing, at no point did I have to walk. This made taking a Clif Shot slightly more difficult. I took my shot last time when I was walking up the widow maker, so trying to keep upright with a head wind and get all of the shot out of the package was quite the juggling feat. Maybe my real calling is the circus.
I made it back in to T2 and racked my bike. I swapped my shoes, which got a little frustrating as my socks had absorbed all of the water from my feet. This made getting my running shoes on slightly difficult. Having jello legs did not help this transition either. I saw some women sitting down on the curb, which I did not want to do. To me, it is a waste of valuable time to sit down and get back up. I grabbed my running hat and got on my way.
I really need to incorporate more brick workouts into my training. I have the hardest time making it more than 1/4 mile without stopping to walk during an actual race. It happened again this time, but because I had an opportunity to run the course the week before I felt a bit more prepared. There were more volunteers and more cheerfulness. The first mile of the run also took you by the finish line, which was neat to see before hand.
I did the run/walk method until I got to 27th street, which is the turn around point (around the three mile mark). My run/walk method is not time or distance based, but HR based. I run until I hit 165, then I walk until I come back down to 130ish. My HR recovers very quickly, so I was never walking for more than ~90 seconds at a time. Once I hit 27th street and got up the initial hill, I knew the rest of the course was a slight downhill. I knew at that point I was golden. I didn't stop running after that, I am proud to say. There were signs plastered along the back of the route; people cheering their friends on. My favorite one was a poster that said, "Run like hell, Katie Bell!" She was one of the favorites to win the women's title for first time triathletes. She came in 75th overall, and 13th for first time women. Great job Katie! I got passed some more on the run, more and more by people in the second heat. I didn't see anyone from the third heat, I think that would have really discouraged me. On Midland Avenue (the downhill stretch home), I was passed with 1 1/2 miles to go by a woman who told me, "thank you for being my pacer." I didn't get her bib number to see how she did, but I'll take that as a compliment.
I turned the corner at 8th Avenue and knew I had about 1/2 a mile to go. I tried to ramp it up and finish strong, but I had already given it every last thing I had. I'm sure I looked pitiful crossing that finish line, but I finished. They looked up your name based on your bib and called it out as you approached the end, which I thought was really nice. People cheered for everyone who crossed.
I immediately made my way to the service table. I was ravenous! There was quite the spread of goodies, of which I grabbed a banana nut muffin and some water. I made my way back to the transition area to grab my stuff, and then back to the hotel to relax and shower. The sulfur from the water gave me a nice "rotten egg" smell that I really wanted to get off.
Sadly, M was not there to meet me at the finish line. So, I don't have a picture of me crossing it either. I told him how long I thought it would take me, and he went back to the hotel to take a nap after he cheered me on at T1. M slept through his alarm and we missed each other by about five minutes. I'm bummed he wasn't there, but he beat himself up over more than I ever could (or would, for that matter). As a way of saying "I'm sorry," he let me choose where we went to lunch. M really wanted to go to this burger joint off the highway, but my hungry belly was saying Moe's. It was delicious!
My goal this time was to do better than before, but still not be last. My goal times were:
Swim: 25:00
T1: 2:30
Bike: 1:00:00
T2: 2:30
Run: 1:15:00
Total time: 2:45:00
My official times were:
Swim: 24:55
T1: 2:29
Bike: 1:03:17 (stupid head wind)
T2: 2:22
Run: 1:06:25
Total time: 2:39:26
Coming in 5 1/2 minutes under goal time isn't too shabby, if I do say so myself. The overall time was over 15 minutes longer than Highline, but this was also a longer course. Being the math nerd that I am, I like to look at an apples-to-apples comparison:
Swim:
Highline: Average .89 MPH
Glenwood: Average 1.20 MPH
Bike:
Highline: Average 12.89 MPH
Glenwood: Average 14.22 MPH
Run:
Highline: Average 13:59/mile
Glenwood: Average 13:20/mile
There is still plenty of progress to be made, but I am coming along.
I have yet to download the pictures M took, so I will update this post with the "before" pictures later. Have a great week!
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