Official Tri Photos!

In seeing that Brandon's been the good one in updating (and i've been totally bad about it), I realized I forgot to do a post with our official race photos! So, without further ado, here they are.

Thanks in advance to FotoJack, whom I ... um ... jacked these from.


Brandon on the bike. Look! He's happy!

Brandon on the run, looking like he's in some pain but still pushing. I'm not entirely sure where on the run this was taken, actually ...

He picked it up again it seems, just looking determined.

Me, on my way to the water.

Booking it around the corner to the finish line. As I believe I mentioned in my recap post, I started my kick a smidge too early and therefore apparently had to defy gravity going around the corner, praying I didn't fall over.

This picture could also be proof of a hockey background coming useful in a triathlon/road race, as I look marginally like I could be skating. Or did the first time I saw this picture. Either way.

Right before I crossed the finish line. This picture is almost comical. It shows my kick, but it also looks like I'm posed, ready to run as my back foot is still on the ground. Eh, I'm amused.

This last picture is courtesy Brandon/our friend Mark, as boyfriend didn't see fit to post the pic of me actually crossing the finish line. Meaniebutt.

This is me doing my best Steve in a Speedo one-legged pirate impression while crossing the finish line. Too bad I didn't have a watch to check.

If you HAVE Facebook and are friends with either myself and/or Brandon, I believe you should be able to click through and see the picture there. If not, come stalk us (or, at least me)! I like new friends. :)

Race #4 of the Season: My Way or the Tri Way

So. I posted my times in my preview post and I'll put them in again here in the sections.

Anyway, here is my post for my third triathlon - My Way or the Tri Way. If you recall from last year, I was so despondent after my tri that I didn't even want to post. Well, this year's post is a lot more upbeat than last year. So that's good.

Pre-Race

We woke up early Saturday morning, only needing to get dressed and eat breakfast ... as we were smart and packed up the Rav the night before. So, we got dressed and made some scrambled eggs and ham with toast. We left a few minutes later than we wanted, but we still made it to transition just after it opened - right after 6am.

We got there and unloaded the bikes.



We put the front tires back on and made sure we were all full of air and ready to go. Once we had tires all full of air, we grabbed spots in transition.



After making sure we had spots next to each other, it was time to get body marked. In honor of fellow blogger Steve in a Speedo, I got a smiley face on my calf (which, weirdly enough, is the last part of my body marking to fade).



Once marked, it was time to get transition officially officially set up.


My spot all set up ... except for my run shorts which I was still wearing.


Our buddy Mark who came along to take pictures.

After we made sure our transition area was all set up, we went to test out the water as our open-water at Aurora Reservoir the week prior was COLD. 7.18.2009 - water temp about 68 degrees. 7.25.2009 - water temp in the mid-70s. So glad for that.


Brandon happy the water is warm. Photo is backlit, but I actually like it that way.


The soon to be triathlete couple!

Satisfied that the water would be a lot warmer than it was, we headed back up to transition. We both had sand on our feet and we couldn't find showers ... and I didn't want to use our water bucket just quite yet ... so I went for the unconventional (but fun!) method - the sprinklers.



From then, it was time to start prepping and stretching.


Brandon stretching me out.

Soon enough, though, it was time to start.

The Swim

At 8:07, seven minutes after Brandon started his first-ever triathlon, and after talking with some other women in the group, the women started their first leg of the race. I ran down the 150 yards or so down to the water ... which was a bad idea as it hurt me for the first part of the swim. Due to that small sprint, my breathing got elevated to the point where it was extremely difficult to get into a good rhythm. So difficult, in fact, that I swam most of the way to the first buoy with my head above water. Yeah. I also had to stop at one of the kayaks to clear out my goggles ... as my first attempt to do so while bobbing in the water trying to keep myself afloat didn't work out so well.

After I got my goggles cleaned out (well, mostly), my breathing got back into normal enough to get into a good groove in the water. By the time I hit the turn around, I felt great and was swimming well. I kept swimming even as I saw other people getting out of the water (and pretty sure i peed with about 100m to go) but waited until I got fairly close to the shore.

I mostly ran up the hill back to transition - total leg time (sprints and 750m swim): 24:07.

T1

This race was awesome in that there was only 550 participants so the transition area was pretty small. When we set up, we decided we'd rather be closer to the bike in/out. So, I rinsed off my feet (someone loved my water bucket), put on my cycling stuff, fished a glove out of said water bucket and trotted back out to the bike course. Total time in transition: 3:10.

The Bike

I'm glad Brandon and I rode at least part of this course a week ago as we knew what the first two miles and the last two miles of the 14 mile course would be.

The powers that be described the course as "rolling" ... which I'm convinced would be "hilly" most anywhere else in the country. I didn't get passed too often on the course and in fact, passed quite a few people - mostly on the uphills (which i'm so proud of). I didn't have too many issues on the first half of the ride ... except with the stupid cardboard race number I attached to the frame that kept trying to fly off and annoy me. I finally got that figured out, though.

My cyclometer was spazzing on the ride (although, in hind sight, i probably should have just cleared it out again and it would have worked), so I couldn't notice anything but cadence. My mph for the entire ride? 0.0.

Okay, not really, but it was nice to just have to pay attention to cadence and not be dispirited with my slow-ass speeds on the uphills.

I kept waiting to see Brandon on the bike and just as the turnaround was coming into view, I saw him. I yelled "SUSHI POWER!" at him in reference to the delicious dinner we had the night before and what our sushi chef jokingly said. He yelled something back and I kept on going.

Only about three people passed me on the second half of the bike course - one I don't remember, one was someone I had already passed and the other was when I was fiddling with my damn race number again and took a swallow of diluted Gatorade. My calves were starting to ache a little and I started going a tad numb, but I pushed it through, thanking course volunteers as I could.

I eventually rolled back into the transition area. Total leg time: 54:57.

T2

As I trotted my bike back into transition, I saw Brandon heading out for the run, so I naturally yelled at him. He waved and ran out while I got ready for my run. I changed shoes, tossed on my BU shorts, changed shirts, took the 30 seconds to put my hair clips in and I was off. Total time: 2:20.

The Run

I jogged out of transition and started the run ... though I had to stop very soon after to stretch out my calves which were cramping ridiculously. After getting them to the point where they weren't ouchy, I started running again. The run course, much like the bike course, was Colorado "rolling." I walked quite a bit within the first mile as well as saw a snake (probably a rattlesnake) and passed one or two people.

Soon after starting the second mile and right before I hit the water station, I saw Brandon not too far in front of me. However, I was still running/walking. I walked three total times in mile two - once was at the water station to get some water (damn sun finally came out) and the other times were on some killer uphills.

Fairly soon after I passed the second mile marker and started on the last 1.5 miles of the race, I started seeing Brandon in front of me. And he stayed in his sights in front of me until probably the last half mile of the race when I finally caught up to him. We stayed together for most of the end of the run until I finally took off (a stark contrast to our other races this season when he's left ME in the dust). Total leg time: 37:41.

T3

Yes, because this race was "My Way or the Tri Way" with people doing the disciplines in whatever order they so desired, we had a T3 which took us back into transition and down another 200 yards or so to the finish. I ran through transition, confused on why this one guy right near Brandon and I just walked and continued on down toward the actual finish line.

I waited to kick due to a few curves and pedestrians crossing the course, but I finally did ... with one killer curve left where I almost biffed it. Still, I blew through the finish line for a total leg time of 1:26 and a tri time of 2:03:38.

Our buddy Mark got a picture of me crossing that is similar to Steve in a Speedo's "one-legged pirate" shots, but only Brandon has a copy of that one. Boo. FotoJack got some good shots of my kick, but those are for tomorrow.

When I finished, I grabbed my shirt and immediately started looking for Brandon because I knew he'd be finishing right behind me. He crossed the finish line, dove into my arms and almost collapsed from the joy, exhaustion and exhiliration. I know that training for, doing and completing this race meant so much to him and I was so ridiculously proud of him when he crossed that finish line. Honey, I love you and I am SO PROUD OF YOU. Even now, three days later. SO PROUD.

Et Cetera

I'm glad this tri went well especially considering my training this year has been a struggle. Cycling has been crappy. My running has been downright awful. Swimming had been the only good thing for me. Somehow, though, everything came together. This was my fastest ride I've done all year which was AMAZING. The run was about average and the swim was slower (open water, goggle issues, etc.), but I don't care. I'm just happy I was happy after this race.

I think the key is for me to not care and just go into the race with an "eh, whatever, this is going to be fun!" attitude ... which is weird for me to have as an athlete and as a competitor. I am a competitive person ... who performs best when she's chilled out. Finally figured it out for hockey and I guess triathlon's going to be the same way. That's probably the reason why last year's race went so poorly - I had so many goals and aspirations and expectations that I set myself up to fail.

This year, I say "screw it" to all of that and I bust out a time that's sure, a few minutes slower than last year, but on an overall longer course. Mentally, I go to another place during competition and I think it helps.

Next year? Hopefully an Olympic. I know I'm mentally ready, but physically will still be the question. And for sure ... Ironman by 40. I've got 14 years - I'll do it.

My Way or the Tri Way - Teaser!

Quick blog here ... I know I've been Slacker McSlackerpants lately regarding blogging, but Brandon and I finally had our triathlon this morning and I wanted to write up a quick teaser post.

- Went well; better than I had hoped
- Friend who came down to take pictures didn't use my camera much (boo) so depend on Brandon for photos
- Honored a fellow blogger
- Decided to not retire from racing
- First and probably only tri I will do with a T3

I will, however, give you the stats:

750m swim - 24:07 (51:44.96/mi)
Leg 1 rank - 214 (out of 550ish)
T1 - 3:10
14mi bike - 54:57 (15.29mph avg)
Leg 2 rank - 201
T2 - 2:20
3.5mi run - 37:41 (10:46/mi)
Leg 3 rank - 217
T3 - 1:26

OVERALL: 2:03:38

More tomorrow! ... or whenever I upload photos.

Tri Training...I'm enjoying myself now

Let's face it. This has been an up and down road (sometimes literally!) and there's been a lot of hard work. Sometimes I've really pushed myself, and sometimes I haven't. Most of the time I've been pushing through pain; other times I've made excuses. And let's face it, sometimes life gets in the way of things.

But anyway, I figure I'll update everyone on my last week of training. It was truly an up-and-down week where life kind of got in the way. I took a couple days off due to work being a bitch and also had to take some time off of running due to my foot hurting from hiking last week in Aspen. However, over the past two days, there has been much happiness in training. Girlfriend and I went cycling along the E-470 trail for 12.37 miles, and I felt it was my 2nd best ride of the season. Then yesterday, I went for a 3.35 mile run in Aspen followed by a hike to the top of Buttermilk Mountain.

Yeah, my quads are sore today, but you know what? There's less than a month left til the tri. It ain't gonna wait for sore quads!

Bitch-Making and Maroon Creek Road

Brandon already blogged about our ride yesterday, but I said I'd be back with pictures, so back with pictures I am!

As he said, we rode up Maroon Creek Road up to some of the most famous/most photographed peaks IN THE WORLD, the Maroon Bells. I'm too lazy to check, but I'm actually pretty sure I posted a picture of them here on this blog last summer.

Regardless, we decided to cycle it yesterday. We were thinking from the hotel ... and then from Aspen Highlands ... and ended up parking at some point on the road right about a mile before the Ranger station (free to get in on a bike; otherwise ... $10 by car). As he said, the ride to the actual park/forest/what-have-you entrance wasn't bad. It was the next 4.75ish miles that sucked. Hard.

Okay, the first mile or so after the gate wasn't that bad, either. I tried a tactic I read in some book Brandon checked out from the library regarding the Carmichael Training System (lance armstrong's coach ... or former coach ... whatever) - "spinning" my pedals rather than "mashing" them.

In other words, try for a higher cadence at a lower gear rather than the opposite way around.

This helped for a while - I was making it up the road at a fairly decent clip with my cadence somewhere in the mid- to high-90s.

But then the ride started getting tougher. And tougher. And tougher. At about the 3.25ish point on the ol' cyclometer, I stopped to take some pictures.


You can kind of see the angle of the road. Yeah, I stopped at the top(ish) part of a hill. Or at the very least, a plateau in the road.


The road ahead. It's KIND OF flat.

I kept plugging. Every now and then I'd stop for Brandon to see how he was doing (and to make sure he didn't crash or die along the way) ... and then I'd keep going. My asthma was also giving me major shit - serves me right for forgetting my damned inhaler back in Denver. Oops.


Sneak peek of Maroon Bells through the trees. You also can see how the road keeps going up ... and up ... and up ...


Brandon making his way up the road, slowly but surely.

I forget exactly where we were at mileage at this point ... 4 miles in? Maybe? ... but the ride was starting to hurt. At one stop, I kept my right calf stretched out. Yeah, that cramped it up. Smart, I know. I was in my lowest possible gear setting and still somehow stomaching out a cadence somewhere in the 60s ... though my mph went to total shit in the mid-single digits. Like 6.0mph, I kid you not. I tried to keep it at 8ish if I could, but even that hurt.


Another preview of the Bells.

Still, we kept on plugging. We stopped to sit down at one point at the five mile point and contemplating turning around, especially given that we were starting to get a tad short on time, but I saw a sign up the road that kept me going - the entrance to the actual Maroon Bells Recreation Area. Yeah, I wasn't quitting at that point.

I never really wanted to, though. I knew Brandon was struggling more than I was (and i was struggling quite a bit; not gonna lie), but I tried to help him through it. I told him to keep taking it a tenth of a mile, a quarter of a mile at a time. His running/motivational playlist wasn't working, so I told him to switch to his "Ballin'" playlist. Because really, he was a baller for making it up that road. Maroon Creek Road wasn't making us its bitches - we were making it our bitch.

And we did ... about 5.75 miles after we started and around 40 minutes later, we made it.


Brandon at the top!


Our bikes. They helped us power up that bitch of a road.

I kind of regret not resetting the cyclometer after we made it to the top - I would have liked to have known my average speed on the way up. I'm sure it was sad and pathetic, but eh. I made it ... I made it up almost 6 miles climbing about 1000 feet in elevation. And the view was worth it from the top.


Weee, us!


The rewarding view from the top.


Exhausted, but smiling.

Seeing as we had to turn it around in time to get lunch, showered and either on the road (me) or back to the airport (brandon), we didn't wander around as much as we normally would have and went on down the hill.

See, that's the great part of the ride - not only are the views rewarding, but so is the ride down. For the first two miles or so, you're going the actual speed limit (35) or faster; I topped out at 42.2mph. Going up, I was in the easiest of gears. Going down, I cranked it up to the hardest gear I have and was still easily pedaling away (but i made sure to keep pedaling!). I was pretty sure I was going to get some bruises on my face from the bugs smacking into me, but alas, none. Which is probably good.

Stats:
11.58 mi in 59:02; 11.77 mph
Average cadence: 75
Top speed: 42.2mph
Lowest speed: don't want to know
Elevation gained: An ass-ton, but around 1000

Ultimately, I would have to say this was a validating ride. Hard, but worth the pain. I struggled (oh lawd did i struggle), but I'm still impressed with how well I (comparatively) powered through it.

Tri Training...humbling

As everyone knows by now, cycling is the weakest sport of mine in the triathlon sports. For whatever reason, I'm just not strong on the bike. I don't know what is the cause of it (I have pretty strong quads) or why I struggle with it, but regardless, it's where I need to improve the most.

In any event, I'm overnighting in Aspen this month and the next. Since the girl loves Aspen like I do, she has agreed to come up on some of my overnights and bring our bikes so we can cycle. That's what we did yesterday. We cycled.

The Maroon Bells are a series of mountains near Aspen. They are pretty spectacular. It's almost inspiring. We've driven up there a couple times, but never cycled. So yesterday, we parked on the road and unpacked the bikes and began our ride.

The first mile took us to the rangers station. It really wasn't that bad thus far, and we saw a few other cyclists going both up and down the road. At the rangers station, we were told it's about 5 miles to the Bells from the station. Ok, not too bad. But as the ride went on, it got harder and harder. And my speed/cadence/morale suffered ridiculously. At a few points, we both stopped and kept pondering turning around. But we both knew that wasn't an option. At exactly 5 miles, we thought about it, but we were so close and wanted to succeed. So we kept plugging away. And sure enough, we made it!
This is the site we were greeted with. We spent a couple minutes walking around, taking some pictures, and me, I was doing some reflecting. I was pretty proud of myself. Sure, the ride had taken nearly an hour. Sure, I had only covered 5.8 miles. Sure, I still have a loooooong way to go before I will call myself a good cyclist. But I had done it. I pushed, reached inside myself, dug deep to find something I wasn't sure was even there. I just stood there, looking at the Bells, and realized I was really proud of myself.

The ride down was a blast and took maybe 10 minutes. I got to a top speed of 44.5 mph while riding down and it was oh so much fun. That ride, looking at it now, may be the turning point of my tri training, for the positive. A short, 11.7 mile ride.

Oh Lawdy ... (teaser post)

Cycled with the boy in Aspen today. Up Maroon Creek Road to Maroon Lake/Maroon Bells.

The ride up there was only 5.75ish miles ... but it was the hardest 5.75ish miles of my life.

More tomorrow (with pictures!). I'm tired now.

Go Figure

The motivation I found two weeks ago has been lacking lately. Maybe it's because I was working so much and when I finally stopped my brain and body just gave up on me. Maybe it's an internal self-sabotage. Whatever it is ... it hasn't been good.

The first week of the tri journal was awesome - run, swim, off, cycle/lift, run/softball, off, run/swim. Then ... not so much. Lift, off, off, off (!!!!!!), crappy cycle, longhardcrappy run, cycle around downtown not caring about anything. Then there's been this week - throwing around a softball, crappy run, crappy swim ... and today.

Before I go into today's stupidness, I want to talk about the swim workout Brandon and I did yesterday. We warmed up as usual and after that first 100m, I knew I didn't have it in any way, shape or form. Kind of like a lot of my workouts lately. So, we ended up doing about 250m in 25m chunks chasing each other. One of us started off, the other stayed on their heels so we ended up basically kicking each other - tri style. So, while it wasn't the best swim I've ever had, at least we ended up making it somewhat race-day functional.

So, today. It's been raining A LOT here in Colorado and reminding Brandon of his old life back in Minnesota (seriously, what's with the rain? it's nice that it's green, but sheesh). I scheduled in a two-a-day today - cycling and running. However, it started raining late this morning. And kept raining. So, I told myself that if the rain didn't stop by 2pm, I'd go to the gym and get in a workout on the stationary bike.

So I do. 30:00, level nine, hill setting. Did 10.8 miles which works out to a 21.8mph average ... which I never come close to on an actual bike for an average. I stretch afterward, see my dad playing hooky from work in the pool, say hi, walk outside ...

... and see that it stopped raining. See that it was sunny outside. Look outside the window now, three hours later, and see that it's still freaking sunny.

Oh well, I'll just count that ride as a cadence ride (tried to average around 90rpms; 10 more than i do when outside) and try to get in some sort of run later when Brandon gets home from work.

Tri traning...the epic story

On June 1st, I started keeping a log of my triathlon training. In this log is the date, the type of workout, and details. Nothing spectacular, but something to keep me honest. I use voomaxer on facebook to keep track of a lot of it, but this is something that will help me record my thoughts and whatnot.

So, you're all probably wondering how things are progressing. I'll fill you in on the big details...

- I've discovered anything chewy or gooey in orange flavor is yucky
- Brick training is going to be a high priority
- I'm more honest about keeping a workout schedule if I write it down
- Cycling is still clearly the weakest of my 3 sports
- I am giving myself a big boost of confidence in swimming by figuring I will be more comfortable than 75% of the people in the water
- My calf muscles are getting very defined
- I am already figuring I will cry when I cross the finish line. Not out of pain, but the demons will be chased away

The workouts have been good. Some of my runs, especially. I did brick training for the first time today...lots to improve on, but no complaints thus far.

46 days until...

Rocking and Rolling

It's been a week (well, almost) since I had my revelation-type thing and training's gone well.

I told you all about my run on Monday and since then ...

- I swam on Tuesday. 1000m total (100m warmup; 900m continuous) AND tested out awesome new goggles - AquaSphere Kayennes. $25 and worth every penny.

- Took Wednesday off. Walked around a bit, splashed in the neighborhood pool a bit ... and had date afternoon. Worth it.

- Cycled and lifted on Thursday. Got back on the C-470 trail in seriously like the first time in almost a year and still hate it. Hilly and windy, it KILLS your speed times. However, I'm slowly starting to get the hang of that whole "make the bike do the work" in regards to shifting, so that's good. Brandon and I also managed to put in a quick, small upper body lifting session that night. I was worried about it since I ate something that didn't agree with me and I ended up skipping sushi, one of my FAVORITE meals, in favor of trying to puke up whatever didn't agree with me. Once I did, though, I DID feel better.*

- Ran and played softball on Friday. Friday's run was a 1.92 mile loop that took me up that same damn trail hill I mostly ran up on Monday. Friday I actually made it up the hill and the whole loop took 19:18 for a 10:03.12/mi. The softball game (on a team through work), however, went crappily and I totally SUCKED and took a ball of the inside of my foot so I'm nice and bruised now. Ow.

- Took yesterday off. Was only going to do a light lifting day anyway, but really, sometimes sleep is more important.

Which brings us to today. I did the same 1.92 mile loop as Friday, but I went the other way ... which took me down the trail and up Lone Tree parkway. Which makes me think that long, gradual hills are worse than short, steep ones, as I did the same distance in 19:37 for a 10:13.02/mi. A whole 10 seconds slower per mile thanks to that other stupid-ass hill.

I'm skipping dinner with the family tonight in order to eat some fruits and veggies and have a very plant-based meal as I feel my diet's been lacking in those lately and then SWIMMING!!!!! tonight before I have to sleep and go back to work again for the sixth day in a row (of a ten day stretch).



* Okay, so I'm sure reading about vomit isn't pleasant, but at least it's not poop. :-p

Gym Time

So, still fighting off a cold here. In the immortal words of the Critic, "It Stinks!"

Anyway, went to the gym after work (well, to be entirely accurate, in between jobs). Since I still need to get the ol' bike in for a tune-up, today was a boring 20 minutes on the stationary bike. I actually had time to warm up (recumbent) and stretch, though.

But after that, 20 minutes, level 8, sport-specific, tryingtokeepitaround90rpms of stationary bike. The display went black because I pressed the wrong button right after I finished, but I figure I did somewhere between six and seven miles, but again, who knows.

I think it's lifting and swimming on the slate for tomorrow, but my planner isn't near me, so I can't say definitively.

Oh, and that job crap I was hinting about a post or two ago? Decision was taken care of for me. While I'm somewhat happier about the course of events, I'm also not given how everything went down.

Yes, I'm cryptic. Deal.

First goal achieved

To those that are following our blog, you know that we have come up with workout plans that include "treats". Well to get my first treat, which was a DVD, I had to work out every day from the 2nd to the 8th. And I did. So I got my treat! :-)

This morning in Bozeman, I did 15 minutes of stationary bike. I made sure ESPN was turned up loud so I could concentrate on something other than the monotony that is the bike. Another pilot from Northwest came in and we got to talking which was nice as well. But the bottom line, people, is we're off to a good start.

Off day tomorrow. And oh how I need it.

Wanting More

In keeping with the idea of easing back into working out (for, as we've mentioned a zillion times over, we were total slackers in the last quarter of 2008), today was a short cardio day at the gym.

Crazily enough, I actually changed my warmup from five minutes on the recumbent bike to 2:30 on the stepmill ... and I think I got more warmed up that way. Go figure. Anyway, stretched out and headed over the stationary bikes (a.k.a. BOREDOM) while Brandon hopped on an elliptical.

Since we were sort of crunched for time (ze boy is off scorekeeping right now), we only squashed in 15 minutes of cardio. I went for the sport-specific setting, punched in a level, hid the time and the progress chart with my towel and started pedaling away.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I cover said crap with my towel it's because watching it will make me go crazy. While I love me a good bike ride in the great outdoors, the stationary bike drives me crazy due to its boring nature. So, if I forbid myself from looking at the time just counting down the minutes and seconds until my workout is over ... things go smoother.

So, the only thing I kept an eye on was my cadence/rpms. I was aiming for 90 and I'm guessing I probably averaged around 87 or 88 rpms, so yay.

Eventually, I did look at my clock though and realized I had less than a minute left and almost felt sad that my workout was ending. I probably could have pushed myself a lot harder than I did today - not going to lie - but at the same time, it was nice to get into a rhythm on the bike and actually enjoy myself on the damn thing for once.

Besides, I figure it's always better to be wanting more than wanting to never go back again.

A Stationary Spin

Thanks to the race yesterday, the boy and I decided to take it easy today. We walked to Starbucks and back this morning*, which was about three miles round trip (in ... a while). The continuation of breakfast when we got home didn't really agree with me, so most of the rest of the day was spent being a lazy slug flopped in bed.

However, we both agreed to at least ride the bike a bit tonight on our own, so I slogged through 30 minutes (10.08 mi) on the stationary bike, making sure to keep my cadence/rpms around 90. And not be bored to death, since the stationary bike BORES ME.

Something tomorrow night ... I'm hoping for lifting and random cardio.


* their new "perfect oatmeal," i might add, isn't bad. a little soupier than i like my oatmeal, but other than that ... better than instant. i still have yet to try adding protein into my coffee ... which i probably WON'T do.

Still working out on an "off day"

After running yesterday in the Skirtchaser, girlfriend and I went for a walk this morning to regroup and whatnot. It was fun to get a little exercise and nice to walk with girlfriend.

In Bozeman on a trip tonight. I hit the stationary bike for 1/2 an hour. Not too bad, just easy. Nothing too much to blog about, other than that.

Tri Post

Okay. I really don't want to write this, but write this I must.

Going into this year's Tri for the Cure, I had goals. I wanted to chop 17:22 off last year's time to finish in an even 1:30. Needless to say, that didn't happen. We'll start at the beginning though ...

That Morning
Alarm went off bright and early for Brandon and I. I think I hit the snooze button once, but don't entirely remember. Washed my face, brushed my teeth, got into my tri suit, Body Glided a bit, grabbed my crap and went downstairs. Made a good breakfast of cantaloupe, coffee milk, orange juice, turkey sausage and a mini whole wheat tortilla with scrambled Egg Beaters and low-fat cheese. While Brandon loaded the Rav (well, unloaded hockey bags and loaded in the bike), I got my water/Gatorade bottles set and made some oatmeal to eat on the road.

At the Race Site

We ended up leaving the house a little after 6am, a little later than I wanted, but we still got to the parking site fairly quickly ... with Brandon eating most of the oatmeal. We unloaded the Rav, pumped my bike tires full of air and joined several of the other competitors in winding our way into Cherry Creek State Park and toward the transition area. I got the urge to poop on the walk down which was good ... but more on that in a second. I left Brandon just outside of transition, found a spot on the rack and hopped over to the port-o-potties. While I pooped (yay), it was not a good poop (boo) and my stomach and insides felt ... well ... not good.

I set up my transition area and then wandered back over to Brandon who found a good spot on the fence. I found my friend Amber at this point so obviously it was picture time.


Amber and her boy wearing a very cute "Team Amber" shirt

Ready and raring to go ... Or so I thought.

Brandon the cheerleader!

After the photos, I went back to my spot to warm up, stretch, pee again and all that. I was getting ready to take my sandals back off when I realized I forgot to put sunscreen on. By this point, the elite wave had already started so I had to wait for breaks between competitors to dash across the race path to Brandon to have him help slather my back up. Sunscreen applied, I went back to my crap and waited for a bit until I heard it was time for my wave to head down to the swim.

Swim



I headed down to the swim, joined up with the rest of my wave and waited until it was my turn to trod across the chip mat and hop in the water. The wave's official start time was 8:20am, but I'm pretty sure we started a few minutes later than that. I dunked my ass in the water several times, squatting down in the water covering as much of myself as I could to try and get acclimated. I had a nice spot near the outside in the back. I knew I wasn't going to be one of the quickest swimmers so I wanted to be out near the back.

That philosophy actually worked out pretty well as I didn't get kicked/swum over a lot. Sadly, about a 100 or so meters in, I somehow swallowed a crapload of nasty, brackish reservoir water and started hacking ... getting to the hacking point where you just feel the raw back of your throat.

Greeeeat.

I kept going though, needing to stop again soon after to defog the goggles. After that, I was good to go and breaststroked my little butt out, not getting passed by the following wave until the first buoy (waves are every 4 minutes). I stayed on the "inside" of the course away from most of the other people. Besides the water hacking incident, I actually felt pretty good on the swim. I couldn't run once I got out and walked most of the way back to transition, but eh.

Disappointing, however, was my time - two minutes slower than last year at 22:38.

T1



I eventually was able to get to a minor trot (okay, more of a canter past the smelly-ass port-o-potties) to make it back to my spot. I stuck my feet in my water bucket, getting most of the gunk off with that and a towel, used Body Glide for the foot blisters, got into my cycling socks and shoes, grabbed the rest of my crap and was off to the bike.

The one time highlight, I was able to cut about two minutes off my first transition time for 5:08.

Bike



I was a bit concerned about the cycling portion given that most of my training rides had been total crap. Still, I knew I had to do it so I was off. My cyclometer is still a bit messed up thanks to transport, but I got it so at least the cadence worked so I could measure that. I felt okay until about the three mile mark when the quads of MISERY started acting up. Still, I was managing to keep my cadence around the 80 mark ... until the big-ass hill around mile six or seven.

I almost got off the bike and walked. I had a giant asthma attack (used inhaler in transition but didn't bring it with me) and my cadence went down to 50something. In a word, I was miserable. I was able to regain control once I got to the top of the hill and started pedaling down it (i made sure to keep pedaling), but it was still a miserable ride.

Despite the road bike, my time on the bike actually went up (mph down) to 44:48 and 15.2mph.

T2



I was so miserable at this point. I put my bike back, drank some water and Gatorade, changed shoes and put on my race belt/number. I slooooowly made my way to the run, stopping at the water table to drink some more water and dump it on my head.


See how miserable I look? *sigh*

Time out of transition was worse than last year - 4:49.

Run

Brandon was my saving grace at the beginning of the run. After he saw how miserable and defeated I looked coming out of the bike, he somehow fought his way through the crowds, across the run course and down the gates on the other side of transition to see me walking toward the run start. He walked with me along the course for the first part of the run, talking with me and calming me down. I was very upset at this point, crying and hyperventilating a bit. He had another one of my old inhalers in the bag he had and gave it to me. It didn't help me much, but mentally I think it did. I knew my time goals were screwed, but I knew I was going to finish - that was all I cared about at that point.

Brandon was going to try and walk and/or run with me through most of the course, but I told him to go toward the finish line - I'd meet him there. I tried running a bit, but couldn't do it - it was just way too hot and I was way too miserable and my feet were overheating like mad. I eventually ended up doing a very modified walk/run ... walking most and running just little spurts. I did a race first for me by stopping at every single water station, getting water to drink a little and dump over my head. Of course, it was over 90 degrees at that point (and i think ended up getting over 100) and I was melting.

I knew this race was going to be awful. I did the run/walk thing last year, but it wasn't nearly as much walking. Although, I'm pretty sure I saw more people walking on the course this year than last year.

With about 500 meters to go, I saw Brandon on the side of the course again.


See miserable T. See miserable T run. Run, miserable T, Run.

Brandon trotted with me for as long as he could ... which meant he couldn't get back to the finish in time for me to cross. I ended up dragging out the last of what I had in me (which wasn't much) to sprint the last little bit across the finish line ... in 42:56 for my slowest 5k time/pace EVAR with a 13:50 mile.

Finis

Add all those numbers up and you get me finishing in 2:00:20, about a full 12 minutes slower (or 13 ... we journalism peoples don't do math) than last year's 1:47:22.

Needless to say, I didn't meet my time goal. I take small (but marginal) consolation in that I still did beat Amber and Gen's times from last year (and beat amber by about 5 min this year).

Still ... last year I had the biggest adrenaline rush after I finished. I could barely walk and was miserable as all hell this year.

I finished, though, and I still want to keep doing triathlons. It's relatively difficult to say that, but I've only done two - one was good, one was bad. I figure I should get a larger percentage of bad ones before I give up on them. I'm not one for excuses, but I put a decent amount of blame on the damn reservoir water. Swallowing that and getting that raw feeling in my throat I think made me more susceptible to having an asthma attack (which is made so much worse with a crappy throat). The heat was also a factor, but I don't figure that as an excuse since I really could have just trained in the heat more than I did. I shouldn't have always waited for the day to get cooler to go on a run or on a ride.

Once the official race photos finally get up on FotoJack, I'll post those as well.

Mrrf.

Not having a lot of contemplation going on here.

It was ass hot.

At one point during the bike, I almost got off and walked.

I walked most of the run.

At one point, I told myself, "It'll be an achievement just if you finish."

Longer post when I know my time and pictures get uploaded.

I do love my baby dinosaur for his support throughout the race. I don't know if I would have gotten through it without him - especially at the start at the run.

The wheels are coming off the train...

I'm starting to realize that when I cycle, the same old thought pops into my head every single time. I can't do this. Running, yeah, ok, that was certainly not easy when I started, since I haven't run seriously since high school, and even then, I was never a distance guy. C'mon, I played football! Sprint for 4 seconds, you're done. And hockey! Skating, different motion, yadda yadda yadda. But the running has come to me. The hurdles that I have had to clear when running have NOT been too bad. And I've always been a strong swimmer and did that quite a bit in college. But this cycling thing...

Today the tri girl and me were going to do a bike/run brick. She's got her tri in 10 days and quite frankly, I have been a lousy workout buddy. And at first, didn't even look like we were going to get a workout in. Rain was coming down hard as we were driving to the place where we cycle. But after a visit with one of girlfriend's friends, we went, cause the rain let up.

The ride started off and as usual, girlfriend was just destroying me. I was keeping up with her, but with a lot more effort than I should have been exerting. Plus it felt like a massive headwind as we were riding. At the 4.5 mile mark, we turned around. That headwind should have been a tailwind, right? Yeah, not so much. A good 10+ kt crosswind. The ride back was the same. I was just pushing myself because as I said earlier, I feel like I have been a lousy workout buddy. I am so confident in baby dino girlfriend and truly believe that she will chop the 17 minutes off her time, but when I look at it, it will certainly be no thanks to me.

So...as of now, I really am not too optimistic about doing well in a triathalon next year, and even though I keep saying I want to do one, I don't exactly feel confident. I mean, like I told girlfriend, I refuse to be like one of her friends last year who finished 3rd to last in her age group and was still happy. I want to do well. I don't have a benchmark because I haven't done this sort of thing yet, but I don't want to "just finish it". As far as I'm concerned, that is a loser mentality. I want to succeed, dammit!

But right now...the wheels are coming off the train...

Crosswinds Suck

Food made us feel icky yesterday, so we didn't work out.

Today almost turned into a cluster, but luckily, it didn't. The agenda was originally for a bike/run brick along the Platte River Trail, but as we were heading over there, the skies opened up. Instead of exercising then meeting up with a friend of mine to hand off some old internet CDs, we switched it around, played some Guitar Hero ... and noticed the sun was back out and the rain had disappeared. So, we figured while we were already over near the trail, we'd get in our ride.

My quads hate me. I can think of nothing else but that. It sucks. I forgot my inhaler, so I had some minor sports asthma going on. Even though we were making some decent time/speed on the first half of the ride, we thought we had a headwind going on. However, the higher speeds indicated by the ol' cyclometer should have told me otherwise, as coming back the headwind was WORSE.

Obviously, we had run into some killer crosswinds, instead.

All in all, we did about 9.18 miles in 33:28 for 16.46mph. The mph was higher, but I still felt like ass through most of the ride and probably pushed myself a lot. And I say "about" because I know we had done a bit more than that - cyclometer spazzed out on me. I guess its wiring, which snakes around the bike, doesn't like being shoved in and out of cars a lot.

And thanks to the asthma attack, we didn't run. We just said "ah screw it" and went home ... which means I need to run and run a lot tomorrow. And Saturday. And probably Sunday while we're at it.

Another Swim/Bike Brick

So even though my training isn't going nearly as well as last year (i think - i need to look into that), I'm already a small step up in that today was my SECOND open water swim pre-tri ... unlike last year where I only did one the weekend before. Oops.

Regardless, today I went to Cherry Creek State Park with the training buddy (same place where tri is held) to do an open water swim/bike brick. The water was warmer than Aurora Reservoir which was nice AND the water was deeper than last year - also a plus. A BIG plus as swimming at the CCSP swim beach last year meant brushing the sand while just outside the rope. This year? I could barely stand on the sand. Much better.

Anyhoo, I'm not entirely sure how long we were in the water, but we estimate we did about 400m. The boyfriend was also awesome in that he swam right on top of me while grabbing at me to simulate the swim part (though, as i mentioned later, while it's crowded and people swim on top of you, they don't actually smack and grab at you). I didn't feel that strong - probably due to the large swim the other day - but I definitely didn't panic as much as I did at AR.

After we got out, we put together our bikes for another long-ass transition. Brandon had some brake issues - I don't envy him since I hated that stupid bike (he's got my old one), but he told me to go on ahead so I did.

Brandon thinks I'm going to do fine on the bike, but so many of my training rides have been total crap. Today was a measley 4.08 miles in 16:33 for 14.79 mph which is icky icky ICKY. My quads hate me during anything with an incline (mmrrraaaaa) and my sports asthma, which hasn't been bothering me much, has been kicking up a lot on rides.

Guess it's time to find my inhaler again ...