tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57885816922584699742024-03-14T06:50:52.867-04:00 Salty Runnersaltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-62978171569399871122016-06-13T10:41:00.000-04:002016-06-13T11:00:26.492-04:00Mount Desert Island Marathon training - Day 1 (and a mini race recap)Back when I was training for Pumpkinman 70.3, I deeply regretted not writing more about training, especially the second year I did that race. There were many days that second year where it felt really hard. I felt like I was losing my mind, but I knew I had to have been feeling that way the first year. If only I had a journal of sorts to look back on. Sigh...<br />
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So here we are on Day 1. Oh right. Yeah. I signed up for my first marathon (which is news to the blog but probably not to anyone who actually still reads this thing)! Andrew and I will be running Mount Desert Island Marathon in October. I am really excited about it but it's tempered a bit by the fact that I had my a$$ handed to me in the Mayflower Half marathon yesterday. While Mayflower is an extremely hilly 13.1, MDI doubles the distance, while TRIPLING the elevation gain. The big saving grace is that it should at least be cool, if not cold, in October in Acadia (watch me eat my words...I ran the BAA 13.1 in October the year it was 85 on race day).<br />
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Since it's Day 1 and a scheduled rest day (YAY!) I don't have anything to report yet. I am using Hal Higdons (free!) <a href="http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51138/Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program">Novice 2 Marathon</a> training plan. I talked a bit with some of my running and tri friends and the majority of the experienced marathoners said the extra day of running in the Intermediate plan was pretty tough. They all felt like the Novice 2 was plenty to get me there without risking injury or burnout. It also leaves an extra day off so I can squeeze in triathlon training. I have about 7 weeks where the seasons will overlap and that's only if I want my last race to be the one I have on 7/31.<br />
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So what else have I been up to? I have completely turned my eating and nutrition upside down. I feel better than I have, ever, really and I'm losing weight while eating more and not tracking anything. I joined a month long online nutrition coaching group that really made things click for me. I thought I knew what I needed to do and was skeptical this would help but it really did. Somehow, having everything broken down into small daily lessons and action items made me not only understand what I needed to do and why, but WANT to do it. Once I started to see the positive implications of following the action items, I was sold. Now most of it is habit.<br />
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Since Pumpkinman (my last blog post! Ugh!) I have been running more. I was pretty lazy over the last part of 2015 and then, with some prodding from others, signed up to do the Winter Warrior Challenge through Marathon Sports. You commit to running 1, 3 or 5 miles outside every day. You have to run that minimum every day or you drop down to the lowest level (or DQ if you run less than 1 mile). You can't bank miles either. I signed up to do 3, but if I ran 2 one day and 4 the next, I would lose my spot in the 3 miles a day group and go down to 1. If I missed a day, I was out. It's funny that once it became a habit, it was not that hard. I did walk a day or two a week to avoid injury. I am not one of those people who can bang out day after day and do high mileage. That's one of the reasons triathlon has been so good for me. It also tricked me into realizing the benefits of HR training since the large volume of slow easy miles made a big difference in my endurance.<br />
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<i>One of my favorite <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jillianmleonard/">Instagram</a> pics from that challenge.</i><br />
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Since then I've done a 5K and started training for Mayflower. I really enjoyed this race last year and since it was so hilly, Andrew and I thought it would be a good warm up for MDI. We happily signed up right away and got to training. Then we saw that the course was "new and improved." I'm not exactly sure what happened, but the race had been billed as running along the waterfront and then suddenly, the entire waterfront section, including the beautiful bike path portion was moved inland. The entire section that I loved last year had been changed, including the part that went right near my parents house where they could easily watch for us. I certainly didn't expect them to fight construction, tourist and race traffic to sit on a random side street to see me run by. Especially since I wasn't feeling my best. Back before Pumpkinman I strained my back. I was completely fine until the end of April when I think, due to bad posture and rushing at work, I reinjured it. It was BAD this time. There was really no position that was comfortable. Only walking felt good, but I was afraid to run too much. In the end, stretching, core work and gentle running helped. By the time I felt good enough to get back into training I had 3 weeks until Mayflower. I was getting through my 10 and 11 mile runs (slowly) and feeling great so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm not trying to impress anyone and if I had to walk that was fine. It was my 6th 13.1 and I knew what I was in for.<br />
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I woke up on my own at 5:30 that day and could feel that it was already warm out. The forecast was for 60s and raining up until that day and then BOOM! it was 70 at 5am. I do not tolerate heat well and have to go out of my way to acclimate for it. That's why I did so many mid day 85-90 degree runs last summer. I did not want to struggle as much in 2015's Pumpkinman as I did in 2014 (and of course it was low 50s and raining in 2015). I did not have many warm days where I could get out during the hot part this year. Luckily I had aced my hydration and nutrition leading up to the race. I think if I had not I may have been in big trouble by the end.<br />
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The race started with a huge hill and not a single person in my wave (2) ran up the whole thing. My teammate caught up to me (she was wave 3) after the first giant hill and we ran together a bit. Her kind words meant a lot to me and I thought of them later when I was really struggling. I wish I was able to keep up with her for longer, but I was already way too hot and needing to walk to cool off. From there on out it was a series of rolling or bigger hills. I kept about a 12 min mile average through mile 4, which I was happy about given how I felt. Around then we were held to let traffic pass for quite a while. Now, I can see on some of these bigger roads (and this was one of them), holding the middle-of-the-pack runners and slower so that instead of a slow stream of racers that blocks traffic for hours, they alternate letting some cars go and then letting one big pack of runners go. The thing is, we were held for a WHILE. Long enough that some of us started to cramp a little. We were all standing patiently on the sidewalk while waiting to be allowed to cross and the officer already seemed mad at us. Sorry dude. We're all just standing here. Im not sure what that was all about. Maybe there were problems earlier? All I knew that was there was a porta pottie within the next mile and I REALLY needed to pee. The one a mile back had over 20 people waiting for it. That is my one big complaint. There were not enough at the start. My sister in law, who ran her first race, almost missed her wave! Since there weren't enough at the start, those of us who didn't really have to go figured we'd go at some point on the course. The second set wasn't as crowded, but I'm sure I lost 10 entire minutes between the traffic stop and the pee stop. At that point I felt great! I was drinking plenty at the water stops (props to this race for having water every mile, even if one of the later ones was out of cups) and had taken my first gel. My calf was starting to cramp but it didn't really hurt too bad. This was really the only scenic part of the race, along Billington St and Black Cat Rd (also hills!). Look! I'm even smiling at the 10K split!<br />
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<i>(not sure why my 5K time is showing for my 10K picture but I do NOT run that fast)</i><br />
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To make a long story short, that calf cramp turned into an entire-foot toe-curling cramp around mile 8. That was about when I realized that my Salt Stick caps really don't take up much room so why one earth do I never bring them just in case? I mean really. I felt like I rolled in the sand at the end of the race I was so salty. The last 5 miles were brutal. They were either along busy roads or in neighborhoods and there was not a lot of shade. I tried to run to get it over with, but by mile 11 I was done. There were quite a few of us trudging along. Did I mention how hot I was? Maybe I need those cooling sleeves some of my tri friends use. Haha. Anyway, I made it to the finish and right at mile 13 I saw an old friend which made my day. Although at that point I wasn't sure if I was seeing anything clearly so I jokingly said "who is that?! Is that really you?!"<br />
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And that's that. It took me over 3 hours and 20 min to finish this race and it hurt a lot almost the whole time. It's fine. I mostly did it because I had already paid and had friends doing it too, but it's still a bummer. I appreciate that people care and are trying to give me the tough love, you finished despite many major setbacks bit, you didn't quit etc, but you know what? Im still allowed to be disappointed. Yes, I know it's great to be able to struggle and overcome, but there comes a point where you just get sick of having to struggle. So keep that in mind. Your friends will appreciate your kind words and knowing how great you think they are. They will not appreciate being told how to feel. The ups AND downs are important. It's part of how we grow as runners and people. If I had breezed through yesterday and had the mediocre race I was expecting I may not be as ready to move on as I am today. When I woke up this morning I thought, "my gosh yesterday totally sucked. Im so glad that today is Day 1 of a new challenge."<br /><br /><i>(edited to say - most of my negative feelings to the race we mostly my own issues. I did prefer the course from last year and I do think there need to be more porta potties and cups at water stations. However, I felt safe the entire race, even on the busy roads and the volunteers were AWESOME. Plus, this race had at least water at every mile, which is more than almost all other races. I would recommend this race if you are looking for a very hilly challenging course. The time allotment is generous too, at 3.5 hours.)</i></div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-5071642771982161002015-09-23T15:30:00.002-04:002015-09-24T20:01:44.747-04:00Did Not FailI always thought my first DNF (Did Not Finish) would be this huge awful traumatic experience. Pretty dramatic, right? I thought there would be a lot of tears (there were a little) and that I wouldn't be able to face all the people who were tracking my progress and waiting to see how I did.<br />
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It wasn't like that. At all.<br />
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I have been wavering on what to write or even if I was going to write at all. One of my biggest regrets here is that I didn't write throughout my training in 2014. I wish I did. I think the rollercoaster of emotions I went through would have not been so bad if I had proof that it was normal and that I had been there before. I don't really know where to start, so I guess I'll just jump right in.<br />
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First off, I'll just say that this year was weird for racing. I should do a race round up post just to summarize. My favorite tri was downgraded to a 5K after rip tides and torrential rain. That was the start of my season. I had some horrible swims, disappointing bike times and runs that were all over the place. I did a late spring half marathon that was slow, but a total blast. It was just a weird, weird year for me.<br />
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The good: <br />
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I trained harder and smarter for my half ironman. I bought a bike trainer at the end of last season and used it to keep up my fitness during our 10-feet-of-snow winter. It also made it much easier to get long rides in without completely rearranging my schedule. Usually I'd have a long ride on Saturday and a long swim and run on Sunday. If I had to work on that Saturday it would mean that a 3 hour ride would be from 7-10pm. Not really doable outside, especially in the city! If I moved it to Sunday, I'd be doing all three sports back to back. Also kind of crazy. Instead I could hop on the trainer after work and get it done. Of course it was a pretty boring Saturday night, but it worked great and I found a lot of benefit to running the day after a long ride.<br />
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I also figured out my bike nutrition. In contrast to our arctic-like winter, we had one of the hottest summers in a while. By September I was confident in my switch to <a href="http://www.tailwindnutrition.com/">Tailwind</a> (mandarin orange flavor is great!).<br />
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<i>They put my name on the bag, wrote a little note and threw in a sample and some stickers!</i></div>
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I was also able to get to know my teammates more and this was a great thing!<br />
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The bad:<br />
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I was really really sick the last two weeks of June, right after I did the half marathon. I had a fever for days and major chest congestion for weeks. I did nothing the first week and hardly anything the week after. On the days I did work, I went right to bed after. It took me a better part of a month to completely recover. The good thing is that I didn't dwell on it and moved right on with training when I could, but I knew I missed a couple of big weeks and that certainly didn't help my cause. </div>
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Despite swimming much more, starting earlier in the season and actually following the prescribed workouts I had two horrible swims. Both were in the ocean and 1/4 and 1/2 miles. I don't know what my issue was with the first one. I just kind of lost my head and let the rough water at the turn around get to me. The second was was just really rough. The current was pushing one way, the wind gusting another. It was choppy, there were some rollers and the people around me were kind of freaking out. I started to feel like I wasn't making forward progress and got really freaked out. The fact that a few of my teammates were at the swim exit really was the only reason it didn't get worse. At the finish line, one of them was waiting for me and I told her that knowing she was there waiting really helped me pull through. </div>
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These bad swims, along with really slow bike times really started to get to me. I think I spent a lot of energy with the mental battle between trying to push my limits and perform better, but also understand that I was aiming high. It was as if I had forgotten where I was starting from. I was seeing all these people I looked up to achieving these great times and instead of using them as inspiration, I was comparing myself to them. I know this is wrong, but it took a while to figure out exactly why I was feeling so horrible about my times. </div>
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The summer went along and I started to have some lower back pain. I attributed it to doing a bunch of races in a row and then going back to work after vacation, right into an overtime week. I figured if I was careful and took it easy, I would feel better. I stretched some, but if I knew how much it would bother me in the race, I would have been much more aggressive in treating it. I'm also currently putting together a strength training plan to not only work on my core, but my whole body. I'm planning on keeping it up into next years training.<br />
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As the race neared, I was starting to get really nervous but also felt fairly peaceful about it. It was strange to feel both, but I did. I think I knew where my problems lie, and they were potentially real issues, but I also knew I did what I could. I just wanted race day to come so I could see how it would end. Never once did I think I'd voluntarily DNF. I didn't really think there was a big possibility of them pulling me either. I was mostly scared of failing to do better than the previous year. I also REALLY didn't want to be last again.<br />
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Despite the fact that I'm an introvert and need my own space and time to myself, I decided to stay at my teammates house in Maine for race weekend. I tend to kind of hibernate before races. I get SO nervous that I don't feel like I can socialize. I realized that there was probably nothing good about shutting myself away with only my own thoughts, plus I really like my teammates! Andrew and I headed up on Friday and had a nice relaxing pasta dinner with some of the people who were competing the next day at the <a href="http://www.lobstermantri.com/">Lobsterman</a> Olympic distance triathlon. I was hoping to spectate that race, but my back was acting up again and I barely slept Friday night. I was tired and the bed was so comfortable but I just could not shut my brain off. Andrew and I ended up sleeping in and then hanging out, waiting to help with the cookout. Saturday night was a lot of fun. Every year, the teammates who are doing Lobsterman on Saturday and Pumpkinman on Sunday have a cookout on Saturday evening. This year it was at the house where we were staying, so it was nice to just be able to go right to bed after. I was really proud of myself for making sure I did the right thing for myself that day. I didn't eat a lot of junk food. I made sure I ate at the right times. I also ate what is the perfect dinner for me - chicken and rice, some potatoes and a little bit of veggies. No alcohol and no dairy. Not even the delicious looking birthday ice cream pie! I had such a nice night getting to know everyone better and by the time I went to bed around 9, I felt pretty content. I was ready to race and felt like what would be, would be.</div>
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<i>Well THAT'S not good...</i></div>
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No one is surprised I was obsessively checking the weather. When I woke up at 4:30, it was raining pretty good and it was COLD. My phone said it was 55º out. We headed to the race site, I got body marked and went to find my rack spot. At first I was happy to be on the end by the fence. It's one less person's stuff to deal with being next to mine. Then I realized I had like 8 inches. I had much less space than normal. People had also put their bags along the fence and they were right up to where my tire touched down. Um, I'm sorry. Do you want me to stand on your bag while I change? My only other option would be to stand in front of the bike next to me and block that person. I gently moved some of the bags over to make room. Don't be those people, okay? Not only is it not allowed by USAT rules, but it's bad sportsmanship to take more than your fair share of the space and to block another persons transition area (it can also get you a penalty). I crammed my stuff into the plastic bags I brought with me and hoped for the best. It took much longer to arrange everything and all of a sudden we were being called out of transition.<br />
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Again, I was in the second to last wave. It's such a bummer. I know someone has to be in those last waves, but I'm so slow, I spend most of the race alone. After about 20 minutes it was our turn and we waded into the water. The water felt amazing. The air was barely 60º and the water was much warmer. A few seconds later we were off! I could tell from the start that I was much more comfortable in my wetsuit than previous swims. I tried to stay steady, stay out of the way of the faster swimmers coming up behind me (it was a double loop swim and some were passing us while on their last loop) and swim as straight as possible. I'm actually quite happy with how well I sighted. I felt relaxed but also able to push it. I rounded the turn buoy, according to my Garmin, in 25 minutes. Two minutes off last year! I still felt great, so I pushed it some more. As I went along the long back stretch, I was starting to feel a tightness in my back. I can see where it happened when I look at the data from my Garmin. I slowed wayyyy down. That loop took almost 30 minutes. Another bummer. I came out of the water next to one of my teammates and saw there was only one person behind us.<br />
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It took me FOR EV ER to get out of transition. I just could not decide what to wear and what to ditch. I couldn't easily see my stuff because it was all in bags. It was cold and drizzly but I decided not to fight with my arm warmers. I managed to beat one person out of transition and headed out onto the course. It sucks racing in the rain. It was just annoying. Water was dripping down my helmet, there was grit in my brakes, my shifters were slippery. I was trying to not have an attitude problem, but it was a struggle. I reminded myself to be grateful I was able to be here at all. <br />
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The beginning of the course is rough and my back was not loving the ride. I hoped as I became more used to the bike and the pavement smoothed out that my back would feel better. Or at least not feel worse. I began hitting some of the rolling hills and conveniently put it out of my mind that most of the first 18 miles are a gradual uphill. As I topped the bigger hill on the course I realized I had lost some of the power in my glutes and legs. It just felt like, with the pain and tension in my back that I couldn't really dig in and push. I also heard the van from the sponsoring bike shop behind me and was filled with dread.<br />
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The sweep vehicle. I am last. AGAIN.<br />
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I know that's silly but when I'm suffering like I was then, I want to be alone. I don't want anyone around me. Of course the van left me plenty of room and it was a comfort to know they were there to help, but I just wished I didn't have to be the one right there.<br />
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At this point I came through the nice long downhill section and was trying to get comfortable on the flatter part. Everything hurt. My lower back was now really tight. My neck was tight, my shoulders cramped. My wrists hurt and I realized I had locked my elbows. How was I going to get through another 30 miles? And then I'd have to run 13! I was starting to realize how bad I felt and couldn't see finishing. I never feel like that. I always feel like I can finish, even if I'm starting to have a negative monologue. Twice I saw side streets and thought about stopping to quit. I just couldn't. I started to feel emotional about it. I started to do a check in to see what was keeping me in this race:<br />
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Disappointing others? Not really. I knew that everyone knew how long and hard I worked just to get there. I knew most of them would be mad if they knew how bad I felt but kept going. I knew many of them thought it was awesome just to get there in the first place, just to be brave enough to toe the line.<br />
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Wasted training? Not that either. At the very least I knew I was fitter and stronger than ever. I knew the toughness I earned in getting through workouts I didn't feel I had the energy to even start was a gift in and of itself. I knew that no matter how hard I worked this year, that each consecutive year I could work harder, get better. The journey itself should not be forgotten. The race was just the prize at the end.<br />
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The prize. I knew the biggest disappointment would be that. My "prize" is finishing. I'm not competing to win, but I get to wear my finisher medal home that day and my finisher shirt around on vacation that week (okay and all the time!). I hadn't imagined I'd go without them. How silly. It's a medal and a shirt. You know I love my race swag but I was hurting so badly. I was so cold and soaking wet. For what?<br />
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I started to realize that what I was struggling with was accepting that I had to let things go. I was not accepting that this is the day I was given. I did everything I should have to have a great race, but that doesn't guarantee you one. I was mad that I struggled while everyone else seemed to push through. I knew they'd all say that everyone had a bad race, but I didn't want mine to be that day. </div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">While to most people this picture looks great, I can see all the areas I'm carrying pain. I'm pushed far back in my seat. My back is no longer flat. My arms are locked and further back on the bars (I started having trouble reaching all my gears). My shoulders are scrunched up and my chin is down. Even my heels are up more than usual.</span></div>
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I wanted that finish. I wanted to be proud of my race. I knew I should be proud anyway but I just wanted to finish. "Just get to the turnaround. That's halfway. Almost 30. Then you can get to 35. After that it's only 20. You can do 20 easy. But then I have to run. Just get there. Just get to transition. If you don't make it out then you can joke that you did an impromptu aquabike." As I fought with myself I came up to the turnaround. Every single person in front of me turned left to the transition. I was so far back I had to ask if I went right for loop 2. Off I went and the realization that I had a mostly uphill 18 miles hit me. I thought about giving up my chip and heading back to the finish but I just couldn't talk to anyone. There was just too much going on right there. I pedaled uphill and it was decided for me. My left glute cramped something fierce and my leg went numb down to my foot. I could still pedal but I couldn't feel it. "Now THIS is insanity" I said to myself. I coasted to a stop, unclipped and turned to the van. I was done. (Of course I'm getting teary eyed writing this now, which is a little surprising)<br />
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The guy came out, took my bike and checked that I wanted to stop. I explained I was okay but unable to ride anymore. He was kind and sympathetic, but luckily not very talkative. I normally can chat anyone's ear off but I was afraid I'd start crying if I did. Within a mile we came across the next cyclist. It was a personally challenged (PC) athlete in a recumbent bike. I have to admit I berated myself a bit about this. First, look how hard he is working, the challenges he's beating and HE didn't give up. Second, I was MINUTES from not being last, not riding in front of the sweep. If I had kept going would I have felt better? (NO!) Would I have relaxed and made it? (NO!!!) Not unless they were handing out magic at the next water stop.<br />
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It was about 10:30 at this point. Now I'm wet, cold and my back is spasming. The guy apologizes that it's going to be a long slow ride. I understand and am happy to not be out in the rain anymore. I picture Andrew back at the transition site, or inside the restaurant, having no idea how far my day has unravelled. It's weird to be that disconnected from him. I wished for my phone, which is back in my car. Usually they're completely banned from the race course. I never bother bringing it into transition at all. I was also hungry. I left my nutrition on the bike and didn't want to bother going into the back to get it. I didn't want to move. As we crept along we came across a man who had blown out the sidewall of his tire. There didn't seem like much could have been done to fix it, although the guy from the bike shop (thanks Papa Wheelies!) offered to try. The man was over it. He had been walking back along the course carrying his bike for a long time, waiting for the sweep van. I felt really bad for him. While there was probably something I could have done differently to have kept my back strong, he couldn't avoid a mechanical. We talked for a bit and then rode mostly in silence. After stopping to help the PC cyclist, I realized it was 12:45. Andrew must be really worried. He knew the cutoff was 12:30. He probably expected me a bit earlier. I didn't want to have to, but I asked to use the driver's phone. Andrew answered right away. My voice starts to break as I tell him I'm in the sweep van, that I pulled myself halfway and that my back hurt. I said I'd see him in about an hour and end the call.<br />
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We finally arrive back at the transition area and I see him waiting by the parking lot. I almost fall on my face getting out of the van and think, "and you thought you were going to ride another 28 miles? Ha!" I hand him my bike and ask him to hold onto it. I want to pack up my transition area and put everything in the car. I want to hide IN my car, but I don't. As we're standing there, one of my teammates runs by. I'm so happy to see her running. This race was a deferral from last year and while training she was in an accident and injured. I could imagine how hard her season was and how frustrating it would be to have two hard years. She sees me and I forget what she says but there is a tone of "oh no, why are you standing in the parking lot?" I tell her I'm okay and to go go go!<br />
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After I put my stuff in the car (and cry and post to facebook and get a talking to from Andrew) I go back to find her. I tell her what happens and get all teary eyed again. I know she understands my frustration. After a bit, we see another one of my teammates run across the finish line. I'm also happy to see her finish. I knew she was nervous about the run. As we walk towards her, I see her holding her finisher medal out. I'm confused and then she tells me, "this is YOUR finisher medal. I never would have made it through the run if it wasn't for you." I'm still confused and say, "but I didn't finish! I DNFed halfway through the bike." She insists it's mine and tells me again that the conversation we had in August was what pulled her through. Back then she told me she was unsure about the run and if she should switch to the aquabike (swim and bike, no run). I told her the story of my run at last years race. I said I walked the last 8 miles and if I could do that, she'd be certain to finish. I encouraged her to try. I had no idea I had made that much of an impact. I forgot about my own race. I hugged her and started to really cry. As I let go we turn to the teammate who had been waiting with me and see that her face is read and SHE'S crying! Laughing, the teammate that gave me the medal says, "now why are YOU crying?!" and, providing some much needed comic relief, she blurts out, "I'm just feeling really emotional!" A truer statement wasn't said that afternoon! A little while later, we saw another teammate finish her first half. I'm not sure there was a more beautiful smile at the finish line that day.</div>
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That was the point I started to feel at peace with the day. I love the bond our teammates have. I was so grateful I was offered a place to stay at one of the houses that weekend and that I accepted. I'm so glad I didn't avoid everyone. I realized that this season was about letting go. It was about having the faith to put yourself out there, give it your all and accept that the race may crush you. That the race may not even happen! It taught me how to fall down, sometimes get kicked while I'm down and then get up again. I learned to pick the lessons and bright spots from bad days and races and then close the door on yesterday. I learned that this DNF equaled Did Not Fail.<br />
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I don't really have the urge to go and do a "redemption" race. I'm not even sure I want to do a half ironman next year (forget a full Ironman!). My teammates have joked that maybe I should get that Olympic distance that I skipped in. Maybe. Probably. We'll see!</div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-80113207218763155762015-04-21T20:24:00.002-04:002015-04-21T20:27:40.858-04:00Magic in the airThere must be some magic left hanging around here after yesterday's Boston Marathon. I had a friend racing her first Boston. She is someone who has been one of my biggest cheerleaders all along. You know those time where I've tried to encourage all of you new (or not yet even new) runners to get out there? That the really talented, fast runners will often be more excited for you than the people you most relate to? She's one of those people. She made me realize that it didn't matter where you finish. We were all in it together.<br />
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Andrew and I watched the tv coverage long enough to watch both elite finishes, and then headed out to catch my friend run by. We had been tracking her through the SUPER helpful BAA iphone tracking app. Not only did it give her splits, but it showed exactly where she was on the course. I was so sad for her that the weather was not better. I knew the race meant a lot to her. Although she is not originally from this area and now lives back near home, I know Boston was home for her too.<br />
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By the time we headed out, a little before 1pm, it was blowing rain and in the mid 40s. We walked up Massachusetts Ave and turned left on Commonwealth Ave. As we walked along the course I got a little teary-eyed. Despite the weather, the excitement and love of this race was overwhelming. We walked along until there was an area where the course widened and found a spot on a curve of the fence where we had a really great view.<br />
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Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of her running by. I had my phone out and the camera ready, but when I finally saw her, I lost it! Haha. I just started screaming like a crazy person and waving my phone around. So yeah. Bummer. I did get this pic of a guy high-fiving all of us though! We hung around for a little bit, walking along some of the course and then headed home.<br />
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Monday was a rest day for me and today was kind of a medium-ish day. I went out with the intention of doing at least 5 miles, but hopefully 6-8. I have been having some shin pain. I took a few extra days off last week, hoping the lingering pain would completely go away. I have also really struggled on some runs mentally. I am running portions of them much faster than I used to, but I choke when it starts to get hard. That is my big issue right now. I know I am capable of racing much faster than I have been. It's almost like, after Pumpkinman, I've become completely suffering adverse.<br />
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I started off my run on a slight downhill, feeling like I was keeping my pace down a little bit. I glanced at my Garmin at about 1/4 mile in and it read 8:50. WHOAH NELLY. I can run that fast, but not for very long. I really pulled back and noticed I was still running between a 10-11 minute mile at what felt like a comfortable relaxed pace. After 1/2 a mile I noticed something. I was smiling, grinning, really. I never smile when I run, unless it's toward someone. My feet felt light and I had zero pain. Not even meaningless annoying pain. Usually I have some tightness or something's a little sore. Nothing. My shoes didn't annoy me. My clothes didn't bug me. Even though I was a little too warm, it didn't seem to affect my pace. We all know I don't tolerate being hot well. Before I knew it was already over a mile in and I still felt great. I decided to run to the turn-around spot that I use for my 5 milers, but then look for a path I've been meaning to find for the return portion of the trip. I cruised right along to the 2.5 mile mark. I almost didn't believe it was my body. STILL no pain, soreness, tightness. After years of being told I was making excuses, copping out on workouts and just generally hammering myself into the ground on runs, I had proven myself right. All those years of feeling like a failure when I only failed at having the guts to listen to myself and say that enough was enough.<br />
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I found the path and was surprised at how pretty it was - for this time of year, anyway. I can't believe for years I have been pounding along the concrete sidewalk across the street, not realizing it was right there. It was a mini adventure!<br />
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I continued to run along and realized I was almost 4 miles in and didn't have the usual desperate desire to Just. Walk. Already. I haven't had many runs beyond 3 miles and previously, the third mile was a mental struggle. I come up to the end of the path and realize that, thanks to some major construction, there is absolutely no way to get back to the sidewalk where I need to be. Anyone in Boston who has driven around where the Landmark Center is in the Fens knows exactly what I mean. I decide to cross the river and run along the other side, knowing that there is a set of lights at some point along the sidewalk above. I'm also happy since it means I will get my 6 miles in without having to run to far past my apartment when I return. After about a half mile, I cross back to my planned route and headed home. I was definitely fatigued in my last mile, but I still did really well. I was so relieved to finally feel so great during a run. I have never, ever felt so great, so free. There was definitely some magic still in the air from yesterday.</div>
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Since it's been so long since I've checked in, here's what I'm up to so far:<br />
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Mayflower Brewing Half Marathon - June 14th - this is going to put my other hilly races to shame!<br />
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Cohasset Sprint Triathlon - June 28th - because, how could I miss it?!<br />
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Whaling City Sprint Triathlon - August 2nd - hoping for a really strong and fast race.<br />
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Pumpkinman 70.3 - September 13th - we all knew I'd be back! I can't wait!</div>
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Some maybes:<br />
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Continuing to sign up for 5Ks and chase the elusive sub-30.<br />
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BAA Half Marathon - Columbus Day weekend.<br />
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MAYBE, mayyyyyybe eyeing a late fall marathon. I am going to have to decide when it gets closer to Pumpkinman. A great amount of training for those two would overlap. Then again, it would be kind of like training for a full Ironman. You know...if I was to be considering one...maybe...maybe in 2016. Maybe not. ;)<br /><br />Tell me about your races! There are so many first timers, runners and triathletes, and it is SO exciting!<br />
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Anyway, I'm glad to be back on here, although I won't make any promises! Have a great night everyone!<br />
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<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-6906339419806935392014-10-07T21:47:00.002-04:002015-09-23T10:38:41.892-04:00Pumpkinman 70.3 Race Report - aka The road to CrazytownPumpkinman Half Iron distance - September 7th, 2014 - South Berwick, Maine<br />
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Wow...I don't even know where to start. I've been mentally composing this recap since the race and it's now exactly one month from that day. If I thought training 12+ hours a week was putting me through an emotional roller-coaster, I had no idea what the actual day had in store for me. Let me back up a bit since it has obviously been a while since I last wrote and a lot has changed. I'll also warn you, this may be a bit choppy. And long. Did I mention long? I should really split this into a few posts, but I know I will never write more than one part of a recap, so here you go. I also don't want to forget any of my memories of that weekend, so I'll just be throwing things in as I go. Also, I'm going to add some song videos as I go so you can just click and listen if you want.<br />
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This spring as the swim class I've been taking for a while was winding down, I found out that the pool would be closed for renovations over the summer and there wouldn't be any classes. Bummer! My teacher is so great. She has helped me with my swim so much. She manages to really push me and I leave feeling like I got my butt kicked, but always feeling so positive. I had it in my head that I would be seeing her almost right up until my race. I knew I could do it on my own, but I was sad anyway. I signed up for the South End Fitness Center, because I had heard they had a nice, non-crowded pool. Since I tend to go during off hours, most days I had the entire 6 lane 25 yard pool all to myself. It was actually kind of lonely and sometimes a little creepy due to an overactive imagination - WHAT WAS THAT SHADOW ON THE BOTTOM?!<br />
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Anyhow. I decided I needed some positive specifically-triathlon support. I wasn't getting it at the gym, it just isn't their thing. I didn't have my swim teacher. My hubby was already exhausted by his new business and my training trickery. "You want to go for a ride?" is now known to mean, "hey, how 'bout 90 mins moderate with 8 X 3 minute hill climbs?" It also means I was now doing my rides solo. About 2 weeks after my last blog post I went to a triathlon expo and met a few tri teams. Wheelworks Multisport stuck out to me as being the perfect balance of newbie welcoming, but also really committed to training and racing their best. I found out they were having a fundraiser night a couple of weeks later and was pretty much sold on the team as soon as I arrived. I signed up that night. It's been great having them as a resource and even better having them around before races. I feel so much more calm as part of a group for some reason.<br />
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I quit personal training. It was not an easy decision, but I'm even more sure it was the right one now.<br />
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A few months later I quit that gym entirely (I had two gym memberships before that point). There was no need to have that membership if I wasn't doing personal training anymore. I had to have a gym with a pool and the one I was using had plenty of cardio and weight equipment. Plus, I'd save so much money I could take an occasional spin class at one of the awesome spin boutiques near me if I really missed it (my one hesitation to canceling the fancy gym).<br />
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I became a big girl and marched myself into Belmont Wheelworks and asked for help getting shoes and clipless pedals (which may sound confusing to some of you, but they're actually the shoes that click into the pedals and attach you to the bike). I had the chance to work with some great employees and had a cleat fitting for my shoes and later, a bike fit. I took away a ton of great info. The bike fitter also 100% solved some major neck pain I was having by putting me through some drills to fix my form (and the death grip I had on my bars). Did I mention this was a month before my race? If it wasn't for procrastination, I'd have nothing to do tomorrow...<br />
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Let me do my best to recap the training. It was usually Monday off, a run and swim on W, F and Sun and a bike on Tu, Th, Sat. Sometimes the Sat bike or Sun run was replaced by a bike/run combo (brick). It is a lot. I knew it was a lot. I had days where I loved it and I had days where you couldn't pay me to do my workout. Skipping workouts sucks for so many reasons. The guilt. The knowledge that you only hurt yourself and your race. Knowing that no matter what you do, you will short something. Your training. Your personal life. And no matter what you do you'll still be tired. One day I was laying on the couch fighting a cold, exhausted and I just started crying. My apartment was a mess, I had food for a few meals I needed to make (big bulk meals to last the week) that was in danger of going bad and no energy to deal with any of it. Luckily the Hubs is the worlds best tri Sherpa and came to the rescue. For all the ups and downs, I learned a lot in the process.<br />
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As race day approached, I was crawling out of my skin. It was taper week. I felt like I needed to squeeze in just...one...more...long...ride....but it was the last thing I was supposed to do. My workouts were pretty much to keep me loose and ready to go. Nothing too big. I had work to distract me Monday through Thursday that week, but way too much time to think otherwise. I got really good at math. Anyone who spent ANY time around me knew my worries about the course cutoffs. Each leg has a limit. If you don't make the time cutoff, you will get pulled from the race. This race has a slightly shorter allowed time than some others, but it's also not as difficult as some. I figured, you win some, you lose some and went with the race that looked the best. Here's the cutoff breakdown and what it meant for me:<br />
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Swim: 1 hour after the last wave starts (approximately 8:30am)<br />
Bike: 12:30pm<br />
Run/Finish: 3pm<br />
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I knew I would most likely be starting in a wave around 7:25 (and I was right). So, here's the worst case scenario. I hoped for a 45-55 minute swim, but knew I could take an hour if I had a bad day. That got me out of the water at 8:25 and onto my bike by 8:30. That gave me 4 hours to finish the bike and in theory, at 14mph minimum, plenty of time. I had ridden the course before and could hold 16-17mph, even more with the bike shoes and pedals. If I had a bad day 14 would be all I could do. I felt confident I could make both those cutoffs with room to spare, BUT if I took the entire time allotted, it only left me 2:30:00 to run the 13.1 miles. My personal best at that distance is about a 2:37:00. This scared me and I had many dreams about it over the week leading up. My best case scenario would put me just over 6.5 hours. Worst, a bit more than 7.5. I spent hours calculation and recalculating paces and predictions. It ended up being totally pointless (DUH).<br />
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Friday I started my vacation and ran through my list of gear, did a final check and then packed my race bag. We'd be leaving to stay in Ogunquit on Saturday morning. It was crazy hot and humid for early September and storms were forecast for early in the weekend. I begged the weather to be nice to me on Sunday, then cleaned up my bike and took it for a quick spin to make sure everything was working okay.<br />
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Saturday I woke up with the sun and tossed and turned for hours. There wasn't any point in leaving early since both check in at the hotel and the packet pick up weren't until later in the afternoon. By late morning I finally asked if we could just go and take the scenic route. That should kill time and we could stop for lunch on the way. Next time I will have an actual plan for nutrition the day before. Breakfast was small (an english muffin? I forget) and then lunch didn't end up being until 2:30pm. Dinner was at 7:30. Ideally I would have had big meals earlier and a lighter dinner. We headed to packet pick up and then back to Ogunquit to pick up some groceries and then head out to dinner.<br />
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<i>Ogunquit for lunch</i> </div>
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<i>Thunderheads at packet pick up.</i></div>
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Then it was the worst part - the night before when you're in for the night. It feels like SO LONG to be nervous, but there's really not much to do to distract yourself. I lurked around facebook and someone posted <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/diana_nyad_never_ever_give_up">Diana Nyad's TED talk</a> (check it out, it's awesome). Two things stuck with me. First, was when her swim got tough, tough to the point where everyone "knew" it was impossible (it wasn't!), her friend leaned over and, seeming like she was going to tell her to give up said, "Find a way."<br />
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<i>Find a way.</i><br />
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Second, she talked about listening to the Beatles' "Imagine" over and over during her swim....for like nine hours. She sings a little bit of it to drive her point home, <br />
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"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." </div>
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I think I listed to that song at least 10 times before I went to bed. I felt like, at the very least, I had finally mentally conquered the swim. I had great swims all summer. I had even brought the horrible 15 minute 1/4 mile swim from last year's Cohasset tri down to 9 minutes this year AND I loved every second of it!<br />
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I looked around for some positive quotes and inspiration and tried to fall asleep around 10:30. That's when the stomach problems started. I was running to the bathroom every 30 minutes or so until 2am. I finally slept until 4am and then got up to get ready for the race. 2 whole hours of sleep. I felt mostly okay, so I ate the oatmeal I brought with me. And then promptly threw it up. Now I was freaked out because I really had no idea what was going on. Was I sick? Was it nerves? I'd never had this happen. I decided I would try and race under two conditions. #1 I had to keep down 2 Honey Stinger Waffles and a bottle of Heed drink before the race. #2 If I started vomiting (or worse!) during the race it was Game Over. The temps were predicted to be in the mid 70s by the run portion but I knew it would probably be hotter. It would be dangerous to race sick like that.<br />
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Somehow the Hubs and I made our way through the dark windy back roads to Spring Hill in South Berwick and I kept my nutrition down. We arrived at 5am, but transition didn't open for a bit. I got my timing chip and got body marked and walked around for a few minutes. As they open the transition to let us in they turned on the music. The Beatles. Here Comes the Sun. I almost cried.<br />
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I was already feeling pretty emotional and had been humming "Imagine" to myself on the way. It was such a beautiful gentle song to start the day, the sun was just barely cracking the horizon.<br />
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I teared up and just stopped for a second to be grateful that, no matter how the days ends, I got a shot at it. I have the time and money. I have my health.<br />
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I had plenty of time to set up and talk to my neighbors and use the porta-potty a couple of times. By then I ran into a few of my teammates and felt pretty good about that too. I always joke that the very worst part of the morning is committing to leaving the transition area. It's so hard to decide that everything is there and that you have what you need for the swim! It's silly. You need a wetsuit, goggles and your cap. Hopefully you have your timing chip on already.<br />
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We headed down to the swim start. Seriously, how beautiful is this? I stopped being so nervous because I was in awe. I was just anxious to start.<br />
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The swim 1.2 miles (.6 miles X 2 loops):<br />
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As I started, a song came on that I hadn't paid attention to much. It didn't strike me as a big, Go Go Go! start the race type song, but it set the mood perfectly.</div>
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It was great. I did the swim in about 54 minutes. It was not a fast swim for me, but it was a huge success is so many ways. I started the swim towards the back and on the inside. I didn't feel like being swum over, but I also was confident enough to hold my line close to the buoys. I really didn't want to swim extra. The course is set up like a triangle. You swim counter-clockwise - out two buoys, turn, across two buoys, turn, back in two buoys and the repeat the course a second time. I got to the first buoy, halfway to the first turn and started to feel fatigued. I wondered if I was really going to make it. How could I come all the way here and THIS?<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Find a way.</span></div>
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Yes. Diana Nyad. Find a way. There is no way I can't go the distance at some speed. Stick to the plan. I wanted to swim by effort at a moderate feel. I knew I could do that easily in under an hour. Pushing it in my first long swim could spike my heart rate to start the bike. I'd save maybe 5 minutes in the swim. If I stayed relaxed on the swim and started the bike calm, I could bank SO much time for the run on the bike course. I reached the turn buoy and started along the long back stretch. I favor breathing to the right, which gave a a view of pine trees, a few cottages and the mist. It was perfect Maine. I thought of my family up in Union. I thought of Owls Head Light and Spruce Head. I daydreamed about my trip up there at the end of the week to visit everyone. I turned towards the shore to see if I could spot the Hubs, but all I could see was a mass of color and hear cheering and cowbells. So exciting, but way too early to get too worked up! I was singing "Imagine" to myself and cruising right along. I passed the midpoint buoy along the back and realized I felt great. As I rounded the turn and headed back to shore I knew I had it. A second loop would be a piece of cake. I poked my head up as I turned and was actually able to wave to the Hubs and have him see me as I headed out for the second loop.</div>
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<i>I'm the creeper in the second blue cap, looking directly at the camera instead of, you know, swimming...</i><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Finally out. Yes, I am like, 4th to last out of the water and there was a wave behind me.</span><br />
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I finished the swim feeling great. I know I can take quite a bit of time off next year. I wanted a controlled swim and did exactly that. No panic. No safety stroke needed.<br />
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Coming out of the swim is a huge hill up into transition. It's actually it's own timed mini event with a prize. I didn't give it any thought, other and not falling on my face going up it.</div>
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Transition 1 was pretty uneventful. Wetsuit off. Helmet, gloves, sunglasses, socks and bike shoes on. Clipped on my run number so I wouldn't forget it later and I was pretty good to go. I took a big gulp of water from my extra bottle and ran my bike out.<br />
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<i>Yes, it's like me and the tumbleweeds here.</i><br />
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<i>Bye now! Feeling good!</i></div>
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Bike 56 miles:</div>
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The bike course is shaped kind of like a lollipop. You ride out 8 miles, then you do a 20 mile loop twice and then ride the 8 miles back for a total of 56. I did the 8 miles each way and one loop during a preview and even pre-bike shoes and pedals I did okay riding in my sneakers. I always feel kind of yucky riding after swimming. My stomach gets kind of funny. I took the first few downhill miles easy and drank some Heed. I ate a couple of Honey Stinger chews to get a bit in right away and started to get up to speed. At that point a guy passed me and cheered me on. I kept about 30 feet behind him but had him in sight for a long time. I knew, being so far back in the swim and not being particularly fast at anything would mean I'd be pretty lonely on the bike. Luckily I did a lot of loooong rides by myself. Some were pretty ugly and I was grateful to have made it through them. I was feeling pretty good at this point, so I continued to eat and drink and push the pace. I was keeping 16-20mph on the flats and 25-35 downhills. Even the medium uphills I kept to 10-12mph which was great for me. I knew there was a bigger one I'd see at 20 and 40 miles. <br />
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Some people complained about rough pavement, but I thought it was mostly great. The only place where I was forced to ride on the rough parts was the first and last mile, which was on a closed road and you could move around a bit. There were parts of a busier road where the shoulder was very rough, but if you rode just to the left of the white shoulder line you were good. That's what I did and it was fine. The cars gave me plenty of room and a couple of people cheered me on. Bikes do have the right to ride as far into the lane as needed for safety and I did that when I needed to. I'm also used to riding with traffic in the city, so I can see how others aren't used to it. Mostly the roads were very rural and pretty. There were plenty of trees and fields. You go by some farms and a beautiful golf course. Families sit in their yards to watch as if it's a parade. People were even pulled over onto the dirt shoulder sitting on their tailgates to cheer. Families were out with their kids, dogs and coolers with cowbells, hoses and bubble guns. I was amazed at the spectator support on stretches of road with nothing but trees. I was mentally prepared to see NO ONE for a long time. This was such a nice surprise. I was overwhelmed again. At some point I made it up the bigger hill around mile 20 and started a very nice long downhill to the start of the second loop. As I made the turn onto loop 2 I checked my time. And rechecked. I think I checked like 5 times. An hour and 40 minutes? No WAY! I felt like I could go faster and could make a 3 hour 15 min bike! I couldn't believe it.<br />
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Loop 2 was really lonely. While on loop one I had the company of everyone doing loop 2. Now I was really on my own. I picked off a few people but sadly they were doing the Aquabike (swim and bike only) and would not end up being company on the run later. Mile 35 is where I started what I called bargaining. My left groin area started to HURT. Like, CAPITAL LETTERS HURT. Right at the top of my inner thigh. Why is this happening now? I shifted forward and back to ease the pressure but it just moved the pain elsewhere. I told myself, only 20 more miles. Only? REALLY?! So I did 5 miles at a time. Just 5. I felt good otherwise. I got to 40 and made it up the hill again. People were stopped all along the side at the aid station, but I kept on going. I crested the top and knew I was home free. It's all down hill and a few miles of flat. Just a little hill at the end. Around mile 45 I started to feel weird. Like a switch was flipped. I wasn't sure what it did, but something had changed. By mile 48 I was convinced something was wrong with my bike. It was wobbling. No flat. Nothing seemed wrong. By mile 49 I realized something was wrong with ME. I was causing my bike to wobble. But that wasn't scary. What was scary was that I only realized something was wrong with my body by noticing how it was causing my bike to act. I ate some chews and chugged my water. What else do I have? Am I missing something? I felt so weird, like I was a spectator to my own body. I could only guess at what was wrong but for some reason I couldn't feel what it was. I also knew I had slowed wayyyyy down. I was seeing the minutes tick by way faster than the miles. All of a sudden my huge time gain for the run was gone. I need that time! I saw my mph dwindle down to 10-12. I asked my legs to go faster and they didn't. I felt nauseated. I felt thirsty but that water wasn't helping. I was oblivious to what I knew to be my major nutritional problem in long hot races. Salt. I was losing a ton and taking in hardly any. Even on a cool day I didn't have close to enough. On a day like I was having, I was at about one tenth of what I should have consumed. I'm not sure how I even functioned at that point. Somehow I made it back and barely swung my leg over my bike to dismount without falling.<br />
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I ran into transition and was encouraged by a bunch of guys who had already finished. I sat down to change shoes and looked up to see the Hubs standing at the fence. He looked concerned. Like, a sad, urgent concerned. He asked if I ate. If I drank. I look at my watch. It was 12:26. I had barely made it. I was stunned. At that point I knew I was in trouble. I started to tear up and said, "I'm not going to make the cutoff. It's at 3. I can't run a 2:30:00 half marathon. Not like this." He just looked at me and said, "you've got to go. Now. Just don't stop. GO."<br />
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I grabbed my visor and ran out of transition. I hear the marshalls saying the last bike had just barely made it in. There is one person behind me exiting. The volunteers are screaming, "we've got a runner!" I have no idea why. I just start really really running, because I just need to get out of there. A lady at the driveway entrance cheers us out and waves her poms poms. I try to smile at her.<br />
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The run:<br />
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I got through the first three miles okay. I have no idea how. I saw the hubs at mile 3 and he was happy to see me that soon. "Just keep moving! Don't stop!" I said that no matter what I was going to finish and told him I'd see him in 5 miles. This is where the course starts being hilly. There wasn't a lot of shade and it was hot. I asked for salt tabs at the first aid station and after a little while I felt much better. I tried to start doing run 4 minute, walk 1 minute intervals like I had practiced to get myself up and down the hills. I got to about mile 4 when I noticed that I could not, for the life of me, pay attention to the time. I'd start my 1 minute walk and then realized it had been 4 minutes. I'd get going again, only to repeat the same. Soon I was mostly walking. I came up to mile 5 and realized that almost every person around me was on their second loop. So many people were running back towards me, only a couple of miles to the finish. I was going to be alone again and for so long this time. It was a bit demoralizing and I felt defeated. I know I'm supposed to run my own race, but you have to understand I was 6 hours into the race at this point. I had been in some sort pain for HOURS. Like, 3 or 4. I just couldn't really think anymore. Around mile 6 I stopped for a bathroom break, dropped all my gels onto the floor (one in the urinal, ew!) and then could barely get my shorts back on. I wanted to cry. I walked out to the aid station and drank some gatorade. Why I didn't ask for more salt, I have no idea. I am sure it was the cause of my fuzzy brain and my dead legs. I had plenty of calories and fluid. I ran down the road and into a subdivision to turn around on loop one. As I ran along, there were so many funny signs. I can't remember the first ones I saw other than "Margaritas Ahead" and "Remember, you paid for this!" The aid station at the cul-de-sac turn around was awesome! They called it The Oasis. There were not margaritas there, but there were more port-potties and all the gels, snacks, drinks and ice cold sponges you wanted. Oh! I forgot about that part! All along the run course were little kids with their parents handing out sponges that were soaked in ice water. People, you saved me! I can't even tell you what a huge difference it made. Plus the kids were so cute about it. These weren't even the volunteers, just nice people who were excited about the race. Anyway, back to The Oasis. These people were seriously so nice. It was clear I was struggling and they all encouraged me. I told them that I was sorry, but only on my first loop. I felt bad they would be waiting for me. They just said, "we'll be here! See you soon!" I walk/ran back to the main road and turned down it to head back to where the Hubs was waiting. As I ran down the hill I laughed so hard. There was a group of guys pulled over to the side, just yelling at us. Yelling and yelling encouragement. When I passed them the first time they were blasting this song. At least I had something funny stuck in my head.<br />
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By the time I got to mile 8 where the Hubs was, I was Done. With the running. Done. I had joked about the funny things I was going to yell to the Hubs as I got the the crazy place in the race but I had nothing. I hurt so bad but was numb. My hips killed. I was just kind of shuffling. I had all sorts of stomach pains. I thought I had a headache but I wasn't even sure. I wanted to be done so badly. The finish was .1 mile away but I still had one more 5 mile loop. I walked by the Hubs and he followed me.</div>
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"I'm not going to make the cutoff. 3pm is in 40 minutes. I have 5 miles left." He told me he was coming with me. I said okay, then I stopped walking and looked at him. WHAT?! "I'm coming WITH you, I said. Let's go!" and he starts running. In flipflops and jeans. I wasn't thinking straight and I started shuffling too. Then I hugged him and sent him back. Beyond the fact that it was outside help and could get me a DQ or a time penalty (like I NEED my time to be any longer), it just felt wrong. I needed to do this solo. Plus, I felt like I was on another planet and it felt really weird to be around someone who was still "normal." I was so sad to leave him. It felt like 5 more miles was so far. I felt so sick. I can't really rehash those miles because a lot of it is hard to properly put in words. This ended up not being an athletic race for me, but an emotional mental toughness race. I wasn't able to race like I was physically able, but I was able to dig really really deep and see what was left. It was kind of ugly at times. I did a lot of questioning about myself, my identity, who I am. I though of the people back at work who are unable to do any of what I was doing. People who were proud of me just for showing up. I pictured all of their faces and knew I could not go back and tell them that I quit. That it was too hard. On and off I ran and walked and thought. At about mile 10 one of the race directors pulled up next to me in the golf cart. I knew it was 3pm and I had prepared myself to hand over my timing chip. I would get a DNF but I could still finish the distance unofficially. Instead he checked in and urged me to push as much as possible. He mentioned working towards the time cutoff, but since I was still kind of fuzzy-brained I didn't ask him what I meant. Weren't we at the cutoff? I did, laughing, say, "I'm last, huh?" (yes) I did my best to run and he said he'd check back in. I saw him go ahead and talk to the few who were just up ahead of me and then leave. I was never so happy to run back onto the main road, a straight shot to the end. As I exited the side street I could hear it. Around mile 11/11.5. Music. An MC. Cheering. It was the finish line. It was SO close but at this rate, my run shuffle would take me close to 30 minutes to go the 2 miles to there. I just kind of stopped and looked at the ground. I was SO FAR behind the cutoff. There was no way. It was like watching my dream slip away. It was so close I could hear it. I felt desperate to get there but my feet would not go. I was going to go 69 of the 70.3 miles and not make it. Almost 8 hours at this point. I remembered the quote I had posted on facebook the night before:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; line-height: 19.0399990081787px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; line-height: 19.0399990081787px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>- Theodore Roosevelt</i></span></span></div>
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Somehow I got moving again and about 10 minutes later a pickup truck came towards me and stopped. It was the same guy who had check on me. I stopped. Here it is. I'm going to have to give my chip back at mile 12. 12!!! I wasn't mad at them at all. I knew the cutoffs going in and they had been more than generous so far. I was just disappointed. He gets out and says, "So here's the thing....(I wait for it)....we're going to let you finish."</div>
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OMG. I'm going to finish! Officially! I'm starting to realize that the may have also changed the course cutoff that day to 3:30pm. I'm not sure, really. I thank him and tears spring to my eyes. I joke about not crying and he's like, "you have 10 minutes! Go!" Haha. I realized I had no idea if I was really at 12. He tells me I have less than a mile. I take off up a hill. OUCH. But I don't really care. I get to the last aid station and round the corner. I know it's just up the hill. I can see the tent and hear the music. I hear the man who was just in front of me finish. I stop at the bottom of the biggest hill ever. Maybe not biggest ever, but it was cruel. I walked so slowly and so carefully up this hill. The finish chute is literally at the top. I'm not even sure I can walk up it. I'm so overwhelmed. Cars full of other athletes are leaving and people are hanging out their windows literally screaming me up the hill. I see a woman with a walkie talkie at the top. She's wearing a pink jacket and I realize she was the lady with the poms poms from the start of the run. She waves them and yells, "You got this girl! I told them we weren't leaving my runners out there! I'm so proud of you! I'm going to run with you down the chute!" I'm just stunned. I'm in the finish chute. She stops about 1/2 way down and I run in alone.</div>
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<i>Total race time: 8:21:33</i></div>
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It's at that point I hear the MC announce "the pride and joy of Boston!" and my name. I hear him change the song. Now, if you know me and know how sappy I am, you know that my very favorite daydream is that I'm winning a race and a certain song is playing for me. The song always changes, but the daydream's the same. I'm coming down the chute and so much is happening that I can't really make myself listen to the song. I see ALL of the volunteers from the aid stations that drove by me as I passed their area waiting at the end. The see the ambulance and the drivers cheering and putting on the light and sirens. I see the Hubs and a few spectators, including one guy with a Boston Hub on Wheels shirt waiting and yelling "YEAH BOSTON!!!" Then, I start laughing when I hear the words and realize what it is.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"Weeeeeee, are the champions, my frieeeeend, and weeeeeee'll keep on fiiiiiiiighting, til the eeeeeend"</span></div>
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How appropriate and awesome. Also note: I now sappy-cry every time I hear that song. Sorryimnotsorry.</div>
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The announcer is telling everyone how we're all champions. We all fight for something and finishing is a win, from the winner to the very final finisher (me). I thought I'd be crying at this point when imagining the finish, but I don't. I feel like I'm watching it all happen. It was unreal. The lady with the poms poms (I wish I knew her name!) hugs me and tells me she's proud of me. I tear up and thank her. I'm given a finisher medal, and awesome finisher shirt and a gatorade. The pom pom lady leads me to the harvest feast. Food! I forgot all about it but they have food for me! I assumed I was kind of too late for that. I explained I never picked up the Hubs meal ticket that I purchased for him and she waved us on to get food. I ate and then the guy from the Shipyard beer tent comes to offer all of us beer tickets. I forgot I got a free one, but the Hubs ended up getting one too. We sat and ate and drank and chatted with the volunteers. That was one awesome thing about being last. We got to actually got to know some of the cool people who volunteered. It was so nice. Even though their day was mostly over, they still insisted on taking care of me. One insisted I not only have dessert, but sit and let him get it for me. When I discovered possibly the most horrifying blister of my life that had consumed my right pinky toe (how did I not feel THAT?! RIP pinky nail) one of them insisted I let him run up the hill and get an assortment of bandaids. The Hubs had to get my bike from transition (no one would let me go) and then they were like, "Eh! Just drive your car down the hill and put your stuff in here!" Haha. There was no saying no. By the time I left, I felt like I was saying goodbye to friends and family. I didn't want to go, but it was time. For like the zillionth time, my favorite Zac Brown Band song came on the radio.<br />
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As we drove back to Ogunquit I felt happy. It was the worst I had technically and athletically executed a race ever. I was sick. I messed up my nutrition. I didn't follow my run plan. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was the most vulnerable I had felt ever. I was out there and risking being pulled with everyone knowing it. DNF. Did. Not. Finish. The only way I could move forward was to truly believe that there was a purpose to what I was doing. I was finding a part of me that I really needed to REALLY race this distance. I knew instantly I'd be back next year even though I was too scared to admit it. Instead of wanting the challenge of the race there was a fire now.<br />
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We spend the next few days cruising around the Ogunquit area, eating lobsters and drinking rum punch at Barnacle Billy's and relaxing. Monday I could barely shuffle, but I marched myself and my finisher's shirt allll around Perkin's Cove.</div>
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I will definitely be back next year. The difference in how I feel about my body and training and how much I learned in that race is enormous. I can't wait!</div>
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saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-14788468717715441172014-03-17T21:10:00.000-04:002014-03-17T21:43:07.350-04:00Signs from the Universeaka What the Heck Have I Been Up To? (aka sorry this is wayyyyy long)<br />
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Before I get into why the Universe is sending little old me signs when it probably has other important things to do (but it's the UNIVERSE, so it can like, do a LOT of things, it's really NBD), let me back up and tell you what I've been up to. There have been a lot of changes.<br />
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First, right around the beginning of February I made a pretty big diet change. I know that I feel best when I eat as little processed food as possible and when I exclude dairy (wahhhh...cheeeese...). I had been lurking around the <a href="http://vegasport.com/">Vega Sport Website</a> and was looking at their <a href="http://thriveforward.com/">Thrive Forward</a> program. They have tons of free recipes that are heavily plant based and vegan. I've been using their protein powders for a while and really like them. Their energy gels and electrolyte powders are great too. They don't upset my stomach like most do and are all natural. It's all vegan too, for those that need that.<br />
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Now, before I lose some of you, I'm not vegan. However, since I don't eat much meat and can't really have the dairy, these recipes are great for me as is, or to add some meat to. I'm loving making "power bowls" which is basically a grain on the bottom (1/2-3/4c of quinoa, brown rice or barley usually), lots of greens (I actually really love kale, so that works), whatever veggies are around (bell pepper, onion, carrots...can't do broccoli), some protein and then whatever fun toppings you have (seeds, dried fruit, fresh fruit, avocado, olives etc). Sometimes I make a sauce out of cashews (you can find the recipe for "cashew cream" on the Vega site or on other blogs) to put on top. That's usually my lunch, and I'll have plain rolled oats with unsweetened coconut milk (in the carton in the dairy section, not the canned stuff...totally different), fruit and nuts for breakfast. For dinner I usually have eggs, tofu or some chicken with whatever leftover veggies we have. My new favorite snack is a couple of pitted dates with peanut butter in the middle.<br />
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P.S. If you want an easy, really yummy tofu recipe check out this one from <a href="http://www.eatliverun.com/tofu-love/">Eat Live Run</a> (you have to scroll down and as a side not, I don't agree with her calorie breakdown, just go by the package label).<br />
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ANYWHO...<br />
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That was change number one. Then I <i>finally</i> went to spin class. I kept on chickening out, because the intro class was a wee bit to early for me to make it to. For some reason I feel especially wary of new things in the morning. I was saying this to my personal training partner and she was like, "DUH GIRL. Just go to the Saturday morning class and tell her you're new. She is awesome and will help you. I promise!" And I did. And she was so right. AND THE CLASS WAS AWESOMEEEEE!!! I am now addicted.<br />
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Before I knew it I felt totally different about training and food. I had been waiting since last summer to figure out how to motivate myself. There's no magic. There's nothing I purposefully did. I was just sick of feeling crappy because I didn't eat right and at the same time, got caught up in spinning. My swim class also started up again so I got caught up in a pretty good routine. Spin for 45-60 minutes two times a week, 75 minutes of swim, 60 minutes of personal training and 1-2 runs of about 3 miles (the mileage will be increasing soon). It's like all of a sudden I don't question if I'm going to do a workout. I just go. It's as automatic as going to work or making a stop at the grocery store. I feel really good.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As fate would have it, The Husband uncharacteristically insisted we sign up for the<span style="background-color: white;"> Ras na hEireann 5K in Somerville. We usually try to go to that or it's sister run, The Jingle Bell Run every year, but this year I wasn't feeling it. I was only getting in one run most weeks, but more often than not I skipped it for another workout, or I did treadmill sprints, so I had no idea where I was with my 5K time. Usually I am bugging him to do races, but this time he insisted. </span></span><br />
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That Sunday we went to do our usual 3 mile loop. It's pretty flat, starts with a downhill and ends with a decent little uphill. It was mercifully in the high 40s after weeks of temps in the teens. The ice was melting and I figured our loop would be clear. Not so much. We had to cut off part of the loop due to it being covered in ice. There wasn't even a shoulder on the side of the road to run on. I figured it was still almost 2.5 miles and on we went. At one point I commented that I was actually enjoying the run and it seemed like The Husband was able to easily run my pace. When I'm not doing so well he has to stop and walk every so often because he literally can't run that slow. I forget what my total time was, but it ended up being about 2.6 miles at a 9:50 pace! I typically run a 10:30 to 11 minute pace (except for one glorious day where I set a 5K PR of 31:24 or a 10:08 pace). The entire time I had a song stuck in my head that I really liked and I joked that I would have to make sure that it happened for every run from now on!<br />
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Two things were clear. #1 I had more energy, because I had been eating much better. #2 the added workouts, and spinning in particular, had made me MUCH stronger. I felt so different when I was running. I just felt like I had more power, another gear and that I had some added endurance to carry it out. I also had the voice in my head to tell me it was a fluke. That I wouldn't do it again and certainly not on race day. I have a tendency to choke on race day. Argh.<br />
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A week later we go out and this time I know the ice is gone. We're going to do 3 miles this time. I am totally not motivated and I know my resistance to go is self-sabotage. If I don't try I can't fail right? No. Because choosing to stand aside, to not make a decision, is failure too. I eat breakfast, I eat lunch, I take a nap and then can't avoid it any longer. I also so actually get that song stuck in my head again. We head out and I pray that every light will go green so we can't cross. They don't. I beg for the traffic at the Fens to be heavy enough that we can't get a window to get through. It isn't. No ice. No packs of rabid Canadian Geese. No stopping. Nothing. My legs burn and I'm scared to look at my watch. 3/4 of a mile in and all of a sudden it's back. I catch up to the husband and check our time at mile 1. 9:04. WHAAAAT?! Yes. We run another mile, this one much harder and get there by 18:24, a 9:20 second mile. Now I really hurt. I slow down for a bit and then crank it up again. We dodge the crowds leaving Symphony Hall, run up the hill and finish. 3 miles in 28:41, a 9:34 pace.<br />
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So, I PRed my 5K, right?<br />
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Nope.</div>
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I knew better. It's notoriously crowded (5,000 runners) and for all but the fastest should really be just for fun. I figured, if I started well ahead of my pace time I'd be fine. Nope. I just have a really really hard time running in a pack of so many people. The pace was fine, but I tend to slow a little and surge a little. Not by huge margins, but enough that I need some space. I also wasn't trained for this course. It's hard. The first mile is a hill, there's a decent one at mile 2 and then a monster at 2.5 (that wasn't there until a recent course change). That last mile does me in.<br />
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My A goal was a miracle sub 29, which would require a 9:20 pace or so. Possible but not likely. My for real B goal was sub 30, a 9:40 pace and one that I've done before. I've been dreaming of it for a while, but never been so close. I should have had a C goal of PR but I got kind of caught up in the sub-30.<br />
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I ran a 31:58. Whomp whomp. I figured, hey! This course is hard! I'm pretty sure it's at least a course PR, right? Well, I looked it up when I got home and in 2010 I ran it in 31:57. Yep, I missed by ONE SECOND!!! (well two seconds to beat it) I was happy to get into our favorite Pub, The Burren, and see our favorite band, The Johhny Come Latelies. I was also happy to get some (well one) of the free beers Harpoon donated, as evidenced below.<br />
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Today I'm already stalking 5Ks to find one without such a crazy course and one that is relatively soon catches my eye. The course is FLAAAAT with a slight downhill at the end. It's perfect. It's close to home, not too early, has 1/10th the runners of my last one and also has a USATF Grand Prix race as part of the 5K to add to the atmosphere. There's actually lot's of stuff that weekend that will leave me amped to race, so how could I not? Well...the fear of failure. I can chalk my performance yesterday up to not being ready for a hilly course and the crowds. What if I fail under ideal conditions? Then it was really all just a fluke. Or, uh, maybe I just had two bad races. So, I should try. Or maybe I should wait. But I could try now AND later.<br />
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I realized that if I have any chance at getting a ticket into the 5:30 spin class I have to leave NOW. I head out and try to shake the race off. Of course, as soon as I get on my bike and I'm pedaling to kill the extra few minutes before the official warm up starts, my brain starts at it again. YOU WILL FAIL. YOU WILL BE AWESOME. YOU WILL KILL IT. I go through all of it and all the reasons to run/not run and almost miss the instructor announce that we're starting our group warm-up. It was the song she put on that snapped me out of it. It was MY song. My fast running song. The one that got stuck in my head during my training runs. This song:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CfihYWRWRTQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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I shake my head and start laughing. This is too good. The song is pretty random. I love music and I hadn't even heard of him until a couple of weeks ago. The signs are there if you want to see them. I knew I needed to sign up when I got home.<br />
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And so I did. I'm not saying much else about it other than it's soon and I will fill you in when it happens.saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-6336499843392572282014-01-30T20:18:00.000-05:002014-01-31T17:41:37.764-05:00Friday FavoritesI am still working on the tri series. The swim will be up next, I'm just really really paranoid I'm going to forget something that I want to share. I'm going through my emails, because I have lots of good stuff saved from swim class and from triathlon athlete letters. Also, the world is conspiring to never let me get to spin class. Either my work or training schedule has changed and prevented me from going. I will go and update you when it happens. Good news though! I got into my swim class! It starts on 2/11.<br>
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So anyway. A few of the blogs I read do a Friday Faves rundown, usually of things that come up during the week, and I really enjoy them. So...here we go (product title is a link when available):<br>
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<a href="http://www.sephora.com/body-butters-P237206?SKUID=1297126&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=1297126&om_mmc=ppc-gg-pla">Korres Fig Body Butter</a></div>
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I bought this on a whim, because I love the smell of fresh figs. I started using it right around when I started swim classes and now the scent or fig and chlorine, and the happy memories from training for my first tri, are intertwined. It's pricey, but a little goes a long way and I don't use it all the time. I got my last tube for Christmas 2012 and still have some.</div>
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<a href="http://www.burtsbees.com/Beeswax-Lip-Balm/11099-00-1,default,pd.html?cgid=beeswaxLipBalm&start=1&q=#start=1">Burt's Bees lip balm</a></div>
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While I do like the grapefruit version, I'm talking about the original formula with peppermint. It's amazing. I use it all year round and just bought 5 more tubes at CVS. I have one in every jacket and purse and also in my gym toiletry bag. You need this in your life.</div>
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<a href="http://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_pod15/dw/image/v2/AAPA_PRD/on/demandware.static/Sites-burtsbees-Site/Sites-burtsbees-master-catalog/default/v1391065366500/images/large/BBd_LIP_TB_BWxLpBlmwVtmnE&Ppprmnt_1011.jpg?sw=800&sh=800&sm=fit" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_pod15/dw/image/v2/AAPA_PRD/on/demandware.static/Sites-burtsbees-Site/Sites-burtsbees-master-catalog/default/v1391065366500/images/large/BBd_LIP_TB_BWxLpBlmwVtmnE&Ppprmnt_1011.jpg?sw=800&sh=800&sm=fit" height="320" width="320"></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=1423">Trader Joe's Black Truffle flavored EVOO</a></div>
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Booo. It appears that it may not be available now and that I discovered it just as the last of it was being put out. It was only $4.99 and amazing! I mostly used it to drizzle over some air-popped popcorn and it went pretty quick! I highly recommend keeping your eye out for it.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Very-Clear%C2%AE-Scrub-4-Ounces/dp/B001R1E2H8">Derma e Very Clear Cleansing Scrub</a></div>
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I get really annoying pimples on my chin and this is one of the very few scrubs that works but doesn't feel harsh. My skin feels amazing after I use it! And, thanks to writing this post, I just realized I can buy two of them on amazon with the gift card I have. I originally bought it at Whole Foods, but haven't seen it there recently.</div>
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-neil-gaiman/1113200718?ean=9780062255655">The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman</a></div>
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I'll let you just click the link above and check it out. I found it a few months ago while browsing through iBooks on my phone. I haven't read anything like it in quite a while, but I was sucked in right away. It's a pretty quick read and I was sad when it was over.</div>
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<a href="http://shop.lululemon.com/products/clothes-accessories/tanks-no-support/Cool-Racerback-30193?cc=4249&skuId=3521741&catId=tanks-no-support">Lululemon Cool Racerback Tank</a><br>
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I KNOW. It's a $42 tank top. I know, <i>I know!!!</i> But let me tell you that I have a few (let's just say a few, mmkay?) and I live in them. I workout in them, I sleep in them, I wear them out in the summer and layer them in the winter. My very very favorite one looks to be back in stock. It's the "wee stripe white heathered medium grey" color. I have had this one for YEARS and sometimes hand wash it in the sink because I can't handle when it's dirty and I can't wear it. I end up sleeping in this on a lot and it has still kept it's shape. I might need to order a couple more of this one. I always regret when I love something and don't buy extras. I also have some cool colors too - hot pink, dark aqua, heathered charcoal.<br><br>
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<a href="http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-candle/19851559.jsp?cm_sp=Grid-_-19851559-_-Regular_6">Capri Blue Jar Candle - Aloha Orchid</a><br>
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I love this candle. It was an impulse buy a few years ago that ended up being a favorite. A guy friend even saw it and exclaimed, "my wife buys those! They smell so good!!!"<br>
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<a href="http://www.giveandgather.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Capri-Blue-Signature-Jar-Blue-Aloha-Orchid_Give-and-Gather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.giveandgather.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Capri-Blue-Signature-Jar-Blue-Aloha-Orchid_Give-and-Gather.jpg" height="265" width="400"></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bravotv.com/vanderpump-rules">Vanderpump Rules</a><br>
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Yeah, I'm not sorry. I seriously love this show and I have no idea why. Even Time <a href="http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/29/why-vanderpump-rules-is-tvs-tastiest-reality-trash/">agrees</a>, even if they admit the show is trashy. So there you have it.<br><br>
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<a href="http://wyndmerenaturals.com/store/product.php?productid=52">Wyndmere Lavender Oil</a><br>
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That and my eye mask/pillow that I can't find a picture of. I have an eye mask that I got at Whole Foods that has extra padding under the eyes so light doesn't get up under the mask next to your nose. I brush a little oil onto my pillow, put the mask and and I <i>might</i> actually sleep the whole night. During the summer, I wake up as soon as it's light out and it's really annoying. The mask helps with the light and the lavender makes me sleepy. Just be careful of how much oil you use. Some people are really sensitive to it and it's not recommended to put right on your skin undiluted. I used too much once and ended up congested the next day.<br>
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<br><br><a href="http://www.peyrassol.com/shop/commanderie-peyrassol?___store=fr&___from_store=en">Commanderie de Peyrassol</a><br>
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I love rosé, as I think you've gathered now. Don't confuse it with your great aunt's white zinfandel (aka pink wine!). This is slightly sweet and minerally. It's really special. It should start appearing in about 2 months, just when spring starts to hint at a warm up.<br><br>I first saw it mentioned in Formaggio Kitchen's blog a few years ago and apparently it's come up again:<br><br>http://blog.formaggiokitchen.com/2013/05/31/breakfast-to-bbq-four-of-my-favorite-roses/<br>
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This is a fairly interesting profile on the estate:<br>
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http://www.madrose.com/index.php/france/provence/commanderie-de-peyrassol#cotes-de-provence-rosé-“commanderie-de-peyrassol”<br>
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and it was #1 in a New York Times taste test:<br>
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/dining/reviews/rose-in-demand-but-not-demanding.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0<br>
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I drink rosé year round, even though I think of it as a year round wine. Well, except the Peyrassol, which starts to disappear in May. It also goes from about $20 a bottle, which is quite enough, to closer to $30 as it gets more scarce.<br><br>Well, that's it for today. Happy Friday!</div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-43746957523693263732014-01-21T20:35:00.002-05:002014-01-22T11:57:52.656-05:0010 (more) Things About MeSince writing posts about triathlon training is giving me nightmares, I figured I'd break it up a bit. Also, my last 10 Things About Me was one of my more popular posts. That and any post that involves booze. Can't help you with that tonight. Just sparkling Rosé. What? It's the drink of snowstorms!<br />
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1. Okay, since I mentioned the rosé I guess that can be number one. Do you have a song that <i>distinctly</i> reminds you of a place or event? Last February, we had Nemo. It was a Noreaster? Maybe a blizzard? It doesn't really matter. We got 2 1/2 feet of snow on that Friday and my Saturday schedule at work was pushed back to Sunday. We spent all day shoveling out the alley where my car is parked. The alley is city property and city maintained but you bet AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. Not one plow. Most of us realized that we would have to get together and shovel the length of the alley to get out, so we did. By about noon we were done and I said to The Husband, "you know, the local restaurants are posting on facebook that they don't have food (delivery trucks could not get through), but they're open for drinks. I think we should stop by." So we went to <a href="http://tremont647.com/">Tremont 647</a>. It was hoppin in the there! Not only did they not have food, but at that point they were also out of OJ for mimosas. It was pretty funny. I took one look at the menu and said, "this might be ridiculous timing, but eff it. I'm ordering rosé and pretending it's spring." And then, just when there was a lull in the collective conversations in there, someone changed the song that was playing to something much more appropriate:<br />
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Everyone simultaneously started dancing and looking around like, awww yeah, who did this?!<br />
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2. I have some random habits that I always do. One of them? When I get home and know the next time I will be getting in my car is the next morning for work, I ALWAYS put the preset to <a href="http://www.wror.com/">105.7 WROR</a>. I feel like it HAS to already be on that station when I turn the car on in the morning. I always listen to Loren and Wally and classic rock in the morning. I just can't handle the top 40 DJs on the way to work. I'm cranky. I'm barely awake. I'm not in the moods for shenanigans. Unless it's Loren and Wally Shenanigans, then that's ok.<br />
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3. My "classic" bad dream that I have when I am stressed out, like REALLY stressed out, is that the lights either aren't working, are dim, or a combination of both. In the dream I feel like I'm in danger because I can't see well and am super frustrated about it. It almost has a supernatural feel to it, like there's some sort of demon or ghost controlling the lights. Towards the end of The Husband being in grad school, the on light from our track lights pointing towards the kitchen, plus the light over our sink went out. Only the dim bulb over the stove was working. It felt just like the dream and I was ready to move out until he graduated. Of course I couldn't reach the track light to change it and was afraid to mess with the sink light. ARGH!!!<br />
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4. HUGE pet peeve of mine? When pedestrians are crossing at a light where it specifically says WALK or DONT WALK and they somehow don't get it. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that maybe you are from somewhere without stoplights. MAYBE. But probably not. But seriously don't walk out into traffic that has the green light, while you have the pedestrian equivalent of the red light, THE BIG ORANGE HAND THAT SAYS DONT WALK, jack up traffic and gesture to us, "ehhhhhhh, this is a crosssss waaaaaaalk." Yes. It is. AND YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.<br />
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5. I really REALLY like how I smell after swim class. I love when I go to bed after (it's usually a late class), curl my arm around my pillow and can smell the chlorine on my skin still. Now that I'm waiting on signing up for my next round of classes, one of the things I keep thinking of is that I will get to drift off to sleep dreaming of swimming.<br />
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6. My bird, Peete, gets really, REALLY upset if I lay down anywhere (especially my bed) in the apartment. He shrieks, paces back and forth and generally loses his mind. I don't know if he thinks I'm dead, is upset he's no longer getting attention or is just a jerk who won't let me nap. I also think it's really funny to go to bed wile the husband is still up so Peete loses it with him too.<br />
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7. I'm almost incapable of making a dinner recipe without doubling it, especially if it's a soup. Even if the recipe looks like it makes a lot, I will still double it. That's how we ended up with 8 quarts of Minestrone Soup last week. It was totally worth it though. It was yummy and now have it, like, forever.<br />
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8. We live in a +/- 650 square foot studio apartment in the South End of Boston that houses the two of us, two bikes, a cockatiel with a HUGE cage and a wetsuit that hangs on a wall because there's no place else to put it. Oh, and our kitchen table is mostly commandeered by my husbands "mad scientist experiments" (read: legit technology projects). It's "cozy."<br />
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<i>There are now two bike parked here...</i></div>
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9. I am really bad at keeping plants alive, but am obsessed with cacti and succulents. I know. Everyone is bad at plants, right? However, there have been two or three plants that The Husband (who works with plants for a living) deemed as dead lost causes that I not only brought back to life, but are now beautiful. I got my amaryllis to bloom after 18 months of being told to throw it away. I have a 13 year old Jade Tree. I even got his Bonsai Tea Tree to bloom 3 or 4 times while he was in school. Too bad I forgot about it just long enough for it to die weeks before he graduated. Wah wahhhh...<br />
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10. My bike is named Tater. I was jokingly calling it The Orange Crush, because it's orange and tried to crush me but I knew that was SO LAME. After doing my last triathlon this past summer, I said, "I'm pretty sure it needs a trip to the bike shop. There were so many rollers and I was mashing those gears like 'taters." And then it felt right. Tater. Right from Ron White. (Because Tater is so much cooler)<br />
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I'm serious, it's worth watching the first 8 min to the punch line!<br />
<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-84940915210637348412014-01-20T19:41:00.003-05:002014-01-22T18:13:00.374-05:00Triathlon - An OverviewPsssst! Hey you. Yes you, the person who has secretly wondered if they can do a triathlon. No, seriously. YOU. The person who has just planted the seed. Maybe you've heard of other completing a tri or seen one on tv. Maybe you imagined, step by step, if you could get through all 3 legs of the race. Maybe you started to think through the gear. Then maybe you dismissed it. For whatever reason(s), you did. I did too. But maybe that seed had already rooted a little and the thought came back to you. You won't admit to yourself that you might be taking it a wee bit seriously, but you might be. You definitely haven't told anyone yet, because that's crazy right? Maybe not! So here's what I say. Follow along because you're JUST CURIOUS. Okay? No one will tell.<br />
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<i>See? I get scared too. Second road race ever, a 5 miler at Harpoon Brewery.</i></div>
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To give you some background if you are new here, I am a newbie triathlete. I have done 4 sprint distance races since my first one in August of 2012. I started sharing my running, and then triathlon, experiences partly to document it for myself but to also share with all of you. So many of you said what I was doing was brave, but I didn't feel brave. I started pushing myself because I felt so NOT brave. So here I am. I want to help you feel brave. Maybe sometimes terrified and brave, as triathlons can do to you, but brave none the less. I am also not of the traditional background, or body type that most people picture an athlete to be. That's why I am here for you now. I want you to see that if a totally goofy, clumsy "mortal" girl, who has more of a tendency for Bravo tv marathons than actual marathons can do this, you can too. I struggle with my weight, I have major battles with motivation some days and I work full time, just like many of you.<br />
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This series is geared towards someone who has never done a triathlon, or is very new and looking for tips. I will be focusing on the Sprint Triathlon for this series, although there are shorter "super sprints" and longer distances as well. I am really trying to make this as no nonsense and clear as possible. For that reason, I'll let you know the very basics you need. I will also let you know what the "nice to have" things are too so that you can make that choice. In upcoming posts I will go more into the transitions and the swim, bike and run individually. For now, I want to give you a sense of the logistics and how it all works.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><i><b>Here's where I have to be the fun police. Please make sure any of the types of exercises you will be doing to train for a triathlon, and the race itself, is safe for you. It's a good idea to clear it with your MD if you are not sure. While I am not looking to scare you, there have been deaths in triathlons (same for running races). The vast majority of them happen in the swim to people who have undiagnosed cardiac conditions, but you never know. There have also been deaths on the bike course, mainly from bike-car collisions. Please ALWAYS wear your helmet when you're on your bike. ALWAYS. I fell in my driveway while standing over my bike with my feet on the ground. I hit my head HARD and was lucky I was wearing my helmet. </b></i></span><br />
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<b>Registration</b><br />
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First things first, you have to register. For each race you do, you must have a USA Triathlon license. There is absolutely no way around this. You choose during the registration process to get a "day license" for $12 or you can get a year membership for $45. Obviously, if you think you'll do 4 or more races, you will save money with the year membership. With the year you will also get a spiffy card, a USAT sticker for your car (STICKERS!!!!! I love them!) and a whole load of discounts. One of them is 20% off Tyr, which makes swim and tri apparel. I only wear their swimsuits and with that discount, made back that $45 in one summer with the money I saved. I plan on buying a one piece tri-suit (we'll get to gear later) later in the season when I have a better idea of my size. You also get ranked nationally if you do three or more races, which was pretty cool to see this past year. Fun fact: I rank better nationally than locally. Not surprised at all. Thanks crazy competitive Boston people.<br />
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<b>Training </b><br />
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So now that you've registered and have wiped your sweaty shaky hands off, how will the rest pan out? Well, first, don't forget to train. I used a plan that my personal trainer made for me for my first tri. To her dismay (ha...she is so patient with my craziness!), it was complicated by the fact that I had also signed up for my third half marathon, which was about 2 months after the tri. That meant 5 or 6 weeks or training overlap. The two books that I do own and would recommend are:<br />
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/your-first-triathlon-joe-friel/1110855168?ean=9781934030868">Your First Triathlon by Joel Friel</a><br />
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This is a good overview for beginners and has a very basic training plan. Of course, like anything else, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. You have to consider your own differences and needs. One example? My first race included a half mile open water swim. This book, and many people in my life, said that was a horrible idea. Mostly because they wanted me to be successful. However, I knew, and so did one of my friends who encouraged me to sign up, that I'd be fine. I was. It was scary but SO awesome!<br />
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/triathlete-magazines-essential-week-by-week-training-guide-matt-fitzgerald/1100298200?ean=9780446696760">Triathlete Essential Week-By-Week Training Guide</a></div>
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This book is fantastic, because it includes training plans for the sprint distance right on up through the full Ironman and has ten (TEN!!!) levels of plans for each distance, depending on your experience, how much you want to train and what your goals are. I bough it and then proceeded to be totally intimidated by it until I signed up for my half ironman and things got REAL. Don't be intimidated. The workouts are coded and you have to flip back and forth to get the workout for each day. I made a google docs table and wrote out the workouts for each day so that I can see what I have every day for the whole week/month/plan. Write it out online or paper, whatever works for you! Remember to be flexible in training. If you have to swap days, it's okay. Just make sure you don't do a ton of days in a row. You need rest days too. </div>
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Training is also the time to figure out what works best for your pre-race meal and also if you need some nutrition during the race. I will get into this later as well.<br />
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<b>Race Week</b><br />
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This is the week that you should be considering how you will lay out your transition area (at the latest, feel free to experiment ahead of time). Transition is your home base and I will do a separate post just for that. Essentially, it's where your bike is racked, where all of your gear will be and where you will get "transition"from one stage to the next. You should also be cutting back on workouts as your plan will tell you. Eat normally and as you get closer to race day, start considering how sensitive your stomach is and if you will want to avoid certain foods. For me that's dairy and anything with a lot of fiber. Later broccoli!<br />
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If you have the opportunity, I strongly recommend going to a pre-race packet pick up and not the pick up on the morning of the race. It's just one less things to worry about. It also give you a chance to look through everything in your packet and make sense of it. You will have numbers for your helmet, your bike, your body (for the run) and maybe even for your swim cap. You will be give a color coded swim cap that corresponds to your wave and maybe even temporary race number tattoos (if not someone will write them on you with a sharpie on race day). Something that might throw you off is your "age" during the race. If you are racing in 2014, you will race as what ever age you turn that year. Even though I will be 35 through the entirety of the 2014 race season and turning 36 in the fall, I will race as a 36 year old. You will also be in whatever age group that "race age" puts you in.<br />
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You may also be given a neoprene timing chip. If so, DO NOT LOSE IT. DO NOT FORGET IT. This is how you get your time and has to be worn the entire race. You are also responsible for giving it back or being charged a fee. Some races don't give them out ahead, which I prefer. Otherwise I sleep with it on the night before, because I am THAT paranoid. Make sure its on good and secure. You don't want to yank it off with your wetsuit if you are wearing one that day. No chip = no time = no results = sad trombone for you. Wah wahhhh...<br />
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Since you have all of your numbers, you can go ahead and put the ones for your bike, helmet and swim cap (if used) on ahead of time. One less thing to worry about on race day! I suggest using a race belt that holds your number for the run so that you don't have to fumble with safety pins after swimming. No matter what you think, safety pins are a horrible idea and I'm glad that's one of the things I didn't learn the hard way. I will give you an option for using them that has been suggested in a future post, but I like the belt.<br />
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<b>Race Day</b><b><br /></b><br />
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Most races start at 8am, but some are even as early as 7. For an 8am race the timeline is often:<br />
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4:30/5am - race day packet pick up opens (and possibly day-of registration)<br />
6am - transition opens (you are allowed into the corral where you will have an assigned bike/transition space. Only athletes, volunteers and USAT refs are allowed in here)<br />
7:30 - transition closes<br />
7:45am - pre race meeting/national anthem<br />
8am - first swim wave starts<br />
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So you see why you don't want to wait to pick up your packet? Think of how long the drive will take. Think of how early you will have to get up to eat, get dressed and pack up/double check your gear before the time you need to leave. You could easily bet getting up at 3/3:30am. If your a terrible sleeper like I am, it might mean only 2-3 hours of sleep that night. If you don't have a choice, just bite the bullet and get there as early as it opens. You will be tired no matter what time you get there and the more time you have to get settled in, the less nervous you will be before the race. Don't put yourself in a position to rush.<br />
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<i>This line is 30 minutes after I arrived and is tame compared to what it looked like 30 minutes later.</i></div>
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After you get there and set up your transition area, try and make a last minute porta-potty run. Even if you think you don't have to. If you are wearing a wetsuit for the swim, leave plenty of time to get it on correctly and get into the water. Soon you will be called to the pre-race meeting, which is usually safety basics, random announcements, reminders and any changes. After that you will be grouped into your wave. Waves are made up of elites and then different age groups. It's done this way so that you have 50-100 people rushing into the water at once instead of 1,000 plus. There is often a "novice" or "nervous swimmer" wave as well. I highly recommend signing up for this wave and have placed myself in it for 2 of the 4 I have done. It's a little more, "Yay! We're in this together! Go us!" and a little less, "I will push you under and swim over you if you are in my way!" than the age group waves can be. That being said, I've had great experiences no matter how I've raced. Except for the guy who grabbed my toe and needed a kick in the face. A typical sprint distance swim is 1/4 to 1/2 a mile and in a pond, lake or ocean. You will almost always have a separate time for the swim, along with T1, the bike, T2, the run and your overall total time. Small races may not give you more than your total time.<br />
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<i>Yep. I'm so cool you can't even stand it.</i></div>
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After the swim is the first transition or T1. Here you will go from the swim to bike. All of your gear will be next to your bike and hopefully laid out in a way that is helpful to you. Keep in mind that unless you are doing a full Ironman with a changing tent, you will not be able to change clothes and nudity is a big no no. We'll go over how that will work with clothing in the gear section. Do not forget to put your helmet on here! The bike leg is usually 10-15 miles, with 12 being pretty average. Elevation changes vary greatly race to race, so consider this if you are not a strong biker, but remember that you can train for hilly courses too!<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Running the bike out of T1. You cannot get on your bike until the mount line.</span></div>
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After you bike, you will enter the second transition, or T2. Here you will end the bike and start the run. Don't forget to take off your helmet (you'd be surprised how many forget!) and have your run number on (I usually put it on before the bike and turn it so it's behind me while I ride). Get going on your run and expect your legs to feel pretty heavy for the first 10-15 minutes or so. The run is usually about a 5K (3.1 miles) but can be up to 4 or 5 miles.<br />
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After that, it's the finish! Be proud, post it allllll over facebook, talk your friends' ears off and wear that medal and race T-shirt out to brunch! <br />
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Then go find your next race.<br />
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<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-19822368089968936992014-01-19T21:22:00.002-05:002014-01-19T21:22:40.493-05:00Update on this weekWell....I didn't do either the spin class of the swim. Yep.<br />
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<i>Let me distract you here with a training playlist favorite...</i></div>
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My days off from work this week were Thursday, Friday and Sunday (I work four 10 hour shifts). However, there was an opportunity to work an extra 10 hours of OT and get ahead on a pile of paperwork, so I offered to help out. I went in on Thursday, which was the day I wanted to go check out the pool. Turns out missing it was okay, because I just found out that I have a chance to rejoin the group swim class I had been taking back when I had a Harvard Athletic membership. The class registration opens on Monday, but <i>allegedly</i> I cannot register until Monday the 27th if the spots have not been filled by members. Realistically, it looks like anyone can register whenever they want, even before tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me!<br />
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Ideally I will end up in one of those classes. They are pretty much identical to the warmup/drills/swim/cooldown that my off season plan and eventually my training plan call for. The advantage is that I have someone watching me for the 8 classes and giving me feedback and it means I won't skip class or slack off in the workout. If I do get a spot, I won't sign up for the pool until later this spring since I will only be scheduled to do the one swim workout anyway. I would have just kept the Harvard membership and had access to the pool and the early sign up, but since The Husband has graduated, it's quite a bit more expensive as an alumni. That's why I will eventually be checking out the cheaper community pool later on, I just hopefully won't need it for a few months now.<br /><br />I really have no excuse for skipping spin on Friday other than being exhausted. I slept so horribly all week that I crashed Thursday night and slept until almost 11 on Friday. Spin was at 8:45 and I knew I needed the sleep more. I also realize that the time is coming very soon where I will need to train more and that there will be some benefit to learning to train fatigued. I'm off next Friday (and will not be exhausting myself with OT) so I should be able to make the same class next week.<br /><br /><br />
<i>The triathlon series I've been promising is mapped out and the first one partly completed. Coming soon!</i><br />
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<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-46404772898006437272014-01-17T15:46:00.001-05:002014-01-17T15:46:04.334-05:00A neeeeeeeew computerrrrrrr!(said with a Price Is Right style hand flourish of course)<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfe82iViJjsH3x5QclJNQai60N7QwTdrySbjGC1hYRa9_wwiWO0wu-nZbYhk8AXcz4oLsTf0879q7CCAtT8t09JoN6NIHRXwVJVelazHf80IG2Decsp_N9eIBwg7z2lgP1Mj5DRNBelut/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilfe82iViJjsH3x5QclJNQai60N7QwTdrySbjGC1hYRa9_wwiWO0wu-nZbYhk8AXcz4oLsTf0879q7CCAtT8t09JoN6NIHRXwVJVelazHf80IG2Decsp_N9eIBwg7z2lgP1Mj5DRNBelut/s1600/photo.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Husband and I headed over to the Boylston St store in Boston so I could decide on the 11" or 13" MacBook Air. I knew what I wanted for storage, I just had to choose the size. I felt like the added portability of the smaller one would outweigh the drawback of the smaller screen, but I still wasn't sure. It was a pretty hard choice. The small one looked a lot smaller than I imagined, but the 13" still was bigger than I wanted. I'd really like to be able to throw it in an oversized purse and take it with me whenever I want. Once I played around with the settings on the 11, I was sold. I ended up buying the 11" with 256G of storage. Woot woot!<br /><br />Of course, I am sitting here looking at it in the box, because The Husband had to run to a meeting. I know it will be easy to get started, but with my luck I will do something to mess it up. I'm just going to be patient and wait a couple of hours. I had to wait almost a month after I decided I was going to buy it with the extra money I'd get from the over time hours I worked. As he was leaving the house, he laughed and said, "NOW what are you going to complain about?! Well, at least you have the next two hours to think about it while you wait for me!" I laughed, because it's totally true, and replied, "well, I still have an iPhone 4 with iOS 5 on it, so all hope is not lost!" Hopefully once I get the Air running I can update my phone. My old laptop won't support the new software for my phone.</div>
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Funny thing about complaining - a few years ago I was telling The Husband that I felt like all I did was complain. Almost like I had to fill the dead airspace with something and that something was constantly griping. I don't love being in a bad mood and I certainly didn't want to bring everyone around me down. It was almost like it was a hobby to me. </div>
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<i>Let me just pull my rocker up to the front window so I can keep an eye on those kids!</i></div>
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So I said, "that's it! I'm driving myself crazy! I'm going to try and not complain for an entire day. Just one day to see if I can do it."<br /><br />I went off to work and started my shift at 6am that next day. By 8:30 I was still doing well, but it took a lot of concentration. Coworker #1 and I were standing at a station getting stuff prepped for our tasks later. Yep. Still plenty of stuff to complain about. Endless possibilities. Not gonna do it. Coworker #1 walks away and #2 comes over a minute later while I'm finishing my prep.<br /><br />"Um...I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?"<br /><br />I'm a little bewildered. None of us really know one another that well at this point, so everyone kind of gives everyone else some space. Besides the fact that nothing is actually wrong, I'm surprised she spoke up.<br /><br />"What? I'm okay! What do you mean?!"<br /><br />"Well...it's just that...<i>you've been REALLY quiet today</i>"<br /><br />And that my friends, is how you know when you complain too much!<br /><br /><br /><br />I did actually learn from this and have made a big effort to cut the crap. Except for when my laptop made me crazy. Or my phone acts like it's possessed. Which is like, all the time. No more! I can't wait for a time when, if I accidentally click on iPhoto, it won't ruin the entire rest of my afternoon while it tries to load and gives me the pinwheel of death.</div>
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saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-3723283327520877602014-01-12T15:22:00.000-05:002014-01-12T21:49:31.610-05:00This WeekJust a quick entry (and another trial to see if my iPhone will play nice with blogger)...<br />
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I need to do one of two things this week (bonus points for both) and I'm telling so you can hold me to it! Either:<br />
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1. On Th go down to the pool and do a workout to check it out. It's $15 for one day, but I'm fairly certain that if you decide to sign up, they'll roll it into the 3 or 12 month fee. It's so cheap that I'm not quitting the gym I already go to. I really like the trainer at my current gym. Also, leading to #2:<br />
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2. Go to the spin class intro at 8:45 Fri am and do the class at 9. Another reason I like my gym. A bunch if spin classes, one of which looks like a pretty cool training class for road cyclists. The Fri one is tabata style. I'm doing that one just because it has an intro on a day I can attend.<br />
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To be honest, I've been feeling a lot like this lately:<br />
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After being sick for almost a month in November and rolling my ankle at the end of December, most of my goals are far behind where I'd like them to be. I'm learning that accepting where I am and moving on is invaluable. I'm only who I am today.<br />
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Also, hopefully on Friday I will finally purchase <i>my neeeeew computerrrrrr!!!</i> (this must be said with a Bob Barker, Price Is Right style voice, complete with hand flourish).<br />
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So that's it. Sign up for swim and take a spin intro do I can<i> get on with my workouts already, </i>lose weight, stop eating crap etc.<br />
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Oh! I finally convinced my longest and best friend, we'll call her Jax, to do a triathlon. I'm suuuuuper excited. Specifically, she's doing the Iron Girl in Webster, MA. So, in her honor, I'm going to write a series about beginner tris. Not that I'm an expert, but I have a lot to share as someone who is still learning, both through advice and doing it the hard way. I think I'll do a post on each leg plus the transition, and an overview. I'm just having a hard time getting started because I'm remembering stuff at really random times. I need to sketch them all out on paper to list out my ideas.<br />
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K! Time to try and publish this!</div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-47690380272464687382013-12-31T18:35:00.001-05:002014-01-01T12:04:45.057-05:00Happy New Year's Eve!Today I read a bunch of "reflections on 2013" type posts from the blogs I follow in Feedly and figured I should write my own. But then I thought NAHHHHHH!!! I want to spend time with The Husband on NYE and I always get sucked into writing a longer post than I mean (and here I am, <i>CAN YOU BELIEVE IT</i>). But then, as I'm getting into my car after leaving work, the 5th 11 hour day in a row (and I have 3 more on Th, F, and Sat), I'm thinking, okay, I have all day tomorrow. I can write a 2013/2014 post. What will I write? It's been so complicated. So up and down.<br />
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I turn the key and as I'm pulling out of the parking lot, flip through the stations to find one actually playing music. As I pull out onto Rt 9 and I'm trying to think about tomorrows post, I hit 100.7 at the exact moment a song comes on.<br />
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Ted Nugent. Stranglehold.<br />
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I just posted about that song in my last post! If I'm going to be completely honest I like to run to it and fantasize that I'm some sort of BAMF. I'm just cruising and picking off opponents one by one. Steely expression. Just the sound of my feet and my breathing. <i>Clearly</i> a fantasy, but one of my favorites.<br />
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But then I realize it. If not now, when? When I'm back to my lowest weight? <i>Then</i> I can take myself seriously? Or my lowest this year? Is that acceptable? No.<i> No no no no NO!</i><br />
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Now. I want it now. I am <i>it</i> now.<br />
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Food is fuel.<br />
Sleep is repair.<br />
Work outs are deposits in the bank. <br />
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So that's it. That's 2014. I want to cash a big "check" at the end of the year. A check that will buy a permanent change.<br />
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<i>2014 I'M COMING FOR YOU</i></div>
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<i>I know...shaking in your boots, right?</i></div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-1258186060046685782013-12-17T21:13:00.001-05:002013-12-17T21:13:33.438-05:00And on days like today...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And on days like today, I need a little Nazareth in my life (if you don't know this song, it's NSFW):</div>
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And I KNOW! That's not the original version I posted, but I...um...actually like the G n' R version better. I'm a classic rock girl, but I can't help it. This is the one I want when I'm in a REALLY BAD mood.<br /><br />So, the back story? We got a bunch of snow, all a few hours before and into rush hour and the towns and cities around here didn't do ANYTHING to really clear the roads. It's especially annoying because I don't have a choice about going into work. My job is the type where when everyone is told to stay home except "essential" personel, I'm one of the ones who needs to go in. I love my job, I just wish the people who cared about keeping the roads safe cared about theirs! <i>I'm looking at you, municipal services in the greater Boston area!</i><br />
<br />You know what I needed to do? Run it off! I even had a gym session scheduled with my trainer and training partner, but there was no way for all of us to get there on time so we had to cancel it.<br /><br />When I started running I did it because I felt this need to burn off all that crazy, annoying excess energy from being wound up. Today? If I had the chance, I'd listen to Hair of the Dog on repeat a few times and then end it w/ some Ted Nugent.<br /><br />
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<br />You gotta do what you gotta do!<br /><br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-63119488114648625052013-12-10T21:14:00.002-05:002013-12-10T21:14:41.562-05:00What "never again" really means...It means I'm signed up for the Cohasset Triathlon again!<br />
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<i>This is from the pictures The Husband took. I really love this one!</i></div>
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I said never again because I had such a rough time in the swim this summer. The bike was a hilly blast and the run was still nice even though I was toast. The race itself is AWESOME. The race director does a fantastic job and this event has raise over a million dollars for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. However, I wasn't sure I could agonize over the swim again like I did last summer. The conditions were much better than it has been other years. (You can read the recap from this summers race <a href="http://saltyrunner.blogspot.com/2013/07/cohasset-triathlon-2013-race-recap.html">here</a>.) </div>
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I just couldn't resist though. The thought of sitting it out this year actually almost made me cry! I've done two more triathlons with swims that are twice as far and I feel better about it. This race will also coincide right around the time that my 70.3 triathlon training plan calls for a sprint distance tune up race. What's funny about that is I will surely be FAR better trained for this so called tune up race than any race I've ever done. Well, I'd better be or I will DNF my 70.3.<br /><br />Wah wahhhh...sad trombone. Not gonna happen!<br /><br />Also, you can park at the beach and train on the course. I plan on taking full advantage of this and doing 2-4 loops of the 12 mile course to get some challenging long bike rides in for my 70.3.<br /><br />So The Husband, being awesome, agree to sign me up again (it's my Christmas present) and will almost definitely end up doing the rides with me too. He's the best trained non-triathlete I know! Well...the only one.<br /><br />Also, I went through his pictures from the Boston Triathlon and put them on facebook. I realize I never did a race recap. It's pretty much the same as my <a href="http://saltyrunner.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-boston-triathlon-race-recap.html">last Boston Triathlon recap</a> but I was way less nervous and other than the bike leg, undertrained. I pretty much did this one for fun and it was!</div>
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<i>This dog was staring and staring at The Husband so he decided to take his picture. He knew I'd love it!</i></div>
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Fun race. Highly recommended!<br /><br /><br />Sooooo....what have I been up to? Not much and it's not good. I was sick for the first three weeks of November, which I may have mentioned (I can't even remember and my laptop is being a stinker about opening another tab for me to check). Four bottles of liquid daytime medicine and 2 of night time and I came out the other side completely exhausted. As in, I'd go see my trainer, come home and nap from 1-4pm and then go back to bed at 9 and fall right asleep. I'm a horrible sleeper, so when I sleep like that I know something's wrong. I'm finally feeling a little better, but little stupid things keep happening to set me back a bit. It's really annoying. I was supposed to start my off season training weeks ago and it hasn't happened. I'll do a couple of days, but not the whole thing. I have time, I was going to have to do the ten weeks twice to keep busy, but I don't want to waste time. Plus, all this down time is not getting me any closer to "race weight." Precisely the opposite, in fact. But hey, persistence, not perfection, right?<br /><br />Speaking of my laptop. Mine is a 6 year old macbook. You know, the kind with the white plastic casing? Yeah. I'm surprised it works at all too. Anyway, it is so slow and at this point, the software updates are too new for it. Wah. The Husband has done a bunch to spiff it up and keep it running but you can only do so much. So, sorry for the sporadic posts. Between being so tired and it being so much effort to convince it to let me write a post (and not delete it 75% of the way through THANKYOUVERYMUCH), I just haven't written anything. I'd like to write shorter more frequent posts, but I'm not sure how realistic that is before the holidays either! I feel guilty taking the money for a new laptop out of what I normally earn and put towards bills, so I'm waiting for the end of the month for when I have some overtime. I may actually have enough to pay for the whole thing with just OT. We'll see!</div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-65506043088487591632013-11-08T17:19:00.000-05:002013-11-08T17:35:41.525-05:00West African Style Peanut Stew with Chicken, Sweet Potato and KaleThe other day (when I ended up making my <a href="http://saltyrunner.blogspot.com/2012/11/baseball-soup-aka-kale-soup.html">Baseball aka Kale Soup</a> instead) I was searching and searching for an African Peanut Stew recipe that included more veggies than just onions and the occasional sweet potato (although those are necessary too!) when I found this recipe by <a href="http://cookieandkate.com/2013/west-african-peanut-soup/">Cookie and Kate</a> that included collard greens. I liked the look of her recipe and although I used many for inspiration in this recipe, this was the main one I looked at. I added her site to my blog reader. Looks like she has lots of great recipes!<br />
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I added some stuff as I tasted and also threw in chick peas (aka garbanzo beans) and diced chicken thigh. I think the thigh meat holds up better in soups. As always, feel free to make this vegetarian, as it is in the original recipe, and to sub in or out and ingredients you like!<br />
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<b>West African Style Peanut Stew with Chicken, Sweet Potato and Kale</b><br />
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This makes a big pot, so halve it if you don't feel like having leftovers and/or freezing some. I won't make soup unless I have a ton of leftovers!<br />
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<u>Ingredients:</u><br />
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3 32oz boxes of chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you prefer)<br />
2 red onions, diced<br />
6 garlic cloves, diced<br />
1/4 minced fresh ginger (less if you don't like ginger, the piece I used was about 4" long and 2" wide)<br />
2 red bell peppers, diced<br />
4 medium sweet potatoes, diced (or 2 ginormous ones like I had)<br />
1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small bites<br />
14oz can of diced tomatoes w juice (preferably salt free)<br />
14oz can chickpeas<br />
1lb bag of frozen chopped kale<br />
6oz can tomato paste<br />
1 1/2 cup peanut butter<br />
1 tsp cumin<br />
1 tsp black pepper<br />
3-4 Tbsp white vinegar<br />
hot sauce to taste (I used Sriracha)<br />
salt to taste<br />
green onions (scallions) chopped for garnish<br />
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Put the chicken stock in a large pot and turn it up to boil. While its getting to a boil, chop up your onion, garlic, and ginger and throw that in. I didn't wait for the stock to get all the way to a boil and it was fine. Next chop your bell pepper, sweet potato and chicken thighs and add that to the pot. Add the can of diced tomatoes with their juice, chickpeas, kale, cumin and black pepper and let all of that come to a boil for about 20 minutes. Turn down to a simmer. In a large heat safe bowl, mix the peanut butter and tomato paste. Add some broth from the stew to thin it out and then add the peanut/tomato paste mixture to the stew. Simmer for at least another 20 minutes and add the vinegar. Start with 3T and add the 4th if you want after tasting. Add the hot sauce and salt to taste. Serve with chopped green onions (and more hot sauce if you want!).<br />
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<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-66692863289044788662013-11-01T21:31:00.003-04:002013-11-01T21:35:03.165-04:00And the Half Ironman is....<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">The Pumpkinman Half Ironman on 9/7/14!!!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pumpkinmantriathlon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=23">(image source, race site and more great pictures)</a></div>
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As of yesterday, the money has been paid and I'm registered!<br />
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Okay, so first, it's technically a half iron-<i>distance </i>race. It's not run by World Triathlon Corporation, who put on the Ironman and Half Ironman branded races and own the trademark names. However, it's the same type of race. For my purposes, I'm going to call it my "half ironman" because that's how everyone else refers to their 70.3 distance races, regardless of if the race is one of the trademarked races or run by another organization. Just wanted to get that straight so no one gets riled up!<br />
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What is a Half Ironman? It's a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a half marathon, which is 13.1 miles of running. An Ironman, the full distance, is double all of those distances.<br />
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I had been considering three other races, one of which was an Ironman branded race, before I made up my mind a couple of weeks ago. Every time I'd search for race reports, I'd always find discussions on triathlon forums and every single time it came back to people enthusiastically recommending Pumpkinman. Even if the person requesting opinions had stipulations Pumpkinman didn't meet, such as where they'd travel or time of year. I had originally been drawn in by the big production the branded Half Ironman events would be (Timberman, specifically). I wanted to see the logo at the finish, even if I was only (only?!?!?!) doing the half distance. I wanted to buy every piece of race merchandise I could get my hands on (like I can afford that after how much these races cost!). But part of me was weirdly dreading the day registration opened. It just didn't feel "right." It felt like more of a production than I wanted. I was also already agonizing over the race weekend logistics. I didn't want to HAVE to check in my bike the day before and I didn't want to deal with what was looking to be a huge parking hassle in the am (apparently you have to get there REALLY early to park close by). So I kept on looking and kept on seeing Pumpkinman. I searched for Pumpkinman race recaps and was hard pressed to find even minor complaints.<br />
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There are quite a few pros to this race: </div>
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- The course still has challenging rolling hills, but is also not as insane as some others. It's just about an hour from Boston in southern Maine and if I absolutely had to, I could drive up and check in early on race morning. While that would not be ideal, it leaves me with an option if my schedule or finances don't permit a hotel stay. There are plenty of hotels in the area and all are affordable, so I can book later if needed. It's also in a beautiful scenic area. Love it!</div>
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- All three legs of the race are two loops. Even the swim! You swim .6 miles, run onto shore, jump back in and swim .6 more! Some people hate that, but I actually think it will be mentally easier to break it up. It will probably be physically harder, but it's always my mind that gets in the way. I love that the bike and run are two loops. I used to think it would be torture to go a long distance and then be like, "what? Do it ALL OVER AGAIN?! Are you CRAZY?" I think back to the three half marathons I've done and imagining that if it was a two loop marathon I'd have to do it all over again. Oh heck no. I have a friend who had the same thought and later did a two loop marathon and said it's totally different. Different prep and a different mind-set going in. Well, good, because I'm going to have to bike 28 miles, come almost back to the transition and then get back out there and do the 28 again. This is AWESOME. I plan on driving the course (if not riding as well) ahead of time, but during the race I will have a chance to race it twice and adjust the second time. Same thing for the two loops of the half marathon at the end.</div>
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- It's small, only 550 racers in the half iron, but there are tons of volunteers and spectators. All of the racers really feel like they're special.</div>
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- Uh, you get tons of free stuff! 2 shirts (race shirt and finisher), a backpack, other random swag, a full Thanksgiving style dinner with dessert and free Shipyard Pumpkinhead beer!<br />
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- Did I mention free Shipyard Pumpkinhead? My FAVORITE?<br />
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- There's more, I'm sure, but the cold medicine I've been taking is melting my brain.<br />
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Did I mention I'm sick? I caught a cold Tuesday night that knocked me on my behind. Down for the count. Writing this is actually taking more energy than I really have to expend, but the cold has turned into laryngitis and I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT DANGNABBIT!!! Also, I'm really bummed. Our one month weight in for my partner training is Wednesday and I had managed to lose about 5 lbs and they're all back this week. I don't know if it's the extended couch time or what. I've basically been eating fruit, english muffins and homemade (low salt) chicken soup. Like, two meals a day of broth, tons of veggies (I even added kale!) and chicken. It just sucks. I was doing so well and it is going to sound like, "but but....(a bunch of excuses)..." and no results. I didn't expect to lose more with the lack of exercise, but I hoped to maintain. I had been spinning my wheels for a long time, not making any progress because I wasn't doing what I knew I needed to. Now that I'm having some results, it sucks to not be able to be like, "look what I did!" It's 5 days away so maybe I will go back to normal.<br />
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Ok, pity party over! Back to the race:<br />
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Since some of you may want to know what my projected times are, I'm going to paste some of the text from the email I sent my trainer below. I will say that these are VERY ambitious times. The swim is the least ambitious because I think I am really capable of that speed if I put in the volume I plan to. I'm joining a pool down the street from me with wide open hours that is supposed to be fantastic (and cheap!). I miss chlorine sweat. I REALLY miss my swim class but the gym membership is too much money there (and I already have a primary gym membership so I can see my trainer). I'm going to try and get into one of the non-member slots. I missed it last time.<br />
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The bike is pretty ambitious, but I have been holding around that speed fairly often on 20-25 mile rides. These are "fun" rides too, so I know that once I get into the real meat of the training I should do well. The run is the wild card. My pace is the pace I've aimed for during training for my last 2 half marathons and I missed it by a LOT. A LOT A LOT. Like 1:20 a mile slower, a lot. However, I think in the back of my mind I knew that no matter what I could complete the distance. In the half ironman, you have to complete each leg of the race by a certain time or you get yanked from the course and earn a DNF (did not finish). You'll see the cut off below in bold and my projected time to the right.</div>
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<b>Swim 1.2 miles (cut off 1hr after last swim wave, will probably be in the second to last wave)</b> - 50 minutes projected time</div>
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The swim is actually a 0.6 mile course swum twice. The though of just doing a bit more than the half mile swim I'm used to and then getting out, getting back in and doing it a second time makes me feel much better than the thought of waiting at the start and looking at a long 1.2 mile course. (Nerves will be my main issue here)</div>
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<b>Transition 1</b> - 10 minutes (60 minutes total)</div>
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This race has a HUGE hill (you'll see it on the site) going from the swim to T1. They actually give you a separate time (there's a prize for the fastest) for the hill and T1. 10 minutes should still be good though</div>
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<b>Bike 56 miles</b> <b>(cutoff at 12:30, about 5 hours in for me depending on swim wave)</b>- 3:20:00 (total time 4:20:00)<br />
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I figure I can maintain between 16.5 (3:23:00) -17mph (3:18:00), so 3:20:00 for the bike leg is good. I've been riding 20-25 miles easily and maintaining between 15-18mph with some faster portions. Here is the map with elevation. The Cohasset tri has a similar course (harder hills actually) so I can go do multiple loops of that one to practice.</div>
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<b>Transition 2 </b>- 5 min (4:25:00 total)<br />
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<b>Run 13.1 (3pm cutoff ,7.5-8 hrs into the race depending on when my wave starts) </b> - 2:20:00/10:40 min mile pace (6:45:00 final time)</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Same plan as before: Closest I've been to this is 2:36:00/11:58 pace. Will actually train and not cry about it this time. Should be able to run faster. Haha.</span><br />
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So, you can see I don't have a ton of room for a meltdown. I don't have room to not train and wing it. I definitely don't have room to not lose the 15-20 lbs I've been hauling around the last few years. Don't get me wrong. Triathletes are all shapes and sizes, that's part of what I love about this sport. We're all accepted and supported and cheered for. However, it hurts my race. It's not fun for me anymore when I know I have so much more to give. One day I was with my trainer, doing walking lunges while holding two 10 lb dumbbells. I was whining about how heavy they were and then it hit me...I used to weigh that much. My current weight plus 20 lbs. I used to <i>always</i> haul that around. It was part of me and I couldn't escape it then. I can't imagine how awesome it will be to hold those dumbbells another 20 lbs down from now. Actually I can!<br />
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Well, hopefully that's all coherent...haha. Have a great night everyone!saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-91434758570488779692013-10-15T16:40:00.001-04:002013-10-15T16:40:41.205-04:00Autumn Bike RideEvery time I bike on the Charles River path, I think that I should really stop and take some pictures. I figured today was a good time with the leaves turning. All of these were taken along the Boston side of the Charles River between Newton and Boston Common. The last few are from our lunch stop at the common. Yay for the Clover Food Truck!<br />
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Also, just saw that we rode a big part of the 22 miles at 16-17mph, hitting 18 a bunch of times and up to 20!<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-63963753611334840752013-10-13T14:35:00.001-04:002013-10-13T14:36:56.080-04:00Sunday Update (and an awesome recipe!)First of all, hello to all of my new readers! Welcome. I'm really trying to post more and remember that each post doesn't have to be some huge recipe or race recap, that the day to day stuff is good too. We'll see how that goes, but I hope you stick around.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tiDb--kwnmw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Yesterday I was feeling pretty crappy and I couldn't have timed a sick-couch day better if I tried. The live stream from the Ironman World Championship in Kona was on at noon my time and the winners wouldn't cross the line until 8 or 9 hours later. Normally I'd feel guilty about laying around for a whole day, but this time I didn't have to. The race was awesome (of course) but some of the real greatness is the last hour of the race. The athletes have until midnight (17hours) to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles, which is a full marathon. In addition to the midnight cutoff, they have to survive multiple cut offs within the race or be pulled from the course. That last hour is magic. Mike Reilly, the "voice" of the Ironman is unstoppable, dancing cheering and and announcing to each athlete that finishes "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!" He runs up and down the chute, pumping up the crowd and getting everyone to scream for the last few people to "let them know we're here for them." You can see how badly he (and the crowd) want these last few people to finish. The last 10 minutes is seriously intense and it always makes me teary (such a sap!).<br />
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You wanna see what I'm talking about? Go to this link http://new.livestream.com/ironman/imkona and scroll down to the Finish Line Part 2 video. It's hours long, so click on the progress bar so you're about 10 minutes from the end. Or watch the last hour or so like I did. Amazing.<br />
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What's a sick couch, you ask? It's the only good thing about being sick. It's ultimate necessary laziness. I clear everything away from the couch and then I put a blanket on the bottom and get a cozy blacket to get under. I get 3 or 4 bed sized pillows and gather everything I'll need - tea, water, tissue, medicine, phone, computer etc. This time I pulled a footstool up for my laptop for easy viewing and stole The Husbands iPad so I could still check in on facebook and stuff. You know what? Other than some sinus pain, I feel much better.<br />
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Today I'm still going to take it easy. A Trader Joe's run is in order and I'm going to make Savory Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with White Beans and Kale.<br />
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<a href="http://p-ec1.pixstatic.com/50d321d3d9127e4f92004fa8._w.540_h.699_s.fit_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://p-ec1.pixstatic.com/50d321d3d9127e4f92004fa8._w.540_h.699_s.fit_.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-stuffed-sweet-potatoes-with-beans-and-greens-recipes-from-the-kitchn-181845">(image source - click for recipe)</a></div>
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I put the link for the recipe above, because there's nothing I'd really change. I do double the recipe, as usual, and I keep the baked sweet potatoes and the filling separate until I'm ready to reheat. It makes AWESOME leftovers and a great lunch to pack. It's really filling and feels like comfort food (but it's healthy!). It's also "dude" approved. Haha.<br />
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I also need to start putting together my Half Ironman training plan. The book I have is giant and includes plans for different distance races and for beginners through advanced. All the workouts are coded and it's giving me a major headache to flip back and forth. Plus, I like to be able to look at a whole week or month to see what's ahead. You can't even tell what the workout is each day without going back to a table. I'm not complaining though. It's what makes including such all inclusive training plans possible. I'll share the book title with you once I figure out where I put it. Oops! I have a while until official training starts, but I need to rebuild my fitness base (coughcough-losesomeweighttoo-coughcough) and also start getting used to training when I REALLY don't feel like it. I leave for work at 6:30am so the <strike>possibly</strike> definitely necessary am workout should be LOTS of fun. < sarcasm font<br />
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Some of you know I have been waffling a bit as to what race I am going to do. Well I'm 99.9% sure of which one it will and <i>I'lll neveeeer teeeelllllllll!!!</i> Okay, I will tell you when I register, which will be in about 3 weeks. All of the ones I'm considering will be open by 11/1 and once I sign up, that's it! No refunds at $200-250 for the race registrations means it for<i> REALLY</i> real.<br />
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Have a happy Sunday everyone!</div>
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saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-48212427603967720882013-09-30T17:22:00.002-04:002013-09-30T19:05:49.093-04:00Pumpkin Turkey ChiliIt's supposed to be in the 80s on Wednesday, so I'm making chili while it's a cool 60º out today! This recipe makes 10-12 servings, so I can throw the rest in the freezer in 1.5-2 cup portions for a quick lunch. I have to admit that even though I love fall and the cool weather, I'm excited for the temps to warm up just for this little bit. The Husband and I have tickets to the Red Sox ALDS game 1 on Friday and then we're going to a wedding on Saturday. Yay!<br />
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Ok, on to the chili. I made this on the stovetop, but you can make it in a crockpot if you would like.<br />
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<b>Pumpkin Turkey Chili</b><br />
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2 Tbsp olive oil<br />
3 large yellow onions, diced<br />
3 garlic cloves, chopped<br />
2 lbs lean ground turkey<br />
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce<br />
1 Tbsp cumin<br />
1 Tbsp chili powder<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
3 green bell peppers, diced<br />
2 small cans diced green chilies (I have two different brands in the pic by chance, use whatever you find)<br />
2 14.5oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes, including the juice<br />
2 15oz cans of pumpkin puree<br />
2 15oz cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained<br />
water<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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Heat the oil to a large heavy stockpot over medium heat and saute the onions until they are browned. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce and cumin to the pot and cook turkey through until it's no longer pink. Once the turkey is done, add all remaining ingredients to the pot, including the juice from the tomatoes. Add two cans worth of water to the chili and mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.<br />
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Notes: I use the no salt added tomatoes (and beans when I can find them) to counter the salt in the Worcestershire sauce. You can use what you prefer. You can also add any veggies you'd like and substitute different meat (or leave it out) and beans. You can also add cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper or hot sauce to make it spicier or reduce the green chilies if it's too much.<br />
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<b>Crockpot</b><br />
I still suggest cooking the onion, turkey and garlic in a skillet first, adding the Worcestershire sauce and cumin just before the turkey is cooked through. Then transfer the mixture to your crockpot and add all the other ingredients. I'd probably cut the water in half, since none of it will cook off like it will on the stove top. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste at the end.<br />
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<b><br /></b>saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-61840203347805735952013-09-12T14:31:00.000-04:002013-09-12T14:34:14.167-04:00Pumpkin Spice Smoothie and 2014 Half Ironman plansI am ready for fall. I am ready to not be sweaty anymore (it was 96º in here yesterday!!!). I am ready for this smoothie I made!<br />
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<a href="http://www.lululemon.com/community/blog/post-run-pumpkin-spice-protein-smoothie/">original recipe via lululemon</a></div>
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<b>Ingredients:</b></div>
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1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or "milk" of your choice)</div>
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1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just plan pumpkin)</div>
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1 banana (better if it's frozen)</div>
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6 large ice cubes</div>
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1 tsp vanilla extract</div>
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1 scoop/serving of protein powder</div>
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cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves</div>
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Add everything to the blender, spices to taste, and blend it up! I did about 8 good shakes of cinnamon, 5 or 6 of the ginger and nutmeg and just a dash of the cloves because I love cinnamon and ginger. Adjust as needed. You can always blend it with less at first, taste and then add more. Enjoy!</div>
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Ever wonder what goes through my mind as I realize <i>juuuuuust</i> how far away the turn buoys in an open water swim are, despite how they appeared from land?</div>
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This is also most definitely what my face looks like when someone touches my feet, receives a warning kick and then GRABS my foot. You can imagine what happens next. Not. Amused. </div>
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I realize that some of you wondered where my Boston Triathlon race report went. I also owe you a report on the Cranberry Trifest Sprint Triathlon that I signed up for at the last minute and did on 8/24. Mostly, my computer is SUPER old and slow and getting the pictures uploaded on here takes forever. I'll do an overall recap of the two at some point. Both were great races and I learned something in each of them. I really fell in love with triathlon this summer. I had so much fun I kind of forgot to train hard and actually race! Next year.</div>
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So what's next? A Half Ironman of course!</div>
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A Half Ironman is half of the classic Full Ironman. A full is a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a marathon/26.2 mile run. I'll be training for a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a half marathon/13.1 mile run, for a total of 70.3 miles.</div>
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I have no fear about doing any of those distances alone and I feel confident I can string all of them together with proper training. There are a few things that make the race special though.</div>
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#1 and the least of my control - the weather. I plan on doing a race I can drive to in August or September. If all works out well, it will be the Timberman 70.3 in Guilford, NH. It can be sunny, humid and in the 80s or it can be stormy and in the high 50s/low 60s. The course was even closed early one year due to a severe thunderstorm rolling in. It's just that time of year!</div>
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#2 time cutoffs. ARGH!!! You have 8.5 hours total to finish the entire race, but there are cutoffs along the way. You have to be out of the water 70 minutes after the last swim wave starts. I'm hoping to be done in 50 minutes. You must complete the bike by 5.5 hours after the last swim wave starts. I hope to be done in about 3:45 (which is a fairly conservative pace for me), which put me about 4:55 in. If I survive the bike cutoff, the final cutoff is the finish time at the end of the run. If I make all my paces, I'll have 3:35 to complete the half marathon. I did my first with a sprained ankle in 3:10 so I should be good. I'm shooting for 2:20 half marathon. That's pretty ambitious for me but I've never been as motivated (read: been able to force myself to follow the training plan) as I am now. Hopefully I'll be in killer shape by then! ;)</div>
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#3 COURSE ELEVATION!!! Man oh man. The half and full ironman races are notorious for not only being a true endurance event, but for each leg being really challenging on its own. Check out the course elevation:</div>
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So there's that.........oh, and don't forget the run!</div>
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HAHAHAAA...HAHA...HA.....ha......hooo doggie. It's like I'm seeing them for the first time each time I pull them up! Good times! Gooood tiiiiimes...</div>
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So you can see why I'm excitedly nervous. Or nervously excited. Or...yeah. I am really truly excited though. Not only to race, but because I am starting the process now. Over the next 6 months or so I really want to drop some weight. I can't imagine hauling myself up those hills where I am now. There's no magic to it and I know what needs to be done. Eat real food. Eat more lean protein, lots of veggies and some fruit and healthy oils. Eat less sugar and cut out processed food. Most importantly, less booze. Wah. Byebye nightly glass of wine (or two)!</div>
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In addition to tightening up my diet, the exercise I'll need to build my base will be more than enough for weight loss. I'll train for an hour with my trainer once a week. I now share my sessions with a partner, which saves me about half of the cost and is a good motivator to not slack off. I'll also be swimming at least once a week as soon as I get a chance to check out the pool at the <a href="http://www.southendfitness.org/Pages/Home.aspx">South End Fitness Center</a>. Finally, I will stop being a weenie and sign up for a spin class orientation. Yep. Next Friday if I can get a spot in the class after the 15 minute orientation. I'll be riding my bike outside as long as the weather permits. I don't mind the cold, but snow and ice is an issue. Oh yeah, and I'm going to need to run a bit more than I did this summer. My run times were laughable during this summer's tris and pretty much what I deserved. That's what happens when you just do some fun swim workouts a bike rides!<br />
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So that's it for now! Thanks for sticking around during the radio silence here.</div>
<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-34706826149620629802013-07-02T14:22:00.000-04:002013-07-02T20:43:51.312-04:00Cohasset Triathlon 2013 - race recapAre you ready for an Ironman length recap for a sprint distance race?! This is my (long) story of the event. I'll do anther post regarding times and standings and my thoughts on all of that.<br />
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1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3.2 mile run</div>
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<a href="http://www.cohassettri.com/images/themes/default/hdr_logo.jpg">[image source]</a></div>
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Wow. I don't really even know where to start. What an awesome race! I should really say event. It was so much more than just the race day. Bill Burnett, the race director, and his team of volunteers are amazing! Let me start from the beginning...<br />
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Back in early December I begged The Husband to register me. I knew it sold out extremely fast and I had to work that day. I said that if he paid for it, that could be my Christmas present. I wouldn't even whine when I didn't have something to open on the day! About 35 minutes after registration opened, I saw an email on my iphone to sign the waiver, which would finalize my spot. Yay! Turns out, the registration site was so swamped, he wasn't even sure it went through. Later I found out that although no records are officially kept by the registration site, it was likely the fastest sprint triathlon sell out ever. I just barely made it through. The Husband also bought me a nifty "I'm in!" Cohasset Tri shirt that they were offering with registration.<br />
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Throughout the winter and spring we were kept updated via email or their facebook page. As we got closer to race day, emails were sent almost weekly with 3 in the last week. It was nice to get the Athlete Guide and "goody bag" coupons online. If you do a few races it creates a bit of clutter and I always lose the ones I want to keep. We were also sent a really nice email titled, "Things to Think About." Quite a bit of thought was put into this email including tips to stay calm during the swim. I needed those! It was obvious that every athlete was important and that they have the best experience possible. I emailed Bill about two weeks before the event to ask to be switched to the novice wave (from the general age group). It was a Sunday night and I had a response early Monday morning that I was all set.<br />
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There were multiple days of packet pick-up, but there was a special enticement to go to the Saturday date (other than getting to be the first to buy race gear...yay!). <a href="http://www.teamhoyt.com/about/index.html">Team Hoyt</a> was speaking at the church next to the pick-up location. If you don't know who they are, click on their name above. It will bring you to their "about" page. I couldn't miss that! I arrived to find all kinds of motivational signs posted around the common and some of the cheeriest volunteers I've ever seen. They were so nice and just seemed to love the race. Everyone wanted to know if I had done the race before and wished me luck and to have fun. I picked up my packet, my chip, my race shirt and bought an insulated race logo water bottle and long sleeve pull-over. We had a CHOICE of colors for the free race shirt and I got bright orange!<br />
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We stood out on the town common for a bit, watching the little kids play and then headed over to see Team Hoyt. They both spoke, Rick via a computer, and showed a video. It was incredible. The video was about 5 seconds short of me for-real crying it was just so inspirational. I can't do the talk justice, so I won't try. I will say that even as someone who though she knew quite a bit about the team, I was astounded by some of their stories and marathon times (somewhere around a 2:45:00!!!). Check them out below (their story starts about a minute in):<br />
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I went back to my parent's house from there and obsessively packed, unpacked, rechecked (repeat times 5) my transition bag (oh holy moly, typing transition bag made my stomach flip!). I was really nervous about the swim. I did a 1/2 mile ocean swim last summer in my first tri. This was only 1/4 mile but the water was far less protected and the forecast was sketchy. I went to bed at about 10:30 knowing I had an early wake up, but also knowing I wouldn't fall asleep right away. It's possible I got called out for being on facebook at 11pm, haha.<br />
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At 4:10am I woke up on my own and realized my alarm would go off in 5 minutes. Ugh...so...early. I have been having trouble figuring out what to eat before races, especially triathlons. I can't have anything with a lot of fiber or I get really bad stomach cramps. White bread of some sort seems to work. I get so nervous that everything turns my stomach. I made myself a peanut butter and honey on soft white bread and hoped for the best. I tried having a bagel for my first tri but it was too chewy and I'd end up chewing it forever (hello nervous dry mouth) and then gag when I tried to swallow it. It took me 30 minutes to eat half of it, which is a problem when there's a lot of time between eating and your swim wave. I also do this fun cough-gag thing when I'm trying to eat before races. I never get sick, but I always do it. That morning The Husband just laughed and said, "it's officially race day!" (ha, thanks a lot). I took the rest of my sandwich, a banana and some coffee in the car. By now it was 5am and I expected to swim just before 8. Three hours, for me, is the perfect amount of time to eat a good amount of food and have it be digested enough that I don't get cramps. It's also not so long I get hungry again. I had bad timing in my first tri and it ended up being 4 hours. I actually felt hungry before my swim wave and had to drink some water to feel full. It was pretty annoying, but totally my fault. Timing is definitely something to consider in your own races. So back to the tedious eating details...I'd take a big bite of the sandwich, chew it really fast, take a sip of coffee and swallow all of it together. This somehow worked and I ate almost all of it and a banana. If I had not been able to eat all of it, I probably would have had a Gu gel at about 7 in transition. Also, if my swim wave was later, I'd probably save the banana for about 6:30/7.<br />
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We arrived at the parking lot at about 5:45. It was a 1.5 mile walk or bike from there to the race venu. The Husband could have taken the spectator shuttle, but I was nervous. Walking together gave me time to calm down. By a little after 6 we arrived and it was pretty nice out. A little overcast, in the low 70s but a bit windy. Honestly, with the marine forecasts of rough current and head-high waves, I was pretty happy! The water looked flat, although I could tell by the rough texture that there was definitely some current. I also knew the tide had been going out for about 2 hours and that it would cause a pull making the swim back to shore tough. Knowing this probably did more harm than good since it made me nervous. That's what I get for having to look up everything!<br />
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Thanks to all the information given out ahead of time, early packet pick-up and great volunteers, getting checked into the transition area was a cinch. I ended up being really lucky with my spot. I was 4 rows from the bike/run out arch. Running with my bike after swimming seemed to be the toughest part and I'd only have to pass 3 racks on my way out. Even the run in after biking wasn't as bad. I also had the spot next to the legs of the stand (more room!) and the two people to my right didn't show up. Sweet! My bike is the smallest men's size in my model and as I suspected, the front tire didn't touch the ground. There it was, just a-swayin' in the wind! I was really nervous it would fall off while I was swimming. I had everything I needed out of my bag, so I propped the tire onto the bag and it worked perfectly. After a few porta-potty runs, I decided to put my wetsuit halfway on. The pre-race meeting was soon and I didn't want to feel rushed. Getting it on is a process and it has to be done right to be able to swim comfortably. Just then my parents arrived, so I went over to say "Hi" to them and then down to the water to get wet. One of the best tips I've been given is to get in the water in your wetsuit and completely submerge yourself. Make sure to get your face and your head wet. Swim a little if you have time and adjust your suit if needed (it will settle a give a bit when wet). Getting your face and head wet kind of primes your nervous system to the cold. It helps diminish some of that panic when you hit the water and reduces that fight or flight reaction.<br />
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As I was coming out, the first wave was called to the corral with the elites in front and the novice men right behind. My wave would be next so I nervously made my way up near the chute. We were held for a few minutes and then brought down to line up. Oh my gosh, my stomach was full of butterflies. I decided to move back to the halfway point of our pack and onto the outside. It meant a little more swimming than being on the inside but it also meant that no one would be swimming over me for a better spot. If you are a nervous swimmer or not as strong, many suggest lining up at the very back and taking your time. Most tris wont start the next wave until everyone is at a certain point. They want everyone to be safe. Rushing and freaking yourself out won't help anyone. I personally get nervous when everyone is beyond me. I like to be able to gauge my progress based on how other's are moving. This isn't really even competitive. I just want to know I'm making forward progress!<br />
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The airhorn goes off and we run in. I try to find some space, but it's tricky. I'm not happy with how I've put the wetsuit on and it's pulling on the front of my neck. I try and make some room in it but it doesn't help. I realize that this is going to be a very tough swim. I can't really breathe well doing a freestyle stroke due to how it's pressing on me so I flip over and do the backstroke. I pass the first turn buoy of our rectangular course. I see that a lot of people are swimming on their backs. By now it's sunny and I just try to look at the clouds and make some sort of forward progress. It's beautiful and I remind myself that this struggle is a gift. I'm able to do this for many reasons and there are others who cannot. Then I remember that I had this vision of charging in, swimming like a dolphin and coming out in the front of the novice pack. It occurs to me that I'm currently swimming with all the speed and grace of a <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/mola/">Mola Mola</a>. I laugh at the visual (which is fairly accurate) and flip over to try and actually swim.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">I was a little confused about the angle of the picture until I realized that the swimmers in the foreground are in the warm-up area.</span></div>
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I can't. I can't reach far enough to straighten my arm and get any reach. I can't rotate to help push myself forward. When I put my head down to stay streamlined I can hear myself wheeze from the pressure on my neck. I try to cough but it's definitely the wetsuit causing it. I try to just force the swim and after about 4 strokes I end up just kind of splashing in place. What the heck? This is not what it was supposed to be like! I've swum twice as far! I try to tread water and pull my wetsuit up. It helps a teeny bit and I convince myself to swim to the halfway point turn buoy. The entire time my brain is screaming at me to stop. Im trying to block it out but it's exhausting me.<br />
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As I grab on to just give myself a second to calm down from my epic wetsuit struggle I see that many people are holding onto the kayaks and boats along the course. Many more than I saw in my last one. We're all being thrown around by the chop. You can't see it from shore at all and it's disguised my the washing-machine effect of swimming in a pack, but it's there. Stopping was actually much worse. As the buoy starts to drift from the pack I catch the eye of a kayaker who is watching me closely. I give him a thumbs-up and swim back out to the others. I just try and swim as best I can to get to that final turn buoy.<br />
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I turn the corner and I can see the crowds on the beach. Hundred of people. Cowbell. Spotters waving orange flags to guide us in. People screaming, cheering. They are so close but I feel like I'm on another planet. I swim hard and they appear just as far away. This is what messes with your mind in open water. You can't let yourself think about it too much. Distance in the water feels a billion times further than it is, especially with the tide going out. It doesn't matter. You will get there, you just have to keep at it. I flip over a couple of times to make sure I'm actually moving away from the turn buoy and I am. Faster than I think, actually. As I get closer the waves start and I know we're getting close to being able to stand. I can finally touch the bottom about chest deep and walk myself in. Ideally you swim in until you are almost belly-on-the-sand but I didn't care. I wanted out. Apparently so did everyone else around me as we all professed our love of sand. How did only 1/4 of a mile knock us all on our butts?<br />
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I stagger out of the water and struggle to find the motor skills to remove my swim cap. I don't even remember peeling the top half of my wetsuit off, but I did. I waved to my family and tried to run up to transition but couldn't. So many people were cheering for us to keep going but I just felt stunned. I cross into Transition 1 relieved that I would see my bike soon. My bike that I used to be terrified of, and up until last spring wanted nothing to do with purchasing.<br />
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It wasn't too bad removing my wetsuit, but it took a bit to get my feet rinsed and my socks and shoes on. I ate an energy gel, gulped some water and took off. I like to wear my race number on a belt during the bike. I just slide it around behind me until the run. It's not needed for the bike, but it ensures I won't forget it in Transition 2. This time I was actually able to run my bike out of T1 to the mount line. I head off and I'm right behind Team Hoyt! They're going at just the speed where I want to pass them, but it's just fast enough that I will be in their way if I slow down or they speed up at all. I use this as a chance to check in with myself and see how I'm doing. I'm actually feeling pretty good and when there's room I decide to pass them with a shout of encouragement.<br />
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A few miles in there's a decent hill. I <i>finally</i> remember that I will need to shift to the small ring in the front and get to the top much more easily than before. I fly down the next hill and pass a bunch of people. I kept up with most everyone around me and was really happy to find that I was still passing people, even on the uphills. Hills are not my strength. They're for people much lighter than I am and I try and make up for it as much as I can on the downhills. This course was tough for me. It has a lot of rolling hills, which wouldn't phase an experienced cyclist, but I'm used to fairy flat land. I'm glad I got out there and rode the course twice. It's also really fun with some twists and turns, especially on some of the downhills. It's a very scenic, pretty course that loops back around next to the ocean on the way back. I loved it. I arrived at the dismount line feeling like I had the best ride yet. I ran my bike back, racked it and took off my helmet. I had another gel and water, turned around my race number and I was off again. <br />
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I ran out of transition and felt stiffness in the back of my left leg. I'm pretty sure the seat that came with my bike isn't doing me any favors. I get numbness down the inside of that leg while I ride and my foot will eventually get numb too. I walked a little bit at the beginning and then started to run again. It was at the top of the first hill that I had trouble. Glute cramp! It went away a bit as I crested the hill and I carefully ran down the other side. I was fine until the next hill where the cramp came back. I ignored it and it got worse. As great as I felt running, I had to walk every hill. I let it go and decided to just have run with the remaining 2 miles of the race.<br />
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The spectators here are great. There are tons of people around the transition area, but plenty in through town too. On the run there were many families that set up their own water tables. You pretty much had water whenever you wanted. There were kids with supersoakers and adults with hoses for anyone who needed a cooldown. I appreciated it since it was getting pretty hot and humid. It was so much fun to race with so many enthusiastic spectators. I mean, we shut down their beach, some of their roads and caused traffic on others and they were more than happy to have us there. About a half mile from the end I could hear the band playing at the finish line. I turned to the girl next to me and said, "I feel like that's the sound equivalent of a mirage...we're really almost there!" She replied, "I'm so relieved you hear it too!"<br />
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We went down the last hill, around the corner and the finish was in sight. There were so many people it was happily overwhelming. There was the blue carpet, the fencing and people three or four deep. I saw my family. Strangers yelled my name (this race gets bonus points for personalizing the bib with our names...it's really great). People high-fived me and I ran through the finish arch. I was done! I was so happy and relieved. After getting through that swim, I felt like I could finally enjoy the race. Even the scary swim was enjoyable in some weird, overcoming obstacles kind of way.<br />
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The finish area was also nicely done. Having a live band, <a href="http://aldouscollins.com/">Aldous Collins</a>, play was a great choice. He was able to infuse more energy and fun into the event. The post race snacks were great too. There was a bagel station with at least peanut butter and jelly (too much for me at that point) and Whole Foods was there with oranges, bananas and hummus/cracker snack packs. They may have provided the bagels too, I'm really not sure (sorry!). There was even iced coffee from <a href="http://www.jimsorganiccoffee.com/">Jim's Organic Coffee</a>. We hung around through the awards ceremony and then walked back to our car.<br />
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It was a great day. I can't say enough about it. Even my Mom commented on how seamless and stress free the day was (I guess minus the parts where people were wearing wetsuits...haha). I can't wait for the Boston Triathlon (Bill Burnett is part of that team as well) and hope to make it back to Cohasset next year!<br />
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<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-2893493656548743042013-04-28T13:44:00.001-04:002013-04-28T13:45:51.234-04:00One Step at a Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Boston Strong - MBTA bus on April 27th</i></div>
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First, I want to welcome all of the new readers on here. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to say my last two entries have helped. My posts have been sparse over the last few years, but I've found a new motivation and need to write. If you ever have any questions or even a request for a specific topic, let me know. I'm certainly not an expert on any of this, but I think my perspective may help. I'm just a regular girl with no inherited athletic gifts. It was just that one day the portion of myself that desired to try was greater than the part that was scared. It was this new community of runners, triathletes and spectators that was the tipping point.<br />
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I also need to again, thank everyone who has been there for The Husband and I over these past two weeks. Your calls, texts and messages have meant a lot. Even if you just "liked" a comment or status, I know you were thinking of us. If it wasn't for a friend looking out for us, I wouldn't have known to tell The Husband to stay at school on Thursday night when the shooting happened instead of riding his bike right through that area. I drove up to get him and by the time we were headed back, the streets were just swarming with police and SWAT vehicles. We had to pull over to get out of the way and I was shaking hard enough that it was really hard to drive. When I got home, there were dozens of messages on facebook, asking us to let them know we were ok. When we woke up the next morning, to find out we couldn't leave our apartment, there were again, dozens of messages from people checking on us. I had friends and coworkers I hadn't talked to in over a year contacting me and people from a facebook running group that I've never met in real life tagging me in a post to see how I was. Did I expect that amount of attention? No. Did it help? It sure did.<br />
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I think the two of us have somewhat moved past the extreme sadness we felt all of the first week. I know I was feeling pretty angry most of this past week too and now that I've had a few days off to catch up on sleep and visit the memorials, I feel a lot better. We're still both sad though and there are moments where something catches one of us off guard and brings it all back like it's brand new. I expect it will be like that for a while. Our neighborhood has been permanently changed.<br />
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If anything I have a sense of clarity now. The outpouring of well wishers and support has really shown me just how much people really care. I've always spent as much time with my family as possible and this has really reaffirmed that. Same thing with my friends. We saw a couple of friends yesterday that we hadn't seen in a while and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day. Those hugs were some of the best yet. That's what I'm focusing on. The positive. The important things. There were some we know well that we still have not heard from. How I feel about that is irrelevant because, it's not about me. They have their own battles to fight. I've learned that you can only put yourself out there and then you have to let it go - and that's ok.<br />
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In the spirit of moving on, here's what's next:<br />
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https://www.jennyhadfield.com/run-for-peace/</div>
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The Peace Marathon can be run or walked, all in one day or in segments, between April 29th and May 31st. The money goes to the <a href="http://onestepaheadfoundation.org/">One Step Ahead Foundation</a> to benefit the children injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, particularly, those in need of prosthetics. I'm planning on trying to get it all in during the next two weeks. I'm thinking I'll do two 5 milers, a 10K (6.2 miles) and a 10 miler.</div>
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<a href="http://216.235.243.43/races/10k.aspx">The BAA 10K</a></div>
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If registration will allow (opens 5/8), we plan on running the Boston Athletic Associations 10K on 6/23. It's the first race that will occur for the BAA since the marathon and I have a feeling it will fill up fairly quickly. </div>
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<a href="http://www.cohassettri.com/index.php">The Cohasset Triathlon</a></div>
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A week after the BAA 10K is the Cohasset Triathlon. I've been registered for it since December, but all of a sudden it's in two months!<br />
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<a href="http://www.bostontri.com/">The Boston Triathlon</a></div>
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On August 4th is the Boston Triathlon. It was my <a href="http://saltyrunner.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-boston-triathlon-race-recap.html">first triathlon ever</a> and it's pretty special to me. I'm really looking forward to it.</div>
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Even though I SWORE that I was not going to do anything crazy this summer or fall (famous last words), I've been making myself crazy by looking at longer races. Will I really not do the BAA Half Marathon this year? Am I crazy for looking at Half Ironman triathlons after only one sprint distance race? Could I do a marathon? Or more accurately, would I make myself, and my family, insane if I register for one? Will I lose my motivation and burn out like last summer?<br />
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I'm seriously considering doing the <a href="http://www.baystatemarathon.com/">Baystate Marathon</a>, the <a href="http://www.capecodmarathon.com/">Cape Cod Marathon</a> or the <a href="http://www.mdimarathon.org/">Mount Desert Island Marathon</a>. The latter two are challenging hilly courses, so I'd probably go with MDI if that was the only factor. I've had my eye on it for a while. However, Baystate is close by and a great race. It's also flat and I may need all the help I can get for my first full marathon. While I'm taking some time to think, I'm going to be building up my base mileage to see how I do. I need to test my body <i>and</i> my motivation.</div>
saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-43336357077264540072013-04-17T20:44:00.004-04:002013-04-17T21:11:37.356-04:00Run for BostonFirst of all, wow. Over 250 people read Monday's post. The sharing and reposting I saw and the response from people I've never met is overwhelming and heart warming. I wrote it partly to heal, but I also wrote if for all of you. I hope you stick around here.<br />
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Yesterday I ran what some are referring to as "memorial miles". I just had to get back out there and as usual, running was good to me. When I returned the tightness in my chest had eased a bit. I actually felt somewhat hungry and that maybe I'd sleep more than four hours tonight. I know I'm not alone in this and that many others are faring far worse.<br />
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The first few pictures are of my morning. First, my BAA Half Marathon jacket (the same group that runs the Boston Marathon, runs a half marathon in the fall), worn to show solidarity. What I didn't expect was the eye-trail from the logo up to my face and their change to sad acknowledgement. There was the large media presence at the Stuart St side of Copley Sq that I have to weave through to get over to my gym. My gym that, at that time, was on the actual crime scene boundary. Then, a pretty Magnolia tree on my walk. After, are a bunch of pictures from my run. I didn't run to run fast. I ran to embrace all that running in Boston can be. I ran to see all the things I take for granted and I share them to show you that in our sadness, the city is still beautiful.<br />
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What you don't see here are the two SWAT team men that I thanked as I was about to start my run. They were a bit taken aback for a second until it sank in. There were the countless runners on their own runs and almost every single one of them gave me a sad eyed smile and nodded. There was the barista this am who gave me my coffees and as he handed them off, with the same sad smile, told me to take care with a look that made me know he meant it. There was the mailman walking through the Fens who gave me a slight smile. So I gave him a big smile. In turn he gave me a wonderful silly toothy grin. Both of us cracked up. Lastly, I caught something pretty awesome in my last photo. As I was waiting for the light at Huntington and Mass Ave, a group of 40 or so runners, every single one of them in BAA yellow and blue, ran by. The lead two held signs:<br />
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<b>Run For Boston</b></div>
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saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-1465661536535599352013-04-15T21:02:00.002-04:002013-05-01T23:19:11.633-04:00I love you, Boston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="text-align: start;">Yesterday, I went to my swimming class in Cambridge and then stopped by a running store for earbuds. I had destroyed my second nice pair of earphones and figured the Yurbuds with the kevlar cord may be my last hope. I was heading over to meet The Husband, check out his studio space and then get some dinner with him. Dozens of runners were milling around with their official Boston Marathon bags and badges. Some were even wearing their jackets. I wished some of them luck and then stopped at the big planter in Brattle Square to sit and get my new earbuds out. I twisted them in and then stopped...</span><br /><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">The man in the chair had started playing and it was familiar. Neil Young. "Long May You Run." It was a beautiful sunny warm day and I thought, "how perfect is this song? This moment?" The runners stopped and for a few minutes we were all together in that moment. I took a picture just because I wanted to remember how it all stood still. These are the things that are easy to miss. Later I bought that song and was going to post it last night. I hesitated, because even though it's beautiful, it's sad.</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">I had no idea I'd listen to it again tonight and sob.</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEZ0ltGkVoZBzG-6Xh4yc2X1_hdmVKjuTkT0RLFKW1ngFaRGKkvnWbDdXN8TdF4jB95EzQgxD-7QRmUnZVqj39YpX02CQQLiozp_5Z0S7UJAPU3CO8bzguwQ2069CEyQdhnQ7tuZ2oBUP/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEZ0ltGkVoZBzG-6Xh4yc2X1_hdmVKjuTkT0RLFKW1ngFaRGKkvnWbDdXN8TdF4jB95EzQgxD-7QRmUnZVqj39YpX02CQQLiozp_5Z0S7UJAPU3CO8bzguwQ2069CEyQdhnQ7tuZ2oBUP/s1600/photo-2.JPG" /></a></div>
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This was my view at 6pm tonight. It seems like a cruel joke that something so horrific happened between these two towers just hours before. My first instinct was to be angry at the light coming into my apartment at that time. <i>HOW CAN YOU BE SO BEAUTIFUL RIGHT NOW, BOSTON?! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT THEY DID TO YOU?!</i><br />
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I can't fully express how I feel, but today strikes me close to home, literally and figuratively. I'm angry. I'm heartbroken. I feel sick and I feel like as bad as I feel, it hasn't fully hit me yet. I buy my running shoes at the Marathon Sports that had it's windows blown out in the blast. I tested them out on the stretch of sidewalk thats now covered in blood. I hung out in that store, eating pizza and drinking beer after one of the clinics for the BAA's Half Marathon. This is my home and I don't know when it will feel normal again. The area of the Boston Marathon finish line is part of my daily life. My gym is right there. I sit on the Boston Public Library steps to eat from the food trucks. These things are just tumbling through my head. How will I go back there? And also, damn whoever did this for making me feel like this!<br />
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How must Dave McGillivray, Tom Grilk and the rest of the BAA staff feel? What are they going through right now? I have seen, firsthand, how much they love their races and runners. From the slowest to the fastest, they sincerely care. They must be devastated. How must everyone actually affected feel - the scared, the wounded and for those who were lost? One of the lost was an 8 year old boy. It's horrific. I'm angry about that and angry that they took something so loved and honored here, OUR marathon and put a dark mark on the day. I feel for those that put their heart and souls into getting to this race to have it end how it did. I get weepy just daydreaming about the day I qualify (I might be 80 but it will happen!). Can you imagine the joy of running your first (second, third...20th) Boston being stripped away in the terror they must have felt? I dread that we will think of today on every Patriots Day from now on.<br />
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As we'd say here, I'm wicked pissed. I have no doubt that Boston will band together and dust themselves off. We may always be in a hurry and we may not say "Hi" when we brush by you on the street, but we will fight for you when you need it. We're Massholes after all, right? I don't look forward to the time it will take to get by this, but we will. I know the running community, from Boston and beyond, will take care of each other. I speak for many when I say, if you're a runner, you're my friend. I'll share post-race beers with you. I'll bump into you on the sidewalk or at my gym. I'll make good, hopefully, lifelong friends just from the suggestion to talk to coworkers because, "hey! So and so runs too!", and when you fall, as you did today, I'll cry for you.<br />
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Tomorrow I'll do what I always do when my heart is heavy and broken. I'll run. I'll run for those we lost, the ones who are too injured to run and the ones who are too broken inside to step out. When you're ready, we're here to hold you up at the start line and catch you at the finish. Us, your formerly unknown best friend for race day. For those who have gone on without us, we'll hear your footsteps in ours. We will not forget you.<br />
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Long may you run.<br />
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link for mobile users who are having difficulty seeing the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zjxz90hLYtw<br />
<br />saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788581692258469974.post-8992159069375714302013-03-07T13:13:00.001-05:002013-07-01T17:19:34.683-04:0010 Things About MeI really enjoy when the blogs I follow post a 10 Things About Me list. It's usually a list of quirky, funny or random things.<br />
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1. I love bananas, but there is precisely one day where the stage of ripeness is acceptable to me. One speck of brown and that banana is dead to me. I will carry that gross freckled banana around in my lunch bag for days until I give up and throw it out. I like them to be solidly yellow with maybe even a hint of green. I like them even better if they're cold (and I don't mind if they get a bit brown from the fridge). But mealy, warm and over-ripe? BLEH! I'm trying to at least be good and freeze the ripe ones for other uses. Unfortunately, even those have a short shelf life since our freezer is only committed to keeping ice frozen. I now have a system of buying a bananas in varying stages of ripeness because I hate wasting food.<br />
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2. I grab things with my toes. Not like, creepy picking stuff up grabbing, but unintentional. Mostly just to inadvertently torture my husband. Watching tv and my toes are cold? They curl under the back side of his knee. Ooops! Sleeping? Oh man. Apparently after I fall asleep I like to grab the back of his leg with my toes. I have NO IDEA why I do this. If I'm having a particularly good night I get his achilles tendon between my big and "pointer" toe. This usually results in his lurching awake and slapping my leg away. One of his nicknames for me is Creepy-Toes.<br />
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3. It seems that my resting/neutral/thinking face make me appear angry/upset. The husband also calls me Madface. <br />
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No! I'm just thinking! No! I'm fine! No! I'm just THINKING, not about anything bad. THIS IS JUST WHAT MY FACE LOOKS LIKE! Illustrated perfectly here from krisatomic:<br />
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4. He also refers to me as Anger Girl. Not because I'm actually angry, but I accidentally break a lot of stuff around our apartment and it's usually because I'm too rough with it. The Husband is convinced that I'm really mad on the inside and take it out on our fixtures. Really, I'm probably just in a hurry. Okay, and probably slightly annoyed about something. We have seven horizontal blinds in our apartment. We have replaced nine. In 8 years. Yeah...<br />
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(since I started working on this post, a 9th blind has met it's maker)<br />
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I've pulled the towel bar apart at least a half dozen times, pulled the bathrobe hanger of the wall with the screws attached and mangled the hot water knob in the shower. Today I for-real trip-to-Home-Depot broke the hot water knob. So now he's also installing hooks for the towels and bathrobes with some super Jillian-proof reinforcement.<br />
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I am also on my third iPhone bumper case in less than 3 years (and #4 will be due soon), my second paper shredder and can easily trouble-shoot our garbage disposal. Luckily I drive a Subaru and those are pretty hard to kill (and here I go jinxing myself...it has been making a few weird noises). Although I did pull the lumbar support handle off of the side of the seat...</div>
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5. I am <i>kiiiiind</i> of afraid of fresh water. I did my first triathlon in Boston off of Carson Beach. It was a half mile open water swim in the ocean and almost everyone said I was nuts. Some suggested I find one that was a quarter mile to do first. Most said I needed to do a tri with a lake or even pool swim first. No, no, no. First, those pool swim tris look like a GIANT Charlie Foxtrot. Forget it. And fresh water? EWWW! It gives me the heebie jeebies. Sorry landlocked states who will insist if I swam in their "super clean" lake I'd change my mind. No. I won't. I don't care how clean it is. It smells weird, it doesn't have salt and there is the possibility of leeches. Better than sharks? I don't care. Maybe there's a very small chance I'll encounter a shark and it <i>could</i> kill me, but if I find a leech on me I will DEFINITELY go into cardiac arrest. To be completely honest there's also this weird irrational fear. I trust the ocean, but I've seen wayyy too many scary lady-of-the-lake (oooh now she knows I'm talking about her and she's going to get me! AHHH!) movies as a kid. There are no monsters in the ocean, unless you count <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1619880/">Sharktopus</a>. Lakes? BRIMMING with monsters who are juuuust waiting for you to swim out far enough so they can grab your feet and pull you under.<br />
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I really wish I hadn't thought to bring this up after agreeing to do my first Olympic distance tri (0.9 mile swim) in a lake....<br />
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6. I LOVE. Love, love, love the movie The Guardian.<br />
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Even more so if I catch it on tv, although I did a permanent borrow of my parents' copy so I can watch it whenever. Rescue swimmers are so awesome. I was joking about the movie with my swim instructor and she laughs and said she just got her certification to train those swimmers. So, yeah. Now I think she's even cooler than before! It's even been the source of a running joke between my husband and I. At one point we were talking about some famous swimmer (I forget who...not Phelps) and I was like, "wait...the one with the number 2 tattoo on his shoulder blade...and....uh....", which got the response of, "Noooo....that was <i>Ashton Kutcher</i> in<i> The Guardian</i>...maybe you should take a break from that movie." HA. Never.<br />
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7. I don't mind doing laundry. I actually kind of <i>like</i> the wash, dry, fold part, but oh lordy, I cannot put it away as soon as it's done for the life of me. I will step over the bin of clean clothes for a week until it makes me crazy. I think it's because I always feel a strong need to organize/purge my closet whenever I'm putting them away. It turns into an all day project if I'm not careful. I'm not proud to say that there have been times where I've almost completely emptied the bin by wearing the clothes. Hey, makes for a quick sorting at that point.<br />
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8. I played clarinet from 5th grade through my entire undergrad, which was in music education. It was pretty much all I did. I was in various bands and ensembles, big and small, with my school and a local conservatory and I always took lessons. I didn't do any sports. Music took up all my time. I played in my own commencement band the day I graduated and at the end, I cleaned up my clarinet, closed the case and never opened it again. I think that part is what would surprise people who know me.<br />
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Graduation was the last time I played. I didn't plan it that way, but weeks, days and years just went by without me playing. I knew, in the last year of school that it wasn't for me. I love music, but I didn't want to teach it and looking back, I think I was burnt out on playing. I needed a break. I don't regret it at all. It taught me a lot and made me have to be fairly responsible as a teenager. I am also sure I wasn't at all read for my current career back then. I'd say I miss it, but as hard as I try to remember, I can't conjure up how I felt then. People were shocked that I walked away from it, but it was the first time I stopped worrying about what other people thought I should do. You know what? Everyone was supportive. My career and hobbies are a complete 180 from what I had been doing, but I finally feel like "me."<br />
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9. The husband says I'm "not nice in the car." Haha. Apparently I'm much better (thanks to an uneventful 900 mile round trip to PA), but previously I was kind of a pain. We'd get as far out of Boston as Saugus and I'd already be singing along to the most annoying song on the radio. I'd need to pee at least 3 times on a four hour trip (I need to stay hydrated!) and I'd probably get hungry twice (small meals people!). There's a good chance that I'd buy candy at some point and have a sugar high (SIIIINGIIIIIIING!!!!!) and a sugar crash (whyyyyy wont you taaaaaalk to meeeee?). The temperature I would feel comfortable with would usually be the opposite of what The Husband wanted. This is mostly due to me wearing whatever I felt like in the car, not usually in consideration of the season. I need to be comfortable on long trips!<br />
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(I joke about this now because I try not to do these things anymore. Otherwise, we-are-never-going-anywhere-in-the-car-again-ever.)<br />
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10. I frequently hear a song and exclaim, "this song is great! Who is this?! I have to find out who it is and buy the album NOW!". Then I go to great lengths to figure out who it is, to almost always discover I already own the album. The song is usually not the single that's out but one I've listened to a bunch of times already. Case in point?<br />
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This Microsoft commercial:<br />
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Uh yeah....it's Macklemore. You know, the Thriftshop song? (I'll let you google it) The song in the commercial is off the same album. DUH. It was actually one of the main reasons I didn't just buy Thriftshop.<br />
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Here is a great live version:<br />
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Hope you enjoyed this (or at least laughed a bit). I swear, I'm not as grouchy as the husband pretends!<br />
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saltyrunnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08475165985983445172noreply@blogger.com0